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Chapter 2 - Finding Nemo

Swashbuckler

2018 - Chapter One: The Day That Never Comes - Post 1 to 634

2019 - Chapter Two: Finding Nemo - Post 635 onwards

Original Post:
I've decided to set up one of these in the hope that every now and then someone will come along and in their good nature, answer one of my many questions about my training. I find I've been posting a lot of questions in the Random Running thread so maybe this is a better way of going about it.

Background
36 year old male. Been running for 7 years but only started properly focusing my training since January. Only learned what a tempo, LSR etc. were this year! Previous to that I just went out most days and ran 6 miles at as fast as I could manage. No direction or focus to my training. Had ran some half marathons and mixed in circuit training. But this year I really fell in love with running. Thanks to advice from people on here and chatting to some advanced runners I've met at many races this year I've manage to see significant improvements.

PB's;
5k - 18:22 - Parkrun (2017)
10k - 37:44 - Run Killarney (2017)
Half Marathon: 1:31:35 Charleville (2012). Most recent Half was in June - Half Thru the Heart which I did in 1:33. Extremely tough course and the distance was a little short.

Short to Medium term targets (over the next ~10 months);
5k - Sub 18
10k - Sub 37
Half Marathon - Sub 1:30

Long term targets/dreams;
5k - Sub 17
10k - Sub 35
Run my first Full Marathon (maybe by end of next year).
Run a really good Full Marathon.

Myself and my wife have a baby on the way so I'd say the training could be impacted for a while but I really hope I can keep it up to the same level.

I generally do two/three sessions a week (mix of intervals and tempo), one long run and the rest easy runs. Train 5-6 times a week with one day off.

I do all my Mon-Fri training within my one hour lunch break. LSR is either at the weekend or in the morning before work.

I know I should probably join a club. I would love to but we'll see how life changes once baby arrives. Even if I could do one session a week with a club I think it would be of benefit.

Last weeks training;
Mon: 7 miles steady/progressive starting at 7min/mile and finishing at 6:30min/mile. I'm thinking this run isn't of much benefit as it's in no mans land pacewise for me?
Tues: 5 x 1 mile intervals. Intervals at 5:50min/mile average with 3min recovery between.
Wednesday: 10k easy/recovery @ 7:30min/mile. Not sure if this should be slower but I read that it's bad to have easy and LSR paces the same i.e. too much running at the slow pace. The 7:30 pace felt easy.
Thursday: 15 mile LSR @ 8min/mile. Total time: 2 hours.
Friday: 4 mile recovery jog @ 8:50 min/mile.
Saturday: Parkrun 5k - 18:22.
Sunday: Rest

Probably overdid it a bit last week. Not sure to be honest but I feel good. I'm still learning. I'll be giving up the Parkruns in a couple of weeks for a while so I wanted to run a couple of them pretty hard to end up on a good note.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm looking to improve and still relatively new to proper training so I'm willing to take any advice on board.

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Comments

Swashbuckler

OOnegative wrote:

You surely have an arbitrary time goal in mind? Looking at DD & AMK no interest to scratch the marathon itch?

Good questions.

To be fair seeing some of the marathon reports and training from the gang on here (not exclusive to DD and AMK) definitely piqued my interest. I love the look of some of the marathon specific sessions. I think I'd really enjoy them. That being said........ There's a few reasons I'm not chasing it yet.

It takes a lot of commitment. More than I can give at the moment I think. I barely manage to get my five midweek runs fit into my lunch hour. Running in the evenings isn't really an option for me as that's my time with wife and baba.

The recovery from them just seems huge.

I would worry a bit about how my body would hold up over marathon training although I'm sure that would be well coached.

I still love the shorter stuff! The dream is to get into as low 5k and 10k as possible. Recovery is quick and can race regularly.

I will run one some day for sure. Just not this year.

As for Adare I figure the endurance might not quite be there yet. In terms of arbitrary time I dunno. I think sub 38 should be doable. I'm genuinely not sandbagging but I don't know if 5.45/5.50 pace is manageable right now. Or 6.00 for that matter!

OOnegative

You surely have an arbitrary time goal in mind? Looking at DD & AMK no interest to scratch the marathon itch?

