Irishtown 8km

I decided on another race today. Originally I had planned to run the 10km in Manorhamilton but the 5 hour round trip was a bit too much. Instead I settled on a new 8km race in Irishtown which is just on the Galway/Mayo border and only 40 minutes up the road for me.

Preparation wasn't text book. See yesterday's post. Upon arrival and registration I had about 10 minutes for a warm-up which I did with John Byrne. Then it was time to get started.

Going back a bit, the road leading into Irishtown gave me a good clue as to what the course was to be like. I had driven the last couple of kms of the course and it was constant ups and downs. It was quite warm and I was just looking to blow out the cobwebs after last week's half and at the same time sweat out the night before.

I hit the front and started to push on. I was in the lead and despite running quickly and I felt like I had another gear if required. By 1km I had worked away from John and decided to keep pushing on. The kms seemed to tick along nicely and the course didn't seem too taxing. That said you don't tend to notice the drags when running well. By halfway I must have opened up a good lead and without warning I started to struggle.

The next couple of kms were a real grind. I think there were a few hills but that was only part of the problem, the body didn't seem willing. Slowly but surely I could hear John getting closer to me and by 5km he had caught me. No messing from John, he went straight past and by 6km I'd say he already had a 10 second lead.

Around this point we had made the last turn for home and I knew from the drive in there were some nasty hills. I had one final throw of the dice to see if I could close the gap on the first hill but with no joy. So I pushed on as best I could crossing the finish line in second place in a time of 26:22 (John ran 26:04).

Overall I was quite pleased with my performance today. I was happy with the time on a tough course and the second half slowdown was probably due to my poor preparation. Well done to John who looks to be going from strength to strength - great to see.

I finished up by running the course again with a few of the Mayo runners. Not at a sluggish pace either. That gives me around 17kms for the day.

All in all a really enjoyable day. The whole town seemed to be behind the race and there was a really nice feel to the event. Lots of credit must go to the organisers and with over 200 runners taking part lots of money was raised for the local hospice.

Here are the splits:

1km 3:13
2km 3:13
3km 3:13
4km 3:18 (12:57)
5km 3:19
6km 3:25
7km 3:24
8km 3:17 (13:25)

Total 26:22

Darts Match

Another easy run of 9.5kms in 39:18 (4:08's).

We played a challenge darts match tonight with another local team. I won both my pairs and singles but it was more of a piss-up with the darts playing second fiddle. Home at 3am with a belly full of Guinness.

Claremorris Double

I had to drive to Claremorris today to take the car in for a service. I had 2 hours to kill so that was my window for the daily run. Not knowing the area I decided to run the Claremorris 5 mile course used in the Mayo League. I started from the lights cutting the distance down to 7.4kms. I completed the first "lap" in 32:49 and then completed it a second time in 32:31. Total 1:05:20 for 14.8kms (4:25's).

A really tough course. Probably made a bit worse today by a strong wind.

Feet

Some more easy stuff today. I ran 11.1kms in 47:07 (4:15's). Legs feel a good bit better after the rub.

Apparently I've got the most disgusting feet in the world. Those fish that suck of the dead skin would have a mighty feed on my plates. Perhaps time to go visit a podiatrist as they are not a pretty sight at the moment...

Massage

I should have got a rub about a week before the half. I had a few little niggles that I chose to ignore - stupid really. So instead I opted for one today. The legs were very tight so that automatically amps up the pain factor. But I never complained once - well not much...

No run today. A much needed break.

Sore

I ran a local loop of 9.5kms in 42:27. The legs felt fine but my blistered feet were giving me a lot of grief. I had to resort to a bit of DIY surgery on some blood blisters when I got back home - not pleasant.

Post race last night there was a little bit of celebrating with Fintan...left the pub at 1:30am and in bed by 2. I just love the pub.

National Half Marathon 2012

Only a short trip to Athenry for me - less than 15 minutes. The weather looked okay - very little wind which was pleasing and the temperature was around 17 degrees for the start of the race at 1pm.

I registered, did a short warm-up of around a mile and it was time to line up at the start. Lots of quality all around - you'd expect that at the nationals. I suppose I was a little nervous if the truth be told but that soon disappeared when the starters gun sounded.

The first couple of miles and I tried to settle into my running. I was by myself - the group in front were going too quick and I didn't want to slow so I just stuck to my own pace. The first couple of mile splits and I was on track and after making a couple of turns we were onto the main part of the course which is used for the Athenry 10km. Around the 3 mile mark I was joined by a couple of runners who had worked up from behind - my old sparring partner John Byrne and Garrett Coughlan who I had a good race with at the Balla 10km. That was great as it was much easier running with company but at the same time I seemed to be working really hard to maintain my pace.

Not much to report for the next few miles. I stayed with the group and the pace was about right but I was really starting to struggle. It seemed very warm and humid and I was sweating a lot. I had to take water at the drinks station to try and cool down. The long road back to town and I spent some time at the front of the group and as we approached the 10km clock our time was 33:36 which was exactly where I wanted to be. The trouble being there was no chance of me maintaining that pace...

The long climb back up to the water tower before the nice downhill section to the finish area and we now had one more lap to cover. John was at the front with me and Garrett in pursuit and as we made the turn for the start of the second lap I was really starting to feel it - not helped as we were presented with a long drag that seemed to be eternal. Some time after the 7 mile marker and I was done for - I just had no battle in me and had to be content with letting the other 2 work away. This was really disappointing as I put up no fight whatsoever. Pathetic effort from yours truly.

The next few miles and I was in no mans land. I was taking more water to try and cool down and I knew I was slowing. I got to 10 miles and by this stage I wanted it to be all over. After making the last turn before the long run back to town I knew I was being caught from a couple of runners from behind. Sure enough by 11 miles they had caught me and this was my final throw of the dice to try and hang on to them. Somehow I managed to find a bit and I hung onto the back of them for a mile or so.

I started the last climb and I felt a bit better and with the 3 of us in our own private battle for line honours the pace lifted for the run to the finish line. The last section was a bit of a blur but just before the final bend I started sprinting for home and I was somehow leading the charge. Then a new runner came out of nowhere and almost caught me in the last 50m but I somehow managed to hold him off...

I finished up in 13th position in a gun time of 1:12:17 and a net time of 1:12:14. I managed to win the men's V40 category and was also part of the winning men's masters 35+ team for the Galway City Harriers. Two gold medals which was fantastic but I'm still left more than a little disappointed with my own run.

I'm not sure what happened. I don't think I can blame the course as I rate it a good fair course for a championship race. Perhaps the humidity was the main culprit - I seemed to really struggle with this and it wouldn't be the first time I've slowed in these types of conditions. Here is the race report from the Athletics Ireland website.

I finished up with a very slow 2km warm-down. All up 24.7kms for the day and 73.3kms for the week. Blisters the size of France on both feet. Very sore - how did that happen?

Here are the sorry splits:

1m 5:17
2m 5:21
3m 5:25
4m 5:34
5m 5:22 (26:59)
6m 5:31
8m 11:08
9m 5:35
10m 5:46 (28:00)
11m 5:38
12m 5:39
13.1m 5:58

Total 1:12:14

Congratulations to John Byrne who had a super run to finish in 1:11:05. He managed to maintain the pace all the way to the finish and I only wish I could have helped him out a bit more! My team mate Fintan also had a super run clocking 1:13:40 in his debut half; whilst the 3rd member of our team Gerry Carty also clocked a PB in a time of 1:19:42. Michael Shannon ran brilliantly and is going from strength to strength lowering his PB to 1:08:33 in finishing 4th overall. Brian Furey also ran brilliantly breaking the 1hr 13 mark. With people running PB's all around me it may be that I just had an off day? Not sure....I certainly welcome any feedback from other runners on their experiences of the day.

Here are a few photos I've harvested from various sources (thanks to Jane/Gerry/Tom/Edenhill).

Myself and John - he is looking very mean with his new go faster haircut. It worked:



This one includes Garrett in the background:



The sprint finish running nice and relaxed:



And the presentation:

Power of 10

Nothing planned today. Just an early night...

I stumbled upon this website recently. It's a UK database of running results and my profile can be found here

It seems that most UK results will be automatically included. I have submitted some of my recent performances from Ireland after they were verified by the site owners.

You can look up just about any runner who is registered with a UK running club. The really useful feature is the rankings that you can see at the bottom right hand side of the page. These are constantly updated each week so you can see how you fare against all the other runners in the UK.

Another really useful feature of this website is the partnership with RunBritian. If you click on the banner just above the rankings section it takes you through to this sister site. RunBritian have developed an algorithm that takes into account recent performances, race distance and terrain, age and course difficulty to calculate your running handicap (similar to a golf handicap). Most people will be in the range of 0 to 36 but it is possible to have a negative handicap (they describe this as the elites which is a bit of a joke as I'm only an old hack). My current handicap is -1.6 and this is recalculated after each race performance. Interestingly this places me 417th on the UK national ladder and 14th in the V40 age group.

Just looking at the top of the national ladder there are no surprises with Mo Farah and Andy Baddeley taking out the top 2 spots (handicaps of -6.2 and -5.7 respectively). For anyone who runs in the UK this is an excellent site and I'm surprised I haven't heard about it before. I'd be interested in any feedback if there are other people who have used these tools.

Taper done

Last run today before Sunday's race. A very leisurely 7.1kms in 31:20 (4:25's). The legs feel tired so I'm hoping with a day off tomorrow I'll freshen up nicely. Lots of stretching between now and then.

No beer for 5 days now. That's my best effort since the last few days before the London Marathon. I dare say come Sunday evening I'll be putting that right.

