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Lurker's Log

mbarr

After lurking for the entirety of the mentored novices thread and being consumed by envy in the run-up to DCM and on the day itself I've decided to keep a log in the hopes of getting myself uninjured to the start line of a marathon in 2016.

Background:
Started running in June this year, I had been walking 20-30km around the city every evening as a way of losing weight (went from 95 to 85kg) then started running (85-75kg) with the sole focus of running the Warriors Run. I grew up on the side of Knocknarea, it's always been in my head to get that done at some stage so I figured why not this year?
Absolutely loved running my route through Drumcondra, Glasnevin and the Royal Canal, and began to take in parts of Phoenix Park on my long runs. I knew I was addicted when I made the decision to move to Stoneybatter mainly to be closer to the park. I picked up a drinking injury during the fleadh in Sligo and ended up not making the Warriors Run, but at that stage I had signed up for the race series half marathon and had something to work towards recovering for.

Current state of affairs:
I've ran 3 races and a parkrun since taking up running;
Ransboro 10k (July): 50:06
Knocknarea 8 mile (August): 1:05:48
Race Series Half Marathon (September): 1:48:26
Sligo Parkrun (September): 21:36

Totally all over the place, and all very soft I think.

Training:
I'm currently making it up as I go along, after reading Jack Daniel Running Formula and P&D Advanced Marathoning, and I'm running just over 40 miles a week (6 runs) with a tempo run, intervals and a long run in there. Long run is currently 13 miles.

Plans:
I'm signed up for the Gingerbread half marathon and the Jingle Bells 5k, and I'm planning on running the Rotterdam Marathon in spring. I'm 90% sure I will use the P&D 33-55 miles/week plan to train for this, as I think I need the structure.

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Firedance

Murph_D wrote: »

Foe a man who grew up on the side of a mountain Furze Road should feel pretty flat, I would have thought. Nice session.

Clearly he's been softned by city living

mbarr

My mountain ruggedness being called into question by a load of east coast pansies, I really do need to HTFU.

Today was the first of my proper tempo runs, 3 miles w/u 3 miles tempo 3 miles c/d. Little quick on the tempo (avg 7:02 min/mi over the three), ended up somewhere between 10k and 10 mile pace rather than between 10 mile and HMP. Next week will do 3x2mile and slow it down by 10 secs/mile.

Felt like I was going to expire from the heat, bring back the dark evenings I say.

mbarr

week 3 of my 6 weeks of 5k training, 6x800m intervals with 200m recovery (jogged the first, walked the rest). Intervals were 3:05, 3:06, 3:11, 3:10, 3:11, 3:07.

I wasn't sure I would be able to finish out the session after the first one, running these a bit too hard I think. Km pace is confusing as while being 5 seconds per mile faster isn't massively off pace, being 5 seconds per km faster is more dramatically off pace. The great km experiment is over I think.

Today marks one year running for me, 1,624 miles ran

Firedance

mbarr wrote: »

The great km experiment is over I think.

Today marks one year running for me, 1,624 miles ran

Thank chryst, have no clue what your on about :pac:

Happy running birthday!!!!

mbarr

So after one year running, I basically quit for a month! A week of a chest infection, a week of sailing, another week with a chest infection and then just pure laziness derailed me after a fairly solid month of training post marathon. New objective is to survive the warriors run and fit in running where I can (sailing has taken over my life) and pick back up into proper training in September.

Today I got a lovely 10 mile run done, that qualifies as an LSR for me at the moment, my first in ages and ages so I'm happy with that. Heading off next week for two weeks to complete my sail around Ireland, then starting a new job when I get back. Somewhere in there I'll find consistency. Anyone got any advice for juggling two all-consuming passions??

tang1

Best of luck with the round the country sail & new job M.

Younganne

mbarr wrote: »

So after one year running, I basically quit for a month! A week of a chest infection, a week of sailing, another week with a chest infection and then just pure laziness derailed me after a fairly solid month of training post marathon. New objective is to survive the warriors run and fit in running where I can (sailing has taken over my life) and pick back up into proper training in September.

Today I got a lovely 10 mile run done, that qualifies as an LSR for me at the moment, my first in ages and ages so I'm happy with that. Heading off next week for two weeks to complete my sail around Ireland, then starting a new job when I get back. Somewhere in there I'll find consistency. Anyone got any advice for juggling two all-consuming passions??

hope your fully better now M. enjoy the rest of the round-Ireland sail and then that mission is complete, so then concentrate on the running. They are not two hobbies you can really combine(unless you learn how to run on Water).

Good luck with the new job o your return.

