Dublin Marathon 2016 - Mentored Novices Thread

kabuxa

All or nothing wrote:

They say the optimum cadence is 180 steps per minute. .

I heard that as well but never tried and 'stubbornly' dont believe it. I am small with short legs, surely I do shortter and faster steps than a tall person, no?
Maybe not, but I dont see how...

kabuxa

Maximus Alexander wrote:

Same way as you do your calf. It's between the calf and the heel bone.

But it is much thinner... works as well with the same foam roller? I am not contradicting... I just want to know... my neighbours call me ' i have a question' ;0)))) Thanks!

Maximus Alexander

kabuxa wrote: »

But it is much thinner... works as well with the same foam roller? I am not contradicting... I just want to know... my neighbours call me ' i have a question' ;0)))) Thanks!

I'm no expert but I just use the same roller. Or a baseball to get into the hard to reach places. It seems to work for me!

SausageDogDave

ToriV wrote: »

Quick query on paces, if that's ok! I am currently running my LSR at between 10.20 and 11.00 mins per mile and my easy runs at between 9.50 and 10. 15. Is that ok? My aim is primarily to finish, but 4h 30 would be great. All advice very welcome - thanks guys!

Well a 4:30 marathon would equate to 10:20 mins per mile. I think the idea with paces is that your easy runs should be slower and LSRs should be slower again.
So I would have thought something like 11:00 per mile on average for easy runs and 11:20 per mile for long slow runs.

https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/

aquinn

ToriV wrote: »

Quick query on paces, if that's ok! I am currently running my LSR at between 10.20 and 11.00 mins per mile and my easy runs at between 9.50 and 10. 15. Is that ok? My aim is primarily to finish, but 4h 30 would be great. All advice very welcome - thanks guys!

Morning,

Training should be for what you are able to run and build up from rather than what time you hope to finish at. You are taking this into consideration and not working back from your dream finishing time? You have a recent time from a race and work back from this with the following? Run at the slower end of paces starting off so your runs feel ok. Don't forget you want to be able to hold a conversation on long runs.

https://www.mcmillanrunning.com/

https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/

ToriV

Thanks guys much appreciated!

Szilvike

Hi, could anyone help me how to do exactly the Wednesday training of the Boards plan? When there's for example 4mi with 5x100m strides, will I do the strides in the middle of the run, after 2mi? And between each strides, how much jogging/walking should I do? Thanks

Coffee Fulled Runner

Strides at the end. Shold be relaxed and controlled. I keep around 40 seconds between them.

kin9pin

Szilvike wrote: »

Hi, could anyone help me how to do exactly the Wednesday training of the Boards plan? When there's for example 4mi with 5x100m strides, will I do the strides in the middle of the run, after 2mi? And between each strides, how much jogging/walking should I do? Thanks

I'm no expert so I'll quote what I read on https://runsmartproject.com/calculator/ on the repetition tab. Sure I read somewhere on this thread to "throw in some strides towards the end".

"Variety: Pace reps and strides.

Intensity: Reps are fast, but not necessarily "hard," because work bouts are relatively short and are followed by relatively long recovery bouts. Recoveries are to be long enough that each run feels no more difficult than the previous run, because the purpose of Reps is to improve speed and economy and you can not get faster (nor more economical) if you are not running relaxed. If it takes 3 minutes recovery between Rep 400s, then that is what is needed. Reducing rest time between individual work bouts does not make for a better workout, in fact it probably makes for a worse workout because the short rests could increase the stress and lead to poor economy. Think of Reps as similar to current 1500 or mile race pace.

Purpose: To improve your speed and economy."

Szilvike

Perfect, thank you Coffee Fulled Runner and kin9pin!

chrislad

Szilvike wrote: »

Hi, could anyone help me how to do exactly the Wednesday training of the Boards plan? When there's for example 4mi with 5x100m strides, will I do the strides in the middle of the run, after 2mi? And between each strides, how much jogging/walking should I do? Thanks

A good tip for counting the strides for me was to count like 1-1 thousand, 2-1 thousand, up to 15-1 thousand.

