Brownian Motion

brownian

Time for a new log. Random motion, perceptible only under a micrscope:)

Connemara came and went, and I was pretty pleased. Having a log was a bit plus for me, and the support and advice from the boardsies was fantastic.

There's nothing on my running horizon in the short term - I'm going kayaking in Alaska in a month, and need to train for that, and then hiking in the Pyrenees with the family, so that's a fair free-time commitment to get them into shape too. But in and around I'll try to keep a reasonable level of running fitness, mainly for my own pleasure rather than with a particular race in mind.

Dublin is of course something to think about, if after the holidays I can regain the focus I had early this spring. In the meantime, I'll try to tick along doing 10ks and 10 miles and odd trail or hill.

brownian

Strikes me I said nothing about my plans for Kildare and how they shaped up, in the launch post for the new log. Hurt my neck during a trip to Brussels, just catching a muscle dragging a wheelie-bag through the cobble stones. Locked the head up for the duration of the Kildare marathon weekend. And was pretty knackered from work and so on - just in a bad place. So didn't run it in the end, and to be honest, have no great regrets - I just wasn't ready. Maybe two marathons in five weeks is too much; my body certainly wasn't up for it.

Anyway, turn over a new leaf, slide into summer chillax running. First time out in a couple of weeks, a gentle 10km in the good old park from Deansgrange to Ballybrack. Tailwind for the first half, but (surprise!) not for the second. All in all felt ok, though will no doubt be stiff later on, having done nothing for a while. Lungs felt battered, though - as if running hard in the winter. That odd metallic taste in the mouth, almost wheezing later on. Seems to have settled now, though.

Gorgeous evening out - forecast is sh1t for the weekend, but right now it's fab.:)

Krusty_Clown

They say you should never start training for a marathon until you've completely forgotten the pain of the last one. Even without injury, you were better off giving it a miss. I hope you include some info about training for kayaking. Sounds like an amazing trip.

brownian

Bit of a bits-and-pieces update

- spent the weekend in Connemara, since this was the first weekend with a reasonable forecast in a while. Walked both days with wife and kids - most of the Glen Inagh horsheshoe the first day (all but Ben Ban - came down the valley instead) and the Benchoona - Garraun horseshoe the second. Good days. Training value a little questionable, but it was nice to drive the Conn Marathon route and remember the experience.

- Out on the hill (running) last night - took a notion at about 8 in the evening, so parked outside the barrier at Ticknock, ran up the Boneshaker and then onto Fairy, down the ridge and along the DMW to Tibradden mountain, then back the same way. 10 very interesting and enjoyable kms, though steep at the start! Legs felt good after the first couple of miles, brain felt refreshed and spirit renewed. Gotta get more hill running in.

- Kayak training for Alaska suffered from the weekend in Conn. Hopefully get out this evening for a few miles between Dalkey and Bray and back. Three day paddling meet over the bank holiday...but for a planned two-week trip I've done damn-all training - better hope the body holds out ok.

Neck/shoulder thing still niggling a bit. Drove to Galway and back yesterday, which isn't a recipe for relaxed neck muscles (though it does make you want to get out running!).

Apologies to ART readers for lack of (a) running focus and (b) general interest. But pleased with self that actually got the runners on and had a good run.

ronnie085

Looking forward to you reporting back on your Alaska trip, thats real once in a lifetime stuff

brownian

Ok, so kayaking isn't ART in any sense. But it's what this ARTist is doing this week, and someone may be interested. If not, tune out!

Training last night consisted of getting on the sea in Bulloch harbour, Dalkey, paddling down to Bray, having a lucozade in the Harbour Bar, and paddling back again. Accompanied/led by Alan, a paddling partner of long standing.

What you need to think about when paddling, that doesn't feature much in running
- the tide. We went against north-going flood on the way down to Bray. We stuck to the coast,as the tide is gentler there, than in the middle of Killiney bay. Tide is strongest in Dalkey sound, but even so was only a knot or so. (1 knot = 1 nautical mile per hour. Paddling speed is maybe 3 knots, so going against the tide you make two knots, coming back with the tide you make 4 knots). We came back across Killiney bay, with the tide helping us
- the wind - gentle enough SWs last night. Slightly in our faces on the way down, slightly with us on the way back. A big wind (F4+) can be a major obstacle/aid, both due to the way it blows you backwards/forwards and its role in creating waves. Nothing substantial in that line last night.

