Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

OOnegative

Well Adrian, your consistent training deserved that, enjoy the IPA's!!!!

adrian522

OOnegative wrote: »

Well Adrian, your consistent training deserved that, enjoy the IPA's!!!!

Unfortunately I've got some work travel to contend with for the next few days but from Thursday I'll be in Texas and will be sampling many an IPA and many a BBQ.

Realt Dearg Sec

adrian522 wrote: »

OOnegative wrote: »

Well Adrian, your consistent training deserved that, enjoy the IPA's!!!!

Unfortunately I've got some work travel to contend with for the next few days but from Thursday I'll be in Texas and will be sampling many an IPA and many a BBQ.

And some rigorous warm weather training.

adrian522

Realt Dearg Sec wrote: »

And some rigorous warm weather training.

You must have missed the memo, training is on hold for the time being, though that Wednesday run sounds interesting.

I also noticed some Oktoberfest 5k in Denton. That that I was googling races on the area or anything.

Annie get your Run

adrian522 wrote: »

I also noticed some Oktoberfest 5k in Denton. not that that I was googling races on the area or anything.

Yeah, of course not, I mean, who would do such a thing??!!! Congrats on the PB!!!!! You're just going from strength to strength and it's fantastic to see.

Wubble Wubble

Well done, another PB in the bag, super progress made throughout the year.

hot buttered scones

Well done!! All this talk of IPAs has me gasping.

RedRunner

Congrats on another great PB Adrian !

adrian522

Monday 4 Miles @ 8:54 m/m

Recovery miles, probably completely unnecessary but I'm in the habit of going out on Monday evenings after a long run.

Tuesday - 8.3 Miles with 2 Miles @ HMP + 6 x 20 second Strides


Light Session to keep in touch with HM Pace. The pace felt harder than I thought it would have. Struggled to hold it to be honest, but you know, taper.

Wednesday - 7.3 Miles @ 8:50 m/m


Easy/Recovery miles, just keeping it ticking over.

Thursday - 5.9 Miles @ 8:34 m/m


Down at the club session but just kept it easy not wanting to sabotage the weekend! Also it was 6 miles but because of GPS being all over the place I had to cut out the start.

Friday - OFF

Saturday - 4 Miles @ 8:56


Just some very easy miles with 4 x 20 second strides. Typical day before a race for me. Did it early then had lunch and hit the road for Charleville. End of a good training block for me.

diego_b

Well done on the pb, you're showing great form over a good stretch now!

adrian522

Pre-Race

I got down to Charleville on Saturday evening. Despite nearly running out of petrol I arrived in one piece. Found that Murph and Anna were in the same B&B. I'd hoped for a nice relaxing movie or something but work kept calling and texting and calling some more so just gave up on it in the end.

Tried to get an early night but had trouble sleeping so after a restless night, woke up before the alarm and got the day started.

Great day in terms of weather,fairly chilly, a bit of a fog, no real wind, about 8 degrees. The sort of weather you dream about for a goal race to be honest.

Race

Hit the startline in good time and found myself in a good spot. Exchanged some pleasantries with some from around these parts and before I knew it we were off. Congested enough at the start, got clipped at one stage but it thinned out fairly quickly.

I was behind the 1:35 pace group but they seemed to be going at a good clip so I stayed where I was. The first mile was quick but it was downhill so happy enough with that.

Midway through the second mile and the 1:35 group had slowed. I had to move past them but needed to go up on the grass to do so.

This was fine as I really needed to be closer to 7:00 pace and they were running around 7:20 at this stage.

After 2 miles or so we come to the only real incline in the first 12 miles. This is a bridge that has a bit of a climb but nothing too crazy. Checking the watch I'm still well on target and am feeling fairly comfortable.

