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The Project
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14-10-2011 11:37am#1Well folks, the winter is on its way, its getting colder and the days are getting shorter. So I thought that since I've not many races on the horizon (well, maybe two) I'd start concentrating on a winter training phase to help me improve for the next racing season. Heres a link to my old log.
Its been just over 1 year since my first race and I've made some real progress in terms of fitness, speed and endurance. But that has kind of plateaued recently as I have to really dedicate my time to college work and concentrating on writing a thesis! :eek:
So my (very general) plan for training in the coming months will consist of 1 hilly run of about 8 miles and 1 interval session and 1 20-30mile cylce per week. On top of this I'm planning on getting a turbo trainer, I was looking at this one, I haven't a clue about TT's, I went for the cheapest option, so if anyone has any recommendations they would be much appreciated! Also, on the TT I will be training by heart rate, so if anyone has found any nice HR training plans lay 'em on me!
So thats about it, its probably too early to be thinking about goals for next year... but as general goals I want to improve on every race that I've done to date, I want to improve my bike fitness/speed/endurance, I definitely want to do more IMRA races next year, and I mite even take a peek at DCM '12 as well
Upcoming races:
Dirty Dozen
Powerscourt Ridge2
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I've been doing some exercises in the morning before college for the last few months and I'll continue with this throughout the winter.
Morning exercise consists of:- 150 x Cycling sit-ups
- 80 x Press-ups
- 2:30 minutes of core exercises
And with two very hilly races (Dirty Dozen and Powerscourt Ridge) coming up Ive added:- 100 x Squats
- 40 x Tippy-toes
I havent found that doing these exercises are drastically improving my running... well, before I started doing them I used to get pains in my back when running down-hill. I dont anymore. But I do find that it really helps you to wake up in the morning!! 0 -
Date: 16 Oct 2011
Time of day: 15:19
Pace/type of workout: Hills, hills, hills
Distance: 13.6m
Time: 1:53:18
With the Dirty Dozen coming up next week I decided I needed to get a long hilly run under my belt. So I headed up for my usual run around the hills of Killiney/Dalkey. Its usually a 7m run so I did the hilly part twice to make it a 13m run.
I kept the pace at around 7m/m on the flats, and my average pace for the whole run was 8:20m/m. It was tough, but manageable. The hills were fine, I think I'm improving on that side of things but I was getting tired hitting the bricks for nearly two hours. Total elevation gain for this run was 1,471 ft
Pacing will be my biggest problem during the Dirty Dozen. I have to make sure I dont go off too fast at the start and I cant get worried that I'm not in the leading group. I know from adventure races that climbing is my strong point but I'm slow on the down-hills. It will be my longest race to date so I'm not planning on a top10 finish by any means! 0 -
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Date: Wed, 19 Oct 2011
Time of day: 19:56
Pace/type of workout: Av 8:30m/m
Distance: 3m
Time: 25:34
Legs were a bit sore after Tuesdays intervals
not sure exactly why - maybe I pushed too hard on the sprints or maybe I didnt stretch enough after?
Anyway, went out for a recovery run on Wed. Kept it nice and slow, i wanted to go a lot faster because it was bloody freezing!!:eek:
Rest on Thursday and today for Saturdays race. Really dont know how its going to go! Pacing will be very important, if I was running my 1st 12m race on flat ground I would pace it at around 6:45m/m and see what I had left for the last couple miles. But this race is taking in some serious uphills/downhills so trying to run at a specific pace will be pointless!:(
I suppose I'll take it easy until the little sugar loaf and see how I'm feeling then. Bring on the pain!0 -
Date: Sat, 22 Oct 2011
Time of day: 9:45
Pace/type of workout: Mountain Race
Distance: 11.81 mi
Time: 1:58:28 (GPS time - 1:50:38)
I was looking forward to this race for a long time and it was definitely worth the wait!!
The race was supposed to start at 9 but apparently there was a problem at the finish line so we didnt get to start till 9:45
The first couple of miles were grand. Its a 12mile race so the pace wasnt too fast as you'd expect so I got myself tucked in behind the two lead fella's and shadowed them up bray head. Bray head was steep, a tough climb, everyone around me walked the tough parts, but I reckon its more effective to keep running (slowly and taking tiny steps) I find if I walk and lengthen my stride on hills it takes more out of my legs.... but maybe thats just me...
