Migrating from Kayanos to Mizuno Wave Inspire 9s

Monday, 13th January 2014 – 11.9km Distance (5:22/km)

Today I received my new Mizunos today along with a pair of gloves and two pairs of socks so that should keep me going through the rest of the Winter!

New Mizuno Wave Inspire 9's

Met up with Anto again for this run. Was planning to take my first rest day in 15 days but decided a slow recovery run might be just as beneficial. The first km was rather nasty until the body loosened out and the remainder went fine. Didn’t look at the watch once on this run and just ran at a pace I was happy with, which turned out to be 5:22/km. Pleasantly surprised with the outcome and glad I ran it now.

Tuesday, 14th January 2014 – 16.8km Interval with 7km @ MTP - 4:33/km (Overall: 4:46/km)

I received my new pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 9s on Monday and decided to use them on this evening’s run. This was the second time I have looked to move away from the Kayanos (Due to their cost and weight) but my first effort with Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12s was far from a success! This is a pair that I had tried on back in Chicago 3 months ago and felt they were very comfortable. I managed to get these in an online sale for €90 along with a couple of other bits n pieces. As I put them on for the first time I noticed they were pretty firm around the edges so I threw on a second pair of socks to avoid too many friction issues. My first few steps around the apartment were comfortable but I was raring to get outside and truly test them.

As it was an MTP run I drove to the Coast Road and parked up beside the Elphin pub near Baldoyle. The plan was to run an out and back along the coast path from Sutton to the wind monument in Clontarf. The Southern direction was into a stiff wind which was creating its own challenge. I started off gradually but by the third km I was running at sub 5:00/km pace. I decided to keep this effort up all the way to the turnaround point (@ 9km) where I would then need to up further to 4:36/km. This resulted in more than a decent effort as far as halfway and my HR was around 147bpm for this section, so almost MP effort already!

Once I turned around it was noticeable that the wind was no longer an opposing factor. I knew I’d start to overheat when I upped the pace and with no breeze to cool me down I decided to discard my jacket and gloves under a tree for collection afterwards. I soon managed to hit the required pace and was very thankful I had ditched the jacket in no time. The pace was maintained around 4:33/km for the remainder of the 7km of MT Pace. Well, with the exception of the final km where I pushed the effort for the final 500m to come in at 4:23 for the full km. Just because I could really and shows that I was well in control by the finish.

The new runners were remarkably comfortable throughout and felt much, much lighter than the Kayanos which I never thought I’d notice as much. The footfall felt cleaner and the cushioning was top notch. I felt no niggles whatsoever either, and if anything was probably feeling a little less achy after the run! All in all a very successful run on both the hardware and the data front!

Wednesday, 15th January 2014 – 8.6km Distance (5:19/km)

One thing I failed to mention about the runners were a couple of friction points on my ankles, specifically the inside of the ankle joint on my left foot and just under the outside of the ankle on my right foot. I had worn two pairs of socks last night so I went with the same tactic again tonight. However even just walking around the apartment I could feel the chafing so I was prepared for a little irritation on the run.

When I got outside the plan was to do my MLR at about 4:50/km. I did an easy first km (5:20) and was about halfway through the first km at the faster pace when I decided ‘not tonight’! A combination of tired legs from last night, tender ankles, slight breeze and mental weakness led me to packing in the session to settle for an easy 5:19/km run instead. By the end of the run I was very happy with my decision as the legs were very heavy by that stage, still though I figure they benefited well from this recovery run.

Thursday, 16th January 2014 – 18.0km MLR (4:49/km)

This was last night’s postponed MLR run. It called for a tasty pace for a long duration so I was a bit anxious before I eventually headed out at 8pm. I needn’t have worried though as by the first few steps I could feel the benefit of yesterdays recovery run and was running much stronger from the beginning this evening. After a wam-up km the remainder managed to stay very close to my goal pace and although I was beginning to put in a bit more work over the closing 5km my HR still made for good reading. By the time I was finished this I was very happy with my evening’s work and feeling good after a disheartening run yesterday.

Splits for the MLR - Nice consistency across the board!

Also while on my run I had the first inkling of perhaps deferring the 24 hr race in Belfast to next Summer. The way I’m progressing I feel would deliver a good Summer of faster races and PBs with a shot of doing some real damage to the marathon PB in Autumn. If I persist with the 24hr race though it is likely to set me back for Autumn and there will be very few PBs arising over the Summer. I will wait until after Barcelona in March though before firming up any decision.

