Can I do it?

LarMan

I ran the same way back and forth have to say I only got to appreciate the view a couple of times as I am busy dodging people, puddles and staying breathing

Do you have a route over the cliffs I am not sure where that is, I presume you mean the cliff walk is the one by the sea?

Krusty_Clown

This route takes in sections from both paths: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/113516034

LarMan

Thursday

After the bootcamp exersions of the morning I treated this run as a recovery run. My legs were very sore so the pace was always going to be slow and I deliberately kept clear of any major hills. My aim was just to get around in one piece without stopping. The run itself was tough. I think the combination of the bootcamp and the hard temp run the previous day really takes it out of me so Thursdays even though it is the shortest run seems to be the slowest of my runs bar the LSR. Mayb
e that is why it is put in on Thursdays :rolleyes:

Weight this morning was 87.9kg after a lot of wholemeal pasta and sausage for last nights dinner.

LarMan

Sunday

Friday is a rest day and I should have been doing a 5 mile pace run on Saturday but I was still very sore from the Gym workout on Thursday so I skipped it to ensure I was able to do my long run on Sunday. I was still sore on Sunday and I wan't sure I would be able to run but given how beautiful the morning was I decided I would give it a go and see how I got on.

I was down on the seafront by 9:20 and it was already quiet busy with people out enjoying the weather. This was the first run I've done withour the need of my winter running jacket. I also decided to run this without any music. I did have to carry my lucozade sport in my hand for the run which is a little annoying but manageable.

So I set off after some stretching to see how I would get on. I knew this was going to be a slow run and I was happy that at least I wasn't in any pain as I was running. I running into the sun which meant I had to keep my head down which was fine as I needed to keep my eyes on the path as it is rough. Anyway my run was to take me into Greystones and I had planned to turn around and 9 KM and retrace my steps back to the car. I followed the coast road into Greystones but it turned back a little earlier than I planned wich meant I got back to the car with .7 kilometer left so I had to keep going for a little longer than I had hoped. My legs were really heavy and sore by the end of the run and I really would have struggled to comeplete the half marathon if I had to do another 3 KM.

So no gym for me until the race is over as I can't aford to have sore legs for the next couple of weeks. I was also wondering if it would be worthwhile getting a sports massage this week to try and free up my legs as I feel that I am restricted not by lungs but by legs and how tight they get especially around my hips and groin.

Less than two weeks to go now this week I will have my longest run of 12 miles and then the week after race. I am delighted to have got this far in my training and to have stuck with it.

Weight this morning was 87.9KG

LarMan

Tuesday

My legs were feeling much better after a days rest and I have very little pain, My plan was to do the same route as last Tuesdays run but this time I knew where I was going and decided to change it slightly by doing part of the route in opposite direction.

This run is pretty flat so I see it as a good indicator of my true pace. The start is downhill so the pace was faster than I would have intended, the second km is more uphill but I was surprised whne I looked at my watch at how fast I was going, I knew I would not be able to maintain that pace so slowed down to try and maintain pace at 5:30 km. I was able to do this feeling very comfortable on any downhill sections:rolleyes: and not so comfortable on the uphill sections.

As I know this route quiet well I know when to conserve energy and when to push so I was quiet happy to push harder on the last couple of KMs and so was quicker than the 5:30 pace.

Kilometer Splits were

Split Time
1 04:56.4
2 04:20.2
3 05:25.8
4 05:22.3
5 05:45.8
6 05:30.8
7 05:11.0
8 05:17.1

This was a new PB for me and I think if I really had to I could go less than 40 minutes for the 8Km so definately some progress there.

Weight this morning was 87.2Kg. I would hope to loose another 10Kg over the next 5 months or so, I think this will have a positive affect on my times.

LarMan

Wednesday

Intervals today, 10 X 400 run at sub 5 minute KM per minute pace with walking breaks of 1:30.

Enjoyed this down on the sea front in Bray. Lots of people still around in the evening and it was a nice evening for it.

Ultimately I would like to run sub 25 minutes for 5K and these intervals are a good way of getting there.

