Slow is the new fast...

Nules10

Your neck shouldn't really hurt you after Pilates... ensure you are doing the positions right and if it hurts you neck say it to your instructor.

captain P

Nules10 wrote: »

Your neck shouldn't really hurt you after Pilates... ensure you are doing the positions right and if it hurts you neck say it to your instructor.

Thanks , I figure I was holding myself awkward in a few of the crunches. I had problems with my upper back & neck about 2 years ago, I'm always very stiff/ tense around the neck & shoulders, so I think it's just probably case of trying to solve that.

captain P

Just back from my run. Very happy with it. Felt very comfortable despite needing to pee from about 1km in, and then developing a few blisters towards the last few km. Wanted to go further but my need to pee kinda took priority:o. think I could have done another 2km comfortably enough .

7.87km in 46:19 avg pace of 05:52/km

1 00:05:55
2 00:05:50
3 00:05:56
4 00:05:48
5 00:05:59
6 00:06:02
7 00:05:57
8 00:04:48

Gotta do something about these blisters. If I run more than 30 mins I seem to get them

Other than that - delighted. Making progress. Legs feel good.

captain P

Had to cancel my planned run today. Blister within a blister :eek:

But, some good news for once: got accepted to the MSc... back to college in September, full time for 15 months. Delighted!
I'll have to live off my savings for that time, so will prob have to keep race entrys to a minimum. Maybe I'll join the college athletics club..... we'll see!

FGR

That's some serious progress Captain P. Keep it up and you'll get there.

I've been training since March and still can't seem to do 5k in under 35 mins so compared to me you're going like a bat out of hell!

captain P

ForegoneReality wrote: »

That's some serious progress Captain P. Keep it up and you'll get there.

I've been training since March and still can't seem to do 5k in under 35 mins so compared to me you're going like a bat out of hell!

Thanks! I'm delighted with the progress I'm making. Hoping to get my 5km time to 25 mins by the end of September if I can keep it up!

captain P

Tried a bit of a makey-uppy interval session this morning. Felt great.
Really on a bit of a high today at how much progress I'm making in such a short time - but I'm not overdoing it with training either so very happy with it. Just over a month and no injuries - just a few niggles and some blisters. I'm already comfortable with anything up to 8km without any stops.

Wanna try a 10km training run next weekend

So today I ran 2.65km in about 16 mins warm up. Then did 150m fast, walked for approx 1 min, jogged 1 min, then repeated x 5. Then a slow 1.5km jog back home.

When I got back I was wobbly, but did 5 sets of 10 push ups and some stretching and rolling on my quads - my left leg was very tight.

Decided to give up beer. Not all alcohol, but beer - for a while anyway - causes havoc with my stomach lately for at least 2 days after, and I might have only had 3 pints. So, for the time being, no beer - gonna stick to the girly drinks for a bit:(!

captain P

Current plan for this week:

Monday: intervals - done

Tuesday: 30 mins easy run & some strength
Wednesday: 5km
Thursday: pilates
Friday: rest
Saturday: try for 10km...

captain P

16 mins at 5:51 pace. Left leg very tight and in combination with the humidity today, not my most sucessful run to say the least. Mind isn't in it today.

captain P

Feet hurt, legs hurt, tummy hurts, brain hurts. No run tonight.

captain P

A few bad days brain/emotion-wise. Hard to get myself going .

Did Pilates last night, went well. Again, not that sore today - feel like my stomach muscles should be achy but they're not! Can only really feel it in my hips.

No run tonight coz I'm meeting a friend.

Happy Friday folks!

runfuj

Hey captain P - first of all congrats on your progress, you seem to be around the same level that I'm at, so it's pretty inspirational to read about your progress, and the improvement in your times. Well done. It might even inspire me to post a log of my own (but I'd be ashamed if I didn't make any improvement for weeks and had to post :eek:)

captain P

runfuj wrote: »

Hey captain P - first of all congrats on your progress, you seem to be around the same level that I'm at, so it's pretty inspirational to read about your progress, and the improvement in your times. Well done. It might even inspire me to post a log of my own (but I'd be ashamed if I didn't make any improvement for weeks and had to post :eek:)

Thanks runfuj! I've always enjoyed reading others logs, and find having my own quite motivational! You should definitely set one up.

captain P

Just back from running 10km for the first time ever:

1 00:06:06
2 00:06:25
3 00:06:37
4 00:06:43
5 00:06:44
6 00:07:03
7 00:06:44
8 00:06:37
9 00:06:43
10 00:05:57

10.02km in 01:05:51 avg pace: 06:34/k

Happy with that. Feel good. Just a bit stiff in the legs. Wind was very strong against me on the second half so happy that I managed to keep my pace.
Muscles at the front of my hips (especially left) seem to be permanently very tight & sore, will have to read up and get something sorted with that.

Might head over to Santry and watch some of the National championships....

Need to shower and eat first .

captain P

Went to Santry afterwards yesterday and got to see a few races! Some fantastic talent there, enjoyed it .

