Happy Birthday Again

The fun and games just don't stop at the moment. Maia is only 5 weeks old, and it’s already time to celebrate the next birthday, Cian was 4 on Saturday, a big party was had in Glenbeigh sports hall, and everyone had a great time. The cake looks spectacular, doesn’t it? Usually if you buy a cake like that it looks cool but tastes like nothing, but that one was actually really nice. Of course, my resolution to stay off the sweets will have to take a temporary break, especially because we have loads of party food left over, and then it’s Christmas, and that’s not the time for an ascetic life style.

Because I had felt so fresh after last week’s long run, I decided to extend my run on Friday. I resolved to run my normal 2 loops around the Devil’s Elbow, and then decide if I fancied another 3 miles. I didn’t use to be able to do that because I used to leave the house in time so that I would be back home at 7:45 to get the kids ready for school, but with my 4 am starts I now have spare time to play around with. The weather keeps being challenging, the storm still hasn’t stopped, the only thing that changes is the amount of water that accompanies the wind. Cresting the hill during the loop had the wind coming from the side and it felt like I was about to be blown off course, but there were sheltered part along the way, too. At the end of the second loop the next rain shower began, just to test my resolve of running another 3 miles, but I had long made up my mind and did indeed turn around for some more punishment. I tried to run the last 6 miles strongly again, but somehow the legs would not cooperate, and I never got faster than 7:40 pace. I didn’t feel particularly tired, and I felt like I could have run for quite a few more miles, just not any faster. Still, that was my longest run since the marathon in October, and I’m just pleased to have in under the belt. There will be times when the weather is less challenging, and maybe then I’ll be able to crank up the pace a bit more towards the end.

Saturday saw me out again to more or less the same conditions. I didn’t get as much sleep as I would have liked, because at 5 am Shea had gotten the fixed idea that he had to wake up his little brother to wish him all the best for his birthday. We managed to stop the little maniac, but he repeated the same stunt 30 minutes later, and this time he succeeded in waking Cian, and from then on sleep was a scarce commodity. “at least he never does it 2 days in a row”, Niamh said. I managed 12 miles, with 12 sets of strides, and felt pretty good.

The weather forecast for Sunday was especially dire, storm gusts of up to 130 km/h(80 mph) were predicted, and I was worried about my workout. Running obsessed or not, when it becomes dangerous to be outside not even I am stupid enough to force a run. It sounded pretty bad the few times I woke during the night, but the wind seemed to abate a bit in the early morning hours. Shea again woke at 5 am (so much for Niamh’s prediction), but at least this time he seemed happy enough to play on his own, mostly with the toys Cian had gotten the day before. I normally try to have a fast run on Sunday and cranked up the pace a bit, and it felt pretty much like last week’s run. The pace wasn’t bad compared to what I used to run, but I’d like to get closer to 7 minutes per mile. At the same time, I don’t want to race my workouts, and if the pace doesn’t come by, I’m not going to force it. It will come down over time.

7 Dec

20 miles, 2:38:05, 7:54 pace, HR 144

8 Dec

12 miles, 1:34:19, 7:51 pace, HR 144
including 12x100 strides

9 Dec

10 miles, 1:11:36, 7:09 pace, HR 155

Consecutive Days of High Winds: 10
Consecutive Days of Rain: 7

Weekly Mileage: 96