My 100 wins

Road Races	Dist KM	Date	Time	Ave KM
Monivea 5km	5.0	13/06/2010	00:16:28	00:03:18
Headford 8km	8.0	10/07/2010	00:26:08	00:03:16
Oughterard 10km	10.0	22/08/2010	00:33:24	00:03:20
Galway Half Marathon	21.1	29/08/2010	01:11:54	00:03:25
Galway Bay Half Marathon	21.1	02/10/2010	01:13:39	00:03:30
Corofin 8km	8.0	14/11/2010	00:26:17	00:03:17
Carnmore 6km (Turkey Trot)	6.0	12/12/2010	00:19:52	00:03:19
Resolution Run 5km	5.0	01/01/2011	00:15:51	00:03:10
Clarinbridge 10km	10.0	23/01/2011	00:32:44	00:03:16
Castledaly 10km	10.0	29/01/2011	00:32:48	00:03:17
Kilconieron 5m	8.0	13/02/2011	00:25:46	00:03:12
Maree 8km	8.0	13/02/2011	00:26:03	00:03:15
Athenry 5km (5km series)	5.0	03/05/2011	00:16:10	00:03:14
Tuam 5km (5km series)	5.0	10/05/2011	00:15:45	00:03:09
Craughwell 5km (5km series)	5.0	17/05/2011	00:15:45	00:03:09
Carramore 10km	10.0	21/05/2011	00:32:46	00:03:17
Claregalway 5km (5km series)	5.0	24/05/2011	00:15:48	00:03:10
Spiddal 8km	8.0	29/05/2011	00:27:06	00:03:23
Dangan 5km (5km series)	5.0	31/05/2011	00:15:58	00:03:12
Loughrea 5km (5km series)	5.0	08/06/2011	00:15:55	00:03:11
Annaghdown 10km	10.0	21/06/2011	00:32:41	00:03:16
Swinford 8km	8.0	31/07/2011	00:25:41	00:03:13
Claregalway 10km	10.0	13/08/2011	00:32:58	00:03:18
Oranmore 5km	5.0	24/08/2011	00:15:41	00:03:08
Claremorris 5m	8.0	27/08/2011	00:26:04	00:03:14
Coastal Charity Challenge	21.1	04/09/2011	01:13:30	00:03:29
Hollymount 10km	10.0	13/11/2011	00:32:47	00:03:17
Resolution Run 5km	5.0	01/01/2012	00:16:34	00:03:19
Maree 8km	8.0	12/02/2012	00:26:22	00:03:18
Connemara Half Marathon	21.1	01/04/2012	01:14:30	00:03:32
Colemanstown 10km	10.0	07/04/2012	00:32:22	00:03:14
Claregalway 5km (5km series)	5.0	08/05/2012	00:15:45	00:03:09
Balla 8km	8.0	19/05/2012	00:26:01	00:03:15
Craughwell 5km (5km series)	5.0	22/05/2012	00:15:56	00:03:11
Monivea 5km	5.0	10/06/2012	00:16:23	00:03:17
Annaghdown 10km	10.0	21/06/2012	00:32:38	00:03:16
Claremorris 5m	8.0	26/08/2012	00:26:06	00:03:15
Ballina 4m	6.4	14/10/2012	00:21:52	00:03:24
Carnmore 5km (Turkey Trot)	5.0	03/12/2012	00:16:01	00:03:12
Maree 8km	8.0	10/02/2013	00:26:19	00:03:17
Kinvara 10km	10.0	02/03/2013	00:32:57	00:03:18
Colemanstown 10km	10.0	30/03/2013	00:33:39	00:03:22
Connemara Half Marathon	21.1	07/04/2013	01:19:29	00:03:46
Labane 10km	10.0	20/04/2013	00:33:21	00:03:20
Monivea 5km	5.0	08/06/2013	00:16:13	00:03:15
Annaghdown 10km	10.0	21/06/2013	00:32:49	00:03:17
NUIG 8km	8.0	12/10/2013	00:26:30	00:03:19
Corofin 8km	8.0	03/11/2013	00:26:11	00:03:16
Abbeyknockmoy 4m	6.4	17/11/2013	00:21:10	00:03:17
