Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Mum on the Run
Comments
-
-
Back up to 30 miles this week and hope to fit in 2 swims and 2 gym sessions too. So far so good with the mileage, the body seems to be holding up. I’m also starting to feel the benefit of the weight loss so far (I’ve lost over half my target
) so fingers crossed my fitness improves and pace starts to get a bit quicker! I signed up for the Lusk 4 miler at the beginning of March as it coincides with the end of base building. It’s not a goal race and there won’t be any sort of a taper but it’ll give me some idea of where I’m at.
Monday 29th January
Less than half an hour available for this run but had the advantage of doing it in daylight. Grand stretch in the evenings now :pac::pac:- 2.5 miles incl. 6 x 12 sec strides (path, tarmac)
Tuesday 30th January
Gym and short (300m) swim.
Tempo Tuesday today with 20 min at around 8:50 min/mile on the plan. Wind was in my favour along the promenade for most of the tempo set so average pace ended up at 8:34 min/mile. Last 3-4 mins were into the wind and tough enough but the rest of it was grand. Apart from about half the lights out the promenade making it difficult to see on occasion. Where do I lodge my complaint ?!?- 6.0 miles incl. 20 mins @ 2 hour pace (grass, path)
Wednesday 31st January
Rest day.
TOTAL MILES JANUARY (104)
Runs (26), Gym/Pilates sessions (10), Swim/Aqua S&C (6), Cycles (2)
Thursday 1st February
Tempo Thursday and a day off work – a winning combo! Headed for Howth (Bog of Frogs) and ran from the Martello Tower in Sutton as far as the DART in Howth and back again. Last 13 mins were tempo effort but only averaged at 8:47 min/mile. Pace not quite there as it was very muddy underfoot and I spent as much time jumping sideways to avoid going splat as I did running forwards. Very enjoyable on a spectacular day, all the better for being out of the office. Spring has sprung hopefully.- 5.5 miles incl. 13 mins @ 1 hour pace (trail, mud, tarmac)
Friday 2nd February
Gym session in the morning. Increased the weights slightly above wimp level and got through it ok. Postponed the run until the evening though to allow for a bit of recovery.
Perfect conditions for running later – no wind and nowhere near as cold as I was expecting. Just did an out and back along the avenue.- 3.6 miles incl. 6 x 10 sec strides (path)
Saturday 3rd February
Some parkrun tourism on the southside @ Bushy Park. Lovely run on a mix of path and trail. Bit too narrow with a few 180 degree turns to be a PB course but it’s very picturesque and more or less flat. Today’s run completes an informal target I set a while back to run 20 different parkruns. Top 5 for me, all for different reasons, are: St Anne’s (atmosphere, PB potential, Olive’s Room), Malahide (scenery, PB potential, Avoca), Ardgillan (stunning location, hill-training!), Lough Key (scenery, coffee, minus points for having to pay for parking :rolleyes:) and Cabinteely (hill-training, atmosphere, the best cake!). River Valley and Waterstown made the shortlist. I missed out on the opportunity to do Sligo, Falcarragh and Copenhagen last year due to injury. Hoping to make Ballincollig and Bere Island during the summer and also a few more locally like Tolka Valley and Brickfields. #loveparkrun.
Swim including aqua S&C (1,100m) while BG Jr. was doing her own sporty stuff. Starving after.- 4.0 miles (tarmac, trail)
Sunday 4th February
A couple of laps of St.Anne’s with a slight detour to include a loop on the Masters XC route (Log!). Spotted Mr&Mrs KennyG after the Junior parkrun celebrations and Annapr and Laura before and during their Speeds. All the cool kids in the park today :cool:. Kept the run deliberately easy with the aim of keeping the HR around 130.- 8.6 miles @ avg HR 131 (trail, mud, tarmac)
TOTAL MILES: 30.2
Target for next week is 35 miles :eek:0 -
Bungy Girl wrote: »
Tempo Tuesday today with 20 min at around 8:50 min/mile on the plan. Wind was in my favour along the promenade for most of the tempo set so average pace ended up at 8:34 min/mile. Last 3-4 mins were into the wind and tough enough but the rest of it was grand. Apart from about half the lights out the promenade making it difficult to see on occasion. Where do I lodge my complaint ?!?
