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The 'I just ran 5km, is anything (eek!) possible now?' log
Comments
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42 days until Lisbon
22.5km, duration: 2:47:13, avg pace: 7:26min/km
Splits: 7:36, 7:17, 7:13, 7:21, 7:21, 7:22, 7:29, 7:17, 7:31, 7:33, 7:12, 7:36, 7:23, 7:38, 7:16, 7:38, 7:31, 7:20, 7:31, 7:16, 7:19 7:37, 7:43 (0.5)
Longest run to date planned and I must admit I was a little worried about it before heading out. Two weeks ago I did 16km as my first long run after the half marathon and it was tough and I struggled through. Last weekend was 20km and I found the last 3km or so tough going again so knowing that I had to another 2.5km on top of that - i didn't know how I would go.
The weather couldn't have been much of a bigger contrast to yesterday morning - calm and even a little bit sunny. Almost perfect running weather. I headed out at 7am with Cooper as my only company and the plan was to a smaller loop of 9km with him and then drop him at home and do a bigger loop to bring it up to 22.5k. This helped mentally I think it break the run into two smaller runs.
Cooper ran pretty well for me throughout, except for a brief moment at around 3 1/2km when he had a brain fart and decided to try and gallop ahead and again at about 8km where he saw a cat ahead - intervals were not part of the plan!
Got home feeling really comfortable on the first lap and grabbed my water with High5 Zero tablet in it and flipbelt with phone, had a quick toilet stop and was back out the door. In the couple of minutes I'd been inside, it had clouded over and it felt like rain was threatening. Fortunately it stayed away except for a brief misty shower with about 2km to go which was appreciated.
Heading out on the second longer lap I was feeling really comfortable, but wasn't too sure about what sort of pace I'd been doing with Cooper as my Polar doesn't take into account the stopping & starting that happens when I run with Cooper so the avg pace was up around 8:15min/km I think. I've learnt that I can take at least 30sec/km off that to get a more accurate idea and the first couple of km after dropping him off were around 7:30min/km, right on target so I was delighted with that as I was feeling strong. As i knew I was going to be doing 22.5km and that it would take me close to 3hrs, I decided to take a gel with me and I had that at around the 13km mark. It's also the first time I have taken a whole gel at once (normally i have half and then the second half further on) and I had no ill effects from taking it all at once (except getting sticky fingers!) From km 13 I was on new territory and it was a very pleasent country boreen. Turning back onto a busier road at 16km I was still feeling really strong and comfortable, splits still being pretty consistent. It was at this stage I started to think that I'd actually make the whole 22.5km. Kms 17 & 18 pass and no sign of the struggle that was there last weekend. From km 19 I was back of familiar territory of roads that I have run before and I knew I had just 1km to go before I turned back onto the main road to the village. Before I knew it, I was crossing the bridge and running up the little hill into the village, delighted with myself as it was just a cruise to home from there.
Got home and did some stretches outside and then headed in to have my choc milk only to discover it was out of date
I had done a big shop Thurs week ago due to the Fleadh being on and not wanting to deal with traffic and trying to get a park (although by all accounts it's actually been quieter than normal and easy to get parking - probably because everyone was thinking the same as me!). So i picked up two chocolate milks when I went shopping, obviously not looking at the dates on them Luckily I had some delicious scottish yoghurt in the fridge so i had that instead to get my protein fix.
I don't know if it was the more consistent pace & slightly slower pace in the first 9km (about 2min slower than last weekend), or the gel at 13km or just that my endurance is improving (most likely a combination of all) but this run just felt so good throughout and I didn't struggle at any point or really have to push myself mentally to keep going. A real confidence boost that's for sure.
Total for the week: 52.25km...highest weekly mileage to date
Oh and i got my parkrun time through while i was typing this...44:10...that'll be my easiest parkrun time ever to bet
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40 days until Lisbon
7km
Well tonight's run didn't go quite as planned Headed up to the woods after work with Cooper and my neighbour and we were having a very enjoyable run. Decided to add on an extra loop of about 1.5km before heading back to the car. As it was late and we were in a part of the woods where there aren't ever many people I decided to let Cooper off the lead to have a bit more of a run. He fell a bit behind us at one point where he went to explore something and the came galloping up behind and between us and off he continued until the next time he fell behind again and then decided to come galloping up again. This time my neighbour and I seperated to give Cooper more room to run between us, however Cooper had other ideas and tried to go around me, right as I was moving to the side of the trail and he crashed straight into me, knocking me over It was a very rough, gravelly trail and my leg and hand took the fall. My leg is fine thankfully - rather cut up with gravel rash and I'll have a fantastic bruise in a few days. My hand is rather sore however. A good few years ago I fell off a horse and damaged ligaments in my thumb and ended up in plaster for three weeks. It's the same thumb i have hurt, however I think it's just a sprain or good bang rather than ligament damage and even if it was, thankfully that won't stop me from running.
