Ok, what's next?

Swashbuckler

Don't think I've ever been so jealous of someone's Strava as I have been with yours and P's in the last couple of weeks.

skyblue46

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Don't think I've ever been so jealous of someone's Strava as I have been with yours and P's in the last couple of weeks.

Wasn't it fantastic! I was particularly taken by the New Zealand leg of the journey.

mister paul

What's mine is obviously yours...

Murph_D

That's a lot of running for a honeymoon. Great stuff both. (Who's this A though that you were MTBing with on the Thurs?)

aquinn

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Don't think I've ever been so jealous of someone's Strava as I have been with yours and P's in the last couple of weeks.

It was incredible. What a break. No filters on any photos. Pure magic. I would highly recommend saving, getting the time off, renting the house, packing the baby and bags and off you go.
Everyone is so nice and everywhere is spotless.

skyblue46 wrote: »

Wasn't it fantastic! I was particularly taken by the New Zealand leg of the journey.

New Zealand is truly superb. A really beautiful country that they are very proud of and take very good care of. Definitely go.

Murph_D wrote: »

That's a lot of running for a honeymoon. Great stuff both. (Who's this A though that you were MTBing with on the Thurs?)

Bad editing on my part. P loved it, A didn't.

aquinn

:rolleyes:

Morning! Afternoon,

Right so still on honeymoon as week of Feb 18-24 22.1 miles.

Monday - rest, except we did an organised tour to Milford Sound. Really enjoyable and interesting. Lots of rain which is apparently the best day to see the full glory as hundreds of waterfalls appear. Stunning. No dolphins unfortunately. Fur seals but not the same.

Tuesday - Drive from Te Anau Downs to Queenstown. Another stunning drive. I was tired so a coffee break in Te Anau and then on to our destination where we were staying for 4 nights. Out before 7pm and we ran down through Queenstown Gardens and along the Frankton track which is a super facility for walkers/runners/cyclists. Lovely and safe which makes all the difference as no traffic to negogiate. I was tired for the first two miles and then bounced back it seems. Right knee was tight. 5.35 mles @9:13.

Wednesday - A longer run along the Frankton track and out as far as the Marina to the swishest public toilets. So fancy. They turn on music and give you 10 minutes. Spotless of course. V impressed. A really enjoyable run and longest on holidays. A lovely day of relaxing, reading and joining freckles. Not much water drank but the run went really well. A superb track, such a great amenity. 7.1 miles @8:59.

Thursday - bike day aka break Aoife day. They have fantastic trails with various difficulity so we picked to get a lift to Arrowtown and cycle back to Queenstown. The weather outlook wasn't great but glad that it didn't materialise. A good day for cycling. Again P is much stronger on the bike. I was exhausted by the end of it. Over 30 miles. Some nasty hills but in fairiness spectular views and I suppose enjoyable. Watched the mental people bungy. Had our lunch on a bench at Thompson hill so lovely memories.

Friday - rest/hangover/relax day.

Saturday - Queenstown parkrun. We were practically staying at the start so a pathetic warm-up. Queenstown parkrun is a new event but well supported by locals and tourists. A warm morning. P set off at top speed. They turn up a massive hill at the start and then you do an inner and outer loop around Queenstown gardens. I loved the inner loop as through the forest and trails so it was cooler here. A hard run. I was consistent on pace for mile 1 and two at 8:03 and 8:00. Somehow mile 3 I managed at 7:26 and then a finish of 5:40? I don't know where that came from. I was surprised to break 25 as didn't think I would but finished 24:04. Got the RD picture and she is coming to Ireland in July. Tried to get her to St Anne's but she's doing Bere Island. 4.5 miles for the morning.

Sunday - Now in Kaikoura as we flew from Queenstown to Christchurch. Stayed Saturday night in Christchurch as went to the rugby. Awful to wake up this morning to the tragedy that unfolded as we were sleeping. B*stards.

In Kaikoura for whale watching we had an early start to get the train from Christchurch up to Kaikoura but heavy rain meant a landslide so the train had to turn back and we got the bus up. landslides are common after the earthquake. Poor Christchurch and Kaikoura were devasted.

No whale watching then when we arrived so we rested and then went for an easy Sunday evening. 5.11 miles @8:50 so obviously feeling good. The roads were flat and it was a good evening to run. Our last NZ run

New Zealand was absolutley incredible. We toured and did so much but had a wonderful break too. The locals are kind and welcoming. They have a real pride in where they are from and take care of it. Plenty of facilities and everywhere is spotless. Really wonderful to come back and see it all.

Feb 25 - March 3 - 16.3 miles for the week. Only 3 days running.

Monday - travelling from New Zealand to Sydney.

Tuesday - OMFG the excitement of being in Sydney and going for a run. I was off my head with joy. Did 5.1 miles down to and around the Botanic Gardens. Over to the Opera House and back up. Ran through a few park. Deadly.

Tuesday - travel down to a friend and stay overnight in Kiama.

Wednesday - logged a swim just to show Strava followers where we now were :P

Thursday - To the Blue mountains. Down 990+ steps also known as the Giant Staircase. A walk along the trails and up a cable car. The blue mountains was the busiest place we have been so far. A lot of tourists. Beautiful walks. I was in Sketchers and really felt it over the next few days. Many leg aches and woes. A lot of beautiful walks today, over 30k steps.

Friday - Another warm day to we packed up and got the bus from the CBD, like a local , and headed out to Coogee. We ran along the coast from Coogee, through Clovelly, Bronte and into Bondi. Really brilliant. A bloody tough run as middle of the day so records broken but great to do. They have filtered water along the route so great to be able to refill water bottles. We were thrilled to be able to do this. 4.03 miles @ 9:52. We then rested and swam on Bondi. Quads were sore from the previous day.

Saturday so yes parkrun day! To Centennial parkrun we went. Two miles from the start and of course the one time I couldn't find a loo. Again another new parkrun but due to the location the biggest on our adventure. The start of all of ours so far was 8am. On this morning the sweat was rollilng off me, very humid. We stayed together, well I kept P in sight as I was a bit needy. No racing today, just get around with no issues and we did. P left me for dead with a km to go but that's ok as knew I could finish at that point. A local joined me and spurred me to the finish. 8:37/8:37/8:01 and 6:45. Finished in 26:10.

