How long does it take for a plodder to get to Boston?

Running Bing · 16-03-2009 04:11PM

Todays workout was the same as last Mondays (post no.27) but with an 800 instead of the 400's. Target pace for the 200's was 46 seconds and for the 800's 3:08. Went as follows:

10 minute warm-up

Set 1:
200:46
200:44
800:3:08

Set 2
200:46
200:44
800:3:07

Set 3:
200:45
200:44
800:3:08

Legs felt tired and sore from yesterdays race so I was happy to keep to the required pace for all the reps. Felt fine for the most part (200's are very comfortable) but I had to push it on the last 800 to stay on pace.

Good workout though and I'm feeling a bit more upbeat after it:)

shels4ever · 16-03-2009 05:05PM

Babybing wrote: »

Very disappointing day today. Ran a 21:52:( Gutted with that tbh. My k splits were as follows:

1k: 4:24 (pressed the start button late as well. This is way too slow)
2k: 4:11
3k: 4:21
4k: 4:29
5k: 4:09

Im a fair bit lighter now than I was on Jan 1st (when I ran 21:30), have a stronger core, I feel my form has improved, my diet was better leading up to this race and Im running 28 miles a week now versus less than 20 leading up to the last one and I still ran slower:mad:

Ive had a tough week this week with two pretty tough speed sessions and a 90 minute long run on Thursday and I had a very stressful week at college so maybe that accounts for it but the big thing for me is the lack of progress after all that base training.

Two and a half months of aerobic running and I feel it has got me nowhere. The writing was on the wall tbh and I had a feeling I would have a very hard time setting a PB today but its still disappointing.

Depressing really but in a way it makes me more determined than ever. Im doing workouts now that I am 100% sure will make a difference so hopefully my times start to fall.

Sick of all that easy sh1te anyway. Time to push it a bit I think.

Hi there,
I wouldn't worry about that time at all. I had phases where I increased training and my times either improved very very little or actually regressed.

I found that my speedwork did pay off but it took 4-6 week before I actually noticed any return in race time

I think you should set your sights on a race at all, Also you seem to have run the race on the back of a hard week, sometimes less is more when it comes to race weeks and if you really want to target a time / race you need to reduce or taper for it even for shorter races. In the end of the day you were only 4 sec's per k slower. Your training will stand to you long term and nobody pb's in ever race

Also your 800 times look very quick , i don't think I could live with them and i'd hope to run close to sub 21 mins for 5k now.

Running Bing · 16-03-2009 06:58PM

shels4ever wrote: »

Hi there,
I wouldn't worry about that time at all. I had phases where I increased training and my times either improved very very little or actually regressed.

I found that my speedwork did pay off but it took 4-6 week before I actually noticed any return in race time

I think you should set your sights on a race at all, Also you seem to have run the race on the back of a hard week, sometimes less is more when it comes to race weeks and if you really want to target a time / race you need to reduce or taper for it even for shorter races. In the end of the day you were only 4 sec's per k slower. Your training will stand to you long term and nobody pb's in ever race

Also your 800 times look very quick , i don't think I could live with them and i'd hope to run close to sub 21 mins for 5k now.

Yeah wise words there shels. I feel a bit better about it today...as you point out it was a hard week and it was'nt a crucial race for me (hence the lack of taper).

Could've been a lot worse........when I finished the race I thought it was very very slow. I did'nt see the time as I finished the line and I had my Garmin set to show average lap pace (i.e. lap per kilometre)...I could've sworn I seen 5:24 per K:eek::eek: With that I just hit the reset button.:P

Running Bing · 18-03-2009 05:42PM

Tuesday: Legs very sore and heavy after the race on Sunday and rep workout on Monday so I took it very easy. 5 mile recovery jog @ 9:25 pace.

Wednesday: What a gorgeous day for running. I've decided to up the pace a bit on my easy days. Did 4.3 miles today @ 8:32 pace and it felt great. There was a time when I found it very very tough to run under 10 min/miles on my easy days, naturally as my marathon training progressed I got more used to this pace and I have been used to it for a very long time. The problem is I think I got too used to it. It got to the stage that while 9:50-10:00 pace felt very very easy if I tried to up it it didnt feel normal. Running at 8:30 pace today I realised that I am well capable of it and it felt pretty natural.

