Dromcolloger 4 mile 2026

 On Sunday I ran 8 miles with a plan to run the 1st mile as a warm up with the last 7 miles at faster than sub 9 minute pace. Weather this is a half marathon pace or a marathon pace remains to be seen. I was doing pretty much well up until mile 8 where I started to crease up but the workout was good with the last 7 miles completed at 8.45 pace or so. All good. 22 miles for the week

On Monday I ran a race in Dromcolloger, 4 miles. I last ran this probably in 2015 but the route and set up had not changed. All low ley and familiar. As usual a very small turn out probably less than 150 bodies. The Garmin didn't pick up the GPS until 3 to 4 minutes into the race so the splits were all over the place. I came in at 3.73 miles on my Garmin and I ran the 0.27 myself afterwards just to be sure. I also ran a mile warm up beforehand. Assuming the race was marked correctly (and I assume it was) my official time was 32.33. A decent enough effort considering the way things are now. It will take a while for the race legs to get working.

Wednesday was a 3 mile recovery jog with 6 x 30 sec strides 

feeling my way around this thing

 I have pretty much left all my previous running times, PB's, behind me at this stage and have seen this as a opportunity  to restart my running. I know obviously I can't run they way I used to even 5 years ago never mind 14 years ago. That's only normal and it's foolish to expect that I will. What I do know is that I can do is run 4 times a week at the moment.  

5 days a week is beyond me so currently it is long run Sunday. Monday 3 mile walk with some core work. Tuesday 30 minute recovery run with strides and squats and lunges and stretches. Wednesday a 45 - 50 minutes medium pace run. Thursday should also be a run but I can't manage it. I am more glad to rest up. Friday a hill run or a speed session (20 minutes max on the speed with 45 minutes in total ). Saturday is a rest day and some small core work. Sunday back to the long run. That will be the plan until mid August. Hopefully I can maintain the frequency and hopefully increase the duration and speed. Ideally get a 5th run in there too. 

Sunday was a 10 mile run. 6 mls out and 4 back on the back run to Ballyhea- a hilly section. I don't think I will be running with a group anytime soon. Why ? I don't know. I am probably just a bit slow for it or maybe jaded from the old thing?

I do know in August I will have to start running the long runs in a different route and area though.

Monday was a rest day, a 3 mile walk and a core session. I will have to do better on those. Tuesday was a excellent recovery run. I felt very fresh throwing in a good 6 x 30 seconds stride session. I will get back to those in the future. Wednesday a strong 5.2 mile (50 minute run) at 8.42 pace. This is a big improvement on mid April where these runs were around 9.05 pace. Thursday no drive to go running at all. I do seem to find it hard to get the old style 4 runs in a row in a midweek  complete. But as I say finding my way around this thing. I will take 4 days a week at the moment. Ideally hit a consistent 25 miles a week for the next 6 weeks

A shock is a good jumpstart

 I tried a new elements to my running this week. Monday I started redoing the core work. I am very lucky to have a gym in the basement of the house. It's terribly underused by mine but Aoiffe makes good use of it. Anyway down I went on Monday morning creating a programme on chat GPT. 

To be honest it was hard work and I gave my hamstring a bit of a tweak. I didn't make it any easier by running a too fast run on Tuesday. It should have been a recovery run but I ended up running 4.4 miles rather than a 3 mile slow effort. I paid for this on Wednesday as the back of the legs were very tight. I instead walked it out in the morning heading up to Cork to see how my students got in the Leaving Certificate. Thursday was a lot better running 55 mins (6.2 miles) around the hillier parts of the town. Iam trying to run everything by time.

Friday was a attempt at speedwork. I haven't attempted speedwork in around 3 years and it was very laboured. The workout was 10 minutes warm up, 5 mins with 2 mins recovery repeated 4 times, 10 mins cooldown. It was around 4.9 mins in total. The speed session was at 8.30 mile pace. Not great I suppose but it's more about getting out and doing it. Hopefully I might see a improvement by October .

Monday Core, Tuesday 4.4 miles, Thursday 6.2 miles, Friday 4.9 miles

Hopefully...

 Hopefully.... I will keep the running going with a possible view to October 25th.

Hopefully ..... I will get good workouts complete. Recovery run. Medium run. Speed session. Long run.

Hopefully..... I will get some core work in there too.

Hopefully ... I will avoid injury and keep the body and mind fresh over the next 21 weeks.

This week 20 miles. A good solid base. Recovery run 30 mins on Tuesday. Medium run 36 mins - legs were like lead. Obviously a legacy from the half marathon the previous Saturday. Friday - speedwork - 11 mins warm up (9 minutes pace), 20 mins with a bit more effort (8.36 average pace), 15 mins slower (9.15 pace). Saturday nothing. Sunday 8 miles at 9.15 pace. The HR was 147. 75 minutes on the feet. Happy to leave it at that.

Hopefully...I will push on. 

