What I log about when I log about running

Huzzah! · 18-06-2017 8:00pm #1

Huzzah! for running!

Background:

I'm female and in my 30s. I'm not sporty and I wouldn't really consider myself to be "fit". I'm also sllllooooowwww. But, for the most part, this doesn't bother me. I'm still surprised that I can comfortably run 10 miles. (10-whole-miles. Me!:o)

I've been running fairly consistently now for two(ish) years. I'd finished Couch 2 5k a couple of times before but never kept it up; mainly, I think, because I was running my training runs flat out and really didn't enjoy it. Three years ago, I tried again and stuck with it and now, despite my grumbling, love to run (at least most of the time). Key to running more consistently was discovering the runmute. You can't beat the headspace that running gives you.

I started practising yoga last year. I try and attend 3/4 classes a week. There may be "better" ways to cross train/complement my running but yoga is the only thing I'll stick to.

PBs and Goals:

My principal goal for the rest of the year is to try and run a PB at the race series half. My current PB is from the Wexford half earlier this year and is 2:15:4x; I trained like the dickens for it. Still and all, I'm hoping to run 2:14:xx in September. Along the way, I'd like to run a 10K PB at the Fingal 10k. My 10K PB is my oldest and, potentially, my softest. Once I run the half, I've half an eye on tackling a 5K plan - gotta get the value out of the buke - with Jingle Bells being my focus for the rest of the year. That's a way away yet, though.

I used a plan from Pfitzinger and Latter's Faster Road Running for Wexford earlier this year and I think I'll use it again for September. I've built in a buffer week for the Fingal 10k, so the plan will start in earnest next Monday. I've been enjoying running off plan for the past couple of weeks but am looking forward to getting back on plan soon. Gives me less wriggle room for slack off!

Distance|Current PB|Target|
5k|26:53|>26|
5 Mile|46:40|>46|
10k|59:53|58:xx|
10 mile|1:43|1:40|
Half mara|2:15:43|2:14:xx

Annie get your Run · 18-06-2017 8:06pm

Welcome aboard! Your times are almost exactly what mine were when I started logging here. The best of luck with your training. Would you consider joining a club if there's one near you?

Huzzah! · 18-06-2017 8:53pm

This is the first race I ever ran back in 2015. If I remember correctly, it was only my second ever time running 5 miles. I ran it in approximately 58 minutes and was delighted with myself for not having to walk. It was a great first race. I think 3,000 people ran that day and I couldn't get over the fact that so many people did this for fun on a Saturday morning, while I would usually still be fast asleep. I remember people warming up and thinking I'd never be fit enough to run five miles AND do a warm up

The route changed this year and I was glad of the change. I think I would've struggled on the hills on the old route at my current level of fitness. I was on holidays in May and have been struggling a wee bit to get back into it. I decided that I'd try and match my 5 mile PB of 47:42, which I achieved at Raheny earlier this year. I did the math incorrectly, though, and set myself a target of 5:50/km, which works out at 46:40 - whoops.

I don't work in miles and as you can see, maths isn't my strong point, so apologies for trying to give a breakdown of a 5 mile race in kilometres.

Mile 1-2 (1-3km)
I arrived in plenty of time but only did a really short warm up. This left me feeling quite stiff for the first two kilometers and my feet felt sore . I'm not sure why I didn't start my warm up earlier. I know better than that! I ran the first kilometer a bit quicker than 5:50/km. This was part of the plan, as I knew it was downhill.

From the off, I really wanted to stop but knew that my support was waiting at mile 2, so I decided to at least run as far as there. This isn't unusual for me and I often wonder what the heck I'm doing at races and tell myself that I should just go home and quit. I noticed the pace had started to drop around the switchback point and I tried to pick it back up.

Mile 2- 3(3 - 5km)
I'm not overly familiar with this part of the park and I just kept trying to pick people off. I can't really remember much about it. I remember seeing an incline and my stomach sinking but I was up and over it without any hassle. My pace had evened out at this point. It felt quite breezy in places, which, for once, I was glad of as the heat was intense.

Mile 3- 5(5 - 8km)

I'm still a bit hazy but I remember seeing a sign for the Furry Glen and thinking that this is where it would start to get tough. Sure enough, my pace seems to have dropped quite a bit around here. The difficulty must have been purely in my head, because a quick look at other people's pace for this kilometre on Strava tells me that most managed to pick it up a bit here. I was keeping pace with two guys . I wasn't sure if they were running together or not. They were both wearing headphones. One guy was wearing huge over-ear headphones - all I can say is fair play to him in that heat. I was happy that I managed not to lose pace on the hill. One of the guys pushed on and I kept with him. The other was left behind but only briefly as he put on a surge and passed us both out. We turned onto the Upper Glen Road. I hate the Upper Glen Road. I have never before been able to run this at more than a crawl. I was happy today that I was running quite strongly for me, but I was still fighting the urge to walk. I could feel the beginnings of a stitch, though, and I tried exhaling as my left foot hit the ground. It didn't help and the stitch really took hold. I've learned from bitter experience that when it's this bad the only thing to do is stop and sort it out. I ducked to the side, doubled over and start exhaling really sharply. I think people must've thought I was going to vom, as I was given a pretty wide berth

It really helped and I was able to start running again after less than 10 seconds. Once I knew I'd only a kilometre left, I tried to pick it up and the final kilometre was my fastest. The final stretch along the Furze Road felt interminable and I was glad when I finally fell over the line. Was really surprised when I looked at my watch to see 46:40 and a PB of over a minute. So surprised that I even had to double check my time from Raheny.

Splits
5:39; 5:52; 6:44; 5:45; 5:43; 6:07; 5:55; and 5:39.

Overall, I'm pleased with that. I know I left nothing out there and feel that there's more to come off that time. I hit my max HR for the first time in a while. I won't get the chance to race another 5 mile before Raheny, so I'm glad I ran this, despite really not wanting to! My main takeaway is not to skimp on the warm up, even when not feeling fully up to a race.

Huzzah! · 18-06-2017 8:57pm

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Welcome aboard! Your times are almost exactly what mine were when I started logging here. The best of luck with your training. Would you consider joining a club if there's one near you?

Thanks! Yep, I'd love to join a club but wouldn't be confident enough yet. Raheny and Crusaders are closest to me, I think. I'd just like to be a wee bit faster first.

Annie get your Run · 18-06-2017 9:34pm

Huzzah! wrote: »

Thanks! Yep, I'd love to join a club but wouldn't be confident enough yet. Raheny and Crusaders are closest to me, I think. I'd just like to be a wee bit faster first.

