Clocking up kilometers - Week 9 half marathon training.

• Monday March 14th Inferno Hot Pilates. 

• Tuesday March 15th easy road run 10km at 61:12.

• Thursday March 17th easy road run 6.5km at 35:26.

• Friday March 18th Running Chicks speed work intervals 3x50m, 3x 100m and road run home 4.5km at 26:09.

• Saturday March 18th Strandurance group run 12km at 71:43.

I had a busy week and had to shift around some of my running plans in order to make all my exercise and running goals. So I once again attended the Monday night Pilates class. I still maintain this is way harder than Tuesday class, but clearly I am a glutton for punishment and I glistened my way gracefully through planks, squats and flutter kicks in 32 degree heat.

I was supposed to do a 5km race on Tuesday evening as part of the Running Chicks but with the half looming I needed to build up my kms and so went out on an easy 10km road run instead. I had an interview the following day and I found it was a really great way to clear my head and focus my thoughts. 

Instead of partying on Paddys Day I hit the road to do a nice easy 6km through town (how sad).I still think its crazy that I'm considering 6kms short runs now. On Friday I was dreading doing the  speed session with the Running Chicks. Grim. But we soldiered on, doing 50m and 100m sprints with plenty of intervals, my breathing while running fast needs a lot of work but hopefully that will come with practise. Even though I knew my group run in the morning would be 12 km I decided to run the almost 5kms home.

Saturday morning I started out the run at a good speed but about 3km in I started to feel fatigued and the endless hills and uneven road surfaces were causing fire in my  my calves and hamstring. I was about to slow down and separate from the group but Dean talked me out of it and encouraged me to keep up with the rest, telling me to keep my eyes on the movement of the runners in front of me and that way I wouldn't have to think about keeping the pace it would just happen naturally. I eventually got my second wind and was running faster than I had before,. After the long loop we had to do two small loops and then two laps of the track  before finally finishing exhausted at exactly 68 minutes, and a full 3 minutes faster than the week before. So thrilled!

Our half marathon training group is participating in a Duathlon next month, it will be my very first and while it is terrifying I am very excited! I never would've thought I would become interested in all these different activities but when you are surrounded by VERY persuasive people it's hard not to feel inspired! 

Obsession growing- Week 8 Half Marathon training.

• Monday March 7th Inferno Hot Pilates. 

• Tuesday March 8th Running Chicks 5km at 31:14.

• Wednesday March 9th easy swim laps for 45 mins. 

• Thursday March 10th run to the track 4.3 km at 25:12, group run 5km at 31:10,  run home 4.5km at 27:08.

• Friday March 11th Moy Canoe club training.

• Saturday March 12th Strandurance group run 12km at 71:52.

In exercise induced hysteria I decided to join a second running group (determination or stupidity?). The Running Chicks  group is part of Ballina Athletic Clubs Fit4Life programme and it was advertised to women looking to hit the 10 km mark with the Mayo Mini Marathon as then end goal.
As well as helping get some extra short runs in a week, I'd get to meet some more people and hopefully improve my technique.

I started my training week with Hot Pilates on Monday figuring it would be pretty much the same as my normal Tuesday class. I should've known better. The repetitions were agonizing! We were doing crazy ninja moves that had no business being done by my weak body, planks into push ups and burpees into mountain climbers, all around were muffled curses and red faces. By the end of the class I had the muscle shakes and basically hobbled for the door.

My Strandurance group run at the weekend was going to be a long 12km, so we were instructed to do some shorter runs leading up to Saturday. With this in mind I started off in my new running group on Tuesday evening down at the track, just a gentle 5 km to see our speed and running style. I didn't know any of the group beforehand but everyone was super positive and chatty which always makes training easier.  It was however the  slowest 5km I had done in ages at over 31 minutes, but loop track runs are definitely not my favourite and I had also hurt one of my toes on my right foot on the Kinvara run and it was really starting to irritate.

On Wednesday morning I hit the pool to do some nice steady laps. I had planned to go out for a short run but my foot was looking worse for wear so I choose to rest up until my group run the next day.

I ended up having to take the insoles out of my Asics to make more room in the shoe and it gave great relief. I decided to run from my house to the track, do my group run and then run home again. The group run was a nice easy 5km track loop and we were able to keep chatting while keeping a steady pace. Since the start of my training I had been getting slight shoulder pain, and while not overly sore it was extremely annoying and I felt it was having an effect on my ability so I mentioned it to Michael our coach and he showed me how to  adjust my arms and shoulders while I run (a week later and I have had no shoulder pain at all!!!).