For my 5k time Mcmillan says my easy runs should be between 8:30-9:00 so todays run was at the faster end and still felt comfortable. So Im hoping this pace (like the 9:50 min/mile pace before it) will eventually feel very very easy and I can up the pace again.

Of course Ill still do some runs a bit slower at recovery pace if I really need to (like yesterday) but from now on I think its time I revised what "easy" really feels like:cool:

cfitz · 18-03-2009 05:57PM

Even when not easing up for a race, I would consider it very unusual to do an interval session the day after a race. When racing I would suggest switching around your week just a little bit so you have an easy run the day after a race.

Running Bing · 18-03-2009 06:01PM

cfitz wrote: »

Even when not easing up for a race, I would consider it very unusual to do an interval session the day after a race. When racing I would suggest switching around your week just a little bit so you have an easy run the day after a race.

Yeah I dont know why I did that. I could've easily done the interval session yesterday or even today.

I think I just woke up on Monday ready to bite the ass off a bear after Sundays race:o

Definite mistake. Lesson learned:D

Running Bing · 20-03-2009 07:13PM

Thursday: Rest day

Friday: Had one of the best runs of my life today:D

1 mile warm up
20 minutes @ Tempo Pace (7:11.....but that was a bit fast, I was going for 7:17:o)
Straight into 6x200m with 200m recovery jogs (aim was 46 seconds)
2 mile cool down

200's went:

47
45
45
46
47
46

Weather was absolutely glorious and the 200's felt effortless. Tempo run (done around the track) felt just right....comfortably hard and feel I could've kept at that pace in a race for around an hour.

Finished the run and just sat on the grass taking in some rays:cool: Dont know what it was but it just felt great.:pac:

Running Bing · 21-03-2009 04:03PM

4 miles today @ 8:32 pace. Average Heart rate=142

Before I upped the pace of the easy runs I was running @ 9:30-10:10 pace and my average heart rate was in the 140-150 range (usually around 145).

Strange thing the human body:rolleyes:

Running Bing · 24-03-2009 02:04PM

Sunday: Long run of 8 miles @9:21 pace . Was tough after a late night on Saturday. My Sunday long run usually doesnt feel great because of late nights the night before:rolleyes: Have to make more of an effort to get to bed earlier on a Saturday or maybe move the long run (Im just so used to doing it on Sundays now:o).

Monday: Felt tired today after a busy weekend and felt a slight twinge in my right knee so decided to take a rest day.

Today: 3x(2x200m with 200m recovery+1x400m with 400m recovery). Aiming for 46 secs for the 200's and 1:34 for the 400's:

200:44
200:45
400: 1:34

200:45
200:50 (Garmin decided to go haywire on this one;))
400: 1:34

200:45
200:46
400: 1:35

Very strong wind down the back straight but I must say this workout feels pretty comfortable for me. I can run the required pace quite relaxed. As I said Ive noticed a slight twinge in my right knee. Its not sore or painful but Ill keep an eye on it. The past couple of weeks have been pretty intense for me running wise so if it develops any further Ill cut down the mileage, the intensity or both.

cfitz · 24-03-2009 03:27PM

What's the next step regarding that interval session? Will you be doing it again for a few more weeks or is the next one faster/more reps/shorter recovery?

Running Bing · 24-03-2009 03:37PM

cfitz wrote: »

What's the next step regarding that interval session? Will you be doing it again for a few more weeks or is the next one faster/more reps/shorter recovery?

Well this is phase 2 of 4 of the programme and Daniels calls it early quality training.

Its basically just about introducing the faster running and these short "rep" workouts are given priority.

In the next phase (which begins in three weeks time) longer interval sessions are given priority so things like 800's and 1000's.

Running Bing · 27-03-2009 09:16AM

Wednesday: 5 mile recovery jog. Took it very easy as it was wedged in between two tough sessions.

Thursday:

1 mile warm-up
5x800m with 2 minutes rest
2 mile cool down with strides (just to get used to the new spikes;))

I was a bit apprehensive about this workout after that bad interval session a couple of weeks back (post 28). I decided to do 5x800 instead of the 4x1000 I did that week.

Turned out a fantastic workout. Was aiming for 3:20 pace and it went:

3:10
3:14
3:08
3:10
3:14

so a bit ahead of pace and it was pretty windy but it still felt very doable which was good. In fact I am wondering if it was tough enough to be classed as a vo2max workout? I see a lot of places say such workouts should be done between 95-98% of max heart rate:eek: The highest my HR reached the whole session was 91% and my average heart rate during the intervals hovered between 85-87%.

