Galway Bay Half Marathon

Conditions looked spot on for this race. Nice and cool with very little wind - as good as you could possibly ask for down on the Bay. I met up with Paddy O'Toole from Mayo AC and we ran a couple of clicks warm-up before lining up at the start.

My race plan was to push the pace early on. If I felt good I would try and maintain it, if not I would settle in around 3:30/km pace and try and cruise to the finish. The start line was full of big hitters - no chance of a podium finish today with a very strong line-up. Great to see this for a race in Galway.

The race was soon underway. A lead group of 4 or 5 formed and I settled in just behind them along with one more runner. The lead group weren't hanging around and by the time we had reached the first mile they had already opened up a decent gap. I was left running with my companion and by the time we had reached the second mile I wasn't feeling comfortable. I let the other runner slowly work away from me and I was left running by myself. That's how it remained for the rest of the race.

The course is 2 loops - good running on the outward section of the loop but on the return to the start/finish area you have 2 awkward sections - one being a twisty gravel path around a small park, the other being an out and back section along a concrete jetty. I'd already slowed and was trying to keep the pace ticking over but it was difficult to stay focused running by yourself. The path on the prom was a bit manic also - running on the path and having to dodge bikes, pedestrians and a couple of dogs. I suppose it's the same for everyone but it just makes it that bit harder.

I'd completed the first lap and I could see nobody up front and I knew from the jetty section that I had a decent gap on the chasers. The second lap was all about getting it over with. I was starting to struggle and the pace still didn't feel easy even though I had slowed. I was getting some great support on the course which helped to lift my spirits and I was determined to get to the finish without being overtaken.

Not much else to report. I did what I had to do, judged that I still had a decent gap as I ran the jetty then eased off a bit as I approached the finish line. There was a great atmosphere at the finish area and I even treated the crowd to a bit of the aeroplane. Not sure why as to be honest as it was a poor performance and there was no reason to celebrate. My time was 1:13:44 for 6th place overall.

There were 4 guys under 70 minutes. The winner Sergiu Ciobanu ran 67 minutes with Michael Shannon a minute back running high 68. Clearly they were not struggling like I was!

Plenty of food and drinks at the end and good to catch-up and exchange stories with lots of familiar faces in the marquee. This event is one I really enjoy but I think it could be that much better with a few adjustments to the course layout.

No excuses for my own performance. It just didn't happen. I know that my training hasn't been what it should be the last month. You seldom get pleasant surprises when racing and today was definitely a case of you get out what you put in. Not to worry, get back into to and move on.

A few mentions to my fellow Harriers who had great runs. Good to see Barry D back with a quick 1:16. Damien R ran really strongly with 1:19 and John C also had a massive 15 minute PB running 1:20!

Here are the splits. I missed quite a few mile markers as I had the head down...

1m 5:22
2m 5:12
3m 5:47
4m 5:33
5m 5:40
7m 11:15
10m 17:01 (55:50)
11m 5:43
12m 5:46
13.1m 6:25

Total 1:13:44

Hopefully a few photos to follow...

Gemma

No running today. Instead it was out with the other half to celebrate another year. A meal in town and then on to the Roisin Dubh to see Gemma Hayes. A very poor turn out with maybe less than 100 people watching. We got seats right next to the stage and she was very good - despite playing almost an identical set to when we last watched her play (and telling the same stories)...

Being in the Roisin made me realise that it's only 4 weeks until the Wedding Present play there. I'm planning a triple header weekend watching them in Dublin on the Friday, Galway on Saturday and then Cork on Sunday. Yes I'm a big fan. I may post some photos of my Wedding Present record and CD collection at some point. Not that anyone will be remotely interested...

Early run

Up bright and early this morning with Fintan and Owen for a run around Claregalway. I'd planned an hour but I overcooked it slightly and we ended up running 14.9kms in 1:05:12 (4:23's).

It was gloves and hat this morning for the first time since last winter. Very cold to start with but a lovely morning once warmed up. Nice to get the run out of the way by 8:30am. That's it now, no more running until the half on Saturday.

