PB or not PB...that is the question

01/08/2019

20.0K - 101:42 - Grass/Trail - NP

The kids are still up in Mayo so have a bit more bandwidth this week in the evenings.

Went out to UL after work and headed off to the grass pitches to warm up for a couple of km with the intention of heading off then around Annacotty and then on around the Parkway etc.

But was feeling a bit sluggish tbh so decided to keep it local and ended up doing a load of laps instead around the pitches and the newish trail around the 4G pitches. Broke it up a bit by going across the bridges over and doing a few laps of the other pitches and then heading back for a few more laps on the grass.

A bit boring for sure but zoned out completely which was no harm and hopefully the grass might be easier on the legs for a change.

05/08/2019

18.20K - 84:54 - Road - NP

Up in Mayo again this weekend - no run on Saturday as I was at the match in Castlebar. Got soaked and probably aged about 10 years through sheer nervous tension - I've come down with a bad dose of Mayo fever this year, so much so that I'm even thinking of going to Croke Park next Saturday :eek::eek::eek:

Went to the beach yesterday in between the rain and managed a dead man's float for a bit - had half arsed plans for a run in the evening but it was lashing so gave it a miss.

Anyway, finally got out today for what was a very decent workout imho...kept it solid at 4:45 pace for about 13K and then did the last few at <4:30 with the last one being at a snappy 4:09.

Felt good all the way round - the Achilles are definitely screaming a bit but I'm keeping on top of it so far

No running over the weekend - would have been a struggle to fit one in anyway the way things panned out but bottom line is that both Achilles are in bad shape right now.

Have been icing, resting, stretching etc over the last few days but no real improvement so back to physio tomorrow evening.

This week will probably be a write-off I'd say but might be no harm in the long run hopefully as I can refresh and recalibrate, get back on my feet for Charleville and then continue the progress up until Dublin.

re: Marathon target - at this stage I still feel/think/hope that something around ~3:15 could still be a realistic target, assuming that I'm back running ok in the not too distant future

17/08/2019

6.40K - 29:29 - Road - NP


18/08/2019

6.20K - 27:21 - Road – NP

Up in Mayo again so went for a couple of gentle runs around the local soccer pitch.

Both of them went pretty ok I guess – no major reaction in the Achilles or elsewhere

Latest superfluous fitness/injury gadget ordered => balance board from Amazon.

Recommended by the physio and well researched by me online…..probably too late in the day to have a major impact on my current training cycle but hoping it can be of use going forward.

Starting to recall over the last few days why I swore in 2012 I’d never enter another marathon – I don’t think my body is up to it tbh at the level I want to run at

And if I’m being honest I prefect racing regularly over shorter distances rather than putting all the eggs in one basket as it were.

Anyway, moan over (for now!) – I think if I make it a) to the start line and b) to the finish line in Dublin this October I think I’ll call it a day with that distance

21/08/2019

8.85K - 41:51 - Road – NB880

Perfect weather for a run today eg. lashing rain, light wind, temps in the mid teens :cool:

All good in the hood I think - still a lingering stiffness in the Achilles but improving generally I think.

Will probably do something similar tomorrow and Friday - tied up at the weekend so won't be running again until early next week. Will hopefully be in shape then to start adding the miles back up again

27/08/2019

12K - 58:03 - Road – NP


28/08/2019

8.20K - 38:56 - Road – NB880


Spent a very enjoyable weekend at a music festival in England - did plenty of walking, a spot of dancing, carb-loading and kept myself well hydrated throughout :pac::pac::pac::pac:

Back to reality yesterday - was on Annual Leave and had a couple of hours to myself in the morning so popped out for a plod in the lashing rain....a few latent niggles (a mix of the weekend activity and ongoing issues) but felt ok all things considered.

Today was actually a pretty good run as well - kept it steady and niggles/twangs were barely noticeable so fingers crossed that I'm turning some sort of corner at last.

I had my first 'workout' on the wobble board last night too which went well I think.

