Lack of training and motivation.

Been a terrible time training wise with my hip flexor's been at me and pain too much to train with.
I had signed up for the Laura Lynn half and the night before pigged out on a take away.
In the morning I decided to run but was anxious about the hip flexor's.The day was fantastic with the sun beaming and great turn out.I went out hard for the first mile and decided it would be a long awy home on my own with seasoned runner Frank Quinlan of Waterford Ac just behind me.I decided to run back and run with Frank and we did so up until 8-9 miles and I started to struggle a little then.I got tight calf muscles wearing a pair of racing flats that are too light for a 13stone runner.I managed to pick it up a little over the last 2-3 miles as my mate Gary helped me out with some pacing and managed to peg back some time on Frank finishing up 18 seconds behind and in a time of 76mins.

Over the next few weeks I got out 3-4 times but struggled on a longish run and felt very down about things.
I decided to run the Arc 10k a race that I have won 3 times before and had been promoting in the shop as Arc is a great cause.The race couldn't have gone better as I have missed so much training and finished up winning comfortable enough just outside 35mins.my calf's didn't suffer after I changed racing shoes to the puma Fass 300 which where class.
The Hip flexor's feel much better and I hope to get some training in now over the coming months down at Donore Harriers.

Amphibian King the new retail partners for the Dublin Marathon.

We had great news a few weeks ago as we are now the official retail partners with the Dublin Marathon and race series.It feels a great fit I think for both parties and will hopefully give our stores more exposure and especially Ashtown been located on 600m from the Phoenix Park where most of the race series take part.
I have watched the Dublin marathon for years and hopefully will run it this year.Right now im carrying a groin injury which  I hope to sort out very soon.It has been frustrating as I was starting to run ok again finishing 4th in the Fit Magazine 10k.

Our new sponsored athletes having been doing really well with Ann-Marie winning her last 2 or three races and running a 16.01 5k.Philip Harty won Connemara marathon and his county championships.Marie had a fine win in the Newry half marathon and Gary ran a pb in Rotterdam  (2.22)after some bad stomach problems.

We are starting a new run course  on the 29th @ 6.15pm and this will run for 5 weeks.

Hopefully a nice update on the next blog with no injuries.

January blues....

Well that was quick month and on to another,January was a good month for me as I had my birthday (33)
and made a few changes in my personal life which have me in a much happier place.
Training has gone to plan and this weekend I will do the Enniscorthy 10k as planned.
I have had a few niggles along the way and a trip to the Osteopath and massage therapist helped get some much needed relief.

My last 4 weeks of training I have averaged 60miles per week and im starting to enjoy the long run with the lads on a Sunday more as the pace is getting easier as I get fitter.
Sometimes its good to have that one day in the week where you push yourself and challenge your mental side.

The shop has seen loads of new customers in Ashtown and some new exciting shoes have come in including the Mizuno Rider 17,Inspire 10,Fass 300,500 & 600S.
One shoe that was a flop was the new Brooks Adrenaline 14,there has been an issue with the heel cup so they have had to go back into production and this has caused a delay.
The Saucony Mirage has gone down well and we ran a competition on Facebook which Paul Barrell who runs with Drogheda District AC.

We got a nice new shower put in the shop which might not seem like a big thing to non sporty people but it really helps so both myself & Mark can run/cycle to work and make more time for our families.
We are in the process of getting our new Amphibian King running kit done up for our sponsored athletes.Puma have come on board to help us out.

4 weeks and I updated this blog,that must be a record !!!

Happy New Year !!!

I was at a friends 30th party last week and got a gentle reminder from a friend of mine Killian Lonergan

that I hadn't updated this in a while.

I love listening to Killian and other friends as we could spend hours talking about running.

It is why i decided to open Amphibian King Ashtown with Mark Horan.

I love listening to customers share their stores both good and bad.Most customers will enter the store and

say ''im only a fun runner''.It doesn't matter what level you are at once you are enjoying the sport.

So my own running has been up and down the last 6 weeks.I upped the mileage too quickly(whats new)

and my knee was niggling at me so had to take 9 days off.

What got me running again was the opportunity to run with the great Haile Gebrselassie over in Manchester.

