25th October

6.6Km, 37:32, very easy paced run on flattish road/trail mix.

Brought my total weekly mileage up above 40km which is probably the highest of the year.

Aiming to go for a long run tomorrow but atm I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it in as I'm doing a ton of work on my poker game and need to get some hands in too. Will do my best to find the time. Might even do the unthinkable and get up early to get it out of the way.

26th October

21.1km/13.1 miles, 1:54

Well so much for upping these long runs slowly. I planned on doing 19km, but when I got close to home some kind of OCD kicked in and I thought **** this I can't leave it at so close to a landmark distance like the HM, so put in a few extra little loops to make the distance up.

Was feeling good at the start but my enthusiasm for the run started to wane at about 10km and I had slightly heavy legs for the 2nd half of the run. It was an easy pace though and it felt fine. I think my problem with actually doing a HM is going to be mental rather than physical. It just seems like such a long time to be pounding away the miles like that. At least when you're running in the hills you have the scenery and the variation in terrain/gradient. For my future long runs I'm going to have to try and change it up to do different routes so I don't get too bored too quickly. Maybe for next week's long run I'll either get out into the mountains or I'll do a hilly road route.

Just found this cool little YouTube vid made with a compilation of amateur footage of fellrunning. Especially like the descending bit mid-way through, but you can get a real sense of how tough the climbs are too.....

Rest day today and I need it. My quads are aching a bit from yesterday. I'm absolutely loving running at the moment and motivation is on a real high, so even though I just want to get outside and run I have to be a bit careful and protect myself to make sure I'm not going out too hard and end up getting injured again. Am going to go out on the run with my club tomorrow which will be about 10k with a couple medium sized hills involved. I'm going to do my best to just take it easy and not get into competetive mode.

Because I can't run today I've been browsing around online for running related stuff.... A short motivational article about why we run....

http://team.inov-8.com/anna-lupton-r...gly-hard-work/

Oh and if you like the mountains in general, or you're a geology/topology/map nerd, this is awesome....

Im changing it up for a month Ron.

Doing 400m sprints / 200m recovery jog sets and seeing how many i can do.

Did 9 on Monday and will attempt 10 tomorrow for a nice round 6k in total.

Nothing too fast to start off with but looking to increase my general speed over the next month.

Trying to increase your speed is a good idea, but you gotta be careful with this kind of training because this is where the injuries come from. I think the general advice is not to even do speed sessions until you have a good base weekly mileage, but I don't think there's a problem in doing a speed session once a week. Doing 3x/week is probably excessive and inviting injury.

Also, if you're doing it as sprints to increase your speed, then not doing it as fast as you can is kinda going against the point of this kind of training. The general idea behind effective running training is doing your slow/long runs slow and your fast runs fast. Doing it inbetween just means you tire yourself out too much for the same effect on your longer runs and you aren't benefitting from your speed sessions.

My last 5k was me running at 10.6kmph which finished in 28.10 iirc and thats a PB for me but slow compared to others but i felt ok throughout.

On Monday my fast was 12kph and the slow was 7.5kmph.

Initially the fast was silly fast and took me a while to get used to it but felt better the more times i attempted it.

The 7.5kmph slow pace was really up for discussion tbh, it felt like a slow jog but im wondering whether i should bring that down a fair bit and actually recover better before going back to the sprint.

As you say .. maybe go faster and much slower in recovery speed.

With the above speeds i did 5.4km in around 32.40 minutes and the 5k in around 30.40 which is obviously slower than what ive recently done at a steady pace, but it did feel tougher.

If you're running 3x/week and want to incorporate some speed sessions I guess I'd say to do this.... Do two slow runs, one long and one short. If you're comfortable with 5k then do 5k as your shorter run and start off with 6k for your longer run, increasing by 1km each week. But slow the pace down. These runs are to build a mileage base and get your body just used to sustaining a run, building endurance and to get efficient at burning your body's fuel the right way etc. Don't worry about setting a pb each week. If you're really bothered about tracking your progress then maybe do a fast one every 2-3 weeks or something (in place of your speed session). A good rule of thumb for pace on these slower runs is that you should be able to keep up a conversation without too much pause for breath.

