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Eye of the Tiger Beer.
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Yeh, I'm in. My last full training block was probably my novice DCM!
I won't be able to do a full training block this year either... well, it will be compromised at the start. I'm going to Barcelona for almost all of July, 2 weeks or so will be working, and then 2 weeks off. The focus won't be on running, it'll be on hanging out with the family and doing family stuff. Also, the weather will be utterly dreadful, so I'll probably end up running on treadmills. Not unlike what happened in last summer in SF, except I won't be doing a marathon for fun in the middle of the trip
The good news is that I'll be home with 12 weeks to go to DCM, which is a short training block. As said previously, I like the look of Hanson's! However while jumping into a shortened Hanson's targeting sub-3 looks quite do-able right now, who knows what shape I'll be in at the end of July. Hopefully not as bad as I was at the end of last August. So what running that does happen in Barcelona needs to be decent enough. I could try to do the Hanson quality runs at least, but maybe I'll spend my time running up to those hills overlooking the city or more likely I'll just plod when I can on a treadmill. :rolleyes:
I also have a wedding in Italy to go to in August. Argh!!!0 -
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Race Report!!!
As threatened, I participated in #pbfest2019, i.e. the Bob Heffernan 5k. It is a near perfect 5k race - the weather is always great (i.e. both this year and last), there aren't any significant hills (though a couple of bumps just to keep you on your toes) and the field is ridiculous. There were over 100 sub-18 runners, and over 240 sub-20 runners this year!
My plan going into this was to run marginally faster than the recent Malahide parkrun 5k PB of 18:20, as it's kind of embarrassing having a 5k PB being a parkrun PB. It's a bit better than a Strava PB, but not by much. I got a lift out to Johnstown's Bridge with Cormac from work, and we arrived later than we should have thanks to some woeful traffic but in reality with loads of time to get changed and meet up with murph_d, annapr, mister_paul, fbot etc. before heading out to do a warmup. There were mild concerns about the evening being kind of warm, but really I was more worried about the chaotic start, and so after jogging to the start area and getting in a few strides we positioned ourselves kind of near the startline. The start was definitely busy, the lead car coming through the field and a false start at the front definitely didn't help things. When the countdown to the actual start was done, it was very compressed where I was and there were a lot of folks around me who didn't look like they'd be finishing near me. Ah well.
The part of a 5k when it isn't all awful: 3:37
I got stuck behind numerous gangs of slower runners in the first couple of minutes, and got kind of annoyed. However I didn't waste too much energy ducking and diving around them, I generally waited for opportunities to open and then headed on into open spaces. For a long time my watch was showing me well under PB pace though, and I ran hard enough to get under the target pace for the 1st km.
Settling in 3:36, 3:42
After the turn to the left I was feeling pretty good and passing a lot of runners. There were a good few around me doing the same. The very accurate km markers were counting down the kms left, and as I passed the second km for a few seconds I was thinking that I was 3km in, but quickly realised that this was very much not the case. Not too much of interest happened here, I kept trying to keep sub-3:40 on the watch, but ended up struggling a bit after the half-way mark.
Existential anguish 3:43, 3:28
I've done enough 5Ks by now to know that the 4th km is THE WORST. I was kind of running by myself for a good bit of this, sometimes catching folks, sometimes being passed. Breathing was getting hard, but I knew that I had a few seconds in the bank to spare for a PB. I had a vague idea that the last km was fast, and as we went around the final bend at the 4km mark there was a good downhill to run into, and I had somebody to run it with. We caught up with a pair of Raheny ladies and passed them. At this stage I was just convincing myself that things weren't too bad. There was less than 4 minutes left! Then there was a badly placed hill of approx 5 foot and that took a good bit of steam out of me. A sign said 500m left... sure there's just a track lap left! Run! I tried to run hard but ran out of steam, and was passed by a couple of runners. The time on the clock going over the line was well inside a PB.
Gun time: 18:13
Chip time: 18:07
118th out of 628.
A massive 13 second PB! The 60 seconds or so after finishing weren't great. I'd utterly destroyed myself. After that was fine though - I had a quick chat with auldman, then found the rest of the Cru and Raheny gang and had a quick debrief. I then found myself in the company of Lazare, scotindublin and skyblue who all had great races. After a chat with a content annapr I did a cooldown run with the lads, and then we headed into the awful/amazingly kitsch nightclub for some sambos and more chats, and then watched some of the prize ceremony before heading back to the big smoke with Cormac.
