From Couch 25k To Where Ever

Annie get your Run

The Muppet wrote: »

I also started James Dunnes 30 day challenge today, hopefully I'll get further with it than I did last time (2 weeks). I plan to do this before work in the mornings and do my runs in the evenings

You're one step ahead of me T, I signed up for the challenge the day before yesterday, haven't looked at it since

Great to see you're getting the whole family addicted to running!!

The Muppet

Annie get your Run wrote: »

You're one step ahead of me T, I signed up for the challenge the day before yesterday, haven't looked at it since

Great to see you're getting the whole family addicted to running!!

I was a sight at 6.45 this morning doing day 2 but got it done. I notice i can feel the stretching more on one side than the other so I'm assuming that's an imbalance. On the subject of Balance I'm brutal at those exercise so hopefully that'll improve.

The marathon really inspired my family, that eldest lad needs to run as he is office based all day and doesn't do much in the way of exercise.

Your flying yourself with the cycling and running, do you find the cycling helps, I would love to do more cycling possibly to work but the roads are just crazy out this way

Annie get your Run

The Muppet wrote: »

I was a sight at 6.45 this morning doing day 2 but got it done. I notice i can feel the stretching more on one side than the other so I'm assuming that's an imbalance. On the subject of Balance I'm brutal at those exercise so hopefully that'll improve.

The marathon really inspired my family, that eldest lad needs to run as he is office based all day and doesn't do much in the way of exercise.

Your flying yourself with the cycling and running, do you find the cycling helps, I would love to do more cycling possibly to work but the roads are just crazy out this way

I'll get into terrible trouble if I start recommending cycling on all the logs but yeah it does help.

Commuting by bike is a little like Rusian roulette though and feels very much like a question of 'when' rather than 'if' and no doubt your roads are far far busier than mine (I avoid the N3 completely) so if you are thinking about it look at quieter routes or maybe only doing it on a Monday or Friday when traffic is a good deal quieter. It's a bit of a slog in the winter but spring/summer/autumn and the amazing skies we get make it all worthwhile

I'll definitely start that challenge today tomorrow

The Muppet

Run 1 of base building on the graduate plan tonight 40 minutes very easy which for me calculates as 12:10 to 13:03 . I ran my usual 3.5 mile route in revers because there is longer but more gradual climb, I figured this would help with the pace, thats probably rubbish but it seemed like a plan at the time.

Once i got going and setted into the run i had no problems running to plan.


I could get to like this very easy running , I passed a walker and after a minute or two i looked back to cross the road and he was just behind me

I did day 2 of S&C plan this morning

40 Minutes @ 12:17 heart rate 131 bpm

Now just to keep at it.

The Muppet

Overall I had a brilliant 2016 on the running front. I ran my first race in December 2015 Jingle bells so the was really the only proper PB I had and even then the wind played havoc with the timing on the day and gun time was used .

For the first half of 2016 I ran to the 2015 Graduates plan and I really enjoyed that, My 5 k pb came down to 24.07 at St Anne's parkrun in early June.

I had been thinking about running a marathon but tbh I was doubtful of getting through the training and the race itself . I said here before that I have a good friend who ran DCM in 2014 and hasn't ran a step since, that was always in the back of my mind plus having always followed the novices thread here, I was aware of how tough a journey it is to get to the finish line of a marathon so I decided I would join the novices thread here and go as far as I could with it and luckily training went to plan I think I only missed 2 of the easy runs on the training plan and managed to finish it on the day in reasonable shape.

As part of the Marathon training I ran the Fingal 10k my hometown race and the Dublin Half Marathon and loved them. I also ran the Frank Duffy 10 mile and didn't love that , I blew up at 5 miles and it was run walk from there but I wouldn't change that now, I learned a lot that day about running and myself which stood to me for the main event.

That's my 2016 review I have pbs at 5k 10k 10 mile Half Marathon and Full marathon distance, Some of them may be soft but racing was never in my plans when I started running , I only got sort of into that when I started posting here, I'm still luke warm about it as I am really only interested in beating myself and enjoying my running .

I have logged all my runs here in 2016 and it has been a huge help and motivation, I wouldn't have done any of those races but for this forum, I'd have just plugged away running a few days a week.

To top of the year I was voted new poster of the year of this forum for 2016 which I will admit meant something to me so thanks again to all for that.

