Sub 3 Muffin Man

shotgunmcos

Swim Session
400m easy
2*(200m pull/100m swim)
6*50m kick
4*400m off 7 in on 6:15/6:12/6:13/6:09
2*(200m paddle/100m swim)
4*50m backstroke
4,000m total
Good swim. I tired a lot after the 400s so the paddle set fire to my shoulders. The 400s were a bit laboured. I had a decent feel for the water and tried to get as much from each stroke as I could. I threw in 2 tumble turns per rep also practising what I read in swim smooth. Still sh!te though :rolleyes: I was happy to do 200 backstroke. Shotunjunior has the makings of a backstroker so I need to practice!

Easy Lunchtime Run
It was my work buddy's first run after Christmas so the pace was very easy. I still sweated like it was a balmy spring day. Lovely running conditions and unusually mild for this time of year. My calf still felt stiff but the stretching and rolling of it last night seemed to have some positive effect. Overall 8.2km at 5:14 pace. It simply flew as we chatted

Dory Dory wrote: »

If the pretzels and popcorn don't come from a vending machine, are they allowed?? And yes, day 2 nearly down....

I don't eat either so I guess you must define whether you see them as a treat or a last resort? I've been substituting fruit, yoghurt, cereal or crackers.

Dory Dory wrote: »

What kind of shake did you have?? I hope that wasn't of the ice cream variety!!!

High5 recovery. Ice cream for me is generally reserved for smoothies or apple pie

BTH

What kind I crackers??? That could be borderline if it's not basic cream crackers...

Dory Dory

I was a backstroker. :cool:

And crackers for me are like pretzels and popcorn. It's all about the crunch and salt, so if they are out then I will turn to crunchy veggies with a bit of salt on them when I need a fix.

shotgunmcos

BTH wrote: »

What kind I crackers??? That could be borderline if it's not basic cream crackers...

Wholewheat cream crackers!

Dory Dory wrote: »

I was a backstroker. :cool:

And crackers for me are like pretzels and popcorn. It's all about the crunch and salt, so if they are out then I will turn to crunchy veggies with a bit of salt on them when I need a fix.

Nothing against backstrokers! The fact that you were one just makes it cooler! If shotgunjunior became a backstroker then even cooler still!

Pretzels ok. Dunno about popcorn though. Id see that as a treat for some... Not much crunch in it either unless it was ducked in sugar?!

shotgunmcos

Medium General Endurance Run
2 laps of suburbia. About the same effort as last time but a slightly better pace for the return. It was mild, dry and breezy. My calf still felt a little stiff but a lot better. In fact the run felt a lot better than last time. Better energy and for the first time in ages a skip in my step for the first half hour at least. For some reason I felt my core. I wonder if the muffin has begun to turn the tide after just 4 days off the sugar? Weight check on Sunday will reveal all. Overall 16.53km at 4:35 pace

Dory Dory

I'm very hungry right now.

shotgunmcos

Dory Dory wrote: »

I'm very hungry right now.

I've definitely felt proper hunger this week since I am not snacking/grazing. I'm expecting the scale to show a drop but also to tell me to up the calories! My nutritionist, when advising me to get more carbs in, said to do so with more frequent meals than bigger portions.

Friday has always been my 'eat what I like' day. Often pizza followed by mountains of sugar. Tonight I had a sausage, rasher and egg sandwich with a cup of tea. It was deadly! I will endeavour though to get more fruit, nuts, creamed rice etc into the daily routine.

Make a fruit smoothie with some oats in it to squash the hunger. Banana, honey, mango, orange juice, frozen vanilla yoghurt and a little peanut butter or oats...

Dory Dory

Oats? I assume you mean quick oats? Being a chocolate milkshake with whipped cream on top girl myself, I'm new to smoothies and oats....other than making oatmeal cookies, but I'm assuming they're out.

Finally got a feed of shrimp chowder, steak and cheese sub, and pasta salad at the local cafe after work tonight. Your Friday "eat what you like" day has alway been my Friday "I don't cook" night. And like you, I will be making calorie/frequency/portion size/carb/protein adjustments based on weight/hunger/energy level as the days pass. So far so good. Keep up the good work Stud-Muffin Man!!

shotgunmcos

@hoochiedoubleD - yes quick oats, or organic oats.

