Faster

tailgunner

Wednesday, 29th July 2015

3.11 miles
30:50
9:54/mi

Didn't manage to get out for a run yesterday evening, and it was looking unlikely for tonight as well, so I took the unprecedented step of setting my alarm half an hour early this morning. This was pure wishful thinking, but much to my amazement, I actually found myself outside on the road at half six.

After getting over the initial "what on earth am I doing running at this hour?" phase, I quite enjoyed it. Nice and cool, and hardly anyone around. Should really do this more often.

Runner Mojo

Did that a few times when I used to work shift - 5.30 am with some Metallica on the ole earphones. Great way to start the day!

tailgunner

Saturday, 1st August 2015

3 miles
26:14
8:45/mi

I was very surprised by this effort. The plan was for a tempo run, but after a feed of drink the night before and a feed of McDonald's a couple of hours before heading out, my expectations weren't high. Clearly I need to eat more Big Macs.

Sunday, 2nd August 2015

3.01 miles
30:50
10:15/mi

After a nice day mooching around cafes and pubs (in keeping with my highly sophisticated training regime), I finally made it out for a recovery run. Felt a bit rough for the first couple of miles but was grand by the end.

All in all, a great week of running. Mileage is back to where it was before I got injured, but I'm spreading it over four runs a week instead of three, which is probably more sensible.

tailgunner

Tuesday, 4th August 2015

8.01 miles
1:25:04
10:38/mi

Ran home from work. Not too much to report really. Kept the pace slow and felt comfortable throughout.

tailgunner

Wednesday, 5th August 2015

3 miles
31:55
10:37/mi

Late evening recovery run. Legs felt fine. Fierce busy in work this week so not much time for my usual longer ramblings.

tailgunner

Friday, 7th August 2015

3.11 miles
30:13
9:43/mi

Can't really remember this but it looks like I ran it a bit faster than planned. Had another run planned for last night but that didn't happen as I had some unexpected visitors. Long run home from work this evening.

tailgunner

Monday, 10th August 2015

8.01 miles
1:21:45
10:13/mi

Ran the last mile at 9:00/mi but the rest was nice and slow. Overtook a cyclist at one stage. No idea how he was managing to keep the bike upright at the speed he was going.

tailgunner

Tuesday, 11th August 2015

4 miles
41:16
10:18/mi

Legs were tired but no aches or pains or anything. Lots of foam rolling after, which (worryingly) I'm really starting to enjoy. I'm not sure if I like the person I'm becoming really. It's a slippery slope from here to posting motivational fitness memes on Facebook.

tailgunner

Wednesday, 12th August 2015

3.01 miles
29:56
9:58/mi

Third day of running in a row. Wasn't really planning on it, but wanted to get it out of the way as I'll be stuck for time for the next couple of days. Felt fairly fresh starting off, but could feel my calves starting to tighten up near the end. Ran the last mile a bit faster to loosen my legs out a bit, which seemed to help a lot.

tailgunner

Sunday, 16th August 2015

3.11 miles
25:39
8:15/mi

Missed the parkrun I had planned this weekend, so decided to put in a race effort on my own. Far from ideal, and I obviously won't be taking this as any sort of official time. That said, I think it's a good indication of where I am in terms of fitness, and it suggests that aiming for a two-hour half marathon in October isn't overly ambitious.

In terms of the run itself, the effort felt manageable till well over half way, then became almost unbearable for nearly a mile, until a second wind carried me through the last half mile. The splits definitely reflect how I was feeling (8:14, 8:34, 8:01, 0:50).

Forgot to mention that I bought a pair of Asics DS Trainer 20s a couple of weeks ago - I'm using them for faster stuff, so this was only their second outing. Find them a bit tight, even though they're half a size bigger than my GT-2000s, but hopefully they'll loosen out in time.

tailgunner

Monday, 17th August 2015

4 miles
40:36
10:08/mi

Had a touch of DOMS yesterday for the first time in ages. I think three (unintentional) rest days before Sunday's run was the main reason, and probably not enough of a warm-up or cool-down. Felt okay once I got moving.

tailgunner

Tuesday, 18th August 2015

4 miles
39:11
9:47/mi

This is meant to be a step-back week so I decided the "race" effort on Sunday would suffice instead of a long run. So this was an exact replica of Monday's recovery run, but I felt a lot fresher.

ThebitterLemon

Are you following a plan and have you picked another race?

