Laineyfrecks wrote: » His interview was so emotional, rightly so as you said given the year he's had! Thrilled for him...
OOnegative wrote: » Some shape J, put a lot of them fellas that call themselves footballers to shame in that county of yours. Great to see man.
Mr. Guappa wrote: » As B says, you look to be in cracking shape. Great to see. Are you working towards something in particular? I'd always wear a baseball cap running. Avoids the suncream running into the eyes on days like today, and helps with the rain other days. Italy looked decent the other night. Nice combination of defensive know how and some quality at the other end. Great to see a positive outcome for Christian Eriksen yesterday in Copenhagen.
Comic Book Guy wrote: » Thanks A. Great to see your mileage steadily climbing all the time, some patience man! Just training for the sake of it at the moment, not signed up for anything and in no rush either tbh. Have a slot from last year's DCM so will see what the announcement is in a couple of weeks but I'd say it's 50:50 on happening. Have you any goal or race in mind yourself? Yeah that Eriksen thing was shocking. He was actually lucky it happened when it did with trained personnel and equipment right there.
Comic Book Guy wrote: » What's the mood like for the Euros in your part of the world? Always enjoyable watching the Dutch and their fans in tournaments.
Comic Book Guy wrote: » Just a handy out and back along the hard shoulder of the N5.
Mullinabreena wrote: » Do you feel safe running on the hard shoulder? I remember one time I was dressed all in bright colours in the middle of the day, the sun was high so they weren't blinded by a low sun. I was running towards traffic on the right hand side and well in on the the hard shoulder too. When a car suddenly pulled in to answer a call. I just managed to step onto the grass and avoided getting hit by a split second. It was quite frightening. I've stayed to the back roads since. I'd often see people running on the wrong side hard shoulder.
I'm now 2 weeks behind with my updates and not enjoying this new and improved Boards so far but its probably far from the finished product yet so here's hoping!
July 5th- 8 miles at easy
I cant say I remember anything of note about this one apart from it being there in Strava activities!
July 6th- 10 x 3 mins at 5:30 pace
I remember this one alright! Same pace as previous week but with 10 reps instead of 15 but each was an extra minute. While I didn't have to work for the full 2 minutes the previous week I knew this one would hurt! They were tough from the start and I walked the first minute of the 3 minute recovery first time out and adding 10 seconds walking onto this 1 minute with each rep. I think it was after the 7th rep that this went out the window and I just walked for 2 and a half minutes before starting to shuffle again! The intervals themselves weren't too bad in the end, think it was the 9th one where my laces opened and I was glad to use it as an excuse to pause the watch for a few seconds and get going again! Intervals ended up being in the range of 5:21 to 5:31 with one outlier of 5:33 for 5th one where I remember being well up with 40 seconds to go and then not being able to bring it back in the last 10 seconds!
July 8th- 8 miles easy with a few strides
Handy loop around the bog loop after work. Threw in a few strides around the halfway point to mix things up.
Missed doing another 8 easy miles on the Friday between WFH, kids gaa and the weekly shop.
July 10th- 40 mins at 6:25 pace.
Into Longford around the bypass and back in by Pearse Park and the rugby club before joining the N5 again for homeward journey. The faster stuff actually felt good for this. kept an eye on the watch early doors to make sure I was in line as the first mile is invariably all over the place. After that I just went with it and the watch confirmed that each mile was on the button. Only tricky bit was due to a couple of short but very sharp hills around 30 mins into this faster section where the effort levels went up to stay on pace and ya can almost hear your heartbeat in your ear!
The mile splits were 6:19, 6:20, 6:17, 6:13, 6:18, 6:10 and 6:17 for partial bit at the end.
July 11th- 8 miles easy
Just a pre Sunday Roast dinner jaunt up the banks of the canal and back around.
PS. FORZA ITALIA!!
Still 2 weeks behind, must try and close up the gap this week.
July 12th- 8 miles easy miles around the 2 Clonmore loops, nothing too exciting!
