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I love it when a plan comes together
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*sneaks in the back door*
So I came crawling back (again!). Thought I'd do an NE on the name but it came out with a funny accent
.
Anyhooo...the running/jogging/crawling.
The Mo Run didnt happen and neither did Raheny. In fact the running since the half marathon has been abysmal, scattered and lazy. There are a number of reasons....the main one being, I was wrecked. After the hm I should never have signed up for another race and I should have taken time out to just run. I know that sounds pathetic given it was only a HM, but its the truth. I was truly knackered going into it and a train wreck coming out the otherside. Every run was sore and I couldnt have been bothered mustering up any more motivation. In my head I had worked my arse off and got nothing out of the whole year, so what was the point suffering through any more of it.
When I set my sights on Raheny, I really was ready to put the work in. I wanted Raheny again (if only for the cool plaque they give out!) and I was happily surprised with how things were going. Silly season was coming in, I skipped a few runs due to party nights, but had planned over the Christmas hols to pick up the slack and work solidly till the end of Jan. Easy peasey. Some things went on in the background, the pressure was coming back, so I closed my account partly to take the pressure off and keep my head down.
Then I got sick. Not 24 hour bug or cold stuff, proper never been sicker sick. I didnt eat from Christmas Day for 8 days and after that it was a slice of toast every second day. It took everything out of me. I still had hopes that I could chuck something together for Raheny when I got better, but it was a slow recovery. To my mother's delight Raheny was out, but on the plus side I lost nearly a stone (which Ive found most of again ) but I got a taste of what it would feel like with a few pounds shifted and I liked it!
Last week was the first time I felt strong enough to head out and boy was I in for a shock. Four and a half miles of sheer agonising hell. I had no strength, no fitness, nothing. It was the hardest time out Ive ever endured. I tried it again on Wednesday. That was even worse. ! The same four and a half mile route of sheer pain and torture. Funnily enough I found myself wishing so badly for the slow me of last year, she is like a hare to me now!
The 10k thing is killing me. It is just annoying the hell out of me. I tried everything last year to speed up and I just got slower. Being honest could I have put more in? Quite possibly. There were runs I skipped and things I wussed out of, but I dont feel that should have impacted so drastically on things. When I look back at last year, I just feel exhausted. Work, life, running. It was too much for me but I was too god damn cocky to admit it. I still want to improve so badly, but it has got to be on more workable terms or it wont work at all. As last year proves. Women are normaly known for multitasking, but I am terrible at it. I fully appreciate, if you want something badly enough you'll make it happen, but I cant go around like the zombie I was last year and cannot sit in work on a Tues/Wed dreading the run ahead of me that night. That is NOT why I started this.
With all that in mind three things have to change
- the weight needs lowering
- I have got to improve my strength
- no more killing myself.
Strength wise, if I join a gym or any kind of group I know I wont go and I cant have another obligation or thing that takes me away from the family. So Ive been googling and trying to find exercises and equiment I can use at home. Then when I was doing the weekly shop I saw this balance board thing in Lidl. Honest to goodness, best 25 quid Ive spend in a while. 30 mins on that clearly highlighted my weak spots!
The no more killing myself. This week my plan was to run 3m on Mon, 4m on Wed, 4m on Fri and wing it a bit over the weekend. Have a day off between each one for now and use the balance board in between. Monday's run was ok. Leg hurt a lot when i stopped. But Wednesdays was a whole other ball game! By then I'd had 3 half hour sessions on the board and the strength from my core was really noticeable. When my legs tired there was a whole other resource pulling me up and pushing me on and I took complete advantage. It was the best run Ive had in a very very long time. In fact its slightly addictive and Im itching to get out again.
Friday, after another day off but work on the balance board, again the strength was noticeable and it was then I realised last year's mistake. I may have been running and 'getting the miles in', but thats all. There was nothing to help my legs and no physical strength anywhere else to tap in to. Its like I was building a lego house without realising the bottom brick wasnt in properly and it all eventually tumbled down.
My husband thinks Im mad and theres no way the board could be making such a difference so soon. Maybe he's right. These bright eureka moments seem to happen every now and again and then I hit a slump and lose the head. All I know is for the moment it feels fantastic and I can feel something working. Last week's average pace was 11:45 and this week its gone from 11:16, to 11:09, to 11:00 today. So something has happened.
So why back to boards? I was clearing up the tablet the other night and stumbled across the report I did for the heart run. I felt so crap after that race, but reading it the other night I was fairly impressed with the fight I put up. I know that was partly down to the log. It was good for me. I could just diary eveything and not post at all. But there is an element to posting on here that keeps you honest. My parents were delighted I had stopped running. My dad asked me last week whether I had been out, with a little smirk expecting me to say no. Everyone is expecting this to be it and for me to give up and the utter b*tch in me is enjoying the wind up. And with such nay sayers around its nice to be amongst those who encourage and help. Also my lego house analogy is too good to keep to myself and no one else will appreciate it
This is all probably tmi and has no need in a log, but it was good to get it all out and Im hoping it will be good to look back on. If anyone read it all thank you and fair play
Plan going forward is tough. Most plans I look at are either beginner or intermediary and I fall right in the middle. I dont have a base for intermediary stuff and most beginners are low mileage or run/walk approaches. For the moment the weekday on/off approach with a rest da in between is working well. However, weekday speedwork doesnt work for me. Its 7pm by the time im heading out, im tired already and that doesnt bode well. So I figure Saturdays are best for me. What will I do? Not a clue lol,but Icould chuck something together with the stuff I enjoy most. As long as Im ok for the lovely Sunday run, I'll be happy. Will wing it a bit for the next couple of weeks and see how Im going.
The main thing is to stop the madness, realise my place and to hell with what anyone thinks 0 -
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Heya, welcome back! Fwiw, my advice is to ditch the watch and mileage for the next few weeks and just run by time (ok so you need a lil bit of a watch for that
). Go for 20 mins one day, rest, 25 the next, rest, 15 even the next then maybe 20, rest and 25. Yep, keep it short. Make yourself hungry for more (miles).
