Coast 2 Coast Cycle

Friday, 9th August, 2013 – 11.9km Easy Run (4:55/km)

Caught in two minds during this run. I wanted to go a bit faster to test out the legs but was wary of the long cycle coming up tomorrow so in the end I settled on just under 5:00/km pace. 

Saturday, 10th August, 2013 – 221.6km Coast to Coast cycle (Clontarf to Strandhill)

As I’ve mentioned previously, two mates and myself had arranged to cycle across the country as a challenge to ourselves today. It seemed like a good idea in the pub at the time and the island of Ireland doesn’t appear too large really on a smartphone screen! My previous longest cycle was 80km about 4 weeks ago so for this cycle I was going to have to go almost 3 times as far – a similar proposition to the 24hr race in Belfast.

The day started off with myself, Niall and Billy meeting up in Clontarf at 8am. A few photos and we were away. We basically followed the N4 all the way to Sligo as it seems the flattest route. Traffic was bearable until we rejoined the dual carriageway between Kinnegad and Mullingar where there were lots of cars whizzing by. Thankfully there was a really decent hard shoulder for most of the journey too so we were allowed degree of space from the vehicles.

We stopped off in Mullingar for lunch and Carrick on Shannon for dinner. Then, mixed in between these were brief stop-offs in Maynooth, Enfield, Kinnegad, Longford and Castlebaldwin, all taking between 6 and 15mins with Longford taking almost half an hour to avoid a rain shower. The meal breaks took about 80mins in total, so we were by no means racing this! However, when departing from Carrick we did a little calculation which meant we would have to cycle non-stop to Strandhill in order to avoid darkness falling on us. Thankfully, even though we pulled in to Castlebaldwin for a few minutes we were down at the seafront in Strandhill just as it was getting dark – Job done.

It ended up being pretty tough by the end and my knees were in quite a jock. After a quick shower and change we ended up in the pub across the road for some tasty pints to reminisce about the day. We were all totally knackered but that didn’t stop us from waiting too long in the bar! Up at 9am then for another 8km cycle to Sligo train station before jumping on the train back to Dublin. Great to have it done but I reckon much more training would be required I I ever do anything like that again!

Sunday, 11th August, 2013 – Rest Day

I wasn’t in any kind of state to go for a run today as the body was on a ‘go-slow’ all day! 

Week 32 Summary:

RTW: 4 from 7 days

DTW: 35.2km

DTY: 2546.6km
Chicago - 63 days (9wks, 0days)

The calm before the...long & slow running!

Monday, 8th July, 2013 – 41km Cycle to Ratoath (27kph) + (1.5km Recovery Run)
My small toes on both feet were quite bruised after all the long distances so I decided to go for a cycle instead. Very enjoyable 41km followed and when I got home I threw the runners on thinking I’d get a few running kms added. However, after 500m of running it was obvious the toes were too sore and were causing over compensating tightness on the outside of my right leg so I looped around for a truncated 1.5km.

Tuesday, 9th July, 2013 –7.2km Recovery Run (5:15/km)
Thankfully the toes were much better today so I pushed myself out the door for an easy run but the first few kms were tough so it resulted in recovery pace instead. By 3km the legs were coming round and the final few kms were ran a bit faster. Overall though feeling a bit jaded for a few days now. Not sure if it’s the heat or the accumulated mileage or simply them both.

Wednesday, 10th July, 2013 –11.2km IMRA Race #8 – Ballinastoe
I’d already ran my 7th League race so I was guaranteed a LL prize regardless but the lovely weather this week was drawing me back to the hills. I gave Felim a lift from Loughlinstown and we were parked well in advance of the start. The course was a 2.5km outward section followed by a large 6km loop and then a run back along the initial 2.5km section again.

