Fitter'n'faster

sobriquet

Right, it's about time I started one of these after I said I would months ago. I have to say it does kind of feel like I'm in with the heavyweights here, there's some savage training going on and it's great to be able to read it.

Right so, vitals: 26, 173cm (5'8") and 75kg.

Diet:
At the minute I'm eating pretty clean but it's still pretty much three squares a day. I'd intended to go the more/smaller meal route ages ago, nothing but complacency is holding that off.

Goals:
Running: I'm running regularly for about three years, but it's always been fairly ad-hoc, never with much structure. This year I want to complete a few big runs in good time, so I've set them as targets for building my speed and overall endurance for good distances - up to about the 10 mile mark. I know I'm getting a bit quicker and endurance has improved since this time last year, so I want to push that further, and aim for a consistent 8 minute mile for as long as I can. No idea how achievable this is, but that's the intent.

Running Plan:
Sun: Long, slow
Mon: Rest
Tues: Intervals
Wed: Medium, medium
Thur: Short, fast
Fri: Rest
Sat: Medium, tempo

Cribbing this largely from Hal Higdons' Run Fast. It's not a concrete plan, just something to start with and I'll see how it goes. At the minute long would be about 6 to 8 miles, medium 4 to 6 and short 2 or 3 miles.

Strength: I developed strong legs cycling years ago which still serve me well with the running. In the medium to long term I want to build up a good base of overall strength. At the moment that's just bodyweight stuff at home, and irregularly at that - chin/pull ups, press ups, bench dips, that sort of thing. So to do: find a gym with decent free weights gear and get started with a Starting Strength style workout. Saving that, work out and stick to a home bodyweight routine.

Weight: I've some weight to lose but not terribly worried about it. I figure I'll worry more about fueling my workout plans than trying hard to maintain a calorie deficit, and think about thinning out once I've that in place.

Activity:
Did a slow three miles on saturday, didn't time it. Yesterday completed a charity 10k run in 58 minutes. The heat was oppressive, as was the hangover from the previous out-till-4am night. If I were right for it I'd have hoped to hit around the 50-minute mark.

Tomorrow: intervals on the track. Started this last tuesday but it was cut short. My long suffering runners cut a nice chunk of skin off an ankle in retaliation, and the left leg got very sore - I think the sprinting is showing up an imbalance. It's fine since though, and showed no trouble at the weekend so I'll give it another shot tomorrow and see how it goes.

SUNGOD

hi sobriquet good to see another running log here, in my opinion you wont go far wrong with hal higdon. i did something similar when i was running first as in running with no structure/plan untill i got a higdon marathon plan have'nt looked back since.so best of luck with your log keep posting and there are other runners on here much more knowledgable than myself who will help you with any questions/advice you might have.
so anyway best of luck hope it all goes according to plan

ike

Welcome along sobriquet as SUNGOD said nice to see another runner here. you target (8min/miles) is similiar to what I wanted to achieve when I started out and after about 3-4 months I was able to go sub 8 for 5 initially and then upto 10K, haven't tried beyond that....yet!

Best of luck

sobriquet

Cheers for the welcome guys, appreciate it.

Today:
Intervals. I was just trying to see what I'm capable of, so I did 8x 300m sprints with ~300m recovery jogs. I felt at the end I could do more reps but didn't want to tempt fate given what happened last week so left it there.

I played around a little with the recovery time, and trying 200m rather than 300m didn't work. Trying to let the heart rate get back down to ~70% was impossible without walking for a bit. I'll stick with that for now anyway and see how it progresses week on week.

sobriquet

4.5 miles in 38:49. Happy with that, felt fine after yesterday. One of those nice sessions where you zone out and something seems to be pulling you along. Started too hard though, and pulled it back. Need to get into the habit of staying disciplined and consistent about pace, not going balls out at random and suffering for it.

I've set a 40 minute target for the Street of Galway - based on where I am I should be able to hit it fairly confidently.

sobriquet

3 miles in 24:13. Happy out. That's probably a PB. Tough but doable. Wouldn't be able to sustain it for much longer.

sobriquet

4.5 miles in 36:45. Supposed to be a tempo run but it was hard to keep pace whether slow or hard so I was all over the place. Hills on the course might have been an issue.

Edit: that makes 21 miles for the week.

sobriquet

7.3 miles, 1:10:30.

sobriquet

Intervals, 6x300/300. Cut short by a torrential shower. Of course by the time I got changed the clouds parted and the sun shone brightly.

sobriquet

Yesterday:
3 miles @ ~26:30. Wrecked all day, not in the form for it at all.
Today:
3 miles @ 23:35.

