Too much too soon

Brick Session

Well I have been in steady decline since the big day. Then I did my back on the 13th of October to add the the fun. We got the Chiropractor to sort that and have given it over a week for the muscles to relax.

After a trip to the dreaded liar of a weighing scales at the weekend it was time to draw a line in the sand. Begone digestive biscuits with butter, begone 5 packets of refreshers a day. Begone normal life!

Hit the road at lunchtime today and managed a horrible 3 miles at an 11min mile pace and a HR ave of 150. It should be between 135 to 150 for my zone 2. It was slow, frustrating and painful (mentally) but its a start to get back to some level of fitness again. Its amazing that only 7 weeks after the big day, almost all of the Iron distance fitness is gone.

Oryx

Welcome back You need to get back in the training habit again. Hard, once a major goal is reached. I suggest getting a new goal for motivation.

Brick Session

Thanks Oryx, I am going to enter the Half Marathon on the 1st of Dec in Waterford just to give me something to aim for in the short term.

Brick Session

2013 and still alive. Reading back over my training log and race report to see if that can inspire me to get off the couch, plans to do the Waterford Viking Marathon, The Lost Sheep and then the Dublin City Marathon this year, yikes!

Guys, if any of you reading this might consider running the Waterford Viking Marathon or even the half on the 29th of June then let me know, we have organised 500 entries with the Organisers of the Viking as a way of fundraising for the below cause. The deal is simple, all entrants thought the Save Ryan & Ethan appeal will raise €125 per individual, €45 or which will pay for entry and a t-shirt and the rest will then go directly to the appeal. We will have entry forms and sponsorship cards sorted this week.

Can you also spread the word please?

Please have a look at the official web page or the Waterford Viking Challenge facebook page for full details on the appeal and learn more about this rare and life threatening disease that has struck the 2 young sons of a good friend of mine.

http://saveryanandethan.com/

https://www.facebook.com/RyanAndEthanVikingMarathonChallenge

BennyMul

good luck with the training for these is it nice to be back?

I may consider running Waterford this year will let you know.

Brick Session

So I decided to start my marathon training for the Waterford Viking Marathon yesterday. As I have done nowt except put on weight since Autumn of last year it was a bit of a shock hitting the road yesterday.

Only did a slow and steady 4 mile run at an average pace of approx 10.30 min miles and my HR is still coming down from the moon. All good though, 20 weeks until the end of June.

BennyMul

you have loads of time, have you done a standalone marathon before?

just think get Waterford done, with some biking and swimming and the Hardman could be on the plate again:D

Brick Session

BennyMul wrote: »

you have loads of time, have you done a standalone marathon before?

just think get Waterford done, with some biking and swimming and the Hardman could be on the plate again:D

No Bennymul I have never done a standalone Marathon before so I am looking forward to that challenge.

Don't think a full IM is on the cards this year for fear of divorce but the Lost Sheep is penciled in followed up by the DCM. Wish me luck!

Brick Session

This is not going to plan at all. Is it just me but I can not seem to get the least bit interested or perhaps structured to get myself started to train for a full marathon on the 29th of June. My fitness and motivation are totally gone. A guy who did Austria last year told me that it took him months to get his head into doing anything again. Maybe this is normal for us mortals?

I want to do this but I am up in a heap and stressed about it too. The stress of not having enough time is effecting my head I reckon and that is having a negative effect on my approach as well. Having never run a stand alone marathon before, I was going to use a typical build up approach to training, a couple of solid 6-7 mile runs midweek and then build the LSR at the weekend by 10% or so per week.

Work has been kinda mental for the last few weeks so that has effected my plans also. I want to get out at 6am for the midweek runs like last year but can't get outa the bed when the alarm goes off, hence no training. I managed to get home from work early last Thursday and did a slow 6.5 miles which I know was stupid as I have not worked up to that and then went out yesterday morning and went for a four mile run but stopped after a mile and walked back home. :(:mad:

I decided to take this week off, re-evaluate and then just prepare for a half marathon instead on the 29th and use the Fink intermediate plan minus the swimming to try and build up my fitness in a solid fashion like I did while training for the Iron distance.