We just opened up an account with Adidas and they wanted to showcase their new product called Boost.

I got a pair of Adidas Boost glide and have done two good weeks running,they are very responsive and work well in wet conditions.I will report back with a further review after 200miles.

I got to meet both Haile and a former national champion and an absolute gent called James Mcllroy.

Haile took us on a short run around a golf course at 7.30am and some light drills and stretching after.

Afterwards was a nice breakfast and outdoor Jacuzzi :)

Since the new year I have decided to get a coach and have a plan put together.The key is staying injury free and I will probably go backwards before I go forwards again.

I plan a couple of races just to keep ticking over and starting with the Enniscorthy 10k in 5weeks time.

I missed the cut of date for Ballycotton 10mile so will look for another option.

Our new run course starts the 7th and 11th of Jan.for more info log onto our Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/events/684616431571270/

Dublin Marathon

What a day and what a weekend !!!
Both myself and Mark where working the expo with CEP compression the weekend.
Was brilliant to talk to everyone and meet new customers.

Our day on Sunday was a disaster for Gary O Hanlon who had his phone stolen by some thug.
The Gardai arranged a sting operation to get it back but ended up with the phone been thrown into the Liffey and Gary with a broken hand.I went home that evening thinking he wouldn't be racing.

Monday arrived and I was at the 10k mark cheering everyone on.Sean and Joe the two favourites came gliding past with Brian Maher pace making.At this stage Sean looked very relaxed and I was thinking experience would count.Gary came past not looking happy as he missed his water bottle and stopped to get one under a car.
At this point i didn't expect him to have a good run but was to be proved wrong with  big pb and 6th place.
Next I was on the look out for Maria and Gary Crossan and you couldn't miss them as it was a very large bunch working together.Maria was a deserving winner and the scenes after with Gary would bring a tear to the eye.

Few things happening in the shop now over the next couple of weeks with a new 8 week running course.This will be for beginers and an advanced group.Follow our facebook page for more info https://www.facebook.com/AmphibianKingPhoenixPark
Belated congrats to staff memeber Lee who  who came 3rd in the Leinster novice cross country.


Final well done to everyone who took part in Dublin and hope to hear all your amazing stories over the coming weeks.

ON runners a huge hit with customers !!!

In the last few weeks I have started to try a new brand of runners called ON.
They are a Swiss made shoe and are new to the running market in Ireland.
When you hit the ground,the highly adaptive rubber elements cushion both vertical and horizontal forces for a soft landing.They give back a very light running sensation and are helping me stay away from pain and injuries.
With my achilles setting me back 6 weeks and no training I have started to ease back into training
running 15-20minutes 4-5 times per week.
Treatement with Ciaran McDonagh once a week is helping and hopefully by December I will be training like a man possessed.

We have had some new stock arrive in the store with the Asics Lyte 33,Puma Fass 100 & 600 and also the very popular Puma Nightglow jacket which lights up like a glow torch when light shines on the fabric.
Our running classes have started on Monday nights and the course being 8 weeks gives plenty of time for runners of all leveles to improve fitness,technique and goal specific training programmes.

This weekend saw Maria win the lakes 10k after a superb win in the Frank Duffy 10mile race.Gary O Hanlon is running for Ireland in Poland in the world mountain running championships.
Last week we had two  sub 4minute milers and European cross country gold medalists in the shop (David McCarty & John Coghlan) We also had a large crew from team Carrie down,177 runners taking part in the Dublin marathon for the first time.
I also managed to get my ugly mug in Mens uk running magazine :)

Great to see so many people training for the Dublin marathon this year.Hopefully see you all over the coming weeks.
Don't forget to follow us on twitter https://twitter.com/AK_Ashtown
and also facebook https://www.facebook.com/AmphibianKingPhoenixPark?ref=hl

Amphibian King Ashtown now open !!!

Almost four months since I updated my blog but been a productive and exciting last few months.
Training took a back seat for a while with injury and getting the new store open.
Myself and Mark Horan decided to open the store together as it is something we both dreamed of and are passionate about.

