If this is a Mid Life Crisis Im loving it......

liamo123

I decided today was a good time to start my 1st training log for the following reasons :
(1) Finally ,at last and thank God I've cracked the habbit and gave up the smokes..( will now use my cigarette money to finance my various future marathon plans )
(2) I decided to give the body a rest when the bad weather arrived and as a result today was my 1st run in about 11 days and
(3) Im not very good at keeping notes of my training so this log will hopefully inprove that..


Background:

Im 39 years old and started running in March 09 when I got roped in running the Chicago marathon for The Marie Keating Foundation.. ( At the time it was the taught of a week away from the Whipper Snappers rather than the marathon that convinced me to sign up ).. Anyway I arrived home to tell the OH my plans and from memory her reply went something like " Your going where.... to do what.....Jez sure u can't run to the shops how do u expect to run 26 miles.... I think ur having a Mid Life Crisis!!!..."

To start my training was very basic and I used to run every second day. Gradually I became fitter and the weight fell off me but it was only when I got to sample the whole Marathon Experience in Chicago that my passion for running really took off..I've basically been running constantly since and am loving every minute of it..

Marathons Done:

September 2009 : Chicago 3.27.xx
October 2009 : Dublin 3.26.xx
March 2010 : Barcelona 3.21.04
September 2010 : Berlin 3.04.52
October 2010 : Dublin 2.59.02

Next up for me is Barcelona again in March 2011.. I loved the experience last year, its a nice city and the course is mostly flat. Then its the Conn Ultra in April but this training log is focused entirely on Barcelona.. When its done I'll then try and figure out how to get around Conn :rolleyes:

As regards training plans Im going to use Hidgon's Advance Marathon Plan as a template and add a few little variations of my own..

Looking back on the slagging I got from my OH I think she was right... It was probably the start of a " Mid Life Crisis " but as I dont like Tatoo's , cant ride a Motorbike and most certainally dont have the time or indeed money for an Affair , Running seemed the only logical path

liamo123

Today Monday 13th : Wall of the Park with a slight variation..

This is one of my favourite runs...I parked up outside Garda HQ and headed off on the trails towards Castleknock Gate.. The trails were very muddy and there was still ice in various spots so had to b careful at times.. Headed down the S- Bends and when I got to the Kyber pass I ran up it at about 5k pace..This turned pearshaped about half way up when I was met with about 300m of total ice so slowed down and vered onto the grass bank ..Got top the top and then headed back the in the general direction of the car..

8 miles approx in 1.01.11....Legs felt heavy but it was great to b back running..

mithril

Looks like you have a similar background and motivation in taking up running to me. I will follow your log with interest.
What time are you targeting in Barcelona?

There are a few ways of tackling the Conn Ultra - the short Ultra or long Marathon - which you seem to be going with. I think it can be run well off purely marathon training but you will still be recovering from Barcelona whilst tackling it and a lot depends on quickly you can recover from it.

liamo123

mithril wrote: »

Looks like you have a similar background and motivation in taking up running to me. I will follow your log with interest.
What time are you targeting in Barcelona?

There are a few ways of tackling the Conn Ultra - the short Ultra or long Marathon - which you seem to be going with. I think it can be run well off purely marathon training but you will still be recovering from Barcelona whilst tackling it and a lot depends on quickly you can recover from it.

Tks for the advice Mithril..The fact that ive run a couple of previous marathons in quick succession should hopefully stand to me..

As regards a target time for Barca I dont have a specific time in mind....my plan atm is very simple...Weather permitting if I can continue training outdoors my plan is to follow the 3Hr pacers until 28k and then push on from there.. Great in theory but alot can happen between now and March!!

liamo123

Tuesday 14th.. 12.5 miles approx on trails in Pheonix Park : 1.39.54

misty floyd

Best of luck with the log and training for barca. I like the name of the log Liamo.

liamo123

Wednesday 15th...Sick of slip sliding around the trails for the last 2 days so stayed on the paths in Park.. 8 miles approx : 1.01.53

liamo123

Thursday 16th....5 laps of Fairyhouse Racecourse..8.75 miles 1.06.02..