El CabaIIo

OOnegative wrote: »

Seen a photo of you with a tea cozy on your head, that count?!!

I'm doubling down on that restraining order

OOnegative

El CabaIIo wrote: »

El C doesn't exist, has anyone ever met anyone who has actually met or seen him? It's all just urban myths and stories on the level of Keyser Soze.

Seen a photo of you with a tea cozy on your head, that count?!!

El CabaIIo

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Will I finally get to meet the elusive ElC in person?

El C doesn't exist, has anyone ever met anyone who has actually met or seen him? It's all just urban myths and stories on the level of Keyser Soze.

Swashbuckler

El CabaIIo wrote:

Good man! Best of luck on Sunday. Should be a good day out anyway.

Will I finally get to meet the elusive ElC in person?

Baby75

Good luck on Sunday maybe stick the watch in a pocket if you have one

El CabaIIo

Good man! Best of luck on Sunday. Should be a good day out anyway.

Swashbuckler

Cheers D.

Yeah you're right. I like to go on effort. I figure if the effort levels are high (and I fully expect them to be on Sunday as I haven't raced in ages and I'm only coming back to fitness) then the watch isn't gonna give me any good news really. If my pace is slower than I'd like there's not much that can be done about really. If the pace is fast then when the going gets really tough there's an excuse there to hold back a little.

We'll see. Either way I'm going to enjoy being back racing.

Duanington

Fair play to you P

I've gotten used to not checking the watch at all in races, like you - because of the xc stuff. I think its a personal thing though, I know people that race very well using the watch. I suspect you're a little like me and need to just plunge yourself into a certain effort level over the shorter races.
You've nothing to lose by leaving the watch at home on this one - its not a target race, might be worth experimenting a little.
Great to see you going well

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote:

Would you not just cover it with a sweat band or something? I love the data afterwards too so wouldnâ€™t want to be without.

I've tried that. Way too easy to move it when curiosity strikes. Haha

Kellygirl

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Cheers D. Yeah I'm really enjoying my running these days.

Yeah the watch is an interesting one. Part of me thinks I have nothing to gain wearing it really. I think looking at it can be a hindrance most of the time. Especially given where I've come from in the last couple of months I really feel like this is a tester race. I've no expectations. I'm honestly not sure if I'll be lacking a bit as the race goes on or whether I'm actually in top shape. Haha. So what will the watch tell me? Nothing really. If Im up to my neck in lactate what difference does it make what the watch says. Ive also got a lot better at judging effort level since the XC block.

The only two reasons I'm thinking of wearing it is I'm afraid of teetering on the overly cautious side and slipping into threshold effort and I love the data afterwards. Haha.

We'll see. One of my best races was when the watch died beforehand and I ended up running 37.50 when targeting sub 40.

Would you not just cover it with a sweat band or something? I love the data afterwards too so wouldn’t want to be without.

Swashbuckler

Murph_D wrote:

Nice going, P - havenâ€™t checked in in a while, but it sounds lime youre ina. Good place. Whatâ€™s the thinking about the watch? Have considered that approach a few times but never followed through! Never look at watch in short Winter League races Ikve being doing but they call the splits every lap so that cancels out a lot of the effect. Might try it in Lusk in a couple of weeks.

Cheers D. Yeah I'm really enjoying my running these days.

Yeah the watch is an interesting one. Part of me thinks I have nothing to gain wearing it really. I think looking at it can be a hindrance most of the time. Especially given where I've come from in the last couple of months I really feel like this is a tester race. I've no expectations. I'm honestly not sure if I'll be lacking a bit as the race goes on or whether I'm actually in top shape. Haha. So what will the watch tell me? Nothing really. If Im up to my neck in lactate what difference does it make what the watch says. Ive also got a lot better at judging effort level since the XC block.

The only two reasons I'm thinking of wearing it is I'm afraid of teetering on the overly cautious side and slipping into threshold effort and I love the data afterwards. Haha.

We'll see. One of my best races was when the watch died beforehand and I ended up running 37.50 when targeting sub 40.

Murph_D

Nice going, P - haven’t checked in in a while, but it sounds like you’re in a good place. What’s the thinking about the watch? Have considered that approach a few times but never followed through! Never look at watch in short Winter League races I’ve being doing but they call the splits every lap so that cancels out a lot of the effect. Might try it in Lusk in a couple of weeks.

