Becoming a Real Runner

chinguetti

Meno, i'll give you full credit for giving yourself every chance by dropping the smokes and cutting the booze back. You can dine out on a sub 3 in Berlin for months after it. Shows you are really wanting it and hope you do make the sub 3.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

menoscemo wrote: »

Deffo gonna try to get down a few more Kilos before Berlin, but there is a fine line between dropping a few pounds while running loads of miles and leaving your body close to burnout.

Absolutely +1
From earlier in the year i tried to crash the weight and i ended up hampering some training sessions and recovery as i was running too big a kcal defecit. A 1lb/2lb a week is a realistic goal without hampering your training.
I will be watching the Berlin tracker with interest:)

liamo123

Good running in Longford Meno... I agree with above posts, I went sub 3 off a 1.28 ish half mar so when u factor in loosing a few more lbs, taper and a bit of carb loading its still on in my humble oponion.... C u at the half.....

menoscemo

liamo123 wrote: »

so when u factor in loosing a few more lbs, taper and a bit of carb loading its still on in my humble oponion...

haha, those 3 things kind of work against each other though. Especially number 1 and number 3

menoscemo

Really busy in work this week as we are in peak season. Luckily the plan for the first half of the week was recovery from the half, with a sting in the tail in the form of Saturdays Long Run.

Monday
Didn't get home from work till after 9 so was gonna skip any running. Then I figured any kind of run would halp recovery so I managed to slip out for 2.5 miles of very slow joggin while the dinner was in the oven. Very slow and creaky.

Tuesday
Was really glad I had got yesterdays recovery run done as my easy pace was almost back to normal levels. Covered 7 Miles after work.

Wednesday
Ran home from work and took a bit of a longer route to cover 9 miles

Thursday
7 into work and 5 more in the evening. 12 miles

Friday
I planned on 5 or 6 miles but felt totally weak and light headed. Could feel myself swerving across the canal path. Cut the 'run' short. I was only doing 9 minute miles but I had to take 3 walking breaks :eek: Only 3 miles done. I just put this down to exhaustion with work so made sure to get 9 hrs sleep. I have to say I was a little worried about saturdays run though.

Saturday
21.25 miles in 2:45 (7:40ish pace). Met up with Phillip for this one in the PP. The plan said 22 with 4 x 5k @ MP (7 min/mile) thankfully I felt ok in the 7 mile warmup so I knew friday had been a freak. The legs were tired though. The first 5k rep felt great (21:36 or 6:58/mile). It was very windy and quite hot and after 2 minutes jog we launched into the second one, I stupidly picked a route that included the military hill into a stiff head wind, then even more stupidly turned onto the pitches and ran for a mile into more headwind. My legs struggled on this part and I fell off Phillip. 5k done in 21:48 (7:02/mile). I felt totally wrecked after this and for fear of falling apart I let Phillip do the third one on his own while I did 3 miles easy. Met Phillip again for the last one and felt great again, I was pushing the pace once more on this one: 21:35 again (6:58/mile).

The heart and lungs felt fine at MP and the HR is around 158 for the MP bits which was right. I wasn't breathing heavy but the legs were very tired and weak (still not recovered from the half, and I probably did too much mileage during the week too). Anyway I was glad to get the run done and quite pleased with the result too. Phillip is looking very strong, I am trying to convince him that 3:15 is way too soft a target for him in DCM

Sunday
5 mile recovery. 128 HR for an 8:40/mile pace which is a record low for me at that pace (mind you the HRM hadn't been working for months).

Weekly total: 7 days running and 60 miles

2011|No. of days Running|Miles|2012 |No. of days Running|Miles
January|28/31|256.3|January|28/31|290.1
February|24/28|236.9|February|27/29|283.2
March|23/31|221.9|March|24/31|204.7
April|22/30|176.4|April|23/30|187.8
May|25/31|198.5|May|29/31|240
June|24/30|180.6|June|20/30|176
July|28/31|269.4|July|30/31|309.2
August|23/31|244.6|August|28/31|257
September|22/30|200|September|2/2|26
October|26/31|187.5|||
November|28/30|210.1|||
December|24/31|194.3|||
Total|297/365|2576.5|Total|212/246|1974.5

menoscemo

I wouldn't say I was on taper yet as I have a mid week session lined up that looks to be quite a stinker (5, 4, 3 , 2 miles at MP) but this was the last big mileage week of the plan. I had a really busy week at work as well so that didn't help and I probabaly lost about 5 or 6 miles as a reult

Monday
7 miles easy

Tuesday
Had to work until after 9pm but managed to get out for 4 miles at 6.30pm in between jobs

Wednesday
Managed to get away just after 6:30pm so decided to get my midweek session done and dusted.
15 minute warmup then 30 minutes @ 90% MP (7:44/mile 143 HR), 30 minutes @ 95% (7:21/mile 153 HR) and 30 minutes @ 100% (7 min/mile 160 HR) then a 10 minute cool down.

Really enjoyed this run actually, found the 7:40ish pace to be real easy a lovely jogging pace for a super low HR. Had the wind in my face for most of the session..
Summary 15.2 miles in 1:55 (7:36/mile average). Had no water on the run and it was very hot so I was dripping in sweat by the end. My hat took 2 days to dry out and left a puddle on the floor

Thursday
4 Miles recover in the A.M., 6 easy in the evening 10 miles

Friday
7 Easy in Tymon with Aimman

Saturday
10 miles over 2 5 mile runs

Sunday
I had the opportunity to join Krusty and Theboyblunder for my last really long run before Berlin so I jumped at the chance. My plan actually said 22 miles with 10 @ MP. I would normally do the easy at 8 min+/mile and so have an average of about 7:45/mile for these runs. 7:30 would be the bottom end of easy pace for the boys and I (and LB) Figured that 12 @ 7:30 + 10 @ 7 min/mile would be too much so for me we decided I'd do the whole run with the lads at 7:30-7:40/mile.

We met up in marlay and did several loops before heading up to Tymon for a lap and back via a scenic route and did the last 3 in marlay again. Really enjoyed the run and the company. There was plenty of chat and the miles really flew by. The course was quite hilly in places so the average pace would probably be 10 seconds/mile or so faster on a flat track. I struggled a bit from mile 15-20 where there was a steady incline back up to marlay but was nice and fresh when it flattened out at the end again.

Thanks to lads for slowing down for me

Summary: 22 miles in 2:45 (7:30/mile)

Weekly total: 7 days running and 74 miles

2011|No. of days Running|Miles|2012 |No. of days Running|Miles
January|28/31|256.3|January|28/31|290.1
February|24/28|236.9|February|27/29|283.2
March|23/31|221.9|March|24/31|204.7
April|22/30|176.4|April|23/30|187.8
May|25/31|198.5|May|29/31|240
June|24/30|180.6|June|20/30|176
July|28/31|269.4|July|30/31|309.2
August|23/31|244.6|August|28/31|257
September|22/30|200|September|9/9|100
October|26/31|187.5|||
November|28/30|210.1|||
December|24/31|194.3|||
Total|297/365|2576.5|Total|219/253|2048.8

claralara

Nice LSR. I think you're safe from me this time around - we'll put money on a race in the next 6-12 months instead

menoscemo

claralara wrote: »

Nice LSR. I think you're safe from me this time around - we'll put money on a race in the next 6-12 months instead

Ever the bluffer eh?

I've seen your MP splits and you are always doing them at faster than planned pace, while chatting away. I suspect you'll go faster on the day
I am having to dig in just to hit my MP splits.

I am paranoid of that sportworld singlet passing me that's for sure. Hopefully that will keep me on my toes and give me the HTFU pill when required

claralara

menoscemo wrote: »

I am paranoid of that sportworld singlet passing me that's for sure. Hopefully that will keep me on my toes and give me the HTFU pill when required

Maybe I won't be wearing my Sportsworld vest... And maybe I won't have the same colour hair that I'm currently sporting... Who knows. All about the sniping race tactics

menoscemo wrote: »

My hat took 2 days to dry out and left a puddle on the floor

And by the way - that's just sick! Ever heard of a washing machine?! Hell just throwing it on the floor of the shower would be better than nothing. That's assuming you shower of course...ugh :P

menoscemo

Monday
Just over 3 miles recovery

Tuesday
Met Aimman in Tymon and did 7 miles easy.

Wednesday
The session I had been dreading: 5, 4, 3, 2 miles at MP. I got off work on time decided to get it done and dusted. Still 17 miles with 14 at MP on a cold wednesday evening is not much fun. The wind was pretty bad as well and to top it off I hadn't been feeling well for the past few days, so I said I'd do the first 5 by feel and bail if I had to.
Got into my running ok and had the wind in my face for the first 5 which was also quite uphill. Got through 5 in 35:10 (7:02 pace) so decided to carry on, completing all the other reps in 7 min/mile pace or just below. Pretty wrecked, cold and hungry at the end. Had no water throughout but the drop in temperature meant that I had hardly sweated at all.

Summary: 16.5 miles in 1:58 (7:15/mile av Pace).

Thursday
4 Miles recovery in the Morning, 4 more in the evening.

Friday
7 miles easy

Saturday
1:40 pacing in the Dublin Half. I did this gig with Liamo and Beepbeep and really enjoyed it. We were trying out the new pacing flags and backpacks and I have to say they went fine. A little hot on the back to start with but as the crowds thinned out this became less of an Issue. I let the Boys stay ahead most of the race as they seemed to be knocking out the steady miles so I stayed back to chat with the runners. Caught Liamo at Farmleigh and he became the 'sweeper' I joined Beepbeep going down Chesterfield as we pushed the pace on just a touch with the steady downhill. Our plan was to bank about a minute before the hills and then allow ourselves to give some time back. That worked a treat as we were able to cruise through the last few miles without burning hardly anyone and got a lovely group over the line.

Summary: 13.15 miles in 1:39:41

I did another few miles jog down to Ryans after to bring it up over 15 miles for the day. Good turnout down there but not so many stayed more than an hour or so , so after a few pints with Digger and CL headed home very early.

Sunday
3 miles recovery

Weekly total: 7 days running and 58 miles

2011|No. of days Running|Miles|2012 |No. of days Running|Miles
January|28/31|256.3|January|28/31|290.1
February|24/28|236.9|February|27/29|283.2
March|23/31|221.9|March|24/31|204.7
April|22/30|176.4|April|23/30|187.8
May|25/31|198.5|May|29/31|240
June|24/30|180.6|June|20/30|176
July|28/31|269.4|July|30/31|309.2
August|23/31|244.6|August|28/31|257
September|22/30|200|September|16/16|158
October|26/31|187.5|||
November|28/30|210.1|||
December|24/31|194.3|||
Total|297/365|2576.5|Total|226/260|2106.7

Mr Slow

menoscemo wrote: »

Good turnout down there but not so many stayed more than an hour or so , so after a few pints with Digger and CL headed home very early.

Was really looking forward to a good session, unfortunately it was not to be.:(

chinguetti

Begod Meno, when i drove by Ryans before 6 you and 'my friends' were sitting in the window with a table full of pints in front of you.

So whats 'early'?:D

menoscemo

chinguetti wrote: »

Begod Meno, when i drove by Ryans before 6 you and 'my friends' were sitting in the window with a table full of pints in front of you.

So whats 'early'?:D

6.30

Kurt Godel

Thanks for the spot-on pacing job, you're one of the most experienced ones and quality shows. Good advice given for next year too, cheers.

menoscemo wrote: »

I did another few miles jog down to Ryans after to bring it up over 15 miles for the day. Good turnout down there but not so many stayed more than an hour or so , so after a few pints with Digger and CL headed home very early.

Like I told you, this is the future. Find yourself a good woman to go back home to, it makes leaving after 2 or 3 more bearable;)

jcsmum

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Thanks for the spot-on pacing job, you're one of the most experienced ones and quality shows.

+1 , great job on Saturday.

alanking

Hi Meno (can I call you that:-) )

I've just discovered this thread and spent a lot of time going through the many pages of your progress.

A question for you, what's been the biggest differences you've made in order to progress over the past 3 years.
My own stats are;
Just started running last 2 years. Seriously in the last 18 months.
Age: 40 in October (on the negative side I'm 40, on the plus I'll get a good age grading now!)
Weight:185lbs 6'2.
5k: 20:25
10k: 42:16
5m: 32:30
10m: 72:04 (bad race)
13.1: 1:34
26.2: 4:05 (blew up with cramp)
Going for 3:20ish in DCM

Anyway, in your 1st post on this (shown below) you were a very novice runner and I'm curious as to what's changed for you?

"So now begins the my process of becoming a real runner. Basically I was a total novice when I started training last february with the DCM in mind. I realised now it is a total noob thing to plan on running a marathon with absolutely no base and no experience of running whatsoever. Miraculously I made it through training and got to the start line. Unfortunately a blow up around 20 miles wrecked my dreams of a 4 hour Run and I had to settle for 4:15.
I said at the time I would never run a marathon again, but after a weeks reflection I am resigned to the fact that I probably will, but if I do I would want to go into it a hell of a lot better prepared and a proper running base behind me. Over the next year or so I therefore plan on running alot of races in the 5-10k range and put down some serious personal bests. I have never done any speed or interval work before so I look forward to getting out on the track, I also hope to get in some proper hill training once a week. My plan at the moment is to follow some kind of version of the Hal Higdon 10k intermediate training plan through the winter. Short term I will be doing the Jingle Bells 5k run on the 5th December and the Aware 10k the following week.
I have only ever had 5 races so I currently have set a PB in every race. They are:
5k: 21.54 (october 2009)
5Miles: 37:38 (July 2009)
Half Mara: 1hr48.08 (september 2009)
Mara: 4hr 15.32 (october 2009)"

Thanks!

menoscemo

HI Alan,
That's a nice set of PB's you have there. You are probably about 18 months further down the line from when I started this log so you are well on your way. Don't worry about age, there are plenty of people on these boards older than you and still amking big improvements.

Basically I started this after DCM 2009 for which I followed the HH novice 1 Programme. I was disappointed in my result so I set about educating myself on where to go next, Reading threads and other logs certainly helped.

Some of the stuff on this thread particularly helped: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055723042

Initially I just set about upping the miles gradually. For HH1 I had been running an average of i guess 20 miles per week and while I noticed a big improvement in shorter distances I had been disappointed with my half and Full Marathon times, so I went about running more often and putting some structure to my training. After 6 mnths of base building and improving my times up to HM distance I then set about trianing for DCM 2010 and read P&D advanced marathoning. This was very educational to me at the time as it explained a lot about training and the differnt type of runs. I reccomend you get the book if you haven't already read it.

After a little education it is really all about consistency and Mileage. I have been very lucky over the years to avoid injury so I have been able to make steady but very gradual gains. I guess I ran about 800 miles in 2009, 1800 in 2010, 2500 in 2011 and I will be up near 3000 this year so there is no magic bullet really, just getting out there and putting the work in on the roads.

Best of Luck

alanking

thanks - much appreciate the reply.

Great milage - I have the book, haven't got around to reading it yet as I'm combining Dean Karnazes '50/50' along with 'Born to Run'!

After last years DCM (a real debacle for me) I took a break for a few months, I set about upping my milage - I'm currently at 750miles for the year - but only started into a plan in May.
I worked on the short stuff 1st - up to half Marathon, focusing on speed and power - which I really enjoyed - and am feeling the benefit of it this year as I'm injury free. My Marathon training started in August.
After this DCM, I'll reassess my goals, educate myself with P&D and take it from there.

thanks!

alanking

Tergat=Legend!

menoscemo

alanking wrote: »

Tergat=Legend!

Absolutely!! Go through some of his other posts. Some great gems of info in there. A real pity he doesn't post anymore

Dory Dory

Wow, I will be reading some Tergat. I'm in a bit of a funk right now training-wise, so this may help. Thanks!! Oh, and I loved the way you structured your 16.5 mile run last Wednesday. Wished I had done my weekend run in that manner. Nice running you've been doing!!

menoscemo

Dory Dory wrote: »

Wow, I will be reading some Tergat. I'm in a bit of a funk right now training-wise, so this may help. Thanks!! Oh, and I loved the way you structured your 16.5 mile run last Wednesday. Wished I had done my weekend run in that manner. Nice running you've been doing!!

Thanks, I'd love to tell you I came up with that one myself but I'd be a liar I see you did a similar run yourself last week, Your miles were well under MP so I reckon you'll have no problem running sub 3:30.

menoscemo

Feeling strangley calm about the whole thing at the moment. Strange because I have a few reasons to be crazy but I guess it's just that I have been here a good few times already and know there is no point in panicking about things outside one's control.

Monday
Rest- Physio. I have been putting this off for months until I had the bulk of my training done but basically I have been carrying a niggling injury for about a year now on my right hamstring/piriformis. Most people who have seen me outside of running know I am always limping . Anyway Cfitz diagnosed some knots near the piriformis which are catching with the sciatic nerve and causing sharp pain. He seemed to get to the root of the problem in this session and I left with a pep in my step. Disappointinly the next day it came back like always :mad: Luckily I am still pain free when running it only seems to be sore when walking I am going to have to seriously get this problem fixed after Berlin

Tuesday
6 Miles easy with Digger and aimman in Tymon

Wednesday
Just over 10 miles with 8 @ PMP (6:58/mile). Tried to pick the flattest possinble route for the PMP but there were still a few bumps and a lot of wind. The miles felt just like a marathon should but the HR was a bit higher than I'd expect (163-164) for the efort. Again a few years ago this would have caused me to panic but in My last Marathon I ran with a Av HR of 159 when My previous highest AvHR for a marathon had been 153. I reckon i will be in the 160's in Berlin so no need to worry. It should also be noticed that my HR for the last 2 PMP miles was lower than the previous 6 even though the pace was faster (6:48 and 6:53). It is always a good sign that there is no HR drift. I was listening to the radio all the way round so I know the effort was fine.

Thursday
7.5 miles easy home from work. No need to run at recovery pace as the legs felt fine.

Friday
Return leg into work

Saturday
LSR: 12 miles @ 8 min/mile. Nice hilly route around the foot of the dublin ountains. HR a little higher than I'd expect again (147), so I guess the solution is not to wear the HRM this week :pac:. No point worrying about it and nothing I can do about it anyway.

Sunday
Rest- having hit the weekly mileage there was no point running anyway. Spent most of the day travelling back from Belfast anyway (mildly hungover).

Weekly total: 5 days running and 43 miles

2011|No. of days Running|Miles|2012 |No. of days Running|Miles
January|28/31|256.3|January|28/31|290.1
February|24/28|236.9|February|27/29|283.2
March|23/31|221.9|March|24/31|204.7
April|22/30|176.4|April|23/30|187.8
May|25/31|198.5|May|29/31|240
June|24/30|180.6|June|20/30|176
July|28/31|269.4|July|30/31|309.2
August|23/31|244.6|August|28/31|257
September|22/30|200|September|22/24|204
October|26/31|187.5|||
November|28/30|210.1|||
December|24/31|194.3|||
Total|297/365|2576.5|Total|233/268|2152.6

RayCun

Planning to wear the HRM in Berlin?

menoscemo

RayCun wrote: »

Planning to wear the HRM in Berlin?

Oh yeah for sure. I never have the HR data on dispaly during a run but it will be interesting to see it after. At this stage I have a fairly good idea of how I should be feeling at various stages of a marathon and don't need HR data distracting or worrying me...

TRR

menoscemo wrote: »

Oh yeah for sure. I never have the HR data on dispaly during a run but it will be interesting to see it after. At this stage I have a fairly good idea of how I should be feeling at various stages of a marathon and don't need HR data distracting or worrying me...

he has 2 sportsworld atheletes for that

menoscemo

TRR wrote: »

he has 2 sportsworld snipers for that

FYP
If you'd only let them run out with me from the start instead of having them hunt me down we'd see what's what

chinguetti

menoscemo wrote: »

FYP
If you'd only let them run out with me from the start instead of having them hunt me down we'd see what's what

Sure it will keep them focused when they have to aim for you.:p

jfh

menoscemo wrote: »

Absolutely!! Go through some of his other posts. Some great gems of info in there. A real pity he doesn't post anymore

just stumbled into your log, great reading, very consistent running this year, totally agree with you on tergat. think they're was some excellent contributors a few years ago, that have left boards.
best of luck with the marathon

menoscemo

jfh wrote: »

just stumbled into your log, great reading, very consistent running this year, totally agree with you on tergat. think they're was some excellent contributors a few years ago, that have left boards.
best of luck with the marathon

I see he was back posting a few days ago. Hopefully he will be back more often...