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Be still my beating heart
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31-12-2013 4:20pm#1
Comments
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Background:
Well, non-existant running-wise or exercise related in any way I'm ashamed to say.
As a kid I was last in most school races along with Fat Mary and the poor chap with spina bifida, even though I was a skinny little thing and had no health issues but for some reason I was always nearly last. I hated running with a passion but I really believe now that that's 'cause I was so bad at it. Why was I so bad at it? I still don't understand. The only reason I can muster is that I had no natural ability for it and still don't. (awaits onslaught of "no such thing as natural ability" brigade;))
In my teens I was way too cool to do any exercise, avoided PE class like the plague and took up smoking at 13:eek: In my 20s I was too busy having a good time and never considered exercise as an option. Early 30s continued to smoke drink and party. Started walking a lot a few years ago. Like 5 miles 4/5 times a week. Really fast walking but I'd stop half way for a smoke and can of diet coke:o
Finally decided 2 years ago that enough was enough. I'd been smoking 10-15 rothmans daily for over 20 years:o:o:o
Gave up smoking and started Couch to 5k. Did my first 5k race on week 7 and "ran" it in 39 minutes! And yes I "ran" every step. I was very proud of myself that day. To be honest, I got the running bug almost immediately and it really kicked in seriously once I got my garmin shortly after for xmas. Now I could track every run and see improvements and analyse data and compare to earlier runs. I had found my "thing".
2012 - Ran just under 800 miles and lots of races and pb'd in them all. Progress was happening but still didn't seem to be at the rate of other runners who'd been running the same length as me. This is a common theme in my running history. I know I shouldn't compare myself to other people..... but I was training much harder than others around me and not getting the results. Despite all that, I really enjoyed my running even though I didn't really know what I was doing but followed a few online plans here and there and had fun and found that I really enjoyed running longer.
Nov 2012- Oct 2013 - After I made my first post on Boards just over a year ago, a very kind Boardsie offered to help with my training and the year was spent training with a heart rate monitor - hence the log title. Now the fun really began
I had a great year and loved every step of my running and my training culminated in DCM.............. 0 -
3.16 recovery miles in 34:34 10:53 Avg Pace
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/422699565
Pulled open the bedroom curtains at lunchtime:eek: and thought there's nothing better to do on a dismal day like today except go for a run. Great thing about running is that everyday is a good day for running:D This run was just to get some fresh air and to aid the recovery from last night even though I didn't do anything excessively excessive:) but need the reel in the drinking for 2014. No point in me starting today as I have some family stuff on for the next few days that will inevitably involve alcohol so I'll start next week. But I need to learn how to just have one drink or maybe 2 but not to overdo it every time. There's no doubt it effects my running as the heart rate monitor was very good last year in telling me so!
Some resolutions for 2014:
Drink an awful lot less.
Up intake of fruit and veg to 8 portions a day from 5 and eat at least one green thing every day.
Lose my fear of the words "running club"
Don't get caught up in mileage like last year. I became addicted to the miles in 2013 but am aiming for quality rather than quantity this year.
Continue with core work and strength work. I've been so lucky in 2013 with no injuries to speak of so think I'm doing it the right way to avoid injury but have let the exercises slide over xmas.
Get back to my marathon weight of 8.7 stone as I'm around 9 now and can feel it and it's excess weight I don't need to be carrying, plus I can't afford to buy new clothes!
But the most important thing by far is to GET FASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now for some breakfast:D0 -
Some resolutions for 2014:
Drink an awful lot less.
Up intake of fruit and veg to 8 portions a day from 5 and eat at least one green thing every day.
Lose my fear of the words "running club"
Just put it into perspective. If you look at boards as a "running club" you have one of the deepest "running clubs" in the country when you think of it with the number of sub 2.35, 2.45, 3 hr..... etc in the country and you hold your own here with regards your ability. Clubs will have even less pointy end (performance wise) runners so when you think about it boards would be more daunting than most clubs. Once you get that the thoughts of joining a running club shouldn't be that scary0 -
Got to the Phoenix Park with a full bladder:rolleyes: Ran up to Visitor Centre and toilets closed.... Damn winter with it's leafless trees meant I had to hold on until I hit the s-bends for some bush cover (now now:pac:) . Lots of runners suddenly sprung out of nowhere when I had chosen my spot to relieve myself so had to hold on for the duration.
I think Ososlo is going for the award for the most revealing introduction ever on a Boards log.
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Training for DCM and my year with a heart rate monitor.
This might be of interest to some although coming from the much slower end of the spectrum to most here, the interest might be very limited. I'm including this in my log as it's such a big part of my running history to date.
I started using a heart rate strap and monitor in November 2012. I had been running for a year at that stage and was running all my runs at about 10.30 min/miles. This would have been running at a very steady pace for me and I would have been fairly wrecked after all my runs.
