When told by his clubmates that he was not a sprinter, Zatopek replied, "If I run 100 metres 30 times, that is 3 kilometres and no longer a sprint".
Mon: Long run - 4m steady, then 15 x 280m hills @ ~10k effort with steady jog back recoveries, then straight into 10m @ 6:25 per mile, ~2m jog (21.11m).
Tues: am: 8.51m jog.
pm: 12.07m easy.
Wed: am: 5.47m jog.
pm: 6m easy, then 30 x 100m grass hillsprints with jog back recovery, 4m+ easy (14.27m).
Thurs: pm: 12.14m easy.
Fri: 3m warm-up, then 10m @ Mara effort (5:50 per mile), 2m+ cool-down (15.43m).
Sat: 8.02m easy.
Sun: 4m warm-up, then 3m @ 5:36 per mile, jog, 3m @ 5:33 per mile, cool-down (12.22m).
Total: 109.24m.
I am very pleased with this week. The volume is pretty much right in the middle of my ideal target range and I had some good workouts too. Despite there being no rest day this week, there was no extra mileage as a result; it was just more sensible to move my second run from Friday to Saturday as I had to bring the car to the garage anyway so why not run at the same time and get some extra family time as a result :-)
Monday's long run was a bit more tiring than it possibly looks. The purpose of the hill work was to tire the legs before a mildly progressive 10m at a solid pace, which it did.
Wednesday's hillsprints was a Zatopek inspired session, as per the quote. I started and felt good so just kept going.
Friday's run was particularly pleasing as it was very wet and quite windy in parts and the route itself was mildly undulating.
Sunday's 2 x 3m were run at around roughly half-marathon effort, with the last mile of the 2nd rep being around 10k effort.
So the aim now will be to keep the volume at around this level and just keep working on improving my threshold condition over the coming weeks. As simple as that. Not every week will have this much effort though as my efforts are done primarily when I feel I'm ready for them, so some weeks will see a higher volume of quality and some will be lower.
Overall though, I am certainly in the best condition I have ever been this far out from a marathon (21 weeks to go now) - though with the pleasing feeling of there being so much more to come as I'm still considerably over marathon race weight and just have that feeling that I'm running well but without being particularly 'fit'.
Monday, 27 May 2013
Emmet: May 20th - May 26th
The previous weeks training showed me that I needed to entail a lot more concentrated detail for my own benefit. Everything is constantly a work in progress when it comes to training, constantly changing & constantly improving the quality of my training.
So this week I set out to keep building on my mileage & trying to add a little bit of speed. I wanted more focused training to try yield better results for myself & after the run today in what seemed to be at ease, to finish off my week I vaguely recognised some signs of improvement.
Below is my list of training days/paces for Week 7.
Monday: 3.04 miles @ 9:02 minutes per mile (recovery run from Sunday)
Tuesday: 1.13 miles @ 10:16 minutes per mile.(with Aoife for her training)
Also 3.14 miles general run @ 8:45 minutes per mile.
Wednesday: 5.12 miles @ 8:40 minutes per mile.
Thursday: Off
Friday: 6.19 miles @ 9.09 miles of which two miles included in this were 3 miles @ 9:20 pace as part of Aoife's training.
Saturday: Off.
Sunday: High tempo run of 6.67 miles @ 7:35 minutes per mile.
Total weeks mileage 25.29 miles.
Total my training this week: 21.16 miles.
With Aoife: 4.13 miles.
Compared to last week roughly 12, if my 20 miles was technically not my training.
Major improvement.
Tick tock
So this week I set out to keep building on my mileage & trying to add a little bit of speed. I wanted more focused training to try yield better results for myself & after the run today in what seemed to be at ease, to finish off my week I vaguely recognised some signs of improvement.
Below is my list of training days/paces for Week 7.
Monday: 3.04 miles @ 9:02 minutes per mile (recovery run from Sunday)
Tuesday: 1.13 miles @ 10:16 minutes per mile.(with Aoife for her training)
Also 3.14 miles general run @ 8:45 minutes per mile.
Wednesday: 5.12 miles @ 8:40 minutes per mile.
Thursday: Off
Friday: 6.19 miles @ 9.09 miles of which two miles included in this were 3 miles @ 9:20 pace as part of Aoife's training.
Saturday: Off.
