Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads

Jan 13th-19th
Base plan week 6: 39.01 miles
No pilates class as it was fully booked.
Strengthening x3 i.e. 30 mins total. Did a brief search on frequency of this stuff.

Total base 218.67 miles

As usual, the base is a little padded because 60 minutes was coming at 5.45 ish miles most of the time and I went over to make it 6.0 miles.

Week 1 grads intermediate marathon plan

Jan 20th-26th

Mon: 60 mins very easy (actual 61:10). 5.59 miles at 10:56. 10 mins S&C video before.
Tues: 62:42. 6.64 miles at 9:27 based on 1 mile warm up, followed by 10x2 min @ CV w/ 2 min rec and 1.09 c/d. 7:58, 7:36, 7:44, 7:48, 7:35, 7:44, 7:42, 7:41, 7:40, 7:34 on this occasion. CV range is supposed to be 7:39-7:50.
Weds: Rest
Thurs: 60:30 very easy. 5.06 miles at 10:48.
Fri: 62:15 very easy. 5.68 miles at 10:58. Mad fog? Yoga later.
Sat: 4.19 miles incl very easy w/u and standard soft/very easy parkrun 32:33 at 10:45, perfect weather for it.
Sun: 2 hours easy i.e. 2:01:15, with 11.45 miles at 10:37. 10 mins S&C video before. Out the Man O War direction for this. Would put the heart rate up a bit, but no matter. Felt like marathon training is back on. It was a good morning (typical January), though it's when you turn back in before Baldungan and it's a little more exposed with wind and temperatures. Caught some hailstones a little later on too. 10:47, 10:46, 10:40, 10:34, 10:31, 10:26, 10:33, 10:36, 10:37, 10:34, 10:37 (and 10:42).

38.61 miles

Looking at the calendar, I’ll finish the 14 week plan on April 26th.

CV stuff is the quickest in the plan, iirc. Most of the rest is threshold/tempo, etc.

On Thurs I went up to the strengthening class run by the AC. Easily twice as many kids as adults and of course the young ones have no fear. :pac: It was good craic. Two 25 minute videos (T Focus 25?). Brief c/d after. Felt it a bit at home afterwards. I couldn't always follow what was on screen as due to positions and my feckin' glasses...excuses!

Jan 17th had a pleasant email from Cincinnati -

We want to know how your training is going... share your progress with us on social media using "#Pigventure2020"

There's a Facebook and Strava group. I'm not on those yolks, will drop an odd eye on the former.

Slept quite badly this week.

Still getting photo emails re DCM.

Week 4 grads intermediate plan

Feb 10th-16th

Mon: This was colllld on the bare legs walking through the car park. 61:28 very easy. 5.51 miles at 11:09.

Tues: Another nippy one, if I recall. 20:04 at threshold. 2.48 miles at 8:05, plus 10:50 mins at 10:45, 1.01 miles. 3.49 miles total. Pilates class later…neutral pelvis. I know nothing. :pac:

Weds: Rest

Thurs: 60:45 very easy. 5.54 miles at 10:58. I think this one said I only need 2 hours of recovery which is weird. Aerobic effect was only 1.2.

Fri: 60:18 very easy. 5.5 miles at 10:58...only recorded about 22 mins of the HRM. Garmin was hit and miss during the week, to say the least.

Sat: Plod from the Pavillions 1.61 miles at 10:58 to River Valley parkrun, 3.09 miles at 10:59 and return 1.44 at 11:03. A fairly typical Irish morning, a little sideways wind sometimes. I did get a laugh at the 'no golfing' sign. Friendly bunch and they had hot drinks set up for after. 6.14 miles for the morning. Still no luck with finding my volunteering shirt. Replacing it through Pro Direct or parkrun isn't an option, per emails from both. Weather was muck of the rest of Sat.

Sun: 10 mins S&C, followed by 90 min progression (30 easy/moderate/tempo). 90:19. 9.58 miles at 9:26. Easy 10:30, moderate at 9:26, tempo at 8:32. Mostly avoided the storm, bar some gusts. Tempo was a little tricky at times and thoughts of sustaining that...er. Water with electrolyte and a bar, went down fine.

Not many notes this week. Another Garda checkpoint out on Thurs or Fri. I've been watching some of Ben Parkes' videos as I enjoy how he puts things across and he seems fairly easy going in general for a 2:25 marathoner. And watching Sage Canaday, of course. It has taken a while to get his surname right...

35.66 miles

Week 5

Feb 17-23rd

Mon: 63:48 very easy. 5.88 miles at 10:51. Another cold one. Over time. Very enjoyable run.

Tues: Pilates, you know the drill.

Weds: 40:13 tempo. 4.73 miles at 8:30. c/d 1.18 miles at 10:53. Total - 53:02. 5.91 miles at 8:59.

Thurs: S&C 10 mins. 61:12 very easy. 5.75 miles at 10:38.

Fri: 60:08 moderate. 6.59 miles at 9:08.

Sat: Off tarmac. Study day. 20 mins yoga.

Sun: S&C 10 mins, followed by 2:30:50 easy. 14:37 at 10:30. Absolutely beautiful morning for it. Came home and my water belt felt rather sticky, like a burst gel, couldn't find the source. Into the washing machine with it. Splits 10:32, 10:39, 10:32, 10:33, 10:26, 10:30, 10:30, 10:27, 10:26, 10:24, 10:31, 10:28, 10:27, 10:32 (and 10:25).

38.5 miles

Few notes here as I've been very busy with work, interviews, deadlines and applications, etc. Flat out and more of that to come. HRM data was little wonky during the week...again.

Thank you.

I saw a note on the Flying Pig's website yesterday. Got this by email at 6:40pm Irish time today, same thing. Early days yet. Plenty of other stuff has been postponed or cancelled. We'll see.

TBO, we wanted to reach out to you personally to let you know we are monitoring closely the developments concerning COVID-19 and following the updates from the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and our local health officials on how to proceed. As of right now, there are no plans to change any of our Flying Pig Marathon schedule May 1-3. We will continue to monitor the situation with our public health and municipal partners. As we continue working to put on another great event, we hope you continue training so we can see you at the Finish Swine!

