From 20 a day to 3:30...

annapr

quote: Had some idea that if I found Croke Park I could find the Grand Canal and follow that. Managed to find a section that was closed at both ends, so Plan B was head off towards the coast without any great idea how to get there... Pointed my nose East and took off.

good thinking, except that would be the ROYAL canal! (as in the Oul' Triangle). It is closed at Croker, but if you headed West up to Binn's Bridge (Drumcondra), you can run along it from there inland... very pleasant to run along and an uphill drag... can't beat the sea front though.

JohnDozer

annapr wrote: »

quote: Had some idea that if I found Croke Park I could find the Grand Canal and follow that. Managed to find a section that was closed at both ends, so Plan B was head off towards the coast without any great idea how to get there... Pointed my nose East and took off.

good thinking, except that would be the ROYAL canal! (as in the Oul' Triangle). It is closed at Croker, but if you headed West up to Binn's Bridge (Drumcondra), you can run along it from there inland... very pleasant to run along and an uphill drag... can't beat the sea front though.

Ha ha! Just goes to show my knowledge of the city... I'm amazed I even managed to find the sea Might try that next time, cheers!

And just to add... In the original post, pre editing, I was in the East Wall area heading towards Crumlin!

JohnDozer

Monday 23rd Day off work today so got a nice easy 6 miler in around Tralee at lunchtime. Fairly windy out, kinda felt like running in a hamster wheel at times, running strong but going nowhere. HR reading a little higher than normal, due to the combination of the weekends efforts and the weather. Bit of stiffness in the quads and calves, nothing more than expected. 6.1 miles, 54 mins, avg HR 148

Tuesday 24th - Lunchtime 7 miler in the beautiful rain, HR back to normal levels apart from a few spikes where the elevation changed! Tired a little towards the end but no other issues. 7.2 miles, 64 mins, avg HR 142

Wednesday 25th Wasn't around for the club run later in the day, so decided on a long lunch and a workout instead. Toyed with the idea of a 5 mile pace specific session but the legs were feeling a little fatigued so just decided on a 2 * 18 minute Tempo that I had saved on the watch. Had set the HR zone to go no higher than 160 but realistically below 164 would have kept me happy. Tried out a new loop on this, but didn't realise how lumpy it was, which made it a bit more difficult to stay in the zone, particularly in one part heading up Woodcock Hill. Paces are a bit all over the place as a result of the elevation profile, but a decent workout all the same. Easy enough now for the rest of the week before Sunday. 10.1. miles, 83 mins, avg HR 154

JohnDozer

Thursday 26th - Rest. Wasn't intended as a rest day but procrastinated all day about getting out. Ended up planning to get out after driving to Kerry but promptly plonked myself on the couch and remained there for the evening.

Friday 27th - Wasn't starting work until later than usual so headed out early for 9 easy miles. Nice windy and wet morning for it but the miles clicked along nicely while the rest of the town was waking up. Threw in a few strides on the last mile. Haven't really done these much at all, but with one eye on the race Sunday, felt I needed to get a little bit of quicker movement into the legs. Did 9 * 80m approx using 2 lampposts in length for the stride and 2 lampposts for recovery. 9.2 miles, 82 mins, avg HR 145

Later in the morning went for a game of soccer on astroturf. About 2 minutes in got contact in the quad area which I knew straight away was a possible dead leg, but it didn't feel bad enough to discontinue playing. As the day progressed I appeared to be wrong! Stiffening up and very tender. Tried to rest it and ice it but the damage was already done by playing on I think. While resting on the couch later on the dog decided to jump straight on to the tender area... Lets just say the dog now knows how it feels to get airborne. Getting grumpier and grumpier by the minute that Sundays race might be off the cards.

Saturday 28th - First time volunteering at the local parkrun today, but before that the little business of getting out for a little spin to see how the leg held. I could definitely feel it, but it wasn't hampering my movement in any way. If anything, it was more comfortable running than walking. Headed off for a 5k loop. Turned it in to a progression run to see how it would hold up at quicker pace. All good, so decision made, race is back on. 5k, 24 mins, no HR data

Really enjoyed the volunteering. Was marshal out on the course. Wasn't really sure what comments work for people but tried to be as encouraging as I could although found myself getting a little repetitive towards the end. Was good to see the winner/ first home striding along at sub 18ish pace. Something to aspire to for the future!