Carnmore 5km (Turkey Trot)	5.0	08/12/2013	00:16:06	00:03:13
Maree 8km	8.0	09/02/2014	00:26:46	00:03:21
Gort 8km	8.0	16/02/2014	00:26:04	00:03:16
Kinvara 10km	10.0	01/03/2014	00:32:50	00:03:17
Abbey 10km	10.0	16/03/2014	00:34:10	00:03:25
Kilmovee 10km	10.0	19/04/2014	00:32:20	00:03:14
Labane 10km	10.0	21/04/2014	00:33:49	00:03:23
Tuam 8km	8.0	11/05/2014	00:26:11	00:03:16
Mayfly 10km	10.0	24/05/2014	00:33:43	00:03:22
Tuam 5km (5km series)	5.0	03/06/2014	00:15:23	00:03:05
Monivea 5km	5.0	07/06/2014	00:15:48	00:03:10
Headford 8km	8.0	05/07/2014	00:25:55	00:03:14
Claregalway 10km	10.0	23/08/2014	00:32:57	00:03:18
Oranmore 5km	5.0	27/08/2014	00:16:09	00:03:14
Breaffy 10km	10.0	12/10/2014	00:31:59	00:03:12
Carnmore 5km (Turkey Trot)	5.0	07/12/2014	00:15:52	00:03:10
Ballinderreen 10km	10.0	14/12/2014	00:31:42	00:03:10
Gort 8km	8.0	15/02/2015	00:26:19	00:03:17
Kilconieron 5m	8.0	22/02/2015	00:27:22	00:03:24
Kilmovee 10km	10.0	04/04/2015	00:32:17	00:03:14
Killimordaly 5km	5.0	12/04/2015	00:16:21	00:03:16
Labane 10km	10.0	20/04/2015	00:33:22	00:03:20
Run for Boylo 10km	10.0	26/04/2015	00:31:53	00:03:11
Belclare 10km	10.0	03/05/2015	00:32:46	00:03:17
Mayfly 10km	10.0	24/05/2015	00:32:56	00:03:18
Annaghdown 10km	10.0	21/06/2015	00:31:58	00:03:12
Irishtown 8km	8.0	28/06/2015	00:27:29	00:03:26
Headford 8km	8.0	04/07/2015	00:26:27	00:03:18
Beagh 10km	10.0	12/07/2015	00:33:13	00:03:19
Balla 10km	10.0	25/07/2015	00:33:42	00:03:22
Claregalway 10km	10.0	22/08/2015	00:32:24	00:03:14
Oranmore 5km	5.0	16/09/2015	00:15:51	00:03:10
Breaffy 10km	10.0	11/10/2015	00:32:43	00:03:16
Tuam 8km (Bert Gillard)	8.0	18/10/2015	00:25:22	00:03:10
Hollymount 10km	10.0	15/11/2015	00:33:11	00:03:19
Carnmore 5km (Turkey Trot)	5.0	06/12/2015	00:15:38	00:03:08
Clarinbridge 10km	10.0	03/01/2016	00:33:20	00:03:20
Ballinderreen 10km	10.0	24/01/2016	00:32:27	00:03:15
Maree 8km	8.0	07/02/2016	00:27:30	00:03:26
Streets of Castlebar 5km	5.0	14/03/2016	00:15:57	00:03:11
Craughwell 10m	16.1	20/03/2016	00:52:56	00:03:17
Ballinrobe 10km	10.0	16/04/2016	00:32:06	00:03:13
Labane 10km	10.0	17/04/2016	00:33:17	00:03:20
Athenry 5km (5km series)	5.0	31/05/2016	00:15:32	00:03:06
Castlehackett 8km	8.0	12/06/2016	00:27:54	00:03:29
Annaghdown 10km	10.0	19/06/2016	00:32:44	00:03:16
Claregalway 10km	10.0	20/08/2016	00:32:59	00:03:18
Galway Lust for Life 5km	5.0	03/09/2016	00:16:48	00:03:22
Charlestown 10km	10.0	10/09/2016	00:32:28	00:03:15
Tuam 8km (Bert Gillard)	8.0	16/10/2016	00:27:40	00:03:28
Moylough 10km	10.0	16/10/2016	00:35:31	00:03:33
Total	870.4			00:03:19