Run back home again and so 7.1 miles for the morning. Glad we asked for the late checkout.

Sorry to say goodbye to Sydney but amazing to see. They are building so much. Such a place. We spent the afternoon in Manly which was lovely.

Landed back in Dublin, well delayed due to snow, on the Sunday evening. Sob.

Bungy Girl

Can't believe neither of yis did a bungy jump :rolleyes:

laura_ac3

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Can't believe neither of yis did a bungy jump :rolleyes:

I'm surprised she didn't record the flights and travel home for strava.

aquinn

Still out-of-date.

March 4-10,

Monday - Nasty fall off the bike cycling through town. It hurt and I was shook but the van behind me was paying attention and didn't run me over. I was sore as the knee took the full impact. To the day 3 years since I ruptured my ACL.

Tuesday - Knee lovely and swollen. First day back in work and I was stiff and sore from the fall. Able to run in the evening and in no pain which was a surprise. I thought I would do 4 but stuck with P and ended up doing 6.2 miles @ 9:18, HR 154. A wet evening in Dublin.

Wednesday - Rest, bruising starting.

Thursday - On my own and headed out in daylight which was lovely. There is now light in the morning and the evenings, fabulous. I met an old sailing friend about a mile from home and had a big catch-up with him which was great. I was wind-assisted along Griffith Avenue so back through Fairview and Clonliffe was less fun. 5.12 miles @ 9:22 with a high enough HR151.

Friday - rest day.

Saturday - Supporting the Simon 5 mile. I always like to support this if I can and thought I was off my head with the state of the weather in the Phoenix Park and jet-lag but here we were. P's first time to do this. My first race in 2012. I had no time, I just wanted to get around and not suffer as the last mile is cruel. We couldn't do it last year as it was the day after the Wedding so the last time was 2017 when I did it in 38:00 and that was my first time really racing since injury.

We did a warm-up, bib and shirt collection, bag drop and loo queue.

The start from previous years is a bit manic as most in the wrong place and the kids shoot off and then stop and dodge through everyone. My aim for the day was to keep pace at sub 7:50. First mile bang on but it was hard work in the wind. The race starts on Acres road and winds around to Chesterfield Avenue. I was a bit exposed here and no group to latch on to.

Mile two I spotted a clubmate ahead who I really admire and my plan when I had seen her before the start was to get around with her. I caught up with her after the turn off Chesterfield and was delighted to finally have company. She told me P breezed by no bother and kept telling me to go on. I had zero interest in this and was very happy to stay by her side. Mile two at 7:48. Excellent.

Mile 3 I was wishing we were doing JB as this was the flying mile. I could have pushed more but didn't want to leave M so encouraged her along. Mile 3 @7:33 and dreading the hill ahead.

Mile 4 I know when I got to the S bends if M wasn't there I would have happily quit, possibly not but it felt like that. The wind was no fun and the drags unpleasant. I slurped water here. Mile 4 @ 7:43. It is cruel as either with the wind or the course you can hear the finish so you want to stop but then you're so close you calculate how much longer you have to run for until you're finally across the line.

One final, horrible mile to go. Just get up the Khyber. Unfortunately M backed off here but I had to keep going to get up the hill. Last time her Father was at the top cheering us on, unfortunately he passed away in January. Sadly missed as a true Gentleman. Nearly at the top and got support from a club coach. Checking the watch and calculating how much further I had to run for. I actually didn't dry-wretch which is most unusual. Crossed the line spent. Best effort put in today with current fitness.

Lap Distance Pace  Elev  HR
1 1.00 mi 7:50 /mi 40 ft 168 bpm
2 1.00 mi 7:48 /mi -13 ft 180 bpm
3 1.00 mi 7:33 /mi -102 ft 177 bpm
4 1.00 mi 7:43 /mi 34 ft 179 bpm
5 1.00 mi 8:02 /mi 40 ft 182 bpm
6 0.03 mi 6:02 /mi 10 ft 189 bpm
5.03 miles @ 7:47, time of 39:12. HR 177

7.8 miles for the morning with warm-up and cool-down.

Sunday - Weather warning still in place so we decided to drive up and find shelter in Saint Anne's. A very enjoyable run exploring the pitches and trails. 6.11 miles @ 9:56. Annoyingly timed the cafe wrong with Junior parkrun. My hip was tight but I'm not sure if it is from the bike fall or running consistently. At me since Friday but ok racing yesterday.

25.3 miles for the week.

March 11-17

Monday - rest

Tuesday - Weather warning in place called Gareth who was extremely unpleasant. Rang along Griffith and down and through Fairview. The wind and the rain here were most unpleasant, my poor little face. Clonliffe road not as bad as suspected. Same route as last week. 5.12 @ 9:23, HR 152.

Wednesday - Weigh-in day, shocking. A run in the company of P tonight. He took charge of the route and took us on a mystery tour around Smithfield and Cabra. Hip still very sore on right side. Weather less mental but still a breeze. 5.20 miles @ 9:24, HR 143 . Enjoyable.

Thursday - a morning commute to work as out this evening. Nothing exciting. Alfie Byrne road is a hard one in the morning as an incline and unfavourable wind direction. Body is tired as probably not used to 3 days running. 4.51 miles @ 9:23, HR 149.

Friday - recover.

Saturday - we had social plans at 11:30 so we decided to run up and back to Fairview parkrun and call this our long run for the week. Not the best morning as wet and windy. Met BG at the parkrun start and chatted around with her. P is more careful watching pace and HR. Mine hit threshold so also should have backed off. Coming up the avenue in Fairview park was most unpleasant with the weather. Always a friendly crew so good to do. A tough course though.

7 for the morning. HR 154bpm @9:25

Sunday - rest with MSB tomorrow. St Patrick's Day.

21.8 for the week.

shotgunmcos

Glad the bang on the knee was not serious.

and
"Crossed the line spent. Best effort put in today with current fitness."

That's how to do it

aquinn

MSB 5km.

Woke up and couldn't be less motivated about racing today. Many moans to the girls and P. P asked did I just want to support I was that bad.

