Park Half 2016

September has been a mixed bag when it comes to consistency.

Holidays in the first week, followed by a nasty cold, meant training was not on an even keel.
Before the holidays, I had felt things were going pretty well.
One thing that has been missing this season from my schedule, is the long tempo runs. I hadn't managed anything over 8 miles. I did do two back to backs last Monday, 6 miles at 6:25, and the next day 7 miles at the same pace. My theory was that they would be as good as a 10 mile run, but evidently, they were not.

After Tuesday, I didn't run Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Not intentionally, I had planned runs for both Wednesday and Thursday, but life took over and The schedule went out the window. The darker evenings are not helping, the window of opportunity greatly reduced, or the risk of a belt of a car greatly increased!

Saturday was a dreadful day. Wind, and while the rain held off well enough for the morning, it started to come down hard just before the start of the half marathon. I had the start position better judged this time, just ahead of the 1:30 pacers. I was about 200 from the front, with a starting number of runners at 9000. At the off, the pace, as always, felt easy, and mile one was 6:16. Everyone was pretty static in the order, no great passing, and mile two was also exactly 6:16. I had set the watch to a 'conservative ' 6:30 pace, hoping for 6:25 average. A lot of the course was fairly sheltered, particularly in the early miles, however, it was quite hilly.
The first test came at four miles. I had the pace back more towards the 6:25, and maintaining well. At four miles however, after a gradual, but long climb, the legs started to feel a bit tired. This took me by surprise, as I hadn't expected this so early. I had to up the effort considerably to maintain the pace, and this worried me.
The next two miles were quite flat, and the effort eased somewhat. Mile 3, 6:29, mile 4 6:32, mile 5 6:28, mile 6, 6:28. All good so far,moment time banked, and a consistent pace. Mile 7, 6:30.
This is where I met some trouble. I wouldn't normally on a half marathon, but on this race I decided to take a gel at half way. Eating it, and washing it down broke my stride badly, and getting back to a nice flow took a lot of energy. Very quickly I developed a stitch. This had the potential to be bad, very bad. Nasty stitches have forced me to stop and walk before, even on 10k's. I slowed the pace slightly to try and regain my form and reduce the effort. Mile 8, 6:37. It seemed to work somewhat, and I went from nearly stopping, to a comfortable feeling again, although the next problem hit at pretty much the same time.
It was at this point evident that the lack of longer tempo than 8 miles was going to cause problems. My legs were getting very tired. I knew that it would only get worse, and hoped I would last the distance, albeit a bit slower. Mile 9, 6:33, mile 10 6:35. Pushing really hard at this point, it was slipping away gradually. I just needed to hang on, but I knew the dreaded hill was to come.
Mile 11, 6:37, mile 12, 6:36. Ok, not too bad, just keep going almost there! And then, the hill. As I started the climb, a realisation that I had absolutely nothing left in the legs, and the pace collapsed.
At the top, with about 800 meters to go, I just managed to keep a steady stride, no sprint.
I could see the clock, and unbelievably, it read 1:25:06 and counting. It was unbelievable, I had no glasses on, it was 1:26:06 and counting. Crossing the line for 1:26:20.

So not a great result, but what I deserved. I have a descent level of short distance fitness, but anything over 10 miles at pace will be a challenge.
Sunday was a rest day, and Monday I went out for some easy miles. They ended up being 15 easy miles in just over 2 hours. No gels etc, just a small water bottle which I sipped on. I was quite please with that one, with no soreness afterwards.

Not long left now, 21 planned this week will probably be the toughest training run.

Ocean Running

Last week we went on holidays. On a boat.

A bit more than a boat to be fair, it was the Disney Magic ship, a beautiful ship. As we were catching a late flight on Friday to Barcelona, I had hoped to get my long run in Friday morning, but hair appointments (not mine!) and getting ready meant time was limited, so I cut it short to 13 miles.

