Help the aged!

Monday, 15th December 2014 – Rest day

Had today off work but being busy today as well as hungover from last night meant I failed to get out for a run.

Tuesday, 16th December 2014 – Rest day

Still very tired and, even more depressed by the weather, so I just lay on the couch all evening!

Wednesday, 17th December 2014 – Rest day

Tonsils were swollen all day at work so I made the mature decision to stay in and allow myself to recover.

Thursday, 18th December 2014 – Rest day

Ended up painting a few walls in my apartment with the intention of going out afterwards but by the time I was done it was 10:30pm and my window of opportunity had passed.

Friday, 19th December 2014 – 7.4km Easy (5:39/km)

After four ‘rest days’ in a row I just had to get out for a run this afternoon. I intended on doing the 12km loop but about 200m before I was due to turn right and start the extra loop I felt a pain in the outside of my right knee. I gave myself until the turn to make a call on it and seeing as I was due to run St Anne’s Parkrun the following morning I decided I should err on the side of caution and turned left for home instead. Of course, 500m later the pain had subsided again but I was all too happy to continue on home!

Saturday, 20th December 2014 – 9.4km St. Anne's Parkrun (4:22/km)

I had promised Denis (Whom I met at the Berlin marathon) that I would pace/run with him in an effort to help him beat his PB of 22:05 in this morning’s St. Anne’s parkrun in Raheny. Seeing as my recent form has been just sub 22 I was confident we’d both manage it.

I ‘ran’ into him during his warmup and we managed 2km before the race started. I met Mark & Colm as well as Anne & Anna, who were also on the Berlin trip in September. A quick hello to RD Jamie and we were off to the start line. Myself and Denis tucked in a few rows back with about 30 people ahead of us. In no time we were on our way. Our starting position appeared perfectly planned as by 50m we were out of any congestion from the mass start. At this point Denis mentioned he’d be conserving all his energy for running and that I’d not be hearing much chat from him for the remainder of the run. I muttered something back to suggest I’d be doing likewise!

We passed several people in the opening km and as we reached the back straight my watch beeped for the first km at 4:20 – right on target! Then 30m later Denis’s watch beeped and immediately I wondered which was the most correct?! We continued on regardless and hit 4:22 for the second km and things were still on track. As we went through halfway I was expecting the time to be approximately 10:55 and as we passed 10:57 was called out. It was definitely tougher than comfortable at this stage and as we went around the corner over the start line Denis mentioned this was the place where he usually found it toughest. With the wind direction the way it was Today would be no different so we just kept on plugging away through the third km split which was 4:28. At this point I was slightly wary that sub 22 might be a struggle and when we went through the fourth km in 4:35 I tried justifying the split by alluding to the tree coverage and the into the wind run down the back straight. I didn’t say too much about these dodgy splits to Denis though as I knew the final 900m would be quick as it is perfectly flat and downwind. So with about 800m left to go I suggested to him that if he had anything left now was the time to push on. The response back was that he was already just hanging on so I knew I had a bit of work to do yet. We targeted a guy just in front and once Denis heard this I saw an immediate quickening of his pace. With 400m to go I was now paying for own my lethargic week and I was struggling to stick with him. With 50m to go we passed Denis’ family and spurred on by that he gained a few metres on me to cross the line in 21:49, with me 2 secs back. He’d just completed his clean sweep of PBs for the year!

It was only afterwards that he mentioned he wasn’t looking at his watch all race at all but simply placed full faith in me to lead him around. I think if I’d known that I’d have been nervous on the fourth km! Anyways, job done and an easy 2km cool down jog back to the car. I’d almost totally overlooked my New PB* of one second!

Sunday, 21st December 2014 – Rest day

I was out last night enjoying the merry festivities of the season so was fit for nothing today! Very poor week running wise, I’m gonna have to get back on track next week when I’ll have more spare time for stuff!

Week 50 Summary:
RTW: 2 from 7 days
DTW: 16.8km
DTY: 2,470.1km

*Post hamstring injury!

