Improving your marathon time

This is in response to a question posed by Ian on how I went about improving my marathon time from sub 3 to sub 2:30 in the past 5 years. Here goes.

Keeping things simple, the keys to my training which have led to the improvement in time would be:

1) Consistency - don't get too caught up on running massive kms. I average about 80 to 90 kms per week in the build up to a marathon. This reduces risk of injury, keeps the body fresh, and allows you to monitor progress as you repeat similar sessions. Not having to miss sessions builds confidence.

2) Get your basic sessions in each week. A big (read massive) turning point for me was starting to run track in 2007 - with the aim of improving speed through all the race distances (the quicker you can run a lap, the quicker you will run a marathon). In addition I would do regular races (failing that tempo runs) - my philosophy is that races push you much more than you will in other sessions. Plus the bread and butter long run (between 2 and 2 and a half hours with varying amounts at marathon pace). I have also done some longish mid-week runs in the past, focusing on hilly routes, to develop leg strength. Plus recovery runs when required. And don't be stupid - if you're feeling tired, take a rest day.

3) Weight. Since I've been running marathons my weight has dropped 7kgs or so. No surprise that the more weight I have lost, the quicker my times have become. I haven't taken this to the extreme, nor do I intend to, but a few kgs can make a big difference over 42.2kms.

I can't think of anything else off the top of my head but I'd say the above sums up my improvement in a nutshell.

Anyway, today I did another easy run. My 9.5km local loop in 39:06. It was a fabulous late afternoon for a run. The sun was shining and it was 16 degrees. How good is that? And my calf seems a little better. All good.

Recovery Run

Legs sore today. I feel like I've been stabbed in the left calf. So out for a run to try and run it off. A very easy jaunt of 10km in 46:14. No improvement post run. I'll be right after a few days...

I'll try and add a few photos over the next few days. Here's one to start with:

Craughwell Ten

Arrived in good time to pick up my race number. The whole set-up was very impressive and well organised. Lots of volunteers on hand to help out and a great finishing area that included a huge marquee full of food. For a moment I thought I had gatecrashed a wedding. Very promising.

I hadn't planned on doing much of a warm-up as I wanted to save my legs. I ran down to the start which was about 1km and then did a few strides before lining up for the start. Soon the countdown was underway and 5-4-3-2-1 we were off. Racing at Craughwell.

One guy went straight to the front leaving me in second. The start was running into the wind but you didn't notice it straight away as the adrenaline is flowing. I settled into a good rhythm and whilst the leader was quickly disappearing up front, I was running on my lonesome in second. The first mile passed in 5:09 (way too quick). Only 9 miles to go...

The course itself was an out and back section of well over a mile, with a loop stuck on the end. I haven't described that very well. It was like a lollipop. So you ran the first section twice (start and finish) with the 10 miles being made up with the big loop. Confused?

By the second mile I had slowed a lot. I could feel I was running slower as the wind was more noticeable but the mile split of 5:30 was an indication it could be a tough day. I kept plugging away and it was some way before the 3rd mile that I was joined by Paul who seemed to move up on me effortlessly. I decided to stick with him and we then preceded to have an almighty battle...

I don't recall too much of the detail mile by mile. We both took many turns running at the front. The pattern was that I would lose ground on the uphill drags, and then make up ground on the flat/downhill sections. One hill session in 9 months will do that. Anyway, the 3rd mile passed in 5:24 so at least I had picked up the pace slightly. Having someone to race with makes such a difference, it keeps you focused. The 4th mile was a 5:22 and we were still shoulder to shoulder. This continued over mile 5 and with a split of 5:28 it was halfway in a time of 26:53.

At this point I was feeling far from good. My immediate thought was that a sub 54 finish was not going to happen. The legs were very heavy, and the calves (left especially) felt like I was in the closing stages of a marathon. So what do you do in this situation? Try a big surge? So with a huge effort I dropped in a quick mile of 5:11 and I managed to open up a little gap. That was a grand plan in theory but it still meant I had 4 miles to go. At least I was now running with the benefit of the wind.

Sure enough more hills followed and within the next mile Paul had caught me again. The 7th mile was a 5:20 so still going alright despite feeling crap. I may have tried another surge in the 8th mile - a last throw of the dice - but still we were running side by side. The split was a quick 5:15 and that was me done and dusted.

Paul started to work away from me from this point leaving me in 3rd spot. At the back of my mind I still knew there was a nasty drag in the last mile so I'd all but given up on 2nd place. So 2 miles to go, that's 8 laps of the track. All of a sudden that felt like a huge distance. Why do you put yourself through this?

I think somewhere in the 9th mile I rejoined the same part of the course I had already run with a sharp left turn. The 9 mile marker slowly arrived with a split of 5:22 with Paul less than 10 seconds in front of me. The dreaded hill came and went and with 800m to go I really tried running hard but was fighting a losing battle. So I just decided to "enjoy" the final section and attempted a few smiles which probably looked like grimaces to any of the spectators in the finishing chute.

I crossed the line in 53:20 (a 5:19 last mile). That time was extremely pleasing. That's exactly 5:20 per mile with a big negative split of 26 seconds in the second 5 miles (mainly due to the wind?). According to McMillan that's a better run than my half from the previous week (1:10:50). So that's especially pleasing considering my legs were very tired in the closing stages of today's race.

I really enjoyed the day, especially the 5 miles of racing with Paul. At the finish area I had to get a massage on my left calf which had reduced me to a slight limp. I need to toughen up. I'll be okay after getting a rub in the next week and resting up for a few days.

Well done to the organisers. You couldn't really ask for more from a runner's perspective. A great course, a huge field, chip timing, t-shirts, massage, drinks, and an all you can eat buffet.

I finished up with a slow 1km hobble. All up 18km for the day and 54.9km for the week. And more beer tonight to celebrate.

I should say a special congratulations to the winner of the race. In a time of 49:12! That's a very impressive time. Well done indeed.

Family Day

Today was zero running. The clan headed into Galway for a spot of shopping and I got a go faster haircut.

It should be a good race tomorrow. I'm hoping there will be half a dozen runners or so around the 54 minute mark to push each other along. I was 54:12 at the 10 mile mark last week so in an ideal world I'd be hoping to go a bit quicker than that.

Most people give up drink for Lent. I haven't had a dry day since Lent. Not that I'm worried as beer makes you run quicker. Try it.

Friday

A local 9.5km trot in 38:50. I'll rest up tomorrow in preparation for the race on Sunday. That's 3 rest days this week...

I managed to get a spot in the Galway 5km series. Looking forward to that.

Fitness test

Today I decided to do a longer run to see how the legs reacted. I opted for 10 miles and I wanted to cruise round in a decent enough time without pushing it.

I covered 16.4kms and my route was basically 3 loops around Claregalway. A 9km, 5km and 2km loop (round numbers). The time was 1:06:49 so 4:04/km.

Legs still a little sore, especially the calves, but I'm happy enough with that. So I've decided to race again this Sunday in the Craughwell 10 miler. I just need to enter now.

Oh yeah, happy St Patrick's Day to all. A lovely day for a Guinness...

More rest

Legs still not feeling right so took another day off. I could get used to this.

Celebrations gearing up for St Patrick's Day on Thursday. I'll see if I can get out for a jog tomorrow to at least build up a thirst.

Back in the saddle

I left the run late. Absolutely no motivation to get out there, and eventually out the door at 8:30pm.

It was very cold - must have been close to freezing. Legs were still sore and heavy and I wobbled around my 11km night run in a slow 47:35 (4:20/km). If I decide to run on Sunday I'll either have a blinder or a shocker...

Monday

No running today. Too sore, tired and hungover.

A bit more time to reflect on the half. I think I could find another minute on a quicker course. Then I'm getting very close to the 70 minute mark. I plan to run 3 or 4 more halfs before the year is out so hopefully better things still to come.

Hopefully some photos to follow soon.

This week I'll do some easy running. If I feel okay towards the end of the week I may then run the Craughwell 10 mile race on Sunday.

Norwich Half Marathon

Weather seemed okay. It had been raining overnight but had cleared by the morning. The temperature was around 11 degrees so all was well.

I got to the race about an hour early. After a cup of coffee, and a short warm-up with a few strides, it was time to start racing. I was standing in the second row and got a pretty good start and quickly joined the lead group. We stuck together as we did a section around the showground before exiting onto the main road. The first mile passed in 5:06 so that was way too quick and I panicked a little and let the group get away from me to leave me in 4th place.

The course itself was 2 laps so you got a good feel for the course on the first lap. The start of the lap was fairly flat, then there was a downhill section before a long gradual climb back up to the showground.

The second mile passed with me running solo in 4th place in a split of 5:15. Again too quick. I was then joined by 2 other runners who must have started conservatively and was quickly overtaken by both of them to leave me in 6th place. So I was back running by myself and the miles ticked by with splits of 5:34, 5:19 (downhill) and 5:25 (target pace). So 26:39 at the 5 mile marker. I should mention that there was a fair bit of wind on the course. The flat/downhill section seemed to be into a very stiff breeze, with the benefit of the wind on the uphill section. Not ideal for racing.

The long climb into the showground was a really tough drag. My mile split was 5:31 but it felt a good bit slower. Then we had to do a few loops through the showground running on mainly path but with a section on the grass for about 100m. I was glad to get back onto the road and whilst one of the runners who had overtaken me was a good way in the distance, I seemed to be closing in on the 5th placer runner.

