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What??? You're running ANOTHER marathon!!!

ncmc

So I’m jumping on the band wagon and have decided to start my own log. I’ve been promised by some of the experts on here that it will keep me motivated over the winter, so with visions of me chomping at the bit to get out jogging, here it goes!

A little bit about me, I’m a 33 year old female, been running on and off for about 3 years, but very intermittent up until this year when I decided I wanted to run DCM. I followed Hal Higdon Novice 2 for the marathon and was delighted to beat my target by 3 minutes, 3:57. I felt the marathon couldn’t have gone better, followed the 4 hour pacers until mile 20 and then pushed on. Got a negative split, didn’t hit the wall or experience any severe fatigue, in fact I felt perfect 5 minutes after the marathon, so I am beginning to wonder now if I didn’t push myself hard enough. I think I have a tendency towards conservatism when it comes to setting goals!

I have almost 900 miles run this year so far, so should have no problem hitting 1000 miles by the end of the year. Seems like a long time ago that I set that goal on a cold January evening!

I haven’t ran many races, only one 10k, one half marathon, and one marathon. My times are as follows:

10k (April): 48:50
½ Marathon (August): 1:48:30
Marathon (DCM): 3:57:47

So my immediate goals are to hit 1000 miles for the year, and race the Waterford ½ marathon in December. I think I will follow the 1:45 pacers as my legs are still a bit tired from the marathon and I don’t want to push it too much. I would aim then to do a 1:40 half in the Spring. Slightly longer term, I would like to run Cork City Marathon in June. I am possibly dreaming, but I have it in my head that I would like to do a Sub 3:30…. Is this a pipe dream?

I intend to follow one of the P&D plans, have downloaded the book and am ready to get stuck in, so I will go from a max of 37 miles on HH2 to a max of 55 miles. I think I could definitely work on my nutrition as well, I ate nothing but rubbish in the run up to DCM.

So here it goes, any advice or comments very welcome!

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docjewel

You up @ 7:30 at the weekend,your starting to become a P&D addict:-D:-D

Next you'll be telling us that you didn't have takeaway after the pub to tonight:-D

Good running by the way,enjoy your LAST night out before Cork :-P

ncmc

I'm making no promises D, it's a long time til June 3rd!

RedRunner

ncmc wrote: »

18 miles @ 9:16

So after a sober night last night, great to feel that smug satisfaction of not drinking for a change! Up early, well 7:30 which is early for me! Bowl of porridge consumed, back to bed for 45 mins On the road running by 9am. Pretty uneventful run really, felt quite tired. Was going to try and go gel free but took one at mile 12. Got wet a couple of times but yet the weather was quite mild so it was one of those frustrating 'jacket on/off/on/off situations. Was wrecked by the end of it, but at least it's done now and I can head out tonight guilt free. Mind you, after this weeks running, I'd get drunk on the contents of a barmans wipe rag I'd say so better take it handy.

Blister watch: day 3: my blisters now have blisters! Not good! Hoping they'll ease of as I break my trainers in more.

First week of 50 miles! Feels pretty good!

That's great running WITH blisters! Do you just put plasters on them or have you some other treatment for allowing you to run on them?

Steroo

Good run ncmc! Nice to hit the 50 mark

enjoy the rewards

blockic

RedRunner wrote: »

That's great running WITH blisters! Do you just put plasters on them or have you some other treatment for allowing you to run on them?

Ya need to burst them! Only way forward!

Beef

Some serious training going on here since I last checked in. Fair play - the improvements are so noticeable from the start of your log...

ncmc

11 miles: 3 w/u, 6 @ HMP, 2 c/d

Was really close to bailing on this run, was doing calculations on how I could skip it and still make my mileage for the week. My head started to hurt and I was running out of fingers and toes to count on so I said feck it and headed out.

3 miles warm up, felt a bit of a pain in my Achilles and calf, hope that's nothing serious. HMP splits were 7:26, 7:11, 7:28, 7:26, 7:30, 7:21. 2 miles cool down to finish out the run.

Felt absolutely wrecked I have to say, legs struggled with the pace tonight and I think I gave more than one person the fright of their lives coming up behind them wheezing and panting! Glad to have that run out of the way, I find the HMP runs more difficult than the LSRs, I don't know if I feel more or less confident about Wexford Half after tonight! The thought of doing over twice that distance at that speed seems like a big ask at the moment. Ah well, we can but try!