I got an offer of help when I made my first post on Boards. This help involved training with a heart rate monitor and strap and doing some fitness tests to see where I was at fitness wise. I was fairly sceptical at first but thought I'd give it a shot as I liked the idea of someone guiding my training as I didn’t have a clue what I was doing myself and loved the idea of just being told what to do and not have to think about it myself.
Dusted off the hr strap (didn’t really know what it was when I got the Garmin watch and luckily never threw it away!) and started running with the strap. Turned out I was running all my runs at about 150bpm which didn't really mean anything at that point as I didn't know anything about heart rate training and didn’t have a max hr.
Next thing was to do a fitness test to get my max and to see where my pace was at different heart rates. The fitness test was a very challenging thing to do on my own. I had to run a mile at each of these heart rates : 140, 150, 160, 170, 180 and then all out for 800 metres to get as close to my max as possible.
Running at 140bpm had me doing 15 min/miles, I kid you not
Running at 150 had me doing 13 min/miles
Runnign at 160 had me doing just under 12 min/miles
Running at 170 had me doing just under 9 min/miles (this was v.hard work for me ;0)
I couldn’t do the rest of the test as I couldn't run at 180 or higher but killed myself with a sprint for the last bit of the test and got a max of 186. Repeated the test a few weeks later and got similar results so we now had a max to base my training paces around.
So, now I had to do most of my running at sub 136 bpm or sub 75% of max hr. This was the hardest running I ever had to do. I was “running” (barely moving!) at over 15 min/miles and hr was still way too high, which shows just how aerobically unfit I was. I couldn't do any kind of running at this heart rate but had to revert to a jog/walk but mainly a walk to stay in the zone so went crying to the boardsie who was guiding me who advised me to try to stay sub 140bpm for the moment. I did this with great difficulty too for about a week at about 14/min/mile but then it got a little easier to do some kind of running motion to stay sub 140 but it was very embarassing running near people who were walking faster than I was. I didn't want to run locally in case any of my neighbours would see me and how ridiculous I looked so I tried to run in the dark or in quiet part of the Phoneix Park but I did speed up if there were walkers nearby. This was the hardest kind of running I've ever done in my life. Eventually after a few months of running sub 140 I managed to get the pace down to about 12min/miles which I was happy enough about. But then, I was told to revert to sub 136bpm so back to the embarassing running again. Months and months of running in this zone very slowly brought my pace down a little each month.
The end goal for all of this was to get my easy pace as fast as possible with DCM 2013 being the target race so that I had built up a great aerobic base at that stage and marathon pace would be comfortable.
Did some speedwork for the first 6 months of the year but the majority of my running was aerobic sub 75% of max hr. The pace for these runs was very slowly but very surely getting faster througout the year. I don't know if my rate of progress was slower than it is for a lot of people but I have a feeling it was. Running at this pace got much easier and went down to 11 min/miles in early summer and quickest it got to was just under 10min/miles by the end of Septebmer this year. I found I could handle much higher mileage than other novice runners of my level over the summer as it was taking so little out of me running at this low effort level. I could do a 20 mile run on a Sunday and a 10 mile run 2 days after and I felt perfect. The long runs were very easy and I barely broke a sweat and I was able to do a few miles at marathon pace towards the end without wrecking myself. I didn't have one injury all year and never felt more healthy. Blood tests all perfect. With 4:10 being the target pace for DCM (9:40 min/miles) and easy pace now being 10 min/miles I felt DCM would be quite easy for me and that getting to 20 miles on pace would be a walk in the park and I could pick it up at 20 miles and do even better than 4:10.
Then it all went wrong. A few stressful things happened me in late summer and I drank a bit too much for about a week. There was also a health issue going on (running related) that I had been ignoring from early in the year since I upped my mileage. I won’t go into detail but for any females that are interested, here is some information : http://www.women-running-together.com/amenorrhea.html Don't ignore this stuff:)
Then I had my sister's wedding in early October I got very drunk that night, got a bad cold afterwards and haven't really been the same since. Resting HR went gradually from 49 in late August, to over 70 pre-DCM. I went back running 2 days after the wedding and running for the same heart rate/effort had me running half a min per mile slower. With each run I did the pace was getting slower and slower and with each day the resting heart rate was getting higher. The last few runs pre-DCM had me running near 12min/miles. I was coming back from each run in tears wondering where my pace had gone. I ditched the strap on my last 2 runs pre-DCM as it was upsetting me so much that I was losing my speed. I didn't feel really ill during that time, just a slight sore throat, swollen glands and feeling more tired than usual and a slight cold but the most obvious change was the rise in resting hr and the female-related issues.