Then for your speed session, do some kind of intervals, but for the max effect from these you should be pushing as hard as you can for the session. It can be anything from 100m to 1km intervals but by the end of the session you should be ****ed. In these sessions, your recovery period is exactly that, a period to recover. It's not part of your training effort, it's just a period of recovery where you keep moving mainly to avoid seizing up and to keep the blood flowing.

It's a very common misconception that in whatever you're training, you have to hammer it every time and "feel the burn". In reality that's just a quick way to burn out and not get maximum efficiency from your training. Training sensibly in the short term leads to far better long term gains.

Very interesting Ron ...

Your making me re-think my early strategy !

As ive said .. this is only my 8th week so im just trying to find what works for me.

So far .. i just tried to go faster with every run and push myself, obviously realised that i would soon hit a brick wall and wanted to change it up this week.

Just to confirm ..

One slow 5k run at whatever speed i want .. even drop down from the 10.6 i did last week .. just make it enjoyable and not looking for a PB every time.

One slow long run which will be 6k and increase each week by 1k but slow it down !

One Speed session ... will definitely slow down on the recovery time .. 7.5 was more of a jog than a recovery so will drop that well down but look to increase the speed.

Might take me a few attempts to see where im at ... but willing to give it a go.

Tomorrow i will re-do my speed session because i felt i did it incorrectly on Monday.

Friday will be a long 6k run at a nice pace of around 9.5kmph ...

Its all a little trial and error but at least this mixes things up and im not doing the same thing with every run.

Thanks.

Yes exactly this. It may seem counter intuitive but slowing down on your training runs is not a bad thing. The training effect of running a long run at a slow comfortable pace is nearly the same as running at your race pace, so you don't get much extra benefit, but it takes longer to recover and puts you at more risk of injury (never underestimate the risk of injury in running - soooo many people take up running, go hard at it for 6 weeks, get injured and never get back into it). Yes you may get more benefit by going really hard at it every session, but the extra benefit will be minimal, and the chances that you get to the long run are even more minimal (and despite what everyone thinks, yes this does apply to you!).

If you look at the runs I've logged, you can see that when it's racing or intervals I go out as hard as possible, but all my other runs are done at a pace that is very comfortable for me. If I race 5k I'm at a pace of about 3:55/km atm, and would expect to do a HM at about 4:15-4:20/km pace, but if I just go out for a 5k training run, I'll run at about 5:30/km which is a pace where my breathing is completely controlled and I feel completely comfortable. Recovery is minimal and this way I can fit in way more miles, with fewer days off and less chance of injury. Plus it's simply more enjoyable.

Compliance is key to any training. Being able to do solid, consistent running is way better in the long run than going out as hard as possible then getting injured, or burned out, or fed up with the punishing regime. The day I learned that running slow is just as effective as running fast was a beautiful day as you no longer dread going out for that punishing run where you flog yourself all the way round. You can just go out and enjoy the running, and when you do have a race or whatever where you are going for it, it actually becomes a bit of a treat!

Let us know how you get on. Better still start a log. I find it really good for keeping myself accountable for my training.

Oh, and get outside. Treadmills suck.

@hap hazard: the problem with your old strategy is not that you will hit a wall and stop improving. the problem is that you're highly likely to get injured if you continue as you do / did... it's really really easy to get some kind of problem in your legs / feets / shins / hips etc, especially if you're a new runner (and even more if you're overweight or unathletic; no idea if this is the case).

