Got out for another 50 minutes on Tuesday evening & followed this with my longest run since the marathon on Wednesday with 90 minutes. Took a while to get going & was fairly shattered at the end but getting back into the swing of things at least & it's beginning to feel like running is part of the routine again.
Managed another double yesterday with a tough 40 minutes in the morning and a more pleasant 40 minutes in the evening.
Tuesday: PM 6.7miles @7.43min/mile HR134
Wednesday: 12.5miles @7.19min/mile HR141
Thursday:AM 5miles @7.52min/mile HR133
              PM 5miles @7.40min/mile HR140

2 steps back

Since I last blogged not a lot has been happening on the training front. I had hoped to do a session of mile repeats at goal 10K pace (around 5.20min/mile) with 3 to 4 minute recovery. This was based on a recommended training program from Greg McMillan. I used this program in the past in the buildup to the intervarsities track 10k, but never quite succeeded, neither in the workouts or the race!
The difference this time was that I didn't even start well, but I had feared this would be the case and had reassured myself that as the weeks went by I'd get stronger as I recovered more from the marathon.
Started with with a 5.21 but it took more effort than I had hoped. Followed this with a 5.26 and then a 5.28. It was on the 4th effort I really started to struggle and ended up stopping after 2.5 laps (1K). Took a break and did 1x400m in just under 79 seconds and legs felt like lead.
Of course the logical thing to do here would be to rest and recover and have a steak and run easy for a few days. Instead I went on the lash with some colleagues (although I was at least the first to go home). But to make matters worse I didn't run again for almost a week, partly due to apathy and partly due to having to move, yet again. As I was in bad form due to the unplanned move I ended up writing off the week and became reacquainted with the various fast food joints around the town. I went home for the weekend on Thursday (a day earlier than booked thanks to aerlingus' industrial action). Attempted a run on Friday and felt absolutely awful. Managed one solitary mile and decided that it was time to cop on. Did an hour on Saturday (a bit better, but had to stop once or twice) and 50 minutes on Sunday.
Traveled back on Sunday night with an overnight in Milan of all places. As a result was on the road early to complete the journey Monday morning. Have managed to find new accommodation quite close to work and spent the day trying to decide to attempt a session or not, as I was quite tired. But sometimes I find it's easier to do a session when tired rather than trying to do an easy run. In the end I went to the track and got the session done. My mojo seems to be back, even if my fitness isn't. Managed 16x400m in average of 79.5seconds with 70seconds recovery. Almost 2 seconds slower than the last time. The munster championships are now less than 2 weeks away so a good run is out of the question but I can try and make the best of the time I've left.
Always one to take the positive, I've done very little for the bones of a month now so hopefully now I can start rebuilding and won't need another break for the rest of the year... famous last words!
Did a recovery run this morning, struggled through 20 miserable minutes!
Monday: 16x400m in 79 seconds with 70 recovery (10 miles total)
Tueday: AM 2.6miles @8.21 HR123bpm

Transition week

When making my plan for the track season the 3 races that I wanted to focus on were:
Munster Championships (5K) 15th of June
Cork County Championships (5K)  3rd of July
National Championships (10K) 19th of July
I have no goals in terms of position but I would really like to break 16minutes for the 5K and 33minutes in the 10K. Whilst my 5K PB is 16.09 my best 10K is 34.03 so it's a pretty big ask. But I'm hoping that the mileage from the marathon will stand to me.
As time is ticking I'm in the position now where I need to resume training but at the same time be aware that I'm still recovering from the marathon. There's a saying that you need a day for every mile which is a bit convenient (a Danish guy informed me that it was a day for every kilometre!) so I'm just going to go with how I feel day to day BUT no using "ah sher I'm still recovering" every time things start to get a little tough.
With this in mind I said I'd better start the week well so did an hour after work. I was happy enough with this as I was up at 3.45 to catch a flight back to Denmark.
Tuesday brought a session and it was a bit of a voyage into the unknown after Sunday's abysmal performance. When I got to the track there was a football match about to start so I had a bit of an audience. I had sub 80's in my head and said if the going got tough I'd extend my recovery from 200m to 400m. They started well, with a 76 followed by a barrage of 77's with about 66 recovery. Wasn't really looking at my watch during the session, due to having to keep my eyes peeled for bolddrengen (ball boys) but as I'm constantly finding running on feel is best and there's time enough for counting when the dealings done!
Eventually the times dropped to 78 but was still having the odd 77. The recoveries slipped out to the 70's and then 80's but never felt the need to go to 400m. Ended up doing 16 in total which was very pleasing, the last 4 or 5 were tough but I was holding back that little bit, perhaps out of fear of humiliating myself in front of the masses!
Was pretty sore on Wednesday so although I had planned a "long" but slow run, i only managed the latter part. Took it easy today and will take it very easy tomorrow. I think for now the best thing is to do the sessions and maximise recovery between them. I would think my times should improve quickly if I'm recovery but I know there has been quite a lag in the past after a marathon training cycle & seeing the benefits (and that was without actually doing the marathon!)
Monday: 8miles @7.22 HR142
Tuesday: 16x400mm in 77 with 69 recovery (10miles total)
Wednesday: 10.9miles @7.36 HR135
Thursday:7miles @7.23 HR140

Master of none

With Aalborg BK winning the Cup final on Thursday celebrating consisted of drinking until the wee hours and then having *ahem* some soakage afterwards. Amazingly managed to get out for a run Friday morning, mostly due to the blue sky that greeted me when I looked out the window.
As I was heading home & had lots of time to kill in Amsterdam airport, combined with being hungover I ended up in the KLM lounge eating comfort food and drinking copious amounts of coffee. By the time I touched down in Cork I was shattered. Not ideal preparation for the county masters track championships on Sunday. Of course I consoled myself with the notion that there'd be most likely very little competition.
To add to my woes my rental car started spewing smoke within a few minutes of leaving the airport & I had to wait an hour for the AA to arrive. So it was well after midnight before I got to bed.
Took Saturday off and headed to CIT not exactly full of enthusiasm on Sunday morning. After warming (and indeed catching) up with my seldom seen clubmates I made it to the startline. I asked how many O35's there were and the girl at checkin said 3. Well that's a medal sorted anyway I replied, so long as I finish. Oh how the words nearly returned to haunt me! After eyeing up the competition I determined unless the marathon miraculously disappeared from my legs I would have to settle for second.
Sure enough the guy I feared took off, I managed to stay with him for about 150m before admitting it was a lost cause. I still managed the first 800m in 2.30 though which was OK. After another lap or two, of the 3K race (7.5laps) I started really suffering. After being passed by 1 or 2 runners, one of whom was the other O35 I was at a crawl. I had forgotten what pain was like! I decided there and then that it was marathons all the way!! I eventually made it home in 10.30 which I think was only slightly quicker than the last 3K in Limerick!!
Anyway not to worry, as my Mother said afterwards, I knew you weren't taking it too seriously when you had steak and chips for dinner Saturday night. Hmm she might have a point!

