Berlin or bust...

rainbow kirby

Treat yourself to a nice glass (or bottle) of red wine, you've earned it

Emer911

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Well done Emer super performance, must remember the straw in the future - haven't used one since a bad experience with bendy ones and way too many Barcardi breezers many moons ago!

Hmm, sounds like there might be a good story there.

Yeah, the straws were a brilliant idea. The main challenge was to keep hold on them. The OH went off with his too, tucked safely into his gel belt, but they were gone before he got to the first water station! oops! :rolleyes:
I zipped mine into the pocket of my gel belt, and though they stuck out a bit, it worked well for me. I was perfectly well hydrated all the way around (and I guess the rain helped too!)

village runner

Congrats. Good to see one of ye getting a negative split.;);)

Emer911

village runner wrote: »

Congrats. Good to see one of ye getting a negative split.;);)

Ah sure I'm learning from ye pro's!
Now if I could only run like ye...:rolleyes:

Emer911

The plan for the week.
Out of habit I though I'd stick in the plan for the coming week... Week 0 - The week after the marathon
...no point in getting sloppy at this stage. :rolleyes:

Monday | Rest
Tuesday | Rest
Wednesday | Rest
Thursday |2 miles easy
Friday | Swim
Saturday | 2 miles or Rest (as dictated by the body!)
Sunday | 1 hour / 6 miles easy

donothoponpop

Well done Emer!

Emer911 wrote: »

The plan for the week.
Out of habit I though I'd stick in the plan for the coming week... Week 0 - The week after the marathon
...no point in getting sloppy at this stage. :rolleyes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPw-3e_pzqU

Peckham

Congrats again Emer, and great to meet you yesterday.

You're clearly hooked if you're already thinking about training again. I can't even think about running again!

opus

Great run Emer, have you already starting thinking about the next one yet Nice to have met you afterwards as well.

jcsmum

Well done Emer! Great achievement & great report (as usual)

runrabbit

Congrats Emer! Fantastic report!

shazkea

Emer911 wrote: »

Thanks shazkea. Think it's WAY TOO early to start trying to cajole me into another marathon - the pain is all too real today! Nothing permanent, I know, but it's definitely being felt :P

Ask me again another time.... maybe.... :rolleyes:

Hope the aches and pains are fading away and you're enjoying the rest. Yup will be back to hassle you again for a certain sign-up :P

Do have a question for you now you're an experienced marathoner - was marathon marked in km and how did you find it swapping from miles. Barca is marked in km as far as I know and I train in miles (even the limited amount I'm doing now). Just wondering is it worth swapping over to km now and getting used to it.

misty floyd

Well done Emer. Great race from ya.

Emer911

shazkea wrote: »

Do have a question for you now you're an experienced marathoner - was marathon marked in km and how did you find it swapping from miles. Barca is marked in km as far as I know and I train in miles (even the limited amount I'm doing now). Just wondering is it worth swapping over to km now and getting used to it.

Good question Shazkea, I had some concerns about that myself.
I ended up printing a pace band (2 actually:rolleyes:) in km's, but leaving my garmin in miles. I ran to the miles pace /time and just used the pace band when ever I saw a marker. It was more as a distraction than anything, really. I think it kept me busy for the last few miles which probably helped!

I think if I'd switched to km's on the watch, and saw my pace at 6:xx it'd have put me off my stride (I'm used to seeing 9:xx or 10:xx )

If you were running for a specific time, and the pace really mattered, then I guess it might be helpful to switch entirely to km's, but I'd suggest you stick with what you know?

...and for the record, I'm still nowhere NEAR being an 'experienced' marathon runner. One swallow does not a summer make!

Emer911

Training log this week so far :cool:

Monday Rest
Tuesday Rest
Wednesday Rest

...that was fairly easy

Thursday 2 miles easy on the grass in the park.
The legs were still a bit tired and heavy, but there's no blisters / soreness / issues lingering, so I'm happy with that.
The run was fine. That's about all I can say about it. I was glad to be out there again, but it was a bit of a slog to get around (and it was just 2 miles!). The grass was nice and soft though, and the legs are definitely felling better every day.