After the intervals I whacked on the new spikes just to try them out. Felt great....like running barefoot and such a difference from my big clunky training shoes:D

Wind aside the weather was glorious too....and just as I finished and got to the car the rain started:D So a good day all round;)

Running Bing · 30-03-2009 05:19PM

Friday: 4 miles @8:46 pace

Saturday: Decided to try a few cruise intervals. Cfitz mentioned earlier in the log that three harder sessions a week was a lot for somebody at my level so Im taking it cautiously on that front. I felt good on Saturday and and legs felt strong so I decided to give it a try to see how demanding it was. after a 1 mile warm up I did 4x1000m at tempo pace (7:16-7:33) with 1 minute rests and followed it with a 1 mile cooldown. Felt fine, not very tough at all and the legs felt grand the next day. I think the fact I am only doing 4x1000's means its not a particularly demanding workout....I'll play it by ear in the future. If Im not feeling 100% I would have no qualms about dropping this workout.

Sunday: Long run of 8.5 miles @9:26 pace

Pretty good week for me. Got in two good interval sessions, a bit of running at tempo pace and the pace of my easy runs is falling. One thing I have to pay more attention to is my core work. Ive only got in two sessions a week for the past few weeks when ideally I would like three.

shels4ever · 30-03-2009 05:43PM

Babybing wrote: »

Friday: 4 miles @8:46 pace

Saturday: Decided to try a few cruise intervals. Cfitz mentioned earlier in the log that three harder sessions a week was a lot for somebody at my level so Im taking it cautiously on that front. I felt good on Saturday and and legs felt strong so I decided to give it a try to see how demanding it was. after a 1 mile warm up I did 4x1000m at tempo pace (7:16-7:33) with 1 minute rests and followed it with a 1 mile cooldown. Felt fine, not very tough at all and the legs felt grand the next day. I think the fact I am only doing 4x1000's means its not a particularly demanding workout....I'll play it by ear in the future. If Im not feeling 100% I would have no qualms about dropping this workout.

Sunday: Long run of 8.5 miles @9:26 pace

Pretty good week for me. Got in two good interval sessions, a bit of running at tempo pace and the pace of my easy runs is falling. One thing I have to pay more attention to is my core work. Ive only got in two sessions a week for the past few weeks when ideally I would like three.

You'll be in good shape come the time of the Graded leagues in the the summer..

Running Bing · 31-03-2009 09:24PM

Was supposed to run a 3000m race tonight. I was held up a bit today and had to rush out without a proper idea of where Morton Stadium was...by the time I found it the race was underway:( I wouldnt mind but I was literally 500 yards from the place but thought I was heading in the wrong direction and turned around:mad:

Just in now and Im pretty livid. I was very up for this race and felt confident I could run it well......was looking forward to it for the past week:rolleyes:

anyway what's done is done, Ill get a bit of faster running in tomorrow seeing as I missed the race.

shels4ever · 31-03-2009 10:16PM

Babybing wrote: »

Was supposed to run a 3000m race tonight. I was held up a bit today and had to rush out without a proper idea of where Morton Stadium was...by the time I found it the race was underway:( I wouldnt mind but I was literally 500 yards from the place but thought I was heading in the wrong direction and turned around:mad:

Just in now and Im pretty livid. I was very up for this race and felt confident I could run it well......was looking forward to it for the past week:rolleyes:

anyway what's done is done, Ill get a bit of faster running in tomorrow seeing as I missed the race.

Thats a pity, was this been run on the Track tonight? Did you have any planned time or target sub 13 or quicker?

Running Bing · 31-03-2009 10:26PM

shels4ever wrote: »

Thats a pity, was this been run on the Track tonight? Did you have any planned time or target sub 13 or quicker?

Yeah it was being run on the track up in Morton. My 5k time put me at 12:19 so I was aiming for something around that, really felt I could've had a good crack at sub 12 though.

There's a mile race at the end of the month so Ill just have to wait for that.....Im itching to go at this stage.;)

Running Bing · 02-04-2009 05:26PM

Wednesday: 3x(2x200m with 200m recovery + 800m with 800m recovery)

Went as follows:

200-45
200-45
800-3:10

200-47
200-43
800-3:08

200-49
200-44
800-3:06

Couldnt get into the swing of things at all yesterday. Hit my target times on most of the reps but it didnt feel great, found the 800's tough enough.

