Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads

Just dumping a few bullet points at the start here with things I'll need to come back to again and again.

Expectations/Challenges
It’ll be hard
Need a reasonable level of fitness

General advice
Run slowly, slowly…
Already run 3-4 times per week
Longer runs at the weekend
Listen to your body

Keeping this post from nop98 to revisit http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=99632434&postcount=160

Possible barriers
Head
Procrastination
Laziness
Apathy

Motivation

A fit TBO is a happy TBO.

Practical stuff
Ditch the earphones
Runners - grand
Socks – low profile OK re blisters?

Plan, Ted
Hal Hagdon Novice 1
Try not to miss runs. Don’t make up for lost days

Logging mileage, etc

Reading the new posts in the novice thread, caught the link on stretching - need to have a read, particularly as I fairly passive about doing it.

Also, time to dust off the bike, methinks. It's been about 6 months.

Oops. Neglected this.

My recap of Dublin marathon training can be found here and race report here.

Yesterday and today was fitness assessment time at the gym. Used some machines (with guidance), tiring! Warmed up on the treadmill and cross trainer. Treadmill pace (first run since DCM) was probably too fast, certainly compared to how I run outdoors - remember the early DCM advice we got about slowing down? Yep. Shoulder press machine was OK, the other one I forget the name, but you pull yourself up and bring your chin up to the bars. Felt a bit faint after 2 x 12 that so took it easy for a few minutes. Obviously I now dislike that machine intensely. :P I'm too lightweight for a decent amount of press ups. Quite hungry after this session.

Pull up machine, now I say it it's obvious. Bit sore today owing to not being used to upper body work outs. Gym is closed for a few days next week, chance to swim or do something else, or some of the routines at home.

No gym work this week.

Tues - 5k, forgot my belt
Weds - 5k, left my watch in the car...this forgetting thing is becoming a habit.
Thurs - 5k, first time I noticed a crane near where I live, not sure what it's being used for.
Sat TBC - Park run in Scotland, their pics from last week are pretty frosty underfoot. Have mailed them to expect a visitor from Dublin. Looking at their future roster, it appears they're not holding a run on the 24th of December, whereas Malahide is, interesting.

Tues - 3mi after work, 9:57min/mi
Weds - Job application tinkering
Thurs - Job application sent in. Gym session, treadmill I just find tedious, tbh. Might start bringing headphones and such for that side of things. There's one of the abdominal machines I quite like - perhaps I need to increase the setting, though.
Sat - Jingle Bells 5k, time 26:02 - full spiel here.

Onwards with a graduate plan...don't really understand it (yet), so will follow up in the main thread. Off the research strength and conditioning again.

7/12

3x12 squats, twice.

6 miles. 9:47 min/mi, time: 58:47.

Bit rusty around mile 4-5, but otherwise OK. Couple of other runners out and about, all of us fairly high vis.

Probably 3 tomorrow and might try 8 on Saturday.

Based on my Jingle Bells 5k of 26:02, these are the paces I gleaned from the calculator, for the Base Plan.

Very easy 13:06 - 12:13
Easy 12:09 - 11:44
Moderate 10:39 - 10:21
MP 9:34
Threshold 9:04 - 8:51
Tempo 9:32 - 9:17
Aerobic Power 8:17 - 8:07

Have printed them out, should put them into my phone too.

Week 1, Day 1 of BP

3x12 squat (twice)
10 minutes warm up
45 minutes, 3.4 miles at 13.18 min/mi, on average.

Took a little bit of getting used to the slower paces - applying them consistently, so Garmin average has me as slightly slower than 'very easy', grr.

Had to stand in for my boss and go to a meeting a short notice today. Parking in Jervis costs a bit. Plan B meant going to the gym rather than running after work, didn't get there until 7. Debated cutting corners and doing a short spell, but stuck to the plan.

45 minutes on the treadmill wasn't too bad, actually. Perhaps as there were people to my left and their pounding was useful as an audio distraction. Made the time go a little quicker. I tried to convert the pace on my phone before going into the gym as the equipment is obviously in metric. 5.86km at 7.9km or 3.64 miles at 12:13 min/mi in old money.

