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Mum on the Run
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Bungy Girl wrote: »Monday – Fat Turkey
I had vague hopes earlier in the week of getting a course PB having had a few good training runs on the route over the last while but one look at the weather forecast and I knew it was unlikely. Sure enough there was a gale blowing as we (aquinn, annapr) arrived to register and things didn’t get any calmer from there. Even the short jog to the race start was a bit of a battle against the wind. Super supporter Firedance very kindly took care of any excess layers as despite the conditions it wasn’t particularly cold. There was a countdown from 10 and we were off. Straight away I knew it was going to be tough. I’ve been up and down the route loads of times but never in conditions like this. The wind was swirling in every direction except from behind and I couldn’t find a group at my pace to latch on to (or hide behind!) so I was on my own for most of the uphill. The Km markers along the route didn’t seem to correspond to my watch so I gave up looking at the time and decided to dig in. I’d been passed by a few women on the uphill already. About half way up there’s a nice downhill so I enjoyed that bit of respite. Just as we started to climb again a driver coming the opposite way indicated and casually pulled across the road to access her garage, meaning a few of us had to run around the car to avoid a collision :rolleyes:. Onwards and upwards, and at least no one else was passing me now and I felt I could hold the effort up to the car park. Got a shout out from KennyG at the summit shop and started the sharp climb to the top. Saw HelenAnne bounding down at this point, looking very much in the zone. Got to the top, looking forward to turning around and saw that the course had been extended from previous years and we had to run a loop of the car park! :eek: The wind was insane at the summit. I glanced across at one point on the loop and saw aquinn being blown sideways, her top and race number flapping wildly. Not sure what the extra loop was about as the original course always seemed to be spot on at 10K
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Finally, the downhill and the reward for the previous 5K. But of course the wind was still blowing strong in all directions and it was still hard work even with the benefit of gravity. Spotted annapr who looked extremely comfortable and didn’t appear to even be out of breath when she told me I was in the top ten ladies. Woo hoo ! A reason to try to hang onto my place and not give anything away on the downhill. At one point on the way down the wind was so strong it almost stopped me in my tracks. Felt pretty good on the downhill, abs were a bit sore, but I had overtaken a few runners at this point including one woman (who had passed me on the way up
). Was very tired by the time it came to the last climb but knowing it was all downhill or flat after made it more manageable. Hit the 8K sign and put the boot down. Saw (& heard!) FD and Dubgal supporting close to the finish and think I managed a smile of relief to be almost home. 300m to go they said and the course veered on to a grass section along the sea, with the spray from the waves coming over the wall to cool us down as we approached the line. 47:48 on the clock. Way off last year’s time but I gained a place overall vs. last year (64th vs. 65th). 9th F and 4th in AG. Happy with that. Think my downhill running is improving, I need to strengthen up against the wind though, it doesn’t seem to affect some people at all. Aquinn raced across the line just after me, happy with her time and Anna finished in a state of exhilaration having thoroughly enjoyed her race.
Walked back to the club as a cool down and had a very welcome cup of coffee, a random croissant and some biscuits as well as chats with clubmates and boardsies. Didn’t stretch. Will pay for that. Garmin announced 3 new ‘PRs’ after the race: a 1Km (3:52), a 1 mile (6:20) and, Murph_D will appreciate this, a 5Km of 21:01 :rolleyes:.- 7.2 miles incl. Fat Turkey 10.2K race @ 7:34 avg.
Tuesday - Recovery
Felt yesterday’s run in my legs (and hips, and glutes, and back :rolleyes:) so kept to the grass as much as possible and ran very easy. Got this done just as Frank was making his presence felt.
5 miles @ 9:08 (grass, path)
Very well done! I don't think I was looking in the zone at all when you saw me - that was my 'in despair' face. Sorry I didn't see you! I found that so, so tough! I've run that downhill faster in training (without making an effort) than I did against that wind.