Fairyhouse is beside my house so I train there regularly..Like all racecourses its windy at the best of times but this morning there was a gale blowing.. 15 minutes into run came a shower of hailstones.. They got so bad I was going to pack it in but as quickly as they arrived they disappeared .. Hard workout in the conditions.. In such a rush to get home and showered I forget to do some stretches.. Paying for it now..Stiff as a poker!!

liamo123

Friday 17th....4.5 miles 34.22....

Didnt have much spare time on my hands with work and a Xmas party to attend but managed a few miles on my local roads... 1st time I was able to run on the roads in weeks but looking at the state of them today it might b a while before there safe to run again..



Saturday 18th......Had great intentions to run today. Surely if the cast of " Born to Run " can do 30 or so miles in the mountains of Mexico after a nite of beer , I could do 10 miles after a few pints of Heineken.. Sadly no as Im a sick puppy today so day off.......

liamo123

Sunday 19th...10.5 miles approx......1.21.46

Went down to the local college and ran numerous laps of the football fields..Beautiful morning for a run... Enjoyable if a little boring....

52 miles approx for the week...My objective for the week after 11 days of inactivity was to get the miles back in the legs..Reasonably happy with week tough I really should have done a few miles yesterday... Current cold snap doesent seem to b as bad in East as predicted so hopefully I can get a bit of variety into next weeks training...

liamo123

Monday 20th....Intervals around Fairyhouse Racecourse..

Bitter cold but nice morning for a run..
Session consisted of :
1.75 mile warmup
5 * 1mile interval runs followed .75 mile slow jog....6.36, 6.36, 6.34, 6.51 and 6.25..( First .5 mile flat and second slightly uphill and into wind ) and .75 cooldown

Put alot of effort into these runs but was disappointed with times..Since I took up running I've always struggled with the quicker stuff. ( might sound silly but a 10k/10 mile race takes more out of me than a marathon )..hense my PB's for above distances are not very good...

This was the hardest session I've put in since DCM..

Summary 9 miles...1.17.59

liamo123

Tuesday 21th through Monday 27th...Sweet Fk all... Between weather and work didnt get out at all.......Very annoying but no point getting too worried about it..Onwards and upwards!

Tuesday 28th....4.5 miles 33.02... Ran one loop of local roads... Hopefully we've seen the last of the terrible weather and I can now progress with the training..

liamo123

Wednesday 29th....2 laps of local roads... 9 miles..1.05.14

I do the majority of my training on a 4.5mile loop around where I live ( weather permitting ).... Lovely mild morning for a run...ran approx 7.30 pace pm except for mile 4-5... 6.50 and mile 6-7...6.32..

liamo123

Thursday 30th...Enforced rest day due to migrane....Luckily In dont get them as much as I used to but when I get one thats me fuc!ed so nothing doing...

Friday 31th..........13.5 mile tempo run....1.40.21

1st mile was 8.05 and gradually picked it up....Miles 6 through 9 were : 7.05, 6.53, 6.55 and 7.07.. Tough session..Im not where I'd like to b atm but hopefully I can improve in the remaining 8 or so weeks or else I'l struggle to break 3 hrs in Barcelona....

liamo123

Saturday 1st January... 5.75 miles.......44.20..

Nice relaxing run to start the New Year before I had 2 go to work..

liamo123

Sunday 2nd January...8 miles approx...1.01.46..

Ran the walls of Pheonix Park, up Kyber Pass and down Chesterfield Ave.. Was wearing Santa's gift a new pair of GT2150's and did great job of keeping them clean until approx 800m from home when trying to avoid mucky ground I ran into a swamp!! They're now destroyed.. Oh well must get the OH an old toothbrush and get her scrubbing!!

40.75 miles for week....
13.75 miles for year ( well its a start anyway )

liamo123

Monday 3rd....3* 4.5mile loops on roads around the house..

1st loop : 8min mile pace
2nd loop :7.30min pace
3rd loop : 7min pace

Very cold this morning so took while to warm up..Enjoyable run to start week with....

13.5 miles..........1.40.10

liamo123

Tuesday 4th.....5.75 miles....44.49

Wednesday 5th...Rest Day

Thursday 6th....8 miles with 6 miles at 6.50 pace.....57.02...Im finding these run really tough atm...

liamo123

Friday 7th......12 miles.....1.31.58..

First 4.5miles slow but then speeded up....

Have busy weekend ahead work and family wise so not sure how many more miles I will run this week

liamo123

Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th......... No running...

32.25 miles for the week...
46 miles for the year...

