Not Quite Four Laps

KielyUnusual

Friday

8 miles @ 7m24s/mile

Just an easy evening time route around Clontarf and Raheny.

Saturday

18 miles @ 7m/mile

Had a 16 mile route mapped out down the canal, round Phoenix Park and back. I had added two little detours in Phoenix Park to make up the extra mile from my normal route. In the first detour around Farmleigh, the exit I had intended on leaving through was closed so I had to return through the gate I came making a significant addition to the run. I missed a turn on my second detour too adding another little bit on to run. I was pretty tired at this stage and was looking forward to getting on the canal so I'd be on the home stretch. Then after passing Ashtown Station, I saw blue police tape across the path further down. I stubbornly ran on but the Garda coming towards me started signalling for me to go back. I cursed to myself, stopped the stopwatch and just accepted I was going to have to the long way round to get back on to the Canal.
No further mishaps from there on in but I had unintentionally added over 2 miles to my run, which wasn't ideal for a long run. I'm going to reign the mileage in a small bit next week because I don't want to be over zealous at this stage. Also, I'll have to scan the papers to see if there was anything serious going on down by the Royal Canal. It's not the most pleasant stretch down by Broombridge so nothing would surprise me.

ThePiedPiper

Great pace on the long runs KU. You're going mighty guns at the minute. Any other races coming up in the lead-up to London?

KielyUnusual

Cheers RFR, I'm happy enough to have kept ticking over since the DCM and I feel in good shape to tackle a plan for London. I'm down for the Raheny 5 at the end of the month and I'll have to plan out a few races after that. I haven't been down to the club this year so I'm going to consult with the trainers and see if they have any ideas. Are you still fairly bogged down with college work or are you back to a bit more regular running?

ThePiedPiper

November/December was a bit of damage limitation, just got out on Sundays, but got in a few races. I'm back to training five days a week, but no major race plans really as March-May will be very busy again. I'll hopefully get a decent 10k and half marathon in March/April, provisionally thinkin about the Bohermeen half. London's a fantastic course, very fast. Have you a Good for Age entry?

KielyUnusual

Aye, myself and the brother entered via the Good For Age after the Edinburgh Marathon and he sorted the whole thing out because he lives over in Scotland. He's booked an apartment and everything so it's been plain sailing for me. All I had to do was book the flights. I'm provisionally thinking of the Meath Half myself. There's not much else on around that time period only a charity half being run in Balbriggan. Sounds like a good race anyway from what I read.

Sunday

6 miles @ 6m23s/mile

This was intended to be a recovery run after the long run yesterday but it was freezing and I had to run fast just to get a bit of warmth. Surprisingly, not much after effects from the effort yesterday so I didn't feel too bad pushing the pace a bit. Another easy day tomorrow anyway so I'll have plenty of recovery time before the club interval session on Tuesday.

KielyUnusual

Monday

8 miles @ 6m57s/mile

Ran this as a sort of progressive run. Took it easy for the first four miles and cranked up the pace to an eventual sprint at the very end

Tuesday

3 mile w/u, 5 X ~800m, 0 mile w/d

2.40, 2.43, 2.45, 2.46, 2.50

Wasn't feel it on this one tonight. The track was frozen so it was out to the park. Conditions underfoot were pretty bad and it was tough keeping up the pace with little or no grip underfoot. Perhaps went out too quick at the start when one lad tore away and I tried to reign him in. He fell back a bit on the subsequent repeats but I started to really suffer myself on the fourth repeat and was completely frigged for the fifth one. We were down to do six but I just called it a day then. Hopefully I'll start hitting these sessions over the next few weeks. Just starting back in to seven day running so I might need a bit of time to adapt.

Wednesday

6 miles @ 7m30s/mile

Went anti-clockwise on my usual Drumcondra route to mix things up. It was actually a bit of help because I've been doing this 6 mile route and my 8 mile route to death recently.

KielyUnusual

Thursday & Friday

No running

Got absolutely drenched going to the train station in Bray after work. I was shivering with the cold on the train so I thought it best not to go to the club session. It would have been another 40 minute walk home in wet clothes after so it would have been a recipe for disaster. Once I got into dry clothes and in front of the fire at home, I wasn't heading back out in to the maelstrom. Similar story Friday with cancelled DARTs and awful weather leaving me in no mood for running come the evening.

