Is it Now?

donothoponpop

Sat 13 13k including 3.5k @ 10k pace

There's got to be a few besides me who look at the HH plans, and think, easy peasy, low milage, 5k runs, sure its over before its started. Boy, am I changing my mind quickly, give me marathon training any day. The thing with Hal is, its all about the effort, which can be pretty intense.

After a few k warm-up to the forest, I took off at 10k pace- no watch, pretty hard. Soon I was panting, and after 2k developed an almighty stitch in my side, which meant I had to slow a bit for 500m or so, but picked it up again to finish with a flourish, the "almost puking" sort of flourish that says you're on the right track.

donothoponpop

Mon 7k easy

Legs were wrecked all day Sunday, felt better after this light run. Upper body weights after.

Tue 9.5k hill run.

In lieu of the prescribed 40 min tempo run, I headed off to a new hill trail at Tinahely for 50 minutes. Ran for about 15 min hard on the uphill, around Ballycumber Hill. The views from the top are fantastic, I love this part of the world. Lots of new trails to explore over the summer.

Found the uphill running tough enough, and I wasn't going at any great pace either, I guess this is to be expected after putting on a few pounds on my lay-off. Tried doing the "Puppet-on-a-string" downhill, and- guess what?- it works.:D

BeepBeep67

donothoponpop wrote: »

6x400 @85/86sec

At this rate we'll have to get you on the track in the Summer

Slogger Jogger

Thought you'd like that new trail alright

donothoponpop

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Thought you'd like that new trail alright

I was running it clockwise, and missed a turn. No matter, there's so many ways to do the same thing, and scaled Ballycumber. Nice and grassy up there all right. I foresee plenty of weekend running around these parts:)

donothoponpop

Wed 5k easy.

Fri 7x 400m one @ 89, rest @ 85 secs.

These intervals were scheduled for yesterday, a day spent waiting for the weather to break, and dreading when it would. In the end, I never got out, so this morning I set off early. There's no getting away from these sessions, they are tough! The first 400 went well, but from then on, the familiar burning in the body after 150m began. Nevertheless, I kept a steady pace, and they felt marginally easier than last weeks.

No. 5 was slower, I set off at an easier pace, to "experiment"- really an experiment to see what would happen if I took it handier, oh, goodness, I run slower! Finished off the last two at a harder pace for penance, and I was using every mental trick in the book to keep going till the line. Very happy to have these done till next week.

BeepBeep67

donothoponpop wrote: »

Wed 5k easy.

Fri 7x 400m one @ 89, rest @ 85 secs.

These intervals were scheduled for yesterday, a day spent waiting for the weather to break, and dreading when it would. In the end, I never got out, so this morning I set off early. There's no getting away from these sessions, they are tough! The first 400 went well, but from then on, the familiar burning in the body after 150m began. Nevertheless, I kept a steady pace, and they felt marginally easier than last weeks.

No. 5 was slower, I set off at an easier pace, to "experiment"- really an experiment to see what would happen if I took it handier, oh, goodness, I run slower! Finished off the last two at a harder pace for penance, and I was using every mental trick in the book to keep going till the line. Very happy to have these done till next week.

I find focussing on form and breathing (2-2), helps them go by faster.
Where are you doing them?

donothoponpop

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

I find focussing on form and breathing (2-2), helps them go by faster.
Where are you doing them?

Running them on forest trail, which is bendy, bumpy, stoney and muddy, underfoot. Garmin measured. Maybe 40 secs jog recovery in between. Reason being:

Bendy: I can focus on reaching the next bend, then the next, etc.
Bumpy, stoney, muddy: To simulate my preferred race conditions, ie., mountains.
Recovery: Again, to suit the hills enviroment (tough uphill followed by short flat recovery followed by more tough uphill).

I did some last year on a cinder track, and on grass track, with more recovery, and was going a fair bit faster, but that may be more because I was fitter, rather than smoother terrain.

**Edit** Agree with you on focussing on breathing and form- both for physiological reasons, as well as giving you something else to take your mind off the pain!

