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Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard

chickey2

I saw this quote on Runners world recently and thought it was a good one. I've been lurking around here since just before DCM 2015 and have loved reading the training logs. The thing that stands out is the ones who run consistently and sensibly are the ones who are doing really well, so that's what I want to try and do!

Background
I'm a 39 year old female, with a full time job and two kids (so always short on time!)
I stared running a couple of years ago with the Couch to 5K. I hadn't run since I was in school and even then it was just laps of the pitch during PE and I hated it. When I did the C25K though I loved it. I kept at it and did the womens mini marathon in 2013 (1hr 19 min!) and was thrilled with myself. I went on holidays then and fell out of the habit. In January 2014 I started again, redid the C25K and got up to 10K again. I signed up for the Frank Duffy 10 mile and the half marathon in the Dublin race series as an incentive to keep going and got some plans off the internet and off I went. After the half I was talking to a friend who was running the Dublin marathon and encouraged me to do it too despite the fact it was only 4 weeks away! I thought feck it, I can run half and walk half, so I signed up, and started on week 18 of a 22 week training plan! In hindsight it was madness, but somehow I managed it and finished DCM on a total high. It was just before the marathon I came across this forum. After DCM I joined the graduate thread on here and got some great advice from Clearlier and learnt a huge amount from lots of posters here. So now I want to train properly and consistently and see how well I can do.

PBs
5K-24:19 Tallaght 5K May 2015
10K- 51:36 K Club April 2015
10 mile - 1:33:48 Frank Duffy 10 mile August 2014
1/2 Marathon - 1:57:31 Race series September 2014
Marathon - 4:33:56 DMC October 2014

I've been following Clearliers Graduate plan and my recent goals were to improve my 5 and 10K times (which I did!). I'm going to do the Race series again this year and try and improve on the 2014 times. I've just ordered the P&D book so am looking forward to getting it and having a proper read of it.

Future plans
Do the race series, but this time stop at the half! I'd like to do it in 1:50 if I can. I can't do DCM this year for various reasons but I just put my name in to the London 2016 ballot today. If I don't get in to London (chances are I won't) I'll do Limerick instead so either way I'll be planning for a Spring marathon. My goal would be sub 4h.

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Hannibal_Smith

chickey2 wrote: »

I didn't see you! I did see you one morning during the week though in old bawn as I drove past!

Ah...check mate! I missed you that time

You know what I've started doing of a Monday? You know the pitches in old Bawn? I bring the kids up to them after school...they play football...and I do that cross thing that was in the continuity thread here. You warm up, then run from one corner, diagonally across to the other. Recover along the end line and run from the other corner diagonally across again. I'm probably not describing it right. But it is good fun...and the pitches are only kiddie ones, I couldn't do it on a full sized one yet, I'd die :pac: But I've done it the last three weeks and is a really sneaky way of having a bit of fun. Yesterday's was a bit of a disaster with the wind, but at least it was done. You're way faster than me, but if you're free of a Monday afternoon, the kids could play together and we could run a muc across the pitch! :pac: Otherwise, after you drop the kids off in the morning you have the pitch to yourself to do it.

chickey2

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

Ah...check mate! I missed you that time

You know what I've started doing of a Monday? You know the pitches in old Bawn? I bring the kids up to them after school...they play football...and I do that cross thing that was in the continuity thread here. You warm up, then run from one corner, diagonally across to the other. Recover along the end line and run from the other corner diagonally across again. I'm probably not describing it right. But it is good fun...and the pitches are only kiddie ones, I couldn't do it on a full sized one yet, I'd die :pac: But I've done it the last three weeks and is a really sneaky way of having a bit of fun. Yesterday's was a bit of a disaster with the wind, but at least it was done. You're way faster than me, but if you're free of a Monday afternoon, the kids could play together and we could run a muc across the pitch! :pac: Otherwise, after you drop the kids off in the morning you have the pitch to yourself to do it.

