Grey skies give way to......

29 Apr - 05 May

Mon: track session. 7.5km incl warm up and cool down. 4 x 90sec increasing paces with 2 mins off. 4 sets. Went ok, it's nice to look back on strava and see each interval does actual increase in pace.

Tues: rest

Weds: Track. 5 x 5 mins session. To be honest, I actually wasn't paying much attention for this. I ended up chatting for most of it, as much as you can do running about. Session kinda flew past and at the end I wasn't even sure if I was running the prescribed paces. Was embarrassed when the session coach said as I was stretching that I had a good session out there that evening and was working well! I couldn't tell him I wasn't paying any attention! 🙈 6.6km in 45mins incl warm up and cool down.

Thurs: rest

Fri: walk.

Sat: morning workout class. Over to parkrun after. Feels like ages since I'd run my local parkrun. I don't know what I had for breakfast that morning but seemed to have found an extra gear somehow! Or maybe it was because I didn't do any warm up. Eased into it for the first 200m and seemed to find my groove at 5:40min/km pace and in step with another lady. I let her go on I think maybe around 2km, but still kept her in my sights. Otherwise I was picking off people slowly one by one. Funny enough I seemed to pick up pace for the 3rd km. At 3.5km I caught back up with the lady I started with and we seemed to keep it steady and strong and we picked up a passenger at 4km for the last bit. A very quick glance at my watch showed me on for a pretty good time, wasn't sure what my course pb was, thinking around 28:00-ish. A good incentive to keep the pressure on for the last little bit to finish in 27:37. Looking back over my parkruns on this route, I ran this 5mins and 1 sec quicker than my first ever one!

Sun: Long run. Had planned out an 11 mile loop from a friend's house. It was a warm enough morning, will have to start digging out the singlets and sun visor. A lovely run, roads quiet even though we set out after 9am. Much of the run was in the countryside for lovely peace and some chats. Into the town around 10km and hopped onto the greenway for 4km and off then for the last 2km. 18km in 1hr 50mins. Pace felt ok for running and chatting, on paper it reads a bit fast for my LSR but it felt easy effort-wise. Onto a bonus bank holiday fitness class after - seemed like a good idea when I booked in after class the previous day but felt as weak as a kitten for much of it but managed to pick things up a bit at the end!

13- 19 May

Mon: track session with a pyramid. Working our way down from 4 mins to 1. 2 sets. Covered 8.2km incl warm up and cool downs

Tues: rest day

Weds: back to the track. Another pyramid session this time an up and down ranging from 1 min up to 7 mins and back. Covered 8kms incl warm up and cool down.

Thurs: Car was in for an early morning NCT (and failed). Went for a 4.5km walk while waiting. Fitness class that evening.

Fri: rest.

Sat: Clonown (Athlone) 10 mile. 1:31:38

A local race I didn't want to miss. On a month earlier this year, probably to avoid the heat in the bog. As it wasn't starting til 11 I volunteered to marshal for a bit at parkrun and then scoot off after 10. Got parked up, ready, collect race number and chat a bit. Was really hoping for as close to 1:30 as possible or at the very least beating last year's time of 1:34. Started off grand with 2 others. We chatted as we ran along, knowing that I was in charge of setting the pace. 3rd was a bit fast as I took my eye off the watch. Other than that the kms were ticking by, felt like we got settled into a good rhythm, passing a few people, a few passing us. Just before 10km one of the girls said she was dropping back and to go on. Water station at about 10.5km and this is where things started to go wrong for me. I took a bottle and emptied it into my own only to find that I'd lost the lid of my own bottle. So I had to try and run along with a thumb over the top of my bottle which was a bit useless. I was loosing water so tried to take on a much as I could to empty it a bit. Then I had to take a gel and the wrapper wouldn't open so I had to stop to walk and open it and lost more time. In the meantime the other person I was running with had gone on ahead and a few others were passing me. I got frustrated with the bottle in the end and left it at one of the mile markers. I feel I need water with me when I run just in case so it was a mental risk to go the last few miles without the comfort. Tried to get going and pick up the pace but it was tough going. Then I was saved- there was a water station at mile 11! Picked up a bottle, a sip of water and I was away. Time to reel in those ahead of me. I knew it wasn't far to go, I could even see the other girl I'd been running with ahead of me and tried to reel her in, if I'd another few hundred metres I'd have got her. Tough uphill finish, like running in peanut butter for the last 200 metres. Finished in 1:31 so happy enough. The issues with the bottle and gel may have cost me sub 1:30 but who's to say I wouldn't have run out of steam further down the road. As always with this event, a great spread laid on in the community centre and lovely not to have a long drive home.

Sun: Ashling Murphy 4 mile 40:20

I'd missed this event since it's inception and its was such a good cause and memory. Even though I'd raced the previous day, I said I'd just run this to stretch out the legs. I ran it with my husband and actually that was a lovely easy pace for me to run. Very warm morning out. A great event to take part in and one I'd recommend and I could see many runners had travelled from around the country for it. Support on the route was great from locals and musicians along the way. Again it was nice not to have too far to travel home after.

27May-02June

Mon: track session. A really good speedy one. of 10 x 1 mins at 5km pace or a touch quicker. Got some good speed going in them, pushed out the last one to 4:01min/km pace (my 5km pace is around 5:05min/km). Felt like a really good session, especially after run over 21kms the day before.

Tues: rest. short walk

Weds: rest. morning walk.

Thurs: Tubberclaire 5 mile. Another local race, it's hard not to support local events. I decided not to go all out for this one but to still give it an honest effort. First mile is all downhill but thank god I already knew that. It was still a quick mile and my buddy was clearly in stronger form than me so I didn't stay with her. Still tried to keep it at a decent pace that would get me under 45 mins. I knew there was a hill at 5km after a left hand turn but I'd forgotten that the hill actually starts about 300m before that. Had to take a little walk there but kicked myself to get going again when I was being passed. Just after 6km we were meeting with the 5km route so it was busy with walkers and kids so I bit of over and back on the country road. It felt like it was all uphill from there. I was trying to pass the 5km participants but I was huffing and puffing, digging in the arms, felt like I was barely moving. Just wanted the bloody thing over with. Passed the church and I knew I was almost finished so somehow found another gear and pushed on. Glad to see the finish line but the watch only measured 7.85km. I really wasn't ar$ed running on to round up to 5 mile. Good spread of food after but it got cold standing about,

Fri: morning walk

Sat: Ended up moving the long run to Sat morn. And the only way to fit it in was to run at 7am with those training for an ultra. I've gotten a few runs with this group over the last couple of months as they've had to slow down their long run pace and it just so happened to suit my pace! Ran 15.4km in 1:40 and then had to high-tail it over to parkrun where I was run director. It was the largest attendance I'd ever had as RD and it seemed to go off ok, even though it felt like I was chasing my tail a bit. Met a few for coffee after so by the time I got home at midday I was ready for bed again!

Sun: No long run! Lie in til 10am! Up, did an online workout and then straight out for a walk in the sunshine after.