Oi its freezing!

The weather here in Ireland lately has been absolutely baltic. My nuts have gone into hibernation. Feels as cold as it ever got in PVD, but with the moisture in the air its hard to ever get warm. Plus since we never usually get a snow/ice build up, the gov't doesn't have the facilities to grit/salt the roads/foot paths and now everywhere is a sheet of ice. Managed to make it home without spilling onto the concrete. Score one for this guy.

Quick running update:
Rounded out '09 with a 20 min jog around the football fields at home feeling good. New Years Eve saw me get belligerent, therefore didn't run in 2010/'10 (are we going 20-10/'010/twothousand(and?)ten?) until the 2nd. The run on the 2nd, added an extra lap onto the fields at home for a 24 min outing, before repeating the next day a little slower. Off on the 4th. Yesterday and today ran for a half hour finishing off with weights on the latter and core on the former. Leg has felt decent, not spectacular, but no problems. Been working on my stride and keeping my hips lower to the ground with the pelvis tucked in to keep in line with the shoulders. Feels ok running like this but its mentally pretty taxing, and the gluts/hamstrings get knackered pretty quick since they're not used to doing this due to my previous crappy stride. Found it very difficult to maintain the form today as I was out in a sleet/snow storm without gloves/hat. Pretty miserable stuff. Ok, thats just a running update, nothing quick about it. Sorry.

Back on the horse

~3.5 miles, 24:42

After a week of pool running I finally got back to the real thing today. Most importantly the weight-bearing pain in the hip that was afflicting me last week was gone, although there was some definite tightness/tenderness in the groin and quad area. After 5 mins or so till about 20 mins I felt I was moving pretty freely, although started to tighten up quite a bit after this, so called it a little short of the 4 mile target.

Did a good stretching session after and thankfully the leg is feeling pretty decent walking around post run. Am hoping to add about 20mins onto this for tomorrow, but early indications are that things are on the up.

Easy jog

5 miles, 36:16

Nice easy run to follow yesterday. Despite only getting ~4 hours sleep, then having to drive 2+ hours back from Tullamore, the legs felt pretty good on this trot. But since then, I've started to crash and burn quite severely. I need some sleep. The important thing was that despite bouncing around a dancefloor in dress shoes all night last night the foot was feeling good and improved from yesterday. Pics tomorrow.

My new best friend

6 miles, 44:00

Oh dear God this was slow. The legs, while not sore, were just beat. Enjoyed the relaxed jog as the fields are in great shape and it was a beautiful morning. The foot wasn't too bad, about the same as it was Friday prior to the race. I've been icing on and off all day and reckon it should be ok. Grabbed a Titleist (1 for those keeping track) to roll out the foot, and while it hurt like a bitch, it definitely helped. Will have to keep this going.

Total for the week: 6 runs, 53.5 miles

The highlight of the week was definitely the 1/2 yesterday. Really happy with the performance which exceeded my expectations. The mileage was a little down as it was a recovery week; so yesterday was probably aided by the mini-taper. The downside is the tendonitis in the foot, but hopefully I can work that out over the next few days.

Deadliest Catch: Annaloughan Style

8 miles, 55:20

Nice easy run on an unbelievably beautiful day here in the motherland. Legs were a little heavy for the first 3 miles or so, but after that felt great.

Spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun and doing Annaloughan's version of Deadliest Catch with the brother, Ricey and Turlough. Can take a look at the 'action' below. Was a great way to spend the afternoon before watching a dire Spurs performance against Utd. Don't understand why managers change a winning team, but that seemed to be a theme for the weekend.

Simple run

8 miles, 54:31

Ran nice and easy; hamstring was much improved on yesterday, only really noticeable on the two uphill portions of the run. Long 'un tomorrow.

Ireland vs. Cyprus @ 8pm tonight. It's a big one.

Seriously? No one is questioning this

8 miles, 53:46

The run was fine. What I can't get over is that everyone is all about Ritz in Zurich. I can't buy that just 10 weeks in an altitude tent and being coached by Salazar means that he can all of a sudden go from a PB of 13:16 and a seasons best of 13:34 to 12:56. The last time this type of improvement was seen was with Cathal Lombard, and we all know how that ended. I mean, his last mile has got to be the same as his PB. Call me a hater, but I'm now skeptical of anything happening with Salazar's group.

Week in Review/Catch Up

Behind on blogging due to hosting Erik and Enda this weekend in Dublin and Dundalk. Erik is now the 4th non-Irish Brown grad to visit me here in the homeland. The rest of you should now bow your heads in shame.

