Swashbuckler's Marathon Debut?

Swashbuckler

Falling a bit behind here. Between work and travel I've neglected the log a bit. Bit of a rushed update today but want to get it in.

June 20th - 26th

Monday - Easy 7M, 56mins, 7.58min/mile avg - felt good. still a little leggy and tight from the 10k.

Tuesday - Session - 25mins Tinman Tempo (~6.30 pace)/5min Threshold

One of Lukes staples from previous years. I always like to use these to complement harder/faster efforts in the week. Seemed like a decent choice after the race a few days previous. Very happy with how it went. Solid run. Nothing crazy.

Wednesday - Easy 60mins, 7.5 miles, 8min/mile avg - felt super

Thursday - Easy 62mins, 7.8 miles, 7.55min/mile avg - very very warm and was a little drained

Friday - Session - WU/80mins Steasy (~7.15 pace)/CD

These are good but I need to make sure I dont neglect the vanilla runs too. Weather was shocking and I was absolutely drenched. Felt it in the legs by the end. Heart rate was in the 140's for most of this. Some miles faster than 7.15.

Saturday - Rest.

Sunday - Sick. Picked up a 24hr bug. Knocked me a bit especially overnight so sleep was awful. Was fine within a day or so but just meant I had to rest

Weekly Total: 46 miles

Generally things are going pretty well...I'm just back from travelling and have the usual sh*tty post travel feeling.

I need to be a little careful with the way I'm structuring the training. It is a little ad-hoc and unstructured at the moment. Mentally that isn't a bad thing but I should watch it. Self coaching can sometimes lead to this with planned sessions changing on a whim.

On a sidenote I'm tempted to try out an IMRA event after Banna. If I'm able - the Top of Coom in mid August might be a possibility. But it will depend on family. Don't want to be taking the p*ss disappearing to races every weekend either!

Murph_D

I think the IMRA event is a great idea, taking demfad's advice into account too re starting off with something not too technical. I've done a few entry level mountain events and the change of pace/terrain/scenery is a real buzz. Plus this kind of running is great for general strength anyway - just make sure you have the right shoes (not that the likes of you would be seen dead in the wrong pair). 😉

I think ad hoc training is fine as long as everything is working towards the same goal, which is... what exactly, at the moment? Ticking over? Maintaining? Recharging?

Swashbuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119272215#Comment_119272215

I've already been offered a free pair of Inov8 xtalon 212's from a clubmate so will try them out to see how they fit...I wont be looking for any supershoes anyway 😂

Interesting question....No specific plans to peak for any races. I want to give Banna 10k a good crack on July 31st but no plans to try "peak" for it. If I'm able to race the IMRA event then I might skip plans to run another 10k in August. Then the plan is to get into a HM specific block in September.

So to simplify - right now I'm ticking over and giving myself a bit of a mental break. I have to be semi ignored today as I have just come back from Boston this morning which included lots of work, some treadmill running, too much food and some drinks so the inevitable crappy feeling usually lends itself to me doubting myself. It'll pass after a run 😂

Swashbuckler

Been a while since I updated and this is a tricky one. In the intervening time i've had a work trip to Boston and two weeks off work. Also in that time there have been some personal issues. I'm always torn between treading the lines of privacy and transparency on here. I know I owe nothing to Boards in that sense but part of me wants people to see the individual struggles we all go through. I feel like I would be lying if I just came on here and wrote some nonsense about my runs without talking about the external stuff..If I dont then its just fake news and wats the point of that. One of my pet peeves , in this country is just how secretive people need to be when it comes to personal issues and the "shame" that surrounds it. I dont like to come on here pretending all is ok. Right now its not and i'm in the process of trying to work through that.

What that means for my running is I'm just running without any particular plan. I wont lie, today was one of the most enjoyable runs i've had in years. I just ran. I didnt care about pace or zones or any of that sh*t. I just ran. 10 miles steady. I feel like that might be the case for a few weeks. If and when I do get out I just want to run for mental health. Right now plans are a bit up in the air.

In the last few weeks i raced a fun run in Ballyheigue Sea to Summit. It was a monstrous hill for 2.4 miles and then back down. I came 2nd and was closing on the fecker but he had more in the tank than me.

