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Eye of the Tiger Beer.
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PaulieYifter wrote: »Enjoy the Vegas run for now - get 3 or 4 weeks running with no niggles done and then start making plans.
Thanks for this, great advice.
Anyway, my running week was terrible. Not that I was sobbing into my running shoes, considering a more sedentary lifestyle or (perish the thought) looking at how to get into triathlons... nope, the damn cold that I pinpointed my amazing DCM failure on kicked in big-time. I was in bits all week, mad chesty and coughy and devoid of any energy. Maybe my body was expecting to be in bits this week
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
5th November|3.1 miles|8'28|Easy enough around Swords. Quite wheezy and a bit hungover, so not totally comfortable, but felt pretty good to get back out.
6th November|13.1 miles|8'23|Better feeling miles, went out the back way to Portmarnock and back via the coast and Malahide. It was very windy on the way back! Still a bit wheezy but energy levels higher.
Total: 16.2 miles
Sore things: The auld calf isn't fully right yet. It's noticeable but not very distracting when running, and it doesn't get worse as I go along. However it's quite achey after running. Still better than it was last week, and that was better than the week before that, etc., so I think it's still on the mend. Also when coming to the end of today's run I had to stop myself from coughing as I've aggravated my abdomen a bit again. It had gone away during the taper... I think it's been all the damn coughing over the last week.
Next week: Getting back in the run commute game, maybe try out something that looks like a session and possibly maybe even a social boards trot on Howth.0 -
Ok, I'm officially over the marathon, the cold, the recent lack of booze and maybe the calf injury. I spent last week on the beer, ultimately causing me to miss a long run on Sunday. I now no longer wish to be on the beer! The highlight of the week was pacing 22 minutes at the River Valley parkrun, both my first time volunteering at parkrun and pacing! There was a good turnout on the day, over 100 runners. Not many were going for 22 minutes though - there was a guy who I chatted with before at the parkrun who was around me for most of the run, he was having a bit of a tough morning but ultimately made it in a few seconds before me, and maybe I dragged a runner behind me along a bit, but I was on my own for most of the run. I was probably at 21:30 pace until I got over the big hill for the second time, and took it a bit easier for the last kilometer. It's a tough course to pace, no chance of running evenly, but I was happy enough with how it went, coming in at 21:55 was satisfying
I finally had an actually good run today with no real pain from the calf (just a little stiffness), so maybe taking a day off was a good idea yesterday :rolleyes::o
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
7th November|10.2 miles|8'29|Felt good at the time, though I thought I was going a good bit faster than I really was. Ah well.
8th November|5.6 miles|8'13|Headed out around D2/D4 before going to the pub, and then staying up until 4.30 watching the election results.
9th November|9.1 miles|9'11|Knackered in work thanks to a hangover and 2 hours sleep, but glad to be running home - calf was sore though.
10th November|3.4 miles|8'53|Squeezing in a few miles after work. Calf achey, not very enjoyable.
11th November|10.2 miles|8'46|An easy commute.
12th November|4.4 miles|Jog to parkrun + 5k in 21:55|River Valley parkrun pacing.
Total: 43.1 miles
Next week: More run commutes and the like. Weather looks like it's gonna go to crap, so might even hit up the gym later in the week.0 -
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Bungy Girl wrote: »I had to look up phyrric. What a great word
I shall endeavour to use it on my log!
Hope that calf settles down for you.
Great word - I shall endeavour not to have to use it on my own log! :P
Seriously though, hope the calf settles down and your return to form continues.0 -
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A nice week of easy and unspectacular run-commutes, and a fun 15 miles up and around Howth earlier today. No niggles, and I feel really good, feeling pretty strong at the end of all my runs including the 15 miler. Even the two morning commutes went well, though they were slow enough.
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
5th December|10.4 miles|8'00|A faster than normal run home, not feeling much jetlag (the wonders of melatonin)
6th December|9.3 miles|8'24|Another run home, I guess. I passed 2,500 miles for the year somewhere on this run.
7th December|9.1 miles|8'41|A run into work.
8th December|10.7 miles|8'31|A slightly longer run home via Kinsealy
9th December|9.2 miles|8'47|A run into work so I could go on the piss after work
10th December|0 miles|0'00|Feeling tired for some reason...
11th December|15 miles|8'13|Parked at Bayside and went up to the summit in Howth (saying hi to Kennyg on the way), then down to Howth village and pier, followed by a run along the cliffs. Felt really great and was good fun, and it was a lovely morning for it!
