"It's what you do next that counts"

Woddle

Hi everyone,I have decided to start a training log as I enjoy reading other peoples so maybe people will enjoy reading mine, any advice would be warmly welcome, a little backround I first started running in 2001 to 2002 in order to loose weight and just found that I loved it and became an addict.
A few race times from that period are 21/7/02 Irish runner 5 mile 33:49
07/8/02 Naas 4 mile 25:56
06/07/2002 5K Phoenix pk 20:10
25/08/2002 Longford marathon 4:37
07/09/2002 cityswift 10 mile 69:17
I was gutted not to break 20 in the 5k but I ran a mountain race 3 days earlier in Maulin which wrecked me. After doing the Longford marathon which really broke my love of running and gave me a slight knee problem, I tried one more race but in the last mile of that cityswift my knee went again and I limped over the line.
The lessons I learned where valuable 1:Don't do all your training on the road, 2: buy good runners and change them every 2,3 months and 3: not every training session should be hard and against the clock.
I;m currently into week 9 of my training which is 6 days a week and a crosstrain day.
Mon: easy 4 mile followed by a tabata protocol and alot of stretching
Tue: Indoor football
Wed: 4 Mile which includes 1/4 mile fast,1/4 mile slow and a 1 mile test at max speed
Thur: easy 3 mile
Fri: 5 mile of hills
Sat:4 mile easy
Sun slow 7 mile
I own a garmin 305 which is an excellent tool helps me get my distance spot on.I'm currently trying to lose a few more pounds I'm 5:9 and 172 lbs was 183lbs at week 1.
I have done 2 races to date the paddys day 5k in 26:33 which does not correspond with the website results. and the great Ireland run in 54:52, my next race probably the rte 5 mile if not I have already registered for the 5 mile classic in the middle of May.
My main objective this year is an injury free Dublin marathon in 4 hours, I plan to start the Hal Higdon intermediate 2 program on the 23rd of June.
I have recently given up work to be a stay at home dad, I also have a treadmill whish I use for my traing, its great when I bring the oldest to school she is 4 the other watches her cartoons for an hour,she is a good girl.She is 2.I'll keep you guys informed as much as possible, Really enjoy sungods,ike,robbicosta,amadeus,hunnymonster and many others.


Ignore table 28/4/2012



|400m Bronze|400m Silver|400m Gold||800m Bronze|800m Silver|800m Gold||1500m/1m Bronze|1500m/1m Silver|1500m/1m Gold|

|62:83|58:75|55:30||2:24|2:15|2:07||4:59/5:22|4:40/5:01|4:23/4:44|




|3k Bronze|3k Silver|3k Gold||5k Bronze|5k Silver|5k Gold||10k Bronze|10k Silver|10k Gold|

|10:48|10:05|9:28||18:31|17:17|16:15||39:53|37:03|34:39|




|10m Bronze|10m Silver|10m Gold||HM Bronze|HM Silver|HM Gold||Marathon Bronze|Marathon Silver|Marathon Gold|

|1:06:17|1:01:31|0:57:30||1:28:25|1:21:59|1:16:34||3:13:56|2:59:06|2:46:35|

Woddle

the title running is easy is taken from a book I enjoy by Bruce Tulloh

Abhainn

Hello Woodle best of luck in your quest. Looking forward to your logs.
You seem very focused so that is a great benefit.

ike

Good man Woddle, nice to see another runner keeping a log, all going well I'll be at the start line in Dublin looking for a 4 hour marathon as well . My other half works odd hours including every second weekend so combined that with 2 kids I did'nt think I'd be able to get a consistant routine going, but planning and determination are definately the key.

Setting mini goals for myself along the way is another way of keeping the focus, be it weight loss, faster times etc. My next goal is to go under 50mins for a 10k. 3 good lessons you've learned there as well, keep us informed!

Odysseus

Welcome mate its great to have another runner here, looking forward to reading your log too. Best of luck with it.