Social distancers, howyiz. Glad to the forum's ticking over, keep well.

Finished the Grads intermediate plan: 485.07 miles.

Were we in normal times I was hoping to link up with the Vice President of Swords for 3 hours easy. Originally, that was the longest LSR before taper. Yes, he's been promoted.

2020 to date: 600.32 miles.

US trip. Flights were cancelled, refund should be on its way.

Running Youtube’s been pretty good, quite active. I do like the S&C stuff from the Run Experience. OK OK, I mean Coach Morgan. :P They had a post on Instagram a while ago 'your legs don't care about social media'. Correct. So many videos out there these days. I will stick to the primary one I've been doing, and try to get the hang of a lateral movements one too. Definitely some soreness on one side if I pick up the pace sometimes. I'm not a golfist, but Padraig Harrington's been great on Twitter. Videos with cats and dogs goes have been viewed too, that goes without saying. Also watched Contagion again and Outbreak. Back on listening to podcasts whilst running these days. Garmin had one recently with a blind athlete Patricia Walsh who said bitterness is a choice.

I picked up Ben Parkes' level 3 marathon plan for £6 from his website. It's 18 weeks. The structure is prep/building/recovery/building/recovery/tuning/taper. Nothing surprising in there that I can see. Easy, strides, intervals, tempo, MP, hills, @ % effort (pyramid session), etc. Two 23 milers before taper, alternating easy/MP. Doesn't go beyond 46 miles overall. Hopefully I can put it into practice for something next year or beyond. It's got both mile and kms versions.

Sleep's been iffy, mental health too. My psychologist is still around, fortunately. Working from home’s been OK on the productivity side. Not without some cabin fever. Still doing a little yoga.

Strange time to be a runner, yes, runner/athlete. Not 'jogger'. Haven't read that stuff from the clickbait media. :rolleyes:

I was out last Sunday only for a hearse to go by, with a coffin and undertakers wearing masks. Made my own concerns seem very small. I’ve not had any negative interactions at all re social distancing.

I'll take a week or two off to leave the body be. Then base country. Don't expect to race anything this year, giving a parkrun a lash in the Autumn would be nice, if things are less locked down then, but it’s hard to know. With that in mind, what's next?

Project Sub 20 5k – Pain Factor On

But first, lemon drizzle cake.

May 8th: 6.06 miles easy. Nice evening for it, saw a kid's head pop up from a trampoline, thought it was a cat at first.

May 10th: Yoga, plus balance and stability from the Run Experience, as per what I posted here. Enjoyed that. Run - repeat of the previous week. Same w/u and route. Kept the start more sensible and came in at 24:10. Garda checkpoint was at a different location. Was hoping to squeeze under 24, but it’s not important. Fairly sweaty effort. In normal times this would have been my day at a parkrun in the US.

Doodling (mostly easy) after the intermediate marathon plan: 14.9 miles.

One thing about the restrictions is I’ve found I’m less inclined to sugary things. Still take biscuits, hot chocolate and bake the odd cake…buying stuff has gone down. There is the odd temptation, of course, but I don't miss it and don't think I've had a bar of chocolate since March. Whether that sustains after all of this, who knows. Peanuts still on the go. The WFH is fine re routine and productivity, but craic has been minimal, if any.

I've signed up for a short Diploma with UCD, delivered online. It'll keep me sane for the next while.

I’ve kept up the yoga (for runners mostly, plus and occasional core), balance and stability, etc.

Base Biscuits
May 11th-present: 77.61 miles.

May 28th
My first time with the club since joining at the start of the year. This was fun, weather was fantastic. A few of us headed up to Baldungan castle and came back. I didn't look at the watch much, but saw early on we were under 8 min/mi on the bypass and near the school, I wondered if I'd be able for it. Conscious that I had done a progression run the day before... A push or two and who knows I might have broken my 10k PB (46:01). Couple of caveats, however, we did stop at the castle for about 60 seconds, that was around 23:07 and 2.88 miles, iirc. Also, the return is mostly downhill and flat, with a little up near the end, followed by down and flat. Also had to stop once or twice due to cars and people. Still, normally I come at this route from another angle and it'll be good for a possible 10k TT if that's needed, or just training. Not sure earphones will be advisable as it's backroads and a bit hairy with cars.

My body is pretty wrecked today, however my sleep's been the usual 3am here and there. My right hand side did feel it a little at points too. I like the S&C odds and ends I'm doing...whether it's enough, I don't know. Not going to do 50 - 9 easy and 1 hard tomorrow, will kept it all easy and the usual easy on Sun.

Anyway.
Garmin: 44:40, 5.75 miles at 7:46 min/mi.
8:18, 7:47, 7:59, 7:44, 7:38 (and 7:01). Felt strong at the end...could be the downhill. :pac: There was slagging after that I'd barely broken a sweat, hah! If only that were true.

2020 - current: 692.83 miles.

Podcasts

13 Minutes to the Moon, season 2.

Garmin's Life on the Outside had an episode with sports psychologist Andrew Jacobs who talked about burn out and stress in young children, not enjoying sports at 9, having started at 4-5. I found it very sad. As he said, it's crazy that there are organised leagues for very young kids, where they travel and are being pushed. I remember someone at parkrun saying they do things differently in Norway. This article very much points to that. On a more positive note, Jacobs seems to be a big advocate of visualisation which I've to confess I've never tried. He's also a fan of FOE – focus on effort, not splits. It's a Garmin podcast, so expect some gadget promotion.

Recent discovery, TrainRight which goes back and forth between cycling and running, I think. One of the hosts is Hillary Allen who had a very bad fall herself a few years ago. First episode I listened to was with a bloke had ran 50 marathons, in 50 states, over 50 days. He also had a stat that 109 countries have marathons.

Enough on those for now or I'll be here forever.

I'm looking at late Sept for a sub 20 5k - parkrun ideally, however I'm mentally preparing to do it where I live, because who knows. In which case, I shall run the inaugural:

Home Grown/Bypass 5k/They Don’t Even Pay Path Tax, Joe

End of base stuff
June 1st-21st
Week 4: 28.81 miles
Week 5: 38.93 miles
Week 6: 36.4 miles

The end of the 50 min easy + 4x200m @ 5k effort (full recovery -2/3 min rec) on the Sat of week 5 was a good reminder of how a fast 5k is a little daunting. Sunday was a little sunny, but not overly so. Sweated a fair bit and should have applied Vaseline, really - unusual for training runs, there ya go. Could have been heat rash, I think. No leg issues during week 5.