Back on track

So a week and a half has passed since Limerick. My pre marathon post marathon plan was to ensure as speedy a recovery as possible. This would be achieved by:
Nutrition - lots of lean protein and general good diet to avoid piling on the pounds
Stretching/Foam rolling - Stretch regularly to prevent stiffness
Rest - lots of rest and some light runs.

Who was I fooling? From Sunday night I started stuffing myself with all sorts. It started off with chicken sandwiches (good) but as the week progressed it descended to burgers, pizzas, pastries, icecream, chocolate - I just about stopped short of eating lard!
Similarly the stretching etc. went out the window, although I did manage a 3 mile run last friday. It felt like I was carrying a rucksack!

Went for beer Friday night (complete with obligatory kebab and chips to end the night), and off to Copenhagen on Saturday to catch up with friends who I had been avoiding for fear they'd lead me to lead myself astray during the marathon buildup. Sure enough there was a food festival on next door to their apartment. After a pølse (huge sausage) I spotted an Italian dessert stand - (Censored)

 As the Eurovision con songtest was on in Copenhagen that evening, my original plan was to head into the city to check out the buzz. But in the end I just had dinner with a friend who's running the Copenhagen Marathon this coming Sunday. He broke 3.30 for the first time last year so is hopeful of knocking a few minutes off this year.

The one area I have been diligent however has been rest, thankfully my sleeping pattern has returned to normal. It's clear (to me at least) that it was partly the knowledge of needing more sleep was preventing me getting any. I also think that when my body weight get's below a certain level it affects me in terms of mood and sleep. So while it's OK (I think) to do it short term, I'll be trying to stay close to but above 60kg for the rest of the summer. Besides I've also come to the conclusion it doesn't make as much difference as I think. Especially if other areas suffer as a result!

I drew a line in the sand on Sunday as I ate my last snegl (rolled pastry snail with icing). From Monday I was getting back down to it, not back into full training but back into the mindset at least.

One week & 6kilo's later!

So with this in mind I went for a light run Monday evening. Even though my pace was 8.30min/mile, it still felt better than Friday's effort. On Tuesday I was moving apartment (again) and decided that I needed to collect my bike, which I had abandoned at work months previously. I ran from the new place and the tailwind inspired me to 20minutes at 7.40pace, wow!

The Cork Masters T&F championships are on Sunday so I knew I needed to do something "fast" this week to see if I was up to it and also to loosen out the legs. Decided that Wednesday was the best day to give it a go and despite motivation being pretty low I managed to drag myself to the track (which happens to be 500m from my new gaff).

After a brief warm up, basically a jog over I got going. The plan was to do 8x400m with 400m recovery. This was n't a proper session hence the long recovery.
Started off with an 86second, which isn't a whole pile quicker than Marathon pace! The next one was 80 flat followed by 79,78 with the remainder all 77's. To me this suggested the session had had the desired effect of loosening out the legs some bit. I originally had lofty ambitions of a PB (9.16) in Sunday's 3K but now I think anything under 10 minutes will be fine. Besides it's a race so I'll be racing the other oul' fellas rather than the clock.

This evening I'm heading back to Copenhagen for the Danish Cup Final and to catch up with a buddy. 'My' Danish team won the league on Sunday last so are aiming for the double. No doubt I'll be having a slight relapse as I'm sure there'll be a pølse or two and maybe a few beers consumed!    

Limerick,you're a Lady

So race weekend finally arrived and began with a huge bowl of Havregryn which translates roughly into english as "I can't believe it's not porridge". Got a final rub down from the work physio, spent a reasonably productive day at work and hit the road for home. Made good time and was in my own bed for 10.30pm. Slept OK and threw on the running shoes one last time. After feeling desperate during a 10 minute warm up I did 3 longish strides, the purpose of which was to get the muscles ready to receive glycogen, and by crikey did they receive some amount of glycogen! Pretty much spent the day stuffing myself with porridge, bread, pasta, rice cakes etc. I worked it out that I took in about 450g of carbs which according to the 8g per kg bodyweight recommendation was about right but to be honest I think I may have slightly overdone it. Hit the hay around 9.45pm and slept for a while but it was a fitful sleep & I only dozed from around 1.30am onwards. Had planned on getting up at 5 but decided to make it a little earlier, had another super sized bowl of porridge followed by 2 weetabix and some bread before going back to bed and miraculously getting about 45minutes sleep. 

At 6.15 I was just getting out of bed for the second time when my mother came to check on me thinking I had slept it out, fair play!! Headed down to my brothers place as he was looking after giving me my bottles & gels. Topped up the carbs in the car on the way down.

When I got to his place a pretty foggy head greeted me from the upstairs window. Hmm, is he up to the task? was my first reaction!! Once we (or I rather) had the bike loaded up and he assured me he had “just the few” the night before, we set off. I was feeling pretty good, seems all my nerves had been vented on Saturday and now I was relatively  calm. I was also enjoying the buzz from my first cup of coffee in a week since I found abstinence had worked quite well at the Copenhagen half. 

I had taken a few minutes to write down my objectives while he was scoffing breakfast:

- Feel really comfortable until at least 10 miles

- Don’t look at my watch too much

- At 16 miles, there’s only 10 miles to go

- Don’t count down miles, just focus on the now.

Thankfully he knows Limerick city pretty well so we parked up close to the baggage area and went over the course map and where I wanted bottles, and where I wanted gels. 

We were in plenty of time as I wasn’t planning on doing much of a warm up, the weather was grand so I disrobed and just threw on an old long sleeved T-shirt over my singlet. I left Paul on his way to the first drink station at 4 miles and made my way to the start area. Thankfully it was pretty quiet near the front and there were even toilets easily accessible virtually on the start line. 

So on to the plan: I had in my head 3 times. Sub 2.45 - acceptable, Sub 2.40 - my goal time. Sub 2.38 - an absolute dream. One way or another I wanted to pass half way no quicker than 80 minutes (6.06minute miling). 

