The Boggers Log

pistol_75 wrote: »

Must be out in Sutton??

Not Sutton Pistol, it was the one before that begins with a "B", we originally were gonna do a loop around and turned off the coast road but coz I couldn't see properly we turned back the way we came and got stuck at the level crossing.

TbL

Today the plan called for 4/9 miles easy am/pm.

Given that I'm in Athens today this was never gonna happen. Arrived at 6pm local time and got a taxi to my hotel, staying in a decent place with views of the Acropolis. Taxi driver on the way in wanted to talk politics and when he heard that I was from Ireland he started ranting about the Euro and it been bad for small countries. I was in grumpier form than usual and didn't want to engage in taxi small talk, traffic was bad and he wouldn't shut up. When I offered to pay in Drachmas at the hotel he gave me a filty scornful look that suggested I was an Angela Merkel flunky!

It freezing cold over here they even had a few snow showers this morning so I was grateful that I'd packed a base layer and a hat. Decided to head out and do tomorrow's 4 mile nursing home special. My bogger compas is terrible and I got hopelessly lost, the 3G wasn't coming up on the e phone and Google maps was ****e, had to do it the old fashioned way and ask for directions!

Paths are in crap condition and the going was very slow and the place seems chaotic but in a cool way and despite getting lost I enjoyed the ramble. Hopefully I'll find a better area for the 9 miler tomorrow.

Got 6.87 miles in very very slow.

TbL

Given I had switched yesterday's and today's runs around, the plan today called for 9/4 easy miles am/pm.

Only had a short enough window to get this done and I asked the hotel to suggest a route and was directed to a running track!! Headed up around the old Olympic stadium, the temple of Zeus, the House of Parliament and got in a few laps of a small park and came across some young soldiers been marched around a square while been bollocked by the drill sergeant. It was nice and sunny but very chilly and when I eventually stumbled upon the track it was locked and the grass in the centre was covered in snow! Again the run was very stop/starty but very enjoyable with lots of people milling about well wrapped up against the cold. Only got 7.53 miles in again very slow. Had a couple of meetings and everyone is talking about the euro crisis, most people here seem to support the new government but one auld lad said the only thing the new government didn't promise during the election was to "dig the graveyards and undead the dead"

Was brought out to a seafood restaurant near Pireaus harbour with very nice views. My host said he knew all the best dishes and would order for me, felt I couldn't refuse but I should have. The first course was sea urchin and 'twas bringing bile up to my throat and I started getting the sweats. Everyone else was lashing into it but I was trying to eat it with bread and eventually had to push it away much to the disappointment of my host. Next up was baby squid in pesto with parmasean flakes and a tomatoe compote, quickly followed by prawns in some gunk with feta cheese crumble and cherry tomatoes. Main course was a grilled white fish that was ok.

Felt a little queasy after the meal and the stomach was revolting so I decided to can the evening run before reconsidering and heading to the treadmill determined to stop if I started feeling any worse. Didn't feel too bad but only managed 4 miles at varying paces.

Total for the day 11.5

Have 9 miles steady planned for tomorrow but as I'm flying back I might struggle to get this done.

TbL

Today the plan called for 9 miles steady.

Got very little sleep last night and I travelled back from Athens this morning.

Got into Dublin via London just after lunch time and was feeling pretty shattered.

I knew I still had a few hours work to do when I got back to Galway and the thought of running after a few hours driving wasn't appealing at all. Low on motivation I had an ingenious thought, I'd ring the RAH, [runners assistance helpline]. Got through to Meno but he didn't want to come out to play (didn't was to show his hand too early for the Bohermeen smack down) said he was down the country at some high altitude training camp

The RAH operator eventually managed to put me through to FBOT, and fair play to the Samaritan, he said he'd be ready to run in 20 mins. ( now that's the kind of date I like, keen, eager and punctual!). Drove from the airport and we hooked up at Clontarf Castle, great to see the man in the flesh and he even wore his Connemara marathon shirt to make me feel at home.

