Earning my go-faster stripes...

eyrie

skyblue46 wrote: »

Last night I decided I would do a club session tonight. Today I decided I didn't fancy driving to Raheny and I'd take a rest day. 5 minutes ago I thought I might jog 2/3 miles later. Now I'm comfortable on the couch :pac:

But then you got off the couch and went out for a casual nine miles!! NINE!
Though maybe that proves your point actually... :pac:

Murph_D

Hey, sometimes we go through long periods of so-so running for no apparent reason. How we deal with it is another thing. Time off, change it up, change it down, try something different - lots of options. Haven’t followed closely enough to have real insight into your training, but you’ll figure it out.

A bad race is just a bad race. I sat out Terenure this year because I feel I always have a bad one there. Was interesting to be on the sideline for a change. Pity I didn’t get to meet you or some of the others I’ve yet to meet in person. Someone should’ve introduced us!

Bluesquare

Low iron can effect more than energy levels - as it can make you feel less motivated , more anxious etc . Low iron also effects other things so your thyroid function maybe working less effectively etc etc .

I’m convinced and of course this is a complete conspiracy theory that everyone now and again we get low level viruses that don’t make us sick but hang around for ages like parasites sucking on our energy levels and running mojo!

eyrie

Thanks everyone, lots of sense being spoken! I'll think more about all the comments but there's a general "chill out and let running fit in when/where it can" which funnily enough is exactly what I'd be saying to someone else I think. Funny how you sometimes need to hear it from someone else!

With that in mind I reckon "no plan" might be the plan for the moment, and just take it as it comes in terms of runs and races. Could be fun!

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

In contrast to myself on Sunday, my OH and sister gently ran around the 10k race in an hour plus. I don't think either of them know what a PB is, never mind what their PB is! But, they enjoyed the hell out of the race, chatting to randomers, taking in the day, just enjoying their run. It's an attitude that drives me crazy at times, but then other times I stand back and wonder if they've cracked it? Maybe, like everything, balance is the answer.

It's funny this, isn't it? It's not long at all since I would have been delighted just to be able to run 10k, never mind how fast (slow more like) I did it. But then we get into the habit and the perspective changes massively.

ReeReeG wrote: »

I'm glad the chat after the race helped, although afterwards I thought I'd rushed off from you towards the food a little quickly!

The call of the cakes is strong, don't worry I get it :pac:

Huzzah! - Thanks You were missed at Terenure!

skyblue46 - I like the sound of your approach. I'm much the same - the plan for this year was to avoid marathons and be able to have more flexibility. But a big part of that in theory was to get faster at the shorter stuff, so I suppose I've been reluctant to step back too much. The body decides ultimately though - my intentions are only that!

Kellygirl - Thanks I'll definitely be pulling back the paces for a bit, kind of looking forward to that prospect actually. Taking it all apart to put it back together, sort of

eyrie

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Ah I feel for you. Sorry to hear all of this stuff is going on. I guess I'm probably in a decent position to impart some advice or at least share my own learnings.

I know only too well on the dangers of trying to balance structured, hard running with health issues and stress. It's not good. One moment that stands out in my memory from last year was having one of the worst days I've experienced in my life and the next day I was out on the local pitch going at my first XC grass session. It's madness when I think back. Dedication and commitment is one of the qualities that makes a great runner. Unfortunately it sometimes equates to making bad choices and not pulling back.

If I had my time over again, as hard as it would be, I'd step back from structured running. Once I discussed things with Luke the approach to training changed for a while. If I was you I'd have some sort of rough plan in place but wouldn't be a slave to it. If the day is going OK then great, run the planned session. But for the stressful days maybe leave it. Most important thing is get out when you can purely for the mental relief. Don't worry about times or sessions. Run for fun if you can. Do some parkruns.

Sessions and structured hard running is meant to be done Ina way to build you up. If health is poor and stress is high then the training will break you down and not build you up. Counter productive. Just my opinion. Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks P. Yep, you'd wonder about our sanity sometimes. I don't know if it's just a human tendency to keep piling more stuff on or what, but it's counterproductive for sure. And instinctively when things start going badly you can want to push even harder in response, when actually doing less is what's required. Hard to give up control though, but then it's really only an illusion that we have any in the first place...

