Running away

Murph_D

Dodgy arithmetic during a race is a classic sign that you're working hard. Nothing to worry about!

skyblue46

Murph_D wrote: »

Dodgy arithmetic during a race is a classic sign that you're working hard. Nothing to worry about!

She was both working hard and being very demanding!

ariana`

eyrie wrote: »

Very belatedly getting a chance to read your report E - it's just lovely. I'm delighted you got your A goal and what a super result too, and it's lovely reading about how it all unfolded and the support from the others. A super PB and so deserved after all the great training this year! Well done

Thanks C. Over two weeks later and it's still very satisfying to think back on

Murph_D wrote: »

Dodgy arithmetic during a race is a classic sign that you're working hard. Nothing to worry about!

I'll have to find something else to blame for the dodgy arithmetic when i'm not running so

skyblue46 wrote: »

She was both working hard and being very demanding!

Haha well i know how you like to feel useful :pac:

Nothing much to log since, I'm trying to keep a bit of momentum going and toying around with the idea of getting a couple of races in before the end of the year but i'm not doing any specific training. I've been dipping into Matt Fitzgerald's 80/20 training approach. My early thoughts are that i'd have to transition slowly as even the easy runs (zone 2) are a bit tougher than my current easy pace which mostly have me in the recovery zone (zone 1). The next target race will most likely be a Spring HM but that could change.

For now i'm loving following all the super marathon training going on, i'm in awe of it to be honest, it's super to see the progression especially from my fellow novices and this year's grads who have all stepped up a gear (or a few gears!). Roll on Oct 27th

Murph_D

I'd recommend the 80/20 stuff. Take your point about zone 1 / 2 but maybe there's something to learn there. To be honest I don't think you'd notice the step up in your definition of 'easy' after a very short transition. Ultimately it's based on appropriate effort rather than pace.

ariana`

Murph_D wrote: »

I'd recommend the 80/20 stuff. Take your point about zone 1 / 2 but maybe there's something to learn there. To be honest I don't think you'd notice the step up in your definition of 'easy' after a very short transition. Ultimately it's based on appropriate effort rather than pace.

Thanks. I had a read back through your log from earlier this year where you followed it for your impressive 5k PB. I get that it's about effort, pace should/will become irrelevant and zone 2 effort should feel 'easy' or else there is something wrong with my zones.

The other step-up for me would be to go to 7 days (running or cross training) which the plans advocate, step back weeks aside. At the moment my non-running days are far too inactive (desk job :rolleyes:) so I've been feeling i should try to introduce some activity on those days regardless of specific running training, but if it's on the plan to do 7 days i wonder will it become a source of pressure in my life rather than an optional extra. A source of pressure is something i don't really need.

Plenty for me to mull over for the next while

Huzzah!

!!!

Swashbuckler

Best kept secret of 2019

eyrie

Dark horse!!

ariana`

Huzzah! wrote: »

!!!

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Best kept secret of 2019

eyrie wrote: »

Dark horse!!

Honestly, this decision was made at the 11th hour so there was not much time to update the masses really between having mild (and not so mild) panic attacks and analysing as much data as i could relating to my year's running to see if there was any sign there that i could run a marathon without it being a complete sufferfest - Runanalyze told me i was 62% prepared, well it could be worse, right!

And i'll admit to a couple of other reasons - ok so i didn't want to be talked out of it or told that it was pretty reckless decision. And i didn't want to detract from all the posts from the novices and others who had put in the weeks and weeks of hard work and trained for their marathon and had genuine concerns/queries at the 11th hour that required addressing.

So to fill in some blanks...

This year was never going to be a marathon year for me. However when KBC offered discounted entries for their customers i grabbed one in what was definitely a panic purchase and honestly it was probably the worst thing i could have done because what ensued was weeks of dithering! I eventually (illegally) sold my entry and the relief was palpable. I focused on my Sept/Oct HM mission - a sub 1:50 goal which became a sub 1:49 goal and on Sept 21st I achieved that goal in the DCHM running 1:48. In the immediate aftermath i flirted with the idea of ramping up my training and doing DCM (probably under another name) but after careful consideration i discounted the idea as a silly notion for several reasons which i won't bore you with. So it was parked AGAIN! I took a bit of a break after the HM and after a week or two got back into a few easy runs. Fast forward to Oct 17th when a couple of things occurred but mostly i succumbed to a pretty chronic case of FOMO and within about 72 hrs and less than a week before DCM i had my entry back and had decided to do it as a fun run. I won't deny there were panic attacks - honestly who runs a marathon for fun off the back of very little training?

