Another good solid weeks running but the weekend was a bit tougher than I expected. The stats are good for me. 31 miles. 5 mls Monday (8.35 pace), 5 mls Tuesday with 3 x 1 miles (7.13, 7.12, 7.11) and 5 miles on Wednesday (8.09) The legs felt good on the Wednesday run. Thursday I pushed on a bit for 6 miles on the Cooleen run but the pace was slower and I was dragging a bit at the end. Friday was a day for cutting the grass and Saturday was given over to painting the walk in wardrobes. That meant the 10 mile run was due for Sunday and from the first mile the whole thing was a real effort. The pace was consistent enough (8.30). I ran the route from my house , down the park (3 laps), the railway run and to Corbett Court and back taking Bakers road on the way home. I was totally out of puff at this point and glad to have it done. It was humid and I should have pre hydrated more. The legs were heavy too. Nevertheless it was job done and sometimes that's ok.
31 miles for the week, (Monday 5 miles, Tuesday 5 miles, Wednesday 5 miles, Thursday 6 miles, Sunday 10 miles.
Sunday, 26 April 2020
Saturday, 18 April 2020
Running in the time of COVID part 3
The week before last was certainly a good running week. I was taking advantage of the staying at home, no driving into work and resting all day to log a good running week. The mileage was not particularly high 28 miles but I felt great and really tuned into running. By Sunday morning I wasn't feeling too well, got a throat infection and blisters appearing on the tongue which made eating difficult. I was also feeling pretty crappy. Now while I am 100% positive it wasn't COVID I gave the running a break until I started to feel better and simply went for 3 mile walks instead. The little one was complaining of a sore throat the week previously as was the wife. Therefore it was a matter of time before I picked it up.
It was a nasty bugger too. I was able enough to get the walking in but I was zapped after that so running was out of the question. It disrupted the sleep too and the sore throat was uncomfortable at times. The mouth blisters were the worst though. Thankfully it had cleared up by Friday allowing me to run a easy 4 miler on Saturday with no ill effects at all.
As a result I ran 5 miles easy pace (8.20) on Monday. I ran a tempo effort on Tuesday, my first in over a year, 3 miles at 7.38 average pace the last mile being the fastest at 7.32 with a mile warmup and cooldown, 5 miles at recovery effort on Wednesday (920 pace). On Thursday I ran a faster run on the Cooleens route covering 5 miles at 7.57 average pace with the last two miles at 7.42 pace. Friday no running and a planned long run over the weekend.The long run was a bit of a effort. The legs were tired and heavy but I was never in any fear of quitting either. I did 10.5 miles at a average pace of 8.25. I was happy with the run.
I think going forward (all going well) I might stick with the 30 -35 miles for a few weeks yet. I'm certainly not that comfortable to run much more than 11 miles on the long run as it is. Anyway all those 2km out and back would drive you twisty.
A good running week - 30.5 miles. The staying at home and not driving in is most definitely paying off. Hopefully there will be races worth entering in the Autumn.
Monday 5 miles Tuesday 5mls with 3 mile tempo at 7.38 average, Wednesday 5 miles, Thursday 5 miles at 7.57 pace, Saturday 10.5 miles at 8.25 pace.
It was a nasty bugger too. I was able enough to get the walking in but I was zapped after that so running was out of the question. It disrupted the sleep too and the sore throat was uncomfortable at times. The mouth blisters were the worst though. Thankfully it had cleared up by Friday allowing me to run a easy 4 miler on Saturday with no ill effects at all.
As a result I ran 5 miles easy pace (8.20) on Monday. I ran a tempo effort on Tuesday, my first in over a year, 3 miles at 7.38 average pace the last mile being the fastest at 7.32 with a mile warmup and cooldown, 5 miles at recovery effort on Wednesday (920 pace). On Thursday I ran a faster run on the Cooleens route covering 5 miles at 7.57 average pace with the last two miles at 7.42 pace. Friday no running and a planned long run over the weekend.The long run was a bit of a effort. The legs were tired and heavy but I was never in any fear of quitting either. I did 10.5 miles at a average pace of 8.25. I was happy with the run.
I think going forward (all going well) I might stick with the 30 -35 miles for a few weeks yet. I'm certainly not that comfortable to run much more than 11 miles on the long run as it is. Anyway all those 2km out and back would drive you twisty.
