A tougher week

Week ending 25^th January 2015

This was a week of high mileage with Sunday today being my rest day. Enjoying the rest from running too. I never saw the point of running 7 days a week even though I realised last night I actually had run 7 days in a row if not quite in the same week. While I doubt I am actually running much faster, I do hope that a prolonged period of high mileage (with the occasional cutback week) might help improve my endurance for Connemara. A number of textbooks do caution against heavy loading and not over reaching. I reckon I should be ok,as long I get the back to backs in.

 A bit of increased speed would be nice too but as I am training for a ultra that isn’t a priority. I normally like to take the Friday evening off fitting my back to back runs over the Saturday/Sunday or Sunday/Monday but I had a friends 40^th to attend in Ballincollig on Saturday so my plans had changed. I also realised that the days planned for the back to back runs will vary over the next few weeks due to one thing or another. The main thing is to get them done.

Monday evening after work was the second day of my back to back after 18 miles the day before in Charleville. The legs felt fine getting out of bed on Monday morning but by the time I got home they were pretty heavy. I was tempted to foam roll them before I went out the door for a  run but this would have defeated the point of the exercise, that is learning to run on heavy legs and as far as I am aware I don’t think there will be any opportunities for foam rolling in Connemara during the ultra (hur hur). The effort felt fine but the pace was slow around 9 minutes per mile. Tuesday was a easier day a recovery run with 8 * 30 second strides to liven the legs up and a faster 8 mile hill run up in Mayfield on Wednesday followed by a 2 mile easier cooldown run. Thursday was the day of the teachers strike so that gave me a rare chance to get some daylight running in. This I wanted to run slightly slower than tempo pace but faster than a medium pace, 7 miles with 6 miles at 7.25 pace. The effort did feel uncomfortable at times.

That left me with the long run up in Cork after work on Friday. I was uncertain as to what mileage I was going to do but decided on a policy of getting as far as Lady’s Well and taking it from there as I had a option of going out as far as Carrigrohane road or turning up towards Mayfield. After a hour I had run 7.3 miles and was feeling pretty good so decided to press on, after the second hour things were getting a bit tougher running 7.1 miles. It was a cool evening but I was feeling a bit parched (no water). The last section was a really tough horrible section up the by now well worn hills towards Mayfield. I was disappointed having to stop twice for walking breaks (2 minutes each) but regained my composure to complete the last 3 miles at a steady pace. If anything brought home to me the enormity of the personal challenge I was setting myself it was this run and the 11.5 miles I completed the next morning in Charleville. That left the night free for socialising and very good it was too.

Miles for the week 61.5 – Monday 10 miles, Tuesday 4 miles with 8 * 30 strides, Wednesday 10 miles with 8 miles at 7.27 pace, Thursday 7 miles with 6 miles at 7.25 pace, Friday 19 miles at 8.46 pace, Saturday 11.5 miles in 91 minutes.

A movable feast

Week ending 18^th January

I spent the week grappling with all sort of obstacles to running. I decided that Monday mornings would be put aside for a spot of either recovery running or back to back running. I had a fair bit of latitude in my timetable allowing me to run in the morning and get into work for around 11.30 am. Time is a precious commodity for me as it takes me 75 minutes to get into work but as I was required for cover first thing in the morning I had to rearrange my plans. Normally this would mean a run in the evening but I had no sooner started the car when I realised the front tyre was totally flat. Cue much swearing and cursing. Cue change of clothes and out with the jack, spare tyre and wheel brace. The nuts and the jacking worked fine but the alloys were totally welded onto the wheel. Not a hope of getting it off. I had to ring for assistance and finally after a hour got the spare wheel on (a leather mallet did the trick). When I brought the car down to the tyre fitters a obviously hungover guy who plainly was in no rush told me it would take 2 hours to sort the wheel out and do the tracking!!!! (You having a laugh mate? ).

 This meant that I was late in for work and I used the 2 hours hanging around to get a 45 minute recovery jog in. It also meant cancelling a planned lunchtime meeting with my Dad.

Tuesday evening was more of the same. Getting home around six I had no sooner set my foot out the door for a run when the snow started to fall. After 20 minutes it started getting a bit treacherous underfoot so I headed back and called it a day. The eyes were not protected and I couldn’t see beyond the hand in front of my face. Cue return back home. Wednesday morning the snow had made driving very difficult. 

The 75 minute journey took nearly two hours and the return journey was around 90 minutes. Thankfully the worst of it had cleared up when I got back and I ran 10 miles at a handy 8.09 pace. The momentum was carried over on Thursday evening when I fitted in a 30 minute tempo bookended by a 2 mile warm and 1.3 mile cooldown, giving me 7.5 miles in total. 
The splits for the tempo were 7.04, 7.03, 7.14, 6.59 respectively. The HR was 161. I was happy enough with the tempo as the high winds and rain made running difficult, hence the slow third mile and the fast last mile. Friday evening I went for a rare evening run mindful of a busy day on Saturday. I covered 9.3 miles in a snappy 7.36 pace. I would have covered ten miles but I went for a burton coming into the estate luckily falling in the grass. No real damage done bar a bit of bruising on the elbow and right knee.

Saturday morning running was a planned 150 minute run but the icy paths outside the estate, up the passage and out of the town were quite impossible. I also had a removal to attend up in Cork plus the usual shopping chores plus a bit of work to complete for a upcoming whole school evaluation. The window for running was very narrow as  the frost and ice settled down again at 5.30 pm. Nothing to be called for it but patience.