Sunday: High tempo run of 6.67 miles @ 7:35 minutes per mile.
Total weeks mileage 25.29 miles.
Total my training this week: 21.16 miles.
With Aoife: 4.13 miles.
Compared to last week roughly 12, if my 20 miles was technically not my training.
Major improvement.
Tick tock
Monday, 20 May 2013
Keith: May 13th - May 19th
"A lot of people don't realize that about 98 percent of the running I put in is anything but glamorous: 2 percent joyful participation, 98 percent dedication! It's a tough formula. Getting out in the forest in the biting cold and the flattening heat, and putting in kilometer after kilometer." - Rob de Castella
Monday: 20.09m easy
Tuesday: am: jog with 3m tempo @ 5:48 per mile (8.18m)
pm: 3m warm-up, 12m @ 6:19 per mile, cool-down (17.07m)
Wednesday: am: osteopath session.
pm: 11.11m jog.
Thursday: lunchtime: 3m warm-up, then: rep @ pace (recovery)
3/4m @ 5:19 per mile (2mins),
1m @ 5:15 per mile (4mins),
3/4m @ 5:04 per mile (2mins),
1/2m @ 4:49 per mile (2mins),
2m @ 5:31 per mile, cool-down.
pm: 5.17m jog.
Friday: am: 8.06m jog.
pm: 14.27m easy.
Saturday: rest.
Sunday: 8.14m progressive from jog to ~mara effort.
Total: 102.12.
A solid week. My back had been tightening up in the few days before my osteopath appointment, which highlighted some major glute tightness, so still plenty of work to be done before I'm firing on all cylinders.
However.... I was able to run every day I had planned which shows how much improvement I have made in the back area as after previous sessions I had to move my rest day around.
Tuesday's double session was a very pleasing one. The am tempo was very relaxed with the focus being on form rather than speed. The effort was somewhere between half-marathon and marathon effort. I felt smooth and very comfortable, despite the heavy rain, in the afternoon, which is always a good sign of imminent improvements.
Thursday's session was completely impromptu and ended up being one of those sessions I do once in a blue moon where I run harder than 10k effort and would most definitely have qualified as this weeks 2% inspiration.
The mileage and total amount of effort should both start to go up over the coming weeks.
Monday: 20.09m easy
Tuesday: am: jog with 3m tempo @ 5:48 per mile (8.18m)
pm: 3m warm-up, 12m @ 6:19 per mile, cool-down (17.07m)
Wednesday: am: osteopath session.
pm: 11.11m jog.
Thursday: lunchtime: 3m warm-up, then: rep @ pace (recovery)
3/4m @ 5:19 per mile (2mins),
1m @ 5:15 per mile (4mins),
3/4m @ 5:04 per mile (2mins),
1/2m @ 4:49 per mile (2mins),
2m @ 5:31 per mile, cool-down.
pm: 5.17m jog.
Friday: am: 8.06m jog.
pm: 14.27m easy.
Saturday: rest.
Sunday: 8.14m progressive from jog to ~mara effort.
Total: 102.12.
A solid week. My back had been tightening up in the few days before my osteopath appointment, which highlighted some major glute tightness, so still plenty of work to be done before I'm firing on all cylinders.
However.... I was able to run every day I had planned which shows how much improvement I have made in the back area as after previous sessions I had to move my rest day around.
Tuesday's double session was a very pleasing one. The am tempo was very relaxed with the focus being on form rather than speed. The effort was somewhere between half-marathon and marathon effort. I felt smooth and very comfortable, despite the heavy rain, in the afternoon, which is always a good sign of imminent improvements.
Thursday's session was completely impromptu and ended up being one of those sessions I do once in a blue moon where I run harder than 10k effort and would most definitely have qualified as this weeks 2% inspiration.
The mileage and total amount of effort should both start to go up over the coming weeks.
Emmet: May 13th - May 19th
Week 6: May 13th-May 19th.
Down but not out. After the previous weeks being so bad I decided that this week my focus was just to get the couple of miles back in, get a solid week in without playing any silly catch up games and just get a little bit of speed back in the legs which also in turn would help clear out my chest a little more.
The week started relatively slow with training only resuming on Wednesday, but with five runs over four days not a bad finish.