Just after cresting the first 2.5km hill

Right from the off we were climbing - up fireroads first, then followed by a rocky path through the woods. As has happened most of the time this year I started too far back in the field which meant I was well over 100th position by the first 200m. I wasn’t too bothered though as I didn’t fancy racing this one flat out due to a general apathy which included a total lack of a warm-up (I figured I was already warm and the first 2km were uphill so I’d be much warmer & without stressing the muscles too much so that should work perfectly). I passed lots of people on this long climb with most taking walking breaks waaay too early! Of course this led to me falling into step with some of their rhythms and therefore me walking when most of the time I didn’t really need to! Eventually we were cresting the hill and soon afterwards turning left and away from the glare of a low-setting sun. Much of the next 5km was downhill through pine trees, flat through pine trees and uphill through pi… you get the drift! The branches were very low lying so it felt like I was constantly bent over trying to avoid them. At one stage I had just passed a Junior runner and no more than 60secs later I heard him go flying to the ground behind me. I slowed and turned and asked him if he was ok but there was already 4 or 5 following runners asking the same so I continued on. There would be no pressure on me for a while now I thought as everyone would have slowed down due to the incident but lo and behold within 30 seconds the kid was trying to pass me again! Fair play to him. A minute later I was catching another junior runner in front of me so I rewarded the kid behind me by stepping aside and letting him past to chase his challenger. Unfortunately though, it seemed they were mates and once he caught up to the other lad they slowed to have a chat! Luckily for me the Junior course veered off from our course about 200m later and they were no longer holding me back.

More uphill!

A couple of more uphill kms followed before we looped back around to the outward trail and turned for home along the opening 2.5km. At this point I passed 2 or 3 guys on the top of the hill, so once we were descending the rocky path there were two ladies about 100m and 200m ahead of me. I made it my goal to overtake the two of them by the finish. The first girl held out for about 3-4 mins before I passed her and shortly afterwards we arrived out onto the fireroad for home and there I passed the other girl. Next up was a guy a further 100m ahead who was just passing an early starter. We were now only about 600m from the finish so I was quite literally running out of road! I had caught the early starter pretty quickly and with about 300m to go I was reeling in the guy. 100m later and I was on his shoulder but I was reckoning he’d find a boost of energy once he knew I was about to pass him. Seizing the inititative I upped my speed to maximum effort for the run in to the finish and to my surprise there was no fightback whatsoever from the other guy leaving me to beat him by 20-30m. The last 130m was clocked at 3:09/km pace which shows I wouldn’t have lasted much longer or I’d have blown up!

A quick headcount at the finish and I reckoned I might have sneaked into the top 60 as I waited to see how Felim and Jeff had done. They came home shortly after me and with the arrival of the flies we dalled no more and departed. As it turned out I was credited with 72nd position which was a little disappointing. There were several people who went the wrong way on the course and had been marked down as DNF but I was left wondering was there not a lot more who may have ran a short course also because there was one or two people who finished ahead of me whom I was sure I had passed early in the race.

Anyways, not to worry too much considering my attitude at the start. Another enjoyable Wednesday evening league race but that’s my lot for this Summer as the last race is next week and I won’t be able to make it. Hopefully I’ll be back out for a few casual runs after work over the next few weeks.

Thursday, 11th July, 2013 – Rest Day
Felt a bit tired from last nights mountain run and had a couple of things lined up in the evening so logged this one as a rest day.

Friday, 12th July, 2013 – 11.9km Recovery Run (5:35/km)

Just another slow recovery paced run to keep ticking over in advance of the HM pacing job tomorrow.

Saturday, 13th July, 2013 – 21.3km Clontarf Half Marathon (5:36/km)
Already a scorching day in Clontarf when i got there i was happy that I was pacing this and not racing! Met up with my 2hr pacing buddy Conor a while before the start as well as the others including Michael, Dominic and Matt who had to run solo with the 1:45 gang.

Everything went pretty well with a nice gang with us as far as the turnaround point near Kilbarrack. As we ran back however people started to drop off mostly due to the fact the cooling breeze was now on our back and thereby not functioning so well. When we were back on the beach the group was whittling away further and the soft sand exiting onto the wooden bridge decimated the group altogether. A few people remained and we picked up a few stragglers on the run-in to help get them in under 2hrs. It was Conor's first time pacing and he should be happy with a job well done as we finished in 1:59:37.

Sunday, 14th July, 2013 – Rest Day
Even though it was only a pacing job yesterday was still in the legs. Wasn't helped by going out for a few too many drinks in the evening time either!! Rest and recovery today!