Weight was 87.6kg this morning

scriba

Good stuff Larman. I found doing intervals, tempo stuff, or even the odd interval in a longer run, really gave me the confidence to push a little harder for tempo runs. This week I was able to manage a sub 25' 5k. Keep up the good work.

Re: the weight loss, I'm experiencing similarly slow or erratic weigh-in patterns for the last month. I've decided to ignore it, keep faith in my calorie counting and exercise, and stop watching the scales for a bit. That should keep any negativity at bay for a while.

LarMan

That is a good plan Scriba, if it was all about the running I would keep away from the scales as they are a source of frustration. My kids have a confirmation and a communion in the next couple of months and I have a friends wedding as well so I have a lot of reasons to want to lose that last 10 kilos or so.

Good going on the sub 25K, as much as I find these logs motivating, it can alos be slightly demoralising to find you are busting a gut to try and get times that people seem to be able to do in their sleep.

It would be great to have a formula that says if you do this plan and weigh this much you too will be able to run at X speed.

Anyway good luck with the running and thanks for taking the time to read and comment

LarMan

RayCun

LarMan wrote: »

Good going on the sub 25K, as much as I find these logs motivating, it can alos be slightly demoralising to find you are busting a gut to try and get times that people seem to be able to do in their sleep.

Go back to the early pages of the logs
I started my log almost two years ago. I'd just missed going sub-25 in the MSB 5k, this weekend I'll be aiming for low 19s, even 18.5x.

LarMan

Thanks Ray, just went back and looked at your log, some great progression between 2010 and 2011 marathons. We seem to have started from similar positions so if I could get anywhere close to where your are now over the next couple of years I would be more than happy.

scriba

LarMan wrote: »

That is a good plan Scriba, if it was all about the running I would keep away from the scales as they are a source of frustration. My kids have a confirmation and a communion in the next couple of months and I have a friends wedding as well so I have a lot of reasons to want to lose that last 10 kilos or so.

I'm about 2.5 kgs heavier than you at the moment, and am looking for a similar weight loss to you. The scales can be frustrating, but my girlfriend is convinced that I've lost weight in the last 3 weeks (which coincides with my increased running), yet my scales have barely shifted over the last four weeks. Something's changing, it's just not my overall weight. I'm going to keep hitting 32-40km a week, and then see how this takes affect. To be honest, I'd say come another two months, you won't know yourself, if you maintain these effort levels.

Most of my weight is around my gut, which is usually the first fat to arrive, and the last to leave, especially as we're in the middle third of life , so something tells me I'll have to be patient, and trust in my diet and effort. It's all one massive LSR, really!

Thanks for the wishes, and good luck with the training!

LarMan

Thursday

3 mile recovery run around the sea front. This run is always tough depite it's flat surface, I'm changing my long run from Sunday to Saturday to accomodate mothers day. Changing my route to take in some different but familiar territory. This run will be my last LSR before the race. 12 miles and then I get to look forward to the last week which is a taper week.

LarMan

Saturday

Last of my long runs before the race, I wanted to see if I could do this in my planned pace this was 10KM per hour for the full 21 kms. I was doing a new route which took me near my brothers house and he agreed to run a couple of kms with me as part of a 5KM run for him. He has only started running so I knew his pace and stamina would not be great. I reached him after 8km running at my planned pace and was not unduly taxed. The pace slowed down then a good bit for the next couple of kms and at one point we had to walk for a minute to give my brother a chance to get his breath back. I ran a few "fast" kms to get back the time. This again was fine. The rest of the run was good, I did walk for a minute or so to take on some fluids as I can't run and drink at the same time. I will walk through the drink stations during the race as well.

Overall I did the 12 miles in 1 hour and 56 minutes which would give me a finish time in the half of about 2 hours 7 minutes.

My plan is to try and run the first 10K at 6 minute pace and then depending on how I feel, step it up and try to go a little quicker about 5:40 time.