We left home and ran in. Zero interest in racing. Had a few wines yesterday, ok 3, and a crap sleep I'm sure as a result.

We ran through town avoiding those who had to leave their hostel/B&B worse for wear and very early after celebrating St Patrick.

Got to the mansion house in plenty of time and easily got bib's and t-shirts.

Found Laura, Joined the massive toilet queue whilst P went to the bag drop. Met a few clubmates.

Got outside and realised it was too cold for just the club singlet, yes I also had shorts on. Found our bag and added race sleeves to the outfit.

Over to St Stephen's Green and we were still too early so did two strides along the luas tracks and met skyblue. Congratulated him on his extra stone as I have one too.

Lined up maybe actually in the right spot to be fair.

A few minutes and we were off.

Started running and the legs felt dead. I didn't fully know the route but knew it had plenty of turns. Careful of pace in the first mile as the watch had me well ahead of pace. I had thought I would start out at 7:20 pace and try to hold on. I let others pass and didn't panic. Anytime I checked the watch here it was 6: something so far too fast so slowed. As we turned onto Merrion row I got a shout from a club mate. Spotted the 1km marker. Got shouts from club coach and then as we turned onto Leeson St Mr & Mrs FBOT which was a great boost. I felt good and delighted when the first mile came in at 7:01. I was focused.

Down Fitzwilliam Place and kept the effort. A few others kicking about but not packed. People jumping curbs but I didn't even give out once. Conserved all energy. I wasn't sure when we were hitting the canal so it was down Baggot St and onto Herbert St. Thinking P used to work around here. Nice location. Mile two 7:05, lovely.

Mile 3, a few drags. Not much cover but on the canal and trying to figure out when it ends. The canal I thought would be a lot worse. I kept on moving. Looking at the watch and calculating how much longer I had to run for, the only km sign I saw was the 1st. I wasn't really suffering though like I have in the past. I could feel my stomach but that felt yesterday's wine. Lesson St I upped the effort as it was slipping and I wasn't happy to see 7;27 on the watch. More much appreciated support from Mr & Mrs FBOT and me calculating I had about 800 m to go, that's about 3:30 minutes running. I could do that. I passed a Donore man down Merrion row but he got me again. The watch beeped mile 3 before the corner on St Stephen's Green, just as a group were shouting to a clubmate keep going, you nearly have her. He flew by but all I wanted was the finish. I picked up the pace but it was more than 100m so I would say slightly faltered but went again. No puking on volunteers or passing out. Found P quickly and a lady came up and thanked me. I had obviously paced her without realising it. I got a photo yesterday from FBOT and in the photo she's ahead of me so I got her at some point. Going by the Strava fly-by I passed eyrie just past Fitzwilliam Sq on the way back. I have zero memories of this.

Couldn't believe it when the watch said 22:21. Absolutely delighted with that. Completely surprised too. I thought I had beaten my Westport parkrun but think that was 22:19.

Lap Distance Time HR
1 1.00 mi 07:01 147 bpm
2 1.00 mi 07:04 179 bpm
3 1.00 mi 07:05 182 bpm
4 0.18 mi 01:09 186 bpm
A great effort and perfectly paced going by HR data.

Talked to Laura and clubmates after. Went back to the Mansion house but didn't really hang about.

Ran home much happier and bouncier than on the way in. Absolutely thrilled.

P did superbly with 21:07 so delighted for him.

Based on the Simon Home run last week it had a prediction of 23:46, which was disappointing since I had ran better in Taupo at the start of Feb on their parkrun course. Delighted to have smashed that and finish in 22:17, Official result. My best result in years. Delighted.

Delighted I didn't waste the opportunity going by the mornings feelings.

8.8 miles for the day.

Yahooooooooooooooooooo.

aquinn

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Glad the bang on the knee was not serious.

and
"Crossed the line spent. Best effort put in today with current fitness."

That's how to do it

Thank you. Yes, I did my best on the day. I forgot to mention that my leg had cramped in bed the night before so was worried on the day that I would do further damage to the calf as that nasty tightness was still there.

eyrie

aquinn wrote: »

Based on the Simon Home run last week it had a prediction of 23:46, which was disappointing since I had ran better in Taupo at the start of Feb on their parkrun course. Delighted to have smashed that and finish in 22:17, Official result. My best result in years. Delighted.

This is absolutely fantastic, well done. You blew the prediction out of the park. Some running to be able to surprise yourself with that kind of result when you weren't expecting it or feeling up to it beforehand - just shows the body can be capable of a lot more than we think sometimes.

aquinn wrote: »

Going by the Strava fly-by I passed eyrie just past Fitzwilliam Sq on the way back. I have zero memories of this.

Ah no way! You've just sent me back to Strava to look and it seems that we were running practically beside each other for a fair bit too. I had no idea!

Well done on a great race

ReeReeG

Super running and a super time, well done

Unthought Known

Great running A! The wine obviously had a positive effect!

Murph_D

Well done Aoife, glad to see no after effects from the knee injury judging by your last two races. Great stuff.

aquinn

March 18-24

Monday - MSB 5km as above.

Tuesday - easy recovery run with P out along Griffith Avenue. 4.61 @9:51, HR 145. Felt good on the way out, hillier and could feel calf tightness on the way home. Started massive detox to shift some weight. Horrific headache all day as no coffee, going to be a fun week. Off booze and sugar too to get me to May Bank holiday wedding.

Wednesday - More easy running which started on lunch as I ran over and back to the gym for a half an hour pilates class. She has found bands, class was good, half an hour so nice to do. Pilates to do weekly as part of project skinny part 2.
Evening run then with P on a ridiculously warm evening. My bad knee had been tight all day, just when I had been thinking it was feeling great of late. Might be the pilates or just the usual healing that takes years. 4.81 miles @9:49 with an excellent low HR for me of 141.

Thursday and myself and P went for a lunchtime run, first time in ages down and around Ringsend park. Kept HR very much in check, most unusually. 4.71 miles @ 9:21, HR 141. Legs were tired from running and pilates so took it easy.

Friday - rest day except we had driven to Sligo Thursday night for a funeral on Friday. From Sligo then to Donegal so a lot of driving.

