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Faster

tailgunner

I'm brand new to running, and have been toying with the idea of starting a training log to keep myself motivated. Wasn't sure about making it public, but a recent thread on people running for the sake of it versus people running to get faster has decided it for me. Even though I'm not running far and I'm absolutely not running fast, I do fall into the latter camp - I want to improve.

So on that note... a bit of background:

I'm 29, male, 6ft 1, 80kg, and have been fairly sedentary for most of my adult life (this is starting to sound like a very unambitious online dating profile). After an indulgent Christmas, I entered 2015 feeling tired, sluggish, and miserable. I decided I wasn't going to enter my thirties feeling like this, and started C25k in late January.

A couple of months later (with one or two breaks here and there to allow my shocked and stunned legs to come to terms with the fact that yes, I run now, and no, it's not a temporary thing), I've just about finished the programme, and have also managed to shift the beginnings of a beer belly that had made an unwelcome appearance.

Which brings me to the present:

Got my gait analysed at the weekend and treated myself to a pair of Asics GT-2000s, in garish royal blue with neon laces. Nice.

I'm loosely following one of Hal Higdon's 10k plans at the moment, running three times a week and trying to go half a mile farther on each of my "long" runs.

In terms of goals for the year, I mainly want to increase mileage and improve my pace, and maybe do a couple of races. I have notions about doing a half marathon toward the end of the year, but haven't told my legs about this yet. I'm not sure how they're going to take it...

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tailgunner

Monday, 21st September 2015

5 miles
51:48
10:21/mi

Really enjoyed this run - felt very, very easy. Was expecting my legs to be tired after the long run but they were fine - think it was down to an Epsom salt bath on Sunday evening.

tailgunner

Wednesday, 23rd September 2015

6.22 miles
56:02
9:00/mi

Not the most enjoyable run. Stomach cramps and a stitch made things very uncomfortable. Fairly sure I know what caused those issues though, so not too worried.

Had no problems holding the pace anyway. Someone mentioned on another log here that if you get to 9 miles in a half marathon and feel okay, you'll finish. Quietly confident I'll manage that on the day now.

tailgunner

Thursday, 24th September 2015

4.01 miles
39:04
9:44/mi

This was meant to be a recovery run, but my legs were feeling very fresh so I just ran at a pace that felt comfortable. It was probably more of a steady run than easy though.

Saturday, 26th September 2015

13.11 miles
2:16:28
10:24/mi

Last long run before the race. Was planning on leaving it at an even 13 miles and saving the extra couple of hundred yards for the big day, but I decided I had earned the "Fastest Half!" graphic from my Garmin.

Had a slight niggle in my ankle over the last couple of miles, but apart from that, the run couldn't have gone much better. Pacing was consistent, I felt nice and comfortable throughout, and my Jelly Tots strategy worked very well.

Total distance for the week was a little over 28 miles, and now I'm into a two-week taper. I'm already panicking that this is too long/not long enough, depending on my mood, but I'm going to stick to the plan and see what happens on the day.

tailgunner

Monday, 28th September 2015

5.01 miles
52:17
10:27/mi

My plan is to do 8 miles as a long run this weekend, and another 12/13 miles over the rest of the week. Wasn't sure how best to divide it up, but eventually settled on 5 miles for this run. Legs were quite stiff and even a bit sore at the start, particularly my calves. Putting it down to not having run since early Saturday morning, and not having much time for stretching and foam-rolling over the weekend as I was in London for the rugby.

tailgunner

Tuesday, 29th September 2015

4.01 miles
34:54
8:43/mi

Decided to run this at tempo pace rather than HM pace. Went okay, but found the first couple of miles very uncomfortable, and kept having to remind myself that the race will be a good 20-25 seconds per mile slower. Settled into it eventually, and finished strong. It's not often I feel more comfortable at the end of a run than at the start!

My legs still aren't 100% though. The ankle niggle is gone, but has been replaced with a knee niggle in the same leg. A kneegle if you will. Fairly sure it's all related to my glutes not firing properly (what does that even mean?!) which is the same issue I had a few months ago.

I'd have been very surprised if I made it as far as the taper in perfect shape though, so I'm not overly worried. Spent some time doing specific foam-rolling and glute exercises that the physio gave me, and had an Epsom salt bath after the run. Hopefully this routine will keep any serious problems at bay.

