A tale of two halves

I found myself awake a little after 5 but spent the next few hours drifting in and out of slumber before getting up around 8am. After a small bowl of porridge and a toasted chicken sandwich I had my coffee and prepared myself for today's long run. Was looking forward to trying out a route which took me along the coast into Fuengirola before turning right and running along by a river for a while, bringing me into the hills and then back through the countryside before coming down to the coast again further South than where I began so I would have another couple of miles to get back to base. I reckoned it was between 10 and 15 miles so would do 2 laps if it was at the short end of the scale. 

 Once I got going I was quickly down to sub 7 miling and felt grand. Heart rate was high 130s, the sun was shining and there was only a light breeze and I was enjoying the run. After about 5miles was able to go onto a dirt road for a few miles which was nice although it was a little off camber. Once I got to 7miles the hill really kicked in and my pace started to slow from a fastest of 6.43 and by the time I got to the top was at 6.51. Just before the top I can remember feeling great and thought I could run all day long. At this point I took a gel that I'd brought along. It was the same that's being provided at the marathon so just wanted to make sure it didn't have any side effects. Just then as I was heading downhill I went under a bridge that I thought maybe I should be on. Came across an extremely steep road which appeared to head up to the bridge. After a few hundred metres I spotted that it didn't but also noticed I had been right all along. 

 Despite heading downhill again my rhythm was broken and I had the first inkling of suffering. I was back at the coast at 10 miles but wasn't half the man I was 2 miles earlier. Got back to base at around 12.5 miles and picked up a bottle and set off towards Fuengirola once more. Pace had dropped off to 6.55 or so but now it was just about keeping going. Once I got to the river again I had 16miles done so I doubled back. Was really starting to suffer now but decided to run past the hotel for a mile so I'd be almost at 20 when I got back. The primary objective is always to get to 20 and then see what I'm good for! 

Not much as it turned out but I struggled on, and reminded myself why I was here. Decided I wanted to do 2hrs35 and this coincided almost exactly with 22 miles as my pace had sunk below 7 minutes per mile. Not that I really cared!!

22 miles @ 7.02 HR 135 

Perhaps understandably I was a bit apprehensive attempting my third session in 5 days but I decided since Wednesday s tempo hadn't been that fast maybe I wouldn't need as long recovery. Plus I had only done one run yesterday. Regardless I decided no matter what I did it would be a bonus on an already good, if not incredible week. Today is also the least windy of the week so far which made a nice change. 

 The plan was for mile repeats again and I said the best way to start was to attack it from the off and hold on for dear life. 

With this in mind I was below 5minute miling for the first lap and even though it got very tough I managed to hang on for a 5.28. Muy Buen! Approached the second with the same strategy and achieved the same result off 2.30 recovery. Said I'd definitely do 3 and then perhaps reevaluate and duly knocked out a 5.32. So far so good but was really starting to tire now. Managed a 4th in 5.36 but it was on the 5th the wheels came off and I ended up stopping after one lap (87 sec btw). Hmm what to do. Decided maybe a few 400s wouldn't go astray especially since I'd unwittingly already done the first. Felt okay on the second and managed 75 seconds which I was happy enough with. The next was a little slower in 78 but still acceptable. My pace was a bit slower on the next and the effort was a bit less. So much so I kept going and going and ended up with a mile in 5.33! Finished off with another 400 in 81 to complete a strange session but worthwhile.

Happy to have all my speedwork out of the way, although I know there's the small matter of a long run to come. Still I feel I can relax a little now, so much so I'm still at the track two hours later, stretched and foam rolled enjoying a coffee in the sun. This is the life :) 

2 mile warm up. 5x 1mile 4x400m 2.5mile warm down 12miles total

Finished off yesterday with a very easy 25 minutes. Was shattered so kept it brief even though inexplicably I managed 6.53 for the second mile...
PM 3.5 miles @ 7.08 HR 127
Was in bed at around 8.30 but took a while to drift off. Slept late but ran pre breakfast just so it wouldn't be too much of a shock when it's not an option. Did 80 minutes only kept going by the notion that if I did more than an hour I wouldn't have to go out again.
11miles @ 7.21 HR 133
Writing this from the McDonalds on the Spanish Gibraltar border. Drove down for something to do not realising one needs a passport to actually get to Gibraltar!!