Saturday - since we're up this way we headed to Dungloe parkrun. My second time to do it and P's first. A lovely 3 loop course. The back straight you are slightly downhill with the wind behind you which is always nice. Decided it was tempoish pace as faster than easy. In all 5.31 miles @8:48, HR 149 (Aerobic zone for me). Running was very painful though. I thought my hamstrings were tight but wasn't worried since both of them were sore. I self diagnosed sciatica. It was worse downhill actually. I was ok walking and put the pain down to all the driving as on Saturday then it was a road trip from Donegal back to Dublin. I had a bath and nurofen for the legs.

Sunday - After yesterday I wasn't sure I would be running at all and really didn't think I would get a long run done. We climbed up to Phibsboro and went along the canal to Ashtown, through the park and up NCR. There was still pain but more discomfort and not as bad as yesterday. Took it easy and covered 8.42 miles @9:31 with HR of 146 (easy zone for me)

A big week then as covered more mileage than usual so 37.7 miles.

March 25-31

Monday - traditional rest day except I headed to the Osteopath on lunch to fix my back. I was very tight on one side so he eased me out. I cycled on lunch to him and then in the evening went for a poke along the coast. Over 19 miles then for me on the day for the bike which is a lot. I found snack bars in the desk in work so healthy eating took a right hit this week. When they were gone I started on the biscuits. Theme for the week and it was all going well so far.

Tuesday - Club session. Stayed in work and waited for P and we ran over together. Got there much earlier than usual so did about 100 laps on the grass, or it felt like it anyway. Warm-up/dynamic thing, strides, talk and a session then of 12*400 with 45 seconds recovery. I hadn't done a session since Jan and with the pain over the weekend I was worried about this and was prepared to step off at any time. Running down though there was no pain.

Really delighted with the session. I was with a group and stuck with them. I started to ease back at half way as they were finishing quicker so I was taking my full recovery. So glad I stuck with it. I found they lashed off but then after the first corner I would catch and stay with them so really pleased. A great confidence booster. I wasn't left for dead. I was parched throughout though.

Lap Distance Time Pace HR
1 0.25 mi 01:41 6:44 /mi 151 bpm
3 0.25 mi 01:38 6:28 /mi 162 bpm
5 0.25 mi 01:38 6:30 /mi 168 bpm
7 0.25 mi 01:40 6:39 /mi 170 bpm
9 0.25 mi 01:39 6:37 /mi 168 bpm
11 0.25 mi 01:38 6:29 /mi 170 bpm
13 0.25 mi 01:38 6:33 /mi 170 bpm
15 0.25 mi 01:41 6:40 /mi 171 bpm
17 0.24 mi 01:40 6:42 /mi 172 bpm
19 0.25 mi 01:40 6:40 /mi 172 bpm
21 0.24 mi 01:39 6:47 /mi 173 bpm
23 0.24 mi 01:34 6:19 /mi 174 bpm

Thrilled.

Easy plod then back to the office with P for the bike. Had the company of Singer and C for a bit but they were pub bound, something about football.

7.2 miles for the night.

Wednesday I did my first ever double day so 3.3 miles in and the same home. Stuck to the flat in and out. Kept HR easy so finally learning. In 3.31 @ 9:36, HR 144. Out and stiffer on the way home. 3.3 @ 9:46, HR 140.

Thursday - I decided to try a Kettlebell class, I had never done one before. I had wanted to walk over as it was a fabulous day but running late so did a little jog over. The class was good. Most of it manageable. I wasn't mad about the weights over my head so switched to dumbells. I enjoyed it though. I then ran home from work as it was still a fabulous evening. I was two miles in and realised I had left my house keys in my jacket pocket at work. Covered 4.21 @ 9:40 but couldn't keep the HR in easy zone yet overall HR 148 which is easy.

Friday - Hungover walk to work. Stiff from the class yesterday but as the day went on my hips got more and more restricted and I got stiffer. Did a few extra miles on the cycle home to ease it out.

Saturday - On a lovely morning myself and P cycled down to Poolbeg to run it with the Sanctuary runners. It was a stunning morning by the coast. The parkrun is attracting big numbers. I started off with Anna & P and was very sore and moany. I eventually eased out and got going. HR wasn't really working as it took ages on warm-up and then skipped right through to threshold. 1st mile mostly with Anna but she got caught talking so I moved on. Out to the Nature reserve and was chatting to a fellow Sanctuary runner. Then met two sailing buddies. Passed one on the hill and then on the way back ended up pacing the other for the final mile and a bit. I encouraged her along. She called me a bully at the end but obviously got her words confused and was really delighted. Seconds off her PB but I hadn't known that, I do now. 3.11 @ 8:37, HR 153. A short moany jog back to the bike, stiff again. Parkrun #68.

We then cycled from Poolbeg over to Clontarf. After 3 years the boat is finally sold and moved. Yahooooooooooooooooo. Delighted. Cycled back then to Drumcondra for breakfast. Too afraid to weigh myself this morning after the bad week. Had my first coffee in nearly two weeks, lovely.

Sunday then we headed up the coast and into and around St Anne's and back via Griffith. A sociable run as met 3 people. 10.51 miles @9:40 with a few stops. My legs were getting tired from 9 miles. HR 146.

A good two weeks then as did 32.3 miles for the week. 35.4 miles cycling and that doesn't include commutes.

mister paul

aquinn wrote: »

... I started off with Anna & P and was very sore and moany.

I can't say that I noticed.

aquinn

April. 1-7

Monday - my first pump class at the gym. Tough going but good to do. Mucho squatting and lifting. Looks like after work I went along the coast again for a poke and back via Raheny to try to ease my legs from earlier. Covered 11.6 miles on the bike.

Tuesday - To the club with P from work. A lot of laps on the grass then following and strides. 3.3 miles warm-up.

A session of 8*600 which I really didn't enjoy. It was bloody cold and windy.

I wasn't checking the watch. Ran through it all but wouldn't call it fun. Glad to be finished.

Description from the night.

