Am I Running Or Jogging?

spaceylou

Well done on not giving in to the voice telling you to stop, sounds like a tough run!!

Can you try different anti-histammines? I have one bunch i take when hay fever strikes and another bunch i take when insects have mistaken me for the all you can eat buffet but I've never experienced that level of drowsiness with either. Sudafed tablets are also pretty good for sinuses although not sure how they'd interact with allergy meds. Sinutab always knock me for six! It might be worthwhile having a chat with a pharmacist.

Singer

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

It's quite possible that was the worst run I'll have throughout this entire training cycle. The unique combination of shagged sinuses, evil, horrid drugs and the intense heat are unlikely to be repeated. But I got through it, so that's positive. I'm not moving from this seat for the rest of the evening though.

Well done getting the run done. There's frequent talk of race "uncontrollables" and their impact on performance, it looks like you've actually had to deal with a load of uncontrollables and still managed to knock out a decent LSR as part of your highest milage week so far! I just hope you don't have to deal with so many runs like this - would running in the evenings be easier? (I know nothing about allergies).

Bluesquare

Hiya,

I too suffer from allergies - this year has been the worse for me in a very long time . I messed around with antihistamines until I found one that works. Doesn't stop the sniffing completely but helps more . It has been suggested that you need to take the tablets everyday not just when hay fever strikes , I have been trying this and it seems to be controlling it better , I also take Sudofed when I'm runnng if it's s particularly bad day and by default found that if u rub tiger all on your neck/shoulder it really helps to clear the airways . Some people use vix vapour rub to do the same thing and put and Vaseline on their noses!!!

It never seems to go completely unless I'm away - I dont seem to be allergic to Spanish pollen !

The Muppet

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

... only six.

Tut tut . You'll be back on the bold step.


Sseriously though I know we're all different and a lot of people run 6 and 7 days most weeks but I blame my issues before Xmas down to running 6 days and not resting properly between runs .

Firedance

The Muppet wrote: »

Tough run max but it's behind you now and we learn a lot from them .

How many days did you run this week?

Mind yourself.

+ 1 to this, well done for toughing it out, you can draw on that experience in future for sure.

definitely talk to the pharmacy about a different antihistamine, the one I use is grand but as BS has already suggested you should take one every day especially during this crazy season (weather for the coming week is more of the same) you could take it before bed each night and it should do the trick for the following day.

Maximus Alexander

Cheers guys, I'm pretty new to this allergy thing because it only started happening to me last summer and seems to have gotten worse this year. I'm still trying to figure out how to deal with it. I didn't even realise you were meant to take the antihistamines every day! :rolleyes: The previous brand we had didn't seem to have the same effect so I will switch back to those and see how it goes. In bits again this morning!

Maximus Alexander

You know on reflection I'm starting to think I might have actually been sick with a cold or similar in addition to the hay fever. The last couple of days I've still had hay fever symptoms but have felt like a different man altogether.

Yesterday, Plan: 3 Miles Easy

I felt so much better and really enjoyed this run. It was plenty warm out but I wasn't too bothered. I inadvertently sped up a bit towards to end so the average pace is a little quicker than it ought to have been. Oh, someone walked into me on this run. A couple of teenagers were walking up ahead of me and as I passed one of them veered suddenly right into my path. I don't know how because there were keys in my pocket jingling loudly like a cow bell. I couldn't react quickly enough and ploughed into her, but thankfully she was unhurt and so was I.

Total: 6.0km @ 5:59/km


Today, Plan: 6 Miles w/ 4 @ PMP

A nice, suitable distance for a run home from work and so I repeated last week's arrangement. I'd a small bag on the back, you'd know it was there but it's not too much of a bother. I was a little dubious leaving work about the wisdom of doing this on an all uphill route, in the heat, with a bag. It's funny how weak the mind gets when you get used to running slow.

It ended up being quite enjoyable and invigorating. It's nice to move that little bit quicker for a while and yes, later in the run on some of the particularly steep parts it briefly felt like a bit of a slog, but that was fleeting. It was great to once again to have this all done before 7 o'clock.

