I used to run a bit...

Early morning run with Fintan and Owen. Total 15.0kms in 1:06:54 (4:28's). Felt quicker than that but must have been early morning syndrome again.

Had a good conversation with one of the reps in the shop today. He mentioned he used to do a bit of running and I nearly fell over when he mentioned he'd ran a 2:15 London marathon. Said he'd no talent, but just had to work hard at it (120 mile weeks...). He was stuck running 32 minutes for 10km and his big breakthrough was starting a weekly tempo session of 45 minutes on the treadmill. From then on all his times improved and he went on to break 29 for 10km, 64 for the half and 2:15 for the full. Perhaps there's hope for us all!

More on the 50 races, looking through the list I may have to discount one of them as it was a relay stage of a longer race...

Fifty

My mid-week rest day from running.

Instead it was down the snooker hall still searching for that elusive big break. I managed to get my contacts in properly tonight which was a good start. The first few frames were hit and miss, but in the last frame I had a gilt-edged chance for a biggie. It all comes down to bottle and I missed on 40 attempting a long pink which goes to prove I have none. Definitely improving though and it won't be long before something goes my way.

And in other news. just checked through my road race/fun race/call them what you want races and Sunday's win in Corofin was my 50th win since moving to Ireland. So I'll raise my bat to the pavilion and keep plodding away in the attempt to bring up the ton. To put that into context, in 10 years racing in Oz I never won a single race. In fact, I think I only ever made the podium once. Different size pond and all that...

Here are the 50 races:

12 x 400 off 30 secs

The weather is starting to get a bit grim but I didn't want to miss out on another track session so off to Dangan I did travel. After a 3.8km warm-up around the roads I went down to the track for the 400's off a short/sharp 30 second recovery. A good group at the front with myself leading, Cian, Donal, John and a few other guys from the University. My plan was not to try and run them eyeballs out, but instead to feel nice and comfortable with the words ringing in my ears from Paul McNamara about distance runners trying to run their speed sessions too quick. I thought 72ish would be fair game so that was my target.

The first one felt grand, and from there on in I was feeling pretty good. About halfway through I increased my recovery to 33 seconds to allow the other runners to fully regroup. The weather was getting worse and it was juicing down for the remaining few laps but by then the countdown was on. Here are the times:

71/72/72/71/72/72/71/71/71/71/71/70

A warm-down with Sean - good to see him back after a 5 month lay-off through injury. My knee behaved nicely and I'm certainly heading in the right direction now. All up 12.4kms.

It felt good tonight - perhaps it was the Argi that young Timmie has me trying - tonight being the first use. Apparently a few of the top tri-guys use it so worth giving it a shot. Mix a spoon with 240ml of water and off you go. And it's legal!

Progress

No long run today as I was called in to work. Instead it was a shuffle in the evening to see how the knee was. I knew it had improved as I wasn't getting the pain climbing in and out of the car, getting out of the bath, picking something up off the floor,etc. But the real test is to try a run - I started off tentatively and the discomfort level was way down - not pain free by any stretch of the imagination, but a huge improvement. I gradually ratcheted up the pace and I was soon ticking over nicely. Despite the typical Irish conditions, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Finally! Total 9.5kms in 40:27 (4:15's).

So assuming I can keep on top of this, I plan to run the Norwich Half Marathon on Nov 24th. The last couple of years the conditions have been absolutely horrendous, so I'm hoping it will be third time lucky. I won't be in great half shape, but should still be able to run sub 1:14 and in the process try and keep some of the younger lads honest.

I forgot to mention my weekly kms for last week - a whopping 73.5. I know that's low but I've always been able to run some decent times for 5km and 10km off that volume of training. My plan is to try and be a little healthier in the lead up to the half and I may even try to drop a few kgs.

Here were my splits from Corofin:

1km 3:12
2km 3:14
3km 3:21
4km 3:19 (13:06)
5km 3:14
6km 3:19
7km 3:23
8km 3:09 (13:05)

Total 26:11

And here's a photo of me approaching the finish line (courtesy of Edenhill):

Corofin 8km

Arrived in time to quickly register and run a mile as warm-up. Conditions were as good as you could wish for - hardly and breeze and a nice, fresh, crisp day. Shared a few jokes at the start line and soon we were off and running. I immediately hit the lead as we ran in a straight line for the first 3km. There were a few ups and downs, but the course was predominantly flat and I was ticking along nicely at well under sub 3:20/km pace.

