Confessions of a Comrade Cailin

hot to trot

The time to stop shuffling from marathon to marathon and start some proper regular training has come.:eek:

I only discovered these training log things today, so hope I can embarrass myself into some sort of positive outcome.Not really sure how they work? but am going to use it as a diary of sorts to bully myself into getting my rapidly expanding bum out the door.

Some background...
I started running from scratch ( nil in school or anywhere previous)in April 08 and on the back of 3-4 runs per week have finished 10 marathons and 2 ultras ( 50k and 24 hour) since April 09. After Barcelona I was encouraged to run less marathons and work on pace but this approach meant I didnt even get my bum out the door for two weeks so unmotivated was I by shaving a few minutes off a 10 k or half marathon. Didnt inspire me at all. But within 2 days I had entered the Portumna 50k and so intimidated was I by this distance that I was out almost daily for at least a few weeks. Fear works for me .
Comfortable running pace was 10mm once I got going and since I finished proper regular training in June for the Portumna 50k I havent run regularly since. No speedwork or even anything easy.(Locality for running also changed and I live in a much flatter area now so will have to drive to run hills.) I did 2 marathons and the 24 hour event within 5 weeks with barely a single training mile between them. Last one was a wake up call that I need to do SOMETHING if I am not to just waste all the effort I put in earlier in the year.

Needing fear to motivate me out the door meant another Ultra. I got into COMRADES "UP" next May and if I am to make the cutoff and not die on the side of the road in South Africa , training has to start now.:D
Am down for the Venice marathon in October and if I can get over a bridge phobia , will use this as my qualifying time for the Comrades seeding pens. If I cant it will have to be Dublin the day after.
I have always wanted to get a sub 4 marathon but seem to be getting further away from it, so with endurance already in the legs the plan is to go hard at the speedwork and start hills to try and claw back some time/pace improvement .
I used Heart monitoring successfully in the first year and this year I have been less disciplined and find that when I do run I am tending to run more in the midrange. It just dawned on me today that I am falling between two stools and not really training wisely. So plan is ...

• Get back into disciplined training with speedwork, lsr's and hills done at proper effort levels.
• Get back down to first marathon weight ( 7 lbs lighter)
• NO less than 4 runs a week. These are not to be Thurs, Fri, Sat , Sun!!!:o
• Try and work out from schedule when lsr's coincide with marathons and these to be done at correct training pace.:rolleyes:
• NO Internet until the days run is done.:eek:

This will end up being a long personal ramble but I just need the possibility of it being read to force me into keeping the training going .

Max heart rate for me is 194, resting is about 52ish, heart rates are in brackets.

So today it started....

1 mile warm up 9:49 ( 146).+6 yassos with 3 mins rest between.hr at end of interal was usually about 190

7:34 ( 175 avg) .3 M rest ( 168)
7:26 ( 179) .29M (171)
7:20 ( 184) .27 M (171)
7:33( 182) .27 ( 171)
7:36( 184) .25 (166)
7.34(181) .28 (171)

recovery 1 mile at( 159ish).

distance covered during the rest periods depended on whether I had to walk at first or could stay running slowly.


Into gym then and onto treaddie and did walks at 6kph
2 mins @3%
2mins @ 6%
2 mins @ flat
2 mins @ 9%
2 mins @ flat
2 mins @ 12%
2 mins @ flat
2 mins @ 9 %
2 mins @flat
2 mins @ 6%
2 mins @ 3%
2 mins backward walk at 4kph.

Some stretching.

Plan for tomorrow is to resist the connemara marathon next weekend , which I am dying to try after all the talk about it. Settle for an empathy half marathon distance LSR not going above 75% WHR and sticking to 70% as much as I can . Venice pal is doing the Glasgow half tomorrow and I want to be there in spirit with her.

Next week? ????? Better come up with a plan quick

Foxx92

Good luck with the log and your future runs.

hot to trot wrote: »

• NO Internet until the days run is done.:eek:

I'm going to start a log in the next week and think I'll steal this idea off you! Very good motivation to get the run in good and early!

rainbow kirby

Good luck! Totally jealous of you doing Comrades, that would be one of my bucket list races - I would love to do it.

Krusty_Clown

Looking forward to following this one, hot to trot. Best of luck. Would hope to do the comrades too some time. I'd be fired if I followed your no internet policy. Maybe I should stop using the internet after my run!

hot to trot

hahaha Krusty. I waste soo much time that I dont have on the internet that I regularly use up my already sparse running time.
Today was "pants"

Had planned on a 13.1 but ended up doing only 10M. From about 7 miles I was debating the merits of stopping at 10 versus continuing in a struggle to 13. I wasnt enjoying it much. Tried hard to keep heart rate to 70% ish and was tired all over. At this effort my pace was slower than it ever was since I started and was about 10:30mm. I reckon my body was still tired after the hard marathon last week and I was hungry too.

