Man! I feel like a runner
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Catching up. Good luck with the moving. Going through that process also at the moment, plenty of stress! Plenty of time for running to get back on track, best to concentrate on all that ‘life stuff’ first. What do you think 2024 will look like?
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11 - 17th Sept
Mon 11th - Cycled to the office, had intended on cycling home again but had a last minute meeting in Dun Laoghaire and an offer of a lift home from there - hard to say no when it was raining too.
Tues 12th - easy evening miles around Marlay, don't remember a whole lot about this run. 4.5 miles at 10.03/m.
Weds 13th - short evening miles trying to add in a 5th day running, 3.3 miles at 9.33/m. Had a 'steady' mile of about 8.35 in there to break up the week!
Thurs 14th - Out again in the evening, last Marlay run for a few weeks probably. 5.1 miles at 9.48/m. Felt great for this, park was weirdly empty.
Fri 15th - Nothing except the stress of moving out of the apartment! cuts and bruises all over my arms 😅
Sat 16th - Staying with my sister northside for a couple of weeks, so headed to Donabate parkrun with her. Easy mile jog over, and the intention was to run parkrun easy as she was doing the Griffith mile yesterday. Had to keep reminding her to ease up, but with 150 to go I couldn't resist trying to lose her 😆 just about managed it! another few easy miles to bring us to 7 for the morning, my avg pace 9.36/m.
Sun 17th - Had plans for the day, so out early and ran over to Portrane in the rain. 6.2 miles at 9.54/m avg. Enjoyable.
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Good woman V, keeping it ticking over despite a stressful/busy time with house moves. Hope it all works out.
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Nice part of Dublin, enjoy the new routes!
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18th - 24th Sept
Mon 18th - Nothing
Tues 19th - Lunch run (figure these are the best option given my current train commute to the office - very hard to get yourself back out the door in the evening). 4.4 miles at 9.41/m.
Weds 20th - had considered a shorter lunch run but work got in the way.
Thurs 21st - out at lunch. Had remembered the previous evening that running along the Dodder towards Irishtown would be a much nicer route so that's what I did. 4.7 miles at 9.38/m, was lovely. Need to figure how to stretch the loop to 5 miles.
Fri 22nd - nothing. Kept forgetting I was due to run the Dublin HM all week, and only got my stuff together about 10pm the Friday night!
Sat 23rd - Dublin HM. The goal for this was to run comfortably and just get the miles in. Hadn't run past 8 miles since early July and even then that was only on one occasion. The morning started wonderfully with a deflated car tyre and the realisation I had no safety pins for my race number - got both sorted thankfully! Parked just outside the Phoenix Park on the castleknock side and jogged to meet the clubmates, but then didn't bother with more of a warm-up. One of my brothers appeared beside me while I was chatting to clubmates, can go nowhere.
Anyway, took off a little faster than expected thanks to the crowds around me (and I probably started a little far up tbh), but overall kept it feeling mostly comfortable. Took a gel at halfway, only bothered with 2 of the water stations I think but did happily stop quickly for the lucozade at mile 9 or whenever it was. I could feel the lack of miles in my legs around then, quads and hip flexors weren't loving it. Then after the last climb coming up to 11 miles, my bone-bruised knee started to complain ever so slightly, but no harm done. Stretched the legs the last 350m or so I actually think was good for the hip flexors. Anywho, home in 2.06 which wasn't too shabby for a long run and breathing never got heavy until that last stretch in so happy with the outing. Was fairly stiff after, so a lazy day was needed on the couch and watched the match that evening.
Sun 24th - briefly considered a recovery run after watching Berlin marathon, but decided to go for a stroll around Skerries instead. Had never been before, what a lovely town!! Even on a dull windy day. My sis I'm staying with ran a half mara down the country yesterday and got her first sub 2, so a good weekend all round.
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Sept 25th - Oct 1st
Mon 25th - Nothing it seems, or I might rephrase as an extra rest day.
Tues 26th - Easy lunch miles, 4.6m at 9.38/m avg.
Weds 27th - Rest
Thurs 28th - Easy lunch miles, 5m at 9.33/m avg. Managed to find how to extend the route to a full 5.
Fri 29th - rest
Sat 30th - Headed to Malahide for parkrun, but wanted to get a few extra miles in knowing I wouldn't run the next day. 5k pre parkrun, admiring the park and thinking I'd never run there before. Got to where the parkrun starts and had flashbacks to one of the first 10ks I ever did back in 2015 - memories of pain 😂 Had totally forgotten I'd run there. Was taking it easy for the most part, but the last half mile or so decided to push on slightly. Another mile back to the car to bring it approx 7 miles for the morning.
Sun 1st - Earlyish flight to London for work but managed to fit in a brunch with friends before the evening events.
Oct 2nd - 8th
Mon 2nd - The conference had a planned run so decided to join that. Varied paces in the group so we naturally drifted from each other. Ended up running with a woman who was headed to do her first marathon in Lisbon at the weekend. Lovely morning for a run around Hyde Park. 4m at 9.49/m avg.
Tues 3rd - Missed the run this morning, there may have been a few bevs the night before :p
Weds 4th - back to it with a short lunch run, 3.4m at 9.46/m avg
Thurs 5th - out again at lunch, pretty warm. 4.6m at 9.23/m.