going around in circles

Yesterday was meant to be a relatively easy day but it felt anything but. After breakfast I headed out on a route recommended by a guy in the hotel. Straight away it went up, up, up which was no fun, fun, fun. I struggled through it though and was thinking maybe I suffered due to a lack of carbs at breakfast, or maybe I just felt bad cos I just felt bad!
After an afternoon of doing absolutely nothing I got in another few miles on flatter ground which went a bit better.
AM: 8.2 miles @ 7.18 HR 135
PM: 5miles @ 6.58 HR 129
Spent the rest of the day agonising, yes agonising over where to do a temporary run today. Whilst there's a nice promenade in Fuengirola, it's made from bricks so no doubt would wreck me. I drove around looking for somewhere else but at 3am this morning I decided to do it on the track. The things that keep me awake at night! With this decided I drifted off dreaming of 5.50 pace or below. On waking up at 8 I could hear that it was quite windy out which reiterated the idea to use the track.
Really struggled, partly due I think to the monotony of the track but more so I guess due to mile repeats 2 days ago. Averaged 5.57 with splits of 5.48, 5.55, 5.59, 6.00, 6.04, 6.02 and 5.48 for the last quarter. Not too bad considering I wanted to stop from about 1.5miles in!!
Treated myself to a crepe and ice cream as a reward!
The plan is to go to the track again Friday as it's closed at the weekend but I'll see what way the body is tomorrow.
Warm-up 2.25 miles. 10k at 5.57 cooldown 2.6miles.

Domingo - Esta la pista ,eh Open?

Despite pretty much sitting on the stove for two hours after the ice bath, I didn’t really feel heat in my bones until I got out for a second run in the evening. As I was in Midleton and was under a little pressure I ended up going a little faster than usual, but legs felt grand once they got going. Being under pressure for time has always made me run a little faster so maybe I should make important plans for after every race!

PM: 6.6miles @ 6.34 HR 141

Woke up early on Sunday and lay in bed for an hour before getting up at 6am. Spent the next few hours watching the Birmingham indoor grand prix from the day before before having breakfast around nine. The rain was falling all morning but thankfully the strong winds that had been forecast didn't materialise as I went out for my run around 11. Was flying initially, almost continuing where I left off the previous day but I don’t know if fatigue set in or mentally I put the brakes on, knowing I had a session planned for Monday. Pace really went down, as did the rain and would have called it a day after 10 miles but I wanted to round off the week to 90 miles, which isn't bad considering Wednesday and Thursday fell into the ‘jour sans’ category!

11.7miles @ 7.18 HR 135

Right now I've got Monday off to a decent enough start, I have a week off work so headed for Malaga last night (not spur of the moment - decided a few weeks ago). After a breakfast of porridge brought from home I found a track relatively easy. Was a little apprehensive due to fear of Friday's long run being still in my legs and felt a bit under pressure to perform after my effort of getting here. The plan was for mile repeats and after a warmup the legs did indeed feel kind of tired on the first repeat. There wasn't the holding back that I often need to do on the first but I managed to get under 5.35 as planned with a 5.34. After 2.30 recovery actually felt a little better on the second but still not great and got through in 5.30, nice. The third was fine too with a 5.32 and I was thinking about who things fell apart the last day at the Mardyke after the third. This must have spurred me on as I knocked out a 5.25 for the fourth with a more sensible 5.33 on the fifth before giving everything on the sixth to get under 5.30 and duly ended up with 5.28. Happy days, was well spent after and just sat in the Sun and relaxed for a while before an afternoon of doing nothing other than eat.

Got out for another few miles in the evening and felt comfortably tired but not knackered. Had hoped to go back to the track on next Sunday, as I fly back to Denmark Monday morning but turns out it's closed for the weekend , go figure...

AM 2 mile warmup 6x1mile with 2.30 recoveries (5.34, 5,30, 5.32, 5.25, 5.33, 5.28) 2.5 mile cooldown total 12miles

PM 6miles @ 7.07 HR 133

A strange week

This week has been quite strange, starting quite well with a dip in the middle but thankfully getting back on track (though not literally) towards the end.

