Running's not just for New Year's, it's for life!

vitani

menoscemo wrote: »

I see you are running 18 minutes for 2 miles and 27 minutes for 3 miles regularly in training. Therefore running under 36 minutes for 4 miles in a race should be absolutely no problem. Even thinking of 38-40 minutes is only going to hold you back from running your best.

I should also point out that you should not be racing all your training runs. If 9 min/miles is your 4 mile 'race pace' I Imagine your easy runs should be done at slower than 10 min/mile, probably closer to 11 min/mile.

Best of luck with the training.

Thanks for that. I really appreciate the advice because I'm still trying to get the hang of pacing myself. Is it enough to just do one 'faster' run per week? And how should my easy pace compare to my long run pace?

menoscemo

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/ Is a really useful tool. When you do that race in Dunboyne, put your time into the calculator and it will give your optimal training paces.
For example if you run 36 minutes for 4 miles, your easy runs should be 10-11 min/mile and your long runs 10-11:30/mile

As for your other question. It is more than enough to run faster once per week. The main key to progression as a beginner is simply logging the miles, the pace is not important. Try to run further and more often; to do so you need to run 'easy' most of the time so as not to tire yourself. If it is good for your sanity to run fast once a week then do so by all means but even that is not necessary. Try to run most of the time at a pace at which you can hold a conversation, or 'daydream' and you can't go too far wrong.

vitani

You're the second person to recommend the McMillan calculator to me. I think I better start listening :pac:

Yeah, what you're saying makes sense. I do like the occasional faster run, just for the feeling I get from pushing myself. But my plan is to increase my running sessions to four times a week in May in preparation for the half marathon in August, so keeping myself free from injury/tiredness will have to take priority then.

vitani

Went out for my long run today. Had planned on doing 4.5 miles but took a wrong turn along the way and it ended up being just over 5.5 miles. Keeping the 10% rule in mind, I'll shorten next Tuesday's run from 3 miles to 2 to compensate.

Finally managed to run my long run at a slower pace! Splits today were:
9.58
10.55
11.02
10.48
10.51
6.01 (.54 miles)

I found the slower pace almost painful at first but after 2 miles, I'd settled into it. Felt I could have kept going for a while longer as well. The next two runs will be at an easy pace so I should be racing next Sunday on fresh legs.

Schedule for this week:

Monday:| Stretch & Strength
Tuesday:| 2 mile run
Wednesday:| 40 minute cross
Thursday:| 2 mile run & strength
Friday:| Rest
Saturday:| 60 minute cross
Sunday:| 4 mile race!

vitani

An easy two miles today (10.10 and 10.23).

Darren 83

vitani wrote: »

An easy two miles today (10.10 and 10.23).

Keep up the good work, are you all set for the race

vitani

Thanks Darren. I think so, although I'm getting nervous about pacing myself - I don't want to make the same mistake as last time by going out too fast but I want to do myself justice as well. I'm getting a Garmin but I won't have it until the end of the month. So I'm going to have to rely on Endomondo on Sunday if I want to keep an eye on my times during the race, although I'm tempted to just run it by how my body is feeling on the day.

wowzer

vitani wrote: »

Thanks Darren. I think so, although I'm getting nervous about pacing myself - I don't want to make the same mistake as last time by going out too fast but I want to do myself justice as well. I'm getting a Garmin but I won't have it until the end of the month. So I'm going to have to rely on Endomondo on Sunday if I want to keep an eye on my times during the race, although I'm tempted to just run it by how my body is feeling on the day.

Take it relatively easy for the first mile as it's a bit of a long drag, once you hit the roundabout after the hotel give it all ya got as the course is fast from there..

vitani

wowzer wrote: »

Take it relatively easy for the first mile as it's a bit of a long drag, once you hit the roundabout after the hotel give it all ya got as the course is fast from there..

Thanks for that, that's good advice. You running it yourself?

wowzer

vitani wrote: »

Thanks for that, that's good advice. You running it yourself?

Yep I sure am, I did it last year, it was my second ever race and I enjoyed every bit of it. Got the racing bug from that race. The whole village comes out to support and the atmosphere is brilliant. You will have a great day.

Darren 83

wowzer wrote: »

Take it relatively easy for the first mile as it's a bit of a long drag, once you hit the roundabout after the hotel give it all ya got as the course is fast from there..

+ 1 on this what type of garmin are you getting?

vitani

wowzer wrote: »

Yep I sure am, I did it last year, it was my second ever race and I enjoyed every bit of it. Got the racing bug from that race. The whole village comes out to support and the atmosphere is brilliant. You will have a great day.

