Galway XC Championships

A day best suited for ark building and was dreading the run on the drive out to Loughrea. By some miracle as I arrived the rain stopped and to be fair it was quite a pleasant afternoon. We were told that all the races were running early so after changing and having a quick warm-up on the course, it soon became apparent that the races were actually running late so some hanging around watching some of the junior races, followed by the women's race, before being called to that start line.

The siren sounded and we were off. As I suspected loads of the juniors started quickly and I deliberately sat back using the first lap as a recce. The course itself was superb - despite all the rain the ground was very firm underfoot and the 1 mile loop had it's fair share of twists, turns, ups and downs. By the end of the first lap I was probably in 7th or 8th position and I took the opportunity to start working my way through the field. All was going well and upon completing the second lap I found myself in 3rd position.

The 2 leaders were a good way up the course and as I started the 3rd lap I knew that 3rd would be as good as it gets. But I was definitely making inroads on 2nd place and as we got about halfway round the lap, the 2nd placed guy stepped off the course promoting me up one position. That gave me a bit of a lift but there was nothing I could do to close down the leader who was flying. As we started the last lap I started to flag. My team-mate Keith went straight past me and I shouted at him to try and close down the leader. From then on I was hanging out for the finish. I almost took a wrong turn as we approached the finish area and after realising I had a decent gap on the runner behind me, I took the opportunity to coast over the line for 3rd position.

Delighted with the run and I certainly performed better than I expected. Very difficult to get into any sort of rhythm and even though the ground was good, you are still being thrown off at different angles each time you land so there is lots of lateral movement. My Garmin measured the run at 6.37kms at an average pace of 3:27/km pace. Not super-quick by any stretch of the imagination but I certainly didn't leave much out there.

Congratulations to Jason who won the race easily. Really pleased to see the big man running well after a long spell of injuries and illness. Certainly nobody could begrudge him that win today. GCH won the team gold in a very tight contest - despite finishing on equal points with Craughwell we won by virtue of our 4th scorer finishing one place ahead of their 4th scorer. So a bronze senior individual medal and a team gold medal - not a bad days work.

All up 12.4kms for the day. And that's 75.0kms for the week.

Got home to watch the end of the football. Tottenham conceded 3 goals in 15 minutes and being somewhat upset by that I had consumed 3 beers in the same time period. Oh well, you can't have it all...

Celebrating

Work, no run, then out in town for the wife's birthday. A lovely meal, then a few beers which ended up with us catching a short-set by Paddy Casey in Monroe's Live. Not ideal preparation for the XC but I'm only using it as a blow-out and hopefully it will give me the kick up the arse to knuckle down and put in some proper training.

The format of the XC is an interesting one (it's the Galway County Championships). The masters, seniors, intermediates, novices and juniors all start together. Some of the young guns will take it out at a suicidal pace so for me it will be all about timing - start steady and try and peg a few people back at the business end. I've entered as a senior as I can't risk upsetting Gerry and potentially robbing him of a masters county title. The chances of me winning a medal in the seniors - zero - and I'm taking this positive attitude into the race!

Filane

Another late one - using the footpaths on the N17. All up 9.2kms in 39:45 (4:19's). A few beers after that.

Forgot to mention that I watched the last episode of Breaking Bad this week. A very satisfactory ending to a brilliant show. Well worth a watch if you haven't been following it. I've never watched any of the Sopranos and I have the entire box-set here which I got for my birthday. I guess I'll work my way through that over the next year (all 86 episodes on 28 discs)!

Foursome

Myself, Fintan, Owen and Gearoid for the 6:45am run starting and finishing in Claregalway. I didn't have much energy today, but still it's my favourite run of the week. It rained a bit at the start as we were running in the dark but that soon cleared. All up 15.0kms in 1:06:36 (4:26's).

Good to have Owen back amongst the ranks. He has been struggling with injury and illness, and a tendency to eat and drink too much (as we all do). I'm sure he'll be back in flying form soon. Gearoid looks to be in good nick as he starts to wind it back for the Dublin Marathon on October 28th. I'm expecting big things from the slipper wearer.

XC

A late-ish run after work. It was dark so I was using the footpaths mainly - a lap of the industrial estate, a lap of the housing estate opposite, then an out-and-back along the N17. All up 8.1kms in 34:06 (4:13's).

Please do not adjust your screens - I'm running Cross Country on Sunday. It's only 6km and I'm promised it's not going to be ankle deep mud, but a nice grassy surface. Hopefully I can get the old levers fired up and put in a decent performance... 

5 x 1 min, 1 x 12 min, 5 x 1 min

Dangan time. The session was again on the pitches whilst the light remains good and then it will revert back to the track. Roll on that time!

The session was as per the title. We were to get 60 seconds recovery each time, with 90 seconds either side of the longer 12 minute effort. The 60 second efforts were around a single pitch and whilst I felt great running in a straight line, each corner was painfully slow as I'd virtually come to a standstill to turn direction!

I felt a lot more comfortable during the 12 minutes running at my tempo pace. Then straight back into the minutes to finish with.

Looking at the stats, I was averaging around 3:05/km pace for the 1 minute efforts. For the longer 12 minute effort I was running at 3:24/km pace. Happy enough with that as I'm never going to break any records on the grass and paths. A good workout and the shirt completely drenched with sweat at the end - showing that it is still very warm for this time of year.

All up 15.5kms with warm-up and down.

Longer Monday

A bit of a longer run today - 14.8kms in 1:04:10 (4:20's). The same route as used on Thursday. I think I may start doing my longer run on a Monday - that should work better with my weekly scheduling.

The knee still isn't great. Rather than bore you all with any more details I will only comment on the knee if it gets any worse (or better!).

Grey Lake 10km

I was looking forward to this race - I'd not run the course before so it was something different and the fact that it was the County Championship added a bit more spice to the event. I warmed up with Gerry and Brian and we were commenting on the lovely conditions - that was until we switched direction and realised we had a stiff breeze to deal with.

The course itself was to be a tough one. Lots of hills in the first 5km, then it flattens out with only one notable hill in the second half. That turned out to be pretty accurate. The race started and Gary and Noel hit the front, leaving me chasing. Freya Ross (nee Murray) wasn't far behind as we ran the flat and friendly first km with the wind on the back. As I passed the 1km marker I had a quick look at my watch and the split of 2:55 suggested that the km markers were a little dodgy. Even so, the 2 leaders were already way up the road with me on my lonesome chasing.

The next 4km were much tougher. The pattern was a climb followed by a descent. It was never flat - just up then down. Very difficult to get into any sort of rhythm and I ran as strongly as the legs allowed. By 5km I had reached a church and we made a left turn to be greeted with a long downhill stretch. This was very welcome but I didn't have the change of speed to really attack and I simply coasted down the hill whilst taking a breather.

With the terrain now nice and flat the pace started to pick up and I felt more at home. Sure enough there was only one climb in the final 5km which was as we approached another left hand turn with the run back into Loughrea. By now the wind was on the back and I really tried to press for home. But the damage had been done on the hills and I was struggling for speed.

I crossed the line in 33:55 for 3rd place. Gary won the race in a super 31:00, with Noel Berkeley 2nd in 32:19 and Freya Moss in 4th in 34:36. So I ended up being sandwiched between 2 Olympians!

Pretty disappointed with the time. The course itself was tough and was worth maybe 30 seconds but that still doesn't get me under 33. The rest I would attribute to lack of training. The fact I ran the whole race by myself didn't help either. Excuses, excuses. Basically I haven't been knuckling down with the speed sessions and I think that was apparent today.

A couple of kms warm-down to give me 14kms for the day and 61.2kms for the week. I entered the County Champs as an over 40 and I won that category. With hindsight I should have entered as a senior as I would have picked up a silver medal..,

Rolling

No running today - resting up before the 10km tomorrow. I missed the Galway Bay 10km and Half Marathon for the first time and the conditions looked good. Hopefully there were some decent race performances to report.

A bit of foam rolling on the left calf. It seems to help the knee so I'll stick with it.

Good luck with anyone competing in the Berlin Marathon tomorrow. I know there is a big contingent of Aussies coming over who I used to race with during my days in Sydney. Good luck to them and hopefully some new PB's to report. I dare say the post race beers will be something else...

Planning

9.5kms in 39:02 (4:07's). I was feeling good even though the knee was giving me the occasional reminder. Great weather for running at the moment - lovely warm conditions and hardly any breeze.

The plan is to race the Loughrea Grey Lake 10km on Sunday. No idea of how I'll go as I haven't done much speedwork lately. But I went through a similar period at the start of the year and ran some decent times on the back of easy running. We shall see. It's a tough hilly course I hear, but there will be a few Olympians running to keep everyone honest. Freya Murray from Great Britain who ran in the London Olympics and with a marathon PB of 2:28 she might be someone to try and latch on to. Plus we have Noel Berkeley running who went to the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. Still a very handy runner recently clocking a low 32 minute 10km. Too quick for me!

