Wednesday 30th January
2013
Running (5.35 miles / 00:48:48 / 00:09:07 per mile)
Steady run this evening - nothing too dramatic to report.
Over and out.
Wednesday 30 January 2013
Tuesday 29 January 2013
Oh I love my rollers.
Tuesday 29th January
2013
Running (4.32 miles / 00:32:09 / 00:07:54 per mile)
Lunchtime run again from the Gym beside work.
Goal was 4 miles at threshold pace which should be around 8 mins per mile .
This felt like quite a tough run today. My legs felt a bit heavy and this is probably due to a wee bit of residual tiredness after the long run on Saturday.
I had to work hard the whole way round to hold on to the right pace. Interestingly, I was listening to one of my regular podcasts, Marathon Talk, and they were talking about different paced runs and they described exactly how I was feeling as I did the threshold run they were mentioning. It was uncomfortable and I had to both concentrate and work hard to maintain the pace and there is now way I could have had any sort of conversation while I was running.
Although, there was some fairly intense internal dialogue going on in my head. Mostly around keep on going and stop being a big Jessie and push on.
Cycling (Spin Class 00:50:00)
So, the natural thing to do after a tough run today is to go and blow myself to pieces at Spin Class.
Sam really turned the screw tonight and did a lot of high intensity sets as part of the overall session. Building up from 80% of max effort through to 100% all out efforts.
Tough going but a lot of fun. I hope that if anything this has loosened my legs a bit and I won't feel too sore tomorrow.
Recently I have been suffering from sore feet. Something I have never had before and I thought that I should get something that might help me to loosen out the muscles on the soles of my feet.
I ordered this great looking contraption from ebay and it arrived today.
First impressions are that I like it and it might actually help. However it does make an annoying squeak when the rollers spin.
Keara was not so keen on it as she hates anything touching the sole of her foot, so this was never going to be something she would like.
Looks like I have it all to myself then!
Running (4.32 miles / 00:32:09 / 00:07:54 per mile)
Lunchtime run again from the Gym beside work.
Goal was 4 miles at threshold pace which should be around 8 mins per mile .
This felt like quite a tough run today. My legs felt a bit heavy and this is probably due to a wee bit of residual tiredness after the long run on Saturday.
I had to work hard the whole way round to hold on to the right pace. Interestingly, I was listening to one of my regular podcasts, Marathon Talk, and they were talking about different paced runs and they described exactly how I was feeling as I did the threshold run they were mentioning. It was uncomfortable and I had to both concentrate and work hard to maintain the pace and there is now way I could have had any sort of conversation while I was running.
Although, there was some fairly intense internal dialogue going on in my head. Mostly around keep on going and stop being a big Jessie and push on.
Cycling (Spin Class 00:50:00)
So, the natural thing to do after a tough run today is to go and blow myself to pieces at Spin Class.
Sam really turned the screw tonight and did a lot of high intensity sets as part of the overall session. Building up from 80% of max effort through to 100% all out efforts.
Tough going but a lot of fun. I hope that if anything this has loosened my legs a bit and I won't feel too sore tomorrow.
Recently I have been suffering from sore feet. Something I have never had before and I thought that I should get something that might help me to loosen out the muscles on the soles of my feet.
I ordered this great looking contraption from ebay and it arrived today.
First impressions are that I like it and it might actually help. However it does make an annoying squeak when the rollers spin.
Keara was not so keen on it as she hates anything touching the sole of her foot, so this was never going to be something she would like.
Looks like I have it all to myself then!
Saturday 26 January 2013
Feeling a little hoarse.. . . Ahem.
Saturday 26th January
2013
Running (18.00 miles / 02:47:39 / 00:09:18 per mile)
First things first. I managed to get my entry to the Tri an Mhi Half Iron distance race in May. I am delighted to get this, and the good news is that I will be joined by Donald and two of my clubmates, Mark and Chris. Both of whom are doing their first Middle distance Tri and I have no doubt will completely kick my arse on the day.
Congratulations to tthe Tri an Mhi Club for selling out 300 places in less than 12 hours. That's a great achievement.
I am feeling the need to step things up a bit now in the running department as I see the London Marathon looming large on the horizon.
The plan for the run this morning was to keep things nice and steady and do miles 3, 6, 9 and 12 at sub marathon pace.
It is odd but recently when I have been doing my longer runs I haven't had a feeling of being light on my feet and running easy at what is a steady pace. This morning was not really any different, however I just need to get the miles in the bank and tough it out where it is required.
One of the things I am trying to do, and it is probably a throwback to my training last year is to be less reliant on gels and food on a long run.
Don't get me wrong, I know that it is critical to get the right amount of food in order to fuel the engine, but I am seriously doubting the need to be tooled up with half a dozen gels and flapjacks falling out of my lycra shorts.
Today I managed with just one gel and about 1 litre of fluid and it felt fine.
About 4 miles in to the run I thought I was a little hoarse.
However I then realised I was just being an Ass.
This pair were in a field and just looked lovely so I took their picture. I am trying to take a few photos as I run and try to capture some things that take my interest.
I have to be honest, miles 16-18 were hard going. This is the furthest that I have run since Ironman last year and the legs were starting to get a bit tired.