3x12 squats, twice
3x12 abdominal
3x12 touch your knees
And one or two others...I'm bad at names.

M50 seemed decent this morning, for once.

Night, all.

Christmas Eve

40 minutes at easy, plus 5 at threshold.
3.93 miles.

Decent enough morning out there. Sun started to come through. Not too cold.

Unable to put the out of office on my work email yet, waiting on one person. :mad: Going to break open the cheeseboard tonight.

Week 3, Base Plan

Mon 26/12

Rest/entertained the dog

Tues 27/12

60 minutes, very easy
4.78 miles

Perhaps the coldest spell out there for an early run. Felt nice and fresh. Strange how only a day or two after Christmas that the feeling of Christmas starts to dissipate. Not that this is a bad thing. I've avoided the shops, though. Will try the gym tomorrow, if I can.

Thurs 29/12

60 minutes, very easy
4.87 miles

S&C in the gym. Busy enough here - post-pudding/turkey workouts? Saw a few folks using the rowing machine incorrectly, I think.

Tues 3/1

60 minutes, very easy
4.73 miles, at 12:42

Cool enough evening for it, fair few folks out and about locally. Went on a back road that I normally only visit during daylight. Spooky without street lighting at night. Head torch!

Weds 4/1
55 minutes, moderate
5.18 miles, at 10:39

Radio interview for work. :eek:

Didn't get home until after 9pm. Bad accident on the M50, someone lost their life. Put things in perspective.

Thurs 5/1
60 minutes, very easy
4.85 miles, at 12:22

Plus gym.

Tues 10/1

2 hours commuting home. M50. :mad:

60 minutes, very easy
4.78 miles, at 12:34

Weds 11/1

Cooollllld.

70 minutes, easy to MP
7.27 miles, at 9:42

Thurs 12/1

60 minutes, very easy
4.74 miles, at 12:40

Friday 13/1

Gym

Sat 14/1

50 minutes, easy

4.10 miles, at 12:17
*Plus 4x200m at 5k effort

Frosty paths, bit of nip in the air, but the sun started to come through. Couple of lads out hunting (with guns) and dogs. Later on I had my own dog problem. Ran up past this lab who started jumping on me, slowed me down a little and kept after me. It had a collar and something else around its neck. Very friendly and excitable dog. I had to divert from my normal route because there was no sign of the owner and I didn't want to risk bringing the dog close to the main Skerries road which can be pretty busy. Turned around, it started to follow me, but fortunately it didn't catch up. Once I turned the corner I knew I was away from it.

*Finished the 50 minutes. Changed the watch over the km for the 200m, not realising it would also adjust the pace to km. Probably should have asked in the main thread about my 5k pace, so I did this by feel. Not sure how to convey the Garmin info to make it useful to interpret...

Sun 15/1

2 hours, easy
9.98 miles, at 12:02

Longest run since DCM.

Miscalculated the route. Went out as far as Loughshinny (for the seagulls :pac:), at about 1 hour 40 in and on the return I knew I was still a fair bit from home. Stopped the watched at the 2 hour mark at slowed to 13:40-14:00 or thereabouts. At least I know what not to do next Sunday and will save Loughshinny for double digit mileage. Tide was in, very few seagulls - no fishermen. Car park busy enough...maybe for the football match at Loughshinny AFC? I could still hear the shouting even when I was down at the harbour. Feet were a little tired in winding down...my ankle had a little discomfort during the warm up and run itself. Almost went into a ditch looking at a dog on the way back. Other points of note, ESB poles buzzing away - same yesterday.

Week 1: 23.33 miles
Week 2: 22.88 miles
Week 3: 29.39 miles
Week 4: 27.96 miles
Week 5: 30.87 miles

Fri 20/1

Rest. Quite tired from Thurs, tbh.