July 13th- 10 x 4mins at 5:35 pace.60
Fitted this one in before i got home from day in the office. Bit tight for time so cut the warm up and cool down to 10 mins instead of the usual 20. Could feel the missing 10 mins in the first rep as my breathing was all over the shop for this one. Was dreading this one for the couple of days before hand as while it was 5 seconds slower than the previous weeks pace the thoughts of staying going for an extra 60 seconds 😣 In the end it played out fine and at the 3 minute marker i was usually inside last weeks pace and still ready for bit more (funny how the brain works). The splits were in the range of 5:27 to 5:34.
July 15th- 8 easy miles with a few strides
Same route as the past couple of weeks from the office at lunch time. Nice quiet run with strides thrown in after the halfway point, last few more resembling hill sprints because of the route.
July 16th- Long run
Would be attending my cousin's wedding on Saturday so brought this run forward a day to fit things in. Headed off at half 12 which in hindsight was a big mistake on the first real day of our heatwave. Plan was for 50 mins at 6:25 pace, didn't seem too much of a big deal as the 40 minute effort the previous week had gone well.
Barely a whisper of a breeze out as i set off on the 30 minute warm up into Longford town. Even at this stage though sweat was dripping off me and had to take the baseball hat off a few times to mop up! Into the quicker stuff just before Longford Town FC grounds. First mile wasn't too bad though but things started to really kick in along the bypass and knew this was going to be a pure slog. The watch started beeping at this point about low battery and sure enough it died just after mile 3 beeped. The splits up to this point were 6:21, 6:24 and 6:29. I gave up the fight at this stage and did a 180 and headed for home very annoyed!
July 17th- 8 easy miles
Early morning run and even at 7am it was really warm out. Headed to Emyvale and Castle Leslie later for the wedding. Lovely day, our first proper night out since hearing of something called Covid!
July 18th- 8 easy miles
Just an out and back along the N5 hard shoulder after watching the Donegal Tyrone game.
July 19th- 8 miles at easy
Dropped kids down to Cul Camp and then headed for my second vaccine. Did a pre lunch loop around in the heat afterwards. Biggest job was avoiding bubbling tar. Made a bit of a mistake in attire going with a singlet that I hadn't worn in ages that halfway thru was really annoying my nips! Ended up having to pop my thumbs into it at either side to hold it out, I'd say I looked well to the passing traffic on the homeward bound bit along the N5!😀
July 20th- 8 x 5 mins at 5:40 pace
Woke up and legs felt bit ache but decided to grasp the nettle and try the session anyways. Really hot out and this loop around the bog actually takes me very close to the Mount Dillon weather station which recorded the highest temperature in the country a couple of days this week. During the strides at the end of the 20 minute warm up I could feel my nips getting sore again so just took off the singlet for the day that was in it. Really quiet loop so the only ones that seen me was the post woman and a farmer bringing home his turf! Managed to hit the 5:40 pace for the first couple of intervals but was draining by the minute so ditched the 3 minute recoveries and paused the watch towards the end of them to add on another couple of minutes each time.
Did I mention it was hot. End of 6th interval and I reverse my steps after spotting a cattle trough just inside a field gate, well I say a cattle trough but it was actually an old bathtub used to supply cattle with water. Desperate times call for desperate measures so drank a bit out of it (water never tasted so good!) and dunked my head in for good measure.
The splits for today were in the range 5:36 to 5:39 with a 5:46 for the very last one where I was on fumes for the last 60 seconds. However I went way over the 3 minute recoveries so decided to repeat this session the following week.
July 22nd- 8 miles at easy with a few strides
Lunchtime run though Mote Park and back again with some strides thrown in on the return home. Got a few comments afterwards asking was I crazy running in that heat!
