Don't stop moving...

MisterJinx

Very best of luck with it and I'm sure you will raise a fair chunk for your charity, make sure to throw the link up here when you start collecting in earnest.

For my second I did a mixed version of the Novices and Graduates plans i.e. I took the additional pace work from the Grads plan during the week and on every second long run but with the distance and build of the Novices plan. For me I felt the Grads plan was a little light in terms of distance as I'm a relatively new runner and could do with the miles in the legs but I did need to start putting more "stuff" into the plan compared to the previous year to progress.

There is a large thread on Hanson's here and quite a few advocates. I'm reviewing that one myself as I like that it's time based but my main concern is fitting in the mid week session as it's not really compatible at home, I'll need to study it more to see if would fit. It also tops out at 18 miles and I'm not sure I've the confidence yet to trust that...

crisco10

So here we go…Week 1 of Marathon Plan. But 1st brief summary of my Spring that proceeded it…

March - total disaster. Didn't run for 4 weeks due to a very persistent chest infection

April - got better, but strangely had a hamstring niggle from February that still wouldn't go away despite a month off due to illness, went to physio and started to up easy mileage slowly.

May - a total of ~200km for the month, mostly easy but consistent. I had chosen my marathon plan (which is actually one from a friend's club in the UK) and was increasing the workload at a rate to match week 1 of it.

The plan itself is an 18 week plan and there is about 21 weeks to DCM, but will miss 1.5 weeks for holidays in July, and I fully expect to get sick at some point in September when kids go back to school. So good to have some spare weeks in there.

I had looked at Hansons plan, and the focus on cumulative fatigue didnt seem to marry well with the above. (I.e the potential for me to just miss a week here or there). So I preferred a more traditional approach; the average week looks like:

• Monday; Kinda Long Run
• Thursday; A little bit of speedwork on alternate weeks
• Saturday; Long Run with MP paced sections on the weeks of no Thursday speedwork

This topped up with 2 or 3 easy runs. Max Mileage week is about 85km.

Week 1 (total weekly mileage; 63km):

Monday; 16km; Lovely easy run at lunchtime in the sunshine

Tuesday; nothing cos with Physio checking up on hamstring. He basically signed me off with a keep doing what your doing.

Wednesday; 9km; 10 x 100m before work. enjoyed this and more importantly hamstring didn't complain.

Thursday; 8km; easy peasy before work

Friday; 24km; LSR brought forward a day because of other commitments, and needed to start at 6am but actually was fine exploring the backroads of Sallynoggin.

Saturday; 5km; Parkrun with Buggy. was supposed to be super easy, but got a bit carried by the crowd and ended up doing a progression run sort of. Was still nice.

crisco10

Week 2 (total weekly mileage; 57km):

Monday; 16km @ 4:58/km; Needed to collect some stuff from parents so did a Run-mute to their house and back to get the miles in. Warm, but pleasant miles.

Tuesday; 7km easy @ 5:02/km . there's a 2km ish lap near my house so did 3 of those at lunchtime.

Wednesday; 9km; 10 x 100m at lunchtime. Another enjoyable set of reps in park nearby, wife had headcold and I started to feel peaky.

Thursday; nothing. I felt fluey so went for nap instead of run.

Friday; Same as Thurs

Saturday; was feeling better, but had kids on my own so nothing

Sunday; 25km@ 4:58/km. Wife got back at 3pm so I squeezed this 2 hour effort in before dinner. I really enjoy the long runs, but this one felt a bit crap. I'm not used to running long in the afternoon/evening and by end of it I felt pretty tired and stiff.

crisco10

I was looking at my plan for summer and trying to work in a few races. I think I can fit the Irish Runner 10 Miler in quite easily as its on the eve of my holidays so I had always planned a break in "the plan" around then. But I'm struggling to fit in other races because it seems like I would need to sacrifice some good training sessions (e.g. LSR) to do them. My default is to just stick to the plan and leave the races, but I know races are great experiences for testing yourself, getting used to raceday routine etc.

I'd ideally like to do a HM in late August early September, but doesnt seem to many of them around.

I assume there is a trick to it, and the internet has answered this question a thousand times so thats my homework.