There's a few here in both, your times are good enough for either as they both have improvers type groups. Do it, it'll help no end and you won't regret it.

Huzzah! · 26-06-2017 9:31am

Monday, June 19th
Total: 9km (1:12:23)
Avg Pace: 8:02 min/km
Splits: 8:02; 8:17; 8:21; 8:19; 8:08; 7:58; 7:57; 7:45; 7:45; and 7:28
Avg HR: 144 Max: 157
Nice wee dander in the forest. Kept it really easy after Saturday’s efforts and no ill-effects from the race to report. Ran in a forest and was glad of the cooler temperatures.

Tuesday, June 20th
Total: 6km (46:01)
Avg Pace: 7:39 min/km
Splits: 7:50; 7:32; 7:36; 7:45; 7:40; and 7:30
Avg HR: 147 Max: 166

Another very enjoyable run, with a nice cooling breeze.

Wednesday, June 21st
Yoga in the am (1 hour)
Total: 7km (53:20)
Avg Pace: 7:37 min/km
Splits: 4:22; 6:53; 7:20; 7:49; 8:03; 8:01; and 7:54
Avg HR: 147 Max: 161

Not sure who to believe for this one: Strava or Garmin. Both have me swimming in Grand Canal Dock and also in the Liffey and, allegedly, I recorded my fastest kilometre ever. Anyway, keeping with the theme of light and breezy, an easy evening runmute. The humidity was the only notable thing about this run.

Thursday, June 22nd
Yoga in the am (1 hour)
Total: 10km (1:16:02)
Avg Pace: 7:36 min/km
Splits: 7:44; 7:44; 7:29; 7:36; 7:45; 7:41; 7:39; 7:44; 7:26; and 7:06
Avg HR: 141 Max HR: 157

Nice runmute home along the seafront. There was a BHAA race on, but I can’t find out what it was. Seemed to be an out and back, anyway.
My left glute has been a small bit niggly, so spent 15 minutes stretching and 15 minutes on the foam roller. Felt much better after.

Saturday, June 10th
Total: 15km (1:47:51)
Avg Pace: 7:11 min/km
Splits: 7:34; 7:25; 7:17; 7:34; 7:38; 7:08; 7:19; 7:28; 7:05; 6:45; 6:54; 6:29; 6:48; 6:39; and 7:38
Avg HR: 141 Max HR: 170

First “long” run since my holidays. The plan according to Huzzah! was to run to parkrun, run parkrun as a tempo and then do a longish cool down, but this plan went out the window when I got lost

and arrived too late for the start. The run turned into a Pfitzinger-style endurance run, which is no harm, really, as the plan starts next week. I ran some of this a wee bit too fast but the HR was in the correct zone, so no harm done.

So, 47 kilometres this week, which sets me up nicely for the start of the half marathon plan – the first week of which comes to 48 kilometres, albeit over four days as opposed to five. I’ve been enjoying the last few weeks of running without a plan but no harm to return to a bit of structure.

ariana` · 28-06-2017 2:42pm

Well done on the 5 mile pb.

Best of luck with the log. I'll be following as your times are similar enough to mine also. Lots of room for improvement for both of us i'm sure of it

Huzzah! · 28-06-2017 7:01pm

ariana` wrote: »

Well done on the 5 mile pb.

Best of luck with the log. I'll be following as your times are similar enough to mine also. Lots of room for improvement for both of us i'm sure of it

Thanks! You're being generous, though: your PBs are a lot better than mine. I've been following your log with interest and *may* have copied how you lay your info out, so thanks for that. Good luck with the training for DCM. I've (half) an eye on 2018 myself

Huzzah! · 01-07-2017 10:38pm

Monday, June 26th
Yoga in the am (1 hour).
Plan: General Aerobic and Strides – 10k
The plan got off to a great start when I took an unplanned rest day. Ho hum. Such is life.

Tuesday, June 27th
Plan: Endurance Run – 13k
Total: 13km (1:37:51)
Avg Pace: 7:28 min/km
Splits: 7:47; 7:41; 7:42; 7:51; 7:32; 7:50; 7:30; 6:57; 7:02; 6:47; 6:55; 7:25 and 8:05
Avg HR: 141 Max: 163
First MLR of the plan. Went pretty much as planned, with the second half being faster than the first and the heart rate stayed where it should be.

Thursday, June 29th
Plan: Lactate Threshold. 11km. 14 min LT interval. 4 min jogging. 12 min LT interval.
Total: 11.7km (1:18:4)
Avg Pace: 6:44 min/km
Warm up – 2K@ 7:32/km avg. 3K@7:17 avg. Cooldown: 7:26/km avg
14 mins L/T@5:43/km avg
12 mins L/T@5:36avg
Avg HR: 151 Max HR: 175

Tempos are my favourite type of session. Motivation was still lacking and it wasn’t helped by the wintry conditions. I run these by heart rate and the Pfitz recommended 80-91% of max hr. My max is 190, so the zone for me is 152 – 173. Kept it largely within these and it felt good, comfortably hard. I was still fairly glad when each of the intervals was over. Pace is probably slightly too slow, but the effort was there.

Saturday, July 1st
Plan: Endurance run: 16k.
Total: 16km (2:01:50)
Avg Pace: 7:49 min/km
Splits: 8:42; 8:05; 7:36; 7:52; 7:45; 7:41; 7:39; 7:49; 7:34; 7:07; 7:28; 8:14; 7:33; 7:45; 7:50; and 8:35
Avg HR: 159 Max HR: 182

Horrible run from start to finish. Got up at 6am to eat breakfast, so that I would have this run done by 10am. Finally got out the door at 7pm. Felt off from the start. Heart rate was elevated and I felt too full to be running. Got hot quite quickly and should have brought water, as there was quite a lot of salt on my skin when I’d finished. I would’ve given my right arm for a can of coke on the way home and I never really drink fizzy drinks. Picked an out-and-back route of 2km for convenience but it meant there was quite a steep hill that had to be negotiated 8 times :eek:. It was almost as bad going down as going up. Pace was quite a bit off for the second half of this but the effort was about right, so I didn’t push it. Anyway, they can’t all be fun and at least it’s done.

Not a great week with 40 kilometres as opposed to the planned 50. Will do better next week. I’ve signed up for the Docklands 5k, which I might maybe perhaps run as a tempo.

