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Comic Book Guy wrote: »I knew your training looked very familiar seeing GA and endurance on Strava.
Super block of base building done.
Enjoy the 10k Plan, those Tuesday sessions are tough but really sharpen ya up.
Thanks J. I've taken a look at the midweek sessions and they look manageable enough on paper. No doubt as overall load increases week-on-week these will start to look very different.Well done on the training. I can't wait for racing to resume and watch the results. There is quite a group of ye of similar age who will be really close together. Fun times ahead
Thanks S. Hopefully I'm close to where I was for Bohermeen last year. I've been surprised by how quickly the fitness seems to have returned.Nice one. Terrific progress. Good luck with the 10k focus.
Thanks D. Looking forward to it. My 10k PB is probably the softest at the moment; Strava gave me a(n unofficial) 10k PB in the middle of the Bohermeen half last March.
That said, the 10k focus is somewhat secondary. I'd intended focusing on 5k, but the 10k plan has longer "long runs" so is hopefully a better fit for moving on to marathon training. It also helps that the plan has two 5k tune-up races before the 10k, so I'll be able to have a tilt at my 5k PB as well.0 -
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🎤🎤 Hello, is this thing on? Can anyone hear me?
It appears that I've been somewhat remiss in my log updates for the last while...
So what's been happening?
I've been tipping along for the most part and have managed to complete a couple of marathons since March 2021.
2021
The first of those was the Thoroughbred Marathon on the October Bank Holiday weekend in 2021, in a time of 4:07, when I mostly fell apart.
I started from a low enough base of about 25 miles per week and topped out at 45 miles. This was a fairly basic marathon training block and there was only 1-2 runs of anything more than marathon pace, and even then the MP runs were fairly sparse.
2022
The second was DCM 2022, which I completed in a time of 3:54, thankfully without falling apart.
One thing that I'd become aware of was that I'd struggled with niggles (more than usual) since lockdown kicked in in 2020. The only/main difference in my daily routine was that cycling was pretty much removed from my daily routine, even if most of the cycling was just a total of 4-5 miles Monday to Friday commuting.
Based on this, I started reintroducing cycling into my weekly routine in the form of cross-training. I also joined a gym and started doing a bit of swimming once or twice a week.
For this marathon block, I was starting from an even lower base running-wise. Week one I only ran 15 miles, made up of 3 separate 5 miles runs. The plan topped out at a similar distance to the previous year, at 44 miles. The main difference between the two marathon blocks in 2021 and 2022 was the cross-training.
This'd probably be easier to read as a table, but I've no idea how to do that with the "new" boards :D
2022 DCM Sample Week
Monday
- Swim (1-2k)
Tuesday
- Easy run (5-8m) - sometimes with MP or faster
Wednesday
- Cycle (25-30m)
Thursday
- Easy run (5-8 miles)
Friday
- Stretching / Yoga
- Swim (0.25-0.5k)
Saturday
- Easy run (6-7m)
- Cycle (20-25m)
Sunday
- Long run
- Cycle (10m)
2023
So, since then I've continued building, using lots of cross-training. I've added in S&C on Mondays alongside the swimming.
Thoroughbred Half Marathon
I signed up for the Thoroughbred half marathon on June 18th this year and was happy with how that went, 1:34:59 in warm and muggy conditions. It's still a long was from my PB of 1:29:01 from Bohermeen 2020, but faster than the Dublin HM (1:36:38) before my marathon debut (and still fastest) in 2019.
This training block also included by second fastest 5k (by one second), at 19:43 a couple of weeks before the HM.
DCM 2023
This is day 2 of DCM training and I've yet to run.
At this stage, I've been using cycling and cross-training successfully for over a year and believe that it's really helped with my various niggles, so I'm sticking with that.
I'm coming from a much bigger & better base this year, with the cross-training well bedded into my routine and the S&C adding strength. Hopefully I can train well and target a PB in October.
The plan is "loosely" based on P&D plan, with at least one of the runs replaced with cycling and more cross-training thrown in as well. I've used P&D/L plans before and have found them good, so hopefully this hybrid will work as well.
Plan for first 6 weeks
Anyhoo, thanks for reading. Hopefully regular updates are something I can successfully add back into my routine.
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So, week one of marathon training for DCM completed.
As outlined above, the plan is a 'self-modified' version of the P&D (up to 55 miles) plan. The main change is that one easy run midweek has been replaced with a cycle, some addition cycling has bene added at the weekends and I've also added S&C and swimming on Mondays.
Everything this week went mostly to plan.
Monday: S&C and a 1k swim (mixed strokes)
Nothing much to report here. Fairly sure I've an issue with my right deltoid (shoulder), which makes one of the upper body exercises uncomfortable. It's definitely not core to the workout, so I'll probably just skip that from now on. It's either that or go to a physio :)
Tuesday: The plan called for 8 miles, with 4 @ hmp. I mapped out a nice route that had net downhill for the 4 miles @ hmp and then promptly reversed the route completely. This resulted in the chunky part of the run being net uphill and mostly into the wind. I've no problem with that though, you can't choose the direction that the wind will blow come race day, so best to get used to these things during training.