Then I raced the Tralee Born to Run 10M. 24C heat and a desperate struggle. Was placing third and closing on 2nd when we met a junction with no signs or stewards. We both went the wrong direction. Incredibly frustrating on the day but Im over it. It was a fun run on my holidays,

Right now I'm not sure if i'll be running Banna 10k. I'll see in a few weeks. It feels like my last crack at sub 36.

Apologies for the "woe is me" post. This isnt intended to be an "are you ok hun" post. I just wanted to be genuine. Sometimes things arent ok and I think people, especially men, feel like they cant talk about this stuff so I wanted to be honest.

Laineyfrecks

Fair play to you P, it's not easy to do it & I think even more so being a man. BTW this isn't an "I feel sorry for you" post either . I have been torn myself with my log about the exact things you mention, I as a person wear my heart on my sleeve all the time, sometimes a good thing sometimes a bad thing but I don't think I will ever change & then why should I, we are all different. I love reading the running stuff of course but I also love getting an idea of the person behind the training & the races, something you have always done on your log!

I'm sorry you are going through some hard stuff at the moment, my advice for what it's worth is to reach out, talk to people or just one person, it worked wonders for me & I know we are different but defo worth a go!

For now keep running for the enjoyment & the headspace, do it because you love it.

If anything the last year has taught me is that things get tough & can stay tough for a while but with time they do get better, they don't disappear they just get more manageable. Virtual hugs being sent😊

Murph_D

Echo all the above. iI certainly is OK in my book to say that things are not Ok and you’re right, people sweep this under the carpet too readily. And yeah, especially men. We seem to feel it’s a sign of weakness, when it’s actually the opposite. Whatever it is I hope you can work through it. I think you are saying that racing or running without a plan can be cathartic in these situations and I certainly understand that. Hope all well (and of course it’s OK if it isn’t.)

Duanington

Thanks for posting that, P - it creates an open, safe space when people like you open up a bit .

a HUGE amount of runners (in particular) I know have been here before, running gives a lot of us focus, but there's a line that we sometimes cross that negates all of the positives it can bring to our lives (and others).

Hope it all works out ok, my mantra when trying to plough on through a tough or stressful time is to forcibly remind myself that it has always passed before and it was pass again.

ariana`

Sorry to hear things are not ok P but appreciate the transparency. I think it's hard to talk about not being in a good place especially when the triggers are not always tangible. It's one thing to say "well X happened and now I feel a certain way as result" but when sadness/anxiety/depression happens with no tangible reason then it is less acceptable somehow, we Irish in particular think we should just be able to get on with it. It's a tough one but it's good to admit it and to talk about it and I think through openness that we help others, especially the next generation, hopefully over time it will be more acceptable to talk about mental health openly.

What Duanington says def resonates with me, there is a fine enough line between running being a form of stress relief and adding additional pressure - i know i certainly start over-thinking and get into paralysis by analysis at times and get very hard on myself when I'm not doing as much miles/quality/races/supplementary as I feel I "should" be or as my peers are - strava really doesn't help at times but you seem to be off that at the moment anyhow so that is probably no bad thing. It's good to hear you are still plugging away doing a bit anyhow, hopefully it's a help. Shame about the podium in Tralee, very frustrating that.

Mind yourself P.

squinn2912

Just getting a little catch up here. It’s never nice to see bad news like this. I think a good idea is to look at all of the things that are going well or are controllable. After that you gotta keep going in your own way. Never be afraid to reach out.

from the sounds of things you’ve kept the running show on the road great, threatening podiums and everything! I think the running for the enjoyment is a good idea.

keep the head up lad

AuldManKing

I had a whole post wrote with some sage wisdom - I deleted it - the thing I wanted to say is I hope things are ok with you.

Swashbuckler

Thanks for the well wishes everyone. Things are a bit better so i'll try switch some focus back to the running.

Training has been going pretty well the past couple of weeks.

July 18th to 24th - just a shade over 50 miles, 6hrs 34mins, 1700ft elevation

July 25th to 31st - 53.5 miles, 6hrs 55mins, 1890ft elevation - highest mileage since the marathon block.

I've been hitting the trails in Cratloe once a week which has been very enjoyable. Plenty of hills in Ballyheigue too. Plenty of easy, steady and long runs. I havent been doing the dog on sessions but over the past two weeks ive had two long runs of 14 and 13.2 miles each, a threshold session of 5 x 1 miles and lots of hills.