Anyway, about 1:15 or so to Bray, and about 55 mins back. Little stiff this morning in the neck, but nothing savage.

Glorious evening - great light on the water and all that stuff. Some seals, some Manx Shearwaters, lots of Guillemots, the odd Gannet, no cetaceans.

brownian

Did my "usual" run up the Boneshaker onto 3 Rock, up to Fairy Castle, down to the WW, out to Tibradden and back last night. Another beautiful evening.

Felt stronger than last time (legs more in tune) but oddly had less energy, and flagged a little on some of the climbs. Had a tough enough day otherwise, and so was likely a bit tired.

Savage weather today - shame to be working. Heading down to Streamstown in Connemara (third drive to Galway this week) tonight, for a three day camping and kayaking extravaganza. Bring it on

brownian

Warning - this is a running-free post

Did no running over the long weekend, due to the fact that my legs were jammed together in a plastic tube as a I bobbed up and down on the Atlantic.

Given that Alaska is now less than two weeks away, my accelerated training program continues. A three-day paddle meet in Claddaghduff, Connemara was to be an important chance to build some fitness. The forecast was practically Caribbean, so packed the shorts and suncream, packed up the car and off we go.

Naturally, it blew like stink all weekend. Force 4, Force 5, Force 6, Force 7 gusts - all not very kayak friendly, all rather cold....camping in strong wind can be a bit tedious. We did get on the water both Saturday and Sunday, but waking to a grey sky, scattered heavy showers and F4 again on Monday was a paddle too far, and we gave up and went home.

Training - yup, got several hours on the sea, one shortish day (12km?) one longer one (19km?), both of which were 50% hacking into the F4/F5 northerlies. Dodgy shoulder was manageable both time, but overall still not very strong. Will continue to blithely assume all will be well, once we're a week offshore in N.Pacific :rolleyes:

Hope to get in the boat over the next few days (certainly tomorrow, when I'm leading a trip out of Bulloch).

brownian

As the date for heading to alaska approaches, my running is tapering to zero and my paddling is ramping up a bit. Saturday I spun down to Bray from Dalkey with members of the ECSKC club. On our return, we saw dolphins in Dalkey Sound .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeLkl858OeY

Starting to feel a bit fitter and more ready for two weeks in the kayak. Packing of monster bags more or less complete now.

Missing the running - looking forward to getting back into it once back in Ireland.

shotgunmcos

Wow the colour of that water :eek: I'm so jealous

brownian

Right - back from Alaska, back from two weeks of pints and family stuff in Connemara, time to get back to work and back to running.

Total effort since June - two 5.5km jogs in Connemara (lovely scenery), one 8km jog in the park, one tough run up Cregg hill (W Galway telecoms high point- nice spin, but hard) plus today's 10k.

I've put on about four pounds since getting back from Alaska, so am about a kilo (it's great to be that generation that doesn't know if it's metric or imperial) heavier than pre-Alaska, and defo five or so kilos heavier than I should be. The obvious line of (ahem) least resistance to better running is simply to shed those kilos of blubber. Failing that (I know myself;)), the aim is get back to pre-Connemara levels of fitness and speed, and to peak for DCM.

Had a quick read of Boards today - including MCOS's inspirational Roth report, and that was enough to motivate my sorry a$$ out the door for 10km. Hopefully I'll get my head in the right place, rapidly followed by my feet, and get back to 35km a week, working up to 50-60 eventually.

So far, so good. No obvious injuries yet.:)

brownian

Back to the grind stone. Jogging along to "talking history" from Newstalk (joy of podcasts), in the good old linear park from Deansgrange to Ballybrack. A couple of the early k's were sub-4, but slowed down a little in the second half. Hardly a surprise, given the lack of general fitness.

Dank sort of a day - hot and sweaty by the end, but not wrecked or anything like it. Should be ok to push out to 12/14/16 km at the weekend, all going well.

Pleased enough to be doing my usual standard of 10k after the long lay-off. Don't see myself stacking 30 more on top without some work, though. To quote - "some pain ahead".

Shame I didn't get back to it a couple of weeks earlier - I'd be in shape to make a stab at the DLR 10k this Monday.

brownian

The faster run yesterday is giving me a bit of stiffness today - I think I need to start reintroducing the strawberry milk recovery drinks, though 10k shouldn't be a big trauma, IMHO. Apart from a good stretch at the end of the run, is there a secret to not having tight calves and quads the day after a run? Maybe not sitting at a computer for hours immediately after?

