Be still my beating heart

Murph_D

It's nearly always windy, unfortunately, although you sometimes don't notice it at all until you turn back towards town.

barryoneill50

I hope you don't mind me saying, but days without eating, really? Surely not a good idea.

Ososlo

barryoneill50 wrote: »

I hope you don't mind me saying, but days without eating, really? Surely not a good idea.

ha ha no I don't do that anymore;) Past life! I'm just saying I can if I HAVE to!

barryoneill50

Ososlo wrote: »

ha ha no I don't do that anymore;) Past life! I'm just saying I can if I HAVE to!

Ah don't mind me, just looking out for ya:D

AuldManKing

I'm still stuck on the bra issue.............

Ososlo

Wednesday 16 July
Rest
I got those weak dizzy spells periodically again today. Don't know what it's about but all I know is there's no point in going to a doctor about it as I had something similar last year and know it'll be like talking to the wall. My very recent bloods are all perfect. My doctor already thinks I'm a crazy ocd hypochondriac when I tried last year to explain weird goings on with my body and crazy increases in rhr etc., so I've learned my lesson to keep my money and deal with it myself through internet research or see someone very knowledgable in the area in the Sports Clinic if I need to. Decided to just rest and let the body work its magic on its own with some tlc from myself!

Thursday 17 July
8 miles including 12 x 1 min
No dizzy/weak spells today but decided to do the easier session in my plan rather than the 4 x 5mins. Problem was I didn't read the instructions on the tin properly and ran them at a very hard pace when I was supposed to run them at 5k effort. Also, I did too many. I thought it was 16 and not 12. So I don't know if the session will be as beneficial. I ran them at about mile pace. Bloody hard work and even though this looks very easy on paper, it was anything but! So I did put in a good effort. My current big red face can testify to that!
Did this in St. Anne's and took in a little bit of the coast too and visited the lovely rose garden. That place is looking magnificent these days.

Today is my 5 month AIS anniversary to the day! I started it on the 17 February and haven't had so much as a niggle since. I've done it at least once a day every day except maybe 2-3 days where I didn't have access to a rope;) Legs & co have never felt better.

dolliemix

Well done! What's AIS?

Ososlo

dolliemix wrote: »

Well done! What's AIS?

Hey! Active Isolated Stretching

It's a stretching technique used to lengthen and strengthen muscle tissues. You use a rope for some of the stretches and only hold the stretches for 2 seconds or so but you can stretch further that you would normally with the assistance of the rope. Takes a bit of getting used to but totally worth it.

Link to AIS videos on how to do it is at the very end of Post 1 of the Novices thread and there's some more information here
http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/training/active-isolated-stretching.html
It's made my legs generally stronger and more flexible.

tang1

Any plans for another 5k?

Ososlo

tang1 wrote: »

Any plans for another 5k?

yes, looking to weekend after next for another shot and another one a week or two after that.
So far I have: one dnf and one crap one, so hopefully third time will be something I can be relatively happy with:rolleyes:

tang1

Good stuff, wont ask where, training is solid as always. Jealous reading about you running along the Coast Rd, ah the memories. Miss it if i'm honest, lovely place to run.

Ososlo

tang1 wrote: »

Good stuff, wont ask where, training is solid as always. Jealous reading about you running along the Coast Rd, ah the memories. Miss it if i'm honest, lovely place to run.

Thanks. Don't know where myself yet but you'll be the first to know when I do;)
Yes it really is great to have the coast road relatively close to me. It's a pity I have to drive to get close but totally worth it. I'll have to start exploring that area a bit more too. Lots to see out that direction.

tang1

If you need a pacer give me a shout!! No joke.

Ososlo

tang1 wrote: »

If you need a pacer give me a shout!! No joke.

Thanks tang! Great offer! I'll be in touch...

Ososlo

Friday 18 July
35 mins recovery
Felt good this evening and all day. No dizzy spells and feeling strong. Hopefully whatever was up with me lately is gone.
Roasting hot for this but enjoyable and even though I wanted to extend it, I kept it sensible tonight as I want to be fresh for my 10 miles with 10k pace work either tomorrow or Sunday. Nice having the option of doing it either day.

