Sunday – Mallow 10 mile race – PB 58:46 (14m)
Dare I say the perfect race, this couldn’t have really gone better. My first 10 mile race, not expecting anything spectacular but ended up surprising myself and smashing the hour. Huge confidence boost keeping the sub 2:50 dream truly alive, in fact I think I can almost touch it..c’mere. On with the week, full report here.

Monday – 6.6m Recovery
Spirits were high today after yesterdays race, I really feel now if I keep working hard I can achieve some great results and even start competing with the best in the country over the next few years, ok Conor relax. Overall the body was feeling fine bar my right calf which had had a slight strain and hurt sometimes when walking. I headed out for a very light 6.5 mile jog after work which felt fine and the calf loosened out after a while. Bought some salt on the way home, that was a highlight I suppose though it probably looked funny me carrying it home, there were no small bottles. Stretching and foam rolling in the evening.

Tuesday – 8m Steady (9.2m)
Very blustery and unsettled today but the clouds kindly parted after work, the rain subsided and the big blue sky came out to say hi, still windy but I’ll take it. Feeling good today both physically and mentally, I headed down the Blarney road through the city and then the Carrigrohane/Model farm loop. I picked up the pace early on and settled just under 7 min/mile. This pace really feels comfortable for me now, average pace overall was 6:50 min/mile and it still fascinates me how the human body adapts and responds to repeated stress physiologically. Prepare to be blown away by a list of adaptations I have undergone due to endurance training:

• Increased lung capacity so they can deliver oxygen and remove CO2 waste more quickly
• My blood volume has increased allowing the delivery of more oxygen to my muscles
• My heart is now a more efficient pump, resting rate is typically 38-42 bmp. It’s become a stronger muscle and the inner wall has thickened increasing the stroke volume allowing quicker delivery of oxygen and nutrients and removal of waste products.
• I have increased mitochondria in my muscles increasing the muscles ability to endure repeated stress
• Capillarization has taken place, the development of new capillaries allowing faster delivery of blood to my muscles
• I’ve increased my fat burning abilities, able to head out on a comfortable 20+ mile session without having to eat anything beforehand, fuelling myself using the most efficient source possible, fatty fat!

Of course I can’t prove all that’s happening, I can’t see inside myself but the results speak for themselves, there’s something going on in there for sure. Only 3 months ago I would have considered a 6:50 min/mile training pace well out of my comfort zone, it was the pace I persevered through during my first marathon and now I’m running 8 miles at 6:50 min/mile and it’s feeling relatively easy. Wow this post has gone way off topic but anyway the point is it’s really motivating to experience progress like this and know that the training is working. Very enjoyable run, 1 mile cool-down up the monster hill and watched united lose 3-0 to city, nothing new there.

Wednesday – (half of) 2 x 5km (11m)
After feeling great and back to normal yesterday, I’m now consumed with the prospect of a potential calf injury. Right now it hurts to walk and since the session finished it’s only gotten worse. I planned on doing 2 x 5km repeats today with 4 mins recovery, aiming to run each in roughly 19:30 (6:15 min/mile pace). I warmed up for 3.5 miles feeling fine and once on the Carrigrohane road, I headed into the first rep. All was going well considering the tough head-wind, holding the pace around 6:15 min/mile which felt harder than Sunday but I can’t be fully recovered from that yet. I finished the first 5k in an impressively precise (fluky) 19 mins 29.9 seconds and I wasn’t even monitoring the watch I swear. Once I stopped though the pain struck, a darting pain in my right calf very similar to what I felt after the race on Sunday, muscle related and probably a strain. Balls, not good. I stopped for 2 mins and stretched it out a bit then started jogging lightly again but it wasn’t good and I knew there was no way I was running the second 5k at that pace again, asking for trouble. I would have cut the session right there and then but it just so happened that I was 5 miles from home. I reprogrammed into recovery mode and eased it home at around 8 min/mile the pain not so bad now but feeling quite dejected that I didn’t get to do the session, more-so the thought of being out for a few days. Coming up the hill near my house it really started hurting me, so much that I had to walk so when I got in I iced it right away, with a bag of frozen peas of course. Walking around the house since, every step hurts and it looks like I’ll need a day off tomorrow, frustrating like the blisters but taking some sort of positive, it’s better happening now as I wind down rather than happening 1 week from the race or in the middle of my plan.

Thursday – Rest
Forced to take a rest with the calf injury which still worries me as I felt it throughout the day but hopefully a rest day will sort it out and we’ll be back on the road tomorrow, nervous laughter. Wasn’t sure what to do with myself in the evening so I went into domestic mode and spent some time cleaning the house before putting on my chefs hat and cooking up a delicious batch of homemade crisps, half of which I ate while I cooked. Then I baked a batch of my top secret recipe energy bars, came out nice this time, stay tuned for the recipe. Did some core, stretching and strength work later on, been getting into AIS (active isolated stretching) recently, seems useful as my hamstrings are as tight as a ducks arse, check out 2 good videos here and here.

Friday – 8.5m Easy
Yahooza! we’re back on track and the calf behaved itself, I think. 8.5 miles Was a little over enthusiastic for the first few miles, feeling good with the pace in the low 7 mins, I eased up a little because the only real purpose of this run was to get through it pain free. I did feel something down there, not quite pain but something gnawing at me and I didn’t want to upset it so I went easy on it. Got home in one piece, no pain afterwards so I think I’m on the right track. By order of the coach, there’ll be no session tomorrow just another easy run which makes perfect sense to me. Avg. pace 7:39 min/mile, AIS later in the evening.

Saturday – 10.5m Easy
Got this fella done but not exactly comfortable and trouble still looms for Conor. I currently write this with a bag of frozen peas under the calf. I thought we were back and track after yesterday but it acted up again, not a whole lot but every now and then I felt minor darts of pain and particularly coming back up to my house though I walked most of the monster hill. Was hoping to do this quicker but my in-built speed limiter would rarely let me go fast than 7:30 min/mile today and for good reason, average pace was a sensible but slightly frustrating 7:36 min/mile. Down for a 16m long run tomorrow which I might cut short depending on how the calf acts throughout the day. 

Weekly total: 59.5m