From Couch 25k To Where Ever

The Muppet

The Black Oil wrote: »

Thanks, 4:10. I know what you mean about ones feeling routine.

4.10 will not be a bother to you , you,ve had a great block of consistant training.

It is a little strange referring to 7 mile runs as routine but I guess we adapt to whatever stress we put on our bodies and that the becomes easier.

Good luck on Sunday . I hope to go in to support the novices and boardsies taking part if I can . I'll give u a shout out if I see you.

The Muppet

Monday 16th

Storm Ophelia due to Visit , I could have got out in the morning if I hadn't been too busy stocking up essentials for the few hours we had been advised to stay indoors. A little concerned about hitting the mileage target this week.

No Running , Totally forgot weight training too .

Tuesday 17th

Not having run since Saturday morning I was surprisingly unenthusiastic about this run , Just wasn't in the mood for it, I find that if i miss a few days the first run back is difficult. Pace was quicker than usual on this on but even so my heart rate was surprisingly high, I didn't feel like the effort was any more than usual but average HR is well up on the norm for this route. Quite a bit of Storm damage in local park with one tree splits in half so obviously the right choice not to run yesterday.

7.1 miles @ 10.05 HR 155/172

Wednesday 18th

Quite a windy day but quite warm for my first LSR of the week, My usual route , coolock fairview etc. Over dressed for this one and felt too warm, Couldn't find my Heart strap so no data for that.

10.7 miles @10.33 pace

Thursday 19th
Don't know where my brain was today, usually on Thursdays I get my 7 miles in at lunchtime with Pilates in the evening, Went to get into my gear at lunchtime and discovered I hadn't packed any runners so no lunchtime run which meant I was up against it timewise to squeeze it in this evening. Home at 5 and straight out for my run back for a quick shower and then to Pilates , arrived at pilates just in time but had forgot my mat, luckily there's always spares there so no major problem.

Pilates Class was quite tought, I got cramp in both my calfs on one of the movements , painful. Running directly before it probably a contributory factor and thinking about it my water consumption has dropped offf of late too so I will sort that. Enjoyed the class none the less, no pain no gain .

7 miles @9.52 pace


Friday 20th
Off work Today and was in Crumlin with some time to get a run in so looked for a suitable route on Map my run , I knew there was a parkrun in Tymon Park so headed there for a lap and back, Nice park , lovely run. In the evening my Legs were quite sore , Doms I think , never really had it before , not to this extents anyway , was up a couple of times during the night with them , I though I would be in trouble the next day and decided I wouldn't run if they were still the same.

7.1 miles @10.16

Saturday 21st
Legs still not 100% but definitely improved so I said I'd go out and play it by ear. Having been too warm on Wednesday I dress down and was too cold on this one, It was a stormy wet day so I didn't hang around, Once I got into it legs were not a issue and I actually had what I'd call a great run (for me) Loved it, felt great if a little too cold. Nice drizzle too. I found my Heart rate belt too. Too quick for LSR.

Got some deep heat for the legs


Mile splits
10:47,10:19,10:11,10:00,10:15,9:51,9:32,9:26,9:28,9:31, and .7 @9:21

10.7 miles @ 9:54 HR 139/161



Sunday 22nd
Up and out Early for this to hit my mileage target and allow as much recovery time as possible before starting the new week tomorrow evening. Legs still sore starting out but improving , Nice relaxing run


7.2 miles @10:32 heart rate did not register but I assume I had one.


A bit of a mixed week, wasn't sure I would get all runs in but I did, forgot to do my s&c on monday, I think my water intake needs some attention . I'm feeling really good, RHR is spot on every morning. I think I'm adapting nicely to the mileage increase. I'll give it another few weeks and then alter it slightly to gradually lengthen one long run while sticking to my 50 miles I think, all being well of course.


Weekly Totals
50.1 miles @ 10:12 pace Elevation Gain 1838 feet

This week more of the same, with a rest day on Sunday to go support DCM runners.

The Muppet

Monday 23rd

Lovely evening for my usual 7 mile easy run.

Remembered to do my strength and condtioning after too/

7.1 miles @ 10.30 Pace

Tuesday 24th

Same route as yesterday , dont remember much else about it .

7.1 miles @9.50 pace

Wednesday 25th

My first LSR of the week, I remember this one, I felt off all morning really , had the sniffles but no other symptoms RHR was good so not sure what was going on. I got the run done but can't say I enjoyed it.

