The Next step

G-Money

After several days of overeating and procrastination, I made myself go out this evening for a run. The Jingle Bells 5K is looming large on the horizon and there's less than 3 weeks to go until the big day. I think I've been slacking off a bit as I know I can do the distance and I know I'm not losing that much fitness by taking a few days extra rest here and there. However I've been leaving it a bit too long between workouts so it's not good that way.

I went to the park after work this evening, having nipped off about 3.50pm. It gets dark quite early and the park I run in doesn't really have any lights so I was basically racing the sun this evening to get my run completed. Unfortunately though it was pretty dark by the time I got the run finished (5.15pm) and I was finding it very hard to see the path at that point.

However I did a total of 5.3K in 46 minutes, 20 seconds. I was running around the park in the opposite direction and I think there's a bit more of a gradient which I think accounts for the slower time.

I had plenty of energy this evening and I picked up the pace over the last kilometre or so and I probably could have done a bit sooner too. I've started to have a few mouthfuls of water followed by a few mouthfuls of Coke before I go for my run these days. not sure if that is a factor. My Garmin was fast running out of battery power too so I was hoping it would last the distance and thankfully it did.

I need to workout now what the best option is for doing my runs. It's becoming obvious that evening runs in that park are going to be hard to do unless I'm out of work very early. The way I see it, I have two options, either run on the footpaths or run first thing in the morning in the park. The last few times I've been running in the park I've been using the tarmac as the grass has been too muddy and slippy to run on. I guess I could use the footpath's around where I live but I'd like to avoid running on concrete if I can (to save the joints etc).

The other option is to run in the park in the mornings around 7am or so. It's starting to get bright around then and would be quite bright by the time I finish. The downside is that I like to get into work early so I can leave early and going for a run in the morning will affect those plans. Even though I work just over a mile from where I live, it's still a 5-7 minute walk to the park, about a 40 minute run, another 5-7 minute walk back, 5-10 minutes of stretching, shower and then get into work. I guess I could get up a bit earlier and try to fit it all in and still make it into work for about 7.40am but we'll see.

This past few mornings I've been waking very early so I will have a look outside tomorrow morning about 6.45am and see would it be bright enough to run then.

My left knee was feeling a bit sore when I was running, mostly the knee cap as I was running downhill (not much of a gradient though). It feels ok though but I will keep an eye on it anyway.

I'll aim to check the light tomorrow morning, then see what I think. Tomorrow is a rest day and although I've been thinking about doing fartleks, I'd sort of prefer to get another solid 40-45 minute run under my belt instead, followed by the same on Saturday and a LSR on Sunday of about 8K.

I listened to the Marathon Talk podcast today again, I felt the time going faster than when I listen to music. Interesting that.

hot to trot

Get a headtorch. If you are tired and dont make it out in the morning then you will find a million excuses to stay in . Unless you have trail runners stay on the path or road. You arent really doing enough miles to do any harm to yourself and your body needs to learn to strengthen up and get used to it.
Keep at it . As long as you are warm and in a light jacket if it rains when you run, it doesnt really matter what the weather is doing as you wont feel miserable. The hardest step is the one out your front door. Keep reminding yourself of all the work you have put in since August and you dont want to throw it all away.
There might be streets you can run around where there is street light.
DONT let what you cant do , get in the way of what you can do .

G-Money

hot to trot wrote: »

Get a headtorch. If you are tired and dont make it out in the morning then you will find a million excuses to stay in . Unless you have trail runners stay on the path or road. You arent really doing enough miles to do any harm to yourself and your body needs to learn to strengthen up and get used to it.
Keep at it . As long as you are warm and in a light jacket if it rains when you run, it doesnt really matter what the weather is doing as you wont feel miserable. The hardest step is the one out your front door. Keep reminding yourself of all the work you have put in since August and you dont want to throw it all away.
There might be streets you can run around where there is street light.
DONT let what you cant do , get in the way of what you can do .

Yes boss

menoscemo

I just got a head torch in snow and rock in dundrum (beside elverys dundrum south level 3) you can get them from €40-€60 and they are very comfortable.

Now darkness is never an excuse not to run

Also when you go up home, you can easily run on the side roads since they are not too busy. I used to never run when I went up home (Tyrone) but now I love going out for a run over quiet country roads. Just make sure you run into the traffic (on the right) so you can see the traffic coming towards you.

