Pushing my boundaries and making my physio rich...

digger2d2

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Ray et al - I know your totally correct

Jeez lads, don't let Meno know someone else might be right

tHE vAGGABOND

Easy few miles working knee and getting back into things , 4.3 miles in 42 minutes.

Wore my new knee brace, which I got after RQ recommended it in injured support thread and I saw the same one mentioned on some random other place.

Result was zero pain or issues at all. Over the moon here.

rainbow kirby

Great to see you getting back into it

tHE vAGGABOND

Since I have legs which work again, I kicked off my own MyCharity.IE page today.

I am running it for the Brainwave - The Irish Epilepsy Association. They are a small charity providing news, info and support to people with Epilsepy and their families and were brilliant when I got Epilepsy first, and were one of the only sources of help and support for us at the time [before boom of Internet].

www.mycharity.ie/event/joe_oreilly_marathon

Of course 90% of people around here will be doing something similar for the marathon, raising money for someone. But you have to put the word out

tHE vAGGABOND

Another run out on the knee, much like last couple of nights to be honest, pretty much an identical run to Sunday night - up to Eamon Ceannat Park..

4.3 miles in 42 minutes

Avg HR: 136 bpm
Max HR: 153 bpm

Doing a longer run in the morning and then that's me done for the week [maybe run on Sunday when home, but not home till late so may not be possible]

tHE vAGGABOND

Slightly longer run, bringing the knee on a bit.

Just under 6.5 miles in around an hour.

I did a couple of 9 minute miles in the middle, and felt fine. It was far harder work doing those 9 min miles than it used to be, but that fitness will come back. The Half will be good for that next week, but I wont be running a PB there, thats for sure :P

Im off to a wedding in Scotland in morning, so thats me for the week. I might get a run done on Sunday, but not sure, depends on when I get home and the state of me after weekend!

Looking at it now, its good to have that enforced break, as that's 4 days running in a row I've done, after a long layoff, so legs are a bit tired and could do with a wee break, and if I was here I would push on and end up doing a LSR at weekend and messing myself up again

tHE vAGGABOND

Just back from wedding in Scotland. Im not able for 3 days solid drinking anymore, Im a complete wreck from lack of sleep and too much booze

Made myself go out and do my [somewhat] planned run, so was planning to do 5 miles, but was feeling good, so changed the route when out there and did 7. Was feeling good [running wise!] so pushed the pace a bit.

So, just over 7 Miles in 63 odd minutes - roughly 9 minute miles on average [did a couple of 8.30 min/miles and a couple of 9.30 min/miles]

Avg HR: 141 bpm
Max HR: 156 bpm

Very happy, that was the first "hard" session in weeks and weeks and weeks

Thats 22 miles for the week - and a very good return week from the 4 week injury.

Now, Bed

Mr Slow

Welcome back! (to running as well as home!)

tHE vAGGABOND

Plan for Week:

So from now on Im sticking to the training plan by the book, and not doing these extra miles on top I had been doing. If anything I will be taking it a small bit easier than the HH Inter 1 plan suggests.

This should give me two 20 mile LSR's - -which will be just fine to get me to the start line in shape to break 4 hours - which is now what I'm looking at [where I had been talking about 3.45 pre-injury].

The slightly reduced miles per week should [I hope] enable me to get to the start line in one piece, which is by far the biggest priority for me for now on.

With regard to the half on Saturday, no idea what I will do. I can tell you for 100% certainty that I'm not going for a PB. But there are 3 or 4 other tactics or approaches I can take, and I am not going to announce anything, for no other reason as I'm clearly going to change my mind 20 times between now and Saturday morning.

tHE vAGGABOND

Plans out of blue tonight in my newly hectic life..

So a quick 3.3 miles in 27 minutes - 8.23 min mile pace - as a bit of a tempo test of speed work. NO problems at all [bar wind in my face for most of it]

Gave my notice in at work yesterday morning, new yolk sorted - life is far from boring!

tHE vAGGABOND

Realised this morning I start new job right when taper madness will be kicking in - good planning :eek:

RayCun

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Realised this morning I start new job right when taper madness will be kicking in - good planning :eek:

I can just imagine your first day
"...and of course you'll be working with Jane here"
vagga, suspicious "Did you just sneeze? Do you have a COLD?! You expect me to shake your hand :eek::mad::eek::mad:"

"Okay vagga, time for that meeting"
"If you think for ONE MINUTE I am going to share a meeting room with that PLAGUE BEARER..."

