Every accomplishment starts with a decision to try
Comments
-
So many logs updated, where to start?! Here of course as it resonates. Balance, Yoga... still searching too. Yes 8 weeks loads of time! Reads like you are enjoying the process and that's all that matters really!
1 -
7 weeks to race day. This was a step back week, also in the office twice again which is really putting a spanner in my plans. The return of Ozark means sleep quality reduced due to nightmares 😏 😀 it has to be the darkest series I've ever watched and Wendy is just evil. Some wine at the weekend didn't help matters..
Monday 24th Jan
Yoga + Strength + massage gun
Tuesday 25th Jan 2.5 miles
Into work so up at 6 so I could do this before leaving, the plan said 2 miles, no time to add on much extra for warmup or cool down and stayed very close to home. Mile 1 10:24, Mile 2 10:52 + .5 mile cooldown walk up the hill home. Brought my runners into work and got out for a 2 mile walk at lunchtime to compensate for the shortage this morning - not the same I know but will have to do.
Wed 26th Jan S&C
As a member of cycling Ireland you get free access to a training hub so decided to try one of the workouts, not bad, plenty of stretching between rounds of weights, felt good afterwards. Plan said 30 min walk which I did not do..
Thursday 27th Jan 3 miles
In the office again and again 2 miles was on the plan but decided to wait until evening for this. It was a lovely evening actually. Mile 1 10:24, mile 2 10:41 and mile 3 13:05 run/walk combo.
Saturday 29th Jan Trail run 3.43 miles
I really enjoyed the trail run last weekend and got thinking that running hilly trails would also count as strength work and help with the aerobic fitness so decided to go again this week. Mile 1 10:27, Mile 2 9:00, Mile 3 12:19 + .43 walk back to the car. Stopped to walk twice in mile 3 which is mostly (if not all) uphill. Funnily enough my average pace was 11:20 which was exactly the same as last week but faster on both of the hiller miles so an improvement. Had company this week which was really nice.
Sunday 30th Jan Bike 20 miles
Axa Community ride. I was the ride leader for today's outing and we did the route I sourced a couple of weeks ago along nice country back roads, it gives plenty of opportunity for chats along the way. Enjoyable spin in cool dry weather.
Next week there's a 3, 4 and 5 mile run which I'm looking forward to. I might need to rearrange the days as I'll be commuting to the office twice, or else I'll just switch back to evening runs. Making a promise to myself to ditch the vino again, it does no good and plenty of harm.
8 -
6 weeks to race day
Moved things around a bit this week. I was tired on Monday so decided I'd swap Friday's rest day to Monday and did nothing.
Tuesday 1st Feb, 16,000 steps (5.56 miles) walking
I was in work today and planned to run the 4 miles when I got home, even managed to leave work a little earlier and was fine in the car on the way home but had no water bottle to sip on so between that and having walked 16,655 steps while in work I was tired. Made the mistake of sitting down 'for a minute' and that was that! No aerobic gain from this obvs but plenty of time on feet...
Wednesday 2nd Feb, 4 mile run
I was still feeling tired when my alarm went off at 6.10 and immediately had thoughts of binning the run but one step at a time! Got dressed and told myself I could walk the whole thing if I really didn't want to run. There are some benefits to living on a hill - the run starts downhill and sure once you get going ☺️. This was slow but that's fine, one brief road crossing stop and two very short walk breaks in the last 400m (back up the hill home). I was delighted with this. It's progress. Splits were 11.29, 11.19, 11.05, 11.55 (uphill) avg HR 136.
Thursday 3rd Feb Strength and Stretch
Today was supposed to be 3 miles + strength but was once again in the office. I'm finding this very tiring between the drive, the 1 mile walk from the car to the office, talking to real people! Exhausting 😀. Anyway, got a 10 min work out in which is better than no workout at all. In fact, I need to remind myself that doing small bits regularly is more beneficial than trying to fit in longer workouts and failing.
Friday 4th Feb 3 mile run
Cold and a bit wet this morning, luckily I missed the heavy rain. Nothing to say about this really, found it harder than Wednesday. Splits were 10.39, 11.08, 11.28 + .23 cool down walk uphill home. Avg HR 137. Did a 2 mile walk at lunchtime.