Krusty_Clown

It really is a bloody relief to get them over with for a whole week, isn't it?!
I started out doing 45 seconds easy run between reps, but towards the end of the training program, increased it to 60 seconds, as I wasn't recovering enough to run the next interval with good running form. I also made the mistake of wearing too many layers for these sessions. Shorts + singlet (or mankini, if you're running in a remote mountain area).

donothoponpop

Yup, I took off three layers after the first one. Modesty prevented any more nudity, but some day I intend running free on a mountaintop- far away from any camera's, video recorders, or lightening sketch artists!

@BB- what's that 2-2 thing about?

BeepBeep67

donothoponpop wrote: »

@BB- what's that 2-2 thing about?

breathe in for 2 steps and out for 2 steps, normally what you should be doing when working hard, but reminding yourself to do it and concentrating on it can make 100mts go by without thinking about the pain.

Just had a quick google and there's a good piece on running economy here with a paragraph on breathing further down.

donothoponpop

Sat 20 March 8 k incl. 3.5 at 10k pace

5 miles, including a long lap of Marlay Park in 14 minutes, which I think covers my 10 pace. Lots of people running/jogging, great to see. Three hours of calculus for warm down.

donothoponpop

Sun A few easy strides.

Started Community Games training with a bunch of kids, easy strides, jogs, etc. Think I'm too hard on them though, they were keen to collapse on the ground after each set, and one poor girl puked at the end. Numbers had dictated she was against me in a relay leg, and she really went for it!

Mon 13k Hill run.

My ITB was hurting a bit (I couldn't walk for a while after strides yesterday), so I went on an easy 10k run, which became hillier and longer as I felt fine. Took some of the steeper climbs up Hillbrook and Annagh hill strong enough. Longish runs like this almost make me miss trainer for the longer stuff- although plenty of time for that later in the year.

donothoponpop

Tue 6k easy

The leg muscles were tightish and sore today, so this scheduled easy run was very welcome.

Thought I'd share this with anyone who is interested: I'm doing a degree in Maths, and sometimes come across some beautiful math-related stuff. Here's a short little video called Nature by Numbers which has the added bonus of a great Wim Mertens soundtrack. Not a jot to do with running, but very enjoyable!

donothoponpop

Wed 10k Hillbrook loop 50 mins, with 5k tempo.

The sort of dull grey rainy morning that you just have to go out the door on autopilot, or you could think about it all day inside. After the first 8 minutes I hit a hill, and ran hard enough up it until the halfway point. Took a short breather jog at the crest, and upped the pace again, hard going. The last couple of k were slow enough.

Found this tempo tough enough, and I'm going to have to concentrate on my running form, which is shot to pieces at the moment.

donothoponpop

Thurs 8x400m intervals.

Breakthough! The past couple of tempo sessions have been proceeded by a rest day, usually after a hard tempo workout. This has been due to fatigue, and the body finding any excuse to put off the painful interval session. However, the correct way to do them is one the day after the other, so you get in two hard sessions before DOMS sets in. That's what I did today, with great results.

Times were 80secs, 81, 81, 85, 80, 81, 85, 82. I felt strong for most of them, as though there was a couple of extra gears if needed, compared to the last weeks intervals. Worked on running form and breathing, especially upper body, and found it paid dividends. The last two felt a lot tougher than the first six, but thats to be expected. A good bit faster than before: next week I should hope to throw in a few under 80 seconds.

Krusty_Clown

You're really flying. Great to see the full recovery and return to full speed (that's the same pace I was running the 400s in November). I didn't realize that the scheduling of these two runs one day after the other might be down to avoiding Doms. I thought Hal Higdon was just a cruel and bitter man.

By the way, I won an orange 'run like an animal' technical top a couple of weeks ago. IIRC this was the top favoured by the guy I used to chase over the IMRA hills not so long ago. They sent me a large one though. Any use to you? I'll swap it for a link to another nifty video.

donothoponpop

Cheers Krusty. I must admit, when I first started these intervals a while back, I glanced over your log to get a feel for times! Right now, I'm just very happy to be following a program and making progress, anything that approaches your standard is very much a bonus:)

I still have my orange top (wore it today!), but there's always room for one more (in fact, my kit drawers are bursting after those Nike deals!), thanks! Your chances of me being a bright orange target in this summers IMRA races have just doubled...;)

donothoponpop

^My side of the deal KC, a link to lots of proper Maths videos, from the brilliant Khan Academy. They're the real deal, but if you wanted something lighter, try this M.C. Escher spoof.