This was a great race, and a great social occasion This is likely my 5k PB for some time to come, and I'm over the moon with it! It was great to be part of an enjoyable race (as much as 5ks can be enjoyable), there were plenty of happy campers and lots of well deserved PBs/SBs 0 -
You are correct as usual. Thanks for the heads up! The good news is that the symptoms have been getting a good bit better, I'd call this morning's rise out of bed as "stiff" rather than "sore".
I did recently start running again on an old pair of Nike Free RNs which basically have no support, and that review mentions achilles pain. They might have triggered the woes. I think I'll throw them out!
Ha, not something I like being correct on, just a time of my running journey that has left me still paranoid about PF! I just know I didn't address it properly until way too long and the damage was done because it tended to get better with exercise, not worse like other injuries. Glad to hear it's improving, mind yourself.
I also came in say well done on Bob but I'm going to skip that first and confess I take issues with your comments on parkrun!! 🀔 If it's a course that's accurate it's no different to other 5ks. It's timed so the result is the same and if the field is good people can work together etc. I also know you pace at parkrun same as myself so more importantly it's easy to see first hand that people are working just as hard to get their targets. 5ks are horrendous wherever you do them Strava pbs though, yeah that's not a real thing
Anyway I'll get down off my soapbox and get to the well done at Bob part! Great time and great to see you in a good patch of form. Well deserved for your continued consistency.0 -
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I also came in say well done on Bob but I'm going to skip that first and confess I take issues with your comments on parkrun!! �� If it's a course that's accurate it's no different to other 5ks. It's timed so the result is the same and if the field is good people can work together etc. I also know you pace at parkrun same as myself so more importantly it's easy to see first hand that people are working just as hard to get their targets. 5ks are horrendous wherever you do them Strava pbs though, yeah that's not a real thing
I was being a little flippant and maybe a bit self-deprecating there
A 5k is a 5k, but I guess if you're going to train for and target a 5k, you should probably do a race rather than a parkrun. parkruns are that bit more casual and chances are you can squeeze out a marginally better time with most people going all out around you and the general race atmosphere. Chip timing probably helps a little bit too! I'm all about the marginal gains 0 -
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Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
20th May|3.7 miles|9:05|A short jog after work. A 1 day taper I guess
21st May|6.2 miles|?|Bob Heffernan 5k@18:07 including a warmup and cooldown. #pbfest2019
22nd May|10 miles|8:56|A commute home
23rd May|9.7 miles|9:03|Another commute home
24th May|6.6 miles|9:07|Working from home, so did an hour around the Swords Celtic football fields while my younger kid was playing ball
25th May|7 miles|?|To/from/and Rivervalley parkrun in 19:45. Finished 3rd with the usual top-3. Far from all-out but a decent effort. Delighted to be able to knock out a Rivervalley sub-20 without too much difficulty. Did a short cooldown with the other podium finishers, cut short due to having to get home quickly to accomodate other family activities.
26th May|13.8 miles|8:56|I was doing an NCT in Ballymun, so headed over to the Phoenix Park afterwards. I was a little hungover, but mostly enjoyed running around the park. After 10 miles or so I bumped into ultrawoman so did a few 24 pace laps with her and then split off. A highly enjoyable run!
Total: 57.2 miles - not bad given that it included a 5k PB and a sub-20 RV.
Next week: A Cru session (already done!) and maybe a parkrun?! Sunday might be grim - Champions League final the night before, and a 9 year old birthday party, so who knows.0 -
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Two weeks of not particularly great running because of worthwhile and anticipated distractions. Could have been worse I guess.
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
3rd June|10.7 miles|8:41|Bank holiday ramble around Malahide
4th June|8.1 miles|?|Cru session. 4 x (800 off 75, 400 off 60) - 2:52, 1:21, 2:51, 1:22, 2:55, 1:24, 2:54, 1:22. It wasn't awful.
5th June|10 miles|8:40|Commute
6th June|10.9 miles|8:44|Slightly longer commute via Kinsealy
7th June|10.1 miles|9:13|Early commute home 'cos heading down to Carlow for the evening...
