Heavy legs

Week beginning 26^th June,

A good running week diminished somewhat by a poor half marathon in Waterford on Saturday. I ran 8 mls on Tuesday at 5 am with a 5 mile tempo insert. The pace was down on previous efforts but still a good effort when you consider the heat that morning (18 degrees) and a few baby led trips into Mallow- 7.10 pace with splits coming in at 7.15, 7.13, 7.13,7.09 and 7.00. I was happy enough with the effort but I was feeling somewhat crappy the rest of the day and I didn’t sleep a wink that night getting up at 5am next day to get the run out of the way.. I jogged 7 miles in a hour but the legs were heavy enough. I had a busy day with Iseult that day and headed to Cork city that night with Aoiffe to see Elbow play in the Marquee. A excellent gig but I was standing for 2 hours that night before I was up again at 6 am in order to get organised to bring Iseult up to Cork City  to see Nana. I ran 8 miles at a good solid pace (8 mins) up in the city but curiously enough I struggled at the hill by the Montenotte hotel before motoring on. Then it was home again that evening before another early start on Friday morning before driving down to Waterford on Friday night.

Writing this now it was obvious I was shattered from lack of rest and decent sleep. Even heading down Friday night to the hotel I knew if I didn’t take it handy I would suffer on the Saturday. I wasn’t sleeping a lot that week having had appointments of one kind or another every day. I was - simply put – shagged.

I planned to run rather than race the Waterford half marathon. I was thinking to come in around 1.40-1.42 pace but there was little enthusiasm in my legs or head for it. I capitulated by mile 7 walking up the Mount Cosgrave hill and then walked / ran at various points around the course. I was miserable for most of it and eventually was glad to come in at 1.47.17. To be honest I was glad to get back home and stay off the roads for a few days. Sunday morning my resting heart rate was 55 beats , always a bad sign as it is normally 50 beats or under. Cue further rest days. 3 weeks ago I was able to run a half marathon in under 1.36 on a tougher course.

We will take it handy for a while.

A frustrating end to what has been a frustrating few weeks. The quality of training has been mixed.

Week ending 25^th June, 40 miles

S.A.H.D.T (Stay at home Dad thing)

Week beginning 19^th June

New job for the summer. Stay at home Dad.

 Aoiffe is back in work and as I am off for the summer, it’s my job to pick up the reins and be daddy day care. I have only been at it 2 weeks and I think I am getting the hang of it, Iseult is patient enough with me anyway. I tell you thing though if more men did the whole say at home Dad thing (S.A.H.D.T) I reckon the world’s population would half in a hundred years, so slow would the rush be to have kids. Even the simple notions of getting to the shops to get a bottle or bread is like a planned military expedition never mind making the journey to see public health nurses, physio’s, chemist’s, Nana, Granny and so on. I have had to postpone a number of social outings (baby free) with friends as I am wrecked.  Iseult is a pet though, she still has a few hurdles to surmount but she’s getting there.

The day itself is pretty regimented. Iseult wakes at 7.15 am, breakfast, change clothes, tummytime, nap, snack, play time, buggy time, nap, lunch, playtime, nap, snack, reading time and bed time 12 hours later. That doesn’t include the prepping of dinners, breakfast, lunches, changing nappies, changing bins, making dinner for myself and Aoiffe, errands around town, cleaning the house etc. The days of vegging on the couch watching boxsets is gone for a long time. Ok ok I know women have been doing the baby thing  for thousands of year but it’s a hard job. On top of that you are always wondering , am I doing this right? Iseult as I say is a very tolerant baby. Hopefully she will continue to offer me plenty of smiles.

