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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

coogy

Great to see you starting to pick things up again, really looking forward to following your progress once again!

By the way, did I read it correctly yesterday that you've yet to run a marathon? Not that that's a big deal or anything. I just guessed that you'd already run at least a handful!

Swashbuckler

coogy wrote:

By the way, did I read it correctly yesterday that you've yet to run a marathon? Not that that's a big deal or anything. I just guessed that you'd already run at least a handful!

Haha its a running joke on here. Me and Mellow seem to be the only two who haven't. No I only started taking running seriously in 2017 and have yet to commit to 26.2

Damo 2k9

Deadly, delighted to hear your back at it, I knew the injury was at you from reading on other threads (IIRC?), there’s nothing worse.

On the other hand, there’s nothing better than being ready to really get stuck into a plan and have a go at it. I am a bugger for being caught in that ‘no mans land’ in between events in the last two years, and it set me back so much it was crazy, all fitness gained was lost because I didn’t bother my b***ox.

Something I have picked up off the likes of S and a couple of you guys is that easy miles to keep up the fitness are key, and hell, I am even enjoying just getting out and running with no real aim.

Fingers crossed for you for the lottery for DCM!

Swashbuckler

Damo 2k9 wrote:

On the other hand, thereâ€™s nothing better than being ready to really get stuck into a plan and have a go at it.

It's also a dangerous place to be where enthusiasm is high but risk is also high so I must keep conservative. Need to learn from mistakes of ramping too fast.

Damo 2k9 wrote:

Something I have picked up off the likes of S and a couple of you guys is that easy miles to keep up the fitness are key, and hell, I am even enjoying just getting out and running with no real aim.

I'm already noticing a difference with all the easy miles. Was a slog a month ago but starting to see light at tge end of the tunnel. Need to kero it sensible and regular physio definitely needed.

Damo 2k9 wrote:

Fingers crossed for you for the lottery for DCM!

Not sounding good from reading the lottery thread! Lots of fomo going on. Won't be a lot of places left.

coogy

Swashbuckler wrote: »

No I only started taking running seriously in 2017 and have yet to commit to 26.2

Is 2020 the year?

Kellygirl

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Not sounding good from reading the lottery thread! Lots of fomo going on. Won't be a lot of places left.

Amsterdam is on the week before and there’s a group of us heading over so that option could be there. Mainly flat too.

coogy

Kellygirl wrote: »

Amsterdam is on the week before and there’s a group of us heading over so that option could be there. Mainly flat too.

Ah, you've been sold then eh???

Swashbuckler

coogy wrote:

Is 2020 the year?

It was meant to be but low and behold DCM changed entry requirements!

Kellygirl wrote:

Amsterdam is on the week before and thereâ€™s a group of us heading over so that option could be there. Mainly flat too.

Will you speak to my missus and explain why I'm leaving her and our two babies at home to go to Amsterdam? Ledge thanks

Joking aside I'm ruling out a foreign marathon next year . Slim pickings in Ireland in october time frame tho outside of dublin

Kellygirl

coogy wrote: »

Ah, you've been sold then eh???

Just the half for me!!!

Swashbuckler wrote: »

It was meant to be but low and behold DCM changed entry requirements!

Will you speak to my missus and explain why I'm leaving her and our two babies at home to go to Amsterdam? Ledge thanks

Joking aside I'm ruling out a foreign marathon next year . Slim pickings in Ireland in october time frame tho outside of dublin

Ah yeah I figured. Funnily enough I’ll only be gone the same amount of time as I would be for Dublin. I make that a 3 day event though

Wubble Wubble

Great news P. Try everything once, as they say :pac:

How can we rig the lottery to make sure you get in?

Swashbuckler

Wubble Wubble wrote:

How can we rig the lottery to make sure you get in?

It's sods law isn't it. We'll see. I was toying with switching to Limerick marathon if I didn't get into the lottery but I need to make sure I learn from what's gone wrong in the past. Gut says take it slowly next year and that's what I'll do

Kellygirl

Swashbuckler wrote: »

It's sods law isn't it. We'll see. I was toying with switching to Limerick marathon if I didn't get into the lottery but I need to make sure I learn from what's gone wrong in the past. Gut says take it slowly next year and that's what I'll do

Galway is only 3 weeks before Dublin and a lot flatter. Worth considering if you don’t get Dublin I think?

MY BAD

Kellygirl wrote: »

Galway is only 3 weeks before Dublin and a lot flatter. Worth considering if you don’t get Dublin I think?

The weather is a issue. Almost guaranteed to be raining and it can be quite windy on a good day there

Kellygirl

Mellow Yellow 26.2 wrote: »

The weather is a issue. Almost guaranteed to be raining and it can be quite windy on a good day there

Always a possibility I suppose. It was exactly that this year actually but I loved it - I was only doing the 3/4 marathon as a session though and not racing so I wasn’t affected. 2016 was amazing with clear blue skies and absolutely perfect.

