PB or not PB...that is the question

Cartman78 · 07-11-2019 6:05pm

07/11/2019

Intervals - 15 x 400m - Road - NP34

Some gentle intervals to ease the notion of speed training back into my brain.

Took these fairly handy (most done ~1:40, ~4:15 per km pace) but it felt good to be running somewhat fast again after endless weeks of plodding :pac:

Cartman78 · 08-11-2019 2:51pm

08/11/2019

6.55K - 30:30 - Road - AF

Another gentle stretch of the legs and some headspace.

No major plans of any sort for the weekend - will hopefully squeeze in another ~12K at some stage

Cartman78 · 11-11-2019 9:57am

10/11/2019

7.25K - 33:23 - Road - NP34

Busy weekend as usual with the kids.....there seems to be a glut of birthday parties at the minute...the novelty really wears off after the 4th or 5th one tbh :rolleyes:

Anyway, had pencilled in a 10K yesterday morning but misjudged both the amount of time I had and also how freezing it was. Looked out the kitchen window before I left and it seemed like a bright and sunny early winter's morning but when I ran out the front door it was more gloomy and foggy and totally baltic. Didn't warm up at all so cut off instead to do a shorter run.

Will keep things ticking over this week - might have a look at a Parkrun soon if I get a chance

ariana` · 11-11-2019 1:18pm

Cartman78 wrote: »

03/11/2019

12K - 56:10 - Road - NB880

Early start in the cinema to see Farmageddon – the day can only go downhill after you’ve had popcorn and chocolate at 11am

Was itching to go for a run so headed out before it started getting dark – trying to get the balance right between not going back to soon and not losing the fitness I’ve built up over the last few months.

12K felt very short which is good – will try to get out tomorrow and Thursday and will be back on the wobble board as well.

Have a slight tightness behind my left knee/lower quad – hopefully nothing to worry about but will keep an eye on it

Cartman78 wrote: »

05/11/2019

8K - 36:33 - Road - NP34

Perfect autumn day for a run - feeling pretty good now almost a week and a half on from DCM.

Achilles still mildly stiff so nothing new there - am hoping that a winter of wobble boarding and strengthening will have them in better shape for the Spring

Cartman78 wrote: »

10/11/2019

7.25K - 33:23 - Road - NP34

Busy weekend as usual with the kids.....there seems to be a glut of birthday parties at the minute...the novelty really wears off after the 4th or 5th one tbh :rolleyes:

Anyway, had pencilled in a 10K yesterday morning but misjudged both the amount of time I had and also how freezing it was. Looked out the kitchen window before I left and it seemed like a bright and sunny early winter's morning but when I ran out the front door it was more gloomy and foggy and totally baltic. Didn't warm up at all so cut off instead to do a shorter run.

Will keep things ticking over this week - might have a look at a Parkrun soon if I get a chance

I seem to be able to identify with you on many levels :cool:

How do you find the wobble board? Is it something that a physio suggested to strengthen the Achilles out of interest?

Cartman78 · 11-11-2019 3:21pm

ariana` wrote: »

I seem to be able to identify with you on many levels :cool:

How do you find the wobble board? Is it something that a physio suggested to strengthen the Achilles out of interest?

So I'm guessing you're a fan of Shaun the Sheep and also have dodgy Achilles

Yeah, it was the physio that recommended the wobble board alright...I think the theory is that more general strength and flexibility in the lower limbs/ankles will help overall with the pressure on the Achilles.

I don't know if that stands up to close scientific scrutiny or not but I'm willing to give anything a go at this stage. I also do (sometimes) regular weighted calf raises as well so will be launching another campaign of those in the not too distant future.

ariana` · 11-11-2019 4:06pm

Cartman78 wrote: »

So I'm guessing you a fan of Shaun the Sheep and also have dodgy Achilles

Yeah, it was the physio that recommended the wobble board alright...I think the theory is that more general strength and flexibility in the lower limbs/ankles will help overall with the pressure on the Achilles.

I don't know if that stands up to close scientific scrutiny or not but I'm willing to give anything a go at this stage. I also do (sometimes) regular weighted calf raises as well so will be launching another campaign of those in the not too distant future.