That is all

Another easy paced run. Usual 9.5kms in 39:48 (4:11's).

1,000th post

Who would have thought it? This drivel has now been going on for 1,000 posts spanning back 3 years or so....

Today was another track session. Again I couldn't make the group session but I was determined to put in a decent session using the track. I bumped into the coach and the session I had missed was run around the pitches. It was 5 x 1 minute off 60 seconds, then 12 minutes, then a further 5 x 1 minutes off 60 - with 2 and a half minutes between sets.

I liked the sound of that so I tweaked it a bit for the track. I settled on 400's instead of the minutes (slightly longer), and 1 x 2 miles (8 laps) instead of the 12 minutes (slightly shorter).

Usual warm-up of 3.5kms. Just as I was about to start the session the floodlights on the track were turned out. This was okay to start with but by the end of the session I was running under the moonlight. Quite nice really - especially as I was the only person on the track. Here's how the session went:

75/73/72/71/72

10:26 (3:16/km pace)

73/72/70/70/69

It was a lovely cool evening and the breeze wasn't too bad. The track however was very wet as we had several huge downpours during the day. That must have cost me at least 5 seconds per lap...

Happy enough with that. I'll probably just run easy for the remainder of the week in preparation for the half on Saturday.

Another 3.5km warm-down to give me 14.2kms all up.

One half and then another one

Easy run today - usual 9.5km loop in 38:20 (4:02's).

Well I still have a couple more half marathons planned for this year. On Saturday I will be running the Galway Bay Half Marathon and on November 25th I will be once again heading back to my birth town for the Norwich Half Marathon.

I'll focus on 10km type training where I can as I've been doing the longer stuff all year. I think I have the stamina in the legs for the half so will just try and improve my speed in the time I have left. Seems like sensible logic to me.

Go Europe!

A late Sunday run with Fintan around Claregalway. Another windy day and it was really tough going into the wind even considering we were only running at a nice and relaxed pace. Lots of chat which helped to pass the time and we had soon notched up 17.0kms in 1:12:50 (4:17's).

Legs a little sore after yesterday's race. That wouldn't be the case if I was on top of my training.

On the sporting front there are a few things that warrant a mention. Firstly, Galway got soundly beaten in the replay of the hurling final to Kilkenny. Secondly, the mighty Spurs finally notched up a win at Old Trafford! And finally, the Ryder Cup. This was sporting theatre at its finest. I was glued to it Saturday and Sunday evening. Ian Poulter sparked the revival late Saturday night with some brilliant putting on the final 5 greens. Then on Sunday Europe got off to a great start. The big turning point for me was when Justin Rose beat Phil Mickleson by winning the last 2 holes. From that point on the Yanks looked really scared. Europe ended up winning 14.5 to 13.5 and it was some of the best sport I have seen in a very long time. Incredible scenes.

Oh yeah, 74.0kms for the week...

Ballyhaunis 8km

Race number 7 in the Mayo League out at Ballyhaunis - about a 50 minute drive from Galway. I hadn't run the course before and I was looking forward to some kind of hit-out to get back into race-mode and hopefully give me the kick up the backside to get back into proper training.

Arrived in time to register and do a short couple of kms warm-up (I was using my new racing flats straight out of the box). It was a very windy day which wasn't going to help things and I had been pre-warned that there were some nasty hills in the 4th and 5th kms. A poor turnout with only about 100 runners fronting up - can't really explain why as there didn't look to be too many other races on the calendar.

The start was a strange one - I thought the countdown to the start was a dress rehearsal but it turned out it was the real thing and I was left a few rows back before I started my run. I quickly moved through the field to get in second position behind a smaller runner. As we ran through the town it was very quick as the course was steep downhill. After about 400m we took a right turn and it immediately become tougher as we were now running directly into a very strong wind. At around the 1km mark I took the lead with the smaller guy doing the sensible thing and tucking in behind me.