The store is located 600m from the Phoenix Park and is in a lovely part of Dublin called Ashtown.We have free parking and a huge range of running shoes,compression,clothing,running belts,nutrition,foam rollers and anything a runner could need.
Our first three weeks have been amazing and was great to see so much support from friends and family.

Regarding my training I had a nice block and started of by winning the ARC 10k for a third year.I then finished second in the Prison service BHAA 5k on the grass.
My next race was a 250km relay race around Ireland thanks to Saucony who flew over 60 people from around the world to take part.
our team was made up of the UK and Ireland and we had an amazing battle with team Germany and finished up 2minutes behind after 14 hours of racing.Damian and myself took part for Amphibian King and Ireland.

The few days after my achilles has been at me so no running for a few days.
hope you are all enjoying the sunshine and hope to see you down at the new shop.

https://www.facebook.com/AmphibianKingPhoenixPark?ref=hl

Everyday im shuffling

I have been very lazy with the blog and the month of March has passed with mixed feelings.
I have been on an upward curve with my running since I started back and finally hit a brick wall.
It started with the flu and decided to race,the race went ok and ran 16.04 for 5k on the road so I didn't think
the dose of flu was that bad.Three days later I cut a session of 5 x 1mile short as I felt rotten and was getting slower on each rep.

A trip to the doctor and he said I was over a virus and to take another couple of days off.
That evening I fainted early int he morning and banged my head hard so another 2 days off.
So today was my first run in over a week and managed 90minutes and has given me back the confidence.

This coming week I will be working in our Galway store and looking forward to a fresh place to train.

Moving on and up.........

Well it's been over two months since I updated this log and we all know why runners don't update their blog (INJURY)
I had a problem with my knee soon after I ran the Clonliffe 5k.The race went well and was just outside 16 minutes but the following day I knew something wasn't right.
I was struggling to walk never mind running and after some treatment I realised I had damaged the meniscus.
I was given a two week programme to follow which was to run every second day and build up my runs from 6minutes to 45 minutes by week two.

Long story short it worked and I decided to run an I.M.R.A race last week.Plan was to run it steady but not to risk anything on the downhill.The race was very enjoyable and I was a distant third place but well clear of 4th place so could enjoy the scenery for a change.Coming into the finish no sign of the two leaders and I was told I was first across the line.The lads had taken a wrong turn and I was winner by default.Well I have been known for going wrong myself a few times so maybe lady luck was shining on me :)

This week was some easy running with a couple of double runs as I have more free time right now.
I ran the Urban trail series in Marlay Park,a race which is sponsored by AK.The race had nearly 500 people in the 8.8k race and 200 in the 4.4k race.I won the race which was nice and got some lovely pottery and I donated my AK voucher to a lucky runner.
The race was my sisters first venture into a race,she has started a couch 2 5k run programme 9 weeks ago and was delighted with her run.Have to say she looked fresh as a daisy coming into the finish.

So what is next for Kevin English ???

Well I am starting a running group from the Phoenix park three times per week.
the target will be the Great Ireland run on the 14th April so if people would like more info email
me at      kevinenglish1@yahoo.ie

Tipping away

Since the 10mile race things have gone to plan.I have managed two sessions per week and every week
I have noticed the times are getting a little quicker which is great for the confidence.
Last Sunday I ran my first cross country race in nearly 5 years.The race was 5k and the surface was great,I went out a little hard and paid the price on the second lap but managed to recover and finished up in second place.Our manager in Bray Gary was also running and finished 4th place,maybe next time we will get a full team out.

I also purchased a running buggy a couple weeks ago and it's very handy for days where my wife Elaine is working and I can take it to the phoenix park for a spin.

So I have signed up for the Clonliffe 5k this coming Sunday and hope to run as close to or under 16minutes.
This is silly season now regarding work parties and club parties so head down ad keep the legs moving.

Stook 10mile race

Hit the road early with Gary in the van for the 10mile race organised by Gowran ac.The weather looked perfect and we found our way to the race without any wrong turns for a change.
We unloaded the van and set up the shop with a short 1mile warmup and a few strides.
I was in a really good frame of mind before the race even though most people said the course was full of hills.
A friend of mine David Mc Carthy who is one of the favourites for next weeks National Intercounty cross country was
out with his training partner Philip Harty and was planning on running 6minute miles which suited me so I asked if he would run around/pace me :)
Philip would be Gary's biggest rival today and both very good runners on the hills with Gary having the slight advantage on the downhills and with the final 2miles this proved to be decisive as Gary won in 51.59 around 30+ seconds ahead.

