Last of the Summer Wine

ariana`

Yes @Murph_D 10k would have been softer than soft, official 10k PB is 49:40 compared with 22:40 for 5k 😂 Strava gives me 47:02 during the aforementioned 10m TT, this seems significantly more respectable albeit unofficial.

@Swashbuckler I'm afraid you will never sell it to me. @Laineyfrecks delighted to hear I am not alone! @skyblue46 we've missed you about this place, hope you are about to make a massive comeback 🤞

Laineyfrecks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118331804#Comment_118331804

Us women have to stick together😉😁

Swashbuckler

Toughen up ladies 🤣🤣🤣

Laineyfrecks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118331846#Comment_118331846

Are the tights out yet? 🤔(Said in a deep manly voice😉)

Swashbuckler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118332340#Comment_118332340

Well I'm a bearded sissy hipster. It's expected of me.

Laineyfrecks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118332536#Comment_118332536

Of course😉😁

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118331804#Comment_118331804

Yep, that 47:02 is definitely close to the number alright. It's certainly the number I would have in my head next time I toe the 10k line.

Murph_D

Week of 13 Dec

This week sees the second fixture in the club Winter League. And some parkrun pacing on the Saturday. Not a lot going on as the year winds down, but I've been busy sorting out flights and accommodation for Chicago 2022. All done now - like to have that stuff sorted out well in advance.

Mon 13 Dec

8.8k easy

A few easy miles in Clontarf and Marino with DD.

Tue 14 Dec

No running. Booster shot, a few days earlier than planned due to a slot opening up in the local pharmacy.

Wed 15 Dec

7.4k inc Winter League Rd. 2 - 2 miles (13:49).

I was feeling OK after yesterday’s booster. No real after effects, but I decided not to risk a full blown race effort tonight, even though I’d been planning to give it a lash originally. Enjoyable two laps of the Wade Ave circuit, ramping it up a bit in the second (splits 7:06, 6:43). Hopefully get to race the next one in the new year. Chatty cooldown after with a clubmate.

Thurs 16 / Fri 17 Dec

Got home from work Thurs and was about to put on the gear when I realised I was supposed to be meeting up with a running friend I hadn’t seen for a while for a Christmas pint. No better man to change the running plans. Pleasant evening. No run either on Friday - just didn’t feel like it after an early dinner.

Sat 18 Dec

9.3 k inc St. Anne’s parkrun @ M

Pacer Saturday at St. Anne’s, for the first time since the plague kicked in. Good to be doing it again. Had TAFKABG with me for most of the time before she pushed on strongly in the last k. A little out of practice, and the pace was oscillating a bit, but a good job in the end I think. The pacees who stuck it out seemed happy enough - it's always very gratifying when someone comes up to you afterwards and tells you it helped. Cooldown with a reverse lap of the course, then the obligatory coffee/cake.

Sun 19 Dec

16.5k @ 5:34

A little over ten miles home from St. Anne’s after Junior parkrun followed by a circuit of the north city via Dorset St, Capel St, the Liffey and East Wall. Haven’t run without any breakfast for a while so I was pretty starving by the end of this, short though it was. Enjoyed the feed after.

• This week: 42k (26m)
• This month: 136 (85)
• This year: 3,260 (2,026)

Murph_D

Week of 20 Dec

Very lively in here lately. My log is in danger of slipping onto page 2. Main goal this week is to get through the festivities in one piece. And hopefully a bit more mileage than last week’s paltry total.

Mon 20 Dec

7.3k easy

For some reason I started this off at around marathon pace but soon saw the error of my ways and reined it in. Tired.

Tue 21 Dec

8.8k easy on the seafront, hooking up with M for about half of it.

Wed 22 Dec

11.2k inc 30 mins @ sub-threshold.

Wanted to be sure to get some kind of quality work in this week. Wasn’t sure what to do - with no plan as such, it’s just a matter of getting some good work done. The new year will see a lot of ‘sub-threshold’ running, which is around marathon pace.I pulled up a 4 x 8 min workout with 2 min recoveries and set out on the warmup but persuaded myself to be a bit more ambitious - hadn’t I just paced 24 mins at around that pace at the weekend without feeling any pressure at all. So I decided to run through the beeps for a 30 min session, heading out the seafront. The wind was kind of side on for most of it, so there wasn’t the usual demoralising turn into a headwind when I reversed direction at St. Anne’s. Enjoyed this.

Thu 23 Dec

44 mins easy.

After a stressful morning doing some Christmas shopping, stopped by aquinn and mister paul's new gaff for a gander. Very impressed! Followed the tour with an easy jog around Drumcondra/Glasnevin and the Royal Canal.