Sunday 1st - Headed off to West Clare nice and early for the 2nd race of 4 in Run Clare 2015 - the Quilty 5 mile race. Drove the course, and went and checked in the number. Got a nice mug, first time getting a mug in a race, will use it very regularly! While checking in the number blizzard like conditionsd descended on us so it didn't look promising at all for an enjoyable day out with a fast time. From driving the course, miles 1 and 2 were going to be into a very stiff south/ southwesterly wind. Anyone familiar with the area knows how exposed it is to the ocean and the wind. Miles 3 and 4 relatively flat and wind assisted, with mile 5 containing a decent 500m climb with a crosswind. The strategy in my mind was to start off with two 7 minute miles and see whats left in the tank after that. Targets for the day were Gold - sub 33, Silver - sub 34 and Bronze - sub 35. Given the conditions I knew Gold target was never going to be there, coupled with Fridays dead leg. Headed off and parked at my sisters house about 2.5 miles from the start line. Quick coffee and change and an easy warmup jog back to the start line.

Wasn't going to get caught up in the start line traffic like the 5k in Ennis so hung around on the course side of the start line until most of the crowd had taken up position, and found my way to where I felt I should be. A good sized crowd were ready to go on time and off we went. Checked on the watch about a half mile in and the strategy was out the window already, showing 6:3x. Tried to slow it down a bit but also didn't want to drop off the pace too much. The field had thinned out into single file already by this point but there was a big crowd offering some shelter up ahead so set the mini target of trying to reel them in. The wind was fine and strong and was proving a real challenge. I never actually caught the crowd but was picking off plenty of individual runners one by one. I also knew at this early stage that the effort levels were higher than they should be but still tried to tough it out. Had a bit of a wobbler half way through mile 3 where I just dropped pace completely for 10/15 seconds, was really struggling to catch my breath and retain the pace. Got my sh*t together pretty quick and took off again. Had built up a good rhythm by the time we arrived at the bottom of the last hill, and was having a little battle with a guy in a Kilmallock AC vest, swopping places a few times. Couldn't sustain the pace all the way to the top but crested the hill and found the gears for a strong finish, helped along by the aforementioned guy who was pushing hard behind me. Mile splits were decent enough apart from mile 4 which was 7:08. Don't have them to hand but all the rest were 6:40 to 6:52 ballpark. Crossed the line with 34:07 on the clock, and spent a few minutes dealing with the empty retching, becoming a regular occurrence now at the shorter distances. Overall, I'm very happy with that. I think conditions definitely made at least 30 seconds of a difference yesterday. I finished 36th out of 500 odd finishers so in the top 10%. Everyone up ahead in the results are accomplished club runners so well happy to be heading in that direction. Knocked 3 minutes of my time for the last outing over the distance in April 2012. Onwards now to a 10k at the end of the month in Ennis where I'll be looking to knock on the door of 42 minutes.

Dubgal72

No prob to you. We seem to be on a similar trajectory, times-wise so if I can do 42:13 on an icy day and hilly course you can too Your recent sub-20 5k gave me an internal 'yessss' moment
Great report and well done.

JohnDozer

Monday 2nd - Rest day after yesterdays efforts. Topping up on supplies of fast food and fizzy pop which had diminished lately. Fast food makes you faster yes?

Tuesday 3rd - Leisurely 6 mile easy run along the banks of the Shannon in darkness and hailstone. Heavenly! 6 miles, 58 mins, avg HR 145

Wednesday 4th - Headed over to the club meeting point a half hour early on the off chance there would be someone around for extra miles. No-one around so toddled off on my own only to be joined after a mile by one of the lads. Numbers were small tonight and I kind of flitted between groups for a very unevenly paced run. 9 miles, 72 mins, no HR data

Thursday 5th - Finished work early and plenty of daylight left to enjoy. Headed off on a route that had been recommended to me when I moved to the area first. What hadn't been revealed to me was the elevation profile, so a nice testing hilly run was had. Enjoying having the road all to myself so much 11 miles passed by quite nicely. 11 miles, 94 mins, avg HR 149

Friday 6th - Found a new trail on a map of Limerick so headed off in the evening for some easy miles. Found the trail easy enough, but for 2 miles its a very uneven, grass trail, that was quite soft underfoot, so probably more suited to summertime. Its nice to feel like you're in the wilderness so close to the city though. Feeling it a little in the quads today, probably due to the efforts of the last two days. HR a little higher for the same reason I'd say. 6.3 miles, 57 mins, avg HR 147

Saturday 7th - Agreed to meet up with two of the lads for 15 miles. Was hoping to hit 18 myself so planned to do 3 before they arrived. However, stayed at a friends last night and between all the catching up and the refreshments slept in a little, so only got 1.5 done. Met the lads and headed off, getting the hills out of the way early on. Pace was comfortable, yet a little quicker than what it should be for target marathon pace. Managed to knock out a mile close enough to 8 minutes at the end too to round off the 18 so happy enough overall. Note to self: time to restock the vaseline supplies! 18 miles, 2 hrs 36 mins, avg HR 153

Sunday 8th - Easy 4 miler around Tralee in the evening. 4 miles, 38 mins, avg HR 141

Total for the week - 54.3 miles, another one of them this week and life is good.