It did end up being a rather expensive run however as my pants have a big hole in them and Cooper's harness got broken so he needs a new one now.
Once we got back onto the main road through the woods, I was able run the 2km back to the car with no pain in my leg, although I did feel like i was working a lot harder than I felt like I was going. I stopped my watch after I fell down and didn't restart it so I don't know what that pace was like.
I'm meant to be doing some hill sprints in the morning but I'll just wait and see how stiff I feel in the morning.
Total distance for the week: 11km0 -
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Hope you are feeling better this morning Mel and not too sore.
Thanks Gypsylee, not too sore at all thankfully
39 days until Lisbon
4km
Not a great run this morning and in all honesty, probably shouldn't have gone. I did wake several times through the night, thinking I wouldn't go, but when it came to it, I was up and out.
I was running with my neighbour again and for a few weeks she has been asking me to do some hill sprints, however I've wisely taken the advice offered on here and have only been doing one fast session a week. I know she's been wanting to do them though, so I offered on the weekend to do hill sprints instead of the normal tempo run today.
Started off with just over a 1k warm up and that was fine, no pain from my leg or anything. Came to the first rep and found it tough going, second rep was disaster, didn't even make it up the hill (and it's a small hill). There was just nothing in the legs, 3rd rep same, 4th rep think I walked it all. Managed to run most of the 1km home very slowly. I had done this session in my last block of training where i managed 7 reps of the hill, running them all. Even though it wasn't a good run, I wasn't upset or feeling demoralised like i was when I had the bad run in the training for Killarney. I just haven't done a lot of those sorts of intervals in a while and the legs would have still been tired from Sundays long run, plus having fallen over yesterday I'm sure didn't help. Even if I had tried a tempo run this morning instead I think I would have struggled with it. This week is a mini step back week as well so no harm that a bad run happened this week.
Rest day tomorrow
Total for the week: 15km0 -
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36 days until Lisbon
8km, duration: 56:44 avg pace: 7:05min/km
Splits: 7:21, 7:03, 7:21, 7:04, 6:53, 7:10, 6:51, 7:04
Headed out after work this afternoon with Cooper. It was surprisingly warm and humid, but we also got rained on. It seemed to take a couple of kms again to get the legs feeling well, however otherwise the run was unadventful. This is the same loop I ran yesterday, but I ran it in the opposite direction...interesting to see that my times were almost identical.
I posted in the equipment subforum this morning looking for recommendations for a pair of shoes similiar to the Sauconys that I am wearing at the moment as these have developed a hole in them on the left foot and one is close to happening on the right. I've had them exactly 2months and have only done 360km in them, so for €140 I am "not happy Jan" (For those you who don't get the reference, here you go...
A classic Aussie commerical
Here is a pic of my shoe
I have actually just onto saucony UK & Ireland and they have said to take them back to the shop, so I'll contact the shop and see if they can do anything before I go buying a new pair. Not really what I want happening just 5 weeks before Lisbon given how long it took me to feel comfortable in this pair, but at least I know now to wear skinny socks and to make sure I don't lace them up too tight.
Long run tomorrow, but it's only a short one as this week is a mini step back week.
total for the week: 31km0 -
35 days until Lisbon
13km, duration 1:38:17, avg pace: 7:33min/km
Splits: 7:03, 7:19, 7:32, 8:05, 8:18, 8:07, 6:59, 7:20, 7:47, 7:20, 7:20, 7:31, 7:34
What a beautiful morning for a run, warm and sunny and I had a little sleep in as we weren't going until 8am. It's a rare Sunday morning that I get to have a sleep in, but regardless of the weather or the time I always seem to jump out of bed raring to go for these long runs.
