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Berlin or bust...
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Wednesday 22nd June
6 miles in the park on a sunny Wednesday evening. Was running later than normal due to club supervision duty, so I made sure I had a banana with me to nibble on. If I let myself get (too) hungry I end up just eating dinner and not running, so I was quite happy with myself for being so organised today.
Got home after 7:00 and went straight to get changed, for fear the ennui would take hold if I sat down at all. Didn't plan a route or anything, but generally headed in the direction of the park.
The first mile was a bit niggly, calf/knee/shin tightness - but I think some was just psychological... I don't like running late (or on Wednesdays, seemingly). It all settled down after a mile or so anyway. Hit the park after about a mile and a bit on the road and it was buzzing. Headed straight to the end where the kiddies rarely venture and did a couple of laps there. A pleasant run, but I found it hard work. I'll just have to get myself over this aversion to Wednesday / late running :rolleyes:Summary 6.01 miles in 00:55:40
Avg Pace: 09:15 min/mi0 -
Thursday 23rd June
No lunchtime Pilates. Work stuff took over.
I did run my 3 miles this evening though.
My pace was all over the place. First too fast, then too slow, then sped up again, then slowed down again... don't know what the hell is up at the moment
. There's no consistency and I can't seem to judge my pace at all. This was supposed to be a recovery run - easy, but my head was just working against me in that. I think I need to find a song or something to distract myself when I start over-thinking things.
Anyway, 3 days running in a row (yey!).
On a completely different note, I've signed up to do the Clontarf Half on Sunday week. The OH is pacing so I might as well. My plan has a 13 mile LSR that day anyway, so, seeing as I already got my goal time for the Half Marathon this year, I'll just run this as a training run.Summary 3 miles in 00:28:36
Avg Pace: 09:31 min/mi0 -
Friday - Rest day.
Saturday 25th June
Family party /BBQ (70th birthday) planned for the evening, so I decided it was wiser to do the long run today and the 6 miles tomorrow, as the wine is always flowing at these things.
The wee one had a gym training session from 12 to 3 so I decided that was the best time to fit in my 12 mile LSR. I did NOT count on our summer weather arriving though! Had a powerade in the car on the way to the gym, drank about a third. Dropped her off and slapped on some sunscreen and headed off.
I did a loop of 7 miles followed by the same loop but with a short cut to make it 5 miles. So 12 in total. The plan was to stop at the car after the 7 for a drink, so I wouldn't need to carry a bottle or money. Sweet.
The first loop was grand. It was very warm and the sun was baking, but I took it handy and arrived back at the car feeling OK, but parched. Did the 2nd loop in the opposite direction, just to even out the hills / declines. By the time I got back to the car this time I was fairly wrecked and totally gagging for a drink. The powerade was gone in one mouthful, so I nicked the little one's water bottle (so bold!:o)
The run was a bit of an eye opener for me. I hadn't really hydrated brilliantly, and it'd been a while since breakfast, but I managed grand, albeit very slow, with just one powerade and a bit of a banana. The heat was a bit of a pain, but it didn't kill me. <except for the mild sunburn streaks on my upper arms and calves where I didn't put enough / any sunscreen on
> I know it wasn't the smartest prep for a long run, but I guess my body is starting to adapt? Either that, or I just got lucky... 
Summary 12 miles in 02:00:32
Avg Pace: 10:02 min/mi0 -
Sunday 26th June
The plan was to do 6 miles at PMP (<9:00 min/mi)
It was sticky and humid, the body was tired and the overeating yesterday evening probably didn't help! I took it easy on the vino though, so at least I wasn't battling a hangover too:p.
Put on PLENTY of sunscreen before I hit the road today. The stripes from yesterday are not to be repeated!
So set off, but I wasn't even gone a half mile when I was pouring with sweat and really feeling lethargic. Knew straight away this was going to be a struggle to hit PMP ...and it was. In the end I didn't even bother to get to the 6, but finished at the car at 5.5. Oh well!
Not happy about that at all. But I guess we get some good days and some bad days. We struggle on.Summary 5.52 miles in 00:51:30
Avg Pace: 09:19 min/mi0 -
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Monday June 27th
Pilates at lunchtime. Sweaty, tough, really good session Gosh I love that class!
