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frankie2shoes

Ok So I've been running a little over a year and a half.
Did the couch to 5k thing. then pushed on to 10km and now regularly do 10 milers. I'm a 42yr old, 12 1/2 stone guy. Took up running 'cos I needed to lose weight and to keep up with my 2 kids.
Its been working so far but I'm beginning to lose motivation.
Last year I ran a pb of 43.45 ish but am struggling to keep anything near 50 mins now. Can't seem to get back up to speed at all.
I've had a few set backs: been to a physio and got acupuncture for a tightness in my muscles but still seem to lack speed and my will to push thru is waining!
I run with a garmin for pacing and listen to music while running but nothing is helping
Thought I'd start a running blog to try and reset my goals and help me keep running. I love the sense of achievement after a run but beginning to find it harder and harder to get out there.
I work abroad, week on week off, and run when i'm away. Rarely run at home except the odd 5k park run on a sat and the rarer 10k race when its close to home. I know I should keep my runs more regular spaced but life gets in the way!
here's what I did this week
Tuesday: 6.2km 30mins - watch died mid run
wed: 6.28k 29.55
fri: 10km: 50.32
sun 9km 43.21 stopped twice
This time last year I was running 10km races in todays 9km time. soul destroying stuff.
I'm sure there are others out there who have been thru this and would love to get some feedback.....
Thanks
Fran

Murph_D

Hi frankie. Looks like you're running too fast, could be as simple as that. Your 10k time is similar to mine, so your easy training pace, at which you should be doing the majority of your runs, is probably around 5:30-5:50 /km. Looks like you're trying to do all your runs at race pace. Slow it down and you will probably start to discover some speed when you need it - on race day. Best of luck.

frankie2shoes

Thanks Murph!
I used to run sub 4.30 per km on race day! Struggling to make 4.45-5.00 in training! Is 5.00 per km in training gonna get me 4.30 on race day?
Not trying to be smart but I have no idea............

Murph_D

Why yes, yes it is.

Have a look at McMillan.com or the Jack Daniels vdot calculator (Google it) for suggested training paces based on your recent race times.

frankie2shoes

Thanks for that
Will check them out
I could probably do with joining a running club or run with some friends, although its hard to find others who run at the same pace: probably more about having an arranged time where not running isnt an option!

frankie2shoes

Jack Daniels!!!
Thats what got me in trouble in the first place!!!!!!!!!!

Murph_D

frankie2shoes wrote: »

Jack Daniels!!!
Thats what got me in trouble in the first place!!!!!!!!!!

Why? What happened? Joining a club is a great idea by the way.

frankie2shoes

Just the usual Irish middle age spread where we realize we aren't able to go out 3 nights a week and still be fit and healthy!!!!
Happens to us all I guess.....

Murph_D

frankie2shoes wrote: »

Just the usual Irish middle age spread where we realize we aren't able to go out 3 nights a week and still be fit and healthy!!!!
Happens to us all I guess.....

Ah, THAT Jack Daniels. Forgot about him.

frankie2shoes

OK. As i said I dont usually get to run on my week off and this time it was no diferent
last run before this week was on sunday the 10th
This week:
tuesday: 6km in 29.54
wednesday : 10km in 49.09
today : 4km in 20.23 could have run longer but feel I should'nt push too hard
planning 10k tomorrow and 16km on sunday
Thinking about doing the Tullaroan half marathon on the 30th but have never run more than 17km and unsure if its a good idea.....

Murph_D

The 30th of this month? Seems a bit soon. Why not find a decent half marathon training plan and go about it in a structured way? You could start with halhigdon.com but there are plenty of other plans available.

Beef

+1 on Murph's suggestion. Find a plan which suits you and stick with it as best you can (don't be a slave to it).

The Tullaroan half is only 2 weeks away and is also very hilly apparently so it may not be the best race to try your hand at your first half marathon. I'm sure you could "get through it", but why not train for one and enjoy it!

frankie2shoes

I hear what yer saying alright. I've been running 10 miles fairly regular though and all the training plans really don't fit in with my life. I'm pretty sure hal higdon doesnt work nights away from home!!! Think I'll try running 18+km on sunday and see how that feels. not gonna commit to tullaroan just yet! As you say it might be a hilly one.....

Murph_D

frankie2shoes wrote: »

I'm pretty sure hal higdon doesnt work nights away from home!!!

Why not? Lots of people on here travel for work and manage to get the runs in at home and abroad. You say you only run when you're away - why not when at home?

frankie2shoes

In the middle of renovating a 17th century farmhouse. It tends to eat up a lot of "free" time. Owning an old house is a lot of work and is pretty tiring. Also pretty full on with the family. Wanna spend as much time as I can with them when home.

Murph_D

Fair enough. But you wouldn't be alone though in combining training with heavy work schedule and family time. That's what a lot of people here do, sometimes by combining some of the activities (e.g. running to/from work). It depends on what you want to achieve, I suppose.

frankie2shoes

good run today 10km in 47.49
wasnt planning on running a relatively quick run but the body was willing......
pretty happy considering I only had 4 hrs sleep
rest day tomorrow, assisting the italian wine industry tonight!

NetwerkErrer

Hey Frankie.

Just a note on your training runs. They are very fast especially that one yesterday. Just to give you some perspective, My PB for 10k is 39 minutes and you do all your runs faster than me. My everyday runs are about 5min/k or slower.