Three of us headed out this morning and I fell behind quite quickly as the pace was too fast for what I should be doing for my long runs. I haven't run this route since training for Killarney as it has some good hills in it so they slowed me down further but by 5.5km I had caught up with my neighbour and we ran the rest of it together. At one point she was a few meters in front of me and turned and said 'are you ok?', to which i replied 'yep, just cruising along' which is exactly how i felt
Only 5 weeks to go until Lisbon
Total for the week: 43km0 -
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32 days until Lisbon
I think this week could be called 'not feeling the love'
Mon night - skipped recovery run
Tues night - felt like I wanted a run, but didn't at the same time. What I think I figured out was that I didn't feel like running with Cooper, with the constant stop/starting - it can get frustrating sometimes. But he needed a walk and I needed a run, so off we went. It was one of those where you tell yourself to put the shoes on, get out the door and run a mile. If you still feel like crap, turn home and at least you have run two. I think Cooper and I managed about 4km before he stopped one too many times for me and I just didn't/couldn't start running again. Ended up walking the last couple of kms home. Avg pace around 7:48 I think.
Wed
Had an early morning run scheduled with my neighbour, but she sent me a message to cancel so I ended up staying in bed as well. Wed is meant to be my fast run, so when I got home I decided to leave Cooper at home, which is not something I do very often, especially in the evenings. I got through the first 4km okish, really not feeling the love, but managing. I think if the route had been all in one direction or a loop I might have managed it. I got to 4km which was my turn around point and headed back. I could feel myself slowing but I kept trying to push it, however just after 5km I stopped. Literally just stopped. Stood there for a minute or two maybe then started again. However it was real stop start for the next km. I just felt like I was running through treacle. One thing I have always felt I had was determination and a bit of stubborness and I never walked. Until the past two days. Again, I ended up walking the last 2kms home. Avg pace for first 5km around 6:38 so it wasn't even slow.
I wouldn't say I'm feeling tired and I feel (sort of) like I want to run (ok, I admit to getting home from work and just wanting to sit on the couch and veg
) but I'm just amazed my long run almost 2 weeks ago and even the one Sunday just gone felt so good and these runs just feel like utter ****e and like I can't do anything Tomorrow is a rest day and I think I'll take Fri as well. Maybe going to 6 runs a week was too much or maybe it's just a bad week, I don't know. Any ideas on how to approach the last month of training would be great.
Total for the week: 9km0 -
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I think if I was you I'd drop the 6th run for a start. That's a lot for a HM schedule (especially your second) and when you're struggling it's good to have a couple of definite rest days to look forward to. There's only 4 1/2 weeks to go to the race anyway so it won't make a huge difference to your target there.
I think it's harder to get out as the evening get shorter, if you get home from work and it's not long till dusk the sofa looks very inviting
. Might be part of it. And you've had a long stretch of consistent running without any proper break I think.
If you scale things down officially it might be easier to HTFU and kick yourself out for the scheduled days. Though I don't agree about the fartlek!0 -
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Yep +1 to the above, 5 days is plenty and don't be so hard on yourself either, as the others have said you've been so consistent in your training. Are there step back weeks built into the plan do you know? Its good to have a low mileage/no fast runs week every 4th week or so in a plan. Days, or weeks like this are fairly normal, we all get them, you'll find a way out 0
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Maximus Alexander wrote: »Ah Mel you've come so far and been so consistent, don't let it slide now! There are always tough weeks and I don't think we can love every run, all the time. But if there's nothing physically wrong then, to bring out the tough love, I think you just need to HTFU and push through it because if you don't I think you'll end up regretting it. Maybe try a bit of fartlek or something for a bit of fun and try running on some new routes to see if you can snap out of the lull?
Thanks Max Maybe it is just a case of HTFU. Unfortunately where i live I don't have a great number of routes to choose from, especially for the shorter runs. I might take my gear with me to work and do a lunch time or after work run to get some variety. It's definitely a factor when you're running the same 2 - 3 routes all the time (i notice this when walking Cooper as well as he acts up when walking on the roads around here but not if we go somewhere new...I think we're both bored!)hillsiderunner wrote: »I think if I was you I'd drop the 6th run for a start. That's a lot for a HM schedule (especially your second) and when you're struggling it's good to have a couple of definite rest days to look forward to. There's only 4 1/2 weeks to go to the race anyway so it won't make a huge difference to your target there.