I setup the watch with a pace target of 7:05 - 7:20 for the hmp miles, after the recent Thoroughbred HM came in at about 7:14. It was muggy enough and I was starting to feel fatigued by the end, but was happy to see the HR track afterwards, which was pretty much spot on for me.
Wednesday: Went for a spin on the bike on Wednesday morning with A, out the coast from Clontarf to Sutton and back. Total nearly 17 miles.
Thursday: Thursday was an general aerobic / easy run of 9 miles, but probably longer than I'm used to midweek from the recent HM plan. Out via Tolka Valley park and then down into the PP and back home. It's unusual for me to find myself in the PP these days on a weekday morning, so was really nice to see so many runners about, but even more so seeing so many cycling on their commutes into town.
Avg pace: 8:41 per mile
Friday: Friday is meant to have a yoga / bodyflex class, but went for a couple of pints instead.
Saturday: The plan called for 4 miles recovery, so I cycled to Poppintree parkrun. When I got there that plan was soon superseded by the 'don't get lapped' plan, when I saw that Catherina McKiernan was toeing the line. She finished in a time of 18:36 without lapping me. I've no doubt that she's devastated now reading this. I finished in 23:45. Definitely not recovery pace, or anything close to it, but not flat out either. Added the extra 0.9 to bring the total up to the planned 4 miles.
Avg pace: 8:09 per mile
After parkrun, I added a longer loop on the bike, out via the N2 and back through Saint Margaret's to bring my cycling total for the day to just over the planned 20 miles.
Sunday: The plan called for 12 miles endurance, so I cycled over to the PP with A in the morning, only to realise when I arrived at the visitors centre, that I'd no lock with me. There was no chance that I was leaving the bike unlocked, so I linked back up with A and we cycled home together.
After some lunch and the first of the GAA double header, I mapped out an alternate route starting from home. This was similar to Thursdays route, but with a few more miles in the PP. The route meant that it was net uphill and into the breeze for the first half and (hopefully) plain sailing for the second.
I'm sure that the route played a large part, but this was definitely a confidence booster.
The week
I'm definitely happy with how the week went. Both of the harder days, with the HMP session on Tuesday and the Endurance on Sunday, went well and the paces were at least where I'd like them to be at this early stage of marathon training.
It looks like I'll be moving things around both this week and next though, due to personal commitments. That said, I should be able to get all of the important runs in without compromising anything else.
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2023-07-24 - 2023-07-30
Monday S&C & 1k swim
Tuesday 9 miles with 5 @ HMP / LT
I'd been taking a look at the P&D plan over the weekend and discovered that the sessions that I've written as HMP are actually meant to be @ LT, which they (P&D) describe as between 15k and HM pace. (Waits for @skyblue46 to make a Roy Keane comment).
My paces for the 2 similar sessions so far in the plan came in slightly faster than my HM pace from Kildare in mid-June and the HR averages were in the upper quarter of the prescribed band, so I guess I'm still in the right area.
That all sounds well and good, but I still had to get out and put the work in.
This felt a lot tougher than the efforts in the previous weeks and it's shown in both the paces and the HR. I've also been feeling bloated for a few days. Time to get the diet in check...unlikely to happen.
Happy afterwards that I got it done, as there was definitely a voice in the dark shadows urging me to knock it on the head from after the first mile.
According to the P&D book, my LT HR band (based on 77%-84% HRR) falls between 144 and 159. It was good to see that I was dialed into the correct effort levels HR-wise, excepting the final mile, which was borne more of frustration than anything else.
Wednesday 20 mile virtual cycle
I didn't really fancy heading outdoors for this and the bike was already in the same room as the turbo, so I connected it up and off I went. I generally use one of the robopacers (D Bernie) on Zwift, which keeps me at an even effort for the most part. All was going well until halfway through when I realised that I hadn't started Spotify. By the time I'd sorted that (30 seconds while still cycling) the robopacer was off down the road on a big downhill. I briefly tried to close the gap, but it wasn't happening and my HR was well above where I'd like it to be, so I eased off and just wheeled it in.
What's funny, or not, is that the max level that my HR reached would be standard for me cycling outdoors and I'd think nothing of it. I'd also generally be a few k an hour slower outdoors.
Thursday 10 miles general aerobic - Avg: 9:04 per mile @ 134 bpm
Not sure what to say about this; pace down and HR up, as has been the general theme for this week.
I'm starting to wonder if I've picked something up. My resting HR was up on Thursday, but that wasn't unexpected as I'd a couple of pints with dinner on Wednesday, but it hadn't returned to normal by Friday. I also noticed the my overnight HRV was down in Wednesday and Thursday nights.
Hopefully it's nothing and I'll be back on track for the MP long run on Sunday. Either way, next week is a much anticipated step-back week, so it'll give the body a chance to recover and adapt.
Friday Yoga
Saturday 5 miles recovery - pacing 29 minutes at St Anne's parkrun, 20 miles cycle
Sunday 16 miles with 10 @ marathon effort
The last MP effort was 13 with 8 @ MP, which I ran on the Waterford Greenway on a net downhill with the wind at my back. No such luxuries were afforded with the route in and around the Phoenix Park this time round.
Cycled down to park early (for me). As I was passing a zoo there was a big group gathering and I thought I saw Sonia O'Sullivan. I realised it was the Irishman Running Abroad group, so kept an eye out for @Laineyfrecks and gave her a shout out.