The knee felt good which was odd as I'm definitely limping a tiny bit walking on it. It must be the adrenaline rush of racing at full whack. I had nobody for company and by the time I made the first left-hand turn just through 3km I could see the lead car just up the road waiting for me so that gave me something to focus on.

At halfway I was still running well and I even entertained the fact of breaking 26 minutes with a strong run home. I had been pre-warned that the section from 4 to 5kms was the toughest, but my split of 3:14 indicated that I can actually run the long drags when I put my mind to it. After rounding the next left-hand turn it was all about remaining focused for the last 3km.

Sure enough at 6km I started to wobble. The legs were feeling a little heavier and a disappointing split of 3:22 through to 7km meant that the sub 26 was gone. The last km is a real gem and as I ran back into the village, there is a slight right-hand turn, followed by a lovely downhill run home.I really pushed the last 600m and I was a little perplexed when a supporter mentioned that I should just dip under 27. Sure enough I crossed the line with 26:48 showing on the clock Vs my watch time of 26:11. I know which one I prefer so I'm not sure what happened there!

A good solid run, especially with nobody for company. As mentioned conditions were perfect so there were pros and cons. I think that at least indicates I'm back in sub 33 10km shape which is where I want to be. After the race I did a warm-down with Ian who had to listen to my knee woes. A total of 4.4km later I was done - 14.0kms for the day.

More on the knee - I convinced Ian to call into my house on the way back to Claregalway to have a look at the you know what (Ian is a qualified deep tissue massager). My exact words were "Go as hard as you can (fnarr, fnarr....)". Anyway, after putting a minuscule amount of pressure on the inside of my left quad I was already on the ceiling crying like a baby. Man, that pain was something else. Anyway, after 15 minutes of rubbing and pressing the muscle had let off a good bit. It was almost like letting off a pressure valve and I could notice an immediate improvement on the knee. I have a few things to do now to try and keep on top of it - foam rolling, ice rolling, self-massage on the sore spots, anti-inflamms, etc. Hopefully I can get back to running in less pain in the coming weeks. Thanks Ian - the beers are waiting for you when you return from the volcano marathon!

Beer and curry

I took another rest day today. Just didn't have it in me to go for a run. Instead it was a takeaway curry and 5 beers. Now you won't find that race preparation in many copybooks as I'm planning to give the 8km out at Corofin a go tomorrow. No idea how I'll go and it's sure to give the knee a real test...

Just looking through a few photos from the terrific Edenhill this evening. Here's one from the recent 10km in Loughrea with Freya Murray in the background:

Gyp

Squeezed in a few kms after work in the dark. A total of 8.4kms in 36:50 (4:23's). Left knee giving me a fair bit of pain - I haven't run pain-free now in several months. Something has to give...

Inspire

Early morning run with Fintan and Owen. A bit lighter this week due to the change in the clocks but still quite dark to start with. A few showers to deal with in the first 10 minutes then it wasn't too bad. All up 15.0kms in 1:06:02 (4:24's). Pace is always a bit down on these early morning jaunts - must be the body in shock at being up at such an ungodly hour.

Thanks to Mizuno I took delivery of a new pair of Inspire running shoes today. I've never run in any Mizuno shoes before so will be interested to see how they go. They certainly have a completely different feel to them - very roomy with plenty of space around the toes and very light and flexible. Certainly comfy wearing them around today.

Blind snooker

A rest day from running. A game of snooker in the evening. I never really got going in the snooker - my contact lens in my left eye was playing up and I had drunken vision. Highest break 30. I got home and it took me 15 minutes of prodding at the eye to find and remove said lens. Not pleasant. Matt and his excuses strike again.

Glen Hansard

No track session tonight as I was at the Glen Hansard gig in the Town Hall. Instead I did my own thing in the afternoon doing my new bread and butter 6 x 5 mins tempo run off a minute. I'm beginning to like this session - it's not too bad as you feel fairly comfortable throughout. Paces today were again around the 3:23 to 3:25/km pace and you aren't having to go to the well. I may up the number of reps to 8 in the next few weeks to improve endurance. All up 15.1kms with warm-up and down.

