Breakfast at the Roundabout

Week ending 5^th January

Not much to report here. Wednesday and Thursday were enforced days off due to a chest cold- hacking up phlegm, coughing, snotty nose – you get the idea. By Friday I was itching to get out for a run. It felt like it was a week since I went for a run but all those lemsip’s and cough mixture induced lie-ins had made me  into a dozy sloth. 8 miles on Friday were deliberately slow, around 9.05 average pace. It was the first time I used the heart strap monitor in a while- the Hr was 146 on a flat surface. Saturday called for a 4 mile tempo effort preceded with a 2 mile warm up and a one mile cooldown. The first mile of the warmup went well – 8.15 pace, the second mile went faster than I realised 7.22. The rest of the tempo run was a odd affair indeed – 7.05, 7.15,7.20 and 7.24. All this made for a tempo average of 7.15 pace, my fastest in some time but the problem was obvious, decreasing pace on each mile. The last mile saw me running headfirst into a nasty hailstorm. When i was finished I was feeling the effects of my effort reflected in the 4 minute walk and the 9.12 mile pace jog home. I wore the HR strap but the readings made little sense (the HR readings went very low and blank) but the splits and the effort in the last mile indicated the effort was way faster than it should have been. Maybe next time a longer tempo effort but a more even pace.

Sunday morning- in spite of howling gales and driving rain a large group of us met at Mallow for a 11 mile run. I ran mid pack but at a average pace of 8.55 on a hilly course. The effort was meant to be relaxed but the conditions made things tough going. Anyway 11.5 miles completed with a lovely social meeting afterwards with the club members for a spot of breakfast. (Picture courtesy of John Holland)

The Hr for the run was 150 at 8.55 pace. Running at 8.45 pace seems to be producing a 155 Hr while a 9.05 pace produces a 145/146 Hr. Since it is argued that a correct Hr reading for a a long run should be in the 130-150 range this is very useful information for me indeed. I’d be happier with a Hr reading of 145 and a matching pace of 8.30 to 8.45 (as were the case in previous years) but at least I know where I am at. I hope that continued patient running during recovery runs/ midweek runs  and long runs brings about the desired result and that the  fast and mid tempo runs and interval sessions helps the feet move faster. It may noy happen immediately but hopefully I will reap the benefits during the summer.

I also note the drop in mileage the last few weeks , nothing too dramatic, 46 miles, 44 miles,40 miles, 39.8 miles. Hopefully this month will see a upward trend but again nothing too dramatic.

Monday 4 miles, Tuesday 8 miles, Friday 8 miles, Saturday 7 miles with 4 mile tempo, Sunday  11 miles. 39.8 miles