Fri 6th - Rest
Sat 7th - Trying out another northside parkrun while I'm out this way, I headed to Ardgillan. Little mile warm-up and gawk at the place, then found the start area. The volunteers were nice and quick to notice a new face and were really welcoming. The parkrun starts off nice for the first half mile with it fairly downhill but crikey my tune changed swift enough. The mugginess of the weather at the moment certainly didn't help, and that last hill... well let's just say I've never had such strong feelings about never wanting to do a particular parkrun again! As everyone says though.. great views :p 29.02 for the parkrun.
Sun 8th - Had originally planned to head out earlyish but was absolutely beat into a book and wanted to finish it, so only got out at lunchtime. It was sunny and humid and I didn't particularly love it but was happy to get an hour-ish done anyway. 6m at 9.39/m avg. My knee was bothering me a little, and I think from the hills the day before. I've noticed it doesn't really like going uphill or up steps so need to keep the physio exercises up.
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Oct 9th - 15th
Mon 9th - No run
Tues 10th - lunch run by the coast and the Dodder. 4.6 miles at 9.41/m.
Weds 11th - Had considered a short run at lunch but the rain put me off
Thurs 12th - 5 miles at lunch, different route and one of those runs where you're just in love with running. Very enjoyable. 9.34/m avg.
Fri 13th - honestly going into the office 5 days each week at the moment has me WRECKED. How did I always do this?! No run!
Sat 14th - Continuing to tick off the northside parkruns, I headed to River Valley. Lovely park, the hills are not so lovely. Little 1.5m jog around the place before it started, then tried to keep it relatively easy for the parkrun itself. Did stretch the legs a little on the last 200m just to wake them up ahead of Sunday. And another mile to 'cool down'. Parkrun came in approx 29 mins.
Sun 15th - Enjoyed a lie-in as I was signed up for the xc 'xperience' race at Abbotstown, as was my sis who I'm staying with. We headed over in good time to watch one of the brothers in the Masters race, he was taregting a top 6 finish in the hopes of making an Irish team for the 5 nations XC (he possibly did it). Anyway, my first glance at people on the course looking in pain had me regretting my own entry 😅
Short warm-up mile, and then another little jog in my spikes as I hadn't worn them in maybe a year? But they do feel better on that surface than runners, that's for sure. Myself and my sis agreed to start well away from each other so we wouldn't be annoying each other - she had been threatening to push me over so prob for the best. My main goal was to beat her despite no speed work in recent times! As seems to be normal with XC, we took off like we were far fitter than we are and the downhill start to the course really doesn't help hold you back. I assumed I would hate it by half a mile in, but weirdly I found I was... almost enjoying myself??? Not sure what is happening to me, must be evolving. I was passing a few people, and not really getting passed myself. Then we hit the hilly part but I was still moving in a way I was fairly happy with.
The stretch back to the start / finish area is far longer than it looks I found, but I was very happy we only had the 2 laps of the 2k route - my brothers race had been 4 laps. Yuck. Definitely slower this time around but picked off a couple of people as I had wanted (and did get passed by one woman). The long drag the second time around definitely felt steeper, but got a shout from the brother and that helped - listened to hear him shout again for my sister but didn't hear it so knew there was a fair gap between us and that kept me going also. Finally hit the last stretch, and thought I would just plod it in judging by my legs but decided to try kick a bit and I was able. Not a huge amount but definitely picked it up and got in under 21 mins which seems respectable enough. My sister was about 30 secs behind so glad I kept pushing!
Not a bad day out and definitely the most I've enjoyed a xc race. Suspect as it was a casual enough race really. Plan is to do some of the xc womens league over the next few months to help me overall, but I might be away for the 1st one annoyingly.
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Feel like a fraud coming in here with an update this week that doesn't include marathon running :p
Oct 16th - 22nd
Mon 16th & Tues 17th - nothing. Was at S Club the Monday night and then flew to Amsterdam the Tues morning for work so no time for running.
Weds 18th - got in an early run before the conference. There was a park near the hotel, safe area but it was still dark and a little creepy running around. Did see a few other runners eventually which helped. 4 miles at 9.52/m avg.
Thurs 19th - No hope of a run after lonnnnng day and late night.
Fri 20th - Had booked a day off to stay on and visit a friend while I was over, so had moved location and got in a v cold and wet and windy run. 4 miles at 9.41/m avg. Had a lovely day then flew home late that night.
Sat 21st - Big day, collecting keys for my new home :D .. busy day moving a few bits in and getting to ikea..
Sun 22nd - not much time to enjoy it as i was back at the airport for another work trip.. v low mileage week but all things considered did well to get 2 runs in!
Oct 23rd - 29th
Mon 23rd - Having crossed the bridge to Malmo and back again, I got out for an evening run in Copenhagen. Beautiful (flat) city, will have to go back on personal time. I will say I thought "is that it?" when I saw the mermaid statue! She's tiny! 5ish miles at 9.29/m avg.
Tues 24th - flew on to Olso, and got another evening run in. Was dark a lot earlier here obviously, and it ain't a flat city. 3.3 miles at 9.37/m. Fairly cold.