At the top of bray head the guy in second dropped off but someone from the chasing pack came up and replaced him (so I'm in third at this point). They built up a bit of a lead over me so I just tried to keep them in my sights rather than catch up with them. After about a mile I caught up with the guy in 2nd on the downhill from bray head and followed him through killruderry to the bottom of the little sugarloaf. I said hello as I was passing him and he told me that the little sugarloaf is the toughest climb in the race.
The little sugarloaf was fairly steep but not that bad. What was hard though was trying to find the path over the 3 peaks of the little sugarloaf and down to the road It was completely unmarked and I had to stop running 2 or 3 times to stop and take a look around. I had no idea if I was on the right trail or not. Having said that, this was one of the most gnarly parts of the race - really felt like it was just me in nature racing nobody 
After this there was a road section of about 1 mile to the bottom of the big sugarloaf. This was about 10km in and I'd been running on my own in second position for about 3miles. As I was running down a tight lane two other competitors cut into the lane ahead of me using a farmers gate!!! :mad: I wasnt that annoyed as they were jogging slow enough and I breezed past them. But down the road at the roundabout to Quill lane I found myself behind 6 or 7 other runners who had clearly taken some sort of short cut!!! :mad: Now I was annoyed. Its just so demoralizing after trying so hard for so long to get in to second place and then you find a bunch of people ahead of you who've been taking it easy
I was fairly pissed of at this stage but I didnt say anything as I was passing them (I was dying to ask them how far they had run). I got to a water station at the base of the sugarloaf and asked the marshall how many runners were ahead of me - he said "just one guy, about 4 minutes ahead", so that was grand, at least none of the 'short-cutters' were ahead of me now (By the way the guy that was in first place was an amazing runner, he made the mountains look easy!). So I got slogging up the sugaloaf, I was feeling tired now so I got a gel into me on the way up. Came to a fork in the trail with a flag in the middle of the fork (at the race briefing we were told to keep the flags on our right), so I went left. Big mistake. After about a minute of running the trail just ended and I was clambering over rocks
I said to myself this cant be right, so I whistled to get the marshals (at the summit) attention. When he eventually saw me he started pointing to run back where I had come from! :mad: FFS!! So I got running back to the fork in the trail. When I got there the chasing group had caught up with me because I had lost so much time :mad: That was a tough climb up to the summit. I was tired, pissed off, and being chased down by the pack.
I made it to the summit still in second position (phew). The descent was a bit dicey... We came down the shale side of the sugaloaf and the wind was blowing a gale:eek: so I slid the whole way down the mountain. After the shale its still quite a fast downhill section and the guy in 3rd was breathing down my neck, I was tired so I slowed down so I could run on his shoulder. Maybe he knew what I was doing because he upped the pace at that point and built up a good 20meter lead. My downhill technique really needs some work - I was getting serious pains in my stomach and back from the impact of my legs hitting the ground:( it didnt last too long thankfully as the trail lead onto a fairly flat road.
On the road with about 1 mile left to run, I was in third position and I was super tired and not a happy bunny. At the start of the race I would have been delighted to finish in 3rd place, but after holding on to 2nd place for so long 3rd just wasnt good enough. So I decided I give it one more push. The guy in second was about 50meters ahead of me and I didnt know if I could catch him, but I though if I gave it everything and still finished 3rd I could be happy with that. With about half a mile to the finish I was reeling him in and I passed him with about 500meters to go:) There was a sneaky hill about 200m up to the finish line and I struggled to keep a decent pace, I held on though and crossed the finish line in 2nd place!!!!:D
This was a bloody tough race, it was an emotional rollercoaster (just look at all my 'smileys' above) but I enjoyed it immensely! I am delighted with my 2nd place finish! Its my best ever finishing position and it came in the toughest race I've ever down so I am made up about that! 0 -
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Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2011
Time of day: 10:26
Pace/type of workout: Hills
Distance: 7.65
Time: 59:58
Back doing the usual killiney hills route today. Seeing as Powerscourt Ridge is in a couple of weeks I thought I might as well stick to hill running till then.