Thursday: 6 miles @8:58 pace. Took it nice and easy after the tough workout yesterday (plus I have a tempo run tomorrow). Absolutely beautiful day, Id take that for the rest of the summer;)

Running Bing · 05-04-2009 05:27PM

Friday: Went out on my run today planning to do a tempo run but decided to postpone it because of the weather and because I needed to go to the toilet

So I did 6 miles at a snails pace keeping the heart rate around the 130 mark (65% max). Very slow easy run but such sessions cant do any harm.

Saturday:

1 mile warm-up
40 minute tempo
4x200m with 200m recovery jogs
1 mile warm down

Tough enough workout this. The plan was to run the Tempo at an adjusted tempo pace (so my standard tempo pace for 20 minutes + a 15 second per mile adjustment for the longer distance). Ran 7:15 per mile which was a bit fast (plan was to run 7:32's) but it still felt comfortably hard.

I find tempo runs more mentally demanding than physically. There's something about going at that pace, just on the cusp of being hard, that can be pretty draining. Still feel absolutely great afterwards though.

Ran the 200's in:

1.45
2.46
3.44
4.43

I covered 5.5 miles in the 40 minutes and I kept a nice even pace which felt very doable so that gives me confidence I could make a good crack at a 45 min 10k (going to be a while before I try that though

).

Sunday: Did a lot of running in yesterdays workout so made sure to take it easy on todays long run.

8 miles, 9:49 pace, 70% HR. Not very fast but a beautiful early morning run. Very enjoyable.

Running Bing · 05-04-2009 05:33PM

Just want to get people's opinions on this.

Im running 34 miles a week now and I feel Im getting pretty used to the faster paced workouts now. I have another 5 weeks training at this level before I go onto harder training and Im toying with the idea of upping the mileage to 40 mpw.

I run 6 days a week and I managed my 34 miles this week with 5 days of running.

Do people think there would be much of a benefit from upping the mileage?

Could it potentially do more damage than good (e.g.injuries, burnout) or would the extra mileage serve me well?

Id really like to hear what people think on this because I'm not sure what to do myself

Woddle · 05-04-2009 05:54PM

I think quality over quantity is all you need. You've no plans for the marathon and your main goal is shorter stuff so I would continue doing what your doing. Its easy to get carried away with doing big milage but if JD is telling you 34, then 34 it is.

shels4ever · 05-04-2009 06:35PM

Babybing wrote: »

Just want to get people's opinions on this.

Im running 34 miles a week now and I feel Im getting pretty used to the faster paced workouts now. I have another 5 weeks training at this level before I go onto harder training and Im toying with the idea of upping the mileage to 40 mpw.

I run 6 days a week and I managed my 34 miles this week with 5 days of running.

Do people think there would be much of a benefit from upping the mileage?

Could it potentially do more damage than good (e.g.injuries, burnout) or would the extra mileage serve me well?

Id really like to hear what people think on this because I'm not sure what to do myself

It really depends on your base for me higher mileage has helped a lot but it was more down to shifting weight, for you I think quality session and runs not longer then 90 mins should be enough.
Don't worry what your weekly total is in miles thats not really important its your quality sessions, they usually take care of the mileage but it shouldnt be a play to run 4X miles a week.

Running Bing · 06-04-2009 05:01PM

Cheers fella's. I think I'll stick with my current mileage for the time being.

Monday: 3x(2x200 with 200m recovery jogs+1x400m with 400 meter recovery jog. One mile warm-up and cool down.

200:45
200:44
400:1.28

200:44
200:45
400:1:30

200:45
200:44
400:1.29

Horrible, miserable, wet day and the gravel track I did it on was in very bad nick. Its been closed for weeks because they have been upgrading the banked cycle oval around the running track and extra gravel seems to have built up in places around the track. Still, I shouldn't complain as its free and I must say it turned out to be a very enjoyable workout despite the conditions:cool:

Running Bing · 08-04-2009 04:15PM

Tuesday: 5 miles @9 min pace

Wednesday: Fartlek

1 mile warm up
4x(2 min Hard 1 min easy, 1 min hard 30 secs easy, 30 sec hard 30 sec easy)
1.5 mile cool down

First time I did this workout and I did'nt really like it. Pace on the hard sections varied between 6:20-7:00 but I was'nt too bothered as I did it on uneven grassy terrain and the wind was brutal, bottom line is it felt hard;).

