About Time

Wottle

I really want to get back racing, haven't raced since may 2013 and before that may 2012, I think.
Before then I would have raced a lot.
Not sure what has been up with me last few years but not going to think about it too much.

Main goal is to get back racing, not too bothered over what distances yet.

Wottle

Going to try Hadd again but with 3x80m strides at the end of each run.
So with every run my target is to get the average heart rate 150 or under.
It's taking a while to get used to running slow but I know it's worth it and it is feeling easier with each run.
I've got a nice routine going atm, get up about 6:40 and hopefully out the door by 7. The route I have means I don't really see any one, which suits me grand.

Runs since starting Hadd

28/6--54'15--10'51--154
30/6--55'15--11'03--160
1/7--53'53--10'49--153
2/7--55'56--11'11--151
3/7--55'37--11'10--149
5/7--63'32--10'47--151
6/7--52'46--10'33--150
7/7--51'44--10'25--152
8/7--52'58--10'35--152

Wottle

Day off yesterday, working with a 4 days on, 1 day off plan.
Not sure if it really was a day off though as I spent the day gardening and woke this morning very sore.

My 10th Hadd run this morning
55'53, Pace 10'49, AHR 153, didn't get this right, tried not to look at the watch. First 2 miles perfect and then the HR crept up.

HelenAnne

Wottle wrote: »

Day off yesterday, working with a 4 days on, 1 day off plan.
Not sure if it really was a day off though as I spent the day gardening and woke this morning very sore.

My 10th Hadd run this morning
55'53, Pace 10'49, AHR 153, didn't get this right, tried not to look at the watch. First 2 miles perfect and then the HR crept up.

what is Hadd?

Wottle

HelenAnne wrote: »

what is Hadd?

Training based on Heart rate and specific zones. Not moving on to the next zone till you've mastered the previous one. To do that you have to be able to hold the same heart rate without a drop in pace.
The idea is to push your LT out further to the right.
A lot of time is spent early on at running uner 75% of max heart rate so as to increase mitochondria and other stuff.
Pdf is well worth a read.

So, to sum up:
To improve your LT (which will have a direct impact on your race performances), you must
increase the motochondria in your running muscles (in a neat move, the optimal training to
improve mitochondria is also the optimal training to improve capillary density).
The more mitochondria, the less lactate at every running pace. But mitochondrial adaptation in
each fibre type is training-intensity dependent. If you want to maximise the number of
mitochondria in each fibre type, you must train at the correct pace for that type. (remember; the
more mitochondria, the less lactate; the less lactate, the faster the racing pace and the more
economical you are at any pace, meaning you can keep that pace up for longer.)

Wottle

My 1st Race in 2 years

Headed down to Shanganagh parkrun this morning. There's a few much closer to me but a few of the kids in the club do them and I can't have them beating me, does my street cred no favours.

Last time I raced was Marlay parkrun May 2013 when I ran 22'09.
Before that my last race was the Lecheile 5k May 2012 when I ran 19'55

Today though was my second slowest 5k ever, I ran 24'16. But the positives far outweigh the negatives. Over the last number of years I've built up some kind of racing anxiety disorder and today was about getting over that. I also had a pretty good finish and I didn't stop even though I really wanted to at the 4k mark.
I know next time I race it I'll take about a minute off as my effort was a little conservative AHR was 177, normally in 5ks it's 187.
The two race times above (I hope) are going to be my targets/stepping stones for the immediate future.

Boards can be great for meeting people, hope to embrace that again going forward, met Peckham who I haven't seen in a long time seemed to have a good race and gave a quick hi to emer911, not sure she remembered who I was though.

Happy out
Shanganagh Parkrun

Wottle

60 minute run, pace 10,41, AHR 150

Felt good, next week I'll be introducing a 160 (80%) AHR run.

Wottle

Total 60 mins, pace 10'02
inc 4 miles at AHR 162/3, pace 9'30.

Didn't really get this run right, bit of a challenge keeping the heart rate under control and I should have eased into the 160 over the duration of the first mile, I didn't and first mile was 8'42 which got me a little excited but then miles 2,3 and 4 brought me back down to earth.

Enjoyed the rain, not sure about the route, never tried it before.
6 Miles

Wottle

After running Shanganagh parkrun 24'16 a question that keeps entering my head is how long would it take to get a sub 20? and what is the best way to approach it? Any thoughts, please share.

