From Couch 25k To Where Ever

The Muppet

45 minutes easy this morning. My legs were sore and stiff this morning so I did keep it easy @ 10.57 pace.

I had an after run Myrtl and foam rolling session .
With my run done I Can enjoy the rest of the day now . Heading to the parade shortly with my grandkids .


Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. Go easy.

The Muppet

30 minute recovery run today, ran it by heart rate keeping it all nice and easy at 128 bpm average.

The Muppet

70 minutes easy this morning. 6.8 miles @ 10.21 pace . Felt good .tried to keep the pace constant at 10:30.

That's week 5 of the plan completed. Rest day tomorrow tge onto week 6 on Tuesday.

The Muppet

50 minutes easy tonight.
5 miles @ 9.52 pace a little too quick for easy again, but it did feel easy enough .

I'll have to get a watch I can see in the dark .8-)

The Muppet

Wednesday is session day on the plan. Todays session was 10 minute warm up followed by 12 x 90 seconds @ 5k pace with 1 minute recovery and 10 minute cool down. My 5k pace is 8:08, I ran the intervals a littler quicker than I should, Guess I,m not too good at gauging my pace especially on short intervals. They are reasonable consistent though.

The session was tough enough but enjoyable.

90 second intervals

1 @ 7:32
2 @ 7:34
3 @ 7:15
4 @ 7:21
5 @ 7:31
6 @ 7:37
7 @ 7:28
8 @ 7:31
9 @ 7:27
10 @ 7:37
11 @ 7:31
12 @ 7:20

tailgunner

Nice session - I'd say your 5k pace is faster than you think!

The Muppet

tailgunner wrote: »

Nice session - I'd say your 5k pace is faster than you think!

Thanks, Ossoslo said the same to me recently, I'm using my last park run time of 25:04 which was last December to calculate my paces,

I hope you are both right , there's a parkrun on the plan in two weeks time I will find out then.

The Muppet

Can't say I was feeling the love for running today ' my legs are stiff and a little sore but the plan said 50 minutes easy so off I trotted.

I did keep it at the slow end of my easy and tried to keep the heart rate nice and low too.
4.75 miles @ 10:34 pace Avg hr 143

Some foam rolling and stretches called for later and rest day tomorrow

The Muppet

Today the plan was 10 minutes warm up 20 to 25 minutes at half marathon pace which is 8:50 for me and 10 minutes cool down.

I have been a little under the weather since my last run, that stomach bug thats on the go is in the house . I felt queasy and tired all day yesterday so I wasn't sure if I'd get out today.

I woke at 8 and felt a bit better so I decided to go out and see how it went.

I did get the session completed but I was off form.

The tempo part was 2.34 miles in 20 minutes @8:35 pace.

See how I feel for tomorrows 90 mine easy.

The Muppet

up and out early for my 90 minutes easy today. I felt ok this morning but decided to run this one on heart rate to keep things nice and easy .

Ran from Swords to Malahide and back along the estuary, Its an absolutely beautiful morning but a little breezy, I hope it holds out for the 1916 festivities.

8 miles in 93 minutes 11.27@ pace avg HR 133

The Muppet

Monday was a rest day so I took the chance to have a really good foam rolling and Myrtl session.

I also broke out the rope and had a go at some active isolated stretches AIS. Felt really good and fresh after all that and headed Into the festivities in dublin and walked the legs off my self.

Yesterday was to be 50 minutes easy but was busy all day so I just didn't get a chance to get out.

Session day today which was 10 minutes warm up followed by 5 x 4 minutes at 10k pace with 3 minute recovery and 10 minutes cool down .

My 10k pace is 8.22

I tried to keep as near to the pace as possible as I tend to run sessions too fast . Was happy with the pace. I went a bit quicker for the last one which was in a hail shower . I just wanted to get it done.

I did another ais before the run and a Myrtl session after

Splits

1 8.20
2 8.01
3 8.17
4 8.09
5 7.37

The Muppet

50 minutes easy this evening

Beautiful evening, too warm for running tights, lesson learned. Ran this by heart rate keeping it nice and easy, pleasantly surprised by the last 3 mile splits, nicely consistant.

