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To Connemara and Beyond ...
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Thank you all for the kind words
Jingle Bells seems a long time ago.
This week's update: 4 easy lunch-time runs for a total of 20 mid-week junk-miles, and since the GAA is finally on a brief break, the young fella and I lined up for our local Shanganagh parkrun for the first time in a while.
All 3 keen followers of this log will know that my young lad's repeated attempts at a PB at Shanganagh (23:01 until this Sat) allow me an opportunity to stretch the legs at a decent pace. The first four km's usually make me feel like the pushy parent (as I am running slightly ahead of him, and he clearly struggling to keep the pace), the last km sees him find an extra gear or two and I need to cling on as he looks over his shoulder and shouts "come on daddy!". :rolleyes:
This Saturday, I was obviously buoyed by Jingle Bells and we had been looking forward to finally cracking 23 minutes for him. I jogged to the park as he biked it, we lined up, clapped for the volunteers (including his mum and sis) and off we went. A pattern is that we typically start a little too slow and then leave ourselves too much work to do, so I tried to get out of the blocks a little faster this time (aiming for 4:35 min/km or so). The first km's all clocked up easy enough and we were well ahead of pace (4:23, 4:22, 4:24). Young fella was breathing hard but he seemed okay, and in my head, I was already proudly writing this log-update. 2 5k PBs in a week in the family (not as good as two personal PBs like some of us clock up per week
!). I was beaming with pride as we made our way through the field, as every runner we overtook said something nice to my boy. :cool:
As we came through the 3k mark (after the second lap), I actually noticed that I was working harder myself than I had intended to. This was a little unexpected and I told myself to HTFU. Surely I can keep this going for another 2k? A third runner had been drafting behind us all race and he started to push up. We ran, almost three abreast, for about a km when I have to admit I started to fall off the pace. What is happening here!? My young fella was ahead, the passenger in the middle, and me struggling to stay with them.
The course has one little incline, about 400m from the finishline, after which it's a long, sloping bend down home. This is where the young lad typically starts his final sprint but not without checking if I am still there. So I hung around until about that point, shouted at him to go ahead, and he went for it as I slowed down a little. I was spent! Couldn't believe it. The young lad hammered it home, ahead of the other dude (:)) and well ahead of his old man (:o). When I checked my watch, I did a double take: my time was 21:5x - and he was about 10-15 seconds ahead. He had smashed his best by >80 seconds!
When the official time came in, I had to blink a couple of times. My 10yo's official best time for Shanganagh is now 2 seconds faster than my Shanganagh PB :eek:. You could not wipe the
from his face all day (or mine, for that matter - until my neighbor, who had noticed this in the results, reminded me that I had better start training a little harder or I was not going to reverse this trend anymore. I decided that now was not a good time to point out we had both beaten this guy by over 10 minutes!).
I still can't believe it - the guy rocks up on his bike, no warm-up, training, nothing, and proceeds to smash it - and doesn't even seems to be overly tired afterwards. Next week, revenge! #ProudDad #LoveParkrun0 -
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Thank you folks, the embarrassment has faded and the pride remains wow, another fortnight has passed. Time for a quick update...
The week starting Dec 12 was a total write-off. Work was manic (due to visitors landing from the American mothership) and I didn't feel great. 2 short mid-week runs was all I could muster. I skipped the parkrun on Saturday and opted for a lie-in instead, and on Sunday, still felt sh*te so again, no running - resulting in the year's lowest weekly mileage (single digit, enough said).
The week starting Dec 19 was marginally better. Three mid-week runs with my "sub-2h HM" coaching project meant I could clock up mileage despite not feeling 100% and actually really enjoying it due to the slow pace. Saturday morning (Xmas Eve), I got up early, and tried to get the young fella out of his bed for the local parkrun, but he was having none of it
and neither had the rest of the family.
Having laced up already, I jogged to the park and secretly feeling relieved not to be humiliated again. I really think he's already too fast for me. Said hello to some known faces including my hero DG, and I started nice and slow to speed up progressively throughout. At around the 4km mark, I had a group of youngsters in my sight and a rush-of-blood meant the auld fella decided he would beat them all. I overtook them all as decisively as I could muster, and even tho two of the teenagers put up a good fight, I stayed ahead. 23:0x or thereabouts, happy enough with that.