Thursday: Hit the Phoenix Park for a long run intended to be done at marathon pace. Instead I ran too hard despite feeling pretty crappy, and was at tempo effort. Warmed up for a half mile, then did 2 loops of the park for 12.25 miles in 73:52 (37:34 first lap, 36:18 second). Annoyed with myself for the faster 2nd loop as the pace on the first was good, and I rigged pretty hard on the 11th mile into the wind which was not the aim for this run. Cooled down for 10 mins for a 14 mile total.

Friday: 5.1 miles, 37:31 + Gym. Slow easy run. Thankfully no soreness in the legs but are a bit flat. Dropped the weights on the upper body as the arms felt very heavy and tired on the tempo yesterday.

Sat: Hit the Pats fields at home with Churchill. Ran 8 miles easy, no time. Was a beautiful morning and a really enjoyable run. Easy pace meant I was feeling good about the long run on tap for Sunday.

Sunday: 19 miles, 128:58. Oops, thought this was 20. Ran with Enda and despite a slightly late night out which cost me a car window we both felt great until about a mile to go, and with 800m left I definitely got a little lightheaded, so was happy to wrap it up. Good success with gels/liquids on board, and legs feel good now.

Weeks total: 6 runs, 64.1 miles

Very happy with the long run although wish I'd gotten 20 in, messed up the loop. As for lifestyle, not a good week. Had a couple of pints Wed, more than a couple on Thursday, Fri and Sat. Sleep was down. However, was more than happy to give this up in order to spend time with Churchill and Enda. You can sleep when you're dead. Have a down week next week which I intend to take advantage of.

Seriously?

6.25 miles, 46:05

Seriously, does anyone give a shit about this run when the ridiculousness that is Usain Bolt has just occurred? I thought 9.65 based on his semi-final. That just blew my mind. Even my 'don't have a clue about running' brothers thought that this was one of the most ridiculous things they had ever seen. Unbelievable.

For the week:

6 runs, 55.5 miles

Mileage was a couple of miles down on the target, but largely because I had scheduled too much for today. Ran easy, as I needed the recovery after yesterdays race/mileage. Legs responded ok to yesterday, although the left foot hurt for the first 20 mins (plantar fascia). Otherwise felt pretty good. Felt even better after Spurs beat Liverpool, felt like I was dreaming after seeing Usain Bolt. Crazy.

Neighbourly run

8 miles, 55:23

Was running along nice and easy when about halfway through the run met a new neighbour running a few laps of the field. Decided to run in tow and despite slowing the pace, was only able to keep the company for about 10 mins before fears the guy would have a heart attack. Got back to normal running for the last 2.5 miles or so. Body felt good, looking forward to the long run tomorrow.

Easy Like Monday Morning

5.6 miles, 40:00

Had a nice easy trot around the fields at home today as it was a bank holiday here in Ireland. Legs felt surprisingly decent after the long haul yesterday, and enjoyed the run quite a bit. Spent the rest of the day watching Kerry tear Dublin apart in the GAA before returning to the big schmoke. Very relaxing weekend comes to an end.

Livin for the weekend

Fri: 6 miles + Gym

Sat: 8 miles easy

No time for either run. Going back to the watch tomorrow for the long run. Will either go 16 or 18 tomorrow depending on the condition of the legs. Starting to feel some aches and pains in the left quad/right hammy which suggests my hips need cracking again. Also due to get into a new pair of shoes as having tallied the miles I'm at about 475 and am regretting leaving the new kicks in Dublin. Will have to wait till Tuesday.

Otherwise its a holiday weekend here in Ireland. Nothing to really get excited about. Glad its August as it officially rained every single day during July. August isn't off to a much better start so far.

No dramatics today

8.15 miles, 57:06

Had a fairly massive hangover this morning after a few pints of the Black stuff in Fitzers turned into many pints later in the night. Had a very rough first 10 mins of this run but felt grand after that. Right hammy was a bit tight but no major issues aside. Looking forward to the long run tomorrow

Hangover, followed by The Hangover

8 miles, 53:33

Had the day off yesterday, and the legs were very grateful. Last night was an Abu Dhabi reunion night, and unsurprisingly was messy. Had a savage nights craic, which of course meant that I was savagely hungover this morning. Missed the early bus back to Dundalk, and got home later than planned. Ventured out the door around 5pm, which was much later than planned, but felt better for it and enjoyed the run. Legs were feeling good, but after about 5 miles a little tightness crept into the shin, still not on the bone but a nuisance all the same. I desperately need to get a massage. I'm due a long run tomorrow, and will see how the leg responds. If its not positive, I'll crosstrain for the first few days of next week as I want to get on top of it early.
Just back from watching the Hangover (finally). It's all been said about it already, so awesome will suffice as a recap.

F*cking June!

