2014 - Ballycotton to Berlin

LloydChristmas

Right so...a blog...errr...yeah.........may as well

Bit of background:
Age 27. Come from a sporting background where I used to be reasonably fit. Found out to my detriment about 2 years ago, that no matter how fit I was/am, I am not running fit i.e speed and endurance are two separate thing altogether and are required to be put together when running.

My first race was a 5 miler having never really run any road before. I took off as fast as I could at the start and must have been running 6 - 6.30 minute miles. Being such a novice, I had no idea how far 5 miles was going to be or how long it was going to take. After running for what seemed like an age, I was convinced the finish line was coming and to keep pushing, nearly there...As I came to a hilly incline I was praying for the finish line as I could barely breath but I knew I was going fast...Then, I caught a glimpse of the next mile marker..it read "2 Miles" :P I was tempted to ask someone is the finish line near, but then I thought how stupid I would look. Did that sign mean 2 miles gone or 2 miles to go?
So I struggled home the last three miles as I watched while 60 year old men and women went streaming past me and there wasn't a single thing I could do about it. I was baffled by how fit these people were and how un-fit I was (am).
I finished in 42 minutes and some change and promised to be more prepared the next time.
Whilst I have been running for a while now I have never applied any form of consistency with the longest running spell only being a few weeks long. My PB's in races have below are all from very little weekly mileage with no strucuture or consistency. The only time I have ever had a consistent block of training was for 4 weeks. For these 4 weeks, I ran 4 times each week, averaging about 35 miles a week. At the end of the 4 weeks, I signed up to a 4 mile road race. Normally I would run this in about 29-30mins in a huffing struggle. Except, this time I absolutely cruised through feeling amazing. I was shocked at the improvement I had just made finishing in 27:30

I would love to complete a good 12 week block of training to see how my body reacts and see how much of a dent I would make in the PB's.

Some PB's:
5k 21.05
10k: 45.10
5 mile: 36.30
10 mile: 75.05
half: 1.44.59
marathon: 4.15.10

Plans for the future:
Run more. My biggest problem is that I find training very hard. I love road races but find the training part very dull. Probably because I have to do it on my own. Eventually I will probably join a running club, still uncertain about it though.

Ballycotton 10 mile 2014
Would love to run 72.xx. Is it possible? Maybe. If I train hard until next March I think it is. BUT I know even now as I type this, I will not commit to training. I hope I'm wrong...Will also run the Dungarvan 10 this year as a warm up to see where I stand. Will target 73 mins there.

Berlin 2014:
Have an entry but its too far into the future for me to even think about right now. Would love to go sub 3.30...Proper marathon plan is a requirement though...P&D up to 55 miles most likely!

LloydChristmas

Mon 7miles @ 9.40 min - Please to find this felt very comfortable

Tues 7miles - Not sure of the pace but I definitely pushed a bit harder.

Friday 2 miles @9.30, 3 miles @ 8.30, 2 miles @ 9.30

Sat - Missed my long slow run but not too displeased with the week asI need to gradually get back into things to avoid any injuries. This is a start!

Summary:
This week was really just about getting into the swing if things and I didn't care what pace I was going. I need to slow myself on some of the runs, I constantly feel like I need to be running fast for some reason...Ran the same 7 mile loop 3 times this week (mental note, find a new route), which is over rolling hills that are quite steep, so times are affected but glad to be getting hills in as I really hate them in races . Going to put in another week of easy running this week but there is a 6 mile road race on Sunday that I will do...Need to try to slot in a longish run during the week as I will now be missing the LSR next weekend as well due to race.

Plan ahead:
Mon: 7 easy
Tue: 4 easy
Wed: 10 very easy
Frid: 7 easy
Sun 6mile race (sub 45 mins will do..)

LloydChristmas

Getting back to logging after a brief interlude over the Christmas...Some reviews of the last 2 months...

November 2013:
Consistent...at least. Decided that I needed to do some consistent easy running to get myself back into the swing of things. For most of November I have run lots of easy miles, averaging about 30-35 miles a week. This is still not enough.

December 2013:
In the first week of December, I tried my hand at a 5k after running easy and consistent for the past few weeks. Wasn't expecting much but was hoping to be close to my PB shape from earlier in the year of around 21mins...Finished in over 22mins...I am now starting to understand my weakness...I run ALL my miles at the same dull, easy pace which is leaving me stagnant and without improvement. "If you want to run fast, you need to run faster"

I need to do 2 things mostly...

1. Run a variation of training runs weekly i.e one 5k paced interval run, one tempo run, a long run and one or two easy runs...

2. After point one, I need to run more mileage. However, it needs to be more quality as opposed to more quantity. Hence I am going to work on point 1 first and then start building mileage weekly..eventually leading into a 12 week marathon plan for Cork. So working from 35 miles up into the mid 40's for now.

LloydChristmas

End of December 2013:
Done my last run on 13th of December and did not run again until the 29th Dec. Drink, Food, Drink, 12 pubs, Food...oh and drink...


January 2014:
Back in the swing of things, time to knuckle down. Have decided to shift my long runs to either Tues or Wed as I want to have a go at some short races that are happening at the weekends. Not expecting PBs at them but I think racing the distance is as good as any training run in prep for Ballycotton. Racing definitely helps me as I cannot push as hard on my own in training..

Plan for the next two weeks:
Week 1:
Mon: 5 easy
Tue: rest
Wed: 12m long
Thur: 6m (inc 5x1K at 4.12 per/km)
Frid: 7 easy
Sun: 5k race OR 8m with 4m tempo

Total: approx. 35-38m with plenty of quality :cool:

Week 2:
Similar to Week 1 above but will be targeting a 4 miler on Sunday which I am hoping can go sub 28..Wont be a PB but will indicate I'm in the right place.