Leader Of The (Mid) Pack

Wubble Wubble

Annie get your Run wrote: »

What's with all the dog bashing in the logs here! Am gonna start giving out about people who let their kids run around parks and get in my way :pac: poor pooches #dogsarepeopletoo

Sorry to hear you won't make The Nats or the NAI although at least there's one more event happening there so you might get a chance to try again?

Au contraire. My issue is not with the dogs, but *owners* with their dogs on 50 feet long leads who can't or won't shorten them at all when they see you coming. Especially when in most of Porterstown there's lots of space for dogs to run on the grass, which most dogs prefer, why have them on the lead in the first place?

I won't make the next NIA Live either. Hopefully there will be another in March, although you would think they might have announced it by now. That said, they've omitted from their results page most people that ran in our mile race the last night :rolleyes:

adrian522

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Au contraire. My issue is not with the dogs, but *owners* with their dogs on 50 feet long leads who can't or won't shorten them at all when they see you coming. Especially when in most of Porterstown there's lots of space for dogs to run on the grass, which most dogs prefer, why have them on the lead in the first place?

I won't make the next NIA Live either. Hopefully there will be another in March, although you would think they might have announced it by now. That said, they've omitted from their results page most people that ran in our mile race the last night :rolleyes:

Why don't you do a 1500 or 3K tomorrow night?

Wubble Wubble

adrian522 wrote: »

Why don't you do a 1500 or 3K tomorrow night?

Possibly. I'll have to see how much time I can spare.....guaranteed PBs if I show up for either....or both!

Bungy Girl

Annie get your Run wrote: »

#dogsarepeopletoo

Eh.......

(excepting Woody of course, naturally and for the avoidance of doubt )

Wubble Wubble

Review of the original race plan coming up to exams. Nats and NIA were added after I'd originally set it out. Just to show you can't set all these things in stone

Sun Jan 7, Dublin Masters XC, St Anne's Park - 204/280
Sun Jan 14, Leinster Masters XC, Dunboyne - 144/158
Sat Jan 20, BHAA Eir XC, Cherryfield Park - 71/132
Thu Jan 25, NIA Live 1 mile, Abbotstown - 6:14
Sat Feb 3, BHAA Garda XC, Phoenix Park - 78/203 or Sun Feb 4, Trim 10 mile
Sun Feb 11, National Masters XC, Clarinbridge - DNS
Sun Feb 18, Rás na hÉireann XC, Oldbridge House - Not entering
Sat Mar 3 10, BHAA AIB XC, NUI Maynooth - Not entering (college)
Sat Mar 24, BHAA K-Club 10k, Straffan - TBC
Mon Apr 2, Brian Boru 10 Mile, St Anne's Park - TBC

Wubble Wubble

Wed 7/2 - 5.34 miles @8:32/mi

I decided to go three times clockwise "for a change".

Thu 8/2 - 4.92 miles @8:28/mi

(Un)fortunately, I didn't have enough time to get up to Abbotstown and race D around 800 indoors. First ever world record set at the venue apparently. Instead, I trundled around D15, with a huge amount of stops at roundabouts, traffic lights etc en route.

Fri 9/2 - Rest

Sat 10/2 - Porterstown parkrun

On a wet and windy morning, I was thinking on the way up that I might have a shot at my now very old parkrun PB of 20:36, which was an actual PB on the grand occasion of my 50th parkrun in May 2016. Long story short, once the run got started, it soon became clear that there was no chance of even this happening. The lads I had in mind to follow pulled well clear of me on the first lap, and for the second and third laps, it was primarily a case of just getting the thing finished. 14th place in 21:45, second age cat. One closer to the century, I suppose :rolleyes:

Sun 11/2 - National Masters XC Club running, Phoenix Park

Instead of going to the Nats, I joined up with clubmates for Sunday running. Three of us were together for my first stint, where I got dropped on the Khyber and ended up running the last mile into a headwind on my own. 5.05 miles@7:59/mi.

Four more joined us for another stint about five minutes later. This actually turned out worse. Almost from the beginning I was struggling to hang on, apart from the downhill to the Glen Pond where I briefly caught up and led the group. The last two miles were mostly ran alone, and they were painful - up the Acres Road and back into the Chesterfield Avenue breeze.

Overall for the second stint, 4.76 miles @8:26/mi, although the variances were horrific. One of those days where I just had no energy, no matter what I tried. When I got home, I felt like I could have slept for a month. I can only imagine how the trip West would have turned out! 30.8 miles for the week, which is actually my highest since last October. Something positive to report at the end of it all Thanks for reading! J.

MisterDrak

[QUOTE=Wubble Wubble;106117671
Sun 11/2 - National Masters XC .[/QUOTE]

You dodged a bullet, there J. From the reports is sounded like a mud bath...

aquinn

MisterDrak wrote: »

You dodged a bullet, there J. From the reports is sounded like a mud bath...

