"It's what you do next that counts"

Great to see you too D, you ran a great race. Bang on what you predicted when we were chatting.

The long undulating run on Monday didn't make sense to me after you raced the 5Km on Sunday. An easy few Km or a rest day would have been more appropriate, or else skipping the 5Km.

We have both suffered with PF so I know the guessing game that you are going through right now. When I do a session or a long run, it is followed by a rest day or a very easy short run. If I race, it is followed by a rest day. The heel will have suffered with the back to back intensity of a race and then stress of a long run.

A few easy days of very easy running will get the heel back on track for Rotterdam but imo ye can't mess around with the recovery of intense/long runs when dealing with PF.

If you are not injured do it, you never know what will happen between now and Valencia.

Thanks Murph, had a good laugh out loud there, you certainly do know my history and my wife would agree.

I'm thinking I'll one more long run a go when feeling a little more fresh and then make a call.

March 18th to 24th

Monday - Last weeks 20 miler, already discussed.

Tuesday - Legs still tired so got on the bike for a spin to Jonny foxes and back by stepaside, about 75 minutes.

Wednesday - Rest day but busy with athletics in primary school.

Thursday - My last Thursday work run. Mixed emotions, a great group and I'll miss them but also looking forward to concentrating on my own running.

Friday - 5 miles easy in the Boston 12s, not sure about them.

Saturday - Marlay Parkrun 19'34, fun morning racing against a few from my training group. Legs still a bit heavy but didn't stop me leading for first 500m, I was wondering where the hell was everyone. Then about 6 runners went by me and I could relax a little more. It definitely wasn't a max effort like Tallaght 5k but not far off.

Sunday - 10 miles with company, upto Bohernabreena reservoir and back.

Almost certain I won't be doing Rotterdam marathon, I've actually put my number up for sale through their website.

I'll race Berlin half instead the week before and then focus fully on getting my 5k down.

Thanks for all the input on the matter.

And 100 days of sweets, chocolate, jellies, biscuits, crisps, fizzy drinks etc and 90 days of some form of S&C every day.

Your in great shape, certainly short odds on a sub 90. Best of luck

During the summer I read over the last few pages of my log. I found it a frustrating read, some poor decision making and a complete lack of listening to my peers advice.

I was 29 when I first started this log, I'm now 46, and it's about time I started showing a bit of training maturity. If I can, I believe I still have PB potential over some race distances.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll always have a bit of impulsiveness, but I’ll do my best to keep it under control.

My medical issues with the stomach that first arose in Feb 2023 still linger but have become more manageable, well at least over the summer.

I've had a number of races since the start of the year but most were mediocre and some downright awful.

A few months back I came across James Copeland on the Dan Nash pod. He talked about his own training (Norwegian singles method) and it sounded like music to my ears, so I explored it further. Three sub threshold sessions a week, the work totaling about 25% of your weekly running volume, everything else was to be super easy, less than 70% of max HR.

Also at the same time I was running with the amazing ecoli once a week and I was lucky enough to have him write a program for me.

I followed the plan for a few weeks before heading to Portugal for 5 weeks. I continued to follow the plan but concentrated my paces more in the sub threshold bracket.

Before going to Portugal I ran 20:47 for 5k. The day after I returned home from my break, I ran 20:05 in Marlay.

The training has clearly worked. I'm now fully following the NSM plan and am starting to feel super strong. I was a little under the weather last week but all training paces are back in line.

I'm carrying some extra timber and finding it hard to shift.

I've got Charleville half this weekend, it's looking to be quite windy, so not expecting anything quick, an honest effort is all.

I have an entry for Valencia marathon and would love to beat 3:18. The log is to document the journey, keep me accountable and hopefully demonstrate some running maturity.

Have fun out there.

Charleville Half Marathon

We left Cashel at 8am and rolled into Charleville bang on 9am. The welcome? Fierce wind and driving rain. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t exactly excited for the challenge.

All week I’d been experimenting with an app called MeteoPace, which predicts likely finish times based on weather and course conditions. I inputted 1:34 as goal finish time, and it suggested 1:37. Seemed realistic given the forecast.

After a one mile warm up the rain cleared, the wind stayed stubborn. The plan was to race by heart rate, with HR lap splits written on my bib.

The course opened with a fast downhill first mile - 6:55 (4:18k pace), but the HR was where it should be, so no panic. The next three miles were also my quickest of the day (4:32k pace), more thanks to the profile than overcooking. I was passed by a fair few at this stage, but I figured I'd see some of them again.

Miles 8 and 9 offered rare shelter from the wind (4:37k pace), and my HR had a chance to settle. Mile 10 was my low point, legs like lead and breathing a little off, and my slowest split of the day (7:39 / 4:45k). Thankfully it didn’t last long and I started reeling people back in, massive mental boost.

The final mile is cruel, uphill with the wind straight in my face. I had no timer showing on my watch, but sensed I was close to my target. A shout out from my daughters with 400m to go was the spark to empty the tank, crossed the finish line and found a dry spot to lie down, spent 10 minutes gathering myself.

Finish time: 1:36:59

Three minutes quicker than Berlin back in April, and in conditions far worse. I feel like I nailed the pacing by effort strategy here, and possibly continuing the theme of maturity.

Huge thanks to ecoli for the training collaboration. With Rathfarnham 5K as the A goal, Charleville was the perfect secondary test, and I'm very happy with the performance.

Massive thank you to the organisers, a cracking day out.

Week starting September 8th

Monday - Tired body but not as bad as previous outings, 10k super easy around town.

Tuesday - Out early for 15k easy, pace 5'48 (AHR 131/188). Incredible running conditions.

Wednesday - Due to last week's race and a sub 20 5k attempt this coming Saturday, I decided one sub threshold session would be enough for the week but that I'd do 36 minutes instead of the usual 30 minutes. 4*9 minutes at 4'25-4'30ish pace. Legs were not feeling up to it and after 2 reps (4'26 &4'25) I could see the HR was a couple of beats over, so changed the last 2 reps to 6 minutes (4'22s). Solid session overall.

Thursday - Up early for 12k easy, pace 5'51k (AHR 129/188). Very enjoyable but tired, should have picked more of a flat route.

Friday - Another easy run and I was praying the body would feel a little fresher, and it did, tomorrow's blast was a go! 10k easy at 5'45k pace (AHR 132/188).

Saturday - Up to Dodder Valley Parkrun (DV) with a couple of friends. My goal was sub 20 and I was prepared to be aggressive but smart, and to give it everything. Marlay is our usual hunting ground but DV's course profile is more favourable if there's no wind.

A good solid warm up which included 4 minutes at threshold and some strides. Got myself right up the front and ran a 3'51 first k. The winner was long gone but there was a group of 3 forming in front of me, I really wanted to join them but they were going just a tad too quick and I think I would have blown up. They went on to run 19'22/31/40, so good decision in the end.

The rest of the run was a lonesome affair but I felt strong, next two k in 4'00 and 3'54. The first 3k is definitely the fast section. Kilometers 4 & 5 have a slight uphill and it's about hanging on to your gains and avoiding big leaks, km4 - 4'05.

17 minutes in and I check my watch, I appear to be slowing slightly and at 17 minutes I can be heard saying "Oh Fcuk" (I wore a new camera for the run) that was enough to get me going again and with a last spurt, the watch beeped 4'01.

19'51 finish time and a lot of retching, took me about 5 minutes to get my breathing back under control. I'm absolutely chuffed, it's been 17 months since my last sub 20, this has been long overdue.

Sunday - Group long run, great morning for it and legs felt great. 16k with a pace of 5'57 (AHR124/188).

Just shy of 86k for the week.