+1 to everythin ron said.

personally, i wouldn't even do a speed session yet in your situation. and just have 3-4 easy runs (including one long run) every week for the next 2-3 month, while slowly increasing your weekly mileage. you will get faster automatically, and injury risk is a lot lower.

but yes, if you want to do one speed session per week, do it as Ron suggested. don't do the "slow 5k run" at "whatever speed you want". do it at a very slow speed. it should feel easy, you should never be out of breath and be able to hold a ~normal conversation.
you should expand the length of the long run over time, but also the length of the other sessions. example: keep the 5k and the speed session the same until your long run is 8km long (so in 3 weeks). then the next week, increase the 5k easy run to an 6k easy run, make your speed session somewhat longer and keep the long run at 8km. the details don't matter, just make sure that your long run is never more than >50% of your weekly total mileage (if you have 3 runs per week).

@ron: i assume you know the salomon trailrunning videos? https://www.youtube.com/user/SalomonTrailRunning . not really a fan of the last 2 seasons in general, but the newest episode was nice:



for the long runs: did you try running with music / podcasts? i'm not a big fan of it in general and especially not for trail runs, but for long runs it's quite often nice imho and helps against monotony.

Yeah I've seen a lot of the Salomon vids, but not watched them all yet. The first vid I posted in this thread came from there, I think the most recent series. They seem very hit and miss. Some are great, some are kinda pointless.

I've just recently started using music on my flat runs. I listen to drum and bass which is both uplifting and has the perfect tempo to match a running cadence. I'm not a fan of using music to run to in general but on these long grinds I find it helps. If I'm out in the hills or whatever though I try to be more mindful of my surroundings and would never listen to music on those runs.

I wonder what it'd be like listening to a podcast or an audiobook. Dunno if that'd be too distracting.

Thanks to you both, its very much appreciated.

Im going to do a nice 6k run at around 8.5kmph just to see how it feels.

I get the feeling i might actually enjoy it for a change

28th October

7.6km, 295m climbing, 1h10m - my normal wednesday night club run. Did 2 climbs and I took it really easy on both as my legs were totally shot from Monday's long run. I would normally go for a second loop (half the runners go off and do another, smaller loop of about 5k) but was just not feeling up to it.

You can see the really steep descent in the middle. This is a scree run which is just the best thing in fell running. A really steep slope covered in small stones where you can just absolutely let go and fly down. Will have to try and get a POV vid of this at some point.



Feeling a small tweak in my left knee when there is rotational force on it. Don't think it's serious and didn't feel it when running yesterday even though I felt it during the day before the run. Will just have to keep an eye on it. Might go out for a short easy run today and just see how it is.

29th October

5km, 28:33 - Very easy pace, off road. Knee felt fine, just going to have to keep an eye on it on for any longer/harder runs.

The plan for the rest of this week is to do a longer slow run tomorrow (8-10km) and then a sprint intervals session on the flat on Saturday, but will just see what I can fit in and when.

30th October

Speed session. Ran up to the local uni (about 15 mins to warm up) then did reps on the rugby pitches. Did 8 reps, sprinting the length of two pitches - about 260m - jogging back to the start to recover, and with a longer rest after the 4th rep just to break it up. Rep times ranged from 50-58s.

I'm not sure I pushed myself enough because I managed to get my fastest rep on the last one. Not sure whether that's a nad thing or not though as I probably managed a more even pace rather than nailing the first rep and getting slower on each successive one which is what I usually do.

Going to rest tomorrow, then I'm going to the Lakes on Sunday for a good run in the mountains. Will be doing a popular route called the Fairfield Horseshoe, following the race route closely, which is given as 14.5km and 914m of climbing.

I think I'm going to take it fairly easy next week with just some slow, short-medium runs, and then maybe try a 5k again on the Saturday.

** Here to highjack Ron's thread **

On Wednesday did 6k at 8.5 mph and completed it in 42 minutes or so .. felt it was a nice slow pace and finished without any issues ... sweating but not blowing at all.

Friday did a speed run.

1 recovery minute at 4.5 kmph ( about 100m ) and then 400m sprint at 12 kmph.

Each set was obviously 500m and did 12 for another 6k, I actually really enjoyed this run and felt great towards the end.

Goals for next week ..

Monday - 7k at 8.5 kmph which should take me just under 50 minutes.

