Happy Birthday

Ok so, now where were we? Ah yes, bent over the railing of the Connemara finish, trying to keep upright, not entirely successfully.

I actually met a work colleague who had come to the finish specifically to meet me, she was a bit worried about me but I knew I would be fine once I could sit down and get a few calories into me, which is exactly what happened. The journey home, involving 3 different buses, wasn't the most comfortable journey ever but lying in the softest bed there is wouldn't have felt comfortable either, so there.

I was reasonably ok the next day and even managed to cycle to and from work without issues. The legs remained a bit sore for about 3-4 days, a bit longer than usual but that's a reflection of the sub-optimal training beforehand and entirely to be expected.

The week after the race I ran a few slow, easy miles every second day. In fact, it was so slow that I ended up running on my own for the lunchtime group run from work because nobody else wanted to share my snails pace effort, so I watched then inching away from me instead, not that I was even remotely tempted to speed up.

Things got better after a while and the second week I was back running every day, and feeling ok with it. I got to 10 miles this morning, and while the legs were feeling distinctively flat, the distance didn't bother them at all.

Then

Now

However, another and much more important feat of endurance was the twins' 18th birthday. There were times when I wondered if we would ever make it this far, but somehow we managed it.

They're still screaming as much as in the first photo, just the dramas are slightly different ones.

A Picture Paints A Thousand Words

Finished, in every sense of the word!

I Used To Be Good At This, You Know

The Connemara Ultra is an iconic race in Ireland, and it used to be an absolute highlight of my running year, at least during the earlier stages of my running life. Things changed a bit 5 years ago, when Ray stopped being the race director it lost some of its shine and I had not been back since. Having said that, the reviews were still as good as ever, so when a few months ago a colleague at work asked me if I were interested in running it as part of a group that remembers Simone Grassi, a two-times winner of the marathon, I agreed to do it and so I was back at the start line after a 5 year absence.

Things had not changed much at all. In fact, the only two things I noticed differently were the fact that we were asked to run on the left side of the road rather than the right side, and the fact that Ray was not there. Apart from that the new organisers wisely left all the good bits in it, and it's still as brilliant a race as ever.

What's changed a bit is myself, and try as you might I knew I was in for my slowest time ever, barring a miracle. Losing 6 weeks in training at a crucial time is not something you can make up for, I really only got 2 decent weeks of training, and those were damn close to the race date at a time when I would usually have been looking at tapering, so I was under no illusions. I expected a very tough time ahead, even more so after cramping on my only 20 mile day, less than 2 weeks ago.

Never mind, we were actually pleasantly surprised by the fact that the torrential rain had stopped just in time as we gathered at the start line, it would have been an utterly miserable 20 minutes wait otherwise. I was particularly glad, standing there in my shorts and t-shirt when almost everyone else was wearing a jacket, and most of them with a backpack as well. However, I make those choices out of experience as well as personal preferences; on a cold day you're overdressed if you're not cold at the start, and I definitely don't see the point of carrying my own water around when there are aid stations every 3 miles.

Anyway, I started a good bit further back than usual and then drifted a few places further back with a slow first mile. All good. I got a couple of comments of "what are you doing back here" and "someone took your place up front" and responded that he must be 10 years younger. Then Barry pulled alongside and we fell into step, chatting relentlessly along the way, and the scene for the first few hours was set. We are both very experienced ultra runners and knew what we were doing. After a few miles a few guys went past, one of them commenting that they were probably doing something wrong passing us out, which reminded me of thinking exactly the same 5 years ago when I went past Eoin Keith early in a race. Ah yes, the good old times. Barry and myself talked a lot about them, and eventually Paul started running alongside us and got to hear a few good stories along the way.

The wind had been almost non-existent at the start but picked up considerably a few miles in, and at that point it was pushing us along, making things very easy. Obviously we knew there would be a price to pay, but so far so good. The first miles just flew by, and we were at the marathon start before we knew it.

In past years I would have caught up with the marathon field in next to no time but today they had been long gone when we got there in 1:53-ish. I picked up a nice bottle of sports drink, which hit the spot and was probably a factor in how easy the next few miles felt, though the fact that we had a rather strong wind pushing us along was a bigger one. At mile 17 or 18 Paul marvelled how easy it all felt, how he had never gotten so far feeling so fresh. The one downer was at the mile 19 checkpoint, where my prepared drinks bottle had gone missing from the ultra table. I had known perfectly well that this had always been a realistic possibility but I still wished the arsehole who had stolen someone else's bottle off the aid station table some violent diarrhea and a miserable race.

Anyway, the sharp turn towards the first proper climb of the day wasn't far off by now, and I pointed out to the lads that I hoped they were ready for 20 miles of headwind!

It wasn't a hard prediction to make.

As soon as we took that corner the wind was in our faces and we had plenty of time to get used to it. At first it was still all good, we all had gotten to that point in pretty decent shape, and by now we had finally caught up with the tail end of the marathon and gradually started reeling in a few of the stragglers. That first climb isn't all that long (I call it the "half a hill") and the "Stop and Pray"church wasn't as inviting yet as I thought it would be.

But there was no doubt that the real work of the day had started, and Barry was the first to feel the effects of a cramp, which was damn early in the race and with a lot of miles yet to go. He was actually moving pretty well when he could, but every now and then had to pull up and deal with cramp. Not good. We got to the downhill part into Leenane, found that running right behind an ambulance still did not provide any wind cover but a lot of Diesel fumes. The road into Leenane is always a bit longer than you think,and by the time I got there I was somehow running on my own again. The 13.1 miles since Louch Inagh had taken me almost 2 hours and I passed the marathon point in about 3:53. From the way the miles had felt I would have thought I would get there a bit quicker, but obviously the clock doesn't lie. However, I was still in reasonably good shape, which was good because the last half marathon would be significantly more challenging.

I might have felt okay but that feeling evaporated in no time whatsoever as soon as I started on the steep climb out of Leenane. Its the other hill of the course, the Hell of the West, that gets all the headlines but personally I think this one, the Devil's Mother, is worse (and the names here are somewhat telling). The wind was brutal, right into my face and I'm sure the valley ahead of us created a kind of funneling effect and doubled the wind speed. It was also much steeper than I could remember. In years gone past I had known that race so well I thought you could drop me off anywhere on the course and I would immediately know exactly where I was but the intervening years have obviously had an effect, though as I went along all the memories of yesteryear kept coming back again.

Anyway, I kept battling up the climb and I kept running because I knew that once I started walking everything would still hurt just as much but progress would be much slower and it would be a struggle to start running again. So I kept running, albeit slowly. Until the moment when I didn't, somehow. Not sure how that happened but it just seemed to take too much energy to run yet another step that barely brought me further up the hill and all of a sudden I found myself walking, thoroughly pissed off with myself for being so soft but at the same time utterly incapable of running again.