PMP section averaged around 5:35/km. (Strava claims the Grade Adjusted Pace was near 5:10 for about 3km :eek:)

Total: 9.6km @ 5:50/km

Pretty pleased with those two runs after the nightmare that was Sunday. I still haven't decided if I will race Fingal, or fold it into the LSR, or just skip it. I'm utterly torn. I do think that the miles are probably more important to me with my rather modest base, but I also want to do it! There's part of me thinking sure I'll probably destroy whatever PB I would set Sunday come Nov/Dec anyway, so is there any point? I dunno.

tailgunner

Based on no real theory at all, I think you should do it. If nothing else, it'll give you an indication of how you're progressing. Also races are the best sort of session you can do. And racing is fun.

And if you add a couple of very easy miles either end of it as a warm-up/cool-down, you'll still cover 10 miles or so. Or 16 of your fancy kilometres.

I missed a 10k I had planned last week and wish I'd done it!

Singer

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

I still haven't decided if I will race Fingal, or fold it into the LSR, or just skip it. I'm utterly torn. I do think that the miles are probably more important to me with my rather modest base, but I also want to do it!

YOLO.

The Muppet

Of course he'll be there leading the charge of the novices come Sunday morning.

Singers going to pace you max . You might get a sub 40.

Maximus Alexander

Plan: 4 Miles Easy + Strides

My splits were all over the place today with some of them being close to PMP. I think, with the weather being a bit cooler, running felt easier and my pace judgement failed me. I was also already at 4 miles when I got to my stride field so I did a bit extra...

Total: 8km @ 5:57/km

Next up, my first ever 10k race.

tailgunner

Best of luck tomorrow!

FIFA2004

Good luck tomorrow max!!

The Muppet

Good luck tomorrow max. Enjoy the run.

Firedance

Best of luck tomorrow!! have a super race

jake1970

Best of luck tomorrow Max. Enjoy your 10k debut, give it socks!!

mel.b

Good luck tomorrow

tony1980

Good luck tomorrow Max :-)

Maximus Alexander

Cheers for all the well wishes guys, it's much appreciated, especially as I was having a bit of pre-race nerves yesterday. Get ready for a long one... Actually just don't bother reading it, the time is at the bottom.

Fingal 10k

I had my alarm set for 7:40 and was in bed by midnight, which is highly unusual for me. Unfortunately, sleep was predictably difficult; there's a reason I go to bed late! I tossed and turned and dozed off and woke up again many times, not sure how long this went on though because I didn't want to look at a clock and make myself stressed. Anyway, I woke up feeling a little tired and I wasn't too happy about that but there's was little to be done about it. I stuck a coffee on, made a bowl of porridge, and sat down to relax a little before getting my gear on. Also sipped about 2 pints of water.

Once again my girlfriend offered to drive out with me and provide moral support which is hugely appreciated because it takes a bit of the pressure off when it comes to questions like "What if I can't get parking?" or "What if I can't find the bag drop." Just didn't have to worry about that stuff so I was nice and relaxed. Unfortunately when we arrived at the Pavilions I found I was badly in need of the loo and, for possibly the first time in my life I had to queue for the men's. This ate into my warm-up time and by the time I was out and approaching the start area it was almost 10, so there would be no warm-up. I wasn't too worried about it though, because I'm too stupid to understand the value of warm-ups.

There didn't seem to be a wave structure like there was at the 5 mile, which bothered me because my ideal position would have been somewhere at the front of the second wave. There just seemed to be one big, packed pen and I found myself quite far back. I would later discover that there were other waves, but I never found them.

And then we were off. And it was so stop start up to the line. A little jog and shuffle, oh now we're walking again. Jog some more? No walk again. It picked up when we got to the line and I started the watch. I was concerned now because it was super congested and I really needed to maintain an even pace throughout; I knew if I had to gain ground later then the increase in pace would damage me in the latter kilometers. Fortunately I managed to find a path through without having to weave too much and I had a bit of elbow room by the time we got to the roundabout. The first kilometer beeped at 5:05 which meant I'd only lost 5-6 seconds.