New targets

Continuing to build things:

Mon – 2km up, 10 x 1km treadmill threshold reps, 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Tue am - Treadmill recovery run 10.0km 37:55 (3:48’s)

Tue pm – Tuam AC easy running 7.0kms

Wed – 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold 31:44 (3:10’s), 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Thu am - Treadmill easy run 7.0km 30:00 (4:17’s)

Thu pm – Mayo AC easy running 6.5kms

Fri - 2km up, 10 x 1km treadmill threshold reps, 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Sat – Claregalway 9.5km recovery run (3:49’s)

Sun – Claregalway 14.8km recovery run 57:19 (3:52’s)

Weekly Total 93.8kms

Groin gradually improving but it's a slow process. Apart from that I'm working on my snooker. A few practise sessions down the club doing line-ups and a couple of centuries hit. My goal is to hit a ton in open play (playing someone in a proper game) by the end of 2017.

Turning the corner

Another week and slowly making progress:

Mon – Treadmill recovery run 10.0km 36:31 (3:39’s)

Tue am - 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold 31:29 (3:09’s), 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Tue pm – Tuam AC easy running 3.8km

Wed – Claregalway 9.5km easy run 39:44 (4:11’s)

Thu am - 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold 31:26 (3:09’s), 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Thu pm – Mayo AC easy running 1.3kms

Fri - Claregalway 9.5km easy run 38:14 (4:01’s)

Sat – 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold 31:24 (3:08’s), 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Sun – Claregalway 14.7km easy run 1:01:32 (4:11’s)

Weekly Total 87.8kms

Some half decent treadmill runs but they flatter you – nothing like what I’d be doing on the road. The groin still isn’t great and I’m not up to much on my in-between session days. Still I’m hanging in there and I’m sure things will click soon.

Win #100

Another landmark but boy am I on struggle street:

Mon – 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold 31:56 (3:12’s), 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Tue am - Treadmill recovery run 10.0km 36:45 (3:41’s)

Tue pm – Tuam AC easy running 3.8kms

Wed – 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold 31:40 (3:10’s), 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Thu am – Treadmill easy run 10.0km 39:53 (3:59’s)

Thu pm – Mayo AC easy running 3.7kms

Fri - 2km up, 6 x 30 secs, 4 x 3 mins, 3.2km down. All up 10.0kms

Sat – Treadmill easy run 7.0km 30:00 (4:17’s)

Sun am – Bert Gillard 8km 27:40 (3:28’s)

Sun pm – Moylough 10km 35:31 (3:33’s) – all up 21.kms for the day

Weekly Total 92.0kms

I ran the 8km in Tuam at 10am and I wasn’t pushed so I took it fairly easy and won by a decent margin. I then jumped straight into the car and drove to Moylough which was about 15 minutes away. Just time to register and I lined up for my second race of the day. Again nobody to challenge me which was good as I wasn’t up to much. The race was tough for the first 5km but I managed to push the second half a little more to chalk up the second win of the day.

That second race was my 100^th win since moving to Ireland (based on races where official results were released). I’ll put up the full list when I get a chance but that’s not a bad record in just 6 years!

Still not running well though – I’ll keep plugging away and see if I can get back into form by the end of the year…

Jog on

Back to the drawing board to work on getting some fitness back:

  

Mon – Treadmill recovery run 10.0km 37:36 (3:46’s)

Tue - 2km up, 10 x 1km treadmill reps building up to threshold, 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Wed – Claregalway 9.5km easy run 38:14 (4:01’s)

Thu am - 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold 32:46 (3:16’s), 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Thu pm – Mayo AC easy running 3.0kms

Fri - Treadmill recovery run 10.0km 36:46 (3:41’s)

Sat – 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold 32:22 (3:14’s), 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Sun – Claregalway 14.8km easy run 38:14 (4:03’s)

Weekly Total 86.3kms

Nothing special to report in there – just trying to work up through the gears a little without aggravating the groin.

