A early 20 miler

Week starting 21^st July

Another good running week but I would have liked to have got a better 5 mile time in Churchtown South on Thursday. This was the third race of four of the Ballycotton series.They are proper tough races and the ultimate aim is to finish in the top 50. That was never really on the cards but I had hoped to be comfortably in the top 100 at this stage.I ran the same race last year and ended injuring myself and taking a enforced break from running. My finishing time today was 34.31, not a bad time probably a solid one but well removed from a a sub 34 time and miles away from a PB. A lot of my clubmates were flying it and have made significant ground in the last 12 months. That said it’s the  Amsterdam marathon  that is my number one race and I am currently number 100 in the standings so hopefully with one race to go I can make up some ground. Mind you if I want to improve on the 3-6 mile distance different training is called for.

Monday was marked by a relaxed 4 mile recovery jog as was Friday. Sandwiched in between  was a 7 mile run on Tuesday with a 30 minute tempo insert at 7.25 pace (last mile 7.18) and 11 miles in 91 minutes on Wednesday (Hr 141). Thursday was the race in Churchtown South (2 mile warm up).

Sunday was the morning of the long run. I had planned to get 10k in on the Saturday but mindful of how leg weary  I felt the previous week I thought it best to give it a miss. Just as well really as I ended up running 20 miles on the Sunday with the club group. My original plan was to do 18 miles meeting up with Dermot at 8.15 for a 4.5 mile run and then do the remaining 13-14 miles with the main group at 9am. The problem was though that the route we took was over 16 miles. The terrain was varied and challenging.. It was a enjoyable route made all the more sweeter by a fine spread at various rest points. At mile 16 Caroline had a bagful of goodies for us – water, bananas, croissants, lucozade, chocolate and so on. Barry commented that we end up heavier after a long run rather than lighter.

Despite my 4.5 miles before hand I was feeling very relaxed tipping away at a handy pace. The Hr was averaging out as 140 and I never felt troubled. With less than 1.5 miles to the car park I had accumulated 20 miles up on the legs and I was happy to stop and walk the remaining distance to the car with Jim for a pleasant chat. I had spent 2hrs53mins on my feet which while unexpected will stand me later on.

This time next week I won’t be running on Irish soil so it will be interesting to see what of mileage I can get done. The next 5 days I do hope to continue the good work, the holidays will be more relaxed. The remaining 10 weeks after that will be pretty full on.

Mileage for the week 53 miles. Monday 4 miles, Tuesday 7 miles, Wednesday 11 miles, Thursday 7 miles with 5 mile race, Friday 4 miles, Sunday 20 miles. Picture by Paudie Birmingham, taken at Churchtown South.



Humid

Week ended 20^th July

I am heading off on my holidays in a few weeks so the priority for me is to get miles up on the legs. I will entering one more race in the coming week –Churchtown South 5 miler. As a result I gave the Donoughamore 7 a miss, my first time missing it since 2010. I had hoped to get under 50 minutes ideally under 49 minutes but the recovery from running a very tough race always takes it toll at the weekend. My clubmates from Mallow recorded good times there on Friday night.

Monday was a relaxed affair – jog / walk in 40 minutes. Tuesday was a surprisingly good run. One mile warm up and 5 miles at what was meant to be at 7.40 pace and one mile cooldown. I really didn’t think I had a strong 5 miles in me but I ran the lot in 7.16 average with the last mile at 6.55 pace. Wednesday was another mid pace medium long run – 85 minute run covering 10.38 miles at a solid pace of 8.12. The weather was very heavy – meaning humid and for a second week in a row I was very parched. The Hr was a bit high too 151 – but that was down to the weather with temperatures at around 23 degrees Celsius and the workout the day before. Thursday I joined the club session in Doneraile park. Not having been there in 7 weeks I didn’t get around to doing my planned 2 mile warm up too busy catching up with all the gossip. Anyway in keeping with the week the workout went well running 5.5 miles with 3.1 miles in 22.15 and keeping in touch with the leading runners in the group, though i am sure they were taking it easy.

No running on Friday but it did mark the end of the correcting so hip hip hooray. Saturday I ran 10k at a 7.50 average pace. I bumped into Paudie who is currently recovering from a  operation on his leg. He will be back in a few months but recovery will take time.