Saturday 5th Feb 5.13 miles run + 1.27m cooldown walk
Back to parkrun this morning, first time in a while Sanctuary runners were together again as a group, we were also having a cheque presented from the Runners Annual team who donated the proceeds of sales to SR Cork. I knew I'd be hanging around after parkrun and didn't want to break up the 5 miles so decided to run a longer route down to the park, 2 miles done arriving at 9.27am, dropped the bag and listened to the las of the briefing before setting off again. I really enjoyed this, I never felt like stopping to walk at any point in the 5 miles. The legs were feeling a bit stiff in the last 300m of the parkrun but otherwise all good. Even managed to pass a few along the way. Effort and HR were probably in the steady range (actually the watch says 'tempo'). Had a good chat with some of the crew organising the IMRA race checking to see if there's an early start for the juniors/slower runners. Turns out there's not but apparently they don't mind waiting....Still have two more weeks training so should be a little fitter by then too. Paces were: 10.24, 11:00, 10:17, 10.21, 10.41. avg HR 149, then walked 1.27 miles home in the cold.
Sunday 6th Feb Hike 3.26 miles elevation 545ft
Back up to Rahan for a hike taking in the 'hidden' forest that I didn't know about until yesterday. It's narrow, and muddy! An odd day in that it's mild enough but the wind would cut you in two. Still enjoyable especially with company.
Yoga 30 mins: I haven't actually done this yet but will do later!
Totals:
Walk: 6.54 miles (not counting dog walks which are much slower affairs generally)
Run: 12.39 miles
Strength x 1 session
Yoga x 1 session
10 -
Still 6 weeks to race day.... 🙄 must have miscalculated somewhere! Most unlike me to get the maths wrong 😂
Monday 7th January 3.06 mile walk
Fancied a walk and planned to do a strength session when I got home but met a friend in the last 1/2 mile and was chatting for ages so no workout
Tuesday 8th January 4 mile run am + 4.42 mile walk pm
Back on plan, 4 miles at 6.30am in 12 degrees....Splits were 10:49, 11:11, 11:02 and 12:08 (uphill). Can't remember but I think this was fine with a bit of tiredness in the last mile. Had planned to meet another friend for a walk this PM which ended up being much longer than I'd anticipated. Also lashed rain when we were half way round so got a good soaking but enjoyed it nonetheless.
Wednesday 9th January 3 miles walking
Was in the office today so a mile from the car to work and back + 1 mile at lunch up to main campus.
Thursday 10th January 3 mile run
In stark contrast to Tuesday's balmy temperature this morning was 2 degrees. Decided on a route change, put the head torch on and ran down the river path towards the town park - won't be doing that again any time soon! The light on the head torch was just enough to see where I was going but otherwise it's pitch black down there, don't know what I was thinking. Left the park at 1.2 miles back onto the main roads and around the town. Mile 3 beeped with about .1 mile left on the hill home so saved the run and walked the last bit. Splits 10:21, 11:13 & 11:34
Friday 11th January Yoga, 35 mins
Rest day so yoga with a few kettlebell swings thrown in at the end.
Saturday 12th January 6 miles including Mallow Castle parkrun
Up early to have my usual Sat morning brown bread toasted with peanut butter, banana and two cups of tea. The plan was to do 2 miles en route to parkrun, do the run then 1 mile home. I wasn't feeling 100% before I left but headed off and started to feel better as I ran. Arrived with a minute and 1/2 to spare to the start so wasn't stopped for long. The forecast was for 10 degrees and dry, the reality slightly different with some rain in the (cool) wind. Off we set and I found myself near a group of women who I knew were probably very much faster than me but were out for their easy run and chatting as they went, decided I'd try and stick with them if it didn't cause me too many problems. When my watched beeped for mile 4 (mile 2 of parkrun) I saw a sub 10 min mile, I was working hard but not so much that I was in any pain. The legs were feeling good and strong, I was in a nice rhythm. At the same time I didn't want to annoy the group with my breathing which was more laboured than theirs so was trying to keep a small gap between us (we'd had a chat somewhere in the first mile when they thought I was trying to pass them and I said I was aiming to stick with them if they didn't mind). In the last mile they pulled ahead a little and I let them go, we were passing a few as we went around and they stayed in my sights but I didn't want to work to keep with them, I could feel my heart rate increasing for the pace and the last 300m is uphill and needed to keep something for that. Crossed the finish line, got scanned very quickly and thanked them for the pacing job, chatted briefly and then off for my final mile home.
Time was 30.35 and I was very happy with that, I can really feel the fitness coming back. 6 months ago if I tried to run 3 miles at a much slower pace I was exhausted so the HRT is working and long may it continue. It's not like I was racing flat out so there's more there if I wanted it. Splits were:
10:12, 10:29, 10:10, 9:50: 9:56: 10:34.
