No longer last

pansophelia

Sat June 2nd
I headed down to Achill for the weekend to meet up with a crowd of friends. Arrived on Saturday, and persuaded one of the girls to brave the sea with me - sans wetsuits....
Was really exhilirating - and once I stopped squealing I realised it wasn't that cold. Though when I got out of the water, I couldn't feel my feet or my hands properly.
Decided to go straight into a run - four of us divided into two groups, wisely I did the slower run of the two! 5 lovely hilly miles, the furthest my friend had ever run! We were passed by another runner at one point, who, as my friend said, was like a gazelle, and made us only two painfully aware of our plodding.
One day . . .
5m in 53:23

Sunday June 3rd
Crosstraining - 2 and a half hour surf lesson - awesome!

Dory Dory

Achill?? I'll be there myself in 4 weeks time. Will be doing the Achill half while visiting relatives. Do you spend much time there?? Where did you swim - which beach?

pansophelia

My home home is only about 50 minutes from Achill, but while I've visited now and again I'd never been on holiday there (prob precisely because I live so near!) Would LOVE to be doing the half there but I'll be away then, but Achill is really amazing.
Weather wasn't that great, but the sea was really warm. I've done a few surf lessons in a few different places and Keel beach was probably the best, esp for beginners - lots of waves that you can catch, and not too much effort to catch them, so you can use all your energy to try and stand up!! Can't recommend it highly enough, even though my arms still can't change the gears in my car properly 2 days later!
Keem beach is unmissable aswell, it's like driving down into a photograph, really sheltered and surrounded by high mountains. I can't wait to go back again, you'll have a great time!

pansophelia

So busy blathering on about Achill, forgot to post the important part this week,
Starting HH Novice 2 for DCM today (couple of weeks early)
So the plan for the week is
3m/5m pace/3m and LSR - 8m

Have to confess am slightly worried to be actually starting it - we'll see how it goes.

PS Dory - Not a native, but I'd say most of the beaches are great for swimming , even the waves at Keel are gentle enough, and you could easily get beyond them. And its really not that cold

Dory Dory

You'll love the structure a training plan brings......and cold is a relative thing. Brrrr.....

pansophelia

First week of HH Novice 2 Marathon Plan Update:

Tuesday June 5th

3m run - this was fine, unexciting, nice evening. Still seriously feeling the effects of the surfing - sore and stiff! Tried to stretch out with a bit of yoga while watching the DH finale, didn't seem to help much.
3m in 28:39
Av Pace 9'31

Wednesday June 6th
5m pace - Now this was another story altogether. Was working very late on Wed (11pm late) so decided to get up early to do this run. Am not a morning person, and don't run well early either, takes me a while usually to get warmed up, quarter past six in the morning doesn't see me at my best!
Based on my 5m race time, McMillan marathon pace puts me at about 9'50 - so tried to stick near enough to this, but failed. Really found it difficult to get the pace down but plodded through this run, very relieved to get home. The pace wasn't what it should have been, but I'm still happy enough!
5.01m in 50:30
10'05"/mi

Failed to do my 3m run yesterday (socialising got in the way) but planning to get out this evening ...... in the miserable wind and rain!

pansophelia

Friday June 8th

Got home to discover Home and Away cancelled for the Euros - so had no excuse to delay my run. Took this one nice and easy, and felt stronger as the run went on, finished it looking forward to my LSR this wknd! (Though I still haven't figured out when I'm fitting that in).

3m in 31:00
Av Pace 10'20"/m

pansophelia

Sunday 10th
Plan - LSR (8 miles)

O holy mother of divine God.

Made a BIG running mistake today. I got home from work at about half eleven after a busy night (and previous day), but felt energetic enough to give the LSR a go before this sister came to visit.
Decided to treat myself by wearing my brand new ASICS, bought in AK a couple of weeks ago (after much deliberation).
Yes yes, I know, ease them in, etc etc - clearly my brain was in absentee mode.

