Still trying to figure it all out.

Huzzah!

I'm struggling a bit with motivation myself at the moment, so I can identify with your post, even if I run at a vastly different level to you. I'm also prone to overthinking.

Anyway, FWIW, I think you should maybe try and prioritise the blood test if you can at all; it wouldn't do any harm and it's something we should all have done every so often, anyway.

The post-marathon malaise seems to be a theme, as OONegative has said. I've noticed a lot of loggers seem to disappear after running a first marathon, never to return. Obviously, you've run a number of marathons, but the post-marathon comedown could still be a factor.

In my own case, I think I've run a lot more than I ever had before and I'm due a bit of slacking off. Like you, I'm recovering from illness and think this played a part too. I seem to have fallen out of the routine of running while unwell and am now struggling a bit to get back into the habit.

Anyway, as others have said, try not to let the overthinking get you down. There's nothing wrong with a few weeks of easy running. Once you've Christmas over you, get back on plan and focus on the next thing.

hot buttered scones

Thanks for the feedback. Some food for thought there. I think I will try and get the bloods done next week even if its just to put my mind at ease.
As far as post marathon blues is concerned, yeah there's a bit of that. Its funny, because as far as I remember (I will have to look over this log to check!), I've felt worse in the weeks after marathons that went as planned, and more motivated after ones that didn't!

Back to logging:

Saturday 09/12

After posting the post above - well I did no running. Went shopping, visited the parents, came home and made a fair dent in the sofa for the evening!

Sunday 10/12

Can't a fella enjoy a couple of small beers without feeling tired the next day?Apparently not in my case.
Headed out for 10 very easy miles, but didn't really enjoy it. Had to strip off the jacket and roll up my sleeves when the wind was at my back and put it all back on again when I turned around at 6 miles to run 3 miles back into town into the wind. Had a few stomach cramps as well. Just felt generally a bit off. First couple of miles were more or less gradually downhill into town, 3-6 were on the flat with the wind at my back, 6-9 back into the wind and the last mile took in a 200 foot climb from McCurtain Street to Dillons Cross.

8:46; 8:33; 8:31; 8:36; 8:41; 8:39; 9:00; 8:59; 9:07; 9:58.

Lost interest after mile 7 and just wanted to get home and warmed up. Energy levels were low, but I didn't bother with breakfast before going out (which normally wouldn't be an issue for me for a run of this length). Also HR is about 10bpm higher than normal for the pace. However, I've recently switched from the optical HRM on my watch to a new HRM-Run strap because the strap works better in the winter. I might do a run with the optical HR just for reference next week.

Wottle

Don't think I've posted on your log before. I've been where you are though, lost my mojo countless times. My advice is to cut down to 5k runs till the new year, short and sweet. If you miss speed, just do a few strides. Leave the sessions for now. All you're doing is forcing it and making it worse

Also I over think way too much, one thing that's helped is updating my log less frequently.

Also think Berlin is sold out but do you really need that right now, definitely not a marathon. Have a crack at the Goal mile with the family, great fun.
Best of luck with it...from a survivor :-)

hot buttered scones

Thanks Wottle. Yeah, I'm getting the feeling I'm flogging a dead horse, so to speak. I'm already registered for Berlin, but it's a half and I reckon if I can get it together sometime in January I should be good to go. As for updating the log, I do know what you mean, but sometimes it's a handy way to kill half an hour at work!
But yeah - a bit less introspection is required. If I have a bit of time I might seek out a few trails for some variety.

Wottle

hot buttered scones wrote: »

Thanks Wottle. Yeah, I'm getting the feeling I'm flogging a dead horse, so to speak. I'm already registered for Berlin, but it's a half and I reckon if I can get it together sometime in January I should be good to go. As for updating the log, I do know what you mean, but sometimes it's a handy way to kill half an hour at work!
But yeah - a bit less introspection is required. If I have a bit of time I might seek out a few trails for some variety.

I'll see you on the start line in Berlin so :-)

Singer

hot buttered scones wrote: »

1. The very fact that I'm compiling two list as to why I'm bit tired and have have "lost my mojo" probably means I'm seriously overthinking all of this.

You? Overthinking something? What's the name of this log again?

hot buttered scones wrote: »

4. It's winter. The nights are long. My choice of routes is restricted. The weather is sh1te and the house is warm and comfortable - am I just getting lazy? I find it much harder to get up 5am in December than I do in June (but don't we all? ). It seems more difficult to strike the right balance between home life, training and work at this time of year too - so training suffers.