Saturday

15 miles @ 7m02s/mile

Had a small bit of a cold over the last few days so I wasn't expecting much from this run. Just wanted to get a bit of mileage in to make up for the last few days. Started off easy but really picked up the pace for the last four miles to maybe 6m20s pace or so and felt good. Took a bit of a tumble on one of the tighter corners towards the end of the run and split my lip open. Was worried that I'd lost a tooth for a moment but thankfully I hadn't. Got away with it fairly lightly considering how hard I went down. Going to have to be a bit more careful in the wet conditions from now on.

KielyUnusual

Sunday

8.3 miles @ 6m26s

This was a bit of a character building run this morning. I ran a straight out and back route along the Clontarf seafront. It was definitely cold when I headed out but it only really sunk in how cold when I turned into the wind on the seafront trail. It was immediately hard work and I thought about cutting the run short to six miles. The ground was saturated and I was working hard to keep the pace up after only a mile in.
Passing the three mile mark, I decided that if I was out here suffering, I was at least going to get a proper suffer in to make it worthwhile. At four miles when I eventually turned downwind, it was a bit of a relief but my legs were very tired from the effort so far and probably had some residual tiredness from the 15 miles yesterday too. It was just as much of a struggle for the second four miles but I was homeward bound so it was psychologically a little easier to take.
Back home, I decided to treat myself to a pair of XC spikes online. €30 for a pair of Asics Hyper XC. So it's the Raheny 5 next week and then a few of the BHAA XC races after that. I've been looking forward to running a few cross country races for a while now so it's about time I took the plunge and invested in a pair. The conditions underfoot today and my slip yesterday (on concrete though it may have been) convincing me to their worth.

pconn062

Solid training at the moment KU, have you a target in mind for Raheny? Hope to do it myself, have been putting off entering but will probably put it in this week, great race.

KielyUnusual

Monday

4.8 miles @ ~7m/mile Lunchtime
6 miles @ 7m06s Evening


Lunchtime run down to Shanganagh Park and back. The park was fairly saturated in parts so it was a nice break from work to go frollicking in the mud for half an hour. Bog standard 6 mile run in the evening. Had mentally prepared myself for some cold, cold weather this week so the decent conditions were a welcome surprise.

pconn062 wrote: »

Solid training at the moment KU, have you a target in mind for Raheny? Hope to do it myself, have been putting off entering but will probably put it in this week, great race.

It's got a reputation as a decent race definitely. I run part of the course two or three times a week so I'm looking forward to racing it this time round. I guess I'm hoping to finish it in some time around 28 minutes. Should have a better idea after the club track session tomorrow night, I think. Get your name in anyway pconn. It should be a good one.

KielyUnusual

Tuesday

1 mile w/u, 4 X 1 mile (2 min rec), 1 mile w/d

5.43, 5.40, 5.40, 5.41

Icy track meant out to the fields again, which was a little disappointing. Everyone was doing different things so I went with two lads who were doing mile repeats around some GAA pitches. The ground was a little boggy in patches but the pace felt comfortably hard as a whole. Finished feeling I could have done one or two more. Happy with this session and I think I might be back to near 100% after a few below par sessions since Christmas.

KielyUnusual

Wednesday

7.2 Miles @ 7m08s/mile

A nice evening run out by Clontarf. Played a game of football straight after and I was fairly wrecked by the end of it. Might have to knock the 5-a-side on the head till after London.

smmoore79

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Tuesday

1 mile w/u, 4 X 1 mile (2 min rec), 1 mile w/d

5.43, 5.40, 5.40, 5.41

Icy track meant out to the fields again, which was a little disappointing. Everyone was doing different things so I went with two lads who were doing mile repeats around some GAA pitches. The ground was a little boggy in patches but the pace felt comfortably hard as a whole. Finished feeling I could have done one or two more. Happy with this session and I think I might be back to near 100% after a few below par sessions since Christmas.

Thankfully it looks like the icy conditions will be gone by next tuesday so the track should be up and running again. I might stick to the park though myself, save the track work til April. My body will thank me for it!