I didn't run Saturday, we spent the day getting settled in, and there was so much going on I couldn't leave the kids. Sunday was a full day sailing at sea, and I hit the gym. It is always packed on this day as you can't get off the ship, and funnily enough, it is the only day the gym is packed.
Anyway, I did 6 miles on the treadmill which was really tough going. The temperature was 28 Celsius and I don't think the gym is air conditioned. I have always hated running on treadmills, your stride is more restricted I feel than natural running. I did however avail of the excellent weights section, and enjoyed that.
Monday I did 7 miles, two warmup, then increasing to 6:50, 6:40, 6:30, 6:20, and a mile cool down, again with a weights session. Tuesday was 6 miles, although a bit more consistent around 6:50 pace.
A funny thing happened on Wednesday.I had made it a policy of not using the elevators, opting instead for stairs for that extra bit of exercise. As I was descending some stairs, I got a very sharp shooting pain in my left foot and I placed it down. The next few steps were fine, and then the pain again. It seemed to be transient so I was not too worried. I headed to the gym shortly after, and as soon as I had run just a few steps, the shooting pain returned, so much so, that I nearly came off the treadmill. I tried again, unsuccessfully, each time the pain getting sharper.
I had an idea that the sudden change from road to consistent treadmill mileage was not liked by my foot. There was however a backup plan. There was a running deck, and three miles and the more firm surface passed relatively trouble free. The foot however continued to give me problems for the next few days, so I decided to rest it entirely.

We got back on Saturday after an early flight, and I managed to get a sneaky 6 mile run in that evening. The first mile, my foot was sore, however, as the miles went on, the pain eased, so that by the last mile it was all but gone. As I ran on the hard road, I could almost feel my body realign its self  with each footstep.
Sunday was long run, plan was 18 at 30 seconds slower than target marathon pace. The previous weeks had gone well at 7:20 target, always coming in around 7:15 average, however with the break in running I was doubting myself, so I set the watch to 7:30. The pace actually felt easy enough for most of the run, it was quite breezy, but nothing too drastic. I finished the 18 miles with a 7:19 average, and I was pretty happy about it, particularly as the previous evenings 6 miles had been only 16 hours earlier it meant I did 24 miles in less than 24 hours.
Monday was a rest day, and wouldn't you know it, I started to get a cold. It was inevitable really, my wife got sick towards the end of the cruise, and both kids followed suit.
I really didn't feel like running today, my throat felt like sandpaper and my head was really hurting, but I decided I would try an easy few miles anyway. The first mile all I wanted to do was turn back. I planned 9 miles, but decided to shorten the course to 6. Funnily, after the third mile, I started to feel much better, and had gotten into a nice stride, so I changed the plan again. I did 4 easy miles, and then a 6:50, 6:40, 6:30, and 6:20 mile. The 6:20 mile felt easier than the 6:50 mile for some reason. I did a further two easy mile to cool down for 10 in total. As soon as I got in the door, I started feeling pretty miserable again though, and even had to lie down for a while, with some disapproving looks from the wife and gentle questioning as whether I was sure it was a good idea!
With the Dublin half marathon less than two weeks away, i need to keep training sick or not. Already I can feel my fitness going down from where it was three weeks ago. But at least if I am ill now, it is unlikely I will be ill again before the actual marathon like last year.

In the park with Frank, 2016

The almost annual post of the 10 mile in the race series.

After a decent result at the recent 10k, I was happy enough about my fitness levels and prospects for the upcoming run. With a previous PB of 1:04:44 for 10 miles, I had hoped I could beat that.
I didn't over do the taper, the marathon training still has to go on, so really I just didn't run on Friday.
Thursday was just the easy 9 as previous post, with very little energy on that day.
The next day, Friday, I was just as lethargic, and I went to bed at 10pm, which is very early for me, and got a pretty good night sleep.
The weather forecast for Saturday was for wind and rain, but ever the optimist, I figured it would probably actually be quite good, hopefully. Well how wrong I was, it was absolutely bucketing down with rain, and gale force winds. When I woke and looked out the window, I nearly didn't go at all.
But I figured it might clear up by the time I got there.

