Back in the fast(-ish) lane!

And so, at long last, begins a proper new cycle of training. My immediate 5km/5mile plan is a Tempo run on Monday, Intervals/short race on Wednesdays, Parkruns/races at the weekend, with a medium long run on Friday afternoons and easy running rounding out the week. I hope to hit 4 runs a week at the minimum - any runs over and above that will be at Easy/Recovery pace. The main milestone for this block of training will be to hit sub 34 in Raheny 5 miler – That would be not far off PB territory. I’m sure I’ll re-examine the target closer to the date though.

Monday, 17th November 2014 - 6.5km Tempo: 20 mins (4:36/km)

My Mondays are going to be taken up with Tempo runs for the foreseeable future. They serve as a good tough way to start the week without being needlessly long. I figured some Mondays may be a struggle and an Interval session too much but likewise an easy run would set a weak precedent for the week ahead.

Anyways, the run itself went quite well. A lovely dry, mild evening with very little breeze. I did the usual 1km warm up to Ballymun Road before throwing myself into the faster stuff. I had somewhat arbitrarily decided that 4:40/km pace was around my Tempo pace and the idea was to hold it for 20 minutes before jogging home. The first km was slightly downhill but yet my body was still coming to terms with the speed so while I hit 4:33 for the lap it felt more difficult than I expected. Km2 was along Collins Avenue and was pretty flat, apart from a small rise towards the end. This registered at 4:35 and I was greeting into my rhythm now. The third km finished off Collins Avenue and stretched around the corner to the bottom of Santry. This was the flattest of all kms but tiredness was beginning to kick in now, yet I was still happy with a 4:36. My final full km was mostly uphill through Santry village and I expected the pace to slow right down here but I still managed a 4:40. I was definitely working harder than Tempo on this section but good to get it within target, even if it is just a rough pace! I continued on for another 250m before finishing up as I turned onto Santry Avenue before jogging the remaining 1.5km home as a cool down.

This was the first bit of properly quick training I have done for months and it was good to feel like I am now training towards some end goal again after all those weeks of treading water. I now need to focus-in and quantify my proper training thresholds in order to maximise my training going forward. I am definitely way off peak-fitness at the moment but would hope to see some good progression over 5km between now and the new year. I certainly want to get a parkrun in under 22 mins in the short term with sub 21 by Christmas hopefully. Then, come the new year I hope to be in with a shot at PB’ing (19:58) by February which would have me in a good starting point to begin ramping back up the distances.

I have also started the Kinetic Revolution 30 Day programme which is aimed at improving runner’s strength and flexibility. I’d been looking for something like this for a while so when it came to my attention I thought it’d be a good idea to incorporate it into my pre xmas training.

Day 1 included:

1. Hip Flexor stretches
2. Hamstring stretches
3. Adductor strength & stretching
4. Proprioceptive training comprising 3 different drills.

I think I will separate this element out into it’s own page over here so as not to dilute the running training too much.

Tuesday, 18th November 2014 - 6.5km Easy (5:33/km)

Just an easy run around the small Ballymun/Collins Avenue/Santry loop. Post run, I also completed day 2 of the Kinetic Revolution 30 Day programme. Similar to day one but a lower back bonus drill which I’m not sure was hugely effective. I will persist and see how it plays out anyway.

Wednesday, 19th November 2014 – 5.0km Raheny F4L 2 Mile Race (13:43)

A very wet evening where I nearly didn’t bother with this run but after consulting with my central governor (where I was told to HTFU!) I arrived in time for a 1.5km warm up. We were away by 8:07pm(!) and I fell into a rhythm that felt comfortable for about 500m before I started to realise the error of my ways! By the end of the first km I had eased out to 3:59/km so knew I was still going too quickly. At halfway a group of three steamed on past me, as if to emphasise how stupid my early pace had been! By the second km I was at 4:20/km and even this was feeling tough now. I just about managed to keep things ticking over at that pace for the remaining 1.25km to arrive home in 13:43. Before the race I’d set myself a goal of 13:30 and although I was a decent chunk away from it it still felt good to run fast. If nothing else it’s a marker and as the saying goes - “I am where I am!”.

Week 46 Summary:
RTW: 3 from 3 days
DTW: 18.0km
DTY: 2,368.3km