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Earning my go-faster stripes...

eyrie

After much lurking, I'm dipping my toe in this running log business. I've learned so much from reading many of the logs here already, and it's time to start properly tracking what I'm doing and where it gets me (or doesn't).

Quick background: I'm female, early-ish 30s, with no real history of sport/exercise at all bar going to the gym a bit and walking practically everywhere I go. I've dabbled in running a few times previously (the typical couch to 5k stint on a couple of occasions) but it never stuck until about 9/10 months ago when I got the bug badly, and so far it has stuck. I've been running 5 days a week, lately around the 30 mile a week mark, give or take a few.

I'm slow, but I enjoy training and when I pick a plan I stick to it, to the point where in the last 6 months I haven't missed a single planned run. Recently I started experiencing bouts of extremely low energy and some dizziness, and my paces got even slower. Took myself off to the GP and was told I have practically no iron at all, so I'm now dosing myself with the stuff and hoping my paces start to improve a bit.

My first real running goal was to complete a half marathon, which I finally did last weekend (the Rock 'n' Roll Half) in the pleasantly-surprising-to-me time of 1:57:5x. Now that that's done I'm keen to think about what's next.

Current PBs

5K | 24:36 | August 2017 (Parkrun) or
| 25:44 | April 2017 (race)
5 mile | 43:16 | May 2017
10K | 53:00 | June 2017
HM | 1:57:5x | August 2017

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ariana`

Bluesquare wrote: »

Your very patient - after one days experience my head was melted . Although I'm liking this new average heart rate setting! You can join me on sub 4 quest for DCM next year .........

Just need to find the right plan!

eyrie wrote: »

Oh but just think how much easier the second one is bound to be! (I assume, based on no experience whatsoever ) People aren't lying when they say it's a bug are they??

I don't know does anything about running ever get easier

We're always trying to go longer or go faster or both so it never really feels any easier does it!

eyrie

Time to get caught up here! Recap for last week:

I knew this week was always going to be a bit interrupted due to some travel planned for the weekend, so aim was just to keep it going as much as I could. Pleased to say that things felt a teeny tiny bit better this week! Still slow as molasses and getting random HR spikes but slightly fewer of those. It's a start!

Goal for all runs: 140-145 HR

Monday 11th - 5.3 miles / 11:57 avg pace / 143 (151) HR avg (max)
Very windy. Up and out early (6.30

) - first time going out while it was still dark. Not sure how the morning running will go when we get into winter...

Tuesday 12th - 5.4 miles / 11:19 avg pace / 143 (152) HR avg (max)
This one felt much easier, which the pace reflects. Evening instead of morning though, and that always makes a difference for me.

Wednesday 13th - 5.3 miles / 11:34 avg pace / 145 (153) HR avg (max)
Meh, this one wasn't great. Was feeling fairly stressed and I noticed that the heart rate would spike whenever I let my thoughts get carried away, so I'm blaming this one on having a lot on my mind.

Thursday 14th - 5 miles / 11:30 avg pace / 142 (150) HR avg (max)
Can't remember anything about this one now! Oops.

Friday 15th - 3 miles / 11:19 avg pace / 143 (151) HR avg (max)
Only had time for a short one. Went fine!

Saturday 16th - Unplanned Rest Day
A VERY late night the previous night (and far too many glasses of wine) put paid to my grand plan of an early morning long run. After that it was travelling all day so no opportunity for one either. Headed to Cork to see The National in the opera house. What a gig! Worth missing a run for

Sunday 17th - Planned rest day
Knew I'd never manage anything today as I was driving from Cork straight back up to the airport, and away for work.

Mileage for the week: 24
Lower than I had intended, but not the end of the world.

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

Saturday 16th - Unplanned Rest Day
A VERY late night the previous night (and far too many glasses of wine) put paid to my grand plan of an early morning long run. After that it was travelling all day so no opportunity for one either. Headed to Cork to see The National in the opera house. What a gig! Worth missing a run for

Mileage for the week: 24
Lower than I had intended, but not the end of the world.

Five days' running seems like a decent week to me. Very jealous you were at The National gig. What a band!

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

Five days' running seems like a decent week to me. Very jealous you were at The National gig. What a band!

