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.