2017 the plan is to get back to a decent routine, I've entered the ballot for the Great North Run in Newcastle in September and will do that if I get it. One of my daughters has asked to run DCM with her this year and I will definitely do it if she puts in the training for it . My eldest son is talking about running too so I will do whatever I can to encourage him too , so I don't really have any concrete plans regarding races at the moment so I just will see how things progress .



My 2016 Milage update

Month|2016|2015|2014|2013
jan|94.78|46.2|8.31|0
feb|61.68|13.9|30.35|0
March|111|4.64|47.37|7
April|110.7|21.08|42.23|25.01
May|121.32|65.69|36.37|33.78
June|154.31|97.03|52.69|33
July|148.97|108.73|25.33|49.74
August|124.57|110.42|57.9|29.42
September|138.17|94.12|58.37|13.87
October|151.18|125.17|95.32|3.01
November|49.11|100.78|88.95|0
December|45.12|63.16|23.83|0
Totals|1310.91|851.69|567.02|194.83





I had been ignoring this , afraid to look at my milage after the marathon but it is what it is and to keep the log right there it is. Suppose I have to be happy with over 1300 miles for the year.

tang1

Great year TM, fair play & the award was totally deserved.

Maximus Alexander

Great year from you and some nice achievements. Looking forward to seeing what you get up to over the next 12 months. As for mileage since the marathon, what you did in December would have looked like a decent enough month a year previous, so really being disappointed with it just shows how far you came. Don't be beating yourself up too much.

The Muppet

Thanks Max, Of course you're right .


Back at it tonight for night 2 of the plan 60 minutes progression from easy to Marathon Pace. easy is 11.42 to 12.07 , Marathon pace I'm a little confused about as the calculator on the plan doesn't give training paces for Marathon but under race times it gives me 9.40 so I aimed for that. I don't think that's the correct pace so i'll ask that question in the graduate thread.

This was my first session in months and I enjoyed it , busy day and I was late getting out but not going was never an option so that's good , last week I wouldn't have done it.

Went my usual 5 mile route and deviated up a side road and back for a couple of hundred meters to get me to the designated hour . I m really happy with the pacing as I was doing it by feel and only glanced at my watch the odd time to keep time in check. Mile 5 was a little too fast but sure It was a cold night.

Pleased to have that one under the belt as once I get going on a plan I'm usually quite consistent


Mile splits
1 @ 11:59 147bpm
2 @11:29 143 bpm
3 @ 10.30 140 bpm
4 @ 10 .15 144 bpm
5 @ 9.07 150 bpm
. @11 .47 cool down

The Muppet

Up early this morning for day 4 of the 30 day s&c plan. I'm all ready noticing the difference its making , with the balance exercise I no longer fall over as soon as I raise my leg and the hamstring stretch is having the desired effect. It's only twenty minutes each morning, I wouldn't have expected to see an improvement so soon . I am determined to see it through this time.

My designated 45 minutes very easy had to be a lunchtime run as the forecast for later wasn't good and I had Pilates tonight so I would have been late getting out. It was fresh afternoon , I Kept it all really easy and ran within prescribed paces and really enjoyed it, I was a bit stiff setting out but after a few minutes I was grand.

4 miles @ 12:05 pace

Pilates Tonight , really enjoyed that as always, It was a good day on the training front. Rest day tomorrow so it'll be just day 5 of the strength and conditioning I think.

The Muppet

Day 6 of the 30 day challenge which is the end of the first section basic mobility and balance. Enjoying getting up early to get these done it reminds me of my c25k days.

I have switched the Saturday and Sundays runs on the graduate plan as thats suits me bettter and I got used to doing my long runs on saturday for the marathon.

The plan was 90 minutes easy which equates to 11.42 to 12.15 pace which I calculated would be around 7.5 miles which would be my longest run in 2 months . I really enjoyed this run it was nice and easy and i tagged on a few minutes at the end taking the longer way back to my start point. Doing my best to stick to the designated paces so I am happy with today's pace.

8.5 miles @11.41 in 100 minutes.

The Muppet

I think I have just realized why I gave up in week 2 the last time i tried the Kinetic revolution 30 day challenge. The first 6 days are basic mobility and balance, today my day 7 it switched to basic strength and core and I found it tough going, split squats are a killer and the plank where you move one leg to you elbow is no fun either. My legs are in a heap but its done.

Hope the legs recover for todays run 40 minutes easy with 10 x 100 strides, that won't be happening anytime soon.

The Muppet

The old legs recovered enough to get the run in this afternoon, I wanted to go in daylight for the stride part as I was doing them in teh local path on the flat.