5.03 miles in 51:18 @10:12 pace Avg Heart Rate 136 BPM

Splits
1 10:51
2 10:41
3 9:51
4 9:51
5 9:51

The Muppet

forgot it was the end of the month, Should have included this in my earlier post.

111 miles In march. 267 so far this year a good increase on previous years ,

Month|2016|2015|2014|2013
jan|94.78|46.2|8.31|0
feb|61.68|13.9|30.35|0
March|111.00|4.64|47.37|7
April|-|21.08|42.23|25.01
May|-|65.69|36.37|33.78
June|-|97.03|52.69|33
July|-|108.73|25.33|49.74
August|-|110.42|57.9|29.42
September|-|94.12|58.37|13.87
October|-|125.17|95.32|3.01
November|-|100.78|88.95|0
December|-|63.16|23.83|0
Totals|267.46|851.69|567.02|194.83

The Muppet

50 minutes easy today in a nice cooling drizzle. I ran it by heart rate right in the middle of my easy zone(135 to 148) . Turned into a bit of a progression run, enjoyed it immensely .

5.02 miles in 49:30 @ 9:50 pace AVG HR 141

Splits
1 10:48
2 10:22
3 9:43
4 9:23
5 8:59

The Muppet

90 minutes easy earlier today. I ran by heart rate again keeping it at the slower end of easy. Ais and Myrtl after the run, Hadn't time to foam roll so that's on the agenda for later this evening.

8.60 miles in 91 minutes @ 10:36 pace avg hr 136.

Thats week 7 of the plan completed, week 8 starts Tuesday

The Muppet

I'm in Bray Co Wicklow this evening for my 50 minutes easy run .

Parked up at the sea front and ran up to the foot of bray head . I remember climbing it as a child with my late dad . Nice memories funny what comes into your head when your running.

Anyway I wasn't running to the top so I headed out the coastal path with the intention of 25 minutes out and 25 minutes back .

It's rough ground . Very wet and hilly but I made it to the outskirts of Greystones before turning to head back to Bray.

A few k out from Bray I saw a large group of runners in the distance and decided to try reel them in . I did catch up with them they were a load of kids and coaches from the bray runners.it's great to see youngsters out running .

Enjoyed the run even if the terrain was a little rougher than what I'm used to

4.86 miles in 50:07 @10:19 pace

The Muppet

Today's session was 10 minute warm up , followed by 8 x 2 min @ 5k pace and 10 minute cool down. My 5k pace is 8:08 . I went to my local park for this and ran it on tarmac up and back in the same location. It was quite gusty out so splits are a little erratic. splits 1 3 5 7 were wind assisted and 2 4 6 and 8 were into the wind . I tried to use same effort up and back though I think I pushed a little harder into the wind to keep the pace up. Recovered quickly and felt really good on the cool down run

2 minutes @ 5k pace Splits

1 '@ 7:24 minute mile
2 @ 7:19
3 @ 7:00
4 @ 7:44
5 @ 7:19
6 @ 7:45
7 @ 7:17
8 @ 7 :54

DubOnHoliday

The Muppet wrote: »

I'm in Bray Co Wicklow this evening for my 50 minutes easy run .

Parked up at the sea front and ran up to the foot of bray head . I remember climbing it as a child with my late dad . Nice memories funny what comes into your head when your running.

Anyway I wasn't running to the top so I headed out the coastal path with the intention of 25 minutes out and 25 minutes back .

It's rough ground . Very wet and hilly but I made it to the outskirts of Greystones before turning to head back to Bray.

A few k out from Bray I saw a large group of runners in the distance and decided to try reel them in . I did catch up with them they were a load of kids and coaches from the bray runners.it's great to see youngsters out running .

Enjoyed the run even if the terrain was a little rougher than what I'm used to

4.86 miles in 50:07 @10:19 pace

One of my favourite runs is along the cliff path.