I lined up for DCM at the very back of the 4:10 wave feeling very very unconfident. I had worked all year to get my easy pace from 15min/mile to 10 min/mile and now my pace was reverting back to where it was 6 months ago. I had worked SO HARD all year. Running up to 55 miles a week 6/7 days a week, this was a disaster. If I’m honest, my heart wasn’t really in it that morning which I found quite sad as I’d been looking forward to this day for 2 years but it had all fallen apart for me from late August. How the hell was I going to run a marathon in even under 5 hours was what was going through my head at the start line. However, I never got to find out how I’d manage marathon pace as the minute I started running I pulled a muscle at the top of my left leg which hurt for 20 miles. Any time I tried to run faster, I started hurting at the top of the leg just under the hip which in turn started hurting the calf and the foot. Hadn’t had an injury all year and now this happens:rolleyes:… I had to keep the pace at what I felt was comfortable all the way around which didn't aggravate the leg. I didn't want to even attempt pushing it and injuring myself as running meant/means so much more to me that this marathon. In the end I "ran" it in 4:34 which was just under 10:30 min/miles and felt comfortable enough fitness wise at this pace. If the leg hadn't hurt for DCM, could I have run at MP? I doubt it. It would have been too hard for me. I might have managed closer to 10min/miles but MP would have been beyond me that day. I felt ok at the pace I did and when the leg stopped hurting after Roebuck Hill (sped up the hill passing loads and the leg miraculously felt better!) I felt great and was able to speed it up a little. I felt fine at the finish line and could have run a few more miles so I guess the aerobic base I had built through the use of the hr monitor stood to me that day. But I was and still am devastated that after training to get my easy pace down to 10min/miles for a year, that it was much slower than that on the start line for DCM.
My first few runs back after DCM with the HR strap were disasters and had me in tears of frustration again. My easy pace was now well over 12 min/miles. Soul destroying. All that work gone to waste. I've since been advised to ditch the heart rate strap for the moment as it was upsetting me too much to see my loss of speed so I’m now running by feel which is very liberating.
Observations of training with a heart rate monitor from a novice runner:
A hell of a lot of patience is required at the start. Don’t expect to see results very quickly.
A high embarrassment threshold is required to run at such slow paces for your level, especially if coming from a very low level of aerobic fitness like I was.
Eventually it becomes fun and it’s exciting to see the paces getting faster for the same effort.
Fitness tests by hr are very hard and should be treated like a race with proper preparation and rest/taper beforehand to get proper results. I did one with a hangover a few days after a race which was really stupid as hr is elevated and you can’t run to your true paces so it’s really a waste of time as it’s bloody hard work.
It does add to the obsession and is yet another set of numbers to analyse. Good thing or bad thing
Running by heart rate does allow even a slow runner like myself to run decent mileage and build a good aerobic base.
For me, the most positive thing about running in my correct effort level/hr zones is that I did not get injured as I was never running too fast on my aerobic runs. I know I would have been running much harder if left to my own devices. But maybe I was running too slowly all along
I’m happy I trained with the HR monitor for 2013 as it was a positive experience overall. If things hadn't gone wrong for me in early October and if I hadn't hurt my leg at the startline for DCM, I can’t help wondering if I would have done a faster or slower mararthon if I’d just been training according to McMillan’s suggested paces.0 -
AuldManKing wrote: »I think Ososlo is going for the award for the most revealing introduction ever on a Boards log.
Lol. I've a feeling this could be a "warts and all" type of log. Be prepared:D I'll give warning signals 0 -
Training for DCM and my year with a heart rate monitor.
This might be of interest to some although coming from the much slower end of the spectrum to most here, the interest might be very limited. I'm including this in my log as it's such a big part of my running history to date.
I started using a heart rate strap and monitor in November 2012. I had been running for a year at that stage and was running all my runs at about 10.30 min/miles. This would have been running at a very steady pace for me and I would have been fairly wrecked after all my runs.
I got an offer of help when I made my first post on Boards. This help involved training with a heart rate monitor and strap and doing some fitness tests to see where I was at fitness wise. I was fairly sceptical at first but thought I'd give it a shot as I liked the idea of someone guiding my training as I didn’t have a clue what I was doing myself and loved the idea of just being told what to do and not have to think about it myself.
Dusted off the hr strap (didn’t really know what it was when I got the Garmin watch and luckily never threw it away!) and started running with the strap. Turned out I was running all my runs at about 150bpm which didn't really mean anything at that point as I didn't know anything about heart rate training and didn’t have a max hr.
Next thing was to do a fitness test to get my max and to see where my pace was at different heart rates. The fitness test was a very challenging thing to do on my own. I had to run a mile at each of these heart rates : 140, 150, 160, 170, 180 and then all out for 800 metres to get as close to my max as possible.
Running at 140bpm had me doing 15 min/miles, I kid you not
Running at 150 had me doing 13 min/miles
Runnign at 160 had me doing just under 12 min/miles
Running at 170 had me doing just under 9 min/miles (this was v.hard work for me ;0)
I couldn’t do the rest of the test as I couldn't run at 180 or higher but killed myself with a sprint for the last bit of the test and got a max of 186. Repeated the test a few weeks later and got similar results so we now had a max to base my training paces around.
