Leader Of The (Mid) Pack

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

When’s the Connemara HM?

Best of luck with hamstring rehab

TbL

Cheers C, lucky with injuries so far.

September 27. For now.

OOnegative wrote: »

http://www.fiba.basketball/pages/eng/fa/statistics/p/sID/1389/tid/2135/_/1996_European_Championship_for_Junior_Men_Qualifying_Round/player-leaders.html

I played on the same school basketball team as Trevor Smullen, the man was an absolute genius on the basketball court. He is placed 9th on the above list of of the top Junior men in Europe in 1996. You’ll notice the name at 21, a lock to be an NBA Hall of Famer. You’ll also know he had a decent career on the GAA field representing Longford.

I remember Smullen playing for Longford, and I knew he played basketball, but I'd no idea he was that good. Better than Nowitzki - I'd have that framed at home if I was him
Dirk is a cert for Hall of Fame. I remember visiting Berlin in 2005, and there was a billboard of him covering the entire side of an office block. Delighted to see him winning his championship (and Finals MVP) with the Mavs in 2011 - only the second German to play in the NBA Finals, Detlef Schrempf being the first (for Sonics v Bulls, 1996).

The Black Oil wrote: »

Have you seen this? Some of the parents..!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRpG00kNdF4

I had a look at the trailer. Unreal how kids at 7 are being so pushed so much. You see it here a lot too, unfortunately.

skyblue46 wrote: »

How's the injury coming along J?

Murph_D wrote: »

How's it going. J - catching up on a few logs, including yours.

The Last Dance - definitely punches pulled there, I felt - smacked of too much control by MJ. His genius of course came through, but in a strange way. It seemed he wanted to feel he made all these other great players too, or something. And the teary moment at the end of episode 8 (I think?) just left me cold. I saw MJ play at least once in the Garden when I lived over there. Unforgettable. I was never a huge fan of the game (baseball was the only major American sport I warmed to), but I did enjoy the atmosphere at those Knicks games I was lucky enough to see.

I'd love to see a MJ documentary made from a neutral viewpoint. The footage in TLD was incredible though, and well worth the price of admission.

I got that from TLD as well. Yet a lot of those players won championships before and after their time in Chicago. Hardly the mugs they were sometimes portrayed?
In contrast, I've never really got into baseball at all, in spite of having a faraway eye on the NFL (Channel 4, Sunday evenings) and the NBA (who remembers Screensport?) since the mid 1980s.

OOnegative wrote: »

What would MJ be if he didn’t have Pippen, Grant, Kukjoc, Harper, Kerr, Longley, Rodman, Paxson? He no doubt would still have been the GOAT in basketball but no way he won 6 NBA titles without the others. If it’s slightly possible I lost a tad bit of respect for MJ over the TLD, as i stated previously Pippen is my all time favourite player, complete work horse either end of the court but MJ made him look like a mug!!!

Some lineup right there. Add Bill Cartwright (starter for the first threepeat) to that list. Harper and Grant would later reunite with Phil Jackson on championship winning Lakers teams. Kerr won two more championships as a player with the Spurs. Ironically, Pax's brother was one of the reasons Jordan wasn't drafted by Portland initially.

Scottie got a bad press from this. Kerr has since came out and said that the players supported Pippen in his decision to delay foot surgery till after the start of 97/98.
Plus there was too much focus on the "1.8 seconds" when you consider that in that full season without MJ, Scottie finished third in MVP voting, leading the Bulls in scoring, assists, and blocks, as well as being second in the NBA in steals per game. What a player he was.

As for me, not much to report running wise. I haven't tried anything at all in ten days now. Next week or the week after, I'll start trying to build up again.
The Connemarathon is still standing, although entries have been suspended since last week.

I haven't been around here as much either - a few work related tests were hanging over me for most of the weekend, and it wasn't till Monday lunchtime that I got those out of the way. Raging I had to miss the mile TT. It was a bit of craic with all the slaggings, and reading about all the great times. Sure ye even got TbL out of retirement! Fair play for organising - hopefully I'll be fit and able for the next one. My mile PB is terrible ( 6:03, June 2017! ) That was set in an Irish Runner Paced Mile on Chesterfield Avenue - down towards the Phoenix roundabout, 180 turn just before it, and back up. I was reminded of it when I noticed that eyrie did something similar, except she went the opposite direction.
Anyway. Fingers crossed I'll be able to report on more running stuff soon. Thanks for reading. J.

