First week of the taper and the training breakdown

Week ending 29^th March.

Week one of the taper has just passed and all things considered it went reasonably well. I’m still a bit disappointed about picking up the knee injury last Saturday and not getting a chance to take part in the Mallow 10 .  I am also disappointed about not getting a chance to hike up the mileage in the mid 70’s in my last week of training.

Anyway it’s all done now so move on and keep the legs fresh and keep on a eye on the knee thing. Monday morning the knee was sore , now it just feels stiff though only intermittedly. Walking up and down stairs isn’t as much of a issue as it was Monday and Tuesday so that I will take that as a positive sign. The school stairs was tricky at times. Much of the week has been spent applying a ice pack to the afflicted area and performing leg raises and reverse knee squats.

Running wise I ran 4 recovery miles on Monday – jog a mile , walk 2 minutes and repeat 4 times. There was a bit of a reaction on Tuesday so I rested up and spent the day doing the DIY – physio thing. Wednesday was a bit of a risky one , running 7 miles up and down the hills in Mayfield but again it went well and I ran at a nice clip at 7.45 pace. Were I at full fitness I would have liked to go faster but it had to do.

No chance of running a planned tempo run on the Thursday but ran 10 miles in Charleville at 7.50 pace. I was happy with how the run went ,very comfortable and cruising along.

Friday I took another day off purely as a precautionary measure. I would have liked to knocked out another 10 miles but completed another 10 miles on Saturday morning instead at a slower relaxed pace of 8.30 per mile. Again the legs were nice and loose. The knee was ok enough but I was always constantly conscious of it especially on the downhills on Love Lane and Manor Hill.

 Saturday was a busy day spending a further 3 hours digging out a new bed in the garden, it probably wasn’t the cleverest idea but it was a job that was long overdue.

Sunday was a long run in the company of my Mallow clubmates. We ran the traditional Ballyclough loop and I tacked a few miles beforehand giving me 16 miles in total. I deliberately ran at a very slow pace mindful of the 3 mile descent from Newtownpothouse into Annabella. Again the knee felt ok but I was very conscious of it. I’ve a physio appointment tomorrow. I booked it a while back with the aim of getting a rub down on the legs but maybe John (O’Sullivan) can take a look at the knee as well. However all things considered I am in 80% shape. During the week of the Tralee marathon I would have said I was closer to 95 % fit and ready. Time will tell.

Mileage for the week – 47 miles. Monday 4 miles, Wednesday 7 miles, Thursday 10 miles, Saturday 10 miles, Sunday 16 miles.

The training breakdown.

Training started on the 29^th December. 12 weeks not including taper. Total mileage 653 miles.

Average mileage 54.41 miles. Highest mileage weeks 75 miles and 70 miles.

I ran 6 X 20 mile runs-  - 21 miles, 22.8 miles, 21 miles, 24 miles, 26.2 miles, 20 miles.

In terms of back to back runs I covered the race distance twice- 24 miles/15.3 miles and 26.2 miles / 15 miles. The most pleasing aspect of the training was my willingness to go out and tackle a second shorter long run the day after a long run. The only forced exception was last week.

No PB’s. I entered 2 races – Dungarvan 10 miles and Tralee marathon.

Two more weeks of tapering left.

My immediate goal is still the same. Get to the start line fit and ready and take it from there

Les Miserables

Week ending 22^nd March

This week was to mark the last full week of training before the taper begins. I have to admit I was disappointed with how the week went as I expected to hit around 70 miles. In the end I only managed 47 miles getting out only 3 days this week, rather than the usual 5/6 days a week. I like to finish with a strong week as it confirms I am on the right track.

As mentioned last time out I ran a back to back long run of 26.2 miles and 15 miles taking a rest day on Paddy’s day. I expected to run another 10 miles on the Wednesday but the energy just wasn’t there. Part of the problem stemmed from the fact that I didn’t run during my normal window at lunchtime leaving it instead until the evening at 6pm. I had a bad few nights sleep and a busy day in work and the will had completely evaporated. It does happen occasionally but this time I was well and truly wrecked.

