Sometimes I just need to get out and run

davemcmahon · 17-03-2014 12:00AM

16/03/2014 Sun: 5.01 miles @ 8:46 min/miles

A nice handy 5 miles to round out the week. Started off a little fast but the legs reminded me fairly quickly that I'd raced yesterday so kept the pace nice and slow.

WTD|43.03
MTD|90.78
YTD|452.9

davemcmahon · 19-03-2014 03:40PM

17/03/2014 Mon: 7.45 miles @ 8:08 min/miles

A lovely morning for a run before breakfast. Down through Celbridge and into the ground of Castletown house. Not many people out apart from the odd group of teenagers heading into the forest with bags of cans!!! Legs were feeling good and seem to have recovered well from Saturday.

18/03/2014 Tues: 7.98 miles inc Club Session

Was unsure if I'd do this session this week with racing at the weekend but with the legs feeling good I figured I'd give it a shot. Had a couple of miles warm up and down to the track. I was happy to see that the conditions underfoot were much improved so there was no need for the spikes. Plan was for 6 x 1k, again taking the 1k as actually 900m. Plan was to ease into the first one and if the legs complained to keep them easy. First rep went grand and the legs felt good so kept going and pushed the rest of the reps. For each rep I tried to keep the first half fairly controlled and then push the pace a little on the second one. The first halves all came in around the 1:42-1:45 mark. Again the recoveries were all 90 second standing.

Reps: 3:30, 3:25, 3:24, 3:25, 3:25, 3:21.

As with previous weeks the last rep was the fastest as I emptied the tank. Was happy with the consistency of the reps. Had a couple of miles warm down with the lads to bring the total to just shy of 8 miles.

Have put my name forward for the Kildare Senior road race at the end of the month in Leixlip

19/03/2014 Wed: 6.02 miles @ 8:21 min/miles

Had planned to do this at recovery pace but the legs were feeling grand and the pace naturally seemed to pick up as the run went on. I decided not to fight it and just let the legs go at whatever pace they wanted.

WTD|21.45
MTD|112.23
YTD|474.35

davemcmahon · 21-03-2014 03:11PM

20/03/2014 Thurs: 7.55 miles inc Club Session

Wasn't looking forward to this yesterday as the weather was so bad. Thankfully it improved slightly as the day went on. Made the decision not to bring the spikes with me and just run in the St5's. The plan for today was 3 x 10 mins hard with 3 mins standing/walking recovery. Did the mile warm up to the track and then a further 0.5mile on the track.

10 mins (1.48mile) @ 6:45min/mile,
10 mins (1.56mile) @ 6:25min/mile,
10 mins (1.58mile) @ 6:24 min/mile.

Was happy with the session, took the first rep fairly handy and went around at HMP, the next two reps ended up being at around 10k pace. Kept the warm down fairly short, just the one mile.

21/03/2014 Fri: 4.11 miles @ 9:00 min/miles

A nice handy recovery run. Legs are feeling a little tired after last nights session. Wanted to get this in before lunch while the weather was still decent although it was pretty windy. Thankfully I was running an out and back course so the wind was behind me on the way back into work.

WTD|33.11
MTD|123.89
YTD|486.01

davemcmahon · 23-03-2014 11:39PM

22/03/2014 Sat: 13.04 miles @ 8:27 min/mile

LSR this morning, decided to go do a few miles along the canal. As I left the house I'd a feeling this was going to be a tough one, as the legs were feeling quite heavy. The first couple of miles were grand and then I turned onto the canal and had a bitter wind blowing into my face for the next few miles. Was very glad when I reached the half way point and could turn around so the wind was behind me. As I hit the 9/10 mile mark I could feel the body just wanted to pack it in and go get breakfast. I managed to keep the legs moving although at a slightly slower pace and finished out the last few miles. Not the best run I've ever had but not the worst and was just glad when it was over.

Day was improved by listening to the Liverpool game in the evening and seeing if we can keep the dream alive!!

