Running changes everything

jcsmum

It's weird that some days we're all set to go and then others we're lazy and unmotivated.
What road race are you doing? I could go back over your log to find out but it's Friday & I'm lazeeeee

RubyK

Yep, it's funny how one day you are raring to go, and another it's a chore to put on your gear, let alone getting out the door. The guilts from bailing out are horrible though :pac: and usually knowing they'll be on the way is enough to shift my lazy behind, alas, this was not the case for Tuesday and my track session.

Tonights race is The Tramore 4 It's a flat 2 lap route. I'm just not fond of these shorter races. I shall see later how I feel.

jcsmum

RubyK wrote: »

Tonights race is The Tramore 4 It's a flat 2 lap route. I'm just not fond of these shorter races. I shall see later how I feel.

I hear ya!

RubyK

Fri 08/04 - decided not to race this evening, as my legs were tired, and I knew if I did the 4 mile race, it would end up being a bad time, and I'd be like a demon for the rest of the day disappointed, so headed off to the beach and did 6 easy miles. It was a gorgeous evening out there. Past everyone lining up for the race on my way back to the car, and felt guilty for bailing out

Sat 09/04 - time was against me this morning so a handy 6 miles, again on the beach, had to do, instead of a LSR.

RubyK

Mon 11/04 - 6 miles in blustery cold conditions. Avg 8.32 mins. Body felt quite niggley.

Tues 12/06 - 1 mile run at 7.00am with the dog. God love her, she's become quite unfit, so that was far enough for her. She got a 3 mile walk when I got home from work.

Tues 12/06 pm - same route as last night. 6 miles, again blustery. Found the hills tough with the wind, and pace was a bit slower than last night. Avg 8.42 mins. Body not so niggley.

Off to the torture track tonight.

jcsmum

Well done you. When I see wind, it's my excuse not to go running. It was a perfect evening for running in Dublin yesterday.
My memories of Waterford are wind, wind and more wind.

RubyK

jcsmum wrote: »

My memories of Waterford are wind, wind and more wind.

That was pretty spectacular weather you encountered that Saturday :eek:

RubyK

Wed 13/04 - track session.

The plan was 600 metres + 1.30 mins recovery + 200 metres hard + 150 metre recovery. Repeated four times.

I couldn't keep up with the lads, so I was only getting 500 metres.

Fairly disappointed, I found it really hard going. Felt pretty deflated on the drive home

With warm up and cool down 4.5 miles covered.

jcsmum

RubyK wrote: »

Wed 13/04 - track session.

The plan was 600 metres + 1.30 mins recovery + 200 metres hard + 150 metre recovery. Repeated four times.

I couldn't keep up with the lads, so I was only getting 500 metres.

Fairly disappointed, I found it really hard going. Felt pretty deflated on the drive home

With warm up and cool down 4.5 miles covered.

Might I remind you of YOUR words of wisdom on my log!!!

claralara

jcsmum wrote: »

Might I remind you of YOUR words of wisdom on my log!!!

I was just about to say this!!!
Bad run, chalk it down. Chin up, you’re doing great!:)

RubyK

Sat 23/04 - headed off early on Saturday morning, and it was a perfect day for running, lovely and calm, no headwind to be tackled. Did 3 hilly laps, plus a bit of a detour on the way home to get in 15.40 miles avg 9.25 min pace. I really enjoyed this run, it's the longest since DCM. Although, my right quad was niggling away for the most part - plenty of streching and a hot bath seemed to help it.

Sun 24/04 - headed off to the beach for a loosener, and see how the quad felt. It was a bit tight for the first mile, but fine after that. 4.18 miles. I foam rolled the quad, and it certainly did the trick. I really must get strict with using it.

jcsmum

Nice run on Saturday. Well done.

RacoonQueen

What are your goals at the minute Ruby? Any big races coming up?

Well done on the long run.

RubyK

RacoonQueen wrote: »

What are your goals at the minute Ruby? Any big races coming up?

Hey RQ, have a 7.5 mile race in two weeks time. Last years time was 59.xx but I'm not sure if I'll be any quicker this year. It'll depend on the conditions that evening - it's an "a to b" race (if that's even the right term), so if the wind is to my back, great! If not, it'll be a slog.

Main aim at the moment is the Enniscorthy half. My pb is 1.49.19 from KK last year, so would love to take a little off it, not much, maybe 1.48.xx.

Then it'll be marathon mode. Jebas, time is flying by :eek:

Will you be going to Enniscorthy again this year?

shazkea

Going well there Ruby, well done.

