Keep on Moving

1st March - 6th March
Mon 5 miles tempo
15min easy,
15min @ 8min/mi (goal pace 7:53-8:13)
15min easy

Tue 6.2miles easy
60min

Weds 3.26miles Stride repeats
10min wu
10x20sec strides, 45sec rec
10min cd

Thurs
Rest

Fri 4 miles easy
45 min

Sat 10 miles progression
5min wu, 70 min easy,
10min @ 8:24min/mi (goal 8:23-43) 5min @ 7:44 (goal 7:33-53)
5min cd

Total weeks miles 29miles

Loved this week, it was nice to do a bit of speed on Monday and at the end of my long run in Saturday. I can feel I’m getting a bit stronger and my fitness is coming back!

15-20th March

Mon
60mins easy, 6.2miles

Tues
8x1min hills, 2min rec, 6.2miles

Wednesday
60min easy 6.6miles

Thurs
Rest

Fri
1hr45 long run, 10.5miles

Sat
60min easy, 6.6miles

Total: 36 miles

Week 1 of the grads HM plan!
It was a bit of a disaster especially Tuesdays hills. I was actually looking forward to them but holy fook they were a shock to the system. Apart from my reps being all over the place pace wise, the hill I’ve used before for these was busy with walkers and I was so conscious of breathing all over people or running up behind people that it was uncomfortable.
I also changed my long run to Friday instead of Saturday so I missed the 25min tempo I was suppose to do, I just did a 60min easy run on Saturday instead.
I think I’m going to erase this week and start the plan afresh on Monday.
One good thing for the week was I ran my highest mileage week since October with no ill effects on my foot!

skyblue46 wrote: »

Ah the penny just dropped... welcome back

Thanks you :D

Murph_D wrote: »

Good to see you back at it. Donadea 2022?

I’ve absolutely no want to do Donadea again! I still haven’t recovered from going through the finish line 10 times!
(I’ll never say never though:pac:!!)

28th-3rd April

Week 2
Sun 28th
6x1000m@5k/CV 400m rec
8miles

I planned to get up early for this but it didn’t work out so set out at lunch time and decided to stay along the path beside the main road to avoid the walkers. It was another windy day but really warm. I set the pace up for 7:36-7:46 and I averaged 7:35, 7:40, 7:39, 8:01, 7:34, 7:34.
I dropped pace on the 4th rep but it was uphill and into the wind so overall it wasn’t too bad. I walked/jogged the recoveries. Overall I was pretty happy with this run

Mon 29th
5m steady @ 9:37
I loved this run, I got out early and although it was still windy it was a nice comfortable run.


Tues 30th
30min @ HM, 7miles
Avg 8:15
I set the pace up on my watch for 8:01-8:21 and it didn’t quite work out, I was too slow in the first half, I just couldn’t get going but I finally settled into it for the last 15mins so my average pace looks perfect but overall my run wasn’t. I also picked a really bad route so I’d to cross a few roads and even had to stop at traffic lights so it was far from a good run!
My laps were 8:29, 8:26, 7:59, 7:58

Weds 31st
Rest

Thurs 1st
2x10min @ tempo, 7miles

This run was much better and I really enjoyed it. I redeemed myself from Wednesday’s pace fail! I set this up for 8:20-8:33 and I averaged at 8:21 for both reps so I was very happy with that

Fri 2nd
12m easy
Nothing to report on this, it was a lovely run and a nice end to the week.

Total: 38.5miles


This was a good week, apart from Wednesday’s blip. Pacing is really an area I need to work on. My average pace always works out but I want to get better at keeping my rep pace even, I’m going to try and work on that over the next few weeks

Hi, thanks
yes it’s an 8 week half marathon plan. I know I was a bit apprehensive about the 3 sessions too! Any plan I’ve followed before has been 2 hard days and 3 easy but it was recommended to me by someone I trust and knows my running background so I thought I’d step out of my comfort zone and give it a go! Hopefully it works out for me

11th-17th April

Week 4
Sun 11th
6x800@3k (7:07-7:16)
7:31, 7:21, 7:26, 7:29, 7:27, 7:27

Wishful thinking!!!! When I was setting this up I was thinking I’ve never raced a mile but my faster mile is 7:17 and that was downhill! So how the hell am I going to run an average pace of 7:10!! I was right! I couldn’t! So after the first rep I decided to go by effort.. my watch was beeping all over the place but I just ignored it and tried to keep good form and run!
My splits were slow but still alright and I was happy they were faster than my 5k pace so I wasn’t delighted with the run but not overly disappointed either!

