Bliain Faoi Thrí

Dory Dory

The very best to you! If you keep your priorities straight and enjoy what you are doing, then you can't lose!!

BrokenMan

Good man ronan. Good to see you back.

Tea Tree

It's Ronanmac back! (lb here with a new gofaster name:cool: )

Good to see you back into it. I've done westport a couple of times myself... the second half is indeed a killer, not because it's that steep but because it's impossible to hold back on the first half
I've heard rumblings of plans for a parkrun in castlebar and the grapevine tells me there are people trying to get one going in galway.

Best of luck with 2014 plans.:)

pgibbo

Welcome back & happy new year :cool:

ronanmac

Tea Tree wrote: »

It's Ronanmac back! (lb here with a new gofaster name:cool: )

Good to see you back into it. I've done westport a couple of times myself... the second half is indeed a killer, not because it's that steep but because it's impossible to hold back on the first half
I've heard rumblings of plans for a parkrun in castlebar and the grapevine tells me there are people trying to get one going in galway.

Best of luck with 2014 plans.:)

Thanks littlebug Tea Tree (it took me a while to figure out who lb was actually!).

I have no excuse from Westport because I think I actually did hold back for the first half! Looking at my watch after 2 miles, however, I knew I was in trouble when my pace was dropping and my heart rate was rising. A parkrun in Galway would be nice, but it's always nice to have an excuse to go up through the mountains to Westport. Looking forward to heading up again in a month or so.

Any athletic plans for 2014?

Tea Tree

ronanmac wrote: »

Thanks littlebug Tea Tree (it took me a while to figure out who lb was actually!).

I didnt know whether to spell it out or not.

Any athletic plans for 2014?

The word athletic doesnt really apply to me I'm still plodding along a bit. Knees never really got better so my longest run at the minute is 4miles so I'm just going to try to get my 5k time down a bit if I can...just for the sake of having a target of some sort... a pb before I hit the next age group! I have kept up the swimming though and am enjoying it so i'll keep my eye out for some open water swimmy things to do in summer. I'm a horribly slow swimmer too though (surprise surprise!) so it'll all be purely for the enjoyment of it.
I still enjoy nosying in the forums and logs though even if I don't do enough myself to have a log!

Micilin Muc

Fáilte romhat ar ais! Will see you soon I'm sure.

pgmcpq

Great to see you back !

Similar situation myself so I'll be following closely.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Good to have you back.

catweazle

The prodigal son has returned to the fold, good to see you back training!

Did the house survive the storms, I saw a pic of Spiddal or Furbo on one of the photos and I was shocked at the state of the paths after it

ronanmac

Tea Tree wrote: »

The word athletic doesnt really apply to me I'm still plodding along a bit. Knees never really got better so my longest run at the minute is 4miles so I'm just going to try to get my 5k time down a bit if I can...just for the sake of having a target of some sort... a pb before I hit the next age group!

This my last year in my age group as well. The next one is the "Life Begins At" age group. They better not be foolin' with this 'life begins at' mularkey...

Micilin Muc wrote: »

Fáilte romhat ar ais! Will see you soon I'm sure.

An bhfuil tú bogtha síos an taobh seo tíre fós?

catweazle wrote: »

The prodigal son has returned to the fold, good to see you back training!

Did the house survive the storms, I saw a pic of Spiddal or Furbo on one of the photos and I was shocked at the state of the paths after it

Prodigal son! Actually, I was a little taken aback to see that it was 2012 since my last log entry. I just hope that this isn't like my other unlogged comebacks, that start well and end feeling crap and restentful and bitter and...
The house survived but all of my coastal running trails have been either wiped away or rendered unpassable by huge rocks that have appeared from nowhere!

Micilin Muc

ronanmac wrote: »

An bhfuil tú bogtha síos an taobh seo tíre fós?

Tá, ar an Spidéal atá mé ó mhí na Samhna. Suim agam grúpa a bhailiú le dul ag rith suas Bothúna etc, sna tráthnónta. Tóirsí cinn ag teastáil! Feicfidh mé ag an gCruinniú Cinn Bliana thú is dócha.

ronanmac

I've decided to start back with the Furman 10k programme but am not bothering with the cross-training this week so as to ease back into structured training. This week is just three runs!
I was to start on Tuesday but didn't feel great. I'm now taking the same approach with my training as I am with legal questions in my writing: if in doubt, leave it out...