The next couple of kms were tough - the road was dead flat but the wind was a real strength sapper. I was gradually slowing and just before the turn at 3km the guy behind me had moved back into the lead and was pushing on. Another right turn and it was time to get stuck into the hills. I was moving okay but I was losing a little ground on the leader. I kept telling myself to stick with it as I knew the last few kms would be quick. The fifth km was really tough. I felt like walking up (what I hoped) would be the final climb and I kept expecting someone to come up behind me but surprisingly that never happened.

Through 5km and finally some quicker terrain. I was only about 10 seconds down on the leader and I was still confident I could get close. One final right turn and we had a nice flat/downhill stretch back into town with the wind on the back. I ran as hard as I could but didn't seem to be making any inroads into the leader. At the 7km marker I knew the win looked unlikely and I upped the pace as best I could but with no joy. With about 500m remaining we made a left-turn and there was a nice flat stretch up to the finish line. I crossed the line in 26:22 for second place some 11 seconds behind the winner.

Happy enough with that - a strange race as the first km, and the last 3kms felt really comfortable. The 4kms in between though were really tough. There was no in between. Probably a better run that I was expecting given my piss poor preparation. Well done to the winner - Con Doherty. It turns out he is one of the top junior triathletes in the country and with a 5km PB of 15:10 he is no mug at running! Great to be mixing it with a guy over 20 years your junior!

Here are the splits:

1km 3:02
2km 3:21
3km 3:35
4km 3:13 (13:11)
5km 3:40
6km 3:13
7km 3:12
8km 3:06 (13:11)

Total 26:22

I though the 4th km was hilly but the split doesn't suggest that. Perhaps there was some downhill in there that I forgot about? Or perhaps it was the relief of getting out of that headwind? Dunno. A nice finish running the last 3kms in 9:31 and funnily enough even splits...

I finished up with a 4km warm-down. All up 14kms for the day. I couldn't stay for the presentation as I had to be back in Galway by 6pm but there looked to be a very good spread in place for the runners in the clubhouse. A good afternoon out and well worth the trip.

Going off the rails

Today was another struggle. That's it now, I'm going to take it easy on the falling down water for the next few weeks....

A late afternoon run of 9.5kms in 40:47.(4:18's). That's over 3 minutes slower than the same run on Monday!

Racing tomorrow in the Mayo League. Expectation levels are very low...

To Arthur

Nice easy run this morning with my mate to blow away some of the cobwebs. Total distance 12.2kms in 57:24 (4:42's).

A cold morning, and my mate has obviously spent too long living in Australia as he rugged up like he was running around the North Pole...

More socialising in the evening. Out around Galway visiting some of the city pubs. Lets just say I felt very old...

Then and now

An old mate from Australia and his family were in Galway for a few days so I decided to take a day off and instead eat and drink too much. Good fun. This very person was the reason I started running when I moved to Sydney in 1999.  Weighing in at 15 and a half stone I was in shocking nick and I remember our first run around Lane Cove. I didn't even have proper runners and I did my "run" in a pair of Adidas casual trainers. I managed about 5 minutes of shuffling before I had to start walking...

12 x 400 off 1 minute

My first quick session since the relay. I am lacking speed so I though I'd try some 400's to see where I'm at. Usual warm-up and down of 3.5kms. I was running solo as the main group now start an hour earlier and I couldn't make the new start time.

A very windy evening. Running down the back straight of the track was like running into a brick wall. Then the last 100m felt like you were being pushed along. Here are the times:

75/72/73/73/72/71/72//70/70/70/71/70

Umm, what can I say. Bloody tough going. The first one was awful, then had to grit the teeth to try and improve. I suppose the last 5 weren't too bad. Difficult to gauge what those times indicate as the conditions made quick running very tough. I could feel the burn in the lungs and I think that's a sign that I've lost a fair bit of fitness.

All up 11.8kms.

Chugging along

Easy run of 9.5kms in 37:46 (3:59's). Felt really comfortable. Training will be interrupted this week as we have 2 sets of overseas visitors. Which is nice.