On Thursday morning though I made amends running 12 miles at a comfortable 8.03 pace and all appeared to be on track. By Thursday night I started to feel totally maxed out again and hit the stratcher very early. Again I slept poorly and had real problems finding the energy to lift myself out of the bed. I feared the onset of flu and the resting heart rate was above 55 beats, lately it has been around 47 beats, so the elevation was surprising. I didn’t feel at all comfortable until the afternoon but really didn’t feel great. I postponed plans to attend the school musical that night , appropriately “Les Miserables” and  drove home.

The schedule called for a back to back effort of a combined 40 miles and I had originally planned to run 23 miles on Saturday and 17 miles on Sunday (including 10 miles of the Mallow 10 which I had entered before Christmas). I joined the Mallow gang for a long run on the Saturday. We ran 2 X 10 miles of wider Mallow area. The first loop went fine but the energy started to drop again after mile 17 and by mile 18 the knee started to get sore. I walked for a few minutes letting Darragh, Clive and Peadar run off ahead and I finished up after 20 miles. The pace was modest enough – 8.39 pace but the effort felt tougher than the marathon last week or any training run I completed since January. The rest of the day I headed up to Mayfield doing some household chores for my Mum.

The knee didn’t feel any better that evening and I had decided to shelve my plans to run the Mallow 10.

The Mallow 10 is the biggest day in the club calendar and I have to admit I wasn’t actively involved in the preparations as I was in previous years. This was mostly down to training for the ultra and work commitments in the evening. To be fair the organizing committee (Denis, Paudie, Sharon, Ger, John, Aidan, George and so on) do a cracking job and they had plenty of foot soldiers to help out. My buddy Aidan McGee was down from Offaly so I was playing host for the day. I did manage to get down for the start and did some stewarding at the finish line so I guess that was something. All went well with the race.

I have nothing left to do now but to simply hope the knee sorts itself out and that the energy returns. As I say a disappointing weeks running.

Mileage for the week – 47 miles

Monday 15 miles, Thursday 12 miles, Saturday 20 miles.

Tralee marathon report, part 2 of 2.

Tralee marathon report and the next day……. (it's a long one)

You have probably read a few of these reports at this stage, in particular that of a certain Austrian superman living in Kerry , so I hope to keep this reasonably interesting.

When I decided on Christmas to start training for the ultra I was thinking the Tralee marathon would be the ideal training run- measured course, hilly terrain, water stations and a good tester as to how the legs would feel after 26.2 miles. It was also 4 weeks out from the ultra so recovery wouldn’t be such a issue either. If nothing else it would offer a alternative to slogging it out by myself or with clubmates on the Cork roads.

I headed down to the HQ at the Brandon hotel at around 7.30 am, a good 90 minutes before the start. I had to collect my number and the whole thing was very relaxed and lowkey. So unfortunately  was the fact there was no t shirt to collect either, a shame considering I forked out 60 euro to enter. If it was 40 quid or something I wouldn’t have minded so much but it did irk me somewhat. I had a cup of tea in the breakfast lounge of the hotel chatting to clubmate Sharon Woods and her husband. She was running in the half marathon and ended up being first lady home. Well done Sharon.

I made my way up to the startline around ten minutes before the start. There was only 319 or so runners taking part in the full which suited me fine but for those looking for a big feel atmosphere it must have been a bit underwhelming. I was determined to enjoy myself and trotted off at a handy pace. I had thoughts of sticking with the sub 4 hour pacers but after the first few miles the pace was a bit too pedestrian for me so I headed on. I offered some words of encouragement to Jerry Forde (marathon 303) and Dave Brady (running his 469 marathon) and on I pondered. By mile 3 we were out of the town heading towards Ardfert and the scenery took a turn for the better. At mile 5 I fell in talking with Andrew, a northern man living in Tralee running his first marathon and also with Sinead Kane. Sinead is a visually impaired runner who was running with her guide runner. Sinead ran the Donadea 50 K a number of weeks ago and was a inspiring person to talk too. Sinead’s bright and bubbly personality and her ability to overcome the crippling obstacle that is blindness  was seriously humbling.