Okay, back to the gig. It was a solo tour so no Frames as backing band. Glen started at 9:05pm and played until around 10:30 before returning to the stage for an encore. He ended up playing through until a few minutes before midnight. It was mesmerising stuff - I've said it before on the blog, I don't think there is a better singer-songwriter going around. If I could play guitar and sing like that I'd stay indoors...

Sean Hehir 1st, Joe Sweeney 2nd, Sergiu Ciobanu 3rd

Long run with Fintan starting at 10am. Was travelling at a nice healthy clip all run and it felt very comfortable. Ended up with 21kms on the clock in 1:25:36 (4:04's). If only all runs felt that easy.

We were discussing the Dublin marathon during our run so I was delighted to check the results upon our return to find that Sean Hehir had won the race. Take a bow Sean - that's something to tell the grand-children about! Enjoy the celebrations!

Forgot to mention (perhaps deliberately) that the new darts season started last Friday. After going unbeaten all of last season in the singles I lost the first game of the new season 2-1. I have a list of excuses as long as your arm but that's not taking anything away from the guy who beat me who was a class thrower.

Back to the gym

Very wet and windy outside so took the soft option and headed to the gym. I'd won a 6 month membership to the gym in Oranmore recently so I thought I'd give that a look. A speed session on the treadmill awaited and I settled on running 8 x 800m off a rolling 4 minutes (just to keep the timing simple).

After a 3.5km warm-up, I set the treadmill to 18.9km/hour (3:10/km) and off we went. The first couple of efforts felt really comfortable so I then set the incline to 0.5 for the next couple. Still not happy I then set it to 1.0 for the final 4 efforts. I was jumping off and on the belt whilst leaving it running which was easy enough. I was taking my heart rate at the end of each effort and it was in the range of 145 to 150 so a little on the low side. It would fall to between 65 and 70 before the start of the next effort. A decent enough session but not the same as running outside...

But on a positive note, the knee behaved nicely. Maybe the road isn't the best idea at the moment and I need to do a bit more on the treadmill or on the grass. Yuk.

All up 74.6kms for the week. Nothing special - just ticking over really.

Best of luck to all the Dublin marathoners tomorrow. The forecast looks pretty ordinary, but it should be a good race with a very strong Irish field. I'd like to see Sean Hehir win it - he is in cracking form and would certainly be targeting sub 2:15 if the conditions were good. He'll have good company with the likes of Sergiu Ciobanu and Joe Sweeney running. One thing's is for sure, with no international elites this year it's a very open race.

Lab Results - interpretation and follow-up questions answered

No running today - another rest day!

As promised, here are my notes that I took following my recent VO2 and lactate threshold testing. Many thanks to Paul McNamara for his time in conducting the tests, plus the follow-up interpretation of my results. I also asked a few questions to Paul and his answers are noted below.

Basic Results

There are two lactate threshold readings which are key in measuring running economy. These are LT1 and LT2:

LT1 – 15.2km/hr (3:57/km) @ HR of 140 - a lactate level just above baseline. In other words, to train above this intensity then lactic acid in the blood will start to rise. This results shows I have a high percentage of type 1 fibres (slow twitch). This is my easy run pace. A good idea to run an hour at this pace every few weeks as a session during training.

LT2 – 17.6km/hr (3:25/km) @ HR 161 – my tempo run pace. The pace I could maintain for 1 hour. Above this pace lactic acid is produced at a markedly quicker rate than the body can clear it.

VO2 max (ml/kg/min) – 64.4 (VO2 max pace of 3:06/km @ HR of 169) – this reading is more relative for comparison purposes as it factors in body weight.

VO2 max (L/min) – 5.043 – the maximum amount of oxygen my body can process per minute.

Interpretation

Basic training principle - to improve LT1 and LT2 (your running economy - to shift your lactate curve to the right) I need to focus on running at LT1 pace for my easy runs, and at or below LT2 pace for my tempo sessions. Typical tempo sessions would be:

- 20 minutes continuous effort at 3:25/km pace @ HR 161
- 6 to 8 x 5 minutes off 1 minute at 3:25/km pace @ HR 161
- 6 x mile off 60 seconds at 3:25/km pace @ HR 161 (equivalent to 5:29 per mile)

Over time you should be able to increase the pace of these runs but still be running at the same heart rate. So the objective for me would be to say improve my tempo run pace to 18km/hour or 3:20/km pace at the same heart rate of 161.