I know, so good! I've seen them a few times now and I think this was the best.

Oh yes five days is fine, just I didn't have any kind of a long run. Must try harder!

Are you feeling any better now?

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

Are you feeling any better now?

Yep, thanks - most of the discomfort has gone from my chest. Going to try a recovery run shortly.

eyrie

A bit more disruption for this week before I could properly settle back into the normal running routine. I was away on a work trip on Monday, flew back Tuesday. No opportunity for any running on the Monday, but I headed out for a short one when I got back from the airport the next day.

It was a week of ups and downs running-wise, really. Two terrific days (Thurs & Fri) where everything felt the easiest it has in ages. Then an absolute slog of a fairly short LSR on Sunday which just a struggle throughout, for no reason that I could come up with. Left me scratching my head and glad it was over. But hey it's a new week, time to start it all over again

Goal for all runs: 140-145 HR

Monday 18th - Planned rest day
Abroad for work and no way I could run. Istanbul - never been before and didn't get to see much but it left an impression. Will definitely go back.

Tuesday 19th - 4.15 miles / 11:32 avg pace / 142 (152) HR avg (max)
Felt easy and comfortable. Nice to be back out.

Wednesday 20th - 5 miles / 11:44 avg pace / 144 (156) HR avg (max)
Treadmill. Misery. Effort felt very easy but I think the heat in the gym caused the HR to be high regardless.

Thursday 21st - 5.6 miles / 10:54 avg pace / 142 (150) HR avg (max)
Best run in ages! Not really sure where it came from but I enjoyed every minute. All miles bar the fifth were under 11mins.

Friday 22nd - 6.3 miles / 11:07 avg pace / 142 (151) HR avg (max)
Finally remembered to do some strides, which were fun! Again the whole run felt good.

Saturday 23rd - Rest Day
I've started a part-time Masters, and today was a school day all day. Amazing how exhausting sitting in a chair all day and paying attention can be! No running

Sunday 24th - 8.1 miles / 11:50 avg pace / 147 (160) HR avg (max)
Hideous run! Felt wrong from the outset. No matter how slowly I went I couldn't get the heart rate to stay down at all. Slogged through it but it was a relief to get to the end.

Mileage for the week: 29.15

My rough aim has been to bump my mileage up to high 30s (and ultimately beyond) but it's proving harder than expected. Will keep at it!

eyrie

Am I really into the fourth week of this already? I'd love to say I've noticed an improvement so far, but in all honesty I have yet to manage a single run where I kept my heart rate in the target range throughout. Average HR yes, but I've always had at least one pesky spike up to 150 or above. Feels pretty frustrating. But I've got time to give it, so I will stick with it.

Monday 25th - 5.14 miles / 11:50 avg pace /143 (151) HR avg (max)
Runmute home with the backpack. Kept having to slow down to keep the effort in check. Frustrating.

Tuesday 26th - 4.11 miles / 11:00 avg pace /144 (152) HR avg (max)
Lunchtime run, hence shorter distance. Bit quicker this time but I felt it too. Bit lightheaded the last few runs, something feels off. Haven't been sleeping well so maybe it's just that?

Wednesday 27th - 5 miles / 12:18 avg pace /143 (152) HR avg (max)
The frustration continues...

Huzzah!

I was thinking of you this morning on my recovery runmute, which sounds a bit odd but it's all downhill and I was really struggling to keep my heart rate in the right zone. Brought me right back to my Hadd days.

It is frustrating but I wouldn't worry tooooo much if it's just the odd spike. It'll drive you bananas, otherwise. You just need to be careful that you're not spending a lot of time outside the required parameters and justifying it on the basis that the average is correct, if you get me? Although, I could be wrong!

eyrie

Couldn't have picked a worse time to decide to start a running log, apparently. The few weeks since I started this have been the least consistent I've had since I started running! Partly due to having finished my goal race at that time, but it has continued now as I've gone back to college part time on top of normal work, and I just can't prioritise running as much as I had been. It's frustrating, and I feel like I'm not making the progress I would like, but there's not much I can do about it really. It's a phase, and as long as I can keep running reasonably consistently (even if less than I'd like), I'll just have to be content with that for now.
I managed one more easy run last week, but the weekend was devoted to studying and I didn't get out at all.