The 7th mile was passed with another 5:31 mile so I was slowing a little. Sure enough I caught the 5th place runner and went in front and the runner behind me seized the opportunity to stick to me like glue leaving me doing all the work into the wind. I must have tried at least half a dozen surges to drop him but couldn't shake him off.

Miles 8,9 and 10 passed in 5:31, 5:34 and 5:26 and my shadow was still there. He was running so close he clipped my heels a few times which was frustrating but that's racing. The time on the clock at 10 miles was 54:12 so that was bang on target despite starting the race too quick.

Mile 11 was the dowhnill section and despite a really quick surge for about 200m I still couldn't drop the runner behind me. The split was 5:23 but felt a lot quicker - I still felt strong but lacked a bit of speed in the legs.

The 12th mile was the long drag back to the showground. A very tough section and I think I subconsciously slowed a little to save myself for a quick last mile. The mile split was the slowest of the race in 5:44. Time to press for home.

To my surprise after only lifting the pace a little, I had finally dropped the runner behind me. I continued to surge on for what felt like 3 minutes but was probably only half that time. The last section was twists and turns and lapping the slower runners. I was really struggling with half a mile to go but managed to keep it going to cross the line in 5th place in 1:11:15 (the last 1.1 miles covered in 5:56). The clock under the finish line was 20 seconds fast so initially I thought I had broken 71 minutes only for that joy to be short-lived after I looked at my own watch!

So very happy with the race and time. That's a 39 second PB on a challenging course with a tough wind to deal with. The winner ran 1:08:23 and the second place runner ran 1:09:02. Apparently the second place guy had run 65 minutes at the Bath half the previous week so that goes to show how tough the course was. The runner I had a duel with had run 67 before so that was a good scalp.

I finished up with a short warm-down. All up 23.1km for the day.

Total 75.3kms for the week.

Saturday

A nice and relaxing day. In the pub at 3pm for darts and cards. I had a couple of pints and lost to my Dad at darts 10-8 after being 8-7 up. Not good. Then I won at cards so that just about made up for it.

Then out for a meal in the evening before meeting a few more mates in another pub. In bed by 11pm.

Training done

My final training run. A 7km jaunt in the cold (5 degrees) and rain in a time of 30:23. Glad just to knock this run off and enjoy the rest day tomorrow.

Travel tonight and maybe a few beers en route.

I'll be offline until Monday night but the results of the half should be up on the website after Sunday's race:

http://www.cityofnorwichhalfmarathon.com/

The target remains at 71 minutes. Go out hard and hang on - my only race plan.

Good luck to anyone who is racing this weekend. Especially those doing the 6ft track race in the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney. This race enjoys cult status and after watching the race 3 times I must say I still have no desire to do it! Here's the website if you are interested:

http://www.sixfoot.com/

TTFN.

Thursday

An easy run during daylight hours for a change. My 9.5km route was covered off in 39:29 (4:09/km).

Weather forecast not looking great for Sunday - rain and wind. Still, it's the same for everyone.

On track, off track, on track

Weather changeable. Clear one minute, windy and raining the next. Galway weather.

A 30 minute warm-up (estimate 6.5km). Then after a few drills and strides it was into the start of the session. It was 4 x 400's off 1 minute, followed by 15 mins tempo, finishing with 4 x 400's. The luxury of 3 minutes either side of the tempo with the 400's to be run on the track, and the tempo run around the football pitches.

Times were as follows:

1st set of 400's: 72/72/70/68

15 mins tempo - not sure of distance, I covered 3 full laps of the course in 13 minutes, plus the extra 2 mins. I'll call it 4.3km - could have been a little more.

2nd set of 400's: 70/67/66/64

Finished with a 2km warm-down - all up 16km - happy enough. The tempo was to be run at 10km race pace and it certainly wasn't (slower) - but I just can't get the legs moving on the grass/paths. Having said that, I was pushing them hard so the effort level was certainly up there. The last couple of 400's were a bit too quick but felt comfortable (ish).

So a few easy runs the next couple of days and a rest day on Saturday. Training done. Am I feeling confident? Definitely not - but that's perfectly normal. I'm certainly running well at the minute and I've trained almost as hard for this race as a full marathon so hopefully it all pays off on Sunday.

More importantly, a good win (draw) for the Spurs! Hopefully avoid Barca in the next round...

Easy running

Another local night run. Only 8.0km today in 34:23 (4:18's). Weather not great - windy and a few icy showers to deal with. Tick the session off and move on. Track tomorrow.

Here is a photo from the recent Kilconeiron race. Great work again from the photographer!

Tuning up

Tonight was some running at target half marathon pace - 2 x 2.4km broken up with 1.6km of steady running. Again I was running in the dark so was forced to use the footpath along the main road - far from ideal. My course was a 1.4km out/1km back section of road which was fairly flat and obviously had a sharp switch of direction at the turnaround point.

Following a 2.6km warm-up, I went straight into the session. The first interval passed without incident in 7:51 (3:16/km pace). After the next 1.6km of steady running, I knocked out the second one in 7:54 (3:18/km pace). Both felt pretty comfortable. Finished off with a 2.7km warm-down.

Thinking about it, I ran these a little too quick. That pace is more like my current 10km pace. Whoops. So what is my half marathon target pace? I think 3:22/km would be sensible. That would have me going through 10km in 33:40 and if I could maintain that pace it would equate to 1:11:02 at the finish line. This plan is liable to change over the next few days....

End of another week

Another late night run. More running up and down the N17 many times over. Total distance 20.3kms in 1:26:29 (4:15's).

So that's 97.1kms for the week. I missed doing some longer tempo efforts this week so I may try and squeeze that session in next week. Not a great week of training but a good time in Spain eating and drinking too much!

I checked the results of the Barcelona Marathon and the winner ran 2:07. Slow course - not. That's 3 minute clicks. Clucking bell...

Barcelona

Just back from Barcelona so an update of my running whilst away:

Wed - an easy 46 minute run to find my feet. I ran up and down Diagonal Ave and did a few laps of the grounds of one of the Royal houses. Estimate 10.5kms.

Thu - the plan was to run to the Olympic Stadium. Ideally to do some intervals either on the track or a nice flat section of ground. I got hopelessly lost so decided to turn the run into an easy 70 minutes instead. By the end of the run I had at least worked out where I had gone wrong. Estimate 16kms. That's 4 days of easy running on the trot now...

Fri - visited the Olympic Stadium earlier in the day and there was no access to the track so in desperate need of some intervals I ran into the heart of the city down by the water and ran some flat reps of about 550m off one minute recovery. I did a set of 16 and had the benefit of the wind in one direction. The times were metronome like (1:43 with the wind, 1:47 against, average 1:45). I'm only guessing the distance of 550m based on the time but I was running hard so a 1:45 works out to about 3:10/km pace. All up 17.3km with the warm-up/down.

Sat - another easy run of 49 minutes (estimate 11kms).

Barcelona is a fantastic city - certainly lots to do and despite being there for 4 days, it seems like I was only scratching the surface on seeing what the city has to offer. Highly recommended.

Coincidentally, the Barcelona Marathon was on Sunday and looked very impressive. I visited the expo on Saturday to get a feel for the event but didn't get a chance to watch the actual race as my flight out was early Sunday morning...

Short and sweet

Same run as yesterday. This time a bit slower in 45:27 for the 11km.

Making plans for Norwich

Less than 2 weeks to go. I'm just in the process of finalising my training schedule this week which will involve some shorter intervals and one more tempo session. I just need to juggle the sessions with travel to and from Spain.

Tonight I ran my 11km "night run". More glorious conditions for running and although taking it easy I knocked off the 11kms in 43:47. That's a shade under 4 minutes per km so probably a bit too quick for an easy session.

So why Norwich? It may surprise you that's where I am from (no I am not an Aussie or Kiwi). Look it up and you'll find out all about Colman's mustard, Delia Smith, Carrow (Carrot) Road and Alan Partridge...

Kilconieron 5 Miler

About 30 minute drive to this race. I surprised myself by not getting lost and arriving in plenty of time for registration and a 4km warm-up. A bit of confusion as to whether this was an 8km race or a 5 miler (not that it makes much difference), but after the warm-up I could see the course was marked in miles so 5 miles it was to be.

The weather was glorious. A little breeze but we were bathed in spring sunshine (11 degrees). I listened to the course description over the loudspeaker and headed back to the car to change into my racing flats. It sounded basically flat with nothing to worry about. I'd forgotten my GCH race singlet so I had to make due with another top. No problem.

The countdown was soon underway and we were racing. A good crowd of over 200 I'd say and I went out quickly following the lead car. A slight uphill section at the start, but the course soon flattened out followed by some gradual downhill. The mile markers take their time arriving when you are used to kms but I was pleased to tick off the first mile in 5:01 - time in the bank. No other runners around me and I was soon taking a left turn into a more exposed section. At this point it felt quite breezy but I focused on the lead car and after a few twists and turns over a very flat section the second mile marker was passed with a 5:10 split. Again ahead of schedule and so far so good.

The third mile was a bit of a slog. Again there was some turns and there may have been a slight uphill section into the breeze but nothing too daunting. I certainly did not back off and after another left turn the third mile was passed with a 5:18. Slowing a little but 15:29 with 2 miles to go and I was confident I could find something for the finish.