I think on wednesday I bonked simply as a result of the miles I'm getting in since starting a proper routine. Not used to it. The previous week I did feck all, the week before that maybe 14 miles. Wasn't going to out at all until I started reading peoples' logs.

sobriquet

Saturday:
Hill training with T runner (another boardsie); great session on the mountain, got a good workout and a lot of valuable tips. Been a long time since I got DOMS in the quads this bad. (Love it though!)
Sunday:
~6 miles, ~55 minutes.

sobriquet

2008-06-24:
3 miles, 25:50

2008-06-26:
7x300/300 intervals, avg 70s sprint (previous week was 65s avg)

2008-06-28:
1.5 mile warmup, 4x 5min tempo runs, ~3.5 miles, 1 mile warmdown

Today:
7.5miles, 66 minutes (~8:45 pace)

sobriquet

2008-07-01:
Intervals; 800m warmup, 6x300m/300m, 800m warmdown. Murder, legs burning up quickly, lungs not far behind.

2008-07-02:
~4.5miles, 37:00. Felt tired, legs heavy.

2008-07-03:
~4.5miles, 36:44. Same route, felt better today.

Hopefully getting in a session on the mountain on Sat morning again.

sobriquet

2008-07-05
Hill session, pretty similar to the one on the 21st. ~54 minutes altogether.

2008-07-06
~8 miles, 67:23.

sobriquet

2008-07-08:
~4.5 miles, 37:17. Legs tired, didn't feel up to much. The weekend was tough.

2008-07-10:
6 miles, 46:28. Fast and tough (for me anyway), but felt capable and I'm not destroyed from it.

Resting yesterday seems to have helped too. Rest tomorrow, then back to the mountain Saturday morning. Thinking of signing up for the Dublin Marathon.

SUNGOD

hi sobriquet its about 15 weeks to dublin so you have plenty of time especially as your doing roughly 20/25 miles a week so you could easily slot in on one of the many marathon training programmes out there, i think my longest regular run was a 10 miler when i signed up for my first marathon and an avergage week would have been about the same 20/25 miles a week but i did double that as i progressed.i dont know what you want from the marathon , as in just to finish or do you have a goal time in your head either way is great.i suppose my only regret is that i was chasing times from my first marathon now dont get me wrong i loved it and in all honesty i would probabily do the same again if i had my time over but i missed a little of the occasion as i concentrated on time.
you only get one first marathon so enjoy it

sobriquet

Cheers SUNGOD. I've pretty much convinced myself to go for it, sure why not. I'm as fit as I've ever been at the moment so might as well while the getting is good. No time in mind, to enjoy it I think I'd have to discipline myself just to do it and finish it rather than bust a gut chasing a time.

sobriquet

2008-07-12
Went to go for a long run, bonked after two miles, walked home.

2008-07-13
An hours hill running session, about 4/5 miles total. Good tough session. Feels like it's getting a bit easier too.

2008-07-15
~4.5 miles, 36:42

2008-07-17
~6 miles, 49:02, legs felt stiff for most of it but still capable.

Been lax about things the past couple of weeks, especially with regard to getting marathon training schedule together. Another mountain session tomorrow.

sobriquet

2008-07-19
Mountain session. About 5/6 miles total, about an hours worth of running.

2008-07-20
~7.4 miles, 59:58.

sobriquet

2008-07-22:
~4.5 miles, 36:58

2007-07-24:
~6.5 miles, 57:49

2007-07-26:
8km road race, 37:42

2007-07-27:
~6 miles, 53:49

sobriquet

2008-07-29:
9.5 miles, 80:12
I'd meant to do a long run on Sunday but wasn't feeling up to it so did it here. Felt strong for the whole of it, no particular aches or pains as a result. Hopefully bodes well for the long runs.

2008-07-31:
~6 miles, 50 minutes
Most of the road route of an upcoming road/hill race. Some tough hills in it, felt good on them though.

sobriquet

2008-07-02:
~5 miles, 42:23
Included two 5 minute speed sections, maintaining a fast pace

2008-07-04:
~11.5 miles, 1:44:39
Longest run I've ever done, and the start of getting the long runs in for the marathon. Felt good overall though the last two miles or so were tough - could've been the heat too. Another element may be hydration and food - need to start thinking about this for the long runs. The first 6 miles or so were hilly, included an overall ascent of about 300 feet I think, if google maps is right - will prob try to avoid that sort of climbing in the future. Since then feel fine, no untoward aches or pains.

