Cool runnings

davedanon

Monday 16th

6 mile run, with a few strides thrown in with an eye on tomorrow.

6.32 @8.29

HR 123/143

Tuesday 17th

Bob Heffernan 5k, Enfield. Actually, Johnstownbridge, but this is just part of the charm of this excellent race. Was picking up some clubmates en route, so took the OH's car, and mindful of how warm it had been in Dublin, we were all glad to see the cloud cover as we headed down the M4. After we picked up our numbers, though, it was clear that there was quite an amount of precipitation due to make its way earthwards. We decided to run up towards the start (about a mile away - charm!) and back again for a warm up, and shortly after it started to rain heavily. Then it got heavier, and heavier, and soon we were running in an absolute monsoon, of a type rarely seen outside the Book of Genesis. It was the sort of rain which causes everyone caught in it to start laughing helplessly. Huge puddles quickly formed on the road, and we all took evasive action when mega-puddle and traffic interfaces occurred, despite the possibility of becoming any wetter being exactly zero. Halfway back down the road we spotted Mr. Somba and pal huddled beneath a tree. He would go on to win, again, by one second as usual, and although I'm not sure if he shed his trackie bottoms for this one, I'm reliably informed that he at least ditched the phone as he strolled around to victory. Back at base we stripped off sodden tops, donned race singlets, and legged it back up the road. It rained again but we barely noticed it. Now, let me say this up front: this is a great race. Fantastic, flat course, good shelter from the wind, decent road surface, and a hearty repast after.

The start, however, is a disaster. We massed at the start area, which was on the main road to Edenderry. There was a handy side-road for warm-ups, strides etc, but as people completed their pre-race routines they gradually congregated around the be-megaphoned van, which was, as far as I could tell, the only tangible evidence that a race was about to ensue. The traffic wasn't heavy, but there was traffic, and I wondered how this enterprise was to be carried off. The man on the tannoy kept exhorting us to stay off the road, and it was quite haphazard and all delightfully Irish, as Bill Bryson might have said, had he ever come here (He did, but I don't think he wrote about it). Like recalcitrant sheep, we kept straying onto the road surface, and there was a moment of comedy when the tannoy man announced that a car needed to get through the crowd and up the side road, and runners were yelling "where is it?", as the vehicle's presence was not apparent to anyone. Finally a car came nosing through the crowd, and by this point 8pm had come and gone; then Mr. tannoy informed us that we were "just waiting on the starter". I had visions of some tardy local worthy finishing his tay and jumping into the Hilux.

(New Pauliegraph)
The start itself was quite peculiar. All of a sudden we were massed in the middle of the road, quite obviously no longer going to be giving way to traffic, but the only problem was, paradoxically, that because there was no 'funnel', when the quickies go to the front and everyone else arranges themselves suitably behind them according to pace, we were strewn across the road, so that when a distant factory horn, which turned out to the starting gun, went off, half of us failed to react, as we had been walking, then jogging, then walking again. Having a line to toe can be quite handy. Suffice it to say, lots of time was lost here.
I saw some very strange manoeuvres. People skipping and jumping, people running, nay, sprinting, around slower groups. There was a weird crunching noise off to my left, and I looked over to see a guy off the road surface altogether, dashing along on loose gravel. Mental stuff. Some people seemed to be in an awful hurry. 5k to go though. Plenty of time, wasn't there? Hmmm.

The first turn came along at three-quarters of a mile, and it was perfectly timed. I needed a change of scene, and was waiting for that gradual pace adjustment that comes when you manage an extra-deep breath or two, and start to believe that you might be able to last the distance, and eke out a decent run. Mile 1 was 6.03, and after another bit I started to relax just a tad.
I noticed that I had a familiar fellow-traveller: a guy from Bros Pearse who had been at the Tallaght 5k, and who I had run with a good bit of the way before just edging in front towards the end. We swapped places a bit, before coming to the 2 mile mark when I felt myself surging slightly, almost involuntarily. It wasn't a conscious thing: my body just reckoned it could handle a bit more stress without crapping out before the finish. BP guy dropped behind me. Mile 2 was 6:13 - a bit slow, in retrospect. Then we came to the last turn at 2.5 miles, and by now I had the pace down around 6 again. The next half-mile was all about keeping that pace up, and when I saw a sign that announced "500 metres to go" I was able to ratchet it up another notch. After what felt like 600 metres, I still had 100 to go and was beginning to panic that I wouldn't last until I hit the finish line. Eventually the end neared, and although the race clock seemed to read 18:48:xx as I passed, my eventual official time was given as 18:54. A season's best.

Thoughts? I've been approaching this distance all wrong, for one thing. When I run a race, and it doesn't go to plan, I often assume that I've made the classic mistake of going out too quickly. "If I hadn't run mile 1 in xx:xx, then I mightn't have had to slow down so much at the end". That kind of thing. The 5k isn't like that, though. It is the demarcation line between middle and long distance. It is, simultaneously, the longest sprint, and the shortest distance race. It fails one crucial distance litmus test though. Of all the longer events, it is the only one where you cannot afford to lose time at any point. Run a slow first mile? You won't make it back up later, by and large. It's not like the marathon, where you don't worry because you've lost 30 seconds over the first 2 miles. This has been my mistake both here and in Tallaght, I now realise. In both cases I was slowed at the start by congestion, but I was wrong to assume that A) this slower start would help me to last the pace, and that I could make up the lost time by running quicker later on. In the 5k, you have to start quick, and hope that you stay quick. If you've trained well, then you will. If you start slow, then that time is lost, gone. You won't gain it back.

That's my ill-considered opinion.

2.8 @9.36
3.1 @6.05 (18.54)

Wednesday 18th

Short recovery run.

3.19 @8.50

Thursday 19th

7 mile run. To club, to discover that mates were keen to run 10 miles at a brisk pace, no doubt in mitigation as they really should have been on the track. I wasn't doing any 10 miles, but found it unpossible to not stay with the pace.

7.42 @8.10

HR 130/150

tang1

Nice to meet you Tuesday evening, St Cocas 5k on 24th of June is another quick one.

davedanon

Yeah, likewise, B. I could well be there on the 24th.

davedanon

Friday 20th

Rest

Saturday 21st

Hubris. Having bashed out a 5k season's best earlier in the week, why, nothing would do me but to rock up at my local parkrun and attempt to slingshot my way to a Tymon pb. And for, ooh, a half-mile at least I was well on track. Then the rot/tiredness set in, and I had to settle for a spot on the podium; which was most welcome, especially considering the tremendously mediocre time. Was considering a few miles after, to bring the mileage up to acceptable long run standard, as had a family gathering in the afternoon, and eventually ground out 5 more miles. What larks.

2.69 @8.35

3.1 @ 6.30 (20:11)

4.81 @9.03

Sunday 22nd

Usual early start out of the question due to hangover. Got out later and met clubmate for a few easy miles.

8.33 @8.23

Week's mileage 42

davedanon

Monday 23rd

Usual easy Monday loosener.

