From Connemara to Galway (maybe)

earnyourturns

That's brilliant congratulations!

littlebug

jlang wrote: »

Well done. It'll be easier next time. Doesn't get much wetter than the Park this morning.

I used to stop at the car for a few minutes each time I did a lap but realised it got harder and harder to get going once my body started locking up. Now it's just enough time to grab a drink, possibly a little stretch and off again.

Thanks jlang, I think we got a bit luckier with the weather here in the west
I do need to stop stopping as the further I've I do find it harder to get going again. I was mulling it over and planning the 18 miler for 2 weeks time. For a start it'll be spot on 3 loops without having to add on an extra one or two at the end (that kills me ). I'll also have extra water bottles in the car rather than refilling the small one from a big bottle... too much faffing.. i'll have the gels opened and pinned to me rather than closed and in pocket/car (again too much faffing and I ususally end up stopping to open them). i'd like to get through the 18 miler with only quick water stops if i can. I also need to accept that slower is ok :rolleyes:
I'll get there. My legs have been surprisingly good lately. It's my aerobic fitness that lets me down once I go over 10- 12 miles.

Blueskye

Well done on the lsr LB. They get pretty daunting when the mileage is up after 15 miles I find. Often more of a mental battle. 47 miles is a lot in a week!

littlebug

4 miles slow recovery run in the rain just after a stir fry with chillies in it. Not to be recommended.

littlebug

Work stuff took over this morning so my run had to be on the treadmill this evening (yawn). 2@11 min, 4@ 10 min, 2@10.35. Took a while to feel comfortable. I was well into the 3rd mile before I was felt like I was moving properly. Apart from sweating buckets it wasn't actually too bad.... for 8 miles on the treadmill

claralara

Well done on signing up for the marathon LB; delighted for you! That was good going with the 16 miles too. I'm also seriously impressed at the 8 miles on the treadmill. Since I started running outside when the bad weather in the new year passed I haven't managed more than about 6 minutes on the treadmill. It did my head in the couple of times I tried it. I'm going to have to get over that as it started to get dark before and after work! Yuck

littlebug

I've got kind of used to the treadmill I suppose out of necessity. It's a bit of a juggling act sometimes. Today I ended up emailing Mrbug to see what his exercise requirements for the evening were so we could timetable everything:D. I needed to do 8 miles so needed to have 2-3 already done before he got home then he got the kids sorted for bed and is in there now doing his intervals. It's all one big juggling act sometimes:D.
I'm back working again now but it's fairly flexible so depending on what I'm doing I should be able to fit a run in some mornings but catch up on some work in the evening/ weekends.

jcsmum

Oh I love the juggling too! It's hard to get the longer runs in. I have to do my early morning runs, but have to be home for 7.10am, before jcsDAD goes to work. It's so early! But I have to say I feel great afterwards.

Your training is going great. Well done on the 16 miles and signing up for the marathon. It's all so REAL now isn't it!!!!???

littlebug

jcsmum wrote: »

It's all so REAL now isn't it!!!!???

I'm not sure it's quite hit me yet I'm sure it will hit me with quite a bang on the 18/20 milers !

Got a couple of hours work done this morning then headed out for the required 5 mile. Slow and low heartrate was the plan for today given that my lsr is being brought forward to Friday. 5 miles in 54.17, average pace 10.50, ave hr 161. That was with pushing it a bit faster for the last half mile. I then walked 1.2 m back to the car.
I'll do 2 loops of this route for fridays lsr. It's without a doubt harder than my usual route so we'll see how it goes. It's only 12 miles so should be ok.
I'm finder it hard to ignore the pain on the top of my foot that I assumed was bruising from shoe too tight/ key laced in during the HM. 10 days on and it still there...there's also a slight toe joint niggle reminiscent of the issues I had on the other foot earlier in the year.
Speaking of toegate I haven't worn heels since I ended up with weeks out from running and 2 rounds of x rays after the last attempt. I can't decide whether to risk wearing heels or not this weekend though I'm leaning towards not. Not good when you're 5'2":( hmm will my fancy frock look good with mizunos?

jcsmum

littlebug wrote: »

Not good when you're 5'2":( hmm will my fancy frock look good with mizunos?

What colour are they?