I find its a lot tougher to go hard for a set amount of time than for a set distance. It felt very tough and I was exhausted at the end but it just doesnt seem to me as beneficial as the more structured workouts. Thankfully there's not too many of these on the plan Im following.

Running Bing · 09-04-2009 05:56PM

Every now and then I take a drive to the Phoenix park to do a run just to remind myself what a beautiful place it is to train.

Absolutely love running along the trails up there. Wasn't a fast run, 8 miles @ 9:43 pace but really enjoyable.

Off to London tonight for the weekend so not sure how Im going to fit the running in. I made sure to get all the heavy stuff for the week out of the way so it will most likely be a couple of easy days on a treadmill.:D

Running Bing · 14-04-2009 01:40PM

Saturday: Tried to do cruise intervals on a treadmill. Plan was 1 mile warmup, 5x1000m at Tempo pace with 1 minute rests, 1 mile warm down. It felt weird though, far too easy. Then I started thinking was the treadmill in Kilometres instead of miles but it did not feel easy enough for that to be the case. Maybe I didnt have enough gradient on. I started with no gradient (forgot about it:o) then bumped it up to 3% and then 5%. Anyway it was the first time Ive used a treadmill and didnt really like it (although I can see it could be a very efficient way to get the legs used to a specific pace)...at least I got some miles onto the legs.

Sunday: A beautiful 5 miles around London. I really love running when Im away on holidays because I find it a great way to see lots of a place in a short space of time and also you get more of a feel for the place than just walking around touristy areas.

Lots of people Ive talked to dont like London but I thought it was an amazing place. Absolutely loved it and Ill definitely be back over soon. Legs are killing me today after all the walking. I should've worn the Garmin to see how many miles I actually walked but it was a lot.

Naturally my diet was awful over the weekend. Fry ups, pies, fish and chips, burgers and lots of Beer:rolleyes: But you need a few days like that every few months just to keep you sane;)

Running Bing · 15-04-2009 04:31PM

Wednesday:

1.5 mile warm up
3x(2x200m with 200m recovery jogs+1x800m with 800m recovery jog)
1.5 mile cool down

200:46
200:44
800:3.01

200:43
200:46
800:3.03

200:44
200:45
800:3.03

Absolutely miserable day again:rolleyes: Rain was pouring down and I had to do a bit of puddle dodging on the track so happy enough with those times.

Hard workout and my quads are a bit sore now.

Ill get back to my core work tonight after a few days off. Have to make a bit of an effort to eat healthier too but the pile of easter eggs and duty free staples (white toblerone, milka bar and bitesize Dime;)) sitting in the kitchen is'nt helping.:D

Running Bing · 17-04-2009 04:38PM

Thursday: Easy Run. Just over 6 miles @ 8:46 pace. Another horrible day. Got drenched but the run felt pretty good.

Friday:

1.5 mile warm up
20 minutes at Tempo pace (7:12)
6x200m with 200m recovery
1 mile cool down

200's went:

200:41
200:41
200:43
200:42
200:42
200:42

Pretty hard but enjoyable workout. Did it on my local 200m track which is usually deserted but today some old lady decided she was going to walk the very inside of the track forcing me to run around her every lap:rolleyes:

She left for the last few mins of my tempo run and then decided to come back and resume her position just as I was starting my reps:mad:

.....at least the weather was better today. Looking really forward to racing now:D

cfitz · 17-04-2009 06:54PM

When are you hoping to race next? Does your schedule have suggested dates for races and/or time-trials?

Running Bing · 17-04-2009 07:19PM

cfitz wrote: »

When are you hoping to race next? Does your schedule have suggested dates for races and/or time-trials?

No suggested races on the schedule cfitz.

Im hoping to run in Clonliffes Grand Prix mile at the end of the month (I'll probably also do the 800 the following week).

After that Ill do the Trinity Track meet mid May and the BHAA track series in August.

Think the graded meets might be a bit beyond me this year but Ill keep my eye out for any other opportunities to race the mile or 3000m.

Tbh I would'nt be obsessive about the racing this summer. I see it more as an intro to shorter distances with the focus just being on getting a good level of running fitness rather than competing/setting fast times.

After that Ill do a bit of cross country over the winter, get the mileage up and hopefully by next summer Ill be able to run some decent mile times and put in a half decent showing at the graded meets.

How long does it take for a plodder to get to Boston?

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