On the whole, my pace was pretty good and for a long run to be completed at just about 20 secs per mile ahead of goal marathon pace is pretty pleasing.
I wonder how the legs will feel tomorrow?
Running (18.00 miles / 02:47:39 / 00:09:18 per mile)
First things first. I managed to get my entry to the Tri an Mhi Half Iron distance race in May. I am delighted to get this, and the good news is that I will be joined by Donald and two of my clubmates, Mark and Chris. Both of whom are doing their first Middle distance Tri and I have no doubt will completely kick my arse on the day.
Congratulations to tthe Tri an Mhi Club for selling out 300 places in less than 12 hours. That's a great achievement.
I am feeling the need to step things up a bit now in the running department as I see the London Marathon looming large on the horizon.
The plan for the run this morning was to keep things nice and steady and do miles 3, 6, 9 and 12 at sub marathon pace.
It is odd but recently when I have been doing my longer runs I haven't had a feeling of being light on my feet and running easy at what is a steady pace. This morning was not really any different, however I just need to get the miles in the bank and tough it out where it is required.
One of the things I am trying to do, and it is probably a throwback to my training last year is to be less reliant on gels and food on a long run.
Don't get me wrong, I know that it is critical to get the right amount of food in order to fuel the engine, but I am seriously doubting the need to be tooled up with half a dozen gels and flapjacks falling out of my lycra shorts.
Today I managed with just one gel and about 1 litre of fluid and it felt fine.
About 4 miles in to the run I thought I was a little hoarse.
However I then realised I was just being an Ass.
This pair were in a field and just looked lovely so I took their picture. I am trying to take a few photos as I run and try to capture some things that take my interest.
I have to be honest, miles 16-18 were hard going. This is the furthest that I have run since Ironman last year and the legs were starting to get a bit tired.
On the whole, my pace was pretty good and for a long run to be completed at just about 20 secs per mile ahead of goal marathon pace is pretty pleasing.
I wonder how the legs will feel tomorrow?
Thursday 24 January 2013
Great Intervals and fingers crossed for entry tomorrow
Thursday 24th January
2013
Running (5.00 miles / 00:45:45 / 00:09:08 per mile) Interval Session
It's a sign of how weird and isolated the snowy conditions have been that I'm not able to run at home because the pavements are still covered in thick patchy ice and slush, however just down the road in South and Central Belfast there is nothing on the pavements at all. Very frustrating but I wouldn't let it stop me getting my session in.
So, after work I headed to the Gym to get changed and hit the slush free pavement to get my interval session in.
The set tonight was 5 X .75 mile sets at 8 min mile pace (therefore 0.75 miles in 6 minutes - see how good my maths is!) with a 2.5 minute recovery in between.
The intervals were done in: 5.46 / 5.32 / 5.21 / 5.23 / 5.28
This meant an average time of 5.27 for each set. This is a pace of 00:07:16 - compared to the target of 8 min miles. Very pleasing.
I won't say it was easy at all - I definitely felt like I was working hard on the last couple of sets and the good thing is that they were a nice even pace.
On a completely different note, the entry opens tomorrow for the Tri an Mhi Half Iron Distance race on 18th May. I did this event last year and absolutely loved it. i will be trying to enter tomorrow and hope that i am one of the lucky 300 to get in.
My good mate Donald is also going to enter and this can be a nice little warm up for hie big event two weeks later. he is doing the completely mental, City to Summit, Iron Distance race on 1st June.
Check out the link for this act of insanity. (And that's coming from a fellow Ironman - although there is something very tempting about that sort of insane challenge that appeals to me . . . Hmmmmm.)
Running (5.00 miles / 00:45:45 / 00:09:08 per mile) Interval Session
It's a sign of how weird and isolated the snowy conditions have been that I'm not able to run at home because the pavements are still covered in thick patchy ice and slush, however just down the road in South and Central Belfast there is nothing on the pavements at all. Very frustrating but I wouldn't let it stop me getting my session in.
So, after work I headed to the Gym to get changed and hit the slush free pavement to get my interval session in.
The set tonight was 5 X .75 mile sets at 8 min mile pace (therefore 0.75 miles in 6 minutes - see how good my maths is!) with a 2.5 minute recovery in between.
The intervals were done in: 5.46 / 5.32 / 5.21 / 5.23 / 5.28
This meant an average time of 5.27 for each set. This is a pace of 00:07:16 - compared to the target of 8 min miles. Very pleasing.
I won't say it was easy at all - I definitely felt like I was working hard on the last couple of sets and the good thing is that they were a nice even pace.
On a completely different note, the entry opens tomorrow for the Tri an Mhi Half Iron Distance race on 18th May. I did this event last year and absolutely loved it. i will be trying to enter tomorrow and hope that i am one of the lucky 300 to get in.
My good mate Donald is also going to enter and this can be a nice little warm up for hie big event two weeks later. he is doing the completely mental, City to Summit, Iron Distance race on 1st June.
Wednesday 23 January 2013
Sons of Anarchy - The Turbo session.