Weds 25th - home but zero time for running
Thurs 26th - nothing
Fri 27th - move in day :) sneaked in a run to Marlay now I'm back in the vicinity. The hill to get out of my estate and then getting home again on that route will either be the making or breaking of me 😅 4 miles at 9.41/m
Sat 28th - Headed up to club training to wish the marathoners well. I was solo for the non-marathon session of 10 x 1 mins on / off which I did around the trails. Hadn't done any speedwork in at least 2 months? So it felt nice to push a little. 4 miles total.
Sun 29th - Ran as planned down to Milltown in time for the leaders coming through; had just missed the lead wheelchair, must have been fairly moving. (4 miles at 9.00/m pace... downhill! Saw my two brothers and some clubmates, boards heads.. got a bit soaked here and headed as planned to the finish area in time to see brother #2 finishing (2 miles at 9.14/m). Got completely soaked here, puddles to my ankles, my spare clothes got soaked in my bag.. so after briefly looking in McGrattans for people whilst shivering (and then MrGuappa was expecting me to buy a round, pff 😋) I headed to the luas and ran from there home (2 miles at 10.43 pace.. well probably quicker cos i got confused where I was going). Still zero DCM FOMO, despite multiple club mates trying to get me to sign up for next year in the pub that night.
Have yet more work travel coming up, so will continue to just fit easy runs in where I can really, maybe a steady parkrun this weekend. Feeling quite scattered so don't expect much of my JB entry in December, but if I can just aim to get miles in my legs, I'll be ok come January.
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Congrats on the new house! Also glad there's someone else with no DCM FOMO! How's the knee?
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I can feel it at times walking up and down stairs, but mostly ok. Need to remember to do some single leg strength stuff of course...
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Congratulations on your new home, if it's where I think it is, I was one of the sparks on that site. Great spot.
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Thanks for the (delayed) shout out on Sunday 😊. Not sure how I even recognised you tbh, you were so well covered up! Fair play for getting out supporting in those conditions - nearly easier run the thing 😜
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30th Oct - 5th Nov
Mon 30th - No run, still unpacking etc.
Tues 31st - lunch run down to Marlay as wasn't sure I am ready for UCD again yet! 5 miles at 9.31/m avg. Can't remember a whole lot about the run.
Weds 1st - Nothing, was down in Shannon / Limerick for an event. Got to go around the international rugby experience centre as part of it. Apparently my skillset says I am an inside centre 😂 none of us were dressed appropriately to be kicking a ball, jumping, running etc but still some craic!
Thurs 2nd - out for a morning run in Limerick, 5.1 miles at 9.39/m. Chilly morning but plenty of runners / walkers about. Wondered to myself how @shotgunmcos and @Swashbuckler are doing these days.
Fri 3rd - nothing
Sat 4th - forced myself out the door for parkrun but disgracefully drove down instead of running.. it was the thoughts of the run back that put me off! easy mile-ish warm up, then parkrun steady although it felt very hard. Ended with an epic battle to beat a 7 year old girl who was near me the whole way around. Am I proud of myself for sprinting past a child on the last straight? not particularly 😂 26.37 parkrun
Sun 5th - didn't get out til afternoon, which is always more of a mental battle. Down to park, which was packed with walkers making the most of the dry afternoon. 7 miles at 9.50/m average. Enjoyed it very much in the end.
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6th - 12th November
Mon 6th - nothing, had a flight to UAE for work.
Tues 7th - approx 4 hours sleep, day of meetings but knew a run would only be good for me! was staying near the Dubai Canal walkway so jogged over there for a little run. About 31 degrees but lovely as it was already dark.. 5.2 miles at 9.38/m - if GPS can be trusted with the tall buildings.
Weds 8th - too tired to head out for another run.
Thurs 9th - flight back home and considered heading out for a run that evening, but body was just yelling at me to rest.
Fri 10th - the delayed Thurs run, but short enough at lunch. 3.7miles at 9.41/m. Headed a different direction to see is it possible to ever have a flat route. It is not. Felt the beginnings of a head cold coming on that evening - presumably from the travelling etc.
Sat 11th - easy parkrun was the plan. ran down to the park having been shamed for driving down the week before 😆parkrun came in at just under 30 mins, and the warm-up / cool downs nice and handy too. Approx 6.5 miles for the morning. Hoped the running would clear the head cold, but no it stayed.
Sun 12th - xc league R1 in Tymon Park. Having cajoled a number of women in the club into entering this league for Meet & Train runners, I couldn't let the head cold put me off! I have always hated xc, but it's getting less with the last couple of races and I had hoped having the company for this more relaxed league will help with that. The club haven't had teams in this league for years, due to comms issues really, so we got a welcome back from the organisers on the start line. Only 6 of us were able to attend this round, but come January we should have three full teams of 6.
Little warm up checking out the course, which was gentle enough in fairness in terms of hills, and then a few drills and into the spikes. While I've just done a few xc races, most of the rest of the women were completely new to it. This is the beauty of this league I guess. Anyway, course was just 3k, which was 3 and a bit laps around two of the fields in Tymon. I positioned myself about midway in the starting pack and tbh that's kinda where i stayed the whole race. I didn't look at my watch at all for pace, just judged by effort entirely and tried not to lose many places. I mostly passed people on the first two laps but lost 2 places in the final lap (the gentle hill didn't feel so gentle the last time around!). Held strong enough at the end to finish P57 of 127. The coughing was bad at the end with the cold but tbh I'd put all thoughts of it to one side while I was running so am happy with how I just got on with it. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, so delighted we got ourselves over there! Into St Jude's for tea and treats, well hosted by Bros Pearse and Sportsworld. Great morning out 😊
Low mileage week overall, but work travel should be minimal for the rest of the year so the plan is to get back to club training regularly starting this week, and my old routine of cycling / running to the office.