And then we were on the dual carriageway and man was it boring. I mean there are benefits in that it's wide and slightly downhill (though it didn't really feel it), but it's just so dull to run in a straight line where you can just see hundreds and hundreds of runners fading off into the distance. I looked at the watch here somewhere and it read 4:3x for pace; thankfully I had the good sense to ease off rather than just going with it. I would have paid dearly. The second kilometer beeped at 4:46.

Into the third and I was already feeling like I might not make my target. Maybe it was the poor sleep, maybe it was the lack of warm-up, maybe it was that it was a bit stickier out than I had expected, but I was mentally faltering already even though I was physically fine. I just didn't think I could maintain the pace for another 7 or 8k. But of course I couldn't; I was still going to fast. Thankfully I noticed this and eased off a little. My girlfriend said she would try to be at the 3km marker but she got lost so I didn't see her there. 3km beeped at 4:51.

I don't really remember all that much of the 4th kilometer except that I could see the turn up ahead and it was a relief to be getting off the dual carriageway. Also there was a water station at the end? The water station was a bit of a disaster though; handing plastic cups to people running past you is just a poor, poor system. I managed to grab one in each hand though and coughed and spluttered one into me while throwing most of the other one over my head. Somewhere, 4km had beeped in 4:58.

Now I really had entered my running fugue state. All I know at this point is I was on country roads, I was sweating like a pig, and I was annoyed that it wasn't even half way yet. The thoughts that I couldn't hold this pace were growing in strength and I was batting them away. It came in waves. Sometimes I thought I could speed up, other times I thought I'd never make my goal. Also I think pink-orange-top-girl appeared here. 5km eventually beeped at 4:59.

So there was this girl, or woman running in front of me in a pink or orange top. I literally can't remember which it was. I never saw her face. She was just running there for the rest of the race and she stuck in my head because she was annoying the hell out of me. She looked like there wasn't a bother on her while I'm there heaving, and all the other people around me are heaving. Some of them are even coughing and spitting and wheezing. And she's just silently floating along. Pretty much exactly 2 meters in front of me. 6km beeped in 4:56.

Trees whip by. The heat is getting more and more oppressive; I hadn't expected this. Mentally I'm still not right. I mean my body seems to be maintaining the pace without too much complaint, but my mind keeps saying that we can't maintain this. And she's still there; breezing along. 2 meters in front of me. If it's that easy, why haven't you moved further ahead? Why aren't you even sweating? What the hell is going on here? 7km beeped in 5:01.

Pace had slipped a little, needed to stop the rot. I remembered that I'm actually pretty good at winning time on downhills and that lately I've spent most of my time putting the brakes on during my easy runs. Towards the end of this km there was a nice little downhill, maybe only 30 or 40 meters but steep enough for me to lean into it and gain a couple of seconds. I noticed she wasn't in front of me anymore. I was free. I didn't know where she went but she was gone. Then I was on the flat and... I don't believe this. She glides past my left shoulder, settles in about 2 METERS IN FRONT OF ME and holds that pace. Who are you and why are you doing this? 8km beeped in 4:59.

Through the water station and I settled for one this time. I lost most of it in the hand over but I got a gulp in and put the rest over my shirt. 2km left, easy. But now we were heading generally uphill and my breathing had gone a little nasty. I was struggling to get back on pace after slowing down for the water station and I was getting genuinely worried that my sub-50 might be starting to slip away. Then I saw the hose people. Oh the glorious hose people. I don't know if they're actually firemen, but they looked a bit like them. Well, a fireman and a firewoman anyway. I made a beeline for the beautiful haze of water and put my arms out like wings as I thundered through. Fresh cold water drenched every inch of me and it was glorious. Someone exclaimed to my right and I turned my head to find a man grinning right back at me and I shouted "That was amazing!" There was a sharp left turn up ahead and all I could think was "Singer's mountain is coming and I don't know if I have it in me". 9km beeped in 5:06.