Here, I believe.
0 -
Very glad to see Cabinteely made your list - I'd have had to lodge a complaint myself otherwise
. I can recommend Balincolling!
It's really great to see you getting back on track, I've always loved this log - so much to learn from!0 -
Annie get your Run wrote: »Very glad to see Cabinteely made your list - I'd have had to lodge a complaint myself otherwise. I can recommend Balincolling!
It's really great to see you getting back on track, I've always loved this log - so much to learn from!
Ha ha, no way I would dare not put Cabo on the list! Ballincollig sounds great from your report, I wouldn't have thought it was so busy but I guess it's the closest parkrun to Cork city ?
And ah shucks, you are very kind
:o. 0 -
Advertisement
-
Bungy Girl wrote: »Ha ha, no way I would dare not put Cabo on the list! Ballincollig sounds great from your report, I wouldn't have thought it was so busy but I guess it's the closest parkrun to Cork city ?
And ah shucks, you are very kind:o.
Can't believe Fairview didn't even make the shortlist.... It even includes YOUR hill... 0 -
-
Here, I believe.Complaints:
http://www.dublincity.ie/main-menu-your-council/isupport
Great going here. Well done. Lovely to read and see what's going on as always.
14 lamps out counted last night and service request lodged
. Maybe we'll have a better chance of seeing those invisible extendable dog leads now :rolleyes:. 0 -
35 miles on the plan this week. Plus the usual stuff so I don’t fall apart.
Monday 5th February
A strict 30 minute window to get this done. HR wasn’t working on the watch today for some reason so this ended up being a bit too fast.
Oops.- 3.0 miles incl. 6 x 12 sec strides (path, tarmac)
Tuesday 6th February
Gym and short (300m) swim followed by a quick Jacuzzi and even quicker steam in a very non-steamy steam room. As one aul lad remarked “You’d be better off standing in front of a kettle”. Love my gym - full of interesting pensioners. Reminds me of the movie Cocoon.
Fab run along the promenade before dinner. Clear night and only a bit of a breeze. Most of the tempo was with the wind and only the last 4 minutes against it. Pace should be around 8:50 min/mile but ended up at 8:30 min/mile.
Oops.- 6.5 miles incl. 23 mins tempo @ 2 hour pace (path, grass)
Wednesday 7th February
Rest day, just Pilates with a walk there and back. Also it’s Weigh-In-Wednesday and I registered a loss by the skin of my teeth. Turns out home-made brownies have just as many calories as the shop-bought ones. Who’d have thought ?! Overall campaign going well though with almost two thirds of the target gone. Then it’ll be time for a shopping spree!
Thursday 8th February
I’m finding myself really looking forward to the tempo sessions. I was getting a bit bored and disheartened with all the plodding and wondering if I’d ever ‘run’ again.
Headed to River Valley after work and did 4 laps of the parkrun route, starting and finishing the tempo section at the downhill so I’d only have to climb the hill once at pace (still had to jog up it 3 times ). Paced section was too fast (07:58 min/mile when it should be around 08:25 min/mile), there’s a pattern emerging here…. so pace judgement needs work but hopefully it means I’m getting a bit fitter too.- 6.5 miles incl. 16 mins tempo @ 1 hour pace (tarmac, hilly)
Friday 9th February
Easy run around what’s left of :rolleyes: the trails in St.Anne’s including some strides towards the end. Fab morning: cold, crispy and sunny. Delicious second breakfast afterwards.- 5.0 miles incl 6 x 10 sec strides (grass, trail, tarmac)
Saturday 10th February
Parkrun day :cool:. More tourism, this time a trip to Brickfields in D.12. Ended up in Palmerstown thanks to an ambiguous Sat Nav instruction and was going to choose Waterstown parkrun rather than be late, but figured it out and made it to Drimnagh in time to get a short warm up in. Course is 4 laps of a flat park. Nice community feel to it with families and groups of walkers. Ran without looking at the watch and pleasantly surprised with 25:xx and 2nd F (and current age-group course record holder, lol) for a moderate effort that felt easier than either of the tempos this week. Given that I struggled and just about made a sub-25 at New Years I'm taking this as progress.
