14km Threshold

A longer run today with a 45 minute threshold segment. Again outdoors in the wet and wind. I'd picked up a new Garmin 220 and was looking forward to giving it a try.

A 4km warm-up in my recovery zone and then lifted the pace. The HR took an eternity to lift but I was moving well. Just kept it ticking over and was feeling great for the next 12km but the next couple of kms I was starting to tire. After 14kms of threshold running I stopped and ran the final 3.1km home in my recovery zone. All up 21.1kms.

The threshold segment took me 48 minutes (14kms at 3:25/km). Very happy with that and as good as I've ran on the road. And most of that was at the bottom of my threshold zone.

That's 105.8kms for the week. Very happy with how things are going. The knee is good, the training is going well, the weight is down, and I still like a few beers just to help balance the ledger. Plus I'm very happy with the new watch.

13km Threshold

Threshold running today. Outside. To make it easier I slipped into the racing flats. I was running short of time so it was a 2km warm-up, then 6km out on the Claregalway 10km course, then turn and run another 7km at threshold pace. Finishing with a 1km warm-down. All up 16kms.

Felt great and ran the 13km in 46 minutes. Not a great pace (3:32's) but after yesterday it was brilliant. The best news being the knee was giving me very little in the way of gyp. The worm has finally turned.

Shocker

Another recovery run. Felt very sore and tired right from the off and just couldn't get into my recovery zone. After about 20 minutes I'd had enough and I jogged/walked home. Very low energy. I did some token strides when I got back (not sure why). All up 9.1kms in 38 minutes. When in doubt reach for the fridge and have a few beers.

Progress

A massage in the morning with Peter Forde who had sponsored the Claregalway 10km. A great session and just reiterated how low a pain threshold I have. Lots of sore spots and lots going on in the back/glutes/piriformis. Plus an almighty knot on the outside of my left quad. Felt much better after but still had an hour recovery run to do...

Struggled to get going in the run. Was always just below where I wanted to be HR wise. I ran the Thursday route solo in a time of 59:49 for the 14.8kms (4:03's). Rare these days to creep up above 4 minute clicks. I'll put that down to the massage.

Oranmore 5km

A warm-up with Greg and Justin for a couple of kms. Then a bit more by myself. Conditions were very blustery and rain threatened so wasn't sure what to expect.

Lined up at the start and lots of chat. Then a countdown from 10 and we were off. I hit the lead and opened up a gap straight away. The plan was to run at the bottom of the tempo zone and as I reached the first km I was still in my threshold zone. An undulating route and by the time I reached the second km I was feeling good having just lifted the heart rate a little. Another 500m then the hairpin turn for the run back to the start.

I could see that I had a decent lead and oddly enough it seemed easier after turning as I was expecting a headwind. I pushed on and started to feel really relaxed despite lifting the pace a little. Through kms 3 and 4 and my only drama was the heart rate strap that kept slipping down. I kept the pace the same during the last km and enjoyed the last 100m to cross the line in 16:09 for a comfortable victory.

A very relaxed run but after a quick drink I was back on the course for a further 3 x 5 minute efforts again in my tempo zone (similar pace to what I'd just ran). By this time it had started raining and I was getting lots of strange looks as I ran hard back down the road with people streaming up to the finish running the other way. I didn't feel too bad and I did 2 x 5 minutes running towards Galway, then stopped and ran the final 5 minute effort coming back. Then the reaming run home at recovery pace.

All up 14.8kms for the night with around 30 minutes of tempo running. All going well and a very enjoyable run. Great to see a big turn-out for this race with all the proceeds going to charity.

Here's me at the finish courtesy of Maree AC:

Threshold then physio

My only option was the treadmill and with a 45 minute threshold run on the cards it was going to be a good sweat. Usual 2km warm-up, the 13.4kms in 44:57 (3:21's), then 2kms to finish with. All up 17.4kms.

Not too bad and kept to the bottom of the zone as much as possible.

Then on to the physio with nicely primed sore knee. Some work on the hips and lots of stretches and exercises to work on. I'll stick to the plan and see how I get on.

Second recovery day

Another recovery run. A total of 12.8kms in 49:23 (3:51's). Knee still sore and I have a physio appointment booked for tomorrow.

Back into some quicker stuff tomorrow also.

Action

Recovery run. Felt okay though the knee a little sore. Total 14.8kms in 58:41 (3:58's).

I've decided I'm going to take some action to get this knee fixed once and for all. I suspect it stems from the hips which are tight/weak/misaligned. Physio appointment calling.

A total of 80.4kms for the week. Not great volume but I feel like I'm back in form and ready to knuckle down into another block of training.

Claregalway 10km

Perfect conditions. Well rested. No stomach bug. Quick course. What could possibly go wrong? Your coach telling you to take the first 5km handy and then pull the trigger...that plan was great if nobody was taking up the running...

Well after my warm-up which included some quick strides and a 2 minute blast (to lift my HR above 153), I was lining up at the start. So the first 5km in my threshold zone (ideally at the bottom), then run hard for the second 5km. The race started and I hit the lead but another guy went with me so at least that kept the pace honest.

By 1km I was in my threshold zone but mid-zone rather than at the bottom with the guy tucked in behind me. That's pretty much the pattern of the first 5km. I wasn't recording splits, I was just checking my HR as I passed each km marker. Very sad.

Somewhere before 2km I swallowed the biggest flying insect you could imagine. That wasn't pleasant but despite my best effort I couldn't manage to regurgitate crazy legs crane. On with the race and although my HR was a little higher than planned, it felt like I was jogging as we went through kms 2, 3 and 4.