New mission: To lose 4 lbs in a few weeks to be a lighter weight for 5k racing. I need to help myself every possible way to get faster and according to a calculator posted on another thread, if I can lose 4 lbs, I can take potentially 40+ seconds off my 5k time!!! Not to be sniffed at!!! Maybe it won't make any difference in the world but I'm wiling to give it a go as there's nothing to lose (except 4 lbs:D)

I'll be doing it very sensibly of course. I've been eating really healthily lately anyways, but maybe my portions are a bit too big. I'll start cutting down from tomorrow. Every proper diet starts tomorrow
I've said I'd do this before but I got lazy and need to focus more too keep things in check from now on so I'm putting it down here to keep me honest.

Starting weight: 8 stone 9 lbs / 121lbs / 54.8kgs
Target weight: 8 stone 5 lbs / 117bs / 53kgs
How I'll do it: Smaller portions for meals and snacks. Do more of my running in the morning on empty.

TRR

Ososlo wrote: »

How I'll do it: Smaller portions for meals and snacks. Do more of my running in the morning on empty.

I can see the logic with part A, part B not so much. If you're interested in fat burn I would have thought pace would be more important than the time of the day you run!

Ososlo

TRR wrote: »

I can see the logic with part A, part B not so much. If you're interested in fat burn I would have thought pace would be more important than the time of the day you run!

I thought running on empty encourages more fat burn?
I'd only be doing my easy runs or recovery runs on empty. Not sessions. Should I be attempting to do the faster stuff on empty? Never did that. I'd be afraid I'd run out of steam!

TRR

Ososlo wrote: »

I thought running on empty encourages more fat burn?
I'd only be doing my easy runs or recovery runs on empty. Not sessions. Should I be attempting to do the faster stuff on empty? Never did that. I'd be afraid I'd run out of steam!

Don't know is the short answer. I can't run on empty so don't try. Well I could but runs are always crap and take longer to recover from. But different strokes for different folks. Just sounds like more hard work to me!

Ososlo

Saturday 19 July
4 miles easy
Did this in the middle of the day so kept it very handy as it was scorching. The suncream I had on sweated off very quickly. Great to see lots of lithe serious looking runners warming up in the local park with the event in Morton today. Spotted a few celebs. I always end up running a bit faster than I should for easy runs when there are very fast runners gliding past me with ease but tried not to go too mad with my sub-10 min/miles:D
Really enjoyable despite the heat and had to really hold back from going further and faster as I was feeling full of beans, but needed to save the energies for Sunday's workout.

As I didn't hear back from you in my response to your original pm Billy, I take it you accept my point that there are no chips, and we're friends again

Sunday 20 July
10 miles w/10 mins @10k, 3 min rec, 6 x 45 sec @ 5k
Felt rotten during the warm up (breathing all over the place, lungs complaining and sweating like mad all over). Was wishing I had done this yesterday when I was feeling so good. Warm up miles were barely under 11 min/miles (I always run them by feel), so not a good sign for the session ahead. Sleep wasn't great but not the worst last night (5 hrs). I was really in a quandary during the warm up as whether I should listen to my body and call it a day or just to htfu as perhaps I was just being a 'pussy' :pac:

5.5 miles easy and then into the 10k pace section. Decided not to look at the watch as I knew it was going to be slow and if I looked at it I'd be disheartened so just ran by effort. A bit slower than I hoped alright but really did put in a good 10k effort.
Paces were 8:14 & 7:53 (1:46) for the 10 mins. I can honestly say that I didn't feel any worse doing the faster 10 mins than I did during the warm up. Weird. 3 mins recovery were grand. 45 sec strides were enjoyable. All were around 7:50 pace. Felt very sick after the last one though. Had to stop completely for about a minute after the intervals to just feel normal again. Felt like getting sick and a bit cold. Classic dehydration symptoms. Ate and drank really well yesterday and had lots of water this morning and a banana and a wholemeal muffin and 2 eggs before the run so it so was well fuelled and my hydration should have been perfect. Even threw 2 nuun into the water I had before bed last night. It was 1 o'clock when I started the session so slap bang in the middle of the heat of the day and I was sweating profusely throughout. Maybe I need to bring a drink with me on these runs, but I hate carrying anything for faster workouts. It's grand for the slower stuff but a nuisance when trying to run faster paces.
Cool down was very slow. Had a banana straight after. Felt ok after a bit but still don't feel 100% really. I bit wasted or something. Damn hot weather. Hate it! Salt crystals all over my arms and face and neck afterwards.
Scales this morning said I'm down a pound since Friday! I know it's probably just water loss but new regime is going well. To allay any concerns: I'm not aiming to starve myself or anything stupid like that as I know I need to eat well to run well. It's just about portion control and smaller/less snacks throughout the day.
38 miles weekly total
965 miles yearly total

Murph_D

I'd say yes, absolutely you should have some water handy during interval sessions - it's easy enough when you're doing them in a park or somewhere and can leave a bottle somewhere (preferably off the ground just in case there are any dogs about!) Well done though on toughing it out.

