We're on the road again ......... to who knows where.

So after a long injury lay-off I'm back in action, I figure a new start needs a new log. Too many false starts and negativity in my old one





So, a brief history before I start;

I decided early 2014 that I was fed up being in such poor shape. Years on shift work and general laziness left me bang on 13 stone at only 5' 6". Something had to change. (I'm now down to 147 lbs and have gone from a 36" waist to 30")

I started to walk, cycle and run, I loved it. I tried to compete with mates that had been running for years, tried to get too fast too soon and paid the price. I tore my talofibular ligament. I happened mid summer and after a few long rests and trying again, I finally gave in, saw a physio, had a scan and was told there was no more running. My last 5k was November 1st 2014. It's been a long 5 months but I'm fairly confident at this stage that it's behind me and I can move on. I've had a few good test runs this month and all have gone well so far, even down the side of a mountain in Spain (that one may not have been advisable and wasn't really planned)

PBs;

I didn't run long enough to get terribly fit or terribly fast but I think I did alright for a beginner.

5k - 22:00
10k - 52:**

Any PB set at shorter distances was only as part of a longer run so there's very little point including them here.

That covers where I've been, now for where I want to go;

This year is going to be all about slowly building up a good fitness base, I need to increase the miles gradually and not concern myself with pace. This will hopefully benefit me when I eventually think about improving on my PBs.

Goals;

2015

All going well I have my eye on the Dublin race series, my longest runs to date were a few 12ks in training and that was 6 months ago so I may just do the 5 mile and 10k. I know any distance beyond that shouldn't be taken lightly so the 10 mile and HM may need to wait until next spring, 5 months of training should take me a long way but I'm not sure it'd take me up to HM levels. I have no intention of pushing myself too far and having to sit out for another 5 months.

Edit; I saw the Waterford HM mentioned elsewhere, it's in December so that may be a realistic target if I stay fit. If not then I'll wait till Spring.

If I end up going too fast this year I hope someone gives me a virtual slap and refers me back to this post. I don't want to dip much below 30 mins for a 5k (certainly not below 28mins) or 60 mins for a 10k.


2016 and beyond

DCM is a big goal for me, I'd love to do it next year but I suppose that all depends on when I do my first HM. I've been paying close attention to what people have been saying on here and it seems too many people go into it unprepared. I'm determined not to add my name to that list.

Why limit myself to a full marathon though, that's why the title says who knows where. If I hate it I'll drop back to shorter distances but if I love it maybe I'll go beyond that distance in 2, 3 or 4 years.

Pace - I'm sure I'll get good advice on this, I don't know if working on improving pace and distance in the one year is advisable. If it's a bad idea the I'll push some of my goals out to a later date.

5k - sub 20 mins - once I get there it'll be a case of seeing how low I can go. I think it's very realistic and I would've expected to be at or near that pace by now if I hadn't gotten injured.

10k - sub 45 minutes - again, see how low I can take it if I ever get to this time. I see this as a tougher goal that a 20 min 5k but that's probably because my fitness levels were never really high enough for running 10k in the first place.

Shorter distances would interest me once I start to work on pace, I have skinny legs so I may not really be suited to them. I was very fast in my early 20s over short distances though so who knows. If I get to that stage I'll speak to some of the shorter distance runners on here and ask for advice on realistic goals for anything under 5k.

Outside of running

To keep active during my enforced break I took up swimming and kept up a little cycling. I did a few duathlons last year and the local kayak run, they were really good. The aim is now to do a triathlon in 18 months - 2 years, it may take longer depending on how fast/slow I progress with swimming. I can comfortably do lengths with the front crawl and back crawl now but that's like saying if you can jog 100m you can run a 10k. Obviously I'd be going for the smaller try-a-tri events first to see how I get on. I still have a fear of water so that's a bit of a hindrance. I must ask on the swimming forums how much buoyancy a wet suit gives you to see if that gives me added confidence.

So, hopefully this is not another false start, I'll be taking advice from my physio every time I want to step things up and I'll pay closer attention to what people say on here. That should steer me in the right direction.

My current training plan is very basic.

Monday;

Rest.

Tuesday;

Strength and core work. 15-20 mins

Wednesday;

Swimming lesson.

Thurdsay;

Rest.

Friday;

5.4k run/walk - yesterday was walk 500m, run 1k, walk 500m, run 1.5k, walk 500m run 1.3k, walk 100m.
Increase the amount of running by 10% per week until running the full 5.4k

Saturday;

Strength and core work. 15- 20 mins

Sunday;

Cycle 18 - 19k on the Merida hybrid, about 50% on forrest trails.

I will add an extra day of running in there in about 3 or 4 weeks and another 4 or 5 weeks after that. At that stage it'll be 5 - 6 k runs mid week and an LSR at weekends, again, adding about 10% to the LSR each week. The cycling will go up too once I take the road bike out again. All I'm doing at the minute is based on advice from my physio.

My first planned event of the year, Darkness into light, is in 3 weeks time. Other than the race series, a few local duathlons and maybe 1 Parkrun a month, I have nothing else planned.