Am I Running Or Jogging?

Maximus Alexander

It seems my first Boardsie encounter shall have to wait so. At least I wasn't the only one running clockwise, I was beginning to feel like I was breaking some unwritten rule!

Maximus Alexander

It was a lovely evening for a run - calm, dry and cool.

35 Minute Tempo:

HH suggests that this run should be roughly 10 minutes easy, 15 minutes tempo, 10 minutes easy and who am I to argue?

I started out really easy to get some practice in for my easy runs and then sped up gradually after the 10 minute mark. I didn't look at the watch at all, just ran the whole thing by feel and I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed it. I felt much stronger today than yesterday which was a bonus.

1: 6:44
2: 6:11
3: 5:22
4: 5:10
5: 5:49
6: 5:59

Total: 6.05km @ 5:52/km

I'd estimate the average pace for the tempo section was around 5:15 - 5:20/km, but Garmin Connect doesn't seem to offer a way for me to extract that kind of data which is a shame.

I managed to lock myself out of the house when I went out for this. I normally have my keys in one pocket and my phone in the other. For some reason today my subsconscious it would be better if my wallet was in my pocket instead of my keys. Wtf?

Ended up having to sit outside on the wall in a damp cotton t-shirt until my better half got home. :pac:

The Muppet

I use the manual lap function to record these . runs then I can see the data for each section on garmin connect .
My garmin is pretty basic though .

Nice session.

Maximus Alexander

Yeah I suppose the lap button would have done the job. Ideally I would stop being so lazy and just program the workout in during the day, can do it on the laptop or phone, but I just never seem to think of it or else decide "I'll do it later".

tailgunner

Think we're following the same plan; that session looks very familiar! I bit the bullet and set up the workout beforehand, only took a few minutes to be honest.

Maximus Alexander

Heh, I thought the same when I was reading your log, but your other runs seem to be different to mine. I'm doing Hal Higdon Intermediate 5k.

tailgunner

Yeah that's the one I'm doing too. I add a mile or two to some of the runs to bring my weekly mileage up a bit, but otherwise I'm trying to follow the plan pretty closely.

Your paces are eerily similar to mine, so I'm following your log with interest!

Maximus Alexander

tailgunner wrote: »

Yeah that's the one I'm doing too. I add a mile or two to some of the runs to bring my weekly mileage up a bit, but otherwise I'm trying to follow the plan pretty closely.

Your paces are eerily similar to mine, so I'm following your log with interest!

Very similar age, height and weight too going off the opening post of your log. Hopefully I can keep up with you!

tailgunner

Creepy!

Maximus Alexander

Not much to report today.

3 Miles Easy:

Legs were pretty heavy today in stark contrast to yesterday. My lack of a decent running base really shows when I do 3 days in a row.

I foolishly put on a hoodie before I went out, thinking that it was colder than it is. I nearly boiled alive. In retrospect, I don't know why I didn't just take it off...

Sped up a little as I went along as usual, though I think I controlled it a little better this time. I'll get there.

Total: 5.17km @ 6:11/km

The Muppet

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Very similar age, height and weight too going off the opening post of your log. Hopefully I can keep up with you!

tailgunner wrote: »

Creepy!

Aahhh ye could be twins .:eek:

Maximus Alexander

The Muppet wrote: »

Aahhh ye could be twins .:eek:

Yeah it's pretty weird. At the time he wrote that post I was the same age, maybe 1kg lighter, and the same height. Next we'll discover we work in the same place! :pac:

Maximus Alexander

I was at a wedding last night and ended up both drinking far more and staying up later than I had intended. To say I was feeling worse for wear this morning would be an understatement. So I spent most of the day curled up on the couch trying to rehydrate and convince myself to go out and run. Eventually, a little after five, I succeeded.

4 Miles 'Fast':

Mr Higdon is really vague when he talks about running fast. These should be "somewhat faster" than your easy runs and "It's ok to get out of breath now". I can scarcely think of a less informative word than 'somewhat' in this context - but then I guess I should buy his book if I want proper information. That's fair enough I suppose.

