A Tall Order

Week of 24th April

Monday

(5' easy, 2' walk) * 5 - 5Km, 6:43/Km, 144avg HR

Tuesday - Rest

Wednesday

(5' easy, 90" walk) * 5 - 5Km, 6:40/Km, 141avg HR

Thursday - Rest

Friday

Hike around Two/Three rock with some work colleagues. (morning)

50' cycling around Dublin suburbs/city to run some errands. (afternoon)

Saturday - Bushy Parkrun - 5Km, 5:46/Km, 156avg HR

Sunday 

Deerpark junior parkrun with the two boys. (morning)

100' Cycle through Stepaside/Enniskerry/Glencullen/Tibradden. (afternoon)

Mileage for the Week - 17Km

Mileage for the Year - 283Km

Parkrun on Saturday was first non stop 5Km since I knocked the running on the head late in January. Had my 8 year old with me to keep me distracted and to edge him closer to his 10 milestone t-shirt. I have been building towards this since start of April with workouts similar to those earlier this week. Zero pain throughout and zero pain this morning when I woke up. Last 3 months has been a physical and mental roller coaster. Beyond excited to get through Saturday and hopefully start building for later in the year. Not getting ahead of myself though. I need to monitor the PF each and every day. For now I will be doing easy runs every other day and will be a number of weeks before I attempt back to back running days. I have a host of foot and calf (gastro/soleus) strength/stretching exercises to continue to work on. I also need to shift the extra Kgs that have appeared over the past 3 months of relative inactivity.

Thanks folks. Fitness/strength is all but gone so just taking it one day/run at a time. Happy to be out running.

Feels good to have got out for 4 runs in a week. Some of the runs have felt like a struggle at times, even if they are just easy runs. Final week in work so made an effort to get in to the office to say goodbye to a few folks in person. Couple of weeks "break" after this.

Week of 8th May

Monday

35' easy - 5.5Km, 6:19/Km, 148avg HR

Tuesday - 80' cycle through Phoenix Park and the burbs.

Wednesday

35' easy - 5.5Km, 6:10/Km, 145avg HR

Thursday - Cycle commute to/from work.

Friday

45' easy - 7Km, 6:18/Km, 144avg HR

Saturday - Rest

Sunday 

45' easy - 7Km, 6:18/Km, 144avg HR

Mileage for the Week - 25Km

Final week off before starting new job and lots going on so only 3 runs completed. Got some good runs in. Purposely trying to slow down, more effort needed on this front. Got the boys out volunteering at junior parkrun. We were off to Croke Park for the football match later that day (atrocious match) so didn't want to tire them out too much before we got there.

Week of 22nd May

Monday - Rest

Tuesday

55' easy - 8.5Km, 6:20/Km, 140avg HR

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday

55' easy - 8.5Km, 6:16/Km, 137avg HR

Friday

55' easy - 8.5Km, 6:22/Km, 132avg HR

Saturday - Rest

Sunday - Rest/junior parkrun tailwalking

Mileage for the Week - 29.5Km

Mileage for the Year - 423Km

PF is coming along, though very slowly. I need to slow my runs down a little more which I will work on. Thoroughly enjoying being outside in the fresh air. I am feeling more and more confident about making the start line for Chicago though at this point my only goal will be to complete it. New job starting tomorrow so looking forward to getting back in to a daily routine.

Week of 29th May

Monday - Rest

Tuesday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:29/Km

Wednesday

55' easy - 9Km, 6:13/Km

Thursday - Rest

Friday - Rest

Saturday

Tymon parkrun - 5Km, 5:32/Km

Sunday

65' easy - 10.5Km, 6:09/Km

Mileage for the Week - 34.5Km

A good week. Really enjoyed the parkrun in Tymon. Had great company and I stretched the legs out afterwards. I've not included HR data for this and following weeks. HR strap has thrown up HR data that is way off so I'm in the process of returning it.

Week of 12th June

Monday - Rest

Tuesday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:21/Km

Wednesday

60' easy - 9.5Km, 6:27/Km

Thursday - Rest

Friday - Rest

Saturday

Bushy parkrun/75' easy - 12Km, 6:13/Km

Sunday

Corkagh 5 mile - Pacing 50' - 8.12Km, 6:10/Km - Chip time 50:02

Cycle out/back - 65' cycling

Mileage for the Week - 40Km

Good to be back at after almost a week off with illness. Heat this week was unbearable. Saturday's parkrun was crazy busy due to Marlay being off for a few weeks with the concerts. Should have went further afield.

