Running mad in 2010

Run this evening as darkness fell with the headtorch on backroads with hills leading to Aughrim and back via trail. Tacked on another section of trail to bring me up over 10k for the day. Comfortable pace, ran the hills steadily.

10.3k, 4:48 pace, 181m ascents
60 days running this year. 552.08 miles

In a moment of madness today I signed up for the Debra Ireland Wicklow half marathon on 21 March. 6 days later I'll run the imra Wicklow way trail (25k). 2 weeks later I'll run the Conn marathon. This is my own strange form of tapering down my training. Why do a solo training run when you can do a race and theres recovery time to the big day. We'll see how we go but I'll enjoy it (well the downhills at least). :rolleyes:

Woke up to a cool, but not cold morning for a change. Got to Crone car park early and did a series of warm up jogs with Martin Francis. Did about 8k before the main event.

Wore my new inov-8 X-talon 212s for the first time. They’re great! Fit like a glove. Grippy and light as anything.

This route is positively evil. A series of steep climbs. Madcap descents and a long drawn out ‘home straight’. Only 7k in total, but the garmin told me I’d ascended 450m today. I felt every centimetre of it. Very glad I rested yesterday though as they were fairly fresh today.

A good turn out of runners including more of the top runners today than the last day which was going to make things interesting at the top.
From the get go you are ascending on what is like steps of stairs through the woods. This has the effect of turning the legs to lead straight away. Even when the ascent flattens out it takes a while for the legs to get the message that gravity is more favourable. Just when the legs are moving freely again you start to ascent steeply again on more trail steps. Again the muscles fill with inertia at the top. Get moving again only to confront the worst of the day’s climbs.. the grassy flank of the hill with a sick gradient. I decided to walk this one with long strides. Calves started to pain me half way up so it was a battle to keep the little momentum I had. Again, at the top, you fight the leadness in the legs to get jogging forward before the final climb up a single track to Maulin. When the peak is topped it’s a bloody relief. There was snow still on some of the tracks leading to and from the top so slipping was a distinct possibility. Managed to avoid that and made up a place on the downhill off Maulin. Onto the downhill trails which zigzag this way and that.. the turns making it difficult to keep a steady pace. The final sting in the tail in this route was yet another short but steep climb, which knocks the stuffing out of you – if you have any stuffing left! A technical descent follows before you break out onto the Wicklow way for a fast and fairly flat but still net downhill rush to the finish. At this stage there was a group of runners up ahead, say 100 yards in the distance. I tried to close them in and slowly but surely I was doing it. Oxygen depravation was setting in as I managed to pass Ben Mooney in his telltale Sli Cualann colours. I managed to sustain my pace to the end to finish 11th in 40:12 according to the watch – 30 secs faster than last year – and 1st M40 on the day. That’s 3 M40 wins in the winter league and if my basic maths is right I can’t be beaten in the M40 category for the league. Chuffed with the run. Ran the last k in 3:12 so its no wonder I was oxygen deprived at the end. Managed a 2.5k warm down before heading back to Enniskerry for the prizegiving. A good day at the office. Winner today was Colm Hill in 36:26, from Peter O’Farrell and Brian Furey making a welcome return to the hills.

Race time: 40:12, pace: 5:42
Miles for today: 10.94
Runs this year: 62: Total miles this year: 571.87

This is the elevation of the hill today ..

Was committed to meeting someone this morning to run the imra Carrick route that will be used next week, so 12k done in the morning in cool sunshine. Course is shaping up well. Legs were surprising okay despite the hard work done yesterday.

Got home, had a bit to eat and a bit of a rest but knew I had to make up for a full LSR missed this weekend, so headed out again mid afternoon - headed out the backroads 10k out, 10k back. Legs still surprisingly okay. At the end the body was tired but thats only to be expected. Happy with the days work and the weekends work in fact.

According to my log I've run 100k this week, but some 2,474m of hills, the most hills done this year. Good prep for Connemara, or for any marathon in fact.

Used my garmin 305 to follow a route course for the first time today. Took a bit of getting used to but it told me the 2 or 3 times I erred off course. Simple but effective and I'll use it again.

am: 12.91k, 5:55 pace, 446m ascents
afternoon: 20.04k, 4:47 pace, 371m ascents
63 days running this year. 592.35 miles

36 days left to Conn. A summary of the work done to date. Very happy with mileage done. Races I've done have sharpened me up too and I'm still feeling reasonably fresh. The last few weeks will have 2 half marathon distance races, for the hell of it.
Week Distance Elev Pace
Distance km
1 52.17 812 00:04:49
2 92.13 1,311 00:05:12
3 94.17 1,151 00:04:38
4 88.74 1,294 00:04:46
5 111.07 1,673 00:04:49
6 85.66 1,804 00:04:52
7 107.69 1,007 00:04:34
8 111.32 1,725 00:04:47
9 109.93 1,667 00:04:48
10 100.41 2,474 00:05:10
Total 953.29 14,918 00:04:50

Cold starting off this morning before work and the body didn't want to know. 1st kilometre was comically slow as the legs were still a wee bit stiff. Bit by bit I got into the running and started to enjoy it. Marvellous morning with bright sunshine. Jacket, gloves and hat warded off the cold. After a slow start I did a string of 4:20 splits almost unconsciously. Was going to do 10k but was happy to string it out a bit more.

