Be still my beating heart

Ososlo

2016 Review

RACES
January
Staplestown Marathon - 4:10
This was done during a 73 mile week, as a training run without a taper, and mostly at an easy effort except for a pick up for the last few miles. I managed to bag a 24 minute marathon pb which was nice

April
Longford 53k - 5:32
This was my first official over-marathon (won't call it an ultra ) distance race. Again, it was done without taper and at an easy effort.

June
Belfast 24 Hour
100.6 miles - result
Joint 7th Female in Irish Champs

September
Tralee 12 Hour
100k - result
1st Female, 2nd Overall
1st ever win and medal for a race:D

Yearly mileage total: 3,237

So, races were scarce enough, but with the longer stuff, I don't think I could have done many more to be honest without injuring myself. I did do another EOI marathon prior to Tralee 12 hour, but pulled out at 25 miles as I had a niggle which I didn't want to aggravate, and it was definitely the right thing to do. It was only a training run, so no big deal.

2017 Goals
Well, race-wise, "all" I want for 2017 is a big pb in Belfast, and to jump up a few places in the Irish rankings (in the top 5 females would be amazing). The other main goal in Belfast is to run (walk/crawl if necessary) for the full 24 hours and to not wuss out until the whole 24 hours is up. I need to toughen up a bit more so hopefully lots of very long training runs will help me achieve this.
I want to achieve a point in my training where 90-100 mile weeks are the norm, so I hope that the higher mileage compared to last year's training will help me to achieve my more aggressive goal for 2017. I feel I should be able to handle this increase with a sensible approach to things.
I might go back to Tralee 12 hour to retain my title next Sept, but that 100% depends on recovery from Belfast.
I worked very hard in 2016 to achieve what I did, but I can work harder in 2017 - and I will. Can't bloody wait!!!! If 2017 is half as good as 2016, I'll be one happy Ososlo this time next year! 2016 has been really good to me on the running front! Happy New Year, everyone, and I hope the Running Gods are kind to you all this year

tang1

Bit harsh on yourself with the toughen up part A, not many tougher than you about here(meant in an extremely nice way!!!). Hope 2017 is good to you in every way.

Ososlo

tang1 wrote: »

Bit harsh on yourself with the toughen up part A, not many tougher than you about here(meant in an extremely nice way!!!). Hope 2017 is good to you in every way.

I was far from tough from 85 miles onwards in the 24 hour Others around me seemed a lot stronger! Not all of them mind!!!!
thanks though:D

Darren 83

Trying to catch up on you're log, that was a solid year for you no doubt this year will be even better.

Bungy Girl

Happy New Year Ososlo and I hope it brings you lots and lots (and lots and lots ) of happy miles and a great result in Belfast.

hillsiderunner

Ososlo wrote: »

I want to achieve a point in my training where 90-100 mile weeks are the norm

*yikes*.

But all the same, probably no bother to you! Good luck with the training and look forward to seeing the results.

annapr

Fantastic to see all your hard work paying off this year A, and best of luck with your 2017 goals too.

Ososlo

Sunday 25th to Wednesday 28th December
Scheduled rest days.

Thursday 29th December
7.2 miles easy @ 9:18
Back to my night time loop in Santry. Legs and breathing felt way better than I ever envisaged they could after so many days of excessive excessiveness. Great to be back at it. Once the first mile was over, I was flying along for the rest of it.

Friday 30th December
8 miles easy @ 9:37
Back to Ososlo Demesne today for the first run since before Christmas. Breathing a bit off this morning, but kept it super easy.

Saturday 31st December
9.2 miles @ 9:30
Easy pace definitely a lot faster than it used to be. Feeling good.

Sunday 1st January
Rest
Was babysitting on NYE and got absolutely no sleep that night so was a complete wreck that day. Had more visitors popping by today and other ones staying, so just decided to take the day off and be kind to my body. It very rarely happens that I don’t actually want to run, so it’s maybe a good thing to take advantage when I do feel that way.