Galway Bay 10km

The plan this week was to up the intensity a little:

Mon – Treadmill easy run 8.0km 32:25 (4:03’s)

Tue - Treadmill recovery run 10.0km 37:52 (3:47’s)

Wed – 2km up, 10 x 1km treadmill reps working up the pace, 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Thu am - Claregalway 9.5km easy run 37:39 (3:58’s)

Thu pm – Mayo AC easy running 3.7kms

Fri - Claregalway 9.5km easy run 39:55 (4:12’s)

Sat – Galway Bay 10km 34:36 (3:28’s). All up 12.1kms

Sun – Rest

Weekly Total 70.0kms

Groin still sore but improving slowly. I did a half session on Wednesday and then just easy runs before the race on Saturday.

It was a decent field and in the first km I tried to go with the leaders. Through the first km in 3:08 and I was off the back in 4^th spot. From then on the top 3 disappeared up the road and I was left in no-mans land. The pace kept dropping and by 5km I was struggling and the second half was a bit of a slog. Thankfully nobody caught me and I crossed the line in 34:36 for 4^th spot. The top 3 were all 31 low which was great going.

Out later that evening with the Tank Driver who was over from England. Lots of beers later we ended up in the Roisin Dubh watching the Frank and Walters. On Sunday everything was sore and it was a rest day (followed by another visit to the pub)....

Injured

This week was a non-starter:

Mon - Rest

Tue - Treadmill easy run 6.0kms 30:42 (5:07’s)

Wed - Treadmill easy 7 x 1km gradually upping the pace

Thu - Treadmill easy run 10.0kms 39:15 (3:56’s)

Fri - Treadmill easy run 10.0kms 46:17 (4:38’s)

Sat – Derry easy run 12.4kms 52:10 (4:12’s)

Sun - Treadmill easy run 10.0kms 41:22 (4:08’s)

Weekly total 55.4kms

Basically I’m injured so very slow running. Nowhere near my heart rate training zones and very frustrating. To be expected after the long relay leg the previous week. If things don’t improve it’s MRI time… 

Round Norfolk Relay

Well this was always going to be a tricky week. I’d committed to running in the Round Norfolk Relay and I was down for an 18 mile leg….

Mon – 2km up, 10 x 1km threshold treadmill, 1.2km down. All up 13.2kms

Tue – Claregalway 9.5km recovery run 36:26 (3:50’s)

Wed – 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold run 31:45 (3:11’s), 1.5km down. All up 13.5kms

Thu - Claregalway 9.5km easy run 41:28 (4:22’s)

Fri – Rest

Sat – Round Norfolk Relay 29.0kms recovery/threshold run 1:46:45 (3:41’s)

Sun – Rest

Weekly Total 79.5kms

The primary concern was the groin. A few threshold runs at the start of the week and it was clear I was going backwards. I had physio Tuesday (nothing they could do) and then a visit to the GP Wednesday (scan required if problem doesn’t settle).

The second concern was the distance. My longest recent run was a half marathon so I’d have to find the extra 5 miles on the day…

I started my run around 10pm and it was quite warm around 17 degrees and also humid. I settled into what felt like 3:30/km pace but it was actually 3:40/km. The groin was sore and I could feel it from the get go. By 10 miles I was struggling; by 14 miles I’d had enough and then it was a long slog home. Overall it was a disappointing run and I was in bits by the end. The groin was very sore and I went home in the early hours of the morning for a few beers and then bed.

No running Sunday – walking was an effort. But a lot of fun was had in the pub watching Spurs win.

I love doing this relay event but just not on good form this year. I'll be back next year to put things right - hopefully in a slightly shorter leg. On a positive I still recorded the fastest stage time of the day. Another trophy for the collection!

