If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.

runrun2

ariana` wrote: »

K, i'm delighted to see you getting good advice and becoming clearer on the way forward! I'll be looking forward to following your progress with the plan.



runrun2, this little word thrown in there has me a tiny bit concerned I'm planning to follow the Grads plan, i plan to run mostly 6 day weeks though undoubtedly there will be some 5 days weeks as well I know nobody can give me a guarantee but do you think the Grads plan (at my current speed which is similar to KellyGirls) will be sufficient to run a good marathon? I'm not necessarily targeting sub-4 realistically i think i need another marathon cycle in my legs before i really give sub 4 a good rattle.

K, sorry for the hijack

Hi Ariana, No I think the plan is great, if you can manage the mileage then you're in very good shape. Also I wouldn't worry about doing only 5 days since it says you can rest if you like on 6th day.

Its generic in the sense that its measured by time rather than distance.
The boards one is just simpler to me and because distance is already mapped
out then Kelly doesn't need to worry about how many miles she can cover on her long run in 3 hours.


Some people will cover more distance in a 3 hour training run than others (the longest run on grad plan is 3 hours). I think the argument about that is that after 3 hours on your feet the benefits are minimal or perhaps reversed. I'm sure other people like to have a certain distance covered on a long training run to feel confident they can cover the distance rather than think of the physiological benefits.
I'm also sure this argument has been done to death probably on the initial grad thread where this plan was posted.


It wouldnt be a bad thread to start - peoples opinions on doing a long run based on time on feet rather than distance.

skyblue46

runrun2 wrote: »

Hi Ariana, No I think the plan is great, if you can manage the mileage then you're in very good shape. Also I wouldn't worry about doing only 5 days since it says you can rest if you like on 6th day.

Its generic in the sense that its measured by time rather than distance.
The boards one is just simpler to me and because distance is already mapped
out then Kelly doesn't need to worry about how many miles she can cover on her long run in 3 hours.


Some people will cover more distance in a 3 hour training run than others (the longest run on grad plan is 3 hours). I think the argument about that is that after 3 hours on your feet the benefits are minimal or perhaps reversed. I'm sure other people like to have a certain distance covered on a long training run to feel confident they can cover the distance rather than think of the physiological benefits.
I'm also sure this argument has been done to death probably on the initial grad thread where this plan was posted.


It wouldnt be a bad thread to start - peoples opinions on doing a long run based on time on feet rather than distance.

Is it not more important that training replicates the affects of racing and improves individual components which then improve the sum? Boxers don't train 12 x 3 minute rounds, Tour de France cyclists don't do much race pace training. They do endurance training, they go up mountains paced by motorbikes at paces faster than they will ever race it but in short reps. Their long spins are slower than race pace.

runrun2

skyblue46 wrote: »

Is it not more important that training replicates the affects of racing and improves individual components which then improve the sum? Boxers don't train 12 x 3 minute rounds, Tour de France cyclists don't do much race pace training. They do endurance training, they go up mountains paced by motorbikes at paces faster than they will ever race it but in short reps. Their long spins are slower than race pace.

As I said in that post Im sure that argument has been done to death so I'll opt out of a response and point you to the grads thread where they discuss it.
You might fancy pulling a plan together for Kelly and Ariana yourself

skyblue46

runrun2 wrote: »

more important than what? Sorry I don't get your analogy.

Than having plenty of race pace miles. I'm intending to use the grads plan which as you mentioned is short on MP miles on long runs. You see this as the reason KG didn't, nor ever could for Cork, do the time she hoped for. I'm happy with the logic behind the grads plan based on training practice in many other sports and was hoping you could explain why I should be worried about the lack of PMP miles on long runs.

runrun2

skyblue46 wrote: »

Than having plenty of race pace miles. I'm intending to use the grads plan which as you mentioned is short on MP miles on long runs. You see this as the reason KG didn't, nor ever could for Cork, do the time she hoped for. I'm happy with the logic behind the grads plan based on training practice in many other sports and was hoping you could explain why I should be worried about the lack of PMP miles on long runs.

I'm not saying anyone should be worried and I'm not fully sure what you're saying about KG?


This is only my opinion, different strokes etc. different techniques.



Okay sorry Sky, nobody is saying to go out and do 26 marathon miles at pace.
But IMO, if you could pull 15 pace miles out on a 20 mile long run I reckon you would be replicating how you feel on race day as much as is possible,



Look at McMillan 10k plan, probably the most assuring 10k plan out there for reaching a target. It almost totally replicates the 10k race.
3x2 miles at race pace etc.

skyblue46

runrun2 wrote: »

I'm not saying anyone should be worried and I'm not fully sure what you're saying about KG?


