Michelinman to Superman

zAbbo

G-Money wrote: »

It's the Garmin Forerunner 110. Not sure it has autopause but I'll check.

It doesn't have autopause unfortunately, but it's a lot easier to press the stop/start button that the 405 bezel.

You're doing really well, It's never easy to get up and keep going so don't be hard on yourself.

I find that there's some much info/plans/tips on running that it can be overwhelming when you actually have to go and do the runs - because ultimately you need to build up steadily and that can be frustrating.

Don't worry too much about time/pace - be aware of it but don't focus too hard on it.

G-Money

Went out for a run this evening. I was originally planning to go yesterday (Monday) but I decided to procrastinate until today seeing that Wednesdays tend to be a bit awkward in that I can't leave work as early as I can the other days of the week.

So today I did a bit of a longer run out on the public footpaths again. My distance would have been a wee bit longer but it took my Garmin a good 4 or 5 minutes it seems to pick up a satellite signal and I didn't want to start running until it had.

The run went reasonably well, my only complaint seeming to be my left shin muscle seemingly tightening up after about 1.5k and I felt like my foot was dropping a bit. Although I'm wondering if it's the footpaths around that area as they're a bit slanted to one side. I remember I used to get similar aches when walking the same route although I was wearing different shoes back then and not runners.

I did a total of 5.8K today in 47 minutes 11 seconds. Again I had to stop a couple of times to cross the road but it was a good opportunity to give my shin muscle a bit of a rest.

Cardio wise, I felt very, very good and seemed to have plenty of energy and probably could have kept running for another 1 or 2km.

Again my pace quickened from about 3 or 4km onwards. My splits were:

8:13, 8:22, 8:10, 8:05, 7:59, 6:30 (this last one was only .8 of a kilometre).

Avg Heart Rate: 165bpm, Max Heart Rate: 177bpm. Avg Pace: 8:10 min/km, Best Pace 6:06 min/km.


It's funny. It's like I'm a train or something. I'm kind of slow and it takes me a while to get going but then I'm grand. My first two kilometres always seem to be the slowest, perhaps I'm worried about blowing up too soon and I take it too easy.

The start was tough at times, and as usual had thoughts of "how the hell am I going to do 10K with all those hills" but I managed to put those thoughts out of my mind.

I might pick a different route next time as I think those slanted footpaths are what is bugging my shin muscle. For example I did 5K on Saturday morning on a different route and had no problems at all.

It was great to see some improvement, I didn't really feel b*****xed at any point at all, apart from the first 1K or so and even then, it wasn't too bad.

G-Money

What type of surfaces does everyone else run on? I don't mean hills, but I'm talking about how level they are across the ways?

I'm convinced that's what stiffened up my shin muscle last night as parts of the footpath were very slanted downwards to the left. I don't mind adding in some inclines but as long as the surface is flat the way across. I think I will be investigating some new routes this evening ahead of tomorrow's run.

RayCun

There's one road (between Terenure and KCR) that I avoid completely because the camber is just crazy. Running on either the path or the road is like running along the side of a hill. Best to to stick to level ground where you can...

Oryx

G-Money wrote: »

Cardio wise, I felt very, very good and seemed to have plenty of energy and probably could have kept running for another 1 or 2km.

Then next time, do.

It's funny. It's like I'm a train or something. I'm kind of slow and it takes me a while to get going but then I'm grand. My first two kilometres always seem to be the slowest, perhaps I'm worried about blowing up too soon and I take it too easy.

Thats normal, youre just warming up. Im the same, everything feels stiff and clumsy for the first mile, then you relax and it all comes good.

The start was tough at times, and as usual had thoughts of "how the hell am I going to do 10K with all those hills" but I managed to put those thoughts out of my mind.

Those mental battles make you tougher. Never look at a long distance like that, just break it down. Getting to the end of this road... to the top of this hill... Dont check your garmin, just relax and work on the next bit of road. The next time you plan a 5k run, make it a route where you can extend it coming close to the end, and if you feel good for it, throw in the extra bit.

