Taper Practise

I got a surprise the other day when I checked my resting HR. It used to be 41/42 back home in Kerry but shot up to 50 when I moved to Dublin, which just goes to show how stressful such a move can be. It gradually decreased again and now has reached the low point of 40 - lower than the Kerry number. However, my running HR for any given pace is usually still 5-10 beats higher than it used to be, so there is no direct correlation to resting HR. Still, I'll take that. At the very least it's a sign that the worst of the stress is behind me.

I'm slowly settling into a rhythm as far as my week is concerned. I cycle into work on Monday morning with office gear for 4 days and then commute by running until Thursday evening when I cycle back home, bringing back all the office gear in a big backpack. On Friday I will usually drive into work and the set off to Kerry for the weekend. That way I get a decent number of miles without having to get up a stupid o'clock and I'm not wasting 2.5 hours a day on the bus either.

The legs felt surprisingly good on my run back home on Monday, which was great after a rather tough weekend. Unfortunately that was just temporary and I was dismayed to find two concrete pillars attached to my hamstrings on Tuesday, though things gradually improved after a few miles.

I was just about to fall asleep Tuesday night when it occurred to me that maybe I should check what it says in the training schedule instead of just jogging to work the next morning. Indeed, the word "taper workout" stared back at me, which rang a faint bell somewhere in the back of my mind; however, while I clearly remembered having done a taper workout before on a few occasions, the details completely escaped me. Old age senility is a bitch. Eventually I managed to dig out an old email stating "4 miles at HR 161, 15 minutes easy, 3 x 880s every 5 minutes". I fell asleep with that plan implanted in my mind.

Things turned out to be a little bit trickier than expected. The initial 4 miles included a 200 feet towards the promenade and the HR would only go so high, though I found myself with the opposite problem on the next 2 miles when the HR seemed to be around 164 every time I checked, no matter how much I tried to relax the effort. I did manage the easy section, alright, though I probably could have picked a better route for the first of the 880s as it included crossing a busy road and I can only assume that it took my focus off running fast, otherwise I can't explain why it was so much slower than the others, which were done inside a park. Things still didn't go completely smoothly there either, first by me getting confused on the second 880 (I told you about the senility, didn't I) and stopping too early and then a group of 3 ladies walking their dogs using extensible leads which formed a formidable ever-expanding obstacle just as I was approaching at close to full tilt. However, I got through it all, though I was close to collapse at the end.

I took it VERY easy on the commute home, though a very strong headwind along the promenade made this rather tricky. Watching the kite surfers do their stuff made that worthwhile, though - very cool!

29 May

5.5 miles, 43:55, 7:59 pace, HR 144

30 May

am: 5.5 miles, 42:39, 7:45 pace, HR 147

pm: 5.5 miles, 43:25, 7:53 pace, HR 147

31 May

am: 9 miles, 1:10:40, 7:51 pace, HR 150

   incl. 4 miles @ 7:03 pace (HR 154), 3 x half mile @ 6:38, 6:14, 6:13

pm: 5.5 miles, 47:03, 8:31 pace, HR 142

Tired

Training for a big race is always a bit of a balancing act, trying to train as hard as you can while staying on the right side of recovery. I have learned the hard way that the saying that it's better to be 10% undertrained than 1% overtrained is indeed true, but you still need to push the envelope from time to time.

That's exactly what I did the last few days. The legs were a bit heavy on Thursday but felt surprisingly good on Friday morning, so I reverted to the usual Fast Friday routine of a few faster miles, though nothing outrageously fast. It's always a good idea to keep an eye on the HR for those kind of runs; my normal limit is 155. However, Friday was a really muggy day and I could clearly feel the temperature rising as the miles ticked by when the humidity was already at saturation point. The legs felt good, so for once I ignored the HR and kept going, which resulted in a few not terribly fast miles but a rather high HR, though I honestly felt that this was no indication of my actual effort.

Whatever the excuses, a workout on Saturday will mercilessly reveal if you overcooked yourself the day before. In my case I had one of MC's famous pickup workouts on the program, with half miles at a fast, relaxed effort broken up by miles at a steady pace. The crucial bit about those workouts, and one I found hard to get my head around initially, is that the slower miles are actually the more important part. You're not exactly hanging around and the pace needs to be maintained, which teaches the body to recover under stress. If you're too exhausted to keep up the pace at the slower miles then you're finished. Don't cheat with a dead slow mile to hit the faster pace again on the next interval.

