Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Return to Work

It had to happen sooner or later, and neither Niamh nor me were looking forward to it, but I had to get back to work on Monday. Niamh managed to organise a whole troupe of friends and neighbours to get the kids to and from school/preschool, so she can still take it easy during the day. But she had asked me not to go running in the morning (or at least cut it to 3 times during the week), because she can't look after Maia and prepare breakfast/entertain whoever gets up early at the same time.

This was totally reasonable, of course, but I was still desperate to go running. When she asked me not to go running in the morning, she meant from around 6 to 8 am, which is my normal time. However, she had no objections to running between 4 and 6, because even our kids are sleep by then - and if they're not, then we tell them to get back to bed. I did get "The Look" from her when I asked for permission, but she obviously decided that if I was deranged enough to seriously consider getting up at 4 am to go running, it would be better not to get into my way. In fact, she gave permission to stay out until 6:30, giving me an extra 30 minutes of sleep.

So, that's what I did. My reasoning was that if you go to bed at 10 o'clock, you still get over 6 hours of sleep before getting up at 4:15, being out of the house at 4:30 and running 15 miles around Caragh Lake. Unfortunately I had to organise a few things that took much longer than anticipated on Sunday evening, and didn't make it to bed until after 11. I just about managed 5 hours of sleep before getting up. I decided that I would be able to pull that off once, but not on a regular basis. The men in the straightjackets are probably getting ready for me by now, but I did indeed run the Caragh Lake loop, and was back home at 6:30. It was a bit slower than the previous three runs on the same loop, which may be due to the early time, or maybe I just settled on a more maintainable pace. Mind, it's still faster than what I used to run in the previous training cycle. After a shower and a bowl of cereal I even managed to get back to bed for an hour, but sleep was prevented by Cian who by then was wide-awake and chirpy, and in our bed. Typically, Shea chose that day to sleep until we had to wake him at 8 o'clock, which he has never done before. I could have slept for an additional hour, had I known.

Unsurprisingly, I was rather knackered in the evening, and went to bed soon after the kids. Niamh didn't mind, she had an early night too, and by 10 o'clock I was asleep. I had planned a shorter 10-mile run for today, so I had a lie-in until 4:50 (oh the luxury!), which meant almost 7 hours of sleep, as much as I usually get. I wasn't sure how fast I should run today, and just went with whatever the legs had in them. The quads felt rather stiff, which might be related to the fact that I'm cycling the 5 miles each way to work, and I'm not yet used to it. At the turnaround point I had to decide if I wanted a tempo effort or a slower effort with strides on the way home and opted for the later. I still managed a perfectly acceptable pace, and again was home by 6:30. This time Shea got up as soon as I came home, and any plans of going to bed again were shelved for some early-morning father-son-time. He deserves some of my undivided attention, especially now that the baby is here, and I wasn't going to deprive him. After eating some breakfast, doing a dinosaur jigsaw puzzle together and having a great old chat between pals it was time for the rest of the family to get up, too. As long as I manage to go to bed early enough, I think this will be sustainable.
12 Nov
15.5 miles, 1:59:04, 7:41 pace, HR 149
13 Nov
10 miles, 1:18:55, 7:53 pace, HR 147
including 9x100 strides

7 comments:

  1. I have recollections of being up at 4 am following the birth of my "babies". Although it was to change, feed and wind them over the foloowing 2 hours as opposed to getting out for a run. You are certainly blessed with Maia.

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  2. Looks like you're going to find just the right balance between sleep and workouts. Great job!

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  3. I get up at 4:40 five days a week. I usually get to bed around 10. The weekends are pure heaven, usually getting to sleep in till 6:30. I think you will adapt, and as long as you can catch up on the weekend, be fine. I think it's great that you are finding your baby-running-family balance.

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  4. Now that's good time management, glad it's working out for you!

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  5. Th whw race starts at 1am and I did a few training runs through he night. It is cerainly different running in the pitch dark when most folk are still asleep. Hope you can cope with the routine.
    Great pictures of Maia!

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  6. I know you've been through this before but its pretty tough each time.

    Good luck with the running from 4 to 6. knowing you I'm sure you make it a routine easily.

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  7. I've just tried a few early morning runs recently but nothing close to 4.30. Good luck.

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