I like the idea of Hadd and the easy aerobic running, it just makes sense. I have 11 x 60 minute runs of AHR 75% done, I reckon when I get 20 runs done though I could consider some 5k/10k intervals and move away a little from Hadd's overall approach. Today I introduced a AHR of 80% and I think I'll do that on 1 out of every 4 runs for the next few weeks also.

Working off a 4 days on 1 day off format( microcycle would be 2 of them so 4 days on, 1 day off, 4 days on, 1 day off) which I'm really liking, think it's the best balance for me. May be 1 long run in that period.

How does the above sound, what would you add or subtract?

demfad

Wottle wrote: »

After running Shanganagh parkrun 24'16 a question that keeps entering my head is how long would it take to get a sub 20? and what is the best way to approach it? Any thoughts, please share.

I like the idea of Hadd and the easy aerobic running, it just makes sense. I have 11 x 60 minute runs of AHR 75% done, I reckon when I get 20 runs done though I could consider some 5k/10k intervals and move away a little from Hadd's overall approach. Today I introduced a AHR of 80% and I think I'll do that on 1 out of every 4 runs for the next few weeks also.

Working off a 4 days on 1 day off format( microcycle would be 2 of them so 4 days on, 1 day off, 4 days on, 1 day off) which I'm really liking, think it's the best balance for me. May be 1 long run in that period.

How does the above sound, what would you add or subtract?

Hi Wottle. I did Hadd for 3/4 months. I got fairly fit, but the pace was slow in coming down. I also started it after a period of down time so I hadnt done anything fast in a very long time.

I now believe that strides and some element of speed are essential for getting the most out of a base phase. This is especially true for us recreational runners and masters runners as we have most to gain/lose, I believe. The young fast lads Hadd trained were able to keep speed etc and probably had speed in their legs before the base period started.

It would just involve doing strides a couple of times a week after easy runs as well as using 4-5 before and after the hour faster steady runs. Not concentrating on speed just on running relaxed and well.

This session is good every couple of weeks:

2 x (6 x 35s) building to 3 x (6 x 35s) jog back of 70s between reps, 5 min between sets.
You can also jog 5 mins after the sets and then do 3 mins hard. Adding a minute per session. You would treat this as you would a session, rest days before and after. A few of these sessions will have a notable effect on your steady pace. That session is not anaerobic and you wont compromise your aerobic base at all.

Another variation to consider is finishing on of the 1 hr steady runs fast.
You might run the first 40-45 mins at the prescribed HR and then slowly progress the pace in a controlled way. If feeling good you could finish the last 2-3 mins really fast (e.g 5k-3k pace.)

That's what Id do if I could do it again.

When you come out of the base phase it will then be easier for you to transition to the 5k-10k stuff. And the starting point will be far better (in theory).

I'm assuming you are running once per day?
I would suggest 1 session every 4 days (working down to 3 possibly) regardless of when you take a rest day. If you are doing 1 session every 5 days you need to be on very big mileage and be doing a lot of strides. Otherwise the speed issues kick in.

If you did a session every 4 days you could take a rest day every base unit (you have 2 base units of 5 days, per microcycle now) That's just my suggestion, you said the balance feels right for you and that's very important. If you leave as is definatley think about the speed suggestions to enhance the pace of the steady runs.

Chivito550

Wottle wrote: »

After running Shanganagh parkrun 24'16 a question that keeps entering my head is how long would it take to get a sub 20? and what is the best way to approach it? Any thoughts, please share.

I like the idea of Hadd and the easy aerobic running, it just makes sense. I have 11 x 60 minute runs of AHR 75% done, I reckon when I get 20 runs done though I could consider some 5k/10k intervals and move away a little from Hadd's overall approach. Today I introduced a AHR of 80% and I think I'll do that on 1 out of every 4 runs for the next few weeks also.

Working off a 4 days on 1 day off format( microcycle would be 2 of them so 4 days on, 1 day off, 4 days on, 1 day off) which I'm really liking, think it's the best balance for me. May be 1 long run in that period.

How does the above sound, what would you add or subtract?

I'd honestly forget about the technical jargon for now. If you are running 24 mins now, and used to be running 19 mins (which I seriously doubt is your full capability either) then you simply need to get fitter. It's that simple. You already know what needs to be done to get fitter. I don't think anybody here needs to tell you that.