As it happens, I'm on a rest day anyway. No doubt that means that I should be cross-training on my bike or swimming, but likely it'll mean sitting on my behind doing EU project stuff, drinking too much coffee and wondering why I have no plans for the long weekend.

Speaking of which - tomorrow's plan is ten easy miles (7 - 7:30, something like that). I need to broaden my portfolio of routes, to include somewhere flat, scenic and traffic free. Maybe the Bray-Greystones-keep going South route, now that I think about it, though I guess there'll be a fair few people on it on a Saturday afternoon. Could drop into Amphibian and get a new pair of shoes too - better bring a book!

Delighted that there are one or two of you reading the log - virtual encouragement is always great. Sorry that it's not exactly riveting so far - in fact, I'd go and read Shotgun's Roth Report, or any of several of Thomas Bubendorfer's articles instead.

Micilin Muc

brownian wrote: »

Apart from a good stretch at the end of the run, is there a secret to not having tight calves and quads the day after a run? Maybe not sitting at a computer for hours immediately after?

I've started doing a lot more cycling and I don't feel stiff at all, even the day after an LSR. A typical training day the past few weeks for me has me running 3-5 miles and cycling 6 miles the same day or the next morning. My brother reckons the cycling releases a lot of the lactic acid in my legs, or something like that!

brownian

Micilin,
you might be right. I've found biking to help with stiffness too - I'll give it a try this weekend and see how it works out.

Thanks!

brownian

Headed to Carrick hill in Wicklow (just outside Glenealy and not a long way from my folks' place) on Saturday, in search of somewhere that was (a) low traffic, (b) not Clara vale, as I know it too well and (c) not going to be full of people and dogs. That last reason is why I opted not to go for Bray-Greystones, though that had been my plan.

Carrick's very pleasant, in a forestry-track sort of way, though its mountainous shape should suggest that it might be a bit hilly. It was. It also has rather a lot of trails, and junctions. I basically kept the hilltop to my left and tried to go as straight as possible - that worked ok, but I did use the GPS/map app on my phone a few times, to make sure I got back to the car. No doubt with more trips to the same venue, I'll get to know it better.


Despite the hills and the getting lost, the run went pretty well. New pair of Asics Nimbus 13s (terrible colour, but a bit lighter than the 12s) , which are now not going to be going back to Amphibian King, even if I don't like them! In fact, I like them well enough so far. Very happy to be back at 35 kms per week and feeling comfortable enough. Also happy to get a bit of hill work in, without excessive loss of pace - average a bit below 4 minutes a km, which is ok for hills.

Had a nice 40km spin over the Sally Gap from Laragh with Mrs B. yesterday, to see how the lactic acid/DOMS would be today. Not bad at all this morning - will see how today's run goes.


Plan for the week
- 2 x 10kms (today and Weds, probably)
- 1 x 16kms (Sat/Sun most likely).
...still working on getting back to a base level of fitness.

Best of luck to all those running in DLR 10km today.

brownian

A bit jealous of the boardsies who have run in the DLR 10k today, but am at least notionally in work. Hit the linear park for 10ks over lunch. Had a sangwidge and a pint of orange juice and water before heading out. Felt good for the first km or so, so put the boot in and consciously ran as fast a pace as I thought I'd be able to manage. Was a bit disappointed to be at 19:30 at the 5km turnaround (best time to here is about 17:30), but kept slogging away and was home in just under the 40 minutes. Wasn't held up much by traffic, so that's a fair reflection of where I'm at.

Home, pint of milk, bounty bar (no bananas in house).

Really, sub-40 for 10km in training, after seven or eight runs in two or three months, isn't bad, so I should be content enough. I did feel strong, but that doesn't translate into speed, I guess, without a (good) bit more training.

Will feel a bit stiff/sore tomorrow, I fear;I did work hard on this run.

Starting to be tempted by the Phoenix Park 10 mile run on 20 August. I might be on holiday that weekend, and so out of town, but if I focus on speed for the next few weeks and am in the Capital, it'd be interesting to see how my first ever 10 miler would go.

brownian

A rest day today. Don't feel too stiff after yesterday's effort, but did feel pretty whacked when I go to bed, and not exactically full of beans getting out of the pit this morning.