KielyUnusual

smmoore79 wrote: »

Thankfully it looks like the icy conditions will be gone by next tuesday so the track should be up and running again. I might stick to the park though myself, save the track work til April. My body will thank me for it!

Yea the track looked grand there on Thursday night. Should be good for the 3k time trial on Tuesday. I'll probably give it a miss this month though with the race on Sunday. All ye fast lads down the club seem to love running in the muck so there must be something to it.

Thursday

1.5 mile w/u, 6 X ~0.5 mile, 1.5 mile w/d

2.50, 2.50, 2.52, 2.50, 2.51, 2.49

Went down the club but took it relatively easy. Having said that, these felt a lot harder than they probably should have because my stomach was feeling a bit dodgy.

Friday

Lunch: 5 miles easy

Evening: 8 miles @ 7m21s/mile

Pretty rubbish conditions for the lunchtime run. Rain and strong winds. The rain was a lot heavier for the evening run but the wind had died down big time so it was grand. Checking out the Raheny 5 thread, it looks like some gale force winds predicted for the weekend. Hopefully it won't affect the race too badly. Running out that way quite regularly, we should be running with the wind on the most exposed parts so it might not be so bad. That's if the prevailing wind prevails on the day.

KielyUnusual

Saturday

6 miles @ 7m52s/mile

Just a very easy one around Drumcondra to keep the mileage up for the week. Was a little tired on this one but hopefully I'll be in fine fettle for the race come tomorrow.

KielyUnusual

While I'm sitting here taking it easy ahead of the race tomorrow, I thought I might post up my plan for London. It's not set in stone and I generally alter it a bit at the start of each week. The main thing for me is to stick to the medium length marathon paced runs and the long runs.

....and my weekly mileage

KielyUnusual

Sunday

3.5 mile w/u, Raheny 5, 3.5 mile w/d

I ran out to this one at a very leisurely pace as it's not too far from me. I was really feeling the urge to up the pace so I took this as a good sign. After collecting my number and dropping off my stuff, I put in a few strides by the start area and lined up a couple of rows back. I thought I had put myself in a good position. I expected to finish in about 50th place and lined up accordingly. When we got going, I was actually a bit further back so it was a relatively slow first quarter of a mile. I like to take it out easy for the very start of a race so I took this as a blessing in disguise.

Once things had settled down, we were running in to a fairly strong wind along the Howth Road. A runner from the Harriers went to go past me, I upped the pace a bit and went with him. We made a small bit of progress through the field and then I pushed on a bit myself. The next part of the course by St Anne's Park and the Coast Road were the quickest part of the course. I tried to push the pace as much as I could on this section. Any time I tired, I just tried to relax my whole body and generally found that I recovered pretty quickly.

Once we left the Coast Road, it was on to an uphill by the other side of St Anne's Park. I knew this was coming and was a bit daunted but I didn't struggle near as badly as I thought I might have. We swung a left at the top of the hill and we were in to the full brunt of the wind with still a bit of an incline to deal with. We were close to home now so I just dug in and fought all effort to slow down. The finish line came in to view and I emptied the tank. Made a few places and wasn't overtaken so I was massively happy.

Finished in a time of 28.13. This was about the time I was expecting, so to have achieved it in some really rough conditions was a huge boost. Chatted to a few lads from the club after, who put in some really quality performances, smmoore to the forefront among them. A three and a half mile run home to finish things off, carrying a fairly laden goodie bag that I hadn't contended with beforehand. Really well organised race and the goodie bag was top notch. The commemorative trophy I thought was an especially nice touch.

smmoore79

I can guarantee ya that sub 28 is on the cards for you. RTE 5 miler might be the place to get it. I must do that 'relax the body' thing during a race, with all that wind I hadnt time to think about relaxing the body! Class goody bag, but unfortunately I left it in the boot of Murphs car!!!

KielyUnusual

smmoore79 wrote: »

I can guarantee ya that sub 28 is on the cards for you. RTE 5 miler might be the place to get it. I must do that 'relax the body' thing during a race, with all that wind I hadnt time to think about relaxing the body! Class goody bag, but unfortunately I left it in the boot of Murphs car!!!