A good running week - 30.5 miles. The staying at home and not driving in is most definitely paying off. Hopefully there will be races worth entering in the Autumn.
Monday 5 miles Tuesday 5mls with 3 mile tempo at 7.38 average, Wednesday 5 miles, Thursday 5 miles at 7.57 pace, Saturday 10.5 miles at 8.25 pace.
Saturday, 4 April 2020
Running in the time of COVID Part 2
Week 3 of the lockdown.
The government have placed restrictions on social mobility. That extends to exercising no more than 2k distance from your home. Before the social restrictions were put in place I was running well - sticking to a schedule of 22 miles and 24 miles in the first two weeks. This meant running 5 miles on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and 7/8 miles on a Saturday. I have adjusted my running since, running early in the morning at around 7 am, running 2k loops near my house.
I don't see anyone in the morning and ran 6 miles Monday, Wednesday and Thursday this week all at 7 am..
I leave the running shoes outside the house and basically stay in the house the rest of the day doing the remote teaching thing catching up on a bit of reading and music. It probably sounds boring but we don't mind it all.The running saves me from boredom.
One item of concern is the slight nagging pain in the left ankle, I iced it a lot last week and it did the trick. I can't decide is it tendinitis or ligament strain. The other concern is the strain in my right knee and quad so I am foam rolling that. Hopefully it will sort itself out once I am sensible about it.
The long run went well today. I ran 10 miles today(8.22 pace with last 4 at 8.15 pace) again observing all the social precautions, up early avoiding people, maintaining social distance and observing the 2k radius. I'm not observing the keep it brief rule but (and this is selfish) I know I am doing no harm. I have seen on Strava runners and cyclists who are really taking the piss including a number of coaches, business leaders and elite runners who should know better. We will see how it goes.
In terms of races (and this is only speculation) I am torn between a few options in Autumn assuming the world hasn't gone into collapse completely.
Stay well, stay safe and stay exercising.
The government have placed restrictions on social mobility. That extends to exercising no more than 2k distance from your home. Before the social restrictions were put in place I was running well - sticking to a schedule of 22 miles and 24 miles in the first two weeks. This meant running 5 miles on a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and 7/8 miles on a Saturday. I have adjusted my running since, running early in the morning at around 7 am, running 2k loops near my house.
I don't see anyone in the morning and ran 6 miles Monday, Wednesday and Thursday this week all at 7 am..
I leave the running shoes outside the house and basically stay in the house the rest of the day doing the remote teaching thing catching up on a bit of reading and music. It probably sounds boring but we don't mind it all.The running saves me from boredom.
One item of concern is the slight nagging pain in the left ankle, I iced it a lot last week and it did the trick. I can't decide is it tendinitis or ligament strain. The other concern is the strain in my right knee and quad so I am foam rolling that. Hopefully it will sort itself out once I am sensible about it.
The long run went well today. I ran 10 miles today(8.22 pace with last 4 at 8.15 pace) again observing all the social precautions, up early avoiding people, maintaining social distance and observing the 2k radius. I'm not observing the keep it brief rule but (and this is selfish) I know I am doing no harm. I have seen on Strava runners and cyclists who are really taking the piss including a number of coaches, business leaders and elite runners who should know better. We will see how it goes.
In terms of races (and this is only speculation) I am torn between a few options in Autumn assuming the world hasn't gone into collapse completely.
Stay well, stay safe and stay exercising.
Tuesday, 24 March 2020
Running in the time of COVID
Yeah seriously surreal stuff these days....From a running point of view I am running at 7 am in the morning , doing 5 miles, back by 7.45 am. Then it's a case of minding Iseult while my wife works in the study. Schools are closed and I suspect they will be until September. I am doing ok with juggling minding Iseult and trying to teach remotely. I do the latter with a mixture of google classroom, email, Zoom and trying to learn as I go along. It's important the young people are kept busy. Hopefully they get to sit their state exams and have some sense of normality in the middle of this weirdness. From a teaching and learning point of view it isn't ideal but we can only commit and do our best.
I did see some moron teachers complaining on twitter about how hard it is to work from home. Maybe they should try unemployment or even try working more than 22 hours a week. Most teachers are great but there is a sense of self entitlement and self pity in the profession which really gives teachers a bad name.