On Friday I decided to try something a bit different and I went along to the Moy Canoe club training session in the swimming pool. I was a bit apprehensive as I have only been kayaking twice before and my co ordination is terrible but I really wanted to give it a go. Before I even got into the boat I was shown all the equipment, how to position myself correctly, paddle and the capsizing technique. Once on the water I realised how rubbish I actually was, most of the others were experienced and whizzing around like pros but everyone was over to me offering advice in between so I didn't feel too much of a loser! Part of the training included games of water polo so I had to be shown how to capsize properly in the water as it was inevitable my boat would over turn. While pretty straight forward it was also the scariest part. I did over turn a few times but once I knew how to exit the boat it was grand. The night was a lot of fun and everyone was super friendly and supportive!

I was wrecked by the time Saturday morning rolled round, and I knew we had a planned 12km run. I had done 12km before so I knew I would be able but I was worried about keeping the pace and pushing myself. The run itself was a little hilly and I knew once we hit 8km we would have to loop around and see some of the hills again (always soul shattering) the group was also running faster than ever before so I did find it difficult to keep up, but I swore I wouldn't stop for anything and I tried to use the down hills to my advantage. We finished the run on the track and in pretty good time too. I was absolutely shattered afterwards but felt like I had had a pretty productive week.

The Running Chicks is incorporating speed work next week and  I am NOT looking forward to that, but its all in the goal for the half. I have also decided to run the Moy Half Marathon in aid of Ballina SPCA, they do absolutely amazing work for animals and deal with some heart breaking cases. If anyone would like to donate to the cause I would be grateful, I have another post up soon with more details!

Preparing to race-Week 7 Half Marathon training.

• Sunday February 28th road run 12.5km at 75:18.

• Tuesday March 1st Inferno Hot Pilates.

• Wednesday March 2nd easy swimming laps 45mins. 

• Thursday March 3rd road run 4km at 22:52.

• Saturday Kinvara Rock and Road race 10km at 57:36.

Just a short post on my week 7 half training! 

As I was preparing to race at the weekend I didn't want to push myself too much this week. I definitely did not want to risk injury by running too much during the week so I settle for a gentle long run at the start of the week and a nice short slow 4km closer to race day. 

Sunday I headed out on a road run and aimed to push my distance to  12km. I hadn't a route planned so I was keeping an eye on my kms as I circled the town twice and doubled back the same route once I hit 8km. Although I was going easy I was still making good time and I was pretty happy hitting 12.5km in just over 75 minutes without too much stress. 

I padded out my exercise for the week with the usual hot pilates class on Tuesday and swim laps on Wednesday. Inferno this week was super strenuous and  I wasn't able to finish some of the repeats (torturous burpees with pushups) and later in the week my my abs and arms were in bits.  But I find the swimming on Wednesday mornings really does help my muscles relax and every week I am getting faster. 

Thursday I braved the rain and did an easy 4km road run just to loosen out and keep my momentum for the week. I didn't want to go too far or too quickly as it would be just my luck to get injured before Kinvara  and I was way too excited to let that happen! 

My previous blog post has all the details on the Rock and Road 10km,  but I was stoked to run what was quite a tough course in 57:37 and to receive my first finishers medal of the year! 

Rock and Road 10km and half marathon at Kinvara.

Yesterday I ran my first 10km road race along the beautiful back drop of Kinvara village. The Rock and Road event was hosting a 10km , a half as well as a 1km and 2km for children. It was all organised brilliantly and there were loads of goodies handed out before and after the races. I ran alongside my dad and friends Dave and Aileen (shoutout). The weather was stunning, nice and sunny but with a good cool breeze, absolutely ideal for running.

Earlier in the week I had decided to try to get it finished in under the hour, but from looking at the route  I knew there were a few hairy hills scattered around and I wasn't sure how I would do running alongside so many others. There were so many runners it took us 51 seconds to cross the start line.

I went easy at the start just to spread out from the crowd and get comfortable, keeping an eye on the 60 pacer  just up ahead and I thought I'd hang around for the first couple of kms and then branch off.

About 4 kms in I quickened my pace just a tad, and thought sure feck it I'll overtake the pacer now and see how I go. At this stage I was heating up fast and just when I thought I would have to slow down to cool down, we got a lovely shower of rain, there was a collective sigh of relief around me, I think everyone had underestimated how warm it actually was and the little sprinkle of rain was exactly what we needed.

Now I knew that at about 6km there was a steep incline and a pretty hairy hill, but once I rounded the corner and actually saw the hill, I had a brief moment of panic. All around me people were gasping in dismay "the hill of heartbreak", it definitely broke some spirits and before we even got to the start of the incline people were stopping to walk it, they had totally psyched themselves out.

