Asics training starts now...!!

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  • No worries Mel image

    Acceleration strides are great fun - they're really quick and easy to do, you just run progressively faster and faster, 8 strides at a time!

    Yeah, I really like the look of my plan - I think Sam has done a great job for both of us. They're both packed with variety and lots of different sessions...

    So how are you going to cope with the training runs over Christmas??image

  • Hey Mel.....sorry I haven't popped by to say hi earlier. Lovely meeting you again last Sunday. How have you found the first few days of training? It's nice to finally get them started.............have you been showing off your new wardrobe? image

  • Well what a bunch of bahh humbugs.....I was the only person running in my christmas hat through the Arundel town hills.....and I am the most UN christmassy person in the world!!.....image

    Wardi - Some times you have to 'keep on keeping on' , because what do you do if you dont!!!????.....image18 marathons...you are now amongst the many people that I admire!!!!!image so any hints and tips.....please!!!!!!!......

    Andrew- the rain has stopped here just for today...how about where you are.....???...and did you really buy a house on the hill because it was so wet...?????

    Steve - thank you....you just made accelaration strides seem so easy and un scientific!!!!.....amazing....you connected with a female brain!!image

    Ady - Hello!!!!....the kit is great although as i said to Sarah at the begining of the week, I felt like a calalogue girl running through the woods in my spangly new gear......However......I have to say I kept my trainers back as it has been pretty apauling weather and I wanted to stroke them all clean and new for a little longer.....wore them tonight......and wow....not good...the pain in my right foot made the run almost unbearable!!!!!.....looks like a trip back to Asics.....boooooimage.....but hey, a small price to pay.....!!....How about you...how you finding it all...??? looking beautiful on your runs???......image

  • Mel, how was the hilly run today, and your first week of training?  The paces both you and Steve have been set are the close to where Iam and and will likely be in the Autumn so I'll be following both of your journeys very closely, in a very non stalking kind of way image

  • Not good news on the shoes mel.what shoes did you run in before and what shoes did the asics guys give you.........

    i have always run in asics but i know they do not suit all

  • Seren - I normally run in Brooks and have done for years.....but these are Asics gel - kayano!!....I'm guessing it will have to be another trip to the Oxford street store, but I will phone them tomorrow and see what they can do!!!.....

     

    SC - Hey stalking is cool if thats what you fancy!!....image...hills were OK although the Santa hat kept me very warm..... I normally do hills on a Friday with my running club.....I hated hills before I started doing them as repeats on a Friday night session....now when I'm out on a long run they don't bother me and I quite look forward to the challenge!!....we do 4 loops of Arundel town in the winter......2 hills on each loop.....so we end up doing 4 big hills and 4 smaller ones.....

    Training this week has been good.....really enjoyed the discipline of it!!.....running to a specific pace is quite challenging!!.....Sunday will be interesting trying to keep to a comfortable pace for 10 miles....image

  • Hey Mel, that's worrying to hear about the shoes. Don't want to get off on the wrong foot (sorry for the pun image). With Christmas looming... I'd recommend going back to your shoes you were wearing before if you can't swap them for another pair before the festive shutdown.

    You'll be pleased to hear that I'll be wearing santa hat tomorrow for last Rye Runners session of the year. It has an irritating bell at the peak! And making my husband and co-coach wear one too. He's delighted, honest image

  • Hi Sam...I have spoken to Asics today....and as expected they were great. They think they know what the problem is by describing the location of the pain over the phon,e so they are sending out a new pair or trainers special delivery today. If they are no good then it will be a trip back to the store, but we will try this first!!!...

    So a big 'thank you' to Michael and James at the Asics flagshipe store in Oxford street for being so helpful!!!!....image

    Just looking at the weather....your santa hat is going to get very wet and soggy!!!!!image

  • glad they are sorting you out so soon Mel......amazing service.....which brookes did you have and which asics are they sending youimage

  • That's great news Mel - very good service there from Asics store...

    Yep, got somewhat bedraggled this morning! But surprisingly good turnout for such a dreadful morning. We did continuous hills - where you run up and down a not-too-steep hill at threshold effort level (so comfortably hard...). Great for muscular endurance (way up) and leg turnover (on way down).

     

    Am now packing for Scotland - leave for the long drive up tomorrow morning and will be up there throughout Christmas and New Year. Edinburgh first, and then Perthshire for some great off-road running image

  • Hi Seren - I normally run in brooks adrenalin mens.....yes I have big feet!!....(well a wide right one!!..) So the womans Kayano was possibly too narrow for my right foot so they are sending me the same trainer but in a mens...... we can see...if its no good then a little trip back to London I feel!!!......image

    Sam - you christmas break sound wonderful!!!!......Im liking the idea of continiuos hills!!....Have an amazing time and Ill try not to bother you too much over the christmas break!!.....image

  • Melanie - wasn't the 2E size wide enough?  Both Asics and Brooks do a 2E size (extra wide) - have you tried them?

