Tuesday 3 September 2013

The Day After The Wedding

There was still a buzz around the Club, last night after the race on Saturday. It felt like the day after a Wedding where everybody was discussing different parts of the previous day, barely believing that the big day had come and gone so quickly and with everybody in agreement that it was a wonderful occasion. Ray and myself were there, having graduated to full training with the group. John was also there doing his own training, as well as encouraging others as usual. We started cross county training, and went to a field in Charleville, where we ran up and down a hill seven times with a 90 second rest in between. People sort of fell into groups of similar pace, and I was with a group of four, Josie Lalor, Paula Scott and Bubbles, We ran the first few in a time of 2.34, and then picked up the pace with the last three being quicker, with the a time of 2.22 for the last which was the fastest of the evening. According to John's watch, the distance was .31 of a mile for each lap.

There is an 8 mile Club race on Sunday morning starting at the Harriers, it's an annual event called "The Gowran 8". Ray and myself will be running in that, and then we'll be running another Half Marathon in Athlone on Saturday 14th Sept.  I'm going to run these races differently than I've been running the races up to this. Until now, everything has been about getting over the finish line of the Half Marathon. I felt so good during that race, and without really struggling at any time, that I've been wondering how much faster could I have gone? If I'd increased the pace by 10 seconds per mile, would I have blown up at 8 miles?  The only way to answer these questions is to try and run faster in other races, and test myself. If I go out too fast, and end up having to walk the last mile or two, so what? it'll be a learning experience. A Marathon is definitely on the agenda also. We've decided that we'll run one in 2014, we've just to decide which one. Cork in May/June is a strong possibility, but we haven't ruled out Clonakility in December 2013 either, it just depends on how training is going.  There are also a couple of 3/4 Marathon's coming up, so we might test ourselves there first.

The Irish Kidney Association are having a race / fun run in the Phoenix Park on Sun the 15th of September. I was asked if I'd run in it, and I was going to, but now that we'll be in a Half Marathon on the Saturday, I'll have to pass. The details of the race can be found on www.runforalife.ie  It's a pity I cant run, as it's a cause I'd really like to support, So if you're around that Sunday, why not check it out.

The other decision I came to, over the weekend, is that I'm going to lose weight. I'm now at 17 Stone, and the first step I'm taking is to cut out the amount of rubbish I've been snacking on. If I can replace all the sweets and crisps with apples and oranges, It's bound to make a big difference, then I'll also have to manage my portion sizes at the dinner table. My thinking is simple, if a Racehorse runs a good race, they throw a pound of lead on his back, to slow him down. A Racehorse has four legs, I've only two, and if a pound of weight can slow him down, what would I be like if I could shed a stone?

Until Thursday, Slán.

No comments:

Post a Comment