Getting back into it

My last post was about my SMC 5k, which I am still very happy with. That night though, I came down with a stomach infection I caught from my son. He had been ill for two weeks with it, so I was wondering just how long I had to go.
I was telling myself that I would be ok to run on Tuesday...then Wednesday. I was kidding myself. I was not able to bear the thought of eating anything, so I didn't have the energy to walk to the end of the road. I started feeling a bit better on the Sunday (a week after coming down with it) and was able to eat light meals on Monday.
It's now Wednesday, and I'm back to full appetite, although I lost 5kg in seven days - not good. I am slim at the best of times. I'm trying to get my weight slowly back up, but not eating crap food either, it will take a few weeks to recover.
I did manage a 4km walk this morning, taking about 45 minutes, so that's a start! Hoping to get a light, short run in tomorrow and possibly a slightly longer run on Friday or Sunday.
Here's hoping!

Eoin

Run Forest, Run!

Well today I had my alarm set for 5:45 so I could get food in me in time for it to NOT be a problem before the race. I was actually awake from 5am, I was really nervous for some reason!
I had been looking at yesterday's race output from the Garmin and my heart rate was quite high on two occasions. When I matched them to the time they reminded me of the two times I had to stop to catch my breath. (Sounds of very slow cogs and wheels moving....) Aha! I Googled heart rate training zones (or something similar) and discovered that I should be keeping my HR below 165-170, otherwise my muscles are going faster than my heart can get O2 to them. That makes sense now...
So, armed with this and my HR monitor I set off for the SMC 5k race in Smithfield, about 40mins drive west of us in Sydney. I did a 5min jog and some stretching and then lined up at the start. Nervous again! We all took off, but I let the fast pack run away, I knew I wasn't going to be staying with them long. About 4 or 5 times I felt my breathing get a bit fast and checked my HR and lo and behold it was creeping up. I slowed my pace and a minute or so later my breathing was back to normal, it actually worked! I got some water at the 2.5k turn point and kept the pace up, knowing that I was more than  half way certainly helped. For the last 1k I was determined to put a little sprint on and I did a strong finish. Last month I got 31mins for this route and distance, today I was clocked at 27:10, a massive difference! I'm delighted with it and am really happy with the amount my training has come on in just 4 weeks :-)

Eoin

3k or not 3k...

Today I was doing a fun run with the local running club (RBH). There was a 2k for kids, a 3k for Intermediate and a 7k for experienced. I signed up for the 3k and got warmed up.
At the start line, we (about 20 starters for all levels) were asked for a show of hands who was for which distance. I put my hand up for the 7k as I thought "what the hell"!
I was checking my time & distance with my Garmin (first time using it in a race - love it!) and when I passed the kids turn point at 1k I saw that it was reading 1.2k. Hmmm, interesting. Anyway I plodded on. I got to the turn point for the 3k (supposedly at 1.5k) but my trusty Garmin read 2.1k - oops! That immediately got me thinking, "Well if they are that much off for the 3k, how much off will the 7k be?". I opted to turn, and I'm glad I did. I was feeling tired with heavy legs after my run the previous night but still got back in 22:24, and my Garmin said that the "3k" was actually 4.1k. So not only was this a bit longer than I was planning, but it was also a PB for a 4k, my old PB was 26 mins (and change), so I smashed it by about 4 mins! Woohoo!!!
The guy who planned the distance and route apologised afterwards saying that he had plotted the distances wrong. Not to worry, it was a good run.
I'm booked on the SMC 5k first thing in the morning - seriously, I have to be up before 6am to get there on time! Hope I won't feel too tired. Lovin it though :-)
Eoin

Don't forget to stop!

Well, tonight I was meant to be doing interval training, which involved 3 x 10mins run with 1min walk in between. I set off on a route that's about 5-6k and kinda lost track of the time...Before I realized it, I had gone over 12 mins so I just decided to keep going - I was actually enjoying this!
I ended up doing 5.5k in 31:00, which is also a PB for me :-)
I have a 3k cross country race tomorrow afternoon, so tonight's run has built up a lot of confidence. I may or may not be doing a race on Sunday too, I'll have to see how I feel - might just do a run in the park with the local club instead.
I'm finally getting some enjoyment from running!! Yipee!!!

Eoin

Rest day...

