0 to Marathon - The Log

JJJJNR

Hi,

35 yr old /6' 4'/ 19 stone, have been ona diet for 3.5 years and lost 4 stone,
have never trained before but recently started to do some five a side football to get me motivated. I want to do a 10k run in the next year not sure which one.

So starting easy with some footie, exercise bike work and laps of my local rugby pitch as I'm not ready for the road yet.

Thursday 2nd Five a side, in bits after 5mins, worst feeling ever, thought I was going to cough up a lung. Good bit of Asthma the whole time.
Thursday 9th Five a side, again in bits after 5 mins getting the message.
Sunday 12th I done 7 laps of the rugby pitch, really difficult asthma kicked in after 2nd lap but went away soon enough. Done one lap then warm up, another lap then warm up etc... and walked/ran the final lap, and warm down.
Wednesday 14th 45 mins on exercise bike, same with the asthma after 15 mins.
Thursday 15th no 5 a side cause I was sick.
Sunday 19th 8 laps, same as before with the warm ups, not as bad as first time, great run felt in bits for the day but on a high.
Tuesday 21th 45 mins on the bike, no problems.
Thursday 23rd 5 a side, strong game, scored my first goal in 10 years, great crack, hardly any asthma and hardly any muscle pain after, a little bit next day.
Sunday 26th 8 laps, same as before with the breaks, had a little helper with me who done 2 laps and walked one!

Watching the diet, cutting down on the beer and wine, and eating proper stuff. Fruit, veg, etc. have been bad with bread recently need to watch that, as i've a Glutenin allergy..

Seres

JJJJNR ,best of luck with your log , you will get lots of good advice and support here if you want it

McConkey

Welcome to the logs JJJJNR, you sound like your are getting well into it already

Getting out after the struggle of the first few days can be difficult...but once you stack a couple of weeks together it gets harder and harder to skip/miss a session-next thing you're addicted

Good Luck

JJJJNR

Done a little tonight with time against me.

5km on the bike.
free weights.
situps 25

shels4ever

Fairplay, best of luck with the training.

JJJJNR

Footie last night and ran for the whole hour, no asthma at all. Its amazing how the body responds to a few weeks of light exercise, looking forward to getting fitter. Going to stick to this for the next month and then try running a forest walk close to my house, theres one which is a 4k loop which has a lot of hills, thats my aim for the end of the month 31 June.

So between now and then I'm going to try and complete a couple of straight laps of the rugby pitch if I can this sunday I'll be very happy. Come the 31st rain or shine i'm doing that loop..

JJJJNR

Decided today to do the 4k loop and just did with a mix of walking done it in 35 mins. Actually not as bad as I thought, so going to stop doing the laps of the rugby pitch and just focus on the 4k run, aiming still to do it in a oner on the 31st.

JJJJNR

Knees are very sore today, might have taken to the hard stuff a bit too early, I think it was the decents as they were fairly steep and I could feel my legs hitting the gravel fairly hard, and theres a bit of bruising on the side of one knee.. anyone know if this is normal, would have been the first time running on a rough surface.

Going to take it easy for a few days with light bike work only.

trilo

Well done JJJJNR, you sound so positive and so motivated.

I empahatise with you on the knee front but i don't know much about it to give you advice or about the bruising. All i know with myself i get pains in my knee once or twice and took a rest for a week or two and ran on soft surface. Best thing to do is rest and the bike is a good substitute albeit IMO not as satisfying as the run.

Keep up the good work and of course rest

JJJJNR

Ok Knees are grand, so I'm seriously thinking about doing the loop tomorrow.

5th - 45mins on the bike, 25 situps, and some free weights.
6th - Fast 5km walk.
8th - 5 a side.
9th - Day off. Had a good walk ruined.

JJJJNR

10th 4km walk/run knees are fine now.


Starting this training program this evening.

JJJJNR

Been really sick with a chest infection for the last two weeks, so have been doing very little. Got sick due to no cooling down while wet after footie, I've a 35 min drive home after!

Starting to feel a lot better so played 5 a side yesterday and was in bits.. but feel a LOT better again today.

Have pushed the 4k back to end of June, disappointed with being ill for so long, hopefully the chest is a bit stronger now.

JJJJNR

Damn still have this chest infection, two sets of anti biotic have not cleared it, playing footie prob doesnt help, im going out of my head with this. Plus side though I've lost roughly about a stone as I've cut out dairy products.

