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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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Comments

chickey2

I agree, no harm in logging the base building.

Saying that, I'm not exactly a good role model! My excuse is I'm on holiday so not getting out much and only have the phone to post.

Best of luck with the plans. I'm hoping to do jingle bells and raheny too so will try and actually meet you!

Kellygirl

I’ll be logging my base building and whatever else I do. I like looking over my week as a total. Also, there’s going to be quite a few of us doing it over the next while so surely will be good to see how others are doing.

eyrie

Yay, you're back!

Base building is still running, it all fits here. So much to look forward to for 2019! I shall be seeing you at a few of those races I think

ReeReeG

Stalking your base building... Do you do the recommended 10/15 mins warm-up before the very easy runs??

Huzzah!

ReeReeG wrote: »

Stalking your base building... Do you do the recommended 10/15 mins warm-up before the very easy runs??

I never got a notification of this post.

Emmmmm. No, no warm up for the very easy runs, but I will be adding 15-20 minutes to each of these runs to allow for the runmute and also because my mileage will be pretty pathetic otherwise. I don't get very far in an hour :P

I will do 15 minutes either side of the Wednesday and Saturday runs, I think.

Maybe one of the grads plan grads could advise on what they did.

skyblue46

Huzzah! wrote: »

I never got a notification of this post.

Emmmmm. No, no warm up for the very easy runs, but I will be adding 15-20 minutes to each of these runs to allow for the runmute and also because my mileage will be pretty pathetic otherwise. I don't get very far in an hour :P

I will do 15 minutes either side of the Wednesday and Saturday runs, I think.

Maybe one of the grads plan grads could advise on what they did.

I only did warmup before Wednesday and Saturday runs.

ReeReeG

Huzzah! wrote: »

I never got a notification of this post.

Emmmmm. No, no warm up for the very easy runs, but I will be adding 15-20 minutes to each of these runs to allow for the runmute and also because my mileage will be pretty pathetic otherwise. I don't get very far in an hour :P

I will do 15 minutes either side of the Wednesday and Saturday runs, I think.

Maybe one of the grads plan grads could advise on what they did.

Yeah I'm not sure why some of my posts don't show as new posts... not sure if I've done something silly with my settings or just a Boards glitch!

Thanks for the answer, kinda in line with what I was thinking!

skyblue46 wrote: »

I only did warmup before Wednesday and Saturday runs.

Thanks S! You're great for mentoring us past the Novice Thread *cough hint cough*

skyblue46

Hahahahahahahahahaha...you're having a laugh?

Huzzah!

skyblue46 wrote: »

Hahahahahahahahahaha...you're having a laugh?

God loves a trier.

ReeReeG

I'm really turning into your stalker... was wondering how you manage the progression runs and looked at your Strava.. hope you weren't injured, noticed a few days with no running..?

Huzzah!

ReeReeG wrote: »

I'm really turning into your stalker... was wondering how you manage the progression runs and looked at your Strava.. hope you weren't injured, noticed a few days with no running..?

Saves me stalking you to find out if you'd gotten this yet: https://runfasteatslow.com/blogs/news/5-recipes-from-run-fast-cook-fast-eat-slow

I wasn't injured but I was ill. I was even off work, so no running for the week. It seems to have had the sole benefit of resolving the foot issue, though - every cloud.

So, I did one progression run, and I set it up as follows:

1. warm up -15ish mins
2. 20 minutes@very easy paces
3. 20 minutes@easy paces
4. 20 minutes@ MP
5. cooldown

I kind of made a hack of it when I ran it as the pace was fastest around the middle section. The effort was definitely progressive, though, so could've been worse.

It's a different approach to what was recommended on the Novices thread, though. I have set up the next one per the recommendations there but I might change it to something closer to the above. I'll see how brave I'm feeling on the day :P

ReeReeG

Ah gosh, hope you are feeling better.

Thanks wasn't sure whether to progress in minutes or miles.. but the plan is minutes based so that seems smarter. I'm sure I'll make a hack of it now anyway myself, but it's all about learning right?!

I got the book yes, but haven't cooked anything yet. Work has been a bit mental and will be for another couple of weeks so I'm a bit all over the place at the moment!
Hopefully by next week I'll have dipped into it

eyrie

Ah sorry to hear you are/were sick. How are you feeling now?
Fantastic to hear the rest sorted out the foot though, yay!

eyrie

ReeReeG wrote: »

I got the book yes, but haven't cooked anything yet. Work has been a bit mental and will be for another couple of weeks so I'm a bit all over the place at the moment!
Hopefully by next week I'll have dipped into it

Be sure to keep us duly informed when you do! I'm curious

Huzzah!

