Man! I feel like a runner

Thank you all for the kind messages. I’m out the other side safely, certainly some lingering effects from covid; the tiredness lasted til late this week, and the cough returns after any run really, regardless of pace, but getting less so, should all be a distant memory soon enough!

Fri 31st Dec - First day I was allowed out, was dying to get moving. The legs felt stiff alright, and the hips, but it just felt nice to get the fresh air! I did stop for a breather after 2 miles, but managed a 5k anyway. 9.35/m avg.

Sun 2nd Jan - Headed for a run avoiding training knowing I wouldn’t be up to that. Happily had a couple of chat breaks with club mates. 5 miles at 9.59 avg.

Mon 3rd Jan - Went over to the park to remind myself how spikes feel for a short and horrible mile 😂

Tues 4th Jan - went to strength class in the morning. Took it handier after the break, but was grand actually.

Avoided the evening speed work at UCD and met other club mates for ‘easy’ miles. Route was a little hillier than I was expecting! 5.6 miles at 9.15/m.

Weds 5th - nothing, was very stiff after S&C!

Thurs 6th - up to club training again. Plan was 40 mins and strides. I hung back with a few, but we went to catch up with the rest a couple of times (not my idea) and I was wrecked!! So I sneaked back to my car while everyone went to do strides 🤪 4.6 miles at 9.31/m avg.

Fri 7th - Having slept a lot early in the week, I struggled to sleep at all Thurs night. Skipped the S&C class as a result.

Sat 8th - More restless sleep but kept to the plan of my 100th parkrun, and to see how I felt about Dublin Masters the next day. I was still undecided until I realised while running parkrun with my sister that I’d rarely have as good an excuse for being useless 😃 we kept parkrun somewhere between steady and easy, 27.55 finish. I got goaded into a faster finish by my brother who’d come along too, silly. Nice morning though. About 4.5 miles total.

Spent the afternoon getting cold in Malahide watching ladies GAA all-Ireland QF. My friend’s club over from London lost badly :(

Sun 9th

Dublin Masters XC - 3k (very glad of gender inequality in this instance)

Don’t really know St. Anne’s park that well, so parked in the wrong place really and wandered around for a good 15 mins before finding the start area! Threw my bag at the club tent, and headed on a lap of the course. Mucky enough, still debating will I run this?! Back to the club meeting point, and a few drills etc, and before I knew it we were lining up.

Let’s just call a spade a spade - I was brutal! Compared to where I should be. But anyway, it’s my starting point now.

It took off hard enough, and I had no choice but to keep going or I’d be tripping people up, but I did enjoy oh maybe the first 400m? And then women started to pass me… and more.. and more.. ! I was struggling badly at halfway, energy low and bit light headed, but knowing it was halfway I just kept telling myself to finish. I realised the second lap around that while I was finding the grassy part tough, I was able to run in the forest so picked off a few in there surprisingly. The finishing straight seemed to get longer the second time around, and I thought I was gonna vomit, but got there in the end. (Thanks aquinn for the shouts along here).

I wasn’t on the last page of results so there’s that! Nice bunch from the club, but compared to other clubs not many really which is a shame. Raheny had a very impressive turnout unsurprisingly, and watching Clohisey destroy the men’s race was something else. 6k XC in 20.24, not bad 😆

Anyway, back into a routine from now and let’s see how it goes… need to clean up the diet too!

God, I wish I had your faith in me! I feel the opposite, there's no real foundation at all? Routine has been non-existent. I used to write out my weekly plan on a Sunday evening / Monday morning, of what I was running each day and when, as well as S&C, so I did that last night for this week hoping to kickstart that habit again. Doesn't give me the opening of will I/ won't I run now etc.

I think that's why I enjoyed the first 400m, I was in a pack! It's not like I'd be towering over people either🤣

What's the point is exactly the thoughts that were in my head this week, and I have been very heavy hearted so if a comment was made like some I've seen.. No thanks. I'd rather not invite that.

That said, one of the texts I received from my father during the week included the words "But we must keep going." He's right.

Mon 17th Jan - Rest (short walk only)

Tues 18th - Morning S&C, 40 mins.

Evening club session. 1 mile warm-up, 15 mins or so drills etc. Session was 3 x 10 mins tempo, off 90 seconds jog recovery. I haven’t a clue what my tempo is so myself and another club mate kept it probably too handy for the first 10 mins (approx 9 min mile), the next two reps were approx 8.35/8.40 pace. We had ended up with one of the tri-club runners (its a combined session with the two clubs), and she was to do a 4th rep as she’s in marathon training, so we did another 6 mins or so at 8.40ish to keep her company for a bit. We were chatting all the reps so I definitely think it was too handy a pace to be tempo. Low 8s will be the target in future I think. Mile or so cool down. Felt full of energy.

