Great Race at the Racecourse!

I'm finally getting to post this blog - three days after the big event!  Big Ron and his two musketeers picked myself and D up early on Sunday morning and we headed in to town for a 10k run which would start and finish at the famous Galway Racecourse.  It was a bit of a rush getting there - Big Ron and I sprinted out of the car and into the registry office, practically togging out on the run in!  He hadn't run competitively since last September, and I hadn't run a race since last January - so we were both a bit anxious to get at it.  It was a gorgeous, sunny day and the turnout for the run was fair enough.  My own intention was to trot it out easily, just to get a run out of the way. The Big lad was anxious to really test himself, so he went off like the clappers while I paced along nicely.

This was a TOUGH course!  Have I ever run a more upward 10k?  There was one portion of the race, between the 4k and 6k mark that seemed to go up slightly for ages, with no downward at all at the end of it!  Worse was to come at the 6.5k mark, with a steep uphill climb all the way to 7.  The run from then on was just about okay!  The funniest bit was the very last run-in - as if to emphasise the uphill nature of this race the run-in itself was up hill... now I know how the horses at the Galway Race Festival feel.

Unbelievably, I posted a PB for this distance:  50.09mins.  I know I would have gotten under 50mins had I been able to see the clock on the run-in but it was concealed until the very last second.  Big Ron also posted a PB - an untouchable 42.45mins.  

Afterwards we had to rush back again home, but it was a very enjoyable race and culmination of a good week of training.  Unfortunately this week has been too stressful to run so far, but I intend to change that tomorrow. 

Cranking it up... a bit!

Not too bad this week... following the earlier run on Monday, I took to the treadmill for an interval workout on Thursday - I hate the treadmill but for some reason it isn't too bad for intervals (or repeats as some call them). I did a mile warm-up to start off with, then followed with three very fast miles, divided into segments of a half a mile at a time.  The pace was pretty fast for me, but I knew I had to crank up the pace of my training at some stage.
My next run was a five mile trot up and down the village on Saturday.  I found this to be a bit of a slog to be honest.  I know that I partly suffered because of the hot weather that day, but another part of the reason was down to the fact that I had eaten a BIG dinner just about an hour and a half before setting off.  This eating before running lark is just not my style! 
I'm way off my pace at the moment, but at least I'm up and running.  I feel that I'm not eating or training well, so both things need to be bucked up.  I also NEED a race... and I believe Big Ron has found the answer with the Ballybrit 10k next Sunday.  Finally, a goal!

Five Miles in a Hippidy, Hoppidy Way.

The summer is most definitely here now that the Irish college students have arrived... Yes folks, 15 teenagers living under our roof for 9 solid weeks - phew!  It's great fun though, a real holiday feel about the place.  We spent all last week getting ready for them and were helped enormously by D's parents who were down for a few days - they fixed bunks, helped cut the grass, clean and iron the sheets and much much more.  And of course we drank a few pints - and still managed to run a little and cycle a little!  But you do lose a bit of the zip after a few days of drinking - no matter how much you try to keep your toe in the training regime!  This evening I went out for a five miler and it was tough for the first three, but then got a bit better...
Great news on a personal front - D and I are expecting!  We were in for a scan this morning - all is well!