Wednesday:
A day from heaven after all of the gales and rain. With mornings no longer available for training, I left work at lunchtime. There's a great bog road about a mile from the office, which works for both intervals and long runs. Today's session was 8 x 400m. Felt tough but strangely satisfying. A nice feeling of deja vu getting back to this type of training. Interval pace was 5:59 (beware, this is not a metric log...). Managed to stay on the right side of that number but was gasping a bit by the end.
Done: 6 miles

Friday:
Working in Dublin for the day but managed to get down earlier than I had thought I would. Run was mile warmup and cooldown, with a three mile tempo at 6:51 pace. Didn't make the pace! 6:57, 6:59 and 7:10. Running "fast" again was actually difficult from both a mental and physical perspective. Physical because, well, I'm unfit and slow, and mental because I'm not used to tempo runs anymore and kept daydreaming and dropping off the pace.
My usual route was shortened as part of the road by the local beach no longer exists due to the recent storms. I need a flatter route for tempo runs though.
Done: 5.15 miles

ronanmac

Today (Sunday):
You know you've been a way for a while when your long run is six miles. A strong south-westerly and buckets of rain made me appreciate the new running jacket I bought before Christmas.
Prescription was six miles at 7:21 pace. Averaged at 7:23, mostly because the last mile, against the wind and uphill (complete with poor physical conditioning) hurt.
Done: 6 miles

ronanmac

Last week’s training was thrown up in the air by a five year old infecting his home with a random virus.

Done:
Wednesday 15 January:

5 x 800m intervals @ 6:02 pace
Paces dropped off as they went off. 6:05, 6:05, 6:12, 6:21, 6:19

6.87 miles total.

PM
1000 m swim

** Training interruption as entire household comes down with cold **

Tuesday

2 x 1600 @ 6:19
1 x 800 @ 6:02

Trying to keep pace on this run was brutal. I'm doing most of my running these days on a bog road near work. It's great in that there's no cars or people on the road and the surface is softer than road or footpaths. On the downside, it's a mixture of loose gravel and big pools of water! It's also not flat which isn't great for intervals, but it's more undulating than hilly.

Paces turned out to be 6:25, 6:56 :eek:, 6:17

5:05 miles total

Wednesday:
Bringing my son to his weekly swimming classes is my only regular interaction with water these days.

1500m done.

Friday:
Was to go on the run yesterday, staying overnight in Dublin. Got back to hotel and was in no mood to go out. Got up this morning instead.

4 miles tempo at 7:06 was prescription. Ran around Ballsbridge and Sandymount. Paces were 7:06, 7:14, 7:17, 7:19.

5.52 miles total.

The interesting thing so far with the Furman plan this time around, and bearing in mind that I haven't done much yet, is that I'm fine on the shorter intervals but drop off the pace big time with any little extra distance. The pace is dictated by a 5k test and in the past, I've found the paces to be tough but doable. This time around, I think my lack of endurance fitness is telling, so it's a case of sticking with it and fulfilling the non-running parts of the training.

El Director

ronanmac wrote: »

Last week’s training was thrown up in the air by a five year old infecting his home with a random virus.

Done:
Wednesday 15 January:

5 x 800m intervals @ 6:02 pace
Paces dropped off as they went off. 6:05, 6:05, 6:12, 6:21, 6:19

6.87 miles total.

PM
1000 m swim

** Training interruption as entire household comes down with cold **

Tuesday

2 x 1600 @ 6:19
1 x 800 @ 6:02

Trying to keep pace on this run was brutal. I'm doing most of my running these days on a bog road near work. It's great in that there's no cars or people on the road and the surface is softer than road or footpaths. On the downside, it's a mixture of loose gravel and big pools of water! It's also not flat which isn't great for intervals, but it's more undulating than hilly.

Paces turned out to be 6:25, 6:56 :eek:, 6:17

5:05 miles total

Wednesday:
Bringing my son to his weekly swimming classes is my only regular interaction with water these days.

