"Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them"

RedRunner

Wednesday 30th July

Rested the legs but exercised the elbow while imbibing. Managed to get the Dart home at least:o


Thursday 31st July

Feeling a bit ropey this morning but was grand after a bit of soup at lunchtime . Ran home same route this evening and threw in a little extra loop where I live to bring it over the 8 miles bringing my monthly total to a respectable 180.

Surprised at the avg pace as it felt slower and easier than the pace would suggest?

Weighed myself this evening and I'm below 92kg for the first time in a long long time (91.7kg) or 14st 6lbs. if I can get down to 14 st even for DCM i'll be happy.

8.12miles @8:39 avg

WTD|20.71
MTD|180.96
YTD|1131.05

RedRunner

Friday 1st August

Rested. Hectic day at work, did an exam in the morning (and passed.yay!) and had heaps to close off before I left as I'm off for next couple of weeks so didn't get out till late.

Saturday 2nd August

8am run in the lashings of rain. Easy paced but that's usually as much as I can give that hour of the morning. Hope I can do better on Monday!

5.57miles @9:00 avg

Going to rest now until Rock n Roll half on Monday. Goal there is just to run smart and try and have a strong finish. If I can do 1:42 or less I think I'll be happy...I think

WTD|26.28
MTD|5.57
YTD|1136.62

tang1

Best of luck with the race tomorrow RR, see your sandbagging this week!!

Calvin Johnson

Yep I see a new pb being celebrated tomorrow afternoon...

yaboya1

Good luck tomorrow RR

Murph_D

Have a good one, Robbie.

Beef

Best of luck lad. Hay is in the barn etc...

RedRunner

tang1 wrote: »

Best of luck with the race tomorrow RR, see your sandbagging this week!!

Calvin Johnson wrote: »

Yep I see a new pb being celebrated tomorrow afternoon...

Ha ha..thanks lads for your confidence in my ability but its been a hectic week, prep hasn't been ideal and I'm taking the hils into consideration. time will tell;)

yaboya1 wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow RR

Murph_D wrote: »

Have a good one, Robbie.

Beef wrote: »

Best of luck lad. Hay is in the barn etc...

Thanks for the good wishes lads. Hay is in the barn Beef but I think the barn might be creaking around the edges:D

Once more unto the breach....

FBOT01

Best of luck tomorrow. Enjoy.

DOCO12

Best of luck RR, +1 to comments above, you will fly it, your in top shape.

Ososlo

have a great race R!

RedRunner

Unoffical Garmin time of 1:39:43 ( a 7 second PB) Jeez that was tough. Trouble with hamstring too which I think will sideline me for a while.

Thought it was a bigger PB of 27 seconds when I finished but was obviously delirious with the heat and pain! Have to look now where I can find official time. Full report later. Ice pack in place.

overpronator

Well done, course looked a right pig so a PB there is great going. Speaking from multiple painful and debilitating experiences done underestimate that sore hammer, rest up well and get it looked at if you think it needs it!

tang1

Well done Robbie, great running. A PB is a PB, look after that hamstring.

DOCO12

Congrats on the pb and def look after the hammer.

Ososlo

Hope the hamstring will be ok R and you won't be out for too long. Well done today.

RedRunner

Sunday 3rd August

No running. Went into pick up my number at RnR Expo.


Monday 4th August- Rock N Roll /National half Marathon


Lead up to race hadn't been great for me. Hectic week with work, exam, some other personal unexpected stuff that had me running round like a blue-arsed fly on the Saturday.

Got up at 6.30am to get some porridge into me in plenty of time before the 8.30am start. Got a lift most of the way and walked to the start where I dropped my bag. Got there early enough and it was gradually starting to get busier. Bumped into a few clubmates and did a bit of a warm up with them. Went off then and did another bit on my own and met up with MisterDrak from on here who I only found out recently is also a clubmate.

I had earlier also got a shout out from Digger and CL as they arrived near the start line. I next caught sight of Digger with the 3hr pace sign and thought that actually could turn out to be his toughest pacing gig having to go that slow(no disrespect to the 3hr people of course). There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was quite warm already so that worried me slightly as the heat does affect my performance a lot. Anyway got myself into my corral, corral number 2.

Got a tap on the shoulder from DaveMcmahon and noticed the 1.30 pacers closeby too which was slightly surprising. Thought they might be in Corral 1. Just before the first group started they did move quickly into the first corral and then the first group were let off. There was a bit of confusion then as the second group that I was in followed and a lot of this group kept running despite the stewards best efforts. Most of us slowed to a stop but then a few seconds later the horn went again and we were off. This might be significant for later.

So the plan was to run smart early on knowing that there was some hilly territory in the park. Set off at a comfortable pace and didn't get too carried away and just tried to get into a nice rhythm that I could manage easily. Great to see MR Stew on the quays early on giving lots of encouragement. Gave him a shout out and he looked very healthy and in great spirits.It was great to see that. Keeping steady then up the quays at a nice pace. A bit faster than 1:40 pace, averaging around 7:15. It wasn't a goal race but it was the National Half after all and although I'd never be featuring for the club, once you don the club colours you always want to do well for your club as well as yourself.

Felt good all the way up to Heuston with a tough enough hill at Christchurch in between just to keep you in check and then onto the Museum of Modern Art where there was a bit of a drag up to the entrance and then a short steep hill up into the grounds. All good so far and feeling ok.

