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Mum on the Run
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Monday – REST
Too full to move :rolleyes:.
Tuesday – Easy
Local loops in the park just before dusk, passing the best of humanity the neighbourhood has to offer including a shifty drug dealer and shiftier client, a woman allowing her dog to s**t with impunity while she pretended not to see it AND a dog owner who extended his dog’s lead further as I approached to form a trip wire across the path (he thought it was hilarious).- 4.2 miles @ 8:52 (grass, path)
Wednesday – Fat Turkey 10K
Longest race this year! Last time I raced 10K was Fat Turkey 2015 and I think the lack of endurance really showed today. Conditions were perfect but by the 3rd Km I was finding it very tough. Dragged myself to the top in any case, kidding myself all the hard work was in the first 5K. Got a horrific stitch just as the downhill started and couldn’t shift it. Ended up with my fist in my ribs most of the second half which helped somewhat but wasn’t conducive to fast running. The timing chip company missed out quite a few results mine included, but I didn’t bother correcting them as I’m pretty sure I ran faster last year (on a longer course, in a hurricane :rolleyes:). I need to remind myself more often that over-indulgence and racing don’t mix for me so it’ll have to be one or the other from now on to avoid these FlAbs attacks. Oh, and more S&C. I’ll add that to the resolutions :rolleyes:.
Great to bump into Hilly and HelenAnne and I’m pretty sure there were a few shout outs along the route from other Boardsies. Sorry I didn’t respond, I was holding my insides in :eek:.- 7.6 miles total (path)
Thursday – Saturday.
Nothing. Combination of lingering FlAbs, a bit of a cold and general weariness. Could probably have done a few miles NY Eve but didn’t
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TOTAL ANNUAL MILEAGE :
Month 2017 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 110 110 86 72
July 139 181 2 101
August 91 208 31 37
September 136 133 83 43
October 144 155 93 64
November 147 170 107 69
December 105 113 119 94
0 1515 1666 987 585
Annual musings to follow….0 -
The Good
Lots to be happy with this year including PBs at 9 distances from 100m to 5K. Also managed to avoid injury bar a few niggles that responded quickly to treatment. Nothing that kept me off the road anyway. Had lots of fun racing track this year for the first time including Graded Meets, Leinster Masters and the ‘Nats’. Rejoined my old club after a number of years away and I’ve really enjoyed training with clubmates and having a coach to help and advise me. Lots and lots of racing highlights, but my top few would have to be:
National Masters XC Dundalk (Jan)
A spectacularly mucky course and one of those days when you know you’re running well and you give it everything. Loved every muddy minute.
Meet&Train Winter League Final (Feb)
A gut-busting team performance, leading to the league win for the club for the first time ever, by a nail-biting narrowest of margins.
Road Relays (Apr)
After years of supporting I finally got to race the road relays. The nerves really got to me beforehand and I was a bit of a mess before the start but it went really well and the best bit was surpassing my own and others expectations.
Grindavik 5K (June)
Loved this for the randomness of it all. Local 5K in an isolated fishing village in Iceland, in the grimmest of conditions. Such fun, even if it cost me a few brownie points with my frozen, abandoned family. And I won a pink supersuit! Which hopefully will never fit me.
Malahide parkrun (Jul)
Finally got to break 21 mins for 5K after a long time trying (and going backwards). Thanks to Dubgal for suggesting naked racing was the way to go. Freeeeeeeeedom
The Nats (Aug)
PBs for 800m/1500m on the track and some national masters bling thanks to a conveniently timed birthday which ensured I was the young ‘un in a new age group.
Alsaa Winter League Mile (Dec)
Perfect conditions, and just the right level of competition (thanks Murph!) allowed me to knock 8 seconds off my mile PB and nudge closer to the holy grail that is the sub-6.
The Bad
Really let the S&C slip off the radar on occasion this year and it needs to be a priority. Not getting any younger and I feel the difference in my running when I’ve been diligent with my strength routine. Somewhere along the way I’ve also stopped stretching, a trend I need to reverse.
After a great start to XC this year (Jan-Mar), the recent (Oct-Dec) races have been disappointing. Possibly due to the fact that they’ve all been unseasonably warm and also dry underfoot. Some human error and mishaps (open laces, falling over etc.:rolleyes:) were part of the reason too but I’ve definitely lost my XC racing mojo.