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13 - 19th November
Mon 13th - drove to work as there was no traffic with Storm Debi! Had planned to put the bike in the car to bring home, with it having lived at the office for 3 months (and covered over) but couldn't unlock it, lock is jammed :-/
Tues 14th - down to UCD for club session. Was supposed to be 5 x 1500s for those who hadn't done the marathon, but I only did the 4 as my legs were feeling it from the cross country on Sunday by the end. The initial 1100 of the loop was to be steady, with a push on for the last 400m. Not sure my push was much of one, but I did try! (time for each loop: 7.57, 8.09, 8.05, 7.55) just under 6 miles for the evening incl warm up and cool down
Weds 15th - bussed to work, ran 5k to Dundrum in the evening. Nice to get the runmutes back in a bit. Will work up to running all the way home again! 3.2 miles at 9.54/m avg.
Thurs 16th - run into work, nice and downhill and the morning brightening as I went. 5.3 miles at 9.40/m avg. I had brought lubricant to loosen the bike lock and cycle home but alas it didn't work. Lonnnnnnnnng trek home on public transport.
Fri 17th - happily a rest day.
Sat 18th - Up to the track for a session - or so I thought! Off script from the coach, we did a session on the trails instead. It was very windy so probably better off away from the track. Usual warm up and drills, then we had to run a 700/750m loop x 4 on the trails with a couple of short hills and finishing on a long drag at a steady pace, recovery was jogging the downhill to the start again. (3.40, 3.40, 3.42, 3.41). This was followed by 5 x 'smooth' efforts on the last drag only (approx 200m, 0.45, 0.43, 0.41, 0.40, 0.38) Absolutely pushed myself to get faster each rep. Then one last longer loop which I thought I would really struggle on but it was in and around the same as the earlier loops, 3.41. Short cool down for about 5.5 mile for the morning.
Sun 19th - Up for the club 8am run. Been wanting to get back to the hills, and felt very unused to them! The run up to the Hellfire club is one of the gentler hilly runs and I was finding it tough on the calves really. Had to stop in Masseys to properly stretch them and that did help. Made it to the top of Hellfire at a very slow pace but I have to start back with these somewhere. Gentle enough coming back down too, 7.6 miles total at 11.05/m avg.
Happy with the week, will be happier this week if I can sort the bike situation!
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Give GT85 a go on the bike lock. Let it soak for a few hours if possible. Has worked for me in the past on a U lock. 🤞
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20 - 26th November
Mon 20th - did an S&C class for the first time in many months. Sooooo much strength lost in upper body! Knew the DOMS would be bad..
Tues 21st - Club session in the evening. As is now usual, slightly different to the schedule 😁 We headed round to a 500m loop, first 350m at pace with 150m rec .. 15 times! 1st set of 5 at 10m pace, 2nd set at 10k, and final at 5k. The 350m section had a drag to begin with but then down again and evened out. I was pretty happy I pushed on for the final set, thought I had for the second set... [1.40, 1.37, 1.36, 1.39, 1.42] [1.39, 1.39, 1.36, 1.37, 1.38] [1.33, 1.31, 1.31, 1.32, 1.31]. Total 6.2 miles for the night.
Weds 22nd - the DOMS were bad today, but I went to another class! Made them better for a brief while.. Short easy run in the evening, 3.4 miles at 10.15/m avg.
Thurs 23rd - easy run to work, 5.3 miles at 9.54/m avg. Nice and downhill! So I had bought the GT85 on py's recommendation but then also found the correct key for the lock. I promise I'm not stupid, I just do stupid things sometimes!! Anyway, got the bike out and first cycle home to the new place and trying to avoid steep hills. Painful with the wind and rain and not being able to see through my glasses.. Someday it will get easier?!
Fri 24th - happily nothing
Sat 25th - club session at the track.. well we met at the track and then jogged to the bottom of Kilmashogue lane for the 15-20 1 mins on, 1 mins off. Should have known it wouldn't be as simple as that! Up we went for 1 min steady to hard, slow jog back down for 1 min so we were always progressing up the hill overall.. the jogs became walks eventually. This might be the toughest session I have ever done, both mentally and physically. No way was I getting to 20 reps and called it at the minimum 15. Apparently we will be doing it again sometime so I'll aim for the 20 next time. I believe this was a Jerry Kiernan favourite , at this location also. One of the coaches actually ran the session with us so you know its a good 'un! Annoyingly had to do some work and then got house stuff done.
Sun 26th - had set my alarm for the 8am club run but discovered at 8.30 I'd set it for mon-fri! took it handy then all morning and got more house stuff organised.. with the rain etc I just couldn't get myself out the door for a run which I'm quite annoyed by now, poor finish to the week. Ah well.
