"If I'm not out there training, someone else is."

ecoli

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Monday| Easy Run|8.3 miles| 6.34 mile pace| 54.32


After a pretty poor week last week in terms of mileage and motivation I snapped myself out of it and decided need to get back down to the graft. Met up with UCDAC for this run out around the trails in Belfield. Started off handy enough but a group pulled away early enough so I decided I would run with them. Pace started winding up a bit and were going at a nice clip. One the lads threw in a few faster miles on a whim so. Found out the lads were only doing 40 min hence the pace and I decided to step off the pace and sit just off them. When they turned off I slotted back in with few the lads who were doing the 8 miles and had not gone out like the clappers

Interestingly enough auto lap was still on from the race the other day so actually had splits for this run which show just how much pace was all over though never felt like I was pushing it which was a good sign:

7.23
6.28
6.22
6.05
6.21
6.37
6.58
6.23

WTD 8.3 miles (1/1 days)
MTD 190.16 miles (18/21 days)
YTD 510.5 miles (47/52 days)

RayCun

which trails do you follow in Belfield? I run through the campus every now and again, but haven't found any nice routes...

ecoli

RayCun wrote: »

which trails do you follow in Belfield? I run through the campus every now and again, but haven't found any nice routes...

There is a four mile loop around the campus with 85-95% of it trails start at the sports centre go around the pitches up along the lane towards the creche around by there out the back of the Hannah Sheehy Skeffington Building around the back of Merville and around by NOVA bringing you around the track and down by main entrance follow around here past the secret lake and around that way

RayCun

all buildings added since I was there - no wonder i didn't know that route

ecoli

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Tuesday| 1500m paced session|11.6 miles| |

Session:
4.6 miles easy, 1 mile of jog bend strides straights
3x(4x400m off 45 sec recovery) jog 400m recovery between sets
3 miles easy

Splits:
(70, 70, 70, 70)
(71, 69, 70, 71)
(71, 70, 71, 72)

Happy enough with this session felt poor before this and heavy wind but hit the paces without too much difficulty though still a tough enough session at the same time. Haven't been feeling right the last few days though (non running related) and as such the rest of the week has been a disaster as no training done but I suppose means I will be going into sunday Fresh (long days with work coupled with other commitments as well as mental lack of motivation) I think once the weekend is out of the way though heavy week next week followed by two weeks warm weather training is exactly what i need at the moment)


WTD 19.9 miles (2/5 days)
MTD 201.76 miles (19/24 days)
YTD 510.5 miles (48/55 days)

ecoli

Having not run a tap since Tuesday and a party on Friday Not exactly the best physical preparation for this race however mentally it was exactly what the doctor ordered I had been struggling with a good few things the last 2 weeks and it was taking its toll on my running and I was not enjoying it but thankfully the few days off did the job.

Going into this race I aimed to be 2nd scorer for the team and if I could run a similar race to last year I would be content just down to sheer lack of training for XC which had consisted of 1 XC race and 0 XC sessions:rolleyes:. Conditions were good though and few minor alterations to course cut out few metres here and there so was a tiny bit shorter than last year

Started off conservatively and tucked in behind team mate and was going nicely. I was tipping away nicely and after first lap started moving up the field a little. Worked well on the small hills and made alot of ground on people around me.

In the third lap started noticing people I recognised around me one lad was an old training buddy from UCD and normally is about 30 seconds ahead of me on roads and track in 3k/5ks so either I was having a great run or he was having a bad one. This was soon confirmed as I saw another lad who is usually a good bit ahead, a boardsie, Stupid Private came by me and was moving well

Coming around the third lap and hearing still 4 to go was a little disheartening and I was starting to lose ground on the UCD lad and my team mate who was having an absolute stormer of a race and showing no signs of slowing. At this point I was starting to get the early stages of a stitch which usually never happens me in a race. This was either a case of the few beers on Fri coupled with the few days off or that I went out too hard.

Despite struggling for next lap I managed to recover and all off a sudden I felt strong again and started making up ground on my team mate and a few others who had past me. Worked hard got the arms drving and the pace was going well. I dunno whether or not it was no orthotics in the spikes or just XC but the calfs were numbing up at this stage but kept pushing on and made ground on a few in the last two laps.

With 300m to go I was passed by a sportsworld lad who was motoring. Upped it to try go with him but he just seemed to have more in the thank than me. Despite this coming around the last bend with about 100m to go I made a go at it. I didnt believe I could catch him as he had a good 15-20m on me but said I would give a go anyway and ran like a man possessed. I was eating up the ground gaining 15m, 10m , 5m caught him to his dismay and kept going and he had no response and put about 5 seconds between us.

This was the first time I let myself look at the watch throughout the race:

7.03 miles in 41.07

Spilts
5.25,
5.42,
5.51
6.03,
6.09,
6.01
5.47

Comparing this to last year was a big improvement both personally and team wise. I had managed to improve by nearly 30 positions and 7 min (though admittedly better conditions and few cut corners when mapping the course this year).

In terms of the team we managed to improve by nearly 100 points compared to last year yet still went from 3rd-4th in our division so it was kinda bitter sweet to miss out on a medal despite improvements from three of the runners from last year and the addition of cwgatling as fourth scorer who on last years results would have actually been second scorer for us on position just shows the improvement of standard in our division this year by a mere 4 positions we were beaten out of the medals. There is always next year though in the mean time I can finish up my brief XC season which lasted a mere 8 days and go back to training properly as I am mentally fresh and raring to go again

WTD 31.9 miles (3/7 days)
MTD 212.76 miles (21/26 days)
YTD 521.5 miles (49/57 days)

ELFOYZER

Great run dude, well done.
So in a nutshell, take 5 days off training and make sure you go on the lash 36 hours before race to ensure you run a savage pb. Got it. ;-)

tunguska

Great run kido, stormer of a finish. Karol isnt a guy whos easily out kicked either.

ecoli

ELFOYZER wrote: »

Great run dude, well done.
So in a nutshell, take 5 days off training and make sure you go on the lash 36 hours before race to ensure you run a savage pb. Got it. ;-)

How come its always racing I am coming off a few days on teh lash or off that you pop up on the log ha I swear I work all the other time.

Yep thats the secret that and run a course thats half a mile shorter than last year;)

ELFOYZER

Ha,ha. It takes me days to recover from a few scoops let alone think about running! Fair play buddy. Definitely a year of pbs ahead of you for sure.

ecoli

ELFOYZER wrote: »

Ha,ha. It takes me days to recover from a few scoops let alone think about running! Fair play buddy. Definitely a year of pbs ahead of you for sure.

A month till my next attempt at one including 2 weeks warm weather training so hopefully march/April will be a good period in terms of that as I know I am in better shape this year though I need to guard against complacency especially as I have 8 missed days this year compared to none last year at the same period

ecoli

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Monday|Easy Run|6.86 miles|6.56 mile pace |47.37

Legs were sore after yesterday. First time in a long while that I have felt that soreness and put it down to the last few days off but back to the grind now and a serious months training before a heavy race period from End of March/April (4 races on the cards with three of them coming in the space of 8 days). Despite the soreness pace felt handy and was taking it nice and relaxed


WTD 6.86 miles (1/1 days)
MTD 219.62 miles (22/27 days)
YTD 528.36 miles (50/58 days)

smmoore79

Great race Ecoli! Those are some serious splits. Didnt do that race myself as we didnt have a team organised. How did this cross country compare to the Phoenix park 1? (longer length vs hills n wind!)

ecoli

smmoore79 wrote: »

Great race Ecoli! Those are some serious splits. Didnt do that race myself as we didnt have a team organised. How did this cross country compare to the Phoenix park 1? (longer length vs hills n wind!)

Tbh this was a fairly tame course with very few inclines (I wouldnt classify anything on it really as a hill) good conditions and no wind hence the fast splits. Body still hadn't got used to XC but after the last week I am strongly considering making a proper season of it in the winter between Novices, Inters, BHAA races and the odd trail race

ecoli

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Tuesday|Easy Run|8.26 miles|6.35 mile pace |54.32

Very long day yesterday as was out the door before nine with work and didnt get home till near eleven due to having to get out to mind the god child after work for a few hours. Legs still had a case of the DOMS but getting better (thats what i get taking that long off running:D). Despite this I was dying to get out on this run so nice late night run and felt comfortable enough. Not even enough time in the day for a Birthday drink:(


WTD 15.12 miles (2/2 days)
MTD 227.88 miles (23/28 days)
YTD 536.62 miles (51/59 days)

ecoli

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Wednesday|Easy Run|7.32 miles|7.48 mile pace |57.09

Out with the UCD group again tonight very handy one. Probably a good thing to shake the DOMS once and for all. The mileage has been low the first half of the week but that was just to allow the body to recover properly after the weekend

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Thursday AM|Easy Run|4.51 miles|7.01 mile pace |31.09

Snook in a cheeky run at lunch time but due to time constraints this was as much as I could get done given I had to shower and be back in the office within an hour and manage to get to shop for sandwich. Legs feel good for it though nice stretch out for session tonight which will be interesting one to say the least

WTD 26.95 miles (4/4 days)
FEB 235.2 miles (24/29 days) MTD 4.51 miles (1/1 days)
YTD 548.45 miles (53/61 days)

Younganne

ecoli wrote: »

Not even enough time in the day for a Birthday drink:(

Belated Happy Birthday Ecoli, I hope you get out for your Birthday drink over the weekend:D

ecoli

Younganne wrote: »

Belated Happy Birthday Ecoli, I hope you get out for your Birthday drink over the weekend:D

I fly out to Spain warm weather training on saturday so with the extra down time around training I will get maybe one during the Ireland France match but will aim to keep it low key as the focus will be on hard training while over there though still need to have the balance as that is the thing I have noticed over the last few months that I have been lacking somewhat

Younganne

ecoli wrote: »

I fly out to Spain warm weather training on saturday so with the extra down time around training I will get maybe one during the Ireland France match but will aim to keep it low key as the focus will be on hard training while over there though still need to have the balance as that is the thing I have noticed over the last few months that I have been lacking somewhat

Ecoli, The thing is that you have recognised it so therefor you can do something about it...bit like other things in life really!! I think its very hard to get the balance right!!:)
Enjoy Spain!!!

ecoli

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Thursday PM|Mile paced session|12 miles||

Session:
3.15 miles warm up + drills
1 mile jog bends stride straights (5k,3k,1500m,800m paced)
3 x (3 x 500m w/ 1 min rec (100m jog) 3.30 between sets
3.15 miles cooldown

splits:
(1.30, 1.30, 1.28)
(1.29, 1.29, 1.29)
(1.29, 1.30, 1.29)

Delighted with how this session went as was feeling good hitting 70-71 coming through 400m which is exactly where i want to be. The short recoveries made 2nd and 3rd reps in each set tough and you had to work hard but recovery between sets made it so there was no major cumulative affect within sets which is what I want for these quicker resp especially given the distance of them and basically covering the race distance in each set.


WTD 38.95 miles (4/4 days)
MTD 16.51 miles (1/1 days)
YTD 560.45 miles (53/61 days)

Mr Slow

Younganne wrote: »

Belated Happy Birthday Ecoli, I hope you get out for your Birthday drink over the weekend:D

+1, You're catching up on me, but not Ray, he's really old!

Krusty_Clown

Best I could do, given the short notice.

ecoli

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Best I could do, given the short notice.

A man with good taste in beers and all you could do was a cake:D

dna_leri

ecoli wrote: »

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Thursday PM|Mile paced session|12 miles||

Session:
3.15 miles warm up + drills
1 mile jog bends stride straights (5k,3k,1500m,800m paced)
3 x (3 x 500m w/ 1 min rec (100m jog) 3.30 between sets
3.15 miles cooldown

splits:
(1.30, 1.30, 1.28)
(1.29, 1.29, 1.29)
(1.29, 1.30, 1.29)

Delighted with how this session went as was feeling good hitting 70-71 coming through 400m which is exactly where i want to be. The short recoveries made 2nd and 3rd reps in each set tough and you had to work hard but recovery between sets made it so there was no major cumulative affect within sets which is what I want for these quicker resp especially given the distance of them and basically covering the race distance in each set.


WTD 38.95 miles (4/4 days)
MTD 16.51 miles (1/1 days)
YTD 560.45 miles (53/61 days)

Good session that !

Happy birthday young man, enjoy the trip to Spain, though I hear there will be a heatwave here around that time too for those of us who can't get away.

ecoli

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Friday AM|Easy Run|8.68 miles|6.48 mile pace|59.05


Seem to have timed my run nicely seeing the overcast weather now out because I was blessed with a warm summery day so down to Corkagh park for a really enjoyable runs that would get even the most avid treadmill runner outdoors

WTD 47.63 miles (5/5 days)
MTD 25.19 miles (2/2 days)
YTD 569.13 miles (54/62 days)

ecoli

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Friday PM|Easy Run|4 miles|6.46 mile pace|27.04

Again out on the lunchbreak so limited to what I can do

WTD 51.63 miles (5/5 days)
MTD 29.19 miles (2/2 days)
YTD 573.13 miles (54/62 days)

ecoli

Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Saturday AM|Easy Run|6.08 miles|6.50 mile pace|41.37

Just a short one in this morning before the airport

WTD 57.45 miles (6/6 days)
MTD 35.27 miles (3/3 days)
YTD 579.21 miles (55/63 days)

drquirky

Happy birthday Luke- enjoy the warm weather- I'm jealous!

ecoli

Been a very hectic few days since I got back. Will do a full update tomorrow when I get all the info off the Garmin but give a brief summary

Week 1: 90 miles

Session 1 6x800m on roads
(2.35, 2.29, 2.23, 2.27, 2.29, 2.27)

Session 2 3 mile tempo
(5.59, 5.42, 5.46)




Week 2 93 miles

Session 1 2x4k tempo, 4x200m
(13.53, 13.56) (27, 28, 28, 28)

Session 2 1 mile, 1200m, 1000m, 800m, 400m
(5.10, 3.56, 3.11, 2.30, 64)

Session 3 4 x (5x400m)
(Average 71, quickest 67, slowest 73)

All in all a very good two weeks training more to follow

Cutex

Welcome back coach!

Hope you enjoyed warm weather training. I'm off for my hill training now:D