Anyway, I had a very big target window for my paces, 5:50-6:40 for the fast splits and 7:20-8:00 for the slow ones but thankfully I'm getting better at judging the effort purely by feel rather than the watch, so I just worked on running fast but relaxed on the fast splits and faster than jogging pace on the slower ones.

6:27, 6:24, 6:25, 6:16, 6:24, 6:27, 6:27 pace for the fast bits, steady pace 7:40-7:45 throughout. The HR was 161 for the first interval and 164/165 for all the other ones.

In the end I was pleasantly surprised by a few things: the effort level was never an issue, I could have done more but was under strict instructions not to exceed 7. The pace and especially the HR was incredibly stable, that's the best workout I've ever done in that regard. And the fact that I had at least one more interval left was great, that's how you should always feel at the end of a workout. My right calf felt a bit tender during the cool down as well as later that day, so it's good that I ended it then rather than pushing on further.

I had another feat of endurance that evening, attending the Guns n' Roses concert in Slane. I ended up on my feet for over 6 hours, with plenty of jumping around and quite a few miles of walking to and from the venue. But the old guys on stage were great, just as good a concert as the last time I'd seen them, about 25 years ago, well worth it.

I came home at 2 am (pretty good going, actually) and got a few hours of sleep but today, Sunday, I'm tired. To what extend that's due to the training, the concert or the lack of sleep is open to debate but 8 miles at snails pace was all I did today. You still try to stay on the right side of the recovery curve.

26 May

8.5 miles, 1:04:11, 7:33 pace, HR 153

   incl. 6 miles @ 7:21 (HR 160)

27 May

13 miles, 1:39:12, 7:37 pace, HR 152

   6:27, 6:24, 6:25, 6:16, 6:24, 6:27, 6:27 pace 800s, 7:40-7:45 miles "recovery"

28 May

8 miles, 1:08:07, 8:30 pace, HR 138

There is ever so slightly contradicting feedback this week. The numbers aren’t particularly great, my HR is far higher for any given run than I would like and higher than I would estimate from pure effort. On the other hand, I’m starting to feel really good again; at least on most days. My Achilles troubles have finally gone away and the knee is barely noticeable anymore, so I’m definitely back in business. There is nothing I can do about the lost training. At least I was still able to run every day but a few workouts had to be binned.

I’m starting to settle into a routine. I somehow managed to squeeze my bike into my tiny car when driving back from Kerry on Sunday, so now I have an extra option for the commute. What I ended up doing was to cycle in on Monday morning with a big backpack containing office clothes for the whole week and run most of the other times.

Tuesday morning went particularly well, I felt really good but still took it easy and was flabbergasted when I looked at the numbers afterwards and saw 7:35 pace. It was the downhill part of the commute but even so I would have thought the effort was closer to 8-minute pace.

I had an extra run on Tuesday evening when Anto, he of Donadea fame, invited me to a run in the Wicklow mountains, He brought me towards Lough Dan where we proceeded to run through some rather rough territory – it wasn’t even trail running half the time, just plain bushwhacking, and I still have the scratches form the gorse to prove it. That had been my second run that day after the  morning commute and I was suitably tired afterwards. Therefore I cut Wednesday’s mid-week long run down by a couple of miles to a mere 13, taking the scenic route back home from work. That will work in future for the times I need a bit more than 5.5 miles at a time.

It didn’t come as much of a surprise that the legs were a bit heavy on Thursday morning, so I took it rather easy on the commute to work – and on the way home again, though the headwind and the uphill miles made that a bit of a struggle

I’m racking up the miles again, not as much as I used to in the past, but a lot more than earlier in the year when I was still recovering from my overtraining. I can tell a massive difference between what I was like before Albi and now. The move to Dublin and the added stress that came with it did some damage but I’m over the worst now.