1500m done.

Friday:
Was to go on the run yesterday, staying overnight in Dublin. Got back to hotel and was in no mood to go out. Got up this morning instead.

4 miles tempo at 7:06 was prescription. Ran around Ballsbridge and Sandymount. Paces were 7:06, 7:14, 7:17, 7:19.

5.52 miles total.

The interesting thing so far with the Furman plan this time around, and bearing in mind that I haven't done much yet, is that I'm fine on the shorter intervals but drop off the pace big time with any little extra distance. The pace is dictated by a 5k test and in the past, I've found the paces to be tough but doable. This time around, I think my lack of endurance fitness is telling, so it's a case of sticking with it and fulfilling the non-running parts of the training.

Good progress Ronan. First place we meet - Ballinrobe Duathlon...let's renew our vows :P Feb 8th.

ronanmac

El Director wrote: »

Good progress Ronan. First place we meet - Ballinrobe Duathlon...let's renew our vows :P Feb 8th.

I think that that would be cruel, El D, considering I've done more swim kms, leave aside run kms, than bike kms in the past month (and I've done shag all swim kms!)

ronanmac

Sunday January 26

A gale meant I wasn't going outside for a run. First time on the treadmill in an age and I was dreading it. Hopped on, bitched about it for the first four miles, but noticed that I was at least sticking to the prescribed pace and not dropping off like I have been doing recently. Eight miles done, all at pace, chuffed. I think I might force myself onto the treadmill a bit more until I have the endurance back again.

8 miles total

Monday January 27

Overnighter in Donegal. 13 metre swimming pools are annoying.

1010 metres total

Wednesday 29 January

Lunchtime
Back in Galway again. Decided to turn right at the gates at work instead of left and try a paved road through a bog, instead of my usual part-bog, part-road route.

Intervals went well, hit pace on all bar the second last which was uphill (and I was near spent!). Intervals were 400m, 600m, 800m, 800m, 600m, 400m with 400m recovery.

5.65 miles total

Evening
Brought the young lad to swimming. 1000m followed by a leisurely jacuzzi session.

Friday 31 January

Up and down to Kerry yesterday so no training. Tempo session today, again on the treadmill. 1 mile warm up, 2 mile tempo, 1 mile easy, 1 mile tempo, 2 mile tempo, 1 mile cooldown. All fine except that the last 2 mile tempo was a one mile tempo. My big toe on my right foot went numb (first time I ever recall that happening) and it was the perfect excuse to quit :rolleyes:.

Sin é. Beginning to feel better about training, but the few times I've done double sessions, I've felt crappy the following day. Single sessions only for the foreseeable future.

ronanmac

Sunday 2 February

Back on the treadmill for a nine miler. Kept on pace, 7:21 per mile

9 miles total

Monday 3 February

First time on the bike in ages. Jesus, it felt tougher than I had expected (why I expected it to be anything but tough despite not being on the bike in ages, I don't know :rolleyes:). There's a small new gym at work with a Tackx turbo trainer and a decent treadmill that's coming in very handy this weather.

13.1 miles total in 51:46 (15.2 mph average)

Up and down to Dublin on Tuesday so no training

Funerals, removals and work meetings so no training on Wednesday either

Thursday 6 February

Back on the treadmill. At this stage, I'm on the treadmill more often than outside. Vitamin D deficiency beckons! Tuesday's intervals done today, cutting the warm up and cooldown down to .5 miles due to a shortage of time. 4 x 1000m @ 3:49 with 400m recovery.

4.5 miles in total

Friday 7 February
4 miles at 6:51 pace on treadmill. Felt the last mile tough and would have definitely slacked off if it wasn't for the belt under me keeping me going.

5 miles total

Definitely settling into the training now. Am heading over to the States on Thursday for a book launch so might see if I can jump into a 5k race while over there to see if I've any progress done since the start of the year.

ronanmac

Sunday 09 February

10 miles on the treadmill. I now seem to be going to the treadmill regardless of the weather outside. Going to stick with it this week and use the trip to the US to back outside (and will be more used by that stage of trying to keep pace). Pace was 7:21 a mile.

