2,000 miles per annum and a 5k race

18^th December

 

A bit of confusion about whether a club training session was going ahead or not. In the event it went ahead but Paudie texted wondering if i fancied a workout in Charleville instead. I agreed. 3 mile warm up followed by six sprint workouts and 90 second recovery. The idea was to cover the same distance (0.65 miles –around 6.40 mile pace) in around 4 minutes. Sprint 1 -4 minutes, sprint 2 -4.08, sprint 3-4.26, sprint 4-4.04, sprint 5 -4.30,sprint 6 -4.12. A tough workout with some variance between sprint 3 and sprint 5 and the rest but overall happy enough. Spent most of the workout chasing after Paudie who kept his times very tight.  Mile jog home.

 

8 miles in total

 

19^th December

 

Jogged 6 miles at slow medium pace roughly around 9 minute pace. Nice crisp evening for it. Legs felt heavy for first 3 miles , no doubt due to last night’s efforts but loosen up a bit for the last couple of miles.  Was happy doing this run but hopefully the pace will pick up.

 

6 miles – 8.53 pace -53mins15seconds

 

20^th December

 

Headed down to Quatertown industrial estate, Mallow with the guys and girls from Mallow AC. The estate is half a mile in diameter so it was perfect for to-nights workout. Mile and half warm up with a half mile of drills, strides and jogging. Then onto the tempo run. Shane, our trainer, said we would be doing a 25 minute tempo run at your favoured 10 mile pace. As I am hoping to do a sub 70 minute in Dungarvan 10 mile, it made sense to run at sub 7 pace. Mile 1 felt easy and passed in 7minutes07 seconds, mile 2 easy again in 7.00 pace and mile 3 again in 7.00 pace. Felt very comfortable. Funny how running in a group can make the effort seem easier. Decided to lift the pace for mile 4. The 25 minute run finished but I decided to do another 3 minutes to see if I could get 4 miles done under the 28 minutes. Stopped the watch when the garmin signalled 4 miles. Last mile completed in 6.46 but again I felt very comfortable. Finished with a half mile cooldown. A very satisfying workout- the hard part was driving home in the fog.

 

6.5 miles with 4 mile tempo in 27.53

 

22^nd December

 

Out of bed for what used to be a once regular routine – the long run. Did 10 solid miles. First 5 miles were completed in 44 minutes, last 5 miles in around 41 minutes something. As I said solid stuff. Racked up 2,000 miles this year which is another cause for quiet satisfaction.

 

10 miles 1.25.22, 8.34 average

 

23^rd December- Newmarket 5k

 

This was my first meaningful race since the Dublin marathon. The Mount Oval 6 mile was a charity jog with buddies, Clonakilty was a mess and the Doneraile 5k was another charity speed run. No I was looking forward to this one and while I knew I wasn’t going to get under the magical 20 minutes yet I had hoped to get under 21 minutes. Spotted the usual faces- a lot of whom were getting back in shape post Dublin or post Clonakilty marathons. At the top end of the field it was told to me the standard was very high indeed. I guess the prospect of the winner claiming a  300 euro prize fund for what was in effect a 15 minute race was enticing indeed. Did the obligatory 1 mile warm up and a couple of 2 minute sprints and took my place at the start line. The first ½ mile was downhill and I was careful to keep the pace at 6.40. By mile 1 I was feeling very relaxed and passed the first mile in 6.33. At 1.75 miles I was overtaking runners by the dozen and rounded the traffic cones for the turnaround back to the town. I spotted a number of runners who were ahead of me and resolved to catch up with them. By mile 2 a large gap had opened up between me and the runners behind me but i wasn’t strong enough to make up any ground. Looking at my watch the second mile passed in 6.38 and the chest was beginning to feel wheezy. It was after all my third speed session this week. Nevertheless I reckoned a 20.30 was well on the cards but the pull up through the town proved too much for me and mile 3 passed in 6.45. On the downhill stretch I caught a few stragglers and stopped my watch in 20.45. Overall I had mixed feelings about my performance. I was glad to get under 21 minutes but I should have pushed harder on the last mile rather than losing 10-15 seconds. In terms of where I stand in terms of traning for Dungarvan 10 I am on the right track. The next few races will give me further idea as to where I stand.It also concludes a very good weeks running.

3.1 mile race in 20.45 with 1 mile warm up.

 

Mileage for week 34 miles