Murph_D wrote: »

I became more interested in basketball when my daughters started playing it. Even became a qualified table official!

- Sounds like plenty of admin, but a nice way of getting close to the action.

Yeah, that was a terrible course. I did one of that series and they gave me 5:54 - timed it myself at 5:59 though! You definitely have the sub 6 in you. Good luck whenever you get a chance.

Thanks D, it's definitely there if I ever get back to it. Trinity track races were scheduled for tomorrow, but probably just as well (for me) they have been cancelled. Still the closest I've ever been to winning one.

Well after two weeks plus of inactivity, I tentatively shuffled up to Porterstown for cross country laps. Relatively straightforward, although bizarrely I ended up with blisters. Imagine I tried some actual speed work :pac:

That was yesterday. This morning, I hadn't even got out of the estate when an old ITB injury (from pre DCM 2016!) started nagging me. F0ck this. Home with my tail between my legs - a walk down to the hotel and across to Porterstown didn't improve my mood much. Just when I thought I'd solved one problem, another appears. Maybe I'm better off taking a real extended period away from the roads, instead of playing whack a mole with niggles. Foam rolling was a necessary but painful deed after the walk.

In other news, Connemarathon has been postponed again. I can't say I'm surprised, but it's still a little bit disappointing. One step forward, two steps back indeed. It means I have no more races this year as it stands. Cross country may yet come to my rescue. Again.

I'm aware that we've still a fair bit to go as regards lifting of restrictions, with physical distancing of course being the biggest, but no harm having a bit of hope is there? Otherwise, we're grand, still WFH and no sickness.

Go dtí an chéad uair eile. Fan dearfach. J.

Mon 22/6 - Rest

Tue 23/6 - 4.84 miles @8:36/mi

Easy loop around by Laurel Lodge and Roselawn. It actually felt quite novel, having not run this route or its variants in the best part of two months.

Wed 24/6 - 4.52 miles @9:07/mi

I decided to add on about another half a lap to the usual two Doyle Cup XC laps in Porterstown. Brief catchup with a couple of Porterstown Panthers before shuffling home.

Thu 25/6 - At last! After 30 years, the Reds are champions again

Many's a time I doubted whether they would ever return to the glory days that I used to take for granted, growing up as a Red in 1980s Finglas. Rushie, King Kenny and Ronnie Whelan were my Liverpool heroes back then. coogy writes very well about all of this on his log - as we're the same age, quite a bit of it takes me right back. Ideally, I'd have liked to see them clinch it with fans present etc, but we can't have everything, especially these days ! No outdoor post match shenanigans for me, although one of the neighbours let off some fireworks within about 3 seconds of the final whistle in the Chelsea v Man City game. Plenty of celebratory beers later, I was off to bed a very happy man. Glorious. Allez Allez Allez. YNWA.

Fri 26/6 - Rest

Still had to get up for WFH at a reasonable hour, before more drinks in the evening :pac:

Sat 27/6 - 5.58 miles @8:33/mi

With Chesterfield Avenue still unavailable for parking purposes, I decided to run an alternative version of what's known in MSB circles as "Eugene's Lap". This time, I started and finished at the Hole In The Wall. This meant that the Khyber climb came in the third mile rather than the fourth. I hadn't been there since the start of restrictions, so between that and all the drink and junk food, it was a bit of a struggle, but I got there. Trail from Castleknock Gate around to finish. Overall, no major bother, delighted to be back running in PP. In the car park on the way out, by chance I bumped into a work running colleague, who told me that another regular BHAA teammate of ours (50s) had passed away recently. I hadn't even heard he was ill. Bit of a shock that.

Sun 28/6

Bit of a woolly head on me again this morning, as I drove across to St Catherine's Park. Just as I arrived at the car park, it started absolutely lashing. Of course, I didn't have a towel or jacket with me :rolleyes: Sod that for a game of soldiers. Maybe later.

Great to see some racing again, although it wasn't quite the glorious run that our Lazare thought he had, due to the course being short (turnaround point in the wrong place, apparently). Next time pal.
However, it'll be another while yet before I'm back in the mix. I'm bleaten sick to death of the neverending stream of guff about social physical distancing restrictions, "noo normal", "reimagining" etc etc etc, (to the extent that I pretty much ignore the fearmongering MSM), but even so, as most of you know it's not just me here, therefore my antisocial running days might still have a good bit to go. Play the hand you're dealt and all that.