10 miles total

ronanmac

With trying to clear the decks to head off to the US for a week, and with the trip itself, the wheels have fairly fallen off training for the past two weeks. I was full of good intentions for training in Boston but heavy snow and icy footpaths put paid to that, and my plans to run a 5k race while over there was scuppered by a random blizzard!
I arrived back yesterday morning to head up for the Conamara Duathlon (the job of race director while seriously sleep-deprived is not recommended). I met the Artist Formerly Known as Justin Hoyte there but rather than racing, he was eyeing up the Galway scene, swanning around intimidatingly in his 3D Tri jacket .

10 February
Short spin on the turbo. It's a bit dispiriting cycling these days, my legs feel like they have no ryhthm or strength whatsoever in them. I guess training would fix that.:o

9.53 miles in 36 minutes. 15.9mph average

Today
Random run to get the body going again. At the two mile mark, I started to feel faint so cut the run short. Hopefully, just the result of feeling a bit crap post-USA.

4.15 miles in total
35:30 (8:33 average)

ronanmac

While on another dull eight miler on the treadmill yesterday, it dawned on me that indoor training is the death knell of anything approaching an interesting log. Nothing happens other than you set a speed and run. No randomly interesting encounters, no massive hills to complain about, no weather to contend with. This is why (well, one reason) why this log is now the dullest log you're ever likely to read. The treadmill does, however, keep me honest during this all-too-easy-to-start-slacking 'comeback' stage.

This week was about trying to get back into a groove after a fortnight of nothing. Running only. Bike to be brought in this week.

Wednesday 26 February
1 mile warm up and warm down, with 3 miles tempo at 6:51 pace.
Five miles in total.
The only vaguely interesting thing that happened was that I dropped my phone on the belt and it flew off the back of the treadmill. Fortunately, I had already dropped it earlier in the day and broken the screen, thus rendering the second drop irrelevant .

Thursday 27 February
25 minutes core work

Friday 28 February
10 x 400m intervals at 5:56 pace, with 90 second recovery.
6 miles in total
During this session, I learnt not to wear new unwashed socks during treadmill intervals. Both big toes are now missing skin :eek:.

Saturday 28 February
25 minutes core work

Sunday 01 March
8 miles on the treadmill at 7:21 pace.

ronanmac

I headed out off the treadmill and onto the road for my runs for the first time in ages this week. It was a bit of a surprise to have sore calves for the following three days after a five mile run :eek:, particularly as it was not a hilly course. I didn't think that the treadmill was so insulating.
To be honest, the two runs on the road were a bit of a downer in that the treadmill seems to insulate you from the reality of your running... set a pace and hang on, all is fine. On the road, I realised very quickly where my running fitness is, and where it's not. That's what you get for taking on a training plan that involves only three days running and lots of cross-training, but then not doing the cross-training!
My plan had been to finish off a 10k training plan in order to try and get some speed in the legs, run a 10k race at the end of the month and figure out from there what I'd do next. Now, however, I'm not so sure. I'm pretty clear after this week of where I am, running-wise, and there doesn't seem to be that much of a point to running a race in order to find out.
In a nutshell: runner complains that lack of training results in poor performance... who knew!


Monday
Core training

Wednesday lunchtime
4 x 1200m intervals at 6:12 pace on the treadmill
Total done: 5.5 miles

Wednesday evening
Brought the young lad to swimming. Quick swim before scurrying off to the jacuzzi.
1000m done

Friday
Woke up in a Dublin hotel and managed to talk myself out of going for a run, despite nice location and perfect weather conditions. Got home reasonably early, headed out just before it got dark. Three miles tempo at 6:51 pace, and I found it unreasonably tough.
Total done: 5 miles

Sunday
Another rare outing on tarmac as opposed to treadmill. 10 miles at 7:21 pace was the prescription. Started off well, staying well within pace for each mile, except for hilly miles 5 and 7. Started getting tired near the end and without the belt under me keeping me going regardless, dropped off pace for the final two miles.
Total done: 10 miles at 7:22 pace

At this stage, I'm going to abandon the treadmill (it served it's purpose in getting me back running) and be more mindful of my pace as I start getting tired at the end of runs. I might even do some cycling:o

ronanmac

Tuesday 11 March

5 x 1000 intervals with 400m rest. On the bog road in Muiceanach Idir Dhá Sháile (beat that, Newtownmountkennedy!). Hated these. Much prefer shorter to longer intervals. Dropped off the pace in a big way as the intervals went on. 6:08 pace was the prescription.