Have an A1 day

6:45am start with Fintan and Gearoid. Usual route of 14.8kms in 1:04:48 (4:23's). Lovely conditions for running even if the first 20 minutes were run in the dark. The knee behaved.

Wednesday

No running today.

The knee isn't getting any worse but I'm still not convinced it's getting better. Perhaps I'm expecting too much too soon. I did a bit of foam rolling on the calves and that seemed to help the knee - those foam rollers are bloody brilliant even if the process is agony.

A few beers in the evening whilst watching the last few shows in the Breaking Bad series.

5 x 5 minutes off 60 seconds

Still not feeling the full quid but decided to head out to Dangan for a speed session. The lovely track got no use whilst we did our session around the horrible pitches. But not before I had completed my 3.6km warm-up.

The session was 5 minute efforts using the same loop we used 3 weeks previous. I went in with the attitude that I was going to take it easy. Perhaps I did for the first 5 minute effort, but after that I just went with feel and each effort I gradually wound up the pace. I've no idea of pace as the Garmin was asleep but I'd say I was well under 3:30 per km. Felt good and great to have a blow-out after the 20 miler.

A warm-down of 2.1km to give me approx 13.4kms for the day.

Cramping

I woke up several times in the night with bad stomach cramps. I still wasn't right come the morning but decided to head out for a run to get some fresh air. Very slow going and no energy. Showing my age. Total 9.5kms in 42:05 (4:26's).

Felt gradually worse as the day went on - sweats and a headache. Not sure if I've got a touch of food poisoning or a stomach bug. Not pleasant.

Indian Summer

A crackerjack day here in Galway. Glorious sunshine as I headed out for my run around 11am. New runners and new socks on and I was out the door. The run itself felt great - the knee was still a little sore but I wasn't getting the same patella pain so I'm 99% sure that it was the other shoes that were causing me the issue. Very relieved with that - I was starting to get more than a little nervous that I was in for another bout of tendinitis. Understandable really when I've spent 18 months on the sidelines with this in the past. And that left me a desperate man - hell I stooped to some new lows - I even took up swimming...

Anyway, I'm hoping I'll be good now. I'll get back into the sessions next week and I plan to run the Grey Lake 10km next Sunday for a blow-out. Looking forward to trying out a new course though I'm told it's a tough-ie.

All up 14.8kms in 1:03:03 (4:16's). A total of 57.1kms for the week.

Other than that I watched the Gaelic football - Dublin V Mayo. But not before a celebratory meal out for my birthday. Yes, 42 today (21 again). A few beers in the evening and all that.

More thoughts on the shoe issue. I suppose after 12 years or so of running in a pronators shoe, to switch to a neutral shoe may have been a step too far. I was thinking during my run that if your foot is used to the support and cushioning in a certain area of the shoe, and that suddenly changes, then a couple of mms difference in positioning during foot strike may be all it needs to impact the tracking of your knee and the resultant patella pain...makes sort of sense to me anyway.

Asics GT2000

No running today. I picked up a new pair of Asics GT2000's which I'll road test tomorrow. These are the latest shoes in the old range of Asics 21x0. My last pair were the 2170's and whilst they were a bit of a clunky shoe, I never had any problems with them. The GT2000 has a great fit and feels very comfortable to wear, and like most of the modern shoes they seem to be a good bit lighter than their predecessors. Hopefully I'll be back running pain free soon.

After work

Quick local loop after work (9.5kms in 39:56). I could feel the knee playing up so I think that's the last we'll see of the Triumphs. Common sense has to prevail here and I'll revert back to a similar shoe that I've been using for the last decade or so.

A few beers in the evening watching the Late Late. Rock and roll.

Dark start

I ran with Fintan and Gearoid early doors (6:45am start). It was wet and windy but once you got going it was nice for running as it was quite mild. The pace wasn't quick though and after about 45 minutes my calves were getting very sore. All up 14.8kms in 1:05:42 (4:26/km).

I think I'm too old skool with my race recovery plan - basically do nothing. No massage, foam rolling, compression garments, ice baths, protein shakes, etc. Just suffer it out...

Midweek rest

The plan was to take this week relatively easy so decided on a rest day today.

Nothing else to report...

No track

A 10.7km local run. I wasn't heading to track as the legs were too sore so tried this instead. The run itself was great. Ticking over quite nicely running at 4:19/km pace. The run is normally clocked at 10.8kms but had to stop the watch mid-run as I got stuck behind a herd of cows. I tried to run past them but that just spooked the cows and I didn't want to upset the farmer. So I had to walk behind them very slowly for 5 minutes.

Knee schmee...

Recovery Run

Tried a 30 minute run to test the legs. The calves were really sore - 2 hours in racing flats will do that. Bit I felt okay once I got moving. All up 7.3kms in 31:27 (4:18's).

Left knee sore. It was okay after the RNR, but definitely not great after 30 minutes in the Triumphs. I love these shoes but of they are aggravating the knee they have to go. I'll make a decision on them this week...

Here's a few photos of the final stage (#17) of the RNR. The first couple are midway through the stage where the terrain changes from road to grass. The last one is crossing the finishing line:

Round Norfolk Relay - Stage 12 Scole to Thetford

Arrived at Bungay around 10pm, and I knew I wouldn't be running until well past 1am. I picked up my race number, and then spent as much time as possible in the warmth of the car. We drove to the start of the next stage (Scole) where I was starting my leg. Based on the latest event timing I was to be running around 1:45am so around 10 minutes before then, I stripped down into my racing gear, and headed over to the change over area.

Sure enough, bang on time our runner arrived. I was handed the baton and I headed off into the night. My plan was to run 3:44/km pace and I had the Garmin set to 1km auto-lap and every time I heard a beep I would count out loud the cumulative number of kms that had elapsed and would check my split. I probably started a little too quickly but after a couple of clicks I had settled into my running and I was feeling great.

The conditions were absolutely spot on. Very cold (around 7 or 8 degrees) with little or no breeze. If I could chose these conditions for running a marathon then I'd take them every time. I had my cyclist to my right hand side and the safety vehicle behind and nobody else for company. As I was approaching 5km I was closing in on my first competitor. Immediately the pace would lift, almost like an auto-pilot in an effort to pass them out swiftly.

Lots of the detail are missing - there is certainly very little chat going on between me and the cyclist. I'd ask for a gel (my strategy was one on 30, 60 and 90 minutes) - plus I'd ask for a few mouthfuls of water when needed. I aimed to get to the halfway point in decent shape and then assuming I felt okay I planned to push the pace in the second half. The course is basically flat - a few long uphill drags, but every section whereby you felt like you were working that bit harder, you'd have a nice downhill stretch to recover on. Running in the dark is strange in the fact that it's difficult to judge whether the upcoming road is uphill, flat or downhill. You almost have to rely on how it feels to run. Quite hard to portray unless you are there.

Anyway, nothing of note happened until I had just passed 15kms, and then I could spot another runner up in front. Again this was the trigger to lift the pace and as I passed my second runner I was greeted with another beep of the watch to indicate a total of 16kms. That was just over the halfway point and I still felt good.

I then made an effort to pick up the pace a little. I'd certainly attack the quicker sections of the course by increasing the leg speed, and I was running a little wider on the road to keep me away from the camber of the road. Once I got to 20kms the countdown was well and truly on. From here on in the memory fails me even more but I think I overtook a couple more runners - including one on a downhill section where I ran a ridiculously quick km split.

At 27kms I knew I would last until the end. The speed was still good and although my legs were becoming a little tight, especially the calves, I was still running strongly. Through 30kms and I wobbled a bit, but I think it was more so that the last mile was all uphill and in a sustained effort to keep it going I missed my 31km beep. That said I was soon rewarded with the lights up-front indicating the end of the stage. I handed over to the baton to our next runner and my stage was over in a time of 1:56:01 for 31.65kms (3:40/km pace).

I felt great at this point and could definitely have continued on. That feeling was short-lived though as my body began to cool down and I then had the washing machine/gel stomach and spent the next hour or so feeling in a state of near vomit...

I was very happy with my run. I never really dipped and I certainly lifted the pace and still felt relatively strong at the end. Incredible what you can do turning decent 10km shape into a good 20 mile run on the back of 3 x 2 hour long runs. Okay my time was 4 minutes slower than last year, but I had competed in this event on the back of half marathon training last time so I was more prepared for the longer stuff.

The rest of the night/morning was travelling in the support vehicle driving the remaining stages (13 to 17). By 8am we were at Kings Lynn watching the teams finish and our guy crossed the line a little before 8:30am in a time of 20 hours 22 minutes. That was a few minutes faster than last year and works out at just over 6 minute miles for the entire 197 mile route. Not bad when our club class team consisted of a mixture of male, female and masters runners. So not only did we win the club class comfortably, we also posted the quickest time of the day beating all of the open teams.