The run itself went well. The first half of the MP miles were net downhill with the wind at my back, so the paces were good and the HR under control. The final four miles were on a more undulating route, starting from the city end of the park and up along the S bends and up onto the Acres. I was definitely tiring by the final mile or so, but overall felt good. Finished the run shuffling up the North Road, before unlocking the bike and cycling home.
The week in review
This was a big week in the plan, with the midweek HMP session and the MP long run. I wasn't feeling 100% midweek, but by Sunday I was back to myself for the main event.
- Running: 39.1 miles
- Cycling: 45.25 miles
- Swimming: 1k
- S&C: 1 session
Next week
This week is a bit of a step back week to let the body recover and adapt. It's definitely needed. Massage booked for Wednesday afternoon as well, which should help.
Post edited by mister paul on7 -
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2023-07-31 - 2023-08-06
Finally a step back week with a PT visit thrown in for good measure.
Monday 1k swim (planned), 0.75k actual
I was feeling fresher than usual for the swim, mainly because I hadn't done an S&C session beforehand.
Tuesday 8 miles easy with 10 strides (Avg. pace: 8:32 including strides, Avg. HR: 130)
Legs were a bit achey on this one, but nothing that would concern me. Right foot got a bit sore during the second half for a bit.
Wednesday 15 miles cycle (planned), 3.8 mile (actual)
I decided that the cycle up to the PT and home again was enough for the day.
Thursday 8 miles easy (Avg. page: 8:41, Avg. HR: 127)
Legs feeling better after the PT on Wednesday.
Friday 15 mile cycle
Wednesday was pretty much a rest day with the PT visit, so when A suggested a morning cycle, I jumped at the chance.
Lovely spin up the coast towards Howth and back again.
Saturday 5 miles easy
Saturday was one of those days that could go either way, after a night out on Friday with the wine flowing freely.
In the end, the run happened and much wine was sweated out, but the planned 20 mile cycle was knocked on the head.
Sunday 21 mile cycle (indoor) + 12 miles medium-long run
We'd been invited out to A's folks in North Kildare for dinner on Sunday afternoon, so my day was planned around that.
Woke naturally and finalised my plans. Attached the bike up to the turbo for an hour in the back room. Still no doors open as the second fledgling gull is still kicking around and if the door is open he'll become cat food. Poor Zahra, nearly two weeks indoors now to keep the terrible twins out of trouble.
Went with an hour, hoping for a bit over 20 miles in total. I pushed on for the final quarter, to bring me up to over 40 miles for the week.
Next was breakfast with A and some TV, before getting ready for my run. Choose a route into the docklands and back out along the Grand Canal all the way to the 12th lock at Adamstown. They say you can't choose the weather for your marathon, but you can sign up for one where the route isn't uphill into the prevailing wind. Anyhoo, the hill along the canal aren't steep by any means and a bit of wind and rain into your face are character building.
Part of me would have preferred to run along the Royal Canal, as I'd be walking along that from Leixlip Louisa Bridge to Maynooth on Monday, on a walk that started (for me) in Lucan. The full walk is nine days from The Spire in Dublin to Knock in aid of Mary's Meals. Fair play to all of those taking in the full route.
Back to the run itself, there's nothing much to report really. There was a bit of rain around Portobello but thankfully it dried out after that and neither the breeze nor the uphill nature of the run were too much of a challenge. Finished the 12 miles just short of the 12th lock, where A collected me and we headed out to her folks for dinner (and more wine).
The week in review
A much needed step-back week. A few aches and pains, so need to get on top of the stretching. A reminded me during the week that last year I'd included a fair bit of foam rolling, so I think it's time to dust that off and reinstate it to the proper place in my schedule (while watching crap TV in the evening).
Next week
New week, new training block.
Looking at the schedule for this week and it definitely looks to be a step up from the last block. It starts with a 10 miler, with 5 at hmp, followed on Thursday by 11 miles MRL (progression) and the long run on Sunday is 18 miles. Like the midweek run this will also be a progression stopping a bit short of marathon pace/HR.
The overall training block will be fairly mixed up with a few trips (both work and pleasure) planned. Hopefully it won't impact too much on the plan overall and I can get the miles in without negatively impacting on things.
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2023-08-14 - 2023-08-20
Monday
S&C, 1k swim
There seems to be an increasing number of broken machines in the gym every week, so didn't get everything done.
The 1k swim was 4 x 250mt - freestyle, breaststroke, freestyle x 2
Tuesday
4 mile easy with 4 strides
I'd originally planned on swapping the week around and moving everything forward a day, so that I could enjoy the Ireland v England match on Saturday evening. After much thought about it on Monday, I decided to reset (mostly). What's the point in getting the long run out of the way on Saturday so that you can enjoy the evening, if you then fall asleep halfway through.
Wednesday
AM: 12 mile medium long run
So, with the week back to it's original structure, the MLR became an early Wednesday run. And what a morning for it. Not too warm with a nice cooling breeze. I'm sure that helped keep the HR under wraps, but I'm starting to feel stronger again after whatever hit me a couple of weeks ago.