Sat 13k easy.

Was in London for a few days, so (after a pub lunch of fish'n'chips with two and a half pints of warm flat ale) went for a run from the depressing hotel anonymity of Slough, to the Seb Coe fabulousness of Windsor and Eton, via several fields, trails, and paths along the Thames, up the hill to the highly impressive Windsor Castle. Like any good Irishman I pissed against the walls scowled silently at the absent Queen, before heading back the way I came. Magnificent area to run in.

Sun 30 mins dreadmill

6am down at the gym, running into my mirrored viz in an underventilated room, waiting for some red digits to reach 30:00. Very happy when they did.

BeepBeep67

donothoponpop wrote: »

Like any good Irishman I pissed against the walls scowled silently at the absent Queen

LOL

donothoponpop

Thurs 1 April 5k easy

Fri 17k Hill run.

Met up with SloggerJogger for an early test of the new Kyle loop in Tinahely. Rain was coming down, it was cold and dank, and I would have bit his hand off if he offered to call off the run, but no such luck, so off we went. It wasn't long before running felt good, nice and refreshing in the rain. After a couple of k on backroads, we hit the WW for a bit, and the feet got soaked from the wet and muddy trails. This part was fun, talking away while splashing through puddles, but the big climb was ahead of us, and it was a tough slog up the soaking grassy trail, with many a slip. Hard to get good footing, which slows progress and breaks an efficient running style.

Anyway, just a matter of keeping going, and I was happy to hit the ridge without walking. Here we left what little visibility we had, and entered cloud to pass the swaying transmitter at the top. There was a lot of snow up here, which had piled into deep drifts, so the going was very tough. However, coming back down I got second wind, and was almost disappointed how short our descent was towards the end of the loop. A great soft downhill section, and we were back by the road. It had been a slog, but a slow slog, and I had been perhaps saving too much energy for a longer-expected return, so I upped the pace a bit to 10k pace for the last couple of k, getting in my scheduled bit of tempo.

Felt great after this run, its a super course.

donothoponpop

Sat 10k hilly

Did a Hillbrook loop, in lieu of my scheduled 9x400m, because I really, really, dread the intervals and JESUS CHRIST there's 9 of them my hamstrings were a bit tight after yesterdays climbing so I sensibly opted for a steady 10k in the liquid atmosphere of a great April evening.

donothoponpop

Sun 5k easy

Tue 4k barefoot running, strides.

My achilles has been very tight since stupidly running a bit too fast downhill, after a tough uphill slog on Friday, so I took the opportunity while training a bunch of kids, to run barefoot on the grass. Felt great, my form changed to what seemed a more natural poise, and any tightness was soon gone. Afterwards there was an incredible difference, no pain whatsoever. I might try and incorporate a few more barefoot runs into my routine.

Wed 10k hillbrook loop.

I'll be pacing the sub 4 group in next months Limerick marathon, so I tried running this hilly course at PMP- found it very hard to keep the pace down, and ended up running a full minute per k faster than I should be. I'm taking this as a good sign though, as I'm confident I know enough about pacing to keep to steady 5k splits on the day.

donothoponpop

Thurs 5k barefoot with strides.

Sat 26k easy road run.

Three weeks and change to go to pacing the sub 4 hour group in the Limerick Marathon. My longest run recently has been a 21k a few weeks back, so I needed to get out for a bit more than that. I'm pretty confident that I've a 4 hour marathon in me easy enough, but needed to find out if the body would bonk after 25k.

Set of at a comfortable enough pace, and did the first 10k in 48 mins (PMP is 54mins), then slowed a little to run the next 10k in about 51 mins, before slowing to run the last 6k at PMP, happy that this was easy enough, and plenty left in the tank, so job done.

It was pretty warm today, I ran without water (or gels), could feel the icy creep of carb deprivation during the last 6k, but no problem (although it might have been the body expunging a bottle of red and some G'n'T's from last night).:o

donothoponpop

Mon 12 April 10k Greenhall loop

Great sunny weather, did the first 6.5k at 4:19/k average, some hills thrown in there, and kept upping the pace until I was doing the last three k at tempo. 3.5k warmdown, trying to slow to Marathon pace, but still running a good bit faster than it. It'll be easy hitting the slow pace during the second half of the race, trick will be to stay slow at 5:40 k pace during the first half.

donothoponpop

Tue 4k barefoot, with strides.

