10km 43:52
Went off easy tonight 2:58 1TC, 7:05, 11:20, 16:10 & 17:20 - very pedestrian & I felt it! Only a maintenance run tonight so that's ok...
knee began the usual protests but thankfully they decided to peter out only to return later in the run - the final 2km I'd no problems at all, very strange - when I was done the run no creaking like their has been in recent weeks - maybe it's getting better!
yeah was 30 flat at the turn into Joyces & 30:58 leaving it - I then really slowed on kingston, just a combination of boredom, lack of motivation as there's no races etc
Great to get back into decent territory as I easily threw away at least a minute taking my time all throughout the route. I was never tru;y out of breath - no more than 70% of my max on any part of the route so that's nice going considering...
Lovely weather, although the ground was very wet in parts, no wind or rain & about 11 degrees. did this about 9:30pm...
Planned a morning cycle tomorrow to Oranmore as weather is good to - why the hell not!
Have a week off from work so have time to put down a decent block of training whilst being careful not to overtrain at the same time - when in doubt - cycle!
Life is good.
Monday, 30 January 2017
Tuesday, 24 January 2017
Reality
6.7km loop 28:40
tough going. Hadn't ran since the race in Tuam (just the cycling in & out to work) so was always going to be non ideal.
The first half was alright but after kingston road the wheels began to come off.
2:51, 7 mins flat & 11:47 were the benchmark time checks so nothing wrong with that, but then the inevitable fatigue set in - wheezing etc, was reduced to a placid jog at the petrol stations so I knew I was done.
At the garda station I was 22:40 so not terribly slow but significant (I've gone sub 22 here before).
It was obvious that I wasn't gonna break 28 mins tonight, I just knew my average cruising speed was slower & I reached the mini roundabout in 19:30 I've done sub 19 before too.
The maree 8km has been moved to June so now I've no race to run until march so that deflated my motivation - I'm also busy job hunting so running not a terribly high priority at the moment.
Just a bit rusty overall (can be back to running sub 28s within a week if necessary with ease).
Just hoping the 10km I've planned goes well on thursday as my knee was giving me trouble also about 15 mins in - the discomfort subsided along the prom but it's very very annoying to have that niggle present say the least - it makes you doubt yourself...
If the knee behaves itself I'll try & pull off a sub 44 on a brand new 10km route I've devised for myself - us runners are notorious for being creatures of habit so I aim to break this convention.
The route incorporates the quincentennial bridge, the dyke road, that horrendous hill on St Bridget's Terrace (must be one of the steepest in galway) & lough atalia - I'm looking forward to testing this one out. Some of these roads I used to frequent in my thai boxing days - it'll be good to revisit some old roads again.
tough going. Hadn't ran since the race in Tuam (just the cycling in & out to work) so was always going to be non ideal.
The first half was alright but after kingston road the wheels began to come off.
2:51, 7 mins flat & 11:47 were the benchmark time checks so nothing wrong with that, but then the inevitable fatigue set in - wheezing etc, was reduced to a placid jog at the petrol stations so I knew I was done.
At the garda station I was 22:40 so not terribly slow but significant (I've gone sub 22 here before).
It was obvious that I wasn't gonna break 28 mins tonight, I just knew my average cruising speed was slower & I reached the mini roundabout in 19:30 I've done sub 19 before too.
The maree 8km has been moved to June so now I've no race to run until march so that deflated my motivation - I'm also busy job hunting so running not a terribly high priority at the moment.
Just a bit rusty overall (can be back to running sub 28s within a week if necessary with ease).
Just hoping the 10km I've planned goes well on thursday as my knee was giving me trouble also about 15 mins in - the discomfort subsided along the prom but it's very very annoying to have that niggle present say the least - it makes you doubt yourself...
If the knee behaves itself I'll try & pull off a sub 44 on a brand new 10km route I've devised for myself - us runners are notorious for being creatures of habit so I aim to break this convention.