Getting lost in philosophising (?) now, I clearly need to go for a run :P

eyrie

Murph_D wrote: »

Hey, sometimes we go through long periods of so-so running for no apparent reason. How we deal with it is another thing. Time off, change it up, change it down, try something different - lots of options. Haven’t followed closely enough to have real insight into your training, but you’ll figure it out.

A bad race is just a bad race. I sat out Terenure this year because I feel I always have a bad one there. Was interesting to be on the sideline for a change. Pity I didn’t get to meet you or some of the others I’ve yet to meet in person. Someone should’ve introduced us!

Someone should! I'm dead keen to meet more Boardsies.

Bluesquare wrote: »

Low iron can effect more than energy levels - as it can make you feel less motivated , more anxious etc . Low iron also effects other things so your thyroid function maybe working less effectively etc etc .

I’m convinced and of course this is a complete conspiracy theory that everyone now and again we get low level viruses that don’t make us sick but hang around for ages like parasites sucking on our energy levels and running mojo!

Ha, in fairness I pretty much never get sick so I'm extremely lucky. No doubt there can be all sorts going on that we don't know about, but I think I've gotten off pretty lightly. Sorry to hear you've been through the wars again though, but sounds like you're starting to feel better?

ariana`

I'm sorry to hear you weren't happy with your race and that you're generally having a rough time. Not much i can add to the great responses you've got already but hang in there and hopefully this phase will pass soon enough. Mind yourself x

eyrie

Probably not the most logical time to start logging again, but here we are :pac:

Monday 13th May - 3.25 miles recovery @ 10:52 per mile, HR 137
Day after the race. Legs pretty delicate and really felt it, but this was lovely and relaxing. Amazing weather and really focused on keeping HR low.

Tuesday 14th - 6 miles easy @ 10:30 per mile, HR 145
Absolute beaut of a day! Legs felt fairly tender and tired again, and I've been having a weird kind of soreness in my hip joints lately? Falling apart, basically Anyway I kept this really easy but the stamina was definitely low.

Wednesday 15th - 6 miles easy @ 10:42, HR 138
After posting about my woes and getting a lot of sensible comments I decided to lay off a bit. No sooner had I decided that then I found myself dying to go for a run, so in the spirit of just enjoying it I figured why not. Lovely first two miles and then the legs and energy went completely.

The rest of the evening yesterday my legs were really stiff which I've been getting a bit lately. Not something that would ever happen normally, and I was feeling like an aul one getting up off the couch last night. Dunno if that's connected to the iron too? I know it can make recovery slower, and I think I've seen some stuff about muscle and joint soreness being a side effect, so maybe...

Anyway along with all that (this is getting embarrassing now) I have a niggle in my left hip which is not serious at all but noticeable and annoying, so I'm considering taking the rest of the week as rest and hope my body has rediscovered its actual age by next week. :rolleyes:

eyrie

Monday 20th May - Runmute
Well true to my last post I didn't run at all for the rest of the week. I'd love to say I missed it but... :rolleyes:
That said, it was lovely being back out out this evening. Kept it very easy in the spirit of keeping the pressure off - 4.7 miles @ 10:28 pace, as a runmute.

It seems nuts but it's getting near time to start a half plan if I want to target one in the autumn. The plan had been to have Charleville as the main goal for the year but it doesn't suit anymore unfortunately. So I think I'll run Tullamore again instead, loved it last year so would be delighted to go back anyway. But somehow counting back 14 weeks from there means starting training in two weeks!! I haven't even finished the 5k-10k plan with all the stops and starts, and haven't raced a single 10k. But so be it, I can always work in a couple of 10ks during training.