Ososlo

Murph_D wrote: »

I'd say yes, absolutely you should have some water handy during interval sessions - it's easy enough when you're doing them in a park or somewhere and can leave a bottle somewhere (preferably off the ground just in case there are any dogs about!) Well done though on toughing it out.

Thanks MurphD. I must start doing that alright. Could have made a bit off a difference today.
Well done you on that super pb this morning!!! Enjoying following your training.

AuldManKing

our coach makes us bring water to Santry and sip during intervals - he also tells us to drink well during the day, before our session.
Something I hadn't done before, but feel the benefit of now.

Try hiding water at some point on the run, where you know you'll stop a few times??

Ososlo

AuldManKing wrote: »

our coach makes us bring water to Santry and sip during intervals - he also tells us to drink well during the day, before our session.
Something I hadn't done before, but feel the benefit of now.

Try hiding water at some point on the run, where you know you'll stop a few times??

Thanks! Yes I'll bring some with me and hide it from now on for the harder effort running.

I hydrate really really well in general all day every day, but think I sweat so much I need to replace as I run. It's fine when it's the slow stuff but I'm a bit of a sweaty betty when running faster!

SamforMayo

I was sweating and thirsty walking from Avoca café to Holles Street:eek: Nearly had to have a lie down on the sister s Bed:D

Calvin Johnson

You may not realise this but we are having a race to the 1,000 mile mark!

I have been cursing you as you keep edging ahead of me.

Ososlo

Calvin Johnson wrote: »

You may not realise this but we are having a race to the 1,000 mile mark!

I have been cursing you as you keep edging ahead of me.

Ha ha didn't realise that! I love a good old race however I'm not supposed to be chasing the miles this year so trying to avoid watching the table too closely. Now you got the competitive juices flowing CJ!

Calvin Johnson

965 v 965...

Ososlo

Monday 21 July
Ososlo Summer Camp
Was minding an 11 year old for the day. Not sure she'll be back as I worked her so hard:D
AM: Tennis, soccer and a little light jogging followed by a little foam rolling
PM:Frisbee and some sprinting.
I hadn't slept the night before at all so by the end of the day I was exhausted and could barely see I was so consumed with lethargy. She didn't feel great either:D

Tuesday 22 July
4.5 miles easy
I know I said I was going to avoid my local park on club nights due to recent events but I forgot and got badly caught out again. I really am just baffled at this stage about the whole thing.

Same scenario:
Large group of guys come towards me. One or two move aside so I have some space to run past and one or two nod.
Women's group comes next. running 4 abreast but covering whole path, nattering away. I didn't put my elbow out at all as I was sure the one nearest me was about to move aside. She didn't. She actually clipped my elbow without me putting mine out at all and hurt me a bit.
Group of club kids come towards me next, and some step into the grass and the rest move aside. Common manners.
(This has nothing to do with shoulders, just elbows:rolleyes:;))
I've taken action! I'm wearing my red top and the revolution starts here.
Also, I have an idea of what times those women run in races by doing a bit of research, so I think with about a year of work (maybe 18 months) I could take some of them out in a race so Stazza we have a lot of work to do!

Looking forward to session tomorrow! Day off so I'll try and do it early or late when it's not too hot

Laois_Man

Only one thing for them bitches........

Ososlo

Laois_Man wrote: »

Only one thing for them bitches........

Great idea L_M! ha ha ha. That spiky bit at the top would be perfect if I could direct it outwards instead of upwards! I'd only need the one:)

Ososlo

Wednesday 23 July
Pyramid session 1,2, 3,4,3, 2,1 w/60 sec jog rec

First time doing one of these. This is one of the options on my 'maintenance session' list and having read another boardsie's log this morning about a pyramid session I though t it looked like a bit of fun so decided to give it a whirl. Mine only went to 4 mins tops though so a lot easier obviously.
Planned to get up really early to do this before it got hot but it didn't happen. When you don't sleep great you gotta roll with it when it is good which it was last night. Was going to leave it until tonight when it cooled down a bit but I had the day off and thought I should give it a go despite the heat as running in the heat is one of my weaknesses and this year is all about working on those weaknesses. I hate the heat so much I declined a recent 2 week all expenses paid holiday in France as the temperature would be around 30 degrees and I just can't handle it!!!!

