The heart of the matter

October 20^th 2013

First up to issue offer congrats to the Mallow AC runners who were running in the Amsterdam marathon. A couple of notable PB’s were achieved including another sub 3 hour run by club captain Aidan Buckley and a excellent 3hr36minute run by Darragh Wiley. This was Darragh's 3^rd marathon this year and his second marathon PB in the same period .Hard not to feel wistful all the same, especially with the Dublin marathon coming up. My wife on the other hand is quite glad I am not training for any marathons at the moment able as she is to get me to do as many jobs as possible.

My running this week was compressed into the last 5 days of the week. Not ideal for me but it was the way iit worked out. Did my usual recovery walk on Tuesday (2.5 miles) before heading up to Mayfield on Wednesday for a hilly run. This was my best run up there in a while, running 5.8 miles at 8.50 pace. The last 2 miles are pretty tough but felt strong enough to nearly tack another mile on to it. I followed this up with my fastest run in a while also. 5.5 miles at 8.04 pace. The last 4.5 miles were all sub 8 minute miles. The only annoying aspect was that the HR strap was giving daft readings – 119 HR for example.

On Friday I had a half day in work and repeated the route of my Thursday run but the Garmin died after one mile. No idea what pace I did so I will err on the conservative side and call it as a nine minute pace though I suspect it was much faster.

Saturday was a non running day preoccupied as I was with my wife’s on going gardening project. 4 hours digging out beds is enough cross training for anyone. Still though it meant I scored quite highly in the brownie points ledger.

That meant I under took my weekend run on Sunday. 7.5 miles at 8.40 pace. I was a bit tired for the last 1.5 miles and once again the Hr readings were a bit daft. Previously in August and September the readings were too  high, well into the 160’s now they are totally low less than 120. Obviously the problem lies with the strap and will need a clean and / or a new battery. Hopefully no fear of the symptom’s of Bradycardia – abnormally low heart rate. Nevertheless it does annoy me. Anyway a period of further investigation awaits me. I will update in due course.

 

Tuesday 2.5 mile walk, Wednesday 5.8 run, Thursday 5.5 run, Friday 5.5 mile, Sunday 2.5 walk followed by 7.5 mile run. Total mileage 24 miles running and 5 mile walk.

Ongoing................................

October 7^th to October 13^th

Last week marked a cycle of training which lasted about seven weeks. The point of which was simply to get back running at a reasonably acceptable slow pace and rediscover my interest in running. The first couple of weeks started v slowly. I could be barely jog out of the house and up the passage before I had to stop for a walk and run jog for 3 miles at around 10 to 11 minute pace. The Hr varied between 132 and 160 with a longstanding pain in in my groin and quad. Each period of walk running was very difficult marked by 15 minute sessions with the foam roller. These weeks were v tough wondering if i would ever recover to run at a normal pace. Running up hills or inclines was out of the question.

Never the less by the 4^th week I could see a improvement. The walking had stopped replaced by a slower paced jog. My plans for a Maffetone style approach was still proving elusive so i resolved to simply jog at a reasonably slow jog pace and evaluate the Hr later. At the end of the 4^th week I was “up” to 11 miles a week and jogging 3 times a week. Humble stuff I grant you but i was feeling happier.

On  a personal front I resolved a few issues and this also helped things along. At the end of week 6^th a definite plan was taking shape in regard to the rest of the year and this filled me with renewed hope. So far I have deliberately ignored speedwork and running with clubmates. I think at times in training for Cork marathon i overdid it on both counts so it will be still a while before I will do either. Anyway by week 6 I was running 4 times a week each run about 4 miles or so with a pace between 8.30 and 9.30. The Hr at times was still veering over 160 which tells its own story. However since that week the HR has remained under 160 as the average pace now is between 8.20 and 9.00. Slow improvements but important ones nevertheless. Injuries have cleared up but still have a niggle underneath my left foot with a slight degree of stiffness in my right hip on the odd occasion. My weight is still hefty enough probably close to 14stone so will need to take care of that too.

Anyway now that I can run 22 miles a week 4 times a week with one recovery walk, things are getting better.Nothing will change much over the next month, no speed work and no group running. Ideally i would love to get the running done in the morning and get out 5 times a week but even thinking such thoughts bodes well doesn’t it? Ongoing............................