So, not a huge amount of kms this week but with it being yet another taper(!) I am reasonably happy. Main thing now is to avoid injury before Friday!

Week 28 Summary: 

RTW: 5 from 7 days

DTW: 53.1km

DTY: 2277.8km

More cycling and IMRA

Monday, 24th June, 2013 - 8.9km Recovery run (5:24/km)
Had to take today off work to get the car sorted out (€120 to fix and collected in the evening. Could have been much worse!) so I was planning to get out early but as things worked out it was actually evening time before I managed to get out the door.

I was still pretty tired for this run so took it at recovery pace again although it was still about 15secs/km faster than yesterday, so that was positive. The knee which had been at me so much yesterday behaved itself very well today with only a slight soreness which lasted no more than 100m.

Tuesday, 25th June, 2013 – 79km Cycle around South Dublin
Cycled from my apartment and met up with Niall at the IFSC. We went South along the Coast road before stopping off briefly at the James Joyce Martello Tower in Sandycove. We then continued through Dalkey onto the Vico road for a nice climb and then descent into Shankill before arriving onto Bray seafront. From there we headed for Enniskerry and while here we decided to go via Johnny Fox’s and have a pint in the Blue Light. By the time the Guinness was gone and the midges had their fill it was just beginning to get dark so we started our return journey to the city, dropping Niall off in Rathmines and then adding the final 12km to get home myself for almost 80km in total including some serious hills thrown in. A good night’s exercise which left me feeling almost as tired as the 87km running on Saturday!

Wednesday, 26th June, 2013 – 9.6km IMRA Race - Kippure

Start of the bog road on the return journey. 2km from the finish.

Feeling pretty tired after the cycle last night (and no doubt the double marathon on Saturday) so wasn’t hugely enthused about my 7th IMRA Leinster League race. This was more of a ‘tick-the-box’ exercise to get me over the line of completing the minimum amount of races required for the league. The race itself consisted of a 2.3km section along a slightly undulating bog road before a 2.5km climb to the top where we turned at the trig point beside the giant aerials. 

I found myself pinned in too far back at the start but given my lethargy I figured I’d leave things be. The bog road section saw me slowly move up through the field. Annoyingly though my Garmin was set to auto alert once my HR went above 150bpm (from my trail marathon) which pretty much meant it beeped the whole way! Once the slower stuff arrived with the start of the ascent I managed to adjust the watch to remedy this. In the process of doing so however about 10 people passed me on the climb.I soon got back into my rhythm and regained a few positions but we were at the top before I was properly able to let rip. On the descent the new innov8s were proving their worth and I was ploughing down the bog slope. Because of this wild abandon I twice got caught out by bogholes where I was lucky to get my foot and shoe out without major incident. Still though each time cost me precious second where people went by me once more. By the time we hit the bog road again I had regained almost 10 positions from the summit. A couple more on the way to the finish meant I got home in 87th position (55:04). A quick look at the results tells me that my usual spot of 66th required a time of 53:14 – almost two minutes which would probably have been possible had I been a bit fresher and not lost that time on the ascent to readjusting my watch. Still though, happy enough as I now have my base score for the LL. All future races (3 remaining) will now be in a bid to improve the score.

Thursday, 27th June, 2013 – Rest Day
All the efforts of the past week caught up with me and I deferred to an almost guilt-free rest day.

Two marathons in one day!

Friday (10:00pm), 21st June, 2013 - 18.1km cycle to Lucan
Saturday (Midnight), 22nd June, 2013 - 44.3km Le Cheile Midnight Marathon (5:24/km)
Saturday (1:00pm), 22nd June, 2013 - 42.5km Le Cheile Royal Canal Marathon (6:26/km)
This was an unexpectedly very busy weekend for me. I had planned to do the Le Cheile track marathon in Leixlip and had my eye on doing the canal marathon the following day but that was very much dependant on how I felt after the first. This only paints half the picture however. For the full story, the tale begins on Friday afternoon...

I ran into car trouble after going to the shops to buy a few supplies for the marathon(s). When I returned to my car it simply wouldn't budge - not even a peep out of it. I subsequently learned that it was the electronic steering wheel lock that was jarred. I spent the next two hours trying to work out how to get it fixed and eventually when I knew what was required I was told it was too late on a Friday afternoon and that I'd have to wait til Monday to have it towed to the garage! Cost of tow = €50. Cost of repair = either €120 (80% chance) or €1,000 (20% chance). Not a good start to the weekend!