By 9:30am our club had re-grouped for breakfast. Then at 11am it was back to the sports ground for the presentations. I didn't pick up any awards - I posted the second quickest time on my stage beaten by one of the Ely runners who ran 4 minutes quicker. That was great going so hats off to them. All in all a great day and made all the more special by our club winning all 3 events that we entered - the club class that I was part of, plus the ladies event and also the masters one.

Back home by 2pm. Still no sleep by this point. Not to worry, no time to hang around. A quick visit to the pub for a few pints, then back on the train, plane and car for the 6 hour trip back to Galway. Home by 11pm absolutely cream crackered.

Loved every minute of it again this year (accept the bit where the gels played havoc with my stomach). Hopefully I get the nod to compete again next year! Thanks to RP for putting the teams together and to all the CoNAC runners and support crew who make this happen. The effort that goes into this event has to be seen to be believed.

I'll post a few photos over the coming days but before I finish, here are my km splits:

1km 3:36
2km 3:36
3km 3:40
4km 3:42
5km 3:41 (18:16)
6km 3:44
7km 3:48
8km 3:40
9km 3:47
10km 3:45 (18:43/36:59)
11km 3:45
12km 3:44
13km 3:53
14km 3:46
15km 3:40 (18:49)
16km 3:32
17km 3:42
18km 3:40
19km 3:35
20km 3:42 (18:10/36:59)
21km 3:34
22km 3:37
23km 3:41
24km 3:44
25km 3:36 (18:12)
26km 3:21
27km 3:37
28km 3:43
29km 3:28
30km 3:33 (17:42/35:54)
31km 3:47
31.65km 2:22

Total 1:56:01 (31.65kms)

Waiting

Up at 6am for the trip to Norwich. Just over 6 hours door-to-door. Upon arrival I got my lift organised for the run, then went out for something to eat (pasta), then some more pasta later in the afternoon. Head down for an hour or so and then it was time to make my way down the road to get picked up for the lift out to Bungay...

Final prep

No running today. I got myself some gels for the weekend (I keep telling people to practise using the gels in training - obviously I haven't done that...).

The forecast for my leg of the race is looking pretty good. Temps of 10 degrees and wind speed of 7 mph (which I think I'll be running into - isn't that always the case). No rain which is nice. The plan is to 6 minute mile (3:44/km pace). Certainly not slouching around - 2hr37 marathon pace! They say you don't hit the wall until 20 miles and I'm only doing 19.67 miles so I should be fine. I'll get round but it may get ugly after 90 minutes.

A few beers tonight and then up early in the morning for the trip to Norwich.

Quicker

Myself and Fintan started out today at the new time of 6:45am. We started off at a bit of a healthier pace and continued that through. After 4km we met up with Gearoid and it felt really easy today. The conditions were nice and mild with no breeze to worry about and soon the run was over. All up 14.8kms in 1:02:33 (4:13's). Then the rain came down...

That's it now until Sunday 1am. I've got 2 full days of no running.

The left knee is so so. It has improved slightly but the pain is very reminiscent of the old patella tendinitis days whereby I spent 18 months on the sidelines. At the moment I would rate the pain as a 3 out of 10 - the problem I made last time is that I let it get to an 8 out of 10 level. Will do nothing stupid and if that means reverting back to some different running shoes then so be it. I'll have a go on the foam roller to let the calves off a bit and hopefully that will help things along. Listen to the old body Matt - and if all else fails go out and get hammered...

Day off

I took a rest day today - just to freshen up a bit after 18 consecutive training days.

The cricket one dayers are naff due to the weather. Not much else to report.

Pyramid 1/2/3/4/5/4/3/2/1 mins off 60 secs

More running at Dangan - this time on the spongy grass. A long warm-up of 5.6kms to get things going, then straight into the pyramid.

I ran nice and steady for the first half of the session, trying to pick things up on the second half of the set. I'm no good on the grass - too many turns where I come to a virtual halt and then struggling to get the levers moving again as I change direction. Something different though and a good sweat in the process. Perfect conditions once again to make matters a lot easier.

Here are the paces for each effort:

Pace 3:13/3:21/3:23/3:28/3:31/3:27/3:23/3:16/2:57

A warm-down of 3.6kms. That's 17.6kms all up for the day. Easy running now for the rest of the week with a few rest days thrown in.

David Rudisha

9.5kms in 40:29 (4:16's). Superb conditions for running - no breeze and nice and cool. Left knee improving a bit.

The big news is that David Rudisha is coming to Galway for a race here on Saturday. I'm sure he'll jog round and still win his race easily in well under 2 minutes. It's a real shame I won't be here to witness this as I'll be in old Blighty. On the same card there is an elite mile race whereby a couple of Aussies are competing - in an attempt to run the first ever sub 4 minute mile here at Dangan. The likes of Ben St Lawrence (the Saint) will be running - who some of my old sparring partners in Sydney will be very familiar with. Brett Robinson also gets a dart. Both I'm sure will break the 4 minute barrier if the conditions are good.

Here's a link for more info. If you have nothing planned on Saturday and you're a fan of athletics I'd get yourself to Galway as you could be in for a real treat:

http://www.galwaykenyarun.com/

Here's a photo of the great man taken in Galway today after he arrived (courtesy of the GKR facebook page). In my opinion Rudisha had the stand-out performance of the recent London 2012 Olympics winning the 800m in a new world record time:

Last long run

Another long run before the big relay next weekend. I'm running the same stage as last year - 19.67 miles around 1:15am. Should be fun. Today's run was similar to last week - though I met Owen after about 30 minutes of running and then we ran together for the next hour and a bit. The weather was good - nice cool conditions for running and the breeze wasn't too bad. I certainly felt a lot better this week compared to last week and soon the 2 hours were up and I was still running strongly. All up 27.6kms in 2:00:04 (4:21's).

That's 96.0kms for the week. I'll take it easy next week with a mini-taper before the relay.

Out again in the evening for another meal with the family. A few beers and then home to crash out on the sofa.

After work tempo and beers

Same run as last Saturday. A 1km warm-up then straight into it. It was again hard going with some nasty uphill drags into the wind and rain. I ran fast for the full 20 minutes covering 5.67kms (3:32/km). Nothing to write home about but at least it was something. Knee getting worse...

All up 8.4kms with warm-down.

Then out later in the evening for beers and curry with Fintan and Owen. Everyone was knackered so it wasn't a rip-snorter. Home by 1:30am.

Unplanned

I was going to rest but decided to turn the legs over after work. Same old loop of 9.5kms in 39:57 (4:12's). Left knee still sore - getting a bit worried about it now...

Temperature drop

A 7am start with Fintan and Owen. Bloody cold early doors and I could have done with my gloves if truth be told! A reminder that winter is just around the corner. After 4kms we were joined by Gearoid. Whilst the pace was nice and relaxed, it felt very easy today and I was just getting into the run and it was over. All up 15.0kms in 1:06:08 (4:25's).

I've now watched 2 episodes of the final season of Breaking Bad. Things are shaping up nicely...

Feeling good

Easy loop of 9.5kms in 39:43 (4:11's).

Dangan 5 x 5 mins off 60 secs

Arrived at track but after the warm-up (3.6km around the pitches, 1.6km on the track), we were moved to the pitches for some 5 minute efforts. The loop we were to run had a nice hill in the middle and the purpose of the session was to build up some endurance.

For the first effort I took the opportunity to sit back and learn the course. Then for each subsequent effort I increased the speed. The efforts felt comfortable enough and I certainly wasn't on or close to the red line.

The pace/km for each effort were:

3:34/3:29/3:28/3:26/3:20

An enjoyable session in near perfect conditions finishing up with a further 3.6km around the pitches to give me 16.5kms for the day.

Earlier in the day I watched England beat the Irish at cricket. Ravi Bapora has bought himself another year in the team. I've never been convinced by the bloke but just when you think his time has come to an end he has a good knock and buys himself some more time. The selectors have certainly kept their faith in him. A good win as it turns out as at 48-4 England were in all sorts of trouble.

Bounce

My bog standard local loop to start the week off. I felt like I had a nice bounce in the step after the long run yesterday which I wasn't expecting - a total of 9.5kms in 39:23 (4:09's). Loving the new runners - the left knee is a bit sore but I think it was like that before I changed the shoes. I think it will settle down after a few days.

Tyre change

The plan was to get another long run on the board of around 2 hours. I ran from home to Oranmore where I'd left my car the previous evening. I took the opportunity to quickly change my shoes from my old Asics 2170's into a new pair of Saucony Triumphs (at 10.5kms into the run). I then headed on down to Maree where I ran a couple of laps of the 5km course, before heading back to the car. The last half an hour was really tough - I was tired and running solo and the time was really dragging. All up 27.3kms in 2:00:26 (4:24/km pace).