    Sam - have an enjoyable trip!  I haven't been to Scotland for ages.  Really should take the family (and the running shoes image).

  • They don't do the full range in the 2E size Ten

  • My wife, Sue, is running London next April. The problem is she has no running partners this time. No one from her running group is doing London this time round. Is there anybody around the Sutton Coldfield area looking to break 4hrs at London and looking for a running partner to train with, particularly on those long runs? image

     

  • Tenjiso and Seren - Interesting, but I have never been offered an extra wide fit...just moved straight to men's.....and my feet aren't that wide!!.....I will try out the new trainers and keep in mind your suggestion for the future!!....

    Micky - its pretty lonely for your wife having to do every long run on her own. I know there are websites to find running buddies near you...I cant remember the name of it, but i will find out and get back to you!!.....

  • Perhaps the shoes you chose don't come in extra wide, as Seren pointed out.  It's good that you can experiment, though, since it can be expensive getting it wrong.

  • Here we go run down for 1st Week - 

    Day 1 - 3 mile comfortable ( between 10:15 - 11:15)  Slow pace which was quite difficult to maintain, found myself a couple times speeding up a bit so had to give myself a bit of a telling off.....but a good start playing with a slow pace for a short run. 3.24 miles - 33.04 - average pace between 10:15 - 11:15

    Day 2 - Rest - Did rest.....well no exercise but general running around with my hair on fire!!

    Day 3- 1 mile comfortable then 3 acceleration strides followed by  3x 7 minutes fast with 90 second jog recovery. 1 mile jog: ( fast pace between 8.45 - 9) I found this quite hard, tried to incorporate it with my running club night, but I don't think I will do that again as it was quite difficult being focused while other people were doing something else. However......Still achieved it.....struggled with the acceleration strides.....had a brain melt down and forgot how to do them!!.... have had a reminder from Steve and Sam...! ( thank you) Also ended up doing 4x 7 minutes fast as I thought Sam and I agreed to increase it...( but we hadn't...its next week!!!) I was just too keen.....

    (7.28mins - 0.83 miles, pace 9) - (7.03mins - 0.78 miles, pace 9) - (7.02mins - 0.80miles, pace 8.45) -  (7.07mins - 0.80miles, pace 8.45)

    So all in all a good session, pace maintained....just need to practice acceleration strides......and not do too many!!!

    day 4 - Rest - hair on fire day

    day 5 - Hilly - Again a running club special on a Friday night. We run 4 loops of the town which is 2 hills per loop....one slightly bigger than the other....with recovery in between hills. However I unfortunately was the only one doing the whole route this week as every one else was tapering for the Portsmouth marathon today......so I ran alone with my Santa hat on and they all cheered me on from the pub which I had to run past!!!....slightly mean I think!!!.....However...Hills achieved....!

    5 miles - 48.53

    Saturday - rest

    Sunday - 10 miles comfortable ( pace 10:15 - 11:15) Well that's the last time I leave the route up to someone else!!!.....I love my brother in law dearly.....but what part of fairly flat slow pace for 10 miles did he not understand!!....'Its OK its only got 4 smallish hills' he claimed ....well I think we have a very different perception of hills..... I however should have remembered he is an ultra runner and runs up and down Snowdon for fun....I would hate to think what my pace was as I gave up looking in the end....It was hilly, boggy, slippery, wet.....( although didn't rain...) but we did 10 miles, and it was beautiful and amazing to be out there doing it....but I take control of the route next time!!!.....Almost embarrassed to post my time.....but its been a learning curve and training is training!!!.....

    10 miles - 1 hour 52....!!

    So all in all a great start to the training. I have loved the structure of the week, and I have learnt a great deal about how to incorporate my training into my every day life. Maybe I need to take a bit of a step back from what I was doing with running club and have the discipline to take those sessions on my own....and tell my brother in law to bog off...!!...image

     

  • I had a similar problem last year Mel when i was doing most of my runs off road.............I ended up transferring all my long runs to the road as it was too difficult to assess my pace and if i was improving etc.........

    thats a good time for off road

  • seren - The time didn't feel good...but i enjoyed it...!!!!....but yes I think I might need to do the same and transfer to a better surface....even if just for now..!....its a shame though as its so lovely when your out on the hills!!....but if I want to save myself from the wrath of Sam's tongue I will amend!!!.....at what point did you end up transferring into your training??....or did you do both...?.....

