Every accomplishment starts with a decision to try

ThebitterLemon · 21-06-2015 12:33PM

Firedance wrote: »

Saturday 20th June Dunshauglin 10K

I signed up for this a while ago as I had done it last year and really hoping to see some 10K improvement since the K club earlier in the year. I knew it was very soon after the Chicago half but nothing ventured nothing gained... I must have put my 5 mile time into half a dozen race calculators to see what it gave me, they all said the same thing, well under 55 (in fact under 54) but I knew how tired I was feeling during the week, I was hoping for better but sub 55 was the goal. The pre race nerves kicked in from about Thursday onwards. .

I arrived before 6.30 and got a parking spot in the college which would mean I could change on my way to the refreshments, handy. Met Adrian at this point. I was feeling quite nervous and wondering why the hec I sign myself up for these things. Went in to get my number and then off to do a warm up, some strides, & drills trying to replicate what I done before the 5 miler and off to the start where I met a good number of clubmates. The girls team were hoping to do well. There didn't seem to be any of the messing with getting people back to the start line that there was last year and I'm assuming we started on time.

pace plan was 8.25/8.30 for the first two miles then hang on to 8.40 or as close as possible to the finish.

Mile 1: 8.30 HR 157: Last year I shot off here (new to the club) and paid very dearly from mile 2 onwards, this time I kept a very close eye on the watch. Felt at times like I was going way too slow, was being passed by 'everyone' but stuck to the plan.
Mile 2: 8.44 HR 163: I was still feeling reasonably ok here, lots of support in the first couple of miles which is great, not sure why this was slower than I'd planned but no panic just yet.
Mile 3: 8.27 HR 166: All going ok although the effort is starting to increase here, beautiful sunny eve and while I was starting to feel the heat I reminded myself I'd run 13.1 miles in far hotter conditions so this was a doddle :-) and I was half way home. The girl calling splits at the 5K mark said 27.18 I think
Mile 4: 8.39 HR 166. Garmin says the elevation gain starts around here and increases through mile 5, I'm passing people from this stage on, major improvement on last year!
Mile 5: 8.47 HR 168, my memory of the hills last year was that they went on forever and they were very steep - not so much this year...I powered up them passing 4 people along the way, I can see 2 more runners in the distance and I decide to pick them off one at a time. I know my pace has slowed but the effort felt the same and as long as I was pushing on as best I could I'd be happy. It was hot as hell now.
Mile 6: 8.53 HR 171. I had ran past what I thought was the last water station a while back but another one materialised with a mile to go, I should have let it go but didn't and slowed to take the cup, most of it going over my head, I said to myself at the time I was going to regret that stop, it possibly cost me 11 seconds (or more!!). Anyway, too late and it did help at the time. Everything was hurting at this point, breathing very laboured, legs very very tired but I'm concentrating on who's in front of me, we're coming back into the town, lots of support out and some kids throwing water over people having a great time.
Final stretch: at the 6 mile mark a guy was calling out splits here and I heard 52.xx - 52??? OMG sure the finish is only around the corner, I push on but the legs won't respond, come on! surely I can make it to the finish in under a min? move faster, no response from the legs, I run on, where is the finish line??? I hear a few shout outs here but am focusing on looking straight ahead, there's the finish line, there's the clock, it says 53.xx but then it changes to 54! DAMM DAMM DAMM but my goal is sub 55 so I've got a PB and come in over a minute faster than my PB and nearly 2 mins faster than this race last year. I'm happy with that right? Mostly yes, but the brain starts straight away, you held back too much at the start, you shouldn't have stopped at that last water station, you could have had a sub 54 - STOP!

Met some club mates, quick post mortem, the girls have done well. Into the hall for refreshments and prizegiving. Emila has won (2nd or 3rd can't remember) in her age category, then the girls team got 2nd place too, so celebrations all round. Met Laura here and Adrian again, quick chat, Laura is happy (great time!) Adrian less so. Headed home for a quick shower and change and out to the pub for a few celebration drinks.