A few weeks prior to this, there was a request for pacers for the Corkagh 5 miler which fell on Father's day so I threw my hat in the ring. Never done official pacing and was eager to do a good job for those who were running and for the person who put my name forward. Trickiest part before the start was figuring out how best to secure the 50m balloon so it wouldn't be too high/low etc. Managed to get that sorted. Other pacers were sound. Jim came over and said thank you and shook all of our hands. A gent.

I was really nervous about pacing. When you are racing for yourself, you worry about you, nothing else. I had a few people settle in behind once we picked our spot but once we got going I never really turned around in case it made me more nervous. I'd no idea how it was going to go but I knew the pace would be more than manageable. 1st/2nd Kms were ok but then we'd a drag on the R136 to content with. I always take it easy going uphills so if people wanted their 50', they'd had to be patient. I give a wave to the person responsible for my pacing duties. 3rd/4th Km saw us up the drag and past the start/finish area. We got through the 2nd mile marker pretty much bang on time. A few hundred metres past this marker and we saw the winner coming around the final bends... we were almost halfway through our race. 5th/6th Km tick off just fine. As we're going through the more wooded areas, I'm reeling in the balloon in/out behind my back so it doesn't get popped by the low hanging branches. The heat at this stage has risen a few degrees. The 7th Km brings a drag back up to the cycling track where the start/finish area is. Some people are really struggling here. There is zero breeze to ease their struggle. As we reach the entrance, the noise from fans/finishers ramps up. The support is great. We can see the finish line but we have to loop around the cycle track to get there. We're exposed without tree cover, without wind and the sun is beating down. As we passed each of the mile markers we were within a couple of seconds of overall target pace. Approaching the line and my pacing partner and I are given a shout out over the loudspeaker for our pacing duties and also for being the only pacing team to come with 2 balloons in tact. :D Cross the line and am really happy with getting home within a few seconds of the planned time. An enjoyable experience and one I would be happy to do again.

Week of 19th June

Monday - Rest

Tuesday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:28/Km

Wednesday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:21/Km

Thursday

90' Cycling

Friday

65' easy - 10.5Km, 6:11/Km

Saturday - Rest

Sunday

90' easy - 14Km, 6:23/Km

Mileage for the Week - 34.5Km

Mileage for the Year - 506Km

Bit of a mixed week. The easy runs early in the week felt fine. Then a few beers with the lads on Thursday resulted in a poor nights sleep which meant I struggled a little during Friday's run. The 90' easy was scheduled for Saturday but the PF wasn't playing ball. A wine fuelled street party on Saturday day and evening meant I struggled further during Sunday evening's 90' easy run. Glad to get that done as it is the longes run since mid January.

Week of 3rd July

Monday

50' easy - 7.5Km, 6:39/Km followed by ~25mins S&C

Tuesday - Rest

Wednesday

25' easy, 20' progression, 20' easy - 11Km, 5:55/Km

Thursday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:19/Km

Friday - Rest

Saturday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:31/Km followed by ~40mins S&C

Sunday - Unplanned Rest

Mileage for the Week - 39Km

Mileage for the Year - 597Km

An ok week. Planned shockwave therapy session last Tuesday got cancelled last minute to so that will happen tomorrow. The progression run on Wednesday went well though the top end of Dodder park is not ideal as it is hilly and exposed. Will get to Bushy/Marlay park for those sessions in future. Missed yesterday's 100' easy run due to prior commitments.

I've been doing a small amount of strength work for my PF but I wanted to do a more rounded program for the upcoming marathon block. I signed up to the Running Buddy app which @Kellygirl has recommended before. 2 sessions in and going well. 2nd session was longer than expected as I didn't view the video tutorials prior to starting. All body weight stuff for now. Just need to see if I can work in 3 sessions per week moving forward.

13 weeks until Chicago.

