Long Run/Week in Review

20.1 miles, 136:56

This was by far the easiest long run I have done yet. The pace was slow, but it was the most relaxed I've felt at the end of one of these runs yet, which is promising. The foot was a non-issue, and aside from a little tightne

ss in the left hip flexor the legs felt very very good. Very pleased with how the week ended up given the way it started. This is the last 2+ hour run before the marathon, so was pleased it was so easy on the body.

Total for the week: 5 runs, 60.1 miles. Was a little surprised to see I broke 60 given I missed an extra day this week but the race last Saturday meant I got more miles in on Monday than normal. A good workout and long run sets me up nicely for the rest of the training cycle. 3 weeks from tomorrow!

As can be seen from the photos, the O'Connor's had a great night at the wedding on Friday, with a little cross dressing, some rocking out, and a shitload of air guitar.

Tempo

1.5 miles w/u

14.1 mile @ MP

1.4 mile c/d; 17 mile total

Happy with this workout good workout. Didn't get too many splits, but went through 3 miles in 17:50; the half 'thon in 77:14 and the last 3 miles in 17:46, for a total time of 83:02 (5:54 avg). Felt very easy for the first 8 miles, but had a rough patch from 8.5-11, mainly due to the fact that this stretch was all uphill and into the wind. After the route levelled out for the last 3 recovered nicely and the rest of the run felt very comfortable. The foot was fine, the anti-inflammatories seem to be doing the trick nicely.

The uncle's wedding was a quite unbelievable night. I managed to stay 100% sober, but yet had some amazing times on the dancefloor, in particular doing air guitar with the family as my uncle (a pretty amazing singer; he's been called the songbird of his generation by those that have heard him, that good) belted out House of the Rising Sun. Antics got quite out of hand, pretty typical for an O'Connor wedding, and shall hopefully upload pics tomorrow.

Long 'Un/Week In Review

22.65 miles, 152:11

Days like this make me glad I ever took up running. It was absolutely gorgeous out. Temps about 65-70, slight breeze coming in off the sea, pure blue skies. Pure class. The run was great, used some different gels today but no problems, taste slightly better than the ones I had been using, so not really fussed which I'll go with on the day. Had no problems with the time on my feet, some heaviness in the legs about 90mins in but the stretch of road from 15.5 to 16.5 is a pretty much dirt road and the change in surface led to a nice response from the legs. Clocked the last 3 miles in 19:30 and felt strong finishing. Happy days.

For the week: 6 runs: 68.85 miles

That's the biggest week yet, and is the biggest week of the training schedule. Long runs from now on will only be 18-20 in length, but very happy with how the legs feel after this week. One more hard week in this cycle, before a down week in the build up to the half marathon.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

21 miles (well 20.8); 140:43

This was a little over the 20 miles I had on tap but I took a wrong turn (again........Cooley's a dangerous place). Took on 100g of gel, 500ml of isotonic drink, and about 400ml of water over the course of the run, so felt great pretty much the whole way, although did have to make a couple of pitstops during the first hour. Other than that the run was pretty much uneventful, although the weather was pretty much perfect, and just keeping my fingers crossed for similar conditions on the day.

Are you gellin'?

18 miles, 122:20

Map

This was a very enjoyable run. The weather was very mild, and the legs felt good. Used the gels during the run for the first time. Took the gel and water on at 9 and 14 miles, and definitely made a huge difference as this run felt no more difficult than the 8 miler yesterday. Compared to the long run last week this was a walk in the park. Only thing I may need to spend more time on is taking on more water during the run, as I drank feck all during the run. Overall very pleased.