Edit to say I'd also recommend you getting out of that local park sometimes if it's the only route you run. It can get very boring and repetitive running the same loop time after time. Near you, you could head to UCD, Marlay Park, Bushy park, Cabinteely park etc, etc, etc...

G-Money

menoscemo wrote: »

I just got a head torch in snow and rock in dundrum (beside elverys dundrum south level 3) you can get them from €40-€60 and they are very comfortable.

Now darkness is never an excuse not to run

Also when you go up home, you can easily run on the side roads since they are not too busy. I used to never run when I went up home (Tyrone) but now I love going out for a run over quiet country roads. Just make sure you run into the traffic (on the right) so you can see the traffic coming towards you.

Edit to say I'd also recommend you getting out of that local park sometimes if it's the only route you run. It can get very boring and repetitive running the same loop time after time. Near you, you could head to UCD, Marlay Park, Bushy park, Cabinteely park etc, etc, etc...

Aye, I guess I should find another park. I just like that one as it's a short walk from my apartment so I don't have to drive to get there or anything.

I've been thinking about going for a run up home alright. I live in a very, very hilly area so it would be great for fitness. Although the roads are that narrow, they can only support traffic going in one direction.

littlebug

grandmaster I just saw your post on the "clubs" thread. I can heartily recommend looking into a fit4life group near you. The groups I started out with has everyone from walkers to sub 3 marathoners and everything in between and everyone gets the same cheer crossing the finish line. It's easier to go out in the elements if there are other people there too and easier again if there's a nice lit track to run around.

Timing issues mean I can't really go anymore and I'm finding it really hard to motivate myself to get out whereas I used to be out with the group in sleet and snow!

G-Money

littlebug wrote: »

grandmaster I just saw your post on the "clubs" thread. I can heartily recommend looking into a fit4life group near you. The groups I started out with has everyone from walkers to sub 3 marathoners and everything in between and everyone gets the same cheer crossing the finish line. It's easier to go out in the elements if there are other people there too and easier again if there's a nice lit track to run around.

Timing issues mean I can't really go anymore and I'm finding it really hard to motivate myself to get out whereas I used to be out with the group in sleet and snow!

Cheers.

Has someone got a link for Fit for Life? The site I found seems to be aimed at those living in nursing homes!

littlebug

grandmaster wrote: »

The site I found seems to be aimed at those living in nursing homes!

:D I'm not that old!

General info here http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?page_id=6057

list of groups here (pdf) http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/fit4life-clubs-contacts1.pdf

G-Money

I'm going to have to get a headtorch so I can run in the evenings.

I struggled to get out of bed at 7.15am, I think forcing myself out the door at 6.30am or 6.45am is going to be close to impossible.

MarySamsonite

Hi Grandmaster,

I had the same problem as you with regard to finding time to run in daylight. Once the mornings got too dark I took out gym membership for three months and now do my midweek runs in the gym and my long run outside on Sunday morning when it gets bright. I'm lucky that the local gym is really good value, but maybe you could find somewhere that does monthly membership. Having said that, I know that running outside is much better training for your Jingle Bells. The idea of a head-torch is great as well. My husband recommended this for me, but I just wouldn't be comfortable running in the dark on my own. The Fit4Life group that Littlebug recommended is the best idea of all. I would love to join my local group but the timing of their meeting just doesn't suit me.

Well done on your great progress so far. Think of how happy you will be eating your turkey this year, knowing what you have achieved . I think nerves will hamper my enjoyment of it as I was silly enough to aim for a St. Stephen's day run :eek:

maria74

Grandmaster, I have a similar problem with the darkness setting in. Could you run anywhere near work i.e finish work at 4 and instead of driving somewhere to run, just run near work? I have done it once a week for the past couple of weeks and then that only leaves 1 morning run (if I can get out of bed) and 1 long run on my day off?
Perhaps one run a week on footpaths may not be too hard..as long as it is a short one?

G-Money

Not sure about running near work, there might be a loop I could run but to be honest, I only live a short distance from the office and the park I run in is right beside where I live so I won't save much time.

I've been running on tarmac for the past few workouts as the grass in the park is too slippy and muddy to run on. I forgot to check it the last day until it was getting too dark to see if it was still waterlogged.

