From Couch 25k To Where Ever

The Muppet · 03-09-2015 10:44pm

Mmñ.Just looking at the data from tonight session on strava , apparantly I hit 6.54 min milepace for one of the 400 meter intervals . This is too fast as my 5k pace is 8 40.

Could someone be so kind to advise me on the best way to record intervals please . I have a garmin fr15 and used the run walk function which which beeped for each section but it just recorded the whole session easy and pace running as a single run . Should I turn off auto lap and manually press the lap button on each easy and pace section .

I also have strava on my phone if there's an easier way to do it on that.

Btw I resisted the temptation of the cake . Tough call though.

The Muppet · 05-09-2015 8:48pm

What a buautiful evening g for a run here in North Dublin sun shining and a lovely breeze as well. I could have ran all evening but the plan said 45 Minutes Easy and that what I did 45 Minutes @ 10.44 pace

Splits
1 11.09
2 10.32
3 10.35
4 10.39
5 2.09

Having been driving most of yesterday and today it felt great to get out and run this evening .It was ond of those where you just can't help smiling the whole way through. That's week one of my new plan completed.

Total milage for the week 27 miles including one hill sprint session and one interval session@ 5k pace.

Week 2 starts tomorrow with a 45 min easy i am looking forward to it all ready.

The Muppet · 06-09-2015 5:21pm

Today's easy 45 Minutes completed @10:44 pace

1 10.49
2 10.46
3 10.45
4 10.32
5 2.11

During last night's run I felt a little twinge in my hip/groin area . I didn't much pass on it as i often get little niggles during runs but it was a little sore again this morning .For todays run I took it nice and easy . I drove to Sutton to run beside the cycle track from there to Raiheny and back . There are no hills and its tarmac so smooth under foot . I felt fine, no pain so I will see how it feels for tomorrows hill sprints hopefully all will be well.

Week 2
Day|Activity|Notes
Sunday| 45 Minutes| Completed
Monday| 6 x 30 seconds Hill Sprint| Completed
Tuesday|45 Minutes Easy|
Wednesday|90 Minutes Easy|
Thursday|Rest or recovery run|
Friday| 20 Minutes Easy , 20 Mintes Tempo, 20 easy| tempo@9.12 Pace
Sauturday| 45 Mintes easy|

The Muppet · 07-09-2015 5:54pm

Today was hill sprint day

6 x30 second sprints with 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down. These really took it out of me today but I did complete them.

No niggles today .

I have always had issue with sweat in my eyes during runs and tried headbands, hats etc to help but I never felt comfortable with them . I read on the marathon thread that vaseline on the eyebrows would help, I tried it today and it worked a treat no stinging eyes for me from now on.

The Muppet · 08-09-2015 2:23pm

Life getting in the way of my running today so I had to squeeze today's run into my lunch break.

45 Minutes Easy @10.38 pace

I can't say I found it all that easy today . I don't know if it was the warm weather or the effects of yesterday's hill sprint session or a combination of both but my legs felt heavier than usual and boy was I glad of the vaseline on the eyebrows.

It's done now , LSR tomorrow evening.

The Muppet · 09-09-2015 9:10pm

Tonights 90 minute run done and dusted @ 11.03 pace

1 11.28
2 11.20
3 11.26
4 11.03
5 10.15
6 9.46
7 11.40
8 11.15
9 7.19

I felt a little tired starting out so I intended to keep it around 11 minute pace . During mile 5 a group of runners came out of St Anne's park about 100 yards ahead om me and I decided to try catch them hence the increase in pace mile 5 and 6 . I turned off to head back to base at lsr pace and they went on to towards howth. I enjoyed the chase it added a little variety to my lsr.

Rest day tomorrow and the 60 minutes with 20 tempo on Friday which could be awkward as I'm off to Edinburgh on Friday morning for a few days . I will bring the running gear with me hopefully I will find the time and a place to get my runs in .

Ososlo · 09-09-2015 9:34pm

Hey The Muppet, delighted to see you start a log! I remember you from posting on the Couch to 5k thread and wondered how you were getting on.

Great progress and consistency to-date and I love how you've approached things slowly and methodically. That'll stand to you in the long-run and well done on keeping the easy runs nice and easy. Keep it up! Great work on the recent 5k! You've a great attitude and seem very committed to your plan so look forward to watching the pb's flow in over the coming months.

