Still trying to figure it all out.

hot buttered scones

skyblue46 wrote: »

Those numbers would indicate that easy pace should be at 125-130. As P says the numbers are high for easy... particularly with such a low resting HR. You must be an anomaly!

125-130 is about 9:30-10:00/mile for me. Sometimes. Sometimes, early in the morning, when its cool and the body isn't fully awake, then I can do 8:30s or so in and around 130. On a warm day with cloud cover and high humidity the same pace would get me 155. If you work it off max HR, then 70%-80% of Max@188 is
132-150. For recovery runs I do try and keep it in and around 130.

skyblue46

Ah right. I use the heart rate reserve formulas which give a totally different set of figures.

hot buttered scones

Saturday 29/09

Jaysus, that was ages ago. 7 miles into town and back out again, with a quick stop in the middle to pick something up. 8:35/mile on the way in. 8:43/mile on the way back out.

53.6 for the week; 226 for the month

Sunday 30/09, Monday 01/10

No running. Had to have a check up on Monday (not running related, not serious either), which involved some fasting, so I was pretty wrecked.

Tuesday 02/10

30 minutes recovery. 3.3 miles @9:23 on grass. A very easy day until I get my food intake back up.

Wednesday 03/10

7 miles@8:18. Was still pretty tired in the morning, so this had to wait until the mid afternoon. Despite the tiredness from the previous few days, the rest from running had done me good. My legs felt great! Warm enough out still though.

Thursday 04/10

Tempo session

I was both looking forward too and dreading this in equal parts. It had to be done early in the morning, and I wasn't 100% convinced I;d be up to it. I needn't have worried though. I hit all the paces (more or less). I ran the recoveries by feel - what felt easy, and these turned out to be slightly faster than easy pace - I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I really enjoyed this session. Just one thing of note - the paces did feel slightly harder than in previous weeks, although still manageable. But I wasn't 100% still, plus it was quite a humid morning. Session was 2x6mins@7:10, 2x5 mins@7:00, 3x4mins@6:50 2 mins recoveries

Warmup - 2 miles@ 8:17

6 mins@7:08; 2 mins@8:00
6 mins@7:08, 2 mins@7:59
5 mins@6:55; 2 mins@7:46
5 mins@6:56; 2 mins@8:02
4 mins@6:47; 2 mins@7:58
4 mins@6:49; 2 mins@8:02
4 mins@6:47; 2 mins@7:44

Cool down: 1 mile@7:55, 1 mile@8:26

Total: 10.26

Didn't feel like a 10 miler, felt fantastic throughout. What a great feeling.

Friday 05/10

7@8:38. Another early start. Tired, and the legs felt a bit heavy, but otherwise ok

Saturday 06/10

15 miles@8:21

Felt a bit rubbish at the start, got into it after 4 miles and started feeling good. Started to pick up the pace a bit, felt very strong and relaxed throughout with a the few miles at the end probably the best. Effort levels were never too high and very few complaints from the body. The hip flexors felt a bit tight during mile 13, but seemed to ease off during the last mile. The best long run I've had in ages.

Sunday 07/10

7@8:25, pm run. No real hangover from yesterday, even though I worked all night as well. So this was a handy trot to get the blood circulating before work again. Felt warm with the wind at my back , but running into it - t'would skin ya!

Weekly total: 50.1 I didn't actually miss any days of running (if you count Tuesday) - I just had last weeks and this weeks rest days back to back. I'm slightly down on mileage, and on a normal weeks there's usually another session in there, but I;m happy enough with how thing went this week.

hot buttered scones

Monday 08/10

Plan had 30 minutes recovery. By the time I got time, I just felt tired and thought a rest day would benefit me more, so that's what I did. In hindsight, yes I was tired - but I also lacked the motivation to go out for "just" 30 minutes. Maybe that was from being tired, or maybe it was something else. Something to keep an eye on in future.