Lovely day for it, sun was shining and I had Killiney hill all to myself It felt a bit tougher than it usually does though, maybe thats due to a bit of residual tiredness from the dirty dozen? 0 -
Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2011
Time of day: 13:50
Pace/type of workout: Hills
Distance: 7.8m
Time: 1:02:37
Had the hangover from hell yesterday so I really didnt want to be out running Forced myself to get out the door though because it always makes me feel a bit better. Dunno if its the fact that I'm taking in more oxygen or the increased HR, but something sorts the hangover out
Did the usual Killiney hills route. Took it a lil easier than usual coz I was quite fragile:rolleyes: I began feeling better the further I ran and I surprised myself with being able to bound up the steps on Killiney hill faster than usual 0 -
I was thinking that the Dirty Dozen was pretty good training for Powerscourt Ridge.
The Dirty Dozen had 900meters of climb over 12 miles
Whereas Powerscourt Ridge has 1000meters of climb over 9 miles. But in reality all the climbing in Powerscourt will be done in the first half of the race so there'll be 1000 meters of climb in the first 4.5miles!!!:eek:
Which also means running 1000 meters of descent toward the finish line Downhill running is my real weakness.... but I suppose there's only one way to get better at it, right? 0 -
Headed out for a hill repeat session today. Two minutes out the door the heavens opened and I was drenched:mad: It wasnt too bad though, it wasnt cold so I kept on running toward my hills. Got to the hill and ran it once. Because my top was so wet (Forgot to mention I was only wearing a light top and techT) I stopped at the top of the hill to ring it out. I swear about a pint of rain water came out of it:eek: Putting the damp top back on was horrible though so I decided I'd had enough and headed home. Ran nearly 6miles so it wasnt a complete waste of time:rolleyes:
On my last few runs Ive had a tightness in the muscle in front of my shin. dont know what could be causing it 0 -
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Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2011
Time of day: 11:30
Pace/type of workout: bike/run/bike brick
Distance: 8m/8m/8m
Time: 2:35:18
I needed to get out on my new bike and I needed to get some hills in before powerscourt, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and cycle up to ticknock for a run.
The first cycle was fine, wasnt trying too push hard or anything. It was a lot longer than I remember though and that hill up to ticknock is never any fun at all...
Up at ticknock I tried to do the same route as that IMRA mountain rescue race that I did a while ago. Couldnt figure it out at first so I ran up the steep road until I found the trail (the boneshaker?) and made my way up to three rock from there. Did a loop like in the IMRA race (half of the route was very muddy) and ran towards the carpark. Took a nasty spill on the way down I've cuts all over me, the knee is the worst though. Thought about heading home after that but I did another loop when the pain went away.
Forgot to mention that I had my helmet in my bag at the time and when I fell I cracked the helmet!!! :mad: Its not that bad of a crack, but they say you should replace a helmet after any kind of damage. So thats sh*te...
I'm feeling fairly sore now, partly from the fall, partly from the hills 0 -
Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2011
Time of day: 11:31
Pace/type of workout: IMRA Race
Distance: 9.6m
Time: 90:26
Had serious doubts about whether I'd be able to do this race, I did something to my back during the week (I still have no idea what I did) so it was touch and go up until the night before the race. Thankfully nurofen plus is the bomb! My back was still a bit sore before the race but nothing major.
Start of the race was grand, slow steady climb towards Maulin. Maulin was a very hard climb. There was just no running in places, the pace slowed to a crawl sometimes:eek: Going up Maulin I began to doubt whether I'd be able to finish or not. I pushed those thoughts out of my mind quickly though and kept slogging up and up and up.... The descent was fast and fun and the river crossing was cool too
Going up Djouce wasnt as bad as Maulin (Thank God!) I'd say Djouce is a longer climb but its not as steep as Maulin. There was lots of room on Djouce aswell, on Maulin there was a single-file track. Taking in some of the sights going up Djouce was one of the highlights of the day. The descent off Djouce was incredible! So fast, the terrain was a mix of loose stones and sticky mud so you really had to think 5 steps ahead all the time. Usually on hard descents in races I get this terrible pain in my stomach and back, I was expecting it today, especially since I came into the race with a sore back, but it didnt happen! Not sure what I was doing different, maybe the extra downhill practice is helping me.