I kept on walking for most of the second half of the climb, not quite a mile, and three times unsuccessfully tried to start running again, unable to do so and having serious doubts about the miles again. Once I reached the top I eventually managed to get into a shuffle again, a rather pathetic one that was barely faster than walking but eventually the legs started loosening up to some extend and at least you could call it a run again.

From there on I was making a noise with each breath, and if you hear tales from the tail end of the marathon field about an ultra runner who was moaning with each step, yup, that was me. But I was making progress again, gradually making my way through the field, mostly the marathon field but I also started to reel in quite a few ultra runners as well as the miles passed by, always with some mutual words of encouragement. We were all in this together.

This was tough, definitely, but in all honesty it was going better than expected. I definitely had thought I would be battling tooth and nail with my cramping calves by now, but they behaved pretty well. I did notice one stark contrast to years gone by, however. I am used to weaving my way through the massed ranks of the half marathon on this stretch, and today there was just a sparse sprinkling of marathon runners left, which made for a very different experience. The running itself, however, felt just as tough, despite the slower pace.

Having said that, progress was much better than I could have hoped for. I had found the level of discomfort I was able to tolerate and got into a groove, steadily making my way towards the finish. The mile signs kept appearing reasonably quickly and with each sign I knew I was getting a good bit closer to the end. It was just a matter of keeping going, never mind that moaning noise I kept producing with each breath.

Knowing the area pretty well I kept seeing glimpses of the Hell from way back, and before I really knew it I was already at the bridge in Maam, and shortly after that the climb started. One thing to add, by the time I got there they had already run out of sports drink both in Leenane as well as in Maam, which wasn't great. Basically, it means that the one group of runners who might need some sustenance the most, the ultra runners, aren't getting any. Yeah, not great. Thankfully I had some carbs in my own pockets (some chews, from some goody bag from a race gone past that I happened to find in the cupboard when packing my bag the day before, and I never bothered to check the expiry date) and they made a massive difference. Every time I got some sugar I got a little boost that kept me going for another couple of miles, and by the time I was running out of them I was close enough to finish to keep running on fumes alone.

The Hell of the West was definitely the one place where I had been absolutely convinced my calves would be in full cramping mode, but somehow they were still working away perfectly fine, despite the 35 miles I had already covered by now. I cannot explain why that was the case. I had been so convinced that I would be cramping today that I had started to wonder if that negative attitude would actually bring on a cramp (the head works funnily in running, especially in ultra running), but that was obviously not the case. And unlike the earlier hill I had a handle on this one, I kept running and passing a lot of runners (including the back end of the half marathon by now). Having said that, the climb seemed to go on forever, there was always another turn when you thought you were on the last one, and another steep bit when you thought it was flattening out, but after an age of sisyphean effort we actually made it to the top, well past the 37 mile marker, which I had mistakenly expected to mark the top.

In theory you can see the finish from the top, but not if you're as short-sighted as me and not wearing glasses because you expected it to rain for the full 6 hours. Never mind, I knew where it was and I still knew the road towards the finish pretty damn well - a mile of downhill that feels pretty quick and a flat mile to the finish that keeps going on forever. I was still in reasonable shape, passed a few more runners and actually posted one of my faster miles today, and then, a very long time after starting, crossed the finish line in 6:06.

The time was pretty much what I had expected, though for much of the race the effort I had put in had felt faster than the pace I was actually able to churn out. The last 13 miles had taken me 2:13, contrast that to the 1:41 the same stretch had taken me 5 years earlier, though I can say with all honesty that today's effort had been at least at the same level, it's just the result that was different.

However, I was actually pretty happy about the race. I am still amazed about the fact that I had no problem with cramps today, and I really cannot explain why not, I wish I could. I am just as happy about the effort I put in, it was an equally honest effort as I used to produce in my competitive days and I could not have asked for any more. That mile coming out of Leenane had cost me a potential sub-6 finish but I just had not been able to run that hill, and scraping home under 6 hours would still have been my slowest Connemara time ever, so not really much of a difference.

I missed being greeted by Ray at the finish line, that's something that won't happen again, which is a shame, though I cannot fault the present organisers for any of their efforts, it is still a first rate race and one of the best in the country. I have the sneaking suspicion that I might be back for more.

14 Apr

Connemara Ultra

39.3 miles, 6:06:41, 9:19 pace, HR 142

At Last - An Actual Training Week

Well, looks like this was the week when I actually started to feel good again, did some faster running without even noticing, and the miles added up a bit more than recently as well. In fact, I think if I had a bit more time I'd actually be able to whack myself into pretty decent shape. Shame I'm running out of time. In fact, this week may well have been a bit much with Connemara only a week away but I needed that kind of week, for the head more so than the legs. They say you need to trust the training when you start the taper, and I definitely had no reason to put any trust in my preparation until a few weeks ago, out as I was with injury.

I actually expected to feel tired at the start of the week after that hilly run on Sunday, but a slow easy run on Monday seems to have been all I needed. On Tuesday I headed out with some work colleagues at lunchtime, as we usually do when we manage to snag some time away from the desk, and I kept chatting to Norbert all the way - and for some reason we got a little bit faster with each lap. I swear I didn't push the pace, so does he, but somehow we just kept turning the screw, unnoticeable if it hadn't been for the watch, and that thing doesn't lie. However, I take the fact that I could run a couple of sub-8 minute miles without noticing as a very good sign.

Wednesday's run commute into the office was almost routine but it was Thursday that really surprised me. I had actually planned to run to and from work that day but my schedule just did not allow that and I only had a very limited window at lunchtime, which had me running a little bit faster than I would have otherwise, but I sure did not expect to average 7:38 pace. That's close to the pace I used to run on my easy days in my better years, and I didn't expect to see that figure ever again on a non-workout day. So I was happy anyway.

I did the to-and-from work thingy on Friday. It's getting a bit close to Connemara for that kind of thing, so I made doubly sure to take it easy. The legs actually felt pretty good, even in the evening - at least once the first mile or two was behind me. I thought the evening run was a good bit slower because I really took it exceptionally easy, but that turned out to be wrong. Funny how perception can be so off at times. However, the right calf muscle started to cramp up towards the end, which was a very unwelcome surprise. I had almost forgotten about my cramping issues. It doesn't bode well for Connemara, and the Hell of the West may be even more hellish than usual.

After an easy Saturday I did the Seahorse run to Greystones and back via the Cliff Walk, though it was a shorter version than last week because I left out the loop through Greystones. I started out feeling really good but my energy ran out halfway through and the run back home was a bit of a struggle, depleted and dehydrated - running without breakfast can have that effect at times.

And so I am just one week away from Connemara. It will probably my longest race for the year since I decided to give my body a bit of a break (a relative break, that is), and, as mentioned, I'd have loved to have some more time but I can't turn back time, and so I just have to suck it up. It's actually not the first time that I'm tackling a 39 mile ultra with way too little training after injury, I did the same in Achill 2015 and I survived that one as well, though the last loop was definitely a struggle. Ah well. It's not meant to be easy!

