Here goes....

Bally8

No running since Wednesday. I seem to have lost all motivation for some reason:( On Friday I was supposed to do my usual 3.5 miles with a friend but she cancelled and I didnt bother going by myself. Usually I would have but I couldnt face going out in that biting cold so I went to the shop and bought a load of chocolate instead while my daughter was at Irish dancing.

Yesterday I was in Cork all day so didnt get a chance and today Im just too lazy and buzy again. Trying to print off my wedding invites at the moment but the stupid printer cant seem to handle my photo paper.

Im starting Hal Higdons 12 week spring training tomorrow. First day is a rest day so hopefully by Tuesday I will have my enthusiasm back and will be running/walking strong again

Bally8

Hal Higdon 12 week Spring Training- Day 1

Rest day

So I had a long hard think about it last night and Im definately back on track motivation wise. Eating healthy from today again. The plan for the spring training is to get used to training 5 days a week. At the moment I make it out 4 days some weeks and as few as 2 on other weeks. I need to fit 5 training sessions into my week at a consistent rate in order to even contemplate the 18 week training for the marathon.

So I wont be sticking fully to the perscribed distances on the spring training but I will be doing everything I can to make the 5 training sessions a week (even if I have to drag my daughter around with me sometimes)

Oh also I have at least another month of full time work thank god

Bally8

31st March - Day 2 HH Spring Training
Im supposed to do 1.5 miles but as Im still only walking 3 mins then running for 1 minute I decided to do 3.5miles with a friend.

Total miles in March- 59.6
Total since January - 147.3
Weight loss in March- 0- I actually put on 2lbs from very poor eating.

1st April - Day 3 Spring Training
Supposed to run 3 miles today but did 4 instead with my OH. Knee felt a bit sore but not sure if it was all in my mind.

2nd April- Day 4 Spring Training
Should have ran 1.5 miles but did 1.8 in 22 mins. Felt good the whole way round- no ITB bother.

3rd April- Day 5 Rest day
I usually do the 3.5 mile route with a friend on Fridays but she was busy so I decided to go with the perscribed rest day.

Im sooo thrilled to finally be following a plan the might eventually get me through the marathon in October- Yippie!!

Bally8

Day 6: Sat 4th April
Cross training day today so I walked for 30 minutes in the beautiful Tipperary countryside.

Day 7: Sun 5th April
3 miles on treadmill today. I did 3 mins walking/2 mins running. Delighted the knee didnt hurt at all. Im going to slowly slowly increase the running time and hopefully I'll be able to cut the walking out altogether in a few weeks time.

So thats the first week of Spring training completed- and yippie I managed to fit all the perscribed runs/walks into my week. I feel this is definitely achieveable now:):)

Next week I have a hospital appointment that could stop me exercising for a few days- fingers crossed it goes well though and I miss nothing :eek:

Bally8

Day 10 Wed 8th April
I wasnt able to fit in a session yesterday because of hospital appointment so I just added it on to todays walk/run. 4.5 miles in 54 mins- walking for 3 mins and running for 2. Good session, I enjoyed it.

Bally8

Thursday 9th April- Day 11 Spring Training
1.7 miles on treadmill. It took me 22 minutes, Im much slower on the treadmill yet find it way harder than out one the road- dont know what thats all about

Sunday 12th April- Day 14
Didnt get a chance to do my cross training yesterday as was really hungover and couldnt get off the couch until 3.30 then was mental busy all evening so I went for my 35 minute walk this morning instead. Came home stuffed my face with chocolate and the yummiest dinner I have eaten in ages (Im turning into a fab housewife type if I say so myself:))

This evening I did 3.6 miles on the treadmill. Still doing 3 minute walk then 2 min run but mixing it up a bit on treadmill by increasing the speed slightly to make it a bit interesting.

So thats Week 2 of Spring Training complete. This week wasnt the best for doing the runs on the correct days but I did fit them all in and my ITB is fine these days too. Its all good

Bally8

Day 16: Tuesday 14th April
2.5 miles with my OH and my daughter cycling along in front of us. I struggled all the way round- not with my ITB- just felt seriously uncomfortable and didnt enjoy a minute of it. I have never felt this way before during a run but I know people have off days and there will probably be a lot more before the marathon in October. I'll keep plodding along anyway- tomorrow will hopefully be much better.

