Docklands 7.75K Fun Run

Well, with everything else going on it was almost a relief to be lining up in Dublin Docklands last night for the Docklands Fun Run. I ran this race a couple of years ago, and its an early evening city centre start and a run around the quays, on a flat course, over a very unusual distance - I mean, how many races are there I can PR over 7.75Km?

Obviously my training has been intermittent of late, so I was not coming in with any expectations at all, just a nice run, complete the course, and gauge where I am, and what I have to do over the summer months. Two years ago, I ran this race in 35:43, although that was run over a slightly shorter course and distance, so not truly comparable. Knowing the level of fitness at present, I was aiming for somewhere between 40 and 45, depending on how I felt on the night. Having had a good run on the Monday evening, I was feeling confident of being at the lower end of the target, but you never know until you get out there.

It was a lovely evening, a light breeze, but sunshine and temps around the low 60's, and around 1000 runners were out, in all shapes and sizes. Recognized a few of the front runners, but mainly this is a race for fun, so a good turn out of ordinary people :). The race was started by Keith Duffy, he of former Boyzone fame, and we were off right on time, running through the heart of the Financial District, then over the Liffey and along the quays, heading towards my apartment!

The race settled down pretty quickly, the usual barging and weaving in the early stages, then a rhythm was reached, and I plodded along at around 5:15 pace per kilometre (sorry for you imperial readers, the race splits were in Kilometres), and the race turned off the quay at 2K and ran up Grand Canal Square, right outside my place, which raised a smile from me. Turned back on ourselves and a couple of bridges to cross as we dropped into Ringsend (apologies to those unfamiliar with Dublin) - These little climbs were felt in the legs, but I relaxed on the down sides of the bridges, and kept a steady rhythm. Just kept going really, picking off a few runners here, then turning back into the breeze as we ran towards the East-Link bridge and the Point Depot. Then it was back across the Liffey and down the quay back towards the City.

There were to be no heroics by me over the last K or so, I just kept my head down, increased the pace after the 7Km marker, but it was marginal, and everyone else was doing the same. There was to be no Kick finish tonight, just a gradual increase with the knowledge that nobody came past me in those last 400m, and I finished in 40:50, or thereabouts, an average pace of 5:16. Not a great time, but happy enough, I was at the lower end of my target, and I completed the race in one piece. It was a short walk/jog home and a very welcome soak in the bath, a bite to eat, and an excellent nights sleep. - Where's the next race?.....

The Best Laid Plans etc... Part two

I seem to recall a similar post last fall, but I have been trying to get the running going forward, but once again circumstances have got in the way. Previous readers will know that my mum has been pretty ill this past year or so, been close to a ticket to heaven a few times. She had another booking about ten days ago, but once again proved that docs are human and the facts don't always add up, and she's still fighting away and with us. She is still very ill, and I think we have settled for the fact that she won't recover this time, just keep delaying the reaper.

What it has meant is that I am up and down to the hospital, leaving little time for running, so it's back to intermittent running again, but I need the runs to de-stress as well, so I am trying. The weight is moving in the right direction, down 6 lbs since the beginning of the month, and I plan on running a 7.75K race tomorrow evening locally, really locally, as it runs right past my apartment - No time goal, just the run will do me good. Hopefully things will settle down into a routine soon, fingers crossed.

I'm keeping at it

Short and sharp posts to go with the short and sharp runs.

Well, I admit the runs may not be too sharp yet, but I am getting in a run a day, and things are coming together. My weight has dropped 4 lbs in the first week of my plan And I'm running 6 days a week.

Tuesday's run was 4 Km, at 8:20 pace, and tonight I ran 3 Km at 8:15 pace. Still slow, but consistently so :).....

Tonight I'm off to see Spiderman 3 - Now if only I had that ability to spin a web....

And now I Speed Up!

Just to show that even after quite a long lay off, a week of steady running can reap almost immediate benefits. All week I have been doing short runs each night, taking only Saturday off, and today, it being a Holiday Weekend here and no work, I went to the gym and ran a 2 mile time trial on the treadmill, coming home in 15:59, under 8 minute mile pace. This is the first time I have felt comfortable under 8 minute pace for many a long week, and now I can start to build the mileage, gradually, and look forward positively.

Another Day - Another Run...

Friday, and yet again I managed to run. Tonight I went to the gym, and had a warm up and then a treadmill timed run over 2 miles, which took 17:35. Again, I'm far from getting any speed into my legs, but just wanted to know I could run comfortably under 9 minute pace again - It's been a while.

That's FOUR runs this week, albeit only 7.7 miles, but four times I have laced my shoes up and turned the legs over.

Now - An answer to a question... Thomas was asking me how come I was a member of Athenry AC, when I originally come from the North of Ireland, live in Dublin, and used to live in England. The simple answer is that it is all down to a great friend of mine, Mick Rice - he of Athenry and Ultra Marathon fame. When I first came home to Ireland in 2001, I was in touch with Mick, who had recently moved to the Galway area from Dublin. Along with a few other hardy souls in the Athenry area, Mick had decided to get a group of runners together under the auspices of the Athenry AC Juniors, and set up a Senior Section. Mick called me, and suggested that I might like to join the embryonic club, if only to help make the numbers up (that's my words, not Mick's). It seemed daft as I was living 20 miles from Belfast, not 20 Miles from Galway, but given that for the previous two years I had been living in England, and running for the New York Road Runners (another long story!), it sort of made some sense - at least my Club would be in the same country (sort of!!). ..... So, I joined Athenry AC, and the rest, as they say, is history - Great bunch of lads (and girls), and the Club had grown in its few short years to being a major force on the Irish Running Scene.