My only issue that needs to be worked on is the fact that although I'm helping Aoife with her preparation for the mini marathon, this needs to be only used for me as recovery mileage.
The focus for next week is to complete concentrated mileage of my own for my own benefit separate to Aoife's mileage.
Hopefully the more concentrated mileage for me will yield better short term and long term results.
Below is my calculated mileage for the week:
Monday: 0 miles
Tuesday: 0 miles
Wednesday: 3.04 miles @ 9.53 per mile.
Thursday: 3 miles @ 9.42 per mile.
Friday: 0 miles
Saturday: 4.17 miles @ 8.21 per mile.
Sunday: 4.03 miles @ 8.15 per mile & 6 miles @ 9.55 per mile.
Weekly Total: 20.24 miles.
Down but not out. After the previous weeks being so bad I decided that this week my focus was just to get the couple of miles back in, get a solid week in without playing any silly catch up games and just get a little bit of speed back in the legs which also in turn would help clear out my chest a little more.
The week started relatively slow with training only resuming on Wednesday, but with five runs over four days not a bad finish.
My only issue that needs to be worked on is the fact that although I'm helping Aoife with her preparation for the mini marathon, this needs to be only used for me as recovery mileage.
The focus for next week is to complete concentrated mileage of my own for my own benefit separate to Aoife's mileage.
Hopefully the more concentrated mileage for me will yield better short term and long term results.
Below is my calculated mileage for the week:
Monday: 0 miles
Tuesday: 0 miles
Wednesday: 3.04 miles @ 9.53 per mile.
Thursday: 3 miles @ 9.42 per mile.
Friday: 0 miles
Saturday: 4.17 miles @ 8.21 per mile.
Sunday: 4.03 miles @ 8.15 per mile & 6 miles @ 9.55 per mile.
Weekly Total: 20.24 miles.
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Keith: May 6th - May 12th
We never try to catch up. It is better if some thing is missed that it is missed - and forgotten - and you just stay on the normal plan - Barry Magee.
This week's quote is something that Barry told me a couple of times when he was coaching me and it is something I actively try to practice (though I do need to remind myself occasionally!).
It is not about being inflexible and sticking rigidly to a plan; it is more to do with keeping the end goal in sight. A missed day or session is, simply, missed. Forget it. Move on.
Playing catch-up and trying to shoe-horn things in invites injuries and can create a cyclical set of circumstances, so your best bet is to simply roll with the punches.
This is something that top-level athletes seem to do better than the rest of us. Abel Kirui, for example, the Kenyan double marathon world champion, missed a big chunk of training due to a knee injury in the month before the 2011 world championships. He made no attempt to catch-up on the missed training and took a calm, measured approach. The end result was that he walked away as world champion. How many of us in the same situation would have dealt with it as well?
Monday: am: 15.01m easy.
pm: 6.5m easy.
Tuesday: am: 9.1m with 3m Time Trial (aka ~10km race effort).
pm: 13.02m easy - lost toenail.
Wednesday: off - spent the day treating the nail.
Thursday: am: 11.36m with 15 x 2mins fast/1min jog.
pm: 10.07m jog
Friday: am: 6.3m easy.
Saturday: off - planned.
Sunday: am: 13.09m easy + form drills.
Total: 84.45m
My plan for this week was to keep the volume of quicker running lower, especially earlier in the week, because of how my glutes felt after last Saturday, but to keep the overall quantity high.
As things conspired the week ended up being lighter than intended all around due to losing a complete toenail and bed Tuesday evening - it had been going that way for a week as it snagged on my long run the previous week and was a bit inflamed.
With it being so far out from Amsterdam the risks of running with an altered stride outweighed the benefits of continuing to train on it, so I opted to rest and treat it. Friday evening was more of the same as it was tender enough to make it more sensible to rest it, especially as Saturday is my normal rest day and therefore it left me with about 48hrs straight of no running to leave it heal.
Come Sunday morning, job done and all good to go.
The only real negative of the week was the absence of a long run, but that was somewhat counter-balanced by having 3 medium-long runs (15, 13, 13) in there, which, for now, will have kept my endurance in stasis at least.
To look at the positives from the week.
Tuesday morning was a surprise. A Lydiard style 3m Time Trial is roughly 10km race effort, but with the aim being an even pace/effort throughout and no fast finish allowed. I was quite pleasantly surprised to average 5:27 per mile for the 3m, having expected maybe 8-10s per mile slower.