We rounded another bend and there was still no hill. There were spectators now, shouting encouragement and it was really appreciated. Even though there were only pockets, handfuls every now and then, every shout of "Less than a kilometer to go" or "Just keep it up a little longer" adds a little more spring to your step. Pink-orange-top-lady was gone now; I don't know if I lost her or she lost me, but I was glad of it because I was hurting now and I didn't need my face rubbed in it. It occurred to me that I might not outwardly look as bad as I felt, and that maybe she was pushing hard and just doesn't sweat that much. Anyway, I hope she got whatever she wanted from the race.

Now there was a mountain all of a sudden. A big, massive, everest of a thing and all I could think was "I'm right on target, I don't have any seconds to spare, I can't slow down". Lungs working overtime now; stand tall, I think; increase the cadence. There was a thud behind me and an "Ooof!" I looked over my shoulder and a woman had gone down like a sack of bricks. I was going to stop and go back but I heard someone behind me shout "Are you all right?" and she answered in the affirmative so I think she just tripped. Felt bad for her but I suppose it's a risk we all take.

And now a crest. No more hill. And suddenly there were a lot of people and I was rounding a bend and instead of a long drag to a distant finish it was right there! My brain instantly picked out the face of my girlfriend in the crowd, just past the finish and she waved and I waved back and then I was sprinting. I don't know where it came from but I pelted down that last hill and had to brake hard as I crossed the line to avoid barrelling over people. I stopped the watch and... I had done it!

I zombie shuffled through the crowds and into the finishing area where I collected my t-shirt and some fruit. I will never understand why they put the water after the t-shirts. You can feck off with that. I never got a text with my time like I did at the 5 mile, so I had to check online and their time matched the one on my watch.

Total: 10km in 49:41

I pottered over to where I thought I might find some Boardsies and waited around for a few minutes but there were a few small groups and a few lone people and I had no way to identify who I was looking for. I really didn't want to approach strangers and say "Hi, are you from Boards?" I thought I might recognise The Muppet from his photo on Strava, but I couldn't see anyone who looked like him. I gave up and went for my cool down jog and it only occurred to me afterwards (duh!) that we wouldn't all be finishing at the same time and maybe I should have waited longer. Maybe next time we can wear badges or something; I would have really liked to put faces to names.

All in all I was quite pleased with the day. I think I ran better than the 5 mile and I definitely paced it better. The splits were pretty even for the most part. I think my endurance still needs work because I reckon I would run a much better 5k, but I also think that a proper night's sleep and a warm-up might have improved things.

I'm happy though and there will be a PB Guinness shortly. Now if I could only do that 3 more times I could run a pretty decent marathon. :pac:

mel.b

Brilliant effort! I thought you were going to say when you looked back at the woman who had fallen that it was orange-pink top lady :pac:

FIFA2004

Congrats Max! Great run and report!
I had a wander by the tent too... And couldn't see who I was looking for! Then realised I don't know what any of you people look like, the pictures in my head are exactly that! I blame the dehydration! Then realised everyone was probably long gone by the time I finished anyway!

tailgunner

Great running Max, those splits are very consistent. Fantastic report as usual too.

Bluesquare

Great running max ! Nice sub 50 for your first 10k! Great race report !

I liked the motorway better than the country roads - got very hot in there at certain points - so many people .I was wearing an orange top !!! I suspect I was more noisy though ! It's plausible though that you left me for dust at that point!

The Muppet

Great running Max , delighted you got the sub 50, really well done.


I was in wave 2 so I would have finished a long time after you. Mind you that would also have been the case if i had went in wave 1

Your wan in the pink top might have been firedance keeping an eye on you.:D

well done again

Maximus Alexander

Thanks all, I've had a nice buzz going all day from it. Really pleased and now looking forward to wrecking that PB some time after the marathon.

mel.b wrote: »

Brilliant effort! I thought you were going to say when you looked back at the woman who had fallen that it was orange-pink top lady :pac:

Hah! That would have been a much better end to the story all right!

Bluesquare wrote: »

Great running max ! Nice sub 50 for your first 10k! Great race report !

I liked the motorway better than the country roads - got very hot in there at certain points - so many people .I was wearing an orange top !!! I suspect I was more noisy though ! It's plausible though that you left me for dust at that point!