SUNGOD

hi woddle like the posts say above great to have another runners log here.i did the higdon intermediate 2 programme as well and cos you are already training 6 days and a cross train you should find that programme really suits. any way best of luck, looking forward to reading your log i get as much of a kick out of reading other peoples logs as i do keeping my own, good luck

Woddle

Not long in now from my 5 miles, I was so uninterested in going,I had planned to go at 3:15 cause I like the boos and movie slot on newstalk, but my wife was late home from work, but she still made me go at 6.
Found it tough.
As a rule I never stop during a run, I never let the mind battles win , today going up a hill in marley park I really wanted to stop but probably wouldn't have but right then on cue comes journy singin don't stop believin so I dug down deep, I guess thats one advantage of ipods in training. Tomorrow easy 4 in the morning.
and thanks for all your supportive comments and I'll be supporting you guys alot more vocally i the future

Woddle

this morning I did just an easy 30 mins on the treadmill while watching an episode of the biggest loser, great motivation, did it early enough to give my body as much of a break as possible before tomorrows long run, have yet to do 7 miles so can't wait for it

ike

Not fair you get to run 30 minutes while watching the telly!!! - I had a gale force wind!!!!!

Woddle

I had a bit of a wind with me most of this morning,hope that makes up for yesterday morning Ike.I did the 7 Miles in 64 mins, so I was quite happy had to stop myself a few times from running faster, home and showered all before 10 am, It brought my weekly total to 30 miles so next weeks training I'll do what I've written above and bring it back down a little, feeling good though.

Woddle

well after yesterdays run I thought the family deserved a takeaway, after I ate it I felt so bad ,a 9 inch pizza and chips and of course coke all for me.
I had been doing so well nutrionally, so this morning brought the little one to playschool, got a bowl of fruit for the other one and put enchanted on for her and then into my room, for 10 mins on rower, 20 mins on the bike and easy 30 on the treadmill, hopefully that will make some kind of peace with myself for last night,
Its been great been able to add the bike to my schedule, for my bday my mam(still a mammys boy at 29) bought me this eco rider or something you put your normal racing bike on to this stand and off you cycle indoors while watching all nee er(I know sad but I need to watch sth,I find the treadmill so boring)

Woddle

full of energy this morning but it's a cross training day,so I have to stop myself from going on the treadmill.It's indoor football tonight.
I have decided that I want to sort out my differences with the Longford marathon.So I have signed up for a rematch. So my marathon training started yesterday, 18 weeks of Hal Higdon intermediate 2 program.
And this time I'm going to kick Longfords ass.
My disappointment with running Longford in 2002 is something that always plays on my mind from time to time, the truth of what happened was that I was signed up for and training for the Dublin Marathon, when my uncle invited me up to Longford to run the marathon, I was only two months into my marathon training but I didn't respect the distance and struggled, got injured and quit running soon after.
So with a new spring in my step and a full 18 weeks of dedicated marathon training, it's on

gabgab

Hey woddle,

This is some enthuasiastic reading I gotta admit, fair play to you. Running is the bain of my life, with a 4k time of 20 minutes this stuff is very impressive,

Will be keeping an eye on this one, your enthuasiasm and banter may help keep me motivated,

Good man,

Woddle

Really enjoyed indoor football last night, and this has probably been the first morning after indoor that I have woken up and not been stiff.
Went out with a friend for a 5 mile run, we did it in 45 mins so good session. I would say we look quite funny runing together, he' 6ft 5 and I'm struggling for 5 ft 9.
I plan to meet up with him again for a speed session on Friday. According to my schedule it should be a rest day, but I feel like I need to get some speed in. I have attached what I'm hoping to do in training, it's Hals intermediate 2 with a slight adjustment and now with an added Friday speed session.
Any suggestions feel free to let me know