Naturally there were some chats with some of my fellow 2017 novices - KellyGirl, Baby75 and Browneyes were very supportive but sensible as usual! The main things i came away with from those conversations were
1. Get rid of any notions of going for a time - no problem
2. Fueling, fueling, fueling - no problem
3. Expect to struggle for the last 5/6 miles - eek :eek:

At the 11th hour, Skyblue asked me my plan for it, i told him and he gave me his seal of approval which i appreciated though i'm sure he was secretly rolling his eyes to heaven - i don't think fun runs are his area of expertise! So what was my plan - my plan was to to get around and very loosely aim to finish in a time close to my other 2 marathons (4:37 & 4:27).

I'm not going to go into a mile by mile account (splits below) as it was really all very uneventful. The support was phenomenal, my fellow novices popped up several times - Lazare, Omercon, Skyblue. Then there was ReeReeG & Huzzah in Milltown. I had friends and family there also. It was just incredible support. The run, well I kept it very easy without looking at the watch too often, the odd glance told me my HR was good, the high end of my easy range well into the 2nd half. In the end i ran roughly 3:25 in easy, 30 mins in threshold and 30 mins in the red zone. I ran a small negative split 2:13:44 for the first half and 2:12:34 for the second half, finishing in 4:26:18 for a 51 second PB. I fueled well - Tailwind for the 1st half and 3 x gels in the second half, no issues with either, no issues with the nausea that often happens me in tough races. Despite my fellow novices warnings i didn't struggle in the last 5/6 miles if anything i flew through these miles feeling strong all the way to the blue carpet. One stand out moment was powering up Heartbreak Hill (i got a PR on strava segments) and remembering how i walked up it last year completely defeated. I had a fabulous fun run marathon and no regrets despite spending the following week sick! And sickness aside, the body recovered well, some DOMS for 2 days but legs felt good by Wednesday and great by Thursday.

I was delighted to meet a few in McGrattans afterward. I didn't stay too long, a pre-marathon scratchy throat was getting quite sore/hoarse and i was generally getting tired but it was such a marked difference from last year where i couldn't actually stand up or focus without feeling dizzy and weak. It was fabulous to see so many happy faces afterward, the contented glow of a job well done by so many of my fellow novices, last year's novices and some of the more experienced boardsies also. Kudos to all for the hard work and preparation that went into DCM 2019 and a race well raced on the day! I took a massive short cut and mine was a very different experience to most this year (to the point where i felt like a bit of a fraud in McGrattans and still feel a bit of a fraud LOL) but it served a purpose for me - the fear that last year's experience instilled in me seems to have left the building now to the point where i may have just signed up for another one next year!

I will go for a time in my next marathon, if i can run 4:26 comfortably without training then surely 3:59:59 is possibly with dedicated training? It'll be a different experience next time out but DCM 2019 will always be special for the enjoyment factor, i had neither the fear of my 1st one or the pressure of my 2nd one! Admittedly it's a completely different sense of satisfaction to a hard race after a solid training block, it's very hard to top that feeling when you've worked damn hard for it, but feeling strong in the last few miles of a marathon - well that's encouraging and a nice little boost nearing the end of what was at times a challenging and lack luster year.

Avg Pace: 10:06min/m, avg HR 155bpm, Max HR 184bpm.
Splits:
1-5: 10:15, 9:52, 10:09, 9:56, 10:14
6-10: 10:09, 10:14, 10:03, 10:07, 9:53
11-15: 10:29, 10:15, 10:12, 10:28, 10:13
16-20: 10:13, 10:26, 10:18, 10:29, 10:15
21-25: 10:12, 10:30, 9:43, 9:37, 9:34
26-26.x: 9:22, 8:27 (.37)

Thanks for reading.

chickey2

Sounds like you really enjoyed that! You can definitely do sub 4 with a dedicated plan, best of luck!

Huzzah!

If someone had said to you when you started this log that you'd be running a marathon for fun, you'd have laughed in their face!

Delighted you'd such a great run and it'll hopefully help with the confidence for next year's sub 4 attempt.

ariana`

chickey2 wrote: »

Sounds like you really enjoyed that! You can definitely do sub 4 with a dedicated plan, best of luck!

Thank you and i hope you are right!

Huzzah! wrote: »

If someone had said to you when you started this log that you'd be running a marathon for fun, you'd have laughed in their face!

Delighted you'd such a great run and it'll hopefully help with the confidence for next year's sub 4 attempt.