Monday 9th - Off today so a handy 7.7 miles around Tralee. Took in a route I don't use very often and enjoyed it very much. Lovely strong westerly wind for the first half pushed up the HR, but it was nice to be assisted by it all the way home with the slope in the road heading the right direction too! 7.7 miles, 67 mins, avg HR 148

In other news, I'm after bagging an entry to Tralee Marathon (charity entry!). I can do either the full or half. I have lots of options bouncing around in my head:-

a - attempt to run the full at a very easy pace, 30 seconds easier than I've been doing the LSR's up to now.
b - enter the full and run 22 miles of it at current LSR pace, and step gracefully off the course with 4.2 miles to go
c - run the half at not quite PB pace, but quick enough to get a good test from it, with a few miles warmup and cool down either side
d - run the half at a PB effort (say around 1:35ish) and see how far I can hold that for, again with warmup and cool down miles.

I do know realistically that options b,c, and d are the ones that are not crazy to attempt. But I'm also one of those people that can't prevent myself seeing the appeal of option a!

annapr

JohnDozer wrote: »

Monday 2nd - Rest day after yesterdays efforts. Topping up on supplies of fast food and fizzy pop which had diminished lately. Fast food makes you faster yes?

Tuesday 3rd - Leisurely 6 mile easy run along the banks of the Shannon in darkness and hailstone. Heavenly! 6 miles, 58 mins, avg HR 145

Wednesday 4th - Headed over to the club meeting point a half hour early on the off chance there would be someone around for extra miles. No-one around so toddled off on my own only to be joined after a mile by one of the lads. Numbers were small tonight and I kind of flitted between groups for a very unevenly paced run. 9 miles, 72 mins, no HR data

Thursday 5th - Finished work early and plenty of daylight left to enjoy. Headed off on a route that had been recommended to me when I moved to the area first. What hadn't been revealed to me was the elevation profile, so a nice testing hilly run was had. Enjoying having the road all to myself so much 11 miles passed by quite nicely. 11 miles, 94 mins, avg HR 149

Friday 6th - Found a new trail on a map of Limerick so headed off in the evening for some easy miles. Found the trail easy enough, but for 2 miles its a very uneven, grass trail, that was quite soft underfoot, so probably more suited to summertime. Its nice to feel like you're in the wilderness so close to the city though. Feeling it a little in the quads today, probably due to the efforts of the last two days. HR a little higher for the same reason I'd say. 6.3 miles, 57 mins, avg HR 147

Saturday 7th - Agreed to meet up with two of the lads for 15 miles. Was hoping to hit 18 myself so planned to do 3 before they arrived. However, stayed at a friends last night and between all the catching up and the refreshments slept in a little, so only got 1.5 done. Met the lads and headed off, getting the hills out of the way early on. Pace was comfortable, yet a little quicker than what it should be for target marathon pace. Managed to knock out a mile close enough to 8 minutes at the end too to round off the 18 so happy enough overall. Note to self: time to restock the vaseline supplies! 18 miles, 2 hrs 36 mins, avg HR 153

Sunday 8th - Easy 4 miler around Tralee in the evening. 4 miles, 38 mins, avg HR 141

Total for the week - 54.3 miles, another one of them this week and life is good.

Monday 9th - Off today so a handy 7.7 miles around Tralee. Took in a route I don't use very often and enjoyed it very much. Lovely strong westerly wind for the first half pushed up the HR, but it was nice to be assisted by it all the way home with the slope in the road heading the right direction too! 7.7 miles, 67 mins, avg HR 148

In other news, I'm after bagging an entry to Tralee Marathon (charity entry!). I can do either the full or half. I have lots of options bouncing around in my head:-

a - attempt to run the full at a very easy pace, 30 seconds easier than I've been doing the LSR's up to now.
b - enter the full and run 22 miles of it at current LSR pace, and step gracefully off the course with 4.2 miles to go
c - run the half at not quite PB pace, but quick enough to get a good test from it, with a few miles warmup and cool down either side
d - run the half at a PB effort (say around 1:35ish) and see how far I can hold that for, again with warmup and cool down miles.

I do know realistically that options b,c, and d are the ones that are not crazy to attempt. But I'm also one of those people that can't prevent myself seeing the appeal of option a!