It seems to me that there isn't great variance in your week to week running or in the pace that you are running at. This is fine is you are just working towards building up your fitness but you might see bigger improvements if you were to incorporate some shorter faster stuff, even some strides?

I'm no expert and might be missing something.

TbL

tailgunner

Just the half marathon in October planned at the moment.

I'm following my own plan because... well, I can't remember, but it probably wasn't a very good reason in the first place. It's similar to Hal Higdon's Novice 2 - one long run and three short runs per week, all at the same pace.

One of the short runs is at HM race pace every other week, but I might start doing that every week for a bit of variation. The race is only seven weeks away from Sunday, so it's a bit late to be changing things too much.

I'm only winging it really, so appreciate the feedback.

tailgunner

Thursday, 20th August 2015

4 miles
35:53
8:58/mi

The plan was for 4 easy miles, but I took ThebitterLemon's advice and decided on a faster session. The last couple of times I ran at this pace for 4 miles, I was a wreck afterwards, but this felt very manageable. This is even a little quicker than my planned half marathon pace (9:09/mi), so I was very happy with the effort.

Friday, 21st August 2015

4 miles
38:59
9:44/mi

Couldn't seem to get into a rhythm, and ended up running way faster than planned. Found it very, very tough. This was only about 12 hours after my run the night before, which I thought I'd get away with, but the big mistake was forgetting to eat anything between runs. Lesson learned!

tailgunner

Monday, 24th August 2015

8 miles
1:25:57
10:44/mi

Torrential rain* nearly had me turning around and retreating for the couch as soon as I stepped outside, but I persevered. A long, wet, slow run, but very enjoyable. Hardly anyone out, so I had the route to myself for the most part. It's nice to be able to switch off mentally and let the legs do the work, and the time ticked by nicely despite the slow pace. I really need to invest in some Bodyglide or something though. Chafed raw.

*A light drizzle.

tailgunner

Tuesday, 25th August 2015

5 miles
50:15
10:03/mi

A little faster than planned but it felt fairly easy. Got caught in a downpour near the end so was soaked through once again, but I escaped any major chafing. Planning a 4 mile tempo run next, but might leave it till tomorrow as my legs could do with a rest.

tailgunner

Thursday, 27th August 2015

4 miles
35:29
8:51/mi

Tempo run of sorts. Felt a lot tougher than last week, but I've done a good few more miles this week already so not totally unexpected. Nice to get it done anyway.

tailgunner

Friday, 28th August 2015

4 miles
38:36
9:37/mi

I was looking forward to this all day. Avoided looking at the watch for a change and just ran by feel. Started very easy, and increased the pace gradually. Wasn't intentional but I didn't try and slow it down either. Really, really enjoyed this.

tailgunner

Sunday, 30th August 2015

9.01 miles
1:33:39
10:24/mi

Got up nice and early to get this out of the way. I love longer runs when I have the route to myself - much easier to zone out and let the miles tick by. Pace wasn't the most consistent, but the average is just inside my "easy" range, so no complaints. First time trying my racing shoes on a longer run as well, and had no problems. Things are going well lately.

tailgunner

Tuesday, 1st September 2015

5 miles
51:26
10:17/mi

Not much to report. Felt a bit sluggish, but I'm putting that down to a fair bit of eating and drinking over the previous couple of days (it was a bank holiday here in the UK).

tailgunner

Thursday, 3rd September 2015

5.01 miles
44:44
8:56/mi

The plan was for 4 miles at HM pace yesterday and 5 miles easy today, but I decided to swap the mileage around as I was feeling fresh after a rest day.

Went really well. Pace was very consistent, and could have kept it going for longer. This is the third week in a row of what is fairly heavy mileage for me, so I'm very pleased with the effort.

4 miles easy tonight, 10 mile long run at the weekend, and then I can indulge in a step-back in mileage next week.

tailgunner

Friday, 4th September 2015

4.01 miles
40:40
10:09/mi

Can't really remember this. The plan was for 4 miles easy, and 4 miles easy I ran.

Sunday, 6th September 2015

10 miles
1:44:23
10:26/mi

Not a great run at all. I was struggling after about 4-5 miles and nearly gave up entirely after 7. I was hanging together when I finally hit the 10 mile mark. Felt nauseous, dizzy and very weak, and spent a couple of hours in a heap on the couch afterwards.