New week now, new start!

Monday 2nd October - Pilates & 5 miles / 12:09 avg pace /142 (152) HR avg (max)
Not much to say about that one. Effort was actually mostly in range until the last third and a few random spikes on uphill drags.
Back to Pilates for the first time in aaaaages. Not as torturous as I was expecting.

Tuesday 3rd - 5 miles / 12:35 avg pace /143 (150) HR avg (max)
Slow. Slow. Slow. Runmute into work with the backpack. AND worst of all I was carrying food in my backpack for the day and when I got in it had burst and smushed all over my work clothes. Woe!

gypsylee

Tuesday 3rd - 5 miles / 12:35 avg pace /143 (150) HR avg (max)
Slow. Slow. Slow. Runmute into work with the backpack. AND worst of all I was carrying food in my backpack for the day and when I got in it had burst and smushed all over my work clothes. Woe![/QUOTE]

Oh God love you! Not a great start to your work day. Hope the day improves for you.

eyrie

gypsylee wrote: »

Oh God love you! Not a great start to your work day. Hope the day improves for you.

Thanks! I managed to clean up most of the damage so I think I'm getting away with it! Now I just hope I don't mysteriously smell of apple bran muffin (the offending item)...

At least it wasn't soup or curry or something!

Younganne

eyrie just came across your log today. Congrats on the R&R, a great debut half and a great report.

You will see your times coming down the more running you do. You have great patience, I'd have giving up the HAAD after week one:o It will stand to you and you will be delighted with the results.

Regarding your weekend and studying, it might be a good idea to schedule a short run in, as it will refresh you, give you a break from study and it will make you feel less guilty.

I will be following the log and your progress with interest, my original PBs were very similar to yours and some days I can't believe how far I've come.

Happy Running.

eyrie

Younganne wrote: »

eyrie just came across your log today. Congrats on the R&R, a great debut half and a great report.

You will see your times coming down the more running you do. You have great patience, I'd have giving up the HAAD after week one:o It will stand to you and you will be delighted with the results.

Regarding your weekend and studying, it might be a good idea to schedule a short run in, as it will refresh you, give you a break from study and it will make you feel less guilty.

I will be following the log and your progress with interest, my original PBs were very similar to yours and some days I can't believe how far I've come.

Happy Running.

Thank you!! I've read your log since joining here but had to just go back to the start when I read your comment, and wow! Makes me think there's hope yet... Not that I can imagine ever doing half of what you've done, that's some impressive variety you've got going on!

I think you're 100% right about the balance between studying/running too - last weekend was too heavily all-in-the-head, I'll make sure to get out for a run to keep me sane this weekend. Helps the studying in the long run I reckon!

Thanks for commenting

eyrie

Wednesday 4th - 4 miles / 12:30 avg pace /140 (149) HR avg (max)

Lunchtime hop on the treadmill. FINALLY managed to keep the HR below 150 the entire time! Although that's about the only positive thing I can say about this one

Thursday 5th - 5.12 miles / 12:35 avg pace /143 (152) HR avg (max)

I seem to be getting slower, not faster. Pretty sure it was meant to go the other way... This was a runmute in the morning with the backpack, so I'm going to try and blame it on that!

Friday 6th - 4.75 miles / 12:38 avg pace /139 (148) HR avg (max)

Hallelujah! One more for the under 150 HR bank. We'll ignore the fact that it should really be under 145... Baby steps! Oh and let's also ignore how painfully slow this was, can we??

Saturday 7th - 8.06 miles / 11:47 avg pace /143 (152) HR avg (max)

"Long" run day. This actually felt great! Fun and relaxed, like I could have run all day. There were a few spikes going uphill into the wind near the start, but after that the effort was within range too. So, better.

And Sunday was a rest day.

Weekly mileage: 31.96 miles

I'm really starting to miss hard workouts (who am I? Didn't think I'd ever say that) and races.
While I've been frustrated by seeming to get slower rather than faster following this method, I can also say that 6 days running in a row has never felt so easy on my body. I'm really hoping if I stick with it a bit longer the paces will start to pick up too.

eyrie

The week didn't pan out exactly as planned, meaning the weekend was a bit of a (well total!) fail. I was away for it so I knew Saturday would be out, but thought I'd get back in time for a long run on Sunday evening. I didn't.

