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From Couch 25k To Where Ever

The Muppet

I've been toying with the idea of starting a log here for quite some time now and today's the day. I hope it will help keep me motivated and help gauge progression. if anyone else starting to run can take anything from it that would be great too. We all run for different reasons some for competition some for fun and others for the health benefits.

About me. I'm 51 year old type 2 diabetic. About 2.5 years ago I was obese , had a zero level of fitness and without going into too many details my illness was out of control. I had two Grandchildren then and my desire to see them grow up inspired me to make changes.

In February 2013 I started the Couch 25k (c25k) program. I used to go out early in the morning so that no body would see me struggle to run. I used to look ahead to the schedule for the next week and just laugh and think there's no way I will be able to do that but I did successfully completed the program in april 2013 without missing a run . Eureka I could run slowly, 2.5 k in 30 minutes non stop .

From April to September 2013 I ran a few miles a couple of times a week but I really missed the structure of the plan, In October 2013 I stopped running, I didn't make a conscious decision to stop I just started putting it of until the next day , that became a week and then the next month. I was out for 4 months.

In Febuary 2014 I started to notice that the benefits I had gained from running were starting to reverse , I really didn't want to go back there so I started up again. I found I could only run for 10 minutes at a time so I started on week 4 of the program and completed it again.

When I finished the program I knew I needed a plan to continued to run so I set a target to run 10k by my 50th Birthday I ran 3 or 4 times a week and ran the 10k with a couple of weeks to spare.

I then started the Hal Higdon intermediate half marathon plan and successfully completed that distance in November 2015 in a time of 2 hours 22 mins.

I lost focus again then and ran very little until April 2015. I started back then I have been running every week since. I am running 5 days a week an average of 26 miles a week . One long Run (8 to 14 miles), One Hill sprint session, and a 4 or 5 mile run three times a week.

Up to this week all my runs were solo efforts, I did the paced mile the other night and I really enjoyed the event. So now I feel I am ready to go to the next level which will involve more events, park runs, 10,ks , Half Marathon and hopefully the full Marathon in 2016 , that's the plan and I know I need a plan so I will see how that goes. I will be using this log to track my progress.

Clearlier posted a plan here following the 2014 Dublin City Marathon , I intent to follow that plan over the next few months to see where that takes me and then next year all being well I will follow the Boards Marathon Training plan.

My PBs to date

1 mile 7:22 Chip Timing Aug 2015
5k 29.14
10 k 1:04:20
13.1 Miles 2:22:00

With the exception of the mile all these times are from solo training runs and timed on my Garmin watch.

My Weigh Loss to date is 4.5 stone

My Diabetes is under control

Apologies for the long winded introduction but its been a bit of a roller coaster to date. Constructive criticism and advice will always be taken on board and appreciated.

Oh Re The Username: It seemed as good as any when I signed up to boards many moons ago for the crack on the soccer forum (*), I'm stuck with it now and as the saying goes I am not my username .

*(I don't even watch soccer these days I'd much rather go for a run.)

Thanks for reading

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The Muppet

Ah its not all about me tony' You are more than welcome to post whatever yoy want here tony . I.ve been there , once you get out of the routine before you know it that few days becomes a few weeks and a few months . It was 4 months the first time for me and 2 the second.

It's great that you knee has recovered , now you need to get out whenever your non running life allows to get a few miles done . One or two enjoyable runs and the confidence and motivation will come back. See how you feel then regarding future plans. You may be wise to make some time adjustments but theres No way your chance is gone' Lecture over.:D

I took your advice and kept everthing nice an easy today . On Sunday I didn't think i had a chance of doing tomorrow's 8 never mind 20 Saturday but I'm going to try tomorrow very easy again and take it from there. No pain today is good .

I'll be looking foward to your run report.

The Muppet

I got my 8.2 mile easy in today @134 bpm and 10.55 average pace. The old legs are quite tired this week but no pain. The head cold is more of a nuisance than a hindrance , going to try shift it before Saturdays 20 miler. Early nights for me this week.

The Muppet

5 miles in today, nice drizzle when i got out but not such a nice wind , last mile was into it as indicated by the time, I hope its not like that on M day.

Had a really thorough foam rolling last night followed by iced bottle foot rolling and a heel drop session all just as a precaution, was in bed by 8.30 and slept right through to 7.30 this morning . Max, I hope you're impressed.

Still have the head cold so giving pilates a miss tonight, I guess I'll need all the energy I can save for saturday

5 miles @ 11.03 hr monitor didn't connect

Bungy Girl

Only catching up now, T. What a super performance, and glad that the knee is ok! Can't wait to see what you'll do in 5 weeks time.

The Muppet

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Only catching up now, T. What a super performance, and glad that the knee is ok! Can't wait to see what you'll do in 5 weeks time.

Thanks BG If i can get around in one piece I'll be happy.

The Muppet

Got my final 20 mile LSR in today. I was quite apprenhensive heading out as my nose is funning faster than I can plus I had to collect my daughter from the airport last night so It was 3 am before I got to bed and I was up at 8, I don't function very well on anything less than 8 Hours sleep.

On the plus side it stopped raining just as I headed out so it was cool and damp and I'd had a really good sleep wednesday night which I think stood to me.

The plan was to run really easy today as It's been a tough week for us novices.

I actually felt quite comfortable up to the last mile or two where the pace dropped a bit, I probably could have pushed on if I had to. I took a gel at 3 miles a handful of jelly beans at 9 and another gel at 12 miles . Was fantasizing about my mooju and banana in the closing stages

No injuries or niggles during run which is amazing to me considering I had to call a halt half a mile into last Sundays recovery run. The legs know they have been through a tough run but some care later should have them ok for tomorrows recovery.

That's the last of the 20 mile runs on the plan 18 next week is significant but after that they are not all that daunting.

20.01 @ 131 bpm 11.03

My 2016 Milage Update

Month|2016|2015|2014|2013
jan|94.78|46.2|8.31|0
feb|61.68|13.9|30.35|0
March|111|4.64|47.37|7
April|110.7|21.08|42.23|25.01
May|121.32|65.69|36.37|33.78
June|154.31|97.03|52.69|33
July|148.97|108.73|25.33|49.74
August|124.57|110.42|57.9|29.42
September|138.17|94.12|58.37|13.87
October|-|125.17|95.32|3.01
November|-|100.78|88.95|0
December|-|63.16|23.83|0
Totals|1065.50|851.69|567.02|194.83

The Muppet

3.47 mile recovery, Woke early and decided to get this done , was out at 7.30.

Legs felt surprisingly this morning good considering yesterdays exploits,Mooju is greath stuff. I usually do my recoveries on grass in local park but I didn't fancy getting the feet wet this dewey morning so stuck to footpaths . Pace was a little quicker than my recovery from mile 2 onwards though effort was still easy . I didn't bother with the heart monitor today so no data for that.

3.47 miles @ 10:53 pace

That's week 14 of the plan completed, I had a great week considering I started the week with concern over a niggle. The week ahead looks a little easier and after that there are no really long runs , 14 miles is no longer a really long run to us novices :eek:. Only 4 weeks training left , not tempting faith I hope, but I feel I certainly have the hardest weeks behind me. Making that startline in one pieces is getting oh so close.

The Muppet

5 miles easy tonight. The first time I've ran in the dark since February. Enjoyed the coolness of the evening and I felt good .

Still can't shake the head cold It improving but not gone yet.

5 miles @128 bpm 10.53 pace

The Muppet

Got my wu + 5 pmp +1 cd in this afternoon. I wasn't in the mood for it today I felt quite tired, Pace was too fast. Cant say it was enjoyable just one of those runs where you dig in and get it done, I started to get into it for the last pmp mile .

Thats the last wednesday session on the plan next 2 wednesdays are just easy runs and we have 3 @pmp marathon week so more of a warm up than a session. early nogh tonight for me.

7.3 miles @10.08 pace

splits
1wu @ 140 bpm 10:43
2 @ 131 bpm 10:00
3 @ 132 bpm 9:59
4 @ 134 bpm 9:55
5 @ 136 bpm 9:42
6 @ 137 bpm 9:29
7 cd @130 bpm 10.47 pace .

The Muppet

Got my 3 miles recovery in this afternoon and then another mile or 2 from the Aviva into town as the queue for the dart was mental.

I love being able to run . The run was more exciting than the match .

The Muppet

Busy today so the plan was to do my 18mile lsr from home incorporating malahide parkrun, I arrived in malahide castle 4 miles into my run see the parkrun just starting, that gave me a laugh as I was a good bit behind them. I t actually worked out well as when I caught up I wasnt under any pressure to do anything other than run easy, after the run I ran into coolock, felt a little unwell on this section and had to make detour to a field. I felt ok after that but afew time I though I had miscalculated the route and it was longer than 18 possibly 20 , this caused me to consider turning around and heading back to swords to do loops, I had a few battles with myself but I've never deviated from a planned route and common sense previals and I stuck with what I was doing just cutting a bit off in coolock by going up through Darndale. I run there all the time never had a problem btw

From Coolock I headed to morton stadium Santry and then back the old airport road to swords. I paused the watch to cross at the MI slip road as it was very busy and forgot to start it again until near the stadium. Back to swords then is mostly down hill so I just plodded on to get to 18.

I have a few niggles like most of us have i'd imagine , but nothing that the taper won't fix. I'm delighted to have come through the really long runs without serious injury. I did take it very easy today but my route was hilly enough and I,m happy with the pace.

Just have to mind myslef now for the next two weeks and hopefully I will be in reasonable condition on the startline .

18.01 miles @134 bpm 11.10 pace

The Muppet

Busy this past week so I have neglected the log a little , it's all easy running now so it's pretty repetitive any way. heres my week

Monday

Having rested Sunday I got a 5.08 recovery run at 11:58 pace

Tuesday 5.66 miles easy @ 10.44 pace

Wednesday 7.8 miles @ 11.12 pace , should have been 5 but it was such a lovely evening I added on a little.