Continued progress

Monday, 8th December 2014 – 8.0km Tempo: 30 mins @ 4:40/km

Another Tempo night. This was a repeat of last Monday’s 30 min @ 4:40 session. Everything went pretty well. I decided there was no point in going any further than 30 mins at Tempo at this stage as I’m only training for 5kms. My plan is to hopefully see improvements in HR efficiency over the next few weeks by doing similar runs at similar pace/distance. Once it has settled down I will drop the pace to 4:35/km before once more waiting for HR to get more economical.

Tuesday, 9th December 2014 – Rest day

Took a rest day and enjoyed the Gunners thumping Galatasaray!

Wednesday, 10th December 2014 – 6.3km Raheny F4L 3 Mile Race (20:42)

Back to Raheny for my first 3 Mile race of the League. With it being so close to 5km I decided to aim for a sub 21min time. Started off quite reserved and could feel the benefit of this by the first km split where I was holding 4:13 even though the target pace was 4:20/km. I was still feeling very strong so the next split was 4:18 gave me confidence to get a good time. Third and Fourth splits were 4:16 & 4:19 so I was very confident in the run in to the finish as a 4:07 pace brought me home in 20:42. This gave me great assurance that the training is paying off and I hope to be in the ballpark of a sub 21 5k pretty soon.

Thursday, 11th December 2014 – 7.4km Steady (5:06/km)

Met Anto after work for this run and after 2km we realised we were both trying to keep up with the other, hence the slightly faster pace. We kept with it regardless. A good run and feeling well after last night.

Friday, 12th December 2014 – 7.4km Easy (5:25/km)

An easy run around the regular loop in advance of my office xmas party this evening.

Saturday, 13th December 2014 – Rest Day

Out for my work office party last night and was in a heap all day. Needless to say it became a rest day.

Sunday, 14th December 2014 – 7.4km Easy (5:50/km)

A very relaxed jog to get the legs turning over. Nothing more.

Week 49 Summary:
RTW: 5 from 7 days
DTW: 36.5km
DTY: 2,453.3km

Back to reality

Monday, 1st December 2014 – 8.0km Tempo: 30 mins @ 4:40/km

Tempo night. This evening it was a 30 min @ 4:40 session. Even though I have ramped up fairly quickly to half an hour I still found this to be slightly tough but in the main quite manageable. A couple of splits were a few seconds slow due to incline and drop in concentration. When reviewing my data I was surprised to see the HR was lower than last Thursday’s session. I took this to be a good thing until I viewed a much faster tempo session from back in March where the HR was much lower again. Just more proof that I’m quite a bit off where I want to be! Overall, a good quality session.

Tuesday, 2nd December 2014 – 7.4km Easy (5:30/km)

Easy local run.

Wednesday, 3rd December 2014 – 5.4km Raheny F4L 2 Mile Race (13:23)

Back to Raheny for the Winter League. I missed the first event last week but back for this two mile race. Went out a bit handier than two weeks ago so I found it more comfortable and didn’t really start suffering until about 700m to go. Went through halfway in 6:37 so all things considered 13:23 wasn’t too bad. Slowly getting there. Hope to be comfortably sub 13mins by the time the next 2 miler comes around in the new year (21st Jan).

Thursday, 4th December 2014 – Rest day

Opted for a rest day to recover from last night’s effort.

Friday, 5th December 2014 – 7.4km Recovery (6:06/km)

Gentle recovery run. Felt a bit tired even with the gentle pace!

Saturday, 6th December 2014 – 10.6km Poppintree Parkrun (21:52)

After Ormeau last week I was hoping to be around 21:30 for this run. That was never really going to be likely though and given that I was still feeling the effects of all the fast running recently it was no surprise to me that I struggled the whole way today. Only 50 runners turned up today so I was on my own for 90% of the run. Pure time trial in the end. I was considering just jogging home after 4km but I persevered and very surprisingly came away with a time 16 secs faster than last week, so I was happy enough with that.

Interestingly, the course has totally changed from last time I ran here which, in my eyes, makes it much faster.

Sunday, 7th December 2014 – 4.5km Easy (6:00/km)

Very windy out for this run so as I was tired/hungover/old (!) just did 4.5km and retreated back indoors!