On Christmas Day, the local running club organized a Shanganagh GOAL mile so the whole family lined up. In the first heat, me and my seven-year old daughter ran (most of it hand-in-hand, bless) and in the third heat, I ran with the 10-year old. He clocked up a sub-7 mile and both were very happy with their certificate. Nice little event for a great cause, and a super attendance.
Still not a great week but 23 miles in total, only short stuff.
Today, Dec 26, I wanted to run long and had initially planned to do Shankill-Bray-Greystones (again) for a 13M LSR. Time was a little against me so I opted for a shorter route (<11M, hilly @ 9:20 min/mi), trialing a new running backpack (Xmas present to facilitate a potential runmute). The first 10k were fine, started to suffer on the home-stretch due to lack of decent training and not enough fuel in the tank. Remembering an annapr race-report, I kept repeating "I will not walk" to myself, even out loud - to the bewilderment of the locals, and struggled home. Oh boy. That was not pretty
Next post - time for some end-of-year reflection. :rolleyes:0 -
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Annie get your Run wrote: »A sub 7 mile for young M, fantastic! He will be leaving you for dust in the new year!
I am afraid that has already happened this year, AgyRAnna will be delighted her mantras are being chanted over there in Nopland. Nice going on the mile(s) as well! Maybe I should clarify - I recalled her DCM '14 (?) report where she kept herself going by repeating a mantra over and over again. Very impressive willpower and it provided that little bit of inspiration I happened to need yesterday.
HNY etc!0 -
Maybe I should clarify - I recalled her DCM '14 (?) report where she kept herself going by repeating a mantra over and over again. Very impressive willpower and it provided that little bit of inspiration I happened to need yesterday.
HNY etc!
:pac: you gave me a good chuckle with that Nop, and maybe even a little bit of much needed inspiration!0 -
:pac: you gave me a good chuckle with that Nop, and maybe even a little bit of much needed inspiration!
LOL
Despite being somewhat spooked by Monday's long "run", I managed to end the year with a decent week, with a there-and-back runmute debut
Wed Dec 28: 6.2M @ 9:10 min/mi
Unplanned runmute - but this looks like it should become a habit. I was in work and planned to run at lunchtime, but time more or less ran away from me. Instead, I decided I run home :rolleyes: It was a little hairy as I happened to have a pitch-black t-shirt with me (and ditto hat and shorts). So I ran along the N11 all the way home. Most of it is downhill, but as I had to hold a few things in my hand (lack of prep, clearly) they felt like blocks of ice by the time I came home. Much of :rolleyes: :rolleyes: happening when the family saw me arrive.
Thu Dec 29: 6.2M @ 9:26 min/mi
Consequence of the day before: the runmute back to work. Tougher than the day before, as this is net-uphill and I had to carry a good bit of shwag with me. Thankfully Santa had brought me a neat running backpack which easily carried the stuff I needed.
Sat Dec 31: 8.7M @ 9:09 min/mi
First some early parkrun volunteering with the young fella (who was complaining loudly he wasn't allowed to run, but grudgingly sorted a few barcode tokens for us). Then I laced up for some easy mileage to see out 2016, before heading to the Gaiety for the panto. Oh yes, we did.
Then, time for some end-of-year ponderings. In term of PBs, I had a total blast in 2016. Modest as these times may be compared to most runners here, I am pretty pleased with the progress, even tho the matter in which they were achieved can be improved upon.- 1M - from 6:05 to 5:44 (Bray Runners Paced Mile).
- 5k - from 21:42 (Shanganagh parkrun) to 20:49 (Jingle Bells).
- 5M - first time, 36:3x (Raheny)
- 10k - from 46:07 (Dunshaughlin) to 45:24 (DLR Bay 10k)
- HM - from 1:49:56 (Connemara) to 1:45:11 (Achill Island)
- Wicklow Mountains HM - as tough :eek: and as it was awesome.
- #GRVR16 - paced by two friends, who both ran their hearts out to get me to my goal time.
- Getting beaten by my 10yo (:eek:) in my home parkrun, despite a real effort on my part, and the awesome, lopsided grin on his face for the entire day.
- And obviously, the 2016 novices, who did me very, very proud @ DCM16 - as well as the friendships of all who assisted me on that journey.
- I really missed the discipline of the 2015 Novices training plans, and my haphazard, lighter mileage is a consequence.
- Too little cross-training, and too little maintenance in terms of stretching and rolling.
- The HM effort on Achill, a panic-driven, wind-swept, cramp-driven frustrating effort is something that I am not hoping to repeat, ever.