8*600 with 200 active recovery. Ugh. Started off ok. Got to half way so decided to suck it up and finish.
Wasn't checking splits as head said no from early on so just had to get through it. A cold night and harsh wind made it tougher. Many aches from pump yesterday, mostly on one side. So brave?
Lap Distance Time Pace  HR
1 0.37 mi 02:37 6:54 /mi 138 bpm
3 0.37 mi 02:42 7:16 /mi 176 bpm
5 0.37 mi 02:41 7:10 /mi 179 bpm
7 0.36 mi 02:48 7:39 /mi 177 bpm
9 0.37 mi 02:42 7:15 /mi 178 bpm
11 0.36 mi 02:45 7:27 /mi 177 bpm
13 0.36 mi 02:43 7:28 /mi 178 bpm
15 0.36 mi 02:39 7:22 /mi 178 bpm

Definitely not confidence boosting like last week. Happy to plod back to work to get the bike.
8.6 miles for the evening.

Wednesday - a rotten day in Dublin so over and back to the gym for Pilates. You'll be delighted to know the class helped with the pain in the ass from the pump class on Monday. In the evening then myself and P went out for a local loop. The cycle home was obviously poxy as cold, and miserable rain. 4.31 @ 9:29 with a very acceptable 142 bpm.

Thursday - Another poxy cycle home and really didn't I would be out running. Turned out I went out for an hour and it was great weather. It lashed again once I was home. 6.02 miles @ 9:24, HR 150bpm.

Friday - Rest day and celebrating 6 month married so went for a fabulous meal where we had our reception. Beautiful food and wine.

Saturday - We both volunteered at St Anne's but I had a role where I could run too. No time for warm-up miles though but as all parkrun's of late have been at easy pace so I wanted to give the stats a boost. Started off at a good pace as wanted a sub 25, 24 ideally. Turns out I did 23:02. Serves me right for roaring at the guy who took a huge chunk out of the course at one point, actually I yelled at two people for cutting corners.

Lap Distance Time Pace GAP  HR
1 1.00 mi 07:40 7:40 /mi 7:34 /mi 158 bpm
2 1.00 mi 07:36 7:36 /mi 7:35 /mi 178 bpm
3 1.00 mi 07:25 7:25 /mi 7:27 /mi 178 bpm
4 0.05 mi 18s 5:42 /mi 5:44 /mi 186 bpm
I swear the first mile was the hardest with desperate breathing. Full bladder finishing so really wanted to bail but kept going thankfully.

Not bad after a night out. V impressed actually.

Sunday - Long run with P up to and through the Phoenix Park and back via Tolka Valley. I had a tight back throughout so ran on the grass where possible. Covered 10.04 miles @9:45, HR 147. I updated my heart rate reserve on Friday and based it on my max HR from the MSB and resting HR for the week. Zones a lot tigher now. Spotted a few lovely Herons along the Tolka, 3 anyway and a pigeon impersonating one on a rock.

35.1 miles for the week.

April 8-14

Monday - working from home as a funeral to attend.

Tuesday - No club as tired so did a local easy run with P. 6.25 @ 9:33 @ 145 and a beautiful sunset.

Wednesday - Pilates on lunch so ran over and back. An evening run then with P except I thought he would run the canal home but he didn't as he was working late so no P. First time to run the canal via Croke park. Survived anyway. Rushing back, unlikey. 4.62 @ 9:42, HR 142 as watched carefully.

Thursday - Solo evening run.
Thursday 5.11 is totally a thing.
Kept heart rate in easy yet still dropped back to 49, unreal. Maintaining.
Hamstrings a bit tight so presume from Pilates, they felt tired.
Nice night, not sunny or fabulous but nice. Emergency stop at the Skylon hotel this time.
5.11 @9:47, HR 140.

Friday - rest.

Saturday - Inagural Royal Canal parkrun. Great to get out and do this. A massive crowd. Took it easy which was easy on the way out with wind at our backs. Very exposed on the way back so good to finally get a ditch and shelter. My 70th parkrun. 4 miles @ 9:34, HR higher at 150.

Sunday - The Great Ireland run. We only signed up for this on Monday. Can't say I loved or hated it. It was windy and cold. Another finish where I was absolutely dying to pee. The finish wasn't fun as like B said you could see the finish for ages and it was straight into the wind. No excitement or drama on this. Disappointed yet HR effort I would say was spot on. Better than my last 10km effort when I was better trained. That was the South Dublin last July when I finished in 47:05 maybe. 46:56 then yesterday. The 1km sign completely confused me when all I wanted to do was finish and then turned the corner to the 9km sign. Arrgh! Had forgotten we had run the same section twice. We didn't start in the club championship pen which I'm sure we should have done. I had groin pain at one point and then a sore back. Tried to push myself on more and somewhat suceed after not enjoying the climb up to Acres road and that section where a man blew into me it was that windy. Passed by a man in a Bear outfit who apparently was David Gillick.
Lap Distance Time Pace HR
1 1.00 mi 07:10 7:10 /mi 153 bpm
2 1.00 mi 07:30 7:30 /mi 170 bpm
3 1.00 mi 07:56 7:56 /mi 171 bpm
4 1.00 mi 07:43 7:43 /mi 173 bpm
5 1.00 mi 07:29 7:29 /mi 176 bpm
6 1.00 mi 07:24 7:24 /mi 179 bpm
7 0.24 mi 01:40 6:52 /mi 181 bpm
We cycled up and back so that was mostly warm-up and cooldown.
28.9 miles for the week.

Murph_D

Lots of bladder talk here. Are you drinking a lot of water before going out?

aquinn

Murph_D wrote: »

Lots of bladder talk here. Are you drinking a lot of water before going out?

I would guess at the 5km as we were out the night before I had a dialorite on the morning of and possibly a berocca for fear of dehydration. Other concerns normally arise the morning of running so it isn't as if I wouldn't have visited the loo about 10 times. Maybe just the shock of a harder effort.

At the 10km as I wasn't out the night before I would have been well hydrated and didn't have a dialorite on the morning of. By the time 8km arrived I was fit to burst. I even did my ususal pee in a ditch before the race so really don't know. Maybe I drank too much coconut water the day before.

aquinn

Update April 15-21

I was left disappointed after the GIR but in hindsight I really shouldn't be. It was a better result to my previous 10km back in July for the South Dublin 10 km and I hadn't done any specific training for it.

Monday - rest day. I didn't even seem to do a cycle.

