Michelinman to Superman

G-Money

Hello again,

I previously had a thread on here that I've neglected for a while, mostly because I haven't been training much over the past month or so. In fact the last time I trained was the 12th of December, ahead of possibly running the re-scheduled Jingle Bells 5K.

To be honest, with the snow and everything, I didn't really do any training and my diet went downhill quite a bit. I've put on some weight, not tons, but I can definitely see it in my face and feel it in my clothes. Due to that first big freeze we had, I didn't run for about 2 1/2 weeks and the Jingle Bells 5K got post postponed to the 18th which was grand. The week of the 18th the snow had finally cleared so I went out for a run and managed to get 5K done in very slow 45 minutes. I wasn't really going for speed, I simply wanted to get a workout done and it was purely a 'maintenance' workout from my perspective.

I had gone off the idea of doing the Jingle Bells 5K by that stage and with my lack of training in the lead-up to it, plus another sprinkling of snow the night before the race, I had decided not to take part. I feel a bit bad for not going through with it but what's done is done.

Which brings me to this day - the 1st of January 2011.

In previous years I've made all sorts of new years resolutions and have posted about them several times on boards and gave up on just as many. I think part of this is that I seem to focus on things better if I don't tell anyone about them and just keep them to myself.

So with this in mind I've decided to not really bother making any grand proclamations about what I will or won't do this year. Other than to say I'm just going to keep my goals to myself and hopefully when I achieve them, I will allow myself to talk about them to other people. In the meantime, I'm going to say nothing via any means. I'm just going to shut up.

However I think I will keep updating this thread with my workout details and how they went.

Having completed the Couch to 5K programme and sort of lingering around half following something else, I am planning to now begin the Hal Hidgon Novice Spring Training Programme - http://www.halhigdon.com/spring/Springnovice.htm

My reason for doing this is that I want to increase my mileage a bit and it seems like a nice manageable enough programme to get me back into running after a very slack month of little or no running at all.

With that in mind, I went out this morning just to do a 1.5 mile run. With all my Christmas and pre-Christmas excess firmly attached to my body and my lack of running mixed in with it, I decided I needed a nice easy workout to get back into the swing of things.

I initially thought the first workout was 3 miles but in the end it turned out to be 1.5 miles which was a blessing in disguise as it was a torturous workout. It started out ok but gradually got worse as it went on. I've been trying to shake off the tail end of a cold for the past few days and I made myself go out running this morning as I didn't feel that bad.

But boy o boy did the workout feel tough. Towards the end I was feeling upset at how tough it was and I was definitely feeling anger and frustration that I'd let myself a: lose some fitness and b: that I had let myself get so overweight to begin with.

Anyway I forced myself to complete the workout and my pathetic stats are:

1.69 miles in 22mins, 30 seconds.

Pretty slow but I'm just trying to remind myself that I'm easing myself back in and I haven't lost all the fitness I've gained recently, just some of it.


So there you go. If you are wondering about the name of my training log, it's mostly to do with me being a huge Superman fan. I don't know everything about him and I don't profess to either. But I've always been a Superman fan and I guess having a physique somewhat similar is appealing. I know weights would be required to look exactly the same, but to be honest, it's more about the inspiration for me.

As I realised last night, it doesn't really matter where inspiration comes from, Music, film, TV, books, fact, fiction, cartoon characters or real life, as long as it allows you to change yourself and your life for the better, does it really matter?

-GM

G-Money

Been slacking for the past few days but forced myself out today for a 1.5 mile run but actually ended up doing 3.2 miles. My workout the last day was quite tough even though I only did 1.5 miles so I was aiming to do another 1.5 miles today just to get a bit of exercise in.

I ended up feeling rather good as I slowed the pace a bit and as a result was able to push on and do over 3 miles. Very slow pace I have to admit, took me about 47 minutes but I'm trying to build up my speed and fitness again after probably a month of very little running and a lot of bad food.

Good to know that I'm still well capable of a 5K distance without stopping which shows that while the speed might have dropped somewhat, the capability/endurance is more or less still there.

3.2 miles @ 14.30 min/mile average pace. Avg Heart Rate: 161 bpm.

G-Money

Started back out training today after a few maintenance type workouts over the past week or two. As mentioned before I've started Hal Higdon's Novice Spring Training Programme but I'm thinking I don't really need to begin it from week one. I still have a reasonably solid level of base fitness and I can still crank out 5K non-stop with not a load of effort, albeit very slowly. So I'm thinking about starting it from either Week 4 or Week 6. The only indecisiveness coming from the fact that while I can do the distance, my joints may not be totally used to it seeing they've had a few weeks off and stuff.

Anyway today I went out to do 2 miles but ended up doing 2.24 miles which took 29 minutes, 42 seconds.

RayCun

The other thing to watch in the spring training programme is that it involves running three days in a row. If you've been alternating day on/day off up to now, your legs will be used to having some recovery time between runs.

maria74

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RayCun wrote: »

The other thing to watch in the spring training programme is that it involves running three days in a row. If you've been alternating day on/day off up to now, your legs will be used to having some recovery time between runs.

Looks like a good programme though! I agree with Ray Id be worried about 3 days in a row especially after I had time off. Would you change it slightly and run Tues/Thur/Fri to start with? Mileage looks to build up nice and slowly.

G-Money

maria74 wrote: »

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Looks like a good programme though! I agree with Ray Id be worried about 3 days in a row especially after I had time off. Would you change it slightly and run Tues/Thur/Fri to start with? Mileage looks to build up nice and slowly.