LarMan

Tuesday

4 mile run, I wanted to keep this at a pace of 5:30 per KM. I was able to do this for all of the run and was alittle faster for some of the Run. It would be intersting to see how long I could run at this pace for, I definately could have gone on at this pace if it were on flat ground but I did feel a stitch coming on and this seems to be the problem I have, if I go much faster than my 5 minute km pace a stitch will come on. As soon as I feel the stitch I slow down to avoid it , so unless this improves I will struggle to get faster. But I suppose that with the fullness of time this will also improve.

Summary: 6.41 KM @5:17 per Km

Weight this morning was 87.2kg

LarMan

Wednesday

Tempo run, not looking forward to this run as just had dinner and felt pretty bloated. Anyway it was a shorter tempo run so went out with the idea of running @ 5:40 Km for the slow runs and at @5:20 per km for the fast run.

Went faster than planned at times as the watch indicated I was slower than I wanted so I would speed up.

Summary was 5.62KM in 30 minutes @ 5:21 average.

Weight this morning was 87.0

LarMan

Thursday

Last run before the race on Sunday. 3 miles, I decided rather than taking my usual route to just take a run around so headed in to some estates, up paths, up some hills and eventually along the cliff walk from Bray to Greystones and back down into Bray.

Summary 5K @5:43 per KM in 28:39

Weight this morning is 86.6kg

Next report will be on the race!

LarMan

Sunday Wicklow Half marathon Race

Well I finished my first ever race and it only took me 42 years to do one. Training had gone well with no injuries and all LSRs done so I felt I would have no problem completing the course. On the lead up to the race I was trying to come up with a strategy. I had three times in mind. The first was 2:15 which was my worst case scenario of the course being hilly and wiping me out. 2:07 which was my realistic goal based on my training times. This would have been an average pace of 10K per hour and based on my training I felt this would be achieable. My final goal time would have been sub 2:00. This I felt was a stretch goal but was the one I thought I would give a go. So I set myself a goal of running 5:40 KM which would have brought me in just under 2 hours.

I registered on the Saturday in Amphibian King in Bray and picked up my race pack. Weather was going to be beautiful so that was a plus and meant I would be running in just a runnin top without the running Jacket that I normally wear so that would be a plus.

On the Saturday I brought the kids up to the hell fire club which was nice little jaunt. Saw a guy running circuits from the Car Park up to the Hell fire club. During the race I wished I had his stamina to tackle the hills.

On Sunday after a great nights sleep shortened by the clocks going forward. I woke up looking forward to the day ahead although nervous. My brothers arrived, they were doing the 10K. We headed down to Wicklow and parked up in a car park already populated by the lots of other runners, all looking very fit in comparison to us, so duly intimidated we walked up to the Gaol where I was delighted to see a good turnout and music playing. We kind of stood around then for a half an hour surveying the crowd, we decided to get the full race day experience and joined the queue for the porta loos.:D

We then had a warmup with some one from Coral fitness which helped. We were all walked to the starting point so I shook hands with my brothers and left them. Before the race started we were told that there would be two signs indicating our expected finishing times so that faster runners would not be held up. The second sign indicated Sub 1:45 so that through me as there was no way I was going to be doing a sub 1:45 and I wondered if I had come up to far.

Anyway I decided to stick where I was. While we were waiting I put my Watch on to allow it to pick up the satellites. The first wave of runners set off to applause from the crowd behind and then we were called forward. A brief few seconds later and we too were off. After 7 months going from a position where I could run for just a couple of minutes to now attempting to cover 21KM, I took time to congratulate myself, regardless of how long it was going to take, completing the training for the race and lining up was the victory for me, completeing the race would be the icing on the cake.

I took it easy the first two kilometers, consious of others saying that they make the rookie mistake of going out to fast. My watch was also not working properly, it was on and tracking the distance but not telling me the pace. So I was running merely on how I felt, which I think was actually a good thing. So the first two kilometers were up hill and were each done in just 6:00 minutes.