I think this is a quiet mojo killer. It's not that much fun heading out right now. It takes longer to put more clothes on, to take them off and wash them when you get home. It's dark most of the time and that makes running more boring. It's cold, or wet, or windy or all three. It's just not as pleasant as heading out for a nice run on a sunny evening in July, or even April! Sure there's enjoyable running to be done out there, but I think the average run is just not as much fun.

You've already been given some good advice and you know what you're doing anyway, but do consider changing some things up (trails, new shoes, new sessions, whatever) and getting a bit more fun and enjoyment out of your running.

Damo 2k9

hot buttered scones wrote: »

4. It's winter. The nights are long. My choice of routes is restricted. The weather is sh1te and the house is warm and comfortable - am I just getting lazy? I find it much harder to get up 5am in December than I do in June (but don't we all? ). It seems more difficult to strike the right balance between home life, training and work at this time of year too - so training suffers.

I dont think I could agree with this anymore, im in the EXACT same position. The only thing that has me looking forward to putting the runners on is a session, and maybe thats only because its new to me and with more people that I can chat with. I love running in hot weather, I run mainly in the evenings so being able to head out at 9pm and still be bright out was a gift....now its freezing cold and pitch black at 4pm!! Its such a buzz kill, hopefully this break over christmas and as said above a new pair of runners will give me the kick I need. Hopefully you sort it out yourself too, its tough going and this is only my first winter as a runner!!

hot buttered scones

Well it's out of my hands now! I'm going to let someone else do all the thinking for a bit.

Monday 11/12

3.1@9:24. The last of my runs left to my own devices. I had a busy enough day planned - but also managed a bit of a lie in so popped out for the usual door to door 5k, trying to keep the HR in around the 130-142 range, which succeeded in doing. Felt a bit sluggish, but wasn't wrecked after this run - in fact I felt fresh and awake after it.

Tuesday 12/12

The dawn of a new era (sort of). Coincidentally what I decided to do this morning was what was planned for me, but I didn't get to see my plan until after I had ran.
Planned: 4 miles@9ish
Actual: 4.1@9:17.
Full body armour this morning to ward off the cold. I found a buff last night while trying to find where I'd hidden my wife's xmas present, so I wore that, covering my nose and mouth. This seemed to help with some breathing issues I'd been having in the cold air lately . Again I tried to keep the HR below 142. Another nice "no pressure" run which left me feeling good afterwards. In fairness, the conditions were grand for running this morning - it was cold, so I wrapped up well, but it was dry with very little wind, so a nice morning for it. Doing this before work requires an early start (on the road by 6:30), but it makes my commute a 30 to 35 minute drive rather than an hour slog in heavy traffic - it's an added incentive to get out and get going.

OOnegative

You get yourself a coach?

hot buttered scones

OOnegative wrote: »

You get yourself a coach?

I joined the glue factory.

OOnegative

hot buttered scones wrote: »

I joined the glue factory.

Kind of thought that, best of luck with it.

Swashbuckler

You're in for a treat.

hot buttered scones

Wednesday 13/12

4 miles easy + 6x20s@5k effort with 90s recovery

Headed out early before work

3 miles easy: 9:03; 9:04; 8:52

I wasn't sure how the strides were going to go - 20s is a bit too short to dial into pace/effort, but I think I did ok. I was able to run all the recoveries at close to easy pace anyway. Normally I'd do them as 100m as close to my fastest pace, so this was a change. I was a bit put off because the big open area where I'd normally do these was fenced off (ferry port is closed for the winter. I tried to focus on form but definitely lost concentration - it was fairly dark and I was more focused on where I was going.
Pace for strides (not sure how accurate the Garmin is going to be for these):
6:24; 6:08; 6:10; 5:53; 6:11; 5:42
The effort felt about right though and I wasn't straining at any stage - felt more or less like the start of a 5k anyway.

Last mile@8:55

Total: 5.3 miles

Thursday 14/12

5.1 easy@8:54

Felt like this one got away from me a bit. Once I headed into the park after about 1.5 miles, the effort levels rose slightly. The surface isn't exactly flat and is a mixture of trails and some tarmac. I nearly went flying coming down a grassy bank at one stage and had to shuffle in the greasy mud and use a wall as a brake. Headed out around lunchtime - it was nice to run in daylight.