10.7 miles @ 10.25

Thursday 26th

Busy so I had to get this one done in my lunchtime, I felt better today and ran it a little quicker than I should, the route was Flatter than my usual route which counts for some of that , It felt easy enough but I did up the effort for the last few miles.

7 miles @9.24

Pilates Class in the evening, nice easy one felt good after it.

Friday 27th

Tired again today so I took it easy on this one , My uusal friday trot to FR collins Park and a few laps. It was a really noce afternoon almst summer like .

7 MILES @10.39

Saturday 28th

My second LSR . I just wasn't feeling the love before going out and that didn't change on the run. . It was a mental challenge to keep going on this one. 2 miles in I changed my route to give me the option of cutting it short but I persevered and ran the planned 11 miles, The last 4 miles into a stiff breeze did nothing to change my mood. Happy to get it done.

Got pair of lunar glide 8s during the week, wore them today and got a slight niggle in my right shin at times, Never had that before. while I'm coming clean on niggles I have one on the sole of my left foot which I'm nursing for the last month or two. Some days it's worse than others,I felt it today during the run too, nothing too sever but its there and needs to be monitored I, apart from those I'm tickety boo.

11.3 miles @10.40 pace.


No hearth rate data for most of this weeks run , monitor is acting up i think it need batteries. Tiredness a factor in a few runs too so i need to factor in some rest this week, Taking tomorrow off and I'll see how I am Monday.

Diet was so so this week, a few slips but i'm close enough to my target weight anyway so no biggie a good week will put that right.

Next week more of the same hopefully if the mojo recovers .

total 50.2 miles @ 10.18 pace Elevation 1617ft

OOnegative

Putting in some solid weeks TM, they will stand to you further down the road. Impressive stuff, keep her going.

The Muppet

Sunday,

Rest , supporting DCM, my first time ever as a supporter ,I was near the rds at 25 miles the atmosphere was great , i was tracking a dozen or so Boadrsies , actually only saw two of them pass me, missed all the rest, what can I say I'm useless at that stuff. I caugh up with some locals in MC G's after though. Great day and seeing the focus/pain on all the runner stream past me struck how how tough a day it can be. It also reaffirmed my desire to revisit DCM next year so thats ths A B and C plan now , the race series and DCM for 2018, everything from now will be focused on that.

Monday 30th October

7 miles Easy , changed the route a little to a loop of Swords , Don't remember much else of it

6.9 Miles @10:29 pace

Tuesday 31st October Halloween

7 Miles easy, Out early for this one so I'd be free in the afternoon and evening for family stuff. My old route up and back,

7 Miles @10.30 pace


Wednesday the 1st November

LSR , Really wasn't looking forward to this one , lack of motivation but once I got out I really enjoyed it, It was a lovely warm day for November . I concentrated on the slow as I tend to run theses a little quicker than prescribed and there is not not much point in not doing the LSR's properly .

Wore the Heart Monitor and it appeared to kind of work , AVG hr 141 max 193 which is a good trick as My max is 173. Definitley must get new batteries for it.

10.6 Miles @10.38 Pace

Thursday 2nd November

My usual jaunt to Fr. Collins park. I though it was colder than Wednesday so wore a lightweight jacket and running trousers setting out, was much too warm on the run. Enjoyed it all the same, forgot to bring my radio so It was a quiet run. I tend to run quicker if I don't have the distraction of Music.

7 miles @10.07

Pilates Class evening

Friday 3rd november

7 miles , ran this one by feel not putting much pass on pace. I felt really good today so I upped the efffort for the last few miles.

7.3 miles @9.57

Saturday 4th November

LSR

Like Wednesday I had good intentions of running this one properly heading out and for the first two miles I did but pace picked up from there . It was a cold morning despite 2 layers , trousers and a cap, After 5 miles the sun put in an appearance and it got a little too warm for a few miles along the coast, Once I turned back inland I was heading into a stiff breeze and I felt a little cold despite the layers. Can't win, It's difficult to make the right call clothing wise on days like today. Believe we're in for a cold snap so taht will solve the problem


10.7 miles @9 :58 pace




Had a bad connection with a kerb during todays run, I jarred my left foot and ankle , could feel it for the rest of the run and still can , hopefully its nothing and will settle down before Monday.

Thats another week over , resting tomorrow as I have my 50 miles in for the week. This was a good week, Motivation to run was slightly lacking some days but once I got out all th runs went well.

A milestone milage wise and days running for me for the last month ,222.45 miles running 28 of the 31 days in October. Hit the 1000 mile mark for the year this month. I'm holding up well on the niggle front all things considered, it was a good week, none of the tireness of the last few weeks . I'm noticing the pace picking up on a most of my runs which I'm taking as sign of things moving in the desired direction.




