_The 3 Hour Marathon_

Berlin marathon review.

2010-10-01T22:32:00.000+01:00

Now that the dust has settled its time to cast my mind back a few days and try to put into words what my Berlin marathon experience went like.

Anybody reading my blog all along will know that my plan was to run this race with a 7:15 mile a minute pace in mind. My best case scenario target was 3:10 and a back up of 3:15 if things were not going to plan.

So bottom line is that my marathon time was 3:18:58 and a chip time of 3:17:41. (Think I’ll take the chip time on this run) Now using my chip time this is an improvement on my PB of over 3 minutes. Am I happy with that result is the question that has haunted me this week. It’s a PB and a person should always be happy with a PB but to be honest in the back of my mind I feel that there should have been a 3:15 in me. Still, almost a week later the body has started to recover and it’s now time to look on to the next run.

Now for the marathon itself. A brilliant event and one I would recommend to anybody who likes the big day events. I’ve got to hand it to the Germans, it’s a very well organised event. Is there anything I would change about the day???? I don’t think so. Maybe paper cups or bottles rather than plastic cups but hey if that is the biggest problem I have in a race then I have little to moan about.

The day itself was a wet damp day. Plenty of rain just in-case I missed the Irish weather. I don’t really think this had an effect on the runners - more the spectators. Prefer to be moving than standing still. Temperature wise I would guess it was around 15 degrees. To be honest the weather was fine and I’d take that any day over the weather from last year’s Berlin marathon where the temperature was around 27 degrees.

Race start was due for 9:03 (Not 9 or five past) and after the song (This is the moment) by some German singer 9:03 arrived and the race was underway. Myself and a fellow club mate had been allocated section D on our race numbers so we were located in a good position close enough to the front. It took us just over a minute to get over the start line (Not bad considering there was 40000 in the race) and from there I started the watch.

Mile 1 to 5

Mile 1 seems to be my worse mile but considering the crowd this is probably normal. Mile 1 7:40, Mile 2 7:25, Mile 3 7:20, Mile 4 7:26, Mile 5 6:59. Now these times are from my garmin so even though the full race on the garmin shows as a 26.6 mile distance the splits give a good idea of how I was running. In summary the first 5 miles were not consistent and by mile 5 I was telling myself to concentrate on a 3:15 marathon as I hadn’t felt comfortable from the beginning.

Mile 6 to 10. Mile 6 7:18, Mile 7 7:04, Mile 8 7:05, Mile 9 7:07, Mile 10 7.28

This section of the race was probably my most comfortable period in the race. The 7.28 in mile 10 & 7:18 for mile 6 was due to a water stop so my average mileage was sub 7:07. Looking back I ask did I run a little too hard and should I have run around the 7:15 pace.

Mile 11 to 15. Mile 11 7:04, Mile 12 7:11, Mile 13 7:00, Mile 14 7:05, Mile 15 7.17

Myself and Aidan after the race.

Once again I enjoyed this section of the race. Up to the 13 mile mark I was running with Aidan (A fellow club mate) and he is brilliant at running steady. Just after 13 miles I pulled in to tie my lace and that was the last time I was running with Aidan. Up to 16 miles I could see him in the distance but around 16 miles I pulled in for water and it was bye bye Aidan. (Did get to see him on Eurosport later ha) Aidan did the first half in a time of 1:36:31 and the full marathon in 3:12:05. Now that’s steady running. He is a master of consistency. Well done Aidan.

Mile 16 to 20. Mile 16 7:25, Mile 17 7:17, Mile 18 7:29, Mile 19 7:18, Mile 20 7.23.

I have to say at this point I was feeling good. A lot better than any of my previous marathons but always thinking the real race starts at 20 miles. My mile splits were not perfect but I was happy enough overall.

Mile 21 to 26.xx. Mile 21 7:32, Mile 22 7:32, Mile 23 7:39, Mile 24 8:18, Mile 25 7.41. Mile 26 8:24 , Last .63 of a mile 5:03 ( As per the Garmin) (8:02 per mile)

I will review this in 2 sections. Up to mile 23 I was starting to feel tired but nothing major. My times in fairness give an accurate indication of how I was feeling. My average mileage had gone up to the 7:30’s but I felt that all going well 3:15 was still possible.

From mile 23 things got a little harder. My friend the hamstring decided it was time to get re- acquainted with me and give me a little cramp. A few choice words were uttered at this point. Out with the bio Freeze and lash it on. Miracle stuff but takes a little bit of time to take effect. Anyway an 8:18 mile for my trouble here. Oddly enough as I was going slower the energy was starting to build back up inside me. Next mile was back to the 7:41 and sure there is a little bit of hope left. Mile 25 to 26 my left hamstring was feeling neglected and decided to look for some attention. No problem - a second bio freeze was called into action. Needless to say my shot of 3:15 disappeared in the Berlin rain at this time. The bio freeze worked a little but anytime I tried to increase the pace I could feel my upper leg muscles tighten. So a slow run to the finish at a very controlled pace rather than a hop over the line.

Some things to learn from this race. Be confident that I can achieve my target. Maybe its mind over matter but at 5 miles I was easily willing to give up on 3:10. Looking back now if my training was right then maybe this would have not have been so easy to give up on. All my races up to now would indicate that 3:10 was possible. Self belief is a big thing I suppose.

On a positive - In all my previous marathons I have suffered badly from cramps in my calves. Not once this time did my calves give me trouble. Compression socks did the trick here. Maybe I need an all over body compression suit. At this stage maybe a costume is required to cover my face also. ;-)

Hydration and nutrition. This worked well. 4 gels and plenty of water. Maybe it’s time to experiment with electrolyte drinks. Might help with the hamstrings.

It’s time to re-look at my training once again and see what’s next for me. The one big positive this time was the two 23 mile runs. I have to say I felt a lot better past the 20 mile mark then I have done before. I put this down to the extra miles on the long runs.

So back to where I started there is a mixture of happiness and disappointment in this race for me. The week has been a mix of wondering what I could have done different. I think I will stop now and just forget it. I was tempted to register for the Dublin marathon in 3 weeks time but to be honest do I think I would run any faster in Dublin. The answer is a big NO. Yesterday morning I went for a 3 mile recovery run and boy was my energy low. After a mile I was tempted to pull up. So no point in kidding myself with Dublin now.

Time to pick back up and look ahead to the winter training and change focus. I will now look to the 10 mile series that starts in January and train hard up to that point. Look at maybe giving the marathon a shot again in April. Maybe London.

For now its 2 week away in Croatia and Slovenia so running will be light and talk of marathons will be far away.

Till next time.

Paudie

Time to stop typing and start running.