I remembered that this time last month I was getting nervous about the 24hour. My run today felt like I was at 75miles all over again.
Then just for fun, my Garmin ran out of battery and I finally decided that another 3 tomorrow was better served than a miserable 3 tagged onto the end of a tiring run for this week anyway.

10M 1:42 avg pace 10.07 avg HR ( 151) 70%WHR

Blueskye

Will be keeping an interested eye on your log Hot to Trot, would love to do some longer stuff in the next few years.

hot to trot

Running latertonight but I wanted to log this in case I couldnt remember it, and I can have it when I need it later in the year when I need motivation...

Even when you have gone as far as you can, and everything hurts, and you are staring at the specter of self-doubt, you can find a bit more strength deep inside you, if you look closely enough.

[FONT=arial, helvetica]Hal Higdon[/FONT]

Oisin11178

Omg comrades. Im so jealous.

Izoard

Comrades...great choice.

This is legendary in SA-all day tv coverage with everyone tuning in at 5:30pm to see those just finishing outside the 12 hour limit.
Saffer humour, eh?:)

All the best with the log!

hot to trot

Thanks Guys. Will do my best to represent you all in South Africa.:D

Tonight 9.30pm Lashing down .Pitch dark.Looked really intimidating but really lovely once you got out as it wasnt too windy or cold and didnt feel as bad as it looked. Puddles were nearly up to my ankles in places though.
This was Slow and very Pleasurable indeed.:D 8/10. down 2 for tender hamstring and ankle flasher died in the wet so felt a bit vulnerable in the dark with just vizzyvest.

Really enjoyed this run. Feet soaked instantly in the deep puddles but they warmed up quite quickly and felt very cosy within 10 minutes. Decided to run down hard shoulder near home as I left it too late to go out and run down the side roads. Had ipod on and was screeching my head off to opera songs. This was brill as I cant reach any note higher than middle C within range of anyone with hearing .The few cars were well protected. Then I had the interview with Katie Taylor and her dad, with Miriam o Callaghan. Inspiring and humbling - what a gentle soul she is. Also saw cyclist out and he made a point of shouting hello. Fello souls out in search of health and fitness:rolleyes:. Snigger.

Toyed with the idea of doing Amsterdam instead of Venice and also still trying to talk myself out of Connemara at the weekend. I dont think I can get sub 4 this October so if I am not going to get a better pen , maybe I can just enjoy doing another marathon as a long very slow run.??

I was very tempted to go another five miles but hadnt fed the kids so I thought I would leave the dark while happy and content and go again tomorrow.
First thing in the door " mammy for God sake put the dinner on , we're starving" .Oh God the social workers will take them off me.:eek:
There wasnt enough left for me but the egg sandwich went down well. . Id give my left kidney for a bulmers tonight.

5.3 miles (151 WHR) bout 53 mins. Easy peasy. Almost totally wet pleasure. Better shift myself tomorrow and try to do a tempo or something equally unfun. ( poetic license)

hot to trot

7pm. 14 degrees, lashing rain and puddles and floods again. Very windy though. Pleasure 5/10. sore ham+ and heavy wet soggy feet and having to stop for tractors on narrow road.
Overall 8.5 miles , 1;18 9:17mm total average WHR ( 166)- but more like 173- 85% and 9mm if you dont count warm up and cool down first and last miles.

New route. Thought it was supposed to be hilly. Was more like gentle rolling but was enough for starters. Heart rate felt like harder effort than 85% but maybe cos it was constant for the 7 ish miles til I eased off. Felt good about making the effort. Should be able to do this for all of a half marathon and a few more miles methinks. Need to go back and start working more regularly at this.
Right hamstring pretty SORE throughout. NO ease after with stretching and working it .Felt like a hard ball at the last walk back.

Need to remind myself that I feel good after making the effort and not cop out and eat three plates of curry when I come in from work hungry and tired.
Ravenous now.

Ps have decided to withdraw from Venice marathon, flights and accommodation. I just wont handle the bridge at 25miles and i have been sick all last night and today thinking about it.:( Dont want to be like this for weeks more and then find after running hard to get as far as it and not be able to get across. Willl possibly do Dublin or maybe Amsterdam instead. Think Nice-Cannes might be very hilly in November? Feel much better about it now I have finally decided.:)

hot to trot

In Dublin for saturday. Running is soooo much easier there.