Glutes were still a little sore heading out but loosened up as soon as I got going . I ran the first 2 miles at easy pace , 11.53 and 11,44 which lleft me in the park for the 10 x 100 m strides at Aerobic Power which is 8.05 to 8.15 for me .

The strides were a bit of a disaster because not having done any pace work in months I doubted I could run at that pace and so I got the paces all wrong , I only realized this after the 4th stride when I caught a sight of the lap time when I stopped, I did try to hit the proper pace after that but failed . to get the distance right i just counter to 2 in my head and some of them are under 100 meters and some over . Must do better next time.

However it was enjoyable to run at speed and has done the confidence some good.

lap split paces
6.21, 7.04, 5.55, 6.19, 6.36 ,6.57, 7.19 , 6,55, 6,23, 5,51


That's week one of the Graduates plan completed , happy to have a consistent week under the belt , More of the same in the week ahead I should be back into properly.

The Muppet

Day 9 of the 30 day challenge this morning. Still finding some of the strength stuff tough enough but I am getting them done perhaps it's supposed to be tough.

Had my 45 minute very easy run this afternoon 3.78 miles @ 11.58 pace

The Muppet

Day 10 of the Strength and conditioning plan this morning , One third of the way through, tough but I feel I am progressing 3 x 10 reps of teh exercises this morning it was 2x10 on Monday.

Running wise instead of my 45 minutes moderate I went to the Irish Runner paced mile at ALSAA, I went with the 7 minute pacers , I don't have my time yet but I finished a good bit behind the pacers.

It was 4 laps on the track, I found the first lap I was running into the back of people so I could have ran that one a little faster apart from that I'm happy enough , I had a bit of a kick in me for the last lap so overall it was good,

Nice to meet up with Singer and Annie get your run for a chat and a cool down lap.

Singer

Good to see you earlier Tom! Results are up here: http://www.myrunresults.com/events/irish_runner_paced_mile/2017/results

Annie get your Run

Well done tonight T, you shot off in the last 100m so a good strong finish from you and leaving me for dust as predicted

The Muppet

Thanks B 7.33 my official time there it will be interesting to see how that goes over tge next few months.
You had a great run . Was that a pb ?

Thanks AM by that stage I just wanted to get it done . I could hear you on my heels I though you were going to go by me on the run on. It was a good night .

tang1

More to to come off tonight's time me thinks TM, great stuff.

The Muppet

Thanks Tang hopefully with some speed work I could knock a bit off that .

The Muppet

Dy 11 of S & C up to 45 reps per side they are not getting any easier but tomorrow is last day of this phase which I have to admit i have found tough , not sure i mentioned that until now.

My Missus had an appointment in town this afternoon so while she was there I took the opportunity for a run in the phoenix park. I decided to do yesterdays missed 45 min moderate session instead of todays 45 easy run , I don't like missing sessions on any plan but skipped yesterdays to do the pace mile in ALSAA.

The stats are mess up on my watch , looks like I started it on the drive to the park, I wasn't really looking at it anyway for the run , I ran up teh North road and back down chesterfield avenue which I guess is between 4 and 5 miles at somewhere around 10 minute pace.

Pilates Class tonight then felt tired during this, The form wasn't good on some of the exercises , I contemplated not going at all as I was quite pushed for time but just made it.

Feeling a bit chesty all day too , That flu is in the house so I'm hoping I'm not coming down with that.

The Muppet

Day 12 of s and c in the bag if I never do another split squat it'll be too soon, Moving onto mobility and plyometric training tomorrow , Havn't a clue what that is ,stretches I think I'll look at the videos later.

Scheduled rest day today but I may get an easy run in depending on how I am feeling later, cough is worse this morning so Ill see how the day goes, If its the start of what the other have here I think I will be missing some runs in the days ahead, Taking some meds since last night to try ward it off.

Annie get your Run

The Muppet wrote: »

Scheduled rest day today but I may get an easy run in depending on how I am feeling later, cough is worse this morning so Ill see how the day goes, If its the start of what the other have here I think I will be missing some runs in the days ahead, Taking some meds since last night to try ward it off.

Stick to the plaaaannnnnnn!!! sounds to me like you'd benefit far more from rest than a run - mind that cough.

The Muppet

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Stick to the plaaaannnnnnn!!! sounds to me like you'd benefit far more from rest than a run - mind that cough.

The cough is just brewing but is going to get me I fear , daughter and son are in bits with it, Hard to escape it when it's in the house like that , but I'm doing my best to avoid them.