2010-09-23T14:20:00.000+01:00

730 miles, numerous bottles of water, 2 pairs of runners and 3 weeks of injury - it’s time to stop typing and talking and time to start racing. The beginning of June I started my current training program and to say it went without a hitch would be a lie. This was to be my most ambitious training program to date covering 18 weeks and a total of 900+ miles. A mid way a hiccup put me out of training completely for 3 weeks and meant I had to take it easy for the following few weeks of planned hard training. To be honest, looking back it could have been a lot worse and now I look at it as a rest period. Seldom do any of my plans go without a problem mid way.

Now I’m down to the last few days. From my previous experiences I decided not to drop my mileage as I would have done up to now. My taper started 2 weeks out and it was a 30% drop in mileage to 37 miles. This week has been a lot easier and I reckon a 3 mile stretch the legs jog on Saturday morning will finish off a 15 mile week. I started the week with a sports massage which was a welcome relief and although the muscles were tender for a bit the body is feeling good now.

Last local run this morning and Dublin bound I go later to catch my flight. At this point running is the last thing on my mind and it’s more about what to pack. Apart from me wanting to bring the kitchen sink (Never know it might come in handy) I am just doing my usual Noah’s Ark prep - 2 of everything. My flight is with good old Ryanair so to put my runners into the booked in luggage or carry it on? Hmmm.. dilemma. Only time my luggage has ever got lost was on a flight from Dublin to Shannon. Dublin Airport doesn’t fill me with confidence so maybe the runners might be best travelling in the cabin this time.

Lastly I suppose my plan is to go out and try to keep an even 7:15 pace on Sunday. Hopefully the legs hold up and it gets me close to 3:10. Anywhere close and I will be happy. The last marathon I ran I wrote the times of where I should be every 4 miles on my arm and found it handy. Shorts, Singlet, Runners, Gels and Biofreeze packed. It’s time to go. Oh yeah, lastly my Garmin. (Auto lap on or off?) Not sure.

Paudie

Time to taper. 2 weeks to go.

2010-09-12T18:33:00.000+01:00

Well my last weeks of training have come to an end (Thank god) and it’s a 2 week taper that’s planned now. 18 weeks training was too much for me to be honest in the way of keeping my interest up. That said I feel good right now and I am looking forward to the marathon in 2 weeks.

My last week’s mileage has hit the 52 mile mark and it hasn’t felt like a hard week at all. Maybe this is a sign that I have trained enough at this stage that I find the 50 mile week handy. I won’t complain with that. My mileage over the next few weeks drops to a 35/38 mile week and on the last week I have an 18 mile week. Last year I started my taper 3 weeks out and I felt crap on the marathon day so hopefully this year 2 weeks will have me just right.

Today was the Cork half marathon day. St. Finbarr’s AC run this race every year and I usually run it to see where I am fitness wise before the Dublin Marathon. It is usually a well organised race and today was no different. Excellently run event & I look forward to returning again next year. This year was a bit different for me as its 2 weeks before the Berlin marathon and this is not the time to be racing a half. So today’s plan was mainly to run the half rather than a race it. My plan was to run somewhere between 1:35 to 1:40. Every year I have run this race I have always struggled and suffered bad after the hill around the 7 mile mark. Let’s just say it’s never been a race that builds my confidence. Today was to be a bit different hopefully. Handy run planned and one to enjoy. My friend is running his first Dublin marathon this year and the plan for him was to run a 1:40 time. We decided to stick together and it would help us both to keep close to the 7:30 pace.

First 4 miles of the race was close to target. We passed the 4 mile mark at 29:52 (Plan 30min). Next section of the race was the hilly section of the race. For my friend I knew that the next 4 would make or break him. Previous years this has proved a nightmare for me but today the 2 of us passed the 8 mile mark at 59:44 (Plan 60Min). Pace was exactly as we planned and more to the point the two of us were chatting and feeling good. From mile 8 to the end the pace started to increase. Its wasn’t part of the plan but we both just went with it as we felt good. At the 12 mile mark we passed at 1:27:32 (almost 2 and a half minutes ahead of plan) and then on to a strong finish at 1:35:43. The last few miles were sub 7 min and to be honest there was plenty in the tank to push it harder but with the marathon in 2 weeks time its important to remember what the target is. My Garmin recorded a distance of 13.25 miles at 1:35:43 time. Nice to finish this race and not feel that the services of a doctor were required. As for my friend I think he put in a great run and for his first half marathon. He finished at 1:35:50. Great time well done.

Now the racing is done and tapering begins I suppose there will be plenty of phantom pains and injuries that will torment me each day. As I type I wonder is my Achilles tendon 100%. Of course it is but it’s all par for the course. Concentration now starts on my diet more than running. Biscuits out fruit is in. Red meat out and white meat in. If I was a drinker then it would be beer out and water in but I live with soft drinks out and water in. Roll on the next 2 weeks and if they are as good as the last 2 then I’ll be a happy man. (Why the last 2 weeks.) Well the small matter of Tipperary picking up there 26th All Ireland last weekend and winning the under 21’s last night just topped off a dream week. Bit like the Carlsberg add. They don’t do dream weeks but it they did it would probably be last week.

Anyway enough for now and last update will be on Thursday week. I have decided that 3:10 will be my target time for Berlin this year and all going well that should put me in a good place to maybe make an attack on the 3 hour next year. Plenty of work to do for that but that’s for another days blog.

Take care

Paudie

Heavy training almost done.

2010-08-29T19:57:00.000+01:00

4 weeks or 222 miles today since my last update. I had planned 236 miles during this period but I am quite happy to be just 14 miles off.

Its been a good 4 weeks of injury free running. 3 races also during this time and I believe they were needed. I had felt after the Churchtown south 5 mile race on the 22nd of July that I had lost some of my sharpness. This was probably due to injury earlier on. First race on the cards was an 8k race in Galway on the 7th of August. A time of 32:23. A definite improvement there.

Next race on the cards was a half marathon in Clonmel. This race was 6 weeks before the marathon and the race I planned to use to gauge my fitness and to see what I should target in Berlin. Now to say the day wasn’t as planned would be an understatement. Roasting hot day and a course that measured 14.3 miles rather then 13.1. A mistake by the lead car taking the wrong route. I believe I passed the 13.1 mark at 1 hour 30. Time for the 14.3 was 1:39:xx. I believe myself that on a normal day and no confusion about the mile markers that I would probably be close to 1:28 maybe 1:29.

Last race of the last 4 weeks was the Ballycotton 5 miler last Thursday night. Time 32:07. Once again an improvement of nearly a minute in the last 4 weeks so I am quite pleased with that. Compared to my Ballycotton 5 time last year it is a 2 minute improvement so I feel I am slowly improving. The one disappointing thing about last Thursday night is that I was really hoping to make the top 50 in the 5 mile series. I was in 54th position before last Thursdays race and ended up gaining 2 positions. I was 14 seconds off the 50th position. Anyway there is always next year.

