10 weeks to go...

Monday, July 6th: 11.0km Tempo 6km @ 4:25/km

Due to the upcoming Mullingar 10 miler on Sunday we needed to get our tempo session in a bit earlier this week. Perhaps not a great idea given my run on Friday was followed by a parkrun on Saturday meaning that this was going to make it three hard days out of four. Needs must, though!

We returned to the square route (mathematical pun there somewhere!) from last week and my plan was to do a continuous route for at least 5km @ 5:25/km. Thankfully the breeze was not as strong as last week so things were a bit easier on that front. The first 4km went very well and this particular route seems to make the kms fly by. At the start of the fifth kilometre I lapped Roisin (who was on an interim recovery lap) and was now in the home straight, so to speak. Halfway through this lap though I decided to tag on an extra kilometre as I was still feeling good. So, after 6km and 26:30 I was able to ease off. Bang on the 4:25/km average pace to boot, so a very successful session.

Tuesday, July 7th: 15.0km MLR (5:34/km)

Called into the PP for this run on my way home from work. In my plan I had it down as a weekly 18km run but felt I'd be better off cutting it to 15km in advance of Mullingar. The run itself was a real trudge from the first step and it never got to be comfortable. A real exercise in winning the mental battle and getting to the finish. Felt my lower back/glutes on the right hand side a little but nothing serious.

Wednesday, July 8th: Rest Day

All the effort since Friday is beginning to catch up and I was feeling quite tired this evening so I called in a Rest Day. No harm and probably the sensible option. All easy running now until Sunday!

Thursday, July 9th: 8.4km Easy (5:23/km)

Just a very easy run around the neighbourhood. Still a little tired.

Friday, July 10th: 12.5km Easy (5:25/km)

The old 'figure of 8' loop. Things were a bit freer this evening.

Saturday, July 11th: 9.6km Poppintree Parkrun (21:52)

Ran to and from Poppintree for this. Took it very handy for the first few km before hitting 10 mile pace around the middle and then legging it for the final km. Happy with how i ran it as I wanted to get just a little faster stuff in advance of tomorrow. Still felt somewhat tired that evening though. Perhaps I shouldn't have done any faster stuff today?

Sunday, July 12th: 17.8km Mullingar 10 miler (1:10:45 *PB*)

Happy with a PB today. Race report to follow.

Week Summary:

RTW: 6 from 7 days

DTW: 74.3km

DTY: 1,639.9km

30km LSR with final 12km @MP...boo-yaah!

Monday, July 6th: 12.4km Steady (4:59/km)

Felt good on this for the most part and as a result I fell into a steady pace run. I was thinking I should really back off as I am hoping to run with the Club tomorrow (after a long break!) so want to have some energy for that. Pig-headedly I continued on with a pace similar to Saturday’s HM pacing gig. A couple of slight niggles/tightness afterwards but nothing to really compain about.

Tuesday, July 7th: 10.0km Tempo Session (4.3km @ 4:24/km)

Myself and Roisin were supposed to be joining the club this evening but when we got down there the sessions didn’t suit (Track Intervals) so we went off for a tempo session of our own instead. This involved 800m laps of an industrial park which we’d covered back in early Spring. The idea was that I’d hit off for 5 laps at 4:25/km pace and aim to catch Roisin after 4 laps of her 5:20/km tempo. It worked well but it took about an extra 300m to catch her. This gave me a 4.3km Tempo session without really having to think about it (even though there was a reasonable breeze on half the circuit). We’d have done more but had to cut it short due to time. We’ll be back next week for more of the same, but longer!

Wednesday, July 8th: 18.0km MLR (5:26/km)

Stopped off in the PP for this MLR. Parked in the usual spot and decided to take in the Canal toe path rather than the park (which is getting a little too familiar recently). All went very well and the legs were reasonably fine after last night’s Tempo session. I really enjoy the stretch from Ashtown westwards up to the 12th lock with the relatively fresh tarmac. The Broombridge end is much rougher surface, mainly from illegal fires burning into the path surface!

Thursday, July 9th: Rest Day

Had to meet up with some people visiting Dublin so failed to get out for a run today. Couldn’t run at work either as had a Pilates class instead.

Friday, July 10th: 30.0km LSR with last 12km @ MP(4:47/km) (5:14/km)

This was the big one of the week! I was planning all week on running an extra km today in order to hit the 30km mark. 30km always signals a big run in my mind, kinda like a 20 mile run for imperialists(!) out there, yet it’s 2 km shorter!

By Friday afternoon I was tired after work so went for a power nap before hitting the roads around 5:30pm. A few quick laps of the local park before my route began the out & back section via Coolock, Raheny, Kilbarrack and back again through Coolock. I wasn't feeling very fresh for the initial 7-8km but things soon got better. By the time I reached the coast there was a temperature drop of about 5 degrees in the final 50 metres - A total micro-climate around Dublin Bay!