Charlestown 10km

A nice easy start to the week:

Mon - Rest

Tue - Rest

Wed - Rest

Thu - Claregalway 9.5km easy run 39:52 (4:12's)

Fri – Treadmill 10.0km easy run 38:28 (3:51’s)

Sat – Charlestown 10km – 32:28 (3:15’s) – all up 14.2kms

Sun - Treadmill 15.0km recovery run 57:45 (3:51’s)

Total for the week 48.7km

I decided to take 3 days complete rest from running to see if that helped the groin. Nothing changed really and after my biggest break from running in yonks I was itching to turn the legs over. I felt okay Thursday and Friday but the intensity wasn’t great…

I took the decision to race at the last minute and it turned into a good day. There was nobody pushing me and my only incentive was to go for the course record (32:32). The conditions were okay – but certainly a breeze to deal with. At halfway I was 16:12 so I had no excuses not to go for it. I ran a good section once hitting the main road for the run home and I thought I’d run 32 low. But the last km seemed to last an age and in the end it was touch and go to break the record by only 4 seconds. Happy with that and I won the race by over 4 minutes.

Groin not happy as a result and I managed a recovery run the next day but certainly in some discomfort…

Galway Lust for Life 5km

Another week completed at a price:

Mon – 10.0km treadmill recovery run 37:11 (3:43's)

Tue – 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold run 31:45 (3:11’s), 1.5km down. All up 13.5kms

Wed – Claregalway 9.5km easy run 37:37 (3:58's)

Thu am – 2km up, 10 x 1km treadmill threshold run, 1.0km down. All up 13.0kms

Thu pm – Mayo AC easy 5.4km run

Fri – Claregalway 9.5km easy run 39:16 (4:08's)

Sat am – Galway Lust for Life 5km – 16:48 (3:22’s) – All up 7.7kms

Sat pm – Treadmill 7.3km easy run 30:10 (4:08’s)

Sun – 2km up, 12km Claregalway threshold run 40:40 (3:23;s), 2km down. All up 16.0kms

Total for the week 91.9kms

My groin had been troubling me and the running wasn’t helping. I had some physio on Wednesday and whilst I had some very sore spots, there was nothing obvious wrong with me. Hernia like symptoms but no lumps….

I did the 5km at the racecourse on Saturday morning. Pretty ordinary conditions and I treated it as a threshold run winning fairly comfortably in 16:48. I got to meet Bressie and overall it was good fun.

A decent outside threshold run on Sunday to finish off the week. That certainly didn’t do the groin any favours…

Our 5k male winner! #vhialusstforlife pic.twitter.com/La03IvAg8X

— Fit Magazine (@Fit_Mag) September 3, 2016

Tullamore Half Marathon

More racing in my quest to improve fitness:

Mon – Claregalway 11.1km recovery run 43:00 (3:52's)

Tue – 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold run 31:49 (3:11’s), 2.0km down. All up 14.0kms

Wed – Claregalway 11.1km recovery run 41:53 (3:46's)

Thu am – 2km up, 10 x 1km treadmill threshold run, 1.1km down. All up 13.1kms

Thu pm – Mayo AC easy 2.3km run

Fri – Treadmill 7.0km easy run 30:13 (4:19's)

Sat – Tullamore Half Marathon – 1:12:34 (3:26’s) – All up 25.6km

Sun – Claregalway easy run 11.1km 46:47 (4:13’s)

Total for week 95.3km

I wasn’t sure what to expect at Tullamore – I certainly wasn’t fit for the distance but it would be a good training run to bring me on. The weather was very warm and there was a bit of a breeze. The race started and I settled into the lead group of 4 and there didn’t look to be any stand-out runners so all was good.

Nobody was forcing the pace and I settled into sub 3:30/km pace It felt quite tough in the heat and you had to take water at every stop to try and keep cool. The group soon whittled down to 3 and then 2 and by the half way point I found myself sharing the lead with a guy from Cellbridge.

I knew I’d be good for 10 miles and just before this point there was a nasty drag over a bridge and that really knocked me. At the 10 mile mark I was struggling and the other guy started to open up a gap. I just didn’t have the strength to go with him and it was all about hanging on for the finish.