It's key to decide on an objective for each speed session. If it’s a threshold session, then maybe select one of the above. If it’s a VO2 type session (quicker running), then maybe cut down the duration of the efforts to say a maximum of 1km, but run them at a quicker pace. More on this in my questions below.

Questions:

1) If you decided to run a longer continuous tempo effort, say 30 mins or 40 mins, what pace/HR should that session be at?

Good question – as a good rule of thumb, allow 2/3 secs per mile for every 5 min of running beyond 20 min. E.g. if you’re running 5:30 per mile (3:25/km) for 20 min of tempo, I would do a 40 min tempo at approx. 5:40 per mile (3:31/km). Even though the pace is reduced your HR and blood lactate will both slowly rise to that expected at LT. If you were to maintain 5:30 miles for the entire 40 min then HR and Blood lactate would likely climb well beyond true LT intensity, and the training load might be too great.

2) What pace should you run for shorter intervals – say 400/600/800 for both 5km and 10km training?

Again, this depends on the objective of the session. If the purpose of the session is to enhance VO2max, or to improve running velocity at VO2max (which is more beneficial) than any pace between 3k and 10k pace would suffice, but 5k pace is optimal. Along with pace you can manipulate the volume of the session and the duration of the recovery for the desired effect. E.g. a classic session might be 16x400 at 97% VO2max (approx. 5k pace) with 200m jog recovery in the same time. Many athletes do this session too fast, with too generous a recovery, which serves to emphasize anaerobic capacity and results in too high a training load. With classic interval training the objective is to improve the rate of recovery.

However if the objective of the session is to become accustomed to running at race pace, than a repetition session might be more appropriate, E.g. 6 x 1k at 5k pace with 3 min recovery, or 6 x 1 mile at 10k pace with 2 min recovery. The emphasis here is on the work-out, rather than on the speed of recovery, so more generous recovery periods are allowed.

On the other hand if you want to work on speed, you might do short repeats at 1500m pace or faster, but with generous recovery. In fact if the focus of the session is on running fast than you should probably allow full recovery. E.g. 10x300 in 45 sec with jog 300m recovery. HR is only relevant in this type of session to gauge how quickly you’re recovering.

If you want to develop anaerobic capacity, or lactate tolerance, than fast efforts with much reduced recovery would be appropriate. You could do this in sets in order to manage the training load, and to accomplish greater volume at this higher intensity. E.g. - 4/5 x (600m @ 1500m pace, 30 sec recovery, 200m fast), 3 min between sets.

3) What are the benefits for me training at a pace above my VO2 max pace of 19.4km/hour (3:06/km)?

Again – we have to ask what the purpose of the session. Both speed and lactate tolerance are relevant for all endurance events and have a place in the training programme - but they become less of a priority as race distance increases. These are critical for 800/1500 athletes, but priority for 10km to Marathon should be a high lactate threshold. For 3k/5k a high running velocity at VO2max is critical. All of these sessions are relevant for all distances, but each will receive a different priority weighting based on the athletes target distance. For you, I would include this type of work – but I would be cautious with it. If doing interval work to boost aerobic capacity than I would avoid exceeding the intensities associated with VO2max.

4) Over what time period can you improve your lactate threshold?

Surprisingly quickly. Although the best progress is slow progress, you could see a marked improvement within 6 weeks off just one LT session per week

5) My current LT2 is at 88% of my VO2 max. What can I realistically improve this too? Is there a rule of thumb?

Efficient athletes can bring this up beyond 92%. I was once measured as having an LT 95% of my VO2max

6) What pace should long runs be at?

LT1 (HR or velocity) is a useful ceiling for long runs. However, as with above, long runs can serve many different purposes, particularly if training for a marathon. For your classic long, slow distance, than any pace at or below LT1 will serve to recruit exclusively type I muscle fibres and enhance their efficiency.

7) Would you incorporate one LT session and one VO2 session into weekly training?

Depends to a large degree on the training phase, target race, etc. But for the most part these 2 sessions are the bread and butter of most long distance runners training week. I would generally do a VO2 session on a Mon, LT session on a Thurs, and a long run on Saturday.

