Not Quite Four Laps

KielyUnusual

Firstly, I have to take my hat off to the people who organised this event. For a free race with a sizeable entry, it was impeccably organised, the course was well marked out and they managed to generate a really friendly, relaxed atmosphere for everyone. I'd recommend it to anyone and the location was fairly idyllic as well.

Anyway, down to the nitty, gritty of the race. Bumped into runsir at the start and we both lined up about 10 places back. I took it out easy enough for the first few hundred metres. Mainly out of necessity as it was hard to get around people on the narrow path. Eventually, I settled in to third place about 10 yards from the two lads in first. Roll forward 4 kilometres and the situation hadn't changed much. My legs were getting a bit weak but I was just concentrating on keeping the turnover constant. About half a kilometre to go, I turned a bend and the two lads ahead had just streaked away. They opened up quite a gap by the finish but I wasn't too bothered since I was keeping my own pace up. They were too far ahead for me to have ever seriously considered challenging them for first or second. Kept going at a good rate to the finish and crossed the line in 17.03 according to the steward. Nothing official yet. Lungs were burning and the legs were feeling fairly numb but I was happy with how I ran the race. Lost a bit of time going around some tight, slippy bends so sub 17 is there for another day.

Krusty, you were almost right. Ray, well......maybe somewhere down the line

Bumped into Meno after the race too. Always good to meet a fellow Boardsie.

ray lanigan

well done lad,maybe u can get my prediction next week:D

KielyUnusual

Baby steps, Ray, baby steps.

Krusty_Clown

Cracking run. Well done. Great result for your first ever 5k. A few more sub 17 runners to work off of, and you'll be well under 17.

Krusty_Clown The Wise wrote:

I reckon you'd come very close.

What do ya mean almost right?

KielyUnusual

Krusty_Clown_Hedger_Of_Bets wrote: »

Sub-17 all the way!

If you make enough predictions, you're bound to be right some of the time:D. At least Ray had the balls to go with a bit of precision in his prediction.

That said......he was wrong......and you were right......now I'm very confused.

ThePiedPiper

Great running KU.. 5k can be as hard as any marathon. Great to hit the top positions. You going to try do shorter stuff for a couple of months or are you more or less sticking with marathon specific training for London?

KielyUnusual

Sunday

1h40m easy run

Having never dared to venture south side in my brief running career, I made my way down to the Irishtown Nature Reserve and out along the pier this afternoon. Never been out that way before so it was good to mix my running with a bit of exploring. Probably make this a regular thing.

Thanks RFR, I agree with you on your 5k/marathon hypothesis. I'm generally more daunted lining up for the shorter races because you know that you're in for a bit of pain almost from the start. Not too sure about my short term plan really. Just ticking over till the end of the year really. Hope to run a few races for a bit of fun. I see on pconn's blog that you're doing some XC racing. I'd like to give that a go definitely. I ran a few when I was young and loved it. Paying up the club membership this week so I might run one as part of the club. Are you just ticking over yourself for the time being?

ThePiedPiper

Just about ticking over KU.. I'm flat out with college work, so literally all I'm doing is races and a weekend run if there's no race on! From mid-December, things will get a bit more normal so might start a 5-15k training programme then.. Need to concentrate on a bit of speed work, will target a couple of 5k or 10k races next spring. Just back from a X-country. Near busted myself, definitely harder than the long stuff, but enjoyable, and good being part of a good club.. Enjoy..

theboyblunder

Well done KU. Thats a smashing time.

KielyUnusual

Tuesday

6 X 800m (75 sec recovery)

2.39, 2.30, 2.33, 2.34, 2.33, 2.31

Above times are just form memory but are about right I think. Afterwards, I ran home from Irishtown Stadium with a seriously heavy backpack and a chest strap that was restricting my breathing big time. Ended up being nearly as much of a workout as the track session. Note to self: Plan ahead when you're leaving for work in the morning.

theboyblunder

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Tuesday

6 X 800m (75 sec recovery)

2.39, 2.30, 2.33, 2.34, 2.33, 2.31

Above times are just form memory but are about right I think. Afterwards, I ran home from Irishtown Stadium with a seriously heavy backpack and a chest strap that was restricting my breathing big time. Ended up being nearly as much of a workout as the track session. Note to self: Plan ahead when you're leaving for work in the morning.