ReeReeG wrote: »

Ah gosh, hope you are feeling better.

Thanks wasn't sure whether to progress in minutes or miles.. but the plan is minutes based so that seems smarter. I'm sure I'll make a hack of it now anyway myself, but it's all about learning right?!

Looks like you got it spot on to me.

eyrie wrote: »

Ah sorry to hear you are/were sick. How are you feeling now?
Fantastic to hear the rest sorted out the foot though, yay!

The rest/drugs sorted the foot, I think! Much better now - thanks

ariana`

Sorry to hear you've been sick but glad to hear you're on the mend again and the foot too, that's good news

Wubble Wubble

Pleased to hear you've recovered! Best of luck with progression on the foot.

Huzzah!

ReeReeG wrote: »

Ah gosh, hope you are feeling better.

Thanks wasn't sure whether to progress in minutes or miles.. but the plan is minutes based so that seems smarter. I'm sure I'll make a hack of it now anyway myself, but it's all about learning right?!

I got the book yes, but haven't cooked anything yet. Work has been a bit mental and will be for another couple of weeks so I'm a bit all over the place at the moment!
Hopefully by next week I'll have dipped into it

eyrie wrote: »

Be sure to keep us duly informed when you do! I'm curious

It accidentally fell into my shopping basket when doing some present shopping. I'm hoping I use it more than the Derval O'Rourke one which I've cooked nothing from.

Day |Plan|Actual |Avg Pace| HR|Comments|
Monday, 12 November |20 minutes very easy/OFF|Off| - | - | - |
Tuesday, 13 November |60 minutes very easy| 60 very, very easy | 7:46/km | 153(174) | I had been doing these very easy runs by HR/effort but I took SB’s advice on board to use my best race time to determine paces. Using my 2017 JBells time gives me a very easy range of 7:18 - 7:50, so I had been pretty much spot on. Some of the kilometres were actually a bit slow and it didn’t feel at all easy but it was my first run back after a week of sickness, so no panic. It’s funny how uncomfortable a return to running is for me no matter what the reason for the break. I felt so stiff and crablike.|
Wednesday, 14 November |55min moderate|60 minutes very easy| 7.35/km | 155(176) | I wasn’t in the shape for a session, so just did a very easy run instead. My left calf was worryingly tight as I set out but it loosened out as the run progressed. I also found it hard to breathe at times, which I’m putting down to the blustery weather. I took a notion to set pace alerts using my watch directly rather than setting up a workout, which is what I usually do, and was driven demented by a buzzing watch. Pace alerts seem to use current rather than average pace, so I quickly turned them off. Again, nothing easy about this run. It’s a tough road back. |
Thursday, 15 November | 60 minutes very easy | 60 minutes very easy | 7:18/km | - |I’d to squidge this in at lunchtime. It was almost a relief to have forgotten my HR monitor as it’s been making pretty depressing reading all week. This was definitely a run of two halves. The first half was sweaty and uncomfortable and I considered reducing the distance after about three k. I persevered and it became easier. It was the first run in a while that felt somewhat natural to my legs. I’ve mostly been feeling a bit like Bambi on ice lately. |
Friday, 16 November | Very easy 60 minutes or off | Off |- | - |I’d no time to fit this in without making big compromises elsewhere, so took the OFF option. Nice to not feel the pressure to run and no harm after a return from illness.|
Saturday, 17 November | 55 minutes easy incl 5 minutes at threshold |47 mins v easy plus 6 minutes T | easy 7:24/km. Threshold 5:31/km | 150(167)/166(175) | I only had the T section set up as a workout and I completely forgot what the rest of the run was supposed to be. I thought it was very easy, when it was actually supposed to be easy, so I ran this bit too slowly. I also wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be 45 minutes plus 5 or 50 minutes plus 5, so I split the difference. The T was a touch too slow but I really enjoyed stretching my legs a bit for the ⅚ minutes. Can’t force fitness and my HR was exactly where it should’ve been. |
Sunday, 18 November | 1.45 minutes easy | 90 minutes easy |7:00/km | 156(171) | D’s advice was not to push my LR to the full 1.45 and I think he was right, so I stuck to 90 minutes for this. Glad that I’ve finally worked out the appropriate ranges because I liked doing this at the slightly quicker easy pace. It was a perfect day for running and I loved every step of this run. |

To be perfectly honest, I was only paying lip service to base building. The plan says to do it before attempting any of the Grads Plan and being a rules kind of girl, that’s what I was doing. I realised on Saturday how stupid that is. I’ve been reading bits on periodisation and I read back through the “training to train” log and been thinking back over various training blocks to date. Usually, there’s a point near the end of a plan where I feel really comfortable and fit and I’d like to start the 10k/HM specific plan from a point like that, rather than from the point I am now, where I feel like I’m chasing fitness. That being the case, I’ve decided to keep base building until Christmas at the earliest and maybe until the end of January. It will mean potentially sacrificing some race-specific training for Raheny but I’d hope I could still do relatively well at that race after a period of base building. Anyway, nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say, so why not try something new?