Oh did I mention Liverpool are CHAMPIONS ??!! Thanks for reading. J.

Wed 1/7 - 6.41 miles @8:39/mi

Over to Phoenix Park for an early start from Castleknock Gate. A lot more traffic than I expected exiting the park at 7:15 AM. I enjoyed this one once I got going - trail to Knockmaroon Gate, then following the outer loop to Cabra Gate, and then from there it was trail running again, past the Hole In The Wall and Ashtown Gate, all the way back to the start. I also managed to complete my run and get back to the car shortly before the heavy rain arrived, so good work all round. I just discovered that, incredibly, this was my longest run since March 24 (6.79 miles in Glasnevin and Finglas).

Sat 4/7 - Boards 10 Min TT, Phoenix Park

I had a couple of rest days, having run three days in a row prior, with this event in mind. Having had my first haircut in four months yesterday, I hoped I could get some of the old speed back too. Two weeks ago I wouldn't have dreamed of trying this, but I decided I might as well. Easy enough warmup and strides, with some stretching in there too. I chose a variation on the Tom Brennan triangle for my route, hoping that the breeze on the Furze would bring me home. Target: 2,501 metres.

Chesterfield Avenue

Off I went from the junction of Chesterfield and Furze, towards the Mountjoy (Castleknock) roundabout. Unusually, I did a fair bit of clock watching, and even though I could see a lot of 5:xx there, I was finding it too hard to slow down, hard to believe as that may be. I wanted to have a few seconds in hand for the next section, and I think I at least managed that part, covering 0.4 miles in 2:42.

Ordnance Survey Road

Even here, I was feeling the heat from an over ambitious opening. Running into the breeze was an added hindrance. Before I'd even passed OSI, I was out of gas, and already the next turn seemed a long way away. Train to your current level of fitness, also set realistic targets :rolleyes: 3:45 for this section, so 6:27 with a little under a mile completed, and hence, already slipped behind target pace.

Furze Road

Used as the finishing straight for the majority of Phoenix Park races, I've found over the years that it can work for you both ways. On a good day, with the breeze behind you and finishing strong, you're passing people for fun with the gantry rapidly approaching, and I tell ye it's brilliant when it works that way.

This was one of the other days.

Even with a slight breeze behind me, I was dead on my feet. With nobody to chase, and no gantry away in the distance, I was thinking "Why am I even bothering with this?" It just felt like torture, and instead of speeding up as I would normally do in the closing stages of a race, I was slowing rapidly - as low as 7:19/mi at one stage according to Strava. Through the first bollards. 400m from there to the second bollards. I barely cleared them, finally stopping at the benches a little bit further on.

2,349 metres - a shocking 152 metres off target. In fact, I was so slow on the Furze, that I actually ran that segment quicker in a 10k last year, when I wasn't even racing. That was as part of the ARC Cancer Support 10k, when I had Skyblue pacing me through a HMP tempo effort. Appalling. Maybe it's due to that stubborn part of me, that I didn't revise my target downwards. I would have needed to average 6:25/mi to hit my target. 6:51/mi was today's overall average. Desperate.

Next

I signed up for the Docklands Virtual 5k. 20:30 is probably overly ambitious too, especially as it would be a parkrun PB of sorts - I'm planning to run it in Porterstown. Nothing else too taxing in the meantime. Thanks for reading. Fan Slán. J.

Thanks E, a great run by you around that same triangle afterwards

It might also have been worth mentioning that that was my first attempt at any kind of speed work in two months, which probably resulted in me running out of gas much earlier than expected. 8:01 for 2k in April, when I was running regularly, shows how far I've slipped.

Anyway. Quick update:-

Sun 5/7 - 3.65 miles @9:04/mi

Early start again, in Porterstown this time. Stopped to chat to a clubmate 3 miles into my stint. I wasn't feeling overly energetic, so I decided to cut my run short - the planned route would have taken me over 6 miles.

Mon 6/7 - Rest

I still intend to run the Docklands 5k in Porterstown on Wednesday before work. However, this is subject to amendment Fan Slán. J.

Thanks to all who replied, most kind of you!

A week has passed since that dramatic episode. This morning, I took another reading, and to my immense relief, my blood pressure was back to "normal" levels.