Just as we were about to line up I spotted irish Olympian Pauline Curley, I seized the opportunity to ask her what time she was planning on and she said she hadn’t a clue. Damn, as I knew if she was doing 2.40 she’d be like a metronome. She asked me what I was going for, eh 2.40 to 2.45 I said and she said belt away (incidentally she ran 2.44 for first lady). I hoped she wouldn’t be passing by at mile 20 with me in a heap!! 

At this point I noticed Gary O’Hanlon, Phillip Harty and an Athenry AC athlete who appeared to be of East African extraction. Hmm, 2.44 was good for 3rd place last year but I knew this wouldn’t be the case with these guys in town! In one sense I decided it was a good thing as it meant I could concentrate solely on the clock.

After the strangest countdown ever (10,9,8,7 - go!) we were on our way & I found myself settling into around 10th place following a relay runner. I felt nice and relaxed (he was breathing heavily, which was oddly reassuring) and my pace settled around 6 minute milling . So far so good. As we made our way through the city centre, there were one or two drags which I took very handily and my pace dropped to around 6.10 or so. Grand job, for now. I passed the relay guy and another runner on a downhill so was inside the top 10. 

Early days (courtesy Doonen AC)

We headed out towards the university on a combination of roads, footpaths and cycle paths. I was feeling OK, not incredible but was just doing my best to relax. Before we entered the campus I managed to pick off another guy. I passed marathon legend Jerry Kiernan (spectating) at one stage which gave me a lift. Through the University was  a little tricky as the route wasn’t 100% clear and I was wasting some energy asking for directions. I passed the 10k point in 38:14 which was just behind schedule. My HR was remaining around 150 though so there was no reason to panic. At one point I thought I was gone off course as it wasn’t very clear where I should be going. I was pretty relieved when I finally saw a marshall!

Thankfully I was back onto roads now and on an out and back section of the course. Got another drink from my trusty brother at this stage, who was doing his job to a T so far. At about 8 miles the trio who I had seen at the start came hurtling towards me in tight formation. Another few guys came past and I could see I was in 8th place. As I reached the turn around point and went from being hunter to hunted I could see I had maybe 3 or 4 (including Pauline) spread out within a minute or so behind me. Behind them there were a few groups and it crossed my mind how easily it would be to lose 20 places if they were to pass. 

I got back to work, still feeling OK, my pace was 6.08 but I managed to bring it to 6.07 on the way back towards the the city centre. I was still a little behind schedule at 10 miles, I had picked up the effort ever so slightly but was still holding back just a little bit. My plan had been to take a gel at 11 miles but as my stomach was a tiny bit dodgy I decided I just wanted a drink which Paul got to me seamlessly. 

Around 12 miles in there was a number of French people (or French speaking at least) and with a few Allez Frank (my name was on my number which is a nice touch). I managed a merci! but stopped short of adding a beaucoup. There was some nice downhill sections before we got to halfway (as we had done a lot more climbing that I had anticipated) and my pace was now bang on 6.06. Passed half way in 79.58. Good man! 

The course began to climb again though putting me straight into positive split territory but thankfully once over it there was a nice decent so I made back the ground. We were heading into the countryside and I could see Mike Curley Cunningham up ahead. As we were gradually climbing I was able to use his purple singlet and ponytail as a beacon. I spent about a mile giving chase before finally catching and passing him around the 15 or 16 mile mark. I was soon alone again and after a toughish mile or two I was on my way back into town with the wind at my back. Was feeling relatively comfortable now but resisted the urge to push too hard. I concentrated on my form and sure enough, more due to the course than anything else my pace dropped to 6.05, brilliant stuff I thought. My brother was still handling his task very well, I can’t remember exactly what I took on where but it was doing the job!

At around mile 19 or thereabouts the road began to pull up for a while and I struggled a bit for the first time. I had a short crisis of confidence but thankfully it didn’t last too long. We were back into the city now and my pace was down to 6.03. I had strung together my fastest miles of the race now with a few 5.48’s so hoped I’d banked some time for later on as I knew there was a few hills on the other side of the Shannon. At this stage I was so sick of the lack of direction from the marshals I asked Paul to go ahead and recce the course which was very helpful. Once we got across the bridge the course did indeed get tough, although on one particular climb I could see in Thomond Park which was both a welcome distraction and inspiration not to give up.

After negotiating some tricky housing estates we rounded the Gaelic grounds. I was tiring now but was pretty much sticking to the task. I wasn’t suffering like I was in the Copenhagen half, but didn’t feel I had the wherewithal to push on faster. I could have risked it, but I really didn’t want it to come back and bite me. As we headed in the Ennis road, a road I know quite well from going to GAA matches I knew I had one last loop to do before the final trek back to the city centre. We turned sharp right down a short avenue and I was never so happy to feel the full force of the breeze in my face. I knew this meant that  once I got past the next corner it would be blowing across for the rest of the race. I took one last gel at around 23.5 miles and just focused, focused, focused. 

My pace had gone back to 6.04 & then 6.05 and I was now doing my slowest miles of the race but I think I was still pretty confident of breaking 2.40. My brain was active enough to note my garmin read 25.05 as I passed the 25 mile marker so I checked my time once I got to 25.30 and it read 2.33.30. OK so I needed to run at least a 6.30 last mile. As I had had a few 6.17’s I knew I couldn’t afford to drop off the pace at all. 

And then as if from nowhere, an angel appeared in the form of a yellow singlet up ahead. Straight away I zoned in on it like a heat seeking missile. To be honest I didn’t really care if I caught him or not I just had a target. I could see he was struggling as I focused on his back and nothing else. He kept coming closer to me and the city was coming closer to us both. I could hear the cackle from the announcer but I was in a tunnel, with a yellow light at the end of it, drawing me ever closer. Now I was getting greedy, I knew he was within range. News had filtered through to me a few miles back that one of the guys up ahead had dropped out so I knew 5th place was within reach. Finishing time became immaterial. As we reached the bank of Shannon I finally passed my friend and he didn’t react. I was on the bridge now and could see a gantry and for a second thought it was the finish line. It wasn’t however so I just drove on as hard as I could. I just decided to give it everything and when I finally rounded the last corner and searched desperately for the clock, afraid to look at my wrist in case it lied. 2.39.13 with a few meters to go. I made one final push and crossed the line in 2.39.26. YESSSSSS!!!!! 

What followed is a bit of a blur, the emotion caught up with me and it was as if every mile I did since the first of January flooded through me. A steward could see this and she sort of said,you’re happy, aren’t you? I smiled and starting talking what was most likely gibberish.

