Good start but a worrying end.

Week 3 down. 13 weeks to go.

Good start but a worrying end.

Monday has now turned into my track day and this week was no different. I have increased the amount of 800 meter runs I do up to seven and reduced my recovery time in between. This week after each 800 I would run 500 meters in around 2 minutes 30 seconds. My 800 meters are keeping steady at 3 minutes 10 seconds. Overall it was a good session. One thing about this training is that I do feel very tired the next morning.

Tuesday I had 6.5 miles planned but due to work commitments I couldn’t get out. Don’t like missing sessions but sometimes it happens.

Wednesday was a rest due to a 5 mile race in Churchtown South the following night.

Thursday was race night. 5 mile road race and I had been looking forward to this. I have done this race for the last 2 years and always find it challenging. It’s a double loop run and I always find this hard. I think it’s because you know what’s ahead the second time. Also there are hills on this course around the 2 mile mark and 4.5 mile mark so it takes the wind out of you if you have gone out too fast. Anyway I was happy with this race but I have no mile splits (my watch played up on me). My total time was 32:36. Avg pace per mile was 6.31. Last year’s time was 33:10 so a little improvement. The big plus with this race was that I finished feeling well and strong.

This weekend is a little different than normal as I went to U2 on Friday and Saturday night so Friday morning I decided to get a semi long run done. 9.4 miles at 7:33 per mile pace but looking back I’m not sure if this was the right thing to do so soon after the race the night before.

Saturday morning my plan was to run around 12 miles as I was planning a rest day on Sunday. After about 4.5 miles my calf muscle started to hurt me. I usually don’t have problems with my calves but this felt like trouble. Luckily I was close to home and finished up the run at 5.4 miles. Within an hour I was limping and finding it difficult to walk. I have no idea what happened to be honest. I am thinking that maybe I didn’t give my legs time to recover after Thursday’s race. It now feels a bit like a muscle recovering after a cramp but it didn’t cramp. Today it’s a little better and the limp is gone. Still a bit of discomfort in the calf but nothing like yesterday. I will wait till the morning to see if I will do tomorrow’s track session.

Mileage in total this week was 29 miles. A poor week’s mileage and a bad development in relation to the calf muscle.
The next few days will be really important to see how the leg will hold up to training. I’m keeping my fingers crossed at this point.

Steady week 2 down.

Week 2 down. 14 weeks to go.

My plan for my marathon training this time is to mix up the miles that I do and not just long runs every evening. I think the miles are in me now so it’s time to mix the training up. I have decided to try Yasso 800’s. Ok never heard of it before last week but runner’s world has plenty about it. It’s a type of Interval training where you do repetitive 800m runs. So Monday evening I went to the track in UL. Good facility and not many at the track. I did 4 laps at an easy pace just to warm up and then started my 800’s. In total I completed 6 x 800. In between I would run 600 slow as a recovery. My times for the 800’s were between 3.05 and 3.10 and for the 600’s recovery 3.10. I was really happy that I kept the pace more or less the same for them all. Plan is to do this most Monday’s but try to increase from 6 x 800 to 10 x 800. Increasing 1 800 per week. Also, I will be trying to reduce the recovery time. Fingers crossed. Have to say by the end of the session I was tired and decided to make Tuesday night a rest night to let the legs recover. This just meant that I would do a few easy miles Thursday night instead.

Tuesday night rest.

Wednesday I met up with some of the lads from Mallow AC in Doneraile Park. Interesting session and total mileage was 9.26. A bit more than I had expected but it was a good session. Plenty of hills and mixed with some speed. I always record my heard rate when I train and I noticed that during this run it was up near 175 which is my normal racing speed HR, so felt the session was beneficial.

Thursday night was a nice easy 4 mile jog. 7:23 was my pace. With a 7 mile race the following night this run was really just about loosening the legs.

Friday Donoughmore 7. This was a great race. First time doing it so wasn’t sure what to expect. All I knew was that most people I spoke to before the race had warned about the last 2 miles. Usually when people tell me this it plays in the back of my mind all the way around. Anyway on to the race. Getting ready at the start it was obvious that the last 2 miles were not going to be the only hills. The race started on an uphill and once the gun went off you could feel the pull in the legs. What did take me by surprise was that most of the first mile was uphill. As with all races the first mile is grand considering there is plenty of energy in the legs. Mile pace 6:57. Bit slower than normal but this is a 7 mile race so no worries. On to mile 2. Another breaker. Uphill again. At this point I am wondering what the last 2 miles are going to be like considering nobody seemed concerned about mile 2. I was feeling the pressure at the mile and a half mark but sometimes it’s best just to put the head down and hope for a burst of energy to come from somewhere. Total time mile 2 was 6:42. Bit of an improvement but felt a lot worse. Now Mile 3, what a change. At the 2 mile mark you turn onto a main road and basically you have 3 miles of a gradual downhill run with the wind on your back. What a change in mindset at this point. 5 minutes previously I almost felt like walking where as now I was running strong and talking with Ed (A fellow club mate) beside me. If only all races were downhill. :-) Anyway in mile 4 I started thinking about the last 2 miles and what people had said before the race. So mile 4 to 5 was about keeping a good pace but conserving some energy. Mile 3, 6:17. Mile 4 6:09 and mile 5 6:36. On to mile 6 and once you hit the 5 mile marker then you turn off the main road and the hill starts. The last 2 miles are mostly uphill but to be honest they weren’t as bad as I expected. Ok don’t get me wrong they were tough but sometimes it’s best to expect the worst and anything better is a bonus. On mile 6 to 7 I could feel my calf muscles feeling the strain. Here’s hoping the next few weeks of hill training will help with this. Mile 6, 7:02 and mile 7, 7:14. Ok slower miles but I felt good and while there was not a lot left in the tank to push harder I think I finished with a feeling that I could run another few miles if needed. Total time was 47:22. It’s an unusual distance to race but I like it all the same. It’s nice to have races longer than the standard 4 and 5 milers. http://www.runningahead.com/logs/6a63092905a443028c96bf08df4bd759/workouts/424f78d8e606420580b8c94e6be197bc