Everything felt good till about the 4.5m mark, I had started to feel some burning in the ball of my foot a little while before that, but was manageable. And then all of a sudden it wasn't manageable. Every single bloody step burned worse than the last AND I was pretty far from home. Was determined to keep going, HTFU and all that, and I managed until the 6.7 m mark when I had to stop. Looked at my phone and saw a text from the sis saying she was almost down - with that I decided to abandon the run. Painfully jogged another half mile, trying not to show my misery as I passed a crowd of golfers.

So 7.16m in 1:18 (pace dropped considerably the last 2-3miles).

Offending runners at the bottom of the stairs looking sheepish - will try again, more gently, in a couple of days.

pansophelia

Monday 11th

Novice 2 Week 2
3/5/3/LSR - 9

Can't run on Tuesday, so moving the first run of this week back a day. Decided to venture out in the offending runners (see above) - and it went ok. The ball of the left foot was burning slightly towards the end, but not too bad - will use these runners for the shorter runs for now and hopefully I'll build up a bit of tolerance.

Actually felt great during this run, was faster than I've been for a while (still slow), but it felt really effortless. Entertained myself during the run by listening back to the latest Liveline podcast on the Roseanne saga - priceless!

3m in 28:43
Av Pace 9'34"/mile

pansophelia

Wednesday 13th

5m run (thank God this wasn't 5m pace).
Was tired going in to this and it was reflected by a v slow first mile - 10'36, but gradually gained back a few seconds every mile. It was a lovely evening for a run, down a narrow country lane, mostly flat with a few small inclines thrown in. Wore the old runners, scared to bring the new ones longer than three miles.

5m in 50:52
Av Pace 10'09"/mile

Sitting in a coffee shop, drinking a lovely cup of coffee, looking out at the lashing rain - at least it's only 3m tonight, but wishing now I did it this morning!

pansophelia

Thursday 14th

3m run
Got home from my nice warm coffee and forced myself to head out.
It was actually bucketing down, worst weather I've been out in in months, and the roads were destroyed with massive puddles. I wore the new runners too, not quite so shiny any more!
This run felt quite good in spite of above, the one thing about the rain, I certainly wasn't taking my time enjoying the scenery, the aim was to get home as soon as possible!! (At that point as well, I was trying to get home in time to watch the Ireland match, silly me). From reading the novice thread, I decided to try shortening my stride, haven't done this in a while, not since shortly after I started out - made a difference too.

3m in 29:28
Av Pace 9'48/mi

pansophelia

Friday 15th June

LSR 9m
Decided to do my LSR tonight, as have my first day off work in two weeks tomorrow and am working again on Sunday - want to really relax!
When I thought about it, I realised this is the longest I've run since the Ballina Half a month ago. Overall it was fine. Started out slow and gradually got a little bit quicker. Was enjoying it well enough until the 7.5 mile mark, and then got a little bored (and probably tired), the loop I took would have brought me back to the house in 8 miles, so I had to add on an extra little bit at the end.
But felt great after it! So nice to have it done!
9m in 1:38:07
Av Pace 10'54/mile

Saturday 16th June

2m collect the car/recovery run

DIsadvantage of living 5 miles outside of a town, is the lack of a way back in to collect the car morning after the night before. Was reluctantly heading off this morning, when I bumped into a neighbour/work boss, had a quick chat, and then he offered me a lift into town.
Reader, I was tempted.
And I succumbed.
Sold it to myself by the 'don't want to overdo it' argument. My guilty conscience meant I asked to get dropped off at the edge of the town, so i did a very slow 2m down to get the car.
Now enjoying more coffee and cake.
2m in 21:44
Av Pace 10'50/mile

pansophelia

[/B]Monday 18th June[/B]

Got out to do this run during the first half an hour of the Ireland/Italy match - felt a tad disloyal but tuned into Newstalk on the way.
This felt quite good, legs were reasonably fresh after a couple of days off - lashed rain during the second half, upped the pace dramatically to get home in time!

