"And why do we fall Bruce?"

Time to get back logging (and running :rolleyes:) for the new year!

Pretty much took the month of December off having lost my motivation but was looking forward to the new year and starting into a new plan. I’ve signed up for a couple of HM in March and April so the 6th of January was D-Day for the start of one of the 12 week FRR HM plans.

Monday 6th- 9 miles GA. Did these miles around the grounds of Strokestown House famine museum for something different. For the parkrun tourists amongst you this is where the local one is held. Nice setting but having to do a 180 turn at a traffic cone 6 times means it surely ain’t a PB course. Took these nice and handy but halfway thru the bottom of my hamstrings in both legs tightened, not sore but bit uncomfortable all the same. Finished up with average of 8.23/mile.

Tuesday 7th- 8 miles with 25 mins @LT. Very apprehensive about this one as it was the first proper session since DCM training. 10 mins at GA and I’m thinking how am I going to knock thru the intervals at nearly 2 mins per mile faster! The first interval is 15 mins and despite the shock to the system it goes relatively smoothly despite the rain and wind. Still glad to have the 4 minute jog interval which ends up being 5 minutes as I was day dreaming and missed it. Second interval is 12 mins but this one is way tougher and I’m regretting running the first one to peak fitness rather than current fitness! Still churning it out but the mix of headwind, main road traffic meaning I’m pretty much running on the spot when a Lordy passes and it being my first speed session in an age means I cut this one short at 10 mins instead (don’t judge me!). Nice blister on my foot to show for my efforts too. Run completed at an average of 7.39 min/mile.

Thursday 9th- 10 miles GA. Was supposed to do this Wednesday instead but work ran over what it was supposed to. Only way I could fit it in was with an early start Thursday morning. Set the alarm for 5.40 am, only hit snooze once and I’m out the door with hi viz and headlamp. First couple of miles are grand but after that for the next 6 I’m on my own in the dark on the main road hard shoulder. Had listened to a former astronaut on The Last Word earlier in the week talking about how eerie space walks are cause there is no sound except your own breathing. My run is similar in that the only noise is my breathing and footsteps! This was supposed to be an endurance run with a faster second half but I left it at GA to ease myself into the plan (well noticed though Mr Guappa, once a mentor always a mentor!). Run completed at an average of 8.27 min/mile.

Friday 10th- 12 miles GA. Again this was supposed to be an endurance run done at the weekend but my wife was on night shift so switched things around. Nothing too exciting about this one apart from feeling a bit of a squelch in one of my runners about halfway thru but running on anyways. Changing in the car and my sock is red due to poor toenail cutting technique! Run done at average of 8.15 min/mile.

Sunday 12th- 7 miles GA with strides. The strides in this one were 6 x 100 meters twice with 4 minute recovery between. Hamstrings still a small bit tight meaning I had to check the top out of these strides but other than that it was fine.

Great to get back into the swing of things again and hopefully the LT feels a bit easier in the coming week!

On a different note, thanks so much for your votes for Most Improved Athlete, your acknowledgment means an awful lot and has given me a great confidence boost to start the new year, thanks again.

skyblue46 wrote: »

You are the aforementioned etc ;-)

Has he left these shores that long that he no longer gets irish wit?!

Laineyfrecks wrote: »

Not to interrupt the bickering here but huge well done & really well deserved award of most improved:D

Now ladies continue the bickering...

That's a sense of humour I can get on board with!!

Not updated for few weeks. Wanted to leave it til after completing a full weeks training after the recovery week but that hasn’t happened yet so better do it now to keep things reasonably in line.

Recovery week went fine- 44 miles across 5 runs mostly at General Aerobic with strides thrown in a couple of days.

Monday 3rd February- 8 miles GA
Managed to fit this in on an extended lunch break. Nothing too exciting about this one, just churning out the miles!

Tuesday 4th- 10 miles with LT intervals
Was dreading this one tbh. 2 miles at GA and then into the first interval which was to last 22 mins. Found using the lap pace option on the watch great in these sessions for staying at a consistent pace throughout. Got through this first interval fairly well but the 5 minute recovery jog was very welcome before tackling the second interval of 18 mins. Blowing hard to start with in this one but get it done. According to Strava the first interval included a new 5k PB of 19.32.

Wednesday 5th- 13 miles endurance
This was supposed to be 11 miles but my recall of the plan when reading it earlier in the week was out!
4 miles @ 8.30/mile, 5 miles @ 8.00 and 4 miles @ 7.30. Enjoyable session and hit the paces or bit below them each mile so was happy out with that one.

Thursday 6th- 3 mile recovery run. Nice insert in the plan at this stage as I wouldn’t have been fit for much else!

Friday was to be 8 miles @ GA with strides. Was actually off work on Friday but sod’s law kept coming up with work to do at home so the day went away from me and run was missed. No big deal since Saturday was to be a tough 14 mile progression run.
Eldest son went and got a vomiting bug and did a lovely job pebble dashing his bedroom wall at 1 am! Almost an hour of a clear up before all was settled before he repeated the dose later in the night so that put paid to my running on Saturday and the missus was away on Sunday so no run then either.

Monday 10th- 8 miles GA
The now usual extended lunchtime run, nothing exciting happened!

Tuesday 11th- 10 miles with LT intervals.
2 miles at GA to warm up and then into the session. First up was 3 1200m intervals at 5k pace. Handy round number so just to add on 0.75 mile to the starting point on the watch each time. Tried to keep it reasonable consistent at 6.00 min/mile pace and got them done. A 4 min jog recovery and then into the next set of intervals- 3 1000 metre repeats. Again managed to hit the 6.00 min/mile pace for first 2 but pace inevitably dropped on the last one through a mix of fatigue and a headwind.

Wednesday 12th- 11 miles endurance
Was supposed to be 12 but 4 miles in all of which are at the lower end 8.30 min/mile pace and for some reason I’m sweating buckets, feeling bit dizzy and just totally heavy legged. Pass over a hill at this point and the feeling slowly passes so I manage to up the pace and hit the 4 8.00 min/mile and 3 7.30 min/mile to finish up although it took way more out of me than it should have.

That night my wife and eldest 2 kids were at their cousins school show. She rang halfway thru it telling me she had vomited and her sister would be driving them home afterwards. They are just in the door when our youngest buck comes down the stairs saying he’s after getting sick in bed. Ah here!
Take Thursday off to be nurse so recovery run is lost but no big deal.

Friday 14th- 8 miles with hills and strides
Everyone was feeling better that morning so went to work and got this one done at lunchtime. 8 hill repeats of about 12 seconds were actually fun followed by 8 100 metre set of strides.

The weekend was supposed to feature a 15 mile endurance run but I started feeling unwell driving home that evening. Didn’t get sick but no appetite or energy and ended up going to bed at 7.30! Felt betterish the next day but still no energy so not a hope of attempting that run. The youngest lad was sick in bed again that night so Sunday ended up being a write off too.

Disappointed about all the missed runs those past 2 weekends but these things pop up. After all the clean ups it will be a long time before I can eat sweet corn or grapes again!

And on a final note my mum informed me that my cousin is getting married on his birthday. “Isn’t his birthday sometime in October”? Yeah it is I’m told, October 24th, the day before the Dublin marathon :mad:
He is a mate of mine as well as a cousin so it’s not one I can avoid. A quick google tells me the wedding venue is 86 miles from the start line so it’s not going to be an ideal pre race rest day. Normal people would probably say forget the race there will be others but I would be gutted to miss it.