I might pick a different route next time as I think those slanted footpaths are what is bugging my shin muscle. For example I did 5K on Saturday morning on a different route and had no problems at all.

I hardly ever run on a camber, it does feel rotten, hope you find a better route.

G-Money

I went out and managed to get another run done today - 5.6K on the clock and in the bag. It wasn't as easy today as it was on Tuesday I have to admit. I was feeling a little like I was coming down with a bit of a cold and had a wee touch of a sore throat and I could tell I was trying to talk myself out of going. But I left work and went home and once I'd put my hand onto my running gear, that's usually the point of no return for me.

After issues with my left shin muscle the last day, I decided to take a different route today. I think it's the camber of the footpaths down around the N11 at Foxrock that seems to mess me up. I remember having similar pains just from walking the same route several months ago. I fired up Google Earth the other day and looked up a route that I could run. I found one that would loop around and take me back to my place but I wasn't quite sure how long it would be. Although my overriding thought was "that seems quite far". I think that's because I did all my running until recently, in the park beside my apartment complex. So I'd do 20 laps of that and that would be 5K and I guess because it was so nearby, there was a certain level of comfort that came from being so close to my apartment.

I headed out today anyway, and had to don the running tights and jacket today as it was a nippy 5 degree's C at 4.30pm so I just had to hope that people could contain themselves at the sight of me rushing past them in my running tights

The run went ok today but not great. I think I proved my theory about camber as I had no issues with my shin muscle today but my knee was getting a bit sore again. Although it kind of feels just more like a general ache from exercising. I had to stop a couple of times to cross the road and to be honest, it was a nice little break. My legs felt tired about half way around but I managed to keep going even though I felt like stopping.

I didn't have as much energy today as I did on Tuesday so I wasn't really keen on pushing the distance too much. I wasn't really sure how far the loop would be so it was handy enough that it came to 5.6K.

My splits today were:

8:31, 8:12, 8:16, 8:18, 8:14, 5:24 (this was just .6 of a kilometre).

Avg Pace: 8:18 min/km, Best Pace 6:39 min/km. Avg Heart Rate 168bpm, Max Heart Rate 178bpm.

The legs feel quite tired now so I'm definitely resting up tomorrow and possibly Saturday with the aim of doing 6K over the weekend at some point. I'm thinking of doing the same route as today except with a slight detour that I think will push me up to the 6K mark or closer to it.

Definitely a bit harder today and I again had to quieten down those "how am I going to do 10K/this should be getting easier by now" voices. Although thankfully in the scale of bad workouts I've had, this doesn't even come close.

G-Money

No training this weekend unfortunately. I've picked up a sore throat and a bit of a flu so I'm resting. It's a bit annoying as I was aiming to do 6K this weekend but hopefully missing a few days training and getting better quicker is the lesser of two evils.

G-Money

My throat was so sore I couldn't wait any longer so I went to the doctor yesterday. It turns out I have a strep throat which I guess is some sort of infection. He has put me onto antibiotics for a week and gave me painkillers to allow me to eat. Trying to swallow without painkillers is very very sore so it's good to have them. I figured it was tonsillitis I had based on the symptoms I was having but it's good to have a definite diagnosis now.

He's told me to avoid going into work until tomorrow (Wednesday). I asked him when I could start running again and he also said I should be feeling well enough by Wednesday. However I think I will push it back one day to Thursday as then it fits my schedule again.

So hopefully I'll get 5K done on Thursday although I might go the same route as last week which is 5.6K. I'll see how it goes anyway.

G-Money

Still not 100%. The throat is improving and a lot of the pain has gone away, still finding myself feeling a bit tired and sleepy though.

I think I might postpone the first run until tomorrow and just go out for 2 or 3K to see how I feel and if I'm grand, then do 5 or 6K over the weekend.

G-Money

Today's 'return' run was quite demoralising.