Sunday 13th February 3.5 mile walk
Got boosted yesterday so was expecting to be feeling it today, wasn't too bad when I got up so out for a family walk to the town park and across the new boardwalk - Woody doesn't like the surface so 8.5kg weight lifting thrown in while I carried him back 😄. Tiredness has hit me like a train now so rest for the rest of the day.
Plan for next week is 3 mile run on Tuesday and Thursday and 4 on Saturday with 45 min walks on the other days. The IMRA trail run is Sunday so I'll keep an eye on the forecast and if it's not due to lash rain I'll do that instead.
Totals
Runs: 13 miles
Walks: 14.23 miles
Yoga: 30 mins
11 -
Tuesday 15th February 3 mile run
Tiredness lingering, lots of aching muscles etc but got out early for this. I wasn't sure how I'd feel and it was a bit miserable (wet & windy) so I just ran around an nearby estate, railway road and part of the N20. Job done 3 miles avg hr 134, 11:13, 11:11, 11:34.
Thursday 17th February Yoga, Strength + 3 mile run
Another wet morning so I opted for 30 mins yoga with some strength work in the morning followed by a lunch run, in daylight! Which meant I could do the river walk and into the park and back again. Struggled a bit on the hill out of the park and turned left along Nav road instead of continuing uphill home to get to 3 miles. Knocked off the watch and walked the last 500m home as a cooldown. It was nice to get out in daylight and a nice break in my workday. 3 miles avg hr 141 10:26, 10:41, 11:13.
Saturday 19th February 3 mile walk
Headed down to parkrun to catch up with the Sanctuary runners gang, a lovely morning although still a bit breezy.
Sunday 20th February, A Race! 5.45 miles in 1:05 945ft elevation avg HR 158
Woke to more wind and rain which had started late Saturday afternoon, yuck. Had the whole 'sure I'd be crazy to go up and race in that weather' talk but decided to proceed as planned. Watched the Seville marathon while having breakfast and working on my tight hips with the massage gun, was delighted to see AMK having such a great run up to 30k and then still coming in under sub 3 despite a very tough run - inspiring! Got a lift up to Rahan and parking reasonably close to number collection. The rain had eased at that point. I was trying to size up the other runners to see if anyone else might be as slow as me but it's impossible to guess. Decided I start anyway and if I felt I was way behind I could just turn around.
Mile 1: 10:31 elevation 31 avg HR 155. A flat start that goes downhill after 100m, feeling ok, sticking with those around me trying to just settle in and relax, a right turn brings you immediately uphill and I was already feeling the heat here so took the hat and jacket off and tied it around my waist, a few people walking already I pushed on slowly knowing it would level out soon enough.
Mile 2: 12:05 elevation -24 avg HR 157. Most of this was down a forest path and then into a very narrow, very muddy single trail. I knew this was going to be rough going, on a dry day I would gain time here as I like running in this sort of terrain but those that had gone before me had literally left their mark with large deep footprints that made it very slippery underfoot, any advantage that could be gained on the downhill was lost.
Mile 3: 9:25 elevation -269 avg HR 160. Out of the trail and flatish for a while before we get back to a junction we had gone through in mile 1, turn the corner and downhill all the way to junction 1 where S was supporting, got a shoutout and lots of encouragement from the crew as I belted down - enjoyed this bit! Round the corner and was expecting to be very quickly into an uphill here but we took a turn off into a different single forest trail that I wasn't expecting.
Mile 4: 14:49 elevation 209 avg HR 159 ouch....all my reckies up here had not prepared me for this bit (I didn't know it was part of the route), a slight downhill and around a corner into a mountain climb - who knew there was a mountain on the hill?! Not me 😳. Up we went, walking all of this as way to narrow and steep to attempt a run. Met one of the regular parkrun volunteers out taking photos, I laughed and told him he'd picked the worst spot for pics, no he says, she did (pointing upwards) at the crest of hill another photographer!
Mile 5 12:36 elevation -45 avg HR 158. Off the top of the mountain back onto fire roads I hadn't a clue where I was now but a glance over at the view confirmed I still had a long climb to get back into the forest we came through in mile 2, found the turn and in I went. I had passed a guy about 1/2 mile back and he had passed me again coming off the mountain. I knew I wasn't last as I'd looked back on the first hill to see people behind me, I never saw them again though so they could have dnf'd and maybe I was last but at least I had 4 runners ahead in my sights so I wouldn't be keeping the volunteers out in the rain just for me. We ran/walked up through the mud we had come down earlier and were out quick enough and back in the open with all the elements at full blast now. My legs were almost completely sapped of energy from the climbs but I had no choice but to run as the wind and rain were driving right into us and I'd get cold very quickly. The jacket had gone back on a while back and now the hat was back on. Pushing pushing all the way I knew we had one more lovely downhill before the cruel uphill finish. Another shout out from S at one of the junctions, round the corner and downhill as fast as I could this time turning left to head for home.