Friday 15/12

A bit of disaster sleepwise. Didn't get to sleep until around 10am after the night shift and was woken at around 2pm by the phone. Headed out before work this evening, feeling a bit on the tired side.

5 miles steady - guide pace 8:20-8:30
Actual: 5.1@8:11
8:11; 8:12; 8:06; 8:11; 8:12

The first half a mile is downhill so that explains that mile. I kept trying to pull back the pace, but it just kept creeping up as I relaxed into the run. After a couple of mile I felt full of energy and had to concentrate to rein it in a bit. I felt like I was straining at the leash and just wanted to let loose. I got into a nice rhythm and the felt comfortable all the time - the effort felt about right too. An enjoyable run that left me feeling energised and wanting more.

hot buttered scones

Saturday 16/12

Rest day as planned - but busy. Knocked of work early around 5am, then slept until around 11 and was busy for the day then.

Sunday 17/12

10 miles easy @ 8:50

8:50; 8:51; 9:02; 8:52; 8:51; 8:46; 8:48; 8:54; 8:48; 8:24.

Funny sort of a day - it felt quite warm compared to the last few days and I was was sweating a lot. The cap came off after a mile and I rolled up my sleeves not long after. The effort levels were a bit above where I would would like them to be. As much as I was trying to take it easy, this felt a bit rushed. The way things turned out, I had a narrow window to get this run in and when that happens I tend to not be as relaxed as I should be.
The run was ok. My legs felt tired towards the end, and I sped up a bit for the last mile for no apparent reason the than to just finish up a bit quicker (a whole 30s!)

That makes 32.8 miles for the week and I'm not exhausted, in fact I'm starting to feel a bit more like myself. The tiring at the end of the 10 miler suggests a loss of both fitness and endurance, but I'm confident the right type of training is going to bring me along again. I definitely need to take a good hard look at my post marathon recovery strategy. I very nearly dug myself into a hole this time (again) so in future a hard marathon is going to need 5-6 weeks of rest and very easy running before I'm ready to train properly again.

I can't ignore other factors at play here too. This was a pretty rough time of year for my family last year, so as it comes around again all that is playing on my mind. I've been running away from all that a lot this year (literally and well as figuratively). I ran to clear my head, to focus my thoughts. I ran when I was angry and when I was sad and I ran to be too tired to be either of those things. Then I ran because it made me happy. I ran harder than I should at times, because all you can think about then is how hard the running feels. I ran to hide away and I raced to get lost in the crowd. Sometimes I ran to be selfish. Sometimes I ran to be useful - because afterwards I felt more motivated to do what was needed. A lot of the time I ran to remember. And a lot of the time, I ran to forget.

We need to mind the mind as well as the body. To do it for running is a great place to start, because it will spill over and have a positive effect on the rest of your life, if you get the balance right. 2018 is going to be a good year. I'm determined to make it so.

outforarun

Hiya just catching up on here. I agree with Singer and Damo above, winter is a big factor. Personally I find my system switches into hibernation mode at this time of the year and everything takes that little more effort. Diet is hard to control, I tend to eat all around me and in the evenings it is twice as hard to get out the door. At the moment my focus is more on miles than speed so I think that makes it a bit easier to manage, if I was trying to focus on speed I'd be in a bad place.

Come January it's like a switch is flicked and I'm suddenly heading in the right direction as the new year rolls in. I'd recommend easing off and just running when you like and how you like until year-end. Scribble down plans that start from January. I also find that taking a full week off and reading articles or watching training videos for running or for any other sports works wonders for my motivation during a week off.

hot buttered scones

Back to business, and talking about running in my running log.

Monday 18/12

5@9:06 in the fog, overdressed and hating the rush hour traffic.

Tuesday 19/12

5@8:43 (8:35; 8:55; 8:55; 9:00; 8:15) - fast miles had a good bit of downhill, middles miles were a long drag or hilly.

Wednesday 20/12

10 min warmup, 30 min progression from 8:30-8:00, 10 minute cool down.

Morning run pre work. For the progression I decided to programme the Garmin into 5 minute slots, but I over shot the pace on them. However the effort felt about right and I could have go on for a bit more by the end. Paces were a bit all over the place at times, but overall it was ok. Felt very warm and humid out - it was only 12 degrees, but a lot warmer than latley I suppose.