Legs are not happy with me today. Cycling against the wind to work this morning was not fun!!

I'll take tonight as a rest and do a 5 or 6km tomorrow night.

captain P

Gonna say it was a recovery run... 5.13km in 31:06, avg pace 6.04/k. Legs felt very heavy!

captain P

Some thinking out loud....:D

captain P wrote: »

These are my provisonal goals for my running over the next year, nothing set in stone yet:

25th Sept 2011: Rathfarnham 5k - would like to complete in 25mins.
Jan 2012: Raheny 5
1st April 2012: Connemarathon Half
May/ June 2012: Phoenix park duathlon
Summer 2012: Dublin race series 5 mile, 10 mile, Half
October 2012: Dublin Marathon :eek:

Ok, so seeing as I'm going back to college full time and will be surviving off my savings for 15 months I won't really be able to afford any races outside of Dublin, which is a pity because I thought the Connemara Half would have been a nice first 13.1 .

I'll keep an eye out for some races in the Jan-May timeframe, hopefully get a 10k in. Not too keen on doing the Flora mini marathon in June- the amount of walkers etc.. is putting me off. I don't really enjoy crowds like that!

From mid-Sept I'll be back out in UCD, so will be cycling approx 24km a day, and hopefully running 3 or 4 times a week. At least Belfield will be handy for intervals with the track being there! Hopefully I'll have built up some good fitness over the Winter to get some good times in the race series. Maybe if I get better at the distances I could chance running to or from college once a week!

The increased mileage from next month means I'll probably need to tweak my diet. I've already lost some weight since June and I don't really want to lose much more. I eat fairly healthily and take in about 1700-2000 calories a day at the moment. High stress levels and the extra exercise seems to have made me drop some weight. My energy levels aren't great either - well not as good as I want them to be.

No run tonight coz I'm meeting a friend. Pilates tomorrow night. I'll run on Friday evening, and hopefully a long run on Sunday.

captain P

Pilates last night, think I'm getting the hang of it..... my core muscles are really killing me today... in a good way !

Hoping my new runners will be waiting for me when I get home (along with a new saddle for my bike ).

Gonna do a run tonight; plan on approx 5-6km with some strides thrown in. My usual 5km route has about 1.5km of an uphill on it - might try a flatter route tonight for the strides instead.

Been itching to get out for a run since Wed, think I'm officially addicted!

captain P

Last night:

5km with some 100m(ish) strides thrown in here and there and a faster last 1km (4:47).

28:31 avg pace 5:42. Had to stop twice for about a minute or so- once to open a gate into a local park, and once took ages to cross the road.

In work until 13.00 today, about 25 mins cycle home. Waiting to hear from a friend if we're meeting up. If we're not... think I'll go for a short leg-stretcher this afternoon and do some stretching and strength before my planned long run (11km) along the coast tomorrow.

Really need to clean & oil my bike too!!

captain P

So, this morning when I got up, I was feeling a bit groggy after a crappy sleep. I had some breakfast and went nut shopping in Aldi... I got back and had some lunch. Then waited a while, did about 20 mins stretching and hopped on my bike down to Clontarf to go for my run. I intended on doing approx 10km very slowly, same as last week.

Started ok, took about 3km to get into a comfortable rhythm. I was listening to Game of Thrones on audio book and thoroughly enjoying it (reckon I have plenty of hours worth of running listening to these books...). I got to the wooden bridge and started to run over... that's when the wind hit me! It was SO windy I was nearly blown over a few times . I ran out as far as the beach and turned around to come back - this was about 5km in. My calves were feeling tight, so I stopped for a minute and stretched them out. The salty wind was even stronger on the way back, and I figured I wouldn't be able to finish my intended 10km as a result. I kept telling myself - "keep going, it'll toughen you up"! And I did! (I think my book helped )

I got back to Fairview and kept going! I did 12.07km in total, then hopped on my bike to cycle back home, and was absolutely lashed on - the rain felt like pins hitting my face and arms... it was very unpleasant .

I'm delighted at my 12km. I felt very comfortable towards the end apart from my legs stiffening up.
My legs are now killing me. Both my knees, both shins, both ankles, left hip & glutes! but nothing that some ice, compression socks, rest and stretching won't solve. It's just me getting stronger.

Here's my run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/106464203

12.07km in 1:18:55 avg pace 6:32min/k

Again, delighted with my progress! I'm slow at the moment, but at least I'm getting the distances in.

Have to start using the HRM that came with my watch!

Nules10

Great running there captainp 12k when it was only meant to be 10. Me i stop when i hit the target. Well done you are making super progress.

captain P

Thanks Nules10! Kinda regretting the extra 2km today though (well... not sure it was what made the difference) coz I'm in a lot of pain. The outside of my left knee and my hip & glutes on left - looks like I've angered my IT band :mad:.

The rest of me feels great though!

Tonight I'll do lots of stretching, icing and roll out that leg... it's gonna hurt!! Gonna take some Nurofen throughout the day to help.

