Becoming a Real Runner

OK, now for the serious work to begin again. December was a complete wrtie off, I did 3 races, all quite disappointing in terms of time and apart from that I did very little else. I basically did no hill work, speed work or LSR's. I have been eating and drinking like a pig for the last 2 weeks and feeling very lethargic. I went to the gym today to try the threadmill and manage to knock out 4 miles in 35 minutes. It really felt tough. I think I have picked up a small cold from having drank and eaten so much and a m a little run down.
However I am off work till thursday so I fully intend to get running every day. Things seem to be thawing today in dublin so maybe tomorrow I will get to Tymon park for a few laps around the grass.

BTW I weighed myself at the gym and came in a 76.4kg so I am up about 2kg over christmas which is actually less than I thought. I can certainly feel an extra layer of fat all over me. I plan to be very good food wise for the next month and hope to be in decent shape again by the time the Raheny 5 mile comes around.....

Hey UL, I don't really know. I plan to do loads of races over the coming while- Raheny 5 miles at the end of the month and the 5k in dublin on 14th march for a start. I am planning on reaching most of my goals by summer/autumn- so I would like to run sub 35 for the 5mile in the adidas race series in July, break 1.40 for the half marathon in September and go under 20 minutes for the Rathfarnham 5k in early october, but I will race loads in the meantime and if I reach a goal earlier than planned then happy days!!

All thoughts of running today have gone. My slight headcold has developed into a bit of a chesty cough, and after reading the thread on running with a cold, it is probably best to give it a miss. I also see outside that lastnight brought fresh snow and ice, so not even the roads and certainly not the footpaths are in any way fit for running on. It will probably be the treadmill agin tomorrow :mad:

I never got out yesterday thanks to a combination of unexpectedly being called into work (took 7 hours to get to the airport and back) and then the road conditions did not allow me to get out in the dark. I also got the news that my gym is closed, so even 'dreadmiles are out. So Today I was forced to take action, and following RobinPH's advice on the 'running on ice' thread and a visit to a hardware store (half inch wood screws and some wood carving blades purchased) I took my old traines and did this to them:
http://img412.imageshack.us/i/iceshoes.jpg/

I have to say they performed fabtastically and this evenings planned 6 miles turned into 9 miles as I was enjoying myself so much:D The miles were slow at first but I speeded up as my confidence grew, and not one slip!!!
9 miles in 1hr 25, pace 9'30ish

Seriously, I was running over sheet ice and everything and not a slip, they are the bomb!!....ideally you use 1/2 inch sheet metal screws (they have an abrasive edge) but I couldn't find them, so I had to imporvise...I think hefsarmy stuck a cheese grater on each trainer!! So stick on whatever will give you a bit of friction. It only took me about half an hour to fix up the trainers.

5.8 gorgeous miles in tymon park this afternoon in 53 minutes (just over 9 min/miles). It was absolutely lovely, the sun was shining and the place was full of kids sledding down hills. Very enjoyable all in all, quite heavy in the legs though especially where the snow was deep.
Anyway thats five runs since last sunday and a little over 30 miles. I haven't run like this since the last few months of DCM training s I am delighted with myslef especially given the conditions. I hope to keep it up next week. I have to say that the 1000 mile challenge is a great motivator!!

Sub430 wrote: »

Good running sir, consistency is key, even treadmill is even becoming more bearable.

Ugghhh I just notce you have snuck ahead of me again on the 1000 mile challenge (waves fist). It is a great encouragement that thread!!! I have no idea how you manage to knock out so many miles on a treadmill. The most I have ever gone is 10k. It bores the hell out of me and always seems a lot tougher than outdoor running.

Thank god the paths have finally cleared and the weather is somewhat normal. Given the slow pace of recent icy runs, I decided to give it a decent clip tonight. There were still a few icy patches in shaded areas but no real scares apart from afew times I had to jump onto the road.
Anyway 5.7miles in 46.5 minutes. 8:12/mile pace. HR 158
Happy with that as there is still plenty to come from the heartrate, But i feel like there are still a few cobwebs tere that I need to shake off.

15.01.10 I did 4 sprightly miles on the threadmill in 32 minutes 8:00 pace after weights in the gym. weight is still the same as last week at 75.5KG

Today was LSR. Just over 10 miles on quite a hilly course in 1hr26 minutes. Pace 8:36, HR 155. I am quite happy with this, especially because the second loop felt much easier than the first. I took a stitch on the first loop and didn't get rid of it for about a mile, but it is always nice to run through the pain and come out the other end :pac: . I guess I shouldn't have eaten lunch before going out though. I missed a day on thursday due to the ice, so I will probably try ot get in a few miles tomorrow (even if they are hungover ones) to make up the 5 runs this week.

Yeah, the 1000 mile challenge is really doing the trick and since you are out of the way, I am concetrating on getting ahead of Sub430:D. On that subject I have just passed him out. Despite a feed of beer last night I went out for a recovery run. Tried to keep it slow and concentrate on not letting HR get above 150 (no mean feat with my hangover!!)
5.4 miles in 49:30. that's 9:11/mile and 146 HR
So this week I have got in 5 and a bit runs and 31.5 miles total. V Happy wiht that.
Next week I won't get in as many runs as I am off for a boozy weekend next friday morning and not back till monday. I will try to get four runs in this week anyway. Hopefully I will get a speed session on the track at UCD tomorrow night and an 8 or 9 miler on thursday.

6 miles tonight at a petty decent clip in 49 minutes exactly. Pace 8:10 HR 156. This is more or less the same course as I did last monday (except for a little extra loop at the end tonight to make up the 6 miles) and I went a little faster/lower heartrate, so I am pleased to be making some progress.
I signed up for the Raheny 5 last night. I am unsure what time to expect at that, so I am thining of doing a time trial round Tymon park next weekend. I have usually found that I run about 2.5 minutes faster in a 5 mile race than I can in trianing, so I am hoping that will give me a good indicaion of what pace I should be doing in Raheny.

Track tonight. I have been thinking of what kind of target to go for in the Raheny 5 at the weekend. So I decided to do a bit of a time trial tonight. 1 mile warm up (untimed) then 3 miles fast and one mile warm down (untimed). anyway, I covered the 3 tempo miles in 21.49 (7:16/mile, 169 av HR). Splits: 7:01 (167) 7:22 (169) 7:26 (170). (7:17 average)
From past race experience I can normally sustain about 175 AV HR over 5 miles, so I reckon I can get a bit quicker on sunday and hold it for 5. I'll stick my neck out and go for a 35:xx on sunday. Hopefully I can get as close to 35 flat as possible.