1 Apr

4.97 miles, 42:29, 8:33 pace, HR 135

2 Apr

4.93 miles, 39:48, 8:04 pace, HR 148

3 Apr

10.23 miles, 1:31:49, 8:59 pace, HR 140

4 Apr

4.55 miles, 34:46, 7:38 pace, HR 150

5 Apr

am: 10.22 miles, 1:27:25, 8:33 pace, HR 142

pm: 10.24 miles, 1:25:32, 8:21 pace, HR 143

6 Apr

6.31 miles, 56:12, 8:54 pace, HR 139

7 Apr

12.03 miles, 1:45:51, 8:48 pace, HR 150

Happy Mothers Day!

Every weekend seems to be some special date at the moment, this time we were combining Mothers Day and clocks-going-forward day, which definitely had the potential of messing things up, though with the advent of mobile phones who automatically adjust their clocks it's much less of an issue than it used to be. Showing my age here, I know.

The other thing that shows up my years is the slow pace I'm plodding at most of the times, but I've done more than enough moaning about that particular subject already, so I'll spare you this time. I actually managed a run under 8-minute pace this week, though it mostly just triggered a raised eyebrow or two when I looked at the watch afterwards and noticed it.

With my weeks being really busy at work (if I'm not actively working on customer-related things I'm always studying for yet anther exam), and me being increasingly reluctant to get up before 6 o'clock to run before work, I have two choices for a run during the week: either to/from work, or run at lunchtime. The run-to-work things works very well but it's over 10 miles and with me still coming back from a fairly long lay-off, I can't do that too often yet. And lunchtime runs are always somewhat hurried affairs, with no more than 40 minutes running time, and even that is pushing things. Last week I checked the watch after coming out of the shower and it was 12:57 - and I had a customer call at 13:00! That explains the faster pace and the elevated HR on some days.

The one time I changed things this week was Thursday when I knew in advance that I would not have time for a run, so I indeed got my body out of bed at early o'clock and plodded a few miles. It wasn't a great experience, to be honest - it just felt too early and all I could do was plod along at snails pace, though at least it was good to see the HR in the 130s again.

I know I could run in the evenings, which is what most people seem to do, but it just doesn't suit. I'm home from work late enough as it is, and I'm not particularly inclined to run for an hour or so when I'm starving for dinner already.

Connemara is just 2 weeks away, and normally I would be tapering now, but I haven't done any training that would require tapering from, so I'll just keep going for another week and take it easier next week, that's all. The "race" itself will be interesting. I think I'll be able to get to 20 miles still in one piece, but the second half will be interesting. By the time I reach the "Stop and Pray" church, stopping and praying might seem like as good an idea as any other.

25 Mar

4.8 miles, 40:06, 8:20 pace, HR 147

26 Mar

4.96 miles, 40:06, 8:03 pace, HR 152

27 Mar

10.2 miles, 1:31:46, 8:58 pace, HR 143

28 Mar

6.3 miles, 56:30, 8:57 pace, HR 137

29 Mar

4.84 miles, 38:14, 7:54 pace, HR 151

30 Mar

10 miles, 1:25:36, 8:34 pace, HR 145

31 Mar

14.5 miles, 2:06:26, 8:43 pace, HR 147

Fingers Crossed

The last few months have been very frustrating, running wise. After that silly accident in January I sure did not expect to be sidelined for so long (in fact, at first I didn't expect to be sidelined at all!), and it has been a very slow process.

However, finally it seems to be behind me. Last week I was still not quite right as I noticed after having a reaction to running the 10 miles to work but I repeated the same workout this week and suffered no further setbacks.

I ran 6 days this week, and the one break came on Friday, not because I felt I needed a break but because I just could not manage to get away at work, and then decided to take that as a hint and didn't try to squeeze in an evening run either.

I actually had another fall, after encountering one particularly stupid dog in the park. As we approached each other I veered towards my left, he veered towards my right, so all seemed fine, only for that damn mut to suddenly take a turn right into me and he got to my leg just at the split second of toe-off and I took yet another tumble. The lady was very apologetic, not that I could really blame her, apart from the fact that she had picked a particularly stupid dog for pet, but thankfully no damage was done.

Anyway, I turned the screw another notch on the weekend, first with an 8+ miles run on Saturday which went really well and I finished with plenty left in the tank, and had me wondering if all the cycling I had done over the last few months had kept my fitness at a surprisingly good level. However, the legs were definitely not sprightly on Sunday, so some damaged was done after all. I did a "long" run on Sunday, doing laps in Shanganagh Park so I would be able to gauge every 2k how I was feeling, giving me the chance to bail out early at regular intervals. I just ran slowly, at a very easy effort, and the legs seemed to be able to handle it. After about 5 laps I figured that another lap plus the run back home would take me right to the 2-hour mark, so that was that. I was reasonably tired afterwards, so how the hell I am going to fare in Connemara I don't even want to think about.

Oh, and I decided not to run a long ultra this year, for the first time since 2011. I hope my body will thank me for it by not falling apart any further. I had my eyes on the Donadea running festival in June, but eventually decided to skip it and just do ... actually, I don't know yet what I'll do instead. I'll play it by ear.

18 Mar

7.26 miles, 1:01:03, 8:24 pace, HR 153

19 Mar

4.39 miles, 36:32, 8:19 pace, HR 158

20 Mar

10.2 miles, 1:28:50, 8:42 pace, HR 148

21 Mar

4.5 miles, 36:43, 8:09 pace, HR 151

23 Mar

8.35 miles, 1:10:17, 8:25 pace, HR 139

24 Mar

13.73 miles, 2:03:43, 9:00 pace, HR 143

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh

Much of what I do in life, whether running or otherwise, is based on trial and error and some things just don't change. The hip had been feeling pretty good for at least a week, so when I felt it was time to try running the 10 miles to work again last Wednesday, it seemed a perfectly reasonable idea.

It fit well within my real-life schedule as I had to take public transport home that evening anyway, and running to work meant I didn't have to leave the bike in overnight. To be honest, I was far more apprehensive about how the legs would cope than the hip. The fact that it was a very windy day and I had to battle a fairly brutal headwind for the entire stretch - at times I wondered if I would ever get there - made it only tougher, so I was actually pleasantly surprised by the fact that I still had plenty of energy left when I got there. Alas, the hip didn't like it at all. In fact, I had felt it even before the run but wondered if that was purely psychological, caused by being a bit anxious about the run. But no, for the rest of the day, actually the rest of the week, I felt it again, and that was a real setback.

It's difficult to describe what it actually feels like. It doesn't hurt as such. It's not even a real discomfort. It just feels - weird. A very dull ache, not really how I would expect an injury to feel like. When I start running my hip feels a bit stiff, though not exactly what actual stiffness feels like ... I told you it's hard to describe.