The covid seems to be closing in at the moment - half my siblings and a good few friends either have it or are close contacts in the past few days. Happy Christmas and stay well!

• This week: 35k (22m)
• This month: 171 (106)
• This year: 3,295 (2,048)

Murph_D

Fri 24 Dec

42 mins easy on the seafront. Don’t remember much about this - must have squeezed it in between the prepping the ham and shucking the sprouts. Had an extra ‘practice ham’ this year - highly recommended!

Sat 25 Dec

About 7.5k inc Porterstown parkrun @ sub-T.

A Christmas parkrun has become part of the tradition in recent years. This time there was a choice of Malahide, Porterstown, and Waterstown, all around the same distance away, or Ardgillan a bit further afield. Opted for Porterstown, knowing I’d probably bump into Wubble Wubble, mister paul and aquinn, and it’s always nice to do this particular run in company. Sure enough J greeted me as I jogged through the wind and squally rain to the start area. We ‘warmed up’ together with the best part of a lap, before setting off with about 100 other brave souls. mister paul joined us halfway through the lap having arrived a bit late so the three of us completed the three laps at around 8 min mile pace. mister paul won the sprint finish, mainly because J and I refused to respond. 😉

Good to be shown around the course by J on his home territory. We braved another lap, joined by aquinn, before ending what could well be one of the wettest outtings of the year. Fair play to the Porterstown team for putting it together.

Sun 26 Dec

6.6k easy

Didn’t bother with a long run today as the festivities continued, but we were driving the MiL to the Phoenix Park for a walk, so I took off for a few miles on the North, Ordnance Survey and Glen Roads, reliving the disappointment of Jingle Bells. 🙂 Quite a pleasant and balmy afternoon, with lots of people taking the air. One or two few nervous types gave the runner a wide berth, first time that's happened in a good while, and no offense taken!

Good to run every day this week - mostly short ones, but getting out every day helps ease the mileage back towards the half decent end of he scale.

• This week: 56k (35m)
• This month: 193 (120)
• This year: 3,316 (2,061)

Glad to have survived the heart of the season covid-free, unlike many many others - a few of the normal gatherings were off limits with cases out of control. I had to pack up a couple of dinners for some discommoded family members, but our own little family group with my daughters and the boys and the MiL were able to proceed as planned. So just the normal stresses to cope with this year in the end. Hope yours was as successful!

Murph_D

Week of 27 Dec

Closing out the year with a few more runs, the last few in Donegal as usual. Honoured to have gotten a few nominations in the annual awards, including one for this log, which is much appreciated. Keep the votes coming!

Mon 27 Dec

MLR 13.6k 

A bit longer than usual for the Monday run, having not gotten a LR in at the weekend. Took a tour through parts of Artane and Killester that I’d never seen before, before looping back via St. Anne’s and Clontarf. Park and seafront very busy with walkers and kids on new bikes.

Tue 28 Dec

40 mins easy, 20 mins ‘pickup’. Hooked up with M and D for this session - their easy is a bit nippier than mine so by the time we got to the 20 mins bit I was well warmed up. The idea was to work down to about 7:20 pace and jump out (M bailed out early to do some ironing, and D was going a bit longer). Good workout, certainly felt it, and good to get it done before driving up to Donegal.

Wed 29 Dec

40 mins easy.

Over to Killybegs to make a deposit at the bottle bank. 40 mins easy around the town while the car was charging. Unusually quiet around the place, hardly anyone out walking, despite the decent conditions.

I always try to get plenty of runs in over the Christmas break - if only to try to counteract some of the excess. It also keeps things ticking over in advance of the Dublin Masters Cross Country, which is as the time of writing anyway still scheduled to go ahead on Jan 9th. Fingers crossed - always the toughest race of the year, hands down.

• This week: 33k (21m)
• This month: 226 (140)
• This year: 3,349 (2,081)

Swashbuckler

I presume you mean excess unless you had a very successful Christmas? Happy New year D. My vote for log of the Year. Great training and all capped off with a big PB which from a folllwers perspective is a very satisfying read!

Murph_D

Ha ha, yes, excess is what I thought I typed! Edited. And many happy returns.

Murph_D

Thurs 30 Dec

65 mins easy.

Early afternoon circuit of the local 5-mile road loop, detouring down to Kilaghtee to bring it up to 7. The route passes a little-known but very impressive set of wedge tombs, which I’ve been reading about in a local history book given to us at Christmas - apparently copper mining was a thing around here thousands of years ago. Quite a lot of ancient forts around here too. I like knowing a bit about the landscape, especially the running routes!

Fri 31 Dec

70 mins easy.