There’s been a bit of a clean-up at the stream/strip of water down by the track/soccer club. Inevitably, a shopping trolley and some non-motorised kids scooter things were removed.

And seagulls are approaching the supermarket these days, or at least one did.

Base total: 198.2 miles - normally, it's a little more when parkrun is on.
2020 to current: 813.42 miles.

Absolutely drenched on this morning's run and forgot the Vaseline, the sequel. One those heavy showers where the t-shirt ends up stuck on to you like glue.

Depression has come back to kick my arse somewhat. I know you can run with it, but I don't know about through it. Have been finding it hard to listen to the news lately, be it from the States or more so here. Anyone with a Guard in the family will know what I mean.

Went down to look at the fastest mile in the village. Missed the start of the women's race. Fastest was 5:36. Men, pack of three leading this at first, then about the third lap the leader started to pull away. Probably about a 5 metre gap at first growing to maybe 25 metres as he pushed and came in with an impressive 4:59. Last man was 5:51. iirc, there's a sub 4 mile in Alaska that's really difficult.

This is a great shot of the course. Lucky to have a club that's this enthusiastic.

Grads 5-10k plan – We’re on

It took 9-10 weeks, but my flights and all that were refunded, fortunately. Not a voucher, I’m lucky. Got a renewal quote for my car insurance and it’s come down a decent amount from last year too.

Meanwhile...

Week 1: June 22nd-28th
Mon: Rest, with 2am yoga from Sunday sleep deprivation climbing the walls…

Tues: 20 mins yoga at lunch. 65.01, 6.21 miles very easy at 10:28. Abandoned teddy bear on the bypass. Poor sleep again.

Weds: Bad sleep here. 10 mins S&C. w/u 13:50, 1.32 miles at 10:28.

Main 8x1 min hills (2-3 min rec).

Thing|Time|Distance|Pace
Hill|1:04|0.16|6:45
Rec|2:32|0.23|10:54
Hill|1:03|0.16|6:50
Rec|2:33|0.24|10:31
Hill|1:02|0.16|6:37
Rec|2:33|0.25|10:11
Hill|1:01|0.15|6:54
Rec|2:31|0.24|10:23
Hill|1:04|0.15|7:00
Rec|2:30|0.24|10:35
Hill|1:03|0.15|6:57
Rec|2:33|0.24|10:31
Hill|1:01|0.15|6:44
Rec|2:36|0.25|10:26
Hill|1:01|0.16|6:34

Ah hills. :pac:

c/d 1.08 miles at 10:05.
37:08, 4.02 miles at 9:15.
A warm evening, good for sweating. Followed by DIY haircut #2.

Thurs: Rest. Watched Athlete A on Netflix which was tough going on a few levels, but a real credit to all those who spoke up.

Fri: 20 mins yoga. 67:05 very easy, 6.34 miles at 10:35.

Sat: 25 min tempo. 25:07, 3.29 miles at 7:38 or 7:16, 7:31, 8:04 (and 7:49)

Bleh, this was pretty bloody terrible. Was it me, my legs, the stuff from Weds, tiredness, the w/u? Couldn't hack the pace and knew I was in trouble soon enough and came away from it rather disappointed. Worst run in a while. I was through 3.1 in about 23.48, iirc. After, I walked back a little from the bus stop before a rather pleasant c/d. Didn't have a great evening as even whilst watching Netflix and so on my heart didn't feel at ease. I was nodding off before 10pm, then brushed my teeth and all that. Felt OK, though it took a while to get off to sleep. I'd compare a bad run like this to trying cook a pot of vegetables with 3 tablespoons of water. My right foot was at me a little after, more so discomfort than anything, tbh.

Sun: Not smooth sailing for sleep, woke up feeling wrecked. I'm a lark and find it hard to lie in. Did some yoga to try and shake things off. Thought I was in for another bad run, and figured if I did I might stop and take next week off, but was OK once I got going. 1:45:20 easy, 10.20 miles at 10:19.

Total: 33.47 miles.

A busy one for Zoom stuff.

I was watching Mission Impossible 4 recently and it got me thinking about Tom Cruise's running and what people would say to him if he was preparing for a marathon. Don't think ReeReeG will be volunteering for that job. :pac: At the rate they put out the Mission Impossible films, he'll probably make 26.2 some day. On Liverpool, etc, as a non-football fan I know nothing and talk elsewhere of Reds in the 80s makes me think of the USSR. :pac:

Started a book (GP mentioned it) on sleep by Nick Littlehales who has worked with a lot of sports teams, etc. Seemingly our blood pressure is at its highest early evening (5pm?), so probably not a great time for exercise…

Been clearing out my work emails, here’s a thing.
https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/06/29/a-mental-technique-calledcognitive-reappraisal-makes-long-distance-running-feel-easier/

Mission Impossible: Fallout's on Netflix now. :pac:

June 29th-July 5th

Essentially a week I had intended to scrap altogether due to the tempo mehness in week 1 and also because of a slight niggle and general brain stuff. Went out with the club on Thurs, a slower group and some other newbies. Grand 4.45 miles at 9:11, 40:48. My first time seeing the coach in action, opted not to go with his speedy group, though. On Friday I went to see my sister, not having seen her since Feb. No luck on a recent job interview, alas.

Sat: 65:16, 6.21 miles at 10:31 easy.
Sun: In the land of procrastination. 10k easy again? Easy 10-12? Revisit the tempo from the previous week - yes.