The fourth mile and I was back on track. A more sheltered part of the course and again predominantly flat and straight with the breeze on the back. This suits my style of running and I had soon knocked off another mile in 5:09. One final push required. The start of the last mile was bloody tough. A long uphill drag that I estimate must have went on for a good 600m. It felt like I was slowing but thankfully the course levelled off and there was a good downhill section to the finish where I really picked up the pace to cross the line in first place in 25:46 (a 5:08 last mile).

Very happy with the time (5:09 per mile or 3:12 per km). According to McM that's equivalent to a 32:18 10km (a big PB) but not where I want to be for the half (1:11:52). But what does he know!

A great day out - well organised and hopefully lots of money raised for charity. I finished up running another lap of the course as a warm-down so all up 20km for the day.

That's 86.9km for the week. Only 2 weeks now until the half so I'll do a few decent sessions next week before a one week taper. I'm off to Barcelona this week for 4 nights for some R&R with the wife and zero kids in tow. Which is nice.

Rest Day

No running today. The body is feeling good at the moment - no excuses at hand. I'm guaranteed a PB tomorrow as I've never run a 5 mile race. I think that's 47m (rounded) more than 8km so about 9 seconds more than an 8km race if you want to compare times. Sub 26 would be a very solid run.

Longer than normal

I decided that tomorrow was to be a freshener upper (today being 20 days of running with no rest). So to compensate I decided to do a longer run to get the weekly miles up.

Same route as Jan 9th. A double loop in Claregalway. I started running at 5pm and there was still plenty of daylight rays by 6:12 and 50 seconds. Distance of 17.6kms (11 miles) at a pace of 4:08/km. Feeling good at the moment.

A few beers tonight. Maybe 10...

Thursday

An easy run on the treadmill - 10km in 41:48 so a carbon copy of last week.

The dreaded 4 lappers

A 6.4km warm-up before some drills and strides. Conditions a little windy around the final bend and finishing straight but not too bad. I wasn't looking forward to this - the plan was to run them at the same pace as my 800's from 2 weeks previous so that meant 5 minutes per effort (round numbers). I had the luxury of 90 seconds recovery which was plenty to start with, but much needed come the business end.

As always with this type of session, I use the first one as a barometer. Run it at a very honest pace and hope that's enough to get you somewhere near the target. If you hit the first one it's a good sign that the session will go well. Miss it and it's going to be a struggle.

Well tonight I had a very good night. Times went as follows:

5:01,4:58,4:56,4:58,4:59

That's my quickest set of 1600's by a long chalk. See below - note all of these were done off 60 seconds recovery so maybe that makes a big difference:

Jun 30th 2010 - 5:19,5:14,5:15,5:10,5:06
Aug 4th 2010 - 5:13,5:12,5:11,5:11,5:09,5:07
Aug 17th 2010 - 5:10,5:10,5:09,5:08,5:08,5:01
Sep 30th 2010 - 5:08,5:07,5:06,4:59
Nov 17th 2010 - 5:34,5:22,5:20,5:20,5:21,5:23
Jan 12th 2011 - 5:22,5:16,5:14,5:14,5:08

Tonight I was running a quick first lap (approx 72 seconds). Then cruising the middle 2 laps before cranking up the pace again the last lap. Not sure if you are supposed to run them at even pace for maximum training benefit - who knows? Anyway, I felt good throughout and always felt like I had another gear.

I finished up with 11 laps warm-down. All up 18.8km for the night.

Hopefully this form translates into a good time on Sunday. Assuming it's a flat course I would like to break 26 minutes.

Tuesday

My local 9.5km route. Time 39:24. Grey and wet with lots of puddles to dodge.

I wish I was on the N17

Well tonight I was. Up and down, up and down. A late night run covering 11km in 44:48 (4:04/km). The run felt really easy. Perfect running conditions helped.

This week I'll do mile reps at the track on Wednesday. Then race on Sunday (a 5 miler - a new distance for me!) and this will double up as a long run. Easy running around those sessions with maybe a rest day thrown in for good measure.

Long Run

Started at 8:30am at Dangan. We did a bit around the football fields before heading into town for the Cathedral run. Very blustery and it felt like you were copping the wind all the way round. Finished by running back to Dangan and tagging a bit more on to get the 2 hours done.

Nice pace - it felt really easy and the time goes so much quicker when you are running with a group. The exact time was 2:04:10 and I was told we covered 16.54 miles. That's 26.6km at a pace of 4:40/km.

A total of 104.9km for the week. Another couple of weeks like this would be nice before a mini-taper for the half.

5km Time Trial

Great conditions in Dangan. I arrived early and ran for a 27 minute warm-up. Then a quick change into my racing flats and it was soon time to line up at the start.

I was targeting 76 second laps which would give me a 15:50. I was hoping that pace would feel manageable and I could put a few seconds in the bank along the journey. There were 7 runners at the start - me, the 2 Brians, Paul, Enda, Barry and Owen. After a bit of banter we were off.

I went straight to the front and settled into a pace that felt comfortable. The first lap was a 74 and I was feeling good. A little headwind as you came off the final bend and along the home straight but nothing to worry about. From then on it's all about keeping your head - concentrating on each lap and trying to keep the pace constant. The first km was a 3:08 so a few seconds in the bag.

The next couple of kms passed without incident. Counting down the laps and feeling like you are running at the same pace only to lose the odd second here and there. The km splits were 3:11 and 3:12 respectively so slowing slightly. Not feeling particularly great at this point - working very hard to try and get close to the 76 second laps. Bloody hell, still 5 laps to go. That suddenly felt like a very long way...

The 4th km was another 3:12. Nothing left in the tank but I managed to find a little turn of speed in the last lap to cross the line in 15:49 (according to the timekeeper although my watch showed 15:50 - always happy to take the quicker time!) So a 3:06 km to finish with.

That pace was certainly not as friendly as I had hoped and had me blowing like a you know what. My initial thought was how the hell did I ran over 30 seconds quicker last year? Perhaps I'm not drinking enough. A great hit-out nonetheless.

I finished up with a 40 minute warm-down run. All up I estimate 19km for the day.

Later on in the day I visited the excellent Amphibian King store in Oranmore to pick up some new Asics DS racers (my prize from last Sunday). Here is the website:

http://www.amphibianking.ie/

Very friendly staff and some great product that would only be available in a specialist running store. If you need to be fitted out for some new runners get yourself down there and they will provide video gait analysis to ensure you get the best fitting shoe.

Junk food and beer to finish off the day.

Friday

More of the same. My local 9.5km loop in 38:52 (3 seconds slower than Tuesday). Weather was cold and raining quite hard. You tell yourself it will be alright once you get out there but to be honest it wasn't pleasant.

No rest before tomorrow's 5km time trial. If I was going for a time then I would have taken a rest day but I think it's important when you are training to do some sessions on tired legs to simulate the end of races. I ran 15:51 on Jan 1st when I was in a very shabby state so I should beat that on the track. Dry and no wind would be nice.

Hello Ireland

I seem to have had a big spike in Irish visitors the last few days! Search engines have a lot to answer for. I can't imagine that anyone would be interested in my daily dose of drivel but I guess time will tell. Anyway, hello to any new readers!

Back to the running...today was a trip to the gym. After paying for my membership I feel obliged to go even though I would much prefer to be running outdoors. Moving on, I did an easy 10km on the treadmill in 41:48 (4:11 per km or 6:44 per mile).

Pyramid Session

A long warm-up of nearly 40 minutes around the various football pitches (estimate 8.5km). Then a few stretches and strides before the pyramid session.

The session was 400/600/800/1000/1200/1000/800/600/400. We were to get 60 seconds between efforts and run them at 3km race pace for the shorter efforts, up to 5km race pace for the longer ones. Perfect conditions on the track - mild with only a slight breeze.

Feeling tired during the warm-up, I was keen to see the back of this. As I like to do in this type of session, I would start a little conservatively and hope to get quicker in the second half. That's pretty much how it panned out but interestingly, I started to feel stronger/more comfortable as I cranked up the pace. Actual times were:

400 - 1:14
600 - 1:49
800 - 2:27
1000 - 3:07
1200 - 3:45
1000 - 3:06
800 - 2:26
600 - 1:48
400 - 1:03

The last 400 was an eyeballs out lap. I ran the first 100m bend in lane 3 so I'm sure it would have been quicker if all in lane 1. That's the quickest I have run in a long time.

I finished up with 10 laps warm-down. All up 19.3km for the night. Easy running the next 2 days before the 5km time trial on Saturday.

Staying local

My 9.5km loop today in 38:49 (4:05's).

How good are Spurs at the moment?!?!

Recovery Run

An easy night run of 11km in 45:51. Same run as last week but 8 seconds quicker. That's 4:10/km pace.

This week's main sessions will be intervals on Wednesday at the track. Then a 5km time trial/race on Saturday morning - again at the track. Not sure yet if I'll run flat-out and go for sub 15:30, or use it as a hit-out for target 10km pace which is just under 16.

Long run planned for Sunday.

Maree 8km

Blessed again with great running conditions. Nice and cool with only a slight breeze. I arrived at the race and was impressed with the set-up. Chip timing, a hat for all competitors, all for the price of 18 Euros.

I did my 4km warm-up running the first 2km of the course then doubling back to the start. There was a hill at 1.5km that lasted for 500m, but that's about as much as I knew. I really should make an effort to look at the course maps before these races rather than running blind each time.