Weds 19th - Easy lunchtime run in Santry park. 3.5 miles, 9.39 avg. Started out very easy but quickened as the legs loosened out.

Thurs 20th - Got my 50 mins easy done in the morning before work as I needed to drive down homeward direction that evening. 5.2 miles at 9.59/m avg. Legs very slow to wake up!

Fri 21st - Morning S&C, 40 mins. Lazy day otherwise.

Sat 22nd - Club session in St Endas again (plus some cameras from Athletics Ireland 🤨). Mile warm-up around the park, few drills, and into the spikes again (getting used to them anyway) for 10 x 75 seconds, 60 seconds off. A whistle was in use which worked well. I took off way too hard for the first rep (avg 6.33 pace), the temptation to try to keep up with the people ahead is too much, and I honestly thought I’ll never complete the 10 reps. BUt I copped on for the next lot and managed to keep going and hitting roughly the same spot on the loop each time (avg between 7.10 - 7.20 pace). Mile cool down and done!

Drove to Donegal town and back then for a visit to a friend and her baby, lovely scenic drive until I got a flat! Same wheel as I seem to often get a flat on so its time to accept the problem is between the steering wheel and the driver seat 🤪

Sun 23rd - Got myself out for the early club run, 8.1 miles from Marlay to Massy’s and back, same as last week. There’s an awful camper on the road though which was annoying my ankle. Must investigate how to counteract that.

27.3 miles for the week. Hopefully hit a 10 mile Sunday run next week. I’ve decided to skip Raheny, getting the long runs and consistent training is the priority for me right now. Happy with the week though, and have to say the club camaraderie with the new coaching setup is really fantastic. There’s a good buzz with everyone at the moment.

Yeah I absolutely could have asked for pace guidance, in fact it was probably given, but I was afraid of the answer a little bit 😂 myself and my clubmate have vowed to push ourselves and each other next week anyway 😃

Haha it was a good one! I'd forgotten you were running Raheny, I was over cheering on the siblings but never saw a bit of you. Shame about the distance mix-up.

Mon 31st January - Rest

Tues 1st Feb - Strength class in the morning, 40 mins.

Evening club session. Ooof this was tough! Weather was fairly miserable for a start, but knowing there were hills involved I’d had myself psyched up beforehand! 2 mile warm-up (9.35.m). Session was 1,2,3,2,1 laps of an approx 1100m loop. The first 700m-ish of the loop was uphill and then obviously the nice downhill round to the start. Recovery was about 90 seconds. I probably didn’t pace it very well as I found the last couple of laps really hard, but was delighted to get the session done and I felt quite strong. Certainly heaps better than the last time we did that lap.

1 lap - 7.32 avg pace

2 laps - 1 mile in 7.50, remainder of lap at 7.35 avg

3 laps - 1 mile in 7.58, 0.92 mile at 7.47 avg

2 laps - 1 mile in 7.54, remainder at 7.47 avg

1 lap - 8.12 pace (I had actually thought I’d slowed up way more so wasn’t totally unhappy with this lap)

Cool down back to the car and 9 miles for the evening.

Weds 2nd - Nothing. I skipped a lunch run due to still feeling very tired from the session.

Thurs 3rd - was in the office and stupid traffic meant I was too late to make it to training with the club, so headed out on my own. 4.1 miles at 9.49/m avg. Sluggish enough.

Fri 4th - S&C, 40 mins.

Headed out for a lunch run to make sure mileage wouldn’t be too low for the week. 3.1 miles at 9.21/m. Less sluggish.

Sat 5th - Club mile time trial. Made it out to Greystones in good time (some amount of building has happened since the last time I was there). Very windy, but only seemed to hit one corner of the track really. Easy mile warm up and a few drills, felt a bit sluggish. I had put 6.55 as a target, but wasn’t too sure if I’d hit it. Thankfully my group were the first to go (I hate watching the others pain and knowing my turn is to come!), and settled into a nice rhythm. Could tell a few had taken off a bit too hot and passed them by the middle of the 2nd lap. I was telling myself I’d be hitting the horrible 3rd lap but when I was in it I felt fine, and realised the people I had kept behind had slowed and I had just accepted it so picked it back and hit the last lap better. Felt strong at the finish pushing down the straight and came in at 6.56 (my watch had 6.55 but the timekeeper had 6.56 oh well). I felt grand after, and no coughing so I do think I could have given a wee bit more, but overall I’m quite happy with it. Figure I had judged where I’m at quite accurately. There was a nice calm about me for it knowing I’m not in PB shape so I had nothing to lose. I also really enjoy the mile on the track I have to say. Anyway, happy with the progress this year so far. No cool down cos 1. We were all a bit lazy and 2. I had to rush off to take charge of my nephew and niece while their parents went to Croke Park for the hurling. Walked the legs off the poor craturs that afternoon in the park 😀

Sun 6th - Early again for another jaunt up to Massy’s and Hellfire club. I had originally thought I won’t do hills again after Tuesday night, but I won’t be around the next two weekends so best to get them in while I can. I then thought with the wind we’ll only go to Massy’s but then I didn’t want to skimp on miles so up we went with only minimal whinging from yours truly 😆 Funny enough I didn’t need any walk breaks this week. Great to get it done. 10.6 miles for the morning at 10.47/m avg .