I hadn't been out for a run since Thursday the 3rd so it had been about a week to ten days since I'd donned the running gear and headed out. I picked up a nasty strep throat infection a day or two after my run on the 3rd and it left me a little wiped out, especially those first few days. I thought I was getting the flu or something as I was getting aches and pains all over and went from being really warm to really cold and I felt very tired. Thankfully those symptoms subsided after about 24 hours but then my throat got really sore. Eating food became difficult as swallowing was incredibly painful. I went to the doctor then on Monday and he put me onto antibiotics for a week and also prescribed me painkillers. He also said to take two days off work and when I asked about training, he said to wait two days and then I could begin training again.

However I went back to work on Wednesday and still wasn't quite 100% so I decided to hold off a few extra days before resuming my training. I went out this morning and it kind of was dreadful. I wore my Adidas Adizero Windstopper jacket as I checked the temperature outside before I left the apartment and it was a crisp 1 or 2 degree's. I think the jacket was mistake number one as I didn't feel particularly comfortable wearing it, mainly as it doesn't fit quite right just yet and won't do until I lose a stone or two. Plus I didn't like how I looked wearing it but went out anyway.

I decided to head to the park where I began my running several months ago, to ease myself back in. It was shocking how unfit I felt after only a few hundred metres. My knee's starting aching straight away but not that badly. But my breathing felt like it was really screwed up and I felt like I was breathing a lot heavier than normal when running.

Anyway the breathing seemed to sort itself out after a few laps as did the knee's but in general I felt crap, although I think most of that was in my head. I didn't feel particularly good physically either - I felt incredibly heavy and slow. But mentally I was feeling very frustrated and almost upset as to how slow and unfit I felt.

I remember thinking to myself as I was jogging along "F**k this! I'm changing my diet as I'm sick of feeling like this when I run". But that soon got replaced by "You've made that same promise loads of times and never stuck to it". Which is true, I've hit that wall of frustration many times and just as many times, made the promise that I would change, only to either never both starting, or kind of slacking off after a few days, mostly because I think I'd done well and felt like I could ease off. The problem for me being that easing off usually means a complete reversion to how I was before.

Then to top things off, last nights chinese takeaway started to come back to haunt me. I know, I shouldn't have went but I don't have a DeLorean and I can't go back to the future and change that now. So at the 2.4K mark I pulled up and headed for home as I felt "an urgent need to get home" and I won't go into any more details than that.

I suppose the only silver lining to the dark cloud that was today's run was that at least I actually went out and did some exercise, rather than laying on the couch watching TV.

It was a very frustrating, demoralising and upsetting run today. I felt really unfit, overweight and generally fed up. I was thinking about pulling out of the Great Ireland run as it's looming large on the horizon and my training hasn't been going well. First I was held up by a bit of a knee injury, then getting under the weather last week didn't help either. I have the St Patricks 5K fun-run next Sunday and while I'll probably still do it, I've suddenly started to find the idea very unappealing whereas before I was kind of looking forward to it. I had hoped to break 40 minutes seeing it's a flat course but now I feel like I will be lucky to break my Operation Transformation time of 42 mins, 18 seconds.

I had planned to run today, Tuesday, Thursday then rest Friday and Saturday ahead of the fun-run next Sunday. However I'm now thinking of slotting in a 5K run tomorrow after work too. Today didn't feel like much of an effort.

Today's workout stats:

2.43K, 20mins, 39 seconds.

Avg Pace: 8:39 min/km
Best Pace: 7:28 min/km

Avg Heart Rate: 157bpm
Max Heart Rate: 167bpm

Splits: 8:41, 8:39, 3:39 (this last one was only .43 of a km)

maria74

From one sick bed/couch I would say do not underestimate the power of strep throat! I had it during the summer and it was at least 2 weeks before I felt anyway normal and the had to take it really slowly easing back into running.

It is a hard bug to shake and really intefers with your strength so give yourself a break.

I know I said it before but you seem to be spending so much time putting yourself down for what you are not doing, that I am surprised you ever get out the door again!!:P

Do not pull out of that run in April, just think of that feeling at the end and how great you will feel (if you let yourself!).

How far have you come???