So I had to take a step back again. I didn't run on Thursday, and only for a few miles on Friday. On Saturday morning I had to head down towards town where Niamh had left the car on her night out, and retrieve it before she got a parking ticket. I took the scenic route for about 4.5 miles, and by some miracle when I was done the hip suddenly felt perfectly fine again. Something very similar had happened a week or two earlier, I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but as far as I can tell a short run is better than complete rest, and a longer run is bad. I just have to figure out where the limit between the short and the long run lies - and of course that is a moving target.

Apart from all that, my hip wasn't actually the worst thing happening to my body this week. I don't know what caused it but I had a pretty bad allergic reaction to something. I had reactions all over my skin, including some brutal looking bright red stripes on my stomach, and my entire body was incredibly itchy, it was really rough for a couple of days. An antihistamine tablet eventually got me over the worst and eventually the big angry stripes started to fade - though I can still see them. It might have been the washing powder (for some inexplicable reason Niamh bought a different one to the usual one) but that's just a guess. I had a very similar episode a few years ago when staying on Valentia Island, and I don't know what the cause was back then either.

But hey, let's move on. Slowly, as is my wont these days.

12 Mar

4.5 miles, 38:34, 8:33 pace, HR 150

13 Mar

10.2 miles, 1:33:53, 9:12 pace, HR 149

15 Mar

4+ miles, 36:14, 8:54 pace, HR 147

16 Mar

4.45 miles, 39:20, 8:50 pace, HR 142

17 Mar

6.3 miles, 54:55, 8:43 pace, HR 146

The Three Stages Of A Runner

You start out as a newbie, eager to learn and looking admiringly and completely in awe at those incredible feats of human endurance that some of the other runners can do. Sub-3 marathon runners are demi-Gods, to be admired from afar but their running is so far removed from what you can do, it's barely the same sport.

Eventually you learn a few things, usually from your own mistakes but if you're lucky from others' as well, and if you keep training consistently for a few years you move into the competitive stage. This is a great place where you are running better than you ever dared to dream. You might run a sub-3 marathon, and some lucky gits run even faster, and you might bring home a few prizes, and if you're old enough then the age group trophies will start to stack up. This is all great, but at the same time you always feel some pressure whenever you're running a race, always need to push on, and the nature of running means that from time to time you will fail. Initially you're almost guaranteed a PB whenever you pin a number onto your chest, but eventual you will have to start working really hard for the occasional good race.

And then, finally, you move into the third phase. Your body isn't capable of producing new PBs any more, you have to strain to stay within a minute per mile slower than you used to run on your easy days and the prizes are being taken home by new faces, often runners you saw starting out years ago, when they couldn't even dare to keep up with you and thought of yourself as one of those demi-Gods mentioned earlier. Now it's time to forget about time, just enjoy the running and keep going.

Not everyone goes through all stages. Some aren't interested in training hard enough to start competing for prizes. And that's fine. Others stop running when they're no longer competitive, which is their own choice but one I hate to see, to be honest.

As I'm moving into phase three myself I can see that my body moved here a couple of years before my spirit. It's not an easy transition. I can't help but compare my times with the ones I used to produce, and the fact that my races are now slower than my training runs used to be is a bit hard to take at times. I still have a notion of having to achieve a certain time, and when I think of the Connemara Ultra and can't see myself running under 6 hours when I once ran 4:49, that can be a bitter pill to swallow at time.

It's hard to let go!

Why do I keep going? Because I love running just as much as I used to! I was never motivated by the idea of winning prizes or the occasional race, though those were very nice bonuses. But it's not what I craved. Just give me a pair of shoes and a road, and I'm happy out.

With that in mind it's a very good thing that the hip is definitely starting to cooperate. I ran every second day this week and both days of the weekend. I can still feel the hip but it's no longer bothering me. I did 2 runs on my treadmill and I can see from my reflection that I'm moving just fine, not lopsided, and I'm no longer subconsciously trying to protect my hip. The main problem now is no longer the injury but the loss of fitness over the last 8-or-so weeks. That will take a while.

5 Mar

4.02 miles, 36:08, 8:59 pace, HR 145

7 Mar

3(-ish) miles, 30:19, 10:09 pace, HR 135, treadmill

9 Mar

4.04 miles, 35:14, 8:43 pace, HR 149

10 Mar

6.33 miles, 1:00:00, 9:28 pace, treadmill

Baby Steps

After tentatively putting my toe back into the water, figuratively speaking, this week has been all about finding my feet again, trying to get into something of a working rhythm.

Damage done to the right side of the soles when
I was hobbling along at the start of the injury. I had to chuck them out.

It started very gently with a couple of very short runs over the weekend, the shortest block in the neighbourhood, not even 2 miles. I most likely would have kept that going but on Tuesday I went for a lunchtime run with some work colleagues and I knew it would be a bit longer. It started out very slowly, which suited me perfectly fine, but somehow the pace kept decreasing and before I knew it we ran the last bit at sub-8 pace, which I didn't think I'd be able to do. However, what really pleased me was the fact that there was no reaction from the hip, so all was good.

Since then I have been slightly increasing the mileage, but with a couple of off days, usually when it would have been awkward to fit in a run into a very busy work schedule, bit a good thing anyway in my present state.

The biggest limiting factor right now is actually not the hip but the loss of fitness over the last few weeks. I did a fair amount of cycling (the commute adds up to almost 100 miles a week if I cycle every day) but that's simply not the same and I require some much more specific training to keep the legs going.

Of course it all was dead slow at the start, barely faster than 10-minute miles, but that has improved considerably already. Saturday was the run where I really noticed the difference. Up to then I had felt awkward and somewhat uncoordinated but the the muscle memory seems to have kicked in again and it felt much more natural.

I still need to be careful, I can feel the hip again now (Sunday). It doesn't hurt, and it's quite different to how it felt a few weeks ago, but it's a warning sign nevertheless.

When I go injured initially, I could not really stand on my right leg, I was completely unstable. I did notice that when trying to put on my socks and trousers while standing up. After a while things improved a bit and I managed as long as I had something to lean against in case of emergency. A few weeks later still I was fine balancing, as long as I managed to steady myself just before shifting the weight onto my right leg. By now that has cleared up, my balance is back to normal and my right leg can take the weight and be completely stable, no m
atter what. That's how I can tell that the injury is just about to clear up.

The last time I had a very similar injury, in 2015, it followed a very similar pattern. And weirdly enough, my first "race" back was a 39 mile ultra, which wasn't the most fun I've ever had in a race, especially over the last third, but I got it done and then I knew I would be fine. This time, my first scheduled race is again a 39 mile ultra, and while I'm a bit apprehensive about it, and I know full well that it's going to be hard work and not all fun and games, I'm nevertheless looking forward to it.

