Reunion memories

Mon: 5.45 miles, 38:57
Tue: 6.1 miles, no time
Wed: 6.15 miles, 43:32 (22.18 out, 21:14 back)

Monday ran home from Monkstown. Despite this being one of my least favourite runs it went by extremely quickly and was pretty enjoyable. Tuesday, hit up Ringsend park for a few laps but forgot the watch, while Wednesday did an out and back on Sandymount strand. Legs were a little tired on this run but had physio after which loosened things up quite a bit.
Was looking at my old blog posts from this time last year to see how my mileage compares at present to last year and thankfully there isn't too much difference. Interestingly this week last year saw me trying to emerge from post-reunion alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Having done the '04 reunion bit last year, time to do the '05 bit this year. While I won't make it to PVD, Tarpy is in Ireland this weekend for the Quinn/Jonesy wedding, so 50% of the men's XC '05 teammates will be getting shitty together this weekend. Definitely drinking some Danny Tanner's and Tiger bombs to celebrate.

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.

Being sensible

8 miles, 54:18

Gym

After yesterday's day off, the hip flexor has improved, but not as much as I would like. It's a nuisance, and most noticeable when getting up from sitting. It feels weak, as if the leg doesn't want to take my weight, but once moving its not restrictive. The run didn't aggravate it any worse than before, and the weights if anything seemed to improve it weirdly. Am supposed to workout tomorrow, but unless there's a dramatic improvement by morning I shall be postponing that till the weekend. Left a VM for the physio who I shall hopefully see in the next day or two and nip this in the bud. The work is pretty much done at this stage. Between now and the 26th, the only runs I want to get in are two workouts and 2 runs of medium length. Plenty of time between now and then to get them in and still have a decent taper. It's hard being smart!

Frustrated

6 miles, 43:04

The slight tightness in the left hip flexor I felt during the long run yesterday has manifested itself into something rather painful. Its annoying, especially as the rest of the legs felt extremely fresh, despite coming off Friday's workout and yesterday's long run. The fitness is good right now, I just got to make sure that I keep the legs in one piece. Between this and the foot the novelty of having soft tissue injuries vs. stress fractures has fully worn off at this stage and I'm now frustrated.

Bumping the day off up from Wednesday to tomorrow.

Bleh

8 miles, 55:15

Gym

The foot wasn't much better today. While its definitely tolerable, its quite a bit worse than it was at the end of last week. It's at its worst on uneven surfaces and turning left, so did the laps of the park clockwise. Frustrated because if I hadn't had the race I felt like I had it kicked but at the same time, the race was worth a lot more than the couple of days I'm going to take off.

To Martha!

8 miles, 53:27

Gym

Threw on a new pair of kicks for this one, and saw a definite improvement in the condition of the foot. With a day off tomorrow and an easy run on tap for Friday I hope to have this nipped in the bud come the weekend. The run itself was good, started out at the usual pedestrian pace, but got into my running as the lap times around the park dropped from 6:45 to 6:10's over the duration (lap is about 15-20secs short of a mile).

Tomorrow is Arthur's day. 250 years of the best beer in the world. Would love to be able to raise the glass at 17:59 but will be at the hospital, so no joy for me. Still, it will taste all the sweeter on the 26th.

3 days till Boston

10 miles, 68:54 (35:11 1st 5)

Gym

Expected to be very sore today from Sunday (2 days after etc etc) but wasn't too bad. Started out nice and easy for the run, and was surprised to see I'd dropped to 6:45s for the 2nd half of the run. Had a good session with the weights in the gym, but finishing up I definitely was tired, and am grateful for tomorrow's day off. Have some soreness on the outside of the right foot. Nothing major, but need to keep an eye on it. Icing this evening definitely seemed to help. I think I'll keep doing that.

PS. Very excited for this weekend.

Goals

6 miles, 43:33

Gym

Apparently my attempt at humour in my comment on yesterday's post was lost on poor Jokin. But the reason why I haven't explicitly stated any updated time goals for the race is a) not to get too wrapped up in running a certain time, b) I'm not too sure what that time should be, and c) I'm too used to disappointment to be getting overly worked up about the race when it's still 6.5 weeks away. But to completely contradict everything I've just said, yes I am thinking I can do something around the 2:40-2:42 range but am waiting to get through the half on the 26th before putting it in stone.

For the run today, the legs were surprisingly good. The right hammy was a bit tight again in the first 2 miles or so, but after that was spot on. Taking tomorrow off instead of Wednesday as collage is kicking my ass at the minute. Feck all else to report.

