April 29th – May 5th
Mon: 50 min easy + 5 x 15 sec strides + 5 min.
Complete. 12km.
https://www.strava.com/activities/11291778974
Tue: 15 min WU, 2 x (1600 @ 5:40 (400m jog) 4 x 600 @ 1:50 (75)), 15 min CD.
Complete. Windy acres. Miles (5:30 and 5:32). 600s (1:51, 1:53, 1:53 and 1:53) & (1:53, 1:53, 1:54 and 1:52). 17.42km total.
https://www.strava.com/activities/11300621989
Wed: 60 min.
Complete. Trails. 12.20km.
https://www.strava.com/activities/11309454950
Thur: 15 min WU, 20 min @ 3:55 km pace (90) 4 x 4 min @ 3:45 (60), 15 min CD.
Complete. 15.67km.
https://www.strava.com/activities/11316961218
Fri: Off
Sat: 15 min WU, 5 x 600m hill reps + 3 x 30 sec hills (easy jog back), 15 min CD.
Complete. Khyber. 13.51km.
https://www.strava.com/activities/11328049490
Sun: 90 min.
Complete. 21.1km in 1:25:25. 1.61km cool down.
https://www.strava.com/activities/11336016129
Slowly, but surely, the weather is changing. The previous week had been largely dry so, on Monday, I chanced the Royal Canal for the first time since before Christmas. The trail on the canal is one of my favourites but with no concrete anywhere near it, you need to be sure it’s dry enough to run on; otherwise it is a cruel mistress. Thankfully, it was a pure delight and I will be back on the canal trails again soon. On the trails, I wear an old pair of New Balance that I used to have for easy runs that now don’t give me too much purchase on concrete. They are perfect for the trails or grass, though, and I find it gives a new lease of life to an ageing pair of shoes.
On Tuesday, Conor joined me for my session in the park. Save for the hills last Saturday, this is the first time somebody has joined me for a session in a quite some time. I had been accompanying Barry for some of his harder long runs (the easy/moderate part of his harder long runs) during his Seville build up but I genuinely can’t remember the last time doing a workout like this with someone. It helps that Conor is absolutely great and gas craic so, in between the suffering, he had me in stitches. We did the session on the Acres and predictably it was very windy. The first mile was a little hot in 5:30 but the effort felt good as we were working together. The 600’s are almost at what I think is my current maximum speed for any real distance. This isn’t to say that I was totally gassed after each rep and that I couldn’t run further; I actually felt great for all of them, and I definitely could have done longer reps, but I struggle to see myself running any faster than that. Long term, that probably doesn’t bode well for the old 5K PB. For both sets of the 600’s, Conor largely tucked in behind me and I took the wind and set the pace. Still, even with that, it is pure joy having company on sessions. The second mile was 5:32 and again the effort felt good. The wind was beginning to pick up but we still were able to hit the paces. The last rep was up the backside of the Acres so incorporated a little bit of a drag but as it was the last one, we were able to get through it without too many tears. Conor and I cooled down for a couple of K for what was one of the more enjoyable sessions this year.
Wednesday was back on the grass and in my old New Balance. If you spotted me in the Phoenix Park this day and I was laughing like a maniac, you can blame that on the Gifter Hater episode of The Bunt. Listen later and then send your thanks.
Thursday was the usual steady session with the 4 minute pickups after the 20 minute rep. I had to make a toilet stop at the portaloo’s behind the Popes Cross. The state that those toilets are constantly left in would really make you question your belief in a deity of any domination.
On Saturday, I was back solo on the hills but there was a group of Donore Harriers doing 800’s under the watchful eye of Gerry Naughton. I don’t know Gerry personally but I had a great chat with him before and after my session. He coaches some friends of mine, as well as having other folk I know in his training group, and seems like an all round lovely man. Even though we had only just met, he wasn’t afraid to throw some shade at other clubs, which I truly respect. A person of conviction regardless of the company.
For the second time in a week, I did my long run on Sunday without paying attention to the watch. I have been doing this on all easy runs recently but the Sunday run got much quicker last week than usual (when I watch the pace) and today was no different. I came to the conclusion last week that I am a bad judge of pace and that theory has been firmly cemented after Sunday. Once again, I thought I was running around 4:30’s but was actually between 4:00 and 4:09 for the first 12K. After that, I purposely tried to hold the pace around 4:00 to finish out the 90 minutes but I was around 3:48 average for the remainder. I’m not sure how I am such a bad judge of pace but it probably comes from the experience of only ever having run with a watch or an app. Barry has suggested that I should do a race without a watch and see how it goes but I’m not sure if I would do that at a goal race. Perhaps if I do a parkrun or jump into a race on the fly in the next few weeks/months, that will be the shout.
Other than the pace being stupid, the run was lovely. I stayed largely in the park and did two loops of the hill beside Farmleigh and then back into the Park through Knockmaroon. The hill beside Farmleigh is 800m and is a perfect gradient for being able to push at a decent pace without completely flogging yourself, especially compared to the steeper parts of Khyber. I finished 85 minutes at the triangle on the North Road and then jogged the mile back home as a cool down. The week rounded out with 93.5Km and that has probably been my best week of training in some time. Such is the duopoly of man, I celebrated this great week of training with some pints in The Long Hall followed by a take away and an ice cream cone. Because balance.
Buckets of Rain 