Progression paces: 5 minutes each@8:27; 8:15; 8:12; 8:05; 7:57; 7:46.

Total for the day: 5.9

Thursday 21/12

Early run - 5@8:52. Felt a bit sluggish for this - I stayed up bit later than I should with the young lad, so I was tired. Another funny early run where the effort feels a bit harder than what the HR is saying. A stiff breeze in the second half didn't help - but I suppose I didn't notice it when it was at my back.
HR appears to be slowly drifting back down to the normal range for these easy runs. I'm feeling a lot less tired and a bit more relaxed. Blood tests should nothing untoward, so that's good. And the solstice is here so more daylight from here on in too. All in all, the last couple of weeks have seen me on the mend I think.
I'm looking forward to January now to see what's in store for me!

hot buttered scones

Friday 22/12

10 miles easy scheduled for today. Did 10@8:20 which is more like my current steady pace.

7:48; 8:21; 9:00; 8:32; 8:26; 8:44; 8:27; 7:58; 7:59; 8:03

This was a fairly hilly run, so that's way the paces are a bit all over the place. Effort levels were mostly in the right range for an easy run (on the flats and downhills anyway!), but the HR pushed a good bit when climbing a few times, although I was trying to take it easy.. Didn't fatigue during the run like I did for last weeks 10 miler. Probably the best I've felt during and after a run in a good few weeks. The power of sleep maybe? I'd had a good sleep the night before, so maybe.

Saturday 23/12

Scheduled for 4 miles very easy. I had planned to do the usual - head into work a bit early before the night shift and plod around the harbour, but a traffic beating run to shops happened instead. So 3@9:14, some last minute shopping and 1@9:42 back home with a light backpack. I was fairly please with the first bit - average HR was only 129 so the effort levels seem to be dropping already for the slower paces. Still though, I was fairly tired doing this. Got to sleep some time gone 9am and got woken at 12:30 by a phone and couldn't get back to sleep - so after being up for 26 hours, 3.5 hours sleep just doesn't cut it. I'll hopefully catch up over the next few days.

35 miles for the week, and I'm starting to feel a bit like my old self again. I'm looking forward to the next few days of turkey, cake and beer and I'll hopefully be given something to help run it all off!

Have a good Christmas everyone!

hot buttered scones

Sunday 24/12

Rest

Monday 25/12

A pre turkey fest 5k - 3.1@7:49. Just a "faster than easy" run to blow out the cobwebs. HR was low enough until the last km or so.

Tuesday 26/12

6.2@8:40 on a rolling course in freezing cold and driving rain. Loved it. I'm starting to get the auld mojo back it think - I'm enjoying my runs a bit more and the effort levels are slowly coming down for a given pace. I got to 5 miles, which was the original plan, and then stuck on an extra mile loop because I just didn't want to end it there.

Wednesday 27/12

I never saw the email from the coach before heading out, so I missed today's planned session. Did 5@8:45. Was a bit full of the last few days indulgences doing this. Enjoyable though, on a nice bright afternoon.

Thursday 28/12

Did the missed session from yesterday. Goal was 3x8minutes@ around 7:15 pace with 10 minute warm up and cool down. Marathon PB pace is 7:11 for me (just for reference). Had today booked off from work, so my time was my own

I procrastinated a bit today - a bit tired (not from running!) and the weather wasn't great. Headed down to the Lee Fields to get on the flat just before tea time. I was a bit overdressed (I need to HTFU) with leggings, long sleeve, compression vest, jacket, gloves and hat, but it was baltic on the warm up and I didn't feel too warm, until the last rep when I ditched the hat and gloves.
I did a longer warmup than prescribed - firstly because I didn't feel warmed up enough after 10 minutes and secondly to get in a good position to start the reps (and maybe to get to a nice round 1.5 miles :rolleyes:). Cool down was longer too because I ended up farther away from the car than I should have been.


Warmup: 13:11mins (1.5 miles)@8:45
Rep 1: 8 mins (1.1 miles)@7:11
Rep 2: 8 mins (1.1 miles)@7:01
Rep 3: 8mins (1.1 miles)@7:08
Cooldown: 15:15 mins (1.7 miles)@8:57

Recoveries after each rep were 3 minute jog.

