Click HERE to open a map of where to meet us! Flyer available here.

Summer 2010 upcoming fixtures you may be interested in can be downloaded here. (pdf format) This is just a short list, quickly put together because of the number of requests for it! A more detailed list is currently being compiled. Any questions on any of the races, do not hesitate to drop me a mail at .

Remember: Running once a week on a Friday evening is not enough to make any sort of significant improvements. You should really aim for a minimum of 2 other runs in the week.

Fit4Life 8-week schedule: July/Aug (Click on the image to download a pdf copy of it)


NOTE: 

• This is a suggested schedule. It is intentionally listed predominantly in terms of minutes rather than distance, such that it caters for all levels......more experienced runners will cover more distance than beginners and as people improve, you will notice that you cover a lot more distance in the given time than you initially did, x number of weeks before.
• Those wishing to aim for longer distances, such as 10 mile/half marathon distance should run 15-20 minutes longer for the weekend long run and run 10 minutes longer for the midweek run.
• The 5mile mini series race would be a tempo for someone who runs regularly but may be a big challenge for people just starting out, hence the week following these mini series races should be at an easier pace.

Other up-coming races people might be interested in:

• Sat June 26th - Clare 10km (must pre-enter)
• Sat/Sun June 26/27 - Enniscorthy Marathon, Marathon Relay and 15km walk (www.strawberryhalfmarathon.com)
• Sat July 3rd - Achill half marathon
• Wdenesday July 7th - Coillte 10km, Dundrum billage, Co. Tipp at 8pm. (www.tipperaryathletics.com)
• July 17th - Killarney 15 mile (www.maximarathonkillarney.com)
• Friday July 18th - Donoughmore 7 mile - 8pm. Contact: 021-7337085
• Saturday July 17th - Adidas Irish Runner 5 mile - Pheonix Park, Dublin - 10am www.dublinmarathon.ie
• Thursday July 22nd - Churchtown South 5 mile - 8pm
• Fri July 30th - Mon Aug 2nd: Beast of Ballyhoura Adventure weekend (ballyhourabeast.com)
• Wed Aug 4th - Ringaskiddy 5km at 8pm: 021-4862004
• Sun Aug 8th - Route to Crook 5 mile (Crookhaven Co Cork at 4pm)
• Sat Aug 14th - Scott & Gault Memorial 10M - Ballyclare @ 11am
• Sun Aug 15th - Boston Scientific haf marathon and 5km fun run/walk: 086-1660888
• Sun Aug 15th - John Hartnett Challenge Hill & Road Race (approx 9.5 miles) Ballyhooly, Co. Cork 086-8428384
• Saturday Aug 21st - Adidas Frank Duffy 10 mile - Phoenix Park, Dublin @ 10am (www.dublinmarathon.ie)
• Thursday Aug 26th - Ballycotton 5 mile - 7.30pm
• Sat/Sun Aug 28/29 - Galway City Marathon weekend (www.galwaycitymarathon.com)
• Sunday Sug 29th - Longford Marathon & half Marathon (www.longfordmarathon.com)

General Training Log to date...

Friday Sept 3rd: Well-earned break! Everyone will hopefully be back with new energy and targets from next Friday Sept 10th.

Friday Aug 27th: No official training session was held today due to final leg of the Fit4Life Summer series race, held in UL boatclub yesterday evening.

Friday Aug 20th: Training session was replaced by races this evening! Some members took part in either the Nenagh 4 mile race or the Kilteely 5 mile race this evening.

Friday Aug 13th: Last session for a few weeks tonight! Nenagh 4 miler next week (Fri 20th), then last of Summer Series races in UL the following week (Thurs 26th), then a break until Friday September 10th. NOTE: Ballingarry 10km Sunday September 12th at 2pm at Drom Respite Centre. Glenroe Harvets Festival 10km Run & 7km Walk on Sunday Sept 12th at 2pm (Entry 15 Euro...Glenroe is located 3 miles from Kilfinane, just off the R517)

Thursday Aug 5th: Congratulations to all our Fit4Life members who took part in the Dooneen A.C. Fit4Life 4 miler tonight. Big congratulations to Paul Whelan and Catherine Redmond who picked up 1st male and female Dooneen Fit4Lifer home! Congrats too to Aidan Graham, who completed the Mitchelstown gr8k in 37.55. Keep up the good work! Race Article link available here.

