Sometimes I just need to get out and run

davemcmahon

With nothing to do today in work I've decided since I took up running a year ago today now would be the best time to start logging.

So first a brief recap of the last year:

started running this time last year, had very poor fitness and overweight, weighting in close to 110kg. completed my first 5k race the end of February in 30.30 and really struggled. Over the next couple of months I ran the Leixlip and Lucan 5k's. Struggled but my times were improving. At this I realised I was hooked. At this stage I had no intentions of ever doing a Marathon.

Shortly afterwards I came across the Mentored Novices Thread and upon reading it and look at the previous years threads I realised that I could actually run the marathon if I wanted if I started training. This thought slowly built up momentum until I decided to take the plunge and sign up to the novices thread. It's worth noting that this was probably 2 weeks after my wife had given birth to our second daughter (our first only being 15months old at that stage).

Over the next few months if became apparent that I was finding the running a great stress relief from work and demands of the kids.So over the next few months I trained and trained and trained for the marathon running the Dublin Half in 1:55:37 and bringing my 5 k time down to 22:36 in the Rathfarnham 5k.

During this training I also had some trouble with my ITB which got sorted thanks to physio and foam rolling.

So I finished the marathon in a disappointing 4:46:04. The less said about that the better for now.

So anyway onto the point of the log. To track my goals and development through the year. I plan on spending most of the year focusing on my 5 and 10k times as well as doing the Dublin Race series. I've yet to decide about doing the marathon this year.

My main goals for the year

• 47 minute 10k will probably review this based on current 5 k times
• sub 20 5k

My plan is to focus on the 10k for the first few months of the year with the goal race being the K-club 10k and then focus on the 5k with the goal race being the Rathfarnham 5k.

For now my next race is the Raheny 5 mile. I hope to go sub 38 minutes for this.

Anyway on to the name of my log. As my wife has said a few times over the last year "its obvious that sometimes I just need to get out and run and come home in a better mood."

dazza21ie

Best of luck Dave, will follow this one with interest as we both seemed to have started off in a similar position last year and have similar goals for the year ahead.

davemcmahon

1/01/2013 Liffey Valley AC Tom Brennan 5k:
To save on the reading a new PB to start the year. 21:46.

Followed by a warm down with some boardsie's.



02/01/2013 4 mile recovery in 37:52 average pace 9.23 min/mile.

I really need to get back into foam rolling every second night at most as after racing I can feel the ITB tightening. So thats the plan for tonight.

davemcmahon

I forgot to include my pre-Christmas weight in had me at 91.2kg will get on the scales again over the next couple of days

davemcmahon

02/01/2013 PM: spend about 40 minutes going through the stretches and core exercises in Advanced Marathoning. I really need to get some kind of core routine going this year.

03/01/2013: 6.03 miles @ 8:25min/mile aver HR 164 bpm max HR 174bpm
This run felt grand, judging by the HR it was probably a little bit too fast for an easy run. I probably should have had it down in the 140 -150 region (I hope I have this right, am fairly new to HR training).
The mile splits varied from 8:38-8:19, the two slowest coming at the half way mark as I had to start the uphill section of the route.

Managed to get my first weight in of 2013, current weight 90.2kg (14st 3lbs). That’s a grand total of just under 20kg (3st 2lbs) lost in the last year.

WTD|14.47
MTD|14.47
YTD|14.47

Distance |Current PB|2013 Target
5km|21.46|sub 20
10km|52.XX|45.00
Half Marathon|1:55:37|1:40:XX

I've already re-evaluated my 10k goal and brought it down to 45 mins based on my current 5k time

RunningKing

Managed to get my first weight in of 2013, current weight 90.2kg (14st 3lbs). That’s a grand total of just under 20kg (3st 2lbs) lost in the last year.

Thats amazing.......3st in one year - fair play to you fella. You'll be flying in no time.

tang1

Best of luck with the log, nice to meet you Tuesday.

dechol

Best of luck.will follow with interest.

menoscemo

davemcmahon wrote: »

03/01/2013: 6.03 miles @ 8:25min/mile aver HR 164 bpm max HR 174bpm
This run felt grand, judging by the HR it was probably a little bit too fast for an easy run. I probably should have had it down in the 140 -150 region (I hope I have this right, am fairly new to HR training).