I feel the long runs are really important in this kind of training since there seems to be so little else to drive any adaptations, given that it's all easy pace. So I'm annoyed with myself for missing it, but it couldn't be helped. Onwards!

Monday 9th - Pilates + 5.12 miles / 11:49 avg pace / 142 (153) HR avg (max)
Lovely run! Headed out after work. Felt very comfortable. I was itching to go faster towards the end, but held back. HR/effort was actually fairly consistent throughout - the max reading was an anomaly from a hill about halfway.

Tuesday 10th - 5.26 miles / 12:03 avg pace / 143 (153) HR avg (max)
Heavy backpack for the runmute to work. Forgot to bring all the necessary supplies in yesterday. Whether it was down to that or not, this felt harder than it should have. Didn't pay as much attention as I should have to keeping the heart rate in the right place either.

On reflection, this and several of the harder runs from recent weeks have been to/from work with the backpack. I just don't enjoy it. Convenient though, but will try to prioritise regular unencumbered runs when possible.

Wednesday 11th - 3.51 miles / 12:16 avg pace / 141 (148) HR avg (max)
Ordered some new runners. Short on time at lunchtime so hit the treadmill for a short stint. Felt very easy and relaxed. Noticed the HR starting to climb about 25 mins in, which I'm fairly sure is due to the heat in the gym.

Thursday 12th - 6.55 miles / 11:56 avg pace / 143 (151) HR avg (max)
Evening runmute with the backpack, but managed not to put half my worldly possessions into it this time! Extended the run a bit too. Really enjoyed this one. Felt like I could have kept going forever.

Friday 13th - 5.1 miles / 11:52 avg pace / 143 (150) HR avg (max)
Runmute home with backpack. Can't remember anything so I'll assume it was grand!

Weekly mileage: 25.5 miles

eyrie

Monday 16th - Duck and cover!
No running. Hiding out from Ophelia. Went stir crazy. Should have run in the morning while it was still calm in Dublin.

Tuesday 17th - 5.24 miles / 11:09 avg pace / 143 (150) HR avg (max)
Back on the horse! And it seems like a few days of idleness did me good - I was raring to go and the pace was well up on recent outings for the same effort. Lunchtime spin out from the office got this one done. Still windy out.

Wednesday 18th - Strength Class + 5.21 miles / 12:05 avg pace / 142 (149) HR avg (max)
Lesson: one good run does not a faster runner make! Right back down to earth with this one. Felt fairly wrecked before heading out. Had done my first proper strength training session in ages earlier and the legs were tired.

Thursday 19th - 3.01 miles / 12:14 avg pace / 142 (149) HR avg (max)
Worse again. First thing in the morning, having barely slept. Treadmill. Legs in bits after the weights yesterday. This was never going to go very well!

Friday 20th - 4.34 miles / 11:20 avg pace / 143 (151) HR avg (max)
Home from work and straight out - the only way to do it on a Friday evening. Very windy out there (Storm Brian making his arrival known) but I felt springy. Really enjoyed this one.

Saturday 21st - College all day. No running

Sunday 22nd - 8.15 miles / 11:00 avg pace / 144 (154) HR avg (max)
Ahh, lovely! Had an amusing chat with another runner as we passed each other going in opposite directions. He asked me was I doing "the race" next weekend. I said I wished, but I'd be watching. He said he'd done the last 5 years and was giving himself a rest. Seemed he'd earned one!Heart rate got away from me a bit but it was a hilly route.

Weekly mileage: 25.95 miles

Starting to think that sleep is a decisive factor for me re: pace/effort level. Everything is noticeably easier for me on a consistent basis on Sunday runs, and I think it has to be because I've slept more. I'm a really bad sleeper during the week. It's something I'd love to improve but don't really know how. Getting up early to run doesn't help either...

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

Starting to think that sleep is a decisive factor for me re: pace/effort level. Everything is noticeably easier for me on a consistent basis on Sunday runs, and I think it has to be because I've slept more. I'm a really bad sleeper during the week. It's something I'd love to improve but don't really know how. Getting up early to run doesn't help either...