Its time to get the finger out or Barca will b a nightmare...



Monday 10th....11.5 miles approx.........1.31.27.....wet and miserable but mild..

Important week for me...I have to greatly improve my commitment and not take the easy way out after long workdays..

liamo123

Tuesday 11th.......Got ready to head off 4 tempo run tis morning but when I got out on the road I felt a sharp pain on my right instep..Continued 4 a short distance but decided to stop..I've never had anything like this before.. Will try again tomorrow and if its the same I will seek advice......

liamo123

Wednesday 12th........Right foot far from ideal but decided on 9 steady miles....1.08.57

Will have to take every day as it comes and if pain continues will get it checked out

liamo123

Thursday 13th.....5.75 miles........40.02......

Half mile warm up followed by sets of 3mins fast with 90sec slow jog in between and half mile cooldown...

liamo123

Friday 14th....rest day.. I had planned on going to Waterford on Saturday but a late call from work knocked that on the head...

Saturday 15th......9 miles...1.03.20...Nice hard run in difficult conditions..Exactly what I needed..

Sunday 16th.......18 miles........2.20.30... My 1st LSR since Dublin...


53.75 miles for the week
99.75 miles for year...

After bad start 2 the week with injury scare I recovered well and hopefully I can progress more next week...

liamo123

Monday 17th.....6 mile recovery............47.43.....Legs were sore so jumped into ice bath after run and froze the b-jesus out of myself...


Tuesday 18th...9 mile tempo.........1.03.01... half mile warmup and cooldown followed by
mile splits as follows...7.43, 7.12, 7.00, 7.07, 6.25, 6.32, 6.31, 7.32...

liamo123

Wednesday 19th...5.5 miles.......42.29....Nice relaxing run around local roads..

liamo123

Thursday 20th......7.5 miles approx.......58.48.. Pheonix Park run at dusk..Lovely crisp evening for a run..

Friday 21th.....7 miles....54.05...Had long day of work to look forward to but luckily enough I brought my gear and an unepected opportunity arose at 7pm to get a city run in.......1st time running down the canal and in the general Rathmines, Rathgar and Leeson St areas...

Saturday 22nd...9 miles slow....1.12.00....Had intended to do 18 miles but was not feeling great( absoutely zero energy levels ) at around mile 6 so packed it in on finishing my second local loop at mile 9..... Hopefully get 18 in tomorrow..

Itziger

liamo123 wrote: »

Thursday 20th......7.5 miles approx.......58.48.. Pheonix Park run at dusk..Lovely crisp evening for a run..

Friday 21th.....7 miles....54.05...Had long day of work to look forward to but luckily enough I brought my gear and an unepected opportunity arose at 7pm to get a city run in.......1st time running down the canal and in the general Rathmines, Rathgar and Leeson St areas...

Saturday 22nd...9 miles slow....1.12.00....Had intended to do 18 miles but was not feeling great( absoutely zero energy levels ) at around mile 6 so packed it in on finishing my second local loop at mile 9..... Hopefully get 18 in tomorrow..

Liamo, that's a lot of days without a break, no? If you do the 18 miler, it'll have been 9 by my count. Must check out a few plans but I thought they almost all suggest a rest day per week.

Maybe not - just looking at Cool Running Advanced there. Not many rest days!! Also noticed they suggest a 28 mile run. Do many people actually do that distance in training??

liamo123

Itziger wrote: »

Liamo, that's a lot of days without a break, no? If you do the 18 miler, it'll have been 9 by my count. Must check out a few plans but I thought they almost all suggest a rest day per week.

Maybe not - just looking at Cool Running Advanced there. Not many rest days!! Also noticed they suggest a 28 mile run. Do many people actually do that distance in training??

Fair point Itzinger...I was silly to try and do 18 tis morning 4 the simple reason that I had v long day at work yesterday and did'nt get enough sleep last nite...

As regards rest days if work permits and family life permits I'l go 4 a run, if not I'l take a rest day.....I dont have specific rest days in my training plan( tbh Im not really following any set plan, just doing my own thing ) but there have been previous weeks when I might take 1 or 2 rest days and that will b no different in the future..

The longest LSR i've ever done is 20 miles...I aint going any further until Ive run Barcelona then Ive the Conn Ultra 2 look forward 2 so will have to increase LSR's then....

liamo123

Sunday 23rd........18 miles approx ....2.22.20...