My weekly training has gone well over the last 4 weeks and the mileage been steady. Week 11, 55 miles. Week 12, 53 miles. Week 13, 57 miles and week 14, 57 miles. In this period I have also put in 3 long runs over the 20 mile mark. 2 23 mile runs and 1 20 mile. Today was a 23.3 mile run at 7:46 average pace and I have to say it was the best I have ever felt after a long run. Some days are like that.

Now that the marathon is just 4 weeks away its time to look forward to it. There have been points in the last few weeks that I have got bored with all the training. Arriving home from work day after day to head out for another semi long run was starting to take its toll. I have stayed clear of hills and speed work for the last few weeks for fear of injury. Maybe in the next few weeks I will add an odd session here or there.

Before last year’s Marathon I started to taper 3 weeks before hand. This year I am changing it a bit. I felt very sluggish last year and believe my drop in training was two severe with 3 weeks out. This year my mileage will drop a bit but not to a huge extent. The next 2 weeks will be in the 40s and then I will start a proper taper in the last 2 weeks bringing the mileage into the 30s and teens in the last week. Over the next 2 weeks I hope to improve my pace over the 10 mile distance and aim to run a lot of them at my target marathon pace. This I have decided to be a Marathon target time of 3:10. 7:15 per mile pace. Fingers crossed.

Anyway next update will be in 2 weeks time.

Thanks

Paudie

Plantar Fasciitis almost ruins the day.

2010-08-01T21:29:00.000+01:00

Revised marathon schedule

5 weeks has passed since my last update and in a normal marathon schedule this should be a good time for me to build up my stamina. Should is the word. Weeks 12 to 8 of my 16 week program have not gone to plan. In summery the last 5 weeks have been a disaster. I have come to the stage that I always expect an injury now and again but I wasn’t ready for an injury called plantar fasciitis.

I got plantar fasciitis due to a number of things I believe. Increase in mileage, worn out runners, (that will teach me) Going out on a hard speed session with a niggling pain in my heel and lastly in the last few races I have been wearing flats. Not enough cushion in them and always felt sore after a race. I cannot blame any one thing but all put together it was an injury waiting to happen.

Now anything I have read about plantar fasciitis says that it usually takes from between 6 weeks to sometimes 6 months to recover. Any runner in the middle of a training program knows how this would go down -Like a sack of spuds! I decided the only thing to do was get physio, get cross training and get ready to get back out running.

Recovery: I started using a physiotherapist in Limerick a few months ago when I had a back injury and found her to be really good so went to her for a couple of sessions. Decided it was time to get the bike onto the road. I have built up my mileage on the bike to a weekly average of 60 miles. One week in particular I did a 50 miler - Hard on the ass but good on the legs. Lastly I ordered a plantar fasciitis foot splint. I wear this all the time while resting and sleeping. An awkward piece of equipment but it really does the trick. I’d recommend it to anybody who gets this injury.

To be honest I am very lucky as 3 weeks after I got the injury I hit the road for a slow 5 mile run. I really wanted to compete in the Chruchtown south 5 mile race the following night so had to test the foot. Churchtown south went better than expected with a 32.59 time and still keeps me close to the top 50 for the series. (Currently in 54)

This week has been a case of building up the mileage again. My week in total is 42 miles with an 18 mile run at 7.55 per mile today. All went well and I am really happy that all the miles were run at a steady pace -all between 7:30 and 8 min.

I have had to modify my schedule to take into account the miles missed due to the injury. No point in trying to pick up at 70 miles a week. So, on to my new program and fingers crossed that I can stick closely to it. I haven’t put in speed sessions or hill work for now but as the foot gets stronger I will add them in.

Over the next 4 weeks I am going to try to continue with the bike for an element of cross training. I also have 3 races ahead. Streets of Galway next Saturday and Ballycotton 5 at the end of August. I am also thinking of running the half marathon in Clonmel in 2 weeks to see where I really am. I need a gauge to know what pace I should try in Berlin.

Talk in a few weeks time.

Paudie

So far so good.

2010-06-27T20:52:00.000+01:00

My marathon training program consists of 18 weeks training broken up into 4 cycles. The first and second sections are both 5 weeks long and the third and forth are 4 weeks each. Each section has a purpose and hopefully put together will put me in good shape for Berlin.

Today sees the end of the first cycle. This section was about building up the miles and trying to keep it consistent. So far so good and each week has returned 50+ miles and a 5 week total of 243 miles. The only downer was in week 4 where I had planned to bring up the mileage close to 60. A toe injury knocked me out for a night so that put an end to a 60 mile week. The week ended up with 52 miles. If that’s the worst thing to happen me then I won’t lose any sleep.

This first session has also seen me get in my first 20 miler. A gradual build up over the weeks has help me put in a 20 at 7:40 average pace. Last week I put in an 18 mile run and did it with one of the lads in the club. It was a lovely run and time seemed to fly. This week however the 20 mile run was done on my own and it was a difficult run. Left home at 7:40am and drove the course to put water for my run at the 6, 10, 14, 17.5 mile marks. Started the run at 8:00am. From mile 10 I felt like I was running from water stop to water stop and breaking down the miles in my mind as if this was going to make it go faster. Running on my own is boring but if anything it teaches good discipline. This evening my legs feel tired but today I wore compression socks and the normal stiffness I suffer after a long run is not there. I have used these socks before while doing hill work and they work a treat in the prevention of calf cramps.

Last Thursday night saw me making the trip to Shanagarry for the Ballycotton summer series. This series consists of four 5 mile races. My target is to end up in the top 50 after the 4 races. Coming into last Thursdays race I was in 67th position.

I found the race itself tough but enjoyed it. Keeping to form I went out way too fast in my first mile. 5:45. I knew I would pay for that. Mile 2 was 6:00, Mile 3 was pay back time. 6:46. I really suffered in this mile. Mile 4 6:33, Mile 5 6:34. The next race will be Churchtown south. I am going to try target even splits. Need a pacer I think. Total time 31:46.

In general I was happy as I usually find this race a lot harder than the first and usually loose about a minute between them. This time the difference this time was 24 seconds. Maybe the hill running on Saturday morning is starting to pay off. Not that it felt like it at 2.5 miles :-)

As this is the second race there is usually a natural drop out from the first race. My starting position was 67 and after last Thursday I am now in 56th. I would think that most of the people that ran the first 2 races will now complete the final 2. This will mean that every second will be important. Fingers crossed for the next race.

Anyway on to my second cycle of the marathon program. Another 5 weeks but this time the mileage should hit a max of 66 miles in week 8. Along with the mileage increase my Tuesday night speed work will change a bit. Most of the runs will be 8 to 10 mile runs with roughly 5 miles run at 10 mile race pace. Saturday morning will continue with hill work for this cycle and I do plan on doing a 21 mile run. Next Sunday see’s a drop back to 15 miles - Time for the body to recover before the next big hike. Next race will be the 22nd so here’s hoping that I will get back under 31:30.

