Off I went to the local Gaelic Football Pitch pitch today for interval training - my first such session as part of my Furman marathon training programme. This football pitch is unusual in that it was carved out of bogland and once hosted a UEFA Cup match between Galway United and Gronigen of Holland, back in 1986. It still ranks as one of the most unusual sporting occasions ever held in this country - a small rural village of about 2000 people, with three pubs, two shops and one post office hosting an elite European soccer match, but since the City team had qualified without an adequate venue then this newly built Gaelic Football pitch was the prime choice!
The weather was awful this evening - with constant drizzle and a bit of a stiff wind. It was tough to get out into it but funnily enough it was nice to run in after the first few minutes (once I had soaked to the bone anyway). Training consisted of a four lap warm up, followed by four 1.5 laps fast, with four 1.5 laps slow in between. To warm down I ran another four laps. This all amounted to five miles but it didn't feel like that at all. I must say, I didn't think I'd enjoy the interval training but it was actually nice enough, and I felt great afterwards.
The local men's and women's teams were training and it was nice to banter with them. The lads are gearing up for a championship game against Salthill in three weeks time and looking fit enough. As for myself - nice start to the Dublin Marathon training. Next stop is a tempo run on Wednesday.
Hi Breandán,
ReplyDeleteYou're getting serious now aren't you? I call it 'repetitions' what you were doing on the Park. In interval training the effort time and recovery time are the same, e.g. run 800m in 3 mins, rest 3 mins and then repeat. They're not easy!
As regards 'must see' places in Cornwall, it all depends on what you're interested in. For most people the 'Eden Project' (OK for a rainy day) and 'Lost Gardens of Helegan' are their main priorities - but you have to be interested in flowers and plants. Avoid Newquay like the plague, but St Ives is quite picturesque and civilised. Tintagel Castle (remains) is well worth a visit as is Chapel Porth near St Agnes.
Personally, when we've driven 370 miles to Crantock I just want to park the car and leave it till we go home. My partner is a member of National Trust and likes to visit their properties on wet days (Lanhydrock is one of them, where the race was) but I'm afraid when she goes visiting those places she drives alone! The wonderful coast and Commons around Higher Moor, where we camp, is good enough for me.
thanks a million, it all sounds great and I really hope we can make it this year. My wife's family in Louth are having a difficult time with a sick child so we may not be going anywhere this year but hopefully we'll get some better news on that situation soon. As regards running - I'm getting a bit more serious alright! You are setting a high standard for us blog runners so I decided I should stop piddling about and do some work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my eclectic running blog. I saw Connemara's landscape on your blog: I'm sure that it is a beautiful place to go for a run!
ReplyDeleteHave a nice training!