Huzzah! · 07-07-2017 11:44am

I ran my first sub-30 5k last year, with the help of the super pacers and was keen to sign up again this year. So keen that I signed up almost as soon as it was open and when it came to it, I wasn’t really sure how to approach it. There was a tempo run in the plan for today but I never really considered running it as one. I decided to run it as hard and as best as I could. The Irish Runner 5 mile result played on my mind a wee bit, if I’m honest. It was a PB that I was super happy to get but all race calculators were suggested a 5k time of 28+ minutes based on the result. As my PB for 5k stood at 26.53, I wondered if there was any point in racing it flat out. I decided to go out at PB pace and see how long I could hold on for. It’s only 5k after all; if I blow up, so be it.

Warm up

I ran a 3k warm up at a super easy pace, from Grand Canal into Ringsend, over the East Link and back along the quays and I was really glad that I did. It helped me so much later on in the race knowing that there was a decent breeze from the turnaround point through 3k until we turned onto the bridge. Was feeling sluggish and bloated and rotten on this and wondered why I’d eaten cake (there may have also been some Toffepops) at tea break :P

1k

I set off at the planned pace. I haven’t run at this pace in a couple of months and was surprised at how natural it felt. It certainly wasn’t easy, though, and I did wonder how long I would be able to maintain it. I stuck in behind a team of runners who were having a great chat. It’s always a little bit disheartening to be running at your max when everyone around you seems to be out for a dander.

2k

Started to speed up a bit here and made the conscious decision to slow down a touch. I’ve never really run even splits in a 5k before and decided there and then that that would be a good aim for this run – better late than never, eh. The team that I’d fallen into pace with gradually pulled away and I was left running with one guy. He was running exactly the pace I wanted and I decided to stick with him, which I did through the turnaround and as far as the 3k mark.

3k

I was starting to really feel the effort here and was glad that I’d run this stretch previously. I just kept telling myself to get to the bridge and the hard part would be over. Felt the hint of a stitch along here and regretted my cake/Toffeepop combo. Focused on my breathing and, thankfully, it didn’t take hold.

4k

I was expecting the bridge to be really hard for some reason but I actually don’t remember running it at all. We turned back onto the quay and I tried to focus on the 4k marker to take my mind off the long stretch home.

5k

Holy frig WHERE is the finish! Why can’t I run faster?! I just want this to be over. Okay, she said it was 600m from the start point to the finish. 600 meters? Not even half a k. Okay, 500 metres left. I can do this. I could actually slow down a bit. Why can’t I slow down? I’m stuck running at this pace. Where is the gantry? I can’t even see it. Oh, I can. It’s that red light, glimmering at me from the distance. I might just keep my head down and not look. Oh, 200metres to go. I’ll count down from 20. 20, 19 what comes next?

So, the last kilometre felt long. I speeded up a tiny bit but I had no finishing kick. Fell over the line with 26:32 on my watch and 26:33 chip time, so a PB of 20 seconds.

Splits: 5:18; 5:20; 5:18; 5:17; and 5:13

Heart rate: 176 Avg and 189 max

Overall, I am really happy with that. It’s not fast in the scheme of things but I’m chuffed with my progress over the year and pleased with how I raced on the night.

gypsylee · 07-07-2017 2:12pm

Great race report. Well done on your PB.

Huzzah! · 08-07-2017 4:27pm

Monday, July 3rd
Yoga in the am (1 hour).
Plan: General Aerobic + Speed. 11km + 6x12sec uphill followed by 6 x 100m Strides
Total: 11km (1:26:16)
Avg Pace: 7:50min/km
Avg HR: 148 Max: 169
Worked a little bit harder on this run relative to effort but it was quite humid. If tempo running is my favourite, hills are probably my least favourite. I just find them a wee bit boring. At least they’re short! I enjoyed the strides. Pfitz recommends that you accelerate until you’re about halfway through the strides and then maintaining pace till you finish. I have a tendency, particularly when I haven’t done strides in a while, of taking off like a scalded cat, then decelerating a bit and then maintaining pace till I finish, so a bit backwards but got better the more I did.

Tuesday, July 4th
Plan: Endurance Run – 13k
Total: 13km (1:42:11)
Avg Pace: 7:51 min/km
Splits: 8:33; 7:48; 7:58; 7:42; 7:49; 7:55; 7:56; 7:43; 7:44; 7:47; 7:48; 7:46 and 7:28
Avg HR: 138 Max: 155
With half an eye on the 5k on Thursday, I kept this to general aerobic pace rather than doing an endurance run. Nostalgic run for me as I’m in the process of moving, so it’s probably the last time I’ll runmute in this direction. Glad I kept it easy for this reason. Beautiful evening on the seafront and out along the wooden bridge. Picked it up, albeit not by a whole lot, for the last kilometre.

Wednesday, July 5th.
Yoga! Yoga! Yoga!

Thursday, July 6th
Plan: Lactate Threshold. 13km. 18 min LT interval. 4 min jogging. 12 min LT interval.
Actual: Docklands 5k Total (including warm up and cool down): 9km

Friday, July 6th
Yoga, which was, luckily enough, focused on stretching. Very tight all over.
Getting back into the swing of yoga - with three classes this week.

Saturday, July 7th
Plan: 18k Endurance
Total: 18km (2:14:47)
Avg Pace: 7:29 min/km
Splits: 8:15; 8:23; 7:47; 7:43; 7:37; 7:37; 7:33; 7:36; 7:15; 7:47; 6:55; 7:10; 7:01; 7:01; 6:53; 7:01; 7:08; and 7:59
Avg HR: 152 Max HR: 169
Much better than last week. The opportunity presented itself and I was up and out the door before I had a chance to think about it. Legs felt a wee bit tight but loosened out quickly enough. Think the paces are about where they should be and the effort certainly is. The kilometres ticked by and the run didn’t feel long. No doubt this run felt a little bit easier than last week’s as, race aside, it came off the back of a week of easy running. A woman waved at me and said hi and then fell over :eek: I helped her up and she was on her way quickly enough but I felt bad.

So, 51(ish) kilometres this week v a planned 55. Not doing too badly but will stick as closely as possible to the plan next week, before I deviate once more for my buffer week. Toying with the idea of doing Thursday's tempo run done in the morning so that I can go to a Yin yoga class in the evening, but I'm not sure how I'd get on doing a session like this fasted

Plenty of time to think about it anyway.