22 May

5.5 miles, 43:24, 7:53 pace, HR 145

23 May

am: 5.5 miles, 41:44, 7:35 pace, HR 146

pm: 7.6 miles, 1:39:18, 13:02 pace, off-road

24 May

13 miles, 1:44:41, 8:03 pace, HR 147

25 May

am: 5.5 miles, 44:03, 8:00 pace, HR 144

pm: 5.5 miles, 46:23, 8:26 pace, HR 145

RIP Curley

I was totally shocked and saddened to hear those awful news. I regarded Mike Curley Cunningham as a friend of mine. He was a fantastic running who represented Ireland on the international stage, but much more so he was a friendly and always supportive human being, a true gent.

I have come second to Mike in more than one race, and it was never a close call. But he never failed to compliment me on my own race, no matter how much slower it had been than his. I will miss him.

After that, my own running doesn't even seem worthwhile mentioning, but I'll post details anyway just for sake of this being a running blog.

Despite expecting a few more easy days, the coach gave me a workout on Friday, 2 x 4 times 1-1.5 miles at faster than marathon pace interspersed by a mile at 40 seconds slower. The loop behind the in-laws' house, seemingly known by everyone as the St. Raphaela's loop after the nearby school, officially named Clonmore Park (not that I have every heard that name mentioned), is very well suited to such a workout. 3 laps constitute 1.4 miles, and that was my workout segment, with 2 laps for the slower segments. It saved me from having to check the watch to see how much was left, I only had to count to 3, though that was a challenge in itself at times. During the first segment I tried to pace myself off the HR (supposed to be 165-168) but that was slow to come up so I ended up running a bit faster than expected even though the HR was lower. The "recovery"segments in those workouts aren't much for recovery but they help psychologically as the end of a segment is never too far away.

Despite the fast start I got on just fine and braced myself for the full 4 segments when halfway through the third I seemed to have run out of energy. I kept that segment going until the end, waiting to see if I would recover, but didn't, so I called it a day. That's why the coach prescribes a 2-4 intervals, it's up to me to see what number would be best (it tends to be the middle one). I was tired afterwards but happy with how the run had gone,

I was back in Kerry for the weekend and managed to catch up with my old route along the lake, something I had missed more than I had realised. I did 15 miles on Saturday on whatever pace came easily. The legs were fine but I could sense that if I ran any faster they would not be. Even so, after 13 miles I pretty much had enough and dragged my backside back home.

Sunday's 8 miles, just the run I used to run all the time, was on fresher legs, even with the blustery wind,

I'll run the next few miles for you, Curley.

19 May

9 miles, 1:07:47, 7:31 pace, HR 155

   6:45 (161), 7:29, 6:55 (165), 7:28, 6:52 (167)

20 May

15 miles, 2:03:05, 8:12 pace, HR 144

21 May

8 miles, 1:03:20, 7:55 pace, HR 143

After The Marathon

Recovery from Saturday’s marathon has gone pretty well. Initially I thought I had aggravated my leg injury; Niamh noticed me limping on Sunday and a work colleague did the same on Monday, though I had been aware of it on neither occasion. However, it then improved remarkably quickly, by Tuesday it was much better already, as good as it had had been at any time the days before the marathon, and by Thursday morning everything is down to “barely noticeable”,  around 1/10 or 2/10. I’ll take that.

Muscle soreness was never a factor, from that point of view it seems to have gone particularly well. Taking it very easy this week sure helped, no doubles or anything longer than one commute at a time. On Wednesday morning I played around with the pace a little bit, going up to marathon effort once I hit the seafront (probably a bit too fast) and another pickup through one of the parks towards the end of the commute. On both occasions I felt really good, though the HR spiked much higher than I would have liked.

One thing I have noticed since moving to Dublin is that I find it very hard to relax while on the run. The leg definitely had a major impact on that, it’s hard to run relaxed when one leg keeps sending signals that something is wrong. Running in unfamiliar surroundings hasn’t helped, and running with a backpack definitely has not helped. However, on Wednesday, especially during the pickups, I finally managed to get into a groove and relax a lot more than at any other time since moving here. Maybe things are finally settling down.

I'm also trying to get as organised as possible, bringing several days' worth of clothing into the office at a time so I can run unencumbered on the other days.

Anyway, the legs felt a bit lethargic again on Thursday, with the triple-whammy of marathon, backpack and faster miles the day before clearly not helping. I’ll be taking it easy for a bit longer, I guess.