Ososlo

Hi tailgunner
do you do a warm up jog before starting the tempo section? And cooldown after?
If not it'd be a recipe for injury. Would be for me anyway!

tailgunner

I do, but I'm realising it's not enough. The cooldown is probably okay (maybe half a mile?) but I should really spend longer warming up.

Ososlo

tailgunner wrote: »

I do, but I'm realising it's not enough. The cooldown is probably okay (maybe half a mile?) but I should really spend longer warming up.

Personally I wouldn't go near anything fast until I'd done about a 20 min warmup and cooldown.
Maybe try at least 10 mins either side and work up to tempo pace/effort gradually over the first half mile rather than launching into it straight away.
If you're getting niggles it might help a bit to be warmed up a bit more.
Some nice sessions lately. Well done!

Firedance

tailgunner wrote: »

Fairly sure it's all related to my glutes not firing properly (what does that even mean?!)

I have the exact same issue, one physio gave me some drills to do before a run, in the session when he did them with me and sent me running across the room I actually felt like I was running from my glutes and it felt completely different!! Have tried to replicate this since then with varying degrees of success. AFAIK it means that other muscles take up the slack and those other muscles become fatigued causing injury.

tailgunner

Thursday, 1st October 2015

3.11 miles
32:47
10:33/mi

The plan was for 4 miles, but I was more than willing to cut it short if my knee was causing even the slightest bit of trouble. Legs felt like they were finally back to normal, and it was a struggle to keep the pace slow, but I kept things very easy just in case.

Felt a very slight twinge in the knee after a mile and a half, which was enough to convince me to turn around and leave it at 3 miles. It disappeared almost immediately, and I had no more issues at all after that, so I generously rewarded my legs with the extra few yards to bring the run to 5k at the end. Loads of stretching and foam-rolling after.

tailgunner

Saturday, 3rd October 2015

8.01 miles
1:20:36
10:04/mi

The plan was for 8 miles if the knee held up okay, and hold up it did. My legs felt great, I had loads of energy, and even though it felt very easy, the splits were a good bit faster than usual. I'm hoping this is a sign that the taper is working.

tailgunner

Monday, 5th October 2015

4.01 miles
41:01
10:14/mi

Garmin Connect says that there was "Light Rain" for this. Lies. It was teeming down. Very nice run though - kept it slow for the most part, but picked it up a good bit for the last half mile.

My legs are feeling weird, almost like they belong to someone else. It's not necessarily a bad sensation. I was thinking if I could get the aforementioned someone else to do all my running, but still reap all the benefits myself, that'd be the job.

tailgunner

Wednesday, 7th October 2015

3.01 miles
26:16
8:44/mi

Not much to report on this at all really. Found it very manageable and my legs feel like they belong to me again. Probably for the best really, as we've been through a lot together.

tailgunner

Thursday, 8th October 2015

2.01 miles
20:31
10:14/mi

This felt like the slowest 2 miles of my life for whatever reason. Did a couple of strides after to try and freshen up my legs a bit.

That's it now until the race on Sunday. My A-goal is to sneak in under 2 hours, but to be honest I'm just going to give it a good lash and see what happens on the day. Regardless of the time, I think as long as I can cross the finish line and feel like I raced it properly, I'll be happy enough.

ThebitterLemon

Best of luck with it.

Hope you have a good one

TbL

Ososlo

Best of luck tomorrow tailgunner!

tailgunner

Pre-race
Woke up early and had a slice of dry toast, washed down with a small glass of water. The luxury. Usually I don't eat anything before a long run, but after a dodgy stomach the night before (pre-race nerves?), I figured I should probably have something. And sure, when else would I try experimenting with nutrition, but on the morning of this year's main target race?

The start line is only a 20 minute walk from where I live, so I had plenty of time to get organised. Too much time really, as I found myself in the "race village" (a field of Portaloos) with over an hour to go. The weather conditions were perfect - cool, calm, dry and slightly overcast. Went for a 10-minute jog with a few strides to warm up, and decided I'd make my way to the start line early. 6,000 other people had the same idea, but I managed to spot the 2:00 pacer, and lined up a few rows in front of him, and what seemed like several miles from the start line.

After a 15 minute delay (a train full of participants was running late) an air-horn eventually went off, and we were under way. Zombie-walking at first, then jogging, then walking, then running, before finally reaching the start line - a feat in itself in Congestion City. The clock was well past 4 minutes at this stage, so I made a note of that as I hit start on my Garmin.