23/03/2014 Sun: 3.04 miles @ 9:21 min/miles

When I woke this morning the legs were a little stiff so I decided a short recovery run would be a good idea (and my year to date total was sitting at 499). A nice little run n what was quite nice weather to close out the week.

Have a 10k on Sunday for the club so will take it easy in the 2nd half of the week. We got the results back from last Saturdays race and the club took 1st place in the mens Masters and Intermediates and Masters women and third in the Intermediate womens. I was fairly chuffed with this as I was the 4th scorer for the Intermediates so help get the first place.

WTD|49.18
MTD|139.96
YTD|502.08

davemcmahon · 26-03-2014 07:26PM

24/03/2014 Mon: 7.06 miles @ 8:18 min/mile

Legs were feeling pretty good this morning, so was happy to get a nice run this morning before work. Took a familiar loop around Celbridge and through the grounds of Castletown park.

25/03/2014 Tues: 7.96 miles @ 7:23 min/miles

One of the kids had been sick the last few days so knew I wasn't going to get to make the club session tonight. Instead I headed out for a run earlier in the day. once I got out I decided I'd do a tempo run as the legs were feeling good and wanted to go faster. Headed towards the canal and did a few miles along there. Ended up doing 1 mile easy, 5 miles tempo, 1.96 mile easy.

Ran the Tempo sections on feel and was pretty happy to see the resultant splits.

Tempo miles: 7:25, 7:06, 7:03, 6:55, 6:54.

Was happy with the tempo miles as they felt comfortable.

26/03/2014 Wed: 6.08 miles @ 8:13 min/miles

A handy easy out and back run from work. Legs a little heavy after yesterdays run.

WTD|21.1
MTD|161.06
YTD|523.18

davemcmahon · 31-03-2014 01:58PM

27/03/2014 Thurs: 5.11 miles @ 7:40 min/mile

Legs felt grand today, had planned to keep this easy but the pace ended up being more steady. The legs wanted to go faster but I held back a bit.

28/03/2014 Fri: 5.37 miles @ 8:25 min/miles

A handy run, took in some of the route for the race on Sunday. Kept it nice and easy. I can feel a headcold developing, feels like I'm fighting off whatever the kids have at the moment.

30/03/2014 Sun: 8.77 miles inc. Kildare Senior Road Race 10K

Woke up on Saturday to feel the full affect of the headcold. Was happy to take the rest day but hoped it wouldn't be too bad ahead of the race. Woke on Sunday morning and it wasn't much better. I said feck it and decided I'd run the race anyway and just see what happens.

Arrived nice and early, picked up my number and had a chat with some of the team to get idea of the route. Had a short warm up with the lads and then went off to watch the ladies race. We got started pretty quickly once the ladies race was finished. The first two miles from the Leixlip amenities down towards the main entrance of Carton house were a pretty fast and I went through slightly faster than planned. The course then crossed over the canal and went winding through the backroads between Maynooth and Leixlip for the next 2.5 miles. We came back onto the main road between Celbridge and Leixlip at around the 4.5 mile mark and had had to make our way back over the canal and train tracks towards Intel. A short diversion to make up some distance and then back towards the amenities centre for the finish. This last section was the reverse of the first mile so it was pretty fast. I pushed hard through the miles as I wasn't expecting a good time and was happy to just make up the numbers.

I was surprised when I crossed the finish to see the watch read 40:12, only 3 seconds outside my current PB. In the end I was very happy with the time.

Had a little over a mile warm down to bring the total to 8.77 miles for the day.

Weakly Mileage: 40.35

31/03/2014 Mon: 5.11 miles @ 9:23 min/miles

A very handy recovery run. The legs were feeling fairly fooked this morning which didn't surprise me. Kept to the grass and trails as much as I could to give the legs a break. Head cold is still there but not as bad as the previous two days.

WTD|5.11
MTD|185.42
YTD|547.54

davemcmahon · 02-04-2014 02:40PM

01/04/2014 Tues: 7.45 miles inc Club Session

Spent a good bit of time on Monday night doing stretches and the legs were feeling much better by Tuesday morning. I'd say the legs were probably at about 80% so i decided to give the club session a go but hold the effort back.