I don't see the appeal of option b at all! seems like the worst of all worlds...

adrian522

option d from those. Don't see the point of entering a race if you don't intend to race it. Option C at a push maybe.

JohnDozer

adrian522 wrote: »

option d from those. Don't see the point of entering a race if you don't intend to race it. Option C at a push maybe.

I would generally be in agreement with you, but from half marathon distance down. Given my not so extensive marathon history, I'm trying to figure out the best way to use it as a learning experience for future efforts. I've ran plenty of halves so don't see how much another one will benefit me much apart from a PB. I also know the temptation to finish the full will be strong if I'm feeling reasonably OK at mile 22, and all the potential training setbacks that go with that scenario arising. The safest option is to do the half at PB effort and see what transpires, but the lure of seeing what I could learn from doing the full is still lurking. Confused.com

JohnDozer

annapr wrote: »

I don't see the appeal of option b at all! seems like the worst of all worlds...

It is the one I'm most afraid of! I also don't like option C... As above, its deciding A or D.

adrian522

I don't see the point of doing the full distance as a LSR. The recovery from it would be fairly long I'd imagine and not worth the potential benefits over and above a normal 20 or 22 mile LSR.

Just race the half, good fitness boost from it, good feedback as to what your current fitness is like, possibility of a PB and be fully recovered in less than a week.

Bulmers74

Would agree with Adrian - 100%. Nothing to be gained from doing the full. Race the half & see where you are - simples!

JohnDozer

Thanks to both of you, the voices of reason needed for my temporary (I hope!) bouts of insanity... Decision made so!

JohnDozer

Not much running done since last update, and neither the Tralee half nor full was attempted!

Tuesday 10th - Rest - planned, kind of...

Wednesday 11th - 10 mile MLR with two lads from the club. Had felt a little twinge in the left quad earlier in the day playing soccer, which felt fine after stretching and warming it up. Few little tweaks here and there moving up and down off kerbs but otherwise felt fine. 10.4m, 85 mins, no HR data

Thursday 12th - Ouch. Couldn't have run anyway with the work schedule today. Shouldn't have run yesterday.

Friday 13th - Ouch! And got called in to work the night shift. Happy days!

Saturday 14th - Nothing at all done today. Phantom pain in right quad, to add to lingering pain in left quad.

Sunday 15th - Made a sensible decision not to even attempt any kind of a run today, let alone a race.

Monday 16th - 4 mile run at lunch time. In a bit of a temper over lack of running so first two miles were a kind of progression followed by 2 miles of minute on, minute off. Quads felt fine, but a little niggle high up on the right groin. Either my mind is playing tricks on me, or my body is falling apart... We'll see tomorrow...

JohnDozer

Tuesday 17th - Up early and out of the house for 8am. No real plan for the run in terms of pace/ time or distance other than keeping a close eye on any niggles and not do more harm. All felt fine on the first mile, and if anything felt a little more comfortable at a quicker than easy pace. A watch check around 4 miles in showed close enough to an average of 8 minute miles so decided to sustain it as long as possible until around 10 miles were done. Few little blips between miles 6 and 8 where I thought to drop the pace but those thoughts soon passed and kept it strong the rest of the way home. Funny that all my negative thoughts in either runs or races seem to come in the middle third, whether its a 5k, 10 miler or 20 miler. Beautiful morning for running with almost perfect conditions. All in good order and the few days break has me feeling refreshed. 10.2 miles, 81 mins, no HR data.

Legs feel fine today and its a perfect day with no work so I think I might tackle a 10k pace session later in the day, with one eye on the 10k at the end of March. The other eye is on an LSR of 20 at the weekend and I want to do some of this with a good chunk of MP miles, so don't want to do the 10k session too close.

Thoughts are turning to the autumn marathon choice already and it already appears to be a straight shoot out between Dublin and Amsterdam.

On mature reflection, it also appears that running is not causing me any harm, but soccer is! I really need to knock it on the head before something worse happens.

NetwerkErrer

JohnDozer wrote: »

Tuesday 17th - Up early and out of the house for 8am. No real plan for the run in terms of pace/ time or distance other than keeping a close eye on any niggles and not do more harm. All felt fine on the first mile, and if anything felt a little more comfortable at a quicker than easy pace. A watch check around 4 miles in showed close enough to an average of 8 minute miles so decided to sustain it as long as possible until around 10 miles were done. Few little blips between miles 6 and 8 where I thought to drop the pace but those thoughts soon passed and kept it strong the rest of the way home. Funny that all my negative thoughts in either runs or races seem to come in the middle third, whether its a 5k, 10 miler or 20 miler. Beautiful morning for running with almost perfect conditions. All in good order and the few days break has me feeling refreshed. 10.2 miles, 81 mins, no HR data.