After a chinese and a couple of beers I slept like a log on Saturday night so fresh as a daisy this morning..The only problem was Mrs L was working in the morning and I was working in afternoon but luckily my folks live closeby so once I had my girls safely dispatched there I went to the Pheonix Park..

Headed out Parkgate exit and ran towards Chapelizod and up Knockmaroon Hill.. I've never run this route before and found the hill tough going....Back into the park where I followed the trails back to the car....refueled and did it all again plus up and down Chesterfield Ave..Quick shower and off to work..


59 miles for the week
158.75 miles for year

liamo123

Monday 24th...4.5 mile recovery.....36.00...Nice relaxing run..legs in good shape

liamo123

Tuesday 25th.....4 laps of local villlage........10.4 miles......1.14.56.

Got out at 6pm and had really good run...Conditions ideal....... a bit of wind and rain and a couple of small hills to navigate...One of my best sessions in recent times...

liamo123

Wednesday 26th.....Rest Day

Thursday 26th........10.4 miles....1.15.57...

Same as Tuesday.....4 laps of 2.6 mile circuit around village

Laps 1,2 and 4 nice and comfortable...........20.15, 19.53, 19.02.......I decided to run almost flat out on lap 3................16.42..

Up until v recently I did all my running before nightfall but Im getting 2 like this "night running"..Only disadvantage is Im not a fan of eating late dinners!!!

liamo123

Friday 28th.......8 miles approx...1.02.16....

Ran walls of the park and finished up with Kyber Pass at 10k pace....

theboyblunder

liamo123 wrote: »

Friday 27th.......8 miles approx...1.02.16....

Ran walls of the park and finished up with Kyber Pass at 10k pace....

ouch - not the road id like to finish up at 10k pace Nice one.

Not long to go now! Looking forward to it? You should consider investing in a garmin. Pricey but definitlely worth it IMO.

liamo123

theboyblunder wrote: »

ouch - not the road id like to finish up at 10k pace Nice one.

Not long to go now! Looking forward to it? You should consider investing in a garmin. Pricey but definitlely worth it IMO.

Am looking forward to Barca....After a couple of weeks when my motivation was'nt great Im feeling more confident and training is progressing well.... Im just concentration on my milage atm and not following any specific plan... I will get a Garmin at some stage but atm Im do most of my training on local roads where I know the km and mile markers intimately !!

Best of luck tomorrow..As Gringo said in ur training log, running in a group is great so if ur feeling strong push and c where it takes u!!!

liamo123

Saturday 29th........20 miles..........2.32.45..

4 laps of 4.5 mile local circuit plus 2 miles........I threw a few quicker miles in during the run.. Miles 3 and 4........7.34, 7.34
Miles 7.5 and 8.5...7.20, 7.22
Miles 12 and 13.....6.57, 6.58
and Miles 16.5 and 17.5...6.53, 7.06..

Initially my plan was for 8m miles for the remainder but a kept going under no matter how hard I tried so avg was about 7.45...

Fuel used: 250 mils water. 250 mils Viper and half banana..

Lovely morning for a run, felt great throughout except 4 last couple when got tired.. Well pleased all the same...

liamo123

Sunday 30th......6.5 miles approx.........51.24..

Ran a few laps of Polo Grounds in pp 2 keep the legs ticking over after yesterdays long run...

59.8 miles for week
218.55 miles for year

liamo123

Monday 31th....10.4 miles......1.18.27..

Again laps of local village with the aid of street lighting......My legs are in a heap atm... Might have to get a rub soon which im dreading.... The last time I go a proper massage was many moons ago in my footballing days and I can still remember the pain !!

liamo123

Tuesday 1st...Rest Day..

Wednesday 2nd.......7 miles...49.01..

Mild but windy so conditions perfect for training run..

liamo123

Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th...no running..

Mrs L headed off Wed night on a work junket so I had great intentions of getting plenty of training done once kids were dispatched to school.....Unfortunately not..

Thusday morning my youngest was sick and today my eldest sick as a dog so both at home...Mam home late tonight and I cant wait!!

Hopefully I will hit the park tomorrow morning and get running again..

menoscemo

There's a big group of us heading out at 11 from the papal car park. Why don't you join us?

liamo123

menoscemo wrote: »

There's a big group of us heading out at 11 from the papal car park. Why don't you join us?