Licking my wounds

I was on struggle street today. There was a 10km race out at Loughrea that I planned to run if feeling okay but I was far from that. Made the call not to run at midday and instead polished off 4 rounds of bacon sandwiches. Lovely.

I did manage a local wobble later in the afternoon. I ran 11.1kms in 45:53 (4:08's). Not too bad all things considered.

Well done to Donegal who Donegood winning the final of the footy. More heartbreak for Mayo...and Simon Whitlock won the darts capturing his first major title beating Wes Newton 11-5 in the final. I should also mention the snooker (Shanghai Masters). Judd Trump against John Higgins in the final with Judd 7-2 up after the first session (Higgins had hit a 147 break in that session!). Anyway the wizard from Wishaw levelled at 7-7 and went on to win a last frame decider (10-9). An incredible turnaround in form as I watched John play in the Premier league recently and he looked all out at sea...just goes to show that class is permanent...

Back to the running. That's a massive 52.3kms for the week. A much deserved easy week. I'll start back into some proper training starting next week. The week before last was 74.6kms - I think I forgot to mention that at the time.

41

Happy birthday to me. Where has the last year gone? I followed the advice of Master Sweeney and had a guilt-free day off from running.

A spot of shopping during the day and out in the evening for a meal followed by far too many pints with mates. Home at 2am.

More boring stuff

Pretty easy running week for me. Still in recovery mode so no fast stuff just yet. Same loop as yesterday but I managed to knock a minute off the time for 44:15 for the 11.1kms (3:59's). I think I upped the pace on the faster sections without even realising it.

Bought some new racing flats today - I've had my last ones since February so I was long over-due (I use these for all my races up to the marathon distance, plus all speedwork including track sessions). I got the new Asics DS racers which look to have got a bit of a face-lift. I was left a bit gob-smacked in the shop when another customer mentioned that he had dropped 5 stone in the last year by regular running and healthy eating. Goes to show what incredible results you can achieve in a relatively short space of time.

Bit extra

More easy running. Feeling good at the moment - calves a bit sore still but apart from that it's all good. Longer loop today of 11.1kms in 45:23 (4:05's).

Darts on the tele for the weekend (ESPN). Sorted.

Ditto

Same run as yesterday - getting quicker though. This time 38:48 (4:05's). The temperature has dropped and my cruising speed improves by at least 10 seconds per km. Coincidence?

Dipping the toe in

I tried an easy run today. I felt surprisingly okay - calves still sore but in general I think I've recovered pretty well. I think it just goes to show that the damage sustained to the body during a marathon is all on the last 10km (post "the wall" - which I avoided). After London I didn't feel right for several weeks...

Time 39:12 for 9.5kms (4:08's).

RNR Splits

No running today. Calves very sore so I'll give it another day.

Another night with little sleep - only 6 hours and then up at 3am for the big trip back to Galway.

I've pieced together my splits from the Round Norfolk Relay. Here goes:

5km 17:13
10km 17:55 (1st 10km 35:08)
15km 17:42
20 km 17:47 (2nd 10km 35:29)
25km 17:51
30km 17:37 (3rd 10km 35:28)
31.6km 5:47

Total 1:51:52 (average 3:32/km)

Intresting that although I felt I was slowing towards the end, my 3rd 10km split was slightly quicker than my 2nd 10km block (albeit by only 1 second).

A question I've been asked a lot is what time would I have run if I'd have continued on to the full marathon distance. Impossible to answer really as I never had any intention of doing so. I would say I felt much better at this point than I did in London @ 20 miles. Who knows. It would have been 2hr29 if I could have maintained the pace but there was very little chance of that happening. I think you'd have to add a couple of minutes (at the very least).

Round Norfolk Relay

I received the baton, exchanged a few pleasantries, started my Garmin, and then raced off up the road. I had my cyclist to the right of me, the support vehicle behind, and despite the road being well lit by the headlights of the car, it felt very lonely as I started the 31.6km journey from Scole to Thetford.