Kellygirl

Delighted to read it’s been another good week.

Limerick sounds fun. Toying with the idea of doing the half there again - not a target race for me as that’s Cork but would like to do a better job there than I did last year!!

Swashbuckler

Gonna start sounding like a repeating record here but yep, you guessed it, another good week!

Monday - Easy 7M (8.05min/mile)
Tuesday - 1M @ 6.30/2min Easy/5x800m @ 6.10 off 90s.
Wednesday - Easy 7M (8.19min/mile)
Thursday - Easy 7M (8.09min/mile)
Friday - 4x(20/30/40s off 60s) 3min between sets
Saturday - Easy 12M (8.11min/mile)

Felt very strong on both sessions. Love the tempo/threshold mix.
Tuesdays session was out on the bumpy roads again. Have made a point of ensuring the form stays strong and no straining. I've held up well and efforts have been spot on.

Tuesdays splits were;
1M - 6.25
800s - 3.03/3.03/3.03/3.07/3.03
Felt good on the recoveries. Solid session and legs were nicely fatigued by the end. Total 8.5 miles.

Friday's session was the same as last week. Nice bit of turnover. Nice not to have to think about paces. Just run fast and stay controlled. Windy on Friday but kept the form solid throughout. Paces for each split were in the range of 4.40-5.10. Slower end of the range accounting for wind. Very happy. Decent warmup and cooldown bringing this to over 9 miles.

Saturdays long run was an early one. Not my preference but had to be done. Ran with my buddy. Another enjoyable run. Good company. Legs tired by the end. Very happy. Lovely morning.

Total for the week was 51 miles. Clocking up consistent weeks again.

Racing Adare next weekend. Can't wait to be honest. No pressure. No expectations. Half contemplating leaving the watch at home but that's TBD.

Decided to defer Great North run. Will decide in November what to do with that one.

Looks like the club are putting in a relay team for the marathon in Limerick which I'll be a part of. Could be a strong team! Pretty happy coz I didn't fancy the half this year.

On a side note well done to DD on a beastly performance in Seville. Building all the time. Great to follow.

Swashbuckler

Duanington wrote:

Good to see you enjoying it again, P - a good year ahead for ya

Cheers D. Yeah the running mojo is definitely back. Looking forward to some race pain.

Duanington

Good to see you enjoying it again, P - a good year ahead for ya

Swashbuckler

How could I forget. I was also accepted for the great north half but have since found out I can't feckin make it. Disappointed as it would've been a great experience. So now trying to figure out whether to defer or not

Swashbuckler

shotgunmcos wrote:

5x each of those hills is good going for a Saturday morning! You must have spent the bones of half an hour running uphill

Had to go back and look as I didn't want to be making a liar of myself. Looks like it was four which makes more sense.

shotgunmcos

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Was unusually fresh for this so decided to do laps of my side of town to get in the hill on the Ennis road and the other hill by Thomond park. Think I did 5 laps. Very enjoyable run. Legs nice and tired afterwards.
.

5x each of those hills is good going for a Saturday morning! You must have spent the bones of half an hour running uphill

Swashbuckler

Very happy with how this week went. Clocking up nice solid consistent weeks again and can feel myself getting stronger.

Monday - Easy 7M
Tuesday - 3x1 mile @ 6.30 (Off 2min), 1 mile easy, 2x1kmÂ @ 6.10 pace (Off 90s)
Wednesday - Easy 7M
Thursday - Easy 7M
Friday - 4x(20,30,40 off 60) 3 min between sets
Saturday - Easy 12M
Sunday - Rest

The easy runs this week were all pretty much between 8 to 8.10min/mile pace. As I said previously I'm relying on how I feel and ignoring the watch on these now.

Tuesdays sessions was a lovely one. I think in general people seem to like these (tempo? Lol) types of runs. Getting into a nice rhythm and not overly taxing. Can feel the engine getting stronger with these.
The mile splits were 6.25/6.25/6.27.
The km splits were 3.48/3.47.
Pretty good I think. Was working a bit by the second km. Arianas requote was something I reminded myself during the session - train don't strain. And was definitely not strained. Solid session. Took in a lumpy enough route for the mile repeats. The kms were on the flat of the estate. 8.8 miles total.