Couple of things about this race, the support is great, there were impromptu water stations throughout which was a welcome surprise. The lady with her hose on mist, a very welcome sight! the kids out looking for high 5's and giving jellies & a great spread afterwards (although no chocolate cake?? or was it all gone by the time I got there..).

NIggle scan: my right knee (outside the knee) was sore after I finished and I can still feel it niggling now - if anyone has any stretches/foam rolling areas for this I'd appreciate it, never had pain here before. The foot is still a bit sore but I'll work on that in the coming days. Looking at HR stats in last 2 miles my HR max was 178 & 180 which is right on my max limit

Thanks for all the well wishes & congrats & well done to everyone go got PB's :-)

Well done FD, keep a close eye on those niggles.

TbL

laura_ac3 · 21-06-2015 12:33PM

Well done FD. Your report seems eerily similar to my experience as well. Feeling like I was moving super slow in the first mile, the pace slowing in mile 5 but keeping the effort and the thoughts at the end when your man called out the time, I tried to get a motor on but just missed out on making it with my own mental calculations

Congrats on the PB, you've worked hard to get yourself back after injury to where you were and now you can build even more on that and see the work pay off to set new PB's. Loads more to come. Watch the IT band and tfl on that one, can sometimes be connected. Don't let it fester.

Runchick · 21-06-2015 02:23PM

Great run FD, powering up the hills and passing people, 2 minutes faster that last year, brilliant!

spaceylou · 21-06-2015 02:32PM

Great run FD and well done on the PB especially coming back from being injured

Firedance · 21-06-2015 06:59PM

laura_ac3 wrote: »

Well done FD. Your report seems eerily similar to my experience as well. Feeling like I was moving super slow in the first mile, the pace slowing in mile 5 but keeping the effort and the thoughts at the end when your man called out the time, I tried to get a motor on but just missed out on making it with my own mental calculations Congrats on the PB, you've worked hard to get yourself back after injury to where you were and now you can build even more on that and see the work pay off to set new PB's. Loads more to come. Watch the IT band and tfl on that one, can sometimes be connected. Don't let it fester.

Thanks!! ok will have a look at IT & TFL, might need another trip to Walkinstown

spaceylou wrote: »

Great run FD and well done on the PB especially coming back from being injured

thanks spaceylou much appreciated :-)

Runchick wrote: »

Great run FD, powering up the hills and passing people, 2 minutes faster that last year, brilliant!

Thanks RC, I should have followed Laura's example & steered clear of the water station! you live & learn :-)

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Well done FD, keep a close eye on those niggles.

TbL

Thanks TBL, yes will do, I don't want to be out injured again. Glad to see you're getting back into things again too & look forward to seeing lots of progress in the coming months

Firedance · 21-06-2015 07:03PM

Notwork Error wrote: »

All the Best FD! Bring it home:)

annapr wrote: »

Looks like a good result for you, FD!! Well done!

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Thanks guys! I was looking around the hall last night to see if either of you were actually there you spotted my official result before I did

Dubgal I forgot to mention the wand in my report but believe me it came out, several times and the magic happened

Now I just need to get my hands on a go faster wand, you wouldn't have one to spare by chance!!!!

chickey2 · 21-06-2015 07:30PM

Great result, especially after your recent half! Well done.

Firedance · 22-06-2015 10:27AM

My plan for the rest of the year will be to concentrate on bringing down my 10K & 5K times, the goals are sub 50 10K and sub 25 5K (current PB’s are 54.11 and 25.36)

I’ve been looking at the cool runnings intermediate 10k plan, I’m wondering if I can just swap the session in the plan with my club’s weekly session? It will mean I can train with company but the sessions may be too different? The club are starting their marathon training next week so based on last year the sessions were along the lines of 12 x 400 w 400 recovery, 8 x 600 w 400 recovery, 5 x 1k w 400 recovery, 6 x 1 mile w 400 recovery, 3 x 2 mile w 800 recovery – so they get progressively longer as the weeks go on, how much of a difference would that make to me if I’m doing 10K specific training?
The other issue is that there are no hills at the club so I’m thinking of using some of the hilly parkruns to create a ‘steady with hills’ run. So the plan will look something like this replacing the Tues and Sat plan with Tues & Sat Actual columns.

