Running ( 01:27:43 / 10.00 Miles / 00:08:46 per mile /
HRZ3)
Sweat, snot, rain, cold hands, running jacket, hat and wet
socks. Yes, it’s winter running at its finest and I am right back in to
the middle of it.
I had to get out for a 10 mile run to really have a test of
both my fitness and how well the Achilles has healed up. So, despite the
rain and wind and general misery I went out the door and got it done.
In a slightly masochistic way I really enjoyed this. I
had a new running jacket which has been hanging in my cupboard since late
August and has remained unused, so I was really looking forward to donning the
Orange Adidas coat and combined with my other unused item, an Ironman
Zurich (Did I mention I did an Ironman?) beanie hat I was ready to brave
the elements.
I have actually missed the misery of running in the rain and
it was pretty refreshing to get back in to it. I always feel like winter
miles are harder miles and that I feel like I have earned a greater sense of
satisfaction from being out in weather that most people would not even consider
going out in.
The run itself went pretty well and I must have been in the
zone as I passed my friend from work and didn’t even really notice or
acknowledge him. Sorry Gerard! Pace was a bit slower than hoped and
my Heart Rate started to elevate a bit as I got near the end. Clearly the
endurance fitness just isn’t quite what it should be.
The Achilles held up pretty well and only really stiffened
up a bit about a mile from home which again was uphill, so it was quite
reassuring.
I think I will wear my Compression Calf Guards for my long
run this weakened and possibly for the Dublin Marathon too. Just to give
me an additional bit of support. Although it means making a big sacrifice
in covering up the Ironman Tattoo.
Clearly this is just vanity on my part, but the Tat is
always a talking point at a race, as many people ask about your tattoo on the
way round and it is always inevitably followed by “I’d love to do a Triathlon /
Ironman but I can’t swim.”
I have now given up saying to people that they could do it,
it just takes effort and determination. It’s a bit annoying that the
assumption is that if you do Ironman or Triathlon you were born in an Aquarium
and have a God given gift of being able to swim like a fish.
The reality is that probably 90% of people I know that do
Triathlon do not come from a swimming background and have had to work bloody
hard at swimming just so that they could enjoy this fantastic sport.
So, if you give me the old sob story about not being able to
swim, I’m sorry for not being more sympathetic and encouraging but I’ve had
enough of it. I started out unable to swim 2 lengths and worked at
it. It’s a question of desire over ability.
Anyway, rant over on that matter.
I’ll go for an 18 mile run at the weekend and that will be
the end of (or in reality start of) my long runs and then hopefully get a few
shorter runs in next week. So much for tapering… but I’m adopting the
Donald ‘The Machine’ Smith and Stanley ‘Awesome’ Edgar – No Training – Training
Plan and I’ll see how it goes.
Thursday 16th October 2014
Cycling (01:24:10 / 20.59Miles / 15.20 MPH / Cadence 70 HRZ2)
Time to be careful now. Autumn is always a really dodgy time
on the bike. The wet roads, low sun and leaves on the road make for a
slippery ride.
Down the Tow Path to work this morning and I had to be very
careful at picking my line in order to avoid leaves and make sure I was only
braking at the right times. It probably forces good discipline but makes
for a bit of a slower ride.
I hope to make myself a stronger cyclist this year, as I’m
tired of being slow on the bike.
I decided that I can use my commute to build up the miles
but also to try and work on a few things that will hopefully make me stronger
and faster.
On the way to work this morning I focussed on keeping a
higher cadence and decent pedalling technique. Ideally I wanted to keep
cadence in the high 90s. I got pretty close to this and in reality only
dropped below on the average because of stops and being cautious in leafy
parts.
I plan to use the homebound rides to push a bigger gear and
focus on pushing the legs harder. Hopefully this will help to build
strength. The theory being that I will focus on technique and strength
and that they will both improve and meet somewhere in the middle.
Eventually permitting me to push a bigger gear at a higher cadence which will
translate to speed. It’s all theory but at least it’s better than just
spinning out miles with no real purpose.
The cycle home was absolutely unbelievable. Belfast
was hit with a downpour of close on Biblical proportions. It created a
lot of flooding and terrible traffic congestion. The ride home was very
wet.
I didn’t mind getting rained on but riding through massive
puddles without knowing what was in it and the constant risk of motorists with
steamed up rain covered windows mowing me down was somewhat of a concern.
