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Still trying to figure it all out.

hot buttered scones

Thread title says it all really. I seem to spend half my life looking up different training plans and reading about different approaches to training and workouts. I'm slowly started to understand some of it, but I'm not sure I'd be able to put together a decent plan for myself. So I thought I'd start a log and see what comes of it. I'm also a bit longwinded, so where better to collect my ramblings than my very own thread!

Background
I'll be 42 years old this year. Started running in 2014 after packing in the fags. Had spent a few months in the gym before that. I'm over 3 stone lighter now than when I started. I ran my first race in May 2014 (6 miles) and was immediately hooked. I overdid it in 2014 and was injured by August. Took 2 months off and was back at it by November, but injury struck again in January 2015. So I've been running without a break since about March 2015. First up was the Cork City Marathon (using a My Asics plan) in 3:49:27. Then DCM 2015 (using a McMillan plan from Strava) in 3:38:39. I jumped on-board with the DCM2015 graduates plan which worked very well for me.
RHR goes from 39 to 42, max HR - about 188. RHR is measured using my Garmin FR235. Max HR - it's the max I've achieved at the end of a race, discounting obvious spikes. Not very scientific, but it'll do for now

My aim this year (so far - if indecisiveness was a disease, I'd definetly have it) is to focus on improving my times up to half marathon, with Charleville in September as my main goal race. Then tackle a spring Marathon in 2017 - probably Cork but after today I'd love to have a go at London.

PB's
5K - 20:06 BHAA Centra 5k, August 2015
6K - 24:55, BHAA FMC 6K, January 2016
4 mile - 26:16 Ballintotis, April 2016
5 mile - 34:29 Ballycotton 5, August 2016 (although my 5 mile split time for a recent 10k was 33:46)
10K - 42:16, BHAA UCC 10K, March 2016 (My one and only 10k to date)
Half Marathon: 1:34:39, Charlevile September 2015
10 mile - 1:08:53, Ballycotton 10, March 2016
25K: 1:50:32, Great Railway Run, April 2016 (Half marathon split was 1:32:37 - but I don't count these splits as PBs -should I?)
Marathon: 3:38:39, DCM, Oct 2015

Goals 2016
5k - very soft sub 20:00
5 miles - sub 33
Half: Sub 1:30 in September - Don't if this is realistic
Marathon: Sub 3:25 or 3:30 in 2017

This weeks training
Monday: 3m recovery @10:26 pace - ran 25k race the day before
Tuesday: 6.6m @8:24 pace
Wednesday: 7.5m@8:29 pace - grassy trail on a rolling 3.5k loop
Thursday: Day shift. 5.7m total, including Ballintotis 4 mile - probably too son to race after Sunday, but its one of the biggest races of the year and they have nice cakes!!
Friday: Day shift. Rest, no running
Saturday: Night Shift. Long Run in the am. 14.6 miles in 2 hours. Average pace 8:13. Average HR 146. Started easy (130bpm -140bpm), then gradually increased the effort (145-152bpm). Hit some hills in the last 3 and pushed the effort here to about 165bpm when climbing
Sunday: Night Shift. Pre work run 7.6m @8:03 pace, average HR 145, hilly course. Was supposed to be 1 hour easy, but it was one of those enjoyable runs were you just run along comfortably and are surprised at your pace afterwards.

Since December last year my pace, fitness, strength and speed of recovery have all improved. I still have some structural deficits, biomechanically speaking, especially the glutes/hips and the calves and I haven't been doing anything to address that, so I'm going to have to go back to doing my strength excercises, so hopefully keeping this log will help with that. I also don't sleep enough, so I may start logging my sleep hours as well.

My next big race is the Cork City Half on June 6. I hope to go under 1:32. In between I have a 4 mile on Wednesday, then a 6 mile race on May 11th. I'll also turn up to the Ballyandreen 5 on May 26th - 1st of a series of 4 summer races. It's quite close to the Cork Half, so I may just do it at half mara pace. As for a training plan - I have none at the moment really. I'm just going to try a few sessions from another thread, with some general aerobic runs and some long runs, along with the races in place of tempos until Cork. When training for Charleville starts I'm thinking about one of the plans from Pfitzinger and Douglas' Advanced road running book.