- Miles 1-3 - Avg. Pace: 8:37 - Avg. HR: 125 - Elev: +9mt
- Miles 4-6 - Avg. Pace: 8:27 - Avg. HR: 133 - Elev: +20mt
- Miles 7-9 - Avg. Pace: 7:47 - Avg. HR: 138 - Elev: -13mt
- Miles 10-12 - Avg. Pace: 7:35 - Avg. HR: 143 - Elev: -8mt
PM: 20 mile cycle (Zwift)
Thursday
Rest
Friday
10 miles with 6 @ half-marathon effort.
I really wasn't feeling the love for this beforehand, as I'd been feeling a bit bloated throughout the day and didn't get out until after work. The bloated feeling persisted throughout the HMP effort, but thankfully didn't progress into anything more sinister. Took a minute standing in Albert College after the HMP miles were completed to undertake a controlled deflation.
As the session was after work, I missed out on the usual yoga/bodyflex class, although I'm not sure I would have made it anyway, as by the end of the run Storm Betty was starting to kick off.
Saturday
Cycled over to Tolka Valley parkrun to support the Sanctuary Runners, who were visiting from nearby Poppintree to help celebrate Tolka Valleys 200th event. Took the parkrun at an easy pace and cycled straight home afterwards. Thankfully I'd taken my old mountain bike / tank instead of the road bike, as it was much better at handling all the broken branches on Griffith Avenue.
Sunday
AM: The first 20 miler of the block.
Got up and out a bit before 10 in the morning, after a couple of slices of toast, a berocca and a cappuccino. It was possibly a bit too much to take on 15-20 minutes before a run and I could feel them all for the first mile or so. I took in a route out the coast by Clontarf before hitting the Baldoyle Greenway and then back inland and heading towards home. This went better than the 18 miler last week, in that I felt stronger during the closing miles and the pace didn't drop as much. I took 4 gels in total, after 4, 8, 12 and 16 miles. The first of these set the tone as I got stopped at a road crossing as I hit the 4 mile mark. Thus it seemed ok to stop briefly for every gel. I've no issues with taking the gels on the go, but just decided on the day to give myself a small rest each time. There were a couple of other small stops to check that I was on the right route.
PM: 16.7 mile cycle (indoor)
The legs felt tired starting off here, but by halfway through they were feeling better. I chose a fairly flat route and never pushed the effort levels, keeping it well in the recovery zone with an average power output of 87W.
The week in review
Another good week.
- Swimming: 1k
- Running: 49.4m
- Cycling: 45.8m
Next week
We've visitors over on Saturday evening, so I'll probably move the MP session forward from Sunday to Saturday morning. Other than that, everything else should be as per plan.
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2023-08-21 - 2023-08-27
Monday
Rest
We a family dinner for my niece who was back from the UK for a few days. Priorities.
Tuesday
6 miles (10k) easy / recovery - Avg. pace 8:45 @ 125 Avg. HR (134 max)
First thing to note, I'm pretty much incapable of running either 3 or 6 miles. I always round them up to 5/10k, even though kilometres aren't a real thing.
I generally aim to keep recovery miles below 130 HR. P&D have my recovery zone maxing out at 135 (70% HRR), so this run was nicely inside that. The average was probably lower due to road crossings, etc.
Wednesday
14.1 mile medium-long run - Avg. pace: 8:04 @ 135 Avg. HR (148 max)
Another "great" midweek medium-long run around the Phoenix Park. I say "great", but it was more the pace that was great. I'm really starting to feel the monotony of all the miles in marathon training and questioning why I'm doing it. I guess that all part and parcel of training for a marathon.
The run itself was split into 4 equals blocks of 3.5 miles, targeting a HR of 130 -> 135 -> 140 -> 145 for each of the blocks. Again going by P&D, I should be maxing these run out at 146 HR.
Sometimes I just don't understand running. Both long runs the last weekends (18 & 20 miles) have averaged 8:24 and 8:25 pace, whereas the midweek medium-long runs (12 & 14 miles) have averaged 8:07 an 8:04 pace. Essentially they're both targeting the same HR from 130 -> 145, so I'd presume that the average paces for both should be roughly equivalent. Maybe the extra time on feet at lower HR for the longer runs means that I'm not fully getting the benefit of the higher HR target in the latter stages, due to HR drift as fatigue sets in.
Thursday
Cycling: 15.45 & 7.9 miles
Out to the mammy's house post-work to cut the grass.
Friday
Not a rest day.
Run: 3.11 miles (see previous note on 3m vs 5k), Avg. pace: 8:41 @ 119* Avg. HR (131 max) - * Road crossings probably brought this down a smidge.
Felt like the legs needed a bit of a run out before the
SundaySaturday MP session, so headed out for a short recovery runch.Saturday
16 miles with 12 @ MP
Cycled down to the PP and locked the bike at the visitors centre, which was a lot busier than usual due to the Triathlon event taking place. That was restricted to a small part of Chesterfield Road and the south-side of the park, meaning that I could use a 4(ish) mile loop on the "zoo" side for this.
Two miles warmup around the back of the polo ground and turning back up the North Road before getting into the MP miles. The MP start uphill and into a stiff enough breeze. Back across Odd Lamps Road and up Chesterfield before turning back down the North Road. Then back across the Odd Lamps Road and down Chesterfield and around the back of the polo grounds again. A nice figure-8 of sorts.