This is only my opinion, different strokes etc. different techniques.



Okay sorry Sky, nobody is saying to go out and do 26 marathon miles at pace.
But IMO, if you could pull 15 pace miles out on a 20 mile long run I reckon you would be replicating how you feel on race day as much as is possible,



Look at McMillan 10k plan, probably the most assuring 10k plan out there for reaching a target. It almost totally replicates the 10k race.
3x2 miles at race pace etc.

Ah okay. You see I don't know how long you have been following KGs progress but she ran 4:20 at a canter in DCM. I don't think she needed a huge change in emphasis to break 4 hours. To reach 3:40/3:45 would certainly need a different approach.

Anyways back to me, coz it's all about me and 29/10/18. Do you think I need to be doing 15 mp miles on my long run ( I know not them all) to get the best out of myself while at the same time not taking an excessive injury or burnout risk?

Kellygirl

I think both plans have their merits. The Grads plan is all about the cumulative effect of the runs throughout the week. I probably can’t do all of those runs so I’ll lose out from those benefits.

The boards plan suits me. I loved it last year and it gave me a fab DCM 17. My issue now is getting faster and also the confidence to do that pace on the day and that’s what I was missing in Cork. I think the mp miles in the long runs should help that side of things as well as giving me something different to focus on for this training cycle.

Kellygirl

skyblue46 wrote: »

Ah okay. You see I don't know how long you have been following KGs progress but she ran 4:20 at a canter in DCM. I don't think she needed a huge change in emphasis to break 4 hours. To reach 3:40/3:45 would certainly need a different approach.

Anyways back to me, coz it's all about me and 29/10/18. Do you think I need to be doing 15 mp miles on my long run ( I know not them all) to get the best out of myself while at the same time not taking an excessive injury or burnout risk?

I think you’d do better if you turned up on the 28/10/18!

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote:

The boards plan suits me. I loved it last year and it gave me a fab DCM 17. My issue now is getting faster and also the confidence to do that pace on the day and that’s what I was missing in Cork. I think the mp miles in the long runs should help that side of things as well as giving me something different to focus on for this training cycle.

Just a small suggestion as your running career developes . Mix up the training blocks. Improving your shorter distances will feed into your marathon.

ariana`

Kellygirl wrote: »

I think you’d do better if you turned up on the 28/10/18!

He doesn't like big crowds :pac:

Kellygirl

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Just a small suggestion as your running career developes . Mix up the training blocks. Improving your shorter distances will feed into your marathon.

Good point. I’m just going from one marathon to the next!

runrun2

skyblue46 wrote: »

Ah okay. You see I don't know how long you have been following KGs progress but she ran 4:20 at a canter in DCM. I don't think she needed a huge change in emphasis to break 4 hours. To reach 3:40/3:45 would certainly need a different approach.

Anyways back to me, coz it's all about me and 29/10/18. Do you think I need to be doing 15 mp miles on my long run ( I know not them all) to get the best out of myself while at the same time not taking an excessive injury or burnout risk?

Ah Im such a dope, I'm only copping you're talking about Kelly right.
Yeah, to me I think thats what Kelly was missing and I agree with you I dont think she needed much change either other than pace miles which is why I suggested earlier to her to follow boards and leave out any speed runs except for the pace miles on the long run.
She says shes able for more so she should give it a good lash now and with a bit of motivation and drive she'll get there I think.



I couldnt tell you about your approach or ariana's either really as I havnt followed either progress. I cant remember why but I got involved in reading Kellys log and shotgun and another one or two.


I only commented on what I noticed about the plans when I read them. Theres pros and cons to everyone but there all generic and pretty much the same, its up to the individual to work out their own goals and train smartly



Obviously you would be building up towards a max of 15 to 17 pace miles and not going out every week and doing 15, yes that would burn anyone out.
Its up to kelly now to alter her plan and work out her build up.
She'll probably have weeks when shes not up to pace miles and needs to step back etc.

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote:

Good point. I’m just going from one marathon to the next!

Understandable. I see it a lot. Haha. But trust me. The shorter stuff will break it up. Going from one marathon cycle to the next is tough. Running 5k and 10k races has a much shorter recovery too so you get to go back running much sooner. Haha.

Feel free to ignore a guy who's never run a marathon.

skyblue46

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Understandable. I see it a lot. Haha. But trust me. The shorter stuff will break it up. Going from one marathon cycle to the next is tough. Running 5k and 10k races has a much shorter recovery too so you get to go back running much sooner. Haha.

Feel free to ignore a guy who's never run a marathon.