Legs feel fine today and its a perfect day with no work so I think I might tackle a 10k pace session later in the day, with one eye on the 10k at the end of March. The other eye is on an LSR of 20 at the weekend and I want to do some of this with a good chunk of MP miles, so don't want to do the 10k session too close.

Thoughts are turning to the autumn marathon choice already and it already appears to be a straight shoot out between Dublin and Amsterdam.

On mature reflection, it also appears that running is not causing me any harm, but soccer is! I really need to knock it on the head before something worse happens.

I think someone's in good nick!:) You still aiming for 42 minutes in Ennis?

JohnDozer

NetwerkErrer wrote: »

I think someone's in good nick!:) You still aiming for 42 minutes in Ennis?

Thats the plan anyway! VDOT off the last two race results has me somewhere between 41:21 and 42:50 so I reckon 42 flat is right on the money. It would also be a full 2 minute improvement since last October if I pull it off. Did 3 * 2 miles at 7:00 pace last night, had to take a little extra recovery between 2nd and 3rd rep but overall quite happy. Only two races between here and Limerick so need to get the most out of them.

JohnDozer

Wednesday 18th - Not the best of preparation for a 10k pace session. Had a large lunch and a mid afternoon siesta so motivation levels were fairly low by the time I managed to boot myself out the door around 5pm. The higher than normal temperatures had me breaking a sweat quite quickly at a relatively easy pace. 25 minutes warmup at easy-ish pace and launched into the first interval. Started on a downhill for the first 400m or so, which resulted in a quicker pace for the majority of it (Had planned to hold 7 min miles), although this was clawed back when the section finished on an uphill. A short 3 minutes followed and turned for home and into a stiffening breeze. Had to work really really hard on this interval to hold the pace. Had to take 2 extra minutes recovery between the 2nd and 3rd intervals, partly because I was fooked, and partly because it was starting on a hill which wouldn't have helped so walked the hill and took a jog recovery at the top. Glad I did as I was able to give the 3rd interval a proper go. Was still finding it tough but manageable, had to keep telling myself that this was the one that would count in 10 days time. A half mile warm down, and headed home for a reward in the shape of beer and couch.

Splits for the 2 mile sections were 13:56, 14:00 and 13:58.

Total 10.3 miles, 78 minutes, no HR data (Can't find the strap).

Has anyone ever gone from loving a particular shoe to hating it in a short space of time. Wore Saucony Ride 6 as the go to shoe for most of the DCM training and loved them, even bought another pair afterwards. I've picked up a few different pairs since (with no gait analysis, got them cheap so more as a trial). Really loving the adidas Boston's for quicker stuff and long runs too, and Brooks Pureflow for easy running. Wore the Ride 6's last evening for the first speedy session in a while and they just feel all wrong. I've been feeling like this for a while, but last night just put the nail in it.

JohnDozer

Thursday 19th - Up at the parents place in Clare for the evening so headed out for an easy 4.8 miles. Pace for the first couple of miles a little quick but reined it in. No ill effects from yesterday either and the legs are still feeling fresh after last weeks low mileage. Total 4.8 miles, 40 mins, still no HR strap

Friday 20th - I knew heading out that a 20 miler was in store in the morning, so what was planned was a gentle 4 miler. What transpired was just over 7 miles at mostly easy pace. The main reason was finding the towpath along the canal by the River Shannon very soothing on the legs, and changing the route after a couple of miles, but miscalculating the overall distance. Ended up running about 4 miles on grass. Hopefully there will be more dry weather to keep the ground firm as it gets very sloppy with any bit of rain. Total 7.2 miles, 64 mins, no HR