Diet was a little better than last week , Main meals were good, therfe were a few treats that I could do without but with the milage they are not really an issue from a weight poing of view, I'm bang on 12 stone this morning , which is exactly where I want to be.

weekly Totals

49.9 miles @10.17 pace elevation 1545 ft

Monthly Mileage update
Month|2017|2016|2015|2014|2013
jan|70.80|94.78|46.2|8.31|0
feb|89.94|61.68|13.9|30.35|0
March|72.40|111|4.64|47.37|7
April|97.00|110.7|21.08|42.23|25.01
May|107.46|121.32|65.69|36.37|33.78
June|68.30|154.31|97.03|52.69|33
July|171.40|148.97|108.73|25.33|49.74
August|167.70|124.57|110.42|57.9|29.42
September|140.2|138.17|94.12|58.37|13.87
October|222.45|151.18|125.17|95.32|3.01
November||49.11|100.78|88.95|0
December||45.12|63.16|23.83|0
Totals|1207.67|1310.91|851.69|567.02|194.83

The Muppet

Monday 6th

Resting Heart rate elevated this morning and had a headache for most of the day so took a rest day.


Tuesday 7th

RHR normal this morning,so its back to the plan, I want to have a rest day next sunday so I'm changing daily milages slightly to compensate for yesterdays missed run. this is a longer lap of swords than my usual. I calculated it would be around 8 miles, maths never my strong point.

8.7 miles @10:21 pace

Wednesday 8th

adding a mile or 2 to my usual wednesday run ,cool today . I currently rotate 5 pairs of shoes , today I wore a pair of new balance I had never worn on a long run before, Not sure if it was the shoes but my legs got quite sore on this run .

12.5 miles @10.20 pace

Thursday 9th

Legs still sore today , my usual jaunt to Fr Collins Park and threw in an extra lap to increase the milage. Overly warm on this today despite dressing the same as yesterday.

8.2 miles @10 12 pace

Pilates class in the evening

Friday 10th

Love this route the first 4 miles are easy , legs are still sore today so the handy miles are very wlecome.

8.4 miles @10:24

Saturday 11th

slightly elevated rhr again this morning, 4 beats higher than normal so not too bad i went ahead with the run but kept it easy. forgot to wear my watch this morning, so i used my phone to track it, I intened to run it by feel at 11 minute miles as I am still sore and wanted to keep it very easy, The same route as wednesday was the intention , I needed to take a pitstop at 7 miles .*(I knew that full irish was a bad idea this morning) so I took a detour in St Annes park to use the facilities adding a little distance .

Nice run , I notice from the data that the pace crept up a little but I'm happy that I ran it at an easy effort

13.4 miles @10 37 pace



51.2 miles this week, well the last 5 day's , really not sure if the sore legs are from the increase in intensity due to the missed day , or a bad choice of shoe on wednesday , Legs felt brilliant last week on same milage, still I gues there is no harm getting used to running on sore legs I guess it'll stand me at some time in the future.



Diet a little hit and miss this week as can be seen by the choice of breakfast this morning, not really eating too much though just some of the wrong (nice) stuff but im thinking I can have a little leeway because of the longer runs.



can take a rest day tomorrow now and hopefully run my normal 6 day routine next week , that's the plan for now anyway.

The Muppet

Not a great week for me I'm afraid,

Monday ,

Home late , By the time I got dinner etc I just wasn't in the mood to head back out on a wet and cold evening , not really like me to wimp out but I did.

Tuesday

Still in no mood to run , Not feeling 100% , I did get out through , Ran a mile decided I'd had enough and turned around and ran home. I just wasn't right , I was running my usual effort easy but the pace was more like a recovery run.

There's very little to be motivated by so far in the log this week. I decided the week was a write it off, run when I want to for the rest of the week and use it as a step back week.

1.8 Miles @11.40 pace

Wednesday
This was a little bit better, still not feeling the love though, at lease I completed the run

6.9 miles @ 10:48 pace

Thursday

More of the same though I was felling a little better

6.1 miles @10.28

Pilates in the evening.

Friday
No Running, too busy really but wasn't in the mood either.