Turbo, general endurance
The last time I spent this length of time in the attic I went at clumps of 60 year old cobwebs with an industrial hoover. It was an eerie experience, marked by a spider falling on my face. After that job I remember having to collect Caz in town. Its a crystal clear memory because of the enormous specimen of a house spider who suddenly appeared on my dashboard! When he moved he gave me such a shock I almost crashed the car. He must have transported himself on me somewhere! I let the window down and flicked him out the window, or at least hoped I did. If he had appeared on Caz's lap on the way home it would have been interesting! He didn't, however the memory sequence got me through the first 20 minutes while my quads struggled to understand what was happening.

The attic is chillier than the heated back room I used to turbo. With no distraction though 90 minutes steady was plain boring. Just staring at the rafters wondering if any of his siblings had survived the hoover. I won't be using the turbo much for a while but I must sort tunes...

Short easy run
The rain had stopped by the time I laced up but 99% humidity is as good as. A simple 8.15km suburban trot. Got smiles and acknowledgements from running ladies for some reason. Maybe its because I smiled first. I was just enjoying the breeze in my hair and the fact that the calf niggle had finally left 30 minutes of yoga salutations afterwards as I felt rather energised..

shotgunmcos

Medium Long Run
2 hours on the button out in the wind. Kept the effort right down as I feel a head cold brewing. Came back in starving to find visitors had arrived with chocolate kimberlies :mad: Hot chocolate out too booo.... My H5 recovery shake is chocolate flavoured so making that with milk is as close to sweet treat as I get :rolleyes:

Overall a good week of running, but still feeling like Muffin man and the sub3 is waay over the horizon. Another week of this though and I can call it 'consistency' of sorts... Sucks watching the bike kms on the SBR challenge but this is the discipline involved with letting it go!

141 hours zero sins, 2,859 hours to go...

Dory Dory

Weight check?

shotgunmcos

Dory Dory wrote: »

Weight check?

Jan 1 80.4kg
Jan 7 79.5kg 2lb drop in your language

Swim squad
Since I'm not doing any bike training at the moment, I promised myself I would cycle to work a couple of times a week. Its only 2km so no excuse. 15.5km round trip to the Arena. This morning it was dark, windy and raining incessantly. I figured no better way to embrace this resolution! Stupidly all of the pockets on my waterproof jacket were open and I had no mudguard. I got duly soaked. At least I made it to the swim and back to work in time. DaveR1 had 3 ladies leading him out in the fast lane, the lead fish even made the technician and the mako work hard :eek: Hence I opted for the middle lane where my nemesis has been hanging out recently. I lead out for a 2.4km main set of 4*200/4*100/4*50/4*200 averaging a steady 1:36 pace throughout. My simple aim was not to let my nemesis make up the 5 second gap on me. I succeeded until the last few 200s where she reeled me in slowly. Her superior technique always comes through at the end of endurance sets. I've undoubtedly bridged a gap, although a straight 1500 would be the real test.

Short Aerobic Run
The plan called for cross training but I wasn't in form for the attic turbo after the wet cycle home. Instead I laced up and ran a short lap of suburbia. Lots of runners doing likewise. The rain had abated but the wind persisted. I had intended an easy effort but the first 3km into the wind slapped that notion. I just held the effort steady after that for 8.15km at 4:33 pace. Onto 30 minutes of some planks and yoga sun salutations now before bed. Starting to feel good

shotgunmcos

Swim aerobic
16*50 warm up & drills
3k easy in 54:00
Felt tired to start but well awake after the drills. The steady aerobic included 20 tumble turn attempts. Average 2/10 for the efforts with a best maybe 4/10. 3,800m total.

Medium base run with 11*100m hard strides
Very different conditions tonight. Cold and dry with a fog rolling in slowly. Put in an extended warm up before the work. Less than 3 minutes work! 11 hard 100m strides in 13.8/16.4/14.9/15.9/15.3/16.3/14.6/16.4/16.5/14.7/14.8 seconds. The first one really set the tone clocking sub 14. I gave each one a good push with 2 minutes easy recoveries. I felt good and despite wheezing after some of them, was ready again 2 mins later. 10 was the intention but I mistook the beep for the cool down and sprinted for 25 odd seconds waiting for a beep, doh! Good session total 15.69km

Day 8 off sweet junk. 117 days to go

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Mike what's the purpose of the 100 strides? Working on leg turnover? Running going well for you at the moment, some good consistency. We will be calling you mini muffin man soon enough

shotgunmcos

@JB- yep leg turnover and speed. We do it in water and on the saddle, why not running?