Next update in 2 to 3 weeks.

New year new marathon plan

2010-06-13T13:34:00.002+01:00

It’s been a long time since I have updated this blog but as I wasn’t training with any marathon in mind the blog was also on a break. All that has changed in the last few weeks. Training has begun and it’s 15 weeks to the Berlin marathon. My program is made and I plan to stick as close as possible to it. As always there are always the odd week that training can get interrupted due to work and injuries but now is not the time to worry about what might happen so I will take it week by week.

It’s no secret that long term I would love to break the 3 hours for the marathon so I look at each marathon to learn what I need to do differently to bring me closer. With that in mind I have changed a few things in my program this time. First thing I am planning differently is going over the 20 mile mark on 2 of my long runs. With 10 weeks to go (week 8) I plan on a 21 mile run and with 6 weeks to go (week 12) I plan on running a 23 mile run. The second thing I hope to try differently is to run 2 long runs at marathon pace. On week 7 I hope to run 18 with 12 miles at marathon pace and on week 15 for my last long 20 miler I hope to run 13/15 miles at marathon pace. If I can get these into a race then that’s all the better. I find it hard to keep a steady marathon pace while training so I’ll be looking for some help with this.

Race wise I don’t plan on doing that many this year during my program. I plan on running the Ballycotton Summer series and the Streets of Galway 5 mile as breaks from the normal routine and to see if my sharpness is improving. I would really like to get a top 50 position in the Ballycotton series. Other than those races I will just concentrate on training and probably try to fit in one or 2 races over 10 miles during the program. Maybe run them at marathon pace.

Onwards to the training. The program is 18 weeks in total and started at a 50 mile week. Normally this would be way too much for me to start at but I was putting in 40 to 45 mile weeks over the last few months so my body should be well able for it. There are some problems that I can see in the schedule for example between week 6 and 7 shows a big jump in mileage. Nearly 13 miles. This will need to be changed but I will look at this closer to the time. Previous experience has proved that I get injured if I increase mileage too suddenly.

I suppose for now my main target is to get the first 5 weeks of the program done. This should give me a good base with my mileage increased and plenty of hill work to help build up stamina. With 14 weeks to go my weekly mileage will be up to 60 miles and a recovery week ahead.

Mileage so far.
17 weeks to go 51 miles

16 weeks to go 38 miles. (Drop is due to Cork half marathon on Monday the 7th. No long run on the Sunday)

15 weeks to go 52 miles.

Next update in 2 weeks.

Winter training paying off

2010-01-31T23:48:00.003Z

I’ve being promising myself to update my blog for some time now but wasn’t until tonight that I realized that it was last November since I last updated it so I need to stop promising and start updating.

Now, on to the last 2 months. Training went really well for me in December. I started on a pretty strict routine.

Mondays - a 6.6 mile tempo run. My target in this was to cut down my times for the 6.6 mile loop I do where I live. Normally it would take me 50+ minutes. I have now got this down to 46+ so I’m well happy with this.

Tuesdays- the first of my speed sessions. This was 30 second sprints with 30 second recovery in between. The aim was to be able to do 15 to 20 of these per session. In the beginning getting past 8 was a problem for me but now I usually get over the 15 and managed the 20 once.

Wednesdays - I pull back a bit. Mileage goes up to around 8 to 10 miles but I bring the pace back to anything between 7:30 to 8:30. This I enjoy and I make sure that I take it easy on these nights. Some nights, I run with the club in Mallow and other nights with some friends from Limerick. Main thing about this is I don’t like to run by myself on this night. I find it great to meet up with people and it breaks up the training. I find the week flies from there.

Thursdays – it’s a hard nights running. The university in Limerick are running a winter series. 3 nights of 5k, 3 nights of 7k and 3 nights of 10k. I use these for training purposes. When they are not on I am trying to run 3 by 10 minutes at 6 min mile pace. I find this really hard and have not achieved the full 3 sessions. That’s the winter target.

Fridays - rest day

Saturdays - I always try a hilly run. Doneraile park is the venue. Usually about 6-7 miles but really tests the lungs.

Sundays - to finish the week is a long run - anything between 13 to 17 miles.

All said it’s usually around 45 miles each week. Not much difference in the mileage than this time last year but the training style is totally different.

This has been my training for December. Well - up to the 25th of December. Then came the frost and snow. Try doing a speed session in ice!! I don’t think so. This lasted up to the 14th of January. Getting out the odd time and making the best of the treadmill. This worried me to be honest. I felt that any gains I had made since November had been lost and during December I had hit a PB for a local 5 mile race so the question was had I done enough to get me through the ice age.

Since the 14th of January normal service has resumed. I had previously targeted the Mallow 10 mile to see how my training was progressing but that was called off due to the weather conditions. (Now rescheduled for February 07th) My target changed to the Dungarvan 10 mile race on the 31st. A friend from work has been advising me with my training and he advised me to run as if I was targeting a 65:XX time. If I burned out then at least I would know where I stand. Anything under 66 would have me happy considering my 10 mile PB was 67:15.

Anyway on to the Dungarvan 10 mile race. Weather was perfect. Preparation I was unsure about but had got a good night’s sleep, so felt good. Targeted time was 6:35 per mile.

A great crowd at the race. Just under 1000. A busy start but I got close to the front and was well happy with the start. It did feel like there was a bit of a pull up in the first mile but I think it was more about cold muscles at the start. By mile 2, I was starting to feel comfortable. Mile 1, 6:18 and mile 2, 6:16.

Miles 3 to 7 went well for me. At no point did I feel I had gone out too fast. My miles were consistent enough for me. 15-20 seconds variation. Mile 3, 6:24. Mile 4, 6:25. Mile 5, 6:33. Mike 6 6:32. Mile 7, 6:25.

Between mile 7 and 8 I started noticing people around me that up to now I have only ever seen the back of. Either they are running slow or I’m running well. When I find myself running with these people – I start to think “You have gone off to fast and will suffer in the last few miles”. Still I continued on up to mile 8. Mile 8, 6:25.
Mile 9 I dread from last year. It a little pull and I suffered a bit last year. This year it did hurt a little but nothing as bad as last year. Mile 9 6:36. My slowest mile but onward to the last mile.

Last mile went well. A guy from Middleton AC was running beside me and he really helped me to keep my pace up. (Thanks) Coming into the last half mile I was feeling tired but really happy with the times I had clocked up. Once I saw the finish line I got the last burst of energy. Finishing time 64:28.

To say I’m happy with that time would be an understatement. 2:47 of my previous PB. Now to enjoy the rest of the day and get back into training. Next race is the Mallow 10 next week so I have no idea yet how to plan the week. I would like to give it my all next week as it is a race organised by my own club.
After that it will be Ballycotton. Now that’s the course I would love to put in a good time on. Fingers crossed.