For a non marathon runner you're strangely astute! KG for a long time just wanted to do marathons...For enjoyment, walking if needed. The 5 and 10k work would bring in the hardship needed to go after a time target in the marathon.

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote:

For a non marathon runner you're strangely astute! KG for a long time just wanted to do marathons...For enjoyment, walking if needed. The 5 and 10k work would bring in the hardship needed to go after a time target in the marathon.

That's exactly it. And that's why you'll be enthralled when I go for sub 3 on my first attempt. Haha

Kellygirl

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Understandable. I see it a lot. Haha. But trust me. The shorter stuff will break it up. Going from one marathon cycle to the next is tough. Running 5k and 10k races has a much shorter recovery too so you get to go back running much sooner. Haha.

Feel free to ignore a guy who's never run a marathon.

skyblue46 wrote: »

For a non marathon runner you're strangely astute! KG for a long time just wanted to do marathons...For enjoyment, walking if needed. The 5 and 10k work would bring in the hardship needed to go after a time target in the marathon.

You are both correct. Marathons take the pressure off me to run too fast. I’m not very good at speed. But, I still want pbs in the shorter stuff but more as a consequence to my marathon training. I don’t think I’ll do the Cork full next year so maybe after Dublin it will be time to concentrate on the shorter stuff.

skyblue46

Swashbuckler wrote: »

That's exactly it. And that's why you'll be enthralled when I go for sub 3 on my first attempt. Haha

Sub 3? I'll only be enthralled if it's sub 2:50!

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote:

You are both correct. Marathons take the pressure off me to run too fast. I’m not very good at speed. But, I still want pbs in the shorter stuff but more as a consequence to my marathon training. I don’t think I’ll do the Cork full next year so maybe after Dublin it will be time to concentrate on the shorter stuff.

Well the best way forward in running is to get better at the things you're bad at. I went to Luke and asked him to improve my stamina and endurance. 1200 miles later and we're making progress. Haha.

All joking aside speed is relative. There's a misconception that to run 5ks you need to be super quick. You don't. And any improvements made there will feed on to your next block.

Aside from all that you're doing great regardless. Just some thoughts. By no means criticsing your excellent progress.

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote:

Sub 3? I'll only be enthralled if it's sub 2:50!

Let me get back to you this time next year. Haha

Rururun

Such an interesting thread and advice - good luck with mapping your own plan KG - amazing to have so much experience under our own belt too as your finding out what works for you and what you can do different! Enjoy the training in any case!

Kellygirl

Rururun wrote: »

Such an interesting thread and advice - good luck with mapping your own plan KG - amazing to have so much experience under our own belt too as your finding out what works for you and what you can do different! Enjoy the training in any case!

It suddenly turned into a hive of activity tonight!!

I have enjoyed all the banter and the advice and looking forward to getting going again in a couple of weeks with training ... and doing myself justice this time round.

Runrun2, not sure where you appeared from but thanks again for sorting me out!

ariana`

Some great posts on here last night.

Kellygirl wrote: »

You are both correct. Marathons take the pressure off me to run too fast. I’m not very good at speed. But, I still want pbs in the shorter stuff but more as a consequence to my marathon training. I don’t think I’ll do the Cork full next year so maybe after Dublin it will be time to concentrate on the shorter stuff.

I agree with Swashbuckler's advice with respect to doing the shorter stuff in between marathon plans KG. And i beg to differ with you on the point above. I think you just need practice!! In relation to your 5k race last week i already mentioned this post from my log which i think is very relevant to you at the moment - you just need practice This was posted on my log 2 months ago and i'm can say with confidence that I've proved AMK to have been correct. You've mentioned walking in both your 5m and your HM reports this year, i think some practice at short sharp stuff through doing sessions and doing shorter races would give you great confidence that you can hurt and still keep going. But now i'm really just repeating advice you already got from more experienced runners than I but i thought that post on my thread was a good one and very relevant to you so i wanted to share it

Kellygirl

ariana` wrote: »

Some great posts on here last night.



I agree with Swashbuckler's advice with respect to doing the shorter stuff in between marathon plans KG. And i beg to differ with you on the point above. I think you just need practice!! In relation to your 5k race last week i already mentioned this post from my log which i think is very relevant to you at the moment - you just need practice This was posted on my log 2 months ago and i'm can say with confidence that I've proved AMK to have been correct. You've mentioned walking in both your 5m and your HM reports this year, i think some practice at short sharp stuff through doing sessions and doing shorter races would give you great confidence that you can hurt and still keep going. But now i'm really just repeating advice you already got from more experienced runners than I but i thought that post on my thread was a good one and very relevant to you so i wanted to share it

Thanks Ariana. Great points. I must have a think as most of the shorter races are on during the Summer so would be nice to settle into training for shorter stuff after DCM but finding a race might not be so easy then - yet there were 3 5km races on locally last night that I could have gone to if I wanted.

