Pushing the limits

Specificity

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Training programmes normally culminate with a peak specific endurance run about 10 days out from the main event - the optimum time for the training to be of benefit - leave it too late and the body will not have absorbed the full benefit of the session - for a marathon it's normally longer (2 weeks + before race day) as the body may not be fully recovered in time for the race. By peak specific endurance I mean the toughest race pace workout of the programme.

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As I have not followed a programme for the Charleville Half next Sunday (apart from joining the club speed sessions in late July/early August ahead of the National HM last weekend) I reverted to my running library to pick out a specific endurance workout that might do the trick. One that interested me was the 3 x 5k @ HM pace for "Highly Competitive" runners in "Run Faster" by Brad Hudson & Matt Fitzgerald - sounded like a tough mother - there was a slightly easier version of 4 x 3k @ HM pace for the "Competitive" runner or the 6 x 1 mile @ HM pace for the "Low-Key Competitive" runner. Naturally I gravitated towards the most difficult one.

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The one doubt I had was that my peak run was scheduled for last Thursday - 5 days after running the Dingle marathon. I know, if I was serious about training for the half I would not have run Dingle - but there's serious and there's SERIOUS and the offer to pace Dingle was irresistible. My first run after the marathon, a 5.8 mile unintentional progression run with Brendan @ 7:29 average pace on Wednesday went off without a hitch. Still the doubt was there on Thursday - Would I be recovered enough? Would I complete the full session? Would my pace suffer? As the Garmin has lost it's GPS function I headed for the track with the mindset of "see how I get on". While previous HM pace sessions had been @ 6:35+ pace I decided to head for a pace closer to my PB pace of 6:27, which fitted in perfectly with running in lane 3 (1:40 laps or 50 second half laps - easy to remember 20:02 for 5k or 20:50 for 5.2k = 12.5 laps in lane 3).

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The first 12.5 laps went off reasonably well, can't say they were easy (because they weren't) but I was a few seconds below target - 20:44 (19:56 for 5k).

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A walk/jog 400m around the track in 3 to 4 minutes (a concession from the scheduled 90 second recoveries) and start into the second 5.2k.

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Hit the target again - 20:44. Although I was fairly fucked at the finish and felt reasonably happy to call it a day. However Brendan, who was at the track running 800's at the same pace and had joined me for a few laps earlier on said he had one more 800 to do so I ran with him with the intention of running 1k but extended it to 2k and then 3k (3.12k in lane 3). I probably could have run on but my calves were getting tight and the next club session was starting - no point in risking injury - 7.5 laps in 12:25 (11:56 for 3k)

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All in all 13.52 km (8.4 miles) @ 6:25 pace - that'll do me.

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Mixing it up

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My legs were a bit dead for Friday evening's short 4.5 mile recovery run on grass but I wasn't about to give them a break as I had signed up for the 150k Rebel Tour leaving CIT at 9 on Saturday morning, heading down to West Cork - Crossbarry, Bandon, Enniskeane, Dunmanway, Clonakilty, Timoleague, Ballinaspittal, Kinsale, Belgooly, Riverstick, Ballinahassig and back to CIT.

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The weather forecast wasn't great but the day turned out better than expected. There were 500+ cyclists at the start line (and equal numbers signed up for the 80k and 50k routes, starting at 10:30 and 12:15) There was a lead car for the first 55k to Dunmaneway (1st food stop) to keep the pace from going suicidal - yet staying with the front group required a fair amount of work, which I was willing to put in as the alternative was cycling into a headwind on my own at a much slower pace. I got dropped about 8k out from Dunmanway but managed to catch on to another guy's wheel and get pulled back in - 40 to 50 in the group by the time we hit Dunmanway. While it wasn't a race (I'd be left for dead in a race) I enjoyed the challenge of having to put in the effort to keep pace - kept me focused.

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For the remaining 95k I paired up with Eoin/Eoghan/Owen?(take your pick) from Douglas (who was cycling a hybrid!!!) as we took turns at the front to keep a steady pace. The sun came out as we hit the coast road from Timoleague but the strong south westerly wind was a struggle at times. 2nd food stop at Ballinaspittle (ate & drank like a horse) and we headed south for Garrettstown, where the cross wind blowing sand off the beach cut into our arms and legs.