That way, you take the pressure OFF and get the grá BACK. Feck looking at plans for now. Already you're putting pressure on with the board and the pace. Go back to basics and build a nice slow base. What's the hurry? Just run because ya feckin love to. edit and of course to piss your parents off....0 -
Bungy Girl wrote: »You're back! Awesome.
I love the lego house analogy.
2 miles XC out your direction on 28/2. Just sayin'
What, are you trying to scare her away again?!?
Welcome back Ms Smeeeeeth, glad you are on the mend and getting back into it. Good luck with the recovery.0 -
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Bungy Girl wrote: »You're back! Awesome.
I love the lego house analogy.
2 miles XC out your direction on 28/2. Just sayin'
Thank you. I like your just saying. I have a while to go before Im race fit...but a bit of hurt may not hurt
Thanks DG. Would you say no speed work in the interim? I had planned a 30 min tempo run tomorrow, which would have comprised 10 min easy 10 min speed up 10 min ease off. Would you advise against that for now?Heya, welcome back! Fwiw, my advice is to ditch the watch and mileage for the next few weeks and just run by time (ok so you need a lil bit of a watch for that ). Go for 20 mins one day, rest, 25 the next, rest, 15 even the next then maybe 20, rest and 25. Yep, keep it short. Make yourself hungry for more (miles).
That way, you take the pressure OFF and get the grá BACK. Feck looking at plans for now. Already you're putting pressure on with the board and the pace. Go back to basics and build a nice slow base. What's the hurry? Just run because ya feckin love to. edit and of course to piss your parents off....
As for the watch, I really see your point. I honestly am tucking it away once its clicked in and using it as a marker when i get home. A few times this week Ive had a sneaky look mid run and clicked the wrong button and ended up lapping/stopping/mismarking the run. Also i read an article on competitor.com (cant post links yet lol) about fast finishing and honest to god it has set in my head the whole running by feel ideaology.What, are you trying to scare her away again?!?
Welcome back Ms Smeeeeeth, glad you are on the mend and getting back into it. Good luck with the recovery.
Heehee anna..thank you. The name makes me chuckle so much. There was an a team ep where Murdock tries to teach them all to speak spanish by speaking english with a spanish accent and he says 'ah hanibaaaal smeeeeeth' and it reminds me of that lol. I should stop typing now 0 -
Bungy Girl wrote: »You're back! Awesome.
I love the lego house analogy.
2 miles XC out your direction on 28/2. Just sayin'Heya, welcome back! Fwiw, my advice is to ditch the watch and mileage for the next few weeks and just run by time (ok so you need a lil bit of a watch for that ). Go for 20 mins one day, rest, 25 the next, rest, 15 even the next then maybe 20, rest and 25. Yep, keep it short. Make yourself hungry for more (miles).
That way, you take the pressure OFF and get the grá BACK. Feck looking at plans for now. Already you're putting pressure on with the board and the pace. Go back to basics and build a nice slow base. What's the hurry? Just run because ya feckin love to. edit and of course to piss your parents off....What, are you trying to scare her away again?!?
Welcome back Ms Smeeeeeth, glad you are on the mend and getting back into it. Good luck with the recovery.I'm delighted to see you're back! I was just wondering how you were getting on.
I agree with dub gal, just get out and run for a bit and enjoy it.
I had a similar lack of running over Christmas so now I'm doing base building which is currently 6/6/5/11km over a week, so I'm doing Tuesday/Thursday/Friday/Sunday, all easy. Next week I add a few strides.
Best of luck with it!
I was only thinking of you the other night C! Seriously thinking about that heart monitor business. Not quite immediately, but it worked so well for you it might be worth a re think!
I had planned adding a few strides to Wednesdays run, but that run back up Old Bawn was tough enough, I couldnt add any speed till i got to the lights and sure its not worth anything after that. Hills are absolutely slaying me atm!0 -
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Hannibelle Smeeeth wrote: »Thank you. I like your just saying. I have a while to go before Im race fit...but a bit of hurt may not hurt
Thanks DG. Would you say no speed work in the interim? I had planned a 30 min tempo run tomorrow, which would have comprised 10 min easy 10 min speed up 10 min ease off. Would you advise against that for now?
Ah balls, sorry, just seeing this now. Yes, only my opinion tho, I would take a very gentle build. No tempos, not even strides yet. Just get out and run v easy for a couple of weeks, then introduce some strides and/or on the hoof makey-uppy-as-you-go-along fartlek 'run to that post'/recover 'run to the corner'/recover etc. Take the pressure off yourself and just build and consolidate your general aerobic fitness. Plenty of time to add whistles and bells...or whatever they say 0 -
Thanks DG I did kinda listen. I expected this week to be a bit harder given my flamin enthusiasm the last week. So in an effort to combat it I planned on doing the whole 20 mins...25 mins...20 mins. But I just couldnt stick to it!! With the ground I cover in 20 mins it means not going very far at all :pac:
Mon 7th Feb
20 Mins. I was tired tonight so the 20 mins worked well here
Wed 10th Feb - 4.5 miles* avg pace 11:10
25 mins...I couldnt do it. I needed to go long! But I was more tired than I thought. But was grand all in all.
Fri 12th Feb - 0 miles
I had a little bit of a non running success to celebrate and running in the freezing cold rain did not factor into those celebrations.
Sat 13th Feb 4.5 miles* avg pace 11:21
Was WRECKED heading out. I appear to have a new type of stride thats kicking in, straightening me up. When i get tired and it kicks in I sail along happily on a new bit of strength. Tis nice not turning into my estate half dying
Sunday 14th Feb 6.1 miles avg pace 11:27
Jaysus this was tough. The way back was one long relentless hill that got the better of me at one point. A few more cracks at this route and I'll be as tough as anything.
