Looking at the numbers

Despite a sore throat, which has stayed with me all week, I woke up on Monday without any 'pain'. That was probably the first time in recent records that I've not had any stiffness / soreness after a race. On Tuesday it was the same story. Now that's really a first - my legs are always sore 48hours after a race!! This signifies either a) I'm in better shape than I've been for a long time or b) I didn't push myself hard enough on Sunday or c) maybe a combination of both.

I had planned an 'easy' run on Tuesday as a bit of a recovery but as I was feeling good I decided to run a the slightly faster 'steady' pace and turn the recovery run into a proper workout. In the end it ended up being a steady-tempo progression 5.67mile run at lunchtime in a time of 37:36 mins i.e. average 6:38 pace @ 158bpm. The mile splits were 6:48 (146bpm), 6:49 (155), 6:48 (159), 6:39 (163), 6:24 (162), 6:10 (169). Quick but not too quick and it felt surprisingly 'easy'.

Looking back through my diary at similar runs during last October/November I recorded 6:45 min/mile (162bpm) and 7:05 pace (157bpm) respectively over the same course. So based on the numbers I'm in better shape now. I've also recorded my resting heartrate at 49bpm. I think that's the lowest number in 15 or more years.

Today I planned a longer but slightly slower run. 7.61 miles in 52:15 mins (6:52 min/mile @157bpm). Once again I found it hard to stick to the easy pace for the duration and I picked it up a bit over the last few miles. The splits were 7:03 (141), 6:57 (153), 7:05 (154), 6:47 (160), 6:38 (158), 6:48 (164), 6:50 (165), 6:44 (168). The run went well but my left achilles was a bit tight/sore during the run ... must be sure to take care of it.

Also I never thought I'd say it but it's nice having the additional feedback from the heart rate numbers. Whatever did I do without them....

The tentative plan for the rest of the week is another steady/tempo run tomorrow followed by some longer easy runs over the weekend.

Eagle AC 5 Mile report update

According to the official results my placing yesterday was 28th out of 264 competitors. My time however was rounded to 30:45. Grellan claims that I stopped my watch too early (see above). I contend that I started it too late (slow reactions on the start line!!).

The summary for last week was ...

Week Total (16/2/09 to 22/2/09) - 5 sessions
38.02 miles - 4:36:00 - 7:16min/mile - No HRM

No running today - it's my birthday so I'm concentrating on eating cake.

Eagle AC 5 Mile Race Report

If the conditions were right Grellan had predicted a sub 30 minute time for today. But to be honest that time was never really on the cards for a number of reasons:-

• My target pace was 6 min/mile i.e. not much room for error;
• I've been suffering from a low grade virus of some sort for the past few days which has meant much time in the bathroom (enough said!!);
• The hilly middle portion of the race course.

Despite the above I was hopeful of running a good time and at least bettering my PB of nearly 32minutes. The weather conditions were perfect - sunny, not much wind and not too warm.

I arrived at the race HQ in good time and decided to drive the course to check out the hills. I don't know if that was a good idea or not!! I think that I may have run a bit more conservatively as a result.

Shortly after registering I went for a 3.73 mile warmup @ 8:43 pace. Then it was just a matter of keeping warm and loose until the race started (10 minutes late - not a problem today as the sun was shining and the mood was good!!)

Miles 1 & 2 were generally flat/downhill and the pace was right on target at 5:58 each. Average heart rates were 161 and 174 bpm respectively. I checked my stride a few times in the knowledge of what was to come....

Miles 3 & 4 were beasts!! Mile 3 was uphill all the way (see below). In fact the 2 mile marker was at the very bottom of the hill!! I steadily worked up the hill without pushing too hard and the pace reflected this - a 6:29 (178bpm) for that mile. I did manage to pass a few poor souls who had been a bit overly eager!! Mile 4 was generally uphill the only consolation being that just as I rounded the corner in Shanbally I saw Pamela and the troops - my fan club. They subsequently drove alongside me up the hill in mile 4 which certainly keep me going!! The mile 4 split was 6:19 (180bpm) - a bit of a recovery!!

The last mile was largely downhill but my legs were tired and there was a strong breeze into my face. I was also in no-mans-land and as a result (in hindsight) I may not have pushed myself to the limit. Having said that during the race I thought that I was going as fast as I could!! I managed to pick up the pace to finish on target in 5:57 (183bpm).

I crossed the line and stopped my watch in a time of 30:44 mins. An official PB!! Mr Garmin recorded a course length of 5.09miles so he said I passed the 5 mile mark in 30:11. If only I could go by that!!! Not sure yet of placing or official time. I'll give an update when I know more.

Still I'm happy with my run today particularly given the course topography!! It was a nice test ahead of Ballycotton in 2 weeks...

A 2.05 mile warmdown @ 9:30+ pace rounded off the running for today.