In my head I had the race split into 5/4/4 with the opening 5 expected to be comfortable, the middle 4 a bit more of a struggle and the last 4 were where I expected to have to empty the tank and really dig deep. (6:54/7:03/7:05)

Anyway after 3 miles or so I wasn't struggling exactly but I did occasionally lose concentration and have to pick up the pace again fairly dramatically.

Around here I found myself in a group of 3 or 4, each taking turns at the front and this worked well for a while but as expected this broke up as the race went on.

Around 5 miles in and I need to work a bit harder. I ended up running behind a group of 3 or 4 lads who were chatting away and obviously not feeling the pace too much. (7:03, 7:07, 7:09)

Just before Kilmallock the surface is recently tarmacked and really nice. Once we go through the town and turn back for Charleville it all seems downhill. I'm still maintaining the pace but working harder to do so.

I'm thinking that the downhill is the only thing keeping me on pace but just go with it and not worry about the miles to come. (7:03, 7:04, 7:12)

In fact I settle into it nicely along here and before long there is less than 4 miles to go. I still feel strong but resist the temptation to push on, I notice myself doing 6:45 pace at one stage and then back off to target pace.

When we get back on the main road there is just miles to go. I know I'm on for a good time so just have to keep it together. Inside 3 miles I decide there is no point trying to reserve energy and pick up the pace as much as I dare. Once we pass over the bridge again I really start pushing.

It's getting hotter at this stage but we are getting very close to home. After 12 miles it's all about digging into the mental reserves.

For all the talk about how great the course is (all true) the last mile is still a struggle. On the last corner I go to empty the tank, but no sign of the finish line. Realizing that the finish is all the way in the GAA grounds I have to hold back a little before a final sprint. (7:08, 7:03, 6:50, 6:47, (5:36))

Post Race:

A quick chat with some clubmates but no sign of the promised showers. Grabbed a cup of tea and then retreated to the very welcome leisure centre of the Chalreville Park Hotel before heading for home.

All in all a very enjoyable experience and delighted to come away with a near 7 min PB.

So with most people focusing on a marathon, I'm happy enough with my training cycle having targeted this race from early in the year.

My PB's are now in much better shape than they were at the start of the year and in terms of VDOT its now the marathon that is lagging behind, so that will have to be the next one to work on. Next year.

Finish Time: 1:32:23
Splits: 46:30/45:52
VDOT: 49.5

laura_ac3

I haven't had a chance to follow your log of late but training has obviously gone well, a 7 min pb! Well done.

annapr

Congrats again, Adrian... brilliant. You made it sound easy! A 7 minute PB... wow!!!!! Hope you're not working too hard since and looking forward to some BIG beers in Texas

Annie get your Run

7 min PB???!!! :eek: Adrian that's phenomenal! Congrats indeed, you must be delighted. I hope the PB bears were awesome too

Younganne

Fantastic result Adrian for all the hard training and a great report too. Enjoy the down time.

adrian522

Not too much of note to update.

Week of September 18th:

Monday - Off
Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - 7 Miles @ 8:43 m/m

I was in Basildon for work and found this park across the way for a run. Came out a different exit and got nicely confused as to where the fcuk I was but figured it out in the end.

Thursday - Off
Friday - Off

Saturday - 7 Miles @ 8:28 m/m

Arrived in Texas on Thursday and finally got out for a few miles on Saturday morning. Good route along the train line. It was hot though and getting really hot toward the end of the run but nice to get it done all the same.

Sunday - Off

Weekly Total - 14 Miles

Week of September 25th:

Monday - Off

Tuesday - 10 Miles @ 8:30 m/m

Similar route to previous Saturday, but weather a bit more agreeable so managed a solid 10 miles along the same route.

Wednesday - 4.1 Miles @ 7:54

This is the weekly social run organised by the local running club. Its a 5k route and a very big turnout, starts and finishes by the local alehouse so indulged a little afterwards.

Did a 1 mile warmup followed by a bit of a blowout with miles of 8:12/7:32/7:29.

Pretty enjoyable I must say.