SUNGOD

hi woddle ,great stuff so far and your programme looks good, great that your getting a few races in as well if you could get one longer race in ,a 10 miler or 1/2 marathon it would be ideal but if not no harm done .
nothing wrong with a bit of speed work but i would try keep your fridays as a rest day cos the weekends will take a lot out of you especially as you progress.
anyway so far so good ,im enjoying your log keep it up

sungod

Woddle

well my wife told me she is going out Friday night and would like to have a ly in on Saturday, So I won't be racing Sat morning, it's a bit unfair of me anyway, because I take Sunday morning aswell for my long run.
So I made my own race up today and went all out.
4 mile course, no walkman and basically I set the garmin to beep every 1/4 of a mile, and my aim was to be under 2 minutes every time it beeped, I won 10 - 6 but the watch was making a good comeback towards the end, so glad the 4 miles ended when it did.
I did it in 31:32, so it still puts me on course for a sub 40 in the sportsworld 5 mile classic.
I ran at a bad time though,4 o clock the schools where finishing up, and as I passed each group, I could here laughter and was wondering our they laughing at me in paticular my tomatoe coloured face, and after 3 and 3/4 miles I got some advice from one of the groups, 'move your arms more', I couldn't even if I wanted to, I was nackered.
Appreciate the advice sungod, I might start incorporating the speed sessions into Thursdays run and make them longer and then take Friday off.

ike

Nice going again! Breaking the 40 min for 5 miles should be no bother to you it was a mini target for me and once I broke the time I've done it every time since. SUNGOD is right about the speed sessions, maybe as an alternative seeing as you have a threadmill at home you could try a hill session like the one I'm doing. I remember waaaayyyy back when I was in secondary school being told that hill sessions are sprints in disguise.

zeppe

Keep it going Woddle, reckon you should defo the 5 mile in under 40 mins soon. I really like the shorter runs and like to do them on hills if possible(well I have no choice where I live here in Portlaw, Waterford!).. It really helps my endurance on the longer runs too..

Cormac



http://myspace.com/thejutefactory

Woddle

Well I took Friday off based on the advice of you guys and the fact that the 9th of April was my last full rest day.
Another reason for yesterdays rest, I bought the wii fit for the family, my girls and wife have ideal Bmi not me though, 25.44, but will get there.
5 miles on the treadmill this morning, felt sooo long but I wanted a real good rest from the road before tomorrows 8 mile.
My friend reckons he'll accompany me on the first 6 anyway tomorrow.

Woddle

What a morning for a run,I enjoyed this run the most since I've started back, I left the house at 8:30, nobody else really out, bar a few cyclists.
I had an 8 mile run planned but it turned into a 9 1/4 miles because I just didn't want to finish, I ended up running on my own this morning, my friend cancelled, I'll assume alcohol was involved.
It took me nearly an hour and a half and my average hr was 156, I'm 29, and alot of the run was done running up mountain roads,
When I got home I stretched for about half an hour, got my wife to help me, and when stretching my hamstring she noticed a huge difference, my left was very tight, so I'll concentrate alot more on this, and I reckon this is the cause of soreness I get sometimes in my left knee. Example todays run after mile 1 and until mile 2, just under my left knee I got a pain, not the kind of pain that would make you stop, it cleared at mile 2 and I never looked back.
This has happened about 4 or 5 times in the last 3 weeks. so I hope its just a matter of stretching that hamstring.

zeppe

Nice run, Woddle, it was beautiful down here in Waterford too today..Like yourself my left leg needs much more stretching. I also ice it up and massage it quite a bit. Works for me anyway:)

Cormac

Woddle

Thanks Zeppe, when the long runs get even longer, I do plan to go and get a good sports massage, Theres a place in Sundrive Crumlin, Cant remember the name for the life of me, but in 2002 I found them excellent.
I felt good this morning no aches or pains at all, slightly surprised.
Didn't want to go out for a run today, I had the house to myself, so I put on season 6 UFC and started with 10 mins on the rower, 20 mins on the bike and 30 mins on the treadmill.
I introduced running with weight today, might do this once a week, just ran with a dumbell bar in each hand, I hate doing weights, but its a start,:D
No seriously going to start doing weights on a Tue and Friday, especially exercises to work on my core, my core has always been my weak spot,

Woddle

I ended up taking Tuesday off, the whole family woke up sick, I however was the only one to have it in both ends, lovely picture I know.
I got sick for the last time at half one in the morning and from that point on started to feel better, so this evening went on a 5.5 mile hilly run with my friend, my heart rate was more elevated than normal for the pace we were running, happy we did it and actually feeling non the worse for it.
I had some good news aswell, my friend is in Chicago for the week so I asked him to pick me up the garmin forerunner 405 with hr. so he did for 385 dollars which is 245 euro, a whole 145 euro cheaper than some irish websites are selling it for.The reason I bought it is that I love gadgets, I don't really waste money on anything else, so gadgets are my treat, I loved my garmin 305 but it stopped communicating with the computer.
He ain't back till Sunday so will have to wait.