Sunday long run day. Nice easy run (Not). Pace was easy but the terrain was not. Total time was 1 hour 41 and the distance was 12.39 miles. The thing about this run is that the first 6 miles are uphill. In fact from mile 1 to mile 6 there is a 635 ft rise. This is a gradual pull up and by mile 6 the legs are getting tired and lungs are feeling the pressure. Avg pace over the first 6 miles was 8:50. Avg pace over the last 6.3 miles was 7:35 - Big difference. Anyway, I think this type of training will help in the long run.

To sum up the week I feel lots of different type training has been introduced. The Marathon feels like a long time away but I am hitting the 40 miles a week mark now and feeling good so fingers crossed. The later part of next week will be a little different. I will probably do my long run Saturday morning as U2 concert is on Saturday night.

That’s all for now. Till next week.

Weekly mileage 42 miles.

A good start to training

Week 1 of training or 16 weeks to go.
That is how I feel about this week.
The Dublin City Marathon is the target race. Date 26-10-2009.

To say that this is my first week of my schedule sounds like I am just starting to run and considering the month of June has been nonstop races its not really a start but more a continuation. Probably too many races considering the Cork marathon was still in my legs. Anyway, it’s good to break up the training sometimes.

Monday started with a race in Co. Limerick. Dromcollogher 4 Mile Road Race. Handy for me as its only a 15 minutes drive for me. Makes a change. Nice race but wouldn’t be the fastest 4 mile around. Not really sure why as there are few hills but it’s one of those courses that takes it out of the legs. I think maybe the fact I had run 13 miles the day before had an effect also. (Never learn). The one big learning factor with this race for me was my splits. My first mile was 6:03. For me that is too fast. All the races in the last month have started like this and I always pay for it later in the race. Mile 2 was 6.37, mile 3 was 6:49 and mile 4 was 6:44. I think if I had held mile 1 to 6.20 I would have had a better finish. Anyway, something for me to work on.
http://www.runningahead.com/logs/6a63092905a443028c96bf08df4bd759/workouts/fb569d9da2164ef4bb9531d72217b798


Tuesday really was just a stretch the legs run. I wanted to keep some bit of life in the legs as the EMC 5k race was on Wednesday night. 4 miles easy.

Wednesday was race day again. This time it was a BHAA 'EMC' 5km road race in Ovens. BHAA are great for all the races they run. Great crowd for this race - 414 in total. So on to the race. I need to start learning to pace myself so plan is 6:20 per mile. Mile 1 6:19, Mile 2 6:17 and mile 3 6:43. Total 5k time was 19:59. I had hoped to run under 20 so happy with my time but the third mile was disappointing. A nice hill from 2.5 miles to 3 but that can’t be an excuse. Always hills so live with it. Anyway couple of miles warm down. Happy enough. At least I didn’t run like a mad man in the first mile. Makes a change.
http://www.runningahead.com/logs/6a63092905a443028c96bf08df4bd759/workouts/9d919d7c529f465898151ab1ca6ef86c

Thursday was just an easy recovery run. 5 miles. 7:13 pace.

Friday rest day.

Saturday despite feeling really lazy this morning I headed off to a place called Doneraile Park. Perfect place for running. Soft ground. Plenty of hills and lots of shelter when needed. The loop of the park is 3.5 miles. Anyway plan this morning was not to run fast but to run hills. Push the heart and see how I feel. 5 miles in total is what I did. First mile was relatively easy but from there the fun starts. There is a 235ft pull up for .8 of a mile. Really tough. Short run down the other side. I use this as recovery time and when at the bottom just turn and up we go again. This side of the hill is .4 of a mile but steeper. My first run up was difficult but I did both sides of the hill twice and the second time around did not feel so bad. Light run back to the car. I plan on increasing this week by week. Max HR was 176. Not bad but considering the hills I would have guessed over 180.

Lastly Sundays run. I always leave Sundays for long runs and usually with my local club - Mallow AC. Today was a little different. The Munster final was on today and with Tipperary playing I would have to go so my long run was early this morning by myself. Don’t really enjoy long ones by myself. 12.6 miles with an avg HR of 149. Pace was 7:44 per mile which is a bit fast maybe for a long run but that always happens when I do a long run by myself. Anyway that finishes my first week. I registered for the Marathon this week so no turning back.

Weekly mileage 40 in total.