Bally8

Day 18: Thursday 16th April
4.5 miles on the treadmill. Felt good nothing like Tuesdays out of sorts run. I was supposed to do 3 miles yesterday and 1.5 today but had visitors all day yesterday and was too tired for the 3 miles so did them today instead. I know this is not the best way to follow a training plan but this 12 weeks are all about finding out if it is possible for me to fit 5 training sessions a week into my life before I sign up for the marathon. So far I seem to be fitting in the training sessions but not always on the proper days. That will be my aim over the next few weeks.

Bally8

Day 19: Friday 17th April
Rest day today but I decided to do my 12 minutes for that new challenge on main page. I jogged for 3 mins walked for 1, jogged for 4 walked for 1 and jogged for 3. Realised Im definately getting stronger and think from now on I might push myself a bit harder on my short runs and try cutting the walking breaks a bit.

Bally8

Day 20 Sat 18th April
Cross training day today so I walked 3 miles in 40 minutes. Lovely lovely sunshine!

Day 21 Sunday 19th April
Im soo proud of myself. I think this morning shows that I am serious about the marathon. I was going to Cork for the day so set my alarm to get up early and get my run in first. Anyone who knows me would be totally amazed at that- I love my bed in the mornings so so much!

3 miles in 35 minutes. Last day of 3 min walk 2 min run.

Bally8

Day 22, 23, 24, 25: Mon 20th April- Thursday 23rd April

Monday was rest day and I really needed it- I was back to work after nearly 3 weeks off and I was wrecked after the day.

Tuesday was supposed to do 2 miles but did 3.5 with a friend. We were having a major chat so the pace was very slow- a lot more walking than running I afraid.

Wednesday I did my 3 miles and finally progressed to 3 min running/3 mins walking. It felt fine except for my puce face. I go sooo red its crazy.

Today Im supposed to do 1.5 miles but have no one to mind my daughter and her bike is at my boyfriends house so it looks like I will have to miss it. Might do it tomorrow which is supposed to be a rest day but at this stage I think the milage is so low that it wont make much of a difference.

Bally8

Day 26- Friday 24th April
As I didnt do my planned 1.5 miles yesterday I went out today and did my 3.5 mile route. Must find a few new routes as Im getting tired of the same ones all the time. Although I do like trying to beat my time every time I go out.

Day 27- Sat 25th April
Today is cross training day and the plan calls for a 30 minute walk. Its so horrible out I think I might do it on the treadmill.

Bally8

Day 28: Sunday 26th April
4 miles on treadmill. Really enjoyed it which is weird as the treadmill had been boring me recently. I felt fit and strong throughout. Also I pushed the tempo at times and felt better at a slightly faster speed than normal when I ran. Dont know what thats about- is there any possibility that I have been jogging too slow?

I feel I could be doing more than my 3 min walk/3 min routine but Im still too nervous about ITB to push harder.

Not really sure what to do so Ill continue adding a minute of running each week for now anyway.

Bally8

Day 30: Tuesday 28th April
3.5 miles. Decided to push myself and did 4 minutes of running for each 3 minutes of walking. It was fine, no real bother at all, just the major red face to contend with.

Day 31: Wednesday 29th April
4.5 miles with my OH. Another good run/walk. Im feeling fitter and fitter.Its great.

Today, Day 32.
Should be doing 2 miles today but no babysitter so I will do it tomorrow morning instead. I have a hectic weekend so will have to move all the persecribed sessions around to fit them in. Im 30 tomorrow- aaagh!!

April summary:
April total: 59.2 miles
Total since January: 206.5
Stayed the same weight this month- still eating like a pig!!

Bally8

Ugh- just starting to feel normal again this morning. I had a weekend of drunken over indulgence which has left me wrecked. Hopefully I will get a babysitter this evening and get my 4 miles done for Amadeus.

Since I last posted:
Friday 1st May
Ran/walked 2.5 miles. Was delighted with this as it was the fastest I've been since the ITB injury last November. 10 and a half minute miles- still slow but getting quicker and fitter I feel.

