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Confessions of a never has been.....
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08.11.2018
Monday
Took the chance to dial back the effort on the long run and take it nice and easy for the full run, 2 hours on pretty tired legs is a very good run in itself, anything more and its a risk this far out from marathon stuff.
Usual route, felling it in the quads by the end
15 miles for the lot
Tuesday
Crazy couple of days at the office with visitors in ( dinners) and me organising a big group for the run in the dark event on the Wednesday night meant I was down to just the 1 run today
Out for lunch for a very enjoyable trot around Irishtown\Ringsend. 7.3 miles for the lot - lovely to get away from it all for the hour.
Wednesday
As above - arranged a big group to run the run in the dark event, I planned to use the race as a solid MP effort but after a few hours of sorting out race numbers etc...I was wiped out by the time it was race time.
Couldn't beleive the crowds on the quays for this, I'd heard it was busy but this was crazy...Someone said 7,000, another person said 9,000 - I've no idea how many but it was nuts
Anyway, I was immediately glad not to be racing and when we did eventually get going I actually ejoyed the first 3 miles or so, the route gets a bit crazy around Ringsend, pretty sure we ran through the carpark in the greyhound stadium and we did at least 1 u-turn ( maybe 2?) before heading out to the Eastlink ( which was great)....once we got off the bridge though - all hell broke lose as the 10k folks merged with the 5k folks.
More u-turns, lots of ducking and diving, lots of shoving and pushing, I actually ran on the wrong side of the road for a good bit to avoid the madness.
Would not do that again in a hurry, as bad a race as I've ever come across
6.2 miles @ 6.26 min\miles
Just under 10 for the lot
Thursday
Out and about in St Anne's on lunch, ran the usual trails with one of the fast lads from the club but the pace was nice and easy thankfully. This one flew by really, a little tired from a couple of late nights this week but that's all done now thankfully.
9.7 miles all in0 -
I'm jealous of your mileage.
I'm just sitting here in the office getting fat & slow.0 -
AuldManKing wrote: »I'm jealous of your mileage.
I'm just sitting here in the office getting fat & slow.
You've earned that moro, have another one there0 -
Terrific race on Sun, D.0
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Does anyone else have a XC PB for any distance!? What a performance0
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Thanks men, one of dem days I suppose0
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11.11.2008
Friday
Out for a lunchtime trot with one of the lads at work, very enjoyable, just over 5 miles
PM - Jaunt home from work, nice and easy again, just over 5 miles again
Saturday
Session time again, I had hoped we'd enter a team into the Leinster XC this weekend and get another good workout in the bag ( and actually felt we could place well if we got a team out) but I got word on Friday that it wasn't going to happen, back to the session bag but I'd a good one lined up;
2 miles tempo (6.05-6.15), 3 minutes easy, 8x30 second hills, 3 minutes easy 2 miles tempo
Tough looking session and so it proved to be. Use the usual loop in St Anne's for this, trying to balance out the draggy sections with the faster sections. No issues over the first 2 miles.
Used the hill in the corner of the park for the hill reps, just about got 30 seconds out of it which was grand but the reps were tough going, lots of fatigue in the legs by the end.
Back into tempo stuff and I could really feel the pinch as I got going again, found the effort well though and possibly overcooked it just a little for a bit over the last mile.
Really good session, a tough one but a good one.
Tempo1: 6.11, 6.13
Hills: all 4.50-5.00 pace
Tempo2: 6.03, 5.59
10.5 miles for the lot
Sunday
Out with FBOT for some easy miles around beautiful ST Anne's, catching up on his New York eploits and all things S+C ...miles flew by, M headed off and I nippd by the house to bring my youngest out for a few miles on her bike
9.5 miles
Just shy of 72 for the week0 -
Duanington wrote: »
Would not do that again in a hurry, as bad a race as I've ever come across
I had a few people from work doing it too. Seems to be getting worse year on year. I'm taking it off our calendar for 2019.0 -
Duanington wrote: »04.11.2018
Thursday
9 miles all easy around St Anne's
Enjoyed this, stuck to the grass and was lost in a world of my own for most of it
Friday
WFH again today, had company for the first run of the day with the youngest jumping on her bike for it.
5.6 miles nice and easy
PM - out again with Abbs on the bike, just over 5 miles nice and easy again
Saturday
Easy stuff on the grass again, legs feeling a bit meh from solid week so I ran a few strides to wake them up a tad. nice and controlled and pertty short.
6 easy miles
Sunday
Dublin Senior XC – Santry
Got a call from the club during the week asking if I’d tog out for this, initially I laughed to be honest because the standard has been so high in previous years but with so many from the club running well in DCM last week, we had most of our senior lads out recovering – not much point in being in a club if you can’t help out every now and then so I agreed to give it a lash.
Headed over to Santry with plenty of time to spare, caight the under 19s race ( wow, some serious talent there) , did a couple of laps of the course with some clubmates then watched the women’s race ( wow, some serious talent there).
Ran a few strides and did a few drills before the start of the men’s race, settled on not going out like a spacer and get swallowed up. Looking around the starting area, there were a lot of lads that I see for 20 seconds or so at the start of road races and a lot of clubs had obviously targeted this one, knowing that clubs line Raheny had so many running the marathon last week.