2008-07-06:
~3 miles, 23:37
Legs felt heavy, prob from Monday. Good otherwise, fast and hard but enjoyable.

---

The long run felt great, but funnily enough it's that last entry I'm as happy with as it used be my thrice-weekly jogging route, when I'd struggle to get home in under 26/27 minutes. I hate to tempt fate but today I felt like I had a bit to spare.

This is the ninth week of doing regular running - that is, 4/5 days per week, maintaining a volume of miles and incorporating different specific workouts - endurance, speed etc. I'm delighted with the results, and even this short time has seen massive improvement in my capabilities. The original plan is pretty much out the window and I'm going by feel by now, but it's still working so I'm not too worried.

sobriquet

2008-08-09:
8k 37:46

2008-08-12:
~10 miles, 89:21
Couldn't get a run in since Saturday so this had to do as this weeks long run, felt great all round though.

2008-08-13:
Intervals, didn't do too well with them though: 3x800, 1x600, didn't time recover too well either. Felt tough, prob ran them too fast.

This weeks been slightly ballsed up but so far so good. Hills tomorrow, then might need to get my next long run in on Saturday, which could be a lot to take on in a short space. I had a 13.5 mile route in mind. Easing off a bit next week until the hill race on 24th.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Hey sobriquet, some pretty decent times there. Have you run the full course for the Warriors yet?

sobriquet

I've not yet, don't think I'll get it done either before the day. The 10 mile time above includes running from town out to the base of the mountain, rathcarrick forest, and that was a safe enough pace so it's hopefully a decent indicator, some nice hills in it. I started out aiming for the 1:30 mark on the day but reckon I can go a good deal farther than that. Here's hoping anyway. You thinking of a time or anything yourself? Aiming to beat 1:18 at all? It'd be a great time to hit.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Not sure if I'll beat it this year, as the course seems to be a bit harder / take a bit longer this way around the mountain... I don't feel as prepared as I was last year and I'm over 5Kg heavier, but I'd like to get sub 1:20... It all depends on how I do this Saturday.
Also the first year I did it in 1:23 and I'd never done the whole course. Just try to get up near the front and keep pace with someone who looks fast :pac:

sobriquet

2008-08-15:
6.5 miles, 57:07
Ran fairly hard for 37 mins, walked 5, jogged the rest. Had meant to do a mountain run but torrential rain made that a dubious option. Stayed to the road.

2008-08-16:
13.5 miles, 2:10:06
Longest and toughest run ever. Sucked it out of me, but feels great to have done it. Last 20 minutes very hard. Experimented with taking food (a couple mini snickers) and sports drinks in, wasn't mad keen but no problems other a slight 'ugh' feeling. Weather stayed fairly dry despite torrential rain in the morning. Humid though.

Rest tomorrow, try and get a final go at the mountain Monday evening then nothing mental until race day next weekend.

Odysseus

Hi Sobriquet, just found your log now, great reading. What race are you doing next week is it the warriors?

sobriquet

Odysseus wrote: »

Hi Sobriquet, just found your log now, great reading. What race are you doing next week is it the warriors?

Cheers Odysseus. Yeah it's the Warriors, chomping at the bit to get into it at this stage, it's been on my mind so long. Don't think I replied to your own log by the way, the lapland report was amazing. Inspirational stuff, fair play to you.

sobriquet

2008-08-18:
Hard hill training session. Felt great, tough but doable. 6+ miles, 90 minutes odd with rest between reps etc.

2008-08-20:
~5 miles handy, 46:16

2008-08-22:
~5 miles handy, 43:53

2008-08-24:
Warriors Run, 15k, 1:28:04

The run was a bit of a disaster. Felt good and strong leading up to it, but about a mile or so in my stomach was cramping pretty badly and I couldn't seem to run through them. I'd slow to a walk but couldn't pick it back up. I think I must have overeaten over the weekend and left myself bloated. I've a much faster time in me for it, thinking I might try it some evening if it doesn't take from the marathon training.

It's a great race though, organization and atmosphere are great.

sobriquet

2008-08-26:
~6 miles, 50:19

2008-08-28:
15.5 miles, 2:34:10
Felt tough (humid weather too) but good, more capable than the 13.5 two weeks previous.

2008-09-02:
3 miles, 26:19
Get the legs working again after EP. EP was a good workout for my liver if that counts toward marathon training at all. cough

2008-09-03:
7.3 miles, 1:04:08

2008-09-04:
5 miles. 2 easy, 2 hard, 1 easy, running with a mate who's not been out in a long time.

17 miles planned for Saturday, route worked out, looking forward to it.