Ever Decreasing Circles:

BeepBeep67

Knee still sore need to be careful in work not to sit with my feet back or I'm like an aul fella when I try and get up. So played it safe tonight and ran easy on treadie got through my planned 5miles in 40 mins. Might stick to the treadie for a few nights so there's no variation in the stride.

BeepBeep67

On the treadie again this evening, upped the pace a little towards the end, knee still a little sore, but run-able: 5 miles @ 7:47 pace.
50 consecutive days btw

Brianderunner

Congrats on the half (and the 50 days), great running.

What's the goal for Dungarvan? Thinking sub 61 myself, sub 60 might be a bit of a stretch the minute.

BeepBeep67

Brianderunner wrote: »

Congrats on the half (and the 50 days), great running.

What's the goal for Dungarvan? Thinking sub 61 myself, sub 60 might be a bit of a stretch the minute.

Thanks - Sub 61 is a good target, I ran 62:08 there last year, so I think I'll join you for that.

BeepBeep67

Thinking about doing the club handicap tomorrow evening, so just a slow 3.5 miles @ 8:30 pace this evening, feeling pretty recovered from Saturday.

Slogger Jogger

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Thinking about doing the club handicap tomorrow evening, so just a slow 3.5 miles @ 8:30 pace this evening, feeling pretty recovered from Saturday.

How'll the handicap work? Tie pronator's laces together? Might call by.

BeepBeep67

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

How'll the handicap work? Tie pronator's laces together? Might call by.

You're welcome to come along as always - think Pronator needs to do 2 laps

littlebug

I haven't been keeping up. You're aiming for a 26.2 ? nice one!

BeepBeep67

Bray Runner's Christmas 5k Handicap
On a cold evening with frost forming on the ground 30+ brave souls in various states of dress expressed tonight's temperature in many non numerical or scientific ways, I think the most common was 'it's fcuking freezing isn't it'.
Went on a little warm up or a feel less cold up before gathering at the start as the various groups got called for the off, I was in the 3rd last group, a group of 4 giving up 11 mins on the first group but trying to stay ahead of Abhainn's group +60secs and Pronator +90secs.
Got off to a solid start and clocked a comfortable 3:32 for the 1st k as myself and another broke away from my little group, but shortly after the first short climb on the 2nd k I dropped him so now it was a solo effort reeling in the bodies ahead of me and starting pick off a few by the end of that 2nd k in which I still felt comfortable @ 3:37. Nice bit of traffic to aim for as I rounded the corner at the start of the 3rd k and worked hard on this slightly uphill section for 3:36. Was starting to feel the HM in the legs at this stage but kept plugging away, disappointed that I dropped to 3:50 here, probably had over cooked the 3rd a little. Got my head back together as Abhainn came past like Thomas the Tank Engine with about 750 to and still had a few bodies to pass was passed by Fin with about 500 to go and looked like he was closing on Joe, picked off another few bodies in the last 500 to finish about 6th and in 18:10 - not bad on a freezing evening, with a dodgy knee and a HM in the legs.
So that's 33 races this year and 211k, one more to go!

BeepBeep67

Slow recovery run tonight - just what the Doctor ordered.
Stuck on the cans and listened to a random episode of Marathon Talk - the Tom Lowe interview, popped the head torch on and headed in the direction of the Murrough - nice to have the place to myself in the dark and not even the Diesel Commuter to get a toot from. 7.5 miles at 8:30 pace with a few aches and pains after the 2 races in 5 days.

BeepBeep67

Busy day with 'Tumblethons' and 'Winter Wonderlands' so just time for an easy 4miles on the treadie - body creaking a little.

BeepBeep67

No rush to get out of bed this morning, so nice to catch up on an extra few zzz's. Organised to pick up a clubie and head towards Avondale, knee is still a little sore, so I wanted to bail out option of laps - thankfully I didn't need to play that card.
Avondale was crisp and cold as we parked up at the main gate and navigated our way down the frosty avenue, through some crunchy leaves and then we were on the nice trails of Avondale. The trails around Avondale are a nice mixture of ups and downs, so a relatively easy run still requires a little bit of work and we just let the profile of the lap dictate the effort, which was easy conversational all the way around. Wore my Inov-8 230 Lite's for this and in all honestly they were designed for Avondale, a fairly minimalist shoe which forces you off your heels and some traction on the sole which gets you through moderate slippy conditions underfoot.
12.2 Miles @ 7:49 pace.