It looked horrific.

Wubble Wubble

MisterDrak wrote: »

You dodged a bullet, there J. From the reports is sounded like a mud bath...

aquinn wrote: »

It looked horrific.

Thanks guys, just had a look at the finish line video on MyRunResults. Funny seeing lads desperately seeking any green grass to run through to the line

I know for a fact I would have majorly struggled through that. It makes the Eir race this year seem like a gentle jog by comparison. Having said that, my clubmate got a far better percentage placing in this one than either Dublin or Leinster. He goes to the XC Nats every year, and is also a regular in the indoor Nats.

As for me, not much going to be happening here the next few weeks. The Clane 10k popped up on my Facebook feed the other day; maybe I'll have a shot at my desperate 10k PB (43:19) in that one. We shall see :pac:

Annie get your Run

How about this J? Have you done it before? (the 4 miler)

Wubble Wubble

Yes, indeed I have, way back in the mists of running time (2013). I enjoyed it, nice course going through the village three times, and great post race feed. However, for various reasons I haven't been back since, even though I haven't raced 4 miles on the road in nearly 3 years, so if I turned up at all I reckon I would be nearly guaranteed a PB. Unfortunately I can't cover it this year either, so it'll probably be the K Club the day before for me.

Wubble Wubble

Sat 17/2 - Porterstown parkrun

I didn't have time to go to ALSAA for the BHAA race, and I decided I'd leave the Tolka Valley parkrun some time to bed in before I hop across to Finglas.

As it turned out, between various other bits and bobs, I didn't even have time for a warmup lap. With no running at all since last Sunday, I decided I'd have a bit of fun with a progression run. Starting from deep in a pack of well over 100, I inched forward gradually, passing a lot on Lap 1, without being passed. Coming down the hill on Lap 2, I caught up to a guy with the noisiest runners ever, and decided to put in a little surge to get clear. However, the lad then decided he'd try to follow, and I had to work a bit harder than I'd planned on this lap. I had to push through the top of the hill to get clear of the KLOPKLOPKLOPKLOPs. Last lap, roughly the same spot, I caught a guy in a white Meteor top. Straightforward enough, I'm thinking. Yet even after passing two or three others, I noticed Meteor still in my mirrors with about a kilometre to go. However, we've still got one set of climbs left. He was still there after the first short one. Fair enough. I'd a few clubmates running around in the opposite direction on the grass, so that gave me some extra motivation not to be passed. Bit more gas on the longer climb, past Castleknock Celtic's clubhouse and up to the car park. Turn on to the grass around the car park extension, and Meteor's gone. Happy I could pick it up a bit.

11th place in 22:16, 2nd age cat. That'll do.

Wubble Wubble

Sun 18/2 - 6.06 miles@9:08/mi

A late change to the Sunday plans meant I had a chance to run today after all. Passing by Tír na nÓg early on my first lap, I bumped into one of the Porterstown organisers, and so I had a very rare occurrence of company for the Carpenterstown loops.

With an average pace of over 9 min miles, it felt very comfortable. Having said that, I didn't exactly speed up after I left her behind, to turn through Fernleigh to Porterstown. Here, I ran two relaxed enough laps before I left the park and headed home.

Next week will probably be similar, with little or no running apart from parkrun #90. Thanks for reading. J.

Wubble Wubble

Wed 21/2 - 5.92 miles @8:21/mi

My first time doing any kind of midweek running in the Phoenix Park, since before last year's DCM. It was nice to make a slight return to one of my previous training loops. Pace dropped a bit coming out of Castleknock and through Laurel Lodge, but this one was purely about getting out.

Sat 24/2 - Porterstown parkrun

I really enjoyed this one, although it felt absolutely Baltic during and after my warmup lap. Not too bad once it got started. I pushed out to the front straight away, but it wasn't long before the first placer got ahead and cruised off over the horizon. He finished nearly 2 1/2 minutes ahead of second. There was a little bit of a battle between me and two others, before they got clear approaching the car park on Lap 1. 4th and not feeling too bad passing the gazebo.

John Todd and a lad in a GT5K top caught me at the bottom of the hill, and although I stayed with JT along the stretch at the lowest point of the park, he eased away in the remainder of the second lap. At this stage, I looked behind to see where my parkrunning nemesis TF was, as I was expecting him to be snapping at my heels any second. I was a bit shocked to see him quite a way behind.

For the last lap, I decided I'd try not to lose too much ground on John - if I managed that, I thought it would be unlikely that anyone else would catch me. I gave it a nice push through the hills, just to be sure that TF wouldn't appear on my shoulder out of nowhere :pac:

6th place, in a time of 21:10, 1st age cat. My fastest parkrun time since the early days of training for DCM 2016, when I ran 20:44 at Porterstown in July of that year. So yeah, I'm pretty happy with that. Plus as and from next week, I'll be in a new age category, so who knows what joys that may bring once the fitness comes back see ye later! J.