Miles 1-2 (9:18, 9:02)
Aaaaand we were walking again. My plan was to start off conservatively, but this was a bit ridiculous, and the novelty of being a zombie was starting to wear off. Jogged for a bit, zombie'd around the first corner, and finally we were running.

The race prides itself on taking runners on a scenic tour of Oxford - a nice idea in theory, but central Oxford is quite small, so there were twists and turns all over the place for the first couple of miles. The crowds weren't thinning out, and it was difficult to maintain an even pace. All things considered though, I was very pleased with the first two splits.

Miles 3-5 (8:54, 9:09, 8:53)
The next couple of miles are out and back a long, straight, mostly flat road. Was feeling good, and managed to relax into the race nicely here. Checked over my shoulder to see where the 2:00 pacer was, and he was a good 50 yards or so behind me. Lovely.

Half a mile later, there was a stampede towards a water station. I felt like Simba trying to escape the wildebeest in The Lion King. After that near-death experience, I noticed that the pacer was now ahead of me, with hundreds of people congregated around him. I ate some Fruit Pastilles while I figured out what to do.

Some Formula 1-style cornering got me past the bulk of the pacer's cronies, and I hopped onto a grass verge to overtake the rest around the 5 mile mark. Was a bit annoyed at having to go to all this effort to get around people, but I didn't want to be stuck behind them for the rest of the race.

Miles 6-8 (8:56, 9:06, 8:59)
The next few miles are a bit hazy... I high-fived some kids going through a village, the guy beside me announced to the video camera on his phone that he had reached the halfway mark and had to keep moving (presumably this applied to me too), and annoyingly, I found myself behind the intimidating pacer group again after I availed of a water station myself this time. Had to pull off yet more grass verge antics to get ahead. I knew we'd be coming back into the city soon, and it was going to be a lot more difficult to overtake, so I was determined to keep them behind me from now on.

Miles 9-11 (9:00, 8:53, 9:14)
Had the rest of my Fruit Pastilles at the 9 mile mark. After feeling good for 8 miles or so, things were finally beginning to get tough. It wasn't a sudden thing by any means, but I noticed that my breathing was getting a little heavier, and the effort to maintain the same pace was increasing. Miles 10 and 11 took us in and around a park. There were some sharp corners and the paths were extremely narrow. It was near midday now, and starting to get quite warm. Grabbed some more water at a station, and managed to keep the pacer group behind me this time.

Things were really starting to hurt now - can't remember the specifics, but I distinctly remember thinking that running is very hard, and not running is very easy, and I might be better off doing the latter instead.

Miles 12-13 (+0.1) (9:02, 9:07, 1:13)
Back into the city now for more or less a reverse of the first two miles. If the streets were twisty and turny at the start, they felt doubly so now. I was really suffering, and my stomach was feeling very dodgy. Tried backing off the pace a bit, but that made things even worse. Tried increasing the pace, but I had nothing left to give. "Am I destined to run at this pace forever?!".

After thinking "This must SURELY be the last corner!" half a dozen times, the finish line finally came into view. I think I managed to pick up the pace slightly here, but I might as well have been zombie-walking again for all the effect it was having on drawing the finish line closer.

"Am I ever going to get there?"

"I'm sure it's farther away than it was a second ago... is it?"

"Maybe I'm going in the wrong direction?"

*scene missing*

Though the clock showed 2:02:xx, my Garmin showed 1:58:46 as I crossed the line in a daze. I stumbled to a nearby railing and clung to it until I felt human again.

Official chip-time: 1:58:45. Job done.

ThebitterLemon

Well done Tailgunner, very consistent splits and you hung in well at the end when it sounds like it was getting tough.

Onwards & Upwards

TbL

Firedance

job done

that's fantastic TG even though the conditions were far from favorable with the narrow streets etc, well done

The Muppet

Well Done Tailgunner and congratulations on hitting your target. Great report

Ososlo

Brilliant! Well done

tailgunner

Tuesday, 13th October 2015

3.01 miles
30:23
10:07/mi

My plan all along was to take a week off from running after the half, but I went for a short run around the local park last night to try and loosen out my legs a bit. Think that'll do me till next week, as I still feel like I could use a break - mentally more than anything else.

