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To Connemara and Beyond ...
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19-01-2015 10:08pm#1I really like reading the great training logs and race reports here - have picked up plenty of good tips and inspiration. I had every intention of starting my own some day. Today seems to be as good a day as any to get going.
History:
In case anyone is interested, 42yo, never overly sporty, I started running at lunchtime with two Italian colleagues a couple of years ago. In hindsight, it was hugely entertaining, the two lads exchanging recipes and wine-tips with me panting and sweating after them. Our usual 6.5km loop (which I still run regularly) took typically 40 minutes and I never really enjoyed it very much. When both running-buddies left, I stopped running and did 6 months of strength/condition classes in the company gym. Lo and behold, in summer 2013, I tried my trusted 6.5km loop again, I flew along in 36-7 minutes and loved it. I was hooked, and have been since.
Busy job and family life (2 kids) typically leave little time for running, but I try to get out 3-4 times a week: two short lunch time runs during work, and a long run a the weekend. I also try to get a gym class or two in each week (circuits and/or pilates).
Racing results so far:
5k: never ran 5k in anger, but have self-timed ~23 minutes in training and during a night-time run in Bray in May 2014.
10k: 48m, DLR Bay 10k in Aug 2014, an improvement from 51m in 2013, same race.
10M: 1h29, Frank Duffy 10M during the race series this summer - ran with a nasty cold and 0 training.
HM: I ran 4 HMs in 2014, managed to get to my sub-1h50 goal in Clontarf in November, with a second to spare 1h49m59s
Modest goals for 2015 are to chip away at the PBs, e.g. 10k in 45m and HM in 1h45.
First up is the Connemara Half... I entered a few weeks ago with some friends. What lies beyond, I don't know. I am half-thinking of taking the DCM plunge this year... but I am not brave enough to make that call just yet!
Confession: I'm Dutch living in Ireland for yonks, so forgive my usage of kms instead of miles...18
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A reasonable week so far:
Monday: 5km in intervals on the treadmill. 400m on, 400m off. I had planned to run outside but chickened out.
Tuesday: 6.7km with several colleagues in Sandyford. Started slowly, picked up the pace and finished with 4.55 min/km average.
Wednesday: Pilates. It was the start of a class-series and thus very, very easy. I love doing Pilates and am lucky that my company organizes classes during lunchtime.
Thursday: break.
Friday: tried a new circuits class, also in work. It was very enjoyable but heavy on the legs, I knew I would pay for that.
Saturday: 14.5k in 1h24.
Up at the crack of dawn as my 5yo barges in and declares she's hungry (growth spurt and all). Once she's settled, I decide to make the most of it. Carrickgollogan (in the Dublin Mountains) beckons and I need to get some decent hill-running in in prep for Connemara.
Long tracksuit and sleeves, gloves, hat, and Garmin. It was pretty cold (2-3 degrees) with a nasty little wind. My legs are sore from Friday's class, so I set out really, really slow - also because I am going uphill.
There's nobody out and I am enjoying the run a lot. First km are slowly uphill, but once I get across the M50 and into the hills properly, it gets hillier and colder. I have ran here before, and there are a couple of pretty steep parts. I always resolve not to walk, but, I never manage to run all the way, and today is no exception.
Up in the hills, all puddles are frozen and the road looks slippy so I am very careful (but isn't too bad). On New Year's Eve, I ran the same loop, the other way around, and ended unceremoniously on my behind. It was sore, but my two kids got a great laugh out of that when I told them.
Still, best not to go too fast. The views over Dublin Bay are truly amazing. At the point I realize I hadn't seen a soul all run, two other runners appear and are coming towards me. They're wearing the same beany hat as I do (Frank Duffy 10M), but the conversation is short: "Lads". "Howya".
The last couple of km are most enjoyable, downhill and the wind in my back. I spot a runner a bit ahead of me, and that provides the inspiration to squeeze out a couple of faster kms to catch him. It remains cold, only during the last 10 minutes I take off my hat and gloves.
What a fabulous run, cold and dry, with clear skies and stunning views. My legs are in bits and will be for a few days, but it's good pain! 0 -
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Friday: circuits class, tough going. [6 mins of all kinds of exercises, then 2 minute break] x 4. Thankfully it was a good mix so I was tired, but nothing sore in particular.
Saturday: 16.5km in 1h34m (5:42 min/km). The objectives for today were long, slow, and hilly.
Up early, as my 5yo alarm-clock again demanded breakfast at an unholy hour. Funny how she never wakes up early on school-days, but waits for the weekend. Also funny how she wakes me up, never her mum. Hmm.
Anyway, bit of breakfast and off I went. It was cold again, so all winter gear was out. I wanted to run the hardest part towards the end, so I trotted northbound along the N11 towards Cabinteely Park. Had it mostly to myself, splendid frosty dew and eerily quiet. As usual, the incline towards Cab House saps the energy. Exit Park, and head towards Lehaunstown, past the ghost Luas stop, long drag uphill, but a very nice route.