Wubble Wubble

In spite of various life stuff going on, I did manage to get one more run in this month. I don't feel any need or want to chance going out in the snow today.

Mon 26/2 - 5.75 [EMAIL="miles@8:50/mi"]miles@8:50/mi[/EMAIL]

Almost an exact reverse of last Wednesday's run, except I took a shortcut through Tír na nÓg as at that stage all I cared about was getting home. Getting it done was badly needed all the same.

Tue 27/2 - Work/college

Another year wiser, although unfortunately I didn't get a chance to mark the day with a run :rolleyes:


February Review

I just checked my Strava, to discover that I covered my highest monthly mileage since DCM 2017 Only around 75 miles though, so I won't be shouting from the rooftops about that, particularly as some of you regularly clear that in a week.

Unfortunately only one race to report on this month, so a lot less drama here, although that (Garda XC) was my best run for some time. Due to various non running related matters, my Nats debut had to be shelved, although all going well I'll have plenty more chances to take on that challenge in the years to come. I did manage to get a few parkruns in, working gradually towards the century.

Going forward, probably not a whole pile between now and Easter. The Clane 10k has been rescheduled for April 21, which is in the middle of my exams, so that's a no go this year. In addition, due to a direct clash with a college tutorial, I won't make it to Maynooth for the BHAA XC season finale.

However, I've still got the joys of the K-Club to look forward to on March 24, and although I don't think I'll be fit for an all out assault on a 10 mile PB, I might sign up and run the Brian Boru on Easter Monday just for enjoyment, before the study properly takes over. Thanks for reading! J.

eyrie

Belated happy birthday!

Murph_D

J, if only my students were as conscientious as you about atttending tutorials. I’ve never met a good student who wasn’t also good at showing up, so I’m sure you will do well.

There seem to be some rumblings about K-Club being moved also (See Adrian’s log), so hopefully that doesn’t put a spanner in the works.

Good month!

Wubble Wubble

eyrie wrote: »

Belated happy birthday!

Thanks a mill, still waiting for my first run since! I'd be guaranteed to go on my snot if I tried to run in the snow out here, so I'm prepared to wait until I can see the ground under my feet

Murph_D wrote: »

J, if only my students were as conscientious as you about atttending tutorials. I’ve never met a good student who wasn’t also good at showing up, so I’m sure you will do well.

There seem to be some rumblings about K-Club being moved also (See Adrian’s log), so hopefully that doesn’t put a spanner in the works.

Good month!

Thanks D, those are the last of the tutorials, so it's getting close to crunch time.

Regarding the K Club, even if it's moved I should still be able to go. If it goes to the 31st, I'll probably give it precedence over the Brian Boru.

Wubble Wubble

Having finished catching up on logs, I suppose I'll update my own

Since the last update, I spent three days basically sat indoors eating, drinking and watching boxsets while the snow built up outside. Finally, late on Saturday afternoon I got out the shovel and cleared our drive. Great bit of S&C there However, I didn't follow up on it, as it took a good while before we had clear paths to run on out here.

Sat 10/3

Porterstown still had snow on the course last week, and it was only on Friday afternoon that it got cleared off. I couldn't take part in the actual parkrun, as I had college tutorials to attend. Instead, I decided to initiate the new Garmin in a freedom run. It felt a bit strange doing the run alone, with nobody there for most of it, except for a few dog walkers. Not only that, due to 12 days of inactivity, I was feeling very fat as I trundled around. 22:37 moving time, although the Garmin has me down for 3.37 miles

Still and all, I was happy to get out again. The plan was for an early Sunday morning run before my final tutorial, but a late night on Saturday put the kybosh on that one. After college, Mothers Day stuff, and a trip to Croker, I was far too tired to even contemplate going for a run when I got home, even though I didn't top up my alcohol levels any further.

In other news, the rumours regarding the K Club race rescheduling have come to pass, so as it stands, I'll be heading there on Easter Saturday, and skipping the Brian Boru on Easter Monday. Thanks for reading. J.

Wubble Wubble

Happy St Patrick's Day to you all

While I'm here and it's still fresh in my mind...

St Patrick's Day - Porterstown parkrun

I didn't run at all between last week's freedom run and today. This was partly due to study and partly due to laziness; I've one more race in the pipeline, and then probably little or nothing for a month in terms of running.

This morning it started sleeting shortly after 8. I'd say it deterred one or two, but to be honest, for me getting out of the house was the hardest part. A few puddles around the course, with the wind and sleet in our faces going up the hills for a change.