I think my new year resolution is going to be 'work on strength - both physical and mental', so I'm not so phased by difficult conditions. You're right - some people didn't seem bothered by the wind!
I didn't do it last year, but was 40 seconds slower yesterday than 2013, but two places higher up (47th v 49th, and 6th F v 7th F in 2013). It was great to bump into you all. Sorry I didn't see you after - don't know how I missed you all in the bar / hall ... my little nephew turned up to support so maybe I was too busy chatting to him (he said my hair had gone mad. It had!)
PS there is a v nice photo of you looking in the zone and lean on the newest album on Suttonians site, and a nice one of annapr. The less said about the one of me the better (except that I am adding to my New Year resolutions: 'do something about cellulite', 'reduce size of bottom'!)0 -
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Wednesday – More Recovery
Still suffering the aftermath of the Fat Turkey but went for a slow loop around the neighbourhood after Frank had moved on, leaving behind calm blue skies and, amazingly, sunshine. Enjoyed this despite the body still feeling battered.- 3 miles @ 9:03 (path)
Physical therapy session. Ouch ouch ouch. But good.
Thursday – REST
Osteopathy session including acupuncture. All good again.
TOTAL MONTHLY MILES: 113
TOTAL MILES FOR 2015: 1666
Month 2016 2015 2014 2013
January 101 86 0
February 109 75 0
March 124 109 0
April 129 101 24
May 133 95 81
June 110 86 72
July 181 2 101
August 208 31 37
September 133 83 43
October 155 93 64
November 170 107 69
December 113 119 94
1666 987 585
2015 Summary- 34 races (vs. 42 in 2014), not as restrained as I thought I was :rolleyes:
- 7 PBs (800m, 1200m, 2000m, 1 mile, 5 mile, 10K, Half Marathon)
- 3 Round Numbers (800m, 5 mile, Half)
- 279 Days running
Happy with that and with remaining more or less injury free for the year. Certainly there was nothing that a few days off and/or some intervention didn’t fix. I’ve been lax with the S&C other than Pilates since I upped the mileage during the summer so 2016 will be The Year of The Gym.
Happy New Year everyone, here’s to an healthy, injury-free, PB filled 2016 for us all.0 -
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What a fantastic year for you. Brilliant achievements.
Cheers aq, I've a feeling you are going to have an awesome 2016. Great start today for sure!+1, great when you see it summarised like that. Another good year ahead I'm sure.
Thanks Laura, I hope so. It'll be all about staying in one piece!Great going, G! That base building has really stood to you. All the best for another successful year in 2016!
I think it was my favourite part of training last year. So much so I will do it again this year.Well done G super years work, all best for bigger & better 2016
Cheers, G. Even if I didn't conquer the 5K it was a great year so no complaints.That's a great year, G, well done. You held together well with the ramp up in mileage, that's a good sign too!
Well done on the PBs, and the round numbers especially.
Thanks Murph, no one more surprised than me to be in one piece after all that. Primary goal for 2016 is to get stronger and actually use my gym membership :rolleyes:Well done on a fantastic year. 2016 is going to be your best year running yet, you mark my words (said in Old Person's Yorkshire voice). Best add in 'lass' for good measure....
Ey up, lass. I hope you're right+ 1 to this (minus the accent ) you've had an amazing year and the only way is up!!! happy new year
Thanks FD, and so happy to hear of your brother's continued improvement. Happy NY to you too, may it be a super one on all counts.hillsiderunner wrote: »Lovely progress over the last year, and if you keep an eye on the niggles there should be more great results for 2016. Very jealous of the mileage!