Absolutely in bits at the end - I certainly am not missing the marathon training. The wind was also strong today so I was battling with the elements also. A couple of protein drinks later and a cup cake and I was feeling a bit better for the drive back home.

That's 81.2kms for the week. Today was the first day this week that I got above 10km!

More on the new shoes, when I first started running I was a definite over-pronator. I've run in Brooks shoes, New Balance, Asics and more recently Saucony whereby the shoes would all have either a medial post or dual density material to help compensate the pronation. My most recent shoes would be the Asics 2170's (I had a stock pile of these so I never got to run in the newer Asics GT 2000 shoes), plus the Saucony Guide shoes. I've recently had another look at my running gait and I'm now as neutral a runner as you will ever see. With years of mileage it seems that my gait has changed which I suppose makes sense as the various muscles will all strengthen, and the footstrike has become much more efficient as a result (no visible lateral movement). So armed with this new information I thought I'd make the transition over into a neutral shoe and being a tall/heavy-ish guy I thought the Saucony Triumph was the logical choice. First impressions were good though I'm a little nervous that it's a bit of a change (if it ain't broke don't fix it). Touch wood I'll be okay.

Time poor

A quick run home from work - a 1km warm-up, then straight into a tempo run (I don't have a heart rate monitor (yet) so I only had pace from my watch to rely upon). Not a good start as after about a minute I had to stop at a level crossing for a few minutes to allow a train to pass....

Back into it and I didn't feel great - I was running into a diagonal cross wind and the first half of the run felt like it was all uphill. I checked my watch after about 10 minutes and I was pleasantly surprised by my pace which was shown at 3:22/km (it felt much slower). I continued on until I hit a big climb about a mile from home so I took the opportunity to stop my tempo effort (5.66km in 19:09 at 3:23/km).

A nice easy jog home for 8.4kms all up. A session done in just over 30 minutes. That's training on a budget. Happy enough with that. A big run planned for tomorrow to finish the week off.

More lab testing

An early morning drive to Athlone. A couple of kms warm-up on the treadmill and then it was straight into the first test.

My weight had dropped by 1.6kgs compared to my previous visit (no Dad around so less Guinness consumption). Feeling a lot better generally I was looking forward to putting in an improved performance. The first part was a 6.5 minute run at my tempo run pace which had been calculated at 17.6km/hour. This test was devised to monitor your Vo2 slow component - don't ask me to explain what that is in any detail. Anyway, this run was relatively easy and after my heart rate had quickly climbed to around 140 after a minute or so, once I had settled into the run it never climbed above 148 for the remainder of the effort. This again shows I have a good running economy and would be more suited to the longer stuff.

After a 10 minute break it was time for the lung-buster. The test was to run no more than 4 minutes and the pace was to be around 1,500m pace. That's a difficult one for me as I've only dabbled in the distance on rare occasions - but it was decided that 21.5kms/hour (2:47/km pace) should see me max out before the 4 minutes was up. The start of the test is tricky as to jump on the treadmill at that pace is somewhat tricky, but once I was going I felt good. Through the first minute and I still felt in control and you had to commit to a further 30 seconds after each segment. I got to 2 minutes and still felt okay, then 2:30 and 3 minutes. By this stage I thought I'd last the full 4 minutes but then in the space of a few seconds I was in the hurt locker. At 3:30 I had to pull the pin...

The good news is that I hit my Vo2 max - this time calculated at over 64 (I'd say most of this improvement was due to my drop in weight which is part of the calculation). My heart rate maxed out at 168 which wasn't quite as high as the last visit.

A good chat after the test about what all the data means in terms of training. I'll go into a lot more detail about this when I get the full results but the good news is that at my current lactate threshold level, I'm at about 85% of my Vo2 max. So with some smarter training, if I can improve my lactate threshold, I still have significant room for improvement. The target would be to get that ratio up to nearer 90% (with some elite runners close to the 95% level).

All up around 8.2kms with warm-up and down. Not a huge distance but that last test really knocked me. A big thank you for having the opportunity to be part of this study which I really enjoyed and I'm looking forward to putting the results data to good use in the coming months by adding more science to my training.

Early and slow

Miserable conditions but despite that I felt like I was ticking along nicely. My watch wasn't of the same opinion - I clocked 42:51 for my 9.5kms (4:31/km). Not sure what happened there - perhaps the test yesterday took a fair bit out of me. Or perhaps I was still half asleep. Anyway, nice to get the run out of the way.

The darkness

A late night run in the cold and rain. Total 9.3kms in 40:54 (4:24's).

Maree 5km

Super weather again - nice and warm and only a slight breeze. Good memories of this course where I set my 5km PB of 15:33 back in 2011. You wouldn't say it's the flattest course on the circuit, but there are sections you can really attack.

A certain Mr Shannon was in attendance. We had a brief chat at the start and I mentioned I wanted to go sub 16. The race started and me and Michael hit the front, and it was like a carbon copy of Claregalway where we started racing side-by-side (thanks to Francis at Eirefoto):

The first few kms were run into the breeze. There are a few drags on this section, especially the climb up to the first left turn at the t-intersection, then as you get to halfway, there is a lovely downhill section where you really start to pick up speed. At this stage Michael and I were still sharing the lead, with another runner - Keith from Clare - still hanging in behind us. Through 3km and the next km is run down by the water. A couple of times I thought we had dropped Keith but he kept coming back at us. These 2 Clare men were all over me like a cheap suit.

I was still feeling okay at this point and as we approached 4km Michael started to lift the pace. I did the same but the problem was that my quicker pace wasn't as quick as his. I ran on gamely for the last 1,200m, breaking away from Keith to secure second, but I simply wasn't strong enough to really put in a super quick finish. I crossed the line in second place in 15:56 with Michael 7 seconds in front of me (again thanks to Eirefoto) - yes that's a climb up to the finish line:

Another improved performance. That's 31 seconds quicker than last Wednesday's 5km so gotta be happy with that. If I keep improving at this rate and I'll be breaking 13 minutes come October...

All up 9kms with the couple of kms warm-up and down. And a lovely Galway crystal fruit bowl to show for my efforts which sorts out my grandparents Christmas present!

Here are the splits:

1km 3:12
2km 3:19
3km 3:08
4km 3:10
5km 3:07

Total 15:56

New plan

A lovely evening for a run. The legs were sore after the long run - nice to have that feeling again and shows that I'm getting back into it. I felt pretty good and rattled around my 9.5km route in 39:35 (4:10's).

I've arranged for my next bout of VO2 testing on Thursday morning so looking forward to that. And a spot of Tuesday evening racing - my new plan is to race myself fit and so I'll be doing as much racing as possible.

Long Run

I've agreed to run in the Round Norfolk Relay again on Sep 14/15 and being desperately short of long runs I need to get some 2 hour efforts on the board to give me some hope of performing well.

Pace wasn't important today - I just wanted some time on the feet. I ran up to Carnmore, round the back of the airport, then along the Coast Road, then ran towards Galway, before turning right at the N17 for the long run home. All up 25.1kms in 1:52:11 (4:28's). Pretty shot at the end - especially so due to the quick turnaround from the race the previous evening.

That's 83.2kms for the week. Pretty good going - a couple of races plus the testing on the treadmill. If I can stay healthy than I should be back to where I was fairly quickly.

A great day on the final days of the Ashes this summer. Ruined by the ICC though and the daft rules that the umpires have to adhere to. Still, I'll take a 3-0 series win.

Claregalway 10km

The rain had just about stopped before the race started. I had run a short-ish warm-up of about a mile as I was running a bit late. A crowd of around 200 at the start including Michael Shannon and Jason Broderick who is returning to great form after a couple of years in the wilderness.

At 6pm we were underway - starting from the school which you can see from our kitchen window (where the kids were both waving away!). I hit the front with Jason and Michael tucked in behind me. I continued to lead until about 1km when Jason also joined me and we continued to run side-by-side. That's how it remained for the next few kms and at 3km I tried a little surge just to see how the others would respond. It was captured nicely in this photo:

By the time we'd hit 4km, Jason had fallen off the back of the group leaving me and Michael running together. As mentioned previously, this is one of my favourite training loops and I know it very well so I hugged the racing line as best I could. At 5km I had a quick look at the watch and with a split of 16:19 (quicker than than Wedneday's 5km) I was thinking that a sub 33 was definitely on the cards.

I knew that at any time Michael was going to put in a surge but the kms continued to tick by and there was no move from him. At 7km we made a left hand turn onto the main road for the long run back into the village. This part of the run was a lot tougher as we were now running into the breeze and I switched to running from the path to the bus lane as that felt more comfortable. That said, I knew the pace had slowed.

By the time we had reached the church in the village we were still together but I knew that at any moment Michael was going to pull the trigger and I'd have nothing in response. Sure enough, after rounding the church, and then back past the school, Michael dropped the hammer and the last 500m I watched as he disappeared up the road! I enjoyed the run down the finishing chute crossing the line in a time of 33:16 for second place.