Total: 63.9 miles - ahh, that's more like it
Next week: Social life is getting busy with Christmas kicking in, but I seem to have unlocked the ability to run into work so probably a few more morning commutes so will hopefully get 5 more in! I'd like to give a parkrun a shot on Saturday, but it is my work Christmas party on Friday, so we'll see.0 -
The week was going great, but my calf got a small bit tender so ended up taking 2 days off and went to the gym earlier instead of hitting the roads. I think it was a case of doing a bit too much too soon. I had a figurative hangover from last Sunday's run around Howth in the form of sore calves for most of the week. I then did an opportunistic double on Tuesday, did a faster than usual run home on Wednesday and I noticed the calf being a bit tender on Thursday - it followed the usual pattern of clearing up after a few miles, but it's been occasionally noticeable when not running.
Vaguely related to running I attended the local athletics club's yearly awards on Monday accompanying the 6 year old to collect his medal and selection box for showing up on Monday evenings, and my better half ran with them today at the Meet and Train at Tymon this morning... I'm feeling left out not being in a club
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
12th December|9 miles|9'07|Legs sore!
13th December|9.1 miles|8'49|Morning commute into the office (heading out to a gig after work). 100th run to/from Swords for the year.
13th December|5 miles|8'42|A few miles after work and before the gig, a co-worker was heading out on his run-commute home so ran along with him for a few miles.
14th December|9.1 miles|7'55|Faster run home
15th December|10 miles|8'57|Slower run home
Total: 42.4 miles
Next week: My last two run-commutes of the year... if the calf plays along. Given the week that's in it I might just pull back a bit and take (yet another) break.0 -
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Two Christmas races to report on!
MSB GOAL Mile
I couldn't make any of the mile events or parkruns on the 24th/25th, and I wanted to give the mile a crack, so I showed up in Porterstown Park to take part in MSB's event on St. Stephen's Day. I showed up a bit after 11 and warmed up, there were a series of mile runs on every 20 minutes or so. The course was 4 loops around a field, with a bit of a slope, exposed to the wind and the grass was quite soggy in patches and was starting to cut up. It was mostly kids taking part, with maybe a dozen adults in each race. When the race got underway I was a bit behind a pair of runners (who I think were from MSB) and a bunch of kids. The kids all dropped off once we were around half way around the first lap, and I squeezed past the club lads. I went through the first lap in 90 seconds, which was technically on target but no doubt I was going to slow down. I dropped 7 seconds or so on the second lap, and on the third lap the two lads cruised past me. Running in the wet mud and grass was definitely energy sapping and I couldn't respond. Weaving around kids also didn't help. I finished in 6:25, 30 seconds off my mile PB, though that was in very different circumstances (on the track, paced, no kids). Fun enough thing to take part in.
Christmas Cracker 5k
Not content with one race level effort this week, I popped down the road for the second year in a row for Clonliffe Harriers' Christmas 5k. As ever it was a good buzz hanging around the stadium, getting warmed up on the track etc. Target wise I was hoping for 19:30 or so. The race started on time, a loop of the track and then out onto the Swords Road. Positions quickly settled, it wasn't too busy with only 130 people racing. I used my expert level familiarity with the layout of the Swords Road to take advantage of the downhill from the stadium and went past a few folks. I was feeling pretty good, the mile the day before was definitely a lot harder than this level of effort. Turning into Northwood was followed by a drag up alongside Ososlo Park. I slowly made my way past 4 runners here, though by the top and turn towards Ballymun I could feel myself slowing. A Raheny lady was the last person I had overtaken, and by the time we were going down Santry Avenue she was rapidly coming up behind me. I skipped onto the paths a couple of times as the road wasn't closed, but most others stayed on the road, so I didn't stay on the path for long. Somewhere before the turn onto the Swords Road I was overtaken by the Raheny lady and a Clonliffe Harriers guy. I was definitely suffering towards the end, though perked up a bit once in the stadium, and I even managed to do a decent sprint finish, finishing in 19:36 (33rd).
Splits: 3:50, 3:53, 3:59, 4:00, 3:52
Overall happy enough with that, it's feels about right for where I am right now. Interestingly enough I ran the 5k 6 seconds per mile faster than the 1 mile! The goodie bag at the end unusually had some washing liquid in it, as it turns out we'd just run out so I used it to wash my smelly race gear afterwards 0 -
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Nice Xmas running, B - that's a decent time for a XC mile!
Thanks D - I would have preferred a nice handy downhill mile or at least something solid under my feet, but I guess it's all part of keeping things interesting
Maybe I should invest in some spikes, or at least something more suited to mud than a pair of Hoka Cliftons!0 -
A pretty good week - I ran every day, the two races above, a decent enough long-run and a pair of New Year's day parkruns. Nothing was as fast as was desired, but not too far off.