Mon 12th
Rest

Tues 13th
6 miles steady

First run on the hills this year and I loved every second..... it was tough going and I’m not as fit as I was when I was training for Maurice Mullins but overall it was a good run. Had tea and scones at the car afterwards, weather was fab and it was a perfect way to spend the morning

Weds 14th
Rest

Thurs 15th
2x10mins @ tempo (8:21-8:33)
This was a grand run. I tried to keep my pace as even as possible and my average split pace was 8:23 and 8:25

Fri 16th
10 miles easy
This run was grand, my legs were a little tired but overall I enjoyed it

Total: 32.8 miles

This was a nice recovery week. I was expecting my runs to feel really easy but I was tired all week... in hindsight the hill run on Tuesday probably impacted my recovery time but I’m still glad I did it! I think I’m the future I might do my long runs on the hills and go by time instead of distance

Week 6
25th-30th April

Sun 25th
6x800m @ CV
7:37,45,35,33,36
I went to the park for this, it was much nicer than running along the road which I’d been doing for my previous Sunday sessions. The weather was lovely and there wasn’t many people about.

Mon 26th
5m steady avg 9:34

Tues 27th
30mins @ HM avg 7:57
This was probably my favourite run of the week and it felt a lot easier than when I attempted it in week 2.

Wed 28th
Rest

Thurs 29th
7.5mile hill run
On my plan I had 2x10min tempo but I decided to go up to the hills instead. The weather turned bad in the last mile or 2 but it was still a lovely run!

Fri 30th
13miles easy
To quote Wubble Wubble “Kids to school, home, run half marathon distance...simple as that” :D

41miles

I loved this week of running, it was tough and I was pretty tired but I loved it all the same. The only downside was my foot started to niggle just a little bit again. I had stopped strapping it up about 2 weeks ago but I’ve started again and hopefully it will behave

Bluesquare wrote: »

A solo half does sound hard but in the right frame of mind you might enjoy it. A 5k TT is always handy mind - the pain ends quickly and it gives you something to build on .

I was just thinking on my run today that I might try a 5K TT this weekend, I'll see how I go but if anything it will give me an idea of where I'm at and as you say something to build on and I think I should (hopefully) be able to shave a little bit off my PB!

Sunday 9th
6mile hill run
Nice run up Tibradden and Cruagh.

Monday 10th
Rest

Tuesday 11th
6x600m @ CV (7:25-7:35)
7:29, 7:29, 7:20, 7:22, 7:29, 7:20, 7:22.
I messed this up on my watch again, the second week I set the recoveries up in metres instead of km so I had to stop after the first rep too fix it. Other than that it was a good run

Wednesday 12th
Rest

Thursday 13th
5miles with strides

Friday 14th
8miles easy

Saturday 15th
5k time trial
I was thinking about doing this all week but hadn’t completely made up my mind, then on Saturday afternoon I decided to bite the bullet and just do it!
I drove to my local park after a huge rain shower which was perfect because I was one of the only people there.
I knew about 2 loops would get me 5k and if I started in one corner of the park I’d only have to run up a draggy hill once!
The first mile was perfect, it nearly felt easy, I had planned not to look at my watch and just run but I couldn’t resist when the first mile beeped... 7:14!!! I couldn’t believe it!
Mile 2 was tougher, the “hill” was half way through this mile and my pace did slow, I could feel my legs were tired and when I got back to the corner I started at I glanced at my watch again and my pace was 8mins, mentally I lost it, I stopped briefly twice and walked.. disaster... I had to give myself a good talking to and I got going again. I tried to imagine how disappointed I’d be if I’d didn’t finish it out. Mile 2 beeped at 7:35.. ugh!
Mile 3.1 I just tried to stay relaxed and just run, I managed to up the pace and I finished at 22:50
It’s a pb by 25seconds, ok but not great since my last pb was pretty soft.

I’d mixed feelings about this, I didn’t run it right. I was glad I got a pb but I was really disappointed I stopped in 2nd mile. I don’t have a lot of experience racing 5ks, I was always afraid of them but I do think I could do better in a proper race so that’s my goal for the summer... did I really just say that!!.....

Sunday 16th
8mile hill run
This run was perfect, I loved every second of it

Total: 39miles

Thanks for the comments everyone! I’m definitely going to focus on a 5k plan now and hopefully the parkruns will be back up and running soon so I can practice getting through the torture of the second mile

Week 1

Mon 24th
8x600m @ goal 5k pace
I usually run in the morning but because I did the long hill run the day before I decided to wait until the evening for this one. I’m not sure what my goal 5k pace is (I just know I want it to be faster than my last attempt!) so I set it up on my watch for 7:05-7:15. It was another windy day so my splits were a little too slow or a little too fast depending on the direction I was running but I felt my effort was on point for every rep which I was happy about... 7:28, 7:08, 7:23, 7:01, 7:16, 7:01, 7:19, 6:51

Tues 25th
6miles easy
My legs were tired for this, running the night before, the hill run on Sunday and doing my stability exercises everyday all added to it!