Right now the tentative plan is to keep going the way ive been going for August - plenty of sub threshold stuff, steady runs, long runs and hills with a view to starting half marathon training in September. I skipped the Banna 10k. I may race in August if the right race comes up at the right time but for now it really is a case of pressure off and running for enjoyment. Turns out I find "base building" pretty enjoyable!

Swashbuckler

Also for anyone that missed it we have a Google sheet set up to keep track of who is training for DCM 2022, their training plan, link to log etc etc. Please add yourself to the list if you plan on running DCM.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119389656#Comment_119389656

Dubh Geannain

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119424145#Comment_119424145

Snap. Good stuff SB. Keep on runnin'!

Swashbuckler

Quick update;

August 1st - 7th

Most enjoyable week of running in a long while. Every run felt great. HR is much down on 6 months ago for easy efforts. Must be all this aerobic running and hills.

Monday - Easy 60mins on Ballyheigue Hills - 7.47min/mile

Tuesday - 20min WU/20 x 30s Off 1min/20 min CD - some speedier stuff but short enough not to be dipping into complete anaerobic. Recoveries were fine. A nice shot into the legs. Pace is still there. Probably hovering around 5.20/5.30 pace.

Wednesday - Easy 8M - 7.39min/mile - felt great

Thursday - Hilly 7M up Woodcock hill - 7M - 7.42min/mile

Friday - Hilly 2hrs including two loops up Woodcock Hill. Loved this run. 15.6 miles total at 7.41min/mile average

Saturday - Rest

Sunday - 60mins on Ballyheigue Hills - 7.55min/mile

Solid week - 54.3 miles, 7hrs 3mins, 1788ft of elevation. Last three weeks have had loads of hills. Feeling stronger.

Kellygirl

That’s a nice week and great the HR is down too considering the heat. Great you feeling good. Always a boost.

Lazare

P, I was away from boards for a while and missed following your journey.

What an epic debut you had, and a fantastic race report, if it did scare me just a little 😊

Massive belated congrats dude.

Swashbuckler

Cheers Lazare & Kellygirl.

August 8th - 14th

Another very enjoyable week of running. Not overly stressing about quality. Playing it by ear mostly but with an emphasis on plenty of aerobic training. I pretty much the watch set to HR only for all my runs lately and don't look at paces. It's ben really enjoyable.

Monday - Easy 8 miles - 7.58min/mile, 64mins total

Tuesday - 8 mile progression + 2 mile CD - very very warm out so the progression was purely on effort with no focus on paces. Focus again on keeping the progression aerobic without dipping into threshold

8.05/7.40/7.30/7.20/7.05/6.53/6.49/6.34 and then two miles cool down. Very enjoyable run. Tough enough in the heat but effort was managed well.

Wednesday - Easy 60mins - 8.14min/mile, 7.3 miles total - felt great - kept it very easy with two hefty enough days planned for Thursday and Friday

Thursday AM- Easy 5 miles - 42mins - 8.18min/mile - creaky first thing in the morning

Thursday PM - Cratloe Hills - 6.1 miles, 49mins, 8.01min/mile average - love the Cratloe runs. Some serious hills in parts, Did the full 6.1 miles without stopping which is progress.

Friday - Easy 90mins , 11 miles, 8.08min/mile - An absolute scorcher of a day. Shortened the planned 14 miles. Was just far too hot.

Saturday - Rest

Sunday - 63mins on Ballyheigue Hills - 7.9 miles, 7.57min/mile - love this weekly run and route. I'll miss it!

Solid week - 55.3 miles, 7hrs 20mins, 1914ft of elevation. Fourth week in a row where both mileage, time on feet and elevation have increased.

Plan is to ease a little bit back on the hills for a few weeks and get a little more quality in, particularly getting the legs turning over at speed.

I'm hoping to start a half marathon block on September 13th. We'll see if that works out.

Swashbuckler

August 15th - 21st

Last week in the house alone before the family were returning from Kerry on the 21st!

Monday - Easy 8 miles including 6 x 20s Strides - 8.03min/mile, 64mins total

Tuesday - 3M@MP/2M@HM/1M@10k , 2mins between sets

Not a craz sesison. Just wanted some strength based stuff working down to 10k effort.

The 3 miles worked out at around 6.25

The 2 miles worked out at around 6.03

The 1 mile worked out at around 5.40

All in all a good session. Really based on effort again. HR the only thing on display. Pleased.