29 miles for the week.

Not the most solid week last week..

Mon 7th - Got out for a short run knowing my week would be a bit more 'social' than usual. 3.4 miles at 10.36/m average. Wore the HRM to keep myself sensible.

Tues 8th - Morning strength class, 40 mins. No evening run, was out for dinner (and wine) 😊

Weds 9th - Thankfully drank plenty of water Tues evening / night so no hangover! Got out for the missed session that evening instead, thought it would be tough solo but the main concern ended up being my back. My breath was catching with a pain in my upper back, so I had to keep my breathing shallow enough but seemed to get by ok. Session was 10 x 3 mins at 10k pace, off 1 min. I jogged down to a housing estate loop after some Google maps investigation, and it went pretty well. It all felt very controlled. Planned pace was 7.50ish/m and the reps came in at: 7.54, 7.33, 7.48, 7.44, 7.46, 7.45, 7.49, 7.38, 7.40 and 7.38. So a little fast but never felt like I was overreaching. Took a moment at the end to contemplate my route home and suddenly saw Wottle out coaching some of his crew 🙂

7 miles for the evening.

Thurs 10th - cancelled a planned S&C session with my back still being sore just to be safe. Went along to club training that evening, easy 5 miles but included 8 x 15 second pickups. Nice run. 9.45/m average pace. Back was feeling way better, but my body seems to be crocked this week as I went over on my ankle a bit at one point in the run. Has happened before but never any lasting pain, until Thursday night, my ankle was super sore! So annoying.

Fri 11th - Had been contemplating an early run due but I was limping a little with my ankle so that ended that. Flew to London that evening and the walking around the airports etc seemed to ease the ankle.. or maybe the gin did?

Sat 12th - I was staying with my very patient friend who had no problem with me heading off to a parkrun while she could still have her Sat morning lie-on! 2 miles over to the park near Lewisham, very uphill journey to there ! The parkrun was called Hilly Fields.. and I thought well I have a lot of the hills done on my way up surely. Big crowds, I listened to the first-timers briefing and then suddenly we were off. I was planning to just run kind of steady pace around the 3 lap course. We had started downhill and then came back around a couple of long drag areas and I was thinking oh this isn't too hilly at all. Suddenly we turned and I could see people heading up a realllllllllllly steep hill - Oh no. I asked the woman next to me how many times we do that hill and she said 3! It was horrendous. Got lapped on my 2nd time up that hill by the leaders who were about to finish the parkrun in about mins. Ridiculous pace around that course. I kept it just a little harder than easy I suppose (and considering the gin) to finish in just under 27 mins. At least the 2 miles home were downhill! Lots of walking in the afternoon (along the Thames from Greenwich to London Bridge) so I was happy to sit for the evening with a few drinks!

Sun 13th - Just a walk around Greenwich park and a couple of the museums, before heading to the airport.

Only 22 miles for the week. Possibly no long run next weekend either if I do a xc race with the club. At the moment, there doesn't seem to be much of a women's team so won't bother if not. Will need to knuckle down then for March before Berlin half at the start of April 😬

Mon 21st - 20 mins of core/mobility stuff.

Tues 22nd - Morning strength class, 40 mins.

Evening club session. Legs felt heavy and tired from the start. 1 mile warm-up, 15-20 mins drills and then into the session. 3 x 5 mins at 10k pace, off 90 seconds was the first part. I found it really tough to get into a rhythm on these and the legs felt sluggish. Difference of having a coach there though - I decided to treat myself to a wee walk after the 2nd rep when suddenly, out of the darkness, I hear ‘NO WALKING!’ 🤣 Caught rotten! There is no knowing where Gary is going to appear on the loop! Paces were 8.03, 7.54 and 8.08. Wasn’t sure how I would manage the next piece of 3 x 3 mins at 5k pace, but somehow settled into a rhythm on all the reps pretty well. Paces were 7.26, 7.29 and 7.28. Funny how it goes. 1 mile cool down (ish) for 5.6 miles total.

Weds 23rd - Had hoped to get out for an easy run, but I admit to letting the weather put me off, as well as giving my tired glutes a rest.