Anyone any ideas GP is great has given me an inhaler also, but its not clearing.

Oryx

Lord, 6 weeks is a long time to be suffering with that. Sorry to hear its wrecked your plans. I cant advise medically. Just wanted to wish you luck recovering. When years ago I began to train in a gym my astma went mad for the first few months, I spent every session coughing up a lung. But it cleared completely eventually. My only relapse was when I got into hard training again last year. So I hope that this, for you, is also a blip as your body adapts.

Stick with the GPs advice and hope it clears.

RJM22

maybe a little tip for the future - there's a product called a 'power breather' thats provides resistance as you breathe in and out of it. I've heard it helps asthma sufferers....it will certainly help your lung capacity - maybe something to consider as you get fitter.

JJJJNR

Yeah its only a set back, but it seems to be clinging on. I've stopped doing the football and started to go back to walking a couple of K every second night. A dose of vitamins will probably be in order also.

JJJJNR

Well forgot about this log, have been very busy running 2 - 3 times a week and have completed my target 4k in a time of 37min, its mostly dirt track and very steep in places and I completed it in one go today, major milestone for me.

Think I need a new pair of trainers as my old ones are causing blisters.. UK size 13 if anyone knows of a good pair going cheap.

Blueskye

Well done on reaching your target.

JJJJNR

Well, am really in my stride with the 4 km run now, so I've started to do a small workout at home before and after.

So three times a week im doing 5km on the bike, running 4km, and then 5 km on the bike again I'm not working at the moment... Also changed the footie to a Monday as the other group broke up.

My weight hasn't really gone down, but my body fat has dropped considerably, I've huge legs now and my arms have toned up, have sort of lost a bit of the man boobs.. :pac: but it'll take a lot longer to get rid of them..

I can't believe looking back on this log how far I've came, I'm like a different person, I can think faster, play longer and have tons of energy. I also play a small bit of golf and cant believe how much my game has came on, must be related to my fitness..

I'm going to keep posting here as its great inspiration for me.

Thanks all.

P.S. doing the dirt track in 35 min flat (almost) !

JJJJNR

New target set.

http://www.wicklow200.ie/

Now all I need is a bike.

JJJJNR

Hi,

In the last 12 months I've started running, started off very slowly but am now doing 8km of uphill running about 3 times a week...This has really helped me tone up and jeans etc are now hanging off me.

Now I'm looking to go to the next level of my fitness, and I think I've done everything ok so far myself.

I dont really want to watch what I eat, I enjoy my food and I eat well, I'd rather work harder in training. I eat the following porridge, fresh veg, meat and fish. I also eat a good bit of chocolate about a bar a day (snickers) and nibble at biscuits (rich tea or digestive) ...beer wise I have about 6 500ml bottles of beer a week.

I've started to combine a few other things with my running, weight training, situps and exercise bike.

JJJJNR

Still training, running the 4km loop now at regular intervals.. last time i checked I was doing the loop in 23 mins...That was on the 23 April.. I'll time myself tomorrow morning again for the log. I was worried that it might get boring after I start to hit this level of fitness but the hills are still difficult and still a challenge even though I am flying up them, its weird like that.

Still no job though, my runners are looking a bit worse for wear hmm doing it bare foot isn't really attracting me.! Another incentive to get a job...!

JJJJNR

ok, I think I've messed up, I've been constantly doing this loop for 4 months now and have really upped the training in the last 3 months running almost every day but recently I've moved to the road and im so disappointed with my performance its not funny. :mad:

I thought this forest run would stand me in good stead for the road but the difference is massive and its like starting again! Its going to take time I guess.

Also I'm finding now as I've upped my training so much I am totally exhausted the next day, going to take a rest day today as today would have been the 7th day in a row is this normal starting out ?

JJJJNR

Well I achived my target yesterday ! I havent "lost" any weight at all which is a bit of a concern! but very happy as I had taken almost 11months off due to family reasons

Anyway onwards and upwards..

Thinking of signing up for the 10 miler in the phonix park on the 20th, but I'm a novice at running races and have a couple of questions:

Where do you store your car keys and belongings when you drive to a race, I dont drive a high spec car but would like somewhere secure to store my keys.

