okaly dokaly here goes.

littlebug

Just starting out.... I'm an oldie and never ran in my life before.

I've got a 5k loop that I do and today I got it down to just under 35 mins I ran the first 11 which I only managed because I ran very slowwlllly and it helps that the last bit is a long downhill stretch. After that I walked 2 mins, ran 4, walked 4 and 2mins walk, 2 mins run to the end.

My aims for now are firstly to be able to run the whole 5k and to bring that time down as close to 30 mins as I can (or less who knows). I would absolutely love to do the half marathon in Connemara next year so I guess I can put that down as a long term goal.
Current niggles include sore shins... even while I was running which was annoying and I've got a dodgy sacro-iliac joint but that's a long standing thing.

There you go...that's me started. Advice/ tips on buidling up stamina or reducing recovery time welcome. I'm needing 2 mins at the minute.
What's the story with the 1000 mile thingy... can I estimate my mileage over the past few months (would be relatively easy) or do I have to start from now. Does it have to be running miles only or can i include the total distance including my recovery walks?

Woddle

Hi littlebug best of look in the quest to reach your running goals. As far as the 1000 mile challenge is concerned go for it, you might find like I do that it helps with motivation.
Anyway well done on getting out the door and running

tantipie

well done littlebug,,:Di've been adding my mileage since jan and im only started jogging over 2 weeks ago,,tis a great boost to see yourself go up in the ranks.or down in my case:(lol,,

Krusty_Clown

Hi littlebug, the Connemara half is a great goal to have. Best of luck with the running, and do sign-up for the 1,000. It really does help with the motivation.

littlebug

This past week...

Tuesday: 2.5 mile trail (Cnoc Mea). Fairly steep uphill so just ran on the flat bits and downhill.

Thursday: meet'n' train... I didn't really count but probably about 16 laps altogether @ run 1/ walk one. 4 miles.

Friday: 1 mile on the treadmill (no walk)

Saturday: 2 miles road.. walked the steepest bits and ran the rest.

Sunday: rest.

Today: 3 miles on the treadmill of which I ran the first 2 without stopping , then 2 minute walking, 4 min run, 1 min walk and ran the rest to finish in 31.35. Very happy with myself. The main reason for the walks in the last miles was because my ears were popping like crazy and I was afraid my head would explode . next time I'll try just slowing down to a very slow jog.

I've also realised I forgot to include 2 Cnoc Mea sessions on my 1000 miles thing so overall i've 17.5 miles to add.

littlebug

My weekly update.

Tuesday- .5 mile easy warmup jog followed by 3 miles on the treadmill with just one walking break somewhere in the middle- 30 mins 10 seconds.

Wednesday- 30 mins on the exercise bike

Saturday- 3 mile loop- 30 mins 25 secs. I stopped for 1 min at half way and another minute at 2.5 miles.

Sunday- dusted off my real bike and did a nice 6 easy mile cycle (39 mins). God I forgot how much I love cycling and how much easier than running it is!

Monday... I really wanted to go out and run my loop but children and logistics didn't allo for that so I made do with the treadmill and hoorah hoorah I finally did it... I ran 3 miles in 29 minutes 11 seconds with NO WALKING BREAKS

This weeks task is to repeat that achievement on the road and then I will start to increase the distance and try to up my speed a wee bit.

Total running miles this week. 9.5

littlebug

wow wow wow I did a 10k race and I am buzzing and soooo happy with myself.
I dithered about going at all given a terrible nights sleep last night and a bit of a gippy tummy all day but I pushed myself out the door. My plan of action was to try to do the first 5k in 30 mins since I know I can run 5k. After the first 5k I was happy to walk/ run the rest but with a target of 70 minutes overall in mind.

Despite really struggling with the first 2k (and even having to walk for a minute in the middle) I did indeed manage the first 5k in 30 minutes 15 seconds (damned 15 seconds!) and linked up with another woman to run/ walk the rest (picking off the walkers was fun ) We finished in 68.14. Hooray. I'm even proud of my one little blister.

Adding that to my 4 miles from Wednesday and 3 miles from Thursday should move me up a couple of notches on the 1000 miles thread.
I am a happy little bug tonight.:)

ETA- I should explain the walkers thing... they did 4 miles on a slightly different loop which merged with the runners loop for about the last 2k. I just realised that my "picking off the walkers" comment wouldn't make sense without explanation!