I'm guessing it was dehydration. I never bring water on a run and have never had any problems before, but I did feel quite thirsty during the run, and drank a lot more water than usual afterwards. I'm hoping the issue is that I didn't drink enough water the evening before.

Aside from all that though, the general business of putting one foot in front of the other went fine, and my legs had no complaints.

tailgunner

Monday, 7th September 2015

4 miles
42:16
10:33/mi

Still didn't feel 100% since Sunday's long run, but my legs were fine so off I went. Nice evening for it and it went fine, but I was glad I had no farther to go. I think my body is just a bit worn out in general at the moment, so step-back/recovery week couldn't have come at a better time really.

The Muppet

I just discovered this log I.'ve just read a good chunk of it well done with the progress . Hope you feeling better soon .

tailgunner

Wednesday, 9th September 2015

5 miles
42:59
8:35/mi

This was a lot closer to 10k pace than HM pace. Didn't need to run this fast, but it was a nice confidence boost. I'm fairly sure I have the speed for a sub-2 hour half marathon now, and it's just the endurance I need to worry about.

Thursday, 10th September 2015

3 miles
31:13
10:24/mi

A very short recovery run as I want to keep my mileage down this week. Legs felt okay.

tailgunner

Saturday, 12th September 2015

6 miles
1:03:28
10:34/mi

Only a medium-sized run this weekend. Kept it very slow for the most part. The highlight was near the end when a group of 15 lads on a stag do saw me trotting towards them, and quickly arranged a rapturous guard of honour - each man dressed in a sombrero and draped in a Mexican flag. I wish more of my runs ended like that.

tailgunner

Monday, 14th September 2015

5.01 miles
53:45
10:44/mi

Felt a bit sluggish setting off, which seems to be a common theme after a rest day lately. Took to a trail that I haven't used in ages - I'd forgotten how undulating it is, which makes for a very slow pace. Was thinking I should do more of my easy runs around there, but noticed that my running form had pretty much collapsed after one loop through the woods, so maybe not a great idea to run this slowly too often. Ran the last half a mile at 5k pace to stretch my legs once I got back on the road.

tailgunner

Thursday, 17th September 2015

6.22 miles
56:49
9:04/mi

Had a planned rest day on Tuesday followed by an unplanned one on Wednesday. I was late home from work, drenched from torrential rain that was forecast to remain for the night, and the prospect of an evening on the couch was almost too tempting. The discovery of Roma vs Barcelona on free-to-air TV was the final nail in the coffin of that evening's run.

Spent most of yesterday stressing about the disastrous long-term effects this would have on my training, and was hell-bent on tweaking my plan to within an inch of its life as a result, until I remembered that I only run four days a week, and swapping the odd rest day around isn't really a big deal. Anyway, I eventually decided that actually going for a run might be almost as good an idea as planning several of them, so off I went.

The plan was for 6 miles at HM pace. Started off quite conservatively, making an extra effort not to run too fast, and settled into the pace quite quickly. "Comfortably hard" seems a good description - after 5 miles or so, I remember thinking I could definitely maintain the pace for another few miles before things got difficult, so hoping that bodes well. Picked up the pace at that point and finished strong - couldn't resist running the last few hundred yards to round out the 10k, and my Garmin enthusiastically rewarded me with a little "Fastest 10k!" graphic. Thanks Garmin.

tailgunner

Friday, 18th September 2015

4 miles
41:47
10:26/mi

Very, very tired from the very start. Was half-tempted to cut it short but talked myself out of it and carried on. Probably for the best, as I think it forced some recovery into my legs. Felt a lot fresher the next day.

Sunday, 20th September 2015

12 miles
2:05:55
10:29/mi

After a fairly abysmal 10 mile run a couple of weeks ago, I was pretty worried about this, but it went really well. Felt strong for the vast majority of it, only starting to feel tired after 10 or 11 miles. Even managed a "sprint" finish over the last 400 yards.

Trying to figure out why this run was so much better and I think the main difference is that I decided to revert to my usual long run strategy of drinking lots of water the evening before, and only having a small glass of orange juice before heading out the door. Running on an empty stomach suits me a lot better I think.

I also trialled my highly sophisticated race nutrition programme, namely a little bag of Jelly Tots. Had a handful after 4 miles and another after 8, and while I doubt it made much physical difference today, it was definitely a psychological boost. I love Jelly Tots.