Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Practice Pays Off

Back to the track for another marathon specific session. No ice to deal with tonight - but there was a stiff breeze in the home straight but all in all good conditions. After the normal 3.9km warm-up it was to be 10 x 1km at 10km pace with 200m jog+ recovery of around 55 to 60 seconds.

I led most of the reps and was consistently running them in the 3:16 to 3:19 range. Felt strong throughout apart from the last couple where the legs started to become tired. Good to have some company today with Barry and Owen who are both also running London right on my heels. Here are the times:

3:17,3:19,3:18,3:19,3:16,3:18,3:17,3:17,3:15,3:10

A 2.0km warm-down on the track and a hasty exit for darts.....all up 35 laps of the track in my racing flats. Tough going!

I practiced for about an hour and a half during the day and was reeling off the big scores (9 x 180s). Played okay in the pairs but lost and going into my singles the team was losing 7-0....well I managed a win after hitting another 180 followed with a 93 finish in the deciding leg. We also won the last game so it ended up as a 7-2 drubbing. Our league form has been woeful since Christmas....we will be lucky to stay second at this rate...

3 comments:

Martin Lyons said...

well Matt, liking your blog. hard luck not being able to run on sunday but, you look to be back flying already. got myself a dart board for christmas and looking to get practicing now. Any tips.?:-). Are you running the half marathon in Connemara on april 1st?

Martin Lyons
Mullingar Harriers

BeerMatt said...

Thanks for the comments Martin. We raced at the Galway Bay Half a few years back? Is my memory serving me right?

Anyway moving on to the darts. Make sure you get the board positioned at the correct height. Mark out your oche (I use a piece of masking tape) as that ensures you are always throwing from exactly the same spot. As for the throw, I've found it helps to try and stay as relaxed as possible. Try and keep the head still when you throw the dart. You'll soon get the hang of it. Really basic tips I'm afraid! Oh yeah, get yourself some decent darts. You'll probably need to try a few sets to get some that feel right and are the correct weight. Play better players as that will improve your game.

Yes I'm doing the half at Connemara on April 1st. I'll be using it as a final hit-out before the marathon some 3 weeks later.

Martin Lyons said...

Yes Matt you are correct. Iwas only chasing your shadow that day. The wind was tough on the pier.

I got a measuring mat with the board at xmas and got it hung at the right measurements.
The tips on relaxing the body and a good set of darts will be taking into consideration. Thanks.
I was in Galway at the weekend and a local challanged me to a game. We played off 301 and i bet him 2-0,however the standard of competition wasnt to hot!

Very good i am doing the half in connemara myself,looking forward to it.
I was chatting to Brian Brutton and Fintan Hyland around the pitches at the Dangan track and we done a few laps together. They were full of praise for you. See you in Connemara please god.