You were asking a question about recording laps on your watch a few posts back. I just press lap manually to record the laps and it works out fine. I don't bother setting up workouts beforehand but plenty of people do so maybe someone else can help you out with that.

Any upcoming targets/races etc in the near future?

Best of luck and keep it up!

The Muppet · 09-09-2015 9:49pm

Thank you ososlo . All the advice here is to take it nice and slow you guys have been there and know whats best so that's the thing to do.

Thanks for the advice re laps I will do that . To date I have really just used the watch to record my runs and keep an eye on my heart rate. With tempo runs etc in my new plan I need to get to grips with using it to pace myself .

Races I don't have any planned at the moment I did one parkrun two weeks ago but wss away last weekend and this . I will definitely do more as I really enjoyed it just not sure when.

It's good you see you back. Your log is one of the best here. novices like myself can learn so much and be inspired by your own progression . I definitely have learned things and been inspired by it.

Ososlo · 09-09-2015 11:12pm

^^^^
WAY too kind of you but thanks

Even with the tempo I wouldn't get too hung up with the watch really. No harm to use it to hone in on the pace/effort, but once you get a feel for it you'll probably find you run better by not having to check the watch every 5 seconds.

A good mantra for tempo I find is 'fast and relaxed' and I find it's better to ease into the required pace/effort progressively over the first half mile or so and not launch into it straight away.

Good luck!

The Muppet · 10-09-2015 5:29pm

I know I shouldn't have really but I ended up doing my tempo run today, a scheduled rest day.

The reason I did it today is that I am flying out to edinburgh at an ungodly hour in the morning so I was afraid I'd be too tired or something else might get in the way of a what was to be my first tempo run.

Having taken the afternoon off to pack etc I headed out for the run instead. I felt quite good today having had a good rolling session on my legs last night after my lsr. My better half goes at them with a roller a couple of times a week to keep me moving. I think she secretly enjoys inflicting pain on me.

I headed into coolock to start my run from there .my plan was 20 minutes warm up down to the coast road . 20 minutes tempo on the flat as far as the Raheny turn off and then 20 minutes easy back to my car.

My tempo pace is 9.12 a mile . Despite knowing I could run at that pace I was a little apprehensive about the run. That's par for the course with me . Splits were

1 11.22
2 10.32
3 9.14
4 8.54
5 12.08
6 8.00

5.72 miles in total in 60 minutes.

Mile 5 12.08 was uphill into Raheny .I had just finished the tempo part so I took it really Easy

I really enjoyed the run and once I got the pace right I felt I was running within myself I was delighted with that as I expected to struggle . I looked at my watch at one point and I was down under 7 minute mile pace . I slowed down to my 9.12 pace and it just felt like an easy run .

At 60 minutes I was still 1 5 miles from where I'd parked so I did that in cool down run/walk mode which took my distance today to just over 7 miles

I know 9.12 pace would an easy run for many here but being able to comfortably at that pace is a huge progression for me so I'm thrilled about that.

I will take a rest day tomorrow now and the it's 45 mins easy on Saturday and Sunday. I don't mind if I end up having to miss one of those now, I will see how things work out . I would like to do a parkrun in Edinburgh but I'm not sure if I will get to do that . Again I will see if I can sneak away for an hour or two on Saturday morning I've had a look at the park run route and it looks like a nice run they get hugh numbers too.

annapr · 10-09-2015 5:37pm

Well done on the tempo, feels great to vary it like that doesn't it? Edinburgh has some lovely parks for running -- the Meadows (not too big and flat) and Holyrood parks (big and wild and hilly) are both near the city centre. My OH did the parkrun out on the coast and said it was great but about 6 miles from the city centre. Another one has started since then but I don't know about that.

With regard to programming the watch, not sure what garmin you have, but on mine you can program it through Garmin Connect on the computer, there's a menu option called 'workouts' that allows you to program in a specific interval session... and you can put in paces if you like. The upside is the watch will beep when you're finished an interval or a recovery phase... the downside if you program a pace in is that it will beep like mad until you are in the right zone! If I'm putting paces in I try to put a big enough range to stop it torturing me!

The Muppet · 10-09-2015 5:47pm

Thanks annapr for the info re parkrun ill be depending on public transport so I will play that by ear so. Might do a sneaky recce tomorrow in the guise of sight seeing of course.