Friday night
I returned home by foot and decided I would need a few hours sleep in advance of running through the night. I ended up sleeping for about two hours and then it was time to pack my stuff and hit off on the bike to Leixlip. It was now 10pm when I left Santry and even though there was a bit of rain en route things were going well. Then I was passing Lucan when I got a puncture on my rear wheel - just great! A quick Google Maps search and I was informed it'd take over an hour to walk the remaining 6km to the Le Cheile track. As I was walking I texted Anto and Eamonn who were both doing the event also. Luckily Anto was still with his phone and offered to call out and collect me. I was so lucky because if I had to walk the rest of the way I'd have missed the start of the marathon as well as having the extra mileage in my legs when starting out. Thankfully Anto had me at the track with half an hour to spare to race start. After what was a stressful day all I had to do now was run a marathon around a 400m lap through the night...and this was supposed to be the easy bit??!

Waiting for the off...

Marathon One
With ten minutes to go before midnight the organisers made a few short announcements and then introduced all the runners to their lap counters - poor unfortunate souls who volunteered to stay up through the night just to count how many laps we were doing! Each counter had 5 runners to tally for and my assigned lap counter was David. A quick hello and then we were lined up at the start.

We should be in Coppers by now!

About 6 minutes after midnight we were set off. Not knowing how I'd be feeling in the afternoon I decided to run the first few laps with Eamonn. Using my new 310XT I set the AutoLap function to 'By Position - Start' which meant every-time I passed the start line it automatically lapped. This was my first time using this function and it proved to be very useful. There was to be 95 laps in total as we were starting in Lane 6.5! Every one of those 95 laps would entail the following conversation being repeated as I passed the start/finish line:
        Me: David?
        David: Got ya John.
And that was it! I'm pretty sure there weren't many times when our brief lines overlapped as in fairness to him he was on the ball every-time. 

The early laps saw a lot of people pass us out as the excited energy was used up. I had no target in mind apart from leaving myself in a position to be ready to go again 11 hours later. After about 10 laps (4km) I found myself pushing on a little bit. I was careful to keep the HR in a very relaxed 'recovery' zone but thankfully the pace was increasing at the same time. By now I was lapping around sub 5:20/km and this lasted for 50 more laps. I briefly flirted with the idea of aiming for a 3:45 finish time but soon dismissed this thought and refocused on the main goal of finishing strong.

That's what 95 laps of a track does to your Garmin profile!

Halfway came and went without any issues. The constant passing and being passed was helping to keep me distracted from the monotony of doing laps. Also, every so often short conversations struck up between runners but as the race wore on this too faded away. The early front running was being driven by Rory Mooney who seemed to be cruising around the place. Unfortunately for Rory though he succumbed to an injury/illness around halfway. He wasn't the only one to do so and there were some notable DNF's during the night, most of whom had raced in Portumna the previous week. The high effort & mileage combined with the grass track and doing laps meant that there was a a particularly high rate of attrition during this marathon.

Overtaking on the inside 

I was probably one of the few people who actually enjoyed the lap aspect of this run. Apart from a few times during the race when I paused for water at the aid station I kept a reasonably consistent effort going. Then with about 9 laps to go I knew I'd be grand to finish so I started doing a little arithmetic in my head and discovered that I would be close to the 4hr mark if I pushed it a little over the remainder. I upped the effort slowly over the next few kms and managed to finish pretty strongly on the last couple of laps. Unfortunately though by the time I finished my last lap the time read as 4:01:11 so just missed out. When I looked at the total distance though I found that the 95 laps actually measured 44.3km - 2.1km long! I didn't care one jot about what the actual distance was (GPS watches have a certain amount of inaccuracy in a straight line but when you introduce the curvature of each lap then the inaccuracy is going to be further increased) but I was happy to know that this was effectively a sub 4hr marathon done at an average HR of 137 bpm - Recovery zone! 