Best of luck on Sunday, so! I'm really looking to it - it seems that everyone who's done it before has only good things to say about it.

vitani

Darren 83 wrote: »

+ 1 on this what type of garmin are you getting?

The Forerunner 10. It's the most basic but I think it has everything I need for now.

Darren 83

vitani wrote: »

The Forerunner 10. It's the most basic but I think it has everything I need for now.

They are really a good device to have, I would be lost with out mine.

vitani

2 (ish) miles today.

Had pretty much talked myself into skipping today for a variety of reasons - the weather, the upcoming race, I deserved a break, yada yada yada. But when I got home, I found that I was in foul humour. The only stress relief I really have at the moment is running (or chocolate). So, sucked it up and went out for my scheduled 2 miles. Decided to leave my phone at home - I wasn't in the mood to time myself. The run itself was tough enough - I still find it hard to run without music or the radio, but by the time I got home, my previously awful mood had downgraded itself to mildly stressed. A huge improvement.

Kind of a weird milestone for me. It's the closest I've come to skipping a run, but it's also the first time I've actively used running for stress relief, rather than it just being a side effect. I feel like I've committed myself to running now, in some strange way - it's like, it's the first time I ran for me, rather than because it was written down in some training plan.

Look at me, getting all philosophical...

Darren 83

best of luck with the race tomorrow

vitani

Have barely stopped smiling since I got home. Had hoped for under 36 minutes - I crossed the line in 34:24 and my chip time was 33:21.

Thoroughly enjoyed today. The weather was probably the worst part of it, but once I started running, it was fine. I learned my lesson from the last time, and started quite close to the back of the pack this time. Psychologically, this was great - I spent the first mile passing people out rather than the other way round.

I'd also got talking to a lovely woman before the start who was aiming for a similar time to me so I immediately thought 'score!' and appointed her as my unofficial pacer. This was a godsend between Mile 2 and Mile 3 when I wanted to stop, but refused to let her out of my sights.

The course was great - running through the village three times is good for support and because the last half mile is one you've already run, it removes the kind of 'oh god, can I really do this?!' That said, running up to the third mile marker and seeing people who've already finished puts you firmly in your place

Great race - would thoroughly recommend it, and I'll definitely putting it in my calendar for next year.

(Oh, and I just checked - came 569th out of 1002 finishers, and was the 175th woman out of 497!)

Ososlo

vitani wrote: »

Have barely stopped smiling since I got home. Had hoped for under 36 minutes - I crossed the line in 34:24 and my chip time was 33:21.

Thoroughly enjoyed today. The weather was probably the worst part of it, but once I started running, it was fine. I learned my lesson from the last time, and started quite close to the back of the pack this time. Psychologically, this was great - I spent the first mile passing people out rather than the other way round.

I'd also got talking to a lovely woman before the start who was aiming for a similar time to me so I immediately thought 'score!' and appointed her as my unofficial pacer. This was a godsend between Mile 2 and Mile 3 when I wanted to stop, but refused to let her out of my sights.

The course was great - running through the village three times is good for support and because the last half mile is one you've already run, it removes the kind of 'oh god, can I really do this?!' That said, running up to the third mile marker and seeing people who've already finished puts you firmly in your place

Great race - would thoroughly recommend it, and I'll definitely putting it in my calendar for next year.

(Oh, and I just checked - came 569th out of 1002 finishers, and was the 175th woman out of 497!)

that's fantastic! well done and well deserved!

Darren 83

vitani wrote: »

Have barely stopped smiling since I got home. Had hoped for under 36 minutes - I crossed the line in 34:24 and my chip time was 33:21.

Thoroughly enjoyed today. The weather was probably the worst part of it, but once I started running, it was fine. I learned my lesson from the last time, and started quite close to the back of the pack this time. Psychologically, this was great - I spent the first mile passing people out rather than the other way round.

I'd also got talking to a lovely woman before the start who was aiming for a similar time to me so I immediately thought 'score!' and appointed her as my unofficial pacer. This was a godsend between Mile 2 and Mile 3 when I wanted to stop, but refused to let her out of my sights.

The course was great - running through the village three times is good for support and because the last half mile is one you've already run, it removes the kind of 'oh god, can I really do this?!' That said, running up to the third mile marker and seeing people who've already finished puts you firmly in your place

Great race - would thoroughly recommend it, and I'll definitely putting it in my calendar for next year.