Wednesday - Easy 60mins - 7.37min/mile, 7.9 miles total - felt great - mostly sub 130 HR

Thursday - Easy 60mins - 8.08min/mile, 7.4 miles total - groggy - early starts dont suit me anymore. Getting old.

Friday - Easy 14 miles , 1hr59mins, 7.47min/mile - Enjoyable run. Woodcock hill was taken in again for this..

Saturday - Rest

Sunday - 60mins on Ballyheigue Hills - 8 miles, 7.30min/mile - last run on this route for 2022. It will be missed. Quickly became my favourite run of the week

Another Solid week - 56 miles, 7hrs 9mins. Building nicely towards a hopeful attack at half marathon training in September.

AuldManKing

you seem to be enjoying the training - is it all make it up as you go along or have you a structure in mind?

Swashbuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119518787#Comment_119518787

Good question. Its leaning more towards makey uppy but with some sort of philosophy in mind 😂

The original plan was complete the marathon, recover, spend a couple of months doing shorter stuff and then move into a half marathon block in September.

What has actually happened is I completed the marathon block, recovered, spent a couple of months not doing shorter stuff and i'm moving into a half marathon block in September.

So in those two months I've leaned more towards lots of aerobic running - high and low end, lots and lots of hills, some speedwork, not enough strides, decent volume (over 7hrs/50+ miles per week for the last five weeks) and a few races thrown in the mix - some of which were fun runs like the Ballyheigue festival Sea to Summit which is essentially a constant 2.4 mile uphill and 2.4 mile back down. Tralee 10M, Ballyheigue 10k, Buttevant 4M.

Training at the moment is kinda Lydiardy but not true Lydiard base training. The idea being I'll just build up a bunch of strength and push from the bottom up before going into the half marathon specifics. Adding in the trail runs for a period definitely gave me a boost. And I should say, the reason for the change in plan was more driven by mental necessity rather than any master plan. I just needed a mental break from things and trying to run hard sessions week on week didnt play into that. It feels like it has worked out. On a normal day I'm getting 7.45 pace for sub 130 HR. Easy feels the same but is faster.

Swashbuckler

August 22nd - 28th

First week having the family back from Kerry and a very noticeable change in sleep quality! Not as stressful as I had expected though. It's been fun.....mostly.......😂...The middle fella took a few days to "adjust" to being home which was fun...

Monday - Mona Fartlek

This was chosen specifically to get some faster paced work but not a big volume session. Keeping in mind the fact I'm really still essentially base building which has involved an awful lot of strength based training which means its easy to lose touch with the faster stuff. Hence the motivation to get some short, sharper stuff today. I enjoyed this although the lungs knew all about it! Funny how the body adapts in and out depending on where the focus is with training, although this one is always a little bit of a lung buster. Paces were all between 5.15-5.30 pace.

Overall 8.2 miles, 62 mins of running

Tuesday - Easy 7M, 55mins, 7.53min/mile - Very warm and humid. Good run but legs were tired after mile 5.

Wednesday - Easy 7ish miles - 7.49min/mile, 56mins - felt good but a little leggy. Noticeable interrupted sleep + the after effects of the fartlek.

Thursday - WU/5x(800m at 6.10/800m at 6.30)/CD.

A nice strength based session - continuous running switching between paces. Was wrecked tired and had a bad headache so I considered giving this a miss. Gave myself the warmup to decide and by then I just said suck it up and try a few reps and see how you go. In the end I was fine once I settled into the session. It always surprises me how slow 6.30 pace can feel after running 6.10. Bang on target with the paces. Good session.

Total: 65mins, 9.2 miles

Friday - Easy 110 mins , 14.2 miles, 1hr50mins, 7.46min/mile - Was back home at my parents house for my Dad's birthday the night before. Enjoyed a few Cronin's 0% the night before. Zero alcohol these days. Headed out at 7.30am on Friday morning and really enjoyed the changed of scenery. Loved this run. Legs felt in decent nick after the session the day before. Spent the afternoon in the aviation museum in Shannon with Dad and family. A lovely day and really nice to get the long run done early.

Saturday - 35mins very easy - got a sneaky run in today. With the missus heading away to Kerry for the weekend to clear up it meant I took the opportunity to get a quick recovery in before she left.

