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Mum on the Run
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Thursday – Easy
Travelling tomorrow so swapped rest day. A few laps of the local park to celebrate being packed before midnight for once
.- 4.1 miles @ 8:36 incl. strides (grass)
Friday – Rest
Landed in Reykjavik in the late afternoon. Howling wind, freezing rain and bitter cold made me think a week on the Costa del Wherever may have been the wiser option for the annual holiday. Sanity further questioned when we got a few groceries to see us through dinner and breakfast and realised we’d spent the equivalent of our weekly Lidl trolley shop on a few basics :eek:.
Saturday – Easy*
Weather much improved today. Set off from the apartment in Árbær, (suburb to the east of the city), to explore the neighbourhood and try to find somewhere off-road to run. Told himself I’d be 40 minutes max and would just do an out and back so I could just retrace my steps and not get lost. Had a quick look at the map before heading out and thought I should be able to find the lake in that time. Sure enough after about 10 minutes I could see the lake on the other side of the motorway and eventually found an underpass which led to a path around the lake shared by runners and cyclists and a parallel trail for horses. Much preferred the look of the horses’ path but it was busy with riders, some of them going at a fair clip so I stuck, reluctantly, to the tarmac. The paths merged at one point so I got to run on trail for a bit which was lovely. Time to turn around and head back and it all went a bit pear-shaped. Realised I’d taken a wrong turn somewhere (or took the wrong underpass) and was now spectacularly lost. Had no phone, map and didn’t even know my address. Just glad it was the suburbs of a more or less crime-free city and not the Ozarks but was a bit panicked all the same thinking the OH would be on to the local police reporting his crazy missing wife. Found my way back to the lake (or so I thought) but nothing looked familiar and I realised it must be a different lake. Finally found a cyclist and asked her how to get to the Bonus supermarket in Árbær (the only reference I had near the apartment). She pointed me in the right direction but the look on her face was priceless. She must have thought I’d got lost on the way to the shops 
. A couple of miles later and I was back on familiar territory but an easy* run had turned into a bit of a progression run as I sped up, imagining my heartbroken OH terrified for my safety and about to file a missing persons report. I arrived back about 25 minutes late in a heap.
Nope, hadn’t even noticed and was not in the least bit bovvered :rolleyes:
I’m laughing now looking at my route choice on the Garmin map. Nice run though.- 7.2 miles @ 8:43 (path, some trail)
Sunday – Easy
Took a different route today, up past the swimming pool where I’d already spent the morning with BG Jr and noticed lots of walkers in the hills above. Where we were is in a valley so the only way out is up so got plenty of hills in this week. Sure enough the area behind the pool was full of pedestrian paths and eventually led to Elliðaárdalur, a beautiful park along a river where it turns out the local parkrun used to take place (it was suspended due to lack of daylight and then eventually cancelled, not 100% sure why). The signs are still in place so I followed them (sure it’d be rude not to) and was blown away by the route.- 4.5 miles @ 8:47 (path)
Monday – Speed
A beautiful sunny day spent looking at geysers and waterfalls and spending obscene amounts of kronur in isolated tourist trap cafes. It was still sunny and bright when we returned so headed out about 8pm and took the same route as yesterday, planning to take photos on the recoveries. The reps themselves were a mix of flat, downhill, uphill and forest trail but the effort was fairly consistent. The parkrun route would have been tough to race after the first couple of easy Km, there was forest trail to break up any momentum then an incline for the last 1.5Km.
I’ll pop some photos up here and on the parkrun thread later.- 5.4 miles incl. 6 x 200m > mile pace (200m walk/photo opp recoveries)
Tuesday – Easy
Headed back to Elliðaárdalur but went the opposite direction this time. A less inspiring route but still great views of the city and the surrounding mountains. I was battling a fairly strong wind for much of it and was glad of my wooly hat!- 4.0 miles @ 8:36 (path)
Wednesday – 5K race (Grindavik, near the Blue Lagoon)
Will do a report on this later.- 4.1 miles incl. 5K race (path)
TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 29.3
Table time again, mileage a bit low but that’s the nature of the HTFU training I think.
Month 2016 2015 2014 2013
January 141 101 86 0
February 134 109 75 0
March 114 124 109 0
April 127 129 101 24
May 127 133 95 81
June 110 86 72
July 181 2 101
August 208 31 37
September 133 83 43
October 155 93 64
November 170 107 69
December 113 119 94
643 1666 987 585
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Great week. Your first run reminds me of the time I got lost taking the dog for a walk in the woods while the kids did a music lesson. Panic stations! Looking forward to the race report. I'm hoping you won a cabbage or something. 0
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I had combed the internet for a race during my planned visit to Reykjavik. Enlisting the help of Google Translate, RunningInIceland.com and hlaup.is (a comprehensive listing of running and triathlon events) I found this event about 30 mins drive from Reykjavik in a fishing village called Grindavik. However it turns out you need an Icelandic ID number to register online for events so I emailed to see if I could just turn up on the day but got no reply so resigned myself to a race-free holiday. Then on the day of the race I got an email to say sure, yes, come along, just show up 30 mins beforehand. Well I do love to race , so took that as a sign and persuaded the family that the world famous Grindavik Salted Fish Museum would be worth the trip.