As I was wobbling about in front of the telly, I also remembered that I made a drunken promise to my brother in law to pace him for a marathon at Christmas time over in Portsmouth (:eek:)....I'm never drinking Amstel again :D

01/09/2019

16.10K – 76:24 – Road – NP

Pretty busy all weekend so running was kicked down the priority list - found a window yesterday evening and set out to run a minimum of 12K and test the Achilles (plural )

It went pretty well overall I think and not too sore this morning so it'll be very cautious training for another while.

re: Charleville - PB probably out of scope now, I'll be treating this a group long run now with a free t-shirt at the end.

re: Dublin - PB (3:26) is in the balance now as well realistically. Unless my ankles improve dramatically I can't see myself doing any hard sessions/speed work in the coming weeks. Thinking now that if I aim for 4:50 per km pace and hope to hang on...would be very happy with a 3:23 marathon right now the way things have gone.

Anyway will keep plugging away - will be glad when this marathon is done and dusted tbh...

05/09/2019

10.10K – 46:32 – Road – NB880

This felt like a big improvement on last weeks outing on the same route....Achilles ok, energy ok and lovely running conditions (temps in mid teens, fresh, light wind)

I'm wary of running back to back days in my current state but will throw the gear in the car anyway tomorrow and see what happens.

Both kids sick over the weekend with random back-to-school style bugs, and inevitably I ended up with some variant of something as well.

Felt knackered on Saturday, totally fupped on Sunday and Monday, crap yesterday and halfways normal today.

Obviously not ideal preparation for Charleville on Sunday and a DCM lurking on the horizon :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Between the Achilles issues and now this, it's definitely the most thorough taper I've ever done for a half :pac::pac::pac:

15/09/2019

CHARLEVILLE HALF MARATHON 2019

21.15K – 93:40 – Road – NP35

As long time readers (if there are any out there lol) will know, I’ve been struggling with form, fitness and injury over the last couple of months so had zero expectations/goals heading down to Charleville yesterday.

Got down in nice time (parked up around 8:45) and took a wander down towards the race HQ. Bumped into a few club mates and then amazingly bumped into the legendary Jerry Kiernan – had a quick chat with him and was tempted to ask for a selfie but in fairness we’re probably both too old for that kind of thing.

Did a short enough warm up really and then positioned myself about halfway up the pack at the start line.

As we were waiting to start the sun came out and it got really hot really quickly. I had brought a kids size bottle of water down with me and had plan to chuck it away before starting but (luckily) held on to it. Was extremely hot very quickly and poured most of the water over my head to keep cool – don’t remember ever having to do that so early in a race before.

Started off steady enough and spent the first km basically avoiding running into people; settled into a rhythm fairly quickly after that and was surprised to see what I presumed was the 1:30 pace group ahead of me.

Upped the pace a bit and began to reel in the pace group over the next couple of km….felt comfortable and was inwardly chuffed to be running at the pace so easily. Made contact and finally was able to see the pace balloon clearly…..yup…1:35 lol :D:D:D

1) 4:22
2) 4:21
3) 4:25
4) 4:22
5) 4:20 – Time Elapsed 21:53


Despite my pacing group snafu I was more than happy with the start tbh…it was still baking hot but felt ok. The front of the pacing group was congested so I decided I was probably better to be ahead of it altogether. Put on a bit of a spurt and another lad went with me from the group. Got chatting to him and we motored along handy enough for a few miles, gradually working up through the field

6) 4:19
7) 4:24
8) 4:28
9) 4:25
10) 4:26 – Time Elapsed 43:57

I didn’t like the section around Kilmallock at all – had memories of a bad run there from earlier in the year at the County 4 Miler and the road surface wasn’t ideal for my gammy Achilles. The breeze was welcome though and myself and yer man were still ploughing along handy enough. Halfway in ~46 mins.

