What I log about when I log about running

Murph_D wrote: »

But maybe a more aggressive target next time - you’ve proved you’re made of the right stuff!

Thank you and thanks for your advice when I started the plan. Your advice below encouraged me to stick with the 2:10 goal, so maybe I will listen again and be more aggressive next time!

Murph_D wrote: »

Be ambitious with your targets (but always based on actual results obviously). Good luck with it, will follow with interest.

But first, Berlin.

Murph_D wrote: »

It could well be that I'm contradicting myself, wouldn't be the first time!

Nope - I just wasn't clear. I was considering picking an easier time goal than 2:10, but your advice to be ambitious made me stick with it. I thought I was being ambitious

Murph_D wrote: »

But glancing back, at the time you were coming off a 25:01 Jingle Bells 5k time, which would certainly give you the right to aim for a sub-2 Half. I know that equivalent race times do not always scale up (and usually don't), but according to Hanson's chart, your 5k time (the most recent race at the time and best indicator of your then fitness) suggested you could reasonably have trained for a 1:55:xx HM, which means you might have started your Hanson tempos at 5:30 pace and see how you got on?

I don't disagree that I could've been more aggressive with my goal, particularly in hindsight. My endurance is lacking and it's one of my longer term goals to bring even my 10k time in line with my 5k time.

Murph_D wrote: »

The danger now is that you might target 4:30 in Berlin based on this recent HM, when a far loftier target might be attainable!

I nearly choked on my tea at the idea of running a 4.30 marathon! I'm 90% sure I'll be using Hanson for Berlin, so I might train for what the calculator gives me off my half time and re-assess around the time the strength workouts start. I can always run a more conservative pace on the day.

Thanks for the advice. I appreciate it.

ReeReeG wrote: »

Will definitely be following your training with interest!
One thing... are you afraid of dogs?? I just notice the encounters mentioned... I myself have a terrible phobia and honestly it can ruin a run sometimes

And I will be following yours for DCM.

No, I adore dogs, but I was on holidays and fearful that a bite would mean rabies shots :eek:

eyrie wrote: »

Ahh can't believe you've officially started marathon training now! So exciting! I bet these months are going to fly by. Will be following with interest of course!
Now how was the trip??

Really good. Lots of hiking and great food - you'd love it.

ariana` wrote: »

Sorry for the hijack Huzzah but couldn't help commenting... i'm afraid of dogs and i just wanted to empathise with RRG It's so limiting when you're running on your own - i'm always trying to plot my routes around the houses that i know have dogs And then there's the ones you don't know about :eek:

No worries - I understand, even though I'm a dog lover. Dogs, especially ones you don't know, can be intimidating.

eyrie wrote: »

I think you can definitely chalk the heart rate weirdness up to the heat! It's a killer. Nice in every other way, but not for running!



I started going to Pilates regularly late last summer to support the running, and hated it until about two months ago so I hope you get over the hump quicker than I did! I still don't exactly love it, but it's a lot better than I used to find it.

Ugh. Pilates.

ReeReeG wrote: »

I go to a great one lunchtime on Thursdays on Leeson street... not sure if that's close to your work. The instructor is excellent and the class is honestly very enjoyable, while being very tough I'll admit it.

Thanks for the suggestion. The one I signed up for is with my physio, so I'll give it a whirl and see.

Bungy Girl wrote: »

I will never love Pilates, give me a nice run in the fresh air any day. Same goes for the gym. BUT, I can see the benefits of both Pilates and gym work for my running which is why I do them. I think you need to commit to a block of classes/sessions to see/feel the benefits, then even if you don't love it, you'll appreciate it which is almost as good and enough of a motivator to keep it up .

Thanks - I just wish yoga was as beneficial. I took your advice and signed up for eleven classes. The first one wasn't so bad

eyrie wrote: »

That's a big jump in mileage compared to the last couple of weeks - it really looks like you're into the serious business now! Not surprising that the legs would reflect that. But it's great (and I presume very encouraging!) to be able to see progress already in the speedwork.
It's so exciting!!!