Thursday morning's workout was done on a mildly undulating road loop (rather than flat grass as per last week) and averaged 10km race effort as a whole - first two reps easing in, last two nudging a bit past 10km effort. The overall average pace for the session of 5:26 per mile showing that Tuesday's effort wasn't a one-off or misjudgement of effort on my part.
So, pleasing improvement all around. My back tightened up as the week progressed, but it will have been 2 weeks between sessions by the time I next see the osteopath, so that was to be expected.
This week's quote is something that Barry told me a couple of times when he was coaching me and it is something I actively try to practice (though I do need to remind myself occasionally!).
It is not about being inflexible and sticking rigidly to a plan; it is more to do with keeping the end goal in sight. A missed day or session is, simply, missed. Forget it. Move on.
Playing catch-up and trying to shoe-horn things in invites injuries and can create a cyclical set of circumstances, so your best bet is to simply roll with the punches.
This is something that top-level athletes seem to do better than the rest of us. Abel Kirui, for example, the Kenyan double marathon world champion, missed a big chunk of training due to a knee injury in the month before the 2011 world championships. He made no attempt to catch-up on the missed training and took a calm, measured approach. The end result was that he walked away as world champion. How many of us in the same situation would have dealt with it as well?
Monday: am: 15.01m easy.
pm: 6.5m easy.
Tuesday: am: 9.1m with 3m Time Trial (aka ~10km race effort).
pm: 13.02m easy - lost toenail.
Wednesday: off - spent the day treating the nail.
Thursday: am: 11.36m with 15 x 2mins fast/1min jog.
pm: 10.07m jog
Friday: am: 6.3m easy.
Saturday: off - planned.
Sunday: am: 13.09m easy + form drills.
Total: 84.45m
My plan for this week was to keep the volume of quicker running lower, especially earlier in the week, because of how my glutes felt after last Saturday, but to keep the overall quantity high.
As things conspired the week ended up being lighter than intended all around due to losing a complete toenail and bed Tuesday evening - it had been going that way for a week as it snagged on my long run the previous week and was a bit inflamed.
With it being so far out from Amsterdam the risks of running with an altered stride outweighed the benefits of continuing to train on it, so I opted to rest and treat it. Friday evening was more of the same as it was tender enough to make it more sensible to rest it, especially as Saturday is my normal rest day and therefore it left me with about 48hrs straight of no running to leave it heal.
Come Sunday morning, job done and all good to go.
The only real negative of the week was the absence of a long run, but that was somewhat counter-balanced by having 3 medium-long runs (15, 13, 13) in there, which, for now, will have kept my endurance in stasis at least.
To look at the positives from the week.
Tuesday morning was a surprise. A Lydiard style 3m Time Trial is roughly 10km race effort, but with the aim being an even pace/effort throughout and no fast finish allowed. I was quite pleasantly surprised to average 5:27 per mile for the 3m, having expected maybe 8-10s per mile slower.
Thursday morning's workout was done on a mildly undulating road loop (rather than flat grass as per last week) and averaged 10km race effort as a whole - first two reps easing in, last two nudging a bit past 10km effort. The overall average pace for the session of 5:26 per mile showing that Tuesday's effort wasn't a one-off or misjudgement of effort on my part.
So, pleasing improvement all around. My back tightened up as the week progressed, but it will have been 2 weeks between sessions by the time I next see the osteopath, so that was to be expected.
Emmet: May 6th - May 12th
I was hoping for a better week and a start on building some mileage which never came to fruition unfortunately. worse than the previous week with two days running not three and ten miles further reduced from twelve. still a little drained and suffering from flu.
Preparation is not good & its getting closer and closer to the 20 weeks before the marathon.
The clock is ticking and I hear it!
Preparation is not good & its getting closer and closer to the 20 weeks before the marathon.
The clock is ticking and I hear it!
Monday, 6 May 2013
Emmet: April 28th-May 5th
Quite simply put, 12 miles this week over 3 days, not anywhere near good enough.
Apart from the fact of suffering with almost two days of migraines and working the whole bank holiday weekend I have no excuses. runs could have been fitted in on some of these days but weren't.
Lack of effort this week; big changes need to happen. Immediately!