Tuesday
22nd January 2013
Cycling ( 00:45:00 / 10.8
Miles / 13.80 Mph / Cadence 97 rpm) TURBO Session
Given
that it is completely frozen outside, to take the bike out at the moment would
be an act of complete madness.
Unfortunately
the snow and ice up my street was so bad that even getting the car out of the
road and down to the Leisure Centre for the Tri Club Spin class was impossible.
So, instead I decided to dust off the Turbo Trainer and knock out a wee
session on that.
I
noticed something immediately that I got going. The Spin class must be
rubbing off on me as my average cadence was substantially higher than it would
have been when I was using the Turbo religiously as part of Ironman training.
I
have vivid memories of doing sessions on the Turbo where I worked like a dog to
keep a cadence of over 100 rpm for 30 minutes and it was hard going.
This
time, my legs were finding a nice comfortable cadence and it was around the
105-110 rpm range. This was an unexpected benefit of the spin class and
was very welcome.
The
next challenge is to start to build the power output up a bit as well but I
will take this for starters.
I
decided to try to recreate some of the Spin sessions that Sam tortures us with
and did some hard intervals and some tough standing sprints. It must have
worked as my legs felt it at the end and there was a nice little puddle of
water below my bike by the time I finished.
Another
spin off benefit was that I got back in to my DVD set of Sons of Anarchy –
which I had started watching a while ago on the Turbo but had not seen it
since. It is a great series and I look forward to seeing more of it.
Monday 21 January 2013
Sinister Snowmen.
Monday 21st January
2013
Running (3.50 miles / 00:27:47 / 00:07:57 per mile)
A run at lunch time today in the miserable sleet and drizzle.
This was my first run in a week as the bloody Achilles injury had come back. Thankfully it was feeling better again today and I was pretty pleased with the result today.
Now we are tucked up at home in front of the fire after the kids made a Snowman, Snowdog and Snowchair.
The snow is good fun but bloody annoying to travel in - I hope it will not interfere with my training.
Running (3.50 miles / 00:27:47 / 00:07:57 per mile)
A run at lunch time today in the miserable sleet and drizzle.
This was my first run in a week as the bloody Achilles injury had come back. Thankfully it was feeling better again today and I was pretty pleased with the result today.
Now we are tucked up at home in front of the fire after the kids made a Snowman, Snowdog and Snowchair.
The snow is good fun but bloody annoying to travel in - I hope it will not interfere with my training.
Wednesday 16 January 2013
Should I be prepared to fail in order to get better?
Monday 14th January
2013
Swimming (00:50:00 / Sets and Drills)
Back to the pool again and it was a bit tougher than last week but I still think that Oliver is nowhere near turning the screw on us yet - worryingly!
It did feel like a good session and a wee bit more fitness came back again.
The most interesting part was a kicking only tug-of-war against someone else. This involved facing off against each other holding on to the same kick board and trying to kick hard enough to drive your opponent back again.
I did OK on the first sets with the fins on but basically got pushed down the pool by Mark on the second set. He is a strong kicker and I am crap.
Tuesday 15th January 2013
Running(2.36 miles / 00:24:31 / 00:10:24 per mile)
My weekly speed session today - 6 X 1/4 mile sets with 2 minute recovery aiming for each set to be done in sub 1M 45Secs.
I managed to knock the sets out in 1.39 / 1.38 / 1.40 / 1.31 / 1.43 / 1.31
This is a pretty good outcome, both in terms of the consistency of pacing but also for the fact that I found this relatively comfortable. ( as comfortable as an interval set can ever be.) Maybe I am not pushing it hard enough if I am achieving all the splits. Maybe if I aim to go a wee bit faster and miss the odd target that is not a bad thing.
Worth considering maybe?
Spin Class
(50 Mins)
First time back to Spin class for a while and it was great to be back again. Spin is hard going but I find it pretty enjoyable.
It is amazing how fast you can get your legs to spin round when you put your mind to it.
Swimming (00:50:00 / Sets and Drills)
Back to the pool again and it was a bit tougher than last week but I still think that Oliver is nowhere near turning the screw on us yet - worryingly!
It did feel like a good session and a wee bit more fitness came back again.
The most interesting part was a kicking only tug-of-war against someone else. This involved facing off against each other holding on to the same kick board and trying to kick hard enough to drive your opponent back again.
I did OK on the first sets with the fins on but basically got pushed down the pool by Mark on the second set. He is a strong kicker and I am crap.
Tuesday 15th January 2013
Running(2.36 miles / 00:24:31 / 00:10:24 per mile)
My weekly speed session today - 6 X 1/4 mile sets with 2 minute recovery aiming for each set to be done in sub 1M 45Secs.
I managed to knock the sets out in 1.39 / 1.38 / 1.40 / 1.31 / 1.43 / 1.31
This is a pretty good outcome, both in terms of the consistency of pacing but also for the fact that I found this relatively comfortable. ( as comfortable as an interval set can ever be.) Maybe I am not pushing it hard enough if I am achieving all the splits. Maybe if I aim to go a wee bit faster and miss the odd target that is not a bad thing.
Worth considering maybe?
Spin Class
(50 Mins)
First time back to Spin class for a while and it was great to be back again. Spin is hard going but I find it pretty enjoyable.