Anyway back to the running. I assume there won't be a marathon or a race of any description this year at all. I know a lot of marathons have been re-scheduled to September and October but realistically will they go ahead? I'm not sure but for the sake of sanity lets pretend they are and train accordingly. That said we might not be able to leave the house in a few months so I could be reduced to running laps of the back garden. I have taken up skipping as well!!
Currently I am training for a imaginary half marathon in a few weeks. Since last week I try to do 5 miles 3 days a week and 7 miles on a Saturday. I ran 5 miles yesterday and 5.5 miles today. Ideally I would like to be up to 4 X 7 miles a week and a long run of 13 miles on the weekend. I'm not doing any speed work just simple running. The running I am enjoying. It's gives me a target to aim for and sets me up for the day.
I did see some moron teachers complaining on twitter about how hard it is to work from home. Maybe they should try unemployment or even try working more than 22 hours a week. Most teachers are great but there is a sense of self entitlement and self pity in the profession which really gives teachers a bad name.
Anyway back to the running. I assume there won't be a marathon or a race of any description this year at all. I know a lot of marathons have been re-scheduled to September and October but realistically will they go ahead? I'm not sure but for the sake of sanity lets pretend they are and train accordingly. That said we might not be able to leave the house in a few months so I could be reduced to running laps of the back garden. I have taken up skipping as well!!
Currently I am training for a imaginary half marathon in a few weeks. Since last week I try to do 5 miles 3 days a week and 7 miles on a Saturday. I ran 5 miles yesterday and 5.5 miles today. Ideally I would like to be up to 4 X 7 miles a week and a long run of 13 miles on the weekend. I'm not doing any speed work just simple running. The running I am enjoying. It's gives me a target to aim for and sets me up for the day.
Sunday, 8 March 2020
starting point
4 weeks since the Donadea 50km.....I had pondered the crazy notion (for me) of running another marathon at some stage before the Dublin marathon in October. I have since ditched that idea as it's probably better I try to re-learn how to run faster and more consistently. I will have to start working on the latter part first before I even try to undertake the former.
Last week was ok, this week less so. 27 miles last week with 4 runs in the week. The longest run was a pacy 9 miler at 7.50 pace. I was happy with that. This week was 2 X 7 milers in Cork on the Wednesday and Thursday. I had to skip the Kinvara 13.1 on Saturday as a series of late nights on weekdays and a particularly late night on Friday night/ Saturday night (Pub table quiz) had me nackered over the weekend. As a result I was lying on the couch over the weekend feeling pretty gammy and tired. (By the way it was tiredness not that fecking COVID 19 b/s). Any way no run over the weekend.
I see that a number of Continental marathons are being postponed or deffered so it's best to wait before I commit to any larger local races yet.
I know I have failed to make 4 marathons in the last two years so the target in Dublin will be modest. Get the training done and get to the start line. Then again it may not go ahead anyway.
Last week was ok, this week less so. 27 miles last week with 4 runs in the week. The longest run was a pacy 9 miler at 7.50 pace. I was happy with that. This week was 2 X 7 milers in Cork on the Wednesday and Thursday. I had to skip the Kinvara 13.1 on Saturday as a series of late nights on weekdays and a particularly late night on Friday night/ Saturday night (Pub table quiz) had me nackered over the weekend. As a result I was lying on the couch over the weekend feeling pretty gammy and tired. (By the way it was tiredness not that fecking COVID 19 b/s). Any way no run over the weekend.
I see that a number of Continental marathons are being postponed or deffered so it's best to wait before I commit to any larger local races yet.
I know I have failed to make 4 marathons in the last two years so the target in Dublin will be modest. Get the training done and get to the start line. Then again it may not go ahead anyway.
Wednesday, 12 February 2020
Donedea 50k race report - 5hrs32mins - Ragged Glory
Glory days, well, they'll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
Glory days, well, they'll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
(Bruce Springsteen)
Race done and completed. My first marathon distance since Dublin 2017 and my first ultra since April 2015. Therefore I fulfilled my initial aim of getting to the start line and getting to the finish line. It's the stuff that happened in between that proved a bit tricky.
Just to explain about the Donadea 50k. It's held in the forest of the same name in Co Kildare. It's hosted by a guy by the name of Anto Lee, who's way of publicizing the race is somewhat unusual. It's not my cup of tea but leaving that aside it is a well organised race if somewhat pared down compared to a lot of long races . I entered last October and so began a low key training build up. As ever I was accompanied by my running buddy Aidan McGee. He was training well enough but got injured early in the new year and apart from a couple of 13 ml long runs had done little training of consequence.
My own training focused on the long run with only short mid week runs which at times I didn't complete. I had nevertheless still completed good long runs of 20mls, 23mls, 21mls, 26.2 mls over the last 8 weeks. I had no speed work completed, with weekly mileage averaging under 30 mls peaking at 47 mls in the last 2 weeks. So I suppose the training wasn't particularly great, it was what it was.
Another issue was the weight. I had dropped from 14 stone to 13 stone 8 pounds but I was still carrying a lot of gut and chest fat. This was becoming evident during the long runs with the pace hardly getting above 9.05 pace. All the same I was reasonably happy I got to the start line confident of getting under the cut off of 5 hours.
I had predicted 4 hours 55 minutes. When I ran Connemara 39.3 mls in 2015 I reached the 31 mls in 4hrs 38mins and had never finished a marathon over 4 hours so I felt reasonably confident. (Duh)
Anyway here is the rough story. You can see the photo below with the splits. I ran the half way point (5 out of 10 laps of 5k ) in 2hrs 25mins. This was a lot slower than my training runs but I felt good and relaxed. Lap 6 went in similar time to the previous 5 and I reached the clock in 2hrs 50 mins . Then by the time I got to mile 19 ml the arse fell out of my day.
I basically ran out of steam and I still don't know why. Maybe running the 26.2 mls two weeks prior to the race caught up with me. Anyway I had to walk / run until I got to the start of lap 8 and did more walking and even less running. I was contemplating quitting at this stage as I feeling pretty low. Then I remembered it was my 1) choice to take part, no one forced me, 2) stop being a moaning dickhead and 3) (most importantly) I was running on behalf of Pieta House so it was a case of suck it up and get on with being alive. So I did.....
At this point I would have loved to have said I ran the remaining 6 miles but I would be lying ... lot's more walk/ running. I got and gave great encouragement on the way and during the course of the race I enjoyed the banter. I was also humbled by great commitment of the runners out there in particular the women who flying around the course. It was also obvious to me that having a few marathons up in the legs rather than relying on old and faded glories was the way to do it. (Note to self).
At the end of lap 9 (4hrs50mins) I knew the cut off was almost up (5 hour cut off). Anto , the RD, informed me that I was on my own now. Maybe it was a attempt at giving me that added extra incentive, it certainly worked.
It got me through some incredible painful spasms that started hitting my calves at this point. The walk running thing finally bit the dust at mile 29 (just walking) and the last of the runners started to drift past me. I was on my own with two miles to go. Storm Ciara was beginning to make her presence felt and the encouragement of spectators and the P.A was no longer there. The race was in shut down and clear out mode and I realized I was probably the last runner out there, something which was a new experience for me.
Anyway out of pride I shuffled the last 1 km to get over the line in 5 hrs 32mins 28 seconds, third last, no official time up on the clock with little glory to be gained. Mind you I wasn't too despondent. I got the job done and sometimes that's as good as it can be. I didn't let anyone down.
The real story of the day was the performance of my good friend Aidan. The fecker with no training (but with plenty of marathons up on the legs) ran in at 4hrs 55mins. I was chuffed for him and it gave me a real boost. Delighted for him.
Then it was back home to Charleville casting my vote in the general election. Don't know what to do now maybe just rest.
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
Glory days, well, they'll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
(Bruce Springsteen)
Race done and completed. My first marathon distance since Dublin 2017 and my first ultra since April 2015. Therefore I fulfilled my initial aim of getting to the start line and getting to the finish line. It's the stuff that happened in between that proved a bit tricky.
Just to explain about the Donadea 50k. It's held in the forest of the same name in Co Kildare. It's hosted by a guy by the name of Anto Lee, who's way of publicizing the race is somewhat unusual. It's not my cup of tea but leaving that aside it is a well organised race if somewhat pared down compared to a lot of long races . I entered last October and so began a low key training build up. As ever I was accompanied by my running buddy Aidan McGee. He was training well enough but got injured early in the new year and apart from a couple of 13 ml long runs had done little training of consequence.
My own training focused on the long run with only short mid week runs which at times I didn't complete. I had nevertheless still completed good long runs of 20mls, 23mls, 21mls, 26.2 mls over the last 8 weeks. I had no speed work completed, with weekly mileage averaging under 30 mls peaking at 47 mls in the last 2 weeks. So I suppose the training wasn't particularly great, it was what it was.
Another issue was the weight. I had dropped from 14 stone to 13 stone 8 pounds but I was still carrying a lot of gut and chest fat. This was becoming evident during the long runs with the pace hardly getting above 9.05 pace. All the same I was reasonably happy I got to the start line confident of getting under the cut off of 5 hours.
I had predicted 4 hours 55 minutes. When I ran Connemara 39.3 mls in 2015 I reached the 31 mls in 4hrs 38mins and had never finished a marathon over 4 hours so I felt reasonably confident. (Duh)
Anyway here is the rough story. You can see the photo below with the splits. I ran the half way point (5 out of 10 laps of 5k ) in 2hrs 25mins. This was a lot slower than my training runs but I felt good and relaxed. Lap 6 went in similar time to the previous 5 and I reached the clock in 2hrs 50 mins . Then by the time I got to mile 19 ml the arse fell out of my day.
I basically ran out of steam and I still don't know why. Maybe running the 26.2 mls two weeks prior to the race caught up with me. Anyway I had to walk / run until I got to the start of lap 8 and did more walking and even less running. I was contemplating quitting at this stage as I feeling pretty low. Then I remembered it was my 1) choice to take part, no one forced me, 2) stop being a moaning dickhead and 3) (most importantly) I was running on behalf of Pieta House so it was a case of suck it up and get on with being alive. So I did.....
At this point I would have loved to have said I ran the remaining 6 miles but I would be lying ... lot's more walk/ running. I got and gave great encouragement on the way and during the course of the race I enjoyed the banter. I was also humbled by great commitment of the runners out there in particular the women who flying around the course. It was also obvious to me that having a few marathons up in the legs rather than relying on old and faded glories was the way to do it. (Note to self).
At the end of lap 9 (4hrs50mins) I knew the cut off was almost up (5 hour cut off). Anto , the RD, informed me that I was on my own now. Maybe it was a attempt at giving me that added extra incentive, it certainly worked.
It got me through some incredible painful spasms that started hitting my calves at this point. The walk running thing finally bit the dust at mile 29 (just walking) and the last of the runners started to drift past me. I was on my own with two miles to go. Storm Ciara was beginning to make her presence felt and the encouragement of spectators and the P.A was no longer there. The race was in shut down and clear out mode and I realized I was probably the last runner out there, something which was a new experience for me.
Anyway out of pride I shuffled the last 1 km to get over the line in 5 hrs 32mins 28 seconds, third last, no official time up on the clock with little glory to be gained. Mind you I wasn't too despondent. I got the job done and sometimes that's as good as it can be. I didn't let anyone down.
The real story of the day was the performance of my good friend Aidan. The fecker with no training (but with plenty of marathons up on the legs) ran in at 4hrs 55mins. I was chuffed for him and it gave me a real boost. Delighted for him.
Then it was back home to Charleville casting my vote in the general election. Don't know what to do now maybe just rest.
Friday, 31 January 2020
week ended 02 Feb serious training
Short entry- last week of proper training- serious stuff - even if the mileage was low- 47 miles in the week. 7.3 miles Tuesday (8.05 pace) 7.4 miles Wednesday (8.20 pace) in Mayfield 6 miles on Thursday morning (8.35 pace) with a 26.27 (9.15 pace) long run on the Sunday, all solo. Epic stuff even if I say so myself. I am writing this 5 days later on Friday with only 3 miles clocked up since. The bathrooms in the house are out of action , being redone. Just as well I got the running in.
I got a 6 mile run completed on Saturday morning. Left achilles a bit twingy. Rest day today.
I got a 6 mile run completed on Saturday morning. Left achilles a bit twingy. Rest day today.
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