Week ending 13^th October

Monday 3 mile walk, Tuesday 3 mile walk, Wednesday 5.3 mile at 8.27 pace Hr 160, Thursday 5.2 miles at 8.50 pace Hr 152, Friday rest, Saturday 7 miles at 8.57 pace Hr 157, Sunday 5 miles at 8.19 pace. Total miles 22 plus 5.5 mile walk.

HOK - Hands on knees but a smile on the face

September 30^th to October 6^th

More of the same really but happier each time I review my weeks running. I seem to be able to complete each of my targeted workouts at a more acceptable slower pace (between 8.30 and 9 minute pace). The Hr still remains unacceptably high in that I would prefer it to be under 150 rather than under 160 but then again at the start of September it was well into the high 160’s for nightmare jogs of 10 minute pace. Looking back on that entire period of June to September is like revisiting some sort of waking nightmare. It’s a place i am not happy to revisit ever again. Simply put i had burnt my mind and body out. I reacted very bad mentally to the disappointment of the Cork marathon and then made the mistake of not simply concentrating on rest, recovery and base building.My sub 3.30 last year  and the training involved took a lot of time and effort and I probably stupidly assumed it be easily repeated again. Anyway i won’t be in a position (for various reasons) to tackle another marathon PB attempt for 12 months so best to put it aside. All the same I am happy i have showed the guts to slowly pick myself up.

As i said I will be concentrating on building base, leg strength and a good solid base of medium slow “long runs”. I wont be doing any speed work either, at least not until after the marathon mayhem of October and November dies down. By then I hope I will be in a decent place to able to hold my own with the medium pace runners in the club.

Monday was a 2.5 recovery walk with my wife. Tuesday was a 5 mile run up the hills of Mayfield. This was done at 9 minute pace with a average pace of 9 minutes. It’s a tough run with a hefty 2 mile hilly at the finish. I repeated the same run on Wednesday. I was a bit quicker this time with a average pace of 8.47 but the effort was still high 159 Hr.Thursday was a snappier 4.3 run around Charleville. Average pace was 8.17 with the fastest mile being the last mile clocked in around 8.05 pace. No Hr reading for this one but the sweat on my t shirt and the *HOK at the finish was enough to tell me all I needed to know. Rest day on Friday and a one hour slow jog around Charleville on Saturday. I wanted to run this on the acceptable side of slow which ended up being 8.57 pace and a distance of 6.7 miles covered in the hour. Hr was 156 which is high but again in the context of the last few months is reasonable. Last year running at that pace would have produced a HR of `140.

In terms of race i don’t plan to enter any races for the foreseeable year but I did send off my entry for the Dungarvan 10 mile race on at the end of January. A long way away but it’s a race I really want to get even with after the trouble of previous years doing it.  It’s funny how runners develop a dislike of some races and a love of others. Dungarvan falls into the previous category while  say the the Mallow 10 and Midleton 5 falls into the latter.

Any readers of this blog would know I entered the Connemara marathon for April last year but deferred it because I had no proper training done for it. I don’t know if I will end up racing it but maybe that could be a plan when I set myself some new years goals later on in the year. It isn’t a PB course but it could be a different sort of challenge (second fastest marathon perhaps or maybe just get around and use it as a sort of long run). My head is also being turned by the Rotterdam marathon a week after the scheduled 2014 Connemarathon but it isn’t really practical to expect to be able to do both. All ideas just floating about in my head. I have a definite plan worked out for the period April to December 2014 but i won’t be revealing that to anyone. Lets just get some consistency  done there....

Mileage for the week 24.4 miles. Monday 2.5 mile walk, Tuesday 5 miles, Wednesday 5 miles, Thursday 4.3 miles, Saturday 6.7 miles.

*HOK – Hands on Knees

First step on the ladder ....

Sunday 22^nd September to Saturday 28^th September

On Sunday I ambled down the street to Bakers Road to watch the finishers coming in at the Charleville half marathon. It was very hot and it affected the leading runners times by a couple of minutes with the according knock on for the rest of the field. September is when the half marathon season is in full swing all geared towards the Dublin marathon. I had visions of getting under 90 minutes in this particular race assuming I would pick up the momentum I created last year. No chance this year.

Nevertheless it was good to talk to some local runners and Mallow clubmates. Headed out for my usual 4.3 mile run that evening. On Monday decided to cool things down a bit with a snappy-ish 2.5 mile walk with Aoiffe and on Tuesday did a 45 recovery run around the grass pitches of Mayfield GAA club. The last two runs/walks were designed to get the heart rate down. By Wednesday I did a hilly 5 mile jog up in Cork with another snappier 4.3 mile effort in Charleville on Thursday. Friday was a rest day.

