Fast Saturdays, Slow Sundays

29^th September

Getting closer to the taper.Ran 6 miles this morning. Hoping to do it at a snappy enough pace. Mile 1-7.41, Mile 2 – 7.17, Mile 3 -7.21, Mile 4-7.16, Mile 5 -7.08, Mile 6 -7.11. Accepting that the first mile was always going to be slow I was happy enough with the pace over the other 5 miles. Mile 3 dropped by a few seconds but had more to do with a parked car that I had to run around. By mile 6 I could have done another 2-3 miles but had run out of road. Long slow run to-morrow. Sometimes I am rearing and really forward to doing these long runs but not this time. Hopefully my 2 hour kip on the couch will restore my appetite for the road. Going up to Cork City on Saturday for shopping really takes it out of me. Hopefully I won’t be doing that for another while!!!! Anyway this will be my longest run of the training schedule. The objective is to simply stay on the feet for as long as possible. Nothing more than that really. Next Sunday week is the Cork-Cobh 15 mile race. Will be using it a MP run. At the mo’ re-reading Thomas Bubendorfers blog from 2006 when he cracked sub 3.30 in Dublin following Pfitzingers schedule. I of course binned the plan last June but the blog is interesting reading.I do like to re-read it foolish as it is to compare times...

6 miles , 43.55, Hr 159, 7.19 pace

 

30^th September

The day of the LSR. Perhaps my least favourite workout of any marathon programme. I usually run as slow a pace as possible trying to stay on my feet as long as possible. I had hoped to do 23 miles but after doing the usual Mallow- Doneraile-Buttevant-Doneraile-Mallow route which comes to around 20.8 miles I did a extra 1.2 mile loop around Mallow town . At that stage I had run 22 miles in 3 hours 18 minutes but having to do another mile would have served little purpose given the slow pace I was doing. The left knee and groin was getting crankier too so it was wiser to stop. I was running at such a slow pace the rest of the Mallow group had long since gone home but conversation was beyond me anyway. For most of the run I sstayed down the back while  the group ran at various paces. The legs were not responding today so I adopted the right pacing strategy. This was my third 20 plus run in 5 weeks with another possible 20 miler coming up next week so slow was the way too go. My general mood was a bit tired, running 60 plus miles in a week was obviously taking it’s toll. As I say I didn’t particularly enjoy and was glad to get it over with. Maybe it was the rain that did for me. Anyway onward and upward. I have another 60 miles to do next week. The HR was 142 so happy with that and the weekly 62.5 miles. That's a record as is my monthly total of 234 miles.

On a different note glad to see a old friend of mine – Timmy O’Connor call into the house for a chat. He cycled all the way from Meelin to our house stayed for a couple of hours before cycling back again. Some man for the bike....

Monday 4 miles at 10minute pace, Tuesday 10 miles in 1hr28minutes, Wednesday 10.5 miles in 1hr25minutes, Thursday 10 miles with 5X2minute sprints in 1hr.17minutes, Friday rest, Saturday 6 miles at 7.19 pace, Sunday 22 miles at 9 minute pace. Total mileage 62.5 miles

The long week.....2 weeks to taper

24^th September

Still mulling over yesterdays race. Anyway had plenty of time in the car on the way home- another 100 minute car journey. Anyway jogged for 40 mintes or 4 miles but HR was really high – in fact to crazy levels.

4 miles in 40 minutes. HR 144!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

25^th September

It was still dark at 6.52 am when I headed out, a sure sign of the winter nights that are coming. That and the bucketing of rain. Funnily enough I didn’t mind heading out in it and to be fair the worst of the rain had dispersed within 15 minutes. Decided to do a 9 minute pace ten mile run, if only to give the legs a chance to recover and my heart rate had to come down. It was a pace that suited me perfectly but I didn’t have the desire to increase it either, a sure sign to take it handy. Ran a pretty odd route with lots of out and back’s – Love Lane, Smiths Rd, a couple of laps of the town park, up and down the railway road, back to my house and out past the Turrets and back home again. Definitely a route not designed for speed. I felt very relaxed all the way through. The whole took around 1.28.25 (8.50 pace). The heart rate was 140 average so hopefully i can keep it to that for most of the week.. I was worried I was cutting things fine in allowing time for some small core work, shower, shirt and tie and brekkie followed by the ever familiar commute to Cork City.I made it with plenty to spare for my 11.05 class. I like the early morning running , always feel I’m getting one up on the rest of the world.