The route incorporates the quincentennial bridge, the dyke road, that horrendous hill on St Bridget's Terrace (must be one of the steepest in galway) & lough atalia - I'm looking forward to testing this one out. Some of these roads I used to frequent in my thai boxing days - it'll be good to revisit some old roads again.
Monday, 16 January 2017
Tuam 8km
Tuam 8km road race - 32:50, Not bad at all...
didn't run all week (since the 3rd of janruary! some neck going to a road race!) as I hadn't planned on going (because I didn't feel my absolute best) so I was dreading this one. I decided to do it on saturday.
Had a fairly decent run actually in near perfect conditions, 11 degrees with an occasional slight drizzle. Some Lithuanian olympic marathon runner won it in 24:47... He's 24 & he's a 2:16 marathon to his name - unbelievable! (He's 6 foot & 69kgs - I knew I was at least 5kgs overweight!!!).
Was with a group of 5 (we were 9-13th on the road at this stage) including my old pal mike from Maree AC for the 1st km, then I saw we went through that in 3:11 (but it's virtually all down hill - a very easy 1st km by most races standards - headfords 1st km is uphill), which honestly felt very easy but I knew the wheels would come off very soon if I didn't back off so I let them go & went into cruise control.
With that 1st km I really felt I was holding back & almost jogging, it was really weird as I'm in no shape to be mixing it at the front with the likes of the company I was keeping in that 1st km but it felt so easy - I felt any slower & I'd be doing myself an injustice so I went with it.
I'm finally learning how to race! It's taking me a while but I'm getting there. My first races were in 2013... Been at this a while now! haha...
Honestly that 1st km pace I reckon I could hold that for most of the race in a few years time when I'm stronger & more cycling running/training thrown in, art least I feel that's where I should be as everton who passed me after that point 35 odd people (I placed 50th out of 309 people - say 120 of those are "serious" runners - the rest of the entries are fun runners/joggers etc (>8 min mile pace)).
Yeah 3:10/km pace is tough & would put you in for a 25:30 8km say sub 26 anyways. Whatever about that I do believe I'm capable of breaking 27 mins for this distance - I suspect that'll be my lifetime goal. Thankfully I've time on my side, break 30 mins 1st, then we'll talk.
Of course what saved me was the cycling on tues eve & sat to work & brisk walking (2-3 miles) every day. I seem to respond well to lots of rest - that's for sure. I just never seemed to be a big trainer, can't do it... after 30 miles a week the body just packs up & I get injured etc, very annoying as the big gains come from say 30-40 miles a week to 50-60 miles a week, those people are 2 very different athletes. In short, my youth is saving me at the moment - wow I love being 22!
race results link: http://www.myrunresults.com/events/tuam_ac_8k_road_race/1983/results
2nd km in 7:10, 3rd km 11;10 also 4th km 15:12 & through 5km in 19:32 - that's 20 secs faster than I've ever been in at this point in an 8km race so that's good... At 6km I saw Zola from Sligo AC (1st woman) pass me & then I really threw in the towel! So yeah I slowed for sure towards the end but it's exactly what I though - I need more endurance. In time my son, in time!
I really gave up (as I did in the streets 2015 when I ran my 32:42 pb) at the 7km mark -could've gotten 32:30 if I pushed but I didn't fancy the suffering - I was just happy to be running a somewhat half decent time with no knee pain.
I knew I was gonna be ok as I went for a mile warm up before the start & I felt good so I knew I was ok. I then went for a 3km cool down with mike around Tuam town after the race - I was fine for the most part but the knee paid for it later in the evening, quite sore to bend, but it's a pain that you know for sure will go away if you give the joint some rest...
I'm writing this at 8 in the morning the day after & so far my knee is nearly perfect again - such a strange discomfort - monitoring it all the time is a nuisance! it's an achy/creaky discomfort on the side of my left knee. Went to bed at 10:30 last night & wanted to get up at 6. I'm getting healthier now!
Have my old clubs annual 8km to look forward to now on the 5th of feb, so I'm really looking forward to that. Hopefully I can keep myself in some sort of decent shape for it & break 32 (at least!).
Tuesday, 3 January 2017
Boom.