Last test

I ran the same loop for the 3rd time this week. I dropped in a quick mile (5:26) at race pace just to see how it felt mid-run and it didn't feel particularly good. A slight uphill and wearing the heavy runners will do that. Overall time 40:22 for 9.5kms so if you back out the quick mile, the rest of the run was at a snails pace.

Midweek musing

The same run as Monday. It had been showering all day but I somehow managed to stay dry during my run. Time 38:56 (4:06's).

Starting to think a bit about the race now. I think sub 71 is a realistic target. That equates to 3:22/km pace or back to back 10kms of 33:39. Not forgetting that pesky extra 1.1km at the end. Wait up, here's me working in metric and I think the course will be marked in miles. Okay, 5:25/mile pace should do the trick.

2km, 2 x 1km, 5 x 400m

Track session. Quite windy and the threat of rain. Bog standard warm-up of 3.5kms and then into the session outlined in the title. We were to get 90 seconds recovery after the 2km and the 1kms, then 60 seconds between the 400's. Quite generous. The speed was to be target 10km, 5km and 3km pace as we dropped down the distances.

Here were the times:

2km 6:23 (3:14,3:09)
2 x 1km 3:01, 3:01
5 x 400m 71, 72, 71, 72, 70

Probably pushed the 1kms a little too hard. But after that the last 400m reps felt very comfortable.

Same warm-down of 3.5kms. All up 13.0kms for the day.

A good session. There was a strong group of us running together tonight and everyone was ticking along nicely. Hopefully a good sign for Sunday.

Easy week

This year so far has all been about 2 races. First the London Marathon back in April, and now the half marathon next Sunday. I've trained really hard for both races and I'm hoping for a good performance on the weekend. Always the added pressure of putting all your eggs in one basket when so much effort goes into one race...

Today was an easy short loop of 9.5kms in 38:39 (4:05's).

Research

I met up with Owen, Gerry and Sean out at Athenry and the purpose of the session was to run the guts of the half marathon course that was to be used next weekend at a nice relaxed pace.

The new section was the first 2 and 2/3rds miles before joining the loop that is used for the Fields of Athenry 10km which we would run the guts of twice. A beautiful morning for running and the course seemed fine. Okay there are a couple of tough drags - at the start of the closing mile with the uphill back into town, and a gradual uphill after passing the finish area for the start of the second lap. All in all it looks pretty good and fingers crossed we get some good conditions for racing (please no wind).

All up 18.3kms for the day in 1:21:15 (4:26's).

That's 87.8kms for the week. Next week I plan to take it really easy. One more track session on Tuesday then easy running to make up the balance.

Claremorris 5 Miler

Another instalment of the Mayo League. Claremorris is tough course with a couple of big climbs, plenty of smaller drags, but a nice flat section along the main road. It was again quite windy but the weather was much cooler and for the first time in a while it wasn't humid.

I ran a couple of miles warm-up taking in the first big climb. The field looked a bit thin but I guess that's to be expected when there are so many races on at the moment. Soon the whistle sounded and I immediately went to the front with John Byrne who like me was having a final hit-out before the National Half next weekend.

Up the first big climb and I deliberately held back a little as I didn't want another mushroom cloud a la Claregalway. I tried to run as relaxed as possible and upon reaching the top we both pushed on for a nice downhill stretch through to the first mile. The wind seemed to be against us but it wasn't too bad. The second mile turned out to be my slowest of the race. A few drags to deal with and I focused on sitting in behind John. There was no surges like when we both met at Annaghdown, this time the pattern seemed to be me pulling away a little on the hills (yes you read that correctly), with John coming straight past me on the flats/downhills. I don't know what's happened but I just don't have the gears to put in the surges at the moment.

Soon we had reached the main road and it was still neck and neck. This section was quick and I was struggling to keep up with John and I let a small gap develop a few times which I then had to work hard to recover. Just before we turned off the main road I made another  break for the lead but this was short-lived as we made the turn for the run back into town.

The pace was still quick and I had a feeling this was going to go down to the wire. One final turn later we had the long straight run back to the finish. At 4 miles we were greeted with a long climb and I decided to make a break. I pushed it all the way to the top of the climb and it was one of those climbs where the top always looked in sight but you never quite got there. Finally as the road flattened out I had opened up a few seconds gap and feeling good I pushed on for the final descent and flat section up to the finish (helped by the wind). I crossed the line in 26:06 for the win with John 11 seconds further back.

I felt much better about today then some of my recent performances and it's probably my best run since Annaghdown back in June. The pace felt okay and the time is only 2 seconds slower than what I ran last year on the same tough course. McM has that down as a 25:56 performance for 8km so nice to dip under 26 for the first time in a while.

I ran another couple of miles warm-down to give me 14.4kms for the day.

Here are the splits:

1m 5:11
2m 5:26
3m 5:15
4m 5:15
5m 4:59

Total 26:06

Nice to finish with a sub 5 minute mile. A "sort-of" confidence booster for next week and the last 3 miles were covered at an average pace of 3:12/km.

Out in the evening for a couple of beers and a game of darts. It was only right that I had to go and celebrate after getting back into the winners enclosure...

Failed the test

A very easy 6.8kms today in 30:30 (4:29's).

Out in the evening for a meal with friends. Lets just say I have no will power whatsoever. Back to the drawing board on the non-drinking. Must try harder - and not going out would be a good starting point...

Passed the test

Today I did 10 minutes warm-up, then 8 x 2 mins with 2 mins float. Then 10 minutes warm-down. All up 12.7kms in just over 50 minutes.

The efforts were all in the 3:15 to 3:20 per km range. Comfortable enough I suppose. The floats were around 4 minute pace.

The readers of the blog will be pleased with my focus. I was in the pub for a meeting with the darts team and after 2 hours I managed to resist all temptation. That was until one of the lads bought me a pint just as I was about to leave and told me I had to drink it. Rude not to. Just the one (Mrs Wembley) doesn't really count right?

Sore legs

Same run as Monday (11.1kms). This time much slower in 47:15. The legs felt great after the track session last night but were sore today. The shock of some quick laps will do that I suppose.

16 x 400 off 30 seconds

Track night. Numbers were a bit thin as the middle distance runners were taking a break. Still the usual suspects were in attendance to make sure there was no slacking off.

Usual warm-up of 3.5km. Then a few strides. The track was damp but the rain had just about held off and these was only a bit of wind on the final bend to deal with. Not bad.

This session wouldn't phase me but the short 30 seconds recovery meant that you didn't want to start too quick as there was a chance of a mushroom cloud. I decided to try and run them at 3k pace so anything around 72 seconds per lap I'd settle for. Here are my times:

73/73/72/72/71/70/71/70/71/71/70/71/71/71/71/67 (average 71)

A good set. I felt comfortable throughout until the last couple but by then you could see the finishing line. I have really missed doing this type of session and I find them much more enjoyable than the longer reps on the track. Perhaps it was just the novelty value of some shorter stuff. Anyway I plan to do more of this training next year to try and get some of my speed back.

Just a quick comment on the 30 seconds recovery. It seems more like 10 seconds....finish the lap, turn around and time to start again.

Same warm-down of 3.5kms to give me 13.4kms for the day. A good sharpening session under the belt.

On the wagon

Usual route of 11.1kms in 44:49 (4:02's). Not feeling great but tried running a bit quicker just to get near 4 minute km pace.

Two weeks of zero alcohol comsumption starts today. I reckon I'll last until Friday if I'm lucky...

Almost a solo run

I started my long run at 10:30am. Running solo from Claregalway I ran to the racecourse via Carnmore and bumped into Brian Furey who was also doing a long run (Dublin based but was in Galway for the weekend and had also ran Claregalway the evening before for 5th place).

We ran a loop and a bit of the "Great Race" course together, and then I peeled off to run back to home. All up 27.1kms in 1:57:15 (4:20/km). Pleased to get that over with as I was feeling very tired at the end. I suppose it's explainable when you consider that you've covered more than the marathon distance well inside the space of 24 hours.

I make that 100.6kms for the week. A decent 7 week block of training behind me now averaging over 100kms per week during that time. I'm going to wind back the volume now and try and freshen up as much as possible for the half in exactly 2 weeks time.

Claregalway 10km

Nice to be able to walk from home to the start line for a race! After registering I did a short warm-up and a few strides and it was time to get this over with.

Weather wasn't great. Similar to the Streets - overcast and humid, and quite a strong wind which would make the section along the main road very tough - especially so as it contained a nasty 600m climb. Two 5km laps made up the course and after a decent week's training I was looking for a good run.

From the start I tucked in behind Jason Fahy and Mike O'Connor as we exited the industrial estate to turn onto the main road and up the hill. The pace felt quick and by the time we reached the top of the hill it felt like I had blown a gasket. I tried to hang on but by 2km I had been gapped. From there on in it was a real grind...

Through 5km in 16:28 and the 2 leaders were way up the road. They seemed to be having a really good battle. But that was the last thing on my mind as I hit the big climb for the second time. I would have been better off walking....bloody hell I was struggling. At the "summit" I managed to lift the pace again and I even strung together a few decent kms - but I just wanted the race to be over. I cruised the last km and crossed the line in 33:30 for 3rd place. Jason won in 32:18 with Mike finishing second in 32:54.

Disappointed with that. I can't draw too many positives from it. Some decent training and a poor race. I'd like that to be the other way round. The conditions weren't great but I'm consistently racing the same courses slower than last year - this time by over 30 seconds. I'd like to run that pace for the half in 2 weeks time and based on that performance there is no way that's going to happen...

I ran a decent warm-down to give me 16.6kms for the day.