I was genuinely very pleased to get home in what was a
Personal worst for the length of time to ride home. Importantly I got
home safely!
Saturday 18th October 2014
Running (00:21:45 / 3.10 Miles / 00:07:01 per mile / HRZ3)
Queens Parkrun
Cycling (00:46:07/ 16.02 Miles /15.90 MPH / HRZ2 / Cadence 75 )
My employer has been running a programme throughout the
whole organisation called ‘Be at your best.’ It’s a general Mind,
Body Spirit type of programme and part of it has been a couch to 5K programme
for people.
Saturday was a Graduation run for these folks who put the
effort in. It was combined with the weekly Queens Parkrun and presented a
chance for me to show support to colleagues and also have a wee bit of a smack
at a decent 5K time and maybe even bag a PB.
Brendan and I decided to ride the 6 miles down to the event
and obviously ride home afterwards. Just another way of getting a few
more bike miles but also in the back of my mind I reckoned I always run faster
off the bike so maybe this would help my chances.
The actual run went really well for me despite my own
efforts to sabotage myself by going off too fast. I managed to reign it
in and controlled it very well with almost perfectly even splits to come home
with a 21.45. This represented a PB by 37 secs. I’ll take that OK.
It was great to see so many colleagues out and achieving
their goal that they had worked hard for. A real feel good day.
Sunday 19th October 2014
Running (02:42:02 / 17.81 Miles / 00:09:05 per mile / HRZ2)
Long Run
Horrible. Just bloody horrible.
Normally I like my long runs, but in all honesty I hated
virtually every step of this run. I felt like I was battling the whole
way.
Battling the wind, my lethargy, the residual effects of wine
and beer the previous night and a general feeling of apathy towards the
run. I hated it and it showed.
I just had to grind through this run and get it done.
There were some positives. As I was hating the run so much I
decided that I should pay more attention to what was going on around me.
It’s bizarre that despite being outdoors so much that I
don’t pay enough attention to Nature that is all around me. On this run I
paid more attention and was rewarded with a view of something I have never seen
in real life before.
I saw Salmon swimming upstream and jumping up the weir on
the Lagan in Lisburn. It was incredible to see and there were quite a lot
of them. I even videoed them doing it. It was great to see and
demonstrates how much cleaner the River Lagan is nowadays.
I also saw a couple of Hawks hunting a bit further on and
some squirrels in the park.
The Natural world delivered for me where my own body and
head let me down badly.
If I am to take a positive from the run it is that I slogged
it out and still managed to average 9.05 per mile. It doesn’t fill me
with confidence for Dublin and the possibility of achieving my goal of a
sub-4Hr marathon but hopefully I’ll feel less lethargic next week.
Monday 20th October 2014
Swimming (1500M / 00:51:28)
Club Technique
I didn't get cycling to work today as I had a puncture. So much for my wider, super tough puncture proof winter tyres. About 200 miles and I'm punctured. Bugger!
Back to swimming again and the focus tonight was again on streamlining and getting the basics of technique right.
I felt like Shit after about 600M. I hadn't eaten enough and had a bit of a bonk. This is bad enough at the best of times but in a pool it is just horrible.
I managed to work through it and actually started to feel better after a while and wound up doing OK in the sprints at the end.
Tuesday 21st October 2014
Running (00:34:26 / 4.00 Miles / 00:08:36 / HRZ2)
With only a week to go until the Dublin Marathon I will be taking it pretty easy this week.
Tonight was just a simple easy paced run and I felt a lot better than I did at the weekend.
Hopefully the positivity and running will carry through to the weekend.
Thursday 23rd October 2014
Running (00:52:01 / 6.00 Miles . 00:08:40 per mile / HRZ2)
Another decent enough tapering run tonight. Although calling it tapering feels a bit odd as I haven't really put in huge miles in training to justify a taper to allow myself to refresh. Sine I came back from holiday after Ironman I have only run 21 times for a total of 150 miles. That really is Bugger all mileage to come in to a Marathon but it's what I have got to work with and the fact that the 6 mile run tonight was very easy and felt dead on at that pace is at least encouraging.
Keara is treating us to another couple of nights in Dublin ahead of Monday so we will hopefully have a great time over the weekend and then an enjoyable run in the Marathon.