  • tenjiso.....didnt see you hiding up there....Good point they may not have done extra wide.....my you have a far more logical brain than me....I just go with the fluff and waffle....! 

  • Oh....I took my first 'gel' today and found it one of the most revolting experiences of my life!!!.....( OK slight exaggeration....) ..image.any suggestions would be greatly appreciated......It was a CLIF shot gel and it was like putting raspberry cement in my mouth.....are they all like that???

  • Well done Mel, a good week's training, the off road stuff might feel slow but the effort required will be more, so it will all balance out in the end.

  • Hey Mel.......glad to see your first week of training went well and more imprtantly you managed to get your trainers changed over. I hope this manages to stop the problem. I think it's excellent service from Asics though to get it all sorted for you before the Xmas shutdown.

    It's definitely nice to get the first week out of the way. I even wore my new lycra yesterday, although I don't think the words 'looking like  catalogue model' can be used in my case! image

    I don't have my first off-road run until next weekend, so it was very interesting reading your account. I expect to be having similar problems next weekend!

    Excellent work image

  • In my experience, there are some gels that make me heave....I just dont like the texture. Others I have no problem with. I use Hi5 energy gels which aren't as thick. I've also used SIS energy gels. I liked the taste of these better than any others I've had, but they also upset my stomach so have stayed clear of these since.

  • DS2DS2 ✭✭✭

    Hi Mel, well done on completing the weeks training. Nearly two hours on your feet will serve you greater than running faster at this stage.

    I'm not convinced about Gel's to be honest. Years ago they didn't exist so we ran on water and we managed just fine. In recent years I started taking them when I cycled and carried them into running as well, until last year when I did a charity bike ride and the Doc on the ride told us to try to avoid them and not rely on them. I've hardly used them since, gone back to water and as i get fitter I am finding I don't need them so don't intend to for this campaign.

    Be interested to know what the coaches think?

  • Hi Mel!

    Love the weekly summary! I had a similar experience with my Sunday longer run too!! A few more hills than I'd expected! image Great fun though!

    I like the Hi5 gels - they're not very thick and taste nice. They also don't upset my tummy which can be a little - ahem - delicate! I thought they made a difference when I ran the Bristol Half marathon this year although the improvement might have been down to more miles under the belt.

  • Great weekly summary Mel, thanks.

    If you ever need to keep that pace slow again, give me a shout image I managed to slow you down on that walk over the hills a few weeks ago, so I'm sure I could slow you down again, although admitedly my running is speeding up gradually now.

    The only problem now for me is that I'm starting to ignore my heart rate monitor (thats what helps me 'keep it slow'), or rather my running buddy ignores it.

  • Great to get that first week in the bag before Christmas Mel, and an 'adventurous' long run to boot! As DS2 says, the time on feet is the key consideration on the long runs at the outset of training for a first timer...

    Gels. Well, I do think that the evidence supporting the use of carbs during long distance running is pretty strong and I would recommend using gels (or sports drinks, though it's hard to get sufficient carb without overdoing fluid) in the race itself and on longer runs. The grey area though is in the shorter long runs/races. As I was mentioning on Shady Ady's thread, there is a 'train low, race high' strategy in which you don't take carbs on board before/during, to 'force' the body to get better at using fat as a fuel source, conserving your own glycogen stores for longer. But it's not one I'd recommend for beginners. More for people who want to shave that extra few seconds off a PB and are already near their potential! 

    In shorter races, (half mara or 10 mile for eg) I usually take a gel with high caffeine dose about 60 mins before and don't take any more. I suspect it's more the caffeine that is of benefit in that duration than the carbs. I think it's worth you experimenting with some other brands/types to find one you don't think is disgusting! I like Torq - they are more natural than some with no artificial ingredients. They do a nice black cherry yoghurt one! I also like Clif Bar double expresso!!

    I'm going to wish you - and everyone else - a very happy Christmas. I imagine this will be an emotional time for you Mel and will be thinking of you.

     I will be doing Edinburgh Christmas Day parkrun tomorrow to get Xmas day off on the right foot.! Hope all your festive plans go well x

  • Happy Christmas Mel. Great weeks rundown of your training, things look to be going well. On gels, I quite like the Cliff Shot Blocks. They taste really nice, not like most gels I've tried.

  • Merry Xmas Mel, well done on the first week and reporting back. hope its not too difficult time for you ...

    I use High5 gels with caffeine- not too thick. I ran the marathons with them in a hand 'donut' bottle (250ml) and the warmth of your hand and he shaking makes them even thinner and relatively more palatable

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