G-Money

maria74 wrote: »

From one sick bed/couch I would say do not underestimate the power of strep throat! I had it during the summer and it was at least 2 weeks before I felt anyway normal and the had to take it really slowly easing back into running.

It is a hard bug to shake and really intefers with your strength so give yourself a break.

I know I said it before but you seem to be spending so much time putting yourself down for what you are not doing, that I am surprised you ever get out the door again!!:P

Do not pull out of that run in April, just think of that feeling at the end and how great you will feel (if you let yourself!).

How far have you come???

Yeah, I know you're right, it just can be a bit demoralising. I pretty much feel fine now and back to normal. I took the last of the antibiotics this morning so they're finished now.

I had planned to go for a 5K this evening after work but I'm not sure if I will do that now. I had a horrific nights sleep last night. Woke up about 2am for a while, then fell asleep again until about 3.30am and seemed to toss and turn until about 5am. Of course as usual, I get really tired and am able to sleep about an hour before the f****g alarm goes off. :mad:

Anyway I'll see how I'm feeling later and if I'm not too wrecked, I might go out and do 2.5 or 3K.

Funny you mention about me putting myself down for what I've not done. That's not the first time that's been said to me. I remember being told years ago that I seem to focus more on what I don't know than what I do know. And recently I've been told that I can be very hard on myself about things.

I don't really get why I'm like that. But for as long as I can remember, I have been. I really should change that!

metamorphosis

Yeah - you seem to over analyse what you do too much imo and it can help set you up for failure i honestly think. If you focus on getting out and enjoying the whole experience more it might click into place more so. We all get terrible runs and we seem to remember them more than the good runs we have (which will always out number tha bad ones )

maria74

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G-Money wrote: »

Funny you mention about me putting myself down for what I've not done. That's not the first time that's been said to me. I remember being told years ago that I seem to focus more on what I don't know than what I do know. And recently I've been told that I can be very hard on myself about things.

I don't really get why I'm like that. But for as long as I can remember, I have been. I really should change that!

I think it is amazing that you are still running because you always concentrate on what you didnt acheive. So you must have some determination to get out there and keep going !!!

I am wishing I was outside running at the moment but am still sick and once I get back out I will go for maybe 10 mins and see how I feel and keep going if I can...so maybe you should just set yourself little goal for tonight? For me I like to see myself getting out there as many times a week as possible (even if just 2/3K sometimes) rather than leaving too many days in between.

SO take it easy on yourself tonight but also congragulate yourself for getting out there when the old you would have sat on couch convincing yourself why you couldn't go out running (or maybe that was just me???)

G-Money

I went out and done 5K this evening after procrastinating and talking myself out of doing it last night. Although in fairness, I'd slept horribly on Sunday night and was very tired yesterday so I decided to skip training.

I was quite demoralised the last day as I felt so slow and out of shape. Thankfully today was better and I managed to complete 5.19K in total. It was tricky at times but not as bad as the last day which was good.

I wasn't sure how much I was going to do today or how far I was going to go, so I decided to head back to the park beside where I live. I figured that way if I hit the wall I won't have as far to walk home and also I guess the important thing is to actually do the exercise and do the miles. The location is irrelevant.

I wore one of my new Adidas long sleeve tops today and debated over whether to wear a jacket on top of it. The weather outside looked nice and sunny and warm but the temperature was about 6 degree's when I was leaving work. I brought a cap with me but I was roasting after a few laps so I decided to leave it on a tree where pesky little dogs couldn't chew it or pee on it like I think happened my €3 euro gloves from Dunnes!

I kind of just approached it tonight like a short enough run and hoped to do 5K but was going to do at least the same distance as I did the last day which was 2.4K. Once I reached that mark I kind of just kept talking myself around. A lap of the park is 0.4K so I try to break it down into segments rather than thinking I've got 4K left to do or whatever. At least that's what I try to do on the days when I'm finding the run difficult.