Not a great week. Feel the guilts about Fri, so its worth remembering for next time. The husband is trying to clamp down on weekend runs. Too much fragmentation of family time..but with the rugby the next few weeks I have a little escape route and by the time the 6 nations is over he'll be well acclimatised
Also....i need new runners
The end
* watch didnt click in for a while so stats say shorter, but i know the route and know its 4.5 miles0 -
Uggghh god my head is wrecked.
Monday 15th Feb.
Off I went for my usual 7:30pm run, was about half a mile into it and saw these three shapes coming towards me. There was a gap between the railings and the last shadow so I thought I'd nip in through that space to get passed. The taller shadow (nearest the road) started to move across the path of the other two. Initially I thought it was because they were all shifting over to make room, but I noticed him pull his hood up and his scarf over his face. That worried me a little, but I quickly glanced at the smaller shadow behind him, thinking scan the mates and see if youre still ok to pass :pac: The shadow behind was a girl, so I thought at youre fine and then I thought eh girls can give slaps as well you know. So I looked back to the taller lad, who was still crossing over their path moving towards me. I swear, the look he gave me put the absolute sh*ts up me. So much so I veered out of his way and into an over hanging bush :pac:
Now, I know Ive had my fair share of dogs nipping at me laces, boxers jumping at me, walkers walking three people abreast who wont actually move forcing me on to the road. But Ive never had a situation where I thought someone was gonna grab me by the scruff of me neck and kick the crap out of me. Obviously hindsight and common sense afterwards told me different, but it wasnt like there was one thing, it was a whole series of events that seemed to happen in slow motion where I thought b*ll*x.
Normally I would either have my watch or phone for stats, but this day I didnt and I was raging because I ran so fast home I bet Strava would have been pinging for days with achievements :pac:
I never got out the rest of the week. Not coz of drama-queen-itis coz some bloke looked at me funny but coz of one thing and another.
Monday 22nd Feb 3 miles avg pace 11:13 mins
So I decided to give dark evening runs a knock on the head for the mo. The only other option today was an early morning one. So I set my alarm for 6:00am. Got up. Looked out the window. It was darker than my 7pm stints :pac: Got back into bed. Hit snooze for 6:30am. A teeney weeney bit lighter but at least it would be getting progressively brighter throughout the run and I had to move now if I was going to get back in time to organise brekkie for the kids. Run was grand. Body felt like it was in shock...in fact im full sure my heart was trying to beat out 'wtf' in morse code lol. Legs felt like lead, coz dopey head headed out without any brekkie.
Wed 24 Feb 4.4 miles avg pace 10.51 pm
Lunch time runs were always a no for me because ive no shower in work. But I wasnt getting up at 6:30am again unless absolutely necessary It was great, not a veryexciting route but because I had to be back at a particular time I couldnt slack off at all. Loved it.
So that was it all sorted. Lunch bright time runs...lovely bright morning runs at the weekend. I had planned Tymon on Sat. PP on Sun. But the other half just showed me the Echo where apparently a woman in Greenhills got attacked at 9am in the morning and apparently theres something here on boards (going to read it after Ive vented here lol) about a woman who was attacked in Springfield in the daylight hours. Would these weirdos ever feck off and stop attacking people!! Its one thing at night when youre supposed to come out of the shadows...but not the daytime!!
Tis a right pain in the hole. Im not usually a nervous mary and would just get out the door anyhow, but that Mon (a non nothing event and all as I know it was) really made me think about the 'what if'. Certainly nothing to be not going out over. Just a louder what if to hush.
Anyhow..not really an update...more a moan than anything :pac: Down with that sort of thing!0 -
Fri 26 Feb - 3.4 avg pace 11:06
Got to my folks and thought, I really can't face running up and down the dualler like last year. The beauty of things at the moment is that I can just pick where I'd like to run to and head for it. Bird Ave has always appealed to me so picked a route that would factor that in. I didn't feel great...heart was pounding (which I blame on the polite coffee I had to have before I left) and lungs felt they were working too hard. Would have liked to reach 4 miles but the route was what it was.
Sat 27 Feb 4.4m avg pace 11:14
Went out thinking, RELAX!. Last few outings you've had to be back for kids/work/parents and your lungs are working too hard. So keep them below explosion level and the pace is the pace. It was a tremendous run....loved it. And was expecting to see 12:xx when I finished, so it was a nice surprise when I saw 11:14.
Sun 28 Feb 7.5m avg pace 11:37
Headed out buzzing from yesterday. Thought I had it all cracked. Watch the lungs and clip along. You'll go for miles!! :pac: I thought 3 mile loop, head down the back of the zoo, back up Chesterfield Ave to where I parked, do the 3 mile loop again, I reckon you could get 10 miles done. About 2 miles in I was dying. The ridiculousness of Plan A seeped through. So I decided to knock off the last 3. At the back of the zoo I felt great again so thought Plan A was back on. But when I got to Chesterfield Ave and I hallucinated seeing my car 3 times I thought, no. By the time I actually got to the car I had nothing left. I was lucky to get to it truth be told. Would have happily sat into a random car if they'd have me!!
I was gutted to see 7.5 miles could do that to me. I couldn't even have gone the extra .5 to bring it to 8. I was done. It's not as if I was moving at break neck speed. I couldn't even call it a leisurely jog, it was a decrepit shuffle. Also the thought that I've done in a week what FD did in one run came to mind!
