Friday 19 September 2008

Taking It Easi(er)

Monday's recovery run was limited to 2.5 miles in the gym after work and while my calves and hamstrings felt tight it was to be expected.
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On Tuesday morning I added a 5.2 mile recovery run in the morning ahead of the scheduled evening mixed intervals at the track. As I was still in recovery mode I gave myself some concession on distance and effort reducing the scheduled 3.2k, 2k, 1k & 8oom to 3k, 1.6k, 1k & 800m with pace turning out only marginally less than previous weeks (however I spent about 5 minutes talking to John Quigley of Eagle AC between the 1st and 2nd intervals - John was reminiscing about the Marathon in which he passed the 20 mile mark in 2 hrs and 10 seconds - on schedule for smashing his PB and coming in @ 02:40 however he blew up before the finish "What a waste of 115 mile weeks" he said - occupational hazard of the long distance runner).
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3k @ 06:15
1.6K @ 06:08
1k @ 05:51
0.8k @ 05:38
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While Tuesdays intervals went better than expected a combination of residual fatigue from Sunday's HM, pushing the pace on Tuesday and a 05:30 rise on Thursday morning to catch a flight to Dublin left me fairly drained for the rest of the week so I bagged the second speed workout ( 2 x 4 miles @ HM pace ) first putting it off from Thursday to Friday and then sleeping in until 07:10 this morning and going for an easy six miler in the park with Brendan at lunchtime leaving me sufficiently rested for tomorrows scheduled 22 miler, which I intend to run with a few others from Eagle (& friends). My runs on Wednesday and Thursday were of a similar easy/recovery pace.
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Thursday's run was with Adrian and Liam (Liam or "Puds" is a cyclist who dabbled in running a few years ago and went sub-3 hrs on his 2nd Marathon in Dublin). Liam reckoned pacing is everything in a marathon as he had a significant positive split when he went sub-3hrs completing the first half in 01:24 and the second half in 01:33 he was full sure he was on for a sub-02:50 and put his misfortune down to a surge in the first mile to catch up with runners of similar pace. It's true what they say - if your pace is too fast in a race slow down gradually unless it is a marathon, then slow down immediately.
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Got me thinking about my pacing strategy for Amsterdam and while some of you think that I can go sub-3hrs (and I know I will some day) it's still a very big step - a 17 minute PB is huge, considering it equals my total improvement over my last 4 marathons (from 03:34 to 03:17). It all depends on the day - the weather, how I feel (physically and mentally) and a bit of good fortune. Given my recent form I have set a minimum target of sub-03:10 with a more ambitious target of coming within an hour of the world record - 02:04:26. I think my capability is within that range and on a very good day - who knows?
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On a final note last Sundays HM also doubled as the AAI's Munster HM Championships and I was the third member of the Eagle AC masters team that qualified for a silver medal. The prizes just keep on coming. Soon i'll have to give up the day job - don't think so!.
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Have a good weekend.
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Mon 15th Sept
2.5 Miles in 00:22:00 (08:48 pace - Treadmill)
Sleep: 7 hrs 7/10
Legs: 6.5/10
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Tue 16th Sept
a.m. 5.23 Miles in 00:43:38 (8:21 pace @ 125 HR)
p.m. 7.05 Miles in 00:59:56 (08:30 pace @ 131 HR) with 3k to .8k Ints @ 06:15 to 05:38 pace
Sleep: 6.5 hrs - 6.5/10
Legs: 6.5/10
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Wed 17th Sept
a.m. 8.6 Miles in 01:11:21 (08:18 pace - stopwatch)
p.m. 2.5 Miles in 00:20:00 (08:00 pace - Treadmill)
Sleep: 6.5 hrs - 7/10
Legs 7/10
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Thur 18th Sept
9.24 Miles in 01: 15:57 (08:13 pace - stopwatch)
Sleep: 6 hrs - 6/10
Legs: 6/10
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Fri 19th Sept
6.03 Miles in 49:47 (08:15 pace @ 125HR)
Sleep: 8 hrs - 8/10 (needed)
Legs: 7.5/10

4 comments:

  1. There is no doubt whatsoever about your capability to run under 3:00 hours in the marathon. All you need is to convert that into an actual performance.

    Even if it doesn't happen in Amsterdam, odds are your next marathon will be the one.

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  2. forget the factors of safety and go for the sub-3hr...

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  3. Your training has been really strong lately. Based on my somewhat limited knowledge, I agree about the sub-3 hour. No risk, no reward, eh? Best of luck, hope the legs loosen up quickly.

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  4. I'm also a believer in if it is there for the taking, why not! The sub-3 is there for you, but you must run smart. I always say a marathon has too many miles in which you can make a mistake and not enough miles to fix it!

    ReplyDelete