I might try that, will see how it goes. I'm not back to work until Thursday so I want to get out for another few miles tomorrow. I'll see how it goes and then decide whether to go again on Thursday or leave it until Friday.

Although I might end up tweaking it slightly from next week as I won't finish work early enough on Wednesdays to get out for a run while it's still bright. I do have a head torch though so I have the option, will see how it goes anyway.

G-Money

Went out and did 3 miles this morning which took 40 mins, 36 seconds. It was a kind of tough workout I felt this morning. I went to bed late last night and was a bit tired this morning, my legs felt heavy too. I hit the wall a bit around the 1.5 mile mark but I kept going and once I got over 2 miles done, I had more energy and I got the 3 miles done then without too much bother after that.

Was slightly worrying when I was thinking about the half marathon in September and how tough the 3 miles were today but I still have 7 or 8 months training ahead of me and hopefully I'll be a few stone lighter by then too.

Oryx

Keep at it, its a long way to September, if you work steadily there is no reason you cant do a half mara. Relax when youre running and in your head instead of thinking how tired you are, tell yourself youre doing well. It works!

G-Money

Just back from my workout and I'm currently continuing with Hal Higdon's Novice Spring Training Programme. Today was supposed to be an easy enough 1.5 miles but I put the hammer down a bit.

1.72 miles - 21 minutes, 6 seconds. Avg Heart Rate 170bpm.

The weather is a bit cold and windy today so I think that is why I ran a bit faster to get the workout over and done with. I was tempted not to go out at all but I managed to force myself out the door as I finished work early and it was still nice and bright.

A friend of mine is trying to get me to do the Great Ireland Run in April. I'd never heard of it until the other day and he said I should do it. Then today he asked me had I registered yet and he seems quite keen to get me to do it. He's a very good runner himself, close to elite. So obviously I wouldn't be running it with him, he's likely to finish under 40 minutes as he's coming back from injury and he completed the race a few years ago in 31 minutes and something so he's very good. I reckon I'd be lucky to finish in 1hr and 31 minutes!

Anyway I'm toying with the idea of the St Patricks 5K and perhaps this 10k a few weeks later. I was looking at Hal Higdon's 10K plan and I could start it Valentines week and complete it the week of the 10K race. And perhaps until then I'll continue the Novice Spring Training.

So much for me not getting distracted with other ideas and plans!

RayCun

grandmaster wrote: »

So much for me not getting distracted with other ideas and plans!

As long as you keep on running consistently, and keep on pushing yourself to improve, there's no harm done

G-Money

RayCun wrote: »

As long as you keep on running consistently, and keep on pushing yourself to improve, there's no harm done

You are probably right.

Am completely b*****xed today. Ended up going out last night and have been unable to function all day since. Might force myself out for a run tomorrow but will see how it goes.

G-Money

Must be bored, or mad. I just entered myself in the Great Ireland Run! :eek:

G-Money

I don't know why but I've been dilly dallying a lot recently with regards my training. But like some mad hoor, I've signed myself up for not one, not two, but three separate races! :eek:

St Patricks 5K - 20th March
Great Ireland Run 10k - 10th April
Dublin Half Marathon - 17th September

I went out today and knocked out 5.03K and it took me 39 minutes, 25 seconds. I was fairly wrecked during most of it I have to admit but I wanted to speed up my time. Someone I know has managed to cut about 8 minutes off their 5K time in the last few weeks and it's motivating and depressing at the same time. I was going along today a bit faster than normal but I still felt so incredibly slow and heavy, especially towards the end.

Not so long ago it would have been a big deal to dip under 40 minutes but today it didn't seem like enough. It's hard to keep motivated at these times but I guess you just have to stick at it.

I'm aiming to go out for another 5K tomorrow after work.

maria74

I think thats great! WHy are you not delighted?
I am trying to ignore the whole speed thing as I am just so slow, and concentrate on putting in the miles (injury free)
You have signed up for your runs now so thats what you should concentrate on and try not to focus on what others are doing (unless they are slower and then you have permission to focus on them!!!)

G-Money

maria74 wrote: »

I think thats great! WHy are you not delighted?
I am trying to ignore the whole speed thing as I am just so slow, and concentrate on putting in the miles (injury free)
You have signed up for your runs now so thats what you should concentrate on and try not to focus on what others are doing (unless they are slower and then you have permission to focus on them!!!)

Cheers for that.

I feel I may have picked up a slight niggle on my left ankle. It's not very sore, but it's a little uncomfortable and slightly painful at times. Hopefully it will wear off today and I can get out for 5K this evening. I won't be running tomorrow at all so it will be a rest day.

G-Money

No run today. Left work and something unexpected came up and by the time it was sorted it was almost dark so I didn't go for a run. Probably a good thing as I can still feel my ankle a little.

Debating about going for a run in the morning before work. I've plans tomorrow evening so if I don't go tomorrow morning, I will have to wait until Thursday. That in itself might not be a bad idea. Give the ankle an extra day to rest and I can go for a run on Thursday and Sunday (heading home to the north on Friday).

metamorphosis

Ah go on ,get out tomorrow morning, think of how great you will feel after you have finished

G-Money

Been really slacking recently with regards to my running. I've also gone and entered the Operation Transformation 5K in the Phoenix Park which is in two weeks time. Thankfully I'm still capable of a 5K distance but todays was a massive struggle, probably not helped by the fact that it's been at least a week, possibly more since I last ran. I've let work and the weather get in the way.

Today I did 3.21 miles in 41 minutes 7 seconds. I guess that's not too bad but it was complete torture. I went out far too fast and felt like I blew up after about 1 or 1.5K. I slowed to an absolute crawl and felt like giving up at several points.

Thankfully I got over the 4K mark and that seemed to give me a little more energy, probably as I knew I was nearly finished.

Avg Heart rate was 170bpm and max was 188bpm which probably shows how wrecked I was at the end.

Next time I'm definitely going out slower at the start and I will put the hammer down towards the end if I feel I can.

Aiming to head out tomorrow morning first thing and stick another 5K on the clock.

maria74

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G-Money wrote: »

Thankfully I got over the 4K mark and that seemed to give me a little more energy, probably as I knew I was nearly finished.

Know that feeling! I try mind games with myself..I am only doing 1 or possibly 2 miles and try to see how I feel after that.
Am also slacking a bit, I blame the universal social charge!!!:D Has us all in the dumps (any excuse really)
Good luck with training before Operation Transformation 5K, I have entered also, think there will be a good atmosphere at it.

G-Money

maria74 wrote: »

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Know that feeling! I try mind games with myself..I am only doing 1 or possibly 2 miles and try to see how I feel after that.
Am also slacking a bit, I blame the universal social charge!!!:D Has us all in the dumps (any excuse really)
Good luck with training before Operation Transformation 5K, I have entered also, think there will be a good atmosphere at it.

Cheers Maria, good to know I'm not the only one that's struggling at times

G-Money

Forced myself out this morning despite the wind and rain and managed to put 5.3K on the clock in 43 minutes 44 seconds. I started at an easier pace today and the workout on the whole was much easier. I was naturally getting faster on each lap. I also used my Garmin today to try and workout a good pace to run the Operation Transformation run at. I was running with someone else yesterday and I kind of tried to keep up with them and I blew up almost straight away so I reckon something similar could happen during this race so I need to have an idea of a maintainable pace and I can then see how it goes on the day.

The bad news is that my left knee is quite sore It was a bit achy after yesterday and I could feel it straight away this morning when I started out but it kind of went away. Although it's kind of sore when I bend it in certain ways when I walk and stuff. Definitely resting tomorrow!

5.3K 43 mins, 44 seconds. Avg Heart Rate 167bpm Max Heart Rate 187bpm (I put the hammer down over the last few yards).

G-Money

I haven't forgotten to train or anything. I'm basically resting up my knee as it was sore after the 5K I did on Saturday and the 5K I did on Sunday.

I might test it out on Saturday for 2 miles or something but I'll see how it goes. I'm due to start my 10K training plan next Monday so I don't want to jeopardise it or my chances at the OT 5K on the 19th.

G-Money

I've been sidelined by a bit of a knee injury. I was out the weekend of the 5th and 6th and did 5K each day and noticed it getting sore but sort of pushed on. Walking around is fine, even stairs are ok but walking up inclines and down declines are were it seems to be at me.

I finally relented and went to the physio on Monday. He didn't seem to think it was too bad and has give me some stretches to do to help the area. Aiming to go out and do a little bit of jogging, perhaps 2 or 3K tomorrow to see how it feels. The OT 5K is on Saturday and I'm still thinking about doing it.

Just frustrating more than anything.

G-Money

Went out this evening and did 3K ahead of the OT 5K on Saturday. To be honest, the knee is not much better. I was kind of limping a bit at the start but not so much out of pain, just not really wanting to put my full weight on it. I did grimace a few times and I stopped to stretch a bit but then I kept going and it wasn't so bad after that.

Hard to know what to do. I'm thinking about doing the 5K race on Sat and then taking about 2 weeks off to rest my knee completely and to keep doing the stretch the physio gave me.

Very annoying. :mad:

3K 24m 55 seconds - Avg heart rate 164bpm/Max heart rate 179bpm/

menoscemo

I advise to to the race. If that physio is the same one you went to first time, he knows what he's talking about.

After your first race you won't look back and it'll give you real motivation to continue improving.

G-Money

So I did the OT 5K race last Saturday and managed to complete it in 42 minutes 18 seconds and I jogged every step of the way. I was happy that I didn't walk any of it, even though after that hill I was wrecked.

My knee was fine on the day but I just did a 5K there now in the park and it was f*****g with me again which is really annoying. It wasn't massively sore, but a bit achy or something and I felt like I was hobbling a bit even though it wasn't that awful sore. It felt more like my leg or quad were stiff or something.

I did my 5K today 1 minute faster than the 5K on Saturday in the Phoenix Park but it was quite tough today. I felt like I was going quite well then about 2.5K into it I really slowed down. I felt like I was going so slow. I think I was on course to possibly dip under 40 minutes today but by the end I was just glad to finish.

I've a friend who's an excellent runner and who has a PB of 31 mins, 50 seconds for 10K and he told me to forget about speed. He kept saying it doesn't matter how slow you are, just do the distance.

Anyway, a little disheartened today with how tough it was and how the knee is nagging me a wee bit. Guess I need to keep doing those stretches the physio told me about.

G-Money

That was much, much better.

I went out for 5K run this evening and it went so much better than on Tuesday night. I'm pretty sure some smart ass teenager shouted something at me when I was running as he was surrounded by his friends but I ignored him and if he did say anything, he seemed to shut up after that anyway. Stupid p****k.

Anyway the run went really well. It was a lovely evening, about 12 or 13 degree's so I got to run without a jacket for the first time in months. I also donned some shorts for the first time ever and they started to slide down as they're not elasticated at the waist and the drawcord didn't seem to be up to much. I guess I will have to bring my armband for my iPhone again as that was what was weighing them down.

The run was very enjoyable. The knee gave me no trouble whatsoever. I started out at an easy enough pace and kept going and even after 2 or 3km I was still motoring along quite nicely without too much hassle. I upped the speed a wee tiny bit during it but I could easily have went faster I felt. My time overall was about 30 seconds slower than Tuesday but it felt so much easier and I don't think that was because of the pace.

My splits from Tuesday were:

8:16, 7:52, 7:59, 8:18, 8:35 for 5K.


Today my splits were:

8:58, 8:18, 8:10, 8:00, 8:00


So they seemed more consistent today and I was actually faster over the last 2 kilometres which is nice.

Really good workout today. I felt fresh, no problems with my knee although my legs were getting tired by the end, but other than that I felt pretty much 100%. Long may it continue.

maria74

Great you had a good run.

Are you going to follow a plan now, aren't you doing Great Ireland Run? I had sore knee before christmas and had to cut back a little. I was just thinking going out and doing 5K x3 times since Sat and trying to increase speed each time is probably not best thing for your knee (although I am no expert)
In my humble opinion, park OT 5K (or at very least the dissapointment you felt after it) and concentrate on next race and even think of next years OT 5K when you will be happier.

Also book by John Bimngham "No need for speed" for us slow runners is great! Appreciate the journey rather than the end !!!

G-Money

Cheers Maria.

I was going to follow Hal Higdon's 10k Novice plan but I kind of feel like it's a bit of a step back when it comes to distances as I'm getting quite comfortable doing 5K distances again thankfully. So I was thinking of doing 5K's during the week and maybe longer runs during the weekend and then as a result, increase my week day mileage.

I think I will have to look up that book you were telling me about. I'm defo quite slow when I'm jogging but as a friend keeps reminding me, its the time on your feet is that is the most important, forget the time.

What's your own plans for the 10K?



Just back from a 5.04K run and it went quite well. I got a bit adventurous and went a different route and racked up 5.04K and it took me 41 mins 20 seconds.

I usually run in the same park all the time and it takes me about 20 laps to rack up 5K. I've been starting to get a bit bored with that so I just went out running on the footpaths instead. And it was quite nice too. I messed up the route a wee bit at times and along the Luas there was no footpath where I expected one to be so I had to cross the road at the lights so that fecked my rhythm a wee bit but not too much. Stopped the Garmin anyway to avoid it showing a pause or whatever.

My splits today were:

8:29, 8:26, 8:05, 7:52, 8:08

5.04k Avg Pace 8:11 min/km, Best Pace 6:33 min/km Avg Heart Rate 166bpm, Max Heart Rate 179bpm.

I'm not really surprised my last km was a bit slower, it had a bit of a steep incline in places.

Am half thinking of going out tomorrow and doing 6K but I'll see how it goes. The knee felt ok today and I'm starting to feel my fitness increase a bit so I want to do more. The balance act is between not doing enough and doing too much.

RayCun

Stopped the Garmin anyway to avoid it showing a pause or whatever.

Which model do you have? On the 305 and 405 you can set it to pause automatically when you stop running, I think it's called AutoPause.

G-Money

RayCun wrote: »

Which model do you have? On the 305 and 405 you can set it to pause automatically when you stop running, I think it's called AutoPause.

It's the Garmin Forerunner 110. Not sure it has autopause but I'll check.

zAbbo

G-Money wrote: »

It's the Garmin Forerunner 110. Not sure it has autopause but I'll check.

It doesn't have autopause unfortunately, but it's a lot easier to press the stop/start button that the 405 bezel.

You're doing really well, It's never easy to get up and keep going so don't be hard on yourself.

I find that there's some much info/plans/tips on running that it can be overwhelming when you actually have to go and do the runs - because ultimately you need to build up steadily and that can be frustrating.

Don't worry too much about time/pace - be aware of it but don't focus too hard on it.

G-Money

Went out for a run this evening. I was originally planning to go yesterday (Monday) but I decided to procrastinate until today seeing that Wednesdays tend to be a bit awkward in that I can't leave work as early as I can the other days of the week.

So today I did a bit of a longer run out on the public footpaths again. My distance would have been a wee bit longer but it took my Garmin a good 4 or 5 minutes it seems to pick up a satellite signal and I didn't want to start running until it had.

The run went reasonably well, my only complaint seeming to be my left shin muscle seemingly tightening up after about 1.5k and I felt like my foot was dropping a bit. Although I'm wondering if it's the footpaths around that area as they're a bit slanted to one side. I remember I used to get similar aches when walking the same route although I was wearing different shoes back then and not runners.

I did a total of 5.8K today in 47 minutes 11 seconds. Again I had to stop a couple of times to cross the road but it was a good opportunity to give my shin muscle a bit of a rest.

Cardio wise, I felt very, very good and seemed to have plenty of energy and probably could have kept running for another 1 or 2km.

Again my pace quickened from about 3 or 4km onwards. My splits were:

8:13, 8:22, 8:10, 8:05, 7:59, 6:30 (this last one was only .8 of a kilometre).

Avg Heart Rate: 165bpm, Max Heart Rate: 177bpm. Avg Pace: 8:10 min/km, Best Pace 6:06 min/km.


It's funny. It's like I'm a train or something. I'm kind of slow and it takes me a while to get going but then I'm grand. My first two kilometres always seem to be the slowest, perhaps I'm worried about blowing up too soon and I take it too easy.

The start was tough at times, and as usual had thoughts of "how the hell am I going to do 10K with all those hills" but I managed to put those thoughts out of my mind.

I might pick a different route next time as I think those slanted footpaths are what is bugging my shin muscle. For example I did 5K on Saturday morning on a different route and had no problems at all.

It was great to see some improvement, I didn't really feel b*****xed at any point at all, apart from the first 1K or so and even then, it wasn't too bad.

G-Money

What type of surfaces does everyone else run on? I don't mean hills, but I'm talking about how level they are across the ways?

I'm convinced that's what stiffened up my shin muscle last night as parts of the footpath were very slanted downwards to the left. I don't mind adding in some inclines but as long as the surface is flat the way across. I think I will be investigating some new routes this evening ahead of tomorrow's run.

RayCun

There's one road (between Terenure and KCR) that I avoid completely because the camber is just crazy. Running on either the path or the road is like running along the side of a hill. Best to to stick to level ground where you can...

Oryx

G-Money wrote: »

Cardio wise, I felt very, very good and seemed to have plenty of energy and probably could have kept running for another 1 or 2km.

Then next time, do.

It's funny. It's like I'm a train or something. I'm kind of slow and it takes me a while to get going but then I'm grand. My first two kilometres always seem to be the slowest, perhaps I'm worried about blowing up too soon and I take it too easy.

Thats normal, youre just warming up. Im the same, everything feels stiff and clumsy for the first mile, then you relax and it all comes good.

The start was tough at times, and as usual had thoughts of "how the hell am I going to do 10K with all those hills" but I managed to put those thoughts out of my mind.

Those mental battles make you tougher. Never look at a long distance like that, just break it down. Getting to the end of this road... to the top of this hill... Dont check your garmin, just relax and work on the next bit of road. The next time you plan a 5k run, make it a route where you can extend it coming close to the end, and if you feel good for it, throw in the extra bit.

I might pick a different route next time as I think those slanted footpaths are what is bugging my shin muscle. For example I did 5K on Saturday morning on a different route and had no problems at all.

I hardly ever run on a camber, it does feel rotten, hope you find a better route.

G-Money

I went out and managed to get another run done today - 5.6K on the clock and in the bag. It wasn't as easy today as it was on Tuesday I have to admit. I was feeling a little like I was coming down with a bit of a cold and had a wee touch of a sore throat and I could tell I was trying to talk myself out of going. But I left work and went home and once I'd put my hand onto my running gear, that's usually the point of no return for me.

After issues with my left shin muscle the last day, I decided to take a different route today. I think it's the camber of the footpaths down around the N11 at Foxrock that seems to mess me up. I remember having similar pains just from walking the same route several months ago. I fired up Google Earth the other day and looked up a route that I could run. I found one that would loop around and take me back to my place but I wasn't quite sure how long it would be. Although my overriding thought was "that seems quite far". I think that's because I did all my running until recently, in the park beside my apartment complex. So I'd do 20 laps of that and that would be 5K and I guess because it was so nearby, there was a certain level of comfort that came from being so close to my apartment.

I headed out today anyway, and had to don the running tights and jacket today as it was a nippy 5 degree's C at 4.30pm so I just had to hope that people could contain themselves at the sight of me rushing past them in my running tights

The run went ok today but not great. I think I proved my theory about camber as I had no issues with my shin muscle today but my knee was getting a bit sore again. Although it kind of feels just more like a general ache from exercising. I had to stop a couple of times to cross the road and to be honest, it was a nice little break. My legs felt tired about half way around but I managed to keep going even though I felt like stopping.

I didn't have as much energy today as I did on Tuesday so I wasn't really keen on pushing the distance too much. I wasn't really sure how far the loop would be so it was handy enough that it came to 5.6K.

My splits today were:

8:31, 8:12, 8:16, 8:18, 8:14, 5:24 (this was just .6 of a kilometre).

Avg Pace: 8:18 min/km, Best Pace 6:39 min/km. Avg Heart Rate 168bpm, Max Heart Rate 178bpm.

The legs feel quite tired now so I'm definitely resting up tomorrow and possibly Saturday with the aim of doing 6K over the weekend at some point. I'm thinking of doing the same route as today except with a slight detour that I think will push me up to the 6K mark or closer to it.

Definitely a bit harder today and I again had to quieten down those "how am I going to do 10K/this should be getting easier by now" voices. Although thankfully in the scale of bad workouts I've had, this doesn't even come close.

G-Money

No training this weekend unfortunately. I've picked up a sore throat and a bit of a flu so I'm resting. It's a bit annoying as I was aiming to do 6K this weekend but hopefully missing a few days training and getting better quicker is the lesser of two evils.

G-Money

My throat was so sore I couldn't wait any longer so I went to the doctor yesterday. It turns out I have a strep throat which I guess is some sort of infection. He has put me onto antibiotics for a week and gave me painkillers to allow me to eat. Trying to swallow without painkillers is very very sore so it's good to have them. I figured it was tonsillitis I had based on the symptoms I was having but it's good to have a definite diagnosis now.

He's told me to avoid going into work until tomorrow (Wednesday). I asked him when I could start running again and he also said I should be feeling well enough by Wednesday. However I think I will push it back one day to Thursday as then it fits my schedule again.

So hopefully I'll get 5K done on Thursday although I might go the same route as last week which is 5.6K. I'll see how it goes anyway.

G-Money

Still not 100%. The throat is improving and a lot of the pain has gone away, still finding myself feeling a bit tired and sleepy though.

I think I might postpone the first run until tomorrow and just go out for 2 or 3K to see how I feel and if I'm grand, then do 5 or 6K over the weekend.

G-Money

Today's 'return' run was quite demoralising.

I hadn't been out for a run since Thursday the 3rd so it had been about a week to ten days since I'd donned the running gear and headed out. I picked up a nasty strep throat infection a day or two after my run on the 3rd and it left me a little wiped out, especially those first few days. I thought I was getting the flu or something as I was getting aches and pains all over and went from being really warm to really cold and I felt very tired. Thankfully those symptoms subsided after about 24 hours but then my throat got really sore. Eating food became difficult as swallowing was incredibly painful. I went to the doctor then on Monday and he put me onto antibiotics for a week and also prescribed me painkillers. He also said to take two days off work and when I asked about training, he said to wait two days and then I could begin training again.

However I went back to work on Wednesday and still wasn't quite 100% so I decided to hold off a few extra days before resuming my training. I went out this morning and it kind of was dreadful. I wore my Adidas Adizero Windstopper jacket as I checked the temperature outside before I left the apartment and it was a crisp 1 or 2 degree's. I think the jacket was mistake number one as I didn't feel particularly comfortable wearing it, mainly as it doesn't fit quite right just yet and won't do until I lose a stone or two. Plus I didn't like how I looked wearing it but went out anyway.

I decided to head to the park where I began my running several months ago, to ease myself back in. It was shocking how unfit I felt after only a few hundred metres. My knee's starting aching straight away but not that badly. But my breathing felt like it was really screwed up and I felt like I was breathing a lot heavier than normal when running.

Anyway the breathing seemed to sort itself out after a few laps as did the knee's but in general I felt crap, although I think most of that was in my head. I didn't feel particularly good physically either - I felt incredibly heavy and slow. But mentally I was feeling very frustrated and almost upset as to how slow and unfit I felt.

I remember thinking to myself as I was jogging along "F**k this! I'm changing my diet as I'm sick of feeling like this when I run". But that soon got replaced by "You've made that same promise loads of times and never stuck to it". Which is true, I've hit that wall of frustration many times and just as many times, made the promise that I would change, only to either never both starting, or kind of slacking off after a few days, mostly because I think I'd done well and felt like I could ease off. The problem for me being that easing off usually means a complete reversion to how I was before.

Then to top things off, last nights chinese takeaway started to come back to haunt me. I know, I shouldn't have went but I don't have a DeLorean and I can't go back to the future and change that now. So at the 2.4K mark I pulled up and headed for home as I felt "an urgent need to get home" and I won't go into any more details than that.

I suppose the only silver lining to the dark cloud that was today's run was that at least I actually went out and did some exercise, rather than laying on the couch watching TV.

It was a very frustrating, demoralising and upsetting run today. I felt really unfit, overweight and generally fed up. I was thinking about pulling out of the Great Ireland run as it's looming large on the horizon and my training hasn't been going well. First I was held up by a bit of a knee injury, then getting under the weather last week didn't help either. I have the St Patricks 5K fun-run next Sunday and while I'll probably still do it, I've suddenly started to find the idea very unappealing whereas before I was kind of looking forward to it. I had hoped to break 40 minutes seeing it's a flat course but now I feel like I will be lucky to break my Operation Transformation time of 42 mins, 18 seconds.

I had planned to run today, Tuesday, Thursday then rest Friday and Saturday ahead of the fun-run next Sunday. However I'm now thinking of slotting in a 5K run tomorrow after work too. Today didn't feel like much of an effort.

Today's workout stats:

2.43K, 20mins, 39 seconds.

Avg Pace: 8:39 min/km
Best Pace: 7:28 min/km

Avg Heart Rate: 157bpm
Max Heart Rate: 167bpm

Splits: 8:41, 8:39, 3:39 (this last one was only .43 of a km)

maria74

From one sick bed/couch I would say do not underestimate the power of strep throat! I had it during the summer and it was at least 2 weeks before I felt anyway normal and the had to take it really slowly easing back into running.

It is a hard bug to shake and really intefers with your strength so give yourself a break.

I know I said it before but you seem to be spending so much time putting yourself down for what you are not doing, that I am surprised you ever get out the door again!!:P

Do not pull out of that run in April, just think of that feeling at the end and how great you will feel (if you let yourself!).

How far have you come???

G-Money

maria74 wrote: »

From one sick bed/couch I would say do not underestimate the power of strep throat! I had it during the summer and it was at least 2 weeks before I felt anyway normal and the had to take it really slowly easing back into running.

It is a hard bug to shake and really intefers with your strength so give yourself a break.

I know I said it before but you seem to be spending so much time putting yourself down for what you are not doing, that I am surprised you ever get out the door again!!:P

Do not pull out of that run in April, just think of that feeling at the end and how great you will feel (if you let yourself!).

How far have you come???

Yeah, I know you're right, it just can be a bit demoralising. I pretty much feel fine now and back to normal. I took the last of the antibiotics this morning so they're finished now.

I had planned to go for a 5K this evening after work but I'm not sure if I will do that now. I had a horrific nights sleep last night. Woke up about 2am for a while, then fell asleep again until about 3.30am and seemed to toss and turn until about 5am. Of course as usual, I get really tired and am able to sleep about an hour before the f****g alarm goes off. :mad:

Anyway I'll see how I'm feeling later and if I'm not too wrecked, I might go out and do 2.5 or 3K.

Funny you mention about me putting myself down for what I've not done. That's not the first time that's been said to me. I remember being told years ago that I seem to focus more on what I don't know than what I do know. And recently I've been told that I can be very hard on myself about things.

I don't really get why I'm like that. But for as long as I can remember, I have been. I really should change that!

metamorphosis

Yeah - you seem to over analyse what you do too much imo and it can help set you up for failure i honestly think. If you focus on getting out and enjoying the whole experience more it might click into place more so. We all get terrible runs and we seem to remember them more than the good runs we have (which will always out number tha bad ones )

maria74

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G-Money wrote: »

Funny you mention about me putting myself down for what I've not done. That's not the first time that's been said to me. I remember being told years ago that I seem to focus more on what I don't know than what I do know. And recently I've been told that I can be very hard on myself about things.

I don't really get why I'm like that. But for as long as I can remember, I have been. I really should change that!

I think it is amazing that you are still running because you always concentrate on what you didnt acheive. So you must have some determination to get out there and keep going !!!

I am wishing I was outside running at the moment but am still sick and once I get back out I will go for maybe 10 mins and see how I feel and keep going if I can...so maybe you should just set yourself little goal for tonight? For me I like to see myself getting out there as many times a week as possible (even if just 2/3K sometimes) rather than leaving too many days in between.

SO take it easy on yourself tonight but also congragulate yourself for getting out there when the old you would have sat on couch convincing yourself why you couldn't go out running (or maybe that was just me???)

G-Money

I went out and done 5K this evening after procrastinating and talking myself out of doing it last night. Although in fairness, I'd slept horribly on Sunday night and was very tired yesterday so I decided to skip training.

I was quite demoralised the last day as I felt so slow and out of shape. Thankfully today was better and I managed to complete 5.19K in total. It was tricky at times but not as bad as the last day which was good.

I wasn't sure how much I was going to do today or how far I was going to go, so I decided to head back to the park beside where I live. I figured that way if I hit the wall I won't have as far to walk home and also I guess the important thing is to actually do the exercise and do the miles. The location is irrelevant.

I wore one of my new Adidas long sleeve tops today and debated over whether to wear a jacket on top of it. The weather outside looked nice and sunny and warm but the temperature was about 6 degree's when I was leaving work. I brought a cap with me but I was roasting after a few laps so I decided to leave it on a tree where pesky little dogs couldn't chew it or pee on it like I think happened my €3 euro gloves from Dunnes!

I kind of just approached it tonight like a short enough run and hoped to do 5K but was going to do at least the same distance as I did the last day which was 2.4K. Once I reached that mark I kind of just kept talking myself around. A lap of the park is 0.4K so I try to break it down into segments rather than thinking I've got 4K left to do or whatever. At least that's what I try to do on the days when I'm finding the run difficult.

Distance 5.19K - 42 mins, 43 seconds

Avg Pace: 8:14 min/km
Best Pace: 6:54 min/km

Avg Heart Rate: 171bpm


Splits

8:01
7:59
8:04
8:26
8:38

G-Money

Headed out this morning to do a 5k run and ended up doing 6.6k as I felt so good. I went out with the aim of doing 5k and seeing how it went but once I got 2k done I felt quite good and I said to myself I would just keep going to see how I got on. About half way through the run I remembered that next week there is the Dunboyne 4 mile fun run that I have been considering registering for, but haven't done so yet. I remembered that 4 miles works out as 6.4k approximately so once I knew I was feeling good, I decided that if I still felt good at 5k, I'd aim to do 6.4k.

It was a lovely morning albeit quite cool and crisp. I headed about about 7.15am and there wasn't a sinner to be seen anywhere. I had the famous Hi-Tec cap on to help keep me warm but like the last day, after a few laps I was getting too warm and had to dispose of it temporarily.

I started out a little slower today but not much slower than the last day, just to ease myself in a bit. I was actually enjoying it so much I stopped looking at my Garmin every lap and would only look at it every 3 or 4 laps. I really felt good today.

About half way through the run, someone showed up on their bike and accompanying them was a big lumbering dog that I was convinced was doing to turn itself into an olympic style hurdle that I was going to have to clear. Thankfully though he stayed out of the way. But there's been a few times when dog walkers have let their dogs sort of run loose and the dog's don't have much shyness when it comes to trying to make you fall over!

I kept going anyway but with one eye on the clock, I decided I should stop soon after the 6.4k mark as even though this is St Patricks day, I'm working from home so I was knew I needed to be online around 9am or so. I kept going until I reached the tree that was faithfully holding my cap for me and I stopped the Garmin there and it read 6.63k in 55 minutes, 44 seconds.

I walked back to the apartment and as luck would have it, I couldn't get the zip in my Ronhill Tracksters to open so I couldn't get my keys. I stood there for a good 5 minutes fiddling away and having no luck. In the end I had to go to the conscierge office and ask them to let me in. I'm not sure what I would have done otherwise. Probably would have had to take the tracksters off to get a good look at the zip to see what was wrong with it as it was an ass pocket zip

6.63k - 55 minutes, 44 seconds

Avg Pace: 8:24 min/km
Best Pace: 2:10 min/km (no idea how this came up, there was no way I was running that fast).

Avg Heart Rate: 167 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 182 bpm


Splits:

8:55
8:46
8:28
8:22
8:07
7:58
5:05 (this was the .63 of a km)

I love how my splits seem to get faster as I go along.

G-Money

So after a half decent run last Thursday, I did absolutely nothing over the weekend whatsoever which is quite shocking but not particularly unsurprising knowing me.

I forced myself to head out this evening as I skipped out of a run last night too as I was wrecked. Anyway I went out tonight with the aim of doing 5K but did 6.4K in the end. It wasn't too bad today although I got a bit of a stitch about halfway round and I stopped for about 40-50 seconds to walk it off. I have to say though it made a huge difference that little break and the rest of the run wasn't too bad.

6.4K - 53 mins, 49 seconds.

Avg Heart Rate 168bpm
Max Heart Rate 177bpm

Splits:

8:22
8:04
8:16
8:22
8:26
8:25
3:51 (this was .46 of a km)

I'm half thinking of doing that Dunboyne 4 mile fun run on Sunday, although judging by the time I did today, I would have finished 3rd last according to the results from 2010!

G-Money

Today I went out and did another 4 miles. I hadn't really planned to but I was talking to a friend of mine who's an excellent runner, close to elite level. I'd sort of just been drifting along with no real training plan and he suggested one today which I like the sound of.

For the first four weeks, I will be doing 4 miles, 4 times a week.

The four miles I did today was tough at the start. Although once I got over the 3 mile mark, the rest of it was ok-ish. I was doing several laps of the park then went out and did an extended lap on the roads. I think I will need to go out and clock a better route in the car as I was sort of going in circles today.

4.03 miles - 54 minutes, 57 seconds.

Avg Pace: 13:38 min/mile
Best Pace: 10:56 min/mile

Avg Heart Rate: 167 bpm
Max Heart Rate: 177 bpm


Splits:

13:37
13:30
13:36
13:48

G-Money

I didn't sleep particularly well last night. In fact it was just after 2am when I nodded off and my alarm went off at 6.30am. I could have possibly stayed in bed a bit longer but I prefer to head into work early and leave early.

I was feeling so sleepy today and I'll be honest, I was seriously considering giving today's training a miss. My runner friend from work was telling me I needed to go out and do 4 miles anyway so I kind of reluctantly did. I did what is becoming my normal routine now of saying I will go out and do a short distance and if I feel ok, I will keep going.

I was close to skipping it alright, especially as I had received some new RAM for my laptop and I was eager to install it but then I just said to myself that installing the RAM and being a nerd can be my reward for doing 4 miles. So as usual, once I put my hand onto my running gear, that was it pretty much.

I did a couple of loops around the area where I live but I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go in-case I blew up early and would have face a longer walk home.

I've decided to set my Garmin settings back to kilometres rather than miles. It's more of a mental thing as the kilometres seem to rack up a lot quicker than the miles so I guess it makes the run seem shorter. Even though I'm doing the conversion before I set out so I am sure I am covering the distance I want.

6.52km - 55 minutes, 5 seconds.

Avg Heart Rate: 164bpm
Max Heart Rate: 172bpm

Avg Pace: 8:27 min/km


Splits:

8:32
8:35
8:16
8:30
8:32
8:14
4:21 (this was half a km)

G-Money

Today I completed the Dunboyne 4 mile fun run in Meath and boy, it was tough at times. I ended up being a bit late getting to the start line and only made it with about 5 minutes to spare and even then, I had to jog some of the distance which wasn't in the game plan.

I started out and I found the first mile or mile and a half very tough. I've taken to keeping my Garmin set on kilometres as they seem to rack up much faster and it makes me feel like I'm getting through the distance quicker. After about a mile and a half I seemed to get a second wind and a tiny bit more speed and I thought to myself "finally the afterburners are kicking in". I've noticed in training that the first mile or mile and a half are the hardest and then I seem to settle into a rhythm and it get's a bit easier.

Although before this I had started just breaking down the route into smaller chunks. I'd say to myself "just make it to that bend" or "just make it to the roundabout". As I headed past the first roundabout the route led onto a big long road and I thought "oh god, this is going to take forever". Thankfully it was just after this that I started to feel a bit more comfortable.

I was ok then until I hit the 3rd mile mark and I felt like I had very little left in the tank. As I was about half way around that last lap I remember thinking to myself "This is torture, why are you doing this to yourself, just stop and never try anything like this again". But I just kept going and refused to walk any of it unless I absolutely had to. I was very tempted at times but I somehow just kept going.

As I was heading back into the town towards the finish line I passed a few of the runners who had finished and who were own their way home and they smiled at me and told me to keep going which was a really nice unexpected bonus. I rounded the last corner and seen the finish line and put the hammer down a little over the last few feet.

My time was slow, 52 mins 24 seconds, but from looking at my training runs, I think I was about a minute faster than I had been in training which is good. I also wasn't completely last which was my main aim. Although I knew it would be touch and go based on last years finishing times as to whether I could avoid being last. When I was on my way to Dunboyne I'd changed my mindset and decided to stop worrying about being last and just tried to enjoy it. Although if you had seen my face at the 3 mile mark and towards the finish, you could tell I wasn't enjoying it one bit

So there it is. The race was chip timed so it's in the record books now. I think the results are being printed in the Independent tomorrow so I will probably pick up a copy, just for my own satisfaction.

Today I got new respect for the more elite runners. I was really finding it tough out there today. I don't know if it was lack of training, or lack of sleep or what, but I really found it tough at times. I've huge room for improvement though, that's the main thing.

4 Miles: 52 mins, 24 seconds