24.5 miles weekly total

Monday 2nd January
am: 8 miles easy @ ?
Watch messed up big time but I covered 8 miles or a little bit more. Back to proper training today as life is finally back to normal. No more messin! PB’s in Belfast won’t happen by themselves!
Pm: 7.2 miles @ 9:16
Felt wonderful. Round and round and round my night-time loop.

Tuesday 3rd January
am: 8.2 miles @ 9:37
Dry January starts for me from today now that all the visitors have gone and I have no more excuses to live like a drunken slob. Cleaning up the diet from today too. I think I had chips every single day when on hols except Xmas day. When you’re vegetarian and eating out a lot, there very often isn’t much I can eat, but there’s always chips as a fall back. Chips are out for January too.
pm: 7.3 miles @ 8:59
16 loops around my night time loop in the estate. Felt amazing and even though I ended up running a lot faster than I started, the effort felt even throughout, and very easy.

Wednesday 4th January
Am: 8.2 miles @ 9:39
Absolutely wrecked this morning as had about 2 hours of sleep last night. Felt good once I got going.
Pm: 7.2 miles @ 9:14
Lovely run on a perfect night for running. Crisp and cold with no breeze – just how I like it!

Thursday 5th January
7 miles easy @ 9:35
Insomnia is back with a vengeance. I was a walking zombie all day and found it hard to struggle through a day at work but the little run felt nice and relaxed. I think I’ve really learned to relax my body when running as I never get a sore neck anymore. My movements feel lovely and fluid these days.

Friday 6th January
7.3 miles @ 9:34

Saturday 7th January
7 miles @ 9:30
Thought it best to just do one run today as 2 runs would bring the weekly total too high too quickly after the few days off.

Sunday 8th January
20.2 mile LSR @ 9:47
Trying out a new bottle and nutrition today and it had a screw cap, so it was a nuisance screwing and unscrewing throughout the run and as it didn't have a sports cap top, I couldn't control what I was taking so took gulps instead of sips which lead to stitches. I never really found a rhythm. Things improved a bit as it went on and I finished quite strong and feeling a lot better than when I started out, but I was very happy to finish. I do think it's good to have the odd poor long run as I forced myself to battle on and not wuss out and complete what I set out to do. These are the ones that make us stronger...

88 miles weekly total
14 hrs

Ososlo

Darren 83 wrote: »

Trying to catch up on you're log, that was a solid year for you no doubt this year will be even better.

Hey great to hear from you! Thanks! And how is your training going???

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Happy New Year Ososlo and I hope it brings you lots and lots (and lots and lots ) of happy miles and a great result in Belfast.

Cheers BG! Let's hope so!

hillsiderunner wrote: »

*yikes*.

But all the same, probably no bother to you! Good luck with the training and look forward to seeing the results.

haha, sure we'll see! Going well so far on the mileage front and I just need to be careful not to do anything speedy while building the mileage base. Happy New Year!!!

annapr wrote: »

Fantastic to see all your hard work paying off this year A, and best of luck with your 2017 goals too.

Thanks so much A! Great to see your running going so well

Darren 83

Only getting back training, busy with a new daughter over xmas.

Neady83

I've no doubt that you're going to smash your PB in Belfast this year Ososlo. You've fierce determination and a great work ethic.

Do you run by feel/effort level mostly? and do you do much S&C or foam rolling? What's your stretching routine like after each run? I'm really interested in how you're staying in such good nick while racking up such milage. As you know yourself, Belfast will be tough but half the battle will be getting to the start line in good form.

Ososlo

Neady83 wrote: »

I've no doubt that you're going to smash your PB in Belfast this year Ososlo. You've fierce determination and a great work ethic.

Ah, thanks so much, Neady! It's easy for me to work hard at it as I feel so passionately about it. I seriously cannot express how much I love running and how much it means to me to be the best I can be. As has been mentioned by others recently, I've definitely found my niche and feel that this (long ultras) is what I was always meant to do.

Neady83 wrote: »

Do you run by feel/effort level mostly?

Yes, always run by feel/effort. I start out each run at a very very low effort, and ease into the run gradually. One of the best bits of advice that my coach gave me, and that is always at the forefront of my mind, is just to let everything happen naturally, and not to force anything. This makes me feel very relaxed when running and I believe that a relaxed body is the key to running long distances to the best of one's ability.
I allow myself to look at the watch when it beeps after every mile, not really because I'm concerned about the pace, but mainly to just make sure the watch is still working, as it has a tendency to freeze!

Neady83 wrote: »

and do you do much S&C or foam rolling??

I used to be really good for doing the Myrtl Routine and Lunge Matrix, however I just kind of forgot to do them a few months ago and don't do them at all now. Might start doing them again, but not sure if I should bother as my body has never felt as good or niggle free....( Must talk to the boss man about this). I actually gave away my foam roller to my BIL last weekend as he was heading back to Trinidad and didn't have time to buy one and I'm really trying to encourage him with his running so said he could have it. I realised then that I haven't used it in months. I do have a long stick thing with spikey rotating balls (fnarr fnarr) that I use now and again to roll out any little tender areas, but again, I only use it when I feel I need to, and not with any regularity these days. I'm kind of of the opinion these days, that if it ain't broke... what's the point in rolling for rolling's sake or lunging for lunging's sake or Myrthling... Hope I'm not eating my words in a few days/weeks:o

Neady83 wrote: »

What's your stretching routine like after each run??

I never stretch after my runs. I do AIS - Active Isolated Stretching (here she goes again I hear them say... ) before every single run without fail. I might do a few random stretches whilst waiting for the watch to get a satellite before a run, but only hold them for a few seconds. So really, the only ancillary work I do these days is AIS.

Neady83 wrote: »

I'm really interested in how you're staying in such good nick while racking up such milage.??

Haha, me too! I often wonder about it, but don't like to dwell on it too much in case I tempt fate! We're all only one run away from potential injury!
But thinking about it, funny as it may sound, maybe I'm not getting injured because I run so much. My body is just used to it and expects it. Ever since Couch 25k at the end of 2011, I've never really stopped running for any significant period.
I'm generally good at tuning into my body's effort levels and never force things. I wore a Heart Rate Monitor for every run for about 18 months and it gave me a great insight into how easy running should feel.
I'm not doing any speedwork right now which obviously would have more of an injury risk. All my running is currrently easy as I'm concentrating on working up to 100+ mile weeks. If I were to introduce speedwork at the moment, I'd most definitely get injured.
Recovery is obviously another very important aspect to injury free status and while my diet is very good, and definitely helps with recovery, my sleep is abysmal so I'm running in a sleep deprived state a lot of the time, so maybe sleep isn't as important as they make out (hardly), or maybe I'd be an absolutely fantastic runner if I did sleep well. Who knows:D
Maybe the biggest reason I'm not getting injured is just because I'm lucky - could be as simple as that.

Neady83 wrote: »

As you know yourself, Belfast will be tough but half the battle will be getting to the start line in good form.

Absolutely it will be tough!!! I hope it will be a little more forgiving to me this year in the latter part of the race as I feel (if things go to plan in training) my legs will be much stronger and more able to cope with the hours and hours of pounding. The last 15 miles last year was hell on earth and pushed me maybe beyond my limits, but this year I hope that the extra hundreds of miles run (hopefully!!!), by the time I get to the startline will make all the difference. But, as we know, anything can happen...

That was a little long-winded, sorry:D

Ososlo

Darren 83 wrote: »

Only getting back training, busy with a new daughter over xmas.

HUGE congrats on the new arrival, Darren! that is just super news:D

hot buttered scones

wrt AIS - what routine do you use and how long would you spend doing the routine?

Ososlo

hot buttered scones wrote: »

wrt AIS - what routine do you use and how long would you spend doing the routine?

Hey hbs. The routine I use seems to be no longer available on You Tube due to some copyright claim by Wharton Sports https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1gk_tHVxn4 and I can't find anything with the full routine that I do. I did it so often over the last 2 years or so, that I know it by heart!
This is the closest to what I do that I can find https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvLSoHeSDBY

I find the 'Pelvic Tilts', along with the 'Bent Knee Hamstring', and the 'Straight Leg Hamstring' (which the guy in the link above demonstrates very well) to be most effective.

