September 23rd-29th
Mon: AM: 30-60 min cross train (very easy) 40 min easy + 5 x 15 sec strides + 5 min.
Complete. 10.24km.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12485584283
Tue: 70 min easy + easy cross training.
Complete. 67 mins. 14.48km.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12493931914
Wed: 20 min WU, 10 x 1 mile @ 5:55 (75 sec recovery), 20 min CD. Complete. 5:56, 5:50, 5:52, 5:48, 5:50, 5:47, 5:48, 5:46, 5:46 and 5:42. 23.03km total.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12503001503
Thur: AM: 30 min PM: 30 min.
Complete. 4 miles treadmill AM. 4 miles biblical storm PM.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12507487840
https://www.strava.com/activities/12509927148
Fri: OFF
Sat: 20 min WU, 5 x 3km @ (3:55, 3:45, 3:55, 3:40, 3:55) 1 km easy jog between reps.
Complete. 11:26 / 4:08, 11:07 / 4:02, 11:37 / 4:04 ,10:36 / 4:05, 11:17 / 4:00. 26 km total.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12521744208
Sun: 80 min easy.
Complete.17.31km.
https://www.strava.com/activities/12530133888
Last week ended with a double on Sunday (both easy 5K’s) and this week was largely easy too, with one big midweek session (10 x 1 mile) and then a session built into the long run (5 x 3K (1K float)). The midweek session was on Wednesday so I had plenty of time to get myself right for this. I am not a fan of mile repeats; never have been and likely won’t ever be. Earlier in the block, I had 8 x 1 mile at similar paces but had to scale to 6 x 1 mile as I had a pain in my calf, which miraculously has not materialised since. That day was also an absolute scorcher and I was definitely overheated from the start – I even tried to do the reps on Chesterfield Avenue in the shade to provide some protection. I ran into Barry after I had finished that evening, he being out for an easy run, and I recall him commenting on how hot it was.
I had no such problems this week, however, as the winter weather had well and truly arrived. This was definitely the worst week of weather all year and Wednesday evening was prime monsoon season. There were relentless showers, high winds and zero craic. I parked at the Acres and warmed up on the Acres loop. I had initially planned to do the mile repeats here but after one lap, I knew I was on a hiding to nothing if I were to attempt the session here. I went back to the car, changed my runners to luminous yellow Puma’s with a carbon fibre plate protruding through the top of the shoe, and made my way to Chesterfield Avenue. It is 1,800 metres from the Phoenix Roundabout to the Castleknock gates with only one road crossing to negotiate. The wind was blowing hard here but it was mainly to the side so at least there was no brutal headwind like there was at the Acres. I had built up this session in my head and had expected it to be a slog. While there were sloggy portions throughout, mainly due to the volume instead of the effort, the session went very well. In general, the miles cut down from the first to the last and the effort was largely consistent. Usually I don’t get more than 60 seconds between reps but the 75 seconds Seán prescribed here was a God send and it meant I was fully recovered by the time the next rep was starting. These were all on our about what I hope my marathon pace to be and it was a great confidence builder of a session to execute it well. With a taper and feeling fresh, I can see myself holding this pace for 42.2km.
On my cool down, I ran into Gary O’Hanlon and stopped and chatted to him for a while as he was coaching his Wednesday night run class. Regaling me with some life updates, he got a good chuckle when I told him I had just finished a session of 10 x 1 mile. When I told him what I was doing, he let out a hearty laugh and said “That’s a big session for a Wednesday!”. I was already on a high after the session and giving Gary a chuckle was the cherry on top.
I finished the session quite late, got home, ate dinner and slept. I was a bit leggy on Thursday and, with the weather still shite, I opted for the morning 30 mins on the treadmill and braved the elements for the evening 30 mins. Friday was a day off and came at the right time to prep for Saturday’s long run session.
I have been quite tired with work lately and getting up most mornings at 6am for the last number of months so I treated myself to a glorious lie in of 6:45am and I was much the better for it. I once again opted for the luminous Puma’s as they worked quite well for the mile repeats. I don’t usually wear them for long runs but they were pretty sweet. As usual, I parked up beside the Acres and warmed up there, starting the session again at the Phoenix Roundabout. I had no route planned for this session so just took off towards the Castleknock gate for the first of the 3K’s. I was clock watching for the first minute or so (of all the reps basically) to find the right pace but then just settled in and was able to keep the pace by managing the effort. It was a pretty perfect day for this type of session; the sun was out, the wind wasn’t too bad and there was a small chill in the air. If October 27th has similar weather there will be no complaints from me.
The paces of the 3K reps were up and down and they started off quite conservatively, with rep 4 being the hardest one. I went through the first 3 reps in 11:26, 11:07 and 11:37, with the floats all around 4 minute per kilometre. For the fourth rep, I put the hammer down a bit and average 3:32 per K (10:36) and felt really good. The pace didn’t feel too much faster and my legs were turning over quite well, which I was very happy with as this rep started after 20K or so of running. The last rep and the cool down were on the Acres and then I finished up at the car with a smile on my face and an only slightly sore toe. This was one of the more successful Saturday.
Sunday was 80 minutes easy and it was very enjoyable. I was glad I sessioned on Saturday as the weather was back to being awful on Sunday morning but thankfully it didn’t have much of an impact on me. For the coming week, there is one hard session on Tuesday, a steady effort on Thursday and then the 3/4 marathon on Saturday, which will be the last hard long run of the build. The race plan is still to be finalised but it is looking like a cut down with the first 8 or 9 miles 5 seconds slower than marathon pace, the next block at marathon pace or a little quicker and then, if feeling good, the last 5K is time to put the hammer down (so says The Hammer). The race plan is subject to change but it is likely to be some variation of that. 28 days to go.
Buckets of Rain 