Had not copped until Sat night that Jingle Bells is this weekend! Can't see myself being too great but always a lovely race and be nice to get another mug!
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27th Nov - 3rd Dec
Mon 27th - got myself to an S&C class again. Better.
Tues 28th - club session at UCD. Again, a little different to the planned session! Warm-up and drills as usual, then 4 x 400(ish) 'hard', the coach was cycling alongside us to push to next person etc.. these were done on a drag up for reps 1 and 3 with the downhill on 2 and 4. 90secs recovery. Reps were 1.34, 1.31, 1.34, 1.33. Then into 1500m which was supposed to be at a pace 'where its hard enough to feel it in your stomach but you know you can get it done'... yay. I struggled really badly on this lap, but pretty sure all hormonal. 7.42 for the lap. Plus it didn't help the coach cycled by me and started talking 😅 90s recovery and back into 4x400s, didn't put enough effort into the first rep but pushed to try get back the right way for the last few, 1.50, 1.41, 1.43, 1.36. Cool down lap for 5 miles total. Wasn't feeling overly hopeful for JB based on this session.
Weds 29th - cycle in and out of the office, no run.
Thurs 30th - would usually run in the AM on a Thurs but we were hosting a breakfast event so that would have meant getting up at 5 or something to run so eh no... then had another work event in the evening so overall fairly lazy.
Fri 1st - probably should have gotten out for even a short run but wasn't feeling amazing after the wine the night before..
Sat 2nd - clubmate picked me up to head to Phoenix Park for JB. The intention had been to run this easy enough, but then I remembered my sister was running also and I really didn't want her to beat me, which meant I had to put in an honest effort. Was still thinking I'd be doing well to go below 25 mins as I just didn't feel I was anywhere near where I'd been in summer before the bike fall.
Anyway, short warm up and drills (probably too short), and into the pen just before sub 25 mins sign. I think I started in the right spot for once. Let me sister head off and a few others knowing I wanted a more conservative 1st mile.. but picked it up instead after about half a mile as I was feeling very good. Was picking off people from here on really, always keeping in mind to get myself to the next group rather than running in isolation. 1st mile came in at 7.58. Continued to pick it up and could my sister ahead.. knew I didn't need to catch her yet but just gently pushing on to pick off the people in between. Had the thoughts of what a beautiful morning for a run. At halfway, I knew I was far too comfortable for a 5k especially one with a generous downhill to finish. Anyway, mile 2 at 7.38. Let's kick on ... passed the sister at about 2.2 miles saying hi just to annoy her which totally worked 👋 (ah no I also said well done cos I knew she was going well). And I just flowed to the finish really.. the breathing was heavier but I was never uncomfortable at any point. Last mile was 7.06 and last bit 47 seconds (6 min pace) which I probably should have pushed more.. although I tried to keep the form good and just pass as many in front of me as possible. 23.30 chip - finish time was a bit of a shock as I hadn't got that in mind at all, just the intention to keep pushing on. Thats pretty much the time I ran in Docklands and knew I had more in me before running Kilcock for sub 23.. so maybe I'm not as far from that again as I thought which is great. Really lovely morning out for all the club, some great times and PBs, and smiles all around for our now traditional teas and coffees and treats in the papal cross carpark. Bumped into Lazare briefly after I finished, who was happy out and sporting a dashing chin bandage after his tumble :p
Sun 3rd - managed to set an alarm correctly and got to the 8am run to Hellfire club. Foggy down where we started but we got above it all at Hellfire and the view was so cool! 8 miles for the morning, avg 10.33 pace and legs felt pretty decent. Low mileage week overall, and this week will be another struggle now we're into the festive plans but will do me best!
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Nice positive result there V and sounds like some reasons for optimism too. Good stuff.
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Good job at Jingle Bells and great to see you have the bike back out on the road.
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4th - 10th Dec
Mon 4th - lazy, had no car to get to an S&C class
Tues 5th - evening session at UCD. warm-up and drills as usual, then 2 x 3km at HM/10 mile pace depending on we were feeling, off 2 mins. Took me a bit to settle into it but stuck at 8.15/m for the most part, and was quicker for the second rep [15.29, 15.19] and feeling fairly good. Short cool down, total miles for the evening about 5.5 miles.
Weds 6th - nothing, down to Shannon / Limerick for work.
Thurs 7th - Early jaunt down by the river to UL, nice route to have. Plenty out running too. 5.3 miles 9.40/m avg. Too much wine that night though!
Fri 8th - Back to Dublin for the all important Christmas hair appointment!
Sat 9th - Early flight to Brussels, and lots of walking around the city! Lovely christmas markets, defo recommend.
Sun 10th - One of the girls had brought her running gear too, so we headed out early-ish for a short run up to a park nearby, not a totally flat city. 3.2 miles at 9.46/m avg. Lots out running, also suspect they were headed to Euro XC later on! I'd somehow gotten the races into the trip itinerary (I have the most patient friends!) and it was well worth the trip! Such an exciting finish to the Mens U20 race, and an epic gold for the lads(what a last lap from Stafford too). Some amazing performances in the rest (Danielle in the U23s, and Fionnuala in seniors obviously), but I was happy to get in out of the cold by the end! and away from the mud splashzone where I was spectating. Rounded out the trip with a great Ash gig 😃 Far too much beer and waffles over the whole weekend but its hard to resist!