11) 4:21
12) 4:17
13) 4:23
14) 4:29
15) 4:24 - – Time Elapsed 65:53

This is where the first pangs of tiredness started to appear – not surprising being that I haven’t ran at that pace or that distance too often in recent weeks I guess!

My running buddy vanished at this point so I just kept it going. Found the last few km a real slog/grind….long stretches of slight drags were just draining. A few people were starting to drop out as well at this stage so the internal mindgames started big time – came close to a walking break once I think but knew if I stopped I’d really struggle to get going again.

16) 4:30 - 10 Miles 70:24
17) 4:30
18) 4:28
19) 4:30
20) 4:35 – Time Elapsed 88:29
21) 4:32
22) 0:39

Was still passing people out at this stage which is always nice…one lady surged past with around 3K to go but I caught her in the last few hundred metres. Didn’t bother sprinting at the end – my right glute felt a bit crampy so didn’t want to end up in a heap for the sake of a few seconds.

So overall, I should be happy with that I guess in the circumstances.

Won’t deny that I feel very frustrated that I can still run a half decent time on the back of such sh1t training – if I could just get a clear run at it I feel I could deffo get down near something approaching sub 3 form :mad::mad:

Also not sure if I would have been better off running at TMP rather than the pace I did – if I’m going to finish the marathon now it’ll have to be at a very steady 4:50 – 5:00 min pace I think and even that could be tricky unless I get back running consistently in the next couple of weeks. Physio booked for Thursday, might try a gentle plod tomorrow.

Anyway, overall an enjoyable mornings work. It was damn hot and the course, while undeniably flat, was a bit of a grind. The long stretches are a killer imho. But the organization was superb, very smooth indeed and the race number clips are a great freebie.

Bizarrely, it's actually my joint 2nd best time for the half as well - ran the exact same time in the Border Half in Limerick last November.

Nice t-shirt too fwiw and best of all I got to meet Jerry Kiernan :pac:

So no run in the sun today.

Wasn't 100% committed to a run today either way tbh but work deffo took that decision out of my hands anyway :pac:

Had a moment of weakness earlier while reading the Shoes thread in the Gear Forum...a crimson red pair of Nike Pegasus are on the way tomorrow for 80 quid.

Would literally have been a sin not to buy them at that price....they'll be in secure storage (ie. under the bed...my side of the bed) until late spring I'd say

22/09/2019

12K – 57:14 – Road – NP34

This was good prep for the closing stages of the marathon – was feeling tired and slightly queasy following 2 days at Feile 19 in Thurles.

Quick summary:
Sinead O’Connor – amazing
Horslips – decent
The Stunning – decent
Thin Lizzy Cover Band – bit meh but picked up when original band member Eric Bell appeared
EMF – good fun, saw them being interview beforehand as well which was interesting
Therapy? – good performance but never really liked them tbh
Rain on Saturday night – awful
Heineken – toxic

Anyway, the run yesterday wasn’t bad – was tempted to go longer but in the circumstances I think 12K was prob enough. Gonna try and target a long run on Thursday evening I think

25/09/2019

18.65K – 98:52 – Road/Gravel Path – NP34

Not sure if I should be happy that I managed to drag my ar$e out to UL in the p1ssing rain and dark and run a middling distance….or should I be worried that I’m not running longer distances more comfortably at this stage (?????)

I could deffo have done a few more K but was tired and wet and near the car so decided to cut my losses and head home. I think the flu jab was a factor here possibly – had a shower at home and was absolutely freezing for a couple of hours which is highly unusual for me.

Happy to report no niggles/aches in the calves/Achilles either last night or this morning.

Today will be rest & stretching, lunchtime run tomorrow and longer run (25K+) at the weekend.

01/10/2019

10.08K - 46:33 - Road - NB880

Near perfect autumn running conditions in Nenagh this afternoon....blusteryish light wind, dry and about 10 degrees.

My first effort at something approaching a tempo run in ages and it felt hella good to be running "fast" again.

No aches or niggles to report