You are doing 800s at the same pace im doing my 400s. Ya fecker. Great stuff. I reckon you are going to get much faster over the marathon.

Krusty_Clown

theboyblunder wrote: »

You are doing 800s at the same pace im doing my 400s. Ya fecker. Great stuff. I reckon you are going to get much faster over the marathon.

Me too. Colour me disheartened!

KielyUnusual: Look out for smmoore79 at the track. He's a quick 'un.

KielyUnusual

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Me too. Colour me disheartened!

KielyUnusual: Look out for smmoore79 at the track. He's a quick 'un.

I've been following his blog for a while actually. Really has me itching to get in to the cross country. I didn't even realise he was in Crusaders. There was one fecker down there this evening that was a good bit ahead of the chasing pack. Possibly him. I'll have to do some investigating next week.

theboyblunder wrote: »

You are doing 800s at the same pace im doing my 400s. Ya fecker. Great stuff. I reckon you are going to get much faster over the marathon.

In fairness, you were doing your 400s after a lengthy warm up and not too long after the marathon. Have you any races lined up for before the New Year?

beeduybe

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Really has me itching to get in to the cross country.

There is a BHAA XC race in Santry on Saturday. Would be a good one to finally scratch that itch

KielyUnusual

beeduybe wrote: »

There is a BHAA XC race in Santry on Saturday. Would be a good one to finally scratch that itch

Thanks for the heads up beeduybe but I must get a pair of spikes first and I won't have the opportunity before then. It would be a dead handy one though as it's a short enough cycle from my place.

KielyUnusual

Thursday

5 miles @6m27s/mile

Missed the mile repeat session down at the club. Stomach was a bit dodgy all midweek so didn't want to risk running too far from home. Did a similar session around Drumcondra instead. Middle 2 or 3 miles of this were about sub 6 min/mile pace I'd say so a similar enough result.

Saturday

10 miles @ 6m41s/mile

The windless conditions allowed me to get a nice run around Bull Island

Sunday

15.5 miles @ 7m11s/mile

Going was soft to very soft in places today. Ran out to Raheny, along the coast and in to St Anne's Park. Took to some of the trails in there and it was boggy enough in places. I empathise with all the people running cross country this weekend. Racing in those conditions must have been a bit of a slog.

KielyUnusual

Tuesday

12 X 400 (w/ 45 secs recovery)

This was a great session down the club, really enjoyed it. Times ranged from 71-74 seconds with most of them in the 73 band. Definitely a session I want to do more regularly.

Wednesday

5 miles @ ~ 7 min/mile

Lunch time run in Bray. A hilly route with great views over Bray and out over the ocean. No footpaths on the roads though, which I always find a bit iffy.

Thursday

4 X 1 mile repeats (1 w/u & 1 w/d)

5.41, 5.35, 5.39, 6ish

Did these on a trail by Irishtown Stadium with the club. Plan was to do three but did a fourth one at an easier pace with one of the other lads. The faster ones were tough going at times.

Friday

11-12 mile w/ 4 @ 5.50 pace

Met up with theboyblunder and went down to a 1 mile loop near St Anne's Park for a planned 3 mile tempo session. Both of us were feeling good so ended up doing the four. Planned pace was 5.50 so we were bang on. Bit chilly on the run home after all the effort put in.

Saturday

10 miles @ 7m7s/mile

Out to the old reliable route around Bull Island. Lovely run. Legs were a little tired towards the end after the previous evening's effort.

KielyUnusual

Sunday

15 miles @ ~7 min/mile pace

Went out along the Royal Canal, round the full lap of Phoenix Park and back again for this one. Was passed by a steam train motoring along by the canal on the way out, which struck me as a bit bizarre. CIE must be getting a bit strapped for cash. The wind and rain was giving me a severe ice cream headache as I ran in to the wind on the return leg. Was glad to get back to the house after this one.

beeduybe

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Was passed by a steam train motoring along by the canal on the way out, which struck me as a bit bizarre. CIE must be getting a bit strapped for cash.

