Right on Time

6.7km loop in 27:45 (minus at least 15 secs for pedestrian crossings, etc, etc, etc,) - so I'm definitely there in terms of speed even though I felt far from it in sections I tell you.

Someday very soon I'll hit sub 27 for this route.

Happy enough, felt decent throughout except for the last 10 or so minutes where I tightened up as usual.

splits were good 2:56, 7:05, 12:02 at joyces lights, 13:2o at turn, then 19:02 at small roundabout, & 25:01 coming down incline towards pharmacy.

was stretching this morning & for whatever reason I was twisting my back & I got a jolt of discomfort up my back & then my chest tightened & it's been that way all day so much so that taking a full breath of air actually hurts - it's happened before it's just really strange...

In the last 10 mins basically from joyces onwards I just couldn't seem to inject any pace into it at all. coming down the final bends too along lower salthill I couldn't even break out any sort of a kick at all - I was totally flat & just jogged in for my borderline pb for the route...

I am getting stronger all the time but I need more training to really see further improvements that's for sure... my pace on these shorter runs is the same as last summer (May) so no improvements but am keeping my fitness up - nothing wrong with that necessarily.

I'm currently hobbling along at 6:40 pace which is Ok but 6:26 for sub 20 5km (which I know I can do currently, if I had to - at a race or whatever) is always the target really. I'm fit enough to do that but I need to improve & I will in 2017.

I was going to do a 10km last night but lost motivation to go out - despite me walking to terryland as usual in preparation for the run etc. I nearly lost motivation to go out tonight too, but thatnkfully I decided to head out after going for a walk cemented my decision in this regard.

This is a sure sign I need to run a few races/with people to keep the desire there - otherwise I'll slip back into using running for fitness only purposes - a dangerous prospect. It'll never happen though as, thankfully, I'm too competitive (with myself) & I couldn't live with myself for being half arsed about the sport. It'd be gnawing at me to put things right. so thankfully I'll never regress like I fear - I'd take a week off (like I've done before) & then seriously regretted it as the first mile was hell. Thankfully I've learnt the lesson to stay fit by running at least twice a week, & that's the bare minimum.

Looking forward to Tuam 8km  (taking a half day off work for this). Can't do the 5km run on sunday due to me working as usual.

Stargazing

Felt lazy on xmas day so didn't run, decided to do it on boxing day instead.

I went about 6.3 miles, setting off almost a quarter of a mile from Leamenah castle in kilfinora  in about 46:40. It was pitch black, no moon & no headlamp! I went for a walk with family in the area earlier in the day to see a ringfort - so I went along the same road knowing it was quite & pothole free

I was also feeling sick (again) although it only lasted for the 1 evening this time, along with having to answer natures call about 17 mins in, also had to tie shoe laces as well as pulling in several times to allow for cars. I also ran into hedges & bushes several times also! you can knock about 2 mins off the time for my lack of aggression - I was just just glad to be out for a bit of exercise without injuring myself. It was dry & I felt good throughout - I took my time needless to say, Happy days.

A hard 10km planned for tomorrow. working today so That meant I was on the bike, so I shoul be in good shape for a decent hit out in the evening.

Back in black

10km 44:05. Tough enough session.

Been feeling really sick on saturday & sunday. It started on sat afternoon (soon after my roll at work around 1pm I was getting cramps (belching & farting alot) - got better on sat evening so I ate thai chicken soup (yup, like an idiot...) & then sunday morning I felt awful - cycling to work heaving etc felt terrrible all day - cramps on/off - it wasn't that bad just very uncomfortable (& annoying as I don't know exactly what caused them) then went to bed around midnight (only 4 hrs sleep fri & sat night as usual - gotta knock that shit off...). Then woke up today feeling more or less normal - but still belching alot but at least stomach is empty now - no rideheehaa at all  & I didn't get sick once.

Thought I might have celiacs disease as when I eat bread I do nearly always feel bloated - then again I eat so much of it (like 1 loaf each visit to the kitchen - no joke!), it's my own fault. I looked at the symptoms then realised that it's very unlikely that I do have it - I've an irrational fear of multiseed bread now - my all time favourite food :(

I've just been eating rice cakes (unsalted) & crackers (with butter) & apples & oranges with water only for the last 24 hrs & feel more or less perfect - no stomach problems at all today (monday) & got a good 14 hr sleep on sun night. I 'll return to proper food tomorrow - steamed veg & basmati rice... mum has cooked a lasagne - I could well eat it but I'm gonna avoid it. still belching more than normal but no egg/sick taste after anymore - I'm just tasting what's in my stomach all the time - rice cakes on this occasion so not too bad...

This sorta got me thinking in general, that I eat way too much & I need to sort my diet out - not that it's terrible as such but that I need more fruit & veg in general.

I'm gonna get a new hybrid bike reasonably soon, bed earlier etc & up earlier & more personal discipline along with no junk food at all.

I won't go vegetarian but I'll have red meat less often & chicken & fish occasionally but mostly will stay plant based for the most part.

was 75kgs on the button this morning too by the way - with empty stomach.

yeah other than that a good run faded a bit from 25 -27 mins but then picked it up again coming down the dark road to joyces, but then faded again along dr mannix where I saw 37:47 & figured it was game over as such for a decent 43:something. Thankfully I caught myself sleeping & I said to myself no you've worked hard for the last 40 mins - go salvage something from this workout, so I did -  I picked up the pace & managed to knock out something at least partally respectable under the circumstances - my fastest time on the route (with the exception of last wendesdays belter!), so that's somewhat encouraging.

I was up at half 2 & went for  a walk & then walked to terryland fruit & veg market - keeping that formulae going that worked for me last week.

Felt a bit weaker on the run in the 2nd part due to no proper nutrition in the last 48 hrs but that's to be expected. at the turn I was 17:38 where I was 17:18 on the PR so that's not terrible & decent enough regardless - I normally struggle to get in under 18 mins at this point. still 24:47 at the point where I try to go under 25 so that's good. 31:15 where I was 30:40 on the PR run also.

I had stitches on both sides that slowed me down as well as my left hip & gleut is giving me a bit of mild discomfort so I was conscious of that but caused me no problem whatsoever on the run tonight, & the stitches faded over time so I was really lucky overall. I was mentally tough tonight so I'm relatively happy overall - I'll take it.

I know I can run faster now so with the confidence from last wednesdays run I'm a bit more aggressive now. & not even on 15 miles a week training is fantastic! the bike does help though no doubt about it. I was even faster tonight 2:58 vs 3:01 in the first section also...

The quads felt it a bit tonight but it was my chest actually that really suffered & was the limiting factor tonight overall - particularly towards the end, so that's interesting.

As a consequence of it being christmas this week & everyone/ everythings gone mad as usual (people get very worked up this time of year - it's daft really...) I don't known when my next run will be probably xmas day due to me working all day for the next 4 days (I'm off tomorrow but will not be running, I should cycle but my bikes a bit dodgy & I've work to do in relation to job hunting etc) & on xmas eve I'm off work at 6pm then going to clare so the best I can hope for is an xmas 10km - then find out my hours from next wednesday onwards & go from there.

Trying to keep things sane during this upcoming week of madness. Everyday I gotta wake up to this nonsense...

Feeling Good

10km - 42:58. Great time -  a pb by 90 or so seconds.

Delighted with this, but I've so much more to give yet. When I stopped I wasn't even tired. this has been my 5th day on the trot getting out of breath as such, sat, sun cycle, monday 4 miler, tues cycle (all cycles were to work) & run earlier tonight.

I did walk about 4 miles though previously (& I was tired earlier today too, mind you) as I went into terryland to get some fruit & some xmas shopping. I find that whenever I go for a run after I've been in town walking, I tend to do well on the run as the chest has opened out etc

I really didn't want to run tonight, (but boy am I glad I did!). It's characteristic of runners to complain of being tired & then announce that their gonna go for a run to get some energy - that's exactly what happened here with me tonight!

The PB wasn't a big deal really as it was gonna happen regardless, but the fact that I've been active enough in the last 7-10 days has helped. It felt rather easy as in the past month I'm running a little more consistently as I prepare for tuam

If I keep going like this I'll certainty break sub 32 that's for sure. It'll be a tall order but I reckon I'm gonna do it. It's just training, good sleep & simple food as well as an otherwise healthy active lifestyle.

Everyday I get out of bed & go for a half hour walk as a way of waking up, this I feel sets me right for the day. I do love my rest, I can easily sit for 4-5 hrs on the cpu, doing 4-5 things simulatneously & not take a break as such & when I do (for food generally) I find myself going to youtube for some videos as a distraction when in reality a better approach would be to read 5 pages of a book & a 10 min walk break.

I've ran 41:50 before for this distance, so clearly I can do it, sub 40 is on the cards in the next few months.

I just felt fairly good after the 1st 5 mins or so, chest was loose & the legs felt great & as the run progressed, my mind started to focus on the job at hand. So I was all dialed in.

I noticed too I was checking my watch much more often this time.

great splits too, 3:01, 7:05, 11:30, 16:07, 17:18, 20:15, 24:10, 26:30, 30:27, 35:40, 37:07 & then went hard for home.

I said to myself before I want out the plan was to take it easy for the 1st half hr or so & then to inject some pace coming up kingston road (where I tend to really slow down).

Could've knocked another minute of that if I'd company I reckon, but I'm getting better at running against myself too so that's great because at the end of the day - running is an incredibly selfish sport & ultimately it's all about you at the end of the day... which, by the way, is fine by me! just give other encouragement when you can & do some running for charity etc, it is important to give back too once you've your own nest feathered, of course.

The moral of the story is, I'm getting older (I'll be 22 tomorrow) & stronger & therefore if I keep going as I am until I'm at least 35, I'll be hitting some great times for years to come with little training (<20 miles a week).

It's the cycling that's saving me though! in all honestly. But when I get full time work now soon, I'll be cycling to work every morning - so even more training, yahoo! I just hope they have showering facilities!!!

