Faster

tailgunner

I'm brand new to running, and have been toying with the idea of starting a training log to keep myself motivated. Wasn't sure about making it public, but a recent thread on people running for the sake of it versus people running to get faster has decided it for me. Even though I'm not running far and I'm absolutely not running fast, I do fall into the latter camp - I want to improve.

So on that note... a bit of background:

I'm 29, male, 6ft 1, 80kg, and have been fairly sedentary for most of my adult life (this is starting to sound like a very unambitious online dating profile). After an indulgent Christmas, I entered 2015 feeling tired, sluggish, and miserable. I decided I wasn't going to enter my thirties feeling like this, and started C25k in late January.

A couple of months later (with one or two breaks here and there to allow my shocked and stunned legs to come to terms with the fact that yes, I run now, and no, it's not a temporary thing), I've just about finished the programme, and have also managed to shift the beginnings of a beer belly that had made an unwelcome appearance.

Which brings me to the present:

Got my gait analysed at the weekend and treated myself to a pair of Asics GT-2000s, in garish royal blue with neon laces. Nice.

I'm loosely following one of Hal Higdon's 10k plans at the moment, running three times a week and trying to go half a mile farther on each of my "long" runs.

In terms of goals for the year, I mainly want to increase mileage and improve my pace, and maybe do a couple of races. I have notions about doing a half marathon toward the end of the year, but haven't told my legs about this yet. I'm not sure how they're going to take it...

Ososlo

Great stuff. Welcome to the logs and good luck with your goals. Love your log title!
I'm a C25k graduate myself and did a half marathon a year after I started running.
Not sure where you are in the country but Waterford has a great half marathon on December if you're up to that distance by then.
In the meantime ENJOY!!!!

tailgunner

Thanks! I'm living in England at the moment but I fly home to Cork a few times a year so I'll definitely keep that in mind.

tailgunner

Tuesday, 7th April 2015

4 miles
44:27
11:07/mi

Was quite apprehensive about this week's "long" run as I found last week's 3.5 miles very tough, but it was grand. Not sure if it was the new shoes, the new route, or the change in the weather (probably all three), but it was a completely different experience to last week. Kept a steady pace and felt very comfortable for the duration. Very happy.

Slight ache in my left hip afterwards, which seems to be a regular thing after my longer runs. Not as bad as usual though, so hoping it might sort itself with the extra support from the new shoes. Will keep an eye on it.

Ososlo

Good idea to stay 'comfortable' for the majority of your running at the moment.
Regarding the hip thing, have you got a foam roller? Best investment I ever made when I started running.

annapr

Welcome to the wild world of logging . Glad you didn't let those discussions put you off! Best of luck with your goals, you will see great improvements just from being consistent.

tailgunner

Ososlo wrote: »

Good idea to stay 'comfortable' for the majority of your running at the moment.
Regarding the hip thing, have you got a foam roller? Best investment I ever made when I started running.

Will definitely look into that - hip was quite sore again after a shorter run last night.

tailgunner

Thursday, 9th April 2015

3.01 miles
32:57
10:57/mi

Happy enough again - the sunshine is really helping my motivation to get out the door. Accidentally frightened a duck at one stage, which caused him to give chase, but he gave up eventually. Will apologise if I see him again.

tailgunner

Friday, 10th April 2015

2 miles
18:01
9:00/mi

Planning on doing a parkrun next month for a bit of race experience, so I'm running my short runs at a faster pace in preparation for that. Took two minutes off my time last week, which I'm delighted with, but found it very, very tough.

In hindsight, I might have overdone it a bit - I've never run two days in a row before, and this week was a bit of a step up in terms of mileage. My plan has me repeating the same runs next week, so I'll spread them out a bit more.

Now I'm off to become acquainted with my new foam roller.

Ososlo

Great to see you got the foam roller!
Lots of great videos online to follow.

About the run you did today, to avoid injury I'd really advise you to do a slow warm up jog before launching into a fast paced effort like that. It's a recipe for injury not to. Same when you're finished the faster stuff. Do at least a half mile cool down jog.
I do 2 miles very slow jog either side of any faster running and I really believe it helps keep me injury free.

Good idea to spread the runs out a bit too.

tailgunner

Wednesday, 15th April 2015

5 miles
54:20
10:52/mi

I haven't been out for a run since last week (suffering for my sins at the weekend), so with the extra couple of days rest I figured I'd manage a bit more than the 4 miles I had planned. Mapped out a route that was around 4.5 miles, but couldn't resist going on a bit farther at the end.

Felt quite comfortable for most of it. The legs started to feel a little heavy around the fourth mile or so, but no major complaints.

tailgunner

Saturday, 18th April 2015

3.11 miles
29:40
9:32/mi

Had a few extra rest days this week and was feeling really good, so I decided to aim for 5k in under 30 minutes. Very happy with this run. Didn't kill myself - just ran fairly easy at the start and gradually increased the pace.

Came across a group of lads shooting a hip hop video at one stage. Choice lyric: "I'm a winner. What's for dinner?".

tailgunner

Monday, 20th April 2015

6.22 miles
1:08:21
10:59/mi

First time running 10k, so very pleased with that. Pace was nice and consistent, and felt I could have gone on a bit longer, which is always good.