Head down to the track and got a good 2 miles warm up in with some of the lads that had raced on Sunday. We were all feeling the race in our legs so decided to hold back on the reps. The plan was for 6 x 800m off 90 seconds standing recovery.

Reps: 3:05, 3:02, 3:05, 3:07, 3:08, 3:05.

The 2nd rep was a little fast but I was happy keeping the rest of the reps at about 10s slower than they were the last time I did this session. That said the session itself was still pretty tough as the legs definitely tired towards the end of the reps.

Spent about 40 mins stretching when I got home.

02/04/2014 Wed: 5.10 miles @ 8:40 min/miles

Legs feeling heavy this morning so I kept the pace nice and slow on the border between easy and recovery. Legs feeling better after the run.

WTD|17.66
MTD|12.55
YTD|560.09

AuldManKing · 04-04-2014 09:14AM

Great running last week Dave. Won't take much to blast that 40 mark.

davemcmahon · 04-04-2014 01:39PM

03/04/2014 Thurs: 8.19 miles inc Club Session

Legs feeling grand again this morning, so headed to the club again for the second session of the week. The planned session was a 25 min pace run. I had planned to do this at around the 6:45min/mile mark. I ran a nice and easy 2 mile warm up and then got started into the pace section.

there were a couple of use aiming for the same pace so it was good to have a group to stick with around the track. We started a little slowly but picked the pace up after the first lap and passed through the first mile in bang on 6:45. At this stage I stopped looking at the pace and mile splits, watch was set with autolap off so i could keep the whole 25 minute section together. I was pretty happy with the effort and felt like I'd held the pace well for the whole 25 minutes.

25 minutes @ 6:42 mins/mile (3.74 miles)

Was happy with this as I'm aiming to be able to run 6:45's for my next HM.

2 miles warm down and back to the house

04/04/2014 Fri: 5.07 miles @ 9:07 min/miles

Kept it nice and easy today as the legs are suffering a bit from not having a chance to fully recover. Will keep the rest of the runs on the slow side of the paces until the next club session on Tuesday to held them repair.

WTD|30.92
MTD|25.81
YTD|573.35

davemcmahon · 04-04-2014 01:48PM

AuldManKing wrote: »

Great running last week Dave. Won't take much to blast that 40 mark.

Cheers A, Its just a matter of picking the next race, tapering for it and ensuring I'm fit and healthy on the start the line.

davemcmahon · 09-04-2014 06:42PM

A sudden change of plan of Saturday morning meant no chance to get a run in. Decided on Sunday morning that the legs could do with another day off so ended up taking the whole weekend off to let the body freshen up.

07/04/2014 Mon: 6.06 miles @ 8:32 min/mile

Legs were feeling grand after the couple of days rest. Just an easy 6 miles for the day to ease back into it.

08/04/2014 Tues: 9.30 miles inc Club Session

Was running a little early today so I went for a couple of easy miles before the session. Ended up doing about 4 miles before the session kicked off. Plan was for 5 x 1k (917m by garmin) with 90s standing recovery.

Reps were: 3:27, 3:20, 3:21, 3:23, 3:24

Was happy with the reps. First was a little slow as I'd gotten boxed in for the first 450m or so. The next reps were all fairly consistent effort wise. The legs were feeling tired and a little heavy by the last rep.

As I started my warm down the legs were feeling pretty tired and stiff. About half way through the warm down I felt a spasm on the front of my quad. Didn't think too much of it as I was able to keep going.

Later in the evening the leg seized up and I was having some trouble bending my leg. Stretched in out and some foam rolling later it felt much better. Woke this morning and it was still giving me trouble. While not as bad as last night I decided I'd better get it looked at so booked a physio appointment for after lunch.

After some punishment and alot of pain it appears to be a minor quad strain. Took today off and have to try a small run in the morning and then chat to the physio again. Was given plenty of stretches to do so hopefully won't slow me down for too long.