I know that session alright, I tried it on a GAA pitch and nearly died! Sounds like a good idea to try it again on a kiddie pitch. Are they the ones in dodder valley park? I probably wouldn't make Monday afternoon as my strange kids don't like football but I might give it a go another time.

Hannibal_Smith

chickey2 wrote: »

I know that session alright, I tried it on a GAA pitch and nearly died! Sounds like a good idea to try it again on a kiddie pitch. Are they the ones in dodder valley park? I probably wouldn't make Monday afternoon as my strange kids don't like football but I might give it a go another time.

No, they're the ones opposite the primary school. Beside the church in Aylesbury? There are about 4 pitches, 2 gaa and two soccer.

chickey2

Hannibal_Smith wrote: »

No, they're the ones opposite the primary school. Beside the church in Aylesbury? There are about 4 pitches, 2 gaa and two soccer.

Ah yes I know them now. Will have to give that session a go.

chickey2

I'm happy with the week. Managed 4 runs which is what I was aiming for.

Mon 2: about 5km

Tues 3: 6.2km including 5x12s hills @6:29 HR 157. I meant to do 6 but lost count! I really like these short hills but always feel like an eejit standing around between them. I learnt the hard way nor to skimp on the recovery though so I sucked it up and looked like an eejit!

Wed 4:rest. I had planned on running but the school was closed for a teacher training day (already!) so I couldn't get out.

Thurs 5: back in work so didn't manage a run. The two day week is great but they're long busy days when I do go in.

Fri 6: work again but I really wanted to run so I finished at 6 and headed to phoenix park. I loved this run! The weather was perfect and it was great to be in the park. I just felt great so ended up going a bit faster than the easy pace I had planned. 6.9 km @6:07 HR 168

Sun 8: 12.2km @6:12 HR163. Another great run. I wasn't sure how long to run so aimed for 10km. As I passed my house I was only at 9km and felt good so kept going and ended up doing a loop which brought me to over 12km.

So just over 30 km for the week which is an improvement if nothing else! It's less than a lot of people ran today, but I'll get there eventually. I can already feel an improvement in my fitness and the HR seems to be coming down which is great.

annapr

chickey2 wrote: »

Yes, I'm thinking of doing jingle bells as I've heard it's a good pb course (weather permitting!) so hopefully I'll do raheny too. It was my only race so far this year.

Excellent, see you at jingle bells! No doubt from way behind

chickey2

I'm getting lazy with updates but I am still running!

Mon 9: 5km @6:47 HR 163
Thurs 12: 5.7 km @6:19 HR 167
Fri 13: 5.8 km @6:29 HR 162

This week was a write off between storms, unexpected days off school and work, running had to take a back seat so only got one run in.
Wed 18: 5.6km @6:27 HR 159

Mon 23: 9.2 km @6:23 HR 167 I was just heading out the door when my husband told me to watch out for the gun weilding nut case who was being chased by the guards! Lucky for me I headed towards tymon while he headed to citywest so we didn't cross paths. I'd intended on doing 10km but was stuck for time so had to finish earlier than I'd hoped.

Wed 25: 5.5 km @5:59 HR 177. I was working but decided to get this in early. It ended up being an angry run as I was stressed about a meeting that day which I knew would be challenging. I was surprised at my pace when I finished but it's reflected by the high HR. It did make me feel a bit better though and I managed to keep my cool at the meeting!

Thurs 26: 12.5 km @6:26 HR 167. I'm eventually upping the distance. I headed up to bohernabreena reservoir for this. Its especially beautiful up there at this time of year. Great run and I'm glad I seem to be managing the increased distance without any complaints from my body.

I'm going to start introducing some sessions next week. My poor body won't know what's hit it then!

I'm planning on heading in to support the marathon on Sunday, I'm actually looking forward to it!

chickey2

Sat 28: 7.3km@6:38 HR 157

Sun 29: took the day off to support at DCM. I ended up staying at the top of the hill in Milltown. It was a great day for the spectators but the sun was in my eyes a lot so managed to miss most of the people I was tracking! I had intended to head in to mcgrattens but got a call to come home as there was a blocked drain at home. Sigh!