It is amazing how fast you can get your legs to spin round when you put your mind to it.
Saturday 12 January 2013
Long running with a parkrun sandwich
Saturday 12th January
2012
Running (14.50 miles / 02:11:29 / 00:09:04 per mile)
An interesting approach to my long run today.
I intended to do about 13 miles and push the pace on miles 3,6 and 9 at sub marathon pace of about 8.30 per mile.
I had the brainwave to run down to the Queens parkrun 5K, do the run and then run home again.
As it turned out, it was just a bit under 6 miles down to the run, so the overall distances went up a wee bit today.
The run down went well, even though I felt a bit sluggish at the start but I am putting that down to the early start.
Once down at the parkrun, I waited inside so as not to cool down too much as it was fairly nippy this morning.
Off we went and after the usual first 200M or so and jockeying for position, I settled in to a nice pace and I didn't get passed the whole way round the 5K run.
I felt nice and strong and would have very comfortably done the stand alone race at least 2 minutes faster than my eventual finish time of 26 minutes.
I am not convinced of the accuracy of their timing at 26 minutes - I got it myself at about 25.20 but it is not really all that important.
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/queens/results/latestresults/
I grabbed a biscuit after the run, topped up the water bottle and headed for home again.
The run home is a bit more up hill so it did feel a bit tough in the last 2 miles.
On the whole I am delighted with how my parkrun sandwich went and the average pace at 09.04 is very pleasing and encouraging for my Sub 4Hr marathon quest. I am even more pleased that the 13 planned miles turned in to 14.5 and still felt god.
Luckily I am wearing jeans today as I decided to wear my compression socks for recovery and it is not a sexy look!! Mmmmmmm NICE!.
Running (14.50 miles / 02:11:29 / 00:09:04 per mile)
An interesting approach to my long run today.
I intended to do about 13 miles and push the pace on miles 3,6 and 9 at sub marathon pace of about 8.30 per mile.
I had the brainwave to run down to the Queens parkrun 5K, do the run and then run home again.
As it turned out, it was just a bit under 6 miles down to the run, so the overall distances went up a wee bit today.
The run down went well, even though I felt a bit sluggish at the start but I am putting that down to the early start.
Once down at the parkrun, I waited inside so as not to cool down too much as it was fairly nippy this morning.
Off we went and after the usual first 200M or so and jockeying for position, I settled in to a nice pace and I didn't get passed the whole way round the 5K run.
I felt nice and strong and would have very comfortably done the stand alone race at least 2 minutes faster than my eventual finish time of 26 minutes.
I am not convinced of the accuracy of their timing at 26 minutes - I got it myself at about 25.20 but it is not really all that important.
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/queens/results/latestresults/
I grabbed a biscuit after the run, topped up the water bottle and headed for home again.
The run home is a bit more up hill so it did feel a bit tough in the last 2 miles.
On the whole I am delighted with how my parkrun sandwich went and the average pace at 09.04 is very pleasing and encouraging for my Sub 4Hr marathon quest. I am even more pleased that the 13 planned miles turned in to 14.5 and still felt god.
Luckily I am wearing jeans today as I decided to wear my compression socks for recovery and it is not a sexy look!! Mmmmmmm NICE!.
Thursday 10 January 2013
That went rather well.
Thursday 10th January
2012
Running (3.34 miles / 00:31:28 / 00:09:25 per mile)
Back on my feet again after a break of a couple of days.
The session tonight was a warm up and cool down with 5 sets of half mile intervals at a goal time of 4 minutes per set.
These all went rather well actually and the 5 sets were pretty well paced at:
3.15 / 3.27 / 3.28 / 3.33 / 3.30
I am really pleased at the average pacing and felt pretty strong throughout.
Tomorrow will probably just be a very easy paced run.
Running (3.34 miles / 00:31:28 / 00:09:25 per mile)
Back on my feet again after a break of a couple of days.
The session tonight was a warm up and cool down with 5 sets of half mile intervals at a goal time of 4 minutes per set.
These all went rather well actually and the 5 sets were pretty well paced at:
3.15 / 3.27 / 3.28 / 3.33 / 3.30
I am really pleased at the average pacing and felt pretty strong throughout.
Tomorrow will probably just be a very easy paced run.
Monday 7 January 2013
Runuary - Day 7. Common sense prevails and Runuary ends for me.
Monday 7th January
2012
Running (2.30 miles / 00:22:35 / 00:09:48 per mile)
A slow recovery type run at lunchtime in the rain. It probably did me some good to loosen out the legs as they felt a bit stiff after the longer run yesterday.
Do you ever get one of those moments when someone says something to you and it just makes sense and you question what the hell you had been doing up to that point?
Yes, No?
Well, I had one this evening at the swim training with the Tri Club.
Just before getting in to the pool, Oliver Harkin, our Coach, said to me, "are you mad? Running every day with a dodgy Achilles.)
Now, I made the usual sort of comment about it being OK so far and touch wood, blah blah blah.
However, the more I thought about it the more I started to question my motives for doing Runuary.
I eagerly signed up to run every day as a means to improve my endurance and fitness because of a lack of running recently due to my Achilles injury, which has realistically been ongoing for nearly 2 months. By running every day I thought that I would strengthen the tendon.