No such luck, it didn't ease a bit. After two minutes out of the car,my was cold and getting wet. I had put a black bin bag under my jacket and over my t shirt, and that kept me pretty dry, that and large groups of runners sheltering under trees, looking like groups of penguins in the artic huddling for shelter.
Eventually I has to do somewhat of a warmup, but it was a pretty poor one at that.bwith the poor conditions, everyone kind of left it until very close to start time to get into position. When I went to get in line, I couldn't see the time zones. I did see the sub 80 minutes sign, so I jumped in at that point. Looking around, I had an idea I was probably a bit far back, but I consoled myself with the fact it was chip start and finish.
At the start gun....... Nothing happened. I was so far back, it took me 27 seconds to get across the start line. I spent the first frustrating mile trying to pass multitudes of runners. Eventually, after two difficult miles trying to get past slower runners, the way freed up, and I reckoned I was where I probably should be, and I settled into a better rhythm.
The wind was ridiculous in parts, with very little shelter. At around 4 miles I came up behind two runners from the Dunboyne club, and I decided to cheekily tuck in behind them for some shelter. This proved to be an inspired move, as after a while it was evident that they were running the exact same target pace as me, at 6:20 per mile.
I stuck with them for pretty much the rest of the race. We took it in turns to lead our little group, which soon became four, and then five runners, running to the front to shelter the runners behind.
At just after 8 miles we hit the hill, and after that at mile 9 they pulled away slightly. I had to let them go with about 600 meters to run, and they crossed just ahead of me with one other from the group of our five. Crossing the line, I was fairly spent, the clock showed 1:04:27. I didn't know at that point what the exact time was, as I didn't know how long it took me to get over the line. Turns out, it was 1:04:00. A new PB, and actually 15 seconds quicker than my Dunboyne runners on chip time.

Pretty happy with that. I would have been fairly confident that in better conditions I would have knocked another 20 or 30 seconds, but that will be for next years plan. Off to the car fairly sharpish to dry off and change.
Sunday was an easy 2 hours, half of which I did on grass, and it was 14.5 miles.
Rest day Monday. Today, a mile warm-up, with 3x2 miles at 6:20 pace. A bit of a tough one, average was a few seconds quicker but not much, the weekend still very much in the legs.
Next target the Dublin half marathon, a well needed holiday in a week will interrupt the training slightly, but there is a good gym on then ship, it's the motivation that might be lacking!

Just another one so.

Progress is fairly steady.

Since the last 10k race I have been training fairly consistently. Again, the only thing getting slightly neglected are the tempo runs.
For two weekends in a row, the plan was 16 miles, target pace 30 seconds slower than marathon pace.
Both times, I did 17, and at a 7:15 pace, which was slightly faster than prescribed. However, the pace and distance both felt very comfortable. I have been taking an energy chew at 11 miles each time, and  it really gives me a kick by 13 miles. I can't help feeling I am cheating though. I intend to push the distance out at which I take the chew, but as I intend to use them during the marathon, I need to practice using them.
Weekly mileage is around 50. The one thing that is going well are the speed sessions.
I went to run the Duleek 10k last Sunday. Conditions were good, but Duleek is kind of my nemesis. Last year I didn't break 40 minutes, and the previous year I got an almighty stitch in my side and had to pull up and walk the last mile. It is not an easy course, with a particularly long energy sapping drag on the back straight. I went out with the watch set at 6:10. It all went pretty well, but I finished at 38:26. On the plus side, that's two 10k's within three weeks fairly consistent times around the 38:20.
Again, after I drove home, I went out for a 9 mile run, which gave me 17 for the day.
On Monday I felt a lot better than I had after the previous similar session, and I went out for an easy 9.
Tuesday was a speed session, two miles warmup, 10x400 at 5:40 pace, and two miles cool down.
Wednesday was a rest day, primarily because it rained heavily all day.
Today was an easy 9 miles again. The only thing is that today I felt like someone had plugged me out. I had no energy, and the legs felt really heavy, which was surprising given I had a rest day the day before.
Another rest day tomorrow as I have the Frank Duffy 10 mile on Saturday. Not sure how that will go. I would hope to run well, but that depends on whether my energy levels come back up.

Going...going..

And still going.

Training has actually been going pretty well. 

I have not been running six or seven days a week, mostly is just five, and sometimes even a four, but that seems to be suiting me.

Still with the keeping the long run at the weekend, and starting to push the speed sessions a little harder. When I was getting some consistent training in with Gary a few years ago, I remember how tough the speed sessions were, but not very long duration, I have gone back to that. 

I have been pushing the mile repeats to 6:00 minute miles, and everything else between 5:30 and 5:50, from 400's to 800 repeats. The only problem is that I have not been getting my tempo runs in.