Week Mon. Tues Plan TueActual Wed. Thu. Fri. Sat Plan Sat actual Sun.
1 Off Fartlek club session 3M 3M 6M 3M parkrun with hills 6M
5M
2 Off Fartlek club session 4M 4M 5M 4M 4M 7M
(5M)
3 Off 5-6 Hills club session 4M 4M 6M 3M parkrun with hills 8M
5K-10K pace
4 Off 6 x 440s club session 5M 4M 6M 3M 3 M 9M
5K pace
5 Off 4-5 long hills club session 5M 4M 6M 3M parkrun with hills 5K race
5K-10K pace ( Or 7M)
6 Off 5 x 880s club session 5M 5M 7M 3M 3M 8M
5K-10K pace
7 Off 5-6 long hills club session 5M 4M 7M 4M parkrun with hills 10M
5K-10K pace
8 Off 8 x 440s club session 5M 4M 7M 4M 4M 10K Race
5K pace (Or 8M)
9 Off 7 x 880s club session 5M 4M 7M 4M parkrun with hills 8M
5K-10K pace
10 Off 5M 4 x Mile 5M 5 x Fast 440s 4M 4M 8M
5K-10K pace 5K minus 10 secs
11 Off 5M 8 x 440s 5M 4 x Fast 880s 3M 4M 5M
5K pace 5K minus 10 secs

If I start this plan next Monday it will bring me up nicely to The Lakes 10k on 5th September, my first ever ‘target’ race in 2013 where my goal was to go sub 60 and I came home in 59.32

That may be way too soon for sub 50 though but I could certainly target it and see where I am at that point. All advice/suggestions welcome!

Firedance · 22-06-2015 11:25AM

demfad wrote: »

Firedance. Had a look at your plan and it looks good. IMO you need to make gains on the endurance side of 5k/10k pace initially. The marathon type progressive club sessions will do this, as will the parkruns. You have some more specific 5k work near the end of the schedule which is good.

Id consider the following:

1. To get speed in the legs to both balance and help your other sessions, you could consider aerobic strides:
Starting at 2 x 5 x 35s fast and relaxed (70s rec or jog back, 3-5 mins jog between sets) building to 3 x 6 x 35s. That session might fit on non parkrun saturdays. It will get speed in the legs for all sessions/races while keeping things mainly aerobic.

2. You can manipulate the parkrun to make it more endurance based for 10k prep: eg on one or two occasion you could run 5-6 miles before the parkrun. pre-fatiguing the legs like that will help 10k endurance (and 5k too).
Also, Id recommend running the parkruns initially as progressions. i.e start the first 1-2k @ a slower effort eg 10k-10mile race effort and slowly progress to finish fast. You'll get most of the benefits of a full on race but not the recovery hangover/time needed.

3. I would consider doing one or two of the long weekend runs faster than easy again for endurance. A comfortable steady pace but maybe preogressing to finish fast. You may have to drop a parkrun on these weekends or run one deliberately easier.

4. Consistancy is most important. If you miss a session, dont try and catch up just run your next session as planned. The buildup of consistant good training is what facilitates a breakthrough.

Youll get a lot of strenght from the endurance work and this will initially bring your times down. The aerobic strides will start tapping into your speed and another result is that the pace of the other sessions should not be the main limiting factor in those sessions which will help.

thanks for that demfad, lots of new stuff there to take on board, much appreciated

annapr · 22-06-2015 11:56AM

Firedance wrote: »

My plan for the rest of the year will be to concentrate on bringing down my 10K & 5K times, the goals are sub 50 10K and sub 25 5K (current PB’s are 55.11 and 25.36)

!

... are you sandbagging already?