July 23rd- Abandoned long run
Order of the day was an hour at 6:25 pace. Brought this one forward a day as Mrs CBG was working the weekend. Wasn't my brightest idea ever to head off just before 12! The plan was to do a local 5 mile loop so that I could take water on board. Headed off on my 30 minute warm up after stashing my water bottle in the shade. Unreal hot today, sweat is just falling off the brim of my baseball hat. 30 minute warm up (as if it was needed!) and then into the faster stuff. first couple of miles come in just under target but I'm not enjoying this one bit, barley a breeze and it feels like an oven. Coming out of the village without me mentally thinking about it my legs just stop and I know I have enough of this and abandon the run before I even get to my water bottle.
July 24th- 60 mins at 6:25 pace
Take 2 but because Mrs CBG is working I don't get out the door til 9 pm. Instead of having to run til after 11 I cut time off the warm up and cool down. A 10 minute warm up with some strides and its into the quicker stuff. This feels much more manageable than previous days effort. Still warm but nowhere near the sheer intensity of yesterday.
This is a one of those lovely but rare runs where everything just clicks and it feels effortless and you are just counting the miles pass by rather than wondering what time is left until this is over! The splits come in at 6:22, 6:21, 6:22, 6:19, 6:20, 6:19, 6:17, 6:15, 6:17 last half mile bit.
July 25th- 8 miles at easy
Another easy run once Mrs CBG got home from work. Passed 2 beer gardens along the route, both of which were fully packed out...hhhmmm whose the bigger ejit?!
Still 2 weeks behind with updates but the new site is making things a bit of a slog.
July 26th- An easy 8 miles around the clonmore loop. Don't remember a thing about this one apart from it being there on Strava.
July 27th- 8 x 5 mins at 5:40 pace.
A repeat of last weeks session but an attempt to get it right with the 3 minute recoveries. Did it on the way home from work. Small bit tight on time so cut down both the warm up and cool downs to make things fit. 10 minute warm up with some strides instead of a 20 minute version and for the first couple of intervals I could feel having missed out on the extra 10 minutes. Didn't have to worry about the excessive heat today, instead it was raining early doors! I walked most of the individual 3 minute recoveries nagged to bang out the times as required. I won't lie but the last couple of intervals were tough especially the last 2 minutes or so and I spent the first minute of the last recovery bent over looking at the ground instead of something as exerting as walking! Intervals all came in the range of 5:36 to 5:39 so happy with that but more particularly to have that session ticked off and in the past tense and hopefully won't see it again for a while!
July 29th- 8 miles at easy with a few strides
Had intended heading across the Shannon for a nose around but as soon as I came out of the locks the bridge in the village was up with all the passing cruisers so had to turn left instead and head around the Clonmore loop. One of the drawbacks of the increased miles and consistency of training is that I'm bored stupid of these local roads!
July 30th- 40 mins at 6:20 pace
Brought this one forward 24 hours due to another wedding. Headed around the bog loop for this one. Small bit tight for time so cut the cool down a bit. Usual 30 minute warm up and strides brought me to the butt of a small sharp hill, nice way to start the faster stuff! This was a lovely run in ideal conditions, barely a breeze out. Other than that I can't remember a thing about it other than the faster stuff eventually giving me a new 10k PB of 38:30, hopefully I can cut another bit off this if I actually raced the distance some day.
July 31st- 8 miles at easy
Early morning run before Mrs CBG had to head to hair dressers. Headed to our local church and in a side road that I haven't been in on in about 25 years. Despite it being only few miles from home I could only match up a couple of the houses on it with their actual owners.
Was supposed to head out for another 8 easy miles on Sunday but was wrecked tired after the wedding and didn't move much from the couch all day. I actually nodded off for the last 10 minutes of the first half in the Kildare Dublin game.
I fell asleep in the Hogan Stand during a Kildare defeat to Westmeath in 2016 in maybe the worst game of any organised sport I've ever seen (no offence Barry, the best team did win). It was on straight after Ireland - France last 16 game in Euro 2016, and there may have been other reasons than the football for my, ahem, grogginess.
My apathy with the new format was led to a 2 month gap in updates, have been using it more and more recently though mainly to make sure I'm not the only one annoyed at on goings at Old Trafford so will try and get back in the game with weekly training updates.