I thought about the Enniscorthy half but have a wedding that Friday so not sure it's a brilliant idea...jury is still out!! Is it a fast course?

tunguska

RubyK wrote: »

Fri 08/04 - decided not to race this evening, as my legs were tired, and I knew if I did the 4 mile race, it would end up being a bad time, and I'd be like a demon for the rest of the day disappointed, so headed off to the beach and did 6 easy miles. It was a gorgeous evening out there. Past everyone lining up for the race on my way back to the car, and felt guilty for bailing out

Dont mean to be hard on you Rubyk or anything but when youre scheduled to race, then you race. The only valid excuses are injury or genuine illness. Not racing because your legs feel a bit tired isnt a vaild excuse.
You cant judge this whole running game by how you feel because a lot of the time your mind plays tricks with you. Pretty much everytime before I race my mind will tell me that my legs are tired or Im just not up to it in some way. So many times before big track sessions I'll all of a sudden get the sniffles and "feel a cold coming on" during the day. But once I get stuck in to the session the cold will magically disappear. Ditto for the sore legs. You gotta ignore this, you gotta just say that inspite of how you think you feel, you'll race or you'll train. Because if you start letting things stop you from racing or training you'll give up and roll over way too easily when you do actually race. Ignoring the sore legs and the feelings of imagined fatigue and anything else is how you get tough.
Now there will be times when you're genuinely wasted and shouldnt train or race but with experience you'll be able to dicifer between whats genuine and whats imagined.

RacoonQueen

RubyK wrote: »

Hey RQ, have a 7.5 mile race in two weeks time. Last years time was 59.xx but I'm not sure if I'll be any quicker this year. It'll depend on the conditions that evening - it's an "a to b" race (if that's even the right term), so if the wind is to my back, great! If not, it'll be a slog.

Main aim at the moment is the Enniscorthy half. My pb is 1.49.19 from KK last year, so would love to take a little off it, not much, maybe 1.48.xx.

Then it'll be marathon mode. Jebas, time is flying by :eek:

Will you be going to Enniscorthy again this year?

Dunno about Enniscorthy. If there's a pacing gig again I might do that. I was going to bitch about how I haven't felt right for racing this year - just don't feel in good shape. Then I read Eoins post and now I feel bad!

I'll be at the Wexford half either to pace or to race depending on whether I can fill the other 2 hour slot or not or whether I feel 'right' for racing or not.

RubyK

shazkea wrote: »

I thought about the Enniscorthy half but have a wedding that Friday so not sure it's a brilliant idea...jury is still out!! Is it a fast course?

It was my first half, and I too had a wedding on the Friday before. I was really unsure about doing it, but then said feck it, I would recover on the Saturday. I was grand for Sunday, and really enjoyed it. It's a nice route, there are a couple of hills in the first few miles, but after that it's grand. Go for it

tunguska wrote: »

Dont mean to be hard on you Rubyk or anything but when youre scheduled to race, then you race. The only valid excuses are injury or genuine illness. Not racing because your legs feel a bit tired isnt a vaild excuse.

You are not being hard tunguska, you are being honest. And I knew it myself, I felt bad for it. I jibbed it, but will HTFU in future :pac:

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Dunno about Enniscorthy. If there's a pacing gig again I might do that. I was going to bitch about how I haven't felt right for racing this year - just don't feel in good shape. Then I read Eoins post and now I feel bad!

He's like that little voice in your head, that gives you the guilts! But sure if we didn't get the guilts we would never get out the door Hope to see you in Enniscorthy. Definitely think you should plan to go there racing.

RubyK

Mon 18/04 - time was really against me, but I eventually got out for a quick run. 4.31 miles avg 8.37 mins on trail and road. Right quad still a bit niggley, so I had another delightful session with the foam roller.

tunguska

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Dunno about Enniscorthy. If there's a pacing gig again I might do that. I was going to bitch about how I haven't felt right for racing this year - just don't feel in good shape. Then I read Eoins post and now I feel bad!

My intention isnt to make anybody feel gulity or bad or be a hard ass bastard. Im just want you guys to be aware that you really cant judge things by how you feel. That the greatest obstacle anybody will ever face is themselves and that weak part of them that always wants to quit and live the easy life as soon as things start to get tough.
Edmund Hillary said: Its not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.
ANd thats what its all about

RacoonQueen

tunguska wrote: »

My intention isnt to make anybody feel gulity or bad or be a hard ass bastard. Im just want you guys to be aware that you really cant judge things by how you feel. That the greatest obstacle anybody will ever face is themselves and that weak part of them that always wants to quit and live the easy life as soon as things start to get tough.
Edmund Hillary said: Its not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.
ANd thats what its all about

Ah yeah I know that wasn't your intention.

It's just that I can 100% relate to everything in your post. The mind games, felling a bit 'iffy' on the day of your track/speed session - I'm a demon for it. I know when I'm doing it that it's just in my head and it's a desperate fight to still turn up for the intervals - or to do the final two intervals cos my mind is telling me "I've done enough, I need to save my legs for my next session" :rolleyes: In racing and in tough training sessions I'm a terror for just throwing in the towel, my performance problems, when I'm healthy, are all mental. I'm now just throwing around my head that "I'm never going to get back to my best, never mind improve, if I don't keep going'' it's starting to work!

Sorry for the log hijack - but it's actually a good topic and Tunguska is a great one for the mental side of running.

RubyK

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Ah yeah I know that wasn't your intention.

+1

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Sorry for the log hijack - but it's actually a good topic and Tunguska is a great one for the mental side of running.