Yeah, it is a big jump. They're not huge believers in the 10% rule. It is exciting and scary - I'm trying not to look too far ahead: Plan

juke wrote: »

You sure are getting the miles in. Newb question, but is it wise to do extra miles, over and above the plan? I presume you only do it when you feel fresh. I'd worry that over all, it would be too much for me and my old legs.

Not a newb question at all. It's very valid. I added a few extra kilometers in week 5. You're allowed add to easy days and it was an easy week. As you can see from the plan above, the jump between week 5 and 6 was big, so I padded week 5 a bit.

For week 6, the only added bit was 2km to the long run. Everything else was per plan. Actually, I scrimped on the warm down a bit after Tuesday's SOS :P Again, the long runs make big increments, so I was just adding a little bit each week to make the gaps a bit smaller.

And my legs feel old if that's any consolation

Week 8 :eek:

Day |Plan|Actual |Avg Pace| HR|Comments|
Monday, 2 July |Easy 10km|Easy 3.31km|7:37/km | 132(146) | Cut short by a tummy upset. I’d a feeling it wasn’t going to go to plan and should’ve listened to my gut, if you pardon the pun. |
Tuesday, 3 July |SOS w/up 8 x 600 c/d| Per plan 13.5km|3:05; 3:06; 3:05; 3:04; 3:06; 3:03; 3:03; and 2:58 | 161(180)| The guidance for these is to do them at 5-10k pace, but I tend to do them at 5k pace. This week, given the heat and the proximity of last week’s tempo, I decided to cut myself a little bit of slack and drop the pace a little towards a notional 10k pace. They were definitely tough enough, which vindicated the decision. Happy to pick up the pace a bit for the latter intervals. I managed to run into a bush on the cool down - I really need to pay more attention :P|
Wednesday, 4 July |Rest|Rest| - | - | - |
Thursday, 5 July |SOS w/up + 8km Tempo+ c/down | 12k | 6:14; 6:18; 6:21; 6:15; 6:18; 6:18; 6:13 and 6:20|163(175)| A tough enough SOS pmp run, but they’re supposed to be tough, I guess. Pilates in the morning. I’ve decided to do two more weeks of beginner level and then I’ll give intermediate a go. |
Friday, 6 July | Easy 8km | Easy 8km | 7:25/km |140(157)| These always tend towards the faster end of my pace range, for some reason. I felt okay on this. |
Saturday, 7 July| 16km Long | 21k Long | 7:04/km | 165(183) | I had entered this last November and decided to run it as a training run. To date, I’ve run seven halfs - four as race efforts and three as training runs and this was my slowest one to date. I was slightly surprised at how much slower it was than hilly Wicklow but I guess I was at week 13 of a training plan when I ran Wicklow and it was much cooler. Even last year’s RNR was quicker for a lower effort, but I’m not going to dwell on it too much. I enjoyed the run. It’s a scenic route and not one I’d race, I don’t think. I found the beach section tough on the way out as I wasn’t expecting it to be as long as it was. I was happy that even though my legs felt very tired near the end, they kind of just kept ticking over at the same pace without faltering. I walked twice - both times when I came to soft sand. It had felt like glue on the way out, so I decided not to force it on the return |
Sunday, 8 July| Easy 10km | 10km | 7:35/km | 137(155) | My legs felt a lot better on this than I was expecting. There was a nice 15-minute walk to the car yesterday, which helped, but no doubt any fatigue will hit properly tomorrow|
Week Eight Total |68km ||Week Eight Comments| The long run this week was only supposed to be 10 miles but as it jumps to 15 miles next week, I was happy to have the excuse of running in the half to bridge the gap a wee bit. This week looks like a step up in general, with the tempo distance also increasing.

On the research front, I need to start looking into marathon nutrition. I struggle to ‘drink’ typical gels and have used Clif Shot Bloks for this reason. I’m not sure they’re feasible for a marathon as they seem to have a low enough recommended daily allowance - although, maybe you can ignore that in the context.