Saturday 21st - Met up with the other 2 around 8.15pm, having dropped water and sugar supplies at a couple of spots. One other got added to the group just by turning up the same time and tagging along. Had planned a nice route with the hills out of the way early on, and mostly on country roads for the first 13 miles or so, finishing up through the UL campus and home through town. Plan was to keep to about 8:40 pace which would keep us all happy. Headed off and the pace was nice and easy with the aforementioned nice testing rolling hills keeping us focused. Miles were ticking away nicely with little or no clock watching, but each time average pace was showing very little variation, always hovering around the 8:45 mark. One of the group was feeling the pressure after about 14 miles in and tailed off to take a shorter route home. Then there were three, tipping along nicely taking in water at the drops, which we had spread out approx every 4/5 miles. I took in some lucozade sport around 14 miles in and around here also started to feel a few minor twinges in the lower back. This passed after a mile or so after paying some attention to my posture which had probably slouched a little. It really was a perfect morning for running, little breeze, bright and sunny but no great warmth. Perfection! This was also reflected in the amount of others out running around the city, Great Limerick Run must be getting close!! (6 whole weeks). Was feeling quite good after 17 miles so we decided to just gradually ramp up the pace a little bit, with two of us really pushing each other on over the last mile and a half. And then, just as I was about to turn in the gate of the club and stop the garmin, the other guy says 'will we go for 21?'. Strangely, without too much thought I replied 'grand so' and off we took. Finished out at 21.1 garmin miles and felt surprisingly good, no blisters, no cramps, no urge to purge my stomach. I think I'll stick to the carb rich pizza diet the evening before and the fibre rich Weetabix and homemade brown bread with strong coffee formula I used here. I have never felt so fresh after a longrun before, I'm putting it down to having put only 18 miles in total on the board last week. If the next 6 weeks go as well I'll be a happy camper.

Total 21.1 miles, 3 hrs 5 mins (avg pace 8:44), no HR. Last 4 miles - 8;24, 8:30, 8:12, 8:02

Dubgal72

Lovely confidence booster, especially with the 'fast finish' approach. Nice running

JohnDozer

On the dreaded night shift so time for an update...

Sunday 22nd - Rest. I should have known yesterday was too good to be true. No greater muscle soreness than expected, but very low on energy levels. The post long run diet had been good, and the sleep was good... although the stress of the rugby probably did as much damage as anything else. I still can't quite get over the French trying to run the ball on that last play. The horror of it all. Anyway, I did toy with the idea of going out for a few miles but lethargy got the better of me.

Monday 23rd - 4 easy miles at lunchtime, still a bit sore and still very lazy. 4.4 miles, 39 mins, still no HR - the dog must have eaten the strap, no other explanation!

Tuesday 24th - Rest. Work and travel got the better of me today. I could have got out for a run around 11am but procrastinated and that was opportunity lost.

Wednesday 25th - Starting work late today so decided to slot yesterdays run into the early morning slot. Out of the house around 6.30am and the streets of Tralee were pretty much all mine. Kept the pace deliberately slower than normal easy pace as I had tonights club run in the back of my mind. I was also conscious I had no faster pace in my legs with almost a week so decided to throw a few strides into the last mile. This turned out to be minute on, minute off as I had no other regular, visible markers such as lamp posts to work off. Reading up on strides afterwards, it appears I was doing them wrong, that 30 seconds is max duration. Ah well... I always seem to manage to do things arseways, despite the best of intentions. Total 6 miles, 55 mins, no HR

Got the usual invitation to add a few miles on to the club 10k run and duly obliged. The worsening weather almost got the better of me. I've gotten too used of running in sunshine! I wasn't alone in this as it turned out to be just myself and one other. Agreed 8 minute miles and see how it went. That was all going well until about 6 miles in when the pace just seemed to naturally get pushed. The average pace for the last 4 miles was around the 7:40 mark. Really enjoying my first taste of club running, especially running in company. I still enjoy running alone and the head space that gives me, but I'm finding the social side and the natural competitiveness more appealing than I thought I would. I also think its benefitting me as a runner, pushing me a little more than I might push myself. Times will tell I guess... I do find the Wednesday evening an odd evening as it does impact on when I can fit in a second session, often running two hardish days together as a result. I'll roll with it till after Limerick anyway. Today was also my first introduction to running twice in the same day, and I can't say I dislike it! Total 10.4 miles, 84 mins, no HR

Thursday 26th - Despite feeling fatigued after yesterdays efforts, decided to head out early this morning, as I wanted to dedicate the afternoon to snoozing and napping in preperation for my night shift. Another 6.30am start, feeling the quads for the first couple of miles but took it nice and easy. The rain threatened to rear its ugly head a couple of times, but thankfully decided not too. No inclination to do any strides today so tipped around at a gentle pace, picking it up slightly towards the end. Total 6.1 miles, 57 mins, no HR

An easy 4 miles tomorrow after I finish the shift, and onwards to Ennis on Saturday morning. The times work out nicely to accompany my sister on her very first parkrun as a warmup, and then see what I can do at the 10k mark for the first time since October. A little bit of self doubt starting to creep in, no more than usual though...

NetwerkErrer

All the best tomorrow JD! Have a good un!

JohnDozer

NetwerkErrer wrote:

All the best tomorrow JD! Have a good un!

Cheers. Not a very pleasant morning up this way! Having to work hard on the positivity already... 42 mins is gonna be hard hard work today, might have to settle for closer to 43!