Paces started well and the HR was nicely under control, but by the end of the first lap, I was starting to feel it and having to convince myself that I could do this. It was warm and fairly humid, which probably didn't help matters. After the first lap there was a much appreciated rain shower, which helped keep me cool. I took a gel after each of the laps, so after 4 and 8 of the MP miles.
The main reason for using a loop like this was to give me a better indication of how I'm maintaining effort levels as I go through the MP miles. The routes for the two previous MP sessions had made it more difficult to properly gauge, due to gradient and other factors, such as wind direction. 3 laps of 4 miles gave me a basis for comparison.
As can be seen from the above table, the paces got consistently slower after the first few miles. Miles 1-2 in each block were uphill and into the breeze, with the second half of each block much more favourable.
The averages for each of the 3 laps was 7:33, 7:53 and 7:59. It really leaves me questioning where I am wrt target pace/time for DCM, which is one of the main things I was hoping to get from this approach.
There's another MP session in another 4 weeks, so I guess I'll see how that goes and make a call at that point.
Sunday
Saturday evening consisted of steak, red wine and beer.
Went for an hour on the turbo / Zwift, keeping the HR low. Managed 16.2 miles in the hour despite keeping the HR to a max of 104 and an average of 96.
Headed out for a short recovery run afterwards.
4.1 miles recovery - Avg. pace: 8:56 @ 125 Avg. HR (134 max)
The legs definitely felt better after this one than before it.
The week in review
The week went well, with the only exception being the most important session of the week. As I noted during the week, my midweek progression runs are going much better than the equivalent (longer) efforts at the weekend, with the being a 20 second per-mile average differential. Maybe there's something different in my approach between the two.
Next week
This week (and the two after that) is going to be somewhat disrupted by life taking over. I should hopefully get all runs in, although there'll definitely be some juggling required. The cycling on the other hand is likely to fall by the wayside. I'll try to find replacements where possible, be that increasing the overall running mileage or cross-training and/or adding in extra stretching (I'm thinking Myrtl Routine here).
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2023-09-11 - 2023-09-17
Monday
Physio visit.
Nothing much to report thankfully; a small Achilles strain, but nothing major. I've been advised to drop the VO2Max sessions and one day of running, which means only 3 days of running a week. I'm really not sure about dropping another day of running and replacing it with another cycle, so will listen to the body.
Tuesday
5k recovery. Avg. Pace: 8:37, Avg, HR: 124.
Calf was grand.
Followed it up with a 10 hour flight.
Wednesday
10k morning run in Seattle. First 0.25 mile was down a steep hill and the run finished back up the hill. Lower calf still good despite the route, but calves a bit tight generally. No real surprise after the flight. Avg. Pace: 9:05, Avg, HR: 129.
Thursday
A busy day of meetings, so had a limited window to get out afterwards.
Used the same route as Wednesday, with a couple of miles added.
Calf still feeling good. Went with a bit of a progression run to test it out. This included using the final hill for "hill sprints".
8.75 miles in total. Avg. Pace: 8:35, Avg. HR: 135.
Friday
Rest
Saturday
17 miles long run. Again, no calf issues.
Out the door first thing in the morning, running on empty. This went well, other than numerous stops to check my route (and some photo stops). I should really add the routes to my Garmin to make things easier for myself. A well as a few fairly steep hills, there were a couple of flights of stairs thrown in for good measure.
The day got warmer as this went on and it got more difficult to keep the HR under wraps. The lower average will be as a result of all the stops.
A big thanks to @ReeReeG for suggesting a route around Lake Union. It allowed me to see so much more of the city than I would have otherwise.
Avg. Pace: 8:32, Avg. HR: 130
Sunday
Flight home.
The week in review
I'm really happy with how this week went. I started out worried about the calf, but I've hardy noticed it since the physio visit. That said, I'm not going to take anything for granted, so the VO2Max sessions will either be undertaken on a bike or replaced with something slower.
Next week
Back to reality.
* Any errors or omissions should be attributed to jetlag.
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2023-09-18 - 2023-09-24
Monday
Rest. I didn't arrive home from the airport until well after midday, so took it easy enough for the remainder of the day.
Tuesday
A great nights sleep on Monday night meant that I was rearing to go...after work.
I setup a route on onthegomap.com and then imported it into Garmin, to test out the course function after all the route checking stops on my long run in Seattle on Saturday. It worked much better than I remember from previous attempts to use it.
Using the course function meant that the default screen on the watch during the run was the map. I didn't bother changing it and just ran by feel, which thankfully seems to have worked for the most part.
Total: 9.01 miles, Avg. pace: 8:30, Avg. HR: 132.
Wednesday
An early morning recovery run with @aquinn , the best type of run.
Total: 3.12 miles, Avg. page: 9:55, Avg. HR: 114.
PM: Zwift session: 10 min WU, 3 x [3 min @ 160w, 3 min @ 180w, 3 min @ 200w] with 9 minute recovery @ 100w, 5 min CD
Damn that was tough. Haven't done any sessions on the turbo before but with needing to replace some running sessions in the next few weeks to take pressure off the Achilles this is now the alternative.
Thursday
Rest day...