Friday July 30th: Welcome to our newest member Mary, who took to it like a duck to water! Joined up just in time for our 4 miler next week too!! Tonight run was a fartlec session, starting off with a 6-8 min easy jog, then 1 min effort -1 min easy - 3 min effort - 3min easy - 5 min effort - 5 min easy - 3 min effort - 3 min easy - 1 min effort - warm-down jog + some drills.

SOME ADVICE BEFORE THE RACE NEXT THURSDAY:

• Make sure to get something light to eat around 4.30-5.30pm - do not have lunch at 1pm and then leave it til after the race to eat again....the race is not until 6.5 hours after lunch!!! You need fuel in your system to run, the same as a car needs petrol!
• PRE-HYDRATE! Drink plenty of water in the days coming up to the race.
• WARM-UP on the night...do a jog and stretch/drill routine that works for you...do not just walk to the starting line and start the race cold...warm up the muscles first! It will make it more enjoyable, you are less likely to pick up and injury and it will also help you towards a faster time.
• Most importantly - ENJOY IT! Don't think too much about it. Don't stress over how you do...relax, go out and get around the 4 mile loop in as good a time as you can do. There will be random spot prizes at the end, so make sure to enter your number into the draw. There will also be a prize for the first Dooneen Fit4Life person home.

Friday July 23rd: 10 min warmup - Fartlec session 1 min-2 min- 3 min- 3min- 2 min- 1 min with mixture of 1 & 2 min recoveries in between - 10 min cooldown.
Friday July 16th: Another training session on the 4-mile Industrial Estate loop! Roll on August 5th! 

Friday July 9th: A day for ducks!!! And yet we had some dedicated people turn up to train! Well done guys! Keep up the good work and dedication! 4 mile loop around industrial estate - preparing for series race number 3 - home advantage and all that!!! 

Friday July 2nd: Warm-up jog 14min, cooldown 10min.  Efforts of 1min-3min-5min-3min-1min with 2 to 2.5min jog between.

Friday June 25th: Group warmup. 4 miles broken up with 8 efforts (fartlec-style). Best wishes to Carole on her move to Dubai next weekend, from all in Dooneen A.C. Fit4Life Group! Next week Rosie will take the session and also have details of the up-coming Fit4Life Summer Race Series, of which Dooneen A.C. Fit4Life group will host the 4th one. Complete 3 of the 4 races and get a training t-shirt. Dates, details etc from Rosie next Friday.

Friday June 18th: No training session in Raheen due to Bilboa 10km - If competing, be there for 7pm, race starts at 8pm.

Friday June 11th: Session with Rosie & Liz - 15 min warmup, 6 x 2 mins (90 secs recovery), 10 min cool down.

Friday June 4th: We had some more new recruits this evening, on an evening where I thought numbers would be thin on the ground due to the bank holiday weekend and the rugby match! Welcome to the newbies! This evening the warm-up (not that much was required with the weather!) and cool-down consisted of running to and from the Comprehensive pitches, starting at the usual meeting point. The session was 5 x 3 mins at >= 10km race pace with 90 seconds jog recovery in between each set. The pitches were in great nic and everyone worked hard for the effort reps. Some challenges were laid out for doing the "plank" exercise for the end of the Summer....bring on the 3minute hold!!! :o)

NOTE: Rosie & Liz will be leading the sesison next Friday as Tracey is away and the following Friday, the Bilboa 10km is on.