What do people do for a shower, I get fairly sick if I don't shower before my body temp drops, happened a few times and have been hit badly with Pneumonia, so whats the best way to cool down correctly after a race, as I'll have at least an hour drive (after I get into the car and onto the m.way) before I get to shower thats a major concern for me attending an event.

Formosa

JJJJNR wrote: »

Well I achived my target yesterday ! I havent "lost" any weight at all which is a bit of a concern! but very happy as I had taken almost 11months off due to family reasons

Anyway onwards and upwards..

Thinking of signing up for the 10 miler in the phonix park on the 20th, but I'm a novice at running races and have a couple of questions:

Where do you store your car keys and belongings when you drive to a race, I dont drive a high spec car but would like somewhere secure to store my keys.

What do people do for a shower, I get fairly sick if I don't shower before my body temp drops, happened a few times and have been hit badly with Pneumonia, so whats the best way to cool down correctly after a race, as I'll have at least an hour drive (after I get into the car and onto the m.way) before I get to shower thats a major concern for me attending an event.

Most races these days will have bag storage areas, they usually give you a bin liner to put everything in with a number on it. I'd be quite confident in the safety of my stuff when I leave it with them.

Alternatively I sometimes leave everything in tha car and take the car key off the ring and put it in my shorts pockets, I have also seen people at these events with a car key tied to their runners through the laces.

Regarding showers, I can't help you there, there might be something available in the park but I doubt it, generally everyone heads away in their cars smelly and sweaty.

dahat

As regards keys,my running shorts have a little zip pocket for money and a key and an inside pocket with no zip,i put my keys there.Usually i just bring the minimun to a race,car+house key,nothing else.

I also minimise belongings i bring,just race related stuff,if it aint in the car it can't be robbed!
Most races have a shower area as the start/finish is moreoften than not a community centre

RayCun

No showers at the races in the park though

dahat

RayCun wrote: »

No showers at the races in the park though

Community Centre start/finish= from the sticks...

Thought he was asking in general not specifically for that race,my bad..

Oryx

If you can't shower, get your running kit off and warm dry cozy clothes on asap. You could bring a damp flannel too to freshen up. They do usually have a changing tent at these races. Getting warm stuff on before you start to chill will make a difference if you can't shower properly.

JJJJNR

Thanks all, went out on Tuesday evening and tonight for a 5k fartlek session, and im in bits, am I over doing it after the 10k on Sunday, I've no energy at all for running apart from sprints.. should I take a long break like 2 - 3 days now.

JJJJNR

Slow week this week (work commitments), Monday rest, Tuesday 5k Fartec, Wednesday Bootcamp, Thusday rest, Friday 5km jog, Saturday rest, Sunday 8km

Just a quick question, I ran 10miles last sat and was nauseous afterwards despite drinking water before, half-way and at the end, it went away after I ate some food I think it may have been low salt or something has anyone any tips on what I should be eating.

Someone mentioned that new chocolate and salt from lint is supposed to be really good.

JJJJNR

monday 5k Tueday rest Wedesday 3k and 1hr circut training, Thursday 4k, Friday 5k, Saturday 5k, Sunday 18k

Found out what was making me sick, I was bottling tap water and using it on my long runs, this week I've used bottled water (lidl) and am 100% after my long run, the circut training is really helping also.

Really enjoyed my runs this week and esp today.

JJJJNR

Monday rest Tuesday 5k Wednesday Circuit training + 3k run Thursday 4k Fartec Friday 5k slow run Saturday 4k and circuit traing Sunday 19k

Used gel for the first time today and it really helped me on the second stage of my run, which covered a killer of a hill. Ran straight up it and then a much harder one (but shorter) hill at the end.

JJJJNR

Monday rest Tuesday 5k Wednesday Circuit training + 3k run Thursday 4k fartlek run Friday 3k slow run Saturday half marathon (2:43) Sunday Rest.

Thought I would do better at the half marathon but the time actually ties in well with my prev weeks speed, I'll worry about times next year..

Starting a light swimming session now as part of my long run recovery and finding it really helps the legs recover, just doing some light lenths of the pool, no hard swimming at all.

I've also signed up to do the Dublin City Marathon, probably looking at 4:30 - 5hr looking at my half times, looking forward to it. Going to hit the training hard next week, signed up for a couple of early morning gym sessions starting next week. This week is going to be all about recovery.