A bit of stretching, some core work (that's five pressups - standards are low) and I might try to get a half hour or so on the bike, as I have to be in Wicklow this evening.

Wife gone to IKEA - that's enough stress to keep me going today

brownian

Stiff and sore today. Set out on the lunchtime spin down the linear park, but very uncomfortable in the calves and quads - that effort on Tuesday is still in the legs.

Listened to the body and decided to cut the distance down to 8km, instead of the planned 10k. By the time I hit the turnaround at 4km, I was warmer and looser, but still feeling discomfort in all the wrong places. Didn't pay much/any attention to pace, which might be an error, as it turned out to be just over 4min/km, which is pretty much marathon pace. Did slow it down a wee bit over the last km, but it's hard to run slow.

Usually, you'd get to the end of a run and think that you could do a few more, at a similar pace, without killing yourself. Today, I was happy enough to get off the feet.

Had a good long stretch, focusing on the hamstrings and the calves. Achilles feel ok, which is good, but shins feel rather sore. Lots more stretching later, and maybe a quick spin on the bike to hit the lactic buildup.

brownian

Gentle 30k on the bike this evening with Mrs B. Foggy and damp, and very dark very early in forested areas. Did a spin from my folks (5 miles outside Laragh) to Laragh, over the Shay Elliott and then back to Rathdrum via the back road from Kirikee (you know it or you don't - it's hard to explain!).

Broke a chain on the climb out of Kirikee, and spent half an hour with the midges. Powerlinks don't work on old six-speed chains,as the chains are too broad, and the powerlinks don't quite fit. Eventually had to go old skool and use the chain breaker to push the link pin just-far-enough and then wiggle things together again. Still scratching the midge bites.

Nice ride otherwise.

brownian

Went down to Shanganagh to visit Bray Runners (noticed Krusty and BeepBeep67 talking about them). I have hopes that getting involved in a club will open the golden doors of speed secrets, as well as provide some new people to run with, at something like the pace I want to run at.

Did a nice few minutes warm up, which was good as my calves are still a bit shinsplinty from Monday's exertions, then did 5 x 3mins, followed by a warmdown jog. The 3 minute sessions were around a 1km loop, so that you ran as far as you could/felt like in the three minutes. Good tough session, trying to keep up. The last one was a bit of a struggle. Certainly, one runs faster when there's someone you're running against, and there's a lot of extra thinking you can be doing (tactics, head games, etc.). Very enjoyable, and I'll certainly be back.

How much running? Dunno, didn't bring a Garmin. The fast runs were about 900m each over 3 minutes, so that's a fair pace anyway.

brownian

Reasonable day's training yesterday. Headed out after breakfast for the 10-mile circuit around Killiney that I ran a lot when training for Conn. Felt really poor at the start - shuffling along with tight hams, calves, the lot. Loosened out after a while, but the hill climbing was very weak. Picked up to about 4:05 to 4:15 kms for the last couple, though I had been hoping to run 3:45s or so at that stage (the law according to Krusty - run hard in the finishing miles). Overall 1:08's a bit better than I felt, so I'm content with that.

Headed out then for a 50k spin in Wicklow with Mrs B on her new bike (finally got her onto a roadie bike, and off her trusty but slow MTB). Nice spin from Ballinaclash to Glenmalure, over Slieve Maan into Aughavanna, down to Aughrim and then back over a range of backroads to Avoca, the Meetings and back to 'Clash. Only rained on twice, and neither time very hard.

Hit a horrendous, road-wide series of killer potholes on the last part of the drop into Aughavannagh - threw me off the bike, blew out the tyre, buckled my lovely Campag Neutron wheel and gave me a good set of roadrash on elbow, knee, back and hip. Shoulda taken more care. Hopefully won't be too sore to run tomorrow.

Plan for this week - 10k or 10 miles tomorrow, depeding on how I'm feeling. Club meet Thursday, probably intervals. 10 miles Sat or Sunday. Frank Duffy only two weeks away - based on current performance unlikely to break 60 (or 65!) minutes, but will spin along for the run anyway.

Krusty_Clown

brownian wrote: »

...the law according to Krusty - run hard in the finishing miles...

