down the line

To be fair in the last few weeks  the long runs were going reasonably well  - 11 mls with Mallow, 12 mls solo, 13 miles with Mallow last week. Nevertheless heading down to Mallow yesterday morning I felt I probably might have benefited from a shorter run this time rather than a 14 mile effort. During the week I ran a 5 mile easy effort on Tuesday and a faster 6 mile effort on Wednesday (7.57 pace) but managed nothing on Thursday. I was very tired and quite cranky with it all the week. It was obvious to me I was on the tired side of things and needed to pull back for the week. I took a rest day Friday as we had to head down to the garage to get the car sorted. That meant my next run was  a  Saturday. Again it was good 6 mile run (8.10 pace). By Saturday evening I was feeling tired again and I knew fully well it was better to opt for a  shorter Sunday long run. I met up with the usual gang on Sunday morning and I was doing pretty well after 7 miles but as soon as I hit the Caherduggan hill the energy drained out of me. I struggled on for another 3 miles before leaving the group off at 10 miles and I walked in by myself for the last 3 miles. I knew after 8 miles the problem was not helped by the fact that I was dehydrated. A sip of water would have sorted me out and I would have made the last 4 miles so a lesson learned there.

Anyway this week is a busy one on a number of fronts. Aoiffe is back in the office this week so it will mean a earlier start for me if I want to get the running in. I am also popping down to Killarney for a few nights for a spot of hill walking and then at the weekend I am undertaking a bit of  outside maintenance work on the house. It shouldn't stop me from getting the long run in. My focus will be completing the virtual marathon organised by the club in October.