I've made a few enquiries about joining Fit4Life. I think there is one in Dundrum that might suit me, if not that leaves Tallaght and Bray although the Bray one seems more appealing for some reason.

ecoli

grandmaster wrote: »

Not sure about running near work, there might be a loop I could run but to be honest, I only live a short distance from the office and the park I run in is right beside where I live so I won't save much time.

I've been running on tarmac for the past few workouts as the grass in the park is too slippy and muddy to run on. I forgot to check it the last day until it was getting too dark to see if it was still waterlogged.

I've made a few enquiries about joining Fit4Life. I think there is one in Dundrum that might suit me, if not that leaves Tallaght and Bray although the Bray one seems more appealing for some reason.

Yeah you cant trust them Tallaght folk:D. best of look with the club hunt its all about finding the one that suits you not always about the "best" club. We had a lad who moved to us recently from a very well respected club because he felt they were too athletics focused for him to balance in his life. Like wise have seen people moving becaause i club isnt competing at high enough level. All about finding the balance which suits you

G-Money

I meant to head out yesterday morning for a run but got lazy and didn't bother which is pretty shameful. The only "justification" I could come up with was that I went to bed very late (2.30am) and therefore would be too tired to do a decent run

Anyway this morning I got up and even though I felt like lazing around, I went out and done a run. I was sort of aiming to do an LSR of 8k this morning but in the end I did 5.1k. For some reason at the start of the run I was absolutely starving, which is rare for me first thing in the morning. I'd just had my usual few mouthfuls of water and coke before heading out the door and to be honest, the hunger as well as the fact that I've been skipping a few training sessions had me think I should just knock another 5k distance out and get that done.

My pace was ok-ish today and did 5.1k in 42 minutes 13 seconds. My time seems to fluctuated between 40 mins 50 seconds and about 42 mins 50 seconds. I started out kind of slow but at the end I picked up the pace again towards the end with no difficulty. My heart rate seemed to stay in a decent range (155 bpm) and obviously went up towards the end as I was running faster but still seemed ok.

I thought about going for a long jog around the footpaths and doing 5K that way but in the end I just went to my usual park. I think it's because it feels like a bit of a safety net. It's near my apartment and stuff so if I need to dash to the loo or something, it won't take me very long

Anyway yesterday wasn't a total write off, I bought a head lamp to use in the evenings. It's pretty obvious I'm not going to get up early enough to go for a run before work so that only leaves the evenings. Getting out of work and getting stretched and changed takes a while and it's simply not possible to get that all done plus a 40 minute run with it still bright. I'm kind of looking forward to using the head lamp, even if it makes me look stupid. I discovered a pocket in my running jacket this morning that I didn't know existed so I most likely will just keep the lamp in there until I need it, rather than wearing it while it's still bright.

G-Money

Rest day yesterday.

My left knee is giving me a very slight bit of bother. Most of the time it's grand, but across the top of the knee cap gets a bit sore when I'm walking down declines or down stairs. It's not bad or anything if anything, it's very very mild, I guess it just annoyies me that I can feel a little discomfort. I always sort of assumed when you started running you wouldn't feel any soreness or anything once you got quite fit. I don't think it's an injury as such or at least I'm hoping it's not. I think it's just more from the exercise I've been doing.

Anyway I need to head out today and get another 5k plus on the clock. I have my head torch so hopefully I will not talk myself out of using it. I was very tired yesterday after sleeping extremely badly on Sunday night, so it was just as well yesterday was a rest day.

I really need to get my eating sorted out, it's holding me back.

I have to make sure I don't skip any more training sessions as the race is at the end of next week.

I have to head home again this week (Dentist again :mad:) but I should be back to Dublin on Saturday or Sunday.

G-Money

I was looking at the Jingle Bells 5K finishing times from last year and it seemed that the last timed finisher on the results page was 38 minutes, 35 seconds. I started to panic a bit and worry that I was going to be completely and utterly last.

So I left work a little early, went home, stretched, got changed, packed my head lamp and said to myself "I'm going to break 40 minutes today".

And guess what? I did!

I started out a little faster than normal today and after doing a lap of the park, the pace was reasonably good. I kept going at that pace and checked my watch to see that I had done about 1.1k in under 8 minutes which was new for me. So I kept going, the pace more or less the same or a little faster.