Murph_D

No harm in taking a break, especially after a marathon debut like yours. Enjoy the sailing. Deck treadmill?

annapr

mbarr wrote: »

Anyone got any advice for juggling two all-consuming passions??

Give up work?

Enjoy the trip, sounds fantastic.

aquinn

Nothing wrong with a rest. Enjoy the rest of the sailing adventure and all the very best.

Firedance

Enjoy the sailing! at the risk of being lynched come back and tell us how it went won't you

Best of luck with the new job too, running will fall back into place when it suits although Murph's idea is not bad

mbarr

I entered this in May, not realising I would do almost no running between then and the race. Three weeks ago I pushed myself back into it to try to get ready for the race, pushed a bit too hard and ended up hurting my foot. I backed off, rested a week and decided to do 4 slow runs the week of the race and see how I felt.

Decided to run the race all easy, not something I've ever done before, and I was looking forward to a race that would be enjoyable from start to finish, with none of the race pain. That was the plan anyhow!

The Warriors Run is the reason I started running last year, I've always wanted to do this one. Almost all my family has done it at some stage, we grew up on the mountain, and it's just such a great event. As such I was really excited, apart from the marathon this is the next biggest race in my mind.

I met a good few friends lining up for the start, it feels like half of Sligo comes out for the Warriors Run. A friend who was sailing a leg with me two weeks ago was running, it was his first Warriors and would be his longest ever run. I was feeling good heading off, started at the back of the pack and stayed there leaving the village, running with my mate. The day was a little warm, but perfect apart from that, no wind, dry.

The hills begin after about 1.5 miles when the route turns up the Glen Road, I was still running easy pace, nice and relaxed up the Glen. At the top, just before turning onto the mountain my parents put in an appearance, they live about 200m further along the road so it was handy for them! Apparently my mum said to my dad at this stage that I had planned to run it easy and my dad laughed and said wait till he hits the mountain, he'll lose the head and start racing! Yup.

At this stage the run heads straight up the side of the mountain, and the majority of the field walks the steep bits, runs the less steep bits. I was still thinking I was running easy, but it seemed mad to walk slowly so I headed off at a fair walking pace and was passing people out, ran the flat bits and passed out more people, was feeling great at the top. Now the downhill bit, I've ran a few times before, absolutely love just letting rip, my PB for the strava segment Cairn to Carpark (think I've ran it twice before) is 5:17, I think 6 seconds slower than Krusty when he came sixth in the race, a combination of extreme familiarity with the route and a good dose of mad stupidity when it comes to personal safety. 6:07 during the race, I held back a fair bit due to traffic and that I was still thinking of not really racing.

At this stage I had a fair idea that once I was was back on the road I'd find it hard to resist thoughts of racing for the finish, and I started to think it'd be nice to get in under 1:30. My folks were there again at the base of the mountain which was great. I started pushing myself then, and on the long straight stretch down Rathcarrick and back towards Strandhill I could feel my face going numb, as has happened coming to the end of all my races. This was a bit early though! The pace felt very familiar, glanced at the watch, marathon pace, that explains it! Started suffering a bit at this stage, glanced at the watch coming down the hill just before reentering Strandhill,1:12, that kept me going, dying, along the Strandhill road and up that horrible little hill before the final downhill, thought I'd have to stop and walk as I was dying a death but the crowds cheering kept me going.

It was all sinking in at this stage, that I was finishing my first Warriors Run, the weird mad year I've had, everything. I got quite emotional, loved getting a (quite beautiful) medal for this one. I wouldn't usually care too much about a medal but for certain races that are really meaningful for you it's nice to have something more durable than a tshirt.

1:24:45 on the watch, gun time is 1:25 something. Delighted with that, no structured training of any kind really, and no hills at all, and nothing faster than easy since May. Clearly some residual endurance from the marathon training. I actually think I unwittingly stumbled upon the best strategy for midfield warriors, run well within yourself up as far as the mountain then let loose on the way down. Not sure I could have ran faster with my current level of fitness if I had headed out fast.

So where to next? This has reminded me how much I enjoy races, and the training for them. I'm planning on running Barcelona marathon in March, so between now and November I need to get the weekly mileage up to where I can begin training. Long runs have completely fallen by the wayside this summer so need to get back to Sunday running. Going to join a club in the coming weeks. And I'm going to try to catch up on here and follow the goings on with DCM 16.

That's a big run ticked off my must do list, target for next year is to beat my brother's PB of 1:16!

tang1

Great stuff M, chances are I'll be joining you in Barcelona next March.

ThebitterLemon

tang1 wrote: »

Great stuff M, chances are I'll be joining you in Barcelona next March.

There's a 5 hour cut off in Barcelona and they don't allow sponsored walkers

Well done MBarr nice way to get your running mojo back.