Short cycle for an appointment and to the gym later in the evening for a total of just over 6 miles.
Added an easy swim in the evening of 1k - 2 x 250mt freestyle, 250mt breaststroke and 250mt back crawl.
Friday
Another early morning run, this time solo. A little bit cold starting out but a beautiful morning for a run. The run itself was a 12 mile medium long run (progression). I took one of my usual routes, out through Tolka Valley Park and into the Phoenix Park. Ran the trails along the Castleknock side of the park, back along Furze Road and down Chesterfield. Finished along the North Circular to Phibsboro and homewards from there.
Total: 12.01 miles, Avg. pace: 8:06, Avg. HR: 136.
Saturday
We decided on Friday that on some parkrun tourism would be good and eventually agreed on Dodder Valley as neither of us had been there before. It turned out to be a good decision. It's a nice two lap course, a short lap on a longer second lap that crosses over and back the Dodder.
Not for the first time recently, it turned out that I was unknowingly pacing A. The pacing gig only really started after 3k and was apparently a success.
Total: 3.11 miles, Avg. page: 8:21, Avg. HR: 129.
Sunday
One of the big ones in the training plan; 18 miles with 14 at marathon effort.
I cycled down to the Phoenix Park for this one and got going shortly before 10. As I was starting out from the visitors centre I passed @Ferris B , who was finishing up a great run himself. Ran two miles down the North Road before getting into the MP miles around the back of the zoo and turning back up Chesterfield.
I was only a mile into it when the demons started; far too early. It wasn't that I was struggling in any way, shape or form. It was more that I was questioning why I was running in the first place. Thankfully by the end of the second mile along Acres Road they'd mostly dissipated. Up along Military Road to Chesterfield, out of the park and back along Conyngham Road into the War Memorial Gardens along the Liffey.
After that the route got a bit more challenging, back into the park and up the Upper Glen Road before a brief respite around the Furze / Ordinance Survey Road. No sign of @Laineyfrecks looping around here singing to herself. I'd say she was well finished by the time I got there.
Then I left the park again for one final hill, up Tower Road to Castleknock. This mile was definitely the toughest and I struggled to keep the HR under wraps. Crested the hill around Castleknock College and the HR very slowly decreased after that. The final couple of miles were back down into the park and along the North Road towards the zoo. This was mostly into the wind, but at this stage I knew that the hard work was done. That didn't stop the right glute from complaining a bit, but it eased quickly once I'd dropped to an easier pace. Finished off with 2+ miles easy back up Chesterfield to the visitors centre.
I took two gels, one after 8 miles and the second after 12. I noticed, not for the first time, that my HR seems to increase by a 2-3 BPM for a minute or two after taking a gel. Maybe it's just the extra effort and stress of trying to do two things at once.
To me, the pace/HR/elevation stats are suggestive that maybe I'm lacking some strength on the hills and I need to possibly reign myself back a bit on the hills to better keep the HR under control. Would be interested in getting some input there from those with more running knowledge.
All in all a good run on an honest route.
The week in review
Definitely happy with how the week went and particularly with the Sunday MP run. There's still a couple of weeks before taper and another 20 miler in a fortnight to navigate, but I'm starting to feel that I can do this.
I'm mostly happy that I've decided on an MP for DCM now. his run came in pretty much where I expected it to, with the only small worries being my strength going up hills, and the HR drift and whether it's suggesting that I'm pushing things a slight bit.
Next week
This week should ideally have a tune-up race of ~10 miles on the Saturday, with a gruelling 17 miler the next day. I'll be skipping this for the second time out of two this week, as I feel that I'm getting enough from the training without adding the extra stresses of racing onto my body and mind.
The VO2Max session will be done on the bike / turbo again this week, but overall running mileage should be close enough to originally planned.
Stats
This week
- Run: 45.5m
- Cycle: 36.5m
- Swim: 1k
- S&C: ❌
- Yoga: ✔️
This Month
- Run: 128.7m
- Cycle: 56.75m
Year to Date
- Run: 1246m
- Cycle: 1391m
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2023-09-25 - 2023-10-01
Another week of moving workouts around.
Monday
Managed to get up to the gym for S&C for the first time in about a month. I'd somehow hurt my right thumb / hand the day before moving position on a sofa, so stuck to the lower body exercises.
- Seated leg curls (single leg)
- Leg extension (single leg)
- Leg press (single leg)
- Adductor
- Abductor
Followed that up with 1k freestyle in the pool.
Tuesday
An easy pre work loop of Tolka Valley Park and back along the canal. Nothing much to report here, other than the light rain.
Total: 8.01 miles, Avg. page: 8:33, Avg. HR: 130.
PM (Lunch): V̇RT - V̇O2 max Replacement Therapy. Back on the turbo for this one, with 6 x 2 minute intervals targeting increasing wattage with 3 minute recovery between them.
Zwift session: 10 min WU, 6 x [2 min @ 160-190w, 3 min @ 105w], 5 min CD
Wednesday
Struggled to drag myself out of the bed for this one, even though I knew that Storm Agnes was incoming. Eventually got going shortly after 7.
The plan was 4 blocks of 3 miles each, targeting a max. HR of 130/135/140/145. For the route, I'd decided to head in the opposite direction to my usual runs, out towards Clontarf, up the coast to Raheny and back home inland.