Like DD he looks like a proper runner, and after a quick chat we got going at a decent clip. Said my steady pace was (max) 7.20 but we were soon hitting closer to 7's and had to pull it back a bit. Similar route as the last night with DD, straight out the coast and back. It's a great facility to have and it was a beautiful day out there, bit of a wind on the way back but nothing that would lessen the enjoyment of the run. I've said it before but running with someone makes a session miles easier and the miles ticked by easily and fairly comfortably as we chatted away. Amoung many topics we talked about FBOTs close encounter of the sub 3 kind in Berlin, and I told him that he really exhibited a positive approach to the experience, if it was me I'd still be crying like Jimmy Swaggert after been caught with the hooker

Tnx M for stepping into the breech with so little notice, really appreciate it. That's two DNS Boardsies that have rescued my runs this week, but at least on this run there was no psycho on the path swinging punches!

Best of luck in Ballycotton M, I'm sure you pick up one of those coveted t shirts you've improved massively over the last few months.

Ps. Ferris you're dead right He does talk a LOT when he's running

Splits:

7.28
7.04
7.12
7.17
7.11
7.13
7.15
7.12
7.10

Plan today called for 9/4 miles easy am/pm.

Given that I didn't get back till after 9pm last night and I'm heading off for 10 days tomorrow at lunch time, I didn't want to be taking the piss with Mrs TbL so decided I'd only run once today.

By the time I eventually out at 8, I was in no mood for this, I think I'm becoming a bit soft and am starting to need company on my runs

I felt like an auld arthritic dog with early stage hernia issues! I hated every mile of this (FBOT ran me ragged yesterday) and canned it after 4 miles.

Bit disappointed as I'll definitely have a few days of no running next week.

Anyone want to come down from Dublin and join me for an attempt on 16 miles steady tomorrow morning

TbL

Today the plan called for a 4 mile nursing home special.

I travelled to Heathrow last night and I'm staying at Wentworth Golf Club, I hate golf and I'd be just as happy in a caravan beside a pitch and putt course! They take their golf very very seriously here and I should have packed a pair of plus fours if I wanted to fit in! Every corner of the place is covered in golfing memorabilia. Was at early morning meeting so didn't get out to see if I could run around the estate, I'd probably be shot by the green keeper

Got just over 3 miles done (I was tight for time) in the clubhouse gym this evening. Here again tonight and I've a long haul flight tomorrow so I'm hoping to get some class of a run in tomorrow morning.

TbL

Again today I didn't bother looking at the plan, but I did want to do my best to get at least 10 miles done and some quality as well if possible.

Body clock had me awake before 6am and after failing to get back to sleep I decided to get the gear on and hit Chapultepec park again. There is a castle in a section of the park that I wanted to get up to but that section of the park was closed so I continued over to the next section. Came upon a section know as Sope (I was told it means a tortilla covered in beans and cheese), this was a dedicated running track of compact red grit. It was really cool, two different running paths both marked every hundred metres, the smaller path was 850m and the longer one about 1800m. It was packed with runners of every different size shape and ability. There was a clock over the starting area that showed the time to the nearest second and there was a sign that sectioned parts of the path to Corredores, Caminadores and one for Meno, Trotadores

The whole area was immaculate with numerous groundskeepers
raking the track and I even passed a water sprinkling machine that was pouring water onto the track to keep the dust down I assume. There was also an area beside the start that had exercise machines, the whole set up was fantastic. Did a couple of laps before heading back out into the snarling traffic that was circling the park like Indians around the pilgrims wagons! You really need to be careful crossing the street here as it's a manic free for all. Got 12.38km done very easy.

Had another gastronomically challenging lunch that went on for 3 hours! Octopus, marlin, a Peruvian white fish in lemon and Chapulines (fried crickets ffs!!!) Made sure I took my time eating the piece of beef I got Kept putting off the evening run as I felt completely bloated but eventually got out and headed back to the Sope, it open from 5am to midnight and is lit up after dark.

