The breaks even out in the long run

Netwerk Errer

I have decided to setup a boards training log to keep me honest through my next training cycle and beyond. I used to keep my log on Letsrun but I have found it a bit overcrowded and lacking brutal honesty from the other posters. honest feedback seems to be in abundance here so I'll give this place a shot.:)

My history-
I'm 25 and started running again in January 2013 after a few failed attempts to get back into training during a 9 year break where I became an everyday drug user and heavy smoker. I have since quit using but still have a 30 a day smoking habit. I'm planning on quitting for good this Monday and taking my health and running to the next level.:)

I was a decent junior runner and have a few County medals under my belt for the 600m. My long term ambitious goal is to get back to competing at that level could be delusional but I want to see how good I can be.:)

During a semi-failed comeback in 2012, I ran a few races with very limited training and managed to drop my 10k time from 56 minutes down to 50 minutes and ran a 24:21 minute 5k. I made some huge improvements when I started training seriously in 2013. Here are my PB's:

5k: 18:34 (Oct 2013)
4m: 24:50 (Sept 2013)
5m: 31:15 (July 2013)
10k: 39:46 (July 2014)
10m: 65:34(July 2014)
HM: 1.26:26(Sept 2013)
M: 3.15:29(Oct 2013)

I was over trained and injured for a lot of the start of this year so alot of those PB's are ripe for the taking over the next few months after putting in a good cycle for the DCM.

Goals-

Sub 3 marathon
Sub 38 10k
Sub 1.24 HM
Sub 24 4m (county roads)
Improve my diet

Haven't decided on any goal races yet outside of the County roads in January. Thanks for reading lads and I would appreciate any future feedback.:)

pconn062

Glad to see you start a log here. You want some brutal honesty?

QUIT THE GODDAMN FAGS!!!!!! :pac:

Seriously, great progress so far, will follow with interest.

Netwerk Errer

pconn062 wrote: »

Glad to see you start a log here. You want some brutal honesty?

QUIT THE GODDAMN FAGS!!!!!! :pac:

Seriously, great progress so far, will follow with interest.

Someone had to say it!:D cheers pconn.

The shame of it has got to me. Bulmers74 caught me having a sneaky one in Dublin this weekend. I'd say I looked like a guilty child trying to hide it! Time to kick it out.

MaggotBrain

Fair play for dropping the serious stuff in the past but smoking still?! Even one now again, great when you're drunk, brilliant, but you mentioned 30 a day. You're on a fast track for a stroke man. We've all heard of the guy who trained like an animal, and smoked like a champ. Great craic! Go to your doctor and get some help. No if's but's why's or when's just go on Monday and get some ****ing help.

Watch the PBs roll.

paddybarry

Look forward to following your progress NE, best of luck.

yaboya1

Will follow this with interest. I think there will be serious chunks coming off all of those pb's in the near future.

Murph_D

Some good times there for a smoker. Youth is on your side. Don't be like me and wait till you're 50 to quit. Part of the problem when you're in your 20s is you don't really feel the damage - I played football smoking 20-25 a day and was the fastest guy on the team so didn't think much if it. But I can really feel those fags now, even 3 years after quitting. Well done on getting off the other stuff though - one thing at a a time!

SamforMayo

Best of luck with your goals. Sounds like you have come through tougher than quitting smokes so no doubt you can do this too.

tang1

Best of luck with your log, echo the remarks about giving the smokes a miss. Smoked 40 a day myself at one time, visit to Dr sorted that out. Plus your times will seriously improve without them.

Bulmers74

Best of luck E with the log & goals for the coming year - will be following with keen interest.

brownian

Pretty solid times for most non-smokers, there, already. There's some real talent in there. You'll be hitting some serious PBs over the next year, if you stay off them, all right (and, in all likelihood, even if you don't .... but not as good).

Murph_D

So... Day One of the smoke-free quest. I found the nicotine patches useful myself, after many failed attempts using Zyban. Good luck!

Netwerk Errer

Murph_D wrote: »

So... Day One of the smoke-free quest. I found the nicotine patches useful myself, after many failed attempts using Zyban. Good luck!

Cheers Murph!!

I'm using the patch too. I feel like I have an itch I can't scratch at the minute. It's not the cravings though. There's a fair ol tingle off of the patch!

Netwerk Errer

Mon 3rd November- 5m easy (8.04 avg)

My first run back post-DCM and things have changed. I had to break out my gloves and long-sleeved top for the first time in about 8 months. That's alright though, I enjoy running in the cold. The effort just seems that little bit more comfortable (minus the rigor mortis like first mile) than the summer.

Today's run went good and it feels like I have shaken off the post-marathon hangover and stiffness, probably because my knee held me back from pushing through the pain of the last few miles. For that reason, I believe I will be able to jump back into a structured plan pretty quickly.

My plan going forward is to start building mileage through the base phase using a Summer of Malmo/pfitz hybrid approach. I'm going to alternate the tempo run with a med-long run every second week for a more marathon specific approach but still keeping some of Malmo's approach to base workouts.

I'm hoping to build up to around 60-70mpw of base and then using a pfitz style approach to the last 12 weeks of marathon training. Anyone got thoughts on this approach?

yaboya1

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

I'm hoping to build up to around 60-70mpw of base and then using a pfitz style approach to the last 12 weeks of marathon training. Anyone got thoughts on this approach?

I spent the guts of 5 months following the HADD approach. Running up to 60-70mpw which included a Long Run, two 'steady' sessions and the remainder 'easy' miles. I then jumped into the last 8 weeks of the P&D 55-70 plan before the Berlin Marathon. My pb's improved at all distances during this phase and I hit my original target of sub 3 in the marathon. So I think it sounds like a sound approach. But I'm biased.....:D

Netwerk Errer

The plan has changed.....AGAIN!! For the last time...I think.:D

After slugging it out with my coach and a few more experienced members of our club, some aggressive nudging from them has broken through my stubbornness. I'm going to focus on the 3-10k next year. The consensus seems to be that I have a lot of unpolished speed to uncover and I don't have the aerobic capacity built yet to run to my potential in the marathon.

I have also been advised to take a 2-3 week break for now to fully recover from the marathon cycle and prevent a recurrence of my knee injury. Probably sensible tbh.

The plan going forward is to still build a solid base over the winter using Summer of Malmo base building principles. For anyone who hasn't heard of this, here is a link to his approach.

http://pih.bc.ca/summerofmalmo.html

It's not a strictly structured plan because Malmo stresses not overthinking the base phase and running by feel in a sort of quasi zen mode. He offers flexibility because you never know how you will feel tomorrow.

I plan to follow this for 6-8 weeks depending on when I get back to running. Here are my goal races for the start of next year.

County roads- early January
Adare 10k- late February
County track- May

I'll have a few tune-up races thrown in there for good measure but I haven't smashed out the details yet.

pconn062

Summer of malmo is a great plan for base building, will you start to incorporate double days?

Dubgal72

They're right you know, capitalise on your speed while you still have your youth... :-) Plenty of time for marathons.

Netwerk Errer

pconn062 wrote: »

Summer of malmo is a great plan for base building, will you start to incorporate double days?

Yep, that's the plan anyway but I'll play it by ear for a while. I'm going to start introducing them on easy days for the first weeks or so with some steady runs and take it from there. Have to see what happens!!:)

Murph_D

How are you getting on with the smokes?

Netwerk Errer

Murph_D wrote: »

How are you getting on with the smokes?

Man, it's bloody hard! The feeling of frustration and tension is overwhelming. I cracked on Thursday and ended up smoking a few:(. Off them again since.

SamforMayo

Back on the horse, Rome was nt built in a day.

Netwerk Errer

Friday 15th Nov- 3.5m @ 7.48

I'm back....ish. My physio gave me the all clear to get back doing some bit of training. I'm back in a good place physically and mentally now after a break and really enjoyed this little early morning run out on the semi-flooded roads with a few refreshing splashes along the way.

Just happy to be able to get out at all right now:)

Netwerk Errer

Sat 15th Nov- 5.5m easy @ 8.21

Nice little easy spin out on Saturday morning just to see how my knee felt before making a decision on running XC on Sunday. All went well and I only experienced a slight stiffness towards the end.

Sun 16th Nov- 10k XC (DNF)

I had no real expectations going into this race other than seeing how far I could go. If I could contribute to the team, that would've been a bonus. I lasted 3 miles before my TFL started to grind and was slowing me down with every step. I decided to keep going because I was still in a position to offer something to the team if it came down to it.