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote: »

Galway is only 3 weeks before Dublin and a lot flatter. Worth considering if you don’t get Dublin I think?

Yeah thanks for the suggestion K. It was one that stuck out alright but i had the same concern as Mellow over weather by the coast. I had forgotten you ran it. Was there many signed up when you ran it?
I wonder how isolated you'd get. Good thing about Dublin is not getting isolated.

skyblue46

P, I'd say your chances of getting in to DCM are reasonable. There can't be too many left to enter the lottery when the last 3 years participants are taken into account. I'd wait until after the lottery before worrying about alternatives.

Kellygirl

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Yeah thanks for the suggestion K. It was one that stuck out alright but i had the same concern as Mellow over weather by the coast. I had forgotten you ran it. Was there many signed up when you ran it?
I wonder how isolated you'd get. Good thing about Dublin is not getting isolated.

The marathon was sold out a good bit in advance. That starts at 8:30am and it’s just the marathon group out at that stage. It’s 4 loops out by Salt Hill and 2 shorter loops which I presume are done first. The 10km group started this year then at 10:30 and I started at the back of that. While we were waiting there were some marathoners that looked isolated but pace groups too. It got quite congested then while the 10k did one lap and it was very quiet as I did my 2nd lap. You are constantly passing people coming the other direction though. The Half started then at 12:15 and that was very congested for me but sure you’d be finished by then or nearly so I don’t think they’d be a problem for you.

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote:

P, I'd say your chances of getting in to DCM are reasonable. There can't be too many left to enter the lottery when the last 3 years participants are taken into account. I'd wait until after the lottery before worrying about alternatives.

100% S. No plans on signing up for anything reactionary. More to do with assessing options for the craic.
Forgot I had a deferral to great north run but I think that's off the table.

Kellygirl wrote:

The marathon was sold out a good bit in advance. That starts at 8:30am and itâ€™s just the marathon group out at that stage. Itâ€™s 4 loops out by Salt Hill and 2 shorter loops which I presume are done first. The 10km group started this year then at 10:30 and I started at the back of that. While we were waiting there were some marathoners that looked isolated but pace groups too. It got quite congested then while the 10k did one lap and it was very quiet as I did my 2nd lap. You are constantly passing people coming the other direction though. The Half started then at 12:15 and that was very congested for me but sure youâ€™d be finished by then or nearly so I donâ€™t think theyâ€™d be a problem for you.

Cheers for the info K. I'd definitely consider it. Nice and close to home too.

Swashbuckler

Second attempt at this after losing the last update. Nothing major to report.
Six days of running totalling 49.5 miles. That's two weeks in a row of same mileage . Some decent distance runs thrown in this week. Mostly all easy running although I threw in some steady and/or tempo miles at the end of a few runs. Hard to know what tempo or steady is at the moment as anything faster than easy feels like effort. Haha. But very happy with the last two weeks. Still paranoid about the hips but that'll hopefully leave in time!

Lots of stretching of the piriformis, hip flexors and quad any chance I get. My missus is getting a good laugh out of it. Any time she looks at me I have my leg pulled up behind me stretching the quads. One strength day this week focusing on glutes and core. For now the physio has limited which exercises I can do as some of them (donkey kicks for example) are easy to get wrong and could easily end up with arched back and exercising the exact muscle I don't want to (psoas). This means exercises like glute bridges, planks etc are a little risky for now. In fairness she has done a great job telling me what I can do and there are plenty of alternatives. For anyone interested there's an excellent app called "Keep". Have a look. Free option and paid option. The paid option offers a lot more but the free version is definitely worth a download. Hope to get two strength sessions this week. It's basic stuff and not very taxing (no extra weights for now). I'm heading back to her the week after next to top up and get some more length in the quad. My plan is every six weeks to head back to her til May and reassess then.

Plan for this week,
Add in some strides on one day.
Add in a couple of short hill sprints on another day.
Get long run to 12M.
Monitor how the body feels and step back if needed.

At the moment my week is a little offset with helping out at home on the weekends (giving the missus a full nights sleep and lie in) so long run this week will hopefully be Wednesday morning. Building up a second longish run too and that will hopefully be Saturday (10M). When I start the HM plan proper there will be a long run and midweek long run so I want to build up to close to that.

On the family front all good. Little fella is a dream. Work is busy but managing that ok. Sleep is decent during the week.

