on it drags

I ran 7.5 miles at around 8 minute pace on the Thursday evening and it was pretty good. The breathing wasn't too bad but I was paying for it that night and most of Friday. The tightness in the chest wasn't too bad but i was pretty nackered by Friday. I knew realistically there was little point in resting another day and it was better to give the long run a shot and see how I got on. A case of Tokyo or bust. I decided to jog around Charleville in what is probably the  most boring long route in the history of long routes. I had planned to do a number of 6 mile loops and see could I make it up to 3 X 6 mile loops and throw in a few miles at the end.. If I had to pull the plug , at least i would only be a few miles from the house. The other advantage was that I was always in range of a water stop and there was number of hills to make it a bit testing.

Anyway Iwas feeling pretty good by mile 12 but at around 13.5 miles of two hours the legs began to buckle and the stiffness started to kick in. I stopped and stretched at mile 14 but by mile 15 the splits began to slip to over 9 minute despite the increasing effort. By mile 16 I had done enough. I was a mile from home and tried jogging it home but that proved beyond me. The sweat was running out of me (even more than normal) and I felt a bit ill. Lots of coughing and phlegm sort of thing.

I was paying the price for missing on long runs two weeks in a run and that's not something you can skip on. Chest infection or not you can't skimp on the basics of training. I have often completed marathons battling one thing or another.

I had given the training the best shot I had in me but for the 3rd time in a year I failed to get the to the start line. That is something I would have found unthinkable a number of years ago but it just isn't  there in me and no amount of rest, core work or self cajoling won't change anything until I get the head game right.

In contrast my friend Aidan ran 24 miles in training today. Now that is crazy (in a completely admirable way

I deferred to run the half marathon in Connemara instead.Let's see what happens.

Best of luck to all those involved in the Mallow 10 today.

I made a list of all the marathons I have entered but have failed to make.

Sixmilebridge 2014 (puled quad muscle, wrecked after Amsterdam 2014)

Galway Bay marathon 2016 (broken arm, twisted ankle)

Manchester 2018 (completely fed up with running post Dublin 2017, work and family issues)

Dublin marathon 2018 ( personal burn out and fed up with running)

Connemara 2019 ( appetite a lot better for running but skipped a number of long runs, chest infection)

Postscript - Dublin 2019 ( PF and ankle issues but I paid too much notice to the Physio. I should have listened to myself and got to the start line and have just completed it)

stop start and all that

the same old thing the last 18 months....no consistency....no long run on that Sunday...no chance of run on the Monday.....7.3 miles on the Tuesday....3 mile fun jog with the pupils on Wednesday and then headcold, stuffed right up...took no notice went for a 3 mile jog on Thursday....headcold got worse and that was me done for the rest of the week...plenty of Lemsip and paracetamol ......no running of any description.....cough kicked in on Patricks Day...attempted a 4 mile run on the Bank Holiday Monday....cough got worse...attempted another few miles on Wednesday morning and went to the doctor that evening for a course of antibiotics...so that's it really...3 weeks next Sunday to the marathon...will rest up for weekend and see where it stands...

going well up to a point.....

The week had gone very well. Tuesday I ran around 7.7 miles in a hour. Wednesday I did a "Mayfield" run covering around 7.5 miles in over a hour, around 8.17 pace and Thursday I covered 8 miles a hour. This was my best running in a long time and I followed it up with a 4 mile recovery run on Saturday. Everything should have been set up for a 21 mile long run on the Sunday. I had planned to meet up with Aidan up in Cork on Saturday but the journey down for Aidan from Portarlington was probably asking a bit much. I didn't fancy the journey down to Mallow as I knew a large number were racing in Newmarket later that day. That left me with the solo option in Charleville and to be honest I didn't fancy it.....

So there you are....