No obvious guns at the start so I was favourite to win. I lined up on the second row which was a schoolboy error. The gun sounded and I was boxed in so had to run the first 400m or so in about 6th or 7th spot. Then the road widened and I took an outside line to close down the leader before moving to the front. Feeling good at this stage and I managed to open up a gap as I crossed the first km in 3:03. I was warned before the race that the km markers were a bit dodgy and it certainly didn't feel like a 3:03. So I ignored it and raced on.

As mentioned, the second km had the 500m climb and I was running strongly and I was surprised to reach the top of the climb with a 3:14 km. Nice, now there was a good downhill section. Pushing on I was starting to really hit my straps. I was following the lead motorbike and although it levelled out a bit, I had knocked off the 3rd km in 3:04. So 9:21 for the first 3km - that's not a bad 3km time.

The next section was very flat with beautiful water views. The sun was out and there was a touch of spring in the air. The motorbike upfront had pulled over which confused me a little but as I ran past him he pointed up the ride. It was at this point I realised it must have been an out-and-back course. So I expected the turnaround to be at the 4km point but no - it came much sooner. After a sharp u-turn I was then running in reverse with all the chasing runners in view. I guess I was about 15 seconds in the lead by this point.

It was immediately apparent that I must have had a slight tailwind on the outward section and after the turn it suddenly felt a lot harder. I was trying to run strong but the legs weren't responding. From feeling great to ordinary in a matter of seconds. Anyway, I was still trying to work out how the course was going to make up the 8km....then the 4th km passed with a 3:26. Not good.

About one km of running against the traffic (with several people blocking the road) I was then directed down a side-road. So it was a different finishing section of sorts. The road at this point was very rough (grass/potholes) and straight away there were several hills when you least wanted them. The 5th km was a 3:19 and I was now hanging on for the finish. More hills and I went into blinker mode wishing to fast forward the next few minutes. Little recollection of the race at this point but it seemed more up than down with kms 6 and 7 passing in 3:26 and 3:21 respectively.

The last km was marked each 200m. Not sure if that was good or not. It felt like an eternity - with 400m to go I kicked and another uphill drag to the finish crossing the line in 26:03 (3:10 last km). Big crowd at the finishing chute for a change!

That's a good time on a tough course. Much more to come on fresh legs. In summary a really good first 3.5km, then I started to struggle. But you can't be too disappointed especially when you are winning races. Over 300 in the race so a decent sized field.

I finished up running the course again with a few of the other runners. I was absolutely shot after this and couldn't wait to get back to the start for some coffee and biscuits (6 chocolate digestives - standard size before you ask). I was presented with my prize envelope which contained a bag of charlie. Well a voucher for a free pair of Asics if I am to be honest.

All up 20km for the day and 94.4km for the week. My only gripe is a slightly sore left hip - I think it's finally time for a massage.

Another local run

My 9.5km route covered in 39:43. Always nice to keep this run under 40 minutes. Windy and cold today - I hope the weather is a bit better tomorrow for the 8km race.

Talking of which, people say there are a few hills and drags but from my experience, in Irish terms that isn't comparable to say the LCNP 10km so should offer up a decent enough chance to run a good time. Anything sub 26:30 I'll be happy enough with. The aim is to get somewhere near 20km done in total by doing a decent warm-up/warm-down.

2 x 12 minutes

I don't like or look forward to these longer sessions. But I believe they are the reason why my running has improved in the last 9 months.

I ran close to 17 minutes warm-up as I ran from the out-laws to the start of my course. The outward section is more uphill (not steep - but some gradual drags) and I started running at a pace that felt quicker than 10km race pace. My first checkpoint (bridge) showed I was running well and I went on to pass the 3.6km mark in 11:41 and I continued running until the 12 minutes was up (so close to 3.7km). I've just had a quick look at other times I have done this session and I'm confident this was my quickest.

I then had a 3 minute walk recovery before the return journey. I was feeling confident that I could go a bit quicker but as soon as I started I realised I must have had the benefit of a slight tailwind on the outward section. I battled on and again at the bridge I was on for a quick time but I didn't have it in the legs to really nail the finishing section crossing the start point in 11:52 (11 seconds slower) before running on for the full 12 minutes.

A difficult session to do by yourself but a good one nonetheless to get under the belt. As mentioned, I ran this session if running at race pace but for whatever reason you seem to be a few seconds slower than you would be if racing. Perhaps the Adrenalin of race day makes the difference and gives you that extra one per cent.

I finished by running back to home. All up 14.4km for the day. Happy enough as the legs didn't feel too fresh today.

Gym Night

I missed my daylight running window so decided to do a later run in the gym. I ran for 12km in 50:33 and gradually wound the pace up each km finishing in close to 4 minute per km pace.

I then had a jacuzzi and sauna. Not sure I enjoy the sauna - can't really see the point of it. Just a good way to become even more dehydrated. Still it gave me an excuse to replace fluids when I got home.

More darts started last night - the Premier League. Reminds me I need to put some more practice in.

Wet Track

Mild weather but persistent rain. After a 6.4km warm-up and a few drills I was straight into the 800's. I was to run the first 6 with Matt, then 4 more by myself. Matt wanted to push the recovery out to 90 seconds (200m very slow jog) which felt far too much at the start of the session, but by the end was about right.

I felt completely in control whilst the times were around 2:30. But towards the end when I started to push them by a few seconds I was red-lining. Times were as follows:

2:34, 2:31, 2:31, 2:29, 2:30, 2:29, 2:30, 2:28, 2:27, 2:24

That's a decent enough session and at least gives me some confidence that I can run fast again after last weekend's baptism of mud.

I spoke to Matt about what shape he was in for 10km when he broke 70 minutes for the half. He was running 32 low. So I'm certainly not there at the moment - but I live in hope.

I finished with 4.5 laps warm-down. All up 18.0km for the night.

Easy Running

I ran my 9.5km loop in 39:03 (4:07/km). Feeling good at the moment.

The plan for this week is:

Wed - track 10 x 800m off 75 secs
Thu - easy 10km
Fri - 2 x 12 minutes tempo
Sat - easy 10km
Sun - 8km race with 8km warm-up/4km warm-down (long run of sorts)

That should give me just over 90kms for the week.

Back on dry land

Well almost dry. I ran in the evening - very mild for this time of year and excellent for running. I ran my 11km nighttime route in 45:59 (4:11's). I was 23:29 at halfway so a little bit quicker in the second half of the run.

I picked up a nice bruise yesterday on the inside of my left knee. Nothing serious, just a little sore whilst running. That aside, I was feeling as fresh as a daisy.

Here's a video from the start of the XC yesterday. This was taken at one of the good sections:



Apparently Dublin have won the title the last 6 years so it was good to knock them off their perch.

I forgot to mention yesterday that my weekly tally was 71.4kms. I'll try and get that nearer triple figures for the next few weeks.

Intermediate XC Champs - 45:31 for 10km

That's not a typo. I ran my ring out and managed four and a half minute kms. It was a Barry...

The weather was brutal. Raining all weekend and when we arrived at the course in Dublin we were greeted with juniors covered in mud head to foot wrapped up in bakofoil. I was ready to feign an injury.

So we were 14th on. The course had cut-up beyond recognition. I attempted a warm-up with about 30 minutes to go before the start of the race and within 10m of running my runners were completely waterlogged. After a couple of slow kms it was then apparent that the races were running at least 20 minutes behind schedule so it was going to be a case of hanging around and getting cold.

The masters race was on before us. They looked like they were limping round. I just wanted to fast forward the next hour....so at about 3:40pm after changing into my spikes we lined up in our pens and were off. I decided to start conservatively and see what happened. The start was an absolute bun fight. The racing line was ankle deep mud and any attempt to run wide was just as bad. I slipped into a void-like state thinking this was a nightmare and after 1 small 1km loop and a bigger 1.5km loop I finally woke up realising this nightmare was for real.

There was about 500m of good running in the 1.5km loop. By good I mean very, very, muddy. The rest of the lap was ankle deep mud. No chance of any rhythm, just slipping and sliding. I was way down on the field and it was a case of grinding out the laps to the finish.

By the 3rd lap I had caught one of my teammates. He was shocked to see me and he told me afterwards that he thought I was lapping him. If only. I then concentrated on pegging a few people back each lap. I had a better idea of the course by this stage and with 3 laps to go I managed to catch another teammate.

I felt stronger the race went on but I don't think I was running any quicker - I was simply maintaining my pace whilst others slowed. The next couple of laps passed by and as I was finishing the penultimate lap I was lapped by the lead runner. He was flying - not a bother on him. On the last 1.5km lap I pegged a few more places back. As I approached the finish I was directed onto a new part of the course which was almost firm under foot and I found myself in a sprint finish with another guy who I just managed to pip. Every place counts and all that.

No warm-down - too cold and wet. Everyone simply left the course and headed back to the clubhouse for a (cold) shower.

After about 2 hours the men's results were finally announced. Most people had gone home. Galway were an outside chance of a medal by by some miracle we had won a gold medal in the national intermediate champs. I was 3rd scorer out of 6 in our team - I finished 26th overall.

I would have to say that XC is a great leveller. Guys I would beat on the road were taking 2+ minutes out of me. This was my Achilles heel but great fun looking back. I say that now after supping a few pints of the black stuff...

So about 12km all up for the day. I am now ineligible to run any more novice or intermediate XC by virtue of the gold medal - so at least some good came out of the race.