And ain't that the truth, 100%!
Thank you.

Kellygirl

Huzzah! wrote: »

If someone had said to you when you started this log that you'd be running a marathon for fun, you'd have laughed in their face!

Delighted you'd such a great run and it'll hopefully help with the confidence for next year's sub 4 attempt.

Some people do 5k fun runs - others do 26.2 mile fun runs

BrownEyes79

Brilliant report E, you’re definitely some woman! Delighted it all worked out so well for you. Bring in the next one

eyrie

That's lovely to read! You really deserved a positive marathon experience and I'm delighted you had one. Not to mention my mind is a bit blown that anyone can run a marathon without specifically training for it (I remember one long long run on Strava but that was it I think?).
So... the next one to be tackled: is it DCM 2020 or...?

ariana`

eyrie wrote: »

That's lovely to read! You really deserved a positive marathon experience and I'm delighted you had one. Not to mention my mind is a bit blown that anyone can run a marathon without specifically training for it (I remember one long long run on Strava but that was it I think?).
So... the next one to be tackled: is it DCM 2020 or...?

Thanks C. And you're correct, i had done a random 17m run in August which was 10 weeks out. For prosperity i suppose it's worth recording what i had done in the previous weeks

Week|Longest Run|Total
-1| 12.6| 37.6
-2| 10| 21.2
-3| 12| 40.1
-4| 13| 34.2
-5| HM Race| 30.5
-6| 8| 37.5
-7| 14| 38.8
-8| 11.8| 38.7
-9| 13.4| 41.3
-10| 17| 43.7
-11| 11.6| 40.9
-12| 8| 35.2
-13| 13| 38.8
-14| 10.6| 35.1
-15| 8| 26.2
-16| 10.6| 28.7
-17| 10.5| 31.4


It's also worth noting i was running well within myself pace wise. If i had trained for it, i'd likely have been targeting a time 15+ minutes quicker, there was absolutely no heroics on the day, it was purely about getting around Dublin in one piece

skyblue46

Not his area of expertise??? :eek: Seriously though you had a good block of training, not marathon specific, and plenty of miles in the legs since last year. Being in shape for a 1:48 half showed the legs were good. Yeah it was still a big leap and thankfully you got a big reward for the risk...

Comic Book Guy

Wow that's an amazing run and time! As already said a sub 4 next year is well within your grasp.

Congrats on a super and enjoyable run!

The Black Oil

ariana` wrote: »

I will go for a time in my next marathon, if i can run 4:26 comfortably without training then surely 3:59:59 is possibly with dedicated training?

Yes.
Fully confident a report of 3:5X:XX for a marathon will appear this log in the future.

Swashbuckler

Superb... Mad but superb. Haha. There's a lot to be said for ignoring the masses and just going for it. Congrats on a great performance. Mad....... Haha

Pomplamousse

Wow, well done! And delighted for you that it was so enjoyable:)

Wubble Wubble

:pac: 26.2 mile fun run. Brilliant!

Is capall dubh thú gan amhras, mar a dúirt eyrie níos thúisce

Sub 4! Sub 4! Sub 4!

ariana`

Comic Book Guy wrote: »

Wow that's an amazing run and time! As already said a sub 4 next year is well within your grasp.

Congrats on a super and enjoyable run!

Thank you.

The Black Oil wrote: »

Yes.
Fully confident a report of 3:5X:XX for a marathon will appear this log in the future.

Fingers & toes crossed and more importantly lots of training to do!

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Superb... Mad but superb. Haha. There's a lot to be said for ignoring the masses and just going for it. Congrats on a great performance. Mad....... Haha

A little mad but it's one way of doing it i guess, not for everybody, most around these parts probably wouldn't see the point and i get that too 100%. I wouldn't bother with any other distance if i wasn't in semi-decent shape to race it but the marathon is still a bit of an outlier for me, the distance in itself intimidating. Lots to learn just by covering the distance without racing it. Next time will be different

Pomplamousse wrote: »

Wow, well done! And delighted for you that it was so enjoyable:)

Thanks.

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

:pac: 26.2 mile fun run. Brilliant!

Is capall dubh thú gan amhras, mar a dúirt eyrie níos thúisce

Sub 4! Sub 4! Sub 4!