Started the week with a long run pre breakfast. I did a few of these last year and found they brought me on a bit so said I'd give it another go. Went pretty well. As I was flying back monday evening I squeezed in my second run in the early afternoon on pretty tired legs getting 20 miles in for the day.

AM: 13miles @7.38 HR 131

PM: 7miles @7.17 HR 135

For the first time ever I attempted a morning run to work after getting in late post flight and I have to say I found it really hard to get going. Struggled through however and the run home was actually worse. Felt oh so tired and just wanted my bed as soon as I got home in a bit of a daze.

AM: 7.4miles @7.43 HR 123

PM: 4.5miles @7.32 HR 123

On Wednesday I was still pretty knackered but said I'd better go to the track. I was planning a fast finish long run for the weekend so forewent my usual tempo run in favour of another session of mile repeats. Felt rubbish on the jog towards the track and threw in the towel after about 300m's of the first  repeat. Decided I needed an extra day's recovery so just did an easy hour in total, which felt anything but easy!

8.25miles @7.29 HR 125

On Thursday I wasn't feeling any better. Both physically and mentally I was just drained. Ended up stuffing myself at lunchtime thinking maybe I hadn't been eating enough, but if anything it just made me feel worse. Started doubting myself and whether all this work was worth it and in a fit of self pity took the day off. Went to bed at 8.30pm which was no harm as had to be up at 3.20am to begin the journey home.

Got a pretty good night's sleep considering and debated whether I should attempt my long run as soon as I landed or wait until Saturday. Did a fair bit of carbo loading while waiting at the airports so decided to put it to good use and headed straight to Mahon from the airport. The plan was to do 10 miles easy followed by 6 miles getting progressively faster. 

Even though I didn't feel exceptional during the opening 10 miles my pace was good, getting down to about 6.53/mile before a few 7min miles brought me back to 6.56. I had left my HR strap in Denmark so was relying on feel but didn't feel I was over exerting myself. I said to myself if I did 2 miles at 6.30, 2 more at 6.20 and a final 2 at 6.10 it would be a good day out so with this in mind I set out on my 11th mile a little nervous and a little excited. Straight away I was at below 6 minute mile pace and  felt grand but probably more to do with the garmin adjusting to the increase in speed. Made sure to back off though - better to go for longer rather than faster. Did re-evaluate though and decided to aim for a drop of 5 seconds per mile rather than 10 every 2 miles. Plan actually worked almost perfectly. Felt very much in control, adjusting my speed slightly as required. Ended up with 8 miles getting faster and faster and as recommended by Greg McMillan finished off flat out. It was pleasing to see my last 5 miles were pretty much an average of 6 minute per mile which was a nice way to end an 18 miler and only really had to dig deep on the last mile and a half or so.

10miles @ 6.56 + 8miles (6.26, 6.22, 6.18, 6.11, 6.00, 5.59, 6.02, 5.52) + 2miles warmdown

Did a very gentle run in the evening to help recovery: 3.3miles @8.05 HR120 (bought a new Strap!)

So this morning. Did an easy hour - legs felt OK considering . Made the best of an overnight fall of snow to have a free ice bath!

AM 8.2miles @ 7.21 HR 131

Sunshine, rain & pancakes

Sitting down with ice on my quads as they are quite tired now after another session of mile repeats. Just did an easy run yesterday as planned. It would have been easy to do a few miles more in the warm (yes warm!) sunshine. 8miles @7.19 HR135bpm.
So on to the session. Was interested to see how it would go, had 5.35's in my head as I drove to Cork with the window wipers on full. Thankfully the rain stopped just as I parked up at the Mardyke. Felt grand warming up, but didn't feel particularly fast on the first, but did manage to get through in 5.34. Took a reasonable recovery of 2.17 and followed it up with another 5.34 which felt slightly better. After an almost similar recovery the third mile was 5.35 - so far so good. Was starting to tire so extended the recovery to 2.30, but seemingly not enough as the next mile was a disappointing 5.46. Strangely I had to run quite a bit past the start line to get to the mile (definitely more than 9 metres!) But thems the breaks and I wasn't complaining when the garmin seemed to be beeping early the last day out. Took an even longer recovery as darkness set in before banging out another 'long' mile in 5.40 after seeing 5.47 pace with around 400m to go. Took a really long recovery before the final effort (3.17) and dug deep to finish with a 5.39 finishing on the crest of the track so it was definitely long. Finished off with 2 incredibly slow miles for a warm down giving a weekly total of 93miles.
Warm up 2 miles 6x1mile Warm down 2 miles.
Then brought the highlight of the day - some pancakes with peanut butter while looking out the car window at the rain which resumed as soon as I finished, Pancake Tuesday is just around the corner after all.
Both quads and hamstrings are now iced so time to hit the hay.

