Thursday 29 August 2013

It's all about the Numbers

Well, that's it, all that's left now is to run the race.  Ray and myself went for a light 30 minute jog around the track this evening and on the way we had a good chat about what we'd aim for next, and the consensus was that we'd definitely keep it going while we're deciding which race to target.  We asked John for his thoughts, but his focus was firmly on Saturday, and he said we'd have plenty of time after the race to set new goals. Funnily enough, Bubbles was doing loads of talking about the after race party as well, so I guess it's going to be a good night.

I picked up the race numbers for Hugo and myself this evening and I was tempted to swap them, as it might look good for me, when the results are printed, but then Michelle Mullaney wrote our names on the correct numbers, so I'll just have to run my own race.

I've decided that I'm going to continue blogging, it's too much of an incentive to go training to give up, so once again thanks for all your support. I thought I'd finish this last post before the Half Marathon with some numbers.

233 - My Race Number
33 - The number of Training Sessions.
11 - The number of Weeks training.
3 - The number of Tuesdays, Thursdays, or weekend runs, I've missed.
203 - The number of Miles I've run in training.
11.2 - The longest distance I've run without stopping to date.
2143- The number of minutes I've spent training for this one race.(35 hours, 43 minutes)
26 - The number of cold baths.
7155 - The number of Pageviews on my blog as I post this one!
15,198 - The number of words I've written in my blog.
1 - The number of nudie pics in the blog!
0 - The amount of times, I've been sorry I started this.

Until Saturday, Slán.

Tuesday 27 August 2013

The Big Photo

There was a great atmosphere at training tonight. People were asked to wear their Harriers Vests, for a photograph before training, and I think there was around 80 people in the photo, although Fionán Minnock seemed to have forgotten his blue and white top! maybe he'll wear it for the race though. Back to this evening, Adrian Martin gave a short talk about the race on Saturday, and congratulated everyone for the effort they'd put in to get to the start line, and he said all we had to do now was get to the finish line. He offered special congratulations to the people who are attempting this distance for the first time, and wished everybody the best of luck.  After the photograph, Ray and myself were presented with a Good Luck card each, which had been signed by a lot of the members, it was touching, and I'm very grateful, and a little embarrassed. The only thing extra that Ray and Myself have done with regards to training for the race, is tell everybody about it, a lot! There's loads of people running on Saturday who'll be attempting the distance for the first time. And while I wont be able to give a card to all the other competitors, I would like to wish everybody the best of luck themselves. John  O Connell was also presented with a framed photo of the club members taken some time back, as a token of thanks for all his work for the club during his tenure of 8 years as club captain. I can appreciate, and I'm very grateful for all that John has done for Ray and myself, and the presentation showed that the rest of the club feel the same way, as John seems to have helped nearly everybody up there as they started.

After all that excitement it was down to the running. Ray and myself went with the rest of the gang down to Charleville for a short run around. We did around three miles at a relaxed pace, although I think some people did a bit more than that. I started my watch when we left the Harriers and when we got back the clock said we'd run for 32 minutes.

On Thursday we'll be picking up our race numbers, and running for around 30 min around the outside track of the Harriers. It's hard to believe that this night 10 weeks ago was our first training session. The time has flown, the progress remarkable and the crack has been mighty. Thanks everybody for reading the blog, and all the messages of support. I've enjoyed writing it, and I must confess that it's given me an added incentive to go training at certain times, as I've felt I better go, or I wont have anything to write about in the blog. Anyway, I'm going to make a decision before Thursday about whether I'll keep blogging or give it up. I'll let you know then, so until Thursday, Slán.

