Falling apart at the Seams

On the Bench again

They say bad things come in threes. I don't know who the they are that said this, or how they found out that that was how bad things came,‥but‥last week, they were spot on.
Monday evening while tucking into some popcorn after my run I fractured a rear tooth. Two trips to the dentist where required to fix it. The next day I figured out why they have those straight lines across automatic opening glass doors. They are for old fools like me who insist on walking into the and cracking their nose and eye socket.
These two mishaps did not effect me running more is the pity, Thursday night out for a 16 mile long run when I had to quickly change the course of direction because some fool of a driver thinks they can fly out of their driveway across the footpath without looking. 100 yards later and my right Achilles/calf is giving me bother so I cut the run short. Luckily i was less then a mile from home when it happened so I hobbled home.
So yesterday as I left the dentist limping, black eye and unable to feel my chin from the anesthetic feeling sorry for myself. I wont be able to see my Physio as he was booked till Christmas . At the moment walking is a struggle so at best I will most likely be on the sidelines for a couple of weeks.  

A Night to remember

Anyone who is not to busy over the Christmas pencil in a great night of music in the Templegate hotel in Ennis on the 27th of December. Its a benefit night for that famous Fantasy drummer Frankie Lundy. Frankie has had the misfortune to have Huntington's so all proceeds are going to a very worthy cause.
For more information visit Frankie Lundy Benefit Night
Anyone who wants any tickets can contact me, and I will arrange the same.







December 11th
         13.5 Miles Long Run 1:59:11 @ 8:50 pace, HR 143 

December 15th  
       11 Miles 9 Miles 1:10:42 @ 7:52 pace, HR 159 with 1 Mile WU/WD

December 17th
         8 Miles 6 * 1 Miles @ 7:15 pace, with 1 Mile WU/WD

December 20th
         13 Miles Long Run 1:53:45 @ 8:45 pace, HR 145 (run cut short) 

Puppy Fat

In reverse

Over the last two weeks I noticed that the effort to sustain training paces was on the rise. This I was putting down to the race in Sixmilebridge still been in my legs. Yes there was something in my legs an extra 4 lbs. I stood on the scale at the start of the month only to jump of it in horror and start checking it for damage. It registered 173 lbs. On again with my eyes closed and praying it will be better this time, as we all know it never is. This is not good as trying to maintain ones weight over the festive season is hard enough but having to shed a few pounds is rather daunting.

Racing Weight

A subject I have never really looked at. According to Dr Stillman's guide a long distance male runner of my height averages at 136 lbs. That's a mad figure but his average non active male is 160 lbs really had me baffled. I am a fatty considering the amount of running that I do. Between now and next spring I will aim to get my racing weight down to 156-160 lbs. This should help in getting that Boston Qualification time next year.

Realism

To undertake Marathon training for a 3:20-3:25 marathon it is important to be near that in terms of fitness and speed endurance before starting. Some research suggest that I need to be sub 44 for a 10 Km or sub 1:38 for a half marathon. My aim is Portumna in Mid June so I will run a race in mid January to determine if I am in shape for the training. The upside is that at this point in time I am not that far away. My recent 1:40:47 in Sixmilebridge was in very tough conditions and Friday I ran an 7 Mile Tempo which had a measured 10 Km  in it, which was clocked at 45:45. Times in question are possible but its another matter going out and doing them.

Downtime

Normally I take the month of December off from running to give the body a break as its my busiest time of the year with work and gigging at night. This year however I will train through but work commitments are going to have an effect on the amount and quality of training I get in.


November 30th
         16.8 Miles Long Run 2:30:47 @ 8:58 pace, HR 145 

December 4th  
       11 Miles 9 Miles 1:11:58 @ 7:59 pace, HR 158 with 1 Mile WU/WD

December 7th
         9 Miles 7 Miles 51:45 @ 7:24 pace, HR 163 with 1 Mile WU/WD

Easy and Slow

Recovery and Racing

Took all of last week to recover from my efforts in Sixmilebridge, but on Saturday Morning there was a charity 5K to be ran. Only about 30 showed mostly ladies from various meet and train groups around the area and it looked at one stage that I was odds on for the win until one of the hares from Ennis Track appeared. I had to settle for a gallant second but was made to work for it all the way. Course was a bit long 5.3K but 8 min mile pace was enough to take it. It felt tough so clearly the Sixmilebridge race was still in my legs. I also meet with a pacee from Dingle who thanked me for helping her to the finish under the 2 hour mark.