SUNGOD

hi woddle im just asking a few of the other runners logs what kind of surfaces do they do most of their running on, road ,grass ,trail ,track? i do the majority of mine on road . and im trying to vary it as too much road cant be good for me

Woddle

Well as I told sungod, I was waiting for my wife to come home so I could go to the park, she was suppose to be home for 7, so I got dressed and warmed up and stretched, she came home at 9, I was so warmed up and stretched it was unreal, so I set out with the target of 1/2 mile warmup to be followed with 8 x 0.25 miles fast with 0.25 miles recovery,
0.50 mile 4:21 Warm up
0.25 mile 1:41 fast
0.25 mile 2:03 recovery
0.25 mile 1:38 fast
0.25 mile 2:04 recovery
0.25 mile 1:42 fast
0.25 mile 2:05 recovery
0.25 mile 1:43 fast
0.25 mile 2:06 recovery
0.25 mile 1:39 fast
0.25 mile 2:18 recovery
0.25 mile 1:45 fast
0.25 mile 2:21 recovery
0.25 mile 1:45 fast
0.25 mile 2:17 recovery
1.00 mile 9:13 Cool down
As some of you might notice I only did 7 of the 8, I miscounted, not to sure how that happened, I know of a method where you use your first lap as the letter A and then think of words starting with A and then lap 2 is B and so on, but that involves too much thinking for me.
Day of tomorrow so I'm goin to try and come up with a weights program for Tue and Fridays.

Woddle

I took yesterday off, hoping to be refreshed for the weekends running, but the little one was up most of the night puking, so I was quite tired.
Kept it simple 4 miles around the park in 36 mins, hated every minute of it. glad its over.
Roll on tomorrow.

Woddle

I felt in much better form running today,left the house at 8:30, it was nice and warm, so went with shorts and t-shirt.it was a good choice.
I ran for 10.3 miles, ran it slowly in 1 hr 38.
Feel quite stiff but am happy.
I should have my new forerunner 405 by tomorrow, so my 305 who has been so loyal, it wasn't you, it was me, I didn't put in as much effort as you did, so for now we can go are seperate ways and have a fresh start.
I'm giving it to my friend, he's earned it over the last little while, so I know it will have a happy home.
Also on todays run I thought I would say hello to my fellow runners this morning if I passed them. So the first guy gave me a nod back, the second two guys ignored me and I bailed on sayin hello to a couple of women, so next week I'll be back to my old self.Head down.

SUNGOD

hi woddle yeah turned out a lovely morning alright, it was bad in waterford early on ,we headed off at 8:30 but it got nicer and nicer as the morning wore on.
must be frustrating out running in good form ,waving at fellow runners and getting no response, it would'nt kill people to smile and say hi
its a little different down here as you tend to meet the same people out most weekends training and again at local races so even if you dont know there names you would still feel like ya know them and usually get a wave off them.
even though in saying that i have smiled and waved at lone woman runners before and have gotten a look like im a pervert ......................then again maybe i am

zeppe

Where I train, I never see any other runners although all the people living on the country roads know me by now and salute me most times. Its nice, I guess its a country thing..

Woddle

So many reasons to go for a long run today and punish myself

1 The wife has the day off work
2 I got my new watch, it's deadly
3 Got drunk last night, my first time drinking since the great Ireland run
4 I ate a whole packet of mikado biscuits.
5 Didn't do anything yesterday.

So I just finished 9.25 miles and it felt great, weather was beautiful.
Also have indoor football tonight, so it will be interesting to see if my legs recover in time.