FBOT01

Szilvike wrote: »

Hi, could anyone help me how to do exactly the Wednesday training of the Boards plan? When there's for example 4mi with 5x100m strides, will I do the strides in the middle of the run, after 2mi? And between each strides, how much jogging/walking should I do? Thanks

Coffee Fulled Runner wrote: »

Strides at the end. Shold be relaxed and controlled. I keep around 40 seconds between them.

I generally do the strides at the start of the last mile and take a recovery of similar length to the strides i.e. 100m strides would mean 100m jogged recovery for me between strides.

Not sure where you are based but more often that not I just use lampposts to measure the strides. I do 3 post on 3 posts off or something along those lines not an exact science nor does it need to be........works well in an urban setting but might be a problem in a rural location

Szilvike

FBOT01 wrote: »

Not sure where you are based but more often that not I just use lampposts to measure the strides. I do 3 post on 3 posts off or something along those lines not an exact science nor does it need to be........works well in an urban setting but might be a problem in a rural location

I do almost all my runs in Phoenix Park, mostly on the grass, so no lampposts unfortunately I was thinking of picking a tree or something, running 100 strikes from there (that should be 100m I guess...) and leave my water bottle at the end, so then I can run back and forth.

The Black Oil

Had intended to come in with bit of a moan, but I saw 3 fire appliances, plus an ambulance out there tonight. Thanks to the men women in the vehicles, whatever they're facing into.

woody1

ok in for the marathon after 3 years of avoiding it
had a fairly disastrous first go at it

anyway 18 week plan starting this weekend,
question is my marathon pace would be a nice bit
slower than my general running pace, i would tend to
do quite a few local races, 10ks 5ks 10 milers, the pace
for these would be a fair bit faster than marathon pace
is it doing any harm to be running one race a week / fortnight
at significantly faster than marathon pace, or should i
leave them out altogether or run them slower in order to
get used to slower pace

budhistmonk

nop98 wrote: »

+1 - thanks Max.

I'd encourage you to take it week-by-week - slot in the runs when you can.

A couple of the rules-of-thumb are worth repeating:

• If you need to skip a run, skip an easy/rec run. In other words, don't bother with a Tuesday recovery run following a Monday easy run. I'd rather pencil in a rec run the morning after your LSR.
• Don't run too fast.
• Follow hard days with easy days or rest.
• Don't run too fast.
• If you feel you need a break, take a break.
• Lastly, don't run too fast

Thanks nop & Max (again)

Great set of rules to use. Useful around holiday time. Will need to be selective when away and preparing to go so if I have to skip runs then I'll skip rec.easy ones.

I hear you re. getting a rec run in the morning after an LSR but logistically I will struggle. Will try where I can.

So basically you're saying "Don't run too fast" :-)

nop98

Szilvike wrote: »

I do almost all my runs in Phoenix Park, mostly on the grass, so no lampposts unfortunately I was thinking of picking a tree or something, running 100 strikes from there (that should be 100m I guess...) and leave my water bottle at the end, so then I can run back and forth.

That sounds fine - I personally find it a bit easier to count to 12-15 (slowly) rather than try and count the strikes.

Just to re-iterate, it's not a full-out sprint, it's about 80% or so, and focus on good running form. The main idea is to get the legs moving faster than race-pace, to remind them how it's done and to remind yourself proper running form. For the easier runs, you don't need the most efficient running form to maintain your pace. But for the faster stuff, you do.

Edit: and oh, yes, at the end of the workout.

nop98

woody1 wrote: »

ok in for the marathon after 3 years of avoiding it
had a fairly disastrous first go at it

anyway 18 week plan starting this weekend,
question is my marathon pace would be a nice bit
slower than my general running pace, i would tend to
do quite a few local races, 10ks 5ks 10 milers, the pace
for these would be a fair bit faster than marathon pace
is it doing any harm to be running one race a week / fortnight
at significantly faster than marathon pace, or should i
leave them out altogether or run them slower in order to
get used to slower pace

Hey woody1 -

Yes, the 18 week plan is starting at the weekend. There are a couple of questions in the first post of the thread, can you fill those in - so we can assess your situation a bit better.