As I contemplated Oliver's innocent and well meaning comment I realised that I am potentially doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.
A recent lack of running, a chronic injury and a marathon looming in 14 weeks is not necessarily a great combination to encourage running every day. something which I have NEVER done before.
I have nothing to prove in terms of my ability to train and I am not seeking to impress other people, or indeed even myself. I am simply trying to get fitter and be the best version of myself for the London Marathon and hopefully take that fitness in to subsequent events.
So - with all of that weighed up I have decided to revert back to my original training plan of running 4 times per week and end my Runuary dalliance.
I wish everyone doing Runuary the best of luck and I think in different circumstances it would have been a great thing for me - but it is just a case of priorities and timing.
Swimming (00:50:00 / Sets and Drills)
Tri Club swim session tonight.
This was my first time back at swimming in nearly 2 months and it showed.
Even though Oliver took it pretty easy on us this evening, it was clear that my lack of pool time was catching up on me.
The best thing about it was the fact that I went. It was a horrible night and I thought twice about going but decided that I needed to go and I am glad I did.
It just served to show me how much work I need to do to regain my swim strength.
Running (2.30 miles / 00:22:35 / 00:09:48 per mile)
A slow recovery type run at lunchtime in the rain. It probably did me some good to loosen out the legs as they felt a bit stiff after the longer run yesterday.
Do you ever get one of those moments when someone says something to you and it just makes sense and you question what the hell you had been doing up to that point?
Yes, No?
Well, I had one this evening at the swim training with the Tri Club.
Just before getting in to the pool, Oliver Harkin, our Coach, said to me, "are you mad? Running every day with a dodgy Achilles.)
Now, I made the usual sort of comment about it being OK so far and touch wood, blah blah blah.
However, the more I thought about it the more I started to question my motives for doing Runuary.
I eagerly signed up to run every day as a means to improve my endurance and fitness because of a lack of running recently due to my Achilles injury, which has realistically been ongoing for nearly 2 months. By running every day I thought that I would strengthen the tendon.
As I contemplated Oliver's innocent and well meaning comment I realised that I am potentially doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.
A recent lack of running, a chronic injury and a marathon looming in 14 weeks is not necessarily a great combination to encourage running every day. something which I have NEVER done before.
I have nothing to prove in terms of my ability to train and I am not seeking to impress other people, or indeed even myself. I am simply trying to get fitter and be the best version of myself for the London Marathon and hopefully take that fitness in to subsequent events.
So - with all of that weighed up I have decided to revert back to my original training plan of running 4 times per week and end my Runuary dalliance.
I wish everyone doing Runuary the best of luck and I think in different circumstances it would have been a great thing for me - but it is just a case of priorities and timing.
Swimming (00:50:00 / Sets and Drills)
Tri Club swim session tonight.
This was my first time back at swimming in nearly 2 months and it showed.
Even though Oliver took it pretty easy on us this evening, it was clear that my lack of pool time was catching up on me.
The best thing about it was the fact that I went. It was a horrible night and I thought twice about going but decided that I needed to go and I am glad I did.
It just served to show me how much work I need to do to regain my swim strength.
Sunday 6 January 2013
Runuary - Day 6. Have I got weights in my shoes?
Sunday 6th January
2012
Running (12.00 miles / 01:51:41 / 00:09:18 per mile)
Long run today - all part of the build up for London in 15 weeks.
I couldn't believe how heavy my legs felt. This was literally from step one through to my last step. They just didn't ease up at all. I think this is a consequence of this being my 7th straight day of running. (Runuary Day 6 but I also ran on 31st December too.)
That's a total of nearly 40 miles for the week and that is the most that I have done in a long time. So tired legs shouldn't really be a surprise.
Despite the heavy legs I ploughed on through the run and was pretty satisfied with my average pace and the fact that I toughed it out.
I hope that Runuary pays off as I don't want to just make myself tired and heavy legged. Let's see.
Running (12.00 miles / 01:51:41 / 00:09:18 per mile)
Long run today - all part of the build up for London in 15 weeks.
I couldn't believe how heavy my legs felt. This was literally from step one through to my last step. They just didn't ease up at all. I think this is a consequence of this being my 7th straight day of running. (Runuary Day 6 but I also ran on 31st December too.)
That's a total of nearly 40 miles for the week and that is the most that I have done in a long time. So tired legs shouldn't really be a surprise.
Despite the heavy legs I ploughed on through the run and was pretty satisfied with my average pace and the fact that I toughed it out.
I hope that Runuary pays off as I don't want to just make myself tired and heavy legged. Let's see.
Saturday 5 January 2013
Runuary - Day 5. Hard. How will it be in the morning?
Saturday 5th January
2012
Running (3.00 miles / 00:23:52 / 00:07:53 per mile)
Aim tonight was to knock out 3 miles at an even 8 min mile pace. All went well apart form the last mile which was 8.09 as it is up hill.
It felt like hard work and it will be interesting to see how it affects my legs ahead of my Long Slow 12 Mile run tomorrow morning.