Huzzah! · 15-07-2017 6:14pm

Monday, July 10th
Plan: General Aerobic + Speed. 13km + 6x12sec uphill followed by 6 x 100m Strides
Total: 12.6km (!)(1:38:17)
Avg Pace: 7:46min/km
Avg HR: 158 Max HR: 170
Splits: 7:48; 8:01; 7:48; 7:55; 7:50; 7:56; 7:45; 7:38; 7:23; 7:41; 7:25; 7:29; and 8:28

For some reason, I never looked at my watch during the cool down and once my watch buzzed to tell me I was done, I just assumed I’d hit the 13km for the day. I didn’t realise until after my shower that I hadn’t but it’s no biggy. This run felt way slower than it was. It was my first rummute in this direction and it’s quite hilly. I won’t be too concerned if my pace slows a bit for the next while for this reason. I’ll just focus on effort.

I read how to do hills properly on the novices thread. I hadn’t been recovering properly, really. Still dislike them and was glad to get onto the strides.
I’d rate this run as relatively tough. It just felt like a bit of a slog, but I think my Monday runs always do.

Tuesday, July 11th
Not the most enjoyable yoga class ever. Lots of planking.
Plan: Endurance Run – 13k
Total: 12km (1:29:12)
Avg Pace: 7:26 min/km
Splits: 7:33; 7:42; 7:26; 7:49; 7:41; 7:42; 7:35; 7:36; 6:55; 7:02; 6:52; and 7:16
Avg HR: 146 Max: 164

T’was a grand ol’ dander. Cut it short because it was getting late and I had things to do.

Wednesday, July 12th.
Yoga! Yoga! Yoga!

Thursday, July 13th
Plan: Lactate Threshold. 13km. 18 min LT interval. 4 min jogging. 15 min LT interval.
Total: 13.5km (1:36:02)
Avg Pace: 7:06 min/km
Warm up – 2K@ 7:44/km avg. 5k@7:49 avg. 18 minutes@5:57 avg. and 15 minutes@5:59 avg Cooldown: 8:14/km avg
Avg HR: 153 Max HR: 180

Huzzah! for a tempo run. The best laid plans of mice and men… I’d planned on doing this as a runmute into work but my watch was out of juice, so I postponed it till the evening.

Plan B was to do this around the relatively flat Docklands and Herbert Park, but I got stuck in work, so, in the interests of saving time, I did it as a runmute. I run my tempo runs by effort(80-90% of max HR), so it doesn’t really matter that it was a good bit slower (I think) than when I last did it on the flat. Enjoyed this.

Saturday, July 15th
Plan: Progression Long Run. 19 km, incorporating 3@LT pace.
Total: 19km (2:20:47)
Avg Pace: 7:24 min/km
Splits: 7:57; 7:41; 7:37; 7:46; 7:41; 7:37; 7:40; 7:41; 7:36; 6:58; 6:50; 7:12; 7:02; 7:14; 7:14; 6:03; 6:17; and 6:24 and 10:11
Avg HR: 156 Max HR: 181

This was fine until about 12 km in, when I just started to feel really weary. Not body tired, just brain tired. It was also quite breezy and I can see this in the splits above. The tempo was just really unpleasant, uncomfy and hot. I ran-walked the last km and it still took my HR a long time to settle down. Slightly concerned with the pace of this given that the Fingal 10k is next weekend

57 kilometres for the week next week is a mini-taper for the Fingal 10k. It was also a step-back week in the plan and I think although I’m feeling fine, today’s run might be a hint that a step back would be a good thing. I’m looking forward to it, anyway!:D

Huzzah! · 23-07-2017 9:39pm

Monday, 17 July
Plan: The plan according to Huzzah! was 13k general aerobic.
Total: 10km (1:17:29)
Avg Pace: 7:44/km
Avg HR: 151 Max HR: 172
Splits: 7:41; 7:46; 7:36; 7:47; 7:41; 7:45; 7:35; 7:48; 7:44; and 8:00

A typical Monday run of feeling a bit rotten. Far too hot. Heart rate too high. Legs too tired. Quickly talked myself out of the 13k. It took a lot of perseverance to even do that much.

Tuesday, 18 July
Plan: The plan according to Huzzah! was 10k general aerobic plus 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 minutes at planned race pace with equal recoveries.
Total: 10km (1:16:54)
Avg Pace: 7:43/km
Avg HR: 142 Max HR: 160
Splits: 7:33; 7:39; 7:48; 7:48; 7:46; 7:45; 7:42; 7:28; 7:43; and 7:22

I lost my running mojo last week and struggled to stick to my own, sketchy plan. Can't remember much about this one, but I left work late and decided to abandon the race pace bit at the end.

Thursday, 20 July
Plan: The plan according to Huzzah! was 10k general aerobic.
Total: 10km (1:14:13)
Avg Pace: 7:25/km
Avg HR: 137 Max HR: 157
Splits: 7:33; 7:28; 7:34; 7:28; 7:25; 7:22; 7:20; 7:17; 7:15; and 7:24

What a difference a day (off) makes. Legs felt great and the kilometers ticked off quickly. I'd imagine it being substantially cooler also helped. I got caught in a downpour leaving the office and had to don my long-sleeved top. I also left my running backpack in the office and ran home with just my phone and keys. Huzzah!

Saturday, 22 July
Plan: The plan according to Huzzah! was a recovery run around the local loop.
Total: 4.57km (37:20)
Avg Pace: 8:10/km
Avg HR: 132 Max HR: 156
Splits: 8:00; 8:01; 8:21; 8:20; and 8:04

I wasn't sure how long my new local loop was but I had a feeling it was between 4 and 5k, and it is. Just a wee shake out for the legs before Sunday's race.

Sunday, 23 July
Fingal 10k – report to follow. Suffice it to say, my legs are falling off me tonight.

A total of 45kms for the week. A mix of step-back week, which was welcome, and a taper for the 10k. Next week will also be less than 50k running. I'll have a couple of days' easy running and then back on plan for Thursday. It's a pretty easy week on the plan as it's a recovery week.

Huzzah! · 24-07-2017 10:04am

Despite building a buffer week into my plan to allow me to race this, I hadn’t given it much thought. My 10k PB of 59.53 was set at this race last year. I’ve only raced one 10k since and it was disastrous. I think I came in at a couple of minutes over my PB. I had a quick look at some online calculators to see if I could get an idea of what to aim for, but got vastly different results when I plugged my two most recent race results in (IR5 mile and Docklands 5k). I decided to try for the same plan as I had for the IR5 mile, thinking that a month’s solid running since then would allow me maintain this pace for the additional 2k. On the eve of the run, I got the unexpected offer of a pacer, so I was kind of tied into my plans. We agreed a plan of 5.45/km.

I was really nervous for this race and I’m not sure why. Maybe it was the memory of the K-club 10k still weighing on me, maybe it was because I’m a control freak by nature and having a pacer meant I wouldn’t be fully in control (ie, couldn’t slack off when I really wanted to) but I think it was largely because this PB felt quite soft and I wanted to do well.