The race was to start at 6pm and the weather was pretty grim. The fog on the secondary road to Grindavik was fairly dense but I was half thinking we’d emerge from the mist into a sunny, picture-postcard fishing village scenario. Ha! I’ve been wracking my brains trying to come up with the Irish equivalent but I can’t so this will have to illustrate the desolation.
We were early, of course, so had plenty of time to check out Codland (not kidding!). The receptionist practically blew the dust off herself in her excitement at the gullible tourists and gleefully relieved us of thousands of kronur. Needless to say we had the place to ourselves and were able to kill, oh, at least 20 minutes, learning about the geology of Iceland, the history of salted fish AND, as a Brucie bonus, an exhibition about Grindavik’s famous author Gudbergur Bergsson. No, me neither. We had a moment of excitement when we saw a photo of GB with John Lennon, but it turned out to be a photo of GB with a photo of John Lennon :rolleyes:. When we moved to this cafe at the harbour, the only other building with life in it, we thought something looked familiar and sure enough the original JL photo was displayed proudly above the piano. I’m guessing the man himself never visited :pac::pac::pac:.
But I digress. I was here to race and we’d killed enough time that I could go register. Found the sports centre (every one horse town in Iceland has state of the art sports centres including geothermally heated swimming pools) and got my number, timing chip etc. Chatted with the organiser who was a bit disappointed with the turnout which was only about 30-40 people, about half of what he’d hoped for. It was still lashing rain at this stage, windy and cold. Family were very stoic about all this as I left them in the car to go ‘warm’ up before heading to the start. Cue a very long race briefing in Icelandic which must have been hilarious as they were all laughing their heads off. Then we were off. I got a loud shout from BG Jr yelling ‘Maaaaaaaaammmy’ out of the car window and I gave her a wave before settling into the race. I was planning to run by feel but the watch was going to beep at Km intervals. Went off reasonably hard and the first Km beeped at 4:15. That’s PB pace and it definitely wasn’t going to be a PB race so deliberately slowed down as I was in about 6th or 7th place overall by then, and unfortunately, the FlAbs were starting to kick in so the only thing for it was to ease back to prevent a full-blown FlAbs attack. The FlAbs haven’t bothered me in a very long time so this was proof that the cause is related to holidays, whether it’s the change in diet, over-indulgence or lack of core/strength training. My usual routine at home seems to keep the attacks at bay and the last time I suffered badly with this was around Christmas time and before that it was during/after holidays. Holidays bad, discipline good :rolleyes:.
The 2nd Km was on a very exposed stretch and was tough in the wind and rain. Watch beeped at 4:39 and I could see a chasing group including at least one female runner closing in. FlAbs, be damned, I wasn’t going to be caught now! HTFU’d a bit, focussing on form and deep breathing, latching on to the guy in front who turned out to be a junior runner. Around the half way point we ran by the harbour and the café we’d visited earlier. This was the most scenic part of the route. 3rd Km beeped at 4:22. Passed another sodden, silent marshal, who just pointed sullenly. None of the marshalls were particularly happy to be there but you could hardly blame them, although the rain had eased off at this stage and I had to take my jacket off as I was getting too warm. 4:25 for the 4th Km and I seemed to have lost the chasing group. Nearly got run over by a car during the stretch for home. Roads weren’t closed and I looked the wrong way (d’oh) before crossing to the other side. Last Km beeped at 4:35 so I must have relaxed a bit. Picked the pace up for the final stretch. Official time 22:31 and 1st F .
Got a gold medal, a buff and this fetching Lady Active Suit for my prize. When I grow to be 6 feet tall and put on a few pounds it’ll be fierce handy. No pineapple this time, hardly surprising with the price of groceries :rolleyes:.0 -
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Bungy Girl wrote: »She told me! Small world. Can't wait to do that parkrun. I did a triathlon there once and it's fab.
???????????????????????0 -
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Bungy Girl wrote: »She told me! Small world. Can't wait to do that parkrun. I did a triathlon there once and it's fab.
REALLY small world - bumped into two of my own friends and club mates at it too! They were holidaying in Boyle and I was in Drumsna! Well done to her on the 1st F!0 -
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Thursday – REST
Cross training in the deliciously heated outdoor pool. Did myself a mischief going down one of those tube slide things with BG Jr, landing on my tailbone on exit. Repeat to self: I am no longer a teenager.