10 miles – 1hr28mins25seconds/8.50 pace/Hr 140

26^th September

The pattern of my garmin not behaving itself on a Wednesday continued. Had to rely on the stopwatch for this one. Moreover work ran very late and the prospect of futher delays proved less than appealing so I opted for Charleville over Mayfield. Reckon I did at least ten miles (maybe 10.5 miles) in around 1.25.xx. Took it very slow for the first half mile as i running with a slower jogger so the time should be 2 minutes quicker. Anyway felt very comfortable.

10.5 miles -1hr25minsXXseconds.

27^th September

Did 8.47 miles in 1.05 or so (possibly faster) and 5 X 2 minute sprints with walking breaks. In total ran 10 miles in 1hr.16minutes.33seconds.

HR 150

Anyway a picture of me crossing the mat during the Charleville half marathon. My relief is obvious...

Charleville half marathon report

Sunday 23th September

The morning of the half marathon in Charleville was ideal. No long driving or getting up early for this one. Up at 8.30 and down at the start line for 9.40. Did a two mile warm up with Don and his club mate John Morrissey. I was laughing when a steward who looked the worse for wear and munching on a brekkie roll asked what time it was starting on. When we told him he said "Jesus I better get down there so!!!".Priceless.

 It was obvious there was going to be a big crowd today. North Cork AC had laid  on a excellent race the year before and it was obvious the same standard was being reached today. Chatted to a few locals and Mallow club members and introduced myself to one of the pacers and fellow blogger – Grellan McGrath.

Mile 1 is slightly downhill and is fast. Tried to hold myself back but hit it in 7.08- 7 seconds too fast. Went slower for the second mile 7.26 and fell in for a few miles with John and Tim Joe Buckley. We were hitting around 7.15 average pace which was perfect. Mile3/4/5 all passed in 7.11, 7.13 and 7.19. The road to Killmallock is a long and straight but pretty monontous so I was glad to turn into the historical town and under the Norman fortifications. The locals were sparse enough in attendance but were very supportive. Turned right at the church and hit the half way timing mats only a few seconds off target. Mile 6 and 7 passed in 7.11 and 7.01. I knew the next 3 miles were downhill and very fast so I made sure to try to stick to my pace as much as possible. I wrote my splits on my hand and it was great to be able to focus on these these. Mile 8 and mile 9 went in 7.03 and 7.13 which meant I was a few seconds over target. When I hit the timing mats in mile ten in 1.12.25 I was in a strong position to finish in my target time of 1.35. Normally the legs start to fade badly at this stage but when I hit that awful bridge at mile 11 in 7.20 I was confident. I was hoping to power home for the last 2.1 miles but a almighty f*** cramp grabbed hold of my left leg and I was in serious discomfort. The pace started to drop badly and I was struggling badly. I was even beginning to wonder if i would even finish. The tightening around the back of the leg intensified and I was glad for the momentary chat with a Galtee runner to take my mind off things. Aoife Carroll’s shouts of well done was helping as well. Hit mile 12 in 7.30 and I was seriously unhappy. My wife Aoiffe Lowe was standing at the top of Baker’s Road and it was clear she could see I was in trouble. Turning in the finish at St Josephs I did manage to smile and pose for a John Holland photo shot. Hit mile 13 in 7.35 and went under the clock for a garmin time of 1.35.55. The clock time was 1.36.30 or so.

My time was a PB just not the PB I was looking forward for but a PB is a PB. No point in getting away from the fact that I was disappointed with the cramping at mile 11 onwards and the falling pace for the last two miles.it cost me probably 40 odd seconds. When I crossed the line I headed over to the green lay down and lifted the legs onto the tree stump. The heart rate dropped and the legs came back to life. My buddy Don took 5 minutes off his PB (1.42) and is well scheduled to get under 4 hours for Dublin. As for me , well I think the sub 3.30 will be a tight one. I will be sticking to the pacers for that one. As a workout it was a excellent one and as a race it was a good one. This half marathon will be around for a long time to come.

It was great to be able to walk home and enjoy the great feed put on my wife. Nice to see Don, Annette and the kids call in as well. No chance of watching the all Ireland in peace though- have to head to a kiddies birthday party at 4!!!!

2 mile warm up, 13.2 mile half marathon (1.35.55/7.17 pace), 1 mile cooldown walk home.

A sore foot and seasonal musings

Monday 17^th September

4 miles in 38 minutes. Around 9.26 pace. HR 131. Felt a bit stiff before I started but better now. Will take it easy on the speedwork.