A jaunt around another longer loop through the townland of Gilbertstown. Gilbert was a local giant, apparently, who liked to throw huge rocks at the neighbouring rival giants. Must run this loop more often - nice and quiet. Nice and hilly too, but you can say that about most of the options around here. 

And that wraps up 2021. 14 days on the trot over the past couple of weeks, which is the longest ‘streak’ of the year. Happy New Year everyone!

• This week: 56k (35m)
• This month: 249 (155)
• This year: 3,372 (2,096)

scotindublin

Happy New Year D and see you in the Windy (praying for no wind on Oct 9th) in 2022.

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118396477#Comment_118396477

Cheers! Apparently the 'wind' in the Chicago nickname is to do with windy talk rather than the weather. Let's hope so anyway!

Murph_D

2021 Review

Well, despite everything that is happening, it wasn’t the worst of years, running wise. Totalled just under 2,100 miles, running on 292 days (5.6 days/week). The total is about 150 miles less than last year, but considering there was no marathon, it represents a decent amount of mileage for me. I will, however, try to ramp it up a bit next year.

No marathon - first year that that’s been the case - can’t say I missed it. Didn’t run anything longer than 15 miles all year, and only did that distance twice. Plenty of quality sessions though, as I targeted first a sub-20 5k TT in the first half of the year, then a HM PB in the second.

The 5k quest was long and arduous, and it took three attempts, finally succeeding with the coaching and pacing assistance of Duanington and FBOT, on a decent course around the Dollymount causeway and coast. The two lads extracted more out of me (19:55) than I’m capable of doing by myself - I had four other 5k TT or race efforts during the year, all between 20:26 and 20:40.

The HM quest was a bit of a change of focus - I hadn’t targeted a HM as the year’s goal race since 2017. The training was all Hanson based, although I didn’t get in a full schedule due to the timing. The low point of the year was then managing to arrive in Mullingar long after the race had started. Luckily there was another race available at Galway Bay and I had an entry deferred from last year. The last two miles of that race were the most exhilarating I’ve ever run, but I missed out on a PB by seven seconds. After a similar outcome (12 seconds) at the Kilbeggan 10 mile a couple of months earlier, this was becoming a bit of a habit. But I was confident I could get the job done and signed up for the Fastlane HM in Clondalkin and finally bagged a PB, and a decent one at -25 seconds.

Running the National Masters (800 and 1500) in the middle of half marathon training was a mistake I won't make again. It was, frankly, embarrassing, maybe more in retrospect than it was at the time.

Was great to get a few parkruns in over the final quarter of the year - I managed nine at five different locations, including two new ones. Hope to add a good few more next year, maybe targeting the remaining Dublin ones first - Ardgillan, Abbotstown, Griffeen, Brickfields, Bushy, Marlay, Shangannagh, Tyrrelstown (if it returns). 

And finally, pacing, which is always a highlight - helped laura_ac, aquinn and Bungy Girl to very decent ‘comeback’ 5k milestones. Benefitted from some pacing help myself a couple of times, so it wasn’t all take on that front!

Wishing all of ye a happy and hopefully productive 2022.

OOnegative

One of the highlights of my running year was running along Fintra Beach chatting to yourself D, great year, one to be proud of sir👍🏻

Annie get your Run

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118396652#Comment_118396652

That's what they tell you in the https://www.chicagohistory.org/exhibitions/ tour! That's a great round up of your year, always glad to see your continual improvement, proving your point that consistency is key. Good advice, which I may finally take on board 😀. Happy New year to you all.

Murph_D

Week of Dec 27 cont.

Delighted to get Log of the Year for this thread - setting up the poll I realised I hadn't included the log titles, just the log owners. The system doesn't allow you to edit poll options once posted, so I couldn't correct it. It's an important distinction because most logs gain their traction through the interaction and contributions and observations of other posters, and this is no exception. I've learned a lot over the years from people's comments. A recent case in point was @shotgunmcos suggesting that my dry-retching-during-racing problem could be breathing related, which turns out to be true. That was a huge piece of insight. Something I'm still trying to fix, but at least I know where to start! So please do jump in and help me out whenever ye can. I appreciate the honour - and it IS an honour. 👍️

Sat 1 Jan

54 mins @ recovery

Very easy run around the local loop - didn’t set out to be slower than usual, it just happened naturally.

Sun 2 Jan

LR 124 mins (22 kms)

A grand tour of some neighbouring townlands - not one of my usual LR routes, but one I might use more often with a nice variety of scenery and hills on a mix of secondary and tertiary roads. I started out nice and easy but interjected a few steady miles over rolling hills towards the end. Freshening wind at my back towards the end which is always a nice way to finish. Felt really strong on this run, despite the high mileage this week.