Woddle

I'm heading to wexford for the weekend, so I got up at 5:50 to go on a long run, kind of like a double session cause I don't want to ruin the weekend with thoughts of I have to get out today and run.
So things where going well until mile 4 when my shin started to pain me, it was sore after Tuesdays indoor football, so I finished the run early, only problem was I was up a mountain and 2.5 miles from home, so I kept running, So 6.5 miles done and very sore, have been icing it all morning. Im goin to take tomorrow and Sat off and see how I go on Sunday.
I'll have to consider giving up the football, but its also a good training session.
I wore my hr monitor for the hour and I averaged 158 beats.
Have a nice weekend everybody

sockpuppets

Hi woddle, how is the garmin 405 going for you? thinking of getting one myself to help with the running. is it any good?

zeppe

Hi Woddle, I had shin problems a few months ago. I took a break completely from any running/soccer for 2 weeks. Iced up my shin a few times a day and massaged with a golf ball into the lower shin muscles pretty vigorously, it was a tip from my triathelete brother in law. Worked well and have had no problems since. Its pretty important to take a complete break, maybe rethink the soccer? I was permanently getting injuries playing indoor footie!

Cormac

Woddle

Cheers for the advice Cormac. I took 3 complete days off, based on the advice on some running book and iced it constantly and used some biofreeze and also used the foam roller. And the good news is that I ran 4 miles today and no signs of the injury, but the rest of me kind of felt that I was struggling, I blame that mostly on my diet in Wexford, sweets and coke.

The forerunner 405 is excellent. Its far better looking on your wrist than my old 305. Also you get satelite coverage in less than a min after turning it on.
Its easier to find stuff through the menus. And for changing the screen menu you just tap the watch. I like it and would def recommend it. The big plus is the satelite coverage I used to hate waiting around for my 305 to lock on.

sockpuppets

cheers woddle, will defo be getting a 405 soon.

Woddle

Well I couldn't do it, I couldn't give up the indoor football. I enjoy it too much. The hall was so hot and I was still so stuffed from a 10 oz burger at dinner time. I'm going to start eating properly again tomorrow and that includes no more eating chivers strawberry jam with a spoon in the middle of the night.
Tomorrow I plan to run Sundays 5 mile race route, see if theres any advantage in doing so, I think it will be touch and go for Sundays race to break sub 40, hopefully the training before my injury break, will pay off.

SUNGOD

hi woddle good idea to run the race route just in case the miles are'nt marked you will at least know how long it is and how far to go etc also just to get used to the course and not go out to fast only to discover the second half is all up hill, best of luck on sunday

Woddle

Cheers for the support sungod.
I didn't run all of the route but I did incorporate some of it, the easy bit(downhill).
I set out to do 5 miles, I felt very irritable at the start and it turns out I was running too fast, did the 1st mile in 7:42, I set the watch to beep every mile and when it did I would count every time my right leg hit the ground up to 60 obviously at a fast pace. 2nd mile 7:24 and 3rd mile 7:39 then I hit a hill and started to struggle and ran 8:09 and 8:13 for the remainder 2 miles so I did sub 40, 39:09,
Now my average hr was 174 and in the previous 2 races I ran it was 178 so I don,t know whether I can beat this new time on Sunday or not, I'll obviously pace myself better.
My dilema with the race though is the first half of the race is slightly downhill with a huge hill at the halfway stage and then a slight incline to the last half mile where it flattens out, so anyone got ideas on pacing or tactics I could use.
for example do I go all out and try make up time on the downhill part of the race, I'm unsure.

ike

Your first sub 40 5 miler? Nice...well done Woddle

Woddle

I'm stupid,stupid stupid.
I was asked to play football last night so I did, I was deadly but I was kicked on my sore shin which still has a small lump and bruising.
I planned to run the 4 miles home after football, which I did, This is the problem I knew my shin was sore after the football but I didn't listen to the little voice in my head.
The lump is bigger now and more bruised, Im going to try and see a physio today.
According to my watch I ran 3.5 miles during 50 mins of 5 aside astro, average hr 161