Definitely. I do a lot of my running by heart rate and there are any number of factors which can impact on effort. Sleep is a big one. The other obvious one is heat or humidity.

eyrie

Have to stick up a reminder here, for myself as much as anything, that I'm supposed to be running all runs between 140-145 HR, up to max 150 at a push. I completely failed at this so far this week so need to cop on and be more disciplined with it.

Monday 23rd - Pilates + 4.65 miles / 11:49 avg pace / 144 (155) HR avg (max)
Ran home from work with the backpack. Started fine but felt a bit off from the second mile onwards. Let HR get a bit away from me too. On the bright side, I finally got the nod to move up to intermediate pilates, woo!

Tuesday 24th - 5.02 miles / 11:49 avg pace / 147 (154) HR avg (max)
Eeek, no excuses for this one. Morning run to work with backpack. Felt pretty awful really, heavy legs and effort way out of proportion to pace. It was windy and humid, and that definitely played a part.

Wednesday 25th - 4.28 miles / 12:05 avg pace / 152 (163) HR avg (max) - !!!
Failure of technology. At least I think that's the only way to explain this one. HR was a good 15-20 beats higher than normal for the same pace throughout, despite everything feeling mostly very easy. Felt a bit weird/woozy in a few patches but that may have been psychological due to the watch apparently telling me I was about to spontaneously combust!

Thursday 26th - Rest
After the weirdness of Wednesday I decided to take a rest day. I'm still hoping it was down to watch misbehaviour but given that Monday and Tuesday's runs both felt fairly crap I decided to take a break and reset!

Getting very excited on behalf of everyone running on Sunday! I will be out watching and cheering, and probably getting very carried away imagining myself being on the other side of the spectator line next year! Hoping it's a great day for everyone running

The Muppet

eyrie wrote: »

Have to stick up a reminder here, for myself as much as anything, that I'm supposed to be running all runs between 140-145 HR, up to max 150 at a push. I completely failed at this so far this week so need to cop on and be more disciplined with it.

So it's not just me that gets carried away, I struggle with the discipline to run at the proper paces most days too , It ain't easy.

eyrie

The Muppet wrote: »

So it's not just me that gets carried away, I struggle with the discipline to run at the proper paces most days too , It ain't easy.

Oh I'd be willing to bet there's more than a few of us in it! The irony is that it often feels like running "easy" is harder than running "hard", go figure!

You seem to be very consistent though so I wouldn't have said discipline was a problem

The Muppet

I don't miss many runs but that just because I can't be dealing with the guilt .

Wubble Wubble

eyrie wrote: »

Have to stick up a reminder here, for myself as much as anything, that I'm supposed to be running all runs between 140-145 HR, up to max 150 at a push. I completely failed at this so far this week so need to cop on and be more disciplined with it.

Monday 23rd - Pilates + 4.65 miles / 11:49 avg pace / 144 (155) HR avg (max)
Ran home from work with the backpack. Started fine but felt a bit off from the second mile onwards. Let HR get a bit away from me too. On the bright side, I finally got the nod to move up to intermediate pilates, woo!

Tuesday 24th - 5.02 miles / 11:49 avg pace / 147 (154) HR avg (max)
Eeek, no excuses for this one. Morning run to work with backpack. Felt pretty awful really, heavy legs and effort way out of proportion to pace. It was windy and humid, and that definitely played a part.

Wednesday 25th - 4.28 miles / 12:05 avg pace / 152 (163) HR avg (max) - !!!
Failure of technology. At least I think that's the only way to explain this one. HR was a good 15-20 beats higher than normal for the same pace throughout, despite everything feeling mostly very easy. Felt a bit weird/woozy in a few patches but that may have been psychological due to the watch apparently telling me I was about to spontaneously combust!

Thursday 26th - Rest
After the weirdness of Wednesday I decided to take a rest day. I'm still hoping it was down to watch misbehaviour but given that Monday and Tuesday's runs both felt fairly crap I decided to take a break and reset!

