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.
Thursday, 29 August 2013
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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