We arrived in Swords with not a whole lot of time to spare and I only did a short warm up. Found our place at the start line and we were off quite quickly.

Kilometres 1 – 4
This stretch is along the dual carriageway. This is my third time doing the race and I knew I’d be happier once we got to the 4k mark and the turn off. I started to feel quite hot and already concerned that I wasn’t up to the pace. I was actually kind of racing my pacer here, which I realised after a couple of k, and the kilometres were getting faster.

Kilometres 4-7

I walked to take some water on and then struggled to pick up the pace again. It was just so crowded here. I could feel myself getting frustrated. There were some people I just couldn’t get past. They were wearing earphones and oblivious to their surroundings. Earphones weren’t banned, so I’m just going to have to get over it. It was around here that I signalled to my pacer that I didn’t want to go any faster than the agreed pace as I was really beginning to worry that I was going to blow up. Just after the 5k mark, I noticed that I’d been running for 29 minutes. I thought this would mean that my A goal was gone, which I was confused by as all bar one of the splits so far had been faster than planned pace. I decided not to worry about that and to just keep moving as best I could. I picked up the pace unintentionally after the 6km mark, just trying to get over a hill and past a few people.

Kilometres 7-10

This might be one of my favourite races but I hate the stretch from about the 8k mark to the finish. I think it’s because you come so close to the finish before turning and heading off again. I also realise now that it’s slightly uphill. I was kind of dreading the last hill as well. I really appreciated being hosed by the firemen. It was deliciously cooling, but I was starting to hurt. I felt like I was slowing quite badly and at one point, must’ve been around the 9k mark, I noticed the pace had slipped to 6minutes/km. We ran up the hill that I was dreading and I kept expecting it to get worse, but it never did. I think I almost crawled up it last year. Once I realised there was no more uphill to come, I took off. I don’t know where it came out of. My friend let out a roar of encouragement, which only egged me on. I think he’d been slightly concerned at the drop off in pace and was surprised when I (all things being relative) blasted past him. I actually wasn’t in full control of my legs and had a brief concern that I would fall flat on my face. I then came around the bend and worried that I’d kicked too soon dropped the pace a bit. I spotted the clock ticking towards the hour and, although it was meaningless to me, I started to pick it up again, driving myself on to finish before the one hour clicked on. I fell over the line and was the closest I’ve ever been to revisiting my breakfast.

Splits: 5;40; 5:37; 5:36; 5:51(water stop); 5:42;p 6:43; 5:36; 5:35; 5:38; and 5:28

Chip time of 56:42 and a PB of 3:11. I’ll take that

gypsylee · 24-07-2017 12:20pm

Well done. Congrats on the PB.

Murph_D · 26-07-2017 10:10am

Well done on the recent races and big PBs. You seem to be applying the Pfitzinger/Latter plan well and are seeing the benefits in your race times. I've done that HM plan myself and it stood me well on the day, best of luck with it!

Huzzah! · 26-07-2017 7:05pm

Murph_D wrote: »

Well done on the recent races and big PBs. You seem to be applying the Pfitzinger/Latter plan well and are seeing the benefits in your race times. I've done that HM plan myself and it stood me well on the day, best of luck with it!

Thanks - it's good to know I'm following the plan properly. I might well end up doing the same tune-up races as you did by the looks of things.

Murph_D · 26-07-2017 8:06pm

Huzzah! wrote: »

Thanks - it's good to know I'm following the plan properly. I might well end up doing the same tune-up races as you did by the looks of things.

For me, it was Fingal, Frank Duffy and The Lakes in the run-up (the latter because the plan encouraged a race two weeks out, as far as I recall). A parkrun would probably suffice if you can't find anything else suitable. Or have you signed up for something already?

Huzzah! · 29-07-2017 6:13pm

[/B]Monday, July 24th
Plan: General Aerobic and Strides – 13k

This was never going to happen the day after a race, but I was hopeful of getting a recovery run in. I was surprisingly sore after Sunday and working late meant that I ended up not doing anything.

Tuesday, July 25th
Plan: General Aerobic – 11k
Total: 10km@recovery HR (1:13:57)
Avg Pace: 7:22/km
Splits: 7:20; 7:28; 7:31; 7:27; 7:17; 7:15; 7:22; 7:24; 7:20; 7:18; and 7:55
Avg HR: 140 Max: 154

Nice’n’easy downhill runmute at recovery effort. Probably too long to be a recovery run proper, but didn't feel tough at any point.

Thursday, July 27th
Plan: General Aerobic 13km.
Total: 10km (1:13:59)
Avg Pace: 7:22/km
Splits:
7:36; 7:18; 7:17; 7:21; 7:22; 7:24; 7:10; 7:21; 7:23; 7:23; and 7:29
Avg HR: 134 Max HR: 148

Another recovery-effort runmute into town. Should have done the 13 but never even checked what was on the plan.

Saturday, July 29th
Plan: General Aerobic 14km.
Total: 14km (1:47:45)
Avg Pace: 7:41/km
Splits: 7:52; 7:38; 7:34; 7:41; 7:42; 7:34; 7:32; 7:47; 8:34; 7:34; 7:39; 7:35; 7:20; and 7:37
Avg HR: 148 Max HR: 164

A beautiful run around the Raven Point in Curracloe. (Briefly) wished that I ran with my phone so that I could have taken some snaps. The first 4k of this run were meh. But then the rest of it went by in a blink of an eye. Ran around some trails in the forest and then did a couple of miles along the beach as a cool down walk. Was tempted to go for a paddle but the more senior gentleman standing on the beach post swim in his tighty whities put me off a wee bit.

A meagre 34 kilometres this week. I’m feeling a small bit trepidatious about the next few weeks on the plan. I found it tough the last time. The important thing is I did it and at least I know it gets easier again. I am looking forward to hopefully being able to incorporate a parkrun into next week’s progression long run. parkrun is one of my favourite things

I want to give Fairview a whirl but Marlay may win out. I'm also feeling a small bit glutey, so considered making a visit to a physio. I'll probably look into it some more and then forget all about it knowing me

Anyway, one run at a time (sweet Jesus).

Huzzah! · 04-08-2017 2:26pm

Tuesday, August 1st
Plan: Lactate Threshold 13km, incl 20min LT Interval (jog 4 min recovery) and 16min LT Interval
Total: 13.01km (1:32:38)
Avg Pace: 7:07min/km
Avg HR: 157 Max HR: 179
Splits: 2km warm up@ 7.46/km 4km @7:43/km Cool down:8:37/km
20 min LT @ 5:59/km
15 min LT @6:19/km

I spent most of Monday morning’s yoga class trying not to ralph on myself and felt worse as the day progressed, which meant my runs for this week all got pushed back by a day.

