A failed sprinter....

brandon_flowers

I will start with the obvious. Am I mental for thinking I could complete this marathon in November?

So my background is.... (embarrassing almost)
Basically I have started back running a few weeks ago now that I am in a job which involves a lot less travel than my previous one. The last time I ran 5K was about 3 years ago. I did a lot of hill walking early last year but once the travelling started it was all downhill. No proper diet of any description and almost zero exercise. I have been hovering around 14 stone for the past 3 years which I would attribute partly to my own laziness and partly to my lifestyle due to work. I should be about 12.5stone which is the primary reason I am back running. However If I don't have an incentive or goal I will stop again.

So I have completed 6 x 5.5k runs in the last 2 weeks.

First one was 30 mins - stiff as a poker for two days after it
2nd - Another 30 mins - felt a lot better but didn't go any faster
3rd - 30 minutes. Felt good but I had rugby training the night before so I was a little stiff (first night rugby training in 10 years mind you!)
4th - 28 minutes. Felt a lot better.
5th - 30 mins (again rugby the night before)
6th - 28 mins. Felt good and it was extremely hot.

Here is the embarrassing part.

From the age of 11-16 I was winning medals at 60m, 100m and 200m at provincial and national level. (Only one gold though.. bit of a bridesmaid). During winter months in these years I would have completed several cross country races and other charity races. I was always well behind the winner and I always questioned my endurance as a result which is my biggest fear for a marathon.

Once I started college I gave up running completely and stayed playing gaelic football. I was pretty fit up to 22-23 and since then I have been a disaster really.

So my aim is for the next few weeks at least to keep doing the 5k and get down to 23-24 mins and then increase to 8k, 10k.. I was able to do it when I was 15 I should be able to do it now given I am only 26.

However my big question is am I aiming too high too soon with the marathon? One other worry I have is I always get my heart rate very high when running and it seems to knock the stuffing out of me. I remember getting it to 220bpm when I was 16, but even on one of the 5K's above I hit 182.

Anyway all help/comments even abuse is welcome. It might spur me on.

http://www.marathon06.com/2012/AN/1-epreuve-parcours.htm

Nules10

Hey brandon. Check out the dublin marathon 2012 mentored thread also. Great support and advice on it too. Best of luck with the training.

Pisco Sour

Just for interest's sake what are your PBs over 60, 100, 200 and 400? Must be pretty quick if you were winning medals at National level aged 16.

brandon_flowers

04072511 wrote: »

Just for interest's sake what are your PBs over 60, 100, 200 and 400? Must be pretty quick if you were winning medals at National level aged 16.

Ran 7.4 to win gold in a 60m Munster schools event u-16.5 (Intermediate)
Ran an AI Ireland Schools 100m and the time was with a stopwatch :eek: 11.1 secs but the best correctly timed one was 11.43s in Tullamore with a small breeze behind. It was good enough for 5th u-17 and was my last National Championship.
I won a Munster 200m u-15 in a tortoise like 24.2 secs and missed the NC that year with a quad injury.
5.95m for a long jump at the same event as my gold.

Never ran a competitive 400m... that was the cruelest event underage and is still gruesome for some adults.

The most annoying thing was the medalists from Munster in my age category usually won 2 of the 3 medals at national level. Getting out of Munster was always the hardest for me.

I have had several groin and hamstring injuries since from playing GAA which I would attribute to having developed huge leg muscles and the rest of me (was) like a twig.

Pisco Sour

Christ, they are super times. I'd love to be running anywhere close to your PBs. To be perfectly honest, I think you are wasting yourself plodding around to 23 minute 5ks, when you've got such natural talent over the sprints. But if it's something you enjoy and a challenge you want to undertake then that's all good aswell. You're still young though. I'm turning 27 soon and have just completed my first full sprint season, and RandyMan is pushing 40 and started sprints about 2 years ago, so it's never too late.

RayCun

brandon_flowers wrote: »

However my big question is am I aiming too high too soon with the marathon?

I wouldn't say you're aiming too high, but why are you aiming at the marathon? I know you want to have something to aim for, that could just as well be a 5k, 10k, or half marathon as a marathon.

In terms of your training, you should stop treating every run as a time trial. Just get out and run most days, don't even bring a watch if that will help you relax. Time yourself every few weeks - even better, enter a race - to check your progress.

RandyMann

04072511 wrote: »

Christ, they are super times. I'd love to be running anywhere close to your PBs. To be perfectly honest, I think you are wasting yourself plodding around to 23 minute 5ks, when you've got such natural talent over the sprints. But if it's something you enjoy and a challenge you want to undertake then that's all good aswell. You're still young though. I'm turning 27 soon and have just completed my first full sprint season, and RandyMan is pushing 40 and started sprints about 2 years ago, so it's never too late.

Correction, 1 year ago but you are right, they are super times and I would love to be running those times too.
To the OP if I were to roll back the years, I would try and get as fast as I could in the sprint distances and leave the middle/long distance to when my speed was gone. I am just sorry that I never did athletics/sprinting when I was younger. If you are only 26, you could still develope further as a sprinter.
Maybe you feel you have done enough and want to try and do something new but it would be a shame to waste that talent with long distance running that will make that fast twitch redundant.
I understand you want to get fit and lose weight too which is great but marathons will only slow you up.
As I said if you are definitely finished with sprinting and want to do something new and run long, best of luck to you and I hope your training goes well and run a good marathon.

dna_leri

If you have left the sprinting go, then I would say focus on getting fit, losing weight and then maybe try a 5k. Plenty of time to do marathon later.