Saturday
What a week 15 miles so far so the plan was to do a lsr of 10 to get to 25 miles total for the week , half my intended milage. Once I got moving I felt more myself on this one . It was a nice morning which helped, A good few runners out. Along the flat at the seafront from the wooden bridge toward Sutton I decided to just run and tried to chase down other runners in front of me. Happy enough with the pace, I was obviously fresher than usual with the step back in mileage



10.5 miles @ 9.39 pace


Diet has been rubbish early in the week, improved midweek, weekend not great again.


So as I said not a great week for me on a few fronts , they can't all be good, I think the dark cold evenings are a factor yet I like running in them once I get going , its just getting out of the house is the tough bit.

Total 25.6 Miles @10.19 pace 843 ft elevation


This week hopefully the mojo returns and I get back on track.

The Muppet

Monday

7 miles easy the plan, Felt good on this one, the last 2 miles a little quicker than prescribed,

7 miles @ 9.52

Tuesday
Same as Monday steady pace
7 Miles @10.27

Wednesday
Really wet day for this one but at least it kept me cool. Usual route for the longer runs.

10.6 miles @10.19 pace

Thursday
Usual jaunt to Fr collins park and a few laps . didn't feel the best.

6.9 miles @10:28

Pilates Class in the evening

Friday
New route to try add a little interest to this one, slightly shorter than the intended 7 miles . I felt a little laboured on this run despite taking it easy .

6.8miles @10:24

Saturday
Woke with a bit of a cough , I got prepared to go for my long run but then life got in the way at the last minute and I abandoned the idea of running, probably for the best all things considered .


A good week up to Saturday, running the same routine each week is getting a little stale with me though, will have to have a think about that. I'm a little bit off health wise too, still have a cough and just feeling a little under the weather.

I'm not sure what the week ahead holds , will take it as it comes is the best plan I think. heading into the silly season now so missing some runs is to be expected.


Total 38.6 miles @10.18 pace elevation 1150 ft

The Muppet

Monday ,
Under the weather No Run

Tuesday
Ditto

Wednesday

was feeling a little better today so I went out to see how it went , Didnt do my usual long run though , went for 7 easy miles instead.

7 miles @10.44

Thursday
All good after Wednesday so out for the same route , Ran it a little quicker

7 Miles @10.14

Pilates Class in the evening

Friday

Pre toy show run same route, Diet out the window KFC and loads of junk in front of the TV.

7 Miles @ 10.19

Saturday
Decided to lengthen this one a little to make up for the two missed days at the start of the week. A cool morning 3 layers hat and gloves did the job, ditched teh hat when I got warm. Nice run

12.7 miles @10.28 pace


Sunday

Usually my rest day but herself was at an event in the afternoon so It was eith sit around and wait or go for a run . Shi said she woube 2 hours so the plan was to fit whatever I was doing into that. . The route i chose I had the option of anything from 5 to 13 miles loop.

The legs were a little heavy and I kept the pace slow,

9.3 miles @ 10.50 pace

Weekly Total 43.3 miles @ 10 .32 pace 1428 ft elevation.



I'm happy with that, on Wednesday afternoon I considered not running at all for the week.



Monthly Mileage update
Month|2017|2016|2015|2014|2013
jan|70.80|94.78|46.2|8.31|0
feb|89.94|61.68|13.9|30.35|0
March|72.40|111|4.64|47.37|7
April|97.00|110.7|21.08|42.23|25.01
May|107.46|121.32|65.69|36.37|33.78
June|68.30|154.31|97.03|52.69|33
July|171.40|148.97|108.73|25.33|49.74
August|167.70|124.57|110.42|57.9|29.42
September|140.2|138.17|94.12|58.37|13.87
October|222.45|151.18|125.17|95.32|3.01
November|152.22|49.11|100.78|88.95|0
December||45.12|63.16|23.83|0
Totals|1359.89|1310.91|851.69|567.02|194.83



A bit of a drop back this month due to illness and motivational issues, I only ran 20 days in the month so 152 miles for that is good enough for me.

More of the same for the month ahead, I have a target of 1500 miles for the year to help the motivation, realistically I'm going to miss days with the season that's in it.

Starting to think ahead to the new year now not sure what I want to do but I'm going to have to set some goals I think.

The Muppet

A bit late with last weeks update

Monday 4th

Wall Papering Duty , No Run but definitely did a few miles up and down ladder.


Tuesday 5th

Out late in Coolock for this one , Ran to Fr Collins park it was locked so didi a few loops of the perimeter and back, Nice.

7.45 miles @10:28 pace

Wednesday 6th

My usual wednesday longish run. Very cold and wet on this one .