So there you have it. Time for me to buy myself a heart rate monitor - though I might wait until the new Garmins are released in the next few weeks! If anybody has any questions or feedback then I'd be very happy to follow-up on any points raised.

Up and down

Squeezed in a run after work in the fading light. Clocks change on the weekend so it's going to be night runs on the N17 for the foreseeable future. All up 9.2kms in 39:55 (4:20's).

The knee had been really good since Thursday's run and I thought I'd turned the corner. But not so good after this run. Very frustrating.

Wet and dark

Myself, Fintan and Owen for the 6:35am start. Very dark at that time of day and some horrible wet weather to contend with also. Still nice to get it out of the way early doors and ended up with 15.0kms in 1:04:00 (4:16's).

The 50 break that wasn't

Rest today from the running.

I played snooker in the evening. The first frame was dreadful and I ended up losing on the final black. Then I started to play some decent stuff and I hit a break of high 20s, low 30s in each of the next 3 frames (missing some good chances for more). Then in the last frame I got to 39 before running out of position. I doubled a red for 40, the potted a good pink for 46 leaving myself a tricky red along the cushion which I rolled in for 47. I had a cut back black off the spot for the 50 and I decided to play it with pace and go round the table to try and get on one of the remaining 2 reds. I potted the black cleanly, and the white went in and out of baulk missing all the colours before dropping in the middle pocket to go in-off. So my 54 break was short lived....still nice to hit a bit of form for a change.

Didn't make track

I jumped into the car for the drive to track but hit a traffic jam - it was going to take me at least an hour to get across town so I turned round and decided on doing my own thing in Claregalway.

I settled upon 6 x 5 minutes at my tempo run pace of 3:25/km off a minute. After a 2km warm-up I went straight into it. As it was getting dark it was quite awkward to keep an eye on the watch to see my pace, so I was running more on feel and looking at my results I was a little bit off target. My actual paces for the 5 minutes were:

3:24 / 3:22 / 3:23 / 3:26 / 3:28 / 3:21

Happy enough with that. I got completely soaked for the second time running, but there was again very little wind which is unusual for Galway. I finished up with a 4.4km warm-down to give me 15.8kms for the day.

The knee was okay. I'll rest tomorrow and have a game of snooker instead. Time to start hitting some 50 breaks...

Puddle jumping

After prodding the sore spots on the inside of my left quad close to the knee, I managed to get myself out the door for another long run. My massage technique wouldn't be in any textbook, just find a sore spot and then press it as hard as I can with my thumb, or preferably my elbow, for say 30 seconds. Then repeat in other places...

Met with Fintan and it was lashing down. We were planing on 21kms and after 5 minutes we were both soaked through. It wasn't cold though, and you soon got used to it. The rain did ease off in places, but never quite stopped. I suppose we've been very lucky with the weather from the summer onwards so I have no reason to complain.

Enjoyed the run and finished up with the planned distance in a time of 1:28:35 (4:13's). About a minute slower than last week but it was really wet and we spent most of the run trying to avoid the puddles.

Later that day I went through my VO2 results in details. Very interesting stuff. A full write-up to follow by the end of the week. Gasp, shock, horror - finally some useful material on Matt's blog...

Sunday tempo run

I woke up feeling pretty ordinary. But the knee seemed good - I just don't understand this, there seems to be no rhyme or reason to how it reacts each day. So I was going to go out and try a session of the non-drinking variety.

Wasn't sure what to do as I headed out the door. It was a lovely day with a light breeze, and after a couple of kms warm-up, I decided on running the Claregalway 10km course as a tempo run. Despite the good conditions I wasn't running well - the legs felt very heavy and after going through 5km in 17:59 I wanted to stop. Being a stubborn so-and-so I soldiered on, and as I ran back into the village along the N17, I had the fright of my life as 2 cyclists shouted my name as they rode past me and I nearly jumped up into the ditch! Thank you Jane and Barbara! Running on I was very glad to see the finish running the second 5km in 18:13 for a 10km total of 36:12. Pathetic with another word before that springs to mind.

All up 13.8kms with warm-down. That's 83.0kms for the week. Going nowhere at the moment.

Numbing the pain

A run home from work. Only 8.4kms and nearly pulled the pin after 5 minutes as I was in a fair bit of pain. Soldiered on, got home, shower, tea, down the pub, lots of beer, home after 1am.

