Musings on Athlone, Quadrophenia and being saved by a Tipp man

25^th June

Was up in Athlone. Managed to eek out 11 miles despite not knowing much about the geography of Athlone town apart from the road from the hotel to the college. Ran the last 5 miles from 8.30 pace down to 8.01 pace.  Whole thing took around 1.33.33 seconds (ish). It was nice jogging around the banks of the Shannon but the amount of post Celtic tiger ghost buildings and derelict houses was sad to see. The good people of Athlone deserve better than that. Heart rate 151

26^th June

Was up and out the door in Athlone at 7.20 am. Did 50 minutes jog with one minute walk every ten minutes. Covered around 5 miles. No HR information available.

27^th June

The schedule calls for 9 miles at aerobic pace – that is around long run pace but taking it faster than a recovery run. I tried one of these last week and blew up at mile 4. This i took it more conservatively. Just as well really as the legs were like lead all the time. Can’t remember last time I ran 8/9 miles at a decent pace. A bit worried by this. Anyway did the workout with less  than inspired zeal. 9 miles in 8.39 pace. The legs were heavy and the effort was laboured but the heart rate was low though -146HR.

28^th June

Ran 2 miles warm up at 8.45 and 7.45. This took me to the town park. Had to run 4 miles at tempo pace. I was thinking anything under 7.15 average would be ok given the fact my legs were like cement lately. Did mile 1 of tempo in 7.12. This involved 2 and a bit laps of the park. Mile 2 of tempo took me out onto Newline, past Brindle Hill, past the Council offices and onto the Cork Rd. I was feeling pretty shagged at this point and dark thoughts were forming. (What ever you do do not stop Cathal!!!!). My time was a slow 7.18. Mile 3 took me back into Charleville, past the empty Campus  garage and down the Railway road. This was a lot better and the effort felt ok – 7.04. Mile 4 went down to the end of the railway rd and back up towards town again. The last 90 seconds of the mile was pure agony but it was completed in 7.16. Again a slow time. Jogged home for the last two miles in 8.46 and 9.05 but the hard work was done in the tempo section. As tempo runs go I have done better but I still managed the section in less than 29 minutes (28.51 – 7.13 pace). Have decided to give the Shannagarry race a miss to-night. A long way to be going and I was more anxious to get the 4of 8 workout done today.

8 miles in 1.02.57 with middle 4 at 7.13 pace (max HR 164 –v high)

30^th June – Saturday morning. Was feeling wiped out when I left the house at 8.30 am. Reluctantly went to bed early last night. Quadrophenia (Phil Daniels etc) was on the box last night as was a documentary on the album of the same name before it. The Who were never a really great album’s band but they were great singles band with 4 serious musicians. By the way check out their “Live at Leeds”album. Anyway thought better of staying up to watch so Sky plus-ed it and headed to bed. Regarding the run.... Wasn’t going fast or slow for this one. Ran at a medium pace but to be fair I wasn’t really having a great time. By mile 13 it was turning into a slog effort. The heavy wind buffeting me didn’t help either. Just when I was getting a bit fed up and wondering if I should have gone out at all I bumped into local runner Paudie Birmingham.  He was trying to get back into serious shape after a year in exile in Malta and I was happy to hitch a lift ion his coattails.The chat passed the time too. Ran the last two miles under 8 minute pace and the effort seemed very manageable.It was just the lift I needed. Paudie ran a PB of 3.17 in Berlin a couple of years ago and is a powerful runner so I was delighted to chat to him (and manage to keep up with him). Suddenly having the company made a huge difference to how I was feeling. When I hit the 15 mile mark it was time for me to stop. Paudie powered up the hill to Broghill like a young pup ;-).... Felt delighted when I got home. Ran the second half a good 2 minutes faster than the first half. I also have logged a 1000 miles since January and well over 200 plus miles this month.

15 miles -2.07.57. Average pace 8.32. Heart Rate 151.

Sunday 1^st July – Slept like a log. Must have have got in 10 hours sleep. Sleep and rest are the best forms of recovery when training and I felt the benefits this morning. It was only a recovery jog but the low heart rate suggests a good nights sleep is a great aid. I also have a couple of races coming up over next few weeks. The race I have targeted is the Donoughmore 7 in a few weeks. It’s a tough race (and a excellent tempo and social workout) but I want to PB it.However my racing legs have been out of action in the last 4 weeks. The only obvious remedy for this is a few tune up races so I am not cold going into it.

4 miles recovery run – 10.11 pace – 40 mins 43 seconds – Average Hr 128 minutes.

Total Mileage for the week 52 miles.