The ground was in good nick but this was still a cross country race, a couple of nasty drags at the back of the course with a nice stretch through the start\finish area, there were a couple of softer spots that would pull away at the legs int the latter stages.
In my mind, I knew there were a couple of people I could target over the 2nd half of the race but I wouldn’t worry if they got away from me over the first half, 10k is a long way to go over the grass and there would be a big drop off in pace as the race went on.
Slightly ahead of schedule, we lined up and we were off...I resisted the urge to charge to the front of the group and settled in towards the back of the pack, the pace felt good as we charged through the start\finish area, plenty of trees around here, the ground was hard but just about warranted the spikes.
Down the slope towards the Airport end of the field and there was a big enough drop down a hill and a sharp left, struggling to remember much about this on the first lap but I do remember that I wasn’t far from the very back of the group.
Through the ditches and a left swerve back up the drag, I remember thinking how this was going to hurt people later on and would get harder each time we passed it ( 7 times) – steady as she goes, D – let them go and hold this pace. I knew we were flying along pace-wise but there was a temptation to go after a few lads ahead that I had to resist for a bit. Up the drag, plenty of club support here, bit of a winding stretch to the top of the course, turn left and more twisting and turning back towards the start\finish area.
“ 6 laps to go lads” – Jaysus
Back through the start\finish area and down the drop towards the airport end and the left turn into the ditches, the watch beeped, I didn’t look
Mile 1 – 5.39
Through the ditches, swung the left and started working up the drag, a couple of heads came back to me here without me having to dig in too much but it was still very early days. I’d made a little bit of progress through the field but was probably sitting just outside the scoring positions (6) for the club. The coaches and club members along this tough stretch were giving great support and telling us where we were in the field, I think one or two knew exactly what I was doing too because there was plenty of reassurance that I was moving well and starting to pick people off. Through the trees and the winding stretch back towards the start\finish area again
“5 laps to go lads” .....
Through the crowd and down towards the airport end, another couple of runners were coming back to me now and the field was really starting to spread out, down the drop, through the ditches and left back up to start the drags towards the top of the route.
Mile 2 – 5.50
The drag hurt a little more this time and sure enough, it slowed a few people up ahead that I had my eye on. Rather than pushing up through the drag just yet, I held my pace, focused on form and turning the legs over, it did the trick and got me a couple of places further up the field.
Coaches and clubmates were giving great shouts of encouragement as we ran towards the top of the route, a sharp left, over a footpath and I could hear the gap back to the next runner behind me had opened, sometimes its the little things in XC that give you confidence. Another couple of sharp lefts, back towards the trees and the start\finish area...
“4 laps to go lads”...f*ck
We were well and truly into the thick of this now and it was hurting, 4 more laps of this? It felt like we’d run the 10k already and the self pity was starting to set in! I regained focus on the way down to the ditches and the left turn, steadied myself for the climb back up but this time, I pushed a little harder, sensing the slowing runners ahead. Jaysus this was really hurting but the momentum was with me and I knew the lads ahead were slowing with the drag.
It didn’t go un-noticed on the sideline that I’d pulled alongside our 6th scorer now and a couple of lads that I know are mid 34 10k men, do I stay or push on? Stay or push on....I dug in just a little more at the top of the route and took a few places wide on a bend, sharp left into the twisting section headed back to the start\finish area.
“ 3 laps to go”....ah here
3 laps? Have I got 3 laps left in me? Surely I cannot hold on to this for another 3 laps?....Focus, D – everyone is hurting here, get on with the job.
Heading out of the start\finish area and the support was great here again, down to the ditches, sharp left, nobody near me here really – a couple of runners up ahead though so I set a target of catching them before the end of this lap.
Mile 3 – 5.52
Up the drag, had to drive the legs a bit here and it stung, focused on form and turnover, shifting the legs as quick as I could do avoid that side to side thing I do when I’m wrecked. That hurt, the lungs weren’t thanking me and neither were the legs
The lads were coming back now though, 1 Crusaders and 1 Donore, two lads I’ve seen before at BHAA stuff and I know they’re strong runners. I drew level and the end of the first drag and took them both on the 2nd drag, great shouts from the club crew here, they were loving it and I could see our next scorer up ahead. I was gassing out though, the Crusaders lad had responded when I went by and was tucking in just behind me. Left turn, over the path, his footsteps a second or two behind, I drove the legs a little coming back towards the start\finish area, trying to get a gap going but he followed me and was sticking to me like glue
“2 laps to go lads” – I wonder to these things ever get called off mid-race?
Our next scorer was coming back a little to me and by the time we had gone through the start\finish area, the crowd were telling me that I was picking people off, I could feel the form slipping a little here and tried to focus on getting that right, breathing right and turning the legs over well. Down to the ditches, left turn, start of the drag and I felt like death heading back up the drag, drove the legs though and made a bit of a gap on Crusader, closing in a little more on my clubmate.
Mile 4 – 5.56
Great support again, people were obviously responding to just how wiped out we all looked, I’ve never run 10k over cross country and this was burning every sinew in my body, I was chasing people, people were chasing me, people on the sideline were roaring at me to push on, to drive it home....all I wanted was a cup of tea.
Top of the course, winding section, sharp left, sharp right, over the path, footsteps close behind, clubmate just about level.
“ 1 lap to go lads” – right, one last push for another place or 2, D
Down to the ditches, great support on the way, I’m hurting like fock now, driving the legs up the drag, moved past my clubmate and immediately focus on another runner ahead. Crusaders is still with me though, staying close and I can hear him hurting too
Mile 5 – 6.03
Huge roars of approval from the club crowd as I emerge over the top of the drag, I know we’re well into the last mile now and I’m pushing again, driving into the corners and not letting up coming out, while the surface was perfect today, there are so many turns over most xc courses that it pulls away at the legs and you just lose so much energy from each stride with no bounce back from the ground.
Over a path, footsteps are 3\4 seconds away now, be relentless now D, don’t let up...I don’t ...it’s taking everything I have but I don’t, through the trees...past lap count man who says “ last 300”
Less than a lap of Irishtown, I start to wind it up and I know I’ve lost him, I can’t catch the lad ahead but I want to make sure I don’t slip up here, big shout from the crowd as I finish, ears back, arms pumpng, legs turning over very well.
Mile 6 – 5.54
Last bit – 5.05 pace
35.49 for the 10k, 5th scorer for the team
I stopped the watch, thought I heard the timekeeper say 39 and thought, jaysus that wasn’t bad for 10k on the grass. Happy enough with myself, I walk through the finishing chute, catch my breath and start chatting to the lads.
The usual talk started up about some having the course long, some having it slightly short. “Its cross country though, I’ll check mine” – couldn’t believe it when I saw the time, its a PB for me over the distance and while my watch did actually show that route was just under the full 10k, I’m reliably informed that it was actually measured to the full 10k.
Anyway, the time is not the important part of xc races, its all about positioning. I ran well today, wasn’t out of my league despite the quality field and came through the field very well over the 2nd half and made 5th scorer for the team, not sure exactly where I finished overall though.
That was about as tough a race as I’ve run this year, maybe the national inters aside - looks like we just missed out on 3rd position but the signs are good going into the winter
Just over 10 miles all in today with warmup\down – bringing the week to just under 70. Really good week.0 -
18.11.2018
Bit of a down week this week, a trip to London early in the week was earmarked as a chance to drop the long run and a double ( Tuesday) while just keeping the two days as ticking over
Monday
Easy stuff around Regents Park near the office in London, kept to the outside of the park, lighting was ****e but got it done!
6.2 miles all easy
Tuesday
Late getting home and I was shattered heading out for this, as often happens though - I really enjoyed it when I got going.
6.1 miles all easy
Wednesday
Down to the track again for our lunchtime session
4x400, 4x800
70 second recovery then 90-100 sec recovery
78, 76, 77, 77 seconds for the 400s - lots of control but plenty of zip too
2.44, 2.43, 2.42, 2.36 - focus was really on rhythm again until the last one when were told to finish strong.
Loved this one, windy conditions but good session
Thursday
Easy stuff around the Anne's - lovely run, good chatter all the way with clubmate
9.4 miles
Friday
AM - 5.5 easy miles on lunch, stuck to the grass as much as I could, heavy leg session on Wednesday evening was still sitting deep in there
PM - 5.5 easy miles on the way home, felt very tired here, leggy and tired
Saturday
BHAA XC – Santry (6km)
33rd postion
3.8 miles in 21.59 ( 5.47 min\mile)
Another chance to get some good strength work in on the grass at a BHAA race, I’d never done the Santry race before and the talk beforehand was how the route was a little more testing that the Dublin Senior route a couple of weeks back.
A few laps of the route beforehand with the lads proved the point really, the same dive down to the end of the park, swinging left through the “ditches” but rather than climbing up the left turn, the route took us straight on towards the wooded area were a series of short, sharp climbs and turns would test the legs as the race wore on. Coming back out of the wooded area ( alongside a wall), meant a longer drag back up to the flat, faster section of the course, heading back towards the start\finish area.
If this was a 10k race, or even 5 miles – I’d be reasonably certain that I’d catch a lot of faster folks over the last lap or two but this was 6k and there wouldn’t be any room for settling or easing off the gas if I was to get close to them.
Met up with a whole load of boardsies and clubmates alike before the start, great to see so many familiar faces around at this one. I also took note of the apparent depth of the field here, some top runners had lined out, some obviously using it as prep for the nationals next week.
Anyway, forgot the watch today, not a huge deal as I don’t use it during races really but I do anaylse the life out of the splits afterwards usually! Lined up at the start area with a group of about 5 strong lads that I know and before long, we were off.
Usual hectic carry on at the front of this, I settled back a little after around 400m to avoid the worst of it and then sped up again heading down the descent to the “hedges”, cut the corner well here and headed off into the twisty, bumpy hilly wooded area, loved this section first time around but I did have to skip around a few people here to keep pace with the lads ahead.
Right, right, left, left, along the wall and up the drag towards the flat. It actually pinched a little which didn’t fill me with confidence to be honest but kept the legs going and moved onto the faster section nicely, taking another place or two before heading back towards the start\finish area.
The youngest was there waving at me as I went by, I was still in a good enough place to wave back and carried on down to the ditch again. Same deal really, in through the drags and bumps, right, right, left, left and up the longest drag. No places gained this time but I was working well in a group now, the lads were pulling away up ahead a little, maybe 30 metres at this stage so I did pump a little harder coming out onto the flat again.
Opened the stride up nicely coming along the start\finish area, another wave, nearly snotted myself when one of the mats covering the footpath blew away in the wind but managed to avoid it and carried on down the drop again. Now the field was well spread out, the work-rate was good, the legs were starting to feel it and the head was starting to engage in a little self pity, I copped that pretty quickly though and forced myself to the front of the group to make sure I wasn’t going to fall off the back and start dropping effort.
The twist and turns at the wooded area showed me that the lads had held their gap well and were all working very well together. Up the long drag and I had taken one lad away from the group with me, he was sitting on my shoulder coming into the start\finish area but moved ahead just before we tore down to the descent again. Conditions were good but the breeze was strong on that fast section and it felt like it had taken a little out of me as we moved into the last lap.
Taking a mucky, sharp left, I ducked in ahead of my racing buddy again and put in a surge coming into the turns\drags to try to burn him off, not happening. He was staying with me and getting great support on the way around the course.
I spotted some of the lads ahead, was the gap down slightly? This was stinging now, I love these races, I hate these races too....racing buddy was working hard, we came out over the top of the long drag side by side and I knew I’d have to turn the screw now so I did just that, opened the stride up a bit, kicked, focused on the form and turnover, made sure I was not letting up.
Over a path, I heard a second or two of a gap, two sharp left turns and we were headed for home, I didn’t look up, focusing on the ground ahead, I kicked and kicked again. Glanced up and saw the last of the lads cross the line a few seconds ahead, put in a little surge and over the line for the finish
Shook hands with the lad just behind, that was a quality race over the last lap and really kept us both honest.
Good chats with clubmates, boardsies and friends alike afterwards. Ran a warmdown with WW and a few others, enjoying the chat.
Just under 8.5 miles for the day and a very good workout.
Sunday
Easy miles in the PM - tired after watching that incredible game last night, maybe slightly dehydrated too (hiccup)
7.6 all easy
Just over 55 for the week, some good quality in there despite the lack of a long run0 -
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Your strength in those XC runs never ceases to amaze me. Fair play man. Great running again.0
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Another cracking Xcountry run well done DD!0
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Some cracking racing lately! Missing out on the marathon might have been a godsend, shows to me anyway the power of having a big aerobic foundation that you got from targeting the marathon followed up by some speedwork. The marathon training was a bit like a base phase for XC.0
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Cheers lads, couldn't quite catch the group I wanted but I was closing in on them....another mile or two and who knows. Another good solid workout though that will hopefully bring me on another percentage point.
El C - you may well be onto something there, I do feel like I'm getting slightly more reward for the same effort levels as last year over xc, catching people I couldn't catch before - notably over the longer 10k distance though which probably hammers home the point.
The longer stuff starts up again today though so I'll probably miss out on a couple of races that I'd fancy to make a bit of an impact in, maybe next year!0 -
Duanington wrote: »Cheers lads, couldn't quite catch the group I wanted but I was closing in on them....another mile or two and who knows. Another good solid workout though that will hopefully bring me on another percentage point.
El C - you may well be onto something there, I do feel like I'm getting slightly more reward for the same effort levels as last year over xc, catching people I couldn't catch before - notably over the longer 10k distance though which probably hammers home the point.
The longer stuff starts up again today though so I'll probably miss out on a couple of races that I'd fancy to make a bit of an impact in, maybe next year!
It sets you up nicely for the marathon block anyway, I'd say you'll be smashing pb's on the road over the next while. In a theoretical world of you attacking the shorter distances, I'd imagine you would've had similar results if you cut down to even faster 5k work as you describe above about the 10k. With the strength built up from the truncated marathon build up and cut down to LT and10k type training and then more speed orientated 5k, you'd probably end up feeling quick as well over the shorter stuff if you went that way.
Either way,it looks to have worked out to put you in a better position to attack the marathon or any distance.0 -
26.1.2018
Another busy and productive week, a good long run, a good session and a quality race.
Monday
Strava tells me 21.6 but it was more like 18.6.....watch went nuts for a bit and gave me all kinds of PBs, beeping for 3 miles over the course of a couple of minutes.
Happy with this one, went up to Howth to get some of those horrible hills in, fighting into a wind all the way though - very pleasant coming back all the same, nice to have the wind at my back
18.6 miles for the lot
Tuesday
Busy day at work but nipped out just before lunchtime for a very easy recovery run on the grass in Ringsend.
4.7 miles
PM - Runmute home, took it very easy again, just over 5 miles
Wednesday
Trackday again, no hanging around for the warmup, once we had that done it was straight into:
2x1200
2x600
4x300
As is the norm lately, controlling the longer reps and gradually winding the effort up as the distance drops.
Ran these very well and finished strong again.
1200s: 4.14, 4.15
600s: 158, 2.00
300s: 55, 57, 55, 52
Really good session today
Just shy of 7 miles for the lot
Thursday
Easy stuff around St Anne's, stuck to the grass for most of it, lovely weather for running and the park was nice and sheltered from the wind.
Just over 9 miles easy
Friday
Lunchtime run - 5.4 miles nice and easy
PM - runmute home, 5.6 miles nice and easy
Saturday
Woke up with a nasty head cold and considered not heading out at all but did venture out and did (kind of) enjoy it when I did
6.2 miles nice n easy
Sunday
National Senior XC Championships – 123rd position from 162 runners
This was another race that just was not on the radar a few weeks ago, a good tempo or mile reps is what the plan originally called for but having run well in the Dublin Snrs, DH saw fit to put a few of us in amongst it for the national champs, which was a big surprise to me but an opportunity that I was not going to let pass me by.