This could become a habit

WOW - Two days in a row, and three runs in four days - I'm getting giddy. OK, it was only another short one, 2.25 miles, the same route as last night, around the Quays, but tonight, without trying, I ran some 30 seconds faster than last night, so gradually it gets better.

I have entered a race a week on Sunday (I entered a couple of months ago) - It's the Sportsworld 5 Miler, here in Dublin, so if this progress continues, I might actually be ready for it and be able to drag myself around in under 45 - Here's hoping...

It's slow, plodding, but at least it's forward.....

Two weeks on from the Bupa and things are going slowly. I can't say they are going steadily as I have had a few things to deal with in the last couple of weeks. Mum is poorly again, and back in hospital, but on the positive side, she celebrated her 93rd birthday today - May 2nd - To think she was born before the Great War (WWI) started.... Just hope I live as long...

So, back to running. Not really a lot to report, but rather than leave a blank page I thought I'd write something here as well as at Kick and hopefully this will keep me going. On Monday I went to the gym, had a workout on a few machines and ran 2 Km in 11 minutes - Tonight, a beautiful evening, I went out and ran the Quays route in 21:03, around 9:20 pace...

It's slow, and a long long way to Philly in November, but I have to start somewhere, and it's better than nothing.

Racing (in inverted commas) Again!

Well, I half did it! I woke up on Saturday morning with a terrible head cold. I don't know where it came from, but I was sneezing and bunged up, so I decided to pass on my first of the two races I had planned this weekend. I know it sounds like a cop out, but this was genuine, and there was no way I could do myself any level of justice on Saturday. I saved myself for Sunday.

Saturday evening saw me still sneezing and I have to confess that running was the last thing on my mind when I went to bed. But, miracles do happen, and when I woke up on Sunday morning, the cold had vanished as quickly as it had arrived, so off I went to the Phoenix Park for the Great Ireland Run. For those of you unfamiliar with the Great Run series, these are a series of races around the UK and Ireland organised by former Olympian Brendan Foster, and the Irish version is a 10K with some 9,000 entrants.

Given my current level of unfitness, I had arranged to run with my Italian friend Monica, who is running the Lochaber Marathon next weekend, and wanted to break the hour for this run but was unsure of pacing. So we met up, took our places in the throngs and set off slowly with the crowd. Normal bug-bear of walkers four a breast having started too far near the front (Why?), so the first Km was a bobbing and weaving 1000 metres plus, but eventually we settled into a rhythm and were running around 5:50 pace (per Km that is). Half way was steady and reached in 29:22, but with the second half being a known roller coaster it would be tougher than the first.

It was a very warm sunny day, and the sweat was pouring off me as I ran down the Kyber Pass and through the S Bends, the Furry Glen, and we progressed along smoothly, the hills being worked and things were looking good. Monica was feeling strong, although talking was down to a few simple "Are you OK's?", and the last climb was up to the 9 Km mark, and then a flat last 900 to the finish. This last climb took it's toll on me, this was the longest run for me in a long while, and as we passed that last marker, I told Monica to push on as she was on for a sub 58 at this point, a new PR for her, I needed to recover from that last climb and ease along to the finish. She moved ahead, 5, 10, 15 metres, I could see her and kept her in sight. With around 400 to go, I had recovered my breath and started to close the gap. There were lots of other runners around me, and there was nothing to gain from pushing too hard to finish, but in the end I had closed to around 5 metres by the time I crossed the line, no sprint finish, but a pleasing run given the level I am at - 58:01 was my time, a time I would have been disgusted with only 6 months ago, but one I was quite happy to record today - It's a start.........

Moderating Comments

It feels good to be back, and great to hear from a couple of old blogging friends straight away. I promise to at least "try" and be more active, both in the blog and on the run.

Just to let everyone know that I have had to turn on the "Moderating Comments" button, much to my own dismay. Whilst I was in hibernation the blog got hit by some commercial spammers, and also some comments were posted that were attacking me on a personal front - nothing to do with my blog, running, etc., and in order to ensure that this kind of spam and commentary is excluded, I have switched on the protection. So apologies if you respond and wonder why it hasn't appeared - hopefully I can switch it off in the near future.

I was on a training course today, and with two races this weekend, I decided not to push things and run today, so an easy lazy afternoon, and preparation for the 4 Miler tomorrow, and the Bupa 10K on Sunday - I promise to report to all....

Remember me?

Not sure I do, it's been so long since I tied up my laces and ran "properly", and even longer since I put my fingers into operation and wrote up my blog. It's easy to make excuses, so I won't! Something had to give in recent months, and running was the easy one, and so it followed that as I wasn't running, there wasn't a lot to write about.

But now the Good News! I've actually been running. It wasn't far, it wasn't quick, but it was running. Last week, on Wednesday, I got out to the Phoenix Park and ran 2 1/2 miles with Kieran, my erstwhile running buddy from last year. It was little more than a jog, as Kieran has had surgery himself and is just getting back into it gently - a right pair!

Tuesday evening I was in the gym and managed 3Km in 16:28, slow and not without a little effort, but then again I have seen my waistline increase in size, and my weight has reached an unprecedented 202 lbs, so to complete the run was an achievement.

Tonight I broke through. I have an Italian friend, Monica, who recently ran the Connemara Half Marathon, and will be running the marathon in Lochaber, Scotland, in 10 days. We met up for a run this evening and ran together for 45 minutes. Easy conversational pace on a pleasant evening along the Grand Canal. So many others out running, it reminded me what I have been missing. We probably ran around 4.5 miles, but who cares - It was a solid run and worth every inch.

I'm not going to set any targets, no real goals. I have a few in my head, I know what I still want to do, but there's little point in jotting them down, only to disappoint, so I'll share when I'm feeling in better shape, and the weight drops below 190 - until then, I'll just say - I'm back..........(ish!)