Wed 26th
Rest

Thurs 27th
25min tempo @ 8:05
It was another breezy day and the birds were going nuts in the park which was freaking me out but I did love the run and I was able to keep my paces nice and even for once!!!

Fri 28th
11 miles easy
It was raining again but still kind of warm. I meet my friend for this and the miles zipped by so quick.

Sun 30th
7mile hill run
I went to Tribradden for this run. I got there early so there wasn’t many people around. It’s amazing how much the weather can change in a few days, it was such a fabulous morning

Total: 39miles


This was week of my first ever 5k plan! I had to amend it a little because I want to keep my long run on a Friday and a hill run on a Sunday which isn’t ideal but I’m hoping it will be ok. I did the session on Monday but I might swop it with my easy Tuesday run depending how tired I’m after the hill run (some weeks it might be longer or shorter) I want to keep my mileage in the 40+ range each week to so I’ll have to figure out something there, maybe add another easy run or do longer warm up & cool downs or maybe an extra few miles!
Anyway I was happy how the first week went. I’d love a sub 22min 5k, I don’t think I’ll be able to do it this time but I’ll leave my goal pace for the sessions at 7:05-7:15 for the moment and see how I go!

Week 3
Mon 7th
7miles easy @ 9:30

Tues 8th
6x800m @5k pace, 200m rec
This was the same session as last and it turned out more or less the same! The first 4 reps were fine and then I faded for the last 2

Weds 9th
Rest

Thurs 10th
50mins with 25min tempo
This was a good run, my tempo pace averaged out at 8:03min/mile. I swallowed a fly in the third mile

Fri 11th[/B]
12miles easy @ 9:49
Friday is the only run I have company for and I really look forward to it every week

Sat 12th
6miles easy @ 9:31
Lovely morning, it was nice to get out early

Total:40.5 miles

Week 4
Monday 14th
10x300m @3k pace, 100m rec
I didn’t know how this would turn out but I really enjoyed it, I was a little slow for a few but I’m blaming that on the wind again! I was happy my effort was consistent!

Tues 15th
5miles easy @ 9:46

Weds 16th
50mins w/ 10x 10sec hill sprints


Thurs 17th
Rest

Friday 18th
3.7miles easy @ 9:32

Sat 20th
5k TT
This was a mid plan 5k TT which I wasn’t sure if I’d chicken out of doing so to make sure I didn’t I told some of my running girlies to keep me accountable!!!
Picking a route near me that wasn’t too hill or didn’t go through housing estates or that wasn’t multiple loops was hard, I really have to do better research. I finally came up with the bright idea of going 5k down the N4 and running towards home. If I’m completely honest it was an easy route, it started with a slight uphill and then a lovely downhill for a good bit of the first mile and then was pretty much flat the rest of the way. The only downside was I’d to cross 4 roads.
I did a 2 mile warm up, some stretches and was ready to go.

Mile 1 - 6:57 This mile was fine the downhill kept my pace up and I was feeling pretty good. Towards the end of it I’d to cross my first road and I could see a bus coming so crossed early and ended up on an overgrown grassy verge which wasn’t ideal but didn’t put me off to much.
Mile 2 - 7:17 This was a nice flat session but my pace dropped exactly 20sec on this mile. After the first mile beeped I didn’t look at my watch again. My main focus was not stopping (which I did last time) I knew if I stopped it’d be a long time before I attempted a 5k again. I crossed the second road without incident and as I was coming to the end of the mile I to run up the slip road, when I got near the top I could see there were too many cars passing for me to be able to continue without stopping so I did a quick turn around and headed back down the section I just came.
Mile 3- 7:37 Again I dropped another 20secs exactly. At the time I really couldn’t of cared less and was just happy I was running mile 3 and I still hadn’t stopped yet!!

My final time was 22:39 which is 11 seconds faster than I ran 5 weeks ago. I still have a lot to learn about 5ks. When I finished I knew there were definitely parts I could improve on and if I’m completely honest I did pick an easy route with the first mile having a big down hill but my main goal was to stay strong mentally and not talk myself out of running it which I achieved. I needed the mental boost more than anything, the time is a bonus. So the next goal is to stay mentally strong, pick a fairer route and get a good time... no pressure