Of course the other option would be to keep the focus on 5k/10k training since I didn't really get the work that I wanted. But then I love a good half... I'm torn! Would really like to try and get most benefit in terms of training/speed/etc, so I'd prioritise whatever would do that really, just not sure what makes most sense at this stage. [/End of rambling ]

skyblue46

Welcome to my world! :pac: Want to race more, want to train for 10k, want to train for a half, want to race while training....:o

ariana`

I hope the few days rest has done you the world of good C. I also wish you well with decision making, finding myself with some similar thoughts lately too. Charleville was supposed to be the goal but I'm struggling to find enthusiasm for it yet. Are u doing BH tomorrow evening by any chance? It might help you decide - either ignite a fire for the shorter stuff or send you running to the longer stuff? I have a couple of shorter races coming up (including a 5k tomorrow) and I'm hoping they will help me decide one way or the other... With respect to the long term benefit I've no idea which would be better but I think whichever your heart is in would probably be best? Sorry i can't be more insightful than that

hillsiderunner

Will they test your iron again soon, Eyrie? That might help you decide. I saw if you love HMs, go with that, and it doesn't have to be the one you were planning on.

Swashbuckler

Do what you love. That will supercede any "long term gains doing what you think you should be doing" as you will quickly lose motivation.

Huzzah!

As was pointed out to me, the first five weeks of both plans are the same, so no need to decide yet.

We're in this running lark for the long haul. Plenty of time to do 5k-specific stuff if you'd prefer to train for a half now. You'll still be making gains, so there's nothing really to lose, imho.

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

As was pointed out to me, the first five weeks of both plans are the same, so no need to decide yet.

We're in this running lark for the long haul. Plenty of time to do 5k-specific stuff if you'd prefer to train for a half now. You'll still be making gains, so there's nothing really to lose, imho.

Oh very good point! Also the HM plan is 10k-HM really, so no reason it wouldn't help my improve at the 10k too. That just seemed too complicated for my brain to grasp yesterday, apparently :rolleyes:

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Will they test your iron again soon, Eyrie? That might help you decide. I saw if you love HMs, go with that, and it doesn't have to be the one you were planning on.

No plans M but I'll probably go back in a few months and see if it has come up. It better have, given how much I'm dosing myself!

skyblue46 wrote: »

Welcome to my world! :pac: Want to race more, want to train for 10k, want to train for a half, want to race while training....:o

Ha, simple! Why can't we just have it all, and make sure it all goes perfectly while we're at it. Is that really so hard?? :P I thought your plans were being decided for you by Boards committee now, no? A half out foreign?

eyrie

ariana` wrote: »

I hope the few days rest has done you the world of good C. I also wish you well with decision making, finding myself with some similar thoughts lately too. Charleville was supposed to be the goal but I'm struggling to find enthusiasm for it yet. Are u doing BH tomorrow evening by any chance? It might help you decide - either ignite a fire for the shorter stuff or send you running to the longer stuff? I have a couple of shorter races coming up (including a 5k tomorrow) and I'm hoping they will help me decide one way or the other... With respect to the long term benefit I've no idea which would be better but I think whichever your heart is in would probably be best? Sorry i can't be more insightful than that

I'm not doing BH, nothing on the immediate horizon actually. Looking forward to hearing how yours went
I don't think there should be any "supposed to" with this stuff. If the last few months have shown me anything it's that there's no guarantee it will go to plan anyway so you might as well be doing what you most enjoy. So if you have more of a glimmer of enthusiasm for something else could be worth paying attention to that?

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Do what you love. That will supercede any "long term gains doing what you think you should be doing" as you will quickly lose motivation.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell right enough.
Going to continue the step back for a week or two and do a bit of base building so no firm decision needed instantly, but I'm definitely leaning towards a half now.

eyrie

Didn't realise it had been quite so long since I posted here. It's been a weird few months in a variety of ways, and as a result between one thing and another my running has been either crap or just minimal, pretty much since the MSB 5k in March. But July is a new month, health/energy issues are getting back to normal and my thesis is finished and gone (i.e. life can begin again), so the plan is to get back into the swing of things with running too.

Fitness is definitely poor. Between the end of May and mid June I averaged just 15 miles a week for three weeks. Then a week's holidays which involved hiking all day so no running, but over 60 miles covered up and down hills on the Wicklow Way so hopefully a bit of that helps. Back home last week and started the Grads base building plan. All planned runs done for week 1 and felt decent, if not exactly amazing. But it's a start.