What you need is focus. Set a specific goal and stick to it. There's been a lot of starting and stopping of logs, chopping and changing between 800, mile, 5k, whatever, without actually seeing any of them through. I'd love to see you get consistent and run well again. It's just hard to envisage this log attempt being any different to previous ones of late, unless you really put a long term focus into it. Obviously we all have lives outside of running, but I don't think getting back to sub 20 should require an amount of work that would take over your life.

Everybody gets nervous before races. I've run 60 or so 400 races now and still get nervous as bad as ever. You just have to get on with it. If you need to avoid racing where the kids are then that's fine, but get racing regularly to start to get whatever fears you have out of your head. Do a Parkrun every Saturday or 2 out of every 3 Saturday's for the next 6 weeks if needs be.

Best way to get over the fear of racing is to realise that it's all self-inflicted pressure. All of us do it to ourselves.

Sorry if all that comes across harsh, but it's better than tip-toeing around with the usual best wishes, only to see the log fizzle out again in 2 months time.

Wottle

Chivito550 wrote: »

Sorry if all that comes across harsh, but it's better than tip-toeing around with the usual best wishes, only to see the log fizzle out again in 2 months time.

Not at all, some home truths and well needed. Funny thing is I've found myself agreeing with you more and more over the last year, that never used to be the case

Wottle

demfad wrote: »

It would just involve doing strides a couple of times a week after easy runs as well as using 4-5 before and after the hour faster steady runs. Not concentrating on speed just on running relaxed and well.

This session is good every couple of weeks:

2 x (6 x 35s) building to 3 x (6 x 35s) jog back of 70s between reps, 5 min between sets.
You can also jog 5 mins after the sets and then do 3 mins hard. Adding a minute per session. You would treat this as you would a session, rest days before and after. A few of these sessions will have a notable effect on your steady pace. That session is not anaerobic and you wont compromise your aerobic base at all.

Thanks demfad and your spot on. I did Hadd back at the end of 2011 - spring 2012 and I did find it left me slow. I remember running a 5k thinking I was super fit and sub 20 was a real possibility, ran 21'30 or sth.

I've been finishing every run with 3x18 second strides, very relaxed.

I like the above suggestion as the very easy aerobic running can get boring. Will be avoiding most of the anaerobic stuff for sure.

Wottle

demfad wrote: »

I'm assuming you are running once per day?
I would suggest 1 session every 4 days (working down to 3 possibly) regardless of when you take a rest day. If you are doing 1 session every 5 days you need to be on very big mileage and be doing a lot of strides. Otherwise the speed issues kick in.

If you did a session every 4 days you could take a rest day every base unit (you have 2 base units of 5 days, per microcycle now) That's just my suggestion, you said the balance feels right for you and that's very important. If you leave as is definatley think about the speed suggestions to enhance the pace of the steady runs.

Yep just once a day and normally very early in the morning.
I reckon my mileage will only stay +/- 40 a week.

Krusty_Clown

Wottle wrote: »

Boards can be great for meeting people, hope to embrace that again going forward, met Peckham who I haven't seen in a long time seemed to have a good race and gave a quick hi to emer911, not sure she remembered who I was though.

I'm not sure that she did either - she certainly didn't mention it! Pity I didn't pop-out there on Saturday. Was there around 10am, but didn't venture into the park. Good to see you enjoying it anyway. Will have a read through the log and catch up with where you're at.

TRR_the_turd

Chivito550 wrote: »

Sorry if all that comes across harsh, but it's better than tip-toeing around with the usual best wishes, only to see the log fizzle out again in 2 months time.

Wottle wrote: »

Not at all, some home truths and well needed.

Glad you agree with the logic with what chivito is saying.

This stuff is quite simple. The more you put in the more you get out. The more consistent you are the more you will improve week to week, month to month and year to year.

For the moment go with Hadd or whatever suits/interests you best. But if you start losing interest don't pack it in totally. Better to go out and plod for 30-40 minutes for a couple of months then go missing totally (again). I know you're looking for some constructive feedback on your log but I think I'm going to hold back for a couple of months or so to make sure you are serious about it! Not being a dick, just sticking it to you and asking you to prove you're serious about your latest venture

Wottle

TRR_the_turd wrote: »

I know you're looking for some constructive feedback on your log but I think I'm going to hold back for a couple of months or so to make sure you are serious about it! Not being a dick, just sticking it to you and asking you to prove you're serious about your latest venture

You're dead right, I included you in the pm for a couple of reasons. I know you're a straight talker, no bullshlt kind of guy and also I've been reading back over my first ever log and you were very supportive.