Tempo 25 mins
Tempo target 7:08-7:19
25:04
3.47 miles at 7:14
7:18, 7:08, 7:12 (and 7:20)
[Superintendent Hastings]Now we're sucking diesel.[/Superintendent Hastings]

This was fun. Not easy, however more doable than before. Probably a little too much 7:05/7:10 in there early on. My watch said 22:22 for fastest 5k afterwards, I formatted it a while ago on account of Garminitis. Still some big questions on breaking 20 minutes as I've a lot of doubt that'll be a case of 'computer says no' on the day. It's a long way off yet, mind. Within this, though, once I passed the 23 min or 23:XX mark the pace started to fade a little and I couldn't seem to push past 7:20 - felt like superglue and slowed down. Week 3 of the plan requires 30 mins tempo so that'll be a challenge...and two more of those in further weeks. I was confident enough ish in the pace here early on. Left the audio device at home.

Have since been looking at articles on tempo as I've largely forgotten what it's about.

Brief walk and c/d 1.05 miles at 10:36.

The usual dose of yoga thrown in there too and bad sleep.

Must be said the roundabouts here are in full bloom with flowers and are looking very well indeed, particularly in the sun.

Week 1a/off plan.
Miles: 14.71 miles.

Week 3

July 13th-19th

Mon: Yoga. Car service.
Tues: This would be rain. 62:09, 6.02 at 10:19 very easy. Yoga in the evening after a long Zoom call, to try and switch off.

Weds: 10 mins S&C

8x1 min hills (2-3 min rec).

Thing|Time|Distance|Pace
Rep|1:03|0.15 miles|6:55
Recovery|2:35|0.24|10:51
Rep|1.02|0.15|6:57
Recovery|2:33|0.24|10:40
Rep |1.03|0.15|7:06
Recovery|2:41|0.25|10:44
Rep|1.02|0.16|6:39
Recovery|2:40|0.25|10:31
Rep|1.03|0.15|7:01
Recovery|2:41|0.26|10:19
Rep|1.02|0.15|7:08
Recovery|2:41|0.26|10:26
Rep |1.01|0.15|6:43
Recovery |2:26|0.24|10:00
Rep |1.03|0.17|6:04

c/d 11:00, 1.06 miles at 10:24.

37:44
4.04 miles at 9:21

Tried to go by feel rather than watch, picked it at the end. Another glistening evening.

Thurs: Rest and yoga. Finally watched the Truman Show for the first time, enjoyed it. Zoom again, professional, but some humour and a good catch up from May. Filled in the depression form for my psych. It'll probably come back mild, if this were June it'd be a different story.

Fri: Early bells yoga. Job application completed. Muggy weather for 65:28, 6.34 miles at 10:20, very easy. A trip to Tesco Rush later...not as much mask usage as I'd thought there'd be.

Sat: 30 mins tempo.

This one.

10 mins S&C. As coach Holly says, if you don't have that second line of defence...

Wanted to do this first, get home with the reward of a shower, hot chocolate and cake and Youtube. I had some mental doubts during the S&C and out where I started.

Less of a death march than the 25 mins the other week. Still hard and not quite on pace. I wasn't really feeling that fresh before hand. I hate running at speed through housing estates, hate it for the path hopping, car vigilance, concrete, all that crap. No podcasts or earphones, btw. Final zip around by the old Renault garage and done. Felt great after thinking back on the run. Things were foamward bound* after, though. Maybe 30 mins for Lusk 4 mile in the future, subject to training. It was hard to switch off later that evening, even though I had not been on my phone/computer.

You'd think at this stage I'd have tried the track, given that I've mentioned it here...

30:03
4.02 miles at 7:28.
7:24, 7:21, 7:33, 7:36 (and 6:33).

Sun: Sun cream Sunday with some body fatigue. Right leg iffy starting out, that settled. Sleep was OK, but I was awake quite early and then it's hard to get back for some quality sleep. Somewhere in the later miles my arms started to feel quite tired around the elbows, a new experience. Mostly concrete again.

1:45:21
10:34 miles easy at 10:11.

30.76 miles for the week.

Sleep a little less crappy. The book recommended by my GP talks about is trying to get away from having phone/computer screens as a first thing in the morning, not just before bed. I've opted for yoga instead. Not every time, but it's nicer to start the day with the natural environment and familiarity of the house and not emails, messages, etc. Also tending to leave the phones downstairs.

Back to WFH tomorrow and some 200 emails to catch up, no doubt.

*I'll get my coat.

Murph_D wrote: »

Nice week. And yes, why not use the track if a suitable session calls? With you on the arm thing - this is something I’ve experienced after faster sessions, some form of DOMS. It’s a good sogn, I always tell myself. Keep up the good work!

Thanks.

I went down to have a look on Monday evening, mostly to determine the lumpiness of the grass. :P The track painted on lines are largely gone, bar one. There are GAA/rugby posts now in situ. This ties into the plan per the image I posted earlier, however I'm not sure if the location is final as they now cut into where any running track is supposed to be and one is quite close to the gravel path. Unless that path is supposed part of the track. Not many updates on social media. I'll try to find out when I'm down there training again. The rest of the grass area was being well used on Monday, both soccer and I'm guessing Round Towers, not sure.

Hello.

Week 5

July 27th-Aug 2nd: 30.54 miles.

The funeral went as well as can be expected, tbh. I think the priest kinda got it. Weds the hills, good as usual. I had watched Sarah Place's video and that was a reminder about form as tends to come up in A&R. No more 8x1 min hills in the plan, though. Sat was tempo and threshold with the latter being harder to do and didn't quite nail it. Only copped on near the end that it was quite warm out. Everything else for the week was standard easy fare. Job application again. No joy.


Week 6 Aug 3rd-9th: 28.64 miles.

Here comes 1,000 miles for 2020...Aug 6th.


I've been following Global Triathlon Network over the past number of months. The presenters are pretty relatable (imo) and I think they keep the tone fairly relaxed. I don't really look at the swimming or cycling stuff, but enjoy the rest as it’s fun and plants ideas.

I've been trying to build this into things.


I stopped taking notes here, really. I decided to do a short week 7 all easy, then revisit it the following week with slower paces, more so around 20:50. It was obvious things were going to go nowhere - I knew I couldn’t hit speed even before leaving the house.

Aug 10th-30th
Week 7: 19.82 miles.
Week 7 reboot: 30.36 miles.

Week 8: 26.56 miles.

