The road to a 1:2X Half Mara.....

Wed 14th March
Legs have been a little tired so wasnt sure how this was going to go today. But have been feeling good once the legs get moving so couldn't wait to get going. Plan for today was basically to wreck myself and see how survive.

5 mile warmup @ 9:45

1X800m @ 7:50
800m recovery @ 9:20
1X800m @ 7:31
800m recovery @ 9:14
1X800m @ 7:37 ( a couple of ditches on this rep).
800m recovery @ 9:23
1X800m @ 7:25
800m recovery @ 9:15
1X800m @ 7:23
800m recovery @ 9:03
1X800m @ 7:23
800m @ 9:20

Was feeling great for the last few reps and had crazy though of seeing how fast I could run, but did the smart thing and stuck to plan.

Wanted to get a few extra miles in the warm down but was running late for work so only 1.5/6 mile warm- down

12.5 miles for the day @ 9:16 average pace..

Friday 16th March
6 miles handy in the rain in corkagh park, nothing much to report on this run.

Sat 17th March
20 miles in Phenoix park a large % of this run was on grass. Was glad to have Chinguetti for company on today run, even if it was more running and less chat for the last 3-4 miles. Legs felt great upto about 18 miles and it was a bit of a slog to finish.

chinguetti wrote: »

Those last 3 miles were the longest ever. I think the Garmin was mocking us. Hope the legs are ok after it.

Yep one mile just wouldnt end, think it might have lost signal for a while. Legs are grand now after a bit of a feed and a nice nap . just slightly tight hamstring but expect something after 20 miles.

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Roller derby still cracking my hole laughing. Best night in a while!!!

Good run today, sub 4 is yours to f up.

Yep looks like a mental sport,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1uAgwdC4JI

Rest day today , have had some physical threats made that if I get jedwarded in london the crown jewels are at risk.. Noting like some good motivation to start the last 5 weeks.

Thursday 22nd March
rest day
Friday 23rd March
6 miles nice and easy.

Sat 24th March
13 mile slog - made a bit of a mess of today run, plan was to get out about 10/11 am so up fed and getting ready to go when something came up, so spent the morning doing a few thing.
Finally got out the door about 1:30 and prob should have waited until after lunch. Did 4 miles in corkagh park before hitting the lucan road for a few miles, pace got a bit fast for the mid section of the run and should have slowed but just went with it and suffered a little over the last 2-3 miles.

13 miles 8:50

Last couple of days havent really gone to plan, away in the land of beer with miltiple free bars , have managed to avoid the Alcohol but 10-12 hour days have not been kind on the legs.
Took tuesday off as a rest day left a free bar after 2 drinks.. ...
Yesterday plan was 5-6 easy miles, legs were wrecked after a day in work and could feel some cramping tired calf afer a day on my feet so decided to skip the run and get to bed early and skip free bar number 2. (one missed run won't matter at this point. right?)
Glad the last 2 day are over now, back to normal work today so should get a nice run done tonight.

Yep not taking any risks now, had 2 day meeting is a 30,000 seater football stadium and there was talk of a kick around. Think someone is testing me at the moment with lots of injury risk activities.

Friday 30th March
50 min easy run around some local trails here, Not a huge fan of early morning running but flying back after work today so wont get time tonight.

Sunday 1st April
Had planned to get to the park early for 10 miles then jump into the 10k that was on, but after checking the route and time i'd need to be out of bed decided to run with the boards group.

A nice 10 mile loop around the park before I left the group to get a few faster miles in. Didn't know who this would go or how the legs would handle it. Pace was a little faster than planned byut just felt great so went with it. After 2 miles I had to keep slow a little as was starting motor (well for me). Got to 5 miles and though that I might add an extra couple of miles and do 8 but decided better to quite while i'm ahead. So 6.5 miles @ 8:30 ish last 2.5 miles were a little quicker. I'm glad I didn't jump into the race in the end, if I had showed up feeling like this I'm think enough to try and race.

Once I finished up had about a 2 mile ruin back to the car, the legs suffered once I slowed the pace but nothing to bad.

18.5 miles @ 9:15

Tuesday 4th April
5 mile recovery run on grass. Froze the B$$% of myself on this run, was cold getting changed and ran with a new pair of socks on my hands..
Jumped on the scales for the first time today afte breakfast in about 3-4 week and had to do a double take. Havent felt much weight loss but it must have been dropping as i'm now the lightest i've been in about 12 years no wonder the long runs have been feeling easier. Still a good bit that needs to drop this year but moving in the right direction.

Thursday 5th April
Rest day today, wasn't feeling gret last night, sore throat, tired felt like I was coing down with something, but a nice change in work shift ment a nice 11 hour sleep and feel perfect now.

Sunday 8th April
40 min recovery run today, Had company on todays run and had to tell him to slow down once or twice, Legs were feeling really good today but wanted to keep the pace slow. Maybe a little faster than planned but managed to keep the pace controled. Tried to talk me into doing another 10 mins and I really wanted to keep going but kept it to 40 mins. Have to say legs have never felt this good the day after a long run.

jcsmum wrote: »

Don't people know us runners have races and Lsr's to do..... So inconsiderate. Lots of tissues being used in our house too!

I know ... people need to think more before they get sick.

Wed 11th April
rest day
Thursday 12th April
2 mile warmup with 3X1 mile had some stomach issue during this run due to some poor lunch options in work. Didn't feel good at all during any part of the run because of this and was at rick or a pikey poo at any stage.
The 3X1 went well but pace kept getting a bit to fast 7:43, 7:44, 7:34 :eek:
A quick stop off in a coffee shop(won't be going back there for a while) and stomach issue passed.

6 miles for the day

Sat 14th April
Cut todays run short , legs were feeling a little tired and not feeling as easy as it should so playing it extra safe today.

Monday 16th April
4 miles easy around corkagh today, legs didn't wake up at all but its been taking me 4 miles to get into runs the last few weeks so that not a suprise. My walking around legs are starting to feel very fresh after a few easy days.

Thanks, yep after last year the whole aim was to be on the startline injury free. Next part is getting to the finish line enjoying the run and time is only the 3rd part . Have been watching this marathon for 20 years so wasn't going to mess it up. Have about 2-3 plans in mind for the race but all involve a slow first few miles but thats mainly down to congestion. Depens on how slow the first few miles are i'll pick a target then. Once I don't go off at 3:30 pace I'll be grand...

kennyb3 wrote: »

Lots and lots of effort and some heartache along the way to get here. Best of luck shels - really hope it goes to plan.

Thanks, I know havent races since last july now, so planning on enjoying every step of this no matter how hard it gets. You have had a hard time of it also, any progress with the injury?