We then had a nice downhill section where the pace picked up, I tried to pick out someone who I thought was doing a similar pace and stick behind them, at the start of the race I had been passed out by a lot of people which inevitably leads to some anxiety, but now I was passing out people (while still being passed by others). I completed the first 6 KM in 32:55 which was a pace of about 5:30 so at that stage I felt comfortable and that getting a time under two hours was on. The few kilometers went OK, I took on some water from the first water station kept the pace pretty even, my watch had now woken up was telling me the pace which was good. We hit another hill at the 8KM mark so my time slowed down here but I sped up again once we got on to the flat. By 10KM I was at 56:07 so still fine time wise. The next 5 kilometers were on pace done in 28:30 so I had a total time of 1:24:30 at this stage and still inside the 2:00.

Despite taking on additional water at the 11KM mark I was getting tired and was feeling the heat. By the time we hit the first of the big hills I knew I was not going to be able to run up it. I had hoped to walk up and then make up the time on the downhill sections. The 16th Kilometer was done in 5:59 and then walking up the hill meant the 17th kilometer was done in 7:38. At this stage I knew that with another bigget hill to come I was unlikely to make the 2 hours as I had only 22 minutes to do the last four kilometers. I then was focused on making my second target of 2:07. The last four kilometers was a combination of steep inclines and steep declines. My 18th Kilometer was done in 5:34 and then the second of the big hills had to be walked and the 19th kilometer was done in 7:56. The 20th kilometer was uphill but at least I could run that and I did that in 6:28. Finally I was on to the downhill last kilometer and it was severly downhill, it felt like I was running uncontrollably and I worried about pulling something or that my tired legs would give out and I would fall. The last kilometer was my fastest by far and was done in 4:31. Just before the finish my wife and children were there to cheer me on which really meant alot to me. I also felt it was nice for them to see me running in rather than walking in. I finished strongly and with the cheering of the crowds in my ears crossed the line in a time of 2:03:06.

While somewhat dissapointed not to have broken the two hour mark I was comforted by the fact that if it had not been for those two final hills I believe I could have broken the two hour mark. It was also a PB, that is the great thing about it being the first race.

So the title of this log was Can I do it? and I answered that question today, YES I CAN

Krusty_Clown

Well done Lawrence. Great first race! Onwards and upwards from here.

LarMan

Thanks Gary, yes entered the Samsung Night race 10K today, onwards and time downwards

ger664

Well done. An easier course and a bit more training you'll easily smash 2 hours.

LarMan

A new Plan

Time to take a look at my plans for the rest of the year. I plan to do 3 more races this year. A 10K in a months time (the Samsung night time race) with a view to putting down a marker for a more serious attempt at getting to a sub 50 minute 10K. The second 10K race will be in mid June (Possibly the Parkwest 10K). After that race I will then start training again for the half Marathon with the plan to do the Dublin city half Marathon in September.

Targets are to do a sub 55 minute 10K in April and depending on the time I come in on that one I will see if it is realistic to expect to go below 50 minutes in June, either way there is no harm in having a target.

In the half Marathon I would be hoping to go below 2 hours as a minimum but I would really like to get below 1:55.

I will be following Hal Higdons 10K plans, starting at week 4 for the first 10K and then restarting it again for the second 10K.

The plan is to train at speeds that should get me a time of 53 minutes in the 10K for the first 10K and then in the second 10K assuming I have lost more weight and have gotten quicker and fitter then train at a speed to get me under the 50 minute mark for the second 10K.

I will obviously need to look at the results of these races to see if my plan for the half is realistic, I suppose if I struggle in reaching the 10K goals then knocking off 8 minutes from the half may not be achieaveable.

So Goals were

Do a half in less than 2:07:00
Achieved in Wicklow at 2:03:06

Weight at 80Kg
Currently I weigh 86.8kg

New Goals
Run 10K in June in sub 50 minutes
Run Half Marathon in September in Sub 1:55:00
Weight to be 80KG

LarMan

Tuesday

Recovery run, joined my brother for a nice slow recovery run, beautiful evening, a little chilly at the start but we soon warmed up. Pace was kept deliberately slow as this was a recovery run and it was also about as fast as my brother could manage. The run ws a combination of road, paths and field, it was definately a treat to run on grass so if the weather stays nice I will be including grass for some of the runs.

