unironedman

IN WHICH WE STUMBLE BACK INTO SOME FORM OF… FORM, I DO SOME CROSS-TRAINING WITH A CHAINSAW, AND S AND I HEAD TO THE POSH SIDE OF TOWN FOR SOME SERIOUS FASHION…

It seems like a lifetime ago that I mentioned how marvelous Brigid’s Day was; the first day of February. It was calm and unseasonably warm, and it felt like Spring was peeking its nose around the corner. Over three weeks of miserable weather followed, bringing flooding to much of the east and south of the country, and it was a cold, wet slap that sent Spring scurrying back into her parlour to change her clothes.

Well, I saw my first Blackthorn blossom today, and the stretch in the evening has well passed the time I arrive back in from work. So, brighter mornings as I set off, and still sun, such as there is any, when I get home. I will have to take a stroll in the woods this weekend and see what sort of flowers are out.

If the sap is rising in the world of nature out there, then somewhere in my weary bones there is a recognition of the great world spinning too. On Tuesday last week, I headed out for a run in the dark. Nothing planned other than to get out and shake off the dust. I ran through the park and out onto the Clonee Road which nets you 2k exactly. Right, and down towards Laraghcon, dropping down into the Liffey Valley on the north side of Lucan Village. The pace seems sprightly enough, though I resist the urge to check the watch. On through the village itself, and then a climb up towards the entrance back into the park.

As I pass the weir, I know I have 2k to go, and the watch beeps in agreement. I try and keep the pace honest as the path follows the bend in the river. A climb over the bridge, cross the Liffey, a small drop and then another gentle climb. Then back on to the Black Avenue and there’s only a kilometre to go. I reach home and find I’ve done 7k at a 5:06 pace. In keeping with my recent trend, I cheerfully record it as ‘7k tempo’ in Garmin Connect.

On the Thursday, I do a more modest 6k in the park at a 5:54 pace. I can feel Tuesday’s efforts in the legs, and as I am running in the dark, I have no desire to start mucking about with hill repeats. I know they must be done, but for now, it’s about forming good habits, and not flogging an old nag.

On Sunday evening, I set off once more in the dark after a busy weekend (more anon). I had nearly talked myself out of running at all. Several times. Changing things up a bit, I headed out the door and turned left up the lane. At the Main Street, I went left over the Liffey towards the Salmon Leap Inn, and then turned right towards the reservoir. The dam’s three sluice gates were all open, which is a rare thing, and three white, foaming torrents roared their disapproval at their temporary incarceration. In truth, the dam generates very little electricity these days, but the reservoir is an important body of water that feeds the nearby water treatment plant. And it provides me with several swimming spots in the Summer 🙂

Skirting the edge of the lake for a brief period, I hook back around to join up with the main road into Lucan, and drop down past one of the park entrances to jog through the village. Back over the Liffey again, which I can see has all but buried the weir in its path, surging towards the sea. Then it’s the hard slog uphill at Laraghcon this time, having made the reverse trip earlier in the week. Then back towards the park, and under the eye of Cú Chulainn, a stoic figure carved in Beech, hurley in hand, standing guard along the avenue before we enter the park proper.

As I reach the Kildare section of St. Catherine’s, I see Orion’s Belt overhead. It is one of the more recognisable constellations, but seems to have snuck into my life quite a few times lately, either through social media feeds or actually by me being out under the stars. I suspect there’s a frequency illusion vibe going on here.

Home, and 10k in the bag, and a 5:28 pace, 38% of which was spent in Zone 4, or Threshold. Possibly not what the doctor ordered. The other chunk was all spent Aerobically in Zone 3. This whole zone thing is quite important… assuming you know what you’re doing. There’s a lot to be gained by running smarter with heart monitors. But as with all things, the devil is firmly in the detail. Garmin will cheerfully give you very accurate stats on where you sat on your run regarding heart rate, but this is based on some guesswork on the actual zone numbers. Some devices can learn from your results, but in general, it’s taking a stab at things, based on information you feed in. ‘Garbage in, garbage out’, as the computer techs like to remind us.

The considered wisdom is to try and run slower on your slow runs to build stamina and endurance. There’s quite a bit of science here regarding how your body is metabolising fats and carbs to produce energy, and also to keep lactate in check. For some folks (myself included), you may feel that running slow is not producing results. No pain, no gain, as we like to remind ourselves at the end of a hard session. But you should be saving your efforts for the specific workouts, like hill repeats and intervals, when you push the body into Zone 4 and beyond. Here is some blurb if you’re interested.

It had been a busy weekend, so I was pleased I managed to get out at all. I rose early on Saturday and headed out to borrow a mate’s truck. Off to Lucan to meet a guy who was clearing some fallen trees. A few hours of chainsaw work and I had a good load of Horse Chestnut boughs, branches and few rounds which are handy as chopping blocks. Then over to Maynooth to get a few scoops of dried logs for the fire. The chestnut is for next Winter. Sunday was another early start, and I stacked the ash logs for burning, and split most of the chestnut.

In between, S and I headed out for the night on Saturday. It was the launch of an exhibition of ‘wearable art’ from Irish fashion designer Claire Garvey. The venue was the rather salubrious Powerscourt Estate in Enniskerry, owned and managed by the Slazenger family. Many moons (and a few Orion’s Belts!) ago, I went to art college with Claire back in 1987. She has gone on to great things. Famous folk who have worn her outfits include Lady Gaga and Nile Rodgers. Her stuff is amazing, though I wonder how you could possibly get into an outfit without a coterie of nimble-fingered helpers. Or indeed, in some cases, perhaps one of those gizmos knights used to get into their armour. Live music on the night was provided by the mesmerising Sexy Tadhg. Lots of glam, as you would expect, and plenty of fine gúnas.

In other news, I have entered the Abingdon Marathon in Oxford, in October. It’s the home of JC, and Gary has signed up too. So we’ll have a chance to repeat some of the craic of the Connemarathon from last year, with no doubt more horrendous puns, some whiskey tasting, and at least this time we’ll all compete together in the same race.