Another week done....

Quick summary:

Mon - Treadmill 10km recovery 37:02

Tue - Treadmill 10km recovery 35:55

Wed - 2km up, 10km threshold 32:36, 2km down

Thu - 2km up, 10km threshold 32:36, 2km down

Fri - 2km up, 10km threshold 32:36, 2km down

Sat - Claregalway 9.5km easy run 37:42

Sun - Kilconeiron 5m road race. First in 27:22. All up 18.4kms with up/down.

Total 89.9kms for the week.

The race on Sunday was really tough. Very windy especially in the middle section of the course which was very exposed. I lost the will to live at one point and was grinding away going nowhere. This was on a course where I've ran 25:46 and I'm arguably in better shape now! Another win and a great charity event. Onwards and upwards - I'm getting slower each race I do at the moment which isn't a nice trend!

Gorgeous Gort 8km

This turned out to be an action replay of last year. In tougher conditions...

I warmed up with Owen and we made our way down to the start for the 1:30pm off. The race was soon underway and I was a little disappointed not to see any tractors parked on the high street this year as we made our way through town. A left turn and then it got a whole lot tougher as we were then running into a stiff breeze.

I'd opened up a bit of a lead and any thought of getting a bit of a drafting benefit of the lead van were quickly erased as said van was several hundred metres up the road. A couple of tough kilometres followed and then it got a bit easier as the course took another turn to the left. I didn't feel too great - maybe one too many beers the night before; a sore knee; or any other excuse you can think of.

The pace had at least picked up a bit and just before halfway it was time to make another left turn onto the main road just before the half way mark. Now the wind was on the back but that didn't seem to help me much. One of those days where I just felt a bit flat. At around 5km the course took a right turn and then it was time to welcome a lovely tough climb. Then a few more drags before a left turn where the course flattened out a bit.

At 7km there was another speed bump just to keep you honest. Then some welcome downhill back into town. I pushed on as best I could and crossed the line in 26:19 for the win. One year wiser and 15 seconds slower. Progress of the backwards variety!

A very enjoyable run and good to see the same top 3 as last year with my wingman Owen finishing in second place. Credit where it's due to South Galway AC who put on another great event and great to see so many marshals out on the course.

About 14.7kms for the day. And 71.7kms for the week. Pathetic volume but hopefully I can get back into it next week and get some threshold runs under the belt...

Mon to Sat

Here goes:

Mon - recovery run 12.6kms in 46:55 (3:43's). Left knee sore after XC - think I twisted it slightly...

Tue - 2km up, 13.8km threshold 45:10 (3:16's), 1.6km down. All up 17.4kms

Wed - rest. Previous days run was stupid and I was limping around as a result with a very sore knee.

Thu - 7km shuffle on the treadmill. Average HR 111. My zones start at 131 so they were junk miles.

Fri - 10km on treadmill in 37:13. Wound it up a bit and knee feeling a little stronger.

Sat - 10km treadmill in 36:36. In recovery zone and good to race tomorrow.

The week that was

Sorry for short updates....

Mon - 11.1km recovery run 41:37 (3:45's)

Tue - 2km up, 13.9km threshold run 45:06 (3:15), 1.6km down. All up 17.5kms

Wed - 11.1km recovery run 41:06 (3:42's)

Thu - 2km up, 10.0km threshold run 32:19 (3:14), 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Fri - 10.0km recovery run 35:58 (3:36's)

Sat - Rest

Sun - National Masters XC - 4km up, 7km race, no warm-down...

I had a very solid run in the XC. Conditions were perfect for me - nice and cold and fairly solid ground (not a mud bath). Lots of twists and turns and undulations and good fun to race on. One small lap of 1km and then 4 more laps of 1.5km. I settled into the lead group for the first couple of kms and was feeling great but lost a bit of ground in the middle of the race where I should have pushed on. I then finished the last couple of laps strongly and pegged back a few places to finish 10th overall and 3rd in the V40 category. Great to get a national medal at XC but looking back I think I could have done a bit better if I'd really pushed it in the middle section. Looking at the results I was only 16 seconds behind 3rd place and I committed the cardinal sin of falling off the back of the lead group. That wouldn't have happened on the road so I need to learn from it.

Here is a great snap:

That's 73.7kms for the week. Doing okay at the moment and building nicely towards some goal races in March.

Weekly Update

The week that was:

Mon - 11.1kms recovery run 42:00 (3:47/km)

Tue - 2km up, 13.7km threshold run 45:11 (3:18/km), 2km down, Total 17.7kms.

Wed - 10.0km treadmill recovery run 35:57 (3:36/km)

Thu - 2km up, 13.9km threshold run 45:06 (3:15/km), 1.6km down, Total 17.5kms.

Fri - 11.1kms recovery run 41:55 (3:47/km)

Sat - 10.0km  treadmill recovery run 36:31 (3:39/km)

Sun - 2km up, 14.0km threshold run 45:08 (3:13/km), 2.0km down, Total 18.0kms.

Total 95.4kms for the week.

Three good threshold runs in there (all treadmill). Pace getting quicker each time so that's a good sign. Happy with my progress.

Next week - more of the same with the National Masters XC in Tuam on the weekend.

Dad arrived Wednesday so a few visits to the pub to report.