24 Feb

1.75 miles, 16:18, 9:18 pace, HR 140

26 Feb

3.95 miles, 34:53, 8:49 pace, HR 153

28 Feb

4.07 miles, 38:26, 9:26 pace, HR 144

1 Mar

4.05 miles, 37:15, 9:11 pace, HR 143

2 Mar

5.16 miles, 43:41, 8:27 pace, HR 148

3 Mar

3.6 miles, 31:06, 8:36 pace, HR 146

   treadmill

We Must First Learn To Crawl

This has been the longest gap in this blog since its inception, by quite some margin. If you're still here to read this, congratulations!

The reason why I didn't post anything is the fact that this is a running blog and I had not been running. I did not want to post a constant stream of updates in the shape of:

"Not running"

"Still not running"

"No running yet"

"No running still"

And son on. Now, finally, I do have a bit of a better update:

"Running a tiny little bit!"

Admittedly, it's not the most amazing of news, but after more than 3 weeks of no running it was never going to anything but a small amount of miles, very slowly, and not feeling particularly great.

My hip started to feel much better about a week ago and I was just about to hit the road for a first test run last Saturday when I caught some virus that had me confined to bed for the weekend, aching all over the body and feeling very sorry for myself. I was mostly recovered by Monday (great! no need to miss work!) but still not back to my most energetic self, so I waited until Thursday before finally heading out, coinciding with a short break at some swanky hotel.

I ran for about 3 miles, a bit longer than planned but I got lost on the way home and had to find my way around the twisty little passages, all alike. The biggest disappointment was not the slow pace but the fact that as soon as I took my first running step I immediately felt my hip again, which had been completely fine for the last 10-ish days. Still, it was a lot better than before my break, I was not hobbling, and after a mile or 2 I was ok, though somehow every step felt awkward and uncoordinated, due to the long break.

I was fine for the rest of the day but to my great dismay I felt the hip again on Friday morning, so I took yet another off day, and ran again on Saturday, but only for about half the distance (it was enough to have me knackered nevertheless).

This is undoubtedly going to be a slow process, but I have no race goals whatsoever, and I'll take it just as it comes.

The next update won't be so long in coming, promise!

21 Feb

3.2 miles, 30:18, 9:29 pace, HR 141

23 Feb

1.73 miles, 17:13, 9:57 pace, Hr 140

Out Of Commission

I was running back home from work on Monday evening, just like I do basically every Monday evening, and just as I passed Shanganagh Park my left foot got caught in some uneven pavement and I very nearly went flying again, at EXACTLY the same spot where I had fallen exactly two weeks earlier, and probably tripped up by the same thing again, whatever it was.

It was at that point that I realised that I had my fall on Monday and the hip had started hurting on Wednesday, 2 (well, 1.5) days later. Coincidence? Possibly, but very unlikely. When I had that fall I thought all it cost me was a fair amount of skin on my knees (which is still missing) but I guess there was some more serious reaction further up the kinetic chain.

Anyway, I made my way back home and went on with the rest of the evening. In fact, my hip had felt much better that day, so much so that I thought I had left most of that episode behind me.

Alas, when I woke up on Tuesday morning I knew immediately that something was off, but stubborn as I am still went ahead with getting ready to run into work. But when I started "running" it became clear very quickly that it was a non-starter. I got as far as the end of the driveway before conceding defeat, walking back home, and accepting that I had to stop running until this was genuinely better.

And with that, I'm officially on the injured list.

Not running didn't provide any immediate improvement, that is for sure. In fact, Thursday was the first day since the whole thing started that I actually felt in pain, up to then it was merely stiff and maybe a bit uncomfortable when I made the wrong movement. Friday was much better again, so much so that I thought maybe I'll be able to start running again soon, but I definitely felt awkward again on Saturday, so that's a no.

How long this will take isn't quite clear. I am away most of next week for work, and if I'm still laid low by then I'll go and see a physio. Doneadea is less than a week from now, and it's not going to happen for me, which is a real shame, it's one of the very best races in Ireland and I hate to miss it.

28 Jan

10.25 miles, 1:30:06, 8:47 pace, HR 138

Seven Squared

Not a great week, running-wise, I'm afraid. Whatever the problem was I had with my adductor, apparently, moved around slightly and now shows up as a very stiff hip on the right side. It's not hurting, not at all, but I can't stride out properly and whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be in a hurry to go away.

Every run starts with me hobbling one-sided down the road, which I'm sure isn't a great sight. It takes absolutely ages for the hip to loosen up, 5 miles usually, and then I can finally run properly. Like I said, there is no pain, but something is clearly not right. The biggest worry from my point of view is that it doesn't seem to be getting better - it feels exactly the same as it did at the beginning of the week.

So, true to my usual MO, I did my best to ignore the damn hip and kept on running. Since almost all of my running these days is either running from or to work, it doesn't leave much option as far as distance or route choice is concerned. They are all a bit hilly, and they are all 10 miles long. Maybe a short run would be better but then I'd have to get up almost an hour earlier to run before my commute, and that really doesn't appeal to me, so for the time being I'll hobble along, hoping for the thing to work itself out eventually.

Also, because I can't seem to generate a lot of power with my jammy hip I've slowed right down again. This, looked at in isolation, is not a bad thing, actually. I do have a tendency of running my easy runs just a tad faster than I probably should, so an enforced slowdown might actually be good for me.

Oh, and I'm yet another year older. Still not enough for a new age group, though.

21 Jan

10.25 miles, 1:24:38, 8:15 pace, HR 138

22 Jan

10.2 miles, 1:30:56, 8:54 pace, HR 139

2.12 miles, 17:37, 8:18 pace, HR 128

23 Jan

10.2 miles, 1:29:16, 8:45 pace, HR 139

24 Jan

10.25 miles, 1:26:56, 8:28 pace, HR 138

25 Jan

10.25 miles, 1:33:47, 9:08 pace, HR 138

26 Jan

7.22 miles, 59:34, 8:14 pace, HR 141

27 Jan

11 miles, 1:37:00, 8:49 pace, HR 137

It's Hip To Be Square

The week started off pretty well. The tired legs from Sunday seemed to have completely recovered overnight and I felt really good on Monday - though the extra long rest may have had something to do with it as I only ran in the evening, home from work. That left me with the usual dead legs on Tuesday morning, because a morning run straight after an evening run the day before is always tough.

However, worse was to come. On Wednesday I felt a pain in my left side. I wasn't quite sure where exactly it came from, somewhere around the groin area. It left me hobbling a bit first thing in the morning and also for the first mile or two into my run, though once I was warmed up and the muscles had loosened up I felt a lot better and continued my commute run into work (the only other option, namely taking the bus for the rest of the journey into work in my sweaty workout gear really did not appeal, and the other bus passengers would have liked it even less, I'm sure).

That issue pretty much defined the rest of the week. I know the general wisdom is to take a rest when you've got a pain but after almost 15 years of experience I very firmly believe that general wisdom is wrong and you're actually better off to keep running, as long as the pain doesn't get any worse, obviously. That worked for all my niggles over the years, with one exception in 2015 when I eventually required rest and a physio.