Wed 12k Greenhall loop, with a lap of the high road of Tomnafinnogue.

I wondered about more than one layer as it felt cold setting out. Ran steady all the way around, went for it on the hills, and was dripping sweat from the run by the time I came back. One layer is plenty when you generate your own heat!

donothoponpop

Thurs 4k with strides and sprints. I'm training some teenagers, who are just starting the awkward teenager dance. Odd number of them, so I had to join in the relay, and ran against a young lad. Think I'd go easy on him to make him look better in front of the girls? Not a chance, I gave it all my superDad speed I had and won :cool:

Sat 36k run

Great, great day for a run. I carboloaded on beer and crisps (and a bottle of red to wash it down) last night, and had an early start as Slogger picked me up, and we drove to have a look at the WAR race in Glendalough. Time was tight, the start upon us, but last nights excess warrented a trip to the trees while SJ tore off up the Boardwalk, to be ready to take some snaps of the eventers. I ran up the other way, past the still lake, in gorgeous 8 am sunshine, and sauntered up to the control point by the miners village. Met a couple of friends manning the checkpoint here, and had a bit of a chat with them, before running back down to meet Slogger at his car. I have to commend the participants and especially the organizers, WAR looked like a brilliant event.

Decent chap that he is, SJ graciously dropped me to Crone Woods, where I would start my proper run of the day, following the Wicklow Way back to the start at Kilmashogue. I took it slow, and walked when the uphills got tough, as the object of today was to spend a lot of time on my feet, in preperation for the marathon in a couple of weeks. My tummy wasn't the best throughout the run, and I had no water, but that was ok, I just wanted a long slow run that stressed the body.

Going up Prince Willie's Seat was amazing, great views of the countryside, with the yellow gorse blaring that Spring has begun. Kept it nice and relaxed coming down the other side. Followed the road and rejoined the WW, over tough rocky paths, and had a nice view of Dublin at the top. I could see my folks house (destination) from here, and was tempted to run the shorter direct route, but followed the correct path down and around Stackstown, before coming out and running home through Marlay. I was happy to see, when running on the flat grass, that my PMP for 4 hours pacing was very achievable, after the mountains.

So the 36k listed above looks tougher than it was, with a break between the runs, and slow pace, but I was happy to get the most out of this great day.:)

Slogger Jogger

I'm fully expecting you to jog home from there tomorrow. Googlemaps says its only, lets see, 15 miles

donothoponpop

donothoponpop wrote: »

following the Wicklow Way back to the start at Kilmashogue.

I'll download this Garmin route and send you the link Krusty, for your leg 1 recce. Very easy to follow in reverse, though I see how a runner could miss vital turn-off points, the "proper" direction.

earlyevening

donothoponpop wrote: »

I'll download this Garmin route and send you the link Krusty, for your leg 1 recce. Very easy to follow in reverse, though I see how a runner could miss vital turn-off points, the "proper" direction.

I'll never hear the end of that.

donothoponpop

earlyevening wrote: »

I'll never hear the end of that.

To be fair to you the route is easier to follow this year, owing to improvement works on the WW being sorted out. Don't let that stop you from slaying your daemons on leg 1 this year though!;)

Mon 10k Hillbrook loop.

Flew around the course, in the sort of effortless hard running that all runners aspire to. Felt great on this run, which could have been down to;
a) My long run two days ago,
b) A freshly tarmacadamed road surface,
c) Red meat for two days in a row- rarely eat it, and I felt full of testosterone.

Must buy some choccies for the missus tonight.:D

donothoponpop

Tue 3k barefoot, with strides.

More training uneven numbers of kids, which meant I was running against a 12-year old lad 5 times in the relay. Very weird feeling, he was trying his hardest, so I slowed down twice to let him catch and pass me. Still, that meant that overall it was 3/2 in my favour, so I won. Where's me medal?:p

Wed 17k hill run.

Another beaut of a morning, headed up and around Annagh hill. What's nice about this route is that there's a myriad of route choices, so you can extend/hill climb/change terrain, as required- no two runs are alike. The views are always stunning, too. I threw in a couple of the hard offroad uphills, and managed them quite well, compared to just a few weeks ago. Continued upwards on a less steep gradient, and it is notable just how much I've improved over the last few weeks- climbing and endurance being the main areas of benefit.