Another low mileage week but sure its that time of year. Should get out the 4 times this week even with more socialising expected, fingers crossed.
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11 - 17th Dec
I did not get out 4 times this week. Oops.
Mon 11th - Still in Brussels and travelled back late enough.
Tues 12th - Made it along to training at UCD. Usual warm-up lap and drills, then 2 sets of: 1500m at 10k pace, 4 x 1 min hard off 1 min. [7.23 and 7.29 for the 1500s, can't really analyse a 1 min much but I was putting everything into them and at the top of the group where I'd usually be at the back so that was something]. Short cool down, 5.7 miles for the evening.
Weds 13th - nothing, out for dinner and didn't go too mad on drinks.
Thurs 14th - Early run to the office, 5.2 miles at 9.24/m avg. Felt surprisingly good.
Fri 15th - Nothing. Club Christmas drinks that night locally, where I foolishly agreed to do the research for the club spring half marathon trip! I won't say where the leading location is 😅 Also agreed to head to parkrun to meet a few the next morning which was probably a good thing in hindsight.
Sat 16th - Ran to the park (1.5m at 10.11/m avg, PARCHED), progression parkrun 26.35 mins, cuppa and chat, then jogged home as i was cold again (1.5m at 10.08/m). Out again that night cos 'tis the season for the Coronas! Ended up going dancing for the first time in forever so that's definitely extra exercise!
Sun 17th - the margaritas caught up on me and aside from a short walk in the park, I was quite lazy :-/
Not committing to any running apart from Tues night this week, will see how the rest of the week unfolds!
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18 - 28th Dec
Mon 18th - nada, finishing the shopping!
Tues 19th - made it to UCD. Usual warm-up, and then 6 x 1km(-ish, was point to point and not always the same points!). Brief was not too hard but don't feel too comfortable either! Splits 4.46, 4.45, 4.54 (convinced i started in the wrong place cos it didn't feel much slower), 4.41, 4.45, 4.38 (pushed on). Short cool down for 5.7 miles for the evening.
Weds 20th - nothing
Thurs 21st - run into the office, 5.1 miles at 9.36/m avg. Enjoyable despite the wind.
Fri 22nd - nothing, drinkies with the homegirls!
Sat 23rd - failed to make it to the last club session of the year, and hence missed the little awards ceremony where I apparently won something!
Sun 24th - headed up to the early club run, but my calf was making itself known before I even left the carpark. It usually goes one of two ways, eases itself out or gets tighter and it seemed to do the latter as we headed towards Masseys. Called it as no point doing damage this time of year, and went back to the trails for a couple of laps and just finished with 4.5 miles overall.
Mon 25th - Offaly Christmas, lovely😊
Tues 26th - short run around Donabate with the sister, 3.6miles at 9.25/m avg. Good to get out.
Weds 27th - family walk around a bog! Blessed with the window of sunny weather we got.
Thurs 28th - WFH so went for a lunch run, very very much enjoyed this. Maybe as its preferable to working. 6.5 miles at 9.28/m avg.
I will probably just have one more run this year, parkrun in Milan all going well! So will finish on just over 1050 miles for the year. Happy New Year all 😊
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Enjoy Milano Nord. I initially got the wrong bus on the way there...check the metro options instead.
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Wow did not realise I hadn't update since 28th December.. Ended the year with Milano Nord parkrun as mentioned, despite the wine! Really enjoyed it (and got the right metro).
Jan 1st - 7th
1st - nothing, travelling back from Milan.
2nd - easy miles to get back into it, 5.2 at 9.43/m avg
3rd - easy jog part of the way home from the office, 3.1m at 9.55/m avg. Suspected a head cold was incoming...
4th - Ran to the office, hoping to run off the possible headcold as sometimes that works.. 5.3m at 9.34/m avg. It did not. Got progressively worse throughout the day and couldn't leave the bed by the weekend! End of this week's running!
5-7th - nada.
Jan 8th - 14th
8th - nothing but a walk, and some half-assed strength exercises!
9th - Down to UCD for the session, planned to just run easy but attempted 2 reps of the session - 2 x 1500m steady with 2 mins rec I think it was.. otherwise easy miles. 4.7m at 9.56/ avg
10th - just plenty of walking
11th - Run to the office, 5.3m at 9.44/m avg. Honestly a great way to get miles in.
12th - nothing
13th - easy miles incl marlay parkrun. With the women's m&t xc the next day, i just wanted to get a few miles. 6.6 at 9.22/m avg. I was keeping it very sensible, then some lad made a point of passing me in the forest in front of his mates, so obviously I had to show him up by the final 400m.
14th - Round 2 of the M&T XC League!
Wasn't so cross country with a lot of it on the paths around Sean Moore park, but rather enjoyable because of that! The part up into the nature reserve was the toughest. We had a nice crew from the club, hopefully a few more again by round 3 as I continue to persuade some of them :) Happy with my efforts, P69 out of 168, and never gave up. Only about 3.5 miles for the morning though!
Jan 15th - 21st
15th - nothing, couple of flights..