Pleased with the run - a much improved performance compared to Wednesday. I think I've lost a bit of speed endurance as the last few kms were tough but that's something I can work on. I'm just happy to be back racing again and turning in some half decent performances.

All up 14.8kms with a couple of miles warm-down with Michael, Jason and Brian. Then back home for some Thai fish cakes and a few beers.

Here are the splits:

1km 3:11
2km 3:17
3km 3:16
4km 3:16
5km 3:19 (16:19)
6km 3:24
7km 3:27
8km 3:25
9km 3:27
10km 3:14 (16:57)

Total 33:16

Rest day

I'm going to give the Claregalway 10km a crack tomorrow so hence a rest day. Not expecting much but I can't resist the temptation to run when I can see the start line out of the back window...

The final test match of the current series and England are plugging away at the Aussies who scored the best part of 500 runs in their first innings. I can only see 2 results from here - a draw or an England win! All the pressure is on the shackle draggers!

An early one

Just me today - I ran 11.1kms in 48:50 (4:25's). Legs a little sore after the 5km and the pace was pretty ordinary. Nice to be out there though.

Oranmore 5km

I was desperate to have a hit-out and this race was just down the road from work so thought I'd give it a go. The weather wasn't great - wet and blowy but I just wanted to try and run quickly again to see exactly where I'm at.

After registration I ran a 2.6km warm-up with Michael Shannon. This man races for fun and can post super-quick times on consecutive days (10km PB 31:01) so I wasn't expecting to give him much to worry about. We lined up with over 400 at the start and we were off. I sat in behind Michael for the first km but as soon as we hit a long drag in the second km I was going backwards. We were running directly into the wind which made it tough but I knew that once we reached the turnaround point at 2.5km, the run back to the start would be a lot easier.

At the turnaround I'd say I'd lost 15 seconds on Michael but I at least looked to have second place sewn up. With the wind on the back the pace immediately lifted and I started to feel a lot more comfortable. I pushed as hard as I could back to the finish but was making no inroads on the leader, Lots of support from the other runners who were passing the other way and I really enjoyed the run home crossing the line in 16:27 for second place. Michael ran 15:53 and I don't think he really got out of second gear!

That'll do - not a great time but it was a tough first half of the race, I hope to improve from here on in. A quick run back to the car to give me around 8.6kms for the day.

Here are the splits:

1km 3:14
2km 3:26
3km 3:25
4km 3:08
5km 3:14

Total 16:27

A great race and hopefully lots of money raised for the Alzheimer's association.

Here's a photo of me and Micheal at the start:

Wet slog

Quite wet and windy today. A total of 9.6kms in 41:02 (4:16's). Didn't feel great - it's about time I got myself some new runners. I think I'm in the right job.

VO2 Max / Lactate threshold

I was at the sports science lab today for 2 tests which were both conducted on the treadmill. After a 15 minute warm-up, I was then tested firstly to determine my lactate threshold.

The format of this test was 3 minute runs, with one minute recovery during which your blood lactate level was measured. Starting at 12km/hour, the pace was increased by 1km/hour for each 3 minute rep. I ended up running 8 x 3 minutes finishing at 19/km hour. During the last effort my heart rate had reached 159.

Then a short break and it was time for the VO2 test. This was a continuous test starting at 15km/hour and then the pace was increased by 0.5km/hour every 30 seconds. After 4 minutes the treadmill was elevated at 1 degree along with the continuing increase in speed every 30 seconds. I'm not sure how long I lasted but having pulled the pin I immediately regretted it thinking I could have lasted one more 30 second blast. That said, by the end of this session I was fairly toasted.

I did manage to get the heart rate up to 171 which is my maximum. My VO2 was also reached and was recorded at 62.6. Nothing too spectacular but the results of both tests combined showed that I was a very efficient runner and would certainly be suited to the longer distance.

I await the detailed results which should benefit my training (training zones and the like). A great experience though I did struggle a little with the mask that you have to wear - especially during the VO2 test. I had a good chat with the guy running the test after and he had a very interesting viewpoint on speed sessions and how that many distance runners tend to run their speed sessions at a pace that is too quick to benefit there training (a view also shared by one of the top running coaches in Ireland). For example, I have been guilty in the past of running my 400's well under 70 seconds. If you continue to do these sessions you will certainly improve your speed at running 400's and whilst you may be able to run 65-66 seconds per lap for short bursts where you turn anaerobic, the benefits of this type of session don't necassarily transfer to 5km and 10km racing where you're running in a different state. I know I haven't explained that well and I'll try and follow-up with some articles on this in future posts.

All up around 15kms with warm-down. I'm back again next week for 2 more tests which I'm already looking forward to,

Testing

My third run of the week today - a total of 17.3kms in 1:13:11 (4:14's). Felt much better today - long may that continue. Great to be out there on a bright and blustery day.

A total of 41.8kms for the week.

I was planning to run a bit longer but I wanted to keep the powder dry for tomorrow as I've been invited to take part in a sports science study. This will involve VO2 max testing which I've never had done before so I'm looking forward to that. I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow so watch this space. Hopefully I'll be armed with a whole rake of data that promises to be very useful for future training.

Bakers

Managed to squeeze in a quick run after work (9.5kms in 40:15 @ 4:14/km). Started to feel a bit better but still far from easy.

Out in the evening for more darts. Played well for the first half of the night (missed double 8 for a 12 darter but did finish the leg in 13 darts - 100, 125, 140, 120, 16). Then the darts standard started to fade as the arm became too loose.

Another Mo Double

Another rest day on the running front. It was a day of work, then home for tea, then out for a couple of pints with the old man with an accompanying game of darts. I won 10-8.

I've only seen bits and pieces of the World Athletics Champs. From what I've seen it has been pretty good, but the coverage in the media has been pretty ordinary. You wouldn't have known it was on here in Ireland until Rob Heffernan popped up and won gold in the 50km walk (well deserved). Mo is still at his brilliant best and it seems that the other African runners keep playing right into his hands every race tactics-wise.

Trio

Myself, Conor and Fintan for the Thursday 7am jaunt around Claregalway. The pace was slow but that suited me as I didn't have much in the tank. This tonsillitis has really knocked my energy levels. A total of 15.0kms in 1:09:48 (4:39's).

3 days of nowt

Still no running. Still not feeling great but will probably try a run tomorrow. No beers either.

Other than that all is going well in the new job. Still lots to learn but getting there.

No track

Obviously a perfect evening for running but it was rest, rest, rest. Instead I'm eating a lot more with my head in the fridge every 2 minutes. Return of the Fat Matt.

The throat feels a bit better but I'm generally feeling far from great. Not much sport to watch with the cricket finishing a day early. Another early night in preparation for work tomorrow.

Perhaps I need to start watching the final few episodes of Breaking Bad which have just started to air in the US...

Time to listen to the doctor

Back to the doctor with the sore throat. I'm now on a 10 day course of antibiotics and I've been told to give the running a miss for a while to give the body a chance to fully recover. Time to give the booze a rest also...

When I'm better I may go back for some blood tests to make sure my iron levels are all okay as my running of late has been very hit and miss (and that's hit with a silent s).

In better news England win the Ashes. I thought the Aussies were in cruise control at the tea interval but after that they collapsed with Stuart Broad bowling brilliantly. Nine wickets in a session and now an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. That scoreline flatters England a little but they are definitely the better side.

Welcome back

Awoke with another sore throat from hell. The tonsillitis has made a return. Breakfast and then the drive back to Galway.

I did a run in the afternoon to burn off some of the million calories I had consumed the day before. I felt pretty good all things considered. A total of 17.7kms in 1:16:15 (4:18's).

Total 81.5kms for the week.

Out in the evening for a meal with family and friends followed by a few quiet beers in the Crane bar.

Cavan

Out in the morning for a tempo run. A 2km warm-up, then 10kms in 35:10. Finishing up with a 4.3km warm-down to give me 16.3kms for the day.

Despite very good conditions I didn't run well today. I started off around 3:25/km pace and the pace slowly dropped as the kms ticked by. I was ready to stop by 8km but managed to battle on and finish the full 10km. It's a good job I'm not doing the Streets today as based on that form I would have had a Barry.

The drive to Cavan in the evening. Upon arrival it was straight into the beers and food. A great spread and in bed by 3am...

Friday rest day

No run today. I'll have to be a bit more organised to fit my running in now I'm working!

Out in the evening for a few beers and a game of darts. A few of the lads from the darts teams were there and it was winner stays on. I won a lot more than I lost. The old darts are going well.

Morning

Only Gearoid and myself today for the 7am jaunt. Super conditions and lots of chat and the run was over before you know it. 14.8kms in 1:05:09 (4:24's).