To cut a long story a little shorter, after a quick rub down, I met Paul and hugged him for probably the first time in my life - sober anyway!! We went for a nice lunch and a few beers and then some of the nice tea and sandwiches I ever had.

The course was definitely harder than I expected so was more than happy to break 2.40. Still pinching myself really!

http://connect.garmin.com/splits/493507488  

And now? Well at the risk of being self indulgent, to borrow some lines from Denis Allen (well I was on a 6am flight)

"While waking in the arms of distant waters
a new day finds me far away from home
and Limerick You're My Lady
the one true love that I have ever known"

Time to rest

While still on my exile from carbohydrates I planned on doing one last run yesterday evening. I was still pretty much listless but I said to myself if I can't do 45-50 minutes, how would I survive when the going inevitably gets tough on Sunday?
With this in mind I started off in a positive frame of mind. Once I started off I realised I was feeling a fair bit better than the previous day (admittedly I had a small amount of beetroot & kidney beans at lunch so there was some glycogen in my system!). So after a mile I decided to knock out a bit at marathon pace just to get myself in the mood for running fast on empty. Once I got going the pace dropped to 5.55per mile, it wasn't easy - but it was manageable. After a mile I decided to keep going, it was definitely a good mental exercise and kept it up for another mile which I completed in 6.01. I was pretty spent and shuddered (briefly) at the thought of doing 26.2 miles at not THAT much slower pace!! But then I reassured myself with fueling, rest etc. etc.
Once I slowed down I actually felt pretty good and did another 5 miles.
Wasn't as tired as I had been previously and even today I feel OK. Not sure what that means, I don't think the body can switch to relying on fats so quickly, maybe it's just the knowledge that the carbs are just around the corner :)

Regarding the second reason for the dearth of carbs, weight maintenance, I've actually lost a bit of weight since I started and was at an all time low this morning of 57.5kg. I don't think too much of this was fat loss though and more to do with the lack of carbs meaning less water retention (3g water for ever gramme of glycogen). This will no doubt revert back to normal over the next 2.5 days but this was always part of the plan.

I will now take today and tomorrow off, do a little stretching etc. My shoulder and general right hand side is still a little sore since Monday's bathroom malfunction, but it didn't affect my running. Maybe it's good to have something to worry about!
Wednesday: 8miles @ 6.59 HR 143 including 2miles @5.55,6.01

Hunger

Since Sunday I've quite reduced my carbohydrate intake. I had debated with myself long and hard about this and decided in the end to give it a go, for 2 reasons:
I had listened to an interview with the legendary Ron Hill & he reckoned ideal preparation was to deplete the body of carbohydrates so that when you reached the last few days and start to carboload it becomes more effective. He said that this concept originated in Scandinavia and is called the Sultin (I assumed this came from the Scandinavian word sultan meaning "hungry" but it turns out it was from the doctor who developed it!) Whilst I had heard of this concept before while reading about carb loading the general consensus is that it is unnecessary and just the carb loading portion is required. I have read though that it does no harm so my second reason kicks in - not to put on weight.
As my mileage has dropped & due to knowing that I'll pile on a few pounds when I do start carb loading I said it was no harm for a few days to cut down my overall calorie intake and by cutting down on carbs this makes it a lot easier. I haven't had to make any huge changes though. I normally have porridge for breakfast so have been having an omelette instead. I don't normally eat a lot of potatoes, pasta, bread (unless I'm racing or doing a session) so just swapped some of my vegetable intake, spinach instead of carrots for example. The other change is I haven't had any fruit except for an orange yesterday.
The results have been quite stark, it's been much harder than I thought! I haven't been hungry (due to the extra protein) but my energy levels are way down. As I was a little sore monday from my fall I only ran 2 miles and yesterday struggled through 6, there's no way I could have done speedwork! But this means it's working I suppose. On the plus side I have had 2 of the best nights sleep in ages as I'm totally zonked come 8pm.

I will try keep it up until tomorrow evening or friday morning & then comes the best bit of the entire marathon process - CARBO LOADING :)!!!
Monday: 2 miles @7.43 HR 117
Tuesday:6 miles @7.29 HR 132

The Start line is in sight...

Had planned on doing an easy run on Friday morning before breakfast & then heading for the airport. Got quite a surprise when I looked out the window & it was lashing rain! Nice weather for travelling I guess. So a quick change of plan, I popped down for breakfast, did most of my packing and headed out for 45 minutes.
Did another easy 35 minutes Saturday at home & finished the week off with 10 miles Sunday, which will be the last "long" run I'll do. Quite shattered today as it was quite late getting back to Denmark.
Being the idiot that I am I slipped on the bathroom floor this morning and banged my hip and knee. Will head out for a run but if it's sore I'll turn back.
Friday 6.6miles @7.12 HR130
Saturday 5miles @7.08 HR134
Sunday 10miles @7.30 HR134
Weekly Total: 75miles
 

Making the best of a bad session

The plan for today was to repeat last Wednesday's pyramid session. I felt that it should in theory be easier considering I didn't have the fast finish long run in my legs as I had last week. I was wrong. Actually as I type this, it has occurred to me that the fast finish was done in the morning whereas Monday's long run took place in the evening. Conversely I was doing the session in the morning whereas last week it was the evening, so I guess I had almost an extra 24 hours recovery in total. Or maybe I was just going better last week!
I had planned on going to the track but it would have meant renting a bike & trying to find the bloody thing! I decided it wasn't worth the hassle as I wanted to get the session in before it got too hot. Besides there's a lovely cycle path running along the seafront in Palma which would do nicely. After warming up and causing a cyclist to crash (just before I got onto the cycle path so there shouldn't be a lawsuit!) I set about the first mile. While I was holding 5.30 pace as planned it felt anything but comfortable. Not to worry I thought, just getting warmed up. Onto the 2mile section and things were definitely not going well. Was digging deep enough to maintain the pace and only managed 11.05. Knew at this stage my lofty hopes of doing the entire session at 5.30 pace was beyond me so I headed into to 3 mile section with an open mind. After a bit I looked down and the pace was around 5.45 and I was under serious pressure. And next thing I knew I had hit the lap button at 0.4miles and was jogging. As I contemplated the jog home and pondered if what I had done justified the chocolate milkshake waiting in the fridge as my recovery drink, I had a bit of a brain wave - Ok so I can't maintain 5.30pace so why not knock out a few miles at target marathon pace. Sher why not? Started off nice and relaxed, at what felt like marathon pace. When I looked down I was doing 5.50 miling. Hmm, it felt so much easier that just a few seconds a mile quicker, obviously being more relaxed helped. Although I thought I was at a pace I could maintain for 30 minutes or so, I had slowed to 6 minute miling by the time I hit 3 miles and by 5 miles I had to push on a bit to maintain this pace. Ok so I was going a little faster than my planned marathon pace but I think I still gave myself a timely reminder that even though a pace might feel comfortable it doesn't mean it's not too fast!
Not the toughest session I've ever done,  10 days out might be a good time to kill yourself before a 5 or 10K but I think for what I would have gained by really burying myself, wouldn't have been worth it. As I neared the end of the warm down it dawned on me - it's done! The training's done, happy days!! I'll do some sort of speed work next week just to break up the inevitable tedium but I won't even bring the watch (who am I kidding?) but nothing too hectic. Ok I guess there's just the small matter of the 26.2 miles to go...
Thursday: 2 mile warmup, 1mile (5.30) 2min recovery, 2mile (5.33) 3.5min recovery. 0.4mile (5.44) 2min recovery, 5mile (6.00), 2 mile warm down. 13.3miles total