15 May

3 miles, 25:35, 8:31 pace, HR 139

16 May

5.5 miles, 45:54, 8:20 pace, HR 145

17 May

5.55 miles, 42:55, 7:43 pace, HR 149

18 May

5.5 miles, 44:56, 8:10 pace, HR 147

The One Legged Marathon

When I initially earmarked the Lakes of Killarney marathon in my race calendar I obviously assumed it would be my most local race of the year. As things turned out I had to drive across the country instead, though since I wanted to see my family I didn't make that journey purely for the sake of the marathon.

Training had been going very well until about 2 weeks ago when my right leg started to act up, with an issue in the knee which then moved down into the Achilles. However, it never particularly hurt and on the morning of the marathon it felt better than any previous day, virtually unnoticeable, so I was confident I would get through the day in one piece. The planned pace was reasonable at 7:40 (roughly a 3:22 marathon) but I was always going to adapt depending how I felt.

I started out with Chris and Fozzy who were manning the 3:30 pace group and stuck with them for a mile. On the first downhill I started drifting ahead naturally and before I even knew it I was already well ahead of the pace group, so I just kept going.

The course consisted of 3 laps through the Demesne of Killarney National Park, a stunningly beautiful setting. In previous years we had always been blessed with beautiful sunshine but today was rainy and windy, though in the woods the wind didn't bother us and even the rain felt less noticeable in those surroundings. On the other hand it's a rather hilly course with a rather big climb at the start of each loop and a very rolling section for about 2 miles behind Ross Castle.

The first loop passed by rather quickly. My leg felt fine even though the right calf was rather stiff, which did affect my stride a bit. Once I started the second loop, however, trouble started immediately at the big climb. My calf just would not cooperate, I could not put my toes down and ended up hobbling up the hill in a very awkward way, very slowly but also very exhausting. I lost 2 places and had to watch them pull away as if I was standing still (what wasn't all that far away from the truth). I knew I was in trouble, with 2 roller sections and one more big hill climb yet to come.

Running on the flat was still fine, though. I was alse to keep going at 7:40 pace, or at least close, without too much bother but my right leg just wasn't right. It felt like I could not produce any power, it was just standing there, moving further purely by momentum and it was the left leg that kept propelling me forward on its own. The roller section was as tough as expected, with me getting slower with each and every hill and exhaustion starting to become a real factor.

Once I had left that section behind I was still moving somewhat ok, though when Dolores Duffy caught up she stormed past like a rocket, once more making me feel like standing still.

I knew the last loop would be tough. I struggled badly up the hill, slowing down to 10-minute pace yet requiring an effort that felt like sprinting. The subsequent downhill was purely for recovery and the road to Ross castle seemed to have drawn out considerably since the last time. Mind, I wasn't looking forward to reaching the end of that section because the rollers would be really tough. So it proved. After one climb I actually turned round, relieved to see that there had been nobody behind me to witness the pathetic shuffle I had just produced.

Again, the section seemed to have gotten longer than last time. However, when I emerged I spotted a white top ahead of me, and from the way he was moving he clearly was another marathon runner on the last lap, not one of the many lapped runners. I actually must have gotten closer to him over the last few miles, despite my own troubles (I was surprised that nobody had passed me since Dolores on mile 16). Seeing him was good news, it gave me a target to chase for the last 3 miles instead of feeling sorry for myself on my shuffle back home. On the flats I was still able to keep going under 8-minute pace, though every time we got to even the tiniest of hills I slowed down dramatically, so I never got any closer to my target. Nevertheless, he pulled me towards the finish line which I reached in 3:26:01.

I could claim I had just jogged around at an easy effort, which would be perfectly believable, but unfortunately that's not how it happened. I felt exhausted at the end and totally depleted. I commandeered a coke bottle and emptied it and must have eaten half my body weight in sandwiches and bananas. I didn't hang around, though, because I quickly started getting cold in the rain, so I headed back towards the car. My right leg was rather sore, even when walking, which wasn't good, though a few hours later it was much better again,

I went out for a very short and easy run on Sunday morning. By that point I could walk around just fine, but Niamh noticed that I was limping a bit (I had not noticed). Running felt odd, with a very tight calf muscle that put me off my stride. There is actually no muscle soreness from the marathon as such, just that injured calf. We've chucked out the training schedule. I'm having a very easy week.