WTD|15.36
MTD|41.17
YTD|588.71

davemcmahon · 11-04-2014 05:29PM

10/04/2014 Thurs: 3.55 miles @ 8:39 min/mile

The physio had recommended I get a short slow run this morning to judge how the quad was. There was a little discomfort but thankfully no pain. I could feel the spot in my quad were the strain had occurred throughout the run. Plenty of stretching afterwards but overall feeling much better.

11/04/2014 Fri: 5.23 miles @ 8:30 min/mile

Another very easy run at the suggestion of the physio. Leg feeling much better, no discomfort and no pain. The quad felt a little tight towards the end of the run but feels grand now.

The plan is to rest tomorrow and try for 90-100 mins on Sunday morning and hopefully I should be ok to get back to some speed work next week.

WTD|24.14
MTD|49.95
YTD|597.49

davemcmahon · 14-04-2014 11:27AM

13/04/2014 Sun: 11.26 miles @ 8:48 min/mile

After Fridays run I was curious to see how the leg would hold up on a longer run. The plan agreed with the physio was that I'd try 90ish mins slowly and see how I'd get on. The leg was feeling ok when I woke up and I was out the door before breakfast. I kept the run close enough to home should I need to pack it in. I also tried to keep a handful of the miles on grass. The pace was nice and slow for the first half of the run and then I began to slow even more as the legs began to struggle a little towards the 9 mile mark. The injured leg was feeling a little weak and as such I was happy to let the pace drop towards the 9 min/mile mark and beyond. In the end I was on my feet for just shy of 100 mins. Afterwards the leg was a little stiff but some stretching when I got home and it was feeling grand afterwards if a little tired.

WTD:35:39

14/04/2014 Mon: 5.36 miles @ 7:51 min/mile

I knew I'd be having a busy week in work this week so I was out nice and early before I headed into work and had breakfast. I've decided to go back to getting a few runs a week in before breakfast. I took the first mile nice and easy and before I knew it the pace was starting to pick up with no bother at all from the leg. I went with it and the next few miles were at the faster end of the easy pace and a nice easy mile to finish up. The leg was feeling much stronger than yesterday and it felt good to pick the pace up a little.

I'll probably stick with just the easy runs for the next couple of days and maybe throw in a Tempo run on Thursday if the legs are feeling good. I may wait until next week before I try a speed session with the club again.

WTD|5.36
MTD|66:57
YTD|614.11

davemcmahon · 15-04-2014 11:44AM

15/04/2014 Tues: 6.21 miles @ 7:56 min/mile

Another early morning run, Pretty much the same route as yesterday morning with an additional mile loop added. I'd actual forgotten how nice it feels to get the run out of the way before breakfast. Leg is feeling good and the pace was creeping back up again as I got into my stride. Tried to keep a couple of the miles on grass or trail to keep some of the stress off the legs. If the legs keeps improving I'll definitely try a Tempo run on Thursday.

WTD|11.57
MTD|72.78
YTD|620.32

davemcmahon · 17-04-2014 09:55PM

16/04/2014 Wed: 7.00 miles @ 8:19 min/mile

A change of route this morning to include some of the canal near work. Out nice and early before breakfast again. Keep the pace nice and handy with tomorrow Tempo run in mind.

17/04/2014 Thurs: 6.89 miles @ 7:28 min/mile

The plan for this was for a 5 mile Tempo with one of the lads from work at lunch time. One mile warm up and we were ready for the tempo miles, the plan being to keep them around the 7 m/m mark. The first mile was into a strong wind so was happy enough to see 7:06 on the watch. The next 3 miles were around a nearby field, 6:58, 7:00, 6:59. The last mile saw us back out on the main road heading back towards work. We had the wind at our backs so were happy to up the effort for the last mile 6:33. The average pace for the 5 miles came in around the 6:52 mark (according to his watch). Just under a mile warm down brought us back to work.

I was happy enough with how the leg felt during this. It didn't give me any bother and although a little stiff afterwards the strained muscle is doing grand. This was also the first bit of faster running I've done in a pair of Brooks Pure cadence so was happy with how they felt.