Started the first rep way too fast, and then too slow and finally settled into a good pace after about 3 minutes. For the second rep, I built up speed into it but overshot the target by a good bit - but the conditions were such that I had a bit of a breeze at my back for this rep. Turned around again for the 3rd rep to head back out towards Ballincollig. Started this rep too slowly, then overcompensated, before finally settling in for the last 3 or 4 minutes.
I think this felt more challenging than it was supposed too. It definitely felt more like LT effort towards the end of each rep. All the same, I knew I could easily finish out each rep and hit the pace (albeit not quite as comfortably as I should). I felt ok during the recoveries and the warmdown too. This felt like a decent session and it was nice to be running with a bit of pace again.

7.5 miles for the day

Friday 29/12

Back to work - rest day from running.

hot buttered scones

2017 review part 1:

I've a few minutes to kill will here at work while I'm waiting for something to finish so I thought I'd start this with a simple table of races run and a brief (I swear) comment.

Race|Date|Result|Comment
Dungarvan 10|08/02/17|71:51|Blew up after 4 miles. Rotten
BHAA Gas Networks 5k|26/02/17|20:00|Struggled, but happy enough
Ballycotton 10|12/03/17|70:00|No PB - bad stitch. Last ever Ballycotton.
BHAA UCC 10K|02/04/17|41:28|Coming into form. PB
BHAA Pfizer 6 mile|10/05/17|38:50|Best performance yet. Hilly course. PB
Cork City Marathon|04/06/17|3:29:24|Don't wanna talk about it
BHAA CPO/Garda 5K|05/07/17|19:17|40s PB suprise after post marathon holiday
Charleville Half Marathon|17/09/17|1:26:37|Massive PB. I'm still smiling.
Croppy Boy 10k, Passage East|30/09/17|41:19|Turns out to be a PB, but on a tough, tough course IMO
Donadea 10k|14/10/17|43:29|Tough day, faded badly but was brewing an illness
DCM 2017|29/10/17|3:09:17|PB by 12 minutes. Preceded by a week off illness. Hard work pays off.

I should probably race a bit more in 2018. I'm happy with the progress made, even tough the year got off to a ropey start. DCM was the best race with the greatest sense of achievement, but Charleville was my best performance ever and I just had one of those days were everything clicked. Results like that take the sting out of days like Dungarvan.

hot buttered scones

Saturday 30/12

5x90s with 2 minute recoveries, guide pace 6:40

Warmup: 1.2miles@ around 8:40 (about 10 minutes, or a little more)

Rep paces: 6:20; 6:23; 6:16: 6:15; 6:05

Wind wasn't too much of an issue - a cross wind if anything. Squally is how I'd decribed - a good Atlantic breeze from all directions with sideways rain. The reps went like this - out way too fast, hit something closer to goal pace in the middle and speed up a bit towards the end. These felt "comfortably hard" - I wasn't puffing and panting, but I was breathing a good bit harder. Except for the last rep, where I got a bit carried away. Garmin has the distance for reps 1-4 at just under 400m, with the last bang on 400. My excuse for going to fast - it was dark and I couldn't see my watch properly? Anyway, the 1st felt about right, so I just went with that effort.

Jogged the recoveries: ranging from 9:10 to 9:57

Cool down: 1.2miles@ about 8:50 (about 10 minutes)

Total for the day: 4.7 miles

Happy enough with this. I didn't manage to get out until the evening before work, and the attitude wasn't the greatest, but I enjoyed it despite myself!

Sunday 31/12

In between night shifts

10@8:50 around the harbour before work. Windy and cold. HR - 99% of the time was below 150, so well within the right range.
Nothing remarkable. Crap weather, tired and working on New Years Eve night. Feeling very sorry for myself I think. A "just get out there and get it done" sort of run.

Weekly total: 36.6
2017 grand total: 2250.98. That's 212.56 miles more than last year.

hot buttered scones

2017 review part 2

Year | Mileage
2014 | 550.57
2015 | 1329.11
2016 | 2038.42
2017 | 2250.98

A good year mileage and (more importantly) consistency wise - although I tailed off a good bit after DCM. 2 marathons done - one a disaster and a slog and the other I could only have dreamed of this time last year. Good results in 5k, half marathon and marathon. The sub 40 10k eludes me, but I didn't really give myself a chance to get it with the races I picked. Injury free too - just a few niggles which I managed but nothing which prevented me from running.