Still the guy behind and as we hit the 5th km (time 17:05). Then on one of the drags of the course and I took off. I felt pretty good and straight away I had opened up a decent gap. It was then all about keeping up the effort level for the run home.

Not much detail here - again I was looking at my HR splits each km (I really need to invest in a good watch). I know the course like the back of my hand so was on auto-pilot. By the time I reached the N17 I ran in the bus lane and started to push a little harder. Through 8km, then past the castle, and then it was nice to run back through the village with plenty of support from onlookers over the last mile.

Running hard but still not flat out I crossed the line for the win in 32:57 (second half 15:52). Happy with that and a good confidence booster. Clearly I wasn't right for the Streets and I felt very comfortable tonight at my target 10km pace of around 3:10's. A quicker time than last year where I was on the red-line for most of the race...

Hopefully back on track now for some quick races in the coming months. I think the sub 32 is there for the taking now so that will be my aim before an attempt on the half in November.

All up around 14.0kms. A few beers and then nighty night.

Thanks to Ian for this photo:

T minus 1

Another recovery run. This time outside. Felt okay but the legs haven't been quite right since those 400's on Monday. Time 43:24 for 11.1kms (3:55's). I finished up with a few strides. Race tomorrow at 6pm with a twist.

Runaround

Treadmill recovery run of 8.0kms in exactly 30 minutes. I'm going to have a dig at the Claregalway 10km on Saturday so a couple of recovery days before then.

More threshold stuff

I was down for a 30 minute threshold run with a good warm-up and down. I took the eldest to hurling and took the opportunity to run from there. I ran down to the turkey trot 5km course in Carnmore and after about 12 minutes I lifted into threshold mode. I couldn't remember the turn after about 7-8 minutes of running and I went wrong but I then discovered I'd ran onto one of my bog standard Claregalway training loops without knowing they were inter-linked (from a road I'd never ventured down). That was odd but I soldiered on running for a total of 15 minutes before doubling back to give me the 30 minutes at threshold. Then another 12 minutes to finish with.

All up 14.2kms and I covered about 8.6kms during the 30 minutes (3:29/km pace). Tough going with a hangover but what doesn't kill you and all that....

More beer and a curry in the evening.

The Guvnor

Recovery run. Short loop of 9.5kms due to lack of time with a 10 minute threshold segment thrown in. I felt mighty tonight despite the hammies being a little sore after those quick 400's yesterday. All up 34:36 for 9.5kms (3:39/km pace).

And a mate in town who was over from Oz. Out in Galway on a pub crawl and had a few too many but great fun:

New focus

Had a good talk to the coach (he who must be obeyed) and there is to be more of a focus on speedwork for the next 4 weeks. And it was to be a bread and butter session of 12 x 400's off a minute which I really enjoy. Ideally on the track but with kids at home my only option was the treadmill....

So after my 2km warm-up, I did some very quick strides to get the HR up. I'm talking well under 3 minute per km pace - 15 seconds on, 30 seconds recovery - times 5.

Then I set the treadmill to 66 second per 400m pace (2:45/km). The aim was to get the HR up above 153 each 400m. Failed in the first 2 but from there on I was getting into the zone nicely. Each one was getting progressively harder and by 10 I'd had enough. But managed to finish the session with the HR peaking at around 157 at the end.

Usual warm-down of 2km to give me 8.8kms for the day. Happy with that as was the coach.

Lactate testing day 2

Another 4 people in today for tests. Great to see.

Then we had a little window and before I knew it I was up on the treadmill myself for a test. All went well and the results showed a good improvement in my threshold speed of 20 seconds per mile.

Here's a quick graph to demonstrate:

Note those speeds are treadmill speeds and not what you'd run on the road.

About 7kms all up to give me 76.2kms for the week. I think I'm over my stomach problem now so time to get back into it next week.

Lactate testing day 1

A busy weekend with 10 people booked in for lactate threshold tests. Up early for a run with my coach who was over from the UK. A nice spin around Claregalway mainly in my shopping zone but nice to take it easy. All up 12.2kms in 50:32 (4:09's).

Then on to the tests which went well. Didn't finish up until late but just enough time to nip down to the local restaurant for some grub and a few pints of Guinness.

Wind up

Treadmill recovery run. Gradually wound up the pace finishing up with 10km in 38:08. Decided on indoors in case of another toilet emergency...

Double Paula

An evening recovery run with Fintan. All was going well until about hallfway where my stomach was in knots. Had to stop and find a clearing. Then off again feeling a lot better. Then the same thing happened about 5 minutes from home. Not good is an understatement. So after all the slagging I have given Fintan and Owen over the years, I have finally received my comeuppance. That will teach me.

All up 14.8kms in 57:59 (3:55's). A good average pace after a slow start. I think we dropped in a few 3:45's in the recovery zone so that's good to see.

Aborted threshold

I decided to try a treadmill threshold run. Usual routine of 2km warm-up, then whack the treadmill up to 18.5km/hour to lift into the threshold zone. Normally it takes me at least 10 minutes to get into this zone but today it took less than 3 minutes - and the HR kept rising. Sweating buckets, feeling a bit dizzy I pulled back the speed but the HR was still high so after 5kms I pulled the pin (16:37). Feeling pretty awful I took a break and then ran 3 slow kms to finish with to give me 10kms for the day.

So clearly I'm still not right so I'm going to take it easy for the rest of the week. The stomach is still a bit off and the throat feeling a little lively so the signs are there.

Bad good bad good

Today's run felt a lot bettter. Same run as yesterday - 11.1kms in 42:35 (3:50's) - that's almost 2 minutes quicker with a lot less effort. Hopefully on the mend.