12.77k, 4:33 pace, 127m ascents
65 days running this year. 605.46 miles

Got out at lunchtime for an easy paced run with a pal who is in Cork marathon training mode. Another great running day but for the wind that was gusting. Still can't complain.

Darkness and cold had closed in this evening so hopped up on the treadie for a half hour ish run. Was over before I knew it.

Hill run Sunday, so may get my weekend LSR in tomorrow with potential rest Saturday.

9.84k, 4:31 pace, 68m ascents
7k, 4:37 pace, 1.5 gradient
Total for day: 10.46 miles
67 days running this year. 622.56 miles

The plan was to run the last of the IMRA winter league races in Glenealy today. A great day for a race it was too. No race for me though. Sleepless night and a headcold left me drained this morning so there was no point trying to race. Headed over and helped out in multi-volunteer mode - marshall, would-be first aider and photographer. The trails were in great shape and all those that turned out seemed to enjoy the route dealt out to them. I'm going to enjoy running on this hill more this year now that I know it has such an extensive resource of trails, on my commute.. Its deadly.

Later this afternoon I got a 2nd wind. I said to myself I'd try something slow and see how I got on. Headed out the backroads on a similar run to last week. After 6k I found myself on the Wicklow way heading south towards Tinahely. The trails here too were dry, soft and springy and the running felt comfortable and I wasn't too sapped by it either. Headed back the same way with a minor diversion up a nearby hill (following green arrows), with a great grassy downhill by a fenceline. There was a perfect camera moment on the way back.. but no camera to hand. A galloping horse on the trail ahead of me and behind it the mountains, including Lugnacoille in all its glory. Fantastic. Tired towards the end but happy to have gotten a hilly half marathon done comparatively easily.

22.52k, 576m ascents, 5:11 pace
70 days running this year; 657.29 miles

Progressively fast run from work this morning down towards Dun laoghaire and back. Very slow getting into my running but picked it up bit by bit. Would have run for longer but work had to be done.

Felt like running again this evening so headed out with the dog for an easy hill run with the headtorch.

am: 11.6k, 4:37 pace, 85m ascents
pm: 5.5k, 5:03 pace, 192m ascents
10.63 miles total
72 days running this year; 672.88 miles

Followed up yesterday mornings run by lining out for a charity gaelic football game in the village. Its nearly 20 years since I was on a gaa pitch (and it probably showed). Its a different kind of fitness. While I was running steadily and slowly throughout, others were stop, start and when they started they went quick and powerfully. The twists and turns in the running and the giving the ball some welly fecked me up early on as I felt twinges in the groin area. Not a good combination for running this football lark

Body was very sore today and sore in places I didn't know I had. Ran this evening on the hilly trails in fading light and could only manage a recovery paced run. For a change the uphills felt easier than the pounding on the downhills. I want to ease the aches out of the body and not do any damage, and hopefully see myself right for running this Debra Wicklow half marathon on Sunday.

Also, whilst lounging around at home last night, on a whim I registered for the Warriors run this August. Looks like fun.

8.12k, 5:21 pace, 267m ascents
74 days running this year, 685.1 miles

Wasn't going to run today. The head was telling me to rest before tomorrow's mountain half marathon. As the sun shone in the window at lunchtime though I made my mind to get out and do a light run. Ended up doing a great hill run. Running after a rain shower on forest trails is one of life's great things. You can splish splosh along at one with nature. The body is feeling better again. Some minor aches but better than yesterday, which was an improvement from the day before. Took it fairly handy today on the uphills and was able to run comfortably on the downhills but still managed 5 consecutive sub 4 kilometers on the return leg. My body probably won't forgive me tomorrow but what the hell.

11.02k, 4:38 pace, 327m ascents
76 days running this year, 697.60 miles

I registered for this on a whim a few weeks back. I reckoned at the time that a half marathon off-road in Wicklow would be a nice training run and would beat a solo training run on the back roads. Things weren’t looking good when I got an email to say that the planned route (southwards along the Wicklow way) was changed. A new route was planned which started upwards of the Wicklow Gap and which travelled along St Kevin’s way before finishing in Laragh. I was unfamiliar with the route but it was still a predominantly off-road run in Wicklow so what’s not to like about it.