I kept it fairly steady overall, with no PBs or any kind of time targets to chase. I passed TF early on the first lap, but once he went by me along the bottom of the course on Lap 2, I didn't bother trying to follow him. That was the last time my overall position changed, although Sally's brother was trying to catch me on the last lap. He finished ahead of me a few weeks back, so it was nice to stay in front of him this time.

11th place in 22:04, 2nd age cat. Enjoyable run, with lots of festive goodies at the finish. There won't be another St Patrick's Day parkrun until 2029, so all the more reason to just get out and do it Thanks for reading! J.

Wubble Wubble

Sat 24/3 - Porterstown parkrun

After more crazy weather which, among other things, saw our club race snowed off last Sunday, today more springlike conditions were in evidence. The original plan was to head for the Tolka Valley parkrun. However, time constraints (study and family birthday) and the fact that I'd no car in the morning, meant I was spared a five mile "recovery" run home from Finglas.

Great numbers out again today. Had I gone with my original plan, I'd have been chasing an overall podium. Here, I had a look around the field and decided I'd treat it as a progression run instead. Steady enough progress through the mid packers, and I was comfortable throughout, not picking it up too much from lap to lap. Sure at this stage there's no point in over egging it.

13th place, 22:02, second age cat. Surprised to find that I was quicker than last week, and I enjoyed this one a lot more. More surprised to bump into BG (3rd F) afterwards, making her first appearance in Porterstown, and now just one away from completing the Dublin parkrun set

As it turned out, Damo was first finisher in Finglas; I would definitely have been fighting a losing battle had I tried to take him on. Plus skyblue46 celebrated completing the Dublin parkrun set with a first place finish out in Darndale. Proud of yis lads, keep up the good work

As for me, next Saturday I'll be heading for the K Club. Hard to believe that I haven't raced on the roads so far this year. I'd love to say a PB is on the cards, but I've trained so little that 10k feels like my absolute upper limit in terms of race distance. That said, if I at least manage to run it without stopping, who knows? :pac: Thanks for reading. J.

skyblue46

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Sat 24/3 - Porterstown parkrun

After more crazy weather which, among other things, saw our club race snowed off last Sunday, today more springlike conditions were in evidence. The original plan was to head for the Tolka Valley parkrun. However, time constraints (study and family birthday) and the fact that I'd no car in the morning, meant I was spared a five mile "recovery" run home from Finglas.

Great numbers out again today. Had I gone with my original plan, I'd have been chasing an overall podium. Here, I had a look around the field and decided I'd treat it as a progression run instead. Steady enough progress through the mid packers, and I was comfortable throughout, not picking it up too much from lap to lap. Sure at this stage there's no point in over egging it.

13th place, 22:02, second age cat. Surprised to find that I was quicker than last week, and I enjoyed this one a lot more. More surprised to bump into BG (3rd F) afterwards, making her first appearance in Porterstown, and now just one away from completing the Dublin parkrun set

As it turned out, Damo was first finisher in Finglas; I would definitely have been fighting a losing battle had I tried to take him on. Plus skyblue46 celebrated completing the Dublin parkrun set with a first place finish out in Darndale. Proud of yis lads, keep up the good work

As for me, next Saturday I'll be heading for the K Club. Hard to believe that I haven't raced on the roads so far this year. I'd love to say a PB is on the cards, but I've trained so little that 10k feels like my absolute upper limit in terms of race distance. That said, if I at least manage to run it without stopping, who knows? :pac: Thanks for reading. J.

You must be the first novices mentor to have 2 graduates be Parkrun first finishers within 6 months of DCM... a golden touch you have!

Bungy Girl

Great to see you yesterday, and to experience your lovely parkrun. Best of luck for the K-club and the exams.

Wubble Wubble

skyblue46 wrote: »

You must be the first novices mentor to have 2 graduates be Parkrun first finishers within 6 months of DCM... a golden touch you have!

Without going back through the record books, I'd say that's a safe enough bet...and on the same day too Fair play, it's not easy leading these things, especially when you're not used to it

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Great to see you yesterday, and to experience your lovely parkrun. Best of luck for the K-club and the exams.

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed Porterstown

There won't be much evidence of a scientific approach from me this Saturday I'm afraid. Since I've so little mileage in the bag, there doesn't seem to be much point in worrying about tactics - better to just run and enjoy it. I haven't raced a 10k since last year's farcical Fingal outing, where I managed to PB (43:19) despite my best efforts. If I was training, I'd expect to knock 2-3 minutes off that. However, it may be the summer before such expectations are realistic. We shall see. Worst case, there's a massive post race feed to look forward to :pac: Bring it on

OOnegative

All the best in the morning WW, run well!!

Wubble Wubble

Good Friday - 2.48 miles@8:25/mi

Easy around Tír na nÓg. Nice to have it almost to myself.

Sat 31/3 - BHAA K Club 10k

Finally. Incredible that I went almost a quarter of the year without racing on the road, especially for someone with a reputation for racing almost constantly! In fact, this was my first race of any description since a strong showing in the Garda XC at the start of February, more or less living off parkruns since.