It wasn't all rosy unfortunately. The inside of my right ankle felt tight from the beginning, which put me off a bit, and it progressed to feeling a bit sore after a couple of miles. I was able to run okay on it, and it feels fine today, so hoping it was just a temporary niggle.

My main issue is pins and needles in my right foot. This often starts near the end of my longer runs, and gets progressively worse until I stop. Then it goes away immediately, so I end up ignoring it until the next long run.

I really noticed it yesterday though. Not sure what to do about it really - I deliberately laced my shoes looser than usual just in case, but it was no help. Much more concerned about this than the ankle to be honest. Google suggests amputation, which isn't an ideal solution to be honest.

RonanP77

tailgunner wrote:

I really noticed it yesterday though. Not sure what to do about it really - I deliberately laced my shoes looser than usual just in case, but it was no help. Much more concerned about this than the ankle to be honest. Google suggests amputation, which isn't an ideal solution to be honest.

Tight laces was the first thing I thought of. Amputation is probably going to hinder your progress so hopefully there's another option. Maybe give a physio a shout and see what they say.

tailgunner

Wednesday, 22nd April 2015

3 miles
30:25
10:08/mi

Lovely run. The weather was a bit cooler and more overcast than it has been, and I mostly had the route to myself. Didn't bother checking pace/time and found it very liberating to let my legs dictate the proceedings for a change. The only negative was having my first experience of "the dreaded slow overtake" by another runner. Awkward enough.

Legs felt fresh throughout. Ankle is fine again, and no complaints from my hip. No sign of the pins and needles in my foot either. If I can get that sorted for my longer runs, I'll be flying.

In other news, I've signed up for the Oxford Half Marathon in October, so that's my main goal for the year now. I'm also going to do the Gloucester 10k in July for a bit of race experience, and will do a couple of parkruns in the meantime.

tailgunner

Saturday, 25th April 2015

2 miles
18:17
9:09/mi

I wanted to run this about 30 seconds per mile slower, but I find it difficult to pace these shorter distances. It usually takes me a mile or so to settle into a rhythm, so 2 miles is an awkward distance. Pace was all over the place at the start, finally settled, and then it was as good as over. Tough but manageable overall, so happy enough.

tailgunner

Tuesday, 28th April 2015

3.11 miles
29:33
9:30/mi

Step-back week in terms of mileage. Went out at a comfortable pace and picked it up towards the end. In hindsight, I might have been better off at my usual "long run" pace, as I didn't really have anything to gain by running faster. Enjoyable run anyway.

tailgunner

Monday, 4th May 2015

6.22 miles
1:05:05
10:28/mi

My hip was very sore after my last run so I decided to take the rest of the week off. It was feeling much better by the weekend, so think I made the right decision there.

Comfortably managed 10k yesterday - best run in ages. Had loads of energy, and no hip pain at all. Delighted.

Hip still feels okay today, but I have a physio appointment booked this weekend just in case.

tailgunner

Wednesday, 6th May 2015

3 miles
31:17
10:25/mi

Fairly boring slog. It was so windy it felt like I was barely moving at times. In hindsight that was probably a good thing, as I have a habit of doing these easy runs too fast.

Really happy that I've got no aches, pains or niggles to complain about today. Hoping I've turned a corner in that department.

tailgunner

Saturday, 9th May 2015

3.11 miles
27:49
8:56/mi

Definitely couldn't have sustained this pace for much longer, but 5k will do me nicely for now. Great week of running overall.

tailgunner

Monday, 11th May 2015

6 miles
1:02:54
10:29/mi

Have a bit of a head cold at the moment, but I don't think it hampered me too much - breathing was fine and I felt comfortable for the most part. Legs started feeling a little tired during the last mile but happy out other than that. Feel like I'm making good progress lately.

tailgunner

Wednesday, 13th May 2015

3 miles
30:26
10:08/mi

Started off nice and slow but ended up increasing the pace as usual - last mile was nearly two minutes faster than the first. Need to be more disciplined about keeping the pace down for recovery runs. Happy out other than that.

tailgunner

Friday, 15th May 2015

3 miles
27:16
9:05/mi

I finished reading Christopher McDougall's Born To Run last night. Inspired, I set off today hell-bent on destroying my previous best time over 5k.

Long story short, I faded badly after about a mile of god-only-knows-what pace. Luckily I had to stop at traffic lights for about ten seconds shortly before I keeled over, which allowed me to recover and set off again at a sensible pace.

Some lessons learned:

1) If I have the intention of breaking some arbitrary record every time I lace up my running shoes, I'm going to injure myself.

2) I'm never going to be a native Mexican ultra-runner

nop98

lol

frankie2shoes

totally have the same urge to beat some made up figure in my head each time I run. I think everyone does. keep at it: every run is better than sitting on yer arse.....regardless of distance/speed

tailgunner

Monday, 18th May 2015

7.09 miles
1:13:34
10:23/mi

Settled into this very quickly and felt quite fresh for the first few miles, so by the time I reached halfway I decided to push for 8 miles instead of the planned 7. Had to stop at traffic lights for 10-15 seconds just after the 7 mile mark, but as soon as I moved off again my left knee gave way. Made a few more attempts to get going again, but couldn't run on it without a sharp pain, so had to hobble home for the last mile.