A huge fan i am

There seems to be some signs of insertional Achilles tendinitis going on. The area at the back of my heel swelled up after DCM 2018 and it has been thickened since. My physio has mentioned it on occasion but doesn't seem concerned but the area gets quite stiff when i sit for long periods or first thing in the morning, it's hard not to be conscious of it

Cartman78 · 12-11-2019 3:16pm

12/11/2019

10K - 45:23 - Road - NB880

Had planned an attempt at a 45 min 10K tempo - met another fella in the changing room who was heading out as well following an injury so jogged the first 500m or so with him before our routes diverged.

So happy enough with the workout overall - still feeling a bit achey and tired, not sure if it's the hangover from the marathon or just regular acheyness and tiredness :rolleyes:

Might have a look at a Parkrun this weekend if I can get out of the house on Saturday morning

Cartman78 · 12-11-2019 3:19pm

ariana` wrote: »

A huge fan i am

There seems to be some signs of insertional Achilles tendinitis going on. The area at the back of my heel swelled up after DCM 2018 and it has been thickened since. My physio has mentioned it on occasion but doesn't seem concerned but the area gets quite stiff when i sit for long periods or first thing in the morning, it's hard not to be conscious of it

I still prefer the original Shaun the Sheep movie - but I guess my opinion on the new one might change once I've seen it 20 times as well :pac::pac::pac:

My physio sounds the same re: my Achilles - not overly concerned but acknowledging that they 'thicken up' from time to time. At this stage I've accepted it as something that I have to manage and keep an eye on

Cartman78 · 14-11-2019 4:01pm

14/11/2019

Intervals 8 x 800m - Road - NB880

Busy day yesterday at my wife's graduation - all went well...keeping 2 kids entertained during the ceremony was nearly more tiring than the marathon :eek:

Unfortunately, the day was slightly tainted by the young fella coming down with a tummy bug when we got back home and spending most of the night puking etc.

Hadn't planned on a run at all today really but a previous prepared version of myself had packed my gear bag in the car (I possibly might have done it on Tuesday night forgetting that I was going to the grad yesterday

) so decided to get some very fresh air at lunchtime.

Was well wrapped up so the cold didn't bother me too much and really enjoyed this session - felt good and kept the times steady (mainly between ~3:15-3:25).

Some long time readers might remember that today is the first anniversary of my almost calamitous fall doing intervals - ran past the same point again today and can't believe that I hit it at full speed - muddy, covered in leaves, greasy, wet etc. ....dunno what I was thinking :eek::pac::pac::pac::pac:

Cartman78 · 17-11-2019 10:24pm

17/11/2019

16K - 77:17 - Road - NP34

So no run since Thursday....was off work Friday minding the young fella. I think I picked up some strain of the tummy bug alright.....haven’t been feeling right at all over the last couple of days.

Today’s run was a bit of a struggle tbh...took a couple of brief walking breaks in the last 3K, haven’t been that tired since my shuffle through Ballsbridge a couple of weeks ago :pac:

I’m determined not to lose the stamina I’ve built up.....I think today was more about possible dehydration and tiredness rather than something fitness related. My latest blood tests were positive too....thyroid levels coming back up, albeit slowly.

11 weeks til Dungarvan :eek:

Cartman78 · 18-11-2019 3:46pm

18/11/19

Intervals – 4 x 2K – Road – AT

Felt a LOT better today than I did over the weekend – in hindsight I probably shouldn’t have gone out yesterday at all.

Perfect conditions again for running – dry, bright, sunny and no wind really. It was pretty cold but that’s why we all have tons of fancy gear I guess.

These felt pretty easy at this pace – took 2 mins rest between each 2K interval.

1. 4:22 & 4:21
2. 4:17 & 4:21
3. 4:12 & 4:14
4. 4:22 & 4:12

Will rest tomorrow and then the plan is a longish run in UL on Wednesday evening.

A quick note on my footwear today - my trusty old Asics Gel DS Trainers that I bought at the London Marathon Expo back in 2012....they're still in half decent shape tbh...have worn them sparingly enough over the years (mainly for races and speedwork)...possibly my favourite shoe ever, the perfect blend of comfort and lightweight-ness. Such a pity that Asics butchered all their designs in the last few years

Cartman78 · 20-11-2019 4:10pm

20/11/2019

8.10K - 38:30 - Road - NB880

The rain was biblical in Nenagh all morning but amazingly stopped for the duration of my run and started lashing again just as I was coming in.