The last .45 14:21 elevation 139 avg HR 139. The absolutely cruelty of finishing on a fairly steep uphill!! One of the marshals was on a bike and he was telling us nearly there, some of the faster runners were doing a short loop cooldown and encouraging along the way too. I know this trail quite well so I knew it would flatten out for the last 200m and a run to the finish line. I had figured it would take me an hour (5 miles) but the extra .45 mile brought me to 1:05. Fine by me.
I'm actually really happy with this, given the conditions today, very strong winds, lashing rain and the extra hills I wasn't expecting it shows me I could be faster on a dry sunny day. Also that there are plenty of people who are not speedy gonzales's in IMRA so it's okay to take part when you're at my level. Really well done to all the Mallow AC crew who organised this, marshalled it and made everyone so welcome. A run with strength work thrown in! Could feel the imbalance in the right side today on the steeper climbs so must get going with the single leg squats..
9 -
Advertisement
-
3 weeks to Mallow 10 Mile
Had to rework the plan again this week as it said 5 miles on Tuesday, 3 miles on Thursday and 7 miles on Saturday. Apart from the fact I was in the office on Tuesday, I don't think the legs would have been up for 5 miles after Sunday's effort. Decided to do the 3 miles on Monday evening, rightly or wrongly....it was a hobble.
Monday 21st Feb 3 miles
Everything was sore, hips, glutes, hamstrings, ouch! Decided to head down to the river and do a lap of the park then home - unfortunately the river had other ideas! Path was flooded so back up onto the main road and headed along the m20 where I also ran out of path with some flooding near the petrol station. Turned around and ran up into the back railway car park, mistake - legs now sapped of any energy they had and I couldn't motivate myself to run around a car park!!! Ran/walked the 3rd mile home.
Wednesday 23rd Feb 2.79 mile walk
In work Tuesday and Wednesday. Fast walk from the office into the city on Wednesday, nipped into a couple of shops and back to the office.
Thursday 24th Yoga + 5 mile run
25 mins yoga in the morning seemed to help ease the body out. Snow made the decision for me and pushed the run to the PM. Stressful day at work and then couldn't find my wireless headphones for my run so ended up having to bring my phone & wired - well could have gone without obvs but really wanted to blast out some tunes to lift the mood! Ran from home the back road into the town and then what I thought was part of the 10 mile route (went the wrong way at about mile 3ish). The route has some tough drags from early on and throughout! I felt great on this run, like I was much fitter than I've been in a long time. Then I looked at my HR in the last mile and saw it was too high for 'easy', damn. I'll pay for that. Splits were 10:46, 10:41, 11:25, 10:21, 11:52 avg HR145. Slowed the pace in the last mile to get the HR down a bit.
Saturday 26th 7 mile run + 4.5 mile walk
Up early for brekkie. The plan was to do 3 miles and arrive at parkrun for 9.30, got there 20 mins too early 🙄 so had no choice but to carry on, do the run and head straight for home after I'd done parkrun route instead of going to through the finish line. Stopped briefly to chat to two of the volunteers who had volunteered at Sunday's event. Legs, quads in particular, were really feeling this by the last mile. Windy (as it has been all week) with spots of rain. Was overdressed as the heavy rain didn't come so could have done without the rain jacket. Was passed on my way down to the park by another runner, probably 20 years younger than me, pony tail swishing and a gorgeous stride and I questioned what the feic I was doing, ancient and plodding!! Swift mental kick in the backside and a reminder that I should only concentrate on me and not mind what anyone else is doing! Splits 10:36, 10:52: 11:00, 10:52, 10:49, 11:00, 11:37 avh HR 146. HR was a little higher than I'd have liked again. Probably still not recovered.
Headed in to UCC where Sanctuary runners were doing a run/walk for Refugee Week, I thought this would be a couple of miles but turned out to be 4.4!! Not fast but I was already tired....Had planned to do a 40km cycle tomorrow but have cancelled that. Will have a rest! Next week has a 4 mile, 3 mile and 9 mile run as well as 45-60 min walks.
7 -
Are we there yet?
Monday 28th Feb S&C
Another of the cycling Ireland training hub workouts - lots of stretching in between squats, lunges overhead weights etc. Challenging but good
Tuesday 1st March 4 mile run - 4.14 miles @ 11:19 avg hr 133
Legs were a bit stiff after yesterdays workout but it's so wonderful to see the brighter mornings! Sunrise mid run so was able to run home through the town park and along the river, gorgeous. Splits 11:02, 11:19, 11:19, 11:40. Stopped the watch and walked the last .4 mile home.