Swashbuckler

GAMETIME22 code will get you 22% off on Nike site. Big saving on the Next %

Treviso

Swashbuckler wrote: »

GAMETIME22 code will get you 22% off on Nike site. Big saving on the Next %

I'm sitting here debating whether wearing pink Next% is worth the 60 euro off

MY BAD

Waiting on the white ones...

Swashbuckler

If I was willing to pay that money and someone told me they were 60 quid cheaper with a code, I wouldn't be waiting! Pink is the new black.

MY BAD

I have the green ones, I hope to get a few more miles out of them

€215 isn't bad for what you get in return tbh compared to other top end racers. They're a great shoe

Treviso

Took the plunge - thanks for putting the code out there!

Swashbuckler

Mellow Yellow 26.2 wrote:

I have the green ones, I hope to get a few more miles out of them â‚¬215 isn't bad for what you get in return tbh compared to other top end racers. They're a great shoe

I just can't justify it to be honest. Not after spending what I've spent on runners this year

Laineyfrecks

Treviso wrote: »

Took the plunge - thanks for putting the code out there!

Did ye get the pink ones

there'll be no stopping you now:eek:

AuldManKing

Apologies in advance for the segway and possible derailment.

In all honesty - when I was racing on Saturday I was debating if I would wear the Nike's given all the crap you hear about them recently.
But I wore them.

I'm also debating if I should give more $$ to Nike by buying the Next% - more than likely I will, but anyone else having this dilemma?

NB bringing out a shoe / Hoka Carbon X is out there /Adidas bringing out a carbon plate shoe - are these more morally ethical companies or do these things happen in every shoe sponsored team (dont think so - look at Hoka & NB in Manchester) & are Nike just getting bad press (I seriously doubt it's 'just' bad press).

healy1835

AuldManKing wrote: »

Apologies in advance for the segway and possible derailment.

In all honesty - when I was racing on Saturday I was debating if I would wear the Nike's given all the crap you hear about them recently.
But I wore them.

I'm also debating if I should give more $$ to Nike by buying the Next% - more than likely I will, but anyone else having this dilemma?

NB bringing out a shoe / Hoka Carbon X is out there /Adidas bringing out a carbon plate shoe - are these more morally ethical companies or do these things happen in every shoe sponsored team (dont think so - look at Hoka & NB in Manchester) & are Nike just getting bad press (I seriously doubt it's 'just' bad press).

Yeah it is something I've thought about over the last little while. The NOP seems to be an absolute sh&"show and I imagine there's a lot more to come out into the public domain yet. But they're just a small piece of a larger multinational company I suppose. You've used the New Balance group in Manchester as an example, but I'm sure you wouldn't have to go too far to find a Nike training group that avoids the toxic stuff that went on in NOP. I'm happy enough to keep wearing Nike shoes, although I know there's others out there who aren't.

KSU

AuldManKing wrote: »

Apologies in advance for the segway and possible derailment.

In all honesty - when I was racing on Saturday I was debating if I would wear the Nike's given all the crap you hear about them recently.
But I wore them.

I'm also debating if I should give more $$ to Nike by buying the Next% - more than likely I will, but anyone else having this dilemma?

NB bringing out a shoe / Hoka Carbon X is out there /Adidas bringing out a carbon plate shoe - are these more morally ethical companies or do these things happen in every shoe sponsored team (dont think so - look at Hoka & NB in Manchester) & are Nike just getting bad press (I seriously doubt it's 'just' bad press).

For me I won't buy Nike Shoes (my track spikes are Nike but they are also +10 years old at this stage but that is just down to not repairing)

This does not stem from the recent stuff but realistically it is tip of the iceberg stuff

- Nick Symmonds legal battle over Worlds in Beijing and his subsequent boycott

- Allyson Felix/Alysia Montano treatment during pregnancy

- Nike’s global director of athletics threatening to kill whistleblower

- Overall treatment of athletes with regards to contracts.

Despite them sponsoring the large majority of athletes in the sport I don't feel that supporting such a brand is supporting the athletes they sponsor. I like what the likes NAZ Elite, NB Manchester, Brooks Beast are doing but I just don't get that same feeling from the likes of NOP, Oregon Track Club and Melbourne track club etc (the exception being Bowerman track club however you could argue that they are benefiting from alot of the same infrastructure as NOP.

The Carbon plate thing is something that personally I never want to feel like the benefits I make are down to the shoe (perhaps that is down to being self coached at the moment in that I would take a good coaching performance over good athletic perfomances mechanical aided) That being said if the likes of Brooks or Saucony release their version I wouldn't be against trying them any more than I would be in trying other models within the brands but I have never worn Nike runners (outside of testing the Mayflies back in the day as a Novelty when the Nike Vans used to come round to clubs) so I would feel disingenuous to suddenly try them for the sole purpose of short cuts.

(Just my opinion though not a judgement on others who use them)