• This week: 87k (54m)
• This month: 31 (19)
• This year: 31 (19)

Time now to focus on 2022. More on that next time.

ReeReeG

A very well deserved award D, as well as Poster of the Year. You're one of the most encouraging people on here, and always with a dollop of common sense!

Let me know when you do plan to add Marlay to your parkrun tally 😁

Laineyfrecks

Again well deserved awards D, always a pleasure to read your log, advice & opinions. And of course more than a pleasure to run/race with you😊

Best of luck with the plans for 2022.

shotgunmcos

Hey cheers for the feedback on the breathing. I lose my breath at effort, usually sustained LT effort, coupled with my form deteriorating. My arms starting to pump, crossing my chest, shoulders hunch, core breaks down and my chest gets compressed when I need oxygen the most. The tell tale sign is the start of a wheeze to my breathing. To counteract, I find it helps to 1) establish a rhythm. Maybe 3 steps inhale, 1 exhale. 2) Look up an inch or 2, or 50m up the road and think of leading with your hip (as though someone has a rope around your waist and is towing you). It will engage your glutes, your core, straighten your back so you are running "taller" and ultimately give your lungs more room. All very subjective. I'm asthmatic and wheezing is not great sign unless I'm close to home/finish.

Congrats on Poster and log of the year. Both truly deserved! Happy New Year D 😀

diego_b

Congrats on the awards D, well deserved!

ariana`

Yes I'd like to add to the congrats here. Your log is and has always been one of my go-to logs and your contribution on mine and other logs is always very worthy of the print space. I hope you have a great year. Chicago should be exciting. It's one I would love to do sometime. I spent a Summer on the J1 visa working in the "windy" city and have been back many times in the years since then.

Murph_D

Thanks for the nice comments, folks. Appreciate it,

Week of 3 Jan

Fairly busy week, back to Dublin in time for Winter League Round 3 and then the Cross Country on Sunday.

Mon 3 Jan

55 mins easy/recovery

The mrs was heading into Killybegs so I took a lift to the outskirts and ran back via Benroe, a local headland with splendid views of Ireland’s premier fishing port. Wet and windy, but a good bit of shelter on the route. I'm definitely getting used to these routes - and more importantly the hills on them, which don't bother me as much as they did during my prolonged stay here during the early lockdown days. I've started trying to attack the shorter hills a little bit more, even during easy runs.

Tue 4 Jan

50 mins easy on the local loop. Dusk was approaching and I brought the headtorch, but happily did not have to switch it on. Still haven’t lost my headtorch virginity!

Wed 5 Jan

One hour including 3 miles @ T

Round 3 of the club winter league. Opted yet again to do it as a workout as I wasn’t long out of the car after the long drive from Donegal. Plus there’s the race on Sunday. Wore the HR monitor and tried to keep a lid on it at sub-tempo pace for the first half, letting it ramp up a bit towards actual AT range towards the end, but always in control. A good workout I think. But it almost feels like cheating doing it in a race, even a small club race like this one. But needs must!

This week: 30k (18m)

This month/year: 61 (38)

MisterDrak

Good to see you there last night Denis. Smaller numbers than usual, but pretty perfect cold running conditions.

Keep the powder dry (unlike the usual weather conditions) from the Dublin Masters on Sunday...

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118426154#Comment_118426154

Ah, didn't spot you, presume you were an onlooker as I didn't see you in the results. Yep, Sunday is the real event this week, see you there!

AuldManKing

Its a real privilege to read a log like this, there are a number of factors that jump out at me when I read it and irrespective of awards etc - I think we all agree its a lot of our goto reads.

The writing for me is the essence of the log - D has a way with words and uses them like a wand, casting his magic as he weaves his sentences in such a manner that leave us spell bound (Edit: I really like that last sentence :) )

Then comes the consistency - always active - always an update - quite reliable.

Then there is the performances - relative to his own performances - 2021 was quite the year for our D and he logged them very well.

For this log - there is the vintage. For all the above achievements - this is fantastic, but for a man of D's vintage - think Chateux Nuef De Pape in a 5 star restaurant - the performances, improvement, guile, tenacity and ability to look for & take on board advice - this is the gold.

However - for Murph - his interaction in other logs is fantastic and is what is missing on Boards quite a lot. There is the ability to look beyond the numbers and call out what needs to be called out in a very subtle way. I absolutely respect that. Its a sage like ability.

Congrats D - a great year well chronicled.

Dubh Geannain

Well done on a great year Murph. You're certainly extremely generous with your time and advice to many of us less knowledgeable runners on the other threads and logs. The awards were well deserved. The old race reports aren't too bad either 😉