The questions you're asking have been discussed in a lot of detail on this thread already - maybe have a read.

But, in general:

• Most training miles will have to be ran at easy or LSR pace. Both are slower than marathon pace.
• Keep the main thing the main thing. In other words, your goal is DCM, not a 5k race, so put all your other plans for racing on ice and focus on marathon training!

woody1

Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)
running, swimming cycling about 6 years now, had a go at marathon 3years ago, didnt really work out ! 4.40 something..
pbs all 2016 5k 19.45, 10k 43.45, 1/2 1.39, athlone 3/4 in 2013 3.12 i think marathon 2013 4.40 something .

Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? (No problem if you do)
nope

How much training do you currently do ? Distances, how many days a week,
bits and pieces of everything.. might run 5 days one week, might swim bike run another week , generally 4-5 days out of 7 doing something, all swimming and cycling on hold for now, running up to now approx 20-30k a week

cross training - whatever you think is relevant to your current fitness level.
up to this week i would have been swimming twice a week and cycling once / twice a week, will still be cycling once a week at a very leisurely pace

What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time? Or just complete it in no specified time?
4 hours - realistic,

How many days a week can you train? And what plan do you intend to follow?
4/5 depending, following hh novice 2,

Why are you running this marathon?
made a mess of the 2013 one, half followed plan, half didnt , doing a lot of other stuff at the time as well, overcooked last few runs, made all the usual mistakes , want to put it right

Antwerp

Happy Friday, folks looking forward to the plan starting soon.

Up to 5 days a week running now and averaging 20 miles so looks like it Board plan which is fine, however just checking which days are vital to run as it appears as if you can run almost every day (depending on your fitness) but which are the key days please?

Thanks, enjoy wkd

Maximus Alexander

Only one more run until P-Day.

(That stands for Plan Day. As in the marathon plan. Rhymes with D-Day. You know, the Normandy beach landings in 1944. See what I did? I ruined it by explaining it didn't I..? It's just that it sort of sounds like I'm talking about going for a wee otherwise. Oh God I need to stop writing.)

Maximus Alexander

Antwerp wrote: »

Happy Friday, folks looking forward to the plan starting soon.

Up to 5 days a week running now and averaging 20 miles so looks like it Board plan which is fine, however just checking which days are vital to run as it appears as if you can run almost every day (depending on your fitness) but which are the key days please?

Thanks, enjoy wkd

The key days (Also rhymes with D-Days) are the non-green ones on the spreadsheet. Generally the runs that are listed on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and especially Saturday.

spaceylou

Walking holiday didn't quite go according to plan. Not entirely sure if it was heat rash or bad reaction to insect bite but legs were red, splotchy, kinda swollen and v painful after a few days... Had to switch to using the train to get around, once the meds kicked in and pain eased they were all kinds of itchy but more meds eased that - was like a little junkie. Didn't have running gear with me but wasn't feeling 100% with all the meds and the crazy rash etc so didn't stress about it. Almost back to normal now, been for a few easy runs this week and planning a lsr tomorrow before 'The Plan' proper starts on Monday. PS. Portugal is beautiful even if their insects are lethal!

nop98

@Antwerp - you don't have to do the runs on the days specified. It's a suggestion. Plan the week ahead and ensure you include all workouts suggested. It is probably easiest to adapt a weekly structure and keep that consistent, e.g. do all long runs Saturday or Sunday morning at roughly the same time. Try not to skip days, but if needs must, do (and don't try to make up for it).

@spaceylou - ouch! Recover well! Keep that LSR slow and not too long.

@Everybody: enjoy your weekend running! Looking forward to the weekly write-ups. I will post the mileage tracker spreadsheet later tonight. Can't wait for P-day (c) Maximus.