Sunday 25 August 2013

The Cloghan 10k

I worked out my pace in km per minute as opposed to the miles per minute that I'm more used to and it works out like this; a 10 min mile works out at 6:15 per km, and a 10:30 min mile works out at 6:33 per km. With that in mind I set myself the target of running the first km in 6:30. The aim of this was to get used to setting my own pace and not going off too fast. Alas I failed, as I passed the 1 km marker after 5minutes and 34 seconds. I immediately slowed down and passed the 2nd km at 12min and 5 sec, so I improved slightly. I was feeling good though, so that was a positive. I decided if I still felt good at 7km I'd kick on and see how quick I could finish from there, and that's exactly what I did. I passed 7km at 42:40, and then kicked for home. I was delighted to finish in under an hour, needing to sprint the last 300 metres to finish in a time of 59 minutes and 44 seconds. I don't know if I would have finished any quicker if I'd set off faster at the start, I suppose I'll only learn that from running in more races.

The race was very well organised with a lot of Race Marshalls and water stations. I should have expected the water stations due to Ray's involvement in the club, and in case I haven't already told you, Ray has a huge thirst when running, regularly drinking 2litres on an hours run. Ray played a blinder today, I'll let him tell you how he got on, himself in his blog www.runbubbyrun.blogspot.ie but he did get a lot of ribbing from his club mates when he pulled on the blue and white vest I don't think it bothered him that much, maybe he's a closet Blues fan!

So, less than 7days to the big one. Bring it on! I'm feeling good! Until Tue, Slán.

Friday 23 August 2013

The Last Tough One

I wouldn't say it's my last Thursday night run, but it's the last one before the half marathon. I'm going to keep running with the Harriers every Tue and Thur, and hopefully a long run at the weekend, but I've decided not to run this years Dublin City Marathon. I think it would be too much too soon. Instead, I'm going to try and get faster at 10k's and maybe think about the Cork Marathon next year.

We ran 3 x 2 miles tonight in the grounds of Charleville Castle. The fist one was probably too quick (19:31), the next one too slow(20:34), and the last one, like the bowl of porridge Goldilocks ate, was just right(19.50). Ray has finally found his Garmin watch, and once he's able to use it properly, it might be some benefit to him. He did manage to get it to measure our overall distance though, and he recons we ran 8.2 miles including the run down to the Castle and back.

The body is feeling good, and the anticipation for the 31st is growing. Everybody seems to be talking about the race, because if any of the members are not actually running in the race then they have some other job on the day. I heard a whisper that Mary Daly will be giving a pep talk to all the runners and volunteers next Thursday evening, but that's unconfirmed at the moment.

Ray and myself will be running 10k in Cloghan on Sunday. It'll be a challange for Bubbles to beat his time from last year as he was driving the lead car, but I'm sure he'll get more enjoyment from it this time. I'm not going to set any records on Sunday, I want to use the race to get ready for the following Sat. I'll be trying to pace myself through the miles, and see how my plan works out for eating breakfast at 10.30am, etc.

As I'm coming to the end of this beneficial and enjoyable 11 week experiment, I'm trying to decide if I should keep the blog going. Is it boring reading about how someone else is doing? or is it comforting to know that there's someone else struggling as well?  What do you think? I'd like to hear your comments, and if you've any suggestions in terms of topics I be better off covering then please leave a message below.

Until Sun, Slán.

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

A short one, he said. Winding down, he said. What John didn't say was another 10 mile run, which we did yesterday evening. The time was 1 hr, 42 min and 46 sec, another personal best. To be fair, when we set out on the run, the aim was to go for 90 minutes, starting at a 10:20 pace, and then see how the run was going, and maybe pick it up on the way home.  I'm not sure if it was because I was going well, or because Ray kept going on about what a great weekend he had in Lynch's, but John decided to extend the run, and to be honest, I was happy enough to go along.

The run was quite useful in terms of preparing for the race on Sat week. We discussed a lot, such as what to eat before the race and how soon before the start we should eat, we also discussed what it might feel like at certain parts of the race, and what we wanted to get out of the race. My aim is to finish well, to be able to run into the Harriers Stadium for the last lap, and not be on my knees, looking for an oxygen tent, while getting my legs rubbed as another kind Sole drapes me in tin foil. To achieve this, the key will be the starting speed. Part of the aim of yesterdays run, was to try and gauge what that speed should be. For me it's 10:30 pace and a bit quicker for Ray. That'll be a challenge, as on the day I hope to be feeling fresh, due to the tapering down, that'll be starting soon!(can you hear me John?) and the excitement of the day with all the people running, could lend itself to running off too fast. While this might be grand for the first few miles, I don't want to be paying for it further out the course, which is what has happened on any of the long runs, where I've gone off without watching the pace.