That left me facing into a 5.7 mile “LSR” on Saturday. The legs were feeling it that stage and the pace was very slow around 9.45 pace.

I have been running my back to basics strategy for a month now. There was been some progress but it has been all rather slow. That said I am now running 4/5 times a week. When I started 4 weeks ago the longest run I could manage was 3 miles in 34 minutes with a HR of 145 to 152. Currently I can run 4.3 miles at a 8.15 pace but I suspect the HR was probably in the 160’s. A lot of people have said to me to not wear or ignore the HR strap but the heart rate is what determines how fast or far you can run. It is the true arbiter of performance. My Hr readings last year would have been proof of this. I only hope that prolonged running at different paces over 4/5 days a week over the next 3 months will lead to a improvement in my aerobic capacity. I obviously burned myself out last summer, here’s hoping a long base running period will  see me through. Phil Maffetone's method on the other hand calls for keeping all runs under 135 to 140 Hr which means a pace (in my case) of probably 12minute pace.

The idea behind this is that my heart will strengthen and that I will be able  to maintain this Hr level at a faster pace leading to a greater improvement in my running..  This of course could mean 3-4 months of slow walk/jog/running.In previous posts I spoke about possibly using the Maffetone method . Now I am not too sure. That kind of patient running would see me go a bit crazy. Further investigation awaits but now I am thinking running  most days will have the same effect I do agree though that speedwork would be a error. At least I am out running now and have been doing the last 4 weeks.

Mileage this week – 22.3 miles.

Looking up at the ladder

21^st September

It’s been a while since the last blog report. I am still a work in progress, at least I hope it’s progress.  On August 19^th I did 3 runs in a week. 5 weeks later I am still on 3 runs a week. I am happy to keep it conservative enough allowing for rest days every 2^nd day. There are running reasons for this, which i will explain later and work reasons too, which I won’t be explaining. Coming back from holidays, the cardio system had gone to bits. It was obvious I was well and truly overtrained. Maffetone in page 143 of his “Big Book....” goes into more detail but the signs were easy to tell. Elevated heart rate, inability to perform the simplest cardio workouts (like walking up a hill without feeling tired), no interest in running, susceptibility to colds, stomach bugs and coughs and so on.  There were other personal stressors at play and maybe some dietary ones too. Blood tests didn’t show up anything majorly wrong with my system though the medic did say anaerobic activity should be kept at a minimum. He also suggested a walking routine most days would help with recovery.

Anyway back to the present. I walk probably 30 mins a day to and from the car to work plus the odd 3 mile walk with my wife in the evening. This has certainly settled my on going fatique while use of the foam roller has aided recovery with my groin pull and provided some relief to my quad issues. I’m up to 3 X 4 miles a week running at a average pace of 9 minute miles. HR has varied this week from 138 (9.27 pace) to a whopping 166 (8.27 pace) but the desire for running is coming back. I can hardly see myself racing anytime soon, at least not this side of 2013 but it’s a start. I’m not making any predictions, I have a general  idea of where I want to be by Christmas but won’t be revealing anything yet. The Connemara marathon is looming in April 2014 but that is firmly at the back of my mind now. I am starting at the bottom of the ladder and I won’t be in  a position to return to club training for a while yet not until the aerobic side of things rights itself out. This is a pity and I wish all Mallow runners the very best over what will be a busy few months for members.

Weekly mileage. Week beginning- August 19^th- 12 miles a week (inc 4 mile walk), August 26^th 11.5 miles a week, September 2^nd 3 miles (sickness), September 9th 11.8 miles, September 16^th 13miles

 

Pushing a elephant up the stairs

was a lyric by R.E.M to the song "Great Beyond" . It could have easily referred to the lugging of suitcases after a 12 day break in Portugal or is perhaps a reflection of my running state of mind these last 2 months. Great holiday all the same with very hot weather. Didn't do any running - not a tap, a fair bit of walking to the pub and restaurant plus various sights- lots of that but no running. The groin was/is still feeling rather sore and the first few days of the holiday it was quite difficult. I was limping a fair bit, the wife amazed at my complete lack of mobility. The scales don't like me either - 14 stone, a figure I haven't seen in a few years. Considering it takes 36 miles of running to burn 1 pound of weight (or 500 calories/5 miles a day) I have plenty of work to do. Mind you why be a slave to a weighing scales?