PS Happy Labour day Americanos

Oh No he's pulled a hammy!!

6 miles, 43:22

Gym

For the first time in a while I had to deal with some real discomfort on the early stages of the run. The right hammy and in particular the semi-tendinous insertion were very sore after the first half mile or so. I didn't feel like I was running freely and was having to compensate. Debated cutting it short but around 2 miles in, stopped to fully stretch out the hammy, the calf and the quad before deciding whether or not to continue. Thankfully, the stretch did the trick and was able to continue on. After that it was a totally uneventful run & gym session.

Where's the time going?

~8.9 miles, 58:29

Gym

~1.1 miles, 8:19 (66:48 for 10)

The run was enjoyable, despite being another early morning jaunt. I'd been going most days around lunch time, so not finding it easy to get out of bed to run first thing. Felt strong in the gym which was the first time in a while, as the arms had been feeling pretty tired the last week or two. Having a slight problem with my eye, as sweat has caused the skin on my eyelid to become inflamed/irritated, and in turn, rubbing that is not good for the eye itself. While not a problem for running, its a serious pain in the ass

Today marked 1 year into my PhD program. This thought literally makes me crap myself (figuratively). Can't see myself finishing in time despite the fact I'm busting my ass. Fuck.

In good news today, Spurs snapped up Niko Kranjcar for an absolute steal today (Tarpy take note). Happy days.

Raisin in the sun

8 miles, no time

Gym

Crimmin reckons that's what I must look like these days given the HUGE miles I'm knockin out. It was actually a point of discussion this weekend, and when the maths were done, I have dropped over 20lbs in the old money since I started training well, and about 10 since commencement. Losing the 20lbs didnt surprise me that much, what did was the realisation that I'd been a huge 175lbs. Thats a huge bitch. The not as fat guy is below (the one on the left, before you ask).

The run was great, the legs were better than expected, but some tiredness was there. The weather was great. Given the easy nature of the week, dropped the gym work to 3 sets of 8. Off tomorrow.

Also gettin very excited for the Chewy-Danielle wedding festivities. 3 weeks from Friday I hit the US once more.

Gettin Excited

8 miles, 56:06

Gym (only 2 sets)

Run was great. The legs had some real pop back in them, but managed to control the pace and finish feeling very good. Did 2 sets in the gym partly with Saturday in mind, and partly cos I was going to be late getting out to the Diabetes clinic in the afternoon.

Excited? Absolutely. Not just because of the race, but because it marks the start of possibly the greatest sporting weekend of the year. After the race Saturday morning I'm racing back to Dundalk to get on the couch in time for Soccer Saturday and the return of the Premiership. I'm more excited this year than most for the return of the football cos a) I've managed despite constant failings in the past to convince myself that Spurs are in for a big year, and b) my fantasy football team is dynamite. After that, its all about Berlin. Sunday sees Berlin action including Bolt vs. Gay, GAA action, Spurs vs Liverpool on the telly and (hopefully) Harrington in with a shout at Hazeltine. Needless to say I'll be 'working' from home on Monday as no TV in Dublin means staying in Dundalk Sunday night. Savage.

Half & Half

10 miles - 5 easy, 5 steady

64:29 (34:29, 30:00)

Gym

With the race on Saturday I had been a little overzealous in my training plan and had a 5 mile tempo on tap for today. Quickly ditched that idea given that I was still a little sore from Sunday and want to be as fresh as I can for Saturday. Decided to do the 2nd half at a steady clip figuring I'd be in and around 6 min pace. Can't get much better than that. Also very pleased with how easy 6 min pace felt as I've been nervous about screwing up the early pace on Saturday. Haven't done a great deal of work varying paces, so was nice to be on target here. Hoping to set out at 5:40s on Saturday and see how I am through 5/6 miles. Feeling better about doing that after this today.

Wecovewee

6 miles, 43:06

Gym

Ran nice and slow today, and the legs weren't sore, but definitely did not have much life in them. By the end of the run though, everything was feeling good and enjoyed the run. Managed to atone for Tuesday's embarrassment in the gym afterward.

Went to the midget horse guy this evening, although he didn't touch the bones this evening. Apparently my quad was 'a little twisted' and he found a wicked knot in the right calf. Altogether I was there for about 5 mins, but everything is feeling good and ready to roll for the weekend.