Apart from the fact of suffering with almost two days of migraines and working the whole bank holiday weekend I have no excuses. runs could have been fitted in on some of these days but weren't.
Lack of effort this week; big changes need to happen. Immediately!
Keith: 29th April - 5th May
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe - Abraham Lincoln
My current situation can basically be summed up as: ~3-4kg (1/2st for the imperially minded) over race weight and not feeling terribly fit, but I expect that with the improvements with my back it is only a matter of time before things being improve (hopefully rapidly).
Monday: am: 5.6m with 6 x diagonal strides.
pm: 4m warm-up, 15 x {2min fast / 1min jog} - LT grass session, ~6m cool-down - 17.09m total
Tuesday: am: 8.16m easy
pm: 15.05m easy
Wednesday: Long run - 5m easy, 10m @ 6:25m/m, 5.07m steady (6:58m/m) - 20.07m total
pm: osteopath session.
Thursday: am: 7.15m jog
pm: 5.09m jog
Friday: - off; swapped my usual rest day from Saturday because of reactions following the osteopath session as my body settled down after the work carried out on it.
Saturday: 2.7m warm-up, 6 x {5min fast / 2min jog} - LT road session, 2.8m cool-down with 6 x {15s stride / 30s jog} - 12.04m total
Sunday: 12.17m easy
Total: 102.42m
The average pace for the 15 x 2mins fast on Monday was 5:43 per mile with the effort probably somewhere around 10m race effort, though I could still feel a lack of power in the legs (albeit less of an issue than the last time I tried to run quicker).
The faster 10m during Wednesday's long run was at an effort that is always a good indicator of current Marathon Pace + 20-30s. I started to feel reasonably fluid during this run, so hopefully a sign of things improving.
Saturday's session went considerably better than expected. The plan was to start the 5min efforts at maybe a little more than Marathon effort and take it from there. About half-way through the efforts I suddenly seemed to be picking up speed/power for no real increase in effort.
Paces for the efforts came in at: 5:52 / 5:47 / 5:42 / 5:48 (uphill finish) / 5:37 / 5:30 (downhill finish).
Sunday morning gave me an answer as to why the pace picked up during the session as my glutes and the tops of my hamstrings were both quite tender. I suspect the back problems were preventing my glutes from 'firing' and this was what I equated to a lack of power. Now they have begun to fire again, but are out of practice. This is something I shall have to be careful with over the next few weeks.
So, all in all, a decent week, yet with plenty of scope for improvement going forward. If I can carry on from here I should have a very sharp axe by the time I come to do the marathon specific work.
My current situation can basically be summed up as: ~3-4kg (1/2st for the imperially minded) over race weight and not feeling terribly fit, but I expect that with the improvements with my back it is only a matter of time before things being improve (hopefully rapidly).
Monday: am: 5.6m with 6 x diagonal strides.
pm: 4m warm-up, 15 x {2min fast / 1min jog} - LT grass session, ~6m cool-down - 17.09m total
Tuesday: am: 8.16m easy
pm: 15.05m easy
Wednesday: Long run - 5m easy, 10m @ 6:25m/m, 5.07m steady (6:58m/m) - 20.07m total
pm: osteopath session.
Thursday: am: 7.15m jog
pm: 5.09m jog
Friday: - off; swapped my usual rest day from Saturday because of reactions following the osteopath session as my body settled down after the work carried out on it.
Saturday: 2.7m warm-up, 6 x {5min fast / 2min jog} - LT road session, 2.8m cool-down with 6 x {15s stride / 30s jog} - 12.04m total
Sunday: 12.17m easy
Total: 102.42m
The average pace for the 15 x 2mins fast on Monday was 5:43 per mile with the effort probably somewhere around 10m race effort, though I could still feel a lack of power in the legs (albeit less of an issue than the last time I tried to run quicker).
The faster 10m during Wednesday's long run was at an effort that is always a good indicator of current Marathon Pace + 20-30s. I started to feel reasonably fluid during this run, so hopefully a sign of things improving.
Saturday's session went considerably better than expected. The plan was to start the 5min efforts at maybe a little more than Marathon effort and take it from there. About half-way through the efforts I suddenly seemed to be picking up speed/power for no real increase in effort.
Paces for the efforts came in at: 5:52 / 5:47 / 5:42 / 5:48 (uphill finish) / 5:37 / 5:30 (downhill finish).