Wedneday - 5k run at 9.5 or 10 kmph

Friday - Speed run, same sets ( 12 ) so another 6k but maybe up the speed to 12.5 kmph.

Ill be back in a couple of weeks to discuss my options if all goes well between now and then.

Ta very much.

Good work Hap. It seems you got the idea of the slow run. I would say though that if you're managing 12 reps of 500m in your speed set, and you feel great towards the end, then you're not going fast enough. A speed session is supposed to push yourself to your limits. For the next one I'd maybe try putting the speed up even more but aim for 8 reps.

Oh, and get outside.

1st November

Fairfield Horseshoe: 15.5km, 2:18, 997m climbing

A great morning out on a classic route. Unfortunately the cloud was down to almost valley level, so pretty much from the start to the end of the run I had visibility of about 30-50m. This was a shame because the ascent ridge has amazing views in good weather, but I didn't get to see any of it. Conditions weren't much of a problem for navigation as the entire climb follows a well defined path, and most of the descent follows a dry stone wall down the ridge. There was a section right at the top though where the summits are just barren and rocky and I had to get my compass out and constantly check I was going in the right direction.

Elevation:



Lack of views means you just get this picture of my dog. In the background should be the ridge on the other side of the valley, and more hills beyond:

Just had a look at the "fly-by" thing on Strava for my run yesterday - it shows you who else was on and around your route and replays all the activities on the map.

There's a guy that I met near the top, on the section of the route where I had to get my compass out, who I stopped to have a chat with. He said he was ok in the cloud because "I've got the app on my phone" Anyway, "the app" must have been Strava because it's definitely him as you can see where we both stopped together for a chat.

This is the picture of our tracks at the highest summit on the route. The green track is his, and I make that a descent of about 300m before he realised that he'd gone wrong (there is zero reason to go down where he went just to climb back up).



I just find it unbelievable that people go out in those conditions without suitable experience/ability and rely on mobile phone apps for their navigation.

Cannot get lost on a treadmill ....

Just saying.

Not sure i should really push myself to my limits yet but was going to up the speed to 12.5 kmph, but will now consider 13 kmph and see how many reps i can achieve on Friday.

PS .. really enjoyed my 7k run this morning, could have done 8k really but that's next Monday.

3rd November

7.5km, 43.51, very easy paced road run, felt a bit lacking in energy and was particularly bored on this run, but running round the local university campus isn't a particularly inspiring place to run I guess.

4th November

10.7km, 1:31, 312m climbing - Standard Wednesday night club run. Easy pace all the way, plenty of stops to regroup etc. Did the two laps this week. Probably going to have tomorrow off, then a short easy run on Friday, then Parkrun on Saturday to shoot for that PB.

6th November

5.4km, 32:30, nice easy flat off-road run, just getting a few extra miles in.

5k at Parkrun tomorrow morning, hoping for a pb, but have no idea how much I could possibly have improved in just 3 weeks.

7th November

Preston Parkrun

5k, 19:35 - Well that was weird. I thought the training had been paying off and I was running way better than 3 weeks ago, but apparently not. There are a bunch of reasons I might have run the same time with no improvement, but no point worrying about it. There's no way the training isn't paying off so it must have been some kind of off-day and I'll be back for that PB in another few weeks.

8th November

6.7km, 38:00 - Easy paced run down the canal. Muddy, windy and rainy, and it looks like the weather's just going to get worse over the next week so I'm just going to have to buckle up and get out there in it.

Total weekly mileage: 35.4km
- this is lower than I've been aiming for but I did my long run last Sunday instead of Monday meaning the previous week had a high total of 58.4km, so it all balances out.


I've been thinking about my plans to do a half marathon and I think that doing it in early January is probably a bit too soon, as I want to give myself as good a chance as possible to break the my 1:30 target. There's another one in February that is flatter and will give me a bit of extra time to get used to these long road runs, so I'm probably going to do that one instead and use that one as my main goal over the next few months. There is always the option of entering the January one anyway as a tester, but I'll think about that over the next few weeks.