Starting at the Very Start

FIFA2004 · 05-12-2015 09:44PM

The Muppet wrote: »

Congrats Fifa, Looks like you enjoyed it too. Onwards and upwards

Definitely!!! Congrats to you too... Sounds like you had a great race! U deserve it!

The Muppet · 05-12-2015 09:47PM

FIFA2004 wrote: »

Definitely!!! Congrats to you too... Sounds like you had a great race! U deserve it!

I did, if only I had started at the start and not 100 meters down the road.

FIFA2004 · 05-12-2015 09:49PM

Ososlo wrote: »

Congratulations FIFA! Sounds like you can take a lot of positives from today.

Clonliffe 5k is great race but wasn't chip timed the last time I did it even though it was advertised as such. Gun times only given. But you wouldn't be more than 15-20 seconds getting to the start line if you start near the back of the field. It's a lovely largely flat course. Have a look at the results from previous years to see how many would be around your time.
St. Anne's Parkrun would be a good one to target either for the next pb and quite a big field of runners so I'd say you'd have lots to run with.

Last years slowest was 34, so I'd probably be a few mins out, the other years online results had a few 40 pluses though so maybe there's just some reason last year was quicker

Might try a trip to st Anne's, even beating my other malahide times would be great, the hills might stop a proper pb

FIFA2004 · 08-12-2015 09:32PM

Tuesday 8th December
Interval session 5: 12 x 1min 5km pace, 75seconds recovery
Splits: 5.55, 5.47, 5.32, 5.51, 5.55, 5.42, 5.59, 5.08, 5.53, 6.21, 6.31, 6.05

First time running after jingle bells. Tough session, the few went really well, but struggled a lot towards the end. Was post call and hadn't eaten all day, very nearly didn't get out so by the last few legs had no energy to go, wasn't out of breath or anything. Splits are a bit all over the place but happy enough overall

Firedance · 08-12-2015 09:34PM

Hey fifa, did you do any recovery runs post race or just go from race to session? Probably best to push out your sessions after a race & try to get out for very slow recovery jog the day after a race

it gives the legs better chance to ease out.

FIFA2004 · 08-12-2015 10:31PM

Firedance wrote: »

Hey fifa, did you do any recovery runs post race or just go from race to session? Probably best to push out your sessions after a race & try to get out for very slow recovery jog the day after a race it gives the legs better chance to ease out.

No I didn't actually, didn't cross my mind to! Definitely will next time, thanks for the advice!

FIFA2004 · 10-12-2015 08:55PM

Thursday 10th Dec
6km
53.19mins

Left my runners in Mayo when I came home, so headed out for this in a pair of incredibly heavy and too big runners I found in the garage! Biggest achievement today was not falling over!

FIFA2004 · 14-12-2015 11:24PM

Monday 13th Dec
5km
41.48mins

But under the weather at the weekend so didn't get out. Put back the interval session I had planned for today to Wednesday. Very even splits and felt good so happy enough with that!
Lost ten pounds since I started tracking calories so happy days!

FIFA2004 · 18-12-2015 09:34PM

Friday 18th Dec
5.57km
47.25mins

Not a great running week due to work and a Christmas party! Had to get out today but was suffering big time from last night so didn't attempt the interval session. Hopefully a quiet night in work tomorrow ll mean I can get it done on Sunday!

FIFA2004 · 22-12-2015 10:38PM

Tuesday 22nd Dec
11km
97mins 37

Been a bad few weeks for running! Finally got out tonight. Went for 5km, decided to stretch to 8 which became 10, finished a while from home and didn't want to stop cuz I was soaked and get cold! Impressed with myself even if a snail would have gone faster

Plan is to do goal mile on Xmas day, Parkrun on Saturday... Having vague thoughts of the turkey run 10km on Monday but think it might be a bit much for me!

FIFA2004 · 26-12-2015 06:47PM

Saturday 26th Dec
5km
43.42mins

Turns out my running plans didn't fit with the family Xmas plans! Finally got to take my new Garmin 220 for a test run this evening. A recovery run after a marathon of food and drink if u will!
Hopefully out for a long run tomorrow!

FIFA2004 · 27-12-2015 06:19PM

Sunday 27th
5km
43.21mins

Got another 5km in before dinner, love running with the watch, although I'm sure that novelty will wear off soon enough!

FIFA2004 · 30-12-2015 09:24PM

Wed 30th Dec
5km
44.46mins

Same again, felt a lot quicker than this though. Need to get a bit of variety going in my running again, so hopefully a long run and some intervals/fartlek at the weekend

FIFA2004 · 02-01-2016 09:11PM

Saturday 2nd Jan
5km
42.27mins

First run of 2016, later than I would have liked cuz of a crap night in work on nye. Like last time felt quicker than it ended up being. Tried the heart rate strap out of interest, average 157, max 175. Started off at 4min/km for the first 2mins, probably cuz I was trying to get warm! Would love to be able to run that fast for longer!