ReeReeG

Nice week, especially after being unwell. Selfishly, I'm so happy you're two weeks ahead of me on the plan as this log is an excellent point of reference for me

I'll be going into Raheny with not much race specific stuff also, but will be interested to see what effect this base-building may have (for both of us).

Huzzah!

ReeReeG wrote: »

Nice week, especially after being unwell. Selfishly, I'm so happy you're two weeks ahead of me on the plan as this log is an excellent point of reference for me
I'll be going into Raheny with not much race specific stuff also, but will be interested to see what effect this base-building may have (for both of us).

This is the first year that I haven't been able to PB across distances just by dint of running more, so race specific training is definitely required for me. Having said that, my five-mile PB is old and I would hopefully beat it without the need for too much sharpening. I really just want to run a decent race, I think.

Kellygirl

I’d say you’ll start feeling comfortable and fit within a couple of weeks again. Your body is probably just sluggish at the moment. A good week though.

eyrie

Huzzah! wrote: »

It accidentally fell into my shopping basket when doing some present shopping. I'm hoping I use it more than the Derval O'Rourke one which I've cooked nothing from.

After running, buying cookbooks and not using them is probably my next main hobby :rolleyes:

The base building is a good idea I think, plus it's nice in that it can feel a bit less pressured and a bit more just enjoyable, which is no harm for a while.

Huzzah!

Kellygirl wrote: »

I’d say you’ll start feeling comfortable and fit within a couple of weeks again. Your body is probably just sluggish at the moment. A good week though.

I'm just aerobically very unfit at the moment. But hopefully you're right.

eyrie wrote: »

After running, buying cookbooks and not using them is probably my next main hobby :rolleyes:

The base building is a good idea I think, plus it's nice in that it can feel a bit less pressured and a bit more just enjoyable, which is no harm for a while.

You should see the spreadsheet now, C!

Kellygirl

eyrie wrote: »

After running, buying cookbooks and not using them is probably my next main hobby :rolleyes:

The base building is a good idea I think, plus it's nice in that it can feel a bit less pressured and a bit more just enjoyable, which is no harm for a while.

Meet your sister here - I have shelves of cookbooks. I bought the David Gillick one weeks ago and not even read it, never mind cooked from it.

eyrie

Kellygirl wrote: »

Meet your sister here - I have shelves of cookbooks. I bought the David Gillick one weeks ago and not even read it, never mind cooked from it.

Yayyy, I'm so comforted to know I'm not the only one!!

And yet somehow I still never know what to make for dinner...

Huzzah!

eyrie wrote: »

Yayyy, I'm so comforted to know I'm not the only one!! And yet somehow I still never know what to make for dinner...

There's also a spreadsheet for that.*

*not really or at least not yet

Kellygirl

So do you recommend the book?

No running this morn as sick child home from school and was browsing in Eason’s in store but they didn’t have the book but apparently 30% off everything online!!!

Huzzah!

Kellygirl wrote: »

So do you recommend the book?

No running this morn as sick child home from school and was browsing in Eason’s but they didn’t have the book but apparently 30% off everything online!!!

I haven't got it yet. Ordered it from Book Depository, so no doubt I'll be waiting. I'll keep you posted

Hope the little one feels better soon!

Huzzah!

The book has been dispatched. Exciting times.