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote:

Thanks Ariana. Great points. I must have a think as most of the shorter races are on during the Summer so would be nice to settle into training for shorter stuff after DCM but finding a race might not be so easy then - yet there were 3 5km races on locally last night that I could have gone to if I wanted.

parkrun

Kellygirl

Swashbuckler wrote: »

parkrun

Oh yeah :rolleyes::D

Baby75

I have been reading with great interest some great post over the last few days

I have to agree about fitting in the shorter stuff in between marathon / possibly ultra training K, I really enjoyed working towards my 5k time around December/January I used some speed sessions Testerone posted on a thread here on boards and found them great it was fun as well

Kellygirl

Recovery week 2 and other stuff

So I’ve just finished a lovely week’s running. Every run was so enjoyable.

Sunday: 45 mins very easy: 3.86 miles @ 11:41
A few weeks before Cork I introduced the Sunday morning run as a 5th run for the week. I’ve an early start at work having to be there for 8am and then over 4 hours in a swimming pool so these need to be very easy runs. Handy to squeeze in a recovery run. I want to make this a habit if I can though. I just plodded around the city - which stank and the remnants from the night before were fairly gross. Headed out the mardyke then to get away from the main streets.

Monday: 60 mins very easy: 5.11 miles @ 11.47
Just an easy pleasant run by myself. Don’t remember much more about it.

Wednesday: 90 mins easy: 8.2 miles at 10:59
My goal for this run was to increase the pace slightly to easy (11 min/mile) and also to try and keep the pace as steady as possible. It was such a lovely run. Weather had cooled a bit and even had a bit of rain. I liked the pace more than the ‘very easy’ and just enjoyed every minute of it.

Thursday: 60 min easy: 5.6 miles @ 11:00
Met a friend for this who was happy to run at my pace. Not as steady as the day before but the average was spot on. Another lovely run.

Saturday: 2 hours (30 min easy (11min mile); 30 min steady (10 min mile); 30 min MP (9 min mile); 30 min easy

After all the discussions on my log I decided I wanted to put one of the suggested sessions to use and my legs felt really ready for a bit of work too. Again I enjoyed the whole lot of this run. I’d set it up as a workout on my watch and the time flew with the changes every 30 mins. The 11 min mile was grand. The 10 min mile was probably my favorite part. I just settled into it and nice and steady. I was thinking maybe I should just run my marathons at that pace. I was in my happy zone :-) Just as a I turned to head back the way I came I started into the 9 min miles. I was now heading into the wind and took ages to settle into the pace. I kept pushing it too fast and then pulling back to get to the right pace. I think I was feeling that a 9 min mile needed more effort but actually it didn’t. It still felt fairly fast. I was glad when I got to the end of the 30 mins as I was at the bottom of a hill - well a drag really but was handy to drop back to the 11 min mile then. That was hard to slow down to and I kept speeding up. Felt great at the end though and was at 11.74 miles when the workout ended so kept going to get 12 miles. I was ready to go again after the easy 30 mins and thought about it but figured there was no point overdoing it for no reason. Turned out my paces were spot on when I looked at Garmin Connect after so pleased with that. Need to practice mp miles a lot more though and get comfortable with the pace.

Total miles for the week: 34.8 miles

Other stuff
So thanks to the help here during the week I now know that I am going to follow the Boards plan modified with mp miles in the long runs and I’m looking forward to it. I amended it last night to take out the race series and put in Killarney half marathon and the John Buckley 10 mile. I’m on holidays for the first week of the plan and no idea if I’ll get any running done there but it’s only 9 days and I’m not going to worry about it.

Kellygirl

Hi Guys, just wondering if I could ask for a bit more advice on the adding marathon pace miles into long runs.

I’ve been playing with the Boards plan to increase the mileage throughout the week to what I’m used to doing anyway. I was also thinking about the long runs and incorporating the mp miles. My fear is due to lack of experience I’ll either under do it or over do it. Afraid I won’t tell the difference between expected fatigue and then under train or overtrain in other words. Is it as simple as adding an extra mp mile weekly or block of mp miles and maybe step back to a steady easy run every 3 weeks or so?