Tuesday 18^th September

10.5 miles in 1.26.45. Ran at a medium pace. No club training for next few weeks so made up for it with morning medium long run. Happy enough with the way it went but I wonder if the PF is back these days. Right foot slightly uncomfortable after standing right on top a piece of lose brickwork on the side of the road. Really felt it and landed on the side of the ankle. Ouch!!! Got home no bother but felt the throbbing all day and night

Wednesday 19^th

Right foot still feeling sore. Pain is under the foot on the right side of the arch. I assume the pain is only just bruising caused by my rock stepping incident. Did the whole R.I.C.E thing and took two v strong paracetamol. Hopefully will be a lot better Thursday morning. Fingers crossed it’s only bruising and not PF or even worse a stress fracture. Had to miss out on my proposed 11 mile run up in Mayfield. I had hoped to do 50 miles this week as a cutback week so it now looks like the cutback will be more pronounced. The rest isn’t a bad thing as next two weeks will see a increase to 60 miles plus. Well at least that’s the plan.....

Thursday 20^th September

Went out running at 6.50 am with some amount of trepidation. But after the first uphill mile It was obvious  the foot was going to be ok. Did ten miles in total in 1hr18mins32seconds/7.51 pace. Ran the last 3 miles in around 7.37, 7.28, 7.23. Even though it’s a cutback week I was hoping to get 50 miles up on the legs but may to settle for less this week

Friday 21^st September

A surprisingly tough day in work followed by a 100 minute commute home (yes a 100 minutes!!!) for the 4^th day running had me finished when I came in the door. Not a chance of getting out the door for a run until the throbbing headache went away by which time it was time to do the weekly shopping. By 8.00pm it was time to forget about making up lost mileage and settle down to a bar of Wispa and a bag of Tayto’s and a episode of “Breaking Bad”. Roll on bedtime...

Saturday 22^nd September

Went out for a run at around 9.15 am. Their was a definite chill in the air and while it was a nice sunny morning it is obvious Autumn/Winter temperatures are creeping in. September is usually the most beautiful month of the year to be running on country roads and today was no different. Lovely brown, golden leaves on the trees and on the  ground with the smell of cut grass everywhere. Anyway snapping out of my Wordsworth moment I found it hard for the first 2 miles to get into the run. The legs were defo a bit heavy so I made sure to keep it easy. All the time I was trying not to think about the local half marathon being held to-morrow but was finding it difficult. “What pace will I do?”, “At mile 10 what state will I be in?”, “What’s a good time?/What’s a bad time” etc etc. My fighting words of last week are becoming more cautious by the day.

6 miles at 8.15 pace. 49mins 30 seconds. Hr 144.

Calculating the odds with Jack, Hal and Mac

Sunday 16^th September

Ran with the Mallow group. The plan was to do a 21 mile run but I wanted to run a duration of the run at MP pace. It was probably a risk sandwiched in between 2 half marathons but the reassurance of doing a MP run on tired legs was important. Mission achieved anyway. Did 21 miles in 2.53.53 and while still allowing for a couple of watering pitstops and a downhill 3 mile finish I was very happy. Average Hr was 150. Miles 1 to miles 9 was reached in 1.20.22. The splits for the remaining 12 miles were 7.44,7.41,7.42,8.00,8.06,7.50,7.42,7.53,7.41,7.33,7.40,7.51. The last 12 miles were completed in 1.33.31 with mile 16 explained by a steep pull. The average pace was 7.45 which translates into a 3.24.30 marathon time. This of course would be a dream time for me. Over the week I put my Blarney half marathon time into a number of running calculators including Macmillian, Runners World, Hal Higdon, Jack Daniel’s VDOT (not the drink but the coach). The most conservative estimates say I can do the marathon in 3.27, the most optimistic was 3.22. Personally I treat these calculators with a fair degree of caution. A good rule of thumb is to double your half marathon and add a minimum of ten minutes and a maximum of 20 minutes allowing for experience and fitness. That would give me 206 – 226 minutes for the marathon or a time of 3.26 to 3.36, so that isn't too bad.. Last year in running Dublin I estimated based on previous half marathons and MP runs a finish time of 3.43 to 3.45 and I ended up with a time of 3.40.51. There fore what conclusions can I draw?

1)       I am in very good running shape. I have a half marathon coming up next weekend and will be tee’d off if I don’t get close to 1.36 and possibly a 1.35. I have a long long run the week after and hope to do 22/23 miles at 9 minute pace. The Cork Cobh 15 mile race will be in effect a 20 miler with a 5 mile warm and 15 miles to be run on 7.35 to 7.45 pace. Then maybe a 18 miler the week after. Nothing much more I can do at that stage bar watch the diet.