IMRA have a race up Bray head on 20th April. But that's straight up and up!

The Muppet

It was really nice but a bit rough underfoot from a mile out of Bray. A Good test for the ankles for sure.

I was tempted to head for the top but it would have been a far from easy run so common sense prevailed.

I did go to the top as a child but thats a long time ago .is there a path up that I could run or is it a climb?.

DubOnHoliday

The Muppet wrote: »

It was really nice but a bit rough underfoot from a mile out of Bray. A Good test for the ankles for sure.

I was tempted to head for the top but it would have been a far from easy run so common sense prevailed.

I did go to the top as a child but thats a long time ago .is there a path up that I could run or is it a climb?.

yes, there are many routes to the top, you would've passed the traditional one just as you started the cliff path. There's a gap in the wall just after the picnic area.

The Muppet

maybe next time . I would love to do itm. Could go for a pb on on the decent .

The Muppet

The Plan Today Said 50 minutes easy.

Following on from the discussion here I think I may be running my easy runs too fast .

Myles Splits kindly posted this link to the Karvonen method of calculating optimum heart rates zone for training. So i input my details and it suggests that I should be running my easy runs at 132 bpm or less. So with that in mind I am going to run all my easy runs by this method and see how it goes.

Tonight's run was 51:20 @ 128 Heart Rate. That translates to 4:52 miles i@11:22 pace.

I found the run much easier than my easy runs up to now, was quite fresh when finished. .

I may miss a few runs over the weekend , wedding anniversary and I'm off to Cork for a few days with the better half, I had planned a park run down there but the one in the city is cancelled for health and safety reasons (only in Ireland).
I'm bringing the gear and I may get a sneaky run or two in if the opportunity arises.

The Muppet

The plan says a park run today and 90 minutes easy tomorrow.

No parkrun this morning but I did get out this afternoon and decided to do tomorrow's 90 minutes Easy as I may not get to run tomorrow.

Ran by heart rate. I'm in cork for a few days so I just picked a route that i thought would take 90 minutes on Google maps. I couldn't have picked a route with more hills if I tried. Was tough to keep running and keep the heart rate under the 132 target at times.

92:36 @ 132 Avg hr

Or
8.33 miles in 92:36 @11:08 pace

The Muppet

Weather was just too bad to run yesterday so I took a rest day and ran the 50 minutes easy today instead. Ran by heart rate again.

50 minutes @132 bpm .

The Muppet

week 9 of the plan started today 45 minutes easy.

45 minutes @ 133 bpm it was
or 3.85 miles @ 12:03 pace


I'm confused at how at 132 bpm the other day i was running 11 minute miles , today at the same heart rate i was a minute slower, Is this normal?

My heartrate monitor raises up to 150 when I start running and takes a good while to come down to 132 and below , don't know if thats normal either or aglitch with the watch/strap spiking (garmin 220)

It hardly feels like im running at all, I'm going to stick at running my easy runs by Heartrate even though I am finding the dicipline to stay below 132 bpm a struggle at the moment.

I am enjoying it but who have though running slow would be so confusing.

The Muppet

Session night tonight . I was really looking forward to this after all the easy runs.

10 minute warm up 1 2 3 2 1 minutes at race pace with equal recovery and ten minute cool down. I Just ran them as if I was racing a 5k. I notice a drop off in the 3 minute run but the others are consistant .



1 @ 7:39
2 @ 7:38
3 @ 7:48
2 @ 7:40
1 @ 7:36

Back to easy running tomorrow.

Murph_D

I have a similar issue, takes HR a couple of miles to come down to 'normal'. it can give a misleadingly high average rate on shorter runs, wouldn't worry about it.

The Muppet

Murph_D wrote: »

I have a similar issue, takes HR a couple of miles to come down to 'normal'. it can give a misleadingly high average rate on shorter runs, wouldn't worry about it.