I know you're right AM , If i do run it'll be a very easy few miles , I just feel like one today, that may change of course when the time comes to put the gear on.

The Muppet

I did venture out for 4 easy miles @ 11.28 pace this after noon, The sun was shining but it was cold enough. Nothing much else to report except a little fashion faux pas I noticed when I went to get out of my gear after the run, 4 miles around Coolock in these.

I cant believe I didn't notice during the run and I can't say I noticed anyone noticing except my missus and her friend who found it very funny all together on my return..

Could it be the start of a fashion trend ?

tang1

Cue all the young lads in Coolock wearing odd runners from now on after seeing TM doing it!!!

Annie get your Run

I thought that was one runner and one slipper... I

The Muppet

tang1 wrote: »

Cue all the young lads in Coolock wearing odd runners from now on after seeing TM doing it!!!

That would be a sight

Annie get your Run wrote: »

I thought that was one runner and one slipper... I

Ah here a slipper! even I would have noticed that. The black one is my retired Nike air i was wearing today, the other my current Asics running shoes.

The Muppet

day 13 of s and c this morning . stretching and hopping . good at the hopping not so good at the stretching,tight hamstrings don't help getting into some of the required positions. I was a bit stuck for time today , I'll have more time tomorrows so will make sure I get the technique right.

90 minutes easy running at lunchtime 8.25 miles @11.22 pace .

Younganne

The Muppet wrote: »

I did venture out for 4 easy miles @ 11.28 pace this after noon, The sun was shining but it was cold enough. Nothing much else to report except a little fashion faux pas I noticed when I went to get out of my gear after the run, 4 miles around Coolock in these.

I cant believe I didn't notice during the run and I can't say I noticed anyone noticing except my missus and her friend who found it very funny all together on my return..

Could it be the start of a fashion trend ?

My younglad occasionally wears 2 odd shoes to school, by choice. Now it would be obvious as in one is an orange AstroTurf runner and the other a navy runner but hey let them be individuals!!!:eek:

The Muppet

Younganne wrote: »

My younglad occasionally wears 2 odd shoes to school, by choice. Now it would be obvious as in one is an orange AstroTurf runner and the other a navy runner but hey let them be individuals!!!:eek:

Does any of his friend do similar? Fair play to him for being himself.

I wish I could claim it as a fashion statement in my case but no, I was wearing the black ones all day and though i'd changed into the others to run , it wasn't even dark , I'll have to put it down as a senior moment .

The Muppet

Just s an c today. Finding it difficult enough too . Limited in range for some of the stretches butdong my best at them.


Decided not to run today . Feeling I need a rest day .

The Muppet

Day 16 of the 30 day challenge today. Still at it and happy with how it went today . Was feeling it where I was supposed to be.

Running wise tonight was the start of week 3 of base training on the graduates plan . 60 minutes at 11.50 very easy .

The Muppet

Day 17 of s and c , no moaning about it tonight so it must be working.

Running the plan was 60 minutes progression from easy 11.45 to pmp 9.30 . I planned to run the first mile was 11.45 and 11.15 for mile 2 , 10.45 for mile 3 , 10.15 for mile 4 abd 9.30 for mile 5 leaving a few minutes for cool down.

This went pretty much to plan, I was a few seconds too quick on mile 4 but other than that it was as intended

Younganne

The Muppet wrote: »

Does any of his friend do similar? Fair play to him for being himself. .

No, not that I'm aware of. The first time he did it I though he just got mixed up, as he has Dyspraxia and sometimes he forgets to do the simple things we don't even think about.

The second time I pointed it out and he told me he knew and wanted to, so I left him be. Now he does it an odd time but he's a very witty & funny guy so its just something he likes to do and sure what harm is it!!!

I am very surprised by it as he doesn't like to draw attention to himself so this is doing quite the opposite, assuming people notice!!!:D

The Muppet

I think it's brilliant that he has the confidence to be do something out of the norm like that and be comfortable with it, You can be sure his friend notice , fashion wise teenagers miss very little , or at least that's how they were when mine were at that stage.

Younganne

The Muppet wrote: »

I think it's brilliant that he has the confidence to be do something out of the norm like that and be comfortable with it, You can be sure his friend notice , fashion wise teenagers miss very little , or at least that's how they were when mine were at that stage.

Hes 11 so just finding his way in the world!! and yes I agree its great for his confidence and that he is comfortable with being different.

