I have decided to change the face of my english blog. I hope you like. Any comment on it will be welcome :-)

yesterday I forgot to post the route of my 35k or 21.7miles.

according to sporttracks I stopped for 8'17''...damn it...does this mean that this LRS doesn't count?????? :-)

this week has been weird. I had 2 good runs and 2 terrible ones. well...at least it's an even game, innit?! throughout the week I was thinking about today's LSR: 35km, 21.7miles. very importat for the moral!

the whole thing started on a couple of positive notes: a friend was willing to join me and run @ my pace for the last 10 miles or so; another friend gave me a gel to try and I was convinced that it would have helped me along the way - even though my first and last experience with a gel was eeek! but then this morning I woke up completing forgetting of the clocks change, my garmin was flat and I thought, oh crap!

I left home with no money, no music 'cause I was meeting my friend and he has a car and i thought i don't need these things, i just bring my mobile in case we miss each other. plan: i run 10 miles on my own and 10+ with him. on my way to our appointment I stop at a pub for a wee and when I get there, there's no sign of him. I wait for a while, I run up and down, I call him a couple of times but NOTHING! it turned out that he was there and started to run looking for me, following all the ladies with a bright yellow jacket risking of being arrested for harassment but he DID NOT HAVE HIS MOBILE ON HIM! great, we totally missed each other and, as usual, I run the whole bloody thing on my onw WITH NO MUSIC.

after 2 hours I take the gel. I was a bit anxious 'cause I thought that I was going to puke, but it was actually quite nice. I wasted 2' to take the bottle of water out of the belt and drink and put the bottle back in the belt. but then I picked up the pace, I kept it, I slowed down, I picked it up again. I think the gel had some kind of effect as my legs did not feel like stones but just like wood :-)

I finished in 3h31' with a pace of 9:44. I could have done a lot better if it wasn't for all the breaks but I am quite pleased with it.

now....it's CONNEMARA TIME!!!! BRING THE FUN (NOT) ON!!


week 12

runs: 4 out of 5
miles: 43,75
calories burnt: 4,500
hours on my feet: 6h40'
good runs: 2
bad runs: 2
lost friends: 1

Thursday morning was a glorious day here in dublin so I decided to stop on my way to work and take some pics of the canal along which I run during the week (if Im not runnng more than 8 miles, otherwise I go to Phoenix Park). I love it because of the swans and because there are lots of runners :-)

don't really know where to start from.

I was feeling very well and I was very confident about my 18+ miles (30k) LSR. maybe just a bit apprehensive because of the new approach to the LSRs, but my legs were great and I thought that I could have done it.

the new approach, just in case you are wondering, is to do my LSRs keeping an eye on the pace. on top of that the idea is to do them 'in progression', that is faster than how they started. before I changed my training plan I just aimed at finishing them, no time no progression in mind.

I managed only 16.16 miles and I struggled .... a lot. at mile 9 I was already thinking of going home but I kept going without looking at my garmin anymore. I took long walk-breaks (which I normally don't take) and I dragged myself home. my legs were made of stone, my breathing was difficult and I don't know what to make of this:
was it just an off day? is it my pace that is too fast and I can't keep it up for so long?? (actually I managed to do 2 25ks (15+miles) at that pace so...I am not really sure about this).

Now there's only time for a 22 miler next weekend and then connemara half before my marathon. have I done enough to attempt and improve my time? what if I fail the 22 miler too? it feels like a big step to take right now....

lots of doubts...feeling a bit down right now.

i hope you all have some words of wisdom for me guys :-)

this week's runs: 4 out of 5
miles covered: 41.25
hours run: 6h28'43''
avarage: 9:25
calories burnt: 4,434
good runs: 3
bad runs: 1

yes, I went out today despite the wind. once out I actually felt very good and my legs were fine. my speed was better than normal and I thought to stay with it 'cause I knew that on the way back the wind would have been against me and it would have been slow slooooow!! I did 8.70 miles and the first half was faster than my long intervals on wednesday with an average pace of 8:26...whohooo!!! but the second half was bliddy slow. I finished in 1h20'55''...not bad for a windy day :-)

when I got to sandymouny it was very surprising to see the high tide and the water getting very close to the street...quite unusual. but at one point something more unusual caught my attention and I had to stop: there was a guy in the water with a wet suit and, I guess, water skies. he also had a kind of kite. because of the wind the kite was high in the sky and the guy was actually flying on the water....it was amazing....I just wanted to join him.

when I got home it started to rain....crazy day really!

today, all the pubs in ireland will be closed...they really respect good friday over here!!! well...maybe not..a friend of mine told me that there's always a queue on thursday night outside the off licences so that they can get hammered on good friday anyway!! so civilized, isn't it??? :-))))

yesterday evening the weather was crap and my legs felt kind of heavy after the long intervals of wednesday. I had a 8miles+ run planned. I waited for the rain to stop even though what really really bothers me when I run is the wind which was showing no sign of easing off. quite the contrary. it was blowing and blowing.....the rain wasn't stopping either so I decided to eat instead.