I checked the watch at the same point on each lap to see how I was doing and I passed through 4K around the 30 minute mark. So I tried to make sure I kept the pace going. I got to about 35 minutes and see I was around about 4.7K mark so I just kept going and kept the pace. I checked and I went through 5K at just over 38 minutes. I was going to stop right then but I wasn't at the exit of the park so I kept going and put the hammer down a bit and did a total of 5.15k in 39 minutes, 46 seconds. With the good thing being that I wasn't going flat until the last 10-15 seconds and I could have went faster.

I know I'm not about the break the 5k world record anytime soon but I'm quite pleased that I broke 40 minutes. My previous PB was about 40 minutes, 52 seconds so I've chopped between 2 and 3 minutes off it this evening.

I guess it just goes to show what you can do if you think right. I wasn't super, super determined and confident and I had moments of doubt. I just thought to myself "Right, I'm going to break 40 minutes tonight".

Heart rate was good too, average 166bpm.

maria74

Thats brillant. Well done!
Anyway even if you were taking 40 mins, I bet you wont be last, I think there are loads of people have taken up running this year (us included) and this is a great first race for them also. Easy to say I know but I worried about being last in my 5K and then at the end it really didn't matter to me. And everyone says the race day excitment means you usually go faster..look what you did today when you put your mind to it.:)

G-Money

No running today, snow everywhere here in D18. Boooooooooooooooooo :mad:

RayCun

grandmaster wrote: »

No running today, snow everywhere here in D18. Boooooooooooooooooo :mad:

Are you familiar with the phrase 'HTFU'?

menoscemo

RayCun wrote: »

Are you familiar with the phrase 'HTFU'?

It had to be said. GM, there will always be a million excuses not to do something, but if you want to improve you need to stop looking for those excuses. There are always solutions to every problem. The trails and paths in Phoenix park were beautiful his afternoon and I exect the running in most parks around Dublin would have been the same.

G-Money

Well if there was a nice snow and ice free path nearby to run on, I would have used it. It's a bit hard to run on something you can't even walk on.

RayCun

Fresh, first fall snow is fine to run on.
It gets slippy when it melts down (from the sun or from people walking on it) and then refreezes. If you have a few days of snow and melting, you could get a fresh layer of snow on the surface and a layer of ice underneath, and that's tricky.
But that's only a problem on paths. If you run on grass, the surface is too rough for really slippy ice.

MarySamsonite

Well done on your sub 40 5k. I understand your wariness about running on ice. Hopefully it will all thaw out asap.

G-Money

MarySamsonite wrote: »

Well done on your sub 40 5k. I understand your wariness about running on ice. Hopefully it will all thaw out asap.

Apparently the thaw is finally going to arrive on Friday, and not a moment too soon. Well, unless you check the Weather forum. They want 10 feet of snow from now until eternity :P

I'll hopefully get out then this weekend.

maria74

Yes I am anxiously awaiting the thaw too. Didn't know there was more snow forecast for today, so yesterday had started planning my runs for Wed/Thurs. Have to be Friday now. Back to xtrainer for me...Boooooooo

G-Money

Finally made it out today for a run. The thaw has been pretty good but there are still significant ice patches on the footpaths near where I live. I was even walking out of the car park and the tarmac seemed clear and my foot slipped quite a bit which was very surprising as there was no ice or snow that I could see. There was a small track along the inside of the wall that is clear but other parts are completely treacherous. I stopped at one point and put my foot onto the ice and it was like a bottle, no grip at all, it was lethal.

Anyway I got to the park and the tarmac around it was effectively clear. I took it easy on the first lap to test out the grip and after that I was ok. There was a few patches of ice but they weren't very big and didn't cover a significant area so my running was unimpeded.

As for the run itself, it has been over 2 weeks since I last did a run so to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it. I was lying in bed sort of talking myself out of it and after about 10 minutes I got up, did my stretching and felt a tiny bit more motivated.

But I have to be honest and say I really didn't enjoy the run today. It wasn't particularly difficult. I went at a slow enough pace and did 5.2K in 45 minutes but I really just wasn't enjoying it at all. I think it was all in my head though as I physically felt ok. I just wasn't in the mood for it and was just feeling a bit fed up and emotional or something. I don't know what it was.

Anyway I got the distance done, and not very fast but today was simply about getting another run under my belt seeing it had been over 2 weeks since I last slipped on the GT 2150's.