The Muppet

Slept it out this morning , never heard alarm, I'm usually awake well before it goes off so not time for the s and c plan this morning :mad:

I decided to take a rest day today and do my 60 minute very easy run tomorrow instead unless I go out later tonight .


I didn't go to pilates either, I did this mornings missed s and c session instead. That's day 18 and the end of the third group so I'm onto the next group which is another 6 days of resistance band exercises. I finally get the a reason to take the resistance bands I bought 2 years ago out of their box,:D

The Muppet

Day 19 of the 30 day challenge using the resistance bands really enjoyed it . I also got a 60 minute very easy run in this afternoon 5.25 miles @ 11.34 pace.

I'm entered for the Raheny 5 on Sunday . Not sure what to do tomorrow or how I'm going to run the race on Sunday, the plan says easy .

Kennyg71

The Muppet wrote: »

Day 19 of the 30 day challenge using the resistance bands really enjoyed it . I also got a 60 minute very easy run in this afternoon 5.25 miles @ 11.34 pace.

I'm entered for the Raheny 5 on Sunday . Not sure what to do tomorrow or how I'm going to run the race on Sunday, the plan says easy .

Run as hard as you can on the day. Best of Luck Sunday.

tang1

Best of luck in Raheny tomorrow TM, hope it goes well for you.

Bungy Girl

Have a great race, T! Run fast!

FIFA2004

Good luck for tomorrow!

Wubble Wubble

Best of luck T. Give it everything! All that S & C is bound to pay off.

The Muppet

Thanks For the good wishes all,

I'm not expecting much on the racing front TBH ,I've been helping someone move house yesterday and this morning, not ideal prep. Cosidered pulling out but as it's a run day I may as well do it, I'll see how I feel when I start running and take it from there.

The Muppet

Happy I went ahead and ran the Raheny 5 .

Mile 1 just after the start annapr went past me and I stuck with her for the first mile. Pace 8.59

Second mile I knew I couldnt jeep that pace up for 5 miles today so eased off. Pace 9.49

Third mile I started to struggle mentally and gave in and walked for a few minutes. Was going to jack in but persuaded my self to run again pace 11.32

Fourth into St annes and I was feeling ok I started to pass a few runners which I took as a positive pace 10.21

Mile 5 I picked up the pace again and finished strongly pace 8.41

Thoughts . Not surprised really but im not going to make excuses .

If i'd ran the whole race at the pace of mile 1 or 5 I'd be happy . The fact I could run @8.41 in mile 5 indicates I should have done better in miles 2, 3 and 4 .

.on the plus I enjoyed the run irespective of my performance . Met lots of bodies after for a cuppa and a chat and denis b most Welcome flapjacks .

It was a very well organised event . Really enjoyed the kids races before my race . The goodie bag was excellent my 3 grandkids had a chocolate overload this evening , their parents can deal with the afters of that.:D Reception after was brilliant too.. a great event. I'll be back to try improve on today .


5 miles in 49.22 watch time

annapr

Good to see you today, T... the fact that you said you couldn't keep up with me made my day... sorry

I'm sure that won't last long anyway!

The Muppet

annapr wrote: »

Good to see you today, T... the fact that you said you couldn't keep up with me made my day... sorry

I'm sure that won't last long anyway!

No need to apologise A. It's the truth . I wouldn't be so sure but I'm certainly going to work on improving .

Great run today by yourself you were up and back the avenue when I was at the start of it that must be at least a half mile you made on me.

The Muppet

Rest day Monday, I didn't get out tonight either as I'm feeling tired , Off to Manchester in the morning so that'll be a write of too .

I didn't do the 30 day challenge Saturday or Sunday with the Raheny 5 in mind.

Back into it yesterday morning doing resistance band exercises and it went well I can really feel it around my hips though , sore . Will miss tomorrow but hope to get back to it on thursday 2 days left in this group and then its onto the final week of running drills.

The Muppet

Afraid to report I may be out for a while, My big toe nail is causing me some concern as its bleeding from the side, I think I'm going to lose it, Its been hanging in there since October . Being a diabetic feet problem are very serious and need to be looked after . It only started bleeding today so I am trying to sort it myself I wont be running on it and will go to docs early next week if it's not healed .


I only got back from the UK yesterday morning so I didn't get any runs in, I did go to my pilates last nigh though so it wasn't a total wash out. Will have to hold off on the final phase of the 30 day challenge until toe improves as its running drills .

Wubble Wubble

Sorry to hear that T, best of luck with the recovery.