Conditions were absolutely perfect. Very little breeze, a nice cool evening and the feedback I had on the course was that it was very runner friendly. No excuses at hand. I settled into my running and my immediate concern was that I had no idea what pace I was running. There were no distance markers on the course, and I couldn't see the screen of the Garmin, but luckily I'd set the watch to auto-lap so I had the beep to listen out for after I had passed each km. I could then consult my cyclist after each beep and I he would give me the cumulative time split from his watch that he had set at the start of the stage.

I was ticking along nicely and I checked my split for the first time at 4km. I was just under 14 minutes and that indicated sub 3:30/km pace which felt comfortable. There was nothing to see up-front but it felt surprisingly easy to stay focused - and the fact that it was so early in the morning didn't seem to be bothering me. In fact I was quite enjoying it.

Not much to report. The beep of the watch, check the time, maybe a few mouthfuls of water, a gel on the half hour, and then just as we were approaching 10km I could see my first flashing light up front. Slowly but surely I was getting closer. This seemed to really get me fired up and I think I upped the pace without even realising it. The protocol on overtaking was that the vehicle up front would move to the right allowing me and my cyclist through on the inside. I caught the runner, went straight past, and simple as that I had overtaken our main rivals - the Norwich Road Runners.

Through 10km in just over 35 minutes, and feeling good I pressed on. The course wasn't pancake flat, there were certainly long uphill drags, and some nice downhill stretches. I don't recall any short sharp hills and one thing I noticed was that it was very difficult to judge the gradient of the road in the dark. I'm note sure if that was good or not.

By 15km I was still running strongly. My splits were consistent. I think I passed another runner. I should just fill in a few details about the concept of the race. The start times for each team are staggered based on the team's estimate of the total time to complete the entire relay. In simple terms, the slow teams start first and the quick teams start last (we started some 5 hours after the early teams). In theory if the estimated times are accurate, all the teams should complete the race within a short space of time.

Through 16km and I had passed the halfway point of the stage. Detail is a bit lacking, very little chat between myself and the cyclist, another gel on the hour and just trying to keep it going. The kms were still ticking by nicely and at 20km I was still on track (low 70 minutes). I was confident I would run well up to the half marathon point but there was the doubt about the remaining 10km or so.

Around this point my cyclist was swapped. This was a bit eerie as he had to stop, as did the support vehicle. I was left running up the road by myself in the fading light of the headlights as someone else jumped on the bike, got their instructions, and then had to cycle hard to catch me again. It probably only took a couple of minutes but by the end of this I was almost running in total darkness. And then the light was restored when my support vehicle caught me again.

At 21km I was just under 1hr14 so I probably ran the half in 1:14:15 or so. I was planning on 1:15 so I'd put a little bit of time in the bank. I was still feeling okay, and knew I had more quick kms in the legs. Round numbers I had 10km to go and I was on the countdown.

The course at this point seemed tougher. This could be explained by tiredness but it just felt that long sections were all slightly uphill. I knew I'd probably slowed a little, but if I ran a poor km I'd try and bounce back with a quicker next km. I was lucky as just as it felt like I was hitting a bad patch, a flashing light would appear in the distance and that was the motivation to keep things going to run past another team.

At 25km I was still running well but it was getting tougher. The splits were slowing a little which I was expecting, but I had the encouragement of my cyclist who helped spur me on. The lights up front were becoming more frequent which was great to focus on and I knew by how easily I was passing out some runners that I was still running quickly.

I made a call on around 1hr 30 not to take my final gel as my stomach felt a little dodgy. I only had to keep this going for 20 minutes or so and I'd be done. Around this point I missed one of my beeps and that threw me a little as the km seemed to be taking an eternity. But that error was soon realised and almost without warning I had the shout from the car behind that I only had one mile to go.

I really tried to lift the pace at this point. There were some nasty drags in the last mile but was we approached a large roundabout I again caught 2 more teams and then ran as hard as I could up to the changeover area where I handed over the baton to our next runner.