I think that's my second slowest 10km ever. So not quite a PW but close. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger and all that. Until next time...

Rest Day

No running today. Just a trip into town to buy some new spikes.

Here's a photo I find of me winning the Castledaly 10km last weekend. As you can see another massive crowd at the finishing line:



I just had a look at the results from the Sydney Striders race on the weekend. On current form I would have won it! Well probably not actually - the weather was completley offensive according to a few of the race reports. Still, maybe I would have got that top 3 that I was so close to in the start of 2010.

Friday

The weather is still very bad - completely inadvisable to run outside as the wind is that strong it could literally blow you over. So decided to run from home to the gym, do a bit on the treadmill and then jog back.

It took me 3 mins 34 secs to run to the gym with the benefit of the wind. I then ran 8km on the treadmill in 32:33. I ran 2 x 1km cruise intervals @ 3:25 pace midway through this to get the legs moving and the heart-rate up. I then ran home in 4 mins 15 secs and in parts it felt like I wasn't moving. Onlookers in their cars must have thought I was mad.

All up 9.7km for the day. Rest tomorrow in preparation for the XC on Sunday. I think my loathing of XC started at school. But that was over 20 years ago. Surely it can't be that bad? The course itself is 1 x 1km followed by 6 x 1.5km (total 10km). So 7 laps in total and we are race 14 of 14. The course will be nice and cut up by then. My aim is not to get lapped...

More of the same

Atrocious weather here at the moment. Howling wind and rain so back to the gym for 10km in 41:33.

Track Night

Another longish warm-up of 7.6km running with Matt, Gary, Rory and the 2 Brians. All good runners and we slipped and slided around the university fields. If it's like this on Sunday it will be a mud bath.

The session was something a bit different: 4 x 400m, 3 x 1600m, 4 x 400m. We were to get 60 seconds recovery between the 400's and 90 seconds between the 1600's with 2 minutes in between each set.

It was windy tonight but funnily enough you seemed to have the benefit of the wind for well over three quarters of the lap. The only tough section was part of the final bend. Very odd.

I was totally in control tonight. The breathing was great and I always felt like I had another gear. Times were as follows:

400s - 74,69,69,71
1600s - 5:11,5:08,5:07
400s - 73,70,68,68

The recovery was a bit too long to be honest. Both in between efforts and sets. But on this occasion I decided to take it!

I finished up with 2km warm-down. All up 17.6km for the night.

Tuesday

I ran 12.1km easy in 49:20 (4:05/km).

There could be a bus laid on for the trip to Dublin on Sunday. That could open up all sorts of post race drinking options. Which is nice.

January Summary

Back to the gym for 10km easy in 42:32.

A great start to the year for me. I've run 5 races in January, winning 3, with all the races ran at sub 3:20 per km pace including road PB's for 5km and 10km. I've run 348.8km for the month so whilst not huge mileage, I'm feeling fit and fresh with no niggles to speak of. Hopefully bigger things to come soon...

This week I'll be at the track Wednesday, and I may throw in some more speedwork on Friday. Then rest Saturday in preparation for the XC Sunday afternoon. Which reminds me, I need to get some longer spikes for the run.

Long Run

In preparation for the half in March I decided it was time to start doing some longer runs. So today I ran from Dangan to the city to meet up with the Harriers for the Cathedral run. Some people would say the long run is the most important part of your training and for me it has been sadly lacking...

The pace was very tame - just what I needed. All up 24km with the run back to Dangan at the end which was covered in 1:50:32. I felt very comfortable throughout.

So that's 100km exactly for the week. Finally some decent volume.

Castledaly 10km

Very cold once again but no wind so after a 4km warm-up it was perfect for running. The course was a 10km loop and after speaking to a few marshals it didn't sound too bad. A few drags but mainly flat I was told....

A small enough field of about 100 hardy souls. The race started with a countdown from 10 (novel!) and we were racing. I went straight to the front and concentrated on following the lead vehicle. The first km was very twisty and soon passed in 3:10 but I was aware of another runner just behind me. We then started to climb which was pretty much the trend for the next 4km. Not a steep climb but a gradual rise that meant you were constantly working hard. This was reflected in the km splits for 2, 3, 4 and 5 of 3:23, 3:24, 3:18 and 3:16 respectively. So I was 16:31 at halfway and felt in decent shape but I was still aware of the runner just behind me.

At 5km the top of the climb had been reached. The next 5km I was hoping would be quick and sure enough the trend was basically downhill for the run home. The 6th km passed in 3:09 after a nice gradual downhill section and then the descent became a little steeper. I was liking this but was conscious that I didn't have the leg-speed to really take advantage of it. Sure enough the 7th km was a 3:16 and should have been a 3 flat. I was hanging on.

The 8th km was another very generous downhill stretch but again I was disappointed to run another 3:16. A further missed opportunity. So 8km in 26:12 so still in with a good shot of a PB with a strong run home. But unlike last week I was spent and didn't have the legs to finish off this race. The 9th km was basically flat and a 3:18 meant I was still there or thereabouts but my mindset was that any slight hill in the last km was going to finish me. Sure enough there were 2 or 3 slight climbs up to the finish and that put pay to my time as I crossed the line in 32:48. That's 4 seconds slower than last Sunday....

I was slightly downbeat post race but I have to take a lot of positives from this race. It was definitely a tougher course. I didn't feel as fresh. 2 sub 33's in 7 days. Another win (just - by 15 seconds or so)!

It's a horrible feeling have someone run just behind you all race. Never sure what the hell is happening!

I finished up with a 3km warm-down. All up 17km for the day. Back to the sports hall for hot soup, bread and 6 (six) Kit Kats. Lovely. My prize today - wine. Finally something I can put to good use.

So the next race will be the XC a week tomorrow. It's a 10km course and I'll take a sub 35 if offered.

Non Rest Day

The plan was to rest but I couldn't resist turning the legs over. Why not? I happen to quite like running.

Same run as yesterday. The 9.5kms took me 39:02.

The nights are already starting to draw out. Already we have daylight until 5:30pm which means I can squeeze in a run when the other half gets home from work. I'll be able to do some big evening mileage once the clocks change in March.

Thursday

I squeezed in my 9.5km run in 39:40 (4:11's).

I'll probably take a rest day tomorrow. Then race on Saturday. It's a hilly one apparently so won't be quick. But a good hit-out before the XC in one weeks time.

8 x 1km

Back to the track tonight for a long session. I started running 2 laps of the playing fields around the University (3.2km per lap). I then changed into my flats and ran a further 3 laps of the track warm-up. So 7.6km done and it was now time to start...

I decided to ease into the session. Run the first one comfortably and then wind up the pace throughout. I was running with Ian who was going to run 800's using me as the pacer. I was to get 200m jog recovery (50 walk/150 jog in actuality) in no more than 90 seconds; he was obviously getting a lot more recovery.

The times were as follows:

3:19, 3:14, 3:12, 3:12, 3:12, 3:10, 3:07, 3:03

I'm pleased enough considering:

- I was running the back straight 3 times each km into a slight headwind
- lots of running wide to lap slower runners
- the legs still a little sluggish after Sunday's race
- still carrying a cold/cough/sore throat

I ended up with 6 laps warm-down. All up 19km when you do the math.

The club are trying to put together a team for the intermediate XC on Feb 6th in Dublin. I've agreed to run. XC just doesn't do it for me - but I'll give it another go just to reiterate the fact.

Night Running

My window for running today was late. I left home at 8:30pm and decided to run mainly up and down the main road which is well lit and has a footpath. Not much fun but better than the treadmill.

All up I covered 11km in 46:46 (4:15's). I took it really easy so surprised to still be running at a decent enough pace. Track tomorrow for 8 x 1km...

Gym Run

Back to the gym for a recovery run of 10km in 42:17. A guy started chatting to me who recognised me from the race yesterday. Fame at last.

The left knee seems to be fantastic lately. The tendinitis has been there for well over 2 years now I'm guessing, but I've had very little pain the last few weeks. Still not as good as new but very close. Such a strange condition - it seems to come and go when it's ready defying any logic.

I'm really hungry for some more races now. I'm of the mentality that races push you more than a training session and I use regular races to improve fitness. I think sub 32:30 isn't too far away for the ten - with a decent course and a few runners to hang on to. There's another 10km on this Saturday about 20 miles away. I may give it a shot.

Clarinbridge 10km

With recent beer/darts/snooker training, I went into this race with low expectations. It was again very cold (0.5 degrees), so a long warm-up was required (estimate 4kms), and then it was time to start racing. No obvious quicks at the start so decided to take it out hard, and see what happened.

The course itself was a belter. Mainly road but a couple of kms through a forest trail in the front half of the race. It didn't sound quick but after the first km was passed with me solo running in 3:06 I was starting to reassess. I was again following the lead car and I think it was just after 2km (3:17) that the terrain changed from road to forest trail. It was certainly tougher at this stage as although the trend was flat, it was rolling slight uphill/slight downhill. Me not like.

The third km passed in 3:00 (clearly a dodgy km marker) and I think it was around this point that I nearly got taken out by a couple walking their dog. I only lost a few seconds and that spurred me on. Already there was a decent gap behind me and with a 4th km of 3:48 I guessed that 6:48 for the last 2kms felt about right.

As we got back onto road I immediately felt more at home. I decided to focus on each km and try and keep them under 3:20. Before long it was halfway and the split showed a 3:17 making me 16:28 at halfway. So on track for a sub 33?