I aim to run on friday - sprints again on track then have the intention of doing an 8 miler next week, I'll have to see how the roster works out though, as we'll be busy in the shop for xmas week - still though, lots of cycling, so yaay!

Speed Merchant

Nice 6.7km earlier tonight (monday) in 28 flat. Was drizzling so I couldn't really see my time checks (I forgot to take off my glasses before I left the house) but was way ahead in practically all of them 2:54 & 7 mins flat, then 12 something at turn, then gradually slowed as I generally do along the prom - 18 something at small roundabout though so that was encouraging.

Just felt great from the off, really felt rested & under control (bed at 6am up at 3:30pm), I was hammering away along the pavement @ roughly just under 7 min mile pace & I barely felt like I was labouring at all for the 1st 20 mins or so. However towards the end I took my mind off the job towards the end & could've gotten my sub 27:30 if I dug a little more. As mentioned previously, I tend to lose the most amout of time in the last 8 mins or so - I need to work on the push in the last mile & a half & I could do sub 26 easily enough- it'll come in time

Work 2moro evening so will have my 10 mile cycle to keep things ticking over then I'll do a 10km on wednesday & aim to do some track sprints on friday then with thurday (my birthday) being my day off/ rest day as such. then the following week I may be working alot due to christmas etc but hope to do a few longer runs  (2 or 3 8 milers) at the end of december for some endurance for Tuam in the middle of next month.

No injuries, no complaints whatsoever. happy days!

I freakin love this sport & back down to 77kgs now, will aim to whittle this down to 70 ish over the coming months if I can. The joy I get from a run is like the first time I ever ran, it never gets old. Barring a disaster I'll be running well into my 60's & I can't wait. I'm enjoying the journey.

Road to nowhere

sunday run dangan 16:10 - was supposed to be an hour long session but I cut it severely short! muscles in my legs were quite sore especially in the left hand side (where I do all the turning on the loop) also stopped prior to stretch my glutes, which were quite sore today. chest felf great (despite 2 consecutive 4 hr sleeps fri & sat night, nothing new there) but it was my body that said no today...

in short I chickened out & managed to convince myself that I would've done myself an injury had I kept going... I found out I was working tues evening (my next planned run) so I should've not ran at all & went out mon & wed night instead etc...

On tues I was physically sick (just general stress) & then dragged myself to work (so that was a 10 mile cycle - great cycle home, felt right as rain again, nice & mild & no rain, happy days...)

then earlier tonight I did a nice 10km 44:25, good time but I could've gotten so much more out of it.

I pushed hard from the get go & was 7:20 on TC2 (& 3:06 at TC1 - so dissapointed at this when I looked down at the watch - thought it was sub 3 for sure... so for the rest of the run I felt I was playing catch up), 11;45 TC3, 16:30 TC4 (got 2 stitches inside the 1st 15 mins - can only be a good thing - indicates that you're pushing hard...), 17:45 TC5, 20:55 TC6, 24:47 TC7, 27:45, TC8 30:20, TC9 31:20 (raging at this time - I used to be sub 31 here no problem! only then to lose speed later on...) TC10 can't remember (36:something I believe). TC11 38:05 (good but if I'm not mistaken I've done 37 here before (it's still better than the few times I've been here in 39:something...)).

At this point I was spent/had no motivation to really push - I didn't believe that I was in for anything decent & decided to settle for sub 45, the wheels really came off & I was jogging more or less, legs were a bit wobbly alright throughout but my chest was perfect the whole way around (i.e I'm capable of sub 40 easily - my cardiovascular system wouldn't be too bothered about that - so that's encouraging - it's just getting everything else right that's the difficult stuff), little did I know I was throwing away a golden opportunity for a sub 44 - perhaps I didn't subconsciously believe I deserved a time as good as that considering my weight etc... I don't know.

Regardless I'm in the ball park so that's good news

Also found out I again (for at least the 4th year in a f%&$ing year in a row that I won't be able to run the fields of athenry 10km this year due to work & family commitments - I'm fuming to say the least but it's ok as I can focus now to the Tuam 8km as a warm up for the Maree 8km...)

Time can be improved with the following adjustments - brace yourself, as you've never encountered these mistakes before:

• get running with people 
• drop 5kgs at least (hovering at 80kgs now - shocking & I have a very noticeable visible belly now...)
• healthier sleeping pattern
• eat better - cut out all the CRAP
• & train more - more cycling & sprints & longer stuff including building up base mileage.

I will do my 6.7km loop on friday for speed & will attack for a sub 27:30 for a pb...

Autopilot

Set of 5x1km repeats off 90 secs rest with the goal of being under 4 mins (20 min 5km pace)

splits were 3:44, 3:53, 3:55, 4:00 & 3:55. just so easy - almost effortless in a way - I've still got it...

The run on sunday helped with the stamina in the last 2 reps no doubt,I'll run again on friday for 1 hr on the grass for endurance & will test myself with a hard 10k on the road on tuesday.

Them slow base miles I think really work, Sage Canaday is right... I went so slow on the grass run on sunday & then tonight I had no problems with the planned session.

It's more than likely that it's because I'm fresh & rested & not tired from 20-30 mile weeks too I suppose.

I'm just really happy with the session, although it was quite boring & I know I could hit those at 3:50 each time, over the coming months I'll play around with these.

I might do 6 or even 8 of these in the next fortnight or so for stamina for the race on boxing day.

Sunday Tradition

Dangan run on grass 40:00.

I lost the lap count but I had planned to run for 40 mins or so, but as I completed my last/second last lap it was 40 mins on the button so I left it at that, then trotted down to the end of the field to sprint back up (which took 70 seconds all out) for the hell of it!

Felt great today - wasn't even that tired. Felt it about 15 mins in & wanted to cut it short & take the easy way out, but I persevered & next time I glanced at the watch it was 23 mins gone & I felt much better in my chest - naturally my legs were protesting (being on my feet all day for the past 3 days - can't wait till I get a desk job!) but they got over it...

I was 3:15 on my first lap (I normally do 3-3:05 min laps when I'm hot but I treated it as a recreational jog, I sped up in the last 10 mins/ 3 laps but I felt great throughout never really going ad but not taking it too easy either, felt great coming up & down on the bike. 

Ran around 4pm as I was working 8-3 in the shop (including the 5 mile cycle each way, of course) but I felt great all day & was looking forward to the run.

The fields is my target now, so I'm gonna try & get a bit of decent training in for that over the next few weeks, I'll do a few 8 milers for endurance & some hard 10kms  for overall fitness on the road, some more grasswork (to help the joints) similar to today (including intervals on 1 side of the pitch perhaps) & some speedwork on the track too (for that raw intensity).

The weather has been cold but dry (thankfully  - I'm so grateful for it!) for the last 10 days solid so perfect for running (& cycling, so no excuses for not training really - yahoo!).

Plan a hard 10km on tuesday although I might be meeting a few college friends for a run too tomorrow so may do the 10km on wednesday instead...

Loaded

10km in 44:08,

still have yet to crack sub 44 for this route! but delighted with tonights run, it was the best I've felt on a run for many months,

I didn't cycle to work sat & sunday & I slept in yesterday & today, ate 10 bagels in 2 days & walked into town & back an hour before the run. aside from that, I don't know why I felt so good on the run, it was if  I could go as fast as I wanted & I'd never get tired.

tonight run was the reason why I run, to get a run like that. That's the reward, it just felt so great!

I could go on but I'm tired & need to sleep but I could've easily knocked a minute off that with people with me tonight & a bolder attitude on my part. I knew when I hit the 2nd time check 11:35 that I was on for a good run, then I got faster where I normally slow down, 16:05 at time check 3, 20:15 @ T3 too

24:40 at T4, but 30:14 then at joyces - that was disappointing  - also right about then the pace dropped a bit & my back began to ache, like it occasionally does when running - odd...

37:47 at dr mannix - a full 3/4 of a minute slower then a time before but I put the boot down (wasn't even trying that hard really) & got to within a 2 second pb (I actually pb'd the route tonight only I bumped into a guy on the corner of joyces slowing me down about 3-5 secs) so I clearly sped up in that last mile...

the weather has been outstanding these days though, dry but quite cold/fresh 5-7degrees... aim to run on friday now...

& no discomfort on achilles at all - the mind boggles...

Humble Pie

10km 46:50.

Tough one this morning, I've changed up my routine & have myself up at 7:30 every morning now. I hadn't ran all week & with me being tied up the next 2 days & with work on the weekend etc I decided spur of the moment to head out.

It was raining heavily but there was no wind & it eased off in periods so overall it wasn't that bad, maybe 5 degrees, I got over it needless to say.

Havn't done a morning run in well over a year I reckon so that was fun! just been really tired in the evenings since I started getting up early during the week, hopefully that'll change once I adjust, I should aim to run sooner in the evenings 6:30 - 7pm instead of 8:30-9pm which I often used to do.

Felt it big time in my chest primarily this morning, as I havn't got a cold as such, but have a very light cold (not even noticable really just bloked nose at times etc), if I wasn't fit I'd say I'd have a full blown cold... thankfully most sporty people are like this, it's great to be able!

Might have to join harriers sooner than I think, as I'm losing motivation to run etc, we'll see, once I get a tech job I'll find out where I'll be living & I'll take it from there.

Calibration

10km - 45:15

Have been sleeping days & up all night the last 4-5 days so this put some manners on me.

felt  good throughout but pulled back slightly all throughout the run as I've a 7am start for work 2moro (friday).

good splits 16:45, 18 flat, 21:10, 25:10, 32 flat at turn, then 38:40 at dr mannix rd so there or there abouts, I'll take it.

Could feel the achilles after the run though on right leg & my right knee a bit tender (top of shin bone...)

Might brave a run on sunday as I'm off work at 3pm...

Huffing & puffing

6.7km loop 29:48.

What an effort. seem to be developing a cold the last day or too so perhaps that explains the time. Really laboured in my chest, felt like I only had one lung in terms of breathing, when I get  a cold my asthma kicks in & I'm only using maybe 60% of my lung capacity, pain in the ass.