10.61 miles @ 9.58 pace

Thursday 7th

Busy all Day , so it was choice between Pilates or a run in the evening, Pilates won out. No Run

Friday 8th

Meh


Saturday 9th

Long run around north dublin, enjoyed this one . Nice nad easy

12.73 miles @ 10 37 pace


Sunday 10th

See Friday



Not my finest week but I did get both long runs in, I missed a few days of the shorter ones but c'est la vie , 32 miles in 3 runs is decent mileage.

The Muppet

The plan this week was to get things back on track Milage wise and try not miss any runs

Monday 11th

Good start 7 miles easy around home @10.28 pace

Tuesday 12th
Same as Monday 7.03 @ 10.42 pace

Wednesday 13th

Usual wednesday long run, This was a WET and cold day , I still haven't dried out.
10.67 miles @10.25 Pace

Thursday 14th

Intended to do 7 easy but life got in the way so took a rest day and moved this to Sunday.

I did make my Pilates Class so not a completely wasted day

Friday 15th

I wasn't in the mood for this but had no room for manoeuvre if i wanted to hit my 50 miles for the week , Out late for me happy to get it done

7.03 miles @10.16 pace

Saturday 16th

My second long run of the week same as wednesday but a much nicer day weather wise.

10.83 miles @10.41 pace

Sunday 17th

A days shopping was planned for me so I intended to get up early and get this done, I didnt wake early and was all bunged up so put it off until the evening, Mistake, after a day traipsing around the big smoke I just wasn't in the mood to put the gear on and head out so I went for a sleep instead.

weekly Total 42.57 miles


So another week where I didn't hit my planned Mileage , a little disappointed with that looking back I probably could have ran after Pilates on Thursday or yesterday evening.

Diet has slipped a little and I've gained a few pounds, not much but I notice, no doubt there will be a few more over the next few weeks , there much too much nice stuff around this time of year, and I just can't resist some of than despite knowing I shouldn't for many reasons. It'll give me something to focus on in January.


That's last week, The plan for the week ahead is to do as much as possible , I know i will miss some days , working late this evening so no run today for sure.

The Muppet

Not a lot happeing here of late, not really surprised given the season .This is the sum total of my effort up to the end of the year, quite afew rest days in there. TBH I dont remember much about them now.

Tuesday Dec 19th 4.7 miles @ 10.33

Thursday Dec 21st 6.8 miles @ 9.49 , commented in Strava that I really enjoyed the sun so I must have,

Friday Dec 22nd 7 miles @9.28 pace

Wednesday Dec 27th 6.8 miles @ 9.56 pace , stopped watch at crossing so missed a bit

Friday Dec 29 7.2 @ 10.08 , new watch, would not sync reset it and lost data.


Saturday Dec 30th 6.9 miles @ 9.50 pace

Diet like most everyone else has been ridiculous over this period, much too much rubbish, well chocolate to be precise, The result is I'm carrying a few extra pounds I could do without. Blood sugars surprisingly good all things considered.

It may have been a mistake setting the 1500 miles total as a goal at the start of the month as it became the target and resulted in more rest days than necessary but sure no harm easing off for a bit I guess.

141 miles for the month isn't too bad and is a definite improvement on other years.



Monthly Mileage update
Month|2018|2017|2016|2015|2014|2013
jan|-|70.80|94.78|46.2|8.31|0
feb|-|89.94|61.68|13.9|30.35|0
March|-|72.40|111|4.64|47.37|7
April|-|97.00|110.7|21.08|42.23|25.01
May|-|107.46|121.32|65.69|36.37|33.78
June|-|68.30|154.31|97.03|52.69|33
July|-|171.40|148.97|108.73|25.33|49.74
August|-|167.70|124.57|110.42|57.9|29.42
September|-|140.2|138.17|94.12|58.37|13.87
October|-|222.45|151.18|125.17|95.32|3.01
November|-|152.22|49.11|100.78|88.95|0
December|-|141.26|45.12|63.16|23.83|0
Totals|-|1501.15|1310.91|851.69|567.02|194.83




That brings my year to an end, Overall Im very happy with it, very few races but if I'm honest I don't really like racing, I did the Great North Run which I enjoyed .

The big plus for me with my running is my health and I managed to get take off all meds for my Diabetes this year which I had posted as goal in this log but never really though I would achieve . It also helps keep my weight in check, I'm lighter now at 54 than I was when I was 18.

Goals for the next year , not too sure tbh, a Marathon is niggling away in my mind , if I do that I will do the race series as part of the training.