Running these runs as fast as you are will really hamper your training and progression and that is a lesson I learned the hard way, it catches up with you eventually. An easy run is an easy run and training should never be a race.

I know that sounds counterintuative but that is the way it works. The vast majority of your runs should be easy as you want to work your heart and lungs predominantly and to do that, you need to slow down your runs substantially from where they are now. 5min/k is way too fast too fast and 4:45min/k like yesterday is a big No No!

You would benefit far more from slowing these runs down to 5:30min/k or slower and might even be able to add more distance when the time comes. Leave the racing for races and focus on training properly in between.

Bulmers74

Agree 100% with what's the lads have said above. You've said that you're beginning to lose motivation as your progress has stalled. I would suggest that the reasons the progress has stalled is down to the fact that you run your easy runs too fast & the inconsistency of your training (week on week off). If you can address these factors (as outlined by the posts above) you should see improvements.

frankie2shoes

Thanks for the input everyone. I guess I need to slow down alright. Running this pace feels so natural though, its gonna be a challenge to hold off.
So what pace should I run training 10k's?
5.30 p/km?
Should I run a diferent pace for 5k
Tomorrow is my long run. Hoping to do 16-18km. Should I run slower than 5.30?
I dont run a lot of races and am mostly running just to stay fit. Felt great yesterday after that relatively quick run. Feeling a little deflated by the obvious truth that I can't/shouldnt run this pace if I want to progress.
As I dont run races often (maybe 2-4 per year) are there runs during training I can do at my faster pace?
Thanks again for your input. Its much appreciated

Bulmers74

frankie2shoes wrote: »

Thanks for the input everyone. I guess I need to slow down alright. Running this pace feels so natural though, its gonna be a challenge to hold off.
So what pace should I run training 10k's?
5.30 p/km?
Should I run a diferent pace for 5k
Tomorrow is my long run. Hoping to do 16-18km. Should I run slower than 5.30?
I dont run a lot of races and am mostly running just to stay fit. Felt great yesterday after that relatively quick run. Feeling a little deflated by the obvious truth that I can't/shouldnt run this pace if I want to progress.
As I dont run races often (maybe 2-4 per year) are there runs during training I can do at my faster pace?
Thanks again for your input. Its much appreciated

Ah yeah don't worry not all your training will be at an easy pace:pac:. Most plans will have faster intervals and/or tempo runs included. Might be an idea to pick a race for maybe Aug or Sept and then pick a plan to train specifically for it.

NetwerkErrer

All your easy runs should be around the same pace irrelevant of distance with the exception of the long run being a bit slower again. It will be difficult at first to run at that pace but only because you have been neglecting that part of your running and it will take a while to get comfortable. Don't panic of it feels hard at first, running is all about patience and it will come eventually if you keep at it.

As for faster paced runs, hold off for a while, It sounds like your body is in a state of fatigue at the minute so again, you need to be patient and when you feel you are starting to come around, you can think about adding one day of speed work a week to keep you on your toes but for now, I would be just focusing on getting to grips with easy running.

I know you said you only run to keep fit but I think you would benefit hugely from joining a club or following a training plan when you start to feel fresh again.

I can tell to run this workout and that workout until I'm blue in the face but without any structure, the workouts are useless. A coach or training plan can do it with context and structure.

I think the most important thing now as Bulmers said is to focus on slowing down your easy runs and getting as consistent as possible. A 10k run will take less than an hour and there's 24 in the day. If you really try, you can find one hour to spend running.

The magic formula to improving in running is consistentcy and patience.

frankie2shoes

OK
today was my long run
Ran 16km in 88mins
avg pace 5.33 p/km
struggled at first to keep to a slow pace. Initially my garmin had me at 4.10 p/km but really pulled back and forced myself into a more sedentary pace.
Was quite nice actually. Was able to take in the scenery more and not be overly focused on breathing etc, although I was constantly checking my pace and forcing myself to slow down
quite pleased with my run. Legs a bit tired but thats to be expected: route was quite hilly!
Its quite easy to find motivation while running in Paris, especially when the Eiffel tower is your 14km marker!
probably my slowest ever 10 mile run but if this what I'm supposed to be doing then so be it!!

frankie2shoes

I havent posted in a while. Was off work for three weeks and got 4 runs in. 2 8km runs at 5.10 p/km and 5.21p/km and two race pace runs.
Did the Kilkenny 5km park run in 21.57 ( a PB! well chuffed) and a local timed run for kilkenny gaelscoil in 45.15. ( not a great run tbh) it seems the the 45min pacer came home @44.27!!! I could'nt even see him for the last km so couldn't push myself to beat 45min. That coupled with the fact that I lost my music after 3k and that I had done the park run the previous day and I suppose the time wasn't too bad.
Back to work last week so got back into running mode and did:
4km on wed 5.24p/k
6km on thur @ 5.15 p/k
10km on fri @ 5.22 p/k
and 16.5 km today @ 5.27 p/km
today was a very tough run. Felt like giving up after 6km. 24deg. sun beating down. but soldiered on and finished well! took a lot of time to recover. only really back to normal now. Brought a isotonic drink with me for during the run but was very dehydrated and have had about 3 litres of water since getting home. Forced some calories in too
Trying to stick to the slower pace and will try to get out at least twice when home if possible......one midweek and maybe the parkrun on sat ( I really enjoy the sat morning run around kilkenny castle!)