Tuesday 09/10

7@8:27 into and out of town. I like this route. It's a gradual descent into town for around 2 miles (with one steep bit), then 4 miles on the flat, and then back up the drag again (including the short steep bit) home. Its great when you're tired (there's that word again) because the first 2 miles feel fast and easy, and then your warmed up. It's also door to door, which is always good. Nothing to note hear except I nearly fell into river. I was running along the North Mall, just looking around when I clipped my toe on the dodgy footpath and stumbled into the railings - which came up to my mid thigh. I grabbed the railings with both hands and continued on, with the HR going up a few beats. It was low tide too, so it would have been a far drop down into muck and rocks. Warm enough out too.

Wednesday 10/10

Slept badly, up early, tired again - it's a bit of theme this week. Night shifts just mess you up sometimes.

Got out just before lunch for this week tempo/threshold session.
Prescribed session: 8 mins@7:00, 3 mins recovery, 3x5 mins@6:45, 90s recovery, 8 mins@7:00

Actual:
8 mins@6:57
3x5 mins@6:44; 6:44; 6:46
8 mins@6:59

2.12 warm up@8:26
2.51 cool down/slog@8:47

10 miles for the day.

Whats can I say. Felt a lot harder than last weeks session, a lot more than it should have, although I think the HR wasn't much higher. There'd be no running the recoveries at "fast easy" pace this week. I know what the paces were supposed to feel like, and they definitely felt a bit harder than previous attempts. So rather than last week where I felt like I could go on for ever and felt great, this session took a bit more determination and concentration to get done, and I was wrecked by the end of it. I feel like I'm making excuses, but there are reasons I think.
1. Sh1t sleep. Maybe 3 or 4 hours interrupted sleep.
2. Low energy. I just didn't eat enough. 1 slice of white toast just won't cut it, not when I only ate dinner yesterday and nothing else. Some GI issues are making nutrition a bit tricky, but I know full well I need to eat even when I don't really feel hungry.
3. The weather. Always feel like this is a lame excuse, but seriously it was a about 20 degrees here today, and the wind was savage. I used the Pairc Ui Caoimh/Atlantic Pond loop (around 1 mile), and this gives a good bit of shelter form the wind, but its very exposed to the sun in parts. My last 3 sessions of this type were done in much cooler conditions and so felt a lot easier. In fairness, its probably going to be more similar to today in Valencia, than the other sessions, so maybe today is a better measure of where I'm at than those sessions down at 10 or 11 degrees

So yeah, that's it. I only really logged on to have a bit of a moan really. Oh yeah, and that f£ckin Storm Callum is on it way, so that's Fridays run ruined 'n all. Its going to be hard getting up early Friday morning facing that. Yep, I'm definitely in moany b0ll0x mode this week.

Edit: On the positive side of things, I did get a Strava kudos off the boss man, so I must have done something right.

Kellygirl

And it’s positive that you didn’t fall into the river!! Hope Storm Callum doesn’t derail your plans to much in the next few days!

hot buttered scones

So I slogged my way through 6.6 miles last Thursday. I couldn't wait for it to be over. Totally drained Friday, Saturday was a bit better (but I was working all day) and Sunday was mostly spent asleep - no running for 3 days. Did 7 easy before work Monday evening, but then missed Tuesday and today due to other engagements. Normally I find a way to work around these things, but this time I just didn't want too. Having a think about it I realised I'm just a bit drained - physically and mentally. I got a bit stressed looking at my schedule for the next 2 or 3 weeks (work, life etc.) wondering how the hell I was going to fit everything in and train. Which is a bit daft when you think about it really - it's a hobby, it's supposed to be fun! So I decided I wasn't going to try and fit everything in and that running was going to take a back seat for a bit while I do a bit of work and have a bit of fun. I think this was always going to happen, and I probably should have eased off once I realised I couldn't do Frankfurt. I should never have "panic booked" Valencia - and why did I feel under pressure to run something I'd picked for myself to do? So I'll draw a line under it and move on. I'm aiming just to tip away and just keep the mileage respectable and try and build (or maybe just maintain?) a decent base. I might do the odd random session if I get bored, or I might not. Maybe a fresh start in the New Year?
So this year I've ran 5 races and dropped out of 6 - so for the good of my wallet I'm going to have to stop booking races before I know I'm ready for them!