Upping the Tempo

I was a little apprehensive as I headed out on a warm up for my Tempo run. I hadn't been making massive progress and had only managed 6.08minute/mile on my previous effort 2 weeks earlier. I had been at about 5.45per mile at the 10k mark during Sunday’s race (slipping to 5.49 by the end) which gave me some confidence but was also aware that the race would still be in my legs. On this week last year I managed a steady state run of 8 miles @ 5.59 pace so that put me under a little bit of pressure as well.

Did n’t feel great during the warmup, but once I got going I felt reasonable and went through the first mile in 6.01. Slipped back a bit on the second, but pulled it back on the 3rd as usual happens due to the gradient with a 6.07 and a 5.53. The 4th went well with a 5.56, so far so good. The last few outings brought a real drop off over the last 2 and a quarter miles so I was determined to keep it going for at least one of them. Half way through mile 5 I could see I was still averaging 6min/miling so thought at least I wouldn't be too far off at the end. At this point the course goes into darkness so I was running purely on feel. Felt my pace had dropped off a bit so was delighted when I saw 6 flat at 5 miles! Just kept pushing and was even happier to see 5.59 for the 6th. Pushed hard for the last quarter which is predominantly downhill and averaged 5.30 pace bringing me under the 6 minute/miling and unofficially what I consider OK shape.  

warmup 2.25 10k Tempo @5.59 HR164 cooldown 4.6

The plan for Thursday was a long run. For some reason or perhaps due to rose tinted glasses I seem to be dreading them a lot more than last year, when I almost looked forward to my jaunt into the west Zealand countryside. It’s possibly because my cycle is 2 weeks earlier in the year than for Limerick and also I started doing 20 milers a little earlier in the cycle. The first few miles went ok and I was under 7 minute/miling until about the 5 mile mark. I definitely felt a bit better than last week, but that's not saying much! By the time I got to 8 miles I just told myself to stick with it and tried to remember that the more I did now the less I’d have to do at the weekend (in Ireland). Got through it, but it certainly wasn't fun.

20.6 @7.19 HR136

As I was flying home on Friday at 10am I got up early to bang out a few slow miles. The plan was to do 6.3 (to bring me to 70miles for the week so far) and anything else would be bonus territory. This seemed to work and I managed a total of 10 albeit very slowly! My quads were quite sore but in a tired rather than niggly way which is fine. Did a small bit of foam rolling after breakfast before heading for the airport, smiling at the knowledge that tomorrow could be another recovery day.

10 @7.53 HR125

Weight was down to 63.8kg (pre run) so nice progress there, but as always trips to Ireland tend to fraught with excess - you can't beat mammy's cooking!

Double Trouble

Ran home again clocking up just under 8 miles, a little faster than the morning (7.75 @7.07min/miles HR136bpm)

On Tuesday morning I made a conscious decision to run a little slower, or a slightly lower effort moreso. Felt grand, but as the day went on I was absolutely knackered. Hadn’t slept well – again! So was glad I only had a few miles to do in the PM. Left work earlyish and was able to complete my run in daylight, which was both a novelty and allowed me to take a slightly more interesting route home, off the tarmac and around a lake. This time the decision to run slower was n’t conscious, but just couldn’t have gone any faster!

AM 8.2miles @7.21 min/mi HR130bpm PM 5.3 @7.24 min/mi HR130bpm.

I was glad not to run this morning but will attempt a Tempo run this evening. I’m sure Sunday is still in my legs so will take it as it comes.