Nevertheless despite my good week I felt unsettled as to what run I would do on Sunday. The schedule called for a long run of 17 miles or a marathon pace with a 10 mile cut in or a 13 mile cut back run. I had resolved to do the 17 mile long run but the early start in Mallow ( a solo run of 4 miles before joining the main group at 9am for 13 miles) was totally thrown out by me missing my alarm. I had a terrible nights sleep as some idiot couple were having a drunken and noisy argument for a hour at 5 in the morning outside the house. By the time I woke up and dragged myself down to mallow for 9 I was pretty much not-in-the form. As a result I ran 13.34 miles instead. It was very humid and I think we were all suffering and glad to see it done. Most of the group had ran Donoughamore the Friday before so they were feeling it themselves. Anyway for the record it was 13.34 miles at 8.27 pace. The HR was 147. It will have to be a proper long run next week though and a marathon pace long run the week after that.

Nevertheless a good running week. 46 miles. Monday 3.7 mls, Tuesday 7 mls, Wednesday 10.38, Thursday 5.5 mls, Saturday 6.2 mls, Sunday 13.34 mls.

The half ton week

Week ending 13^th July

In my last entry I was talking about getting out 6 days a week and getting 50 miles up on my legs. I had reckoned I would have to wait till the end of the month. However I had resolved on Sunday night to keep the focus and get out 6 days a weeks and get 50 miles up on the legs. Mission accomplished.

Monday I ran the Dromcollogher 4 mile race giving Tony a lift on the way up. 2 years ago I ran this in around 27minutes 34 seconds. I missed out on it last year but watched as a interested spectator in what was the hottest day in Ireland in nearly 30 years. Again I didn’t know what to expect but hoped to improve on my previous time and ideally get under 27 minutes and set a PB. We did a 2 mile warm up beforehand in the added company of young Declan and bang on 8 pm the race started. The first mile is arrow flat and downhill but I was careful not to over extend myself. It passed in 6.32 and I was happy to see that I wasn’t too stressed by the pace. Turning the corner at 1.4 miles however the race took on a entirely different character.  The course got a bit steeper and the second mile passed in 6.42. Tony zipped past me and tore on up the road leaving me for dead a la the Dungarvan 10 last January. Aoife was up ahead and in her attempt to push for a prize was feeling the pressure. Sharon was as usual flying ahead of all of us. Mile 3 was a aslower time of 6.57 and I was feeling the pressure myself. I still reckoned a sub 27 minutes was on the cards if I could push really hard the last mile which was downhill in parts. Turning the corner into the town I broke into a attempted sprint with two lads breathing over my shoulder. I crossed the last mile in 6.53, five or six seconds outside a sub 27 minutes. Tony came home in 26.45 and Aoife not far behind him.

It was also great to see club great John Holland mark a 14 month absence from running by completing the circuit. While a small bit disappointed not to PB I enjoyed the evening and rounded off the day with a one mile cool down giving me a pretty decent workout of 7 miles.

Tuesday was a recovery day. One mile jog and watch the Hr drop to below 140 beats by walking for a minute to 90 seconds. I repeated this 4 times. The overall pace was 9.15 with the Hr a bit higher than one would expect – 136. While it is a tedious way to run it helps the system to bounce back.

Wednesday was another mid week medium long run. I don’t know how long these runs will go up to – maybe 2 hours or maybe 1hour50 minutes but for the moment the pace will be dictated by the HR. This time the readings were very positive – 8.06 pace with a Hr of 143. The mileage covered here was 10 miles on a flat course. Thursday was a day off with a tempo run Friday. Again this was a positive workout – 2 mile warm up with a 30 minute tempo and a 1 mile cooldown. The tempo portion went well but it was tough. Doing this on your one makes it harder even the pace (7.15) was a lot slower than that which I raced on Monday. Anyway I ran 4.16 miles at the aforementioned pace. I didn’t have a Hr strap for this one but i suspect the Hr was well above 170.

Saturday consisted of a 6 mile run around town with 6 X 1 minute sprint inserts at 6.15 pace. That gave me a overall pace of 7.50. Ideally I would want to be running the casual medium run at a faster pace without the effort  feeling difficult. Hopefully all in good time.

