Running along the road to nowhere

xebec

4.07 miles 35:25

Not the easiest tonight. Very windy and got caught at a few traffic lights. Also picked up what feels like a slight groin strain, definitely tighter than it should be but won't stop me running tomorrow.

menoscemo

xebec wrote: »

4.07 miles 35:25

Not the easiest tonight. Very windy and got caught at a few traffic lights. Also picked up what feels like a slight groin strain, definitely tighter than it should be but won't stop me running tomorrow.

Tip from Physio Last night:
If you have a groin strain don't stretch it, that will make it worse.
Do:
Stretch areas around the groin (hips, hamstrings, back etc)
Strengthen it: Place a ball or object between your knees and squeeze it. You can do this lots while watching the tele (though you'll ook like a weirdo)

Aimman

menoscemo wrote: »

Place a ball or object between your knees and squeeze it.

Me thinks that might have been how the groin strain started :eek:

xebec

9.10 miles 1:18:42

Really didn't want to go out there tonight. It was cold (could see my breath at times) and wet (similar to the Cork marathon) and did I have a long sleeve shirt or a jacket with me over here? Of course not.

Anyway, kicked myself out the door, for first mile I was really wondering what I was doing. Took it handy for the first five miles (~9:00/mile), was very tempted to turn home after first lap of Victoria Park but that would have left me with just about 6.5 miles. Pace picked up then, miles 6, 7 & 8 were all around 8:30/mile and the last mile was 7:54. Great way to do a run and felt pretty strong at the end. Tired now and will be sore tomorrow, just hope I don't get sick from the bad weather! Back on the plane tomorrow evening so no running likely.

Aimman

Wow, the pace really took off after now wanting to go out. Fair play;)

xebec

Aimman wrote: »

Wow, the pace really took off after now wanting to go out. Fair play;)

Feeling it today though. Bit of pain on my right shin while walking, but nothing to be worried about. I don't know if the pace was more about the fact that I wanted to get home quickly cos of the **** weather or the fact that I was feeling strong, either way it was good to finish up the session like that

xebec

19.00 miles 3:03:31

Went out with the boards group this morning, was a great experience!! Had a little over 3 miles done by the time I met them, met them at the top of the Glen Road in the Park and slotted into their pace for the next 13 miles or so. Was fantastic to have some company and to meet more really nice boardsies, looked at my watch after 2 hours and couldn't believe that much time had passed, it all felt so easy. Anyway, not too eventful really, weather was pretty much perfect with a little wind down by the Liffey. Target pace for the group was 10:00/mile, we were a little faster than that but managed to hold everyone back when it was getting out of control. My own pace ranged from 9:24 (mile 19) to 10:06 (mile 12) for a 9:39 average. (Mile 9 was 9:06, but that was spent trying to catch up the group after a quick pit stop.)

All in all a great day, lots of confidence to get from that. It's going to be hard to fit in LSR's over the next few weeks because of races and real life stuff, but I'll do my best...

One thing that did take a bit of getting used to today was wearing a pocket around my arm. Found it pretty heavy for the first few miles - had 2 iso-gels, 1 regular gel (unused), my keys and some money in it - but started to get used to it after a while. Think this is a better option than carrying gels and stuff in my shorts pockets so will keep experimenting over the next few weeks.

On the train to Wexford now trying to avoid my legs stiffening up too much. Hopefully hook up with OI for a few miles in the morning.

YTD: 676.17 miles

Oisin11178

Training is the time to experiment with different ways to carry stuff alright. I found for me personally knee lenght shorts with deep pockets the best for me. The belts and arm straps i found annoying at times. I used a camelbak for the first time yesterday and found it really comfortable. The only downside to it was that when the liquid was starting to be drunk the bag got looser and i had to keep taking it off to tighten it.
Good work with the 19. Whats the goal for dcm 3.45?

xebec

4.50 miles 41:38

Recovery run out in the Raven wood near Curracloe this evening. Gorgeous evening and lovely spot for running, flat gravel track most of the way. Legs were sore at the start but got into it after a mile or two. Only problem was the thick trees messed with the GPS signal, think the actual distance should have been a bit longer but not by much - it gave mile 3 as 9:57 when I was actually doing closer to 9:00 pace.

Nice to get out somewhere different and with no traffic and very few people...

Just under 37 miles for the week, bit less than ideal but still good and glad to get the 19 miles done so easily!

xebec

Oisin11178 wrote: »

Whats the goal for dcm 3.45?

TBH if I do the race (which is looking more likely), the first goal will be to finish in one piece, especially after what happened in Cork. The next goal is 4:00 but there's no reason based on my half time why I shouldn't be far off 3:45... We'll wait and see.

Oisin11178

xebec wrote: »

TBH if I do the race (which is looking more likely), the first goal will be to finish in one piece, especially after what happened in Cork. The next goal is 4:00 but there's no reason based on my half time why I shouldn't be far off 3:45... We'll wait and see.

Im the 3.45 pacer, well 1 of them. Come with us you will have every chance.

xebec

5.04 miles 41:19

For the next marathon I'm going to follow a different plan, most likely the 50 mile P&D schedule. Went out tonight for 5 miles, wasn't a recovery run but shouldn't have been a pace workout either. So consequently I didn't know what pace to do it at. First 3 miles were about 8:40 pace, 4th one the pace upped to 7:53 and the final one was 7:14. Not exactly sure where that came from. Also not sure about what effect those last two miles will have on tomorrow's run. Ah well, I enjoyed it at the time...

menoscemo

xebec wrote: »

5.04 miles 41:19

For the next marathon I'm going to follow a different plan, most likely the 50 mile P&D schedule. Went out tonight for 5 miles, wasn't a recovery run but shouldn't have been a pace workout either. So consequently I didn't know what pace to do it at. First 3 miles were about 8:40 pace, 4th one the pace upped to 7:53 and the final one was 7:14. Not exactly sure where that came from. Also not sure about what effect those last two miles will have on tomorrow's run. Ah well, I enjoyed it at the time...

I think it is a 5 mile recovery run with 1 mile at LT pace and 1 mile at VO2max .
Ticks all the boxes in one run

rainbow kirby

xebec wrote: »

For the next marathon I'm going to follow a different plan, most likely the 50 mile P&D schedule.

Assuming that I can somehow string some coherent training together, I may join you with that.

xebec

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Assuming that I can somehow string some coherent training together, I may join you with that.

Seems like a good idea. Realised this evening that I had no idea what pace I should really be doing the workout at. This seems to be one of the things that P&D addresses for all runs, giving them more purpose.

xebec

5.51 miles 49:39

Went out to try to match the pace I will need to run in Dingle on Saturday. Overall it was a little faster than that, but managed 9:00/mile over the distance so happy with that. All the usual pre-race niggles showing up, but a good stretch afterwards and feeling pretty good now.

Time for some make and do, putting together a pace band or two before the joys of packing my bag...

Aimman

Enjoy. See you on the streets of Dingle tomorrow. :-)

xebec

Dingle Half Marathon (2:00 pacer)

13.11 miles 1:59:50

What a weekend! Arrived in Dingle early on Friday afternoon, had a nice lunch and hung around with a few of the other runners. Pasta party that evening and met all the other pacers, couple of pints and to bed reasonably early.

Saturday morning was a bit more rushed than I would have liked. All the pacers walked down to the start together, final toilet stop and dropped bag with about 10 minutes to spare before pushing my way into the correct starting area. After a wet and stormy night, the clouds were starting to clear and the sun started to shine. It ended up being a gorgeous day - even too sunny for the liking of the full and ultra runners. Went out with the 4:00 full marathon pacers (HM & RC) and it was great to have them with their pacing wisdom to keep me in check for my first time pacing.

First two miles leaving Dingle were a little fast, but we reined the speed back in and settled down for the rest of the race. The course was so beautiful, through small villages and out around the coastal road, it was nice to be able to take in the scenery going at a reasonably easy pace instead of being focused on racing the course.

After about 5 miles HM reported that we had a group of about 50 following the three of us which was a bit of a surprise because very few had been coming up to chat to us. Managed to hold on to most of them for a lot of the course. The hardest part of the course was the climb between 11 and 12 miles and we lost a few there despite keeping it back to a 9:28 mile, but coming up to the finish of the half there was still about 20 that went through from our group. A few of them came up and said thanks afterwards which was very nice of them.

After the half finish it was straight on to a bus back to Dingle, following the full marathon course I was very glad to have finished at the half point because there was a nasty long hill at about 21 miles which would have been a killer! Back to Dingle shortly after the 3 hour mark, got a rub down from the physios (was asked what was hurting and had to be honest that nothing was really but she gave me a quick rub anyway) and hung around for a few hours watching the full marathon finishers come in. Also saw the first ultra runner coming in at 6:22 which is an awesome time for 50 miles!

The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the other pacers, nice lunch in the middle of the afternoon before going back to the finish to watch RQ, Aimman and sarsfieldsrock come in from the ultra adventures. A fun (and a little messy) night afterwards means that I'm tired today but all in all it was a great weekend!

Will definitely go back to Dingle again for the race when I get a chance. Everything was organised perfectly and worked like clockwork, can't fault any of the organisation. Of course we were lucky with the weather, could have been a very different experience if the weather was rubbish but there's no control over that.

Pacing was a very rewarding experience and lots of fun too, if you have the option to do it you should give it a go.

xebec

6.18 miles 55:03

Out for a short run in London this evening, was supposed to be 5 miles but miscalculated which bridges to cross... My flatmate over here came with me on the condition that we went at my pace, it picked up a little at times but I was able to pull us back to where I wanted to be. The rain that has been pouring over Dublin finally arrived in London towards the end of the run, but it wasn't too bad... Good start to the week.

xebec

9.17 miles 1:19:23

Wasn't feeling well last night so decided to get dinner instead of trying a 10 miler. Punishment was a 6am start this morning! Misjudged my bridges again and crossed Lambeth bridge instead of Vauxhall bridge, but turns out I was getting pushed for time anyway so the slightly shorter run suited - can't be late for work cos I'm running!

Legs feel pretty sore after that this morning, much sorer than they should really. Didn't have much time to stretch, but hopefully they'll sort themselves out over the course of the day.

YTD: 719.68 miles...

xebec

5.12 miles 45:42

Nice easy run tonight. Was late enough home from work and didn't feel like going out but forced myself out the door... Plan was to keep it slow (nothing faster than 9:00/mile) and to keep it short. Well that went out the window a little - slowest mile was 9:00 exactly and I had convinced myself to keep it to just 3.5 miles when 10 seconds later I had turned up Chesterfield Avenue instead of following the shorter route home... Oh well, enjoyed this in the end and feel a bit better now. Looking forward to the 20 miler in the morning with a few of the gang from here...

On a less positive note, as I was coming down to the bottom of the Khyber I saw a woman standing next to a car with the alarm going off. As I got closer I noticed that the window was broken and she looked like she was in shock, as soon as I went over to check that she was ok the tears started but managed to calm her down and make her realise it wasn't that big a deal. Phone and wallets were still in the car, but they had obviously reached in for something. Her husband was only a few minutes away and she let me go after a couple of minutes chatting. Not nice to see things like that happen to a fellow runner... So be warned, it was dead quiet down there tonight, only car parked there and it was getting dark when I arrived so not the best place to leave a car...

Aimman

Yeah, its turning into the unsavoury season for parking or running in the park once the evenings start getting dark.

xebec

20.09 miles 03:13:24

Pretty sure this is my longest LSR ever - despite having done 2 marathons I don't think I've ever made it to 20 miles in training before... Is it time to make the big decision and sign up for DCM?

Not overly eventful this morning. Had about 3.75 miles done at about 9:10/mile before meeting up with the gang from the novices thread. Was windy out there and that made the going tough in parts. Stayed with the group for the next 12.5 miles or so. Good chat as always and the miles flew by. It was a smaller group today but we even managed to pick up a randomer along the way and tried to convince her to have a look on here.

Started feeling tired at about 12 miles, but got through that phase and by the time 15 was over I was feeling comfortable again. Two gels taken today, at 10 and 15 miles, probably not needed but no harm to train with them.

Only other thing of note was that I met the woman from last night again briefly, stopped to ask about the car and she said everything was being sorted out so all good there. (Turns out it was a certain very good athlete from Letterkenny AC, had my suspicions last night but the conversation today confirmed it.)

Now just try not to collapse for the rest of the day. Legs were very tight and sore when I got home but feel ok now. Off into town to look for a new pair of runners shortly, back to sort out my room before a few drinks with a friend tonight - think I've earned it!!

rainbow kirby

xebec wrote: »

Is it time to make the big decision and sign up for DCM?

Yes. :pac:

xebec

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Yes. :pac:

Ah, I don't want to rush into anything so I'll have another think for a while :pac: :P

rainbow kirby

You know you're going to end up doing it anyway. Shame to waste that 20-miler.

menoscemo

xebec wrote: »

20.09 miles 03:13:24
Is it time to make the big decision and sign up for DCM?

I thought you had already signed up ?

Like if you are not doing Dublin, why have you been doing all this marathon traning?
Sub 4 should be no bother this time... now sign the hell up!!

xebec

menoscemo wrote: »

I thought you had already signed up ?

Like if you are not doing Dublin, why have you been doing all this marathon traning?
Sub 4 should be no bother this time... now sign the hell up!!

Couple of reasons:
- have found that the long stuff has put me in good position for shorter races earlier in the year, so there's benefit in following the program
- couldn't commit because I wasn't sure I could fit the training in with all the work crap going on
- wanted my next marathon to be off a proper training base instead of my last two lame attempts, so wanted to have that base before committing
- because I've been enjoying it :pac:

Yeah, think it's pretty much decided at this stage. Got through today with no problems and legs feel pretty good now after walking around town for the last two hours. Now just need to focus on getting two more 20-milers in before the big day

menoscemo

xebec wrote: »

Now just need to focus on getting two more 20-milers in before the big day

I have one more marked down for the wekend of the 3rd of October, if you fancy one then?

xebec

menoscemo wrote: »

I have one more marked down for the wekend of the 3rd of October, if you fancy one then?

Was actually thinking of doing Cork to Cobh that weekend, although that may not happen any more. Figured I'd do 20 the weekend before and on the Sat after to give me a little over 2 weeks taper... If I don't go to Cork I'll do the 20 that weekend and take 3 week taper.