This was a bit of a slog anyway - legs felt a bit heavy, did a few sets of weighted heel raises last night and wobble board the night before so that hopefully explains it.

Still not sleeping right which may be a factor as well :mad:

Cartman78 · 22-11-2019 10:02am

22/11/2019

15.70K - 85:05 - Road - NP34

A grand gentle outing around UL last night - was feeling super tired all day and wouldn't have bothered going if I was on my own but had arranged to meet up with someone so no backing out.

Took it nice and handy around the campus - both of us said afterwards that we haven't ran that slow in ages but might be no bad thing at this stage I guess.

Had to avoid scobes on quads and scrambler bikes on the river bank at one stage ...not a Guard in sight of course....the only one we saw was checking Twitter on his phone while half watching a freshers GAA match :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Cartman78 · 25-11-2019 10:07am

23/11/2019

MUNGRET PARK RUN

5K - 19:25 - Road - NB1400

Wasn't sure if I'd be able to actually go to this until Saturday morning but circumstances aligned pretty ok in the end so I was able to take a quick spin out to Mungret.

Have zero experience running a parkrun - have done a couple before pushing a pram but this was my first one actually running.

There was a decent sized crowd and after about 5 mins of announcements we set off. I know the park fairly well from being at the playground with the kids but wasn't 100% sure exactly where the route was going.

Anyway set off at a nice pace, possibly too fast but wanted to get clear of the crowd - could see straight away there was 2 guys I knew that would be well ahead of me.

200m in and we hit a very very steep downhill - would consider myself technically good at descending but that hill, at that speed on a greasy surface meant I had to lean back and slow down more than was optimum (and it didn't get any easier on the following 3 laps either :pac:)

Settled into a nice pace for a bit - got a bit tired after halfway and picked it up again for the final lap but was annoyingly passed by 2 fellas in the last few hundred metres.

1. 3:39
2. 3:51
3. 3:59
4. 4:02
5. 3:52

Not a bad outing I guess - would have been happy with anything under 20 mins given my total lack of speedwork lately.

And that total lack of speedwork has resulted in my left Achilles being fairly sore since Saturday :mad: Hindsight (and probably foresight) would say that going balls out for a 5K at my stage of training wasn't too clever maybe, so I'll need to rest up for a couple of days I'd say.

Cartman78 · 26-11-2019 3:24pm

26/11/2019

8.05K - 38:28 - Road - NB880

Spent the last few days stretching, rolling and massaging my lower limbs - still not feeling great today generally tbh....feel like I have a flu/virus or something.

This run was pretty solid even if I felt a bit jaded/leggy. Might try a couple of similar runs over the next few days to see if I can kickstart myself...again :rolleyes:

Cartman78 · 29-11-2019 5:24pm

29/11/2019

10K - 45:59 - Road - NB880

Solid enough outing after a couple of days rest.

My legs felt fine tbh and this pace (~4:35) felt relatively easy.

Might try some intervals tomorrow maybe and something approaching an LSR on Sunday.

Cartman78 · 02-12-2019 3:46pm

02/12/2019

8K - 36:13 - Road - NP34

So no run at the weekend - felt totally wiped out tbh....had felt like shyte all last week....achey bones, sore muscles, tired etc. and this only got worse at the weekend. Slept in til nearly midday yesterday which is a very very rare thing these days so I'm guessing I had some sort of flu/virus or an extremely aggressive virulent form of man flu (:D). The missus was under the weather as well so no doubt the kids passed on god knows what to us at some stage in the last couple of weeks.

Ambitiously put the gear in the car last night with no firm intention of actually going out this afternoon, but after a morning of back to back to back meetings I needed some fresh air so headed out in bright but Baltic conditions.

Felt pretty ok for someone who spent half of yesterday in bed :cool: and ended up doing a fairly decent run in the end with a healthy negative split (out in 18:30, back in 17:43).

Hoping that the flu or whatever is out of my system now and looking forward to a solid week of training.

Cartman78 · 04-12-2019 11:14am

03/12/2019

Intervals - 10 x 400m - Road - NP34

A narrow window for running yet again...was going to give it a miss but reckoned the fresh air (and daylight!) mightn't do me any harm.

Ran these handy enough (around 1:35 pace) so was a decent little workout in the end.