So, as I said, a bit longwinded. I'm hoping to get some insights, advice and opinions and develop a better understanding of how this all works. And I know I said I wasn't running a marathon this year, but there's a nagging voice in my head telling me I have unfinished business in Dublin - so maybe my goals will shift.

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hot buttered scones

Friday 20/10

4 miles and then 8 strides - 4.9 total. Felt rubbish, gastro issues so I cut the distance short and threw in the strides at the end. Not happy. Didn't eat much

Saturday 21/10]

Rest. The plan had a rest day, and the weather was rubbish. I was also still having gastro issues, so it was an easy decision not to run. I decided to seek out a second opinion about what my own doctor had told me on Tuesday. It was decided the issue was more gastro related than respiratory so got a change of antibiotics and some meds to deal with the gut cramps. Was able to eat properly that evening and plenty of fluids taken on.

Sunday 22/10

Still felt rubbish this morning. Went out in the afternoon, and stuck close to home in case I needed to make a quick pitstop, but luckily it wasn't needed. Got 12@8:24 done. Normally this run is a sort of celebratory run, feels real easy, is run a bit too fast but with a low HR. This was not that. I wasn't really paying attention to the watch, but the HR was higher than it should have been when I looked at the data later. The last 2 or 3 miles just felt harder than they should have. But I got the 12 done with no real problems so at least there's that.
I weighed myself afterwards and I'm down to 70.5kgs from around 75-77 over the last week. That is not good. On the positive side, I ate a good healthy dinner. Then a frozen pizza, then some pasta. I was bloody starving for the first time all week, so hopefully this means the beginning of the end for the gastro issues. So next week hopefully I'll get all my runs done, get plenty of nutrition and hydration and make it too the start line. For now my goal remans the same. I'll decide on any changes on Sunday morning.

A goal:

:10
B goal:

:15
C goal:

:20
D goal:

:21:45 (current PB)

Probable result: somewhere between the A and B goals, if I can recover from this week which I'll be delighted with. If I've not fully recovered I still think a PB can is achievable, provided I'm not stupid and try to push myself too hard.

I feel like it's all fizzling out a bit unfortunately.

denis b

6 days and another night to enable further recovery M. Good news on the appetite returning. Stay with it and treat the easy running very sparingly this week. Do look after yourself.

Singer

You don't do drama by halves! Hard to say what sort of impact this will have on you, though the weight loss can only help, right?

I think this calls for an even more conservative start than originally planned, but I wouldn't rule out a PB.

hot buttered scones

Singer wrote: »

You don't do drama by halves! Hard to say what sort of impact this will have on you, though the weight loss can only help, right?

I think this calls for an even more conservative start than originally planned, but I wouldn't rule out a PB.

The weight loss is no good if it means my body hasn't absorbed anything from any of the food I ate unfortunately, which means no energy.
I know your right about the conservative start. I know that myself really.

But will I do it.......god knows what I'll do on the morning. I mean, exactly how long would I last at sub 3 pace I wonder???

I'm not good with the old taper madness at the best of times, but this is taking the p!ss. Was feeling fairly sorry for myself alright, but sure that gets you no where.

Now to get sensible - start at the back of the 3:10 group, let them head off and try not to get caught by the 3:20 group?? I'll be taking it easy going through the Phoenix Park/Manor Street area anyway. So if I push after that and it feels too hard then I just back off to 3:15-3:20 pace for a bit, and then push again at 15 miles.

