Healing, Berlin and new priorities

Rather than dwelling what has been in running terms a nightmare 6 months lets focus on where I am now. I started out in October doing 3 light jogs a week, around 20-25 minutes a time, all around Charleville at a slow snail pace of around 9,20 a mile. I had to take a break for the last week busy on a personal front and then picked up a chest infection which lead me to take a few days off work. Today (Sunday) was a surprisingly good day knocking off a easy 6 mile at 9 minute pace. Hope fully I can can get 3 X 1 hour jogs at a steady pace by the New Year. Then I can think about speedwork after that and then about races in February onwards. The ankle is better without doubt but i have to be a lot better at being rigorous about doing my physio. The arm is better too but not 100% and it may never be

In terms of long term plans (even though these days I am scared to think too far ahead) for running the big news is that my entry for the Berlin marathon has been accepted. I found this out while at Accident and Emergency on Wednesday night (nothing serious all fine) so that was a definite shot in the arm. Berlin is massive news for me and a big motivator for me to get back training for a marathon. I don't know if I will ever get back even attempting to push for a PB but I will be settling a the moment to simply get to the start line fit and fresh, It is after all 9 months away.

Let's keep it simple. Running is my hobby but it ain't my priority,

More plans and updates

12^th July

I was on the whole pretty happy with my plan a few weeks ago to walk 1 hour every day. I was walking 3.75 miles a hour, around 16 minute pace. It was going well that is until the Saturday when the ankle starting swelling up again so back to the R.I.C.E thing for the last few weeks, limiting the walking to 30 minutes a day. I did get a appointment for the fracture clinic in the CUH for next Thursday week so hopefully the healing process on the arm will have shown to have gone well. I think it is going well as it is, mobility is much improved, able to lift my arm above my head and side to side. It’s also able to bear some weight in that cleaning my teeth, holding a spoon or a cup of tea is fine. Anything in terms pushing a trolley, lifting a shopping bag or wielding a hammer/saw is a bit trickier .I still can’t put my hand behind my back or bring down quickly. That has it’s advantages- being able to dodge domestic duties when required though I think my dearly beloved is beginning to cotton on.

Driving is still out of the question until the clinic give me the go ahead and sleep is a fitful exercise at times. I suspect the poor sleep has much to do with the fact I am not actually doing anything during the day as anything else. I don’t think uploading 600 albums on my iPod or getting through entire box sets of House of Cards or Narco’s counts as work. I am pretty good at spending time in my company so it’s good opportunity to catch up on some reading as well.

As to when I will returning to light jogging I don’t know it depends on the doctors and physio’s opinion. However as it is nearly 5 weeks since I went running I don’t think any running will extend beyond any more than a walk/jog for quite a while.

I do indulge in dreaming up some running plans over the next 12 months but with a new arrival on the way in November (fingers crossed) it might stay a dream for a long time. At the moment I will settle for running for fitness – happy to get out 3-4 times a week, hopefully starting in early August. It does mean I will have to defer a few races I have entered – Charleville 13.1 and the Galway Bay marathon. The hunger for racing is a different thing entirely. It has been a issue since last August when on holidays in Spain I picked up a stomach bug which made me compromise on my training for Frankfurt. I did bounce back to record a decent time in the marathon in October followed again by a good spell of training in November and early December resulting in a PB in the Newmarket 5k. This in turn was followed by a tough spell at xmas and a average race in the Dungarvan 10 miler in January. February was marked by work and personal stuff taking priority and a large dose of the flu which wrecked a decent chance of doing well in the Ballycotton 10. Looking back it was obvious I was dealing with a lot on my plate. March – May were good months for running in that I was taking part running solid times but the Cork half marathon was a nightmare situation. I dropped out at mile 8 not happy with the mess at the start and having messed up my pacing. That is something I hope I will never do again. However I was building up a good head of steam in terms of racing and was hopeful of setting one or two PB’s before  the fall and break happened.

From a positive point of view it means that at least I can enjoy running from August onwards to the rest of the year without worrying about races. Build up my base, add some speed and hopefully by xmas be in a position to decide what to do next. I will probably watch McGee at a few races and hopefully catch up with my Mallow clubmates as well. Aoiffe said saw no reason why I still can’t train and run  marathon’s for the foreseeable future.  That’s great support from the people who counts. We will see how it goes.

A break rather than a tear.

