Clonliffe 5K report & Merry Christmas

Better give a quick update before the Xmas festivities....

To say there has been a lot going on the past couple of weeks would be an understatement. Between trying to fit in S&C classes when I could, a stag night and a typically busy period for Emma with school there hasn't been a whole lot of time free. There is light at the end of the tunnel though.

In brief the training has been as below:

Mon 9th Dec

3 mile recovery run

Tuesday 10th Dec

Session: 12 Min's tempo @ 10K pace + 6 x 400m

Another good session. Numbers were a bit sparse this week. Pace for the tempo was 7 min mile pace. Was pretty windy and this seemed to pick up further for the 400m as they went on. 6.5 miles in total for the night.

Thursday 12th Dec

8.18 miles easy run

Just the usual few loops of Gormanston, even venturing out towards Stamullen to get a bit of extra distance in.

Tuesday 17th Dec

Session: 18 Min's tempo (10 @ 10K, 8 @ 5K) + 4 x 250m

This was a toughie as again it was basically a solo run with nobody to pace off. Probably started off a bit too quickly and didn't have the pick up required to really hit the 5K pace as I would have liked. The pace was 6:57 for the 10K portion and 6:51 for the 5K portion. Finished off with 4 x 250m at mile pace.

4.84 miles in total.

Thursday 19th Dec

5.15 miles easy run

Had hoped to get down to the club run but didn't work out time wise so just headed out for a loop of Balbriggan. Nice bit of wind and rain but legs felt good which was a bonus.

Sunday 22nd December

Clonliffe Christmas Cracker 5K

Had this race in mind for a blow out before Xmas and although the conditions weren't going to be ideal I decided the night before to do it. Picked up Stuey and headed off to Santry in plenty of time. Got registered, had a chat with Gary and Mark Bermingham and then set off to do our first warm up. This was actually just to try and get warm in the first place as it was Baltic out. With about 15 Min's to the start we stripped off and did a more serious warm up with a few drills and strides. When I went to set my watch I noticed the battery was at 0% so I left it behind in the bag. This was going to be interesting.

The race started with a lap and a bit of the track before heading out of Morton stadium. Was a bit worried about heading off too quickly with no watch to tell me the pace I was running at so settled in behind someone I remembered passing towards the end of the Jingle bells 5K reckoning that would be about right.

I moved past them after about 1K as we turned into Northwood to be greeted by a nice stiff breeze for around the next 1.5K or so along with some icy rain :-( Was trying to find a group to tuck in with but was gradually passing people and trying to work between groups. Noticed then that my lace had opened but tried to ignore it. It got to the point a few minutes later where my runner was becoming loose and I was losing grip. There was nothing for it but to pull over and tie it. Not sure how much time this cost me but enough anyway.

Got back into it and set about making up ground and passing some people for the 2nd time. As we turned onto Ballymun road there was a brief respite from the wind and before long we turned onto Santry avenue to make our way back towards the stadium. I had missed the 3K sign and the field was fairly strung out so I was just trying to keep going and was managing to bridge the gap and overtake a few people in front of me. I thought I could see the left turn in the distance to bring us back to the stadium when one of the volunteers told us there was 1.5K to go. This threw me a bit as I was pretty much flat out at this stage and was running at an effort that wouldn't have lasted for 1.5K. I wondered about easing up a little and maybe did somewhat for a couple of hundred metres but then say the turn so knew we were nearly home.

Got a nice bit of encouragement from Mark just before turning into the stadium with about 300 metres to go on a saturated track. There was only one runner in my sights and I managed to close down and pass him. Crossed the line with 20:50 on the clock which allowing for 5 seconds or so to cross the line I would estimate 20:45 as my finishing time.

This was 14 seconds slower than my PB from 2 weeks ago. Running without the watch hadn't been a disaster. It only really helps in a 5K to get your pace right at the start I suppose. I'm not sure if it would have turned out differently with it or not. Having to stop to tie your lace costs you time and momentum as you have to get up to speed again. This was also a much tougher day than a couple of weeks ago so I suppose I have to be happy with the result. I can't help but feel I might have knocked a few more seconds off the PB without the stoppage. I guess that will have to wait for another day though.

Summary:

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog since I started it up and for the mostly positive feedback you have given me. I wasn't sure about it all at the start but I hope you enjoy my ramblings. I hope everyone has a great Xmas and finds time to put the runners on to work off the excesses. I'll be back with more of my ramblings in early 2014.

Now where did I leave that Marathon Plan............

Jingle all the way

Thursday 5th December

S&C session and 4.61 miles easy run.

Did my strength and conditioning session a day earlier with the race on Saturday and then headed down to Gormanston later on for a few easy miles to keep the legs ticking over. Having been down there 3 of the last 4 weeks there seems to have been a big drop off in numbers for these runs compared to what I can remember. 

Saturday 7th December

Jingle Bells 5K

The club had their Xmas night on Fri night which I debated whether to go to or not with the race the next morning but I did and as usual had a great night. I sipped a few pints along with pints of water and made my exit just before midnight when the dancing was starting to kick-off.

Got to the park in plenty of time and parked near the Castleknock end to give me a nice warm up run to the start and cool down after the race. Met Karen Clarke on the way to the start who was fresh from her Xmas party as well. Did another bit of a warm up with her and Ray and a few strides and took our places at the start.

Wasn't sure how I was feeling to be honest but the plan was to get the pace right for the first mile and not go off too fast. We headed up acres road and turned past the papal cross park towards Chesterfield avenue. We were now running into the wind and slightly uphill as I started to work my way past people and bridge the gaps from group to group. Mile 1 past in 6:53.

Kept working well steadily passing people to the top of Chesterfield avenue and turned the corner onto Ordnance survey which offered a bit more shelter but was more or less into the wind. Noticed the 3K marker and I think the average pace here was around 6:50. Time to start upping it if I could with 2K to go. Mile 2 completed in 6:44.

As we turned onto Upper Glen Road I knew there was a good downhill section towards the end of this so despite hurting I upped the effort as much as I could and worked my way round the corners again picking of people trying to pass as many as I could without really worrying about pace. Hit the downhill section and there was a bit of nip and tuck with a guy from Dunleer who I overtook but then he came past me again before  overtook him again. Mile 3 completed in 6:10.

Took the slight turn towards the finish and almost went over into a pothole losing a bit of momentum as a result. Could see the finish now about 100 metres away but it was like the scene where you felt like you were never going to reach it. Managed to hold off those around me with not quite a sprint finish but delighted to cross the line in 20:31. Took a couple of minutes to feel normal again but was thrilled with taking 41 seconds off my PB.

A really well run race by Donore Harriers on the fastest route you could get in the Park. Felt like I ran a good race for me and got the pacing/effort right with the average overall pace being 6:35 per mile.

Finished off with a cool down back to the car carrying my Jingle Bells mug.

Around 7 miles in total for the day.

Sunday 8th December

8.15 miles Easy

Had been out for Emma's birthday on Saturday night so was not feeling too energetic for anything on Sunday. Also had the kid's Xmas party for work on this morning which Charlie really enjoyed but like most 2 year olds he wasn't so sure about Santa.

With the race yesterday I wasn't worried about pace here so just kept the effort easy as I worked my way around Balbriggan. Lovely evening for a run and it helped clear the head ;-)

Summary: Got the mileage back up to an almost respectable level this week along with 3 S&C sessions. Back to healthier eating this week and in the run up to Xmas in general. Can't let this training go to waste although looking forward to a stag night this coming Saturday in town.

Not too much going on here

So after a few people getting on to me about trying to do too much too soon I eased of a little bit and then had some stuff on like Emma's graduation and work Xmas party and also playing a bit of golf on the weekend for a change. Below is a summary of the training for the past couple of weeks.

18th - 24th November

The running sequence continued for another 4 days this week doing 2 short (3 mile) recovery runs before my training with Tony. These were really slow paced but beneficial. I also did just over 4.5 miles on the Thursday night around the college with the club. The session on Tuesday night was 4x6 mins @ 10K pace w/3 mins recovery. If I remember it was very windy so we had the wind behind on one straight and straight into on the other so it took plenty of effort. The numbers were down a bit as Gary was away but I did these with Rosemary and the paces were (7:25, 7:19, 7:19, 7:21). With warm up and cool down just over 6 miles was covered in total.

Rounded off the weeks training with another Gym session on Friday.