Week 48 Summary:
RTW: 5 from 7 days
DTW: 40.1km
DTY: 2,416.8km

Tour d'Ireland

Thursday, 20th November 2014 – Rest Day

Travelled down to Limerick this evening after work as I had a mate’s wedding to attend the following day. No run today as a result.

Friday, 21st November 2014 – 8.4km Intervals: 7 x 600m @ 4:10/km

Managed to get out for an interval session this morning before the wedding. I parked in Tesco at Coonagh Cross and ran along the Condell Road and back. I settled on 3 intervals out and 4 on the way back. Initial plan was 4:15 pace but the first one ended up at 4:10 pace instead and I hung onto that for the remainder. Happy with the session and was fairly tired but not wrecked afterwards.

Saturday, 22nd November 2014 – Rest Day

Sunday, 23rd November 2014 – Rest Day

With the wedding on the Friday and a similarly boozy day on the Saturday I opted for two rest days.

Week 46 Summary:
RTW: 4 from 7 days
DTW: 26.4km
DTY: 2,376.7km

Monday, 24th November 2014 – 7.0km Easy (5:57/km)

By now we were in the midst of a 10 day tour of Ireland so before departing Limerick we managed an easy 7km run on much the same route as my run the previous Friday.

Tuesday, 25th November 2014 – 7.5km Intervals: 6 x 500m @ 5:00/km

In Killarney for this one and I paced Roisin to an interval session. It worked out a a reasonable run for myself at the same time.

Wednesday, 26th November 2014 – Rest Day

Drove from Kerry to Mayo today and decided to rest again.

Thursday, 27th November 2014 – 6.6km Tempo: 25mins @ 4:36/km

Down to the local soccer pitch and laps on the tarmac trap. Did this as a tempo session and managed to maintain 4:36/km for 25 mins. Decent but lots more to be done!

Friday, 28th November 2014 – 7.0km Easy (5:51/km)

Just an easy one in Tyrone. Quite country roads but lots of tricky hills!

Saturday, 29th November 2014 – 12.0km Ormeau Parkrun (22:09)

Drove to Belfast yesterday so we decided to run the Ormeau Parkrun this morning. We ran to the event (took longer than expected) just in time for the race start. 

The course is a pretty flat two-lap course with just a couple of slight drags to make you work. I took the start fairly easy until about 300m into the race, at which point I was up to full speed. The effort felt quite consistent, so given that we were out for dinner and drinks the previous night I was nevertheless quite content with my finishing time of 22:09 – a 2014 H2 PB. This left me with a bit of confidence that given a proper night’s sleep before next week’s Poppintree parkrun I should be aiming for 21:30 or thereabouts.

The run home was also longer than expected (we chose a different route) so by the time we returned to the hotel we’d racked up 12km. 

Sunday, 30th November 2014 – Rest Day

The end to our 10 days of travel and it was late evening when I got home so treated myself to a rest day. Good job as I was exhausted!

Week 47 Summary:
RTW: 5 from 7 days
DTW: 40.1km
DTY: 2,416.8km

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

Tidying up the residue!

Wow! Another 5 weeks of no updates! Here is a go at catching up by way of a summary of my (lack of) Autumnal running - I hope to get back on track with the log this week!

Monday, 6th October 2014 – Rest Day

Tuesday, 7th October 2014 – 7.4km Distance (5:16/km)
Wednesday, 8th October 2014 – Rest Day
Thursday, 9th October 2014 – 7.4km Distance (5:26/km)
Friday, 10th October 2014 – Rest Day
Saturday, 11th October 2014 – Rest Day
Sunday, 12th October 2014 – Rest Day

Week 40 Summary:
RTW: 2 from 7 days
DTW: 14.8km
DTY: 2,200.3km

Monday, 13th October 2014 – Rest Day
Tuesday, 14th October 2014 – Rest Day
Wednesday, 15th October 2014 – Rest Day
Thursday, 16th October 2014 – Rest Day
Friday, 17th October 2014 – Rest Day
Saturday, 18th October 2014 – 4.8km Distance (5:31/km)
Sunday, 19th October 2014 – Rest Day

