Saturday, May 31, 2008

Corked: Part 1 of 3

Woke up to a fantastic day; the sun was shining and the weekend had just begun. The plan was to be on the road to Cork by midday, unfortunately the sunshine slowed everything down and it was 3pm before acts were put into gear and we finally got on the road.

We arrived at the hotel in good time and checked into a room with a view. The view used to be of the city before they built the leisure centre but I couldn't complain as I intended to make full use of it with my new found swimming skill.

We were eating at 8 so as soon as we unpacked it was straight to the pool. Could water on Cork have more buoyancy than Kildare water? Here I was swimming; my breast stroke looked less like a drowning man making for shore and more like a man on the verge of drowning... I consider that progress.

After a very, very cold shower and a stint in the steam room it was time to eat. I met our dining partner in the bar for a remarkably good pint of Murphy's stout, well... when in Cork and all that, my usual would be a Guinness. Dinner was fantastic, not at all what I expected from the hotel.

After dinner there was just enough time to sample the night life in the city and we jumped into the first taxi heading that way. We went to a Tapas bar (can't remember the name) but I really liked this place; we were sitting at the bar which I usually don't like but the bar staff were so into what they were doing that it was a real treat to be there. The crowd were lively and we stayed for quite a few.

It was getting late and we had to make one more connection before jumping into a taxi back to the hotel. We thought it would be rude to walk past the bar and not have a drink so we did the decent thing.

Finally to bed...

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Swimming lesson #8

Fantastic lesson tonight and it turns out that I do possess buoyancy after all... but it requires a high degree of concentration to find it and keep it; not a trivial feat when you've got the concentration level of a highly intelligent goldfish!

Tonight's takeaways:
  • Improved front crawl
  • 2 back strokes (before sinking)
  • Breast stroke theory (practice proved elusive, see next point)
  • 1/2 a lung full of water

Last run before the big day...

Today was our last short run before the big day, squeezed in before swimming lesson #3. Fairly brisk pace; 3 miles in 26.10.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Saturday 6 miler

The big day is fast approaching, only a week to go. We decided to take it easy on this 6 miler, finishing in 58.54.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Swimming lesson #7

Is it possible for a man to have no buoyancy?

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Is that a trumpet in your pocket?

A little bit of trumpet blowing justified again... last night was the Dublin Docklands Fun Run, an 8K annual event. It is a pretty flat course which probably contributed to my time of 39:29, that's a pace of 7:57, an all time best for me!

I have to admit that I gave it everything and picked out a couple of guys that were running at a pace slightly faster than my comfort pace. I kept up with them for most of the race but as we crossed the Liffey I began to lose ground and had to find another pacemaker. At this point we were approaching kilometer 6 and I could see the leaders on the other side of the river which gave me the boost I needed to get back into a quicker pace.

We crossed the Liffey again and were on the final stretch, probably a kilometer to go. I was feeling the pain but kept the pace up as I had to cross the line in under 40 mins to beat my newly acquired 5 mile PB. With less that a kilometer to go my phone started to ring and the "magic roundabout" theme music filled the narrow street we were running in, much to the amusement of my fellow runners. As I crossed the line I stopped my watch and was thrilled to see a sub 40 min time, a new PB!! Yippee!!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Dublin 5 Mile Classic

One hates to blow one's own trumpet but when you've got one as shiny mine you've got to do it! I am talking of course about a shiny new PB. Today we had the Dublin 5 mile classic and I really wanted to push it as hard as I could.

The first mile was fine, I felt really good and was keeping a steady pace. During the second mile I started to feel tired, my legs felt heavy and my breathing was all over the place but it didn't last for very long; I kept telling myself it's only 5 miles and I should be well able to get through this without slowing. Mile 3 was uphill; a steep incline to begin and then a slight but steady incline for about a 1/2 mile. By mile 4 I was genuinely tired and digging deep to keep going at this pace. The final mile was tough, I definitely slowed a little but the spectators and organisers kept me going as fast as I could.

I crossed the line in 41:05, that's an awesome pace of 08:13; my best ever!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

That time can't be right...