25th - 1st December

Again this week I had my 3 sessions with Tony but Fridays was moved forward to Thursday as I had my work party. I can definitely see that I'm making some progress with these. The intensity is going up steadily but I'm better able to handle most exercises now and not taking as long to recover afterwards.

Not much happening in the way of running with just one short recovery run and the Tuesday night speed session.

The session was 4 sets of 4 mins @ 5K pace, 60 secs recovery, 1 min @ mile pace, 2 mins recovery. This was a toughie adapting to the different paces and not really knowing what mile pace should be. The paces for the 4 min segments were (6:55, 6:47, 6:37, 6:27) and for the 1 min segments were (6:16, 6:21, 6:13, 5:38).

The paces seemed to be improving as we went on which I guess is a good sign but with not much mileage in the legs recently the legs are also probably a bit fresher than they were.

Tuesday 3rd December

Another Tuesday another speed session greeted us on the wind tunnel in Stamullen. When Gary was explaining the session he told us there was 12 mins @ half marathon pace which didn't sound too bad but after a pause he went on with 8 mins @ 10K pace, getting worse and then to rightly finish us off 4 x 2 mins @ 5K pace. There was 3 mins recovery after the 12 & 8 mins and 90 secs between the 2 mins.

I knew if we went off too fast this was going to be a disaster so held the pace steady for the first few laps. I was running with Susan chatting away for the first few laps but as we had to work a bit harder into the wind it stopped soon enough. Gary was calling out the splits trying to get everyone to work to even splits. Finished off the 12 minutes @ 7:22 pace.

After recovery and being told we should be aiming to run the laps 5-10 seconds quicker we set off for the 8 minute portion. Putting in a bit more effort where the wind was behind us and trying to stay controlled into the wind. Wasn't really watching the pace but the splits were quicker as required. Turned out the 8 mins were done @ 6:47 pace which is definitely not my 10K pace.

I was worried then about the last portion and blowing up but again we were encouraged to up the intensity again from the previous 8 mins. Lucky enough I was feeling strong and was able to pick up the pace for each one as it passed. They were completed at (6:22, 5:58, 5:54, 5:36). Was pretty wrecked after the last one but that was pretty much flat to the boards in terms of effort.

Another good session under the belt in terms of speedwork.


Summary: Have a race on Saturday morning over 5K in the Phoenix Park. Not going in with any expectations as this time of year you never really know what the conditions will be like. Going to run it with no watch for a change i.e I won't look at the watch during the race just to see how that goes.

Need to find a way to start upping the miles again as well but I think between myself and Emma there is something on every weekend day/night between now and Xmas. I think there will have to be a few early morning runs thrown in somewhere.

A New Start

Reflecting on my training/races of late I realised something had to change if I wanted to improve or to be able to train harder/smarter. To me that was both nutrition and core strength or strength in general so my body could handle the demands placed on it a bit better.

I found the answer to this on my doorstep almost with Tony Finnegan a fellow runner/triathlete who runs bootcamp classes literally behind my house. Tony was advertising 6 weeks of 1 to 1 high intensity training 3 times a week in the run up to Christmas. After initial enquiries and coming up with times that suited we were good to start last Monday. This also came with a new nutrition plan to help clean up my diet long term. More to come on that.

Monday 11th November - High Intensity Training

I wasn't sure what awaited me but after a bit of initial paperwork we were down to business with a warm up. The main part of the work out was 3 different exercises x 7 reps with 5 sets of the exercises to be done. This included press ups and burpees. Found the burpees tough but was heartened to be able to complete all sets which I was told most people struggle with on the first day. A nice finisher then to really mess you up and it was all over in 30 minutes or so.

This was a new experience for me and the body and felt like I was waking up a lot of muscles.

Tuesday 12th November - Speed session

Usual Tuesday night club session. This week was intervals from 20 seconds up to 2 minutes increasing 20 second's at a time and back down to 20 seconds. This was to be done at 5K pace with a minute recovery between each at 1/2 marathon pace. Arms were hanging a bit from the day before but got through the session fine although the recoveries slowed a bit as we went on.

5.24 miles total for the session.

Wednesday 13th November - High Intensity Training

DOMS central hit me on Wednesday morning where I was nearly unable to use my arms. Even using the keyboard in work was troublesome. Was dreading the session that evening, though it was more thoughts of not being able to do it than anything else.

Pain eased a bit once we got going and again was able to get through it ok with the bench press being a bit of a struggle.

Thursday 14th November - Club Run

My body feels like it is starting to shut down. Pain is now coming from the core area and it gets worse as the day goes on. The longer I spend sitting down the longer it takes me to get moving when I get out of my chair in work.

Headed down to Gormanston as usual for a few easy miles and I'm glad we were only doing an easy run. Coupled with the new form of training and change to nutrition I wasn't able for any sort of pace. I did get roped into doing a couple of 800's at the end which I did but it was only a couple.

4.09 miles total.

Friday 15th November - High Intensity Training

I think the pain has become normal by now and the general lethargic feeling is still around. No rest for the wicked though and another session ticked off.

Saturday 16th November - Tempo Run

The previous week was 5 miles @ 7:27 pace. This week was a much different story. Lost tough with Rosemary & Susan after around 2 miles maybe slightly earlier and slumped to the finish. I think the last mile might have been an embarrassing 8:50 odd and felt like the end of a Marathon.

I just didn't have anything else to give, no power in the legs as such. To be expected for what I had put myself through during the week. I think it will only be a short term thing anyway until my body adapts to all the changes.

I actually saw the below on Twitter last night which was re-assuring and seems to explain it well.

Body weight loss of 2.5% (reflective of fluid loss) combined with high intensity exercise can decrease performance by greater than 45%!

7 miles completed for the session

Sunday 17th November - Long Run

I was a bit dubious after the Saturday episode as to whether I should join the club run or do this on my own where I might have more control over the pace. There seemed to be a good group getting together so I decided to join them. The only problem was it was going to be a hilly run :-( We headed out of Stamullen towards Greenanstown which involved climbing most of the way and then swung towards Fourknocks where we were met with an even steeper hill. At this point I had to resort to walking up most of the hill, but there was simply nothing left in the legs.

When we reached the top we re-grouped and headed back towards Stamullen. The legs were hurting but I was able to manage the downhill/flat portions ok. Even the slightest hill was causing a lot of problems. It was actually funny as I had no problems as such breathing or wasn't out of breath.

Finished up at the end back in Stamullen with around 9.5 miles completed.

Summary: Never before has a 25 mile week taken so much out of me. I know it will take a few weeks though for my body to adapt to the new form of exercise and hopefully then will see some benefits. The 18 holes of golf on Saturday afternoon may have better been spent resting but I did manage to win my class prize ;-) Will try to incorporate a few short recovery runs this week before the HIT just to start getting the miles up again. Hopefully some of the key sessions will be a bit more manageable as well.

Dublin Marathon hangover

With the Marathon over there comes a time to sit back, relax and realise what you have achieved or not achieved as the case may be. I had planned to take a week off running at least to let the body and mind recover. Just as thoughts of getting the runners back on came into my head I was hit with a bit of a cold which I think is common enough given that your immune system might be a bit low after the exertions of the Marathon. With that I was forced into a few days more recovery and by Thursday although not 100% I decided to get back into it.

Thursday 7th November - Easy Run

6.14 miles @ 9:04 pace

This consisted of 4 loops of the winter run in Gormanston College with Rosemary & Brian. Where the legs had felt recovered beforehand they certainly made it known that they didn't feel like running again just yet. Was great though to get back out there.

Saturday 9th November - Tempo Run

We are still getting a weekly training plan off Gary to follow and a nice 5 mile tempo run was included to be done at roughly 1/2 Marathon pace + 5/10 seconds. Met with Rosemary at 7:30am and did around a mile warm up although not really getting warm.

The splits for the 5 miles were (7:32, 7:29, 7:25, 7:25, 7:24).

This was tough going, really tough going. I still wasn't feeling wonderful and was struggling in the first mile. I just tried to keep plugging away and although the legs were screaming at me once it didn't feel like anything was going to pop I kept at it.

Although we both seemed to be struggling in equal measure the pace held steady and even picked up slightly on the return 2.5 miles. Before long we were up the last incline and the main road and finishing point came into sight. I for one was relieved to see it. We finished off with a mile cool down back to the cars and everything was done and dusted before 8:30.