It would be so funny if it had been you tormenting me all race! I wish I could remember more details to confirm. :pac: You're right though, it was much hotter once on the country roads. I think I just prefer just not being able to see as much of the route ahead of me.

The Muppet wrote: »

Great running Max , delighted you got the sub 50, really well done.


I was in wave 2 so I would have finished a long time after you. Mind you that would also have been the case if i had went in wave 1

Your wan in the pink top might have been firedance keeping an eye on you.:D

well done again

It wasn't until I was talking to herself afterwards that I realised there had actually been a second wave; she found out after I set off. If I'd known I definitely would have stuck around longer! I was definitely there long enough that we'd have crossed paths had you been in the same wave.

Bluesquare

Have a look at the photos over on the events forum in the thread for the Fingal 10k - u might spot urself and get a better description of your tormentor!!!

spaceylou

Great running Max, well done on pb

Singer

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Total: 10km in 49:41
I pottered over to where I thought I might find some Boardsies and waited around for a few minutes but there were a few small groups and a few lone people and I had no way to identify who I was looking for. I really didn't want to approach strangers and say "Hi, are you from Boards?" I thought I might recognise The Muppet from his photo on Strava, but I couldn't see anyone who looked like him. I gave up and went for my cool down jog and it only occurred to me afterwards (duh!) that we wouldn't all be finishing at the same time and maybe I should have waited longer. Maybe next time we can wear badges or something; I would have really liked to put faces to names.

All in all I was quite pleased with the day. I think I ran better than the 5 mile and I definitely paced it better. The splits were pretty even for the most part. I think my endurance still needs work because I reckon I would run a much better 5k, but I also think that a proper night's sleep and a warm-up might have improved things.

I'm happy though and there will be a PB Guinness shortly. Now if I could only do that 3 more times I could run a pretty decent marathon. :pac:

I was delighted to see your time, despite your last minute sandbagging. Well done! I was fairly diligently in the prescribed area, so chances are we were nright beside each other. I didn't see you number! There's a few more races to get that right though

Nice race report, pretty fun to read - I think you'll enjoy the longer races

Maximus Alexander

Singer wrote: »

I was delighted to see your time, despite your last minute sandbagging. Well done! I was fairly diligently in the prescribed area, so chances are we were nright beside each other. I didn't see you number! There's a few more races to get that right though

Nice race report, pretty fun to read - I think you'll enjoy the longer races

I don't know what sandbagging is but I have a feeling it is not complementary. :pac: Cheers Singer, your route overview was a big help as it's nice to have an idea what's in store and it really helped. Not to mention I probably would have skipped the race altogether without your eh... encouragement.

jake1970

Well done Max, congrats on the sub 50.

Ososlo

Excellent race and report! Well done Max.

Maximus Alexander

I was a bit of a naughty boy yesterday and didn't do my recovery run. I was absolutely shattered; more from another horrific night's sleep than anything else and I just zonked on the couch when I got in...

Plan: 4 Miles Very Easy

My legs were a little heavy for the first couple of kilometers which was a good thing really because it encouraged me to keep the pace down. Came alive a bit later but I was surprisingly disciplined and didn't speed up much. My average heart rate here was the lowest I've ever seen it. My hamstrings felt a little tender, but just in a "Hey you used us the other day!" manner rather than anything sinister.

Total: 6.6km @ 6:22/km

And now back to our regularly scheduled marathon training...

denis b

Max. Great race and very entertaining report. I missed the race this year but your report guided me through the experience every step of the way. Really decent pacing job as well. Enjoy the race series.

The Muppet

Interesting you mention the hamstrings max. Both mine twinged me once or twice yesterday, they were fine today though . I've never had a peep out of them before yesterday except I pulled one when I was a child not an experience I'd like to repeat if memory serves me right.

Maximus Alexander

Very similar to myself Tom, I've never had so much as a twinge in my hamstrings bar one other time after doing 400m intervals too fast. Weird that it happened to us both. I wonder with neither of us having raced 10k before if it's just something we wouldn't have come across? Hope yours are all right!