I just have the fr15 so I don't think I can program it for intervals but thanks for the info maybe it's time for an upgrade .

And yes today's run felt great for sure .

The Muppet · 12-09-2015 12:03pm

Good morning from Edinburgh . I go out this morning for my scheduled 45 minutes easy. Nothing to declare from it except I was feeling a little under the weather so I took it really easy @11.15 pace.

Strangly I didn't meet any other runners perhaps they were all at the parkrun . I didn't go to that myself as it was a bit of a trek on public transport and I was only up to an easy run anyway.

I got a present of Danny Dreyer.'s chi running book from one of my daughters.I had seen chi running mentioned in some of the logs here , pacing mule whose log i read does if I think . I, m only on chapter one but what I've read do far is very interesting.

Anyway thats week 2 of my plan completed.

31 miles running including a hill sprint session , a tempo run , a lsr and three easy 45 mins. Week 3 starts tomorrow with another 45 mins easy .

Now off out to celebrate my 51st birthday with my better half .

Bungy Girl · 12-09-2015 12:47pm

Well done on completing week 2. And a very happy birthday !

The Muppet · 13-09-2015 8:55pm

45 minutes easy tonight . I felt really good when I got going so I ran it on the fast side of my easy@ an average 10.22 pace 4.35 miles hr 142bpm

Splits

1 10.37
2 10.50
3 10.19
4 9.21
5 4.07

I will be home for tomorrow nights hill sprint session .

The Muppet · 15-09-2015 9:18pm

I woke up yesterday morning with a sore throat and the sniffles. By the time I got home yesterday evening I felt wrecked so I cancelled my planned run and got an early night.

I still have the sore throat but I felt ok apart from that so I got out to do my hill sprint session this evening.

1 mile warm up
7 X 8 second hill sprints
1 mile cool down

I felt quite good during the run but I am certainly not 100% so I will see how I'm feeling for the rest of this week regarding my scheduled runs.

The Muppet · 16-09-2015 11:20am

Heres my week 3 schedule , I ve all ready missed one day through tiredness/illness a 45 min easy.

I had a broken nights sleep last night , I was up in the middle of the night for honey and lemon drink to easy my sore throat. As things stand I intend to do my 90 mins lsr tonight very slowly, rest tomorrow and hopefully I will be a good bit better by friday for my tempo session that's the plan anyway .

I hate missing runs in all the plans I've ran (2 couch 25ks and Hal Higdons intermediate half) I think this is the first week I ve missed a run .

Week 3
Day|Activity|Notes
Sunday| 45 Minutes| Completed
Monday| Ill | Moved to Tuesday
Tuesday|7 x 8 seconds Hill Sprint| 1 mile warm up and cool down
Wednesday|90 Minutes Easy|
Thursday|Rest or recovery run|
Friday| 5*3mins@5k effort w 3 mins recovery| @8.39 5 kPace
Saturday| 45 Minutes easy|

The Muppet · 17-09-2015 11:15am

Another run missed last night, I just was not feeling up to it with this bug. I',m not the best today either so I will take it one day at a time and get back at it as soon as I'm feeling up to it.

Bungy Girl · 17-09-2015 11:22am

The Muppet wrote: »

Another run missed last night, I just was not feeling up to it with this bug. I',m not the best today either so I will take it one day at a time and get back at it as soon as I'm feeling up to it.

Don't worry about missing a few runs. You're right to wait until you're feeling better again and in the greater scheme of things a few days off won't make much of a difference in your fitness. Hope you feel better shortly.

Ososlo · 17-09-2015 11:31am

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Don't worry about missing a few runs. You're right to wait until you're feeling better again and in the greater scheme of things a few days off won't make much of a difference in your fitness. Hope you feel better shortly.

+100! It takes much more strength of character and is WAY more beneficial to not run than run, when you're feeling unwell. A minor illness could develop and have you floored for a few weeks if you don't nip it in the bud.
Get better soon.

The Muppet · 21-09-2015 6:29pm

Having been laid low with that bug thats on the go for the last week I felt well enough to venture out for a run this evening.

4 miles easy @11.20 pace 45.18.

I felt ok at that pace but I'm not sure I could have run much further or quicker perhaps thst just a mental thing.