Session later on in a very warm and sweaty gym, ugh. Why do some people think it’s ok to wear smelly kit ? Gross.- 5.1 miles incl. parkrun (tarmac)
Sunday 11th February
Out and back along the canal. Shuffled out slowly into a strong wind, slightly uphill and flew the return with the wind at my back.- 9.5 miles (path, tarmac)
TOTAL MILES: 35.6
Mid-Term next week and even though it’s only 2 days off, most of BG Jr’s extra-curricular stuff has been cancelled for the week and those occasions are when I get my training done
. Oh and the school has thrown in a couple of random half days at short notice too so I’ll be pulling favours left, right and centre :mad:. At least it’s a step back week – only 25 miles on the plan. 0 -
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
25 miles on the plan this week.
Monday 12th February
Local loop. Every time I try to do strides along Clonliffe Road I swear never again. With all the cars parked on the footpath and only room for one person to get through at a time and lots of pedestrian traffic I invariably end up stopping mid stride or risking life and limb by jumping on to the road.- 3.0 miles @ avg HR 128 incl 6 x 12 sec strides (path)
Tuesday 13th February
Lovely run out and back along the promenade with a tempo section on the grass. Met aquinn coming in the opposite direction and exchanged waves. Pace was comfortable on the way out, and again managed to overcompensate on the windy return leg to average 8:28 min/mile overall. Didn’t help that I picked up a runner when I turned who was doing more or less the same pace and it turned a bit competitive.- 4.5 miles incl. 18 mins tempo @ 2 hour pace (path, grass)
Wednesday 14th February
Had to juggle a few things around due to mid-term so taking a rest day tomorrow and squeezing in a run today instead. Ran to Pilates the long way and home again for a total of 3.5 miles.- 3.5 miles (path)
Thursday 15th February
Rest day including work and a fancy lunch in town. Ate too much.
Friday 16th February
Physio this morning. Just a check up really and more of a work-related injury than anything to do with running. Got some good advice and confirmation that the back is holding up well to the increased mileage.
Got a last-minute and most welcome offer to take BG Jr off my hands in the afternoon so was out the door and away before anyone could change their mind. Headed to Howth and did an out and back (or should that be an up and down ?) along the Fat Turkey route with 12 mins at 1 hour pace. The tempo section was mainly downhill with one short climb (that bit in the middle of the descent that’s a killer in the race itself) and the pace (7:24 min/mile) was a lot faster than usual because of the downhill but the effort was about right.- 4.5 miles incl. 12 mins tempo @ 1 hour effort/pace (path, tarmac)
Saturday 17th February
Missed out on doing Tolka Valley parkrun so made do with a solo effort later on in Santry demesne. Had planned a short swim after but I was too mucky to set foot in the gym so went shopping for bits and pieces instead. Probably too mucky for shopping too, now that I think about it.- 3.0 miles (grass, mud)
Sunday 18th February
Perfect running conditions this afternoon: fresh and drizzly but no wind and not at all cold. Headed to St.Anne’s and did the current parkrun route followed by the previous temporary route and a bit extra for luck.- 6.5 miles (tarmac)
Only 2 weeks base building left, both 35 mile weeks, after which I’d hope to hover around 30 mile weeks while adding in some speedy* stuff.
*relatively speaking 0 -
Only 2 weeks left ! Base building is great but it’s dull to write about (& even more so to read about I would imagine). While I plan to be a lot more sensible about racing than previously, I’d hope to add a few races into the mix between now and the start of the next base building phase in July. Lusk 4 miler is Sunday week and will be my first race in almost a year! I’ve no expectations or aspirations to be anywhere near my PB for the distance but I’d like to get around in under 32 anyway and as close as I can to 31 depending on the conditions. It’ll be a course PB anyway .