Hadd training has always interested me and is something I have dabbled with in the past , Santa was good and braugh me a new watch with wrist based monitor so I may make use of that and give it a proper go.


I ran 7 miles on New years day so I have already started 2018 , Im a bit shivery today , i may be coming down with something , away for a few days from tomorrow so its likely to be a hit and miss week but the intention is to keep improving and I will get what I can done.

Happy new year to everyone here , Thanks for all the likes , comments and advice over the year both here and elsewhere, its appreciated.

The Muppet

Another meh week from me on the running front, only 3 runs a fall, and still eating too much rubbish.

Monday 1st Jan

My first run of the new year , good intentions, start as I mean to go on.

7 miles @10.10 pace hr/133

Wednesday 3rd jan

I was in Kilkenny for a few days , not knowing the area I picked a route on maps , it was too short so when i got back to Hotel i headed off on an exploration around the castle and doubled back on my chosen route , still only 5 .4 miles . Night run and I tripped on a raised manhole cover on this run, I managed to sort of stay on my feet by doing a Bambi impression, actually was quite sore after but noting terminal. Stopped a few times on this one to take pics of the castle and river , beautiful location to run , will definitely be back to explore more .

5.4 miles @10.08 HR 132 bpm

Thursday 4th

Had intended to run but I was still a little sore after yesterdays exploits so just chilled and ate too much instead. I did walk a good bit , around shops :rolleyes: does that count?

Friday 5th

Arrived home and decided to get a few miles in, without going into too much detail I wasn't well on this run, stomach was out of order , probably caused by the excess of the season. I managed to get the run done though so i guess that's good.

6.9 miles @ 10.20 hr 129

Saturday 6th

intended to run but not feeling great so I decided to put it off until Sunday,


Sunday 7th

Good intentions out the window, I was at a party in town last night , left the car at home so I could have a pint, Mmmh , no nothing sunday .


19.4 miles @10.13 pace for the week.



The plan for the Month ahead is to get some consistency back , sort out the diet , i'm a few kgs heavier than I want to be . Apart from that I'm in a bit of a limbo as I don't really have any concrete goals so I am going to see where I am at the end of the month and set some then.

The Muppet

its bad when you have to use the search engine to find your log.

Nothing much to report here , I haven't been well for the last month, Just that dose that mostly everyone has but I cant seem to shake it.

It's starting to ease up now I hope though I'm still coughing, hence writing this early on a Sunday morning, missing the runs but have to be sensible too. Diet is back under control after the Christmas and post Christmas excesses. Still doing my Pilates , only missed one week of that . Hoping to edge back in to it slowly soon.

I've a lot of catching up to do here .

Bungy Girl

Welcome back, T and hope you're feeling 100% soon. Good on ya for keeping the Pilates going!

denis b

+1 for the pilates. Everything helps T. Your coast run loops are missed

annapr

Take it easy coming back T, hope you're feeling back to yourself soon.

The Muppet

I have been thinking of firing this log up again for a while but wanted to have some consistencey before doing so. The log is as much to motivate me as it is to track progress and if anyone else can take anything from my warts and all ramblings that's an added bonus

Long story short , I lost my mojo at the start of last year and have been struggling to find it ever since. If I'm honest I was running 50 mile weeks with no specific goal in the lead up and I just got bored with that. Combined with non running related stuff I just couldn't motivated myself to go out and run.

I did make a few attempts to get back to it last year but with little consistency. I had another go at a comeback in June of this year and have managed to keep at it since.

I don't have the time I once did to devote to running as my personal circumstances have changed and now have school runs homework , etc to look after for my 10 year old grandson. Runs are squeezed in between more important things most days.

The plan was to just get running again as I was noticing a reversal of the benefits I get from running. I'm up to 20+ mile weeks for the last few weeks . 4 runs a week four or five mile and a LSR on the weekend , That was 8.5 miles last weekend aiming for 11 or 12 in the future so i can run my favorite loop.

A few weeks into my comeback I decided i was going to give training by heart rate a shot this time so all my runs are in zone 2 . Initially there was lots of starting and stopping to stay in the zone and I was running at near 13 minute miles.

I'm beginning to notice improvements now , pace is down around 11 minute miles for my zone 2 heart rate.

The plan is to just run and enjoy it, I think I'd like to run another marathon , but i'll see how things go. I'd also like to get my weight back to where I was so I have made changes to my diet which worked last time so hopefully will again.






Monthly Mileage update
Month|2019|2018|2017|2016|2015|2014|2013
jan|0|83.95|70.80|94.78|46.2|8.31|0
feb|0|7.95|89.94|61.68|13.9|30.35|0
March|1|0|72.40|111|4.64|47.37|7
April|0|17.66|97.00|110.7|21.08|42.23|25.01
May|3.94|23.68|107.46|121.32|65.69|36.37|33.78
June|13.35|20.65|68.30|154.31|97.03|52.69|33
July|77.61|63.61|171.40|148.97|108.73|25.33|49.74
August|63.19|39.19|167.70|124.57|110.42|57.9|29.42
September|42.45|25.33|140.2|138.17|94.12|58.37|13.87
October|-|20.96|222.45|151.18|125.17|95.32|3.01
November|-|20.23|152.22|49.11|100.78|88.95|0
December|-|3.14|141.26|45.12|63.16|23.83|0
Totals|201.88|326.35|1501.15|1310.91|851.69|567.02|194.83

annapr wrote: »

Take it easy coming back T, hope you're feeling back to yourself soon.

I certainly did that A .

diego_b

Good to see, best of luck!

Singer

It’s been great to see you back on Strava and even better to have you back here T! Hope it continues to go well and you get to enjoy it.

The Black Oil

Great to see this log pop up again, T.

eyrie

Delighted to see this log on the go again. Good luck with the comeback, looking forward to seeing where it takes you

The Muppet

Thanks

Singer wrote: »

It’s been great to see you back on Strava and even better to have you back here T! Hope it continues to go well and you get to enjoy it.

Strava is grand for the metrics but it doesn't give the full picture B.

Reading back on my posts here from before I stopped I can see how i was feeling, Its obvious i was no longer enjoying it.

I enjoy the runs again now when im actually doing them but some days have to force myself to get out , I'm hoping that changes.

Unthought Known

Welcome back T!

OOnegative

Welcome back Chief.

The Muppet

OOnegative wrote: »

Welcome back Chief.

Good to see you back too.

The Muppet

The plan this week was 4 runs including a longish run at the weekend with a week total of over 20 miles. I'm running by heart rate at the moment and the aim is all easy zone 2 running for now. Zone 2 for me is 121 to 139 BPM.

Monday 5.01 miles @11.15 min miles AVG hr 133

This was a good run and I was mostly in the proper zone .

Tuesday 5.17 miles @11.12 pace AVG Hr 133

Same as yesterday mostly in the proper zone

Thursday 4 miles @ 10.47 AVG Hr 135

I don't know why but I was in zone 3 for 45% of this one. I suppose the run was a little too quick , I don't have the pace displaying on my watch so I didn't notice .

Saturday 2.64 miles @ 11.13 AVG HR 129

This was to be my long run but I just was not in the mood for it. I went out as usually once i get going I'm fine but not today, a mile in i'd had enough and turned and headed for home. I think that's the first time I ever bailed on a run. Not happy with that. My glutes and calves are a little niggly , nothing major its probable just that I'm using them again but it was a factor today.

Sunday 4.01 miles @11.31 avg HR 133

This one as to bring me up to my mileage target after cutting yesterdays run short. I cant say I felt great on it either but at least I did what I set out to do and i was feeling good for the last 2 miles. I also dug out the foam roller after and had a few minutes of that.


Sunday is weigh in day and I lost 3 pound this week, happy with that as I had a couple of take aways and a family celebration during the week so i wavered from my food plan. I think i may have cut back on the carbs too much, I'm going to up those this week in place of the junk and see how that works.




That's it , the plan for the week ahead is more of the same . 20 miles easy running, improve the diet and another few foam rolling sessions.





Monthly Mileage update
Month|2019|2018|2017|2016|2015|2014|2013
jan|0|83.95|70.80|94.78|46.2|8.31|0
feb|0|7.95|89.94|61.68|13.9|30.35|0
March|1|0|72.40|111|4.64|47.37|7
April|0|17.66|97.00|110.7|21.08|42.23|25.01
May|3.94|23.68|107.46|121.32|65.69|36.37|33.78
June|13.35|20.65|68.30|154.31|97.03|52.69|33
July|77.61|63.61|171.40|148.97|108.73|25.33|49.74
August|63.19|39.19|167.70|124.57|110.42|57.9|29.42
September|63.26|25.33|140.2|138.17|94.12|58.37|13.87
October|-|20.96|222.45|151.18|125.17|95.32|3.01
November|-|20.23|152.22|49.11|100.78|88.95|0
December|-|3.14|141.26|45.12|63.16|23.83|0
Totals|222.71.88|326.35|1501.15|1310.91|851.69|567.02|194.83

The Muppet

The goal this week was 20 (zone 2) easy miles and improve my diet and have a few foam rolling sessions.

A late start to the week as I didn't get the opportunity to run Monday

Tuesday 5.07 miles @ 11:16 AVG Hr 132
Enjoyed this rune once I got going, Slightly twinged my left hamstring mounting a kerb felt it for the rest of the run but was going easy so its was ok. Foam rolled after the run all ok.

Thursday 5.32 miles total (1.71@ 11.29 avg hr 136) and (3.61 @ 10.58 avg hr 141)

This was all the one run. My HR spiked 1.71 miles in My watch was telling me i was high in Zone 3 but My body was tell me I was still running easy in zone 2 . I stopped to let the watch sort itself but it wouldn't so i stopped it and started a new run to see if that would sort it. I could feel my Hamstring today again.

It didn't really HR zone reading stayed high so i just ran easy by feel for the rest of the run. I checked the time in zones afterwards and I was 92 % in zone 2 so what my body was telling me was right.

Aside from all that drama I enjoyed the run. It was the first time i had to don a rain jacket since i got back at it , I have always loved ruining in the rain.


Friday 3.31 @ 10.43 avg HR 133
Missing Mondays run gave me a bit of dilemma today. I contemplated skipping today and doing a 10 miler LSR Saturday but wasn't confident i'd do that after last weeks failed LSR so i decided to go out for 3 miles to bring me closer to my 20 mile weekly target and more options for Saturdays run. I don't like not hitting targets.

I was really pleased with this run, happy to see it under 11 minute mile while still keeping in the zone a sign of progress I hope. I don't monitor my pace when running only heart rate zone. Like yesterday my zones were recording high on my watch but it felt easy. Still feeling the Hammer.

After the run i remember my watch had updated its firmware during the week so checked my setting and my zones ranges had changed which explained the high zone readings the last 2 runs.

I did a bit of research to reset the zones. There is a lot of conflicting info on the net regarding proper training zones . I decide to use the polar zones to see how it worked. This has zone 2 up to 75% of my reserve heart rate which should mean less stops .


Saturday:

8.94 total (4.76 miles @ 11.20 avg hr 134) and (4.18 miles @11.38 avg hr 140)

I was a bit apprehensive about this one after last week so i made sure i was in the right frame of mine for it . I took it nice and easy stopped to refuel half way through and stopped recording instead of pausing my watch by mistake hence 2 runs . It all felt easy, HR raised a bit in the last 2 miles which is uphill from the coast to Clarehall. My longest run this year my legs were a little tired and sore after this one . Hamstring was fine today.


Sunday Weigh in day, no real move on the weight this week . I did up my carb intake and there was also some junk consumed too. My main meals are good so if i can stick to them and cut the junk i know i'll shift what i need/want to. I find watch tv at night is the time i start to eat rubbish i don't need.

That's my week. Weekly total 22.66 miles . Over all I'm happy with it. completed and enjoyed every run and I had no battles with myself to get out the door.


More of the same for the week ahead I hope.







Monthly Mileage update
Month|2019|2018|2017|2016|2015|2014|2013
Jan|0|83.95|70.80|94.78|46.2|8.31|0
Feb|0|7.95|89.94|61.68|13.9|30.35|0
March|1|0|72.40|111|4.64|47.37|7
April|0|17.66|97.00|110.7|21.08|42.23|25.01
May|3.94|23.68|107.46|121.32|65.69|36.37|33.78
June|13.35|20.65|68.30|154.31|97.03|52.69|33
July|77.61|63.61|171.40|148.97|108.73|25.33|49.74
August|63.19|39.19|167.70|124.57|110.42|57.9|29.42
September|85.52|25.33|140.2|138.17|94.12|58.37|13.87
October|-|20.96|222.45|151.18|125.17|95.32|3.01
November|-|20.23|152.22|49.11|100.78|88.95|0
December|-|3.14|141.26|45.12|63.16|23.83|0
Totals|244.61|326.35|1501.15|1310.91|851.69|567.02|194.83

denis b

No battles to get out the door...great stuff T. Probably my bottom line so perhaps that's why it resonates

The Muppet

denis b wrote: »

No battles to get out the door...great stuff T. Probably my bottom line so perhaps that's why it resonates

Thanks Denis I wouldn't have though that. That part of it is new to me , I always loved getting out for a run and would have my runs planned days in advance. I don't really know how or why that changed but it did. At least now I'm winning the battles more often than not and going out .