The 8.4kms took me 35:58 (4:17's). A lovely evening for running but didn't enjoy it one bit. I did enjoy the pub mind...

Late 10

A late run after work. Stayed local and ran up and down the N17 to give me 10.1kms in 44:48 (4:27's). Some bad news on the thing I'm not allowed to mention - not good. A few beers in the evening whilst sitting in front of the fire watching the tele.

Mostly dark

Just myself and Fintan today for the 6:35am start. Very dark at that time of day and started off very tentatively running up towards Carnmore. Lots of chat and the knee seemed okay and after about 45 minutes the sun started to rise so we could at least see where we were running. All up 14.8kms in 1:05:04 (4:24's).

Massage

No running today. Instead a massage with Brodders. Bloody hell, quads were tight, calves were tight, basically everything was tight. Some really painful spots and spent a few times up on the ceiling. It certainly freed things up and we'll see how the knee is when I run again tomorrow.

6 x 800 off 75 second/200m jog recovery

First track session in an age. Again perfect conditions, and after a 5.4km warm-up it was time to split into groups and line up at the start. I was running with Cian and I lead out all the laps. The first one was a really poor effort, then after that I tried to keep them around the 2:30 mark. It's fair to say I was having to work hard enough to get them around that time - clearly I've lost a bit of speed over the last couple of months which I need to work on.

The times were:

2:33 / 2:31 / 2:29 / 2:30 / 2:29 / 2:29

Lots of running wide which I love! The 200m recovery was a very slow jog in 75 seconds.

A warm-down around the roads (3.7km) to give me 14.9kms for the day. Good to be back on the track but clearly work is needed. Rest day tomorrow and a massage.

21 of the best

Long run this morning with Fintan. Another corking day and off we trotted on my local half marathon route. The pace was good from the off - around 4:10's and that's how it stayed for the entire run. All up 21.0kms in 1:27:32.

Knee pulled up a little sore. I think the quad has tightened up again - hopefully a longer run on all the muscle groups will help fix things up and get the knee tracking again nicely.

Track tomorrow. 800's I think...

The Magic Run

The plan was to turn the legs over after yesterday's race. Twas planning on an hour - being another glorious day for running. I felt great from the get-go, and the left knee felt as good as it has for several weeks - in fact I could feel the quad more than the knee after yesterday's rub. That has to be a good sign.

I set off running what felt like 4:30/km pace. After about 20 minutes I checked my watch and I was running at 4:08/km pace. Well that sort of pace mis-calculation doesn't happen too often, and if it does, it's normally the other way round. Anyway, I trotted on eventually covering 13.8kms in 56:50 (4:07's). Job done.

That's 82.5kms for the week. Not too bad considering I had a couple of rest days.

I watched the final of the darts in the evening. The Power destroyed Chizzie 6-0 in one of the most one-sided games I've seen in a long time.

NUIG 8km

Another perfect day for running. Registration was busy and after collecting my number I bumped into the Galway XC champion who coincidentally was attending a massage course at the gym. Well that was my perfect opportunity to get the big man to have a look at my dodgy knee and he spent 10 minutes working on my left quad which was as tight as a nuns nasty. Thank you Jason.

A quick 3km warm-up and then on to the start. I had a bit of a panic as I thought I'd left my timing chip in the car but then realised it was part of the race number. What a muppet. The course looked to be a flattish one, though it was a very twisty affair, with a mixture of terrain that included road, gravel paths and grass. The race started and I took the lead as we started a mini-lap around the university car-park whilst following the lead cyclist.

After completing the lap we were already running into the back-markers but the cyclist had done a good job moving everyone over to let us pass. It was then onto clean road and the lead group included myself, Andrew Annett and John Greaney, We proceeded to run through the Corrib village and then onto Dangan. I was still leading but as soon as we hit the paths around Dangan Andrew took the lead leaving me chasing. I wasn't feeling great and struggled a bit around this section and sure enough Andrew started to pull away.

At around the 4km mark I was still in second place, with John a bit further back. I'd say Andrew had about 10 seconds on me so I thought the race had gone. Some great support running around Dangan with the likes of Gary Thornton and the 2 Brian's cheering me on. The river path on the run back to the Corrib village has been improved and by the time we reached the boat shed at 6km I got the feeling that Andrew was starting to slow. Sure enough I started to reduce the gap and by the time we stepped off the gravel with about 1200m to go I hit the lead.

