A early 20 miler

Week starting 21^st July

Another good running week but I would have liked to have got a better 5 mile time in Churchtown South on Thursday. This was the third race of four of the Ballycotton series.They are proper tough races and the ultimate aim is to finish in the top 50. That was never really on the cards but I had hoped to be comfortably in the top 100 at this stage.I ran the same race last year and ended injuring myself and taking a enforced break from running. My finishing time today was 34.31, not a bad time probably a solid one but well removed from a a sub 34 time and miles away from a PB. A lot of my clubmates were flying it and have made significant ground in the last 12 months. That said it’s the  Amsterdam marathon  that is my number one race and I am currently number 100 in the standings so hopefully with one race to go I can make up some ground. Mind you if I want to improve on the 3-6 mile distance different training is called for.

Monday was marked by a relaxed 4 mile recovery jog as was Friday. Sandwiched in between  was a 7 mile run on Tuesday with a 30 minute tempo insert at 7.25 pace (last mile 7.18) and 11 miles in 91 minutes on Wednesday (Hr 141). Thursday was the race in Churchtown South (2 mile warm up).

Sunday was the morning of the long run. I had planned to get 10k in on the Saturday but mindful of how leg weary  I felt the previous week I thought it best to give it a miss. Just as well really as I ended up running 20 miles on the Sunday with the club group. My original plan was to do 18 miles meeting up with Dermot at 8.15 for a 4.5 mile run and then do the remaining 13-14 miles with the main group at 9am. The problem was though that the route we took was over 16 miles. The terrain was varied and challenging.. It was a enjoyable route made all the more sweeter by a fine spread at various rest points. At mile 16 Caroline had a bagful of goodies for us – water, bananas, croissants, lucozade, chocolate and so on. Barry commented that we end up heavier after a long run rather than lighter.

Despite my 4.5 miles before hand I was feeling very relaxed tipping away at a handy pace. The Hr was averaging out as 140 and I never felt troubled. With less than 1.5 miles to the car park I had accumulated 20 miles up on the legs and I was happy to stop and walk the remaining distance to the car with Jim for a pleasant chat. I had spent 2hrs53mins on my feet which while unexpected will stand me later on.

This time next week I won’t be running on Irish soil so it will be interesting to see what of mileage I can get done. The next 5 days I do hope to continue the good work, the holidays will be more relaxed. The remaining 10 weeks after that will be pretty full on.

Mileage for the week 53 miles. Monday 4 miles, Tuesday 7 miles, Wednesday 11 miles, Thursday 7 miles with 5 mile race, Friday 4 miles, Sunday 20 miles. Picture by Paudie Birmingham, taken at Churchtown South.



Humid

Week ended 20^th July

I am heading off on my holidays in a few weeks so the priority for me is to get miles up on the legs. I will entering one more race in the coming week –Churchtown South 5 miler. As a result I gave the Donoughamore 7 a miss, my first time missing it since 2010. I had hoped to get under 50 minutes ideally under 49 minutes but the recovery from running a very tough race always takes it toll at the weekend. My clubmates from Mallow recorded good times there on Friday night.

Monday was a relaxed affair – jog / walk in 40 minutes. Tuesday was a surprisingly good run. One mile warm up and 5 miles at what was meant to be at 7.40 pace and one mile cooldown. I really didn’t think I had a strong 5 miles in me but I ran the lot in 7.16 average with the last mile at 6.55 pace. Wednesday was another mid pace medium long run – 85 minute run covering 10.38 miles at a solid pace of 8.12. The weather was very heavy – meaning humid and for a second week in a row I was very parched. The Hr was a bit high too 151 – but that was down to the weather with temperatures at around 23 degrees Celsius and the workout the day before. Thursday I joined the club session in Doneraile park. Not having been there in 7 weeks I didn’t get around to doing my planned 2 mile warm up too busy catching up with all the gossip. Anyway in keeping with the week the workout went well running 5.5 miles with 3.1 miles in 22.15 and keeping in touch with the leading runners in the group, though i am sure they were taking it easy.

No running on Friday but it did mark the end of the correcting so hip hip hooray. Saturday I ran 10k at a 7.50 average pace. I bumped into Paudie who is currently recovering from a  operation on his leg. He will be back in a few months but recovery will take time.

Nevertheless despite my good week I felt unsettled as to what run I would do on Sunday. The schedule called for a long run of 17 miles or a marathon pace with a 10 mile cut in or a 13 mile cut back run. I had resolved to do the 17 mile long run but the early start in Mallow ( a solo run of 4 miles before joining the main group at 9am for 13 miles) was totally thrown out by me missing my alarm. I had a terrible nights sleep as some idiot couple were having a drunken and noisy argument for a hour at 5 in the morning outside the house. By the time I woke up and dragged myself down to mallow for 9 I was pretty much not-in-the form. As a result I ran 13.34 miles instead. It was very humid and I think we were all suffering and glad to see it done. Most of the group had ran Donoughamore the Friday before so they were feeling it themselves. Anyway for the record it was 13.34 miles at 8.27 pace. The HR was 147. It will have to be a proper long run next week though and a marathon pace long run the week after that.

Nevertheless a good running week. 46 miles. Monday 3.7 mls, Tuesday 7 mls, Wednesday 10.38, Thursday 5.5 mls, Saturday 6.2 mls, Sunday 13.34 mls.