11 May

am: 5.5 miles, 43:02, 7:49 pace, HR 146

pm: 5.5 miles, 43:54, 7:58 pace, HR 146

12 May

4 miles, 32:52, 8:13 pace, HR 145

13 May

Lakes of Killarney marathon, 3:26:01, 12th place

14 May

3 miles, 26:49, 8:56 pace, HR 135

Adapting

After turning my life upside down with my move to Dublin, it will take time to settle into a new routine and work out things until everything is running smoothly again. As stated in my last post, I initially struggled to keep my training going, between the unfamiliar roads and the heavy traffic and my reduced time due to the unexpectedly long commute, but I'm starting to figure things out.

After spending yet another 90 minutes on the commute back home on Monday evening (and then being too tired for an evening run) I decided to make some immediate changes. On Tuesday morning I packed everything I needed into a backpack and ran to work instead. This had some immediate benefits: no more frustration while waiting for the bus and being stuck in traffic, and I didn't have to get up at 5:30 in order to run before work any more. That immediately gave me over 2 extra hours of my day: a total win!

It's not all entirely straightforward. My backpack is basically unsuited to running (it's not a running backpack), it's way too big and it bounces like mad due to the lack of chest straps. It really does put me off my stride, I feel uncoordinated and my HR is all over the place. Not ideal. I actually do own a running backpack but that's in Kerry at the moment. However, for next week I'm planning on bringing one week's worth of clothing into work on Monday, so I only have to use the backpack on Monday morning and Friday evening and can run unencumbered for the rest of time.

It's 5.5 miles from home to work, which gives me 11 miles a day, which is plenty. However, running no more than 5.5 miles in one go won't do in preparation for a 24 hours race, so on Wednesday morning I set off earlier, dropped the backpack off at work and immediately set off again to the nearest park for another 5.5 miles, this time unencumbered, which felt a lot nicer. I still didn't quite get as many miles as planned because everything took a bit longer than estimated - I will figure it out eventually.

The last couple of weeks I have been troubled by some niggles in my right Achilles and knee. Undoubtedly those two issues are closely related. The Achilles seemed to calm down by the weekend only for the knee to act up again. It's on the inside of the leg, about 2 inches below the knee cap. When I googled it I came across "pes anserine bursitis" a lot, which sounded a bit scary, especially with the long recommended rest - the Belfast race would be over by the time I'm back running. Fortunately things have improved again this week and while I can still feel "something" in both areas, it's more a bit of stiffness than proper pain, and definitely getting better. My worry is that driving home will aggravate it again, as prolonged periods of sitting down seems to particularly bad - I'll have to wait and see.

Oh, and congratulations to Kathryn Shaw for winning the free copy of the book I reviewed a couple of weeks ago. It's on its way.

8 May

9 miles, 1:13:35, 8:10 pace, HR 141

9 May

am: 5.5 miles, 42:27, 7:43 pace, HR 149

pm: 5.5 miles, 45:45, 8:19 pace, HR 146

10 May

am: 11 miles, 1:26:31, 7:51 pace, HR 148

pm: 5.5 miles, 44:20, 8:03 pace, HR 148

My Achilles Heel

I might not be a Greek demigod but I do share a weakness with one of Old Homer's finest. My right Achilles has a tendency to act up every now and again.

To be fair, it's been 4 years since the latest flare up, so I certainly can't complain too loudly. But complain I did, eventually, whining to my coach. He identified the problem not as tendinitis but an issue at the point where the tendon connects with the calf muscle. Most interestingly, the prescribed cure was not rest but to keep on training; exercise being more beneficial than idleness - something that I have learned time and time again to be true (with one exception in the last 10 years).

Anyway, my normal runs were manageable. The Achilles did hurt a little bit but it was definitely manageable. What it did hamper was my workout on Friday when I tried my usual few miles at a faster effort. The Achilles started to hurt as soon as I got above a certain threshold and I very quickly learned that forcing the issue was not on the cards, so I just kept the effort at a level where it all was still somewhat okay. Interestingly, looking at the data afterwards showed that I managed to go slightly faster as the run went on, from 7:30 pace initially to 7:13 on the 7th miles, with an average of 7:22. That was significantly slower than last week but what can you do.