BTW as you'll have gathered I got the battery for my HRM but I didn't get a chance to get the 'go faster' haircut yesterday - maybe that was a factor in me not going sub-30!! :)

The Route
My Race

Easy days

I've stuck to the end of week plan for once!!

Thursday and Friday were planned as easy runs at more than 7 minute pace. As it turned out Thursday's run was 6.20 miles in 46:47mins, an average of 7:33. On Friday I managed 6.78 miles in 49:29 an average of 7:18 min/mile.

I knew that both days I'd started out at approx 8 minute pace and finished strongly. But I was a bit surprised with the extent of the 'acceleration' when I uploaded the data today. On Thursday the mile splits ranged from 8:12 to 7:07. Not too bad. My legs were a bit tired from Wednesday's tempo session and in particular there was a tightness in my left hamstring which was still there on Friday. Nothing too serious but enough to make me not want to push things too much. Afterall Ballycotton isn't too far away now!!

On Friday I started out at 7:52 min/mile but I really hadn't realised that after mile 2 my pace was sub 7:05 and my last two miles were in 6:52 & 6:44 respectively. They certainly didn't feel that quick. Still though, I had no shortness of breath at the end and felt very comfortable so the run can still be classed as 'easy'. That's something I wouldn't have said 6 months ago so maybe my recent training regime is beginning to pay off!! But I really must get a battery for my HRM - I'm sure that my heart rate has come down recently.

I cancelled this mornings 4 miles easy run in lieu of getting my hair cut!! Maybe that will help in tomorrows race... :)

I've no fixed plans for the race tomorrow except to improve on my PB which officially is 31:51 even though I've recorded substantially quicker splits in longer races. The course has a few hills so I'll have to see how things work out....

Race week tempo

I'm planning on running a 5 mile race on Sunday so the plan is that this week I'll only do one 'quality' workout. The remainder of the week will be relatively easy.


I took a rest yesterday (Tuesday) so no running and today was nominated as the week's quality workout. A lunchtime 7-mile tempo run over varying terrain through the Regional park and roads around Ballincollig. A similar route to last weeks workouts but in contrast to last weeks steady/tempo runs it was all-out tempo from the start today. Last week I was averaging 6:40 to 6:50 overall I hoped to run sub 6:30 today. Weather conditions were perfect and it was the first day all 'winter' that I could run in just shorts and long sleeve.


The mile splits were encouraging - 6:15 (Mr Garmin went a bit 'funny' during this mile so actual split more like 6:35), 6:42, 6:37, 6:30, 6:14, 6:02, 6:09 & 5:42 (last 0.14 miles). In all 7.14miles in 45:19mins. That's an average of 6:21min/mile!!


Although I was 'reasonably' comfortable throughout I definitely had to work harder than during last weeks sessions and afterwards it took a few minutes for me to catch my breath!! I suppose the 20-25 seconds increase in pace was significant afterall!!


So the plan for the remainder of the week is easy / steady running and definitely nothing sub-7 minute pace until Sunday!! (Famous last words!!)

Way to go Tricia..

I know this blog is mainly about my running but I couldn't help giving my niece a mention. The following is a report from the Northeast-10 Conference....

Northeast-10 Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
Patricia Brice, UMass Lowell (So., Chelmsford, Mass.) - Provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship in two relays at the Boston University St. Valentine's Day Invitational. Ran the 400 meters in 57.4 seconds to lead the UMass Lowell distance medley relay team to second overall and tops among collegiate teams in 11:45.26, currently the second-fastest time in the country. Also ran a 58.6-second split on UML's 4X400 meter relay team which placed third overall (first among Division II-III foursomes) in 3:54.53, which ranks 10th in the country.

Patricia ran in leg 1 of the 4x400

Congrats Tricia !!

Another week down..

Well, I survived Saturday and I made it out for my long run on Sunday. Unfortunately I had to cut it short due to time constraints (had to take my 3 kids to a 4 year olds birthday party). (As an aside... spending time on a kids bouncy castle can do wonders for your leg condition my legs are killing me today!!!). So on Sunday morning it was a 9+mile run into town and back. To be predicted I compensated for the shortened run by running the second half about 10-15 seconds per mile faster on average. In all it was 9.31miles easy in 1:07:54 i.e. average 7:17. My legs felt heavy but to be honest I put that down to residual fatigue from Friday nights session!!

The total for this fast yet low mileage week ended up as follows:

Week Total (9/2/09 to 15/2/09) - 4 sessions
28.25 miles - 3:20:52 - 7:07min/mile - No HRM

Today (Monday) I started the week off on a good note with a 7.02 mile easy/steady run at lunchtime in 51:29 i.e. an average of 7:20min/mile. Instead of simply running easy today I thought that I'd push the pace a bit to compensate for not running the planned 15+ miles yesterday. So the run was an easy/steady progression run with the mile split pace varying as follows 8:24, 7:57, 7:13, 7:06, 6:47, 6:55, 6:58. My legs felt heavy throughout but again I think that this was a hangover from weekend.