Thursday 3rd March, 3 mile run, 10:55 avg hr 140
Did this after work, no comments on strava so can't remember much about it, splits 10:12, 11:16, 11:13. First mile downhill.
Saturday 5th March, Poppintree parkrun 3.09 miles @ 10:14 avg HR 157
Travelled up to Dublin early on Friday morning for my uncles funeral, the last of the brothers to go on my dads side. His 2 sisters are an amazing example of how to live a long and healthy life, one swims every day in the bull wall and has done for 40+ years, the other walks 4-6 miles every morning. There's a lesson in there somewhere. Anyway, a few things going on including an adjustment to my HRT by the gp earlier in the week which I think has impacted my sleep (awake from 4am on Wednesday and Thursday nights). Slept ok on Friday but awake from about 5.30. Up early, had a cup of tea and bottle of water in the hotel bedroom and one of those coffee biscuits they you and headed down to the Clontarf promenade to enjoy the gorgeous morning. Over to Poppintree waaaay to early which allowed time to find a bathroom and still get to the start before 9am. A large crew of Sanctuary runners arrived including Annapr, Bungygirl, aquinn, mrpaul and LauraAC. Lovely to see everyone and catch up. Ran the course with Anna chatting as we went, it's a lovely route and a really nice park. Some photos for #RunforUkraine some more chats before heading back for breakfast and a shower. Headed for home via Decathlon but bought nothing. Very enjoyable trip to Dublin (not home any more...)but had forgotten the sheer volume of traffic lights and how long it takes to get anywhere!!!
Sunday 6th March - not 9 miles... 8 miles @ 11:12 avg HR 146
According to the plan I should have done 9 miles yesterday and 60 min walk today but I was not going to attempt a 9 mile run around a parkrun, had enough going on over the weekend. Also wanted to run most of the Mallow 10 mile route but having driven it last weekend I knew that wasn't wise as there are lots of country roads in the 2nd part of it - I don't mind cycling them but am not brave enough to run them yet! Up early, 2 pancakes with peanut butter, yoghurt, berries and bananas and 2 cups of tea and a few stretches while I waited for a new spotify playlist to synch on my watch. Another gorgeous sunny but cool day, I wore a long sleeve top and my Puma runners that I'm still not sure about. Two mistakes! The first 5 miles were pretty good with splits of 10:34, 10:49, 11:05, 11:11 and 11:16 I was consciously trying to slow down and keep the HR low - it was a bit too high for my liking in spots, then the footpath disappeared along a fast enough section of road with a bend where I knew I'd be invisible to oncoming cards so speed up a bit here and was struggling by the time I got to the top of that road and onto the hard shoulder of the m20. Stopped briefly to stretch my hamstring which was niggling along with my right foot, I knew I was in the wrong shoes and also feeling the heat of the sun by now. Got going again and mile 6, 7 and 8 became a battle of wits and an internal conversation about how far I could or should go today. Splits were 11:05, 11:08 and 12:25. In the 8th mile I was running along the Navigation road with a plan to run as far as the race track and then turn back, giving me 9 miles - but the road ran out and I was already taking walk breaks so that was excuse enough to turn around and head for home, walking the last .3 mile up the hill.
This was supposed to give me confidence that I could do the 10 mile distance and I didn't get that but, I've set some goals for the next two weeks that should make a difference and keep the fitness going in the right direction:
1) eat healthily and drink enough water
2) prioritise recover and sleep
3) walk lots on the days you're not running
4) more yoga/stretching to manage niggles
18 miles for the week but not enough walks on non run days. Am still very happy with that week.
9 -
Monday 7th March, Walk and Yoga
Early morning walk 1.5 miles followed by 15 mins of Yoga + some strength. Then out after work for a brisk walk with a friend, 3.4 miles. Trying to decide whether to sign up for the Cork City half marathon in June or do the marathon relay - heart says half, head says relay.....! I will wait until after 20th to see how the 10 mile feels.
Tuesday 8th March, 5 mile run
Set the alarm for 6.15 but did not venture out into the very yellow wind and rain! I have college on Tuesday evenings so I knew it was going to be a squeeze to finish work, run, shower, eat dinner and be back at my laptop for 6.30 but nonetheless, very glad I waited it out. No rain and a much lighter wind made for a pleasant evening run. The HR was much better this evening although the legs were tired. Splits 11:02, 10:49, 11:31, 11:11, 11:02 avg hr 142 - stopped in mile 3 for a busy road crossing and forgot to pause the watch.