Saturday was more telling, though. Following the advice that the long run was still on the cards, I combined the run with a tour through my new South Dublin neighbourhood, but never straying too far away from home in case the Achilles started acting up. What I found was that the Achilles was much better already, thank Goodness, that South Dublin is very hilly and that I cannot afford a house in the immediate vicinity (a lottery win being my only hope). I still have a bit of an issue with my right knee, which has felt a bit stiff ever since Longford, but as far as I can tell that seems to be on the mend as well.

After 5 days in Dublin I can state a couple of things. First, commuting by bus sucks. I actually live pretty much the same distance from work as I did in Kerry but instead of 10 minutes it's taking me an hour. I'm trying to get my bike to Dublin and I'm playing with the idea of running to work but I need to get organised first and a lot of the things I need for that are still in Kerry.

Secondly, running on Dublin roads is far less enjoyable than running on the quiet country roads near Caragh Lake. One glaringly obvious thing is my much higher HR the last few days compared to previous weeks, and I'm pretty sure the fact that my brain can't switch off in these new surrounding while I'm pounding the roads is a very real factor. It may improve as I get used to it but at the moment it's either sharing the road with far more cars than I'd like or running circles in a park, which does get mind numbing very quickly. Oh, and if you have some secret tips on how best to run here (I'm not driving to Phoenix Park for my runs - or anywhere else for that matter), I'd appreciate your input.

There are definite upside to living here as well, though. Last night's Iron Maiden concert was a 20 minute drive away rather than a 4 hour trip as it would have been otherwise. I certainly did appreciate that. And it did remind me of my last Maiden concert - in Vienna, 1993. Great stuff.

4 May

am: 7 miles, 1:01:10, 8:44 pace, HR 134

pm: 5 miles, 38:52, 7:46 pace, HR 145

5 May

10 miles, 1:17:43, 7:46 pace, HR 149

   incl. 7 @ 7:22 pace (HR 154)

6 May

18 miles, 2:23:50, 7:59 pace, HR 147

7 May

am: 8+ miles, 1:04:24, 8:00 pace, HR 144

pm: 5 miles, 37:53, 7:34 pace, HR 145

A New Beginning

In my ideal world I can run as much as I want without any intrusion from the outside world. Alas, this is not my ideal world and real life does have a habit of rearing its head from time to time. Balancing my running life in such a way that it doesn't interfere with work or family is one of the things I had to learn - I like to think I'm pretty good at it.

Sometimes, however, things happen on a grander scale just to be glossed over. Last Friday, after over 13 years, I walked out of the office in Killorglin for the last time, wondering if I was utterly foolish to leave such a save job behind to look at the greener grass on the other side. I spent the weekend at home with the family and on Tuesday loaded up my little car and drove to Dublin. I'm starting my new job on Thursday.

From a running point of view, the timing is less than ideal, with the inevitable stress that comes with such a big change unlikely to be helpful in my preparations for a World Championship. On the other hand this was such an exciting opportunity after years of stagnation in the same job without much hope for promotion that I just could not let it pass. I'll just have to adapt to the new circumstances and make the best of it.

Running hasn't gone all that well this week, pretty much the first time I can say that since this training cycle began. On Monday I actually felt pretty good but the numbers were rather unimpressive. On Tuesday I felt like the legs were stuck in mud but the numbers were excellent, as good as I have seen all year. On Wednesday morning, now in Dublin, I posted the worst figures in months! I'm not sure what's to blame, the long drive to Dublin maybe, but I've done that journey plenty of times before. The hilly course, the wind, the stress of the move, all of the above?

I went out for a second time that day, for a short run just before dinner. The figures looked much better but the run itself was awful. I felt dehydrated and low on blood sugar - I need to get used to running doubles, I think.

Well, the move was bound to have some impact. I need to see how I feel and adjust accordingly. The worst thing I could do now is push too hard and waste all that great base training I have done so far.

1 May

8 miles, 1:03:45, 7:58 pace, HR 140

2 May

8 miles, 1:04:39, 8:04 pace, HR 135

3 May

am:6 miles, 48:56, 8:09 pace, HR 145

pm:5 miles, 39:37, 7:55 pace, HR 142