However, I know I can't afford to get complacent. Hence, continuing reductions in my salt, sugar and alcohol intake should help to keep me on an even keel, and avoid having to go on medication. I mean, I'm still youngish (47), so that hit me like a ton of bricks. Everything from over consumption of sweets and fizzy drinks, to pizzas, to drinking more than pre lockdown, contributed to some extent over time. Like I say, all those are things I have to be mindful of from now on. Fingers crossed I'll be back on the roads sooner than I imagined this time last week. Thanks for reading. Fan Slán. J.

The Black Oil wrote: »

Good to hear the medical worry is less now.

ariana` wrote: »

Great news on the HBP front and delightful to see you back running, logging and even (virtual) racing

Many thanks to both of you no health drama this week.

---

Mon 3/8 - "2.99 miles @8:59/mi"

As per Strava. However, this was a 5k trail around the perimeter of the Heritage golf course. I walked it with my wife, before heading back out and running around it. Plenty of twists and turns, with some nice views. Little did we know at the time, that we were lucky to have booked the hotel last weekend and not this one.

Tue 4/8 - Rest

Wed 5/8 - 4.78 miles @8:39/mi

A Carpenterstown loop, before heading to the grass track in Porterstown to ease my way through a couple more miles.

Thu 6/8 - 6.42 miles @8:35/mi

A reminder of why I rarely run around the D15 roads in the evenings any more. I had to stop and start a number of times due to traffic, both of the vehicular and human variety. Also, very warm and humid starting at 5:30 PM.

Fri 7/8 - 3.56 miles @8:49/mi

My wife found a new local park while cycling last week. This overcast, drizzly morning I decided to check it out. At the end of a newish housing estate, this little park sits across from the last row of houses, alongside the motorway. From now on here, it'll be known as M50 Park. I ran six laps of it (over 500m for each). There's already a Strava segment (0.22 mi) for the motorway side. I laughed when I realised it turned out to be an unintended progression run of sorts - 2:02/1:55/1:53/1:51/1:50/1:46.
The last one was apparently the 7th fastest ever. Sure AMK probably beat that time running with the dog :pac: I'll be back to it - the surface is decent, and it wasn't at all busy - two other runners and two dog walkers during my stint.

Sat 8/8 - 7.57 miles @8:32/mi

Yesterday, I heard that one of the men who got me into refereeing many years ago passed away during the week - a former player, coach, referee and committee member of my GAA club. I refereed football, hurling and camogie for 17 years altogether, only retiring permanently this year. I still have a top which he gave to me fadó (great in the rain in particular) and this morning I wore it to remember him. Some of you may have seen the photo on Strava. Thanks Barney.

As for the run itself, I planned to run 8 miles on 8/8. Didn't quite make it an 8:08 start. Nor did I cover 8 miles in the end. I returned to an old favourite route of mine, through Carpenterstown and Laurel Lodge to the canal, from the 12th Lock to Ashtown and back. With the temperature climbing and my tiredness increasing, I decided that I'd done enough. It was still my longest run in over 5 months (since the Carlingford HM) and all my mile splits were 8:xx.

Sun 9/8 - Rest

Sympathy goes out to all reading here from Kildare, Laois and Offaly. Rough treatment after already having had to put up with so much. Thanks for reading. Fan Slán. J.

Mon 10/8 - Rest

Tue 11/8 - 5.03 miles @8:09/mi

This felt really strange to say the least. I've run what many MSBers know as "Eugene's Lap" dozens of times, but virtually all of those have been in company on a Sunday morning. Hence, on a Tuesday morning before work, it took a while to get into a rhythm - 8:26 for the first mile from Castleknock Gate down Chesterfield. However, after that I got somewhere closer to the usual Sunday group pace, with 8:02/8:01/8:12 (Khyber)/8:04 to finish off. Pleased with that outcome.

Wed 12/8 - Intervals, Porterstown Park

This was my first interval session in over three months. The last time (May 9) I banjoed my hammy during a pyramid session on the grass track. Of course I didn't cop that one till a couple of days after. What could be tough enough to get the blood going, but not overreaching this early in my comeback ?
I settled on (3 x 400) + (4 x 300) + (6 x 200) with 200m jog recoveries. That said, during my two mile warmup + strides, I was toying with the idea of shortening the recoveries to half the rep distance, i.e. 150m rec for 300s, 100m rec for 200s. Hmmmm.
First 400 I was averaging around 5:35/mi pace before dying off a bit near the end. Second and third 4s weren't as good. First 300 was decent, but the rest were tailing off somewhat, after starting at paces which I couldn't sustain. Wise decision to keep the recoveries at 200! Huffin and puffin around most of the 200s, but I saved the best for last. It took me a minute or two to get my breath back for the shuffle home to a shower and breakfast before WFH.

