September 2nd – 8th
Mon: 40 min easy + 5 x 15 sec strides + 5 min.
Complete. 10.26km.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12307882953
Tue: 20 min WU, 4 x (2k @ 3:45 pace (90) 5 x 400 @ 80 (30)) 400m jog between sets , 20 min CD.
Complete.
7:20 – 79, 78, 79, 78, 79
7:15 – 79, 79, 79, 79, 79
7:11 – 79, 79, 80, 79, 79
7:13 – 79, 78, 81, 81, 79
23.88km total.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12317515671
Wed: AM: 30 min PM: 30 min.
Complete. 6.28km morning, 6.05km evening. 12.33km total.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12323211883 + https://www.strava.com/activities/12325650806
Thur: 90 min.
Complete (85 mins). 18.01km.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12334282695
Fri: OFF
Sat: 2 hours 20 min (steady from 50 min-2 hours/ practice gels or drinks).
Complete. 12k – 52 mins (4:20 average). 17.61k – 68 mins (3:51 average). 32.6km total.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12347506866
Sun: AM: 30 min PM: 30 min.
Complete. Opted against a double and ran easy for an hour. 12.61km.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12356312581
This week took on something of a unique feel – the week before not just one, but two (!) races in 5 days. This is an extraordinary event that is as rare as a lunar eclipse… but you wouldn’t think that from the training. Neither races are really goal races so there will only be a slight taper next week after the 5K and before the Ratoath Half.
The meat and veg of the week took place on Tuesday and Saturday. Tuesday’s session of 4 x (2k + 5 * 400) didn’t look as bad to me on paper as it invariably turned out. I had recognised when reading the plan that the 400’s would bite but I wasn’t expecting them to bite as much as they did. I had thought about finding a loop for this but decided against it and just rawdogged around the Phoenix Park with the only route stipulation a strict S Bend avoidance. The effort of the 2K’s stayed relatively similar throughout and the paces got marginally faster as I went on. Similar to the 2K’s, the pace for the 400’s was almost exactly as described, which I was stoked about, but the effort was a massive variable. Unusual for me, I didn’t really think too much about where I would be finishing the 2K reps and where I would end up doing the 400’s. For the second set, I finished the 2K just behind the zoo and was facing into Chesterfield Avenue for 3 of the 4 400’s. The incline here isn’t too hectic but it is enough of one to feel it when you’re somewhat putting the boot down for the rep. They’re over quick enough but so is the measly recovery of 30 seconds. Five of those seconds are spent slowing down to a walk after the rep, the next couple to glance at the watch to see what the split was. After that you take a couple of deep breaths and then there are 5 seconds to go where you start jogging to have a flying start for the next rep. In short, it’s not a recovery; but torture. I finished out the workout without too much hassle and felt great for all of the 2K reps. The 400’s ground me down a bit and by the end, I was happy to see the back of them. I cut short the warm down and jogged back to the car thinking about dew points of all things.
Wednesday and Thursday were both easy – Wednesday with two 30 min runs and Thursday with 90 minutes easy. I botched my route a bit on this one and ended up back at the car 5 minutes early. I spent the 2 minutes approaching that point bargaining with myself to see if I should keep going to finish out the 90 but ultimately convinced myself (rightly or wrongly) that it was a stupid idea and so I hopped in the car to drive home and drink some fizzy orange.
The long run came around quickly this week as it was unusually on a Saturday to allow for maximum recovery time for the 5K on Tuesday. The plan was to run easy for 50 minutes and steady for 70. I wanted to get in some hills as well so I decided to start the easy portion down towards the river run and that would leave me with the steady portion starting on the hill in Stoneybatter. I felt fairly rotten starting out here and didn’t really find any rhythm until I was heading back from the river on the way to Stoneybatter. I decided to pick it up a little earlier than planned so there wasn’t too big a shock to the body when the steady portion started, such was the potential fragility of how I was feeling. When the watch beeped to start, I was right in the centre of Stoneybatter and started picking it up. I had turned off lap splits and would only periodically check the watch to see how I was going. The effort almost felt less than it did 40 minutes before and I’m not really sure why. Thankfully I did feel good getting into my running. The kilometre splits ranged from 3:59 – 3:45 throughout the 17.6km steady portion. I had water placed on my car at the Acres and made a beeline for the bottle. I had planned to sip this but ended up necking it pretty quickly, alongside a gel. I had planned to take 4 gels through the run but I dropped one somewhere along the way. When I went to take my third, I realised it was the last one I had. This was at 80 minutes, with 40 minutes of steady running to go, so I decided to forgo the gel then and save it for another 10 minutes. Thankfully I didn’t feel like I bonked at all and finished out the steady portion strongly. I jogged for another 15 minutes to round out the day at 32.6 kilometres and feeling good.
Next week is a bit unknown. The 5K on Tuesday will be fun and the route is flat and favourable, save for one hairpin turn just before 3K. The Ratoath Half will be a good tester of the current fitness. The confidence has taken a bit of a knock after the 10 mile a few weeks ago so I am unsure how well this race will go. Ultimately, I am not expecting a PB but I do know that will set me up well, physically and psychologically, for the run in to the marathon. I haven’t been doing half marathon specific workouts – my harder efforts have been short so as to be not specific to the half marathon and the longer stuff is slower than half marathon effort and pace with the eyes on the marathon. Ratoath is a great course though and I have fond memories of running it in 2018. Hopefully I’ll be recounting the fond memories of 2024 this time next year.
Buckets of Rain 