So how does running fit into all this? The answer is that at the moment the routine is a bit all over the place. I am logging 40 miles a week and I try to get the running done early in the morning rather than leaving it too late. That has meant a couple of 5 am rises during the week and also a couple of skipped  workouts due to appointments for Iseult but hopefully once Aoiffe settles into a more regular work routine I can plan a more sensible  schedule. I also started  joining Mallow ac for the long runs on the Sunday (15.7 miles last Sunday), there was only so much running solo around Charleville I could take. The club sessions on a Tuesday have taken a hit though caught between Iseult duties and early AM scheduled workouts. One such workout was this morning was a 8 mile run with a 5 mile tempo at 7.10 pace.  I was up at 5 am in order to avoid the heat and also because I knew I wouldnt get down to the club in time tonight. That’s a shame as I do enjoy running with the club in Mallow. I do try to support the club sessions by doing the Doneraile workouts on a Saturday and now the Sunday long runs.

My personal form since last Wednesday has been poor enough. Donating a pint of blood really saps the legs for a while and is especially noticeable on the hills,. Last Friday evening was a case in point where I struggled to run 8 miles at what should have been a manageable 7.40 pace and again on the hill repeats session on the Saturday in Doneraile. Outside of all that I can see that despite what ever extra speedwork or new sessions I do the pace isn't improving a lot, perhaps it's a case of enjoying it for what it is,

Hopefully the legs will start picking up now again this week. In terms of schedules I am sticking as much as possible to the old Pftzinger 18 week/55 mile plan, it generally works for me. As to what “works out” will actually mean in terms of hours:minutes:seconds, time will tell……

Mileage for week ended June 11^th and June 18th– 40 miles each. Long runs 13 miles and 15.7 miles.

Cork city half marathon 2017

Week ending 4^th June

Well actually it’s the bank holiday Monday and I jogged 4 easy miles this morning but the big run of the week was on Sunday – the Cork city half marathon. The week leading up to was ok recovery run on Monday (4 miles) , tough hill session in Doneraile with Eamonn and Helena ( 8miles), too busy with correcting to do anything on Wednesday or Thursday and 9 miles at a laboured pace (7.57) on Friday. Jogged a few easy miles Saturday and then down to Cork city on Sunday.

I was hopeful of getting at least a course PB (under1.36.05 in 2012) and I felt confident of getting a PB (under 1.34.15 limerick 2013) but as is the way these days I had to make do with a course PB coming in at 1.35.43. This was my first half marathon in over 12 months and I suppose if nothing else it serves as a starting off point (my wife’s words) for the next few months. Either way it’s definitely a improvement on last years DNF effort.

Looking at the splits I was cooked myself in the first few miles. Mile one was my fastest mile of the lot (6.51) which probably was a bit thick but by mile 8 I was running at a good solid 7.10 pace. My splits were up and down 7.07 – 7.17 -7.27 -7.10 but that was probably due to the nature of the course. Flat as far as mile 4 and then a series of ups and downs until a hell of a climb from mile 8 to 9 and a gradual drop down to mile 10 before a flat 3 miles towards the finish. The course was tough in parts (Tory Top road and Farranlea park) but it is a exciting race what with the marathon runners, relay runners and the good sprinkling of locals out along the course.  I never felt wrecked or tired at any stage along the race but the legs just weren’t able to push any harder than I hoped. That was probably the disappointing aspect of my run where I thought I was doing well at mile 11 and mile 12 the splits would say other otherwise – 7.27 and 7.28.  The finish up North Main Street was a excellent idea and as always the finishing straight up Pana was a great buzz. My good friend Aidan McGee had a very good marathon coming in comfortably at 3.29.11, he didn’t look in the least bit troubled post race as we chatted over a bit of food in Perry Street Café. I would have been panned out - he probably didn't run hard enough ;-)

I headed home afterwards a bit tired out and having to drink plenty of water for the rest of the evening - I was a bit dehydrated. As I say a solid effort but not exactly progressive either. It is what it is and let’s be honest in light of what happened in London and Manchester and Kabul it ain’t worth a breath….

Miles for the week

Monday 4 miles, Tuesday 8 miles, Friday 9 miles, Saturday 2 miles, Sunday 13 miles.

36 miles