The breaks even out in the long run

Netwerk Errer

I have decided to setup a boards training log to keep me honest through my next training cycle and beyond. I used to keep my log on Letsrun but I have found it a bit overcrowded and lacking brutal honesty from the other posters. honest feedback seems to be in abundance here so I'll give this place a shot.:)

My history-
I'm 25 and started running again in January 2013 after a few failed attempts to get back into training during a 9 year break where I became an everyday drug user and heavy smoker. I have since quit using but still have a 30 a day smoking habit. I'm planning on quitting for good this Monday and taking my health and running to the next level.:)

I was a decent junior runner and have a few County medals under my belt for the 600m. My long term ambitious goal is to get back to competing at that level could be delusional but I want to see how good I can be.:)

During a semi-failed comeback in 2012, I ran a few races with very limited training and managed to drop my 10k time from 56 minutes down to 50 minutes and ran a 24:21 minute 5k. I made some huge improvements when I started training seriously in 2013. Here are my PB's:

5k: 18:34 (Oct 2013)
4m: 24:50 (Sept 2013)
5m: 31:15 (July 2013)
10k: 39:46 (July 2014)
10m: 65:34(July 2014)
HM: 1.26:26(Sept 2013)
M: 3.15:29(Oct 2013)

I was over trained and injured for a lot of the start of this year so alot of those PB's are ripe for the taking over the next few months after putting in a good cycle for the DCM.

Goals-

Sub 3 marathon
Sub 38 10k
Sub 1.24 HM
Sub 24 4m (county roads)
Improve my diet

Haven't decided on any goal races yet outside of the County roads in January. Thanks for reading lads and I would appreciate any future feedback.:)

pconn062

Glad to see you start a log here. You want some brutal honesty?

QUIT THE GODDAMN FAGS!!!!!! :pac:

Seriously, great progress so far, will follow with interest.

Netwerk Errer

pconn062 wrote: »

Glad to see you start a log here. You want some brutal honesty?

QUIT THE GODDAMN FAGS!!!!!! :pac:

Seriously, great progress so far, will follow with interest.

Someone had to say it!:D cheers pconn.

The shame of it has got to me. Bulmers74 caught me having a sneaky one in Dublin this weekend. I'd say I looked like a guilty child trying to hide it! Time to kick it out.

MaggotBrain

Fair play for dropping the serious stuff in the past but smoking still?! Even one now again, great when you're drunk, brilliant, but you mentioned 30 a day. You're on a fast track for a stroke man. We've all heard of the guy who trained like an animal, and smoked like a champ. Great craic! Go to your doctor and get some help. No if's but's why's or when's just go on Monday and get some ****ing help.

Watch the PBs roll.

paddybarry

Look forward to following your progress NE, best of luck.

yaboya1

Will follow this with interest. I think there will be serious chunks coming off all of those pb's in the near future.

Murph_D

Some good times there for a smoker. Youth is on your side. Don't be like me and wait till you're 50 to quit. Part of the problem when you're in your 20s is you don't really feel the damage - I played football smoking 20-25 a day and was the fastest guy on the team so didn't think much if it. But I can really feel those fags now, even 3 years after quitting. Well done on getting off the other stuff though - one thing at a a time!

SamforMayo

Best of luck with your goals. Sounds like you have come through tougher than quitting smokes so no doubt you can do this too.

tang1

Best of luck with your log, echo the remarks about giving the smokes a miss. Smoked 40 a day myself at one time, visit to Dr sorted that out. Plus your times will seriously improve without them.

Bulmers74

Best of luck E with the log & goals for the coming year - will be following with keen interest.

brownian

Pretty solid times for most non-smokers, there, already. There's some real talent in there. You'll be hitting some serious PBs over the next year, if you stay off them, all right (and, in all likelihood, even if you don't .... but not as good).

Murph_D

So... Day One of the smoke-free quest. I found the nicotine patches useful myself, after many failed attempts using Zyban. Good luck!