Of course, I woke up on Saturday morning with a poxy headcold, it was worse again the morning of the race. So much so that the thoughts of not racing did enter my head for a few minutes, I felt awful early on in the morning but after a couple of lemsips, I started to come around a bit and knew deep down that once I got going, I’d be too buried in hurt and adrenaline to worry about a headcold.
Out to Abbotstown nice and early ( what a setup!) with the youngest in tow, she was insistent that she was coming along today, I wasn’t quite sure what I would do with her while I raced but she’s old enough to hang around with the gang from the club now so I knew I’d figure something out.
Found the club tent, got changed, really started to feel the sense of occasion as soon as I took the tracksuit bottoms off. Headed off for an initial very easy warmup around the trails away from the course and bumped into Murph as soon as I got back, who very kindly agreed to hang out with Abbs ( the youngest) while I ran.
Didn’t get to see much of the women’s race but the course looked good from the starting area, lush grass as far as the eye could see, I was told that it was a 2k loop, that we’ve one nice k and then a horrible k….the “horrible” k was hidden from us but apparently had the hills and mud. Deep down I was hoping for soft enough terrain because it suits me and might mean that I wouldn’t finish last !
Another bit of a warmup, some strides up and down the starting area, a few drills and it was time to line up…..at the back. Sergiu, Maunsel(s), Kirwan, Tobin, Dooney, Claw, Hehir, Robinson, Travers…..they were all there, myself and 2 other lads from the club who are in and around the same standard ( in truth, they’re a little faster than me) hovered around the back, feeling a little out of place. No time to dwell on it though, I was still trying to figure out the course when I heard the gun sound and we were off.
I couldn’t believe how quickly everyone tore out of the starting area, streaming down the wide open stretch of grass ahead, a real downhill start, ducking into a more narrow, sandbased section through the trees. The support was great as we got going and I was intent on not getting caught up in the madness at the start, this was 10k again and while the standard of athlete was very strong in general, if there was mud on the course, it would slow things down over the 2nd half.
Through the trees, softer surface here, then the route opened out a bit again into a meadow, snaking its way around to the end of a field before turning and bringing us back into an immediate drag, back towards another wooded area. I felt great, I was probably last here but I felt great and was tracking I and R from the club nicely. As we got closer to the trees, I saw the route narrowed again and heard the sound of the softer mud before I saw it, this was obviously the horrible K, a sharp hill, very soft underfoot but still lots of support in amongst the trees here.
I nipped by one or two people on the way up the first climb, turned at the top and looked for a decent route through the next muddy section ( there was none). This is the kind of stuff that just evens out cross country races, it saps your legs and I knew that it was going to sting like hell by the 3rd or 4th time we passed through here.
Up to the top of the muddy hill and the route seemed to open out again, lots of shouts from clubmates and boardsies around here, it really adds to the atmosphere but this was already hurting, coming over the top of that hill, I was really trying to find my breath and hang onto the group ahead. I was conscious that I’d moved up a few places already but the legs were responding very well.
Up another hill, no real mud though thankfully, a sharp enough left around a bend and we were at the top of the course again. 1st lap done thankfully….the effort levels were high though, heading back down through the wide open field towards the trees again, I was gasping a little to catch my breath again but I was taking good confidence to how close I was staying to I and R from the club.
Through the sandy\narrow stretch then out the other side, this all felt fast, everyone around me seemed to be working hard so I wasn’t alone in that regard. We’d reached the end of the course and I chanced a look across the field as we effectively did a u-turn to head back up the drag, I’d taken a couple of more places than I’d realised, on we trudged towards the muck and the hills.
The effect on the pace was immediate, I held position going up the first hill but kicked a little going up the second one and took another place or two. R from the club had moved a good bit ahead but I was staying well within range which was promising.
Another huge sigh of sorts when I got to the top of that climb but I didn’t dwell on it and forced the legs to push on down again….before having to work back up a drag, turning left onto the top of the course.
Into the start of the 3rd lap, flying down the open meadow again and sucking the air from the sky to try and fuel the legs, it’s a strange sensation hurtling down through this section, you really want to take a breather, recover a little but you can’t because you’ll lose touch with the group you’re running with. I was a little closer to the two clubmates now as we emerged from the trees moving to the bottom of the course, through the chicane, into the long u-turn and back into the trees again.
I put in a big effort on the both hills this time, slipping a good bit but finding that people around me were just coming back to me with every step. It was hurting like f*ck by the time I moved onto the 2nd hill but emerging over the top, I pulled alongside Ian from the club and we both headed down the drop at a good pelt before heading into the drag\turn at the top of the course. I think I moved by on this one, coming over the top, I was just aware that he wasn’t beside be anymore and I could see R in a group ahead, starting the journey back down to the end of the course.
Coming into this section and starting the 4th lap was just intense, there was no let up in the pace\effort and I was conscious that I had already moved ahead of a few people that had beaten me on my last 2 outings over xc, same temptation to ease up before coming to the trees but I focused on the basics for a bit, form and turnover, take advantage, don’t let up. Through the trees and I drew level with R as we started the U turn, the drag slowed everyone down as soon as we came out of the turn and by the time we hit the muddy hill, I was ahead of R, getting a bit of a bounce from it and moving past another couple of heads.
I felt the legs wobble a bit coming over the top of the 2nd hill, some great shouts from the crowd here, a few people from the club were pretty tuned in and knew I was starting to come through the field. Down the drop and back up into the last turn\drag before starting the last lap. I knew I had to be relentless here, I knew I needed a big lap and I knew I was going to have to work hard to claim any more places.
I closed the gap on a Tullamore lad ahead by the time we hit the trees again, using the better surface here to open the stride up and put in a surge, once again it was tempting not to but the urge to push on was real now and I was embracing it. Into the u-turn, Jerry Kernan was there and gave me an odd look as I gasped and puffed my way up the drag and into the trees.
Into the muddy section for the last time, another big effort, moved by another couple, “well done lad” says one….I actually couldn’t muster any response other than “f*ck” ……….”I know” he replied !!
The 2nd hill felt ten times worse than the 1st but when I got over it I forced myself to push on down and moved alongside a GCH runner for the last drag\turn….
The business end of the race was well over at this stage but the beauty of xc is that we get caught up in our own races and battles, whatever the level – I surged on the hill and kept it going, moved wide on the bend because I knew it was into the home straight now as opposed to back down into another lap.
Opened the stride up, knew GCH was gone, the crowd were shouting, lots of green, pump the arms, kick the legs, embrace the pain and enjoy the moment, over the line and done.
Lots of people lying around, a couple puking…..I wasn’t sure what to do with myself to be honest, hung around for the 2 lads to finish, congratulated them……met Murphy and Abbs, headed over to the club tent….word was already in that the club had won…..lots of complimentary words from coaches and snr athletes alike…
I got a bit of a warmdown done then headed to the presentation, a pretty good gathering from the club to witness it too, 3 in a row, national senior cross country champions – I felt a little fraud like at first given that I hadn’t scored for the A team ( I was 2nd scorer on the B team), we had 3 of the top 5 and I think our 4th man was 30th or so….. but was told in no uncertain terms that I was part of a winning team and along with the other lads, ordered into photos etc….
Incredible occasion, a real sense of community and the team….something I’d sampled before but never in this sport and at this level, a real honour to be part of it. To be in amongst it, running over the muck with this standard of runner was both inspiring and humbling, the crowd, the hills, the pain, the lush green grass, the smell of the earth…..its easy to see why so many people point you directly towards cross country racing when you talk about marathon prepping, it really does reach in deep down and drag it out of you.
10k in 36.45
Mile 1 – 5.47
Mile 2 – 5.58
Mile 3 – 5.58
Mile 4 – 6.00
Mile 5 – 5.54
Mile 6 – 5.59
4.58 pace for the last .2
A very solid week with 72 miles all in0 -
Well done! I actually got to put a face to your username from the sidelines - my brother is a clubmate of yours (he had chickened out
) and I realised who you were from his cheering you on! You did great, we had been watching your battle with the other two lads from your club, especially considering you hadn't been feeling the best. Looked an absolute beast of a race to be honest.
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The harder the race the better the performance DD, some going reading the report. Your flying it man, great to see.0
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Super racing.
Rocking up to the National XC with 60+ miles in the legs. Beast mode DD.0 -
I've run out of words0
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Well done! I actually got to put a face to your username from the sidelines - my brother is a clubmate of yours (he had chickened out
) and I realised who you were from his cheering you on! You did great, we had been watching your battle with the other two lads from your club, especially considering you hadn't been feeling the best. Looked an absolute beast of a race to be honest.
Thank you ! Hmmm, there were a few names from the club that I was surprised didn't line up ( currently comparing those against people I spotted on the sideline to figure out your brother's identity !) - to be fair, its a fairly intimidating race to take part in. The two lads are great, really strong runners, the slower course probably helped me nip by them0 -
AuldManKing wrote: »Super racing.
Rocking up to the National XC with 60+ miles in the legs. Beast mode DD.
There was method to that madness, A - I knew I wasn't going to be in the business end of things so tapering was going to be pointless, 10k is a long way to run over cross country but I wasn't going to turn down the opportunity and I was fairly confident I could contribute something while getting a really strong effort in the bag.0 -
29.11.2018
Monday
Legs were pretty sheepish after Sunday's effort, I had a feeling they would be because a) I was wired after the race and struggled to sleep and b) the race was fairly intense from the off right through to the finish, the hills and mud were sure to leave something as a reminder.
Anyway, it presented an opportunity to get one of those old fashioned long slow runs in ...on tired legs. I think a lot of us tend to neglect this kind of run to be honest, this was a good chance to tick one off.
Left the office, headed for home, ditched the backpack and went up into Raheny, back to the coast, up to Baldoyle, up into Donaghmede, took in the few drags along the way and felt every step for the last 2 miles or so
A beautiful evening for it and slept like a log afterwards
18.2 miles all in
Tuesday
A very easy trot around Ringsend\Irishtown with one of the lads, legs really heavy but felt much better by the end
PM - Run home from work, very easy again.
Just under 11 for the day
Wednesday
Down to the track on lunch today. Big turnout which was a surprise given the storm that was blowing sand all over the place in Irishtown.
After a warmup and drills, we got going into the session.