Upon finishing I had to lay down on the grass for several minutes. I checked my watch and I had broken 1hr 52. My official time was 1:51:52 which worked out at 3:32/km pace. My Garmin had my pace a second a km quicker than that but it had measured the course slightly long.

I was escorted to another support vehicle where I put on some clothes and drank plenty of water. I then spent the remainder of the race in the car, leap-frogging to various points of the remaining stages (usually stage changeovers) to support the other runners. I should add that upon getting to the changeover area for stage 14 I was feeling very ill. I think the gels were sitting in my stomach and it wasn't long before I was having a good heave. Straight away I felt a good bit better and after drinking some coke I felt okay - I suppose as well as can be expected on a night with no sleep having run the guts of 20 miles.

Our team finished at 8:22am. It had taken our 17 runners 20h 22 to complete the 197.2 miles (average pace 3:51/km). We had a big group breakfast at 9am (full English) then it was time for the presentation at 11am.

Awards were made to the winners of each stage. I had posted the quickest time on stage 12 so it was nice to pick up a stage win (in total there were 58 teams competing). I had also broken the masters course record for that stage by almost 8 minutes (the senior record for the stage is 1:48:49 so I was way off that). Additional awards were made for the best junior, senior and masters performances of the day (based on age gradings). No joy for me but City of Norwich were certainly scooping lots of trophies (my run rated 8th out of of the 986 runners who took part in the RNR based on age grading).

Then on to the final awards - the winning teams. Our team was entered into the club class which was seen as the premier award within the RNR. A club team had to comprise of a mixture of female, male and masters runners (a minimum of 5 females and 5 masters out of 17 team members). This award was kept to the very end and our brilliant team performance was rewarded by winning this class - made all the more special by me being nominated to collect the trophy on stage on behalf of all of our team-mates. A little nerve racking as the trophy stood about 3 foot tall and I wasn't sure I would be able to lift it!

It turns out our team had posted the quickest time of the day by over 50 minutes beating all of the other race categories (open, masters and female). To beat the open teams was quite an achievement as these teams would be predominantly made up of senior males.

All in all a great experience. A truly unique event which I really enjoyed and I have to thank CoNAC for giving me the opportunity to run. I'm glad I ran well to warrant my selection and hopefully it won't be the last time! Thanks also to the support crew. The logistics behind this race are amazing - to get 17 team runners together is quite an achievement. Making sure they are at the start of their respective stages when the start time is fluid takes some doing. Well done RP and the crew, you did a great job. I think the runners have it easy - all they have to do is turn up and run!

The finish of the day went something like this. Home by 1:30pm. Lunch at 2pm. In pub by 3pm. Back from pub by 8pm and in bed by 9pm (still no sleep by this point). Job done.

I'll no doubt add bits and pieces to this post as I think of them over the next few days. I need to add my splits for a start. But for now that can wait...

Travel, eat, rest, eat, travel

Up at 6am. A car journey, a flight and 2 trains later and I was in Norwich - all up just over 6 hours. Straight into the city for a pasta lunch, then I found a bed to try and get some sleep on in the afternoon whilst listening to Five Live on the radio.

Porridge around 6pm (2 bowls of), and then I got all my gear packed. I was picked from the city centre just after 10pm for the 20 minute drive out to Bungay which was the start of stage 11 of the Round Norfolk Relay.

Upon arrival you immediately got a feel for the event. The sight of runners entering the changeover point accompanied by a cyclist and the flashing light of their support vehicle. Surprisingly when we got there we watched about 12 teams coming through in quick succession. This bunching I was told was quite unusual as the teams are normally much more spread out.

I was starting to get quite nervous which was unusual for me. I think the team factor played a big part of this, plus it being pitch dark when there were no runners or cars on the road. I was asking a few questions to the support crew but this just seemed to make me more nervous so I decided it was best to stay quiet and try and stay calm.