I've signed up for the Great Ireland Run. Me and Morun guy were supposed to do it together, but he's backed out. Thank goodness! I would hate if he saw me in that state. One more week of easiness and then I'm gonna pick a few workout thingies from the 10k plan from last year and see if I can make a difference. In hindsight 4 weeks ago I did 4.4 miles at an avg pace of 11:44 and a 7 mile run was a dream away. So you never know!0 -
moan moan moan
So I continued with the running. No point logging the same aul ding dong. It was more an exercise diary than a training log *laughs at the audacity of using the words training log!*
Last week in a conversation with MRG (Mo run guy) I was telling him how bad my Sun run was and how badly i died and he was all...jaysus 7 miles I'd be dying after that. Then I fessed up to my paces and he peed himself laughing :mad:
So i wondered were my easy runs still the problem. Am I taking them too handy? Pretty sure Ive asked myself this a million times before, but MRG's laugh had me really paranoid. Before last Mondays run I did a bit of googling and found this:-
http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/aerobic-training-run-faster-by-running-easy/
(Not sure whether I can post links yet so hopefully that works)
Bottom line was... easy runs...no pain no pushing...no matter how good you feel keep it easy. Went out that day did 3.1m easy, felt great. Am I hurting? No. Can I hear my breathing? No. It was great. Legs were extending, everything from tummy down was working brilliantly. Thought I was flying, couldnt wait to get home and see how fast I went. Got home...11:30mins avg pace :mad:
Nevermind. Maybe youre still tired from yesterday. Wed went out 4 miles, legs were still sore from Sunday and body felt crap but forgot all about everything and followed the new..are you hurting? Are you pushing? Can you hear your breathing? mantra. 11:30 mins
I was taking it so handy, but an honest handy in my book was way slower than I thought. I even got a migraine that lasted 2 days :rolleyes:
So I put last week down to a car crash of weeks that could be caused by anything...maybe the week before was too much...maybe im coming down with something..blah blah blah...next will be better.
Nope. Easy runs still coming in at 11:30.
Then yesterday *sigh*. I tried a tempo run. Googled the sh*t out of it. Its all effort based. Go by feel...8 out of 10 effort. Warm into it gently and fly!! Pah. About 5 mins in to the speed part I had to stop . I didnt feel particuparly redline out of breath, my legs were bad though and my whole system screamed at me to stop. Tried so many times to kick start it but nothing.
Im frustrated as hell. I know easy runs and tempo runs are effort based and I shouldnt be minding pace. But the point is, Im getting slower and slower. Youd thinking even if a person was to run once a week, over time that one run a week would naturally pick up. But not with this donkey. I cant figure it out. There are a million and one permutations you could chuck in to figure it out, but surely theres a level of simplicity where it comes down to more running = speeding up.
So i finally give up Me ma was right all along :mad: There is no speed to be had in here. On Fri I was at a party and some one said to me...so L hows the running going. You must be able to do those park runs in 20 mins by now...I skulked away mortified. But he was right. Not with his 20 mins :pac: but I should have some confidence behind me!
I love getting out. I love the buzz of the last few runs and the control thats coming in. That and not wanting to get fat again will keep me going out...but from now on...its jogging not running. And no more mention of paces and targets. I have TGIR and Terenure ahead...and stick to what i had in mind preparation wise for both and sure have a bit of craic seeing what I can get out of myself!0 -
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You'd be beyond delighted with a 25 minute 5k at the moment yeah ????
Throw that into the likes of the McMillan calculator and see what a recommended easy pace would be for a 25 minute 5k runner.
Ok let's save you the trouble
It's 10:54-11:43
Believe it or not being truly comfortable at 11:30 pace represents progress.0 -
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El Caballo wrote: »One word: consistency, get your a** out running more often and consistently and you'll see improvement:) we all would like to improve more but all the dreaming in the world won't do anything unless we put in the work to actually do it and that takes time and consistent effort, the benefits won't appear today or tomorrow but more through the culmination of all days gone. You need to be more patient with your expectations and realise that just because you don't get benefits straight away, doesn't mean you are putting in training for nothing. The benefits will come down the road but you have to get your a** out the door today to see them later on.:) Think of it like working a week in hand all the time. You won't get paid at the start but once you stay at it consistently, the cheques start to roll in everyweek even though it was for last week's work.
Easy runs are about effort hence why it's called easy and not 10:30m/m running. Forget about pace, it's irrelevant. People always fall into the trap of trying to convert feelings into something more rigid and logical which it is not instead of just learning to understand the feeling. Our bodies change everyday but distance doesn't, we need to pay more attention to the aspect that changes which is effort. Our body understands effort much better a man made measurement like pace or distance.
What is important is you doing what it takes to improve, not how fast or slow it is relative to other people. There's nothing embarrassing about trying to improve yourself.
Sorry for the long winded post, I've a habit of doing that, hope it helps:)
Hah...no need for apologies. Points accepted. But as i said before..im not.looking for miracle jumps in improvement, but theres nothing at all! I can happily run at 11:30 mins if it meant nothing more, but as soon as I do any speed it all falls apart. I can feel the benefit in the easy running on a day to day basis...but its of no benefit speed wise. 0 -
Pacing Mule wrote: »You'd be beyond delighted with a 25 minute 5k at the moment yeah ????
Throw that into the likes of the McMillan calculator and see what a recommended easy pace would be for a 25 minute 5k runner.
Ok let's save you the trouble It's 10:54-11:43
Believe it or not being truly comfortable at 11:30 pace represents progress.
You dont need to save me trouble. I have no problem looking up things and researching what I should be doing.
I find it strange you can say that pace is progress.0 -
Hannibelle Smeeeth wrote: »You dont need to save me trouble. I have no problem looking up things and researching what I should be doing.
I find it strange you can say that pace is progress.
I didn't imply that you couldn't. Was more of a case of what's the point in telling you to look up something that I had the answer to in front of me.
Pace is one factor. How you feel at that pace is another. You can be capable of running a pace and then be capable of running that pace and being able to run at it all day. Same pace but the level of effort at it is progress.0 -
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Pacing Mule wrote: »I didn't imply that you couldn't. Was more of a case of what's the point in telling you to look up something that I had the answer to in front of me.
Pace is one factor. How you feel at that pace is another. You can be capable of running a pace and then be capable of running that pace and being able to run at it all day. Same pace but the level of effort at it is progress.
So why not just delete it before you posted then?
You have missed my point 0 -
Hannibelle Smeeeth wrote: »So why not just delete it before you posted then?
You have missed my point
Point taken. Was easier to keep typing rather than deleting on the phone. Apologies for any offence caused.0 -
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Hannibelle Smeeeth wrote: »Yeah..but Myles...would you not agree...after your plan last year I should have been running a 10k in under an hour? I'll be the first to admit I can be sketchy. There are days where I feel sh*t but I go out anyhow. There were days last year when I felt crap, but still went out and you said part of the training is knowing when not to go out. I gladly accept as I have done all through this log that I go easier on myself when I shouldnt. But I would have thought I would have put enough work in last year to have yielded some results?
The last 10k I did in Sept was 1:03 mins. There were people at the 8k mark passing me out in full conversation telling each other 'I'll go at 9...yea me too'. I had nothing left to be going anywhere at 9km :pac:
Is there not a base level where a sub 60 10km is standard? Im not saying that so I can get out of adding mote running, im just curious.
Unfortunately fitness is no linear.
You did do that 63 but this time last year despite having not missed January you were running the same pace at slightly higher effort levels and followed it up with your first 10k you managed without stopping. The WMM was a blip also which can happen to anyone on the day as the weather was pretty poor so on a different day at the same fitness there is no reason why you couldn't have achieved a PB going by the training you were logging. So despite the few hiccups over the winter you actually are at a higher base fitness than same time last year despite the training already put in year to date in 2015.
The point about knowing when to have the confidence in knowing not to go out is one which takes time to fully get right (not sure I have even fully mastered it) but it's the objective fine balance between knowing when a run is going to make you injured or sick and when it is just are mind playing tricks. Our mind will always tell us know which is why runners have to be a little nuts in general to excel
The thing is even with the training done last year there was still a few absences for a few reasons. This means that you have area's of consistency which are places you can improve on from last year as well as the starting from a higher base fitness meaning that there are a few extra stones unturned to get that extra boost of fitness.
Fitness doesn't last however it becomes easier to regain your level of fitness you had previously, quicker meaning that you will get back to where you were fitness wise last year (when you PB'ed in the Half) and you can kick on from it.0 -
Myles Splitz wrote: »Unfortunately fitness is no linear.
You did do that 63 but this time last year despite having not missed January you were running the same pace at slightly higher effort levels and followed it up with your first 10k you managed without stopping. The WMM was a blip also which can happen to anyone on the day as the weather was pretty poor so on a different day at the same fitness there is no reason why you couldn't have achieved a PB going by the training you were logging. So despite the few hiccups over the winter you actually are at a higher base fitness than same time last year despite the training already put in year to date in 2015.
The point about knowing when to have the confidence in knowing not to go out is one which takes time to fully get right (not sure I have even fully mastered it) but it's the objective fine balance between knowing when a run is going to make you injured or sick and when it is just are mind playing tricks. Our mind will always tell us know which is why runners have to be a little nuts in general to excel
The thing is even with the training done last year there was still a few absences for a few reasons. This means that you have area's of consistency which are places you can improve on from last year as well as the starting from a higher base fitness meaning that there are a few extra stones unturned to get that extra boost of fitness.
Fitness doesn't last however it becomes easier to regain your level of fitness you had previously, quicker meaning that you will get back to where you were fitness wise last year (when you PB'ed in the Half) and you can kick on from it.
I accept that there are a few stones to unturn but i dont believe the speed will come. I would have thought that yesterday being effort based would have been more successful than it was. I was not breathing crazily, there was no reason for it to go so wrong. In my mind anyhow. Im worried that my legs just dont know how to do it because in the height of 2 training plans last year they never achieved speed and the only race that i thoroughly enjoyed without reservation was the hm...but even that was only a minute or two off my best training run.
Clonee i felt terrific at and i honestly pushed all the way through that race. That was 1:01 min. Now maybe its a racing head that needed tweaking there...i dunno. I just dont believe it will happen.0 -
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HRM FTW!!!
Running within my capabilities is making everything so much better. My legs, heart and lungs feel a hell of a lot better. Id be getting back from a run and a couple of hours later dying to go out again. Most runs Ive a smile on me chops and loving the feel of it all.
Im not sure what information Im supposed to be logging about the hrm, Ive kept everything in the 81-89% that Runners World says to. My heart rates have gone from 145-160. Otherwise, the runs have looked like this:-
11/3 - 4.8 miles avg pace 11:04
12/3 - 6.5m took 1hr15mins. No phone for stats. This run included a hill I attempted a 4 weeks ago and failed miserably at. Gave myself 4 weeks to try it again. This run, I kept an eye on the hrm and glided up it. This was a good one!
13/3 - 4.4m avg pace 11:22
14/3 - 2.9m avg pace 10:53. Think strava went a bit mental with the first mile! No HRM. Only had a short time, husband doing hospital runs so couldnt round it up to 3.
16/3 - 4.6m avg pace 11:20. Loved this one! I was actually late back from lunch because I didnt want to turn back.
18/3 - 4.3m - a hungover mess. But following the consistency advice it had to be done. Pure misery :pac:
19/3 - missed this one though.
20/3 10miles woohoo!!! Avg pace 11:12 mins. I knew I had 10 miles in me. I just knew it was coming. So headed down to the PP. Bumped in to Muler. Did the first 3 or so miles with him. Was way too fast. Though strava disagrees :pac: It felt pretty bad. I was self conscious over the pace, every step spelled out guil--ty....guil--ty. When i tried to talk my breathing went to pot, but my legs felt grand. In fairness Muler said to take it as slow as I needed but I felt too bad and couldnt get the inner voices to shut up. Eventually the guilt and paranoia got to me and I really wanted to get 10 miles done so I had to part ways and get me sh*t together. So off I went and got it done. I had to stop twice, once with Muler and another along the side of the zoo, because of a stitch, unbelievable as that sounds :pac: Good news is on the 28th Feb I went out with the intention of doing 10 miles but only managed 7.5 and died when I saw my car. Today I had to pass my car 4 times to get to 10m and no way was I finished until then.
Happy enough with today all in all 0 -
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great that's brilliant news!
do you know your Max heart rate? if not just do a quick test, here's one that should work well - you don't need a track, the PP will do fine.
At a track, do a warmup mile or two, followed by a mile at tempo pace, then gradually increase your speed over 400 meters before running a final quarter all out. "After every 100 meters during the last 400, look at your monitor and accelerate," says Atlanta-based coach Roy Benson. The highest number on your monitor will be close to your maximum heart rate. Once you know your true rate, you only need to update it every five years to see the effect of aging on your max heart rate.
Once you have your max you will know what to run your easy paces at. HADD is a good place to start, he recommends 50 beats less than your max for all your easy runs - it works well.0 -
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Bit of a dodgy week distance wise
Mon 21/3 - 2.9m avg pace 10:54. Thought I'd be wrecked after the 10 miles the day before. But it felt pretty ok. Not sure where Im losing the last .10m. Its the same route as always!
Wed 23/3 - 3m avg pace 11:10. Wrecked is not the word. Like I'd been steam rolled by a tank. About a mile in I thought, Lets just see, considering how poop I feel, could I add something more. So I did some very short, conservative increased efforts. Bit cheeky, but might help confidence wise when the hurt starts in a race.
Thurs 24/3 - 2.9m avg pace 11:08. Its our anniversary on Fri and with all the goings on a run would be tricky. So had to go today. Hilarious that this ended up 2 seconds faster than me meager speed attempts the day before. It felt a little easier than yesterday. But still pretty rough. I got in trouble for being late back last week from lunch. Normally I'd tell me manager go shove it, but as my boss is away (who would agree with me) I had to stick to strict lunch hour for the whole change, run, wash, change dealio. Which is why these two are a mile short.
Sat 26/3 - 9.5m approx. 2 hours approx. Nothing gps wise charged and had to get out quick. Not a hope of doing a long run tomorrow so did it today. Im full sure it was 10 miles and I was home in less than two hours, but cant be sure. Felt pretty rotten again on the way out, so took it very easy. I warmed into it and when it came to where I had planned to turn back, I thought f*ck it. Lets just keep motoring, whats the worst that can happen? Well. I struck it lucky with the wind to my back on the way down. Of course, I knew that meant a pretty hard struggle on the way back, which would be uphill. But feck it! Feck it is right! Wind picked up. And up. And up. Then about a mile from home, the hailstones it. It was so bad I got brain freeze on the outside of my head :pac: I had to close my eyes and turn my back on the fullest force of it and wring my eyeballs out!! No phone. If I had it I would have made a rescue call to the husband. I contemplated stopping in the local and asking if I could borrow some o es phone :pac: My fingers were frozen, I was soaked to the skin. It was very much a run walk effort. When I finally got home and thudded on the window, the husband had to to strip me. Totally not in a sexy way
I have wine now though so all is good. Not sure I'll manage to get out tomorrow, so that might just have to do for this week.0 -
The engine is broken!
Mon 28/3 - 2.6m avg pace 11.32/mile - Felt okish when I started off but it quickly descended after the first mile into total hell. 4 stops to get myself together and try again. Normally this run is a lap of the estate and a little add on to get to 3 miles but it was too bad and adding on would have had no benefit and would have just extended the pain. The house was full of vomiting bugs all weekend and I wondered was I falling prey to it, but all the pain was in the legs rather than an overall drained feeling. I brought the kids up to the hell fire club earlier on in the day and there wasnt a sign of any heaviness or issues.
Wed 30/3 - 4m approx avg pace 55 mins approx - Forgot to bring my phone to work so nothing stat wise but same Wed route as always, cut a little. My legs felt even worse today. I was a little sneezy and the lesser known dwarf throaty so perhaps i was a little on the sickly side of things. But two things....firstly it was again all stemming from the legs. It felt like there were 2 golf balls in my calves and no amount of slowing or distraction worked. I stopped to stretch at one point and it eased off a bit but kicked in again. There was a lot of stopping and a sit down on a grassy hill...hence the reason it took 55 mins! :pac: And secondly on the way back there was no stopping at all so wtf? If i was sick I should have felt crap thw entire time!
1/4 - zero. Kids being off is throwing a spanner into the Friday runs. Last week I was able to circumvent it by going out on the Thurs...but this week with the legs feeling so bad i decided to see if i could figure something else out. And I devised the perfect plan. Boys were going on a sleepover to the grandparents. So I could easily drop the kids off..hang around for a polite chat...leg it back to the house and get a run in before date night. Only prob was son No 2 decided to throw one of his hellraising tantrums involving kicks and punches to his poor ma...so no way could i leave him there. I had to bring them home. Date night was off. But run could still be done when they were in bed tonight! Nope, issue was resolved, date night back on...no chance for a run. Normally I wouldnt go into such detail about me personal issues, but wanted to express the will being there but opportunity not. Running with the kids isnt an option but something that i intend to work on.
Sat 2/4 - 8.7m - avg pace 11:21 - By far my second most favourite run ever. It ticked a few deadly boxes:-
[/] Picking a route for sh*ts and giggles
[/] Finally finding the route that goes along the Dodder!
[/] Tallaght to Donnybrook run
I have been wanting to try this for so long. Granted it was all downhill :pac: but it was so enjoyable. My legs were still fairly heavy despite the 2 days off though. Slowing down and distraction worked to a point but it wasnt an easy run by any means. I thought of chickey2's log where she said she felt great at the end of her base training and all I could think was, I feel fecked :pac: . I reckon I could have kept going though, which is nice.
Funny thing though, when I got to the Mount Carmel a Spanish couple stopped me and asked for directions to Orwell Nursing home...I said I hadnt a clue but pointed them in the general Orwell direction. The woman then shows me her phone with the website of the place they were looking for and I said, if you have the website, there must be a phone number and suggested they ring that. Duh! I did offer to ring for them if they werent confident with their English but he said no...so on I went
Sun 3/4 - 5.2 m avg pace 11:39 - Legs still felt rough for three quarters of the way. Was all the time hmmming about whether to do 4 miles, or try 5, purely to bring the weekly mileage up to 20. When it started feeling really bad I settled for 4m. But then just before the home turn i felt ok, took out my phone and saw 4.3 on it and felt good enough to bring it up to 5, so that I did. The craziness that goes on when you've no plan to follow!
So, not sure what the leg business is about. Hopefully its just a general tiredness that passes rather than a bug that Im just taunting! Major fingers crossed that its an elastic band effect that is slow and hard when pulling it back, but then catapults you forward in 7 days time! 0 -
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Roll on back to school! Snap, my Thursday/Friday runs were disrupted too, damn holidays And yeah, kids smell 'mammy is going running' and throw their worst wobbly. Been there!
Hope the legs behave.
Have you ever seen that episode of The Simpsons where Lisa becomes a vegetarian and sends their bbq pig flying?..'its just a little dirty...its still good...its still good...its just a little airbourne...its still good...its still good'
Trying to catch a run on one of those days always makes me think of that. 0 -
Great Ireland Run 20th April 2106
Time: 1hr 12.
So time to face the music. I totally and utterly bottled it.
A few weeks ago I felt more than ready. I felt strong, controlled and ready to get stuck in to something. The week before I was concerned about the tiredness so I did a few very light jogs, kept myself well hydrated all week and watched the diet like a hawk. Kept the nerves well under wraps. There was no need for them. It wasnt a goal race, I had no proper training other than easy runs done. It was just a tester. I had planned to go out at 10:30/m for as long as I could for the first 5k, knowing it was downhill and deal with the hills when I got to them. Im recovering so quickly after hills now, it should go ok.
Nerves kicked in on Sat eve and just deteriorated after that. Sun morning I was backing out. Sitting on the bed shaking looking at my running gear. Put an emergency call out on Running the World. They calmed me and for sure got me to the start line. Nerves were overbearing standing there. Shakes were back. The MC says 'anyone feels like backing out, now is the time to do it'. I nearly jumped the fence.
1-5k
Off we went. I was feeling great, nerves suddenly gone. Legs felt great, I was up for it, just keep it as planned. Lots of people surged a head, but I was happy I was doing the right thing. Lots of distractions before the round about, lots of people running and stopping became annoying very early. But judge not lest ye be judged! Looked at the watch at the round a bout 9:09 !! I freakin panicked like hell. Wtf have I just done?! That was not the plan! Nevermind you've just started, plenty of time to slow it down, then came the 1km mark. Feckity f*ck. That is gonna kill me later.
Go by feel, I thought. Forget the watch and go by feel. Was happy I was slowing down and going at a nice slower pace. The wind was in my face, but recalled the last few weekends and didnt let it bother me. Looked at the watch 10:10. Major panic. If hills kill me on easy runs at a 11 mins starting off, what the hell was going to happen here? Ive fecked it up. My number ripped off the pins and was flapping about. Had to stop to fix it. At that stage, Id already lost.
Looking at Strava it says I stopped 2 more times before I even got to Crossing Point, but I dont remember them. All I remember is I felt so panicked and so out of practice that I was drowning. I thought of nipping out, but thought that would hurt more than any bad time.
Not long after that I saw what I thought was the 5k marker. Looked at my watch 29 mins! Legend! Run! Get under the 5k and treat the rest like a training run, at least youll have something to take from it. The flags were a different colour, but I thought maybe it was to mark the half way. Ran for it anyhow. It was the water station. No 5k mark to be found, Im dying and when I hit it its going to be well over 30 mins. And the head went then. 5k was 35 mins
I was going to have nothing to take from it. Time was going to be way off, the hills were coming, I was in a jock and the voice telling me I couldnt do it totally took over. It was walk/run after that. I tried for the hills, thinking with little effort Id put in, I should be able for them. I was starving, legs were jelly, head said no.
So that was my Great Ireland Run lol. A tough course to get back in the saddle with but it was nothing I hadnt faced before and should have much better in. But the nerves and the lack of confidence were the only winners on the day.
One thing is for sure. I learned more from today than I have from anything up until now. Probably the slow motion in which it all happened helped it sink in better :pac:
Wed13 Apr 5.3/m avg pace 11:15/m
Mon and Tues putting the running gear on was not something I felt like. Wed I went out. It felt great. Controlled. Easy. An absolute joy. So much so I snuck on an extra bit more than lunch hour allowed, with the change/wash factored in, but it felt so good I kept going.
Fri 15 Apr 4 miles with 3 and a half* hills.
Decided the voice in the head needs quietening. So I'd start with hills. Did a 1m warm up (with a loo stop :pac: ) up to the hill of choice. On the climb up to the hill the voice was back. Youre wrecked already, no way can you manage hills! My thinking was, dont be a martyr. Plan was to do 6, but as its a long time since I did anything like this, if 6 were too much call it a day. I would rather do 3 right than chuck in 3 more and wreck the head. Also, dont peg it up them. Control is what I want and each one to be right.
First hill - pure joy. Timed it, it was 1 min so had my markers for the next few. 9:58. Perfect!
Jog back to spot.
Second hill - harder, but controlled everything ok.
Jog back to spot
Third hill - very hard. But I was recovering ok on the jog back. So went for another.
Fourth hill - It was a battle. The body and the pain I can control. But that f*cking voice came back and I couldnt battle the two of them.