Spotted the steam train myself when I was running along the canal near Leixlip. Glad to know I wasn't going crazy / gone back in time

KielyUnusual

beeduybe wrote: »

Spotted the steam train myself when I was running along the canal near Leixlip. Glad to know I wasn't going crazy / gone back in time

beeduybe, maybe we're both just mentallers. It was a lovely sight though on what was otherwise and awful afternoon for running.

Monday

6 miles @ 6m49s/mile

Very late run around Drumcondra, trying to let the dinner have an hour to digest. Felt very bloated but no stitches so it was grand really.

beeduybe

beeduybe wrote: »

Spotted the steam train myself when I was running along the canal near Leixlip. Glad to know I wasn't going crazy / gone back in time

KielyUnusual wrote: »

beeduybe, maybe we're both just mentallers. It was a lovely sight though on what was otherwise and awful afternoon for running.

There appears to be a logical explanation:
http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/events/

KielyUnusual

Tuesday

1.5m wu; 400m, 800m, 1200m, 1600m, 1200m, 800m, 400m; 1.5m wd
recoveries = 30, 60, 90, 120 seconds

Went down for the track session at the club, which was 6 X 800 but a couple of the lads running in thee XC at the weekend were doing a pyramid session so I went for that instead. I knew they'd be of bit of a higher standard than me so I just hung on at the back of the group and was going to let them away if needs be. Went better than I expected and it was only for the mile repeat where I finished about 20 yards behind the group. Really enjoyed this and it was big confidence boost to finish it out. Below times are extrapolated from the times on smmoore's blog. 5.26 for the mile repeat is the only one I remember for sure

0.25m in 75 secs (5 00 pace)
0.50m in 2 mins 40 secs (5 20 pace)
0.77m in 4 mins 5 secs (5 18 pace)
1.02m in 5 mins 26 secs(5 19 pace)
0.75m in 4 mins 00 secs(5 20 pace)
0.50m in 2 mins 40 secs(5 20 pace)
0.25m in 75 secs (5 00 pace)

smmoore79

It seems youre flyin at the minute Kiely! Didnt realise that was yourself in the group, undercover boardsies everywhere!! We hit some nice paces considering it was on grass with sharp corners. I wouldnt worry about the mile rep, a few more sessions and you'll be pushin us

KielyUnusual

Wednesday

4 miles @ ~7min/mile

Lunch time run round the park between Bray and Shankhill. Tried running along a trail that followed the edge of the cliffs but it quickly became overgrown and after getting a few cuts and scrapes too many, I eventually gave in and turned back. Looked like it would be a lovely run to do in the summer when the trail might be better established.

Thursday and Friday

Nothing

Had brought my gear to work on Thursday to go down the club for the grass tempo session. The weather was awful though so I gave it a miss. Didn't really see the point in putting myself through that kind of hardship when I'm not training for anything at the moment. Was sick Friday with some kind of stomach bug so no running again.

Saturday

6.2 miles @ 7m26s/mile

Felt a lot better this morning so went for an easy run. Felt grand until a few miles in when I started to come over a bit weak. Didn't eat much at all yesterday so I guess this was kind of inevitable. Cut the run short and returned home at a nice easy pace.

Clearlier

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Wednesday

4 miles @ ~7min/mile

Lunch time run round the park between Bray and Shankhill. Tried running along a trail that followed the edge of the cliffs but it quickly became overgrown and after getting a few cuts and scrapes too many, I eventually gave in and turned back. Looked like it would be a lovely run to do in the summer when the trail might be better established.

Wondering where you're running from? I grew up in Bray and know it well. I didn't run then but I might be able to point you in a couple of directions to explore.

KielyUnusual

Clearlier wrote: »

Wondering where you're running from? I grew up in Bray and know it well. I didn't run then but I might be able to point you in a couple of directions to explore.