Didn't particularly enjoy the run but it had to be done. That's running sometimes it's not that enjoyable but its all part of what makes the really good sessions all that more enjoyable, live to fight another day.

Still great to be able to get out there & do it. 13:42 where I'm normally 13:20 so it wasn't an absolute embarassment, but then faded badly in the last 15 mins or so, I always felt like I wasn't gonna get my 2nd wind, sometimes you hear your chest & you know its gonna be a laboured run home!

no discomfort  in the legs this time wore my new shoes that I'd been breaking in all week so that was great (same as the last pair -  karrimor run black (sportsdirect €32 - I would invest in a decent pair of asics but with my extreme over pronation the heel is gone in 3-6 months for me) why break a winning formulae)

Hope to run sunday morning (changing schedule to fit around work as you do).

Stinger

Tried to do a short 6.7km loop tonight after work, but had to stop running midway as my soleus no no, my achillies  (whoops!) was really playing up.

Its been at me all week (when I run) (started on mondays run) but as I was on my feet all day with work, & then the run, that may have made it more likely to flare up perhaps....

I took it out easy (frankly as I couldn't bring myself to go any faster!) but I needed the run today, so I headed out. 3:20 in my 1st time check (that's normally 3 mins flat in general - so I really backed off the pace!), was 7:30 at mile 1, but then picked it up & was 12:06 at joyces...

At the small roundabout in 19:09 & feeling great, totally recovered & prepared to dig deep with a low 27 in mind (would've happened too) but I stopped for precationary reasons as my achillies stabbing pain on my right leg was quite acute, last thing I want is to pull that, so I made the sensible decision to stop & stretch it out.

I then tried to run again, & that was fine for a minute or so then it tightened up again so I stopped 7 stretched agan, I then walked some more, then tried again to run & it was perfect, no problem at all really, It was a bit touch & go naturally, so I did some slow 9 min mile pace jogging, but was able to speed up (& good 1 mins after my seconds stop...) & even sprint home for 200-300m (a bit of a stupid I know but...)...

I just annoyed it tonight, nothing more, hopefully I can run on wednesday now, we'll wait & see...

Cruise Control

10km in 44:18.

Nice time tonight in not so favorable conditions, wasn't lasing rain but the wind didn't help. I must invest in some contact lenses...

Felt great tonight overall though, the run on monday really helped when I got to Joyce's & beyond. This is where I reguarly slow down, instead I was able to keep my pace constant, not gaining much time overall 38:18 at the turn, but I didn't rush once toight & was barely out of breath when I got done.

I even stopped twice to check if my keys (attached to my showlaces) were intact (I couldn't notice them & got worried).

again, I have the fitness for sub 43 but no motivation, over the next few weeks I'll work on that.

Definitely will be looking for sub 40 come boxing day...

I'm ready to run with a club again now, I reached that level of fitness I feel that i could go back, so that's great. Once I find an engineering job & I know where I'll be living permenantly then I'll decide which athletic club to join.

I'll do a nice 4 mile loop on friday for speedwork & so as not to overdo the milage. Same again for next week though I feel...

Figure 8

8 Mile - 59:20 (minus another 10 seconds for cars etc)

a good run (monday evening) took a good 20-25 mins to feel right though... only after 40 mins though did I really come alive however, which indicates to me once again that I've always been a long distance runner, (takes me a while to get that V8 diesel engine whistling!)

Felt good coming through the figure 4 loop in 25 mins & out to the furthest point at 40 mins flat where I really came alive.

A good run but running with others would help. Great to be able to keep in touch with the longer stuff though.

When I was done I wasn't even out of breath, but my calves were screaming though coming up past mc donalds (a good 13 mins from home) Great to be able. Perhaps a 10km on wednesday, we'll see...

Undertow

10km 44:40, done last night (tuesday)

Not much to say about it, only that I felt quite tired on monday & last night. I went for a short 2-3km warm up loop aroun devon park before I went out, as I hadn't left the house all day in attempt to be ready for a hard 10km from the get go.

I must've jinxed it because I wasn't finding it as easy as I'd hoped. Still time checks were decent, 7:05 at the turn at the 1 mile mark, 11:45 at salthill turn & 16:37 at time check (TC) 3, then 17:49 at the turn TC4. 20:55 TC5 25:03 TC6 & 30:43 TC8 (can't recall TC 7) TC9  36:27 TC10 38:something...

between TC5 & TC 8 (& a good bit after that, the pace certainly slipped... what's new here...), but even in some of the faster sections I found it tough going, legs were heavy, chest was working hard etc... just not my night for being in top form.

Still though the time was decent & although it was nothing scecial I'm only a minute or so off my best for this route, but its about time.

The fact that I found that painfully slow when this is one of my better times for this route is a good sign, soon I'll crack 43 & then go from there.

cruising along dr mannix as usual, but s ever, slowe down midway through the run & can never quite make up ground once the damage is done.

Solution will always be the same;

• more weekly milage (runs more frequently), as well as;
• more speedwork (track sprints, 400, km & mile repeats)
• more long runs (8,10 & 12 milers)
• better diet (less refined sugar, eat less but what you put into your system is essential etc)
• more sleep (& at right times!)
• more cross training, more cycling (+ run on grass)
• run with people (join Harriers)
• race more (can't do much here for the immediate future, I work w/ends when all races are on so find a full time job!)
• more stretching & other strength & conditioning (core etc) exercises (discipline - prevention is better than cure)

I'm improving all the time really, looking forward to the next few months where I'm gonna try & focus on running more now (as well as working more part time & on the hunt for full time work)

Run either this thurs or friday...

From the get go

6.7km loop, 27:50. Not bad.

Not a pb I believe I've done 27'40's for this route before if I'm not mistaken, but there or there abouts for a pb on this route, so that's great.

I took it out hard tonight, not even going that fast, but relative to how I usually run this route, it felt fast (I wasn't even that aggressive I just decided to let it rip tonight) barely was under 3 minutes at the 1st time check, but I felt so strong, 6:40 at the mile mark, 11:40 passing joyces then 14:20 coming up to the 1st petrol ststion, & 18:50 at the 4.5km mark feeling quite good, still going fairly conservatively all the time, at the 3.5km mark after the turn for home at kingston is where the wheels come off, that's not really lack of fitness, but if I'd someone to run with, I'm confident I'd keep up the pace.

Running is very mental, but I felt really tough tonight & up for a challenge, so I had some fun, a bit of asthma related wheezing though upon me being out of breath down kingston road, but I just relaxed the shoulders & inhaled deeply (implying that I was nowhere near my maximum pace so that I was able to do this, I suppose).

Could've broken 27 tonight if I really believed it, probably 26:40's if I'd someone with me & certainly can go sub 26 with a little more training, low 25's well within my reach too, could probably do low 24's but that'll take a while, maybe a couple of years...

Since tuesday the weather has changed (been dry the last week, but has gottem proper cold now, you'd need a jacket now), just this week, the winter has really arrived, that temperature change of 4-5 degrees did it, amazing to notice such a start change in the seasons just like that...

But yeah, great to push it a bit, it's certainly a different run when you go for it, I find my running form suffers a bit (poor posture, lack of use of shoulders, overextension of the hips, bpm too low & heel striking for me), but that's all practice. The couple of days off & cycling in & out of town as well as brisk walking whilst in town helped too from earlier in the day to open out the chest before the run. The 10km runs are helping too, as I've a few of them banked up.

Looking forward to friday's run, most likely a 10km...

old school

a couple of 10km runs in the last week, both good 45:10 (thursday - with so much more to give - wasn't even out of breath really) & 44:25 (tonight - wednesday - 6 days later, again, could knocked 40 secs of that easy if I gritte my teeth & 80 secs off If I ran with company (along with more weekly milage etc)

In both runs I had alot more to give, I took my time on the thurs run & was able for a faster finish, but felt great tonight so again I went out conservatively but just felt so good & felt like I was itching to go faster so decided to inject some pace, so was 16:10 at the 3rd checkpoint (was 17 flat last thurs).

At the turn to dr mannix I was 38:03, a full minute faster than last thursday so was hoping for a sub 44, so injected the pace but I wasn't clinical/hungary enough to go under 44.

Felt tough going through ballymoneen road but injected pace then again up kingston road, where as last thurs I found these sections a breeze but had too much ground to make up (as I started off slowly) to get under 45.

2 great runs & am delighted with my running considering I havn't raced in months & have been only managing 10-15 miles a week, but again the cycling (to work sat, sun & tues, 5 miles each way) is helping me immensely, then again I was always a light trainer.

Busy job hunting at the moment so I'm primarily focused on that, I've many decades ahead of me to be looking for decent times, yet at the same time it's great to be at it all the time (I'm aiming to run twice a week anyway & other days I'm cycling) & knowing that I'm getting stronger as the years go on.

Hope to run again on friday & maybe a speed session on monday (cycle sat & sun to work obviously...) or something

Kickstarter

8 miles - 59:56. take a good half a minute off this too due to stopping for cars (twice) as well as running an extra 70-100 meters to accommodate them. great run, very pleased with it.

This was after cycling to & from work (off at noon) then taking a nap (unplanned  - on the couch) then walking to aldi for food shopping (gone for a good 90 mins - @ least a 4 mile walk all in) then straight into the run.