Summary: Back at it in a small way last week with a bit of a shock to the system on Saturday morning. Maybe the shock to the system was needed as the lingering cold seems to have shifted now. Looking forward to a bit more structured training this week. Time to build a base again before London training kicks off in earnest...

 

Dublin Marathon 2013

Bank holiday weekend rolled around quick enough in the end but rather than worrying about trying to cram in any last minute training most time was spent checking weather forecasts as there was talk of a storm going to hit over the weekend. The weather is one thing you have no control over but at the same time you feel entitled to a reasonable day. I picked up my number from the Expo on Sunday afternoon amidst the rain and strong winds and then settled down to relax for the evening finishing off the carb loading and heading for bed after Love/Hate. For a change I slept pretty soundly and after some porridge and banana headed off to get the bus with the rest of the gang.
We arrived in plenty of time, getting dropped off just before the 26 mile marker on Nassau St. As we walked towards Merrion square it dawned on me how long the last .2 miles actually was never mind the 26 miles before it. Everything went hassle free and we took our place in the start area close enough to the 3:30 pacers and watched the clock tick down towards 9am.

From a personal point of view my 'A' goal was sub 3:30, 'B' goal was sub 3:40, 'C' goal was a PB (sub 3:46) and anything else would have been a disaster.

Most of my training had gone well but as documented before some of my long runs had been a disaster so if anything it would be a problem with endurance regardless of the pace I ran at.



Training partners with nervous smiles before the off


The Race

Miles 1-6 (8:14, 8:01, 8:03, 7:50, 8:01, 7:57)

The first few miles were all about warming up, not heading out too fast and not panicking if a little slow. After the usual first corner congestion it opened up a bit until we came to a shuddering halt going around Stephens green where the road narrowed with roadworks. This was to be a characteristic of the first few miles anytime we came to a corner or congested area. The pace had come to us quite naturally and even if we wanted to I don't think we could have pushed on much quicker. The biggest problem was trying to stay upright as I got clipped from behind 3 times in the first couple of miles.

As we converged on the park the pace picked up a bit but as you can see from the pic below approaching the park there wasn't a whole lot of road space. I suppose one advantage of this was there wasn't a whole lot of impact from the wind although we definitely could feel it when we hit Chesterfield avenue. I took my 2nd gel along here having taken one that burst before the race. Before long though we were turning onto the furze road and seemed to be bang on pace for where we wanted to be.



Heading towards the Phoenix Park

 Miles 7 - 13 (7:50, 7:43, 7:57, 8:08, 7:49, 8:08, 8:09)

The next couple of miles were flat/downhill towards the exit of the park but still very crowded. Our pace was dictated somewhat for us but it was on target so nothing to worry about really. The pacers were still in sight about 50 metres up the road. Again we ground to a halt coming out the park gates but got going again without incident. As we headed towards Chapelizod we were greeted with a wall of sound and also the smell of someone having a BBQ. The miles seemed to be ticking off ok but we were now about to hit a pretty testing part of the course and were greeted with a nasty incline to bring us up to the 9 mile marker. The legs certainly felt that and took a few minutes to recover. The next park down through inchicore was messy to say the least. With half the road blocked the available space could simply not cater for the amount of people and we got slowed here as you can see from the slightly slower mile. There were another couple of short sharp inclines as we made our way towards Dolphins Barn and I momentarily got detached from Rosemary & Susan along here. I tagged onto them again after a few hundred metres and having a bit of a chat to myself. The Crumlin road is always a wind tunnel even on the calmer days so today it was quite a drag and although losing a bit of time against our planned pace it was the right thing to do to keep the effort steady rather than trying to force it into the wind. Eventually we were able to turn off onto the Walkinstown Road, avoiding a barrier falling in front of us and we got to the 1/2 way point in 1:45:02 which was bang on target.

I wasn't feeling too bad at this point but at the same time knew the main tests lay ahead.

Miles 14 - 19 (7:56, 7:51, 8:01, 7:50, 7:48, 8:00)

Finally as we headed for Kimmage there seemed to be a bit more space appearing on the road, we had a bit of a t and everyone seemed to be feeling ok so we just ploughed on as we were. This is one of the flatter sections of the route as we headed towards Bushy park and down towards Terenure where there is always a huge crowd and was quite surprised here when a DJ called out my name. We were now in the 10 mile to go part of the race and we tried to compare it to one of our Thursday tempo runs from here and started counting down the miles one by one. The legs were hurting at this stage and the feet were sore but we were maintaining a strong pace for this part of the race.

Miles 20 - 26.2 (8:34, 9:11, 8:41, 9:06, 9:29, 9:38, 8:57, 8:33*)

Kaboom

I don't have a clear recollection of where I ran into trouble but I think it was around the 19.5 mile point. For the previous few minuted both of my hips had kind of locked (or felt like that) and the pain had spread down into my quads. I had to make the painful decision to let the others go on without me. After a 20 second walk I got going again resigned to the fact that the 3:30 was out the window but hoping a slight ease up in pace might be manageable. For the most part I managed this but was having to take regular walking breaks of 20 seconds or so. While my body felt fine my legs had simply given up on me. I managed to work out at 22 miles that once I kept going then I should finish under 3:40 so that became my new target.

As I headed towards Ballsbridge I knew I would be seeing familiar faces in the last few miles which helped a lot to keep me going. Mile 24/25 were a killer where the wind in parts seemed to be at it's strongest. Saw my wife and brother just before the turn to Westland Row which gave me a boost and then a big contingent of SOS blue hoodies on the corner who I threw a few high 5's to. My race was run but I was certainly going to enjoy what was left of it. More support on Westland Row and then the turn towards Trinity College. As you round the corner towards Nassau St it feels more like the Tour de France than a Marathon with the crowd support and people encroaching out onto the road. I started to cramp up turning onto Nassau St and was jsut about to stop when a friend of mine Matt who was stewarding let an almighty roar at me to keep going. The cramp went away and I was managed to keep going up Nassau St. Spotted Karen Clarke stewarding in the last mile as well and let a roar out at her. The finish line was now in sight but about 100 metres from the line I spotted the guy below stalled with cramp. Nothing more for it than to throw my arm around him and get him to the finish on one leg. It might have cost me a few seconds but in the overall scheme of things that did not matter.

Lending a helping hand

 

So there you have it. Crossed the line in 3:37:43 finishing 2,703 out of 12,353 finishers. A PB of almost 9 minutes based on last year. Once again though at the 4th time of asking I feel defeated by the Marathon.

 

I'm also a realist and I know you get out of these things what you put in along with the sacrifices you are prepared to make to achieve your targets. But then at the end of the day you have to realise this is also something we do for enjoyment and it is not the be all and end all by any means. It doesn't mean we won't be trying just as hard or harder the next time. For me the next time and probably the last time is in London in 160 days time.

 

Special thanks must go to my wife Emma who affords me the time to do the training required. Any training missed is certainly not down to her. To our coach Gary O'Hanlon who is delivering great improvements in a short time with us, thanks for all your help and your weekly training plan. To the other 2 amigo's Rosemary & Susan thanks for the company and camaraderie on those Thursday tempo's and all the other training runs. There were up's & down's along the way but mainly up's and you both ran great races showing me how it should be done. And a final word of thanks to the people who gave up their time to come in and support us on Monday. Go SOS.

 

Now where did I leave those runners ;-) 

The Final Countdown

This was the last week of meaningful training before Dublin and a good week was hoped for.

Tuesday 16th October - Session

Our speed sessions have moved to St Pat's GAA in Stamullen for the winter as it has a more all weather surface and is floodlight. The track we use is somewhere between 500 & 600 metres with 2 long straights and sharp bends. As a result most of our sessions now will be timed rather than distance based.

After just over a mile warm up and some drills we started off with an 11 minute Tempo session which was to be run at 15 seconds faster than Marathon pace. I managed to keep the pace steady with a nice group together and the pace worked out at 7:44 for the 11 minutes.

When we got back to the start we had a few minutes recovery as Gary explained the 2nd part of the session. This was to be 2 mins @ 10K pace, straight into 90 secs at Marathon pace and we had to do this 6 times straight off, no recoveries.

Pace for 2 min @ 10K pace   (7:21, 7:12, 7:13, 7:01, 6:58, 6:46)
Pace for 90 sec @ MP were   (8:04, 7:59, 7:54, 7:51, 7:47, 7:45)

This was a toughie no doubt but again we got working as a group and ticked them off gradually picking up the pace as we went along. We definitely got a good confidence boost from this.