I'm going to focus on improving my 5k time for the rest of the year. My official PB from May is 26:45, so there's a good chunk of time to come off that. Might do a Parkrun or a time trial at the end of next week to see where I'm at, and then start into a plan.

annapr

Well done on breaking the two hour barrier! Doesn't sound like a fast course even without the crowds.

Those fruit pastilles seemed to work wonders

tailgunner

Thanks for the good wishes folks, and for the gold nuggets of advice along the way. I'm delighted with how the race went, and really pleased that I have a solid block of training behind me as well.

And yes, the Fruit Pastilles made a huge difference on the day. Jelly Tots are more delicious, but you have to eat a million of them at a time which is too much hassle in a race.

Wednesday, 21st October 2015

5 miles
50:02
10:00/mi

Feeling a bit listless since the race - my plan was to have a week off and then ease myself back into things by just running when I felt like it for another week. Unfortunately "when I felt like it" never really happened, and I had to force myself into it last night.

After a couple of fairly dodgy miles at the start ("Ah jaysus, this ****e again?" said my legs), I eventually fell into a nice rhythm.

Had no real aims for this other than to run 5 miles, so wasn't bothered about watching the pace. It was definitely faster than my easy range, but still fairly comfortable.

I'm slowly learning that I am basically useless without structured routine (even outside of running), so I'm going to start into Hal Higdon's 5k Intermediate plan on Monday. The mileage looks quite low, so I'm adding a mile onto the easy runs.

Planning to do a time trial of sorts in the meantime to see where I'm at.

Maximus Alexander

Well done on the half marathon. I only stumbled upon your log today so it was great to flick through the first few pages and see you set your target, then go to the last and see that you'd just achieved it!

Great work.

PDCAT

Well done on the sub 2 hour half tailgunner. Impressive split times.

tailgunner

Friday, 23rd October 2015

3.11 miles
24:32
7:53/mi

The plan was to go off at 8:00/mi pace (after a proper warm-up!), and see if I could hang onto it for the 5k. Found it very, very painful, but I was able to pick up the pace a little bit towards the end, so I think that bodes well (splits were 7:59, 7:59, 7:46, 0:48).

It was probably a little shy of 5k in reality, given that I was only measuring the distance by GPS, but it'll do nicely as something to base my training paces off for the 5k plan.

tailgunner

Monday, 26th October 2015

4.01 miles
42:00
10:29/mi

A nice, easy start to the 5k plan. Not much to note - very cold and very dark since the clocks went back though, so probably time to break out the winter gear I've invested in. I'm going to cut quite the dashing figure in my reflective bib, leggings, and headtorch this evening.

tailgunner

Tuesday, 27th October 2015

3.74 miles
37:48
10:07/mi

Was looking forward to this all day, as I've never done any sort of speed training before, and was feeling extra motivated after spending the day reading the DCM race reports in the novices thread.

So, the plan was for 5 x 400m repeats at mile pace (around 7:15/mi for me), with a 400m walk/jog recovery between each rep. Jogged for a mile to warm up, and then started into the reps:

1:49
1:49
1:48
1:48
1:49

A lot more consistent than I was expecting, though setting up a workout on my Garmin was a big help. Walked for parts of the earlier recovery sections, but found it harder to hit the faster reps when I did that, so I'll stick to jogging them in future.

Really enjoyed this session - made a nice change from my usual runs. Couldn't quite bring myself to wear a headtorch, but wore the rest of the winter gear. Baby steps.

The Muppet

tailgunner wrote: »

Tuesday, 27th October 2015

3.74 miles
37:48
10:07/mi

Was looking forward to this all day, as I've never done any sort of speed training before, and was feeling extra motivated after spending the day reading the DCM race reports in the novices thread.

So, the plan was for 5 x 400m repeats at mile pace (around 7:15/mi for me), with a 400m walk/jog recovery between each rep. Jogged for a mile to warm up, and then started into the reps:

1:49
1:49
1:48
1:48
1:49

A lot more consistent than I was expecting, though setting up a workout on my Garmin was a big help. Walked for parts of the earlier recovery sections, but found it harder to hit the faster reps when I did that, so I'll stick to jogging them in future.

Really enjoyed this session - made a nice change from my usual runs. Couldn't quite bring myself to wear a headtorch, but wore the rest of the winter gear. Baby steps.

Nice session, Go on everyone looks cool in a head torch.