WTD|25.46
MTD|86.67
YTD|634.21

davemcmahon · 18-04-2014 02:37PM

18/04/2014 Fri: 4.57 miles @ 9.01 min/mile

A nice handy recovery run before work. Legs were feeling a little tired after yesterdays Tempo run. They are feeling much better now. Was a lovely morning again for a run.

Now that the leg is feeling better it time to pick a few races for the next few weeks. There's a '5k' run in work next week, after that I'll do either the Leixlip/Tallaght 5k and the Maynooth 10k. At the moment I'm drifting towards the Leixlip 5k as I was a disappointed in the turn out for the Tallaght race last year and Leixlip always seems to get good numbers.

WTD|30.03
MTD|91.24
YTD|638.78

davemcmahon · 22-04-2014 02:43PM

19/04/2014 Sat: 12.40 miles @ 8.02 min/mile

Up nice and early to get this out of the way. Decided to head to the Grand Canal and run a few of the miles towards Lucan. Was a lovely morning and I had most of the run to myself, think I passed by a total of 2 people throughout the whole run. The legs were feeling good and were happy to keep the pace up at the faster end of the LSR range.

WTD: 42.43

21/04/2014 Mon: 7.05 miles @ 8.10 min/mile

A nice pre-breakfast run, lots of poeple out running. Nothing too spectacular about this run. Spent the afternoon down at the in-laws allotment doing alot of digging and helping get the ground ready for planting, so a good couple of hours of cross training.

22/04/2014 Tues: 7.31 miles @ 7:59 min/mile

Another easy run on my lunchbreak around Celbridge and the grounds of Castletown house.

WTD|14.35
MTD|118.00
YTD|665.54

davemcmahon · 30-04-2014 03:25PM

23/04/2014 Wed: 5.02 miles @ 8.41 min/mile

Easy enough run, have the annual fun run in work tomorrow.

24/04/2014 Thurs: 4.51 miles inc '3mile' race

Fun run in work. Was a bit nervous as this was first all out effort since hurting leg. Finished in 6th place in 18:32. Would have ideally been in better shape for this but at least it lets me know where I am. Leg was feeling grand afterwards.

25/04/2014 Fri: 6.15 miles @ 8:39 min/mile

Easy run before work. Legs feeling grand

26/04/2014 Sat: 10.12 miles @ 8:45 min/mile

Awful run. Legs felt dead and I really struggled through this. Had planned somewhere between 13-15 miles but canned it after 10 as I just wasn't feeling it.

Turns out this was the last I've run since then. Seems that Saturdays awful run was a result of a bug I appeared to pick up. As a result haven't run since then. Could have gone back yesterday but decided to hold off until Thursday and just let the body rest. All feeling grand now and a few niggles I'd been feeling seem to have sorted themselves out.

Plan is for an easy run tomorrow and then I'l race Leixlip on Saturday to set a new marker and take it from there.

WTD|40.15
MTD|143.8
YTD|691.34

AuldManKing · 30-04-2014 03:30PM

Pity I missed the run this year - I hear it was the same 1-2-3 as last year.

It transpires that the guy who finished 4th, is someone I've been on con calls with for the last few months (never knew he was a runner) and actually lives down the road from me and joined MSB a few weeks back............weird.

davemcmahon · 30-04-2014 10:26PM

AuldManKing wrote: »

Pity I missed the run this year - I hear it was the same 1-2-3 as last year.

It transpires that the guy who finished 4th, is someone I've been on con calls with for the last few months (never knew he was a runner) and actually lives down the road from me and joined MSB a few weeks back............weird.

Yeah the outcome was pretty much as expected with phil and rory tearing off at the start. I think the 4th place guy was the only one I didn't know or didnt realise was a runner.

davemcmahon · 05-05-2014 11:16PM

01/05/2014 Thurs: 4.21 miles @ 8.53 min/mile

First day back running since Saturday. Legs felt heavy and stiff. Took it very handy and just let the legs loosen out.