The road at this point had been resurfaced and it was also slightly downhill. I felt like I was running quickly but after a couple of minutes of this, there was a slight uphill followed by a sharp turn and this took the edge of the split of 3:17. It was now time for my usual soft-cock approach of saving myself for the last 3km so I cruised the 7th km in 3:25. Does anyone else do that?

I was thinking it would be nice to run the last 3km in under 10 minutes and that would give me a decent time. I was rewarded with a 3:16 through 8km so 26:26 with 2 to go and a great chance of a sub 33. At this point of the course it seemed to be more down than up and I started to feel really good - oh for this to happen more often. The 9th km was a 3:15 so I knew I would have to run a really quick last km for a shot at my PB...

It was one of those strange feelings where I was running at max leg speed and despite this my breathing felt totally in control. The last km was again slightly downhill and despite several twists and turns I was motoring. The last 100m was a little uphill and I kicked to cross the line in 32:44 (a 3:03 last km). A 5 second road PB.

You seldom get surprises in running but I am more than a little surprised by this. I'll certainly take it. Running in temperatures close to freezing isn't everyone's cup of tea but I think if you are going for a time, then for me it's worth at least 30 seconds over 10km compared to the heat and humidity of Sydney.

I finished up with a 3km warm-down running back up the course to watch the other runners coming in. My prize was another crystal vase - I now need to start buying the wife more flowers...

All up 76.9km for the week. A little better than last week.

A couple of photos. Got to love the fog:

Pondering

An easy 9.5km in 38:44 (4:05's).

Fully appreciate I'm not doing any quality training at the moment. Racing once per week, plus intervals mid-week, with easy runs either side simply isn't enough to improve. I'm considering something radical. Maybe try 6 weeks of big mileage. My biggest week ever I think is 119km so try say 6 weeks @ 120km/week and see what happens. I can't do this at the moment but maybe at the end of March. Something to think about and won't come easily as I've always been a low mileage runner. But you can't ignore the facts - as I up my mileage year-on-year, my times get better. Quicker times or injury? Ummm....

Race tomorrow. I'll ignore the sore throat, cough and runny nose and run it off/sweat it out. Could be a Barry....

Friday

A hattrick of the run done earlier in the week. This time I clocked 49:54 so getting slower....

Dad left today. On the darts front we had 3 head-to-head games during his stay. I lost the first 5-4 after missing a few darts for the match. Then I got stuffed 13-3 in a best of 25 where I couldn't hit a double for toffee. Last night my pride was restored with a 5-3 victory where I couldn't miss the doubles. You are only as good as your last game and all that.

Easy run tomorrow than race 10km again on Sunday. Not sure what the course is like but sub 34 will be another solid hit-out.

Thursday

Rest day. Well not entirely, I took the young lad swimming and I had a go at pool running. I managed 3 x 18m lengths and got bored.

Wednesday

I decided to run 2 by 12 minute efforts. I had recently measured the course and I had an accurate 3.6km marked out. The goal was to run slightly longer than this distance within the 12 minutes.

After a 15 minute warm-up, I went straight into it. The outward section is more uphill and I settled into a good rhythm. Soon the 12 minutes were up and I had passed my target point by 5 seconds so that indicated sub 3:20/km pace. After a 3 minute walk, I did the same route in reverse. Again, reaching the start point and running on for 5 seconds so very consistent. Happy enough. I finished up with a 15 minute warm-down so all up 14.1km for the session.

My Dad has extended his stay until Friday so any training is being nullified by many beers. At least I'm not going backwards...

Snooker

Same run as yesterday. Time a little slower being 49:32 (4:06s).

I had a game of snooker tonight after dusting off the snooker cue. In the last 15 years it had slightly warped, the ferrule had gone rusty and the tip was non-existent. Plus my eyesight has deteriorated significantly. That's enough excuses to get going with. Despite this, in the second frame there was some old touches of magic. I managed a 41 break and wobbled a red in the jaws to leave me perfect on the black. A long way from my best from about 20 years ago but not bad after a long sabbatical. It would be nice to get a full-size table but sadly not enough room in our house! Maybe next house...so there you have it, the only 3 sports I have any sort of talent for: running, darts and snooker. A lot of people would argue the latter 2 are not sports. Yes they are. Plus you can drink while playing them.

Normal loop plus a bit

I took the opportunity to run at lunchtime. I used my normal loop and added a smaller section on the end. I just measured it using Mapmyrun.com and it tallied 12.1kms. The time was 48:51 so that's 4:02/km. Happy with the pace.

There's another race on this weekend. It's a 10km and I have to say I'm tempted. My plan is to try and string together some 80km+ weeks now for the next 4 weeks and do the odd race here and there to see where I'm at. It's about 2 months now until the half so still plenty of time to string some decent training together.

Dad's Home

My Dad arrived on Friday for a few days. Running has suffered as a result - Friday was a trip into Galway to watch Luka Bloom in the Crane (superb gig). Then on Saturday we went out for a few quiet local drinks and ended up rolling in at 1:45am. Ouch. So two nights on the shant with no running. So well rested for today's race in Tuam...

Arrived in time for a 10 minute warm-up and a few strides. It was cold and there was a strong wind which made certain parts of the course pretty tough. There was a very strong field - a fair bit of prize money up for grabs which was good. The first km was clocked in 2:55 and although I was running quick with wind on the back, I immediately was questioning the km markers. Three runners were edging out in front leaving me solo running in 4th place. That's pretty much how the race remained. The second km was another quick one - a 3:06 again with wind benefit. Then we turned to head back into town and running into the wind was much tougher. The course itself was basically 2 x 4km loops so it was good to get an idea of the run on the first lap. The third 3km was a 3:28, and then there was a nasty climb as we approached the town centre and I went through the 4th km in 3:23.

So basically one lap down and one to go. I tried to push the quick section and managed to drop in a 3:09 and 3:12 for kms 5 and 6. I was still running by myself with the leaders now out of view and no one close behind me. I died a bit in the run home and the 7th km was a 3:21 so I thought a similar split for the final km would see me run a decent enough time. But the last km went on and on and despite really running hard, it was clocked at 3:55 leaving me crossing the line in 26:29. Yes, dodgy km markers!

I finished up with a couple of kms warm-down. All up 12km for the day. Then had to rush home to watch Spurs play Utd.

Only 57.6kms for the week...

Boring

10km in the gym in 42:17...

Mile reps

Back to Dangan. After a longish warm-up of 6.5km, the session was to be 5 x 1 mile reps with one minute recovery.

I didn't fancy running the extra 9 metres so I decided to run 4 lappers. The first one was a feeler with the intention of speeding up throughout. Oh yeah, the weather. Mild (10 degrees) but wet and a headwind on the home straight. Times were as follows:

5:22, 5:16, 5:14, 5:14, 5:08

One of those sessions where it seemed to get easier throughout. That said, the last one I pushed and was blowing at the end. Pleased enough especially when you constantly have to run wide to lap some of the slower runners.

Finished up with a 4 lap warm-down. Total for the session 16.1km. Then home for 30 minutes practice on the dartboard. Phil Taylor I am not, more like Elizabeth Taylor...

Another run

My usual route of 9.5km in 39:15 (4:08's). I may try for some intervals tomorrow.

Darts practice is underway. I have a touch of the Mitchell Johnsons at the moment. Not good. Lets just remind ourselves of that wonderful Barmy Army song:

He bowls to the left
He bowls to the right
That Mitchell Johnson
His bowling is shite

which is nice...

Running and darts

Back on the treadmill for 10km in 42:32.

After watching a lot of darts over Christmas (the Sky coverage was brilliant) I couldn't resist buying a board for the games room. It's now installed and my old man sent me over 2 new sets of darts that arrived this morning. Needless to say I've been hitting a bit of red bit today. I need to get more practice in before the weekend as my Dad is coming over from England for a few days and he fancies himself a bit. He does have 86 county caps but that was in the days of black and white TVs. Watch this space for the results...

Oh yeah, there is an 8km road race on in Tuam on Sunday that I may try and get to. Need a babysitter and all that.

MLR

A double loop around Claregalway. All up 17.6km in 1:13:00 so 4:09/km. Legs felt really tired towards the end. A good week of training in the bag.

I may have suffered a little stomach strain after yesterday's run and whilst I could feel it a little today, it certainly wasn't troubling me.

So that's 84.3km for the week.

I've booked my flights for the Norwich Half Marathon (take #2). This will be my first real target for the year and the aim is to run 71 minutes or thereabouts. I have a good base so with a couple of months of decent training, it should be achievable.

Tempo

Back out to Dangan where the track is for a tempo session. We were to use the surrounding sports fields for a session of 15 mins, 10 mins, 5 mins of tempo with 3 minutes recovery in between.

After a 20 minute warm-up the session was underway. Today it was packed full of good runners - probably 10 runners who can rub sub 35 for 10km. If only they would all turn up to race...

Anyway, the lap we were running was approx 1.25km. When I've done a similar session before I knew that 4:30 per lap was a good pace. Well the first lap passed in 4:11 and I knew I'd gone too hard. I kept running the first 15 minute effort and each subsequent lap was a little slower. The weather was fairly brutal - bitterly cold, and the wind and rain picked up throughout the session to really test your resolve.

So about 3.5 laps for the first 15 minutes. 2 and a bit laps for the 10 minute effort. And 1 and a smaller bit for the last 5 minutes. The pace I ran was fairly consistent if you ignore the first lap (say 4:20 per lap so just under 3:30 per km pace). Ideally it would have been better to pick up the pace throughout the session.

I finished up with a good 20 minute warm-down. All up I estimate 17.7km for the session.

Friday

Easy 9.5km run outdoors. Time 38 minutes and 57 seconds (4:06/km pace). Feeling good.

Oh yeah, we won! I can get some early nights now...

Thursday

Nowt today. Just the cricket to watch tonight.

3rd tough session in 5 days

I headed to track but it was too slippery so we regrouped in the surrounding rugby field for some 2.5 minute efforts with one minute jog recovery. I'd run a very long warm-up of 8.1km and was feeling quite tired but the presence of some good runners soon perked me up.

The efforts were pretty consistent - I was averaging about 720m or thereabouts each 2.5 mins so just under 3:30/km pace. This was good considering the state of the field which was spongy in the odd spot. I had runners behind me the whole time so this was good to keep me honest. At the end of the effort everyone jogged over to the same start point to regroup so there was no lapping other runners to worry about.

I finished up with a 1.6km warm-down and was absolutely knackered. That's 2 races and a tough interval session in the space of 5 days. I'll probably take tomorrow off, then try and easy run on Friday with a longer tempo session on Saturday. Then long on Sunday.

Total 15.5km for the session.

More recovery

An easy 10km in the gym in 42:15. Too bloody cold and windy to run outside.

The cricket is in the balance. England need a good first hour and a first innings lead of 50 or more which will put the Aussies under a lot of pressure.

Fields of Athenry

Today was another race - originally scheduled for Boxing Day, but postponed due to the bad weather. Originally this had sold out with all 1,500 spots taken, but due to the delay numbers were significantly down - less than half that number turned up to race today.

It was a very cold day, with temps at -2.5 degrees as I arrived to collect my number and then warm-up. I was running a bit short of time so I only managed a 10 minute warm-up with a few run throughs thrown in. The race started at 11am and from the gun a small group formed at the front which I was part of. A quick uphill first km of 3:07 and it was at this point that 2 runners broke away to leave me running in third. I wasn't feeling particularly great - the race had taken the edge off me from 2 days previous and I couldn't find that extra gear to really hammer the flat and downhill sections.

I was joined by another runner at around 2km after a 3:15 split and that was how the race remained for the next 5km. We were taking turns running in 3rd spot, whilst the lead 2 runners gradually disappeared from view. Splits were 3km - 3:16, 4km - 3:25, 5km - 3:28 (16:31), 6km - 3:21 and 7km - 3:18. At this point it would have been nice to push for home but there was nothing in the tank. But the other runner started to drop-off so I simply maintained my pace as best I could running through 8km with a 3:22, 9km with a 3:23 and a downhill km to finish of 3:16 to finish in 33:11 and 3rd place overall.

I'm pleased with the placing and the time given my training over the last few weeks. It's my second quickest road 10km ever. The placing flattered me though as if this race had taken place as was originally planned I would have been lucky to make the top 5.

Gerry Ryan won the race in 31:12 - an incredible time given that he is 47 years of age which he wasn't happy with. Second place went to a Dublin based runner with a time of 31:41. So a big gap back to me in third!

I did a couple of kms warm-down so a total of 14kms for the day.

Lots of prizes at the presentation. I picked up a crystal vase and glasses for my efforts. Another great race and has given me the hunger to try and go a bit quicker.

Darts and cricket to be watched tonight...

Recovery Run

An easy trot outdoors of 9.5km in 39:42 (4:11/km).

So that's 20.0km exactly for this 2 day calendar week.

Looking forward to the 10km race tomorrow. I've only run one 10km in the last 8 months! McM suggests sub 33 is possible based on yesterday's 5km but I think low 33 is more realistic.

More cricket watching tonight!

Racing

After a late night, I woke up feeling not great. There was a 5km race on near the city starting at 1:11pm (on the 01/01/11). I decided to give it a go and I went in with very low expectations. I'm glad I did as it turned into a cracking race...

After registering I headed out for a 3km warm-up. The course was a 2.5km double-loop so I ran the loop then added a bit on. There were some new faces about and the word was that it was going to be a good standard of race.

We were soon underway and the first 400m were slightly uphill. I settled into the lead group of 5 or so, letting 2 young lads up front dictate the pace. The course was undulating and after the initial climb, it flattened out then we had a nice downhill section. The first km arrived in 3:06 and I knew I wasn't in the shape to keep that going so it was a case of hanging on as best I could. To my surprise I moved into second spot but the group remained tightly formed. The second km seemed predominantly downhill and another quick km was recorded of 3:04 so I expected a blow-up deluxe any moment.

I was flirting with the lead on the odd occasion but the whippet seemed to be doing it fairly easy. As we completed the first lap there were 2 uphill slogs and this was reflected in the 3rd km split of 3:22. At this stage the leader gapped the field and broke away by 10m or so. I wasn't feeling great and I slipped into 3rd spot and knew that any chance of winning the race was slipping away. I was hanging on to 3rd but managed to make up a bit of ground on the downhill section to move back into 2nd but was still 10m or more back on the leader. At this point I'd pretty much resigned myself that the best I could hope for was 2nd. It's at this point of the race that when you think back you wish you'd have pushed it a bit harder but I was absolutely red-lining.

The 4th km was a 3:07 and I knew that there was 2 uphill sections to come which I wasn't looking forward to. The guy behind me was right on my shoulder so the battle was still on. After the first uphill I held second place and may have even made up a metre or so on the lead runner. As we rounded the last corner I decided to kick for home. More so to protect my second position but to my surprise, I was suddenly closing in on the leader. With about 50m to go I drew level with him and I thought that would be the sign for him to pull the trigger and sprint ahead to the finish. But he didn't respond in anyway - nothing at all. So I maintained my pace and crossed the line in 15:51. Finally some great racing as opposed to a time trial.

I'm not sure where that time came from. I would have been happy with 16:30 but to break 16:00 just goes to show what you can do when you have other runners to feed off. I should mention that I have absolutely no kick so to overtake a young 'un in the finishing straight was strange.

So my first race of the year and another win. I finished up with a 2.5km warm-down so all up 10.5km for the day.



Edit: Being a complete numpty, I just realised this is a 5km road PB (very soft - previous 16:10). I'll take it. So that's where my next PB is coming from! Beer now.

Yearly Review

Today I did the same route as yesterday - this time a bit quicker in 36:53 (3:53's). So that's it for 2010. Total running for the year 3,782.9kms so well over 10kms each and every day. Plus my beer intake is up on 2009!

It's been easily my best year to date. I've run PB's for 5km, 10km, half and full marathon. You can't really ask for more than that. Here's a quick summary:

5km track - from 15:57 down to 15:14
10km road - from 33:30 down to 32:49
Half - from 1:13:48 down to 1:11:54
Full - from 2:34:49 down to 2:28:20

After never winning a single road race in Oz in over 10 years, my record in Ireland is much better. Since arriving I've won 7 out of 10 road races. Smaller pond and all that but I'll take it!

Below is a summary of my 2010 races:



So here is my top 5:

5th Galway Half Marathon

My first big win - a tough course and a big PB and running with the world ultra guys was a great experience.

4th NSW State 10,000m

I was hoping for a crack at sub 32 but conditions on the night were too humid. That said I still ran only 3 seconds slower than my PB and with the conditions in mind, it was worth at least half a minute.

3rd Streets of Galway 8km

An unusual distance for me. I finished up with a time of 25:38 running into a headwind the last 2km which everyone told me never happens. I reckon this was worth sub 32:20 in terms of a 10km race.

2nd Tullamore 5000m

This race felt like a 12.5 lap sprint. I was comfortable at 3km in 9:05 then things got really hard. I gritted out the last 5 laps and was rewarded with a massive PB.

1st Dublin Marathon

What can you say? A 6 minute plus PB and the realisation of a dream to break 2 hours 30 minutes. I still can't believe it happened.

As you move into a new year it's always difficult to see where the next PB is coming from. I certainly need to get a bit more serious with my training but the weather makes that hard. I'll target the 10km and half marathon. Sub 32 and sub 70 respectively would be nice.

Happy New Year and may 2011 be a great year for all. I might have to get a job this year - I've really impressed myself by adding a spreadsheet to my blog so I feel I've lots of skills to offer!! TTFN.

More of the same

Just going through the motions really - just good to be out there burning off some of the Christmas excess. I squeezed in my 9.5km run in 38:11 (4:01's). I'm subscribing to the David Sweeney training philosophy where all runs have to be at sub 4 minutes per km pace so today I didn't quite make it!

I may try and run some intervals tomorrow at the track. Yearly review will also follow.

Hour Run

A lunchtime run in typical Irish conditions. One of those days when it's not actually raining but you still get wet due to the Irish mist. I ran my 14.4km double loop course (first time since Nov 18th!) in a time of 57:43 (4:00/km pace). I think that's a course PB (edit: no it isn't, my best is 57:04) but that said I only cruise these routes. Felt good but the knees seem to be a little sore post run. I'm on a running streak now - 3 days and counting...

The Ashes

Well I stayed up to watch England retain the Ashes. Well done boys, much deserved.

Earlier in the day I squeezed in a 9km run in the gym in 38:04 (still no water - 4 days now). That's a run 2 days on the trot now - serious stuff.