Highlights: The Pfizer 6 mile, CPO 5k and Charleville half were races where I far exceeded my own expectations and knew by a certain point in each race that I was going to blow my previous results out of the water. There's no better feeling in running I think. DCM - well it's up there too. Probably the first race where I hit a bad patch and fought back to recover -where I showed some mental toughness which had eluded me in other races. I felt like I'd been training for Dublin for the whole year - and I suppose I had.

Lowlights - Regrets, I've had a few - but I've learned from them and moved on so there's no point in going over all that again

I don't know what else to say really - I put a lot of it into my log as events occur, so it's all in here. What has changed is I don't get up in arms so much when a workout goes wrong or I have a bad race - which is down to confidence I suppose. This has also helped me relax a bit more, which has contributed to me training better and racing better.

As we enter 2018, I find myself under the guidance of a coach and I'm enjoying letting someone else doing the figuring out for a change. I'm hoping for great things next year.

One more highlight - I've been nominated in the "most improved athlete" category in the end of year awards. I have to admit I'm very happy that my name is even up there so thanks for the nomination whoever you are. It's a nice way to end the year. I wouldn't have thought so myself, but it's nice to know that someone else does. It's given me a well needed confidence boost.

Happy New Year folks, and wishing you all the best of success for 2018!

hot buttered scones

Monday 01/01

Was knackered after a busy night at work and getting up early, so I took a rest day.

Tuesday 02/01

6.2@8:27

8:45; 8:34; 8:20; 8:18; 8:16 and 8:09 pace for the bit.

Headed out to Blarney for this one - I hadn't been out there in a while and the change of scenery was nice. Headwind for the first 3 miles, and a tailwind to bring me back to the car. Effort was fairly consistent throughout though. Felt good after this.

Wednesday 03/01

2 mile warm up, 10x90s with 1 min recovery, 2 mile cool down. Goal pace for reps: 6:30

My first "proper" session in a while, and I was bit apprehensive about it and ended up putting it off until late afternoon. I was making excuses about the wind and was considering doing it on a treadmill. In the end I just gave myself a kick up the hole and got out there.
I feel rotten during the warmup - lethargic and stiff. Headed down to a small park with a roughly 500m loop path and got stuck in.
First half of each rep was aided by the wind, with a headwind for the 2nd half. First rep was too slow, 2nd was just about ok. I pushed to hard into the wind for the 3rd one and had to stop during the recovery because of a coughing fit (nose decided it was the right time to clear itself!). For the rest - well they were inconsistent pace wise as the wind varied, but I think I gauged the effort ok. From the 4th rep on I'd walk the first 20s or so of each recovery and then a light jog.
Rep paces:
6:38; 6:32; 6:15; 6:27; 6:24; 6:18; 6:20; 6:27; 6:15; 6:25.
I was fairly wrecked by the end of it, but still felt I had another one or two reps left in me.
Had a nice handy couple of mile back home afterwards. I'm fairly happy with this sessions. It went better than expected and I think I'm not as far behind as I thought I was - but its early days yet, so I'm not getting cocky or anything like that.

7.3 miles for the day

Thursday 03/01

6.3@8:41

I headed down to the Marina and just did a few miles around there. I was definitely feeling the effects of yesterdays session - both in my legs and in terms of general fatigue (although I may have had a nightcap or two last night which contributed to that).

So not a bad week so far. My main mistake has just been having a couple of drinks each night as we polish off the remainder of the Christmas booze - not too much, but enough to leave me felling a bit tired in the morning. So I'm knocking that on the head as and from now - I usually just have a drink maybe once a week if that. Sleepwise, I've been getting loads. Nutrition wise - yeah, that's been ropey as well. I've kind of falling back into the trap of getting up late, skipping breakfast, going for a run too late to have lunch and then just having dinner in the evening and eating crap watching TV at night (with a beer or a gin or two). With the lads back to school next week though, normal service will be resumed.

hot buttered scones

Friday 05/01

Crap day. Barely slept a wink - probably due to being anxious about having to get up early. In the end I cried off work and got a few extra hours sleep - that might sound a bit soft, but having had issues with poor sleeping before I felt justified. Anyway, it was nice day down here so I headed out to the park behind my house for some lazy, slow plodding around the trails and paths.