8th June|5.2 miles|?|...the evening turned out to be a little more enjoyable than planned (insert beer emojis here), but I still managed to drag myself to Carlow Town parkrun. Not a huge crowd but as always a nice atmosphere and worthwhile showing up to. The course is an out-and-back along The Barrow, then over a bridge and a short loop around a small park. I ended up finishing 3rd in 20:46, but it felt like 18:46
9th June|0 miles|0|More not-running, this time due to Ride and The Cure the evening before...
Total: 55.2 miles
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
10th June|7.8 miles|8:26|Over in London for most of the week at a conference (and catching some gigs). I quickly found one of my usual routes along Regent's Canal, this time getting as far as Victoria Park.
11th June|4.7 miles|9:16|Just a few early miles along the same canal.
12th June|3.8 miles|9:10|A few more AM miles along the canal.
12th June|6.5 miles|?|And some more miles in the PM along the canal. Watch ran out of battery.
13th June|7.5 miles|8:36|An hour of running an hour after landing.
14th June|0 miles|0|Minding the kids alone for the day, was meant to get out during football practice but the rain got rid of that option.
15th June|11.1 miles|?|Malahide parkrun! My body was feeling rested from the relative lack of running, but also kind of destroyed after 5 nights on the beer in the proceeding 7 nights... bleh. I have come around to the fact that I need recent memories of hard running to run well, so I had low enough expectations going into this, but would see what happens. I'd forgotten my watch in work, so this was done blind (phone tracking the run in my pocket), however I very quickly started running at the business end with R from the club and A, a serial first female finisher. We worked together in the first mile, though when we crested the summit of Mount Pitch'n'Putt A pulled away and stayed there until the end. I kept up with R until around the 4th km when my recent lack of sharpness hit me hard. The conditions also weren't great, the ground was quite wet and slippy in places with soggy leaves hanging around some of the corners in the forest. I finished in 18:38, which up until not long ago would have been a PB, so still a respectful enough time. Also a 3rd place at Malahide! Presumably due to the Irish Runner 5 mile, but I'll take it.
16th June|13.8 miles|8:37|I cashed in some Father's Day credits to get out to The Phoenix Park for the club long run. I gave Crockmac a heads up, and met him on the way into the park. We ended up doing two hours, mostly on trails and grass, and had some good chats along the way. The pace was pretty sedate, though a load of folks just did shorter routes. Finished up meeting murph_d and annapr on the way up to the Visitor's Centre, had some more chats and then had some refreshments that went down very well. Didn't feel like I had just run for two hours, being off the roads is good from time to time!
Total: 55.4 miles
Next week: A fair bit of volunteering this week, handing out t-shirts/numbers etc. and then stewarding at the Docklands 5k on Thursday. I've also signed up for pacing on Malahide parkrun on Saturday. Hopefully will get in some running too.0 -
A fun week. I did my first ever yoga session on Monday, which was definitely very different than pilates, lots more mobility/stretching and a lot more hippy-esque The usual pilates was on Tuesday too, but after the session on Tuesday evening I had picked up a little niggle in my left leg. It started off in the bum region but seemed to work its way down. It's only slightly sore and tight, but definitely noticeable. I have a vague suspicion that it's related to the yoga and extra stretching.
Thursday involved a load of volunteering for the club, handing out t-shirts and race bibs on Thursday lunchtime (it was kinda slow and a bit boring, but got to get to know some more clubmates) and then I had a load of jobs while stewarding for the race as I was around the start area - setting up and taking down the starting gantry, getting people off the cycle track, setting up cones and putting tape between then, taking the tape back down, making sure runners weren't going to plough into a kerb at the 600m to go sign, collecting rubbish and t-shirts and finally moving some movable bins around. It was very well organised as ever and it's a very impressive thing to be part of. The race plan is an excellent read! The cherry on top was the grub and booze at the end. It was great to see a load of boardsies too.
Saturday was pacing 20 minutes at Malahide parkrun. I was quite anxious about this, even though I should be well capable of the pace. I slept badly, worrying numerous times that I had slept in. Once I got to Malahide I had no problem with the pace... even though I knew that the GPS would go haywire in the forest and add around 15-20 seconds I was still worried about not being under 20. Up until the 3rd km mark I was bang on track, but basically put in a couple of 3:50ish kms to finish.
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
17th June|10.2 miles|8:40ish|Commute, GPS went a bit weird at the start.