Saturday 2nd May
4 mile walk with my OH. It was a lovely morning and he had me flying up killer hills. Delighted to get my cross training in before the food and the boozefest that followed.

Sunday 3rd May
Soooooooooo sick. I cant remember the last time I had a hangover like this. 30s hangovers suck. Lay on couch for most of the day. Drinking and marathon training do not work- I dont see myself doing much of the drinking from now on. Great weekend though.

Bally8

Havent had much time to keep log up to date recently.

Since last time..
Monday 4th -Sunday 10th May
I didnt manage to get any exercise in on the Monday- was still wrecked and had no sitter. On Tuesday I was ready to return to my HH Spring Training so did 3.5 miles nice and slowly with a friend.

Wednesday I was planning on doing 4.5 miles but met a few cows munching by the side of the road and didnt fancy my chances in a race with them so I turned for home a little earlier than planned. Next thing I bumped into my aunt who wanted a chat so that disrupted the whole running flow thing I had got going:).

Friday I did 2.5 miles with 3 mins of walking and 5 minutes of running. Face nearly exploded but I enjoyed it anyway and ignored any stares I got from concerned passer bys.

Didnt get a chance to do my cross training walk this Saturday but I think a few hours walking round the shops sort of counts.:rolleyes:

Yesterday I did 4.5 miles, it was glorious out and I pushed hard and managed a nice quick (for me) time.

So now its the start of Week 7. Hopefully I will stick to each training session this week. Im a bit depressed tho- I lost my engagement ring yesterday and have thorn my house upside down looking for it.

Bally8

Good news- I found my ring- wel my daughter found it- almost exactly where I left it!!!

Anyway back to the jogging-
Tuesday 12th May
4 miles run/walk with a friend- started off well but again the talking took away from our focus and the time was very very slow

Wednesday 13th May
4.5 miles run/walk on my own. First time listening to music while jogging in ages and it was great. It actually made me run longer distances between walking breaks as I kept saying to myself 'I'll wait till the end of this song' and then I would wait for another. Great session- I have myself down to 10:30 per mile- not fantastic but a great improvement for me.

Thursday 14th May
Should have done 2 miles today but was supervising an exam in the morning and had no baby sitter so decided to leave it until Friday

Friday 15th May
2.5 miles today. Again I did longer jogging bits between walking breaks. Even though a friend who was passing in their car stopped me for a chat and I forgot to stop my stopwatch for at least 2 minutes I managed to do the distance in my quickest time since I got injured. Happy days.

Will probably go out again with my friend tonight for a leisurely 3 or 4 miles.

Bally8

Friday 15th May
Went out for a second time and did 4 miles with my mate. We were more focused on the running today so did the route 3 minutes quicker.

Saturday 16th May
Was too lazy and not interested in getting soaked so I didnt do my cross training. Found it very easy not to do it which is kind of worrying. I hope I dont skip training sessions so easily when Im doing the marathon training!

Sunday 17th May
Managed to squeeze 3 miles into a very very busy day. Was tempted to skip it but knew that it could be the start of a very slipper slope of laziness for me so I made sure to get out the door.

Bally8

Week 8
Tuesday 19th May- 4 miles slow jog/walk. Got totally soaked right through to my knickers!! We felt like superheros though- battling the wind and rain. Great fun. Made me feel like a totally hardcore runner

Wednesday 20th May- 4.8 miles in glorious sunshine! Did 3 minutes walk, 5 min run for the route and managed it in a pretty good time.

Thursday 21st May - 2.5 miles - really pushed myself hard for this one. Did 2:30 walking bits and then 6 minutes of real proper running repetitions. Fastest I've gone since I got injured last November. Just over 10 minute miles.

Friday 22nd May- 4 miles at a very lesiurely pace, 3 minute walk 4 minutes jog. The plan calls for less milage that what I've been doing but I really see these 12 weeks as a time for trying to get myself fit for the 18 week marathon training so I think its ok to be doing more than the plan asks for.

Bally8

Sat 23rd May
2.4 mile cross training walk by Lough Derg- absoloutly uplifting, glorious sunshine.