Hello Stranger

 Decided to reactivate the blog for a few months. I know it is only for my own benefit but as I hope to complete my first marathon in 3 years (Dublin 2026) and to mark how I have changed as a runner (53 years in September) I thought blogging might be useful. In terms of training goals they have not changed much at all - get the training done, navigate the obstacles, celebrate the successes and get to the start line. After that we will see where to go.

Mileage wise I can only manage 20 a week with 3/4 midweek runs and a base long run of 8 -10 miles. Speedwork and speed is not existent and the routes lack variety. Obviously I will have to shake that up a bit in the next 21 weeks. Weightwise I am 92kg. 

Performance wise I have run 1.56.45 in the Limerick half this year. In Cork in the half things were a bit tougher, 2.01.35. This was my 41st half marathon my first time going over 2 hours. This is where I am. Can I get better? Can I improve for DCM and improve enough to a) get the training done? b) get to the start line c) get fitter and d) finish DCM.

We will see..The focus is better but it is early days yet. 

Peak Summer

 I nearly forgot I had a blog. No desire to talk about running the last 6 months as not a lot happened. Anyways today is the 1st of August as ever the Dublin marathon is the key race to face into into 12 weeks time. If I get to the start line it will be my 3rd DCM in a row and my 7th overall. First one was 2010, then 2011, 2012, 2017, (virtual 2020), 2022 and 2023. 

So where do I stand?

51 years old in September. 18 official marathons completed plus a couple unofficial efforts. I want to get to 20 marathons preferably this year. I dropped out of Donadea 50k in 2022 (Covid) and Clonakilty 2023 (injured ankle) and my failure to make the start line in Manchester 2018, DCM 2018, DCM 2020 and Connemara 2019 still bothers me.

My resting heart rate was at it's lowest in 2017 (under 40) . These days its around 52.  My ability to do high mileage has declined (from a peak of 70 miles to now 35miles).  I am a lot more heavier and lacking  the mental and physical sharpness of the past. All I can do is work with what I have..

So .... here's the plan. Get to the start line of DCM having completed at least 2 x 20 milers. Maybe peak at 45 miles in terms of training, ideally a few times. Race a couple of half marathons. Maybe a few runs in the hillier parts of Cork city. Maybe a few speed sessions and a midweek long run.

Ideally the last couple of weeks of training would look like this:

Monday Recovery (3mls), Tuesday (7 miles with 5mile tempo), Wednesday (10 miles hilly), Thursday 5- 7 miles easy paced, Friday Rest, Saturday 20- 22 miles 

Then in the actual marathon itself - finish and get under 4hrs 10 mins. Dreamtime sub 4 hours.

Currently I'm around 92 kgs. Ran 3 miles Monday, 6 miles Tuesday, 6 miles Wednesday hilly, Thursday 3.2 mile walk.

We will see how it goes. If it doesn't happen time to draw a line under it.

Spring springs to mind

 First post of the New Year. Setting my targets for the year. My number 1 target is to stay healthy and well. That isn't just about running it's far more involved than that but the running helps. From a physical point of view I have targeted getting the weight down. It has always been a constant battle, more so as one hits the 50 years mark and also I am not capable of hitting the 60 - 70 miles a week of yore. I know even in the midst of peak marathon training I am at most ever going to hit 45 -48 miles a week so obviously I now need to pay attention to different aspects of a successful regime. 

So far going ok. 94kgs on the 1st January. For 26/31 days I ran a minimum of 3 miles a day and up to a maximum of 10 miles on Sunday. Other days I walked 3 to 4 miles making it part of my recovery run programme. This month as expected I haven't been as consistent but the mindset is still strong. The only fly in the ointment is a virus and cold I picked up over the last few days but I am ok now. 

I threw myself on the scales on 10th February and clocked in at 89.5 kg. Still on the heavy side for successful or satisfactory running but a good loss nevertheless. I still haven't looked at the vitamin side of things and the strength training but I will be looking into it now. I do get dogged down by colds and flus on a regular basis.

In terms of running I am adopting a gradual approach. The big target is of course the Dublin marathon in October (get to the start line fitter and stronger than previous years, bag a sub 4 marathon). That's about 36 weeks away so I hope to reach some intermediate targets between now and Easter (stage 1), Easter and June weekend (stage 2). Marathon training between June and August (stage 3) with the serious training kicking in as ever in September and October (stage 4). After that I hope to enter a few short and medium distance races resting up over Christmas.

At least that's the plan it could all go pear shaped too. That happens to the best of us. At least the ankle and groin have been behaving itself.

It has been 14 years since I ran my first race the Ballycotton 10. 2010 - 2017 I ran some very personally satisfying races. While I never stopped running the years 2018 and 2019 saw me declining rapidly. 2020 -2023 saw a comeback of sorts but with 2 big disappointments (DNF at Donadea and Clonakilty) and a general acceptance that my speed and endurance has slipped. Maybe 2024 might see a upturn in a more positive way.

Last Sunday I jogged happily around Dungarvan coming in a 1hr23mins. That's a start.