For the rest of the week all my runs followed the same pattern, a very slow first mile or two and then a "normal" run for the rest of it. Having said that, apart from the pain in my hip I am actually feeling good, as silly as that may sound. It even got so far that on Friday morning the legs felt perfectly fine, even though I had run the night before, which is pretty much a first. having said that, the HR/pace numbers don't entirely support that subjective feeling, the HR was rather high for such a slow run.

I tried to find less-hilly-than-usual routes over the weekend in an attempt to protect my problem area (which I know think is the adductor muscle), which in the end meant running a few loops, never my favourite kind of run. I don't mind loops at all during a race because then I have enough other things on my mind, but in training I find it absolutely mind-numbing).

Since I didn't want to overdo it, hobbling as I was, I decided to keep Sunday's long run reasonably short and first headed towards the promenade for a few flat miles and then towards Shanganagh Park for a few more. After 10-or-so miles I had a little dip in my energy levels but then I suddenly started to feel really good, a kind of runners' high that I don't usually get, and did an extra loop when originally I was supposed to head for home, and then another one, and then a third one, before reluctantly deciding that I had probably chanced my luck enough already and headed for home. It still wasn't a particularly long run, mind, just longer than I had anticipated.

The niggle is definitely getting better, even if I can't really tell the difference when running. How I know? Well, usually when I get dressed I balance on one leg to put on my socks, and on and Thursday and Friday I instinctively felt too unstable to even try that and had to sit down. By Saturday I could do that again without an issue, that's how I know. By the way, if you have to sit down to get dressed you might want to work on your balance and/or core strength (take that as a free bonus tip from me).

14 Jan

10.26 miles, 1:22:25, 8:01 pace, HR 142

15 Jan

10.2 miles, 1:28:00, 8:37 pace, HR 142

16 Jan

10.21 miles, 1:25:14, 8:20 pace, HR 144

17 Jan

10.26 miles, 1:21:57, 7:59 pace, HR 142

18 Jan

10.21 miles, 1:28:24, 8:39 pace, HR 142

19 Jan

10.4 miles, 1:25:34, 8:13 pace, HR 139

20 Jan

17.36 miles, 2:22:45, 8:13 pace, HR 142

Mixed Signals

The training has been ramping up recently and I’m seeing finally seeing some results, though it’s not all rosy skies.

It’s not that I had been too lazy to train properly in recent months, it was always a question of my recovery abilities being significantly compromised ever since the 24 hours race in June, and it basically took half a year to get over most of that hump.

So, the training had been fairly low-key, at least by my usual standards, and as a result the numbers I kept churning out were rather unimpressive and I wasn’t very happy about it.

In retrospect it’s fairly clear that I didn’t help myself by agreeing to run a number of 5k races with work colleagues when running at race effort was the last thing I should have done, and it definitely had a bad impact on me. I THINK that I’ve learned that lesson but that doesn’t mean I’m over doing stupid things – more of that later.

Anyway, last week I finally saw some numbers that looked much better and it looks like I’m finally making the kind of progress I have been waiting for for months. The heart rate is lower for the same effort. The pace is faster for the same effort. In fact, I finally posted an easy run at sub-8 minutes pace, which was kind of a watershed moment because that hasn’t happened for a very long time.

However, not everything is great. I started an evaluation workout on Friday, at lunchtime. I didn’t have much time so warm up was only just over a mile, and then I got into the effort. The evaluation has always been a rather moderate workout; you certainly feel the effort but it’s never too hard and I never had any problems finishing it. This time, however, after 2.5 miles, I pulled the plug. I felt like toast and running further would have meant my form was completely falling apart and the pace/effort ratio was tanking, so pulling the plug was definitely the right call.

That’s a bit worrying, because I really should not have a problem finishing an evaluation. It clearly shows that my recovery is still not back to normal and I have to be really, really careful. That lesson was reinforced on Sunday. I really thought I was being sensible and cut the long run back from last week’s 20 miles to maybe 16 or 18, but it was over a hilly section over to Greystones and back via the Cliff Walk trail, but by the time I started on the Cliff Walk I was already pretty much toast and just tried to survive the homewards journey. I opted for the short way home but the last few miles particularly were really tough, uphill and against a fairly strong headwind and I was struggling to keep going.

I was utterly baffled when I uploaded said run into Strava and saw an entire string of new segment PRs. I’ve only run that course about 4 or 5 times, and never when even remotely on form, so my segment times are very soft but still, I was really tired and trying to take it easy and just survive, so apart from Strava messing up the data I’m not sure how to explain that.

As for the stupid stuff mentioned earlier? Months ago I signed up for the annual pilgrimage to Donadea for the 50k in February . I'm still planning to run that, though I have promised myself to take it really easy, and run at least 20 15 minutes slower than my previous slowest time, in order to keep the recovery requirements to a minimum. It will require a serious amount of willpower to keep the ego in check and I have a tendency of losing it whenever I pin a number onto my chest, but for once I really need to be sensible (as sensible as you can be while running a 50k, that is).

7 Jan

10.25 miles, 1:22:37, 8:03 pace, HR 139

8 Jan

10.18 miles, 1:27:25, 8:35 pace, HR 139

9 Jan

10.26 miles, 1:25:50, 8:21 pace, HR 139

10 Jan

10.26 miles, 1:25:14, 8:18 pace, HR 141

11 Jan

4.96 miles, 36:53, 7:26 pace, HR 151

   2.5 miles @ 6:49, HR 161

12 Jan

7.24 miles, 57:43, 7:58 pace, HR 143

13 Jan

14.54 miles, 2:03:26, 8:29 pace, HR 148

Happy New Year

Can you believe it, the first week of 2019 is already behind us. At that  rate it will be 2020 if you blink - then again, that's probably more a reflection of my own increasingly advanced age, time didn't pass as quickly when I was younger.

Anyway, I had a decent enough week. Tuesday was the first day for many months when the pace was close to 8-minute miles on an easy run, which was nice to see, even if it still wasn't quite there yet - it probably would have been on a flatter course.

Then the watch crapped out on me on Wednesday when it refused to turn the GPS on, claiming "only" 23% of battery power, which would easily have been enough for the run, but it just would not cooperate. Maybe it's time for a new one - the charging cable is rather worn by now, after over 4 years of constant use, and I'd definitely prefer one that connects wirelessly. I'll think about it some more, unless I see a really good deal in the sales. One of my show-stopper requirements is a battery time of close to 24 hours, which immediately rules out the vast majority of watches, though.

Anyway, I also had one bad run, which wasn't a complete surprise as I tend to feel tired if I run in the morning following an evening run. 12 hours is just not enough for the legs to recover fully at the present rate, and that's what happens when I run home from work one evening and back into work the next morning.