Got my number for Cork today, 423

They're slowly but surely creeping up!

statss

Hey NCMC,

I know how you feel :

The Thursday before the recent Bohermeen HM I did a HMP run and posted very similar 7ish miles like yourself. I too, wondered, how in God's name I could keep that up for 13.1 miles, but on the day, the pace felt quite comfortable with the adrenaline of the run and being surrounded by other runners. I even managed to throw in two 6ish miles at the end and I think the prior HMP run really helped. I've the Wicklow HM this Sunday and I'm planning the same HMP tomorrow night. You'll be flying for Wexford
:-)

scriba

+1

Before my last race, 9 days out, I couldn't even finish my prescribed miles at LT pace. I was in bits, and felt like I hadn't progressed at all in months. Come race day, I ran stronger, and smoother than I had ever run before. Remember, your effort tonight will stand you in great stead, training your body for the race. You will be so much better on the day.

career_move

That was a brilliant session. Well done. Agree with scriba and statss sub 1:40 will be no bother to you......in fact I think that is a very soft target. I think my 1:36 could be in trouble

ncmc

Thursday - rest - monsoon like conditions down here, no way I was going out in that!

Friday - 8 miles @ 8:55

Definite twinge in my Achilles/ lower calf which I have never had before. It was quite painful while running and even more so when I got home. I stretched and rolled it (don't adjust your internets - you are not seeing things!) I even iced it for a while. It's definitely a lot better this morning, but I can still feel it. Not sure what would have caused the pain. I'm due to do 20 miles tomorrow so debating whether to do a very easy 5-6 today to test it out.

I'm hoping its not my new trainers, Sunday was the first lsr I ran in them and this pain has been there on subsequent runs. Really could do without the expense of buying another new pair.

Dilbert75

Your Achilles pain sounds a lot like mine - touch wood, a couple of days rest and a lot of foam rolling of my calves - which were VERY sore - seems to have tackled it quite well. But I've 24k LSR with 19k PMP to do so that'll tell a lot.

ncmc

The foam rolling did help a lot I have to say, it's funny because with one thing and another, I've had a lot of rest this week so my legs should be fresh. Thankfully I don't have any pmp on my lsr tomorrow so I'll just take it really really handy.

blockic

ncmc wrote: »

The foam rolling did help a lot I have to say.

I'm surprised you even have one! :P

Gavlor

blockic wrote: »

I'm surprised you even have one! :P

Sexist

Steroo

Did you get out and test it?
Keep rolling and stretching them. Find many tight spots? We are bound to pick up a few niggles along the way.

ncmc

I did 6 very slow miles today, 9:45. But here's the thing - I wore my old trainers and the calf felt pretty good.

So now I am in a bit of a quandary about what to wear on my lsr tomorrow. My old trainers are pretty battered, they must have 600 miles on them, but I'm beginning to wonder if the new trainers are causing the calf pain. My new trainers have a lower heel to toe ratio than my old pair (inspired by Born to Run I thought I'd aim for a less built up shoe) I suppose it's to be expected that my legs will take a while to get used to the change. I don't notice it on faster runs because I find on faster runs I am landing more on my fore foot, it's the longer runs when I'm probably landing more on my heel that I'm find the problem.

Thinking at the moment that I should persevere and wear them tomorrow. Could really do without the expense of buying another pair. Between the trainers, entering Cork and Wexford HM, it's been an expensive kinda month!

Steroo

Good you go through it no issues. I'd go with the old pair tomorrow. And try the new ones again next week and see if any issues. Lsr is too important to risk it?!

Gavlor

ncmc wrote: »

I did 6 very slow miles today, 9:45. But here's the thing - I wore my old trainers and the calf felt pretty good.

So now I am in a bit of a quandary about what to wear on my lsr tomorrow. My old trainers are pretty battered, they must have 600 miles on them, but I'm beginning to wonder if the new trainers are causing the calf pain. My new trainers have a lower heel to toe ratio than my old pair (inspired by Born to Run I thought I'd aim for a less built up shoe) I suppose it's to be expected that my legs will take a while to get used to the change. I don't notice it on faster runs because I find on faster runs I am landing more on my fore foot, it's the longer runs when I'm probably landing more on my heel that I'm find the problem.