Consciously took it easy for the first part of the route same as the 6.7km loop time check was 19;16, remarkable as I felt I was going very slowly really, then 39:55 at the turn before dangan, then 44:58 at the turn up off Thomas Hynes (my great grandad!) road, 54:12 onto shantalla road then thinking I may dip under the hour, was 57 flat at the turn at marys road so I put the foot down & had 2 mins left at the top of the hill so I figured I could do it so began the sprint across the junction then realising at this pace I'd have about 15-20 seconds to spare so I eased up at the maxol petrol station to roll in under the hour, in the end very comfortably.

lovely weather for a run 16 degrees, cloudy with some very light & brief mist. again, I owe it to the cycling. for the moment I fit the running into my roster which during the week changes all the time however the weekends I've always been working so running is off on those days really...

not too bad, good to get some distance in, motivated by my college results which are being released tomorrow  (I could've ran a half marathon tonight I'd so much nervous energy!) so the longer run was cathartic, will be good to do a 90 minute run on the grass & then some track work & some more of those 8 milers (faster & harder as tonight felt I was going awful slow in sections, cruising, but not even scratching my potential like most club runners). hadn't ran that long in months but it didn't feel long at all, could've kept going for another hour, my mind was so strong, that's good. (thankfully the experience from doing it before helped immensely -  )

sometimes the more active you are (in general) the easier the run - waiting around the house for the run in the evening isn't the best really (as I've often done), I honestly felt like my body was teasing me & was more than able for it, my knees were sore the right one the day before yesterday & the left one yesterday & there was a slight discomfort at 1 point (for like 10 seconds during the run after 6.5 miles in) but other than that the knees are perfect.

Good things to come, September is here, I'm done with college & now can focus on some more regular running.

Bomber

6.7km loop, 28:50, Had a good enough go at the route tonight. Eased up too towards the end, could've gotten under 28:30 but didn't bother as I knew the sub 28 was gone  at that point so I just rolled home instead.

Splits were very conservative even though I (ore at least I felt!) actively took it out hard tonight, 7:20 (at the lights - 6:42 at the initial check) 10:07, 13:52, 16:55, 19:42, 22:55 (not bad... that was because as I progressed through the run I didn't fade), 25:09 & 27:27 (can do the last part of the route the 400 metres, ish - the turn onto Devon park to home in 70 second even 65 I reckon), so Knew I'd be on for a sub 29 & that the sub 28 was not happening so like I say I cruised home instead, deciding to save some energy for tomorrows mornings 5 mile cycle (into work, as usual) instead.

Happy with the last 2 runs this week, will see roster tomorrow & from there can plan the next week of training, if I behave myself I might be able to manage a run on sunday & then do an 8 miler in the next fortnight or so to begin to build up some milage. Could easily do the 8 miler this sunday (& I'd love to!) but that's too much stress on the system. Need to be sensible on the increase of volume of training once again.

Will of course this time round make use of the bike, & grass running as well as the track for mixing up the training as well as joining harriers over the next month or so too when I'm in decent shape.

The goal now is at least a sub 40 min 10km in the fields of athenry 10km on st Stevens day, can't wait for it! I've started (or rather I've recommenced "serious") training for it in early september so my goal is a realistic one.

Weather a bit on the cool side tonight, was bucketing down all day then it cleared for some blue skies as I made my way out, originally had planned for it to be a morning run but I slept in etc, so back to my old habits/routines.

felt better tonight on the run, just don't have that raw aggression to really attack the route, due to overall lack of confidence in terms of lack of training & lack of racing too etc, lungs were tested but could've squeezed another minute out of the session I reckon if I was a bit more hungary.

All in all though, I'm happy to be keeping in touch & staying in relatively decent shape, but again, its all about not being afraid to hurt yourself on the runs, which at the moment I am. as the training increases & I get more serious into it once again, along with some track sessions, I'll start to regain some of my lost raw speed etc, in time, it's there, just lying dormant. So that's good. I've still got it, I'm alright (& sure why wouldn't I, I'm 21 for christ sake at the prime of my life, I'm only getting started...).

75kgs as I stepped into the shower tonight with my gut as big as ever, amazing what shape I'd be in if I lost that. I'd get under 70kgs relatively easily, so let that be the focus too over the coming months.

Even Flow

A good 10km tonight, despite the time of 45:09. felt well rested & healthily tired going out (the type of tiredness in which the only antidote is a good run). Had plenty of energy throughout just didn't know how to pace it as I was afraid I'd blow a gasket at any time.

Felt solid all the way & can easily run a good 10 miles with consistanct pace in a months time. run again on friday with a fast 6.7km loop, looking forward to it.

splits were 7:20, 11:52, 16:37, 20:57, 25:03, 31:03, 38 (I think) & 43:50 (ran last turn in 79 seconds, good going  -conducive to my fastest 400m so thats probably the distance & sprinted at top speed too all the way thinking I might break 70 secs for the sub 45 but had to go round the outside due to pedestriams but speed probably wasn't there anyway, but wasn't far off at all! had loads left in the tank afterwards.

Workout benefitted the chest only, legs & mind were solid, could've done 10 miles at that pace if the chest would comply.

looking forward to building up that base milage now, cycle in & out to work the last 4 days in a row helped in maintaining the fitness too. Finished college now entirely, waiting for results & will be looking for full time automation engineering jobs in galway now in the coming few weeks, things are looking good.

May the (Gale) force be with you

6.7km loop - 29:04. Due to the wind or at least that's my excuse...

Felt strong throughout but just didn't have any raw speed tonight. only out of bed at half 2 in the day & decided to stay at home to study so no cycle to college, although I did go for a walk around the block at about 3pm.

7:20 at the 1st time check, then 13:20, 16:30, 19:20, 22:49, 25:36. Not very far away from my usual, but I put it down to the wind, as although it wasn't that bad, it was noticable... temperatures were perfect & a slight mist, perfect for running really otherwise.

Can feel the autumn closing in, went out about 9:10 & it was getting dark, leaves falling of the trees etc...

Seem to be piling on the pounds these days (winter is coming!), the gut is in my opinion the worst it's ever been. I've got a proper spare tyre now, its unbelieveable still only tipping 77kgs on the scales (just a hair under 80kgs with clothes etc) but I've gotta cut some weight in the next month or 2, its ridiculous.

It's just weight that's waiting to fall off me once I do some proper base milage training & some shorter stuff on the track on a regular basis - nothing to worry about, but really, really annoying me - so that's good - have plenty of motivation to lose it.

Would love to hover around 70kgs, that'd be good, 67kgs would be ideal, although I may not feel the best at this wieght, so I'll get down to 72kgs & I'll see how I feel.

Will do some speedwork on sunday on the track, 5x1km repeats & then a mile repeat hopefully at the end, we'll see.

Stamina

10km in 45:55. Tough one today mentally very taxing.
Weather very warm about 24 degrees but I got a shower (flashflood) at about 25 mins in, which was very welcome.

time checks good, but faded rather badly at around 7km. 2:52, 7:10, 11:51, 16:48, 20:58, 25:27, 30:30, 39:21 (turn at dr mannix - totally underestimated the length of that road & therefore picked up pace, realised I'd another good bit to go, then felt dejected & threw in the towel - sprinted towards the end but even had to slow that one down as I was truly bolloxed tonight)  (all from memory as usual!)

pace was good early on & focusing on breathing & running form, also got the usual stitches in the 1st 10 mins to remind me I was pushing it relative to what I've subjected the system to in recent times - so that's good! I knew when I adjusted the breathing voluntarily that I wasn't really tired etc, just pure lack of training (obviously!!!), so plenty more there, but like I say - that's for September - now I must focus on exams.

Really wanted to stop running going through the half hour mark.This almost never happens to me (or at least its highly unusual). Mind playing tricks one me, trying to conserve energy for the exams I'm sitting at the moment I guess... just comeplete lack of endurance on my part coupled with late nights & late getting up. Diet improving though, once I start doing longer runs I tend to cut out the crap I buy at the shop etc, like I was last summer, so that's good (& natural/ to be expected...)

Anyway good to get out for a longer run than usual this weather. I've never been looking forward to winter training this much & can't wait to rip into it properly come September - looking forward to doing some 8 mile tempo runs & some 12- 14 mile endurance runs too. Then mix this up with daily cycling, (every morning) along with some sprints on the track too to mix things up (200 metre & 1 mile repeats etc).

Had to get a "longer session" in & I'm glad I did. hadn't been cycling much either the past 4-5 days so was in bad need of it. I cycled today & yesterday to college & if it hadn't been for the cycles I'd have struggled to do that run in even 48 mins I reckon, so its the cycling that saves me anyway.

Consistent

6.7km loop - 28:30. Need I say any more?

Haha, good run straight off the bike from college & straight into it, felt good, really really good throughout like I've been training alot more then I am currently.

I've had some decent food, rest & sleep the last week so I was refreshed. however at the prom, I felt like I was hardly moving, as I slowed what I felt was rather dramatically, so that's good - more training & I'll have that sorted out - that's complete lack of endurance (obviously). sub 27 is there (even as I am currently) & sub 26 will happen too very soon.

Felt good, didn't kill myself, tried to put in a sprint for the last km, just wasn't there, yet when I had to cross the road before a car pulled out I was able to go at full speed, no problem whatsoever, this leads me to believe that I'm only ever really pushing 70-80% of max capacity for any given day, even when I believe I am pushing it.

This is universal amongst all runners though I'm sure, nature tends to take the path of least resistance & the human body is no exception. Another way to overcome not running to your max capabilities of course is to run with other people!

Come September I'll be doing just that. I have these exams to kill & once they're done, I'll be stepping up the training significantly once again & I can't bloody wait!!! Looking forward to winter training this year culminating at the fields 10km on boxing day. bring it on!

I aim to do a 10km on friday (time permitting) but I reckon I'll be able to get out for it...

Funz

Had fun with the run today, 28:20 & could've been sub 28 had it not been for cars, junctions & people etc. Got carried away when I saw 24:52 coming down the last big hill running for home & thought I had the sub 28 easy, but I guess I didn't... 7 flat at the first mile & 13:42 at the turn, 19:20 at the roundabout also. Just had no real drive to keep the pressure on to go faster. I was moving well but not as hard as I could've been, but happy to run, thats all that matters at the moment, may do a 10km on sat evening (& avoid the streets 8km - I'll watch it instead, the route passes my house!) then maybe next week target a sub 28 (easy!) along with going to bed & getting up earlier... still got loads in reserves - looking forward to next month so I can resume some proper training... looking forward to cracking some decent times I can be proud of this winter.

Ringer

Had a good run yesterday evening, just off the bike from college & straight into it. 6.7km loop in 28:05, a new pb for the course. hit wrong button on watch intending to stop it at a junction so I hadn't my usual markers to indicate how well I was doing.