4.25 @8.47

Tuesday 24th

12x400m w 75 secs rec. Another solo session, everyone else out tempoing. Hey ho. Tried just to keep these under 90, and more or less succeeded. Always a tough session, though.

2.23 @8.34

12x400 (89, 88, 87, 89, 89, 85, 89, 90, 89, 89, 91, 85) Av 88

HR 141/166

1 cd

Wednesday 25th

Session to be done in the morning, so super easy pace. Lucky I love running.

5.24 @9.12

davedanon

Thursday 26th

400, 800, 1200x2, 800, 400 pyramid @ 5k pace with 45/90/120x2, 90 secs rec. At the track before noon for this. A little strange, doing a track session so early. After a longer than usual warmup (met a clubmate) opened up with a 93 second 400, which was a couple of seconds slow. Struggled to hit the desired pace as the laps increased, although the second three were quicker than the first. The fact that I'm doing these solo makes a difference, I think. When I referred back to the last time I did this session a few weeks ago, it was done with a group. Makes a huge difference having people to run with. The splits required were 1.31/3.02/4.33, and although I didn't hit them I was reasonably happy with the effort. Also, when I analysed the stats in more depth, I was actually faster overall than on the previous occasion. The one thing that bothered me was the HR data. Both the average and max were a few beats higher than before.

3.04 @8.36

400, 800, 1200x2, 800, 400 (1.33, 3.04, 4.42, 4.40, 3.02, 1.25)

HR 139/166

No cooldown

Friday 27th

Recovery run. Actively tried to keep this slow, knew I needed to, long run tomorrow.

6.6 @8.43

Saturday 28th

14 mile run. A warm morning despite the early start. Our usual waterworks route, taking the in 'duck loop' out the back of same, which means a run that is mostly uphill to halfway, then mostly downhill. The highest elevation is more than 400ft above the starting point. We kept it nice and steady overall, not pushing things on the downhill return. Felt a bit weak, however, and struggled with breathing a bit. A couple of weeks back I ran this 20 secs per mile quicker, and felt better, even though I had no water bottle. I did have on this occasion, though, and was glad of it. I suspect I may have been a little under-hydrated today.

14 @8.21


Week's mileage 43

davedanon

Monday 30th

Short easy run. Once again felt drained and sluggish. Perfect race preparation so!

4.48 @8.37

Tuesday 31st

BHAA 5 mile Dunboyne. My debut in this race. I entered because of its reputation as a fast course, and that it turned out to be, although conditions were a little too warm for my liking. My first target here was a sub-32 run, but really I was hoping for something better than my 31.34 pb, set in Terenure a couple of years back. The plan was to run 6.15/6.20 initially, and see how things went thereafter. It was very congested at the start, and it took a couple of hundred metres before I had the room to run at the pace I wanted. It had cooled down a bit, we had a bit of shade, and I felt relaxed and comfortable. Mile 1 - 6:19. I say that, but at the time I was oblivious. I was wearing prescription wraparounds, but they weren't varifocal, so I couldn't see the figures when I looked at the watch. The course was nice and flat, and Mile 2 was another 6:19. Again I couldn't actually see this at the time. In retrospect, this may have been a mistake, but in the heat of the moment I just decided to run at my chosen pace and see where it got me.

On I went, uneventfully enough, and Mile 3 was a 6:24. At this stage I was running at 31.43 pace overall, and I was beginning to entertain thoughts of a possible pb. Around here, though, suddenly things started to get hard. There had been a water station earlier, and while I wasn't thirsty, I had almost involuntarily snatched the very last in the line of proffered cups of water (my grip/snatch squeezing out nearly all of the liquid) but the rest of it went down the back of my neck. A little later some darling spectator had set up a lovely cold shower, which I gratefully ran through. In short, I was getting warm. I don't perform well in the heat, as a rule, but I had been doing quite well here up to now. Then a new problem reared its head, in the shape of a clubmate, with whom I had a 'competitive history'. For a while we had a bit of a ding-dong battle going on, passing and re-passing each other a couple of times, but eventually I began to flag, and he gradually pulled away. At Mile 4 I managed to see a mile split for the first time all race, and it was the worst of the lot! 6:44, and I sort of lost the plot here and mentally gave up a bit. I assumed that I wouldn't even break 32 minutes at this point.

It was then that another clubmate appeared on my shoulder, and unbeknownst to him, he was my saviour. Determined not to be ousted by yet another running buddy, I found some more energy from somewhere (funny how there's nearly always some there if you really need it) and pressed on. At this stage I was focussing on random runners around me, and mentally earmarking them for obliteration come the final 200m (track finishes - love 'em). Had no idea of time whatsoever as I approached the track, and wasn't fully confident to put the hammer- such as it was- down, until the last 150m. I managed to burn off a few before I finished though.

I didn't check my watch. Was fairly sure it wasn't going to make me happy. Then I heard someone who had finished behind me say "I got in just under the 32", so I looked at the Garmin.

31:52.



2.5 wu

5 @6.22 (31:52)
HR 158/170

2 cd

davedanon

Wednesday 1st June

Rest

Thursday 2nd

10x400m @10k pace, 60 rec. A relatively easy session aimed at those recovering from Tuesday racing, but some hadn't been racing, so we settled on a 1.30-ish pace. Handled it pretty well.

2.24 @8.50

10x400m. (91, 92, 92, 91, 90, 90, 92, 88, 88, 87)

HR 128/163

warm down

Friday 3rd

Rest

Saturday 4th

Long run. 14 miles again today, same as last week, waterworks, duck loop, back by Rovers stadium. Nippy finish to this one.

14.19 @8.09

davedanon

Sunday 5th

Rest


Week's mileage 35

davedanon

Monday 6th

Easy run.

6.52 @8.34

Tuesday 7th

6x400, 60 rec. Club race series starting on Thursday with a 3 mile race in Tymon, so a few one-lappers seemed in order.

1.08 @9.11

6x400 (88, 88, 88, 88, 86, 85)

HR 133/161

2.5 cd

Wednesday 8th

Easy run. A couple of uphill strides thrown in, as felt pretty sluggish, with race upcoming tomorrow.

6.37 @8.40

Thursday 9th

Club race. 3 mile lap of Tymon, no watches, predict your time. It had clouded over, and seemed cooler by the time this got underway at 7.30pm, but it was still very warm.

1.5 @9.02

3 @6.16 (18.47)

1.19 @9.58

Friday 10th

Easy run.

7 @8.53

davedanon

Saturday 11th

Rest. Also my brother's 57th birthday.

Sunday 12th

14 mile run. Was on lock-up, so needed to be back at club by 9.30, which necessitated an earlier-than-usual start.

14 @8.22

Monday 13th

Recovery run.

8.14 @8.48

Tuesday-Saturday

No running, due to family issues.

Sunday 19th

I'm still on a marathon programme. The long run has to get done.

15.25 @8.29

Monday 20th

Can't run. Calves absolutely pulverised after yesterday, for some reason. The lay-off, plus drink, plus stress, I suppose.