Emer911

Hey LB, try rubbing some arnica on the bruised foot. It'll help speed up the healing. I bruise like a peach :P and am never without it!?

claralara

Wear your heels - your legs will look amazing in them after all the running...;)

And that organisatroning with MrBug is very impressive. I struggle to look after myself alone most of the time! Kudos.

littlebug

jcsmum wrote: »

What colour are they?

white with purple bits. sure they'll go with anything

Emer911 wrote: »

Hey LB, try rubbing some arnica on the bruised foot. It'll help speed up the healing. I bruise like a peach :P and am never without it!?

good tip. i've no visible bruise... it seems like a deeper thing but no harm trying. much better today anyway.

claralara wrote: »

Wear your heels - your legs will look amazing in them after all the running...;)

lsr brought forward today. 12 miles, average pace 10.29 , average hr 171.
Faster than my usual lsr pace but hey I've got a hair appointment to get to:p I ran a different loop which has a couple of nasty climbs but also some nice downhill sections. Gels at 6 and 9 with water replenish short stop at 6. Started easy, finished strong with my second loop being 3 minutes faster than the first. I even managed a few "fast" miles in there with miles 9, 10 and 11 at 9.56/ 10.20 and 10.18. Very happy with that.
Now the glad rags are packed and I'm headed north

jcsmum

Great running! Enjoy your weekend. It's nice to treat yourself especially after a LSR.

littlebug

4 miles at some unknown but slow pace today. I look on my few days off as a mini taper for tomorrows 9 and Sundays 18 :eek: mile runs.

Still undecided about pmp

littlebug

9 miles in 1.28, average pace 9.46, average hr 171.
8/9 miles @< pmp.

the few days rest obviously did me some good. I may have overcooked this a bit with miles 3-7 @ 9.25/9.23/9.34/9.36/9.49 but it's a massive confidence boost nonetheless.
No gels. water/ stretch break @ 4 and 7.

catweazle

Thats good running I can see a steady improvement in running pace the last few weeks. Soon if not already you will see 12/13 miles as an easy run. This marathon training will bring your half marathons on majorly next year. From looking at yesterdays effort a sub 2 hour half will be on soon

Maybe Mr Bug needs to be introduced to the delights of Waterford on a balmy Decembers day

http://www.waterfordac.com/pages/wac_index2.php

(Info on right of page)

littlebug

Waterford might be stretching it a bit! I'm still a long way off a sub 2 hr hm I think but I do see the improvement myself lately. Maybe the bad half marathon even did me some good from a training point of view. The plan after DCM is to try to pick up the speed a wee bit for the shorter stuff and aim for a nice pb in Athenry at Christmas. The next big HM attempt can wait til next year some time!

littlebug

Spent the day cleaning the house for my mother arriving tomorrow. Yes I'm 40 and I still feel the need to have everything just right for my mother :rolleyes: I didn't get time to get the scheduled 5 miles in and have spent the last hour sneezing like mad. Noooo damned cold stay away :mad: i'll see how I feel tomorrow. I have a days grace anyway since I don't do my lsr til Sunday. If I feel like crap tomorrow I'll wrap myself up and hope for the best for Sunday. Better to get it now I suppose if I'm gonna get a cold at all between now and 25th Oct.

littlebug

5 very slow miles. very tired today so took it really easy. Stuck to local roads where there were loads of people out walking so there were quite a few stops to chat ah well this was supposed to be an easy one. it's the long ones that make the difference at this point.

littlebug

18 miles :eek: done and dusted , 3:09 (moving time), average pace 10.39 (10.30 average moving pace).
. 3 loops of 6.2 route so stopped at 18 and walked back to the car. I found it hard to hold back on the first loop and averaged 10.30 for the first 6.2 (miles 2-4 were 10.21/10.17/10.26/10.18). Water, gel and stretch stop and off on the second loop. Funny I found the second loop harder than the first and third. Messed up with the garmin at gel stop at 9 ie forgot to turn it off thus quoting moving time above. When I turned the corner at 11.5 I saw the crowds just leaving the church so I stopped a minute til they'd cleared rather than huff and puff and sweat my way through them. Stopped a bit longer after the second loop than the first time.... took on another gel, water, sports drink and a few jelly babies and felt much better heading into the 3rd loop than the second one. Last gel stop at 15 and didn't feel too bad heading into the last 3. HR was showing the strain though so I took a minute stop at the end of 16 and 17 just to try to keep it down. Overall I felt it was easier than the 16 miler probably due to better fuelling yesterday, this morning and during the run. I still found the last few hard but not nearly as difficult as the the last long one.
I'm actually finding it hard to run slower which in one way is a good sign but is also why I needed those stops for the last few miles:rolleyes:
All in all happy with today but I'm sure I'll feel it later/ tomorrow:o

catweazle

Was this the Annaghdown route, did two loops of it myself yesterday. Probably a bit late for you but I have a lovely 6 or 8.5k route out around Oranmore through Renvyle park and down around the bay at Maree.

I finally got Mrs C to run it with me a few weeks ago and she is out there every weekend for the last few, scenery is lovely

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/ireland/oranmore/945128497684927917

littlebug

catweazle wrote: »

Was this the Annaghdown route, did two loops of it myself yesterday. Probably a bit late for you but I have a lovely 6 or 8.5k route out around Oranmore through Renvyle park and down around the bay at Maree.

I finally got Mrs C to run it with me a few weeks ago and she is out there every weekend for the last few, scenery is lovely

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/ireland/oranmore/945128497684927917

No I've stuck with glencorrib for the last few weeks. I've avoided it before but now I think it's actually easier/ faster as there's a lot of downhill/ flat which more than make up for the one short but very sharp uphill.
I might go back to Annaghdown for the next few though if only because I can make it a 7+ mile loop by going out on to the main road for a bit so it fits better with the mileage requirements.

So if you had met a woman running yesterday would you have asked her if she was littlebug?:D

The renvyle route looks lovely. Is part of that the Maree 5k route? Or close to it? It's a bit far away for me but i'll keep it in mind.

catweazle

If an approx 40ish woman is running and I can hear the heart thumping like the clappers from 100 metres I might give it a mention. Maybe I would get confirmation said woman is running Dublin Marathon first before I make a potential eejit of myself.

Could be don't know the route for that 8k run, probably more than likely judging from the scenery it would be the obvious route and the distance stacks up

littlebug

5 miles on the treadmill at varying paces. 53ish minutes or thereabouts. I wasn't paying attention as for the last mile I was having to run and shout casserole instructions in towards the kitchen at the same time :rolleyes:

"Tired" does not come anywhere close to how I feel today. Not feeling the love for it all today at all. Hopefully a good nights sleep will sort me out and I'll be ok for 9 tomorrow.
Where did I leave those KALMS?

littlebug

Needed to be near the phone this morning. Given that it's all feeling like a chore this week I knew that if I didn't run this morning it might not happen at all. So I did 9 miles on the treadmill :eek: 2x 11/ 5x10/ 1x10.30/ 1x11.30 with stretch stop at 2 and water/ change music/ relieve monotony stop at 5.

littlebug

5 miles run/ walk/ stop/ talk locally this evening. It's amazing the gossip you can pick up along the way:eek: The whole thing took so long it was pitch dark by the time I got home but I kinda enjoyed it.
Ar ais go dtí an Oileán tomorrow where I've got to find 14 miles to run on Sunday . There's no escaping the hills so it'll be a slow one.

littlebug

Not a good one today. I knew it was going to be a struggle when I saw my hr over 170 after the first downhill mile. (norm is 150-160s for the first 2 mile). I carried 2 bottles with me, left one behind a rock at 1 mile and headed off along the Bóthar ó Thuaidh. The hills aren't huge but there are some drags and combined with a baltic wind in my face I struggled with 3 miles at 10.50ish. Turning back with the wind behind me was a relief but I stupidly ran the next 3 miles too fast for a long run (10.17/10.20/10.08) bringing me back to my rock with powerade bottle behind it. I had brought powerade as I had no gels :rolleyes: I was spent at this point and every road from there was uphill with no relief from the wind so I really really wanted to just go home. I headed off towards the North of the island but after struggling with .6 mile @10.45 pace I decided to call it a day, turned off the garmin and shuffled the remaining. 1.6m back to the house. 9.2 miles done with 7 of them in 1.19.41, average pace 10.28... far too fast for me for the first half of a long run :rolleyes: esp with hills and wind. I'll see if I can get a few more miles in on the treadmill when i get home later just for sake of getting the miles in. Thankfully it's stepback week so I'm not too bothered by it. Next week (5/10/5/20) terrifies me :eek:

rainbow kirby

Don't worry about it. Bad days happen, and at least this is a stepback week. Only one more big week now then taper!

littlebug

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Don't worry about it. Bad days happen, and at least this is a stepback week. Only one more big week now then taper!

Yeah I reasoned that forcing the issue today would have a negative impact on the rest of the week which I don't want.... more important that I can do the 20 next week.