Friday – REST
Up at 3:30am to fly home. Bright as a summer afternoon. Mad, Ted. Between one thing and another we almost missed the flight. Morto. Have to say Wow Air are just the business. I’ve never seen calmer, less flappable cabin crew. Great business model and one Ryanair could learn a thing or two from.
Saturday – S&C, Easy
Beginners Pilates class this morning, because I was in a heap after holidays and anything more strenuous might have been counter-productive. Focussed on form and breathing. Hips/pelvis slightly off and pulling on glutes so will visit the osteopath when he’s back from his jolliers (the cheek!).
An easy run afterwards up to the Bull Wall and back on the grass. Threw in some strides.- 3.0 miles @ 8:36 incl. strides (grass)
Sunday – Leinster Masters Track
Entered the 800m and 1500m earlier in the week and thought I’d decide between the two on the day. Decision was almost made for me as I was uncharacteristically late getting to Tullamore, but things were running a little behind so I had enough time to pick up my number and do a bit of a warm up before the 800m. Expectations weren’t high so I felt pretty relaxed about the whole thing – none of the usual pre-race jitters. We were called to the start and lined up by age-group and introduced to those in the same age-group you’d be running against. Only 3 in my group so podium guaranteed :rolleyes:. I’d seen previous years’ results and knew I’d be bringing up the rear so the plan was to relax, enjoy and do my best but not go out like a lunatic. Thankfully it was a group start from the line rather than separate lanes as I’d feared because I’ve never done an official 800m before (I did a time trial with some clubmates on the grass track in TCD last summer). Bang, we were off, and I was pleasantly surprised not to be immediately lapped. Pace felt comfortable but I was hemmed in a bit for the first lap and I think if I’d been a little bit more aggressive at the start with the pace I might have run faster. Oh well, all part of the WTF* learning curve. Split for the 1st lap was called at either 80 or 82, heard both and not sure which related to me although I could probably figure it out from the Garmin. I got out of the boxed in position at the start of the second lap but realised that my lace was open :eek:. I had double knotted the laces but the shoes are new and untested. Rookie error. Luckily the shoe stayed put and I just had to worry about not tripping on the open lace. Really didn’t want to go splat on the track! Made it through unscathed thankfully and thrilled with the time of 2:45 on my watch.
Then there was a 3 hour wait until the 1500m so I walked the mile or so into town to get some cash and snacks and strolled back. Everyone I met along the route stopped to talk, about the heat naturally enough, but it took me a while to get out of suspicious city mode :rolleyes:. Got back to the track and witnessed Mulberry claiming her second gold of the day. Eventually it was time to get ready for the 1500m. Triple knotted the laces, wrote target splits (70/2:40/4:10/5:40) on my hand. Met Dubgal at the start line - I’m not worthy! Few strides and we were called to the start. Again only 3 in my age category so medal guaranteed. Bang, here we go again. Pace felt fine but first split (300m) was 64 so too fast. Eased back and watched in awe as the faster runners eased away. 2nd split was 2:36 I think but it’s all a bit of a blur. 3rd lap called at 4:10 on the button so I just had to dig in and hang on for a PB. There was only one runner behind me at this point and I know from previous event that she’s faster than me. Wasn’t surprised when she overtook at some point on the last lap and tried my best to hang on to her coattails. Delighted to clock this at 5:41, 3 seconds faster than the Graded Meet a few weeks ago. Dubgal was, of course, completely recovered by the time I stumbled over the line and had won the gold in a well-executed tactical race.
Very happy with the day’s work. Looking at the stats/vDots I don’t know whether to think that the 800m is *my* event or if I just need to HTFU and bring the mile etc. up to scratch. The vDot for the 800m suggests a marathon of 3:12. LOL. Like that would ever happen :pac::pac::pac:
I suppose the next step will be the national masters in August and I’ll work towards improving those times.
Being a track fairy is fun! Can’t wait for XC though, only 4 months to go.- 3.4 miles incl. 800m and 1500m track races
The Stats:
2:45 / 5:41 (PBs)
49.4 /47.2 (vDots)
Monday – REST
Combination of no time, weary body and better things to be doing led to no running today. Normal service should resume tomorrow.0 -
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Hey BG - sorry, a bit late to the party, but your Iceland report is just wonderful. For years I have been trying to convince the lot here that we should go to Iceland on holidays and I get told to Talk to the Hand.
As some in D3 would say: "Well Jel!". And then clocking up a 5k win while you're there!
And well done on your double medal winning exploits! Great work.0 -
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Bungy Girl wrote: »She told me! Small world. Can't wait to do that parkrun. I did a triathlon there once and it's fab.???????????????????????
Indeed, never mind the international medal, nor the TWO bronze Leinster medals (well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). This is what grabbed my attention too Dubgal, triathlon eh? Did you come over here from the darkside
Well done G, some fantastic racing there, really great to see all the progress being made.0 -
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