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For the final 40k or so we joined those doing the 80k and 50k and the road became more congested. Yet we maintained a steady pace, surprised that my legs were holding up reasonably well and after 5:06:02 in the saddle we arrived back at CIT. Eoin had 149km on his Garmin - 18.2 mph @ 131 HR. I cycled the 4.6 miles to and from CIT with neighbour Ian to get my (our)first century ride (101.8 miles) - and he only bought his bike in July - with his longest ride @ 35 miles!!!

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The Limit

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Despite fuelling well at the food stations yesterday I awoke this morning 1 kg lighter than 24 hours earlier. I wondered would this be an advantage for the scheduled 15 mile hilly club run at 8 this morning. I was in two minds as to whether I should run it at all as the only pace on offer was 7:30 miles. Clubmate Vivian, who had also completed the rebel tour, was also a bit apprehensive about doing the run. The first time I ran this route I pulled up with a calf strain 13 miles in and had averaged about 8 minute miles at that stage. Running 7:30 average pace over this course with 100 bike miles in my legs (not to mind Thursday's peak speed session) was going to be rough.

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Vivian and I were the only fools to join John O'Callaghan, who had scheduled the run. We were joined by Paul Daly about 2 miles in - none of us had a workable GPS watch so the pace was guestimated (turns out we were quite close overall). The run certainly was a challenge for me with my HR maxing at 161 at the top of the toughest climb, about 6 miles in - I was at my limit. I managed to recover on the flat/downhills which enabled me finish the run intact although a slight tightness at the base of my left hamstring/back of knee after yesterdays cycle escalated to "ache" status and requires a bit of TLC with the foam roller. The average for the 15 miles was 7:27 pace @ 137 HR - glad to be finished and looking forward to a rest day tomorrow.

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Home for a shower and quick breakfast before heading off to support friend Puds (Liam) and clubmates running the Blarney Half Marathon. Puds, who comes from a cycling background and dips in and out of running had told me that he was training for the race with a target of coming in under 1:20 and sure enough he finished 13th overall in 1:19:49 - there's a guy who sets a target and knows what he has to do to get it.

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Have a good week.

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Tour De Cure

This morning shortly before 9 I lined up with Adrian an over 1,000 others in Midleton for the second annual Tour De Cure - a cycling Sportif organised by Midleton Cycling and Tri Club. We were cycling the 100k event (165k and 50k were also on offer). You got the opportunity to cycle with Stephen Roche, Ireland's 1987 Tour De France winner.

The 165k and 100k event started at the same time and shared the same course for about 47km. These 47k were relativly easy as the bunch stayed together and while there was effort getting up to the lead pack initially, once you were tucked inside it was relatively plain sailing. We headed east for Youghal and north through Clashmore, Villierstown and Cappoquin.

I was in the lead group (sounds impressive but the pace was relatively easy) when the 165k and 100k courses diverged and as I turned left the rest of the group went straight ahead leaving me at the front of the 100k event for about half a mile following the lead car (this would never happen if I were running). It didn't last long though as I got swallowed up and eventually dropped by a group, including Connie & Pete - triathlon buddies from last year (somehow I feel the tables will turn this year) ). I was in a chasing group about 30 or 40 seconds down heading through Cappoquin for Lismore (where there would be a pit stop for refreshments - about the 64 k mark). Coming out of Cappoquin Derek O'Keeffe of Eagle AC pulled alongside me and I tucked in behind him to see if we could catch the lead group and while we (well Derek really) gave it everything (I had nothing left to give) we could not close the gap. Derek pulled ahead coming into Lismore and we both missed the pit stop (didn't see it) so we forged ahead for Tallow, Dungourney and back to Midleton - those last 36k were solo as Derek had pulled well ahead. The toughest section was the 4 mile climb out of Tallow that appeared to go on for ever but the gradient was on the easy side so it was manageable.

By the time I finished my quads were fairly shot and there was a slight niggle in my right hamstring - nothing to worry my running though. All in all a good morning out.

My running mileage continues to be fairly low since Connemara with about 28 in total last week and 21 so far this week (a medium long run tomorrow should see this rise above 30). My main focus is on recovering some of the speed I had earlier in the year with 2 sessions at the track this week -

3 x 1k at a faster 3:38 pace (3:45 in lane 3) on Tuesday and

8 x 400m in 80 seconds (83 in lane 3) on Thursday.

Both went to schedule so my plan appears to be working - although I can feel that I am on the edge of my ability so I won't push the paces higher until the intervals begin to feel easier first.