Sunday morning gave me an answer as to why the pace picked up during the session as my glutes and the tops of my hamstrings were both quite tender. I suspect the back problems were preventing my glutes from 'firing' and this was what I equated to a lack of power. Now they have begun to fire again, but are out of practice. This is something I shall have to be careful with over the next few weeks.
So, all in all, a decent week, yet with plenty of scope for improvement going forward. If I can carry on from here I should have a very sharp axe by the time I come to do the marathon specific work.
Keith's April Summary.
"There is a great advantage in training under unfavourable conditions. It is better to train under bad conditions, for the difference is then a tremendous relief in a race." - Emil Zatopek.
The above quote pretty accurately sums up my month. I began it hoping to start putting together some consistent mileage and efforts, despite an on-going back issue (almost a year) which I was already, belatedly, taking steps to address.
Very quickly though my back started to worsen, which meant, for pretty much the whole second half of the month, I was restricted to either jogging or very easy running as anything quicker was both painful and frustrating (due to a complete lack of power in my legs).
During this time I got a diagnosis (3 different opinions all stating the same thing) and began treatment with an osteopath recommended by some of my clubmates, who has made a huge (and I mean huge!) difference in a very short space of time, meaning I was actually able to try a workout right at the end of the month.
Overall though it was very much, as the quote says, a case of training under unfavourable conditions as I saw out the month doing as much easy running and jogging as was possible to do under the circumstances.
I managed to run every day I had planned (i.e. 6 days a week), though some days were only 2-3m, and the last 2 full weeks averaged 74m (first 2 averaged 104m).
Total Mileage: 402.8
Average Pace: 7:30 per mile.
Rest Days: 4
The above quote pretty accurately sums up my month. I began it hoping to start putting together some consistent mileage and efforts, despite an on-going back issue (almost a year) which I was already, belatedly, taking steps to address.
Very quickly though my back started to worsen, which meant, for pretty much the whole second half of the month, I was restricted to either jogging or very easy running as anything quicker was both painful and frustrating (due to a complete lack of power in my legs).
During this time I got a diagnosis (3 different opinions all stating the same thing) and began treatment with an osteopath recommended by some of my clubmates, who has made a huge (and I mean huge!) difference in a very short space of time, meaning I was actually able to try a workout right at the end of the month.
Overall though it was very much, as the quote says, a case of training under unfavourable conditions as I saw out the month doing as much easy running and jogging as was possible to do under the circumstances.
I managed to run every day I had planned (i.e. 6 days a week), though some days were only 2-3m, and the last 2 full weeks averaged 74m (first 2 averaged 104m).
Total Mileage: 402.8
Average Pace: 7:30 per mile.
Rest Days: 4
Emmet's April Summary.
Week 1: a total of 6.1 miles covered this week. not a lot as i guessed it would be and no major talking points, but it has to start somewhere.
Week 2: this week a total of 11.1 miles completed. the aim was to complete roughly 20 miles but due to house moving and a long working weekend no more mileage was completed in the second half of the week.
Week 3: played a little game of catch up and completed a 30.5 mile week which included the first long run of the year of 11miles. good week.
Week 4: again not a bad week with 19.3 miles clocked in. Also a 5km pb of 21 minutes exactly, so an average 6:44 a mile. although after this week and running into next week I came to the conclusion that its way too early to be racing (pushing too hard too soon) found myself a little run down. so for the foreseeable future only racing at training pace and see how it goes :-)
Week 2: this week a total of 11.1 miles completed. the aim was to complete roughly 20 miles but due to house moving and a long working weekend no more mileage was completed in the second half of the week.
Week 3: played a little game of catch up and completed a 30.5 mile week which included the first long run of the year of 11miles. good week.
Week 4: again not a bad week with 19.3 miles clocked in. Also a 5km pb of 21 minutes exactly, so an average 6:44 a mile. although after this week and running into next week I came to the conclusion that its way too early to be racing (pushing too hard too soon) found myself a little run down. so for the foreseeable future only racing at training pace and see how it goes :-)
About Keith
I ran to a reasonable level as a teenager in Ireland, but then, like a lot of people, went to university, stopped running, started smoking and drinking and gradually piled on the weight over the following years.