Firedance · 22-06-2015 12:12PM

annapr wrote: »

... are you sandbagging already?

oops! well spotted :-) I worked hard for that minute (1 min 7 secs actually) and I've forgotten it already

Ososlo · 22-06-2015 09:30PM

Great going on the big pb Firedance. Very well deserved and looking forward to watching it tumbling down lots more for the next assault.

Your new plan looks great!
Best of luck with the training.

Firedance · 23-06-2015 10:00AM

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/9988034
Above is a garmin map of our club 10K race this Thursday in Clonee, by all accounts its a flat course so if anyone is looking for a fast 10k might be worth a shot. I had planned to run it (not race though) but am undecided as yet. Have spent the last couple of days foam rolling & stretching and the knee is feeling a lot better but just to be on the safe side I have a physio appointment tomorrow eve so will see how that goes. In the meantime the dog is getting extra long walks

. Have put the final touches to the training plan too which will start on Monday, hopefully I’ve understood demfad’s suggestions correctly!

Firedance · 23-06-2015 10:04AM

10K training plan
Date Mon. Tues Tue. Thu. Fri. Sat Sun.
Wk 1 w/c 29 June Off club session 3M 3M 6M parkrun with hills - progression run 6M
Wk 2 w/c 6 July Off club session 4M 4M 5M w/u *2 x 5 x 35sec fast & relaxed 70 sec rec & 5 mins jog between sets. c/d 7M
Wk 3 w/c 13 July Off club session 4M 4M 6M 2 mile w/u -parkrun with hills (progression) 8M
Wk 4 w/c 20 July Off club session 5M 4M 6M w/u *3 x 5 x 35sec fast & relaxed 70 sec rec & 5 mins jog between sets. c/d 9M
Wk 5 w/c 27 July Off club session 5M 4M 6M 4 mile w/u - parkrun with hills (progression) 5K race (or 7M)
Wk 6 w/c 3 Aug Off club session 5M 5M 7M w/u *2 x 6 x 35sec fast & relaxed 70 sec rec & 5 mins jog between sets. c/d 8M
Wk 7 w/c 10 Aug Off club session 5M 4M 7M 5 mile w/u -parkrun with hills 10M
Wk 8 w/c 17 Aug Off club session 5M 4M 7M parkrun with hills 8M
Wk 9 w/c 24 Aug Off 8 x 440s @ 5K pace 5M 5M 4 x Fast 880s @ 5K mins 10s 3M 5M
Wk 10 w/c 31 Aug Off 6 x 440s @ 5k pace 5M OFF 4M RACE DAY

run easy runs easy & by feel, run sessions controlled rather than flat out

I've had to take two weeks out of it because its only 10 weeks to The Lakes 10K on 5th Sept

Firedance · 24-06-2015 10:06AM

Tuesday 23rd June 3 miles @ 9.47, went out to see how the knee and the foot were, started easy enough I thought but had the earphones in so the pace was faster than normal easy but felt really good. No ill effects and did some more foam rolling later on.

10.03, 9.32, 930

TBL this is what the young folk are running to :-) you should give it a try!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxRQNO8vg2Y

ThebitterLemon · 24-06-2015 07:33PM

Firedance wrote: »

Tuesday 23rd June 3 miles @ 9.47, went out to see how the knee and the foot were, started easy enough I thought but had the earphones in so the pace was faster than normal easy but felt really good. No ill effects and did some more foam rolling later on.

10.03, 9.32, 930

TBL this is what the young folk are running to :-) you should give it a try!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxRQNO8vg2Y

Jezus, me ears are bleeding after listening to that dross

and why was one of the burds wearing lampshades over her breasts! If they were wandering around Connemara we'd be looking for the rest of the circus!

TbL

Firedance · 24-06-2015 09:26PM

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Jezus, me ears are bleeding after listening to that dross and why was one of the burds wearing lampshades over her breasts! If they were wandering around Connemara we'd be looking for the rest of the circus!