Another lift from a support vehicle from stage 11 to stage 12 which was the start of the stage that I was to run. I was expecting to start some time after 1:30am so there was a fair bit of waiting around which I did in the warmth of the car. Tension levels were continuing to rise. Then shortly after 1:30am I got the call that our runner was about a mile a way so I stripped off and made my way down to the changeover zone waiting for the baton to appear...

Turning the legs over

I did 30 minutes on the mountain bike in the evening to loosen off the legs.

A few beers and an early night as I'm travelling to Norwich early in the morning.

Three-peat

Same run for the 3rd time this week. Getting slower each time - this time knocking off the 9.5kms in 41:26 (4:22's).

That's it - no more running until the race Sunday morning.

A cunning plan

The same run as Monday. Perfect conditions again and this time I was a little slower covering the 9.5kms in 39:11 (4:07's).

Lots of time to think about the run on the weekend and what to do pacing-wise. I'm now thinking of trying to cover the first 13.1 miles in around 1:15. Then at this point I'll no doubt be feeling like shite, will collect a piano to carry on the back, then limp home. Sounds perfect.

6 x 4 minutes off 1 minute

One last session of quicker stuff before the big race. A lap of the pitches for warm-up and then for a change we were to also use the pitches for the main session (instead of the track).

A good group in attendance with lots of new faces. I didn't want to push it tonight and was content to cruise around. The route we had marked out would have us passing the start well within the 4 minutes and the instruction was to start a second lap until the 4 minutes was up.

Gearoid, Fintan and myself took turns leading out each 4 minute effort and I was feeling really good. Again another cool evening with very little wind which suited me down to the ground. The back half of the course had us running along a very stony path down by the river which wasn't great wearing racing flats. Then there was a nasty 30 second climb up to the final turn which marked the completion of the lap. I was generally lapping in about 3:30 which meant a further 30 seconds running before the 4 minutes was up. Then a short jog back to the start in the 60 seconds recovery to do it all again.

I had no idea of pace at the time but I would have said around 3:20/km pace. It turns out I was averaging around 3:12 to 3:13/km pace. Very happy with that as I wasn't giving it my all, plus the session is quite a tricky one off a short recovery.

I did my warm-down also on the pitches. A bit of a guess-timate but I reckon it was around 14.5kms for the day.

Chimneys

The temperature seems to have dropped today. Much colder. Whatever summer we may have had seems to now be over. I could smell the open fires burning on my run for the first time since the winter months...

Being cooler I automatically felt a lot more comfortable today. I covered 9.5km in 38:39 (4:04's) and it felt very easy.

Gallimh Abu

I have one final race pencilled in the calendar and that race is next weekend (Sep 15th/16th). I've been asked by my UK club (City of Norwich AC) to run in a quite unique relay event. Details can be found here.

For my troubles I'm down to run stage 12 from Scole to Thetford. Just the 19.67 miles! And I'm likely to be running at around 1am Sunday morning with only a couple of cyclists and a 4 wheel drive for company! Not forgetting that as this is a relay event you have to carry a baton the whole way round!

With this race in mind I decided I should at least get one decent long run in. Out the door just gone 1pm and I was immediately greeted with a nice heavy rain shower. I ran an out-an-back course up to Oranmore, then on to Renville running most of the Boston Scientific 5km loop before turning for home. I was running into the wind for most of the first hour but it was a little easier the second half with the wind (and rain) on the back.

I had to add on an extra loop as I approached Claregalway and I did so by running the majority of the Claregalway 5km course. I arrived home tired and wet after clocking up 28.4kms in 2:00:37 (4:15/km pace).

Job done. That's about all the preparation I can muster for next weekend. I'd still like to think I'm in decent half marathon shape and the extra 6 or so miles I'll just have to pull out of the bag on the day.

A total of 90.3kms for the week.

The title of this post refers to the Galway/Kilkenny hurling final that took place today. It finished in a draw (19-19). Exciting to watch and a replay now scheduled in 3 weeks time...

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.