Here are the splits:

1km 3:22
2km 3:15
3km 3:12
4km 3:17
5km 3:22 (16:28)
6km 3:45
7km 3:24
8km 3:13
9km 3:18
10km 3:22 (17:02)

Total 33:30

A few Coopers Sparkling Ales later and I was feeling a little better about myself...

More rest

Another rest day. It's quite nice having a day off - especially Friday!

Still a long day though. Up at 4am to give my Dad a lift to the airport...

More racing tomorrow.

18 minute tempo

The plan called for 18 minutes at 3:19/km pace. I ran 3.5km as a warm-up to the start of where I have been doing my tempo runs. Again the wind was strong but to compensate that I had cut out the worst part of the course where I'd be running directly into a headwind.

I felt good from the off. I was ticking along nicely and at the first checkpoint where anything under 12 is good - I was 11:20 - so I continued to push on. The last couple of minutes were tough as I hit a windy section but at the end of the 18 minutes the Garmin showed 5.57kms and that works out at 3:14/km pace.

Finishing up with 4.3kms warm-down for 13.4kms all-up.

My Dad's last day today before flying back to England. So out in the evening for a meal and a few more beers. Which is nice.

Best of 31

Very windy today. The first 4km today in 18:30 running into a hurricane, then a little easier after making the first turn. All up 14.7kms in 1:05:06. Not a quick pace (4:26's) but I needed an easy run after yesterday's quick kms.

Out in the evening for more beer and darts. I got hammered 16-12 by my old man. He played very well...

6 x 1km off 90 seconds

A nice bread and butter track session. An easy workout compared to last week and I was looking forward to getting into it. Weatherwise it was warm with very little breeze - that will do very nicely.

Times were as follows:

3:04/3:01/3:02/3:03/3:03/3:02

Very consistent and I wasn't running completely on the red line and that was pleasing. I feel a bit more like my old self the last few days so hopefully I'm coming into form in just the right time (half in less than 3 weeks time).

All up 11.5kms with warm-up/down.

Out in town after for more food and beers. Any training benefit cancelled out...

Monday

Running local again today. Fintan upsized the distance a bit and I ended up running 17.3kms in 1:15:07 (4:21's).

More darts and beer in the evening. I'm starting to return to form - 3 x 180's and we only played for an hour or so.

Sunday long run

An afternoon run today starting at 3pm with Fintan and Owen for company.

We covered all the Claregalway loops that I use in training. We gradually increased the pace throughout the run (not intentionally) finishing up with a 5km loop of the Claregalway 10km course that is being used for the County Champs next Saturday.

Fintan was bitten by a dog - the same one that had a go at me a few weeks back. Bloody mutt.

Another hot day and was pleased to get home for some liquid refreshments.

All up 26.4kms in 1:53:30 (4:18's).

That's 96.9kms for the week. Not quite triple figures but I needed an "easy" week.

Streets of Galway

This is one of the best races on the calendar. Always well supported and plenty of quality at the pointy end of the field.

A 15 minute warm-up and a few strides and soon the race was underway. Conditions weren't great - overcast and humid, and it was going to be a tough run along the prom as we had a headwind to deal with. A little bit of rain just before the start to make the course a little slippery, especially along Merchants Road...

The leaders took the race out very quick and that left a group of 8 or so chasing. I was leading this group and by the time we reached the Cathedral the race had settled down. There were 5 runners a good way ahead with our group behind. Around this point the lead female made a break from our group so I went with here. To my surprise I quickly passed her and managed to slowly work my way ahead of the group.

Through halfway and feeling pretty good but I had it in the back of my mind that the tough section into the wind was still to come. By the time I got onto the prom I had the 6th position pretty much sewn up, and I wasn't making any inroads on 5th (about 20 seconds ahead) so it was a case of gritting out the last few kms.

I was starting to struggle and was pleased that the wind was less of a factor after making the final right hand turn just before the 7km marker. I lifted the pace as best I could and crossed the line in 6th position in a time of 26 minutes exactly (chip time).

Quite happy with that all things considered. Okay it was 24 seconds slower than last year but the conditions and lack of people to hang on to would explain most of that. Interestingly comparing my splits to last year I was actually 3 seconds better at 5km this year compared to last (16:10 vs 16:13). My finishing 3km was much worse though (9:50 Vs 9:23)...

All up 14kms with warm-up/down. A good day for the Galway City Harriers winning both the team prizes.

Out in the evening for a few celebratory beers.

Splits:

1km 3:07
2km 3:18
3km 3:18
4km 3:09 (12:52)
5km 3:18
6km 3:17
7km 3:22
8km 3:11 (13:08)

Total 26:00

Rest day

This comes on the back of 24 consecutive running days so much overdue.

Out in the evening for a few beers and a game of darts.

Keeping the powder dry

With this Saturday's Streets of Galway 8km race in mind I took it easy today. I ended up running 8 x 2 minutes on, 2 minutes off as part of a 14.8km run.

The 2 minute efforts weren't particularly quick - in the 3:25 to 3:40 per km pace range depending on the terrain. It was a lovely warm sunny day and to be honest it was hard work just running for an hour so the efforts had me blowing a bit.

Total running time 1:00:29 (average 4:05's).

Today I did...

11.1kms in 46:30 (4:11's).

I also played 18 holes of golf out at Athenry (very poorly). Good fun though.

Monster track session

Tonight it was out to the track at Dangan. Conditions were good - very still and humid but a little light rain at the end of the session helped to cool things down.

The usual 3.5km warm-up. The session tonight was very half marathon specific:

1km
4 to 6 by 2km
1km

Recovery was 2 minutes after the first km, 90 seconds between the 2km reps, and a further 2 minutes before the final km. The plan called for them to be run at 10km pace so for me that was around 3:14 to 3:15 per km pace.

I initially thought I'd run 4 x 2km. I didn't feel too bad after 4 so I upsized to 5. I was then talked into doing the 6th one...that made it a total of 14kms for the session (35 laps!).

Here are the times:

3:12/6:27/6:26/6:26/6:28/6:25/6:25/3:06

Pretty happy with that. Exactly what I needed to do. Felt strong throughout. The only negative was that I wouldn't have been able to run them any quicker - still no speed in the legs.

I finished up with another 5 laps of the track as a warm-down (up to 40 laps by this stage). That's 19.5kms for the day.

Monday

Another struggle of a run. Total 11.1kms in 47:12.

I have the Streets of Galway 8km pencilled in for Saturday. I'll probably end up running it but it's difficult to get motivated when I feel like I'm in a form slump.

It's not all doom and gloom. I've been glued to the Olympics. Team GB are having an absolute blinder...

Swinford 8km

Out to Swinford today with the cheer squad - my old man and my son.

A couple of kms warm-up. And 8kms warm-down. Here is a report on what happened in between:

Race report

Total 18kms for the day.

That's 100.6kms for the week (5 ton plus weeks on the trot now). I don't feel like I'm running that well the last month or so - perhaps my worst patch since moving to Ireland. I need a couple of decent sessions or a good race to get my confidence back.

More darts and drinking in the evening.

Saturday session

A run today to try and shake out the cobwebs from yesterday. A very slow pace - 9.5kms in 41:52 (4:24's). Felt awful as you would expect.

Out again in the evening for some more darts. Not an ideal preparation for the Swinford 8km tomorrow...

Friday at the races

I trotted out for a local run today. A total of 14.8kms in 1:02:05 (4:12's).

Out in the evening for the Galway races. Winners per race - zero. Pints per race - one. Then out in the local pubs for more drinking. Ouch.

Steady running

The plan called for 50 to 70 minutes "steady running". I wasn't too sure what steady meant in this context but thought it would be quick but nothing too strenuous. I then headed to the McMillan website as I recall seeing training paces for steady sessions and imagine my surprise when it indicated a pace range of 3:24 to 3:32 per km (based on a sub 71 minute half). Steady my arse.

So I decided I hadn't seen that. I thought I'd run 10km as the meat of the run and whatever the time that resulted then so be it. A warm-up of 2.3km and then I started the session. After about 4kms I decided to have a glance at the Garmin to see how I was tracking and then I realised I'd stopped the watch and had not taken my lap split. Clucking bell. I then started the watch and completed my loop (from previous efforts I know this to be 9.3km). I then added on another 700m to get the 10km up.

I know from the Garmin that the last 6km or so of the 10km effort were run at 3:31/km pace. About 4km of that was into a tough wind and I'd be confident in saying that based on that the first 4km (wind friendly) would have been at 3:30/km pace (if not quicker). So about 35 minutes for 10km (give or take). Pleased with that as it didn't feel like it was taking too much out of me and surprisingly it was just about in the steady training range. How dare I doubt the great man...

I finished up with a 4.2km warm-down to give me 16.5kms for the day.

Three golds today for team GB. The Aussies seem to be having a bit of a Barry. Their Olympics is normally over when the swimming comes to an end...

Garmin for dummies book purchased...

2 Golds

I still have a sore right thigh from my altercation with the bed. Then today my daughter bit me on the back of the same leg, and during my run a dog bit me on the back of my left calf (didn't manage to get his teeth in). Clearly not my day. I ended up running (hobbling?) 16kms in 1:07:30 (4:13/km pace).

GB picked up a couple of golds today and now I've become glued to the Olympics.

Out in the evening for a game of darts with my old man. I haven't picked up my own darts in months and didn't play too badly in winning 13-10. Very enjoyable.

Not track

No time to visit the track tonight (airport run to pick up my Dad) so was faced with running the mile reps in Claregalway. Very poor conditions after a glorious day yesterday - lots of rain and wind to deal with. I decided on a new stretch of road to run the reps, flat as you'd get on a country road and pretty straight. The trouble was one direction was straight into the wind, plus there were lots of puddles to dodge. I don't think my heart was really in this session from the start...