I was chatting Adrian Curley last night about the number of volunteers that will be involved on the day. He reckons it'll be around 50, as he's just going through the job list, which includes things like Race Marshalls, Car Park, Directing Traffic etc. The preparation going on behind the scenes for this race is huge, and something I've never really considered before. So I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the people in the Harriers, who are working hard to ensure that the day goes off without a hitch, which, based on past form I'm sure it will.

Ray, Michelle Mullaney and myself were on Midlands 103 on Tuesday morning. There was good banter in studio, and the podcast can be found here http://www.midlandsradio.fm/podcasts I think that's the last radio interview before the race, and I must say thanks to to Midlands 103 for the support they've given to Ray and myself, and the race in general. That's all for today, so until Thursday, Slán.

Monday 19 August 2013

Nearly there!

I was running with Hugo (my brother, he is older than me by the way, he just doesn't like me mentioning it too often!) again this weekend, which means we were working off kilometers instead of miles. We were staying in Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, so it was another coastal run, with beautiful scenery, and loads of hills. We set off on Saturday afternoon, in lovely sunny weather, but got absolutely drowned in the last km as the heavens opened.  Thank God we were nearly home, as it would have been hard to keep sloshing it out for much longer.

"It's all about time on your feet", is the advice that John has been dishing out lately, so with that in mind I set out to run one direction for an hour, before turning back. We actually ran a bit further, as we were near the 9 km mark, and I just wanted to make it easier to calculate speed per mile etc. I found the last half hour very tough, which surprised me, as the pace was deliberately slow, but I'm putting that down to the hills, and the fact that I had only 1 days rest between the weekend run and the previous session. I finished the 18 km in a time of 2 hours, 4 minutes and 15 seconds, and in a fairly exhausted state.  We went for a paddle in the sea to cool down, and then I spent a good 15 minutes stretching. This definitely paid off, as I wasn't as stiff on Sunday as I expected. That's my last long run before the big day, as Ray and myself are running in the Cloghan 10k next Sunday, and then we are on a wind down, to keep fresh for Saturday. I can't wait, and can't believe it's nearly here.

I got home on Sunday evening in time to see the Wolfe Tones play in The Canal Quarter Festival. I met up with Bubbles, who was in flying form.  He says this was his last hydration session, before running the Half Marathon, and who knows, maybe he's telling the truth! He was certainly enjoying himself, but he was spotted in a chipper later on, and while I wouldn't normally like to let the cat out of the bag, I saw the picture on facebook, so I guess that ship has already sailed. I think we're due on the radio tomorrow morning (Tue), and then of course John will be putting us through our paces in the evening, so until then Slán.

Thursday 15 August 2013

Bring on The Canal Quarter Festival!!

It's nearly here. Friday night to be exact. There's a great line up planned for Tullamore's Canal Quarter Festival,(www.canalquarterfestival.com) and the only tricky part will be trying to hide Bubbles, as he doesn't want to be spotted by John. We were talking about the great acts that will be playing there, with no cover charge, when Ray and myself remembered that perhaps it's not the best plan to be discussing our socialising in front of the coach, so I promised Ray I'd find him somewhere where he wouldn't be seen!

Back to the running though. I ran 8.6 miles in an average time of 10: 28 per mile, It was a little disappointing, but at least I clocked up another 90 minutes on my feet. Tonight was a tough run for me, I think we started a bit too fast and by the finish I had slowed considerably. There's a lesson to be learned there. On Tue we ran 1.6 miles less but with an average time of 10:04, and I felt I could probably have run another mile at that pace, so what's the difference? Well first of all, We didn't run as fast at the start, and secondly I was fresh, as I hadn't run since the previous Thursday.  I talked to some of the other runners in the Harriers after my run tonight, and they all said the same thing, that's running! some days you feel great, and then on another day, it just seems so hard. The way I'm going to look at it is that it's more miles clocked up, my injury seems to have completely cleared up, and I've only 6 more runs before the Half Marathon!