Tuesday - Not the club. Myself and P went out for an easy run. I did 4.71 miles @ 9:18 with HR of 146.

Evening Run. 2 miles with P but 6 too much for me this evening.
Yeah, yeah. I'm unproductive.
One soreish left calf but mostly ok. Motivation more lacking. Run and evening ok, except for the usual of being unable to keep heart rate easy. Strava appreciated the effort at least.

Wednesday - over and back to the gym on lunch for a Pilates class. The usual gentle trainer was away so a tougher class than normal. P was doing a session so we headed off in the evening. I had in my head I wanted to run up the seafront to the Wooden bridge, and kick the wall obviously. I hadn't done that in ages and it was fine weather, perfect for sailing really. It was only when I was nearly at the Wooden bridge I remembered the mile on lunch. Lunch was 1.15 miles @ 9:29 with HR 133. Evening run to the wall 8.1 miles @ 10:01 with HR 142 bpm.
From strava ont he night '
Oh, that's how far it is to the Wooden bridge. I was nearly there and remembered the mile on lunch.
Updated heart rate zones based on Sundays 10km but then learnt I shouldn't have. Reset again now based off MSB Max heart rate. Legs got tired and ran most on grass. A wonderful evening and an incredible sound off the seabed as full of chirping birds. '

Thursday - More easy running and a local solo route it looks like so 4.21 miles @ 9:49 with HR 139. This is V low for me.
A glorious evening run. All very easy. Maintaining now for a change.

Friday - Myself and Anna supported the Good run up in St Anne's for MND. I had always wanted to support this and if you can in future please do so. It was well organised and managed. A glorious day, lovely route and a fantastic turnout. I ran this for my Uncle who died of this dreaful illness and it happened to be his Anniversary on the day. Anna was very good to support this with me. We both took it easy. It was a two lap route different to any other run I have done in the park. With a warm-up and CD I did 5.56 miles @ 9:40, HR 143.

Drove then to Waterford and arrived down after 11pm tired.

Saturday - To Tramore of course for parkrun. It was an incredible morning, really superb. Myself and P did a short warm-up and I was supporting the Sancturary runners so went up to introuduce us.

There was a big crowd here this morning, 181 as it turned out. I started back as my plan was really to have a comfortable run and had hoped to do a progression from 7:50 - 7:40 - 7:30.

The following happened.

Lap Distance Time Pace HR
1 0.73 mi 06:52 9:23 /mi 133 bpm
2 1.00 mi 07:38 7:38 /mi 155 bpm
3 1.00 mi 07:41 7:41 /mi 169 bpm
4 1.00 mi 07:15 7:15 /mi 174 bpm
5 0.09 mi 31s 5:42 /mi 180 bpm
6 0.31 mi 03:15 10:29 /mi 148 bpm

Started off and felt comfortable up and down the prom. A wave to P who was at the pointy end. I had a good first mile and was happy to see 7:38 on the watch. By this time we were up on the height for two loops. My pace dropped straight away so gave myself a push as I saw 8:18 on the watch. This happened on both loops. Second mile was 7:41 but doing ok as this was all done on the big loop. Not feeling amazing or horrific either. Working which is what I had wanted. The third mile I really pushed on. You come down off the height and onto the not most amazing surface was you are running the car park with holes and gravel. I was following a fellow Sanctuary runner here. I took an outside line as we turned at the marshal at the end as the course got lumpy and surface worse. I had a good push to the line and mile 3 beeped at 7:15. I gave a fantastic spurt then to the finish and felt great. Roared to get the runner stay ahead of me and push him the final few metres, that was great. Final @ 5:35 pace, woo hoo!!! Brilliant. Poor guy was a bit shook but delighted as it was a new PB for him.


The knee wasn't great during it so the surfaces didn't help. Delighted to finish in 23:07 as it was thoroughly enjoyable. P got an amazing PB of 20:29! Fantastic.

I finished in 44th place and were the 9th female out of a field of 181 parkrunners and you came 1st in your age category.
A short CD and off to breakfast with the Quinns.

Sunday - No running on an amazing day. A drive back up to Dublin and spend the day half exhausted/hungover and doing house jobs. Loved Camile for dinner. P was out at the rugby.

Weekly mileage 27.8

aquinn

Second update of the day.

April 22-28

As it was Easter Monday and we hadn't run yesterday we used our day off to do a long run. It was a cooler morning than yesterday and a good run with P down through Tolka Valley and back up Chesterfield to home via NCR.
Knees not great. Heart rate perfect so still productive and back at V02 Max 50. A good run with a few stops.

9.36 miles @ 9:40 with HR 140

Tuesday - long way home on the bike as a lovely evening so 6.1 miles cycling. I'm doing this more and more, sometimes I track it and sometimes I don't. Nice to do.

Went out for a easy run with P, he did 4 miles but I left it at 3. Peaking according to me watch, oooooooooooooooooo.
3.16 @ 9:28, HR 137

Wednesday - I can cancelled pilates as we had decided to do the Raheny open mile this evening. I even wrote up a report on this last week but it has vanished on me. Anyway it was a great experience and a well organised event. I had wanted to run by feel and not be a slave to the watch. Was worried about the start, that was a bit mental. Guy tipped his hat and off we went. D's course preview beforehand was superb and great for focus. I ensured not to check the watch. Finished in 6:49. P did an incredible 5:58, unreal. I had a great run to the line with super support from D and motivation due to footsteps behind me.

Weird coughing afterwards due to the shock. Great advise beforehand to not start close to the top as it was the busiest of the open mile series due to the National road relays on Sunday.

I have to say I enjoyed the experience and sorry we didn't do more of them but will go back.

Great flapjacks afterwards. Home at 10pm for dinner of champions, beans on toast.

Warm-up miles with D*, P* and H*.
Cooldown with D, P and S*

*D = Murph
*P - My Paul
*S = Skyblue
*H = HelenAnne.
4.8 miles for the day.

Thursday - Myself and P went up the seafront, up St Lawrences and back via Griffith for 6 miles @ 9:38, HR 133. I was tired today but always good to run. Legs ok, a bit tired. I could feel my hamstrings on the uphill. Still peaking, yet back to 50. You can't win. Emergency stop in the pub again.