The Streets of Galway 8km is on this Saturday and for the first time in moving here I won't be running. Instead I'm Cavan bound with the family for a night away. I thought Cavan was near Sligo and after looking at the map I was a little wayward. 0 out of 10. Must do better. Anyway, the race itself promises to be a belter. Mark Kennealy may be running and he is in decent nick after what looked like a 29:22 10,000m jog to me the other week (I was lapped twice...). But there may be a runner from the Tipton Harriers who could give him a nudge...

And good luck to anyone running the City to Surf on the weekend in Sydney. I think it's the biggest foot race in the world? From my experience it was always the biggest drink on the calendar...

Lost

9.5kms in 40:41. Slower than Monday but always so due to the track session yesterday.

Darts in the evening with the old man. I lost 15-13. A really decent standard. My Dad hit a 167 checkout being the highlight. I was never in front and missed a few darts at a double to force the decider. No bottle.

5 x (1km / 1 min / 400m / 2 mins)

Back to the track. About 3kms around the pitches then a further 4 laps of the track whilst the main group were doing their dynamic stretches and strides (which I always avoid - not sure why).

The session tonight was kms and 400's. I decided on 5 sets (as opposed to 4) as I'm taking a break from racing and I thought I'd take it nice and steady. It was a very damp evening - persistent rain and the track was very damp and covered in small puddles around the bends. But hardly any breeze which at least was something.

My times were:

3:12 / 71

3:05 / 72

3:08 / 71

3:09 / 70

3:08 / 69

Nothing to set the world on fire but I'm happy with that after last week. I finished with a 2.1km warm-down to give me 13.7kms for the evening. Absolutely drenched come the end.

Then into town to pick up my Dad who'd been in the pub whilst I was out training. I think next time we should swap places...

A bit better

9.5kms in 39:43 (4:11's).

A lot better today. I had some drive in my stride and was ticking over much better. A nice afternoon for running being warm and sunny but with very little breeze. I could be back...

Catch-up

Been a bit of a mad week - trying to recover from feeling generally under the weather and also starting a new job! Yes you read that correctly, after 4 years looking after the kids it was time to get back into the workforce!

Here's a quick re-cap of last week. On the running front:

Tuesday - nothing

Wednesday - 9.5kms in 42:06 (4:26's)

Thursday - 9.5kms in 41:38 (4:23's)

Friday - nothing

Saturday - 11.1kms in 49:00 (4:25's)

Sunday - 15.0kms in 1:05:45 (4:23's)

Total for the week 45.1kms

Basically all very slow and steady. I must have been really run down as I was running at my normal effort level for easy runs but my pace had slipped between 10 to 20 seconds per km. Whilst it was a good time to have an easy week, it didn't really feel that easy as the running was such a struggle. Hopefully I'll come good again soon.

On the socialising front I had a big night at the Galway races on Friday night. No winners but a great time was had. My old man had 2 winners and I don't think I've ever seen him so happy (he hasn't stopped gloating since). Another visit to the local pub on Sunday for a game of darts - my first proper game in yonks. After trailing 10-7 I started to come good and eventually ran out winning 20-13. That's a shellacking in my book.

And the new job - I've landed a few days at Amphibian King, a specialist running store in Oranmore. Lots to learn and a new challenge and so far so good! More on that in coming posts I'd say so watch this space.

Sidelined

Went to the docs. I have tonsillitis and conjunctivitis. Plenty of drugs to take and I should start to come good in a few days.

No running...

Dublin to Galway

Woke up - throat on fire. Couldn't swallow any food at breakfast.

Uneventful day - travel to Galway on the coach and then out in the evening for a meal. By this stage I could at least swallow but that was because I'd dosed myself up on pain-killers.

No running. Total for the week 52.2kms. I'll take a few days rest from running until I start to feel better.

National 10,000m

I woke up with a sore throat and was generally not feeling great. I took an early coach to Dublin - met up with my Dad and we were running a bit short of time so we took a taxi out to the Santry.

After registering, I had time for a warm-up. I bumped into Brian Furey and we ran a few laps around a small warm-up pitch for about 15 mins. The events were running a little late so back out for a bit more of a warm-up with Roger Barrett. A total of 20 mins or so (say 4kms).

Then into the call room, before being called onto the track. Lots of rules, officials, etc, up to this point and the nerves were starting to jangle a little. There were about 25 runners or so and we were split into 2 groups and I was in the group that had to run wide around the first bend to the right of the cones before breaking. The conditions were quite warm, around 20 degrees, and the breeze was coming across the track. Okay I suppose.

The gun sounded and I found myself behind Roger Barrett. I set into my running but felt very flat. Through the first km in 3:07 and I was already struggling. I decided to take one lap at a time but by the time I'd hit 4 laps (5:02) I was ready to stop. Roger had worked away from me leaving myself and a Raheny runner behind me. I was determined to give it my all until at least 5km but each lap was getting tougher and I knew I was slowing. Through 8 laps in about 10:12 so already off my target of 10:08 and that gap was only going to get bigger. As we approached half-way the guy from Raheny went past me leaving me in no mans land. I should add that at this point I had already been lapped by some of the front runners!

Through 5km in 16:12 and I was ready to step off the track. Shortly after Pauric McKinney went past me. I won't bore you with the detail but each lap got slower and by the time I got down to 10 laps remaining I knew I would finish but the time had gone. I was lapped again by the leader as I counted down the last 10. I reached 9km in 29:50 so I knew a sub 33 was looking unlikely as I simply had nothing in the tank. I went on to cross the line in 33:05 for 14th place.

The winner (Mark Kenneally) ran 29:22 and looked to be doing it easy so I can't blame the conditions. A very poor run from me and not too sure what went wrong. A few laps of the pitches as a warm-down/sulk to give me around 16kms for the day. Very disappointing.

Out in the evening for lots of fun. My Dad and I visited 8 or 9 pubs that we can remember around Dublin, mainly in the Temple Bar area. That was great. In bed by 11pm for a slumber...

Do the math

No ruining today. I watched the darts in the evening with a couple of beers whilst mulling over tomorrow's race.

Confidence isn't great. My recent times in training and racing have been slow due to the spell of hot weather (at least that's what I'm telling myself). I'll try and run 15:50 for the first 5km (76 second laps), and then try and hang on for the second half. I'll be very disappointed if I don't at least beat my long standing track PB of 32:35 set many moons ago at Mingara whilst racing (and beating!) the King. Here's hoping for a cool day but in looking at the forecast that doesn't look to be on the cards...

Alcohol will be the winner as its straight into the Temple Bar after the race for a long evening of fun and merriment with the old man. Have a great weekend and good luck to anyone else racing in the next few days.

Glen Hansard

Another easy paced run - 9.0kms in 39:36 (4:24's). That's it now until Saturday.

Out in the evening to see Glen Hansard play at the Big Top as part of the Galway Arts Festival. This man can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned - one of the most talented musicians on the planet. He played a great set that included songs from his latest solo album, from the soundtrack of the movie "Once", a few cover versions, plus a few Frames songs with members of the band supporting him throughout the night. A great finale finishing up with "The Auld Triangle" where the support act Damien Dempsey returned to the stage to help out with the vocals. A great show.

Short/easy

I squeezed in a quick run before tea. I got completely soaked as I got caught in some heavy showers but despite that it was quite pleasant to be out and about. Total 6.7kms in 30:50 (4:36's).

My first ever run wearing contact lenses. How interesting is that? As I'm long sighted I didn't really notice any difference...

A game of snooker in the evening. Total rubbish!

12 x 400 off 60 secs

My last proper hit-out before Saturday. The 400's were to be controlled as opposed to flat out and I thought that 70 seconds or thereabouts would be about right. It was a damp evening with heavy showers interrupting the warm-up (4.2kms), but despite a damp track the rain managed to hold off for the session itself.

I ran with Fintan and Paul and we took turns leading out the laps. I was knocking out the laps in very consistent times but I seemed to be working a fair bit harder than I would have liked - perhaps it was the slippery conditions. Here are the times:

70/70/70/70/70/71/70/71/70/70/69/68

Job done. A further 2.0kms warm-down to clock up 11.0kms for the day.

Claregalway 10km news

I ran my local 9.5km loop in 39:59 (4:13's). A sprint at the end to get me under 40 mins...

The Claregalway 10km in on August 24th at 6pm and the good news this year is that they are reverting back to the old course (as opposed to the 2 x 5km hilly loops that it has been the last few years). This course happens to be the loop that I ran today (plus a small section of the course between the school and the community centre that you run twice to get the 10km up). It's fairly flat and fast and will offer a good chance of a PB if you're in good shape. Well done to the organisers for changing the route as this course will be a lot more appealing. There, that's my bit of race promotion over with - it has to be done being in my home village.