I wont bore myself with describing the last 2 months just to say training went well and stayed injury free for the main part (one almost very costly self imposed embarrassing incident aside!). ok, what happened was about a month ago I was helping my dad move some of the sheep on the farm. We had them right up to the gate but would they hell walk out and kept double backing on us. At the third attempt we had them in the same position again so i decided to kick one of those big blue barrels that's doubles up as a water trough in order to make a loud noise to scare them into going out the gate. 2 things though, i forgot that the barrel was full of water and because it was a really warm day i also forgot i was wearing a really old pair of Saucony runners instead of my steel toe capped wellingtons!! Lucky i didn't break my toe in hindsight, the whole area was swollen for couple of days and totally black, lucky escape!!
Anyways last Sunday i toed the line in our GAA clubs annual Half marathon, my first actual race since the Clontarf HM in 2019 which was 96 weeks ago! Had been feeling good all week but the weather had really taken a turn in that time and seemed to be belting rain every night and sure enough i woke up Sunday morning around 5am to wind howling and rain absolutely battering the window. I got up a couple of hours later and it had calmed down so all good.
Headed up to the top of our lane around half 9 to clap the 40 or so runners doing the 3/4 marathon and then back to the house to get kitted out. The half was starting at half 10 with the 8k getting under way 15 minutes before that. I started my warm up just before 10 am running down the main road for a mile or so along the HM course but straight into a strong headwind, FFS. Turned around and met the 8K runners strung out on the other side of the road. I knew a good few of the locals doing it so lots of shouts over of How are ya John while i tried to quickly pick out who said what and return the greeting. Back to the top of our lane to give my wife and kids my hoody to be told off by my mum about killing myself in a warm up before the actual race started at all! Mums eh!
Down into the village doing some final strides before getting ready at the start line.
Announcer asked the fast people to come up to the top, I wouldn't be a confident person at all so i hung back a small bit and with a 3 second countdown we were off. Probably should have started a bit higher up as I got a bit boxed in for the first 400 metres or so but no harm done. Quickly passed by my gang at the top of the lane and we were away racing. Even at this early stage I could see about 9 lads racing away up the road (i looked some of them up afterwards and they covered that first mile in 5:45). I could soon see a Trim athletics club athlete drift back off this group so just focused on catching up to him. The bloody wind was already annoying me and 6:20 pace felt pretty tough, i usually struggle with pace for the first 15-20 mins so just decided to keep at it and get my second wind rather than ease off to accommodate the wind.
Caught the Trim guy at the mile marker. Quick chat and find out he's a 1:25 HM guy which is all good with me but then he says he's just back from injury so won't be doing that today and soon tells me he's easing up a bit and told me to go on ahead, balls! The group up ahead are way out in front now while I can't hear anyone coming up from behind so I'm all by myself already and its only a mile and a half into the race. Both the first couple of miles come in at 6:16, happy with that but already i know that the effort levels are above that. Turn left off the N5 and onto the old main road and the wind really picks up, double balls. The worst thing about this section is that I've run it so much the last few years that i know all the distance markers on it and i know exactly how long I'm going to be on it. The upside though is that we are now on the same road as the lads doing the 3/4 so up ahead i can see some of them strung out individually and they act as targets to pick off. I can also see everyone moving to the opposite side of the road up ahead, please please be because it offers more respite from the wind, i try it but it makes absolutely no difference! The next 2 miles come in at 6:12 and 6:17.
Now we are closing in on the start of the first climb of the day, a rise in elevation of about 150 foot over the course of a bit less than a mile, hardly Everest but its still a long drag with the wind still in our faces. Don't know how many times I've ran up this section in the last 2 years but it's never felt like a big deal. Some difference racing the previous 4 miles into it makes! Its one of those that starts rising slowly getting steeper the further into it you go. I'm not the only one finding it tough though as up ahead I can see another lad from the half and i soon catch and pass him. From the shadow I can see him fall in right on my heels to get away from the wind but I'm in no mood to be a personal wind break and it's not long before his shadow is gone. Eventually we are back out on the N5 and cross over with a Garda's help and now we are driving downhill. Try to take a breather in this bit but i can see the pace drifting above 6:30 even going downhill so up the pace and try bank some time before the next climb. These couple of miles come in at 6:27 and 6:19.
