Twin Storms

It looks like we skipped autumn this year and just went straight from summer into the winter storm season. I might have expected a little bit of respite after Hurricane Ophelia on Monday but no, we rushed straight into the arms of Storm Brian, which, at least in Dublin, was actually worse than the hurricane had been. I did the same as I always do in such circumstances: I checked beforehand what the weather forecast predicted and planned accordingly. Well, for Dublin the storm was said to hit a couple of hours before lunchtime so I made sure to get up reasonably early and do my morning run when conditions were still safe. It worked, again, and while it was windy it was definitely manageable.

The storm itself did look a bit scary at times, alright, though the intensity went up and down a few times. Even on Sunday morning it was still rather windy. It wasn't a full storm any more but I still had to fight gale force winds on my long run. The direction it blew from meant the first half was mostly into the wind and the return leg mostly with a tailwind, though by that time the legs were tired already and it didn't feel as if I could take any advantage of it.

The legs have been up and down quite a bit over the last few weeks. After feeling REALLY tired a week ago they felt REALLY great by Wednesday but then went back down to so-so the last few days. Obviously the increased mileage is taking some getting used to. Having said that, the fact that I ran a long run in windy conditions with an easy effort on tired legs and still ran comfortably under 8-minute pace is decent progress. Even a month ago that would have been completely out of the question.

With the Dublin marathon this Sunday I'll do my double run on Tuesday to give me several easier days to recover before the marathon. I'm not tapering as such, Dublin will be just another training run, albeit one I am very much looking forward to. I have missed it the last 2 years because of the Spartathlon in 2015 and Albi last year, so it's high time for a return. The course itself isn't much to write home about, to be honest. It is designed to keep disruption for the rest of the population to a minimum rather than to showcase Dublin itself, which is bit of a shame, but the vibe from both runners and spectators always makes up for it; it is always a very special race, nothing else in Ireland comes even close.

Anyway, I hope the legs will have come round once again by Sunday. I will decide on the day how I feel and what pace seems sensible for a training run but expect something in the order of 3:15-3:20.  But lets get this week out of the way first.

19 Oct

8 miles, 1:05:51, 8:13 pace, HR 135

20 Oct

9+ miles, 1:11:22, 7:53 pace, HR 141

21 Oct

10+ miles, 1:20:39, 7:49 pace, HR 145

22 Oct

18+ miles, 2:26:57, 7:52 pace, HR 141