I still have a touch of a sore throat so I will just do a few more easy runs this week before starting back at the plan.

It's good to be back at it.

The Muppet · 22-09-2015 10:18pm

Got out for a 45 minute run late tonight. I'm always surprised at the difference a day can make between runs . Yesterday I ran at 11.20 pace and didn't feel I could have gone any quicker.

This evening as soon as I started to run I felt really good and stong so I decided to up the tempo for this run .

Splits
Mile 1 @10.04 (totally uphill)
Mile 2 @ 10.00
Mile 3 @ 9.55
Mile 4 @ 10.19 (cool down)

4.02 miles @ 10.04
Heartrate 147 bpm

I really enjoyed the run tonight .

The Muppet · 23-09-2015 8:19pm

90 minute easy run tonight not that I found it all that easy . I felt tired starting out and it didn't get any better from there. My legs just felt sore for the whole run.

Still I completed the run, my pace was inconsistant but considering the week I've had I'm happy enough to have just got the 90 minutes in .

1 10.43
2 11.08
3 10.49
4 11.49
5 11.36
6 12.17
7 11.30
8 11.20

Heartrate was 140

Firedance · 23-09-2015 8:56pm

The Muppet wrote: »

90 minute easy run tonight not that I found it all that easy . I felt tired starting out and it didn't get any better from there. My legs just felt sore for the whole run.

Still I completed the run, my pace was inconsistant but considering the week I've had I'm happy enough to have just got the 90 minutes in .

1 10.43
2 11.08
3 10.49
4 11.49
5 11.36
6 12.17
7 11.30
8 11.20

Heartrate was 140

hey M, have you done a max heart rate test yet? its really best to do this first and then when you're monitoring your HR during a run you can make sure its in the right range for you. Good going on the program

The Muppet · 23-09-2015 11:41pm

Hi firedance

I did a max heart rate test myself using one of the methods recommended in last year's dcm graduate thread

It gave me a max heart rate of 174 which I assume is pretty accurate as it works out around that using the age and resting heartrate formula.

These are the zones I use

Recovery .139
Easy 128 _ 148
Tempo 148 _ 166
Marathon 144 _ 161

I did quite alot of last year's runs just by heartrate . I don't really look at my heart rate during runs now I try just run by how I feel. I always wear my heart monitor though and check it after runs .

My leg muscles just felt sore tonight it wasn't pain and it wasn't that they felt tired . They have never really been sore before . Its strange last night they felt great. I have had quite a few nights of broken sleep lately with the bug which is not totally clear yet . I still have the odd cough. It's probably just that .

The Muppet · 24-09-2015 9:56pm

Was in the diabetic clinic today for my annual review.

Great news all around . All levels were normal. I had my meds cut again , that's the second time they have been cut since i took up running. I am on very little now and my goal is to get off meds completely.

They don't want to see me for 2 years now which is great . At one point I was in every few weeks.

It was really busy in there today .I half joked with the doctor to prescribe running to lessen her workload.

Just putting this here for anyone else who may find themselves in a similar position to where I was a few years ago.

Taking up running from a zero fitness level is not easy but its definitely worth the hard work

Bungy Girl · 24-09-2015 10:18pm

That is brilliant! What an inspirational story. Congratulations on everything you've achieved so far with your running.

annapr · 25-09-2015 10:00am

Bungy Girl wrote: »

That is brilliant! What an inspirational story. Congratulations on everything you've achieved so far with your running.

+1 Fair play to you and well done!

The Muppet · 26-09-2015 8:16pm

Interval session this evening . 5 x 3 minutes at 5k pace (8.42) with 3 minute recovery. I found it easier than I though I would . I recorded the intervals manually . My Pace was definitely quicker than the 8.42 at times but I need to upload to garmin to get the exact paces .

It was a good session ,I'm always a little apprehensive before the tempo runs as I have done so few tempo runs and I never think I'm going to be able to do them.

That's week 3 of the plan completed , finally. It took a little longer than planned due to illness but its done and dusted now and I felt good during this evenings run so it's on to week 4 tomorrow 45 minutes easy I think I'll have to check the plan when I get home.

Ososlo · 26-09-2015 8:21pm

nice interval session sir! Looking forward to seeing what your paces were!
Well done

From Couch 25k To Where Ever

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