FITZA

Last speed session tomorrow....Funlavin 5k....looking forward to leaving the speedwork behind for the next few months. Good luck to everyone with their plans

Antwerp

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

The key days (Also rhymes with D-Days) are the non-green ones on the spreadsheet. Generally the runs that are listed on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and especially Saturday.

Thanks for that Max, like the whole rhythm thing going on there. Just finished my last week of my own training and now all set for thee plan

Antwerp

nop98 wrote: »

@Antwerp - you don't have to do the runs on the days specified. It's a suggestion. Plan the week ahead and ensure you include all workouts suggested. It is probably easiest to adapt a weekly structure and keep that consistent, e.g. do all long runs Saturday or Sunday morning at roughly the same time. Try not to skip days, but if needs must, do (and don't try to make up for it).

@spaceylou - ouch! Recover well! Keep that LSR slow and not too long.

@Everybody: enjoy your weekend running! Looking forward to the weekly write-ups. I will post the mileage tracker spreadsheet later tonight. Can't wait for P-day (c) Maximus.

Thanks Nop98, have the plan now all ready for action. Will stick to Saturday mornings for LSR as like to have rest on Sunday mornings. Must buy foam roller this wkd as have tbh have never used one, but have a noticed a slight pain back of my knee which sometimes continues down my calf which is only a recent thing perhaps due to the increase in the mileage/frequency of runs.

Enjoy wkd

long_b

Last year I was first on the 2015 Novice's thread but didn't even make it to the start of the plan.
In better shape this year so ... here goes !!

Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)
5K 26.10 (2016)
10K 53.32 (2016)
Half 02:06 (2015) - got my pacing wrong for this. Also did too much tempo running and got injured soon after this.

Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? (No problem if you do)
nope

How much training do you currently do ? Distances, how many days a week,
2/3 lunctime runs a week (6 - 8km)
LSR of about 10km


cross training - whatever you think is relevant to your current fitness level.
Will try to work in a core strength class during the week, if not will cycle 2 x 40 mins to train station

What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time? Or just complete it in no specified time?
Dream time 4:30, realistic time 4:45
Will be happy just to finish

How many days a week can you train? And what plan do you intend to follow?
HHN2 - 3 easy runs during the week and LSR at the weekend.

Why are you running this marathon?
I'm currently the only member of my family not to have done a full !


@nop98

Have used an online calculator to come up with these times (based on my 10k)

min/mile
Easy 10:27
Tempo 08:44
Long 10:27 - 11:46

My running buddy/club tend to run at a steady 9:45 min/mile.
Should I do the midweek runs with them at this pace or does the pace then make these runs "junk miles" ?

Big thanks in advance !

Pomplamousse

I can't believe P-day is almost upon us (nice one Maximus:D). I've been training for this since basically last October, building up my distances slowly, really motivated, rarely missing a single run.
That is until the past few weeks, between no motivation & the football distraction & not feeling too great, I've averaged about 2 runs a week. And today just got diagnosed with strep throat and so have had to start a course of antibiotics:(
Have decided to follow the boards plan so fingers crossed I'm feeling well enough on Tuesday to start it & I manage to find my running mojo again.
Enjoy your pre-P-day runs this weekend

nop98

woody1 wrote: »

Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)
running, swimming cycling about 6 years now, had a go at marathon 3years ago, didnt really work out ! 4.40 something..
pbs all 2016 5k 19.45, 10k 43.45, 1/2 1.39, athlone 3/4 in 2013 3.12 i think marathon 2013 4.40 something .

Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? (No problem if you do)
nope

How much training do you currently do ? Distances, how many days a week,
bits and pieces of everything.. might run 5 days one week, might swim bike run another week , generally 4-5 days out of 7 doing something, all swimming and cycling on hold for now, running up to now approx 20-30k a week

cross training - whatever you think is relevant to your current fitness level.
up to this week i would have been swimming twice a week and cycling once / twice a week, will still be cycling once a week at a very leisurely pace

What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time? Or just complete it in no specified time?
4 hours - realistic,

How many days a week can you train? And what plan do you intend to follow?
4/5 depending, following hh novice 2,

Why are you running this marathon?
made a mess of the 2013 one, half followed plan, half didnt , doing a lot of other stuff at the time as well, overcooked last few runs, made all the usual mistakes , want to put it right

Hey woody1 - welcome to the thread.

