I failed to get out on New Year's Day due to being tired and a little hungover from the night before in Galway. So my 2013 running started back on the 2nd - still a day earlier than last year so already I'm up! Just managed a recovery paced run as I wanted to ease gently back into it. For some unknown reason the run failed to save onto the Garmin correctly...not a good omen for the new year!
Thursday, 3rd January - 9.0km Recovery run.
A similar run again with an extra km thrown in by coming home via the Crowne Plaza. These runs are feeling tougher than they should...was Christmas really that excessive??
Friday, 4th January - 9.0km Recovery run.
Yet another similar run. The legs were feeling a bit jaded and I seem to have developed a niggle on my left ankle which feels like a stress fracture even though I'd be pretty confident it's not seeing as the past month has been the lightest training month for a long time. Hopefully it goes away soon.
Saturday, 5th January - 5.0km Malahide Parkrun with 2km w/u & 4km c/d.
At last, a bit of variety. I went along to Malahide Castle for the weekly free 5km Parkrun. I raced the first one ever back in November but this was the first opportunity to return since. However, I intend to use this event as an LT session for the next few weeks to build up my speed again. For marathon running LT speed is more important than 5km race speed or VO2Max as explained over here.
Anyways, I did a couple of easy kms before waiting at the start line for a few mins before we began. I settled in about 2/3rds of the way down the pack to avoid the temptation of running too fast. The first mile saw me move through the field but all the while maintaining my pace in and around 4:30/km which equated to the late 150's bpm. The idea is to run just below the LT threshold which should make me more economical for longer runs. Any faster though and you lose this training outcome. Because I am just getting back into it this run was a bit up in the air with the HR on track but the pace a little slow to what I'd normally expect. In these circumstances however HR rules out and must be obeyed! With 1km to go there were a few people around me vying for position but I continued to hold back. I bargained with myself that I would allow myself a nice sprint finish over the final 100m as a reward. When the time came I had just lost a couple of positions but I really enjoyed the moment where I had a quick look over my shoulder to make sure there was room for me to pass outside another runner and then I dropped the hammer. In the space of that 100m I passed at least 10-12 more runners which allowed for a great feeling. Although, this was soon tempered when I saw my finishing time of 22:47. Even at LT pace I should be quicker than that!
I rounded everything out then with going for a 4km cool down run which even though was about 45secs slower pace was almost as tough as the race itself! I have a long way to come back to where I was in November!
Sunday, 6th January - 12.2km Easy Run.
I went to the Phoenix Park for this run and it was meant to be a Long Slow Run (LSR) but after a few kms that was never gonna happen. My ankle was still sore and the legs were just dead from the past few days. I reckon all these niggles are from such a quite December run-wise and a mini-shock to the system this week. Managed to get just over 12km in what corresponds with easy pace but felt a lot tougher. Debated going back out in the evening to top up with a few extra kms but decided against it in the end. No point in flogging the legs totally!
Week 1 Summary:
RTW: 5 from 6 days
DTW: 49.2km
DTY: 49.2km
Note:
RTW = Runs this week.
DTW = Distance this week.
DTY = Distance this year.
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