I think it's harder to get out as the evening get shorter, if you get home from work and it's not long till dusk the sofa looks very inviting. Might be part of it. And you've had a long stretch of consistent running without any proper break I think.
If you scale things down officially it might be easier to HTFU and kick yourself out for the scheduled days. Though I don't agree about the fartlek!
Thanks, yes I will drop the 6th run, just a question of which one/day to drop now. Maybe keep the recovery run and drop one of the other runs instead. I have had a long stretch of running, you're right, pretty much since Feb without any real break. Unfortunately I can't yet use the shorter evenings as an excuse as I'm normally home from work by 5.30 so plenty of time still to get out.Yep +1 to the above, 5 days is plenty and don't be so hard on yourself either, as the others have said you've been so consistent in your training. Are there step back weeks built into the plan do you know? Its good to have a low mileage/no fast runs week every 4th week or so in a plan. Days, or weeks like this are fairly normal, we all get them, you'll find a way out
Thanks Firedance. I'm not following any plan at the moment - i couldn't find one that was suitable with only 10 weeks between the two half marathons. I'm sure there's one out there, I just couldn't find it. So I've just been trying to do a long run increasing the distance, a fast run and then easy runs for the other days. Last week was a step back week in terms of distance for the long run, however the other runs were basically the same as all the other weeks (although I tried some hill sprints instead of a fast run and that run wasn't great too), so maybe i should have cut it back more. Good to hear though that it's normal and hopefully I'll be back on track soon.0 -
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28 days until Lisbon
Thanks for the advice and support, it is much appreciated
So i took Thurs & Fri as rest days and then went for a short run yesterday and long run today.
Sat 3rd Sept
5km, approx 38min, around 7:35min/km
I finished work at 3 yesterday so had my running stuff with me so i decided to head out from there, rather than going home first. While it had rained for a good part of the morning, it was dry, warm and very humid when I went. I discovered I had left my watch at home, which probably wasn't a bad thing, so I did a route that I knew was 5km, with the option to add more to it if i wanted.
I still felt rather sluggish, especially for the first few kms, but started to feel better towards the end. Thankfully the lack of energy and desire to just stop wasn't there today. The temptation to add on an extra km or two was there, but with my long run planned for tomorrow I played it easy and just stuck to the 5km. Which I was rather glad as less than 20min later there was torrential downpour.
Sunday 4th Sept
24km, 3:09:13, avg pace: 7:54min/km
Splits: 8:06, 7:43, 8:05, 8:18, 8:17
8:09, 7:58, 7:26, 7:36, 7:58
7:33, 7:50, 7:42, 7:58, 7:34
7:54, 7:51, 7:39, 8:02, 7:42
8:03, 7:58, 8:10, 8:14
Yesterdays run had gone ok, but I still wasn't sure how this was going to go. I had an almost identical route planned to the one I had done 2 weeks ago which is a shorter loop and then a larger one. I was meant to have company for the 2nd loop, however I got a message last night that the girl who was going to run with me was at a party (which I knew she was going to) and that they had already progressed from the bubbly to brandy and it was only 9.30 :eek: and she wasn't sure if she'd make it in the morning. Not surprisingly she didn't! I took Cooper out with me for the first loop of 9km and we just took it easy and I got through it feeling ok again. Arrived home and gave Cooper some food, grabbed my water, flipbelt with phone & gel, changed my top from a long sleeve one to short sleeve and headed off again.
It was harder work today than when I had done it two weeks ago and kms 19 - 21 especially where a struggle both mentally and physically as I was feeling tired and I'd been been hungry from km 17 as well. At km 20 I had a decision to make on the route - I could go one way and do 22.5k or the way I'd planned and get to the 24 which was my goal. I took the turn for the 24km route, thinking of a friend I went to school with who on Saturday had completed the Surf Coast Century http://rapidascent.com.au/SurfcoastCentury/, a 100km trail run which took her just over 15hrs :eek:. I was thinking if she could do that, I could manage a quarter of the distance. And I did, even if I had to run up and down past my house a few times to get the watch to tick over to 24km (and now I'm gutted to discover that Strava has recorded the distance as 23.9km :mad:) My legs felt pretty wobbly when I stopped, so I did what a lot of the novices also did this weekend and laid down with my legs up for a few minutes. I had actually read about this strategy after the Killarney half as the reason for doing it seemed to fit pretty much with why I felt like I was going to faint and / or throw up a few minutes after finishing it. http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/training/why-runners-get-dizzy-after-racing/14195.html?utm_content=buffer14639&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Followed it up with a quick facetime to my neice in Australia who was 2 today and then a shower and foam rolling while chatting to my parents in Australia wishing dad a happy fathers dad. Felt like i could move a lot better after all of that.