I'm one of those runners who can't do anything (when I'm on my own & not running regularly) mentally when running (trying to add, in this case 7:05 onto the time I see upon glancing down at the watch periodically to track progress - forget it!).

There is literally just a void in my head for the duration of the exercise - same with cycling, my brain 100% switches everything else off & I'm focusing entirely on the job at hand. Some people use exercise as their "thinking time" etc, to them I say that they're not trying hard enough!

was struggling for pace initially & got my second wind very quickly (normally it takes 7-10 minutes I was there in under 5 today...) but felt really good nonetheless. Got faster as the session went on, not feeling amazing but that zing was there having ran on friday too (on the grass in dangan - 4 laps 13:25 & struggling big time, decided I wasn't enjoying it at all along with only planning the run an hour before hand with no race in sight for at least 2 months & work early the following day, I said I'd forgive myself for cutting it short, be happy I gave it a go & forget about it!)

would've easily broke 28 if I could do basic arithmetic, adding the 7 mins was clearly too much for me! Heck I reckon I could've done 27:30 easily if I'd known where I was, I was slowing down at seapoint just cruising & took the last km far too leisurely, having fun... just glad to be out running, never taking the sport for granted. Always still slightly amazed that I can run this "fast", its amazing really, maybe that's why I'll never crack the big times because I'm too much in awe of it, I don't know...

I certainly have the raw ability to do it though. a 35 minute 10km is not out of the question from me, I just can't quite believe I can do it yet. But I know theoretically I could do it, no problem. 34 minutes, yes thats unknown but sub 35 mins for a 10km, absolutely, I know I can. (granted I don't get injured & get the opportunity to train at that level once my job allows me the free time etc, & that I really commit to it & I make that my goal for a couple of years of my life & am on 50-60 miles a week (or cycling a lot!!!)

I'm in Ok shape these days, there or there abouts for a 33:30 8km (6:45 min/mile pace all the time) all year really. Not bad considering I'm not even running 15 miles a week, last year I was running 35 miles a week (or running at least 3 times a week anyway) & only managing to be 1 minute faster, so I'm certainly improving (thanks to cycling). All I'm lacking now is some longer runs - 8-14 mile tempo runs with some hard 10-12 km runs too & some 2 hour cycles also...
I won't be running in the streets this year as I'd be struggling for a sub 33 & wish to put my focus on my studies alongside the fact that I really would prefer not running that race again until I'm in sub 30 minute shape. I respect the race too much...

Running for the next month now will be maintenance stuff, some sprints (6.7km loop) & maybe the odd 10km here & there coming up to the exams...

Once college is done in septemner, I'm gonna make it my business to focus for the 10km on st stephens day & be in under 40, at the very least. with plenty of cycling (& running 3 times a week minimum) - I can't wait!!!

Goodluck with your running & I hope your training is going well to anybody who might be reading...

No Joke

A bit of fun tonight. Had been working 30+ hours at the shop covering for people along with college work in the evenings etc, so only exercise was the bike each day, Not terrible but after 10 days that raw edge that you only get from running I find starts to vanish.

Hadn't ran in almost 3 weeks (but cycling every day) until tonight for my 6.7km loop - 28:37. Not bad at all - except for pedestrians, very hot today so tends to make people dozy & consequently had a few run ins (quite literally with some very inconsiderate people...) well at least it wasn't getting bit by a dog, I guess, but ahh people in general are very unaware of their surroundings, it pissed me off...

Thoroughly enjoyed the run though. felt good going out & well rested but lacking that raw speed, endurance & sharpness that I (or anybody who runs regularly) normally have so delighted with the time. The whole thing felt very slow but not laboured, it just felt natural - comfortably hard in sections & for the rest of it I took my time really - so indeed my fitness is actually rising? Always a great feeling to get back into it, any runner will tell you. Those runs that you do when you've been not runing for more than 2 weeks are like "welcome home" runs - celebrations, almost like finding the sport again. Makes you appreciate your body & the fact that you havn't lost that resilience/work ethic, etc. It's truly great & as the saying goes what a feeling

Makes me realise that if I'd the training I can whittle down that time easily... a bit of work to do for the streets, but college work comes 1st. once sept 1st comes, I can go back into some proper training 30 miles a week running with the other days on the bike with the fields as the goal on St Stevens day a sub 40 for sure (whilst looking for a job & coding etc...)

Hope to run thursday now - an hour on the grass perhaps, who knows. Focused on college work though as I've mentioned. Running to keep me sane currently. & oh boy, is it working!

75-76kgs all the time - go up to 78 on a bad day although I have been behaving myself in recent times diet wise  - strarted an awful habit not so long ago where I'd be tending to chomp through a whole bag (average 15 sweets thats alot) of riesen - dark chocolate chewy sweets... them & bagels are my big sin but have since been replacing it with bananas apples brown bread & more water, & a nice cup of hot sweet tea before bed - normally don't have sugar in tea.

What a gift, running. Thank you...

Speed session & Headford 8km

On wednesday I did a sort of a track session. Cycled in & out of college & then to the track later on in the evening. Up every day at 12:30pm & going to bed round 3:30am - recipe for disaster.

did a 1 mile in 5:58 (& on the 3rd lap felt like I was crawling along though really (& really noticing the sheer lack of endurance I have)). That was ok then went & did 2 400 meters off jogging rests (at least 2 mins each) did in about 1:17 each - terrible really, was hoping for 1:10's but it wasnt happening - again from even 150 (250 to go I was hanging on...). then did a few 100m sprints (easing up at 80) & this time not from the 110m line - thats why my times were so slow previously! managed 14.5 secs for those... then did a 1km repeat, tried to but lost count of laps & sorta gave up, then I went to do it again & at 400m & decided to call it a day - a weird session but I was very tired & could really feel it in my chest  -like the beginning of an onset of a cold type thing...

The race then was good. working 7:30-4 but dad was taxi for the day so that was refreshing! (I'll be cycling to work tomorrow though!) then the race at 7.

Overall I can't complain only we got soaked at around the 2.5km mark... it's odd weather recently - just really heavy showers on & off occasionally throughout the day.

was knackard & never really got going at all in the race, 1st km in 3:30 flat & didn't feel like I was moving at all so that's a good sign, that was the track session paying off I guess - either that or just 1st km ambitions - my efforts put me into 3rd place which I held until about the 1km mark, then the usual suspects passed me one by one...

The early pace felt right -  I was even taking my time & I just by default found myself chasing the 2 leaders - this keeps happening - it's obvious that the better athletes are in no rush - but its as if (because the running community in galway is so insular by nature - you go to a race & you can almost tell whose gonna come where even before the gun goes off) they're all out for a training run with each other. to me a race is a race - it's almost too friendly I dunno...

The guy who won it (no Bidwell tonight) from ennis track, was unbelieveable! 24:48 was the wining time, phenomenal & the fact that I've never heard of him either - that's scary to know that you can be that good & yet be an absolute nobody at the same time... it's shocking really

It was a good field tonight, plenty under 30 mins but as they passed me & I still reckon if I trained right I'm convinced that I could have gotten 3rd place - would've required a sub 29 finish - but it's in me. Just so many average runners passing me tonight - it didn't annoy me as such but just to realise how beatable they are. But I'm focused on other things really with college & work etc... but so too are these other people juggling family life & jobs etc so fair play to them...

It's just that sub 30 pace, if fit isn't that bad really, it's just that when your on say 27:30- 28 flat range to improve from there then takes a significant increase in milage etc.. you need to become a very different athlete for that sort of caper...

As for my own performance, 33:18 in the end. not a disaster but not great either... The 4th km I went through in 15:20 so that was good, But I just didn't have it in me tonight at all. I didn't really get my second wind at all & I was toast at  the 4th km & never really recovered, went through 5km in 20:18 & I wasn't hurting that bad but I knew that my chest just was't gonna let me dig into my reserves for the last 3 kms

I am in sub 32 shape, & I should get it in the streets alright next month, but I gotta go to bed earlier etc, drop the weight & do some more running itself. The bike is marvellous but at the end of the day there is no substitute for an 8 mile tempo run - which I intend on doing soon...

I am getting fitter all the time though. As in fairness I am only 40 seconds off my PB & in parts felt like I was going awful slow. I just didn't have the edge tonight at all -  I treated it as if it was a training run really... When it rained I felt like sneezing - onset of a cold developing so I subconsciously pulled back - I was wheezing a good bit too (asthma from my childhood playing up), just felt weak as a cat overall... tied I guess from biking it 7 days a week either to college or to work...

I'm happy overall though - a few battles on the road with Brendan & Martin etc. Good to speak with them again, their the best of people...

might run on tuesday - don't know what distance yet - maybe an hour on the grass, we'll see...

Good Sweat

10km in ~ 44 mins. I went out round 6pm so I'd a lot of traffic to contend with lots of stopping & starting at junctions etc. But overall solid run. Felt tired today all 3 faculties had to be pushed legs, mind & chest. Legs we're good but felt it nonetheless, chest struggled but not as bad as I thought, it was my mind that I had to wrestle with this evening.

Could've hacked off another minute on this but I wasn't mentally tough enough to do this. went out straight after cycling home from college so went out tired - I believe they call it the "brick workout"...

splits in usual places were (as ever all from memory - I don't use a garmin) 6:40, 11:39, 16:08, 20:30, 24.45, 30:03, 35:47 & 42:03. I have done that last turn in 90 seconds before but had to stop due to a van plus trailer pulling out in the fastest section in the road on the home stretch plus when I went to stop the watch as I swerved to avoid the vehicle the watched reset (happens all too bloody often - had this been a longer run I'd have been really annoyed...)