The plan is to do a long run over the weekend, followed by two 6 -8 miles next week, before we start tapering down in the final week. Ray and Myself are going to run the Cloghan 10k, on the Sunday before the Half Marathon, and then we'll have a short run on the Tue followed by a 30 min light jog on the Thursday. So until after the Canal Quarter Festival ends on Sun, Slán.

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Another 7 miles clocked!

Well, with the missed post from Sunday, you might have guessed that I didn't run at the weekend. It feels like I'm skipping school when I miss a session, especially when the text comes from John asking how I did! This evening was a good run though, there was four of us (John, Ray, Robbie and myself), and we ran 7 miles in an average time of 10:04 per mile. I felt good the whole way around and well able to keep up with the slagging. You'd need to be in form, as there's no mercy, and if you can't give it, you'll just have to take loads of it. I think Ray and myself are fairly well matched on that one, as neither of us take things too seriously, which means nearly anything could be used, without anyone taking offence.

John had asked Ray and myself if we were available to go on Midlands 103 next Tue morning to give an update on our progress. That was enough to start Ray off on a story from our last visit to the radio station. I may as well fill you in, because I'm sure Bubbles will have a version of it on his blog (www.runbubbyrun.blogspot.ie). We had just finished our interview with Will Faulkner, and as we left the studio, we were talking to Sinead Hubble(The Producer). Clara Walsh (who interviewed us the first time) was walking towards us, and I thought she was going to join in the conversation, anyway Clara walked through the group towards me. I stood my ground looking at her, as she looked at me, a moments silence, and then Clara said "excuse me, I need to read the news". I didn't realise I'd been blocking the door, and was a little bit embarrassed, which wasn't helped by Bubbles, who poured scorn on me right away.

Anyway, back to the running. I've just looked back at some of my earlier posts, and I see it was the 30th June that I was so delighted with myself because I'd run 7 miles in an average time of 10:34 per mile.  So 44 days and 16 runs later, I've knocked off 30 seconds per mile, and felt good while doing it. When you consider that my training has been hampered by holidays and injury, you wont be surprised to hear that I'm delighted once more, and I'm trying hard not to set a target for myself for the half marathon. It will be my first time running that distance, and while I've obviously been thinking about what sort of time I might complete the race in, I don't want to set a bar for myself, as I'd be afraid of being disappointed if I didn't run as fast as I hoped. I'm really looking forward to the day, two and a half weeks away, and I could really do without having a sour puss on me after the race, because I know when it comes to me and sport, I'm not much good at hiding my disappointment ( Just ask my wife, what it's like to watch an Ireland or Leinster match with me!) I think my Sister, Catherine, and her husband are going to be home from Manchester that weekend, and of course, Hugo, my older brother is also running in the race, and then there's a night out planned in my younger brother's( Emmet) pub.  It's not often we all get together, and please God, that'll make the post race celebrations a little bit more special. So until the next training session, planned for Thursday, Slán.

Thursday 8 August 2013

Bubble's Back, with no Rock, but plenty of Stick.

Sorry for not posting on Tue, nothing to report I'm afraid. I was in Dublin all day and I didn't get home until late. I could have gone for a run I suppose, but I thought it would do no harm to give the leg a rest, and boy was I glad I did, because I had a really good run tonight. It's the first time in ages I've felt comfortable running, the leg was a bit stiff but nothing too bad, and the craic was good, with Bubbles back in the mix.  We only ran 5 miles as I had to be back by 7pm to pick up my two lads from GAA training. The pace was 10.02 min per mile, which is the fastest 5 miles I've ran to date. 