But, as I hope for all of you, the main objective is to be happy to be able to run at all, care-free and injury-free, and to seize every moment, as life is short and precious. I won't be taking anything for granted. The very best wishes to all of you, and yours.0 -
Those are some fantastic PC's N, modest they are not, a sub 6 min mile? Nearly 5 mins off your HM PB on a tough course? Along with everything else you've achieved that's a great year's work, not to mention steering the Novices ship, which you did incredibly well.
Happy New Year I swear I'll see you in Shanganagh some Saturday morning soon 
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You made great progress at all distances Nop... especially the HM is impressive in the circumstances.
I love the description of your young fella at and after parkrun.... don't bring him to jingle bells this year or you'll be in trouble again
Hope 2017 brings more great running your way!0 -
Annie get your Run wrote: »Those are some fantastic PC's N, modest they are not, a sub 6 min mile? Nearly 5 mins off your HM PB on a tough course? Along with everything else you've achieved that's a great year's work, not to mention steering the Novices ship, which you did incredibly well.
Happy New Year I swear I'll see you in Shanganagh some Saturday morning soon You made great progress at all distances Nop... especially the HM is impressive in the circumstances.
I love the description of your young fella at and after parkrun.... don't bring him to jingle bells this year or you'll be in trouble again
Hope 2017 brings more great running your way!
Thank you both very much 2017 resolution is to simply enjoy - the school of FBOT, I guess! 0 -
The first couple of miles have been clocked up in the Flatlands. It may not be great hill-preparation for the first target-race of the year, but the weather was certainly character-sharpening (to say the least).
Tue Jan 3: 10k easy (@9:22 min/mi)
Wed Jan 4: 15k easy (also @9:22 min/mi - like clockwork, me)
A couple of early-morning runs along the Almelo-Nordhorn canal, just below freezing - so three layers of clothing, gloves and hat, and a sympathetic/worried Mama Nop as I hadn't brought any long tracks and was forced to run in shorts. Oh, and no sombre reflections like last year (another 2017 resolution!).
The longer run was an out-and-back, the back being in the wind and some lovely rain/hail/sleet thrown in. The muck I was plowing through surely should give me some credits with the XC addicts around here, especially as most of it were frozen puddles - providing extra challenges.
Fri Jan 6: 40 min (@8:40 min/mi)
Later in the week, I stayed with my brother who had recently moved to the hippest area of Amsterdam (Houthavens - in the harbour area). Again, I laced up early one morning while all were still sleeping.
I first ran along the harbour for a while along this path - especially the way back nearly cut me in two, it was well below freezing and very windy!
I passed this construction, it houses an office and a restaurant. Just hanging out! Later, I climbed up with my kids and brother, and the views are amazing. I think it used to be an oil platform (or part thereof):
I clocked up a few more kilometers (no miles, it's the Netherlands, after all {hides}), alongside the hip young Amsterdam population on their way to their trendy offices (all on bikes or public transport - hardly a car in sight).
It stayed pretty cold so I was glad I was on the way back home:
Yep, one of those boats! 0 -
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Bungy Girl wrote: »Happy New Year, Nop! Super pics. Yes, you have earned a couple of XC credits so you have now qualified to run a XC race.
I can't believe she didn't link the BHAA calendar
Lovely photos! Pity we can't follow the Dutch's example on being bike friendly!!0 -
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I do love your trips home to the motherland Nop, thank you for the pics. It's a very pretty country
Those are also PBs to be very proud off, especially in light of the busy year that you've had.
I like your highlights too, it ain't all about smashing records. The PBs make us all happy but it's the experiences that we'll look back on with pride when we're telling stories about our adventures in years to come. You did a great job with the Novices, you're dang right to be proud 0 -
Bungy Girl wrote: »Happy New Year, Nop! Super pics. Yes, you have earned a couple of XC credits so you have now qualified to run a XC race.
Ah. Dang. The Wicklow Masters XC was on in the local park, so I went to cheer them on, does that count?Annie get your Run wrote: »I can't believe she didn't link the BHAA calendar
Lovely photos! Pity we can't follow the Dutch's example on being bike friendly!! I do think the flat-as-a-pancakeness helps...Great pics Nop, that restaurant will probably be at sea level soon enough
Ouch - that would be funny if it that reality wasn't so not-so-funny..hillsiderunner wrote: »Hope it was not too cold in the Houthavens lodgings!
Stick those photos on the "where I run" thread, and good luck for the year and especially the Connemara training.