I ran a 2.7km warm-up, and then planned to used the Garmin in interval mode to record the 1,600m efforts. Odd number reps were into the wind. Here are the times:

1) ??? - didn't start the watch, had to guess the distance and probably ran about 1,500m - no idea of time
2) 5:11
3) estimate 5:20 - thought I'd reached the end of the rep but had pulled up 100m short, had to start running again after stopping for about 10 seconds...
4) 5:12
5) 5:18
6) 5:08

A very tough slog. After having a nightmare with the watch I got annoyed and channelled my frustration into the last 3 reps where I went okay. Soaked at the end - at the start I was trying to dodge the puddles but near the end I just didn't have the energy and just ploughed straight through them. Also still struggling with the dead leg. Lots of excuses.

A warm-down of 2.5kms. All up 14.7kms. I'd say I averaged about 5:14 for each "mile" and that's below 3:15/km pace. Probably quite good going all things considered.

Race Week

The start of the Galway races this week. Pub landlords around town will be rubbing their hands together...

An easy run for me today. Local loop of 11.1kms in 46:56 (4:14's). Legs very heavy and not helped by walking into the bed during the night and giving my right thigh a real whack. Not good.

Forgot to mention the darts yesterday. Another Taylor Vs Wade final and what promised to be a great match was a bit of an anti-climax. Taylor eventually won 18-15 but wasn't at his best, and Wade must be kicking himself because if he played like he did in the previous rounds he would have won by some margin. A hundred grand for just over a weeks work throwing darts isn't bad I suppose...

Quick Turnaround

Out at Dangan for a long run. I met with Fintan and Brian and we started off with a lap of the pitches. Brian had to pull the pin with a dodgy Achilles so that left me and Fintan. We ran out to Barna, then down through Salthill before returning to Dangan.

The time was 1:59:00. Distance is an estimate based on pace - it wasn't quick and I think we were ticking along at just under 4:30/km pace. I reckon 26.5kms is about right.

That's 105.8km for the week. That's 4 weeks on the trot now where I've cracked the ton - to be honest it feels like I'm back in marathon training. I have felt really tired the last month and despite a few decent runs here and there, I think my general form is not where it should be. I'm certainly not running as well as I was this time last year. Hopefully it will all come good soon. I just need a decent run to get my confidence back...

Balla 10km

Round 3 of the Mayo League. It was the 8km course that I ran back in May with 2 additional kms of hills bolted on to the start. Conditions were quite breezy but okay for racing.

After a shortish warm-up of 1.6km and a few pick-ups it was time to get down to business. A good turn-out of quality runners with several Dublin based runners making the journey. Always good to see as you want to race the best runners going round. We were soon underway and there is a nasty climb in the first km of about 500m, then lots of twists and turns. By the time we hit the 8km course at the 2km mark I had settled into a group of 3 (myself, Roger Barrett and Garrett Coughlan). I should add that the 2 leaders were already way ahead so it looked like a race for 3rd spot.

I wasn't looking at the watch and by the time we reached halfway not much had changed. Myself and Roger were running side-by-side with the other guy tucked in behind and the leaders out of sight. The pace felt comfortable but there was no zip in the legs to try and throw in a few surges. By 6km we had reached "Hoopers Hills". Sure enough the 7th km was a tough one and I think it was around this time that Roger fell off the back of the group leaving me chasing Garrett.

I was hoping I could hang on until the last km and try and pull out a quick finish. Through 9km and we made a left hand turn towards the finish. This section was tough as it was an uphill drag running directly into the wind and to my surprise I was leading. That was short-lived as Garrett put in a very mean kick for home with about 500m to go leaving me for dust. I simply had nothing in the legs to try and respond. So I cruised home for 4th place in a time of 33:11.

A good race but a little disappointed with the time - it would have been nice to dip under 33 as I did last year in this race (32:43). I won't beat myself up too much though as I've done a decent block of training and I probably need an easy week to try and freshen up a bit. The one positive I can take us that the pace felt okay and I'd be confident of holding the pace for more than 10kms on a flatter course.

I finished with a 6km warm-down. A super run by Sean Hehir in winning the race in 31:32 to set a new course record. That's a fantastic time  - I reckon the hills are worth at least 30 seconds compared to a quick course.

All up 17.6kms for the day. Arrived home late - a few quick beers - then bed.

Splits from the km markers - clearly the 2nd and 3rd ones were out:

1km 3:19
2km 3:46
3km 2:53
4km 3:18
5km 3:15 (16:31)
6km 3:18
7km 3:29
8km 3:20
9km 3:17
10km 3:16 (16:40)

Total 33:11

Just enough to call a session

A very easy half an hour today. I literally stopped as soon as I hit 30 minutes (30:01 to be exact) and had chalked up 6.8kms in the process. Racing tomorrow in Balla, Co Mayo, for 10kms of rolling hills...

More Fartlek

I'm racing on the weekend so decided to take it fairly easy today. I decided on some more fartlek and thought I'd be a bit more structured in my approach. I decided on a "Mona Fartlek" type session - named after the famous Australian marathon runner Steve Moneghetti.

I decided on 2 x 90 seconds, 4 x 60 seconds, 6 x 30 seconds. Recovery was the same time as the efforts and if you were doing this session properly you'd run the efforts hard, then float during the recovery. I took it down a notch or two today and ran the efforts around 3:10 to 3:20 per km pace, and did a slow jog recovery.

After around 20 minutes warm-up I went straight into it. Something different but a bit annoying to keep having to look at the watch. After I got through the efforts I decided that 10 minutes of hard running was a but piss poor so after 4 minutes of jogging I decided to do a further half set (1x90 ,2x60, 3x30). So now up to 15 minutes of quickish stuff.

Then ran home to give me 16.0kms all up in 1:06:17 (average 4:09/km).

Back to Galway

Today I was down for an easy hour plus run. I decided on 10 miles and the legs felt surprisingly fresh - the only explanation I can give is that I'd spent some time messing around in the pool with the kids after yesteday's run, plus this morning before we left Clane. Perhaps it helped to flush out the legs?

All up 16kms in 1:06:17 (4:09's). If only all runs felt as good as this one...

8 x 800m

A mid afternoon run in Clane. I decided to run outside as the weather didn't look too bad - very still and damp but quite humid. I used my 20 minute warm-up to try and find a suitable course to run my 800s, anything would do - as long as it was safe enough. By chance I stumbled upon a tarmac path down by the river which was about 1.3km in length. Perfect.

I'd set up the Garmin to run my intervals - 800m by 8 off 60 seconds recovery. I was using the path out and back - it was quite flat, perhaps crown shaped so a slight uphill, then a flat section, then downhill at the end. The outwards section was perhaps a little easier. Here are the times:

2:36 (!!!), 2:29, 2:29, 2:29, 2:27, 2:26, 2:26, 2:26

Despite a slow start I was very happy with those times. Perhaps one of the better sessions I have done of late. Again I was feeling tired but that wasn't reflected in the times. The shirt came off after the first 4 - it was that humid and I'd worked up a sweat like I was back on the treadmill.

I finished up with a 3.1km warm-down. All up 12.8kms for the day. Then out in the evening for more socialising...

Clane

We moved from Dublin to Clane for a couple of nights in a hotel - but not before more shopping at Ikea and Dundrum shopping centre...

Another late run for me. I decided to make use of the hotel treadmill and it was the most hi-tec machine I have ever used....all the bells and whistles. I wanted to run 10km easy and ended up pushing it a bit, not helped by the fact that it was so hot in the gym. In the end I covered the 10km in 40:58 (4:06/km) and was sweating like you wouldn't believe...

Then back to the hotel room to watch the darts on the laptop. Plus a few beers of course to help replace lost fluids.

Long Run With Bells On

More kiddies stuff during the day. A trip to Dublin Zoo and after being on the feet all day it was going to be another tough evening run...

The plan called for up to 45 minutes at half marathon pace (depending on fitness level). As part of a long run of around 1 hour 45 minutes. I was going to make this as easy as possible so I used the same route as I ran the previous day doing my tempo run heading out towards Howth - with the benefit of a good tail wind.

I did about 20 minutes warm-up, and was to start the effort at a tower marked "East Point" - which I think was near a train station. I started quickly and didn't feel too bad but I gradually started to slow a little as I ran down the prom. I was offered a sexual favour by a girl down on the prom as I ran past - all I could do was smile and laugh as I ticked by at 3:20/km pace. She started to chase after me - she must have thought I wasn't that way inclined. That's what I like about Dublin - the locals seem to be very accommodating!!!

Moving on, at about 30 minutes the cycle path came to an end and I was on a normal path. I considered stopping but decided to soldier on to 11kms. The last km was the toughest - slight uphill plus a junction to deal with. I ended up running 11kms on the knocker in 36:51 (3:21/km pace). That sounds impressive but there was quite a strong wind driving me along the whole way which was worth a good bit...

Then the run back. A slow slog home into the wind. I couldn't wait to get it over with. I ended up with a total running time of 1:49:03 covering 27kms (at an average pace of 4:02/km).

That's 100.6km for the week. Absolutely shot to bits...

Dublin

A testing day. Struggling a bit with the excesses of the previous night and then the drive to Dublin for a 4 day break with the wifey and dustbin lids.