Singer

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Very similar to myself Tom, I've never had so much as a twinge in my hamstrings bar one other time after doing 400m intervals too fast. Weird that it happened to us both. I wonder with neither of us having raced 10k before if it's just something we wouldn't have come across? Hope yours are all right!

Welcome to niggleville. Dial it back if things don't feel better over the next few days, and don't be afraid of rest days.

The Muppet

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Very similar to myself Tom, I've never had so much as a twinge in my hamstrings bar one other time after doing 400m intervals too fast. Weird that it happened to us both. I wonder with neither of us having raced 10k before if it's just something we wouldn't have come across? Hope yours are all right!

Perhaps , No twinges this evening though I feel they are still a little tender, As Singer says just take it easy this week.

Firedance

The Muppet wrote: »

Your wan in the pink top might have been firedance keeping an eye on you.:D

well done again

Pink??!! nooooo, firedance wears red :D and firedance was away in a lovely spa not thinking about 10k races!!

WELL DONE Max!! that's a great result and a brilliant report, sometimes these other runners help take the focus off our own pain and gives us something to aim for too! Really delighted for you and can't wait to see the gains the rest of your marathon training will bring.

PS: foam roll those hamstrings lads...

The Muppet

How are the hammers today Max?

Maximus Alexander

Seem to be grand now, I'll be running home from work this evening so that'll be the test. Must remember to foam roll this evening. How about yours?

The Muppet

I'm fine max . The strides later will give them a little test .

Maximus Alexander

Wednesday, Plan: 6 Miles with Strides

I did this as another commute home. I was feeling pretty good and went a touch faster than intended. Had to add a little loop on at the end as the commute isn't quite 6 miles. I also forgot to do the strides. :rolleyes:

Total: 10km @ 5:53/km


Friday, Plan: 4 Miles Easy

This was supposed to be done on Thursday but I was having further sleep troubles and was just too tired. Napped instead and did it Friday. I was quite successful in keeping it slow this time, pretty conscious that there was a longest ever LSR the next day.

Total: 6.4km @ 6:20/km


Today, Plan: 15 Mile LSR

Headed out towards Dalkey and back, but the route turned out to be maybe a mile short so I had to add a bit of a loop at the end. It was going pretty well until the last mile or two where the energy levels really took a dive and it was a struggle from there. I had been pretty comfortable up until that. Perhaps the preparation wasn't the best as I'd no gels and only some fizzy jellies for fuel. Still, I ran for over two and a half hours so that's pretty mental / cool. I probably couldn't have done much more though which worries me a bit; endurance is not where I'd like it to be.

Total: 24.2km @ 6:31/km

Maximus Alexander

Plan: 3 Mile Recovery

Took it nice and easy, legs were a touch stiff but in much better condition that I thought they had any right to be. They loosened out later on. Average heart rate was the lowest I've ever seen.

Total: 5km @ 6:27/km

That brings me to 52km for the week.

Maximus Alexander

Yesterday, Plan: 5 Miles Easy

Tiredness caught up with me a bit and in addition to the heat yesterday I found myself feeling very lethargic during this run. The perceived effort was much higher than it ought to have been, but weirdly when I got home and had a gander at the Strava data, it was all pretty ok in terms of pace, cadence and heart rate. I never looked at the plan and just assumed it was meant to be 4 miles like the previous Tuesdays. Dope.

Total: 6.4km @ 6:06/km


Today, Plan: 7 Miles with 5 PMP

I did this as a commute, but as it's a bit too long I had to run past home and back. Normally I'd turn off towards Balinteer at The Goat, but instead I carried on as far as The Beacon Hotel. For some reason I thought the route flattened after The Goat, but no, it carries on uphill. :pac: There was a bit of wind about and I misjudged the pace and ran it too fast, so really the effort was in excess of what it ought to have been for this run. I mean I felt pretty good throughout, but I'd be concerned I might have to pay for it in my LSR this week! It was a nice, invigorating run though; total polar opposite of yesterday.