Thu 13/8 - 4.63 miles @8:35/mi

This morning I decided to sample a "new" park for the first time. I actually played GAA in what's now Millennium Park (from Blanchardstown SC towards Clonsilla) many years ago, but never set foot in it since AFAIR. With several gates closed early in the morning, I was halfway down the side of it before I found an open gate. Over a mile around the outer paths, plus I took a wrong turn in the forest on the far side. Nice to try something new, although as I approached the homestead on the way back, a fly went SMACK right in the middle of my eye. And people wonder why I often wear shades even in overcast conditions. This kind of thing happens to me when I don't :pac:

Fri 14/8 - Rest

Sat 15/8 - Intervals, Phoenix Park

Another attempt at emulating an MSB run. I threw the car down by White's Gate before shuffling down towards the Polos. While shuffling down Chesterfield, I was passed by Laineyfrecks in mid 5k TT. Not 100% sure of this at that moment, mind. I'll know for definite next time
Anyway, down to the Polos for Plan A, as it wasn't too busy - just a couple of other lads doing similar in the opposite direction, and a lad who may or may not have been Hiko Tonosa running at very easy (for him!) pace. Few strides to get the blood pumping, before getting my breath for the session itself.
Much easier to do this one with company - there were always clubmates around my standard to help with pacing. This was different.
Plan was to run the three sides three times, around 3:00 of possible. Of course, I gave it too much welly on the stand side to start, and although it gave me a few seconds in hand for the looooong (as it always seems to me!) bottom bend, that wasn't really the aim this time. Hence, I came out of it with a 2:53. Sh!t. That's closer to what I would have run with the gang last year, but I'm nowhere near that level of fitness as it stands.
Ok, so how to put it right? Bit steadier coming down the stand side, not so flat to the boards and hanging on for dear life around the bottom bend. Far side I know I'm in better shape, and I maintain this pace for a second rep of 3:02. More like it. Now I feel like I've got my game back, and a 3:01 for the last of these reps proves it. To close it out, I finish with a full lap of 980 metres. I think I ran this in 3:55 or so last time I tried - I'd have to dig back through the archives to confirm. (EDIT - 2:57/2:59/2:55, 3:43 for the lap, 6/7/19). Push hard downhill beside the stand. Dig in around the bottom bend. Pain is increasing up along the far side. There's two lads running around the top bend towards me. They seem to be miles away. Why did I pick this? Through the third side - well into the last minute now. Kick around the bend, down to the finish line. 3:48. Nice one. I'll take it. I felt a lot more energised than I expected on the cooldown as a result.

Sun 16/8 - 8.43 miles @8:52/mi

I wasn't really sure what the plan was for this morning, apart from running a bit more than last Saturday. Hence, back to PP for one I certainly didn't make earlier, and in fact, I changed it several times in running.
I parked by the Papal Cross, with the aim of keeping fairly close in case I needed to come back early or just decided to pull the plug. What was originally intended to be three times around the 15 Acres triangle, turned out to be twice - I wanted to try something a bit more interesting, and having the breeze in my face coming back towards the cross was annoying me.
Instead, I tried a few different takes on the Munich and BHAA Garda XC laps. I hadn't been there at all since the BHAA race, way back on February 1, and my legs weren't slow to remind me of that, particularly on the tricky climb from the bottom of the Khyber up to the trees. Nonetheless, I was delighted with my decision to reacquaint myself with the territory. It may yet bring about some benefit for when the cross country eventually comes back. Who knows.

Either way, a good tester for the legs, as well as my longest run since the Carlingford HM. In addition, 31 miles might not sound like high weekly mileage to most of you, but it's my highest since April, so *another* reason for me to be cheerful, following on from Man City's loss against Lyon - ROFL! Thanks for reading. Fan Slán. J.

Wed 19/8 - Pyramid session, Porterstown Park

Life kind of got in the way on Tuesday, which meant I'd an unintended extra rest day before tackling this session. Same session that scuppered most of my running summer - 200/400/600/800/600/400/200, with 200m jog recoveries.