Krusty_Clown

Great running littlebug! Well done! I don't think anyone sleeps well the night before a race, so don't let it put you off. Now you have a target to beat a few times, before the Connemarathon comes around.

chatoon

Excellent running littlebug - very well done on the race - like KC says I don't think anyone sleeps well before a race; I never do...but I think in a way it's a good thing - it just means that you're really up for it, so never worry about that. Enjoy your post race celebrations and start planning your next race!

Very well done again...:D

littlebug

I'm running backways this week
Monday- just did one mile on the treadmill followed by a 12k cycle.
Tuesday- cnoc mea- 2.5 mile hill- ran a bit more of the uphill bit than before- time 2 mins faster than last time.
Thursday- meet'n'train- 4 laps slow warm up followed by 6 x 200m fast (for me) with 600 slow jog in between. . Total including warm up 4 miles
Saturday- went out intending to my 12 min lecheile test but knocked that idea on the head when I realised there would be a strong wind right in my face for the first mile. So i just took it easy-ish but before I got to 2 miles my shins/ calves started really hurting so I stopped and walked the 2 miles home.

Sunday- treadmill- upped the pace a bit but after 2.6 m the ears were popping like mad so I stopped.... really peed off with my self for not just slowing down / walking for a minute or two and resuming.



Oh well.....

littlebug

Despite the killer heat spending the first 2k sidestepping and weaving my way through the walkers I ran all 10k of the mini marathon (apart from a little break, 1-2 min maybe, at the water station). My plan was to run the first 6k and take a break and I was a bit disappointed when i reached the water station that I hadn't managed that. Then I saw the 7k marker:eek: and realised I'd run further than I thought, felt great and thought "feck it I'll keep going". Felt a bit wobbly at 8k, stopped but realised I felt even wobblier walking so I broke into a trot again and kept going to the end. I was slow but finished in 67m56 (my guess while awaiting chip time) but the best bit is I ran the whole bloody thing... probably because I had to go so slow at the start with all the bobbing and weaving. So now I know I can do the distance I can start to work on the time.

Total miles in the past week 16.2

tantipie

well done littlebug,,that was great

littlebug

An easy week post MM.
Thursday training- alternate 1 slow jog lap with 1 fast(er) lap. 4 miles in total.

Saturday: niggly pain in left leg and hip so decided to ease off for a few days.

Tuesday: leg felt good again so I finally did the lecheile retest and the training is obviously paying off as I think I've moved up a category There again I was running very slowly and took a walking break in the first one so I'd want to have improved by now.
According to my calculations (which could be wrong) if I was able to maintain the pace I did in the 12 minutes I should be able to do 5k in 27.5 minutes which wouldn't be bad at all. Except I can't... yet :cool:

I kept going after the 12 minutes but much more slowly but started to feel the leg again so I stopped. I think it's more important to rest so i'll be ok for training on Thursday.

My next Big target is Streets of Galway 8k in August. There are a couple of other 8k races locally between now and then so I might also try one of those. I've identified a nice 8k route I might try out at an easy trot pace at the weekend to see how I get on.

Total miles this past week: 6

littlebug

Thursday f4l 4miles (alternating fast 300m and slow 500) + cool down lap.

Saturday- decided to take a different and longer route- almost but not quite 8k. I took it easy as I was focusing on the distance rather than speed so the time included 3 mins of walking through the town which was busier than I thought it would be (must make it an hour ealier next time) and another 2 mins walking after 5k. 50.48 mins altogether. Man did my legs suffer for it that night though.. possibly because some of it was on pavement

Monday- treadmill. I tried to make it more interesting by doing 6 reps of .2miles@7.5mph followed by .3miles @6mph. The last 2 reps I only went to 7mph as I got a bit close to the end of the treadmill and for one of those I only lasted .1miles at the higher pace. Still overall 3miles in 27.55 which I was very happy with. .5mile warm up/ cool down either side of that.

Total miles to add 13.1 which moves me up 4 places on the 1000 miles challenge

littlebug

Aim no2 from my first post on this thread achieved... ie I ran my 5k loop in 29.16.

littlebug

Thursday training- 4 miles total

weekend.... lots of food and drink and fun followed by much suffering
Had to really force myself onto the treadmill this evening. Struggled my way through 3miles. The heat was a killer and energy was low...but hey..it's a few extra miles in the leggies.

littlebug

Thursday training. Easy- 3miles

Saturday- Ballyhaunis 8k. I was hoping to make it in 50 mins but then someone told me that 4k- 6k was all uphill :eek: and I let that plan go out of my mind. I was just on target at halfway but man that hill ! There was some walking and I put the boot down to the best of my ability from 6k on and made it in 51.14. Happy with that all hills considered. It gives me something to beat in Streets of Galway in August.

asimonov

Good on ya littlebug, that's a good run to have under the belt!

littlebug

treadmill 3miles slow.