Monday 19th February
Usual Monday run in a strict 30 minute time limit.- 3.0 miles incl. 6 x 10 sec strides (path, tarmac)
Tuesday 20th February
Gym and a short (350m) swim after leaving BG Jr. at her activities. Followed by a fab run in the early evening. Headed out just after sunset but it was bright enough by the moonlight to run along the Wooden Bridge. Loved this run, one of those good to alive ones. DCC have fixed most of the lights along the promenade and even the dogs were behaving themselves. The Clontarf Baths look as if they’ll be open soon too, but apparently you have to be part of a swimming or triathlon club group to use the pool…:mad:
Pace for the tempo section was 8:33 min/mile and effort felt comfortable enough.- 6.5 miles incl. 26 mins tempo @ 2 hour pace (path, grass)
Wednesday 21st February
Just Pilates. Walked there and back. Good class.
Thursday 22nd February
Day off work.
A few errands first then time for a run. Debated about where to go but defaulted to River Valley. Just over 4 laps of the parkrun route meant climbing the hill as many times, only once at pace though. Effort was about right (think I’m finally getting the hang of this as the original instructions that came with this base building plan suggested a differential of 30 secs per mile between the 1 hour and 2 hour tempo paces) and pace for the tempo section was 8:04 min/mile.- 7.0 miles (tarmac, hilly) incl. 18 mins tempo @ 1 hour pace
Swim this morning (1,000m including some Aqua S&C) and then a run after dark locally including some strides. Took an unfamiliar road at one point and nearly lost the plot when a guy, dressed totally in black, ran up behind me at speed while I jumped to the side in a panic. None of the usual runner pleasantries that you’d expect from someone approaching a lone female runner after dark. I suppose it could have been worse if he was an axe murderer rather than just a bit oblivious to running etiquette but my heart rate reached a new high all the same!- 4.4 miles incl. 6 x 10 sec strides (path)
Saturday 24th February
Parkrun pacer at St.Anne’s this morning. Volunteered for the 29 min slot and came in with 8 seconds to spare. Job done! Lots of familiar faces from these parts there this morning both running and volunteering. No time for coffee as had to get home to bring BG Jr to her first of 3 social events this weekend :rolleyes:.- 3.7 miles (tarmac) incl. warm up.
Sunday 25th February
Dropped BG Jr at her next social event then ran from home and most of the way around St.Anne’s before retracing my steps. Absolutely perfect weather for the run. Was feeling tired towards the end and the pace was probably a little fast but good to get it in the bag all the same. Ended up in St.Anne's again later while BG Jr was at her last social engagement of the weekend. It was jammers, full of families enjoying the amazing weather.- 10.5 miles (path, trail, tarmac)
TOTAL MILES : 35.1
I can’t bear the idea of doing even 1 mile on the dreadmill next week, never mind 35. I guess we’ll deal with it as it happens and with any luck the forecasters have it wrong and we’ll be basking in double digit temps!0 -
-
Last week of base building for now. Hoping the Beast doesn’t scupper my running plans!*
Monday 26th February
Enjoyable run in a light dusting of snow. Ended up being overdressed in a hoody and trackie bottoms as thought it would be Baltic but it was grand.- 3.0 miles incl. 6 x 12 sec strides (path, tarmac)
Tuesday 27th February
Headed out bravely into the snow and started my tempo section once I hit the grass along the promenade. Had to turn after 5 minutes though as I couldn’t see a thing with the hailstones pelting my face. Just did 10 mins tempo and 3 miles in total before calling it a day.- 3.0 miles incl. 10 mins tempo @ 2 hour pace (path, grass)
Wednesday 28th February
Working from home all day while juggling care of BG Jr with the OH. Thankfully no one wanted a video call as I stayed in my PJs for most of the day and didn’t even brush my hair.
Pilates was cancelled and there was no opportunity to get out for a run so the final week of base building will be necessarily curtailed. Bah!