Till the next time - happy running to you all.
Paudie

On to winter training.

2009-11-22T21:39:00.001Z

It’s been a quiet few weeks since the marathon but sometimes quiet is good. After the marathon I decided to take 2 weeks solid off from running. Previously I would have got back on the roads after 5 days. Usually meant I ended up getting little niggles that would frustrate me. Now I am fully recovered and looking forward to the winter ahead.

Winter training for me is something I enjoy. Ok I don’t like the thoughts of spending 10 minutes just getting ready before I head out making sure I am lit up enough so that I don’t end up under a car. Also the thoughts of heading out in the cold and rain is not something that would have me singing from the rooftops but all that being said there is nothing like that feeling of finishing a hard session on a cold evening and feeling strong.

So 2 weeks after the marathon I got back on the roads and I have also included cycling into my training to mix things up a bit. My first week back I clocked up 25 miles and this week was a 30 mile week. On the bike I am averaging about 20 miles a week. (Not today though with the weather the way it is)

After the marathon I decided to get some advice from a fellow I work with. He is a 2.39 marathoner and has got his coaching badges so can only do me some good to get a different perspective. A couple of pieces of advice he gave me was to cut back on the amount of races I was doing before the marathons. Reason being was that so many races was making a big impact on my training. Each race would take a minimum of 3 days out of my training. Putting this into perspective I did 11 races in the 16 weeks leading up to my marathon. 33 days training out of 112 days. Nearly 30%. Looking at it now it’s a fact that I need to be more selective in the races I want to run.

Second bit of advice was in regards to the speed work I was doing. Sticking to the one type of speed work will only get me so far but I need to mix things up a bit. Also tempo runs seem to be missing. (What’s really a tempo run I ask) anyway lots of things for me to work on during the winter so here’s to the next few months.
My target for now is to train well over the winter and to do the Munster Spring Classics 10 Mile Series. First race is on the 10th of January. The Mallow AC 10 road race (My own club)

My target is to be running approximately 50 miles week leading up to Christmas. This will be well mixed training. Sunday easy runs. Tuesday and Thursday speed work and Saturday endurance work. Look forward to the hills. (not!) I am hoping for Wednesday to be mid week pacey run and Monday I’ll give this tempo running a go.

My speed sessions will be mixed also. Tuesday night is 10 by 30 second blasts with 30 second recovery in between. 2 mile warm up and cool down. When I was told to try this I have to be honest, I thought easy peasy. Well after 6 30 seconds blasts I was fit to collapse. The 30 second recovery started to feel like 10 seconds and the 30 second blasts were feeling more like 2 minute sprints rather than 30 seconds. Anyway got to the end of them and looking forward to next Tuesday. Thursday night at the moment is 5km runs in Limerick University. It is a winter series that increases to 7km for the next 3 weeks. Pushing it hard during these.

Anyway that’s all my news for now. December ahead and I’ll update hopefully as I go along. Until the next time - Slan.

Marathon report

2009-10-28T22:55:00.003Z

Before it all seems like a distant memory I think I better scribble some thoughts about last Monday’s marathon.

Tapering had gone well but as I said in a previous post maybe 20 days was a bit much considering I had not gone over the 60 mile mark during my heaviest training period. Anyway that being said I was nice and relaxed for the race day.

If you had a wish for a particular type of weather then your wishes had come true – conditions were perfect. Had a good night’s sleep the night before. Up at 6am had muesli and bagel for breakfast. Headed off to the start of the race around 8:00 am. I always love the great buzz and atmosphere around the start area before the race kicks off.

In fairness to the organisers they had the time zone segregation down to a tee this year. I was in the under 3.5 hour section and I got off to a good start - I believe it took me just over 20 seconds to get over the start line. I think in a race of 12000+ that is brilliant. This year the race took off in the opposite direction to previous years but this had little effect really. I always find the first 2 miles a case of minding my step and keeping out of trouble.

This year rather than keeping track of my time based on every mile I ran I decided to write my target times in 4 mile intervals up to 20 miles and 3 mile intervals for the remainder on my inner arm to help keep my pace on track. Basically I would check my per mile pace at the mile marker but not be thinking on how much time has gone at each mile. It worked well for me and it’s something I think I will do again. During my first 4 mile section my pace was all over the place.

Mile 1 7:38, Mile 2 6:55, Mile 3 7:13 & Mile 4 7:00. Total time 28:47. 29:44 is what I had targeted on my arm. My average page was to be in the 7:20 to 7:25 range. Time to relax and steady myself. I think at this point I had started to fall into old habits. Mile 2 in particular was silly. I was feeling great through this period but was glad to see the start of the phoenix park at the 4 mile mark as I kinda feel that from there you start to get into your stride and the race proper.

Miles 4 to 8. Mile 5 6:58, Mile 6 7:12, Mile 7 7:25 & Mile 8 6:55. Total time 57:16. Target time at 8 miles was 59:29. Huston we have a problem but the big problem was not realising the problem at the time and fixing it. 2 minutes doesn’t sound like much in the large scheme of things but I think it affected me later. I found mile 4 to 8 enjoyable. My brother had come out to cheer me on around the 5.5 mile mark which I wasn’t expecting. Also I met Grellan who was flying it. Hadn’t met him before but always enjoy reading his blog. Strange to see people passing that you know how their training went but would have never had spoke to them. Breaks the journey a bit. Anyway on through the Phoenix park and the 8 mile mark is at the exit of the park. There is a down hill run to the exit gate so there is a great sense of invincibility as the legs are fresh.

Miles 8 to 12. Mile 9. 7:00, Mile 10, 7:20, Mile 11 7:06, Mile 12 7.25. Total time 1.26.07. Target time 1.29.14. Ok I am now hitting closer to my targeted time and it is not from tiredness in the legs. It is because of the fright at the 8 mile mark to be honest. I did tell myself to pull back on the pedal. In the back of my mind I was worrying if I had pushed it too far in the early stages. Time will tell I told myself and just said get on with it now.

Mile 12 to 16. Mile 13 7:33, Mile 14 7:18, Mile 15 7:14, Mile 16 7:37. Total time 1.55.49. Target time 1.58.59. Coming to the halfway point joined in with a couple of runners that were running around the 7:20 pace. This really suited me as I usually don’t like the 13 to 16 mile part of any marathon. After the water stop after the 15 mile mark I lost touch with them. My times were starting to suffer at this point but to be honest I felt good so I wasn’t 100% sure what the story was. I think I slowed down a lot when taking on water and a gel at this point.