Tuesday 21st

Working in the evening, so couldn't do club race. Decided on a tempo in the afternoon instead. 4 miles at about 6.55 per.

8.31 @8.13

Wednesday 22nd

Recovery run.

5.42 @8.29

davedanon

Thursday 23rd

Rest. No running because work. Not an excuse, could have run early, or late, but haven't adjusted the mindset sufficiently to get the carcass out early doors, as I know I have zero interest in running in the evening after being at work. That probably sounds wimpish to most 9-to-5 types, and it probably is, but normally I can pick and choose a time to run during the day. That makes me a bit lazy when I do get busy. Anyhoo. Went to give blood yesterday, but wasn't allowed due to a haemoglobin count of only 12.5! I hope it's just temporary.

Friday 24th

Could have done a session, having missed Thursday's scheduled 8x800s, but with long run the following day, settled for 8 solid miles.

8.11 @8.13

Saturday 25th

15 mile run. Done with a club colleague. Waterworks including 'duck loop', plus some extras after to get the mileage. Was just inwardly musing that the waterworks route, which includes the climb up Old Bawn road from the village to the Old Mill, is really the wrong one for a flat track like Berlin. No sooner had I thought it, than my partner said it aloud. Some solitary runs beckon, I think.

15.26 @8.17

Sunday 26th

Working all day. No running. 50-plus mile weeks from here on in.


Week's mileage 37

davedanon

Monday 27th

Slightly concerned that I might not stick out a couple of extra miles, so sort of accidentally wound up at club in time to meet whoever was doing the usual Monday run. Stuck with them for a while, then turned for home. They run slow too, which is no harm at all. Got 9 in in the end. Which was nice.

9 @9.06

Tuesday 28th

Club race night, but I was, yet again, going to miss it. C'est la vie. Decided on a 5 mile tempo in the afternoon instead, but had to settle for 4 in the end. The body just isn't at the races right now. Same pace as last week, though, more or less.

2 @8.40

4 @6.56

2 @9.35

Wednesday 29th

Another decent bit of mileage. Changed the route on a whim as I left the estate, and ran every local path and laneway I came across. The whole Firhouse/Knocklyon area north of the Firhouse road is an intricate network of estates with many paths and gates leading from one to another. It can really eat up distance when you don't know quite where you are going. Kept the pace nice and easy again. I anticipate many solitary miles in the next 13 weeks. I aim to be pushing 60 miles most weeks, and I can't do that at the sub-8.30 pace my peers usually maintain.

9 @8.55

davedanon

Thursday 30th

6x800, wu/cd. On my own at the track for these. Got a longer warm-up in before returning to the track. In limbo slightly while firming up the training plan, so this was basically last week's session, 6-8 800s @5k pace, 1 min recovery. Very quickly decided that 6 would be plenty, after the first one came in at 3:13, much slower than the planned 3:05. Picked it up a bit after though. Happy enough with the session.


3 mile wu.

6x800 (3:13, 3:09, 3:08, 3:07, 3:08, 3:03)
HR 135/169

1.67 cd

Friday 1st July

Easy run. Another bit of suburban exploration, or: Get to know your neighbourhood. Fascinating the way the estates around about are networked and connected by laneways and paths. Great way to while away the miles, and stay relatively close to home. Kept it real slow too.

7.21 @9.54

Saturday 2nd

Long run. 16 miles on the agenda today, so turned up a bit early at club and got the extra mile in in advance. I hope to convince my buddies to do a Dodder run (flat) instead of the (hilly) Waterworks route, but one of the lads had gone to the trouble of dropping drink bottles up at the back end of the WW, so that was that. Hills it was. Nice and controlled though.

16 @8.21

HR 132/159

Saturday 2nd

National Beer Mile 2016. A huge pb for me here on the way to a respectable 7th place. 9:03 was a great result and there's more to come, especially given a lot more beer training.

1.25

Sunday 3rd

Very short very easy run. Barely a mile and a half, actually, but all I need to get me over the 60 mile barrier. A good week.

1.5 @9.03


Week's mileage 60

davedanon

Monday 4th

Nice easy recovery run.

8.01 @8.56

Tuesday 5th

Rest

Wednesday 5th

A difficult training week, as we were away all week in the west for our 25th anniversary, staying at three different hotels along the way. So it was the dreaded treadie in the hotel gym for this. Did 10k somehow. The first half was easy enough, machine set at 5.5mph. For the second 5k I cranked it up to 9-10mph. Just glad to get anything at all done.

Thursday 6th

Rest

Friday 7th

....Although there are benefits. We were travelling from Sligo down to the Castlebar area, so I drove down the coast as far as Mulranny and the hotel there overlooking Clew bay, changed into my running gear and set off along the Greenway towards Westport. By my calculations it's about 18 miles, somewhat longer than the planned 16, but I figured that I might get the OH to pick me up somewhere along the way. That was a mistaken assumption, as she isn't a massive shopper, and eventually decided to settle down in a hotel in Westport, have a few pints, and leave the driving to me. I have to admit, it's exactly what I would have done. In the end I covered 19 miles, and was a sweaty mess by the time I found the hotel. It was a long-held wish to run the Greenway, though. And someday I will run the whole thing, Krusty, promise.

19.01 @8.20

Saturday 8th

Rest

Sunday 9th

Back home. Easy local run.

7 @8.52


Week's mileage 40

I did well to get 40 miles in this week. Next week I've a gig to go to, plus a wedding. So I'll have to plan carefully and be disciplined, to get a full week in.

davedanon

Monday 10th

Easy run. Ran from the house to meet club colleagues for regular run, got 9 in total. Had to run a 7.30 mile to catch up with them, which explains the high max HR.

9 @8.22

HR 133/156

Tuesday 11th

Unable yet again to make club race, so ran in afternoon. Should have done a tempo, but I've been hitting the grape juice too much since coming back from holiday. Couldn't countenance a tempo, just ran 8 easy, and it was awful.

8.01 @8.59

HR 119/139

Wednesday 12th

Got out today with the firm intention of running that tempo, but after 2 miles of warm up, I found myself doing another one, and then vacillated for some minutes before eventually setting off. Since some personal upheaval in the last few weeks took the wind out of the sails I've been a bit rudderless, to continue the nautical metaphor. I doubted that I was able to last a full five mile tempo, and sure enough was forced to take a break after two miles. Did a further two, then took another rest. Attempted the last mile, but gave up after only a minute or so. Got 10 in in the end, which was good, and at least I've done a session of sorts.

2x2 mile tempo, wu/cd.

3 @8.30ish

2x2 (6.32, 7.09, 6.50, 6.32)

HR 133/165

2 @slow.

davedanon

Thursday 13th

Up in north today, then at a gig. No running.

Friday 14th

A wedding today, so up and out early for some easy miles. Head not too bad after last night's drinks.

10.01 @8.35

Saturday 15th

A real challenge this. Just over 10k into the RHK to retrieve the motor, with an epic hangover to be reckoned with. The first few miles were tough, I'll admit, but got into it eventually.