I read it somehwere once that if you start to tense up, just relax your hands and it feeds back through to the rest of your body. I find it works a treat. I don't always do it but I had it in my head before the start of the race this time. By the way, if Murph says that there was no giant Mint Aero and Rolo bar in the bag when he got it, then he's trying to pull a fast one;).

ecoli

+1 on the relaxing the upperbody basically was drilled into me as a kid by my coach but as the years went on found I tended to forget but really made difference last year in faster paced sessions (didnt get to apply it on track)

Definitely a sub 27.30 in you before long man keep it up the progression has been phenomenal

KielyUnusual

Monday

Lunch: 5 miles @ 7m20s/mile
Evening: 6 miles @ 7m14s/mile

Ran in to an absolute downpour in my lunchtime run and was wading through parts of Shanganagh Park. Walked back into the office like a drownded rat, much to the enjoyment of my colleagues. Thank God for the shower at work.

The evening run was less eventful. Had a driving lesson round Drumcondra after work but I felt much more in my element running the same streets an hour later.

KielyUnusual

Tuesday

300/400/800/1200/800/400/300
Rec 30s/60s/75s/75s/60s/jog
1.5m w/u & 1.5m w/d

The normal end of month 3k time trial was cancelled this evening so it was a pyramid session instead. The 800/1200/800 was tough going but I felt strong at the finish for the 400/300 so happy with how I paced the thing over all. A few stopwatch malfunctions so the only times I got were the 400s (both 71s) and the second 800 (2.39). Good to get back on the track again and get a bit of variety back in to therunning.

smmoore79

Good goin on the track session considering you did a race on Sunday!!! I took it handy and jogged for an hour. Might do an interval session later though..

ecoli

Think this thread needs a renaming quick. Very solid session man keep the consistency up and dont ignore the injury prevention stuff to keep you on your feet and no reason why a 2.45-2.50 shouldnt be well within your grasp

KielyUnusual

I'm trying to just form the habit of dropping in to the club every Tuesday and Thursday after work so I don't even have to think about it. I wasn't feeling too stiff or sore after the race so I said I'd give the session a go. Was considering going for an easy run myself beforehand but it was a month or two since the track was open and I really enjoy the interval sessions.
I see you're running in the XC in Derry at the weekend. Best of luck. sounds like it's going to be a high standard up there. I'm going for my first XC race this weekend myself. The first since I was about 10 years old anyway. Got a delivery of some XC spikes in the post yesterday so looking forward to testing them out in Swords on Saturday.

KielyUnusual

ecoli wrote: »

Think this thread needs a renaming quick. Very solid session man keep the consistency up and dont ignore the injury prevention stuff to keep you on your feet and no reason why a 2.45-2.50 shouldnt be well within your grasp

You might need to do a bit of back reading ecoli but yea I definitely should change the log title.

ecoli

KielyUnusual wrote: »

You might need to do a bit of back reading ecoli but yea I definitely should change the log title.

probably right I started catching up with the log from the start but have yet to get fully up to date:o

KielyUnusual

Well, you wouldn't need to go back too far anyway. I ran the Dublin Marathonin in 2.48.3x and I'm currently training for London. Basically aiming to get as close to 2.40 as possible. I hope to have a better idea in a month or two's time. The Meath Half in March should be a good indicator for if I'm on track. I was reading on your log that you might try your hand at the distance in 2014. It will be some marathon when you get to doing it.

ecoli

KielyUnusual wrote: »

Well, you wouldn't need to go back too far anyway. I ran the Dublin Marathonin in 2.48.3x and I'm currently training for London. Basically aiming to get as close to 2.40 as possible. I hope to have a better idea in a month or two's time. The Meath Half in March should be a good indicator for if I'm on track. I was reading on your log that you might try your hand at the distance in 2014. It will be some marathon when you get to doing it.

I remember hearing you smashed it alright but in my ignorance didnt realised you smashed it by that much apologies. I would agree 2.40 is a solid target and Bohermeen is ideal timing.