Jogged/ran the long way back to the car. Not sure what the other times were for the last 3.5 hills as I had the phone not my watch and I wanted to concentrate. Not as fast as the first but controlled, but I think thats how its supposed to happen?
I cant do races without confidence or work. Even when I tick those boxes the nerves are crippling. But at least I can work on the confidence and quieten down that voice.
Also I shall be tackling that course on Sunday. Revisiting the scene of the crime lol. I need to figure out wtf happened.
Any help or advice on what to do/where to go from here would be very gratefully received.
Sorry about the lame post. Its embarrassing posting it what with all the great reports from Rotterdam etc. But I never did a report for the last 10k I did and now I wish I did so I could look back and compare with where it went wrong.0 -
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The last couple of weeks...not much to report. 15 mile weeks if im lucky. Youngest fella has been sick so sleepless nights were back to newborn era and I was wrecked. That coupled with a sore leg and the eldest’s birthday all threw me off. But, heeding the consistency advice I got out as much as the body and time would allow and threw in cycling to work so I would have something going on.
It led to this week, which has been the most successful, enjoyable, happiest week Ive ever had. And I cant let it go unreported :pac:
Tue ⅗ - 5.3 miles avg pace 11:26 - it was easy, painfree and found me pushing on on a route nicely.
Wed ⅘ - 2.9 miles avg pace 11:19 - fartleks. Tried fartleks last week and some really decent hill sprints which woke me up a little bit. That morning I pushed it on the bike a little bit too. So i felt ready, strong and determined. 1m easy running (to get me to the straight no traffic light part). A wind blew up out of no where, I was pushing hard against it, too hard, I needed to keep the energy for the fartlekking bit. I was running against a brick wall, no matter how much I slowed it pushed harder. I honestly was never so frustrated. There was no wind that morning, I hadnt noticed anything up until now. I thought grand just let the wind calm down, no point in puahing through and then go for it. Every time I picked up so did the blooming wind. I thought of changing it to an easy run and trying again, but I wasnt sure how the week would pan out. 3 weeks of no sleep, yet I was feeling strong, there’s every chance I wouldnt feel like this for the next few days. So I did my best and fought on. Stats and pace say otherwise, but I was WRECKED, when I got back to work and really felt it. There is a bit of chickening out going on when it gets hard. But now I know it, its all stuff to work on.
Thur 5/5 - 4m avg pace 11:24 - a lovely run. Legs were sore after yest, so I took it fairly easy and it was a beaut.
Fri 6/5 - 4.4m avg pace 10:51 - nothing like a fight to get you moving. However it doesnt help with the control. Went off thundering the streets, that and the anger had my head melted, so I had to stop for a sit down and get my head together :pac: . Started off again and really loved it. An extension again to the usual Fri route.
Sat 7/5 - 4.5m avg pace 11:18 - was well aware I had snuck an extra run in this week. But felt great and thought feck it, just go out. Again, it was a beaut. Easy days easy, so to hell if its slow, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Sun 8/5 - 10.1m avg pace 11:56 - Hah! Near killed me. I felt great again, so 10m seemed doable. I was really going to test myself and do the GIR route and do the second lap of it twice. If I kept it slow and easy, I could do this! I couldnt do it. That second half is a flaming killer! So when I got to the end of it I looked at the phone, 7 miles. The last few miles had me beat, it was so hot, I had little water left, I couldnt do that second half again and live :pac:. I considered doing the 3 m lap around they use in other races, but I couldnt manage anymore hills! The 10 mile was off, get back to the car, get 8m done and that would bring the week up to 30 miles. Turned back towards the car, felt ok again. Looked at the phone 8 miles. Jaysus I couldnt let those last 2 miles go now! :pac: If I kept it slow, did two loops of the path around the cross, ding dong job done. Did my two loops, jaysus the legs were exhausted, got back to the car, looked at the phone...9.5 miles!!! So i did another half a loop to get the 10 miles. Collapsed on the grass and died! :pac:
I know mileage shouldnt be a focus. I know Ive upped it by nearly double this week and Ive probably wrecked the week ahead. But I regret nothing. It has been the best week of running Ive ever done. 6 days straight, highest mileage EVER and I feel fantastic! Ive never felt stronger. Speed is a pox, I know but hopefully it will click. There is a slight demon in me tempting me to go out tomorrow and continue the streak, but my leg needs a little rolling/gentle fairies to lightly dance on it I’D DO IT ALL AGAIN!!! 0 -
Knowing myself as well as I do, I knew I needed a plan this week. The great (for me) week last week would have given me all kinds of excuses to miss runs, but the consistency has been so good I am desperate to build on it. So I started MS's 10k plan from last year. Ran it by him and he said go for it, so I am.
10/5 - 5 miles easy avg pace 11:55
Was going great until the turn back and fought nausea the whole way back. Got to mile 4 and had to stop, double over, but sadly no puke. But mile 4 continued in that vein so much so I thought of sticking my fingers down my throat and get the bloody thing over with. I was stranded a mile from work, no money for the luas and hanging. I had to get back to work so had no choice but to try and keep running. Made it eventually
11/5 - 8 × 30 sec hills with 2 min recoveries. I remember so well doing this last year. Brought back some good memories. I picked the wrong hill however, was shorter than I thought. Im well able for this so will definitely do another route the next time it crops up in the plan.
12/5 - 5.3 easy avg pace 11:15 - grand run. Was delighted with myself when I saw the pace. Sadly Strava didnt click in properly for the first mile. But a grand run nonetheless.
13/5 - 4.6 easy avg pace 11:20. Loved it so much. Went up through Milltown again and the main thing was to take that hill at the golf course. Delighted to have made it. Nearly ended up on a car bonnet at Windy Arbour mind you. But I really love these change of scenery Friday runs.
15/5 8 miles avg pace 11:31. Grand job
Theres a progression run on Wed. Should be fun! :pac:0 -
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