The lodgings were fine - surprisingly actually. But the outside was very exposed, brrr. Pictures have been posted and the very best of luck to you too, I hope you'll get to toe those start-lines as I am looking forward to the reports alreadyI do love your trips home to the motherland Nop, thank you for the pics. It's a very pretty country
Those are also PBs to be very proud off, especially in light of the busy year that you've had.
I like your highlights too, it ain't all about smashing records. The PBs make us all happy but it's the experiences that we'll look back on with pride when we're telling stories about our adventures in years to come. You did a great job with the Novices, you're dang right to be proud
Thank you Neady!
I hope CNM training is going well for you. I am typically exhausted just reading your updates so I guess it is My buddies are over for it, too - one will run the full (well ahead of me at any rate - he's entered a full triathlon in September), the other one will run the half, fresh from a 1h26 (:eek:) PB a few weeks ago! 0 -
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Another week gone! Less than 14 weeks to the Connemara Marathon. <insert panic here>:eek:
I can't seem to get disciplined enough to pin a training plan to my fridge and work off it, but I do manage to get some reasonable mileage in - still ahead of the weekly totals of the Boards DCM16 plan
Mon Jan 9: Nada. A well-deserved break, if I say so myself, thank you very much.
Tue Jan 10: 5M @ 9:00 min/mi. Usual little loop with [Sub-2h]. He's actually rocking along pretty good these days, runs 4 times a week and is not the usual mess after 2km. I don't think he'll meet his long aspired milestone in the Connemara Half, but he's certainly trying.
Wed Jan 11: 5M @ 8:54 min/mi. Same loop, I think I ran it by myself this time. This usually ends-up in rage running. However, since 2017 is all about less rage, this was done at reasonable sedate pace. One almost regrets those 2017 resolutions, as nothing beats a good rage-run. :rolleyes:
Thu Jan 12: 5M @ 9:00 min/mi - another go at the same loop with another colleague. It may sound boring to run the same distance over and over, but (a) I don't have much choice in the confines of the Sandyford Industrial Estate and (b) it's kinda nice to run this fully on auto-pilot.
Fri Jan 13: Together with DCM'15-buddy, we snuck off at lunchtime on Friday and ran a couple of miles of the Wicklow Way, from Curtlestown Wood to Crone Wood (~3M out-and-back, 6.2M @ 10:20 min/mi). I would have liked to have more time but we had to get back.
Absolutely amazing views tho (when we had a chance to admire them, as the tracks were very slippery), really loved it. But OMSG, it was freezing - it felt as if the wind was chiseling bits of my face - despite wearing three layers, gloves, hat, and long-tracks. Fabulous.
Sat Jan 14: Transit to Sea-Battle, as my adorable 7yo would put it.
Sun Jan 15: 2 hour LSR in Bellevue, WA: 12.2M @ 9:39 min/mi. I had done some recce beforehand and settled on running some loops of the Mercer Slough Park, a large wetland park with elevated wooden paths and other trails. Another very cold run (yes, I am indeed investing in better cold-weather running gear while out here in the PNW!), but again, awesome. I ran slow (slohow!) to start with as I had not been very disciplined with LSR pace up to now (:eek:). After having found the trails and navigated my way around (and finally thawed out), I added a couple of blocks around my hotel to hit the 20k. Apart from my face now really feeling as if someone sand-blasted it (:D), this run felt great. I kinda had to remind myself how pleasant it is to run slow, and towards the end, it took no effort at all to add a couple of faster kms.
Then for some related news! My 2 Dutch buddies are coming over (again) for Connemara! Hurrah. One has signed himself up for a full ironman event in September (nutter) so he's doing the Full as a training run. The other one is fresh from a 1h26 HM PB (:eek:), looking to improve on his time from 2015. #RoadtripWithDaLads0 -
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Sandyford Ind Est.... sea-battle... you're almost making me nostalgic. Although most of my running in those days was around Bellevue Mall!
Will I remind you of the long flights, jetlag, and staring at the ceiling at 3am? That might put paid to said nostalgiaA neighbour is harassing me about Connemara, she's doing the half... so tempting.
Excellent. If we can just convince AgyR too!0 -
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Will I remind you of the long flights, jetlag, and staring at the ceiling at 3am? That might put paid to said nostalgia
Excellent. If we can just convince AgyR too!
I'd be happy to come along in a support capacity! Or drive the troops down but it'll sadly be along time before I can run 13.1 miles again 0
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