Day |Plan|Actual |Avg Pace| HR|Comments|
Monday, 19 November |20 minutes very easy/OFF|Off| - | - | This will be my last Monday off. It’s much easier to run Mondays and take a different day off during the week. |
Tuesday, 20 November |60 minutes very easy| 60 very easy | 7:27/km | 142(152) | An exhilarating run in the wind and, at times, torrential rain. A broken boiler means I was off the runmute for the week - keeping my runs to around the office, so I could shower there after. I ran out to the Merrion Gates. It felt easy breezy and I thought the worst of the weather had passed. Once I turned onto the Strand Road on the routine leg, I was running straight into a head wind. I realised why the first half had seemed so easy. I just concentrated on keeping the effort easy, despite pushing into the wind. And then the rain started - a big squally torrential downpour. It was hard to see and I probably looked like I’d lost my marbles. Despite the weather, I enjoyed the run, maybe, potentially starting to feel some fitness come back. |
Wednesday, 21 November |70 minute threshold progression run|-| - | - | As fun as last night’s run was, I’d no interest in heading out into a similar night’s weather. I’d the start of a sore throat all day, so I decided to hit the treadmill. Unfortunately, the gym was occupied so that plan went out the window. Instead, I spent a joyful 45 minutes waiting for the bus, making me feel even worse for skipping the run. |
Thursday, 22 November | 50 minutes easy + 4x200m @ 5k effort | per plan | 200m intervals: .57; .56; .59; and .58 | 158(175) |I was really dreading the 70-minute progression run, so I decided to move it to Saturday and combine it with a parkun. Lol at that in hindsight. Another enjoyable run, even if I ran the 50 minutes very easy rather than easy. I’m an awful dope really. I started the first 200m repeat beside a line of traffic, which was kind of embarrassing when I took the notion to lift my legs as high as I could. It was good to get the legs turning over at a quicker pace but I’d no idea how to gauge 5k effort, hence the mishmash of paces. |
Friday, 23 November | Very easy 60 minutes or off | 60 minutes very easy |7:19/km | 148(161) |Another run squeezed in at lunchtime. I was exhausted before this and it actually perked me up, so perhaps my bosses should encourage a longer lunch.|
Saturday, 24 November | 70 minutes threshold progression |15 mins wup + 63 minute threshold progression +10 minute cooldown | 7:02; 6:55; 6:46; 6:37; 6:19; 6:16; 5:57; 5:52; 5:45; 5:37; and 5:38 | 168(197) | I was terrified of this session. Properly terrified. I’d planned to try and combine it with parkrun to help me through the last two pace increases but a late night put the kybosh on that idea. I’d the brainwave to ask my live-in pacer to help me out as I knew it would broadly fit with his run plan. I don’t like relying on being paced for sessions, but I really wanted to give it my best shot. The benefit was that I pushed myself harder and for longer than I would have on my own. The disadvantage being that I didn’t ease off on pace on some of the bigger inclines meaning I hit a new max HR by seven beats and had to pull the plug at 63 minutes or risk blowing a gasket (at least that’s what it felt like!). I did a 15-minute warm up on my own and circled back to D. Quick watch swap as the session was set up on my watch, and off we went. The first 14 minute section felt so easy, easier than the warm up. The second felt okay but there was some elevation gain and then the third was probably the hardest. I remarked at one point that I’d run all my HMM tempos at that pace - some of which were ten miles long, crazy how quickly we lose it. I nearly blew up on the climb out of Kilternan and had to stop for a few seconds to catch my breath. I realised afterwards that I hit a new max HR here. Good thing I couldn’t see what my HR was doing or I might have stopped altogether. I ran down to the county border feeling much better, turned and felt okay on most of the reverse journey. I was definitely working hard but it was a good feeling. Then we upped the pace for the final section - I’m pretty sure this pace range is probably my 10k pace - and felt okay until the climb into Stepaside which finished me off. I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t try and recover on the downhill into the village but I was spent. Mixed feelings about it now. I felt great after, nicely buzzed but I’m kicking myself for not finishing it out. Did a 10-minute cooldown to bring the day to 90 minutes of running - long enough to be considered a long run. |
Sunday, 25 November | 1.45 minutes easy | 60 minutes easy |7:06/km | 148(169) | I thought it would be foolhardy to run long after yesterday, so I decided to do 10k, talked myself down to 8k midrun and back to 9k once I’d 8k done. |

I’m feeling a bit better running this week, like my fitness is coming back, albeit slowly. I need to be mindful, though, that all of my weekday runs were on the relative flat and unencumbered with a backpack, so of course they’re feeling easier. I’m enjoying doing some new sessions. The touch of a sore throat has been a bit of a nuisance; my immune system is just a bit battered. My glands are visibly swollen, so while I don’t feel sick, sick, I am very tired this week, which I think is a sign that I’m fighting something off. I’ll stick to five days’ running next week and increase to six the following week.

eyrie

Well you've been doing some very consistent training again, so I'm not a bit surprised that you're finding your fitness coming back, I'm sure it's not just down to running without the backpack. Maybe keep an eye on the effort with the progression runs? I might be misremembering wildly but I thought they only got up to moderate-ish/MP effort. I'm possibly mixing it up with one of the other plans though. Definitely mind yourself anyway if you're feeling under the weather.
Jingle bells next week??