Tuesday, 20 June 2017

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

Week beginning 19th 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 11th and June 18th– 40 miles each. Long runs 13 miles and 15.7 miles.

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