"It's what you do next that counts"

shels4ever · 26-02-2009 11:36AM

Woddle wrote: »

Very enjoyable alright and its funny I really wasn't in the mood beforehand and all the snot streaming from your nose and yet we both had a good run. I nearly wish I lived closer to Raheny as I would probably do alot more of them.

]
Tell me about it, Wasnt one of my best days yesterday... I'll be running the full summer series there in the summer which is great.

stmochtas · 26-02-2009 05:57PM

Woddle wrote: »

I met up with Shels4ever today to run a 2 mile race organised by Raheny. Small field but good standard. I ran this in 13:15 back in July or sth. I went to the back of the field just in case as everyone looked better than me but soon after the start I ran a bit quicker to join a pack that was breaking away. First mile in 6:07, I didn't look at the watch once till it was over and it helped, I actually knew I was running well and didn't need the watch. Overtook a lady and then a bloke at about 1.25, he stayed close, I could hear him and see his shadow from the light off the lamposts, everytime he tried to pass I could see his head on the ground so I sped up and with about 400 to go I legged it. 12:20 finishing time, I was delighted and am now really looking forward to the paddys day 5k
New 2 mile pb the last one being 13:01, not a big milestone but another indicator that things are going well. Also my race pointer calculator now rates this race as my best performance.

2.02 miles in 12:20
Average HR 85% which suggests I didn't run as hard as I can as I have got this figure up to 89/90% for smaller races in the past including this race last summer.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2258807
Also I think I've finally cracked the whole breathing thing.

Total miles for today 5.27

Great stuff Woddle, I ran this course once last year and did 13:57 would love a crack at it again sometime. Sub-20 is on my man.

Woddle · 26-02-2009 07:11PM

I was a little worried about todays run as I was going to be doing it with the roadrunner so I was worried about pace would I be slowing him down too much and all that but then I devised a plan, I'll ask the questions so he'll be doing all the talking while I concentrate on keeping pace

. But I needn't have worried as he was only to happy to go at my pace. So a very enjoyable, slightly hilly and a little bit on grass kind of a run. Time flys when you have company, will def be looking for more running partners in the future and I have my next one on Saturday with an old friend, so looking forward to it.

10.29 miles in 1:23:29, pace 8:07
Average HR 75%

Peckham · 26-02-2009 09:52PM

Might be time to roll out some Saturday Boards AC "meet and runs" in Phoenix Park or elsewhere?

TheRoadRunner · 26-02-2009 09:56PM

Peckham wrote: »

Might be time to roll out some Saturday Boards AC "meet and runs" in Phoenix Park or elsewhere?

Good idea. Saturday is a day I like to run a little easier. If it's flagged well in advance runners of different fitness should be able to tailor their training plans so we could run most of it together. Any thoughts ?

Another idea is a meet and beer session. We were thinking maybe after the 5k race on the 15th of march ?????? This is going to be my last beer session before London.

Woddle · 26-02-2009 10:03PM

Peckham wrote: »

Might be time to roll out some Saturday Boards AC "meet and runs" in Phoenix Park or elsewhere?

I would def be up for it, I can't believe how fast time goes, I swore I was only running 20 mins today and not an hour and 20 and the same applies to Shels last night, very enjoyable runs, count me in anyway Peckham and roadrunner you can def count me in for the beers, I hope you got out of the drive ok, I probably should have helped as it can be a bad spot.

TheRoadRunner · 26-02-2009 10:18PM

Woddle wrote: »

I hope you got out of the drive ok, I probably should have helped as it can be a bad spot.