Friday - rest day.

Saturday - I lined with FBOT as the 22 minute pacer for the morning. I was pissing about on my warm-up deciding what to do and said f**k it and just decided last minute to go between 22 & 23 pace and see how I went. It was a windy morning as storm Hannah had blown through overnight. Watch pacer issues at the start with M & C having a chat about paces and eventually ended up with C giving M his watch and off he went. The first mile felt comfortable but I knew myself it was too slow. The start wasn't as manic as I thought it was be as we were practically at the front. I kept right behind or beside M for the first mile. At the halfway point I started to slip back and feel the effort. My back was starting to ache, it had been at me on the warm-up which was why I wasn't sure what to do. The drag by the dog park left me with a bigger gap to bridge. I couldn't catch M again. I stayed postiive and hoped with the wind on my back on the Avenue that I was still doing well enough to beat my MSB time of 22:17. I gave it a good push once the watch beeped at 3 miles and overtook two men before the finish. It wasn't to be as official result 22:37 which I was disappointed with but then I was 1st in age category and finished in 56th place and were the 5th female out of a field of 388 parkrunners. That's great for St Anne's. A lot may have been taking it easy ahead of the road relays but so what. I gave it a go. Will try again next month. Today was the first weigh-in in months I wasn't overweight. Eating for the rest of the weekend shocking of course.

Lap Distance Time Pace  HR
1 1.00 mi 09:25 9:25 /mi 133 bpm
2 0.14 mi 01:09 8:03 /mi 148 bpm
3 1.00 mi 07:27 7:27 /mi 165 bpm
4 1.00 mi 07:25 7:25 /mi 175 bpm
5 1.00 mi 07:11 7:11 /mi 178 bpm
6 0.08 mi 30s 5:38 /mi 183 bpm
7 1.00 mi 09:09 9:09 /mi 161 bpm
8 0.28 mi 02:41 9:36 /mi 147 bpm
Cake afterwards that we had organised to celebrate Laura's 100th parkrun.

5.5 miles for the morning.

Warm-up with Anna and P, cooldown with Ferris B.

Sunday - hungover watching and tracking the London marathon. Cycle then to Raheny to support the National road relays. Fair play to anyone racing. I supported everyone and from all corners of Ireland.

Afterwards exhausted and hungry myself, Anna and P set off for our run. We did a lap of the park with Anna and then continued on until we had done 6 and that was more than enough for me. Cycle home to dinner and more Easter eggs.

34.4 miles for the week.

Murph_D

aquinn wrote: »

Roared to get the runner stay ahead of me and push him the final few metres, that was great. Final @ 5:35 pace, woo hoo!!! Brilliant. Poor guy was a bit shook but delighted as it was a new PB for him.

You weren't too happy when I did that to you in Swords last year. How the worm has turned.

aquinn

April 29-May 5

A step-back week, unintentionally of course, with 20.8 miles for the week.

Monday - The longer way home as I managed to lose my front bike light so did a loop back to find it. Alas no luck. Sad to lose this vital life saving equipment since most cyclists are invisible to motorists. 7.3 miles.

Tuesday - None club as it was my Birthday. Myself and a colleague went for a lunchtime run. I had hoped to run in but too tired. A nice run and required after a Birthday breakfast. 4.5 miles @ 9:36, HR 141.

Wednesday - Run into work as the bike was here. A fabulous morning. Running late again so did 3.51 @9:18, HR 140.

Thursday - I wasn't in a great mood all day. I think it was reading the papers and the desperate trial that had just started. Went out for a run and it really helped, therapeutic as they say. Lovely evening, except for the swarms of those flies. 5.02 miles @ 9:47, HR 143. Followed by a quick shower and out again for a facial. Fabulous.

Friday - Rest day but not really as it took 5 hours to drive to Donegal. FIVE hours!

Saturday - Staying up in Rathmullan for a Wedding so of course we headed off to Letterkenny parkrun. Google had actually given us the option of Buncrana on the ferry the night before which would have been deadly. The ferry doesn't start for another month though. Letterkenny is done around the hospital. You start on the flat and then have a fairly big climb, continue on and then another climb. A nice stretch then downhill and around Letterkenny park. You do this 3 times. We were taking it easy but my HR shot up on those hills. Not a PB course for sure but great support and abuse banter from the locals. Warm-up and CD gave me 4.31 miles for the morning @ 8:54, HR 149. For the final 100m P started to rev it up so I responded, arms wide and ensured I crossed the line first. Only fair like since he got an amazing sub 20 earlier this week. 73rd parkrun in a time of 26:58.

Sunday - P had notions of running the 10km in Letterkenny. No chance. We headed up to Fanad lighthouse in the afternoon and then before dinner went for a local easy run around Rathmullan. Really nice evening and a great run. Legs still work after a day in heels and dancing anyway which is nice. 3.51 miles @9:18, HR 139.

Sunny Dayz

Was visiting Letterkenny parkrun aswell on Saturday, have done it a few times as it's the nearest one to the inlaws. The climb from the bottom of the town park up to the back of the hospital seriously drains the legs! But yet I keep going back to it. Finished a fair bit behind you, I had the old parkrun apricot top on if you spotted it. Well done on doing it when ye had a wedding, Rathmullan is some spot! We did that 10k the following day, you'll be glad you didn't do it the day after a wedding - that would have been some punishment!

aquinn

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Was visiting Letterkenny parkrun aswell on Saturday, have done it a few times as it's the nearest one to the inlaws. The climb from the bottom of the town park up to the back of the hospital seriously drains the legs! But yet I keep going back to it. Finished a fair bit behind you, I had the old parkrun apricot top on if you spotted it. Well done on doing it when ye had a wedding, Rathmullan is some spot! We did that 10k the following day, you'll be glad you didn't do it the day after a wedding - that would have been some punishment!

Ah no way. Yes I do remember you. We had our new Contra tops on but they were hidden under the wind breakers. We went back to the hall for lovely cake and then headed off.

Glad we missed the 10km so. We had done the hill as part of our warm-up so another 3 times was tough on the day of a Wedding too.

aquinn

May 6 - 12

Monday - Travelling back from Donegal.