Plan for the rest of the week is:
Wednesday 45 min walk (if the wind and rain lets up later!)
Thursday 3 miles + strength
Saturday 8 miles
Sunday 60 min walk
8 -
Wednesday 9th March 1.79m walk
Out with the dog, lots of flooding so kept having to turn back and try a different route.
Thursday 10th March 3 mile run
In work today so packed the gear with the idea of running along the Lee Fields after work - forgot the leggings 🙄 so home and changed and out the door and then back in the door as it was a horribly windy evening. Decided I'd run tomorrow instead - checked the forecast for Friday which showed wind and rain, so back out the door with me.... Legs were a bit stiff, I really hate the wind so didn't enjoy this and was just glad to get this finished. Splits 10:39, 11, 11:16 avg HR 139.
Saturday 12th March 8.23 miles run including Mallow Castle Parkrun
Did a much better job with route planning today. Drove down and parked near the Castle park, headed out over the bridge and ran the first mile and 1/2 of the race route cutting up onto the M20 at the slip road. Was thinking I'd get to the top of Shortcastle street around mile 3 and I knew it was 2 miles from there to the park, perfect. I knew in mile 4 I'd be slightly too early for the start of parkrun so was trying to slow down so as not to be hanging around for too long. Stopped briefly at the car to grab a drink of water and a quick change into my SR t-shirt and stretch my right leg as the hamstring was pinging a bit. Into the park and a quick chat with a visitor from Cabo before we were off. Tried to keep this as slow as possible and not get carried away but went over my self prescribed HR a couple of times. In the last mile or so my right leg started cramping - possibly because I'd been trying to mind the hamstring I changed running gait and the rest of the leg wasn't happy! Had done some massage gun work before I left the house but no stretching.
Was very happy with this compared to the previous 8 mile run I did, better sleep helped for sure. Splits: 11:13, 10:39, 11:05, 11:05, 11:16, 10:26, 10:46, 10:41. I know they don't look consistent but they are given the rolling nature of lovely Mallow! Avg HR 146.
I'm starting to look forward to next Sunday now, if we get a morning like this morning (2 degrees and sunny starting at 8.25) it would be perfect, no wind! Lovely coffee and chats afterwards.
Depending on the weather tomorrow I might go for a hike. The plan for next week is 3 miles on Tuesday then 2 miles on Thursday with the option to do another 2 on Friday. I think I'd benefit more from the rest but will aim to walk Mon-Wed-Fri to keep the legs moving.
8 -
Monday 14th March, Yoga + Strength + Walk
Felt great after the yoga, pity I didn't follow through with more over the rest of the week 🙄.
Wednesday 16th March 3 mile run
Renovations going on at home so had to travel to the office Tuesday and Wednesday. No time to do this on Tuesday as I have college so just enough time to drive home, eat and sit at my laptop for another 3 hours! Brought the gear on Wednesday and remembered everything this time. Turned out to be a gorgeous spring day with heat in the sun. Ran along the Lee Fields which is gorgeous at the best of times but when the sun shines its stunning. The deep blue shining river against the sharp green grass and the yellow daffodils 😍.
Thursday 17th March, 4.29 miles walking with some interval sprints
Sanctuary runners were taking part in the Cork St Patrick's day parade, what an experience! The weather was great right up to the rain shower that soaked us 😄. This was sloooow but every now and then we ran around our banner for a few minutes so I'm counting those as interval sprints! Figured that was enough time on feet and didn't bother with the suggested 2 mile run on the plan.
6 -
Advertisement
-
Mallow 10 Mile race
Who starts a race at 12.30?! Mass was the reason given when I asked at parkrun yesterday - a reason from yesteryear that still remains up and down the country. Up at 8 for a bowl of porridge followed by my usual 'long run' tea and toast with peanut butter and banana at 10.30. Faffed around switching between shorts and 3/4's. No one is ready to see me in shorts so went with the 3/4's. My right leg/hip/knee has been giving me considerably more trouble than usual this week, possibly a combination of sitting in a different chair in work (the chairs/desks in the office are very uncomfortable v what I have at home) and the slow parade march interspersed with runs on Thursday. I used the massage gun yesterday and today but it wasn't having the usual impact. Weather very overcast but mild with a cool breeze.
Jogged down to the start getting there about 12.20ish, the place was buzzing, great to see! Amazingly I only saw one person I know in the 900+ runners lined up. We were off at 12.32 with only a short delay.