10km 42:28. Great start to the year. A new PB for the course & if my 10km route is in fact 10.00km (I'm certain it is +- 100m or so, then that's my second fastest 10km time ever!)
The only negative is that at about the 5th mile in my knee began to give me a little trouble. I reckon it's just a niggle. I went for a 2km cool down (unlike me but I just felt so good!) & I'd to walk as I was putting too much pressure on the joint.
Splits were unreal! 2:51, 6:55, 11:10, 15:47, 16:54, 19:40, can't recall the top of the hill one (I slowed alot though along this section (ballymoneen to western distributor then picked it up again towards joyces) 29:10, 30:00 35:00, 36:25, Then the left knee started to give me bother (on the outside, side & slighlty below the keecap) so whilst I certainly pushed it, I cruised home rather than go 100% all out.
This is more like it. I'm 22 & have been running for years now. I was just focused on my breathing - ensuring to take in lots of oxygen relaxing the shoulders & watching the running form.
There is no reason as to why I can't be doing this regularly now. I've always had this ability so now I'm finally delivering it, that's great. I'm doing, as you know nothing special training wise. Perhaps that's been it for me - I've never responded well to higher milage My body always buckles under bigger worksloads, so I'm going to stick to what I know, decent training but with plenty of recovery too...
The overall effort was hard but very comfortable. I'd say 80% of my max. In short I just had a very good session, but it was very promising. I always knew I could run like this but it's grreat to actually go out & prove that I can do this too...
I relaxed & acknowledged that I wasn't even pushing it that hard, & many times throughout was able to breath in & out as if I was sitting down, so clearly I'm nowhere near maxing out at all. A great sign.
The weather was absolutely ideal. about 8 degrees, with no wind/rain - perfect for running. Slightly warmer than last night too.
I will cycle tomorrow as a means to increase the cardio for Tuams sake but will be very careful to monitor the knee.
I've a track session planed for thurdsay so am hoping that the knee will respond well to this... let's wait & see...
doing 42's in training is a very good sign for what I could do in a race. sub 40 will happen almost certainly this year maybe even before the summer, we'll have to wait & see.
The only negative is that at about the 5th mile in my knee began to give me a little trouble. I reckon it's just a niggle. I went for a 2km cool down (unlike me but I just felt so good!) & I'd to walk as I was putting too much pressure on the joint.
Splits were unreal! 2:51, 6:55, 11:10, 15:47, 16:54, 19:40, can't recall the top of the hill one (I slowed alot though along this section (ballymoneen to western distributor then picked it up again towards joyces) 29:10, 30:00 35:00, 36:25, Then the left knee started to give me bother (on the outside, side & slighlty below the keecap) so whilst I certainly pushed it, I cruised home rather than go 100% all out.
This is more like it. I'm 22 & have been running for years now. I was just focused on my breathing - ensuring to take in lots of oxygen relaxing the shoulders & watching the running form.
There is no reason as to why I can't be doing this regularly now. I've always had this ability so now I'm finally delivering it, that's great. I'm doing, as you know nothing special training wise. Perhaps that's been it for me - I've never responded well to higher milage My body always buckles under bigger worksloads, so I'm going to stick to what I know, decent training but with plenty of recovery too...
The overall effort was hard but very comfortable. I'd say 80% of my max. In short I just had a very good session, but it was very promising. I always knew I could run like this but it's grreat to actually go out & prove that I can do this too...
I relaxed & acknowledged that I wasn't even pushing it that hard, & many times throughout was able to breath in & out as if I was sitting down, so clearly I'm nowhere near maxing out at all. A great sign.
The weather was absolutely ideal. about 8 degrees, with no wind/rain - perfect for running. Slightly warmer than last night too.
I will cycle tomorrow as a means to increase the cardio for Tuams sake but will be very careful to monitor the knee.
I've a track session planed for thurdsay so am hoping that the knee will respond well to this... let's wait & see...
doing 42's in training is a very good sign for what I could do in a race. sub 40 will happen almost certainly this year maybe even before the summer, we'll have to wait & see.
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