I was way too determined to stop, I kept my head down and tried to get over it quickly, as I was passing people were dropping like flies, breathing like donkeys with one guy possibly having an asthma attack, I didn't care I just needed to get over the bloody hill all the while questioning my sanity and thanking god I wasn't doing the half. Reaching the top was such a relief.
I knew now that was the hardest part done and I could relax a bit and just enjoy the rest of the run alongside the Burren and the beautiful Kinvara harbour.
All that time I never bothered to look at my watch, I was well ahead of the 60 minute pacer and as long as he didn't creep up on me I would make my goal time.

I was chatting to a couple of people along the route and it seemed that a lot of them had come from doing c25k and were running their first 10km, we certainly didn't make it easier on ourselves choosing this route and race but we were almost there!
At the last 1km I checked my watch and realized I would be in well before 60 minutes, and once I saw the stretch home I powered on, all along the route there had been people out cheering and clapping and it really spurred me on, I sprinted up the finish and almost collapsed with a stitch but I had done it! They had kids handing out medals, and water and fruit and I sat on the pier catching my breath and waited for the others to come in. I had done it in 57:37 and was delighted! My dad wasn't too far behind me at 63 minutes.

We were all stoked to finish in good time and shared our overcoming the hill stories! We headed up to the community centre for coffee where they were offering sports massages. It had been a  great day, the event ran smoothly and there was such a fantastic community spirit behind it from the kids handing out t shirts and medals, to the auld lads at the half way point water station cheering us on. I am definitely well on my way to the half!

Running in circles- Week 6 Half marathon training.

• Monday February 22nd track speed work: 1 mile warm up, 400m, 200m, 100m x2, 1 mile cool down.

• Tuesday February 23rd track speed work: 1 mile warm up, 100m x8, 1 mile cool down and Hot Pilates.

• Wednesday February 24th  easy 30 minute swim lengths. 

• Thursday February 25th road run 10km at 58:41.

• Saturday February 26th group run parkrun race 5km at 28:38.

This week I was preparing for my first 5km race as part of training with the Strandurance21 crew. The more our coach kept repeating the word race the more nervous I became! I had been training mostly distance until now so I decided to give the interval training a go, queue queasiness and the return of Vom Tron (running induced puking).

On Monday I was determined to return to training with a bang and since we had a race coming up I hit the track to work on my speed. I had visions of myself gliding effortlessly around the 400m with ease.  My brain continues to delude me, I could barely finish my first set and by the second my lungs and throat burned and I called it a day, thinking I would put speed on the back burner until we were doing it as a group.

Amnesia struck and I was back on the track again on Tuesday to sprint it out. 100m seemed more realistic, I took my time and finished on 8 but honestly it felt like I was back at square one,  nauseous, unable to breathe and and tasting blood in the back of my throat (another side effect of my new hobby). It didn't help that the track seemed to be taken up with experienced runners putting me to shame so I finished my warm up and left it at that. I still have loads of time to work of speed and doing it with the Strandurance group will make it easier to stay motivated. I also hit up my Hot Pilates class that night, and since we had a small class we really pushed it out, doing burpees in 30 degrees is no picnic, right in those moments I question my sanity and what the hell I am doing with my life!

I am really enjoying my morning pool sessions, its nice to have something a but more relaxing in my routine. Every week I can swim for longer periods without stopping and my breathing is becoming steadier. I also usually meet the same people there every week so its nice to get advice and tips from more experienced swimmers.

I wanted to do a long run this week too, and as I usually don't run on Fridays I headed out on a road run on Thursday night delighting in the fact that although my legs were aching from Hot Pilates I was still able to finish in 58;14. Breaking the hour mark has made me feel way more confident about racing at Kinvara.

Friday I took the dogs out to walk the woods, while the racing event 3 marathons in 2 days took place. These guys are machines!  Sometimes just planning my running week exhausts me, I don't know how these people do it, I am definitely jealous of their fitness and determination.

Saturday as always was group run and our first 5km race. I had initially planned on finishing around the 26 minute mark, but as my running so far indicates sometimes the best laid plans fall flat. My plan was to start out fast, pace myself at the 2.5km mark and then speed up toward the end. But I started way too fast and I knew I couldn't maintain it, my breathing was rubbish and around 3km I got a sharp stitch, forcing me to slow down to almost a crawl to get my breathing right. At the last km I knew I wouldn't make my target time so I shifted my focus and just tried to enjoy the rest of the run. I finished at 28:38. I think it is still early days to be too disappointed with any of my race performances as I am still shocked I have come this far with my training! Every run is an accomplishment at this stage, and as long as I am enjoying it, the motivation will stick!

I am looking forward to my first 10km race since I started this programme, The route is hillier than my usual road run so that will be a challenge but I am still aiming to get under the hour for it,  I will be running it with some buddies so the friendly competition will certainly be no harm.

So to sum up the week, I HATE speed work!