The half ton week

Week ending 13^th July

In my last entry I was talking about getting out 6 days a week and getting 50 miles up on my legs. I had reckoned I would have to wait till the end of the month. However I had resolved on Sunday night to keep the focus and get out 6 days a weeks and get 50 miles up on the legs. Mission accomplished.

Monday I ran the Dromcollogher 4 mile race giving Tony a lift on the way up. 2 years ago I ran this in around 27minutes 34 seconds. I missed out on it last year but watched as a interested spectator in what was the hottest day in Ireland in nearly 30 years. Again I didn’t know what to expect but hoped to improve on my previous time and ideally get under 27 minutes and set a PB. We did a 2 mile warm up beforehand in the added company of young Declan and bang on 8 pm the race started. The first mile is arrow flat and downhill but I was careful not to over extend myself. It passed in 6.32 and I was happy to see that I wasn’t too stressed by the pace. Turning the corner at 1.4 miles however the race took on a entirely different character.  The course got a bit steeper and the second mile passed in 6.42. Tony zipped past me and tore on up the road leaving me for dead a la the Dungarvan 10 last January. Aoife was up ahead and in her attempt to push for a prize was feeling the pressure. Sharon was as usual flying ahead of all of us. Mile 3 was a aslower time of 6.57 and I was feeling the pressure myself. I still reckoned a sub 27 minutes was on the cards if I could push really hard the last mile which was downhill in parts. Turning the corner into the town I broke into a attempted sprint with two lads breathing over my shoulder. I crossed the last mile in 6.53, five or six seconds outside a sub 27 minutes. Tony came home in 26.45 and Aoife not far behind him.

It was also great to see club great John Holland mark a 14 month absence from running by completing the circuit. While a small bit disappointed not to PB I enjoyed the evening and rounded off the day with a one mile cool down giving me a pretty decent workout of 7 miles.

Tuesday was a recovery day. One mile jog and watch the Hr drop to below 140 beats by walking for a minute to 90 seconds. I repeated this 4 times. The overall pace was 9.15 with the Hr a bit higher than one would expect – 136. While it is a tedious way to run it helps the system to bounce back.

Wednesday was another mid week medium long run. I don’t know how long these runs will go up to – maybe 2 hours or maybe 1hour50 minutes but for the moment the pace will be dictated by the HR. This time the readings were very positive – 8.06 pace with a Hr of 143. The mileage covered here was 10 miles on a flat course. Thursday was a day off with a tempo run Friday. Again this was a positive workout – 2 mile warm up with a 30 minute tempo and a 1 mile cooldown. The tempo portion went well but it was tough. Doing this on your one makes it harder even the pace (7.15) was a lot slower than that which I raced on Monday. Anyway I ran 4.16 miles at the aforementioned pace. I didn’t have a Hr strap for this one but i suspect the Hr was well above 170.

Saturday consisted of a 6 mile run around town with 6 X 1 minute sprint inserts at 6.15 pace. That gave me a overall pace of 7.50. Ideally I would want to be running the casual medium run at a faster pace without the effort  feeling difficult. Hopefully all in good time.

That left Sunday as the last run of the week – the bread and butter long run. I did 3 miles beforehand with Pa and Peader joining up with the large main group at 9 am for a further 13.1 miles around the hills and dips of Chaherduggan. I was glad to hog it down the back keeping a eye on the HR. In all I ran at 8.30 – 8.35 pace spending around 2hrs20minutes on my feet. HR for the second portion was 146.

A good running week – 50 miles and two years since I joined Mallow AC

Monday 7 miles with 4 mile race at 6.48 pace, Tuesday 4 mile recovery pace,Wednesday 10 miles, Thursday rest, Friday 7 miles with 30 minute tempo at 7.15 pace, Saturday 6 miles with 6 X1 minute sprints, Sunday 16.3 miles.

.

 

Getting it all together

Week ending 6^th July

A solid week running if only I could have got out running a bit more.Monday was the end of a very busy week with a lot of driving around the country and up and down to Cork from Charleville (2 hour round trip). Last week I was up in Athlone attending the marking conference, then it was down to the Marquee for a couple of gigs (Biffy Clyro and the Pixies), a race in Ballycotton, a christening for my niece and waiting on a painter to do a bit of work in the house.  Ok ok it’s hardly hard work but still ......

It was all a bit crazy so hopefully I  can get a bit more consistency over the next few weeks. Thankfully the weather has held up and it is nice spending the time enjoying it.

Monday 4 mile recovery walk, Tuesday – no running as the painter was around the place until 7 in the evening and the corrections were getting very hectic, Wednesday – 9.5 mile medium long run at 8.20 pace, Thursday 7 miles at 8.10 pace, Friday – no running, Saturday – 10 miles with 3 miles tempo insert at 7.25 pace, Sunday – no running as I needed to get a few things done around the house. In fairess it’s hardly groundshaking stuff ,around 30 miles. I would really want to be getting 6 times a week by the end of August and up to 50 miles by the end of July. The main thing is not to panic and keep the focus. There is probably 2-3 races coming up this month and I would like to do these. I would also however to get a bit more natural pace up in the legs on my medium pace 6-7 mile runs. At the moment I am stuck on a constant 8.10 - 8.15 pace.

I have distilled my training down to a Monday recovery run, Tuesday tempo run, intervals or fast paced 7 mile run, Wednesday medium paced midweek long run, Thursday tempo, intervals or fast paced run or 5 mile race, Friday rest, Saturday relaxed 6 mile run and Sunday long slow run with some marathon paced portions thrown in. That's the ideal idea of a good running week. Hopefully I can get it all together.