I started running again in January 2007, just as I was turning 30, some 13 years after I had initially stopped, with the aim being to primarily set a good example to my then 1 year old son, as I was heavily overweight and not partaking in any sports at all, and I didn't want him to grow up thinking that this was normal.
From September 2007 to May 2009 I managed to reduce my marathon time from 2:55:46 to 2:30:02 and even managed to win one in the process :-)
I then hit a long period of problems as a bout of pneumonia in autumn 2009 was followed by significant (but not long lasting) damage to my knee in a home accident that eventually required keyhole surgery in late 2010.
I took it easy during 2011, though I did run the Berlin Marathon in September in 2:34:03 off of low mileage.
In 2012, off, again, intermittent training, but a little bit more volume, I went back to Berlin, again finishing frustratingly close to breaking 2:30, in 2:30:19.
So, that brings us to now..........
Training habits...... I am a big believer in high volume training and I am also a fan of structured fartlek sessions. I typically run 6 days a week, with one day off as a family day. Over those 6 days I expect to consistently run over 100mpw, but will have no qualms about cutting back if tired. All my training is done to feel, rather than to prescribed paces.
For the next few months my aim is to improve my Lactate Threshold (i.e. 10k-HM paces) prior to starting a very marathon specific phase as I get closer to Amsterdam - my conversion from half to full marathon is usually very tight, so if I can significantly improve my Half Marathon condition it should hopefully pay off handsomely over the full distance.
As for my little brother, Emmet, well I have been bugging him for ages to start training properly as I believe he has the ability to go much faster than what he has done so far, so hopefully we can both deliver this October.
I started running again in January 2007, just as I was turning 30, some 13 years after I had initially stopped, with the aim being to primarily set a good example to my then 1 year old son, as I was heavily overweight and not partaking in any sports at all, and I didn't want him to grow up thinking that this was normal.
From September 2007 to May 2009 I managed to reduce my marathon time from 2:55:46 to 2:30:02 and even managed to win one in the process :-)
I then hit a long period of problems as a bout of pneumonia in autumn 2009 was followed by significant (but not long lasting) damage to my knee in a home accident that eventually required keyhole surgery in late 2010.
I took it easy during 2011, though I did run the Berlin Marathon in September in 2:34:03 off of low mileage.
In 2012, off, again, intermittent training, but a little bit more volume, I went back to Berlin, again finishing frustratingly close to breaking 2:30, in 2:30:19.
So, that brings us to now..........
Training habits...... I am a big believer in high volume training and I am also a fan of structured fartlek sessions. I typically run 6 days a week, with one day off as a family day. Over those 6 days I expect to consistently run over 100mpw, but will have no qualms about cutting back if tired. All my training is done to feel, rather than to prescribed paces.
For the next few months my aim is to improve my Lactate Threshold (i.e. 10k-HM paces) prior to starting a very marathon specific phase as I get closer to Amsterdam - my conversion from half to full marathon is usually very tight, so if I can significantly improve my Half Marathon condition it should hopefully pay off handsomely over the full distance.
As for my little brother, Emmet, well I have been bugging him for ages to start training properly as I believe he has the ability to go much faster than what he has done so far, so hopefully we can both deliver this October.
Thursday, 2 May 2013
About Emmet
I started training for the Dublin Marathon in January 2009 after a bet over Christmas 2008 that I couldn't finish a marathon.
Off an average of 15 miles a week I completed the marathon in 3:28. I didn't take it seriously enough to continue so took a year break in 2010.
I decided again in 2011 I would give it another go, yet did less than the previous year and the result was an obviously slower time (3:48).
I again took a year break in 2012.
2013, however, is possibly the dawn of a new era as I decided to quit smoking and actually give it a proper go. So far I am still off the cigarettes and training is going relatively good.
Us "Russells" have decided to take on Amsterdam so watch this space!
Off an average of 15 miles a week I completed the marathon in 3:28. I didn't take it seriously enough to continue so took a year break in 2010.
I decided again in 2011 I would give it another go, yet did less than the previous year and the result was an obviously slower time (3:48).
I again took a year break in 2012.
2013, however, is possibly the dawn of a new era as I decided to quit smoking and actually give it a proper go. So far I am still off the cigarettes and training is going relatively good.
Us "Russells" have decided to take on Amsterdam so watch this space!
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