TbL

Ha ha haaaa, yeah thought you might say that :-)

Firedance · 25-06-2015 09:23AM

Wednesday 24th June sports massage with physio. ouch ouch ouch OUCH omfg this was painful, way worse than the last time. I also got a lecture on not doing strength sessions, my excuses were I'd been away, busy week before traveling, very tired since coming home yada yada yada Me: 'but I'll start again on Monday' Her: that's 5 days away, what's wrong with tomorrow?.... so that's told me then! Strength session this eve and if I'm not posting about it here a good kick in the backside would be much appreciated

saw this https://www.facebook.com/clodagh.cogley.1/posts/10153998030367468?fref=nf on my FB feed this morning, a reminder just how lucky we all are and just how quickly the rug can be pulled from under us

Bungy Girl · 25-06-2015 10:24AM

Firedance wrote: »

Wednesday 24th June sports massage with physio. ouch ouch ouch OUCH omfg this was painful, way worse than the last time. I also got a lecture on not doing strength sessions, my excuses were I'd been away, busy week before traveling, very tired since coming home yada yada yada Me: 'but I'll start again on Monday' Her: that's 5 days away, what's wrong with tomorrow?.... so that's told me then! Strength session this eve and if I'm not posting about it here a good kick in the backside would be much appreciated

I will send you a virtual kick in the gluteus medius

Firedance wrote: »

saw this https://www.facebook.com/clodagh.cogley.1/posts/10153998030367468?fref=nf on my FB feed this morning, a reminder just how lucky we all are and just how quickly the rug can be pulled from under us

What an amazing attitude she has. You're right FD, that puts it all in perspective.

Firedance · 27-06-2015 07:56PM

Thursday 25th June very quick S&C session before running out the door to marshal at the inaugural Clonee 10K which our club was hosting. Brought the camera just in case and took some finish line photos, saw a guy crossing the line and thought 'I know that face from somewhere', it was pacing mule out for a sneaky race :-), he introduced me then to Hannibal Smith who was also racing without a permission slip

(I realise the irony given I've done the same myself more than once...). Really nice to see them both and sounds like they enjoyed it. Plans are to keep this one on the fixture list for next year.

Friday 26th June a couple of hours core work in Whelans in 6" heels

Saturday 27th June went up to PP to support at the Irish Runner 5 mile, debated bringing the dog, leaving him at home, bring him, leave him yada yada. Decided it was such a beautiful day I'd bring him & lots of carrots to keep him quiet... the upshot was I missed most people because 'someone' isn't overly fond of clapping & cheering unless its directed at him.... Spotted AMK at the last bend, headed up to the finish line after I was pretty sure I'd missed Aquinn and found the usual suspects along with a few new ones. FBOT wins best prize for his dog calming abilities which is much better than a race PB, right?

Followed by 2 hours gardening and 2 miles easy around the village just to actually get some running in! Great to catch up with everyone and thanks Ash for the very yummy flapjack which I didn't earn but ate anyway :-)

Legs are itching to get cracking on the new plan now and thanks BG for the pep talk..

Bungy Girl · 27-06-2015 08:45PM

Firedance wrote: »

Legs are itching to get cracking on the new plan now and thanks BG for the pep talk..

Well, I was wearing my Little Miss Bossy t-shirt

.... Seriously though it's a great plan and can't wait to see how you get on with it. Bring on The Lakes 10K !!
P.S. Nice to meet Woody as well

Firedance · 27-06-2015 08:50PM

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Well, I was wearing my Little Miss Bossy t-shirt .... Seriously though it's a great plan and can't wait to see how you get on with it. Bring on The Lakes 10K !!
P.S. Nice to meet Woody as well [/QUOTE]

even after he used you as a launch pad to reach a fly he's very sorry

likewise excited to see how your base building goes and see you at The Lakes!

are we organising a trail run between now and then or is there too much going on for people, anyone interested...?

Bungy Girl · 27-06-2015 10:37PM

Firedance wrote: »

are we organising a trail run between now and then or is there too much going on for people, anyone interested...?

There was talk of this in the D.3 bus. I'll dig out the original thread for the Massey/Hellfire route and see who's interested and what date might suit.