Total: 11.3km @ 5:43/km

Maximus Alexander

Plan: 3 Mile Recovery

Yep, wore myself out yesterday and the lethargy was back today. It was meant to be recovery anyway so it was nice and slow and the 16 miles looming this weekend made sure I stuck to that. However, I sneakily got back the extra mile that I missed on Tuesday! Heart rate was nice and low.

Total: 6.4km @ 6:24/km

Maximus Alexander

Plan: 16 Mile LSR

Absolute disaster today. I've been in a foul humour over it all evening, just trying to put it behind me now and move on.

I set off about half past two with a bottle of water with a High5 electrolyte sachet dissolved in it and some money in my pouch. It was overcast, but when I stepped out it was warmer outside than in. The plan was to hit all the parks again like I did a few weeks ago but taking a longer route. I had mentally broken the run down into four 4 mile runs, which sounded easy.

I felt great on the route to Bushy Park, lots of pep in my step and had to keep prodding myself to slow down. By the time I got into the park the sun was out and I had checked off the first four miles. Still feeling good, if a touch warm, I headed down towards Tymon. It was quite gusty and this was all into the wind, so I dropped the pace a bit to conserve energy. Same deal once into Tymon, even when I crossed the M50 and turned back the other way, the wind was somehow inexplicably still in my face.

Once out of Tymon it was off to Knocklyon Road and I realised my water was nearly gone already so I stopped at the service station to grab another bottle along with some Wine Gums. I gave the legs a quick rub down while I was here because I've been having a bit of a twinge in my gluteus medius region lately (nothing major) and I was off again.

At this stage I was into my third 4 mile and everything was grand really. The plan was to head towards Taylors Lane and up to Marlay for a lap before heading home. It was on Taylors Lane where everything started to fall apart. I had been sticking to the shade, where available, but there was no shade here and the sun was at my back. I suddenly started to feel really warm and had to guzzle my water and splash a bit on me to try and cool off but it wasn't working. When I was working my way up the hill past St Enda's park, I was roasting. There were sheets of water running off me and I felt like my eyes were a little unfocused and I was starting to get a bit dizzy. When I crested the hill the watch beeped for 18km and I had to cross the road to get into the shade and slow to walk immediately to cool off; I don't remember ever feeling so hot in my life.

I walked for about 2 minutes and drank more water and, being in the shade, I cooled off a bit so I started back up again but there was no recovering. Anytime I left the shade I felt myself heating up rapidly and I barely made it another mile before I had to slow to a walk to cool off again.

This continued for a while, run for a while, stop and cool off, but I was getting worried now about what I might be doing to myself. I found myself in a field where, again, I was completely exposed and when the watch beeped for 23km I just had to stop an call it. My legs actually felt ok, it was the rest of me that was shagged.

When I got in the door I just sat there in a daze for ten minutes and downed a bottle of Powerade, a pint of water and some mixed nuts before showering. I've never failed to complete a run before and it's really hit me hard, I feel awful about it. Really, really down in the dumps and like a total failure. Angry. Disgusted.

Total: 23km @ 6:31/km

It's about 8 hours now since I set off for the run and I've taken on a good few litres of liquid, but haven't needed to pee yet. Headache too. I guess I don't do well in the sun.

mel.b

Max, i wouldn't best myself up too hard about that today. You pretty much set off for your run at the hottest time of the day. It was bound to be tough, especially when the shade was limited and you were further into the run. Lots of lessons learnt i'm sure.

Maximus Alexander

Cheers Mel. It's hard to take solace in that though since all the other novices seem to have complete their runs without too much trouble! I'll certainly be trying to set out earlier for these in future anyway.

The Muppet

Your being very hard on yourself max .

What we've taken on is tough we all have good days and bad days we should learn from both and move on .


Yesterday was tough going for me too ' I'm not sure why ' could have been the hills ' the heat or the kfc I had for dinner Friday or a combination of all 3 . At the milage were doing It doesn't take much to turn any run into a bad one.

Chin up and move on

Up earlier you say . Will u be in the park for 9 next week so?

Maximus Alexander

In the park for 9 might be pushing it now, but never say never!