I got to western distributor road in decent time (on of my fastest - & even then I felt like I was taking forever so I'm getting stronger all the time - I can easily see a time when I hit that in 22 mins) but there were sections that I felt like I was going at a snails pace - this is a good sign,

that workout will pay off on saturday for me (in the last 3km of the race in particular) - got the aul fella to bring me to work & the race too on sat - great to have the support. might join harriers before the streets of galway 8km - we'll see...

out on wednessay for a few sprints on the track to work on raw speed - nothing too taxing but practice on turning the legs over fast is a good idea - then a 20 minute jog on the grass to cool down... we'll see what happens - supposed to be raining - grin & bear it... mind you the weather was fabulous today o the run the heat was almost a factor & slowed me down a little but - what a privilage!

We Still kill the Old Way

Tough one tonight that got much easier as the run went on.

41:40 on the grass in dangan. Had planned for a 10km so I figured that 40 or so mins on the grass would do it. got a stitch about 4 laps in & thought I could ease off & that it would go away. Wasn't to be (even as I slowed it got worse - had a big dinner though it was 2hrs after...) so I'd to walk for about 2 mins or so then I went easy for a lap then did about 6-7 laaps more & I was done.

Overall felt great really - the cycling is my saviour really. Even though college is finished I'm still going in to study etc so I get my 10km (total) cycle on weekdays.

Pushed hard & was exclusively my chest that was working the hardest again. I actually think my endurance is good just work on it a bit more through cycling & the odd 8 mile run whatever & speedwork on the track.

Must join harriers soon now... headford 8km is next sat - must check roster at work to make sure that I can indeed do it... this'll be my 3rd year in a row doing it - have to break 32, If I don't I'll be quite annoyed...

You know your in a good place when you're tired only in your chest. It's not proper training (i.e on a 50 mile week you'd have many days when you're running on very tired legs - those are the sessions that buikld resilience etc... then again do we all do too much running training & not enough cycling/swimming? hard to say - As I get more experienced I can comment then.

I am delighted though as I've been running for years now - all those runs I used to do in kinvara when I was 15-16 all those years ago are paying dividends now. The whole process I find is getting much easier. It's as if I've made all the mistakes & I'm a veteran or something. I'm 21 - holy shit! I'm so glad I found this sport so young - hipefully I can be enjoying it in 40 years time. & I will provided that I keep cycling to reduce impact etc...

Might do a 10km on the road on monday evening to guage where I am & then a few sprints on the track in westside (along with some easy laps on the pitch to warm up) on thursday...hopefully dad can drop me into work on saturday so I can save myself for the evening...

I used to hate/feel guilty about easy running (8:30/9 min mile pace for me) but I am beginning to see the benefit of it now too. Also it's great to introduce some flexibility to the workout routine so that it can become that bit less rigid & thus more enjoyable in the long term.

Low Rider

Not a bad effort - 6.7km 28:20. this was on friday evening knowing I'd have to be cycling at half 6 the following morning. Felt awful slow - I'll easily break 26 mins for this later this year...

The run felt laboured, sluggish & downright flat, legs we're heavy but again the chest needed the expansion - having felt that having done the same run only days ago 20 seconds faster that it was fast then that means that I'm well on the way to improving my fitness

cycled 4 times today - in & out of work 5 miles each way & on my lunch break did a few km along with going to the shop later in the evening - the cycle this morning in to work felt good -I'm really getting used to the morning s now if only I could wind down to bed earlier - in time...

once I move out of the parent house, land my 1st real job in tech, start paying rent & become a real (i.e independent) adult & I see the cash building up due to a minimalist lifestyle it'll motivate me to get to bed earlier then perhaps - when I'm 100% responsible for my own life (I'm say 95% currently lets say)  - cycling to work each & every morning whilst running/cycling & self studying theoretical physics in the evening /(with the aim to publish & acquire funding & do a PhD the old fashioned way one day - Brians wise advice) etc..

went to svalu (fr griffin!) & bought a packet of choc digestives & bourbon creams & I had a glass of coke (that was in the house) & as always (like when I have a bar of cadbury chocolate) I feel terrible now - I think I;m finally growing out of the trash diet - as I'm getting more productive, fit & efficient what I put into my body is alot more important. i reckon by the end of the year I'll never buy a chocolate bar again... then what'll be my vice???

so happy out - might run twice again next week (both on the grass this time) & then go on to do monwed & fri before headford...

Damage case

Not good. It's been over 3 weeks since my last run! have been cycling though a decent amount & cycling in & out to work on sat & sunday now so that's helped.

6.7km loop last night in 28 mins flat. decent going everything considered. was 6:45 through the 2st time check & nearly 13 mins at the turn towards salthill (considering I was 11:30 last time that's not good)

However I must've recovered & felt good then coming down the prom as I passed the 4th time check at 22:47. it was truly the ideal workout becasue my legs & mind we're happy to mush on & I was held back only by my lungs burning etc. My mind was happy as I'd nothing on the following day & my legs were good from all the cycling

So it's the same old story now in terms of improvements:

• drop 5 kgs (from my gut)
• eating good  - but can do better!
• try 3 runs a week mon wed & fri (short 4 miler - 10km & an 8 miler - do 2 of these on the grass!!!) & cycle sat & sun to work. have tues & thurs as cycle days on my own (1hr each)
• up at 8 each morning - exercise then coding on cpu etc... I'll be naturally be winding down for bed then at an earlier time like I'm already doing...

Looking good so to break 32 mins at headford in a few weeks just need some more endurance & a speed session & I'll be grand.

Happy days all in all really...

St Anger

I figured I could get away with some road running today as I haven't even been running 10 miles a week (for months at this stage). Hence the knees etc wouldn't mind too much (i,e one only needs to take precautions via running on the grass etc if you;'re on say 30+ miles a week).

So I went back to basics today with my regular 6.7km loop - 27:41. couldn't believe it - that's a new course record for me. Had felt tired & sluggish all day (& was looking for every excuse not to go out etc..) then I went out & did that. Splits at the usual places - 4:14, 6:40, 11:30 & 22:03.

Weather was lovely (except for the volume of people (+ cars!!!) it attracts in salthill), a cool breeze, just right - the Goldilocks effect.

I wish to run on tues in renmore but I'll have to see how the schedule is college wise as my productivity tends to be sporadic... regardless I'm virtually certain I'll run this time.

I have only cycling to thank for tonight's endeavour. Just put some 20 miles weeks onto the current cycling routine, drop 5-7 kg's, ear better & go to bed (& get up!) at a healthy civil hour of the day & I'd then be on the cusp of becoming a fairly serious club runner. Some day...

I ran last Sunday (16th), same drill as last time - Dangan 30:48 & felt not as sharp as the previous sunday if I recall correctly - I had saturday off work so no cycle the previous day - thats probably why...

anyway had cycled to work again yesterday so todays run was made much easier as a direct consequence...

In other news I have recently been listening to some old records - reminds me that I'm a fucking idiot for not running more often. Cycling is marvellous for maintaining fitness but running is the only physical activity that puts my brain into a blender & transposes the liquid goup into a substance so benign, so transcendentally beautiful that I wish to once again keep going. I desperately need it, more than I'll ever care to admit, in relation to keeping me on track in life in general...

It's a completely overused cliche but what I'm about to say is worthy of whatever is left of its merit.

Running is the only reason why I'm alive today. The only reason. Take that one to heart.

Maintenance

College is mental so couldn't find the time to get on here. Went for a 5 lap run round the 2 pitches in renmore during my lunchbreak on the 21th april (35: something & that was tough -  in the afternoon heat - 1st sign of summer for me...), then had the 5km series race 1 in ballybrit (26th april) - 20:20 & they've changed the route again this year - god they can never get it right can they?... it's a nice idea but it always ends up being a bit of a disaster...

slow course, was in the top 15 or so for a bout a mile then I inevitably dropped back 30-40 places as the race continued - finished 70th - well, well down the field but I was happy. I have the cycling to thank for keeping me in at least some sort of form... I coaxed Mike from college to come along & he ran 21:15 fair play to him.

I then ran last night (1st may) on the pitch in Dangan about 9:30pm so it was getting dark but had a nice session, 3 mins per lap is the aim eventually so I reckoned I managed 8-9 laps (didn't keep count) in 31:39 - the idea was to go for a half hour run on the grass - happy days...

I've been cycling to college everday (as always now) along with cycling to work on sat (30th april) so that's 50km + 10 mile cycle (excluding running) - so that's not too bad.

today is a rest day - cleaning house, report writing for college & usual Sunday duties.

5km series craughwell leg tomorrow, looking forward to it, I'll see how I feel on the bike in the morning & I'l know from that whether I'm in sub 20 shape - I'm virtually certain that I am - it's all in the head... with the week of cycling behind me, the race, the cycle to work on sat & the run last night I think I'm in good enough shape to hold it all the way to get under 20 rather comfortably - it's up to me now...

Renmore run planned for thurs ("recovery") & then same again on sunday - dangan run (hard). I also have sat off work so I might mix it up & go for a good cycle... I will not be racing for 2 weeks until the claregalway leg so all of my training will be focused for that...

All of my runs bar the races of course have been on the grass or on the bike so that gives my legs the best chance. Things are looking good (at least on the running front!).

droppin double yokes!

Claregalway 5km - 19:58. Just dipped under 20 for a nice what I'd call quite a leisurely outing! I am still pretty chuffed as it's my 1st sub 20 (in a 5km race) for 5km for a while now & it was so bloody easy it's sickening! 

The standard at this event was never at all good (the race is only in its 3rd year) i.e. a sub 20 would've gotten you inside the top 20 the last 2 years - that's quite shocking - for me a good standard 5km race (think the Rathfarnham 5km) you should be struggling to get inside the top 200 with a sub 20 - because lets face it almost anybody in a reasonable state of health could do it with adequate training. 

The sub 20 would've gotten you in the top 10 comfortably today - oh dear...

This leaves me thinking maybe I should try & go for the win next year? or at the very least give the eventual winner or lead pack a good scare/run for their money (quite literally!) anyway!  I've always wanted to win a road race, but when the regular club runners are there it'll probably never happen, so this looks like my best shot as most serious club runners seem to boycott the event (unintentionally). I need to find out the winning time, if it was slower than say 17:30 (almost certainly!) I think I could do it next year - if I devoted all my running time to it (the grass & cycling are my best friends here!) between now & then. do the odd 8 & 10 miler but no more stick to the shorter stuff for the next 12 months & really hurt myself  at least once a week.