Netwerk Errer

Murph_D wrote: »

So... Day One of the smoke-free quest. I found the nicotine patches useful myself, after many failed attempts using Zyban. Good luck!

Cheers Murph!!

I'm using the patch too. I feel like I have an itch I can't scratch at the minute. It's not the cravings though. There's a fair ol tingle off of the patch!

Netwerk Errer

Mon 3rd November- 5m easy (8.04 avg)

My first run back post-DCM and things have changed. I had to break out my gloves and long-sleeved top for the first time in about 8 months. That's alright though, I enjoy running in the cold. The effort just seems that little bit more comfortable (minus the rigor mortis like first mile) than the summer.

Today's run went good and it feels like I have shaken off the post-marathon hangover and stiffness, probably because my knee held me back from pushing through the pain of the last few miles. For that reason, I believe I will be able to jump back into a structured plan pretty quickly.

My plan going forward is to start building mileage through the base phase using a Summer of Malmo/pfitz hybrid approach. I'm going to alternate the tempo run with a med-long run every second week for a more marathon specific approach but still keeping some of Malmo's approach to base workouts.

I'm hoping to build up to around 60-70mpw of base and then using a pfitz style approach to the last 12 weeks of marathon training. Anyone got thoughts on this approach?

yaboya1

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

I'm hoping to build up to around 60-70mpw of base and then using a pfitz style approach to the last 12 weeks of marathon training. Anyone got thoughts on this approach?

I spent the guts of 5 months following the HADD approach. Running up to 60-70mpw which included a Long Run, two 'steady' sessions and the remainder 'easy' miles. I then jumped into the last 8 weeks of the P&D 55-70 plan before the Berlin Marathon. My pb's improved at all distances during this phase and I hit my original target of sub 3 in the marathon. So I think it sounds like a sound approach. But I'm biased.....:D

Netwerk Errer

The plan has changed.....AGAIN!! For the last time...I think.:D

After slugging it out with my coach and a few more experienced members of our club, some aggressive nudging from them has broken through my stubbornness. I'm going to focus on the 3-10k next year. The consensus seems to be that I have a lot of unpolished speed to uncover and I don't have the aerobic capacity built yet to run to my potential in the marathon.

I have also been advised to take a 2-3 week break for now to fully recover from the marathon cycle and prevent a recurrence of my knee injury. Probably sensible tbh.

The plan going forward is to still build a solid base over the winter using Summer of Malmo base building principles. For anyone who hasn't heard of this, here is a link to his approach.

http://pih.bc.ca/summerofmalmo.html

It's not a strictly structured plan because Malmo stresses not overthinking the base phase and running by feel in a sort of quasi zen mode. He offers flexibility because you never know how you will feel tomorrow.

I plan to follow this for 6-8 weeks depending on when I get back to running. Here are my goal races for the start of next year.

County roads- early January
Adare 10k- late February
County track- May

I'll have a few tune-up races thrown in there for good measure but I haven't smashed out the details yet.

pconn062

Summer of malmo is a great plan for base building, will you start to incorporate double days?

Dubgal72

They're right you know, capitalise on your speed while you still have your youth... :-) Plenty of time for marathons.

Netwerk Errer

pconn062 wrote: »

Summer of malmo is a great plan for base building, will you start to incorporate double days?

Yep, that's the plan anyway but I'll play it by ear for a while. I'm going to start introducing them on easy days for the first weeks or so with some steady runs and take it from there. Have to see what happens!!:)

Murph_D

How are you getting on with the smokes?

Netwerk Errer

Murph_D wrote: »

How are you getting on with the smokes?

Man, it's bloody hard! The feeling of frustration and tension is overwhelming. I cracked on Thursday and ended up smoking a few:(. Off them again since.

SamforMayo

Back on the horse, Rome was nt built in a day.

Netwerk Errer

Friday 15th Nov- 3.5m @ 7.48

I'm back....ish. My physio gave me the all clear to get back doing some bit of training. I'm back in a good place physically and mentally now after a break and really enjoyed this little early morning run out on the semi-flooded roads with a few refreshing splashes along the way.

Just happy to be able to get out at all right now:)

Netwerk Errer

Sat 15th Nov- 5.5m easy @ 8.21

Nice little easy spin out on Saturday morning just to see how my knee felt before making a decision on running XC on Sunday. All went well and I only experienced a slight stiffness towards the end.

Sun 16th Nov- 10k XC (DNF)

I had no real expectations going into this race other than seeing how far I could go. If I could contribute to the team, that would've been a bonus. I lasted 3 miles before my TFL started to grind and was slowing me down with every step. I decided to keep going because I was still in a position to offer something to the team if it came down to it.

It wasn't to be for me and I pulled the plug when our 6th runner passed me. I felt there was no point in furter aggravating an injury when I wouldn't be counted. Luckily, I wasn't needed anyway and we won the County senior:). My coach wasn't too pleased with me not finishing though and we ended up having an argument after about today and my performance during the DCM where on both occasions, I didn't push through injury. This argument led to me leaving the club and it now looks like I will be running unattached next year:(

Wed 19th Nov- 4m easy @ 7.52

Got brilliant news yesterday from my physio. The reason I'm now having pain in my TFL is because my knee injury is moving up the kinetic chain which means the tendon damage in my knee has healed. I'm now out of injury recovery which means I can start building for next year. I have been put on a strength and conditioning programming to build my glutes and adductors to stop some erratic knee tracking when I get tired. Before I forget, today's run went smoothly.:)


It's going to be a bit later than I originally hoped but I will be starting the Summer of Malmo base period next Monday. Hopefully, the last few weeks of injury and stop start training is behind me.:)

hillsiderunner

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

My coach wasn't too pleased with me not finishing though and we ended up having an argument after about today and my performance during the DCM where on both occasions, I didn't push through injury. This argument led to me leaving the club and it now looks like I will be running unattached next year:(

Ah, that's a pity... Maybe he's not aware that it was significant? Know that some people just run through the pain but that's not wise if there's a history - or ever really!

Netwerk Errer

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Ah, that's a pity... Maybe he's not aware that it was significant? Know that some people just run through the pain but that's not wise if there's a history - or ever really!

He knows, we just have a different perspective on what's required of me. Hopefully, it'll work itself out in time and I'll don the colours again.

On a positive note!:) A new beginning, a new cycle and a new pair of kicks(my foot was starting to get road rash in my old ones).

Mon 24th Nov-AM 3m easy (8.02)

Mon 24th Nov- PM 5m easy (7.49)
Just going to ease myself back into some consistent running this week and get my ol head used to the fact of going out the door pretty much everyday:eek:. Back on a treadmill for the first time this winter tonight. Always feels like I'm sprinting the first few times after getting back on it and not to mention the almost biblical amount of sweat. All in all, a good start to the new cycle and I feel like I have retained more fitness than I thought:)


Possibly going to break the first rule of the base phase already this week and run a 5k on Thursday. I haven't had a blow the ears off effort since mid-August and I want to see where I'm at in a full out race atmosphere. It won't become a habit!

Netwerk Errer

Tue 25th Nov- 7m steady (7.18)

This run was scheduled for a short tempo but as usual, the plan had to change to accommodate my racing compulsions on Thursday. Todays run was still the longest effort with some intensity I have done post DCM and I definitely felt it. It didn't help that I done my first weights session in about 6 months last night. The back of my knees were like rusty door hinges this morning.

I will have to try and find a space to do weight training which doesn't affect my running. I would've been screwed if I was doing that tempo today after last nights exploits in the gym. All part of the trials of miles, I suppose:)

Netwerk Errer

Wed 26th Nov- 6m easy (8.28)

Cracking morning for a run. Blue sky, a little bit of frost and a nice crispy feel in the air. I took this one out nice and easy nearly to the point of it been a recovery run. My hamstrings were still a little stiff and I didn't want to put any unnecessary pressure on them.

Tomorrows race is going to be interesting. I haven't got a clue where I am in 5k fitness or speed. I'm definitely going to shoot for a new PB but it could go anyway. Sub 19 is the B goal.