Time. Less of it this year due to BG Jr. starting school and having a ridiculously short day. It means no opportunity to run before work anymore but in the grand scheme of things I cannot complain.
The Ugly
Race Photos. Of me :eek:. Nothing for it now but full make up and a wash and blow dry before every race.
Happy New Year All. May it be full of PBs and injury-free.
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Annie get your Run wrote: »What a fantastic year you've had G, not because of 'luck' or random stuff but because you work to achieve your goals. You are the person I think of when looking for inspiration 'what would BG do/say/drink (:D), especially when it comes to XC. Conditions have been less than favourable with this crazy warm winter we're having but you'll be back as XC queen as soon as the rain descends (look out your window :rolleyes:).
Well done on a truly great year of running. See you at the next Alsaa mile and best of luck with your goals for 2017.
Thanks Annie. The answer is usually prosecco . Except now that it is sober January I have to say a nice cup of tea :rolleyes: 0 -
I've made a couple of changes so posting these now as the definitive-no-going-back-no-way-no-how targets for the year in no particular order :
2017 Goals
1 sub 6 min mile
2 sub 20:30 5K
3 800m < 2:40
4 1500m < 5:30
5 Compete at AAI Open XC 22/10/17 (Masters Trials)
6 1800 miles (average 150/month)
7 Half Marathon PB (< 1:39:10)
8 sub 44 10K
9 3K < 12 mins
10 2 miles < 13 mins
A sub-35 min 5 miles would give me 5/10 round numbers but I'm not racing Raheny 5 (booked myself a pacing gig) so I'm not sure if Dunboyne/Terenure will fit into the schedule this year. Any other fast 5 milers out there does anyone know ? 0 -
You've had an impressive haul of interesting prizes in 2016 BG
oh and the PBs, they were pretty awesome too You've had a deservedly great year at the pointy end of things. I've no doubt that 2017 will reap you just rewards for the hard sessions too. Looking forward to seeing your progress and ticking the boxes in that table - your log is invaluable to the rest of us, it stands as a show piece of how hard work and the right attitude pay off. 0 -
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You've had an impressive haul of interesting prizes in 2016 BG oh and the PBs, they were pretty awesome too You've had a deservedly great year at the pointy end of things. I've no doubt that 2017 will reap you just rewards for the hard sessions too. Looking forward to seeing your progress and ticking the boxes in that table - your log is invaluable to the rest of us, it stands as a show piece of how hard work and the right attitude pay off.
Ah thanks Neady, that's so nice to hear (especially as I'm sitting here feeling sorry for myself in whatever the opposite of a sugar coma is! A sugar-deprived state of being :rolleyes: ?).+1 to everything in Neady's post above!
Great to see the targets lined up! Where/when will you do the half marathon?
Best of luck!!!! Excited to follow!
Thanks Ososlo. I love targets! I think setting them makes me happier than achieving them. Looking at Charleville for the half. Was thinking of Dublin but if I'm only going to do a half every 2 years :rolleyes: then it needs to be flat!Interesting set of goals - Best of luck with them. Glad to see the HM back on the table. Will be targeting a HM PB myself in second half of year, possibly Charleville. Plenty of room in the car.
Shotgun!
:cool:0 -
Sunday – LSR
Nice crisp afternoon for this. Ran up to St.Anne’s and took the opportunity to discover some new trails. No chance of a muckfest for the Masters this year unless there’s a dramatic change in the weather. Ground’s a bit soft but that’s it :rolleyes:. The log obstacle is still there at least :cool:. FlAbs eased out as the run went on but still aware of their presence. Should have done the last mile @ MP but didn’t want to risk a flare up.- 10 miles @ 9:24 (path, grass, trail)
TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 21.8
Mission Muckfest – Week 16
Monday – Easy
Up to the Bull Wall and back on a rare windless day along the promenade.- 5 miles @ 8:50 (path, grass)
Tuesday – Club Session, S&C
8 x 600m with 200m jog recoveries
07:07 07:30 08:01 08:02
07:22 07:22 07:39 07:37
Freeeeeezing for this. Didn’t warm up the entire time. Pace was correspondingly slow (at least a minute per mile off pace) but at least the FlAbs stayed quiet and I got to have a bit of a chat with a couple of clubmates. I’ll just put it down as some sort of tempo session.