Mon 30: 8km with 6*12s hills. Today was the first day of the plan! I'm following the P&L 5-8km plan which should have me ready for the Raheny 5 mile in January. I'm also signed up for jingle bells but I won't be long in to the plan so not expecting any pb's! This run ended up at 7.9km @6:31 HR 158. Happy with that.

Tues 31: plan said 13km endurance but I only managed 11.5km. I had to do loops close to home as I'd left the kids in the house on their own so didn't want to go too far. Some little feckers decided to light a bonfire at 3pm and the fumes were choking me so headed home a bit early. 11.5km@6:23 HR 167.

Thurs 2: I'd planned to get this done before work but had a bad nights sleep so couldn't drag myself out in time. I often don't sleep well before a planned session despite not really being a worrier. I took my gear into work with me with the intention of running as soon as I was finished work, but realised as I was about to head out that I forgot my runners! Headed home thinking this session was just not meant to be, but all the marathon reports I'd been reading on here recently inspired me to keep going. I ignored the dinner that had just been dished up and the warm house, grabbed my runners and headed out. Session was 3*8 mins @LT. I've not done an LT run in ages so had no idea of pace so just stuck with effort and ran "comfortably fast". It was dark so I couldn't see my watch. I had it set to buzz if my heart rate went out of range but I didn't get any buzzes which was good. I was delighted to see my paces when I got home, 5:32/5:28/5:26. Not as good as last year, but I have a starting point to improve from! I was just happy they were all fairly consistent.

Sat 4: 14km endurance. I really felt the cold today. It was nice though once I got going. 14km@6:05 HR 165. Delighted with the pace and felt good.

So that's 42.7km for the week (resting tomorrow). Great start to the plan, just need to keep it up!

annapr

You're off to a great start on that plan, C! Is it from the same book that you did the HM plan off last year (or the year before?). Looking for similar myself and I think D has the book so might take a look

chickey2

annapr wrote: »

You're off to a great start on that plan, C! Is it from the same book that you did the HM plan off last year (or the year before?). Looking for similar myself and I think D has the book so might take a look

Yes, faster road running. The half plan worked well for me in the past so I'll give the shorter distance a go.

Huzzah!

chickey2 wrote: »

Thurs 2: I'd planned to get this done before work but had a bad nights sleep so couldn't drag myself out in time. I often don't sleep well before a planned session despite not really being a worrier. I took my gear into work with me with the intention of running as soon as I was finished work, but realised as I was about to head out that I forgot my runners! Headed home thinking this session was just not meant to be, but all the marathon reports I'd been reading on here recently inspired me to keep going. I ignored the dinner that had just been dished up and the warm house, grabbed my runners and headed out. Session was 3*8 mins @LT. I've not done an LT run in ages so had no idea of pace so just stuck with effort and ran "comfortably fast". It was dark so I couldn't see my watch. I had it set to buzz if my heart rate went out of range but I didn't get any buzzes which was good. I was delighted to see my paces when I got home, 5:32/5:28/5:26. Not as good as last year, but I have a starting point to improve from! I was just happy they were all fairly consistent.

So that's 42.7km for the week (resting tomorrow). Great start to the plan, just need to keep it up!

Nice Tempo Thursday session and nice start to the plan!

chickey2

Well week 2 didn't go so well due to sickness.

Mon 6: 8*200m @1mile pace with 200m jog recovery and 4mins between two sets of 4. This sounded more complicated than it was! I had no idea what my 1 mile pace is though. I headed to the back of the new scientology centre for this one as it's relatively flat tarmac with handy street lights help measure distance. First rep was too fast but managed to do better on subsequent ones. Last one was a bit out due to a dog running in front of me causing me to over compensate. 50.8/52.6/53.1/53.4/53.4/52.8/51.5/50.7
I was pretty happy with that. If that genuinely is my 1mile pace then I should be able to do a 7 minute mile which the McMillan calculator tells me I should be able for, but I have yet to actually do!