I started about 3 rows from the back, the goal here was just to finish it but the first few miles are uphill and I knew that going off too fast here would mean a lot of suffering in the final miles but knowing something and following through are two very different things....
Miles 1 - 3, 9:52, 9:54, 9:41 So at least I know my fitness is improving over 5K distance! This was mostly uphill, dragged along by the crowd despite starting near the very back, I felt fantastic, you know that false 'you'll be grand' feeling you get when you go out too quickly?! Thoroughly enjoyed these miles, taking part in a local race, moving forward + feeling good.
Miles 4-7 10:14, 10:49, 11:25, 11:05. If I'd done the previous 3 miles between 10:15-10:30 I would have made life a lot easier for myself. There was a water station around mile 4, grabbed a bottle and took a few swigs and put some on the back of my neck. Had arranged for S to be at the bottom of our road with a water bottle too which was just before the 5 mile marker so had another few swigs here. I was 6 or 7 minutes ahead of schedule at this point and knew it was only going to get harder. Very glad of the water & the pep talk! From mile 5 onwards this was new territory for me route wise. The road is flat enough but it's along the main Killarney road which wasn't closed off so we had cars passing and pulling in. Finally we got to the turn for Dromohane and the road home. A few folks out in random places supporting, badly needed by now as I was stopping to walk briefly in every mile, a few of us keeping each other going. As I passed the 6 mile marker I knew I could walk 4 miles in under an hour so worst case could walk the rest! The right leg was causing a lot of trouble now. Another water stop around mile 7 and a shout out from one of the parkrun crew.
Miles 8-10 11:52, 11:49 11:46
Still mostly running with a small group, slowed down a good bit so I could keep running as much as possible & trying to keep the leg from ceasing up but still taking some walk breaks. Again some much needed very enthusiastic support around 8.5 miles from some youngsters - fair play to them! A bit lumpy coming in under the railway bridge and up to SV but I knew there was less than a mile and I'd be finished, which was the only goal. Spotted S just before the finish, crossed the line "I did it"! Gotta remember that not much more than 6 months ago I couldn't run 3 miles without feeling awful so this is progress, yes I'm slow but 10 miles is 10 miles.
That was hard! But also enjoyable. Had a little asthma type thing just after I crossed the line and thought I'd be in trouble but it didn't last long. Collected the goody bag and was going to stop briefly but decided it would be better to keep moving so a very slow shuffle home, just over a mile. With the warm up, that was 11 miles running for the day.
Immediate thoughts were that I won't do the Cork half, there's a lot going on, more renovations, busy with work and study, will have to be in the office some of the time - it'd be madness to undertake another plan, I should just do the relay with the SR gang and enjoy it..... A massive well done to the Mallow AC crew, they put on an excellent event, very well organised, super atmosphere and a much needed kitkat in the goody bag 😀.
12 -
Well done on the race - brilliant to see you back racing and enjoying it! You've made serious progress since January.
1 -
Good stuff AM - more of a battle than I’d realized from the Strava (which is the beauty of race reports).
You’re a tough one! See ya in Cork hopefully, maybe for the relay.
1 -
Well done on the race, glad to see you enjoyed it😊
1 -
Thanks folks ☺️. Tough or stubborn @Murph_D! I'll see you before then, will be over to Cobh to watch the right way to run a 10 miler 😉.
3 -
Well done AM, you're making great progress. Loved this line"....knowing something and following through are two very different things...." Sometimes you just go with it and feck it!
1 -
That's great persistence and resilience to finish it...and then to remember so much for the report 💪👏
1 -
Not much running going on since 20th, took a week off and went for a tui na massage midweek - very painful but a big help, back for another one this Friday. Was out walking a few miles every day to try and loosen the legs which were quite stiff and the body quite tired.
Saturday 26th March 4.4 mile run
Jogged down to parkrun and got around but it was a bit of a struggle - still managed a 9.50 mile in there 🙄. My pacing radar seems to be a bit broken as this was supposed to be a jog to loosen out the legs, should have put the HR screen on to keep myself honest. Small numbers again so ran this solo although you can see other runners ahead and behind across the park and of course the marshals around the course. Absolutely gorgeous day 🌞.
Sunday 27th March, 22.06 mile cycle
Haven't been on the bike in a while and the Axa gang are doing Ride Dingle in 4 weeks. Lead a group on the Mallow - Doneraile - Mallow route I set up last year. Love this route as it's lots of back country roads with views of the Ballyhouras, no cars and singing birds. Another glorious day. A bit slower than I'd have liked as one of the group was struggling. I'm not concerned about getting around Slea Head, have done it before solo but I need to build up saddle fitness!!!!