Go raibh míle maith agat J

ariana`

November

A sinus infection after DCM forced me into 8 complete rest days (no complaints about the guilt free lazy evenings). Maybe i attempted to build back up too quickly because two weeks later i got a head cold and the whole house was hit with a vomiting virus the same week, lovely :rolleyes:

Most of my runs this month were about keeping my HR in the aerobic zone, a challenge at times, it definitely seemed elevated whether it was through a loss of fitness or illness or both. Seemed to come good again in the last few days of the month

Oct 28th-Nov 3rd
Complete rest.
0m

Nov 4th-Nov 10th
Tuesday: 5.3m @ 10:17min/m, avg hr 144
Thursday: 7m @ 10:23min/m, avg hr 145
12.3m

Nov 11-Nov 17th
Monday: 6m @ 10:07min/m, avg hr 146
Tuesday: 5.7m @ 10:24min/m, avg hr 144
Wednesday: 7.5m @ 9:51min/m, avg hr 146
Thursday: 4m @ 10:35min/m, avg hr 147
Saturday: 9m @ 9:53min/m, avg hr 151
32m

Nov 18th-Nov 24th
Monday: 6.5m @ 10:40min/m, avg hr 147
Tues-Thursday: Sick
Friday: 5.6m @ 10:46min/m, avg hr 142
Saturday: 8.4m @ 9:51min/m, avg hr 148
Sunday: 6m @ 9:27min/m, avg hr 148 (incl 6 x 100m strides, first bit of speed in 8 weeks, felt good to stretch the legs a little)
26.5m

Nov 25th-Dec 1st
Monday: 7m @ 10:11min/m, avg hr 148
Wednesday: 10*1min on/off (7:03, 7:21, 7:05, 7:06, 7:11, 7:05, 6:50, 6:54, 6:49, 6:50). 5.85m, avg hr 151, max 174
Thursday: 8.4m @ 10:18min/m, avg hr 136
Saturday: Parkrun 24:30, 3.1m @ 7:53min/m, avg hr 165, max 173. 6.8m total.
Sunday: 4m @ 10:22, avg hr 132bpm
32m

I got a shock when i realised it was 8 weeks since i had done anything other than easy runs, not even a set of strides. But November finished better than it started and it felt good to introduce a little bit of speed in the last week of the month. 100 miles, low, but an improvement on the last 2 years when i managed less than 30 miles each November

Mr. Guappa

That's a more than satisfactory month all things considered.

Any races on the horizon? (sorry if I've missed this!)

ariana`

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

That's a more than satisfactory month all things considered.

Any races on the horizon? (sorry if I've missed this!)

Thanks A.

I'm planning to give Parkrun a bash 2-3 times over the next couple of months just to get a bit of race practice again. I've a 10k in March and a marathon in October and that's it at the moment. This year inadvertently became about the 5k & HM for me so 2020 may be about the 10k & Marathon distances. But i'm known for dithering so that could change next week :P

eyrie

ariana` wrote: »

I got a shock when i realised it was 8 weeks since i had done anything other than easy runs, not even a set of strides.

Lol, you did run a marathon you know! I know you weren't racing it all out but still counts as something other than easy :P (I know you mean speed sessions though )
Hope you're over the various bugs. That's a very decent post-marathon month I'd say.

ariana`

December 2019 - Part 1

Dec 2nd-8th
Monday: No chance to run

Tuesday: Gave in to feeling lazy and met a friend instead

Wednesday: 25mins Tempo @ 8:15min/m, avg hr 158, max 172. Total 9.1m.

Thursday: 7.5m steady @ 9:49min/m, avg hr 147

Friday: 3.8m very easy @ 10:45min/m, avg hr 142

Saturday: Parkrun 3.1m @ 7:45min/m (24:05), avg hr 169, max 177. Total 7m.
Happy with this despite the fact that i was loosely aiming for sub 24 mins and didn't quite get it. It felt good to push on a bit over the 5k distance although a long way off a 5k or even a parkrun PB - lots of work to do

Sunday: Nothing, zilch, zero... a visit to Santa and a Christmas movie with the smallies

Total: 27.5m

Dec. 9th-15th
Monday: 7.3m @ 10:44 min/m incl some fartlek, avg hr 145bpm

Tuesday: 5.75m easy @ 10:33min/m, avg hr 140bpm

Wednesday: 5x4'/2' @ 7:26-7:36 (7:32, 32, 23, 29, 29), avg hr 154, max 173, Total 6m.
Delighted with this, not having done CV pace for a while i was a bit nervous but it was fine aside from the hailstones driving into me on reps 3 & 4. Mostly in range too, very impressed with myself

Thursday: Woeful weather and a blazing fire kept me at home - this is becoming a habit now :rolleyes:

Friday: No chance to run with a sick child glued to me - now i regret being lazy the evening before

Saturday: 3*8'/3' LT/Zone 3 (8:21, 8:29, 7:44). Total 6.5m.
In the dark on my own, paces were a bit all over the place but did this off HR so should be an effective session regardless of the paces.