Gary explained the purpose of a session like this was to enable you if you hit a bad spot in a race and had to ease off for a few minutes to get over it a session like this would help you pick up the pace again.

A short cool down brought it up to 5.87 miles for the session.


Thursday 17th October - Tempo Run

7 mile tempo @ 7:49 pace

Our last tempo run (I think) before the big day. This week called for 7 miles @ 10 - 15 secs quicker than marathon pace. After a mile warm up and plenty of chat and excitement we got down to business. The chat stopped pretty much straight away as we were faced with a nice hill at the Delvin and the gradual rise for the next mile or so. After we swung off the main road we were on a nice back road where I think we know every hump and hollow of at this stage. The pace was nice and steady without much fluctuation and with a couple of miles to go our only danger was the lack of light and coming back over a few hundred metres of dodgy underfoot conditions. Last thing we needed was someone going over on an ankle. This was safely negotiated and we were all glad when we reached the end. A cool down followed back to the cars for just under 9 miles for the night.


Friday 18th October - Easy Run

5.02 miles @ 9:10 pace

Having escaped the rain on Wednesday there was no escaping it on Friday night. Just an easy loop around Balbriggan. Pretty windy as well into the bargain. The weather seems to be taking a turn for the worse at the wrong time :-( 


Sunday 20th October - Long Run ;-)

8 miles @ 8:25 pace

Big reduction in long run distance this week. Gary does have a heart after all ;-) Met Rosemary at the college and set out from there. Met Stuey, Glenn, David & John along the route and everyone seemed in good form. This was a grand relaxing run and if anything we were holding back to keep the pace in check. We noticed on the way back we were running into a decent head wind but didn't really feel it. Most of our thoughts and conversation seemed to be taken up with only one subject...

So the mileage dropped off again last week to 28 for the week but keeping the intensity with 2 good sessions and a bit of a long run. This week I'll probably run every second day with a light session on Tuesday, nice club run on Thursday and a couple of miles either Saturday or Sunday depending how things work out.

There is nothing more to be done now other than wait and see how things pan out on the day. There are so many factors to take into account with a marathon compared to shorter races and you just have to hope things you have no control over like weather etc. turn out to be ok. Training has gone well with the exception of a couple of long runs which of course leaves doubts in the mind. Previous to this I would have done 2/3 20 mile long runs, in this cycle I didn't really manage one properly. The counter to that though are the tempo sessions we did every Thursday. There were 13 in total and I managed to knock these out week after week meeting the required challenge of distance and pace. I had never done pace runs like this before and am hopeful these will stand to us.

Nearly all of these runs were done as a group with Rosemary & Susan. We worked off each other well and enjoyed each others company for the runs. On Monday we will line up together at the start line and take it from there. We have a plan and the most important part of it is to get the pace right from the start of the race, resist the urge to take off too quickly in the early miles. After that it's just a case of taking it mile by mile.

Good luck to everyone else doing on the marathon on bank holiday Monday, especially the first timers. Most of all enjoy it, savour the atmosphere, there is something really special abour running through the streets of Dublin being cheered on by thousands of people regardless of your ability.

14 days to go - Let the taper madness begin

The picture accompanying my last post caused a bit of a stir. On Monday I wasn't able to walk properly on my right foot and was expecting it to take a good while to heal. I was lucky enough that Tracy & Deborah who are also training for the marathon were able to provide me with a duoderm plaster to try. Apparently it's used to treat bad blisters & burns in hospitals. I covered the area with this which was like a thick layer of skin and was told to leave it on until it healed fully.

Tuesday 8th October

Paid a visit to Amphibian King Ashtown to get Kevin to check out my runners and suggest an alternative. It turns out I had worn out the insole around where I got the blister and also did a good bit of damage to the cushioning around the same area. This made sense as I had no problem with these runners when I got them initially back in July and this problem had been caused by wear and tear over time. I picked up a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 9 which are a similar type of runner from a support point of view but are slightly wider around the top of the foot.

I took the opportunity to head down to training to see how the foot was and to break them in slightly. Could still feel a bit of discomfort when I was running for a prolonged time but managed around 2.5 miles at an easy pace.

Wednesday 9th October - Easy Run

5.87 miles @ 8:51

This is normally a rest day but wasn't necessary for me this week. I wanted to be able to do our Tempo run on Thursday so I got out for a loop of Balbriggan to break the runners in a bit more. The pace was easy so no major pressure on my foot. Either way there was no discomfort at all during the run which gave me the green light for Tempo Thursday in my own head.

Thursday 10th October - Progression Tempo Run

8 mile progression tempo (8:10, 8:05, 3 @ 7:59, 7:55, 7:45, 7:32)

There was a couple of miles knocked off the Tempo run this week but it was changed to a progression type run starting off 10 seconds slower than MP for a mile, then 5 secs quicker, 3 miles at MP and then picking up the pace by 5 secs a mile for each of the last 3 miles.

I did this run with Rosemary & Susan as usual. The first mile and a bit was fine but then we met around 2 miles with a good drag and into the wind which took a bit more effort to dig in and maintain our required pace. After 3 miles we turned onto the mosney road which offered some shelter. The miles were ticking off nicely and if anything we had to be restrained slightly to keep to pace. Although the legs were quite sore in spots there was no problem picking up the pace as we needed. The 2nd last mile was a bit quick but it just got quicker again in the last mile for some reason. I suppose that's a good sign and what you want to start seeing now. A good confidence booster.

Finished up with a warm down back to the cars for 10.21 miles in total for the session.

Saturday 12th October - Easy Run

5.03 miles @ 9:13 pace

Was late enough getting out for this one on Saturday evening but it was a lovely run once out there. Just my usual loop around Balbriggan that is ideal for the dark winter weather that we are now back to. Took the pace handy with the final long run the following morning.

Sunday 13th October - Long Run

17 miles @ 8:33 pace

Phew!!!! After a few pretty bad long runs recently I really needed this one to go well more from a confidence point of view than anything else. Thank God it did. That's not to say it was easy but it went as well as could be expected.

Met Rosemary at 8am in Stamullen and we agreed on a loop from Stamullen - Julianstown - Mosney Road - Gormanston and back to the cars which brought us to just around 8.75 miles and back to the cars where we set out for the same loop again. It was a cool morning but nice running weather with a mixture of hills, inclines, downhills and undulating road providing a good test for the legs. We maintained a good steady pace for the whole run with no drop off in pace. Apart from feeling the urge to vomit with 1/2 mile to go I really enjoyed the run. What a difference a week makes.

When we reached the 17 mile point we walked the last 1/2 mile or so back to the school to loosen out the legs a bit.

Summary: So from the start of the week where things were bleak and unsure of what running I would get in I still managed to get in 40 miles mostly from Wednesday to Sunday. This was around 20% less than last week and the mileage will reduce further this week. The last of the longish runs are out of the way and while time mileage will be reducing I'm sure there are still a few intensive sessions planned.

21 days to go. Nearly time to taper...

After what must seem like nothing but doom and gloom in recent posts I'll try and be a bit more positive in this one.
Thursday 3rd October - Tempo Run

Another Thursday, another Tempo run this time in the rain. Met with Rosemary & Susan and got a mile warm up done before setting out on the same route as last week. First few miles felt like it was going to be a bit of a struggle but everyone was in good spirits and the miles were ticking off ok. I even picked up a new tip for recovery from long runs during the course of the run. Not sure it's for me though ;-)

Before long we were into the last mile and everyone finished strong. Average pace was 7:48 which was 12 seconds better than the previous week. Finished with a cool down back to the cars and 11.62 miles in total.

Friday 4th October - Easy Run

9 miles @ 9:05 pace

I noticed after the run on Thursday I had a pretty big blister on the sole of my right foot and also that my left knee was quite sore. More a stiffness thing when I was sitting down for a while and a bit of a dull pain.

With that in mind I headed out with the plan not to go too far from home in case I needed to stop. The masking tape over the blister seemed to be keeping that in check and the knee wasn't any more painful running so I ventured further from home after a couple of miles. Met Wayne Cawley running in the opposite direction and we joined up for a few miles. Made it home in one piece and did some stretching & foam rolling.