3m in 29:12
Av Pace 9'43"

pansophelia

Tuesday 19th

This run called for 5 miles at marathon pace. Haven't quite worked out what that is yet, but reckoning in around 9'30" to 9'40" - this might be over optimistic given the way things are turning out :rolleyes:
Was nervous starting this as the legs felt quite heavy and tight, and haven't pushed myself on a run since all that racing I was doing a few weeks ago!
Started out, and felt pretty terrible the first mile, which was reflected in the 10'10 pace, but things then got better. It was never easy, but was doing ok till I hit mile 4, and then really needed to slow things down just a little!
Happy enough that I can sort of manage the almost pace for five miles in training (mad how much easier it is in an actual race!)
5m in 48:06
Av Pace 9'37"

pansophelia

Wednesday 20th

Plan - 3 miles
So bit of a dilemma today, got my hair done (badly needed), and they really did a great job blow drying it. And I reaaaaallllyy didn't want to ruin it on my run, so thought I'd postpone the run till the morning. Went on to have a couple of glasses of wine early on before heading home, where my brother suggested heading out for a run.
Now he's never done this before - not a runner, but runs a bit as part of his GAA training, did his first ever 5k with me in March, managed it no bother in 18:49 - so I dug out a woolly hat (it was now raining) stuck it on my curly head and went out with him.
The deal was he'd stay with me for a mile and then do his own thing. God that was a hard mile, I was dying off and he kept saying helpful things like 'this is really weird going so slow' and 'it's not much faster than walking, is it'. I did spend about 2 minutes at 7'50 pace before croaking 'slower' at him.
He took off after a mile, and I slowed riiggghhht down.

3.1 m in 31:37
Av Pace 10'10"
Hair relatively intact.:D

pansophelia

Friday 22nd

This is the step back week in the HHN2, so the LSR was only six miles. So eventually got up at about half twelve, put on my running gear, and proceeded to potter round the house for THREE HOURS, doing just about everything but running.

Finally decided to leave the six miles till tomorrow, and do a three mile recovery followed by a stop in at the gym (haven't darkened the door there in quite some time).

Three slow and steady miles in 31:28
Av Pace 10'28"/mile

Finished by stopping into the gym, doing a brief fifteen mins cross train on the bike, before a long relaxing time in the pool, excellent!

Saturday 23rd

Six miles done, nothing much to report, passed a guy doing tai chi in the park, legs felt a little stiff, and was glad to get this over - strange for such a short LSR.

6m in 1:04:47
Av Pace 10'47"/mile

pansophelia

Sunday 24th June

Unplanned run today to collect the car, pretty slow but definitely sped up every time it started lashing rain!

Busy week ahead so decided to start HHN2 Week 4 today - decided this after I'd done the 3m run!

Plan for the week:
3m run/6m pace/3m run/11m run

3m in 31'30
Av Pace 10'30"

pansophelia

Monday 25th June

HHNovice 2 Plan called today for 6 mile pace run. Was half thinking/ half dreading this all day! Find the pace runs tough, so while mooching around the forums I found a pyramid type thingy, and thought I'd give it a go!
Did 2x200m/1x800m/1x1600m/2x400m/2x200m - all with equal recovery.

Wowza parts of this were tough. Particularly initially, but strangely, they got a little bit easier as they went along. I noticed somewhere else on the forums today (maybe on one of Marthastew's posts ) about pumping the arms forward and back, instead of up and down. This made a massive difference! I had to concentrate on it, as every time I forgot my arms started flapping all over the place again
Don't have a Garmin, so this was all very approximate, but happy enough with my times!

2x200m in 4'30 - 4'40 pace
1x800m in 5'10 pace
1x1600m in 5'30 pace
2x400m in 5'00 - 5'10 pace
2x200m in 4'40 pace

10k in 1:00:24
Av Pace 9'43/mile

pansophelia

Wednesday 27th July

Mad 32 hour shift in work, so took this one very slow and steady. The mammy rang me in the middle of the run, so I just slowed down even more and had a natter to pass the time.

Miles done at least!