Not a huge amount to report on the run itself, other than half a mile of so into a roaring gale out towards the Wooden Bridge, it went well. There was definitely a lot of fatigue present in the legs and on occasion I found the effort levels dropping. At times it was a bit of a struggle to increase the effort levels again, but managed it. While I may have struggled to maintain the effort levels, there was no issues maintaining pace, as can be seen below.
Pace wise, the final block came in well inside the pace that I'll be targeting come marathon day. It's one of those strange ones, but I'm finding that the "shorter" medium long runs are coming in with quicker paces than the longer ones, and are generally inside my marathon target pace on the final block, despite targeting a lower HR.
Thursday
Rest
Friday
Rest. I'm not going to count the 2 hour walking tour in which I covered 1.3 miles. 😁
Saturday
17 mile long run (progression).
I'd things to do on Saturday evening, so was unlikely to be able for this on Sunday.
Got up and out the door to run up to St Anne's parkrun. Then up the coast before doing an about turn @ 10 miles and heading back home along the coast and Griffith Avenue. The run itself went grand, although I was starting to feel the miles during the final miles. That said, the effort levels were where I'd expect them to be, and even if the last 3 miles were a similar pace to the previous block, that was more due to the (slightly) uphill route for those miles.
I'd a few minutes break after parkrun to get my barcode scanned and to say hi to a few people, before I headed back out on the road.
The targets for each block were split as follows:
- Miles 1-3 - max. 130BPM
- Miles 4-7 - max. 134BPM
- Miles 8-10 - max. 138BPM
- Miles 11-14 - max. 142BPM
- Miles 15-17 - max. 146BPM
Total: 17.26 miles, Avg. pace: 8:08, Avg. HR.: 135.
Sunday
6.2 miles when we got back from our night away in the midlands. Just glad I managed to get out and get this one done after all the festivities on Saturday night and the afternoon drive back to Dublin.
Total: 6.22 miles, Avg. pace: 8:48, Avg. HR.: 129.
The week in review
Another mostly good, restructured week due to work and personal commitments. That said, the cycling mileage continues to take a hit, so this is something I need to look at to see if I can get it back on track.
This week
- Run: 43.5m
- Cycle: 34.5m
- Swim: 1k
- S&C: ✔️
- Yoga: ❌
September
- Run: 166m
- Cycle: 91m
Year to Date
- Run: 1290m
- Cycle: 1426m
Next week
There may actually be no need to restructure anything this week, which will be the first for a while.
This is the last big week before taper, and can't be underestimated. Sunday sees the final 20 miler of the training plan, but the week is about more than just that one run. I need to stick to the plan as much as possible to ensure that I get as much benefit as possible from the earlier runs and cycles.
The long run will also be used as a dress rehearsal for three weeks later; gels, kit, etc.
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2023-10-02 - 2023-10-08
The final "big week" of DCM training, culminating in my last 20 miler on Sunday.
Monday
Cycled up to the gym after work for S&C and swim.
Did both lower and upper body S&C this week, but then got bored of swimming so called it at 750 metres instead of the usual 1k.
Mostly freewheeled back down the hill home to my pizza delivery.
Tuesday
Early morning 7 mile loop around Griffith Avenue, Artane, Beaumont and back through DCU and Albert College Park. Cool enough breeze this morning, which meant that the long sleeve top over my t-shirt lasted the whole 7 miles for once. It's unusual for it to last more than 1 mile. Winter is coming!
Total: 7.0 miles, Avg. pace: 8:37, Avg. HR: 128.
PM: Zwift session(s) post work. Double session because Zwift Hub/Companion/App had a **** fit and stopped talking to each other, after multiple reboots of all to get them talking in the first place.
- 3.64 miles @ 19.1 mi/h & 1.19 w/kg
- 10.05 miles @ 20.1 mi/h & 1.41 w/kg
My upper right calf was niggling a bit both in the early part of the run and during the cycle...
Wednesday
Nada. Calf niggle.
Thursday
Right calf still not right. Physio visit in the afternoon...thankfully nothing of note. The was just a tight calf which was causing pain in the tendon just below the knee. Calf eased out and all seems to be well.
Friday
Back at it, after spending the evening celebrating our wedding anniversary the evening before.
An afternoon run. Headed out the coast at Clontarf and then back into the wind, as if the hangover wasn't making it tough enough.
Total: 12 miles, Avg. pace: 8:57, Avg. HR: 136.
Saturday
Moving swiftly on...
I volunteered at St Anne's parkrun on Saturday morning, so about a 4 mile cycle each way.
Total: 7.95 miles
Hopped on the turbo in the afternoon between two rugby matches.
Total: 15.10 miles @ 20.1 mi/h & 1.71 w/kg
Sunday
The final long run before reaching taper town.
I cycled down to the Phoenix Park as I often do for these runs, getting there just in time to see the FIRST EVER public bus service departing from the Visitor Centre. What a time to be alive!
That's about as good as it got (unsurprisingly).
The run itself was a 20 miles progression, which I split into 6 blocks: 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 3 miles, each block targeting 3 BPM higher than the last.
The bad
- Garmin gave me an "execution" score of 66% - meaning that my HR was higher than target for at least 30% of the time.