Turn right off the N5 again still flying downhill but I'm dreading what's coming....another 150 foot odd rise in elevation but this one is over the course of about 500 metres. Worse still the initial part of it is the steepest so no easing into it. While My pace was easily sub 6 min/mile coming into it it's not long drifting way over that! Someone has set up a water station about 50 metres into the climb but it's no place to be slowing down. Again its a hill I've run up a good few times but never having raced the previous 6 odd miles! I can feel my legs slowing, my breathing getting louder and louder and my heart beat is hammering away in my ear and that metallic taste is in my mouth. This hill keeps going, draining me with every bloody step and even as it eases out the pain is still real. At the top of it my friend's dad is handing out water bottles, he gives me a funny look and says something but i think my body has temporarily shut all but the functions i need to finish this hill as i don't hear what he said! Take a mouthful of water and spit it out and it's the colour of Ribena, WTF I was sure it was water he was handing out! I rub my hand around my face and nose and sure enough I've had a small nose bleed at some stage! Do a bit of running repairs on the run and then back into it, the previous mile coming in at 6:18.
The majority of the next 2 miles are a very welcome downhill relief. No longer running into the wind but it doesn't seem to be blowing at my back now at all. Still passing the odd 3/4 runner but it's still a pretty lonely run out here, nobody outside their houses to clap us on. These couple of miles are the quickest of the day coming in at 5:58 and 6:03. Ok just over 4 miles to go but man I'm shattered and it's turning into a pure and utter slog. The next 2 miles are a horrible existence. The legs are still turning over but there's no spring or pop in them. The next HM guy with long hair and a luminous bandana is about 30 seconds ahead of me but I can't seem to close the gap and worse of all mentally I'm not trying to push myself to catch him either. All that goes through my head in these miles are how much i hate life right now, why didn't i just do the 8k, i hate wind and I'm calculating on the fly how many more minutes before this agony is over! These miles include my slowest of the day at 6:29 even though there was only a couple of minor climbs in it.
Into the last 2 miles and we are now on the part of the course that the 8K people would have ran so there are distance markers on the course now for the 3 different races which helps break it up a bit with each marker passed signifying a minor victory. Bandana man is still annoyingly 30 seconds up ahead but the gap isn't for closing. One last small hill in the last mile and then it's downhill into the village. The night before i had envisaged really upping my pace at this point and speeding home but the reality of it is that it's all about survival now and getting to the finish. Turn right onto the N5 again and uphill and into the wind for the last 500 metres before crossing the finishing line.
Have to say I've never ever been so relieved to cross a finish line or absolutely wrecked either. I'm a pretty picture for my wife and kids with blood smeared over my cheek! It's only then i look at the watch and see the 1 new record alert and a time of 1:22:18 to put just over 4 and a half minutes into my previous PB. I'm grand again after a few minutes but a cool down run ain't happening! The winner somehow got around in 1:14 and looking at his Strava description of the race he was only using it as a long run speed session!!
Down to the pub that night for first time since Covid came along and i was more shook from that then the race on Monday morning! Don't know how some people do it but it'll be a long long time before I'm in there on a Sunday night again.
Would like to have another crack at HM at end of November But Clontarf is sold out and Clonakilty and Corbally are too far away but will keep looking. Will hopefully keep at the log now again as i do enjoy updating it and reading all the other logs but the update put me off for a long time. For anyone still reading, apologies for the long report!
That’s a super effort and time. Well done 👏
TbL
Great race & report! Keep logging it's good to read other people's logs😊
Super report and well done - a great effort on a dodgy route and into the breeze. Top marks.
That was a great read J. Having to run alone for most of your first race in so long certainly wasn't easy !
Good man, great time on what sounds like a tough course!
