A new departure?

The last couple of weeks since my return from Malaysia have gone well. I am back up to sixty plus miles a week. However, I need to do something about strengthening my quadriceps and hamstrings. This is crucial if I am to handle the hills of Boston. My quads will be especially susceptible to damage and fatigue on the downhill sections. My hamstrings are prone to cramping in the last 10km of marathon, which I am sure is a consequence of muscle inflexibility and weakness rather than electrolyte imbalances.
In addition to helping deal with the hills, cramps and potential for injury, I am hoping the strength training and stretching will make me faster by respectively increasing the muscles' force generation and stride length. I have made a decent start to doing this in the last week. Eleven weeks to Boston should be enough time to see not inconsiderable progress if I am consistent.

Mileage w/c 18 January:65 (New weekly high)
Mileage w/c 11 January:15
Mileage w/c 4 January:36

Disruption

The last two weeks' training have taken a battering from long distance travel and illness. I left for Malaysia on Friday 8 January arriving the following evening Kuala Lumpur time. The following morning I knocked out fourteen miles on the treadmill, bringing me a weekly total of thirty-six miles. The ice was partially to blame for not reaching the weekly schedule of fifty-five miles but does not excuse falling twenty miles short.
The week commencing 11 January started well with a ten mile run with five at tempo on Tuesday. This and the following day's run were on the hotel treadmill. I am sick of the treadmill. The last outdoor run was 3 January. Tuesday's workout felt really hard. I did not enjoy the food in Malaysia and found it difficult to find a meal with the requisite calories for my training. This, the significant number of miles walked around Kuala Lumpur that day, and the heat and humidity, made Tuesday's workout really draining and felt more like 5K or 10k effort than half-marathon.
Since my return to Ireland on Thursday morning I have had the inevitable jet-lag, but I also seem to have picked up a bug. Seems I might have contracted 'Delhi Belly'. Hopefully next week will see a return to the normal routine.

Ice ice baby!

Yesterday the treacherous road conditions forced me indoors to a city council gym to register my mileage. Surprisingly the treadmill was not as excruciatingly boring as I thought it would be.
Today I had twelve miles at aerobic pace scheduled and the even worse state of the roads dictated that I would be hitting the treadmill again. However, the worsening conditions meant that many workplaces closed early to allow people to crawl home before the roads became impassable. Unfortunately this meant the gym was also closed when I got there, not there was any sign or other form of communication stating that this was a consequence of the weather. Between the weather, or rather Dublin City and other councils' complete unpreparedness to deal with not especially extreme weather, and travelling overseas at the weekend for work, I will be lucky to register twenty-five to thirty miles this week!

Mileage w/c 28 December: 64. A new weekly high.

Whoopsadaisy!

I have not blogged in a while so I feel a short update is in order. Training has been going really well. Following the race that never was I logged fifty-five miles in my endurance base phase for Boston. Last week I completed fifty-seven miles, which is my highest weekly mileage total ever.
However, that week was a battle against the ice. I was down in Cork for Christmas and managed to log the necessary miles despite travel, other commitments and perhaps most of all ice. It was bitterly cold and the country's bankrupt state as a consequence of individuals' abdication of responsibility and political leadership that facilitated it for electoral reasons, mean the councils have no money to salt or grit roads. Consequently, on Sunday I slipped and landed on my arse. Yes, I am blaming the credit and property crash for my fall ;-)
Before coming a cropper I saw a car do a 360 degree turn in front of a bus coming in the other direction. Thankfully no collision occurred. When I took my fall, the ice was so thick on the pathway that I slid slowly across the pathway's entire width. I thought about packing in it then but decided to proceed with the remaining fourteen miles by going up and down the same one mile stretch of pathway that was largely ice free.

Mileage w/c 21 December: 57

Mileage w/c 14 December: 55

The race that wasn't!

Yesterday I participated in the Aware 10km race. Last year's race took place on a bitterly cold day. The ice almost necessitated its cancellation. This year's race ended in a complete shambles. Just before the race began the race director announced that it the race would only be 9kms. No explanation, just a perfunctory statement that Aware announced it to everyone the previous evening. It subsequently transpired this statement was a line on their own website. Most people did not become aware of the truncated race until they came upon the finish at 9kms!
I completed the 'race' in 34:58, and fancy I would have secured a new PB of 38:?? if chaos has not ensued. Aware has issued no explanation for this nonsense. Rumours suggest that the organisers had positioned the original finish too close to the St. Mary's hospital ambulance entrance and alternative finishes had the same problem. Whatever the reason it is unacceptable. While I acknowledge is it a 'charity run' it does attract a not insignificant number of non 'funrunners' who are happy to raise and/or donate money to a worthy cause because it provides a good opportunity to compete. Henceforth I will no longer participate in this or any other charity organised event. Their attitude to the sport and organisation borders on the disrespectful.

Mileage w/c 7 December: 51

First week

Last week I completed the first week of my Boston training schedule. It was a big jump to go from thirty-five miles for my last Dublin marathon recovery week to fifty for my first Boston training week. It is certainly more than the ten per cent weekly progression increase that most recommend. However, I did reduce it from fifty-four miles that the Fitzinger and Douglas schedule prescribes. The week went quite well and my efforts to get up early and complete most of my runs in the morning worked surprisingly well. It's certainly an interesting experience to run around the Phoenix park at 06:30am in the pitch black. Thankfully I bring good flashing lights so that the Ninja bicyclists that I cannot see until it is too late see me before it is too late.
The Tuesday morning session was the most challenging, which involved nine miles with four miles at half-marathon pace. I found those miles very tough and felt much more like 10k pace. The mile splits were only just what I would consider half-marathon pace but my HR was primarily in the high 170s. I wonder did Circadian cycles influence this high HR?

Mileage w/c 30 November : 50

Recovery complete?

This was my last recovery week and constituted thirty-five miles. My 'long run' this Sunday was eleven miles at a pace of 08:26 and an average HR of 141. This seems a little high and I wonder if there is some recovery required. However, the weather was foul. The park rangers were actually out and had placed 'road flooded' signs on Wellington road. When parts of the Phoenix park are flooded then you know the rain has been biblical.