Thursday - 7.3 Miles @ 8:06

I went up to a local park for this, as usual in US the run up to the park was pretty unpleasant alonside a highway but the park itself was very nice. Overall nice run.

Friday - Off
Saturday - Off
Sunday - Off

Weekly Total - 20.5

Week of October 2nd:

Monday - Off
Tuesday - Off
Wednesday - Of

Thursday - Club Session

4 x 0.7 Miles - paces

6:29 m/m
6:42 m/m
6:47 m/m
6:58 m/m

Getting slower with each one so called it a day at 4, first session back is always tough.

Friday - Off

Saturday - Club Session

4 x Munich Lap - I think around 1.1 miles or there abouts:

7:04 m/m
7:05 m/m
7:31 m/m
7:35 m/m

Again getting slower with each one. Good session though.

Sunday 9 Miles @ 8:54 m/m

This was a pretty big struggle from the off. I'd thought about 12 but early on decided to settle for 10 but given how little I was feeling the love I called it a day at 9 as I passed the house. Not great!

Weekly Total 21.8 Miles

adrian522

All the best to those gearing up for Dublin Marathon. I'll be out stewarding, I've been nominated as the head steward for our area, around mile 17. It's a pity but my home hurling club in Kilkenny is in the county final against their main rivals for the first time in decades. So I'll have one ear on Nowlan Park!

Anyway...

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - Club Session

Hills and Sprints, the classic winter session in sportsworld. It's a sprint of about 150m, jog back recovery, a hill of about 1 minute and jog back down. I got through 8 of those and really put the effort into it.

It was a tough session, this is a session I always find tough but I was very happy to get through 8 of these. The key is to take the recovery super slow!


Wednesday - 7.3 Miles @ 9:03 m/m


Had to get back into doing easy runs in between the sessions. This time of year should be good for base building, so these are important but with no target race on the horizon motivation is certainly an issue!

Thursday - 8.2 Miles @ 8:43 m/m


I went down to the club for the session but with a race planned on Saturday I didn't do the tempo run, figuring the XC race on the weekend will give me the same benefit (and more)

Friday - 5.3 Miles @ 8:57


Almost bailed on this due to the rain but was quite enjoyable once I got on with it. It probably did nothing for my race on Saturday but good run all the same.

Saturday - BHAA Teachers XC

Not good, not good at all. After the few easy weeks, getting slower and fatter I wasn't expecting easy but this was a reintroduction into just what is so tough about cross country. If you are not metally prepared to dig into the reserves it is going to be a tough day.

I'd heard t was an easy enough course but I certainly found it challenging. I was struggling from early and was just glad to get through it. 30:09 for the 4 miles. Had some chafing issues on the heel with the spikes and also rolled my ankle afterwards for good measure.

Sunday - 10 Miles @ 8:53 m/m


Managed to get up for this one and go out with the club. Ankle was still quite sore, but I got through it ok. Amazing how tough 10 Miles seems after going through a few weeks without any long runs!

Total for the week a solid 46 Miles.

Good to get back to some regular training after 3 weeks of 14, 20 and 21 miles.

adrian522

Monday - Rest

Tuesday - Club Session
Bank Lap, this is a nice lap of a little under a mile, that finishes with a fairly steep climb. I got through 5 of these at the following paces:

6:47/6:41/6:37/6:41/6:40

With a good warm up and cool down the total came to 9.5 Miles. I like this session and gave it a good effort. It felt more like a 5K effort than a 10k effort though.

Wednesday - 10.2 Miles @ 8:35 m/m

I was late getting out of work so this mid week long run turned into a commute. The route was hilly enough so was a nice effort for mid week.

Thursday - 4.7 Miles @ 8:51 m/m


Very easy run into work the following day after 2 fairly hard days. Getting this out of the way early means a nice little break before the Friday run after work.

Friday - 7 Miles @ 8:51 m/m

This was cold, wet and very windy, particularly along the seafront up towards Balckrock. I was just glad to get it done to be honest.

Saturday - Club Session


If there was bad weather on Friday, Saturday was Biblical stuff. Not content with the weather in Dublin, we had to go up into the mountains to find the worst of the weather in the 'Field of Dreams' in Kiltipper.

Cross County in every sense of the word, the lap was a tough 1 mile which we got through 4 of. I found it tough to get anything going and was glad to just get through it, get home and get showered.

For the record: 7:59/8:01/8:10/8:09.

Not the most glamorous session of all time.

Sunday - 12 Miles @ 8:30 m/m

Got out late for this,went up around Tymon. Good enough run, nice pace to it and some decent weather for a change!

50.5 Miles for the week

Testosterscone

Well done today man great stuff.

adrian522

Thanks, not something I'd have put myself forward for but the coach entered my name so then it was a case of come up with an excuse or just do it. I figured worst case scenario I'd get a really good session out of it.

In the end I was very glad I ran it even though I was stranded between positions for most of the race. Didn't move up or down a place after the first 500 meters.

Good experience though, I'd race it again in the future. Good course too.

adrian522

A bit late with this...

Monday - 7.3 Miles @ 8:58 m/m

Just an easy hour after work.

Tuesday - 8.2 Miles @ 8:54 m/m

Went down to the club session but as I'm trying to sort out stewards for the marathon and sort through jackets etc don't get much of a session in, 1 lap of the mount carmel loop @ 6:44 m/m

Wednesday - 4.8 Miles @ 8:41 m/m

Run into work

Thursday - 7.1 Miles @ 8:41 m/m

Again down the club, but not much of a session due to having to finish eary and also with the XC race coming on Saturday.

Friday - 3.2 Miles @ 8:36 m/m

Another run into work.

Saturday - Leinster Novice CC

As I posted about above this is something I would never have volunteered for but sometimes you just need a little push. Nice CC course in Navan. A decent sized group were down from the club. There were a lot of under age races on first, then the womens race then our own. Managed to walk the course, then do a decent warmup and see some of the other races.

The course had a lot of turns, started on a significant hill, a good bit of downhill and a fairly tough hill to the finish. 3 x 2k laps.

I didn't want to go out too hard so hung back a little on the initial hill. After 3-400m I passed maybe 2 runners with the next guy about 20m ahead. I stayed in this position for the entire race.

I was chasing a clubmate for the entire race. Though I finished near the back of the race I was happy with my run. I maintained good effort throughout and even though I never caught anyone I was never in danger of losing a place either.

A good day for the club with our womens team taking silver and one of our lads getting a county gold, 10th overall.

105 place out of 108 and 3.8 Miles @ 6:53

Sunday - Marathon Stewarding and post race boozing (aka Rest)

Total for the week: 36.7 Miles

adrian522

Really, Really Late with this!

September

Days Running|21/30
Sessions|2
Long Runs|3
Races|2
PB's|2

October

Days Running|23/31
Sessions|6
Long Runs|3
Races|2
PB's|0

Month|2013|2014|2015|2016|2017
January|7|0|191|73.5|133.3
February|10|53|196|104.1|165.9
March|7|111|207.9|70|186.9
April|26|154|165.2|74.9|203.2
May|69|121|219.7|128.6|193
June|75|93|257.4|183.2|179.3
July|67|212|151.2|236.4|242.1
August|101|233|132.7|279.7|255.7
September|85|261|31.6|191.2|151.1
October|4|179|63.6|106.6|167.4
November|13|28|17.5|154.9
December|6|163|21|151.3
Total|471.2|1606.2|1654.8|1757.3|1906.7

September had my main target race for the year in Charleville. prior to that I decided on a bit of a blowout with the Pfizer 5K in Newbridge.