I'm working in Nypro in Corke Abbey. I'm a bit limited at the moment, in that I can only run for a maximum of 40 mins, which would equate to about 6 miles if I went quickly enough. Hopefully when there's a bit of a stretch in the evening, I can get some proper runs in and scope out the area properly. Have checked out a few of the different routes around and there's serious potential for some scenic runs. Any advice from a former local would be much appreciated Clearlier.

Sunday

5 miles @ 6m26/mile

Still not feeling 100%. Had intended on running a good bit further today. Got back and watched the European XC Championships. Brilliant stuff from Fionnuala and the women's team. Great scenes at the end of the whole team celebrating together. Even got me a little bit emotional.

KielyUnusual

Monday

Geared up and got out the door but the paths were way too slippy for a run

Tuesday

1 mile w/u, 6 X 800m, I mile w/d

2.42, 2.43, 2.43, 2.43, 2.46, 2.47

The track was too icy so we did this session out on the grass. Session was very tough even though the times weren't any faster than usual. The last few were as hard as any race I've run

Wednesday

6 miles @ 7m17s/mile

Still not running very strong. Started off okay but felt really weak for the middle few miles and just about okay at the end.

Thursday

1.5 mile w/u, 3 X 1 mile, 0.5 mile w/d

5.43, 5.46, 6.01

I knew from the first one of these that I was going to struggle. No energy in the legs and the second repeat really took it out of me. The group were going for a fourth but I gave it a miss and just jogged back to the clubhouse.

Friday

Didn't have the time after work to squeeze in a run.

Saturday

6 miles @ 6m51s/mile

Was a bit hungover for this one but the running was feeling easy again thankfully. It was a frustrating week running wise so glad to regain a bit of form.

Sunday

Didn't have the willpower to get out for a run today. The long runs have taken a bit of a battering these last few weeks so I'm going to have to keep an eye on that.

Clearlier

KielyUnusual wrote: »

I'm working in Nypro in Corke Abbey. I'm a bit limited at the moment, in that I can only run for a maximum of 40 mins, which would equate to about 6 miles if I went quickly enough. Hopefully when there's a bit of a stretch in the evening, I can get some proper runs in and scope out the area properly. Have checked out a few of the different routes around and there's serious potential for some scenic runs. Any advice from a former local would be much appreciated Clearlier.

Forgot to reply to this, possibly because I realised that I probably can't offer much. I'm guessing that the road you went down a couple of weeks ago without footpaths was Old Connaught ave.? Assuming so you're absolutely right to avoid it. While the speed limit might no longer be 60mph there are some drivers who drive way too fast and there's nowhere really to go if you do come across a lunatic - I don't know if that road still attracts little boy racers who like the challenge of tight bends but I wouldn't risk it.

I'm not sure if you can get down to the sea from where you are but that side of the harbour is the former town dump so I couldn't really recommend it.

The old Dublin road towards Shankill dropping in for a loop or two of is probably your best bet overall. Have you found Shanganagh park? It's where the playground is just beside the cemetery. Somebody (Bray runners I guess) has marked out some distances on the path there. It's traffic free at least.

You could try this one too but there's a decent chance you'll have to stop at either end of the Boghall road.

I think that Krusty lives somewhere around Bray. He might have a few ideas.

Krusty_Clown

Clearlier wrote: »

I think that Krusty lives somewhere around Bray. He might have a few ideas.

Yeah, I'm only a couple of miles away in Shankill. Happy to suggest some routes or even show you some if you fancy a post-work run (when the evenings get brighter), but really your best bet is Shanganagh Park. Exactly a mile from Corke Abbey, and some great paths for fast stuff and tonnes of grass for the easy runs.

There is some fantastic running in the hills above Shankill (Carrigologan, Scalp and Barnaslingan) but you'd need a little longer than a lunch break to get there. Bray sea-front isn't that bad (usually make it down there once or twice a week), but once you get beyond the seafront, to the cliff walk (either the upper path via Bray Head, or the lower path) it's pretty magnificent.

Here's a nice 14km loop, that avoids the dodgier roads, just expect some nasty hills! The road up to Enniskerry isn't bad either (via Herbert Road), but again, hills, hills, hills!