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Sat 24/3 - Porterstown parkrun

but I've trained so little that 10k feels like my absolute upper limit in terms of race distance. .

Hmmm. This opinion was based on my run in the Eir XC in January, a slog in wet conditions and heavy ground. Long time ago though!

Got there nice and early, lots of time to chat with the club captains (both of whom got PBs) as well as Murph_D, Singer and adrian522. D seemed to think I was plámásing about my lack of training :pac: I also spotted scotindublin while warming up. This felt fine, a kilometre out and back in with the skipper and Paddy P.

Kms 1-5

"Academic inspiration, you gave me none"

There seemed to be even more people here than in previous years. Presumably for this reason, we were sent straight out the main gate at the start, instead of going left around the car park as we did last year. I was quite a way back, so it was extremely congested as we exited the grounds. Briefly there was a Boardsie convoy of Singer, Adrian, D and me. It didn't last long though, as I'd fallen off the back of D before we even started the first of two loops of about 2 miles, just over a mile into proceedings. Up ahead, I could see John Todd, Ian R, and a clubmate, so I had ideas of catching up to them before too long.

However, I was gasping even at this stage, and the aforementioned were pulling away rather than coming back to me. In Caprica's absence, I was briefly my team's lead runner, but A passed me back at the water station, and I never got ahead of her again. I seriously thought about stepping off at the end of the loop and strolling back in, but "sensibly" decided to continue.

Kms 6-10

"This means nothing to me"

I'd a spell of 5 minutes or more running on my own, until I slowed down to take on more water, following which a group of 5 or 6 passed. At this stage, I'd had enough. Turn down the power, and just make sure you get in.

I passed one person in the second half of the race. This was a chap in Man United shorts, who I caught as we came back in the gate. Well that brought a smile anyway

A lot more than one passed me. On the way back in, we were sent down that narrow road behind the car park, and then being sent the long way around the roundabout just seemed like cruelty. Some clubmates were supporting as I shuffled up the hill, to the end of a 10k which measured long for most participants. Even in that last little stretch, two more went by me. I'd simply stopped caring. Somewhere in the 45s, if anyone's asking.

Not much to add to that really. It probably would have been more beneficial for me to break it into sections for a progression run, for example Out/Loop 1/Loop 2/In. Racing 10k is just too much at this time.

I also made the mistake of having a shower before tucking into the grub, as by the time I'd done that and got all my paraphernalia together, a fair bit of the food was gone. Even so, I enjoyed post race analysis with Singer, D, Adrian and Duanington, as well as a number of non Boardsies, before I headed for the car and a 25/30 minute drive back to D15.

Well there ye go. That's pretty much it until after my exams (19th-24th) are over, although I'll probably slot in at least one parkrun beforehand, and there'll be some morning runs in there too. I've signed up for the Clontarf HM on July 7, and the Ratoath HM on September 8. Other races will be decided on later.

And of course, one of the most important tasks on Boards....the selection of the DCM 2018 Novices Mentor :pac: will be finalised in late April/early May.

Go dtí an chéad uair eile...slán tamall.

Murph_D

Dexy’s!

You could have used the line

You’re looking to win it, not taking it in...

Can’t help you with the Ultravox. :pac:

Good luck with the exams.

Baby75

Good luck in the exams and a few of us were only thinking during the week how close it was again for this year's novices eek cannot believe we have come nearly full circle and some will be waiting patiently or maybe not so patiently to hear who the new mentor will be!

scotindublin

Good luck with the exams J....sounds like you have a nice couple of 1/2s to aim for over the summer.

OOnegative

Best of luck with the exams WW, hoping they go well for you.

Huzzah!

I'll see you in Clontarf. Best of luck with the exams and with the task of choosing this year's mentor. S/he will have a tough act to follow.

Wubble Wubble

Murph_D wrote: »

Dexy’s!

You could have used the line

You’re looking to win it, not taking it in...

Can’t help you with the Ultravox. :pac:

Good luck with the exams.

Thanks D, only three weeks till it's all over and done. Excellent lyric indeed, but "Geno" and "Vienna" were both part of the BHAA soundtrack on Saturday.

Baby75 wrote: »

Good luck in the exams and a few of us were only thinking during the week how close it was again for this year's novices eek cannot believe we have come nearly full circle and some will be waiting patiently or maybe not so patiently to hear who the new mentor will be!

Thanks N, it certainly has gone around quickly! For any prospective candidates, please note that canvassing, be it on behalf of oneself or anyone else, will disqualify :pac:

scotindublin wrote: »

Good luck with the exams J....sounds like you have a nice couple of 1/2s to aim for over the summer.