Week ending 26^th June

Blimey the last entry was very gloomy. That said I haven’t made my mind up about what the situation is regard to running, weather I will get back into racing at all. For purposes of fitness I would be disappointed not to get back running by August but training for races I don’t know.

I had a MRI on Wednesday (200 smackaroos) and to my surprise it wasn’t a muscle tear I have suffered at all but a fracture of the upper arm (proximal humerous). This was much better news as it shouldn’t mean any surgery but a simple case of letting nature take it’s time and keeping it a sling. It means I should be driving by August and while physio can take up to 4 months it’s a case of easy as it goes rather than anything too involved.

 A muscle tear would have required surgery and lots of post operation recovery. The left foot ankle feels much better. I am doing my exercise and trying to a bit of walking every morning , usually 45mins to a hour. Walking bores the shit out of me so it was a handy excuse to buy that i Pod I always wanted. I’m currently uploading 600 CD’s as I speak. A nice project. It keeps me out of trouble. Sleeping is a big problem. I  can't put weight on my shoulder or arm when in bed and i have to pretty much sleep sitting up propping my back up with pillows. It usually means I can only get 6 hours of sleep a night. That said I catch up with naps during the day. The ankle is still rather swollen and while the x rays showed up no breaks it does concern me somewhat. That said walking isn't a issue

Bar the arm issue the summer is going well so far. Teachers (unpaid) holidays,plenty of books to read, football on the box, (Ireland just lost to France but at least did so with pride), garden is coming along well as is my lovely wife. Having some good social meet up with friends is nice too. No summer holidays this year but on the whole things are ok. Everyone I know and love is in good health.

The thrill is gone. Injury update.

Week ending 19^th June

Any future running plans are to be put on hold indefinitely for a long time to come as a result of my fall on the 9^th June. I wrote in my last entry I entered the Galway Bay marathon  (a couple of days before I fell).I thought, after the X-Rays ruled out a fracture, I only had a heavy sprain and that it would clear up in a 2 week period. Unfortunately this will not be the case. I am waiting to be called in for a MRI scan to see or confirm if I do have a rotatory cuff injury in my shoulder.This is a muscle tear that limits movement of the upper arm. Lifting, reaching out, side movement are all effected. Either way if this is the case (and it is suspected it is) recovery - be it through physical therapy or orthopedic surgery will take up to 2 – 3 months if not longer. This assumes of course I do get called for that MRI promptly. All these delays between the fall, x rays, MRI and resolution impact on recovery time and I find it all very frustrating . Viva -  the health service!!!!

 Running considerations aside , in terms of more important real life issues like mobility , driving, lifting,  being able to sleep correctly, all these at the moment have proven to be difficult (lifting and sleeping) or impossible (driving- lots of reliance on public transport). At the most I can only lift my arm to chest height, reaching any higher or over is impossible. I also won’t be able to correct the state exams for the summer, so there is a financial impact as well.

Anyway back to running. It’s hard not to consider giving up on the whole idea of taking part any more in races or marathon training. Since 2012 my times in general have either disimproved or remained stagnant. Injuries seem to have become a regular part of running to the point that it becomes expensive or foolish to continue. You have to wonder about continuing in a sport/ hobby that actually takes a toll on your physical well being and ends up costing a small fortune in recovery. All of these makes even less sense when you realise I am at best a mid pack runner. Even in terms of PB’s I haven’t PB’ed a marathon since 2012, a 10k since 2012, a 4 mile ,5 mile or a half marathon since 2013 or a 10 mile race since 2014.

Even on the club scene it’s frightening the amount of people who are getting constantly injured and while many of these injuries are hardly serious they do seem to be very common (PF, slipped kneecap’s, twisted ankle, I.T band and so on). 

I even know of club runners who have dislocated shoulders or under gone major surgery to repair damaged bones or tissue (hip replacements and knee replacements) and have had to take time off work as a result simply because of running. There seems to be too much of a casual acceptance to injury on the club scene for me at the moment to make it attractive any more.

It also seems to follow that once a cycle of injuries start it seems to be a regular issue for participants. In my case I have had at least one injury issue or bodily stress issue every year since 2010 – all running related. This time is probably the most serious as I seemed to trip and fall for no reason, it wasn’t as if there was a outside factor that caused it. My leg just gave way and down I went. It could have happened to me at any time and while it could happen to anyone even non runners  it was a shock. Even the staff in Mallow general said these days the amount of cyclists with broken collarbones and runners with tissue damage or fractures is way on the increase.