That's P&D strategy, rather than my own, and typically is a long-run strategy, where you pick up the pace over the last few miles to PMP+10%. Hope the road-rash clears up quickly. Sounds nasty. What club are you with, by the way?

brownian

Got my own copy of P&D this morning - dense stuff; having it digested and interpreted is great - thanks KC. You're right that it's long-run advice, but I imagine it's no harm to apply it even for shorter runs, just to keep the effort flowing.

The rash is ugly, but should be gone in a week. The first shower's the worst.

Went out to see how Bray Runners do things last week, in Shanganagh. They're certainly very welcoming and it was fun to run with other people and to have an impetus to really go fast on the 900m intervals. I'm hoping that some speed work will benefit my pace over longer training runs. I haven't formally joined up as yet, but see no reason not to in the foreseeable.

Krusty_Clown

brownian wrote: »

I'm hoping that some speed work will benefit my pace over longer training runs. I haven't formally joined up as yet, but see no reason not to in the foreseeable.

I have filled out a form myself. Just haven't sent it to anyone!

brownian

Club captain Mike Bullock did talk about hooking me up with some members for longer/faster runs (their Sunday run looked to a little slower than I was planning last weekend); this didn't work out short notice. It'd certainly be good to run 10+miles at 6.5-7.5 minutes with somebody else, for a change. I've a notion that Aibhinn of this parish is a BR member (tho, like yourself, quite a bit faster than I am)

brownian

Yesterday was a rest day, just a walk down the pier at sunset to loosen out the limbs. Still sore from the bike crash, and very low on energy.

Today's plan is ten somethings at lunchtime - the units (minutes, kms, miles) depend on how I'm feeling. I took more sleep last night (9 hours) but still not feeling full of beans. Hoping to find some form soon...

Reading Pfitzinger and Douglas - by their standards I'm barely training at all, and never have done. Their stuff on lactate thresholds makes a lot of sense to me, though...I'll start to play with those ideas in the next week or so.

brownian

Today I'm trying something new - adding a bit extra at the end of the ten-miler to see if a slow (slower) mile or two helps with lactic acid flushing and general recovery. That wasn't the plan - the plan was (at its most ambitious, see last post) ten miles tempo, namely three easy, five fast, two easy, as in my new copy of P&D. But once I got settled into the run (800m in or so) I got settled into in-or-around 4 minute kms, and it seemed pointless to go slow for the sake of it. This may be a strategic error on my part, and maybe I should work on keeping it slow (say, 5 minute kms) for the first three miles and then pushing below 4 minutes thereafter. There's a slight issue there, in that the middle part of my usual circuit is by far the hilliest (Killiney coast, inc. Vico and Coliemore Roads), so serious pace there is hard.

Comments welcome.

Anyway, a little disappointed not to have cut a minute or two off my ten-mile, as am still three minutes "off the pace" compared to pre-Connemara training. But then am still in first month of training, so will hopefully build some pace in the coming weeks. Also feeling pretty low energy-wise this week.

Road-rash from the weekend wasn't an issue; muscle stiffness not too bad either.



Rest tomorrow, or perhaps a short cycle. Then club on Thursday, and long run on Sat/Sun (maybe 13 miles).

Must sit down with P&D and see how my "plans" compare to their carefully crafted schedules. I suspect they'd have me running more than 25 miles a week...and that I will need to up the distance if I'm serious about 2:55.

brownian

A second session with the good folks at Bray Runners. Five repeats of the 3-minute (900m?) circuit, plus a nice cooldown run. Got there late (long meeting in town), so no proper warmup and only got four repeats done with the group. Was sent on a last circuit on my own as a punishment...harder to find pace on your own.

I've a nasty feeling that replacing a mid-week 10miler with 5kms of faster running isn't ideal marathon training. So I might need to move to a Monday, Wednesday 10-mile routine, plus the club session on a Thursday and a LSR on the Saturday.That'd put me at around 30-35 miles a week; longer LSRs will eventually push that towards 40. That's still a llot less than P&D consider "typical".

Must admit, though, am finding myself physically tired a lot, even with the relatively low level of training. Hopefully this will pass, as I get more used to it.

Micilin Muc

Sorry for recommending you to cycle to flush out the lactic acid I'd rather have lactic acid than road rash.

brownian

Mrs B got a new bike - hence a sudden increase in bike miles. I'd happily blame you, Micilin, for the road rash, but it's my own stupid fault.

Happily, not impeding my running much.