Weds AP stuff was OK. Sat meh zone, even stopping to walk rather than running the recoveries. Once I got home my body felt it it had been used like a punching bag. That's been the story of most Saturdays, death marches. Sunday runs are relaxed and enjoyable, good for the mind and body. I'm tempted to drop the paces again, or just give up all together and run the rest of the plan easy, maybe keep the Weds stuff. I dunno. 6 weeks easy, then the base plan again and redo? I'd probably barely scrape through 24 minutes at the moment. 4 PBs last year to this, it's not been fun. Think the depression can be worked through, but this unhappy running...less so.

Most of this recent experience has been the worst stretch I've had with running. I've some idea why, certainly depression and sleep problems aren't helping. When I described the former as on a par with running face first into a brick wall (regardless of being a runner), the psychologist asked me to go back my GP. Things were quite different last year, mind you, so was the universe. Physical and mental walls are a theme at the minute. Other than a family Communion thing and a trip to see my sister I've not been anywhere outside of Dublin.

I've gotten quite good at not checking my phone first thing in the morning, letting the world and environment be the first thing I encounter, not tech. About a month of doing that now. Just go downstairs and do some stretches.

Apart from that, I've generally just been busy with work, assignments, meetings, planning, trying to create webinars, etc. Cinema on Friday (Tenet - mixed bag) which was nice for getting away from the covid headspace. We did have The Batman trailer last week too. Watched half of Deep Impact last night, Morgan Freeman's first gig as President, I think. You know a film is old when the scientists are working from floppy disks.

Was listening to Train Right lately and they spoke to Irish runner Paddy O'Leary, sounded like an easy going bloke.

2020: 1091.81 miles to date.

Aug 31st-Sept 6th
Week 9: 25.64 miles
Got Diploma assignment #1 out of the way, job application and visited my sister. Sat - went for a run (off plan) with which was 3.14 miles at 7:51 in 24:41? Happy enough with that, wasn’t full blast anyway and on another day it would be a little quicker. Stomach a bit weird at some points, but to be expected. Started meds, as per my GP's advice.

Sept 7th-13th
Week 10: 27.59 miles.
Some great progress on work stuff. Happy with the CV paces on Weds, on target. Saturday good too. I had a fair dose of bad sleep over a number of nights and troubling Covid developments with Dublin. Sunday was suitable sunny.

Made some mushroom cannelloni. https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=114557402&postcount=621

Tunes: Laura Marling, David Rawlings

Sept 14th-20th
Week 11: 25.56 miles
Monday morning I was awake before 5am. Diploma assignment #2 and that's the course done. Where did June-Sept go? Shambolic Tuesday for the government. However, RTE Radio 1’s Arena did at least go behind the scenes of Hitchcock’s Psycho...

Weds went well.

Bit of a lazy week re mid-week easy stuff, mostly 5ks. Did Saturday 10k easy at lunch and plan stuff in the evening, happy with the paces. At one point a random cyclist was a pacer for maybe 15 seconds, it was nice. Slept poorly Sat night into Sun, left the running until about 6pm. Didn't want to do 80 mins, though an attempted nap earlier helped. Left it at 5k, there was an ambulance and fire appliance nearby as I was heading out.

I've developed a pain in my face from reading the Covid forum on boards too, so much anti-NPHET sentiment. I've had precisely fup all social contacts. Other than my sister (no hugs), going to the supermarket and my appointments, the odd bookshop visit (collection, not browsing)...I dunno what people are at, tbh.

General ramblings: Does anyone not relate hugely to the idea of the runner's high? Maybe I've just never noticed it, or else it's bloody elusive...I'd struggle to define it.

I've kept up the yoga for runners (Adriene). Also checked out her video for hips and lower back, where she started singing at the end. Did a flexibility routine from Youtube last night, let's just say there's a long way to go.

Another colleague is now leaving, that's the third this year, all great. I know I’m lucky to have a job, this sucks. Happy for and can't blame her for keeping an eye out.

2020 to date: 1170.6 miles.

Sept 21st-27th
Week 12: 28.12 miles.

Things got dark again, mentally, on Friday, and into the weekend. Sleep slipped on Thurs and I had a few nights of awake from 1am onwards with no sleep after. I knew at that point not to do the Saturday session (5,4,3,2,1 min @ Thres/CV/AP/Vo2/110% w/ equal recovery) and just kept it easy. I misread the plan and got the Weds stuff mixed up. Attempts to run at speed over this past while has felt like I'm dragging a few concrete blocks behind me...energy is just gone.

Sept 28th-Oct 4th
Week 13: 20.95 miles.

I had GP appointment by phone on Monday. Two new meds, including anti-depressants - a first for me. The meds from early Sept did nothing, onto to something new to see if it would sort things. For the Weds stuff things got tricky from 3rd rep onwards, slowing to 7:4X. Thurs was frustrating due to another job application PFO email. I tried the Garmin watch alarm as a test on my wrist, not for sleep, but will see about using it in the future. Just didn’t feel like it at all on Sat and a nap was a better option. Sun had enough rain alright and bad sleep again. This time I remembered the Vaseline. About two minutes in I was glad to be out. Pace was easy, but mentally it was hard. It felt like I was wearing a running belt with 1kg bags of sugar attached. Around 5 miles in my forearms felt sore, but the turn was the beginning of the home stretch. Conditions were similar to the 22 milers I did in the Phoenix Park last year. Previous Sun wasn't the best either, the only good feeling was getting in the shower.

Started another job application. Put the brakes on a socially distanced meet up with a colleague who was leaving and another who is new, due to the weather and very high number of Covid cases nationally. A pity to say goodbye over Zoom.

Oct 5th-11th
Week whatever: 20.44 miles.

This was a can't be arsed week, and off plan. It was fairly ranty time re job stuff because of another rejection. Frustrating when you've double the experience and more besides...and can't even get shortlisted for an interview. Oh to see the CVs of those they do speak to.

Oct 12th-18th
Week 14: 16.22 miles.

Back on plan. It's daft to even number the weeks because what was originally 14, is probably 17 or so now.

It was bewildering week too, with Covid cases going up to 1,000 and 1,200. I still don't know anyone personally who has had it. I'm only leaving the house for exercise and the supermarket, and psychology appointments which are less frequent than the other two. Can't say I relate much to Covid or Zoom fatigue, but working from home can bring its own tiredness, delivering training and being 'on'. We've been flat out, tbh.