Clearlier

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Bray sea-front isn't that bad (usually make it down there once or twice a week), but once you get beyond the seafront, to the cliff walk (either the upper path via Bray Head, or the lower path) it's pretty magnificent.

The cliff walk is my favourite place to run. As a kid my next door neighbour used to have his wife drop him and whichever of his kids were willing to Greystones and run back to Bray. I only did it a couple of times but it was my first experience of anything longer than about 400m. I make a point of running it every time that I'm back in Bray. The view is just stunning. That said you need to keep your eyes on the path in many places as it's pretty uneven underfoot.

KielyUnusual

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Yeah, I'm only a couple of miles away in Shankill. Happy to suggest some routes or even show you some if you fancy a post-work run (when the evenings get brighter), but really your best bet is Shanganagh Park. Exactly a mile from Corke Abbey, and some great paths for fast stuff and tonnes of grass for the easy runs.

There is some fantastic running in the hills above Shankill (Carrigologan, Scalp and Barnaslingan) but you'd need a little longer than a lunch break to get there. Bray sea-front isn't that bad (usually make it down there once or twice a week), but once you get beyond the seafront, to the cliff walk (either the upper path via Bray Head, or the lower path) it's pretty magnificent.

Here's a nice 14km loop, that avoids the dodgier roads, just expect some nasty hills! The road up to Enniskerry isn't bad either (via Herbert Road), but again, hills, hills, hills!

Clearlier wrote: »

The cliff walk is my favourite place to run. As a kid my next door neighbour used to have his wife drop him and whichever of his kids were willing to Greystones and run back to Bray. I only did it a couple of times but it was my first experience of anything longer than about 400m. I make a point of running it every time that I'm back in Bray. The view is just stunning. That said you need to keep your eyes on the path in many places as it's pretty uneven underfoot.

Thanks for all the advice. I'm looking forward to trying out a few longer routes when there's a stretch in the evening. The cliff route sounds very promising. I might have to take up your guide services some time in the Spring and head out that way. Shanganagh Park is a decent resource definitely. i've been down there 3 or 4 times and it's expansive enough to get a good run in without getting bores or having to do laps.

Monday

8 miles @ 7m7s/mile

A nice steady enough run out the seafront by Clontarf and back by Raheny.

3k time trial on the track this evening with the club. The person who gets closest to their predicted time also wins a prize. Looking forward to it.

Krusty_Clown

I forgot to say, that if six miles is your limit, there is some good running around Shankill itself. Here's a 10 mile route (that goes past my estate) that you can choose bits from, to make shorter runs. You don't actually need to go via Shankill Dart station, as there's a path that connects the two sections along by the sea (which Google maps doesn't know about).

KielyUnusual

Thanks for sharing all the routes Krusty. I really look forward to getting some runs in around the area when the evenings brighten up. I've done all the routes around Drumcondra and the surrounding area to death so a change of scenery would be very welcome.

Tuesday

3k time trial in 9m53s

I put down 9m41s as my predicted time (thanks McMilllan) but I was way off. I found the first few laps pretty tough but by the time I was into my stride with two laps to go, I wasn't going to make up much time. I picked up the pace a good bit on the second last lap and gunned it for the last half a lap. Even still, I was overtaken on the final bend when I honestly don't think I could have sprinted much faster if I was starting from fresh. Having chatted to this lad before, I know he's a former 800m runner so he's obviously got excellent speed over the shorter distances. Was great craic running a race on the track though and a proper sprint finish made it all the sweeter. I think I've learned a few lessons and they do this time trial every month down the club, so it'll be a good distance to improve over.

Wednesday & Thursday

No running.

Friday

15 miles @ 6m56s/mile

Had the day off work today so got out for a long run as I've been a little slack on this end of things recently. Out the canal, round Phoenix Park and back. Some change weather wise from the last time I ran this route meaning I actually enjoyed it.

KielyUnusual

Saturday

6 miles @ 6m43s/mile

Was contemplating running the Malahide Parkrun but a few too many Christmas drinks laid waste to those plans. Got in six miles at a decent pace in what felt like sweltering heat relative to the weather lately so happy enough.