Running (3.00 miles / 00:23:52 / 00:07:53 per mile)
Aim tonight was to knock out 3 miles at an even 8 min mile pace. All went well apart form the last mile which was 8.09 as it is up hill.
It felt like hard work and it will be interesting to see how it affects my legs ahead of my Long Slow 12 Mile run tomorrow morning.
Friday 4 January 2013
Runuary - Day 4. Steady steady steady.
Friday 4th January
2012
Running (6.00 miles / 00:52:26 / 00:08:44 per mile)
I am so pleased with this run tonight. really steady pacing on an undulating route with every mile split within 2 seconds. NICE!
Runuary going well so far - admittedly it is only 4 days in - still a long way to go.
Running (6.00 miles / 00:52:26 / 00:08:44 per mile)
I am so pleased with this run tonight. really steady pacing on an undulating route with every mile split within 2 seconds. NICE!
Runuary going well so far - admittedly it is only 4 days in - still a long way to go.
Thursday 3 January 2013
Runuary - Day 3 & "If the Shoe fits. . . "
Thursday 3rd January
2012
Running (2.05 miles / 00:20:03 / 00:09:46 per mile)
A really easy run tonight as a bit of a rest for the legs, given that they have now had 4 days in a row of running and have not been used to it recently.
I was back with the Podiatrist today to pick up my new Orthotics. All was not well unfortunately.
It turns out that my feet are a lot wider than expected for my shoes and the orthotics fit my foot but are too wide to be practical for my current running shoes.
This means that I am going to have to get a new pair of trainers that come in a wide fitting.
Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing as like all runners I love getting new running shoes, however the bad news is that the Asics Nimbus I have been wearing for the last 7 years or more are not going to be right for me now. (Obviously not the same pair for the last 7 years!)
I suppose now that I'm having to look beyond the Nimbus the world is my Oyster - what shall I get?
Running (2.05 miles / 00:20:03 / 00:09:46 per mile)
A really easy run tonight as a bit of a rest for the legs, given that they have now had 4 days in a row of running and have not been used to it recently.
I was back with the Podiatrist today to pick up my new Orthotics. All was not well unfortunately.
It turns out that my feet are a lot wider than expected for my shoes and the orthotics fit my foot but are too wide to be practical for my current running shoes.
This means that I am going to have to get a new pair of trainers that come in a wide fitting.
Now, this is not necessarily a bad thing as like all runners I love getting new running shoes, however the bad news is that the Asics Nimbus I have been wearing for the last 7 years or more are not going to be right for me now. (Obviously not the same pair for the last 7 years!)
I suppose now that I'm having to look beyond the Nimbus the world is my Oyster - what shall I get?
Wednesday 2 January 2013
My review of 2012. What a year it was!
2012
promised to be a very exciting year for me from the perspective of sporting
endeavours.
Obviously
the big goal on the looming horizon was my first attempt at the Ironman in
Frankfurt on 8th of July.
However, in between the start of the year and that event lay another 6
months of hard training and a few warm up events that needed to be successful
for me to both learn from and perhaps even more importantly to gain confidence
from.
As I look
back now on 2012 from the sporting perspective I am spoiled for choice in
picking out the highlights.
I can
honesty say that every single event that I entered went very well for me and in
most cases actually better than I could have dreamed and this led to a wealth
of PBs when I really wasn’t expecting them.
The obvious highlight was Ironman Frankfurt in July. Without going back over old ground again here, the whole experience will stay with me forever and in all honestly I don’t think I will get the same feeling in completing another event like it.
The support
and friendship from my Pal Alex Buchner, his lovely family of Andrea Bittner
and little Aileen also helped to make the event, not just for me but also the
Curry family.
Even if I
complete another Ironman, I am sure that the feeling will be one of sheer
exhilaration but I know that nothing will ever fully compare to the first time
and the special place that is the Romerberg in Frankfurt on the evening of 8th
July 2012.
For that
reason I will leave this event in a little box by itself and not try to draw
comparisons with any other events as it just simply isn’t fair.
There were
many other events in 2012 that delighted me, either for the performance, the
event itself or the company I had during the event.
Performance Highlight
Surprisingly
this is not a Triathlon. This is a toss
up between the Lisburn Half Marathon or the Seeley Cup 10K.
Both events
threw out a PB for me over the distance and both were unexpected. Lisburn saw me hit 1.50 for a half Marathon
for the first time and Seeley Cup saw me crack the 48 minute mark with a 47.45
PB.
Simply
because of how unexpected it was and that it was something I knew I was capable
of but just not at this time, I would place the Seeley Cup 10K at the
top of my performance pile for 2012. I
think that race was symbolic of the “strength” that has become a feature of my
running recently.
Iron
distance training may not build outright speed but it certainly engenders the
ability to hurt yourself for long periods of time and this strength can
sometimes translate to speed when you need to call on it. I think this was one such case.
Event Highlight
I competed
in a hell of a lot of events this year and was lucky to have enjoyed them all.There were straight running events, cycling events, Duathlon and of course Triathlons.
Some of these are made special because of the course, some because of the organisation and crowd.
For me the highlight was the Warrior Triathlon in Camlough.
This end of season event was a complete monster in all respects.