(Oh, and I just checked - came 569th out of 1002 finishers, and was the 175th woman out of 497!)

Well done great time

vitani

Thanks! I'd completely underestimated the power of race day adrenaline.

Just checked McMillan and it's estimating a 1:59 half marathon at my current pace. I know I've a long way to go until August, but achieving a sub 2 half marathon this year would be incredible.

guinang

Fair play on your times. I got back from a half marathon in wicklow and the place seemed to be buzzing. Would have been doing this one otherwise.

With your training and current pace sub 2 seems like a soft target. Well done

beeduybe

Well done on the race today. Keep up the training and you will be well under 2 hours for a half marathon by August

vitani

Thanks, both of you. Sub 2 still seems like such a big target but I've two 10ks and a 5k before then, so I'll see how I'm progressing. I suppose when I think about it, I still have four months to go, which is longer than I've actually been running.

Tom Joad

Well done vitani - great time..

vitani

I'd been taking the ability to walk down stairs for granted until yesterday. My thighs are killing me!

I don't feel injured, it's just muscle soreness and it's probably down to the fact that I didn't cool down properly on Sunday.

Changed around my schedule this week to compensate. Went for a short, slow run today at recovery pace. 1.7 miles in just under 20 minutes. The thighs didn't bother me at all during it, so hopefully, it will have helped.

vitani

Tuesday's run must have helped because my legs felt much better from Wednesday onward. I did 3 miles on Friday in 29:07. Fairly even splits, although as usual, my first mile was the fastest.

Got my new Garmin yesterday and took it for a spin this morning in the Phoenix Park. Did 5 miles for my LSR and tried to cover a fair bit of the Great Ireland Run course so I'm not faced with any nasty surprises in two weeks time.

Splits were 9.39, 10.03, 9.49, 10.06, 9.35. I loved having the Garmin - I found it so handy to be able to check my pace as I went. I also ran with somebody for the first time on a training run and was able to talk the entire way around, so I finally understand the 'easy, conversational pace' thing.

In other news, I went clothes shopping during the week and found that my usual size was too big in the clothes I tried. I think I am officially in the process of dropping a dress size. Now let's hope all the Easter chocolate doesn't undo all my good work.

vitani

I have to keep double checking to make sure I'm on the right week when typing the post title - I can't quite believe that I'm in the second last week of this plan. Only another month to go before I start officially training for the half marathon :eek:

Got up early this morning for a 3 mile run. It was a beautiful morning and even with the clocks going forward, it was bright out. Such a change to the dark mornings in January and February.

Another fairly even three miles - 9.15, 9.16 and 9.09.

vitani

3.25 miles today in 32.50, including some of my cooldown walk and a brief pause to let some horses go by.

I'm trying to experiment with running at different times of day and in different circumstances to see what suits. I work in the city centre so parked my car near the Phoenix Park this morning and ran back this evening.

It was a nice evening for running. The most challenging aspect was getting used to wearing a running backpack. My pace was slowish because of it (9.40, 10.02, 10.04) but not significantly slower.

I may incorporate one run home a week into my schedule, building up the distance. I think the backpack will help build my endurance and for my LSRs, it will be a good way of fitting them in without losing too much family time.

vitani

Back to the Phoenix Park this morning for 6 miles, incorporating most of the GIR course. I had only intended running 5.5 but the lure of the Furry Glen was too much for me - I wanted to tackle the hill coming out of it before next week so I'd know exactly how bad it was. (I found it fine, tbh, but I'm sure racing it will be a different story).

Ran the 6 miles in just under an hour. The first four miles were in and around the 9.45 mark and the last two miles were just over 10 minutes each, as my running partner wanted to slow them down. That coincided with me getting my second wind, but at the same time, I was happy to go slower as I knew we'd done the first four at the upper end of the recommended pace.

For next Sunday, I really just want to concentrate on getting around the course in a steady pace. I'm hoping to come in at around 55 minutes but it's pacing myself properly that will be the challenge. I'm doing another 10k in June on a much flatter course, so I'll target that to get a good time.

guinang

Good progress. Well done. My feeling is that the furry glen is not the most difficult part of the GIR. The furry glen is steep, but it's also over with pretty quickly. There's a hill as you go by St. Mary's which is not as steep but it's steady from the Chapelizod Gate until you descend in to the Furry Glen. It's fairly energy sapping from my recollection. You may have already run it considering you've already tackled the furry glen.