Passed dozens of police vehicles and hundreds of policemen with riot shields on the way to the park, I heard that there was a demonstration a short distance away and they were there in case of trouble. Joan Burton wouldn't have been trapped in her car for long if there were a couple of those lads around.

Decided I'd try to do 6 laps of the Sope (850m) at 6.30 pace, with 60/90 seconds recovery. It was pretty crowded with runners and one section of about 100 metres was dark as the lights were off. Found this tough going and I couldn't hit anywhere near 6.30 pace, last two laps were a slog and I don't know if I was mentally wimping out but I started to think I was getting light headed. Did the 6 in 3.35, 3.38, 3.33, 3.30, 3.40 & 3.36. Got 9.5k in total in and just under 22k for the day.

When I first heard that I was coming here I was pissed off coz I didn't think I'd get any running done but I'm happy enough that even though the mileage and quality is low at least I got out every day. I'd actually prefer to stay here but I'm heading to a more touristy area tomorrow for a couple of days. I need to get at least 35 miles in over the next 3 days.

TbL

I flew into Cancun today and the first thing I noticed when I got off the plane was the blast of heat and humidity, it was 28* (but with a "feels like" temperature in the 30's) and humidity of 80%. Had a couple of meetings scheduled for today and it was very sticky once you came out from the air conditioning.

Have a nice hotel right on the beach and am hoping I get to avail of it tomorrow.

I continued my trend of eating like a native so I had a big American burger Place is a bit mental as it's the start of Spring Break.

Plan today called for 9 miles steady and I was determined to try and get it done, especially as I didn't have an altitude excuse here. There is a red walking/cycling path outside the hotel and I set off on it just after 6pm local time. I was sweating heavily from the off and spray was flicking off my arms as I ran. Covered the first mile in 7.29, the second in 7.09. At this stage I was already fcuked and drenched with sweat, I could hear my shoes squelching, mile 3 was done in 7.15 and my head was starting to feel like boil in the bag rice, got to mile 4 in 7.26 but I had to stop for a couple of minutes to compose myself. Started again but the head was dropping, a poor mile 5 in 7.43 brought me to a walk and I continued to walk jog the next 3 miles.

This week has been a bit of a disaster and there's no way in hell I could do a long run in those conditions. I'm disheartened and disillusioned and a sub 3 marathon has never seemed so far away! I'm gonna write off the rest of the week and join the kids at Spring Break.

TbL

Sunday: just 30 mins very easy to keep the legs turning over along the lagoon in Cancun.

Monday: over the weekend I put a long distance call into the RAH (runners assistance helpline) and got immediately through to the man who lies in third place in the 1000 mile challenge. Fair play to Bulmers74 he selflessly changed his schedule to rescue my week and run 22 miles with me today.

Got into Shannon via Heathrow today on an overnight from Atlanta and Bulmers was waiting for me, unfortunately my bag wasn't! Mislaid by Aer Lingus. Luckily I always take my runners and Garmin in my carry on so it only delayed the run a bit as I'd to fill in a form. We decided to run from the airport and I got a blast of sleet and hail on the way to change in the car, talk about dichotomous weather conditions in the space of 24 hours! We headed out of the airport up a back road into New Market on Fergus and turned near Dromoland Castle. There were a few challenging drags in the first half that magically seemed to disappear for the second half! I've had a couple of running dates with Bulmers and we chatted away easily until about mile 17 when it started to get tough and I shut up altogether, Bulmers the gracious host did his best to chat away!

He's been doing some savage miles and is very strong, he was one of very few people to negative split DCM this year and he'll blow his PB out of the water in Limerick in May. The weather was all over the place on this run, windy, sunny, hail and sleet but I was delighted to be just getting it done.

When we finished and to show my appreciation I wanted to give him a Mexican man hug/kiss, but he was having none of it

Fair play J, you rescued my week.

Tnx

TbL

Splits:

8.15
8.03
7.47
7.48
8.16
7.46
8.23
8.07
8.00
8.07
8.09
8.09
8.00
7.46
7.37
7.44
8.05
7.27
7.56
8.11
8.11
8.17