Cheers yeah every aspect of training this year has a single purpose in mind and that is next year the main thing is 11 months of consistent work before going into more marathon specific work come next year. Will have to bust out a big one to stay on the heels with you and other runners around here who are absolutely flying

KielyUnusual

Wednesday

8 miles @ 7m40s/mile

This run worked out well. Had the wind with me on the way out down by the coast and was blown along without much effort. Then when I turned up by Raheny, I had a bit of shelter so the conditions weren't too much of a factor. Suited the purpose of this easy run down to the ground.

KielyUnusual

Thursday

Timed session: 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 (1 min jog recovery)

The normal mile repeats on the grass weren't on this evening because the underfoot conditions were really bad. We headed into the track instead and ran a timed pyramid session with 1 minute jog recovery. This was a controlled hard effort and not quite the effort of the track session on Tuesday. It was good to see some of the faster 200m runners on the track. We were on the inside lane and they were tearing around on the outside lane. It looked real impressive. It made up my mind to go watch a proper track and field event this year.
On a sour note. I only found out when I was talking to one of the lads that the XC is cancelled this weekend. Very disappointing. I had my spikes ready to try out at lunch tomorrow and I was quite looking forward to the race. I even registered with the BHAA today for the cheaper entry fee. I'll probably try out my spikes in the park tomorrow anyway but I might do the club session in Phoenix Park instead on Saturday or possibly the Parkrun.

KielyUnusual

Friday

Lunch: 5 miles @ 6m46s/mile
Evening: 6 miles @ 7m10s/mile

It was windy as heck out in Bray/Shankhill for the lunchtime run. I was working hard on the way out to Shanganagh Park but I positively flew back on the return.

Saturday

17.5 miles @ 7m18s/mile

Sun, Sun Mr. Golden Sun. You're very welcome back. I think it's almost two months since the sun was out when I've been running. Not that it was summery or anything. I was still out in my jacket, hat and gloves but the sun was out for the full 2 hours and 10 minutes of this run and that was enough. Ran out to Sutton along the coast road then went round Bull Island on the way back. Really enjoyed this.

KielyUnusual

Sunday

10.3 miles @ 7m29s/mile

Was thinking of possibly doing a shortish marathon paced run today but drinks and very little sleep last night put a stop to that. Settled for an easy 10 miles round by the beach on Bull Island. The strong winds made the second half a lot tougher than the pace suggests.

Was reminded of Herb Elliott as I was running up a sand dune coming off the beach. The BBC had a really good documentary on the 1500m race before the Olympics, featuring him and his trainer Percy Cerutty. Cerutty used take all his athletes and have them run up and down sand dunes till they were fit to collapse. After all this intensive training, Elliott went in to the 1960 Olympics in Rome confident of a gold medal. He had envisioned that he would enter the final lap, feeling strong and kick for home and the win but upon hearing the bell all he could think was 'Herb, mate, you're buggered'. Then he thought of all the pain he went through training for the race and just pushed on despite everything in his body telling him to stop.

He tells it better and the visuals help a lot but its always a point that stuck with me. You see the elite athletes flying along and you think they look comfortable but they're bound to be suffering as much as you during a race. They're just running a lot faster when they do it.

Here's the interview actually. It' slightly different than I remember it but I probably just changed it in my head to suit my needs

KielyUnusual

Monday

3 mile w/u, 6 @ 6m06s/mile, 3 mile w/d

Had taken the day off work in anticipation of the Super Bowl last night. As it turned out, I went for a nap at eight o'clock because I was wrecked tired and didn't wake up till eight this morning:eek:. Disappointed to have missed what sounded like a great match but it was a quality and well needed sleep. Anyway, since I was rested and had the day off I decided I'd get a good marathon paced session in today.

I was having second thoughts when I saw the wind outside but I decided I'd just give it a go and see how it went. I warmed up with the run out to Phoenix Park but even the easy pace was a little tough going uphill into the wind on the North Circular Wind. Anyway, I made it as far as Garda Headquarters in the park and headed off. It was tough going in to the wind on the North Road and Ordinance Survey Road but I knew this would be the toughest part so I persevered. Once I got to the far side of the park it was a lot easier. On downhill parts of Military Road with the wind behind, I reckon I was hitting sub 6 pace but I might as well have been jogging along for the effort it took. It was back into the wind for the last half mile once I crossed Chesterfield Avenue but the end was in sight so I just saw it out even though I was working hard.