The avg pace was about 30sec/km slower than the last time I ran this route, but overall I'm just so happy to have got it done and hopefully those bad runs are a thing of the past (for the next 4 weeks anyway). There's no harm in going slower on my long run anyway:o
total for the week: 38km0 -
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23 days until Lisbon
8.1km, 1:02:22, avg pace: 7:38
Splits: 7:21, 7:51, 7:41, 7:06, 8:18, 8:15, 7:41, 7:03
New shoes finally sorted - about time! Let's just hope there's enough time before Lisbon now to break them in. I rang the shop (again) to find out what the story was. I was told that they had emailed me and called & left a message on Wed for me, neither of which i got. They guy then said he'd been talking to the Brooks rep and I told him my shoes were Saucony. Oh yeah, he said the Saucony rep and apparently the shoes were faulty as there was a toe buffer missing and that's why i had gotten holes in them. Honestly, I'm not 100% sure they guy in the shop had the right girl & shoes but anyway :rolleyes: So off I headed to get a new pair. I'd never been happy with the Guides and I told him that and that it had taken me a long time to break them in. After measuring my foot and looking at the shoes, he also agreed that he thought they were too small for me. Apparently the Sauconys have a low toe box and if they are a bit small and / or you run with your big toe up, you're likely to wear a hole in the top of shoe much sooner than you would otherwise. I ended up trying on a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 12s in a size UK8.5 and pair of Saucony Omni's in a size 8.5 or 9 (I can't remember). From the analysis there was very little in it, so it came down to comfort and how they felt so I went with Mizunos in the end. Even going up a size in the Sauconys I felt I was going to go through the top of them again. The Sauconys were a nicer colour though:o
So with my shiny new shoes and Cooper who had been waiting very patiently in the car I headed down to Rinville Park to try them out. It was my first time in Rinville Park and I really enjoyed the run there - legs again feeling really good. There is a parkrun that has recently started there and its a great spot for one - that hill though would make it tough for a good time (well for me anyway). Cooper ran well for me tonight, even with all the other dogs around. 8kms done and no major issues with the shoes so fingers crossed.
I've also finally managed to sort out a sports massage for a few days before the race in Lisbon. I'm looking forward to the trip - both getting some sunshine and the run!
Total for the week: 19.1km0 -
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22 days until Lisbon
9.5km, duration: 1:12:20, avg pace: 7:35
Splits: 6:57, 6:59, 7:39, 8:08, 7:40, 7:41, 7:31, 8:28, 7:25, 7:05 (0.5)
I finished work at 3 and had my running gear with me so I decided to go from there, rather than heading home. I ended up running from work to Lee's Rd and did a few of the trails and then back to work. At times it felt like the effort wasn't matching the paces I was seeing (ie/ I felt like I was working a lot harder than the pace was saying) - I'm just hoping it was the tree coverage in the woods that affected the GPS. One km towards the end is very slow but that's because I actually ended up walking a little bit - I decided to take this trail i hadn't been on before and it was rather narrow, downhill and with a lot of rocks sticking out. The trail can't be well used as it was rather hard to follow but I eventually made it back to the path I won't be doing that little diversion again :pac: My feet seemed ok in the my new shoes as well so fingers crossed.
Long run planned for tomorrow and I've got company for all of it which will be great.
Total for the week: 28.6km0 -
21 days until Lisbon
20.7km, duration: 2:35:14, avg pace: 7:29
Splits: 7:30, 7:08, 7:18, 7:27, 7:38
7:30, 7:38, 7:18, 7:34, 7:14
7:32, 7:30, 7:41, 7:37, 7:30
7:22, 7:35, 7:21, 7:19, 7:45, 7:54 (0.7)
I headed out just after 7.30 with a friend for this mornings long run. This was to be her longest run since the Sonny Murphy in April and the longest she had ran recently was 11km with me a few weeks ago so it was going to be a challenge. She's a lot faster than me though so I knew that she'd be well able for it running at my slow long run pace. And if the worst came to the worst, we had an option of shortening the route to just under 10miles. I was also wearing my new shoes and didn't know how they'd go so it could well be me needing to take the shorter route.