So, now I had to do most of my running at sub 136 bpm or sub 75% of max hr. This was the hardest running I ever had to do. I was “running” (barely moving!) at over 15 min/miles and hr was still way too high, which shows just how aerobically unfit I was. I couldn't do any kind of running at this heart rate but had to revert to a jog/walk but mainly a walk to stay in the zone so went crying to the boardsie who was guiding me who advised me to try to stay sub 140bpm for the moment. I did this with great difficulty too for about a week at about 14/min/mile but then it got a little easier to do some kind of running motion to stay sub 140 but it was very embarassing running near people who were walking faster than I was. I didn't want to run locally in case any of my neighbours would see me and how ridiculous I looked so I tried to run in the dark or in quiet part of the Phoneix Park but I did speed up if there were walkers nearby. This was the hardest kind of running I've ever done in my life. Eventually after a few months of running sub 140 I managed to get the pace down to about 12min/miles which I was happy enough about. But then, I was told to revert to sub 136bpm so back to the embarassing running again. Months and months of running in this zone very slowly brought my pace down a little each month.
The end goal for all of this was to get my easy pace as fast as possible with DCM 2013 being the target race so that I had built up a great aerobic base at that stage and marathon pace would be comfortable.
Did some speedwork for the first 6 months of the year but the majority of my running was aerobic sub 75% of max hr. The pace for these runs was very slowly but very surely getting faster througout the year. I don't know if my rate of progress was slower than it is for a lot of people but I have a feeling it was. Running at this pace got much easier and went down to 11 min/miles in early summer and quickest it got to was just under 10min/miles by the end of Septebmer this year. I found I could handle much higher mileage than other novice runners of my level over the summer as it was taking so little out of me running at this low effort level. I could do a 20 mile run on a Sunday and a 10 mile run 2 days after and I felt perfect. The long runs were very easy and I barely broke a sweat and I was able to do a few miles at marathon pace towards the end without wrecking myself. I didn't have one injury all year and never felt more healthy. Blood tests all perfect. With 4:10 being the target pace for DCM (9:40 min/miles) and easy pace now being 10 min/miles I felt DCM would be quite easy for me and that getting to 20 miles on pace would be a walk in the park and I could pick it up at 20 miles and do even better than 4:10.
Then it all went wrong. A few stressful things happened me in late summer and I drank a bit too much for about a week. There was also a health issue going on (running related) that I had been ignoring from early in the year since I upped my mileage. I won’t go into detail but for any females that are interested, here is some information : http://www.women-running-together.com/amenorrhea.html Don't ignore this stuff:)
Then I had my sister's wedding in early October I got very drunk that night, got a bad cold afterwards and haven't really been the same since. Resting HR went gradually from 49 in late August, to over 70 pre-DCM. I went back running 2 days after the wedding and running for the same heart rate/effort had me running half a min per mile slower. With each run I did the pace was getting slower and slower and with each day the resting heart rate was getting higher. The last few runs pre-DCM had me running near 12min/miles. I was coming back from each run in tears wondering where my pace had gone. I ditched the strap on my last 2 runs pre-DCM as it was upsetting me so much that I was losing my speed. I didn't feel really ill during that time, just a slight sore throat, swollen glands and feeling more tired than usual and a slight cold but the most obvious change was the rise in resting hr and the female-related issues.
I lined up for DCM at the very back of the 4:10 wave feeling very very unconfident. I had worked all year to get my easy pace from 15min/mile to 10 min/mile and now my pace was reverting back to where it was 6 months ago. I had worked SO HARD all year. Running up to 55 miles a week 6/7 days a week, this was a disaster. If I’m honest, my heart wasn’t really in it that morning which I found quite sad as I’d been looking forward to this day for 2 years but it had all fallen apart for me from late August. How the hell was I going to run a marathon in even under 5 hours was what was going through my head at the start line. However, I never got to find out how I’d manage marathon pace as the minute I started running I pulled a muscle at the top of my left leg which hurt for 20 miles. Any time I tried to run faster, I started hurting at the top of the leg just under the hip which in turn started hurting the calf and the foot. Hadn’t had an injury all year and now this happens:rolleyes:… I had to keep the pace at what I felt was comfortable all the way around which didn't aggravate the leg. I didn't want to even attempt pushing it and injuring myself as running meant/means so much more to me that this marathon. In the end I "ran" it in 4:34 which was just under 10:30 min/miles and felt comfortable enough fitness wise at this pace. If the leg hadn't hurt for DCM, could I have run at MP? I doubt it. It would have been too hard for me. I might have managed closer to 10min/miles but MP would have been beyond me that day. I felt ok at the pace I did and when the leg stopped hurting after Roebuck Hill (sped up the hill passing loads and the leg miraculously felt better!) I felt great and was able to speed it up a little. I felt fine at the finish line and could have run a few more miles so I guess the aerobic base I had built through the use of the hr monitor stood to me that day. But I was and still am devastated that after training to get my easy pace down to 10min/miles for a year, that it was much slower than that on the start line for DCM.