Overall, very happy with this run. I hit the pace I was going for in none too ideal conditions. It was tough going but about as tough as a marathon paced session should feel at this stage I think. At least when I compare it to the training for the Dublin Marathon last year.

jfh

great work, drop into this log every now & again, you've made good progress, i'll be aiming for about 10 min slower than you in dublin, well that's the plan, so i'll be keeping on eye on your training for another while !
you have some very consistent milage there.

KielyUnusual

jfh wrote: »

great work, drop into this log every now & again, you've made good progress, i'll be aiming for about 10 min slower than you in dublin, well that's the plan, so i'll be keeping on eye on your training for another while !
you have some very consistent milage there.

Thanks jfh. I had a look at your training log and you're in good shape to post a really good marathon time. A half marathon of 1.19 is very promising for what you could do in the full, especially with another 9 months of training to go. I'll be watching with interest.

KielyUnusual

Tuesday

8 miles @ 6m42s/mile

Normally have the track session on Tuesday but with the marathon paced run on Monday, I didn't want another tough session straight away. Decided on 8 miles at a steady pace instead. I was feeling really good on this run and was tempted to up the pace a bit more. I don't like to run too fast on the streets at night though because the lighting can be a bit iffy in places and its risky enough

Wednesday

6 miles @ 7m27s/mile

This was my least enjoyable run in ages. I was dead tired at work and still wrecked when I got home but I though a run would liven me up a bit. It was a real struggle though. I could barely lift my legs up and it felt like a long, long six miles.

Thursday

Rest

Lost a bit of my running motivation after the run yesterday and I just wasn't bothered going out for a run.

Friday

5 miles @ 6m30s/mile

Lunch time run around the park. Legs still feeling leaden. Usually do another eight when I get home after work but gave them a miss.

Saturday

Rest

Felt more energetic after feeling a bit fatigued for the past few days. Went down to Portlaoise for the club hurling semi final and then went for drinks after so never managed to squeeze in a run.

Sunday

4.4 miles Easy, 7.21 miles @ 5m59s/mile, 5.4 mile Easy

I had planned 17 miles w/ 7 @ MP for today. Ideally I like to put the marathon paced miles at the end so you're running on tired legs but this way was just easier to organise. The run was 4 miles along the canal down to Phoenix Park. Then 7 miles at marathon pace in a lap and a bit of the park and 5 miles easy back home. I ended up hitting a bit better than marathon pace because I was using a stopwatch and don't have feedback during the run. It was a hard slog in some fairly incessant rain but the lack of gale force winds was a huge help for a change:D. I think the easy few days recently made this run a lot easier than it would normally have been.

Bit of a mixed week. Only 48 miles run and I was struggling for motivation towards the end of the week. On the other hand, I did get two very good marathon paced runs in so that's two gold stars on the report at least. Hopefully I'll get back to some consistent running from now in. Some races to look forward to over the next few weeks and these are always great for motivation.

KielyUnusual

Monday

Lunch: 5 miles @ 6m46s/mile
Evening: 6 miles @ 7m27s/mile

Lovely lunch time run along the seafront in Bray and then climbed some of the way up Bray Head before having to get back to work.
Evening run along the coast as well but this time out in Clontarf.

Tuesday

1.5 mile w/u, 8 X 600m (200m jog recovery), 1.5 mile w/d
Times: 1.52, 1.58, 1.55, 1.56, 1.56, 1.55, 1.56, 1.55

Tuesday session down the club with an active recovery to make things a bit more novel. Went out a bit too quick for the first one following some of the faster lads. Didn't feel I was pushing it but my time for the second rep said otherwise. After that the reps were very consistent and my legs were feeling it for the fast few so I think I paced them just about right.

Wednesday

11 miles easy

Plan was to run home from work today (Bray-Drumcondra) so I'd have time to get in to town and catch the United game. My calf started to feel tight a few miles in and got progressively worse so I hopped on a bus in Blackrock. This only managed to knock a few miles from the trip though and I still had to run another 3 miles once I got off.

Thursday

6 miles @ 7m45s/mile

Just testing out the leg really. I could still feel it being tight but it's not too much to worry about I don't think.

