RW Forum Six – Sub 5 Vanessa Ford with Plum

Today was my scheduled long run and it looked promising out - the reality was slightly different however. Paths that had thawed yesterday had black ice and the routes I usually run were like skating rink so I ran most of it along the verges which were either frozen and uneven or very, very wet and muddy so I feel I've run twice the distance.

• Dist: 10.04m
• Time: 01:52:36
• Splits: 11:46,  11:03, 11:39,  10:57,  10:32, 10:27,  11:30,  11:56,  11:52, 10:23
• Avg pace: 11:13 min/mil
• 10 min brisk walk followed by stretching 10 minutes

I have a few twinges which I've iced and the plan is to do a short recovery run tomorrow when I'm hoping it will have thawed out a bit more.

Well if your knee holds up after all that hard stability work keping you upright then I think we can safely say it will hold up going forward.It also reflects in your splits........... ice free when you feel comfortatble with the surface you are running sub 10.30's quite happily    We still have plenty of time to make that your standard pace if not even faster, you must be happy with the progress so far.

Me I am being lazy, cant shake off the lethargy and my run is well before yours, reckon I will have to be taken out and dropped 5 miles form home tomorrow to make sure i dont cheat and cut it short  ;-)

I certainly felt like I'd run much further than 10 miles today. The knee is OK (touch wood) and I'm being careful to continue with the knee stretches and exercises regularly. At 10.30 and can still comfortably breathe, even at 10.15 so if I could maintain that for the distance I would be more than happy. I am also keeping up on the core work at the gym to help my general fitness.

When's your run Plum?

I am doing Brighton but really struggling to motivate my ass out the door at the moment, I am, to put it mildly, faffing around without any focus at all,,, More importantly I have the qualifiers for the World Duathlon champs in March and even that is failing to register.

It will kick in soon I hope     

Oh dear, it's hard to get started sometimes. Maybe the change in weather will make you feel more inclined.

I decided to test myself a bit yesterday by running a bit faster - the last half mile was tough but I was spurred on by the fact it had started chucking it down and was freezing '

• Dist: 3.6m
• Time: 33:26
• Splits: 9.33. 9.07, 9.23, 5.21
• Avg pace: 9.17 min/mil
• 5 min brisk walk followed by stretching 10 minutes

I have re-done my training plan taking into account my holidays etc. Would it be OK to send you a copy to peruse?

The plan this week is 3.1m (5k club run) Weds, 6.2m (10k club run) Thurs, 11 miles Saturday then I'm doing a 10 mile walk Sunday in training for my Mount Toubkal trip in May .

Have a good day.

Yes please ...... I may be offline for a couple of days as am in Manchester and then para tri coaching in the Midlands at thw weekend

10 mile run followed by 10 mile walk on consecutive days will do your endurance the power of good.....

Those times are excellent..... it would be good if you could do your shorter runs at the same sort of pace then believe it or not you will find your long run splits coming down proportionately, It just makes running slower so much easier if you have pushed your CV ability to higher levels and therefor you go faster..... 

Thanks Plum, I've emailed it. Bizarrely I've found a running buddy for my week by the sea in Turkey . I happened to mention to the apartment rental lady that I'd want to run and was it safe and she emailed me and said she runs every day, would I like to join her for some routes - how nice is that .

Yesterdays run was very cold and windy. I think I ran faster because of the wind but I really felt it when I got to the finish. Tonight is a more leisurely 10k.

• Dist: 3.17m
• Time: 27:02
• Splits: No splits - garmin not playing ball so timer function only.
• Avg pace: 8.32 min/mil
• Stretching 15 minutes

I didn't realise I was running that fast, mainly because it was so windy I think. I was really gasping for breath at the finish but that gives me a 5k PB of 26:32 .

I always like to have a run once in a while with the watch on but upside down so I cant see what i am doing and look at it once i finish,I do most of my training by percieved exertion and jusy have a look at what I did afterwards ..... 8.32 min miling eh..... best I dust my racing shoes off by the look of it if you keep increasing pace at this rate  

Good news about the holiday running partner as well, the heat will prepare you for the blazing sunshine you will surely experience at MK     

That's funny - we went out to cheer the runners on last year and they needed flippers at the very least. In some places they should have been issued with canoes it was so wet.

Yesterdays run was a bit lame as I was feeling a bit rough so I've done another today to make up the miles:

Yesterday:

• Dist: 1.54m
• Time: 14.48mins
• Splits: 9.30, 5.17
• Avg pace: 9.38 min/mil
• Stretching 5 minutes

Today:

• Dist: 4.21m
• Time: 41:26
• Splits: 9.44, 9.40, 10.16, 9.49, 1.54
• Avg pace: 9.51 min/mil
• Stretching 15 minutes

One think I am happy about is that my pace is more constant (the 10.16 is up a zigzag hill!) now, when I started it was really erratic.

Total miles so far this week 12.5 and I'm planning a long run tomorrow 11ish miles.

Hope you're feeling more motivated now we're due some nicer weather tomorrow.

Yesterdays run was hard. I set my pace to fast - misjudged it really - buy I'll know next time. The last couple of miles were very hard work, very muddy with lots of flood diversions and a lot of running into the wind (and dying for the loo on the last mile):

• Dist: 12m
• Time: 2:06:36
• Splits:  1 10:18.8 2 10:25.4 3 10:22.7 4 10:15.5 5 10:28.4 6 10:27.3 7 11:17.9 8 10:40.6 9 10:37.2 10 10:54.4 11 10:37.6 12 10:08.6
• Avg pace: 10:33 min/mil
• 20 mins brisk walk
• Stretching 15 minutes

Today 7.25 walk with back packs but not to fast pace.