16th - was in Belgrade for work. Had been before but never ran, so was lovely to add this to the list of places I've run! Found my way over to the waterfront and ran along the Danube. It had snowed the evening before but most was melted and gone... mind you it was probably colder back home! 5.2m at 9.02/m avg.
17th - nothing, was tempted to run in Sofia this time but the workload was too much and the energy too low.
18th - eventually got home 3 flights later, and zero energy for a run.
19th - got myself out for Thurs run on the Friday. Was much needed after the day at the laptop. 5m at 9.37/m avg. Hard to avoid the hills from my place!
20th - Club session. Originally planned as 10x800m but with the high winds we were led from the track to the bottom of Kilmashogue.. 20 reps of 1 min up at effort, 1 min recovery down... last time I only managed 15 and vowed to do 20 the next time so was happy to keep that self-made promise! 6m total for the morning.
21st - gave myself a lie in after all the travelling during the week, but that meant running in the bloody storm later. Anyway got it done, though the run back home uphill into the wind was one of the least enjoyable runs I've had... 9m at 9.48/m avg.
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Jan 22nd - 28th
Mon 22nd - Finally made it to one of the club hosted S&C sessions. Nice little set up and plan to get this in regularly.
Tues 23rd - Club session. Plan was changed given the strong winds and generally crappy weather, so the session was 5 x 1500m at 5/10k pace. I stuck with one of the women and we chatted every rep so I think we were nowhere near either 5k or 10k pace ! But we really needed to distract from the weather.. reps were 6.47, 7.01, 6.54, 7.04 and 7.05. 6 miles total for the evening with warm-up and cool down.
Weds 24th - nothing, had to drive to Shannon.
Thurs 25th - kept it sensible enough at the team dinner / drinks the night before so got out for 40 mins easy per the club schedule in the morning. 4.1miles at 9.48/m avg.
Fri 26th - Nothing
Sat 27th - 25 min shake out pre Raheny. Ran around the trails at the club campus, blustery enough! 2.5m at 9.48/m avg.
Sun 28th - enjoyed the lie in and the fantastic mens final at Oz open. Probably left it a little late leaving for Raheny as traffic was shocking! Parked near my sisters house as usual, its about a mile jog to the start area so works well for a warm-up. Felt grand in the warm-up, but was in need of the portaloos.. didn't have time to queue ahead of the start so said I'd just ignore it for the race! It's always hard to know where to line up for the start, but the clock was at 50 seconds when I crossed the start line. My plan was a 7.45 first mile and push on slightly for the rest.. about half a mile in I was sweating profusely, nearly like cold sweats and just felt rotten really. Hit the 7.45 for the first mile but the effort it had taken was far too much, so I pulled back from there and by mile 3 was jogging it home. No clue what was going on, probably could have pushed through it but somedays my mental strength for that is well low. I'm not dwelling on it anyway cos sometimes these days happen. It's not the end of the world. Finished in about 42 mins, for some reason I'm not in the results! Probably a good thing 😅
This is a busy work week in Dublin every year so whatever run I can fit in between now and Friday is a bonus!
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Jan 29th - Feb 4th
Mon 29th - club S&C session.
Tues 30th - Thurs 1st - nothing. As predicted, the work side is too much to be fitting in a run and even logistics of running to the office and having meeting / event appropriate clothes and shoes was just beyond me this week.
Fri 2nd - got out for a lunch 5k as the guilt of no running got to me. Just did the parkrun route so I wouldn't even have to think about where I was going! 3.4m at 9.31/m.
Sat 3rd - made it to the club session which had been adjusted to a xc session. We are really blessed (depending on how you look at hard sessions) with the campus and the range of sessions we can do there. There's a grass bit between the track and trails, with some up and down banks and this was laid out for a lap of about 700/750m. The session was 8 x 3mins steady, with 1 min recovery, so I was almost hitting the full lap each rep. The hilly banks were grand the first two reps but by the 8th, the legs are suffering! All half-dead by the end, but then the coach split us into teams of 3 and we did a shorter flat lap (maybe 400m) as a relay race. Somehow we all came alive again! Good craic, I wasn't amazing but wasn't miles back either. 5.4m for the morning with warm up and cool down.
Sun 4th - had been persuaded to join the early club run up the hills, though I've been finding these tough lately. Still did! 8.2 miles at 10.47m avg. Walked the steep shortcut at Hellfire cos my calf was a bit tight but not sure the steeper bit even walking did much to help that.
Should be a solid running week coming up, no work excuses really!
Oh and I got delivery of my first sort of super shoe this week - Puma Deviate Nitro Elite.. not sure they are proper super shoes but certainly more than any I own! Not sure when I'll try them out
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Feb 5th - 11th
Mon 5th - Club S&C session, even a few weeks in a row you start to feel stronger.
Tues 6th - Club session. A change from the schedule as often happens. We moved out to the roads in Clonskeagh / Milltown after our warm-up, running hard down one road, short recovery and hard back the way before a slightly longer recovery. The stretch was about 370meters according to my garmin connect, I was fairly consistent with them all (1.38 - 1.41 mostly with the last couple at 1.35/1.36). Cool down, and about 6 miles for the evening.
Weds 7th - Got in a short easy run knowing I wouldn't get out the next day. 5km or so at 10.12/m.
Thurs 8th - Had to drive to the West and back so no running.