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Reflection

Looking back over the first four months of the year I ran 5 races with 3 PB's @ 4, 10 and 39.3 miles - the last one was a gimme as it was my first at that distance. I was also just 1:30 shy of my marathon PB in Barcelona and surely would have lowered it if I didn't have a gammy leg. The last race, a 10k 6 days before Connemara, was more of a tempo run and was never going to yield a PB. So all things considered not a bad year so far.

My training since the Dublin marathon in October has had 2 distinct phases:-

Speed The Tuesday mile repeats at the track dominated from November to February and were instrumental in my breakthrough 10 miler in Dungarvan , at the end of January, by far my best result. However my speed has suffered since, particularly after Barcelona in early March, as injury recovery and preparation for Connemara took over my training regime. My return to the track over the last few weeks has shown that I do not have the same speed in my legs that was there a few months ago.

This week 5 x 1k at 3:43 (3:50 in lane 3) was on the cards, up from last weeks 3:53 - the aim is to to slowly return to the group I was training with up to February (who are now doing 3:36 kms). The session went to plan 3:49/48/47/48/45. Next week the coach is upping the pace for all groups so it may be a few weeks before I catch up. Plenty of time.

I returned to the track on Thursday evening to do some 400m repeats, which I had not done for at least a year. Initially I had planned on 10 repeats somewhere near 80 seconds (83 in lane 3). I teamed up with Pat Murphy who was also planning the same session with 80 second recoveries. The pace was tough but the 400s passed quickly. The lactic acid built up in my legs over successive repeats was an unfamiliar stress and when I was advised by Coach to stop after 6 repeats, as this was my first 400 session, I did not need asking twice. I thanked him for the reprieve and left Pat on his own (This was his usual Thursday session). While I could have battled on, the minimal benefit would have been far outweighed by the risk of injury. Endurance I was delighted with my run in Connemara, although my Plan A leading up to the race was for a 5:15 finish (8:00 mile pace). The race day temperature and erratic nature of my endurance training was enough to scupper that plan. Getting the sub 5:30 Plan B was still one of the most memorable race finishes ever (Plan C was sub 6 hours) The following schedules my weekly long runs since the start of the year, with the only ultra specific run in early January:-

33.2 - Ultra specific 21.1 16.2/16.8 - back to back 18.2 20.0 23.3 22.1 16.4 - calf strain 0 26.2 - Barcelona Marathon 2.1 11.5 21.6 10.5 39.3 - Connemara Ultra My return to endurance training since Connemara has been pedestrian as i'm in no rush as there is no marathon looming, well not at race pace anyway. Last weeks 11.6 mile run was followed by a 10.6 miler over the hilly viaduct loop this morning with a few of the guys from Eagle - it was all over before 9.

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Triathlon

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My endurance training over the last few weeks has shifted to the bike with a 3 hour bike ride last weekend to be followed by a similar session tomorrow. This is complemented by a 1 hr plus hilly session pushing the uphills on the big cog at the front and a low cadence in order to build up strength. I'm still slower than I was last year though, so a lot of work to do yet.

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My swim training feels like it's going well, although I have no concrete evidence of this as I do not time my sessions. My training has been pretty simple with two basic drills (i) warmup/ cooldown using bilateral breathing (every 3rd stroke) and concentrating on lengthening the stroke and (ii) fast reps from 50 to 500m breathing on every second stroke.

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Connie, the compulsive triathlete at work, is doing swim lessons with none other than Eillis Burns (well known local/national coach who trains her fair share of channel swimmers). Most of his training involves specific drills using pull buoys, fins, gloves & kickboards. He told me that in order to lengthen the stroke the advice is to stretch the lead arm as far forward as possible (imagine trying to reach a high shelf - this I knew) and not begin the down stroke until the trailing arm has come alongside the lead arm (i.e. both arms are straight out in front - this I did not know). So I tried to incorporate this into my stroke particularly during the easy paced warmups. While it took a bit of getting used to (and I still struggle to take in enough oxygen when bilaterally breathing using this technique) I noticed that the number of strokes per length (25m) has reduced from 16 to 14 (and from about 22 to 18 on the fast lengths - less haste and more speed hopefully) However reduced stroke count does not necessarily mean faster times.

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Today's swim of 2,500m was the longest this year, with 750m warmup followed by 6 x 200m fast with about 30 second recoveries and a 550m cooldown. I though about adding another 2 x 200m but I was struggling to keep 18 strokes per length during the last rep and thought it better not to sacrifice form for distance.

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Finally I've added a link to my sidebar ("other Interesting Sites") to a triathlete from Washington DC who is a tech wizard and knows everything worth knowing about Garmin products and their accessories (found through John - cheers).