So I was looking at plans that incorporate mp miles in long runs for guidance and I came across this sub 4 ASICS plan. Just wondering does anybody have an opinion on it? Specifically the long runs but would be it worth considering the plan as a whole? There are 2 days of faster stuff along with the long run but I think I like that.

http://www.petewilcock.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ASICS_TRAININGPLANS_Sub-4.00.pdf

ariana`

Kellygirl wrote: »

Hi Guys, just wondering if I could ask for a bit more advice on the adding marathon pace miles into long runs.

I’ve been playing with the Boards plan to increase the mileage throughout the week to what I’m used to doing anyway. I was also thinking about the long runs and incorporating the mp miles. My fear is due to lack of experience I’ll either under do it or over do it. Afraid I won’t tell the difference between expected fatigue and then under train or overtrain in other words. Is it as simple as adding an extra mp mile weekly or block of mp miles and maybe step back to a steady easy run every 3 weeks or so?

So I was looking at plans that incorporate mp miles in long runs for guidance and I came across this sub 4 ASICS plan. Just wondering does anybody have an opinion on it? Specifically the long runs but would be it worth considering the plan as a whole? There are 2 days of faster stuff along with the long run but I think I like that.

http://www.petewilcock.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ASICS_TRAININGPLANS_Sub-4.00.pdf

I got a chance to look at it in some detail there K and i think i'd slow the pace of some of the slow called 'easy' runs. The plans suggests 10 min/mile, for me (and i think we're fairly similar) i'd probably do them at 10:30-11:00 min/mile. Also i notice some weeks have no easy runs which is strange, for example week 2 has no easy run except for the LSR. Same again in week 14 (of 16), no easy run.

It looks like a fairly tough plan to be honest, lots of variety though and good progression in the long runs. I like the layout - it's very dummy friendly for sure. I am tempted and interested to hear what those more experienced might think.

Huzzah!

ariana` wrote: »

I got a chance to look at it in some detail there K and i think i'd slow the pace of some of the slow called 'easy' runs. The plans suggests 10 min/mile, for me (and i think we're fairly similar) i'd probably do them at 10:30-11:00 min/mile. Also i notice some weeks have no easy runs which is strange, for example week 2 has no easy run except for the LSR. Same again in week 14 (of 16), no easy run.

It looks like a fairly tough plan to be honest, lots of variety though and good progression in the long runs. I like the layout - it's very dummy friendly for sure. I am tempted and interested to hear what those more experienced might think.

The long run in week 13 looks :eek:

(Although, for a sub4, it's basically 13 miles at PMP, so maybe not so bad)

Kellygirl

Huzzah! wrote: »

The long run in week 13 looks :eek:

Week 12? The 20 miler? Challenging alright I’d say.

The posters earlier were saying to be doing upto 15 miles at mp.

I totally agree about slowing the pace of the easy runs and with the way my week is structured I couldn’t do the run the day before the long run but would be doing a recovery run the day after.

runrun2

Hi Kelly, did you know that you can buy personal marathon plans from the likes of Gary O'Hanlon or Kevin English?


It would take all of the woes you have about generic plans and all you'd have to do is follow what they tell you but at a price.


I'm sure the Claw does it too and Catherina Mc Kiernan.

skyblue46

runrun2 wrote: »

Hi Kelly, did you know that you can buy personal marathon plans from the likes of Gary O'Hanlon or Kevin English?


It would take all of the woes you have about generic plans and all you'd have to do is follow what they tell you but at a price.


I'm sure the Claw does it too and Catherina Mc Kiernan.

I think DiegoB of these parts used a plan by Gary O Hanlon for the Donadea 50k.

runrun2

skyblue46 wrote: »

I think DiegoB of these parts used a plan by Gary O Hanlon for the Donadea 50k.

Yeah so did that guy who did well in the Longford marathon who also had a blog.

Kellygirl

That could be interesting alright depending on how affordable it would be! Wonder what sort of price it would be. Having said that I still think the Boards plan with the extra mileage and mp miles is the simplest idea. Just want to make sure I structure the mp miles as best as I can.

runrun2 wrote: »

Yeah so did that guy who did well in the Longford marathon who also had a blog.

Is that somebody here on Boards?

runrun2

Kellygirl wrote: »

That could be interesting alright depending on how affordable it would be! Wonder what sort of price it would be. Having said that I still think the Boards plan with the extra mileage and mp miles is the simplest idea. Just want to make sure I structure the mp miles as best as I can.



Is that somebody here on Boards?

Yeah Im sure Sky could remember him, he was only logging here for one marathon i think and he was fast. Not in the 4 hour bracket.


Just google any of those names I gave you and they'll throw up contact details.

OOnegative

runrun2 wrote: »

Yeah Im sure Sky could remember him, he was only logging here for one marathon i think and he was fast. Not in the 4 hour bracket.