Baby Steps

Another Evaluation done in perfect conditions on Tuesday Evening. I was a bit worried about this because of how the legs felt on Saturday Morning. Results showed a slight improvement but again after three laps @ 180 I was hyperventilating badly and pulled up. This clearly shows that I will need to do some serious track workouts if I am to get 5K times improved. Its is probably my biggest weakness and I will have to bite the bullet and join a club if I want to improve the fast end of my running. The main target is still sub 3:25 in Portumna next June. So I will continue with another cycle of Long,LT and Steady runs before I go into a more specific plan for the Marathon.

Date	Temp	Weight	140	150	160	170	180
17-Sept-2012	12°	169 lbs	8:43 (0:44)	8:10 (1:00)	7:36 (1:30)	6:56 (2:12)	6:40 (N/A)
27-Nov-2012	6°	170 lbs	8:42 (0:39)	8:06 (0:56)	7:29 (1:15)	6:51 (1:47)	6:37 (N/A)

Looking Back

Red sky at morning, sailor take warning

Got up at 7 AM on Sunday. Had promised a mate I would look at his PC before the race, but the race time was moved forward so this was the reason for my early rise. I ventured outside to a glorious bright morning and a red sky. A perfect day for running I thought to myself, grabbed my running gear, did not bother to bring anything warm as today I would be racing and that would keep me plenty warm enough. It turns out that those ancient sailors where indeed very clever fellows after all.

Loopy Loopers

The annual gathering of crazy runners to honour the spirit of Eddie Murphy happened again this year in Sixmilebridge. One hundred or so lunatics took to the streets of the Bridge in various shapes and sizes and all had different goals from 13 to 52 miles. My  goal was to beat my PB for the half marathon, which while I did achieve this, not by the margin I had in mind. Our sanity or rather lack of it was future enhanced by the fact that no one willingly left the course even with the abnormal Baltic whether conditions that arrived mid morning and gradually worsened as the day progressed.

Racing Again

On arrival @ 11 just before the marathon start the course was already busy with the double marathon and 30 milers. Picked up my chip and number and got changed, it was a this point I began to realize that we where in for a wet and windy race. However on my warm-up lap I suddenly hit me it was going to be damn cold as well. I went to my car and the only warm piece of clothing I had was a old hat belonging to my daughter. As ridiculous as I looked I still did not win the prize for most ridiculous headgear. My race plan to start out @ 7:30 lasted for about 2 miles. After that I managed to hold 1:40 pace up until Mile 9. At this point my arms where frozen solid and I found it extremely hard to push the pace on the downhill section into the wind and rain. From here to the end of the race I managed 7:50-7:55 mile pace at a struggle.

Photo by Jason Fahy

On reflection my lack of recent races cost me the sub 1:40, the whether conditions did not help but I was badly prepared, and had I revised my pace to suit the conditions I might not have fallen apart from mile 10 on. On a positive note I got two new personal bests. An improvement of over four minutes in my Half Marathon time to 1:40:47, and my Ten mile chip split was 1:16:16 which is an improvement of over one minute on my previous best. I survived the race in one piece and with the exception of some muscle soreness have recovered well. So back to base training and I might tackle my 10K PB over Christmas.

The real Hero's

All the volunteers on the day that made it possible for us to participate in this race. Given the conditions there where presented they excelled in every department. Kept traffic under control given the circumstances of Clare GAA, ignoring the fact that there was a race planned and proceeded to arrange the Clare Cup final in Sixmilebridge that afternoon  The conditions for running where horrible but also not to forget the cheering and support for the marshals along the route. Clare Civil Defense did an excellent work on ensuring the health and well being of any runner who required attention. Again top marks to Tom and the B.M.O.H for putting on this event but been able to ensure it was completed successfully  safely and without major incident  given the many hurdles they faced in the lead up to and on the day itself.


November 18th
         13.1 Miles Race 1:40:47 @ 7:41 pace, HR 163 

What Day is it ??

My running  swimming and gym work have not happened since the day Lorraine got struck down with some mysterious virus. Her condition is no longer critical and her recognition of people and recollection of events prior to last Monday is intact. She is however both confused and delusional since Monday and has no concept of time or reality at the moment. As a result of her current state of health either me or her mother have to be in the Hospital with her at all times. We are taking two day shifts which as one would expect will limit the amount of running I will get to do over the coming weeks.
I did however get two Tempo runs of 7 miles in since last weekend, the pace was slower then previous runs for the same Heart Rate but this is to be expected considering the circumstances and stress of the last 2 weeks. On the upside I have recovered quicker from these runs and found that I was able to hold the pace particularly on the last mile with little or no drift upwards in Heart Rate.

October 14th
         9 Miles 7 Miles 54:42 @ 7:48 pace, HR 161 with 1 Mile WU/WD

October 17th
         9 Miles 7 Miles 56:31 @ 8:04 pace, HR 155 with 1 Mile WU/WD