We were staying in Clontarf but before that we did a spot of shopping in Dundrum, then out to Sandyford to take the kids to Imaginosity (a kids museum/activity centre). A good day and by the time we got back to the apartment I was knackered. So it was to be a late night run - the schedule called for an easy start to the run, picking up the pace for the second half. Not knowing the area I ran down to the local park, did a lap, then headed out by the water along the prom towards Howth. I tried to lift the pace after the turnaround, but didn't really have anything in the tank. I ended up with 15.1kms in 1:02:45 (4:09's). A few beers in the evening as I'm on my hols and all that...

Tomorrow is another toughie. More evening running - a long run at that with a tempo session thrown in for good measure. Looking forward to that - not...

The Fall

Still struggling on. Just seem to have no mojo at the moment. An easy local run of 11.1kms in 47:46 (4:18's).

Out in the evening to see "The Fall". They've been around for 30 years or so and I'd never seen them and I wasn't going to give up the opportunity to see them at the Roisin Dubh here in Galway. I met with a few mates and there was a good buzz around town for the Arts Festival. The band took to the stage around 10pm and I wasn't sure what to expect when Mark E Smith stumbled on. He looked like a cross between Alex Higgins and Yoda out of Star Wars. I couldn't understand a word he was saying but I was mesmerised from start to end. The band were very tight and despite one moment where MES forgot his words (passed the mike to the crowd where a bloke sang every word perfectly), it was a great night. I've never laughed so much during a gig - the MES facial expressions and mannerisms where legendary. He kept eyeing up the microphone stand like he'd never seen one before. A class night - 9 out of 10.

10 Miles Not So Easy

An hour of quick/slow stuff. Basically the same session as I did on July 5th (fartlek). Again I found this session very tough and I was tired come the end. Maybe it's trying to run quick in the heavy joggers that does it, or perhaps me trying to attack the hills is the culprit.

All up 16.kms in 1:03:33 (ave 3:58's). The average speed during the fartlek was nearer 3:50/km but the overall pace was slower due to the warm-up/down.

10 Miles Easy

An easy recovery run today. The legs were a bit sore - probably as a result of the triple jump....all up 16.0kms in 1:10:24 (4:24's).

Galway 5,000m

A tough old slog was in store tonight. It had been raining all day and it was very windy. Upon arrival I had time to register, then run a lap of the pitches before running a few strides watching some of the other races on the card.

Just before the mens 5,000m was due to start we had another downpour. Just to keep the track nice and damp. I couldn't seem to get motivated and I'm not even sure how many toed the line, perhaps 20 or so? We were soon off and I hit the front for a pedestrian first lap. Nobody wanted to take up the pace and I think we ran 81 seconds. The second lap wasn't much quicker - we had a tough breeze running the home straight but a nice cruise section along the back straight. I think the time was 2:38 through 800m and I then decided to lift the pace to try and shake things up. I had Peter and Keith for company (through 1km in 3:14) and then 3 laps in 3:48 (a 70 second lap!).

That move resulted in the lead group of 3 opening up a slight gap on the chasers. From this point it was a game of cat and mouse. Peter would surge a few sections, I would try and respond, with the lead swapping over a few times. Keith sat on our backs (sensible) letting the 2 of us slog it out. I don't recall too much detail but I remember getting shouted at a lot to lift the pace - bloody hard though in those conditions. Sure enough the laps continued to count down but I don't have any splits to report.

I'd say with 3 laps to go I was still in front, with Peter and Keith right behind. My chance to win was going to be a quick last lap. I tried to cover off any moves and was confident I could run a decent last lap if I was still leading. I opened up a miniscule gap with a couple of laps to go and I think Keith was  starting to feel the pinch (thank the Lord as with his finishing speed he would have been all over me like a cheap suit). Last lap time and I lifted the pace with the benefit of the wind along the back straight then gritted the teeth for a quick last 200m. Very pleased to stumble across the line for the win in a time of 15:49. Peter second and Keith 3rd (well done guys).

I can't say I enjoyed that one bit. Very tough going and it felt like I was red-lining for most of the second half of the race. I ran 15:14 for this race last year and it felt much easier. That said my training last year was very 5km focused (lots of 5km races topped up with 400m rep sessions). This year it has been all about the marathon and the longer stuff. It seems my speed has suffered as a result!

Then for a bit of fun I headed over to the long jump pit for the triple jump competition - my best attempt to try and get injured! Having not done this for 25 years I felt a bit out of my depth. A quick bit of coaching from a few fellow competitors and I marked out my run-up. Again this was tough - jumping into the wind with the rain still falling. To my amazement I tried 3 jumps and had 3 successful attempts. The best being a mediocre 8m 90cm which surprisingly makes me the Galway masters triple jump champion!

Then 8 laps of the track and a lap of the pitches as a warm-down. All up 15.4kms for the day. Legs will no doubt be sore tomorrow so will just run easy to recover.

Happy 4th birthday!

To my son Conor. Where have the last 4 years gone?

No running today. I spent all day playing Lego and Scalextric. Another day of healthy eating - Supermacs and more cake.

Track 5,000m tomorrow. The Galway County championships. Looking forward to that like a hole in the head...

Week 2 done and dusted

Just myself and Owen today out at Roscam. A similar run to last Sunday but we changed the route a little out in Maree to run some of the 8km course. All 4 seasons of weather today. Very odd.

We deliberately took it nice and easy. I wanted to test the leg (seemed a little tight but fine). All up 26.7kms in 2:02:26 (4:35's). I felt much better than last week come the end of the run - probably due to the more relaxed pace.

That's exactly 111kms for the week (Nelson). A couple of tidy weeks in the bank.

6 x 4 minutes off 60 seconds

A similar session to Thursday. Today I was running solo so that makes it a bit tougher. Again quite windy but it seemed to be more of a cross wind. I was using the same course and after a slow start, I settled into some decent running. Here are the paces per km:

3:23/3:15/3:15/3:12/3:13/3:12

A tough enough session off only 60 seconds. The last effort should have been quicker but I let my concentration wander.

I noticed on the run home that my right quad was a bit sore. Later in the day it was apparent that I'd picked up a slight thigh strain. Nothing serious I hope. All up 14.5kms with warm-up/down.

We hosted our first ever kids birthday party today. Ten kids and a bouncy castle. Not as bad as I was expecting! My diet for the day was primarily made up of cocktail sausages and cake.

More running

Well I managed to get my massage late last night. Quite a painful one - my own fault as I'd left it too long.

Decided to have a trot out today to test out the new legs. I wasn't feeling great and had no spring in the step. Ended up with 9.5kms in 40:38 (4:17's).

5 x (3 mins / 1 min)

Woke up at 7:05am and out the door by 7:15am (still drinking my coffee on the doorstep). Fintan and Owen as company as we did a warm-up to the location where I run a lot of my local speedwork. Finally a lovely sunny day - it will no doubt be raining by lunchtime...

We decided to do the 3 mins/1 min in the same direction, then turn and run the opposite direction the next set. That meant 3 uphill sets into the breeze and only 2 with the benefit of the wind/course. Poor planning on my part! The recovery was 60 seconds between the 3 and 1 minute, with 90 seconds between sets. Here are the paces for the session courtesy of the Garmin:

3:15/3:01,3:04/2:52,3:09/2:58,3:05/2:52,3:12/2:55

Pleased with those as the legs felt tired, plus it's difficult to get the legs moving when you've only been awake for less than 30 minutes!

With the warm-down that gives me 13.8kms for the day. Round numbers I ran 6.6km during the 20 minutes of effort at an average pace of 3:02/km. No wonder I was knackered at the end...

The plan is to take a rest day tomorrow and try and get a rub.

Racing

The schedule calls for a longish mid-week run building up to 1hr 30 mins. Keep the pace relaxed as this is the meat in the sandwich between speed workouts either side (Tue/Thu) - so best not to overdo it. I decided to do something a bit different so ran up to the Galway Racecourse from home, then did a lap of the course (at about the same pace as any horse that I back), then ran home. All up 17.9kms in 1:16:00 (4:14's). Not a bad run but it means that 90% of the time you are on the shoulder of the main road which means you have to keep your wits about you.

I finished the run around 9pm and another quick turnaround as I'm meeting the guys at 7:15am tomorrow morning for some more quick stuff...

3 x 12 minutes

The track was out of action tonight due to county races so I decided to run locally for this session. Another windy old evening and there was no avoiding it so it was going to hamper certain legs of the run.

The recovery was 3 minutes and after 3.4kms warm-up I was good to go. I started where I normally run my 5 minute efforts but kept running the same direction for the full 12 minutes. It was a tough start running gradual uphill for 4 minutes, then 8 minutes running directly into the wind. Pace 3:28/km.

The second effort was much easier as I simply did the same section in reverse with the benefit of the wind/course. Pace 3:23/km.

The last effort I decided to run 6 minutes out, then turn and run back. Again the first 6 minutes were tough and I deliberately turned just over 6 minutes as I knew I could run the second half quicker. That's how it turned out and I probably ran the last 6 minute at below 3:20/km pace as my average for the 12 minutes was 3:23/km.

The same 3.4kms slow run home to give me 17.5kms for the day. Done and dusted. A good session in tough conditions with close to 11kms run at a decent clip.

In other news England hammer the Aussies 4-0 in the one day series. It's getting a bit boring now - they can't even give us a decent game!

Plodding on

Still no sign of summer here in Ireland. Overcast and windy is as good as it gets at the moment. I trotted out locally for 11.1kms in 46:33 (4:12's). The legs have been feeling a bit better of late despite still not having a massage. Must be the Kinetica working!

Quick turnaround

Just over 12 hours after yesterday's evening race I was out at Roscam with Fintan and Owen for a long run. We headed out through Oranmore and then on to Maree admiring all the big houses that make up this beautiful part of the world. Conditions were a little breezy and when we turned on 1hr 06 for the run home the back of the legs/buttocks were already sore.