For sure I can see why people might want to wait (not waste their time) and I look forward to proving it that I am in fact back.

Suppose I'm trying to figure out best approach going forward, what is it I need to do and maybe for now that's just run.

Cheers

Clearlier

Wottle wrote: »

You're dead right, I included you in the pm for a couple of reasons. I know you're a straight talker, no bullshlt kind of guy and also I've been reading back over my first ever log and you were very supportive.

For sure I can see why people might want to wait (not waste their time) and I look forward to proving it that I am in fact back.

Suppose I'm trying to figure out best approach going forward, what is it I need to do and maybe for now that's just run.

Cheers

The only thing that I'd suggest from looking at what you're doing at the moment is to maybe look at varying the length of some of your runs i.e. instead of about an hour every day if you could build up to alternating 45 and 75 mins it will probably help a little with recovery which is where all of the gains are made.

In the end though as Chivito says you'll get close to 20 mins again just by running. A few general principles to follow - mix it up a little with paces and distances, don't kill yourself on any individual run, start all your runs slowly before picking it up and do some core work to help with injury prevention.

Good luck with it¬

Wottle

Clearlier wrote: »

The only thing that I'd suggest from looking at what you're doing at the moment is to maybe look at varying the length of some of your runs i.e. instead of about an hour every day if you could build up to alternating 45 and 75 mins it will probably help a little with recovery which is where all of the gains are made.

Thanks clearlier and good point. I've actually just kind of fallen into the 60 minute runs without realising and although aerobically they're not taking much out of me I think muscularly they are. Legs a bit tired now.

I'll do that, thanks.

Myles Splitz

Looking at the previous posts regarding consistency in your previous endeavors I am gonna say that while HADD approach might be a good one for building a base ultimately I do not think it's for you at this current time simply because it is a very repetitive cycle of getting the very last bit out of base building.

I think HADD fall's down because people only see the base phase and very few actually acknowledge the training approach on the merits of the overall plan AKA phase two (simply because there is no neat and tidy concise summary like the Phase one PDF.

Though I am not a fan of JK's stride sets, I do agree with many of the points that demfad made. Base phase is an outdated term that to me has bad connotations because people see it as mono paced aerobic development to the detriment of all else. Better to see it as a preparatory phase (i.e training the body to train) and as such you need to prepare it to be an "all round athlete" rather than just solely from an energy pathway perspective.

To put it simply I would add the following elements to your training over a 2 week period.

| Easy Running| about 75% of your targeted easy run distance when get into full training |(8 from 14 days)|
|AnT Transition run| Introduction to LT paces without having a continuous nature (last mile of a run @ LT, progression to AeT, Pickups)| (1/14 days)|
|Steady State running| Along the lines of a HADD steady run at around same distance as the easy runs| (1/14 days)|
|Light Speed work | Re introduction to speed work and focus on form, done close to mile pace but long recoveries (Similar to JK's style stride but I don't like the overall short rec in sets) This can be as simple as the Kenya Diagonal session or Lydiards jog the bends and stride straights session or along the lines of the Summer of Malmo 200s (2-3 min rec between)| (1/14 days)|
|Long run|Proportional to weekly mileage but over distance for current target distance (5k park runs at the moment| (1/14 days)|

6-8 weeks of this will lead you to being prepared to train for what ever distance you want while keeping you interested with the diversity of training and I imagine you could add a race every 3 weeks as a marker of performance if you so wished anything shorter you will not have any time to see significant changes and could become discouraged with a lack of improvement in your time.

Peckham

Good to see you, although you're too generous in talking up my performance! Was fortunate that there always was someone for me to chase down on Saturday, so ran a bit better than expected.

For what it's worth I'd agree with Chivito and others above. We're in very similar positions - trying to regain past glories! All that I'm doing to get some fitness is running. No watch (yet) or plan. Run easy and then once a week do it faster (but not structured). Parkrun once a month or so to gauge progress.

Once the progress ceases, a plan will kick in!

Wottle

Day off yesterday.

This morning 52'47, Pace 10'26, AHR 151
Really enjoyed this run, sunny but cool.
Introduced a 4th stride at the end of the run.

I've kind of being using the 3rd mile, slightly downhill (as well as other things to map my improvement)
1st run - 10'21
8th run - 9'54
14th run - 9'40

Plan for these 4 days
Day 1 - 5 miles <75%
Day 2 - Long run
Day 3 - 4 miles <75%
Day 4 - Introduction to fast work

demfad

Wottle wrote: »

Day off yesterday.

This morning 52'47, Pace 10'26, AHR 151
Really enjoyed this run, sunny but cool.
Introduced a 4th stride at the end of the run.

I've kind of being using the 3rd mile, slightly downhill (as well as other things to map my improvement)
1st run - 10'21
8th run - 9'54
14th run - 9'40

Plan for these 4 days
Day 1 - 5 miles <75%
Day 2 - Long run
Day 3 - 4 miles <75%
Day 4 - Introduction to fast work

Wottle. Hadd uses a couple of weekly runs that are faster than normal runs. The intensity IMO is roughly 2 hour race pace, or slightly slower. I may be missing them but i see that all your runs are currently at the same intensity?

Wottle

demfad wrote: »

Wottle. Hadd uses a couple of weekly runs that are faster than normal runs. The intensity IMO is roughly 2 hour race pace, or slightly slower. I may be missing them but i see that all your runs are currently at the same intensity?

You're spot on, all of my runs have been at that intensity apart from 2, 1 was a 5k race and the other was a 6 miler that included 4 miles at 80%.
I had it in my head that I wanted to get 20 runs at 75% before I did anything else but I've changed that now a tad based on info from you, clearlier and Myles.

So next 2 weeks look like

day 1 - 5m@75%

day 2 - Rest

day 3 - 5m@75%
day 4 - 8-10m@150-160 Long
day 5 - 4m@75%
day 6 - Light speed work (either your suggestion above 2 x (6 x 35s) or diagonals)

day 7 - Rest

day 8 - 5m@75%
day 9 - 7m (40 mins at 150, last 10 mins building up to 5k pace)
day 10 - 4m@75%
day 11 - 5m@75%

day 12 - Rest

day 13 - 5k Race
day 14 - 4m@75%

Still very much open to suggestions, I'm liking the idea of a 5k race every 2 or 3 weeks.

demfad

Wottle wrote: »

You're spot on, all of my runs have been at that intensity apart from 2, 1 was a 5k race and the other was a 6 miler that included 4 miles at 80%.
I had it in my head that I wanted to get 20 runs at 75% before I did anything else but I've changed that now a tad based on info from you, clearlier and Myles.

So next 2 weeks look like

day 1 - 5m@75%

day 2 - Rest

day 3 - 5m@75%
day 4 - 8-10m@150-160 Long
day 5 - 4m@75%
day 6 - Light speed work (either your suggestion above 2 x (6 x 35s) or diagonals)

day 7 - Rest

day 8 - 5m@75%
day 9 - 7m (40 mins at 150, last 10 mins building up to 5k pace)
day 10 - 4m@75%
day 11 - 5m@75%

day 12 - Rest

day 13 - 5k Race
day 14 - 4m@75%

Still very much open to suggestions, I'm liking the idea of a 5k race every 2 or 3 weeks.

Looks good. You have options for the 5k races. You could start the race at 10k pace for first 2k and then progress to 5k race pace. You could run the race at 95% race pace (10k race pace). Or run it at full pace. A full paces race brings you on, but the other approaches help too, and dont require the same recovery.

Any of the speedwork suggestions should work fine. The bigger the volume of speedwork the more to treat it like a session. Diagonals are a good way to break into it.

Wottle

Long run 82 mins, pace 10'05, AHR 165

One of my favourite routes, great views and always quiet. My aim was to do 10 miles which would have brought me into marlay park but 8 was the sensible move given how hilly the course was.
Finished with 3x18 second strides.

Wottle

Made this a bit shorter than planned, heart rate was getting hard to keep down.
I'm going golfing later so probably no harm.

32 mins, AHR 150

Wottle

1 mile warm up
6x35 secs
5 min jog
6x35 secs
1 mile cool down

Got very close to above, the 35 secs were sometimes 34 not a big deal, didn't look at the watch for time but rather just counted my right steps. I calculated 50 would get me 35 but in fact it was 52.

The 5 minute jog between sets turned into a fast jog back to the house, needed the toilet badly.
There's the option to do a hard 3 minutes at the end but I'll save that for next time.