The young fella is struggling with another gastro bug so at home today - he was a bit under the weather for a few days so might be linked possibly to what I had last week as well....or it could be just another one of the 70 gazillion bugs that are floating around this time of year :rolleyes:

Cartman78 · 06-12-2019 2:18pm

05/12/2019

16K - 89:18 - Track/Path - NP35

So after two days working from home cramped up on the couch and at the kitchen table I was raring to get out and active last night despite the dire weather.

Headed out to UL and started off at a gentle pace on the path around the new pitches. There was a fair few people out running and I somehow found myself in the middle of a local clubs training - a couple of their faster guys were already well ahead of me on the path but there was a small group running behind me and they made an effort to pass me out......well I'm sure you can guess what happened next

:D:D

In my head the race was on :cool: I moved swiftly through the gears, all plans of a leisurely long run thrown out the window. Was hammering along fairly nicely - could hear footsteps and huffing not that far behind me. Kept ahead of them reasonably comfortably for about 3K at 4 min per km pace....was tempted to keep going for the craic but wanted to get a few miles in so veered off on to alternative route after a bit, satisfied that I'd maintained my own and my club's honour in the face of rivals (:pac:). I suspect I may have been the only one on the path 'racing' but enjoyed it anyway.

Headed off the far side of the campus then at a more sedate pace and did a bunch of laps on the other pitches.

Was pretty tired at the end but a good workout overall.

Left lower quad/knee and Achilles all fairly sore today unfortunately....more stretching and rolling ahead but may have to investigate this issue further I think in the not too distant future.

Entered the Mallow 10 Miler (in March) this morning as well so next years calendar filling out nicely now

Cartman78 · 09-12-2019 1:26pm

07/12/2019

10K - 48:14 - Road - NP35

A late entrant for the 'Least Enjoyable Run of the Year' competition.....although the John Treacy 10 Miler from January is still firm favourite with the bookies.

Busy morning with the kids at the pool, soccer etc. and then went for lunch in a new restaurant in Limerick. All good and well and decided to go for a quick run in the afternoon before it got dark - felt a bit queasy as I was getting togged out but dismissed it as the usual pre-run shenanigans.

Headed off and felt ok-ish but the further I went the more jaded and pukey I felt. Long story short, it was a real drag of a run - went on my local hilly route which didn't help and neither did the ever increasing breeze which seemed to be in my face no matter what direction I was running. Took a couple of walking breaks and I thought I was going to puke.

Anyway, spent the rest of the evening moaning and whinging on the couch pretty much. Not sure if it was something I ate or remnants of the gastro bug

but felt meh again yesterday and still not right today :mad::mad:

Left upper calf/lower quad also quite sore so will try to get to physio this week.

Very frustrating tbh - had planned on December being a solid month of mileage and speedwork but I've spent most of it moping about feeling like I have the flu

Cartman78 · 17-12-2019 2:47pm

17/12/2019

6K - 28:42 - Road - NP34

My longest running break for a while

Didn't feel right at all last week tbh - very fatigued and achey all over...felt like a 40% flu

Went to physio and GP - the doc gave me a B12 shot and upped my thyroid meds so will wait and see.

Physio was a bit bemused by my aches too but gave me a good loosen out anyway.

Any plans of 5K PB's out the window now for a bit (maybe on the windowsill) - the knee/quad was still a bit sore on the run today so will keep an eye on it

Cartman78 · 21-12-2019 9:52am

Ho-Ho-Noooooooooooooooo....

Started antibiotics yesterday for lingering sinus infection :-(

I think it's one run in 2 weeks now....John Treacy looking like another disaster already

Cartman78 · 28-12-2019 10:05am

27/12/2019

6K - 28:54 - Road - NP34

Was feeling fairly crappy up until St.Stephens Day when I finished the antibiotics, the missus and the young fella sick now as well...went to GP yesterday and doc confirmed they have the flu so it seems I probably had some version of it last week :mad:

Apparently the strain of flu that landed recently is a mutation of the one that the flu shot was based on but it will give you some level of protection.

Anyway, finally made it out the door yesterday in half decent weather....took it fairly handy and not feeling too bad after it, although that niggle in my left quad/knee is still there.

Might go out tomorrow morning with the local crowd that are organizing the 10K in January...never ran it myself, normally help out with registration/timings but not involved this year so looking forward to giving it a lash as I know the route very well

Cartman78 · 30-12-2019 10:49am

29/12/2019

9.85K - 53:02 - Road - NP35

Headed out with the local running group to do a dry run of the 10K route.