Recovering to Race

For once I have to say I quite enjoyed my recovery week. After my aqua jogging on Monday I did my only planned session of the week on Tuesday. When I got back to Denmark on Monday night there was a pretty thick covering of snow on the ground and as there was no real sign of the temperatures creeping above 0deg C, it was going to stick around for a few days. As a result I didn’t even attempt to make it to a running track so instead found a stretch of cycle path that had been salted. This being Denmark wasn’t difficult. Did 8x400m with 2 minutes recovery. As there was a slight gradient the uphill ones went from 82 to 80 while the downhill ones went from 77 down to 73. Total 8 miles. Followed the session up with well, a session of a different nature. After starting with a glass of water (I was at a gig) I managed to rack up a fair few pints followed by a trip to McDonalds while I waited for my train home which never showed up!

Despite my ropiness on Wednesday I managed another easy 8 miles (@7:22 HR135bpm).

I was back to full cylinders Thursday and did an AM run (8.4miles @7:05 HR136bpm). It was nice to be back running close to 7min miles. Did 5 miles on both Friday (PM) and Saturday (AM) to give myself a real rest before a race on Sunday. (5miles @7:05 HR134bpm and 5miles @7:20 HR133bpm)

Might have ran faster had I known I was being chased by a Ninja

So onto the race, which was a metric 10miler, or 15K in other numbers. Felt pretty confident and set myself a target of worst case 55 minutes and best case below 54. The snow disappeared on Saturday but unfortunately it was replaced by a biting wind. I consoled myself with the knowledge that the route changed direction quite often so we wouldn’t be running into it for too long at any one time. Did a very easy 2 mile warm up with a few strides. Once the race got started I settled into a group and felt comfortable going through the first mile in 5.42, just under my target of 5.45 (but we had a tailwind/downhill). The next few miles all felt comfortable but the wind was quite strong at times and I was expending a little more energy than planned, splits were 5:48, 5:48, 5:43, 5:46, 5:49. Unfortunately I went from pushing the pace one minute to letting the group I was in go. I lost concentration and was expecting to be going with the wind but found ourselves heading into the wind again – I shouldn’t have let it affect me but it did. Despite this the next mile was in 5:44. I was alone but there was a guy just behind me. I used him to push me on but try as I might to drop him, I couldn’t, which was actually great as he really was pushing me. We were now heading into the wind for pretty much the next two miles and had a slight drag to boot. At one stage we went through a section of dirt and the dust was blinding. My pace had dropped right off and I had a 6.00 followed by a 6:05. Finally we turned for home with about a Km to go and I just dug as deep as I could not to get caught by any fast finishers including my buddy who was still there. It was hard to judge exactly how far was left when I saw a guy up ahead going left instead of to the finish which I knew to be on the right. Oh no!! (although the words I used weren’t as polite) I thought as it dawned on me there was another little loop before the finish. It was only another 200m’s if even but still. I managed to keep the hammer down and as I rounded the ultimate bend I felt fairly confident that my 3 pursuers wouldn’t catch me. I could see the clock ticking towards 55 minutes and did my best to get under it but had to make do with 55:03 for 24^th overall. Despite not being ecstatic, it was definitely progress but still a long way short of where I want to be for Ballycotton (McMillian gave a 10 mile equivalent of 59.23). Will hopefully be able to bear this in mind for the next 3 weeks.

Ran to work this morning and felt reasonably well. A little slower than of late but still fine: 8.6miles @ 7:13 HR135bpm  

Ready for recovery

Had a pretty busy day Saturday and only got home at 8pm so the notion of a run was never really on th e cards. 

I discovered I had things to do in East Cork on both Sunday evening and Monday morning so decided to stay over. When deciding where to stay exactly I was thinking of near the mardyke in Cork so I could go to the track but then thought there was a good chance it would be frozen.

I then had the brain wave that I could make a return to my old stomping or rather splashing ground at garryvoe hotel where I used to aqua jog before moving to Denmark. With this in mind and too much food in my belly I headed off for my run on Sunday. I did 4 miles at 6.30 pace to see where the legs were (in bits as it turned out) so just ambled to another 4. This brought my weekly total to 81.5 so I decided 30 minutes aqua jogging could round me up to my target of 85.

8miles @7.08 HR 142

The plan was to do 60 minutes Monday morning and not run at all making a good start to my recovery week. I managed to achieve this despite not making it back to the hotel until 2.20am and having to wait 15 minutes for the unapologetic night porter to let me. Still 60 minutes in the water was easier than 60 minutes out in the cold so I was happy enough to take a load off before heading to Dublin for a flight back to Copenhagen.