Between reps I waited for the heart rate to return to 130 (65%) and as I got further into the session the recovery got longer. Never felt any build up of lactic so the recovery worked well.

Pace for each one seemed to be between 5'15 and 6'09.
Not sure if that's too fast?
Recoveries started at 60 secs but went as high as 86/88 at the end.

Next time I do it, I'll do a longer warm up and cool down and add the 3 mins hard.

Now off to Tullamore as the little one races in the B nationals.

demfad

Wottle wrote: »

1 mile warm up
6x35 secs
5 min jog
6x35 secs
1 mile cool down

Got very close to above, the 35 secs were sometimes 34 not a big deal, didn't look at the watch for time but rather just counted my right steps. I calculated 50 would get me 35 but in fact it was 52.

The 5 minute jog between sets turned into a fast jog back to the house, needed the toilet badly.
There's the option to do a hard 3 minutes at the end but I'll save that for next time.

Between reps I waited for the heart rate to return to 130 (65%) and as I got further into the session the recovery got longer. Never felt any build up of lactic so the recovery worked well.

Pace for each one seemed to be between 5'15 and 6'09.
Not sure if that's too fast?
Recoveries started at 60 secs but went as high as 86/88 at the end.

Next time I do it, I'll do a longer warm up and cool down and add the 3 mins hard.

Now off to Tullamore as the little one races in the B nationals.

Well done Wottle, good session!
I would run them based on as fast as possible while keeping relaxed. Take the recovery as needed. Running relaxed is paramount. Yopu did a good job there.
After a few of these you will notice them getting faster with smoother technique. This opens up a large range of paces for you. It will also have a positive affect on all the other training particularly faster training and races.

If you feel that tomorrow just run easy. Letting all sessions bed in with recovery is huge. I run a session and then run easy until I feel im back to my normal level of perceived daily mild tiredness.

Wottle

Next 4 days should look like

day 8 - 5.5m@75%
day 9 - 6m (45 mins at 150, last 10 mins building up to 5k pace)
day 10 - 4m@75%
day 11 - 5m@75%

56'43 Pace 10'17, AHR 150,

Really nice run, heart rate for the most part was easy to control. 1st mile was an average of 141 (70%). 3rd mile is down at 9'17.

Wottle

Changed this mornings run a bit.
Went with 20 minutes easy instead of 40 and then picked it up bit by bit till I was at 5k pace.

Miles 1 & 2 - Average pace 10'29, AHR 148
Miles 3 & 4 - Average pace 8'37, AHR 163
Mile 5 - Average pace 7'34, AHR 178

Finished with 3 x 17 second strides

Felt good to run a bit quicker.

Wottle

Just a handy 3 miler at 10'13 pace, AHR 149

I was going golfing at 8, so kept it short, just wanted to keep the routine going moreso.

Just noticed that puts me over a 100 miles since I started back.

Wottle

Missed yesterdays run, a combination of tiredness (golf) and a sore toe (golf shoes). Today was supposed to be the rest day, so I just swapped them around.

Best run back so far, felt effortless, heart rate stayed well in control.
Works out about a minute a mile quicker than the start of the month.
Finished with 4x17 second strides.

5 miles, Pace 10'08, AHR 147

This pic sums up how I'm feeling about my running again


Just Run - Sophie ,

Wottle

Race No.2 Shanganagh Parkrun

I had a terrible sleep last night and all because of a parkrun. I was thinking of loads of excuses not to do it but my kids were coming with me, their plan was to just jog it, the 9yr old has never ran this far before in one continous effort. Their own training is finished for a while so their just maintaining fitness. If they weren't coming I probably would have bottled it but they were up early raring to go.

Plan for the first mile was 7'40 pace and then see after that, I was a bit quick with 7'27 but I felt very strong. It wasn't till about the halfway mark when things started to feel tough, mile 2 was 7'46.
During mile 3 I felt the pace drifting and a quick look at the watch confirmed it, down at 8'15 pace so I picked it up again 7'49.
Didn't finish as strong today as two weeks ago, I feel I could have but didn't.

I'm happy with my effort AHR was up 181 compared with 177. I actually feel I could work a little harder but it has been a while, getting there.

51 seconds faster 23'25 than last time, I'll give it another two weeks and hopefully run 22sth.

The average pace was between 7'32 and 7'40. I reckon the course is bang on 5k but with tree cover and a few turns the garmin makes it a little short.

Not sure what the girls jogged round in, maybe 28/29. They really enjoyed it. The older one wants to run it on her own next time (she had to mind her sister today) but said no way is she racing it, said it's too long.

demfad

Wottle wrote: »

Race No.2 Shanganagh Parkrun

I had a terrible sleep last night and all because of a parkrun. I was thinking of loads of excuses not to do it but my kids were coming with me, their plan was to just jog it, the 9yr old has never ran this far before in one continous effort. Their own training is finished for a while so their just maintaining fitness. If they weren't coming I probably would have bottled it but they were up early raring to go.

Plan for the first mile was 7'40 pace and then see after that, I was a bit quick with 7'27 but I felt very strong. It wasn't till about the halfway mark when things started to feel tough, mile 2 was 7'46.
During mile 3 I felt the pace drifting and a quick look at the watch confirmed it, down at 8'15 pace so I picked it up again 7'49.
Didn't finish as strong today as two weeks ago, I feel I could have but didn't.

I'm happy with my effort AHR was up 181 compared with 177. I actually feel I could work a little harder but it has been a while, getting there.

51 seconds faster 23'25 than last time, I'll give it another two weeks and hopefully run 22sth.

The average pace was between 7'32 and 7'40. I reckon the course is bang on 5k but with tree cover and a few turns the garmin makes it a little short.

Not sure what the girls jogged round in, maybe 28/29. They really enjoyed it. The older one wants to run it on her own next time (she had to mind her sister today) but said no way is she racing it, said it's too long.

Well done, just keep doing what you're doing and the times will keep dropping down. No need to do anything different now, no need to force the training, just keep it sustainable and consistant and keep all the elements in it.

Wottle

demfad wrote: »

Well done, just keep doing what you're doing and the times will keep dropping down. No need to do anything different now, no need to force the training, just keep it sustainable and consistant and keep all the elements in it.

Yep won't be changing a thing, quite like the balance right now. Really enjoyed your suggested session last week, I feel it gave me a lot of confidence as well.
Thanks so much for your help and input so far.
Hope you're going well, haven't seen an update in a while

Ososlo

Congratulations D! Sounds like you're really battling those demons! And winning! Good for you.
Great time and improvement this morning and seems like you're well on the comeback trail.
Delighted for ya:D
Lovely pic! Great morning for it!

Wottle

Next 2 weeks look like

day 1 - 5m@75%
day 2 - 8-10m@75%-80% Long

day 3 - Rest

day 4 - 4m@75%
day 5 - 4m@75%
day 6 - Light speed work 2 x (6 x 35s) with 3 mins hard
day 7 - 4m@75%

day 8 - Rest

day 9 - 7m (40 mins at 150, last 10 mins building up to 5k pace)
day 10 - 4m@75%
day 11 - 5m@75%
day 12 - 5m@75%

day 13 - Rest

day 14 - 5k Race

Wottle

Sunday afternoon
50 mins at 10'00 mmp on the treadmill, AHR 147
Just didn't feel like going out in the rain

Today
8 mile long run, 9'37 pace, AHR 161
Tough route, first 3/4s of a mile is handy but then it's a 2 mile climb up Stocking Lane, a left across rolling hills along Mount Venus. All the way down to Marlay and then out St Enda's park. It was too much, I have to be a bit more sensible as I was really fading towards the end. A more flat route and I'd do 10 handy...I think

Today's Route

Wottle

Tuesday - Rest

Wed - An out and back towards Hook lighthouse. 5 miles, 9'37 pace, AHR 161.
Legs felt a little heavy.

Thursday - I put off the speed work due to how heavy the legs felt yesterday. Instead ran with the girls down to the lighthouse (5k) really enjoyable.
Pace 9'22, AHR 151

[IMG][/img]Hook Head by

Wottle

Missed my run yesterday, too many beers the night before ruled out the morning time and then activities with the kids took the rest of the day.
But that was OK as I kind of had a secret plan.

After last weeks race, I felt 22 sth was in me if I was a little more aggressive so I headed out to Johnstown parkrun. The plan was a fast first mile and try and hang on.