The 2.9K swim was in a stunning location, albeit completely freezing. The 50K bike was tough and the 5K run up and down Camlough Mountain was one of the hardest runs I have ever done – over any distance.
This race
stands out for a number of reasons. As I
mentioned, the course was beautiful but I choose this race for more than
that. This was a test the whole way
through and one which pushed me at the end of a hard season.
Even
deciding to get out of the car and do it was tough given the awful conditions
but I was rewarded with memories of a great day.
I also
choose this one because of the great atmosphere created in a rural environment
and the sheer friendliness of the organisers in Camlough and Newry Triathlon
Club.
What other
event finishes in the beer garden of a Pub and you get your medal engraved as
you wait with a bowl of soup in your hand.
Pure genius.
People
Again, it
is difficult to pin this down as I have been privileged to train and race with
some great friends and also to meet new ones along the way.Some highlights were:
Lapping the Lough on a training ride with Jim Heaney and Donald Smith. A great experience and made even more memorable by Jim’s four punctures en-route.
The Dromara
Coastal Challenge and North Down Coastal Cycle with Jim Heaney. Both events were terrific and the great
company from Jim meant that they were enjoyable and memorable.
Tri an Mhi
Half Iron distance Triathlon where I met
David Patterson and Marie Gorman. Two
fellow Ironman virgins in 2012.
Stena
Triathlon in Newtownabbey racing with Paul Brannigan, Donald Smith, Simon
Cummings and Stuart Lynn. A great event
and good company.
Tri Limits
Duathlon at An Creagan with Mark Vaudrey, Mark Crawford and Darwyn Young from
our new Lisburn Triathlon Club and Frank McVeigh a new Facebook friend.
All of
these were great but I single out a couple of races as my favourites.
One of
these I didn’t even compete in.RunHer in October was fantastic as my Daughter Erin completed her first 5K with Keara and she did really well. She even trained for it and did a great job on what is not an easy course. Whether she repeats this or not is yet to be seen! It was also a good day as Ben won the kids race for the 3rd year in a row after a terrific sprint finish.
The other
event was the Creeslough 5K in August as
it was just me and Ben.
Getting to
run with Ben is great and he holds a lot of potential and without doubt will be
a far better runner than I ever have been or will be.This is a challenging little route and the last mile or so is up hill on tight little Donegal roads.
Ben worked really hard on this run and was rewarded with a 25.04. It was great to be there as he worked so hard and pushed hard to the end and was delighted with his time. Not a PB but it felt like one for him.
The numbers for 2012
Swimming:
60 Swims covering 84 miles
Cycling: 98
rides covering 2498 milesRunning: 120 runs covering 728 miles
Overall 336 Hours of training to cover 3310 miles.
PBs set in 2012
5K 22:4010K 47:45
Half Marathon 01:50:57
Sprint Triathlon 01:20:08
The biggest
thanks of all for the support in allowing me to do all of this goes to
Keara. I have put huge demands on family
time through 2012 and it simply would not have been possible without her
amazing support and patience.
2013 will
not be anything like 2012 in terms of training demands and time but the ongoing
base levels of training and the odd Marathon or 2 and triathlons still eat up
quite a bit of time, and the ongoing love and support is worth everything to
me.
2012 also
saw a bit of a dream come true for me with the creation of Lisburn Triathlon
Club. Having a new club full of great
people in my home town is amazing and I am delighted to be part of this new
adventure.
Huge thanks
to Neil Beck and Arran McKee for all the hard work in getting it up and going
and I am really looking forward to racing in the club colours in 2013.
Looking
ahead to this year, I have some goals in mind and the main one is to go Sub
4 Hours in a Marathon.
Hopefully
it will be at the London Marathon on 21st April but if that doesn’t
work out then I will look at another one and have another crack at it,
Having done
4H44mins for the Marathon in Ironman, I can’t help but think that a stand alone
Sub 4 must be achievable for me.
I will
continue to do Triathlons and cycling sportives through this year and the hope
is that I will gain entry to Ironman Kalmar (Sweden) for 2014 – entry opens in
July but sells out pretty damn quick. If
I am lucky enough to get entry, I will start training for that event in
November / December of this year.
It has been a wonderful year full of highs and I look forward greatly to the year ahead and the challenges that it brings.
Runuary - Day 2
Wednesday 2nd January 2012
Running(4.00 miles / 00:35:20 / 00:08:50 per mile)
A little session tonight working on runningat tempo speed.
4 X 3/4 mile with 2 minutes recover in between - done at a goal pace of 6 minutes for each 3/4 mile set.
The whole thing went really well and I managed the 4 sets in 5.30 / 5.22 / 5.32 / 5.53.
It was fairly tough going on the last set which was up hill a bit and I started to feel myself slowing down quite a bit.
I am going to the Podiatrist tomorrow to get my new orthotics and I am pretty excited to see if these will make a difference to my long term outlook for lower limb injuries.
hopefully it works.
Running(4.00 miles / 00:35:20 / 00:08:50 per mile)
A little session tonight working on runningat tempo speed.
4 X 3/4 mile with 2 minutes recover in between - done at a goal pace of 6 minutes for each 3/4 mile set.
The whole thing went really well and I managed the 4 sets in 5.30 / 5.22 / 5.32 / 5.53.
