Tuesday 30 June 2015

Docklands 5k

Monday, June 15th: 15.1km MLR (5:23/km)
My first MLR of this training cycle. Kept it at a nice even steady rate. Added in a section of DCU park to raise the distance. Enkoyable run all round. Felt grand at the end.

Tuesday, June 16th: Rest Day
First rest day for over two weeks. Well deserved!

Wednesday, June 17th: 6.5km Easy (5:21/km)
Met up with John for this one. Just an easy run to tick over til tomorrow…

Thursday, June 18th: 7.5km Docklands 5km Race (20:06)
I arrived after work to collect our numbers and t-shirts only to be told they had ran out of everything but XS. Thankfully there was a sheet to scribble our names down and they promised to email us with an offer of a proper sized t-shirt in a few weeks.*

I went for a bit of a warm-up although the evening was beautifully sunny. There were a few concerns arising when I started to think it might get too hot for this evening’s race. Even more pressing than that was the hip injury that still has not gone away. Getting out of the car I could really feel it but mercifully the bit of a warm-up managed to alleviate most of the pain.

After meeting Roisin briefly we then went to our respective parts of the crowd. I jumped a barrier (Hip was so sore that even raising the leg over this was pretty touch and go!) and settled in a few rows from the front, about 2 rows behind the sub 20 pacer. There was about a 10 minute wait for the Gardai to rid the course of the few remaining cars but nobody really cared that much.

We were away before most people even knew it! Almost immediately there was a natural narrowing in the road which managed to funnel people through and create space once out the far side of the junction. I looked up and noticed the pacers were about 30m in front of me already!! Still though I was happy with how I was moving so I just stuck to my own pace until over the bridge.

As we turned down the North Quays the wind was now on our backs, and after 200m I noticed I was beginning to ever so slightly close the gap on the Sub 20 bus. This gave me plenty of confidence to keep on at the right pace all along the quays to the turnaround at the 3 Arena. Not long after this I got a shout out from R as she was coming the opposite way. The breeze was now once more in our faces but this made it easier than when it was on our backs.

As we crossed the bridge for the second (and final) time we lost the cooling breeze again. Instantly I could sense my body’s core temperature increase! Things were literally heating up now with just under a mile remaining. A quick glance at my watch told me my average for the first 4km was under 20min pace, yet the pacers never got that much closer to me! The final 500m was a real sufferfest and when I heard the watch beep for 5km with still a fair distance to go I realised that it might prove a few metres too long for me tonight. And so it proved as I crossed the line in 20:06 by my watch. The 20min split was 19:52 but seeing as the course distance always overrules the Garmin distance I’ll just have to grin and bear it! Still though, I was very happy with the performance considering I was contemplating not running it at all beforehand given the hip situation.

A few minutes cooling down and Roisin arrived home in a time of 24:40 – smashing her PB and the 25min barrier in the process! A happy pair all round!

Docklands 5k – 20:06.
* I was emailed about a week later with an update with which I was very happy.

Friday, June 19th: 5.6km Easy (5:28/km)
Just a few easy miles to recover from last night.

Saturday, June 20th: 7.0km Easy (5:15/km)
Still feeling a little jaded from Thursday’s race so took it easy once again.

Myself and Roisin hit the Phoenix Park for this one. However, seeing as our paces are about a minute in the difference we instantly went our separate ways for our runs. The LSR last week went very well and I was reasonably fresh afterwards, however this was a different kettle of fish! Conditions were muggier and with the race still in my legs the run was far less enjoyable. I ended up 1.3km short of goal distance, beaten mentally even more than physically! There was quite a stiff breeze on display and I really felt it with my MP kms at the end. The effort was more 10km than MP! When I returned to the car I discovered Roisin also struggled a little bit today so I guess just one to write-off and go again next week. Still, far from a disaster, I guess!

Week Summary:
RTW: 6 from 7 days
DTW: 66.4km
DTY: 1,335.8km

16 Weeks to Berlin...

Monday, June 8th: 7.4km Steady (4:56/km)
Fell into a swift pace on this one and just decided to go with it.

Tuesday, June 9th: 9.7km Recovery (5:55/km)
Myself and Roisin went down onto the Coast Road for a Tempo session for her. Worked out as an easy run for myself though.Nothing much else to report.

Wednesday, June 10th: 13.0km Steady (4:57/km)
I kind of fell into running this one faster than intended but it felt good so I just went with it. A good decent midweek run. A little tired afterwards.

Thursday, June 11th: 9.5km Steady (4:58/km)
Ran this at lunchtime with a workmate (Colm). I panned on just a very easy run but somehow managed to get caught up in a run with a similar pace as yesterday. This left me panned in the evening and so I gave the local 800m race in CH a miss.

Friday, June 12th: 5.0km Recovery (5:33/km)
After two days of pretty fast steady runs I was too tired this afternoon to contemplate a long run. Instead just postponed it til tomorrow and did a very easy 5km recovery.