Seen as its my first post of 2016 I figured I should put in some goals to keep me honest
1) keep running and enjoying it as much as I am now
2) 5km under 30 mins
3) 10km under 70mins
4) try a half marathon
Not really sure how achievable they are, especially 3 and 4 but we'll see!

In terms of the next few weeks/months... I have an exam at the end of January, so just want to keep getting 15 - 20km/wk in until that's over. That going well I'll have another in March, so will try to up the km's a small bit in those 2months.
When that's over with the longer evenings and work getting quieter I should be able to put a lot more time into a proper plan and hopefully see the benefits of that over the summer! Maybe by the end of the year I'll have time/distances that look vaguely respectable beside other people on here!

Also wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone who's offered me advice and encouragement on here! You have no idea what a big part its played in me keeping this up.

Ososlo · 02-01-2016 11:18PM

Best of luck with the targets. Your consistency will stand to you big time, and I have no doubt you'll achieve those targets and more.

Definitely look towards following a structured plan when things settle down a bit for you.

The heart rate stats don't mean a whole lot unless you've established a max heart rate which you can do easily enough if you wear the strap for a short race and give 100% effort towards the end, or during a fitness test, but it's a lot easier to achieve during a 5k race. You could wear it for your next race if you wanted to get a good indication of what it might be. From there you can work out what % of your max you should be running for your easy runs etc.

Good luck!

FIFA2004 · 03-01-2016 01:10AM

Ososlo wrote: »

Best of luck with the targets. Your consistency will stand to you big time, and I have no doubt you'll achieve those targets and more.

Definitely look towards following a structured plan when things settle down a bit for you.

The heart rate stats don't mean a whole lot unless you've established a max heart rate which you can do easily enough if you wear the strap for a short race and give 100% effort towards the end, or during a fitness test, but it's a lot easier to achieve during a 5k race. You could wear it for your next race if you wanted to get a good indication of what it might be. From there you can work out what % of your max you should be running for your easy runs etc.

Good luck!

Thanks! I'll definitely try the max heart rate next time I do a Parkrun.
Yeah I'd like to follow something more structured as I'm definitely falling into just doing what's comfortable (ie 5km slow). I'm thinking of maybe the Hal hidgeon 10km novice in between exams, even though I can cover the distance, to try improve my times. Although the cross training will probably take a hit again! Or something similar for a faster 5 or 10km that's not to tough or restrictive

FIFA2004 · 04-01-2016 01:05AM

Sunday 4th Jan
5km
45.08

Slowest in a long time, not sure what's going on, it doesn't feel like it. Xmas excess maybe. The world seems to be conspiring against me running for longer recently!

FIFA2004 · 05-01-2016 08:44PM

Tuesday 5th Jan
5km
41.26mins

Tried a bit of fartlek running to remind the legs what not slow felt like!
Decided to sign up for the raheny 5mile at the end of Jan, 6 days After my exam so will be a bit of extra encouragement to run over the next few weeks

FIFA2004 · 10-01-2016 10:07PM

Friday 8th Jan
2.68km
24.06min
Left work early cuz my boss said I looked too sick to be there! Headed out to try the MET challenge mentioned on operation transformation, had planned to finish out the 5km, but after the app crashing at the end, being soaking wet and cold, and outside my house I decided an early night was in order!

Sat 9th Jan
5km
43.08min
Nothing exciting about this one. Was nice running in daylight for the first time in a while!

Sun 10th Jan
5km
45.26min
Slowest run in a while, and it definitely felt like it. Not overly surprising given it was my third day of running and doing 30min resistance exercises for the last 4 days too.

With these 3 runs and another 5km earlier in the week not my worst week running, but disappointed that life got in the way of a longer run again. Given how slow I go I just cant justify the time it would take for more with exam/work pressure. Started the operation transformation exercise programme, as 30mins fits nicely into study breaks and hopefully it will leave me in better shape when things ease up.
Looking forward to starting a specific faster 5km plan soon, fed up of traipsing around castlebar at the speed of a snail!

Also signed up for the Raheny 5 mile, not sure if its the best idea as I might really struggle, as currently its time more than motivation stopping me doing long runs. Once im not embarrisingly far behind the person in second last ill be happy enough...

FIFA2004 · 12-01-2016 10:52PM

Tuesday 12th Jan
8km
70.12mins

Finally got out for a longer run. Stuck with 8k to see what the distance for raheny feels like, was hoping for under 70mins so happy enough, the ice slowed me down by at least 12 seconds!
Now to do it a few more times before raheny...

FIFA2004 · 16-01-2016 10:54PM

Saturday 16th Jan
3.56km
30.40mins

Tough few days with work and courses, finally on study leave, here come 12hr days study! Managed to squeeze in a short run before dinner.
This week I'll hopefully fit in a few runs but mostly it will be short ones like this on breaks. I'll try get a long one in too!