6.52 @8.23

Sunday 16th

Long run. Out again the previous evening for many drinks, yet more wedding celebration. Didn't feel quite as bad as yesterday, thankfully. It is bloody warm out there, though. I have consumed 1.5 bottles of sports drinks, eaten three satsumas and had a glass of orange juice since I finished, and I had a bottle with me as well, which I finished by halfway and refilled at a petrol station in Donnybrook. Got it done, and passed 60 miles for the week. Not a bad effort considering.

18.01 @8.28



Week's mileage 62

tang1

The Pixies?

davedanon

tang1 wrote: »

The Pixies?

Yes indeed. Fantastic gig. Black Francis spoke nary a word to the audience all night. Just one bangin' tune after another.

davedanon

Monday 17th

Recovery run. Amazing the difference it makes when your long run was at noon on Sunday, rather than 8am on Saturday, or even early Sunday, for that matter. Add in the stifling, cloying heat, and it made for a torrid experience. It got done, though.

7 @8.39

Tuesday 18th

This year's marathon plan features the MLR, for the first time. Previously my main sessions have basically been a tempo, a track session, and a long run. Although most of my peers are doing Dublin, while ich bin ein Berliner, I'm doing what they're doing, structurally-speaking. So it'll be a tempo, an MLR, and a long run, for the next few weeks anyway. There will probably be some other, more speed-focussed sessions later on. I was on call for work, but figured I was in the clear when the phone hadn't run by 5.30pm. I was sitting in the club dressing room in my jocks when the phone did ring. "Go to Greystones". Anyone do any runs out around the Charlesland leisure centre? There's loads of illegal dumping going on right beside it. Disgusting to see. Anyway, didn't get out until 9pm, and although the sun had gone in, and it was definitely cooler, it was still and muggy and not easy to run in. Hadn't a route in mind, and when I did a lap of the little section of park between the Old Bawn road at Aherne's pub, and the 'new' bridge over the Dodder, it was just a precursor to the actual route. That's when I had the idea: to just continue running circuits of the park, as long as I felt like it.

I always had a notion that running lots of laps was inherently boring. On the track, it's deadly dull. Three or four laps of Tymon park, as we used to do on our long runs when unwilling to face the wind on the climb from the Basketball arena up through Tallaght and Old Bawn to the Old Mill, and you were nearly changing your mind, just for some variety in the scenery. This little loop was just over a mile, though, and as I lapped it and lapped it, I began to see the benefits. A small circuit, where you can see all parts of it at once, rather than a biggish park like Tymon, and especially one slightly longer than a mile like this one, really worked for me psychologically. My mile point kept coming up earlier and earlier on the loop, and I could leave my drink bottle at a certain point, so I didn't have to hang on to it all the time. I found the same phenomenon applied in Marlay, where the roughly 800m lap seemed less daunting than 2 laps of the tartan somehow. Again, you can see your starting/finishing point, and the whole loop from all points on the course. Monitored the HR for parts of it, and was pleased to be able to keep it within quite a narrow range.

12 @8.34

HR 133/143.

davedanon

Wednesday 20th

Short very easy recovery run.

4 @8.44

Thursday 21st

I've just noticed my dates are a day out for the last couple of weeks. what a clown.

8 miles with 6 @MP. It's what the DCM crowd were doing, but I've done no MP stuff, so it seemed to make sense for me too. Trouble was they're on 7.30 pace, so I was going to be running this solo, after the warm-up. Times were a bit erratic, but no more then they might be in a real marathon. Felt quite comfortable: normally this would be a tempo, and about 25-30 secs quicker per mile, and it was reassuring to be able to tell myself: this is marathon pace, and to be able to handle it fairly well.

1m wu

6 @MP (7.15 p/m) (6.59, 7.02, 7.22, 7.15, 7.17, 7.31)

1m cd

dublin runner

davedanon wrote:

6 @MP (7.15 p/m) (6.59, 7.02, 7.22, 7.15, 7.17, 7.31)

Very positive session.

I wouldn't be too concerned with the variability of splits if it's over a rolling route or fighting wind. You can't (or shouldn't!) run even splits in Dublin given the course nature so learning your effort level now, while keeping it nice and even, is definitely the way to go.

davedanon

Cheers, and yes, you're right, even if I'm actually doing Berlin, and not Dublin (well, I am, but it's a pacing gig).

davedanon

Friday 22nd

1200m track race. The 7th and final race in the club summer series, and only the 2nd I've been available for this year. There's a 400/800/1200/1600 race, so teams of at least four are selected on the night (sometimes more, depending on numbers, in which case there might be more than one entrant per team). Teams are selected on a sort of handicap basis, so that results should balance out, and good performances rewarded. Anyway, what it boils down to is it's fairly easy to decide who should run which distance. These days, I always get the 1200, and while I've yet to break 4.00, I usually get close enough. Not so tonight. I stayed with my usual rivals for a lap and a half, but the extra racing they've had really showed, and I finished on my own a good ten seconds off my usual pace. Then we went upstairs and drank all night, which was the real point of the exercise.

3m wu/cd

1200m @5.52 (4.16)

HR 151/171

Saturday 23rd

Rest. You better believe it.

Sunday 24th

The plan was for 20m at 8am, but unfortunately Stranger Things on Netflix put paid to that. After 6 episodes I went to bed at 5.30am, and didn't make it out for a run until nearly 8pm. Had no route in mind, especially given that all our usual routes work well because traffic is light at 8am on the weekend. So I did one of my impromptu suburban explorer jobs. Felt quicker than it really was, but no matter. Fell short of 60 miles this week, because I missed a day.

20 @8.45

HR 127/149

Week's mileage 55

davedanon

Monday 25th

Was going to take this as a rest day, I was that tired after Sunday, but after a walk with the dog that loosened me out a bit, I told myself I'd do 2 miles, no more. Loosened out a bit more en route, and got 4 in in the end. Very slow, but no matter.

4.02 @9.12

HR 114/126

Tuesday 26th

12m MLR. Arranged to meet some clubmates a little earlier than usual for this. As soon as the slow initial mile was out of the way, the pace kept picking up relentlessly, so after a few miles I just dropped off and let them go. Training is hard enough without all that malarkey. As it was my average pace was only MP+65secs.

12 @8.20

HR 134/144

davedanon

Wednesday 27th

Went out for an easy run, not really sure how far, or to where, I was going to go. Came out of the estate, and there were two of my clubmates steaming up the road towards me. Stayed with them for a mile or two, but they were finishing their run, so ended up in Tymon via Glenview. Ran a bit on grass to spare the joints, and a couple of miles later I ran into El Capitan himself, who complained about his calves and bemoaned the fact that he might only be able to run 2.45 in Berlin. Still, it made the miles fly by.

9.01 @8.59

HR 124/144

Thursday 28th

4x2m@MP, w 3min rec. The DCM crew were running at HM pace, so I just picked the appropriate group and went with them. 7:15 pace was the goal, and that was the result, despite a bit of variation due to course undulations. An 11-plus mile session to boot.