Big run of the week. Felt much more energetic after yesterday’s recovery. So, pretty confident heading into this one and the weather was perfect for it. Both myself and Roisin were due to be out for about 2hrs 10min for our runs but we were not expecting to see each other en route. Target was 5:45/km for the slower stuff but I was hitting 5:30 or faster and just couldn’t slow down! Completed one large loop of the park and then it was soon time for the faster stuff. First km was a bit difficult to hold pace at 4:45/km but once I was about ten mins into it I got the hang of things. Ended up doing 6 faster kms @ an average pace of 4:40/km. Very happy with this run and feeling confident in general.

Sunday, June 14th: 5.2km Recovery (6:20/km)
Very slow and easy 5km. Not fit for any more!

Looking back on the runs this week there were definitely too many faster miles! Need more self- discipline to keep the hard days hard, and the easy days easy!

Week Summary:
RTW: 7 from 7 days
DTW: 74.2km
DTY: 1,269.4km

Tuesday 16 June 2015

Focus on Berlin begins!

Monday, June 1st: 15.5km Easy (6:16/km)
Still in Tyrone so I joined Roisin for her LSR. Very windy for this one and I was bloody freezing throughout. All this on the 1st of June???!!

Tuesday, June 2nd: 6.4km Easy (5:20/km)
Met up with John for an easy run after his marathon on Sunday. Thought it would be a very gentle pace but he ended up pushing it, obviously still living on a high since the race!

Wednesday, June 3rd: 8.5km Steady run (Around 5:05/km)
Forgot my watch for this run during lunchtime at work. Kinda guessing the pace but happy it was a good steady run regardless.

Thursday, June 4th: 9.8km Recovery (6:00/km)
Neither myself nor Roisin were interested in a club session this evening so we went for a leisurely run instead. Having said that I'm not convinced we both found it equally as leisurable!

Big run of the week. This is the first Berlin-focused run in my plan. After 29km last weekend I knew a more structured 22km should be very doable. Then to add some quality I threw in a 5km segment towards the end at MP. From my current race results MP (via McMillan) is currently at 4:45/km. This felt quite achievable and seeing as I have struggled with upping the pace for these type of MP runs in the past I expected 5km would again be a manageable duration.

Parked the car near the Catleknock entrance of the Phoenix Park and did one large loop before arriving back to the car with 10.5km on the watch. Thankfully I was able to change my t-shirt here from a long sleeve to a short sleeve and this made things much easier in the warmth of the afternoon. Continued on with a loop of the Furze triangle before starting the 5km MP section at the top of Chesterfield Ave. The first 3km were slightly downhill with the wind at my back and as one might expect this was relatively straightforward. After the turn at the zoo I was slightly uphill up the North Road but at least the wind was mainly blocked by the trees in the zoo. So, all completed with just a cool down of 3km left back to the car. Job done! I am planning on keeping an element of MP kms in most of my LSRs so this was a good confidence building start. Plan is to improve race results which will then lead to a reduction in MP so that I will probably train mostly at 4:40/km for those segments.

Saturday, June 6th: 5.4km Hartstown Parkrun (21:29)
I was out for a few drinks last night and that combined with the after effects of my LSR yesterday and the strong winds this morning I knew there would be no PBs today for me! Instead I ran a comfortably hard race and finished in 21:29. The wind made things tougher than planned though so I was very happy to be finished!

Sunday, June 7th: 9.0km Recovery (6:18/km)
Just an easy recovery run with Roisin on the second half of her LSR. I was wearing the softer Ravennas and felt surprisingly comfortable.

Week Summary:
RTW: 7 from 7 days
DTW: 76.6km
DTY: 1,195.2km

Monday 15 June 2015

Dunboyne 5 miler

Monday, May 25th: 7.4km Steady (5:08/km)
A good steady run around Collins Avenue. Can’t really remember anything about it though!

Arrived quite close to the wire for this race so just about managed to get registered before jogging down to the race start and using that as my warmup. A beautiful evening and a great turnout. I was hoping to go better than Terenure here but doubted I’d be bothering the 34min barrier. As it turns out everything went brilliantly with a very fast course and perfect weather bringing me home in 33:52. Extremely pleased with that and only about 15 seconds off the PB! Speaking to a few people afterwards and almost everyone seemed to run a great race. Definitely do this one again next year!

Wednesday, May 27th: 6.5km Easy Run (5:16/km)
I went for this run right after yoga in the gym. Hated pretty much every minute of it though as the legs had been overworked and as a result it felt like I was just falling forward. Strangely it ended up as a fastish pace. Definitely did not enjoy this and calling it an easy run is a bit of a misnomer!

Thursday, May 28th: 5.0km CH: 2.5Mile race (16:29)
This evening’s race took place in the grounds of Malahide Castle and was ran in a handicap system. There was a good turnout of nearly 60 racers and I was positioned about halfway through the crowd. The intention was for the slower runners to start first with everyone else delayed by a certain time period so that in theory the fastest will have caught the slowest (and everyone else) by the finish line to give one massive photo finish! Of course things never work out like that but I was thinking the trail towards the end come become very busy!
Myself and two others started approximately 7 minutes and 15 seconds after the first racer. Through the first 300m we three were pretty level but I started to open a little gap as we turned into the forest away from the golf course. The female runner then joined me and we paced off each other pretty well for the next while before she dropped back a little around the halfway mark.