today's run can't be skipped and the wind is still here aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!! yes, ok, the sun is out but, really, who cares???? when I run against the wind I just feel like fighting against monsters, like being at the beginning of a very very steep hill which lasts forever. my breathing goes mad and my legs freeze.....the joy of running!!!!

right...I know I'll have to go out there at some point today. I'll be strong and brave and at the end I'll be exhausted I know but the hard work will pay off in the end...or so they say!

on the exhaustion bit: is it only me??? it's 6 weeks to my marathon, 10 weeks into my new trainign routine and I constantly feel tired! is it really only me? I read other blogs and everyone seems kind of fine... I am so NOT!!!

oh guys...I am really pleased tonight. I went out to do some long intervals: 2x5000. that's the same session that I tried on saturday and miserably failed :-(

but tonight I was on fire babe!!!! not only did I finish the all thing and didn't rely on a taxi to go home eh eh, but I did it keeping the pace I really wanted: 9:00min/mile!!

bring connemara and padova on !!!

strange week this week. I do not understant what has happened :-)

I went to durham for 3 days and I felt soooo lethargic and tired. I went to sleep very early and slept for more than 8 hours per night, which is very unusual for me! I didn't have the strength and will power to put my shoes on and go for a run.

when I came back to dublin, on thursday, I did a very good run: 4.97 miles in 41:23 with a pace of 9:07. I thought, strange, I just got off the plane and I am shattered...maybe it was just a sign that my energy was finally back. but, no!! on friday I felt sleepy and sluggish again and decided to postpone my interval sessions to saturday morning.

saturday, 8.30 in the morning I start my intervals feeling quite well and optimistic: 2x5000 plus warm-up and coold down, with a total of 10miles. The first interval went quite well, yay, but at the second one my legs packed up big time and so did my head!!! after 7.46 miles I took a cab and went back home. what's wrong with me, I thought....really....I just don't get it!!

I felt really down, so down that I skipped my 5k this morning and I thought to give a miss to any type of run for today. my legs were heavy, my mood was baaaaad!!!

but the mind is strange and suddenly I felt like going out and try to run the same distance as last week and maybe a bit more....and so I did!!!! 15.5miles in 2 minutes less than last sunday: 2:26.37 with a 9:22 average pace. Isn't it strange how mind and body work??? I still don't get it!! one day is totally crap and the day after is just perfect!! plus, how is it that I always get in wrong??? I feel fine and my run is crap....I feel crap and my run is goooood!! I am SO confused!
The thing that would have made this run perfect: 2 more miles....but once I reached my target my legs dediced that, no, they were not going to move anymore....boohooo!!! how I am going to run 20 and 22 miles in the next 2 weeks is beyond me....not to mention a MARATHON...but then, WHAT DO I KNOW????????????????

I am going to do what jogblog does...I really like...I hope she doesn't mind

this week's runs: 3 out of 5
miles covered: 28
hours run: 4h23'55''
avarage: 9:25
calories burnt: 3,048
good runs that I thought were going to be crap: 2
crap runs that I thought were going to be good: 1
times I knew how my body was going to react: NONE!

I had a horrible week at work with a news that really hurt me and depressed me. but I cannot do anything about it and I don't think it's worth crying over it. so, I've decided to pick myself up and move on.

training is going well and even though I managed to go out 3 times out of the 5 planned I still did 38miles this week, so not too shabby :-)

today I did 15miles and I had the stupid idea to go out without bringing anything to drink with me. On Fetch there is a thread where they are discussing whether to drink or not during LSR and some of the peeps said they don't take anything on their runs. So I just wanted to try as I hate bringing stuff with me when I am running. It, obsviously, didn't work and the last 4 miles were very tough. I stopped and bought something to drink but it was too late so I had to drag myself to the end of the 15 miles. anyway, I finished in 2h28 which is almost 30 minutes less than the last 15miles I did. So, this should mean that I am going somewhere, right? the pace was very uneven but the average was 9:33

tomorrow I am going to durham, if the storm which IS SUPPOSED to arrive here does not prevent me from flying, that is. but I cannot hear any storm approaching ..... I should be there until thursday and I will bring my running shoes. there is a gorgeous countryside around durham and I'll take advantage of that :-)

week of low milage due to a flu and horrid weather!! I went out 3 times instead of 5 and I did 28miles instead of the planned 40, but there you go!

Today I went to Phoenix park for a 12.43miler. weather wasn't bad at all...it was sunny and only breezy rather than incredibly windy...glad I am not a lightweight otherwise the wind in dublin could really carry me away. the park was beautiful as it always is on a sunny weekend. it was only 10.30 am but there were lots of runners around and people with dogs. the deer were enjoying the spectacle sitting in circle as the ususally do :-) but the nicest thing I was were two deer running in a very regal way .... chased by a dog!!

I did my 12.43 miler in 1h58'48'' with a pace of 9.35 and I am quite pleased with it even though it didn't always feel like a walk in the park :-) where
I train is not really what you'd call FLAT, quite the contrary and being allergic to hills doesn't help!