Taper Time, well kind of

So in to the home straight now at last. I know there's often a lot of debate about how long the marathon taper should be, with 2 to 3 weeks often considered the optimum duration. As my training had been disrupted I feel that my situation is slightly different. Traditionally one should begin the taper after coming off the hardest training in terms of intensity and mileage & while I got some good quality workouts in, my weekly mileage had been hit or miss. Since Ballycotton (i.e. the recovery week of 57 miles) I had mileage of 77, 67, 23, 41, 57, 77. While I'm hopeful the lack of mileage won't come against me Sunday week, it means at the moment I feel quite fresh, whereas I should be on my hands & knees by this stage.
With this in mind even though I had always planned on doing my last 20 miler 2 weeks out I postponed it by a day as there was no way I was doing it the day after the 10K race. It turned out to be my hardest long run so far, not because of the intensity - it was my slowest one and on dead flat roads, as I've moved to Palma for the last few days. The hangover from the Easter celebrations meant it was mentally tough to keep going. Maybe subconsciously having the few beers was a good idea as I hadn't really suffered mentally on any of the long runs so far, so I needed a bit of "wanting to throw in the towel and just keep the head down". Even after 19 miles I wanted to call it quits but I'm glad I stuck it out. The pace was slow, but that's perfect as it was all about getting time on my feet. I think anyone that knows me well can well understand how I could fully integrate a night on the lash as an essential component of my training plan!
Did a 30 minute recovery run tuesday morning & felt a little stiff. Did another hour in the PM and felt a bit better but still not fully recovered.
Got up this morning with an easy hour in mind but it felt anything but easy. The old familiar big race coming up feeling of lethargy is starting to creep in but I kept the head down in the knowledge I could just relax for the rest of the day.
Tomorrow is 10 days out which means last session and then the taper proper can begin.
Monday: 20 miles @6.58 HR141
Tuesday:AM 4miles @ 7.47
PM 8miles @7.02 HR132
Wednesday: 8miles @ 7.23 HR125

Warm weather training

So on Monday I had the luxury of heading off to Mallorca for some warm weather training. Not specifically because of the marathon (although if it is an unseasonably hot day it may help!) I had initially booked a week off work due to the 3 Danish bank holidays at Easter, but I was encouraged to take an extra & didn't need too much convincing!
Following Sunday's hard long run, the first 2 days were spent recovering, an easy hour on the treadmill monday, and 2 easy 40ish minute runs on Tuesday (one on the treadmill). On Wednesday I had a session planned. As I said in a previous post I was planning on doing 4x2mile on the road, but due to the hilliness of the area (Porto Cristo) & due to there being a track only 15 minutes away I decided to make the most of it. Rather than the tedium of 4x2 miles I said I'd give a pyramid session a go, 1-2-3-2-1 miles with 2-3-4-4 minutes recovery.
As the day was spent shopping & generally messing about I was in no real form for it and was dreading it by the time I made it to the track. Still I said I hadn't come all this way not to make the most of the weather & facilities!
Found it a bit tougher than I expected to keep the pace (5.30) on the first, but loosened out on the 2 mile and managed 10.58. Decided to decrease the effort for the 3 mile but was still on 5.30 pace after 7 laps. The pace did drop off a bit but not too badly so I ended with 16.50 (5.37 pace). I suffered on the next 2 mile and only managed 11.33 (5.47 pace) and told myself that anything under 6 minutes would be fine for the last mile. Surprised myself with a 5.33 which was very pleasing on tired legs!
Needless to say I was tired the next morning so did an hour easy, or as easy as one can go on the hilly Mallorcan roads. Did another easy 30 minutes that evening.
As I had found a 10K race for Saturday I just did 50 minutes very easy on friday. Although I had Wednesdays session (and Sundays long run) in my legs I was hoping to see how I could go in the 10K but it turned out to be a humbling experience. For some reason I was exceptionally nervous before hand. Almost as soon as we got going I knew I wasn't in the right frame of mind, and that was even before the course started going up & up & up. It was a mix of trails and road so it was very difficult to get into any kind of rhythm. I just hung in and said it's training and ended up in 8th place in just over 38minutes (I know!).
Did 30 minutes easy on Sunday Morning & actually felt better than after the session. Goes to show the effort wasn't there, but probably no harm not to kill myself just over 2 weeks to my A race. Did an easy hour Sunday Evening before treating myself to the nicest steak I've had in years and a few pints. Well it was the end of my last hard week of training & Lent was over after all!
Monday:8miles @7.30
Tuesday:AM 5miles @
PM: 5.6miles @7.30
Wednesday Session: 1-2-3-2-1 miles total :14miles
Thursday: AM 8miles
PM: 5miles
Friday: 6.8miles
Saturday: 10K Race
Sunday: AM: 4.5miles
PM: 8miles
Total for week: 77miles

For Thursday’s session I had planned on best case scenario doing 4x2 mile or else start with 2 miles & drop down to one if necessary. My latest niggle (seems to be touring my body!) was on the tendon that runs just below the ankle on the inside of my foot & I was aware of it during my warm up but hoped once I got up to speed on the track it would disappear. Unfortunately this was n’t to be the case & after getting through the first repeat @5.26 pace (comfortably difficult) I decided to call it at day. Had what I considered my make or break fast finish long run planned for Sunday so didn't want to jeopardise it. Considering how I felt during the repeat I did manage I think I went a little quick, so all going well I will aim to do it this week, maybe start around 5.35pace and also I think I’d be better off doing it away from the track. 8 laps at high pace is mentally quite difficult I discovered!!