1.5 wu

4x2m (7.13, 6.57, 7.10, 7.13, 7.01, 7.25, 7.11, 7.26)

Av 7.12

HR 135/156

1.3 cd

davedanon

Friday 29th

Rest.

Saturday 30th

18 miles, 4@ MP. Four of of us set off, but one was only doing 90 mins, and then I needed to visit the loo, so the second half was run solo. Thankfully the route - up the bypass/Lucan road toward Citywest with a turn-around at about 13 miles, meant that my MP miles were run slightly downhill overall, and with a wind at my back. The way it worked out, the MP section was miles 13-17, and that had me back at the club, so I had some water, before wearily heading out for a laboured last mile. Very happy overall though.

18.04 @8.15

MP miles 7:23, 7:05, 7:15, 7:09

HR 135/158

Sunday 31st

Only needed 5.6 miles to hit the 60 mark for the week, but managed a bit more. Nice and slow out of necessity.

8.11 @9.10

HR 115/129


Week's mileage 63

davedanon

Monday 1st August

No prospect of getting up early on this bank holiday. Waited around all day for the hangover to subside, then ended up dozing on the bed in the early evening. Really, really, REALLY didn't want to run a step, but eventually forced myself out the door, and after a mile I just wanted to stop, turn back, and walk home. I didn't see the point of the run, didn't care about the miles, didn't care about Berlin, didn't care about anything. But I kept going, and when I reached Tymon park, I told myself I wouldn't run anywhere I had run before: a tall order considering I've been running in Tymon since 2009. I went down a few dead-ends, scratched myself a bit, and got stung by nettles, but in the end I struggled home with 8 miles under the belt.

8@9.47

HR 110/127

Tuesday 2nd

12 mile progression, with 5m Easy, 4m Steady and 3m @ MP. Another very warm and muggy night, and after the first 5 was run in company, after I was on my own. Apart from a mental clubmate who can't resist a challenge, and caught up and then passed me after 8 miles. Managed ok, but the last 3 @MP were tough. Didn't quite hit the required pace.

12 @7.56

5 Easy: Av 8.26
4 Steady: 7.23, 7.40, 7.38, 8.02 (Target pace 7.40/45)
3 MP: 7.14, 7.26, 7.18 (Target pace 7.15)

HR 139/167

davedanon

Wednesday 3rd

Easy run. Ran from house and met up with club crew for the regular run on grass of a Wednesday. Just wanted to make it easier to get a longer run in.

9.01 @9.18

HR 117/135

Thursday 4th

No session tonight, with the half on Sunday. Easy run, but keeping the mileage up. Finished off with 8x100m strides on the track. 24/25 seconds per 100.

10.05 @8.27

HR 127/154

tang1

Best of luck tomorrow Chief, run well.

davedanon

Thanks, B. Could be a day for survival, though. Warm, and very windy.

davedanon

Friday 5th

Short easy run.

3.03 @8.59

HR 115/130

Saturday 6th

Same. Purely so I can hit 60m for the week, with no long run tomorrow.

4.67 @8.55

HR 120/134

Sunday 7th

National Half-Marathon (incorporated into some piece of nonsense known as the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon). The weather was anticipated to be warm and muggy, and the winds to be high. Of the prevailing variety too, which meant a headwind right from the start until we crossed the bridge at Chapelizod, more than 5.5 miles away. My strategy given the conditions was not to chase a sub-90 time, and about a half-dozen Tallaght runners formed a tight group just behind the 90 min pacer as we streamed up the quay.

Miles 1-3

My watchword today is effort. I aim to keep to an effort I feel I can sustain. Last year I tried to stay with the pacer and was goosed after only a few miles.

Av pace 7.07

7.05, 7.10, 7.05

Miles 4-6

Myself and a clubmate become slightly detached from the group. I try not to worry about it too much. We pass Heuston station and climb up towards the RHK. I concentrate on breathing easy going up the drags, and after the long straight avenue brings us out of the RHK and into Kilmainham, we are eventually heading downhill into Chapelizod. We're always running this in the opposite direction at DCM, so it's nice to do it in reverse for a change. When we hang a right onto Chapelizod bridge, it's the first time all morning the wind hasn't been in our faces, and I savour the feeling. A faster last mile cheers me up too.

Av 7.09

7.22, 7.11, 6.55

Miles 7-9

The road is flat, mostly, the wind's at our backs, but the heat is building. Along here I'm feeling a bit sunbaked, and there's even a pic of me rounding the corner onto Conyngham rd at Chapelizod, on the path and seemingly cutting the course. In fact I'm just trying to avail of a bit of much-needed shade. With the absence of any climbs to worry about, I concentrate on trying to maintain a nice rhythm along here, but it's very hot, and I've made use of every water station, despite those damned cups. These Rock 'n' Roll tools. They really have no clue how to make a race work well for the actual runners. But hey, if you want a great selfie/tourist course, loads of (hideous) bling and a few bands desperately trying to inject some pizzazz into proceedings, they're the go-to guys. Rather than attempt to actually drink from a squishy plastic cup while running, which will always result in you choking on it and water sluicing out your sinuses, I reckon you can get a mouthful by squeezing the water up until it's running out, then slurping from it. I mess up on the second station though, and water goes up my nose and has me choking and spluttering. I'm still running with my clubmate, meanwhile, and although he drops back a little at times, he always reappears. He has a little telltale cough that betrays his presence. There's nothing wrong with him, it's just something he does. Then suddenly, we spot a clubmate, sitting against the wall at the side of the road. I ask him if he's alright, but we keep going. I'm slightly worried, and wondering: "should we have stopped?" The guy in question is as brave as a lion, but pushes himself too hard in races, and he's not been quite 100% for a while now. He's collapsed in exhaustion more than once before during races. Afterwards Barry (my racing companion) tells me he wondered if he should stop as well. As it turned out the chap finished safe and well, thankfully.

The pace has held up well enough, but eventually we reach the end of Conyngham Rd and the turn up onto the drag of Chesterfield Ave. And guess what, kids? This is where the race gets hard! Cue the two slowest miles yet, as we attempt to negotiate the hill and the wind simultaneously. Relief is on the way, though. The Americans are coming!

Av 7.25

7.09, 7.30, 7.38


Miles 10-12

Well, their emissary's house anyway, and I'm mighty relieved when we make a left at the Yankee Ambo's gaff and get some hot downhill, tailwind action. Just before the turn I hear someone call out "9 miles!", and I scoff inwardly. I'm not sure exactly how many miles we have done, but I've been ignoring everything on the watch face except the pace, so I have been playing that mental game where you sort of know how many miles have elapsed, but you're "pretending" it's one fewer. So, I say "rubbish" to myself, and continue. Almost immediately I pass a distance marker that reads 15k. "Hmmm," I say to myself, "15k. That's 9 miles!" Incidentally, is it just me, or was that the only distance marker, apart from the one at the 12 mile point? This section is mostly downhill, and it's probably as good as I've felt all morning as we tumble down the hill towards the bottom of Military Rd. I think to myself that I might actually finish this thing after all. It's only a respite, however, because the dread hills/S bends stretch lies in waiting. Graveyard of many a race.