That's some fine PBs you have for the shorter distances. With the start of the plans imminent, no better reminder that marathon training requires respect for the distance and the amount of time required on your feedback, pounding the pavements (or grass), slow, slow, slow.

The very best of luck. It sounds like you have settled on a decent routine (4/5 times a week plus some gentle cycling), try and stick to that as much as you can. Over the summer, that won't be possible every week, but the more structure, the better.

You may also want to check out the boards plan, that seems to be within your reach. Good luck!

nop98

long_b wrote: »

Last year I was first on the 2015 Novice's thread but didn't even make it to the start of the plan.
In better shape this year so ... here goes !!

Have you raced before? If so what are your PBs? (Date and distance please!)
5K 26.10 (2016)
10K 53.32 (2016)
Half 02:06 (2015) - got my pacing wrong for this. Also did too much tempo running and got injured soon after this.

Do you still need to take walk breaks in your training? (No problem if you do)
nope

How much training do you currently do ? Distances, how many days a week,
2/3 lunctime runs a week (6 - 8km)
LSR of about 10km


cross training - whatever you think is relevant to your current fitness level.
Will try to work in a core strength class during the week, if not will cycle 2 x 40 mins to train station

What do you want to achieve? Dream finishing time and realistic finishing time? Or just complete it in no specified time?
Dream time 4:30, realistic time 4:45
Will be happy just to finish

How many days a week can you train? And what plan do you intend to follow?
HHN2 - 3 easy runs during the week and LSR at the weekend.

Why are you running this marathon?
I'm currently the only member of my family not to have done a full !


@nop98

Have used an online calculator to come up with these times (based on my 10k)

min/mile
Easy 10:27
Tempo 08:44
Long 10:27 - 11:46

My running buddy/club tend to run at a steady 9:45 min/mile.
Should I do the midweek runs with them at this pace or does the pace then make these runs "junk miles" ?

Big thanks in advance !

Hey long_b, I thought I recognized your username alright. Never realized you didn't make it through, I guess there were plenty of early sign-ups that disappeared, last year.. I wonder about the class of 2016!

As for your question, there's a few flags. You've had some injury trouble in the past and your current weekly mileage is okay but not massive. I would have a careful and disciplined approach to following plan and pace. That means that 9:45 min/mi sessions with club are out of the question. You'll simply run yourself and injury or won't recover in time for the longer stuff at the weekend.

It takes a lot of discipline to get used to the proper training speed. 9:45 is 4h15 marathon pace. Use the first couple of weeks of the training program to run at 10:30 at the fastest. I'm glad that you don't have overly ambitious goals for the day itself. Have a conservative approach for now, and if your training is going well, we can consider the odd club/buddy evening.

Good luck this time around!

nop98

Pomplamousse wrote: »

I can't believe P-day is almost upon us (nice one Maximus:D). I've been training for this since basically last October, building up my distances slowly, really motivated, rarely missing a single run.
That is until the past few weeks, between no motivation & the football distraction & not feeling too great, I've averaged about 2 runs a week. And today just got diagnosed with strep throat and so have had to start a course of antibiotics:(
Have decided to follow the boards plan so fingers crossed I'm feeling well enough on Tuesday to start it & I manage to find my running mojo again.
Enjoy your pre-P-day runs this weekend

Ouch - get yourself better soon, Pompla - and as with all niggles / illnesses, don't be rushing back. Rather take an extra day and write-off the lost session than coming back too soon.

nop98

I have put together this year's Novices Mileage Tracker Spreadsheet..