A gloomy entry I accept but it’s the way I see it. Once we get things sorted here with the shoulder maybe things will look better in a few months but I can’t see myself hitting the roads for a long time yet.

the harder they fall

10th June.

I had originally targeted the Cork city half marathon as a goal race to end off what was a decent training block which started with the 4 mile Boherbue race. The plan was then to focus on a possible marathon in August or October. I had run a good race in the Killarney half marathon and a solid time in the Ballindreen 5 mile in May (34.32) so I was hopeful. However things were a bit of a disaster on a number of fronts. Runners were misdirected at the very start of the race and ending up running a half mile extra before they reached the first official mile marker. This meant there was no chance of anyone getting a proper PB. I ended up running the first 3 miles at what was in effect too fast a pace and by mile 7 I was beginning to wilt. It was very hot but my mindset was all over the place knowing I wouldn't get any where near a PB or a course best. I decided to pull the plug before the official 8 mile marker(8.7 miles on my watch) deciding there was little point in wearing myself out running a 13.5 mile plus race. My buddy Aidan and my Mallow clubmates all finished the race in what was a hopelessly organised event. I don't know if I will be back doing next year. It was my own decision to drop out though and I should have adopted a more sensible pacing strategy. Having run close to 20 half marathons and DNF'ed 2 I think I made the correct decision. I won't be dropping out of races  again though unless I am injured or sick.

Tuesday I ran 4.5 miles at a slow 9 minute pace with a HR reading of 135 and I was happy with that.

Thursday was a hell of a day. 4 miles into a routine 8 mile run I took a tumble near Harrison's place and landed heavily on my shoulder. I got a bit of a shock and I had a terrible time getting back to my house. I feared I dislocated my shoulder and broke a bone in my ankle (it was quite swollen), Thnakfully the local park keeper spotted my distress and dropped me back home lecturing me on the dangers of running !!!!!

 Thankfuly the ankle was only swollen and the shoulder while sore , battered and bruised wasn't broken or dislocated. This was confirmed by the good people at Mallow general hospital in the disgracefully downgraded A and E department , now called the local injury unit. I can't drive a car for at least a week and general mobility is at 50 %, Running is out of the question for a similar period of time, maybe longer. As the pictures show the grazing is light enough but the ankle is swollen.

I did enter the Galway Bay marathon set to be held on the 1st October, That will be the focus of my training when I do get back running.The course consists of 4 X 10km loops plus 2.2 km. To be honest I don't know whether it will be a well organised low key event or a badly organised one. Time will tell, lets get the training done first.

Race update

Week ending 15^th May

I have been averaging around 35 miles – 40 miles a week. It’s reasonable mileage and I have been trying to run one race a week. No PB’s set in any of them but they weren’t all that bad time wise either. Essentially they were all in the average range. I am probably one of the slower runners in the club now whereas once I was a solid midpack runner. The standard is getting better all the time.

Ballintotis 4 mile in 27.20, Carrigtwohill 4 mile in 27.23, Cobh 10 mile (very tough – went out too fast) 1.14.04,

Midleton 5 mile in 34.28, Killarney Lakes half marathon 1.35.58. See photo below and my rather odd running stride.

I have also been putting in a bit of speedwork on Tuesdays (8 x 2 mins and 5 x 1 miles at 6.45 pace) with the usual long run on Sunday and when possible throwing in a few marathon pace runs or hill runs up in Cork. I haven’t run many club sessions apart from the Doneraile hill sessions. Just too busy with work and looking after family members.

At this stage my aims over the summer are to stay injury free, get around 40 miles a week in, get a good race in once a week and hopefully one of two PB’s. In terms of marathons I won’t be running either Frankfurt or the Dublin marathon or any marathon at all for probably a long time. Longford might be a option in August. Impending parenthood has a (nice) habit of changing my plans..