I took the short option on the way back as I was feeling really tired whilst the other 2 did the honourable thing to run the full out and back course. All up 27.4kms for me in 1:59:26 (4:22's).

Happy with that and a decent week of training completed (114.8km). Just got to keep it going now...

Headford 8km

The schedule called for a long tempo run today. I got talked into using the race out at Headford for the session with the aim of running at dream target HMP. So that's 3:19/km to achieve the magical sub 70.

Difficult to front for a race but not be in race mode. Arrived at Headford and ran just over 4kms as a warm-up with my wingman Fintan. We decided to run together. Michael Shannon was running fresh after a 1:11 half marathon victory earlier in the day in Achill! Apparently a very tough course, plus a windy day which made that time all the more special.

We lined up and I hit the front with Fintan and Michael in close company. It's a tough uphill drag the first 600m or so, and then you hit the main road where you have a nice fast section. The three of us stuck together and I was sticking to the target pace which felt comfortable. I wasn't paying too much attention to the watch and we were soon turning off the main road onto the smaller country lanes where the course becomes a good bit tougher.

Through halfway and the three of us remained together. The 5th km is tough - a long uphill drag and although it didn't seem like we had slowed, the splits tell the story. More drags in the next couple of kms and with one km this is what happened....

Michael made a move and I then spoke to Fintan as to what to do - stick with target pace or try and run him down! In this time Michael had already opened up a nice gap and that perhaps gave me the reason to keep going as we were for that bit longer. As we rounded the final corner with 700m to go I had a re-think and started to wind up the pace a little. I felt pretty good and I was sure I was closing. I then pushed for a minute and I was definitely closing but I'd left it too late and Michael had me covered. Comedy racing at its best!

I eventually crossed the line in 26:21 (3:18's) some 5 seconds behind Michael for second place. Happy with the time as it felt okay - but the though of maintaining that pace for 21.1kms leaves me scratching the head a little...

I knew it was dangerous to run a session in a race as the competitive streak in me was always likely to surface. Today I was mixing my drinks and it got messy. I'm still smiling though and a good session in the bank.

I finished up with a 8.2km warm-down with Fintan who had a super run finishing just behind me. That's 20.3kms for the day. A big well done to Michael. To run that race with a half in the legs just shows the talent this man has.

Here are the splits:

1km 3:19
2km 3:14
3km 3:18
4km 3:20 (13:11)
5km 3:28
6km 3:21
7km 3:14
8km 3:07 (13:10)

Total 26:21

As a footnote, in comparison to last year I was 30 seconds slower today. Interestingly, the first 4kms were 37 seconds slower - with the final 4kms today being run 7 seconds quicker. I think this basically shows I went out too hard last year and paid for it in the back half of the course where you hit the hills.

Nice

A quick local run today. The legs felt really good - my new concoction must be working. All up 11.1kms in 45:20 (4:05's).

In the evening I ventured out to the Volvo. Packed everywhere. Queueing for 30 minutes to get served beer in plastic glasses and then too loud to move or have a conversation. Must be getting old. Home by 2am.

Hilly Fartlek

Today I was down for a light hilly fartlek run. I haven't done much of this type of training before and I was running solo/local so took the "make it up as you go along" approach.

I decided to push the hills and run easy in between. I would try and lift the pace every 4-5 minutes for different durations and would run say 2 minutes quick, 2 minutes slow, or an effort from this lamp-post to the corner, or from the bottom of the hill to the top. That sort of thing. I was wearing my normal joggers so the efforts weren't particularly quick - no idea of pace but I'd say no quicker than 3:40/km pace. Enough to get the heart rate up though and in all honesty I probably over-did it a bit as I was tired at the end (I stopped the efforts at 50 minutes and run easy until the end).

I ran the same route as yesterday adding on an extra km at the end to get me up to 16kms. Time 1:03:23 so that's an average of 3:58/km.

I recently won some Kinetica stuff which I took delivery of today. My sports nutrition is old skool so I decided to give it a go. So after the run I mixed my first ever 400ml recovery drink which I think was mango and orange flavour. I felt a bit like a drug cheat mixing up my powder and I can't say it looked or tasted very nice. Time will tell if it does any good. I also have multi-vitamins, protein bars, gels, the full shooting match. I'll probably grow an extra head or something - you see that sort of thing all the time being from Norwich...

Easy run tomorrow, tempo on Saturday and long run on Sunday. Legs feel very tired and I'm in desperate need of a massage (last one was pre-London).

Coopers

The schedule called for 60-90 minutes on a Wednesday. I decided to ease into it with an hour. I ran mid afternoon and about halfway through the run it started bucketing down. Very heavy rain and completely soaked through. It wasn't cold and had to run through ankle deep water in places. Quite good fun I suppose.

All up 14.9kms in 1:02:12 (4:10's). The route was measured using MapMyRun so it's probably nearer to 13kms...

I spotted Coopers Pale Ale in Tescos. And it was on special. Couldn't resist buying some for old times sake. Very nice too.

When the boat comes in

The Volvo round the world boats arrived overnight at the finish line here in Galway. This event has pretty much taken over the town for the next week or so. I'd say a few of the crew members will be very thirsty...

Not great weather. It juiced down all day but seemed to clear in the evening leaving conditons very damp but overall cool and calm. I got stuck in traffic on the drive to the track so had to abondon the car the wrong side of the river and then run to the track. About 3kms later I was good to go.

The session was 5 x 1600 off 60 seconds. I wanted to run close to 5 minute miles. The times were as follows:

5:02/5:02/5:05/5:02/5:04

Happy enough with that. A slow 3rd rep but I managed to recover for the 4th one and then another slow one to finish with. A tough session off only a miniute. The legs and breathing felt fine but it didn't seem to be quite gelling tonight. Ideally I'd be a second a lap quicker to get them in and around 5 minutes and I guess the wet track might be worth that? I was running solo also so that makes it that bit tougher.

I then ran 4 laps of the track as a warm-down then ran the additonal 3kms back to the car. All up 15.6kms for the day.

Proper

Okay, proper training starts this week for the national half marathon champs on Sep 2nd.
Eased myself into it with an easy-ish local loop covering the 9.5kms in 39:19 (4:08's). Felt good but I suppose you should after such an easy week last week.

Quadruple lappers on the track tomorrow...

The Stone Roses

Out mid morning for an hours run. I was staying in the Swinton area and ended up doing an out and back run along the main road towards St Helens. I finished up with 16.8kms in 1:12:58 (4:21/km).

That's a massive 65.9kms for the week...

Out in the evening for the Stone Roses. I wasn't really interested in the warm-up bands but Dirty North seemed to be by far the best. About 9:30pm the Stone Roses took to the stage and opened up with "I Want to be Adored". Simply brilliant. It set the tone for the evening with the crowd singing and dancing along to every song. The highlight for me was an extended version of "Fools Gold" mid-set. They finished with "I Am the Resurrection". Very fitting. The musicians were superb and despite Ian Browns vocals being a bit hit and miss, you didn't really notice it due to the singalong factor. Overall the night way exceeded my expectations and it was a truly great show.

Ouch #2

Arrived in Manchester safe and sound. Straight back to my mates place for a BBQ and a few too many beers with my old student mates. Late to bed.

No running today. Will attempt something tomorrow.

Should have been a tempo

but wasn't. Instead I ran late and decided to notch up a longish run.

Again very slow - my cruising pace seems to have suffered a bit lately, probably just tired. A total of 16.6kms in 1:13:29 (4:26's).

The weekend training could be tricky. I'm off to Manchester on Saturday to catch up with mates from university and then to watch the Stone Roses play on Sunday. At the very least I plan to get a run in Sunday morning. We shall see. Proper training resumes next week.

Plan

I managed to get out for a slow trot to help with my "recovery". Usual 9.5km route in 41:17.

Then out in the evening with the lads to put together our training plan for the upcoming National half in September. Great food thanks to Fintan. Also thanks to Matt for taking time to put together the schedules.

Ouch #1

My best man was over from Oz on his hols and needless to say we gave the booze a massive nudge. No running as a result but great to catch up.

I though Portugal were a little unlucky against Spain...I just about remember watching the penalties...

Tuesday track

3.5km warm-up with the lads.

The session was 1km, 4 x 2km, 1km (big session) and I was to try and hang on to Gary who was running at what is probably a cruise pace for him. The recovery was only 90 seconds...

Here's how the session panned out:

3:05, 6:15, 6:23, REST, 6:12, 3:02

Yes after the second 2km effort I had blown a gasket and hit to sit out the 3rd 2km. After around 9 minutes recovery I bounced back well to finish the session. I found this really tough and don't seem to be running at all comfortable at the moment. Perhaps the easy week will see me in good stead.

Finished up with a 2km warm-down to give me 13.5kms for the day.

Monday

9.5kms in 39:35 (4:10's).

Decided I'll take an easyish week this week. Too much socialising on the horizon so proper training will be put on hold.

Penalties

I ran local and decided to run my short 9.5km loop in reverse. Seems really odd but it was like running somewhere different. During the run I decided that I'd throw in a few hill repeats on the Rock Road to get the heart rate up. These were token hills at best - I lasted 6 x 1 minute and what should have taken 1 minute were always a few seconds more (I always run point to point). Pretty pathetic. At one point as I jogged back down the hill I got asked for directions - never before have I been so grateful to take a long break and give very detailed instructions...

All up 13.0kms. That's 85.8kms for the week.

I then headed out to watch the England game. We started okay but in all honesty we were hanging on for most of the game and never deserved to win....pass me another beer please...