Thanks MurphD I suspected that but it's great to get it confirmed as an issue . It is annoying when trying to stick to a hr. I know from feel that it's a false reading but I still tend to lower my pace to compensate.

I'm trying a different heart strap today to see if it's any better. I have been using a wahoo tracker but I'm going to see if the garmin strap is any better.

Murph_D

It may not necessarily be false - in my case it's the result of ectopic heartbeats, which my cardiologist has assured me are nothing to worry about after analysis of electrocardiogram following a treadmill test. If you're concerned I'd always recommend you get a medical opinion. Of course of could also be something else - faulty strap, static electricity from shirt, poor contact, etc.

Ososlo

The Muppet wrote: »

Thanks MurphD I suspected that but it's great to get it confirmed as an issue . It is annoying when trying to stick to a hr. I know from feel that it's a false reading but I still tend to lower my pace to compensate.

I'm trying a different heart strap today to see if it's any better. I have been using a wahoo tracker but I'm going to see if the garmin strap is any better.

Do you moisten the strap (sensor bit) before you put it on TM?

The Muppet

Murph_D wrote: »

It may not necessarily be false - in my case it's the result of ectopic heartbeats, which my cardiologist has assured me are nothing to worry about after analysis of electrocardiogram following a treadmill test. If you're concerned I'd always recommend you get a medical opinion. Of course of could also be something else - faulty strap, static electricity from shirt, poor contact, etc.

I'll cetainly keep an eye on it thanks.

Ososlo wrote: »

Do you moisten the strap (sensor bit) before you put it on TM?

No not usually oso . I know I should to get proper contact . I will now and see if it makes a difference .

Ososlo

The Muppet wrote: »

No not usually oso . I know I should to get proper contact . I will now and see if it makes a difference .

You should always moisten it before putting it on or the first mile or so will give spikes/crazy readings. Your saliva is the best thing to use to improve conductivity so (being very direct!!!) just give it a big lick or spit on the sensor pads!

The Muppet

Ososlo wrote: »

You should always moisten it before putting it on or the first mile or so will give spikes/crazy readings. Your saliva is the best thing to use to improve conductivity so (being very direct!!!) just give it a big lick or spit on the sensor pads!

Lovely .:eek:

The Muppet

the plan has a 35 minute easy today but it assumes im running a five mile race on Sunday, which I'm not so with the beautiful evening thats in it I decided to do the 50 Minute easy that I suspect would have been on the plan if it knew I wasn't racing Sunday.

So with my garmin heartstrap well and truly moistened off I went. I knew immediately that the heart rate monitor was working as it should and not spiking. The first mile of my usual route is uphill i did this keeping the HR under 132 , it was in the 150s up to now so confident all was well i settled in for a nice easy paced run.

54:12 @ 127 hr or 5.1 miles @ 10.32 pace

1 @ 11:15 129 hr
2 @ 11:21 131 hr
3 @ 10:26 128 hr
4 @ 9:48 119 hr (down hill)
5 @9.50 125 hr


I'm much happier with those paces and heart rates, It felt easy but i also felt like I was running at a reasonable pace for me. It looks like not moistening the heart strap was giving me a false reading though I will still keep an eye on that in the weeks ahead to ensure its not something else.

Thanks Ososlo for the advice re heart strap and Murph_D for the advice too, I appreciate it.

Ososlo

Great stuff. Give it a little wash every now and again and it'll be grand

btw: what % of your max are you working off?

The Muppet

Ososlo wrote: »

Great stuff. Give it a little wash every now and again and it'll be grand

btw: what % of your max are you working off?

Will do,

I'm running at 65 % of my max , Myles Splitz recommended that to me in the graduates thread.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=99306922&postcount=719

and here's a link to the calculator he recommended.

http://www.briancalkins.com/HeartRate.htm

The Muppet

Busy day today so got out late for 46 minutes easy @132 bpm

4.26 miles @ 10:50 pace .