Mile 16 to 20. Mile 17 7:21, Mile 18 7:15, Mile 19 7:45, Mile 20 8:11. Total time 2.26.21. Target time 2.28.44. I had got into a great rhythm between miles 16 up to the 19. Just before the 19 mile mark coming up to Milltown I felt my calf starting to cramp. It was on the pull up to the spar shop. It gave me a shock as I wasn’t expecting it at all. I should have expected it as I have not done a marathon yet where I haven’t cramped. The difference this time was that it wasn’t at the 23 mile mark like usual but 19 miles. Ahhhhh!!!. I slowed down my pace straight away and in the back of my mind told myself that the 3:15 would not be on the cards today. By the time I hit the 20 mile mark I was on target but it was not a real indication of how I was. In fact I was ahead of my target but I knew what was ahead. My first marathon I tried to run through cramps and ended up in a bad way by the end. Now I slow down so at least I can jog along.

Mile 20 to 23. Mile 21 8:34, Mile 22 7:52, Mile 23 8:17 Total time 2.51.04. Target time 2.51.03. Ok I have just hit my target time now but my mile splits at this stage are disastrous. I’m gone over the 8 min mile and to be honest I am kicking myself. It was not because of energy or dehydration but any time I would try speed up then my calf would start acting up. At mile 21 on Fosters Avenue I walked for about 20 seconds and it gave a bit of relief. Another gel at this point and some water and on I went again. My pace had well slowed down but by the end of mile 22 I was starting to run rather than jog again. This didn’t last long as another mile down then the calf muscle started cramping again. This was basically the way from this point until the end and my times tell the story.

Mile 24 to Finish. Mile 24 8:25, Mile 25 8:53, Mile 26 8:54. Lastly the last section of the run took me 9.12. This has me baffled to be honest. I understand mile 24 up to Mile 26 but the last section????? 9:12 minutes. Ok my garmin clocked it as half a mile. Always the way with a marathon. There is always more than the 26.2. But 9:12? Ok I cramped bad after turning around Trinity and needed to pull out some Biofreeze to ease the pain on a quad muscle. (Note to self. Why did I not use the bio freeze earlier. Miracle stuff I tell you.) I really don’t know why it took so long. Can’t explain. Aliens abducted me I think for a few minutes. Anyway I crossed the line in a time of 3:21:59. Chip time 3:21:37. A new PB by 50 seconds.

Update 29/10/2009. Follow up. Correction. Last half took me 4.41. Need to open my eyes. Sorry.

Am I happy with my time?? Yes absolutely. Any day you can finish a marathon is a good day. Any day you get a PB in a marathon is a great day. Ok to achieve anything more would have been brilliant but hey you have got to be happy with what happens and I think I learned more from this marathon then any of my previous 4.

Cramping is something I didn’t factor into plans at all and looking back over my schedule over the last few months I think I changed a couple of things that might not have helped. During my training this time I did a lot of track and speed work. I think this held good to me in regards to my energy and feeling good inside all the way around but what suffered was my midweek medium long runs. Also Looking at my long runs only 1 had gone over the 20 mile mark and none of my long runs had gone over the 3 hour mark. I didn’t really cop this but its great to have documented it so I can look back at it. I think next year I will add 2 20 milers and a 22 miler into my plan. Also bring back the midweek medium long runs.

Looking around the internet seems to give way too many causes for cramping and none of them definite. If anybody has any secrets that they want to pass on then please do.

Lastly thanks to the people cheering us all on. My own family were great to travel up and also some of the club mates who would appear at different points of the course really helped.

Till the next Marathon next year sometime - Bye.

Paudie

The time has come.

2009-10-23T22:57:00.006+01:00

Well just near the end of the 16 weeks training putting in 624 miles and it all boils down to preparing correctly over the next 3 days. Mess around too much and it could make for a disaster on Monday.

Anyway since my last blog it has just been all about taper taper and taper. My schedule from the beginning was to do 37 miles on week 14, then 25 in week 15 and 13 in week 16. To say I stuck to the plan for the last 3 weeks would be an understatement. Bang on for each week. I have a 2.5 miles stretch the legs tomorrow evening and that’s it. My question though is was the taper correct. Now that it’s done I feel that I started tapering a week too early. Maybe a 14 day taper would have been better. This I will use as learning for my next schedule. What’s done now is done.

The one advantage with pulling back on training is that any niggles that I was carrying have gone away so I can feel confident that I am not carrying an injury into the race. Ok I am getting the phantom pains but at this stage I know that they are my imagination. All will be good on the morning.

My carb loading is well and truly in full swing now. Water and pasta. No doubt by Sunday I will be sick of pasta and rice but let’s not complain about it now. I find the water intake means I am a regular visitor to the toilet at the moment.

Ever since my first marathon where I prepared really badly, I have learned some tricks that work for me in the run up to a marathon. Ok the normal pasta rice and water is on the menu but 2 other things that I now find essential - Pretzel sticks & Dioralyte. I lose a lot of sodium during a long race. I used to cramp a lot. Don’t know the science of how they work but when I use these 2 products in the last 3 days I don’t cramp as much. Pretzels sticks build up my carbs while also increasing the sodium in my body. The nutrition values for 100g Pretzel sticks are Energy 390 kcal, Protein 10.6g Carbs 78.1g and fat 4.0g. This mixed with water always works a treat for me and in the last few days I nibble constantly on them. It also helps to keep my sweet tooth at bay. The Dioralyte is something a club mate told me about a while ago. You can get it at any pharmacy over the counter. What I do is mix up the powder with water and over the space of 3 days I will sip it during the day. It helps with dehydration. I’m not telling anybody to do this but all I can say is that it helps me.

For me I love the last 2 days and I think getting ready is as enjoyable as the race itself. I am meticulous when it comes to prep for a marathon. I tend not to leave anything to chance. My morning breakfast on race day is porridge and a bagel at around 6 o’clock. Anyway learning from the last 2 years, Dublin at the end of October is a cold place. A throw away t-shirt and this time a pair of throw away gloves is a must. (Aldi have handy ones for €3 at the moment)

All the above being said then all I need to do is pack in my gels, 2 biofreeze sachets and get to the start line. I always drink a litre of water with a slow release gel mixed into it in the last hour before the race. I believe it helps me in the first 10 miles. 4 gels is what I use in the marathon. My first marathon I didn’t use any gels and boy did I pay for it. Never again. Now I use the 4 but my forth is usually around mile 23 and I find it hard to get it in to me at that stage but once I’ve taken it I do find the benefits. The Biofreeze sachets are extremely handy if I start to cramp. I rub the Biofreeze into the cramped area and it relieves the cramping.

Lastly my target time for this marathon will be 3:15. If I can do this it will 8 minutes off my time last year. It brings me towards my target of a marathon under 3 hours by the time I’m 40. (Hopefully) I plan on going out at 7:20 per mile and fingers crossed it will work out. I know my last 5 miles will be difficult to keep the pace around 7:25 but I am going to give it a try. A great piece of advice one of the experienced runners in the club told me was that you will have 3 or 4 bad periods in a marathon but you’ve got to remember you will come out of it. If you can bear this in mind during the race it actually works. This is something I always use to pull myself out of bad periods. The crowds all along the way help to spur me on. I always try to thank the people clapping as I run. When the chips are down I find the crowd one of the best ways to get out of it. Every high 5 to a kid brings me one step closer to the end. I’m sure everybody has their own ways to get through the 26 miles 385 yards and God don’t we all need it!