Week 2 Summary (so far):

RTW: 4 from 4 days

DTW: 55.3km

DTY: 236.0km

Year 2...

OK, I think that's enough of the New Year's references!!

Wednesday, 1st January 2014 – 13.0km Distance run (5:25/km)

I awoke to a raw throat and sniffly head this morning and when I looked out the window it was a pretty rotten morning so I debated the merits of running the 5k race. There was no way I would PB today (most likely would be about 40 seconds off PB if I was feeling 100%) and the fact that I had not pre-entered the race (meaning I would have to fork out €25 for the misery!) all resulted in me going for a recovery style Distance run in the park instead.

I was still unsure if I’d enter the race or not even while doing the first couple of kms (I had the entry fee in my pocket just in case!) but running South along Chesterfield Avenue cleared my mind and the strong wind present once and for all made my decision for me. As it was I ran by the start area and had a look out for familiar faces but could see none just yet. So I continued on for a lap of the US Ambassador’s residence/Papal Cross fields. I took this pretty handy as I had been made aware that the 5:00/km Distance pace I’d been targetting on my first few runs was unnecessarily quick. Something got lost in translation and I’d zoned in on hitting a target pace. Instead the plan actually calls for a flexible pace, one that the body is capable of on the day with the main focus being on recovery from tough sessions. So then, pretty much a recovery run as per P&D? Well yes, but with the flexibility to go as fast or as slow as you feel like whereas P&D was a bit more prescriptive about staying pretty slow.

I had returned to the race start area with about 5 mins remaining to the start. Again I failed to spot many people apat from Kate with whom I briefly chatted. I waited fro the field to start their race before continuing on my way for a few more kms. Before long I was back towards the Finish area and managed to catch the lead guys finishing in a great 2 man battle. This is something I rarely get to see as I’m usually further back in the race field istelf so it was entertaining. Afterwards I met Philip and a few of his Celbridge AC teammates who I met in Rotterdam. Also chatted with Medbh briefly before I took off for the closing 2km of my run. When I arrived back at my car I had managed to rack up 13km but it felt like nothing due to all the distractions of the race. Great to get it out of the way so early. As for the race itself, I think I definitely made the correct decision even if the weather got significantly more placid for the runners while they were on course.

Thursday, 2nd January 2014 - 21.4km MLR run (4:58/km)

The plan called for a MLR between 16km - 21km. The worrying part though was the pace required (4:50/km) as it would mean a tough run in what were tough conditions out there this evening. My thinking at the beginning was to warm-up with a few km at 5:00/km and then ramp it up til I hit 4:50 average pace. The reality though was that after 2km I turned Eastwards into the seabreeze and rain and this would continue in my face for the next 8km or so. By then I was happy to allow the conditions to claim 10secs/km so I maintained the pace in around 5:00/km for the duration of the run. Things felt good until the final 5km where I began to feel somewhat tired and it felt like a little extra work was required. But then I guess this is the part that improves us as runners! I upped the pace over the final 2.5km enough to result in an overall average moving pace of 4:58/km which I was very happy with as I went 400m over the upper end of the distance range. So, a very useful MLR which leads me into my LSR this Sunday. With a tempo to come on Saturday I feel like Monday’s Rest Day will not be messed with!

Friday, 3rd January 2014 - 11.9km Distance (5:28/km)

Just an easy 11.9km loop this evening to keep things ticking over. Kept the pace nice and relaxed with a mind to the tough two days to follow.

Saturday, 4th January 2014 - 11.9km MTP with 9km @ 4:34/km

This week asks for a MP run the day before the LSR. I presume this is as an introduction of what is to come next week when we combine the MTP kms into the LSR - Not looking forward to that!! Anyways, I went for the usual 'figure of 8' loop so the Southerly wind and the hills were always set against each other. The first few kms went well but by halfway I was beginning to feel it. Thankfully though I managed to maintain it all the way to the end of 9km, which was actually a little more than the upper limit of 40mins, so that's a good sign!

After the run I lay on the couch smugly watching the Gunners knock the stuffing out of a very poor Spurs team...what a day!