Session: 3.5 miles warmup. I was fair warmed up by then I can tell yiz!!! Hit the Chapelizod road outside the Phoenix Park at 11:45 and it was torture with the sun beaming down on my head and I could feel my skin sizzling under the suncream. Found a nice flat stretch without interruptions and a little bit of shade here and there for the intervals. Brought a bottle of lucozade sport which i sipped on during the intervals. Each sip was like a gift of nectar from the gods and was relished.
Worked at about 5k effort without looking at the watch, so hard but not all-out which I think is the correct way to do these.
Happy enough with the times and hope they'd all be closer to early 7:40s on a cooler day.
7:45, 7:50, 7:48, 7:50, 7:57, 7:50, 7:43
The 4min rep was definitely the toughest as when you're going back down again with 3 and then 2 it's all nearly over so there's an end in sight. I'd like to try to take it up to 5 mins for the next go at thess. When I finished I nearly expired with the heat so sat on a rock for about 2 mins to cool down and get my breath back. Didn't feel sick today after the session which I'm delighted about!!! I think the drink really did the trick today so I'll be bringing one in future. It's a nuisance to carry for the intervals and there was nowhere suitable to put it (amongst the rubbish!) but totally worth carrying on a day like today.
Cooldown few miles were slow and the only way back to the car involved lots of lovely hills in the Park so it was 11 min/miles up through Military Hill with no reprieve from the burning sun. Felt grand at the top and upped the pace a bit back to the car. Felt really good after this.
7.5 miles total
pm: I know I'm not supposed to do doubles on session days but the temptation to get out again was just too much for me to resist I'm afraid. Anyway, I won't be able to run Satiurday as I'm off up North for the weekend so that's my excuse.
Stuck to trails for this and stayed in the shade as much as possible and it worked out well. Thoroughly enjoyable little jog.
3 miles total

10.5 miles daily total
Easy tomorrow and maybe longer run Friday before I head off to Belfast if I can get it done early. Otherwise it'll be Sunday.

Ososlo

Thursday 24 July
35 mins easy w/6 strides
Club night so avoided elbow bashing in my local park and just went down towards Drumcondra instead. Lovely shelter from the trees down on Griffith Ave. Haven't run down there since winter and looking forward to revisiting it during the lovely cold weather again.

Friday 25 July
9 miles w/10 mins at 10k, 3 min rec, and 6 x 45 secs at 5k in second half
Away for a bit over the weekend so doing Sunday's run today instead. Won't be able to run tomorrow and hydration will be minimal over weekend due to lots of driving and not much opportunity of peeing without pissing off lots of other car occupants by having to stop every half hour!

**** me this was HOT HOT HOT! Armed with my life-blood (lucozode sport) I hit the park before 10am which is early for me.
Was really enjoying the easy first 5 miles and kept it lovely and slow due to the dead heat. I could have knocked out 20 easy miles today no problem. However, no marathon training for me so back to business....
10 mins at 10k was ridiculously slow today. Feel like I'm not making any progress in this heat and actually feel I'm losing some speed but I know it's just due to the extra effort levels in the sun. Running with the heart rate monitor last year taught me a lot about how my body reacts to running in heat so I know (hope) these regressions are only temporary.
Struggled to do an 8:20 min/mile for the 10k pace bit which is WAY slower than I know I'm capable of and what I've done in the past but I did put in the effort so I guess that's all that matters.
Didn't feel sick for the faster bits which is great but when I finished the 6 strides I did feel a bit weird and lightheaded and had to come to a complete halt for a minute to get the blood back to my head.
Saw a few ladies wearing crop tops today with one just wearing her bra I think:pac: but great idea in this heat and I actually have a few that I bought last year but didn't have the guts to wear but feck it, it's hot and my abs ain't lookin too bad these days even if I do say so myself:D
Down 2 lbs so on target for 4lb weight loss
Current weight: 119lbs / 8 stone 7
Yearly total (especially for Calvin) 992 miles. I won't be able to get my 1,000 until early next week so knock yourself out beating me this year;)

Calvin Johnson

Ha I thought you may have done it with a long run today!

I was out just after 10 and the heat was very tough. Only did 5 easy miles so fair play for a tough run like that.

PaulieC

Ososlo wrote: »

Saw a few ladies wearing crop tops today with one just wearing her bra I think:pac: but great idea in this heat and I actually have a few that I bought last year but didn't have the guts to wear but feck it, it's hot and my abs ain't lookin too bad these days even if I do say so myself:D

what park is this ?

yaboya1

Ososlo wrote: »

Saw a few ladies wearing crop tops today with one just wearing her bra I think:pac:

I doubt anyone will be ringing Joe Duffy to complain about this :pac::pac:

RedRunner

People are practically going naked along the Clontarf seafront these days runners and sunbathers alike. Makes for an interesting run home from work.:)

Ososlo

Saturday 26 July
No running. Dealing with some real-life stuff and travelling. Life can be sh1t sometimes ...

Sunday 27 July
6 miles easy
Body felt really good for this. Must be due to the drop in temperature. Thought it would be crap due to very poor hydration for the past 48 hours. Just felt like I was on automatic and had a pleasant 'gliding' feeling and pace was a lot quicker than recently for easy effort. 6 laps of local park but could have quite happily gone 'round and 'round and 'round for the evening but needed to keep lots in the tank for session the next day. Threw in 8 strides towards the end and felt fast and strong.

34 miles weekly total. Missed 2 days this week. One through tiredness and one to circumstances beyond my control.
998 miles...

Monday 28 July
Pyramid session, 1, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 1
Weird night. I did sleep ok but had some intense nightmares so I didn't feel rested at all this morning. Mind out of sync with body this morning. Strange feeling...

2 mile warm up brought me to 1,000 miles for the year passing the Phoenix monument in the Phonenix Park. Spent the next while trying to figure out why I'm still such a sh1t "runner" and why my progress is so slow compared to other people even though I run quite a bit and certainly put in the effort and a lot more effort than some. Couldn't come to any new conclusions so tried to focus on the positives instead and the good qualities I have as a "runner" such as good endurance and a strong body which means I do have good consistent training blocks without much interruption. I am faster than I have ever been before so it's going in the right direction albeit slowly:rolleyes: Someday it'll happen for me... hopefully.

Warmup: 11:03, 10:52, 10:44 (worried the w/u was so slow as it didn't bode well for the session)
7:50(1), 7:49(2), 7:50(3), 7:48(4), 7:46(3), 7:51(2), 7:44(1)
Took a while to warm up and get into a nice pace and rhythm. Did the reps at 5k effort. Not as warm as recently but the sun did come out just in time for these so I got the warmest part of the day once again. Happy enough with the reps and the effort felt hard but controlled and breathing not too laboured. Better than the same session last week which is down to the drop in temperature I think. I wish the weather would just stay like this.

Took in some hills in the park for the last 4 miles to challenge myself a bit more today. I'm trying to include more hills in my weekly mileage over the summer. Came upon the lovely 85 year old man who runs in the park a lot (very slowly these days) and had a nice chat with him. He's off to Zurich for the championships and says he's been at the last 14 Olympics and has been running in the park for over 60 years:eek: He's my hero:P
9:20 miles total
pm: 35 mins easy. Off work today so nice to get out again. This felt so effortless and like I was being pushed along! Weird but nice feeling:D

13 miles daily total

RedRunner

Nice work.

Wow that's amazing about that guy in the park. I want to be like him when I grow up !:D

gerard_65

RedRunner wrote: »

Nice work.

Wow that's amazing about that guy in the park. I want to be like him when I grow up !:D

Harry Gorman. Race starter for a lot of races. He's a legend.

Ososlo

gerard_65 wrote: »

Harry Gorman. Race starter for a lot of races. He's a legend.

Good to know his name. I've seen him at races too and wondered who he was. Fit and happy looking 85 year old.

Billy Mills

Ososlo wrote: »

Saturday 26 July

2 mile warm up brought me to 1,000 miles for the year passing the Phoenix monument in the Phonenix Park. Spent the next while trying to figure out why I'm still such a sh1t "runner" and why my progress is so slow compared to other people even though I run quite a bit and certainly put in the effort and a lot more effort than some. Couldn't come to any new conclusions so tried to focus on the positives instead and the good qualities I have as a "runner" such as good endurance and a strong body which means I do have good consistent training blocks without much interruption. I am faster than I have ever been before so it's going in the right direction albeit slowly:rolleyes: Someday it'll happen for me... hopefully.