Sat 21/1

No interference from dogs. New runners were tested, grand. Will try them again on Tues. Definitely, definitely, definitely certain I saw a pony in someone's garden. :eek:

50 minutes easy, last 5 at tempo
4.24 miles, at 11:47

Sun 22/1

Didn't get out until after 2pm due to a family thing. Opposite to Sat, dogs all the way in the second half. About 70 minutes in a German Shepherd and his friend followed me a bit - friendly, unlike the GS further back who goes ballistic if you go past. At the next house 3 other dogs, also on the loose (I'm losing patience with this...), started to say hello to them. Fortunately, they dropped back after a while, but yeah, back roads and unsupervised dogs is getting annoying. Temperature was starting to drop the longer I was out, particularly after about the 90 minute mark. Nippy enough once I was on the home stretch too. Other highlights were that the back roads were very quiet. Hay bails stacked 6 high.

2 hours, easy
9.91 miles, at 12:07

Base Plan: Dec 19th - Jan 22nd

Week 1: 23.33 miles
Week 2: 22.88 miles
Week 3: 29.39 miles
Week 4: 27.96 miles
Week 5: 30.87 miles
Week 6: 29.72 miles

Total: 164.15 miles

Weds 25/1

8x1 min hills (2-3 min rec)
2.65 miles

Hopefully will be able to post a clearer version of the above when I've the technology side of things figured out.

Thurs 26/1

60 minutes, very easy
4.74 miles, at 12:40

Fri 27/1

Rest from the tarmac - headed to the gym

Sat 28/1

25 minutes, tempo
2.64 miles, at 9:30

Gym later on

Sun 29/1

I hour 45 minutes, easy
8.76 miles, at 12:00

Decent bit of rain for the the warm up and about 15 minutes of the routine. Eased off after that, came back around the 70 minute mark. Pretty much dog free. Passed another runner 3 times due to where we crossed paths. Saw two robins close together, pretty cool.

Very happy with the new runners - this was the first full week in them. Sleep somewhat of a mixed bag, tbh. 4am boy racers were a great help there, thanks lads.

Hope everyone enjoyed the Raheny 5.

Week 1: 23.39 miles

Tues 31/1

0.78 miles - warm up
60 min, very easy
4.58 miles, at 13:06

Weds 1/2

0.84 miles - warm up
6x3 min CV w/3 min rec
3.57 miles

Watch was dead, so had to wait until I got home to charge it up a bit after dinner. Not many other runners out after 10pm. I was winding down at this stage. First time using the lap button. Technology. :pac:

If I'm reading the splits correctly(?!), I was generally hitting 8:23-40 ish for average pace. That's for numbers, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12..?

Splits | Time |Moving Time |Avg Pace |Avg Moving Pace
13 |0:06.1|0:06|11:50 |11:44
12 |3:01.0 |3:00 |8:36 |8:33
11 |3:02.3 |3:00 |9:57 |9:50
10 |2:58.2 |2:54 |8:40 |8:27
9 |3:01.5 |3:00 |10:36 |10:30
8 |3:19.5 |3:16 |8:41 |8:32
7 |3:00.2 |3:00 |10:01 |10:00
6 |3:00.5 |2:59 |8:35 |8:31
5 |3:00.3 |2:53 |11:48 |11:19
4 |3:02.5 |3:02 |8:33 |8:31
3 |3:01.3 |2:56 | 11:44 |11:24
2 |3:09.3 |3:07 |8:23 |8:17
1 |0:01.3 |0 |0 |--

Thurs 2/2

60 min, very easy
4.79 miles, at 12:38
0.82 miles - cool down

Gym

Fri 3/2

Rest/dentist :cool:

Sat 4/2

0.87 miles - warm up
5x5 min @ Threshold w/ 2 min rec
3.68 miles

Enjoyed this. Glorious morning for it. Perfect conditions. Think I made a muck of using the lap button somewhere along the lines. And don't remember taking 3 minutes for recovery towards the end. Anyway.

Splits |Time | Moving Time |Avg Pace |Avg Moving Pace
12 |0:06.6 |0:06 |11:30 |10:32
11 |4:59.8 |4:55 |9:09 |9:00
10 |0:00.8 |0 |7:17 |--
9 |3:05.9 |3:03 |10:07 |9:58
8 |5:04.5 |5:03 |9:04 |9:02
7 |2:00.0 |1:57 -- |10:50 |10:34
6 |5:03.3 |5:00 |9:06 |9:00
5 |2:03 |2:02 |0.19 |11:04 |10:59
4 |5:03.9 |5:00 |9:06 |8:59
3 |2:02.9 |2:02 |9:53 |9:49
2 |5:04.2 |5:04 |8:52 |8:52
1 |0:00.6 | 0 |-- |--

0.84 miles - cool down

Gym

Tues 7/2

Bit chilly out there. Started talking to myself out loud to rehearse work stuff for tomorrow.