Tuesday June 28th
3 miles in the park on a lovely sunny evening. Nothing major. Took it easy and enjoyed the sunshine. Lovley.Summary 3 miles in 00:27:10 (+ 0.5mi cool down jog)
Average Pace 09:06 / mi (+9:57 / mi for the cool down)0 -
I just noticed that with just 2 days to go until the half year point, I'm well off my target for the 1000 mi challenge
Miles so far this year : 478.43 miles
With the planned 6 for Tomorrow and 3 for Thursday that'll being me to just 487 miles for the 6 months.
Hmmm... not so happy now.
On the plus side, the marathon training that's just kicked off should see the average mileage climbing, so I'll hopefully start to claw back that target before long :rolleyes:
1000 miles looks very far away at the moment though... :eek:0 -
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Thursday June 30th
Lunchtime Pilates class.
Different (novice) teacher so not the usual sweatfest. Better than nothing though.
Evening: 3 miles in the park. Lovely evening. Had the wee one tripping along on her bike, so stopped the watch when we needed to cross the road and <numptie> forget to start it again. Only noticed when I was half way around the park. Doh! For the 2 miles recorded by the garmin the average pace was 8:45 in total time of 17:27.
Still, nice run. On the way back we stopped at the bars to let herself show me some new moves
<pike on undershoot> before continuing on home. Now for some lasagne, hmmm....Summary about 3ish miles in a time?0 -
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Saturday 2nd July
Is it just me or is it hard to believe it's July already?
6 miles pace was called for today. Went out feeling fine. It was a bit humid, but nothing manic and the sun wasn't blazing down so no worries, right? Wrong!
I did the first 2 miles in flying form (08.57 and 08.49). Got a stitch about half way through the next mile so stopped for a stretch after the 3rd (08.49). Took off again, and the stitch came back and I had to stop again after mile 4 (09.01). Really thought about calling it a day at that point, and I slowed right down for the half mile or so home. As the stitch didn't get any worse at the slower pace, I actually kept going until I'd done the required 6 (09.21 & 09.48).
Crappy run, but sorta proud of myself for keeping going for the full distance.
Don't really know what happened there. Had my usual breakfast about 2.5 hours before I started so that wasn't the issue. I may have been a bit dehydrated, cause it was really hot in my house last night (heating came on - timer mis-hap:o), but that shouldn't have affected me THAT much!
Clueless...Summary 6 miles in 00:54:55
Avg Pace: 09:09 min/mi0 -
Sunday 3rd July
Very hot out there this morning. The race was scheduled to kick off at 10.00 so we left the house at about 08.10 or so. Not a sinner on the roads at that time on a sunny Sunday morning in holiday season, so we flew in. Got there about 8:45 and managed to get a sweet (lucky!) parking spot about 100mt from the race start. Met up with a few of the boardsies and hung around the start area for a bit.
...funny story about the beautiful foil balloons that were to be the pacer balloons, until they went soaring skywards, but I'll let someone else tell that one.
The temperature was at 17c when we parked so everyone knew this was going to be a hot one. Sunscreen applied liberally, sipping on water and sports drinks, we dropped our stuff back to the car and headed for the start line.
After a quick race briefing, we were directed to where the start mats were and with a very unceremonious 10-9-8... 3-2-1 we were of. To be honest, there wasn't really much time to think about where you were lining up or if you with the correct pace group, or anything. Strangest start line ever.
The race itself was along the paths to the Wooden Bridge, then across the sand for just over a mile, back to the shoreline and along the paths again until we reached the half way point. The turn (very strange) was around a traffic cone (there were a couple of mats to make sure everyone went the full distance). Then back the way we came.
I was doing this as a LSR, as I've got my goal HM time from Kildare and this is part of the Marathon training plan. So I trotted on at a nice pace. Ran with Vagga for the first third, then I let him off as I wanted to walk to take a gel and drink some water. AND the really soft sand onto and on the way from the beach section was a bas***d to run on. From there I plugged on, enjoying the sunshine (not!) and the heat (definitely not!).
When I'd gone about 5 or so miles (so about 8k) the race leaders started passing in the opposite direction. Now if I was racing this, I'm sure that would have been very disheartening, but I was just out for the run, so I cheered them as they passed. The 1:30 pace group passed me shortly after like a group of ninja runners - silent as the grave, not a whisper, hushed footfalls, mostly in black, very scary! - and from then to the turn the rest of the pack followed.