I'm starting to think marathons may not be my thing.....

clickerquicklic

Good luck Sunday HBS , I've kinda followed your progress when I seen your times where similar (albeit better ) than mine. Unfortunately I've followed your progress too closely and am on antibiotics now myself ! so can relate to what your saying feel like I've lost a bit of weight myself and generally don't feel that strong , the doc did say to me yesterday that antibiotics will make you run slower as they kill good bacteria as well . If I'm running I'm probably going to stop taking them a day or so before and hopefully they are flushed out of my system. Have you planned to take them on marathon day?

hot buttered scones

I can't give any advice on what you should do regarding the antibiotics because I'm not a doctor and giving medical advice isn't allowed on here. I'm lucky enough because I've finished mine, but I'm still feeling the after effects a bit. I'm starting to feel a bit stronger today, so there's hope yet. If the marathon was on last Sunday, I wouldn't have run it because I was still a bit under the weather. You'll know yourself on Sunday morning after a couple of miles if your strong enough. What I don't want to happen is that I push myself too hard and then I'll take ages to recover from the double whammy of running a hard marathon while not 100% healthy. In the meantime, I'm trying to keep on top of my hydration, nutrition and sleep for the week (well even more so than normal). Whatever happens I wish you the best of luck. I think we both need to remember there'll be other marathons if this one doesn't go to plan. Also, in my experience, if it it doesn't happen for you on race day that doesn't mean all the training has gone to waste. You've got a good block of training under your belt and this will stand to you going forward.

clickerquicklic

Thanks HBS , glad your on the mend , fingers crossed you hit your A goal your training deserves it.

Murph_D

Good news that you’re feeling better! That’s a lot of weight loss alright :eek: but it’s early in the week, you should be able to get back on track. Bad luck, but as you say, would’ve been worse luck a few days later. Stay positive.

hot buttered scones

Murph_D wrote:

Good news that youâ€™re feeling better! Thatâ€™s a lot of weight loss alright but itâ€™s early in the week, you should be able to get back on track. Bad luck, but as you say, wouldâ€™ve been worse luck a few days later. Stay positive.

Thanks D. I had a decent run today - starting to feel more like myself. I may also have given myself license to eat all around me....

Mrs Mc

Best of luck Sunday will be out supporting hopefully will recognise you otherwise will just shout at the 3.10 runners in the hope you’ll hear

hot buttered scones

Mrs Mc wrote: »

Best of luck Sunday will be out supporting hopefully will recognise you otherwise will just shout at the 3.10 runners in the hope you’ll hear

Cheers A! Hopefully I'll be hanging onto the tail end of them.

hot buttered scones

Monday 23/10

Rest day as per schedule

Tuesday 24/10

7 miles with 2@MP

Swapped this session around from Wednesday because I was off work and just didn't feel like doing this Wednesday morning before work.

I put this off until the afternoon because I still wasn't feeling the greatest gut wise, but I needn't have worried. Headed out to Blarney for this - started at the Slí na Slainte near Killeens and did a couple of laps around the village before heading back to the car. The 3 mile warm up just felt a little too hard and I wasn't looking forward to the 2 miles@ MP - I suspected they were going to be big confidence breakers. They ended up being quite enjoyable (if not a little fast) and I fetl better doing these than when I was doing the warm up. Finish up with a 2 mile cool down at the faster end of easy pace. HR in the right range for the MP section, didn't feel under too much strain and I had to work to rein in the pace at times. A good sign, I think.

8:14; 8:15; 8:12; 7:11; 7:06; 8:02; 8:07

Wednesday 25/10

6 miles recovery@8:46

Usual pre work jaunt, but a bit faster - probably pushing the limits of recovery pace. The effort felt right though.

Rest tomorrow, then small easy miles Friday and Saturday as per the plan.

snailsong

Good to see you're on the mend. Stay positive about Sunday. If you decide in advance that you'll be backing off the pace at some stage it'll make it easy to give in when the going gets tough, as it always does. Your target is realistic and it's all to play for.

Also, hr is usually the best Indictator if you've shaken off an illness. News there seems to be positive.

Kennyg71

Coming right just in time, have a great race.

diego_b

Best of luck for Sunday HBS, hopefully the system is clear of that nastiness and you have a great race.