Just google any of those names I gave you and they'll throw up contact details.

pgarr is his Boards name.

runrun2

runrun2 wrote: »

Hi Kelly, did you know that you can buy personal marathon plans from the likes of Gary O'Hanlon or Kevin English?


It would take all of the woes you have about generic plans and all you'd have to do is follow what they tell you but at a price.


I'm sure the Claw does it too and Catherina Mc Kiernan.

I'd go with Kevin English, I think he seems really enthusiastic about running at the moment and he'd give you more bang for your buck.

Kellygirl

Updating my log now as off on holidays tomorrow.

Sunday - Recovery run 4.19 miles @ 10:47

An early run before work. Just dumped the car in town and off I went. I needed to do minimum 3.76 miles to get to 700 miles for the year. Set off and my legs felt quite heavy. Plodded on slowly and out the Western road and back in the Mardyke. Fascinated by the amount of tourists walking round with nothing open or to see besides a dirty city at that time of the morning. Loosened up eventually and somehow did the last mile as a 9 min mile without noticing even though all others were over 11 min miles.

60 min easy run 5.57 miles @ 11.11
Ran with a friend. Nice run. I think the gps was acting in the park with the trees as it felt much steadier than the splits were afterwards.

Wednesday 1 mile WU; 4 mile MP; 1 mile CD
Not following a plan yet but this was one of the workouts on the Boards plan so just did it to try and practice steady pacing. Created it as a workout on my watch with warm up and cool down at an 11 min mile and the MP miles at a 9 min mile.
Paces turned out to be 10:55; 8:58; 8;52; 9:01; 9:05; 10:44
I was pretty pleased with them but I worked two hard for the first two mp miles. These were drags uphill with a sharp downhill and I put too much effort in. The 3rd MP mile was just lovely and steady and I was delighted to see it was bang on.

I’m saying MP is a 9 min mile now. Maybe that’s a bit mad. I don’t think I’ve a sub 4 in me for Dublin so I wonder should I see how it goes as I’m training. McMillan and Runfastcoach are giving me that based on my 5 mile race but there’s a big difference. Hopefully Killarney HM will give me more guidance.

Thursday 6.45 miles @ 10:42
Bit faster than planned - I intended doing an easy run at an 11 min mile. Was in good company and taken on a new route and didn’t worry too much as possibly no more running for the next 9 days. Going on hols tomorrow and may or may not run. I’m not going to worry about it. Hoping to get a run in more to see the area than for fitness. I feel I need a break and my achilles is at me. Have texted the physio to set up an appointment for when I come home to make sure i’m Ship shape starting DCM Training.

Swashbuckler

Have a great holiday and enjoy the break.

ReeReeG

Enjoy the holiday!

Huzzah!

Have a really great holiday. You've had a great start to the year, so definitely don't worry if you don't get some running in. You'll be nice and fresh and raring to go when you get back

Baby75

enjoy the holidays if that Achilles is at you then rest and if you can start doing some eccentric heel drops

I do two exercises 15 of each x 3 twice a day I hope physio can get you in and do some ultrasound if needed if it is only niggly now resting icing and doing the rehab exercises won't put a dent in any training for DCM I know I am probably OTT over it but look at me nearly 4 months gone because of mine! :eek:

also, watch flat shoes and high heels they can make it worse

I will try to find a video of the exercises for you

Kellygirl

Holidays

We went to Salou in Spain for 9 days and I had no big plans to run. I felt I needed a break and my family needed a break. That said, I had heard about the fabulous promenade from Salou to Cambrils so I had to run some of it. So last Wednesday I got up at 7am and headed straight out and decided just to run easy for as long as I felt good. My Achilles (I think) is giving me trouble so I’m very wary until I see my physio. Anyway it was a beautiful run and I did 6 miles @ 11.07 on average. The achilles didn’t give me any trouble really. Felt it the odd time and it felt good all day afterwards.

Decathlon expedition
I was dying to get to Decathlon. Found out it was about a 30 min walk from the campsite so headed off by myself. I was very excited getting there. I was slightly disappointed initially as they were lacking normal sizes. Nearly everything I wanted was only available in XXL or XXS. Anyway, took a while and some searching and still managed to spend a small fortune there. For anybody else going the sizes are a bit odd at times and I literally came with small, medium and large. 2 tops the same brand and same style are a medium and a large. Bit reluctant to buy on line from there now. Anyway, walked back to the campsite. Was only 1.7 miles but my achilles and under my foot really hurt to the point of nearly limping.