Not sure what happened really. It hadn't been bothering me in the slightest up to that point - if anything it was the other leg that was feeling tired. Still feels a bit tender today too. Very annoying.

Aside from that, assuming I haven't destroyed my leg or anything, it was a decent run. The pace felt comfortable, and I covered a fair bit of mileage.

tailgunner

Wednesday, 20th May 2015

3.01 miles
33:16
11:04/mi

Took it very easy for this, as I half-expected my knee to give up at any stage. The soreness is gone, but I was "aware" of it for want of a better description. Got on okay anyway. Had a faster run planned for tomorrow, but will take it easy instead just to make sure.

tailgunner

Friday, 22nd May 2015

3.11 miles
29:36
9:30/mi

Flew home to vote in the old referendum, so will be doing a bit of running in Cork for the next week or so. As usual, I failed miserably to keep this run nice and easy, but it wasn't a crazy pace or anything. Knee still not 100% but definitely getting there. Might do a very short run tomorrow and then take a couple of days off.

Ososlo

tailgunner wrote: »

Friday, 22nd May 2015

3.11 miles
29:36
9:30/mi

Flew home to vote in the old referendum, so will be doing a bit of running in Cork for the next week or so. As usual, I failed miserably to keep this run nice and easy, but it wasn't a crazy pace or anything. Knee still not 100% but definitely getting there. Might do a very short run tomorrow and then take a couple of days off.

Fair play to you for flying home!

You mightn't need to take a couple of days off if you just slow down the pace a bit;). Maybe even take to the trails or grass for a bit to help matters.
Good luck with it!

tailgunner

Saturday, 23rd May 2015

2 miles
21:06
10:32/mi

Got this out of the way early, managed to keep it quite slow. This was my fourth run this week, so I figure a couple of days rest will help adjust to the small increase in mileage. I actually do most of my running on trails and grass, this week has been my first real introduction to roads!

tailgunner

Race Report: John Buckley 5k

Came across this by chance when I was looking for a local parkrun and decided I might as well have a go. Flat course, chip-timing and only 8 euro. Seemed ideal for my first race.

Got down to the Lee Rowing Club a good hour beforehand as I wasn't sure how long it would take to get organised and registered. About four seconds was the answer, leaving me plenty of time to warm up. Went for a gentle jog down the marina and back, and then went in search of the starting line.

The entire population of Cork turned up for this race (well, 911 people, which isn't far off). Was so far back from the starting line that I didn't even hear the gun going off, just noticed the tidal wave of people setting off in front of me and eventually got moving.

Mile 1
Felt like we were re-enacting the Normandy landings at the start. Dodging, ducking, diving, screaming, bullets whistling by, explosions all around, etc. This went on for half a mile until the crowd started to thin out and everything became a little more civilised. Tried to relax and settle into a consistent pace, and was happy enough to see the first mile tick by on my GPS app in 8:41. 10 or 15 seconds later I reached the official first mile mark - that's how far back I'd been at the start.

Mile 2
Decided to put away my phone at this stage, as I wasn't up for doing mathematical gymnastics to deal with the discrepancies of the GPS app, and just concentrated on maintaining the same effort. Slotted in behind two girls who were keeping a similar pace and kept going. Felt they were easing off the pace a little after another half a mile, so picked it up a bit and went past. Was running hard enough at this stage, but still felt comfortable. Split for this was 8:47.

Mile 3
Could feel my pace getting faster now, and things were starting to get tough, but I was passing a good few people, and that kept me going. Breathing was very heavy, but I still felt my legs had enough left for a final push. Eventually heard one of the stewards say we had half a mile to go, so I went for it. Aimed for a guy up ahead, caught him, aimed for someone else, and repeated. My lungs were not happy with the situation but I tried to ignore them and keep going. Rounding the final bend and seeing the finish line was bittersweet - delighted I could see it, but couldn't understand why it was so, so far away and didn't seem to be getting any closer. Passed the 3 mile mark with a 8:11 split.

Was still passing one or two people, and trying to hold off a man who was so close to my shoulder, I'm sure I could feel him breathing into my ear. I was fit to collapse by now, but with a hundred yards or so to go, I could finally make out the official race time of 26:3x. Had wanted to go under 27 minutes, so put the head down and sprinted for the line.

Tuesday, 26th May 2015
3.11 miles
26:45
8:36/mi

Absolutely delighted with this. The last split suggests that I could have ran the first two miles a good bit faster for more consistent splits, but I'm really happy with how I ran on the day, and that'll do nicely for my first official PB.

The standard was incredible - 12 people ran it under 16 minutes, with the men's winner breaking the course record in 14:28, and the women's winner only three seconds off the record with 16:19. Brilliant race, and really well organised. Will hopefully make it again next year.