Short hard swim set
It was just a half hour while shotgun junior had his lesson. The intention was a relaxed steady swim. Instead...
4*100m off 1:40 in on 1:26/1:25/1:23/1:24
300m in 4:30
3*100m off 1:40 in on 1:24/1:24/1:25
200m in 3:00
2*100m off 1:30 in on 1:21/1:18
100 hard
2*50 hard
200 mixed strokes easy
1,800m total

Basically DaveR1 was doing a set with a torpedo fish and beckoned for me to join in. I did and hung on for the ride! In fairness I was tailing Dave and he was being dragged up and down the pool with a military like pacing. First time attempting 100s off 1:30. It hurt. Excellent session. We just torpedoed up and down the lane. There were, I think, 5-6 others in the lane. There was simply no stopping or even stalling before a pass. The torpedo was relentless. I was beetroot red faced and could only smile nervously when she said she would be there again next week!

kingQuez

nice swimming there

shotgunmcos

Short easy run
Out the door like shot with my work run buddy. Had to be back, showered and fed for a 2pm meeting so I deserted him half way through to get first use of the only shower. The legs felt heavy and I was breathing short and heavy. Hills were winding me. Same ole 40 minute loop but far less comfortable than usual. Still, got it done, washed and swallowed a whopping plate of shepards pie almost whole. The 2pm meet was with a bunch of leaders for our operation transformation gang. I have to put 40 or so through a walk or run test next week. Should be fun 8.2km done at some pace...

Medium base run
I intended 1.5 hours at a comfortable steady clip. I had to bail earlier than that as I was simply starving. I felt generally weak throughout and stupid little niggles began to surface and shout for attention. 80 minutes of dead, lifeless running. Lots of runners out again and the sight of them pushed me along and ultimately got me home to swallow another couple of plates. 10 days off the sweet crap now (WOOT!) and the distance between meals is starting to tell with consistent training kicking in. I need to bring snacks back in but healthy ones. I'm getting through the fruit basket but I did that anyway :rolleyes: I'm thinking creative veggie shakes brought to work might do the trick. 16.7km done at some pace...

Dory Dory

Hey, my sugary sweet with a cherry on top Stud-Muffin!! (the cherry would be allowed, the other stuff wouldn't) I'm just stopping by to see how it's going. Any sins you need to confess yet? Your deepest, darkest chocolate secrets are safe with me.......

shotgunmcos

Ok this log has been a bit quiet recently. Life a bit mad so priority was that. Just checked in from time to time to ensure no muppetry. So, a quick catch up and I'll get back to more interesting entries tomorrow...

Jan 11:
Run club session
Jogged to the session for 1,2,3,4,3,2,1 minute pyramid fast with a minute easy between. Finished off with 3 all out 60m sprints then jogged home. Good session

Jan 12:
Swim 4*1,000m off 20,19,18,17
In on 19:12/17:36/17:01/16:30. Started easy and felt it by the end
Easy run
Daydreamed my way around it, dunno how I didn't run into polls or people..

Jan 13:
Day off to do wedding stuff

Jan 14:
Long run
Sodding 2 hours in the p!ssing rain at 5am.. one to forget
Short run
Very easy taking work operation transformation group through tests

Jan 15:
Medium aerobic tempo run
Freezing out so a fresh pace to start to warm up, just hit a rhythm and held it for 1.5 hours at a nice pace. Toasted after it though. Hoards of runners out

Jan 16:
Short swim 20*100m off 1:40
Quick session while shotgunjunior was getting promoted in his lesson *gushes with pride* . The torpedo let me lead out while she did fly on my tail :eek: Hit 1:31-1:35 for the lot. Once again red face :rolleyes:

Jan 17:
Long swim set
4km with toys. Also 5*400 off 7 steady
Medium long run
1.75 in the pouring rain. I usually like these but it was cold rain, thus miserable

Jan 18:
Short run
15 minutes zippy alone and 15 minutes snail pace with operation transformation
Short swim inc TT
Including 4*100m off 1:30 and a 400m TT in 5:41 PB Reverse tactic of last attempt. 200 comfortable then drilled it.

Jan 19:
Nothing had to spend 6 hours in A&E with superwoman who fell down the stairs

Jan 20:
Nothing. Swapped a long run for a day for family and friends. Zero guilt

Jan 21:
Long swim inc 4*1,000m off 18
In on 17:23/17:03/17:01/16:38, decent session for busy lane
Was going to hop out after 100m crampy breast stroke but opted for another 1500m easy with Trig1. 5,600m longest set ever
Bike
70 minutes commuting on the mtb at a solid pace. Scumbags stole my lights which was annoying :mad:

Right, thats me up to date.. back soon

Dory Dory wrote: »

Hey, my sugary sweet with a cherry on top Stud-Muffin!! (the cherry would be allowed, the other stuff wouldn't) I'm just stopping by to see how it's going. Any sins you need to confess yet? Your deepest, darkest chocolate secrets are safe with me.......

