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Pushing my boundaries and making my physio rich...
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27-09-2010 10:50am#1So this is dangerous, as I'm doing this without reading anyone else's log so I could be doing it totally wrong! I will edit if needs be.
Background: 4 months ago I was over 20 stone and hardly able to walk up the stairs to my apartment. I got motivated and starting loosing weight via a radical change in my diet and also starting to go to gym. Im now 4 stone lighter, and things are going really well. My discovery of running has been a huge part of that success.
My weight loss was done with a brilliant weight loss club in town - <Snip> URL removed at mod request</Snip>
As part of going to gym I starting building my fitness slowly but surely. I started on cross trainer for 10 minutes and running for a couple of minutes, and basically using the 10% principal I built it up more and more each week.
When I was on holidays in west cork during summer, after I had started loosing weight I went for a run on the roads, in the middle of nowhere and found that I could do it, and that I loved it. I also found that people did not stop and look at this big lump running. Which was a big thing for me, psychologically.
So I started running around the block, just a single k or so to begin, and again I loved it. During the summer a mate was running the Adidas 10 mile thing in the park, I went up for a look. By a myracle I saw him, and started running with him, rain jacket, tracksuit, back pack and all. I ran the last 6k with him, which was the furthest I had ran at that point. While I was sweatting and wrecked, I knew I had more. That was a big step for me, as I knew I could do it, and I also saw with my own two eyes that the people in these races are regular folks of all shapes and sizes, not just stick insect size zero type people
Yesterday I ran my first ever road race, the rathfarnham 5k. I did that as I have grown up around there and i have seen it run in the past and always thought to myself I could never do that. I did it in 26.11 [official time was 26.17, but I was right at the back, so it took me 5 or 6 seconds to get over the start line. That was beyond my wildest dreams, as in my training runs I had not broken into the 28's yet, let alone the 26's [that being said, I was utterly ruined at the end, I really gave it every single thing I had, but I guess that is what your meant to do in races!]. But I have never been so proud of myself to be honest, I had a big dirty grin on my face all day, indeed into today.
So as I begin to kick on to longer distances and doing more challenging runs I thought why not start one of these..
Next on the list for me:
Simon 5 Mile in Phoenix Park - Raised over €200, which while not going to win any awards is not a bad return for asking a few people once. I dont want to beg for money in these times when many people have it tough.
I]going away for 10 days in late October, in what will be quite a boozy/unhealthy affair, so leaving November free, to get back into shape[/I
Aware 10k - December in the Park
Will most likely enter the jingle bells 5k - but only heard about it in flyer after race yesterday.
Need to find other 10k type races around the place into the new year. As if I dont have these things to aim for I could get lazy. These forums are solid gold for that, as thats how I heard about the rathfarnham one! So no worries there tbh.
Short term targets:
Im doing just over 20k a week now, so I want to move that up to 30k a week, and I think I could leave it around there for the winter tbh.
Need to find some more interesting runs! I live right in the middle of town, and at the weekend I run in Phoenix Park, but during the week I run up to the canal, and around it. Going to read around here and see if anyone else has any better ideas
Long term:
Clearly thinking about the longer distances, even the big M maybe. But need to loose a bit more weight first. Im in no rush at all. So Im sort of thinking of maybe the Dublin marathon in 12 months might be a fair goal..
I lived in London for 5 years and always went out to watch it, as it went quite close to where I lived at one stage. So I would LOVE to do the one over there, but maybe that could be my second one 12
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I'm learning to swim, so last night I went for a swim for 45 minutes to practice rather than run
Tonight I have my actual swimming lesson, so I will be doing that for 70 or 80 minutes
It has been my new years resolution to learn to swim for years, every year, so now I am actually doing it, Im crazy focused on doing it and learning properly!0 -
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Saturday Morning:
The highlight of my week, a lap of the phoenix park, circa 11k in 66 minutes odd.
Was feeling great, and could have gone on and done more tbh, but things to do, damn real life
Was also using my new Garmin F60 for the first time, enable me to track my HR and time a bit better0 -
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40 minutes free weights in gym, followed by 30 mins swimming. So THATS why I pay to be in the expensive gym
I had a tiny twinge in my lower back running yesterday, and again I have a tiny twinge there now. Its not bad at all, but its enough to make me nervous.
I really hope this does not become something more serious and mess up my Simon 5 mile run on Saturday morning
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Simon 5 Mile race in the phoenix park.
Time: 00:46:10
Avg HR: 150 bpm
Max HR: 163 bpm
Bit slower than I had hoped, but it was really windy and also the start was mental with all the kids! But its not too bad, so you cant be that unhappy
Really good to see some of the boards ladies and gents afterwards 0 -
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tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »
Need to find some more interesting runs! I live right in the middle of town, and at the weekend I run in Phoenix Park, but during the week I run up to the canal, and around it. Going to read around here and see if anyone else has any better ideas
I live in the city centre too and the 2 best places to go are sandymount and clontarf in the dark. For sandymount run straight down pearse street and through irishtown before the seafront opens up. The beach is lit up, you can run on that or the footpath, then there is over a mile of grass path before the level crossing. Town to the train tracks is 3 mls and 3 back so its a good distance.
For clontarf, head out past the front of Connolly onto the north strand road, you then hit fairview park, best avoided after dark. You then pass clontarf dart station and the seafront opens up. here you have 5 miles of illuminated pathways and 2 mls of grass trail which leads all the way to sutton cross. My fav running spot in the country. The best part of the seafronts is that there are no crossroads so its uninterrupted running, can get windy though.
Only major problems with both routes is the fact that it takes 1.5 mls before you hit the seafront at both places so best to save these runs for 5 mls or further. City centre living is great for everything but running :rolleyes:
Good to meet you yesterday and best of luck. Remember i said to you yesterday that the start of your running life is the best, with pb's all round the place. Enjoy it.0 -
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Im very pleased with myself now, as I just run for longer [in terms of time] and further [distance] than I ever have done before
15k on the nose in just over an hour and a half - while the pace wont break records, I was just going to complete the run more than anything.
Avg HR: 134 bpm
Max HR: 154 bpm
I was really struggling in the last kilometer, a good learning experience in terms of having to take on liquid on long runs before the stage where your fecked 0 -
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oh, and I entered the Connamara Half Marathon..
I realize its a good while away, and I could maybe train for the big one by then, but I'm in no rush to run the full race so the half will do fine for now
I love that part of the country, so its a good excuse to check the place out from somewhere other than the back of a car 0 -
tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »oh, and I entered the Connamara Half Marathon..
I realize its a good while away, and I could maybe train for the big one by then, but I'm in no rush to run the full race so the half will do fine for now
Fair play to you! I'll be running it too, despite not having ran farther than 6km since taking up running 8 weeks ago. Are you going to use a plan?0 -
Good stuff, make sure you run some hills in training too in preparation! You probably couldn't have picked a more scenic half.tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »oh, and I entered the Connamara Half Marathon..
I realize its a good while away, and I could maybe train for the big one by then, but I'm in no rush to run the full race so the half will do fine for now0 -
feeling rubbish at the end of a weird day in work, but forced myself to go out for a short training run to clear the head and do some thinking
Went a new route, and found a nice hill I think I am going to grow to hate
Did a fraction under 6k in just over 36 minutes - never killing myself at all tbh [but the hill hurt a small bit, but thats just a weary body after long day I think].
Avg HR: 144 bpm
Max HR: 157 bpm0 -
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Strange, was feeling great as soon as I actually got out of bed, but as soon as I started to run I was really dragging my arse around.
Mat a couple of the boards lads for the first time, and we ran together around the park, which was brilliant. I had to leave them after a circuit [and a bit] of the park as I was wrecked [to be honest] and I have to get ready to go out later this afternoon. So if I was crippled and unable to move that would be bad
First stage [for me] was 5k [in 32 minutes odd] to get from my gaff up to the papal cross, to meet the lads. I use that as a warm up, so Im not killing myself at all.
After the 3 of us met up and went off I was with them for around 8km, done in 47 odd minutes.
It was clear from my lungs and legs that I was going a bit faster than I was used to! My phone tells me we were doing an average of 5.56 per km, which was just beyond walking pace for them, but I could really feel it [for my 15k run a couple of weeks ago I was doing 6.22 on average per km. Where I have a bad habit of 'resting' mid-run and doing a slow KM or two, where I have to learn how to get a pace and stick to it, and no do that. Runs like this today will be good for that.]
Overall:
Average HR 141
Max HR 167
[Note that both the average and max hr are up on my 15k run a couple of weeks ago. I must check out of thats good or bad]
It was great to meet the boards lads, and great to be pushed. It is very easy to run within yourself when your doing a long run on your own. Thats the whole point of being in a club and training isent it 0
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