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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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The Muppet

Congratulations on hitting the 1000 miles, no mean feat in itself.

Are you aware of the 1000 Mile challenge thread ?

ariana`

Well done on hitting 1,000 miles. That is super. I'm at 900 and hoping to make 1, 000 but i'll have to get moving :rolleyes:

eyrie

The Muppet wrote: »

Congratulations on hitting the 1000 miles, no mean feat in itself.

Are you aware of the 1000 Mile challenge thread ?

I've seen it but I forgot about it, so thanks! Must go show off there now :pac:

ariana` wrote: »

Well done on hitting 1,000 miles. That is super. I'm at 900 and hoping to make 1, 000 but i'll have to get moving :rolleyes:

If there was a runner's version of rock-paper-scissors I'm pretty sure running a marathon would trump running a thousand miles every time

Huzzah!

Woot! 1,000 miles!

I'm doing Raheny as well

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

Woot! 1,000 miles!

I'm doing Raheny as well

Oooh yay! I swear it wasn't all the talk about the amazing goody bag that made me sign up...

Now I just have to find a very short-term training plan to use for it. Current intention is to stick with HADD-esque stuff until the end of November, then I'm away for a week, and that leaves 6/7 weeks ish to train for Raheny. With the small matter of Christmas thrown in in the middle

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

Oooh yay! I swear it wasn't all the talk about the amazing goody bag that made me sign up...

Now I just have to find a very short-term training plan to use for it. Current intention is to stick with HADD-esque stuff until the end of November, then I'm away for a week, and that leaves 6/7 weeks ish to train for Raheny. With the small matter of Christmas thrown in in the middle

The goody bag is seriously unbelievable.

Maybe try one of the graduate plans drawn up by Testosterscone last year? I've tried linking but I've probably failed

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057669356

eyrie

I followed that very HM plan for my first half last year, and found it brilliant. I did the base building plan before that too if I remember right. And I'm seriously tempted to follow the half plan again for my next one.
But they're 14 week plans I think so too long for the short stint I'll have to prepare for Raheny. Though the base plan is 6 weeks and could work, I just thought I should be looking for something a bit more focused to the distance, but then again 6 weeks is obviously not enough to do anything very much, so maybe some good general base stuff is the way to go! Ahhh decisions!!

Are you staying with P&L to take you to Raheny yourself?

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

I followed that very HM plan for my first half last year, and found it brilliant. I did the base building plan before that too if I remember right. And I'm seriously tempted to follow the half plan again for my next one.
But they're 14 week plans I think so too long for the short stint I'll have to prepare for Raheny. Though the base plan is 6 weeks and could work, I just thought I should be looking for something a bit more focused to the distance, but then again 6 weeks is obviously not enough to do anything very much, so maybe some good general base stuff is the way to go! Ahhh decisions!!

Are you staying with P&L to take you to Raheny yourself?

Maybe someone more experienced than me could advise, but I think so long as you built in an appropriate taper, the fact that the plan is longer than the time you have shouldn't be too much of an issue? You've built up the appropriate base, so you're just looking to sharpen up as the race gets closer. I could be talking through my hat, though!

I haven't a breeze how Raheny fits in to my general plan for next year or the plan that I'm currently on. I seem to have gone on a spree of signing up for races without really giving much thought to how to fit it all in

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

I haven't a breeze how Raheny fits in to my general plan for next year or the plan that I'm currently on. I seem to have gone on a spree of signing up for races without really giving much thought to how to fit it all in

Oh I've never done a thing like that, no no no....

My copy of Faster Road Racing just arrived in the post and it looks very intimidating - I don't know how you keep following it!

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

Oh I've never done a thing like that, no no no....
My copy of Faster Road Racing just arrived in the post and it looks very intimidating - I don't know how you keep following it!

FRR is like a Ladybird book compared to the Daniels book

Feel free to PM me if you've any questions. It's actually really straightforward once you've worked out your paces/HR for each of the type of runs.

ariana`

eyrie wrote: »

Oh I've never done a thing like that, no no no....
My copy of Faster Road Racing just arrived in the post and it looks very intimidating - I don't know how you keep following it!

Huzzah! wrote: »

FRR is like a Ladybird book compared to the Daniels book Feel free to PM me if you've any questions. It's actually really straightforward once you've worked out your paces/HR for each of the type of runs.

I'm reading it too eyrie and hoping to follow one of the plans (either 10k or the multi distance one) come the new year so maybe we can all help each other

Huzzah!

ariana` wrote: »

I'm reading it too eyrie and hoping to follow one of the plans (either 10k or the multi distance one) come the new year so maybe we can all help each other

Sounds like a plan. Chickey2 is following one at the moment and it's really helpful to me to read her updates. I'm also wondering if there's to be a Graduates thread this year? There might be a plan there, which would definitely be worth a gander.