Friday

5 miles @ 6m44s/mile

Lunch time run down the coast in Bray and a small bit up Bray Head. Gave my usual evening run a miss due to race on Saturday and a small bit of remaining tightness in my calf.

Saturday

7 mile w/u, Garda XC (15th in 24.26), 2.5 mile w/d

Ran out to Phoenix Park for the warm up and discovered once I got there that the registration was outside the park. Ran over there and back in a bit of a rush but I was back at the start area with a good five minutes to spare. Put on my shiny new Asics XCs and went to line up at the start. Hooter went and we were in to the first part of the course which was flat and relatively firm. I naively thought that this cross country stuff wasn't too bad but then the harsh reality bit. The second half of the lap was up and down two fairly difficult hills with the mud ankle deep in parts. There was a short lap and two longer laps of this. My legs were really feeling it going in to the final lap but I managed to hold my position somehow. Going in to the finish straight a girl from Raheny AC was a good bit ahead and I went about making up some ground. I didn't really harbor any hopes of catching her but I kept upping the pace more and more till I went in to an all out sprint for the last 50 metres just pipping her at the line. Official results had me finishing behind her so lucky she was the only girl in the race or that one would have slipped by me. To sum up, probably the hardest race I've ever run but enjoyable in a masochistic kind of way.

KielyUnusual

Sunday

20 miles @ 7m14s/mile

The midweek marathon paced runs and the weekend long runs will be my bread and butter for the next while. Today's run was planned to me my first properly difficult long run with the residual tiredness from yesterday's XC being still in the legs. I included a climb up Howth Summit too to really test my endurance. I was prepared for a real slog but surprisingly enough I was full of beans today and finished the run feeling good. The only worry was the tightness in the calf flared up again on the more severe downhill parts coming in to Howth village. This gradually lessened as I got back on the flat so not too much to worry about I hope. Overall a good weekend of running.

KielyUnusual

Monday

6 miles @ 6m38s/mile

Meant this to be a recovery run but it was freezing so I upped it to a steadier pace to generate a bit of a warmth

Tuesday

Rest

Gave the track session a miss to rest up my calf as it has been tight since I aggravated it on Sunday

Wednesday

13 miles @ 7m24s/mile

Ran home from work. The first half of this run is as dull as dull can be, running along the N11. It brightens up a bit once you get in to Blackrock and the run along Sandymount is quite nice. Calf tightened up again on the second half of this run. I was running with a bit of an awkward gait towards the end, which isn't good.

Thursday and Friday

Rest

Decided to rest up for a few days. Was running very awkwardly on Wednesday so could lead to follow on injuries if I don't just let it sort itself out.

Saturday

10 miles @ 7m25s/mile

Tired from a few drinks the night before so just went for an easy one around my old reliable Bull Island route. Leg seems fully better, which is good.

Sunday

20 miles @ 6m39s/mile

Same route as last Sunday around by Clontarf, Sutton and Howth. Unlike last week, I was able to fly down Howth Hill unencumbered by my gammy leg.

Another poor enough week this one. Probably should have gotten out for an MP run on Friday but the injury had me a bit pissed off with my running. It might have been a good idea to let it fully heal anyway. Slightly dreading the Meath Half next weekend. Had a fairly ambitious target in mind but I'm definitely going to have to downgrade that.

KielyUnusual

Monday

Lunch: 5 miles @ 6m41s/mile
Evening: 6 miles @ 7m04s/mile

Legs starting to feel a bit achy, which I'm taking as a good sign. At least shows that I'm putting a bit of stress on them.

ThePiedPiper

Well KU, haven't checked in with you for a while, but well impressed with some of the running you've been doing of late.

You all set for Bohermeen at the weekend? Looks like your training is well on a target for a great full marathon in London.

Won't be at it myself, doing Dundalk-Newry half in a few weeks.

Best of luck in Bohermeen, it's a fast course, just the one hill of any signficance, but only an issue if you're spent with half a mile to go. Look forward to reading a PB report next week.