TOTAL MILES FEBRUARY (123)
Runs (24), Gym/Pilates sessions (9), Swim/Aqua S&C (5), Cycles (0)
Thursday 1st March
No running. Cabin fever taking hold.
Friday 2nd March
No running. Going slowly crazy.
Saturday 3rd March
Encouraged (shamed?) by aquinn to finally go outdoors I emerged blinking into the light, walked to the park, then did 2 super slow snow miles in the park. Glad to get it done even if my watch advised sternly that my VO2 max had dropped 2 points since Wednesday :rolleyes:. Back home to the news that Lusk 4 miler is definitely going ahead. I have no expectations whatsoever but it’ll be nice to blow off the cobwebs and see what happens.- 2.0 miles (snow-covered grass)
Sunday 4th March
Lusk 4 Mile
Fair play to Lusk AC who pulled out all the stops to make sure this race went ahead safely. Really impressed with the route, the organisation and the volunteers.
Also thank you to aquinn who chauffeured me there and back (even if we took the scenic route we still arrived with loads of time to spare).
I had no expectations going into this, and given the lack of training and over-indulgence since Wednesday I thought this would be a car crash. But once the gun went off and we got moving I was feeling good and spent the whole race overtaking. The first couple of miles were very comfortable, but I was wary of overdoing it and so tried to keep the pace even. I haven’t raced since last April so thought it prudent to err on the side of caution. With hindsight I really should have gone with the 30 min pacer but the end result is still way past my target of sub 32 so I am happy with it but at the same time know I can do a lot better.
Congrats to aquinn, helenanne, laura_ac3, Mrs Kenny G and no doubt others from around here who ran today. What an antidote to the cabin fever of the last few days!- 5.0 miles total (tarmac) incl. 4 mile race @ 7:36 min/mile (30:25) Splits: (7:38, 7:38, 7:42, 7:28)
TOTAL MILES: 13 :rolleyes:
*Did I jinx it ? :rolleyes::o0 -
-
Bungy Girl wrote: »
Sunday 4th March
Lusk 4 Mile
Fair play to Lusk AC who pulled out all the stops to make sure this race went ahead safely. Really impressed with the route, the organisation and the volunteers.
Also thank you to aquinn who chauffeured me there and back (even if we took the scenic route we still arrived with loads of time to spare).
I had no expectations going into this, and given the lack of training and over-indulgence since Wednesday I thought this would be a car crash. But once the gun went off and we got moving I was feeling good and spent the whole race overtaking. The first couple of miles were very comfortable, but I was wary of overdoing it and so tried to keep the pace even. I haven’t raced since last April so thought it prudent to err on the side of caution. With hindsight I really should have gone with the 30 min pacer but the end result is still way past my target of sub 32 so I am happy with it but at the same time know I can do a lot better.
Congrats to aquinn, helenanne, laura_ac3, Mrs Kenny G and no doubt others from around here who ran today. What an antidote to the cabin fever of the last few days!
Great to see you all! I really enjoyed it. So glad I went. I'm still being super-zen about running (& training actually) - just running & enjoying it, so I was happily surprised with my run. Think we were all pleased? Laura_ac3 & Mrs Kenny G seemed v cheerful after too?
Thanks, Lusk, it was great!0 -
-
Advertisement
-
Supposed to be a step back / recovery week after the base building to 35 mpw but given last week’s fiasco I’ll be increasing the mileage by comparison :rolleyes:.
The original plan after the base building was to do an 8 week Mile training programme, but I’ve changed my mind and will do a 6 week 5K plan instead starting Monday 12th.
Monday 5th
Easy run on the usual Monday route. Few patches of snow left so jumped up on the grass where possible to avoid going splat.- 3.1 miles (path, tarmac, grass)
Tuesday 6th
Full gym session and a short swim (300m). Legs still a bit heavy after Sunday so took it easy on the run later which was an out and back along the promenade.- 3.7 miles (path, grass)
Wednesday 7th
Nada. Too tired after a long day to even go to Pilates.