This run was hard. Very hard. As before, it was largely uphill, which explains the speed. I do worry a wee bit when my tempo pace starts to resemble my planned half-marathon pace, but from what little I know about running, I do think that as far as LT runs are concerned, effort is king.

Wednesday, August 2nd
A much more enjoyable yoga class in the am sans ralphing.
Plan: Endurance Run – 14k
Total: 14km (1:45:19)
Avg Pace: 7:31 min/km
Splits: 7:57; 7:58; 7:45; 7:36; 7:38; 7:44; 7:33; 7:38; 6:57; 7:05; 7:21; 7:02; 7:27; and 7:32
Avg HR: 154 Max: 175

I was struggling to remember this run and then I remembered that the warm up was spent dodging the match crowd at the Aviva. I was starving setting out on this. Had a wee explore of my newish runmute and promptly got lost. This was tough and I gave a lot of thought to doing my midweek endurance runs by heart rate. I was very proud of myself when I arrived home at the 13k mark and kept going until the full 14 was done.

Thursday, August 4th.
Plan: General Aerobic + Speed 11km incl 10x100m Strides
Total: 11.30km (1:24:05)
Avg Pace: 7:26 min/km
Avg HR: 142 Max HR: 173
Splits: 7:44; 7:42; 7:43; 7:31; 7:24; 7:18; 7:34; 7:54; 6:57; 7:13: 6:50; and 7:25

I brought the run days back in line with the plan by skipping the rest day here but ran into work (downhill tra la la) to try and make it a slightly easier run. It did mean that there wasn’t a huge gap between this run and last night’s. I considered skipping the strides, but after giving one a go, I found they were helping. Getting this done in the morning also meant I could pop along to a yin yoga class in the evening for some yummy stretching.

Today, I also had my first visit to a physio. My calves have been in a bit of a worse jocker than usual of late and I also wanted a bit of help in sorting my persistent PITA (glute niggle). The physio did a thorough assessment. I have embarrassingly weak hips, but said that my hip flexibility was good, so I’ve exercises to sort that. She mentioned dry needling but I can't remember for what. I also need to work on my core, which is a bit disappointing given the amount of yoga I do, but sure!

Friday, August 4th
Plan: Recovery Run – 6k

First week of five days’ running but I’m not going to run today as not only would it mean five days of running in a week for the first time in a while, because of my unplanned rest day on Monday, it would also have meant running five days in a row.

Huzzah! · 06-08-2017 6:35pm

Saturday, 5th August
Plan: Progression Long Run. 19km. Last 5km@LT
Actual: as per plan. (2:07:11)
Heart rate: 149avg 182 max
Warm up: 2k@7:39/km. 11Km@6:50/km. LT5km@5.45/km. Warm down@7:41/km
Splits: 7:42; 7:35; 7:09; 7:19; 6:49; 6:59; 6:53; 6:54; 6:23; 6:36; 6:28; 6:36; 6:54; 5:38; 5:45; 5:44; 5:47; 6:19; and 7:48

I loved this run from start to finish. Ran the 7 kilometers to Marlay, getting a good soaking on the way, and pootled around until 9.30/approx 10 kilometers. Somewhat accidentally, I had my watch set up to do this all by heart rate. I rarely run endurance runs by heart rate as I tend to run them a bit fast when I do. I think this was definitely on the fast side for some kilometers and it felt like quite a steady pace for the couple of kilometers before the tempo – I even hit planned half marathon pace (careful now). The heart rate stayed within the boundaries, though. I know the pace isn't exactly progressive but, again, the effort was, so I'm happy enough. Delighted to get to do a parkrun and was even more glad at the 3k mark of the tempo when things started to feel tough. Running with other people pulled me along. Pushed it for the last couple of hundred meters - I got a bit competitive when a guy who'd been on my shoulder for a while made a spurt to push past. I managed to finish a couple of seconds ahead of him. Ran a time of 28 minutes, which is about right for a 5km tempo, I think. Cool down of 1.5ish kilometers to finish. Long run done by 10.10 on a Saturday morning, which is nah bad.

57.3 kilometers for the week. My legs are definitely feeling better this week, due largely to the physio, I'd imagine. Next week brings the first VO2 max workout of the plan. I'm wondering if I'd manage this in the morning, which means running it fasted, or if I'm better to wait until after work. I certainly won't be running it as a runmute home, anyway.

The second dilemma is posed by the rocknroll half, which I'd entered back on St Patrick's day. It was originally supposed to be my goal race for this plan but I dillydallied too much after holidays and didn't get started on the plan on time. The options are: 1. Not to run it; 2. run it as a long run, which means moving my long run to Sunday; or 3. run it as a long run with a tempo finish. The planned run for the day after the rnr is 14km with 38minutes@LT, so if I was to choose 3, I would just run this as a general aerobic run. No doubt I'll decide a plan of action on Friday...

Huzzah! · 11-08-2017 12:05pm

Monday, August 7th
Plan: General Aerobic + Speed. 13km including 6x12sec uphill followed by 6 x 100m Strides
Total: 13.02km (1:35:13)
Avg Pace: 7:19min/km
Avg HR: 141 Max HR: 171
Splits: 8:03; 7:44; 7:34; 6:48; 7:27; 6:50; 7:48; 7:38; 7:30; 6:50; 7:21; 6:44; 6:58: 7:27

A little bit of plan ennui setting in. I was super busy and it was awkward getting out on this and I was grumpy. It felt great when I was out and I ran my fastest time yet on the Glenamuck Road, which was nice, given that it felt like I was walking up it! Hill sprints went well and I managed to run the farthest on the last one.

Tuesday, August 8th
Plan: Endurance Run – 14k
Total: 14km (1:42:39)
Avg Pace: 7:18 min/km
Splits: 8:01; 7:36; 7:35; 7:43’ 7:36; 7:30; 7:34; 7:48; 6:47: 6:51; 6:48; 6:42; 6:35; and 7:11
Avg HR: 137 Max: 131

Plan ennui bites and the thoughts of a two-hour (prone to drama, me) run after work was not floating my boat. I decided to run 4k around Grand Canal before setting off on the run home and I could not get over how fresh I felt. I was holding myself back for most of the first half of the endurance run. I started the slightly quicker half just at the start of the slow climb to Stepaside and again, it felt so easy. It was like I borrowed someone else’s legs. The difference from last week was like night and day.

