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What I log about when I log about running

Huzzah!

Huzzah! for running!

Background:

I'm female and in my 30s. I'm not sporty and I wouldn't really consider myself to be "fit". I'm also sllllooooowwww. But, for the most part, this doesn't bother me. I'm still surprised that I can comfortably run 10 miles. (10-whole-miles. Me!:o)

I've been running fairly consistently now for two(ish) years. I'd finished Couch 2 5k a couple of times before but never kept it up; mainly, I think, because I was running my training runs flat out and really didn't enjoy it. Three years ago, I tried again and stuck with it and now, despite my grumbling, love to run (at least most of the time). Key to running more consistently was discovering the runmute. You can't beat the headspace that running gives you.

I started practising yoga last year. I try and attend 3/4 classes a week. There may be "better" ways to cross train/complement my running but yoga is the only thing I'll stick to.

PBs and Goals:

My principal goal for the rest of the year is to try and run a PB at the race series half. My current PB is from the Wexford half earlier this year and is 2:15:4x; I trained like the dickens for it. Still and all, I'm hoping to run 2:14:xx in September. Along the way, I'd like to run a 10K PB at the Fingal 10k. My 10K PB is my oldest and, potentially, my softest. Once I run the half, I've half an eye on tackling a 5K plan - gotta get the value out of the buke - with Jingle Bells being my focus for the rest of the year. That's a way away yet, though.

I used a plan from Pfitzinger and Latter's Faster Road Running for Wexford earlier this year and I think I'll use it again for September. I've built in a buffer week for the Fingal 10k, so the plan will start in earnest next Monday. I've been enjoying running off plan for the past couple of weeks but am looking forward to getting back on plan soon. Gives me less wriggle room for slack off!

Distance|Current PB|Target|
5k|26:53|>26|
5 Mile|46:40|>46|
10k|59:53|58:xx|
10 mile|1:43|1:40|
Half mara|2:15:43|2:14:xx

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eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

Thanks, Chickey. I read through your log from when you followed Meno. It was super helpful. Hopefully, you'll be back logging soon.

Oooh I'm going to do this now too! Love the logs, so much great information!

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

Oooh I'm going to do this now too! Love the logs, so much great information!

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: if I spent as much time running as I do reading about running, I'd be a lot faster

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: if I spent as much time running as I do reading about running, I'd be a lot faster

Twinsies! :pac:

(In fairness, you spend a lot of time running too, so I think you're doing just fine

)

Murph_D

Well done Huzzah, that really is a terrific execution of your pre-race plan. Great shout to let the pacer off - it’s easy to forget that there’s a lot of bad pacing out there. A 2:10 pacer who ‘banks time’ at sub-2 pace doesn’t know what they’re doing. Simple as. And you proved that with your very consistent splits, which prove it’s a course for even pacing. You should sign up as the pacer next year! Very well done - super PB. But maybe a more aggressive target next time - you’ve proved you’re made of the right stuff!

Huzzah!

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

Huzzah! wrote: »

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!

But first, Berlin.

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

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?

Don't get me wrong - you trained well and ran an excellent race, but you might be selling yourself a little short, especially now if you use your HM as the basis for your Berlin target. 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!

Huzzah!

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.

Sunny Dayz

Well done on your half! I'm drooling at those splits, it was so well paced. That plan seems to have worked well for you, textbook run (that's a compliment).

Murph_D

Huzzah! wrote: »

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.

Choked - why? It’s the obvious target that a 2:08 half would imply. But my point is that you might be well capable of a much faster time than that.

If I were you I would recover for a couple of weeks, then find a 5-10k race and go for it, then base your future targets on that, or at least on a sensible combination of that and the half.

Recover well!

Huzzah!