My first few runs back after DCM with the HR strap were disasters and had me in tears of frustration again. My easy pace was now well over 12 min/miles. Soul destroying. All that work gone to waste. I've since been advised to ditch the heart rate strap for the moment as it was upsetting me too much to see my loss of speed so I’m now running by feel which is very liberating.
Observations of training with a heart rate monitor from a novice runner:
A hell of a lot of patience is required at the start. Don’t expect to see results very quickly.
A high embarrassment threshold is required to run at such slow paces for your level, especially if coming from a very low level of aerobic fitness like I was.
Eventually it becomes fun and it’s exciting to see the paces getting faster for the same effort.
Fitness tests by hr are very hard and should be treated like a race with proper preparation and rest/taper beforehand to get proper results. I did one with a hangover a few days after a race which was really stupid as hr is elevated and you can’t run to your true paces so it’s really a waste of time as it’s bloody hard work.
It does add to the obsession and is yet another set of numbers to analyse. Good thing or bad thing
Running by heart rate does allow even a slow runner like myself to run decent mileage and build a good aerobic base.
For me, the most positive thing about running in my correct effort level/hr zones is that I did not get injured as I was never running too fast on my aerobic runs. I know I would have been running much harder if left to my own devices. But maybe I was running too slowly all along
I’m happy I trained with the HR monitor for 2013 as it was a positive experience overall. If things hadn't gone wrong for me in early October and if I hadn't hurt my leg at the startline for DCM, I can’t help wondering if I would have done a faster or slower mararthon if I’d just been training according to McMillan’s suggested paces.
Super interesting post Ososlo. I've no doubt there is good science behing HR training but for me it takes perhaps the most crucial element out of running- the fun!
If I had to drag my ass out and hit a certain HR each time I'm pretty sure id get bored and hate running- perhaps it's just me. Tbh though I have no problem saying that I don't think it's great coaching to put a newbie runner on a strict HR regime. Anyways will follow this log w interest- keep things simple, do the runs and your times will improve I've no doubt whatsoever.0 -
Very interesting post about the heart rate training (won't quote it again to avoid cluttering the page) It does sound like it worked perfectly in establishing that aerobic base but I would share the same fears as quirky - I don't think I would enjoy that either at the beginners level I am at. Was toying with the idea of doing heart rate based training this year but I think you've made my mind up 0
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Super interesting post Ososlo. I've no doubt there is good science behing HR training but for me it takes perhaps the most crucial element out of running- the fun!
If I had to drag my ass out and hit a certain HR each time I'm pretty sure id get bored and hate running- perhaps it's just me. Tbh though I have no problem saying that I don't think it's great coaching to put a newbie runner on a strict HR regime. Anyways will follow this log w interest- keep things simple, do the runs and your times will improve I've no doubt whatsoever.Pacing Mule wrote: »Very interesting post about the heart rate training (won't quote it again to avoid cluttering the page) It does sound like it worked perfectly in establishing that aerobic base but I would share the same fears as quirky - I don't think I would enjoy that either at the beginners level I am at. Was toying with the idea of doing heart rate based training this year but I think you've made my mind up
I have to say that in the beginning it was far from fun, no doubt about that and when it all went wrong at the end it certainly wasn't fun and it did nothing for my confidence going into dcm and my only regret is that I didn't ditch the darn thing earlier pre-dcm when paces were dropping, but when everything was going well and I could see improvements in black and white before me, it added to my enjoyment. I truly believe that.
Pacing Mule, I wouldn't be the person to advise you or not whether to proceed with this type of training. I really think if you do decide to go ahead with it, you'd really need some guidance from someone who knows what they're doing. I wouldn't rule it out though. If you have the patience to stick with it in the beginning, it might be worth it.0 -
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AuldManKing wrote: »that gets me into trouble every time!! I put way TMI up here.
But you go ahead and keep putting up as much as you like, it might distract others.
I should have learned from your mistakes:D
Oh well, who cares what anyone knows about me here. Boards is still pretty much a virtual world for me and Boards Beers is a fairly fuzzy memory too so I can still pretend you're all a figment of my imagination
3 miles in 30:31 at 10:12 min/mile
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/422893865
Another short jaunt around the area this evening. Today was a total write-off as I was feeling very unmotivated to do much work so the only way to redeem the day was to go for another short jog. Full of beans now 0 -
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Background:
Well, non-existant running-wise or exercise related in any way I'm ashamed to say.