Your natural speed will come back and be of some use in 5k. I left it 20 years and am enjoying running more than ever now.

brandon_flowers

Thanks for the comments.

I have always been grateful that I have natural speed but I have no endurance which is why I would like to challenge myself to do a marathon. I really don't see the point in doing any sprinting at all anymore especially now that I have done so much damage to my groins and hamstrings. I'm not interested in "winning" per say more in achieving if you know what I mean.

I always carry a watch but I only check it at the start, my turn around point and the finish.

It is also a confidence thing for me. It sometimes is hard to look in the mirror and say I used be so fast and so fit and training was so easy... and now I have this big gut and training is a pain in the a**e.

brandon_flowers

Thanks for the comments.

I have always been grateful that I have natural speed but I have no endurance which is why I would like to challenge myself to do a marathon. I really don't see the point in doing any sprinting at all anymore especially now that I have done so much damage to my groins and hamstrings. I'm not interested in "winning" per say more in achieving if you know what I mean.

I always carry a watch but I only check it at the start, my turn around point and the finish.

It is also a confidence thing for me. It sometimes is hard to look in the mirror and say I used be so fast and so fit and training was so easy... and now I have this big gut and training is a pain in the a**e.

dna_leri

If your aim is just to finish 26.2 miles, then go for it. The marathon runners around here will advise what you need to do for 6 months to just get around.

However most beginners are well advised to work their way up to it via 5K/10K/13.1M. The risk if you aim to complete a marathon is that you get injured before you get to the start line and give up or that you do it and then resort to your previous unhealthy habits.

I suppose it depends on whether you are looking to change your lifestyle or just tick the marathon box.

On the heart rate question, assuming you have had a doctor's checkup before starting your exercise program, then leave the heart rate monitor at home and learn to run "by feel". For now most (if not all) of your runs should be at "conversational" pace i.e. the pace at which you can still maintain a conversation.

brandon_flowers

40 minutes of a rugby match last night so decided I would push it a small bit with the run this evening. Left the HR monitor at home but I had to carry the watch still only checking at departure, turn around and finish. The old sprinter in me still times everything.

Hit my turn point in under 13 minutes, had a nice little breeze in my face coming back but still made it back in 26 minutes flat. Delighted with myself so I'll be taking it a little easier tomorrow and Thurs evening.

To answer some of the above comments....
Yes it is to tick the marathon box, I wouldn't be big into marathons at all but I'd like to do one and it is something to aim for.
Previous doctors have said it was normal enough because my rest rate is around 50bpm even when I was terribly unfit. I have had several medicals in the past 5 years between regular checks and medicals for offshore etc.

Thanks again for all the comments.

Pisco Sour

Being honest, I don't see how you can prepare to run a marathon properly if you are playing rugby matches (constant injuries). One of them has to go IMO.

brandon_flowers

28 minutes again this evening taking it a little easier, legs were a bit heavy after last night.

brandon_flowers

Went for a few pints last night, wanted to blow them out of me today and I did. I took my normal route along the sea but when I reached my turn point I kept going just to punish myself a little. Ended up doing 9K in 49 minutes which I am delighted with. If I'm not too stiff tomorrow I'll probably do a slow 5K again.

As regards a marathon it probably won't happen now as there is some travelling planned at work so will keep plugging away at the shorter runs.

brandon_flowers

5K in 28 minutes again today, running on empty near the end. Did 30 minutes of stretching before hand using this programme.

http://www.hartmann-international.com/Articles/5/Hope-on-a-rope.aspx

Rest tomorrow.

brandon_flowers

26 minutes yesterday evening for the 5K, felt really good. Actually thought I was going faster but was happy enough, no stiffness or soreness after it at all which is a plus.

Went again this evening, knowing it was a lot warmer today I wasn't expecting too much but after 5 mins I was completely shagged. Calf and shin muscles were sore but I ploughed on because the rest of me felt fine. Hit my turn point in 13 minutes and then hit a rough patch for 30 seconds where I really wanted to stop. Then this triathlon fella in front of me who I saw earlier flying past me in the other direction was stopped and just as I reached him he started again. I was able to pace myself off him for 4-5 minutes which I don't think he liked He pulled out 20-30 metres on me after 5 mins but I drew level with him again right on my finish point. Just as I caught him he put the boot down again so he obviously wasn't too happy that a plodder like me was able to catch him.

Net result is I made in in 26 minutes flat again which makes me 10 times happier than yesterday evening.

brandon_flowers

First 10K run in a long long time today and in sweltering 27 degrees too, not one bit of the run is in the shade. Came home in 54 minutes and never once had I a "really want to stop" moment. Pins and needles in my right foot coming towards the end mainly from tired running. Plenty of stretching afterwards too.

brandon_flowers

Took a rest yesterday and went for another 10K today. 53 minutes on the button, really starting to feel a lot better now.

Still haven't weighed myself since I started back running and don't plan to for a while either it keeps me guessing as to my progress.

brandon_flowers

2 hours of rugby last Thursday.

Had visitors for the weekend so managed very little exercise, some cycling and lots of walking.

Hit the road again tonight 25:45 for 5K, took longer than usual to get my second wind but after that I was going nicely. Still feel as though I have at least another stone to lose.

brandon_flowers

25:01 tonight for 5K. First time I haven't had more than one flat spot during a run, my right calf cramped a little with 1K left but it didn't affect me too much. If I was clock-watching I probably would have broke 25 but there is no rush.

brandon_flowers

7km of a light jog this afternoon. Didn't time it but it was useful to run the alcohol out of me.