2 week snap

Week ending 24^th April

I ran around 32 miles this week and 33 miles the week before. Not high mileage at all but good workouts. Mondays consisted of a 2 mile walk each time with my wife. I normally prefer a 40 mile easy jog but I enjoy the chat with Aoiffe and it has pretty much the same impact. Tuesday last week was 7 miles, maybe 8 miles with 2 X 15 minute inserts in the middle. I covered over 2.2 miles each time at around 7.08 – 7.10 pace and on Wednesday after a long drive up and down to Tralee with my mum (she got the knee done) I did around 6 miles in Mayfield. Hopefully I get up there a bit more in the next few months. Thursday was another MP run of around 7 miles at 7.45 pace. I kept the pace controlled and the Hr was at 155. No run on Friday and I had to forego the Doneraile hill session with the club running 10.5 miles in Charleville early in the morning. Sunday morning was another early start heading to the Fota flower show for the day. A good week but far from hard core either.

This week was more of the same. 2 mile walk with Aoiffe. 7 miles on Tuesday with 8 x 2 minutes at 6.35 average pace. Wednesday a very tired 7 miles at 8.30 pace and a 4 mile race in Ballintotis. I haven’t run here in 3 years. I Pb’ed at the time 27 minutes according to the clock but in reality 26mins 57 seconds according to my garmin. This time I ran a pretty solid time. I didn’t wear a garmin for this one but lost around 10 seconds at mile 3 and another 10 at mile 4. Again far from the finished deal but I was happy enough with the time of 27mins22seconds (chipe timing helps). Clive and Paudie had cracking races. No running as usual Friday and slept out Saturday morning and was basically lazy for the day. I ran 12 miles this morning at 6.30 am at 8.30 pace. Hr was 148 spending the rest of the day watching the London marathon.

As I say a good two weeks but plenty plenty to work on.

Called off due to rain.

Week ended 10^th April

I didn’t run Wednesday. That is a deliberate policy as I am currently simply trying to go out running when I feel rested and fit as distinct from feeling the need to put myself under pressure and go running 6/7 days a week. On average I am running 4 days a week at most. Thursday effort was to be a marathon pace effort. I was planning to run 7 miles at a 7.55 pace but when I looked down at the watch at mile 6 I was surprised to see I was running at around 7.35 average pace. I hadn’t expected that so I decided to dial the pace back a bit for the last mile. The HR was reasonable enough – 158 – for a marathon pace effort but I may want to keep a tighter rein on the pace next time.

My next run was on Saturday morning with the club in Doneraile park. The plan was 2 mile warm up , 6 X 1km and 3 mile cooldown. I wasn’t completely focused and I was feeling a bit heavy legged if truth be known. I was well down the back of the group for the repeats – around 7.58 mile pace. The rest of the club members were flying it and I tried to be philosophical about it. Running is as a honest a sport as it gets, you get out what you put in.

The plan on Sunday was the 10 mile race in Cobh. I had intended to run it at around 7.20 pace feeling strong and controlled. It’s a tough course and I hadn’t had enough done yet to challenge myself to do anything faster. What was even tougher on the way down however was the weather. It was bucketing down, it was cold and the temperatures were very low. In other words ideal weather for catching up with boxsets certainly not for running. By the time I reached Belvelly bridge the waves were lapping over the bridge and onto the road. It looked pretty spectacular and a lot of cars were turning back home. I drove to the finish line and some stewards were packing away barriers and traffic cones so it was obvious it was going to be called off. That announcement was texted to me later.

The morning wasn’t without it’s compensations. I popped into my mum’s home on the way back and got well fed so happy days !!!!

I didn’t even bother trying to venture out the rest of the evening. It does mean however that I haven’t run 10 miles or more in around 3 weeks so that will have to be remedied.

By the way congrats to club stalwart Paudie Birmingham who ran sub 3 in the Rotterdam marathon to day. A great achievement and well deserved..

Monday 40 minute walk, Tuesday 6 miles with 4 X 1 repeats at 6.52 average pace, Thursday 7 miles at 7.37 pace, Saturday 8 miles with 6 X 1 km repeats. Total 23 miles

2 races in 1 week

Tuesday 5^th April.

I drafted this update a while back but only found the time now to finish it off. Last week saw me enter two races in a week – a 4 mile race in Boherbue/Kiskeam and  a 10k race in Cork City. In between I jogged 7 miles on Tuesday, 6 slog miles on Thursday and 6 miles in Doneraile park with the club (3 sets of 4 sprints , -25 -30 -35 -40 secs).