Summary

2.15 miles in 00:21:06
Avg Pace: 09:50 min/mi

...I'll have to think about that log title now that I've got to Berlin without busting!:p
Or maybe I'll leave it, as a memento of my first major running milestone?:rolleyes:

RayCun

You should keep the log until you decide on your next target(s)

shazkea

Emer911 wrote: »

Good question Shazkea, I had some concerns about that myself.
I ended up printing a pace band (2 actually:rolleyes:) in km's, but leaving my garmin in miles. I ran to the miles pace /time and just used the pace band when ever I saw a marker. It was more as a distraction than anything, really. I think it kept me busy for the last few miles which probably helped!

I think if I'd switched to km's on the watch, and saw my pace at 6:xx it'd have put me off my stride (I'm used to seeing 9:xx or 10:xx )

If you were running for a specific time, and the pace really mattered, then I guess it might be helpful to switch entirely to km's, but I'd suggest you stick with what you know?

...and for the record, I'm still nowhere NEAR being an 'experienced' marathon runner. One swallow does not a summer make!

Cheers for that and no my pace won't really matter...as long as I'm still moving I'd be happy!!
If I moved to km I would be really confused. I think I only ever saw 6:xx on my garmin when it was in km - prob would drop in shock (or a heart attack) if I touched that when in miles!

As being experienced marathon runner - you've done a marathon in a really good time which is more than me. Therefore in my book you are an experienced marathoner!! Simples!

Emer911

Went for a nice "loosen it up" swim on Friday evening with the family! Very chilled, but can't really be classed as exercise / cross training. Think I only got about 10 - 12 lengths of a 25 mt pool, which felt really short compared to Glenalbyn. The rest of the time was 'fun time' with the kids.


Today - LSR(?!)
6 miles with a friend. We did the mine hill lane lane but turned back before the hill at the end of the road (yea I'm a wuss! ) It was a lovely morning and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was great to be out there.
It's really rare that I get to run with anyone so that was a welcome change and a fantastic distraction. I didn't feel the time go, and we were up and over the hills without even noticing. I'll definitely try to nab her for a long run again! :P

The legs felt great - no tiredness or niggles at all - so I think I'll do the HH follow-on program for the next few weeks until I set myself my next target.


Summary

6 miles in 01:00:38
Avg Pace: 10:03 min/mi

Emer911

My marathon finishing treat for myself - bought a new pair of runners today. I'm an assics girl and got the new Nimbus 12's. They're pink! (I'm such a girlie sometimes:P)

Emer911

I've decided to do Hals Post Marathon training guide for the next 4 weeks, which is a gradual build up and ends with a 5K or 10K race (around 31st October Anybody got any suggestions?)

Taining Plan for the week

Monday |Cross 30 min (Swim)
Tuesday |3 m run
Wednesday |Yoga
Thursday |3 x 1 mile repeats (mar pace)
Friday |Rest
Saturday |Tempo 30 min
Sunday| 45-75 min

I haven't really done (any) mile repeats before and I've only dabbled in the tempo thing, so this should be an interesting week... :rolleyes:

littlebug

Emer you're my new guru:). I've been reading back through your taper weeks to see what you did, what pmp miles etc

Emer911

littlebug wrote: »

Emer you're my new guru:). I've been reading back through your taper weeks to see what you did, what pmp miles etc

GURU? Good god don't put that kind of pressure on me!

Hope you enjoy reviewing my log. Thinking back, I know I felt a bit cr*ppy for the last week or so, but hey, it all worked out ok in the end.

Good luck with the taper.

I'll be in cheering on you hearty souls in the DCM. You'll have to let me know what you're wearing or put your name on your shirt so I'll know to give you a shout as you pass.

littlebug

Emer911 wrote: »

GURU? Good god don't put that kind of pressure on me!

Hope you enjoy reviewing my log. Thinking back, I know I felt a bit cr*ppy for the last week or so, but hey, it all worked out ok in the end.

Good luck with the taper.

I'll be in cheering on you hearty souls in the DCM. You'll have to let me know what you're wearing or put your name on your shirt so I'll know to give you a shout as you pass.

Sometimes it's easier to learn from someone who's just a page ahead in the book. What you did over the last few weeks obviously worked well!

shotgunmcos

Well done in Berlin, impressive neg split run!

Emer911

Monday - nothing...

Tuesday - back to the plan. 3 miles easy running called for, but I had a 'one of those days' and just wanted to let loose. Ran way too fast for the 1st mile but gradually slowed the pace to 'easy' towards the end.

