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..,