I had been going back and forth about what to target next (short stuff or a good half block) but actually that feels like fantasy talk at the moment. I need a build a base again before I worry about anything else, and I think I'll have a better chance of doing that honestly without any pressure of races and times. I might well do some for the sake of it, but mostly I need to just be patient. Not my best quality so we'll see how that goes!

Exciting to see the novices thread up and running and so active now.

Recap of Week 1 (24th - 30th June) - Base Building

Monday - Rest. Lazy spa day to finish off the hiking trip.
Tuesday - 45 mins easy (10:10 pace). Delighted to note that the niggle that had been following me around for months was totally gone
Wednesday - Progression run. Hot day for it but most of this was enjoyable and it felt good to be doing something again. Mile splits were 10:32, 9:54, 9:28, 9:02, 8:47, 8:16 plus a cool down for 7.5 miles total
Thursday - 45 mins easy (10:17 pace)
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 40 min easy + 10 x 100m strides. Humidity and a slight hangover had the effort a bit high, but the strides were great.
Sunday - 90 min LSR. Tired early on, but a late night and the humidity probably played a part. That and the absence of any endurace worth speaking of :rolleyes:

31 miles for the week, which I'll try to match this week before I up it any further.

Mr. Guappa

Great to have you back about the place C! Best of luck with the rest of the year.

Wubble Wubble

Welcome back!

Very well done on completing your thesis - whatever about anything else, that in itself has got to be a massive weight off your shoulders. Looking forward to more updates here

Swashbuckler

Good to see you back

ariana`

Congratulations on the thesis, that's a big achievement! Nice to see you back around here, happy base building :-)

chickey2

Great to see you back and well done on the thesis! I saw your hiking on strava, it looked amazing, you were so lucky with the weather.
Best of luck with the plan.

Kellygirl

Great to see you back training and feeling good. Congrats on the Thesis.

ReeReeG

Congrats on finishing the thesis, must be a massive relief!
Been delighted to see regular running from you pop up on Strava again

skyblue46

I'll just add myself to the loooonnnnggggg list welcoming you back. Great to see. Brilliant pictures from the Wicklow Way, it looked fantastic. Next challenge......run it! :pac:

Huzzah!

It's great to have you back! Congrats on the thesis - it can feel very isolating trying to get it done and I'm sure it's a weight off your shoulders now it's been completed.

eyrie

Thanks a million everyone! Absolutely lovely to be back It's funny, I was starting to worry that I'd completely lost the desire for running over the last while. Then I'm back here for all of 24 hours and it's straight back to borderline obsession again. Would ya be able... :rolleyes:

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Very well done on completing your thesis - whatever about anything else, that in itself has got to be a massive weight off your shoulders. Looking forward to more updates here

Huzzah! wrote: »

It's great to have you back! Congrats on the thesis - it can feel very isolating trying to get it done and I'm sure it's a weight off your shoulders now it's been completed.

SUCH a weight off. Can't even believe it. Except for one weekend away I hadn't had a day off since the start of January between work and then in the library all weekend. I don't know what to do with myself now!

skyblue46 wrote: »

I'll just add myself to the loooonnnnggggg list welcoming you back. Great to see. Brilliant pictures from the Wicklow Way, it looked fantastic. Next challenge......run it! :pac:

I would adore to do this. We walked it the opposite direction to most people (i.e. towards Dublin instead of starting there) and as we got near Dublin on the last two days there were loads of people out on the trails running. I was so jealous! Never tried trail running at all but I think it could be a project for the summer... Your Howth adventure is helping fuel the desire now too!

eyrie

Base Building - Week 2

MON | 45 min easy on the treadmill (10:23 pace, HR 142). Yoga later in the evening, Hips are so tight! :eek:
TUE | 45 mins moderate + 15 mins strength training
WED | 45 mins easy (10:31 pace, HR 141) Glutes feeling the wee bit of strength training yesterday
THU | Rest. It's official, the bug is back. I am now dying to run on rest days. Luckily I'll be back up to 6 days next week.
FRI | 40 min easy + 5 min threshold. Averaged 8:01 for the threshold bit which is bang in the middle of target. Couldn't swear that the effort wasn't fractionally high though.
SAT | 90 min easy (10:13 pace, HR 151). Same route as this run last week and it felt much easier, I didn't start to tire midway through like last time.
SUN | Rest in theory but ended up hiking Lugnaquilla, which was surprisingly tough so probably not ideal rest! Makes the weekend feel so much longer to get totally away from the city and up into the mountains though so worth it.