3m in 34:12
Av Pace 11'23/mile

Thursday - Rest day!

Aiming for LSR tomorrow - 11 miles.

pansophelia

Friday 29th June

11 mile LSR

This was my longest run since the Ballina Half six weeks ago. Was a bit worried about it, jus because have been a bit bored on some of the slightly longer runs recently.
Had planned to get up early, but ended up waking at ten :rolleyes:
Then discovered I'd managed to leave my two sports bras behind in the Midlands (currently in the process of moving). Disaster averted with with the use of a supportive cream balcony bra - not quite sports gear, but it did the job!
Didn't have time to fuel properly either, so quickly grabbed a baguette roll from the bakery next door and almost immediately headed out on the run. Initially planned to go to the park, but thought I'd stick to the canal instead - more distractions!
First distraction came quite early on, with a lovely big dead rat that I had to hurdle over one mile in!
I'd a whole marathon talk podcast to listen to, and that really kept me going. To think, this time last year I didn't even really know who Kenenisa Bekele was!
The miles really just ticked along by. Was a perfect day for running, warm but not too hot, with a breeze to cool me down!

Experimented with a gel at mile 7 - never taken one before, so ensured I was in running distance of necessary facilities!! Was a berry flavoured Kinetica gel, that I got in a race bag a few months ago. Was surprisingly palatable, and I think it made me feel a bit stronger over the last few miles.

Followed the run up by a lovely lunch in the local cafe with my sis.

Delighted to get this done, given me a bit of confidence in the longer stuff again. Sorry I'm not going to make the 5 miler in the park tomorrow, must find a race soon, it's been a month!

11 miles in 2:02:35
Av Pace 11'08"/mile

pansophelia

2nd June

Start of W5 HHN2
Can't believe it's W5 already.
Did this run post call on minimal sleep, and it went ok! Decided to plug in a 5k instead of the 3 miles called for, and I think this made me go a bit faster.
3.12 m in 30.02
Av Pace 9'37"/mile

3rd June

Got home late from work with this 6 mile run in my head. Headed out the door and hadn't got 2 minutes down the road, when the heavens opened. Thought it was going to be a shower, but no - in true Irish fashion, it lashed. For the whole hour. Carried around about an extra pound of weight with me the whole time in water. Stopped trying to avoid the puddles after a while.
But you know, this felt like a great run. No danger of overheating!
Legs felt lovely and relaxed, and I didn't feel the miles going by atall.
Did 5x100m strides at miles 3 and 5 - really enjoyed pushing the pace for a short period of time, and felt like it made me maintain my pace. Still having to focus on arms forward and back instead of my default up and down, but it really makes such a difference, feels like I'm pushing myself forward.
And a big thank you to the many cars I met, who actually went out of their way to slow down and not splash an already drowned rat!!
6 m in 1:01:05
Av Pace 10'10"/mile

pansophelia

Wed 4th June

This 'easy run' turned out a little bit faster - got home for work at seven, and was going out for dinner at 8, so really started off on a bit of a mad dash.
Pushed the pace for the first 2 miles, took it easy for the last mile as I was a bit knackered by that point. It was good to really try a bit harder though, haven't done any races in a while, and had forgotten how mentally trying it is to push the pace.

3m in 28:08
Av Pace 9'22

And have updated my Nike app - it's doing mile splits now!
M1 - 9'19
M2 - 9'05"
M3 - 9'42"

pansophelia

Thurs 5th June

12 mile LSR

So this is not the way the plan goes.
And I know it’s not recommended, but somehow ended up doing a 3m/6m/3m/12m week, in a row, without a rest day. Oops.

This however, was a great run – long, hard, a little painful, highs and lows, all a good run should be!
It was also a milestone, my last run in the midlands, before I make the move back to the big smoke tomorrow.