Week 41 Summary:
RTW: 1 from 7 days
DTW: 4.8km
DTY: 2,205.1km

Monday, 20th October 2014 – 7.4km Distance (5:23/km)
Tuesday, 21st October 2014 – 6.4km Distance (5:53/km)
Wednesday, 22nd October 2014 – 7.4km Distance (5:32/km)
Thursday, 23rd October 2014 – 7.4km Distance (5:31/km)
Friday, 24th October 2014 – Rest Day
Saturday, 25th October 2014 –6.3km St Annes Parkrun (25:10)
Sunday, 26th October 2014 –5.1km Breakfast Run

Week 42 Summary:
RTW: 6 from 7 days
DTW: 40.0km
DTY: 2,245.1km

Monday, 27th October 2014 – 42.7 Dublin Marathon (4:09:04)
Tuesday, 28th October 2014 – Rest Day
Wednesday, 29th October 2014 – Rest Day
Thursday, 30th October 2014 – Rest Day
Friday, 31st October 2014 – 7.4km Distance (5:47/km)
Saturday, 1st November 2014 – 5.7km Poppintree Parkrun (22:13)
Sunday, 2nd November 2014 – 4.7km Distance (5:59/km) / 7.4km Distance (5:34/km)

Week 43 Summary:
RTW: 2 from 7 days
DTW: 65.9km
DTY: 2,310.0km

Monday, 3rd November 2014 – 6.5km Distance (4:50/km)
Tuesday, 4th November 2014 – Rest Day
Wednesday, 5th November 2014 – Rest Day
Thursday, 6th November 2014 – Rest Day
Friday, 7th November 2014 – Rest Day
Saturday, 8th November 2014 – 11km Sea2Summit (2:17:09)
Sunday, 9th November 2014 – Rest Day

Week 44 Summary:
RTW: 2 from 7 days
DTW: 17.5km
DTY: 2,327.5km

Monday, 10th November 2014 – Rest Day
Tuesday, 11th November 2014 – Rest Day
Wednesday, 12th November 2014 – Rest Day
Thursday, 13th November 2014 – Rest Day
Friday, 14th November 2014 – 7.4km Distance (5:27/km)
Saturday, 15th November 2014 – 5.6km Hartstown Parkrun (23:13)
Sunday, 16th November 2014 – 9.8km Distance (5:41/km)

Week 45 Summary:
RTW: 2 from 7 days
DTW: 22.8km
DTY: 2,350.3km

Where have all the weeks gone??

Right, I’m so far behind by now that a simple listing of activity is all I can do to catch up at this stage!

Monday, 1st September 2014 – Rest Day – Post EP blues!

Tuesday, 2nd September 2014 – 11.9km Distance (5:26/km)

Wednesday, 3rd September 2014 – 8.0km Distance (5:41/km)

Thursday, 4th September 2014 – 12.6km Failed LSR (5:42/km)

I attempted an LSR this evening but was so tired from the EP weekend and just generally not in the mood for it that I only lasted 12.6km. Not happy quitting this!

Friday, 5th September 2014 – 5.0km Distance (5:58/km)

Saturday, 6th September 2014 – 7.8km St. Anne’s Parkrun – Intervals (4:08/km)

I ran this as an interval session so I ran 4 x 600m + 1 x 800m at 4:00/km effort. Unfortunately this did not correlate to pace so my speed got slower throughout. Not too surprising really as it was my first bit of faster stuff for a long time. Just did the recovery parts to regain my breath while trying to avoid too many passing me!

Sunday, 7th September 2014 – 10.7km Distance (5:25/km)

Week 35 Summary:

RTW: 6 from 7 days

DTW: 56.0km

DTY: 1,964.8km

Monday, 8th September 2014 – 7.4km Distance (5:07/km)

Tuesday, 9th September 2014 – 30.0km LSR (5:50/km)

My failed LSR from last Thursday was banished this evening with a pretty straightforward 30km run. Confidence back on track somewhat.