It was fairly tough going on the last set which was up hill a bit and I started to feel myself slowing down quite a bit.
I am going to the Podiatrist tomorrow to get my new orthotics and I am pretty excited to see if these will make a difference to my long term outlook for lower limb injuries.
hopefully it works.
Tuesday 1 January 2013
Runuary - Day 1
Tuesday 1st January 2013
Running
(2.41 miles / 00:21:20 / 00:08:52 per mile)
I have agreed to participate in an event called Runuary through a group on Facebook called MX12 VIP. (Set up by the legend that is Chris McCormack - 2 times Ironman World Champ)
The idea is to run at least 20 minutes every day in January.
As I will be increasing my running volume in January I thought I might as well try to do this.
Not entirely sure that I will be able to make it fit but I will give it a bloody good go anyway.
The run this evening was just to get me out the door and run a bit of the stiffness from yesterday's 10 miler out of the legs.
Running
(2.41 miles / 00:21:20 / 00:08:52 per mile)
I have agreed to participate in an event called Runuary through a group on Facebook called MX12 VIP. (Set up by the legend that is Chris McCormack - 2 times Ironman World Champ)
The idea is to run at least 20 minutes every day in January.
As I will be increasing my running volume in January I thought I might as well try to do this.
Not entirely sure that I will be able to make it fit but I will give it a bloody good go anyway.
The run this evening was just to get me out the door and run a bit of the stiffness from yesterday's 10 miler out of the legs.
All worth it for a fry up.
Monday 31st December 2012
Running
(10.00 miles / 01:33:12 / 00:09:19 per mile)
The very last run of 2012. Hard to believe actually and I managed to recreate the same run from exactly the same time last year.
We were staying in the Burrendale Hotel in Newcastle (Co Down) for the annual family New Years Eve celebrations and I had a fantastic run from the hotel.
Much o the disgust of the family I set my alarm for 7AM and got out the door for 7.30 to get the run in early so that we had the rest of the day for family things.
I remembered this run very well from last year and I knew that the first few miles up the road into Castlewellan would be tough as it is a pretty gradual incline all the way up. This incline combined with my lack of breakfast, windy conditions, effects of wine and cider the night before and it being really dark made the run up the road seem a lot harder than it should have been. I was beginning to doubt the sanity of my decision.
Once I got up in to the Forest Park and around the lake all doubts disappeared and I really enjoyed he run round the lake as the sun was coming up. Although dark in the trails around the lake the growing sunlight was incredible over the lake and at the far end I took a seat on a boulder for a moment just to enjoy the sight of the lake with the rising sun and a little fog over the water. It was lovely and almost spiritual.
The benefit of running up for the start of the run was that the last 3 miles back were back down the gradient and in face were the 3 fastest of the run.
Back to the room and the family were getting dressed to head down for breakfast. A quick shower and I was able to head down with them and enjoy a pretty guilt free fry up knowing that 10 miles were in the bank.
Perhaps the most pleasing thing about this run was that this is the furthest I have run in quite a while and firstly the Achilles held up well and I was pain free, but also that I am able to fairly comfortably knock out a 10 mile run at a steady pace without any real recent base of run training. I take this as a positive for the rest of my London preparation and it was a great way to wrap up running in 2012, which has been an immense year for me.
Running
(10.00 miles / 01:33:12 / 00:09:19 per mile)
The very last run of 2012. Hard to believe actually and I managed to recreate the same run from exactly the same time last year.
We were staying in the Burrendale Hotel in Newcastle (Co Down) for the annual family New Years Eve celebrations and I had a fantastic run from the hotel.
Much o the disgust of the family I set my alarm for 7AM and got out the door for 7.30 to get the run in early so that we had the rest of the day for family things.
I remembered this run very well from last year and I knew that the first few miles up the road into Castlewellan would be tough as it is a pretty gradual incline all the way up. This incline combined with my lack of breakfast, windy conditions, effects of wine and cider the night before and it being really dark made the run up the road seem a lot harder than it should have been. I was beginning to doubt the sanity of my decision.
Once I got up in to the Forest Park and around the lake all doubts disappeared and I really enjoyed he run round the lake as the sun was coming up. Although dark in the trails around the lake the growing sunlight was incredible over the lake and at the far end I took a seat on a boulder for a moment just to enjoy the sight of the lake with the rising sun and a little fog over the water. It was lovely and almost spiritual.
(The lake - it started to get a lot brighter and looked nicer than this pretty soon after.)
The benefit of running up for the start of the run was that the last 3 miles back were back down the gradient and in face were the 3 fastest of the run.
Back to the room and the family were getting dressed to head down for breakfast. A quick shower and I was able to head down with them and enjoy a pretty guilt free fry up knowing that 10 miles were in the bank.
Perhaps the most pleasing thing about this run was that this is the furthest I have run in quite a while and firstly the Achilles held up well and I was pain free, but also that I am able to fairly comfortably knock out a 10 mile run at a steady pace without any real recent base of run training. I take this as a positive for the rest of my London preparation and it was a great way to wrap up running in 2012, which has been an immense year for me.
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