Huzzah! wrote: »

FRR is like a Ladybird book compared to the Daniels book Feel free to PM me if you've any questions. It's actually really straightforward once you've worked out your paces/HR for each of the type of runs.

refers to the Daniels book, btw, not your comment on FRR - just to be clear :P

eyrie

ariana` wrote: »

I'm reading it too eyrie and hoping to follow one of the plans (either 10k or the multi distance one) come the new year so maybe we can all help each other

Like some kind of running book club/support group! I like it!

Huzzah! wrote: »

My refers to the Daniels book, btw, not your comment on FRR - just to be clear :P

Gotcha

[note to self: never read the Daniels book, never read the Daniels book!!]

eyrie

Another week comes, another week goes. Still haven't started my Christmas shopping... :eek:

Monday 13th November - 4.2 miles / 10:59 avg pace / 148 (156) HR avg (max)
Short one at lunchtime. Felt good to be out and moving again after a rest day the previous day!

Tuesday 14th November - 5 miles / 09:55 avg pace
Forgot my HR strap. Let myself increase the effort a little, though not too much. But I definitely enjoyed going a bit quicker! The freedom!

Wednesday 15th November - Pilates + 4.3 miles / 11:55 avg pace / 148 (156) HR avg (max)
First thing in the morning, having not slept too well. Took it very slowly, more of a lazy plod than anything. Went to Pilates at lunch.

Thursday 16th November - 6.4 miles / 10:46 avg pace / 151 (162) HR avg (max)
Oops. HR fail! But in my defense the effort really did feel easy, I could breathe through my nose, etc. Plus it was fun. Went out along the seafront in Sandymount, love that route.

Friday 17th November - 6.35 miles / 11:11 avg pace / 146 (155) HR avg (max)
And a lovely way to end the work week

Saturday 18th November - College all day. No running. Barely any moving!

Sunday 19th November - 9 miles / 11:00 avg pace / 149 (164) HR avg (max)
Headed to the Phoenix park in the morning. It's been ages! Went for a hilly one so the effort was a bit all over the place, but wow it was nice to be around all those trees. So beautiful right now! Bit tired for the last mile of this one, but felt like I could have kept going if I needed to, so not wiped.

Weekly mileage: 35.25 miles

Fiiiinally up (just!) above 35 miles. I've been noticing this week how good I feel with the running at the moment too. I mean obviously it's still all slow and my mileage is low compared to most people, but this still represents an increase for me and I've felt really good with it, strong. I'd love to push it up further but as ever time is a challenge when you run slowly!

ariana`

That's a brilliant week Eyrie. You will have a super base for marathon training when the time comes.

eyrie

ariana` wrote: »

That's a brilliant week Eyrie. You will have a super base for marathon training when the time comes.

I hope so!!! But that's so long away I could have gotten completely sick of the whole running lark by then and moved on to extreme ironing, who knows

Are you enjoying being back at it now yourself? Just spotted your post in the 2017 Goals thread - we have identical 5k PBs!! Any plans for tackling it again? I'd love to improve mine but I hate the 5k distance with a fiery passion!

ariana`

eyrie wrote: »

I hope so!!! But that's so long away I could have gotten completely sick of the whole running lark by then and moved on to extreme ironing, who knows

Are you enjoying being back at it now yourself? Just spotted your post in the 2017 Goals thread - we have identical 5k PBs!! Any plans for tackling it again? I'd love to improve mine but I hate the 5k distance with a fiery passion!

Extreme ironing :pac::pac::pac::pac:

Lol that's mad that we have the same 5k PB! We'll have to compare other distances! My PBs are all over the place to be honest, they don't correlate with each other at all. 10k is 52:02 and HM is 2:09:xx.

I have a love/hate relationship with 5ks. Hate them with a passion when i'm running especially around the 3k mark when i'm desperately seeking out an ambulance but I get such a buzz when they're finished and especially if it's a course pb. There's a few near me every May/June so i'll do those again whether or not i target them and follow a 5k specific plan is still up in the air

The Muppet

That's a solid week Eyrie, 35 Miles is good milage.

eyrie

ariana` wrote: »

I have a love/hate relationship with 5ks. Hate them with a passion when i'm running especially around the 3k mark when i'm desperately seeking out an ambulance but I get such a buzz when they're finished and especially if it's a course pb. There's a few near me every May/June so i'll do those again whether or not i target them and follow a 5k specific plan is still up in the air

Ha, well yes - I love them when they're over too! But god they hurt in the middle

Still I've only ever done 3 I think, so I think I need to just do a good few more - go for a bit of exposure therapy to take away the fear!