Did a short session at the stadium gym afterwards. I have reverted to weakling status after a looooooooong break from the gym. My new Tuesday routine will be club session followed by a full gym session. In for a penny….- 6.6 miles total (track)
Wednesday – REST
Took a rest day as feeling cold, tired and a bit ropey. Probably suffering sugar withdrawal :rolleyes:.
Thursday – S&C, Easy
Feeling so much better today after a good sleep. Did 5.5 miles before Pilates then ran home after. Nice evening for it. Loads of runners out along the promenade, most of them overtaking me.- 6.5 miles @ 9:15 (grass, path)
Friday – Easy
Felt sluggish on this after a big lunch. More or less the same route as the previous day. Bit windier tonight though which might explain the drop in pace.- 6.3 miles @ 9:29 (grass, path)
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Saturday – Easy
A late enough jaunt around the neighbourhood. Felt a bit sluggish.- 3.0 miles @ 9:18 (path)
Sunday – Dublin Masters XC
The less said about this the better! Pace was more or less the same as last year (although we were knee-deep in muck then), but I was about 30 places further back AND as we all know, in XC only the places matter. What’s worse is all the usual suspects, that I know I should be there or thereabouts with, placed in the 40s/50s where I feel I should have placed. Seems like all I’m doing this XC season is making excuses :rolleyes:. There’s 3 or 4 races left to try to redeem myself so I’ll aim to be in a more competitive frame of mind for those. I did have a bit of a think as to why I’ve been underperforming at XC this year, and came up with a few possible reasons. One may be that last season I was coming off a really good endurance base, whereas this year I had a track (800m/1500m) season behind me. Another, related no doubt, is higher mileage for the period Jul-Dec 2015 than 2016 (about 200 extra miles). Also last season I was very motivated, this season not so much :rolleyes:.- 3.6 miles total (grass)
TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 31.1
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Annie get your Run wrote: »Best of luck tomorrow!! Sorry I won't get over to support
plenty of muck in the cow park this morning so I'd be optimistic for similar for ye tomorrow! ENJOY.
Thanks, AM. Looks like you guys had all the luck muckBest of luck tomorrow G will be up on supporting duties.
Thanks for the support, A! Great to to hear the shouts of encouragement around the route.Best luck tomorrow G, looks fairly solid apart from start.
Too solid, G! What about that ankle-biting bit near the start :eek:. Thanks for support and well done on your own race.0 -
Wubble Wubble wrote: »Sorry you had a tough day at the office on Sunday G. It can be hard to keep going when you know that you're way off the pace.
What's next on the list?
Thanks J, at least it was only 2 laps.
Next up ? If conditions are good I'll do the 3K on the track at Alsaa as I have a soft PB (12:29) that needs to come down. Apart from that, a couple more Meet & Train XC, before the Nats in Waterford. You're doing that I think ?Sorry again you weren't happy with Sunday. Maybe the different conditions have a part to play, you seem to thrive on the real mucky XC days, maybe sub consciously you're not feeling the mojo if you know conditions aren't what you'd hope or want?
Curious about this statement - Also last season I was very motivated, this season not so much. Any ideas on why that might be or more thoughts on what it relates to? You seem very motivated in that you're getting out consistently, enjoying the club sessions etc.
Thanks, Laura. Yeah I'm motivated for training all right, it's just the XC I'm not feeling the love for :rolleyes:. I was thinking about this, and it's a bit silly of me, but I kind of thought this year I'd be rocking it in a new age group, and have been a bit deflated on occasion to be doing no better (or worse!) than previously. And the lack of muck, natch :pac::pac::pac:Of course that's it! Focusing on the track since last spring is bound to have had an effect when you consider it against the training you were doing last year! Mystery solved! While cross country training might be very beneficial for middle distance racing, middle distance training is probably not near as beneficial for cross country racing! If you get me!
Hmmm. Well, you've been training consistently for XC for the last few months, I'm sure it'll get you back to where you were in time for the National Masters, and with a bit of luck in time for your outing in the Cow Park this Sunday.