Ooof, hello there, log, it’s been a while. Forgive me the indulgence of a super-boring log update. I want to document my training for Berlin from day one, but as it’s all been easy running, it’s going to be even more soporific than usual. The runs are as follows:

Day |Plan|Actual |Avg Pace|Comments|
Sunday, 13 May|Nil|2.6km|7:43/km|Super jet-lagged and cut short by a scary woofer|
Tuesday, 15 May|Nil|5km|7:34/km|Loved this. Ran it on a 900m loop around the village we were staying in, much to the locals’ amusement/bemusement|
Wednesday, 16 May|Off|5km|7:36/km|More angry dogs; more bemused locals|
Thursday, 17 May|Easy 5km|Nil|Nil|Run completed earlier in the week|
Friday, 18 May|Off|4.32km|7:55/km|Run at 2,300meters and the air was certainly thinner. Slower pace was down to how busy the footpaths were and feeling slightly puffed.|
Week One Comments|I completed slightly over the required distance of 16km, albeit by getting the runs in when I could as opposed to per plan. I was surprised to have gotten any runs in this week at all, so delighted to complete all the miles.|
Week Two Comments|I spent most of this week hiking and at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, so running was never going to happen. Missed out on 25km but hiked more than double that distance, so happy enough that no fitness was lost.|
Monday, 28 May|Nil|Nil|-|-|
Tuesday, 29 May|6.4km|Nil|-|Caught up later in the week. Chasing miles: naughty|
Wednesday, 30 May|Off|6.4km|7:47/km|Treadmill run. Legs sore and tired but the run helped loosen them out|
Thursday, 31 May|Easy 6.4km|6.4km|7:25/km|Treadmill run. Legs improving|
Friday, 1 June|Easy 6.4km|6.4km|7:18/km|Treadmill run. Legs recovered|
Saturday, 2 June|Easy 6.4km|Nil|-|Travelling all day; moved the run to Sunday|
Sunday, 3 June|Easy 8km|7.5km|7:37/km|Jetlagged and feeling the humidity but lovely to be out on the roads|
Monday, 4 June|Nil|8km|7:36/km|Did Saturday’s run yesterday and Sunday’s run today|
Week Three Comments|Happy to have gotten all the runs in this week. Mileage is low enough in the first few weeks of the plan, so I might increase some of the runs slightly this week

Not sure if the table makes things clear/concise, but it took me blimmin' ages, so it's staying now

What’s the goal for Berlin? I’ve used my half time in the Hanson calculator and got a goal time of 4:27. This is the time I’ll train for. If I can get a race in before the SOS start, it would be great, but I’m not having much success in finding one. I’d like to stick as closely to the plan as possible from here on in but I’ve half an eye on doing the Docklands 5k. I’m going to be missing out on the Race Series this year for the first time since I started running and I don’t want to miss out on the Docklands 5 as well, but I’ll make a final decision closer to the time.

Looking forward to catching up on all your logs

juke

Well done on being diligent, even at the beginning. Looking forward to watching your journey - will use your log as an incentive!

Sunny Dayz

Looking forward to following your training - well done on the table, it's easy to follow.

Wubble Wubble

Welcome back, I understand what's going on with the table, keep it up

Not running Docklands myself this year, but highly recommend especially if you're chasing a PB. Only thing is, there's just 9 days between it and the Clontarf HM. Unless you've decided to skip that one....

Huzzah!

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Looking forward to following your training - well done on the table, it's easy to follow.

Thanks - I was proud of my efforts!

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Welcome back, I understand what's going on with the table, keep it up

Not running Docklands myself this year, but highly recommend especially if you're chasing a PB. Only thing is, there's just 9 days between it and the Clontarf HM. Unless you've decided to skip that one....

Aye, thanks for pointing that out. I'll run CTarf, but I won't be racing it. It takes me too long to recover from a half and it's not really built into the plan. I entered Clontarf when DCM was on the cards, so it made sense at the time.

Kellygirl

The table is excellent! Must have taken ages :-)

Best of luck with this training cycle.

ReeReeG

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

Huzzah!

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

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??

ariana`

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

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:

ReeReeG

ariana` wrote: »

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

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:

Isn't it the worst? Like I would love to head up Wicklow Way or Bray to Greystones route on my own some sunny afternoon but the fear of dogs off-lead really prohibits that! Some people are very nice about calling dogs in, but some people get so offended. This is why I much prefer city-running though, stress-free for the most part!

Huzzah!

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.

Huzzah!