Tuesday - P was away with work so I went to the club on my own. I hadn't been in weeks so needed to get there. Full of fear and trepidation of course.

Stayed late in work so I would have a shorter run down and reduce mileage yet still managed 3.1 miles with loops of the grass as a warm-up and strides.


Club 4*800 (90) followed by 4*400 (60)
Delighted with that now. Stayed within a group. Thought I had lost them on the last 400 but had a great finish. V pleased. A good evening with a bit of wind. Hadn't been in weeks so didn't expect that to go well at all. Toe pains from dancing were ok. Got a stitch on the 800's but it eased again.
The track was busy so some of the distance looks short.

Lap Distance Time Pace  HR
1 0.50 mi 03:32 7:00 /mi 151 bpm
3 0.49 mi 03:29 7:03 /mi 176 bpm
5 0.49 mi 03:29 7:00 /mi 175 bpm
7 0.48 mi 03:26 7:01 /mi 176 bpm
9 0.24 mi 01:38 6:41 /mi 172 bpm
11 0.24 mi 01:38 6:38 /mi 173 bpm
13 0.24 mi 01:41 6:52 /mi 174 bpm
15 0.24 mi 01:34 6:28 /mi 175 bpm

A great group and makes a difference when I can stick with them and not flog myself.

A easy plod with C back to work for the bike to cycle home. Sore quad but still pleased.

7.5 miles for the evening.

Wednesday I booked and actually went to Pilates. I keep booking classes and then cancelling. Good to go.

A mile on lunch and then 4.2 in the evening. My toe started to really hurt today as think it was badly bruised in the shoes at the weekend from dancing. So sore if the sheets touched it at night I would wake up. Starting to limp around the office but ok running.

Legs ok, tired on the uphill for the evening run 4.21 @ 10:10, HR 141.

Thursday -
Easy running out and back the canal. Lovely evening after all the rain today. Warm until the turning point and realised the wind was behind us.
Toe still very sore. I think it's badly bruised.
A real regression run though looking at those splits. Kept heart rate easy yet V02 Max still dropped and of course unproductive.
P was off doing a session so did warm-up together.
6.31 miles @10:03, HR 141.

Friday - rest

Saturday - I headed up to Poppintree for a change and I needed a local parkrun. Last time we were up here we had ran so I had all the directions perfect until the last turn where I got lost for 10 minutes. Raced then to the start line and met BG. We chatted and ran around but my HR was way too high. Windy on one side of the loop.
Far too fast considering Terenure tomorrow. Should have been v v easy. The sprint start was looking for parkrun as I got lost at the last minute driving. TF for parkrun websites and directions. A windy morning but still warm. Haven't been up in a while so good to do again.
The toe was incredibly sore overnight, it had its own pulse. Sore running but more painful walking.
Poppintree parkrun results for event #234. Your time was 00:27:27.Congratulations on completing your 74th parkrun and your 3rd at Poppintree parkrun today. You finished in 46th place and were the 16th female out of a field of 112 parkrunners and you came 1st in your age category.

Lap Distance Time Pace  HR
1 0.15 mi 01:10 7:48 /mi 124 bpm
2 1.00 mi 09:13 9:13 /mi 145 bpm
3 1.00 mi 09:07 9:07 /mi 161 bpm
4 1.00 mi 08:30 8:30 /mi 164 bpm
5 0.06 mi 33s 8:26 /mi 162 bpm
6 0.20 mi 01:56 9:33 /mi 145 bpm

Sunday - Terenure 5 mile. Desperate. 8 miles for the day. Off now to edit V's report.

30.7 miles for the week.

aquinn

In hindsight and because it is so long ago now Terenure doesn't justify a full race report.

Highlights - Annapr not only collected my t-shirt and bib but also did the driving on the day
Meeting up with V, C, C, S - so easy to follow :-). All the Sanctuary runners too.
I didn't drop out.
Very grateful to the water station and for having bottles.
Good support on the course.
A good first mile
I moved quickly on and got over it.

Lows: It was desperate
Worst time in years.
Aim/hope: My failed attempt at sub 21 recently left me with now a predicted 37:24, which is slower than Raheny this year.

From MSB time it has me at 36:51, hmmn.
Finished in 38:23, shocking.

Mile splits:
Lap Distance Time Elev  HR
1 1.00 mi 07:20 -22 ft 115 bpm
2 1.00 mi 07:50 14 ft 146 bpm
3 1.00 mi 07:49 8 ft 175 bpm
4 1.00 mi 07:39 -21 ft 176 bpm
5 1.00 mi 07:42 24 ft 178 bpm
My legs were dead after the first mile and I found it warm.

8 miles for the day and 30.7 for the week.

aquinn

Week May 13-19

Monday - I went off for a cycle along the coast and turned at Raheny. It is so nice to have a mostly designated and safe path to cycle on. Still had trouble with drivers of course. 11.8 miles for the night so the weather must have been kind.

Tuesday - None club as you know 'raced' on Sunday. Easy running on a beautiful evening with sunshine and blue skies. 6.11 miles @9:45, HR 141bpm. Toe improving.

Wednesday - Pilates on lunch I think. Ran then home in the evening. A fabulous evening. Less pace watching as I did that last night and it still dropped my V02 max so just ran. Visited my new favourite spot in Westwood to use the facilities. 4.41 miles @ 9:47, HR 144.

Thursday - Over and back to the gym on lunch to give me a mile. Finally booked and went to a Kettlebells class and of course really enjoyed it. Sweating but great. I need to this frequently as the knee still troubles me so it needs strengthening.
Myself and P then headed out in the evening and ran two laps of Albert college park. Haven't been there in months. 4.1 miles @ 9;40, HR 144.

Friday - rest. I might have cycled the longer way home so about 8 miles on the bike.

Saturday - A big adventure to the Southside and we did Marlay parkrun. I had only done in once before. A massive crowd but so well organised. So impressed as they have a group warm-up and importantly facilities near the start. We started too far back and it was very crowded. Supposed to be taking it easy but of course HR was too high. I loved running through the trees. It was a fabulous morning. 5 miles at 9:19, HR 150.

Sunday - Should have done a run but didn't. 20.8 miles for the week.