I also bought a new pair of 2150s in the sale.

Spurs keep winning. Life is good.

The thaw

Well the weather has improved - the snow and ice has gone to be replaced with rain. I took the opportunity to run outside and it was good to get back out there. I ran 9.4km in 39:29 starting and finishing at the gym. The reason for that is that we don't have any water at present as the mains have frozen so after 3 days of no water I was in need of a decent shower. So a quick jacuzzi, steam and shower to finish off with.

End of week

No running on Sunday so another pathetic week of only 2 runs and 21.0km in total. Cricket looking good though!

Catch Up

Well no posts since Wednesday. You guessed it, the race was postponed so any thought of trying to being sensible went out of the window.

No running for 3 days now. Still freezing cold with ice everywhere. Minus double figures, no water in the house as the pipes are all frozen. But the Guinness keeps flowing. Christmas Eve turned into a right bender and today was a day for the cure. All thoughts now turn to the cricket. I can't wait and will try and at least watch the first session which could decide the whole series.

Health and happiness to one and all. I'll finish up the year with a race summary of all my performances in 2010. I bet you'll never guess what my #1 pick was?

Midweek sports special

Still no sign of a thaw. Unbelievably cold - it was minus 12 last night...

So another gym session. I ran 10km and threw in 4 x 1km in the middle with 500m float recovery. I was running them in 3:23's wearing my heavy hoofs and felt pretty cruisey. The total running time was 39:27.

I still doubt the race will happen on Sunday - I kind of hope it does as the standard will be very good. They should get about 500 runners and last year there were 4 guys under 33 with the winner running 29:57!

Rest

No running today. My sporting fix was watching the darts world champs with Freddy Flintoff as a guest commentator.

Track is cancelled tomorrow so it will be back to the gym...

New week

The knee pulled up okay after yesterday so I went back on the treadmill for more. I think I mentioned I wasn't going to run back-to-back treadmill sessions but at the moment that would mean no running as it's minus 8 degrees and icy outside...

The session was 10 mins easy, then 3km at 3:24/km pace, then 3 mins float recovery, then 3km at 3:23/km pace, then 2km warm-down. All up 11.0km in 42:36.

I felt pretty good - hopefully I can run at that pace for 10km in the race on Boxing Day. Having said that, I'd say there is a very good chance that the race won't go ahead...

Sunday

No running on Saturday - I was willing but the weather prevented a run. Today it was back to the gym for 10km in 42:26. Very boring - difficult to get into any sort of routine when all the roads are iced over.

Cricket was rubbish. It's good for the series that the Aussies are back in it but I can't help feeling that a couple of good days for the Aussies has papered over a lot of the cracks. They still have a lot of players out of form and without Hussey and Johnson in Perth, there wouldn't be too much to worry about.

10km

More snow in Galway so it was 10km in the gym. Time 41:09.

Cricket not so good. The Aussies are putting up a fight. Early wickets needed....

Nowt

Another rest day. A good start to the cricket for the England.

Track

After a longish warm-up of 6.5km, it was time for my first track session in 3 weeks. Conditions were as good as could be expected - very little breeze and mild for this time of year (6 degrees). Not even raining!

The session was to be 15 x 400m with 30 seconds recovery. I eased into it and felt pretty good throughout. I was at the front and lapped the next quickest group so I ended up running a bonus 16th lap effort which I didn't time but would estimate around 71 secs. Here are the splits for the first 15 laps:

73/75/72/72/73/72/73/72/72/72/72/70/72/73/72

So I averaged around 72 which was the intention as these were supposed to be run at target 5km pace. But there is no way I could have kept that pace up for long at the moment...

All in all a good session. I ended up with a couple of kms warm-down so a total of 14.9km for the session.

I best get to bed early so I can get up in the morning to watch the last few hours of the cricket.

Rest Day

No running today - a planned rest day.

I'm hoping to make the track tomorrow. That said there is more bad weather forecast so we shall see.

The third test starts tomorrow so looking forward to that. I won't be watching the start though as it's a 2:30am start...

New Week

Another pounding of the knees on the treadmill. A 10km run in 42:11.

Carnmore 6km Turkey Trot

A very small race, I'd be surprised if there were more than 100 runners. Well organised, and after a 4km warm-up it was game on. I took the lead straight away following the lead car. After about 500m I was surprised to hear some heavy footfall behind me getting closer Sure enough a taller runner eventually drew level with me as we approached the first km marker. He was wearing football gear so knew it was a probable quick starter who (I hoped) would slow any minute. That happened as we passed the first km in 3:10. From then on I was left by myself. I was running well but didn't have that edge to really push each km (fitness and lack of concentration), and that was reflected in the kms which got slower and slower. So 2km was reached with a 3:16, 3km 3:20, 4km 3:22, then I missed 5km (doh) and ran the last 2km in 6:44 to finish in 19:52. A few hills and long drags but all in all a pretty good course. I won by just over a minute with my GCH team-mate Ian coming in second. So a good day for the Harriers.

My prize was a turkey (not live) and after a 2km warm-down there was hot tea and biscuits served in the community centre. I was watching the European XC on the TV during the presentation as GCH had an Irish representative running. His name is Gary Thornton and I think he finished 44th overall in the senior event. Well done Gary.

The rest of the year I'll stick with running 5 sessions a week (weather permitting). That way I shouldn't lose too much fitness. There is a race on Boxing Day which I've been asked to run in. It's a 10km race called the Fields of Athenry. If I decide to run it could curtail my normal Xmas day boozing....

A total of 53.5km for the week. Piss poor really but that said, it has been a Stella year.

On the road again

Finally the ice had cleared. I only had the cold and wet to deal with....

I ran my 9.5km road route in 39:52. Good to be out there again. I've definitely lost a good piece of fitness which you can detect from breathing a lot harder than was previously the case.

I noticed there is a local race tomorrow. It's titled the "Carnmore 6km Turkey Trot". I'll give that a bash and see how I go. I've set myself a soft target of 21 minutes but to be honest, I don't think I'll better that by much.

Friday

I ran 10km in the gym. I started slowly and wound the pace up a bit at the end. Time 41:31.

Wednesday

No running yesterday, all I could think about was cricket. Not sure why...

Well today the track was closed due to ice.....so it was back to the gym. I decided to get out of my comfort zone and break into a bit of a sweat so it was to be a 2km warm-up, then 6 x 1km cruise intervals with 400m float, then 2km warm-down. All up a dozen of the best.

All went well. I started the first km rep at 3:45/km pace and worked down to 3:29/km for the last one. It felt pretty easy - it should do really as even the quickest rep was close to my marathon pace from a few weeks back. The knee was a little sore afterwards and as a precaution I don't think I'll be able to run back to back days on the treadmill. Hopefully the ice thaws soon and I can get back onto the road.

Another update on Friday as tomorrow I have to prepare for a job interview. I think that after nearly 18 months as a stay-at-home Dad/athlete, it's time to get back into the workforce. The company is about 2 minutes from the athletics track. Umm.

Please don't rain

The weather is still atrocious. Black ice everywhere so I headed to the gym for 10km in 42 minutes. Knee still sore...

England need 6 wickets to wrap up the second test match. I'm feeling confident.

End of another poor week

No running Friday or Saturday. I then got smashed Saturday night and was licking my wounds all day Sunday. I managed a stumble around on the ice in the afternoon. Very treacherous (read stupid to even consider running) and my normal 9.5km route took me over 47 minutes.

So only 3 runs for the week and a massive total of 31.5kms. My left knee is sore - I think the treadmill running must have triggered that. I've gone from hero to zero in the space of 2 weeks. At least the cricket is looking good...

Welcome Back

Well here goes. On Friday I travelled to Dublin to watch my favourite band (The Wedding Present). My first Weddoes gig in over a decade - brilliant. No time to train, plus it was too cold. A few pints was had - all good.

Woke up on Saturday to quite a lot of snow. I made it to Dublin airport for my 11:30am flight and all was well as we queued up at the gate for departure - apart from the small fact that there was no plane to board. Anyway, after being told the flight was delayed by at least 2 hours, I went for a wander only to receive a phone call to tell me that the race on Sunday had been postponed due to bad weather. So that was that, straight to the airport bar......

Eventually the flight left after a 5 hour delay. It wasn't so bad for me, but I did feel sorry for my old man who was waiting to pick me up at Stansted. At least I had alcohol - even if it was a fiver a pint.

So a bit disappointing - I was in decent shape and was looking to have a crack at sub 1:11. My race plan would have been to go out hard (33:30 for 10km), then hang on. Yes, it's the same for all of my races. So the time I spent in Norwich was spent predominantly in the pub. No running, as it was too cold with lots of snow and ice.

I got back to Galway late on Tuesday evening. Luckily no delays coming back. I was feeling guilty about not running for 5 days (unheard of), so I joined the gym last night (Wed) and ran 12km in 49:12. Then today I ran 10km in the gym in 43:35. Very boring but there is no chance of running outside as the paths are all iced over and the temps are currently minus 6 degrees. Pleasant if you are an Eskimo but not to my liking.

I need to find some motivation now. I'll have a look at the race calendar and see if I can target something. It may involve skis or ice skates if in the Irish winter though...

The positive was the cricket. I'd pretty much given up on the first test after day 3. And what a fightback it was. The second test is an hour from starting as I type this and I'm now full of nervous anticpation. Barmy Army.