I'm gonna become a speed freak for the next couple of years & see how that goes - besides my legs can't deal with the distance (35+ miles a week - heck even 25 miles was pushing it - christ!!! that's nothing!) training - leave that to the bike. cycle 50 miles etc instead...

However I will always prefer distance running. 5km is a sprint really (it's much too short to enjoy it! - almost), it's the times that keep me interested in it & the pain factor - it really hurts & I like this fact alot! hopefully as the years go on & my legs get stronger & my consistency stays good maybe then the body will let me but for now, it's not to be & that's ok.

We started off  very relaxed altogether (I was in the 2nd row thinking I'd struggle for a sub 21) & the only other runner I knew was Paul Fallon, once I passed him (& a rack of kids!) there was only 4 lads ahead of me (recognised none of them except for the leader - a Castlegar ac runner I believe) I passed them 2 with ease (honestly I've ran harder 1st kms in an 8km road race - didn't get the split but it must've been 3:40, although it is an uphill 1st km ( & I was not working hard at all!)...) so then it was just me & 2 other lads who were running stride for stride who were maybe about 40 metres ahead of me.

Had I been at the front at the start of the race I'm confident I would've gone with them full gas for the 1st km just for shits & giggles, then that'd probably have been me done for the day & may have not gotten my sub 20 who knows...

Anyway I held 3rd place for the 1st half of the race almost (quite unbelieveable really!) but like I say the standard was appalling to say the least...

It's true though that I turned off the gas at about 800 to go, my attitude was, fuck it I'm in sub 20 shape, happy days, I'll just cruise in (I had a final exam this morning with only 3hrs sleep so I took pity on myself you could say...) 

The aul fella brought me out & even said that I wasn't trying hard enough! nice of him, he was dead right. he's ran marathons himself years ago so we'll let him away with it - he's qualified, shall we say...

I'm confident 19:20 was there today but I looked around at the lads who passed me in the final 300m & said to myself with a bit more training (or even just a more aggressive attitude today) I could take any of these guys & that's the truth. I should've held 3rd as I have the raw ability, I just mentally gave up in the last km - you simply cannot do that!!! you push all the way - go hard or go home... I don't regret it but I must never allow myself to forget that in more serious outings... today was a fun run really & that's ok too!

anyway that's in an ideal world with good prep. I hadn't ran for almost 2 weeks before my ramble around dangan on Sunday so it was Sunday that saved me (& of course the daily cycle in & out of college - for sure!)

A great confidence booster though for the 5km series! hopefully break 19:30 even 19:15 come 24th may when we do this race again (only 500 plus people stronger!).

sub 20 5km is my base level fitness now, provided I stay reasonably active (which I always will) so I can only improve on this... I remember last year desperately trying to break 20 & today I did it with ease whilst throwing away 30 odd seconds due to my tardiness + lack of prep (although this isn't all my own fault) - that's progress!

mosh mosh

No running the past 10 days or so due to ongoing exams etc but cycling in & out of college so not totally inactive... just did a nice half hour jog around the fields in dangan (cycled up & down). felt really good, & as expected no problems whatsoever with legs etc.  felt rough enough 10 or so inutes into it as it does on the grass but as 20 mins went by I felt better & began to really motor, has been my most inactive last 2 weeks in a good while now so conscious to keep the body moving...

Did some sprints on the track too, jogged around warm up in 1:35, & then decided to do an all out 400m sprint - 75 secs. not terrible but not great either... would love to get that down to 70 fairly soon & dip under 60 eventually. - still 75 secs is 5 min mile pace & felt a bit sick aftarwards - good to get some speed in the session as it was slow going in the muck earlier... a nice contrast then...

I also did 100m too - 17:5 secs - shocking... I did this before in westside too & the same 17 something, & it felt really fast, I must have no raw speed at all... I need to work on this... sub 15 should be a doddle & get to sub 13 would be nice, but even that's not fantastic - get under 12 anyway that's respectable... huh someday maybe,,,

was out of action on the bike as I got a flat (on the night before one of my final exams!) so fixed that up (my 1st time fixing my own puncture fumbling with inner tubes etc  - quite proud of myself as I'm terribly impractical in general).

claregalway 5km on tues use as a tune up - sub 20 probably isn't on the cards but we'll see - may not make it out at all if I've to pull an all nighter for my next exam on tues... the idea is to go though as I love the course - it's my favourite 5km route & we get to do it twice as it features in the 5km series later in the summer...

good to be back, as always, once again!

Burner

no exercise yesterday. had my sisters kids come visit so was busy there. probably would've taken it off anyway.tpoday was a 12 mile bike ride (just beyond Moycullen & back) - 1:05:10. (excluding the 4km up & down). got to the 6km point in 16 mins flat. turned at 32 something...

I'm riding on an apollo transfer hybrid, so will need to invest in a half decent road bike over the summer for longer rides as I was just going nowhere today when I could've been cruising. If I had tyres that wer'nt so thick etc. still though great workout for the quads... I figures that it's not actually me (i,e I'm not that unfit to be going what I feel is so slow on the flats. Average pace just feels so slow & laboured. I'm delighted to push it on the bike but when you feel like you're on a treadmill on the flat it's very demotivating, although it is arguably better training, but I feel it just takes all the fun out of it really.

Still I'm getting a decent workout & no impact on my legs so I'm reasonably happy,. Also cycling fatigue (post cycle) is a different type of fatigue that running tiredness, which has been interesting... Am getting faster in the hills too & then distance is becoming even more irrelevant too... the km's were ticking by & I didn't notice too much, so that's good.

I love cycling as you can scream & shout all you want on the open roads & no one will hear you, I took this opportunity to do so on several occasions today (due to wind & what I felt was a desperately slow (fast running) pace for such a high power output (in my opinion anyway - havn't got a power metre or anything) on a lot of the slight inclines on the road!

we'll see about a cycle after work 2moro but certainly 1km repeats are on for the track on sunday.

walked to shop today & ran a bit on the way, felt fairly ok & ran a bit after the cycle & felt even better so should be all good for sundays run...

all in all happy days.

Avoiding traffic

17km bike ride, The 8 mile loop took me 36:40 . (I don't bother timing how far the 2km up & down took me due to traffic etc) a nice cycle overall just 4km shy of Moycullen & back to salthill. Can easily see myself going to Oughterard & beyond soon...

didn't go to college today so went with the "long" cycle instead. plenty of hills for fun but what goes up has got to fall so some nice rolling downhill stretches also. just, as ever with me on the bike I feel I go so slow on the flat road... do I need to simply work harder, drop more weight, or use the gears more efficiently or get a proper road bike (currently have a hybrid). I reckon I just need to get tougher...

anyway, the 1st sign of shin splits are back. on my right lower leg below & around the soleus so that's disappointing although not terribly surprising I suppose. It's all structural discomfort (my calves are fine so it is definitely the muscle tearing off the bone again).

Just wish I wasn't so damn prone to it. It simply means more cycling, say 20 (if even this...) miles a week running & the rest spent on the bike. Ultimately this will take me longer (i.e to run 1 mile on the bike you've to cycle 4) to get my fitness up but maybe it'll calm down if I react now. so no run 2moro.

Instead I'll try to run on fri but I'll certainly be on the track on sunday for the reps & re asses from here... if this keeps happening to me I'll need to consider just cycling full time & forget about running altogether, I could still go out once a week etc but could never do it too seriously...

anyway nows not the time for speculation so I'm gonna wait to see how the body behaves itself & do what feels right.

as cycling is non impact  it didn't aggrevate my legs at all today so that's good... I just hope you can do 60+ miles on achy shins...

I'll always run once a week if the worst comes to the worst as you're aerobic fitness on the bike will transfer over to road running nicely, I just can never get my hopes up too much with running in general as I get disappointed with injuries all the time & for me it takes all the good out of it. I am however terribly impatient & I'm aware that that's my main problem really.

great to have such fine weather these days, can't remember when it last rained, it must've been at least 3 weeks ago, how marvellous!

I'll cycle to college 2moro & then realistically I should avoid running till sunday (& then only run again the following sunday on race day) so for fri I'll cycle to moycullen (good friday - college is closed) & back just an extra 8km - it'll be grand...

Left on the road

10km in 44:06. (A pb for this route I believe!) Usual route, late in the evening though... lovely night for it, no rain & quite cool. 1st mile in 7:04 though, felt awful quick (& was expecting a 6:40 or so) but it clearly wasn't! checkpoint 2, 11:51 so still slow so far, 3rd checkpoint 16:30 - that's better & was feeling great too, next time checks at usual places 20:45,25:03 & 30:28 so was on for a good time, from here then I decided to go from 85% effort to about 70% effort (i.e I eased up), this was scheduled to be a recovery run after all so I acknowledged that & consciously slowed slightly.

You see this is where being a member of an athletic club (or rather just running with other people) becomes invaluable as I wouldn't have slowed up tonight at all if I had company. Of course there are drawbacks to running with people (e.g. somedays you need the recovery run & you end up going too fast because of them etc (well I would anyway!)).

Anyway I felt like I was cheating tonight though by not going all out, but then again maybe I just have great discipline & honestly believe that that's the case. If I needed to have broken 42 for a harder session tonight then I would've done so. It was a conscious controlled calculated session, so that's good. It wasnt like I had planned to go full gas & then was too reticent to push it. I'm not that sort of a runner anymore, if I need to keep working till I get sick on a training run (race hard - train harder) I'm willing to do that this year.

Clearly you should only ever be going 100% in races & maybe 95% (absolute max) during training generally, but I believe, especially for the shorter distances (i.e 1km repeats on the track etc) that some of the training session will be tougher than the race. you train for a race pace & then you repeat the same thing in a race & then search for a bit more... I need to revise what I've just said & as I get more experienced at this I can rephrase this one! anyway...