After adding on an extra couple of kms towards Sutton, I considered adding in a faster section towards the end of the run. I knew it was about 10km from the Coast road directly back to the apartment so I thought I'd try doing 5km+ at MP. The first km was easy but the second km coincided with the start of a long slight drag which would continue nearly all the way home. I reset my target pace to be anything faster than 5:00/km as opposed to 4:45/km as I had originally hoped for. Thankfully though the tougher part of the hill was short and I was back on original target pace again within a couple of minutes. 

By the time I arrived back at Northwood Demesne I knew I'd require a couple of 1 mile laps to hit the 30km goal for today's run. So, instead of easing back off MP pace I decided to stick with it all the way to the end for what I reckoned in total would be a 10km section @ MP. A little while later I arrived back at the apt as planned with 30km flat on the Garmin. It was only when I loaded the run onto GarminConnect that I realised I'd actually ran 12km @ MP! I was pleasantly chuffed with this and the even better thing was that I felt I could have ran a few extra MP kms still!

This was a huge confidence builder for me so, with 11 weeks to go, I'm in position A1 for Berlin. Just need to build on that over the next 8 weeks and stay fit now!

Saturday, July 11th: 6.1km Hartstown Parkrun (20:59)

I was intent on running a parkrun this morning regardless of the big run yesterday so I ventured once again to Hartstown to meet up with Gary.

Only, I didn’t!

I arrived a little late so as I was running up to the start line the pack were already gone about 35 seconds! This was my third time arriving late for a parkrun (Malahide and Poppintree previously) and to be honest it’s quite enjoyable slicing through the main bunch throughout the first half of the race.

I said hello to Gary as I passed by after about 600m and at that stage I was in about 25th position. Kept picking others off for the next 10 mins before plateauing around the 3km marker. Passed one or two more between here and the end but by now people were going at my pace.

Obviously the body wasn’t able to put in an optimal performance but I was quite happy when arriving over the finish line just a couple of seconds under 21mins (Garmin time) for 8th place in the end. Looking back at the official times I would have finished in about 5th position if I was there from the start. Finished off with a 1.1k cool down.

Sunday, July 12th: 12.0km Recovery #1 (7km @ 5:31/km) & Recovery #2 (5km @ 5:34/km)

To cap off a great week of running I was feeling good in the morning so went out for a recovery run to get the legs moving. Kept it short and went out later in the evening for a second recovery as it was perfect running conditions. No niggles at all and the legs aren’t too tired so, all in all, feeling good!

Week Summary:

RTW: 7 from 7 days

DTW: 88.5km

DTY: 1,567.6km

Clontarf Half Marathon - 1:45 pacing job.

Monday, June 29th: 7.2km Easy (5:19/km)

Easy run with John around the local park. A little tired after yesterday but not too bad overall. Did feel the quads being a little painful for a few minutes before settling back down again.

Tuesday, June 30th: 11.3km Steady (7km @ 4:50/km)

Went for a local run with Roisin. Very warm this evening. Decided to do about 4 miles at the pace required for next Saturday’s pacing gig in the Clontarf HM. Not too bad and sped up a little towards the end before rejoining Roisin for a slow last couple of kms.

Wednesday, July 1st: 16.3km MLR (5:31/km)

Called to the Phoenix Park on my way home from work for a Medium Long Run. I'm going to do these every Wednesday from now on as the mileage ramps up further in the final 12 weeks.
The run itself went pretty well with an average of 5:31/km, neatly fitting into my desired range. Contemplated stretching it out to 18km but thought I'd better keep something in reserve for Saturday for the pacing job. Good to have been able to consider the extra kms anyways!

Thursday, July 2nd: Rest Day

I was a little tired after yesterday and just felt like a rest day regardless. Even though I'm back to 6 days per week I don't feel like I'm chasing miles like I have done previously. If I want a rest day I generally have less time convincing myself to do so than I would have in previous years.

Friday, July 3rd: 7.5km Easy (5:30/km)

An easy run down in the local park again, just keeping the legs fresh for tomorrow…

Saturday, July 4th: 25.5km Clontarf Half Marathon (1:45:00)

In the few days leading up to it I was a little apprehensive about this pacing gig. The last time I paced here was a 1:40 group with Jamie back in November 2013 and I struggled over the closing miles. Today was 5 mins slower but I wasn’t certain of how I would cope with the distance at that pace. 

The day turned out to be very warm with a strong breeze as myself and Roisin did a warm-up. I ran into a few of the usual suspects with Niall, Jamie, Matt, Peter and Brian all pacing as well. Met Shane for the first time after knowing the name through Boards for quite a while. I grabbed my balloon and made way for the start area about 5 mins before race was due to start. Peter took a bit longer to get there after being stuck in a queue at the toilets and just about made the race start!