Thursday, August 10th.
Plan: VO2 Max. 14km incl 6x1000m @ 3k-5k race pace (jog 50-90% interval time recovery)
Total: 14.47km (1:40:30)
Avg Pace: 6:57 min/km
Avg HR: 149 Max HR: 180
Splits: 2k warm up@7:41/km. 5.35km@7:36/km. VO2 Max Splits: 5:14; 5:12; 5:18; 5:11; 5:16; and 5:17

Round and round Herbert Park we go. I felt bad shattering the evening’s calm with my huffing and puffing. This was hard. I don’t understand why I have to run 6km at 5km pace. Whinge. Moan. Grumble. I did it closer to 5k-pace (5:17/km) than 3k-pace but I couldn’t spare another ounce of effort.

Friday, August 11th
Plan: Recovery Run – 8k
Total: 10km (1:15:39)
Avg Pace: 7:33 min/km
Avg HR: 134 Max HR: 144
Splits: 7:40; 7:30: 7:15: 7:17; 7:27; 7:26; 7:31; 7:43; 7:51; and 7:47

Recovery runs for me should probably top out at 6 kilometres. It’s a 10 k run to work and I was happy enough to run the whole way as I’ve a day off tomorrow, but I might not always do the full planned recoveries. This was fine. Legs recovered pretty well after yesterday.

So, Rocknroll on Sunday. I’ll run it at long-run pace and maybe finish with a tempo. The plan for Monday is 14k with a 38 minute tempo. I might add the tempo to Sunday’s run and reduce Monday to a recovery. I’m still a bit undecided on that...

Huzzah! · 13-08-2017 6:51pm

RocknRoll Half Marathon

Plan: 19km Endurance Run
Total: 21.3km (2:22:07)
Avg Pace: 6:40 min/km
Avg HR: 159 Max HR: 181
Splits: 6:53; 6:27; 6:49; 6:46; 6:51; 6:58; 6:42; 6:48: 6:34; 6:43: 6:45; 6:51; 7:05; 6:55; 6:52; 6:36; 6:31; 6:33; 6:39; 6:18; 6:03; and 4:55

I started this fully with the intention to run the last 6km at tempo pace but abandoned this plan pretty quickly as I didn't think I was able for it. I also intended to run this with the 2.30 pacers to keep the effort at endurance pace but ended up needing a pitstop at IMMA, so I fell quite a bit behind and only caught up in the last few kilometers. I probably shouldn't have caught up at all, to be fair, if I'd kept to the plan of 7-min/km, but I kept an eye on my heart rate the entire way around and, apart from the hills in the Phoenix Park and the last kilometer, it stayed largely in the prescribed range for both HR and pace (for the latter half of an endurance run at least). It still wasn't the easiest run and I'm reminded that 21.3 is a long way. If I run a marathon next year, it will be at this pace for a 5-hour finish :eek: I know some people aren't fans of this race and I can understand why. Still, for me, it's a nice one to do. I'll potentially be back in the Phoenix Park in two weeks' time for the Frank Duffy 10 mile and the first of the tune-up races in the plan.

72.8 kilometers for the week and I'm pooped! Legs felt grand all week but they're tired enough tonight. Some fairly tough runs in the week ahead with two tempo runs in the plan. Unfortunately, I won't get the opportunity to combine Saturday's progression run with a parkrun as I'll be in Wexford and Johnstown Caste doesn't open 'til 9.

Huzzah! · 18-08-2017 2:10pm

Tuesday, August 15th
Plan: Lactate Threshold 14km incl 38min Tempo Run
Total: 13.61km (1:33:23)
Avg Pace: 6:52 min/km
Splits: Warm up: 2k@8:12/km; 4k@7:22/km; LT6.67@5:42/km and warm down.
Avg HR: 150 Max: 178

Ugh. I was riddled with stitches from the minute I started running. It was really unpleasant and inexplicable. I can understand getting a stitch during a hard effort but not during a warm up

Delighted with the pace on the LT part.

Finished a touch early as there's only so many loops you can do around a Luas stop without getting arrested!

Wednesday, August 16th.
Plan: 16k Endurance
Total: 4.44km (35:29)
Avg Pace: 7:46 min/km
Avg HR: 136 Max HR: 153

Yeah, so not great. Felt rotten. Was running almost awkwardly and landing quite heavily. Sweating bullets. Stitches to beat the band. I’m not experienced enough to know when it’s okay to call it quits on a run and I knew this run was supposed to be hard, but I really didn’t feel like I had it in me to keep going. Maybe it was the previous week plus heavy runs on Sunday and Tuesday catching up on me? It was never going to be easy, though, so I hope I didn’t just wimp out.

Thursday, August 17th
Plan: General Aerobic + Speed. 13km incl 10x100m Strides
Total: 13km (1:39:58)
Avg Pace: 7:41 min/km
Avg HR: 141 Max HR: 164
Splits: 8:15; 7:44: 7:42: 7:43; 7:29; 7:34; 7:57; 7:48; 7:37; 7:26; 7:56; 3:27 and 8:23

Stiches, stiches and more stitches. Managed to get rid of the initial stitch by exhaling rapidly but a second one took hold (and how) during the strides. I really tried to actively slow this down as my legs were still heavy and tired.
Not sure what to do about this stitch issue. I can feel the remnants of one even when I walk. It’s bizarre and not the most pleasant.

Annie get your Run · 18-08-2017 3:13pm

Huzzah! wrote: »

Yeah, so not great. Felt rotten. Was running almost awkwardly and landing quite heavily. Sweating bullets. Stitches to beat the band. I’m not experienced enough to know when it’s okay to call it quits on a run and I knew this run was supposed to be hard, but I really didn’t feel like I had it in me to keep going. Maybe it was the previous week plus heavy runs on Sunday and Tuesday catching up on me? It was never going to be easy, though, so I hope I didn’t just wimp out.

Stiches, stiches and more stitches. Managed to get rid of the initial stitch by exhaling rapidly but a second one took hold (and how) during the strides. I really tried to actively slow this down as my legs were still heavy and tired.
Not sure what to do about this stitch issue. I can feel the remnants of one even when I walk. It’s bizarre and not the most pleasant.

I think you'll know though, while some runs maybe are meant to be a bit tougher than others, nothing should really feel horrible, or unpleasant, or certainly if you're in pain that's a good indicator to stop. You know your own body better than anyone, use that and your heart rate level to know when to stop. Sometimes even stopping for a few mins is enough and you can get going again.