Had initially planned to do this run tomorrow morning before work – this would have meant getting up at half five, I don’t know how I ever thought this was going to be a good idea, mornings are not my strong point.
Got home from work this evening and realized I had the evening free - I could of course have packed, but thought I’d go out for the run instead. This was confirmed when my housemate’s boyfriend came over, thought I’d give them a bit of free time.
By the time I got started though, it was after nine. Headed off with the latest Marathon Talk podcast for company. Wound my way down the now familiar country roads, but after the 3 mile mark, headed a whole new direction. Have to say, it’s really beautiful around here. Was a reluctant movee to the area, and the relentless dark from January to March was a bit depressing, but this place really is amazing – I was surrounded by lily ponds, ancient churches, old stone walls.

Regarding the running, felt great up until mile six, then felt a couple of niggles. Had a cramp around mile seven. Had rather sillily left a drink for company, but left it at the point where I’d pick it up at mile 8 – things were getting thirsty.

At mile nine, just when it was starting to get quite dark, a car slowed behind me, before pulling up alongside.
Felt quite the shiver of apprehension, especially when it then stopped – was imaging the
‘Jogger snatched on country road’ or better yet ‘young attractive jogger snatched on country road’, headlines when a little old lady popped her head out!
‘Isn’t it great to be young’, she said, and then added ‘and not lazy!’ (If only she could see me stretched out on the couch most of last wknd).
She chatted for a minute and it really g ave me a boost at a tough time.
Finished off the last two looooonnnng miles by listening to Mark Kenneally’s interview on the Ray Darcy show.

Finished my 12m run, in exactly the time he qualified for the Olympics:rolleyes:

12m in 2 hours 13 minutes
Av Pace 11’01”/mile

pansophelia

Monday 9th July

Circumstances changed since last week, making the running a little trickier. In Jordan, at a wedding. Googled 'running in Amman' before coming out, and the gist I got was 'not recommended'. Unfortunately.
Although given the temp in the mid to high 30s I'd probably have found it tough going! Here for a family wedding, with nightly organised events, and alcohol - and I have a feeling this will be a bad week for the ould running.
Gave it a go in the hotel gym yesterday - first question is ......
How can anyone run on a treadmill????!!!!!!
They are horrific! It feels like a much bigger effort for a much slower pace, was literally counting down the minutes - and it was only a 3 mile run scheduled.

So 3 miles in 30+ minutes - with a very high heart rate for most of it (170s according to the machine).
Would welcome any tips to make this treadmill craic any less mentally tortuous:rolleyes:

Was going to try the six miles today, but ended up covered in mud and floating in the dead sea instead.
Driving along the road, I saw a hoarding sign for the Dead Sea Marathon and ultra marathon - all I can say is, fri***ng insane - give me rainy Dublin in October any day, (well, we'll see.)

pansophelia

Wednesday 11th July

6 miles on the schedule. Gym treadmill once again - this was really tough. I'm sure the amazing outdoor pool party the night before didn't help, but seriously, this was painful. Managed it by plodding along, counting down the minutes.
6 miles in roughly 65 minutes - accidentally stopped the machine once so had to start again.

Thursday 12th July
3 miles in 33 minutes - this was a bit easier. Might actually be getting used to the treadmill thing.
Ran this in the hope that it would in some way make up for the mountain of food I'd be making my way through in the next 24 hours. Don't think it did really.

Have a 9mLSR due this weekend, and not sure at the moment if its going to happen. A bit delicate today after celebrating Jordanian style till 5 in the morning, and to be honest, really struggling with the thought of an hour and a half (at least) on the treadmill. Have some weeks in reserve as I started early, so I might use one of them now, may be wise!

pansophelia

Saturday 14th July

Plan: 9mLSR

Did it!! A whole 99 minutes on the treadmill - honestly found this very mentally tough, although it got a little physically easier over the course of the hour and a half. Stopped every 30 minutes to get some water, and take a couple minutes walk break - helped loads.
From the machine my heart rate varied wildly - from 149 - 172. Right calf and hamstring were quite tight for the first 5k, but loosened a lot after it.
Really didn't think I'd get this run done this week, so a bit relieved really.