I've got my first black (well purpleish) toenail. Does that mean I'm a real runner now?

littlebug

Tuesday - 3 miles...noticed some of my bad habits ie slowing down going uphill and getting stuck in low gear:o , forgetting to speed up again on the other side!

Thursday- training 4 lap warm up, 5x fast 300m, 5 x slow 500m- 2lap warm down. total 4 miles

+7

ETA: not liking the look of 2 of my toenails at all

littlebug

Friday 3 miles in 29.40+ walked the last mile home.

Monday Treadmill .
0.5 mile warmup @ 10min mile followed by stretching.
0.2m@8.34 min mile/ 0.3m@10 min mile (x6) except I bumped the speed up again on the last slow part as I felt I had a bit more in the tank.
3 miles in 28.20
2 min walk and back up to 10min mile to complete 0.5mile warm down.
session total = 4 miles in 38.55

+8miles altogether.

littlebug

Tuesday: MY 3 mile loop reversed so i had to go up the big hill rather than down. 31.38
Thursday: training- 4 lap warm up + 5x 200m fast/ 5x 600m jog.

Saturday lsr though the "s" is really the only valid part of that. "Nearly" 8k on a local race route so the ks were nicely marked out for me:D I think the actual race overlaps a bit at the end, thus my "nearly" 8k....no way was I running past my car! 51.50. I might head over there again later to cheer on the runners and see what a race looks like from the front!

Biggest news this week is that I am now officially within healthy BMI range again having now lost a grand total of 34 lbs

The toenails are hanging in there but getting blacker by the day... it's only a matter of time...:(

Bally8

Well done littlebug you are doing really well. I had those black toe nails a few years back when I took up running for the first time. One just fell off and eventually grew back:eek:

asimonov

Bally8 wrote: »

Well done littlebug you are doing really well. I had those black toe nails a few years back when I took up running for the first time. One just fell off and eventually grew back:eek:

Black is ok, it's the illuminous yellow / green stage you have to worry about :-)

littlebug

asimonov wrote: »

Black is ok, it's the illuminous yellow / green stage you have to worry about :-)

:eek: eww.. well that gives me something to look forward to.

rainbow kirby

littlebug wrote: »

Saturday lsr though the "s" is really the only valid part of that. "Nearly" 8k on a local race route so the ks were nicely marked out for me:D I think the actual race overlaps a bit at the end, thus my "nearly" 8k....no way was I running past my car! 51.50. I might head over there again later to cheer on the runners and see what a race looks like from the front!

Biggest news this week is that I am now officially within healthy BMI range again having now lost a grand total of 34 lbs

Congrats on the weight loss! It's a great feeling to be back in healthy BMI range after working hard to shed the pounds.

Sub-50 in the Streets of Galway

littlebug

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Sub-50 in the Streets of Galway

That's the plan Rainbow of course you'll be there yourself because by then you won't be able to drag yourself away from your beloved Galway at weekends :P

rainbow kirby

Beloved? Galway? Surely you jest. :pac:

littlebug

I don't usually update every day but this will move me up a place in the 1000 mile thread
I wondered about the wisdom of going for a run yesterday given that I'd had a huge 4 course meal earlier but decided to go for it. The plan was to run the first 3 miles then see how I felt after that. 3 miles got me to the bottom of the big hill so I started to walk up it-after 2 mins I was feeling great and thought "feck it I'll run the rest" so I did and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.. continued running to my 4 miles mark. 41.07.

I also realised that I've run over 19 miles in the past week. Given that my weekly total has been averaging somewhere between 11-14 I should probably have a rest day today
Kids at summer camp for the week... glorious morning silence....

littlebug

Tuesday: I went all out and ran my 3 miles in 28.51 . I'm feeling reasonably confident about the Boston Scientific 5k next week. Only reasonably because it's described as undulating. My route is undulating but the downhills are long enough to be able to gain a bit of momentum back. Lots of short steep hills may not go in my favour I'm really looking forward to SoG now and there's a voice in my head that keeps whispering "Galway Bay half marathon 3rd October". Does anyone know how to make the crazy race voices go away :D

littlebug

Wednesday. treadmill- 2 horrible miles til the heat and the hunger got the better of me.