Very happy with this my only issue now was how to get home, or at least get a bit of kip somewhere. Luckily I managed to get a couple of hours on a couch and then a lift home to my place. By the time I got home it was almost 7am so after fixing the puncture on my bike I hit the hay but knowing that I'd have to be up again so soon I couldn't fall asleep. This all meant that I was up out of bed again by 10am - 6hrs after the marathon finish and with just two hours sleep on a couch - and managed to arrange a lift from a friend to Leixlip for round two at 1pm!

Marathon Two
My lift to Leixlip was running a bit late so we drove straight to the race start itself at Furey's of Moyvalley. Soon after the bus load of fellow marathoners arrived. There was 12 of us who ran through the night and three newbies. I was in good spirits as I was waiting and, apart from a little stiffness in the muscles, generally I was still quite fresh all things considered.

We ran a little to the left, turned and then a lot to the right!

We were walked a few hundred metres to the start before a brief overview of the course from Jarlath & Brendan. Essentially it was run 3.5 miles Westwards and then turn before running 22.7 miles Eastwards, all the while beside the Royal Canal! With probably the most low-key start I've ever witnessed we were set off! 

The first few kms to the turnaround point was easy enough going but the wind was primarily in our faces. The gang quickly strung out into a group of 6 of us with a few ahead and a few behind. By the turnaround point I was plodding away quite comfortably so I found myself gently drifting away from the group of six. 

Early days.

Even though I was feeling pretty good the outside of my right knee was beginning to hurt. I was wearing the new Innov8s for this run (wore Kayanos last night on the track marathon) because I was advised so much of it was to be on trail/mud/grass. However, I was finding that most of it was actually gravel so far and the grassy bits were easily firm enough for a pair of road shoes. As a result I had less cushioning for my feet than normal so I was feeling all the pressure points of pebbles and stones coming through the sole and also the sensitive blisters on my feet being impacted upon by the terrain. My knee was still the bigger issue though. I wondered if this was associated with the constant pushing off my right foot for the 4 hours of  anti-clockwise looping last night? The pain was probably only a 4/10 though so while it was annoying it wasn't enough to force me to stop.

Going solo.

I passed Furey's on the return leg where Brendan & Jarlath were waiting for us with bottles of water just as I was contemplating going to my backpack for a sip - perfect timing! Here we had to cross the old N4 road and down the far bank. The grassy section started in earnest here. This single-track also contained lots of protruding roots from the trees which were another obstacle to overcome. The going along here was quite a bit slower as a result. After 14 km I slowed to a walk for this first time so as to take on board some food from my backpack and some more water. It was here that the gang of 5 passed me. All still in good spirits they were sticking to a good consistent pace. Once I got back running I had them in view for another few kms but my next stop was before theirs so they then went out of sight.

I passed through Enfield after 17km where Brendan was present again with bottled water. Then halfway came at Cloncurry Bridge where I met Jarlath with water, jellies and bananas. Really great organisation from the lads! We changed onto the right bank at this crossing and 200m in the distance I saw the G5 who had slowed to a march as they were taking on food. I thought I might be able to catch them up but by the time I was 100m from them they picked it up to a jog and soon the gap started widening again. The second half of my run then became a trade-off between little walking breaks and running. I was now consciously using this as practice for Belfast. It really hit me for the first time around here that even though I was physically in a good state (The knee was still a 4/10 and hadn't gotten any worse) all desire to stop and walk was purely mental. I was allowing myself a walk of 500m or so every 3km. I felt that was a decent trade-off between remaining in good shape and getting to the finish line.

Not long after this I found myself on probably the toughest section of tow path - the grass hadn't been cut low in this location so more care had to be taken in case you stepped on anything in the undergrowth that might twist your ankle. Around here was when the rain first arrived. Torrential downpours which lasted about 15 minutes, there wasn't even a decent tree to take shelter under! By the time it passed my shirt was saturated so I changed it for my jacket as I was also beginning to get cold now. This exchange worked a treat and before long I was snug again.

Finishing times for Marathon #2.

As I passed through Kilcock there was some kind of festival going on with lots of people milling around and several kids playing canoe polo on the canal. No time to stop and soak up the festival I just ploughed on through. I was surprised how far Enfield was from Kilcock but knew Maynooth was now halfway to the finish so I just focused on hitting the Harbour there and then all that was left was the run-in to the finish. I hadn't long passed the entrance to Carton House when I started to wonder if the course would end up measuring long. How far away was the finish line really? I was still in mid-thought when I looked up and noticed a towering modern bridge over the canal. My next reaction was to seek out Intel's building and lo and behold there it was. I knew I was very close to the finish now. I upped the pace for the last 800m but when I rounded the bend I couldn't see any finish line up ahead. Then I thought I'd have to go all the way to Louisa Bridge and then double-back around for the Le Cheile clubhouse, leaving me over a mile left. Briefly my heart sank before I got close enough to see that one of the fishermen was in fact Brendan sitting on the bank of the canal and a small 'Finish' sign in the bushes beside him. This was it! All over at last - in excess of 85km ran inside 18 hours, or 8hrs 42mins running time.

I had a brief chat with Brendan before stumbling the 200m to the clubhouse for a much cherished hot dog and refreshments and a chat with the G5 who had finished about 15 mins earlier. Happy with a good days running under my belt, I got a lift home and all set for an evening of lazing on the couch. Before all that though reality reared it's ugly head again when I discovered that my incapacitated car was now clamped to add to my misery! All that could wait 'til the morning however as this evening was to be a stress-free zone!

Sunday, 23rd June, 2013 - 8.9km Recovery run (5:36/km)
Thought I'd sleep like a log and I suppose I did for a while but by 7am I was awake and couldn't get back to sleep. Again I was feeling remarkably ok and managed to do a few chores around the apartment in the morning, before trying to get the clamping situation sorted out. I won't go into the detail here but if anybody would like to hear me rant about NCPS for a couple of hours giz a call!

I went out for a run in the evening though and the sore knee from yesterday was still prominent for this run. I thought my pace was a little quick but the garmin disagreed and suggested I was actually going around 5:30/km pace. It felt much quicker but I guess my mind was comparing it to the trail run rather than normal speed ranges. From halfway around my 8.9km loop the knee started to get worse and for the final two km it developed into a pronounced limp (6/10) so I was happy to eventually get home. I'll give it a short run-out today but if it is still as sore then a bit of run-free recovery may be required.

For now though, it's back to the real world and dealing with bloody car troubles!

Note: All photos by kind permission of Rory & Peter Mooney.

Week 25 Summary:

RTW: 5 from 7 days
DTW: 112.7km
DTY: 2003.7km

I.M.R.A. to the rescue

Monday, 17th June 2013 - Rest Day
Tuesday, 18th June, 2013 - 48.5km Cycle
Unsurprisingly I wasn't in the mood for much on Sunday or Monday but by the time Tuesday came round I fiigured a planned cycle with two mates was the perfect way back to exercise. The cycle was very relaxed for the last 20km so it was a nice reintroduction to the legs.

Wednesday, 19th June 2013 - 9.6km IMRA Sorrell Hill
A lovely evening up around the Blessington lakes was the setting for my 6th IMRA Leinster League race. I started quite a bit back as the plan was not to go out too fast but rather ease into it. The first 1.5km was along a fireroad with a decent incline and then it flattened out. I passed about 20-30 people along here so things were going well, however I was still probably only in 80th position or so.

Nearing the top

We soon departed the fireroad and cut through some trees on a steepish section where the surface was boggy but very dry. After about 500m we were atop Lugnagun and out onto open mountainside where we had a 500m section of a drop and then another 1,000m of flat before we began the climb to Sorrell Hill itself. By this time I had passed about another 10-15 people but once the climb got steep I was quick enough to ease back to a hike. Soon after we met the leaders on their descent so I knew we were close enough to the top.

By the turnaround point on top of Sorrell Hill itself I counted out that I was in approximately 60th position which I was very happy with (65th being my season's best). On the way down I found the new shoes really earned their crust and the grip on the boggy/grassy slopes was much better than I would have been used to with the old shoes. 
(Edit: Eventually when the results were uploaded I discovered that I actually finished in 54th position - Very happy with that!)