Yeah not a problem. I closed my eyes, whacked the car into reverse and pulled a handbreaker and off I ripped in the wheels of steel !

christeb · 26-02-2009 10:51PM

+1 on the Phoenix park weekend runs, now is as good a time as any

Woddle · 28-02-2009 03:04PM

My friend is running on Sunday in Santry and decided against an easy 5 today so I decided to go for 20 instead, so I cancelled my 5x1K @ 5k pace and will put it off till Monday or Tuesday. This run felt the hardest of all, I never eat the morning of my long runs but I have a cereal before bed the night before but for some reason last night I forgot. I was starving on this run, I don't take any gels either but I do carry 700ml worth of a carbo drink but this didn't last. I was very warm with my rain/wind breaker on and I felt I was over heating. Just glad to have it over with but I def prefer doing it on Sundays.

20 miles in 2:50:30, pace 8:32
Average HR 76%
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2285791

This was a very hilly route and I probably won't do this route again for the next 20 miler, also I will be doing that run with gels in preperation for Paris

So far my long runs have been
3x20, 2x16, 2x15 and 7x10 plus runs, this is far more than I did for last years marathons but its funny when I'm running my lsrs, I can't picture myself going much faster.
Miles for Feb 196

Slogger Jogger · 28-02-2009 03:20PM

Looks like you covered a fair proportion of south Dublin in that run. Great running Woddle, you're in good form by the looks of it.

TheRoadRunner · 28-02-2009 03:26PM

Woddle wrote: »

So far my long runs have been
3x20, 2x16, 2x15 and 7x10 plus runs, this is far more than I did for last years marathons but its funny when I'm running my lsrs, I can't picture myself going much faster.
Miles for Feb 196

I said it before but you are stringing great weeks together, very consistent, sensible running. You training deserves a big PB in Paris and as long as you run according to your prerace plan you'll get it. Nice group of long runs. I'm hoping to clock up a good few myself in the coming weeks.

Woddle · 28-02-2009 03:30PM

After talking with you the other day, I went straight back to bed for an hour and a half after todays effort

TheRoadRunner · 28-02-2009 03:55PM

Woddle wrote: »

After talking with you the other day, I went straight back to bed for an hour and a half after todays effort

It's your only man. Did you fee any benefit from it ? You won't be popular with the OH but I find it speeds up recovery !

Racing Flat · 28-02-2009 07:38PM

Woddle, I suppose it's not allowed answer in someone else's well, so I'll put it here...

I think it's fine to compare yourself with others. Anyone who overtakes you, ask yourself why? It might be the training or something, or it could be that they are more talented, have a genetic advantage. If it's the former you may well be able to improve your own training, if it's the latter just respect the better athlete.

In relation to your direct and very appropriate comparison between you and Sosa who started around the same time, before looking at genetics or training, one thing that jumps out to me is that Sosa didn't do 3 marathons in 3 months last summer (he must not have known SunGod that well back then, or been under his spell as yet:D). No one could improve with 3 marathons in 3 months*, but you had your reasons for doing those. This year you are more focused on improvements and so your training is more consistent and so you are seeing the reults. Patience is all that is needed now.

*On that I think as well that those who do 2 marathons a year don't improve as quickly as they should.

Woddle · 28-02-2009 07:45PM

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

It's your only man. Did you fee any benefit from it ? You won't be popular with the OH but I find it speeds up recovery !

It did help

and the wife was good enough to bring the kids out of the house

I didn't go asleep though but it def benefited me.

Woddle · 28-02-2009 07:49PM

Racing Flat wrote: »

(he must not have known SunGod that well back then, or been under his spell as yet:D).
*On that I think as well that those who do 2 marathons a year don't improve as quickly as they should.

Very funny.

Regarding 2 marathons a year and improving, next year I'll be ruling out a Spring marathon as theres been times were its not enjoyable and more like a chore. I can see myself doing Berlin every year though

Woddle · 05-03-2009 09:53PM

Similar to what Amadeus said on his log today, the following will contain alot of waffle and self loathing.
After talking with a few people over recent days and reading between the lines I have decided to downgrade my predicted marathon time. The reasons for this are pure tirdness on my behalf and lack of motivation coupled with feeling ill today. I am not looking for any back slapping as I know I am now taking the sensible approach and try as I want to be up there with Sosa, Krusty and the rest of the Wicklow lads, I'm just not there yet. The tirdness thing is just plain not funny (if there was a similar 1000 mile challenge for sex, I would be last).
So the plan is to enjoy Paris after all I'm doing it to celebrate my 30th birthday. Will probably do little for the remainder of the week and then give Ballycotton a lash but more importantly I want to enjoy Ballycotton. Then the following 2 weeks lash into the training and then 2 week taper. Looking forward to concentrating on shorter stuff and then giving Berlin my all.