I decided I'd try to run this at about 5:45/km, which is indeed somewhat faster than my other runs and also seemed like a pace that would leave me breathing heavily for the latter half of the 4 miles. Of course I completely ignored that plan the moment I started running.

1: 5:35
2: 5:22
3: 5:28
4: 5:22
5: 4:57
6: 5:49
0.4: 2:19 (5:40/km)

Total: 6.41km @ 5:26/km

I foolishly looked at the watch somewhere late in the 4th kilometer and realised I had a chance at beating my best 5k since I got the Garmin, so I stupidly went ahead and raced my training for the 5th. I didn't go flat out, but I went hard enough to mean I had to back off for the last kilometer.

Sure enough, the Garmin reports that I have a new personal record of 4:53 for 1km and 26:28 for 5k. These are probably not particularly accurate, but it's still a nice morale boost on a day when I could just as easily have stayed on the couch and hated myself for the rest of the night.

The Muppet

Congrats on the pbs

Maximus Alexander

Still struggling to keep my easy runs easy. I mean, not that this was hard, but I know it should be slower - in around 6:20-6:30/km.

6 Miles Easy:

Went out in mid afternoon so thankfully missed the horizontal rain. Took a long route down to Marlay Park, did one lap and then headed back a different way. It was nice enough, though people who walk their dogs on those extendible leads should probably be hanged with them in fairness.

1-5: 6:25, 6:09, 6:11, 6:21, 6:27
6-10: 6:23, 5:46, 5:51, 5:57, 5:30

Total: 10.15km @ 6:06/km

I had a niggle in the right quad / hip area when I stopped running which had me ever so slightly limping as I walked home, but it seems to have been resolved by a bit of stretching which is good. It's probably time to get the foam roller out.

Maximus Alexander

I'm having a bit of a bout of insomnia again and so I was feeling very lethargic today, I was pretty close to knocking this on the head but that becomes a habit too easily.

3 Miles Easy:

This was the hardest run I've done in a long time. Ever have one of those days where you wonder why you're doing it at all?

Total: 5.0km @ 6:29/km

I'm legitimately going to try and have a nap now like and old, old man. Sure tomorrow's another day!

Maximus Alexander

Decided this morning to cancel tonight's run. It wasn't out of laziness, or lack of desire, I just think it was better for my running not to do it. I was second guessing myself after dinner, but I have been outrunning my own recovery rate.

You know when you fully charge your mobile and then you're on the go for a few days and you only get the chance to plug it in again for 10 minutes here and there, so it's always got a bit of charge, but it's gradually getting flatter and flatter? That's analogous to my legs over the last couple of weeks.

So, one 400m interval session missed out of the plan, but I think it's for the best. I'm going to do my easy 3 miles tomorrow and then parkrun on Saturday morning and that will be my running for the week. I'm going to call it a step back week. That's a thing I hear people talking about sometimes.

Singer

Just a quick note - interesting log so far, really well written and looking forward to following your progress

Today's recovery day sounds good (I should do more of them myself ).

Maximus Alexander

Cheers Singer. What you're doing seems to be working for you! I'm in the unfortunate situation where the mind is willing but keeps forgetting that the body is still pretty new to this.

Maximus Alexander

I felt like a new man today. Still not 100% but a world apart from the mess I was on Tuesday.

Having a terrible time on Tuesday and then skipping last night's run was playing on my mind all day and I was feeling very negative about my running, thinking it was pointless and I'd never improve and lots of other crap like that. I had to keep reminding myself that I've been running in earnest for all of six weeks and I need to relax a little and stop expecting to become an athlete overnight.

So anyway, it was a huge relief to have an easy run feel easy and - most importantly - enjoyable again.

3 Miles Easy:

I made a distinct effort to increase my cadence whilst running slowly, because I hear that more cadence is a good thing. When running slower than about 6:00/km mine is usually way down in the 150s and I managed to get it up to the 160s today, so that's possibly a good thing for reasons I don't fully understand.