Total running miles this week 24.5, walking 7.25.

"The last couple of miles were very hard work, very muddy with lots of flood diversions "

10 10:54.4 11 10:37.6 12 10:08.6

If you expect me to believe you at least make them look like hard work.........

Double that = 4:12   add 25 mins for the last couple of miles..............   well blow me down look at that time 

All is going along nicely, and especially as ther is unlikely to be a vast amount of flooding on the day we hope

Thanks Plum but I REALLY don't think I could maintain that for even another mile let alone another 14.2. I really shocked a lady as I came round a bend swearing my head off out load - I don't think she'd heard language like that for a long time. I set my virtual pacer to 10.20 so even though I got a good chunk through thinking it was to fast I was to stubborn not to try and match it for the rest, plus the fact it drove me mad beeping if I slowed down .

Did you get a chance to look at my plan?

This week I did 2m yesterday I've got 3m club run weds, 6m Thurs and 2m Friday (slow with preggers friend). Should I cut back and have an easier week for my LSR or shall I just go for 13?

Cheers

V

I think you should just go for the 13.....I presume as you are down to be doing it Saturday, the 2m on Friday should loosen everything off nicely from Thursdays medium run. Try again to not use the watch if you can restrain yourself, apart from having a look a couple of hours in to make sure you havent run too far and run to feel, set of conservatively at a pace you fl is too slow and then kep going gradually increasing the perceived effort. Be nice to see what the numbers look like whn you are running to effort rather than pace

I am looking at the plan as we speak and it seems you should be doing 12 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday as a recovery    Are we modifying as we go along  

Probably the better way round to do it but the 2 isnt going to make a vast amount of difference in the grand scheme 

I would say if time and family permits then add a longer run in on your holiday, I know it may be impossible but just a suggestion...... especially as you have managed to aquire a running buddy, be rude not too

I am aiming to do a longer run while I'm away but it's not easy to plan until we get there but I'm hopeful. I'm not running today as I have a raging headache but here are Weds and Thurs figures:

Weds:

• Dist: 3.17m
• Time: 27:04
• Splits: no splits - garmin trauma
• Avg pace: 9.32 min/mil
• Stretching 10 minutes

Thurs:

• Dist: 6.21m
• Time: 1:04:08
• Splits: 10.33, 10.15, 9.48, 10.11, 10.31, 10.34, 2.13
• Avg pace: 10.19 min/mil
• Stretching 15 minutes

Thurs run was without setting pace or referring to watch apart from checking when I thought I was half way so I could turn round.

I'm still planning 13 this weekend but back to plan and lighter run next Saturday for my 'easy' week. I've had a niggling pain in my left heel so I've been icing, stretching and massaging with a golf ball.

Results from today's run:

• Dist: 13.2m
• Time: 2:15:35
• Splits: 10.58, 10.34, 10.33, 10.17, 10.27, 9.58, 10.25, 10.24, 10.14, 10.10, 10.29, 10.09, 10.21
• Avg pace: 10.12min/mil
• Stretching 15 minutes

I didn't use my watch (and in fact it paused itself for 1/2 mile before I realised so mile 3 and 4 splits are from hubby's bike computer which isn't quite as accurate as the garmin). The pace overall felt easier - maybe because I wasn't thinking about it all the time. It helped to have hubby along on his bike - plus he carried extra drink etc.

I also tried out eating a mule bar, just nibbling on it from miles 8 to 10 and it was definately a nicer experience than last weeks gel. I drank 250ml of water and 250ml of High5 drink which all seemed to go down OK.

Will do a 2 mile easy run tomorrow.

Next week is my 'easy' week so my long run will be 10 miles.

That is an excellent confidence booster and glad you found something you stand a chance of eating on the day. there will hopefully be people to chat to on the way round on race dayas well and it does help take away lots of the monotony of the day an believe me some bits can be really monotonous.

You have had a had couplke of weeks and the weather cant be helping, you use a lot of energy just keeping warm even if you are running and need that bit more fuel to keep yourself warm, hope you managed your recovery run today

Hi Plum,

I did manage my 2m Sunday in 20:53 - didn't really want to go as it was freezing rain but felt better for it. Yesterdays run:

• Dist: 3.41m
• Time: 36:12
• Splits: 10.54, 10.33, 10.30, 4.13
• Avg pace: 10.37 min/mil
• Stretching 10 minutes

This felt like really hard work, possibly because it was straight from work in the slushy snow. Rest day today and I do feel like I need it. Roll on half term next week and a nice relaxing week off .

............. and it is a down week this week and the recovery is just as inportant as the effort weeks to bring you back into the next hard feeling refreshed and looking forward to the running...... getting out the door at the moment is a major effort of will and the mental toughness will serve you well as training progresses 

It was sleeting during last nights run - nice to have a change in the weather .

• Dist: 3.3m
• Time: 27:31
• Splits: no splits, Garmin clearly hates this route
• Avg pace: 8.41 min/mil
• Stretching 10 minutes

I'm hoping the rain stops at some time today for my planned 6 miles but I'm guessing not by the look outside.

Happy running all .