We started out running part of the Sonny Murphy route but in the reverse direction which I'd never done. I also find that stretch of road past Ballyporty castle a long slog but we chatted away which helped pass the kms. After almost 7kms we turned right, off the sonny murphy route and onto a road that neither of us had run before. It was lovely though and had a nice little downhill section which we enjoyed. After about 2kms we reached the end of the road and turned right, heading back towards Corofin. The kms were still passing easily and we were both happy to reach 10km. She pointed out to me a road that leads up to a lake that I didn't know about it - taking the short route it would be about 5k each way to the lake so that's a walk I'll have to do with Cooper one weekend. As we continued and got closer to our next turn, there were some cows on the road. We couldn't see a farmer so weren't sure if they had escaped. The last cow in particular was in no hurry as we got closer and closer to her and we were already slowing down a lot to stay behind them. I was dreading thinking of maybe having to try and run past them. Fortunately as we went round a bend there was the farmer, directing the cows into the field. This was also the intersection where we could opt for the shorter route but there wasn't even a bit of discussion about it which I took as a good sign.
The next section is the same route I have ran for the past few weeks so I'm well used to it now. There are a few small hills but nothing major and we were still tipping away at a good pace and i was feeling really comfortable. Back onto a busier road and we had to run single file for a lot of it due to the bends and the wind making to difficult to hear if cars were coming. At one point I had to pull right into some bushes and I think I scratched my leg just near the ankle as there was a stinging sensation there for a good bit afterwards. I stopped quickly to have a look but couldn't see anything.Once again I started to feel starving at km 17 so my breakfast of porridge obviously isn't enough. The last few kms coming back into the village my running buddy was starting to feel it and was finding it tough but she kept going and the pace really didn't drop until the last km. I asked her is she wanted to stop when we hit 20kms but she said no, keep going. I was impressed with that as I'm sure I would have stopped and walked the last bit home, calling it a 'cool down'
We reached my place with 20.7km done which we were both delighted with - me at the pace I managed throughout and her for getting through the distance. Just as I got home my phone beeped with an email - it was Aer lingus telling me trip to Lisbon will be here before I know it - and don't I know it! Three weeks from now I'll be out on the course again
My feet held up really well with the new shoes so I'm happy with that. When I got into the shower afterwards I got a stinging sensation on my back. Cue contortions with the camera afterwards to try and see what it was. I think somewhere around clasp of my running bra has chafed the skin. I didn't feel anything while running, but I do have some anti-chaf cream so I'll try putting that in the spot for my next long run and see how I go.
Total for the week: 49.3km0 -
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Maximus Alexander wrote: »That dog of yours sounds like a right rascal.
He has his moments Here's a photo my house-sitters took for me while I was away last time. I wouldn't trade him for the world though.
20 days until Lisbon
4km, duration 32:08, avg pace 7:58min/km
Easy recovery run. This was planned for this morning before work but it was raining so I bailed. I headed out instead this evening with Cooper and we had a lovely relaxed short run. I found it interesting that my legs felt stiffer after yesterday's long run but really good tonight, whereas after last weekends long run (which was 4km longer) my legs felt pretty good on Sunday, but were rather stiff and running was rather unco for the start of the recovery run on Monday
They've posted on facebook the top for the Lisbon half. There are 16,000 registered so far for the half (capped at 17000) and almost 7000 for the full, 6000 of which are international entries apparently which I thought was interesting.
Total for the week: 4km0 -
18 days until Lisbon
12.2km, duration 1:27:14, avg pace 7:06min/km
Splits: 7:02, 7:10, 7:08, 7:17, 7:02, 6:46, 7:09, 7:03, 7:11, 7:09, 7:06
I squeezed this run in after work before Pilates in Ennis. I'm really happy with how this run went, I think I managed to keep my splits pretty even throughout (small blip for the up & down hill on the bypass). The traffic light gods were with me (or is that against me :P)... coming up to around 8.5km there was the first set of lights and I was dying to just have a quick rest while I waited for the green man. Just my luck then as I got to the lights the green man appeared out of nowhere. Continued on, next set of lights closer to 11kms, exact same thing. No rest for the wicked tonight
Then it was the first night back at Pilates after a little break for Aug. My whole body felt like jelly afterwards
Total for the week: 16.2km0 -
10 days until Lisbon
Argghh, time gets away from you if you're not careful!