Miles 1-4 :7:14,7:17,7:14,7:30

Feeling grand through Kilmainham and down towards Chapelizod covering some of the marathon course in the opposite direction. As we closed on the park I was feeling it a bit in the legs but not overly so but knew there were tests ahead. As we turned into the park you could see runners ahead way up on a higher road and of course you knew that meant it was now time to climb! I was still strong though as I was passing a good few on this stretch. My split says I went through 10k in 46:31 which would have been a new 10k pb a month ago. After the 7 mile mark I took my gel that I had (High 5) but took one from the water station (powerbar) and put that in my pocket in case I needed/wanted it later.

Miles 5-8 :7:24,7:15,7:45,7:17

At this point I could still see MisterDrak in the distance ahead so I knew I was doing well up to this point. It got tougher then as the hills and drags began to take their toll on the legs. So went into a bit of a zombie state where I just focused on keeping them turning over. I actually missed the 8 mile marker and when I passed the 9 mile one I was surprised in a nice way. Just tried to maintain the pace now but was feeling it a bit now. Then shortly after 9 miles my hamstring started complaining just behind the right knee and a bit up the back of the leg. SO big question was do I stop and stretch it or just keep going. I went for the former and took a step to the side and stretched it out. Glad I did but was running with a limp a bit from then on, trying not to do too much damage but there was no way I was pulling out at this stage. So it was a bit of a struggle from here to the end but on the flatter parts of this section I was able to find a bit and get back to pace again but felt like I was losing the battle to be honest. Wasn't really focused on the finishing time at this stage but just trying to keep going.

Miles 9-11: 7:52,8:01,7:35

The last couple of miles was very up and down, in several ways actually, in terms of the course itself, my physical well being and my mental state. It was hard work and I was suffering but I knew it wasn't far now and a quick check of my watch told me that if I could do a sub 8 min mile for last mile I could come in under 1:40 so manged to hold it and as we turned the corner for home on Chesterfield I found another gear again and finshed strongly passing a good 30 people or so I'd say on the last bit. I was happy to finish , even raised the arms a lot which I find hard to do usually, then stopped the watch and found the nearest barrier to grab onto and try keep myself from keeling over! 1:39:43 on the watch and was delighted with that to be honest , another sub 1:40 but on a much tougher course and in hotter conditions so it represented much more than a 7 second improvement to me.

Miles 12-13.1 : 8:08,7:50,(5:45....check that out:D)

Great to meet up with a big gang from club at the finish area and as a club we did very well. Had the privilege of speaking with the new HM National Champion for a few minutes, nice guy, and then said my goodbyes and limped out of the park off home.

Offical time has me at 1:39:56 which I can't understand. It could be to do with the stuttered start in Corral 2 and maybe we had crossed a mat already before we were stopped, not sure but I'll take my garmin time and a 7 sec PB, thank you very much!

IT was a tough test today and am disappointed that I've hurt myself but will give it plenty of time to heal. Will take the week off if necessary as I don't want to come back to early and then have interrupted training from now till DCM.

With 1 mile w/up todays total came to 14.23 miles with 13.23 @7:32avg

8 day week this week with the race being on Monday.

WTD|40.51
MTD|19.80
YTD|1150.85

blockic

Well done RR, I'd take a PB any day! Nice to see you are still a Night Owl too!

Pacing Mule

Congrats R

A definite PB there.

Beef

Good man RR, PB'ing on 1 leg can't be a bad feeling!

Murph_D

Nice running, R. Great finish as always! Look after the leg.

Duanington

Nice going RR - fair play to you

Ososlo

How long do you think you'll be out with the injury? Sucks...

yaboya1

Good stuff with the PB. I thought when you ran by you probably had it, but wasn't sure how much was to come off the clock time.

Sorry to hear about the injury. Rest up until you're ready to go again. Might not be the worst thing after that hard effort on Monday.

RedRunner

Ososlo wrote: »

How long do you think you'll be out with the injury? Sucks...

Sure does suck A!
At the moment I think 7 days no running (today being day 4)followed by 3 days recovery running then back into easy running. Will see how it feels as days go by though. Have physio appointment next week too so that should help it along.

Ososlo

RedRunner wrote: »

Sure does suck A!
At the moment I think 7 days no running (today being day 4)followed by 3 days recovery running then back into easy running. Will see how it feels as days go by though. Have physio appointment next week too so that should help it along.

At least you have your pb to console you:) Best it happens now I guess than another month down the line. The break might do you the world of good in many ways.

RedRunner

yaboya1 wrote: »

Good stuff with the PB. I thought when you ran by you probably had it, but wasn't sure how much was to come off the clock time.

Sorry to hear about the injury. Rest up until you're ready to go again. Might not be the worst thing after that hard effort on Monday.

Thanks P. Was that at 10 miles . Didn't spot you but had a lot on my mind at that stage.
Will give it the time it needs alright.

yaboya1

RedRunner wrote: »

Thanks P. Was that at 10 miles . Didn't spot you but had a lot on my mind at that stage.
Will give it the time it needs alright.

No, it was coming up the finishing straight. I gave you a shout but you were pretty focused.

Marthastew

Congrats on a super run in the half last week:D fingers, toes and everything crossed for a nice smooth return to running for you when your 7 days of rest/recovery are up

RedRunner

Marthastew wrote: »

Congrats on a super run in the half last week:D fingers, toes and everything crossed for a nice smooth return to running for you when your 7 days of rest/recovery are up

Thanks a million. Getting there.