Almost 2 hours

I ran with Timmie and Owen starting at Roscam. Conditions were poor being very windy but at least the rain held off. We headed into town and turned at the driving range (Owen went shorter = sensible, massive headwind all the way). It was a lot easier coming back but the legs felt tired by this stage. Timmie made the call to show me an old training hill on the way back and that nearly finished me off. As we made the final turn into Roscam we had to stop at a level crossing to let a train pass. I wasn't sure I'd get going again...

All up 26.0kms in 1:55:33 (4:27's). Slow pace but the wind made it a really tough run. How the f**k did I run that marathon 8 weeks back?

Rehab Run

The legs took a real beating yesterday. I didn't stretch properly after the race and I felt very sluggish crawling around today. A total of 11.1kms in 48:45 (4:24's).

I'll take it easy over the weekend. Racing really seems to be taking it out of me at the moment. Probably a sign of old age.

Annaghdown 10km

Out to Annaghdown for a flattish 10km. The weather had been very wet all day but it cleared nicely for the race. A few puddles to avoid but it was nice and cool with very little breeze. You'd take these conditions every time.

A couple of kms warm-up then time to line up. There was a great showing with some decent guys at the pointy end. The standard in Galway at the moment is definitely on the up. Probably at least half a dozen guys capable of running sub 33 and better so you are pretty much guaranteed a good race at the moment which I'm all for. Plus John Byrne had made the trip from Co Mayo (National 50km champion) so it promised to be a good hit-out.

I immediately hit the front with John. The course is rolling ups and downs - not big hills but ones you would feel if you weren't in good shape. We took it out fairly hard and I settled in behind John. I wasn't looking at the watch at all but I knew we were moving well as we ticked off the first few kms. I tried to take the lead a few times but John would surge straight away and regain the lead. This continued until halfway and with neither of us letting up I thought it was going to go all the way.

By the time we hit 6km I had tried a few more surges but I got the feeling that the immediate response from John must have been taking it's toll. At about 6.5km we tool a left turn and I made another move on a slight uphill and managed to open up a small gap. I tried to push on but as soon as I had hit the front I felt a lot less comfortable.

I mainatained the lead but knew John was right behind me. I was really starting to work hard and I ran a couple of sloppy kms through 8 and 9, probably saving myself for a quick finish. The last km had a bit of a climb at the start but after that it was all downhill then flat into the finish line. I was running behind the 2 lead motorbikes and they had the sirens sounding as I crossed the line in a time of 32:38 for the win.

A great battle with John which sums up why I like racing. He finished 8 seconds behind in 32:46 with Conor Dolan in great form only a few seconds back in 32:57 (his first sub 33). It's a horrible feeling when you know someone is close behind you but thankfully I just had enough in reserve to get to the line.

Here are the splits:

1km 3:08
2km 3:14
3km 3:12
4km 3:16
5km 3:15 (16:05)
6km 3:15
7km 3:18
8km 3:23
9km 3:26
10km 3:12 (16:33)

Total 32:38

The only slight disappointment is the splits for the 8th and 9th kms. Had I have been able to run them under 3:20 I may have had a shout of a PB. Still not too bad - my second quickest road 10km and 3 seconds quicker than last year!

I finished up with a 3.4km warm-down to give me 15.4kms for the day.

No running or football

Did nowt today. Probably long overdue after 17 consecutive running days.

10km race tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

A couple of beers tonight but no football to watch...

6 x 800m

I've decided to run the 10km on Thursday night out at Annaghdown so in preparation for that I decided not to overdo it on the track tonight.

A quick 15 minute warm-up with Fintan and Owen of around 3.5km. The session called for 6 to 8 by 800m off 90 seconds and with lots of people racing at the moment everyone took the decision that 6 efforts was plenty.

As is the norm, the first was a bit scratchy then I settled into a nice rhythm. My usual trick of a quick first lap (around 70 seconds), then a slower one - the ideal would be to run the effort at even pace. Here are the times:

2:27/2:25/2:24/2:24/2:24/2:23

Pretty happy with that. Conditions were spot on with very little breeze and I seemed to be running relaxed and moving well.

A 7 lap warm-down to give me 11.1kms for the day. Rest tomorrow.

On the drive home I eventually found the commentary for the England game on radio 5. You can imagine what the signal is like on the west coast of Ireland but that didn't matter as Rooney had just put England 1-0 up and that's how it stayed. Plus with France slipping up we top the group to play the Italians on Sunday night. It would be no surprise now if we make the semis...and all this from an England side that are at best very average...Hodgson is either very lucky or a genius. I'll let you decide...

Triple

I wasn't planning to run today but ended up doing 3 mini-runs which totalled 9.2kms (in 41:58) - at a very sedate pace of 4:32/km.

I was invited to the launch of this year's Streets of Galway 8km road race at the Claddagh Hall. I parked up near Eyre Square and jogged down to the hall (2km). The photos called for a couple of highly tuned athletes with good physique to dress up in morph suits for some of the press photos. Imagine my surprise when I got the call up. Here's a flavour of what I'm talking about:

After the photos were done and dusted I jogged back to the car (1.5km). Upon arrival home I then decided that 3.5kms didn't constitute a run so I headed out for a further 5.7km.

Good fun all round and now waiting to see what photos make the papers later in the week...

Half Marathon (for fun)

Up early and wanted to run for around 90 minutes (local solo run). I covered 3 of my local loops and upon arrival home the Garmin showed I was just shy of 21kms so like a complete muppet I decided to carry on to get the half marathon distance up (doing a loop of the estate). Total 21.1kms in 1:29:59 (4:16's).

A family meal was planned for 2pm but I was cooking so it turned out an hour late....I used the delay to my advantage nipping down to the 5km marker of the "Great Race" to watch the leaders come through. Some great results from my training partners with Fintan running a 33:20 PB in his DEBUT 10km race for 2nd. Plus Owen running a solid 34:14 for 3rd. Well done!!

I think I'm going to have a hit-out this week in the Annaghdown 10km on Summer Solstice day. A good course where I ran a PB last year. With that in mind I plan to have a relatively easy week on the training front.

Weekly total of 100.8kms. My first triple figure week since London.

Hills

You know I'm clutching at straws when I throw in a hill session....

I ran down to the Rock Road (3.4km) then ran 12 sets of hills. I use the same start/finish point which is about 60 seconds up and 80 seconds jogging down (when feeling good). Today I wasn't far short of that blowing out a few seconds here and there. I seem to cop really bad weather when doing this session (cold and wet). Then the same run home (3.4km) to add another 13.2kms to the weekly tally.

That's my 3rd  (decent) session of the week. I think 3 sessions may be too much for me and might drop it down to 2 as the legs seem to be constantly tired. Umm.

Long run tomorrow.

Rubbish

11.1km in 46:16 (4:10's). Very blustery but had a bit of a spring in the step and felt good.

Football - Ireland were rubbish and England weren't much better. I can't believe we scored 3 goals as we didn't create anything. As soon as we meet a decent side it's going to be good night nurse...

Solo Tempo

I don't think I'm going to race on the weekend so I decided to do the same session as last week (12km tempo). Running solo today with only the Garmin for company and the nice bleep each time you knock off a km.

The session was 2.2km warm-up, 12km tempo, 4.8km warm-down (all up 19kms).

I ran the tempo in 41:19 (3:27's). That's a massive 11 second improvement on last week! In my defence I'd say it's tougher running by yourself, plus the conditions were a little windier today. Here are the km splits:

3:26/3:24/3:27/3:23/3:25/3:27/3:25/3:29/3:34/3:27/3:30/3:22

I went through 10km in 34:27. The loop itself is about 9.3km so I'm doubling up on running 2.7km of the loop (it wouldn't be the easiest part of the loop either as a lot of that section is slight uphill). The 8th and 9th kms were tough (same as last week) as you are running directly into the wind coupled with a few nasty drags. The 2nd through to 7th kms are quite friendly.

Looking forward to the footy tonight. Lets hope Ireland can pull something out of the bag as it would be great lift for the country if they could put a decent run together.

Harry

An early morning trot out. The legs felt heavy after the track session so I took it easy rolling around my 9.5km loop in 41:11 (4:20's).

Harry Redknapp has left Spurs. I can't believe it. Shocked and stunned. How we could let him go is beyond me...apparently he is to get a £3m pay-out for the remainder of his contract. After tax that works out to £3m...

4 x 2km

Out to Dangan. A warm-up of 3.7kms then found out the start of the session was to be on the grass. Threw all my toys out of the pram but decided to give it a go (3 x 6 mins with 75 secs recovery). After one lap of the grass pitches I was going nowhere (2 mins) so pulled the pin and wandered over to the track. Pathetic effort by myself.

Then bumped into Gary (a 2:17 man and I'm not talking 800m) who was doing 10 minute sets (2 km in 6:20, 1km in 3:40). Decided to jump in on the 2km efforts and we took turns leading out the first and last km. I ended up doing 4 x 2km and the times were:

6:20/6:18/6:17/6:19

It felt more comfortable than last week - especially the breathing. The thought did enter my mind that this was my dream target 10km pace (31:40) and whilst you may be able to hold out until 6-7km at the pace, the last 3-4km would be blue murder. A way to go I'd say...

Forgot to mention I had the luxury of a very big 3:40ish recovery today. I did a bit of walking and jogging (600m) whilst Gary continued on with his float.

I finished up with a 2km warm-down. That gives me 15.8km for the day once you add up all the bits and pieces.

Wheels coming off

A recovery run of 11.1kms today in 46:01 (4:09's).