Having said that one or two people did go by me but I managed to maintain position by passing a few people myself. Things remained like this til we got back out onto the fireroad coming off Lugnagun. There was only about 1,500m remaining at this point. My legs were turning over as quickly as I could manage yet on the finishing 250m straight I was passed by a couple of other runners. Disappointing but I guess my botched marathon had an effect on my speed this evening.

Final few metres...

Sprint to the line

I really enjoyed this race. I think a lot of this was down to the new pair of Innov8 X-Talon 212s which I bought just two hours beforehand. They are remarkably light with amazing grip on the boggier sections and much better than my old half worn Salomon Speedcross 2s. Unfortunately there was an issue with the results laptop and I'm still awaiting confirmation of my finishing position in what I hope was my best performance of the League so far. At least this race managed to get me back on track with the running and Saturday is now long forgotten!

Thursday 20th June, 2013 - 7.4km Recovery Run (5:27/km)
My legs were quite tender from last nights IMRA run so a nice slow run was required to get them ticking over again. I even flirted with the foam roller as well but figured the soreness is DOMS as opposed to strained/knotty muscles. Not quite sure how the two are related but I figured I ran the risk of further bruising tender muscles with the roller so I stopped before long.

I also debuted my second running purchase of the week this evening – A Garmin 310XT. After playing around with it a bit, some of the improvements on my old 305 included: 

• a more comfortable strap
• quicker to register satellites
• audio sounds available (My 305 used to have this but it disappeared with age!)
• vibratory/pulse alerts
• extra screen for data fields
• extra data fields themselves

Very happy with the new watch overall. Apparently the battery life is significantly longer also so will be taking advantage of that over the next month or so.

Week 25 Summary (so far):
RTW: 2 from 4 days
DTW: 17.0km
DTY: 1908.0km

Taper funk!

Wednesday, 5th June 2013 - Rest Day
Thursday, 6th June 2013 - 60.6km Cycle
Two days of non running...it must be taper time! I simply got lazy on Wednesday and took a rest day and then on Thursday I had arranged to go for a bike spin with a mate around North County Dublin. Not running but I'm sure it was every bit as useful as an easy run! Felt grand afterwards which was a little surprising.

Friday, 7th June 2013 - 12.1km Easy Run (5:00/km)
Saturday, 8th June 2013 - Rest Day
Sunday, 9th June 2013 - Rest Day
Pretty much the usual route for an easy run. Not a lot else to report. Went to the pub that night to watch the Ireland match and a few too many beers meant I was lazy and lethargic the next day and did nothing as a result. Disappointingly though this spread into Sunday also and I again failed to get myself out the door for a run. A real case of self-discipline slipping big time when in taper. I sometimes think I'd be better off just continuing as normal during taper rather than easing back as I invariably go to the opposite extreme!

Week 22 Summary:
RTW: 3 from 7 days(!).
DTW: 45.0km
DTY: 1840.1km

Monday, 10th June 2013 - 8.9km Easy Run with 4km @ MP (4:48/km)
Kept this run shorter than the usual loop but threw in a few MP kms just to ensure the legs understand what's required this Saturday. This left me surprisingly worried afterwards!

Tuesday, 11th June 2013 - Rest Day
Wednesday, 10th June 2013 - 7.3km Easy Run with 4km @ MP (4:37/km)
I had fully intended on going out for a run on Tuesday but had to go to Tesco in the evening and en route got caught in a traffic jam caused by an accident so that added 30mins to my journey and by the time I returned home it was too late.

I volunteered for the IMRA race tonight rather than run it and boy was it a bad decision. We had to endure the worst case of midges I have ever witnessed. It was only on the way home I noticed the bites on my skin and now it looks like I have the measles!

Attacked by midges!

When I got home I managed to head out for a quick run. I threw a few MP kms in again and it felt alright. A short, easy run tomorrow evening and then a leg loosener on Friday afternoon, then it's PB time on Saturday! I've decided to aim for 3:15 instead of 3:10. If that comes off I'll be very happy indeed but if I go for closer to 3:10 then I fear it could get ugly towards the latter stages. I just want to get a decent PB and can aim for 3:10 later in the year.

Week 23 Summary (so far):
RTW: 2 from 3 days.
DTW: 16.2km
DTY: 1856.3km