Sunday - WU/10k at 140 HR/CD - 60mins, 8.25 miles, 7.20min/mile average

I had planned an easy run but given the long weekend with the kids I kinda wanted to just run on feel. Decided to just run steady and if I felt too leggy I'd go back to easy. This turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable despite the fact I had the kids all weekend. Energy levels were actually ok. First couple of miles were 7min and the remaining were 7.08-7.10. HR was pretty much hovering around 140 for most of this. Not bad.

Totals for the week - 58.3 miles, 7hrs 24mins. Biggest week since May.

The original plan was to start HM training on Sept 13th. I'm thinking of pulling it back a week sooner. I'm travelling to Boston on Sept 19th so a week of flexibility might be useful although I'm not a slave to the plan. Current plan is to start into the block, see how it goes and all going well i'll run the Border Half in December.

ariana`

Sorry if I missed it somewhere but will you follow a plan for the HM or just take it week by week setting your own training?

Swashbuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119542466#Comment_119542466

You didn't miss it E. I actually didnt really go into details. I considered a few options. Lydiard would have been my preferred route but I don't really have the time to do that right for a December half. The first shot I give at true Lydiard I would like to dedicate to it entirely which would need roughly 30 weeks I think.

I also considered Daniels but the half marathon plans didnt really work for me with my schedule over the next few months.

I found a plan online which I liked the look of. It's not necessarily from any well know coach but I plan on utilizing it as much as possible but adjusting where necessary.

I think it will peak somewhere between 55-60 miles. As expected there is lots of threshold and half marathon stuff. Progressions runs, hill runs, speedier stuff and long runs - some of them with HM pace thrown in. A nice mix. I very much plan on seeing how the body is, seeing how the sleep/stress is and just playing it by ear a bit.

If I'm really honest I'm not even sure this is a PB HM attempt. The route is certainly much harder than my Charleville PB route although I feel like I might be in better shape now. We'll see I guess. The plan was always to leverage this HM and bring the base from that into marathon training for next year. Always thinking longer term..lol

ariana`

Good luck with the plan, it sounds as if you've put a bit of thought into it. It doesn't have to be a PB attempt, a milestone on the bigger picture is still a good reason to get stuck in. I may think about doing it too if thinks pick up, I wouldn't be sure I'd be targeting a PB either but if things start to click back into place then it could serve a purpose before the year ends.

Swashbuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119545396#Comment_119545396

I had actually noticed not seeing many (any) runs from you on Strava for a while. Hopefully all is ok on your side.

ariana`

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119546471#Comment_119546471

Ah yeah I'm ok thanks. I'm still running away just laying low on strava as to be honest it's ridiculous but I'm a little embarrassed by my running of late, there it is! Paces seems to be falling off a cliff edge and HR is completely disheartening. I've been trying not to make excuses but couldn't help wondering if maybe I'd had Covid again around June time without realising. Last week I got some blood tests done & I got some results yesterday and while they're not all back yet it looks highly likely from the ones I have that I'm anaemic. I have to see the GP next week when the rest of the bloods comes back but at least it gives me something to focus on. Onward & upward, I might even see you in Limerick in December.

Swashbuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119546784#Comment_119546784

Oh E that's tough going. Hopefully they can start treating it and you'll see a vast improvement. I completely get the need to drop off Strava. Just run for yourself and forget targets or gains in the short term. Might even be worth signing up to the Border Half to give you something to focus on and look forward to (although I dont see it selling out any time soon).

Duanington

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119546784#Comment_119546784

Sorry to read this, I had a very similar experience a few years back (inc the Iron stuff). The good news is that it doesn't take a whole lot to put the iron levels back where they should be and everything else magically follows. Best of luck with it.

Laineyfrecks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119546784#Comment_119546784

Main thing is getting your health sorted E, everything else around Strava etc doesn't matter. I agree with with P do what works best for you right now & just run for yourself, no one else! I hope the doc gets to the bottom of it & you get sorted😊

ariana`

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119548248#Comment_119548248

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119549150#Comment_119549150

Thanks very much both. I'm lucky in that my sister-in-law is a dietician (a proper one as opposed to a SM influencer) so I have plenty of solid advice and I'm sure it will be sorted in no time and in the meantime I had no targets anyhow, thankfully wasn't doing DCM, so it's grand.

Sorry P. I didn't meant to hijack your log 😊