In my "strange things I saw whilst running" section, today I was running up to Carnmore on the hard shoulder facing the oncoming traffic. A lorry and trailer went past on my left side and then a few seconds later a wheel went bouncing up the road behind the lorry...the wheel gradually moved across the road and a few oncoming cars had to swerve to avoid it as it crossed the other side of the road. The wheel eventually came to rest about 100m up the road in the direction I was running against a stone wall. Could have been nasty if I was that bit further up the road as it would have come up behind me with very little warning...

Monivea 5km

Out to Monivea for a 5km. This was where I had my first race in Ireland and it holds fond memories as it was also my first win!

I wasn't going to put any pressure on myself today - just go out and enjoy it. The conditons were splendid - a little too hot if the truth be told. That helped get the numbers up to well over 200 - good to see. This race is a little unique in that the first half is on the road with the second half of the race being run on a forest trail.

A warm-up of 4.9kms basically running the guts of the course. Then it was race time. I immediately hit the front with a couple of runners on my shoulder. The race starts with a lap of the village before heading out towards the trail. Through the first km and feeling good and then time to put the foot down for a quick second km. At this point I had gapped the chasing field and by the time I hit the woods I had a good enough lead.

In an instant I went from feeling good to hanging on. I had slowed a good bit but the course would warrant that. I still ran a decent 3rd km and was still confident of breaking 16 minutes but then I must have fallen asleep during the 4th km (see splits below). It contained lots of twists and turns but it didn't feel that slow and I then took the last section relatively easy as I couldn't be bothered killing myself. Coming up the narrow finishing straight there was a mother and son just ahead of me competing in the 1km fun run and I simply jogged in behind them for the last 100m as I didn't see any point in trying to push past!

Not my greatest work but a decent hit-out and good to win this race again after my second placing last year. I then ran a couple more laps of the course to give my 19.7kms for the day with a few of the other guys (Jason, Steve and Timmie).

Splits:

1km 3:09
2km 3:05
3km 3:15
4km 3:23
5km 3:31

Total 16:23

And 92.5kms for the week.

Later that evening it was out to Clarinbridge to watch the Ireland game. I had arranged to meet up with Timmie for a few pints. The footy was poor but we made up for that with a good drink. I promised Timmie I would give the darts a mention.....we found a board and had a game and after telling him how good I was I struggled big time for a 3-2 win. A good night but not getting home until 1am is a little bit much for my old body...

Almost nothing

I'm going to run the Monivea 5km tomorrow so I wasn't going to run. Then I gave in and decided an easy run wouldn't do any harm....

All up 9.5kms in 41:02 (4:19's).

Getting tight in my old age

An easy run of 11.1kms in 45:43 this evening (4:07/km). For the first time this week I was feeling good despite very windy conditions. I think I've finally recovered from the Sky Road...

Some new tickets were released today for the Athletics at the Olympics. I had a quick look at what was available but I couldn't bring myself to spending £425 for a ticket for one session! That's about a million Euros at the current exchange rate. Oh well, I guess I'll be watching it in the TV unless I win some tickets in all the competitions I keep entering...a shame if I don't make it over as my last experience of watching the Olympics live was one I'll never forget. I jagged some tickets to the men's 100m finals in Sydney to watch Maurice Greene win gold. The same night Steve Backley got a silver in the javelin. Meanwhile I got very very drunk...

He was with me

Just in case Michelle is reading this, Fintan was with me this morning from 7am for our weekly tempo run. I dare say you weren't very happy when that alarm went off at 4:45am this morning...

The weather was wet and it was quite windy in places. I decided to use the flatter local loop today as I couldn't face being humiliated on the hills again. It's the old Claregalway 10km loop which is actually closer to 9.5km loop which meant that for a 12km tempo we'd be doubling up on a section. Owen was in attendance too and he continues to make strides after his fine London PB.

After a 2.2km warm-up we went straight into it. The legs still felt heavy but I seemed to be travelling okay as we ticked off the kms. I lead the session most of the way and I'd say I went through 10km in sub 34:30 before slowing a little in the last section which was gradually uphill into the wind. All up I covered the 12kms in 41:30 (3:28/km).

Happy with that. A little quicker than last week although not quite as far. We finished up with a 4.8km warm-down for 19kms for the day.

I'm beginning to like getting the session out of the way in the morning - you don't have it hanging over you all day. But in saying that I'm hopeless at getting out of bed before 7am...

New Focus

The next big race I'll be targeting is the National Half Marathon which is to be held this year in Athenry on September 2nd. Very handy as it's only about 10 miles up the road from here.

In speaking to the coach of the Harriers last night he was saying that if we wanted to run a decent time for the half then it's time to get serious with the training. A long tempo run where over time you should look to be running BELOW target half pace. Supplemented with track speedwork. Sounds sensible. So with that in mind I'll try and run the weekly tempo runs at a quicker pace each week - as opposed to increasing the duration. I'm a bit off half pace at the moment but you can only hope (to run sub 70 minutes it equates to 3:19/km pace)...

Today was an easy trot around the block. Legs still not right. I stopped 400m from the end where I bumped into the wife and kids who were out for a walk/bike road. Any excuse to stop. Total 45:26 for 10.7kms (4:15/km pace). Quicker tempo tomorrow...

Easy call

The legs still felt far from right today so it was an easy decision to make in not running the last race in the 5km series out at Tuam. Instead (madness) I decided to run a track session and I felt awful before, during and after...

A 2.6km warm-up, then the session was 4 x 400, 3 x 1600, 4 x 400. The recovery was 60 seconds between the 400s, 75 seconds between the miles, with 2 minutes between sets. Times were as follows:

72/71/70/69
5:02/5:02/4:59
70/71/69/66

Thanks to Owen and Gary for keeping the pace honest. I was wearing my racing flats but it felt like I had lead balloons tied around my ankles. Plus the breathing was way too heavy. I suppose the times aren't too bad considering - thankfully the conditions were good which helped.

I finished up with a 2.4km warm-down to give me 13kms for the day.

Meanwhile out at Tuam there were some great times posted - 4 people well inside 16 minutes! A great run by one of my training buddies smashing 16 minutes for the first time with a fine PB of 15:51. Much more to come I reckon!

Recovery Run

Legs and in particular the quads were in bits today. I ran a very easy loop of 9.5km in 40:36 (4:16's) and didn't feel any better for it to be honest. Perhaps it's time to get a massage...

Sky Road 10km

A long drive out to Clifden for the Sky Road 10km. A short warm-up of around 2km with Michael O'Connor before we lined up for the 2pm start.

The course itself was a brute - made tougher with windy humid conditions. The first mile was predominantly uphill, then it flattened out a little but the general theme was still upwards. At around 2km I was in the lead and Michael made a break and I had nothing in response. I settled into second position and at about 4km I was almost reduced to a walk as we were confronted with a steep uphill. To rub salt into the wound I was overtaken and as we rounded the turnaround cone at about 4.5km for the run back into town. I was so delirious I missed the chute and ran round the outside of the cones taking a nice wide line...

The run back was definitely easier but by this stage the damage was done and I had nothing in the legs. Second place wasn't too far up the road and by the time we reached 6km I was finally recovered from the hill at 4km. I upped the pace and regained second position but Michael was in a different class today and there was no way I was going to catch him. The last km was a real blessing as it was all downhill and I cruised home in a time of 34:05.

I think that's my slowest 10km since March 2010. As mentioned the course was as tough as you could get but that said I should have run probably 30 seconds quicker (the winner ran 33:07 so I  would have still been a good bit back). The hills totally destroyed me so perhaps time to add some hill training into the schedule!

Well done to Michael. Great to see him back in good form and if he sticks with the training he'll run sub 68 in the national half marathon in September - if not quicker. The man has class in spades (former National Marathon champion with PB's for 10km of 30 mins, half 66 mins and full 2:20 from memory). Also well done to Helen another Harrier who had a blinding run to win the women's race in a shade over 40 minutes.

I finished up with a 4km warm-down to give me 16kms for the day. A meal out and a few beers in the evening including lots of darts and pool.

Tally for the week - 85.6kms.

Splits:

1km 3:24
2km 3:16
3km 3:26
4km 3:38
5km 3:46 (17:30)
6km 3:20
7km 3:15
8km 3:31
9km 3:21
10km  3:08 (16:35)

Total 34:05

Swimming

No running today. I took the young lad swimming and knocked out a few laps just to reiterate how bad I am in the pool (chuck your washing in, shark attack, etc, etc). I've never had lessons which is probably where I'm going wrong. When I was injured (I was out for 18 months in 2006/07) I did spend a fair bit of time in the water and I got my km time down to 18:45 (in a "quick" 25 metre pool mind). Probably not bad by British/Irish standards but any Aussies are swimming sub 15 minutes almost from birth...

With running the quicker you move your levers the faster you go. Simple. You try the same at swimming and with an effort level equivalent to running sub 3 minute kms you are on the verge of drowning. So with that in mind I think I'll leave the triathlon for a while longer...

Paul Heaton

I went to see Paul Heaton last night in Tully's pub, Kinvara, Co Galway. He is celebrating his 50th birthday with a 50/50 tour. He is cycling 50 miles a day for 50 days and playing various small pub venues all over England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

It was a great night. He was with his band and played stuff covering all of the back catalogue including songs by the Housemartins and the Beautiful South. My favourite song of the night was "Old Red Eyes" and Paul was in great form (he has lost a stack of weight) as were the band who were fuelled by numerous free drinks (see below). Ouch.

On the running front I rolled out another 11.1kms in 46:41 (the same run now 3 times this week). Rest up tomorrow and race Sunday.

Here are a couple of dodgy gig photos. The first one is a tray of Jager-bombs; the second of Paul and the band: