Half Marathon Mick's Training Diary - Week 2

Half Marathon Mick’s Training Diary – Week 2

Hi all,

Half-Marathon Mick here. Week 2 of my training diary or log or whatever you might like to call it. The first of my races kick off this weekend with the Castleconnell 10K down in Limerick. I’ve clocked up several good long runs over the last week in preparation. The routes have consisted of 8K and 10K treks around the neighborhood on tarmac and concrete surfaces. Not the most diverse of terrain but it’ll do for this race. From next week onwards I’ll mix it up and start hitting the dirt trails in preparation for Quest. It’s starting to creep up slowly and if I don’t start preparing then it’ll hit me like a deer caught in the headlights of a taxi tearing through the Phoenix Park on a Saturday night.

One downside to the longer runs is finding yourself drained of energy the next day. Clocking up 8K of concrete after you’ve clocked out from 8 hours in the office sounds like a great idea. However, if you don’t warm up and wind down properly then you could risk your system crashing out over the next 24 hours. Keep yourself fueled with water too. Most professional advice I’ve come across suggests downing half a pint of water about half an hour before you head out. Then another half pint during your run (and a real pint when you reach the finish line!).

Finally, I invested in a new pair of Asics runners last weekend. I had dragged my last pair through (literally) Hell and Back. The rubber was starting to wear off on the soles and the cushion impact was effectively gone. The new pair have injected serious energy into my training. They’ve got a great grip designed to guard your sole when you hit off of curbs and other obstacles. It’s also great to have strong cushion support again, it really adds that little extra to every step.

So that’s more or less it for this week. Be sure to check out next week’s blog where I’ll cover my attempt at the Castleconnell 10K and look ahead to Quest Glendalough.

Check out the links below to brave the races mentioned above:

Castleconnell 10K http://castleconnell10k.com/

Quest Adventure Series: http://www.kayathlon.ie/quest-glendalough

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