Thoughts now turn to the 25 lapper on Saturday. I've covered the distance 4 times on the track - 2 times up on the Central Coast of New South Wales in times of 33:56 (Sep 2008) and 32:35 (Sep 2009). Then I ran in the state 10,000m at Homebush (Mar 2010) where I clocked 32:38. The most recent being in the county 10,000m at Dangan here in Ireland where I ran 32:45 (July 2010). It's a race that doesn't begin until you've covered 15 laps and then it's all about hanging in there for the final 10 lap countdown. I'm dreading it.

2-0

Afternoon run with Fintan. The aim was to get somewhere near the 1hr 15 mark but it was hot and humid and we pulled the pin early covering 15.9kms in 1:08:32 (4:19's).

That's 89.9kms for the week. I'll wind it back next week to get the legs ready for the 10.

England are now 2-0 up in the Ashes after the Aussies rolled over and were bowled out in less than a day. Not sure where they can go from here - their batters are desperately out of form and some players look like they don't want to be there (Watson springs to mind). If this continues then England will win 5-0. I never thought I'd see that day...

Joe Root

Out at 9am to try and get cooler conditions. Still well above 20 degrees and after having several beers the previous evening, and not much food, plus a lack of sleep I'd handicapped myself rather nicely for this session.

It was to be 6 x 4 mins off 60 secs, then 5 x 30 seconds (off 60) to finish with. I used my local 9.5km loop and after the first 4 minute effort I was struggling. I managed to pick things up a bit for 2,3,4 and 5 but during the last one I felt like giving up and had become a champion negative thought generator.

A 3 minute break and then the 30 second efforts. These were much easier as you just get going and they are over. I was toast at the end. I was running 5:15/km pace for the warm-down and that was hard work. So I ended up walking home. Which was nice. All up 16.5kms.

Here are the paces:

3:21/3:15/3:15/3:14/3:14/3:17 (per 4 minutes)

2:53/3:02/2:53/2:48/2:49 (per 30 seconds)

Basically not my greatest work. If it's a hot day in Dublin next Saturday for the 10,000m then I may as well forget the race and head straight to the Temple Bar.

Another day for England in the cricket. They batted all day long only losing a couple of wickets (one of which was Bresnan the night-watchman). Root batted beautifully and was 178 not out at the close. England with a 500 plus lead and I'm sure they'll give Root a quick dart at his double ton in the morning before putting the Aussies in to see how long they can last.

A poor decision by the third umpire not to give Bell out to a low catch taken by Smith. This series keeps throwing up these controversial decisions and England have certainly been very fortunate this far.

Watched a bit of the darts in the evening - the World Matchplay from Blackpool. Dad is back in town next week so I dare say I'll be back at the oche soon.

Graham Swann

11.1kms in 48:29 (4:22's). Another slog in the heat.

England posted a respectable 361 before bowling the Aussies out for 129. Swann took a 5 wicket haul on a pitch not renowned for taking spin. God knows what he'll do in the second innings...

The Aussies bounced back taking 3 quick wickets before the close leaving England 31-3. England still have a healthy lead and a couple of 50 partnerships tomorrow and we'll bat the Aussies out of the game.

Back to Thursday morning

7am start. A lovely morning and a good bit cooler running at that time of the day. Today's crowd included Conor, Gearoid and Owen but no Fintan who was busy with work.

Same route as normal and the pace gradually picked up to the point where we were running close to 4 minute clicks at the end. All up 15.0kms in 1:04:30 (4:18's).

The second test started today and it was another enthralling day. England were in all sorts of trouble at 28-3 before Bell an Trott steadied the ship with a 99 partnership. Then followed another great partnership between Bell and Bairstow with Belly recording his third Ashes ton on the spin. England got themselves into a strong position before losing 3 quick wickets just before close to leave them 7 down with 281 runs on the board. This match is still very much in the balance.

Highlight of the day: Bairstow being given out on 21 only to be overturned after Siddle had over-stepped the bowling mark.

Topless

Usual 9.5kms in 40:56 (4:19's). Legs a bit sore after track yesterday so that's a good sign that I pushed myself out of the comfort zone.

Lovely weather again for running. More topless action.

400/600/800/1000/800/600/400

Track night - 22 degrees and only a slight breeze made for good conditions. A warm-up around the pitches and a lap of the track (4.3kms) to start off.

The session was a pyramid - a short sharp session where the recoveries were generous which meant the pace had to be upped a notch. I set myself some soft targets as I wanted to get the confidence back after not feeling like I'd done myself justice in my recent racing. I thought that sub 70 for the 400's, then 3:00/km pace for the remaining efforts would be good enough - especially as the legs still felt tired.

Here's how it panned out (recoveries in brackets):

400 - 67 (60)

600 - 1:42 (75)

800 - 2:19 (2 mins)

1000 - 2:55 (2 mins)

800 - 2:19 (75)

600 - 1:40 (60)

400 - 64

Very happy with that. I really attacked the reps tonight and posted some decent times and nice to finish with quicker times in the second half of the session compared to the first. Thanks to Eamon and Paul for helping with the pacing - it makes it so much easier to have someone to hang on to.

Warm-down of 3.5kms. Very tired at the end. All up 12.4kms for the day.

Easy running now until Saturday where I'll do another session of longer reps.

Turning the legs over

The legs were sore today. I ran my 9.5km loop in 40:30 (4:16's) and wasn't feeling great. I'll push on this week starting with a track session tomorrow. For the first time in a while the weather had cooled down a notch which it least made it a bit more bearable for running. It promises to get warm again though for the remainder of the week...

National League Round 2 - Sligo

I caught the team bus at 8:15am for the 2 hour journey to Sligo. I wasn't running until around 4pm so plenty of time to watch the action. But my attention was elsewhere - listening to the climax of the first test at Trent Bridge. I was mentally drained when England eventually got that final wicket. More on this later.

Hot conditions and there was a nasty breeze on the back straight/start of the final bend. The gun sounded and I settled mid-pack. The front group of 5 runners quickly worked away - no surprise as they were running 3 minute/km pace and I wasn't able for that. There was a mini-pack of me and a couple of others in pursuit. That lasted for a couple of laps and I then made a move on the back straight to lead the chase group and in terms of positioning, that's how it remained for the rest of the race.

Through 1km in 3:04, through 2km in 6:10 and by this time it was another time trial. I was running solo and despite feeling quite strong, the 3rd km passed and with a disappointing split of 3:10 (time 9:20) I started to crumble. The next few laps were a real grind. I don't recall my 4km split but I continued on as best I could eventually crossing the line in 15:44 for 6th place overall (4th scorer in the Premier League).

The lead group all ran close to 15 minutes with the winner clocking 15:01. That group included Roger Barrett who must have only been a second or 2 behind the leader. So despite the hot condtions, it didn't seem to slow some people down! Great running Roger!

Personally I was very disappointed by that run. I felt like I could go sub 15:30 but come 3km that goal was gone and it was a long slog home. The sub 32 target for the 10km now seems like a pipe dream. The thought of running a 25 lapper at this moment in time seems like slow torture...

Some great performances for the team today. Peter O'Sullivan guested and was brilliant running 4:09 in the 1,500m, and then 2:01 in the 800m. Well done Peter.

All up 10.7kms for the day and 57.2kms for the week. I'll try and put in a decent week's training next week and then I'll wind it back for the 10,000m attempt the week after next.

Well back to the Ashes. What can I say? That match had everything. I had no nails left as the Aussies were closing in on the victory target. But King Jimmy managed to muster up another wicket getting the faintest of edges to dismiss Haddin. A few celebratory beers for the lads and then onto Lords for the second test on Thursday. More of the same please!

Ian Bell

No running today. A rest day before another 5,000m slog in the afternoon sun tomorrow...

Went out and did a bit of shopping with the kids. Never take a cranky 3 year old into a large toy shop. A nightmare scenario.

Watched the Ashes. Another cracking day. Ian Bell played well to get his ton but I think England folded a bit too cheaply at the end. The Aussies got off to a blistering start, but England fought back well. Those late wickets put England in the box seat but I wouldn't be writing the Aussies off just yet (137 required with 4 wickets in hand). Whatever the result it has been a great test match to watch. I say watch, I'll have to listen to radio commentary tomorrow as I'll be up in Sligo. Hope the battery holds out on the phone...

Stuart Broad

Another evening run. Sill hot. Third topless run on the trot - good for saving on the washing. A total of 10.8kms in 46:11 (4:17's). I guess it's going to be hot on Sunday for the 5,000m so this is my way of acclimatising...

Wow, what a day of cricket. I thought that if England could bat out the day for the loss of 6 wickets (2 per session) then they'd get themselves into a strong position. Well they survived the day but only lost 4 wickets in the process. The lead is now 261 and if they can get that up above 300 then it's going to be very tough for the Aussies. Bell batted beautifully and deserves his ton. And Stuart Broad stood his ground after a blatant thick edge was not seen by umpire Dar. That was disappointing but anything that winds the Aussies up has got to be for the good!