Unthought Known

Good luck on Sunday HBS. Glad to see you're recovering just in time.

OOnegative

All the best on Sunday dude, hope it goes well for you. Run well.

chickey2

Best of luck!

hot buttered scones

snailsong wrote: »

Good to see you're on the mend. Stay positive about Sunday. If you decide in advance that you'll be backing off the pace at some stage it'll make it easy to give in when the going gets tough, as it always does. Your target is realistic and it's all to play for.

Also, hr is usually the best Indictator if you've shaken off an illness. News there seems to be positive.

Kennyg71 wrote: »

Coming right just in time, have a great race.

diego_b wrote: »

Best of luck for Sunday HBS, hopefully the system is clear of that nastiness and you have a great race.

Unthought Known wrote: »

Good luck on Sunday HBS. Glad to see you're recovering just in time.

OOnegative wrote: »

All the best on Sunday dude, hope it goes well for you. Run well.

chickey2 wrote: »

Best of luck!

Thanks all, and thanks for all the words of encouragement over the last year - it definitely feels like I've been training for this since January! I'd say I'm at 95% at the moment and feeling better with each passing day. I hope I bump into a few of you in McGrattans afterwards for some celebratory/consolation pints.

hot buttered scones

Thursday 26/10

Rest/work. A good sleep and a good feed

Friday 27/10

5 miles recovery including 6x100m strides.

I went down the Glen for this intending on doing it all on the soccer pitch, but that was like a bog so I went down on to the paths/trails instead - which I can now confirm are a bit like the better paths in Donadea. Headed back to the pitch for the strides - I picked the driest part but they still felt a bit unnatural. My legs felt strange - recovered maybe? I felt a bit of tightness in my left hamstring, which I'll nurse, but I'm putting this down to a phantom taper niggle. Took it very, very handy. I was going to finish on the strides, but I did a couple of lazy laps of the pitch to make up another mile - and it was the most enjoyable mile of the day. Since then I've been eating and drinking away, and took myself off into town for a shave and a haircut - for the aerodynamics like

.

Just a shakeout in the morning and that's that.

My emotional state at the moment is best summed up as:

:D:(:eek::(:D:(:eek::D:D:cool::eek::(:D

healy1835

Best of luck Sunday pal. Try and put the last few days out of your mind. The prep has gone great and you're good to go

Swashbuckler

Best if luck!

Wubble Wubble

Best of luck M! You've some serious training in the bag, and you're nicely recovered in time for Sunday. You know you can do it!

JohnDozer

Best of luck! Looking forward to seeing this one in particular pop up on Strava after. Minor hiccup recently but you've executed the plan beautifully! I could only watch on in jealousy as it unfolded :-) Time to lay that DCM result on top of the Charleville one. Enjoy!

denis b

Wishing all the very best for tomorrow M. Have no doubt that your planning and exceptionally hard work will play out very nicely tomorrow. Great idea starting up the Improvers Thread as it has more than helped at putting some shape on my own preparations. See ya in McGrattans.

Singer

Hope it goes well tomorrow! Or at the very least, nowhere near as dramatic as your prep and emotional state

I might even see you out there at some stage.

hot buttered scones

Saturday 28/10

2.2 miles @ 9.15 (21 minutes). Up out of bed, quick coffee, quick jog. Then packing up and hit the road. Mrs HBS was chauffeur for the day, so no tired legs from driving. Drove straight to the RDS, where I was dropped at the side of the road while the boss did a lap around the block. In and out in 5 minutes. It's bloody cold and windy up here! All done now bar the shouting. Resting up in the hotel and then done to the mammy in laws to microwave the dinner I made yesterday - I'm leaving nothing to chance. At least I didn't consider bringing the microwave with me this year!! Thanks for all the good wishes. As the great Steve Way would say - "Don't be sh1t"

Murph_D

Good luck, Mark. Channel those Charleville thoughts!

Younganne

All the very best for tomorrow. Have a great day.

jake1970

Best of luck tomorrow M, have a great race.