02/05/2014 Fri: 3.17 miles @ 8:44 min/mile

Another very easy run to keep the legs loose ahead of tomorrows race. Have decided to leave the watch at home and run the race on feel.

03/05/2014 Sat: Leixlip 5k

Was feeling very nervous about this race as it would be a good marker for where I am at the moment. Arrived at registration early enough and met up with a few of the lads from the club. Got my race number, dropped off my gear and went for a warm up with one of the lads. We ran the last mile or so of the race, a hill at the end and about 600m on the track, and did some drills on one of the quieter roads nearby, about 1.5 miles in total.

Headed down to the start line and bumped into some of the other groups from the club. This was the first race in the North Kildare league so the club had teams entered for the mens, womens and Fit4Life categories. As we waited to set off I could some people ahead of me (about 4 rows back) clearly too far forward. A quick last minute move forward a couple of rows and we were off.

The course is quick enough but has two hills to deal with. The first is the bridge over the canal, which is short and steep and comes at the start of the race. Once over this I was free to move forward and settle into a nice spot behind a few people I recognised. I held this position for the next few km's slowly overtaking anyone the looked like they were dropping off the pace. At about the 3.5km mark we turned back onto the main road the start climbing the next hill. This one was much longer but not as steep. This is a hill I'm very used to running so I started to push the pace a little here and overtook a good few people that were struggling with this section. With 800m to go we turned off the road and headed towards the track. The track section is about 200m in the outside lanes and then a full lap of the track moving into the inside lanes. As we hit the track I could see the clock had just turned 17:00 so I new I was on for a good time. I wasn't really able to push any harder so I focused on just holding the pace and effort. Finished in 18:50 on the clock. Chip time 18:48 and 39th of 333 people (37th male)

Was very happy with this as I wasn't expecting the result. I was reminded how much easier I find 5k's when I don't wear the watch. I don't focus on the pace and therefore get convince myself I'm suffering more than I am.

Had planned a recovery run on Sunday but life got in the way and spent the day helping the inlaws moving stuff into their new house so not really a rest day.

WTD: 12:99

05/05/2014 Mon: 6.01 miles @ 8:38 min/mile

I've decided to stick with the club plan for the next few weeks as they'll be starting the marathon plan soon. The club plan called for 50 minutes Easy. Legs were still feeling a little heavy after the race so took the pace handy. Legs feeling good now so will try the club session tomorrow.

WTD|6.01
MTD|19
YTD|710.34

Tom Joad · 06-05-2014 09:19AM

Nice running Dave - well done.

davemcmahon · 06-05-2014 10:02AM

Tom Joad wrote: »

Nice running Dave - well done.

Cheers TJ

AuldManKing · 06-05-2014 02:16PM

Great running Dave - how much of a PB is that? (or is it)

davemcmahon · 06-05-2014 02:34PM

AuldManKing wrote: »

Great running Dave - how much of a PB is that? (or is it)

Cheers AMK. Its 1 second outside my PB (18:47 last August). Since I didn't think I was in PB shape I'm happy with it. I may run Lucan on Sunday now as I feel its a faster course and see what I can take off it if anything.

Pacing Mule · 06-05-2014 03:13PM

Congrats Dave. Sounds like a great run all things considered !

davemcmahon · 07-05-2014 06:35PM

06/05/2014 Tues: 6.80 miles inc Club Session

First club session in about a month.Was running late in work so drove straight to the track. As I got out of the car the heavens opened and the showers came on and off throughout the whole session. The plan for tonight was 8 x 800m with 90 seconds recovery. Just before I left work I checked what pace I should be doing these at based on the Jack Daniels tables based on my VDOT. I used the VDOT from Saturday (53) but also checked my VDOT from my last 10k (51). These game me an 800m Interval pace of 2:59-3:04.

My plan going forward with the club session is keep the paces within the suggested range and not just run them flat out.

The times for the reps were: 3:01, 2:56, 3:00, 3:00, 3:03, 3:02, 3:03, 3:00.