Week 3 (Total Weekly Mileage; 65km):

Monday: Woke up with an incredibly sore/stiff Right ITB. And started to panic, so foam rolled, stretched and booked physio appointment for Tuesday. I did venture out and do an insanely easy 5km at 6min/km which strangely didn't hurt, and in reassuring way, sort of hurt in a lot of places which made me think maybe I was just very stiff from yesterdays LSR too close to bedtime. Knee only really got sore sitting at my desk when it stiffened up.

Tuesday: The knee felt A LOT better today, went to Physio and he agreed it was inflamed but far from tendonitis or anything. A sore massage and some dry needling later I was sent home, and even suggested doing a shorter Kinda Long Run (had 16km in plan) that day. So I went and did a very local (4 laps of a my "block") 10km at something like 5min/km. It felt ok tbh, bar the tender thighs after the massage and needles.

Wednesday: 8km @ 5/km. Easy lunch run in the sunshine doing some errands

Thursday: WU, 3 x 2km @HM pace, CD. (12km @ 4:21/km)

Got this one a fair bit wrong, was aiming for 4min/km to see how it went. I.e. 8 Min Reps. My actual times were 7:42, 7:47 and 7:31. Really need to practice pacing, it's been a long time since I tried to hold a pace in the HM/Mara pace range. The last split was a bit stupid because I actually said f that and did a 3:35 km for the 2nd half of it.

Enjoyed trying to find paces again, even if I sucked at it.

Friday: 3km @ 5min/km a not-in-the-plan buggy run for logistics reason as I dropped C to creche then went to E's sports day.

There was a parents race at sports day which tbh scared the crap out of me, my pride didn't want to do badly in it because everyone knows that I run a bit, but the risk of injury was there. Anyway, a respectable front of the pack finish and I survived unscathed.

Saturday: 26km @ 4:56/km. up and out early for this LSR. This time exploring Monkstown (surprisingly hilly!). And the climb from Stradbrook to Lambs Cross for the last 5km of the run was a mental test. Couple of nice podcasts and a concerted effort to control my pace, my favourite type of running. After Thursday's pacing fail, I thought it would be good to start working in MP miles on this, so started easy and did a single km at MP toward the end which felt fine.

I also then a had a full day of chasing after kids, which I think helped keep me loose and have no repeats of last weeks messing.

Sunday: Rest day bar some Physio prescribed exercises.

crisco10

Week 4 (Total Weekly Mileage; 63km):

Monday: 17km at 5/km. The Kinda LSR, it was pretty warm. Not helped by doing it at 12pm. Struggled last 2 or 3km and was relieved to have it done.

Tuesday: 9km @ 5/km. An easy run along the Barcelona seafront as was away with work

Wednesday: Nothing. was supposed to be an easy 8km but didn't feel great and had a long work day to get through so stayed in bed for the extra hour instead.

Thursday: 8km @5/km. Average pace is a little misleading here. Did a few errands then did 10 x 100m on local football pitch. Felt like stink, having only gotten home in the small hours on Weds night.

Friday: Nothing. Had hoped to swap in an easy here to make up for Wednesday's miss, but it didn't happen and was also a little conscious about "chasing the plan"

Saturday: 29km LSR @ 4:53/km. Soft morning but love these long runs really, again down around Blackrock and Monkstown which is nice until it comes to heading for home. But I reckon thats good strength training to finish with the drag up from the sea to Sandyford.

crisco10

Week 5 (Total Weekly Mileage; 47.5km):

Monday: 19km at 5/km. Kinda LSR squeezed in at lunch as usual, pretty unexceptional bar my watch battery dying with 1km to go. Luckily I know my local distances well so was confident in my run length. lol

Tuesday: 8km with buggy @ 5:13/km. An unusual one these days, picked up E from gymnastics (she's now almost 6) and ran home with her. She loved being back in the running buggy! Was reflecting that she has been doing it for 5 years now!

Wednesday: 14km @ 4:19/km . 8km at HMP. Split it into 2k, 3k and 3k, chunks with 90s inbetween. Chose a reasonably honest ~1.8km loop with minimal traffic interference. Pacing was much better this time around, 7:56, 11:49 and 11:46 respectively. which is pretty ok, maybe a few seconds a km quick but not worth worrying about. I definitely accelerate at the end of the last interval as I just want it to finish quickly at that point.

Thursday: 7km with buggy @ 5/km. Same job as Tuesday.

Rest of week was a bust, unfortunately. I went to British GP, and had planned to do LSR but it all fell apart with a tummy bug from Saturday to Monday.

crisco10

Week 6 (Total Weekly Mileage; 65.4km):

Monday: Nothing

Tuesday; 7km @ 5/km. Got out at lunch for an easy round the block. only starting to get energy back after illness

Wednesday: 14km @ 4:45/km. Sort of blended my Kinda Long Run into the planned weeks session. Was only 10 x 100m, so did those in the middle of the KLR.

Thursday: 7km @ 5/km. Another Lunch run squeezed between sweaty meetings. lol. Thank god I dont share an office with anyone.

Friday: 5km @5/km. Introducing a run on Friday as another way to add mileage as I progress through the plan. This will always be relatively short and easy. It felt like a cheat code, it was over so quick.

Saturday: 32km LSR @ 4:45/km. The training plan hit a mini peak this week with this one; I broke it down into 5km sections and each section finished with MP effort. Allowing for elevation, the paces were pretty on the money - I was a smidge faster on some downhill splits, and slower on uphill ones. So in total 6 km at MP spread across the run.

This one caught a bit of attention on Strava, but the reality is the training backs away for a few weeks now with a 10 mile race next weekend and 10 days holiday. Then the next stage of the training plan has LSR's in the 25 to 30 range.

Also looking on half marathons in August, was thinking of the Longford Half. the date suits, 90 minute drive isnt ideal, but the things we do for love. :-)

I was more tempted by the Tullamore half the next week, but alas, have a wedding to attend that weekend!

crisco10

Week 7 (Total Weekly Mileage; 46.7km):

Monday: 19km @4:57/km. KLR. This one is always a bit tricky coming as it does about 54 hours after my LSR. Had a slightly sore/stiff calf after Saturday's run, but by 3rd or 4th km of this, it had ironed out. A very tired run, but I sense this is the point of them.

Tuesday; 7km @5/km 3 easy laps of a local route. Bit of a sore lower quad/knee in the last km which wasn't ideal. and it got a bit sorer as day went on.

Wednesday: Disaster. Went to see if my leg had loosened out and had to abandon after 1.5km because it was just very sore. Like I couldn't run on it sore. Overloaded on Deep Heat, Massage Gun, Vegetables and Sleep. Did not want to miss the 10 Miler this weekend.

Thursday: More Deep Heat, Massage Gun, Vegetables and Sleep

Friday: More Deep Heat, Massage Gun, Vegetables and Sleep. Added some prayers at this stage.

Saturday: See Friday, I did try a little jog for about 500m back to the car at some point which didn't feel great. But on the upside, I walked around the zoo all day with no real pain. Had a nap though to help the recovery! lol

Sunday: See next post for Race Report: yay!

I now take 2 weeks off to an extent, family holiday where I hope to go running as much as I can but I'm not chasing the plan. This was the idea all along, hit a peak of a 20 miler LSR last week, then do the 10 mile race this week and unload a little on holidays after all that. Then return to a hopefully uninterrupted ~10 week run into DCM.

Also setup my GoFundMe, as the charity requires minimum amounts be raised by August and then fully raised in September to secure your place. So busy week overall!

crisco10

Race Report - Irish Runner 10 Mile, Phoenix Park.

A funny start to the day, woke up at 6.30am to go for a 5 min walk followed by 10 minute run to see if my quad/knee was still sore after 3 days rest. I didn’t want to drive to Phoenix Park only to break down during warmup! In a pleasant surprise - it all went well, so went home again and had breakfast and headed off to race instead of back to bed.

Did a small warmup by running from car. My target was pretty clear for this one, I wanted to do 64mins or a bit below, so that would require 3 x sub-20 5kms, followed by a push it 1.2km to finish.

I lined up at the start line, about 3 rows back from the top of Coral 2 (the non-national championship group).

First 5km

I was expecting the pace to be hectic in the first km, and was prepared to just find my groove at 3:5x. But in a nice surprise, most of the people around me seemed to think the same. There was no rush-of-blood-to-the-head-3:30 pace or anything which was nice. This section was down by the Furry Glen, so had lots of gentle downhill, and was an enjoyable intro to the race. Once we got out of the park for a bit, on the flat road toward Islandbridge, I concentrated on finding an equal effort groove at 3:5x. My pace having accelerated a smidge on the downhill out of the park. Past the 5km marker, 19:23 for that 5k split. A little quicker than intended, but not bonkers considering it was a net downhill 5km and I felt good. I did however note the 8 mile marker which we would be passing in about 30 mins and realise it was the start of a fairly decent drag, spent a lot of the rest of the race considering my strategy (physical and mental) for the 9th mile.

Second 5km

This section was tricky enough, it contained the steep little hill into the Park from Islandbridge, but at least it was short. Then the subtle drag up Chesterfield Ave toward Acres road. Not going to lie, this drag for km 7 to 9 was tough, required a steady mental effort to keep the pace up, and even improve it. It would have been very easy to settle at the slower pace that was required to climb the short sharp hill which was about 4:05/km. So, was very satisfied each time my watch ticked a split at 3:xx. At this point, as I approached halfway, my average pace was about 3:53 so well ahead of target, so each “good” km just made the weighted average even better. Past through half way at 31:20 so pretty on target for sub 64. Definitely felt my lungs and heart working hard by the time we got to the switchback at Acres road and toward Kyber. My narrative to myself all the way down the hill was that this was the time to work my legs hard but get my heart and breathing under control. This meant my pace was a bit conservative (~3:46 for a very downhill km) but I wanted to be ready to fight my way back through the undulating hills over the rest of the race. 5km split was 19:24. Which given the more hilly nature of this split, was a solid effort to be basically the same as the first 5km.

Third 5km

This was my Everest for the day. I was aware how “easy” the first 5km was, now this was basically it in reverse and I had been quietly preparing for this section in the back of my mind throughout the race. Plenty of little uphills, but took pleasure in the downhills as best I could and just keeping my stride going, with breathing under control. It was around now I realized this was the longest I had ever run in Vaporflys, a thought motivated by a small random pain on the base of my heel. Anyway, pain is temporary, and I’ve put too many km in the bank for that to stop me. (Unless it got lots worse!).

As is frequently the case, the uphill drags weren’t as bad as I had built them up to be, which was great, and in general I was picking off people more than I was being picked off. Just get to the 15km, and then I can go go go to the finish was my mantra. Crossed the 15km with a 5km split of 19:14.

Last 1.2km

As I frequently do in training, I speed up to make the pain finish sooner, so I thoroughly enjoyed being able to just go down Chesterfield Ave, even had the breath to encourage one or two others I was passing by. Finish gantry in site, 16th km ticked by (3:36/km, my fastest split) and a “sprint” to the end (3:12/km for the 200m stretch). I clocked I wouldn’t get quite sub 62, but would be a comfortable sub 62:30 so crossed the line strong in 1:02:21.

Went and got a free ice bath to try and control the various injuries then walked back to the car, pretty happy with myself.

Conclusions:

• A 10 mile PB by about 5 mins – Yay! But tbf, my 10M was an old soft PB.
• According to my watch, I broke my 10km PB in there. (need to check that)
• No km over 4/km so pacing was pretty solid.
• Endurance was pretty good, I finished pretty strong over last 6.2km, and ran about a 20 second negative split on the tougher half of the course.
• Good to be back racing properly for first time since my stroke
• Looking at various race calculators, this 10M time “predicts” a marathon time of between 2:53 and 3:03 (depending on calculator). So with a lot of training to go, my target of “in and around 3” for DCM seems pretty realistic. I’m also aware those calculators are fraught with assumptions and not to be relied upon.

Lambay island

Fair play, some excellent racing there!

ReeReeG

Totally missed you did this, well done! Enjoy the hols!

MisterJinx

Super racing, well done. Must be great confidence to be back racing and then hitting such a big PB

crisco10

Don't wanna get people too excited, but I'm kind of a big deal now...

Lol.

https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/dad-run-dublin-marathon-three-29600626