Home run
We got home this afternoon and I was dying to get out for a run so got out late this eve. Just did 5km very slowly. Feeling very overweight after a good few weeks of bad diet so healthy eating started this evening and an online shop done and I am back on track. The legs were fine running but I just felt heavy! Got to wear my new running skirt from Decathlon anyway!

What’s next - DCM Training
Obviously this achilles could be an issue but I’ve been onto the physio and even though I can’t see her until the 18th due to her holidays she is happy with me to continue running as long as I’m very careful and stop if I think I could be in trouble or heading that way. I might pump up the tires in my bike and as she pointed out, my legs know how to run so just keep up the fitness and she’ll sort me out in a few weeks.

Going to jump into week 2 of the Boards plan as of tomorrow. I will be increasing the mileage to what I’m used to doing weekly and build from there. Healthy eating too from tomorrow. Looking forward to getting back on track now and fingers crossed no issues.

Kellygirl

DCM Training - 17 weeks to go

I have modified the Boards Plan to increase the mileage in the easy runs to what I was used to when training for Cork. I’ll keep Wednesday’s session as is and the distance of the long run but add pace miles into that.

I went into this week a bit nervous as I thought my achilles was in big trouble. However I foam rolled twice daily and iced after runs and while it’s still tight in the mornings and a bit twingey there is a huge improvement. I’d guess the physio needs to work on something behind my knee and my calf and hopefully I’ll be sorted.

Monday: Planned 5 miles easy (11:00 min mile)
Actual: 5 miles @ 11:20;

27 degrees while driving in at 8pm to meet my friend and I got nervous. We set off and it was tough even at the slow pace we were doing. As we coming up to the 4 mile mark I needed to make a pit stop and we used the time to buy bottles of water before we did the last mile. Was a really sluggish run.

Wednesday: Planned 1M WU; 3M Pace; 1M CD
Actual: 1M WU @ 10:45; Pace miles (8:57; 9:13; ...and walking ...

Disastrous run. Dropped the kids off and was running at 9:45. It was roasting. I went to the park thinking I’d have shade and during the warm up it dawned on me that GPS would be all over the place. I knew doing a figure of 8 of the pitches works out as a mile so decided I’d do 3 of them and try and keep my pacing consistent. Of course the sun was then beating down on me and very humid but didn’t think of that. I did the first pace mile and found it tough after a bit. My breathing was much heavier than it normally would be. As I started the 2nd pace mile I was struggling but kept going. This was horrible. Once I finished that I gave up. Too many negative thoughts and I could really feel the achilles. In all honesty on another day I’d run through that. I was jogging slowly for the next half mile and headed into the shaded trails but decided it was stupid and I was risking the achilles so I gave up and walked.

I was miserable for the rest of the day convinced I’d lost all my fitness and blaming the extra weight I’ve put on etc. On a positive note I foam rolled and iced.

Thursday: Planned 5 mile easy (11 min mile)
Actual: 5 mile @ 10:39

Got up at 6am and drove to where I run and set off. It was fab out and while it was really hard to get out of bed once I was dressed and out the door it was grand. I park in a local petrol station which was jam packed at 6:30 - I’d assumed it would be closed! Was a little fast running but was conscious of getting home and needed it mentally really after the horrible run the day before. Got home, foam rolled, showered, breakfast, dropped eldest to camp and back to ice the achilles. As the day went on I felt really good. In fact it was the first day since I can remember that the pain was completely gone!! I’m back on track - woohoo

Saturday: planned: 10 mile lsr
Actual 10 mile @ 10:22

5:30 start for this one for coffee and a light breakfast and drove over to Douglas to my friend’s house. We set off at 6:30. Stunning morning. I had said an 11 min mile with the last 3 a bit faster but didn’t look at my watch and we just had a good catch up so we were faster overall. The miles just disappeared. Couldn’t get over when my watch vibrated at one stage and we’d 5 miles done. I did notice we had just done a 10:03 mile and we discussed it but it felt good and to be honest I needed it. We had some uphills after that so slowed down a bit and the last two miles were really warm.

Sunday: Planned: 3 mile recovery run
Actual: 3.43 miles @ 11:06

Gentle little run before work. I did the extra .4 mile to make up for the bit I missed on Wednesday because I clearly have OCD and wanted 28 miles as my total this week and not 27.6 :rolleyes:

I am the A/R/Tist in the Spotlight this week if anybody wants to ask some questions!!

Huzzah!

Whatever about doing a session in this heat, fair play on the foam rolling. It really feels like a bridge too far for me at the moment. Hope the Achilles continues to improve and good luck with this training cycle

Kellygirl

DCM Training - 15 weeks to go

Must have counted wrong last week when I said 17 weeks to go!