As a kid I was last in most school races along with Fat Mary and the poor chap with spina bifida, even though I was a skinny little thing and had no health issues but for some reason I was always nearly last. I hated running with a passion but I really believe now that that's 'cause I was so bad at it. Why was I so bad at it? I still don't understand. The only reason I can muster is that I had no natural ability for it and still don't. (awaits onslaught of "no such thing as natural ability" brigade;))
In my teens I was way too cool to do any exercise, avoided PE class like the plague and took up smoking at 13:eek: In my 20s I was too busy having a good time and never considered exercise as an option. Early 30s continued to smoke drink and party. Started walking a lot a few years ago. Like 5 miles 4/5 times a week. Really fast walking but I'd stop half way for a smoke and can of diet coke:o
Finally decided 2 years ago that enough was enough. I'd been smoking 10-15 rothmans daily for over 20 years:o:o:o
Gave up smoking and started Couch to 5k. Did my first 5k race on week 7 and "ran" it in 39 minutes! And yes I "ran" every step. I was very proud of myself that day. To be honest, I got the running bug almost immediately and it really kicked in seriously once I got my garmin shortly after for xmas. Now I could track every run and see improvements and analyse data and compare to earlier runs. I had found my "thing".
2012 - Ran just under 800 miles and lots of races and pb'd in them all. Progress was happening but still didn't seem to be at the rate of other runners who'd been running the same length as me. This is a common theme in my running history. I know I shouldn't compare myself to other people..... but I was training much harder than others around me and not getting the results. Despite all that, I really enjoyed my running even though I didn't really know what I was doing but followed a few online plans here and there and had fun and found that I really enjoyed running longer.
Nov 2012- Oct 2013 - After I made my first post on Boards just over a year ago, a very kind Boardsie offered to help with my training and the year was spent training with a heart rate monitor - hence the log title. Now the fun really began I had a great year and loved every step of my running and my training culminated in DCM..............
Best of luck with training\racing in 2014 Ososlo - looking forward to seeing great progress here0 -
Great stuff. Ill definitely be keeping an eye on this one (and not just because you are my sister)
Regards the HR training. I kind of agree and disagree with Drquirky. It is definitely no fun and well done for sticking with it. However I think it definitely will stand to you. In your post you mentioned how you could run the higher mileage with little recovery as you weren't flogging yourself. That's also the reason you didn't get injured I'm guessing. As you said your aerobic levels weren't great to start but you've laid some nice foundations and if you can keep using the HRM stick with it (I personally can't).
Do you have a list of your current PBs and some goal times you'd like to hit?
And to echo ecolis post above, don't be stressed about joining a running club. I know of lots of clubs who would be delighted to have a 4.30 marathon runner in their ranks. In fact running clubs love to see new members regardless of ability!0 -
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Great stuff. Ill definitely be keeping an eye on this one (and not just because you are my sister)
Do you have a list of your current PBs and some goal times you'd like to hit?
Thank bro. Nice to have the familial support;)
Races, Paces, Miles etc
Ok, so this is the bit that I hate and why I didn't have a log for so long, as I was/am so embarrassed by my times. I run a lot for a newbie but despite this, I am still slower than most. For whatever reason. Looking back on what I've posted since I started this log, there is a lot of smoking and drinking involved so perhaps that has something to do with it but then again I was also a slow child (of speed not intellect)
So here goes..............
Mileage:
2011 – 50 miles
2012 – 794 miles
2013 – 1659 miles
Goals for 2014: No targets mileage wise. Just to run sensibly and average about 40 mpw pre marathon training. Will increase that to about 60 or so for marathon training.
Races - pbs
March 2013 – 5k pb – 25:50 (MSB)
June 2013 - 5 mile pb – 42:22 (Race Series)
July 2013 – 10k pb – 53:31 (RS)
July 2013 – 10 mile pb – 1:28 (RS)
September 2013 – Half marathon – DNF. Dropped out at 8 miles I think as felt like fainting. Don’t regret that decision for one minute considering the amount of people who dropped out that day. Freakishly hot. On target for 1:57 or so until I dropped out.
Oct 2013 – DCM – 4:34
I pbd in everything last year except for a 5k I did in December just gone which I was utterly disappointed with as I expected to go at least sub 25 but my mileage is only recently getting back to a respectable level post DCM and I had other health issues mentioned before to deal with so I'm going to pretend that race never happened and move on from it. It was about 10 seconds slower than my pb.
Goals for 2014:
Main goals are to do a really good 5k and a much better DCM. Not gonna nail my colours to the mast yet for times but I’d hope to knock a good few minutes off the 5k by the end of the year and a massive chunk off the marathon time. I'd also hope to pb across all distances above.0 -
Thank bro. Nice to have the familial support;)
Races, Paces, Miles etc
Ok, so this is the bit that I hate and why I didn't have a log for so long, as I was/am so embarrassed by my times. I run a lot for a newbie but despite this, I am still slower than most. For whatever reason. Looking back on what I've posted since I started this log, there is a lot of smoking and drinking involved so perhaps that has something to do with it but then again I was also a slow child (of speed not intellect)
So here goes..............
Mileage:
2011 – 50 miles
2012 – 794 miles
2013 – 1659 miles
Goals for 2014: No targets mileage wise. Just to run sensibly and average about 40 mpw pre marathon training. Will increase that to about 60 or so for marathon training.