It wasn't to be for me and I pulled the plug when our 6th runner passed me. I felt there was no point in furter aggravating an injury when I wouldn't be counted. Luckily, I wasn't needed anyway and we won the County senior:). My coach wasn't too pleased with me not finishing though and we ended up having an argument after about today and my performance during the DCM where on both occasions, I didn't push through injury. This argument led to me leaving the club and it now looks like I will be running unattached next year:(

Wed 19th Nov- 4m easy @ 7.52

Got brilliant news yesterday from my physio. The reason I'm now having pain in my TFL is because my knee injury is moving up the kinetic chain which means the tendon damage in my knee has healed. I'm now out of injury recovery which means I can start building for next year. I have been put on a strength and conditioning programming to build my glutes and adductors to stop some erratic knee tracking when I get tired. Before I forget, today's run went smoothly.:)


It's going to be a bit later than I originally hoped but I will be starting the Summer of Malmo base period next Monday. Hopefully, the last few weeks of injury and stop start training is behind me.:)

hillsiderunner

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

My coach wasn't too pleased with me not finishing though and we ended up having an argument after about today and my performance during the DCM where on both occasions, I didn't push through injury. This argument led to me leaving the club and it now looks like I will be running unattached next year:(

Ah, that's a pity... Maybe he's not aware that it was significant? Know that some people just run through the pain but that's not wise if there's a history - or ever really!

Netwerk Errer

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Ah, that's a pity... Maybe he's not aware that it was significant? Know that some people just run through the pain but that's not wise if there's a history - or ever really!

He knows, we just have a different perspective on what's required of me. Hopefully, it'll work itself out in time and I'll don the colours again.

On a positive note!:) A new beginning, a new cycle and a new pair of kicks(my foot was starting to get road rash in my old ones).

Mon 24th Nov-AM 3m easy (8.02)

Mon 24th Nov- PM 5m easy (7.49)
Just going to ease myself back into some consistent running this week and get my ol head used to the fact of going out the door pretty much everyday:eek:. Back on a treadmill for the first time this winter tonight. Always feels like I'm sprinting the first few times after getting back on it and not to mention the almost biblical amount of sweat. All in all, a good start to the new cycle and I feel like I have retained more fitness than I thought:)


Possibly going to break the first rule of the base phase already this week and run a 5k on Thursday. I haven't had a blow the ears off effort since mid-August and I want to see where I'm at in a full out race atmosphere. It won't become a habit!

Netwerk Errer

Tue 25th Nov- 7m steady (7.18)

This run was scheduled for a short tempo but as usual, the plan had to change to accommodate my racing compulsions on Thursday. Todays run was still the longest effort with some intensity I have done post DCM and I definitely felt it. It didn't help that I done my first weights session in about 6 months last night. The back of my knees were like rusty door hinges this morning.

I will have to try and find a space to do weight training which doesn't affect my running. I would've been screwed if I was doing that tempo today after last nights exploits in the gym. All part of the trials of miles, I suppose:)

Netwerk Errer

Wed 26th Nov- 6m easy (8.28)

Cracking morning for a run. Blue sky, a little bit of frost and a nice crispy feel in the air. I took this one out nice and easy nearly to the point of it been a recovery run. My hamstrings were still a little stiff and I didn't want to put any unnecessary pressure on them.

Tomorrows race is going to be interesting. I haven't got a clue where I am in 5k fitness or speed. I'm definitely going to shoot for a new PB but it could go anyway. Sub 19 is the B goal.

Krusty_Clown

Struggled with the cigarettes while running for many years (not at exactly the same time though!). Eventually a couple of chest infections too many suggested it was just time to let them go. I never 'gave up', I just stopped smoking. When you don't make a big deal of it and just don't smoke any more, it's a lot easier, as you're not fighting against the process and over-aware of it.

Anyway, just wanted to say good luck. One of my biggest training improvements has come from giving up the ciggies.

Netwerk Errer

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Struggled with the cigarettes while running for many years (not at exactly the same time though!). Eventually a couple of chest infections too many suggested it was just time to let them go. I never 'gave up', I just stopped smoking. When you don't make a big deal of it and just don't smoke any more, it's a lot easier, as you're not fighting against the process and over-aware of it.

Anyway, just wanted to say good luck. One of my biggest training improvements has come from giving up the ciggies.

Cheers Krusty! I get what you're saying. Once you stop, you've stopped. There's no stages or process to it after that. Otherwise, it becomes a daily battle.

In other words, make the decision and just bloody stop!:D

Netwerk Errer

Thu 26th Nov- 5k (19:48)

I'm actually quite happy with this even though it's nowhere near my pre-race targets. I knew my performance could go anyway but I got what I wanted out of it, I know where I stand now. I have no excuses, My fitness isn't there at the moment. My legs felt great the whole way through but my chest wasn't playing ball, it was tight for the last 2.5k.

I guess it was to be expected, I haven't done any Vo2 max work since the start of the summer and very little training since 3 weeks before the DCM. The pace today was only slightly quicker than my 10 mile pace in July. I've got some work to do.