Thinking at the moment that I should persevere and wear them tomorrow. Could really do without the expense of buying another pair. Between the trainers, entering Cork and Wexford HM, it's been an expensive kinda month!

For what it's worth, I use my support runner (2170's) for anything over 13 miles and my lighter shoe (gel os racer) for 13 and under. I find the lighter shoe too harsh on my legs on longer distances

ncmc

That's a good tip Gavlor, it makes sense really, I suppose as you get tired, you're probably more likely to heel strike and that's where the extra support comes in handy. I think I'll do as Stephen suggests and wear my old pair tomorrow and keep my Mizuno for shorter runs and speed sessions.

Beef

I know you're trying to reduce the cushioning and go more minimalist but maybe that's a long term thing you should phase in. I follow a rule of run in what's most comfortable. You're running too many miles to just jump from one style of shoe to another overnight, especially in the middle of a tough marathon training schedule. IMHO of course. Go with what feels right... :-)

Dilbert75

+1

When I changed from New Balance to Brooks I really felt it in my calves, even though they were similar support and drop. Took a good while to adapt.

ncmc

What did you do while you wear adjusting Dilbert? Did you only wear your Brooks or did you alternate between the two pairs?

Dilbert75

I got the Brooks before the Edinburgh Marathon and found my calves were too sore with the distances I was trying to do at that stage. So I put them away till I went back to shorter distances after that and allowed myself to get used to them more gradually at shorter distances.

docjewel

Might be worth looking at the way you tie your laces in the runners.

Have a look at this link,was suggested to me by a friend last year when I had a little niggle with the dreaded achilles.

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/custom-tie-your-running-shoes?page=5

ncmc

20 miles @ 9:13

As everyone else has said, it was Baltic out there today. Me and Libby decided to drive up to the city to vary our routine a bit so we parked at the bottom of Centre Park Rd and ran along the harbour path to Blackrock and on to Hartys Quay and Rochestown.... Oh my god, the wind! I didn't know it was possible to get cold eyeballs! Libby accompanied me for 7 miles, thanks for the company buddy! These were my slowest miles as I got used to the cold and wind and also lost about a minute putting her back in the car (don't worry, I didn't leave her there the whole time - my husband picked her up after he finished work!)

I picked up my pace after this, the last 13 miles were averaging about 8:50 which is more where I should be with my pace. Really enjoyed today's run despite the cold. Had a good audio book to listen to and this has to be the flattest route in the entire country!

No gels for me today! And only a little bit of water with a Hi 5 tablet at 7 miles. Really didn't feel like I needed anything. I was actually hungry as it was a few hours since breakfast, so pretty pleased I managed the whole run without a gel or anything.

Wore my old trainers and while my calf is sore now, I was pretty comfortable during the run. Great run all in all, delighted to have hit that milestone again and even more delighted with how fresh I feel after it.

Ps. Had a cappuccino and a muffin to warm up afterwards, oh my it was heavenly! It's worth running 20 miles to have that to look forward to!

blockic

ncmc wrote: »

Me and Libby decided to drive up to the city to vary our routine a bit so we parked at the bottom of Centre Park Rd and ran along the harbour path to Blackrock and on to Hartys Quay and Rochestown....

Why didn't you do that last week!!:rolleyes: Will have to get our timing right next time!!

That hill after blackrock village is a bit of a sneak but after that it's dead flat alright! Nice on a sunny day id say (if ever we get one)

Nicely done on the LSR what's the max you are going to go to?

Think I done a 20, two 21s and a 22.

ncmc

You would have zoomed past me at the speed I was going anyway! Although I'm sure all the male joggers today thought I was been a total perv, as I was staring to see if one if them was you, I was sure you would have copped on it was me with the dog

I think I will do the same, a 20, 21 and 22, I think the confidence boost of doing 22 will be a help. I'm nearly sorry I didn't push on today, but at the time I was just cold and wanted to get home!

Steroo

You're cruising! ESP is that cold and wind.

Dilbert75

ncmc wrote: »

I'm nearly sorry I didn't push on today, but at the time I was just cold and wanted to get home!

Am I the only one wondering why being cold and wanting to get home made you run less quickly?:P