Breaking it down in kms by this point and although I has slowed slightly I was still running okay. The last mile seemed to have some nice downhill but boy did it drag on. We finished running back into the Tullamore Harriers with a lap of the track and I enjoyed the last 400m crossing the line in second place in a time of 1:12:34 around 30 seconds behind the winner.

Overall I was delighted with that. I thought I’d be lucky to make top 5 so to finish second was a bonus. The time wasn’t bad either given the warm conditions but it was a real struggle the last 3 miles.

My only concern is that I have a sore lower abdomen/upper groin that seems to be getting worse. Physio booked for next week. I can’t feel it when I’m running but it is certainly getting worse so time to take action.

Claregalway 10km

I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to race my local 10km:

Mon – Claregalway 9.5km recovery run 35:26 (3:45's)

Tue – 2km up, 7km then 3 x 1km treadmill threshold run, 1.5km down. All up 13.5kms

Wed – Treadmill 10.0km progressive recovery run 38:20 (3:50's)

Thu – 2km up, 10 x 1km treadmill threshold run, 1.2km down. All up 13.2kms

Fri – Treadmill 6.8km easy run 30:09 (4:26's)

Sat – Claregalway 10km – 32:59 – All up 13.2km

Sun – Treadmill progressive recovery run 15.0km 59:03 (3:56’s)

Total for week 81.2km

Breezy conditions for the 10km race. I took it out fairly quickly and had company. The first 4km were wind friendly and I settled into around 3:15/km pace running hard but not flat-out. The guy sat on my shoulder and I decided to pull back a little as we started to run into the breeze. The HR was nice and low so I knew I had plenty in the tank for a quick finish and as we ran back into the village at 8km I started to wind up the pace. Coming round the church I went full throttle and put in a very hard last 900m to drop the other guy and take the win. A very pleasing finish and a good final km of 3:00 using the heart rate to gauge the effort. Nice to take the win and hopefully the start of better things to come.

The plan now is to race more to get the fitness back. A few half marathons lined up as training runs and then pick another half later in the year to really go for a sub 70 time.

A couple of sessions

Getting back into things slowly:

Mon – Claregalway 9.5km recovery run 36:38 (3:51's)

Tue – Norwich 13.2km easy run 56:32 (4:17's)

Wed – Norwich 14.5km easy run 58:57 (4:04's)

Thu – 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold run 32:14 (3:13’s), 1.2km down. All up 13.2kms

Fri – Treadmill 10.0km recovery run 36:33 (3:39's)

Sat – 1.8km up, 10km Claregalway threshold run 33:34 (3:32’s), 2.0km down. All up 13.8km

Sun – Claregalway recovery run 14.8km 55:03 (3:43’s)

Total for week 89.0km

Easy running at the start of the week as I went back to Norwich to catch up with family. Energy levels were still not right and the stomach still hadn’t settled and I didn’t feel great towards the end of the run on Tuesday – running with Dom Blake – and had to cut short so that I could get to the bathroom!

Tried a threshold run on Thursday and it was a real struggle. The heart rate was much higher than normal and the pace was down and I had to constantly slow the treadmill to keep in the zone. Some of that is loss of fitness but clearly the body is still not right after the virus.

A decent enough outside run on Saturday running the Claregalway 10km race route as a threshold run in pretty good conditions. I was top of zone for the end of this run which rarely happens for me in training so again I don’t think I’m quite right. But a decent session all the same.

A long-ish run to finish the week at a decent enough clip and a total of 89kms for the week. It’s a start but a lot of hard work to do now. You lose 2 weeks and it’s another 4 weeks of training to get that back. Well that’s how it seems to work for me anyway…

Runs of the wrong kind...

This week didn't go to plan:

Mon - Claregalway 14.8km recovery run 53:40 (3:38's)

Tue am - Treadmill 10 x 1km threshold reps. All up 13.0kms

Tue pm - Tuam AC 6.5km easy run

Wed - Treadmill 8.0km 30:07 (3:46's)

Thu - Claregalway 9.5km easy run 43:22 (4:34's)

Fri - Claregalway 9.5km easy run 41:30 (4:22's)

Sat - Treadmill 10km building up to recovery 39:20 (3:56's)

Sun - Treadmill 10km building up to recovery 38:54 (3:53's)

Total 81.3km

Despite not feeling right I started the week well enough with half decent sessions on Monday and Tuesday. But by Wednesday the energy levels weren't right and I had stomach issues. By Thursday I was really suffering and I was working hard running 4:30/km pace. A little better on Friday but I was in no shape to run the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon on the weekend so I took the decision to pull the pin. A few shuffles on the treadmill on the weekend just to build up a bit of a sweat but the body was far from right so definitely a correct decision.