Anyway off I go and best of luck to anybody else who is running a marathon in the upcoming weeks.

Slan

Now the hard work is done.

2009-10-06T23:33:00.002+01:00

Now the hard work is done.

The last week of training is what I consider the hardest part of training. Over the last 3 weeks my mileage would be just short of 170 miles. This time last year I would have hit higher mileage but my training last year was on the same road and the same type training every night. This year I have tried to mix it up by including track work on Tuesday nights and hill work on Saturday mornings. The question is, will this work out well for me in 3 weeks time??? Time will tell but it has made my training easier because of the variance.

On to my last week’s training. Well at the start of the week I decided to train hard for the week. The aim was to ensure my legs were a little tired for the Cork to Cobh race on Sunday as I didn’t want to race Cork to Cobh but just run at my marathon pace. So the week started with my regular six and a half miles Monday run and that was followed by a track session on Tuesday. My track session wasn’t as long as I hoped but the dark evenings are starting to come against me and there are no lights on the track. (excuse)

Wednesday was a rest evening but Thursday was a semi -long run. 11.3 miles in total and this was run at 7.16 per mile pace. Follow that on Friday with a 6.7 mile run with every second mile run at my 10k pace (6:30 per mile). Have to say I felt strong and any niggling injuries that I was carrying over the last few weeks seemed to have mostly cleared up. Just in-case I thought I was having it easy on Saturday morning I did an easy 5 miles on grass.

Now on to Sunday. Cork to Cobh 15 mile road race. I like this race. It is the longest race apart from the marathons that I know of in Ireland. It has always helped me with my confidence before the marathon. Last year my time for this race 1:46:47. I pushed myself then and it worked for me. I had a bad experience 3 weeks prior last year in the Blarney half marathon and the confidence boost from the Cork to Cobh race was great.

This year though was a different story. The plan this year was to learn to pace myself. Pick a target and stick to it. I went out with the following plan. My target Marathon pace is 7:25 per mile giving me a time of just under 3 hours 15 minutes. My plan for the 15 mile was to try run the 15 miles at 7:20 per mile. Well after a 2 mile warm up Sunday morning I lined up along with approximately 800 other runners. After the usual announcements before the start of the race the race got underway. A steep downhill is how it started so it was a case of watching my footing to make sure I didn’t trip over anybody. On wards we go and one of my club mates Patryk ended up running beside me from around the 1 mile mark. I hit the first mile at 7:08 so it was time to readjust. Luckily Patryk was running the same pace as me so by mile 2 we had settled and mile 2 has slowed to 7:12. From there on we averaged between 7:13 and 7:22. I felt very comfortable at all times and myself and Patryk were able to have the odd few words as we ran. By the end of the race I felt there was more to give. What I found hardest was holding back in the first 10 miles. Anyway taking the weeks training into account and holding back my time was 1:49:40. Almost 3 minutes slower than last year but a totally different feeling this year. I feel that 3 hours 15 is very realistic at the moment. (Avoiding injury or the flu)

Now the tapering starts. My weekly mileage this week is 40 miles. That is a drop of 15 miles from last week. Last night was an easy 5 mile recovery and tonight I ran my weekly track session which I plan to be the last one before the marathon. Tonight’s session went very well with 10 x 800meters all under 3:10 each. Rest tomorrow night (Wed). Next week is a 25 mile week and my last week will be around 10-15. In some ways I like the tapering period but the thought of getting injured or getting sick always plays on the mind. I am a big believer in what you eat in the last 10 days will be what makes or breaks a marathon. More about that in my last blog the week before the marathon.

That’s all for now and last blog in 2 weeks time.

Cork to Cobh times.

1: 7:08
2: 7:12
3: 7:14
4: 7:15
5: 7:19
6: 7:14
7: 7:13
8: 7:22
9: 7:21
10: 7:06
11: 7:17
12: 7:21
13: 7:05
14: 7:19
15: 7:07

Now the hard work is done.

4 weeks and counting.

2009-09-27T22:14:00.002+01:00

Consistency is the key. 4 weeks and counting.

The last 2 weeks of my training has been all about putting in the miles and making sure I stay injury free. No races since the Blarney half marathon which I am well glad of as I don’t think it would have served me any benefit. Since Monday week I have put in approximately 115 miles and I am starting to feel it. I notice the spark was not in my legs today when I was running. To be expected to be honest.

What has pleased me is that I’ve made good progress in my last two trips to the track. My plan at the start of my training 12 weeks ago was to bring my 800meter repeats up to a total of 10 and to run each of them in a time under 3.10. This has been the case for the last 2 weeks so there is definitely progress on that front. I plan to do 1 maybe 2 more track sessions at most before the marathon. I think that’s enough. I have also been putting in a bit of hill work so hopefully that will build up a bit of strength.

Over the last week I have been looking at my training for the Cork marathon earlier this year and it seems like I was running 10 seconds faster in training five weeks from the marathon than I am now. The whys of this I am not sure. Maybe it’s the track sessions or maybe the hill work as I didn’t do these in my training earlier this year, so hopefully as I ease up on the training the speed will pick up again. I hope this is the case as I feel I have put in the training over the last 12 weeks to bring me up to at least the same level of fitness as I was in June. In the last 12 weeks I have 497 miles clocked up in training so I think that’s more than enough at this point. I should be around the 600 mark by the 26th of October. Anything more I think would be counter -productive.

Lastly, last Monday night I went to an AAI road running workshop in the University of Limerick. Guest speaker on the night was Thomas Chamney the Irish 800 meter runner. Interesting to listen to how the pro’s run. Anyway my point on this is one of the recommendations made was that no speed work should be included in marathon training in the final 6 weeks of your program. I didn’t know this and it’s something I will be looking at in my next program. One of the main points of the talk was that consistency in training was the only real way of improving and that the likes of injuries that effect the training are always going to be the block in potential improvements. Listen to your body and if you feel there is something wrong then stop and get it seen to. Let it linger and something bigger will affect you and more than likely set you back long term.

That’s about it for now. More of the same in the week ahead. The next event will be next Sunday Oct 4th. the Cork to Cobh 15 mile road race takes place. This is my last race before the marathon and I will be using it as a training run rather than a race. I will be targeting 7:25 per mile in this race. If I run under 7:20 then I will look at it that I can’t pace myself. Most people have told me that it’s not a good idea to race 15 miles just 3 weeks before a marathon. After this I will set my marathon target time in stone.

Anyway take care and next blog will be after the Cork to Cobh.