I haven’t had the best few days leading up to this race as I’ve been carrying aches and pains from a GAA game on Paddy’s day. Logic dictated that I should have rested yesterday in preparation for today. Instead I did a tempo ish hill run where I felt some of my running mojo returning but it was a run that I might regret come today, or would it?

The registration was conducted pretty efficiently at the Brockagh centre in Laragh before we were bussed to the start up near Ballinagee bridge. As the bus drove upwards we were driving towards low cloud and it was cold. I was glad of the hat, gloves and running jacket. This event was unusual (to me) in that the starters would go in phases. More buses later would start runners and walkers. The runners are all chip timed. A guy at the start said a few words and he mentioned this.. he said that the first runner over the line might not necessarily be the first runner of the day. More of this later…
I’d no idea of the route and thinking about it beforehand I was expecting a run time of close to 2 hours. I was probably expecting more uphill than eventually transpired and muddier conditions.

Without much ado we were off heading up a forest trail. I knew there was an uphill for the first 2k so I went out conservatively knowing that it was silly to push on to early. Before I knew it we were descending quickly and I was moving through the field until there were but 3 other runners ahead of me. I could have pushed harder but this was unknown territory for me and I was thinking I don’t want to be leading a race with 17k still to go do I? The 4 became 2 as Rafael Salazar whom I know from imra fare took the initiative. We had moved from forest trail onto single track a lot of which was muddy and undulating. I was glad of the last minute decision to wear inov8’s. They were to proof their worth on the day. We ran for the most part today on St Kevin’s way, which proved to be marvellous for running. Boggy in parts but not too bad after the recently long dry spell. Rafael got away from me on technical bits and I caught back up some on selected road bits which were few enough. He was wearing new inov-8s and I caught up with him at one stage when he had to tie his laces. From half way onwards its mainly downhill for 6k and great downhill it is too. A bit of everything is thrown at you including steps of stone into the Vale of Glendasan. It was tempting to stop and admire the scenery opening out below you. Myself and Rafael ran shoulder to shoulder for a few kilometres. A quick look at the watch and I realised that we were a good 2/3s of the way through this race. Ahead of us was a nasty uphill leading up and around Brockagh. I ditched my rain jacket beside a stile leading out of Glendalough (when I went to retrieve it later it was gone .

Anyway, this uphill proved to be fairly decisive as I managed to dig in and keep the forward momentum and move ahead of Rafael. The trail we took zig zagged upwards and brought us around onto trails on the lower flank of Brockagh. At this point the marking which so far has been brilliant started to get a bit dodgy. Not good when you are leading! The marking was roughly following a single track which was quite overgrowth. As I passed a marking flag at one stage and ran on I had to stop as the track had disappeared and I had to double back to the last flag and look ahead in vain for the next flag. No sign, but the trail bore left and I managed to sight a flag in the far distance. I lost valuable time here and going backwards showed me the runners approaching. Hard to say how far behind they were but I knew I couldn’t afford any mistakes. Eventually we made it onto forest trail off Brockagh that would be familiar to those who do the Brockagh imra races. Legs were getting tired but less than 2k to go now… A sharp turn on the trail presented another dilemma though. The arrows seemed to be heading off the trail into another single track… This didn’t seem to make any sense as we were near the finish. Anyway, backtracked slightly and followed the single track . Tripped over a tree root at one stage, but bounced back up. The single track opened back up onto the main forest trail again and before I knew it I was heading towards the line and breaking the tape. A strange feeling crossing the line as I didn’t know I had won! For a long time afterwards I was still unclear who had won. The chip timing system used didn’t appear to give the organisers any advantage in determining the times?? Rafael was 3rd over the line but a runner in the next phase I believe was faster than him on chip times. A bit of a bummer that . It’s difficult to race when the runners aren’t physically around you?

Anyway, after hanging on – and countless mugs of coffee and scones in the Brockagh Centre - for an indeterminate amount of time it was confirmed that my time of 1h 40m was the fastest of the day and I’d won. My first (and possibly my last) race win, but a win is a win is a win .

A great race, a great route and a fantastic cause – please have a look at the Debra Ireland website for details. A couple of learning points perhaps for the organisers – some marking points and the phased starts perhaps, but overall a very well organised event. Came away from it with a nice watch, a hotel voucher and a nice little trophy for the Slogger Jogger trophy shelf :rolleyes:. Okay it’s a very small shelf.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/27639664

21.32k, 1:40, 4:42 pace, 518m ascended
77 days running this year, 710.85 miles in total