It was a mix of ages and running experience but tbh I was more than happy to run at a relatively slow pace and chat away to a few people.

Had assumed I was back to normal after the last couple of weeks but alas no....woke up this morning feeling like shyte....aches, headache, spluttery ::mad::rolleyes:

Presume at this stage that its lingering flu symptoms but completely p1ssed off and worn out right now I have to say

Cartman78 · 02-01-2020 2:32pm

2020 off to a real flyer :-)

Started a 2nd antibiotic the other day for what transpires is a sinus infection (which hopefully explains the chronic headaches)

Running plans up in the air....have cancelled my John Treacy 10 entry...ran it last year while not 100% and swore I'd never repeat that mistake

Cartman78 · 10-01-2020 3:11pm

Once again at this time of year, this running log has morphed into an illness diary :mad::mad::mad:

Finished the antibiotics there at lunchtime so hopefully that's the end of that for a while. Still feeling a bit meh so won't be rushing into anything immediately.

Have been doing some light weights and core at home over the last few days, also splashed out on a abs roller/wheel thingy to make sure my Dad Bod doesn't get too out of control :pac:

Cartman78 · 12-01-2020 6:38pm

12/01/2020

9.70K - 52:46 - Road - NP35

The local running group was meeting up again today for the last meetup before the 10K in the village next Sunday.

I hadn't planned on going out at all but it turned out to be a half decent morning so I popped on the running tights and trotted down.

A nice group again of about 12-15 people and we headed off at a gentle conversational pace which suited me just fine. And one of those conversations has resulted in me now being named as the 50 minute pacer for the race :-)

Despite the last few weeks of inactivity and antibiotics I think 50 mins should be comfortable enough....hopefully I don't let anyone done, would be nice to help a few people towards a PB.

Cartman78 · 14-01-2020 2:59pm

14/01/2020

8K - 38:31 - Road - NP34

Yesterday was a scheduled rest day so coincided nicely with Storm Brendan :-)

Today was a lot calmer & cold but glad to have my first lunchtime run under the belt for 2020.

No niggles at all to report - the knee/quad pain wasn't there at all today so maybe all the stretching and rolling did the trick

Cartman78 · 16-01-2020 3:01pm

16/01/2020

8K - 38:56 - Road - NB880

The weather was fairly shaky here all morning and I was very close to not heading out but willed myself out in the end.

Not a lot to report really apart from a fox crossing the path in front of me only about 10 yards away...never seen a live fox that close up before.

Was half-thinking of doing a few intervals tomorrow...will see how I feel, maybe not a whole lot to be gained atm by doing them

Cartman78 · 20-01-2020 10:28am

20/01/2020

TOM WALSH 10K (50 min Pacer)

10K – 49:21 – Road – NP35

First time running as a pacer, and , all things considered, I think it went pretty well.

There was a bit of drama beforehand as the 45 min pacer was struggling with a cold/flu so couldn’t commit to it – the organisers asked me would I be able to fill in and after some flip-flopping I decided to stick with the 50 min pace. Frustrating, as I could normally run 45 mins no bother but given recent poor form etc, but the right call I think as I didn’t want to let people down.

There was a decent crowd (~300 runners) and a small gang assembled around me at the start. Set off at a steady pace, and headed in the long long straight drag into a chilly wind. The first few km went by ok, not much talking in the group and I suspected a few were starting to struggle as we reached the turn around the 4K mark. Tried to keep spirits up with “Last push now and then it’s downhill and breeze on our backs” style encouragement but when I looked over my shoulder at 4K there was only a handful of people left.

Talked them through the course in detail then and we cruised along at a nice pace for a couple of km and picked up another couple of people who had dropped back. Then we hit the long hill just calmly encouraged people up it; a couple of them were stuggling now a bit and one lad stepped off completely, went back to get him going again but he was pretty goosed at that stage.

Near the end now so was just driving people on to finish as fast as possible on the downhill section – came across another few people who was flagging so got them going as well.

My kids and missus were waiting at the end which was nice – got a few breathless ‘Thanks yous’ from the sub 50 people and even got a medal which my 4 year immediately claimed :-)

Good day out overall, still have a nagging doubt if I could have competently paced 45 mins.

PB or not PB...that is the question

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