From the turn (a very welcome sight, I can tell you) it seemed that I was picking people off, slowly (very slowly) but surely. I caught up to Claralara, who had headed out with the 2 hour guys, but had decided to reign it back, and ran with her for a bit. Eventually she told me to push on, so - again very slowly - I pulled away. The soft sand down to the beach section annoyed me again, but I collected another water bottle and toddled on. Two thirds of the way done, about 4 miles to go.
The beach was... different. The tide had come in since we passed there earlier, and the beach had become much more populated. The guy kite surfing was a great distraction - must try that, it looks like a lot of fun! We had to run to the wall at the end, and that seemed to be getting farther away with each step, rather than nearer. Eventually, the turn off came, and I again found that bloody soft sand a total pain. I actually walked through it 'cause I just couldn't get any purchase.
The run back to the finish was a bit mad. There were loads of walkers, strollers, etc. out on the paths so the runners were weaving through them. No real sense of a race there, even though we were in the last couple of kilometres. The finish line was a bit mad too, with lots of people just lolling about and again, no real sense of 'finished'... yeah, there was a gantry with a clock on it, but it was tiny and you couldn't actually see it until you were practically on top of it. A few balloons / flags/ banners would probably have added to the atmosphere.
All in all, happy enough with the time - especially for a LSR. My pace wasn't exactly steady, but the overall average was perfect - 09:27/mi. The time on my garmin was 02:04:19 for 13.15 miles, which is actually my 3rd fastest HM after Kildare and Cape Town. I guess I can't complain:D
Would I do this race again? Not really sure... It was fine for a long run, but if I was racing, the out-and-back route, and the congestion in the last few k's would probably have wrecked my head.
Saying that, it is a TOTALLY flat course, so I guess it must be PB potential.
3 water stations too, so no issues there. T-shirt was a nice red(or blue) one - and completely blank. Good enough fit too.Summary 13.15 miles in 02:04:19
Avg Pace 09:27/ mi0 -
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Wednesday
Nothing Wednesday. Had my sister and her brood staying. Took the 3yr old and the 2yr old for the day to give her a chance to catch up with a friend. No running, but I did feel like I'd run a marathon by the end of the day! Toddlers are busy little people
Thursday
Lunchtime Pilates on Thursday. Great class. We were using little dumbbells and I thought my arm were going to fall off half way through!
Went to the movies on Thursday evening with the clan, so didn't get a run in... Oh well. And yes, I'd definitely recommend The Guard.
Friday 8th July
So I took myself out for a run as soon as I got home. The garmin watch was dead (I'd left the GPS on, doh!) so I just left. No watch, no route, no ideas! It was a lovely evening, so I ran an out and back which I thought was about 4 miles but was closer to 3.5 according to mapmyrun. Felt good. Nice to run with no pressue of distance, pace, etc. Must do that more often.Summary 3.5 miles in some time...
Saturday 9th July
7 miles. Very warm out there today, so I suffered a bit. Didn't really have a route planned so ran into the park and then headed down to the shoreline for a gander. Amazingly the tide was out - something I'd rarely witnessed at that location - so I decided to run along the 'beach' for a bit. There were even some people frolicing about in the sea - at Shankill? - so that tells you how warm it was.
...I say beach but that's a bit of an exaggeration! The 'beach' at Shankill is where the sea meets the cliffs. When the tide is out there's a bit of land in between, some sand but mostly rocks, stones and pebbles. Still it was nice to do something different for a change. Walked for a bit too 'cause the shifting pebbles and stones underfoot were just too tricky.
Back through the park to reach the desired 7 miles. VERY slow... Almost embarrassingly slow actually, but given the week I had, and that theres 14 miles to do tomorrow :eek:, I'm not going to beat myself up. Miles are done.Summary 7 miles in 01:11:01
Avg Pace: 10:04 min/mi0 -
Sunday 10th July
14 mile LSR
Was in town for some parental duties, so decided to run in Phoenix Park, for a change. I planned to take a look at the 5 mile race route, especially that last km up the Kyber :eek:. That's going to be a doozy of a race!
Back to the car for a drink - it was VERY warm out there - and was really in need of a loo:o. I don't run in the park very often, so I didn't have a clue where to go. The park was really busy, so dashing behind a tree was not an option. Finally decided to try Farmleigh. Ran to the gate house, and the very nice man behind the security desk let me use the staff loo. Phew! Close one. Much appreciated.
Ran on for another loop and back up the Kyber (just for fun!:D) before finishing up on Chesterfield Ave. Felt comfortable but tired when I finished, which is surprising, considering I felt totally fkuked after the 7 miles yesterday
The back to the car for the drive home - its a hell long way from The Park to Shankill. Now I know why I rarely run in the park.Summary 14 miles in 02:16:23
Avg Pace: 09:44 min/mi0 -
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Ok. Back to the land of the living laptop, so time for a race report.
Out of bed by 7:40 or so to get myself ready for the race. The usual breaky of porridge, banana and coffee, with some water and I packed up the car and headed for Phoenix Park. It was busy when I got there, but got a handy parking spot on Chesterfield Avenue about a half mile from the Start/ Finish area. The weather forecast was for rain, and it was spitting a bit as I parked so I decided to wait in the car for a bit and stay warm and dry for as long as possible.
The rain kinda stopped, so I locked up and headed off to look for a loo (as usual). No problem there, there was a big bank of them in the car park, so I did a quick warm up and went to look for the start/wave corrals. It was a wee bit confusing, and I went to where I thought the start of wave 2 was, but that turned out to be the back of wave 2! Luckily I was set right before the race started and I weaved my way up through the corral to position myself around a third of the way back. I was using this mainly as a pace run but wanted to see if I could hold it between 42 and 42:30. So I reckoned about a third of the way back was about right. WRONG! <more on that later>
It was quite cool waiting for the start, but I got chatting to a few people around me and the time passed quick enough. Very hard to hear the announcer, impossible actually, as we were too far back, so we didn't notice the 1st wave setting off. The crowd around us started to move forward, and we eventually crossed the start mats about 6 or so minutes after the 1st wave start (according to the Finishing Clock which was just off to the right).
The weather was fine and cool, not too windy, ideal conditions really. Got a bit of a sprinkle of rain for about 6 or so minutes near the start, but nothing to worry about.
Off we set, the first mile was a bit of a mess, cause there were the usual running/walking muppets in the wrong place. I actually spent most of the race weaving, but the first mile and a half were definitely the worst. By the time I got to about mile 3 I was evidently passing the slowpokes from wave 1!! Why would anyone position themselves in the sub 40 wave when they are evidently going to be lucky to come in under 55 minutes:mad:? Somtimes I do despair!
Back to the race...
First 3 miles were pretty handy, terrain wise, and even though it was a bit of a rugby scrum at times (elbows and shoulders everywhere) I kept the pace pretty even and was feeling comfortable coming into the S bends. Suck it up - head down keep going - done. Little downhill before the last mile marker and then around the corner to the Khyber. After last weeks training run, I was prepared for this and I was happy enough with the way I took this. Kept the legs turning over, yeah I did slow a bit, but I kept the pace fairly steady and passed LOADS of folks that had just given up and were walking. The race directors had a 800mt and 400mt banner on the hill, which was a nice distraction and I really felt like shouting at the walkers that there was only a few meters left to get a move on... but I didn't.
Finish line was just at the top of the hill -oh joy - and there was a great crowd and a good atmosphere. The was a chute to walk through to pick up your goodie bag before the water tables and bananas, so the crowd was a bit slow making the way through that. Thought that was a bit of a mistake as, at the end of a race, people want a drink first and the goodie bag is only secondary. It's my only gripe with the organisation, and it's just a teeny one. The crowds and the muppets in the wrong place is just something that we have to deal with in the bigger races. The organisers did make an effort to ease that with the wave starts, but there's no accounting for human stupidity. :rolleyes:
I opted for the xsmall t-shirt, cause I know from previous experience that the shirts are always 'man-sized' and usually end up as jim-jams Happy enough with it (says the race was july 6 instead of 16!) and it's just slightly larger than most of my other 'small' race t-shirts.;)
Saw some really strange things though. I saw one guy wearing a water belt with 2 bottles? I passed another guy after the water station at mile 3 who was opening a gel? What the?!? It was a 5 mile race! 5 miles! 5! Not a marathon, not a 15 miler, just 5 miles! What are people thinking?! ...more muppets, obviously.
Mile splits were: 08:47, 08:17, 07:54, 08:22, 08:35
Did a half mile warm up and cool down to take me to 06.04 miles for the daySummary 5.04 miles in 00:42:15
Avg Pace: 08:23 min/mi0 -
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