The bizarre M50 bridge to nowhere typically defeats me (it's quite steep - which you can see from the motorway) and the mucky trails at the other end are just about passable. I cross towards Puck's Castle where the real training begins: several uphill kms on the eastern slopes of Carrickgollogan. I crest it without too much going in the red too much and as always, enjoy the marvellous views over the Bay. Not a soul in sight.
After that, I choose the quick, sharp downhill roads towards Rathmichael. The objective is to not totally trash the quads and joints. Me running downhill can not be a very pleasant sight. I arrive back home pretty satisfied with another fabulous run. Legs felt good, albeit a bit tired - but there was plenty left in the tank.
As I type this, I realized this is my longest run since the Clontarf HM, and I wonder how some people manage to run 10+M on a daily basis...0 -
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I cross towards Puck's Castle where the real training begins: several uphill kms on the eastern slopes of Carrickgollogan. I crest it without too much going in the red too much and as always, enjoy the marvellous views over the Bay. Not a soul in sight.
Don't know that bit of Dublin so well, but sounds like a lovely part of the country for a run. And maybe be grateful that your daughter got you out early when it was quiet. 0 -
hillsiderunner wrote: »Don't know that bit of Dublin so well, but sounds like a lovely part of the country for a run.
It's fab. Just the "outskirts" of the Wicklow/Dublin mountains. There are much tougher runs out there, but this hill is within running distance of my house and does me fine. I see the odd runner and plenty of walkers, but mostly almost no-one.hillsiderunner wrote: »And maybe be grateful that your daughter got you out early when it was quiet.
Ah yeah, you're right of course, I just find anything before 7am on a Saturday morning rather criminal After the initial shock, it's actually great to be up early, some quality time with her little self, which typically includes yet another re-run of Frozen, and a little while later, the roads all to myself! 0 -
Ah yeah, you're right of course, I just find anything before 7am on a Saturday morning rather criminal After the initial shock, it's actually great to be up early, some quality time with her little self, which typically includes yet another re-run of Frozen, and a little while later, the roads all to myself!
Then I should watch what I type, since I struggled to drag myself awake for 9am on Saturday... Know Frozen through my little niece & I imagine that could be tough on the ears at 6am ;-)0 -
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Thursday: 7.0km in 37m (5:25 min/km). Same as last week, easy lunch-jog with an occasional runner. Next week I plan to crank up the pace on these shorter runs.
Friday: circuits class focussing on kettle-bells. [4-5 minutes of various exercises] * 6 repeats. It isn't really my thing - so when "the lads" all picked heavy bells, I ignored my testosterone and went for a medium weight. I focussed on getting the reps done and not stopping between the excercises. Tough class, but also good for mental strength.
Sunday: 20.3km in 1h58m (5:50 min/km). Did I just run almost half a marathon!? That may not sound much for all ultra- and full-marathon runners out there but it certainly means a lot to me (still).
The entire week I had the words "run more and run slower" in my head, from the famous and awe-inspiring blog by TFB (which I read religiously). So this week, I ignored the hills that overlook my house, and instead resolved to run slow for 2 hours solid on a flat-ish course.
The slower pace was totally enjoyable for a change. I did my trusted loop which takes me over the M50 "bridge to nowhere", this time from the Rathmichael end, towards Cabinteely Park for a loop or two, and then back south towards Bray. Only the very last 2kms I felt tired, but that was probably because I knew I was almost finished. The legs felt absolutely fine. I loved it. Total confidence boost!
What next? Maybe I'll aim for 22km next week.
Sunday: (will be) rest! 0 -
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Saturday: 5km in 22m40s (4:33 min/km) PB over 5km
Well, PB, that was easier said than done. I have never ran a 5km in anger. But, on a whim, I decided to give the Marlay parkrun a go.
I didn't know what to expect or aim for. When running with the greyhounds at lunchtime in work, we push out ~23:30 5k times, but that's reasonably hard work for me. I decided to aim for sub-23 minutes, with a stretch goal of sub 22:30.
I met up with two buddies - we all ran a parkrun for the first time. It was freezing cold. For some bright reason, I had left my gloves at home, and my hands felt like blocks of ice throughout.
The crowd was much larger than I had imagined. We started way too far back, and the start came as a bit of a surprise. I lost quite a lot of time in the first km, weaving around plenty of runners. 2nd and 3rd km were OK, 4th and 5th were called "clinging on for dear life".
There was a (much) younger girl running in front of me, and try as I might, I could not overtake her. Fair play to her, but it kept my effort honest and I felt I had emptied the tank reasonably well.
I must say, well impressed with the parkrun crowd, and I will give the volunteering a go in the near future.0 -
Sunday: 12.1km in 1h06m (5:30 min/km). After the faster runs on Thursday and yesterday, I opted for a slow-ish run in the trusted hills overlooking my house. No more than an hour to spare, so it was only ever going to be a medium distance run (which actually suited me fine - legs were tired).