Firedance · 28-06-2015 07:24PM

Sunday 28th June: AM Sea swim / snorkel. Been a while since I did one if these, we took the boat out to Irelands eye, stunning views, beautiful sunny morning. My first time going in off a boat via backflip :eek: 20 mins swimming around but visibility ****e, enjoyable though!

Pm 3.5 Miles at 9.51, hot hot hot and hadn't drank enough water during the day, enjoyed this though despite being a bit tired from this morn. Am in good company here with the sea swims :-)

Firedance · 30-06-2015 09:33AM

Plan for this week:
w/c29 June | Strength & Stretches| club - 10 x 500 (+ 2m c/d w/u)| 3M| 3M| 6M| parkrun with hills - progression run| 6M

Monday 29th June
3 mile walk
Strength session: 3 x 8 squat with band 12kg bell, 3 x 8 pushup to side plank, 3 x 8 deadlift with 12kg, 3 x 10 crabwalk with band, 3 x 8 single leg deadlift w 12kg, 3 x 8 kb swing.
AIS and foam rolling

Firedance · 30-06-2015 10:00PM

Tuesday 30th June club session - oh.my.god that was Tough! the heat! no shade at all up at the track.

1 mile warm up @ 10.22 followed by 8 laps of 500, I will admit to skipping two (should have been 10), the fourth and the 6th and I only did 400 for lap 7

2.52, 2,58, 2,56, 2.42, 2.47, 2.45, 2.04, 2.47 - I need to double check these I wasn't pressing the lap button for all of them it seems so a combo of watch splits and trying to remember the times that were being called out.

1 mile cool down @ 10.30

the legs felt ok on this, the problem was my breathing, when I run in the cold I often get that burning lungs feeling and I've learned to warm up slowly, use a scarf until my lungs warm up etc but have never experienced it in the heat, after the first 3 laps it felt like I had something heavy on my chest, not very nice! so I took a break which helped. The track was also very dusty and I was eating everyone else's dust! Anyway, am glad its done and as the sessions go on my aim will be to complete all the reps.

Followed by AIS and foam rolling

Firedance · 01-07-2015 09:05AM

Forgot to do this yesterday, end of month table
Month & Year | Miles
Jan 2015 | 0
Feb 2015 | 50
March 2015 | 85.07
April 2015 | 97.65
May 2015 | 125.7
June 2015 | 73.7

2 races, 2 track sessions, longest run 13.1
Mileage down a good bit for June mostly due to holiday runs being kept around the 3 mark, happy enough though, we all need a holiday and I have two PB’s under my belt for the month.

Firedance · 01-07-2015 09:49PM

Tuesday 1st July: 3.3 miles @ 9.56, still roasting, still noticing difference in breathing but very enjoyable.
AIS & dynamic warn up pre run

Firedance · 02-07-2015 10:48PM

Wednesday 2nd July plan said 3 miles, headed up to the club as I presumed they'd be doing their tempo run on the road but turned out they opened up the grass 'track' so it was a loop of the cinder track then a loop of the grass = 1/2 mile. Their tempo was 5 miles so 10 full loops. I'd never run the grass track so decided to give this a go, had done a mile already so thoughts were I could do 6 miles today and 3 tomorrow and just swap them around.

total was 6.13 @ 8.54
9.22, 8.25, 833, 8.47, 9.10, 9.06

There is no tempo run in my plan and as I was doing it I was trying to figure out whether or not I could or should move things around to accommodate one. Firstly I really enjoyed this although it was hard work, secondly I have company, yay! albeit company that laps me but its better than slogging away on my own on the road. So I want to look again at my Saturday sessions and see whether I could work this in instead. Perhaps I should leave well enough alone but I know how running with a faster group can push you to work harder - any advice or thoughts greatly appreciated! Of course if I'd just stayed away and done my 3 miles on the road I wouldn't have this dilemma!!!

laura_ac3 · 02-07-2015 11:41PM

Could you mix it up? One week with them and another with your original plan? Might get a bit more messy but if you work it out you could get a bit of both worlds then.

Every accomplishment starts with a decision to try

Comments