JohnDozer

42:55 net time. Wrecked! Think I had mentally given in before the start, and couldn't push when it got tough. PB by 80 odd seconds so I'll take that on a tough day at the office...

annapr

JohnDozer wrote: »

42:55 net time. Wrecked! Think I had mentally given in before the start, and couldn't push when it got tough. PB by 80 odd seconds so I'll take that on a tough day at the office...

well done! terrible day for it

JohnDozer

Friday 27th - Bailed on doing the 4 miles immediately after shift finished as I was wrecked, really can't handle jumping from day work on to the occasional night shift... diet, sleep and exercise goes out the window. Headed to bed for a few zzz's and got up late afternoon and headed out. A fairly lazy, disorientated 4 miles followed, throwing in a few 30 second strides at the end. Total 4 miles, 37 mins, no HR.

Saturday 28th - Having spent the previous evening at my sisters messing with my young nieces in West Clare, awoke around 7 am to the howling wind and sideways rain. A leisurely breakfast was had while gazing out the window, confidence of an assault on a 42 minute 10k diminishing by the minute. Got the gear together and hit the road, had planned to join up with my other sister and her friend who were doing their first 5k at parkrun Ennis, which doubled up as my warmup. A small-ish crowd gathered (No doubt affected by the 10k in town later in the morning) and took off on time. It's a lovely gravel trail course, winding through the woods. Had the nice distraction of a group of about 10 or so athletics club members doing some interval training on parts of the course -the speed of 'em!!! The plan setting out was to get a 35 minute time in the bag for my sis. She did suffer big time, not my fault, she hadn't been feeling well and still decided to run! Finish time was 34:56, so proud of her, she did suffer big time but toughed it out...

Anyway, the rain had slackened off and the wind speed dropped slightly by the time we finished so a quick gear change and into the car. Got parked up in plenty of time and off for an easy stroll to the start line. Was conscious of the lack of start line etiquette at the last two of these events so positioned myself nicely enough for a quick escape. Spotted a few familiar people from the other races as markers for later in the race. Gun went off on time. Settled into target pace (6:50 ish) quickly enough, so imagine my surprise to be behind the 50 minute pacer about a quarter of a mile in! To be fair he slowed down significantly around here and drifted back to a more appropriate pace. The field strung out quite quickly, and very few groups had formed. Headed out along the Tulla Road for a mile or so, before turning left to head for the Gort Road. It was here I really started to feel the effort levels were higher than they should be, the rolling hills didn't help. None of them were massive, but still testing. Was trying to convince myself that this was just the normal, me feeling like sh!t in the middle of run, but I knew I didn't feel right. Legs were dead and I just felt flat. Still, I kept plugging away, and was picking people off one by one, mainly on the downhills. Turned onto the Gort Road about 3 miles from home, and it started to get really tough. The field was really strung out, and the wind was straight into our faces. There was no real respite from this all the way to the finish. Stuck with the strategy of picking people off, and made up about 7/8 places over the next couple of miles. Was really hurting though, and was fighting a really strong desire to back off and give up. I possibly would have, but with a mile or so to go, pulled up alongside a fella in a Clare Crusaders top who I obviously woke up because he surged ahead, I got back at him, but he surged again. This must have happened 4/5 times and I did get ahead of him once or twice, to the point where he passed me again, and I actually laughed and said 'You're just f@?kin' teasing me now'. 200 yards from home, he took off and I had no answer. Heard more than one set of footsteps from behind so that put a bit of a pep in the step, and 3 of us crossed the line together (43:01 on the garmin). After a sweaty embrace of gratitude with my conquerer, the usual heaving and dry retching followed. Got it together after a few minutes, and headed back to the car for some extra clothes and a cooldown mile. Headed for Kerry straight away as the other half has been identifying the amount of time spent running, and the amount of time spent away racing lately, so I better be careful. Felt absolutely wrecked all evening.

Initially disappointed to be so far off a target of 42 minutes. As the evening wore on and mature reflection occurred, I do know that conditions weather and course wise would have to be perfect for that to occur. I also haven't enough specific 10k work done to realise that goal. I also could have done without working Thursday night and all the disruptions that went with it. Overall, I'm now quite happy to have gone sub 43 (42:55 official net result) and knocked 1 minute 20 seconds of a PB from the last 10k outing last October. Hopefully over the summer, without marathon training to be attended to, some specific work can get that time heading even lower.