I got permission to do thee New Year's Day north Dublin double header parkrun (trading minding a 1 year old niece and our boys while she did the Rivervalley parkrun on New Year's Eve). It was also my first time doing both St. Anne's and Father Collins, so it there was definitely going to be a big novelty factor. I dumped the car close to Kilbarrack fire station and jogged down to St. Anne's as a warm-up. There was a good buzz at the start with it being New Year's Day etc. I lined up a a bit far back and had a pretty slow start, and ended up using the grass to get going and settled in at the back of a group. I started feeling a bit of a pinch earlier than expected, pretty much as soon as we hit the coast for the first time, but I kept my position fine. Mrs Mc gave me a shout (and a laugh) coming back onto the avenue, and my half-way time was given as 10:07... sub-20 was unlikely but I tried to dig in a little. By the time we were heading back up Mount Playground I knew it wasn't on the cards but tried to keep things respectable enough. A young lad in orange who I'd passed early on rocketed past me with about 500m to go but other than that I think I kept my position, finishing 13th in 20:17.
Afterwards I chatted with a few folks (including FeenaM of the 2015 graduates who finished as first female) and tagged along with FBOT, KennyG and Ferris jogging the 5k or so to Father Collins Park, and once there FBOT took us on a bit of a recce around the course. Again there was a great atmosphere at the start. I was feeling a bit of tiredness in my legs before we got started, but still wanted to give this a good go and the flatter course compared to St. Anne's could only help.
I got off to a decent enough start, again settling near the back of a group. About a km in FBOT caught up and I tried to go along with him for a bit... but had to let him go as the pace was way too hot. I lost a good few places in the next couple of kms, the wind wasn't too strong but I definitely felt the effort levels climbing running into it. I tried to finish decently, trying to trick myself into thinking that sub-20 was still on, finishing in 20th position and 20:07.
With the jog back to the car it ended up being 13.6 miles for the day, a morning well spent. I was impressed enough with Father Collins Park to bring the kids there after getting home - the multiple playgrounds, water features and ample space for scootering made it an enjoyable visit back.
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
26th December|6 miles|?|1 mile in the Porterstown mud at 6:25, warm-up and cool-down
27th December|6.2 miles|?|5k in 19:36, warm-up and cool-down
28th December|5 miles|10:12|Kids were over with the grandparents for the night, so got in some recovery miles with the wife!
29th December|15.1 miles|8:11|Parked the car in Newbridge House, intending to follow the new DCHM route... immediately took a wrong turn, realising this a good bit down the road, so I just continued in the direction I was going. Ended up on the strand across from Malahide, and ended up doing a couple of slow miles on a rocky beach. I was forced onto a golf course for a bit trying to continue around the strand, but I couldn't see any way of continuing without running across the golf course, so doubled back and back went towards Donabate via the outskirts of Portrane. Did a few more miles around Newbridge House including a couple of faster ones for fun. Felt good throughout and wasn't really tired afterwards - I must have retained something from the DCM training
30th December|5.9 miles|8:57|Easy miles around Swords
31st December|5.6 miles|7:57|Vaguely followed the Fingal 10k route and threw in 10 x 30 second strides.
1st December|13.6 miles|???|Run to St. Anne's, the parkrun, run to Father Collins and a bit of a recce, that parkrun, run back to the car.
Total: 57.6 miles
December total: 192 miles
Next week: Run commutes I guess 0 -
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Another week I'm happy with. I got in an ok session on Thursday, I was going to do one of the sessions from The Best 10k Workout as Raheny/Trim prep but being tired I talked myself into doing a 4 mile tempo instead. I was feeling pretty tired in general during the week - I felt fatigue in the legs after the double parkruns extravaganza last week and I haven't really been getting enough sleep and I guess being back to work and all that, so I took a rest day on Saturday. I did head out to Amphibian King in Ballymount though, as I'd received a gift voucher for there for Christmas, and picked up my first pair of trail runners. I used them in anger on Sunday, heading up to the Hellfire Club and ran around there for a couple of hours. The trail shoes were great, they really do make a difference. The Hellfire Club itself was alright to run around, some nice climbs and good views though most of the paths I followed are hard compacted gravel and this felt a bit tough on the legs. I didn't see anybody else running there, though it was pretty busy with walkers.
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
2nd January|7.3 miles|9:20|Plod out to Malahide on cranky legs
3rd January|10.2 miles|8:23|Run commute home. I was consciously eating less in work, and it totally backfired - I was starving the whole way home and thinking about food for most of the way. Dinner was ready as I got in the door, so gobbled it down before even showering.
4th January|10.2 miles|8:19|Another run commute, I didn't hold back eating in work this time
5th January|8.5 miles|7:45|Mid-week session - 4 mile tempo (6:37, 6:37, 6:36, 6:25) with warmup and cooldown.
6th January|10 miles|8:53|Another run home.
8th January|14 miles|9:21|Up and down and around the Hellfire Club a few times (2,034ft climbing).
Total: 60.3 miles
Next week: A little busy this week so already plotting how to squeeze runs in here and there. I'm tempted to do the IMRA Howth race on Sunday, though I've to go out on Saturday night so it's probably a terrible idea. I'll do another session aimed at Raheny during the week.0 -
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