The last mile was tough, it was still downhill, but I was spent! Someone overtook me and I got a brief surge of adrenalin and caught back up with him, but that was all I had and he gradually got past and away from me on the final couple of bends.
I was in some state after this race! But I enjoyed it thoroughly. Having thought about it, I'd say its one of - if not the hardest race I've done to date. It fixed my back though, its not sore in the slightest!
Very happy with my 18th place finish!!:D:D Especially since the lads who finished in the top 10 seemed to be some sort of unholy human/mountain goat hybrid:)0 -
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Got the turbo trainer as an early bday prezzie
Been on it the last 3 days.
On Monday and Tuesday I did the 40 minute recovery workout in the Tacx manual because my legs were so stiff after Powerscourt Ridge.
On Wednesday the aul legs had loosened up enough to try my first workout. I did the 60 minute 'Power' workout in the Tacx manual. My Lord some amount of sweat came out of me! :eek: Them one-legged cycling parts are a bitch!0 -
On Thrusday I did the same TT power workout as above. It felt a bit easier this time but looking at the garmin readout my average and max HR were 20bpm higher than the last time I did it more sweat this time too! Avg HR: 133 bpm Max HR: 175 bpm
Saturday: Havent done intervals in ages, been concentrating on hills and improving stamina in the last couple of months. Got down to the track in Killbogget and did 3x1mile @ 6m/m pace. Calfs were very stiff during and after. Avg HR: 160 bpm Max HR: 189 bpm0 -
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Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2011
Time of day: 16:12
Pace/type of workout: shortened hilly route
Distance: 7m
Time: 52:30
I was crazy hungover on Sunday. Could barely muster the energy to lift a up of tea to my face! Somehow I got out the door at around 4 o'clock though.
With college being so busy I dont have much time to get out running much (I think I've ran 4 times in the last 4 weeks), also its dark and cold so I just jump on the TT rather than lacing up my running shoes. So I was expecting my running to get gradually worse and lose running fitness. Hasnt happened so far! In fact, running seems to be getting easier. On my last couple of runs I've been able to keep a decent pace for nearly an hour and it has felt effortless at times this doesnt make any sense to me.... surely running more would make running easier, but it seems that running less is doing the job for me!
Obviously I wouldnt prepare for a race by only running once a week, but I seem to be maintaining my fitness with a mix of TT and running, which is fine for now.0 -
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Mon, 12 Dec 2011 TT Intervals (Tacx BRI - 1) 45 mins
Tried this the day after a hilly run. It was too tough a session should have done a recovery workout instead. Couldnt hold the interval pace for 2 mins so I did 1 min @ pace and then dropped effort but stayed in heavy gear. I'll try this one again when I'm well rested.
Avg HR: 136 bpm
Max HR: 174 bpm
Thu, 15 Dec 2011 Hilly run. 7.8m 1:00:00
I was out on a "12 pubs of xmas" last night so I was fairly wrecked beginning this run. Its the same run I usually do, up to and around Killiney Hill. Its still a challenge so I'm not getting bored with doing the same route over and over. Had Killiney Hill to myself which is always nice
Avg HR: 168 bpm
Max HR: 184 bpm0 -
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Thu, 29 Dec 2011 The usual Killiney Hills run. Took the steps as fast as I could this time. 7.79 mi Time: 59:48
Avg HR: 167 bpm, Max HR: 186 bpm
Fri, 30 Dec 2011 Killiney Hills yet again. Took it slower than usual because I did the same run the day before. Took a different route home in attempt to add on a mile but it somehow made it shorter! 7.56 mi Time: 1:05:43, Avg HR: 152 bpm, Max HR: 176 bpm
Sun, 1 Jan 2012 First run of the year. Had a pretty tame NYE so I was surprisingly fresh this morning. Someone reminded me on boards about Macmillans best 10k workouts so I had a shot of the 6 X 1 mile at race pace. Jogged down to the track and managed 1 mile @ 6m/m pace before a running club showed up. Did 2 more 1 m @ 6m/m pace before I felt like I was in their way. Decided I'd attempt the intervals on the park walkways instead, but the wind was terrible so I trudged home in bad humor. I was fairly tired after my third interval. Maybe its a sign of my lack of running finally taking a toll. Might try this again next week as I've done enough hills surely?0 -
DogSlySmile wrote: »2011 was my first full year of racing. I'm really happy with how I progressed and looking back I'm actually a bit shocked with some of my performances.