Beautiful grounds to run in (not a fan of the gravel though, zapped my legs), really nice atmosphere.
7'03 for the first mile, a little quicker than I was thinking and it had me out of my comfort zone early. In the second mile I was struggling and the tiniest rise in elevation felt like a mountain 7'49. The 3rd mile was horrible, I was regretting the aggressive start, big time. Felt I was slowing to a shuffle, looked down at the watch and saw 21 sth and thought it's not far from here, c'mon - pick it up and you might sneak under 23, so I did and finished in 22'36.

I was happy with my time but at the same time the garmin read a little under 3 miles, now the course itself is full of twists and turns and is covered by plenty of tall trees so maybe it is exactly 5k.
I know my effort was higher again today than last week 183 compared with 181. I'm just not sure but I'll take it all the same

I reckon I'll leave the 5k races now for about 3 weeks and try run another seasons best.

Johnstown Parkrun

Ososlo

Fantastic! Good on ya! The good times are a-coming : D

dintbo

Fair play wottle, it's always good to see improvements. Johnstown is a lively place to run. The parkrun always measures short for me as well but with the amount of tree cover it's no surprise really. Shame I'm away this weekend, otherwise I'll would have been there!

Wottle

dintbo wrote: »

Fair play wottle, it's always good to see improvements. Johnstown is a lively place to run. The parkrun always measures short for me as well but with the amount of tree cover it's no surprise really. Shame I'm away this weekend, otherwise I'll would have been there!

Had a look at other first timers who've ran more than one parkrun and I'm now leaning towards it being correct and when I look at my Garmin map it has me running over lakes and taking different lines on each lap. So I reckon all my mile splits are way off, probably means my first mile was under 7.

I'll be back down on the 15th I think?

dintbo

Wottle wrote: »

I'll be back down on the 15th I think?

Excellent. If you are I'll see you there.

Wottle

5 miles this evening, straight after a 2 hour drive, not my best idea.
The run served no real purpose, was supposed to be AHR 75% but I ran it harder than I should have.
Still though happy to have got 5 runs in this week while on holidays.

Wottle

I took yesterday off, heart rate was sky high and I just felt wrecked.

Not as bad today, didn't sleep very well last night so decided to postpone my morning run till the evening. Evening came and what a stupid idea that was.

Anyhow got out for 55 mins at 10:05 pace, AHR about 160
Kept the heart rate under better control (evening hr always higher than morning for me)

I hate evening running, bed early tonight and hopefully out early.

July I averaged 26/27 miles a week, I'd like to get that to 30-32 for August.

Wottle

First real session back and I'm happy enough

5x1K @ 180(90%) off 140HR recovery

1st - 4'29 (7'11)
recovery 0:52

2nd - 4'37 (7'26)
recovery 1:10

3rd - 4'37 (7'26)
recovery 1:15

4th - 4'42 (7'34)
recovery 1:22

5th - 4'36 (7'24)

For some reason I thought the heart rate getting back to 140 would take longer, after the first rep when I saw 52 seconds I thought I'm going to have to change this but I felt OK on the next rep so I stuck with it.
It's one of my favourite sessions, probably the session I've done the most but normally I take 2:00 to 2:30 recovery. I thought my reps would be slightly faster but it was windy and obviously the short recovery.
The positives: splits were close enough as was the recovery, good sign I think.

Thinking of running an 800m on the 15th as well as a 200 and the javelin (have to do 3 events). Not sure though as I don't want to embarrass myself, might be getting carried away ...again...will see.

Wottle

5 mile recovery run, 10'33 pace, AHR 142 (71%)

Beautiful morning for it, legs were very tired after yesterday and the arch on my right foot is a little sore.
I ordered new pegasus, hopefully have them by start of next week.

Wottle

Just a small fartlek type session, at the end of every mile I'd run a bit faster.
First one was for 60 seconds, 30, 40, 15, 60

Very enjoyable, bit tired now though but really starting to feel fitter now.

Today's run 6 miles, AP 8'32, AHR 165

Arch still sore.

Wottle

Long Run 3
10+ miles at 9'17, AHR 84%

It's been 2 weeks since my last long run, so this needed to get done. I've been feeling a little drained so my enthusiasm was lacking.

But once out I felt fine and bounced around for the first 6 miles but then things got tough. Probably should have taken a right turn at Rathfarnham cross roads and called it a day for 8 but I persisted. Felt good to get it done but feeling tired now.

I think the 5x1k session took more out of me than I first thought, so I'll take the full 2'30 recovery next time.

Mileage for the week was a tad over 32.