I headed out for a solo LSR at 1pm on the Sunday afternoon. The temperatures had risen to five degrees celsius just enough to clear the paths. The route I took was dull enough. At times the pace was going a bit fast so I decided to walk for 3 minutes after every hour, a opportunity to practice my run walk strategy. This allowed me to rest the running muscles and get some respite. I also noticed a welcome drop in my heart rate which in turn allowed  me to re energize myself when I started running again. While I covered 18 miles in 2hrs 31minutes 30 seconds at a fastish training pace I was more than happy to see the HR average at a satisfying aerobic level of 148. Nevertheless in terms of ultra running I have only covered less than half the distance of the required 39.3 mile distance. This ultra beast won’t be tamed easily.

Miles for the week 48.8 miles. Monday 4 miles, Tuesday no run worth talking about, Wednesday 10 miles, Thursday 7.5 miles with 30 minute tempo at 7.06 pace, Friday 9.3 miles, Saturday no run, Sunday 18 miles. 

A fresher week.

Week ending 11^th January

Another week into the New Year. I was happy enough with the mileage completed this week – 53 miles but the vibe I felt when running was one of sluggishness. Tuesday was a case in point. I didn’t fancy going for a  run at all but as it was meant to be only a recovery jog I opted for a 4 mile walk instead around Cork City on my hour off. I ran 8 miles on the Monday. Anyway when I got home I ended falling asleep and snoring very loudly on the couch for 2 hours before going to bed and sleeping for another 8 hours after that. The enforced sleep seemed to have done the trick as I was a lot fresher the rest of the week.

Running up in Cork on Wednesday was a tough affair battling against some heavy wind and gales unable to cover no more than 8.26 miles in the 70 minute period window open to me. Thankfully by Thursday night the wind and rain subsided somewhat to enable to run 8 miles at a steadier 7.55 minute pace, the last three miles coming in at 7.35, 7,30 and 7.15 respectively. The Hr was 155 with a rest day Friday.

That left me with the prospect of running back to backs over the weekend. It was a struggle getting out of my warm bed on Saturday morning. It was obvious I was out of practice arising up for a long run. A couple of months ago this was second nature to me but running on my own around Charleville was a mentally challenging prospect. However as the object of the exercise was simply to spend time on my feet and not worry about pace I began to warm to the job in hand. Miles 1 – 5 was spent running up and down Love Lane, the Limerick road, 2 laps of the car park of the hotel and back to my house before heading down for a pleasant enough run to Bally hea and back via the Railway road. It was Baltic out there at times but at least it was dry. I was also happy to see the pace improve covering 6.8 miles in the first hour, 7.2 miles in the second hour tacking on a further 2 miles for a total of 2hrs16 minutes on my feet. It was one of those long runs where it didn't turn out as bad as I feared. I better get used to running on my own as I don’t think there will be many wanting to train for a ultra with me.

Sunday was a lot easier running with the lad and ladies of Mallow covering a nice and relaxed 10 miles – also at 8.30 pace. The Hr was 151. Hopefully more the same for the next few weeks.

Mileage for the week 54.26 miles. Monday 8 miles, Tuesday 4 miles walking, Wednesday 8.26 miles, Thursday 8 miles, Saturday 16 miles, Saturday 10 miles.

Pudding and Custard

Week ending 4^th January

I won’t be bothering with all this 15 weeks to go and 12 weeks to go and all that jazz. At the moment I am simply pondering about going back to work to-morrow and trying to fit in running around it. To be honest working is a necessary evil that interferes with running, I have often wondered what it would be like to have paid leave for a period of time to enable me to run 6/7 days a week with a coach and a fitness guru’s but as that will never actually happen I will have to make do with things as they are. It’s better to be working and making some money than no money at all.

Mileage wise the week has average at best – only 30 miles and 3 days off running. At the moment it is Sunday and I haven’t actually ran anywhere since Friday’s 10 miles up in Cork (8.27 pace, 154 HR). Monday was a 4 mile walk run jog trying to clear my head of a pretty bad hangover enjoyed in some very favourable company in the local on the Sunday night. Tuesday I was in better form and knocked out a pretty decent 4 mile tempo – 7.10, 7.05, 7.00 and 6.55 with 2 mile warm and cool down. Very happy with that I have to say. Wednesday the legs were feeling a bit cranky but managed to get through the 70 minute run at a reasonably slow pace – 8.6 miles. The heart rate wasn’t particularly low but I don’t have the figures to hand. I was thinking that in terms of Hr my threshold/ marathon pace should be no higher than 145. Maybe cutting down on sugars might help as will consistent running.

 I knew getting miles in the rest of the week was going to be tricky as I had several meetups and social functions planned. New Years Eve on Wednesday night meant a few more beers and helping to keep the house in good shape all day Thursday (tree came down) before a house call that evening – no drinking but lots of eating. Friday I was up in Cork as mentioned already and was delighted to get that 10 miles in but Saturday was a write off having met Derm and Tim on the Friday night for yet more beer. That left me with Sunday morning, normally a ideal time to get a long run in but my snotty nose and overactive stomach told me otherwise.it wasn’t a pretty picture. Christmas pudding was rather rich.

Yeah it’s not being a great week for training. I really need to get moving over the next few weeks. I am pretty sure I won’t be socialising a lot over the month bar one impending 40^th at the end of the month and the ultra is a ideal opportunity to cut down on the sugars and sweets. Without getting too hung up on the weight thing I will be getting the weigh in done during the week.

Mileage for the week 30 miles (Monday 4 miles, Tuesday 7 miles with 4 mile tempo, Wednesday 8.6 miles, Friday 10.34 miles)