Sunday 24th May
I did my 12 minutes for LeChelie's Cooper test first today- was up bright an early to get my workout in so I could spend the rest of the day relaxing. Totally weird for me as I LOVE my bed soooo much! Im truly bitten by this running bug. Anyway I managed to run the whole 12 minutes comfortably which is a vast improvement on when I first did it a few weeks ago.

I took a little break and then did 5 miles more on the treadmill. It took me nearly an hour but I felt good throughout and did it in 2 minute walking 5 minute jogging blocks. Again Im thinking of a few weeks back when I was doing 5 minutes of walking for every 1 minute of running. Im thrilled with my progress:)

Week 8 of HH Spring Training completed- 23.9 miles this week.

Bally8

Week 9 -so far:
My daughter developed this crazy attitude problem on Tuesday so I grounded her. Unfortunatley I forgot the only chance I get to run on Tuesdays is when she is at Irish dancing so I shot myself in the foot on that one.

Wed- 4 miles nice and slowly with my friend- more walking and talking than running!

Thurs- 4.5 miles with my boyfriend. Again more walking than running as he has a chest infection and couldnt breath.

Fri- WOOOOOHOOOO 3 miles in 29 minutes. I think thats the fastest I've ever gone. I did 6 min running and 2 minutes walking around the route. Whoop Whoop!!!

Bally8

Started to feel awful Friday afternoon and quickly progressed onto a full blown flu. I've been feeling terrible since and havent been able to run- I can barely muster up the energy to talk. Feeling a bit better today so might try a walk later. Hopefully I'll re-start my Spring Training tomorrow with a 3 mile walk/run.

Munster_Gal

Bally8 wrote: »

Started to feel awful Friday afternoon and quickly progressed onto a full blown flu. I've been feeling terrible since and havent been able to run- I can barely muster up the energy to talk. Feeling a bit better today so might try a walk later. Hopefully I'll re-start my Spring Training tomorrow with a 3 mile walk/run.

Ah ya poor thing Hope ya feel better soon

Bally8

Munster_Gal wrote: »

Ah ya poor thing Hope ya feel better soon

Thanks Munster_Gal, well done on completing the Mini Marathon-i bet the heat was a killer! Enjoy your holiday

Bally8

Oh also I didnt manage to do anything last night but was feeling a bit better today so did my 3 mile route in 29:30. Really happy with that considering my flu and the heat. I was purple for about 2 hours afterwards

littlebug

What speed do you do on the treadmill Bally8? I'm still struggling to keep my3 mile route under 30 mins even though I can run (jog) it all.

Bally8

littlebug wrote: »

What speed do you do on the treadmill Bally8? I'm still struggling to keep my3 mile route under 30 mins even though I can run (jog) it all.

I mostly do my run/walks outside. I find I go much faster on the road than on the treadmill for some reason. I have a few routes around the town that I have measured. When I do use the treadmill I vary the speed from 5.5 mph to 6. I havent been able to go past 6 yet. My treadmill measures in miles per hour. I do my walking breaks at 4.5mph.

Its very weird because last year I used to run with no walking breaks but I got lazy and stopped running for months. Now Im still not able to run continuously but my times are faster than when I did.

Bally8

I also did 4.5 miles on Thursday in the blistering heat. Found it tough but was delighted with my time - 46 minutes. Still doing 2 mins walking and 6 minutes of jogging. Hope to move up to 7 minute jogging sections next week.

Im supposed to do a half hour walk today for my cross training but I really really dont want to go out in that rain for a measly half hour walk. I think I will do a short run on the treadmill instead.

Bally8

Sunday 7th June
5.5 miles on treadmill. 3 minutes walking and 7 minutes running. It took me 63:30minutes in total which I'm happy with. I really enjoyed it today for some reason. Felt good the whole time. My new runners felt really good too. This week was very mixed for me as I missed a run and didnt do my cross training yesterday. On the other hand I did 3 great runs in which I really pushed myself and could see how much Im improving. Nearing the end of Spring Training now. Im really looking forward to starting the actual marathon training at end of the month.

Bally8

Week 11 Spring Training
Monday - rest day
Tuesday -3 leisurely miles.
Wednesday - 5.2 miles. Happy with this run. Did 2 minutes walking and 7 minutes running throughout. Felt strong in the running sections. Was very hot again though.

Passed 300 miles total for this year so far. Woohoo