Woddle

Firstly hats off to sportsworld, excellent race
I have nursed my injury well over the last couple of days,ice ibrufon and a golf ball.
I wasn't sure how the shin would hold up b ut I was determined to run this race.
My goal had changed to sub 39 after last Wednesdays run 39:09.
My plan was 7:50 for the first mile see how the shin is and then take it from there.
1st mile 7:24 but still felt reasonably comfortable
2nd mile 7:30
3rd mile 7:39 which included a bitch of a hill.
I spotted my friend just before the 4 mile marker and had planned to overtake him at the 4 miles, so I did, but he latched on to me,
4th mile 7:40, I planned to take the first 1/2 mile steady so as to have a good burst at the end so sped up but couldn't shake my friend of till the last 400 when I increased the pace again and went on to beat him by 12 seconds
5th mile 7:19
total 37:35 average HR 181.And forget that 220 minus your age=191, my max today was 198
Overall delighted with my progress 10K great run 54:52
Today 5 mile 37:35

SUNGOD

great stuff woddle, its only when we race that we can see how far we've come and that the training is really getting us somewhere. ya cant beat that bit of competitive edge that ya get in races like trying to beat your friend etc i love it ,anyway good stuff woddle and a great time for the race keep it up well done

ike

Glad to see the leg is back in order - 37:35 is a great time well done - you're putting it up to me now!!!

Odysseus

Good stuff Woddel great report. As Sungod said the little bit of competiitiveness really helps. Nice time too it great to use these logs to note your improvements.

xebec

Brilliant work Woddle! You're really putting it up to me now too! My great run time was a few mins faster than yours, but I don't think I'll be as quick as you were today for the Docklands run on Tuesday... Keep up the good work and I'll keep trying to catch up with you

Woddle

Cheers guys appreciate your posts,and I think your spot on Ike in your pm it justs seems to be bruising and the twisting and turning playing football just seems to bring it on.
I ran 4.67 miles today in 42:49, really enjoyed it, even though Ive been suffering with a hangover, and whats funnier is I was in Bradys in Terenure last night and started to walk home, I then saw some yellow writing on the road it read 3 mile marker, I was on the same road that I ran on earlier and all of a sudden I started running home, I must have been some sight.

One last story.In 2002 I brought a friend who had never raced before to a cityswift 10 miler, I finished in 69 mins and I waited for him at the finish,85 mins on the clock and my uncle came cross the line,so I thought to myself theres no way he's slower than my uncle,I hear a shout and look behind and he's dressed and everything, he did it in 60 mins, we all had a good laugh. so after the race I told him he def had a talent for the sport ( he had no idea how good he was)and I suggested he join sportsworld.
I bumped into him yesterday in Bradys and we got talking( we had lost touch)
he ran yesterday in 26:01 and finished 8th and he just ran 70 mins for a half marathon in Berlin.But what made my day was him thanking me and telling me I'm responsible for his involvement in the sport.Anyway congrats to him.
I also asked him was he secretly thinking of London 2012 marathon qualification, he said no, but there was a hint in his eyes, so watch this space, I'm no expert so I don't know how realistic this is but he's got 4 years.

Woddle

Indoor football last night, I tried a different pair of runners, but my shin is sore again but not as bad as it has been, so I think that def could be the final nail in my football playing days.

Woddle

I'm going to take Ikes lead, Today is 3 months back in training.
My start weight was 185 lbs - now its 166 lbs
My resting HR is down to 50 and my max seems to have increased if possible, its now about 198.
I can get into a few more of my older clothes.
My diet isn't great but I have cut out soft drinks and I'm now only eating takeaway one every 2 weeks. The biggest thing is sweets, I can now go days without eating them, in the past I would have consumed daily.
Starting to feel more confident.
Next goal is a 35 min 5 mile in July as part of the addidas series.

last weeks 5 mile time has been revised to 37:44 according to sportsworld website.

ike

Nice going on the 3 month mark - at this stage I'd find it harder to give up than keep going! Would love to aim for a 35min 5mile myself but at the moment I reckon weight is my biggest problem - I'm still lugging around 14st which is not helping.

Woddle

well Ike your already doing good times so imagine what we can do when we loose a few more pounds:D
Took Wednesday off as a precaution.No ill effects.
So took the finger out and ran 10.27 miles in an 1 hr 30 mins, because I might do a 5K race on Sunday and I can't really afford to keep missing my weekend long runs

Woddle

4 miles in Marley park in 35 mins bit stiff from yesterdays run