The purpose of the tracker is for anyone who wants, to track their mileage in one location, throughout the training weeks. As with everything, participating is completely optional. It's helpful for me and my 'backroom staff' to see your progress in one location and to be able to quickly look back and compare. It's also inspiring for you guys to see your own totals going up. However, keep in mind, this is not a competition. As with the Strava group, don't try and out-do the others in terms of mileage.

In order to use the sheet, you need a Google account but other than that, you should be good to go. Go to the "Wk 1" sheet and grab the next available line. Enter your boards username and details and all other weekly sheets should be automagically set-up. From Monday, you can start entering your miles or kilometers!

kin9pin

nop98 wrote: »

I have put together this year's Novices Mileage Tracker Spreadsheet..

The purpose of the tracker is for anyone who wants, to track their mileage in one location, throughout the training weeks. As with everything, participating is completely optional. It's helpful for me and my 'backroom staff' to see your progress in one location and to be able to quickly look back and compare. It's also inspiring for you guys to see your own totals going up. However, keep in mind, this is not a competition. As with the Strava group, don't try and out-do the others in terms of mileage.

In order to use the sheet, you need a Google account but other than that, you should be good to go. Go to the "Wk 1" sheet and grab the next available line. Enter your boards username and details and all other weekly sheets should be automagically set-up. From Monday, you can start entering your miles or kilometers!

How sad am I on a Saturday night! My name is in and I can't wait. I'm coming to the end of my Clontarf plan so I expect my mileage to be slightly lower than the boards plan for a few weeks.

tony1980

kin9pin wrote: »

How sad am I on a Saturday night! My name is in and I can't wait. I'm coming to the end of my Clontarf plan so I expect my mileage to be slightly lower than the boards plan for a few weeks.

Just done the same :pac:

Was at HOTW today, great event, really inspiring stuff! There was some great athletes competing, got a great buzz out of it even if I was only watching. Looking forward to starting the plan this week coming :-)

The Muppet

My week

Day|Activity|Details|Distance in Miles|Time Minutes
Monday|Cross Training| 1 hour on the bike|
Tuesday|Easy Run|5.68 miles easy |5.68|63:49
Wednesday|Session|8:18 miles easy avg Heart Rate 134 bpm |8:18|94:23
Thursday|MP Run|5.02 miles @MP / Pilates Class|5.02|48:46
Friday|Rest|Rest
Saturday|LSR|16.21mile LSR avg hr 127 bpm avg pace 11:06|16:21|180:01 mins
Sunday|Recovery|3.18 miles recovery run @ 124 bpm 11:28 pace|3.18|36:28
Totals|||38:27 Miles|07:03:45 Hours

GOOSEPAUL

Hi All,

Weekly runs below

Monday: 8.7 miles @ 8.34 avg
Tuesday: 5 miles @ 9.41 avg
Thursday: 10 miles @ 8.33 avg
Sunday: 14.8 miles @ 9.35 avg

Can't believe Plan Day is tomorrow. Best of luck everyone. Only 18 weeks until the big day!!

The Black Oil

Crazy how it's flown in, but so has 2016 in general.

Activities this week, compared to last week's.

Tues, 3.05 mi. Time: 27:51 and 9:09 min/mi* Avg Pace
Weds, 3.04 mi. Time: 31:28 and 10:20 min/mi Avg Pace
Thurs, 5.30 mi. Time: 57:30 and 10:52 min/mi Avg Pace
Sat, 10.06 mi. Time: 1:52:18 and 11:10 min/mi Avg Pace

*Too fast, as some of ye said.

This Saturday's lsr felt a lot better, mentally. Mainly because my head wasn't swimming with work stuff/people/topics a la last weekend. Easier to concentrate. Pacing did chop and change a little too much (just my head saying that), perhaps too much. Clipped the middle toenail that was bleeding from earlier in the week, sorted.

Roll on tomorrow.

babaracus

Good luck to everybdy starting their DCM plans this week. A few words of encouragement: Before January this year I had never run longer than 8 miles. Yesterday after following the HH Novice 2 plan I completed the Waterford marathon in 3:58. The long hours of training, the doubts, the pain all worthwhile. It can be done! Full race report to follow.