Can any of you veterans offer any advice? Given that I am starting at 0 level of fitness, should I follow Finks Iron distance plan to train for a stand alone Marathon (using the bike for cross training to build cardio fitness) or is there any other advice out there? I would mush appreciate any help

Dory Dory

Hey! I am certainly no veteran and am probably least qualified around here to comment...but.... ....are you planning on training for and running a half marathon, or full marathon? I have no idea what Finks Iron Distance plan is all about (I assume perhaps IM training?), but I would probably suggest you look at a marathon (or half marathon) specific plan that, perhaps, allows for cross training. For my first 2 marathons I used the FIRST plan, and I incorporated plenty of swimming and cycling (trainer) in each week. I would also suggest you figure out your goals for your training (are you also preparing for tris....and/or do you need cycling/swimming in your program to fight off boredom and/or injury?)....and figure your goals for your race (is this an A race?). As I mentioned above, I did plenty of cross training for my first two marathons, but this time around for Boston I am focusing only on running under the theory that there is no substitute for specificity. (thank you Ecoli!) Point being (and this is more for a full marathon than a half), don't be afraid to let your running shoes be your best and virtually only friend if this race is important to you. Your speedo and steed will understand.

BennyMul

Cheer up Brick, it happens to everyone the anticlimax after the big event.

I think your in a common place re the training, train and the mojo may come back or then again you may end up hating it and not enjoying the day if you even get there.
As it was for charity I suggest setting a goal for the Marathon. (finish, sub 4, sub 3:30 etc) this will help focus the mind.

I wouldnt follow a tri program, I suggest you just run for a few weeks not worrying about time\distance just get time on the feet try and run new roads, places to give you something different.
The look online for many training plans to give you a feel for what you should be doing, and use the bike and pool for active recovery.

wfdrun

Brick Session wrote: »

This is not going to plan at all. Is it just me but I can not seem to get the least bit interested or perhaps structured to get myself started to train for a full marathon on the 29th of June. My fitness and motivation are totally gone. A guy who did Austria last year told me that it took him months to get his head into doing anything again. Maybe this is normal for us mortals?

I want to do this but I am up in a heap and stressed about it too. The stress of not having enough time is effecting my head I reckon and that is having a negative effect on my approach as well. Having never run a stand alone marathon before, I was going to use a typical build up approach to training, a couple of solid 6-7 mile runs midweek and then build the LSR at the weekend by 10% or so per week.

Work has been kinda mental for the last few weeks so that has effected my plans also. I want to get out at 6am for the midweek runs like last year but can't get outa the bed when the alarm goes off, hence no training. I managed to get home from work early last Thursday and did a slow 6.5 miles which I know was stupid as I have not worked up to that and then went out yesterday morning and went for a four mile run but stopped after a mile and walked back home. :(:mad:

I decided to take this week off, re-evaluate and then just prepare for a half marathon instead on the 29th and use the Fink intermediate plan minus the swimming to try and build up my fitness in a solid fashion like I did while training for the Iron distance.

Can any of you veterans offer any advice? Given that I am starting at 0 level of fitness, should I follow Finks Iron distance plan to train for a stand alone Marathon (using the bike for cross training to build cardio fitness) or is there any other advice out there? I would mush appreciate any help

hi Brick

can i suggest you join the groups running at the weekend to help get you through and enjoy more the weekend lsr.

waterford viking group go on sundays about 9 and waterford ac have a group going saturdays.

hopefully this might suit i have run with both and they are very welcoming/friendly.

Oryx

Hey there. I have been kinda in the same boat as you, if you read my log you'll see I've struggled with health and motivation (though in my case it was pushing on when I should have eased back).

It is hard to get back on the horse after a while away, and particularly so when you've been through hard training and don't want to do that again. If you're training for a marathon, I would avoid fink's plan. I think its too much stress if you're struggling already. But do make a plan, one that builds slowly. Give yourself back the structure you worked with before, if not the workload, and make yourself do it intially. Set the alarm early, take 5 mins to wake, then get up. Tell us you're doing i so you can't not. Fake it till you make it and your mojo will come back.

Brick Session

after digesting the advice from above I have decided to put away Finks book, the HR monitor and the garmin for a few weeks. I have found a 20 week marathon training plan that builds up nice and gradually. A couple of 3 mile runs during the week with my LSR on Saturdays followed by a 2 mile run on Sunday just to flush out the legs. Sounds perfect.

So for the next 3 weeks or so I will just run on feel to get back into it, not put myself under pressure by looking at any instruments and trying to measure my performance. Fingers crossed this will work. Only I can make it happen I suppose.

banner_phoenix

Good luck with it and hope you find the mojo soon . Hal Higdon is a good starter source for standalone marathon plans at various different levels. Its kinda a one size fits all but it may give you a better idea of structuring your own.