I ran the recent Dunleer 4 mile race. It was a tough day, with quite a stiff wind on the back straight for over a mile. I finished in 24:22, which was well off a hoped for 24:00 result, but when I compared myself against my peers whom I would place myself against at other races, I did well, finishing 17th out of a field of over 300.

Last Sunday was the Fingal 10k. The weather was actually quite nice, and the race was early in the morning. I set a 6:10 pace on the watch, but had hoped to bank a few seconds per mile to finish at 38:00, or a few seconds below. 6:03, 6:00, 6:09, 6:14, 6:08, 6:12 and a bit to finish. The problem was the watch measured 6:29 miles, and when I rounded the last corner I had nothing left to sprint it out, finishing on a chip time of 38:16. On the plus side, that is only 18 seconds of my PB, but while I was running the race, the pace felt comfortable enough. But being such a slave to the watch, I am usually maxed out just at the right time, the end, when the pace is set right.

After the race, I drove the 20 minutes home, and headed out for some more, easy, miles. I did another 10, and with the warmup a etc, I had 17 miles for the day.

I did however take the Monday off for a rest day. On Tuesday I was still quite tender as I headed out, and I was also breaking in some new trainers. 10.5 easy miles.

Yesterday I was a bit unsure as to what the plan would be. As I had done some extra speed workouts the week before, I want to get a higher mileage week this week, so another 10 miles easy was done. I also wore a heart rate monitor, and kept the HR below 150, avg 146. It felt really slow, and I find it almost harder to run so slow than it is to run faster.

I will stick with it for the longer runs. This is a fairly good spell of training, and hopefully I can manage to build on it.

Next is another 10 in two weeks, which will be used as a tempo run for the Frank Duffy 10 mile in the park.

Catch up

It has been quite a few weeks since I have made an entry, for various reasons.

The main one is that nothing much has been happening, but I know next year I will want to know what I did this time this year, if that even makes any sense.

One recent thought which I had, was remarking on how fortunate I was. In the space of two weeks, I had run along the west coast of America, beautiful Seattle, the following week along the beach in beautiful Ireland, and in the same week, the south coast of Spain. I was away on the holidays in Spain, and I got up at 5am, something I would never do at home, and primarily because I was a 5 course meal for a few mosquitos which I could not kill. Out along the sea front promenade, I had forgotten my garmin, and my watch, so not only was I just running to feel, I had no idea how long I was running for. What a beautiful sunrise it was, and it was really one of the nicest runs I have had in along time.

When I got back to reality, I ran a local 10k, and on a flat course did 38:24. I was happy and disappointed at the same time.
Mile 1 was 5:55, and although I knew it was too fast, it felt easy enough. I pulled back to the watch, 6:11, 6:20, knowing from experience that it can all go horribly wrong in the last two miles. The horribly wrong never arrived, and at mile 5 I knew I had been too conservative. Mile 6 was 5:58, and I finished strongly. So while I was happy with the time, I should have pushed it in the middle.

I am still trying to get the long runs in at the weekend, and they are varying from 12 to 16 miles. The 12 mile day was preceded by a 9 mile, and average weekly mileage is between 45 and 50, although last week was a bad week at only 35, but I got some really quality hill runs and a hard hill session in, so I didn't feel too bad.

There are a few races coming up over a short period shortly. Dunleer 4 mile this Sunday, the fingal 10k later, Duleek 10k in early August and then the marathon race series 10 mile.
Marathon training will start in earnest in Early August, but with descent mirage maintained at the moment, it shouldn't be too much of a push to get up  to higher distances easily enough.

Short Note

So, for next year when I look back.

50 miles this week.

Long runs at weekends, two hours is the target, distance is between 14 and 16 miles, depending on topography mostly. Running nice and easy. A combination of hills, and this week the beach too.

Interestingly, the speed session this week went well. 1x2 miles at 6:20. 1 x1 at 6:10(5:59 actual) and 2x800 at 6:00(5:55) for both combined. 8 miles in total. Felt pretty comfortable, but the first two mile session it felt difficult to get the legs to stretch out.

Much more hill work than in recent times, the weather is great, warm but no rain.

A 10k race coming up shortly will be a bit of a target race, hoping for (jinxing it already) sub 39.