Cheers C, sorry I didn't catch you afterwards. Seems like you had a tough day yourself. Miss the old HMs! (although the Ratoath one is new )

OOnegative wrote: »

Best of luck with the exams WW, hoping they go well for you.

Thanks B, I've only been doing this course a year and a half and it seems like much longer! Results in late June usually.

Huzzah! wrote: »

I'll see you in Clontarf. Best of luck with the exams and with the task of choosing this year's mentor. S/he will have a tough act to follow.

Thanks so much! Clontarf was my first HM, long long ago (2013) and I've run it five times in all, the last being two years ago. I'm looking forward to appointing my successor, who no doubt will do a fantastic job

I really appreciate all the kind words regarding my upcoming finals. I'll leave you to consider the following:-

"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research"

- Steven Wright

Baby75

Thanks N, it certainly has gone around quickly! For any prospective candidates, please note that canvassing, be it on behalf of oneself or anyone else, will disqualify

I am looking forward to returning to DCM again this year! except for this year if hubby wants to cycle up beforehand he can run with the lads. I am hoping to go at my pace and see what I can do

:eek: now that sounds serious! I will pass it on

skyblue46

Baby75 wrote: »

I am looking forward to returning to DCM again this year! except for this year if hubby wants to cycle up beforehand he can run with the lads. I am hoping to go at my pace and see what I can do

:eek: now that sounds serious! I will pass it on

I see there is no mention of bribes leading to disqualification!

ariana`

Best of luck with your exams WW.

Wubble Wubble

Tying Up The Loose Ends

Not a huge amount to report on the running front for April. I managed to make it to some Sunday club runs, as well as getting in some running in the morning before study. None of the runs themselves were particularly noteworthy; all in the 8:00-8:25 pace range, so more about just getting out and doing it than anything else. At one stage last week, I had run on 7 days out of 8, which, certainly this year, is unheard of for me. Thankfully I got through it all without picking up any injuries Even so, I've still only bagged around 70 miles this month.

I made it to two parkruns as well, including a spot of tourism over in Dodder Bushy Dublin parkrun. I'm sorry, but I didn't enjoy the course much. The start is very congested, and unlike many other parkruns where you can step onto the grass to get around slower runners, here for the first 500m or so you have a stone wall on one side and the Dodder river on the other. Plus it was a good job I was paying attention on the second lap, as the leaders came whizzing towards me, which I had not been expecting beforehand. I also took a wrong turn on the first lap, up a really steep hill shortly before the turnaround point, before falling when I returned to the course. Not one of my finer outings.

The exams were tough going, but I finished my last one yesterday, and I'm confident that no August repeats will be necessary so after a feed of post exam pints, I had a bit of a detox run this morning. I've just had a quick speed read of the logs, as I've still to catch up with a lot of real world stuff, and there's a few jobs around the house that had been put on the long finger while study dominated my life :rolleyes: Results won't be out till late June/early July.

At the moment, I don't have many races lined up. I'm still resisting the temptation to sign up for DCM 2018, or any other marathon this year, with Connemarathon 2019 being one of my long term goals. So as it stands, I've the Windmill Run 10k in Garristown at the end of May (fierce climb in the last kilometre), as well as an old favourite in the form of the Clontarf HM in July, and the new Ratoath HM in September. I'll add in more after I get a proper chance to do some strategic planning in this area Thanks for reading. J.

skyblue46

Delighted to hear that the exams seem to have gone well. I'm sure it's a huge weight off your shoulders.

Good luck with getting back into the running routine. I've been hearing about the Ratoath half. Is it a few laps around the racecourse outer track or out on the roads and finishing on the track? I'm looking for one to do instead of the Race Series half.

Wubble Wubble

skyblue46 wrote: »

Delighted to hear that the exams seem to have gone well. I'm sure it's a huge weight off your shoulders.

Good luck with getting back into the running routine. I've been hearing about the Ratoath half. Is it a few laps around the racecourse outer track or out on the roads and finishing on the track? I'm looking for one to do instead of the Race Series half.

Big time. I'd been waiting for the exams to be over for quite a while. Finally, I can start to get fit again, although I'd say it will be June or July at the earliest before I can think about aiming for PBs.

The Ratoath HM starts and finishes in front of the stands at the racecourse. You head south towards the N3 before taking a left and crossing over to Kilbride, and after a few more miles, left along country roads till you reach the Fairyhouse Road again. It doesn't go into Ratoath village at all.

Neady83

Delighted to hear that you're over your exams. It's amazing how having them hang over you makes you feel like everything else has to be paused. You're free to enjoy regular life again and fingers crossed for a successful outcome.

I couldn't recommend Connemara highly enough, it's a very different marathon to Dublin but very pretty and a totally amazing experience.

Damo 2k9

Firstly, Well done on getting the exams out of the way, I know myself there is no better feeling at all!