I travelled home on friday and was up early enough to get a run in before heading for the airport but decided that running cold was a recipe for disaster. As a result I squeezed in 40minutes when I got home. As I was caught for time I found myself running a little faster than usual, not consciously - I find the difference in time saved between running fast and slow is precious little. But it was nice to see the pace well below 7 minute miling and still feeling comfortable. Managed to do another hour on Saturday, again below 7 minute miling. Both hip and tendon below ankle were quite sore so I gave a good session on the foam roller/boule. Also in the hopes of some devine intervention, my mam lit a candle for my various ailments after mass!

After a really bad nights sleep I was quite nervous heading for my long run. Decided to do a fairly flat loop of about 5 miles in Cork, so I could pick up drinks and bail out if it came to it. The reason for the flat course was so I could practice putting in a consistant effort, but there was two shortish sharp hills just to ensure it wouldn't be too easy :)

The plan was to take it easy for the first 8 miles or so & then pick it up goal marathon pace (6.10) for the next 7 miles before just running as fast as I could for another 5. Sounds straightforward eh?

Started off at around 7.15 pace but as it turned out that was pretty much the slowest part of the loop. By the time I had hit the first mile it had dropped to 6.55 and my HR still below 130bpm, good start! By the time I hit the end of part one at 8 miles I had dropped down to around 6.45 pace with only the odd foray into the 140's. I picked it up towards the end, as per last time in order not to shock the system . When I started at the 6.10 pace section it actually felt a little harder than I expected - I thought to myself 12 miles at this will be a challenge (not to mind 26.2!) but again it started on a tough part. After a few toughish miles, got back into my comfort zone. My HR had gone to 160's but came back to high 150's and started cruising at around 6.07 pace and felt (almost) like I could go like that all day. When I got to my transition point after 7 miles I had half thought of staying at that pace for another 2miles but instinct kicked in & I picked things up. Things started getting tough now but managed to get down to an average of about 6.02. I hit the last mile just at the beginning of the only real hill & by the time I crested it I was at 6.30 for that mile, managed to dig pretty deep to get it back to 6.14 by the end of it. Finished shattered but a different shattered than after say a track session. Met a buddy on the warm down which was nice. Felt I could have ran another 10 miles handy enough, just not very quickly!!

Thursday: 4miles incl. 2miles in 10.54
Friday: 5.5miles @ 6.42 HR 138
Saturday: 8miles @ 6.57 HR 137
Sunday: 22.3miles @ 6.33 HR 149 (8 @6.45, 7 @ 6.07, 5 @ 6.02)

Despite feeling Ok after Sunday's long run, I was pretty sore on Monday. Thankfully it was a tired muscles sore as opposed to an injury sore. The run Sunday had 248m of ascent and obviously the same in descent, some of the decent's being quite steep. As a result my quads were pretty sore. I understand now why people find the Boston marathon tough! Just got out for 30 minutes or so monday evening. Was happy to note no pain in my hamstring although my hip was a bit sore (as it had been after the 22miler).
Did 75 minutes yesterday and had recovered a bit more but was still a bit tired. Hip still sore but was able to run through it. Did the run on some playing pitches to give the body & the quads in particular a bit of a break. Definitely want to do a session this week, the thought had crossed my mind to do it today, but I think I will just go easy again this evening & hopefully will be fit for fight tomorrow.
Monday: 3.8miles @7.55Min/mile HR118bpm
Tuesday: 10.3miles @7.17Min/mile HR138bpm

Mind over matter

Took Monday and Tuesday off completely, in order to give my various ailments time to recover. I was starting to worry that the wheels had come off my marathon hopes as this is the crucial time for getting in the mileage/quality really before the taper starts. On Wednesday I did 30 minutes easy and while the tendon was grand during, it was a little sore after. As a result I took Thursday off and had a physio appointment Friday morning. By now I had pretty much said to myself the marathon was a non runner. I even started planning my track season (well googling race dates so I could plan my trips) to take my mind off it.
But towards the end of the massage the physio said something that surprised me - "Are you sure it's as bad as you say it is?" The reason she asked was, because she was able to work on it without causing too much discomfort. Hmm, could she have had a point? I remembered reading another runners blog who developed a problem at a similar point in training for a marathon (I won't mention his ailment in case he ever happened upon this blog, as it was quite a specific and unusual problem) and my immediate thought was that it was at least partly psychological. You get so far in training and everything is looking good, but the fear of failure makes you subconsciously seek an out.
As if by chance I was listening to a marathon talk podcast that afternoon and an interview with a runner who was racing across America. He mentioned how he'd go from one injury to the next and that one of the other competitors told him that running is able to fix most of the problems it causes (a bit like alcohol!) I took this as a sign & also remember that my Achilles managed to right itself not through rest, but by running sensibly (i.e. no killer sessions) and it'll go away of it's own accord.
So with that in mind I decided to HTFU and went out for 5 miles friday evening. I had bought a support but after a mile I realised it was the wrong size and was aggravating the problem but once I took it off I was fine. Managed 8 miles on Saturday, after about 5 felt a pinch in the tendon but once I slowed down it was ok again, it came at me again towards the end so slowed to a crawl.
So with today being 4 weeks to Limerick I had a decision to make, was I going to keep the dream alive? If so there was no doubt in my mind that I simply had to do a long run. I would prefer to quit here than hit the wall at mile 20 due to lack of preparation.
So I got up early and hit the road, into the unknown. I consoled myself in that if I had to turn back I'd be able to see Bekele's marathon debut in Paris.
Of course when I say unknown I'm talking about my body, I had driven a route near my house during the week (just in case) A hillyish 8.5mile loop http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/385461518 with 95m of ascent. This would give me an out if required. The forecast had been for about 3 degrees and light wind but it was foggy, wet and a bit breezy. It was strange but I wasn't overly concerned with would I survive the distance from a stamina point of view and was totally focused on the legs. First few miles went grand, pace was quite fast, around 6.45min/mile but had the breeze with me and a lot of downhill. HR was low 140's which was grand. Typically the hilliest part was directly into the wind but just went steady up it, leg was fine thankfully. On the road back in I started motoring for a bit and the pace dropped as low as 6.41 but was back to 6.46 by the time I was back at the house. Everything was still hunky dory, passed 10miles not a bother with pace still at 6.46. Breeze had picked up a bit. When I got to 15 feeling fine I was thinking how far should I go. As my longest run in time was 2.30 I decided I would do whichever came first of the following:
1. Exhaustion
2. 2hrs45min
3. 24 miles
Still felt grand as the miles passed on, although my HR was creeping up to high 140's with the odd foray into the 150's. Got to 20 miles , pace hovering between 6.46,6.47, still grand. Around 22 miles it finally started to get tough and my pace dropped to 6.48. I decided to increase the effort ever so slightly just to know I could stay strong until the end. Finished off with the pace back at 6.47. Delighted to get through it and satisfied with how it went but won't get too carried away as I've almost had a 2 week taper leading into it. Still it was nice to get it in. The next thing is to see how I recover. I know I'm far from out of the woods, but at least I know I'm still in the game.
Weds: 4.2miles @ 7.39min/mile
Friday: 5miles @ 7.27min/mile
Saturday:8miles @ 7.18min/mile
Sunday: 24miles @ 6.47min/mile HR146bpm