My long run on Sunday went pretty well for most of it, until the long final climb home started, which is the last 2 miles. Until then the legs had worked very well over the hilly course via Kilternan, but then I seemed to hit a limit and the last 2 miles were a bit of a slog. Never mind, all in all still a very good week, and I can finally see some progress being made.

31 Dec

6.72 miles, 56:12, 8:21 pace, HR 143

1 Jan

10 miles, 1:20:59, 8:04 pace, HR 145

2 Jan

10.2 miles, 1:24:00, 8:14 pace, no watch

3 Jan

10.25 miles, 1:24:33, 8:14 pace, HR 141

4 Jan

10.25 miles, 1:29:54, 8:46 pace, HR 143

5 Jan

6.72 miles, 55:22, 8:14 pace, HR 142

6 Jan

20 miles, 2:47:59, 8:23 pace, HR 141

A GOAL

Well, that was slow!

I had never run a race shorter than 5K, and while I'm perfectly aware that most people treat the GOAL miles as a walk or maybe an easy jog with the family, I reckoned there would be a few faster guys there as well, keen to get a good workout.

Obviously, opening the kids' presents took precedence. Wait a second, what did they do to get so much? Did the naughty list get lost or something? Anyway, once they had gone through their stacks I jogged the 3 miles to Shanganagh Park, where Dom had organised the event. It might have been better for a fast mile to drive there, but a flat tyre put a stop to that idea, and I probably would have jogged anyway.

They had 3 start times, 9:30/40/50, and while I got there a couple of minutes before the first start I decided to give that a miss and get a bit of a rest before my mile, so the 9:40 one it was. One guy took off at the start and kept inching away, one girl went off fast as well but couldn't keep the pace, so I was in second place for a while until 2 guys passed me about two thirds in, when my oxygen depth started to tell, one of them moving so smoothly that it looked like he was out for an easy morning jog. By that time we just started to catch up with the back end of the first start, and I belatedly realised that I had chosen the worst option because the rest of the mile was spent weaving through the crowds, which made a strong finish impossible, even if I'd had the legs and lungs to do so.

Still, I was in shock when I saw my time, barely under 6 minutes. I had expected maybe 5:30 or so but was worlds away from that, and the crowds had nothing to do with it. I could have sworn I had run as fast as I could, and my cadence of 208 seems to indicate that I definitely wasn't jogging, as does the way I was totally out of breath afterwards, so it comes back to tired old legs, I suppose.

The next day I intended to go out for an easy recovery run but my right glutes felt painfully tight and absolutely not right at all, so when it still had not loosened up after a mile I binned the run and went back home. For once it was the right call, because the next day it was virtually gone.

I don't want to spend much time recapping 2018 as a running year. It was the year when I finally had to admit that my international running career is over, something I might have done in 2017 already but hey. I'm okay with that, as I have stated in an earlier post, I have a lot to look back on with pride and satisfaction, and absolutely no regrets.

I'm not sure what's in store for 2019. My training isn't going great; I managed to rebuild my endurance to the extend that I can jog 20 miles without issue but my easy pace has suddenly slowed by 30-ish seconds a mile and the VDOT numbers in training are barely improving, so something isn't quite right. However, I still enjoy a 10 mile jog as much as I ever did, and that's the most important thing. I never set out to be great runner, 14 years ago I would have been happy just to be able to finish a marathon, and I still got that.

I hope you had a good Christmas, and Happy New Year!

25 Dec

6.63 miles, 56:46, 8:33 pace, HR 140

1 mile, 5:58, HR 166, GOAL mile

26 Dec

1.75 miles, 16:02, 9:10 pace, HR 133

27 Dec

10 miles, 1:23:36, 8:21 pace, HR 144

28 Dec

12 miles, 1:44:58, 8:43 pace, HR 143

29 Dec

10 miles, 1:22:23, 8:12 pace, HR 143

30 Dec

15 miles, 2:02:13, 8:12 pace, HR 145

Happy Solstice

Things are finally starting to show proper signs of improvement but there's still a long way to go. Some days are better than others, but that's already a massive improvement from most days being sh*tty. I am able to run a decent amount of mileage again without feeling banged up, but anything faster than easy pace and I need at least 2 days of recovery, sometimes more.

Most of my runs are easy commutes ones. I managed to run either in or out of work once each day, and then either cycle or take the bus when going the other way. I noticed that I run a lot faster in the evenings, though that comes with a higher HR, so it's not as if I suddenly turn into a more efficient runner in the evenings.

On Saturday I headed towards Shanganagh Park to run about 4 miles at evaluation effort (that's about 160 HR). I was well on my way towards it when I suddenly, and very belatedly, remembered that there would be a parkrun and I would be right in it. I couldn't think of a decent alternative venue (I reckoned the promenade would already be busy) so I kept going but once in the park stayed on the field closest to the road, and where I shared the road with the parkrun I ran right at the outside and stepped into the grass when there was a group approaching. I wouldn't have done that if it were a "proper" race, but a parkrun has to share the path with walkers, prams, dogs and all other folk anyway, so I reckoned one more park user won't make much of a difference.

While I was there a girl doing the parkrun collapsed and was tended to by a few people. One person seemed to take charge and really seemed to know what to do, and after a while they had her sitting up, so I think she will be ok. It took 15-20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, which is very long considering the hospital is maybe 2 miles down the road, but that also meant most of the parkrun was finished by the time they arrived, which had its advantages.

It was a sobering experience, especially so close to Christmas, and my own running doesn't feel particularly important in comparison. Nevertheless, I was reasonably pleased that I could hold HR 160 without too much issue and the pace seemed to hold very steady (7:00, 7:01, 7:05, 6:58) but with stopping a couple of times due to the mentioned incident that's maybe not all that valid.

Fairycastle. Photo by Anto Lee

You should always mix things up a bit, especially when not training for a particular race and therefore without a specific training plan, so when Anto told me a group of them were headed into the local hills on Sunday I joined them, despite the rather awful weather. Not knowing where exactly we were headed I was distinctly underdressed, which worked ok at first but became a bit chilly on top of 2 Rock mountain, with the wind and rain and general wet conditions, so I was thankful for Anto to lend me a second layer, after which I was perfectly snug. He couldn't do much about my other problem, namely being half blind without my glasses (and they would have been utterly useless in the wind and rain) so all I could do was to take it slowly and carefully, especially on the downhill, and try not to trip over any of the thousands of stones. Still, it came as a surprise that it was Ollie who came home with bloodied knees and not me. All in all a lovely outing with a great group.