Lastly, for anyone thinking about them in future, my only issue with these Run Clare events is the start line and the lack of organising people properly, but thats more individual responsibility rather than the organisers fault so I'll let it slide. All other aspects of the experience are flawless. Immaculate course measurement, excellent communication, and all the other little bits attended to. Great value too, either as a race series or as individual races. Highly recommended!

adrian522

Well done on the run, good PB and probably more to come off it with the right race in favorable weather.

JohnDozer

Sunday 29th - zilch. Feeling quite flat and fatigued from yesterdays efforts. Did try and get the motivation up a couple of times, but it wasn't to be!

Monday 30th - a repeat of yesterday. Zero miles. Its either a very prolonged effect of working occasional nights with the race effort, or something else is going on. Hopefully the former.

Tuesday 31st - Took an early lunch today while I was feeling some bit motivated. First few miles were tedious but picked it up slightly in the second half of the run. Total 6.2 miles, 54 mins, no HR

Wednesday 1st - Had planned to do 10 in total today. The club run is changed to its summer location due to the time change so its now a 5 mile loop as opposed to the 10k. Texted one of the lads to see if anyone heading for extras. He only wanted to do 2 extra, so agreed a time and decided to do 3 myself. Headed off a few minutes late so had to go a little quicker than planned, met him for two, and then back at 7 to meet everyone else. Mixed pace run as a result but it did the job. Total 10 miles, 86 mins

Thursday 2nd - Legs feeling a little dead this morning after last nights efforts, but headed off on an early, longer than usual lunch break to do my 10 mile pace session, as designed by NetwerkErrer (many thanks!, although I wasn't thinking that while doing it!!). Plan was to do 4 * 2 km's @ 10 mile pace off 90 seconds recovery. Planned 10 mile pace was chosen as 7:10 to 7:15. Plotted out a route that reflected the lumpy, bumpy course that is Kilnaboy. Two mile warmup and into the first interval. Found the first one the toughest of the day, even though it was the least challenging elevation wise. Hit the paces on the others without absolutely killing myself, despite the hills, so well happy with how the session went. 2 easy miles to get back to work. Average pace for the 2k intervals were 7:12, 7:09, 7:07 and 7:11. Total 9.7 miles, 76 mins, no HR

Friday 3rd - Easy 4 miler around Tralee town lateish in the evening. Should have got it out of the way early in the day but didn't. Had the day off, got up early to do it, didn't, got back into bed and resurfaced around 1.30pm. Something is definitely up. That's not like me at all.

Saturday 4th - Planned 22 mile LSR taking in some of the first half of Limerick Marathon course. Got to Limerick earlier than planned and stashed some Lucozade Sport at a spot we would be passing twice. Had to do 5 by myself first as my comrade was only doing 17, so got myself covered in Vaseline and off I went. I got my hills out of the way early, as the rest of the route was flat enough. Met up after the 5 or so and agreed on an 8:45 pace, which suited me fine, not too fast, not too slow. Miles clicked by easily enough, chatting away. Around mile 7 or 8, got an all too familiar twinge up the centre of my back. Just like last time, it never really progressed beyond a twinge, but I had to pay it attention to prevent it getting any worse. Enjoyed the bit around UL, especially the Living Bridge, looking forward to seeing what this feels like on the day. Turned for home at the Vistakon turnaround point and still feeling good. Got the second splash of Lucozade into me around 16 miles in and it was nice to wet the throat. Still feeling strong, although my running buddy was starting to flag and the pace was beginning to suffer as a result. The last 4/5 miles the pace drifted towards and over 9 minute miles, which wasn't really a problem as it meant more time on feet, but would have preferred to keep the pace constant. I do feel that I could have maintained an 8:45 average pace, so not too dissatisfied at all with the run. Legs felt good afterwards, a little stiffness in the hamstrings but otherwise wine. Had planned ahead and got a gallon of choccy milk, lucozade sport and caffeine into me within 15 minutes of finishing. Read the paper in the car for a little while to unwind, and headed into work for a nice long hot shower before starting work. The chef kept me a nice big bowl of stew too so happy days. Up and down the stairs a good few times over the course of the day with no great difficulty. Stuck the compression socks on for the rest of the day more in hope than expectation. Total 22.1 miles, 3hrs 14 minutes.

Sunday 5th - Legs feel fine today apart from a little bit of stiffness in the quads, so took the opportunity to sneak out of work for a recovery 5k. I'm taking the good condition of the body as a good omen. Total 3.1 miles, 29 mins

Bulmers74

Nice long there JD - I reckon half of Limerick was out running yesterday

JohnDozer

Bulmers74 wrote: »

Nice long there JD - I reckon half of Limerick was out running yesterday

Very true! It definitely seemed that way. And the same again this morning even on my short spin, good to see. Sunshine definately helps