Nope no sins. Although I have to do a cake tester for the wedding. I'm not a cake person so its not my vice... pass? :cool: Stifling the cravings with peanut butter and jam on crackers mostly... you?

Dory Dory

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Nope no sins. Although I have to do a cake tester for the wedding. I'm not a cake person so its not my vice... pass? :cool: Stifling the cravings with peanut butter and jam on crackers mostly... you?

Wedding cake tester? You want a pass? No way. I spent a holiday weekend in Disney and ran 39.3 miles and these lips didn't touch anything resembling chocolate or sugary sweetness. You've got 7 sins at your disposal - use as many of those as you like.

As for me, this is actually easier than I imagined. I'm approaching this as a science experiment (don't ask), and I think my discipline bothers those around me more than going without my nightly combo of chocolate and espresso chocolate chip ice cream bothers me. My orange juice consumption, however, has gone way up.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

I hope superwoman is ok after the fall.

shotgunmcos

6am: Medium long run inc 10*1km at PMP+
Beat the snooze button for once and got out the door before the body realised what was going on. Thankfully no freezing fog. Not a soul out running though. I took a long warm up to the local Industrial Estate for the work. It was all quiet until the 7 o clock shift poured in. I had loud toons in my ear and still heard the numerous beeps from angry early morning bears. I was well visible and kept in to the curb so it was pure grouchiness :rolleyes: The reps themselves passed as:
4:00
3:57
3:58
4:01
3:59
3:57
3:59
4:01
3:58
3:54
Basically too fast. I don't have a feel for a target marathon pace yet and this certainly wasn't it! The HRM was asleep so no data to confirm range. By feel though it was too hard. 24.17km total, decent session first thing

6pm: Short hard swim
No torpedo about this evening so it was just me vs the bus lane. Some buses missing a wheel, some pimped, none in sync. I often had to overtake someone overtaking someone else with an approaching overtake to negotiate too. Fair play to the lane though, good etiquette for once and no angry bus drivers.
The set
200m warm up
5sets of 4*100m descending off 1:45/1:40/1:35/1:30 with 1 minute rest between sets
2,200m total

I underestimated how hard this would be. By set 3 I barely made the sub90. The sub 95 was a solid effort but I was only getting 3 secs or so before the sub90. I was just managing 1:28s but by the last set I had to throw the sink at it . Shoulders on fire and toes a little crampy for a finish but solid session.

8pm: Hill run
I won't get to do these often as the time doesn't suit but it was on in the right neck of the woods tonight. Its a recce of one of the IMRA runs I hope to do during the summer. The intention was to savour it as a running treat. I love hill running. A posse gathered in the Cratloe car park for a humorous intro before we set off. I noticed my head torch was rubbish compared with the beams on the trail around me. The run was 7.92km and circa 300m of undulating ascent. Not very technical but steep in parts. The guy who marked the route earlier got a bit carried away with the paint which helped as we thinned out rapidly on the initial climb. It was pretty dry underfoot and I just plugged away picking off places. I backed off on the rockier descents as the quads were heavy and I could barely make out the terrain. Still even at the casual pace it was thoroughly enjoyable to be off road.

Solobally8

Are ye all hares on that run in Cratloe or do snails every join ye?

shotgunmcos

Swim with toys
1000m easy swim
800m pull buoy
600m kick with fins
4*400m off 7 steady
200m mixed strokes
4,200m total
Very sleepy pedalling over to the Arena. Session was OK. Quiet lane. Decided against paddle work as shoulders were feeling it. 400s had 10-15 secs recoveries.

Short easy run
Nearly wussed out of it but when Caz laced up I had to. 11km urban loop in plod mode. Legs felt heavy and stiff. Fell off into daydreaming again and the run flew by. I felt better after it than I did after 15 minutes. 4 mile race in club colours at the weekend but 2 tough sessions in the next 3 days. One at a time...

Solobally8 wrote: »

Are ye all hares on that run in Cratloe or do snails every join ye?