That totally depends on what your max HR is. Did you get any indication of it from Tuesdays race?

davemcmahon

menoscemo wrote: »

That totally depends on what your max HR is. Did you get any indication of it from Tuesdays race?

I didn't wear it on Tuesday but had at the jingle bells 5k and got a HR Max of 192. My resting HR is 58.

menoscemo

davemcmahon wrote: »

I didn't wear it on Tuesday but had at the jingle bells 5k and got a HR Max of 192. My resting HR is 58.

OK cool, 192 is quite high so you likely have a higher than average max Let's guess about 200??
I'd say try to keep the easy runs under 160 anyway and closer to 150....

davemcmahon

menoscemo wrote: »

OK cool, 192 is quite high so you likely have a higher than average max Let's guess about 200??
I'd say try to keep the easy runs under 160 anyway and closer to 150....

Excellent cheers.

Younganne

Good luck with the log and the training goals for this year Dave, thats a great weighloss in a year and as your weight has come down your race times have improved so with increased fitness and less weight things are going good for you. Keep up the excellent work!!

davemcmahon

04/01/2013: 5.08mi @ 9:58 min/mile aveHR 144 Max HR 168.

A nice and gentle 5 mile with a few colleagues from work. Nice and slow, was run at more there pace than mine but a good chance to just do some slow gentle running.

Will hopefully get a chance to do some more stretching and core stuff tonight.

Tomorrow will be a rest day so no running or logging.


WTD|19.55
MTD|19.55
YTD|19.55

Distance |Current PB|2013 Target
5km|21.46|sub 20
10km|52.XX|45.00
Half Marathon|1:55:37|1:40:XX

davemcmahon

06/01/2013 : 10.1miles @8:27min/mile. AveHR165 MaxHR 184

Was up nice and early this morning to get my run in as the sun came up. This run incorporated Meno's session he'd given the 2012 Novices (1 x 2mile @ goal pace, 3 x 1 mile @ goal pace) with Raheny 5 mile in mind. Based on my recent 5k time my goal pace should be somewhere around 7.13 min/mile (~36min). Just after the 2 mile interval I realised I probably should not have gone out before breakfast for such a demanding run.

But anyway the splits:

1 x 2 mile: 7:14, 7:14
3 x 1 mile: 7:20, 7:24, 7:25.

The 1 mile intervals where a little slower than I would have like but since I was in serious need of refueling I'm quite happy with it.

I've found I'm quite enjoying the sessions we've been doing latey, they've been tough but I'm looking forward to them.

Plan for the week:
|Mon|Tue|Wed|Thur|Fri|Sat|Sun|
|4 mile recovery(PM) + Cross(AM)|6 mile easy|session*|4 miles recovery|6m easy |rest|LSR (12 miles)

Session:
10 mile session consisting of 1 mile easy- 2 miles MP- 2 miles HMP- 2 miles MP- 2 miles HMP- 1 mile easy (all continuous) Based on McMillan HMP - 7:42, MP - 8.06


WTD|30.16
MTD|30.16
YTD|30.16

davemcmahon

Mon 07/01/2013 AM Cross Training

Roughly an hour split across the bike and rowing machine followed by about 10-15 minutes of stretching.

Mon 07/01/2013 PM 4.25mi @ 09:19 min/mile

Decided to leave the car in work and run home and back in again on Tuesday. A nice run in the cold and rain.

Unfortunately something I had to eat on Monday didn't agree with me and left me out of action yesterday. Thankfully it wasn't too bad, I just couldn't keep any food down but had tonnes of energy so back to work this morning.

Wed 09/01/2013 3.61mi @ 9:51 min/mile

Took this very easy as I wasn't sure how I'd feel doing it. Felt grand in the end. Was a slightly different route back to work.

As a result of Tuesday I'm going to push my midweek session out til Sunday and do some extra easy miles stuck on the end in place of my LSR. Hopefully I'll get back out tomorrow and Friday for two 6 milers.

davemcmahon

Thurs 10/01/2013 7.16mi @ 8:10 min/mile AveHR 161bpm maxHR 177bpm

got out for what was supposed to be a quick 6 miler at lunch today. Was feeling good and strong so decided to push it out to 7 and up the pace for the last couple of miles. I seem to be over whatever it was that I had on Tuesday so should get out again tomorrow for at least 6 miles.


WTD|15.02
MTD|45.18
YTD|45.18

rasher_m

davemcmahon wrote: »

Thurs 10/01/2013 7.16mi @ 8:10 min/mile AveHR 161bpm maxHR 177bpm

got out for what was supposed to be a quick 6 miler at lunch today. Was feeling good and strong so decided to push it out to 7 and up the pace for the last couple of miles. I seem to be over whatever it was that I had on Tuesday so should get out again tomorrow for at least 6 miles.


WTD|15.02
MTD|45.18
YTD|45.18

Your times are really improving, you're defo looking at sub 4hrs or maybe even 3.45 in a marathon.

davemcmahon

rasher_m wrote: »

Your times are really improving, you're defo looking at sub 4hrs or maybe even 3.45 in a marathon.

I'll more than likely give a marathon a miss this year. But next year I'll probably give it a go again and look at going 3.30 - 3.45

davemcmahon

Fri. 11/01/2013 10.05mi @ 9.26 min/mile AveHr 145bpm MaxHR 172bpm.

When out after work today with a couple of colleagues for what started as an easy 5 miles. As with last week went out at their pace which was about 10.15 min/mile for the 5. Was feeling good and in no rush home so decided to turn around and do the 5 again and class it as my LSR for the week. Upped the pace for the 2nd set of 5 miles to closer to 9 min/mile. The second 5 where a little harder but that was to be expected after a full days work.

Tomorrow will be a rest day although the plan is to bring one of the little ones to the zoo so not sure how much rest I'll actually get.


WTD|25.07
MTD|55.23
YTD|55.23

davemcmahon

Mon 14/01/2013 5.2 miles @ 9.01min/miles AveHR 150

after a weekend of inactivity and missed opportunities to get out I was back out this morning. Took a huge amount of HTFU to get going, my legs were feeling heavy and aching, particularly my ITB. So out I went at a nice slow pace just get my legs going again. For the first couple of miles I could feel the tightness in my left ITB ( the right side had been the main problem during the marathon training) but by the end of mile 2 it had loosened up nicely and hasn't been any bother since.

I'm taking the stiffness in my ITB as a reminder that I'm not doing my foam rolling. Since the marathon I've been neglecting the foam roller while I've been upping the mileage, running more and running some harder sessions. I think I need to take this as a warning to pay more attention to my stretching and general recovery time to avoid being the same situation I was a few weeks before the marathon when the tightness in my ITB was so bad I was having trouble walking.


WTD|5.2
MTD|60.43
YTD|60.43

davemcmahon

15/01/2013 Tues: 5 miles @ 8.08min/mile AveHr 152.

Another tough day to get out. Between work commitments and being the little ones 2nd birthday I didn't get out till after lunch, closer to 4. The plan was for a nice and handy 5 miles at a slow pace. This changed quickly once I got out and realised it was absolutely brass monkeys. after the first couple of miles I was loosing all feeling in my face so upped the paceand got the 5 miles done in just over 40 minutes.

I reintroduced my ITB to the foam roller last night and payed for it dearly by bed time. I've a feeling I'll have to give it a go again tonight and try work out the last of the knots.

WTD|10.2
MTD|65.43
YTD|65.43

davemcmahon

16/01/2013 Wed. 7.00miles @ 8:06min/mile Ave HR 166

After a night that involved foam rolling and copious amounts of birthday cake was out before work for another run in the freezing cold. Was much easier getting out for this today without the frost and ice. Decide to go with a slightly more aggressive pace as the legs and lungs felt like they needed the harder workout. Nothing much exciting happening on the runs.

