From Connemara to Galway (maybe)

meathcountysec

littlebug wrote: »

I was a blow in there too. Now if you knew where I'm really from you'd know I have no rights to snobbery

Almost afraid to step into the middle of this one.....

littlebug

Roight enough of the messin'.

So I'm doing an 8k race on a weekend where I'm supposed to do a 12 mile lsr. Swap with the previous week (7 mile lsr)?

Opinions or suggestions anyone?

meathcountysec

For me its either LSR or Race. I'm not going to race the Kilomathon. Its just an opportunity to have a fully supported long run. Maybe do your 12 mile the week before but don't do a 7 mile and a 8Km race in the same week.

Just my opinion..... at the end of the day its your call.

littlebug

meathcountysec wrote: »

but don't do a 7 mile and a 8Km race in the same week.

I meant the 8k race with warmup/down as the 7 miler. Not an lsr strictly speaking but the only other option is not to do streets of Galway (haven't registered yet ).

meathcountysec

I suppose it depends what pace you intend to run the 8Km section at. If its just an extension of the LSR then go for it. If your pushing on though your not getting the benefits of the LSR and will have compromised your performance in the race.

Is it a target race?

littlebug

It was a target race because 1. it's a great race that I really enjoyed last year and 2. it's the first race I'll have done twice. I think I'll register and aim for swapping the mileage with the previous week. It's not much different than other people doing the 5 and 10mile races during their training? if I schedule a sports massage for the week before/ after it should help with recovering from the previous weeks 12 miler and prepare for the following weeks 13 miler :eek: If I feel differently coming up to race day I'll rethink.


Christ the thought of the "big miles" is getting scary!

littlebug

I braved the elements today. 7 windy miles in 1.14, ave pace 10.35, ave hr 168. Same time as the last 7 miler I did but I started out slower this time and made the last mile the fastest at 10.17 (struggled with the 7th last time). HR higher but the strong wind and big hill in 6th mile probably account for that.
Passed the 400 mile mark

shazkea

Great running littlebug, you're going great guns in that winds and hills.

littlebug

shazkea wrote: »

Great running littlebug, you're going great guns in that winds and hills.

Thanks Shazkea. I'm feeling good about it all at the minute which is great after hitting a bit of a low point in May. I think half the battle is psychological.

I'm not too sure of the wisdom of what I did tonight but I think ultimately it'll have done me more good than harm. True to my promise last week I went out with a group tonight. 5.5 miles in 51.30 ave pace 9.25 ave hr 177. It's probably not what I should be doing the day after an lsr but I really enjoyed it and running at that pace with others felt a hell of a lot easier than on my own. Hopefully I'll get out with them again but I'll make sure to have the lsr done 2 days before hand.

Tipsygypsy

Hi Littlebug, just spent the last while reading your log (toss up between it and ironing - no contest there!). Ive really enjoyed it - most particularly:

littlebug wrote: »

Scratch that. I awoke at some silly hour of the night with the awful pain of a stubbed toe Yes Mr (big clumsy oaf) bug had somehow managed to kick me while turning over (No he's not the violent sort really ). Like a good little Irish wifey I lay there saying nothing in case I woke him :rolleyes: but stayed awake for ages wondering if my toe was broken. It transpired that he was actually lying awake thinking "oh sh1t... well she seems to be asleep so maybe she didn't notice that I just kicked her".

Sorry for your pain but I got a good giggle out of that!
I had wanted to do the Galway 5k series but was too late and it had sold out (man, that thing is popular!), really good for me to read about local races, and hear so much galway talk throughout, good for the soul!

Emer911

littlebug wrote: »

I braved the elements today. 7 windy miles in 1.14, ave pace 10.35

I did a similar run today - 7 miles in windy conditions, and in a similar time too. The parallels are scary! I think you enjoyed yours more than I did mine though

littlebug wrote: »

Passed the 400 mile mark

Congrats on the milestone!

littlebug

Tipsygypsy wrote: »

Sorry for your pain but I got a good giggle out of that!

I actually really regretted writing that afterwards as he was mortified and sooo apologetic but I left it too late to delete Anyway no broken toe or long term damage done!
Have you joined a club TG? There seems to be a really good fit4life group in GCH.

Emer911 wrote: »

I did a similar run today - 7 miles in windy conditions, and in a similar time too. The parallels are scary! I think you enjoyed yours more than I did mine though

I had the wind behind me for the last 4 miles
We do seem to be at similar paces/ same age etc! I think youre better prepared for the long runs though. I'm not sure how I'd handle a long run a few days after a really long run! I tend to be really knackered afterwards so I'll be interested in how you get on...how many days between runs etc. I tend to go out as and when the opportunity arises as opposed to planning it properly.

littlebug

Tipsygypsy wrote: »

(toss up between it and ironing!).

what's that now?

It's all about prioities TG

littlebug

2nd fit4life 5k. A relatively flat but very windy 5k, finished in in just over 28 mins. My laptop is in laptop hospital for the night so I don't know the details. I really enjoyed the run and the best part was that I got to meet Racheljev:), a lovely person. She flew past me at 1k and quickly became a little dot in the distance finishing about a minute and a half ahead of me.

One thing that has struck me is that this was the first run in a long time where I didn't do a loud "owww" stepping out of the car afterwards. It's taken a while to get used to but the orthotics seem to be doing the job.

racheljev

Great to meet you last night lb. OH was convinced I was making it all up;) Cant believe I missed the tea and biccies. We headed back to the hotel via a chipper inFoxford cos my son was desperate to get the end of the Spanish match... Thanks for telling me about the race, it was great fun and I've finally gotten to do one outside Dublin, yay!:)

littlebug

I didn't know about the tea and biccies til after you'd gone. There was as a lovely friendly atmosphere wasn't there? Enjoy the rest of your hols and come back for another race sometime!

Tipsygypsy

littlebug wrote: »

I actually really regretted writing that afterwards as he was mortified and sooo apologetic but I left it too late to delete Anyway no broken toe or long term damage done!
Have you joined a club TG? There seems to be a really good fit4life group in GCH.

:oOops, okay, forget I mentioned it!!
No to the club, I have 3 littlegypsys to organise my life around and with a Mr Gypsy who also runs (alot more than me), and everything else in life, I just cant commit to making it out at pre-arranged times. Its tough enough to fit it all in as it is! Also, we're actually out in the back arse of Craughwell - there is an AC out here which I'll check eventually, maybe when all 3 of the little ones have started school!!

littlebug wrote: »

what's that now?

It's all about prioities TG

Yeah, em, that basket of ironong is still waiting for me to tackle it, I will get around to it someday! As you say, priorities!

littlebug

Thursday. slow 3m. Didn't time it.
unforseeable family events meant no running on Friday or Saturday. This morning 5 with a friend, ave pace 9.51, av hr 179. A bit faster than my norm but not very fast but I found this quite tough. That probably had more to do with a stressful few days and 5 hours driving yesterday than the actual run itself. On the way home I stopped to check out a trail around a little lake that I've been intending having a look at for ages so i added a slow mile there. (Slow= stopping to look at ducks etc!). The loop around the lake is about .8 mile and is dead flat. It's a lovely little run... could be handy. i could even see myself doing loops for longish runs there.

shazkea

Well done for getting through the run and I hope everything is ok with you.
That route sounds lovely, could be good for some pace runs although watch out for the ducks crossing your path

littlebug

Hamstring tendon was quite sore on Sunday and niggly on Monday so I took Monday and Tuesday as rest days. Still a bit niggly on Wed so I decided it would be madness to run the 3rd fit4life 5k. Instead I did 4 slow miles on the treadmill, stopping every mile to do lots of stretches, put child A in the bath, another mile... more stretches... put child B in the bath and so on.... it's all about the juggling .
Treadmill again today and I went with a --see how I feel-- approach. All felt good so 1 slow mile plus stretches + 3 miles @ 10 min pace + 1 slow cooldown mile. Leg feels good now but I'll stick to the treadmill until my lsr on Sat/Sun just in case. This being the very same tendon that had me out of action for 6 weeks last year I'm erring on the side of caution.

littlebug

Does moving furniture, lifting carpet and packing and lugging around boxes of books etc count as cross training? Well I did 3 hrs of that last night and was knackered afterwards so i think it does.
Today 4 miles slow...well 3 slow jog and 1 walk. Occasional little hamstring pull but I think I'll be good for Sundays lsr. Common sense tells me to do laps of the lake instead of a long out and back.. just in case.

In the furniture move last night we discovered the extent of our secret wine stash and decided that we really don't drink enough :pac: thus the huge glass of very very nice red wine in my hand just now I can't remember the last time I had a drink Lsr on sunday rather than tomorrow so I'll be ok

littlebug

Aimed for the lake trail for the lsr but it was locked up . We were all there as the rest of the clan were going to walk the trail and hang out at the playground while I ran. Then we reckoned we'd go to the cafe at tesco and get a coffee and maybe it would be open in half an hour.... walked in the open door and got shouted at that it wasn't open. (all at 10am). Then another girl wouldn't let me go to the loo because she had just mopped the floor :mad: grr...
so.. plan B... Mr bug dropped me off at a point that we reckoned was 9 miles from home. As the car disappeared off into the distance I remembered my reasoning for having decided to do laps of the park... ie never far away from the car in case of injury. I needn't have worried... everything felt fine. Legs felt strong and I didn't really tire until the last 2 miles but maintained the pace regardless. 9 miles in 1.37, ave pace 10.49, ave hr 170ish pushed up to 180 in the last mile. Very happy with that.

Emer911

littlebug wrote: »

Aimed for the lake trail for the lsr but it was locked up

What a bummer lb. Not the nicest (or most calming) way to start your Sunday morning!?

Good running though. Sounds like you're on the road to recovery. Welcome back!

littlebug

Emer911 wrote: »

Not the nicest (or most calming) way to start your Sunday morning!?

Indeed. Me getting out of the car 9 miles from home may have had as much to do with the prevailing mood in the car as needing to get the miles in

It was well worth sticking with treadmill runs with lots of stretching this week for getting that hamstring loosened up.

DigiJem

Good lsr littlebug, glad to see the hamstrings are holding up for you.

littlebug

Yawn.... i'm tired beyond description. I'm even more tired today than I was on rest day yesterday. I probably did my lsr too fast on Sunday. McMillan says 10.48 to 11.48 for long runs if I'm aiming for sub 4.30. My average for the 9 miler was 10.49 so that's at the upper end of that scale. I probably should have let myself go slower. Once I'd done a number of miles under 11 I wanted to keep it that way. Now that I've found my ant stick (close to going in the washing machine:eek:) I see that my hr went up to 185 in the last mile. That's friggin' end of race level:mad:. Kinda peed off with myself now. I really need to watch that now that the long runs are starting to live up to their name. I'm supposedly doing 3 miles this evening... at the minute mustering up the energy to go to the kitchen for coffee is hard enough!

McConkey

Enjoying your log lb! Particularly the bit in June that we are not supposed to mention :D Poor you and your toe!

You are not lacking in motivation anywaym that's for sure.

What did you decide about the Streets of Galway in the end?

littlebug

McConkey wrote: »

What did you decide about the Streets of Galway in the end?

Well I'm registered anyway! The plan is to swap training weeks 6 and 7 which means 10 mile lsr next weekend and 12 the week after:eek: I'm not sure how that'll work out given how tired I was after this weeks lsr. i'll go slower for the next one and see how I feel.
So tired I managed to get in a nice 2 mile walk last night :rolleyes:. I really need 2 days after the long run. I'll get moving properly again today.

littlebug

lovely evening :rolleyes: Todays run was all about the heart rate so I switched the garmin to hr and didn't even bother with the gps or timer. very slow mile to start keeping hr at 145ish (71%), a bit faster for miles 2 and 3 with hr at 150ish to start with but up to 157 by the end (73%-76%) then gradually slowing down over the last mile til I was walking by the end with hr @ 130 something. so... 4 miles in some minutes with hr kept low (for me).

littlebug

Set off on what was supposed to be the first midweek long(er) run on one f my usual 6 mile routes but with the intention of run 5/ walk 1. Straight away my right leg didn't feel right... eased into the run slowly and stopped to stretch out a few times. After a mile I gave up and walked back to the car. sigh....:( lots of icing this evening and I'll try a treadmill run tomorrow but Sundays lsr is the most important one. If I can't do that then there may be a major rethink on the cards.