Headed back along a flatish last few kilometers, and felt like extending the run- 17k was enough though, I've got the Limerick marathon to consider in 12 days.

donothoponpop

Thurs 4k barefoot

Sat8k including 6.5 mountain race.

Tonelagee and the Lake. Got here in plenty of time, easy going vibe, entered and registered (no. 779, and its only April!). Gun goes, off we head up a dry Tonelagee. Since this was my first race since July, and I am pacing the Limerick Marathon, the plan was to take this as a hard training run, rather than a flat out race. It was still a hard slog going up, and I lost some ground heading down to the lake, as my caution let a couple of lads get away.

Route choices meant plowing through short heather down towards the lake, and its an experience to run alongside its flat shore. The haul up Tone for the second time meant a lot os slow walking, and legs were certainly feeling pain, if not quite screaming as they would in top gear. The lads ahead kept a constant 20m gap all the way up, but this was deceptive, since by the time i hit the summit, and started heading down again, they were 100m ahead. Would have loved to let loose here, as the soft bog was dry and spongey, and runnable in all directions, but with next week in mind, and no-one on my shoulder, I took it steady to the finish.

Lots of great sambos at the finish, and I got called as first M40 (I'll be 40 this year). As I was going up to correct the mistake (Slogger had finished ahead of me), I spotted a wasp land on one of the gifts on the prize table, and went to swat it off, causing me to momentarily pick up the M40 prize for safe keeping, before I could utter a word of correction. Sunlight in my eyes may have been mistaken for a look of delirious glee on my face, but thankfully by this stage Slogger's wild gesticulations and angry protests of "Fix! Fix!" had been noticed, and proper order was sorted.

Sosa

donothoponpop wrote: »

Thurs 4k barefoot

Barefoot Ted,eat your heart out

donothoponpop

Sun 4k easy chasing the kids on their bikes.

Mon 9k hill run.

Brought Slogger Jogger up around some of "my" Annagh Hill trails, on a fantastic clear evening, to show him the vista I enjoy on my runs along here. Good to be chatting with someone, all the more so with the backdrop we had. Views to Lug, Croughan, Mt Leinster; all the while picking out far away routes that'll keep us busy in our M40, M50, M60, and beyond, years:D

Felt strong on the run, and went faster up a steep climb than usual, in what has become a tester of my current state. There followed a long slow uphill drag of 2k or so, which I was happy to reach the end of. Down along a steep part of Annagh, (shock and awe that PosNeg managed to run up it in 9.5 minutes), and threw in a couple more k with the foot down, for good measure. This run made me feel like I could start coming back in to form soon.

jlang

donothoponpop wrote: »

This run made me feel like I could start coming back in to form soon.

You fairly powered past me on Saturday, for someone who's only coming back in to form.

donothoponpop

Tue 4k barefoot w/strides

Thurs 7krun, 6k mountain runble (run/amble)

Met up with a friend this morning, for a nice jog along Tomnafinnogue. Ver humid, was sweating a lot after.

Then drone to Mullacor, for a spot of recce'ing the last section of the Circuit of Avonbeg . Parked, and started walking/running up the track, thumbing my Harveys along the way, (oo-er missus). I was scouting for short cuts through the forest, and was soon reminded why Orienteers stay well clear of those nasty, dense forests. "As the crow flies" off Mullacor only works for crows, so I think I'll stay to the zig-zag tracks coming down. Pity, because I found some great shortcuts, only for them to become engulfed in gorse and trees. Some great sights from up high, where you can really appreciate the scape of this race. It's going to be a great day out.

BeepBeep67

donothoponpop wrote: »

Tue 4k barefoot w/strides

How are you finding the barefoot running and where are you doing?

donothoponpop

Thurs 4k barefoot w/strides.

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

How are you finding the barefoot running and where are you doing?

I love running barefoot. Every Tuesday and Thursday evening I train a bunch of kids in athletics, on a local GAA field that has a track perimeter marked out. Get to the field, take off my shoes. and do a few laps warmup. Then strides and sprints with the kids, then couple of laps warmdown.