Today is a rest day for me. I'll need it, I have an interval run in the morning (up around 6am for that) and a race on Saturday (either 3k or 7k, see how I'm feeling on the day). Then on Sunday I have either the SMC 5k/10k race in the morning, or the local running club's (RBH) Sunday casual run.
The casual run is around Centennial Park, which has a 3.8k circuit around a man made lake, really nice there. Some members do one circuit, about 30mins, others do two for about an hour. One of the members is in his 70s and does four laps each week, he puts the rest of us to shame... :-(

Sprint training...

Well today was tough. Wednesday is "sprint training day" to me at the moment. Today's was like this:
1. 10min light jog to warm up
2. Stretching
3. 8 x 80m sprints - start at 75% and last is at 100% pace
4. 6 x 1min sprint at 80% of pace followed by a 30 sec jog and back to sprint...
5. 10min jog to warm down

It was tough, a very warm day and I had a late night the night before, but I covered 5k doing all of that! Tomorrow is "officially" a rest day, but if I'm up for it I might do a light run, as I have two races coming up at the weekend. I may only get time to do one of them though. One is the SMC 5k and the other is the RBH 3k or 7k. If I'm doing the SMC I have the option of a 10k, which I would go for. Here's hoping I can make it! :-)
Eoin

Want to do more

So I did my standard interval training this morning (2 x 10 + 1) and was left feeling I could do a lot more. I know I have sprint training tomorrow, so I need to take it easy today, but I feel I need to start pushing myself if I want to have a hope at doing the half in 4 weeks!
There's two different races and a fun run I can sign up for this weekend, and I'd really like to do two of them...

Unhappy coach :-(

Ok, so I got onto my coach and told him about the half marathon challenge. He's not happy, but willing to assist. He won't "fast track" my training, but will give me advice.
I have a 5k race at SMC scheduled for Sunday (if my wife isn't working!) and also there's a 7k on Saturday and a 4k race on Sunday afternoon I can make. I'd really like to make the SMC race though, as I can just go along and ask to do a 10k instead.
For the half marathon, I need to work on my pace, as they stop the runners that don't make it to 11k in 75mins...
The training starts now!

Just another challenge

I can currently run about 4k before I have to stop and walk, catch my breath. A friend saw me go through a very tough time over the weekend. When she saw me come through it she then challenged me to run a half marathon, in four weeks time. I'm not sure how or what training I need to do for it, but I'm going to run all 20+km of it.

Phew, running as it should be!

Ok, so Coach Pat got back to me and said that I was doing my sprint training correctly, cool! That’s a drawback of using an online running coach, they aren’t there to tell you/give out to you about the details. Who was it that said “The devil is in the details”?

Anyway, I was going to go training tonight (Krav Maga), but my son is still sick, vomiting every now and then most of the week. Doctors won’t give him anything – wasters. So, a glass of wine is called for, as the family is tucked up in bed and tomorrow is a rest day – no running.

Eoin

Sprint training done right (I think…)

Coach Pat said that last Wednesday I had sprint training, so I did my warm up, ran 10 x 30sec with 1 minute SR and then a warm down. “Pretty easy”, I thought.

When I emailed Coach Pat he must have laughed, his reply told me what I should be doing…

So this week, my sprint training went like this:

1. 10 min light run/jog
2. Light stretching
3. 8 x 80m sprints, the first at 75% of full pace, getting steadily faster until the last was at 100% full pace.
4. 6 x 1min sprint at 80% full pace, with 45sec walk before next sprint.
5. 10 minute light run/jog to cool down
6. Stretching

A little different to what I did last week, I think you’ll agree! I did it all, except for the last cool down run, where I only did 4 minutes, as my old hamstring injury from two months ago was starting to wake up again. All of the running today was in the rain, but as we’re moving into autumn I guess it’s to be expected. In one way, I’m glad tomorrow is a rest day!

Eoin

My running journey

Hi all,

Well I’ve gone and started a blog. I guess I’ve seen a few blogs around, some from runners or divers or just friends. So I thought I would share my ups and downs along my journey.

A little about myself; I work in IT but am home based most of the time, which is great! I go running in the mornings and do Krav Maga in the evenings. I am also a diver and get out in the water when I can. I’m planning a weekend away wreck diving soon, so I’ll blog about that when I get back.

Post soon!

Eoin