Mile Reps

Headed out to Dangan so I could run my miles on the track. After a 3.2km warm-up, I changed shoes for the track and after 4 run-throughs, I was off. My target was sub 5:10 per mile (well 4 laps to be exact) and the first one felt comfortable in 5:08. After 1 minute recovery, I ran the second rep in 5:07. All good so far. The third was completed in 5:06 so still getting quicker. I pushed the last one to run 4:59 so was pleased with the set - I felt pretty comfortable throughout so that was good after feeling tired all week.

I ended up running a couple of warm-down laps with Brian so that's another 6.8km. So all up the session was 16.4km.

Eze

Still feeling tired. I can't remember if this is normal in the middle of marathon training - probably is.

I did my 14.4km route in 1:02:40 so 4:21/km. Took it easy and that is reflected in the slowish time. Mile reps tomorrow, rest on Friday and the half marathon on Saturday. At this stage I'm feeling like I'm in for a shocker.

40 Minute Threshold

I did a 10 minute warm-up. I was going to use the 9.3km loop for this run and despite perfect running weather, I was not looking forward to this.

The plan was to run at half-marathon pace for 40 minutes. The legs still felt shot but I decided to get on with it. Once underway, I didn't feel too bad and after completing the lap in 31:24 it suddenly felt a lot harder. I toughed it out but the pace may have fell away a little in the last 8 minutes. Anyway, all up I covered 11.8km in the 40 minutes so was averaging 3:23/km. I estimate I went through 10km in about 33:48 so a good session, especially running by yourself on very tired legs.

I finished up with a few kms warm-down to finish with 16.5km for the day.

A New Week

Legs feeling really tired at the moment and I seem to have developed a sore left hip. I decided to take it really easy and head to the local sports field to do some running on the grass. After 10 laps I was getting bored so did a 4.9km loop of the new Claregalway 10km course to finish with 12.2km in 56:04.

Hip still sore but I think I'll be okay. Tough session tomorrow...

The Accelerator

The plan was to do a 20 miler and increase the pace throughout and run some towards the end of the session at marathon pace.

I was going to use my 9.3km Claregalway loop. Run the first lap easy, the second lap quicker, then the third lap at marathon pace. Then finish up with a few kms to get to 20 miles.

The first lap felt really easy. Good to get back to cooler climates and was running freely. This lap passed in 41:16 (4:26/km). I then upped the pace and again felt comfortable. The second lap was completed in 36:56 (3:58/km). Time for a quick drink, and I also changed into my racing flats for lap 3. I went off quick and didn't feel too bad. That said, I lost a bit of concentration in places and let the pace slip, especially towards the end of the lap. Despite that, I still covered the loop in 33:01 (3:33/km).

I finished up with a slow 4.9k warm-down. All up 32.8km for the day in 2:14:09 (4:05/km) average.

A good but hard session. Pleased to get it out of the way. That's 107.9km for the week so the 100km+ weeks continue.

Rest

Nothing today. We are up at 3am to make our flight so a long day. Got home unscathed and was tempted to roll the legs over but resisted as wanted to freshen up for tomorrow's accelerator session...

Friday

Same double loop in 1:04:30. I'm getting quicker - perhaps I'm getting used to this climate?

No training tomorrow as we are heading back to Ireland. A great week was had but far too hot for serious training. Just pleased to get out there and get the sessions out of the way.

Long intervals

I woke up early not feeling too bad so decided to head out first thing to get this session out of the way. It was 3 x 15 minutes with 3 minutes recovery.

Again, I was using the flattish maze of paths - throwing in a section of road to come up with an out and back run that I thought would be around 15 minutes. After a 10 minute warm-up the fun began. Luckily the sun was lurking behind some clouds which gave me a little respite from the morning rays.

The pace was what felt like 10km race pace. I fell short of reaching my starting point after the first effort. So after 3 minutes of walking I was into take 2. This was tougher - the temp was rising and I was dehydrating rapidly. Again I fell short of my starting point - this time by a further margin than the first effort (only by about 20m). The shirt came off for the third effort. Despite really pushing this one, I only managed to get back to where I finished the first rep. Thank god that's over. A few kms warm-down and the session was complete.

All up I covered 17.8km. I would estimate I was running around 4.4km each 15 minute effort. Not a great pace but I certainly wasn't holding back.

And I passed my last CIMA exam today. More celebrating tonight!

Birthday

39 today. I'm in the bestest nick of me life...

An easy 14.4km double loop in 1:06:39. I say easy - it was not. Still hot and humid...

Intervals

Was dreading this. Waited until late in the day where the temps drop slightly. I did a 10 minute warm-up and made my way to the start of a fairly flat 1km stretch of path for my 10 x 3 minute efforts with 1 minute standing recovery.

These went okay - I was sweating profusely but managing to cover around 920m to 940m in the 3 minutes running out and then back. One way was slightly more uphill, the other was more in the wind. Swings and roundabouts. Finished up with a couple of kms warm-down.

All up 14.1km running for the day.

Monday easy

My new loop takes me in the hills, then a loop around the border of the town, finishing with a lap of the docks, past the beach then back past the apartment. Each lap is 7.2km and I covered the double loop in 1:07:14. Again, it was hot, hot, hot. Like being back in Oz...

Long run

My window for running was midday. Yes, that's the hottest part of the day. I set up my drinks station outside the apartment and headed off into the 30+ degree hot - not pleasant. I essentially did 4 loops of the town heading back past the apartment each lap for a gallon or two of water. The total running time was 2:21:36 and I estimate I covered about 29.1km so not quick but certainly up there in terms of effort level. A good session for mental toughness. I could have given up on this run at least a dozen times.