Stairs are a major problem today

moon madness

Just signed up for October 30th.
Looking forward to the Boards plan for the next 18 weeks.
Now going to sit back and shout on the Boys in Green.
Come on Ireland!

tailgunner

21st June - 26th June
Tuesday - 4 miles easy
Wednesday - 6 miles w/ intervals
Thursday - Rest
Friday - 8 miles w/ 6 @ MP
Saturday - 3 miles easy
Sunday - 15 miles aerobic

Pretty good week, 36 miles in total and oh my god Robbie Brady just scored.

kittyclaws

Weekly check-in - Week 8 of the Irish Runner plan.
Monday: 4 miles recovery.
Tuesday: Pilates.
Wednesday: Physio that am who recommended dropping to 4 runs a week for 4 wks, But said calves are good to do speed sessions again
A hilly 6 miles with strides that PM.
Thurs: Rest Day.
Fri: Additional and unwanted Rest Day. I missed my pre-work run! :O
Sat: hill session - 4 x 1 mile runs (tough!)
Sun: 9 mile LSR with 6x15 second strides at the end.

What do people think of split training - ie doing 5 miles in the morning and another 5 that evening? Or is it best to do it all together?

FITZA

My week.....
preparation for 5k race

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - 5k @ 6.13 pace
Wednesday - 5 x 400m, - including warm up and cool down - total 7k
Thursday - 4k @ 6.08 pace
Friday - rest
Saturday - rest
Sunday - Funlavin 5k - 23.41 @ 4.44 avg pace - 1st auld wan

Goodbye speedwork....hello Slow Runs, Slower Runs and Longer Slowest Runs

Maximus Alexander

The Black Oil wrote: »

Crazy how it's flown in, but so has 2016 in general.

Activities this week, compared to last week's.

Tues, 3.05 mi. Time: 27:51 and 9:09 min/mi* Avg Pace
Weds, 3.04 mi. Time: 31:28 and 10:20 min/mi Avg Pace
Thurs, 5.30 mi. Time: 57:30 and 10:52 min/mi Avg Pace
Sat, 10.06 mi. Time: 1:52:18 and 11:10 min/mi Avg Pace

*Too fast, as some of ye said.

This Saturday's lsr felt a lot better, mentally. Mainly because my head wasn't swimming with work stuff/people/topics a la last weekend. Easier to concentrate. Pacing did chop and change a little too much (just my head saying that), perhaps too much. Clipped the middle toenail that was bleeding from earlier in the week, sorted.

Roll on tomorrow.

Those paces are looking much healthier. Well done.

Tomorrow is P-Day!!

Singer

kittyclaws wrote: »

What do people think of split training - ie doing 5 miles in the morning and another 5 that evening? Or is it best to do it all together?

They're generally recommended only for folks doing relatively high milage (probably upwards from 50 or 60 miles a week).

Two shorter runs won't give you the same benefit as a single long run - unless you're planning on doing half a marathon in the morning and the other half in the evening you need to train your body for one long run

The practicality of them mean they are a pain too, double the washing, showering, getting your gear together etc. - however if it's "run to and from work, or nothing" then it could be worth trying out... with a good bit of caution though, chances are training for your first marathon will mean you're running the most miles you've ever run, and running twice a day will cause even more stress on your body as you have less time to recover.

kin9pin

Weekly update:

Tue: 5.6m easy @9:34
Wed: 4.4m. 1m wu, 4x5min intervals @8:00, 1m cd
Fri: 3.2m easy @ 9:22
Sat: 5m fartlek, Avg 8:45
Sun: 7m. 4m @ 10:00, last 3m @ 8:30

Total 25m

Big mistake today. Didn't realise how humid it was and I didn't wear a compression top. Bad case of nipple chafing for such a short run! I can only imagine how bad it would be over 26 miles.