Races - pbs
March 2013 – 5k pb – 25:50 (MSB)
June 2013 - 5 mile pb – 42:22 (Race Series)
July 2013 – 10k pb – 53:31 (RS)
July 2013 – 10 mile pb – 1:28 (RS)
September 2013 – Half marathon – DNF. Dropped out at 8 miles I think as felt like fainting. Don’t regret that decision for one minute considering the amount of people who dropped out that day. Freakishly hot. On target for 1:57 or so until I dropped out.
Oct 2013 – DCM – 4:34
I pbd in everything last year except for a 5k I did in December just gone which I was utterly disappointed with as I expected to go at least sub 25 but my mileage is only recently getting back to a respectable level post DCM and I had other health issues mentioned before to deal with so I'm going to pretend that race never happened and move on from it. It was about 10 seconds slower than my pb.
Goals for 2014:
Main goals are to do a really good 5k and a much better DCM. Not gonna nail my colours to the mast yet for times but I’d hope to knock a good few minutes off the 5k by the end of the year and a massive chunk off the marathon time. I'd also hope to pb across all distances above.
Your times are nothing to be embarrassed about, we cant all be super speedy unfortunately:(. I too am trying to get the times down, I ignored the speed work until now but hope to focus on this year, following Blockic s plan. You were unlucky with both your half marathon and marathon they are not a true reflection of your ability. Enjoy your running and the rest will come.0 -
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AuldManKing wrote: »The Khyber is a pretty good hill and its marked at 50k intervals.
Jeez, they are long old intervals
Yeah I'd go with either the military hill (from bottom of Kyber up to s-bends) or the hill out of Furry Glen towards Lwr Glenn Rd.
Those should both be about 1/4 mile long...
For short sharp hill sprints I would look at the hill up to the miltary fort. http://goo.gl/maps/4B5ln0 -
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AuldManKing wrote: »The Khyber is a pretty good hill and its marked at 50k intervals.
+1 Was going to suggest the one close to Chapelizod gate but the Khyber is super (although 50 metre intervals maybe) From bollard to bollard it is 800 metres on the button. How long do your intervals need to be? (distance/time). Also it's a great drag and really builds leg strength and speed but is not steep enough that you will risk over stretching calfs or achilles. 0 -
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Jeez, they are long old intervals
Yeah I'd go with either the military hill (from bottom of Kyber up to s-bends) or the hill out of Furry Glen towards Lwr Glenn Rd.
Those should both be about 1/4 mile long...
For short sharp hill sprints I would look at the hill up to the miltary fort. http://goo.gl/maps/4B5ln
Thanks. I jogged up the last one you mentioned a few days ago and it's definitely another good option for the short sprints as no traffic and seems to have right elevation.
Cheers0 -
+1 Was going to suggest the one close to Chapelizod gate but the Khyber is super (although 50 metre intervals maybe) From bollard to bollard it is 800 metres on the button. How long do your intervals need to be? (distance/time). Also it's a great drag and really builds leg strength and speed but is not steep enough that you will risk over stretching calfs or achilles.
Short intervals. 1 minute up and recovery back down, for total of 15 mins for first session. Khyber sounds like the business.0 -
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5 miles at 10:29min/mile.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/424281634
Had to go out for a few drinks last night (god I'm so Irish
) so felt the effects this morning and kept this at recovery effort. Only a few days left with my brother (the other one!) before he goes back to NZ for a year at least so have to go with the flow for the moment. From next Thursday the good living begins in earnest
Wanted to go for a longer one this morning as it's such a fanf1ckingtastic morning but held back as I did a longer one early in the week and don't want to push the mileage too much too soon. I'll be happy to get about 30 miles done this week and start gradually increasing it from there.
Looking back at my stats for last year, I see that I ran for 309 hours and 33 minutes :eek: What did I do with all that time before I started running 0 -
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Hey Ososlo just seeing your log now, very interesting. I've had a similar year to you in a lot of ways, progressing nicely then bang - loss of pace, health problems (same women's issues plus other stuff), raised RHR. My theory is that my body couldn't cope with the increase in miles and pace at the same time. It allowed me to clock up the miles but a lot slower than I would have liked. I'm hoping to build things back up this year. I'll be interested to see how you go this year, best of luck with it all anyway 0
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Hey Ososlo just seeing your log now, very interesting. I've had a similar year to you in a lot of ways, progressing nicely then bang - loss of pace, health problems (same women's issues plus other stuff), raised RHR. My theory is that my body couldn't cope with the increase in miles and pace at the same time. It allowed me to clock up the miles but a lot slower than I would have liked. I'm hoping to build things back up this year. I'll be interested to see how you go this year, best of luck with it all anyway
Thanks Runchick. I follow your log avidly as I seem some similarities between us although you are substantially faster!I increased the miles alright last year but not the pace. If anything I was running the majority of my runs much slower so that theory doesn't hold for me but makes sense that it might have for you. You seem to be going brilliantly at the moment so can't wait to see what you do in London! Here's to a super healthy 2014 for us both!0 -
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31 miles last week so happy with that as a good base to start building back up from. Took a while to get to this point since DCM but there was no point in rushing it as I just wasn't ready.