Sunday: 6m easy @ 10:09min/m, avg hr 142bpm
Had planned to go a bit longer but the rain was torrential and i felt quite vulnerable on the roads on my own in the dark with that driving rain effecting drivers' visibility so i called it quits after an hour.

Total 31.7m

ariana`

December 2019 - Part 2

Dec 16th-22nd
Monday: 7.65m @ 9:58min/m, avg hr 145bpm

A good start to what's going to be a challenging week.

Tuesday: Nothing - too foggy to run after work.

Wednesday: Too stormy to run but dragged myself to a class in the gym

Thursday: 4.64m @ 9:43min/m, avg hr 147bpm

In DOMS hell :eek:

Friday: Still in DOMS hell!

W/U, 2.5m Tempo, 5' rec, 5*200m/200m, C/D

2.5m @ 8:10
200s: 6:44, 7:06, 6:44, 6:39, 6:34

Saturday: Parkrun santa dash with the kids

Sunday: Nothing.

Total: 19m

Knew this week would be tough with juggling a full week at work with Christmas parties, had hoped to do a little bit better but the weather threw a spanner in the works, oh well what harm!

Dec 23rd-29th
Monday: 8m @ 9:56min/m, avg hr 146

Tuesday: 6.4m @ 10:24min/m, avg hr 137

Wednesday: Nothing

Thursday: 5.65m @ 9:18min/m, avh hr 146

Friday: 7m @ 9:45min/m, avh hr 150bpm

Saturday: W/U, 2.5m Tempo, 5' rec, 5*200m/200m, C/D

2.5m @ 8:10
200s: 6:06, 6:10, 6:22, 6:15, 6:20

Sunday: Nothing

33m.

Really enjoyed this week, such a novelty getting out in daylight, lovely mild week for running too!

Need to get back on plan though!

ariana`

2019 the good, the bad, the downright ugly and the rest

The good... 5ks were kind to me this year, 6 races resulted in 2 courses PBs and 4 PBs knocking a total 51 seconds off. Half marathon was a big goal for this year, i signed up for 3 but only made it to the start line of 1 in the end but thankfully 1 was enough to produce a 1:48:xx and a pb of 3:49!

The bad... The year got off to slow start with my first 3 races of the year producing lack luster performances, in the end nearly 5 months passed before i managed a PB in any distance.

The downright ugly... 10ks! 3 races in the first half of the year all failing to produce a PB, i hoped to put this right in the 2nd half of the year but it wasn't to be.

13 races and 7 PBs. PBs in 5k, 8k, HM & Marathon.

5km - PB 23:33 (June 2018)
Date|Time
21/05/2019| 23:44.8
28/05/2019| 23:28.0
04/06/2019| 23:00.0
11/06/2019| 22:52.8
18/06/2019| 22:42.6
04/07/2019| 23:38.0

8km - PB 40:26 (Jan 2018)
Date| Time
21/01/2019| 41:20.0
10/08/2019| 38:37.0

10km - PB 49:56 (June 2018)
Date| Time
02/03/2019| 50:04.0
20/04/2019| 51:14.0
15/06/2019| 50:16.0

HM - PB 1:52:31 (Sept 2018)
Date| Time
21/09/2019| 01:48:42

Marathon - PB 4:27:09 (Oct 2019)
Date| Time
27/10/2019| 4:26:16

*Funny fact i knocked the same amount off my 5k this year as my marathon - 51 seconds!

MILEAGE & OTHER STUFF
1,547 miles for the year, up marginally on last year (1464)

For this first time this year i signed up for races (several actually) and didn't make the start line, not a situation i'm happy about - ironically in at least 2 of those cases i signed up early to take advantage of an Early Bird discount :rolleyes: so no more early birds

AND FINALLY 2020...

THE goal
Nail a 10k... low 47 perhaps but mostly i just want to nail it and i'll only know what that is when (not if ) i do it!!

I'm also in for Amsterdam Marathon, i'm not feeling very enthused at thoughts of marathon training right now but i'm hoping after 6 months of 10k stuff it will come as a welcome change, if not i'll switch distance to the half.

And lastly i'd like to try something new in 2020, perhaps a trail run (doesn't have to be an event) - I'm relying on Baby75 to hunt me down until i tick this box!

Now, let's see what the year brings!

Thanks for reading this far, happy new year