Like a wheel, I'm tired

10 miles, 66:32

Gym

Wore the new kicks for the first time today and had no idea how beat down the old pair were because these felt like clouds on my feet. Put me in a great mood for the run, which was going swimmingly until about 50mins, when the legs decided they were pretty knackered. I guess Sunday's effort not quite out of the legs yet, but to be expected. Finished up nice and relaxed before hitting the gym. The gym was like freshman year all over, i.e. a bit of an embarrassment. Really struggled with the weights today, managing to put up a set of 3, yes 3, on the final set of bench which is usually pretty easy. That aside, got through it and am happy to have the day off tomorrow to recover for Thursday's workout.

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.

Non-Hungover recap

After another night of the cold sweats, I'm feeling pretty close to normal, although it still glows when I pee, no matter how much water I drink. Either someone put some neon dye in whatever I was drinking, or I still have some serious toxins in my body. No matter.

Last week I should have hit 56 miles on 6 runs. Given my social life interfered with this, I only ended up with 40. Disappointing, but this coming week was a recovery week anyway, so a reversal of last Sunday's run with this coming Sunday and I'm pretty much back on track. Every run between now and this Sunday is slated as an easy run, so I'm ditching the watch for the week. While this means that the pace might not necessarily be 'recovery pace', its so relaxing not to be a slave to the watch that the mental break is key. Today I did an easy 6 around Ringsend park, before finishing in the gym. Only did 2 sets of everything in the gym as opposed to the usual 3 in keeping with the 'recovery theme' but to be honest this felt like a bit of a waste of time and probably won't be repeated.

Before a quick recap of the concert, I have my laptop back from its life-saving surgery. There are some definite quirks that are pissing me off. For example, thus far any press of the 'i' key mutes the speakers, the 'k' key freezes the mouse pad, while this afternoon I had the pleasure of discovering that the ',' key increases the volume. Therefore typing anything involves periodic losses of music with periodic moments of deafness, during which the mouse typically won't respond to violent thrusts towards the volume control. But at least I have my baby back.

The concert. Holy batshit was it good. Post is too long already to go into mad detail, but the setlist is here. Link also has a brief video of Larry coming onto the stage and showing how friggin cool it must be to be him. 23 songs from 8 different albums. The show had everything, not to mention the greatest stage/lights I've ever seen. Will have a ton of pics on facebook that I'm currently uploading to the pc. Wish I had tickets to more than one night, and urge anyone in the US to look for tour dates in Sept/Oct and get your asses out to see it for yourselves.

Breathe

8 miles, 55:56
Gym


Ran a bit longer today and will go shorter tomorrow instead for reasons I'll outline below. The run was good, felt fresh for the most part; although on occasion I did feel some tiredness in the legs. The gym was the gym. Moseyed round, posed in the mirror for 20 mins and called it a day. The usual.
Tonight there is a lot going on. The London grand prix promises to be a sick meet, and unfortunately its the first time in years I won't be watching. Additionally Spurs are taking on Barcelona. While its only a pre-season friendly, it's not often your team gets to play the (legitimately) best team in the world. However, I'll not be watching this either.
Instead I'm going to check out this band, don't know much about them, think they're an up and coming group. Doubt there'll be many at the gig. U2, ever heard of them?? Nah me either.

So little time.........

8 miles, 56:06
Gym

Had intended on doing 10 today, but didn't have the time to get 'er done before I was due back in for testing, so cut it a wee bit short in order to keep the gym session. Legs felt spectacular due to the day off yesterday, although I'm severely questioning the accuracy of the run length as it felt a bit quicker than 7 min pace. Maybe I'm just doing badger miles.
Really looking forward to the race on Saturday, some nerves setting in, but mainly on account of the fact that all going well I'm going to run 2 mins slower than I was running 3-4 years ago and actually be pleased with myself. This sucks.
Taking the Jeff T/Tarpy rule of having a few beers the night before the night before tonight. Not thrilled about the prospect to be honest, but has to be done, and if I race well, I may just keep it up.

Knackered

10.1 miles, 71:09
Gym

Felt pretty knackered on the run today, legs still a bit beat up from the long run. Combined with the fact that the weather was shite it was making for a pretty miserable run. Ran into Orla O'Mahony on the run and the company definitely made the run pass by a lot quicker.
Gym session was good, feeling strong on the weights.
School is doing its best to get me down at the minute, and loss of sleep is a definite factor in the tiredness going on at the minute. Tomorrow is a welcome day of from running, but given that I'm looking at a 14 hour day means I'll still probably feel pretty shagged on Thursday. College isnt supposed to be like this!