Fridays session was a nice little turnover session. Got some good speed into the legs. No point in over analyzing paces here as the splits are so short but somewhere between 4.30-5min/mile pace was the range I landed in. Had to deal with the wind on this session and seemed to get hit in the face with it for the 40s splits. Chunked this up with 2.5 miles each for warmup and cooldown. 8.25 miles total.

Woke very early Saturday morning and had some quality time with baba. Really getting into a nice Saturday morning routine where the missus gets a lie in and I mind baba. Then I head off later in the morning. Felt great on this run. Was unusually fresh for this so decided to do laps of my side of town to get in the hill on the Ennis road and the other hill by Thomond park. Think I did 5 laps. Very enjoyable run. Legs nice and tired afterwards.

Total was 50 miles for the week. First time over 50 since December I believe. Very happy.

In other noteworthy news the Zoom Streak 6 were very comfortable. I think they could easily be a racer for me. I've started wearing the flex RN for my sessions now. The Saucony have become my easy mile runner. Will wear the adidas solarglide the odd time to see if they break in more. The last wear of the solarglides I definitely found less "burny" so we'll see. Too many choices!

Enjoying my running these days. Work has been pretty busy but I'm managing so far. Looking forward to racing again. Feels like forever since I was in the thick of it. Adare 10k in two weeks. No major expectations or pressure. Will be interesting to see where I'm at.

ariana`

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Haha I should change it back

Nah, i just need to get with the times

Swashbuckler

ariana` wrote:

I keep missing your log since you changed the title

Haha I should change it back

ariana`

I keep missing your log since you changed the title

Delighted to hear you sounding so positive again.

I'm a week late to the party but love this

Saturday - everything clicked physically and mentally. Asuch as I've enjoyed a run in a long time. A little on the quick side but wasn't paying attention to the watch. Just went with it. Asked is this easy. Yes it was. Fair enough. Happy days. I'll take those days when they come. Daydreaming and philosophizing about running and racing. Lovely run in the rain.

Well wear with the new kicks too

Swashbuckler

Very happy with this week. Building all the time and feeling better each week. Patience and consistency is the key here. I'm really enjoying my running at the moment.

Monday - Easy 7M
Tuesday - 3M at 6.50, 1M Easy, 2x1k at 6.20 off 90s
Wednesday - Easy 7M
Thursday - Easy 7M
Friday - 20/30/40/30/20s Off 60s, 2min Jog, 1k (3.44)
Saturday - Easy 12M
Sunday - Rest

Total mileage - 48.7 miles

We were lucky this week with the weather. Seems like the rest of the country got hit pretty bad. Was chilly here but it didn't interfere with the running.

Not much to report on the easy runs. They were just that. Had no clue what pace I was running at for these as the watch was under a few layers.

Tuesdays session was a lovely one. Got the legs nice and fatigued. Those steady miles are fun. Made a bit of a balls of the pacier stuff. Meant to be at 6.20 but ended up around 6.08. Need to get tuned into the faster paces again. Was relying on the watch which was all over the shop to be honest. Good session though.

Friday's session was very enjoyable. Nice fast bits and the 1km tacked on at the end felt very manageable. Not a difficult session but one which had me feeling great after.

Had company for my long run which was great. The miles flew by. Need to do this more often. My buddy is training for limerick marathon so hopefully I'll be able to join him for more of these Saturday morning runs. Beautiful nippy morning in the city.

So a very happy man this week. Progressing nicely and starting to feel like a runner again, whatever that is. Haha.

Baby75

It is great when you find a good physio she sounds like she really looked after you

Congrats on the new runners

Swashbuckler

Going into this week I was quite please with myself having put down my most solid weeks training since November/December. The niggle or whatever we're calling it was still there. No pain as such but "there". Noticeable when horsing around with the little one or getting in and out of the car or getting up from prolonged seated position.