0.78 miles - warm up
60 minutes, very easy
4.61 miles, at 13:01
0.79 miles - cool down

Forgot to log Wednesday's mileage for the 8x1, etc. It was 3.59.

Thurs 9/2

0.83 - warm up
60 minutes, very easy
4.79 miles, at 12:42
0.84 miles - cool down

Fri 10/2

Rest
Booked DCM 2017 and the FD10

Sat 11/2

0.81 miles - warm up
30 minutes, tempo
3.13 miles, at 9:36
0.90 miles - cool down

Legs a bit rusty half way through, tbh.

Gym. Chap next to me was Mr Flexible.

Sun 12/2

0.84 miles - warm up
I hour 45 minutes, easy
8.76 miles, at 12:00
0.84 miles - cool down

Got a "we must be mad", from another chap out around farm country. Mucky shoes! Chilly again on the hands, well, fingertips even with gloves. About 30 seconds of tiny hailstones 55 minutes in.

Week 1: 23.39 miles
Week 2: 31.07 miles
Week 3: 30.02 miles

Sun 19/2

0.84 miles - warm up
70 minutes, easy
5.83 miles, at 12:01
0.82 miles - cool down

Ran past the same dog three times. He was not happy!

Week 1: 23.39 miles
Week 2: 31.07 miles
Week 3: 30.02 miles
Week 4: 29.25 miles

Labelled the dates in the earlier post incorrectly.

Thurs 23/2

Watch was flat, no stats.

60 minutes, very easy. Well, I basically ran for 80 with the warm up. Very busy day in work due to conference prep. Had lunch, didn't get out running until about 6:35pm. This is the most empty stomach I've ever run on. :pac: Really enjoyed this one for some reason. Upbeat. My forearms were bloody cold, though.

Fri 24/2

Rest, no gym as I was wiped from a work conference. Home after 6 and wanted to fall asleep in the supermarket.

Sat 25/2

0.83 miles - warm up

Plan: 15 min tempo, 4 min rec, 10 min Threshold

Actual: 15:01 at 9:31 (4:02 at 10:24 rec) and 11:10, at 9:07

3.22 miles

0.89 miles - cool down

Some EOI race series thing going on locally this morning.

Tues 28/2

0.79 miles - warm up
60 minutes, very easy
4.77 miles, at 12:34
0.84 miles - cool down

Damp evening. :pac: Started a little later than usual due to the rain. Couldn't find my rain jacket. Of course, it was in the boot...rain had largely eased. Kicked in at 50 minutes.

Weds 1/3

0.77 miles - warm up
5x5 min CV w/ 4 min rec
4.47 miles
0.80 miles - cool down

Split| Time |Avg Pace
1|5:20.7 |8:45
2| 5:03.8 |8:49
3| 4:45.7 |8:58
4|5:19.6 |8:31
5|5:50.3 |8:42


A little slow on the CV front, though I was a little too quick at times too. And I under or over-ran a few of these laps. Moving Time doesn't seem to have come through on this, so the above is er, just Time.

Thurs 2/3

0.80 miles - warm up
60 minutes, very easy
4.62, miles at 13:00
0.83 miles - cool down

Hip a bit sore...post Wednesday issue.

Fri 3/3

Rest. Hip still a bit iffy. Decided not to bother with the gym just in case. Left shin was at me a little too.

Sat 4/2

Beautiful morning for a run.

0.85 miles - warm up
3x8 min @ Thresholds w/ 3 min
3.21 miles
0.86 miles - cool down

Split| Moving Time |Avg Pace
1|8:10 |9:01
2| 7:50 |8:59
3| 8:04 |8:58


Gym

Went to see Logan in the cinema. Recommended. Bit of a radio blitz this week for me, had to use the sanctuary of my car for a few of them. A few doubts creeping into my head with running and worry about the niggles.

Interviews for work (spokesperson, sometimes).