JJJJNR

Monday swim Tuesday 5k, Wednesday 3k 1hr circut training, Thursday 3k, Friday 4k 30min circuit training, Saturday rest, Sunday 23.8k

JJJJNR

I've just re-read this from page one for the first time in a couple of years and damn its really worth the effort to get out and about, I'm now 37 and getting ready for my first marathon, I really don't know where it came from but I seem to be in a much better place personally now than when I started this log, I've never kept a diary in my life and looking back I'm actually fairly proud to have got this far.

Wonder could the admins rename it to 0 - marathon?

JJJJNR

Monday 1hr swim with about 15mins hard cardio swimming, Tuesday 5k, Wednesday 3k + 1hr strength training, Thursday 4k, Friday 8k 30min strength training, Saturday rest, Sunday 20k

JJJJNR

Monday rest Tuesday 6k, Wednesday 3k + 1hr strength training, Thursday 6k, Friday 6k - 30min strength training, Saturday rest, Sunday 30k

JJJJNR

Winding down -

Monday Rest, Tuesday Rest, Wednesday 3km + 40min core strenght training, Thursday Rest, Friday 1hr core strenght training, Saturday rest, Sunday 22km

theboyblunder

JJJJNR wrote: »

Monday rest Tuesday 5k Wednesday Circuit training + 3k run Thursday 4k fartlek run Friday 3k slow run Saturday half marathon (2:43)


I've also signed up to do the Dublin City Marathon, probably looking at 4:30 - 5hr looking at my half times, looking forward to it.

Good luck in the marathon! Its your first right? Might be an idea to have a look at these links

http://www.runworks.com/calculator.html
http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

Good pacing is key - its a cliche but the marathon is all about miles 20-26, and so its a good idea to pace sensibly and conservatively early in the race - especially in your first one.

Cracking stuff to go from 0 and 19st to a marathon, I look forward to the report

JJJJNR

Thanks I've been running negitive splits (is that the correct term) where on my long runs I am running very slow on the way out and slightly up on the return. havent been mile pacing at all for it.

I tried running the middle part of my 22k on Sunday slightly faster than any other long runs (against my normal runs) and was well up for it when I finished, I was just testing the waters really (I know I know), but for the marathon I'm going to be taking my usual approach.

I havent weighed myself but will do so soon I think I'm still around the 19st mark, despite going low carb during the week, I presume its muscle mass.

JJJJNR

Crazy day from start to finish, did what I wanted and crossed the line at merrion sq.. Legs are great I can still walk which I couldn't do after the half! I sorta got hit at Walkinstown and didn't recover really so just walk/ran a bit nevermind.


completed the circuit with 6:23 on the clock.

JJJJNR

Indo has me down for 6.11min delighted with the time.

JJJJNR

Ok doing either the waterford half or the Clonakilty half, on the 10th Dec, depending on logistics. Would love to do the Clonakilty and take the family away for the weekend, but Waterford is that little bit closer.

Anyway I've been out running a couple of times during the week, what training should I do leading up to this half marathon, I guess I'll have to put in a couple of long runs in the next 3 sundays .? anyone got some tips, I did the DCM recently and feel really up for this.

JJJJNR

Doing no training whatsoever at the moment, really struggling to find the time and am completely aimless at the moment.. Playing 5-a-side again and tonight was only getting going when we had to wrap up.

Really have to get back to some sort of schedule..

JJJJNR

Just for the sake of it, i completed the 2012 marathon in 5:30, was pepped up on steroids as I had a chest infection..my training had me down for a 4:30 in the final month before completed 4 x 20s as my LSRs but I had to take it handy, have been out fairly regularly since the marathon at least 2 - 3 times a week Just a message to anyone thinking about getting fit and giving running a go its well worth it, I'm now in my local running club and although don't set the road alight with speed am a dedicated lifer to the sport.

JJJJNR

Amsterdam half marathon in 2.16.

I got an injury into my DCM training and only managed to get up to 25km on my long runs so wanted to do something different and Amsterdam delivered in spades.

How have things changed since I've started this blog.. hmm.. weight has gone down a small bit, I've gone from a 38 to a 36 size waist, I feel taller, i am almost asthma free during the day, and need very little help with breathing when running..

Plans for the next 12 months - weight loss is the big thing now, even though im healthy I still would like to get it down, i want to get a 4.30 marathon under the belt next year. Madrid in April looks very good, currently getting over my "seasonal" avian flu, but once i'm better i'll be hitting the diet sheets and looking at strength training.