Started at Baldoyle and ran up Sutton to howth summit and then back down the other side. A length of the pier and then back to the summit and down to Sutton/bladoyle.

13 miles 2:05 Avg 9:37mm and overall ( 165) although this was mostly 85%(173)WHR apart from the warm up and cool down miles. Even downhill was 173 as I thought I should practice trying not to come a cropper on the downhills.

Missed closing date for Dublin half so might go and do Achill half marathon course instead. Also Moo half the following weekend. Probably need to up the mielage at the weekends though. WIll try get out again tonight but its bed for a nap first as I am wrecked tired today.

hot to trot

Recovery run Sunday 12th Sept.

10 Miles 1:41 avg pace 10:07mm and avg HR ( 147) ,<70%

I enjoyed this. Felt very comfortable. Legs fine after yesteday. Got a can of club orange thrown at me from a boy racer car. Missed me by about 4 inches.:eek:

hot to trot

Tempo run , kind of. Tues 14th Sept
Tried to do warm up 1M and then 4 miles at as close to 8mm as I could manage or 85% effort then cool down - back to car. First head torch run of the season. garmin is a pain in that it gives you the overall...

7.5 miles 1:06 avg 8.50mm at (165)

8:20/7:55/8:04/8:13 ( 178) were the tempo miles.

hot to trot

Thurs 16th Sept
4 Miles :39 avg pace 9:51mm ( 161)
6x Devers Hill
average up and down 4-5 minutes at (171) 83%

Found a hill to practice on. Not very long and variable gradient. I wouldnt really recommend hill training in the pitch dark on a steep slope with a head torch as you come flying down out of control , well I do as I cant control downhills yet, and almost come a cropper on the potholes at the bottom . Must be a bit of a shock for the people in the car parked near the bottom of the hill to see a hi vi,z torch wearing runner appearing out of nowhere , almost screaming like a banshee and traveling at a great rate of knots, before disappearing back uphill into the dark again. LOL
Need to do this in daylight or find a different hill.

hot to trot

Decided to try a long run taking in one of the only 2 decent hills around where I live. Failed to get out last night and am annoyed with myself for it. NO more slacking allowed.

One mile warm up and then up the hill. Had to walk towards the top but am determined that before long I will run it all. NO point in risking injury as I try to build up the legs on hills. Not flat but very gently undulating after that. Turn around and then back down.
Couldnt control the down again. Felt like the MOo the first time. Scary beyond belief. Tried lots of things but in the end it was only when the gradient eased that I got control back. Devastated to see that once again at full speed downhill that my pace wasnt much below 8mm. FFS:mad:
Sides of knees ITB area achey after it . At least I know now that its the glutes that are the offenders. Rarely to ITB issues originate elsewhere and this is why they dont resolve . people target the wrong areas.
Got absolutely soaked in torrential rain and strong winds++ NOt cold though and I enjoyed it.I did try to keep the overall pace easy apart from the hill.

12 miles 1:58 9:54 avg mm (162)
12mm ( 171) on the hill.

hot to trot

Sunday am
10 Miles 1:36 avg pace 9.41mm ( 153)

Flat run. took it easy to keep HR down close to 70%.
As easy a route as you could imagine. Wonder how far off sub 4 I am. I reckon my 70% pace would need to be nearly 9.20 mm to have a decent chance at it. Not sure if I would be ready to go the 20 miles at this pace yet. Probably better to keep sticking conservatively and it will eventually come. NOthing exciting is going to happen this soon with it .Not sure how long it takes to convert miles at pace to very long miles at the same pace.I wonder if one tempo and one interval or hill session is enough. Given that i run every second day or less , maybe most runs should be done faster.
Also , it is the end of August at the Galway marathon that my last long run was. Probably should be doing more long ones. Dont think I have gone over 13 since then.
Mooathon next weekend on sunday. What should I do on the Friday and Saturday? Dont want to lose a whole weekend cos of one race. Dont want to die on the side of the mountain either, or be too trashed for the Althone 20 the following week.

hot to trot

3 miles :25 avg 8:37 ( 165)

Very early start for me. short run so I decided to lash around. Managed ok. Later I felt a bit "lumpy" behind left knee. not pain or tight but felt unusual.

hot to trot

6.30pm 2:44 avg 10:16 mm ( 151)
Very wet and windy but not cold.

decided to go a bit longer as not sure if I will get to run much at the weekend apart form the half Moo on sunday. Kept it very slow with HR at 70%.Didnt look at pacing at all til I got home. Pace was very cushy and was able to manage the distance without a big struggle. Was pitch dark and while I was visible I didnt have head torch at the end. Doh"Tried to speed up for last 4 miles but was a bit annoyed to see that the pace was still very slow. I thought I was flying. LOL
Will try some yassos on Thursday.

hot to trot

Crikey I barely have enough discipline to run , not to talk about keeping a log. So catch up and future promises to keep it regular.

