4 x 2 mile effort

Target: 4 x 2 miles in 10:40-10:45 w/ 3 mins recovery.

Result:
1) 10:54 (5:38, 5:16; HR = 185), 2:57 (HR = 133);
2) 11:00 (5:40, 5:20; HR = 185), 2:57 (HR = 143);
3) 10:49 (5:34, 5:15; HR = 189), 2:57 (HR = 146);
4) 10:50 (5:34, 5:16; HR = 190), HR after 1 min = 145.

Overall I'm pretty satisfied with this effort. This workout last year was probably the best I had during the training program for the marathon. That day I had pretty much perfect conditions, whereas today the breeze was blowing and from 200m to 2k I had a pretty strong headwind that is evident in the splits. The 2nd time I did this workout last year I had a similar breeze blowing and the splits were even a bit slower than today, although off 30 seconds less rest but an extra month's training. Looking back at the older workouts, there is a roughly 6-8 second difference between the first (slower) and second mile due to the gradient, so estimate I was losing between 10-15 seconds due to the wind, which would put the effort in the range I was hoping for.
Pleased because the HR and the breathing were pretty much under control for the majority of the workout. Felt a bit limited by the legs, as the tiredness of the last 2 weeks was still present. Only interval I wasn't happy with was the 2nd one, as I was a little too much into 'tempo' type effort and not pushing myself quite hard enough. Definitely did not have that problem on the last one, really took some mental verbal abuse to push through that one as the legs were filling with lactic very early on. Got a nice lift from seeing the split from the first mile of the interval, and was able to hold it together down the remainder of the interval.
Since ending the workout, did a lot of work on stretching, especially the calves, and no adverse reactions in the shins/anywhere else since. Legs feel decent, although tomorrow may be a different story.
          

Rollin'

2.5 mile w/u

Goal: 3x 3 mile @ 10 mile race pace (5:40-5:45), 3 min rec

3 mile c/d

1. 16:59 (5:38, 5:37, 5:44), 2:59;

2. 16:50 (5:34, 5:37, 5:39, 2:59;

3. 16:35 (5:32, 5:33, 5:30).

Running for the bus on the way out to the park I was knew I was feeling good. However the workout was nearly derailed by the need to go 2'sies. Thankfully there was a John in hospitable condition, and we were good to go. Still, amateur mistake to be making at this stage.

The loop was good, first mile flat, 2nd slightly downhill, and 3rd making up the gain from the 2nd. Was not keen on this workout a few weeks back as I didnt trust my pace judgement but was very pleased with todays effort. At no point was I strained in the run (shouldnt be at 10 mile pace), and decided to try to open up on the last mile but stay relaxed. Was very happy with the results, and recovered pretty much immediately afterwards. Feeling good going into the half next weekend and more importantly the big one itself in 5 weeks. First things first though, I've got to go and pay my last respects to Matt 'Chewy/Easy/Rhino' Emond. Another good man gone after this weekend.

You think W had it bad?

2.5 mile w/u

4 x 2 mile with 2.5 min rec

3+ mile c/d

This was a repeat of a workout done 4 weeks ago. However, I wanted to see how much my aerobic capacity had improved since then, so dropped the recovery from 3 to 2.5 mins and had planned on doing a 5th interval. That was until I got through 4 in the following splits:

11:07 (5:47, 5:20), 2:28;

11:01 (5:45, 5:16), 2:28;

10:56 (5:40, 5:16), 2:27;

10:52 (5:35, 5:17).

Needless to say, I was running into a very strong headwind from 200 to 2k, which lead to some crazy splits. Coming into the workout, I was willing to run the intervals a little slower than I had previously in an attempt to get 5 in. While my splits were pretty much the same for the 2nd mile as the previous effort, I did have a tailwind today for the last 3/4 of a mile. I still thought I was up to 5 finishing the 3rd one, but definitely didn't feel as recovered starting the 4th as the previous ones, then ran the first mile of the 4th too hard. As a result I completely rigged on the last mile and was tapped finishing. Overall I'm still pretty pleased with this as without the wind I think my splits would have matched the workout from a month ago (10:36-10:40) on less recovery. Just gotta keep on trucking.

My title is a reference to the recent opinion polls judging the Irish government and in particular our Taoiseach 'The Lip' Brian Cowen. He's got an approval rating right now of, wait for it: 15%. W had it easy.

Ooii that's a good one

Target: 4 x 2 miles, 3 min rec.

Splits: 10:37 (5:21, 5:16), 10:36 (5:21, 5:15), 10:38 (5:22, 5:16), 10:40 (5:23, 5:17).

This was a good 'un. Was debating between this and 3x3 mile for the workout. Went for this because

a) Didn't trust my pacemaking to do the 3x3 properly

b) Longest workout so far had 6 miles of work, so thought this was a better transition

c) I'm a pussy

Going through the first mile, I thought I'd made a balls of it, and was very surprised to see that I'd negative split. However, the last 2/3 of the loop is a slight downhill, that I was very grateful for later in the workout. Struggled mentally after 2, thinking that I wouldn't get through 4 but the 3rd one was a good strong outing that made starting the 4th easy, and felt great through 3/4 of a mile. However, the wind got up coming to the mile marker, and I was rigging badly on the next half mile. But thankfully the sun went behind some cloud cover and I hit the downhill for the last 1000 or so, and managed to get through it ok.

While I was definitely in the hurt locker by the end of the last one, the workout in general was very solid, and am very pleased. Was much quicker than I was expecting (goal was just sub 11's), and at this stage I can say I'm well ahead of where I was anticipating in training. Am not revising any marathon goals until at least after the half in September, just going to keep taking it day by day. But its easily the best shape I've been in for a number of years, and am just hopeful I can keep it going. Seeing the midget horse guy tomorrow for a hip cracking, and already looking forward to getting a long one in on Sunday.

Not what was planned

On tap: 8 mile tempo

Reality: 4 mile tempo, 5 min jog, 8x400 w/ 1 min rec

Splits: 5:35, 5:42, 6:00 (uphill), 5:42 - 22:59
72.96 (59.96), 71.06 (61.2), 73.92 (59.6), 70.5 (59.7), 72.04 (58.3), 70.98 (59.9), 71.69 (58.3), 70.1.

The combination of work, lack of sleep and training caught up to me today. Had a perfect 4 mile loop plotted in the park taking in most of the route from the race on Saturday with the intention of doing 2 loops somewhere between 46-46:20. However, after the uphill 3rd mile my legs were totally gassed. A pity because for the first time in a tempo my breathing was so comfortable and relaxed, but the legs just weren't there. No point trying to force it. So after a few mins jog I did some 400s on the finishing straight for the race last week as the 400 to go and finish line were still on the roadside. All the odd ones were done into the wind, which is pretty evident given they're all 1-2 secs slower. Surprised and pleased with the 400 splits, as I didn't expect them to be this quick at all. Definitely glad I did them as it gave me some pleasure from a poor workout. But had you told me a month or two ago I would have done this I'd probably have thought you were high, so all in all things aren't bad.