First run in the dark (since last spring), and first run in my new shoes. The shoes were great - really spongy - but the dark wasn't so good. I hadn't intended going out so late so didn't have a route planned. Improvised, but wasn't really loving the route. Still, I did it and didn't trip or run into anyone or anything :rolleyes:

Summary

3.6 miles in 00:33:56
Avg Pace: 09:26 min/mi

shazkea

Well done on the "recovery/easy" run

Did you manage to find a 10km for the end of Oct? I can't make the Donadea 10km I planned to looking for an alternate. I can't find any until end of November.

Emer911

shazkea wrote: »

Did you manage to find a 10km for the end of Oct? I can't make the Donadea 10km I planned to looking for an alternate. I can't find any until end of November.

No joy yet Shazkea. Looking like the end of November for me too... Or possibly a half marathon in December instead. No rush, I'm still deciding...
Let me know if you find anything?

Emer911

Wednesday
Back to yoga after being more or less un-stretched for about a month - hard work, painful, but worth it. :rolleyes:

Thursday
3x1 mile repeats were planned, but my knee is still feeling a bit achy so decided to just run the 5 miles steady (on the grass) and leave the speed work until Saturday, or next week. No point in rushing back into the training if the body isn't ready.

So I headed to the park for some grassy running. Did most of the run on the grass, but it was pitch black for the last mile so I had to move out to the road for that. The knee was fine when I was running, and even feels a bit better after it!? Cool.:cool:

Summary

5.25 miles in 00:52:39
Avg Pace: 10:02 min/mi

Emer911

Friday - Rest day.

Saturday
30 min tempo run was in the plan, but I just went out to run about 3 miles. Still not pushing the speedwork until the knee (et all) is all better. Felt grand today though, so I'll probably go for it next week.

I got a toot and a wave from 2 guys in a big white van when I was out running today. Now that was weird!

While in the park, I stopped to pick up a youngster off the tarmac. He came a cropper while he and his friends were practising 'side-skids' on their bikes. They were only about 9 or so:rolleyes: He was Ok though, just a bit mucky.
Another one had ripped the entire ass out of his trousers on a previous stunt (and was very proud of it! ). Kids eh?
Bet their mammy's will be glad with the state of them when they get home!

Nice run though. Lovely sunny morning.

Summary

3 miles in 00:27:40
Avg Pace: 09:13 min/mi

Emer911

Sunday LSR
Ahh, it's good to be back! 8 miles today and it all felt great. No niggles, no tired legs, just good honest running fun.

I didn't get out until later than usual, so at about 14:30 I hit the road, probably a bit overdressed as it looked a bit cool out there. Wasn't that cool at all, but the sea was WILD and it was just gorgeous running down the promenade.
The problem with heading out so late, though, and running in a scenic spot, is the number of casual walkers out and about. If I shouted "Excuse Me" once, I must've shouted it a hundred times!? :rolleyes:

It was a lovely day for it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's good to be doing some decent miles again (never thought I say that!)

Summary

8 miles in 01:18:36
Avg Pace: 09:49 min/mi

Emer911

This weeks plan

Monday |Cross 30-40 min
Tuesday |4 m run
Wednesday |3 x mile (10-K pace)
Thursday| 4 m run
Friday |Rest
Saturday |Tempo 35 min
Sunday |60-90 min

Not starting out well though. Monday was a write-off. On antibiotics and feeling wretched all day, so gave my usual swim a miss. Hopefully should be ok tomorrow... fingers crossed :rolleyes:


Still looking for nice 10k around mid November, if anyone has any suggestions?

Emer911

Tuesday 4 miles easy / steady.
Dark, dark, dark! I'm never all that comfortable running in the dark - afraid I'm going to trip up - so I know my style and pace are definitely off. I just don't feel relaxed running when I can't see where I'm going.

This temerity comes from tripping in a pothole a few years ago in the pitch black and tearing up my ankle ligaments. It took weeks to get it back to running order, and still swelled up after each run for about another 6 weeks. All's well now, but it was a real pain (in more ways than one) for a bit!

So I stuck to the mostly lit roads around the village for my 4 miles. Not the most scenic or enjoyable running route, but it serves the purpose. :rolleyes:

Summary

4 miles in 00:38:45
Avg Pace: 09:40 min/mi

Emer911

I've increased my training paces across the board in line with my next big goal. My recent marathon time indicates a 2:05 HM, so I'm pushing the boat out - Sub 2 hour half marathon.
I haven't signed up for one yet, but I'm going to do the training anyway. The 4 week post marathon plan I'm on at the moment finishes with a suggested 5K or 10K race, and I'll look to signing up for a HM after that.

So for a 1:58 HM the training pace times suggested by McMillan are:

Endurance Workouts| Pace/Mile |Pace/K
Recovery Jogs| 11:00 to 11:30 |6:50 to 7:09
Long Runs| 10:00 to 11:00| 6:13 to 6:50
Easy Runs| 10:00 to 10:30| 6:13 to 6:32

Stamina Workouts| Pace/Mile |Pace/K
Steady-State Runs| 9:01 to 9:17 |5:36 to 5:46
Tempo Runs | 8:38 to 9:01 |5:22 to 5:36
Tempo Intervals | 8:31 to 8:49 |5:18 to 5:29

Ambitious (for me) but if you don't try... :rolleyes:

littlebug

Emer I think you've been getting naturally faster lately anyway. I don't think you'll have any problem with those times at all

RayCun

+1, that'll be no bother to you

Emer911

Wednesday was a gonner. Yoga was cancelled at very short notice so I was not a happy bunny :mad:

Thursday: 3 x 1 mile repeats at 10K pace. As the 10K pace for this training plan is 8:31 /mi I just looked at that and laughed to myself "...well that's not going to happen!". I decided to just head out and do the mile repeats as best I could, but I wasn't going to beat myself up to hit the 10K pace!
It was about 8:00pm when I got going, so the question as to where to run was a difficult one. I eventually settled on a well-ish lit, flat-ish route, but it wasn't exactly ideal. But beggers can't be choosers... :rolleyes:

Did my warm up mile and then upped the pace for the next mile. It was slightly downhill for most of that mile, then walk break for 4 minutes or so and the second mile was mostly uphill (see - not ideal!). Another few minutes rest and the third mile was up and down, not as well lit, but ok generally. Another mile warm down and home.

Looking at my pace afterwards I was DELIGHTED! The splits for the 3X 1 miles were:
08:25 08:38 08:20

Woo Hoo! I seriously didn't think I'd get near to that, so I'm thrilled!?!

Summary

5.56 miles in 00:56:28
Average Pace 10:09 min/mi

Emer911

Friday - Rest day. Ate too much! Ho hum...

Saturday
35 min Tempo run. The tempo pace (a la McMillan) is supposed to be 8:38 to 9:01 (for a 1:58 HM). Before Thursdays run, I'd be laughing out the side of my sleeve at those paces, but now I know I can hit that pace for 3 miles (with breaks) so I felt confident I could do it for this run.

So I ran a warm-up and then picked up the pace, trying to keep it even and incremental. Don't know if I got it (Tempo) right, but it felt ok. Definitely hard work, and the breathing was laboured towards the end. (I must get myself a HRM... it'd have been interesting reading I think!)
The last 10 minutes or so was cool down, and I just kept going to take the mileage to 4 miles.

Pace wise, I ended up running the middle mile and a half in 12:52, or at an ave pace of 08:39 for the mile and 08:26 for the half mile. Very happy with that!

Lovely morning for a run too. It's my favourite time of year - it was bright and sunny, with that cold 'fresh' feeling. I just love that.

Summary

4.01 miles in 00:36:39
Avg Pace: 09:08 min/mi

claralara

Hey Emer, just catching up on your log and the Berlin report. Well done on an amazing achievement! I'm delighted for you. Great to see you're straight back in and at it already, some inspiration! Congrats again!

Krusty_Clown

Good to see you're not slacking off, while the coach is out of town On the road to Yosemite at the moment. Just 150 miles to go.

Emer911

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Good to see you're not slacking off, while the coach is out of town

LOL.

Me - Slacking off? Never!!

Hope Yosemite was everything you were hoping for...

Emer911

Sunday
Being a single parent for the week :rolleyes: meant I was pushed for time - and it was a late one too! So I ended up going out for my run after I put the chicken in the oven and had to be back to take it out... Life eh?
But I'll take what I can get!! Got 6.5 miles in so happy enough with that.

