Running along the road to nowhere

shazkea

A 24 min PB with an injury and a stop off - bloody hell that's really impressive. I know it didn't go to plan for you but hats off to you for that; congrats on your new PB . I hope the injury clears up for you soon.

xebec

2.83 miles 25:56

First post-marathon run. Took it nice and handy, not sure I could have gone much faster! No adverse effects, gonna take it very easy for the next week or two. Not sure when I'll get out again this week cos of work commitments, happy to get out though.

claralara

Work commitments do not appear to have crossed Hal's mind when he was putting his award winning training plans together! Goddamn work sucks!!

claralara

..

xebec

claralara wrote: »

Work commitments do not appear to have crossed Hal's mind when he was composing his award winning training schedules! Goddamn work sucks!!

Tell me about it. Not all bad though, being taken to a nice dinner after work tomorrow... Then a day trip to Bristol on Thursday before a work night out. Then leave work at 3pm on Friday and expect to arrive in Wexford sometime around 11.30pm... So realistically it'll be Saturday, but if I don't get out of bed early enough the rugby will take priority!

claralara

Not a bit bad!! Sounds like a good week's work to me... Enjoy!

xebec

4.61 miles 38:46

Absolutely gorgeous morning on the paths through the Raven Wood near Curracloe. Did get slightly lost at one point which meant I was up and down hills like XC, that was fun while it lasted but also remembered it was supposed to be an easy run. Lots of runners out there this morning, perfect way to get back into things after DCM.

xebec

4.53 miles 39:50

Out again today, around the streets (and hills) of Wexford town... Another cracking morning for it, wore the sleeveless jacket but didn't really need it, gloves were a must though. For some reason I decided that Summerhill in the town wasn't all that steep, changed my mind about 30 seconds into it! Knee feeling a bit iffy now but I'm sure it'll be fine, going to get it checked out sometime over the next few weeks.

xebec

BHAA BOI Beach Race, Dollymount Strand

4.16 miles 32:49

Wasn't exactly an ideal week of preparation for a race. No runs, sick for the first few days, 8 hours to get from the office in London to my place in Dublin on Thursday night because of flight delays, broken plane and wind, dentist visit which involved getting a tooth pulled yesterday and pints last night. Excuses over and done with? Check.

Anyways, today's "6k" beach race (more like 6.7k)... Up early after minimal sleep, picked up by shels and out to Dollymount. Lovely morning for it, if a little breezy.

As usual, started too fast - 7:15/mile for first mile after going out at about 6:40/mile - if I had some decent training in me I'd expect to be able to hold that pace on the road, but on the beach and with the wind in our faces on the way back it was never going to happen. Second mile back into the wind was 8:01 but the effort was still too high. Third mile was more of a recovery than anything else, wind at our backs again but didn't feel like I got any benefit from it, 8:14. Fourth mile (8:12) got a bit of my wind back, was overtaken by a big guy early on and managed to tuck in behind him for a while, his pace was all over the place though which was frustrating, eventually he sped off. Picked off about 5/6 places over the last half mile. Final .16 of a mile was run at 7:00/mile pace, really left it all on that last bit and had nothing left once I crossed the line!

On a positive note, I definitely worked hard today - average HR was 184 which is a good bit higher than the ~175 I'd normally get. Was finding it quite tough mentally but managed to stick it out and happy enough with the result considering everything.

Looking forward to XC season now, hopefully make it to the race in two weeks...

xebec

4.21 miles 36:01

Kicked myself in the arse and got out tonight. Left my hat and gloves in Dublin which turned out to be a bit of a mistake... Absolutely freezing and windy, the rain started between arriving home and getting out. Couldn't feel my hands afterwards!

YTD: 943.51 miles...

xebec

8.01 miles 1:13:16

Really nice run in the dark and cold tonight, longest since DCM... Happy just to get out after the amount of beer I've had this weekend! Couple of dodgy moment because it was so dark, the worst of which was close encounters of the deer with big antlers kind!

xebec

BHAA NSRT/SMART Cross Country

3.81 miles 34:23

Well after much humming and hawing this morning (and RQ bailing out, although it was too dangerous for her to cycle to mine) I decided that I would give this race a go. Really enjoyed XC season last year and was looking forward to it. That said though, I had been made aware that this was a tough course and that we would be going through the stream twice...

Very cold out in St Margarets, with a light sprinkling of snow on the ground which was very hard. Bit of a delay to the start while we waited for the women's race to finish, the last finisher got a rousing reception and a guard of honour from the men waiting to start - she was a bit embarrassed but took it in good spirits. Got going and felt ok, purposely held back at the start so as not to kill myself off, and went through first mile in 8:17. That was before the water (which wasn't too bad) and the mud (which was). The mud in particular really took it out of me and I needed to take a short walking break to bring the HR back under control. Second mile 9:22.

The second lap of the race wasn't actually as bad, took it pretty easy and was just interested in finishing at this stage. Mile 3 went by in 9:16, not fast but ok. Again found the mud really tough and my legs and feet were frozen coming out of the water. Managed to put on a burst over the last quarter of a mile to take one place back that I had lost - but geld was too far ahead at this stage and had to concede my first loss to him...

All in all, delighted I went out and did it. That course is tough! Despite the slow mile times my average HR was 181 which shows that I was definitely working hard! Really need to get some more training in before the other races of the season or else it's going to be very tough. Oh, and I'm never running that race again!! (Or at least not till I forget about how hard it is!)

Woddle

Great stuff xebec would have been very easy to pull out of this. There's a couple of nice ones out my way and alot easier in january, tymon and ballyboden st endas, I'll hopefully see you there.
Well done and don't let shels get too far ahead or you'll not reel him back in.

xebec

Woddle wrote: »

Great stuff xebec would have been very easy to pull out of this. There's a couple of nice ones out my way and alot easier in january, tymon and ballyboden st endas, I'll hopefully see you there.
Well done and don't let shels get too far ahead or you'll not reel him back in.

Cheers Woddle, I did the Ballyboden one last year, can't remember about the Tymon one, much flatter but also a lot more muck!! I'm giving shels a false sense of security before I start catching him again next year, although some of the times he's talking about for the new year were way out of my league even at my best this year...

RacoonQueen

Sounds really crap. Glad I didn't go. :pac:

Does that mean you're doing some XC this year Woddle or will you bottle it?

RayCun

What's the story with Tymon? Do you need to be part of a team, register far in advance....? I'm half tempted, just because its so close.

xebec

RayCun wrote: »

What's the story with Tymon? Do you need to be part of a team, register far in advance....? I'm half tempted, just because its so close.

Can register on the day for any of the BHAA races for €15, otherwise if you join up early in the new year for €15 you get all the races for €10 each and are included in the leagues etc, so good value for money if you do 3 or more races...

Definitely give the one in Tymon a go if you can, the BHAA races are great fun and there's someone to compete with at all standards.

shels4ever

xebec wrote: »

I start catching him again next year, although some of the times he's talking about for the new year were way out of my league even at my best this year...

I'm all talk at the moment , but need to back it up next year although I do think that those times are possible all going well(no snow or injuries duing the winter).

xebec

3.43 miles 29:28

Up and out early this morning. Snowing lightly here in London at that stage, but not too icey, only dodgy part was going across Tower Bridge... Would have actually enjoyed going a bit further, but was slow in making my decision to get out of bed. Didn't actually set an alarm when I went to bed last night, if I hadn't woken up I was happy to miss the session but seeing as I was awake I kicked myself out of bed and got out.

Off to the Emirates tonight for the Carling Cup game, it's going to be cold!!

xebec

3.51 miles 30:06

First time out in a week. Social life and travelling getting in the way. Very cold here tonight, particularly in the easterly wind. Got out reasonably early from work so had no excuses and decided to see how I felt. Didn't enjoy it at all, so kept it reasonably short. Will try to get another one in before my flight home on Thursday, but another Christmas party that I'm supposed to go to tomorrow so we'll see...

On that note, my team's Christmas party was last night. Great fun going on the bumper cars in Hyde Park before dinner at a very fancy Italian in Knightsbridge. Most sober Christmas party I've ever been to though, home in bed by 0030, was kind of disappointing at the time but was glad of it when I was standing in front of a client executive giving a presentation at 0830 this morning!

YTD: 962.27 miles

Aimman

Christmas party on a Monday night?:eek:

xebec

Aimman wrote: »

Christmas party on a Monday night?:eek:

Yep, at the time it was the only night everyone was free, typically we could have done it any night this week in the end... Biggest joke was when the client scheduled the meeting for 0830 this morning, my jaw dropped!

xebec

30/12/10

3.33 miles 30:34

Well it's been a while. I've a list of excuses as long as my arm for the lack of running but no point in playing it out here... Hoping to get a bit of motivation back in the new year - must sign up for something sooner than Ballycotton.

Didn't reach 1000 miles but not even remotely bothered, will knock it out in 2011 instead

2010 miles: 965.6 miles

Blueskye

Good to have you back

xebec

3.68 miles 32:01

First run out of the new year. Cold out there but pace was pretty decent considering where my fitness must be at this stage. Would have happily kept going for another few miles but real life is still more important...

xebec

4.65 miles 37:57

Back in London tonight, lot of effort to convince myself to go out tonight - have to get used to those 0430 starts again Nice run, not too cold, supposed to be an easy one but turned into a tempo when a babe in red hot pants was spotted running up ahead :pac:

Off to Arsenal v Man City tomorrow night so no running tomorrow...

xebec

3.62 miles 31:13

Short run down to the river and back tonight, had trouble keeping the pace down but distance wasn't a problem...

xebec

7.5 miles 1:09:19

Gorgeous morning for a run, little cold but was fine in shorts. Took in Stepney Green, Regent's Canal, Victoria Park and Bethnal Green. No hills whatsoever but nice for an easy trot. Longest run (I think) since the marathon, time to get fit again I think!

YTD: 19.45 miles

xebec

1.62 miles 13:40

Couldn't face a run last night, was knackered after a bad night's sleep and starving after work so stopped in a restaurant to get some food instead...

Tonight didn't go too well either, as soon as I started moving I had some pain in my right knee - not the normal one. Cut the run short to make sure I wouldn't add to any problems, no point in rushing back and getting injured. Will try again tomorrow, if I'm in a hotel I'll prob head for the dreadmill and see if that helps.

xebec

Friday 14th January

5.00 miles 48:05

Only had a short time between getting home from work and due to arrive in a friends place on the other side of the city - had the bright idea to run there... Loaded up the back pack and knocked out an easy paced 5 miles. Tough going with the backpack on, nearly a year since I've run with it and it was jammed, but I think it actually helped, made my stride a bit smoother and the slow pace meant the HR was kept relatively low.