I really wasn't looking forward to training this evening. It was raining, I had to ref a tag match afterwards and I was a bit apprehensive about how my leg would hold up.  I knew from the first 10 steps this was going to be a good run. Bubbles had cracked at least two jokes and the leg felt strong. I don't know if we would have gone as fast if we were going to do the 8 miles originally planned, or if I'd be able to keep that pace, but I felt strong the whole way through the run, and when I'd finished I was delighted with myself.

I reffed the tag match and felt like I had plenty of energy, I stayed up with play a lot more than I had recently, and the legs didn't feel as tired.  It just goes to show the importance of having a proper recovery between sessions.

3 weeks to go from Sat, can you believe it? I hear Robbie Connolly is going to run the Half Marathon now as well. Robbie is in a similar boat to Ray and Myself in that he hasn't done much running before, but he ran with John and myself a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if I believe he hasn't done much before, as he was well able to stay with Ray and John on Tue when they weren't being kept back by me. Anyway, it's great to see another Solider signed up!  I'm also hopeful Colin Draper from the rugby club is going to run as well. I was chatting to him tonight, and he said he's considering it. He hasn't run that far before but he has run a few 10k's. I'm sure it'll be no bother to him, and if he really feels like not doing the whole thing he can always get a partner and sign up for the relay.

So there you have it, back in the grove, counting down the last 3 weeks and really looking forward to it, until Sun, Slan.

Sunday 4 August 2013

Another Seaside Session

I was up bright and early this morning to go for a run, I'd hoped to run for 100 minutes, and I wasn't concerned with the distance. I'm away from home, in Co Wicklow at the moment, so I was running in unfamiliar territory. I left at 7am, and the pain behind my right knee kicked in very early. I ran for 30 min and then turned around and ran home. I returned to the starting point at exactly the hour mark, and my leg was quite sore, so I called it a day. I wasn't able to completely straighten my right leg, which had hampered my stride during the run, perhaps I should have stretched for longer beforehand. I feel like I haven't stopped stretching since I got back.

When I got back, I went to the Sea for a cool down, I waded in, until the water was halfway up my tummy, and then I started walking against the current parallel to the shore, I did about 15 min of this, and then a good bit of stretching when I got out. It certainly helped to ease the ache. I hope to get another rub on the legs on Monday or Tuesday, and that should leave me right for training Tuesday evening.

I was speaking to Ray this morning after the run, he was heading to Ballycumber for a 10k. He sounded a bit apprehensive, as it's his first run since he injured himself on holidays. I'm sure it'll go grand for him, and we should both be in shape for Tuesday. Until then Slán.

Thursday 1 August 2013

A Cautious Run

I went up to the Harriers this evening, feeling like I hadn't run in ages, when if fact I'd only missed one session. I ran three laps of the track for a warm up with the two Marys, Daly and Mann(or is it Fox?), and my leg was still sore, not as sore as Saturday, but enough to make me cautious all the same.  I gave it a good stretch while I was talking to Club Captain, Adrian Martin, and a few others.  They were deciding what route they were going to run, as a lot of the members are competing in different races this weekend. There's a 10k in Daingean, a 10 mile in Kilbeggan, and then there's a 5k and 10k in Ballycumber. Ray will be back to run in Ballycumber, and I was going to run it as well, but I think I'll  give it a miss now, just to be safe. Ray seemed to get on well with his running on holidays, His dancing might have been a concern for him though, according to his blog - www.runbubbyrun.blogspot.ie. I'm looking forward to running with him again next week.

John had been out with Adrian Curley, marking the course for the Half Marathon, to ensure they got the distances right. The race finishes with a lap of the Tartan track, which should have a special atmosphere as the runners finish the race. I'm really looking forward to the big day now that we're in the countdown. Anyway, when John came back, I was just finished stretching, and I told him of my concerns. We went for a short run of 4 miles and didn't push it too hard. My leg was uncomfortable the whole way, especially near the end and I was quite glad we didn't run any further. I gave it another good stretch when we got back, and I'm just going to have to mind it over the next few days. At the moment( 2 hours later) the leg is not as sore as it was last Saturday, so that's a good start I suppose.

I hope to go for a long run on Sun, but that will depend on how the body feels. So until then, Slán.