05/2/11 - Urban trails series: Tymon Park 10K Finished 9th 42:44
12/3/11 - Urban trails series: Marley 10K Finished 9th 43:20
03/4/11 - 3Rock Duathlon Ashford Finished 32nd 1:24:26
16/4/11 - WAR Gledalough Finished 22nd 2:35:39
28/5/11 - WestWicklowROAR Finished 26th 2:05:21
18/6/11 - WAR Glenmalure Finished 8th 01:47:44
01/8/11 - DLR Bay 10K Finished 23rd 38:57
20/8/11 - Frank Duffy 10m Finished 247th 01:04:47
30/8/11 - IMRA Mountain Rescue Benefit Race Finished 14th 32:29
10/9/11 - Achill ROAR Finished 14th 01:30:06
24/9/11 - WAR Powerscourt Finished 11th 02:10.2
22/10/11 - Dirt Dozen Adventure Race Finished 2nd 1:50:38
12/11/11 - Powerscourt Ridge IMRA Finished 18th 1:30:26
I was really pleased with my running at the start of the year. Getting two 9th place finishes was better than I was expecting. The 3Rock duathlon really opened my eyes to my weaknesses and many aspects of racing. I performed well in WAR Glendo and WWRoar but I made some rookie mistakes that cost me dearly time-wise. WAR Glenmalure was probably the toughest thing I've ever done so I'm especially happy with my 8th place finish. Still not sure how I managed to finish 23rd out of 850 runners in the DLR bay 10k!!?? Frank Duffy was the race where I felt I performed best. It was one of the only races where I had a plan going into it and stuck with throughout. I led my wave for about 95% of Achill Roar which I am very happy with. Raced well and really saw some improvements in WAR Powerscourt. Got my best result of the year by finishing 2nd in the Dirty Dozen. And I finished off a good year with a punishing but enjoyable IMRA race.
I made lots of mistakes made over the past year so lots to learn from. But some good results and improvements which is a good confidence boost going into 2012.With my performances in the above adventure races I racked up enough points to finish 5th overall in the MSAI Sport standings which I am thrilled with:D
So what does 2012 have in store for me? To be honest, its hard to see me improving on my 2011 performances for the simple fact that I cant train regularly enough as I'm in my final year in college (I realize this is a contradiction of what I said in post no. 1). So I'm busy until May. I do plan on doing all of the above races again (with some triathlons thrown in for kicks:D) and I will train when I can until my time free's up again in Summer. So until then The Project of doing what I can when I can continues...