Secondly, I hope this doesnt come across the wrong way and I also hope you dont mind me asking either. IIRC you followed the Asics 3:30 plan for DCM last year? I know you had a bad run up to the day itself, missed long runs due to sickness etc but I was looking for a bit of feedback on how you felt the training block itself was? And if you didnt have the bad run up do u think it would have left you in good shape for the goal??

Im looking up a couple of plans at the minute and weighing up my options. Again, I hope you dont mind me asking and if so, just kindly tell me to f*ck off

Wubble Wubble

Neady83 wrote: »

Delighted to hear that you're over your exams. It's amazing how having them hang over you makes you feel like everything else has to be paused. You're free to enjoy regular life again and fingers crossed for a successful outcome.

I couldn't recommend Connemara highly enough, it's a very different marathon to Dublin but very pretty and a totally amazing experience.

Yeah I feel like I've had to curtail a lot of other stuff, the last couple of months in particular. It does seem like a release

I ran the Connemara Half in 2016, in conditions which were worse than the one just past. Definitely the toughest I've ever tried, lashing rain, hailstones and gale force winds. I don't think I've been as cold in my life either. Running the full is a long standing ambition of mine. A clubmate finished third on Sunday, but I wouldn't be remotely close to his standard!

I've been to Connemara and Inishbofin many times (the Inishbofin HM is also on the list for 2019), and we got married in Connemara, so it's an area I really like and with which I've gained a fair bit of familiarity.

Damo 2k9 wrote: »

Firstly, Well done on getting the exams out of the way, I know myself there is no better feeling at all!

Secondly, I hope this doesnt come across the wrong way and I also hope you dont mind me asking either. IIRC you followed the Asics 3:30 plan for DCM last year? I know you had a bad run up to the day itself, missed long runs due to sickness etc but I was looking for a bit of feedback on how you felt the training block itself was? And if you didnt have the bad run up do u think it would have left you in good shape for the goal??

Im looking up a couple of plans at the minute and weighing up my options. Again, I hope you dont mind me asking and if so, just kindly tell me to f*ck off

Not at all I liked that Asics plan, as it had a nice mix of speed, long runs and other sessions, like progression runs. That said, I didn't follow it rigidly - for example I didn't do any of the 200s. Even with all my missed LSRs and so forth, I still felt like I was going well on the day until disaster struck. FWIW, I think you'd easily go sub 3:30 with a decent block of training behind you, being an 18 minute 5k man. The next Asics plan is a sub-3; I don't know if you think that would be too much of a jump. Maybe sub 3:15 could be better?

Murph_D

Welcome back, J - getting out the other side of exams confidently is one of the great feelings. Serious congrats. All else is irrelevant for now. (Having said that I won’t be rushing to Bushy) :pac:

Damo 2k9

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Not at all I liked that Asics plan, as it had a nice mix of speed, long runs and other sessions, like progression runs. That said, I didn't follow it rigidly - for example I didn't do any of the 200s. Even with all my missed LSRs and so forth, I still felt like I was going well on the day until disaster struck. FWIW, I think you'd easily go sub 3:30 with a decent block of training behind you, being an 18 minute 5k man. The next Asics plan is a sub-3; I don't know if you think that would be too much of a jump. Maybe sub 3:15 could be better?

Thanks for that J, I think I done some of the same things as u last year RE: not following it rigidly. Id miss a run here, run there etc. Obviously it was different because it wasnt an advanced plan.

I reckon a sub 3 would be way too big of a jump, but ill train for Sub 3:30 for now anyways and see how things go. You have no plans of DCM this year, no?

Bungy Girl

Congratulations, clever clogs! Great to have the exams done and to know they went well.

I actually liked Bushy parkrun a lot. That said I was in no hurry that day and just meandered around. Agree it's not a PB course. But it's so pretty!! Route is a bit convoluted all right and the risk of a dunk in the river on the first stretch is all too real :eek: But I loved running by the pond and in the wooded section.

Wubble Wubble

Murph_D wrote: »

Welcome back, J - getting out the other side of exams confidently is one of the great feelings. Serious congrats. All else is irrelevant for now. (Having said that I won’t be rushing to Bushy) :pac:

Thanks D, yes the relief is still palpable! I've a few more days off before I'm back in work, so I'm going to just enjoy those as best I can

You're going great guns yourself of late. I forgot to mention the Trinity track races earlier - I see from your report on last night's 800 that my old nemesis from two years back (another BG) got a mention.

Damo 2k9 wrote: »

Thanks for that J, I think I done some of the same things as u last year RE: not following it rigidly. Id miss a run here, run there etc. Obviously it was different because it wasnt an advanced plan.

I reckon a sub 3 would be way too big of a jump, but ill train for Sub 3:30 for now anyways and see how things go. You have no plans of DCM this year, no?

