Festina lente

You're al just jealous of the streak, I'll never stop, never, never!



I'll try another run tomorrow, just an easy one club training session in different runners, and see how I feel. I got a physical therapy/massage voucher for my birthday which I was planning to use soon anyway...

9.1k in 41.40 (4.35 average)

Risky run tonight, but I had to go up to the club anyway to drop the kid off at his training and pay my subs, so might as well run myself too...
2k warmup, then 2 x 1200m, with a couple of minutes recovery, at about 10k pace (4.10 ish), then 2 x 1000, more or less the same (4.08ish), finally 2 x 700m, more like 5k pace (3.58, and 3.38), and about a k warmdown.

I was very conscious of the toe joint all evening, and did have a couple of twinges, but tbh there were twinges everywhere - hip, calves, heel - so I mightn't have thought anything of it if it wasn't for yesterday's run. Anyway, I'm going to be sensible and back off for a while. Not stop running, but bring down the pace and the distances, for at least the next week. I can't make Saturday's BHAA race anyway, so the next race on the calendar is not for two weeks. I should know by then how I am...

this month: 2/23.12
this year: 33/325.01

5.1k in 29.08 (5.42 average)

Slow, short and easy. Feeling much better already, but will do my best to restrain myself for the next few days anyway.

this month: 4/36.87
this year: 35/338.76

7.06k in 38.45 (5.30 average)

Ran into St James' to donate platelets. Bag on my bag and meant to keep the pace easy, but it did creep up. My foot was feeling fine during the day, and for most of the run, but I don't think it liked the concrete pavements and was starting to get a little uncomfortable towards the end.

Then I nearly couldn't give blood, my blood pressure was 98/62 at first, I had to go walk around a bit to get my systolic over 100...

this month: 6/49.58
this year: 37/351.47

8.69k in 47.19 (5.27 average)

Run home from work, felt very tired and generally in bits. Blood donation hangover, I think...

this month: 8/66.77
this year: 39/368.64

I seem to be paying for it though - must make sure not to schedule any donations in the week before big races...

8.64k in 48.53 (5.39 average)

Can't make the club training this evening so ran into work instead. Since this run was unplanned, I had to bring in my change of clothes too. I'm looking forward to being able to run without a bag :rolleyes:

this month: 9/75.41
this year: 40/377.28

5.32k in 27.52 (5.14 average)

Hungover run this morning. Did my usual recovery run circuit but let the legs go at their own speed.

this month: 11/89.38
this year: 42/391.25

8.69k in 47.55 (5.30 average)

Easy run into work, with bag.

this month: 13/121.05
this year: 44/422.92

9.24k in 43.06 (4.40 average)

Club session this evening. About 2k warmup, then 2x1200, 2x1000, and 2x800, about 90 seconds between each run. All were at about 5k pace, except the second 1000 when I was just out of gas, was about 4.10 pace. Okay, that was one of the uphill-and-into-the-wind runs, but still...

this month: 16/158.93
this year: 47/460.78

5.46k in 31.30 (5.46 average)

Nice easy jog up to the Garda boat club to pick up my number. Met drquirky up there, and an uncle I haven't seen in years - he's joined Lucan Harriers and was doing his first cross-country today. Bumped into ecoli too, and a bunch of clubmates

4 miles in 28?? (forgot to stop the watch :rolleyes:)

I wasn't really paying attention as we lined up at the start, and found myself right at the back. ****. I don't mind the dodging people so much as the difficulty in finding the right pace - I don't really know how hard to push in these races so its much easier to start in the middle and work off the people around me.
It's a three lap race, shaped like a stretched rectangle - two long straights (more or less) with very short lateral connections. One straight was flat grass, ending in a downhill, and the strong wind behind you all the way. Then the way back was mainly uphill, into the wind, and with sections on a trail through the woods with exposed tree roots. My splits don't match the loops exactly, but the pattern is clear - 4.04, 4.23, 4.19, 4.32, 4.06, 4.53 - that 4.53k starts just where the route gets hard.
I spent the first mile or so kicking myself for getting the start wrong. Second and miles I was still moving through the field, but still felt I was going too slow. I find it very hard to increase my pace during a race - whatever I start at, that's the fastest I'm going to go, until the finish line is in sight anyway. Last mile was tough, the last run up the hills really hurt, but I managed to pick up some speed on the last straight.
Not a good race really, but a good tough workout.

5.57k in 33.43 (6.03 average)

Slow jog back home from the race. I'd forgotten that I live uphill from the park, but this reminded me

this month: 18/184.56
this year: 49/486.41

Yes, that was me - think I was the only one in a boards top . (It's a little warm for summer races, but perfect for conditions like today)

Results are up - I finished in 28.07. Only 2 seconds slower per k than the last race (though I was hungover then ), and up another grade. (144th of 288 :pac:)

The good news is that while I was slogging around, scraping into the top half by the skin of my teeth :pac:, my son was finishing his race 5th of 20 (?) in the under-10's 500m up in Tallaght.

don't know in don't know! (DON'T KNOW!!! average)

Left my watch at home this morning
More or less 10k home, in about an hour :rolleyes:

On the good side, it's definitely getting brighter, it was daylight all the way home today

this month: 20/199.8
this year: 51/501.65

16.64k in 87.11 (5.14 average)

Nice run this evening. Started with a 6k lap around UCD on the trail (cheers ecoli - I'd got as far as the Fosters Avenue exit before, but didn't realise there was a way through behind the residences), something I think I'll be doing again, then home.
Left foot feels a bit odd now and again. Not even twinge-level, but sometimes I feel very aware of a section of the top of my foot, or my big toe. oh well....

this month: 22/225.78
this year: 53/527.9

10.9k in 52.42 (4.50 average)

Club session this evening
A couple of k warmup, then 25 minutes of intervals - 200 fast, 100 slow (more or less, we're not running on a track). Afterwards some of the guys suggested 'jogging back the long way', which turned out to mean 4k+ at about 4.30 pace :rolleyes:

this month: 23/236.68
this year: 54/538.8