Friday 16th Sept
7km, 52:56, avg pace 7:31min/km
This was meant to be an early morning run with my neighbour, however for the first time all summer one of us (not me!) slept through their alarm. Cooper and I were out at 6:30 ready and waiting and no sign of her. We're both always really prompt and on time so I waited 5min and then headed off, figuring if she was running late she'd catch up to Cooper and I. However that didn't happen so it was just Cooper and I. The mornings are getting lighter a lot later now I actually had to dig out the high viz and put a flashing light hanging off Cooper's collar.
Saturday 17th Sept
7.3km, 56:43, avg pace 7:46
I headed up to Coole park with Cooper after work on Saturday afternoon for this one. We had an enjoyable run, even if I didn't know where I was going at the end and looked like a bit of an idiot running through the walled garden.
Sunday 18th Sept
First long run I have bailed on all summer I think. With the early morning rain I decided to hold off as it was forecasted to clear and by around lunch time it had. However because of the rain I had to re-think my plan and route as I'd normally do my long run early and then walk Cooper later in the day. So i decided to do two loops, one around 9km with Cooper and a longer one then by myself. Cooper and I left at around 1.30 but only managed 3km. I was up for it, however Cooper wasn't interested. It was rather humid and surprisingly warm after all the rain and he just didn't want to run and I didn't want to drag him around. So we settled on walking the 9km which ended up taking around 1hr 40min, so it was not even fast walking! By the time I got home, the last thing I wanted to do was go out and run for 2 1/2 hrs. Hopefully it won't have too much of an affect - I don't think it should. Since Killarney in July I have done 2 x 20km, 1 x 22.5 and 1 x 24 which is a lot more than I had done for Killarney where my longest run was 20km.
Monday 19th Sept
8km, 53:19, 6:43min/km
This was scheduled to be a recovery run, but there was nothing to recover from so it ended up being a faster early morning run with my neighbour (and no Cooper this time). I got around ok, but it probably didn't feel as easy as it maybe should have.
Wed 21st Sept
This was meant to be a run & pilates night and I had taken my gear to work to go for a run straight afterwards before heading to pilates. I go to get changed and discover that I'd left my long pants at home. There was no way I was doing pilates in my short pants so I decided to just head home instead. I was feeling rather tired as it was, so when I got home I decided to take Cooper out on the bike instead as it was a bit cooler than other days had been. I have a walky dog attachment for the side of the bike which means he can run alongside it safely. It's always an exercise in concentration though as he's so strong if he wants to stop at something he can actually make the bike stop or change direction. Fortunately he's less distracted when we're using the walky dog so I can normally keep him going. We did 5km which doesn't sound like much, but Cooper is running faster with that than when he runs with me so it's a pretty good workout for him. I'd like to build him up to doing some more distance with it and also get properly into bikejoring with him over the winter (if I can overcome my fears with that one!). I have a road bike and a hybrid that I'm using with him at the moment - when the bike to work starts up in my workplace again in Jan I'll be getting a proper mountain bike to use with him.
Thursday 22nd
6km, 43:29, avg pace 7:13min/km
Short run after work with Cooper. He actually ran pretty well for the entire run with me which was nice. Maybe yesterday with the bike made him realise he doesn't need to stop and sniff every tree! I'm happy enough to see that avg pace, because it seemed anytime I looked at my watch the pace was up around 8:00min/km and I felt like I was working a lot harder than that.
I have another early morning run planned for tomorrow morning with Cooper and my neighbour and then a short run Saturday. The plan at the moment is to do around 14km on Sunday, however the forecast for the early morning doesn't look great. I hate running in the run, but more to the point is that I'd be struggling to get my shoes and gear dry before leaving for the airport. So if it is wet I think I'll postpone that run until Monday morning in Lisbon. I think that will be ok as I still have a week and apart from that run will only do 1 or 2 very short runs during the week in Lisbon. The forecast for Sun 2nd is looking okish at the moment - all week next week is mid to high 20's, however sunday is looking at around 20 degrees, so fingers crossed it doesn't get any warmer. The half doesn't start until 10.30 which is pretty late, especially if it's going to be warm and you're like me where it's going to take the guts of 2 1/2hrs to complete it. I really don't want to be running & baking in the sun!