Saturday 5th October - Easy Run

4 miles @ 9:51 pace

We were out in town on Friday night and although not having much to drink it was a late night getting home. When you combine this with a 2 year old alarm clock it results in not a lot of sleep. The body was feeling tired and unresponsive when I headed out. Did this run around the pitches and college grounds. Knee was quite sore from what I remember and I was wondering how the long run would go the next day.

Sunday 6th October - Long Run

20ish miles

Met Rosemary at the school and we headed off towards Skerries via, Gormanston, Flemington lane, Bath road route. Legs and body were quite tired as expected but knee was behaving itself. I had the sole of my foot covered but I felt after 6 miles that the tape had shifted. I kept going as I knew we would be stopping in Skerries to get some water and I would check it out then. I had to stop after 9 miles to re-position the tape and that seemed to help a bit.

After some water and taking my 2nd Powerbar gel we were on our way back to Balbriggan. The wind had been against us on the way over and it seemed to be mostly against us on the way back :-(

Each mile was now becoming a bit of a chore but we were maintaining a steady pace. On the way back up Flemington lane I started to experience some stomach issues and knew I wouldn't make it back to Stamullen so I let Rosemary head on and I popped home for a quick pit stop. Took the chance to put on a fresh top as well and set off for the last 4 miles. Although my legs in general were tired they were feeling ok. My foot was getting worse though with each stride. With a mile to go I adopted a walk/jog strategy but had to just walk the last 1/2 mile. I was a bit disappointed with this but when I saw the below I was surprised I had been able to run that far.

Ouch!!!

I know for sure now my current runners are not the ones for me for the Marathon. A visit to Amphibian King is in order to see what Kevin suggests. I also know Powerbar gels are not the best for me. That is the last of the long, long runs done I suppose. The last few could have gone better, a lot better in fact but not much I can do about it now. I just have to trust that the bulk of the work is done. What result that produces we'll find out in a few weeks. I need to be careful this week that the above gets a chance to heal properly so will just take it day by day.

26 Days to go

Saturday 28th September - Moone Kilomarathon

26.2K in 2:20:06

Avg Pace: 8:39

This is a race I had done a couple of years ago and as it is close to my inlaws we are able to kill 2 birds with one stone by combining a visit as well. We headed down on Friday night and I picked up my number on Saturday morning before heading home to get ready. I got dropped off a little bit away from the start and took a very easy jog to the start to warm up.

It was only just over 36 hours since we had finished a tough tempo session and the legs were tired as you would expect but the quads also had a lot of DOM's which was strange. As we lined up at the start it was also clear it was going to be a warm one. The local rector said a prayer and we were quickly away.

The field wasn't that big and a good few people streamed past me at the start. My plan was to run somewhere between Tempo pace and long run pace. The first few miles after the initial hill were mostly flat or slightly downhill and my pace seemed to gravitate towards just over marathon pace for the first 4/5 miles. I had settled into a nice rhythm and took a gel after around 7K more to get used to taking them again.

I was taking on water at every station but maybe not enough for the heat. Between miles 6 & 11 the pace was where I wanted it to be but it was getting tougher to maintain.

Conscious that this was not a race in that I wasn't chasing a time I eased off the pace towards the end and even walked through the water stations to make sure to take on plenty of fluids. Everyone seemed to be in the same boat in that nobody was coming past me and the gap to the group ahead wasn't really changing. The last K was a toughie as part of a steep incline back to the village of Moone and I was glad to finish.

Plenty of refreshments at the finish and I took on plenty of fluids again.

Things I will take from the race:

• I had hydrated well the day before the race and I felt during the race but I still seemed to suffer towards the end more than I would expect. I took 2 gels but these did not seem to have any impact.
• It was 22 degrees when I finished. I would not be a lover of running at any sort of effort in the heat so no doubt this was a factor.
• This was at the end of a week with 2 tough sessions and not much recovery from the tempo session. I probably should have just run at long run pace.
• Am going to try a different type of gel on long run this week just to see if it gives and better impact, and also take on more fluids just to see.
• I'm sick of running on tired legs ;-) and cannot wait for taper to come.

The day was not wasted anyway as with the warm up I got in 18 miles.

Sunday 29th September - Recovery

2.5 miles @ 10:14 pace

After travelling back home I headed down to Gormanston and shuffled around for a little while. This is all I was fit for. Legs were wrecked but nice to stretch them somewhat. Could have done more but left knee was starting to give me bother so I called it a day. I had a massage booked for Monday anyway which was badly needed.

Tuesday 30th September - Session

The session was moved to St Pats GAA this week with the bad weather as they have an All-Weather type track around their pitches that we used. Did a few laps warm-up and then into the session. The session was 7x3 mins @5K pace with 90 second steady recovery. We got a 2 min recovery after 4 sets which helped a bit. I wasn't able to maintain 5K pace throughout but dug in as best I could and as the saying goes 'I got by with a little help from my friends'

Paces for the 3 min segments were (7:03, 7:15, 7:29, 7:37, 7:04, 7:10, 7:07)

Finished off with a few laps cool down to bring it up to 6.07 miles for the night.


Summary: So 26 days to go to Dublin with this probably being the peak week of mileage. Sunday will be the longest run but not before another 10 mile tempo tomorrow evening and a few easy runs. Wish me luck.

Getting back to normal...

After the disappointment of Athlone my main focus was to get back running and gauging how I felt as it went along without doing anything stupid.

Tuesday 17th September - Session

This was my first attempt at running since Saturday. Was feeling a tightness in my chest during the warm up of a mile but decided to give the session a go and see how it was. The session was 2x12 mins @ 10K pace followed by 3x400m.

I started off ok but after a few minutes I was struggling with my breathing although the pace not being too hot. I eventually stopped after 9.5 minutes. Had a chat with Gary and he told me just to join in for the 2nd 12 minutes and to do it at an easier pace to get something from the session. That I did and finished up after that with 3.81 miles for the night.

Wednesday 18th September - Easy Run

3.97 miles @ 9:02 pace

Just got out for a few easy miles again to monitor how I felt. Legs still feeling pretty wrecked for some reason but apart from that seemed ok.

Thursday 19th September - Tempo Run

Thursday night is tempo run but I wasn't expecting to be able for it. The plan was for 10 miles @ 5-10 secs quicker than MP. I met up with Ken for whom this would be an easy pace who had a good 10 mile route in mind. We set out with the aim to hold MP for me and to be honest I would have been happy to get 6 miles done and take it easy from there. I felt like stopping every mile and while it felt I was slowing the pace was hovering where it should. When we got up the nasty hill at Stevenstown I felt happy that I would make it home.

That I did with 10 miles completed @ 8 min pace. For the day that was in it RESULT.

Saturday 21st September - Long Run

17.5 miles @ 8:43 pace

I had picked up a number for the Dublin 1/2 with the aim just to run it as part of my long run. Little did I know that ladies numbers were pink and men's white. I got a few looks before the race (or at least it seemed that way, maybe I was being paranoid).

I got to the park shortly after 9 and set off around the back of the park. Made my way back to the start and bumped into Niall, John, Olwyn & Matt at various stages before the start.

Lined up a bit back from the 1:50 pacers and set off shortly afterwards. Was keeping an eye on the pace early on to make sure not get caught up in the race. The miles ticked off pretty ok even though the legs felt tired. A lot of people seemed to have gone off too quickly and by maintaining my pace I was passing plenty of people after 6/7 miles. It did feel pretty warm though. As I came back into the park after 10.5 miles or so I knew a few hills awaited but that would be no harm. As we headed up military hill everyone was being ushered over to the side of the road to allow an ambulance down the road. We were subsequently to hear that a runner had collapsed and sadly passed away R.I.P. I kept the effort steady to the finish but I did notice a couple more people receiving treatment at the side of the road and were passed by another ambulance. It was all a bit scary to be honest.

Eventually crossed the line, picked up my tee-shirt and walked back to the car. It definitely helped being able to clock up the miles during the race and the legs were suitably tired.

Tuesday 24th September - Session

Having not run Sunday or Monday (feck you Dublin) I wasn't sure how this would go. Got there early and did a 2 mile warm up. 

The session turned out to be (1x14min & 2x12min w/3 min recovery). The pace was to be 20-30 seconds quicker than MP. This went well and the paces were (7:30, 7:25, 7:12). Was glad to be able to pick up the pace for the last 2 mins or so of the last rep and test how I felt or otherwise.

Finished off with a short cool down. 7.95 miles in total for the day. Also signed up for DCM today.

Wednesday 25th September - Easy Run

9.18 miles @ 9:03 pace  

This is normally a rest day but after speaking with Gary I switched Friday's run to today as I will be doing a Kilomarathon on Saturday so would take Friday as a rest day instead. Was talking to Rosemary and she was also planning to do the 9 miles this evening. We set off and took in a few hills through Stamullen as we headed for Julianstown. Eased the pace up a bit for the last few miles to try and leave a bit of life in the legs for the next day. Got very dark towards the end. The nights really are gone to pot.

Thursday 26th September - Tempo Run

Just myself and Rosemary again as Susan had to get her run in early although we did meet Alan on his run as we were warming up and Brian as well on his run.

Following a mile warm up we set off with the target being 10 miles. The official target was 5-10 secs quicker than MP but that would be having a rest day before this run. We were always slightly outside this target but we had said from the outset we would be happy if we could keep it at MP. I don't know what was up but running just felt very awkward and my legs seemed to be all over the place. The road also felt gradually uphill all the way. Felt like easing up after 5 miles. After 6.5 miles when we turned around Rosemary told me to go on ahead if I felt like it. I had been hanging on to her tail for the last mile there was no way I would be kicking on anywhere. Slowly but surely the miles ticked off with the last couple of miles difficult in the dark. Eventually the watch beeped for 10 miles and we had kept the pace at 8 min miles.

A really tough session mentally and physically but it is probably better to have a few of these to prepare you for what lies ahead.

11.63 miles in total for the day.

Summary: Feeling much more normal this week and have a lot more energy. Doing a Kilomarathon (26.2K) in Moone tomorrow which is close to my in-laws. The aim will be to do this race somewhere between tempo pace and long run pace. Basically not a flat out race but a good pace. In the words of Gary leave a little bit behind you. After last night and with 10 miles to do on Sunday hopefully I can do that.

In other news I had entered the ballot for the London Marathon never expecting to get a place with 125,000 entries in the ballot for roughly 15,000 places. I found out on Wednesday that I had been lucky enough to get a place. This is a race I have always looked at growing up long before I started running of any sort and probably the one race I would love to do. For the moment though all roads lead to Dublin....

Possibly my worst race ever :-(

This week was to be a mini taper week with the Athlone 1/2 marathon at the end of it. I was looking forward to the race and felt I was confident enough to run a PB based on recent improvements in training and the introduction of long tempo runs. Little did I know what lay ahead. Monday 9th September - Easy Run

6.02 miles @ 9:22 pace

Just an easy run around Balbriggan. Always seem to struggle on these Monday runs a bit but another one clocked off.

Tuesday 10th September - Session

The usual club session with just under 2 miles warm up before getting down to business. The session was 4 sets of 1x800 @ 3K pace, 90 sec recovery, 1 x 400 @ mile pace, 3 mile jog recovery.

There was a lot of whinging about this one but everyone worked really well it seemed. Splits for me were (3:23, 1:34; 3:23, 1:37; 3:23, 1:34; 3:23, 1:27).

The 800's were very consistent and the 400's mainly except for the last one where I picked up the pace a bit. cool down brought the session to 6.29 miles

Thursday 12th September - Tempo

This weeks tempo was just 3 miles with the race on Saturday. Did a mile warm up towards the ring road in Balbriggan and the set about the 3 mile tempo. Was a windy evening so not ideal for a tempo run buy no problems for just 3 miles.

Completed the 3 miles in (7:45, 7:48, 7:40). some portions were easier depending on the wind. Jogged back home then for just over 5 miles for the day.

Saturday 14th September - Athlone 1/2 Marathon

The plan for this was to try and run just under 1:37 which would be less than a minute improvement on the rock & roll 1/2 marathon on a flatter course. I felt it should be possible with the way training had been going. The club were having a night out the night before and I popped along for a while for a few pints of water and was home in bed by 11. I had talked tactics with Rosemary and she gave me the re-assurances I needed I wasn't biting off more than I could chew.

Woke on Saturday morning with a sore throat but didn't put much pass on it. I also had the same the previous morning but it was a bit worse this morning. Generally I still felt ok though so I set off for Athlone. Met a few familiar faces at registration and got ready with a warm up of around a mile. The organisation was really good and the race started bang on time.

Miles 1-5 (7:23, 7:25, 7:26, 7:24, 7:35)

Started off well and settled into a nice rhythm. The roads were narrow enough but the crowd spread out pretty quickly. In the second mile I ticked in with a group from Mullingar and let them drag me along for a while. I think they might have slowed a bit as I remember pushing on from them a bit but maintaining the same pace. Mile 5 was a bit slower and it was here I started feeling some distress signals from what I remember with my legs feeling like they had run 22 miles already and not 4.

Miles 6 - 13 (7:41, 8:06, 9:16, 8:45, 9:06, 9:07, 10:00, 10:09)

The above doesn't need a lot of explaining. After 6 miles or so I felt like I had been hit by a bus. I tried slowing the pace just to get me to the finish but even running a very easy pace was a huge effort. I even tried taking the gel I had to get some energy but this didn't work. Looking at the garmin I reckon I had to stop around 15 times between then and the finish to walk for portions.

Mile 13 was the last and slowest of the race but around a minute of it was spent trying to get sick into a hedge. I did manage to run the last 800m or so and had someone alongside me trying to will me to push for a sub 1:50 finish. I told him that was 13 minutes outside my target but that didn't put him off. I finished in 1:50:14

Never was I so happy to finish a race but I just wanted to be out of there. Met Danny from the club who ran a great race. Had a quick cold shower and headed for home. The race itself was €20 to enter which included technical top, medal, water in bottles, fruit & water and a non-alcoholic beer at the finish. Exceptional value in this day and age.

I did a lot of thinking on the way home as to how the race had went and what went wrong. The only logical thing I could come up with was that I had picked up some sort of sickness or virus that I didn't know about the full extent of. When I got home I had to lie down and was absolutely wrecked. Even the next day I was not right. You would not get this feeling from going out too fast in a race if you know what I mean.

I was meant to do a long run on Sunday but I was in no condition to even attempt that.

Summary: So a disappointing week which culminated in a disappointing training week overall. I will try to get back to it this evening (Tuesday) and see how I feel. I guess I just have to try and forget about it and get back on the horse. Can't really afford any more weeks like that though if I want to be able to get around Dublin on Marathon day. I still haven't entered Dublin but I do plan to do it. If I get 2 weeks decent training in the next 2 weeks I enter then just before the deadline.

A week with no Long Run :-(

The plan for this week was another 5 days of good training with Sunday off as it was my birthday and there was a big night out planned on Saturday night.

Monday 2nd September - Easy Run

6 miles @ 8:55 pace

Did a loop around Balbriggan with Ken at a nice easy pace. Legs were tired enough from the long run the day before but we ticked off the miles and chatted the whole way round.

Tuesday 3rd September - Session

After around a 1.5 mile warm up we were into a ladder session which started with a mile and progressed downwards (1600, 1200, 800, 600, 400, 200). The first 2 were to be done at 5K pace, the next 2 at 3K pace and the last 2 at mile pace. The recovery started at 2 minutes but reduced as we went on as well.

Splits were (6:44, 5:02, 3:18, 2:26, 1:28, 38)

Was a tough session but managed to maintain the pace required consistently. Finished off with a cool down loop to bring up to 6.22 miles for the session.

Thursday 5th September - Tempo Thursday

There was a lot of fear around this run when we got our plan for the week. It was for 9 miles @ 10-15 seconds quicker than Marathon pace. The usual suspects met at 7pm and did a warm up mile before deciding on an out and back route for the 9 miles.

Headed off with Rosemary & Susan and our mail emphasis was to keep it steady at the start which we did. We were also into a bit of a headwind as well on the main road for the first mile before turning off onto the country roads. The 3 of us were spread across the road chatting a little bit and everyone seemed relaxed (compared to last week). We reached the turnaround point and the average pace was around 7:45. We were aiming for 7:45-7:50. We all seemed to be feeling strong and the pace seemed to pick up with about 3 miles to go. Back to the main road with a mile to go and in contrast to last week we chatted most of the last mile which was probably our quickest of the run.

So 9 miles with average pace of 7:42 and more importantly a good confidence boost for us all. Met up with Ken, Stuey & Brian and they all seemed to have a good run as well.

Finished off with a short cool down in the college to bring up 11 miles in total for the day.

Friday 6th September - Easy Run

7.09 miles @ 9:05 pace

I had noticed on Thursday night that my left Achilles seemed very tight after the tempo run. I was lucky enough to have gotten a ticket for the Ireland match on Friday night which meant I had to get an early run before work on Friday. I wasn't too optimistic setting out but it was fine although the legs were tired so was happy to keep it very easy.


Summary: Sadly my running for the week finished on Friday. I was due to do my long run on Saturday morning but found out on Friday evening I might be needed for work on Saturday. This turned into around 5 hours in work so my time for running had well and truly evaporated. Sunday was already a planned non running day anyway.

A bit disappointed not to get the long run done but not much I can do about it now. The rest of the weeks training went well though. I did manage to do some work on the Achilles on Saturday and it feels fine now and no pain at all so at least that is something.

Athlone 1/2 Marathon this Saturday coming. Looking forward to this race. Will train as planned but take it easy enough Thursday/Friday compared to normal.

Another decent week I hope

Monday 26th August

6.14 miles @ 9:04 pace

Easy paced run, some on grass around the pitches in Gormanston but there is only so many laps I can do so I headed in the direction of the beach and along the beach and back to the car. Not much else to report about this apart from general tiredness in body, mind and legs.

Tuesday 27th August - Session

We were unable to use the college grounds after the death of one of the college staff so this weeks session took place on the beach. After a warm up we kicked off with 20 seconds hard, 35 seconds recovery with the hard part going up by 20 seconds each time as far as 2 minutes and then back down. Managed to keep the hard bits at a good effort but wasn't really feeling the love for running on the beach. Finished off with a cool down to bring it up to 4.69 miles for the night. Not as much as normal, maybe no harm.

Thursday 29th August - Tempo Thursday

10.92 miles @ 8:16 pace

Tempo run this week was upped to 9 miles and was to be run at 5-10 secs quicker than marathon pace. Who knew 5-10 seconds could make such a difference? After a warm up of just under a mile with Stuart, Rosemary & Susan we set off into the wind from Gormanston heading towards Stamullen. Stuart set off into the distance at his pace and the rest of us all settled in around the same pace. As we turned past the school in Stamullen some nasty hills greeted us, especially at the pace we were running. I was digging in keeping effort consistent and Susan talked to us all the way up the hills (no bother to her). Bit of a recovery down into Julianstown about 1/2 way and our pace had evened out. The only thing I cared about was getting through the last 3/4 miles and keeping the pace consistent. The miles ticked off and Susan was chatting away to us. This really was easy for her. She pushed on a bit for the last couple of miles and eventually we made it back to the Huntsman and the 9 miles were done. This was difficult but not impossible. Pace for the 9 miles was 7:53 for me which I was happy with.

Finished off with about a mile slow cool down.

Saturday 31st August

6 miles @ 8:43 pace

First time running around Balbriggan for a while. First mile was a bit mssed up on the Garmin so the overall pace would have been slightly slower. Still found myself having to hold back a bit to keep to the required pace. A good sign.

Sunday 1st September - Long Run

15.5 miles @ 8:38 pace

It takes a certain amount of madness to get out for your long run at 6:30am on a Sunday morning, but if there is 4 of you does that mean we're all mad? We must be in some way.

This run followed the same route as last week as far as around 10/11 miles and then a different route back to Stamullen via Gormanston to add on a bit extra. There was plenty of chat as we ticked off the miles at the required pace with the pace even picking up towards the end. Started to feel very hungry towards the end of the run as with the early start there was no time for breakfast. Could feel my left foot at me a bit as well. This started off with a blister during tempo run last week on the sole of my foot and now I have a blood blister on the top of my big toe as well. Was quite painful after the run. Need to try and get them cleared up as soon as possible. Seems strage to only be happening on one foot?


Summary: With the session on Teusday being a bit shorter the mileage was slightly down on last week but still managed 43.25 miles and 6.25 hours training. The 3 sessions were done but missed out on an easy run. To be honest I have never run 6 days a week normally and I think I can only commit to 5 with other stuff so I am happy enough with that. Hopefully another solid week this week with Long run on Saturday before easing off a bit before the Athlone 1/2 next week.

Making Progress/Upping the Mileage gradually

Monday 19th August - Easy Run
7.18 miles @ 9:14 pace

Met Brian Moore and headed from Julianstown on the back road towards Laytown and onto Bettystown before swinging back the same way. Legs were feeling pretty tired & sore during this so glad the pace was very easy.


Tuesday 20th August - Club Session

To say I wasn't looking forward to this was an understatement. I trailed around pretty much at the rear of the warm-up of 2 miles hoping for some magic formula to put a bit of life into the legs. It didn't happen.

Session tonight was 9x600m @ 5K pace. These were to be done in 3 sets of 3 with 60 sec recovery between each 600 and 3 minutes jog between each set.

Splits were (2:35,2:36,2:34;2:32,2:35,2:32;2:33,2:33,2:28)

All of these were just under 5K pace and pretty consistent which is always the aim. Once we got going they weren't actually too bad but the short recovery made it tough.

Finished up with a slow recovery loop to bring up 7.61 miles for the evening.


Thursday 22nd August - Tempo Thursday

With any of the usual crew doing the 10 mile in the park this was going to be a solo effort while they had a handy 2 mile at tempo pace. My plan was 8 miles at marathon pace and I figured out a 4 mile loop which was roughly half road and the other half made up of trail, grass etc so a good test.

After a warm up of just over a mile and a few stretches I got stuck into it. It was tough going by myself with a nasty breeze and a few undulations. Developed a blister on the second loop which was painful enough especially when turning corners. Got it finished anyway with an average pace of 7:54 for the 8 miles.

Did a few laps of the track to cool down bringing it up to 10 miles for the night.


Friday 23rd August - Easy Run

7 miles @ 9:19 pace

Did this easy run with Mandy after work. Most of the afternoon was crappy but it cleared nicely in time for this. Legs were tired from the previous days effort so kept it nice and easy throughout. Really learning the importance of doing these easy runs at the right pace so you can tackle the tougher runs properly.

Sunday 25th August - Long Run

14.5 miles @ 8:37 pace

Had a nice group of 6 for this run. 5 fresh from some great runs in the 10 miler and me carb loaded on rice krispie buns and chocolate biscuit cake from Charlies birthday the day before.

Headed out from St Pats and headed towards Julianstown on towards Laytown and a back road towards Pilltown/Bettystown. Had never run on this road or knew it existed before but it was lovely to run on. As we headed back through Laytown some of the quicker lads kicked on a bit while I maintained the same pace with Rosemary. Last 3 miles were gradually uphill with a couple of nasty inclines but we managed them ok.



Summary: Another good weeks training with the mileage upping gradually again to over 46. Ran 5 days although the plan had 6. Missed Saturday due to work and son's birthday. Those extra miles might have been a bit much of a jump anyway so not to worry. Really pleased with how the 3 key sessions of the week went and the long run was a good confidence builder at the end of the week. An easy 6 miles tomorrow and then find out what Gary has planned for the rest of the week on Tuesday night!!!

Time to Ctrl+Alt+Delete and re-start after the holidays

Just to give a quick update I have been off work for the last couple of weeks and spent 3 nights at the end of the first week in Adare and 3 nights at the start of the next week in Cork. A great time was had in both places. Below is a summary of what training has been done since the last update.

Wednesday 8th August

8 miles Easy

Out and back route from Balbriggan to Skerries. Mouth felt fine after having tooth out and filling the previous day. Tooth broke when he was pulling it so took a bit longer to remove. Don't you just love Dentist's.

Thursday 9th August

7 Miles Tempo (5 to 10 sec quicker than MP)

Set out to do this with Rosemary on an out and back route around Gormanston/Julianstown. This was a toughie with the 1/2 Marathon still in our legs from the Monday but we got through it ok.

9.61 miles in total including warm-up & warm down.

Sunday 11th August

8.71 Miles Easy

Ran from Adare to Croom and back. A combination of running too soon after breakfast and the previous couple of nights made this a toughie. Also not knowing where I was going didn't help. Picked up the pace a bit for the last couple of miles which resulted in me losing most of my breakfast with a mile to go :-(

Monday 12th August

7 Miles Easy

Ran from Carrigaline to Crosshaven along an old railway line that was converted into a walkway a few years ago. Lovely route with nice views. Legs were tired with the amount of trekking around we had been doing so was a bit tough mentally. Came across a bench on the route dedicated to the memory of a Balbriggan man Martin Gorman who I believe passed away suddenly a number of years ago in the area.