Some of the stretches can be tricky to get right and you can get yourself tied up in all sort of knots (literally:D) in the beginning! Well worth the effort though. I'd say I spend about 7 minutes before every run doing the routine. I have it down to a fine art!

hot buttered scones

Cheers for that. I've tried stuff like this before but it always seemed to take ages - I think I was doing to many tbh. I've been neglecting my s+c lately and I'm starting to creak a good bit so I'll need to start something soon.

Neady83

Ososlo wrote: »

That was a little long-winded, sorry:D

No it wasn't, it was very detailed, well thought out and informative thank you for taking the time to reply with such detail. I'm quite interested in the longer stuff - not sure I have the appetite for just running but it's really interesting how you keep yourself ticking over and keep yourself motivated.

I've been running by feel mostly of late and I'm enjoying the freedom of it - it feels like I'm more in tune with my body.

Keep up the good work

W.B. Yeats

Just catching up on this-
How impressive and inspiring!
Awestruck at the progress you've made. You've clearly listened to the good advice from the boss man.

Ososlo

hot buttered scones wrote: »

Cheers for that. I've tried stuff like this before but it always seemed to take ages - I think I was doing to many tbh. I've been neglecting my s+c lately and I'm starting to creak a good bit so I'll need to start something soon.

Yeah, I think the key is to find something that doesn't take up too much time and which you can actually enjoy doing. Good luck if you try AIS and don't hesitate to ask any questions.

Neady83 wrote: »

No it wasn't, it was very detailed, well thought out and informative thank you for taking the time to reply with such detail. I'm quite interested in the longer stuff - not sure I have the appetite for just running but it's really interesting how you keep yourself ticking over and keep yourself motivated.

I've been running by feel mostly of late and I'm enjoying the freedom of it - it feels like I'm more in tune with my body.

Keep up the good work

No problem, Neady! Luckily, motivation has never been a problem for me!
Yeah, running by feel totally rocks:cool:

W.B. Yeats wrote: »

Just catching up on this-
How impressive and inspiring!
Awestruck at the progress you've made. You've clearly listened to the good advice from the boss man.

Ah, thanks so much W.B! Good to hear from you. How's the training going? Yep, I mostly do what I'm told

Ososlo

Monday January 9th
am: 9.2 miles @ 9:50
Felt great after the 20 miles the day before. This was 9 loops of my local park. One of my NY Resolutions is to not stop to talk to auld fellas and their dogs in my park when I'm running, no matter how cute they are (the dogs that is:) ). I’ll continue to say hello, but no more being extra friendly and stopping for chats, as that’s when the problems start and before you know it, they’re looking for your phone number (the auld fellas that is ) and things start getting awkward! It’s working well so far!
pm: 8.3 miles @ 9:28
Lovely relaxed run on my night time loop. 19 times around. If any of the people in the apartments or offices which overlook this loop see me night after night, going around in tiny little loops, they will start to wonder about the crazy jogging woman! It’s a perfect little loop as I don’t have to stop for traffic, I can run a lot of it on the nice forgiving surface on the road, and I feel safe there. They’ll have to deal with crazy jogging woman for a while I think!
Started at 10:21 pace for the first mile and pace gradually increased for the same effort. Picked it up a little for the last .3. All felt lovely and smooth
17.5 miles daily total

Tuesday January 10th
am: 7 miles @ 10
Was very sluggish on this run. It was a like a delayed hangover from the 20 on Sunday! Was supposed to be 8 miles, but was in a bit of a rush to meet me Ma in town for shopping so had to conserve lots of energy. Boy is she a champion shopper! I’m worn out after 20 mins of it, but she could shop for days, and never tire. Walking down Henry Street yesterday afternoon had be thinking how much my habits and interests have changed since I took up running. I used to adore shopping and would spent all my excess cash on shoes and clothes etc. However, walking through town yesterday, there wasn’t one shop I was interested in looking around except for a sports discount store. Ah, how times have changed…
pm: 1.5 miles @ 10 pace & 8 miles @ 9:21
The damn watch froze around 1.5 miles into the run so I tried doing a soft reset, which worked, but it meant I lost the first bit of the run. Great run and everything felt fantastic!
16.5 miles daily total

Sleep continues to be really poor. I know that’s nothing new, but it is bothering me a lot at the moment. I had a bit of a meltdown at 5am this morning, when I got thoroughly fed up of just lying there tossing and turning for hours and hours on end. I momentarily lost it and started feeling very sorry for myself and why I’ve have to deal with this my whole life. I felt I had reached my absolute limits with this shight, but of course I haven’t. The body can cope with a lot more… :rolleyes: At 5.30am, I put the light back on for about the 10th time to read, and eventually drifted off to sleep about 5.45, and was up at 7:10 for work:( Insomnia totally sucks……………………………………………………... Will try and take tomorrow off completely and maybe things will settle…

Wednesday January 11
...and settle they did. Slept really well Wed night. Batteries well and truly recharged. I'm always being encouraged to take a day off every week and got back into the habit of not taking it, but will make a concerted effort from now on to take it, and maybe it'll help my sleep in the long run.

Thursday January 12
am: 9 miles @ 9:50
First few miles very slow but was flying toward the end.
pm: 8 miles @ 9:26
Snowy to start and a little slippery, but it melted after a few laps. Really had to hold myself back on this run as I need to keep things really easy this week if I'm to achieve my weekly mileage running goal.
17 miles daily total

Ososlo

Friday January 13th
8 miles @ 9:34
Lots and lots of lovely loops around the estate. Nice and relaxed.

Saturday January 14th
am: 9 miles easy w/strides @ 9:44
Slept great but very tired and sluggish for the first few miles of this. Grand after a bit. Threw in a few strides to pep it up a bit.
pm: 8 miles easy @ 9:35

17 miles daily total

Sunday January 15th
4 hours @ 24 hr pace
23.6 miles @ 10:10 pace
23 laps of local park. Tried Tailwind nutrition for the first time. Very busy in park with dogs and kids - the usual Sunday fare, but the obstacles didn't really bother me as I was travelling so slowly. Really had to hold back and keep a close eye on the watch for most of the run to ensure I wasn't going too fast and continued to keep myself in check throughout. Pace felt like walking pace at times so that augers well, but I was very cold as I only had a teeshirt on and was moving so slowly I never got a chance to warm up.
Sipped on Tailwind throughout, and it went down well (*half sachet in 250ml of water*). Finished feeling very fresh and like I could do another few hours of running if I had to. Stopped the watch at exactly 4 hours.

First time hitting 100 miles in a training week (only other time was week of Belfast 24hr race). I peaked at 90 miles in training a few weeks before Belfast last year, so I'm way ahead of that this year. Hopefully that'll stand to me and bring improvements!!! Feeling really good this week but my appetite is gone out of control! I can't go more than an hour without food these days!!! Must be the increase in miles!
Hope to be able to run this kind of week consistently now. Time to reintroduce the hill reps I have been neglecting recently as I was just focusing on getting the miles in since the start of the year. Will do that this week hopefully.

100 miles weekly total
16hrs 19 mins

Wubble Wubble

That's magic mileage A. Don't worry about peaking too soon, you can look after everything as you see fit in the meantime

Neady83

16hours of running for the week, sweet cheeses, that's savage going. Have a few sachets of tailwind that I need to trial, have heard great things about it. What's your feeling after one outing?

Ososlo

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

That's magic mileage A. Don't worry about peaking too soon, you can look after everything as you see fit in the meantime

Thanks, WW! Hoping that this'll be a regular week for me now so I'll hold it around there for a few weeks and get very comfortable with it before building again.

Neady83 wrote: »

16hours of running for the week, sweet cheeses, that's savage going. Have a few sachets of tailwind that I need to trial, have heard great things about it. What's your feeling after one outing?

Cheers, Neady! After the one outing, I'd have to say I'm very pleased with it. I was on the Ucan train for all of last year, but want to try something different this time round. I like the taste of Tailwind, which is very important for 24 hour racing! It comes in loads of different flavours and they're all nice so far. It contains everything I need in one drink, whereas when I was taking Ucan, I still had to take electrolytes separately. Ucan can be very messy whereas this isn't at all. Tailwind seems to be very easy on the stomach which is the most important thing for me as I can't eat any kinds of solids when running, so I'm getting 200 cals on board every hour to sustain energy in one drink. I like the simplicity of it. I'll have to give it another good few test runs to make up my mind fully as to whether I'll be using it in Belfast. So far so good... Definitely give it a go and let me know what you think! Make sure you sip it slowly throughout the activity, and one sachet in 500ml of water should do you per hour. I used half a sachet in 250ml bottles yesterday as the smaller bottles are much easier to hold.

RubyK

Wow Ososlo fantastic work and milage!! I'm exhausted reading your log :pac:

Ososlo

RubyK wrote: »

Wow Ososlo fantastic work and milage!! I'm exhausted reading your log :pac:

Thanks, Ruby! Hope the training is going well, must catch up on Strava. You doing London this year again?

Younganne

fantastic mileage, that's some going.

RubyK

Ososlo wrote: »

Thanks, Ruby! Hope the training is going well, must catch up on Strava. You doing London this year again?

I'm in awe of your training and dedication. Brilliant going.

Yes, I'm off to London in April, all going well

Ososlo

Monday January 16th
am: 9 miles @ 10:15
Recovery run.
pm: 8 miles @ 10:04
More recovery miles.

Tuesday January 17th
am: 4 x 8 sec hill sprints
First time in the Phoenix Park for months! Actually, my first time running anywhere other than my 2 local loops in Santry for months! I need to be more adventurous!
Dunno what was wrong with me this morning as pace was abysmally slow on the warm up. Must be the higher mileage catching up with me! Wasn’t sure how much benefit I’d get from the session whilst feeling so sluggish, but did it anyway. Was wrecked before, during and after it! There was a completely flattened, squashed rat at the base of my hill in the park so I had to remember to avert my gaze at the ascent and descent of each rep. YUCK.
Huffing and puffing like mad on the cooldown and would normally have brought the mileage up a bit more to make my trip to the park worthwhile, but didn’t bother as I felt so crappy.
7 miles @ 10:32 (includes 2.5 min walking recoveries)

pm: 8 miles @ 9:36
Felt great this evening and back to normal.

Wednesday January 18th
am: 9.3 miles @ 9:55
pm: 8 miles @ 9:45

Thursday January 19th
8 miles @ 9:44

Friday January 20th
Rest

Saturday January 21st
28 mile long run @ 10 pace
The plan was to do this at starting pace I plan to run for Belfast this year, which will be about 10:15/10:20 (will decide nearer the time).
Anyways, all went well. It was perfect weather in the Phoenix Park and I parked the car so that it was on my loop to pick up fuel every lap. I chose the Naked flavour of Tailwind today and it worked like a dream. Absolutely no stomach issues. My legs did feel a bit tired today for some reason and I don't normally suffer from tired legs, so maybe it is the mileage catching up with me. Or maybe my body wasn't happy that I took yesterday off... Not much more to say about it but I felt great after it and definitely had many more miles in the legs today! The longer loops of Chesterfield/North Road/Zoo, were nice for a change and spotted a few Boardsies out and about.

Sunday January 22nd
am: 9.2 recovery @ 10 pace
Legs felt great after the longer one yesterday.
pm: 5 @ 10:16
Drove to Kilkenny and got down a bit earlier than planned so did a few miles to round of the week to a nice round number! Getting addicted to the old 100 mile weeks now :rolleyes:
Weekly total: 100 miles
16hrs 40mins

Delighted with the week, and feeling really good despite the usual lack of the old zzzzzzz's. The paces have definitely gotten a little bit slower, but it's to be expected with the extra hours on the feet. Might pop in a progression run this week to get the legs working a bit faster again. I'll be time-poor for the doubles this week, but maybe no harm to scale things back a bit... but sure, we'll see!

snailsong

Fantastic milage, A.
You must have great focus to go that long, mostly running solo on the same short loops. I'd go loopy, literally:).