I haven't really boned up on the route much, so I'm in a take-it-as-it-comes-whatever-it-actually-is sort of humour. Strangely, though, I'm doing ok on the climb. I'm maintaining leg turnover, and I'm passing people quite regularly. My clubmate has dropped back, but I'm convinced he's right there. I'm sure I can hear his distinctive cough. He's got a mean turn of speed when it's needed, and I'm pretty sure he's planning to drop me like a mad girlfriend come the final turn. On we go, into the S bends, and after so many times negotiating them, I'm aware not to make them more than they really are. It's a twisty, up-and-down stretch, but no more. There's the flat section underneath St. Mary's to come, and then a final, long, mean incline. My strategy is often to put my head down so I can't see the climb, but sometimes you're better off lifting your head up, making it easier to get air into the lungs. Just let your eyes glaze over, pretend you don't see anything. Like Nelson: "Hill? I see no hill!"

Av 7.26.5

7.19, 7.28, 7.33

Final 1.1 Mile

The last mile, and we have a fairly flat, twisting section shaded from the sun and protected from the wind by lots of lovely, lovely trees. I'm not sure at this point where the finish is going to be, but suspect, given the distance yet to cover, that it's up on Chesterfield. That being so, I'm not sure how far that last section will be, so I decide to maintain a nice, steady pace for the time being. It's picked up though, and I'm striding past runners who are visibly wilting. No sign of my clubmate, and as we pass Farmleigh and approach the roundabout on Chesterfield, I decide to chance a look over my shoulder, and sure enough: he's back a bit, maybe 30 metres behind, but there's one of our distinctive vests there alright. I don't think it's going to matter, though, because I know I've got something in the tank. We round the turn, and I start to really crank it up, so much so that, as I pour everything into a surge past a final runner, approaching the line, I distinctly hear a namecheck from the race announcer. I cover that last section at 5.17 pace, which is very pleasing. I turn to wait for my clubmate, and lo and behold, it was another clubmate! I must have been hearing phantom coughing for the last few miles, because he had fallen off me ages back. My official time was 1.35.16, which, all things considered, I am quite happy with. Beforehand I had reckoned that 1.35 would be a good run for me given the conditions. In fact, I would almost, almost claim that I ran a race which wasn't a flat-out, death or glory effort, but closer to a measured, controlled MP run. The overall pace, at 7.15, was just that. But that would be stretching it, just a little. The truth is that while I wasn't at the max, I wasn't far off it. I couldn't swear that a harder effort wouldn't have resulted in me making a visit to the Kaboom café. Given where I am in the marathon cycle, I'm not at all unhappy. The 10 miler is in 2 weeks, and I'm looking forward to it already.

7.08, 5.17 (for a few hundred metres)

13.1 miles @7.15 (1:35:16)


Week's mileage 61

davedanon

Monday 8th

Short easy run. A bit creaky.

4.32 @8.57

HR 118/133

Tuesday 9th

Longer run, but still easy. No Tuesday session this week. Felt much better.

7.00 @8.51

HR 119/140

Wednesday 10th

14m MLR. On club lock-up this Sunday morning, which requires me to be at the clubhouse for 9.30am. So rather than seek a swap, or a dig-out, I decided just to do the long run on Saturday morning instead. Luckily there's usually people running on Saturdays and Sundays these days. Consequently I decided that the MLR needed to be done a day early to ensure proper recovery. Went well, felt quite fresh.

14.10 @8.24

HR 125/145

davedanon

Thursday 11th

8 mile run. Nice and easy.

8.46 @8.38

HR 116/134

Friday 12th

5 mile run.

5.14 @9.04

HR 121/135

Saturday 13th

22 mile long run. Run with clubmates on parts of the DCM course. Basically, from Bushy park to Northumberland Rd, then from the canal up Crumlin Rd to the Walkinstown roundabout. Good pace maintained, but a bit of a struggle in the closing sections.

22.01 @8.32

HR 134/160

davedanon

Sunday 14th

Very easy 4 miler while on club lockup duty.

4.03 @9.33

HR 114/128


Week's mileage 65

davedanon

Monday 15th

Longish easy run. Met up with club gang so most of this on the grass in Tymon. Easy on the joints and muscles.

9.00 @9.26

HR 125/141

Tuesday 16th

14 mile progression run. 6 miles easy, 5 steady, 3 @MP. Looked forward to this with a bit of trepidation. Was slated for Thursday, but I swapped sessions around, as the DCM crew were doing 14 as well. I was able to run with them for the first 6 miles, before I had to crank it up a bit. We started early, but not as early as planned, so didn't get as many miles in as last week before we looped back to the club for the usual 6.15 start. It all meant the route was a bit fuzzy, and in the end I came back to the club needing another half-mile or so. Straight onto the track then for a couple of breathless laps. Quite happy overall, really. The Steady section went fine, but the thought of 3 miles at 7.15 on tired legs was initially a bit daunting. I kept telling myself that this was what the actual marathon would be like, and forced myself onward. By the end if my tongue wasn't quite hanging out, I was fairly leathered still. My MP splits, paradoxically, were too fast as a result of the tiredness. I was trying too hard, and overcompensating. Still, better than last time, when I couldn't quite manage to hit my straps on this section. Great session, in warm, muggy conditions. The HR did hit 99% though. How much of a concern this should be, I don't know.

14.01 @8.02

6 Easy
5 Steady 7.40-7.45 (7.37, 7.46, 7.29, 7.47, 7.45)
3 MP 7.15 (7.03, 7.16, 7.03)

HR 137/171

davedanon

Wednesday 17th

Easy recovery run.

7.26 @8.54

HR 120/133


Thursday 18th

3x2m @HMP, 4 mins rec. Biggish group leaving the club, but me doing my own solo thing, as per. Said my goodbyes after 1.5 miles of warmup, and sped off. Pace variable, sometimes too quick, sometimes a bit slow. Overall found it tough enough, and eventually decided to leave the last rep at a mile.

1.5 wu

2x2m, 1m. (7.11, 6.52 - 6.45, 7.12 - 6.52)

HR 142/160

1.3 cd


Friday 19th

Never want to run after work. Luckily this would normally be a rest day, so I just needed to throw in 4 @ easy pace.

4 @8.44

HR 121/134

davedanon

Saturday 20th

Easy Dodder run. Ran this a bit quick, but felt really good all the way through.