Both races went very well. In the 5k I was actually surprised by the time the clock showed crossing the line, thought it was more like a 20 minute run. Delighted with the small PB off the back off HM training.

The half in Charleville went very well. I was fairly conservative early on and I think I benefited from that later on, picking it up the last 3 miles to deliver a negative split and a big PB.

Great to be able to PB in 5K and HM on consecutive weekends.

After that I took some time off, with little to no running for a while.

Got back into it in early October and entered the Teachers CC, it was a bit of a rude awakening as to my fitness, at least to my CC fitness. Didn't go well, but got stuck back into the training and after some good sessions and long runs I'd a much better outing in the Leinster Novice CC.

I'll be back for the BHAA race in Santry on November 18th.

adrian522

Monday - 5.4 Miles @ 8:51

Short, hungover run, guilt eventually got the better of me around 8pm.

Tuesday - 7 Miles with 3 @ Tempo

Missed the club session so did a tempo myself. Tempo miles were 6:49/7:07/7:12

Wednesday - 4.7 Miles @ 8:31 m/m

Easy run into work.

Thursday - Club Session - Hills and Sprints

Hills and Sprints Session, 8 reps. Good session, 8.7 Miles in total.

Friday - 7.3 Miles @ 8:57

Saturday - Club Session - 6 x 800m


6 x 800m on grass. Tough to get going at that hour of the morning. Good session in the end though.

Sunday - 14.1 Miles @ 8:21

Club long run. Decent pace, fairly steady most of the way around.

52.5 Miles for the week.

adrian522

Monday - 5.4 Miles @ 8:54 m/m

Tuesday - Club Session

6 Times around the bank lap. The loop is a little short of a mile and features a stiff enough hill at the finish.

Paces were : 6:26/6:29/6:32/6:45/6:51/6:47

It might have been one rep too many, but good session. Total 8.2 Miles.

Wednesday - 4.7 Miles @ 9:08

Run home from work.

Thursday

AM - 3.2 Miles @ 8:38
PM - 6.8 Miles @ 8:46

Run into work in the morning, club session in the evening but just kept it easy.

Friday - 5.1 Miles @ 8:51

Saturday - Cross County Session

Good Session, 5 times around the lap (about 0.7 Miles).

4:50/4:49/4:51/4:51/4:57

Good session, felt I could have done another one if needed.

6.6 Miles in Total.

Sunday - 15 Miles @ 8:47 m/m

15 Miles around the hilly outer loop of the Waterworks of Bohernabreena. Nice run and didn't struggle too much with it. Hopefully it will help when I hit the mountains of Lanzarote!

Total for the week: 55 Miles

adrian522

Monday 4.7 Miles @ 9:15 m/m

Run home from work on Monday evening. I'm getting to like the idea of combining my run and my commute, takes a bit of organisation though.

Tuesday

AM - 3.2 Miles @ 8:43 m/m
PM - Club Session


Morning run into work via the short route. Evening session corresponds with the Ireland match. Not much of a turnout and everyone wants to get away quickly so the planned interval session is dropped in favor of a short tempo and some sprints. As the session is drawing to a close we get the good news of an Ireland goal. Everyone goes home in great form.

2.4 Miles @ 6:38 plus 6 x 200m.

Wednesday - 10.3 Miles @ 8:54

Legs feeling the effects of the previous nights session so a slow one after work. Stretched it out to 10 miles but probably could have done with cutting it short.

Thursday - 4.7 Miles @ 8:54

Legs still tired after the previous 2 days, could have done without a run first thing in the morning. At least I get around 36 hours off now.

Friday - 4 Miles @ 8:44 (including 4 strides)

My bike delivers its second puncture of the week so back to the office, running gear on and a jog home.

Saturday - BHAA Irish Life CC

Legs were fairly dead mid week so was hoping 2 easy days would sort them out. This was my first ever CC race last year and I remember it being not too bad, or at least not as miserable as some other CC races. My clubmate may love Cross Country but I have a more love hate relationship.