Sunday

No running or movement of any sort really.

Monday

1 hour easy

House was a bit of a tip after the weekend so I couldn't find the stopwatch. Just did one hour easy at what I reckon was roughly 7min/mile pace

KielyUnusual

Tuesday

6.25 very easy miles

Christmas morning run in the hills about my place. Took it very easy because I was feeling a bit rough with a throat infection.

Wednesday

8k local run in 30m43s

My family had chipped in some money to sponsor me in a run for the Local Community Centre so I popped down to this in the morning. It wasn't very serious and we went out easy for the first few kilometres. People started to drop off and eventually it was just me and another local lad who's in to his running. We chatted away and slowly cranked up the pace until we got a bit competitive coming back in to the town. Managed to make a few seconds on him and got a free bottle of wine for my troubles. The other lad has a PB of 32 minutes over 10k so I was just lucky that he's been on a bit of a break over the last few months. Still it was good to get a bit of kudos down in the local after:D

Thursday

Yet another day of R & R. It will be off the drink for a while now once New Years is out of the way.

KielyUnusual

Friday

13 Hilly Miles at an easy pace

It looked like an awful day for running but once I got out it wasn't so bad. The wind was a bit tough in the more open stretches but it really picked up once I got back so I missed the worst of it. The area I was running is very much out in the sticks of Tipperary and isn't even satellite mapped on Google. There was a couple of turns I needed to take and at the back of my mind I was thinking that if I missed one of these, I could end up squeezing in an unplanned marathon. No such drama though and a half marathon in those hills was more than enough for me to be sure.

Ceepo

Hi There, just wondering what part of Tipp were you running in ?

KielyUnusual

Alright Ceepo, I'm from Borrisoleigh in North Tipp. I'm a bit outside the town and up in the hills. It's a decent area for running but it's hills, hills, hills no matter what direction you take. I'm not home too often so I enjoy it, but it wouldn't be ideal if you had to do all your running here. Are you from about Tipp yourself?

Ceepo

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Alright Ceepo, I'm from Borrisoleigh in North Tipp. I'm a bit outside the town and up in the hills. It's a decent area for running but it's hills, hills, hills no matter what direction you take. I'm not home too often so I enjoy it, but it wouldn't be ideal if you had to do all your running here. Are you from about Tipp yourself?

Yup, sure am, on the other side of Thurles (southside), dont know if you are around for long or often, but if you ever want to meet up for a run send me a PM, i live about 20 min drive from Thurles but would often be in that way,
Also there is indoors on Sunday in Nenagh,

KielyUnusual

Ceepo wrote: »

Yup, sure am, on the other side of Thurles (southside), dont know if you are around for long or often, but if you ever want to meet up for a run send me a PM, i live about 20 min drive from Thurles but would often be in that way,
Also there is indoors on Sunday in Nenagh,

I'm back up to Dublin today but next time I'm down I'll drop you a PM and we could get a run in around the area. Are you a member of Thurles AC? I noticed a lot of runners from the club were high up the field in the DCM. I'd say there's a good competitive atmosphere at the club.

Saturday

6.25 Hilly Miles at a steady pace.

I think I'm over the little bit of a throat infection/cold I've had over the last few days. This run felt a world easier than any of the others I've done recently. My lack of a stopwatch has been a little frustrating but I'm probably better off given the kind of terrain I've been running. Beautiful sunny, crisp morning and I could see almost all the way to Thurles at the top of the climb. I'll miss that sort of thing back in Dublin.

Ceepo

I'm back up to Dublin today but next time I'm down I'll drop you a PM and we could get a run in around the area. Are you a member of Thurles AC? I noticed a lot of runners from the club were high up the field in the DCM. I'd say there's a good competitive atmosphere at the club.