Friday May 28th: Congratulations to all who competed in tonight's Dooneen A.C Fit4Life internal race number 1! There was a choice of 3km & 5km, the 5km proving the more popular. Marcin ran his first ever 3km in 16:38 and is looking forward to upping this distance to 5km next time. In the women's 3km, Karena ran a steady race to win in 15:10, with Eimer coming in 2nd in 17:30. Like Marcin, Eimer is looking forward to increasing this distance to get back up to running some 10km races again.

The mens 5km was a tight afair, with Aidan & John taking the lead in the early stages but, Paul, never too far behind the leading two, finished very strong to claim 2nd place ahead of John in 3rd. Paul ran out of road however and Aidan came in, the comfortable winner, in a time of 22:28. Dave ran a very steady race, increasing his pace all the way through and closing the gap between he and the leading group all the way and finished a very close 4th.

There were Capri Sun's all-round for everyone afterwards and medals for the first 3 in each race. Once everyone got their breaths back, everyone agreed, it was a very worthwhile exercise and there is great motivation to beat tonight's times, in race number 2! Well done everyone. Make sure to keep me posted on any 10km race times you clock over the Summer!

Name (Distance)	Time	Average pace per km	Same pace for 10km...predicted time:	Potential next 10km target (depending on experience level)
Marcin (3km)	16:38	5:33/km	55:30	70 mins
Karena (3km)	15:10	5:03/km	50:30	55 mins
Eimer (3km)	17:30	5:50/km	58:20	70 mins
Aidan (5km)	22:28	4:29/km	44:56	48-50 mins
Paul (5km)	22:35	4:31/km	45:10	48-50 mins
John (5km)	22:45	4:33/km	45:30	48-50 mins
Dave (5km)	22:55	4:35/km	45:50	48-50 mins

Friday May 21st:  The men out-numbered the women for the first time ever this evening!! The Comprehensive pitches were the venue for this evenings session, with the run down to the pitches and back up from the pitches to the meeting-place carpark serving as the warm-up/cool-down (not that the weather allowed for much cooling down!!) :o)
Warm-up
1min-2min-3min-3min-2min-1min-1min-2min-1min efforts (each with a 1 min recovery jog period in between)
Some balance/core drills/exercises
Cool-down

It was also great to hear people targetting certain races e.g. Newport 10km (weekend of May 23rd), Spanish Point 10km (weekend of May 30th)  Bilboa 10km (Friday June 18th) etc. Keep up the good work!

Wednesday May 19th:  While the local Community Games were being run in one corner of Raheen, the Fit4Life Group were taking to the footpaths around Raheen with a 30-45 minute Group run on a very warm evening indeed. Please make sure to bring water with you to all training sessions, no matter what the weather, but especially in the warmer weather.

Friday May 14th:  Tonight saw some more newcomers signing up, and with the number of enquiring I have been receiving lately, there are more newcomers on the way!!! All are more than welcome!

Tonight's session: Group warmup + dynamic stretches. 6 x (2mins effort followed by 90 secs recovery). 4-6 x 50m strides. Cool down jog + stretches.

Please bring your 15 euro and filled in forms next week to make sure you get registered and are covered by insurance. There were a number of people in the group planning on entering upcoming races which is great to hear. Also, a good majority of the group intend to meet and train on a Wednesday evening at 6pm from the same meeting point, so please do join in...running with company is far easier than alone. There are a number of people at each level so you will not be pushed more than you want to be pushed and you also will not be made to feel like you are slowing anyone else down. So, please feel free to come along and get a second group run in on the Wednesday evening.

Coming up in the next few weeks...

Wed May 19th - Group run at 6pm from same meeting point as Friday.
Fri May 21st - Session with Tracey as normal.
Sun May 23rd - Newport 10km at 2pm (Make sure to enter as Dooneen A.C., Bring entry fee money probably 5/10 euro, Bring a drink for during/after the run, Bring a smile, a positive attitude and an open mind ready for a challenge!) Registration on the day from 12-1.30pm at the Newport Community Centre. Course: The course takes you from the Communtiy Centre through the town, past the Clare Glens on a 'rolling course' and back in to the Town via the Murroe road.
Wed May 16th - Group run at 6pm from usual meeting point.
Fri May 28th - Dooneen A.C. Fit4Life 3km/5km race.

