Andy's Running Log

AndyFC

Hi,

Male 39 years old.

Started running last year for improving health and fitness; and so far have ran a 10k, two 5k races and also a 5 mile race.

Great Ireland Run 10k: timed about 55 minutes
Parkrun Malahide 5k: 22:08 and 21:25
Raheny 5 Mile 2013: about 46 minutes and 30 seconds I think.

Running Goals for 2013 is to become more disciplined in achieving at least 3 or 4 training runs each week. At the moment some weeks can be better than other depending upon weather conditions and work. So I intend on getting started with a Hal Hidgon Training Programme perhaps the Half Marathon Distance and also the 5K Programmes. After reading through many great and informative training logs posted by other runners here I am going to look at developing my own training log so;

Weekly Running Schedule for 2013:

3 Runs Weekdays
1 Run Weekends (not including the occassional Parkrun Malahide on the Saturday morning)

Will look at developing one Long Slow Run weekly perhaps a Sunday Morning Run, then for the Weekdays a Shorter Slow Run combined with Fartlek Tempo Training; plus one week day 10k run perhaps as well.
Overall distance weekly I think somewhere between 35 to 45K maximum.

There is a GAA Pitch and Sportgrounds nearby so I as do all my jogging there on the grass I intend on sticking to running on the grass rather than the pavements. Plus an advantage is that there is an embankment also which will help with uphill running. Sometimes I run up and back down this embankment about 15 times which is great for stretching ankles etc. So I will look at incorporating this short hill sprinting into my running as well.

AndyFC

Week 1: dated from Sunday 17th February to Sunday 24th February.

Sunday 5km
Monday 6km
Tuesday Short Hill Slow Run Up & Down with duration 20 minutes
Wednesday 10km followed by Short Hill Slow Run Up & Down with duration 15 minutes
Thursday rest
Friday rest
Saturday 5km Operation Transformation Run @ Phoenix Park
Sunday 10km followed by 15 laps of Short Hill Slow Run Up & Down.

Description of Embankment or Short Hill

This short hill takes me about 5 - 7 seconds to run up; with a bit quicker descent probably. Inclination at a guess could be between 5 and 10 to 15 degrees gradient. I run up and down slowly with view of building leg strengtth and also flexibility in the hips and ankles. I try to focus on technique with a good arm swing and a high knee lift. Back may be slightly at a forward angle but this seems natural when running up a hill for me?

My plan with including this type of short hill running is to focus on the clock rather than laps or speed up and down. So I plan on building this up to 30 minutes duration; but this is very slow running up and back down.

I have been running periodically since October last year but I am conscious of developing a running plan rather than just going out when the weather is favourable. So while this week was fine for running I did miss Thursday and Friday but then ran every other day of the week. As this log develops over time hopefully my running will become more focused along the lines of a Hal Hidegon Training Plan and also include Fartlek type training, Tempo Runnning and Sprinting as well. At the moment I just get out and run at a comfortable pace and try to keep this up without becoming winded.

But overall a nice week for running and looking forward to this weeks sessions.

AndyFC

Week 2: dated from Monday 25th February to Sunday 03rd March

Monday: Cross Training
Tuesday: 10k plus 15 laps Short Hill Running
Wendesday: 10k plus 15 minutes of Short Hill Running
Thursday: Cross Training
Friday: Cross Training
Saturday: 10k
Sunday: Rest Day

Cross Training Description:

Pilates Class of approx. 45 minutes duration
Swimming of approx. 2/3 miles

A bit of a mixed week with attempts of incorporating Cross Training into my Athletics Running Schedule. Friday was a Swim only whereas Thursday was a mix with both attendance of a Pilates Class in addition to lunchtime Swimming. Monday if i remember correctly was also a mix of both Pilates as well as evening swimming.

Plans for the forthcoming week will be to start timing my 10k runs and also to incorporate Sprint Sessions after completion of the 10k run. I would like to achieve under 45 minutes for the 10k run and at present I think I am somewhere between the 45 minutes and 50 minutes.

Will book my place on the Dublin Race Series 2013 this week with the intention of completing all the races. In particular this will be my first attempt at running a Half Marathon so between now and September there's plenty of time to get a good schedule in place and achive some good training between now and June when I think the Dublin Race Series kicks off.