6.82 miles total

Wednesday 12 March
Up on the turbo. I feel like I've never cycled a day in my life! Short session, mostly to get used to being on the bike again (and then proceeds to not go on the bike for the rest of the week )

7.03 miles total

No swimming during the young lad's class in the PM due to a mysterious sprained wrist...

Thursday 13 March
First run in ages that I felt wasn't awful. Actually felt pretty good! Six miles tempo at 7:06 pace, with a half mile warmup on either side.

7 miles total

Sunday 16 March
Again, a decent run. Feeling like I'm getting back into the swing of things following the two-week hiatus around the trip to Boston. The truth is, however, that I'm doing very little training. I know that doing it in the mornings would sort that out, but that would put an end to my writing. Not doing it first thing allows other stuff to get in the way which sometimes just can't be helped.
Anyway, once I get this 10k training programme out of the way, I'll re-evaluate things. On that note, I was to run a 10k in Ennis on the 29th to bring the programme to a conclusion. My wife is doing a course on that day, however, and I noticed yesterday that Corrib AC are organising a new 8k race near Oughterard on the same day. For the sake of 2 kilometres (!) and a world of babysitting complications, I think I'll cut my losses and go to Oughterard. I'll find a 10k again...
Anyway, Sunday's run was 8 miles at 7:21. Felt strong during the run but felt badly beat up afterwards and the following day, like I had done a long run from a marathon training programme. I think I'm getting old (and eating mountains of trash during my four year old's birthday party over the weekend does not help:))

8 miles total

Micilin Muc

ronanmac wrote: »

I know that doing it in the mornings would sort that out, but that would put an end to my writing.

Have you got another book on the way? I still have to pick up a copy of Rocky. In ainneoin na heaspa traenála, tá cuma mhaith ar do luas go fóill!

ronanmac

Micilin Muc wrote: »

Have you got another book on the way? I still have to pick up a copy of Rocky. In ainneoin na heaspa traenála, tá cuma mhaith ar do luas go fóill!

I've started on an English version of Rocky Ros Muc. It's driving me daft at the moment...
Maidir leis an luas, is minicí gurb éard atá scríofa síos ná an sprioc-luas, seachas an luas a éiríonn liom a bhaint amach!

pgibbo

CW will be happy to hear that. He'd be an age reading it as Gaeilge :pac:

Think I'll try to brush up and go for the as Gaeilge version.

catweazle

pgibbo wrote: »

CW will be happy to hear that. He'd be an age reading it as Gaeilge :pac:

Think I'll try to brush up and go for the as Gaeilge version.

I am going to blame Seanie O Neachtain for my poor Irish, I would love to know what they thought of that lad in Europe.

My only option is to introduce Rocky Ros Muc as a cartoonish like character and get the wife who has good Irish to read it to both me and Pudsy for the bedtime story.

Speaking of another boxing man that has a few stories to tell I found Mike Tysons book to be some read, i never knew he was that far off the rails - crazy stuff!

ronanmac

pgibbo wrote: »

CW will be happy to hear that. He'd be an age reading it as Gaeilge :pac:

Think I'll try to brush up and go for the as Gaeilge version.

You may as well. At the rate that I'm going, even catweazle would have learnt fluent Irish by the time the English version is finished

ronanmac

catweazle wrote: »

I am going to blame Seanie O Neachtain for my poor Irish, I would love to know what they thought of that lad in Europe.

My only option is to introduce Rocky Ros Muc as a cartoonish like character and get the wife who has good Irish to read it to both me and Pudsy for the bedtime story.

Speaking of another boxing man that has a few stories to tell I found Mike Tysons book to be some read, i never knew he was that far off the rails - crazy stuff!

Mike Tyson was a genuinely scary dude, even at the age of twelve! He was screwed once he lost Cus d'Amato though...

I think that there might be too many profanities in Rocky Ros Muc for it to be introduced to the bed time reading cycle!