2)       Allowing for all things being equal (good weather, no injuries etc etc) when I stand on the start line in Dublin i can be confident and hopeful of getting just under the 3.30 time. That said I would be foolish to extend myself beyond the pacer too early in the race. Either way there may not be a whole lot in it. A solid start as distinct from a slow one or a fast one is vital. The last 10K will be the decider.

3)       The very worst I can expect will be a 3.30 to 3.40 time

4)       Calculators are a bit ropey and really have to be treated with caution. Races and long runs are the best knowledge a runner can have. “Know thyself”

Mileage for the week 59.5. A new weekly record. Mind you one of the guys in Mallow AC ran 107 miles this week. He’s going for a 2.54 in Frankfurt. Unreal and admirable.

A picture from Blarney half marathon

Another horror picture.......................I'm obviously suffering at mile 12

Two crunchies and the hunger game

10^th September

4 mile jog. Slight strain in the groin and a dodgy tummy. Hardly surprising given the nosh I ate over the weekend. Ran at 10 minute pace but really wanted the whole thing to be over as soon as i started.

No HR data. 4 miles in 40 minutes

11^th September

The evening run with Mallow Ac. Things will be winding down for a few weeks. Anyway did 4 mile warm up followed by a rigorous series of drills and stretches. Followed by 3 X 6 minutes laps on the pitch. I ran at a 7.15 pace and the pace felt very manageable all the way through. Finished off with another 3 miles or so. The garmin read 10 miles at the finish at around 1.28.00

10 miles with 3 x6 minutes running

12^th September

It’s Wednesday!!!! That means a medium run up in the northside of the city. The garmin was flat for this one so had to make do with the timer on my digital watch. I always find that unsatisfying – not knowing my splits and my actual mileage throws me into a sort of disarray. Anyway I always  find this tough and was going through the agonies running down the Commons road and onto the bottom of Pophams rd. . The course from Boherboy rd to Banduff to Spring lane and up the back of Blackpool shopping centre onto Commons rd is actually mostly downhill but after that you are climbing all the way.  At St Lukes I saluted Imelda Lyons, a former work colleague of mine and fellow marathoner as is her husband Dennis. Imelda cracked the sub 4 in Dublin last year while her husband has his eyes probably set on the sub 3 (different class)

After that I felt reasonably ok considering I must have gained around a 80 metre elevation going up Middle Glanmire rd and up to Boherboy rd. I made sure to keep the effort even but was done for by the time I reached my mum’s house. As usual my mum was there with the fresh tuna rolls and glasses of water (39 going on 12). It was good to see my baby niece too even if my conversation was as limited as hers (she’s 7 months). Hard going. Anyway I think at roughly 8.30 pace, maybe 8.25 I did around 10 miles. Next week will be aiming for the 11 miles.

Ran for 1hour.25minutes.25 seconds. I think around 10 miles

13^th September

A late start in work meant I get this run completed in the morning leaving the rest of the day free. The sleep wasn’t great and I felt it when I left the house at 6.55 am. Moreover the backs of the legs were sore , a sure sign I was feeling the effects of the accumulated mileage.I picked a slower route than the faster route I ran on Thursday with the first mile uphill up Love Lane (8.23). After that I ran very smoothly  but no chance of hitting the 7.15 average I hit last week. That was fine by me. By mile 7 running down the railway road it was time to stop and proceed to do 5 X 2 minutes sprints. I ran these at 6.45 pace covering 0.3 of a mile. I wanted to see if I could manage a steady pace and each sprint was run at a similar pace -6.45 per mile pace. In total I covered 8.5 miles with mile 1 to 7 covering in 7.41 average and 1.5 mile of sprints covered in 6.45 pace. It’s a measure of how far I have come when I consider this workout to be average or solid. A couple of months ago i would have been chuffed. Overall happy enough.

Miles 1-7 -53.47 with 1.53 miles of sprints -10.14

 

Saturday 15^th September

Didn’t run since that early effort on Thursday morning so my legs had got plenty of rest. That soreness I was experiencing on Thursday evening had gone and the usual manic Friday commute/work/commute/shopping was alleviated  by a good evening watching “The Hunger Games” on the box in the company of myself, Aoiffe and her 15 year old sister. The two crunchie bars went down well as did the long lie in bed. Rest is a massive component of training and the more good nights sleep I have the better i feel. Anyway ran 6 miles in 44mins19secs or 7.23 pace. The run went very very well. Mile 1-7.57, mile 2- 7.25, mile 3- 7.23, mile 4- 7.16, mile 5- 7.10 and mile 6- 7.01. HR was 154 Each mile just went quicker and quicker. Lovely stuff

6 miles in 44,19