18th June|9.3 miles|?|Club session. With 200s and some generous standing recovery, this was always gonna be a bit fast... I over-did it at the start though, and the second half was tough. Session was 4 x (600, 400, 200 off 75, 60, 120 standing recovery). See the suffering right here: (2:03, 1:17, 36), (2:02, 1:19, 37), (2:04, 1:21, 38), (2:08, 1:24, 39)
19th June|9.1 miles|8:57|A slightly earlier commute than usual
20th June|9.1 miles|8:52|A morning commute to facilitate stewarding etc.
21st June|11.4 miles|9:05|A slightly longer commute than usual, to my sister-in-law's. Had to run through denis_b's forest in the valley to get to her estate, got a little lost along the way.
22nd June|10.1 miles|?|To, from and Malahide parkrun in 19:40
23rd June|10.7 miles|11:04|The older child was at Beaver camp, so I showed up 2 hours early to collect him and went exploring. I had no plan other than to run up a hill or two. I ended up on some pretty mediocre trails at the side of some forests which weren't great to run on, but ended up finding a way to Ticknock and took in some of that area before retracing my steps. Wasn't pushing myself at all, but it was nice to get out into the hills for a change.
Total: 70.2 miles
Next week: Can't make the club and more general busyness might put other running under threat! We'll see. Might give a parkrun a good go on Saturday as I'm off to Spain on Monday week.0 -
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Missed last week's update due to being busy with prep and travel to my, er, warm weather training camp. All of my runs over here in Barcelona have been done early enough in the morning, before breakfast and with just a glass of water before heading out. It's been about 25 degrees or so starting my runs. Hopefully hill, heat and fat burning adaptation will make up somewhat for the very slow pacesI missed a couple of days due to being busy with travelling and then a hangover followed by a trip down the coast to the beach. Running isn't a priority over here, but I'm trying not to lose *all* my fitness.
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
24th June|9.9 miles|8:52|A commute, I guess.
25th June|10.2 miles|8:26|Another one?
26th June|9.1 miles|8:55|Looks like a shorter one.
27th June|9.2 miles|8:47|Sunny morning commute.
28th June|9.1 miles|9:00|Last commute for a while
29th June|8.9 miles|?|Malahide parkrun. Decided to give it a good go as a marker so I can see how unfit I am when I get back from Barcelona. Went out aggressively, suffered in the middle but finished strong. Was running with and swapping places with a pair of lads who were also putting in good efforts, at the bottom of the final hill I had the energy to get past them and finish aggressively enough. Time was barely under 19 minutes though, lack of short-term quality running I reckon. I think I really am a "form" runner - days off and no sessions means I lose a lot of sharpness quickly.
30th June|13.8 miles|8:44|Squeezing in a late run to/from Portmarnock. Nice evening along the coast, listening to The Cure live from Glasto. They sounded better from Glasto then they did at Malahide, higher production values I guess.
Total: 70.4 miles
June total: 260 miles
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
2nd July|6.2 miles|9:42|Rambling around the lower parts of the hills above Gracia trying but failing to find a way up higher.
3rd July|6.5 miles|9:23|Run down to the port and back up again.
4th July|7.8 miles|9:29|Over to Sant Andreu's stadium, a football team who I inexplicably follow thanks to Football Manager 2011, and back to Gracia past Sagrada Familia.
5th July|10 miles|10:16|Up to the top of Tibidabo, the hill with the big tower and church overlooking Barcelona. The route provided by Google includes a gigantic staircase which is utterly exhausting to get up. Some great views at the top, if a little misty in the morning.
7th July|10 miles|9:57|Up the same route Tibidabo again. More mist and a lot more Sunday cyclists about I suffered a bit on this run, I mustn't have been as hydrated, and spent a lot of the run thinking about various liquids that I'd like to be consuming. It was a little later in the morning too which probably didn't help. I wore a kind of tight sleeveless running top, and have a strange rash on my chest right now which according to Dr. Google is probably a heat rash.
Total: 40.7 miles
Next week: More of the same - early morning running with some hills thrown in. Montjuic and the seafront look like classic running routes that I should tick off. Not really pushed on doing anything of quality, other than running up hills. 50 miles would be nice, as would finding a better route to get up Tibidabo that doesn't involve those damn stairs.0 -
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