At mile 7 (61minutes on the clock) we turned off for Banna and into the dunes and wetlands. At this stage the wind started to whip up and a lot of runners were beginning to suffer. I know the feeling and sympathised inwardly. I  felt very chilled out and had to remind myself to hold it back. After all it was a training run and I had a 15 mile run to complete the next day so no need to be getting panicked about time.

By mile ten we were in the heart of the countryside and to be fair the absence of crowds was more than compensated by house dwellers coming and clapping us as we went past. IThe traffic at times was a bit disconcerting but the stewards while bare in some parts were going a good job. That said at times I and other runners had to ask in what direction were we going. I think at mile 12 there was no stewarding at all and one guy in front of me nearly went the wrong way. On a positive note the water stations were numerous though the absence of bins made for terribly unsightly littering. I trust the organisers took note, littering in the Irish countryside is a real problem in the last few years, in fact it’s quite disgusting. I usually held on to my empty bottle until I could pass it to a steward or throw it into a house recycling bin.

The faster half marathon runners joined us around mile 12 or 13 and I hit the half way point in around 1.53.20 (no timing mat or actual halfway marking sign). The next 2 miles were rapid downhill descents and I was around 10 minutes off 3.30 pace. At this point I made my mind up to get in around 3hrs45minutes without at the same time completely exhausting myself. Mile 16 onwards become more difficult heading into a lot of hills and drags. At mile 18 I saw the 3.45 pacers up ahead and I felt well enough to tip up to them. Mile 19 involved a out and back section along the pier. There was one comic moment when a runner on the other side of the road asked me if the pacers in front of me were the 3.30 pacers. When I told him otherwise his face dropped and his running companions dissolved in laughter.

At mile 20 I was on top of the pacers and was chatting briefly to Mallow ‘s multiple marathon veteran and all round good guy, Peader Curtis. Peader was giving it socks but the headwind on the coastline was pretty devastating. Dipak, the pacer, was finding it tough going himself and was probably a minute off schedule when we hit another hill at mile 21 and again at mile 22. I stopped and consumed a gel catching up with the main group again. At this stage there was only 3 people left with Dipak before he started to shot off down the hill at a almighty pace obviously trying to make up on time lost at mile 20 and mile 21.

 I gave pursuit and felt wonderfully comfortable hitting mile 23 in 7.52 pace. The next couple of miles took us off the main roads but they were on the whole reasonably ok hitting mile 24 and 25 in 8.05 and 8.06. I was well past the pacer at this stage, the last mile into town was a gem, a rapid downhill section (7.33) , taking me right into Denny st and through the finish chute. There was some confusion again from the stewards as to where we were going but the reception at the finish line was warm and welcoming. My official finishing time was 3hrs42minutes31seconds. It was a solid effort but the most pleasing aspect was the absence of any muscle soreness or cardiovascular discomfort. I reasoned if I had to run another 13.1 miles I should have been ok to keep going. That doesn’t mean anything of course until I actually have to do it and put my money where my mouth is.

I headed back to the car spent a bit of time stretching and refuelling (3 bananas, 4 sandwiches, 2 chocolate bars, plenty of water and a magnum ice cream). I was ok driving home though I was probably on the slow ponderous side of the speed limit motoring back to Charleville. Aoiffe remarked how fresh I looked and I enjoyed tucking into the steak sandwich and wedges that evening.

It was great having completed another marathon albeit as a training run. If I had tapered and raced it I suspect I might have come close to improving on my Amsterdam time but the job was only half done in Tralee. Next morning I was up at around 6.45 am ready  to run the second half of my back to back run- 15 miles. I was very fresh with no trace of stiffness or soreness and ran the route from Charleville/Ballyhea/Charleville in around 2hrs08minutes.