The first race is one of the oldest in Cork county and while it was a bit pricey (15 euro) I enjoyed the drive from Charleville and meeting up with clubmates. The first mile was a rapid downhill. I tried to hold back but it was difficult. The next two miles were quite hilly with a nice finish in the last mile into Kiskeam. My first mile was around 6.35 but I was finding it hard to get the legs moving after that, finishing in 28minutes05seconds. Still though it was nice to get out there and race. The legs felt surprisingly fresh the next day with the HR reaching a decent level of 145 at a pace of 8min15seconds per mile. I took the now customary day off on Wednesday but felt a bit blah on Thursday struggling to get the 6 easy miles up on my legs. Saturday was a series of hill sprints with the club in Doneraile park. I am beginning to warm to these sessions so hopefully I can stick with them. Truth be told I wasn’t very good on the sprints but road running isn’t about sprints more about mile by mile endurance. Nevertheless it was a good workout.

Sunday was the morning of the classic 10 k race in UCC. It takes in a tough but fair route along the Mardyke, the Waterworks, Anglers Rest and back up the straight road finishing in the Lee Fields. The tough part of the course is a long drag and a hill by mile 1.5 to 2.5 but the finish is a good one. I had planned to run around 7.15 pace and get in under 45 minutes, not a fast pace but I wanted to run under my Lactic Threshold. The plan was not to race all out rather at a controlled fast/comfortable pace. I was doing well enough up to mile 3 but started to struggle a bit after that losing 3 to 4 seconds on each mile after that. By mile 6 I was a bit battered and glad to get the whole exercise over with in 45minutes08seconds clock time. I timed it from when I crossed the line coming in at 45seconds02seconds. No matter though, it was tough but enjoyable. I felt recovered enough to tack on a mile cooldown for a good workout. (30 miles for the week)

Monday consisted of a easy 40 minute walk with Aoiffe.  I would have gladly gone for a jog instead but it was nice to talk and chat through our respective days. Tuesday I trundled down to the railway road starting with a  1 mile warm up with 4 X 1 mile repeats and 1 mile cooldown. Mile one 6.40, Mile 2 6.50, Mile 3 6.40 and Mile 4 7 mins. It obviously time to go home after the last mile repeat. I felt surprisingly energized for the rest of the evening.

Doneraile hills

Week ending 27^th March,

It was another positive running week in that I managed to get a decent few miles up on the belt. It was the enthusiasm that I felt for running that I was most happy with. Nevertheless I did take 2 rest days during the week as on Wednesday I was feeling a bit tired, a kind of underlying terseness that I traditionally associated with marathon training and which I generally ignored. However this time I took the rest day on Wednesday and today with good grace. Thursday I ran 7.5 miles with 5 X 2 minute sprints at 6.40 average pace and plodded a easy paced long run of 11 miles at 8.20 pace on Friday.

Actually Friday’s run was probably a bit faster than it should have been and I was a bit worried that I would  suffer when running the Doneraile hills with the club on the Saturday morning. The Saturday morning Doneraile run is a long tradition of the club and is probably the most favoured workout by club members. It was my first time doing it so I was a bit nervous going along. I rarely show my face at club sessions any more so it was good to reconnect with the people there. The crowd was small (7 runners) and I was tipping away for the first 2.5 miles. By mile 5.5 the steam was coming out of my ears and the hill at the back of the park was really taking it out of me. I balked at the thought of doing that hill a third time opting for the flatter route towards the car park. Peadar Lucey looked totally chilled at what was a easy 7.30 pace for him and Pat Daly was flying it as well. Eamonn Nagle was on his second loop of the course at that stage. I covered the 6 miles at 8.10 pace but the last 3 were around the 7.50-7.55 range which isn’t bad for a novice. I have to admit though my legs felt it for the rest of the day. The Mayfield route I used to do regularly has steeper hills but the difference in Doneraile was that the pace and intent was quicker and the surface was trail rather than road. All in all I did enjoy it, it’s a fantastic amenity.

In regard to future weeks a plan is forming but I am still wary of blowing up again.

Miles for the week 37.5 miles.

Churlish

It seems a bit churlish to write about running in the light of the unfortunate car accident that saw the cancellation of the Mallow 10 last Sunday. I was running in the back end group (mile 3) when we came upon the accident by which time the stewards and emergency services were doing sterling work in aiding the injured and diverting the runners back to headquarters. My condolences to all those people affected by this terrible tragedy.