Sunday, 5th January 2014 - 24.6km LSR run (5:07/km)

Met up with Colm from Boards for this run in the Phoenix Park. We started off towards the canal but as we were about to turn left towards Blanch we saw that section was closed off, presumably from the recent wild weather. Instead we turned right, towards Phibsborough before turning around at the Des Kelly shop. We retraced our route for the most part back to the cars where we paused for a drink of water and to ditch our jackets. The day had started off poor enough but we were now pretty warm even if there was still quite a breeze in places.

We went back out tothrow in a large lap of the park and before long we were back at the cars again. I was done with my 24.5km but Colm went out for another loop. With the MTP run yeterday I was quite tired throughout today's run so was glad of the company. If left to my own devices I would surely have gone a bit slower out of mental laziness! As it was it rounded off a big week of training with almost 109km for the week with quite a lot of quality thrown in there too. 

Week 52 Summary (so far):

RTW: 7 from 7 days

DTW: 108.7km

DTY: 82.8km

Manulla 4 Mile race

Monday, 23rd December, 2013 - 12.2km Intervals 3x(800m/600m/600m) @ 5k pace (5:10/km)

Last weeks intervals were at MTP which I found quite straightforward. It was only later that evening that I discovered all future intervals would be quicker and therefore more difficult! This was the first of these sessions. Each rep consisted of 800m, 90 secs recovery, 600m, 90 secs recovery and 600m before a 4minute recovery in between each rep. The pace was 5k pace which I 'declared' to be between 4:00 and 4:10/km. Having not ran a fast 5k for a long time I knew my current pace was a bit off so I gave myself a decent range to hit.

Before the run I pre-programmed the session into my watch. Unfortunately due to it being my first 'workout' I ended up fiddling with the watch around 1km into my warm-up and accidentally set the session off! I hesitated for a second before realising I had no choice but to dive in and begin! As it turned out I managed the first rep ok - it felt tough but I hit my target ranges, however I wasn't exactly looking forward to the next two reps!

It was a very blustery evening to tie in with my quick session so when my second rep recorded intervals at 4:12, 4:19 & 4:09 I knew conditions were conspiring against me. The 4:19 was primarily uphill also. I was now really struggling to keep pace but given the last rep was mostly back on the flat I managed to eke out 4:10, 4:14 & 4:08.

So, overall a bit of a struggle but am hopeful the numbers will be much improved on a calmer day.

Tuesday, 24th December, 2013 - 6.5km Distance (5:10/km)
This was a short run to pick up my car after being out for a few beers the night before. I took advantage of the South Westerly wind and managed the final few kms at a decent clip. Glad the car wasn't much further away all the same!

Wednesday, 25th December, 2013 - 16.1km MLR (4:53/km)
Christmas Day down West brought a beautiful afternoon for running.I did my usual 10 mile route where I managed to hold a steady clip of 4:53 all the way around. Got a little bit tired around 7 miles but managed to up the effort again over the final 2 miles. Great run and set me up well for the Christmas dinner to follow!

Thursday, 26th December, 2013 - 7.6km Manulla 4 Mile Race (4:13/km)
The by-now traditional Manulla 4mile Stephen's Day race took place at noon at the local Soccer Club. Approximately 200 people turned out for this on what was again almost perfect conditions (a small amount of surface ice at one corner had to be carefully negotiated). I lined up about 3 rows back from the front and after a 10 minute delay for late registrations we were away.

This is a hilly route with about 7 short but steep hills of 10m or more dotted along the course so it's not exactly PB material. My first km came in at 3:57 which considering it included two of those hills was a bit fast so early. I kept a good pace for the next few kms, passing a handful but being passed by a couple of others. Over the course of the final 2 miles there wasn't much changing of places but I did get passed by a couple of guys going over the final hill. An indicator that although my pace was decent I don't have the required strength towards the end of short races yet - hopefully though that will come over the next few weeks.

I kept a decent rate over the final 400m to maintain a wide gap to the guy behind me and ended up coming across the finish line in 27:33 and 31st place. This was a 90sec improvement on last year when I ran even though I was pretty sick at the time. Quite happy at maintaining the 4:13/km pace over a hilly 6.5km course so looking forward to running the Tom Brennan over a flat course in the Phoenix Park next Wednesday.

Week 51 Summary (so far):

RTW: 4 from 4 days

DTW: 42.4 km

DTY: 3,784.9 km