Day |Plan|Actual |Avg Pace| HR|Comments|
Tuesday, 5 June |Easy 8km|8km|7:39/km | 148avg/Max 166 | HR a bit higher than I’d like for the pace |
Wednesday, 6 June |Rest | Rest | - | - |
Thursday, 7 June |Easy 5km| 7.12km | 7:37/km | 151avg/171max | Eek at the HR |
Friday, 8 June | Easy 5km | 5km | 7:41/km |150avg/169max | Lovely wee lunchtime pootley pootler along the seafront at Sandymount. HR! Again! My back was sore after this and I’m not sure what I did to it |
Saturday, 9 June| Easy 8km | 8km | 7:33/km | 143avg/159 max | Left it nice and late to get this done, so it was pleasant enough running in the evening sunshine. Back is fine running but a bit sore at times during the day |
Sunday, 10 June| Easy 8km | 10.5km | 7:17/km | - | I felt like a longer run than what was on plan and I set off on a route that I vaguely thought was about 12km. Turns out it was 15, so I thought I’d be sensible and bailed at the last point for doing so. Coincidentally, Wexford marathon was being run on my usual route and I was kind of sorry I didn’t go that way when I realised. The HRM was in the wash and it was liberating running without it, although I really don’t behave pace wise without it. While the average pace is spot on, there were some too quick kilometres. The route I picked was nice and hilly and I enjoyed this one immensely. Looking forward to going longer next week – it’s food for the soul |
Week Four Comments| So, the HR is quite a bit higher than it should be. Nothing feels hard about any of these runs. My legs are nice and fresh and my breathing is even and not laboured. I could easily sing a song or have a chat if required. I think I’m going to have to put down the elevated HR to the heat and try and strike a balance between keeping the pace super slow’n’easy but not stressing if my HR seems high.

I was feeling a bit guilty about the lowish mileage and starting to panic a bit that I wasn’t doing enough, but I looked at a few weeks’ time and :eek: No harm to build back sensibly, anyway. Trust in the plan, eh?!

I’ve booked in for some Pilates next week. Hoping to do a class every Thursday morning for the duration of the plan. I have only done Pilates twice and hated it both times, so I’m hoping something clicks soonish with the are good enough classes to motivate me to keep going.

juke

I'm with you on the heart rate - mine yesterday was nuts. I'm putting it down to heat too. I also find my average pace is grand - it's the individual km inconsistency I need to work on.

Good week, well done. Love your table!

eyrie

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!

Huzzah! wrote: »

I have only done Pilates twice and hated it both times, so I’m hoping something clicks soonish with the are good enough classes to motivate me to keep going.

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.

Huzzah!

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

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.

Huzzah!

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

Huzzah! wrote: »

Ugh. Pilates.

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

Huzzah!

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

Huzzah!

Day |Plan|Actual |Avg Pace| HR|Comments|
Tuesday, 12 June |Easy 8km|8km|7:40/km | 151(164) | HR Still too high; in fact, it was higher than the equivalent run last week. Legs felt good |
Wednesday, 13 June |Rest | Rest | - | - |
Thursday, 14 June |Easy 7km| 10km | 7:43/km/6:19/km | 161(178) | I went a bit off plan to add some tempo kilometres. The plan starts tempo SOS runs at 5 miles next week, but I thought a more gentle introduction was in order. I planned on a 5k tempo but set it up incorrectly. Pilates in the morning. |
Friday, 15 June | Easy 8km | Easy 8km | 7:24/km |138(172) | I did not want to do this run and then it ended up being super enjoyable. Ignore the max HR. It was spiking at the start. Delighted to have the HR a bit lower for the pace |
Saturday, 16 June| Easy 6.4km | 10km | 7:18/km | 143(164) | Another delightful wee dander. I upped the mileage a wee bit because beer was planned in the evening |
Sunday, 17 June| Easy 10km | 12.5km | 7:22/km | 147(168) | Longer than planned. I wanted to get a real long run in - my definition of which is anything over 90 minutes. Slightly hungover and feeling sorry for myself for the first 5k but things improved as the run progressed|
Week FiveTotal |48.5km ||Week 5 Comments| I’m feeling my fitness starting to come back a wee bit and I really enjoyed this week’s running. Pilates was quite easy. I’ll stick with it for the duration of the plan and maybe swap to the run-specific Wednesday class for the winter

I must apologise for breaking the good weather. I bought some shorts and tank tops and jinxed it.

I feel like next week is the ‘real’ start to the plan. It has six days’ running, two SOS and, all going well, I’ll be back in the 60kms-kms-per-week range.