What I like best is the hippy-dippy feel of grass on my feet, the freedom that brings. But there are also serious biomechanical changes that my feet are undergoing. More flexibility within the foot, for instance. My stride and cadence seem to have improved- certainly for speed events my running form has become markedly better. When I lace up and run distance, or hills, I think I've a lot more power and strength in my calf and achilles area- which had been plaguing me for four months after an injury in July 2009. I still wake up with tight achilles, and hobble a bit in the morning, but there's a hell of a lot more suppleness there since I've been doing the barefoot thing.

donothoponpop

Sun 43k Limerick Marathon (4 hour Pacer)

Came in under the clock in either 4:00:00 or 4:00:01, but had about 26 seconds on gun time, so chip-to-chip around 3:59:3x, job done:)

Have to say it was a great experience, setting off at 9:06 miles one after the other, the pace felt alarmingly slow, but we (Oisin11178) kept it nice and steady. Good chat from the off, and I'd say a few heads who were raring to take off were happy in retrospect that they paced a sensible race. Good crowd at first, about 70, but that started to dwindle after 16 miles or so. I liked running by the riverbank, and nice soft shower here came at just the right time.

At the briefing last night, we pointed out that the half, which was being run on the same course as the latter part of the marathon, was due to start bang on when 70 marathon runners would be coming through. Appartently the half had to start at 11 on the dot, but we were promised that if we brought our runners by on pace, at 10:59:30am, we would miss the congestion of the tail end of the half. Unfortuntely, the marathon started a minute or so late, which meant that we were forced to battle for position through the tail end of 2000 runners, which meant a lot of shouting. This also made pacing extremely difficult, and I'd say many of our group started to fracture from this point. Could, and should, have been avoided.

Additionally, a great many of these runners were wearing headphones, so couldn't hear our shouts to move aside. This also on a course with half-closed (coned) roads! I don't care what side of this headphone debate you are on, from my point of view runners who race with headphones are selfish feckers who endanger everyone else, a plague of moronic halfwits who deserve to be thrown under the oncoming cars they knock other runners onto. These two problems could be easily solved for next year.

Anyway, lets not focus on the negatives, otherwise I was impressed by how the race was organized. From 18 miles on those in our pace group started to feel the strain, and we concentrated on focusing minds on counting down mile after mile. Our pace was a bit fast (circa 20 secs fast) in a couple of these downhill miles, but by this stage our group had dwindled to about 10 or so. Some had pressed on, others had dropped back, some right off the group. I ran back a couple of times to round up stragglers, but it seemed as though there was a core group who were running together. So Oisin11178 stayed with these, and I dropped maybe 1 minute back, to see if I could bring anyone else home. There was only one lad, who was cramping up, so he stretched a bit, while I kept an eye out for other marathoners. No-one else came past, and we started running again. I was pressing him to get to 21, then 22, but I had to pick up the pace, and leave him (he came in in 4:02, told me he had bad spasms, but was happy enough).

As I ran on, another couple of stragglers were falling back, so we ran for a mile- get to 23 and we'll see from there. This is the point in a marathon where you can easily give in to the screaming pain in the legs, but they kept it up, and two of the girls got their second wind and pushed on, getting a fast last two miles to come in 3:58. So all that was left was one lad, who I practically dragged with me from miles 22 to 25.5. All the time he was saying he'd had enough, all the time I told him this is the point you'll remember later on in the day, how I was in bits but ran through the pain and got my time. Saw him after, he was delighted, got in under 4, gave me a big bear hug, huge smile on his face.

So we had a minute to spare, and stood by the 26 mile mark waiting for any other marathoners. With 1min30 secs to go, I took off again, shouting that anyone who ran with me would get in under 4- and found out after from a lady who said it was this shouting that picked her up to sprint, and just scrape in under.

Overall, there is a great buzz in the city, for a first event, it was ambitious in scale, and was largely successful. Plenty of stuff to learn from for next year, but I'd recommend the marathon as a good fast course (talking to a lad from Bilboa AC who pb'ed 2:47, and there were lots ahead of him too). I'd recommend pacing to anyone who can do it, it was certainly my most enjoyable marathon. Now, off to rehydrate.:D

Slogger Jogger

Nice job d'pop. Now if only getting the pace for sub 3 was as easy as that

The bilboa runner could well have been Mike Cunningham who usually makes it to the Connaught hills, but stayed behind to do the marathon.

donothoponpop

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Nice job d'pop. Now if only getting the pace for sub 3 was as easy as that

The bilboa runner could well have been Mike Cunningham who usually makes it to the Connaught hills, but stayed behind to do the marathon.