Attached to the depression has been a lack of interest in running, life and most things. It's less apathy and just a plain shrug of the shoulders. I'm hoping an upcoming blood test might shed light on a few things. Low testosterone is something I've thought about for quite a while and overtraining has come into mind too.

To end on a more positive note, I attended the memorial lecture in honour of Prof Aidan Moran who essentially put Ireland on the map for sports psychology. Strange as it may sound, it was a lovely event. Link here. It's big loss to psychology and I'm fortunate to be in project at the moment where athletes do have to be told to back off from giving 150% - not easy in elite sport culture, it has some inflexibilities, like any system. I'm just an advisor, btw, not elite. :pac: They've access to more resources than the likes of us do, but I will say people's outlook seem to be in the right place, thankfully.

Today's run was an attempt to see what could be done out of the 5-10k Grads plan that didn't go to plan. I wasn't expecting much due to very bad sleep and thought the usual upper body fatigue would kick in, as the fella says, fairly lively. Started on the bypass, took in a few of the estates, looped around past the Round Tower, towards the Garda station and finished past the dental surgery. Legs were tired, yeah, but confidence grew from about 10 mins onwards. My target was to aim for 8:00 min/mile and hold that line for about 2.5 miles. Didn't look at the watch a great deal and the times I did I was between 7:55 and 7:30, or a little 7:10. I don't know why I picked up, it just unfolded that way. The 22:22 in Malahide parkrun last Christmas was a lot harder. No matter the time today I was thinking of redoing it next week to lose a few seconds. We'll see, it doesn't matter. Health still has to come first.

3.10 miles
23:10 at 7:28
7:41, 7:34, 7:16 (6.22)
Quite content with this, no question.

Training block mish mash: 442.91 miles.
2020 to date: 1256.33 miles.

What's next? Impossible to plan for anything. Let 2021 be when we can load up on runs and bring friends.

Anyway - as per Bill and Ted, be excellent to each other.

I started week 1 of the base plan, then took a few days off. For whatever reason my easy pace (or is it very easy?) had slowed to 11:30-11:50 ish. Heart rate not great. Naturally seemed to go that way. Bad sleep too. I took a break from about Oct 24th until Nov 3rd or 4th, then another precautionary break until mid-Nov.

I was down at Balleally (former landfill) twice, though not for running. First time the weather was rotten, soaked through the trousers, second time it was a lovely. I thought it would make a fun parkrun course. Couple of drawbacks, though. The site only opens at 9:30 on Saturdays at the moment, parking is OK, but not huge and there's nowhere to really socialise after. The top loop is 1.25km per the sign, dunno about the others. It's not fully opened yet. You could possibly stitch a few loops together rather than having to do x4, with a few marshalls. Definitely some sting in the tail potential depending on how you'd set it up. The top loop is pretty exposed, a windy day would be good test. Anyway, nice place to visit out here in the north county.

Work's been crazy busy and I've been writing a lot for that...so many PDFs and things to read. Did a job interview mid-Nov. Applied to something else the week after, then spotted two more things to go for. Have also been heavily involved in planning things for 2021. Zooms here, there and everywhere. Unfortunately, I had to deliver sad news over video and that was a pretty crappy thing to have to do, people covered their mouths in shock. A lovely person taken far too soon.

Due to an ongoing left leg niggle, I went to see a physio on Nov 23rd. My left leg been stiff starting out running, for the first few hundred metres or so. It needed a few drops of WD40. Anyway, all checked out and grand, bar tight hamstrings. A few exercises to take home and by the end of that week it was feeling OK. Generally it was more discomfort and not painful, but no sense in making it worse and best to get these things checked. I was into week 2 of the base plan at this point and easy pace had gotten back to my normal 10:30-10:50. Outside temperature been's fine.

My sense is going out with the club on Oct 20th was the culprit. I dunno. Not too much else to say, really. Or lack of S&C. Working from home has continued and I've been over to the local farm to get some veg. Left it too late for a pumpkin, unfortunately.

That's pretty much where I stopped taking notes. Even though I was only doing the base plan there were some great runs in there, physically and mentally. Sleep is still quite and hit miss. I've to contact my GP in a few weeks. I don't think I'm going to get an answer until the referral comes through and that's probably low on the agenda for Beaumont with everything going on. I saw my sister and her husband for a few hours on Christmas Day, other than that, I'm following the public health advice. In recent months I watched Michael Portillo's railway series on Canada and Alaska. It's very easy and relaxing viewing, though I'm not sure about some of his wardrobe choices...

Base plan: Nov 16th-Dec 27th: 211.56 miles.
2020: 1508.7 miles - only 11 or so less than 2019.

Today, easy out to Balbungan and back.
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At this rate, I think the axe is likely to fall on Conn, or postponement until Sept. I'm about to start on my third pair of Brooks GTS 19s. Do have a set of 20s on the go too, and I see 21s are about as well. If there’s an Irish store selling old stock of the 19s online I'll have another in the back of the wardrobe. I've finally started to tackle the P&D book, btw. Only about 50 pages in. It's very science driven, but imo, very accessible and a bit nerdy too. I can see why it gets mentioned here a lot. One thing that's jumped out already was a few pages on iron issues and that was one of the things that came out of my blood test a while ago. This is something the book says GPs wouldn't particularly pick up on re the link with athletes.

It feels like I've left something out. On Christmas Day I only met one other runner.

Alright. As per Rachel Southard – until next time, take care of yourselves, continue to work hard and all that good stuff. OK, bye.

Thanks. Happy New Year.

If Conn does go ahead I will at least use Vaseline this time. I don't however remember how long the bus journey is to the start and sitting on one unvaccinated doesn't really appeal.

Hope I can dust off the passport for 2022, but will make no predictions. We're in for a bumpy few months yet.

Yo…

Some not so good stuff first. I had a close ish call with a car out the Man O War a number of weeks ago. I was running against traffic, one person was going rather fast. Cars before and after that had more sense. I've not been out that way since. I don’t recall if that was that same morning, but it was a Sunday where I saw one dog attack another. It came out from someone’s house and just went for it, a dog with a family. Hearing a dog in pain is awful.