- There was very little progression in pace; in fact the slowest blocks were 1, 5 & 6.
The good
- I kept going despite the frustration of slowing paces.
- The legs only started to feel fatigued during the final 1.5 miles.
- Monday morning and no ill effects.
The "mitigation"
- It was warm and muggy, and got warmer throughout the run.
- The similar (progression, albeit shorter) run on Friday and 25+ miles cycling on Saturday meant that I was fatigued going into this.
- The alcohol intake on Thursday possibly still having an impact.
- I possibly (probably) didn't drink enough water during the run, my small bottle was still half full after the 20 miles and I downed many pints of water throughout the day afterwards.
Cycled back home afterwards, and noticed that other than a couple of grumbles from a few muscles initially, the body felt good.
Spent the afternoon watching more rugby with a "break" to build a shelf in the shed from some random pieces of wood that were lying around.
The week in review
Not the best week from the outside looking in. That said, I'll stop short of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I need to get nutrition back under control, as this has gone to shite the last month or so, not helped by all of the travel, etc.
This week
- Run: 39.04m
- Cycle: 51.27m
- Swim: 750mt
- S&C: ✔️
- Yoga: ❌
October
- Run: 45.3m
- Cycle: 51.3m
Year to Date
- Run: 1,329m
- Cycle: 1,477m
Next week
The
tapirtaper starts here!
Time to get the mind and body in check; to refocus on the task at hand. I've put in a lot of good training over the last while and I need to make sure that it's not in vain.
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2023-10-16 - 2023-10-22
A question to start the week. I'd been chatting to @Murph_D about my plans for marathon day, heading out at the back of wave 1 with the 3:30 pacers, slowly pulling away from them (7:53-55 for first 7 miles) and then upping the pace a bit if all was going well (7:45-7:50). This plan was quickly torn apart when he mentioned that the 3:30 pacers are at the front of wave 2 and not the back of wave 1.
So, the question is, should I head out at the back of wave 1 and watch everyone disappearing into the distance, or should I wait for wave 2 make use of the pace group...try to slowly pull away from them?
My thoughts at the moment are to head out at the front of wave 2. This has the added benefit that I should have easy access to loos as I'm waiting around. I did this last year and although there was some waiting around, being able to use the loos without there being a massive queue was really handy.
Monday (catchup) - 16 miles long run
Post work long run along the canal and into the PP just as the last of the evenings light was fading.
The first 8 miles were up along the canal and through Castleknock. This first half was definitely a chore and the demons were kicking off, lamenting my recent lack of progress and fitness. Once again on a progression run my paces seemed to be going the wrong way.
Then it was down Whites Road and into the park and a partial Lainey Loop later I was bouncing along merrily across Acres Road. Note to self, next time bring the head torch. Other than that the second half of the run was really confidence building.
Tuesday - 5 miles easy (Lunch)
An easy local loop at lunchtime. Nothing much to report. The legs were possibly feeling the 16 miler from the evening before early on, but all good generally.
Wednesday - 0.75k Swim
30 lengths of the pool. This was meant to be relaxing, but the pool was really busy and a lot of the other swimmers completely ignored the slow/fast lane signs and dawdled about/chatted/swam 1min lengths in the fast lane/...
Thursday - 6.2 miles easy (Lunch), Tempo cycle
Lunch time run around the block. Nothing much to report, but had to alter my choice of runner for this one when I went to put on the first pair...
It seems that I last wore this pair nearly a month ago.
On the run itself, my HR has been a bit higher for the same paces recently, not sure if I've a bit of a cold; watch has my resting HR up and my HRV down since the weekend.
Friday - 6.2 miles easy (Lunch)
A very different day from yesterday; torrential rain instead of a warm sun. Still, at least I got it out of the way early enough based on the forecast for the rest of the evening.
All felt good, although my HR is still a bit up. That said, the effort levels still feel easy.
Saturday - 10 mile Turbo / Zwift cycle
An easy cycle on the turbo.
Sunday - 12 miles medium long run
Had a couple of things to do in Swords, so ran up there and back. Another run of two halves, first half mostly uphill and the second back down. Wore the Saucony Screw (Ride) 15 and no issues encountered.
The resting HR and HRV are both back to normal thankfully, so it seems (fingers crossed) that whatever was there has worked its way out of my system.
The week in review
Happy with how the week went. With the 16 miler pushed out to Monday, I cut a few miles out of the week and also a cycle.
Weekly totals
- Run: 45.5m*
- Cycle: 24.9m
- Swim: 750mt
- S&C (None): ✔️
- Yoga: ❌
* The postponed 16 miler makes the mileage for the week look way above where it should be, but I'm happy enough that I'm managing the taper well.
Next week
This is the one we've all been waiting for: DCM '23
I'm pretty much decided on my race strategy for the first half of the race and will finalise things as the week progresses.
There are some niggling concerns around whether I can hold the pace, mainly due to the large variation in average pace for some of my medium/long runs and particularly the lack of pace progression in some of them. On the other side of that, the 18 miler with 14 @ MP (effort) is what I'm trying to focus on, as in many ways it's the most indicative run of the block and it's in line with my target.
I suppose we'll find out on Sunday morning either way.
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