No bother RQ, I'm delighted that this has been brought up

Tues 19/04 - lovely evening again. It was very warm, and I'd have loved nothing more than jumping in to the cove after mile 3 :pac:. 6 mile avg 8.21. Quad a bit niggley. Streching & foaming afterwards.

Wed 20/04 - track session. 8x400's with 90 sec recovery, followed by 6x150's. I really find these tough, and don't feel like I'm making progress at all. 4.3 miles covered with warm up & cool down. Quad made itself known on 2nd interval, which worried me. Lots of foaming when I got home.

Thurs 21/04 - day off work, so headed to the beach for an early morning run. Wanted to see how the quad was. The tide was on the turn, and I had the beach to myself for nearly 4 miles, it was bliss! 5.85 miles avg 9.25. Quad felt perfectly fine, even plodding through the soft sand

6 days on the go. I haven't done that in a long time.

shazkea

RubyK wrote: »

Thurs 21/04 - day off work, so headed to the beach for an early morning run. Wanted to see how the quad was. The tide was on the turn, and I had the beach to myself for nearly 4 miles, it was bliss! 5.85 miles avg 9.25. Quad felt perfectly fine, even plodding through the soft sand

6 days on the go. I haven't done that in a long time.

Sounds like an idyllic run. Glad to hear the quad has quit complaining, I find the foam roller brilliant for it.

RubyK

Sat 23/04 - LSR, on the usual 2 loop hilly route. Pretty uneventful, but no damage to report. 12.1 miles, avg 9.02 mile pace.

Sun 24/04 - such a gorgeous morning called for a nice country route I haven't taken in about a year. Met my 4 legged friend at mile 2, who appreciated the doggie chew I brought for her. A really lovely run, legs felt good. 5.21 miles, avg 8.50 mile pace.

Mon 25/05 - a slightly hungover trot along the beach. It served it's purpose, I felt much better for it 5.85 miles, avg 9.06 mile pace.

Plenty of stretching and foam rolling after each session seems to be keeping the niggles at bay.

RubyK

Tues 26/04 - 5.15 miles avg 8.16 min pace. Enjoyable run.

Track session tonight. Jebas, these Wednesday evenings come around very fast :rolleyes:

shazkea

RubyK wrote: »

Tues 26/04 - 5.15 miles avg 8.16 min pace. Enjoyable run.

Track session tonight. Jebas, these Wednesday evenings come around very fast :rolleyes:

This is your enjoyable run pace :eek:

RacoonQueen

RubyK wrote: »

Tues 26/04 - 5.15 miles avg 8.16 min pace. Enjoyable run.

Track session tonight. Jebas, these Wednesday evenings come around very fast :rolleyes:

Getting that sickly feeling tunguska mentioned yet? I had that yesterday! :pac:

RubyK

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Getting that sickly feeling tunguska mentioned yet? I had that yesterday! :pac:

I sure did! I also wondered if I should cancel, due to a sniffle case of suspected flu, but the wise words were going loudly around my head so I went.

Wed 27/04 - 8 x 400's with 90 second recovery, plus 6 x 150's with 100 metre recovery. Forgot my watch but think with warm up/cool down we got 4.5 miles covered. Found the 400's very tough, much prefer the 150's. Right quad still not quite right, it's acting up after 2 intervals.

Thurs 28/04 - day off work, so off out on the road before 8.30am. It was beautiful out there, hardly met anyone. Took it very handy, so as to not aggrevate the quad. 6 miles avg 8.52 min miles. Spent the rest of the day gardening, in the sun. Perfect

RubyK

Sat 30/04 - wasn't feeling the love today, but eventually got out the door saturday afternoon, just to get a few miles done and clear my head. It was very warm, and very windy. I had no water, so a detour to my parents house was a must. Took in a new, quite hilly route, and enjoyed it. 8.35 miles avg 8.33 min pace - so just under pmp.

Sun 01/05 - went for an early morning country trot in the wind and rain. 5.01 miles at 8.51 min pace. Another enjoyable one.

Mon 02/05 - another wet and windy day - oh how quickly you get used to the nice fine calm days. Legs were quite sluggish, and it felt harder than it should have. 5.17 miles at 8.37 min pace.

RubyK

Tues 03/05 - enforced rest day due to a delightful eye reaction. I would have frightened animals and small children if I'd ventured out, so I did the right by the general public, and stayed indoors.

Wed 04/05 - eye returned to normal, and off to the track. First time for me doing this type of session. I found it tough going, but the most satisfactory session yet, as at last I felt I am making some kind of progress. The rest day yesterday may have helped too, as my legs definitely felt fresh.
1x400m + 1 min recovery.
1x800m + 2 min recovery.
1x1200 + 3 min recovery
1x1200 + 3 mins
1x800m + 2 mins
1x400M + 2 mins

4x150s' + 50m recovery. 5.31 miles covered.

Thus 05/05 - early morning run in the wind and rain. 6.05 miles avg 8.33 pace. Felt tougher than it should have at times, but putting it down to the early start, for me.

No running until Saturday nights 7.5 mile race. Weather looks like it'll make it a tough slog. There's nowhere to hide from the wind on that main road :eek: