average guy becoming fond of running

MarkY91

so im a 24 year old resonably fit guy. dont play football much anymore so i decided to take up jogging regulary in late june 2014. started off wanting to just time trial myself on mile runs. then i kept progressing as i wanted to do more and more. i currently do mostly 3 mile runs. the odd 5 mile. my 3 mile times are usually betweek 24 - 26 min and 5 mile is around 44 min. i use nike+ to track them..how accurate it is, i dont know. but it keeps my total milage and thats my motivation. i surpassed 100 miles last week and i was very proud of myself.

starting in january, i decided ill try do a mile per day ratio per month. its the 25th and im on 23.4 so i have a few days left to get to 31. bit of a cool challenge i set for myself. my previous highest mile per month was 19 miles so its a bigger load for me. i know most people here probably do 31 miles a week let alone a month!

so thats the jist of how i became fond of running. by little challenges i set myself, i used to hate jogging and would just stop out of boredome and go home. nike+ changed that really.

maybe next weekend, i will run from kimmage to the aviva stadium. have a look at the stadium and have water then go back. very nice area around the canal so it will be my most scenic run to date...and longest when combining both ways at 4 miles each way.

ill see how the log goes. maybe nobody will take notice but oh well. no harm in some extra motivation

MarkY91

i must mention that the inside of my calves are sore often. feels like it could be my bones. the pain stops after a bit of running but i know its from running. i guess my body needs time to adjust.

Ososlo

Welcome to the logs!
do you have a foam roller? Might help the legs.
Best of luck with training and log!!

MarkY91

Ososlo wrote: »

Welcome to the logs!
do you have a foam roller? Might help the legs.
Best of luck with training and log!!

no but it could be a good idea.

thanks for the greetings

john mayo 10

Welcome. Best of luck.

MarkY91

shortly after starting this log, i had bad shin splints and stopped running for 2 weeks. i totally forgot about my log!

anyway, ive recently stopped going on regular 3 mile runs and upped it to 5 mile runs. 3 times a week the past month which i am proud of. i broke a new 5 mile record of just under 42 minutes. great motivation ahead of the terenure 5 mile next sunday.

im going to start logging all my runs from now on. cant wait!

MarkY91

Ran the big long road in the phoenix park up and back. Had to go off track to make up the full 6 miles.

Time of 52:22. Alot of it was on the trail close to the street as the pathway was very crowded. My runners are destroyed but it was fun to get off concrete!

I plan to do 1 more run of 5 miles which will bring me to over 26 miles this month then give myself a good few days off before the terenure 5 mile run on sunday.

Im close to doubling my mileage compared to the start of the year and before. Im delighted.

MarkY91

ran 5 miles on tuesday as my last run before the terenure 5 mile. i started off sore from the 6 miler a few days before but i got into it an finished good.

did the terenure 5 mile today and got a new PB of 39:20..i was hoping and aiming for under 40 minutes so im delighted!


my brother and i plan on doing a 10 mile run in the phoenix park in august, he found it online and it is 20 euro to enter. gonna be very tough to do 10 miles but i have time to prepare, we will up our runs by .5 or more of a mile each week. or i may actually follow a training program which seems like a smarter idea.

MarkY91

The brother and i had a cconversation and we are both serious about the dublin marathon 2016.

Seems like an impossible task for me but with a proper plan in place then..why not?

RonanP77

MarkY91 wrote:

The brother and i had a cconversation and we are both serious about the dublin marathon 2016.

You have plenty of time to prepare for it, get a good few miles under your belt, maybe do a HM or two and then follow a proper plan next year. A lot of people go into them too early so it's good to see you planning one so far in advance. Hopefully I'll line up alongside you.

MarkY91

RonanP77 wrote: »

You have plenty of time to prepare for it, get a good few miles under your belt, maybe do a HM or two and then follow a proper plan next year. A lot of people go into them too early so it's good to see you planning one so far in advance. Hopefully I'll line up alongside you.

Yeah i plan on working up to 10 mile then a HM like you said. Training wont begin until 2016 for the marathon but in a way, training for my 10 mile and more is preparing for the big one.

I wont look forward to the the dreaded brick wall haha

menoscemo

Best of luck with it.
The key to running longer distances is simply that you have to slow your training runs right down and run more often/longer.
I think it was Eamon Coughlan who said the key to running was 'running as slow as you can for as long as you can'
Aim to do your shorter runs 1-2 minutes/mile slower than your 5 mile race pace and then you can go a bit further each time and a bit more often. Your race times will still improve when you are giving it 100%

MarkY91

menoscemo wrote: »

Best of luck with it.
The key to running longer distances is simply that you have to slow your training runs right down and run more often/longer.
I think it was Eamon Coughlan who said the key to running was 'running as slow as you can for as long as you can'
Aim to do your shorter runs 1-2 minutes/mile slower than your 5 mile race pace and then you can go a bit further each time and a bit more often. Your race times will still improve when you are giving it 100%

Thanks for the tip. i was wondering what kind of pace i should be doing on longer runs. Ill suss it out when ive done some 8 milers etc but 2 mins behind 5 mile pace is a good start!

menoscemo

MarkY91 wrote: »

Thanks for the tip. i was wondering what kind of pace i should be doing on longer runs. Ill suss it out when ive done some 8 milers etc but 2 mins behind 5 mile pace is a good start!

Yes exactly but remember the longer runs will still take a bit out of you due to distance, so you should do most of the shorter runs at the same pace as the longer runs. Maybe just do one shorter one per week a bit faster.

MarkY91

tuesday - ran 7 miles around terenure/perrystown

today - ran 7 miles through the phoenix park. my favourite run to date, all around the outer regions of the park and through forestry areas too. there is so much of the phoenix park i never knew existed. i love it!

RonanP77

MarkY91 wrote:

today - ran 7 miles through the phoenix park. my favourite run to date, all around the outer regions of the park and through forestry areas too. there is so much of the phoenix park i never knew existed. i love it!

Other than actual races, All my running (and a good bit of cycling too) is done around a few local lakes and forests, I wouldn't have it any other way.

MarkY91

RonanP77 wrote: »

Other than actual races, All my running (and a good bit of cycling too) is done around a few local lakes and forests, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I usually jog the streets which becomes tedious!

MarkY91

june has been a disaster for me in regards to running. i felt jaded after my 50 mile in total runs in may and on tuesday, i did an intense cycling class at my gym which obliterated my so much that im not sure how i walked to the changing rooms. stil today theyre not fully healed. im sure there was actual damage done aswell as intense stiffness.

tomorrow, ill make up for my losses!