This morning should have been a taper zone 12 mile training run. However, at the half way mark I looked at my watch and couldn't believe how fast I had ran 6 miles... slowly it dawned on me that perhaps my rubbish map reading skills had fallen to an all time low and I had added a little extra mileage. It didn't really matter, I turned around and ran the second half home, getting there in 1:45:50.

Later I drove the route and I was only .3 miles out, the entire route was 11.4 miles so my pace was 9:17... not bad!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Swimming lesson #6

Tonight we moved up to the intermediate class with a new 7 week course. Still using floats for the back stroke and ending the front crawl with a 1/2 a lung full of water but we're getting there!

Mid week 8 miler...

Nice easy run this morning, good pace of 9:06, happy days!!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

"taper" zone...

The first run in the "taper" zone! A little over 5 1/2 miles in 49 mins, that's a pace of 8:51... a new record!! 6am start, lovely morning, great time to be out!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

A run of 4 quarters...

This weekend was a mixture of over-exertion, over-heating and over-indulgence. It started off with the dreaded 20 Mile training run at 7am on Saturday, running the risk of sounding like a football commentator I have to say it really was a run of 4 quarters! We had split the run into 4 parts with water/gel stops every 5 miles. Joe drove the route the right before and placed water bottles in convenient and easily recognisable locations.

The first 5 miles were pretty straight forward, we were in good spirits and looking forward to finishing the run. The time passed quickly and we had run over 5 miles before I my first time check; time for our first break... happy days! We walked while devouring the contents of our gels, washing them down with the cool water. We walked for not much longer than a minute before we were off again.

The second 5 mile quarter was much easier than I had anticipated. We were keeping a pretty steady pace and the conversation was flowing which helps make time past quickly. The sun was shining and we were running through wonderful countryside; rolling hills peppered with green fields, woods, farms and some stunning houses. On the down side the rolling hill were proving to be a bit of a problem as we had to run up most of them. The curious thing about running an undulating route is that the uphill stretches appears to be twice as long and the downhill stretches. Of course if you start and finish in the same place the net elevation is zero but it doesn't feel that way. Before we knew it we were at the 10 mile mark and time for another gel and water session.

The third 5 mile quarter was a little more noticeable, as in I was starting to feel the burn, but still felt good. Towards the end of the quarter the sunshine ebbed away and clouds slowly rolled in, we could sense the rain but hoped to have finished before it came down. Our luck didn't hang around and it started to bucket down. I can't remember when I last saw such a sustained and heavy downpour; it was coming down in sheets and pretty soon we were up to a couple on inches of water in places. When arrived at our final water/gel stop we were soaked to the skin.

The last quarter was tough. The rain finally stopped after another mile but there was a lot of surface water to deal with. The final stretch back into Naas was along a wide road with plenty of hard shoulder space. We were getting tired and looking forward more than ever to reaching the end. The last 2 miles were torturous for me and I pretty sure it was 90% physiological; I always get tired and stroppy towards the end of a run, regardless of the length. The final mile was pure pain and the closer I got to the finish the harder it was to run but I knew it was all psychological and I could make it.

And so we did; After 3 hours, 28 minutes and 56 seconds of running we arrived back at the spot from where we started from; exhausted, relieved, sore but very happy! We tried to stop but the momentum of running for 20 miles kept the muscles going for another few meters as we involuntarily jogged to the end of the street.

The next few hours were spent stretched out on the sofa, I was very tired and could feel my muscles ceasing up... I was in serious danger of becoming a landmark.

Before long it was time to go and we piled into the Fiat Barva to head for Dundalk. We were screaming up the M1 when a light came illuminated on the dashboard, a red one that had a menacing look about it... then we noticed that the temperature gauge had left the red and entered a whole new zone! As we pulled over onto the hard shoulder and the car eased to a halt the engine heaved a sigh of relief and smoke started to rise from the bonnet. We decided to give the engine a few minutes to consider its options before opening the bonnet, once we did the heat off the engine was intense as smoke continued to rise. Assuming we were in big trouble we called the rescue service and waited, these guys take 40 to 60 minutes to arrive.