Week of 17th July

Monday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:21/Km, 132avg HR & 30 mins S&C

Tuesday

65' easy - 10.5Km, 6:28/Km, 139avg HR

Wednesday

20' easy, 20' @ 10mile, 5' easy, 10' @ 10 mile, 20' easy - 13Km, 5:47/Km, 143avg HR

1st round: 5:18, 5:22, 5:13, 5:18

2nd round: 5:18, 5:09

Thursday - Rest

Friday

65' easy - 10.5Km, 6:20/Km & 30 mins S&C

Saturday

110' easy - 17.5Km, 6:15/Km, 140avg HR including Marlay parkrun with the eldest lad.

Sunday - Rest

Mileage for the Week - 61Km

Mileage for the Year - 715Km

Warranty replacement for my Garmin HRM strap arrived the prior week so good to have reliable HR data available again.

Legs felt very heavy on Tuesday after the easy run so went back to using some bath salts and did some foam/sliotar rolling. This worked well and woke up on Wednesday raring to go for the planned session. Between the midweek session and the long run at the weekend, things are going well and no deteroration with my PF with the added training load.

11 weeks until Chicago. We got sent our corral for the marathon and I'm in the 3:40-3:50 wave so I'm going to be adjusting that down to a corral in the 4:00-4:20 range to keep things realistic. Registered for the Chicago 5Km the day before to use as a Shakeout run.

Week of 31st July

Monday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:39/Km, 127avg HR

Tuesday - Rest

Wednesday

20' easy, 20' @ 10mile, 5' easy, 20' @ 10 mile, 20' easy - 14.5Km, 5:49/Km, 144avg HR

1st round: 5:23, 5:22, 5:08, 5:11

2nd round: 5:13, 5:10, 5:15, 5:26

Thursday

65' easy - 10.5Km, 6:15/Km, 134avg HR + 22mins S&C (same circuit, just don't have to watch the tutorials anymore so tis quicker)

Friday

130' @ ~PMP - 22Km, 5:54/Km, 147avg HR

Saturday

60' easy - 10Km, 6:23/Km, 141avg HR including Bushy parkrun.

Sunday - Rest

Mileage for the Week - 67Km

Mileage for the Year - 845Km

Easy runs were fine this week, with the exception of Saturday's outing which had a huge amount of surface water around the duck pond in Bushy park and the 8/9 pints had the night before 🙈 Wenesday's session was probably a little fast though felt good throughout and no issues with PF before/during/after. Moved the long run to Friday as there were scheduled pints for Friday so I knew getting out for it on Saturday/Sunday would be tough. Felt good throughout though it was quite warm. Covered about 10Km of DCM route as well as some drags/hills beyond the turn off for Roebuck Road. Today is a rest day but got the youngest out to collect his marathon wrist band at junior parkrun.

9 weeks until Chicago. I think I have all logistics sorted at this stage. I just need to keep ticking off the runs whilst looking after the PF. We are off to Tenerife for 10 days from today. I am not sure if I am more worried about running the hills or in the high temperatures. My wife has almost finished C25K. I got some good gift suggestions for when she's finished from the 2019 DCM grads but open to more if people have ideas.

Week of 14th August

Monday - Rest

Tuesday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:37/Km, 134avg HR

Wednesday

65' easy - 10.5Km, 6:16/Km, 136avg HR + 20' S&C

Thursday - Rest

Friday

20' easy, 20' @ ~5:10, 5' easy, 20' @ ~5:10, (5' @ ~5:05) * 2, 20' easy - 18.5Km, 5:47/Km, 140avg HR

1st: 5:28, 5:13, 5:12, 5:17

2nd: 5:15, 5:13, 5:07, 5:07

3rd: 5:03

4th: 5:02

Saturday

30' easy at Waterstown Parkrun - 5Km, 6:22/Km, 123avg HR

Sunday

140' @ PMP - Km, 5:56/Km, 141avg HR

Mileage for the Week - 67Km

Mileage for the Year - 950Km

Glad that week is over. The easy runs earlier in the week were the last of the hot hilly runs in Tenerife. Travelling home on Thursday, I knew I wouldn't get out for the midweek session that day so had it pencilled in for Friday. Misread the plans for the run and ran 20' for the 2nd interval instead of 10'. Only noticed on Sunday morning. The legs were hanging off me on Saturday morning and the pints the night before didn't help either. Between the legs barking, a slight hangover and a whining 8 year old, I decided against running to/from Tymon/Bushy parkrun. We drove out to Waterstown parkrun which was quiet due to FD10. A lovely parkrun but the given my legs, I was not appreciate of the lumps in it. Young lad delighted with beating his old man once again.