Dog attack

I ran around 7pm - still very hot. I decided to try and keep going for an hour by running the guts of my normal Thursday morning route. On the corner of Rockmount and the N17 a large puppy dog came hurtling at me straight over the top of a 5 foot fence. Once the dog realised how big I was he started to run away from me - that would have been fine but by now he was running up and down the busy N17 close to the traffic. Thankfully no damage was done as he eventually went into one of the fields where the owner could round him back up into the garden. Phew.

All up 13.7kms in 1:00:34 (4:25's). Hard going.

The cricket was incredible. England took early wickets but could not get the last man out. Agar eventually out for 98 batting at 11 on debut to give the Aussies a handy lead. Then England got off to a poor start with the bat losing a couple of quick wickets. Then down to Cook and Pietersen to steady the ship and see them through to the close. The Aussies are certainly favourites from this position and England need to bat really well tomorrow to get themselves back into the match.

The Ashes

I ran at around 4:30pm. Very hot - the road was sticking to my shoes in places, Total 9.5kms in 40:47 (4:17's). The legs felt okay after yesterday but it was tough going in the heat.

I watched most of the Ashes today. England got off to a poor start getting bowled out cheaply but bounced back well with the ball to have the Aussies 75-4 at the close. A great day and at this rate the first test could be over inside 3 days. That nut from Anderson to bowl Clark was as good as any delivery I have ever seen.

Galway County 5,000m

Another cracking day - temperatures were around 29 degrees as I arrived at the track for the race. Not much activity with lots of people milling around trying to keep out of the sun. At about 7:15 I did a 10 minute warm-up with the guys, then another rest. Still no race and as the women's 3,000m race started myself and Owen went out again for another 10 minutes warm-up.

We were called to the start about 8pm. There were around 28 starters and after a few admin issues which caused a further delay, we eventually got underway. Two guys went straight to the front and I settled into third place. By 200m one of the guys had blown, leaving me in second. A few laps passed and I worked into the lead and then it was a question of trying to maintain the pace whilst in time trial mode.

I wasn't wearing a watch and to keep myself focused I tried to run 75 second laps as they were calling out the times at the 200m mark. I went through the first 4 laps in 4:59, through 8 laps in 10:02 or so, but I knew I was going to struggle home. The last 4 laps were a real grind and there was no attempt to lift the pace for the run home as the legs were heavy and unresponsive. I crossed the line in 15:53.67 (electronic timing!) for the win.

So another disappointing time but I'd say most times were way down due to the Galway heatwave. I've been very unlucky with conditions this year but I'll keep racing in the hope that I get lucky soon - starting with another 5,000m in Sligo this Sunday! Sub 15:30 would be nice!

A 3.5km warm-down to give me 12.5kms for the day.

Here's a photo (thanks Jane). Race number 90 - that's how old I felt...

Legoland

Today was spent in Legoland. But not before my third full English breakfast on the trot...

An incredible place and great for the kids. Even better for the grown-ups (read me). Loved it.

No running today. Come 4:30pm it was time to leave for the drive to Stansted and then the flight back to Ireland.

Forgot to mention last week's tally. A massive 60.3kms.

Here are a few photos from Legoland:

Windsor

A token run at lunchtime in the midday sun - a blistering pace covering 6.6kms in just under 33 minutes. Sweat out some of last night and all that.

Lunch at my grans and then we moved on from Norwich to Windsor. Listened to the tennis in the car on the drive down and good to see Andy Murray finally do it.

Upon arrival I had a few pints with the old man, then we had a wander around. The castle there is something else - incredible. Something to eat and a few more pints.

Here's a few photo with old man and son:

Lord Mayor's 5km

I woke up with my left eyelid welded shut - seems I may have some conjunctivitis, probably brought on by the new contact lenses...

I did some kid stuff in the morning, then spent the rest of the afternoon with the rellies. Then into the city at around 3:45pm to pick up my race pack. The temperatures were scorching hot - close to 30 degrees and after a quick chat with the race director who described the course to me, I had just about lost the will to live as it wasn't the pancake flat course I had hoped for...definitely not course and conditions for a PB. Paul Evans who holds the course record of 14:11 says he was in low 13 minute shape when he ran that time so that gives you an idea of the course...

For anyone who knows Norwich city centre the route itself was a 2 and a bit lapper. From the lowest point of the course down at the mini-roundabout outside the Maids Head Hotel there are 3 drags - up through Tombland, then another climb up onto Castle Meadow, then a long drag up St Stephens to the roundabout at the top. And being 2 laps you have the joy of experiencing these tough sections twice.

I walked the course as a sort of warm-up and had already worked up a good sweat. Then a quick change into race gear and about a 1km warm-up and it was time to start the race. Just over 100 people on the start line and with thousands of people lining the streets to watch the procession which immediately followed the race, it promised to be a unique experience.

Off and racing and I settled into my running. The first section had us running downhill through Tombland, then around the hairpin roundabout and the start of the 3 hills that I described. I was running solo with a few groups up front to chase. I wasn't paying any attention to the watch and by the time I had reached the top of the course on the first lap (approx 1.5km), I was already starting to struggle and the likes of Gemma Steel and another CoNAC runner were a good 20 to 30 metres in front of me.

The downhill sections were great, but I didn't have the energy to attack them and whilst the pace picked up, relative to the field I was simply maintaining my position. Back through Tombland for the second time and with a few cheers from some mates I really tried to attack on the second set of climbs. I was certainly closing on Gemma and by the time we reached the bottom of St Stephens I had caught her and cruised past. Then I caught the guy wearing the CoNAC vest and by the time I reached the top of the course at 4km, I pushed as hard as I could for the last downhill km. I think I overtook another couple of runners in this section, and at the same time one guy sped past me. I crossed the line with a time of 16:04 for 10th position (first V40).

Not the time I was after but I have to say I was pretty happy with the run. I took over 20 seconds out of Gemma in the last 1.5kms and certainly felt strong at the end. Nice to finish a race overtaking people and with the huge crowd support on the course it was a good day.

After the race I jogged straight back to where we were staying for a shower and change. Then out for some fun and merriment. Very enjoyable. A total of 9.7kms for the day and lots of beers...

Here are the splits:

1km 3:11
2km 3:08
4km 6:44 (I missed the 3km marker)
5km 3:01

Total 16:04 (7:59 first half, 8:05 second half)

Here are some photos courtesy of one of the CoNAC photographers (thanks Granville). The first one is just before passing Gemma. I don't recall the other two!

Travel

Up at 3:45am with the family for the drive/plane/drive to Norwich. Arrived with no major dramas.

Spent the rest of the day catching up with family. Eating plenty and out in the evening for a few beers and a game of snooker. The weather is scorching hot which is nice when you're not running...

Thursday

9.5kms in 39:48 (4:11's). A bit quicker than yesterday - legs starting to feel a lot better.

No running now until the race on Saturday.

Early start tomorrow morning...

Wednesday

Just catching up on the old blog....

9.5kms in 41:30 (4:22's). Can't remember anything else!

4 x 400, 3 x 1600, 4 x 400

Track session - a 5.0km warm-up and a few strides and we were faced with a tough old session. Conditions were damp as it had been raining on and off for most of the day, but the wind had dropped so it was a lot better than I had feared.

Numbers were a bit thin in the top group with only myself, Paddy and Conor for company. I set myself a target of 69 seconds for the 400's and 5:04's for the 4 lappers which was dream target 10km pace (31:40).

The session was a real struggle. I had the other lads helping out with my pacing - but I felt very heavy legged and couldn't wait to get it over with. Here are the times:

70/70/69/70
5:00/5:01/5:01
70/68/70/69

The 400's weren't great but at least I managed to crank out some decent 4 lappers. I forgot to mention the recoveries - 1 minute between all the efforts and 2 minutes between sets. It's bloody tough running those 4 lappers off only a minute...and to think I want to try and run at that pace for over 6 times the distance...

A short warm-down of 2.5kms to give me 15.5kms for the day. Easy running and rest now before Saturday.

Watched a bit of the England cricket warm-up game - a 4 day game against Essex. A bit of a joke as it started off as a first class game, then due to a couple of injuries to the Essex bowlers they drafted in some new players resulting in the loss of the first class status. I'd say Bresnan was a bit peeved as he hit a ton which will not now be part of his stats...

Australia going well in their 4 day game.

A great run by Cameron Page to run his first sub 4 minute mile in winning the mile race at Cork this evening (time 3:54.77). I think that puts him either 9th or 10th on the Australian all time list. I think Cam next races in Belgium on Saturday July 13th (KBC Nacht) where he will be chasing a world championship qualifier. If recent form is anything to go by he has a red hot chance.

Struggle St

9.5kms in 39:59 (4:13's). Felt very tired all day and that was reflected in the run - basically no energy. Upped the pace for the last couple of minutes just to dip under 40. I think that's a runners thing...

So started taking some iron supplements: Galfer syrup - awful sticky stuff. Will finish the bottle and see if I can get a Tigger like bounce...