hot buttered scones

Oct 15 - 21 1 run, 7 miles
Oct 22 - 28 Ran 2 days, 9 miles total
Oct 29 - Nov 4 Ran 5 days, including a 10 miler. 32.5 total
Nov 5 - 11 Ran 2 days, 9.3 total
Nov 12 - 18 Ran 4 days, 17.3 miles total
This week so far: 2 days on, 2 days off, 1 day on. Total 13.8

Took 2 weeks very easy, doing not much at all really, including a weekend away where I brought the running gear, but never unpacked it. I tried to get back into it the next week, finishing the week with a 10 miler. All these runs were very enjoyable - all easy, although the last couple of miles of the 10 miler were tough enough. Another 10 days followed that where I only got 2 runs in, plus a day trip away - just meself and the young lad. There were plenty of reasons/excuses - I was working a lot, the weather was rubbish etc. etc. but mostly I just didn't want to. After that there was 6 days on the trot where I got out, for runs between 3 and 6 miles - whenever I had time and whatever I had time for. I tried to push myself a bit to get out some of these days, and felt better for it.

I was definitely right on the edge there physically for a while and was putting myself under a lot of stress to get the training done. This was not healthy. I felt more relieved than disappointed when I sold my entry for Valencia, which says a lot. I feel like I've been under the weather for months now. As it turns out I had a health issue (not very serious) that needed looking after, which seems to be sorting itself out now. This was making it hard to take on adequate nutrition and resulting in me being more fatigued than I should have been from the training I was doing. Also, I was lacking balance. I was too tired to do a lot of the things I should have been doing. Single mindedness and bloody stubbornness can be good traits to train well and get through tough races and pull out good performances, but there's always the danger of developing tunnel vision.
So I had a nice little break and decided to start back again. The only problem there is I seem to have picked up some sort of respiratory bug that I can't seem to shift. It's not too bad - I'm a small bit wheezy at times and the lungs open up after around a mile but I'm definitely operation at about 80%.

I don't miss the sessions. I'm not itching to race. I was thinking about some races in the Spring, but then I came to the conclusion that I'm happy enough tipping away with the short runs for now. The only thing I would change at the moment is to try and ensure I get out for at least 10 miles or 90 minutes at least once every 7 or 8 day. Or not. I just want to keep active, stay fit (not rave fit mind you, just fit) and try not to get too fat. That'll do for now I think.

denis b

HBS...I am back on the Logs again and saw your post on 2019 Goals. Just dropping by to wish you the very best with all of 2019 before you. Its always good to see your runs on strava so at least we know that you are plugging away quietly. Did the same myself for several months in 2018 and it did no harm whatsoever. Enjoy what you decide to do

hot buttered scones

denis b wrote: »

HBS...I am back on the Logs again and saw your post on 2019 Goals. Just dropping by to wish you the very best with all of 2019 before you. Its always good to see your runs on strava so at least we know that you are plugging away quietly. Did the same myself for several months in 2018 and it did no harm whatsoever. Enjoy what you decide to do

Thanks D. The biggest effort will be getting the head in the right and a bit of HTFU wouldn't go astray either.

Swashbuckler

Hey man. Haven't seen you around these parts in a while. How's everything?

hot buttered scones

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Hey man. Haven't seen you around these parts in a while. How's everything?

Ah grand. I've just fallen into a bit of a rut. I'm being super lazy and have gotten very demotivated. I need to get going again if only to stop my gut from growing - the work pants are getting a bit tight! It's weird - I've been really tired lately too, but that's probably down to loss of fitness. It doesn't help with the motivation. I find myself sitting wondering where I got all the time to run before. So yeah, as far as running is concerned it's all excuses - too tired, too late, too early, too cold, too busy. I've even injured myself from not running, would you believe!! I woke up the other week and my lower back was all seized up. When it didn't clear I had a couple of physio sessions and it was right as rain again. He reckoned my muscles had gotten lazy and inactive from not using them enough. The truth is I've broken the habit and I need to get back into a routine again. Maybe just try and get out for 5 days a week for short distances to begin with and build it back up again. I've been avoiding here too, just because I'm out of the loop and it would wreck my head to be reading all about everybody's exploits and me just being a lazy sod. We'll see how it goes I suppose.