The weather was fine, albeit very windy. Especially on the long, straight, slightly uphill road towards Kilternan, the wind was mercilessly in my face. That part wasn't much fun - some cars flying by far too fast, and a very boring part of the route. The rest of the run was lovely, undulating, very quiet and stunning scenery. Just like I picture the Connemara route, or maybe I have too romantic a picture in mind
Worth mentioning, I ran the whole way up Barnaslingan Lane (first time ever) and had a lovely fast descent back to my house. Legs felt tired at times, so I'll take a day off from the running tomorrow.0 -
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Friday: another brutal circuits-session. Felt great after a long week, might have overdone it a little as the hamstrings are quite sore.
Saturday: my children's social life did not allow for any running.
Sunday: 15.5km in 1h28 (5:44 km/min). Took a while to get going as my legs were sore. I had planned a longer run, with the usual hills towards the end. However, the rain came down relentlessly. Normally, I don't mind, but i didn't really have the right gear on and I got soaked. At a cross-roads, where going right meant 9 hilly kms, and going straight meant 6, I choose straight. Call me weak, I don't care as I was delighted to be descending, coming home, and finally warming up! Nice run, but still, sore (left) hamstring a minor cause for concern.
I signed up for the 10k in Phoenix Park coming Saturday - not sure what to expect. PR is 48m (ran twice). I feel I should be able to go sub 47. I don't really plan any tapering, just keep training and give it a good go.0 -
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Wednesday: Pilates - easy enough session.
Thursday: 9.2km in 50m30s (5.31 min/km). I found myself home-based today so was looking for a nice easy <hour run. I realized I am within running distance of a certain palatial home which has been making the headlines in the past couple of days. I thought a bit of sight-seeing was in order (and the good thing, there's a bit of hill-work involved). I ran at a super easy pace. It was hilly but scalable, palatial and all that, and yeah, there was a big RTE van and an awkwardly parked red car in front of a gate. Other than that, utterly uneventful but a fine run.
For tomorrow (Friday), I am skipping my usual circuits class, might hop into a Pilates session instead. It's a small concession to the Phoenix Park 10k on Saturday. I'm targeting 47m30s (4:45 min/km), we'll see where it'll all come crashing down! 0 -
Saturday: My1000Hours 10k in Phoenix Park: 10.0km in 47m19s (4.44 min/km): PB by over 45seconds
Great turn-out in a windy Phoenix Park for a 5k/10k event for a great cause.
On the way to the Park I was thinking back to the last 10k I ran in anger (DLR 10k in August 2014). That's a course of two halves: the first 4-5km are all uphill (not very steep but certainly noticable), and the second part is downhill. Back then, my plan was to not lose too much time in the first half and run the downhill bit as hard as I could. This went reasonably well. The most time was lost in the crowd at the start (too far back, as usual) and at the very end. I was disappointed that I didn't toughen it out all the way to the finish line (this is always a weak point for me). Still, 48m10s (or thereabouts), I was pleased enough back then.
The learnings for today were to make sure I start well, and well, finish well too!
Today's 10k was made-up of 2 5k loops. It started up Chesterfield Ave, from the Furze Rd junction to Ordnance Survery Road. Down towards the Knockmaroon Gate, left towards the Upper Glen Road, sharp-left turn, back up the Furze Road, and then the whole loop again.
After meeting up with a friend from work, collecting t-shirts and all that, we applauded the 5km runners on their way, and lined up reasonably well towards the front for the 10k.
First 5 km splits: [4:38, 4:33, 4:43, 4:47, 4:32]. So far, so good. The first 3km flew by, almost effortless. The 4th km was uphill (the Upper Glen Road's wrath, I remeber it well from the race-series) but I managed to stay on pace. However, the effort significant increased and my breathing remaining laboured for the rest of the run. The 5th km was great, coming through the finish area with all the support. I reminded during this stretch of my second "objective" for the day, to be applied about 20 minutes later.
Second 5 km splits: [4:47, 4:46, 4:42, 5:04 (ugh), 4:44]. The 6th and 7th kms were full in the wind, which had increased noticably (or I might not have noticed, or had more shelter during the first loop). Managed to keep going at reasonable pace, but it was getting harder and harder. Gave it my very best during the 8th km, but the sharp turn onto the Glen Rd saw me almost come to a standstill, and I had a very hard time getting going again. Inevitably, my mind start playing tricks ("ah sure, ease-up there, your time will be grand", or along those lines) but I managed to get going again. The Furze Road seemed to have doubled in length, somehow, but I did pick up as much as I could and squeezed out a reasonable final km.
A special call-out to a nice unknown young man who came running alongside me during the final ~800 meters, suggesting we'd run together. I grunted some reply, and again grunted some when he enquired how I was getting on. He encouraged me all the way to the finish but, even though I realized I was probably coming across rude, I had no energy to reply properly or reciprocate. I lost sight of him at the finish line. Thanks for your help, dude!
Garmin time 47m19s. MapMyRun even makes it 47m14. Whatever. My stretch goal was sub 47m, but that wretched 9th kilometer blew that. Sub 47m30 was my real target, so I am pleased with the morning's work. My friend smashed her sub 55m goal, so we were both delighted.0 -
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