It was blowing a gale, but it was actually kind of nice in a weird way. Maybe I was just in a good mood.

Splits: 6:14 - 6:10 - 5:54 - 5:42 - 5:38

Total: 5.04km @ 5:55/km

I was running this by feel, not looking at the watch, and it felt easy throughout apart from on a couple of uphills where the effort was moderate. I had no idea I had sped up as I went, so I'm pretty pleased. Looks like I did the right thing yesterday. Huzzah!

The Muppet

Nice one . Sometimes on easy runs I just run by heart rate making sure I keep it well within my easy zone .uber 140 for me. Those runs are always enjoyable.

Rest and easy days are all part of the journey you shouldn't feel guilty for taking them.

Maximus Alexander

Marlay Parkrun
My first ever parkrun / timed event / run that involves people other than me

I really needed to lay down a good PB today because my confidence has been low this week and I needed proof that training is actually working and I am improving. I decided that if I could hold 5:10/km pace for a while and push at the end to finish in the mid 25s, I'd be pretty happy with that as it would be comfortably the fastest 5k I'd ever run and show clear improvement.

I was unusually prepared last night, trying to make sure that nothing could possibly stand in my way this morning. I went out and bought some Adidas running shorts, a long sleeve Adidas running t shirt, along with a short sleeve one, some socks and some gloves. So I finally had some gear that would at least make me look like a real runner.

I printed out my barcode, carefully encased it in clingfilm to keep it dry as I knew it would be raining this morning, laid out my gear, and went to bed early. I was asleep before midnight, and up at 7:45 on a Saturday. Both of these things have happened maybe twice in the last decade, so I was taking this super serial and I don't even know who I am anymore.

Breakfast was two slices of toasted soda bread with butter and jam, a cup of coffee and a pint of water. Then off I went to the park.

I had a slow warmup run of a little over 1km at about 7:00/km pace, but I got to the start about ten minutes early and it was raining so I did another little lap of the carpark to keep warm.

The race run:

Having never done anything like this I didn't know where I fit into the pack and I certainly didn't want to be in anyone's way, so I stayed near the back as we crowded behind the start line. The announcer gave a quick introduction and then there was a minute's silence for those who lost their lives in Paris which was a nice touch - it was pretty well observed too.

Kilometer 1:

And we were off. I immediately knew I should have started further forward. There were a couple of hundred people ahead of me and the start was slow. The first km turns right out of the carpark and then leads on to the course's only uphill stretch which is about a 15m rise over, I'd guess, about 600m. I knew that at this pace I'd be ages getting up that hill and my time would suffer badly. I would have to go off road.

Into the mud I went on the left hand side of the path - I chose the left because it meant I was making the course longer rather than shorter for myself and thus no cheating - and I started passing people. Back onto the path for a right turn and then right again onto the uphill stretch. I wasn't going to run on the grass here, but things were starting to spread slightly and I saw a few guys and girls weaving up ahead so I followed them and weaved through a few gaps to get into some space.

Topped the rise, feeling nice and strong, and we were into a gradual downhill for 1km or more which is where I knew I needed to make up a lot of time. A girl ahead of me hit the mud on the right hand side (again, the 'longer' side) in order to get past people and I followed her.

Kilometer 2:

We were on the downhill now and the field had spread out nicely so there was room. I know I do well on the downhills, maybe because I have a killer set of quads from cycling , but more likely because I read advice on here about leaning into the slope and lifting the knees which I've been practising, so it was my intention to win some seconds here so that psychologically I'd know I had headroom later.

There were people puffing a bit already and I was galloping (in my terms anyway) past them. I could see a few people up ahead taking the same approach as me, but I was even gaining on them! I felt really good at this stage and even though I had no idea what pace I was actually going, it felt right.

It was probably around the end of this kilometer as things started to flatten out that I came upon a woman running with her dog, I think it was a labrador or a golden retriever. She was paying a lot of attention to the dog and still looked like she was scarcely making an effort, so I thought if I can stick close to her I probably won't be going far wrong. I passed her, gradually, but she'd be back.

Kilometer 3:

I'd heard a lot about how in a 5k, the third kilometer is hell. I didn't experience it that way, my overriding memory is just that it was long. I remember thinking plenty of times "Shouldn't we be near the 3km sign by now?" but still not even seeing it in the distance.

I was all flat now and I was moving along at what felt like a steady pace. I think I glanced at the watch here and was happy enough with what I saw, but I don't recall what it said.

Retriever lady passed me again somewhere in this kilometer so I just stayed on her shoulder. I was probably starting to pant a bit now and I don't think she was, so I thought I'd use her as a pacer. After a while though, the dog seemed to be struggling. I remember her coaxing it a bit, I don't think he was moving fast enough for her, and then eventually passed her and I don't think I saw her again.

I think I outran a dog guys. This is my biggest athletic achievement ever.

Kilometer 4:

Now shit started to get real.

This kilometer was my own personal little hell. I had no idea where I was with regards to my goal time, but I didn't feel I was doing well enough to be able to back off at this point. But that's all I wanted to do.

I really, really thought I didn't have it in my to keep running for another two kilometers. All of a sudden, everything wanted to stop. Just stop. Not even slow down, or walk, stop.

I focused on my breathing to try and get things under control. "You've let yourself get a little gassed, that's all" I was telling myself. "Deep, controlled breaths, calm down, you've got this."

I looked at the people ahead of me who I had been gaining on gradually and thought "Ease off just a little, stop gaining, keep that gap the same and you'll be okay". I kept telling myself that for a long time, but it seemed to work because eventually I passed the sign for...

Kilometer 5:

It's all a bit of a blur here. I don't think my brain was getting enough oxygen anymore. I didn't care about pace now, I just needed to keep moving. I thought I was going really slowly, but the people in front weren't getting any further away and only one person had passed me - a guy who looked like he was well into his 60s with not a bother on him - so I can't have been going that badly.

"There's a right turn up ahead. I looked at that on Google Maps yesterday and it's almost exactly 500m from the finish. Push!" I had nothing to push with.

We're on a slight downhill now, and I'm really puffing. Really puffing. 500m sounds like 500 miles to me. We're approaching the second to last left turn now and two guys on my shoulder spring into action. How long have they been there? I don't know, but they have good ideas. "Ok, push?" says one to the other. "Push." the other replies.

They move out to my right and pull ahead and all I can think is "Follow them!" The legs groan "Noooo!" but my brain is back in the driving seat. I will never catch them, but in following them I pass a few others.

And now I'm on the home straight. And look there's the finish and push and oh look it's closer and...

I'm done?

I'm totally done and the Garmin says...

24:51

Get out of town.

This is the best day ever.

After:

I go and get scanned and pant my thanks at the volunteers as I pass. Then a 1km jog back to the car at about 6:30/km pace and I can't wipe the grin off my face.

I might still be slow in the grand scheme of things, but I'm faster than I ever was before - faster than a couple of hundred other runners! This training stuff works, actually works. I'm delighted. The bug is back!

Maximus Alexander

Oh and here are the splits according to Garmin (sounds like a gospel), which actually pretty well match the story as I told it.

5:18
4:33
4:52
5:22
4:53

Ososlo

That's absolutely brilliant!!! You totally smashed it!
Really well done and very engaging report too. Super stuff max!

tailgunner

Brilliant stuff. Sounds like the training is really paying off!

Singer

Great stuff! (Both the running and the writing).

Hilarious description of beating the dog

Maximus Alexander

Thanks guys, just had a nice nap as a reward. Here's hoping I can beat that at Jingle Bells.

Firedance

Brilliant stuff Maximus!!!! well done you & a super race report too. Marlay is a busy parkrun so FYI there are others not too far away, Tymon Park & Shanganagh (which is pancake flat). I hope you become a regular, parkrun is fab You will undoubtedly knock time off that for Jingle bells. Well done again.

Grab All Association

The Muppet

Well done maximus great run and a great report