After a two mile warmup and strides, it was time to hopefully avoid another session fubar. Broadly speaking, I started strong, but wasn't able to maintain my starting pace for any of the reps - the pace chart is particularly jagged looking for the 8 and the 6s. That said, I had a nice bit of speed for the closing 200, so overall glad to get it done - hopefully I'll have a better outcome next time. I saw scotindublin's inverted pyramid session the other evening. For those that haven't, it started with the longest rep (1500) and worked down to the shortest (300), then back up to the longest. For me, it may yet be good for novelty value if nothing else.

Thu 20/8 - 6.54 miles @8:48/mi

Not much to add to this one. Run of the mill plod up through Clonsilla to Ongar, then back down the long straight towards Power City, before turning for home. Mile splits were fairly consistent - this time my fastest pace was when crossing at roundabouts on the way back

Fri 21/8 - 2.90 miles @9:08/mi

Round to Tír na nÓg for this one - a windy standard issue "pre race" shakeout with 5 x strides.

Sat 22/8 - Athletics Ireland Virtual Mile, Porterstown Park

I wasn't going to attempt this at all, but given the club might have had a chance of winning something if I did, I decided to give it a bash.
Back to Porterstown, with the aim of getting it done and dusted early, out of sight of any other MSBers. Warmup and strides were ok, breezy but at least the track didn't feel too damp. Expectations? Sub 6 would be a dream come true this morning, but possibly SK's 6:27 (on a p!$$in wet Wednesday night) was more likely to be closer to where I was now. Or was it?

Lap 1

Slowish start, but I picked up the pace as I came to the end of the opening straight, and shot around the uphill back bend in 19 seconds. Fair bit of 4:xx pace in there too. Of course that wasn't going to last, and I was fighting into the wind and up the slope on the back straight, with my pace dropping back drastically. After a promising opening, the wheels were already wavering. 1:39 for the first 409m.

Lap 2

Bit more consistency pace wise here. Trouble was, it was mainly in the high 6s, dropping into the 7s briefly. Although I finished the lap well down the hill, my goose was well and truly cooked. 1:46 (3:25).

Lap 3

To be honest, I just wanted this to be over. I had no fight in me at all. Even slower for most of this lap, pace dropping close to 7:40 near the end of the back straight uphill into the wind. 1:47 (5:12).

Lap 4

Nearly there. I'm really in the horrors. 7:54 pace briefly on the back straight. Just keeping the legs turning to get it finished now. Even my last little burst of speed is a couple of seconds with a top pace of 6:26/mi, downhill with a following wind. I cross the line in 6:59, but it takes me a few seconds to stop the clock, hence the 7:02 on Strava. 1:47 for the last lap.

That went more or less as badly as it could have gone. Pretty soul destroying actually. Just as well I wasn't running it with the lads. One would have lapped me, and two others would have been within ten seconds of doing so. Bear in mind that none of Seán Hehir, John Coghlan or Shane Healy ran it. When you consider that in January I ran a 5 mile race with an average of 6:35/mi (Raheny), the "glory days" seem like a distant memory.

Sun 23/8 - 10.32 miles @8:21/mi

Even after a few Saturday night beers, I decided I couldn't leave my running week on such a low. Hence, try to get back on plan and get a 10+ mile run in to finish it off.
Back to PP, basing myself by the Papal Cross again. Quick chat with some of the Porterstown Panthers who were assembling for their Sunday spin, and off I went.
Instead of last Sunday's Acres/Magazine hills stint, I headed for more familiar non racing territory. Up Chesterfield towards Castleknock Gate, into the breeze to start. Already I was thinking, maybe I should have started with the Panthers, to get me up to speed a bit more gradually. 8:33 for the first mile.
Don't worry, I'm not going to go through each one step by step :pac: That turned out to be the slowest of this morning's miles. Returning to the trails put an extra pep in my step, and even the S bends and Wellington Road weren't too bad today.
It got more challenging once I briefly exited PP, around by the CCJ and up the steep hill on Infirmary Road, into the wind again. Back in at the NCR gate, and past Garda HQ up the long North Road drag. Even with the wind in my face once more, I wanted to keep my splits reasonably consistent, which meant having to dig in a bit more than maybe I'd intended at the outset. Turning left and back down Chesterfield brought some welcome respite, and I went through the 10 mile distance just before the Phoenix roundabout. I even got in a mini sprint finish through the Papal Cross car park
Like I say, nice to get back in the groove, to some extent, with my longest run since the Carlingford HM. 29 miles for the week. Thanks for reading. Fan Slán. J.