After giving the engine sufficient time to cool I removed the coolant cap and, surprise surprise, the water level was below the minimum level. After topping up the water we tried again and the temperature gauge went off the scale again. After another check the water had again fallen below the min level, so we went through the process again and this time it seemed to hold.

We cancelled the recovery service and took off only to be overtaken by a plume of white smoke; the exhaust was pumping out enough condensation to water a garden. We pulled over again and called the rescue service who politely told us that we had fallen back to the end of the queue and that we'd have to wait 40 to 60 minutes.

So we waited and waited, they called to say that they were sorry but they would be another delay, another 15 minutes, oh well. Rescue finally arrived and the expected news was delivered; the car has died, or more specifically the cylinder head gasket had blown. We were towed to our destination so all was not lost. The lesson from that experience was never drive, much less buy, a Fiat... never ever ever do it... just don't even think of it!

After that very long and overheated journey we were ravenous and wasted no time pressing ahead with the plan of dinner and drinks, although I faded early and had to retire at 2am. The next day was very pleasant; a garden party and the weather obliged with clear skies and sunshine. After far too much much food and drink I sat down at the end of the day sure that I had finally recovered from the 20 mile run the previous morning. A thoroughly over indulgent but well deserved afternoon.

From here on we're tapering off; easy mid-week runs of 5-8-4 and a weekend training run of 12 miles on Saturday and a 5 mile race on Sunday. It' time to nurse these tired feet back to full health in time for the big day!

Thursday, May 08, 2008

8 miles good... 2 miles bad...

An early morning start and the first mid-week run for a few weeks. I was a little concerned about my knee so I decided to carry my knee saving insoles in my pocket; if I felt a twinge in the knee department I'd stop and slip them in. This happened around mile 4 and by mile 5 I knew I had to stop; luckily we passed a bench and I whipped them in. The relief was instant but I still had a nagging discomfort from the first 5 miles. Inevitably my arches suffered but thankfully my knee held out. The last 2 miles were tough, a real struggle but as I've said before it's amazing what you can find inside if you dig deep. I have no doubt that if I was running on my own I would have stopped.

We ran the course in an impressive 1.30, and according to the fetch calculator we're on track for a 4.10 marathon... however, in the real world (taking into account the fact that my legs will undergo the first of many transformations at mile 20 (they'll start by becoming blocks of stone, then blocks of cheese and finally a pair of stroppy teenagers that insist on lunging in different directions) before realising that I'm not stopping and if they don't get busy running we'll be here all day) that's more like 4.30 which is a whole hour off last years time.

Next run is the monster, massive, ugly but essential 20 miler! Is the pain really worth it?

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Swimming lesson #5

Final lesson tonight! As usual much splashing and mouth fulls of water but progress was made. Tonight's takeaways were:
  • Stretch those arms and legs right out from the finger tips to toe tips.
  • Breathe with your head out of the water.
  • Chicken Royale, fries and a strawberry shake.

I've signed up for the next level, a seven week course, and really looking forward to it!!

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Oh!! That hurt...

After a weeks rest the weekend 14 mile run had finally come around. I was looking forward to it, I hadn't ran all week and was starting to feel a little still and unfit. I decided not to run with my insoles; the may solve the knee problem but they do agitate my healing blisters, as my top priority was to get those healed I thought I'd get away with a little knee pain.

The first 5.5 miles went really well, I stopped for a little water and a carb loaded gel. The next 2 miles were pretty good but I did feel a little twinge in my knee. The next mile saw the twinge become a little more sinister as the pain level soared and I knew I was in trouble. A quick phone call and biofreeze, my insoles and a friendly face were on the way. By mile 9.5 the cavalry had arrived... I stopped, turned and approached the car. Somewhere during that simple maneuver I twisted my knee and the pain shot through my body. I tried to shake it off, stretch and even pray but no, the damage has been done... this run was over.

I was bitterly disappointed that I hadn't reached 14 miles but on the bright side I did make it to 9.5 miles.

I'm not sure what to do this week, should I rest again and tackle the 20 mile run next weekend injury free?