Very wise as always, Mulberry! That does make sense and combined with a less than positive mental outlook, I can't really expect better results. Focussed now though to get the most out of what's left of the season. Not going to Cow Park unfortunately (figured I need to train more than I need to race) so will do the next couple of Meet & Trains, then the Nats.0 -
Bungy Girl wrote: »Thanks J, at least it was only 2 laps.
Next up ? If conditions are good I'll do the 3K on the track at Alsaa as I have a soft PB (12:29) that needs to come down. Apart from that, a couple more Meet & Train XC, before the Nats in Waterford. You're doing that I think ?
going to Cow Park unfortunately (figured I need to train more than I need to race) so will do the next couple of Meet & Trains, then the Nats.
Ha! Easy mistake to make if you saw me in action on Sunday
Unfortunately I won't be following in your footsteps and "nailing the Nats" this time. I'd love to be able to say that rumour is true, however I'll be in college that weekend, so it's a no-go for me I'm afraid. I do have a few more XCs on my list though.
Pity you're not going to Cow Park. I'm still on for that one, although training this week has been "minimal". I see Dubgal72 on the list; that could have been a good battle of the mentors
What's the course profile like? I presume there will be more ups and downs than last week; stickier ground is a given.0 -
Wubble Wubble wrote: »
Pity you're not going to Cow Park. I'm still on for that one, although training this week has been "minimal". I see Dubgal72 on the list; that could have been a good battle of the mentors
What's the course profile like? I presume there will be more ups and downs than last week; stickier ground is a given.
I don't think either mentor will be there J. Pity indeed. Just looking at the list Cru have sent a good women's inter women's team but no masters at all?
BG will give you a better profile but the cow park isn't hilly, it's reasonably flat with a couple of drags here and there, they just get more difficult with each lap!! The terrain is rough longish grass that can be muddy in a few key places and if the kids are up first which I think they are well, I hope you have longer spikes! The wind can be a factor too. It's a great place for supporters as they can run from one side to the other reasonably easily to cheer on. Looks like I'll make it down after all so will give you a sneaky cheer 0 -
Wubble Wubble wrote: »Ha! Easy mistake to make if you saw me in action on Sunday
Unfortunately I won't be following in your footsteps and "nailing the Nats" this time. I'd love to be able to say that rumour is true, however I'll be in college that weekend, so it's a no-go for me I'm afraid. I do have a few more XCs on my list though.
Pity you're not going to Cow Park. I'm still on for that one, although training this week has been "minimal". I see Dubgal72 on the list; that could have been a good battle of the mentors
What's the course profile like? I presume there will be more ups and downs than last week; stickier ground is a given.
Ha ha, laughing at the idea that I could give DG any sort of battle. I'd be doing well not to get lapped by her :rolleyes:. Different class all together.
Yeah Annie's description of the Cow Park is spot on. No hills to speak of, can be spectacularly mucky but probably not up to scratch this weather :rolleyes:. Wise to do a lap of the course so you know the best (not necessarily the shortest) line to take.
Hoping to get out to cheer if I can bribe persuade BG Jr.0 -
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Friday – S&C
A tough gym session to get me back on track with the S&C. Cue some painful DOMS for the rest of the weekend :rolleyes:.
Saturday – Hills Session
Only had time for 3 instead of the prescribed 4 loops so did a 1 x 2 mile and a 1 x 1 mile (90 secs rec) before I had to head home. Splits were not impressive but they’ll get better with consistency. Got my cool down done in the local park, then went for a massive breakfast.- 8.6 miles total
Sunday – LSR
A busy day, involving posing as a crazy woman in Chapelizod while giving an encouraging cheer to Annapr and Laura from these parts :cool: and heading to Dunboyne with BG Jr. to cheer on the club team in the womens's Intermediate XC. BG Jr. insisted on taking the photographs so I now have hundreds of pictures of headless runners, random arses and complete strangers :rolleyes:. Missed the masters races unfortunately.
Actual running was 90 mins with the last mile @ MP. Headed out late afternoon up towards St.Anne’s for a lap of the (original) Raheny 5 route and back home.- 10.3 miles @ 8:47, last mile @ MP (7:53)
TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 38.0
A good week in terms of training and mileage and I'm still on target for 150+ miles monthly total. Hopefully tomorrow’s weigh in will show the Xmas excess lbs starting to come off… I’d really love some chocolate though :rolleyes:.0 -
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