Tues 7: the plan was 13km but my body had other plans! I had to get up at 5:30am for this which was a bad start. Headed into work and did laps of the hospital as it's the only well lit loop I can think of that's OK to run in the dark. It's boring though and I felt tired. I finally gave in after 6.6km. Since I had a bit of extra time I made sure to do proper stretching to make me feel less guilty.

Next day I had to go to the UK for work which was far more busy than I had thought so no runs (despite bringing my gear!) By the time I got home on Thursday night I was suffering from a rotten cold. Resting HR was 20bpm more than usual so I gave in and rested some more. So that was it for the week.

I'm back to normal now though and got out yesterday and today.

Tues 14: 6*12s hills plus 6*strides. Glad to be back running. A lovely day for it too, but there was some weird guy in the park watching me when I was resting between hill sprints. He stood out straight away as he was wearing a suit and had a brief case in the park. He kept stopping, moving 50m or so and then retracing his steps. Every time I looked he was is a different place but still within my view. Then he eventually headed off towards the scientology centre! I should really feel sorry for him. Just as I finished my last hill sprint, an old guy walking his dog told me "you shouldn't be doing that, it's bad for your heart!" I wish I could have thought of a witty reply but I just smiled and nodded and kept going. Total 10.2km

Wed 15: finally got my 13km done. Headed out and around tymon and met no weirdos!
13km @6:29 HR 159.

Huzzah!

chickey2 wrote: »

Well week 2 didn't go so well due to sickness.

Mon 6: 8*200m @1mile pace with 200m jog recovery and 4mins between two sets of 4. Last one was a bit out due to a dog running in front of me causing me to over compensate. 50.8/52.6/53.1/53.4/53.4/52.8/51.5/50.7

Ah, I see now: these are supposed to be measured in time and not pace. See, I knew having a plan buddy would be helpful

chickey2

Huzzah! wrote: »

Ah, I see now: these are supposed to be measured in time and not pace. See, I knew having a plan buddy would be helpful

I'm not really sure how they're supposed measured! I noticed my garmin has difficulty measuring short distances accurately so it was showing different paces even when the times were the same. By running between two fixed points and measuring time you can compare the splits more accurately.

Huzzah!

chickey2 wrote: »

I'm not really sure how they're supposed measured! I noticed my garmin has difficulty measuring short distances accurately so it was showing different paces even when the times were the same. By running between two fixed points and measuring time you can compare the splits more accurately.

I think you're spot on with how you did it

annapr

jaysis careful of that scientology centre... don't run too close to it!!

chickey2

When I'm out running I often think of what I could write in my log, but then I forget to actually post it! Didn't realise it was two weeks.

Fri 17: 6*3 min uphills @5kpace. The recoveries on this were only 2.5 mins so I just headed up hill and then jogged the recoveries down hill and turned around again. As a result the uphills were in different places but I tried to keep the effort even. The paces for the 3 minute intervals were 5:10/4:57/4:56/5:10/5:06/4:52 which I was reasonably happy with. Total 11.3km

Sun 19: I was in Brighton for the weekend which was great. Despite lots of food and drinks on Saturday night I managed to crawl out of bed and hit the promenade with one of my friends. We chatted the whole time which I blame for the high HR (although that could have been the hangover!) There was a 10km race on, in the opposite direction, it's a pity we didn't know in advance! The best bit about holiday running is coming back to a big breakfast buffet! Total 10km @6:19 HR 172

Thurs 23: exhaustion and laziness meant I didn't get out again for a few days. I really struggle with motivation in this weather. The weather was awful when we got up and my 7 year old suggested it was too horrible to go to school. I started on a lecture about how the weather is always bad in winter in Ireland and once your dressed properly it shouldn't stop you doing stuff. I then had to take my own advice so headed out once I'd dropped them to school. By the time I got to tymon the sun was out and I was sorry I hadn't brought my sunglasses!
Total: 13.2km @6:15 HR 166 plus a few strides at the end.