On the positive side, I got the AstraZeneca vaccine in early April because of my job, I’m fortunate. It was very strange being in the Aviva with no crowd, it felt small, unlike when it’s full. There's a great photo of Packie Bonner on the wall. I had mild side effects that didn’t kick in until late into the evening. I couldn’t figure out why I felt so warm, then I reached for the thermometer some time in the small hours and I was running 38C, along with nausea and shivers earlier on. I'm expecting to get dose 2 in late June.

Sleep largely remains elusive in quality and quantity.

Running
Jan 1st-April 11th grads intermmediate grads plan: 615.67 miles.
I didn't bother to taper properly as, well, there was nothing to taper for. I did 15 weeks rather than 14 in the end, as one week was just endless webinars for work. Kept that all easy.
Base plan April 12th-May 23rd: 255.14 miles
Yesterday 9.05 easy
Should hit 1,000 miles in the next few weeks.

Retired shoes - Brooks GTS 20s. Not long behind will be some 19s with similar mileage. About to move to 21s and a new brand I've not previously tried, Saucony Guide 14s - thanks to Amphibian King.

Not sure what to do next.

Very sorry to hear that Mark who worked for boards.ie sadly died recently. He was always friendly, knowledgeable and optimistic about the site. May he rest in peace.

Back to less important matters. Forgot to say I ran 22:32 around June 5th, which was week one of the grads 5-10k plan. I was happy enough with that as it was an improvement on 23:10 from - took a while to find this - last October. After that, though, things were less good with training and I came off it on July 25th, but kept up 5 days a week. Since then, it's been essentially a mish mash of standard fare easy and some club stuff (including my first fartlek session). I've kept the plan structure as it were and will finish it mid-Sept or so. After that, who knows.

Got a refund from the pasta party from the Flying Pig marathon for 2020. Nice of them to go to the trouble, considering how much time has passed.

I went out to support the Lusk AC Half on August 8th, probably 25 or 30 doing it, some as a lsr, others gave it a go. Leader came in around 1:26:50 or so, if I heard right.

Man O War 7k prep - a few of us did a recce here as a group. First recce was 38:28, with three stops to allow us to regroup, second was 36:14, with one stop. The main hill is quite steep and I felt in the calves. I gave it two goes on my own, one super easy 43:XX and another day with a bit of effort 33:XX. Felt good, never felt the pace got away from me (sure, the downhill helps), although I ended up being slightly short by distance as I forgot the starting point of the recces was just before the pub rather than at it. Kept it easy on the hills and had enough for pushing on at the end. In between other days I've been down for training 'steady' effort loop to Baldungan and return.

So tonight, August 19th, the 7k. Main goal other than doing better than the final recce and it being nice to run with others again, with club shirts (my first event wearing one) and a number, 864. It required a fair bit of planning, considerations of safety, traffic marshalls and so on. Definitely a sense before hand that this event has the potential to pop up again. The announcement of a 'flat slope' over the PA during the brief brought a smile. Through the field and us slower folk to the back, please. 200m before the pub and we go.

Garmin 32:42, 4.37 miles @ 7:29.

6:53, 7:12, 8:09, 8:06 (6:22). There was a bit of 6:20 and 6:45 carry on there even before the main downhill, I felt good, but was a bit surprised to be doing that at all, tbh. Two guys passed me after a while (one with wired earphones in short race on an open road with traffic, meh). I never felt glued to my watch and might have only looked at it 3 times through the whole event and only early on. Our club coach passed me out before a little while the Hedgestown school and said hello. Not far to go to the main hill and I felt confident of being able to manage it well, passed out one of the lads who overtook me earlier. We then catch a breather as things even out before dipping down some more. There's some tree cover and we find natural light again, our second helping of uphill, the goal here is to aim for the white outhouse building and take on that home stretch. I had previously been overtaken by a chap with a double buggy and said fair play to him. I decided to reel him in a bit whilst not getting too mentally hooked into that, we passed two others up ahead and I wasn't far off his shoulder. The final corner and then there's a tape and cones and no space and no point in me being a tool for ego. Only a second ahead of me by the results (I could be wrong on this), but he had the legs for sure.

32:41 official, looks like I was a under a minute behind our coach, no complaints there. Chocolate milk in the car boot cooled by some ice packs. Home after some chats and I think this runner's high lark might actually be real. Running is a strange beast at times. Comes recommended! Due to current restrictions the event was capped at 200, going by Facebook tonight 103 of us came through.

Back down to earth. I had an online appointment with a sports dietitian last week, feeling more clued in now the fuelling side of things. I had a recent experience of wanting to run 9 miles easy, only to give up at 7 as I was so hungry. She also pointed me to the beverage hydration index, which I hadn't heard about before. The same day of the appointment, this came up in the New York Times on metabolism.

YTD: 1,418.68 miles.

Thank you. I think I may have run it a bit soft, tbh. After the downhill and first turn I felt like I was largely gliding along, before the first hill. Certainly, I could have picked up things some more (getting under 8 min/mile would have been fairly doable), particularly on the home stretch too. Was told I looked serene in the photo. Doesn't matter anyway, first race in 22 months and it's good to be back. And the success of this event means there's a fair chance it'll be on next year. Week prior was highest mileage of 2021: 50.4 miles, btw.

Someone in the club owns this great VW Beetle.

Sept 25 was timekeeping at Malahide. A modified starting position on grass rather than the usual spot and an altered finish chute too. The tape came down, a simple nod to the run director that I was ready and they're off. It was like the footage you might see of Bushy Park in the UK. Great to see people again. Numbers were under 300 which we were happy with as a first time being back. The following Saturday I bumped into @Singer. I ran and ignored the watch, officially 25 mins on the button - legs felt a bit jelly like in the second half.

8 week 5-10k plan, via the club's app.

Week 1

October 4-10

Plan: four runs

30 mins easy

Repeats: 3x400 with 90 seconds rest, 3 minutes rest between sets. 3 sets overall.

1k on/1k off (6k total), on: tempo/off slow recovery.