Thursday 15th August

8 Miles Tempo

Drove back from Cork in lashings of rain in time for Tempo Thursday. Plan was for 8 miles at Marathon pace. Watch was dead so just paced myself off Rosemary. This was a toughie after the excesses of the holiday. Poor Rosemary got stung in the lip by a wasp after 4 miles or so. I thought we might get a little break but she was having none of it ;-) I think we finished up with the pace around 7:57 for the 8 miles.

10 miles in total for the night.

Friday 16th August

6.71 Miles Easy

Run from Gormanston to Balbriggan & back with Stuart and the 2 Mo's. Wasn't really feeling the love for this one but the company helped a lot.

Saturday 17th August

12.46 Miles Long Run

Met up with some of the gang from Boards in the Phoenix park that I used to do long runs with previously. Pace was pretty sedate but I was glad of not having to push it too much. As we got back to the car Matt suggested rounding up to 13 and I said it was grand (13 was the plan). Just then Gary O'Hanlon appears and enquires how far I had done. Just under 13 was the response (hope he's not reading this). So there you have it folks don't be tempted to cut your runs short. He might just appear out of nowhere.

Sunday 18th August

4 Miles Easy

After a celebration night for Robbie Cannon on Saturday night and my nieces 3rd birthday I had hoped to get a few more miles in but it just wasn't to be. Ah well that's the holidays over and back on the straight and narrow now.

I was feeling guilty about not doing enough running when I was on holidays but when I look back now I actually managed 43.5 and 40 mile weeks so I will take that.

Berlin is now officially off the cards. Everyone I spoke to about it said it made no sense to be going over by myself. I have also informed Dublin Marathon that I will not be pacing that either. My next race will be the Athlone 1/2 Marathon on 14th September. After that who knows?

Plan for this week is just to follow the plan and tag on the long run at the end of the week at the right pace. Will probably be doing this solo as most people will be doing the 10 miler in the park.

Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon

This week is about getting ready for the Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon on Bank Holiday Monday which also incorporates the National 1/2 Marathon Championships. Not sure about the whole lumping together of the events into one but as there was a reduced entry for AAI members and a chance to run through the streets of Dublin I signed up for it. Training this week as a result was a bit more low key.
Monday 29th July

10.47Km - Easy Run

Met up with Colm, Maurice & Deirdre and did a nice hilly route at an easy pace. Nice to get back out on the hills. Colm informed me he had pleurisy and was antibiotics. It sounded bad but he was flying. Must get some of those tablets off him before Monday :-)

Tuesday 30th July - Club session

The usual club session tonight consisted of a lap of the college to warm up and some stretching followed by a lap of bends easy/straights hard. The session was shorter tonight due to the race so it consisted of 2x1200m @ 5K race pace and then 5x200m stride outs.

I was working off pace for the 2x1200 and ran the first one in 5:07 which equated to 4:10 pace. For the second one I ran it the same pace but this equated to 5:02. It definitely felt harder and it was. Looking back on it I ran slightly further on the first rep as I was in the outside lane and then switched to the inside for the second rep which threw the data off. Bloody Garmins.

Finished off the with the 5x200m stride outs and a short enough cool down. 7.48K in total for the session.

Visited Mark Bermingham for a rub down as well and no major niggles or anything at the moment.

Wednesday 31st July

Rest day on the plan and that's exactly what it was.

Thursday 1st August - Tempo Run

Just under a mile warm up followed by a few stretches and I headed off with Rosemary for 3 miles at half marathon pace which is roughly a lap and a half of the college circuit. The average pace for these was 7:34 min miles but we both agreed we had struggled and there was no way we could tag on another 10 miles at the same pace the way we felt (this was the pace we had run in Bohermeen in March).

Finished off with a lap cool down to bring up 5.85 miles for the night.

Friday 2nd August

The plan called for 4 miles easy but I felt a rest day to try and get some life into the legs might be better. I always seem to run better when the legs are relatively fresh for a race. I did manage 18 holes of golf though ;-)

Saturday 3rd August

Rest Day. No point in overdoing it is there? Picked up number and a quick look around the expo in The Burlington Hotel.

Sunday 4th August

3.21 miles @ 8:28 pace. This consisted of around 20 minutes easy followed by 4x100m strides and a short cool down. Was having to hold back a bit to keep the pace down which is a good sign I suppose.

Monday 5th August - Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon

13.16 miles in 1:37:52 (chip time)
Avg Pace: 7:26 min per mile

Having what felt like a bad race a couple of weeks beforehand in the Fingal 10K I was determined to try and enjoy this one and hopefully run a time similar to the Bohermeen 1/2 in March if possible. Gary had advised us on the Tuesday night of the importance of getting the pace right for the first 4 miles and having looked at the profile of the course this would be especially important for this race. After an early start I took my place at the front of Coral 2 with Rosemary both looking anxious as to what lay ahead.

Miles 1-4 (7:30, 7:35, 7:51, 7:35)

We had agreed with the 2 mile steady rise up through the park that we would try to have out average pace somewhere between 7:35 & 7:40 after 4 miles but no quicker. This worked out a treat as we held it back nicely for the first mile and didn't get caught up in the mad dash. This brought us down past Christchurch Cathedral and onto the quays heading towards the park. As we crossed the Liffey and headed in the main gates there was a nasty little climb which the legs definitely felt. The pace was starting to creep up but we didn't panic and just kept running at what we thought was the right effort. The drag up Chesterfield avenue went on but I noticed the pace had settled down as we reached the top of it and swung onto the back roads of the park.

Miles 5-8 (7:24, 7:16, 7:24, 7:28)

Our hope for these miles was that with a few nice downhills the pace would start to come down and that is what it did. We were running within ourselves and the pace was dropping which was exactly what we wanted. We exited the park after around 7.25 miles and the pace was down to 7:30 average. As we headed up towards Chapelizod along the outside of the park I was just thinking of trying to hold this pace or close to it for as long as possible taking each mile at a time. Legs seemed to be feeling pretty ok but again not sure how things would play out.

Miles 9-13.1 (7:26, 7:41, 7:12, 7:15, 7:13, 6:43)

The average pace had now dropped below 1:30 as we headed out of Chapelizod after 9 miles. Then came that nasty incline under the N4 flyover and again there was no panic just got up it at the right effort and settled back into steady effort afterwards. I knew this part of the route from Dublin Marathon and I seemed to remember there was a nice run down towards Kilmainham. I also noticed somewhere around here that Rosemary wasn't beside me or on my shoulder after the recent water stop. I had a couple of quick glances behind but there was no sign of her. When the next mile beeped at 7:12 I got a bit of a shock. I wasn't expecting that and wondered if would I pay for it. The only thing for now was to dig in for the last couple of miles. I got a nice shout from Colin Costello around here as well which gave me a boost. While my legs were getting heavier and every incline was hurting more as I headed up the South Circular road I was just intent on passing as many as I could and thankfully the pace was holding up. I felt like I was slowing but I was in fact running at 10K pace. I knew if I held it together for the last mile and a bit I should have a PB. There was a few twists and turns in the last mile which was tough as you kept expecting to see the finish line and there was another turn. Finally I turned the corner and Maurice Hackett & Kids were there to lend support. I tried to acknowledge them and then spotted the clock ticking up towards 1:38. I reckoned allowing for a few seconds delay crossing the line at the start if I put the boot down I could get in 1:38. Gave it what I had which was not much at this stage but was delighted to finish in 1:37:52 a PB of 94 seconds on Bohermeen.

This was the first race I had seen people holding sick bags at the finish and I nearly availed of one. I turned around to look for Rosemary and saw her powering to the finish. I looked at the clock and knew she was well inside her PB as well which was great. As we slowly but surely met up with the rest of the gang it was turning out to be PB central for everyone with some great improvements.

Even Gary O'Hanlon our coach ran a PB finishing in 3rd place. A sure case of practising what you preach...

I'm still in a bit of shock as I write this as to how well the race went. If only all races were like this.

Tuesday 6th August

4 miles @ 9:38 pace

Knowing I was going to be missing training this evening to have a filling and a tooth out I headed out this morning for a very easy 4 miles. Legs were feeling a lot better than expected. Maybe the DOMS are waiting to kick in still.