Thursday 8th
A nice tempo on the grass along the promenade in perfect running conditions. Was going for 8:15 min/mile pace as that’s what the calculators suggest as current 2 hour pace based on Sunday’s race. Ended up a bit fast at 8:09 average for the 15 mins but felt ok, a bit tough for the last few minutes maybe.- 4.0 miles incl. 15 mins tempo @ 2 hour pace (path, grass)
Friday 9th
Had to work this morning so no opportunity to run until late. Local loop in the dark.- 3.0 miles (path)
Saturday 10th
St.Anne’s parkrun to set a benchmark for the next 6 weeks training. Conditions were good – cool and drizzly and not much wind. Last week’s result from the four miler suggested a target time of 23:19 so I allowed myself a bit of slack for the vino consumed the night before and set myself a target of sub 23:30. The GPS reading is always a bit off in St.Anne’s so I mostly ignored the watch and went by effort. Splits ended up fairly consistent, always good not to die on the last mile! Best of all was no trouble from the abs, but I avoided any sort of attempt at a sprint finish just in case. Raging now because I might have got in under 23:00 :rolleyes:. Very happy with the end result all the same: 23:06 on my watch which matched the official time. Great to catch up with Mr & Mrs KennyG before and after the run. Well done both, even if KennyG did chase down his better half in a most ungentlemanly fashion :P.
Swim (1000m) later on including some aqua S&C while BG Jr was at her activities.- 5.0 miles incl. parkrun 5K @ 7:26 average (23:06). Watch Splits : 7:32, 7:34, 7:23, (6:55)
Sunday 11th
Happy Mothers Day ! Breakfast in bed and the day more or less to myself. Did an easy run out and back along the promenade and the Bull Wall.- 6.2 miles (path, grass)
TOTAL MILES: 250 -
-
Hello! I’m reactivating this log after a hiatus (logging, not running) of almost 3 years. I’m older, heavier, slower and not necessarily wiser :rolleyes:, BUT, I think I have rediscovered my mojo and, perhaps it’s coincidence, but my best running years (2015 / 2016) were while I was logging here and getting some great wisdom and advice from yiz all.
In the same way that I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, I still don’t know what distance or surface suits me best. I love XC (the muckier the better), was a track fairy for a couple of seasons, really miss parkrun and being a parkrun tourist AND also have unfinished business with the marathon.
No idea if I can get back to the sort of times I was running a few years ago, but for now I want to (corny as it sounds) be the best I can be while staring down the barrel of a significant birthday (and new age group) in 2021 :eek:.
Currently in the middle of a 5K programme, with a couple of time trials planned to measure any improvement and then I think I will do some base building to bring my mileage up.
Lots of logs to catch up on & new ones to discover too. Good to be back. 0 -
-
-
-
Annie get your Run wrote: »Welcome back!! You beat me to it
By about an hour. Great minds and all that. Welcome back to you too! 0 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
Monday 28th
No running, just a nice stretchy online Pilates class. The instructor is normally quite tough on us so it was a pleasant surprise that she went easy today. Spent the rest of the day glued to the couch, eating all the things. Finished ‘The Valhalla Murders’ – highly recommend it.
Tuesday 29th
Laps on the track at Alsaa while BG Jr did her (outdoor) Tae Kwon Do class. It beats standing around shivering for an hour watching! Fab sunny day, bit of a chilly breeze. I don’t think the GPS measures correctly on the track so the pace isn’t accurate. HR a bit high for what felt easy enough but that’s probably down to the excess eating and drinking over the last while.
5 miles @8:54 min/mile, average HR 138
Wednesday 30th
Hill reps :eek:. Plan says 4–5 long hills @ 5K pace, long being 400 – 600 yards. YARDS !?! Even I don’t understand yards :pac::pac:. Popped 5 x .30 miles into the Garmin. Close enough :rolleyes:. Did these near home on a not-so-steep hill, more of a drag really. Target pace was 7:40 min/mile so happy enough with 7:30/7:31/7:29/7:28/7:24. Recovery was jog back down to the start after each rep.
5.3 miles @9:12 min/mile, average HR 1390
Advertisement