Getting very excited on behalf of everyone running on Sunday! I will be out watching and cheering, and probably getting very carried away imagining myself being on the other side of the spectator line next year! Hoping it's a great day for everyone running

I think I'd struggle with that combo in fairness :eek: Well done on listening to your body and taking a bit of break. Weather looks like it will be favourable on Sunday

eyrie

Catch up time! Didn't realise how long it had been since I updated this last, oops

Friday 27th - 5.04 miles / 11:14 avg pace / 145 (155) HR avg (max)
Felt fine for this one until towards the end, when I started to get a migraine. Home to lie down in the dark!

Saturday 28th - Rest
Still drowsy and a bit out of it after the migraine, so figured running wouldn't be the best idea.

Sunday 29th - 7.01 miles / 11:15 avg pace / 145 (153) HR avg (max)
Out to cheer on the marathoners in the morning. Wow! What an atmosphere. Seriously impressed by them all, hope to be attempting it myself next time

Headed out for an easy run in the afternoon, which was lovely. Went along a bit of the marathon route just for the craic.

Weekly mileage: 26 miles

Monday 30th - Rest. Took the bank holiday off to spend time with family.

Tuesday 31st - 4 miles / 11:14 avg pace / 143 (153) HR avg (max)
Out at lunchtime for this short one. Bit weird, felt like I was flying at the start but then really dragged in the middle, just felt a bit off.

Total for the month of October: 113.5 miles
Expected this to be worse actually as it felt like a fairly all-over-the-place month, but it's actually not too far behind where I was during training for the half, prior to the peak month when I went a good bit above. Still struggling (actually I should say failing!) to get the mileage up though.

eyrie

And another one to bring us up to date!

Wednesday 1st November - Pilates + 5.1 miles / 11:55 avg pace / 145 (153) HR avg (max)
First go at intermediate pilates - not too bad! Then out for an easy run after work. Slowed right down for this one as I was pretty wrecked - very little sleep last night and the legs were tired after pilates. Eyeballed a rat that was in no hurry to run away from me on the canal but otherwise nothing to report from this one.

Thursday 2nd November - Rest. Various things on and no time to fit in a run.

Friday 3rd November - 5.51 miles / 11:27 avg pace / 145 (154) HR avg (max)
Grand, unremarkable.

Saturday 4th November - 5.53 miles / 11:19 avg pace / 154 (168) HR avg (max)
Hmm. RHR was +10 bpm higher than normal. Got up and went straight out for this one first thing, and the HR was consistently 10 ish bpm over what I'd expect for the effort/pace.

Sunday 5th November - 6.28 miles / 10:10 avg pace / 158 (170) HR avg (max)
Short on time for a long run, so I let myself up the pace and just enjoy this without obsessing over the watch and trying to keep my heart rate low. As a result I had one of the most enjoyable runs in ages!

Weekly mileage: 26.43 miles

Thoughts: I'm really starting to question this whole HADD training experiment. I don't feel like it's working for me. My heart rate seems to be really erratic and I often feel like I'm getting more sluggish and unfit rather than less. I think I'll start adding in one or two of the slightly higher effort runs he allows and try that for another few weeks, but if that doesn't make any difference I think it'll be time to move on. Disappointing but maybe it's just not for me, or maybe I'm not doing right of course...

Huzzah!

HADD's tough. I ultimately came to the conclusion that it wasn't for me, mainly because running is a hobby and it's supposed to be enjoyable. I also realised that it would take me half a day to do a long run of any distance, so I canned it once I started half marathon training! I'm a firm believer in HR training, just not as strictly applied as the HADD method.

The Muppet

The discipline to run by heart rate is tough , I couldn't hack it myself , I've tried a few times but there are a few runners here who stuck with it and found it very good, I know anniegetyourrun used it and I think Ososlo did a few years ago too.

If you are running for enjoyment and not enjoying the sessions it doesn't really make sense to stick with it.

TFBubendorfer

eyrie wrote: »

Thoughts: I'm really starting to question this whole HADD training experiment. I don't feel like it's working for me. My heart rate seems to be really erratic and I often feel like I'm getting more sluggish and unfit rather than less..

HADD (or a similar training) worked very well for me. But you have to take into account that running with a backpack, especially a heavy one, will severely impact on your HR and your effort.

To be honest, when running with a backpack I'd just completely ignore pace and HR and just get the run done while ignoring the numbers.