Rest

Weekend: 60 minutes well-being run with hills (5k plan). Or 70-80 mins slow to steady comfortable run with hills (10k plan).

Actual

Mon: Rest.

Tues: Repeats with the club.

Warm up 2.31 miles easy at 10:08.

Set one: 6:30/5:55(story with this?)/6:45

Set two: 6:29/6:37/6:24

Set three: 6:24/6:36/6:11

Our leader said it was a VO2 max session. It was also my first group night time training thing in a long time, fun.

3.33 miles, including a brief cool down. Good crowd out doing it, maybe 15 or more and we went off in small groups on the bypass path, very busy with dog walkers, etc. The club was extremely busy too, 2:1 kids to adults, I'd say. Did some foam rolling at home.

Weds: Planned soft easy recovery, however the right leg had other ideas and was a bit tender after Tuesday's session. No sense in being stubborn just for mileage. It felt better later in the evening, possibly because I had the distraction of being on a webinar until after 10pm. Going upstairs and some on, leg felt fine. I've kept things ticking over with S&C, although primarily core stuff. A weakness is probably mobility and that topic doesn't get discussed as much in running circles, imo.

Thurs: Leg felt normal, but silence is no guarantee all is well. Rest, in the interest of common sense.

Fri: Physio. He spotted something off with my biomechanics straight away, oh dear...so a few exercises to follow. After work I did an easy warm up, then walked over the club track/path for the 1k on/1k off - what was supposed to be Thursday. Made a mistake with one of the recoveries and only did about half a km as I didn't move the watch screen on correctly. Tempo stuff was solid and comfortable: 7:24, 7:18, 7:26.

Sat: 6.2 easy.

Sun: 10.12 easy out the backroads and back.

27.55 miles.

YTD: 1731.38 miles.

Week 2 has 800m repeats and a progression run.

I'm already thinking of next year, but that's mostly around juggling the calendar and possible plans. Have a pretty big work conference coming up in late March/early April. I've a hospital appointment in December and will have to see what comes of that. I'm still getting Cincinnati's emails. I've checked the flights and they're a bit more pricey this time around, up by about 40%.

5-10k plan

Week 4: Oct 25-31

Mon: 3.24 miles easy bank holiday plod.

Tues: 3.11 easy, then 0.42 warm up and exercises, followed by pyramid craic.

200m and 1 minute rest

48 seconds, 0.13 miles, 6:13 min/mi

400m and 2 minutes rest

1 min 46 secs, 0.26 miles at 6:53

800m and 3 minutes rest

3:43, 0.51 at 7:15

1km and 4 minutes rest

4:09, 0.62 at 6:40

800m and 3 minutes rest

3:38, 0.52 at 7:00

400m and 2 minutes rest

1:30, 0.26 at 5:53

200m and 1 minute rest

42 seconds, 0.12 at 5:47

2.68 miles

0.35 cool down.

Nice to run on grass. Plastic sticks were there as a 400m track and a useful outline. It was dark as feck, though, and hard to see. Our leader said to try and go for our 5k pace for the 1k run.

I was fairly wrecked about an hour after this. Probably the most wiped from any of the plan stuff, so far. I hadn't slept that well Monday night into Tues. I also always feel much more thirsty a while after sessions than from easy stuff. I do take chocolate milk, could probably take more water as soon as I get home. It was the first pyramid session I've done and would recommend it.

To the grass, save for that part that feels like trying to run on a beanbag, but that's the fun.

Weds: 3.22 soft recovery.

Thurs: plan - progression, same as week 2.

Actual - 10.02 easy at 9:52. Decided to forego the plan as I had a double helping of bad sleep. Some rain at the start and one earbud fell into a puddle. Just a lovely run where you tick along nicely and all is right with the world.

Inbound suggestion email...

Fri: Rest.

Sat: easy including parkrun. I crossed the line and my watch said 0.00, oops. Taking an average of 3.09 from previous weeks and repeating the course as I tend to do, 6.29 easy for the morning.

Sun: 12.44 easy, over to Loughshinny. Good news, the dumped rubbish was gone. Lovely run. Seagulls were feckin' huge. Variable weather.

41.77 miles for the week.

Week 5: Nov 1-7.

Mon: 3.11 easy before Zoom.

Tues: Less than great sleep. w/u 3.11 easy. Plan stuff with the club, 5x1km repeats at threshold (7:09-7:19 for me), with 3 minutes rest between. The theory is that we can hold this pace at the end of the plan, so I wasn't really sure whether to go faster or not. Week 6 has these repeats again. There's a fairly consistent group of us doing the Tues nights which has all levels and a nice air to it all.

Time, distance, pace.

4:36, 0:63 at 7:15 min/mile - gunned a bit hard for the first 200 metres on the first one, eased off after.

4:39, 0:63 at 7:20.

4:35, 0.63, at 7:17.

4:35, 0.63, at 7:20.

4:31, 0.63, at 7:11.

3.54 miles. Fun fact, on Garmin Connect it shows up as Lusk Sports Hub on the map, nice. As per last Tues much of this was on grass.

c/d 0.46. Much busier tonight, more kids about. There's a general sense that we need more facilities.

I had been flicking through the P&D book again and it says not to go too mental with intervals, both frequency and intensity.

Weds: 3.16 easy at 10:42. Another evening Zoom.

Thurs: short fartlek session - didn't go. Bad sleep again. 9.08 easy @9:59. Psychologist said I looked tired, not from running!

Fri: 8.02 easy at 10:40.

Sat: Plan from our leader - parkrun at tempo (7:30-7:42). I was a touch nervous for this as I didn't know if the training was going to work, plus just being on the start line. I've felt less nervous at marathons. Hence the 'what am I doing?' for the first bit, then I settled after second corner. Was confident enough then to keep going, probably stalled a bit by observing others. 22:42, p65. 3.02, 22:43 at 7:31 via Garmin 7:27, 7:40, 7:29 (5:31). Not sure I'll get under 21 in a few weeks time, our leader is targeting Malahide on Dec 4. I wasn't planning on Jingle Bells anyway.

Sun: 10:36 easy at 10:05.

43.86 this week.

YTD: 1911.43 miles.