Ballycotton, Ballylanders & now the World

Had a really nice breakfast, followed by my first cup of coffee since Tuesday before doing the last few bits and pieces and heading for the metro into town. Managed to get 120ml of energy gel/liquid into the Ron Hill thingie and discover I could fit this into the pocket on the back of my shorts, brilliant. As I had to do a bag drop I couldn't bring my coat so had to just put on every other layer I had. It was a perfect day for running, which meant it was a tad cool for walking around with no jacket on!
To try and get a decent starting position I did my bag drop about 2 hours before the start, thankfully they had plastic poncho's available so I put one on over my long sleeved top which I would discard - so far so good. Had no problem making my way up to the front but the next thing was trying to figure how the hell I was going to warm up. There was still over an hour to go but I decided an early warmup would be better than none at all. Made my way into a courtyard at the houses of parliament where some others were also doing some extremely small laps so I joined in. Conscious of not getting back to where I was I only did about 10 minutes and sure enough it was quite crowded when I got back but  still managed to make my way towards the front.
Ended up standing around for almost an hour, but everyone was in the same boat, well except for the elites. Heard, but didn't quite see the elite women starting and didn't find out until after that the sole Irish woman didn't manage to make to the first bend due to a pulled hamstring. My own felt ok thankfully.
Finally we were ready to go and off we went to huge cheers from the crowd. After things settled down a quick glance at my watch said I was doing 5.40 pace, perfect I thought as I was optimistically shooting for 75 minutes. After another few hundred meters though it had dropped to 5.45 and my legs  felt heavy. My HR was in the  170's and I just thought "it's going to be a long day". It felt really hot and my throat felt dry. Went through the first mile in 5.39 though and my HR was back to low 160's. I think the sensor had just dried out during the long wait for the start. With last Sunday's session in mind I decided to forget about the watch for a while and just run. And then things began to change, I felt more comfortable and my legs loosened out. Just goes to show the importance of warming up. When I eventually glanced down my pace had dropped to 5.30 but I felt really comfortable so didn't panic. My second mile split was 5.21 and my breathing was easy. Mile 3 was even quicker at 5.15 so I backed off a little. Despite the crowds I was really focused so just kept it going, can't quite remember when but I joined another runner and we started picking off little groups at a time. Pace dropped back a little which was fine. Still felt comfortable at this stage.
Went through 10K in 34.45,  which was my fastest 10K in a while and shortly after starting taking on fuel. The Ronhill jobbie was excellent, really easy to drink from but I didn't risk trying to put it back in my pocket. We were still motoring with the garmin reading between 5.27 and 5.29. It was nice that it was fluctuating as normally it only goes in one direction!Got to 10miles in a shade under 55 minutes, over 100seconds quicker than my PB! I know no race would be exactly (only) 10 miles but still it was nice. Now the real fun started. I was struggling to stay with my friend but said I'd hold on as long as I could.  I knew we were heading to Fredriksberg so I was looking forward to the turnaround point so that the psychological effect of heading for home could kick in. I was really starting to suffer now and had a bad patch coming up to 11 miles. Looking at my splits after my garmin said I had a 6.04 for  mile 11 but I didn't think I had slowed that much. I managed to pull it together a bit now though and when we turned a corner onto a large boulevard with Danish flags on either side I got another lease of life and passed some of the runners that had passed me. Assuming they were Danish, I'm surprised the flags had had a bigger effect on me. As we approached the city centre I was struggling again, I think I was considering how far it seemed we still had to go, as we were on familiar territory, on streets where I would normally be travelling at a more sedate pace.
I was on planet pain now and my pace had gone to 5.33. I didn't even attempt the mental arithmetic, I didn't care about time I just wanted to stop. I had thought the Start line was also the finish line even though we had passed the 20k marker what seemed like miles ago. When I rounded a bend and saw a clock, I was never so happy to be wrong! I just gritted my teeth.I had no kick really but could see a 13, a beautiful glorious 13. Passed the line and stopped my watch 1.13.36 (chip time 1.13.35) Yesssss boy!!!!
After catching my breath I jogged slowly back to the baggage area grinning like a Chesire cat, not before thanking my accomplice for much of the race. He hadn't broken 1.13 which surprised me a little. Looking at my 5k splits they are pretty even, I hadn't slowed as much as I had thought. I definitely have some mental work to do though, as I think it is mental - I felt really bad with the same distance to go as Ballycotton, not with the same distance covered. Overall a very good day though and to knock over 2.5 minutes off my PB was pretty satisfying.
It was n't without some price though, although my calf came through unscathed my tendon problem, though fine during was pretty sore after. Would have loved to go for a run yesterday as it was glorious but decided to stand in the icy water of the Kattegat instead. Will take some time to let it recover. It loosened out today a bit but it was still not worth the risk of running on it. Looked in shops yesterday for an aqua jogging belt for an alternative for maintaining my fitness but to no avail.