Spent 2 hours afterwards in both the outdoor and indoor pool, generally lounging around - stretched me out very well! Waiting for a flight home, and normality to resume, sadly.

pansophelia

Monday 16th July

Start of HHN2 W7 - Plan for week is 4m/7m pace/4m/14m

This run was pretty terrible - went out quite optimistically, but the flying/partying/eating of the past week must have gotten to me. My right calf and hamstring felt completely tight for about 2 and 1/2 miles, then loosened a little. I really haven't been stretching enough so probably deserve this - think it might be time to invest in a foam roller.

4m in 45:20
Av Pace 11'20/miles

pansophelia

Tuesday 17th July

Swapped this around - did the 4m today, and planning on making up the 7m pace on Thursday with the Liberties fun Run - going to add in a warm up and cool down to make up the miles.

4m in around 40 - 45 minutes, went out watchless and musicless today. Liked this, but found it much tougher than it should be. Still not over the overexertions of last week :rolleyes:

pansophelia

Thursday 19th July
Liberties 6.5k Fun Run

Headed down to this with my GAA head little brother and walker/jogger housemate - all three of us with very different goals in mind.
My housemate was hoping to finish it, my brother was aiming for top 50, and I was hoping for around 35 minutes. Should have been aiming for quicker than this, but have been on a go slow lately running wise.
Jogged down to IMMA, and did a round of the car park to make it 1 mile warm up. Calf didn't feel as tight as it had done, so that was one good thing. Registered late, and snatched a couple of Haribo packets, then joined in to the physio led group warm up. Completely over sugar dosed yesterday, and don't think it did me much good (2 donuts, a criossant, topped off by the mini Haribo).
Plonked myself in the middle of the large group for the start line, start gun, off we went.
From the beginning this felt like way too much hard work. It all felt like a massive effort, and mentally I was fighting a huge battle not to stop. One poor girl fell about 1k in, and I almost used it as an excuse to stop running - there were several other people checking she was ok, so struggled on.
I ran this without a watch/running app - so I'd no idea what pace I was going, but if felt really slow.
Kept plodding along, trying to stick to different people along the way - some I passed, and some left me behind. One guy in a blue tshirt, decided to cut a corner - a massive corner saving him about 20 seconds. I mean, what's the point?!?? Who does he think he's kidding??
On the windy roads through the Liberties and back up on to Thomas St - pace slowed by now, was taking all my mental energy just to keep running, and felt quite miserable. Got a boost on Thomas St. when I heard a shout from the crowd
'There's my old primary school teacher!'
This brought back memories of a former life:rolleyes:
Gave a wave in that general direction, and next thing somebody ran up alongside me - one of the kids I taught a lifetime ago, all grown up now! He stayed with me for a minute, then headed on back.

This kept me going right up through James. And then coming out on to the SCR, I suddenly realised we weren't that far from the finish, and I was going to do it!
All thoughts of under 36 were gone, and I was hoping to not embarrass myself, but managed to push it a bit faster.
Sadly the promised for support outside Spar failed to materialise, but then end was almost in sight. Turned into IMMA, and saw the finish line, but couldn't make out the clock. Got a bit closer, and the numbers unblurred to show 35xx!!! This inspired me to push a sprint finish out of nowhere, pushed a pace that I hadn't been able to find before, cheered on by the long finished brother. Crossed the line, thought I was going to puke, but reminded myself I knew too many people around to do that!
Gun Time: 36:04
Chip Time: 35:25


Delighted given how bad the race felt, and how slow I thought I was going, but on reflection, not a massive improvement over the past few months. Still, I'll happily take it.
BTW, the non-runner, GAA head brother finished 16th overall, in 23 minutes - I swear I'm not adopted!

pansophelia

Friday 20th July
Unplanned recovery run - went out with my sis, complete beginner, did c. 2m in about 26 mins:eek: She walked/ran, while I jogged forward and back around her! Think she enjoyed it.
Not feeling very motivated for the 14 miler tomorrow, right leg quite tight. I'll get a good nights sleep though, and hopefully feel a bit more positive in the morning.