Monday - Easy 7M with physio in the evening.
Tuesday - 5x5min at 6.45-6.50
Wednesday - Easy 7M
Thursday - Easy 7M
Friday - 20/30/40/50/40/30/20s Surges off 60s
Saturday - Easy 10M
Sunday - Rest

Felt good on the Monday run. I had decided to book a physio for a rub down but in the end it turned into a combination of assessment and rub down. I must say I was impressed with the detail she went into. Now I'm not expert in this stuff and I'm probably easily impressed but she really did a thorough analysis. More than any previous physio I've been at. The upshot of it really was that my quads were very tight and shortened especially on the left. Possibly the cause of the numbness in my left leg but she refused to speculate. She reckons my quads are taking up a lot of the workload, hamstrings are getting pulled and glutes aren't firing right. She also mentioned the psoas muscle which has previously been mentioned here. But the main thing was the quads. I had a slight arch in my lower back, nothing extreme which would tie in with quads shortening and hamstrings pulling (I think). I'm sure I'm over simplifying but that's the gist. So she did quite a bit of work on the quads. Some stretches were recommended. Strengthening stuff was briefly discussed but told to focus on getting things right again. All and all money well spent.

Felt no ill effects on Tuesday. The 5x5min was great. As mentioned in Duaningtons log that steady running is probably the most enjoyable sometimes. Just getting into the groove and running. A couple of them were closer to 6.40. I'm not overly concerned. The main question I'm asking myself these days is, am I in or around the effort level I should be and if the answer is yes then all good. I'm not overly focusing on the watch. Finished up with a total of 8.5 miles for the session. Legs were tired. Niggle stayed quiet.

Wednesday and Thursday were slowed right down. Listened to the body. At this stage the niggle is pretty much gone. I think these were in or around 8.10/8.15 average.

Friday - Nice pyramid session. Felt great during this so I unleashed the stride a bit. First time I've run without thinking about my hip. Ran hard enough for these. Hovering around the 5min mark. Very pleased that the stride could be unleashed. Lungs knew all about it though. Haha.

Saturday - everything clicked physically and mentally. Asuch as I've enjoyed a run in a long time. A little on the quick side but wasn't paying attention to the watch. Just went with it. Asked is this easy. Yes it was. Fair enough. Happy days. I'll take those days when they come. Daydreaming and philosophizing about running and racing. Lovely run in the rain.

Total for the week was around 46 miles. Decent week. Sensible road back which is exactly what's needed. Better to be running a pb in December of this year than attempt five during the year and break down four times! Very happy to be putting solid weeks together again.

Best of running to everyone racing in Raheny 5M (or elsewhere for that matter) today.

Oh by the way I bought the zoom streaks. Lol

skyblue46

Great to hear the positivity coming back to the surface again. Keep her lit!

Swashbuckler

I should probably mention my training........

Starting the week the injury was OK but not great. A Sunday of horsing around with baba a little too much had annoyed it a bit. It's a flaky injury but seems to be going away over time which is great.

Monday - Easy 7M
Tuesday - 6M Easy progressing to steady. Plan to finish up running as fast as I can without straining.
Wednesday - Easy 7M
Thursday - Easy 7M
Friday - Easy 6M with 2 sets of 20/30/40s off 1min. Run fast but don't strain.
Saturday - Easy 10M

For the most part of the week I haven't really been paying attention to the watch. Partly due to the weather meaning it's hidden under long sleeves and partly due to just wanting to run on feel. With that being said some of the easy runs have been a little on the nippy side especially Saturday. I'm putting that down to the enthusiasm of being back on the road. Not gonna be overly hard on myself.

Tuesdays progression surprised me a bit. Felt like I was gonna completely bonk after a mile or two and for no apparent reason everything just woke. To the point that by the end I was cruising. I could've gone quicker but was conscious of the advice from coach of not going beyond steady. Last mile was around 6.35.

As the week progressed the Injury was less and less noticeable. Friday's run was an early one as me, missus and baba were heading away for the day/night. The lungs got some shock with the faster stuff. My brain still thinks I'm a 36.05 10k runner. Haha. Not quite. But we'll get there. Really enjoyed getting some turnover in the legs.

The Saturday 10 mile run was enjoyable. Good to get another slightly longer one into the legs.

All in all I ended up around 43 miles for the week. Great to be back running proper! Need to keep it sensible and build back again. The good news is there's been no bad reaction from any of the runs.

I've a physio session tomorrow to just get a long overdue rub down. Hopefully I can string more of these weeks together and progress things. Happy to be back in proper training. The future is bright!