This race is on in Santry and the course is nice. Conditions were good, ground was fairly soft, and tricky in parts but wasn't too cold and no wind. Bumped into Wubble Wubble shortly before the off wearing some very fancy spikes. Where I come from the left and right shoes tend to be the same colour. Anyway, started too far back and got boxed in, then tried to make up for it on the second half of the first lap. Was running quite well and fairly controlled.

Made up another few places on the second lap. Working harder but not dying. 3rd lap I started to dig in a bit, lost a few places. Final lap I was dying a death but telling myself everyone else is feeling the same. Overtaken by a fair few on the last lap but made up one or 2 places in the finishing straight.

Glad to have done it once it was over. I didn't really seem to have the mental resolve to dig deep when it was required or maybe there was a bit of fatigue still in the legs. In any case it was a good run,faster time than last year on what I believe was softer ground but hard to tell. Haven't seen my position yet, that will probably e a better indicator.

3.7 Miles @ 7:03, 6.7 Miles for the day.

Sunday - 12 Miles @ 8:13

Work were nice enough to call me at 5.30am, this added to a few beers last night meant I was in no mood for getting up for the 9.30 club run so left it till later.

The plan was to hit the PP as I wanted to stay off the roads the day after the race. I'd intended to keep it really slow but felt ok and it didn't feel like I was pushing the pace too much. Good run overall, nice weather and the PP looking very well, though plenty of mud around underfoot.

Total for the week is 50.3 Miles. Next stop Lanzarote.

Wubble Wubble

adrian522 wrote: »

Monday 4.7 Miles @ 9:15 m/m

Run home from work on Monday evening. I'm getting to like the idea of combining my run and my commute, takes a bit of organisation though.

Tuesday

AM - 3.2 Miles @ 8:43 m/m
PM - Club Session


Morning run into work via the short route. Evening session corresponds with the Ireland match. Not much of a turnout and everyone wants to get away quickly so the planned interval session is dropped in favor of a short tempo and some sprints. As the session is drawing to a close we get the good news of an Ireland goal. Everyone goes home in great form.

2.4 Miles @ 6:38 plus 6 x 200m.

Wednesday - 10.3 Miles @ 8:54

Legs feeling the effects of the previous nights session so a slow one after work. Stretched it out to 10 miles but probably could have done with cutting it short.

Thursday - 4.7 Miles @ 8:54

Legs still tired after the previous 2 days, could have done without a run first thing in the morning. At least I get around 36 hours off now.

Friday - 4 Miles @ 8:44 (including 4 strides)

My bike delivers its second puncture of the week so back to the office, running gear on and a jog home.

Saturday - BHAA Irish Life CC

Legs were fairly dead mid week so was hoping 2 easy days would sort them out. This was my first ever CC race last year and I remember it being not too bad, or at least not as miserable as some other CC races. My clubmate may love Cross Country but I have a more love hate relationship.

This race is on in Santry and the course is nice. Conditions were good, ground was fairly soft, and tricky in parts but wasn't too cold and no wind. Bumped into Wubble Wubble shortly before the off wearing some very fancy spikes. Where I come from the left and right shoes tend to be the same colour. Anyway, started too far back and got boxed in, then tried to make up for it on the second half of the first lap. Was running quite well and fairly controlled.

Dearie me. No doubt you were, Adrian, having spoken to you before and after the race. I'm not the first to wear "odd" runners, even among the mid table XC fraternity. Interesntingly enough, a clubmate (who finished ahead of both of us) recommended these as opposed to 2/3 other pairs I tried on Friday. Never mind. I'll be a bit more competitive next time out

OOnegative

You still in Lanzerote??

adrian522

Just home tonight..quite the temperature difference between here and there!

RayCun

You're lucky you didn't get back a few days ago!

adrian522

Yeah, looked like a good week to be indulging in warm weather training.