(Could've broken 42 tonight if I went all out but am conscious of cycling to college in less than 12 hours time so decided not to go overboard. having said that I tried to push then for sub 44 & would've certainly got it only I eased up too much on purpose & then missed it, oh well... )

still a good run & am finally showing some decent form now. plenty of cycling to come to continue to build up aerobic base & some faster shorter runs on the track etc on the way as I build up for a 5km race which I've planned for next sunday.

Should certainly be sub 20. would be very disappointed if I didn't get that. It'd be my 1st 5km race having broke 20 mins although I've ran 19:53 at the 5km mark in an 8km race before...

I'm losing the weight slowly, 76kg now & this is my 3rd day in a row having eaten nothing but good food, I've totally cut out the crap & taking more water. it's working, I am of course putting on muscle (which obviously weighs more than fat) so I reckon I could get down to 72kg's but that'd be a stretch perhaps, would love to get to 70kg's though.. we'll see...

felt immaculate tonight except for my calves but that's good, running on ball of foot, running more often & using bike too so they're bound to protest I guess! as long as I've no shin splints & knee trouble etc, I'lm gonna be in flying form in 2016. I feel so blessed to be able to run.

I may be a misanthrope but I'm immensely grateful for the opportunity to possess this human body which allows me to run. I am grateful to be alive & have managed to find a few activities that keep me happy in which I manage to derive a great deal of pleasure from (the other 3 being mathematics, literature & metal) which is why I'm still here & havn't dumped myself off a cliff or blown my head off.

I'm at the cusp of taking cycling more "seriously" this year & am looking forward to exploring this form of physical exercise in gory detail. I've watched the tour de France every year since 2011 when Cadel Evans won it (when the tour is on I don't leave the house & immerse myself in it, (except to run of course)), if I lived in the real world (because lets face it going to college isn't the real world...) I'd book the 3 weeks off from work every July & watch it. Itv 4 now cover the Vuelta too but it's never the same...

these are prosperous times on the running front for me, so hope to keep it going this way.

Hill time

12km bike ride - 37 mins. Decided to go for a short cycle to blow out the cobwebs from yesterday. decided to go on a new route I hadnt done before, I knew it was hilly but I hadn't anticipated the gradient, I was lucky my chain didn't snap on the lowest gear! anyways good fun & hope to build up endurance on the bike this summer too maybe go out to moycullen (that's easy) then oughterard etc & eventually maam cross then build up for a day trip to clifden or something... it'll all be fine so long as I don't get a flat tyre! haha..

10km planned for 2moro, hope to rip it up!

Craughwell 10 mile road race - 1:11:45. Not bad at all considering the complete lack of training (this week I only managed an embarrasing 22 miles (but good for a final year STEM college student, right?) including the race of course! & about 30 km on the bike (if even that!)).

Went off with what I thought was a conservative pace. Then I checked the 1st mile split - 6:02  (holy shit!) although it was mostly downhill, regardless I knew I was going too fast but kept going anyway, I slowed slightly at mile 2 & then the inevitable bonk (& it was a proper bonk, not a bad patch which is what I was hoping for...) happened at mile 4 (26:30) (mile 3 - 19:32 (not a new 5km pb, remember 5km is 3.1 miles (but not far off 5km pb territory!))) where I had to let off the last of the decent runners like of Paul Fallon etc, the involuntary reduced pace seemed to last for about the next 3 miles...Jesus! normally you get a bad patch in a race & you get your second wind., but I wasn't so privileged this afternoon.

Through miles 5 & 6 33:45 & 41:02 respectively. I got to mile 8 (56:20) & then I started to feel a bit better. I was talking to a few guys from Clare river harriers along towards the end too, which was nice, but I hate doing that in races in general because I believe that in races you should be going full gas, 100% effort, all the time - talk/socialise at the start & end (especially the end!) absolutely, but you should be suffering so much (because after all, it is a race!) that you simply can't talk - but I gave in because they're sound lads & I had basically thrown in the towel at that point (although not completely). It's either that or I'm getting soft or wise (probably the latter).

If I was training 40 miles a week with additional cycling (a very possible situation within the next 9-15 months) imaging how good I could be. The hour mark for the 10 miler is no joke but I reckon I'm gonna do it in the next few years.

My 1:11 time today is on par to last year when I did a 10 mile road race in June on 30 miles/week training. So I'm already making improvements - that's promising. I'm also embracing suffering a lot more now - that's also conducive to faster (or what I'd call "improver") times later this year.

At the start of the race, for the 1st time ever I didn't go off like a lunatic & just relished the rare opportunity to be surrounded by the presence of other runners whom I've gotten to know over the years on the Galway road running scene. I looked to my left & right & just felt at home. Even that in itself was reason enough to show up today. As I have been doing all of my training solo these past 6 months or so I suppose it makes you appreciate these things that little bit more. I will probably join Harriers eventually but I'm putting it off, for now. I want to see how good I can get on my own before I need other people, but by the end of the year if I'm not in read & white singlet I'll be quite surprised really!

I really felt like I belonged in the race today amongst the top 1/5th of the field, everybody knows you to see & there's mutual respect for everyone, given by everyone else. I love that. Unspoken admiration. Perhaps a little bit backward/primitive but I enjoy that distance... make the whole thing that bit more elusive (it's like they say, never meet your heroes as you'll more than likely be disappointed for them not living up to your (rather skewed (generally)) expectations of what they ought to be like (according to you)) for me + I enjoy being the vampire/phantom & the fact that I'm not affiliated with any club any more which gives me even more anonimity which is wonderful. I'm going to enjoy running for myself this year.

2016 is going to be my selfish year. When I finish formally studying physics in college  (for the time being) I'm going to be devoting my time to studying mathematics full time (just for me!) along with training harder than I ever have before & am going to educate myself about classical literature etc to the best of my ability, & frankly, I can't fucking wait.

Weather was lovely today no wind or rain & cool 10 degrees. Beautiful conditions for running.

When I can find photos (of some of the top guys & then myself) of the race I'll post them. Bidwell won the race today so that's good keeping it in the county, of course this being the olympic year there was no sign of any serious thread from Raheny today (although I'll have to double check who that guy was who came second), anyway, today was a good day, smiles all round.

I am to shift the specifics of my training now to 5 km racing until june so it's time for some pain! 1km repeats every week from now on! but I'll still be building my aerobic base all the time with a 6-10 mile run on sundays to keep my honest. & plenty of cycling (paying huge dividens already - I wish someone had told me sooner!).

But yeah, overall I'm happy but there is so much more latent potential that I havn't tapped into yet, so my goals are to dig & to see how much I can extract from the reservoir over the coming years. I believe pretty much everybody is the same too, we've all got much more to give than we're already giving at any one activity but that's as a direct consequence of modern day living. life has become very complicated in recent years particularly with the turn of the century & we're all more stressed than ever. I must remember that running is a hobby & should (we all should) be able to forgive myself for putting in sub par performances when other (often much more important) areas of our lives are draining energy...

Sunday Cruise

10km in 44:55. Went rather well today, just felt really good all throughout. I was holding back taking it easy & not really trying at all.

had just cycled in & out of college (to drop in an assignment) prior to the run (& got pulled by the gardai & got a warning (he was on a motorbike - I saw him but kept going as there was nothing coming...) for breaking a red light. Idiots, all of us...) so was well warmed up.

I knew I was going to be on form today when I woke up as I felt genuinely refreshed after yesterday (as opposed to hungover - that's called getting your priorities right!) as I took the national holiday as an opportunity to catch up on some reading & leisurely study on Russian literature & watching a lecture given by Irwin Weil on dostoyevsky (just brilliant) etc... also no cycling so a total rest day (didn't leave the house)

My chest on this run was just so free I was going hard (controlled) down dr mannix road on the final km & I could talk easily, so it's clear I'm once again training at the moment at nowhere near my potenial so that's good. patience until June then, But the take home point here is that the cycling helps immensely. But I am 21 so damn right training is going well & am finding it easy...

went through my usual 3rd check point (1st & 2nd - 7:05 & 11:52 respectively) in 16:34 & that felt desperately slow so I'm definitely doing something right. I did feel really tired though earlier in the week, I must've recovered from whatever that was all about.

looking forward to Sunday now.I should break 1:15 comfortably, lets see what happens. I'll certainly do this is I'm feeling anyway like what I did this evening. havn't felt that composed & controlled on a run in many weeks.

It's nights like these when I realise why I love the sport & keep coming back for more. I'm just ever so grateful to have my health to be able to do this. it's a gift we all have, I just wish more people would take it up. It'd solve a lot of the worlds problems if everybody ran everyday like they do in Kenya etc... an ordinary life filled with modest things . keep it simple. happy days.

Cold Walk

10km - <= 50 mins had to walk a bit, cramps. (this run happened on tuesday (last night), I'm writing this on wednesday(today))

Had planned to run this Sunday gone but it didn't happen. It was either 10 miles or nothing so I just didn't bother tease myself with anything less so I sulked in protest instead & didn't go out at all.

Had been cycling all week to & from college so that's 50km in the legs, & have been cycling everyday this week too,

weather has been great in march so far,it's been so mild... so even though it's been 6 days since my last run I barely noticed the difference (so cycling does work!).

Got off bike & more or less straight into it... going fine through mile 1 in 6:55 then...bang. stitch developed rapidly in 3 places so had to slow it right down, so took the opportunity to work on running form (what else can one do in this scenario...) hoping that it'd subside if I slowed down for a minute or 2. no such luck had it for 10 mins at least & was in agony. it just wasn't letting up at all.

after 22 mins I walked a part of it the next 5 mins would've been the toughest part of the course so it was a subconscious to stop I suppose. then I only resumed running because it was half 9 at night & it was getting cold. which turned out to be fine & enjoyed about 18 mins of decent running even being able to go as hard as I liked so I derived something out of the session. Not a disaster so...

10km this fri, lets hope it goes a bit better than tonights efforts. I won't go mad though as I'll need to save myself for the race on sunday. I'm also working early saturday morning so there's always something...