Session was
3x600
1200
3x600
Most of the crew ran a scaled back version of this one (400s and 1k) but I was happy enough to just grind out the prescribed session, despite the storm and feeling wrecked. The numbers wouldn't be pretty but it was just one of those days to get through it.
The first set of 600s were pretty awful, I came to a near standstill a couple of times heading into the home straight, the wind was savage.
1200 was tough and then the last 3 600s were tough....tough, tough, tough....but done
2.01-2.06 for the 600s and 4.13 for the 1200 ( the numbers weren't quite as awful as I thought they would)
Just shy of 7 miles for the day ( with warmup\down)
Thursday
Easy stuff around St Anne's, legs finally starting to ease a little, stuck to the grass and enjoyed this. Nice day for it with the bit of Vitamin D on offer
9 miles0 -
Friday
Crazy early start to work today, planned on running with one of the lads from the office at 7 am, forgot the gear
Got out instead later that evening with the youngest on her bike for company, ran 7 very easy miles with some strides thrown in with some focus on form etc
Saturday
A few easy miles around the PP with AMK, FBOT and Murph before they headed off to run jingle bells, I did some supporting, had some chats with heaps of boardsies then headed off with AMK for a few more easy miles
Lovely stuff
7.2 miles
Sunday
Dublin Intermediate XC (8k), 16th
Another weekend, another cross country race. This would be the last one of the current set and while I had only planned on running 2 XC races over the course of the last 4 weeks, the 2 snr races were just opportunities that I wasn’t going to turn down. ( they also still fit in with the overall plan)
Really wasn’t feeling the love for this one if I’m honest, the week had been crazy, the nationals last week with the long run the day after had left me feeling like I was pinned right up against that line of pushing hard and being stupid. It’s a tricky one to get right because the truth is, there really isn’t a distinct line as such, its more of a hazy spectrum….Wednesday’s session was tough going, legs like concrete and a tough day too ( wind), the easy stuff is always very easy but even after 10 hours sleep on Saturday night, I was tired – that’s a tell tale sign for me, I do have a down week planned next week to absorb the racing and miles and to let the body recover before another set of tough weeks to ramp up towards Seville.
Anyway, after feeling sorry for myself for long enough, I got into the car and got myself over to Tymon, met the lads, got changed and headed for a loop of the course. It was in pretty good nick but it was probably the most technical course I’d come across yet, lots of sharp turns, sharp drops and even sharper climbs, the odd chicane and a very sneaky sweeping bend on a gradual drag. The surface was soft but holding up well to be fair…there were also a couple of sections with wood chip\mulch that would definitely slow things down for everyone as the race wore on.
Overall, this was shaping up to be another old school xc course, 2 or 3 sections in particular were going to hurt like hell over the 2nd half of the race so I knew it would silly to go out too hard.
Ran a couple of miles warmup with the lads from the club and with Gosh who used to frequent these parts, we’d a decent team out but I knew from talking to other people that a couple of clubs were targeting this and had a red circle around the date on the calendar for months now, I’d seen the finishing list from last year and this field looked a lot bigger which confirmed that clubs were fielding bigger teams this year ( we had 6 runners). Said a quick hello to RayCun and a few others from around the place and got myself ready to rock.
Before long we were off, starting out on some high ground, good surface and off through some hedges, before dropping sharply and to the right down a natural chute onto a playing field ( GAA? Can’t remember now!)
I found it manic at the start, really crowded and slightly more frantic than usual, maybe people were rushing to get down that through that gap into the playing fields for a bit of space. Anyway, I held position despite the shouts from DH on the sideline to attack the race. Surface didn’t feel quite as sturdy on the playing fields as it had during the warmup, its amazing how quickly it can start to cut up once you put a few dozen lads to work on it!
Around the playing fields we went, I was sitting just behind Ian, in 4th position for the club and working hard. A sweeping bend at the end of the field and we were coming back towards the gap we had come down through, this was going to be the first of the really sharp climbs so I moved forward a couple of places to give myself some room to attack it. The climb is actually gradual enough to start with, into a chicane at first but then there’s a sharp right, and straight into a nasty climb but its over before you know it…running on high ground again, sweeping left before another sharp right and a longer but less steep hill….turning left, still running just behind Ian and its down a huge drop, the kind of drop that is hard to keep your footing on but down we go and I tried not to overcook it this time, focusing on transitioning into a smooth stride once we get to the bottom.
We get a good view of the leaders from here as we run around another open field, we’re mid-pack, plenty ahead and plenty behind but lots of work to do, this course is tough and we’re not even 1 lap in. Looping the field, we run across the mulch section which does indeed slow us down, before darting left and up another sharp climb and into a nice straight towards the finish area.
Mile 1: 5.56
The support is great on the course, it’s one of the things that I relish when running for the club but Jaysis it hurts to respond to it ! We sweep by the finish area, taking a wide left turn and up the discrete drag to the higher ground. 1 lap down and 3 to go…
Back through the gap again, the course has already started to cut up noticeably, some great shouts from the sidelines here as we head for the entrance to the playing field, Ian and myself are running side by side and starting to take a few places, he leads the charge down into the sharp drop into the playing fields then I moved ahead to take some of the workload as we skipped past some bodies on the way around the field. The ground had softened quite a bit at the back of the field and 1 or 2 lads are obviously struggling in it, I pushed on, feeling the pinch but knowing that we can’t really ease up at all here. Ian moved ahead again before the chicane and led the charge up the sharp climb for the second time. I scrambled up after him, great shouts of encouragement from the crowd here.