Thursday- 4 miles - just took it handy not worrying about time. I wanted to conserve energy for the hill in the fourth mile so I wouldn't need to walk. I ran up the hill which was...easy and strange as it feels to say this the 4 miles in 41.42 actually felt...well... comfortable for the first time

littlebug

I'm lucky enough to be in one of the most beautiful wild and rugged parts of the west this weekend. I set off on my run this evening undecided about whether to go 1.5 miles and turn back or keep running to the end of the road and turn back which would make the whole run over 6 miles. The fact that there is a 312 ft elevation in the first mile, then a longer descent down to sea level was putting me off... ie having to do it twice (higher and longer ascent on the way back- 359ft I think -I;ll check tomorrow). Anyway I got out there, decided to take it easy and see how it went. The first mile was indeed bloody hard and I walked the steepest (very bloody steep) bits. There was a flat bit at the top which was nice to run on but a bit rocky so I had to watch my step. The descent down to the sea was beautiful but was mostly on loose stone so there wasn't any speed involved at all. Given those circumstances I think 3+ miles in 34 mins wasn't bad!
The return journey - ugh the wind in my face all the way and the long steep uphill meant lots of walking! The steep last mile descent was great despite the wind and once I was back on tarmac again and I felt like I flew down. return journey 37.14.

5.59 miles mapped but there's a bit at the start/ finish hasn't made it onto the sattelite image but so I'm guessing at least .1m each way so probably 10k overall. 71.40 minutes in total =not bad given the terrain.

littlebug

monday - treadmill- 4 miles

Wednesday- Boston Scientific 5k race

I ran my short little bug legs off and finished in 28.20 (ish-awaiting confirmation). I'm absolutely delighted with that
According to McMillan that would give me 46.42 in SoG but I was really slowing on the last k (5.48 compared to 5.25 in the first) so I'll be conservative and aim for sub 49.

rainbow kirby

^^ Congrats!

If it makes you feel any more optimistic, when I ran 46.28 in the Raheny 5 I'd never run sub-30 for 5k. I reckon you should be targeting sub-47 as your to-yourself target for the Streets of Galway.

littlebug

rainbow kirby wrote: »

I reckon you should be targeting sub-47 as your to-yourself target for the Streets of Galway.

Of course sub 49 is just my out loud target

Bally8

Well done littlebug excellent time:D

littlebug

Thursday - training- 4miles. Incorporated some strides into the first few laps but the legs were feeling the effects of Wed night's race so I just did my own thing for the rest of the session and took it slowly.

Saturday- planned 6 mile slow run. Looked at the weather:(/ looked at the treadmill:(:( waited and had some coffee and finally there was a break in the clouds so off I went leaving the clan watching whobobwhatpants. This was a route I hadn't run before that someone had nicely mapped out on mapmyrun and I loved it. The first half was easy, a lot downhill. The second half was tougher with some testy enough hills but I ran the lot (though verrry slowly on the uphill. I'd say I was running comfortably for the first 5miles but started to feel it on the last mile when my nice distracting internal dialogue turned mostly to thoughts of "Gawd... am I not there yet". A very welcome shower appeared in the last half mile. I didn't look at my watch til I was back at the car.
6.2 miles in 65.30.

chatoon

Well done littlebug on some great training and really good racing...the races really do give you a great chance to push yourself that little bit more - all you have to do now is keep up the training and watch the seconds and minutes fall off your PB... you're right on form for the Streets of Galway, and I'm sure you'll do really well - best of luck...keep running!:)

littlebug

chatoon wrote: »

Well done littlebug on some great training and really good racing...the races really do give you a great chance to push yourself that little bit more - all you have to do now is keep up the training and watch the seconds and minutes fall off your PB... you're right on form for the Streets of Galway, and I'm sure you'll do really well - best of luck...keep running!:)

Thanks Chatoon. Yes I'm really pleased with where I am now... considering where I started from !:o I'm not expecting miracles at my age but reaching (and maintaining) a reasonable standard will keep me happy. I'll need to find a new target after Streets of Galway.. connemara is a long way off....

littlebug

Monday- treadmill- 4.1 miles - 38 mins

Tuesday- 3 mile loop slow- 30+ mins. Energy low.