Summary 8K in 50:38

Weight this morning was 86.1KG so loosing about a pound a week.

Krusty_Clown

I see you ventured into my neck of the woods. Was that a Man united top you were wearing? :eek:

Younganne

Congratulation Larman on competing in you first race. its a wonderful feeling and a great achievement. it sounds like a tough course so no bother to you for the next!!

My first half in 2010 was 2.03.xx and my 2nd in 2011 was 1.57 and my 3rd earlier this month was 1.54...i am hoping to get 1.50 this year in Sept half. just wanted to say keep up the good work, your playing a blinder!!

LarMan

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I see you ventured into my neck of the woods. Was that a Man united top you were wearing? :eek:

God no! Young fella does karate from 7 to 8 so it fits in nicely and running towards Shankill is much easier than running towards Bray Head

Nice to run in the park alright, it must have been busy in there yesterday as evidenced by the overflowing bin at the entrance

LarMan

Younganne wrote: »

Congratulation Larman on competing in you first race. its a wonderful feeling and a great achievement. it sounds like a tough course so no bother to you for the next!!

My first half in 2010 was 2.03.xx and my 2nd in 2011 was 1.57 and my 3rd earlier this month was 1.54...i am hoping to get 1.50 this year in Sept half. just wanted to say keep up the good work, your playing a blinder!!

Thanks Younganne, it's great to see others progress as it give me hope that my times will also come down. Thanks for the good wishes.

LarMan

Wednesday

Interval training. 9 X 400 with 1:30 breaks between intervals. Tough session, I wasn't feeling the love out there. I hadn't set my watch up to tell me pace and was going by pace, this was a little quicker than I had wanted but nothing spectacualar. I was looking for 4:50 per KM pace but it turned out at 4:30 pace. My aim is to be training to comfortably be doing 5:00 per KM

Summary 5K in 29 minutes

LarMan

Thursday

4 miles with my brother so pace was slow which I wad grateful for as after doing my first pilates class I was feeling a little sore.

Summary 4 miles in 40:53 @6:23 per KM pace. Rest day today which is what I need.

Weight this morning was 85.8KG

LarMan

Saturday

A friend of mine who has been running for the last 2 and a half years and who has lost 6 stone over the same period had said that she does a regualr 8K run in a time of 36 minutes which I was sceptical about so decided to join her with the idea of doing the run at her pace and see if I could keep up.

The run itself has the first 2 and half kilometers with a small downhill section and then then uphill. After that is downhill all the way untill a flat kilometer and a bit before a steep uphill section.

We started off at 5:37 pace for the first kilometer which was easy enough. For the second she stepped it up a bit to 5:11 pace and that was uphill. The next 4 kilometers were all downhill and all were below 5:00 per KM. the next kilometer came in at 5:04 and then the final hill. As we were going along my breathing became more laboured where as I could tell she was still going strong. By the time we hit last bit of the hill I had to stop as I was really suffering, she however continued on up the hill.

So I was impressed with her stamina and she could defnitely have gone faster. I would imagine she would be able to do a 45 minute 10K with a bit more training over longer distances as she tends only to do 8K or less during her runs.

On the plus side even though it was downhill I did manage to do a sub 25 minute 5K within the run which is a first. I think if I had a flat course and soneone to pace me I think I could get pretty close to 50 minutes for the 10K, certainly within 51:30. My goal for the run in April is to do sub 53 minutes.

Monday

An easy 3 miles

Summary 3 miles in 27:49

I had a bad weekend food wise and have paid the price I was up .5Kg since Friday and weight this morning was 86.3KG

LarMan

Tuesday

Weather looked awful yesterday evening 3 degrees, windy and wet. Came close to postponing this run but decided to give it a go.

First 4 kilometers or so were hard - into the wind and I was wishing I could stop pretty much the whole time. Once I got to the point where the wind was on my back it was of course much better. Glad to have done it now, but hoping the mild weather makes a reapppearance soon!

Summary 8KM in 46:00 or so (Watch said battery low and then 10 seconds later shut down so lost the last 3KMs data)

Weight this morning back down to 85.6KG