People have been sent to the Gallow's for less than saying that, lol
No not a member of TC, but often meet up with some of the Lad's for a run with them, Sound lad's in there,
A few of them done DCM and had good runs, think there were a few very close together under the 3hr mark,
I run for a very small club a few miles outside Thurles called Ballynonty AC, you probably never heard of it, most people didnt,

KielyUnusual

Sunday

15 miles @ 6m58s/mile

Royal Canal/Round Phoenix Park/Royal Canal route again. The wind kind of sucked the enjoyment out of the first 6 miles but it was a nice run after that. Happy to have gotten some decent mileage in when I have the time off.

KielyUnusual

Monday

10 miles @ 7m11s/mile

Round Bull Island to bring the year's running to a close.

Tuesday to now

Nothing

Took a small bit of a tumble on New Year's and injured my shoulder. Nothing very serious but taking a few days off to let it sort itself out. Should be good to start the plan for London sometime during the week. I'll have to decide what I'm going to do first of all, of course.

KielyUnusual

Monday

8 miles @ 8m19s/mile

Just an easy run to get myself back in to it. Haven't run at this kind of pace in a long time but that's what an easy effort was this evening. Slept very badly the night before and back to the early starts with work so was fairly exhausted.

Tuesday

1.25 mile w/u, 6 miles @ 6m13s/mile, 1.25 mile w/d

After last night's run, I didn't fancy an interval session down the club so I left my gear at home. I was a bit pissed when I was feeling good after work but had left myself with no option. In future I'll just bring my gear in regardless and if I don't fancy it, so be it. Got in a decent session down by the Clontarf seafront so it all worked out in the end. Hundreds of people down there training and out running. Couldn't believe it. The pace was tough but I could have kept going for a few more miles I think without too much distress.

belcarra

KielyUnusual wrote: »

After last night's run, I didn't fancy an interval session down the club so I left my gear at home. I was a bit pissed when I was feeling good after work but had left myself with no option. In future I'll just bring my gear in regardless and if I don't fancy it, so be it. Got in a decent session down by the Clontarf seafront so it all worked out in the end. Hundreds of people down there training and out running. Couldn't believe it. The pace was tough but I could have kept going for a few more miles I think without too much distress.

Always carry a set of gear in the boot just in case!:D

I was running through Northwood Estate in Santry and it was like running down Grafton St. Over the course of the 1km road I must have met about 50 people.:eek: Granted a lot of them were with Clonliffe Harriers but definitely lots out for NY resolutions too.

How is your shoulder now?

KielyUnusual

Yea, there was two or three GAA/Soccer training sessions, a couple of running groups and a good smattering of everyday runners like myself. I've never seen it near that busy, even in the height of summer. My shoulder is okay, thanks for asking but I had to come to an abrupt stop when some fighting dogs ran across my path and I could feel it for about half a mile after that. It's been sore for a long while to be honest but I aggravated it last week. It's never given me an inch of trouble while running, not even during the marathon (today excepted). My darts career, on the other hand is frigged before it even started.

belcarra

KielyUnusual wrote: »

My darts career, on the other hand is frigged before it even started.

So all that drinking you no doubt did over christmas has gone to waste?:p

KielyUnusual

belcarra wrote: »

So all that drinking you no doubt did over christmas has gone to waste?:p

Don't talk to me about it, it's all that bloody drink that got me in to this trouble in the first place.
Anyway, I don't think I could ever develop the kind of beer belly neccessary to compete at the top, top level. There were some impressive specimens on show in the Ally Pally over the festive period. And they still probably won't make it an Olympic Sport. Shame on them.

KielyUnusual

Wednesday

10 miles @ 7m31s/mile

Took about 5 miles to get anyway warm. Freezing out there. Nice to see my easy pace getting back to something normal.

KielyUnusual

Thursday

2 mile w/u, 4 X 1.2 miles, 2 mile w/d (1 min recovery)

Pace/mile: 6.02, 5.51, 5.52, 5.45

Had intended on doing 5 X 1 mile repeats but I ended up doing the wrong loop so I just did 4 of this one. I mapped out a route that was 1.03 miles going mainly down Griffith Avenue and Home Farm Road plus the two adjoining roads in between. I went down the wrong adjoining road at one side so was a little off. I felt the first one was as quick as the other three but I guess the watch doesn't lie. Happy enough with this session.