Fri 24: due to the lack of motivation my plan was all over the place. Luckily this was a step back week and there was only one session so I did it today. A repeat of the week before last 8*200m. I headed to the same place but couldn't remember what time I'd done them in before! They were a bit all over the place but I got them done and felt good. 45.7/52.2/50.2/50.6/49.2/52.2/51.3/50.7
Total 10km. My HR was very high on the second set of 4. I hit my max HR on the 49.2 interval so I think I need to slow these slightly. They're supposed to be at 95% max HR.

Sun 26: I took the 10year old with me on his bike which was great for the first part which was downhill with the wind. Turning around and heading up against the wind was too much for him so there was lots of stops and some walking! I dropped him home and did another 5km on my own to bring it up to 13.5km @6:53 HR 146.

I only realised this morning that jingle bells is this Saturday! I was sure there was another week to go. I should make it but I won't be pushing for a pb. I'll think I'll aim for 25 minutes and see how I go.

RedRunner

chickey2 wrote: »

Thurs 23: exhaustion and laziness meant I didn't get out again for a few days. I really struggle with motivation in this weather. The weather was awful when we got up and my 7 year old suggested it was too horrible to go to school. I started on a lecture about how the weather is always bad in winter in Ireland and once your dressed properly it shouldn't stop you doing stuff. I then had to take my own advice so headed out once I'd dropped them to school. By the time I got to tymon the sun was out and I was sorry I hadn't brought my sunglasses!
Total: 13.2km @6:15 HR 166 plus a few strides at the end.

Ha ha. Reminds me on something a friend once said to me. There is no such thing as bad weather.......just bad raingear!

chickey2

RedRunner wrote: »

Ha ha. Reminds me on something a friend once said to me. There is no such thing as bad weather.......just bad raingear!

That's very true! It's funny how many Irish people don't have proper rain gear.

I've just written a long post on my phone and the feckin bot checker ate it. Can't do it again.

The short version is I ran a bit. Did jingle bells in 24:3x which I was delighted with as I was very hung over and had hardly any sleep. It was mostly thanks to annapr who I followed!

Plan is not going to plan but I don't mind as I'm improving and I feel more confident now in adjusting a plan to suit the time I have.

Did 17.6km@6:08 HR 164 today which is my longest in a long time. It felt easy despite being faster than usual.

chickey2

Happy New Year everyone.

I started to write up a synopsis of 2017 but it ended up being a list of complaints and excuses so I think I’ll just draw a line under it and start again. It was sh*t year and I only ran a measly 590 km. On the positive side October to mid-December went well and I was really getting in to the new plan and even ran a parkrun PB two weeks ago, but then I got flu and I’ve barely been able to walk since! I’m on the mend now though and so I’ll try and get back into the plan slowly in the next few days.

The Parkrun PB was a bit of a surprise. I had run Jingle bells while hungover and after very little sleep so I reckoned I could do much better after a good nights sleep and no alcohol. My watch said I did it in 24:04, although the official park run results say 23:34. Either way it’s a PB and a big improvement on the same parkrun in June when I did it in 27:27. It bodes well for a sub 40 in Raheny, if I can drag myself back out and keep up with the plan! After Raheny I think I’ll find a chipped 5k and get myself a proper PB. The last 5K race I did was Tallaght 5K in 2016.

So that’s the plan for now, Raheny 5 mile and then a 5K. After that I might aim for the K club 10K. That’s my current 10K PB and I really enjoyed that race. It was made even better by heading to the K club spa after the race! I’ll reassess my goals then as I don’t want to think too far ahead. I’ve been tempted to sign up to DCM but I’m not ready to commit yet! I did it in 2014 and 2016 so it would be a nice pattern to do 2018 but that’s not really a good reason to sign up to a marathon!

I also want to do some IMRA races this year. I signed up last year and didn’t make a single one. I want to do the Hellfire one on Jan 20th but need to try and sort out a swap for work.