The Muppet

92 minutes easy @130 bpm

8.1 miles @ 11.17 pace

Enjoyable run, the heart rate is all good the last few runs so the problem earlier in the week looks to have bee solved by moistening the sensors on the heart strap before putting it on

Week 9 of the plan completed .

The Muppet

Life has thrown me a bit of a curve ball this week and my running has had to take a back seat for now.

I did get out tonight for 50 minutes easy my first run since Sunday

52:16 @ 132 bpm

4.89 miles @ 10:41

The Muppet

I got over to Malahide this morning for the parkrun. It was beautiful morning for a run.

Mile one I got close to the start as I didn't want to have too much weaving to do in the first half mile or so , I still had to go by a few slower runners but not too may I don't think i got held up any. I felt comfortable enough and the watch beeped at 7:48 for the mile. I did some quick calculations and decide I was running a bit too fast .

I eased off a little for the second mile and felt good , My time for mile 2 was 8:31. Some more quick calculations and I figured I was on for a pb, My previous pb on this course was 25:30 in December last, my 5k pb was 25:02 in St Annes.

SO Mile 3 I decided to up the pace a little while conserving something to push with 500 m to go which I did although to be honest I hadn't all that much left to push at the end.

The timekeeper gave me the time of 24:14 as I crossed the line , my Watch time was 24 13 , I am delighted with that, it's a good improvement and shows that my training is working,


I probably went out a little too quickly and /or eased off a little too much in mile 2 but all that will be sorted as I get more experience in racing. I had a good run , Gave it my best and had a time I'm really pleased with , so I'm happy out


PB 5k in 24:14

Murph_D

Nice work! Excellent PB and sounds like you'll be doing it again soon.

FIFA2004

Brilliant! Congratulations on the pb, so well deserved!

Kennyg71

Well done nice big chunk off PB, great running.

Ososlo

Ya legend!!! Super stuff!! Woo hoo!

Singer

Very nice, well done! I think the trick to 5ks is to go out nearly-but-not-quite suicidally fast and then hold on for the rest of the race, so your paces sound about right to me

The Muppet

Thanks everyone

Ososlo wrote: »

Ya legend!!! Super stuff!! Woo hoo!

Go Easy now But thanks :)8

Singer wrote: »

Very nice, well done! I think the trick to 5ks is to go out nearly-but-not-quite suicidally fast and then hold on for the rest of the race, so your paces sound about right to me

Thanks singer. I think I might have been able to stick around the 7 50 pace for mile 2 if I had had the confidence to go for it, or a pacer to follow .

Mile 1 and 3 were 7:48 and 7:54 pace mile 2 was 8:31 pace so my thinking is I might be able to shave some time off mile 2 .

The Muppet

Thanks everyone

Ososlo wrote: »

Ya legend!!! Super stuff!! Woo hoo!

Go Easy now But thanks

Singer wrote: »

Very nice, well done! I think the trick to 5ks is to go out nearly-but-not-quite suicidally fast and then hold on for the rest of the race, so your paces sound about right to me

Thanks singer. I think I might have been able to stick around the 7 50 pace for mile 2 if I had had the confidence to go for it, or a pacer to follow .

Mile 1 and 3 were 7:48 and 7:54 pace mile 2 was 8:31 pace so my thinking is I might be able to shave some time off mile 2 .

Bungy Girl

Well done TM, congrats on the sub-25 ! I always think the middle mile is the hardest in a 5K, that's where I usually feel the dip in pace. Great work going on here, keep it up

Firedance

Delighted for you! Sub 25 is so sweet & the rest of your times will start falling now too congratulations!!

The Muppet

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Well done TM, congrats on the sub-25 ! I always think the middle mile is the hardest in a 5K, that's where I usually feel the dip in pace. Great work going on here, keep it up

Thanks BG . Definitely keeping at it though I may have to juggle things around for a while .

Sub 24 is my goal now. We are very lucky with the experience and advice freely given here by so many more experienced runners

I have been on myles splitz 2015 graduate DCM plan for the last 10 weeks and it has improved me no end. I just would not know how to train properly without this Forum.