While I was tired in the evening I wasn’t as bad as I feared I would be but was glad of the lie in bed on Patricks Day.

Nearly there…nearly there….One week of training left.

Part 1 of 2

Week beginning 16^th March,

A very good running week. 15 miles @ 8.38 pace Monday, 10 Miles Tuesday with 6 miles  @ 7 minute pace, 10 miles Wednesday @ 7.17 pace, 10 miles @ 8.15 pace Thursday, 4 miles Saturday @ 8.20 pace and 26.2 mile marathon in Tralee in 3.42.30.

This morning consisted of a 15 mile @ 8.32 pace. I was pretty chuffed to get the back to back long runs in as it marks a second time in three weeks I managed to cover the ultra distance over two days. Hopefully I will get to do it again next weekend. After that I will begin my taper.

The 15 mile run last week was a real dog of a run. It was lashing from the very start when I headed out the door early in the morning and it got progressively wetter and windier as it went on. The run was a wobbly one and as I lapped past my house a second time I even contemplated quitting after a hour but in the tru tradition of “relentless forward progress” I managed to get through the whole exercise. The Tuesday tempo run wasn’t too hot either as the legs were paying the price for ignoringspeed workouts for a few weeks. At mile 4 of the tempo I was averaging 7.05 pace but the speed reasserted itself for the last two miles  (6.57 and 6.40) allowing me to come in on 41.57 minutes. It wasn’t as fast a tempo as 3 weeks ago (5 miles @ 6.52 pace) but I was glad to have it done.

It must have had a sharpening effect as I ran 10 miles @ 7.17 pace the next day. I felt I could have continued for another 3 miles it felt that good. By Thursday the appetite for running was back and I allowed myself a nice relaxed 10 mile as a reward for the harder efforts earlier in the week.

Despite all the good midweek training it’s the work done on the long runs that really counts. Running a marathon in Tralee on the Sunday and a 15 mile run the next morning was always going to see if I hadwhat it takes. You will have to wait for that report tomorrow….

Some Mug !!!!

Week ending 8^th March

It wasn’t a easy decision I had to make during the week when I decided not to run the Ballycotton 10. It’s probably the most iconic road race in the country and from a personal point of view it would have marked 5 years since I first ran my first ever road race. However the Connemara ultra is my  prime target and I felt I hadn’t enough speed work in my legs to nearly do my race justice. It was a long coach journey to end up jogging 10 miles down the back for a mug . That said best of luck to all runners who ran today.

 It was also  nearly 3 weeks since my last tempo (5 miles at 6.52 pace) but I haven’t had the where with all to do one since. I was told speed and ultra’s (especially ultra novices) don’t mix too well and that has seemed to be the case. The back to back long runs mean that the rest of the running week is about recovery running or at very best running long medium distances at most marathon or slow 13.1 pace. Ah well maybe next year for the 10 mile race, it’s going no where fast whereas I’m not sure if I will be doing another ultra any time soon.

Since Tuesday I expected there would be only small mileage to be completed for the rest of the week and so it proved. A few real life responsibilities intruded on Wednesday and Thursday and I really didn’t feel like running at all Friday ( I rarely do). At least it meant I was getting plenty of rest in and I felt pretty fresh on the Saturday for a routine 10.2 mile run around Cooleens and Pike’s Cross. I had toyed with the idea of doing a tempo but again the legs weren't up for it (or maybe it was the head?) so I ran at a solid enough steady pace of 7.50 per mile doing another 10.5 miles on the Sunday morning at a pace of 7.54. I do seem to be harbouring  a slight cough and the tummy has been a bit unhappy since Friday but nothing to stop me in my tracks. I won’t talk too much about feeling light headed going to work on Thursday. I blame dehydration.

So that’s the update for the week. I was happy enough to take it easier this week nothing wrong with a cutback week. 2 weeks of training left and then the 3 week taper.