Legs were still not 100% prior to the long run on Sunday. It was warm too. Got through it but felt every lump/bump throughout. Rest day tomorrow. I'll get the legs stretched/rolled to help them recover.

PF update - still progressing positively at a very slow rate. It will flare up a little after a session/long run but the next morning it will be fine. I am able to do some barefoot walking without pain which is another indicator that it is healing. Still very vigilant with it though.

7 weeks until Chicago. I did sort a change of corral a few weeks back. Dropped down to the 4:10-4:20 corral. I will need to see how the next 1-2 weeks go after this week's struggle. I'll know then if it is a realistic target. This would actually be in official PB range (virtual of 4:09) after the 4:24 at Lap of the Gap last year but time will tell whether that will happen or not. Friday night was the last of the scoops too. Need to focus on rest/recovery/diet until the race is done. PF really has scuppered race plans/goals this year but delighted to be running consistently and even more so to be heading to the windy city.

Week of 28th August

Monday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:25/Km, 125avg HR + 20' S&C

Tuesday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:26/Km, 123avg HR

Wednesday

20' easy, (5' @ ~5:05, 3' easy) * 8, 20' easy - 18Km, 5:47/Km, 140avg HR

5:06, 5:00, 5:05, 5:02, 5:01, 5:03, 5:09, 5:05

Over to Marlay for this as the paths are quieter than bushy for intervals. Felt comfortable throughout.

Thursday - Rest

Friday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:21/Km, 129avg HR

Saturday

160' @ PMP - 27Km, 5:59/Km, 144avg HR

Ran to/from phoenix park and did a loop of the park. It started off cool but when the heat kicked in I started to feel it. Grabbed some water at about the two hour mark and felt better for doing so. A Maurten 320 over the first hour and then a Maurten 100 at 90' and 120'.

Sunday - Rest

Mileage for the Week - 75Km

Mileage for the Year - 1100Km

DCM looking less likely to happen now. The person I was due to pace is injured so can't see it happening. Will know for sure in the next week or two. It'll give me a bit more time to recover before Run the Line if I'm not running it.

Been glued to FIBA world cup all week to see who is going to qualify for the Olympics next year as we've got tickets for the last group games in Lille. Some great games with a few shock results thrown in to mix things up.

5 weeks until Chicago - started to do more research on where to eat/drink/visit when I'm there. A couple more long runs to get under belt and I'll feel confident of getting through it.

Week of 4th September

Monday

70' - 10Km, 6:55/Km, 125avg HR + S&C

Parked at Kilmashogue lane car park and ran up towards Three Rock. Got 3 laps around Three Rock and back to the car. Enjoyable hilly run, even in the heat.

Tuesday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:25/Km, 126avg HR

Usual easy run along the Dodder park paths.

Wednesday

28' easy, (4' @ ~5:05, 3' easy) * 10, 20' easy - 20Km, 5:55/Km, 145avg HR

5:11, 5:03, 5:00, 5:04, 5:04, 5:03, 5:00, 5:00, 5:03, 5:02

Another trip up to Marlay for the midweek session. Felt comfortable for the most part but the heat started to pick up halfway through.

Thursday - Rest day

Friday - unplanned rest day

Poor night's sleep the night before so wasn't feeling great. Had the gear on whilst dropping the boys to school. Dropped the youngest off and just decided I wasn't running so I walked home. A rare DNS running day.

Saturday

65' easy - 10Km, 6:24/Km, 124avg HR

Youngest had GAA so I ran to/from/during it.

Sunday

3hrs @ PMP - 30Km, 6:00/Km, 138avg HR

Out at 6:30am and it was foggy for the first two hours. Breathing was very laboured for that period but HR was normal. I'd planned to pick up water at the Maxol beside the lock at Lucan but it was closed when I got there just after 8am so I trundled on. Nice run along the canal from there until Bluebell when I turned for home. Maurten 320 mix for the first hour, Maurten 160 gel at 90' followed by Maurten 100 gel at 120'/150'.

Mileage for the Week - 80Km

Mileage for the Year - 1180Km

4 weeks until Chicago - feeling more confident after the 3 hour run this morning. I've the same again next week though I'm hoping for more favourable running conditions to build more confidence. Got my ESTA approved during the week so that's another item ticked off the list.