And I broke my treadmill yesterday. I finally got the motivation and jumped on the treadmill to do 5x1000 but only got 1 and a half of these done after a 2 mile warm up before it broke. I spent ages taking it apart and I still havn't figured out the problem.

Key word from now till Paris ENJOY

shels4ever · 05-03-2009 10:39PM

Enjoy should always be the key, I think its good advise by RF as usual .

TheRoadRunner · 05-03-2009 11:19PM

Don't be too hard on yourself. Good plan for this week, run and enjoy Ballycotton. Take stock after that, you might surprise yourself.

I'm finding myself included a lot of people on boards are feeling tired and pissed off this week. Most (or a good bit) of the training has been done so don't do anything silly. Maybe you should downgrade your time but give it another couple of weeks before you commit.

But you are right, you need to enjoy this one or Berlin may not happen

Racing Flat · 06-03-2009 12:27AM

How's your diet? Maybe you're not getting enough energy from food and so are tired?

Also what's your weekly mileage over the last few months?

If it's something like 30,30,30,30,50,50,50,this might explain your fatigue. the big step ups need to be made slowly....

Good diet and an easy week every so often e.g. 3 weeks hard, 1 week easy are key for me to avoid fatigue.

At the same time fatigue is part and parcel - I think it was Brendan Foster who said 'An athlete wakes up tired in the morning and goes to bed tired at night.' But I suppose if you are so tired that you are lacking motivation you are too tired.

Determining why will hep tackle it. Chin up. Running's a bit like that though. Run a PB Sunday and you'll be back on track!

Racing Flat · 06-03-2009 12:35AM

And WTF were you doing 5 x 1k 5 days before a 10mile for?:mad::D

Krusty_Clown · 06-03-2009 12:26PM

I know you don't want any backslapping, but it does sound like you have made a very sensible but difficult decision. There's no point in going gung-ho for the sub 3, when you can do it in logical manageable chunks. You have recorded (3 or 4?) marathon PBs in the last 6 months, which is a huge achievement, so if you keep going at the same incremental pace, you'll continue to see those gains and enjoy the experience along the way.

I'm sure the experienced runners here will tell us that it is as important to have a solid racing calendar and target time strategy, as it is is to have a solid training strategy.

Enjoy Ballycotton.

Woddle · 06-03-2009 12:35PM

Racing Flat wrote: »

How's your diet? Maybe you're not getting enough energy from food and so are tired?

Also what's your weekly mileage over the last few months?

If it's something like 30,30,30,30,50,50,50,this might explain your fatigue. the big step ups need to be made slowly....

!

Diet sucks, I can't shake the sweet tooth but I have cut takeawys way down. None this week

Milage has been 38,50,46,30,44,55,54,23,55 and 3.2 for this week

Makes alot of sense. Any suggestions for the last 4 weeks ?

Woddle · 06-03-2009 12:43PM

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I know you don't want any backslapping, but it does sound like you have made a very sensible but difficult decision. There's no point in going gung-ho for the sub 3, when you can do it in logical manageable chunks. You have recorded (3 or 4?) marathon PBs in the last 6 months, which is a huge achievement, so if you keep going at the same incremental pace, you'll continue to see those gains and enjoy the experience along the way.

I'm sure the experienced runners here will tell us that it is as important to have a solid racing calendar and target time strategy, as it is is to have a solid training strategy.

Enjoy Ballycotton.