Annie get your Run

The Muppet wrote: »

The discipline to run by heart rate is tough , I couldn't hack it myself , I've tried a few times but there are a few runners here who stuck with it and found it very good, I know annie get your run used it and I think Ososlo did a few years ago too.

If you are running for enjoyment and not enjoying the sessions it doesn't really make sense to stick with it.

I did find it tough for the first few weeks but for me it worked. I wouldn't do it while training for a race though, I used it as a base building / increase my fitness levels before I started Rotterdam training. It's not for everyone though that's true and as TFB has said, running with a back pack will definitely impact the HR.

It's probably a good idea to knock it on the head if you're not enjoying it! There are other ways to train by HR and I'm a big fan of that in general so don't let HADD put you off

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

HADD's tough. I ultimately came to the conclusion that it wasn't for me, mainly because running is a hobby and it's supposed to be enjoyable.

The Muppet wrote: »

If you are running for enjoyment and not enjoying the sessions it doesn't really make sense to stick with it.

Annie get your Run wrote: »

It's probably a good idea to knock it on the head if you're not enjoying it! There are other ways to train by HR and I'm a big fan of that in general so don't let HADD put you off .

Thanks all! I really appreciate the input. Sometimes it feels like messing around in the dark, so it's helpful to hear other people's take on it! To be honest, I don't mind it being monotonous if I felt it was working. It's just that it doesn't seem to be. And you're all right that it's supposed to be enjoyable - it's not like I'm training to break any records or anything! I think I'll give it till the end of the month and reassess, but incorporating a few of his other methods (the slightly higher HR runs, and using 5k pace + 3 mins instead of strict HR numbers) and see if that makes any difference.

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

HADD (or a similar training) worked very well for me. But you have to take into account that running with a backpack, especially a heavy one, will severely impact on your HR and your effort.

To be honest, when running with a backpack I'd just completely ignore pace and HR and just get the run done while ignoring the numbers.

That's a good point actually, thank you. I've always noticed a fairly significant difference when I run with the backpack, but didn't really know how much of a factor it should be.
How long did you do this kind of training for? Did it take long before you started seeing results, do you remember?

eyrie

Monday 6th November - 5.22 miles / 11:47 avg pace / 145 (152) HR avg (max)
Ordered myself a copy of Faster Road Running. Should make for some fun mulling! Ran after work. Ignored the watch and just focused on keeping it relaxed and enjoying it. Pace was slower but effort felt really easy.

Tuesday 7th November - 4.3 miles / 11:11 avg pace / 154 (166) HR avg (max)
First thing in the morning, having not slept that well.Didn't follow HR as such for this, but opted for the other HADD rule of 5k pace + 3 mins, which was roughly where this ended up.

Wednesday 8th November - 6.32 miles / 11:05 avg pace / 148 (156) HR avg (max)
A good 'un, this one. Focused on keeping it relaxed and going by feel, instead of watching the watch, so to speak. Felt really fluid and comfortable throughout. Fresh as a daisy at the end! Entered the Raheny 5 mile. An actual race to think about again! The excitement!

Thursday 9th November - 4 miles / 11:10 avg pace / 154 (165) HR avg (max)
First thing in the morning. Wet and windy. Legs tired from the start. Ignored the watch again, felt like I was going really slowly so surprised by splits. No idea why my heart rate was so high, but apparently it was the same on Tuesday morning when I ran at the same time.

Friday 10th November - 5.9 miles / 11:01 avg pace / 148 (155) HR avg (max)
Hit 1000 miles for the year!!! Pure lovely run too - lunchtime out by the sea at Sandymount.

Saturday 11th November - 8.33 miles / 11:07 avg pace / 149 (162) HR avg (max)
Bit tired before heading out for this in the early evening. Few tough hills, hence the HR.

Sunday 12th November - Rest

Weekly mileage: 34.1 miles

Happy with the week overall. It's obvious that I haven't been half as careful with trying to keep the HR in the HADD-prescribed range, but I must say I've enjoyed the running infinitely more by taking a more casual approach to the numbers. And it has all ended up still in line with his 5k + 3 min rule for people who are extra slow, like moi! So I'm going to allow it, and continue on