30.5 miles for the week, plus a 9 mile hike. A work trip this week might mess things up a bit but the plan is to get up to 6 days now.

I've been doing some reading up on base building, from old posts around Boards and a few other articles. I need to remind myself of the purpose of this phase and to keep the effort properly restrained. Advice quoted in something I was reading about the Summer of Malmo approach was that all workouts should be run "relaxed and within yourself", which is probably a good guideline most of the time actually. I don't know why it's still so hard not to focus on hitting a particular pace though even when you know you're working too hard for it. I blame Strava! :pac:

Kellygirl

eyrie wrote: »

Base Building - Week 2

MON | 45 min easy on the treadmill (10:23 pace, HR 142). Yoga later in the evening, Hips are so tight! :eek:
TUE | 45 mins moderate + 15 mins strength training
WED | 45 mins easy (10:31 pace, HR 141) Glutes feeling the wee bit of strength training yesterday
THU | Rest. It's official, the bug is back. I am now dying to run on rest days. Luckily I'll be back up to 6 days next week.
FRI | 40 min easy + 5 min threshold. Averaged 8:01 for the threshold bit which is bang in the middle of target. Couldn't swear that the effort wasn't fractionally high though.
SAT | 90 min easy (10:13 pace, HR 151). Same route as this run last week and it felt much easier, I didn't start to tire midway through like last time.
SUN | Rest in theory but ended up hiking Lugnaquilla, which was surprisingly tough so probably not ideal rest! Makes the weekend feel so much longer to get totally away from the city and up into the mountains though so worth it.

30.5 miles for the week, plus a 9 mile hike. A work trip this week might mess things up a bit but the plan is to get up to 6 days now.

I've been doing some reading up on base building, from old posts around Boards and a few other articles. I need to remind myself of the purpose of this phase and to keep the effort properly restrained. Advice quoted in something I was reading about the Summer of Malmo approach was that all workouts should be run "relaxed and within yourself", which is probably a good guideline most of the time actually. I don't know why it's still so hard not to focus on hitting a particular pace though even when you know you're working too hard for it. I blame Strava! :pac:

That’s a good solid week and really nice to see the bug has bitten again.

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

Base Building - Week 2

MON | 45 min easy on the treadmill (10:23 pace, HR 142). Yoga later in the evening, Hips are so tight! :eek:
TUE | 45 mins moderate + 15 mins strength training
WED | 45 mins easy (10:31 pace, HR 141) Glutes feeling the wee bit of strength training yesterday
THU | Rest. It's official, the bug is back. I am now dying to run on rest days. Luckily I'll be back up to 6 days next week.
FRI | 40 min easy + 5 min threshold. Averaged 8:01 for the threshold bit which is bang in the middle of target. Couldn't swear that the effort wasn't fractionally high though.
SAT | 90 min easy (10:13 pace, HR 151). Same route as this run last week and it felt much easier, I didn't start to tire midway through like last time.
SUN | Rest in theory but ended up hiking Lugnaquilla, which was surprisingly tough so probably not ideal rest! Makes the weekend feel so much longer to get totally away from the city and up into the mountains though so worth it.

30.5 miles for the week, plus a 9 mile hike. A work trip this week might mess things up a bit but the plan is to get up to 6 days now.

I've been doing some reading up on base building, from old posts around Boards and a few other articles. I need to remind myself of the purpose of this phase and to keep the effort properly restrained. Advice quoted in something I was reading about the Summer of Malmo approach was that all workouts should be run "relaxed and within yourself", which is probably a good guideline most of the time actually. I don't know why it's still so hard not to focus on hitting a particular pace though even when you know you're working too hard for it. I blame Strava! :pac:

I really blame not building a proper base as the reason for my woes this year. It's totally worth it. Good to see you finding the love again.