Kellygirl

So hard when the habit is broken! Maybe you could go check out the new Glen River Parkrun for something different and it’s close to where you run often anyway? Might help get you motivated a bit again?

Swashbuckler

Sorry to hear the motivation has been lacking. You're missed around these parts. And you still owe me a Charleville pacing gig!

skyblue46

I only got a small injury but it set me back more than I'm comfortable with. I can relate to the lack of motivation. Going out at snails pace just doesn't get the juices flowing. Unfortunately it's the only way to build back up. Stick with it.

healy1835

Hey man, keep at it and hopefully the spring will see you turn a corner. Maybe choose a 5 Mile/10k race or something and target a time. Obv it won't be a PB effort but it could be a stepping stone to getting the juices flowing again.

Megager

hot buttered scones wrote: »

Ah grand. I've just fallen into a bit of a rut. I'm being super lazy and have gotten very demotivated. I need to get going again if only to stop my gut from growing - the work pants are getting a bit tight! It's weird - I've been really tired lately too, but that's probably down to loss of fitness. It doesn't help with the motivation. I find myself sitting wondering where I got all the time to run before. So yeah, as far as running is concerned it's all excuses - too tired, too late, too early, too cold, too busy. I've even injured myself from not running, would you believe!! I woke up the other week and my lower back was all seized up. When it didn't clear I had a couple of physio sessions and it was right as rain again. He reckoned my muscles had gotten lazy and inactive from not using them enough. The truth is I've broken the habit and I need to get back into a routine again. Maybe just try and get out for 5 days a week for short distances to begin with and build it back up again. I've been avoiding here too, just because I'm out of the loop and it would wreck my head to be reading all about everybody's exploits and me just being a lazy sod. We'll see how it goes I suppose.

Exactly same with me. Had bad achilles injury which flared up in June and have never shifted it. Anytime I run.even now pain, so it's very difficult to motivate when a) I can't run fast and b) am.in agony after 500m. But look we both did well in Cork and Dublin when we were training and it's vital to let the body heal. Part of our collective demotivation maybe mother nature's way of making sure we heal. But I'm sure we will get out there again. So keep the faith.

El CabaIIo

Just catching up here. I thought I might chip in a few thoughts as someone who isused to coming back from time off and trying to get back at it again, this is probably good for 6 months, someone with more expertise can chip in on what happens after that:)

I think there's a few simple points that can make a difference to get going.

- Leave compararisons of where you are now to where you were, set some short term goals. It can be easy to just go "I'm so unfit compared to x time" so look for progress first. Whether that means getting to a position where you feel comfortable running an 8 miler or running a 45 minute 10k or whatever you think, even getting out for a short walk. There was a time before where goals like this felt like an accomplishment to you, they can still feel like that now as they are a sign of progress like any improvement is.

- start at your own pace on how many days you run. I've found it good to think about taking bitesize chunks rather than rushing in and getting discouraged when you miss a day. Start sustainable and funsize. Whether thats 2 days a week or 5, give yourself something positive to build on and something that you find sustainable.

- Pick some short to medium goal races and cough up the coin on pre-booking. There's some brilliant races on around Cork from May on, sunshine and long days while meeting up with people at a race are the days worth living. Look for progress in those.

- The muscles remember, they just need a bit of a shake like that old sleeping drunk at the bar, they were just taking a rest.

- Make a small commitment to training- I'm going to run 3 times a week for a month. The head just needs a jogging too to remember that it felt good after a run and that it had a positive impact on you.


They are just some things I try to remember and find useful. Feel free to tell me to shove my thoughts up my hole if you want.

Wottle

Similar to above, I've thrown in the towel dozens of times. Small goals that aren't time based is my suggestion and I'll go against El C here but don't sign up for a race, it becomes a deadline and then pressure mounts.
Do commit to 3 runs a week, who cares how fast and how long, listen to a few podcasts and create new running routes.
Best of luck with it.

Megager

Great advice. Thanks guys. Yeah plan running three times a week Max. Still very painful but knowing I don't have to go out next day helps me push through.

Singer

Hey HBS.

Have you figured it all out?

Any running recently? Hope all is well.