I have been using the foam roller a fair bit and it is doing the trick. Might start giving circuit training a go - will see. I have very poor conditioning - the ultimate joe runner!!! Again the question is can I be arsed anymore?

In terms of mental focus it is even harder to know where I stand. The interest in running simply isn't there. Previous years I was training for Dublin each year going for a new PB. This time of year - nothing. All those goals I set myself last December, dreaming of a sub 3.20 etc etc won't be happening this year. The Cork marathon really took it out of me.

The solution? Try get back out running. Build up easy miles (3miles for 3 weeks X 3 times a week), get the Hr down close to Maffetone levels, strengthen all that wasted muscle in my legs and hopefully get back in shape. I am thinking a base building period of 10 to 12 weeks increasing the mileage gradually. No promises made re races or speed work. Perhaps a blessing in disguise?

Sorry readers - no heroic 100 mile ultra stories here. Well done to Grellan McGrath, Thomas Bubendorfer, the Cork hurlers and of course the great Rob Heffernan on a brilliant week for sport.

Pulling my leg

Week starting 29^th July

Monday

Entered the Carrigtwohill 5K, traditionally my least favourite  distance and usually my worst. The plan was to hit 7 minute miles and in keeping with the recent trend.. no chance. Did a 14 minute warm up, around a 1.5 miles or so, I had no garmin with me just a stopwatch. Did the first mile in 6.42 just before we hit the hill. It took a bit out of me but I ploughed on hitting the second mile at 7 minute pace. When we hit the hill again i reckon i did ok and we faced into a lovely downhill finish. In fact the setting of Barrystown castle is lovely. The spread was so good before hand i was tempted just to forgo the race and eat the food instead. Any by mile 3 i was running out of gas and I hit the 3^rd mile in 7.30 with the last bit at 50 seconds. My clock time was 22mins19seconds. I reckon the course was probably 3.2 miles rather than 3.1. Nothing special timewise but a enjoyable evening.

1.5 mile warm up with 3.1 mile race, 4.6 miles in total

Tuesday

The back and the back of the legs were rather sore and stiff today. More to do with me digging flower beds rather than the race though I suspect the race and the drive home didn’t help either. Anyway decided to do a 3 mile recovery jog. After every mile i walked for 90 seconds or so, the plan being to reduce the HR. I certainly couldn’t have faced anything else. When I got back the average pace was 10.30 with the HR in the 154 range, a sure sign i wasn’t recovered. My buddies are experiencing mixed fortunes running- one guy has given up the ghost completely after doing nearly 5 marathons, another guy who is semi training for Dublin is finding it hard to get into it and another guy who has taken up running is setting times faster than I have managed all summer3 mile recover at 10.30 pace. Hr 154

Wednesday

Trouble has arrived – uh –oh. The physio last week warned me of a problem in the groin area – adductor longus. I had a soreness of one degree or another since last march but stretching and ice always saw to it. Today walking around even to the shops saw it feel very sore indeed. Iced it and used the foam roller but i suspect time off the feet is the only thing for it.

Saturday

Regular stretching and the foam roller seemed to have done the trick. The pulled feeling in the back of the calves has gone completely at this stage. Did a slow 3 mile jog and I mean slow – 10 minute pace. The HR was going off the scale – 150 to 170. I was certainly finding the effort tough. Since the Cork marathon i had one pain, pull, soreness after the other. IT bands, colds, sore knees and now the groin. Got back home with more icing, stretching and the foam roller (ouch).

That afternoon headed up to Cork for a bit of shopping. Walking around the shop for 2 -3 hours saw that awkward dull ache return once more. Back home again with more ice, stretching and foam roller.

Three problems at the moment. No point in losing the head about it. Just have to be clam and rational and solve each one as it comes. Problem 1 – groin strain. Solution – Rest and time off running for about two weeks. Problem 2 – a bit of a chest cold. Solution – Rest and time off running. Problem 3 – Losing fitness because of lack or running and injury restriction. Solution – get groin sorted and build up fitness again. The last solution will take time. It may mean starting from a base of 3 x3 mile jogs in a few weeks. Anyway lets face it the desire and appetite for running has gone to shit since the Cork marathon so I am not missing out on much at the moment. It means cancelling any plans for races between now and December. As for Achill half marathon that will be binned as well, the race part anyway, the beers possibly not. Heading to Portugal for 12 days holidays on Monday- no fear of me !!!!!

Miles for the week 11.5 - 4.5 Monday with 5K race, Tuesday 3 miles, Saturday 3 miles