Wednesday, 10th September 2014 – 6.3km Recovery (6:00/km)

Thursday, 11th September 2014 – Rest Day

Friday, 12th September 2014 – 20.0km MLR (5:36/km)

With Berlin looming I decided two back to back MLR sessions would help with endurance and be best chance of avoiding injury so soon after Tuesday. This run went very straightforward.

Saturday, 13th September 2014 – 20.0km MLR (6:01/km)

Part two of my B2B and I was up in Tyrone for this. 2 x 10km loops around rural hills and I’d hit my target. Glad to have this completed and another step in the correct direction.

Sunday, 14th  September 2014 – Rest Day

Week 36 Summary:

RTW: 5 from 7 days

DTW: 83.7km

DTY: 2,048.5km

Monday, 15th September 2014 – Rest Day

Tuesday, 16th September 2014 – Rest Day

Wednesday, 17th September 2014 – 30.7km LSR (5:30/km & 5:52/km)

After a few days of laziness I managed to get out for a good run in the PP/canal greenway this evening. The first 20km were ran at a decent clip and as it was getting dark I decided to go home and do another 12k loop around the streets of Santry/Ballymun. However, just before getting in the car I spotted Roisin out for her run in the Park so I joined her and managed to do a loop to bring th distance up to just over 30km. I left it at that, happy enough.

Thursday, 18th September 2014 – 4.4km Distance (5:48/km)

Friday, 19th September 2014 – Rest Day

Saturday, 20th September 2014 – 21.3km Dublin Half Marathon (5:02/km)

I ran the 10 miler a few weeks ago at an average pace of 5:00/km, until I hit the hill in the last 2 miles. I decided I’d do a similar strategy this time, maintaining the same pace. Everything went well (apart from a toilet break at mile two!) for the first 10 miles so I was already stronger than the previous race. Once I was out of the PP and running out the Chapelizod road I slowed to an easier pace just to take it handy in advance of the marathon next week. My timing was impeccable as Joe Dunne was not far behind me , so I jogged the remainder of the course with him and felt great at the end. Time (1:47) was quite a bit slower than PB (1:31) but not bothered about that at this stage.

Sunday, 21st September 2014 – Rest Day

Week 37 Summary:

RTW: 3 from 7 days

DTW: 56.4km

DTY: 2,104.9km

Monday, 22nd September 2014 – 11.9km Distance (5:34/km)

Tuesday, 23rd September 2014 – Rest Day

Wednesday, 24th September 2014 – Rest Day

Thursday, 25th September 2014 – 7.4km Distance (5:46/km)

Friday, 26th September 2014 – Rest Day

Saturday, 27th September 2014 – 5.8km Breakfast Run (7:09/km)

Sunday, 28th  September 2014 – 42.4km Berlin Marathon (5:44/km)

See the standalone report on Berlin in the next post.

Week 38 Summary:

RTW: 4 from 7 days

DTW: 67.5km

DTY: 2,172.4km

Monday, 29th September 2014 – Rest Day

Tuesday, 30th September 2014 – Rest Day

Wednesday, 1st October 2014 – Rest Day

Thursday, 2nd October 2014 – 7.4km Distance (5:35/km)

After taking a couple of days hols in Berlin after the marathon and then a long day at work on Wednesday it was Thursday before I got out for an easy leg loosener. 7.4km was long enough for this too!

Friday, 3rd October 2014 – Rest Day

Saturday, 4th October 2014 – 5.7km Griffeen Parkrun (4:15/km)

I raced this Griffeen Parkrun just to see where I am at the moment and to lay down a marker from where I can progress. My time of 21:39 was the same as a few weeks ago in my Interval session on the easier St. Anne’s course. It’s a fair enough representation so my plan will be once DCM is out of the way to kick on and reduce these 5k times to sub 20 over the Winter and see where I can get to by the end of January before I start ramping up distances again. Not sure if it is a real prospect but I’d like to be 19:45 or less by then.

Sunday, 5th  October 2014 – Rest Day

Week 39 Summary:

RTW: 2 from 7 days

DTW: 13.1km

DTY: 2,185.5km