Distance since last update: 31km0 -
8 days until Lisbon
Fri 23rd
8km, 57:28 avg pace 7:10
Splits: 7:38, 7:11, 7:21, 7:09, 7:19, 7:10, 6:47, 6:41
Another early morning run with my neighbour and Cooper. We were out before the sun and were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise. This run ended up nearly being a progression run without intending to do it that way. Felt comfortable throughout although Cooper acted up at one point, trying to jump up on me which was very frustrating.
Saturday 24th
5km, 36:01, avg pace 7:10
Splits: 7:05, 7:24, 7:20, 6:55, 7:08
Fair play to anyone running the DCHM this morning. If the conditions in Dublin were anything like they were in Clare it wouldn't have been fun. Fortunately I was working all day, so the rain had well and truly stopped by the time I got home (or so I thought). Took Cooper out with me for a short run and we got absolutely drenched on the way home Other than that it was unremarkable and Cooper ran well for the entire run which was nice.
Still planning on a early morning run tomorrow weather depending then it's off to the airport for a week of sunshine
Total distance: 13km0 -
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5 days until lisbon
4km, 30:28, avg pace 7:25 in/km
Splits: 7:25, 7:15, 7:27, 7:28
Out at 9am this morning & already a lot hotter than yesterday. No cloud in the sky today and very little breeze as well so i was thankful it was just a short one.
I suspect i got a tad sunburnt while waiting over an hour and a half to climb the 92 steps to the top of Belem tower (hint:it's not worth a wait that long - just admire it from the outside and save yourself the time). I think it will be ok by sunday though as long as i remember to slip slop slap tomorrow as its meant to be even hotter (today was 30). I had my massage also through www.gfd.pt also in Belem, which after some initial confusion (who would of ever though 'legs' could sound like 'wax' as i thought that's what she said i was there for and i'm going 'no massage', trying to do a gesture:o:) went well. She told me i 'really' need to do a few minutes of foam rolling everyday so i guess that will be added to the agenda when i get home.
Beach day tomorrow - maybe some cold water therapy will also help then planning to do some strides thurs morning and that will be it until Sunday!
Total for the week: 17.5km0 -
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2 days to go
I collected my race pack yesterday and visited the expo, not that there was much to see. I was on the look out for a hat - i have a black one, but i wanted a white one, given that its meant to be warm. However i have a very small head - something i remember from days taboggoning when everyone else was wearing adult helmets and i needed a kids one, plus also my graduation cap was the smallest size you can get. Needless to say, even with the hats adjusted to the smallest setting they were still too big. Somehow my black one just manages to fit by forming a big loop at the back so some fuzzy velcro can meet the other velcro. And while my head might be small, its not so for the rest of me: I collected my t-shirt and tried on the ladies xl - nope, no good, i'd never wear it. So i try on the mens xl (which really, was a bit of a stupid idea!) and of course it swum on me. By this stage, the guy handing out the shirts wasn't about to open a 3rd one for me to try so i took a large and hoped for the best. It's wearable, if a bit too long.
The goody bag was non-existant. Just a magazine advertising marathons and a bag for it to go in. Not even safety pins for my number (although thinking about it, 20000+ safety pins would be a lot of saftey pins!) or a map of the course or anything. This sent me on a mission to find safety pins which thankfully i did, surprisingly easily.
I didn't get out yesterday for a short run but did this morning. However things didn't go to plan. After a short warm up i started some strides and immediately i had a bad pain in my hip area. I always have some level of discomfort there but its normally not noticeable while running - i normally notice it while walking and doing things like stretching my leg to get in & out of the car. I managed to get a few sets in and other than the pain felt very comcortable doing them. I cut the last one short as it was getting sharper and slowly made my way back to my hostel. The pain was still there but not as bad as when i was going faster. I got some extra strong nurofen and spent more time in the water at the beach again today (the water is freezing by the way!) and by tonight i was only noticing the pain as i was walking up stairs. So fingers crossed by Sunday its back to its usual level.
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