Total mileage for week ended 8^th March. 40.7 miles. Monday 15.3 miles, Tuesday 4.7 miles, Saturday 10.2 miles, Sunday 10.5 miles.

Slogfests and snow flurries

Week ending March 1^st

Too lazy or too tired to write much. Anyway I didn’t get out for a jog until Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday was taken up with after school activities – namely family vists and parent teacher meetings. Well that’s not entirely true. I slept out Monday morning and by the time I got back home in the evening , a howling gale and the smell of a home cooked meal was enough to send me scurrying to the chair. Very nice it was too but ooh the guilt. This worsened after getting home late on Tuesday.

 Wednesday's run in Mayfield was a mental struggle for the first few miles but it was ok after that and actually turned into a enjoyable run though having to complete 4 laps of the estate to make up the 10^th mile must have looked a bit strange to the neighbors. Thursday was more of the same except this time up in Charleville at a slower pace. I was supposed to do a tempo run but the drive wasn’t there for it. I normally try to do a tempo every two weeks and this was first time I didn’t stick to the planned schedule. I was beginning to fear I was reaching a overtrained induced state but the indicators weren’t present (elevated heart rate, tired legs, colds etc). I am probably however reaching a newer phase of adaptation, after all I am running more miles in the last few months that I ever have before. Also speedwork isn’t necessary for a ultra. Volume is the name of the game.

Nevertheless if I do train for a marathon over the summer it s is useful to know just how far I can push it- I will need to do the speedwork. Races will help in that regard.

 Friday was another tough day – again up in Mayfield, Cork. I had a tough day in work and I had a 40^th to attend that night. I was going to be on the dry for the night and I was looking forward to getting the running job done. It was a good enough run and a excellent night out with the lads and ladies. Mind you I scoffed the party food.

Saturday was a run in the company of my friend Aidan (Mayfield again). We hadn’t met up in a while and the run flew by. We covered 7.2 miles at a handy relaxed pace doing more talking than fast running but that was fine.

The big workouts were to occur on Sunday and Monday. I ran 24 miles at 8.50 pace in the company of my Mallow clubmates. This was my longest run to date, in fact my longest ever training run. I ran 3 miles on my own before the main group met up. I practiced some nutritional strategies – 3 gels and one banana after every 5 miles and power walked after every hour for 3 minutes.  What was most encouraging about the run was that I finished strong and felt good. I could have pushed on for the full 26.2 miles but that may be for another time.  While slower than last weeks 21 mile run I definitely felt a lot fresher. I went hope tired but happy. My good wife had a supply of freshly baked scones waiting for me when I got back allowing me to simply sit across the couch watching the rugby. Class.

Monday morning I was psychologically keyed up for the second half of my back to back run but I was dismayed to see the snow covering the town and it environs. Very un spring like weather and I was worried I would forego another Monday run. Thankfully it cleared when I got back home that evening and off I toddled off for a 2 X 7.5 mile laps of the town. It was a flat enough route , in contrast to yesterdays slogfest, and while I slowed down deliberately  for the last 3 miles (time on the feet) I still managed to run 15.3 miles in a respectable 8.31 average pace. The weather conditions while calm and restful were also very cold evidenced by the hailshowers which erupted as soon I got in the door.

Tuesday consisted of a 4.7 mile recovery run at 9.16 pace which was laboured enough to tell me to take a break for a day at least.

80 miles in the last 7 days, 61.7 miles week ended March 1^st and 20 miles the start of this week.

Wednesday 25^th February: 10 miles at 7.49 pace, Thursday 10 miles at 8.05 pace, Friday 10.5 miles at  8.35 pace, Saturday 7.2 miles at 8.44 pace, Sunday 24 miles at 8.50 pace

Monday 2^nd March : 15.3 miles at 8.31 pace, Tuesday 4.7 miles at 9.16 pace

3 weeks of full training left before the taper kicks in