8.32 @8.16

HR 125/140

Sunday 21st

20m run, with 8@MP. Was expecting to run this solo, but lo and behold a couple of teammates joined me at 8am. The club was locked up for some reason, so changing in the car park in the heavy drizzle was an inauspicious start. The rain soon cleared, though, and we quickly established a pace in the 8.00/8.15 range. Again, like yesterday, I felt really comfortable, although I was wary of letting things get out of hand, with 8 miles @7.15 looming at the 10 mile mark. We decided on the Rathcoole/Newcastle/Baldonnell route, which is fairly flat but which has some long, testing drags. The first 10 miles went by as smooth as silk, and I was itching to get to the meat of the session. We timed it perfectly, as the MP section coincided with a right turn out of Newcastle which brought the wind around behind our backs for the first time. Mile 1 came in well under at 7.08, but thereafter I was less comfortable. Battled around alright, but fought a few mental demons along the way, such as settling for 6@MP, or even stopping, but the route again helped, as the 6 mile point was just close enough to the critical left turn onto the Tallaght bypass to keep me running. At this point I had been on my own for a while, as the other two lads had dropped back a bit, and a third guy who had only joined us at Rathcoole was a little bit ahead. The pace had dropped a little in the middle section, the slowest 7.32 on a mile with a long drag. Eventually the somewhat endless Lucan road petered out though, and I turned for home onto the bypass. Clubmate did me a huge solid here by looping back around to join me until I finished the MP miles, and with his help I managed 7.02 for the last mile. Unfortunately I had promised myself a rest and a long drink here, so when I got going again it was a bit of a death march, and I didn't see any point in doing the last mile. As it was I had clocked up 70 for the week already. A tough but rewarding 7 days.

19m @7.52

inc 8m @7.17 (7.08, 7.13, 7.17, 7.15, 7.25, 7.32, 7.24, 7.02)

HR 143/165


Week's mileage 70

davedanon

Monday 22nd

Easy recovery run. Went to club for this, but usual partners had gone off early, so ran with the regular crew leaving at 6.15pm. This meant a nine and a half minute mile run done mostly on grass, and it was exactly what I needed. Enquired later, and sure enough the others had done 8 miles at 8.25 pace. I wouldn't have been able for it.

7.38 @9.36

HR 122/134

Tuesday 23rd

The plan had 10@MP slated for tonight, but wasn't up for it, so swapped sessions and did the MLR instead. One of my Suburban Crew pathfinder specials. Edgy? Disruptive? It was all those things, but it was more than that. It's a family, and even though it's just me, no way was I leaving myself behind. Not in those mean leafy southside streets.

15 @9.23

HR 116/136

davedanon

Wednesday 24th

Was working, so brought the gear, and ended up in the PP, where I hoped to complete a lap of the park on the trails, but a work call after 2 miles brought me back to the car to re-send some stuff, and I ended up going home and doing a couple more miles locally.

6.67 @8.37

Thursday 25th

no running.

Friday 26th

No running.

Saturday 27th

20m w 10@MP. Just me and a faster clubmate for this, but he was happy to row in with my planned 10@8.15/10@7.15, as it would give him a 7.45min/mile average. For the first 90 minutes the weather was perfect, cool and calm, but it began to get hotter and hotter as the morning wore on. As with last week, I felt really good, ridiculously good really, for the first 10 miles. The pace was quicker than planned, but we were chatting every so often, and I really didn't feel that I was pushing myself too hard, or compromising the MP section. Then we hit the turn in Newcastle, and at first I thought that I was doing better than the previous week's effort. I let Billy lead, and he was bang on 7.15 pace for the first three miles. The first of them felt easier than last week (which was 7.07) but as with last week I flagged over the next of couple of miles, before recovering again. At mile 5 we were past Baldonnell and back on the 'new' Lucan road, and I was bracing myself for the long climb awaiting. Sometimes, when you're tired, you need to attack a hill a little bit, keep the cadence up and tough it out. Or you can begin to slow, and it becomes a death-march. I tried it, but halfway up I just died suddenly. I waved Billy on and stopped as soon as I hit the top of the drag. I was at the bridge over the Naas Rd., and I stood in the shade of a large road sign and drained my bottle. I needed about 5 minutes to recover, and felt slightly dizzy, breathing not quite right, as though I was hyper-ventilating. Eventually I got going again, and gradually was able to ramp up the pace again, putting in a couple almost at 7.15 pace, but in the end I stopped at 19 miles, with only 9 @MP. I hadn't planned the route carefully enough, and the last mile would have involved an 'ad hoc' section added on, and the peculiar psychology of distance running made this a bridge too far for me. If I had had the route planned properly, I think I would have been able to tough out another MP mile. Interestingly, although I didn't nail the MP, the pace overall was 7.45, thanks to the quick earlier miles. Maybe that's a lesson. Both this and last week, I have run with quicker colleagues, and ran too fast in the initial stages. I should do this session again solo, if I can, and do it right.

19 @7.45

10 @8.04
9 @7.23

HR 144/165


Important real life stuff got in the way this week. My streak ended, and I only ran 4 days. No matter.

Week's mileage 48

davedanon

Monday 29th

Easy run.

8.12 @9.09

HR 123/137

Tuesday 30th

5m @HMP. After a mile and a half of warmup, I ran this with two much faster colleagues, who were doing a 10 mile Steady run. I knew they'd run quicker than they were supposed to, and got me to a 6.54 average for the 5 miles.

1.5 @8.30

5@HMP (6.57, 6.52, 7.03, 6.49, 6.47)

2 @9.10

HR 144/167

davedanon

Wednesday 31st

Recovery run. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

8 @9.05

HR 117/129

Thursday 1st September

14m progression run. Got out of the house around 5.30pm with no definite route in mind, and it became a pressing issue when I ran up towards the Old Mill and realised just how windy it was. The thought of an east-west route definitely didn't appeal, given that the last 10 miles would consist of 5 @7.45, and then 5 @7.15, so eventually I wound up in Tymon, which has a north-south alignment. This meant that I would be mostly dealing with crosswinds, and an anti-clockwise route was ideal as it gave me a bit of tailwind in sections, while the southbound leg would be in the lane on the esker which gives plenty of tree shelter. I was under a bit of time pressure, so decided that the easy section would be the shortest at 4 miles. The subsequent 10 miles amounted to 3 laps of the park before heading up home. I was pleased at how well the Steady section went, as I had actually felt a bit tired on the first 4 miles. Averaged 7.45 for the 5 miles, before cranking it up again for the last 5. I had such a good rhythm going, that I decided to just up the leg cadence, keep the breathing controlled, and ignore the watch. On my last 2 MP runs, I had been a bit ragged, and I wanted a controlled effort, because that's how the marathon effort needs to be. On the whole I managed pretty well, I thought. Even the last mile, which was inevitably into that wind, and slightly uphill to boot, was reasonably controlled. Unfortunately though, it turned out that I hadn't quite nailed it. A bit of climbing, and wind, can be factored in, but it has to be said that I did slacken off to a degree. If I had been watching the clock, I would have attempted to redress matters, but then I might not have had the same control over the last couple of miles. Ah well, still a good session.

4 @8.42
5 @7.45
5 @7.27

HR 138/164

davedanon

Friday 2nd

Rest.