All or nothing

Bad week for me. Was hoping to get out 4 or 5 times. Did 3 miles Monday ( 1st run after 2 weeks off) did 5 miles Tuesday. Woke up Wednesday could feel a cold coming on. Went out for the match Wednesday night, been smothered with a cold since then.

Hopefully I'll be right to start the plan on Tuesday.

nop98

Well folks, the start of the plans is upon us! :pac:

I am super impressed with the class of 2016 so far. You've already done a pretty excellent job in many regards:

• Structured your weeks. Shorter, easy runs mid-week, and a LSR at the weekend.
• Lots of excellent base-building. Some weekly mileage numbers are inspiring and well ahead of the curve. However, don't let that discourage you if you haven't been able to put in as many miles.
• A flurry of PBs over shorter distances.
• All dreams of 5/10k PBs have now been put on ice... Right!?
• Made adjustments to your weekly cross-training. 1 easy day of cross training, ideally. As long as it's easy! I am personally a great fan of pilates or yoga, swimming and cycling also excellent.
• Foam-rollers a-plenty. Enough said.
• Most importantly, most of you have taken the "slow down" message to heart.

It almost feels like my work is done already!

But the fun is only about to start now.

The first couple of weeks of the plans might actually be a little bit of a step-back for you, judging from the weekly reports. You can take the step-back and allow for a bit of recovery, or you can choose to slightly adjust the mileages upwards (as long as you're adding to both the mid-week and weekend distances). I am fine either way. Believe me, you'll be clocking up plenty of miles over the coming months, so there's no harm taking the first week easy.

I will say that the boards plan will increase in mileage rather quickly, so if you are ahead a little, just stay ahead for a couple more weeks. HHN1 eases you in more gently, and might be more suitable if you start off a lower weekly mileage and have as only goal to just finish in one piece (or as close to that as possible).

This week, we'll see the following sessions (I'm calling out the plan runs only, you can add some rec-miles (ideally after the LSR) and a cross-day as discussed):

• HHN1: 3M - 3M - 3M - 6M LSR.
• Boards: 3M - 4M + strides - 3M - 8M LSR.

As discussed before, work out when you can fit in these runs in your week ahead of time.

This week's focus is going to be on (you've guessed it) a determined effort to keep your paces slow. Make sure you're happy with your choice of plan, and set yourself a conservative target goal. Calculate your planned-marathon-pace (PMP) based on your goal, and add at least 45 seconds to the min/miles pace to find your easy running pace. E.g. 4h target pace =~ 9:09 min/mi, so your easy pace is 9:55 min/mi if not slower. Your LSR pace should be even slower than that. So for the first week, I'd like you to all verify your arithmetic once again and make a real effort to run your easy and LSR runs at the right pace.

A reminder that the Novice Mileage tracker is here for those you want to join.

aceygray

I had some computer problems the past few days, so I'm just after catching up on the last pages of the thread. Can't believe the plan is starting tomorrow :eek:

My milage was down a bit this week, because I wanted to rest my sore foot. I went to a physio yesterday which definitely helped. He said I have mild plantar fasciitis, but he's happy enough for me to continue running. Phew!

He gave me some stretches and strengthening excercises to do which will hopefully help. I'm also going to buy new shoes this week, and make an appointment for a check up with my GP.

Here's my weekly check in:
Monday - Cross
Tuesday - 5 mile
Wednesday - 8 x 400m intervals
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Rest
Sunday - 6 mile.

chrislad

Best of luck to each of you as you undertake this massive..errr....undertaking!

There will be sweat, blisters, aches, pains, good days, bad days, and in between days. Listen to nop, he has a wealth of experience, along with his cohorts this year. Whether you do the marathon in your goal time, or not, you'll still have done a marathon. If you have to drop out due to injury or illness, take your learnings with you. There's the Clonakilty, Limerick, and Cork marathons next year too (I may see some of you for the Limerick one!)

I'm going to keep one eye on the thread, but this is your year, novices! Enjoy it, it's your achievement!