You aren't "****" at all but I agree your progress is pretty slow for the effort put in.

A couple of points: 1. I think your sleep (or lack thereof) plays a really big role. You can't underestimate the influence this has on your ability to train effectively and recover from it. With that in mind I'd suggest that doing things like doubling are actually counter productive for you. You need to be able to let your body rest as much as it possibly can between each run and doing two a day is having pretty much zero benefit but hurting your ability to recover.

2. Relax. Running is meant to be fun and considering none of us have an upcoming Olympics to worry about - it is pointless putting pressure on ourselves or overthinking things. To that end- I think you'd improve if a) you found a way to train with others (join a club etc)....benefits of this cannot be overstated b) ran more races (I've already give my opinion on this) and c) stopped flogging yourself w/ sessions run at times that seem to be pulled out of thin air. Run sessions at the pace you are at, not where you want to be.

I know my opinion probably isn't welcome but I actually really hate watching this kind of thing happen where people flog themselves, run a whole bunch of fancy sessions and get slow progress out of it. Go read someone like Clara Lara or Martha Stews logs.... they are the perfect template for female improvement and both started in a similar kind of place that you came from.

tang1

Billy Mills wrote: »

You aren't "****" at all but I agree your progress is pretty slow for the effort put in.

A couple of points: 1. I think your sleep (or lack thereof) plays a really big role. You can't underestimate the influence this has on your ability to train effectively and recover from it. With that in mind I'd suggest that doing things like doubling are actually counter productive for you. You need to be able to let your body rest as much as it possibly can between each run and doing two a day is having pretty much zero benefit but hurting your ability to recover.

2. Relax. Running is meant to be fun and considering none of us have an upcoming Olympics to worry about - it is pointless putting pressure on ourselves or overthinking things. To that end- I think you'd improve if a) you found a way to train with others (join a club etc)....benefits of this cannot be overstated b) ran more races (I've already give my opinion on this) and c) stopped flogging yourself w/ sessions run at times that seem to be pulled out of thin air. Run sessions at the pace you are at, not where you want to be.

I know my opinion probably isn't welcome but I actually really hate watching this kind of thing happen where people flog themselves, run a whole bunch of fancy sessions and get slow progress out of it. Go read someone like Clara Lara or Martha Stews logs.... they are the perfect template for female improvement and both started in a similar kind of place that you came from.

+1 to that. Said it before your to hard on yourself which puts unneeded pressure on you to perform in sessions. As Mr Mills said relax bit more, your far, far from a sh!t runner. Wont say anything more on it.

Ososlo

Billy Mills wrote: »

You aren't "****" at all but I agree your progress is pretty slow for the effort put in.
Just like you can't stay away from my log for whatever reason, I can't hold myself back from responding to your comments:P
My progress has been slow from day 1. I was always slow, even in school races I was always last even though I wasn't fat and I was healthy so it's in my dna for whatever reason.

A couple of points: 1. I think your sleep (or lack thereof) plays a really big role. You can't underestimate the influence this has on your ability to train effectively and recover from it. With that in mind I'd suggest that doing things like doubling are actually counter productive for you. You need to be able to let your body rest as much as it possibly can between each run and doing two a day is having pretty much zero benefit but hurting your ability to recover.
Yes sleep (hours and quality) might have something to do with it. It's been like that since I was a young child and has nothing to do with running. If anything, the more I run the better I sleep.
I've officially knocked the doubles on the head for this training block as Stazza doest want me doing them but I had some 'stuff' to deal with lately and I use running to help me deal with stuff and if a 3 miles run in the evening of a 'session day' helps me deal with 'stuff' I'll chose that ahead of having a rothman when needs must if that's ok!
2. Relax. Running is meant to be fun and considering none of us have an upcoming Olympics to worry about - it is pointless putting pressure on ourselves or overthinking things. To that end- I think you'd improve if a) you found a way to train with others (join a club etc)....benefits of this cannot be overstated b) ran more races (I've already give my opinion on this) and c) stopped flogging yourself w/ sessions run at times that seem to be pulled out of thin air. Run sessions at the pace you are at, not where you want to be.
I don't want to run with others. I agree it probably is the best thing for me but I wouldn't be relaxed and enjoy running if I had to run with others. Yeah I'm a weirdo....... I am relaxed, I'm not making a big deal out of anything at all. I'm just posting some musings I had on my run today. I've accepted that my progress is slower than 'normal' people. So what's the big deal? I'm prepared to wait and hopefully see the improvements happen some day. To be honest, if I never improved again I'd still continue running as I love it.