17 Dec

9.31 miles, 1:16:32, 8:13 pace, HR 147

18 Dec

10.23 miles, 1:28:46, 8:40 pace, HR 145

19 Dec

10.29 miles, 1:22:55, 8:03 pace, HR 147

20 Dec

10.22 miles, 1:31:02, 8:54 pace, HR 143

21 Dec

10.23 miles, 1:28:06, 8:36 pace, HR 142

22 Dec

10.18 miles, 1:21:31, 8:00 pace, HR 145

   incl 4 miles at evaluation effort (~160 HR, ~7-minute pace)

23 Dec

~6 miles, 1:22:00, 13:39 pace, HR 123

24 Dec

6.7 miles, 55:46, 8:19 pace, HR 140

Weekend Weather

It was fairly miserable outside on Saturday. I had known that in advance but it just looked worse than anticipated. I sat there on the sofa, wasting time on the computer, trying to gather enough resolve to head out, but eventually I realised that I have grown old and soft and the treadmill right there beside me was beckoning instead.

Running on a treadmill is similar to banging yourself over the head with a hammer, except a lot less fun, I imagine. After about 2 minutes I was already staring at the clock, willing it to go forward. I managed to survive with the help of a podcast, but once that was over so was my run.

When I stepped off the treadmill I felt somewhat disorientated and almost dizzy, which was weird. I wouldn't think that running on a treadmill would affect your balance like that but thankfully I managed to get into the shower without keeling over. Because it had been such a short run I had vague ideas of doing a second one later in the day but then I felt really tired, not helped by the Christmas shopping, so I left it at that.

Sunday was much better. The storm had abated and it looked positively inviting. I suppose the easy Saturday helped to have the legs in a fresher state than usual, and I headed out for a long run. I had done a 19 miler before Dublin from Bray via Kilternan and gotten the idea of adding a loop around Leopardstown racecourse, which is exactly what I did today. Spookily it worked out as exactly 20 miles on the dot right at our gate, so I guess I now have a proper long run loop. It's rather hilly, which is exactly what a long run route should be, and of course there are still plenty of options to tweak it a bit if I ever feel the need to add some extra distance.

When the hamstrings started to feel tired after about 12 miles I expected a bit of a slog on the way home but in actual fact they held up really well and I was still in pretty good shape when I got back home, pleasantly tired as they would say. That's good, it looks like my endurance is starting to come back, even if the pace is still maybe 30 seconds per mile slower than what my mind still thinks it should be at.

12 Dec

10.23 miles, 1:27:16, 8:31 pace, HR 146

13 Dec

10.23 miles, 1:26:22, 8:26 pace, HR 144

14 Dec

7.22 miles, 1:02:00, 8:35 pace, HR 135

15 Dec

5.5 miles, 50:00, 9:05 pace, HR 131

   treadmill

16 Dec

20 miles, 2:51:40, 8:34 pace, HR 141

Doubly Forgetful

I had completely forgotten about it, but when I had met Norbert last Saturday at the parkrun we had agreed to meet up on Thursday for a lunch run. Since it had completely slipped my mind, the reminder email on Thursday morning came as a bit of a surprise - I had already done a run that morning and didn't feel too fresh.

Still, not someone to go back on his word despite some heavy legs, I agreed to go out on the hilly loop he suggested. In actual fact, the legs felt surprisingly fine, which was nice, and the easy pace seemed to suit us both.

That had been the first double in a long time, and of course completely accidental. With that, and a reasonably long run on Sunday, my weekly mileage for the week went up to 75. I'm not chasing a mile goal, but I have increased my mileage a bit recently, and it really seems to suit me. The legs are feeling better, the pace is quickening a bit, and the VDOT numbers are finally pointing upwards after months in the doldrums. There is still a lot of room for improvement but it is great to see things finally going in the right directions. I don't know what exactly happened in Irding that made me a) have a really lousy race and b) knock me out for 6 months, but I'm confident that it is finally behind me.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm training for. There is the Donadea 50k in February but that won't be a goal race. I was thinking about doing Connemara again, after a few years of absence, but it just doesn't feel the same any more since my friend Ray is no longer associated with the race. I could try and target a late spring marathon, which has a certain draw because I do wonder what time I could still achieve in a marathon with some focused training. And of course there are a couple of longer ultra options as well. Decisions, decisions.

Oh, and on Monday morning I yet again forgot to press the "start" button the watch. Dementia must really be settling in now. 7 miles, lost in time and space, because obviously if it's not on Strava it didn't happen, or so I'm told.

5 Dec

10.22 miles, 1:29:36, 8:46 pace, HR 142

6 Dec

am: 6.33 miles, 56:55, 8:59 pace, HR 134

pm: 6.56 miles, 55:34, 8:19 pace

7 Dec

10.25 miles, 1:28:22, 8:37 pace, HR 140

8 Dec

7.27 miles, 59:56, 8:14 pace, HR 144

9 Dec

17.53 miles, 2:29:49, 8:32 pace, HR 145

10 Dec

7.22 miles, ~1:02:00

11 Dec

10.2 miles, 1:22:37, 8:05 pace, HR 149

Parkrun Blues

I ran down to Shanganagh park again on Saturday to get the legs moving once more. I left a bit late and ran the 3.5 miles towards the park a bit quicker than what would have been ideal to classify as a warm-up, but if the parkrun had started on time I still would have missed it.As it was I had 3 minutes of a breather before we set off, which was enough time to say hello to Norbert and his better half, and then line up a bit nearer to the front.

I think I got the first k pretty much spot on because after the first lap the timer guy said "four" just as I passed him. However, things were not to last. Maybe it was because I had worn myself out on teh way to the parkrun. maybe the leftover noodles for breakfast were not the ideal pre-race breakfast. Maybe I was a bit tired after the 10 miles the day before, but none of those things explain why I completely, totally and utterly fell apart after the first mile. All the guys I had passed a minute ago went streaming past me over the next few miles and apparently I was barely doing 7-minuet miles. I sued to run marathons a good bit faster than that, not very long ago! It must have been in my head because I did manage to do 5:30 pace at the end when I saw the finish line, but whatever it was, I wasn't happy with the result (20:51).

You know what? I haven't recovered from DCM, that's what. So, after a bit of soul searching, I decided to bin the parkrun idea and get back to base training, which is what I should have done 5 weeks ago. I still think my initial assertion that I needed to get some speed into the legs because I had been running exclusively slowly for much too long still holds true, but the timing was completely wrong.

Let's re-build the legs and then see if I can some zip into them, preferably without tiring myself out for a change.

Ah well. At some stage I'll get the hang of this running stuff, hopefully before I retire.

27 Nov

4.57 miles, 38:22, 8:23 pace, HR 137

28 Nov

10.21 miles, 1:27:03, 8:31 pace, HR 147

29 Nov

6.33 miles, 55:13, 8:43 pace, HR 141

30 Nov

10.18 miles, 1:25:38, 8:24 pace, HR 146

1 Dec

7.22 miles, 1:01:41, 8:32 pace, HR 142

5k, 20:51, 6:42 pace, HR 162, Shanganagh parkrun

2 Dec

12.48 miles, 1:49:03, 8:44 pace, HR 141

   very hilly

3 Dec

7.23 miles, 1:02:36, 8:39 pace, HR 135

4 Dec

10.25 miles, 1:28:13, 8:36 pace, HR 140