FIFA2004 · 19-01-2016 01:10AM

Monday 18th Jan
4.17km
34.11mins

Another squeezed in run today! Study boredom has lead to much reading about running plans I'd like to try (well Hal hidgeon ones cuz I dunno where else is good to look!). Couldn't face another 5km plod around so decided to try a 'tempo' run (I think that's the right lingo!).
So aimed for 10 mins at 8.30mins/km, 10 at 8, 5 at 7.30 and a warmdown after. Laps didn't work out right cuz I didn't turn off autolap, but they worked out at about 8.15min/km for the first part, 7.45min/km for the second part and 7.05 for the last. Most enjoyable run for a while. Can't wait to have a proper plan to follow again!

FIFA2004 · 20-01-2016 03:15PM

Wednesday 20th Jan
5km
41.11mins

Tough one! Turns out my legs and core are a lot more tired from the OT exercise plan than I gave them credit for. While messing with my watch I found the minimum pace setting, decided to try that, set at 8.30min/km... it didn't work cuz my watch beeped everytime I changed pace no matter what the pace was. The struggle was summed up nicely when I had to run through a group of 20 swans, scared out of my wits, and hadn't the energy to speed up past them!
Was happy to see that this was the fastest 5km ive done since I got my watch, I think I need to start keeping an eye on what my easy pace is though, try cut out the 45min 5k's for good!

Firedance · 20-01-2016 06:48PM

When did you race last fifa? Your race time can be used to get your easy pace using McMillan calculator or Jack Daniels VDOT.

FIFA2004 · 20-01-2016 11:55PM

Firedance wrote: »

When did you race last fifa? Your race time can be used to get your easy pace using McMillan calculator or Jack Daniels VDOT.

Last race was jingle bells, was about 37.30, given the chip issues. Ill put that in the calculator before my next run, thanks! Will have the Raheny 5mile next week, and theres a good few races coming up around mayo in the next few months that I hope to do!

Firedance · 21-01-2016 12:00AM

FIFA2004 wrote: »

Last race was jingle bells, was about 37.30, given the chip issues. Ill put that in the calculator before my next run, thanks! Will have the Raheny 5mile next week, and theres a good few races coming up around mayo in the next few months that I hope to do!

good luck next week! you'll enjoy it, it's a fair course and very well run by RS club. Use your time from Raheny too once you get it, you will notice the calculators change your easy pace as your race times start to come down

21-01-2016 10:36PM

FIFA2004 wrote: »

Tough one! Turns out my legs and core are a lot more tired from the OT exercise plan than I gave them credit for

Fifa2004 - quick question: what are the OT exercises you're currently completing if you don't mind me asking? Are they the resistance exercises which are incorporated in the leaders' plans by any chance?

I'm currently working through a couch to 10k programme (and looking for some cross training plans for the interval days).

We're the same age so I'm following your training plan intently - you've made some incredible progress the last few months! Kudos on your journey thus far

FIFA2004 · 22-01-2016 12:10AM

SmallTeapot wrote: »

Fifa2004 - quick question: what are the OT exercises you're currently completing if you don't mind me asking? Are they the resistance exercises which are incorporated in the leaders' plans by any chance?

I'm currently working through a couch to 10k programme (and looking for some cross training plans for the interval days).

We're the same age so I'm following your training plan intently - you've made some incredible progress the last few months! Kudos on your journey thus far

Thanks for that! Made my day

yeah Im doing the leaders exercises, the one with Karl Henrys videos. Apart from him being a bit annoying theyre great, not too difficult and they don't require a load having a load of kettle bells and weights ready to go! Im doing Lucy's ones, but I don't think there is a huge amount of variation in the different leaders really.
Best of luck with the plan, im sure ur flying it! Keep us up to date with how ur getting on!

FIFA2004 · 22-01-2016 03:26PM

Friday 22nd Jan
4.24km
Intervals: 9x1min with 90 sec recovery
splits: 5.28, 5.48, 6.16, 5.56, 6.06, 6.01, 6.16, 5.51, 6.10

Starting to get cabin fever! Decided todays run needed to be something that would completely take my mind off study and exams, as Wednesdays had turned into a 40min session of contemplating how unprepared I am! What better way to not think than be out of breath... so decided to go with had been my favourite of the interval sessions I previously did
I know this random picking sessions to do with no plan wont make me a better/quicker/stronger runner but for this week I kinda needed to do what suited the rest of my life!
Overall faster than last time I did the sessions, and didn't think about exams once! Success!

Signed up for the streets of castlebar 5km in March this am too... study delirium has definitely kicked in!

The Muppet · 23-01-2016 09:15AM

Good session . Plan or not every run helps build condition . Your doing great stuff here . Good luck with Raheny and castlebar .

Starting at the Very Start

Comments