With tarmac underfoot I immediately felt a lot stronger. I felt in control and knew I could run a decent last km to hopefully close out the race. The last km was full of twists and turns and I was of the mindset that it was 3 minutes of hurt and then it will all be over. With about 600m to go we could see the finish line to the left but there was another loop to run around the quad before crossing the finish line for the win in a time of 26:30. Andrew was a few seconds back in second with a hungover John finishing in third in a shade over 28 minutes.

Happy with that. It's a nice feeling winning a race by catching someone at the death but to be fair to Andrew he is in a different class to me and will only improve from here on in if he can remain injury free. The presentation followed the finish and then a quick 3km warm-down before heading to the gym for a quick shower then off to work. All up 14.0kms for the day.

A huge well done to the organisers and volunteers of the race. With over 400 in the race a huge amount of money will be raised for Jigsaw. Here's a photo of the start:

Here are my splits:

1km 3:17
2km 3:19
3km 3:21
4km 3:22 (13:19)
5km 3:22
6km 3:17
7km 3:19
8km 3:13 (13:11)

Total 26:30

Another rest

I've decided to give the new 8km race out at the NUIG a lash tomorrow morning so with that in mind I decided to rest up today. A couple of beers in the evening and some darts watching. I haven't played darts now in an age...I need to get back on the board to see if I've still got it.

I have all my data back from my VO2 tests that I took recently. I'll be going through the results with the coach next week and once I have that interpretation, I'll post everything up on the blog.

Kinvara

6:45am start in the dark. Myself, Fintan, Gearoid and Owen. A lovely morning for a run and the usual double backs to accommodate the weaker bladder runners. All up 15.0kms in 1:06:32 (4:26's).

Out in the morning to Kinvara to pick up some bits for the stove - yes the weather has turned a lot colder and I'd say we'll be firing up the stove on the weekend. It's still great running weather - nice and cool, plus dry and hardly any wind.

Darts Grand Prix

With 40kms in the legs over the last couple of days I decided to take a rest day.

Been watching the darts this week - the Grand Prix at Dublin. Love the double in double out format. It wouldn't suit my game though as I struggle to hit one double. Taylor is still the man to beat.

39 minutes

Another beaut of an evening out at Dangan. Due to fading light this was to be the last of the sessions around the pitches - back to the track next week - hurrah!

After a 4.8km warm-up, we were ready to start. The session was 3 x 13 minutes and each 13 minute block was split into 3 zones: 5 minutes at MP (threshold), 5 minutes at quicker than MP (say 15 seconds per km), then 3 minutes easy running (say 4:15/km). I went in with the attitude that I was going to take it fairly handy, so that's what I did.

A long session being 39 minutes in total. I used the first lap of the 2 Gaelic pitches to plot a line that avoided slippery patches, and then tried to keep the run nice and steady without going to the well. By the third set we were running in the dark and I nearly went A over T at one point. At the end of the session the Garmin reported 11.1kms for the 39 minutes and to my amazement it recorded that within that run I had set a new watch 10km PB of 34:53. That must have included 6 minutes of easy paced running which I'm still a little perplexed at - perhaps the data is not to be trusted on the Garmin when running multiple laps (it was close to a 1km loop that we were running). Here is the breakdown:

5:00 - 1.43km - 3:30/km pace
5:00 - 1.53km - 3:17/km
3:00 - 0.70km - 4:18/km

5:03 - 1.45km - 3:29/km
4:57 - 1.54km - 3:13/km
3:00 - 0.67km - 4:27/km

5:01 - 1.45km - 3:27/km
5:00 - 1.57km - 3:12/km
3:01 - 0.71km - 4:15/km

All up 18.5kms with warm-up and down. A pleasing session though I don't trust the data!

Arthur

I decided to do my long run today. The route was using the various local loops around Claregalway. The left knee felt very good after the XC yesterday but I knew that a long run on the roads would be a much tougher test. I started off running at 4:20/km pace but gradually picked up the pace throughout the run eventually clocking 21.1kms in 1:29:48 (4:15's). That's Arthur marathon...

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.