Dream big, work hard, achieve your goals - My DCM '19 Journey

I copy & pasted on my laptop & couldn't get rid of it🤣 Is that your pic🤔

I ran using it again yesterday & I just love when a song pops up that I haven't heard in ages & it takes me back in time in my head😊

Thanks so much, I am definitely building in confidence & strength with each week, yes I would love to give DCM a really good go with all going well!

My training is based mainly on EIM training which is Easy Interval Method (thats the name of the book too by Klass Lok) although it looks like sessions most days the recoveries are quite generous which averages out the pace to a more steady run. The 5 or 6 by 1K are based on me keeping within a certain HR with again a generous recovery which would be like an easy run for most. I enjoy this training because it's encourages me to concentrate on my form etc more when I'm doing the faster bits.

Yeah exactly, that's what's great about the 400's & the 200's , there's a nice broad range to work with depending on how I'm feeling. Yes it's not boring & that's what drew me to it & I feel my form has benefited from it too. I suppose we all just need to find what works for us!

I know it's a mental amount of time but needs must🤣 Ah the recoveries in it are very generous so make it easier, I really enjoy the mix of different paces etc in the runs, keeps me interested & motivated 😊 You should defo look into it if you think it's something you'd be interested in🤗

The plan advises a slow and careful transition to the method which is what I am doing now . Volumes and intensity increase on a couple of days a week after you are fully adapted to the basic change of eliminating steady state running. After having Covid & my injury my main aim has been to get back running consistently & then to start adding in a bit of speed which is what I am currently doing.

Mon 18th - Rest

Tues 19th - 5*1k & strides

Weds 20th - 10*200's @6min off 45 secs, 2min rec, 6*200's EIM

Headed over to my usual spot for these. God the difference a much shorter recovery makes to this faster stuff. Once I got into it I was very happy to get them done as consistently as possible.

Thurs 21st - 6*1k

Fri 22nd - 8*400 EIM

Sat 23rd - Progression run - Brickfields parkrun

Set off for this with my OH & grandson. Got there a bit later than I expected so didn't really get enough of a warm up done. Started off quite comfortably & had decided to try take about 10secs off per km. Passed by my grandson playing on the slide & he was delighted to see me, gave me a big cheer, go nanna E , was very cute. Settled nicely fot the 1st 4 kms, but then the last one I just felt like I was slowing down by a lot! I had been nicely tucked in behind 3 fellas most of the way but 1 dropped behind & the other 2 took off so I was now running alone & feeling it. Unfortunately I think I gave up a bit too easily when it got tough so I will work on that going forward. Tried to sprint to the finish & to my delight I seen my grandson holding the bell ringing it for me! I had the biggest grin on my face. Glad to have gotten this done even though it didn't go exactly to plan but gave me a lot to think about.

Sun 24th - 15*200

Mon 25th - Rest

Tues 26th - 8k endurance run

Happy with this, felt strong enough.

Weds 27th - 2k@6:40/50, 2min rec, 400@6:30

Set off to the local park for this, again happy with how this went.

Thurs 28th - 10*400's

I did these at the lower end of the pace range & enjoyed how relaxed it felt but at the same time keeping my form good.

Friday 29th - 5*1k

Again these were to be done at the lower end of the HR & this also felt really good.

Sat 30th - 3*1k @6:30/35, 2min rec

Was a little apprehensive about this after last weeks PR but I needn't have been. I settled into a nice rhythm straight away & always felt strong. I was working hard at times for sure but it felt controlled so this was a really nice confidence booster for me.

Celebrated the success of this run with a few drinks at my cousins wedding with my mam. Got to watch Liverpool win yet again whilst sitting in the bar, what a time to be a Liverpool fan, Klopp is just brilliant, absolutely delighted to see him signing an extended contract, it's hard to see Man City slip up but we live in hope - YNWA ❤

Sun - 1st May - 16*200

Procrastination is an understatement for me waiting to head out for this🙈 Finally got my ass off the couch & went out. Defo think I could taste alcohol in my sweat👀 took it handy enough & stayed at the easier end of the paces.

Decided I needed a curer so headed out for dinner & a few drinks which lead to me actually staying out most of the night!! Was very happy to have a rest day today!

A huge well done to everyone who ran races this weekend, brilliant to see all the times come in on strava. A huge well done to @Swashbuckler for his amazing sub 3 marathon debut.

Tues 10th - Rest

Weds 11th - w/u, 10*400's, c/d

Got out for this after work & thankfully managed to avoid the rain. Nice steady reps.

Thurs 12th - w/u, 5*1k & 5 strides, c/d

Lunchtime run, humid but very windy especially coming back up the Katherine Tynan road. Happy with these. Listened to Sonia & Jarlath discussing mental resilience, something I have been working hard on over the last while.

Fri 13th - W/u, 15*200's? C/d

Headed out to the park for this. Seen S in the carpark so set off with him for my warm up, had a bit of a chat & left him as I went down the furze road to start my 200 reps. Always enjoy running in the park & today was no different. Love how controlled I feel doing these & how good my form feels when I pick up the pace. Met S as I finished & ran my cooldown with him, nice to have a bit of company for part of it. Set off home to prep for my sons Confirmation, it was a 6 oclock mass, thankfully it all went really well.

Sat 14th - w/u, 5*1k, 3 strides, c/d

Today was my son's confo meal so I got these done early. Nothing much to note about these, same route as usual. We had a lovely day just immediate family which was nice. Myself, my son & grandson left earlier than everyone else as it was getting a little overwhelming for them. We got home in time to see the penalties & watch Liverpool lift the FA cup. Penos are a horrible way to lose but happy it was Liverpool's day❤

Sun 15th - w/u, 8*400's, c/d

Chilled out for a while and headed out for this in the evening. Enjoyed it & was looking forward to racing Tuesday.

Mon 16th - Rest

Tues - 17th - Bob Heffernan 5k chip time 20:23

I'm not going to do my usual race report for this think I'll just make some observations but not promising it will be short🤣

Decided to do this a few weeks ago mainly to see where I'm at & if I can mentally run a 5k without giving up after my injury & covid!

Arrived in plenty of time to get my number, use the toilets then off for a warm up. Thankfully all the rain cleared up and it was a lovely bright evening. There was a lovely atmosphere, really soaked this up as i was starting to feel a bit nervous. I had no plan really,much to S's shock, I wanted to just see how I'd get on in an official race again. Looking back I really should have had a plan... let's call a spade a spade, the one thing I have learnt from all my 5k races is that I'm absolutely sh!t at pacing them! It's like my mind goes blank from every bit of advice I've ever been given & it's like I just panic at the start. Jogged up to the start line which was very congested. I was a good bit back but kept edging my way up. We were off, a lot of weaving & trying to get past people here. I looked down & my watch, I knew it was set to beep for eack KM rep. Looked down & it said 6 something, I panicked & thought how am I running 6min kms...This was my really stupid moment...if I had of really thought about it that would be a shuffle for me, but as i said panic set in & all sense out the window! I tried to bring it down more, before realising that I never changed the settings to actually display kms, it was still on miles🙈 A very silly mistake which was probably part of me not having a structured plan, I really should have checked all this, anyway the 1st rep beeped at 3:48...crap too fast, how was I going to last? The next 2 kms felt ok, eased off but still felt ok. My mind was in a good place thankgod, it got tough for the 4th but I never, ever felt like giving up! I reminded myself of why i was doing this, how good i felt on my training, how much confidence I had gained in the last couple of months & the most important part was how my mental strength had improved. Last km & I pushed on as much as I could, my legs & lumgs were screaming at this stage, if only I had paced better earlier? I stopped that thought & just focused on getting over that finish line! I seen the time & knew it was an official race PB but that I had done better in a previous TT. I didn't care, I was honestly so happy with finishing it out & in a decent time too.

Looking back, yes I should have had a plan in place & I really should have been more careful with making sure my watch etc was set up correctly. But I am going to take away the fact that I ran a 6:11 1st mile & was still able to run another 2 and a bit miles especially given the fact that when I did my 1mile TT in just under the 6 mins I had to lie on the grass in the PP & there's no way I could have kept running 🤣🤣

I still have a lot to learn about 5ks😉

Weds 18th - Recovery run

Up early for a little birthday run before heading away to a hotel for a couple of days.

Thurs 19th - rest

Fri 20th - w/u, 5*1k, c/d

Mad weather for this, enjoyed the 1st half as it was sunny then got absolutely soaked as it lashed rain!

Sat 21st - w/u, 3*1k@6:30/40, 90sec rec, 400@6min, 3min jog, c/d

A nice humid day for this. Set off for my 1st 1k rep & eased into the pace nicely. 90sec rec went quickly then set off for my 2nd rep, felt very controlled & relaxed but working hard. Felt my stride increase for these faster km reps. Again the 90 secs went by quickly, was now heading back up the KT road & the winds felt very strong, kept it consistent & controlled concentrating on my form too which made the efforts feel good,I was able to keep up at he upper end of the pace but was still within the target without it feeling way too hard. Enjoyed pushing on then for the 400 rep. Really happy with how this went.

Thanks a mill P, really appreciate the feedback. yep as they say practice makes perfect!