Distance 5.19K - 42 mins, 43 seconds

Avg Pace: 8:14 min/km
Best Pace: 6:54 min/km

Avg Heart Rate: 171bpm


Splits

8:01
7:59
8:04
8:26
8:38

G-Money

Headed out this morning to do a 5k run and ended up doing 6.6k as I felt so good. I went out with the aim of doing 5k and seeing how it went but once I got 2k done I felt quite good and I said to myself I would just keep going to see how I got on. About half way through the run I remembered that next week there is the Dunboyne 4 mile fun run that I have been considering registering for, but haven't done so yet. I remembered that 4 miles works out as 6.4k approximately so once I knew I was feeling good, I decided that if I still felt good at 5k, I'd aim to do 6.4k.

It was a lovely morning albeit quite cool and crisp. I headed about about 7.15am and there wasn't a sinner to be seen anywhere. I had the famous Hi-Tec cap on to help keep me warm but like the last day, after a few laps I was getting too warm and had to dispose of it temporarily.

I started out a little slower today but not much slower than the last day, just to ease myself in a bit. I was actually enjoying it so much I stopped looking at my Garmin every lap and would only look at it every 3 or 4 laps. I really felt good today.

About half way through the run, someone showed up on their bike and accompanying them was a big lumbering dog that I was convinced was doing to turn itself into an olympic style hurdle that I was going to have to clear. Thankfully though he stayed out of the way. But there's been a few times when dog walkers have let their dogs sort of run loose and the dog's don't have much shyness when it comes to trying to make you fall over!

I kept going anyway but with one eye on the clock, I decided I should stop soon after the 6.4k mark as even though this is St Patricks day, I'm working from home so I was knew I needed to be online around 9am or so. I kept going until I reached the tree that was faithfully holding my cap for me and I stopped the Garmin there and it read 6.63k in 55 minutes, 44 seconds.

I walked back to the apartment and as luck would have it, I couldn't get the zip in my Ronhill Tracksters to open so I couldn't get my keys. I stood there for a good 5 minutes fiddling away and having no luck. In the end I had to go to the conscierge office and ask them to let me in. I'm not sure what I would have done otherwise. Probably would have had to take the tracksters off to get a good look at the zip to see what was wrong with it as it was an ass pocket zip

6.63k - 55 minutes, 44 seconds

Avg Pace: 8:24 min/km
Best Pace: 2:10 min/km (no idea how this came up, there was no way I was running that fast).

Avg Heart Rate: 167 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 182 bpm


Splits:

8:55
8:46
8:28
8:22
8:07
7:58
5:05 (this was the .63 of a km)

I love how my splits seem to get faster as I go along.

G-Money

So after a half decent run last Thursday, I did absolutely nothing over the weekend whatsoever which is quite shocking but not particularly unsurprising knowing me.

I forced myself to head out this evening as I skipped out of a run last night too as I was wrecked. Anyway I went out tonight with the aim of doing 5K but did 6.4K in the end. It wasn't too bad today although I got a bit of a stitch about halfway round and I stopped for about 40-50 seconds to walk it off. I have to say though it made a huge difference that little break and the rest of the run wasn't too bad.

6.4K - 53 mins, 49 seconds.

Avg Heart Rate 168bpm
Max Heart Rate 177bpm

Splits:

8:22
8:04
8:16
8:22
8:26
8:25
3:51 (this was .46 of a km)

I'm half thinking of doing that Dunboyne 4 mile fun run on Sunday, although judging by the time I did today, I would have finished 3rd last according to the results from 2010!

G-Money

Today I went out and did another 4 miles. I hadn't really planned to but I was talking to a friend of mine who's an excellent runner, close to elite level. I'd sort of just been drifting along with no real training plan and he suggested one today which I like the sound of.

For the first four weeks, I will be doing 4 miles, 4 times a week.

The four miles I did today was tough at the start. Although once I got over the 3 mile mark, the rest of it was ok-ish. I was doing several laps of the park then went out and did an extended lap on the roads. I think I will need to go out and clock a better route in the car as I was sort of going in circles today.

4.03 miles - 54 minutes, 57 seconds.

Avg Pace: 13:38 min/mile
Best Pace: 10:56 min/mile

Avg Heart Rate: 167 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 177 bpm


Splits:

13:37
13:30
13:36
13:48

G-Money

I didn't sleep particularly well last night. In fact it was just after 2am when I nodded off and my alarm went off at 6.30am. I could have possibly stayed in bed a bit longer but I prefer to head into work early and leave early.

I was feeling so sleepy today and I'll be honest, I was seriously considering giving today's training a miss. My runner friend from work was telling me I needed to go out and do 4 miles anyway so I kind of reluctantly did. I did what is becoming my normal routine now of saying I will go out and do a short distance and if I feel ok, I will keep going.

I was close to skipping it alright, especially as I had received some new RAM for my laptop and I was eager to install it but then I just said to myself that installing the RAM and being a nerd can be my reward for doing 4 miles. So as usual, once I put my hand onto my running gear, that was it pretty much.

I did a couple of loops around the area where I live but I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go in-case I blew up early and would have face a longer walk home.

I've decided to set my Garmin settings back to kilometres rather than miles. It's more of a mental thing as the kilometres seem to rack up a lot quicker than the miles so I guess it makes the run seem shorter. Even though I'm doing the conversion before I set out so I am sure I am covering the distance I want.

6.52km - 55 minutes, 5 seconds.

Avg Heart Rate: 164bpm
Max Heart Rate: 172bpm

Avg Pace: 8:27 min/km


Splits:

8:32
8:35
8:16
8:30
8:32
8:14
4:21 (this was half a km)

G-Money

Today I completed the Dunboyne 4 mile fun run in Meath and boy, it was tough at times. I ended up being a bit late getting to the start line and only made it with about 5 minutes to spare and even then, I had to jog some of the distance which wasn't in the game plan.

I started out and I found the first mile or mile and a half very tough. I've taken to keeping my Garmin set on kilometres as they seem to rack up much faster and it makes me feel like I'm getting through the distance quicker. After about a mile and a half I seemed to get a second wind and a tiny bit more speed and I thought to myself "finally the afterburners are kicking in". I've noticed in training that the first mile or mile and a half are the hardest and then I seem to settle into a rhythm and it get's a bit easier.

Although before this I had started just breaking down the route into smaller chunks. I'd say to myself "just make it to that bend" or "just make it to the roundabout". As I headed past the first roundabout the route led onto a big long road and I thought "oh god, this is going to take forever". Thankfully it was just after this that I started to feel a bit more comfortable.

I was ok then until I hit the 3rd mile mark and I felt like I had very little left in the tank. As I was about half way around that last lap I remember thinking to myself "This is torture, why are you doing this to yourself, just stop and never try anything like this again". But I just kept going and refused to walk any of it unless I absolutely had to. I was very tempted at times but I somehow just kept going.

As I was heading back into the town towards the finish line I passed a few of the runners who had finished and who were own their way home and they smiled at me and told me to keep going which was a really nice unexpected bonus. I rounded the last corner and seen the finish line and put the hammer down a little over the last few feet.

My time was slow, 52 mins 24 seconds, but from looking at my training runs, I think I was about a minute faster than I had been in training which is good. I also wasn't completely last which was my main aim. Although I knew it would be touch and go based on last years finishing times as to whether I could avoid being last. When I was on my way to Dunboyne I'd changed my mindset and decided to stop worrying about being last and just tried to enjoy it. Although if you had seen my face at the 3 mile mark and towards the finish, you could tell I wasn't enjoying it one bit

So there it is. The race was chip timed so it's in the record books now. I think the results are being printed in the Independent tomorrow so I will probably pick up a copy, just for my own satisfaction.

Today I got new respect for the more elite runners. I was really finding it tough out there today. I don't know if it was lack of training, or lack of sleep or what, but I really found it tough at times. I've huge room for improvement though, that's the main thing.

4 Miles: 52 mins, 24 seconds

metamorphosis

Well done on today G.

RayCun

You got out there, you ran, and you finished faster then you could have done it last year. That's the main thing. Keep running regularly and you'll keep improving.

rom

Get a bin and fill it with cold water. go into it for 2 mins after your training runs and you will see yourself recover better and be less sore the next day. Regarding setting the next gate etc and the goal and then next gate after that etc. is how everyone starts after a while these goals will get further apart naturally. Also drink lots of water slowly in the few hrs after a run as you need to piss out the latic acid. I ran(stumbled) 3K (took like 25 mins or somthing like that) with my wife back in Sept. Have stuck with it. Ran 10 mile race today in 81 mins 5 secs. I have found that just one mouthful of lucozade sport before run (only one mouthful as that is all you need) helps me a lot when running. I drink water then when I come back and you need to eat within 30 mins of your run or you will get very tired. A ham sandwich or another mouthful of lucozade sport if you are stuck. Drinking any more is not really needed tbh. Best of luck.

G-Money

RayCun wrote: »

You got out there, you ran, and you finished faster then you could have done it last year. That's the main thing. Keep running regularly and you'll keep improving.

True. In fact this time last year, I hadn't started running so I couldn't have even jogged for 4 minutes without stopping, never-mind 4 miles. I know this as when I started Couch to 5K, I struggled from week 2 to week 4 when the jogging intervals were usually no longer than a few minutes at most.

It's funny. I was just thinking back to the "me" of several years ago. Back then I had no interest in doing exercise of any description, other than running to Burger King drunk at 2am and ordering the entire menu. Had you suggested to me that I do a race, I'd have laughed in your face.

Funny how things change isn't it?

G-Money

I've been quite lazy since the Dunboyne 4 mile race last Sunday. I originally planned to take Monday off, then go out for another 4 miles on Tuesday but for some reason I postponed that. Wednesday and Thursday I was pretty tired after not getting enough sleep the night before so I again shelved the idea of running and then didn't go yesterday as well, I was planning to go this morning.

Anyway, setting all that aside, I went out and done 4 miles/6.4k this morning. I was really conscious of blowing up too soon especially as I hadn't ran since the Dunboyne run, so I went very slowly at the start. Surprisingly enough after about 2k I still felt quite good. The only downside was that my insides were acting up on me a little, which is my own fault seeing I had a frozen pizza last night for dinner!

I got around the 4 miles relatively easily, and it was nowhere near as much of a struggle as the Dunboyne race was. Although I finished 5 minutes slower today than I did last Sunday at the race. I'm not really that bothered about the time today, I just wanted to get the miles done. As my running friend keeps telling me - "Forget about the time, just do the miles". Although from looking at my splits, it's clear now I was lapping a lot slower than Sunday. But again, for once, it really doesn't bother me.

I am seriously considering joining a running club soon. My friend is in Rathfarnham club and he said if I came down he'd introduce me to the coach and everything and I could just do my own runs around the park. So will see how it goes. I think it would be nice to meet some other runner types and I guess ones who are open to slow beginners like me. I have to admit the social aspect is a big part of why I'm considering joining.

4 miles/6.48k - 57 minutes, 17 seconds

Avg Pace: 8:52 min/km
Best Pace: 6:07 min/km

Avg Heart Rate: 159bpm
Max Heart Rate: 173bpm


Splits

9:11
9:09
9:13
8:56
8:27
8:33
3:58 (only .48 of a km)

maria74

I have been missing last week or 2 so just catching up now.
Well done on the run and battling through when you wanted to stop, I am still struggling with that!

As a slow runner myself I can get disheartned by my race times sometimes to but as others said it is only about comparing yourself to...yourself (this time last year, last month etc)

I have recently started running witha friend and it has made a HUGE difference, in terms of motivation, pacing, encouragement etc. So if you know someone in a club already it makes it easier just go an join. What have you got to loose?

Are you doing GIR next week?

G-Money

maria74 wrote: »

I have been missing last week or 2 so just catching up now.
Well done on the run and battling through when you wanted to stop, I am still struggling with that!

As a slow runner myself I can get disheartned by my race times sometimes to but as others said it is only about comparing yourself to...yourself (this time last year, last month etc)

I have recently started running witha friend and it has made a HUGE difference, in terms of motivation, pacing, encouragement etc. So if you know someone in a club already it makes it easier just go an join. What have you got to loose?

Are you doing GIR next week?

Yeah for me, what really disheartens me is how slow I am. But I know it's because of my weight. If I was 5 stone lighter I'm guaranteed to be faster, I don't see how I could be as slow. I really wasn't bothered about the time today at all which surprised me. I was just glad to get the miles done, although I could have went a bit faster. But I seem to struggle to know when I should put the hammer down and when I should hold off.

Aye, I am doing the GIR next Sunday. I got my race pack yesterday and the race number actually has my name printed on the front which is nice I'm also racing for my county so it's class to have it's name on the front as well as the colours.

Are you doing it yourself? I'm aiming to finish in less than 90 minutes.

G-Money

It had been suggested to me to try out a new route today so on the recommendation of a friend of mine, I went to Deer Park this morning. I'd never been there before so I checked it out and drove there in the car. It was just as well as it turned out to be about 2.5 miles away from where I live.

I did a 5 minute warm-up walk when I got there and was somewhat relieved to see quite a few other runners and stuff there too. It surprised me a little how many people were there before 9am on a Sunday morning running or walking. I'd never been to Deer Park before so I didn't really know the layout that well, other than what I had seen on Google Earth. But it looks like I started lapping it in the wrong direction as I ended up taking the steep rise at one end of it, rather than going down it.

After about 15 or 20 minutes though, my insides started acting up again. I'm thinking it might have been the few mouthfuls of Lucozade sport I had before I left my apartment. I had some yesterday morning and sure enough I was having issues then too. Although this time it was a little worse so I had to stop early and make my way home.

2.35km - 19 mins, 30 seconds

Avg Pace: 8:17 min/km


Splits

8:36
7:58
2:55 (this was less than half a km)

maria74

At least you know now to avoid lucozade.
I have discovered I cant eat anything before I run in the morning and also have to be careful of what I eat the night before!

GIR next week is so late in day, not sure how it will work out eating wise??

I am hoping to do under 1.20/1.19 after doing that in Aware 10K in Jan. 30 secs less will do me tho, not being very ambitious. Weather in Jan was AWFUL so hopefully be a bit beter next week??

Am trying some walking tho also (as Vaggabond and MicilinM have done) for the first 7K anyway, aim to get to 3/4 K and walk a bit and then 6K maybe and see if that helps. Helped me out last few runs, physically and psychologically!!:) Might help??

G-Money

I did the Dunboyne 4 mile race last week and it didn't start until 3pm. When I got up in the morning (6am to watch Formula 1) I had 2 slices of toast with peanut butter. Then about midday I had a decent bowl of granola and dried porridge oats mixed with a low fat yoghurt. I don't eat any later than 3 hours before a run. I reckon next week I will just have the same granola and porridge oats breakfast and then head to the Phoenix Park. I had to eat something last week as I was nervous but so hungry I felt like being sick!

I'm going to skip drinking the Lucozade now. I only had a few mouthfuls as I thought it might help but it's actually a hindrance it seems so I will cut it out altogether as I could have done without it anyway.

I'd like to be able to jog the entire GIR and not walk any of it. However I discussed tactics with my mate and I reckon I will jog/run the first 5k and keep going as long as I can. I'm thinking that Military road could be tough so when I get there, I'm going to slow my pace a bit and try to take it. If I really have to walk part of it, I will.

We also have to take on that nasty hill out of the Furry Glen towards the end, similar to the OT 5K.

I've never done 10k so this will be the longest distance I've done yet. However I've done 6.4k in about 52-55 minutes and my pace is around the 8:30 min/km mark so I'm hoping to get around in less than 90 minutes.

I'm in the pink wave too so I think there could be a lot of walkers ahead of me so I might try and get closer to the front of the pink wave if I can before the start.