KielyUnusual

Tuesday

1 mile w/u, 3k Time Trial(9.36), 2 x 1 mile w/60s rec (5m50s), 1.5mile w/d

Forgot that the end of month time trial was on this week and wasn't too enthused when I discovered this on my warm up. Haven't done anything fast for a while so I thought my prospects of beating December's time were slim. I do love running on the track though so I was still looking forward to giving it a shot. Having gone out a tad too slow the last time, I shot straight in to fourth place from the off and was going at a strong pace. On the back straight, I was overtaken by another runner. I assumed it was a bit of naivety on his part because I hadn't seen him down the club before but he opened up a gap pretty quickly and it only got bigger as the race went on. Remained in fifth place for the next few laps, steadily closing the gap on the runner ahead. On the bell, I was about 10 metres behind him. I increased the pace and eventually got by him with half a lap to go. I upped the pace again once I had gone past to try and open a gap. Tactic seemed to work and I held him off for fourth place. Really happy with my finish. Time was 15 seconds faster than two months ago so delighted with the improvement. Very unexpected.

Ran two mile repeats in the park to finish things off. Just because I was expecting a bit more running tonight.

You all set for Bohermeen at the weekend?

The time trial tonight was a bit of a boost as I wasn't too optimistic just yesterday. Have a 9 mile MP run on Thursday. If that goes to plan, I'll be happy enough going in to the race. Just need to sort out some sort of transport. Don't usually leave the comfort of the big smoke for a race. I read about that Dundalk-Newry race alright. A point to point sounds like an interesting concept if a bit of a logistical nightmare. You'll never be able to stand by a PB on the course either. I wouldn't recognise it anyway, that's for sure:D.

pconn062

That's a cracking result Kiely, you have great middle distance speed. Good luck at the weekend.

KielyUnusual

pconn062 wrote: »

That's a cracking result Kiely, you have great middle distance speed. Good luck at the weekend.

Cheers pconn, I think the experience from the last 3k time trial really stood to me this time round. The recent XC in the Park was a big help too. No track race could ever be as tough as having to negotiate those bloody hills in the ankle deep muck:eek:. I'd say never again but i'm sure I'll squeeze a couple more in before the end of the winter series. Us runners quickly forget. You wouldn't last long at it otherwise.

KielyUnusual

Wednesday

13 miles @ 7m18s/mile

Runmute home from Bray. I always find this one pretty tough. Might be to do with the dullness of the route. Played a bit of football after it and I collapsed in a heap in to the bed not too long after that. Last game for a while I think. My enthusiasm waned massively after about 20 minutes of playing.

Thursday

1.5 w/u, 9.16 miles @ 5m58s/mile, 1.5 w/d

Wanted to get this one done while still bright so I head down to Shanganagh Park in Shankhill straight after work. There's a loop that's just shy of 1k and the plan was to do this 15 times. Knew marathon pace was 3m42s for the loop. Ist lap was much too quick at 3m34s. I slowed down a little and I think the 2nd lap was just about right. Struggled to calculate the paces in my head after that but I was convinced that I was behind pace. I was fairly wrecked by about half way and I was feeling the slight incline on the second half of the lap. As I started counting down the laps, things felt a bit easier. I was even joined by an auld lad on my third last lap. We were chatting away for 30 seconds or so but he was struggling a bit and said his goodbyes pretty quickly. The last few laps went by without too much hassle then. Happy out with the run but I'll have to reconsider the route as running 15 laps isn't much fun. Easy running now until Bohermeen at the weekend.

pconn062

Holy shit man, that's nearly a sub 60 ten miler in training!! :eek::eek: You're an animal, I predict a savage half marathon from you this weekend followed by a great marathon. Keep it up.

KielyUnusual

Friday

Lunch: 5 miles @ 6m56s/mile
Evening: 6 miles @ 7m40s/mile

Lunch time run round Shanganagh Park getting flashbacks to the 15 laps of torture from the previous evening. The evening run was the nicest run I've had in ages. Quiet streets, lovely clear night and me just running along, happy as Larry listening to some PJ Harvey.

KielyUnusual

Saturday

6.5 miles @ 7m33s/mile

Easy morning run to loosen out before the race tomorrow. Legs felt a bit leaden but that's often the case on an easy run before a race. Good week this one so I'm feeling reasonably optimistic about the Half.

ronnie085

Good luck tomorrow, not that you need it, flying at the moment