Nope all levels and its just plain good fun running. Especially during the summer on a warm evening when the pints are preceded with a dip in the lake. Each week is one of 5 or 6 runs rotated constantly every Wednesday without fail. If you like send me on your email and I'll send you back a link to join the weekly group email before each run. Time, distance, directions etc.. They run an IMRA league over the set of runs during the summer too

shotgunmcos

Short easy run in the rain
Had to be back for a post lunch meeting so no hanging around waiting for my run buddy. I could thus crack on with my own pace.... if I had any. Legs felt like lead. Hills killed me. I got soaked. I wanted to stop, would have stopped, if it wasn't such a grey wet and windy day. Zero energy, pure junk. Slog city. On the bright side I didn't stop and even managed to swallow a stuffed bagel before the meeting. People thought I was bonkers to be out in it, I even agreed!

Medium run including club fartlek session.
I gave a lad a loan of the bike for the weekend so I ran home. Muppet left house keys in the house this morning though so I just kept going to meet the club fit for life gang. Mercifully the rain stopped. My legs were still reeling from the tasty double on Wednesday and the slog around town earlier. The plan was 30 minutes fartlek and we did some drills and stretching either side. I didn't go too deep with a long run and race looming at the weekend. I had a partner for a change and we pushed each other along. My calves and quads burned. 3*60m all out sprints after the fartlek toasted me. The 20 minute jog home felt entirely uphill and my energy faded too. In the door 2 hours after leaving work spent and famished.

shotgunmcos

Long run.. bailed
Race run.. failed

Long run plan: 2 hours including 50 mins PMP
Actual: 1.5 hours junk with sore hips n' heels. 10 minutes into the work I bailed as the legs were just not firing. My hip flexors were tight, calves tight and energy low.

Limerick county 4 mile championships plan: sub24
Actual: approx 24:26 no results yet. I went out in earnest and hit half way in 11:50. However that mark also came with a drag and I died on it. I lost one place to a team mate so that was ok. I reeled in another and waited until I was ready to pass hard so as to put some distance between us. I managed about 60m. It was the same guy I caught in the XC race recently and knew he had a good finish. The second 2 miles were in no mans land. The legs didn't have the juice to catch the group ahead and the headwind, hail shower combo froze my face and chest. There was another hill to negotiate that I seriously contemplated walking up. I had nothing in the tank to push and it was a case of hanging onto my position. That took almost everything. I just about mustered a decent last 90 seconds to hold my position. I was spent for a finish. Still, you cannot beat these races for the atmosphere, volunteers, camaraderie, tea and sandwiches afterwards etc.. Proud to run for the club again but wish I could just do better.

It was good to get a race in January though and in brutal conditions. The Adare 10k February is usually my season start. Hopefully I can go deeper for that in a few weeks. I know why the legs were shot today. Too much intensity during the week combined with my highest mileage week ever :rolleyes:

I miss chocolate...

Dory Dory

Yep, don't beat yourself up. It's probably unrealistic to expect such grand performances when you're in the middle of a training program for a different event....especially immediately after coming off a super dooper training week like you just did. Think of days and races like this as character building.

And yes.....chocolate. Been having some serious delayed withdrawals these past few days. Oh to feel the snap of a good piece in my mouth......sigh.

shotgunmcos

Weigh in: 78.2kg - 1.2kg loss on last check

Long swim
3*1000m off 18
16*50m kick with fins
4*(200m pull buoy/100m swim)
5000m total

Basically no plan, just spend 90 minutes doing whatever. 1ks were OK for 2 but 3rd was an effort. Kicking was on weary legs and crowded lane hence I annoyed people. Pull was alright, legs just happy to be dragged along. Not a fan of Monday night craziness at the Arena but it has to be done for longer swims :rolleyes: Roll on OW swimming!

shotgunmcos

Wednesday: easy day
Swim steady 2,400m
Run easy 8.35km

Long day at work so short windows either side. The swim was solid in a quiet lane but the run anything but.. Bad heart burn every few minutes and zero energy. The sign of a bug taking hold and today as a result has been a wipeout. Called superwoman in a mood and she put things right back in perspective with her fractured shoulder blade and 4 weeks out of work,ouch! In true superwoman style though she asked me for a loan of my turbo for a few weeks since I'm not using it anyway!! I was thinking of bailing on this Ultra due to zero long runs done but after that call I've drenched my shame with a whole keg of HTFU...:o

BennyMul

its only 50k, and while you may have very little long runs you have been putting in the miles and it will be no problem. just pace it correct and you can run all day.

Im sorry I didnt enter now, even on less than you. enjoy it.