The life and times of puffing billy!

englishbob

Hope I'm doing this right.

I've run before, not brilliantly but with sufficient commitment to do a few races to half marathon distance. I'd have to say my crowning glory was when I did the Bulmers 10k in Clonmel on spec in 2009 and recorded my PB of 59.28. (Just to give you the measure of my ability) That race wasn't chipped so I'm a bit suspicious of it, but I'm taking it anyway. Did the Dublin race series, including the half with mixed results. Last year was a wash-out. Great intentions fell away and I haven't been out the highways and by-ways for a good four months. Colds and flus I told myself, but even I know thats an excuse.

Funny enough, I came late to running for fitness. It might be a discussion for another time but I think I'm not the only person who hit their mid-thirties and went wow you unfit, overweight waster. Run fat boy run, etc. Then realising that getting out for the run is a bit of headspace from the pressures of everything. I know old ground, but true for me.

I'm a late thirties father of three young uns with serious time constraints, but I'm seizing on the new year thing to kick myself out on to the road.

My goals are as follows:

1. Regain my basic fitness by getting out running minimum three times a week (preferably more)
2. Once I get past the puffing billy stage, mix up the sessions to improve speed AND endurance
3. Take on some 10ks and a half this year and put down some good PBs (for me)
4. See an overall improvement in my health/flab scenario (diet leaves a lot to be desired, but Rome wasn't built in a day)

Going to hopefully log my training on here as I go and measure my progress vs my goals. Any advice gratefully received.

EB

BrokenMan

Best of luck EB. I like your goals for the year, definitely all achievable.

Stick to the easy miles for a while though before trying to add in any major speed work. Bringing this in too early before your body has adapted enough is a major cause of injuries.

Younganne

Best of luck with the log and the rebuild Englishbob...have to say keeping the log is a great incentive to get out when you are not 100% in the mood...

great goals...take it easy and build slowly and then worry about all the other stuff!!!

Theres great advice and support on the Board here so enjoy!!!

englishbob

Thanks for the support already. Much appreciated.
Definitely doing the log for the motivation side of things, and its working already. Put the gear in a bag and brought it to work today. Will be out running this lunchtime. Looking forward to it.
I know how I am with this. Today is going to be rough. Going to have to work hard to get to a base level before I think about speed. The key for me in the past is to get out regularly, after a while that looks after itself and I can start thinking about improvements and more specific goals. Will log on here how thats going and revise goals with more specific targets accordingly. Gotta have the targets.

Thanks again for the inputs.

EB

englishbob

5.2km in 34.11

I think I may have coined a new training run. Instead of an LSR, ladies and gentlemen we give you the SSR.

Still delighted to get out there in the rain and the gales. I'm blaming the windspeed factor for the time - ha ha.

Feeling righteous now and looking forward to getting out again. Just got to see if this twinge in my leg is temporary, although I think I'll just live with it anyhow. Looking forward to reinstating my endurance first, thats always the best feeling, when you go out and run and your knackered cos you pushed yourself not because you ran at all. Won't be there for a bit but therein lies the incentive.

But it was tough going!

EB

macinalli

Think of it as resistance training - imagine hwo easy it'll be next week when these winds die down;)

englishbob

Woke up this morning and my legs felt bruised. I've felt it before but I did a load of post run stretching and hoped I'd avoid the worst of the whole lactic acid thing but no. macinalli, thanks for the encouraging words, I hadn't thought of it like that but you're right. I love(hate) hills for the same reason. I have this honour thing about not being defeated by a hill, no matter how much it kills me but perversely the flat always seems welcome after the hill even if its at mile 13 or so. When I run direct from my house its straight up a very steep incline straightaway and sometimes I think to myself you've just blown youself out for the rest of the run but then I'd feel like i was cheating if I walked up it to then start.
Didn't run today (couldn't walk down stairs with the legs, walking down backwards easier!!:D) so feel like I'm losing momentum but will run tomorrow, even if its just a quick blast. Then I'll LSR it on Sunday morning. Thats the plan. Need to stick to it.

BrokenMan

If your legs are that bad today then you have pushed it too hard too soon. While feeling tired the day after and even a bit stiff would be normal this level of pain certainly wouldn't. What you are describing sounds like how most folks would feel after an all out effort in a long race.

You need to alternate your training efforts between hard and recovery days.

englishbob

BrokenMan, thanks for the input and its a good point. I didn't think I'd pushed myself too hard (other then combatting the elements), just thought I was getting 'back on the bike' after a few months of sloth but still walking like John Wayne today too. I think I'll try a recovery run this evening/tomorrow morning, although I don't think I've ever knowingly run that way. What would you describe as a recovery run? I am a long term lurker here so learnt a lot of stuff just reading but never thought to figure out certain things.

Thanks again for the support.

EB

BrokenMan

Someone said to me once that a recovery run is one that you think is too slow. It should be at a pace that feels ridiculously easy.
Lets assume for a minute that your current 5K race pace is 30 mins. Plug that into the mcmillan pace calculator
http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/index.php/site/calculator

This will give you your target paces for the different types of runs you can do. Your recovery pace then would be between 7:52 and 8:11 mins per km.

The purpose of these is to help get blood flowing through the muscles and help them repair. You should run these the day after your hard workouts.

Have a look at the Introduction to Running Sticky on th emain forum, there are some great links and advice in it.

englishbob

Ok, confession time. Despite best intentions I didn't run at the weekend. This was due to a combination of lack of opportunity (always gonna be a problem) and a desire to heed BrokenMans useful advice over my aching legs. At least thats my excuse. But I got back out on the roads on Tuesday lunchtime. No times/distances, just used it as a getting back into it session. Felt like a useful session and I'm pleased to say that my legs were a little stiff today but pretty much fine. Felt like I could have run today too if I'd wanted to. Will run again either tomorrow or Friday and then make time for a proper LSR on Sunday. Then I will be on target for running minimum three times a week. Will then aim to keep that going week in, week out. As I said before, I want to build a base and then do a more targeted training program for say 10k races. The mcmillan website was fascinating, thanks for the pointer on recovery run pace. This forum gives you all the tools, just have to get out there.

englishbob

So its been a while since I did an entry on this training log which i know defeats the purpose cos the idea is you can track your progress vs goals etc. Of course I'm not really with it cos I don't have a GPS watch etc. Most of the time I use map my run to measure distance ran and then do a rough time based on the stopwatch on my mobile or pure guesstimate looking at the clock before I leave the house and again when i get back. I can't really justify the funds for a gps watch right now so its gonna have to be a bit unscientific for a while. Well, I haven't been doing nothing since I last updated. Ran a good bit but not as regulalrly as I'd like but I did discover the circuit training sessions in the curragh camp. And they are a revelation. 1. They are on at a time that suits me (after the kids have gone to bed) 2. its well organised (and I'm generally not) 3. I'm feeling the benefit in my running already. I went for a 10k run today and it was great. I mean this isn't scientific. Don't know if i actually ran any faster but I felt stronger, I felt better able to speed up/push it harder when i wanted to or had to (hills) and most of all I was barely puffing billy at all. Now I know I clearly wasn't working anaerobically but maybe the circuits have increased my aerobic/anaerobic level? (Apologies by the way, most of my running knowledge was gleaned as a long time lurker here on the ART board so I'm sure I'm not using the right terminology. So upshot is, gonna keep up the circuits, enjoyable and useful, and in time I will get more scientific about measuring my progress. Anybody have any suggestions for a cheap way to measure distance/speed?:D