Disappointing but I can't really complain as I seldom get sick. It was probably my own doing after caning it a bit through race week. Just run down and a bad dose. Hopefully I'll bounce back quickly...

Catch-up and hopefully normal service resumed!

Apologies for the lack of updates - just been busy.

Here is a quick snapshot of the missing weeks:

w/c June 20th - total 89.6kms (3 threshold sessions)

w/c June 27th - total 84.6kms (4 threshold sessions)

w/c July 4th - total 87.2kms (4 threshold sessions)

w/c July 11th - total 75.7kms (2 threshold sessions and 1 race)

w/c July 18th - total 82.4kms (3 threshold sessions)

w/c July 25th - total 74.6kms (2 threshold sessions)

In summary - a great holiday in Portugal. Temperatures made it very difficult to train but I managed to get out every day for a shuffle. Every second day I'd try and do some threshold intervals - up and down the fitness strip in Vilamoura (approx 1.4kms each way). Continuous threshold runs were too tough....

I did a 10 mile road race in Roscommon on July 16th. I ran 54:10 and felt pretty comfortable throughout in testing warm and windy conditions. I ended up finishing second to a Kenyan - no disgrace in that - who was just jogging round as a training run.

The last couple of weeks have been a real struggle. Far too much socialising with the Galway Arts Festival and the Galway Races. I had a spell of 6 nights out in 8 and at the same time I haven'r been feeling great so training has suffered. Still I've tried to at least keep ticking over and the goal for the rest of the year is to try a few half marathons and have another crack at the sub 70 minutes.

Annaghdown 10km

Last race for a while:

Mon – Treadmill 10.0km recovery run 36:35 (3:40's)

Tue am – 2km up, 10km treadmill threshold run 31:43 (3:10’s), 1.6km down. All up 13,6kms

Tue pm – Tuam AC easy running 6.7kms

Wed – Claregalway 9.5km recovery run 36:59 (3:54's)

Thu – 2km up, 10km Claregalway threshold run 35:23 (3:32’s), 2.0km down. All up 14.0kms

Fri – Treadmill 10.0km recovery run 36:31 (3:39's)

Sat – Treadmill 7.3km easy run 30:18 (4:09’s) plus strides – all up 8.0kms

Sun – Annaghdown 10km 32:44. All up 15.2kms

Total for week 87.0km

A good enough build-up to the race. A treadmill threshold run on Tuesday and then an outdoor threshold run on Thursday in extremely tough conditions. All set for Sunday.

I was chatting away near the start of the race and missed the gun. I had to then pick my way through the field but within the first 500m I had caught Owen and taken the lead. Not my greatest work but a good way to get the adrenaline pumping. Conditions were awful – wet and windy and not great for racing but I took it out hard knowing that I had the wind on the back for the first half of the race.

Through 5km in around 16 flat and feeling pretty good. But a few left turns and now it was hard work. I had a decent lead so no chance of being caught and I backed off a bit and settled into threshold mode which was around 3:20/km pace. I had the lead bike to follow (Peter Forde) which helped but there were certain parts of the course which were very tough and it felt like I was hardly moving.

I managed to pick it up a bit for the run home and a quick last 200m chasing some school kids during the finishing chute and I crossed the line in 32:44 for the win. Not a bad time given the conditions.

Within a minute of crossing the line I was being interviewed live on air for the local radio station. I have no idea what that sounded like but good fun and overall one of my favourite courses where  I managed to squeeze under 32 last year. Not to be in today’s conditions though.

Holiday to look forward to next week. Two weeks in Portugal departing Friday.