TbL

Murph_D

Nice running, sailor!

Firedance

Good to see you back at it Mark

well done on the race!

tang1

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

There's a 5 hour cut off in Barcelona and they don't allow sponsored walkers

Ah so that's why you haven't done it as one of your 700 hundred marathons so.

denis b

Nice race report Mark and thats one LR done to start your prep for Barcelona:D.

Younganne

Well done M, enjoyed that report. So the Rotterdam roadshow is heading to Barcelona!!!

Firedance

Younganne wrote: »

Well done M, enjoyed that report. So the Rotterdam roadshow is heading to Barcelona!!!

There might be a support crew this year too :pac:

Singer

Sounds like a very enjoyable race, and nice writeup!

I thought I'd also be on the Barcelona bandwagon, but I'm having second thoughts as it'd be basically straight into another marathon after Dublin. I'll decide sometime after DCM and the London ballot

mbarr

Singer wrote: »

Sounds like a very enjoyable race, and nice writeup!

I thought I'd also be on the Barcelona bandwagon, but I'm having second thoughts as it'd be basically straight into another marathon after Dublin. I'll decide sometime after DCM and the London ballot

Yeah Dublin is a bit late in the autumn and Barcelona a bit early in the spring to be doing both. Might work better the other way around now that I think of it! New 2017 goal

Creaky recovery run last night, 3 miles, stiff as a poker still today.

mbarr

Bit the bullet after months of talking about it and went and ran with a club. Went down to Liffey Valley AC and chatted to a few lovely people, met the coaches who seem really sound and knowledgeable, was paired with a relatively fast group with the fastest ladies that were present and headed off, them running easy, me running my marathon pace. All trails and tracks throughout the pheno (as I heard a very run down looking fellow colourfully call the park on my way in to work this morning), advertised as 6 miles, was nearly 7.

Loved it all things considered, even though it's a session for me and easy running for the rest of them, I can do my easy running for the rest of the week and hopefully catch up as I increase my mileage again.

mbarr

The rest of last week went by nicely, got out 5 times in total, in addition to my faster session on Tuesday I added another bit of faster running on Thursday, didn't have time to go down and run with the club again (planning on it this week though) so did a sort of alternating HMP/Steady for 6 miles. Added a slow 6.5 mile run on Saturday for a total of 29 miles for the week.

Wednesday I went out with a new running partner I've been spending a lot of time with recently, slow and steady. I think she'll be a class runner if I can get the bug to bite

mbarr

Ran with the club Tuesday and Thursday this week, Tuesday's run was faster again, almost 7 miles faster than MP, ran out on my own as the group split up a bit, felt good, better than last week despite running faster and on my own. Aerobic fitness starting to come back

Thursday's run was slower, everyone is getting ready for a club 5/10k this weekend. Not going to be around for it unfortunately but next time I'll definitely get involved.

984 miles for the year so far, next week I should cross 1000

mbarr

Ugh long post written and lost. Synopsis, first session with club, killed dead, tempo up Kyber and S bends X2 laps, ran far faster than tempo (more like 5k pace), wrecked but good fun. 11 miles in total today, my longest day since the marathon in April. Discovered my max heart rate is 2 beats per minute faster than I thought (182 instead of 180), so I think I'm correct in thinking my "easy" heart rate range can shift upwards a few beats

Passed 1000 miles for the year!

adrian522

It's easy to get carried away on club sessions but I think it is important to run at the correct pace in these sessions. You will naturally fall in with the correct group then and in future you will know who is about your level.

Going too fast on these will lead to trouble down the line!

mbarr

adrian522 wrote: »

It's easy to get carried away on club sessions but I think it is important to run at the correct pace in these sessions. You will naturally fall in with the correct group then and in future you will know who is about your level.

Going too fast on these will lead to trouble down the line!

Thanks Adrian, sounds right. Definitely finished each rep way too wrecked for what should have been ~4 minutes tempo running.

aquinn

mbarr wrote: »

Thanks Adrian, sounds right. Definitely finished each rep way too wrecked for what should have been ~4 minutes tempo running.

Ask the coach to suggest a group to fall in with. They did it for me by asking a recent race time then go and introduce yourself to them.

When I started I stared at the top of the lane with my new friend, was absolutely fecked and ended up at the back of the lane where I should have been.

It's not nice loosing the group you are training with, not good for the head but you will find the right group.

Embrace meeting new people

mbarr

Thanks guys

can't wait for tomorrow's club run now, definitely getting hooked!

Went for 5k easy with the running buddy I mentioned a few posts ago, she hadn't ran a 5k in more than a year and she nailed it tonight with minimal whinging. Extremely proud