Saturday 3rd

Easy run. Staying in Abbeyleix for the weekend, and I had researched a running route on t'internet beforehand. Turned out there was a trail, a 'bog loop' quite close by, so I got out early on Saturday to check it out. Few pints and a late night didn't bode well, but I just wanted to get the miles in any old how. The trail featured a boardwalk in places, similar to what you'd find in the Dublin hills or Wickla. Slow enough, but got nearly 6 in before it was time to shower and avail of the hotel fry-up before the kitchen closed.

5.75 @9.37

HR 120/136

Sunday 4th

'Long run'. 22 miles was on the dance-card today, but it was never going to happen, in retrospect. A combination of an all-day work schedule (I must have walked tens of miles around Stradbally over the weekend), late nights and the odd drink here or there, plus the tricky terrain on the bog trail and the concentration needed on the boardwalk/technical sections, meant that after only 10 miles or so I was completely wasted. Called it a day, and wearily repaired to the shower/breakfast table.

10.23 @9.16

HR 118/138.

I knew the heavy weekend work sked would compromise things. No point in worrying about it.

Week's mileage 55


Monday 5th

Wife just off a week of nights. Me just back from weekend away. I had a sneaking suspicion a run wouldn't materialise today.

Tuesday 6th

MP intervals. I had surely read the training programme wrong. There couldn't be 4x3@MP scheduled for tonight, surely. Could there? It must be 3x3. Ehhhh, no it wasn't. Don't think I could have managed it anyway.

3x3m @MP. 3 mins recovery. Did the first set a bit quick, as the DCM crew were doing 5@HMP, so stayed with them. Before the last set I needed a longer recovery, and used it to walk to a point where I could do a lap of Tymon, then head for the club until the 3 had elapsed, rather than being stuck out in the park somewhere. Tough, but just about coped. Very, very warm.

6.58, 7.08, 7.11

7.08, 7.21, 7.10

7.18, 7.38, 7.23

HR 145/165

davedanon

Wednesday 7th

Recovery run. Done quite slowly (out of necessity) with much of it on grass.

8.01 @9.16

HR 108/126

Thursday 8th

Medium long run. I've written approvingly before about the straight out and back approach when it's a matter of getting more miles in than usual, but this time the suburban explorer method appealed a bit more. Something about getting say 5 miles in while only being a couple, as the crow flies, from the startpoint. Worked my way through knocklyon and over toward whitechurch and environs, then hit the dodder at Rathfarnham and ran towards town until I hit 10 miles just before the nasty hill at milltown and then turned back and followed the river home.

15.01 @8.40

HR 126/147

tang1

How much or far is the Dodder runnable D, the missus works in Rathfarnham and running along the river appeals to her but she's unsure how far it's runnable?

davedanon

tang1 wrote: »

How much or far is the Dodder runnable D, the missus works in Rathfarnham and running along the river appeals to her but she's unsure how far it's runnable?

From Rathfarnham bridge, she can run pretty much uninterrupted all the way to Clonskeagh, bar crossing the occasional road. Might be only one road, in fact. In the other direction she can follow the river as far as the Old Bawn road, apart from a half-mile (at most) section at Templeogue village. The whole runnable stretch from Tallaght to Clonskeagh is just about 6.5 miles.

There is more between Clonskeagh and town, but you have to run down Beaver Row on the path, and then cross the road at Ballsbridge. But you can run right into Grand Canal Basin on river paths.

davedanon

It's a great run. I'm livid with the f*cking NTA for having the Dodder greenway parked while they concentrate on their precious frigging LUAS.

Imagine being able to run from the Dublin hills all the way to the Liffey in Dublin city.

tang1

davedanon wrote: »

It's a great run. I'm livid with the f*cking NTA for having the Dodder greenway parked while they concentrate on their precious frigging LUAS.

Imagine being able to run from the Dublin hills all the way to the Liffey in Dublin city.

That's why I'm forever thankful for having the Royal Canal at my back door more or less.

davedanon

Friday 9th

Rest

Saturday 10th

Easy run. Got out early doors with the DCM crew who were doing 20+. Did 8 and bade them on their merry way.

8.16 @8.25

HR 124/141

Sunday 11th

To quote myself from a couple of weeks back, after not quite getting the submission against the 20/10@MP, "I should do this session again solo, if I can, and do it right." I must wind things back a bit: Myles had given me a plan 9 weeks out from Berlin, and it had envisaged MP runs building from 4 up to 10 (ie, today's run), but a couple of races along the way had thrown the plan out of whack, and I had ended up ditching the shortest MP run. I had also planned to go 22m twice (which wasn't on the plan) but now it looks like once will have to do. In a nutshell, I've ended up having 2 cracks at the 20/10MP. Also it's now 2 weeks to D-Day, and I've been working off 3 week tapers for a while now. So, let's say, I was a little conflicted about today's 2nd attempt.

However, I was determined to 'do it right', so once work had decided that I wasn't available for the 8am start, I began checking the weather, and agonising over the route. I wanted something flat, and as sheltered from the elements as possible. In the end, I had a brainwave, and decided to run 8 miles over the usual routes before repairing to what Strava refers to as Dodder Big Loop. It's the bit of park between Aherne's and the whistling bridge. A little over 1 mile, flat, and, if not quite sheltered, it's east/west oriented, and the wind was a southerly, so it meant crosswinds in both directions - better than tailwind/headwind.

I was careful not to get carried away with the easy miles, like before, and fixed on the bridge as the best place to leave my bottle. I wouldn't have to bend down to the ground to pick it up, which was important because I've done something to my back, and bending down and/or straightening back up again can be murder at the moment. Once I'm upright I'm fine though, so running isn't affected. So anyway, off I went, and the first couple of miles were a few seconds off, but I wasn't worrying because I had determined to treat it like an actual race: start off a bit easy, make the time up later on. It wasn't as hot as heretofore, but it was still quite warm. The first few laps confirmed the wisdom of my route choice, though. There's something about being really close to home, rather than 11-12 miles away at the furthest point, as on most long runs, that comforts. It works for me, anyway.

After those opening miles, I settled in bang on 7.15 pace. The next three miles were right on the money. Then a couple faster still. It grew hotter, and I was starting to feel the effort. I kept the legs turning over, though, and the breathing stayed fairly controlled. The last three were tough, and at times I worried that I was slowing down, but I knew that was just the tiredness distorting my perception. I finished neatly almost at the bridge, took a break, drained my bottle, and finished off the 20 with a couple of quality ultra miles.

Session thoroughly nailed, and I'm so glad I didn't swap it for an easy 22. It's taper time now.

8 @8.29

10@7.14.5 (7.23, 7.21, 7.15, 7.15, 7.16, 7.09, 7.06, 7.13, 7.14, 7.14)

2 @10.34

HR 137/166 (for entire session)


Week's mileage 63

davedanon

Monday 12th: Taper day 1

Easy run. Short and very easy.

4.01 @9.37

HR 116/127

Tuesday 13th: day 2

Easy run. More usual length, bit faster.

7.17 @8.44

HR 120/138