Aimman

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

Went out with the plan to do a longer run, but still keep it nice and slow. Went up to Eamon Ceanat Park, which is the closet park to me, so only a mile up there on back roads. Its just less than a mile around, so grand for a few laps.

Good to hear you are back on the mend and running. Just wondering if you have been on the running track in the Eamonn Ceant park? Its very close to me too, but I wasnt sure if the track is for club members only, or if there is a charge for using it?

tHE vAGGABOND

There always seems to be cyclists on it when Im up there Aimman...

Not many places for their track work I guess?

Micilin Muc

It's a cycle track, not a running track! Last time I was there it was vandalised.

Aimman

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

There always seems to be cyclists on it when Im up there Aimman...

Not many places for their track work I guess?

A box of accidentally opened thumb tackx will sort that problem out. :rolleyes:

Micilin Muc wrote: »

It's a cycle track, not a running track! Last time I was there it was vandalised.

Ah, I thought there was a running track inside the Velotrack.

tHE vAGGABOND

There was some kind of national championships there last week - so its all good now

tHE vAGGABOND

A somewhat interesting day in work :eek:

Desperate to get out for a run, and clear my head and do some thinking. Also wanted to do 7+ miles, to make up for the 2 miles short I was yesterday.

7.5 miles in 1 Hour 10 Minutes, 9.24 min/mile pace

tHE vAGGABOND

Got my 5 miles for the day done early - as its going to be a complete nightmare in work today and I will be in a fit state for nothing by the end of it

5 miles in 45 minutes - my standard route up and around the canal..

Really feeling good, after so long off Im having to hold myself back from running these midweek runs far too fast [that and the new up tempo and happy playlist I have on the ipod!]

So this was actually a tempo run, by mistake, as I have a slow first mile and a slow last mile, and I lost the run of myself in the middle miles and did them pretty much at the pace I plan to do on Saturday [which Im telling no one!].

RacoonQueen

Fair play for the morning runs. Hope everythings alright in work...

Edit: you should try running on the cycle track, see what reaction you get :pac:

RayCun

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Edit: you should try running on the cycle track, see what reaction you get :pac:

If anyone complains, tell them you're a triathlete :pac:

tHE vAGGABOND

Dublin half - 1.47

Utterly thrilled witn that after the few weeks out (knee a bit achey, not too bad at all) - report to follow later / tomorrow.

tHE vAGGABOND

2075 Joe O' Reilly Dublin MS 824 01:47:40 01:48:58

Macanri

Well Done Vagga, and nice to meet and chat during the race today. fair play.

tHE vAGGABOND

What a bloody weekend? You know it’s been a good weekend when I’m only writing the race report for Saturday morning’s event on Monday!

Apart from the Dublin Half, Ireland were amazing against Australia [only actually got to see it at 7am yesterday morning]. I was in the ground for an amazing All-Ireland final yesterday, having gotten a ticket quite late. All apart from that, one or two other amazing things on-going in real life made this a weekend to remember on many levels.

But back to the subject matter on hand. The Dublin Half on Saturday morning.

As regular readers will know, I am only just back from 4 weeks of all but no running, so I was really wondering if I would have been able to run at all. I was also concerned if I would have been able to run at anything close to the level I had been at, as I had been working far harder on training runs than I should have had to.

The morning of the race I was absolutely bricking it. I was nervous to a level I had not been since Conn in April [and that was first ever half nerves, and I was also coming off an injury then too]. I was eating my breakfast and my hands were shaking and my stomach was doing somersaults. I guess the knee injury, not knowing what level I would be at and an element of real life stuff with the drama at work and stuff like that all contributed to my bad state.
I walked from my place to the park, taking 30 mins odd, and that managed to calm my nerves a bit. As always I met a rake of board’s folks in and around the start and that was good. It was utterly freezing, so standing around at the start I was wondering if my short shorts and singlet was a good choice of attire!