Cheers Krusty, my biggest flaw I think is my lack of patience, I want everything now and I have to start believing that running is here to stay now as part of my life. I have never really stuck at anything for too long, I'm the fad man

, now that the decision is made though I feel much better, stupid putting pressure on myself like that

kennyb3 · 06-03-2009 12:44PM

Woddle wrote: »

Diet sucks, I can't shake the sweet tooth but I have cut takeawys way down. None this week

Milage has been 38,50,46,30,44,55,54,23,55 and 3.2 for this week

Makes alot of sense. Any suggestions for the last 4 weeks ?

woddle i suffer from a serious bout of the sweet tooth disease. i feel your pain, dont beat yourself up for it. you do well enough miles to counter act it!!

Sosa · 06-03-2009 03:50PM

Woddle wrote: »

Similar to what Amadeus said on his log today, the following will contain alot of waffle and self loathing.
After talking with a few people over recent days and reading between the lines I have decided to downgrade my predicted marathon time. The reasons for this are pure tirdness on my behalf and lack of motivation coupled with feeling ill today. I am not looking for any back slapping as I know I am now taking the sensible approach and try as I want to be up there with Sosa, Krusty and the rest of the Wicklow lads, I'm just not there yet. The tirdness thing is just plain not funny (if there was a similar 1000 mile challenge for sex, I would be last).
So the plan is to enjoy Paris after all I'm doing it to celebrate my 30th birthday. Will probably do little for the remainder of the week and then give Ballycotton a lash but more importantly I want to enjoy Ballycotton. Then the following 2 weeks lash into the training and then 2 week taper. Looking forward to concentrating on shorter stuff and then giving Berlin my all.

And I broke my treadmill yesterday. I finally got the motivation and jumped on the treadmill to do 5x1000 but only got 1 and a half of these done after a 2 mile warm up before it broke. I spent ages taking it apart and I still havn't figured out the problem.

Key word from now till Paris ENJOY

Having read some of the replies from this woddle,you have done the right thing,no point in killing yourself trying to achieve something.
I have not even done a marathon yet,but when i do i will try as hard as i can ( like you are doing ),and see how it goes from there.
The main reason i will do a marathon is to get the experience of it,feel the buzz from the other runners and spectators,not to be going around in severe pain not being able to take all that in.

I would like to think that my target will be 3:15...but if i feel close to the time that thats not possible,so be it !

Good luck with the next few weeks and you might even surprise yourself on the day !

shels4ever · 06-03-2009 03:51PM

Woddle wrote: »

Diet sucks, I can't shake the sweet tooth but I have cut takeawys way down. None this week

Milage has been 38,50,46,30,44,55,54,23,55 and 3.2 for this week

Makes alot of sense. Any suggestions for the last 4 weeks ?

Remember you are actually in good shape running a pb over 2 miles last week. You've prob need a few days to relax . You taking any multi vits?

TheRoadRunner · 06-03-2009 04:18PM

Regarding vitamins diet etc. I'm hitting the pharmaton this week. Generally do this a month before a marathon to ensure I have adequate levels of iron and vitamins etc. I have decided to take them early this year as I feel lethargic (actually the OH is sticking me on them). I have taken these in the past and they seem to work for me. Coming off them can be a bastard though, similar to cold turkey. I think I have a decent diet and do take centrum normally but will replace these with the pharmaton.

Regarding your sweet tooth, join the gang. I overcome my major craving with pineapples. I could eat them all day. I have also replaced chocolate with jelly beans and hard boiled sweets. I know they are full of refined sugars but they are low on fats so I fool myself into thinking they are better than chocolate.

A dietician or sports scientist reading this probably think I'm a nut but placebo effect or not all of the above work for me !

Woddle · 06-03-2009 04:22PM

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

pharmaton (actually the OH is sticking me on them). !

My wife picked these up for me today on her lunch break, I think them combined with the no pressure approach will sort me out.
And thanks for all the helpful comments.

TheRoadRunner · 06-03-2009 05:50PM

If they don't help you I have access to EPO

"It's what you do next that counts"

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