My mantra for the new year is “No more excuses!” although if my log is anything to go by I’ll be back on here soon with a load of excuses!

Huzzah!

Congrats on the PB! It looks like you've some nice goals for 2018 - good luck!

denis b

Fair play C. Call it as you see it and a big +1 for the Autumn/Winter comeback so far.

ariana`

That's a big parkrun pb, well done. Good luck with the 2018 goals!

chickey2

07/01 Junior Parkrun with a very reluctant child. 2km in 22 minutes! My nephew is 8 and quite overweight so when he expressed an interest in Junior parkrun I played the encouraging auntie and brought him. To be fair he had a bit of a cough and he’d never done a parkrun before so I was just happy he finished it (it was a close call). He told me after it was “horrendous”. I’m hoping he’ll forget and give it another go. After I got to do a lap of Marley. It was my first time out since the flu and I could feel the loss of fitness but didn’t feel too bad.

4.5km @6:06 min/km HR 153

08/01 10km easy. I’m so far off plan I wasn’t really sure what to do. Since I’m still recovering I thought I’d just do a 10K easy and see how I felt. It was lovely being up at the reservoir again after so long and I was just so happy to be out of the house. HR was a bit high but there’s a few steep climbs on this route so not too unusual.

10km @6:19 HR 169

10/01 Another easy run, but for a bit further! I headed over to Tymon and did a lap. I was planning on doing strides as well on this run, but my HR was creeping up and up and I didn’t feel great, so decided to keep it easy.

13.2km @6:18 HR 171

13/01 I decided on a different route for a change so headed towards Ballycullen and then back via the Firhouse road. It’s nice and down hill for the first half but then an uphill drag against the wind for the second half. I felt awful once I turned around and my pace went right down and my HR right up. I don’t know how much is due to loss of fitness for not running in two weeks and how much is my body still recovering from flu. Probably both. I had intended on adding on another lap but called it a day at one and headed home feeling rubbish,

8.2km @6:22 HR 170

15/01 Felt a bit better today so threw in some strides. I really like strides, I love running fast, but just for short distances! I felt good when I finished this and a bit more positive about things.

So that’s it. Not a great start to the year, but I don’t think I could have run any more without doing myself harm. I really underestimated how awful flu is and how long it takes to feel normal again. I’m still going to do Raheny but not sure I’ll get my sub 40. If I can beat my Raheny PB I’ll be happy (42:53). To be honest I’ll be happy with the chocolate!

I’m going to try and do the Hellfire IMRA race this Sunday. It’s one of their easier runs 6.4km with 240m climb. I’m on call with work but once I don’t get a phone call while I’m running it’ll be fine!
I’m also seriously considering the NIA meeting on 26th January. It’s quite a contrast to an IMRA race but I guess it’s good to try new things! The mile is the only distance I could give an estimate of a finishing time so I could do that.

Annie get your Run

Enjoy Hellfire if you get to do it!!

Murph_D

NIA is 25th. Wouldn’t want to go all the way out there on the wrong night.

chickey2

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Enjoy Hellfire if you get to do it!!

Will do! I was thinking the weather might be bad but following the Spine race made me realise I'm just a big wuss! Would you be tempted yourself?

chickey2

Murph_D wrote: »

NIA is 25th. Wouldn’t want to go all the way out there on the wrong night.

Thanks! Just as well you told me that as I was convinced it was a Friday. The 25th actually suits better. Are you going?

Annie get your Run

chickey2 wrote: »

Will do! I was thinking the weather might be bad but following the Spine race made me realise I'm just a big wuss! Would you be tempted yourself?

I'm always tempted

fortunately, I'm not free this weekend so I can't go off and do damage :pac:. Look forward to hearing about it though.

Spine is just bonkers altogether, remember, if Eoin can pull out of a race for safety reasons you can too!

Murph_D

chickey2 wrote: »

Thanks! Just as well you told me that as I was convinced it was a Friday. The 25th actually suits better. Are you going?

That's the plan at the moment anyway. See you there hopefully.