I know my opinion probably isn't welcome but I actually really hate watching this kind of thing happen where people flog themselves, run a whole bunch of fancy sessions and get slow progress out of it. Go read someone like Clara Lara or Martha Stews logs.... they are the perfect template for female improvement and both started in a similar kind of place that you came from.
I've read both their logs. Difference is, both women had more natural ability than I have. That is clear from the start.
I have someone helping me with my training as you well know. If I really believed that everything you posted on my log over the months was solely with concern for my improvement I'd be delighted. However, we all know it's not now, don't we Billy;)

responses in bold above doctor Q.

rom

Without joining a club I can't see you making the improvements that you want. The lack of races and no one to challenge you on your sessions will have you less sharpe. Did a pyramid session similar on Sat myself. Could never have gone out later in the day as it would have meant that I didn't try hard enough in the session. Your 5k pace is clearly faster.

Ososlo

I heard there was deer culling in the park but nobody told me it was open season for Ososlo too.
FFS, so no one who doesn't join a club makes improvements??? I've heard it all now. Plenty of people who run on their own make improvments. Loads around here too.
My progress is slower than most but I am making progress. More than I've ever made before if truth be told.
:rolleyes:

gerard_65

You're letting it get to you again.:( Just keep up the good work in training and you'll be fine. And you're right, you can make just as much progress on your own. Many people who are in clubs still do most of their training on their own. Stop getting annoyed at other peoples comments. Take on board the constructive one's and dismiss the rest.

Murph_D

Open season? Ah now. I'm not aware of any persistent criticism on your log, Ososlo (haven't read all of it) but the above advice looks sound enough. While I do most of my running alone too I certainly do agree that I would improve faster with more competition and camaraderie. That is something that I DO want to change about my situation. Of course it's always easier to maintain the status quo so I haven't done it yet.

As regards people chiming in with advice, isn't that what keeping a public log is supposed to be all about?

I'm not sure how valid the questioning of your session choice is. You say you are being coached/advised. Is the coach happy with your progress? It seems you are not happy with the progress so maybe something should change?

Either way, you have lots of support around here, that's worth something too in terms of motivation and accountability. Best of luck.

Ososlo

Maybe I overreacted earlier.
Rom's comment annoyed me first thing as he personally knows I have issues with joining a club so it just seemed pointless to be bringing it up on a public forum when things were already heated. We've been there over and over in the past. ...

as for drq well I don't get it. He clearly had taken more of an interest in my log since stazza took over. He then said he'd ignore it after the last hoo ha. All he had to do was continue to ignore my training and everyone would have been happy. Instead I was publicly and privately hounded.

I'm delighted with my coach and my progress.
Yesterday I just questioned myself about why I'm inherently slow. My sister would be similar when we trained together. No natural ability. That's all I was querying.
No big deal. There are way more important things going on in my world right now that I'm trying to deal with.
Thank the running gods for running. ...

HelenAnne

Ososlo wrote: »

I'm delighted with my coach and my progress.
Yesterday I just questioned myself about why I'm inherently slow. My sister would be similar when we trained together. No natural ability. That's all I was querying.

Thank the running gods for running. ...

I know everyone is giving you unwanted advice, but I don't think you should tell yourself you have no natural ability. I think I probably don't either, and I certainly came from a VERY unsporty base, but like you, I loved running from the time I took it up, and that kept me at it and I think helped me improve (if you like something, you'll do it more, and you'll improve). But I think if I told myself all the time I had no ability and I wasn't going to get faster, that could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

I think what joining a club did for me (& I'm not suggesting you join one - boards probably serves the same purpose for you) was give me aspirations - I saw women (many of them older than me) running times I hadn't thought were achievable for me, and that made me aim higher.

This isn't a criticism, by the way, I know you love running, and you're happy with your training, I just think saying to yourself, 'I have no natural ability, and that limits me' can hold you back. (Having said that, I do constantly lament that men can run faster than me on less training, so I'm not as Zen as I'm trying to make out ).

TRR

I'm not going to give you any advice but regards the two female athletes that were mentioned above I'd totally disagree with your comments regards natural ability! They obviously have some natural ability but everyone does! They work really hard and most of all have lots of fun doing it. It isn't a chore for them at all!