P.S Thanks to Fergus for the schedule template and basically most of the content. It has been great to keep my training on track. (I can now blame somebody else if it doesn’t go to plan :-) !!! )

Paudie

2009-09-14T21:35:00.002+01:00

6 weeks and counting down fast.

Hi all. It’s been a while since my last update but I was on holidays for a week so that’s my excuse. Plenty of nice easy running on holidays and with lovely weather so happy days.

Lake Garda was the location and morning running was a pleasure there.

Maybe too much as of a pleasure as the section where I ran was a tarmac surface and zero hills.

Approximately 6 miles in length. Morning running a must as the temperature got up to about 30 degrees during the day.

Only problem with this is that I’m not sure if it did me any favours in regards to my marathon training as no hard training was involved (interval, speed, hill) – Still, all work and no play…..

Since my last update I have hit the track to do some 800 meters sessions. These are getting better for me. My last session (2 weeks ago) had me doing 8 x 800 meters at 3.10 with 400 meters recovery in between.

Plan is to hit the track again tomorrow and hopefully bring it up to 10 x 800 meters for the next 3 weeks.

Since my last blog I have had 2 races. Ballycotton 5 was the first. With this I was hoping to get into the top 50 but I only improved 2 places from 62 to 60th so disappointed with that.

Second race was the Blarney Half Marathon yesterday.

Last year I did this race and had the race from hell. From mile 4 I was dead in the water and every mile after that was a struggle. I finished in a time of 1:34:50 last year.

This year was strange. A very hot day and my plan was to try to run 7.05 per mile. This was not to be but at no stage during the race did I feel bad. My finishing time was almost the same as last year at 1:34:49. This while feeling good. I’m really not sure what this is telling me. Did I not push myself enough?? Did the week’s holidays take the kick out of me??? I’m really not sure and I do think that I should have put in a better time than that but how I felt this year compared to last year has no comparison.

My split times are as follows:
Mile 6 was an uphill section so I can understand the 7:54 but mile 12 at 7:39 and mile 13 at 7:22 are a mystery, I felt good so it must be a case of getting lazy close to the end. Something for me to look out for during the Cork to Cobh 15 mile race in 3 weeks time.

1 Mi
6:50.42

2 Mi
6:47.55

3 Mi
7:00.64

4 Mi
7:00.55

5 Mi
7:21.11

6 Mi
7:53.78

7 Mi
7:07.88

8 Mi
7:05.07

9 Mi
6:54.86

10 Mi
7:16.72

11 Mi
7:12.46

12 Mi
7:38.03

13 Mi
7:21.84

0.19 Mi
1:18.33
(Mr Garmin tells me 13.19 sh that why the last interval is 0.19.

At this point I need to look at my training and see where I am. To be honest I am not very happy as of now. I don’t seem to be getting over the 50 mile mark in the week and I think it’s starting to tell. My running is not consistent and if I have any hope of getting under the 3:15 in Dublin then the training needs to improve over the next few weeks.
6 weeks and counting. Tonight is a rest night after yesterday (shins also sore so no harm to rest them). From now ‘till the Cork to Cobh will be crucial in the training for Dublin so fingers crossed.

9 weeks and counting.

2009-08-26T23:07:00.000+01:00

9 weeks and counting.

It’s been a while since I have updated my blog so I think it’s time to get the finger out and start updating.

It’s been an interesting few weeks and I have slid well off my original schedule. In the last few weeks I have had injuries, long runs, races with PB’s and also a trip to Berlin to see Mr Bolt running 19.19 for 200mt.

First I’ll start with my injury. Calf muscle gave me a nice bit of trouble some time ago. I think it was the increase in mileage. This ALWAYS happens me when I start my marathon training programs. Not specifically a calf injury but something always goes wrong that knocks me off my schedule. (Note to self - Next schedule needs to have a slower build up in mileage)

In the last few weeks I am happy to have got in a 19 mile run. Some of the lads in the club are running the Longford marathon and it worked out that they were doing a long run a few weeks ago. (Best of luck this Sunday lads).

On the 31st of July I ran a 5 miler in Kinsale. A really fast course (Mostly downhill). Debateable really if it can be considered a PB as there is so much downhill. Anyway for myself I was happy with my time of 31.48. A week later I did an 8k race in Galway. Felt crappy all the way around but still did an ok time for me - 32.49. I’m going through a spell of feeling crap in all my runs so hoping that will go away soon.

Lastly I went to Berlin last week to see the World Championships. An amazing time and to see U Bolt powering up the track to put in a 19.19 for 200mt was something I will always remember. Also to watch Bekele take on the 5000mt after he had picked up the 10000mt medal was unreal. If they could bottle some of what he has then they could make a lot of money. It will be interesting to see if he decides to take on the Marathon in years to come. That is just 2 highlights and I could go on forever. Women’s high jump, Marathon, Women’s 1500mt and on and on. Only disappointment was in relation to the Marathon. No Paula and no runners from Ireland or the UK in either the men’s or women’s Marathon. As Michael Johnson said on the BBC “it is now up to Europe to up its game in regards to track running.” I think it’s not just track runners. No reason why athletes in Ireland can’t compete with the best if they are given the proper funding and support. Fingers crossed. Last item on this is that I can’t wait for London. If it’s half as good as Berlin then it will be top class.

Now on to the running. Up and down all the time but I feel now that I am starting to get in some good miles. Only problem is I’m going through a patch of being tired every time I run. Not sure what this is about as it has never happened me before but hopefully in a few week I’ll be back to normal.

Ballycotton 5 tomorrow night and hoping to get into the top 50 when the 4 races are totalled up. At the moment I am somewhere in the mid 60’s.

Next update will be after the Blarney half marathon on the 13th of September. I’ll have a week’s holidays in Italy in the week leading up to the race, so I will be getting in some warm weather training. :-)

Take care
Paudie

Good start but a worrying end.

2009-07-26T20:27:00.001+01:00

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.

2009-07-19T17:20:00.000+01:00

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

2009-07-12T20:23:00.000+01:00

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.

2009 marathon schedule

2009-06-29T23:06:00.000+01:00

2009 Marathon schedule.
I hope to keep as close as possible to this schedule.
I have not put any weeks into the schedule that the mileage goes more then 55 miles.
This is not a hardened rule but lots of runners have advised me that it’s not as much the quantity of miles that makes the difference but the quality of the miles you do.
Keeping this in mind I plan on mixing up my training during the week with speed, hill and interval training.
Anyway fingers crossed. This plan starts on the 6th of July and the target marathon is Dublin on the 26th of October.
At the moment I don’t have a target marathon time but closer to the time I will target a particular time.
If anybody has suggestions just send them on. I fully believe in listening to people who have done it all before.

Thanks
Paudie

Click on the schedule for a clearer picture

___The 3 Hour Marathon___