Monday: Planned 5 miles easy
Actual: 5 miles @ 10:38

Can’t really remember anything too much about this run.

Wednesday: Planned 5 miles with hill sprints
Actual: 1M Warm Up; 3 @ pace; 1M CD

I wasn’t going to risk hills with my achilles at me and not seeing the physio until this week so decided I’d repeat last week’s workout and complete it this time.

Went to the park where a figure of 8 of two pitches is just over 1 mile. Did my warm up running to the pitches and then started my 3 figure of 8s. Lovely warm evening and people were still lying on the grass and chilling out and I felt like a lunatic running past the same people all the time. Anyway, it was grand. 2nd mile was lovely in particular and my splits were 9:06; 9:08; 8:59 so very pleased.

My niece babysat for the first time. Will be making a lot more use of her!

============================
Thursday : New Marathon Plan
Original Plan: 5 mile race; New Plan 10 min WU; 3x1mile @ 8:15 with Recovery 0.5 mile @ 10 min mile

So, I was pottering away with the Boards plan and still thinking about the advice I got here a few weeks ago so I signed up with a coach to write me a personalized plan. We spoke Thursday morning and an hour later I’d a new and exciting plan. I’d arranged to meet friends for the Coachford 5 mile race and didn’t want to not go but my plan had me starting that day so decided to do the race as the session.

First mile was tough to stay at the 10 min mile and was actually at 9:43. Started my first 8:15 mile going uphill, a sharp downhill and then a drag up. Did it in 8:28 and that was a struggle. Back to recovery on the flat and the next mile was another tough though ther were downhills in it. Clocked in at 8:30. There was water at the 2.5 mile mark but big bottles and I should have thrown it away after a few sips. Didn’t want to throw it on a country road after that so just carried it even though heavy. Really needed the next recovery and then the last mile was 8:33. Tough tough tough and no idea how I was hitting an 8:10 min mile in my 5km after the marathon at the start of June. Was wondering if I’ve bitten off more than I can chew but being positive and hoping it’s down to the fact that I have done no pace work or speed work at all lately and hopefully will come back.

Friday: Planned 5 miles easy
Actual: nothing
I can’t run on Fridays but from now on I have the plan adjusted to deal with that.

Saturday: Planned 9 miles with 8 miles @ 9:10; last mile @ 8:58
Actual: 8 miles ( 9:11; 9:01; 9:02; 9:07; 9:07; 9:18; 9:24; 9:09)
Last mile 8:50

I was nervous of this after Thursday night. Up at 6:30 for a cup of coffee and a couple of Baked Oat Muffins I’d made the night before. Was running by 7:30. First mile is a drag uphill but pretty spot on. Effort was a bit too much after that when it flattened out and downhill but found it hard to adjust without slowing down too much. Running back up that hill at mile 6 slowed me right down and the next mile was slower too as I recovered. The 8th mile was tough and I knew I’d yet to pick up the pace for the last mile. A bit of downhill was going to help and then I finished the last mile nice and fast in the park and walked back to the car to cool down. The sweat was dropping off me but I’d achieved it and felt really good. Home to bring the 2 boys to a birthday party then for 11 which turned out to be great as all the Mum’s sat drinking tea while they played on a bouncy castle. If I’d been at home I’d have been doing housework so that worked well!!

Oh I started listening to the West Cork podcast on Audible. Listened to 3 episodes. It’s brilliant. Highly recommend.

Sunday: Planned 6 mile easy
Actual: 6 mile @ 10:10

Up at 6:15 for this as had to be at work to shower by 8:30 and was working u til 6 whereas I normally finish at 2ish. Was grand starting off at 9:55 pace but pretty much slowed down every mile after that. Need to check the story with easy miles as Plan said 9:40 which isn’t quite my version of easy right now. Got a blister too on the side of my foot which never happens to me. Bugged me for the last 3 miles.

Listened to episodes 4 and 5 and getting really good. All about the Sophie Tuscan de Plantier murder

So 30.1 miles covered in the week and an interesting one. This new plan is going to work me hard and put me through my paces, literally, but I’m excited and think I’ll do well. That said, I’m terrified of Thursday’s session in particular this week! Tough one tomorrow too and trying to decide whether to do a 3rd morning in a row getting up at 6am or so or wait till tomorrow eve.

Baby75

excited to see how you do now good luck this week

ReeReeG

Nice week's running! Will be really interested in seeing what this personalised plan is like, and how you get on!

Huzzah!

I was wondering what plan you'd changed to when you mentioned on Strava and then yesterday's run looked quicker than you'd usually run for easy. Exciting times! Good luck with the new plan