Krusty_Clown

Struggled with the cigarettes while running for many years (not at exactly the same time though!). Eventually a couple of chest infections too many suggested it was just time to let them go. I never 'gave up', I just stopped smoking. When you don't make a big deal of it and just don't smoke any more, it's a lot easier, as you're not fighting against the process and over-aware of it.

Anyway, just wanted to say good luck. One of my biggest training improvements has come from giving up the ciggies.

Netwerk Errer

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Struggled with the cigarettes while running for many years (not at exactly the same time though!). Eventually a couple of chest infections too many suggested it was just time to let them go. I never 'gave up', I just stopped smoking. When you don't make a big deal of it and just don't smoke any more, it's a lot easier, as you're not fighting against the process and over-aware of it.

Anyway, just wanted to say good luck. One of my biggest training improvements has come from giving up the ciggies.

Cheers Krusty! I get what you're saying. Once you stop, you've stopped. There's no stages or process to it after that. Otherwise, it becomes a daily battle.

In other words, make the decision and just bloody stop!:D

Netwerk Errer

Thu 26th Nov- 5k (19:48)

I'm actually quite happy with this even though it's nowhere near my pre-race targets. I knew my performance could go anyway but I got what I wanted out of it, I know where I stand now. I have no excuses, My fitness isn't there at the moment. My legs felt great the whole way through but my chest wasn't playing ball, it was tight for the last 2.5k.

I guess it was to be expected, I haven't done any Vo2 max work since the start of the summer and very little training since 3 weeks before the DCM. The pace today was only slightly quicker than my 10 mile pace in July. I've got some work to do.

ThebitterLemon

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Thu 26th Nov- 5k (19:48)

I'm actually quite happy with this even though it's nowhere near my pre-race targets. I knew my performance could go anyway but I got what I wanted out of it, I know where I stand now. I have no excuses, My fitness isn't there at the moment. My legs felt great the whole way through but my chest wasn't playing ball, it was tight for the last 2.5k.

I guess it was to be expected, I haven't done any Vo2 max work since the start of the summer and very little training since 3 weeks before the DCM. The pace today was only slightly quicker than my 10 mile pace in July. I've got some work to do.

Must admit I'm surprised with that time, were you racing or did you smoke 20 Benson on the way round

TbL

SamforMayo

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Must admit I'm surprised with that time, were you racing or did you smoke 20 Benson on the way round

TbL

Jaysus go easy will ya...

Netwerk Errer

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Must admit I'm surprised with that time, were you racing or did you smoke 20 Benson on the way round

TbL

Haha! Us tobacco connoisseurs in Limerick are more JP blue men.:p

That wasn't a bad race for me right now. It's given me a kick up the you know what. I'd usually be still showing up drunk to training at this stage after a marathon.:D

pconn062

Fair play for getting out and setting a marker, you can build from that now.

Netwerk Errer

pconn062 wrote: »

Fair play for getting out and setting a marker, you can build from that now.

Cheers pconn! That was the plan. I'm in a lot better shape now than I was this time last year.:)

ThebitterLemon

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Haha! Us tobacco connoisseurs in Limerick are more JP blue men.:p

That wasn't a bad race for me right now. It's given me a kick up the you know what. I'd usually be still showing up drunk to training at this stage after a marathon.:D

Didn't mean to come across like a smart arse/dick. The state of me at the moment I'd be lucky to break 20, but I thought you were in better nick.

TbL

Netwerk Errer

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Didn't mean to come across like a smart arse/dick. The state of me at the moment I'd be lucky to break 20, but I thought you were in better nick.

TbL

Ah you're grand TbL!:). No harm in a bit of banter.

DarByrne1980

if u take a long view - sub 20 for 5km in november is a great place 2 b. great stuff

Netwerk Errer

Fri 28th Nov- AM 3m rec (9.08)

Fri 28th Nov- PM 5m easy (7.55)

Mon 1st Dec- AM 9m steady (7.26)

This weekend was a little broken up for me because I had to go to parties on Friday and Saturday night so I got no long run in:(.

My legs felt great on Friday after the race the night before which was surprising. I felt so good that I turned it into a double day. They are only small grasshopper doubles at the minute but I hope to build them up over the next 2 months to find my sweet spot.

Today's run went very well despite the horrible weather and a bit of residual staleness from the weekend. I love these steady paced runs. It's always a little rough at the start but the endorphins really start to flow towards the end. I feel like I am the strongest I've ever been but I'm probably just lacking that cutting edge at the minute.

I'm going to have to squeeze the long run in somewhere this weekend. I always find it difficult to train consistently coming up to Christmas, there's so much going on that I'm expected to go to and help out. Next weekend is no different, I've to go to a birthday party on Saturday and I'm going to be an elf (yep, a 6'2 elf) for a Santey on Sunday.

Netwerk Errer

Tue 2nd Dec- 7m w/6x3min @HMP(2min rec)

There was a real chill in the air for this session tonight. I still haven't got full control of one of my hands while typing this. The aim of the session for me was to just ease myself back into aerobic workouts with low reps and a decent recovery period. Trying to keep my head was probably the hardest part because pretty much everyone else was doing it as a specific workout and bombin past every lap.

DarByrne1980

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Tue 2nd Dec- 7m w/6x3min @HMP(2min rec)

There was a real chill in the air for this session tonight. I still haven't got full control of one of my hands while typing this. The aim of the session for me was to just ease myself back into aerobic workouts with low reps and a decent recovery period. Trying to keep my head was probably the hardest part because pretty much everyone else was doing it as a specific workout and bombin past every lap.

dats a great session. as u said it was as much a mental test as a physical. and it was a cold evening. Great stuff.

Netwerk Errer

Right....can't catch any zzzz's tonight so there's no time like the present to make a semi-coherent plan for the next few weeks, if I can even manage that right now. I said I'd put this one out there for anyone interested in the Summer of Malmo to see and critique my interpretation of the his quirky ways. It's not the idyllic plan that I had dreamt up last month but the time frame to my goal race isn't big enough to incorporate everything that I would like.

For anyone interested, Malmo also likes to work some fartlek sessions into his schedules. Workouts like 5 minute hard/ 5 minute easy, 15-20 1minute on/off and some pyramid sessions(e.g 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 with equal slow rec). I may swap in a session or two of these if the feeling takes me there. He also has his staple "run to the barn" session where an easy run progresses for the last 1-2miles, This is not a scheduled run but more of a feeling good, pick it up kind of effort done every so often.

My Tuesday repeats will vary depending on the distance of the repeat. 400m+ repeats will all be done at just faster than my tempo pace and will have an untimed full recovery. Everything below 400m will be neuromuscular training(speed+mechanics based)e.g 150m repeats will be 50m accel, 50m sprint, 50m stride out and will also have a full untimed recovery. None of these repeats should feel really difficult.

Week|Monday|Tuesday|Wednesday|Thursday|Friday |Saturday|Sunday|MPW|
1|9m steady|7m inc. 6x800|AM 3m rec. PM 5m ez|7m inc. 3m tempo|Rest|10m ez|Rest|41|
2|AM 3m ez. PM 6m ez|6m inc. 16x150m|8m ez|7m inc. 3m tempo|AM 3m rec. PM 5m ez|10m steady|Rest|49|
3|AM 4m ez. PM 6m ez|7m inc. 12x400|8m ez|7m inc. 17x1min on/off|AM 4m rec. PM 5m ez|12m ez|Rest|54|
4|AM 3m ez. PM 5m|7m inc. 8x600|5m ez|7m inc. Pyramid session|AM 3m rec. PM 5m ez|12m steady|Rest|46|
5|4m ez. PM 7m ez|7m inc. 12x300|10m ez|8m inc. 4m tempo|AM 4m rec. PM 7m ez|14m|Rest|61|
6|AM 5m ez. PM 8m ez|8m inc. 5x1000|10m ez|60min inc. 5min on/off|AM 4m rec. PM 7m ez|14m steady|Rest|64|
7|AM 5m ez. PM 8m ez|8m inc. 4x1200|10m ez|9m inc. 4m tempo|AM 4m rec. PM 8m ez|14m ez|Rest|66|

All comments and thoughts are welcome and would be highly appreciated:)

Edit: a few changes. Tempo runs every week might have been a bit excessive. Put in a couple of fartleks to break it up.

Netwerk Errer

Wed 3rd Dec-AM 3m rec @ 9.06 pace

The legs and the head weren't playin ball this morning! I got a little too comfortable on the couch after yesterday's session and rested my eye's. Ended up awake for the whole night and felt pretty frazzled when the time came to don the luminous vest and running shoes. It was a struggle out there but I got exactly what I wanted from this run and it set me up for the day.:)

Wed 3rd Dec- PM 5m easy @ 7.52

This is where the doubles are paying off. The earlier recovery session got the blood flowing back into my legs and more importantly my head (could still do with more there:D) and I felt fresh and ready to stride out. This run was a pleasure from start to finish:). Damn, it's cold out there. Time to get the winter beard going!:)

SamforMayo

You can t get a beard if you are going to be an elf, too confusing for children who will already be puzzled by the giant elf!

Netwerk Errer

SamforMayo wrote: »

You can t get a beard if you are going to be an elf, too confusing for children who will already be puzzled by the giant elf!

I'm looking for a promotion! Santa has it easy. Get the gut up to par and I'll be sorted.:)

Netwerk Errer

Thur 4th Dec- 7m inc. 3m tempo @ 6.45

A little wary about pacing on this run because of my slightly unknown fitness level of late. I kept the garmin out of sight until the tempo section was over and relied on effort. Happy enough with the pace right now.

Sat 6th Dec- 10m @ 7.56

All good.:)

Got good news this week! County roads was announced as taking place later than usual and will be on the 15th of February, gives me plenty of time to round into shape. The Adare 10k is on the following week so I'm going to have two goal races in a week.

Netwerk Errer

Mon 8th December:

AM- 3m Easy @ 8.04

Dirty Morning out there this morning!:eek: The glutes and tfl on my right side were acting up again. My PT says it's my bodies alarm bell going off so I pulled back on the pace a little and focused on the feeling of engaging the glute medius. Worked like a charm:)

PM- 6m run to the barn progression

Felt great this evening so I went with a sneaky progression. Started out a smidge below my usual easy run effort and notched it up mile by mile to about halfway between half marathon pace and marathon pace effort.

Splits:

1. 8:05
2. 7:44
3. 7:28
4. 7.05
5. 6:54
6. 6:50

I'm putting the party hat on sabbatical for a while, I don't want to look back on this log after my goal races and see that I copped out early on because the high-stool was calling. At least, If I keep my discipline, I'll have a much better idea of what worked for me and what didn't going into the next cycle.

Loving the doubles at the minute:) The only downside so far is having to shower multiple times a day and having to get more friendly with the washing machine, only small things but Irish Water are going to have a field day with me soon!:)

Netwerk Errer

Tue 9th December:

8m inc. 16x150m(50m accel, 50m sprint, 50m stride) with 250m jog recovery

Good day for kite surfing, not so much for running;) I borrowed a farmers passage for this one. It was well-covered and flat so it was an ideal place to seek refuge from the wind:)

This session definitely had a little bite in the tail end. The legs were fine but my lungs were searing a little. The sensation going from top end speed straight into a stride was a bit funny at first so I had to keep the focus on my form and control.

All in all, good session and it felt great hitting that speed for the first time in a while.:)

Ososlo

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Good day for kite surfing, not so much for running;) I borrowed a farmers passage for this one. It was well-covered and flat so it was an ideal place to seek refuge from the wind:)

Sounds like a euphemism for something entirely different:eek:

Netwerk Errer

Ososlo wrote: »

Sounds like a euphemism for something entirely different:eek:

:eek: I can assure you, I didn't give that farmer his limp!:)