My running seems to be picking up a small bit and while I am hopeful I may have turned a corner I won’t be making any big announcements yet. I ran 6.5 miles on Tuesday at 8.03 pace and Thursday and Friday I ran 7 miles and 6.5 miles tacking on another 4 miles on Saturday. It wasn’t the pace of the run that encouraged me more the fact I was more than willing and enthusiastic to get out and go running. Yesterday I ran a faster 6.5 miles at 7.37 pace with another 6.5 miles this morning at 7.47 pace. The legs felt fresh and I found myself in the enviable position of trying to keep the pace down. The HR for this morning’s run was 155 which while high was a within perfectly acceptable limits.

Week ending 20^st March

Tuesday 6.5 miles, Thursday 6.5 miles, Friday 7 miles, Saturday 4 miles, Sunday 2 miles.

Monday 21^st March 6.5 miles, Tuesday 6.5 miles.

It was the chips..I swear!!!

Week ending the 13^th March

Flying into the New Year. I only realised last night that it was 12 months since I ran the Tralee marathon as a training run and then tacked another 13 miles on the next day. All this was in preparation for the Connemara ultra. I was eating up the miles in training and while the ultra proved tough at the end it was the training that allowed to stick it out and bounce back into the training cycle for the Frankfurt marathon. Alas at the time of writing it looks unlikely I will be running any more marathons in October. A couple of personal commitments have arisen which make it unlikely I will be chasing a PB in October. I hope it doesn’t mean a end to running but perhaps a fresh opportunity to concentrate on other races.

That however all depends on whether I get my mileage up to acceptable levels. The week just gone was a good solid running week. All these were easy relaxed paced efforts somewhere in the 8.10 to 8.20 pace range. The HR was very high on Tuesday but settled in the 150 range after that. Still high but not too alarming all the same. 3 mile walk on Monday, 6.5 miles on Tuesday, 6 miles Thursday, 6 miles Saturday and 10 miles on Sunday.

What is a problem at the moment are my eating habit’s. I am generally eating a lot of biscuits and sweets and crisps. Pretty dire so I will have to put a brake on that. Another side issue was I was carrying a stomach bug on Saturday and Sunday. I had a social engagement in Bandon on the Saturday night and while a good time was had by all I was feeling the effects of it the next day.I didn’t drink but the bag of chips I had down there did for me.

The big race of the upcoming week is the Mallow 10. If I do run it will be a relaxed enough affair again.

Fufilling a fixture - Ballycotton 10

Week ending 6^th March

I ran my 5^th Ballycotton race yesterday, 2 years since I ran my PB there in a time of 1hr09mins40secs. I didn’t run there all last year as I was preoccupied with training for the Connemara ultra. Not running there last year was a mistake and I was determined to rectify it by training well and hopefully getting a PB. However a mixture of apathy (hard to account for it) and a flu picked up in London meant that by the time I arrived on the start line I would be doing well to get around the course. I hadn’t run 10 miles in nearly 3 weeks and got a serious dose of the heaves last Tuesday attempting to jog 2 X 15 minutes at 7.45 pace. Three weeks ago I ran 10 miles with a 5 mile tempo at 7.05 pace so that showed how much I had fallen.  Aoiffe thought I was nuts making my way down to fufill a fixture but I reasoned it was a good opportunity to catch up with clubmates and also with my good buddy Aidan McGee. I also wanted another mug for my collection.

As for the race itself there wasn’t a whole lot to say. A few clubmates who would have been looking to get serious times couldn’t run on account of illness and injury but they were good enough to come down on the club coach. It was good craic on the way down.

I finished in a inglorious time of 1hr21mins57seconds. It’s probably my slowest 10 mile race ever  and while I did feel under a slight bit of pressure at mile 4 to mile 6 I was relaxed enough at the end.

As I say not a glorious running moment but I am glad I headed down. Hopefully I can kick on from here and gradually improve over the spring and into the summer. Improvements will be gradual but possible.

Monday 6 miles, Tuesday 7 miles, Sunday 10 mile race Ballycotton.

Election change

Election Day today and my first post of the new year. I haven't posted as I simply couldn't be arsed but I was doing a nice bit of running. It wasn't actually high mileage marathon running but was geared towards 10 mile races, one long run, one tempo run and 3 easy runs. The Arsenal fell out of it around 2 weeks picking up a chest cold, a flu and a large dose of not really interested anymore. Maybe it's the end of the line after all. My last race was the Dungarvan 10, a easy paced 1.13.30, my next is Ballycotton 10 which now won't be much better. As I say like the outgoing government maybe it's time to accept a change.