Cheers M...If I can get things sorted here I'l b there...

liamo123

Saturday 5th.....13.5 miles...1.34.45..

Was going to join the crew in the Park 4 long run but was awake early so decided to run local route and concentrate on get miles in a PMP..6.49 or so..

1 mile warmup followed by miles as follows : 6.51, 6.51, 6.55, 6.38, 6.34, 6.47, 6.41, 6.55, 6.50, 6.55 and 6.55....... 1.5 mile cooldown

I always find these runs tough and the time variations while not intentional didnt worry me.. Come marathon day I always find running MP so much easier... I must invest in a Garmin sometime soon!!

After 2 day of no running was happy with this session and hopefully I'l get a long one in tomorrow..

liamo123

Sunday 6th... No running

Long story but briefly : My daughter has not been well for few days so this morning Mrs L decided to ring and make appointment with out of hours doctor in Navan..

Ive also not been feeling great for last while ( exhausted but not sleeping etc ) I put it down to a mixture of work and training.. Early this week a gland in my neck also became inflamed and this progressively got worse.. Im fine running but when I bend or lie down it becomes quite uncomfortable..

Anyway following telephone conversation with Doctor it transpired our daughter didnt need 2 visit him thank god but Mrs L happened to tell him my predictment and he asked to speak to me on phone ..He strongly advised me to visit my own GP tomorrow to get neck seen 2,blood tests etc but directed me not 2 run today... Was still tempted to get a few miles in but Mrs L put down her foot and said no!!

So Doc it is tomorrow, hopefully get sorted asap and back running


30.9 miles for week
249.45 miles for year

theboyblunder

hope its nothing serious liamo - back on the road in no time!

liamo123

theboyblunder wrote: »

hope its nothing serious liamo - back on the road in no time!

Cheers man.. at least it happened now and not 2 or so weeks later... This time next month we'l b in a booser somewhere in Barca with our feet up:)

liamo123

Monday 7th.....13 miles..1.34.47..

Nipped off work this morning to visit Doc who took bloods.. will get results Wed afternoon so fingers crossed... more importantly he didnt say I could'nt run.....

5 laps of 2.6 miles loop around village......nice relaxing run..speeded up a bit for last 2 laps...

liamo123

Tuesday 8th.....5.2 miles...42.12..
Legs sore after mondays run so took it handy tonight..


Wednesday 9th.......6.5 mile approx.....1 mile warmup followed by sets of 3mins fast with 90secs slow...Struggled with this one..I just dont feel right atm...


Thursday 10th...4.5 miles...35.06...
This was my worst run ever :mad:.. Plan was for 13 with 5 at Mp... After about 2 miles I felt dreadful and weak with no energy levels so packed it in when I arrived back to the house after 1 loop.....

Im not one to whinge but atm I feel like sh!te.. Got the results of blood tests tis afternoon and all is fine.. I should b happy but now Im just confused... If im fine why the sudden change in energy levels etc..

A pal of mine thinks I might have overtrained.. Ive done alot of running in last couple of years but Ive never been the most committed when it comes to putting in the hard miles so Im at a loss....

Plan between now and Barca is take every day as it comes but I need 2 do a very slow LSR at weekend.. Come hell or high water I'l give 100% in Barca and will re-evaluate after that...Conn Ultra is defo in the balance atm

Rant over....Postive thoughts from now on

theboyblunder

Have a look at my log, and that of dare2be, oisin11178, christeb etc. were all at the end of a tough period of training and we are all either knackered or carrying niggles.

The taper should lead to us all recovering and improving.
Keep the chin up

liamo123

Friday 11th.....Rest Day..


Saturday 12th......22 miles....3.13 approx....

Decided to gatecrash the Boards LSR and was exactly what I needed...... time on my feet, good company and good conversation.. Menoscemo Aka Forrest Gump led the way followed by Mr Ultraman Aimann and three ladies soon to run under 4 hrs for the marathon; DigiJem, Jcsmum and Rainbow Kirby.. Nice enjoyable run....

Sunday 13th...7 miles...52.04...

Mrs L was working today so couldnt get out until late afternoon... While watching the edge of the seat rugby was v tempted to crack open a can of Guinness but refrained..Glad I did... Nice run to finish off a difficult week for me...


Milage for week : 58.2..
Milage for year : 307.65