3.11@9:45

Saturday 06/01

So much for knocking the booze on the head! I resorted to having a glass or two (or was 4 or 5) of port (just the cheap stuff from Lidl!) before bed and it did the trick - I was out like a light. Up before dawn then for session number 2 of the week before work. I looking forward too and dreading this in equal parts, but it went well in the end I think.

2 miles warmup@ 8:38; 8:48

5x3mins@6:50 with 75s recovery:
Rep paces:
6:45 (good)
6:46 (still good)
6:36 (oops)
6:39 (ah jaysus)
6:38 (ah well)

All recoveries were jogged. Each rep felt ok at the start and getting harder as the session pr0gressed, but doable and certainly not as hard as Wednesdays session. I went out a bit fast, then slowed down a bit too much then just kept going at what felt like the right effort. I was thinking about my approach to these sort of sessions and it seems that when they start to feel tough I tend to dig in and push a bit harder - whether it be due to fatigue or a headwind or whatever - and end up running a bit faster than I should. I'm certainly not good yet at dialling onto that effort for these shorter reps.

3 minutes recovery@8:45 - the plan said 3 minute break, which now looks to me like maybe I should have stopped running, but I just jogged around in circles for a bit.

4x30s hard, 1 min recovery.

Rep paces:
5:10; 5:02; 4:55; 4:52

Just ran these as hard as I could, while trying to keep good form. Form did break down a bit towards the end of the last two reps. I enjoyed these really hard efforts, but I was glad it was dark because I'd say I was pulling all sorts of mad faces. Recoveries were all walked. I may have pushed a bit too hard on these though (I may have been a small bit sick after the last one )

Cool down - 1.8 miles back to base@9:03 pace. Just managed to clock in on time.

7.5 miles for the day, and happy to get this session done.

It seems I have a lot of work to do this year to live up to what I did last year too, according to some around here!

Swashbuckler

hot buttered scones wrote:

It seems I have a lot of work to do this year to live up to what I did last year too, according to some around here!

A 1.23 in Charleville should do it

hot buttered scones

Swashbuckler wrote: »

A 1.23 in Charleville should do it

No pressure then! I'll take a 2:59:59 in Frankfurt.

clickerquicklic

hot buttered scones wrote: »

No pressure then! I'll take a 2:59:59 in Frankfurt.

Congrats on your award , these sessions helped me figure out who you are on strava , guess I better follow the most improved athlete of the year and see what the secret is ! I'll try give sub 3 a bash myself I think this year.

skyblue46

clickerquicklic wrote: »

Congrats on your award , these sessions helped me figure out who you are on strava , guess I better follow the most improved athlete of the year and see what the secret is ! I'll try give sub 3 a bash myself I think this year.

Yeah the session gave it away for me too and I followed as well.

hot buttered scones

clickerquicklic wrote:

Congrats on your award , these sessions helped me figure out who you are on strava , guess I better follow the most improved athlete of the year and see what the secret is ! I'll try give sub 3 a bash myself I think this year.

skyblue46 wrote:

Yeah the session gave it away for me too and I followed as well.

I think I followed ye both back today.
As for secret - well read the log title. I'm fairly sure it involves lots of running though. 😀

skyblue46

hot buttered scones wrote: »

I think I followed ye both back today.
As for secret - well read the log title. I'm fairly sure it involves lots of running though. ��

I'm making an attempt at the lots of running and the figuring it out is the enjoyable challenge! Yes you did follow back

hot buttered scones

Sunday 07/01

How not to do it.

Yesterday evening, after an early start, a pre work session and an 8pm finish, I treated myself to what was left of the Christmas beverages - so myself and Mrs Scones polished off a bottle port. Consequently I felt like crap today! I can't believe I had a hangover this morning (or at least I hope that's what it was). Total lightweight.

Went out for 10 hideous miles in the late afternoon where everything was wrong - my quads were sore, right shoulder was stiff, right ankle was also giving out. It was too cold and too windy and I was too tired, too thirsty, too snotty, too slow, too fast - you get the picture.

Splits: 8:34; 8:49; 8:40; 8:54; 8:40; 8:54; 8:56; 8:49; 9:07; 8:49.

The cold air wasn't doing my lungs any good either and I had too stop 3 or 4 times to cough and splutter. I was knocking out faster 10 milers before breakfast 6 months ago, not a bother to me. I think I just don't like the cold.