WTD|17.2
MTD|72.43
YTD|72.43

davemcmahon

17/01/2013 Thurs. 11.31miles @ 9.24min/mile AveHR 152

Was given the rare opportunity today to get either my session for the week or my LSR done before work. I wasn't feeling the session so decided LSR today session on Sunday morning. I decided leaving the 10-12 miles would be good. ended up doing 11.31, the furthest I've run since DCM. Was pleasantly surprised at how low the Hr was for the run. Felt like i could have easily gone further but needed to get to work. Was also the first time since training for DCM that I've gotten a blister. Will need to look at what caused that and fix it.

The plan for tonight now will be to soak the legs and get stuck in to my copy of 'Road Racing for Serious Runners' by P&D which arrived yesterday. I'll probably be taking my plans from this fort he rest of the year depending on the race. Will definitely be taking my 10k plan from it.



WTD|28.51
MTD|83.74
YTD|83.74

davemcmahon

18/01/2013 Fri: 3.95 mile recovery @ 9:10 min/mile AveHr 146

Went out today for what has become my weekly recovery run with some work colleagues. Had to convince them it was worth going out in the rain, sleet, wind and cold. Ended up being one of the more enjoyable runs this week despite the horrible weather. I think my enjoyment may have come from the discomfort of my colleagues not used to running in that weather.

The plan for tomorrow is for a rest day and then the session that should have been midweek on Sunday morning.

WTD|32.46
MTD|87.69
YTD|87.69

rasher_m

davemcmahon wrote: »

18/01/2013 Fri: 3.95 mile recovery @ 9:10 min/mile AveHr 146

I think my enjoyment may have come from the discomfort of my colleagues not used to running in that weather.

I never knew you were so evil...I like your style

davemcmahon

the plan had been to get out early on Sunday morning to get in a session for the upcoming Raheny 5 miler, unfortunately the little one had been up most of Saturday night with a chesty cough, which meant so was I. This meant by Sunday morning that plan was scrapped in favor of a complete rest day while the wife took the kids out.

21/01/2013 Mon: 4.78mile @ 9.33 min/mile AveHr 145

A nice little run in the cold and the snow at lunch time. Kept the pace down as there was still plenty of snow and slush on the footpaths. Compared to the run on Friday this was really pleasant and warmer than I had expected.

So this week will be a Taper week with Raheny on Saturday. Hoping to go for close to 36min on Saturday but will be happy with anything sub 37.


WTD|4.78
MTD|92.47
YTD|92.47

davemcmahon

22/01/2013 Tues: 6.08 miles @ 8.15min/mile AveHr 161

Went out a little harder today due to the nice clear footpath around work. Was a nice run ended up wearing too many layers as it wasn't as cold as I expected. ave Hr was a little high which wasn't helped by the strides thrown in towards the end. Legs were a little heavy afterwards so hopefully the reduced mileage this week will do them some good.


WTD|10.86
MTD|98.55
YTD|98.55

RedRunner

Just spotted your training log Dave. You are going great guns already this year, fair play. Good luck in Raheny on Sunday.

davemcmahon

RedRunner wrote: »

Just spotted your training log Dave. You are going great guns already this year, fair play. Good luck in Raheny on Sunday.

Cheers RR. I hope the injuries clear up soon and you can get back out.

davemcmahon

23/01/2013 Wed: 6.10 miles @ 8.03min/mile AveHR 160

Another run that was probably a little too fast . A quick 6 miles during lunch to help bring me over the 100 mile mark for the month so far. Was looking back at some of the mileage for DCM training and my currently weekly mileage is higher than most of that training. I have to include that I'm finding it 'easier' on my body as well. Its beginning to feel like this is the base i should have had before I started the marathon training which would have eliminated some of the problems I had during the marathon itself.

I'll be back out again tomorrow and then rest days on Friday and Saturday ahead of Raheny.


WTD|16.96
MTD|104.65
YTD|104.65