On the stitches I don't have any personal experience of them thankfully but there's been lots of talk over the years so if you do search in the A/R forum search box you should get some good results and something in there might be helpful.

Murph_D · 19-08-2017 12:46am

I've suffered from stitches over the years. There is no hard and fast evidence into what causes them, but it definitely seems to be related to food/drink consumption too close to the run. That and running too fast. Good that you warded it off with exhalation, can you explain more about the technique?

Stitch avoidance is one thing, active recovery is another. Slowing down always helps too of course, but that's the option we are all trying to avoid.

Huzzah! · 19-08-2017 5:14pm

Annie get your Run wrote: »

On the stitches I don't have any personal experience of them thankfully but there's been lots of talk over the years so if you do search in the A/R forum search box you should get some good results and something in there might be helpful.

Murph_D wrote: »

I've suffered from stitches over the years. There is no hard and fast evidence into what causes them, but it definitely seems to be related to food/drink consumption too close to the run. That and running too fast. Good that you warded it off with exhalation, can you explain more about the technique?

Stitch avoidance is one thing, active recovery is another. Slowing down always helps too of course, but that's the option we are all trying to avoid.

Thanks, both.

I'm somewhat used to getting stitches during racing, which I always put down to not being fit enough for the pace I was trying to achieve. Sometimes exhaling when my left foot hits the ground works; sometimes I need more extreme measures. There have been at least three races where the stitch has been so bad that it stopped me running. I've found the best way of dealing with this is to double over and exhale really sharply until I've expelled every last bit of air I can. I even use my tummy. Not an advisable approach if you're in the red and close to hurling, though! I've read a bit on tips for alleviating stitches and some people suggest inhaling rapidly. I think exhaling rapidly is just a more extreme version of this? It works for me most of the time. I'm not sure if the sharp exhalation helps release my diaphragm or if that's just a potty idea.

The unusual thing about this week is that that stitches came on when I was running at my super-easy warm-up pace. I think it might have been caused by eating too close to running on Tuesday - as Murph_D suggests. I never really fully got rid if it. It was still there when I was walking on Wednesday and Thursday - maybe that's why it came back so severely during these days' runs, but I'm not sure. The exhalation technique seemed to finally get rid of it on Thursday's run. The good news is there was no sign of it during today's long progression run.

Huzzah! · 21-08-2017 9:53am

Saturday, August 19th
Plan: Progression Long Run 21km with last 5km @ LT pace
Total: 20.05km (2:25:17)
Avg Pace: 7:05min/km
Avg HR: 152 Max HR: 175
Splits: 7:56; 8:44; 8:11; 7:37; 7:10; 6:56; 7:36; 7:17; 6:56: 7:36; 7:17; 6:56; 6:45; 7:15; 6:30; 6:48; 6:33; 6:21; 6:17; 5:59; 6:17; and 9:44. (Avg of 6:12 for the LT.)

This was okay. I got a hang of the progression near the end and the last few kilometres were nicely progressive. Not too happy with the pace of the LT but it is what it is. I think my watch was struggling with the tree cover in places (8:44?!). I tried some Kinetica electrolyte tablet things in my water and I found it great. I didn’t have that unquenchable thirst that I can sometimes get. Came back to a flat tire, which was fun. I didn’t get a single stitch on this run, so Huzzah! for that.

Approximately 51.5 km for the week, which, while not a bad showing, was nowhere near the planned 72. It is what it is and, hopefully, one bad week of running won’t make or break me. I just need to keep focused now until 23 September. The week ahead is a step-back week ahead of the first of the planned tune-up races. Pfitz likes to schedule an 8-10k race on a Saturday followed by a 16km endurance run on a Sunday. This may be where Pfitz and I fall out (if we haven’t already after this week). I’m going to do the Frank Duffy 10 mile at planned HMP. I might do what’s suggested for the novices, which is to alternate 5k@HMP with .5k recovery. I am going to a wedding on the Friday, though, and my very pretty shoes are very high, so the plan above may well go out the window at 8am on Saturday morning, when I refuse to get out of the pit. I will definitely refuse to get out of the pit if the weather conditions are anything like what they were last year.

I’m an awful one for rambling – apologies!

ariana` · 21-08-2017 11:21am

Huzzah! wrote: »

Saturday, August 19th
Plan: Progression Long Run 21km with last 5km @ LT pace
Total: 20.05km (2:25:17)
Avg Pace: 7:05min/km
Avg HR: 152 Max HR: 175
Splits: 7:56; 8:44; 8:11; 7:37; 7:10; 6:56; 7:36; 7:17; 6:56: 7:36; 7:17; 6:56; 6:45; 7:15; 6:30; 6:48; 6:33; 6:21; 6:17; 5:59; 6:17; and 9:44. (Avg of 6:12 for the LT.)

This was okay. I got a hang of the progression near the end and the last few kilometres were nicely progressive. Not too happy with the pace of the LT but it is what it is. I think my watch was struggling with the tree cover in places (8:44?!). I tried some Kinetica electrolyte tablet things in my water and I found it great. I didn’t have that unquenchable thirst that I can sometimes get. Came back to a flat tire, which was fun. I didn’t get a single stitch on this run, so Huzzah! for that.

Approximately 51.5 km for the week, which, while not a bad showing, was nowhere near the planned 72. It is what it is and, hopefully, one bad week of running won’t make or break me. I just need to keep focused now until 23 September. The week ahead is a step-back week ahead of the first of the planned tune-up races. Pfitz likes to schedule an 8-10k race on a Saturday followed by a 16km endurance run on a Sunday. This may be where Pfitz and I fall out (if we haven’t already after this week). I’m going to do the Frank Duffy 10 mile at planned HMP. I might do what’s suggested for the novices, which is to alternate 5k@HMP with .5k recovery. I am going to a wedding on the Friday, though, and my very pretty shoes are very high, so the plan above may well go out the window at 8am on Saturday morning, when I refuse to get out of the pit. I will definitely refuse to get out of the pit if the weather conditions are anything like what they were last year.

I’m an awful one for rambling – apologies!

That's serious mileage for hm training huzzah and a serious long run distance too. You're doing more than me and I'm marathon training, ooops! Think I might need to pull my socks up

Well done!

Huzzah! · 21-08-2017 12:18pm

ariana` wrote: »

That's serious mileage for hm training huzzah and a serious long run distance too. You're doing more than me and I'm marathon training, ooops! Think I might need to pull my socks up Well done!

Not at all! I've been reading your log and you're doing really well. You're following a different plan, so there's no point in comparing my mileage with yours

What I log about when I log about running

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