you have some seriously good results there, (you make me sick ), keep up the good work in 2012. 0 -
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Mon, 2 Jan 2012 TT Tacx Power workout. Time: 1:00:18 This is always a decent workout. Its still a challenge to keep the cadence at 80rpm (+3) towards the end. Avg HR: 133 bpm Max HR: 169 bpm
Wed, 4 Jan 2012 TT Tempo workout. Time: 1:45:10. Sorta similar to a LSR I suppose... Started with a 10 min warm up, followed by 35 min in HR Z3. Then 10 min easy. Then 40 min in HR Z3. 5 min warm down. Good workout, got boring after a while though. Looking at the HR on Garmin connect, it says the highest HR zone I got into was Z2!!! Something is going wrong there I know what zone 2 feels like and I have not got the patience to sit on a bike for over an hour in zone 2!! Avg HR: 129 bpm
Max HR: 148 bpm
Fri, 6 Jan 2012 Made up my own TT session. Time: 55:05 started with a 5 min warm up. 10 min in HR Z3. 12 minutes isolated leg drills. 10 hills (+3) 1 min standing, 1 min sitting. 10 min warm down. Avg HR: 131 bpm
Max HR: 167 bpm
Sun, 8 Jan 2012 Ticknock brick session. Distance: 23.17 mi Time: 2:41:52 Finally got back up to ticknock today to finish my recce of the IMRA course. My bike is sick though... the cranks are jammed and wont move freely so when I'm cycling it feels like I constantly have the brakes pulled:( So my legs were like jelly starting the ticknock run. I was more sure of the path this time but I still had to stop quite a few times and check the map which really slowed me down and messed up my momentum. Got VERY lost about 1 mile from the end, had to stop and ask someone for directions, they were no help unfortunately so it was a matter of retracing my steps and going inside the map... Found my way eventually and made it back to my bike in one piece. Think I have 99% of the route sorted now just not sure about the very end/finish area. Its a great route for a race, really looking forward to it now. Might try and run it once more before the race though Cycle home was grand, its pretty much all downhill which is what ya want to clear out the legs. 0 -
The college workload is getting on top of me so I dont have time to go searching through TT workouts for something new/interesting, so I've just been doing stuff I already know this week.
Wed, 11 Jan 2012 TT session. 50:00. 5 min war up. 10 min in HR Z3. 12 minutes isolated leg drills. 10 hills (+3) 1 min standing, 1 min sitting. 10 min warm down.Avg HR: 134 bpm Max HR: 163 bpm
Thu, 12 Jan 2012 Same as above. Avg HR: 132 bpm Max HR: 167 bpm
Sat, 14 Jan 2012 Distance: 7.83 mi Time: 1:00:43
I'm not drinking much these days so I was up early enough so got out for an early run. Decided to push the pace on this run a bit and aimed for 6m/m on the flats. Things got competitive on the hills as I saw three runners ahead of me so I huffed and I puffed until they were behind me
Probably pushed too much as the aul legs were quite stiff after this. The view from Killiney hill still impresses me Avg HR: 173 bpm Max HR: 191 bpm
Sun, 15 Jan 2012 Distance: 7.81 mi Time: 59:25
Feeling stiff from yesterdays fast run so I got out the door for a leg loosener at a leisurely pace. Same route but took it handy on the hills and didnt get caught up with racing people who have no idea they are being chased! :rolleyes:
Got up the top of killiney hill just as the sun was going down over the Dublin mountains, some sight. Got home and was surprised to see that this 'leisurely run' was faster than yesterdays 'fast' run Avg HR: 166 bpm Max HR: 183 bpm
This weeks running: 15.6 mi
This years running: 28.3 mi0 -
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Wed, 18 Jan 2012 Was really tired before this run, but I figured I better start getting the miles in running-wise, rather than more TT sessions before ticknock. This run was surprisingly good fun considering how tired I was and given that its just two big laps of an estate. Kept up an ok pace too with I was happy enough with. Distance: 5.52 mi Time: 37:52 Avg HR: 165 bpm
Max HR: 180 bpm
Thu, 19 Jan 2012 Again, I was tired for this run as well so just did 1 lap of the same course as the day before. Because it was shorter I pushed the pace a little more than usual. Distance: 2.83 mi Time: 18:22
Sun, 22 Jan 2012 Ticknock brick session. Horrible cycle up to ticknock, its never enjoyable as its a gradual climb all the way there but I had the added bonus of a heavy wind blowing straight at me for the majority! :mad: The run was good, it feels a LOT longer than 10k though. Was able to run the whole way without stopping to check the map. My run time was poor though, 57 minutes probably wont get me a top 30 place on race day. Didn't help that I rolled my ankle early in the run and its pretty swollen and sore now. I'll see how it is feeling during the week, don't want to go over on it again and miss a few weeks running. Knackered after. I hope this kind of session will stand to me when WAR rolls around! Distance: 23.05 mi Time: 2:37:59 Avg HR: 148 bpm Max HR: 181 bpm
This weeks running: 14.6 mi
This years running: 42.9 mi0
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