At this point I really had not made my mind what I would do, race wise. I was thinking LSR pace and taking it easy or maybe going a small bit harder and going 2 hour pacers [so marathon pace], or pushing it and going with 1.50 pacers. I walked down to the start, and went to 3rd pen, and the 2 hour+ area. I warmed up around that area, and when I was going to line up I went to the back to the 2nd pen and within shouting distance of the 1.50 pacers.

It was 10.15 before we started, so the 20 minutes standing around without a clear idea what was going on was annoying. But with so many people to get going I guess it’s going to happen. The road we started on was far too narrow to start on, for that volume of people. The first mile was pretty annoying, as you play dodgems with people running in a group and running slowly.

After a slow first mile due to traffic [circa 9.30 min/mile], I picked up the pace in the second mile a bit [9 min/mile] and was feeling good. At this point I decided to really push it, to test the knee, do a bit of fartlek effort and catch the 1.50 pacers. So my 3rd mile was 7.30 min/mile, and job done, I was tired but had caught the back of the 1.50 pack.

The next few miles were run with the 1.50 pacers, and the odd bit of chat with Meno and the pacers and a few others. But as we go into Chesterfield, and miles 6 and 7, the pace went closer to 8 min/miles, and I really had to work hard. I was wrecked and exhausted. It shows how much fitness I have lost, where 6 or 7 weeks ago I did an entire half at faster than that pace.

I was in danger of blowing up and just throwing in the towel here, as I was thinking that I did not need this hard run and I could slow down and just stick with 8.30-9 min/miles but I zipped up the old man suit and dug deep and stuck with it.

As we turn off Chesterfield and run beside the zoo I was really struggling and almost dropping off the back of the 1.50 pack, and a word from one of the pacers and just a burst of energy from somewhere lead me to step up things. So as we pass 8 mile marker, the pacers said that they would slow down a fraction, and hold the pace at 8.20 min/miles from there until the end. I decide to try to push on a small bit, and try and hold 8 min/miles.

After a mile or two I was really hurting, and passing Chesterfield again, running down to the Castleknock Gate I had been pushing myself for a couple of miles or so and I could hear Meno and the 1.50 Pacers right behind me, and I was not impressed, as I wanted to be further ahead of them at that stage.
So I pushed on here again and decide to give it everything from there until the finish. I was really giving it all that I had and it really hurt, and the last 3 miles were all 7.50 min/miles. That tiny hill right before the finishing straight was hard, glad it was so short!

I was glad to get over the line and complete the race. My garmin said 1.47.40. I have not felt like I did immediately after the race before. I was close to crying, laughing and shouting at the same time, I was elated and exhausted. The feeling passed, but it really was great. I really was utterly thrilled it had gone so well and I was able to really push things in the race and everything worked and held together.

So this was the first ever time I had run and it was not a PB, which is crazy with all the running I have done this year. But I was very happy indeed, as if it had indeed been a PB, since I was just back from 4 weeks out injured, and it was only 4 mins off my PB and therefore 6 mins faster than what had been my PB, from Clontarf!

Now onto DCM in 6 weeks today, aiming to run it in sub 4 & raising money for Brainwave – the Irish Epilepsy Association in the process - http://www.mycharity.ie/event/joe_oreilly_marathon

belcarra

How did the injury hold up?
Hopefully it's all behind you now and you get a clear run at DCM.

Brianderunner

Good stuff Joe, great to hear your back into the swing of it. Pity i lost you from the 3:45 DCM group for Meno's one Who knows you might be back if the training goes well.

I'll sponsor you for 20 euro alright, fair play to you. I'll give it to you on the day, dont want to get r*ped by foreign exchange fees online.

digger2d2

tHE vAGGABOND wrote: »

What

I was in danger of blowing but I zipped up as
I could hear Meno right behind me, and I was not impressed,
So I pushed on here again and decide to give it everything from there until the finish. I was really giving it all that I had and it really hurt, glad it was short

Wow, what a report Vagga

tHE vAGGABOND

Decided [for a whole pile of reasons] that my next challenge after Dublin will be the Paris Marathon on April 15th :cool:

That is, of course, assuming that I get rejected in London ballot - which given the lotto like probability of getting a place, I presume I will be

tHE vAGGABOND

5.5 Recovery miles - without knee brace and nice and slow - all good

52 mins, so 9.48 min/miles

[Altho I stopped for 20 or 30 miins at 3.5 miles odd to chat to sister, who I met]