Thursday- training- almost 5 miles. Ran 4 of those miles with someone and we yakkety yakked the whole way- hardly noticed I was running and we still did it a bit quicker than I would on my own. Loved it.

Friday I intended doing 3 miles today for the sake of bringing my mileage for this month up to 80 but....:( knees and ankes hurt. I'd planned 5 or 6 miles in the morning but I have a feeling that won't happen now.

littlebug

after 3 days resting the joints and anti- inflamms then 6hrs driving today (with a stop at kfc en route ) I absolutely needed to run today.

Treadmill 3.2 miles. felt good- I think I'll be ok for Saturday but with a reminder to myself that this is all about getting and keeping fit and healthy and not about pushing my dodgy joints so hard that they give up on me...

littlebug

Piddly weather so 5 miles on the treadmill inc 1 mile warmup at 10 min mile pace, 2 miles at about 9 min miles, a small bit slower for the 4th and the last one @ 10 min mile.

I've just passed Belcarra (hmm someone hasn't been updating their mileage methinks:cool:) and Munstergal in the 1000 mile challenge. I expect MG to read this and overtake me again any-minute-now.....

littlebug

Wednesday - 4 comfortable miles 41.15
Thursday - 3 difficult miles 30.52

Funny how I felt great last night and ran the 4th mile in 10.02 feeling like I could keep going and tonight I struggled with the exact same mile (but 3rd) in 10.36.
rest day tomorrow. I'm not entirely sure if a day in Galway with the kids organising books, uniforms etc really counts as rest but at least I don't have to move fast. Roll on SoG on Sat

xebec

Best of luck with the SoG! Sounds like a great race and might be one I look to make a weekend out of next year

rainbow kirby

littlebug wrote: »

Roll on SoG on Sat

Good luck! I'll think of you when I'm doing my craptacular post-injury long run!

Bally8

Best of luck tomorrow littlebug.

littlebug

Bah... I just typed out a race report and then lost it... grrrr.

Streets of Galway... the shorter version.
Started near the back so there was much bobbing and weaving through the first few k. Actually I found I was passing people for a lot of the race.
Loved loved loved every minute of the race..a slow start but I made it up nicely.
Splits... 1. 6.03
2/ 3. 11.30 (missed the 2k marker)
4. 5.27
5. 5.47
6. 5.28
7. 5.49
8. 5.20

so a bit all over the place but I'm delighted with my finish time just under 45 and a half mins. I really didn't expect that!
My knees felt fine all the way through and still do... my left calf was a bit bothersome in the night and I feel a bit creaky now but otherwise all good:)

Now... i've got a 10k pb to beat... when's the next race?:cool:

rainbow kirby

Well done

Bally8

Well done littlebug thats some great speed! There is a 10k in Scarriff, Co.Clare on 13th September. Might be a bit far away for you. Im going to do it with my sister.

littlebug

Thanks Bally8,

Scariff 10k
"a stiff test to those looking to challenge themselves while also boasting the most stunning views of Lough Derg and the surrounding area" sounds hard :eek: but strangely enough I was considering the clifden 10k which is harder again... 5k 400ft uphill but I like the idea of turning round and running all the way back down again. . Not exactly pb territory I imagine but I'm strangely drawn to it. I'll probably do one or other of these... i'll think about it.
The westport 5k looks good too in the meantime.

Left calf was sore after Sat so I took a couple of days off from running. Today was my first day to run again since Saturday- been sore and feeling like crAp for a couple of days. I'm away from home at the minute so I found myself a 3 mile loop and dragged my leaden legs around slowly.... still it's done.

littlebug

The guilt of having only run a measly 3 miles this week got me off the couch this evening. I decided to do my nasty 10k hill run again.... that's 300ft+ climb in the first 2k then descent to sea level (some on loose stone) and return 350ft+ in the first 3k with the Atlantic wind in my face. Last time I walked a fair bit of the steeper uphill. This time I decided I would run (albeit slowly) all of it and so I did.

5k out: 34.57 (last time 34.14 I think- lol faster when I walked bits)
5k back: 37.14 (last time 37.14 - I couldn't have done that if I was trying!)

So all in all the whole run was slower when I ran it all but hey it's all an exercise in getting the legs used to running up hills. I suspect my downhill and flat bits were slower this time because I was so puffed.
Come April I will sail over the HOTW :cool: