Slow is the new fast...

captain P

Hello boardsies!

I've decided to start this log as I need something to focus on... and probably some help & feedback.
My boyfriend of 4 years dumped me last week (18th June to be exact) and I've had to move back to my parents house. My life has basically been turned upside down and I needed something to concentrate on to keep myself sane (and stop the crying :eek:).....so I decided to sign up for the Irish Runner 5 mile in the Phoenix park in July .

A bit of history & stats: I'm 26, female and have always loved athletics. I was in Clonliffe Harriers until I was about 17/18 (went to college & discovered alcohol...). I was a sprinter until then, concentrating on 100m & 200m, training 4-5 days a week and was very focused (12.5sec PB @ 16yrs old for 100m- but was unlucky with injuries & sicknesses). I did cross country in the winter for school and for the club to make up the team, but never had much interest in longer distances.

Back to the present! I cycle to & from work daily, my new commute from my parents house is 7km each way so I'm doing at least 14km a day on the bike. I had been running on my lunch in work a few times a week, but nothing more than a mile, maybe 2km. I do kettlebell, core and push ups at home a couple of times a week too (sometimes:rolleyes:). My level of fitness is ok... but I hadn't been comfortable running more than 2km, and also get injured a lot.

Last week I went out and tried something new... running SLOW (well, slower than I had been)!
This is what I've done so far according to my Garmin:

21st June: 3.03km in 21:55
23rd June: 4.86km in 32:06
25th June: 4.04km in 25:51
27th June: 6.96km in 43.31

So i'm fairly happy so far with my progress in the last week (distance-wise). My legs feel fine - just a bit of tightness that some stretching & rolling will sort out, and a bit of shin pain - but it is fading.

I'd like to do the 5 mile on 16th July in no more than 45mins - I don't know how realistic that is, but that's my current goal. I'll set a new goal once I complete that.
I have the Dublin marathon in the back of my mind. It's 18 weeks away - and that's the length of most of the training plans - so I'll consider trying it, but I feel that the marathon probably deserves more respect than a few months training.

Anyway, that's me:cool:!

captain P

Was busy the last two evenings, so my plan for the next few days in addition to my usual cycle unless anything changes:

Tonight: at least 5km - depending how it goes I might push it to 7km.
Tomorrow: Depending on a friends plans, either rest or some cross training
Saturday: 8km
Sunday: 5km with some intervals
Monday: Rest (unless I'm feeling particularly energetic!)

captain P

Wasn't feeling 100%, but happy with how I did tonight nonetheless. Getting there.

5.03km in 30:22

Here's my splits per km:

1 00:06:09
2 00:06:02
3 00:06:07
4 00:06:03
5 00:05:51

captain P

Ok, not long back from my first 8km... yaaay me:D! Although I had to stop & walk for about 2 mins - the heat on an uphill section of the run was really getting to me. Perhaps not a great idea to go out around midday...

8.01km in 55:18 avg pace 6:54

Here's my splits per km:


1 00:06:28
2 00:06:32
3 00:06:39
4 00:06:44
5 00:07:33
6 00:08:00
7 00:06:56
8 00:06:19

Happy enough to have covered the distance... but a bit disappointed at how long it took, and that I had to walk a bit .

Nules10

well done captain p. Best of luck with the log. Try not get too hung up on time and enjoy running. It sure is a great way to clear the head.

captain P

What a beautiful day!
Did some stretching, strength work and rolling out today. Legs feel tired and have a few blisters but planning on 5km tomorrow evening.

captain P

5km in 28:53 tonight.

Will update properly tomorrow.

captain P

Exhausted.

Lack of sleep from stressing over having to move my stuff out of my apartment & sorting the lease etc and still feeling really really down about the breakup. My appetite is still really low so also probably has alot to do with my lack of energy (lost about half a stone in two weeks - and was only about 8.5 stone to start with). Have a wisdom tooth on the move now aswell to top it off, so think I'll take tonight off my planned 5km and look after myself instead.

Dreading my cycle home - it's uphill most of the way

Might do some stretching, ice the shins and try get an early night. Will do a 5km tomorrow even if I'm still feeling pooped. Need to do an 8km on Saturday to get one more in before the race.


On a positive note, I'm looking forward to heading to the Morton Mile on Friday haven't been since I was a basket girl back in my Clonliffe days!

captain P

Didn't do any stretching the last few days and really paid for it tonight, got 2.5km in and had to stop, shins and calves in a lot of pain :-(.

captain P

6.26km today in 40:14

Splits:

1 00:06:14
2 00:06:05
3 00:06:16
4 00:06:44
5 00:06:53
6 00:06:21

Was intending on a slow easy 8km, legs felt fine - but stomach didn't; was sick yesterday evening and overnight so not a great idea to run. I wanted at least one more 8km before the race next week, but not gonna happen. Not been a good week

I'll do 2 5km's this week, probably Tues & Wednesday.
Not expecting much better than 50 mins for the 5 miler next Sat, but I'll give it my best shot!

Happy-ish with the improvements I've made in such a short time.

The Morton Mile was very enjoyable, very nostalgic being back up in Santry Stadium on Friday night. Some amazing runners, I was really impressed with the talent, especially in the mile and the 800m races:).

captain P

captain P wrote: »

5km in 28:53 tonight.

Will update properly tomorrow.

Oh, and here's the splits from this one...

1 00:05:17
2 00:06:04
3 00:05:55
4 00:06:09
5 00:05:25

captain P

5.01km in 28:43.....

Getting there! Still not feeling great, so wasnt expecting to even get very far. Happy with that.
Not hugely confident about the 5 mile on Sat, I've only managed to finish the distance once in my 3 weeks training. But ill give it a good shot!

captain P

Some stretching tonight and lots of water.
Nervous for the race tomorrow,havent really done enough training! Ill just do my best.

rainbow kirby

You'll be grand, enjoy the day tomorrow and good luck!

Nules10

you will do great. Your first race and you will be bursting with pride at the end of it. Go out and enjoy it. Have fun

ILOVERED

Best of luck with log and race tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it

captain P

Really enjoyed the race . It had been 10 years since the last race I did... forgot how fun it is!

Feet got soaked on my (further than I thought 11km) cycle to the Phoenix park, so I'm left with several blisters from wet shoes & socks ...

I went in the 40-50min wave and found it very congested at the start, and I had to pass a lot of walkers a long the way who must have gone in the first wave.
Delighted with my run. Didn't stop, kept a steady pace (thanks to a guy from about 0.5 mile in who was going about the same pace and we kinda stuck next to each other the whole race).
The Kyber was nowhere near as bad as I expected. Found the S bends a bit tougher than the Kyber, but I just put my head down & got through it handy enough. found a lot of people slowed down and walked up the hills which was a bit annoying to have to run around them... slowed me down a bit.

Finished in 48:03. With only 3 weeks training I'm delighted and very proud of myself :cool:. Here's a link to my Garmin: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/99458070

On a sad & quite pathetic note , I kept looking out to see if my boyfriend (haven't got around to saying "ex" yet) would have been cheering for me coz he was meant to be running it and would have been finishing about 35mins... but he was nowhere to be seen.

Anyway, I'm delighted with how well I did, I can't wait to do another race, but I think the 10 mile will be a bit too soon for me.

I think i'd like to do a few 5ks so i'll keep my eye out for upcoming races.

Wouldn't mind trying a duathlon. I cycled approx 22km and ran 8.11 km today in total. I'm pooped but can't wait to have a beer !

captain P

Ok, so I got the 5 mile done . Now it's time for some new goals.

I've applied to go back to college to do a MSc and I find out about that in a few weeks, so everything is kind of on hold until then... then I can properly restart planning my new single life one way or another .

These are my provisonal goals for my running over the next year, nothing set in stone yet:

25th Sept 2011: Rathfarnham 5k - would like to complete in 25mins.
Jan 2012: Raheny 5
1st April 2012: Connemarathon Half
May/ June 2012: Phoenix park duathlon
Summer 2012: Dublin race series 5 mile, 10 mile, Half
October 2012: Dublin Marathon :eek:

I'd like to get a 10km in before the Connemarathon too.

I want to do a beginners Pilates course soon (if anyone can recommend a good value decent place in Dublin city centre or Dublin 9/3 areas that'd be great!).

My core is weak and my hip mobility is not great so I think that could help me.

Still sore from the weekend so probably won't run tonight.

rainbow kirby

Not a 10k, but the Raheny 5 is on in late January and that may suit you in terms of a shorter race around that time.

captain P

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Not a 10k, but the Raheny 5 is on in late January and that may suit you in terms of a shorter race around that time.

Thanks, I went and watched it in Jan this year, thought it was a very good event. Completely forgot about it :rolleyes:. That'll suit perfectly.

Nules10

well done on Saturday. You did great

captain P

Went for a run tonight, knowing it wasnt going to be great, did about 20 mins, got about 3.5km.
From the very start, my breathing was off, and felt like i had no control over my arms or legs! Strange.
Kept going though, and did my 20 mins

belcarra

captain P wrote: »

These are my provisonal goals for my running over the next year, nothing set in stone yet:

25th Sept 2011: Rathfarnham 5k - would like to complete in 25mins.
Jan 2012: Raheny 5
1st April 2012: Connemarathon Half
May/ June 2012: Phoenix park duathlon
Summer 2012: Dublin race series 5 mile, 10 mile, Half
October 2012: Dublin Marathon :eek:

That looks like a good progression over the next year and a bit and if you stick with it it should be no bother to you (Well the marathon will be tough over the last few miles but that's the same for everyone!).

Went for a run tonight, knowing it wasnt going to be great, did about 20 mins, got about 3.5km.
From the very start, my breathing was off, and felt like i had no control over my arms or legs! Strange.
Kept going though, and did my 20 mins

I wouldn't worry about that - likely to be left over effect from the race.

captain P

Thanks Belcarra. I'll put a proper plan in place in the next few weeks and try my best to stick with it, that'll be the hard part!
I've never done any kind of distance running before, and it's very time consuming!
I think it'll be worthwhile in the end. I'll probably have to try find a group to run with on the longer ones. Found the race much easier than training on my own.

captain P

Got drenched on my cycle to work yesterday, foolishly didn't wear any rain gear so my runners were soaked through and didn't dry all day. Because of this, I was shivery and cold and miserable all day, when I got home I just wanted some warm food and my bed... so my planned 5km went out the window.
I'm heading away (down to Doolin) for the weekend, and I'll take my running gear with me. I don't know if I'll get the chance for a run because my niece and nephew will be there and I plan on spoiling them (and me) rotten for the few days... and also having many beers each evening.

I'm back on Monday evening and this is my current plan for next week:

Tuesday: 5km easy
Wednesday: hopefully starting Pilates
Thursday: Rest/ Stretch
Friday: have the day off work so might do 8km+

Then at some stage on the weekend (probably Sunday) I'm going to cycle over to Belfield and do something along the lines of 4x 300m fast with a slow jog recovery inbetween on the track.

shazkea

Well done on the 5 mile race on Sat and best of luck with the log & goals

captain P

Cycled home and went straight out for a run. Did an easy run, 4.95km in 29.57.

Need new runners.

captain P

Thought pilates was tonight, but its tomorrow glad I realised before i got there!

Gonna relax with some biscuits, popcorn and maybe even a glass of wine!

captain P

Did my first Pilates class last night. Enjoyed it, wasn't as hard as I expected! I'm not that sore this morning - just a bit achy in the hips and my neck a little. Think I was doing some of it wrong, but I'm sure I'll get better as I go along. My core muscles should be sorer!

Gonna do a run in a while, might cycle to the seafront and run along there for a few miles.

Really need new runners. I wear Nike frees, but i wear them all the time, not just running. Best runners Ive had and everywhere is out of stock! Thinking of ordering some Adizero adios, but the colours are awful and Adidas never seem to fit me right in the toes.

rainbow kirby

Talk to RacoonQueen about shoes - she will be able to give you good advice on that kind of shoe

captain P

Thanks! I'll pop her a PM.

Nules10

Your neck shouldn't really hurt you after Pilates... ensure you are doing the positions right and if it hurts you neck say it to your instructor.

captain P

Nules10 wrote: »

Your neck shouldn't really hurt you after Pilates... ensure you are doing the positions right and if it hurts you neck say it to your instructor.

Thanks , I figure I was holding myself awkward in a few of the crunches. I had problems with my upper back & neck about 2 years ago, I'm always very stiff/ tense around the neck & shoulders, so I think it's just probably case of trying to solve that.

captain P

Just back from my run. Very happy with it. Felt very comfortable despite needing to pee from about 1km in, and then developing a few blisters towards the last few km. Wanted to go further but my need to pee kinda took priority:o. think I could have done another 2km comfortably enough .

7.87km in 46:19 avg pace of 05:52/km

1 00:05:55
2 00:05:50
3 00:05:56
4 00:05:48
5 00:05:59
6 00:06:02
7 00:05:57
8 00:04:48

Gotta do something about these blisters. If I run more than 30 mins I seem to get them

Other than that - delighted. Making progress. Legs feel good.

captain P

Had to cancel my planned run today. Blister within a blister :eek:

But, some good news for once: got accepted to the MSc... back to college in September, full time for 15 months. Delighted!
I'll have to live off my savings for that time, so will prob have to keep race entrys to a minimum. Maybe I'll join the college athletics club..... we'll see!

FGR

That's some serious progress Captain P. Keep it up and you'll get there.

I've been training since March and still can't seem to do 5k in under 35 mins so compared to me you're going like a bat out of hell!

captain P

ForegoneReality wrote: »

That's some serious progress Captain P. Keep it up and you'll get there.

I've been training since March and still can't seem to do 5k in under 35 mins so compared to me you're going like a bat out of hell!

Thanks! I'm delighted with the progress I'm making. Hoping to get my 5km time to 25 mins by the end of September if I can keep it up!

captain P

Tried a bit of a makey-uppy interval session this morning. Felt great.
Really on a bit of a high today at how much progress I'm making in such a short time - but I'm not overdoing it with training either so very happy with it. Just over a month and no injuries - just a few niggles and some blisters. I'm already comfortable with anything up to 8km without any stops.

Wanna try a 10km training run next weekend

So today I ran 2.65km in about 16 mins warm up. Then did 150m fast, walked for approx 1 min, jogged 1 min, then repeated x 5. Then a slow 1.5km jog back home.

When I got back I was wobbly, but did 5 sets of 10 push ups and some stretching and rolling on my quads - my left leg was very tight.

Decided to give up beer. Not all alcohol, but beer - for a while anyway - causes havoc with my stomach lately for at least 2 days after, and I might have only had 3 pints. So, for the time being, no beer - gonna stick to the girly drinks for a bit:(!

captain P

Current plan for this week:

Monday: intervals - done

Tuesday: 30 mins easy run & some strength
Wednesday: 5km
Thursday: pilates
Friday: rest
Saturday: try for 10km...

captain P

16 mins at 5:51 pace. Left leg very tight and in combination with the humidity today, not my most sucessful run to say the least. Mind isn't in it today.

captain P

Feet hurt, legs hurt, tummy hurts, brain hurts. No run tonight.

captain P

A few bad days brain/emotion-wise. Hard to get myself going .

Did Pilates last night, went well. Again, not that sore today - feel like my stomach muscles should be achy but they're not! Can only really feel it in my hips.

No run tonight coz I'm meeting a friend.

Happy Friday folks!

runfuj

Hey captain P - first of all congrats on your progress, you seem to be around the same level that I'm at, so it's pretty inspirational to read about your progress, and the improvement in your times. Well done. It might even inspire me to post a log of my own (but I'd be ashamed if I didn't make any improvement for weeks and had to post :eek:)

captain P

runfuj wrote: »

Hey captain P - first of all congrats on your progress, you seem to be around the same level that I'm at, so it's pretty inspirational to read about your progress, and the improvement in your times. Well done. It might even inspire me to post a log of my own (but I'd be ashamed if I didn't make any improvement for weeks and had to post :eek:)

Thanks runfuj! I've always enjoyed reading others logs, and find having my own quite motivational! You should definitely set one up.

captain P

Just back from running 10km for the first time ever:

1 00:06:06
2 00:06:25
3 00:06:37
4 00:06:43
5 00:06:44
6 00:07:03
7 00:06:44
8 00:06:37
9 00:06:43
10 00:05:57

10.02km in 01:05:51 avg pace: 06:34/k

Happy with that. Feel good. Just a bit stiff in the legs. Wind was very strong against me on the second half so happy that I managed to keep my pace.
Muscles at the front of my hips (especially left) seem to be permanently very tight & sore, will have to read up and get something sorted with that.

Might head over to Santry and watch some of the National championships....

Need to shower and eat first .

captain P

Went to Santry afterwards yesterday and got to see a few races! Some fantastic talent there, enjoyed it .

Legs are not happy with me today. Cycling against the wind to work this morning was not fun!!

I'll take tonight as a rest and do a 5 or 6km tomorrow night.

captain P

Gonna say it was a recovery run... 5.13km in 31:06, avg pace 6.04/k. Legs felt very heavy!

captain P

Some thinking out loud....:D

captain P wrote: »

These are my provisonal goals for my running over the next year, nothing set in stone yet:

25th Sept 2011: Rathfarnham 5k - would like to complete in 25mins.
Jan 2012: Raheny 5
1st April 2012: Connemarathon Half
May/ June 2012: Phoenix park duathlon
Summer 2012: Dublin race series 5 mile, 10 mile, Half
October 2012: Dublin Marathon :eek:

Ok, so seeing as I'm going back to college full time and will be surviving off my savings for 15 months I won't really be able to afford any races outside of Dublin, which is a pity because I thought the Connemara Half would have been a nice first 13.1 .

I'll keep an eye out for some races in the Jan-May timeframe, hopefully get a 10k in. Not too keen on doing the Flora mini marathon in June- the amount of walkers etc.. is putting me off. I don't really enjoy crowds like that!

From mid-Sept I'll be back out in UCD, so will be cycling approx 24km a day, and hopefully running 3 or 4 times a week. At least Belfield will be handy for intervals with the track being there! Hopefully I'll have built up some good fitness over the Winter to get some good times in the race series. Maybe if I get better at the distances I could chance running to or from college once a week!

The increased mileage from next month means I'll probably need to tweak my diet. I've already lost some weight since June and I don't really want to lose much more. I eat fairly healthily and take in about 1700-2000 calories a day at the moment. High stress levels and the extra exercise seems to have made me drop some weight. My energy levels aren't great either - well not as good as I want them to be.

No run tonight coz I'm meeting a friend. Pilates tomorrow night. I'll run on Friday evening, and hopefully a long run on Sunday.

captain P

Pilates last night, think I'm getting the hang of it..... my core muscles are really killing me today... in a good way !

Hoping my new runners will be waiting for me when I get home (along with a new saddle for my bike ).

Gonna do a run tonight; plan on approx 5-6km with some strides thrown in. My usual 5km route has about 1.5km of an uphill on it - might try a flatter route tonight for the strides instead.

Been itching to get out for a run since Wed, think I'm officially addicted!

captain P

Last night:

5km with some 100m(ish) strides thrown in here and there and a faster last 1km (4:47).

28:31 avg pace 5:42. Had to stop twice for about a minute or so- once to open a gate into a local park, and once took ages to cross the road.

In work until 13.00 today, about 25 mins cycle home. Waiting to hear from a friend if we're meeting up. If we're not... think I'll go for a short leg-stretcher this afternoon and do some stretching and strength before my planned long run (11km) along the coast tomorrow.

Really need to clean & oil my bike too!!

captain P

So, this morning when I got up, I was feeling a bit groggy after a crappy sleep. I had some breakfast and went nut shopping in Aldi... I got back and had some lunch. Then waited a while, did about 20 mins stretching and hopped on my bike down to Clontarf to go for my run. I intended on doing approx 10km very slowly, same as last week.

Started ok, took about 3km to get into a comfortable rhythm. I was listening to Game of Thrones on audio book and thoroughly enjoying it (reckon I have plenty of hours worth of running listening to these books...). I got to the wooden bridge and started to run over... that's when the wind hit me! It was SO windy I was nearly blown over a few times . I ran out as far as the beach and turned around to come back - this was about 5km in. My calves were feeling tight, so I stopped for a minute and stretched them out. The salty wind was even stronger on the way back, and I figured I wouldn't be able to finish my intended 10km as a result. I kept telling myself - "keep going, it'll toughen you up"! And I did! (I think my book helped )

I got back to Fairview and kept going! I did 12.07km in total, then hopped on my bike to cycle back home, and was absolutely lashed on - the rain felt like pins hitting my face and arms... it was very unpleasant .

I'm delighted at my 12km. I felt very comfortable towards the end apart from my legs stiffening up.
My legs are now killing me. Both my knees, both shins, both ankles, left hip & glutes! but nothing that some ice, compression socks, rest and stretching won't solve. It's just me getting stronger.

Here's my run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/106464203

12.07km in 1:18:55 avg pace 6:32min/k

Again, delighted with my progress! I'm slow at the moment, but at least I'm getting the distances in.

Have to start using the HRM that came with my watch!