Was planning 4 runs this week as well as pilates - but I'll have to see how the leg goes!!

captain P

So, was off work yesterday so took a day of complete rest for my leg - not even any cycling!

I had taped (kinesio) my Knee/ IT band area, and i've spent two days icing, stretching and foam rolling two or three times a day. It was feeling fine last night but this morning after my cycle to work it's bit tight - not really sore though. Think I'll try a short easy run tonight to test it out. 3-4km or something. REALLY don't want an injury.

New runners arrived. Got Nike Free run plus 2 to replace my Nike free run plus. But I'm not happy with them so far! They've changed the design slightly and they're not as comfy and feel a lot bulkier. Hopefully I just need to break them in a bit. Never had to break the old ones in though :mad:. I'll try them on my run tonight.

On the plus side I got a new seat for my bike - it's 100% more comfortable than my old one!! Felt the difference as soon as I sat on it .

Oh, I found a scales in my parents house and I've lost about 4kg. Probably a combo of stress and exercise. Don't wanna lose much more -don't really wanna drop below 8 stone.

captain P

Last night: 4.75km in 27:40 at 5:49 avg pace.

Took it easy. New runners rubbed my toes a bit . IT band a little tight - but no pain. Lots of stretching and foam rolling afterwards. Overall, better than I expected!

Pilates tonight, I'll roll out my quads and IT band afterwards.

Anyone got any tips for permanently tight hamstrings? I've never been able to touch my toes - think I could improve my stride by loosening them out.

Incremental

In terms of hamstring flexibility I don't think there are any shortcuts. I have a stretching routine that I mostly lifted from http://www.duhac.tcdlife.ie/Training/stretching_local_copy.php that I do for 20 mins in front of the TV most nights. If i drop it for a couple of weeks I find it then takes another couple of weeks to get the flexibility back.

captain P

Thanks, I'll give those stretches a try !

Have a voucher for a sports massage I'll probably book in the next few weeks too.

captain P

Thursday 18th: Pilates - went well. I'm getting better & stronger

Friday 19th: 8.00km 48:41 avg pace 5:57min/km - I stopped twice and didn't pause my watch - once to give someone directions and once because there had been a car crash & I wasn't sure if I could still use the path & cross the road etc.. So I'd take about 2-3 mins off that . Went well. Was quite windy, but a nice coolness in the air - none of that humidity we've had lately - didn't get out until about 8.30pm. The first few km were downhill, and the last few km were uphill. Enjoyed it. Legs felt good. No pain, very relaxed.

Saturday 20th: 3.18km 19:31 avg pace 6:06min/km - Had intended on trying a tempo run. Was planning 10-15 mins warm up, then about 2km at 5:00min/km or under, then a 10-15 min jog back home. BUT after about 5 mins, my knee started at me - thought if I ran through it it'd ease up. But no luck, my hip started at me, and my shin too. I stopped and walked back. Hoping it's not the new runners.
It was my first time trying my HRM too. It's a bit too loose around my chest so I had to stick it under the elastic from my sports bra to hold it up and so it wasn't very comfortable. Avg HR: 158, Max HR: 176... no idea if that's good/bad or what. I'll have to read up a bit about that!

My left side is useless!! In fairness, I had been sitting in a car for most of the day yest so was probably quite stiff. I'd also had Nando's for dinner - which was yummy - but extra salty so I reckon I was a bit dehydrated too.

It's still sore this morning - my planned long run probably won't happen today . if I'm feeling better this evening I might try and see how it goes, but looks unlikely.

This week is my last week in my horrible job . Might not get many runs in but I'll see how it goes!

captain P

Figured if I post this I'll be more likely to do it. Feeling a bit under the weather, but the legs feel fine.

Planning a very easy week, Friday and Saturday (maybe Sunday) will be no running at all. Thursday is Pilates. So really should run today, tomorrow and Wednesday.

Think I'll do slow 5-8km each evening depending on how the legs go.

captain P

Last night: 30 push ups & 40 crunches to warm up a bit and a 7km slow run. Legs feeling ok. Lots of stretching afterwards.

7.03km in 45:30, avg pace 6.28min/km, avg HR 155

First half downhill, second half uphill.

Haven't uploaded it to Garmin connect yet to look at the HR & pace properly, but not bothered.
Left knee a little sore on the bike this morning, but just stiffness I think.

EDIT (thinking out loud again): Could be the Berocca I've just had perking me up, but I'm definitely addicted to running now. I'm going out for drinks on Friday to celebrate finishing work, and I'm concerned at how it'll probably mean I can't run on Saturday too. I'm trying to figure out the best way to fit in running when I'm back in college, but I'll have to wait until I see a timetable.
I'm probably just replacing my boyfriend with running, but I think that's healthy (could be worse - booze etc..)!!
Plus I'm bored in work coz it's my last week and there's not much to do but look up running sites & buy more running stuff.... :cool:.

captain P

30 mins slow tonight. A bit over 5km. Some push ups before, lots of stretching after and some foam rolling. The stretching and rolling each night is starting to show, getting a tad easier.