Fri 9th - Debated getting out, but was very tired so gave it a miss.
Sat 10th - went to the club session. Warm-up, 10 mins at supposed-to-be 10k pace. We did this on the trails and I was running about 7.40/m pace which is probably not my current 10k pace! 3 mins recovery, then into 2 x 5 mins at 5k pace which we did on the track. I did manage to pick up the pace slightly, 7.20/m pace for first rep, then 7.15/m pace for the second one. Felt good. Last part of the session was 4 x 100m sprints (not strides!), which we did from the 100m start line. Was great fun as we lined up in rows and took off in waves. I enjoy a sprint but jeez I could feel it my abs and hamstrings yesterday! 5.3 miles for the morning after the cool down...
My afternoon plans were to call out to the Donadea 50k to cheer on a clubmate, and maybe run a (single) loop with her if she needed it. The loops had of course been shortened to 3.8km rather than 5km due to a fallen tree, and when we arrived she was in need of running support so ended up doing the last 3 loops with her, coming in at about 7 miles at 9.35/m avg i reckon (hard to tell really with GPS in a forest). She made the 5 hour cutoff with minutes to spare, absolutely thrilled for her. What an event though, the atmosphere was class! I still think all entrants are mad however.
So an accidental significant double run!
Sun 11th - I was quite tired so enjoyed a lie-in knowing I wouldn't be doing a long run. Got myself out before the match and struggled through 4.5 miles with creaky hamstrings, 9.21/m avg which might explain why I was struggling, should have slowed down more.
Not a bad week I suppose. HM with the club is in just under 10 weeks, plus I also have Limerick HM 2 weeks after that with work footing that bill (wonder who suggested that to Marketing 😉 ) so I need to be properly getting long runs in. This week I have also signed up to a 5k on Thurs evening cos why not, and the next round of the M&T xc league on Sunday. Might take Tuesday easier with this in mind.
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Feb 12th - 18th
Mon 12th - Met crisco for a lunch run, no avoiding hills and drags! 4.5m at 9.16/m avg. Another club strength class in the evening, definitely feeling stronger and moving better in them. They're great for an old natter too.
Tues 13th - didn't do the speedwork, instead headed up to the club grounds and ran easy on the trails, followed by a 6 sets of strides. 4.7m total, avg pace 10.24/m.
Weds 14th - rest
Thurs 15th - as mentioned, i'd signed up for a 5k so headed down to Gorey after work. Got dropped to the start area by my brother wasn't running, collected my number and bumped into the brother who was running :) chatted him for a short warm-up to dump my layers in his car, and then continued my own slower warm-up by myself. Decent crowds including a LOT of children so I pushed further up the start than I would usually so I wouldn't get caught behind too many children (mind you, some of them were bloody fast). This was the debut for my new Puma Deviate Nitros also.
Prompt start and out we flew.. my brother who lives locally had run it last year so warned us of the fast downhill start and I was determined not to go too mad, targeting 7.40ish for the first mile. Got to see the running brother in the lead pack about 500m in after a little hairpin turn on the main street. I knew I was probably going a little too fast but wasn't feeling too bad. 7.34 for the first mile, not too undisciplined.
I had also been warned of how hilly the middle section was, but nothing prepared me! It just never seemed to end, there were a couple of very brief respites but then you'd turn a corner and it was going up yet again! I was losing pace and places here but just tried to focus on keeping it steady. As we passed halfway, I could see fasties coming down the hill I was about to head up, but they weren't the leaders, so I knew this hill had the end in sight and that kept me moving somewhat. Enjoyed the downhill after I turned, but again there was one more sharpish drag after that though I never lost pace to the same effect as previously. Mile 2 was 8.33 - a full minute slower, yikes. Focused on just moving as well as possible for the last mostly downhill mile, and felt like I was passing a fair few out. Once I got to the last bit of road before the turn in to the start/finish area, I knew I just had to keep the head up and try increase the pace, though I didn't really feel I could. On to the last stretch and could hear my brother cheering me on, annoyingly the clock ticked over 24 mins just before I got to the finish :(
I had been hoping for quicker than 23.30 before I knew the course profile, and I'd like to think that is actually where I'm at on a flatter course. I had assumed the hills would have taken it out of everyone, but apparently not my brother who won the damn thing! Nice to actually be in a race he won though :) He then forced me on a longer cool down than I usually would do, and presumably his slowest cool down ever 😂 about 6 miles total for the evening.
Fri 16th - No running. Had the day off and got plenty of walking in.
Sat 17th - got out for a few easy miles avoiding the rain. 4.1m at 9.49/m avg.
Sun 18th - Another race! Rd 3 of the M&T xc league. Stunning sunny morning for it, lovely mucky ground in Tymon! Nice club turnout. Little warm-up and drills, and as usual the race started with very little fanfare! I was feeling pretty good for the first loop and a bit, but then the Thursday race hit my legs and my quads got heavier and heavier as the race progressed. Still, I was apparently slightly faster than rd 1 on the same course, so I'll take that. P60 out of 116 I believe. One of the women in the club won the race which was fantastic! It's a great league for a good buzz, and fab tea and homemade treats afterwards in a local GAA clubhouse courtesy of Blackrock and Esker. Barely 4 miles for the morning though... not great mileage wise!
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