Have been trying to follow the PnD for the last two weeks to force myself to push a bit harder. After reading lots of logs I seem to be getting aimans ones regularly and no one elses? Find it encouraging as he is just a bit faster than me and gives me an idea of where I should be at. Just finished BORN TO RUN and its the most enjoyable book I have read yet. I started reading it again once I finished it ,to glean more infomation that I might have not digested on the first reading while following the story.

So...
23/09/2010 8M 1:11 9mm (160)
26/09/2010 13M 1:59 9.05mm (167)

28/09/2010 8M 1:17 9.39mm (154)
30/09/2010 3.5M :31 9.06mm (158)
01/10/2010 7M 1;09 9.52m (156)
02/10/2010 3.5 :33 9:33 (149)
03/10/2010 19.6M 3:01 9.13mm (161) Athlone 3/4

05/10/2010 12M 1:54 9.32mm (153)
07/10/2010 9M 1:23 9.27mm (151)
09/10/2010 6M :55 9.16mm ( 153)
10/10/2010 16M 2:38 hilly lsr forgot garmin

12/10/2010 8.2M 1:09 8.30 (160) Hill repeats
Today: 10M 1:25 8.35 (164) including 4x1km intervals.

Managed 7.40ish pace for faster intervals so happy about that. HR was about 177-180ish during them. Dont think I could have got my legs to go fast enough to get it right up to higher rate.
Feel happy that my pace is starting to get a bit faster for a similar heart effort. Was a lazy cow last night and didnt go so will go next two days again.

Woundedknee.

Good luck with the training and on days when you feel a bit lazy just remember that race day isn't that far away.

hot to trot

Thats a scary thought.
I always seem to have bit of a meltdown the week before race week for a marathon. Its like my brain is refusing to acknowledge that I have to go so far and attempts to conserve as much fuel as possible. I dont need a taper as it will only be a very slow training run to accompany a mate.
Willl have to come up with a strategy to avoid going down this road in the future.

sarsfieldsrock

Missed your log for quite a while there. Good to see that you weren't idle.
You seem to be getting quicker. Well done on getting the comrades place. I just listened to Bruce Fordyce talking about it on the Marathon Talk webcast and it sounds unbelievable.
I wouldn't put it past you to have your own green number in a few years time.

hot to trot

Couldnt decide how far to go seeing as I screwed up my programme for the week. Want to do a hilly 16 tomorrow again , so thought that 11 might be enough after doing 10 tempo yesterday.
Fab day , crisp blue sky. Kept HR down at 70% until I got to the woods at about mile 8. Couldnt resist having a bit of a blast around the trails, pretending I was playing hide and seek . Enjoyed it so much was dying to do another 10M but had to go home Pace felt silly easy today for some reason. Think I found my mojo:D

11M 1:45 9.36mm ( 151)/70%WHR

hot to trot

Decided to do usual hilly run in reverse and to try and incorporate PnD 9 miles at marathon pace. Started off pretty well, first few miles werent that challenging. Then onto the main road behind the mountain.

Bummer didnt remember this stretch being as long as it was. This is usually a recovery stretch after the hills which usually come first. Eased back for a mile to allow for the hill. Hill wasnt as bad from this side as it is more gradual. I kept reminding myself to lift the feet a tiny bit more as if I was stepping over a broom handle and just work the legs up and down like a sewing machine, almost as if I was running on the spot, and let the forward thrust of the arms propell me forward. Before I knew it , the uphill was done.

Dowhills are usually a big problem for me. I cant control myself on them at all in spite of all the advice. I usually career down full throttle hoping it levels out before I fall and shred myself.This time I decided to approach it like the Tarahumara in the BORN TO RUn book and lean backwards and BINGO. that works for me like a dream. For the first time I could actually manage and it was so liberating not to be scared witlesss. It makes perfect sense that if you lean forwards on the way up ,that you do the reverse on the way down .Why also would you lean forwards on the descent as well!I found that i was keeping my upper body level and that it was only my legs that were moving. It felt so much easier it was funny.:D To describe it as best I can , it was like sitting on a small bike and only the legs move.The whole body wasnt doing all the up and down motion.
Found last 2 miles very tiring. Parts that I thought were flat were obviously a bit uphilll only I didnt notice it when I used to run this in the opposite direction.Doh. I will appreciate them in the future.