Summary

6.55 miles in 01:06:34
Avg Pace: 10:09 min/mi

Emer911

This weeks plan

Monday |Cross 30-40 min Rest
Tuesday |5 m run
Wednesday |3 x mile (5 K pace = 8:13/mi)
Thursday| 5 m run
Friday |Rest
Saturday |Tempo 40 min
Sunday |90 min

Yoga on Wednesday maybe, so if I can make that I'll move the repeats to Thursday and drop the 5 mile.

RacoonQueen

Have yee booked your trip to Barcelona yet? :pac:

Emer911

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Have yee booked your trip to Barcelona yet? :pac:

LOL - no pressure, right?

RacoonQueen

Emer911 wrote: »

LOL - no pressure, right?

Course not. It's perfect time though, I mean, pretty much bang on 6 months after Berlin it makes it a perfect time for you to run your second marathon. You should suggest it to the clown, bet he'd think it's a great idea. :pac:

shazkea

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Have yee booked your trip to Barcelona yet? :pac:

Great suggestion RQ - I'm saying no more on the matter though Emer as I wouldn't want to pressure you....

Subliminal message...Go on book it, you know you want to run in Barcelona

Emer911

Gheesh... you guys?!:rolleyes:

Well, we're actually thinking of doing something a bit different in the first half of next year. Have a look here :cool:

(with me doing the half and the clown going ocean to ocean)

That's the plan at the moment. If that doesn't happen then who knows?

Emer911

Tuesday
Mom's taxi had a fare to football, football lasts about an hour and as I had 5 miles to do - perfect timing! So dropped him off and headed down Newtownpark ave towards Blackrock, up Mount Merrion Ave and finished the loop via the N11.

Interesting run...
Bit's along the N11 were cycle lane only, so that was a bit scary as millions of cyclist sped past me up the hill. (I might be exaggerating there!)
And lots of traffic (well it was around rush hour)
And stop-starting at all the lights (love that!)

Still, felt comfortable throughout, even with the hills, so I'll take it!

Summary

5.01 miles in 00:48:32
Avg Pace: 09:41 min/mi

shazkea

Emer911 wrote: »

Gheesh... you guys?!:rolleyes:

Well, we're actually thinking of doing something a bit different in the first half of next year. Have a look here :cool:

(with me doing the half and the clown going ocean to ocean)

That's the plan at the moment. If that doesn't happen then who knows?

Emer don't put links like that up - it only plants seeds in my head. The course profile for the half looks "interesting" :eek:

Emer911

shazkea wrote: »

Emer don't put links like that up - it only plants seeds in my head. The course profile for the half looks "interesting" :eek:

Interesting is right. I'll have to get some serious hill training in before I attempt that one!

...like I said, it's a vague idea at the moment, rather than a plan, but I'll keep you posted

Emer911

Wednesday
Back at yoga, hopefully on a more consistent basis now. I've signed up (and paid for) the next 6 weeks, so there's the push! The course will be concentrating on core strength, so it should complement my running nicely.
Great to be back at it, and I'm feeling the 'benefits' today! :P

Thursday
I didn't think I'd get to go out today - the kids activities were conspiring against me, but Granny took care of one and a lift swap ("I'll drop them and you collect") took care of the other. Phew! So I actually got out at about 7:40 or so.
It was cold and dark, but not as cold as Tuesday and it felt good to be out there. The plan was to do 3 x 1 mile repeats at 5K pace. Now the 5K pace for this plan is actually 08:13 /mi :eek: so I wasn't really looking forward to that!?
Did my warm-up mile and picked up the pace. Found it REALLY tough, and the middle third of the mile was uphill, which was just peachy. Didn't hit 8:13, came in at 8:24 .
The second fast mile was a similar profile, with the middle third uphill, but the last third was a distinct downhill, so I picked up some speed on that one. Again didn't get 8:13, but got close at 8:16.
Third mile was flat, or even slightly downhill. I actually did this one in 8:04!? :eek:
Now if only all miles were flat

Repeats were
08:24 / 08:16 / 08:04

Much needed walk breaks for about 4 minutes between repeats, and another mile(ish) cooldown.

VERY TOUGH HARD session, but I'm really glad I did it and I did surprise myself. Onwards and upwards.

Summary

5.5 miles in 00:54:28
Avg Pace: 09:54 min/mi