Yeah it was Mike, he was very happy with his time.

donothoponpop

Tue 4k w strides, barefoot

The legs are tight and sore after Sunday, but a few easy laps and they felt better. Tried striding, then sprinting, and no problems, so hopefully I can manage a proper run tomorrow.

donothoponpop

Sat 10k Hillbrook loop

Met up with SloggerJogger on a great fresh breezy morning, for a gentle amble around Hillbrook. My calf (luckily, the good one) starting tightening up after about 8k, and I walked the final 300m uphill to my house. Don't think its anything to worry about, just normal post marathon stress. Meant to be doing a hilly 22k tomorrow, but at the moment that doesn't look likely. Want to keep myself in good shape for the Circuit of Avonbeg race next weekend.

donothoponpop

Not much running this week, as I wanted to rest to calf in preparation for the big weekend race. Maybe 8k barefoot in total.

Sat 15 May25k Circuit of Avonbeg.

Arrived early, on a glorious day, when the compass could stay in its pouch. Visibility was great: there would be no navigating through cloud today. The circuit itself- Clohernagh, Lugnachoille, Camenabologue, Conavalla, Lugduff, Mullacor- is one of the toughest on the imra calender, and over 40 brave (and some foolhardy) runners, listened to final briefings from the RD, before setting off up the zigzag trails to Arts Lough. Pace was handy enough at this point, as everyone was mindful about saving energy for a long days slog. I felt great at this stage, comfortably in the top 10, and enjoying the climb up to the summit of Clohernagh. Some great views from up here, among the best in Wicklow. Lug lay in the distance, along a flat enough ridge, and the return route could be seen to the east.

As I hit the trig point, my calf started to tighten up, nothing too bad, so I eased off the juice a bit along the ridge- shouldn't have been to much of a problem, there was a lot of running in front yet, and I otherwise felt good. The long ridge to Lug was covered in walkers, taking advantage of the clear air up here. Turned at the summit, and began the 5k journey to the next peak. I could see SJ in his bright yellow top up ahead, a beacon showing the correct route (he had latched onto master navigator Adrian, smart man;)). It was somewhere along this section that I started to crash, energy levels just disappeared. Slowed to a walk on slight gradients that should have been runnable, and took a gel. It felt like hitting the wall in a marathon, only my legs, body, breathing, all felt fine, just I could not get any pace into my forward movement. Was passed by a few here, the first of many on the way home.

C to C was as the crow flies, which was doable under the dry conditions, and the while the climb to Conavalla was a slog, I was not going much slower than others climbing behind me. Once at the summit, though, the problems really started. Most of the hard work should have been done by now, just a summit run with a few ascents, before the down for home, but try as I might, I found it increasingly difficult to run. A lot of this section was a sorry affair, as I walked among spells of dizzyness. My wife and kids have colds now, so I can only surmise that I have the beginnings of one, and my low energy a symptom of this. Even the downhills were walked along here, try as I might to run them.

Lugduff was finally gained, and I took the opportunity to drink in some of the views. Down again towards Mullacor, the final summit, and I chatted with a few others who were likewise suffering at this stage (albeit they were still going faster than me when they ran). Have to confess, I stood on the slope of Mullacor and looked up, contemplating for 30 seconds if I should leave it, and take the available and attractive track option down to the finish:o Anyway, I'd come this far, and hate seeing DNF beside my name, so just put one foot in front of the other, and thankfully the summit came quicker than expected. There were a few runners around me at this stage, and they passed me on the descent to the track.

And if this race report seems like a long streak of misery so far, bear with me, because it's about to turn around;). I had done a prior recce of this descent, and knew of shorter options down through the forest. So as a few others followed the zigzag track down (and many went the wrong way here, and got lost), I went straight down, to crash through bushes and briars, and emerge on a fire road that led up to the last control point. As I ran up, I eyeballed a runner just stamping his number, who took off on the final zigzags to the finish. He was a fair bit ahead, but I decided my race would be to catch him, and I went over the side of the track, down along the steep undergrowth, in a controlled fall. There was about three occasions when he ran by beneath me, along the Z-shaped trails, and could see me getting closer each time I appeared on the track, before jumping straight down between the paths again. I finally appeared just behind him, and the two of us went hell for leather down to the finish line. I passed him on the inside, and just got in front on the line- turns out from the results that we in fact were fighting for the 2nd M40 place home, so there was a bit of value in my chase!