This shitty month continues to go from bad to worse. My laptop has died, meaning a) no internet access on a regular basis, b) I can't do half the work I need to be doing, and c) I'm too broke to buy a new one. a + b + c = I'm up shit creek. Quick recap on the rest of last week.

Fri: Did the run/gym routine. 6 miles, 42:23. Felt good, but didn't necessarily feel like the effort correlated with running 7+ minute miles (felt like I was running faster despite easy running). Had my commencement ceremony for the diploma I did last year Fri night, so went for pints after and an early rise to head back to Dundalk Saturday morning made for a tired Wee man.

Sat. 8 miles + strides, 54:28. This was better. Despite the tiredness and mildly throbbing head, the run was very relaxed and easy. The tightness in my right calf seems to be dissipating somewhat to become a tightness down the whole right side, as the hammy was a little tight today too. Slept for 10+ hours Sat night. Love it.

Sun: 12 miles 80:59. Did the same run as last Sunday, and ran the exact same splits for the first 8 miles. Decided on the last 4 to guesstimate what marathon pace would be like and run at it for the last few miles. About 3.5 miles into it I regretted it, as I'm not fit enough for this type of craic yet. However, recovered very quickly and didn't feel too bad. Need to try to avoid being stupid though.

Switch off

8 miles, 53:43 + strides

Got home to Dundalk late last night due to missed buses/traffic, and was very happy to get to bed and get a great nights sleep in. Left the laptop in Dublin as I need to switch off this weekend and recharge the batteries. Slept late, woke up, watched some tv before heading out for a nice wee jog. Ran over to the footie fields, did a few laps, threw some strides in before running home. Calf was a little better today, probably as I iced and did what I should have been doing all week. Looking forward to the long run tomorrow.

Phase 1: Completed

10.5 miles, 69:17 (35:12 first half)

Ran over to the fields, ran 6 laps to get through half way, swapped direction and did the same coming home. Felt very good. The weather had improved on yesterday as it had warmed up to 12C (60F) and dried out nicely, although the strong breeze was still in play. Felt very strong and relaxed and had no trouble at all with the slightly longer length.

The goal all along for training to this point was to get in good enough shape to train properly for the marathon. Tomorrow marks 20 weeks to race day and I definitely think I've achieved that target. I've had a few ups and downs, notably the time I missed in January and again in March/April, but at this point I feel very good about my running and am looking forward to giving the marathon training a proper go. Am going to spend some time today mapping out a rough training program, which I'll post tomorrow, but am keen to try and reinforce the idea that I need to take it one day at a time.

Went to see Terminator: Salvation last night. Thought that the story line was pretty weak, but the action sequences more than make up for it. It's literally mile a minute stuff with an explosion of some sort every 7.8 seconds I reckon. Great film to not make you think, stayed true to the original Terminator storyline, and definitely feel its one that could be watched numerous times without getting old (Gone in 60 seconds type mould there).

Blowin In The Wind

6.25 miles, 43:04

Avg HR = 157, 149 - 161

Rec after 1 min = 44

The weather finally broke, and it was a pretty drastic change. The temp had dropped to 7C (about 45F), with strong winds, and heavy rain/sleet. And I have to admit I was loving the conditions. Felt good on the run despite a late night last night. Threw on the HR monitor for the first time in a while and was very happy with the results, as I was about 10bpm lower on average than about 6 weeks ago despite the fact that I am running about 20 secs a mile faster. Happy days.

Who's a clever boy then?

6.4 miles, 45 mins + strides

After yesterday's excesses (too much food, too much beer, too much sun) I felt surprisingly good today (the ~11 hour sleep can do that I hear). Hit the fields again because I'm such a whore for soft surfaces. After the really good run yesterday I was determined not to overdo it/ruin the good run by going harder today. Kept it very easy, opening with a 5 min first lap, but kept the pace very controlled with the quickest lap only at 4:51. Very very pleased that I was able to show some discipline and pace judgement and keep the run very easy, a recovery run in every sense. The weather remained spectacular today, tying off the holiday weekend in style. Back to the grind tomorrow

Best run in 3 years.

9.3 miles, 59:43

I think I may need to go on the beer the night before the marathon. Drove up to Dublin last night to get a few pints with Enda, and got up early to drive home and get the run done in the AM. Set a goal of running for 60mins, expecting to cover about 12-12.5 loops of the field. After a first lap of 4:52, the pace continued to drop throughout the run, passing through 5 miles in 32:15, with the last full lap covered in 4:18 and 13+ laps completed. Felt absolutely fantastic throughout, and with the weather just as good as yesterday, this was the type of day that tells you why you run.

Had a family BBQ yesterday evening, which involved great food, great beer and lots of sun. Happy days. Love that its a holiday weekend here this weekend too. No work tomorrow. Happy days.