I've signed up for the Cork Marathon Relay on June bank holiday weekend. Not sure which leg I'll get and I don't mind so the plan is do a 10k training plan using the Garmin coach plan. I'd like to have a go at getting my 5k time back resembling something I'm happy with. The plan starts next week with some benchmark runs this week.
10 -
Best of luck with the new plan😊
1 -
Wednesday 30th, Benchmark Run
Not sure what the point of these are on the Garmin plans, it's a 9 min run, what can you tell about someone from a 9 min run? 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down. Hardly worth going out the door 😊.
Sunday 3rd April 4.17 miles
Should have done this yesterday but drove to Galway for the day for a family event. It's a long time since I was in Galway but was very surprised at how industrial and built up it is on the road in. No wonder it's on the traffic news every day.. Stopped in Bunratty on the way so ended up with no time for a walk in Salthill which had been the plan. Anyway, up early this morning to head over to Cobh for the 10 miler to welcome some of the Dublin contingent to the real capital. Got parking down by the sea and headed off for my own run before climbing the ridiculously steep hill up to the start line. Really enjoyed this run along by the sea and the only stretch of road on the island without a hill. It was 1 degree when I left the house but there was heat in the sun when I arrived in Cobh. Nearly knocked over The Claw as he exited his hotel! Great buzz around the town and so much fun watching legends like Sonia, Rob and Mick running and of course our very own MurphD and FBOT who was pacing. Thoroughly enjoyable day. Plenty of unrecorded walking throughout the week too.
Looks like next week is just 3 easy runs. Really need to get back to some regular strength/yoga. Have completely fallen off the wagon.
9 -
Advertisement
-
Monday 4th April AM Yoga
Off to a good start for the week ahead. Planned to get 3 of these in this week, yet again it didn't happen!
Monday 4th April PM 30 min run
This plan works off time so 5 min warm up followed by 20 mins run 5 min cool down. I didn't make any notes on strava and can't remember if this was good/bad or indifferent.
30 mins @ 11:30 pace
Thursday 7th April train with Olympians 😎
Sanctuary runners have secured a much coveted track spot at the Mardyke on Thursday evenings for anyone training to take part in the Cork city marathon, half marathon or relay. There will be some guest appearances along the way and this week was Rob and Derval, two sounder people you will not meet. Had the chats with Rob while we were waiting for people to arrive. This was not on my plan obviously but a bit of speed will do me good! The session started out being 10 x 200, until he saw how desperately slow most of us were and it was reduced to 6. We did two warm up laps, then the 200's with walked recoveries and a cool down lap at the end. Lots of tips from him on stretching, proper running form etc. Lap times were:
.55, 1:01, 1:03, 1:02, .58.9, 1:01.
This was hard, I have not run at any kind of pace in a long time, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and the social side was a big buzz too.
Sunday 10th April 40 mins easy
This should have been done yesterday but a work night out on Friday meant I was in no state to do anything yesterday, never mind run! Alcohol and HRT do not mix well - one is my limit these days and I should have stuck to that. The new limit will be zero. I don't feel great after even once glass these days so what's the point. Anyway, walked the dog first to loosen out the legs, the calves are feeling very tender either as a result of Thursday's session or the very high heels I was walking around in on Friday night. Then out the door into the blustery wind and down into the park. Ran around on the grass which helped the legs.
warm up 5 mins @ 10:45 (mostly downhill)
30 mins @ 11:09
Cool down 5 mins @ 20:39 (included a stop to chat to a neighbour)
Next weeks runs look interesting, tomorrow is stride repeats, Wednesday is a progression run and 50 mins easy on Saturday.
7 -
Monday 11th April AM Yoga, PM Run 37 mins
20 mins easy, 10 x 20 sec strides/45 sec recoveries + 10 mins easy. Very enjoyable, loved the strides and noticed improved form for the 10 mins easy after them. Have a memory of similar impact when I did this plan previously.
Tuesday 12th Yoga 15 mins
Wednesday 13th Yoga 17 mins AM, Run 35 mins PM
15 mins easy, 10 mins steady, 10 mins easy.
Thursday 14th April Walk, 2.71 miles
Saturday 16th April, Run 50 mins
Including Mallow Castle parkrun. Jogged down, ran the parkrun, probably at steady rather than easy pace, jogged a cooldown. Only 48 runners this week. Numbers have dropped significantly in the last month or so, not sure why!
Did a bit better with the yoga/stretching this week but both legs have niggles - how do you know if you're having joint v muscular discomfort I wonder, my hips continue to be sore despite stretching, massage gun or massages..
8