Thurs 24th - Club evening run. Easy 5.4 miles at 9.48/m. Legs still heavy but got around with no drama.

Fri 25th - Morning S&C, 40 mins.

Easy lunchtime run. Had been hoping to get into a 5th day (knowing I would run Sat and Sun), and the sunny afternoon weather helped. 5k at 9.51/m.

Sat 26th - Club session. 1 mile warm-up, short enough set of drills, and then a revised session of 400s (rather than 2 min reps), off 1 min recovery. I really struggled with the session. It was supposed to be 5k pace but as usual when you are following the bunch, I was getting dragged to quicker pace, not to mention the first 200 was up a slight drag (excuses excuses!). I sat out the 6th rep with a couple of others, and did 3 more. Nice to have the coaching again with Maria reminding us of the importance of quality over quantity! When I look at the Garmin stats, I can see I set out way too quick on the first couple, but also that I was not getting a full min recovery on a lot of the reps. Of course, I got a lot extra before rep 6.

6.46, 6.45, 7.02, 7.03, 7.03, 7.06, 7.02 and 6.58. 1 mile for cool down.

Went for a stroll around Powerscourt waterfall with family in the afternoon (instead of a planned boozy brunch :-/ ) - bloody 6.50 entrance fee!? The boom is back.

Sun 27th - got out for the early club run. Turns out the plan wasn’t hills, but a flatter route and to include 3 x 1 mile at half pace. I have not decided what my planned pace for Berlin is so I stuck with what the others were doing (8.30 - 8.45 range). Felt mostly ok if a little tired for this. The miles came in at 8.41, 8.35 and 8.38, with 5 mins v easy between. The last one also finished up that steep hill past St Endas, only stubbornness kept me going. 10 miles for the morning, avg pace 9.56/m.

28.2 miles for the week.

Not sure why it all felt quite sluggish this week, could just be one of those weeks but also could be the strength work. While it’s not like I’m using very heavy weights, I have been pushing it up this last while. I don’t know if I should back off, or if its one of those things where it takes the few weeks to get the body/legs accustomed and I’ll be fine (and stronger)? Something to have a ponder on. All opinions welcome!

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I've been doing strength the same day as the Tuesday session, and was mostly finding I could handle the tiredness/heaviness... its not a huge number of reps in the strength session, definitely focusing on form and correct movements.

Mon 28th Feb – Rest. Had planned to do some mobility stuff at home but was too lazy :-/

Tues 1st Mar – Morning strength class. Took it back a bit on the SL squats so the legs wouldn’t be as heavy for the evening run.

Evening session: 1 mile warm-up, lots of drills (skips, fast feet, strides etc) then into 10 x 1 min hard, 1 min easy. Took off too hard as is the norm, but settled into it and focused on keeping my form not-too-sloppy. Paces were between 6.28 and 6.40 for the most part, if Garmin can be trusted to pick up 1 min reps. More drills afterwards (hops, lunges) and into the cool down. Less mileage than usual for a Tuesday, 4.4 miles. I did get a bit of the coughing that night that comes after hard runs so I feel like I ran the reps sufficiently hard.

Weds 2nd Mar – easy evening miles. 3.5 miles at 9.54/m.

Thurs 3rd Mar – club run, easy miles plus strides. 6 miles at avg pace 10.36/m, bit skewed by the strides and walking recoveries. I was wearing new socks I’d picked up in Decathlon and ended up with blistered feet. Not fun.

Fri 4th Mar – morning S&C.

Sat 5th Mar – club session, another short one. Mile warm-up, then over to a quiet estate (although one resident wasn’t too impressed with our presence) across from St Enda’s to run some hill sprints (after drills). The distance was definitely too short to pick up any sort of pace correctly but the session was broken into 5 longer sprints then 5 shorter ones. It was point to point and the first set were all 33/34 seconds, and the second all about 12 seconds so I’m happy enough that I was consistent in my efforts. Mile cool down. Gorgeous day so walked up to Ticknock forest in the afternoon 😊

Sun 6th Mar – out at 8 as usual for the long run. This week we ran 3 easy, 2 x 15 mins at HMP (?), 5 mins off, and home easy which was about 3ish miles. Went well apart from the blisters coming up again .. the 15 min sections came in at 8.35 and 8.30, and I felt quite good, so I think I will definitely set out at this pace in Berlin, but I’d like to think I could push on after a while… hard to know. I might attempt a long run with paced sections at 8.15-8.20 and see how it feels in the next couple of weeks. Anywho, 10.8 miles for the morning and then an afternoon at my niece’s 5th birthday party.

28 miles for the week. Still lower than I would like but feel like I’m getting enough of a mix in there..

Update: I have been refused the booster 😭😫