The Muppet wrote: »

That's a solid week Eyrie, 35 Miles is good milage.

Thanks! Happy with it, but I'd love to be up much closer to your kind of mileage. Just a pipe dream for the moment though

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

Ha, well yes - I love them when they're over too! But god they hurt in the middle Still I've only ever done 3 I think, so I think I need to just do a good few more - go for a bit of exposure therapy to take away the fear!

Thanks! Happy with it, but I'd love to be up much closer to your kind of mileage. Just a pipe dream for the moment though

35 miles is a solid week. It's all about consistency (she says having run 0kms this week so far herself

)

The Muppet

eyrie wrote: »

The Muppet wrote: »

That's a solid week Eyrie, 35 Miles is good milage.

Thanks! Happy with it, but I'd love to be up much closer to your kind of mileage. Just a pipe dream for the moment though

Cheers ' the longer miles cetainly make a difference.
Be careful as you increase milage , make it slow and gradual to try avoid overuse injury.

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

35 miles is a solid week. It's all about consistency (she says having run 0kms this week so far herself )

There's plenty of the week left yet! And I'm going to be away for a week with probably zero running from the middle of next week, so I'm trying to make sure I'm consistent up till that point!

El Caballo

eyrie wrote: »

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

Just means you've more scope for improvement;). I think that a normal thing at the start for everyone, I kind of followed HADD's Easy run guidelines a couple of years ago and couldn't believe how much I needed to slowdown and could barely stay inside that 3 minute window but it does show just how much you can improve if the gap is big.

eyrie wrote: »

Weekly mileage: 35.25 miles

Fiiiinally up (just!) above 35 miles. I've been noticing this week how good I feel with the running at the moment too. I mean obviously it's still all slow and my mileage is low compared to most people, but this still represents an increase for me and I've felt really good with it, strong. I'd love to push it up further but as ever time is a challenge when you run slowly!

Your pace is already coming down a lot over the last few weeks which is telling. Try not to think about it as slow if you can, you're building and well on track by the looks of it. I'm in a very similar position atm, my coach has kept me in base for 6 months and has capped my mileage way below what I would normally do and after finally busting out a speed session last week, he told me that we're going to drop that again and stay in base longer. It was a little frustrating as the temptation is there that more speedwork/volume would gain me a nice chunk of time in a few weeks but I'm running a lot better than I have in years and still progressing a lot just from doing that mileage and intensity so there's no rush. You're building nicely and progressing a lot so you must be on the riight track;)

eyrie

El Caballo wrote: »

I'm in a very similar position atm, my coach has kept me in base for 6 months and has capped my mileage way below what I would normally do and after finally busting out a speed session last week, he told me that we're going to drop that again and stay in base longer. It was a little frustrating as the temptation is there that more speedwork/volume would gain me a nice chunk of time in a few weeks but I'm running a lot better than I have in years and still progressing a lot just from doing that mileage and intensity so there's no rush. You're building nicely and progressing a lot so you must be on the riight track;)

Ha, I'm touched and amused that you would describe yourself as in a similar position in any way - you're in a very different league to me! But I know what you mean about the approach. There definitely seems to be something in slow and steady base building alright. I felt like I was getting worse rather than better for a good while, but definitely starting to feel a difference in the last week or two. And as you say, there's no rush

Good luck with your plan! Great to see the results for all the effort

eyrie

Monday 20th November - 5.15 miles / 11:41 avg pace / 142 (150) HR avg (max)
Ran by feel and it ended up slow and easy, more of a recovery run. HR stayed comfortably in range the whole time except very briefly a few times going up over bridges on the canal, and even then went right back down very quickly, so I'm happy with that.

Tuesday 21st November - 3.1 miles / 10:37 avg pace / 149 (159) HR avg (max)
Ended up very squeezed for time, so this was short. Legs felt a bit heavy.

Wednesday 22nd November - Pilates + 4.35 miles / 11:05 avg pace
Early morning for this one. And what a morning, lashing rain, huge puddles everywhere, couldn't see where to avoid stepping. Definitely a slog. Forgot the HR strap. Pilates at lunch was good though.

Thursday 23rd November - 6.5 miles / 10:24 avg pace / 151 (160) HR avg (max)
Same route as same time last week, but pace was slightly quicker for the same HR, so I'm happy with that. Garmin gave me a new VO2 max for this one, though I imagine that's fairly meaningless!