We were now passing lots of runners that we’d caught up to and the pathway was just beginning to get a little crowded. Not long after this point I passed Roisin who was having her own battle with those around her. Then, thankfully, we arrived out of the trees with just a few hundred metres remaining. At this stage one or two of the really fast guys came charging past in the last ditch sprint for home. At this point I got nabbed by the girl that started with me too – She was putting in a serious sprint down the last 100m and after Tuesday I just had no kick left. I kept on however and passed a handful more people before crossing the finish in 16:29 and 13th place.

Pretty happy with my finishing position but was hoping for a faster time. I guess several issues were at play here including some tiredness from Dunboyne as well as possibly a slightly long course through the trails and paths. Thankfully though, the congestion on the paths never really became too much of an issue for me. A very enjoyable evening once we got started!

Friday, May 29th: Rest Day
Feeling a bit jaded today so opted for a rest day.

Saturday, May 30th: 28.9km Fartlek (5:25/km)
For my long run I headed down to Donadea Forest to join in with Anto and his 100km race for a few loops. I missed the turnoff coming from Maynooth so my detour through Clane meant that I was a few mins late arriving. No worry though as I met the peloton shortly after they started and joined in to a nice easy 5:45/km pace with them. The loop was 7km which included an out and back section of 1km each way. In what was lovely weather I had a great time doing a few early quicker kms (‘running’ an errand for Anto) followed by a couple of slower loops before finishing with a fast loop. By the time I returned to the car I was just shy of 29km, so well pleased with that. One of those runs where I reckon I could have managed the full 42.2km if I so desired. Mind you, even with the benefit of 45 mins in the local gym’s jacuzzi I was still pretty tired that night.

Sunday, May 31st: Rest Day
Yesterday definitely took a good bit out of me. So, given the fact we were in Tyrone, we took a trip to watch the latter parts of the Derry marathon, meaning another rest day was definitely the smart option!

Week Summary:
RTW: 5 from 7 days
DTW: 58.8km
DTY: 1,118.6km

Tuesday 9 June 2015

Bob Heffernan 5k

Monday, May 18th: 5.0km Easy (5:37/km)
Don’t remember much about this run to be honest and looking at the pace it was just an easy run to tie me over for tomorrow’s race…

Down in Wexford today for a meeting so it was a long drive back directly to Enfield for this race. Arrived around 7:25pm, so managed to get registered in time to go for a very short chat with a few of the guys and then a nice trot down to the start line brought it up to 2km.

It was a lovely evening for it and after a few minutes of a wait we were marched from a side road onto the main road to the official start line. This helped ease out the congestion somewhat and once we started there was a little freedom. However, I had positioned myself too far back so it still meant meandering around slower runners before hitting my proper rhythm about 500m into the race. There was a slight headwind for the first km before we turned a sharp left hander onto a backroad. Thankfully though the wind was light enough not to make a difference really, especially at the start.
Photo courtesy of Peter Mooney
Kept on with a good pace for another few minutes before the heavens opened with a shower of hail that lasted for about 4 minutes. The body language utterly changed from feeling good to miserable in the space of a few steps! Thankfully once it finished it was perfect from there to the finish. In the final km I was beginning to struggle a little bit but then so were most of those around me. Once I was up and over the short humpback bridge it was time to leg it for the final 500m or so. A small chicane as we entered the car park and over the line in a time of 20:22(gun time). I was very happy with that. I ran 19:58 (watch time) here two years ago and that stands as my current PB, so the hope is to break through that over the next few weeks before concentrating on the longer stuff for Berlin.

Km Splits: 3:57, 4:00, 4:08, 4:12, 4:01.

Wednesday, May 20th: 7.4km Recovery (6:06/km)
Went out for a slow recovery around the small loop with Roisin this evening. Legs feeling very well after last night’s race.

Thursday, May 21st: CH: 5.4km 1 Mile Race (5:58)
The club held a 1 mile race on the track this evening. The crowd was sub divided into four races with the heats getting progressively quicker. I positioned myself into the third group as I was optimistically aiming for between 5:50 – 6:00. As it turns out I was quite happy with a run of 5:58. I only ever ran one mile race before and that was a 5:50 in the Raheny Winter League 18 months ago. Getting there slowly!

Friday, May 22nd: 11.9km Easy (5:42/km)
Another easy paced run to keep ticking over after the race last night. Nothing much to report. Met with Anto and we did a few loops in Albert College Park in DCU.

Saturday, May 23rd: 9.8km Steady (5:14/km)
Had a fair bit of wine last night so I wasn’t at all sure how this was going to go today but to my complete amazement I managed a steady pace that felt pretty effortless! I was wearing a new pair of runners that I assumed was the main reason but I’ll have to see it happen again to confirm if they are indeed ‘super-runners’!

Did a similar type run as Friday but with Roisin rather than Anto this time. Nice way to round off the week.

Week Summary:
RTW: 7 from 7 days
DTW: 58.7km
DTY: 1,059.8km