WTD: 72.7 [45.2]
MTD: 189.1 [117.5]
YTD: 3,477.7 [2,161.4]
Races YTD: 33 [13 x M40 PB's]

BeepBeep67

Pretty nondescript run around Wicklow Town this evening, the body was feeling the effects of 3 races in 11 days and the wind this evening didn't help, particularly when I seemed to be running against it for most of the run - so I dialed down the pace and shortened it a little. Another few days recovery me thinks!
6.5 miles @ 8:14 pace.

BeepBeep67

Busy day and evening, so got up before I woke up and ran 5 miles on the treadie at 8 something pace at stupid o'clock am.

BeepBeep67

Tonight was a double bonus, first time in a few weeks that I've felt a little zip coming back into the legs, but I kept a lid on the pace anyway and first time in a few weeks that my knee has felt ok, this was tested with 6 x 30secs strides, which I haven't been able to do recently due to the extra extension of the knee being sore, but no issues this evening .
6.84 miles @ 7:41 pace

BeepBeep67

Met up with a clubie and ran down to the start of the Streets of Wicklow 5k course and ran around it at tempoish pace, playing chicken with cars and pedestrians along the Main St section, 1st 2k @ 4:13 pace and the last 3 @ 4:00 pace - ran back the way we came as a warm down. Pace felt fine, knee a little sore after again - will take it easy to Monday now and get back doing the rehab exercises.
7.6 miles @ 7:15 pace, with 5k @ 4:05 per k pace (Streets of Wicklow)

BeepBeep67

Knee giving out last night and today - played it safe and ran 4 gentle miles on the treadie to bring up 60 consecutive days - Happy Christmas All - see you after the big day!

donothoponpop

Unbelievable run Dom, and the day after Xmas to boot. Well done!:)

BeebBeeps famous rumour mill wrote:

Wicklow 5k won today in record time of 12 mins, by local lad BB67 (age 27). He led from the off, stopped to give presents to Tiny Tim et al, before singing "O Holy Night" as soloist at 12 noon mass. He then rejoined the race and cut through the field in a WR time of 12 mins dead, golden tresses flowing in the wind behind him. Further verification on Twatter.

BeepBeep67

In theory local 5k's on St Stephen's day should be a nice gentle affair, but familiar faces and a motivational PM from donot :rolleyes: changes the complection ever so slightly. Headed down to this one with a belly full of Christmas excess and I don't know how many glasses of Faustino, usual warm up and rocked up to the start with about 10mins to spare - Tom Fitz, Peter Matthews, Abhainn, gmurran and a few others throwing shapes. Plan for me had been to run about 18mins, which would be 10 secs faster from the recent Bray Runner's Christmas handicap, but after my motivational PM from donot maybe 5:41 pace (17:39) would be a good target .
I had a reasonable start at 3:29, before a slower 3:49 on the uphill 2nd k, although I was passing a few bodies on this, tried to kick on without going wild on the downhill 3rd, trading places with one of the juniors from Greystones several times and was happy to hit 3:27 for a 10:42 3k, my mind wandered a bit on the 4th k and although I held my own around around me, thinking back I remember too much about this k, thinking there was no cones to separate the bridge and noticing the route change over the bridge, a 3:42 for 14:24 shook me into life as I kicked on knowing a 3:35 was needed for sub 18 and left the Greystones junior in my my wake to eventually finish 7 secs ahead of him for a final k of 3:18 as I was going full out with jelly legs, finishing fast has been a common factor this year, which tells me I need to lay more on the line in the 1st 4 k next year.
Post Mortem - Happy, but can't help but think I left a PB out there today, leave aside the wind and a hilly 2nd k, if my head was fully in the game (esp on the 4th k)sub 17:40 was there for the taking.

9 bells tomorrow at Avondale for 75mins if anyone is interested - PM me!

Dom

donothoponpop

That's great going, much better than you had suggested having cleared the Wicklow shelves of Faustino:D Good report, in that you point out how you could have upped the game after 3k. Always the hunger.

I'll be there at 9am if you're deffo on for it.

BeepBeep67

Leaving Wickla at 8:30 picking up a few homies on the way, call me or I'll call you just before 9.

BeepBeep67

Out early enough this morning to run the race and the post race re-hydration out of the body, collected Abhainn & Fin and headed to Avondale for a nice trot around the trails. Had the place to ourselves with the exception of a few dog walkers and we were joined in the later few miles by a few of the Parnell AC crew.
10.24 miles @ 7:24 pace, knee and hip were a little sore after I finished, must plan to get a rub down in before the end of the year.

BeepBeep67

Organized a group to head out for a trot around Avondale this morning, great to see about 15 there, made up from Bray, Parnell and Inbhear Dee runners, plus our own Slogger Jogger and Pronator. Pace was variable, easy to start with using a few 1 mile loops to pick up any late comers, before heading off a couple of 5k loops, where the pace probably averaged about 4:30 per k, before easing off towards the end.
I'm the shakings of the bag at the moment, fighting off a chesty cough and not able to get rid of my persistent knee and hips niggles, but the pace felt comfortable aerobically, just a little painful at times.
10 miles @ 7:29 pace.

BeepBeep67

Took yesterday off - 1st day off after 66 on the trot, but really had to be sensible as I was coughing up green muck, was hoping it would also help the knee and hip. Today still playing it cautious, had to drop someone to the airport in the morning and hit the bike for 90mins for an easy spin, no reaction from the knee or hip on the bike, followed by 2k on the treadie, knee and hip a bit noticeable but not too bad. Topped it off with 30 mins stretching and strengthening.

BeepBeep67

Summary in Numbers:
2,228 miles, 286 hrs, 34 races, 13 M40 PB's.

Highs:
Dungarvan 10 - surprisingly good run considering it was my 6th race in Jan and I had left my watch at home - finished with a 5:53 mile.
Dunboyne 5 - stitched together 5 solid consistent miles on a great evening for racing.
Waterford Half - despite carrying an injury ran to plan to 10 miles and was delighted to find another gear to run the last 5k in 19:14.
Raheny 2M rd 8 - real surprise to dip under 11 mins.
Ballinamore 10k - off my target time on a wet and windy evening, but felt great to finish 1st M40 and 3rd overall in a reasonably sized race.
5k - 4 5ks under last years best.

Lows:
Not many really thank God.
Injury - couple of injuries held me back in the Summer and later in the year and probably stopped me hitting my primary goals of a sub 5 mile and sub 17:30 for 5k.
National Half - shouldn't have run with the injury, disappointing when 10 weeks training needs to be shelved.

2012
Turning 45 in April so it's all about Rotterdam - sub 3 and a sub 5 min mile any other Master's PB's will be a bonus.

The Stats:


Happy New Year All - safe and happy running!
Dom

Slogger Jogger

Great numbers Dom. A very good running year (for an old lad )

BeepBeep67

Today was officially day 1 of Marathon training and I have a chest infection, a dodgy knee and a sciatica problem. Yesterday done a short run on the treadie to warm up followed by 30mins of tennis ball lovin' and multiple piriformis stretches.
Today decided to try an easy run on Carrick as there are multiple options to shorten if needed and duly went over on my ankle after 2k, heard a bit of a crack when it happened and although it's tender now it could have been a lot worse. So I'm hoping that I'm getting rid of all my bad luck early doors and that I can rattle in to the training as soon as. Managed 9.2 miles slow, including several stretching breaks.

BeepBeep67

No run yesterday:
:mad: ankle swollen
:mad: sciatica still giving out
knee feels ok
chest improving
Heading to Physio this morning, hoping for a miracle or no XC for me on Sunday and shortened marathon plan.

Krusty_Clown

Sorry to hear that BB. Hope everything gets sorted real quick. Congrats on a great 2011. Do you know the route in Shanganagh for Sunday? Might pop out some evening and give it a pre-race trot.

BeepBeep67

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Sorry to hear that BB. Hope everything gets sorted real quick. Congrats on a great 2011. Do you know the route in Shanganagh for Sunday? Might pop out some evening and give it a pre-race trot.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/63668705 here's last year's route - will be pretty similar.

Just back from Physio, knee and sciatica are due to some lower back issues, a lot of tightness there, so core stability on the menu for me.
Dry needling on my sciatica hello pain.
Ankle strapped, minor grade 1 strain, apparently I strained the better of the 2 ligaments.
No running for a few days - XC hasn't been ruled out but let's see, a couple bike sessions to keep me ticking over.