3 miles yesterday at 11:16 min/mile with sister Ososlo in Kilkenny http://connect.garmin.com/activity/425784368
We started Couch 25k together but she didn't keep it up. I've been nagging her lately about getting back into it so dragged her by the ponytail out for this one and she thanked me for it later:D She did great.
Monday 6th January
5.57 miles with 6 x 1 min hill intervals.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/425784339
Only had an hour to get this done as hate running around the Phoneix Park in the dark and had no high viz stuff on anyways so the pressure was on. Down to the Khyber and ended up ignoring my own and everyone else's advice and used one of the hills to the side of the Khyber which I think was too steep :rolleyes:
I liked the idea of the hill going up the side bank as I could huff and puff in privacy and it seemed a little more sheltered as the wind was horrific on the main thoroughfare. Excuses out of the way... I did really badly
2 mile warm up and then 1 min reps of varying paces getting steadily slower! From 9:32 to 11:14 pace :eek: 90 second recoveries.
Felt fine after each recovery and started each rep with gusto but about half way up I died a death so think I went out too fast each time and payed for it later. Story of my life
There was a bit of retching throughout and I thought to myself "I'm never doing this again", "I hate speed work", "I'm not cut out for this", "I only want to run marathon pace from now on" so I guess I did put in the effort:D
As per usual, now that it's over, I can't wait for the next session and hope to do much better but maybe I should chose a less steep hill until I'm a bit more used to it.
So that's my first structured hill session out of the way. I didn't run by pace for the reps, just ran by feel and only displayed time on the watch.0 -
31 miles last week so happy with that as a good base to start building back up from. Took a while to get to this point since DCM but there was no point in rushing it as I just wasn't ready.
3 miles yesterday at 11:16 min/mile with sister Ososlo in Kilkenny http://connect.garmin.com/activity/425784368
We started Couch 25k together but she didn't keep it up. I've been nagging her lately about getting back into it so dragged her by the ponytail out for this one and she thanked me for it later:D She did great.
Monday 6th January
5.57 miles with 6 x 1 min hill intervals.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/425784339
Only had an hour to get this done as hate running around the Phoneix Park in the dark and had no high viz stuff on anyways so the pressure was on. Down to the Khyber and ended up ignoring my own and everyone else's advice and used one of the hills to the side of the Khyber which I think was too steep :rolleyes:
I liked the idea of the hill going up the side bank as I could huff and puff in privacy and it seemed a little more sheltered as the wind was horrific on the main thoroughfare. Excuses out of the way... I did really badly
2 mile warm up and then 1 min reps of varying paces getting steadily slower! From 9:32 to 11:14 pace :eek: 90 second recoveries.
Felt fine after each recovery and started each rep with gusto but about half way up I died a death so think I went out too fast each time and payed for it later. Story of my life
There was a bit of retching throughout and I thought to myself "I'm never doing this again", "I hate speed work", "I'm not cut out for this", "I only want to run marathon pace from now on" so I guess I did put in the effort:D
As per usual, now that it's over, I can't wait for the next session and hope to do much better but maybe I should chose a less steep hill until I'm a bit more used to it.
So that's my first structured hill session out of the way. I didn't run by pace for the reps, just ran by feel and only displayed time on the watch.
Good woman , sounds like it was hard going! I m fed up of storms every day, I decided to get Lsr done this morning as it appeared calm but when I was 3 miles from home the wind took up and jes I thought I would be found in Achill! This coupled with the fact that I too started too fast made for an interesting end0 -
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AuldManKing wrote: »Hills are a b'stard to get used to - I hate them!!
I presume that you are following a structured plan and this workout was part of a plan?
Most people use that hill (if its the one I'm thinking of) for hill bursts (10-20 secs or so) as its so steep.
For longer reps, you'd need a less steep hill as you could do yourself an injury.
Try the Khyber or the hill by the C'lizod gate (facing the hospital) - that path is also lit.
That said - its still a great workout - well done for keeping it going despite the retching. Nice mileage too.
Yes I've been told what to do for these sessions.
Yeah I fairly sure it's the one you're thinking about. At the start of the Khyber (going upwards) to the right hand side. There are 2 of them close to each other. Thinking about it, yes it was too steep for me for minute reps.
I'll use a more suitable one for next week. The wind was so bad I just wanted to make it easier for myself today by staying sheltered but ended up making it harder
I'll get the hang of it eventually. Main thing is I stuck to the plan and did the hard efforts and recoveries as required.
Thanks AMK. Nice going yourself today. I'm sure you've whizzed past me on many occasions in the PP.0 -
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