That left Sunday as the last run of the week – the bread and butter long run. I did 3 miles beforehand with Pa and Peader joining up with the large main group at 9 am for a further 13.1 miles around the hills and dips of Chaherduggan. I was glad to hog it down the back keeping a eye on the HR. In all I ran at 8.30 – 8.35 pace spending around 2hrs20minutes on my feet. HR for the second portion was 146.

A good running week – 50 miles and two years since I joined Mallow AC

Monday 7 miles with 4 mile race at 6.48 pace, Tuesday 4 mile recovery pace,Wednesday 10 miles, Thursday rest, Friday 7 miles with 30 minute tempo at 7.15 pace, Saturday 6 miles with 6 X1 minute sprints, Sunday 16.3 miles.

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Getting it all together

Week ending 6^th July

A solid week running if only I could have got out running a bit more.Monday was the end of a very busy week with a lot of driving around the country and up and down to Cork from Charleville (2 hour round trip). Last week I was up in Athlone attending the marking conference, then it was down to the Marquee for a couple of gigs (Biffy Clyro and the Pixies), a race in Ballycotton, a christening for my niece and waiting on a painter to do a bit of work in the house.  Ok ok it’s hardly hard work but still ......

It was all a bit crazy so hopefully I  can get a bit more consistency over the next few weeks. Thankfully the weather has held up and it is nice spending the time enjoying it.

Monday 4 mile recovery walk, Tuesday – no running as the painter was around the place until 7 in the evening and the corrections were getting very hectic, Wednesday – 9.5 mile medium long run at 8.20 pace, Thursday 7 miles at 8.10 pace, Friday – no running, Saturday – 10 miles with 3 miles tempo insert at 7.25 pace, Sunday – no running as I needed to get a few things done around the house. In fairess it’s hardly groundshaking stuff ,around 30 miles. I would really want to be getting 6 times a week by the end of August and up to 50 miles by the end of July. The main thing is not to panic and keep the focus. There is probably 2-3 races coming up this month and I would like to do these. I would also however to get a bit more natural pace up in the legs on my medium pace 6-7 mile runs. At the moment I am stuck on a constant 8.10 - 8.15 pace.

I have distilled my training down to a Monday recovery run, Tuesday tempo run, intervals or fast paced 7 mile run, Wednesday medium paced midweek long run, Thursday tempo, intervals or fast paced run or 5 mile race, Friday rest, Saturday relaxed 6 mile run and Sunday long slow run with some marathon paced portions thrown in. That's the ideal idea of a good running week. Hopefully I can get it all together.

Change of plan

Week beginning 30^th June

I won’t be doing the Dublin marathon after all. A chance to run the Amsterdam marathon had arisen and it was a opportunity too good to turn down. There is a very big crowd from Mallow Ac going and the wife also saw it as a great opportunity to get a mini break in. It’s on a week before the Dublin marathon (19^th October) so it doesn’t throw out my training schedule by much. The only awkward point will be weather or not to do the Cork Cobh race but aside from that no real problems.

My weekly mileage up to this week has picked up a bit too. 40 miles last week and 41 this week. The long runs have been of identical length – 14 miles. The only difference has been in terms of pace. The long run last week was with the club at a slower average pace of around 8.35-8.40 per mile. The Hr was around 145. Yesterdays run was in Charleville – 7 miles at 8.43 pace and a restrained marathon pace effort of 7.45. The Hr for the latter part of the run was 149 which is spot on for me. Hopefully further improvements await.

I also ran the usual mid week stuff. Two weeks ago was a 7 mile run with a 4 mile tempo inserted in the middle part. Average splits for the tempo were 7.19 but the HR was a very solid 165. Again I hope this picks up over time. I also ran the second race of the Ballycotton summer series in Shannagarry during the week. This time I started closer to the start line. It was probably the toughest 5 mile race I have ever done but despite running too fast in the first two miles I was glad to sneak in at 34.36. Not hugely fast and a lot slower than most of clubmates but solid enough. I ran 2 miles in the warm up and 1 mile cooldown.

On we go.

Looking ahead

Thursday 12th June.


Since the Cork half marathon I haven't got as much running completed as I like. Last week consisted of a 5 mile recovery jog, a 60 minute mid week run and a 5 k race in Ballincollig. The race in Ballincollig was a GAA organised event. Generally not a fan of races organised by the GAA as it is essentially a easy fun raiser for a organisation that was plenty to go around. I headed down with Dermot and while I didn't get much of a warm up done I enjoyed the race which to be fair was well marshalled and stewarded. I think the course was probably a little short as it read 3.1 miles on the garmin. Normally it should be 3.15. Anyway my official time was 20.37 which was solid enough. I don't know if I will be doing many more 5k races over the summer so hopefully it will help improve my (shabby)  5 mile times of late.


That was pretty much it for the rest of the week. DIY activities took  over the rest of the weekend. New shelves had to be put up in the garden shed so what with ordering lumber, getting a loan of a circular saw, measuring up, drilling and nailing and so on there was little time for running. We also managed to fit a quick break in the Mustard seed restaurant in Ballingarry. Most times there's more to life than running and it was a very satisfying weekend without it.


Monday I was back to the recovery jog. I started wearing the heart rate strap for the first time in 6 months.The readings are mixed to say the least but hopefully I will see a improvement by the Autumn. No chance of a run on Tuesday evening (it's been that sort of month) and I headed out for a 6.5 mile run on Wednesday. Again the HR results indicate a bit of work is required if I want to compete to my satisfaction. Ideally that would mean more consistent running at the correct pace and possibly a look at my weight. Currently I weigh in at 13stone 8 pounds which means I am carrying 8 pounds more than I need to. Weight is to running as height is to basketball players, it all helps. I will try to work on that too. Easier said that done though.
Thursday I went for my hopefully regular long slow medium run. The idea borrowed from Pfitzinger and Douglas is that I run a medium length run once a week at a pace or HR similar to my long weekend runs. I ran these in training for Connemara and they definitely gave me extra strength over a hilly course. For the moment this will be run by time not distance as I don't want to be running these too fast yet. Anyway the legs were heavy for this one so I covered 65 minutes at 8.58 pace. It worked out as 7.26 miles. These runs are all completed around home. I will be happy to take a break from training in the city until September.
My other dilemma is upcoming races. I have my eye on 3 races coming up over the next 3 weeks. I will definitely enter one and possibly a second one but it may be asking a bit much combining tempo workouts , intervals, long runs and races in any one week. The priority is of course the Dublin marathon so maybe we will review what and how many races I enter. A training session can sometimes tell you a lot more than a race.


Tuesday 3rd June- 5 miles, Wednesday -  60 minute run at 8.20 pace (7.20 miles), Thursday 5k race.


Monday 9th June - 4 miles, Wednesday 6.5 miles, Thursday 65minute run at 8.58 pace (7.26 miles)

Marina 5k and Cork 13.1 half marathon report

Week ended June 2nd

A busy week on and off the roads. As I sit here typing up this report watching the Limerick- Tipperary hurling match one cannot be helped but be struck by the fitness levels of both teams. It’s a game built on speed and skill. I am involved in a sport with is built on speed, stamina and endurance. Tomorrow is about endurance – i am running the Cork City half marathon but more about that some other time. Last Tuesday night was about speed  where I entered the John Buckley 5k in the Marina. This attracted a massive crowd of nearly a 1000 runners. What makes it attractive is it’s central location and it’s flat course- 2 laps of the centre park road – a stone’s throw from Pairc Ui Choimh. Once again I met up with my cousin – Don Ryan and his clubmate Marie McCarthy Jones. Marie is a very accomplished runner, she achieved a Boston marathon qualifier time of 3.23 in the brutally tough Dingle marathon course. I was hoping to get a PB myself and get some consistency into my splits.  Warming up with a gentle few miles the race started bang on time. I normally hate 5k races and while I wouldn’t say I was a convert yet I was reasonably happy with my effort. I felt strong and in control at all times coming in with a time of 20.47. I clocked it as 20.43 but the splits were even enough (around 6.41 pace). Ideally i would have liked to have got more than a second off my PB but it will do. I gave it my best and I can’t ask much more than that. Don came in at 18.50 and Marie in at 19.47 – great times. I ran another mile to cooldown after the race

I seem to be feeling stronger in each race I have entered in the last 4 weeks but at the same time progress isn’t as fast I would like then again I do have 21 weeks!!!. Leaving that aside I managed 3.5 miles on Monday, 6.5 miles on Wednesday , 6.2 miles on Thursday and 5 miles on Sunday. No running on Friday or Saturday for a number of reasons.

Friday was a hectic day in work, it being the last day of school- meetings, correcting and writing reports and so on. I had a few family visits to fit in and so on as well which meant a lot of time chasing my shadow. I headed down to  Doneraile park and parked across from the community hall. It was the evening of the club 5k race in Doneraile park. Each year numbers are getting bigger and bigger and this year there was 486 entries. I worked away on the entry desk and the finish line. This was my second year in a row doing it and it never fails to be anything less than full on for the whole evening. By the time we finished up at 9 pm I was fit only for home passing on the liquid refreshments in Mallow town. Saturday was another busy day heading up to Cork collecting my race number for the Cork half marathon while Aoiffe was off doing a bit of shopping. As usual I got chatting to a few friends who were racing the full many of whom were doing their first marathon. Then it was up to my Mums for a social call and then attending a few removals in Charleville. By the time I sat down it was after 7 and a early bed by 10.30 pm. I jogged 5 easy on Sunday trying to ready myself for the half marathon on Monday. This weekend was all about stamina!!!!!

The endurance part was today running the Cork half marathon. Even though I wasn’t on until 10.45 I drove early enough to watch the start of the full marathon and catch up with friends and clubmates. I bumped into Don Golden who was running the full marathon but whose training was disrupted by real life intrusions. As usual he was in great spirits having the group of us laughing away. There was also a great turnout of support from Mallow Ac runners and again there was good banter amongst us watching our clubmates racing the marathon. In fact I was so relaxed I almost forgot I was there to race myself so I toddled down to the start line. It was a lovely day and I was enjoying myself even before the race started. With regard to race strategy I was thinking of taking it easy for maybe 4-5 miles or until i felt comfortable and then run at marathon pace and see  how i felt. At the very worst it would be a benchmark for the rest of the summer.

The new start line for the half marathon was in Kennedy park and involved a loop around the roundabout and then down Albert Road – historic resident of the Jewish community. Mile 1, 2 and 3 passed in 7.48, 7.32 and 7.28 and it was time to start pushing it. Mile 4, 5, 6 took me up to Turners cross and I was feeling strong. I was chatting to plenty of people  I knew and I was aware of was working just above my maximum threshold level- 7.15, 7.14 and 7.25. That last mile was quite hilly with the course profile increasing in severity. The weather was probably pleasant for strolling but as usual was difficult for marathon runners and awkward for the rest. I didn’t feel unduly troubled and chatting to Richard, blogger of Beruit Taxi fame. He had only just completed a 100km ultra in Italy last year. Funny guy.  Mile 7, 8 and 9 took me to the end of the Model farm road. My splits were 7.14, 7.14 and 7.19. I was feeling great but was aware that having only run 13 miles once in the last 8 weeks I might struggle up the straight road. I had passed the 1hr40 pacers and was happy enough to stay above them. It was unlikely i would run faster than my 1.37.25 time of two years ago. My PB was 1.34.16 but that would have to wait for a while yet. By mile 10 (7.24) I was finding it a bit tougher but thankfully there was n’t the same human carnage on the roads that had marked previous races. I reached the 10 mile marker in 1.14.15 and I was happy now just to plod on. By the time I reached the footbridge at mile 12 my pace was slowing down (7.32 and 7.51) and my time was 1.30 which to be fair was still a good pace. I was glad to push on for the final rush over Patricks Bridge as runners attempted to overtake me with the 1hr40minute pacers over my shoulder. The last mile took around 8.10 with the last bits taking a further 90 seconds.  My final time was 1.38.56- one of my slower half marathon times.

Afterwards I chatting to Dermot, JP, Sean and Caitriona and they were all very happy with their marathon and half marathon races. I gave Sean a lift to his car, he was definitely of the view that there was no pleasure to be gained in races beyond 10 miles. Don had a difficult time doing the marathon but was still faster than his slowest marathon time. I don’t think he will be coming back to the distance any time soon- shame.

Recovery when I got home was nice- a good dinner and a kip on the couch. Back to D.I.Y jobs tomorrow and recovery running for the rest of the week.  I think in terms of my training i am probably in reasonable shape though a bit off sub 3.30 pace. Hopefully my half marathon times will improve by September. I have now run a 5k at 6.40 pace and a 13.1 race at 7.33 pace. If nothing else these paces will instruct me as to what training paces I should adopt over the next few weeks when doing intervals and tempos.


A few photos of todays race and hanging with my clubmates.