I was finding the going tough from about the 5th rep. I considered giving up after the 6th rep but decided to do rep 7 and then figured I may as well finish the set.

Legs were feeling the workout afterwards and were a little stiff. Thankfully mo reaction from the quad or groin to the workout beyond being a bit stiff.

07/05/2014 Wed: 5.03 miles @ 8:57 min/mile

Legs were feeling pretty tired this morning after last nights session. The plan had me down for 50 minutes easy but after the first mile I changed it to 45 min recovery as the legs were not feeling up to it. Lots of strecthing when I came back in and did some of the exercises from the myrtle routine I was doing last year. I must get back into doing these regularly as the legs felt much better afterwards.

WTD|17.84
MTD|30.83
YTD|722.17

davemcmahon · 12-05-2014 01:20PM

09/05/2014 Fri: 4.90 miles @8:32

Took Thursday as a rest day as I was off work and looking after the kids. Decided I was going to give the Lucan 5k a shot on Sunday so easy until then. Took this one nice and handy around the ground of Castletown house. The left quad is still a little stiff but I've started foam rolling it and stretching it at regular intervals and seems to be doing the trick.

10/05/2014 Sat: 3.16 miles @ 9:29 min/mile

A very easy run just to keep the legs loose and fresh ahead of the race tomorrow.

11/05/2014 Sun: 6.61 miles inc Lucan 5k

Decided during the week that I'd give this race a go for the 3rd year running since I'd come close to my PB in Leixlip I knew this route was slightly faster if the conditions were good. Arrived nice and early and collected my number and went back to the car to get changed. Went for a warm down incorporating the track finish and some of the park behind the club house, after a nice and easy mile I went back to the car and dropped my watch off and decided to race without it again. Went back to the track and did a few more laps, some stretching, some drills and a few strides. At this stage I notice there was a strongish head wind on the back straight so I knew I'd have to deal with this in a couple of spots on the course.

The runners were called to the start so I dropped off my jacket behind the food tent and headed to the start line. As we started I could see that there were a few people ahead of me that probably shouldn't have been so I had to make an effort to get around them and into a more familiar position. The section of the course from the start to Griffeen Park if fairly fast so I was happy to just hold my pace and not push too hard. Once into the park I was holding my position and trying to keep the effort consistent. As with last year I almost lost my footing on the second bridge and began to loose ground on the people ahead of me here. Shortly after I ended up having to deal with the headwind, I tried to keep the pace consistent but I was beginning to really feel the pace.. Back out of the park and the legs were beginning to hurt but with one a mile left I struggled to hold onto the pace. For the last km I could feel the pace dropping slightly and I was struggling to keep in toughing distance with the runner infront of me and was dropped well behind the group I had been sticking with earlier in the race. We turned into the club house and finished on the track and I pushed with the last bit of effort I could.

Time: 18:43 and a PB by 4 seconds. Was good to have a chat with RQ and Aimman afterwards, then grabbed some cake and went for a warm down.

I was looking at the results shortly afterwards and the group I'd been sticking with for the majority of the race had come in at 18:10 - 18:30. Based on this I probably went out a little too fast for the first two miles and struggled with the last mile and a bit but a PB is a PB and its one that I didn't think I'b be beating in the first half of the year. About 1.5 mile warm down afterwards.

WTD: 32.51

12/05/2014 Mon: 4.31 miles @ 9:21 min/mile

A nice and easy recovery run this morning as the legs were feeling yesterdays race. Will more than likely skip tomorrows club session. Am thinking about doing the Maynooth 10k on Sunday so will probably just run easy miles between now and then.

WTD|4.31
MTD|49.81
YTD|741.15

tang1 · 12-05-2014 01:25PM

Nice running Dave.

davemcmahon · 12-05-2014 02:18PM

tang1 wrote: »

Nice running Dave.

Cheers Tang. Are you still doing Maynooth 10k on Sunday? I'll keep an eye out for you if I decide to do it.

Sometimes I just need to get out and run

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