We were in the second wave and as such there was a little bit of free path for us to run on when we crossed the start line. Almost immediately though our balloons got tangled and after a few attempts at detangling I gave up and we accepted our fate and simply ran tangled together! We had just enough length in the balloon strings though to be able to go either side of slower runners and arch over them with the balloons!

We had advised our pacees to take it easy on the sand on the way out as it was going to be much tougher on the way back. It was still tough enough on the way out mind you, but we held a pretty sizeable gang all the way to the turnaround near Kilbarrack. The wind was in our face and much tougher now so we eased off the pace a little to give people a chance to stay with us. Unfortunately though many slipped away at this stage.

The return on the sand was very tough for most of the gang and we ended up simply churning through runners as we caught, ran with and then dropped lots that were struggling into the wind on the beach. Thankfully I was still able to manage the pace reasonably well and there was no issue of me not completing my task today!

As we left the beach we encouraged people to stick with it as we were over the worst now. I mentioned to Peter that I'd drop back and try to get a few other bodies to stick with us to the finish as we only had 4-5 pacees at this stage. Over the course of the next kilometre I managed to get 3 others to make the step up across to Peter and on the run in to the finish a couple of stragglers were coaxed across the line to 1:45:00 on the dot on my watch. In reality they would probably have been slightly over as I'm sure they fell off their original pace, but hey, at least they saved themselves a few extra seconds regardless!

After the couple of km before the race and the decent session just completed I managed to get another mile of cool-down under my belt before heading to Bay for Lunch. Roisin completed her run with lots of energy remaining and covered 27km for the day to make it a successful day all round!

Sunday, July 5th: Rest Day

I was meant to do a short easy run but ended up having a few too many beers last night so figured there’d be nothing to be gained from the intended run. Will have to cut down these excuses for the remainder of the plan til Berlin!

Week Summary:

RTW: 5 from 7 days

DTW: 67.8km

DTY: 1,479.1km

Overcoming a hip injury

Monday, June 22nd: 6.1km Easy (5:30/km)

An easy run to get the week started. Hip injury still at me.

Tuesday, June 23rd: 12.0km Easy (5:22/km)

Planned on running with Roisin this evening but the hip is getting worse and after 500m of running at 6:15/km I was beginning to limp-run with the pain! I had to push on and run at a more natural pace at which the pain was far less. Still though it was quite tight and sore afterwards. Time to tackle this head-on at this stage…

Wednesday, June 24th: Rest Day

Since the hip injury wouldn’t go away and actually got sorer yesterday I decided to book in with my local physio across the road. I’ve had good success here before, but even so I was more hopeful than confident of getting a positive outcome. After a few minutes of poking around the problem area he carried out a few diagnostic test including getting me to do bridge (impossible!) and some other stretches. By the end of the 35 minutes he had managed to solve the issue and it had improved so much I was back able to complete the bridge. The advice was a couple of days rest and then I should be able to get back into things as normal. Delighted with that!

Thursday, June 25th: Rest Day

Injury felt almost 100% fixed today but I thought I’d still take it easy as directed by the physio.

Friday, June 26th: 27.0km LSR with 6k @ MP (5:21/km, 4:45/km)

Time of reckoning! I felt A1 today so ventured to the Phoenix Park once more for my LSR. Very hot and muggy again, but at least there was a breeze this week to help cool me down. The target was 26km and after venturing via the War Memorial Gardens I decided on a route to bring me up to 27km instead. The final 6km were completed at 4:45/km and felt a bit better than last week afterwards.

Next LSR will see me bringing the MP segment down to 4:40/km so no doubt will be tougher again. I will then start increasing the MP distance over the next few weeks. Fun times ahead!!

Saturday, June 27th: 6.1km Easy (5:15/km)

A very easy run around rural Tyrone. Ran this on my own and encountered very little traffic or pedestrians.

Sunday, June 28th: 24.3km LSR (6:14/km)

Joined Roisin with her LSR today. I knew the pace was going to be very manageable so figured I’d do at least half. As it was the effort and duration were perfect and we even managed to cover 24.3km on the footpaths of Omagh! There were a few spots where I’d be happier to do a workaround rather than tackle the urban cambered path with busy traffic alongside, but overall it was enjoyable.

So, that finishes off a week with two LSRs in three days where I initially thought I’d be taking a couple of weeks off due to injury!

Week Summary:

RTW: 5 from 7 days

DTW: 75.5km

DTY: 1,411.3km

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.

Sunday, June 21st: 24.7km LSR with 5km @ MP (5:27/km, 4:45/km)

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.

Saturday, June 13th: 24.4km LSR with 6km @ MP (5:25 & 4:40/km)

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

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!

Friday, June 5th: 22.0km LSR with 5km @ 4:45/km (5:22/km)

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