Needless to say, you may never want to enter a race, you are still more than welcome to join in the session every week. It does help motivation, however, to have a target distance/speed/fitness level in mind & encourages you to turn up from week to week....that and the friendly faces and banter that goes on! 

Wednesday May 12th : Warm-up, 3-4 mile loop covered depending on fitness. No official instructor present.

Friday 7th : Warm-up...2-5 mile run depending on level of experience...the newer people had some walk-breaks in the middle...Warm-down and stretch

Wednesday May 5th : 35 minute run + 4 strides ... recovery after GLR!

Sunday May 2nd:
CONGRATULATIONS to all our members who completed the Great Limerick Run at the weekend. We had representatives in all 3 events which was fantastic. I do not have everyone's results yet but I met a lot of the group on the day and all were in great spirits. Well done to all. The hard work paid off.

Just a few of the results I have heard...Moira ran a great 10km, stayed well within herself & had no breathing issues and finished her first ever 10km in a very credible time of 57.51....even with the bottle-neck at the footbridge!! Carole, who I'm told is off on hols for a week, got in just over the 50 minute mark...and Aisling wasn't too far behind, missing out on the hour mark by a couple of minutes. Congrats also to Phyllis who finished her first 10km and who, I'm told, is already looking forward to planning her next one.
Question now is, what's the next target?!  Feel free to drop me an email with your new goals, be it a certain race later in the Summer or  a target time for a specific distance or to complete a specific distance....there is no goal too small!. Also, please let me know if you have any feedback on both how you found the race and also any positive/negative/constructive feedback on how you think the Fit4Life Group is going.

Friday April 30th: Warmup + light stretches
2-3 mile easy jog
Strides + stretches

Wednesday April 28th: 10 min Warmup
(90sec effort - 60 sec recovery - 60 sec effort - 45 sec recovery - 45 sec effort) x 2 (2 minutes recovery between sets)
10 min jog (10km people)
15 min jog (half-marathon people)
20 min jog (marathon people)
2-3 strides + stretches

Friday April 23rd: Warmup
Promo photo! :o)
6 x 2 min effort, 1 min recovery
4-6 x 100m strides
Cool down + stretches + Great Limerick Run pep talk!!

Wednesday April 21st: Warmup
35-40 run
4-6 x 100m strides
Cool down stretches

Friday  April16th: Dynamic warmup exercises...10 min jog.
Session = ( 3 min effort-2 min jog-2 min effort-1 min jog-1 min effort-3 min jog ) x 2
3 x 50m strong stride-outs
Jog cool-down
HYDRATION handout given out.


Wednesday April 7th: road loop- 4 surges of 1min marked along run- 30-35min total

Thursday April 1st: 30-40min run plus 6x100m strides

Friday March 26th: Stryker 5x3min at tempo pace, 2min jog

Fri March 19th Fit4Life Update:
Night #5 - Rain?! What rain?! It didn't discourage our runners! Off to the pitches in front of Stryker we went for a "fartlek" session...Fartlek, which means "speed play" in Swedish, is a form of conditioning which puts stress mainly on the aerobic energy system due to the continuous nature of the exercise. The difference between this type of training and continuous training is that the intensity or speed of the exercise varies, meaning that aerobic and anaerobic systems get a workout. In our case, it basically amounted to 2 mins effort followed by 90 secs recovery, all of which was repeated 6 times. All running on the pitch together meant that no matter what the difference between the top runner and slower runners' 2 minute effort speed...everyone was within sight at all times and Rosie and Tracey to switch easily between running with different people during the 2 minute effort. Well done to all & keep up the hard work.

Fri March 12th Fit4Life Update:

Night #4 - Tonight saw the group split in two, with Phylis & Aisling breaking new barriers, covering more mileage than any of their previous sessions. The front runners went on a new route with Rosie and judging from the paces recorded on the GPS watches, broke their own barriers also. Well done to all.

Those GPS watches are proving to be a big hit with people from week to week. Some details are as follows incase anyone is interested: Tracey's Garmin GPS watch is a Garmin 301...you can find some details here. Rosie has a Garmin 305 and details of this can be found here. Shop around though if you intend buying one... Pixmania,  Ebay etc.

A question was asked this week re breathing rhythms. The best advice we can give is to stick with whatever breathing rhythm naturally occurs. Some info from a Jack Daniels Running Formula book I recently read, here is a summary of what he advises:

The Breathing Issue

Most elite athletes use a 2-2 breathing rhythm. That is they breathe in for two steps and they breathe out for two steps. The 2-2 breathing rhythm is slow enough to allow for good depth of breathing. It is recommended to practice all kinds of breathing patterns, just to become familiar with them and to note your body's reaction. Try the 3-3 breathing rhythm, 4-4 breathing rhythm and try unequal breathing rhythms such as 3-2 and 2-3. All the athletes  Jack Daniels works with (except the sprinters) use either a 2-2 or a 3-3 breathing rhythm. Jack, himself, uses the 2-2 breathing rhythm, starting the breathing cycle on the left foot. If you use the 2-2 breathing rhythm and you experience stitchm then switch the breathing rhythm to start on the other foot or switch to a 3-3 breathing rhythm until the stitch subsides.

Long term analysis conducted by Jack Daniels has found that elite athletes in races up to and including the 10K use the 2-2 breathing rhythm at the start of the race and after completing about two-thirds of the race they switch to a 2-1 breathing rhythm. For races longer than 10k the 2-2 breathing rhythm is used for the whole distance, perhaps shifting to a 2-1 breathing rhythm in the last minute or two for the sprint finish. An important point is that your breathing rhythm will not only tell you how hard you are working but also allow you to control how hard you work.

Fri March 5th Fit4Life Update:
Night #3 - We had a smaller turnout than normal this week, but that did not deter us! After doing a few laps on the grass pitch in front of Stryker,  Rosie took the more experience group on a longer loop around Raheen, while Tracey led the ever-improving less-experienced group on a shorter loop. Everyone re-grouped at the end for a group-stretch. We had a number of people who achieved far more than they expected of themselves.....one person improving from being able to run for 5 minutes to 15 minutes!! Another person had only ever run 7km, after which, she was "dead".....tonight she ran 6.8km and was still chatting as she jogged into the finish! Well done to all. The only way to improve is to do some CONSISTENT training.....no one needs to do crazy hard running sessions...just get out for your run/exercise consistently and you will soon see vast improvements...

Fri Feb 26th Fit4Life Update:
Night #2 - It was great to see some familiar faces from Week#1 returning on Week#2 ... good to know you were not scared away by the first week! We also had a few new faces which was great to see. We are hoping numbers will pick-up once the evenings start to get brighter. With our new hi-viz vests, however, brightness does not matter to us!    Roll on week#3!

Adare 10km race is also on next Sunday March 7th for anyone interested in putting the Friday evening training into practice. For those not ready for the 10km yet, do not panic, there are plenty more races to choose from in the coming months.

Fri Feb 19th Fit4Life Update:
Our first meet-n-train night kicked off on Fri 19th, where we had 8 people, male and female, from 8min/mile runners wanting to up their running distance ability, to those who would like to progress from walking to running (these completed a 1.5 mile loop, jogging for 5 mins, walking for 2 mins, repeatedly until the end of the loop - a  fantastic achievement for people who had never jogged before or who had in the past but had fallen out of the routine over the years). Well done to all who participated and we look forward to a bigger turnout this Friday evening when we will hopefully have the much-coveted goodie bags and run-route-printouts !!