Thought I was lost and had taken a wrong turn as I didnt recognise anything. The route looked totally different from the reverse angle. Eased off the pace in case I had to do an extra few miles. But thankfully the main road reappeared where it should have.
I didnt manage 9 miles at marathon pace . THink timewise it was about 7 but a few more were at marathon heart rate effort so I will count those too:rolleyes:.

Very pleased with discovery on hills. Worth the work of today for that alone.

16M 2:26 9:08mm ( 158)

40 something miles for the week.37 of them this weekend. oops

hot to trot

Trying to figure out how to get this weeks runs in with the travelling. Have to go straight to Dublin after work on Thursday and then to airport at 4am for early check in Friday. Usual runs of thurs,fri,sat and sun will be severely curtailed...unless I can get to venice before my mate and squeeze a quick 12M in on the Friday.

Planned on doing 12 tonight with 7 at half marathon pace. I didnt go during the day , rain was lashing and it was very cold and I just couldnt face taking off my clothes to put on cold running gear. Note to self to start wearing a vest. I am reluctant to do ANYTHING except EAT this week and I think its cos I feel cold all the time.

Anyway, rain had stopped and wind had eased so headed out. Managed warm up and four fastish miles for me but then had to go home to the loo . Got cold then and couldnt face going back out. So left it at 6.:(

6 miles :50 @ 8:24mm ( 162)
8.48(139)
8:27 (158)
8:13(167)
7:52(172)
8:07(173)
8:58(169)

G-Money

Good luck with the Venice marathon. I will be keeping an eye out for you in the results

asimonov

i'm starting to get worried here. Are you stuck on a bridge in venice? How did it go?

hot to trot

I Ran on Tuesday before the marathon but didnt get to run again until the day before it on the Saturday. I did 5 miles with about 6 intervals. Dont have the details.

Marathon Sunday was to be a slow jog. Friend said she hadnt done as much training as she needed , not having done the distance since Easter 09. and has some serious health issues to get sorted as well. Her last 20 mile run took 4 hours including walks so we reckoned for a 5;15 finish.

She took off like a shot at 8.30mm at the beginning and I decided to stick with 9.30 mm and let her slow down to me rather than the other way around. We leap frogged for a bit and then I passed her. I waited at the half way mark for a few minutes and we were really enjoying the lovely race route and the huge crowd support in the towns. Beautiful traditional flag throwing and drumming and lots of rock bands along the way. Runners themselves were great craic also . ALl fine until we got to a big bridge that hadnt been mentioned and so I was not expecting. I thought my throat was going to close over and I was wheezing like an asthmatic but she got me across it. Then there was another big flyover one and I managed to get across that as fast as I could. The Liberty bridge is about 3 miles long and I was fastest on this as I couldnt wait to get across. I had convinced myself that it was an embankment rather than a bridge. It is huge and very stable so that helped enormously. I waited about 10 mins for friend to turn up again and then we headed for the Venice leg of the run.

hot to trot

This was the bit I was dreading. I started bawling as we approached the temporary structure across the Grand Canal. I didnt think I would be able to go across it. She talked me through the whole way but I had a severe pain in my chest and I kept choking and coughing on the vomit at the back of my throat. I was crying and blubbering and choking and I had a bad pain in my head as well. When other runners passed me and the bridge was vibrating and wobbling it totally freaked me and i knew I was screaming as well. The other runners were alarmed at me but my friend explained . But when we got to the other side the medical team were awaiting. I didnt even see them , i took off like a frightened rabbit once I hit solid ground. I calmed down then until I got to the "pretty " bridges ... the downtown solid stepped ones which were especially ramped for the race. There was a sign on the first one that said 13 bridges to go . I cried again . I knew there were 13 but I th ought that had included the ones we had already doen. I felt so cheated that there were more. many of the ramps didnt extend the width of the bridge so I was able to duck under the tapes and run up and down the steps at the sides instead. Finally it was the home stretch. My friend was right beside me and we held hands crossing the line like two ould lesbians. She couldnt believe that she had made it and I couldnt believe I had crossed all those horriffic bridges. I think the time was 4;45 Personal worst for time but best achievement for getting to the finish.
Excellent marathon and highly recommended. Would I do it again . Definitley not.

Aimman

Well done on completing the race with all them bridges, great achievement. Great report too.

I was listening to the Marathon Talk podcast, they said that the leader fell on the 2nd last bridge, just at the end and was beaten to the finish line.