Thursday 5.26 miles @ 11.07

Friday 14.04 @ 11.04 pace , Real life meant I had no chance of getting this in saturday so I moved it to Friday, Not ideal running 5 consecutive days but i had no other option this week

Sunday 4.04 @11.32 recovery

Hope to be back to normal next week , Legs still feeling tired enough during runs but had no rest days as I was working all day saturday which I'm hoping is a factor.

The Muppet

Got my 3 miles easy in at lunchtime today . feeling a little off today and not much life in the legs.

3.35 miles @123 bpm 11.08 pace.

The Muppet

4.08 miles @138 bpm 10.03 pace.

I had a bit more life in the legs today but the felling off yesterday has developed into a cough today, chest not great either, It is concerning but I will Play it by ear for day or so and take it from there. Hopefully it'll clear up.

Bungy Girl

The Muppet wrote: »

4.08 miles @138 bpm 10.03 pace.

I had a bit more life in the legs today but the felling off yesterday has developed into a cough today, chest not great either, It is concerning but I will Play it by ear for day or so and take it from there. Hopefully it'll clear up.

Don't take any chances T ! All the hard work is done so make sure you recover well before your next run.

Singer

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Don't take any chances T ! All the hard work is done so make sure you recover well before your next run.

Yep - Liberally apply rest and recuperation. Hopefully we'll get out for a run

Firedance

Okay, here's a list of possible cures!

Tiger balm or Vicks on the chest/back
Exputex cough bottle (best cough bottle ever)
Bed rest!
The usual paracetamol/lempsip

It will clear up before next week, don't worry about running, you've done all the work. It won't matter if you miss every single run between now and 30th so relax and get yourself better.

The Muppet

Thanks I will take it easy, its annoying at this late stage but hopefully all will be good for the big day , I might even go to the doctor in day or 2 if it's not getting any better. Hope he remembers me.:D , Hate Doctors.

Singer we'll definitely have to get that run in, we've been threatening it for so long now. good to see making a recovery.

The Muppet

No running today . Yet anyway .

On the exputex thanks FD

Felling a little better but still not right. I'll take it day by day for now .

The Muppet

I was feeling a good but better today and not having ran since Wednesday I just had to run today as I felt I was seizing up . I still have a bit of a sniffle but chest was grand today.

I stated out really handy for the first four miles averaging 11:19 pace @128 bmp. I was really enjoying the run and the pace crept up for the second 4 miles, it still felt easy and I definitely felt the benefit of the taper and rest today . I ran the second 4 miles @ 10.25 pace @136 bpm

I really enjoyed the run once I got going and I felt better finishing than starting out.

I'm heading into the final week of marathon training feeling good in myself. I can't wait for Sunday next if we had this mornings weather that would be ideal but I m confident I'm ready for whatever is thrown at us now .

8 miles at 10.58 pace

tony1980

Great stuff TM, delighted to hear your doing well!!

The Muppet

Thanks tony . It's been an up and down week with plenty of doubt thrown in but I felt really good today.

Enjoy your run tomorrow .were nearly there .

The Muppet

3.23 miles @129 bpm 10.50 pace. It's pretty cold today so wrapped up well for this , Moving pace was 10:40 around my pmp , im really comfortable running at that pace once i get into my stride so that'll be it for the day I hope.

Into that last week of the plan having ran 550 miles and god knows how many hours since the end of june. crazy stats for me when I sit and think of it.

just a few easy runs left this week and one pmp , I have a diet plan for the week on the fridge which I'm going to try stick to, good today so far, and plan to have early nights every night if possible.

That's the plan for the next 6 days.

annapr

Glad to see the taper cough hasn't knocked you out T! This time next week you'll be proudly wearing that medal!!

Ps maybe leave that run with Singer until after DCM. You might be tempted to go too fast

The Muppet

HA HA A very diplomatic, Not sure how much of it was real and how much was taper madness/panic but its all good now I hope, That exputex is mighty stuff indeed.

Singer promised to go easy but even at that I was thinking of tying his laces together on the sly before we set off, I'd possibly be able to keep up with him then.

Joking aside I really appreciate his and all the other offers of advice assistance and encouragement over the last few months here. It says a lot for the contributors to this forum that really good runners still have time to look out for and try help those of us who are not at their level.

The Muppet

2.1 miles @10.53 pace todays per the plan. When I started the run today it dawned on me that it was this route I took for week 1 run 1 of my couch 2 5k . If anyone had predicted the journey i was undertaking that evening I'd have laughed at them.

The Muppet

5 miles with 3 @pmp,

5 @ 131 bpm 10 33 pace. All set now for Sunday I hope, may not get out tomorrow for the 3 easy.

Im actually quite calm about Sunday at the moment , I plan to just go out and soak everything up and enjoy it.

tailgunner

All the best for Sunday. You've an excellent block of training behind you that goes back well before the specific marathon training, and that will stand to you on the day. You're going to have a great marathon!

Kennyg71

Best luck Sunday T, have a great race.

Younganne

Have a great day and enjoy every minute of it!! see you after!!