The start of the race was strange for me as I was holding myself back and sticking to my 6minute mile plan.
Back in about 14th place after mile1 I was chatting away to Dave and as we passed each mile we started to pick of some runners that went out a little too fast.
After 5miles of running I was running 6minute miles handy enough but was preparing forthe real hills at 5.5miles.
The next mile was the slowest of the race in 6.15/20 and as we passed the next runner on a climb I got excited and my legs where abit like jelly near the top,at this point Dave slowed to wait for me(thanks Dave)

Mile 7 I was back rolling and suddenly at mile 8 I saw this huge downhill and let the legs stride out.We passed another runner and I now found myself well inside the top10.
My last 2miles I ran 9.20/30 and finished(8th place) strongly with this race giving me the appetite to train harder/smarter and look forward to 2013.

Well done  to Simon and Gowran ac on a fantastic race.

Berlin marathon awaits me.............

Never a good sign when a blog hasn't been updated in over five weeks.Trying to go back and remember things when I should be logging my training in a diary.
Since the last time I posted I ran a marathon in 2.55 and blew up badly in the last 5-6 miles.I have signed up for Berlin marathon next September and with the right training can have a good crack at a 2.3x marathon.

This week has gone well with a good session Tuesday of 8 x 1k repeats and one long run of 95minutes.The rest are my usual 4mile commute to work.

This weekend we are one of the sponsors of the Stook 10mile road race in Kilkenny.I plan on running 6minute miles with the last 2-3 a little quicker.

the boys are flying...........

I had a great weeks training last week with no injuries.

For most of the week I ran 40-60 minutes running.On Friday I decided to run  a long one considering I was going to have a long day working at the Athlone 3/4 which AK are sponsors.

Sunday at the last minute i decided to help Barry out and do the pacing for 3hour marathon pace.

I ran nice and controlled at 7.05-710 pace and at 15miles most where starting to suffer on the hills.

Finished up in 2.16 and body feels great.

A couple of easy recovery days ahead and then time to put a proper training schedule in place.

Well done to team AK who won the Hell & back race for a third year in a row.I had to give it a miss this year as i couldn't risk an injury again.

Well done to our sponsored athletes the weekend.Jt was 5th in the Tallaght 5miler and Goh was 2nd in the Athone 3/4 marathon.

Perfect shoes !!!

The last few weeks I have managed some consistant training.Most runs are 30mins and have along run Sunday 70mins.
Decided to give Hell & Back race a miss this year and instead will head down to the Athlone three quarter marathon
which Amphibian King will be doing a shop at.

 I love this time of the year seeing so many people out testing their bodies with punishing long runs.
Good luck to everyone training for the marathon.

I have gone back tothe Mizuno riders for training and love them.The last model I feel out of love with Mizuno but very happy now with the Rider 15's.

The new year myself and my mate Gary O Hanlon will be starting up a training group and plans for people
interested in 5k-marathon programmes.
If anyone is interested they can mail me at kevinenglish1@yahoo.ie

Injuries just keep coming

When you see a runners blog not being updated you can guess he/she is injured.
Well that is what happened me the following day after my win in the hills.
All was good in work till that evening when running with Niall I could feel a sharp pain
in the outside of my foot.
Niall turned to me after 20minutes and said ''you are very quiet'',well there was a reasonand I knew
straight away it was a stress fracture.Last time I got one was after the European Club Cross country in
Turkey and it was painfull to say the least.

I knew it was now a waiting game and I borrowed a boot of Darren in work but it cut the shin off me and
with every customer asking me what happened it got me down a little.
Last time I was injured I amanaged to put on two stone so I made a good effort to lay of the choc and pies this time :)

I started back two weeks ago and my first week was 4 runs with longest run being 30minutes.
This week has being goodand the pain has nearly gone.I will have to massage the foot more and start looking after
myself more.
Picture below my little girl in her first running vest :)

So onwards and upwards,let the good times begin !!!

Mountain Plod

Been so long since I updated the blog im not sure where to start.

Best to start with yesterday as it's fresh in the memory.

I woke up early to see that my car was clamped so a 30euro taxi fare to Marley park

and I signed up for the Dublin plod half marathon.

This I knew would be a difficult course as I had trained on the course a few times.

The gun went and the early pace felt very easy as all my races of late had been over 5k & 10k distance.

As we reached the hills I started to breath a little deeper now but two of us where well clear.

Aongus who I had ran with on the Irish team in Snowdon two years ago I knew was a beast on the uphill so I would have to work hard to stay within distance of him.

After 4miles I began to struggle with a stitch and the hills.Aongus was now 90seconds plus ahead.

Mile 9 I made a surge on the downhill and began to close.

Mile 10 I had caught him and lookign at my Garmin i was clocking 4.25 per mile and I put the hammer down as I past him.Aongus in fairness responded and again i had to find another gear and slowly I stretched away.

Mile 11 i knew I just had to stay on my feet and could enjoy the finish.

My time was 85.55 and a new course record.

Friday the 13th:

Headed down to Tullamore for a 5k with my mate Gary O ' Hanlon.

we where too busy chatting and missed the turn for Tullamore and ended up in Athlone.

Fair play to the organisers who held the race by 10minutes as we ran up with no warm up.

Gun went and i was flat as a pancake from the off.Struggled home in 5th place in around 16.40 and gary got pipped at the finish for the win.Great feed on after the race and I would highly recommend the race.

I have had two good session of 16 x 400m and 6 x 1km reps over the last two weeks.My training kept to 55-70 miles per week.still running with the pram once a week.

Dublin Marathon is still on the cards once the body stays in one piece.

Don't forget to sign up for the lakes 10k in September.Picture from last year and thanks to Darren for the racepix t-shirt.www.racepix.com for all your racing pictures.

First win in a long time :)))

I awoke monday morning with very tight calfs from my 10k race the day before.decided to cross train instead of a run and did 1 hour on the bike.

On Tuesday I headed down to the track but the marathon group where heading out for a 10mile fartlek session.
Pace was comfortable with George pushing the pace and enjoyed the banter and company.

Sonia O' Sullivan popped into the store to get a swimming lesson and I got to see the olympic torch and she signed an Irish singlet I had which was great.

Wed I did a steady run of 10miles at 6.30 miles.

Thur I ran late after work and did a 40minute run with 6 x 100m strides as I would be racing Friday.

Fridays race was the first running of the Front Runners 5k and was 1mile from my appartment so I jogged down from work with a 5mile warm up.The wind was strong and when the gun went I was slow to react.
I found myself back in about 6/7th place with soem guy tearing out the front.He must have went through the first km in under 2.50.I soon caught up with him as we turned the corner heading into a strong head wind.I had to make a decision at this point as I was 5-6 seconds up ont he two guys behind and with the leader slowing down I could either stay behind and catch a break but the other two runners would catch up so I decided a long run for home was the best option.
My pace was steady but with the strong wind I wasn't too focused on a fast time.Sub 17 I would have been happy with but as I hit the 3k marker i knew I could run alot faster.
One thing I never do in a race is look behind(exception when turning a corner) and I noticed I was 10-15 seconds ahead so it was me against the clock now.I picked it up over the last km and finished in 16.25 which I was very happy with.
Im not one for speeches and Susan Walsh put me on the spot(thanks Susan)
I finished up with a 4mile cool down and a nice bottle of corona in the polo grounds bar.

Saturday I did an easy 30mins recovery run in the morning as I had a long day working in the shop and attending the Dunshaughlin 10k which Gary won in a great finish with Mark Hoey.

Sunday was a group run with Anto,John,Evan,Daire and myself.Manged 1hour 40minutes but my hips where tight after.


Monday:1 hour on the bike and 1hour run with Ella-Jane in the buggy.

Tuesday I headed to sports Med Ireland for a session with Mark Mcabe who worked on my core and is helping me to rectify some of my weaknesses.I did a 5mile run there and plan a nice session with the club later.
Good luck to everyone running the first race in the race series on Saturday !!!

Parkwest 10k

The legs where tired from the racing so this week was a recovery week with a planned session on saturday.
Monday was a very easy 30minutes as the body was tender.
Tuesday I did 40minutes with the pram and took a trip to the physio to get checked out and was given
some exercises for my weak core.
Wed:30mins am run to work and 45mins pm
Thursday:lovely 70mins am in the Phoenix park with kevin who had run 3.47 for 1500 the evening before and Gary.Pm I did an easy run home 25minutes @ 6.30 pace.
Fri:45mins and decided to race Parkwest on Sunday.

Sat:35MIN RUN

Sunday:Walked 45minutes with the pram to the race.Signed up and a friend of mine was home from the States(goes to Arkansas)
Asked him if there was no one sub 32-33mins would he help pace me to break 34mins.

Race started and I knew the pace was abit fast but 2-3 runners arouns me and dave was out ahead.Told him to go on but he slowed up and I caught him.
I knew I was going to pay for an opening 1k off 2.58 but tried to think positive and said to Dave I can use it as a buffer later on 

Slowly we pulled away from the 3rd runner and now I knew it was a case of staying relaxed and hitting sub 3.30 per km.
At 5k we hit 16.40 and I felt ok at this stage but was breathing heavy.
7-8 k was tough and I was glad it was on the flat section of the canal.

I
We hit 9km and I was dying now and told Dave to go on ahead,he left me standing and cruised home.My form was poor now and I was running back on my heels with all spring lost.I could see the finish was close and I managed one last big effort.The finish line had 33.27 and I ran hard todip under the line in 33.29 but the mat picking up the time was further on 
So finished up in 33.30 .Happy and a nice 75euro for second place.
Righ adductor a little tight after and calfs tight.
2mile warm up and 3mile cooldown.

Road racing again

The last two weeks have been great for me.I have been down with the club (Donore) on Tuesday evening's and we do some interval training.The first week consisted of 600m reps with 1min 45 seconds.I went off too fast on these and could only complete 6 reps at average pace 2mins.
The folowing tue I managed to do 5 x 1k in average 3.10 with 2minutes recovery,this session was a big improvement and ran with my Clubmate Eric who is back running after a long period injured.

This week end I decided to do a road race and I was expecting to run a sub 16.40 5k to start with.
The race went very well for me finishing strong in a solid time of 16.26
Eric finished 1 place ahead and was happy with his opener.Having someone to train with at a similar level really helps.
Bohermeen was the venue for the race and they laid ona  great BBQ after.Amphibian King where well represented with Gary finishing second in 15.13 just 2 seconds behind the winner and we had a small shop at the event.Was great to meet lots of customers and new customers.

On the way home Gary told me of a race the next day he planned on doing and he twisted my arm to take part.
The race was in Blanchardstown and was a really well run event with a great spread after and a friendly atmosphere.
The course was a little long but I had a great run finishing in 3rd place and you will never guess GARY WON AGAIN !!!
Thats the Dundalk half marathon,Cork half marathon,Maynooth 10k and second in Kildare half and second in Bohermeen.
After the race we got to meet the minister for transport Leo Varadkar who had ran in the race himself.

I hope everyone is training away and hope tosee you all in the shop soon.
The New Mizuno and Saucony stock has just dropped ;)

Congrats to siofra our sponsored junior athlete who ran the qualifying time for the world junior championships in the 800m with a great time of 2mins & 4seconds.Im sure we will see her fly the flag for many years to come.

Base is building and back racing some IMRA

Loving being back training and over the last three weeks I have started to feel good running.
The runs are short most days with a 30min trot to work.I will start to add in 30mins on the way home when my training picks up.
I have ran two IMRA races which for those that dont know are hill races based in the dublin/wicklow mountains.They vary in distance and are great fun.
The first one I managed to finish 6th with a good descent but struggled on the climbs.
I improved on my second race to 5th which went up Djouce.

I will do two more weeks of IMRA races and start to add some quality tempo runs to improve fitness.

Hope you are all enjoying the weather :)))