Friday 24th November - 7.1 miles / 10:12 avg pace / 152 (160) HR avg (max)
You know those ones when you can't help running down the road with a huge smile on your face? Yep, that.

Saturday 25th November - Rest, in the library all day

Sunday 26th November - 10.1 miles / 10:04 avg pace / 155 (167) HR avg (max)
Well, I don't know where that came from. This was over a minute per mile faster than a usual LSR, unintentionally. I'm really starting to feel noticeably fitter all of a sudden.

Weekly mileage: 36.3 miles

Felt great this week, particularly the second half. The slightly longer runs are really my sweet spot at the moment, I feel like I can really get into it properly compared to 4 or 5 mile runs where you're just getting going and have to stop. Very happy with how it's all going now, but it's about to be interrupted a bit for a trip abroad so I hope that doesn't set me back too much.

ariana`

36 miles, 6 days running + 1 pilates class, you're on a roll. Seriously impressive stuff.

Huzzah!

ariana` wrote: »

36 miles, 6 days running + 1 pilates class, you're on a roll. Seriously impressive stuff.

Plus one to this. Glad you’ve found the love again and that Hadd is coming right for you. Enjoy your trip abroad

eyrie

ariana` wrote: »

36 miles, 6 days running + 1 pilates class, you're on a roll. Seriously impressive stuff.

Huzzah! wrote: »

Plus one to this. Glad you’ve found the love again and that Hadd is coming right for you. Enjoy your trip abroad

Thanks you two! Really enjoying it at the moment I must say. I'm kind of hesitant to take a break for a week now, damn holidays getting in the way of running! :mad:

eyrie

Oh, hello log! Sorry for abandoning you for the last 6 weeks or so. :eek: My bad... But I'm back and full of good intentions now, I promise.

So, quick recap to start. I've been running since I last posted here, but far less regularly than I had been. Away in the desert (so couldn't run - well maybe some could but I didn't, didn't want to get weird looks from the camels) at the start of December, and then home but just couldn't get into a proper routine in the run up to Christmas. I ran here and there, but really it ended up being only a couple of times a week. Then Christmas itself, decided to prioritise time with family, then got sick, etc etc and here we are in 2018 getting going again. Happy to be back to it.

2017 summary
This was the year I got into running, really. I've dabbled before, but I started running consistently in February this year and stuck with it pretty religiously. I was slow back in February and I'm still slow, but I feel I've learned a lot and gotten stronger all the same.

Mileage: 1126 for the year (first time getting near 1000, never mind breaking it)
Most I managed in a month was 143 miles (August - half marathon training)

Races: I did 4 races (5k, 5 mile, 10k and half marathon) and one parkrun (only one! must do more this year), and all of them were 'PBs' - not hard given I had only ever raced twice before this year.

No races since starting this log, actually, so the PBs in my first post all still stand. It's been all base building since, but it's time for things to get a little more fun now I think

Highlight of the year was definitely doing the half in August. Furthest I had run in training was 12 miles, had no idea what to expect but it was just pure enjoyment from start to finish. Loved, loved, loved it. More please.

Which leads me on to thinking about what I want out of 2018...

eyrie

2018

I'm not one for resolutions or major goals really, but I've had this annoying little corner of my brain that's been whispering "marathon, marathon" since reading the novices thread back in 2016. So the vague plan (wild hope?) is to attempt it this year. That said, I'd really like to do another half because I enjoyed the first so much. Oh and there are other helpful aspirations like "run more!", "get faster!" etc.

As I think about all of this I'm struggling a bit with the thought of balance, too. Training for the half last summer, I felt I was constantly saying no to things my boyfriend wanted to do, or missing time with family and friends. This year I've started a masters on top of that. Soooo... I don't know what the solution is (except for the nagging feeling that there probably isn't one, you just do what you can), but I like to run and I want to keep doing it.

Up next - Raheny
The one thing that is actually happening though, is the Raheny 5 mile at the end of this month. I've already gotten off to a bad start with this one. I signed up for it a little while ago, lured by talk on here of a mouth-watering goodie bag. However, holiday and then Christmas happened, and I never got around to starting training. Or even to keeping up my base running, for that matter. So now I find myself in January, after 5 weeks of pretty scant running, more unfit than I've been in months. Great! Four weeks to cram-train, because I'm sure that works... But feck it, it's one race. At the very least this will hopefully teach me a valuable lesson about preparation. It's felt good being back at it this week.

After that - time to pick a goal, pick a plan, and get going. Happy 2018 all!