A total of 104.0km for the week. These 100km+ weeks are becoming a habit now...

Espana

No training today. Arrived in Spain and it's hot - very hot. About 35 degrees to be exact. Let the drinking commence...

Friday

A wobble around Claregalway. I covered 15.8km in 1:04:51. Flying to Spain tomorrow for some warm weather training for a week so a rest day on Saturday.

"Tursdee"

I rolled around my new 10 mile route. Time was 1:08:01. A glorious day for running - the sun was out and very little wind. The weather is so changeable here - raining one minute, sunshine the next. I can't wait for winter...

Track

I was a bit short of time so only managed 2 laps of the track as a warm-up. The session was 16 x 400s of reducing recovery. The session was split into 4 sets of 4 with recoveries of 60 secs, 45 secs, 30 secs and finally 15 secs.

I felt really good throughout and didn't feel like I was pushing it at all. The times were all around the 73 second mark so not quick but it was supposed to be run at 5km pace. Times were:

75/73/73/74/74/72/73/74/74/73/73/73/74/73/73/70

I finished up with a 3.6km warm-down. Total 10.8km.

Tuesday

I was down for an easy 10 miles so I had to work out a new 16km route. This was achieved by doing my normal 9km, then adding a shorter version of the 5km and 3km loop at the back of supermarket. It worked out at 16.4km in total in a time of 1:07:44. That's 4:08 per km.

I can't believe I'm running these times in what is supposed to be any easy run. Not so long back easy was 4:30-5:00 minute clicks. At this rate I'll soon be running sub 4's on easy runs...

Start of a new week

I'm following a marathon plan supplied by the GCH coach Matt from here on in. It's good to be told what to do - like following a recipe. Also, you do some new sessions you wouldn't normally do.

Today was 8km out and back. The aim was to run the return leg at least 2 minutes quicker than the first outward leg. The weather was pretty bad - very wet and windy but surprisingly not cold. I rugged up but once out there it wasn't too bad. In fact I was too hot! I ran my outward section in 35:09 (7.75km), then turned to run the return leg in 31:13 (approx 4 minute kms). I was pleased with that as I had the benefit of the wind more so on the outward section so the second half was tough enough.

Total 15.5km in 1:06:22.

Sunday

Wasn't looking forward to this as my legs felt shot to bits. Anyway, headed out at lunchtime and after 10 minutes or so, I was feeling pretty good. I did my normal 9.4km loop, then added on an extra 7.7km to get it up to 17.1km. Time was 1:12:45 so that works out to 4:15 per km so all in all a pretty good run.

Weekly distance of 119.1km. That's another PB. A few more big weeks like this and I'll be a) injured, b) knackered, or c) hitting my straps.

A few beers me thinks. Cheers.

Very long

Met with the 2 Brian's and Johnny. Started with 4 laps of Dangan, then headed out on the roads through the city out to Salthill. Got caught up in a few heavy downpours put they soon cleared. We were joined by Enda so good to run in a group as it helps to pass the time. By about 2 hours I was getting tired and by the time we arrived back in Dangan we had "only" clocked up 20 miles. So we tagged on another lap to get us up to 22 miles. Running time was 2:43:19. That's 4:37 per km so certainly not quick.

Very tired by the end of the run and glad to get it over with. Another 3 or 4 of these 20 milers needed in the build-up to Dublin. I'll throw in some marathon pace soon just to make it extra hard.

Thoughts are now turning to what time I should be targeting in Dublin. Do I have a crack at sub 2:30? Umm, what's the worst thing that could happen...

PB

Same course for the 4th time this week. A nice drizzle and no wind and felt good. Finished in 57:04 so that's a PB for my "jog".

Long run tomorrow. Maybe 20 miles+.

Thursday

14.4km in 59:50. Pushed the last couple of kms to break the hour...

Maree 5km

Weather was not looking good - wet and windy. Still decided I'd have a 5km hit-out to see if the old legs were still working.

There must have been well over 200 runners and one of the best local runners was also racing so good to have someone to chase. I went out hard running the first km in 3:01 but I was still a good 10 seconds behind the lead runner. I was a bit blown away by that and settled into second place. The second km was uphill and that was reflected in the time (3:24). I tried to push on but was not running with any conviction. The last few kms were fairly flat, in fact it was a good quick course. I thought I had a decent gap on the runner behind but at about 4km I realised there was another runner only about 10m behind! So I tried to lift for a final push to the finish and managed to hang-on to cross the line in 16:10. The winner ran 15:10. Amazing time - showed me a very clean pair of heels!

With a couple of kms warm-up and down it was 9km for the day. Not disappointed not to win - good to be back in Australia mode where I am the chaser. Not a bad time - though to be honest, I should have probably run 15:50. That's what a week on the shant does!

Tuesday

Same as yesterday. Pushed it a bit to break the hour in 58:39. Feeling almost normal. Race tomorrow!

Dublin build-up

Time to up the miles if I'm going to run Dublin next month. So I thought I'd start with a high volume week, before getting in some serious sessions.

So today was a sober-up run on my normal route of 1:02:27. Felt awful. I'm sure it will get better.

Catch-up

Only one run this week on Thursday where I wobbled round my 14.4km route in a slow 1:02:29...nice to have a break.

A few thousand beers were had as my old man and a couple of mates were over from Norwich. Getting too old for this! Still, good to let the hair down.

I did play golf on Sat/Sun. Badly. Exercise of sorts.

Back into it next week.