Sorry, I thought you said get faster before the 100th Marathon

Ah lads, you're giving me a reputation. It was freezing out there. Blue Skin on Black Lycra doesn't do anything for me. :rolleyes:

Kinnitty Marathon
Was an adventure getting there to start with, From watching large trucks slide back down the Lucan exit of the M50, to driving in blizzards till Kinnegad. Think Ultraman was a little worried about my Ice Drifting skills.

Baltic conditions at the start line, Nice fall of snow at the start when the group photo was being taken. Was wrapped up with two tops, long leggings and compression socks and gloves.

I only ran about 40 miles since DCM, only did one 10 miler and the first two weeks was just sitting on my ass eating and drinking, so wasn't racing this one, just wanted to go out and enjoy it. I kept Ultraman company for the two loops.

Had porridge and bagel at 6am and didn't have anything since. After mile 13, I hadn't taken a gel yet and didn't feel like I needed one, so I thought I'd try to last the whole run on water only. Felt myself getting a bit tired and hungry in the last couple of miles, but didn't bother with the gels. Water was freezing cold too, but didn't drink the normal amount I would on a run, so it was a good test of seeing how little I could manage on.

Finished the race in 4:01:50. I wasn't even pushing for even a sub 4, just to enjoy the run, finish the race and thaw out in the car.

Legs felt great after the race. No tiredness, pains or strains, don't even feel like I ran a marathon. Really happy with it considering the last four weeks.

Last run of 2010 is the Waterford Half. Might race it, I'll wait till the day.

RayCun wrote: »

well done, you complete lunatic!

Cheers Ray, it was a good experience to go out and do it at a handy pace and not worry about pbs and splits etc. Probably the coldest race I'll run unless I sign up for the North Pole Marathon.... hmmm... there's an idea! lol.

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Will we not be seeing you at Jingle Bells next week, if I'm signed up for a crappy 5k I expect everyone to join me!

Well, my Christmas Party is on Friday night, so I don't think I'll be in racing form after it. I'll be thinking of you all while I nurse my hangover.

Didnt fancy a 2 hour drive to get 2miles home, so left the car in work and kitted out in the running gear and headed off for a ramble.

Great fun running through the snow while everyone else is queuing in traffic.

5.2M in 52:48 (10:10 pace)

Oops, found my log in the basement, didn't realise I hadn't run in so long. Too busy at the Christmas Party and looking at snow. Not sure if the miles clocked up dancing count.

Went to the gym today. For a change, I did all the core work first, then went on the treadmill.

12km in 1 hour (8:02 pace for 7.4 miles)

just to get the legs in some form for Waterford if it goes ahead. Was a bit disappointed, every treadmill I've been on, stops after one hour. I was all set to finish after one hour, ramped up the speed in the last few minutes just for a last sprint, and then the display clocked over the hour and kept going. The one time I didn't have the time to keep running a bit longer.

hot to trot wrote: »

Great running Aiman.
When I used to go to the gym. our treaddies were the same. SO I used to stop it during one of my rest periods when doing intervals - say after 20 or so minutes so that I would still clock the hour when you reset it and it doesnt interrupt things when you are in the middle of the nitty gritty.

Cheers hot to trot, I'll have to remember that one.

2.23M in 23:36 (10:36 pace)
Got a phone call from Social Services telling me that my blog would be taken off me, becuase I keep neglecting it.

Exactly 2 weeks since my last run, I HTFU and went out for a nice lunchtime run along the frozen canal. I had taken a bit of time off since the Waterford half was cancelled and had a niggling headcold that was in the background, so I decided to take it easy and not inflame it. Instead, I took an unorthodox tactic of beating it with lots of Christmas food and alcohol, it eventually worked but has noted side affects of weight gain and a tired liver. Might need to tweak the technique (food to alcohol ratio) the next time I have a small cold.

Anyway, braved the elements and for the first 1.5M, I found it tough, between breathing in the cold, slogging through the deep snow and the general demise of fitness. Felt much better after that and felt the 'runners high' coming back. Couldnt have run faster today, but I'll be working back up the fitness foodchain fairly rapidly now.

Sorry, I'm still about, but had a relapse from last week's head cold and its knocked me for 6 at the moment. Not sure when I'll get back out. Getting a bit anxious now, because I need to get back on the road and knock up the miles for a 50k at the end of February and there's also the Waterford Half in a couple of weeks time.

Not sure if I should just get a refund for the half now, cos I wont be breaking any records except probably my slowest half. Then again, it would be an incentive to get back running as soon as I'm better, and just treat it like a training run that I have to pay for.

Argh, I'm getting cabin fever. Cant wait till I get over this flu thing and start clocking up the miles again. The closest I've got to running in ages is wearing my long sleeve Finisher tops under my tee-shirts to keep me warm. Just as well I backed out of signing up for the Art O'Neill.

Now I just have to start working out a training plan to get me ready for Connemara in April. I think I went a bit overboard on the miles last year, cos I was slapping extra runs in during lunchtimes etc, but it didnt do me any harm, so will probably just repeat again this time, but maybe set time targets for the runs instead of just meandering. Definitely want to improve on the 6:36 from last year.

10 miles in the park today. Met up with Menoscemo and Jackyback. Pace was about 9 min miles, but I ran out of juice just before mile 8 and let them go on and they upped their pace, cos they were doing another 10 miles on top. I just took it easy to the 10 mile mark. I think once I hit the 7 mile point, psychologically, it was the furthest I have run in nearly 5 weeks, so the body started slowing back a bit. I think because I'm planning another 10 miles tomorrow, I was conserving energy for that run. Once I start ramping up the distances, I'll have a bit more confidence to speed up the pace a bit more.

Another 10M run today. Nice long stretch along the N5, not that many hills, so was enjoyable. Felt much easier then yesterday, but was a bit slower pace throughout. Legs feel good after knocking out 20M in two days, so it must be just a matter of bringing my general fitness back up to scratch and drop the excess Christmas stuffing to bring the speed up to a respectable level.

I'm going to do the Waterford Half next Saturday, but aiming for a 1:55 - 2:00 time and enjoy instead of breaking my bo**ix and making the next day's 13.1M a chore.