Thanks Hilly, will do. Plan is to reacquaint myself with the gym and not be such a lazy Lottie when it comes to strength work
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Happy New Year BG, wow, that's a really impressive looking table and list of accolades to boot. If 2016 is even half as good as 2015, there's great things to come from you, well done on a cracking and well deserved year of good things. Looking forward to seeing more sessions, PBs and round numbers in 2016 0
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Friday – Medium Run
New Years Day. Started off by supporting club mates at the Tom Brennan Memorial 5K in the Phoenix Park. It was wet, windy and cold and I was glad I wasn’t racing. I don’t mind this sort of weather for XC, in fact it’s part of the fun, but for road racing when you’re chasing a time it’s an inconvenience. Very exciting stuff at the top end of things with John Coghlan deserving the win after pulling away strongly from the nearest challenger with about 200m to go. Caroline Crowley was the clear winner in the women’s. Congratulations to Aquinn and Tang on great times and any other boardsies running today.
Cheerleading done, I set out to do my run in the park. The trails were practically impassable and very mucky but I was soaked anyway so just embraced the mud and the puddles and ran randomly for around an hour. My runners will never be the same again. Just as well I’ve ordered 2 new pairs .- 6.2 miles @ 9:50 (soggy, swampy)
Saturday – Easy
Out and back along the promenade which is almost as soggy as the Phoenix Park. I’m being mindful of my back and avoiding concrete so sacrificing a pair of runners on a daily basis at the moment :rolleyes:.- 5 miles @ 8:44 incl. 6 x 20 sec strides (grass, path)
Sunday – Meet & Train Winter League ‘XC’ Rd.2 (Bushy Park)
This wasn’t XC, nor was it the stated 2 miles as it turned out. Due to flooding the park rangers didn’t want 100+ runners on their grass, fair enough, so the race was switched to the paths and we were told to leave the spikes at home. They should have told us to bring our wellies! There was a huge turnout compared to the last race and it was clearly going to be a lot more competitive :eek:. These races are all about the team performance and even if you’ve got the plague, or a broken leg you still turn up and give it your best shot.
The start was narrow and congested instead of the usual wide XC start and it was hard to get moving or into any sort of rhythm. After a few minutes it thinned out and I could see a bit of daylight amongst the throng. After about half a lap the course veered off the path onto the grass, through a swamp, onto some gravel with twigs and branches strewn around, then into a puddle that was ankle deep. We were all just as wet and mucky as if we’d done the whole thing XC :rolleyes:. After a lap, I started to flag a bit, but was running alongside a team mate and just focussed on staying with her and having the usual nonsensical conversations in my head. At this point I was likely to be one of our team’s scoring members so was giving myself a stern talking to about not wimping out. I kept waiting for the masses to overtake but thankfully there wasn’t much of that going on and I seemed to be holding position. After going through the ‘off-path’ section for the second time and knowing the finish must be within half a mile or so, I dug as deep as I could to not fade back. I managed to stay with my team mate until the turn off to the finish, where she was able to muster a brilliant sprint to take a rival runner but I had nothing left in the tank and was delighted to finish 4th scorer for the team.
I never looked at my watch during the race but was genuinely surprised to see how slow I was after the fact. I did all my 5 mile races last year at a faster pace! But I’m guessing the sodden shoes, socks, puddles, muck and twists and turns all contributed to the general slowdown as I was still there or thereabouts in terms of position compared to the usual suspects. And the winning time wasn’t particularly fast as far as I could see from a glimpse at the results sheet. Still waiting on the team results and hoping we still have our 2nd place from the first round. Fingers crossed!- 4 miles incl. 2+ mile race on tarmac/grass/muck/gravel and assorted debris (23rd F out of 116)
TOTAL WEEKLY MILES: 30.40 -
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Fair play, quality running and racing lately has been a bit of a drag so just think about how your legs will bounce along come Spring. Lindie Naughton reported on this and yeah, winning time wasn't that quick so definitely take that into account. Nice to see the feely run
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Fair play, quality running and racing lately has been a bit of a drag so just think about how your legs will bounce along come Spring. Lindie Naughton reported on this and yeah, winning time wasn't that quick so definitely take that into account. Nice to see the feely run
Is it online ? Had a quick check of her website and didn't see it.0 -
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... I feel your pain. Hope not too many weeks of this abuse to go...
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