You're right I think, but if you're planning on doing many more marathons, I'd say sub-3 is well within your compass. Now, I still believe you're selling yourself short with a sub 3:30 target, but I suppose you could change that if you're happy with how the training is going.

As for me, no not this year! No way For the rest of this year, I'm happy with the idea of training for shorter races (i.e. HM downwards) with less pressure involved and not so much of a requirement for a million and one things to click on the day.

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Congratulations, clever clogs! Great to have the exams done and to know they went well.

I actually liked Bushy parkrun a lot. That said I was in no hurry that day and just meandered around. Agree it's not a PB course. But it's so pretty!! Route is a bit convoluted all right and the risk of a dunk in the river on the first stretch is all too real :eek: But I loved running by the pond and in the wooded section.

Thanks G, I'm happy enough but even so there's no doubt I'll be nervous about the outcome nearer the time :eek:

Glad you enjoyed Bushy, but I wouldn't be rushing back. Maybe if I get fitter and faster, so I won't have to worry about the traffic so much

On the subject of parkruns, I forgot to mention that another Boards legend (although she rarely, if ever, posts nowadays) Marthastew made her first appearance at Porterstown the Saturday before last, as the VHI Roadshow came to town. Unfortunately, I won't make it over to Cabo to join in Sonia's centenary. I should hopefully make it to 100 parkruns myself (currently on 94) before the summer's out

Wubble Wubble

Fri 27/4 - 3.6 miles@8:07/mi

Back to an old staple, in the form of the Carpenterstown loops. I wasn't really in the humour, so I put the boot down harder than intended, just to get them out of the way.

Sat 28/4 - Rest

I had toyed with the idea of some parkrun tourism in the course of our trip West. Consideration was given to about five different parkruns, from Castletown to Oughterard, depending on when we got away from D15. However, my wife, being a million times more practical than me, pointed out that I would have a very smelly journey of 2-3 hours from whatever parkrun till I got a shower (which of course I never even thought about) so I knocked my ambitious plan on the head :pac:

Sun 29/4 - 4.76 miles@7:58/mi

I love running in Connemara, and this is a run I've done many times over the last 6 years, with hopefully many more in future. However, it being nearly two years since the last one, I'd forgotten how long the first climb away out of the hotel grounds was :eek:

Some tough ups and downs, but nice to sweat out some of the alcohol, and get the HR up a bit, on a beautiful sunny morning, without even any wind to speak of.

Mon 30/4 - 2.95 miles @9:03/mi

Out the service road at the back of the hotel, down to Renvyle beach for some running on the sand. Training for the Clontarf HM is under way Nice steep hill back to the road after my beach running stint.

In other news, as you may or may not be aware, I nominated my successor as DCM Novices Mentor, before I took a little break from Boards to sit my exams. With this in mind, check out the DCM 2018 Mentored Novices Thread

Thanks for reading. J.

scotindublin

And a wise choice indeed.....enjoy the break J.

The Black Oil

Parkrun in Oughterard? Had no idea and was only there last week.

Wubble Wubble

The Black Oil wrote: »

Parkrun in Oughterard? Had no idea and was only there last week.

Since December 2017...

Maybe I'll get to try it eventually.

ariana`

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Fri 27/4 - 3.6 miles@8:07/mi

Back to an old staple, in the form of the Carpenterstown loops. I wasn't really in the humour, so I put the boot down harder than intended, just to get them out of the way.

Sat 28/4 - Rest

I had toyed with the idea of some parkrun tourism in the course of our trip West. Consideration was given to about five different parkruns, from Castletown to Oughterard, depending on when we got away from D15. However, my wife, being a million times more practical than me, pointed out that I would have a very smelly journey of 2-3 hours from whatever parkrun till I got a shower (which of course I never even thought about) so I knocked my ambitious plan on the head :pac:

Sun 29/4 - 4.76 miles@7:58/mi

I love running in Connemara, and this is a run I've done many times over the last 6 years, with hopefully many more in future. However, it being nearly two years since the last one, I'd forgotten how long the first climb away out of the hotel grounds was :eek:

Some tough ups and downs, but nice to sweat out some of the alcohol, and get the HR up a bit, on a beautiful sunny morning, without even any wind to speak of.

Mon 30/4 - 2.95 miles @9:03/mi

Out the service road at the back of the hotel, down to Renvyle beach for some running on the sand. Training for the Clontarf HM is under way Nice steep hill back to the road after my beach running stint.

In other news, as you may or may not be aware, I nominated my successor as DCM Novices Mentor, before I took a little break from Boards to sit my exams. With this in mind, check out the DCM 2018 Mentored Novices Thread

Thanks for reading. J.

The Black Oil wrote: »

Parkrun in Oughterard? Had no idea and was only there last week.

Well you'll have to go back so :P April next year perhaps

There's a new one in Portumna as well, if one needed many more reasons to visit the West