Follow the blue line

Just killing some time before breakfast, before getting ready to toe the line with Zersenay Tadese et al. I'm both nervous and excited and didn't sleep too well as a result, although I've been sleeping reasonably well all week so hopefully it should n't be an issue. Did a mile and a bit on thursday and hamstring tendon felt ok, but not great. Calf was still very tight which was disappointing.
Got a massage yesterday which hopefully helped, felt good afterwards but I won't know until I test it.
The other reason for my nerves is due to the fact the guy I bought the number from had predicted his time would be 2.30+ so I am down to start at the back & have to drop my bag there. I really hope I can make it back towards the front, but I guess at the very least I need to get there earlier than I would have liked.
Conditions are predicted to be nigh on perfect, 10-12 degrees C with a windspeed of 2 m/s. Course is flat, albeit with some tight corners but it should be suitable for fast times.
When I went to the expo last evening I picked up some caffeinated gels and a Ron Hill gizmo for housing them. You still need to hold it in your hand but hopefully won't be as messy as normal. Was following the blue race line at times on my way to the expo, it really set my heart beating, hopefully I'll get the opportunity to follow it to the end!

T-Winge

So my twinge was n't just a twinge at all unfortunately. It was sore all the day Monday but nonetheless after taking Saturday off I decided I needed to do a few miles Monday. Big mistake, even though it wasn't too bad during but when I stopped it got worse. When I iced it, it actually made it worse. I thought back to the last time I experienced this and it was when I had Achilles tendinitis. Oh No!!! I have been resting it completely since and it has improved slightly. I may try a short, and I mean short run this evening to see how it's progressing. I haven't given up on the half marathon on Saturday but at this moment my confidence is quite low.
Running can be so cruel, I'm pretty sure if I had wimped out after the 6th repeat on Sunday I wouldn't be in this situation. And especially since my worrisome hip had cleared up so quickly. Anyway not point in feeling sorry for myself. Just do what I can and keep the fingers crossed.
Monday: 7.54miles @7.48 HR126

Session on

So after Friday’s bad hippy experience and Saturday’s day off, I was a little tentative about my planned track session today. Although the calf was still at me, the pain in my hip had been quite severe so it was this that scared me. I had visions of not making the start in Limerick as a result of it so I was looking forward to getting the verdict on the track. I spoke with a friend as well who is running the Rotterdam marathon in 3 weeks time. The poor lad is suffering from shin splints and so was in a pretty unhappy state. I tried consoling him by saying he has the work done, and just consider a fairly dramatic taper, but also mentioned maybe do it via aqua jogging as I had used this fairly successfully in the run up to Ballycotton in 2012 when my achilles was making regular running all but impossible.
Was running a little tight for time as I was flying at 21.55 I parked up on the Western and jogged down to the Mardyke so I could make a quick getaway after. Calf was quite tight but the hip was thankfully pain free. God bless you boule! Had it in mind again to shoot for 5.30’s (for mile repeats) after my easy 2 days and also had it in my mind if at all possible to do 8 reps. After the first lap I was at 5.22 pace but I can’t say it felt easy. Pace dropped to 5.29 before settling down and finishing in 5.26. Jogged the lap in just over 2 minutes and started to suffer on the second. Just about managed to break 5.30 so decided on the recovery lap to take it a little easier to ensure I got through the session. Put it down to Thursday’s long run, or maybe I’m just delusional:)Did the 3rd in 5.36 but half considered calling it a day. After a brief bathroom break something brilliant happened - it got dark! So instead of looking at my watch I just went on feel. I took a sneaky peak around 2.5laps in on the 4th rep as I passed a light and it said 5.32pace. Happy days and ended finishing up with 5.27. Ran the  5th and 6th without glancing at the watch at all, just focused on staying smooth  and keeping my form. I looked at my silhouette whenever it appeared and things looked ok. Knocked out a 5.31 & a 5.32 which was grand considering how I felt after the 3rd rep.
At this point I had to decide what to do next. I was OK for time so said I’d definitely do 1more and see after that. It went ok, legs were starting to feel heavy and tight but just kept the focus. 5.36, grand. So on the last recovery lap I said I’d have one last shot.I mightn’t get near a decent track till who knows when and it is a marathon I’m training for, not a 10K! Also said not to try and kill it though, save something for next Saturday but laughed as I was about to start in case I ended up in a heap after 200m. Got through the first lap, felt smooth, 2nd 3rd,started to suffer. 600 to go, really starting to suffer but managed to hold it together and finished in 5.34. Happy days. Legs were in bits so warm down was extra slow. Even had a twinge in my “good” leg.
The cramped ryanair flight isn’t helping but at least I’m staying in a hotel at Stansted tonight so should get a reasonable rest before heading on in the morning. Hopefully no new or worsening injuries to report tomorrow.
Sunday:warmup 8x1mile (5.26/2.04,5.29/2.04,5.36/3:30,5.27/3.30,5.31/3.25,5.32/2.36,5.36/2.36,5.34)
cooldown. 14.6miles
Total for week:67.7miles
Edit, only getting to bed now :( 1am

Planned an easy run of 60-80 minutes after work. Started very slowly but knew within a minute or two I was in trouble. Calf was no worse than usual but hip was as sore as its been in a long time. Gave it a chance to loosen out before deciding discretion was the better part of valour and called it a day before I had even 30 minutes done. Was also really tired after the long run so it wasn't too difficult a decision to make.

 Had planned on going home and icing it but first needed to pick up some stuff I had left at a colleague's place. Hadn't really spoken to anyone outside of work all week so when he said he was going for grub I decided to join him. Find it very hard to order a salad when out (even though on the rare occasion I have, I've usually ended up enjoying it), resisted having a burger thinking the chicken nachos might be slightly healthier. When the plate arrived out it was absolutely smothered with cheese and there was enough to feed a small family. Aagh!! Of course I didn't need to finish but of course I did and washed it down with two beers. But it was nice to unwind and chat so won't complain and I can always make up for it over the weekend. It was around 10PM when I got home but I did manage to do some trigger point massage on my hip with my trusty boule before setting my alarm for 3.20 as I had a flight home at 6am and its over an hour and a bit to the airport. 

 Made it in good time and popped into lounge for a coffee. Was still fairly stuffed and knew I'd get fed on the flight as I was going via Amsterdam. 

 Got a bit of a shock in Amsterdam as I dawdled in the lounge there I noticed at 9AM that my flight was already boarding despite the departure time being 9.40. I was a 15minute walk to the gate and hadn't been through passport control or security yet. As I jogged towards the gate whilst panicking a little (I was pretty sure I wouldn't miss the flight but I was more concerned as I was sitting in row 1 and had a shopping bag so would suffer the dirty looks that I would normally dish out from the less tardy passengers) I took comfort in the fact that I was relatively pain free, even if it was a short trot. 

Didn't manage to get out for a run today and about to hit the hay despite it only being 20:00. But I will do some stretching first, honest. 

Friday: 3.4miles @ 7:50 HR 128bpm