Anyway, tough day out there, but that's what sometimes happens, learn from it and move on. I would have been disappointed but for that final flurry at the finish- instead that last chase is what I remember, so all is well:).

A couple of runners got lost- so there was a general search before they turned up safe and well. Back at the pub, the RD (who was manning the finish area from 11am until nearly 8pm), was wondering if it was too hard a course. Certainly, its one of the toughest, and there would have been a lot more lost had there been low cloud or bad weather. However, it's a real achievement to finish it, and everyone was full of praise for the great route. No-one wants to put restrictions and regulations on who can run the mountains, but the fact is that some people are turning up ill-prepared for the navigational challenges a long route requires. A basic understanding of how a map functions, would have meant an earlier night for the race officials, so maybe it should be a requisite of unmarked courses that runners have attended a map-reading course? Failing that, other options we discussed included mandatory mobile phones (not much use in an area with no signal), two-way radios for novice runners (need a direct line-of-sight), and, my own humble contribution, a huge hot air balloon, which would be docked high above the valley. Runners would hold long elastic strings, attached to said balloon, and hand them over when they finished. It will give you some flavour of the evening when I tell you that we ordered another round, to further debate the merits of such a system:)

BeepBeep67

Great read Paul and well done, everything else this Summer will seem easy by comparison - I enjoyed reading your descent I had images of an old WWII movie in mind as you crashed through bushes

Slogger Jogger

And he had the war wounds of a gash on the shin to show for his stupidity bravery
It was great to see you finish and for that to lift your day. Sounds like you weren't 100% so you did well to battle the race demons to faced. Nice to see us neck and neck in the results. Sleeves already rolled up for the next LC encounter

donothoponpop

Not updated in a while so just some nice runs from memory:
Thurs20 10k Hill loop, I still had some bug in my system, energy levels crashed after 6k.

Sun 23Went to run a recce of leg 6, on a glorious hot day, ended up meeting Daithi BC and Mithril half way through their leg 7, so ran with them. The two boys were in great shape, after 10k races the day before, and it was a lovely run with chat and great views. I love the atmosphere the WWRelay brings about, and getting out for the recces is very much a part of that.

Tue 258k Annagh Hill.
Another great morning, biked 4k to the start, and ran up the trails, to a short offroad uphill "tester" I try every now and then, as a gauge of my fitness. Managed to keep running for the required distance, and enjoyed the rest of the run and views. Happy with how I felt on this one.

In the evening I headed down to the local GAA field, to help train about 50 kids who are getting ready for the Community Games. As I took stock towards the end of the session, I saw kids from ages 4-16, delighted looks on their faces, running, hurdling, throwing... The older girls were showing a bunch of six year olds how to race walk along a line. Two teenagers had just got the hang of their longjump run-up, and were reaping the benefits. A lad who had begun the year just hanging around, bored, was throwing the discus with ease. All this among scores of screaming kids running relays against each other.

As the sun was setting my mood shifted, and I despaired of the fact they would grow up into a sport where adults athletes bickered over turf, rules, control of how others do their running. There's nothing worse than those who belittle to further their own agenda, and unfortunately athletics seems to be riddled with those.:(

donothoponpop

Thurs 27 15k hill run

Forgive the minor blip above^, normal service resumed:). Went for a run around Annagh Hill this morning, as I climbed the trails, and ran the ridge, I was thinking about Jo's great run, and how much of an inspiration she is. So I used this to motivate me, and ran harder up my "Annagh tester" ascent, which came easier than ever. Kept running up higher, at a steady pace, and was rewarded with dry muck trails along the ridge. Back down again at a decent clip, before one extra HM-inspired dash back uphill for another 4k. Great run

Krusty_Clown

Well done Donotblowyourtop. No signs that there was ever an injury!

From now on, the catch phrase 'what would Jo do?' will ring across the valleys, and gain legendary status alongside favourites such as 'HTFU' and 'Run Like You Stole Something'.