There really was no time to catch your breath at all before swinging around a couple of bends and taking another steep climb, the surface was muddy here now and I was glad of the spikes. Side by side with Ian by the time we hit the top, I took a big, beautiful gasp of air before we darted back down the crazily steep drop onto the open field again. Gradually, gaps were starting to appear in front of us, I’d take a place….push on, then Ian would do the same, this was seriously tough going but we were starting to make some progress. Over the mulch again, up the sharp climb to the finishing straight, it was nice to open up the stride here, once again we had great support from the crowd and were pushing each other on nicely.
Mile 2: 5.53
Around the back of the finishing area, up the sneaky drag and we were back on higher ground again, keeping the stride opened up and making ground on the group ahead. I noticed a couple of very strong runners in the group but also spotted that they were a little closer now, down the chute we went, over the mulch and onto the playing fields, I think I moved ahead of Ian around here and kept pushing on, spotted a gap between 2 very strong Brother’s Pearse lads and went through it, I had to keep the legs kicking as I did so because I knew at least one of them would come after me.
Mile 3: 5.53
Coming back through the chicane and fighting my way back up that horrible little climb, I could tell from the shouts of the crowd that I’d put a bit of a gap between myself and the 2 lads, I could also see our 2nd place runner up ahead and told myself that he had to be the target now.
Left, sharp right, up another steep climb, left, down the big drop and I was alongside our number 2 now, I urged him to stay with me as I went by, kicking my way around the bend, could I keep this going for another mile or so? I doubted it at the time but I was encouraged by moving into 2nd for our team and hoped that the lads would come after me. Running over the mulch felt like running through quicksand this time, the 4 foot climb at the end, felt like 24 foot but when I made the climb, the support was there and waiting, people were shouting at me telling me what I already knew, I was making very good ground and taking a lot of good scalps in the process.
Mile 4: 5.53
Coming up the drag to the higher ground, I was responding to shouts directed at other club runners “ move past him now”, “you’ll take him before the next turn”…..each shout brought a response and I refused to be passed each time, in doing so it obviously brought me closer to the runner ahead.
Things were very spread out heading around the playing field, I went wide around a bend to kick past a crusaders athlete, he was blowing hard but I was struck at how f*cked I sounded compared to him !
Back to the chicane and I almost had to use my hands to get me up over the climb, it stung the quads but there was no time to relax at the top, I knew our 1st scorer was ahead and I knew there was at least another 2\3 places we could take before the end.
I caught another Brother’s Pearse runner on the steep, mucky climb and stayed ahead of him as we shot down the sharp drop into the open field. I moved in just behind our first scorer as we rounded that field, drew alongside on the manky mulch and by the time we got to the top of the climb, back to the support, I could smell the finish line, I didn’t know where I was going to get it from but knew I’d have to be quick to get home first.
I didn’t wait around and just went with it, ears back, got myself into the racing line and chased after the lad ahead ( Sportsworld I think), he had a good gap on us but I was closing it. It was really taking everything I had to keep this up, heart racing, lungs and legs burning but I couldn’t catch him ultimately, he had too much of a gap on us and was finishing well himself.
I crossed the line and sucked in lots of glorious air 😊
.9 mile at 5.40 pace
8k in 28.4
We finished 5th overall, beaten well by the teams above to be fair, BP had a fantastic race, really pushing at the pointy end of things and working that 4th man spot really well too. There’ll be other days for us I’m sure.
On a personal note, I was delighted with the run, I worked hard from start to finish and never really let up on the effort levels, I was confident I would finish strong with the tough course but surprised myself a little by just how many places I made up over the last 1.5 miles or so.
That’s the end of cross country for a few weeks for me, I may run a couple of races in January but only if I can make them work with some more marathon specific sessions in the week, time to be a little selfish.
Warmdown etc brought the week to a close with 70 miles and a lot of quality0 -
DD you're in some shape to be heading into (continuing?) a marathon block. Some PBs are in serious danger i think0
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Some day I'll figure out the secret.
Great going . Serious grit and determination man. Always impressive.0 -
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Swashbuckler wrote: »Some day I'll figure out the secret.
Great going . Serious grit and determination man. Always impressive.
You've shown that in spades yourself plenty of times over the course of the year P0 -
12.06.2018
No rest for the wicked ....insane.....marathon runner
Once again this week would see a long run on pretty tired legs and a track session on the Wednesday, 3 quality days in 4...not something that is really sustainable for too long but common sense around the long run and the Tuesday recovery run should allow me to take advantage of an opportunity to run long on tired legs.
Last week, I was a near broken man by the time the track session rolled around, this week was different......the missing ingredient last week was a good sleep after the long run and a good sleep after the Sunday xc effort, I often find myself too wired to run after these kind of days.
Anyway...
Monday
Long run - met FBOT and Ferris for a few to start with, tipping around Clontarf\Raheny before leaving the men and heading towards Fairview and then up the Malahide Rd to get that drag in, found a nice stride by the time I got back down to the coast and was enjoying the run, resisted the temptation to up the pace over the last few - perfect evening for it too
20 miles easy
Tuesday
Met a clubmate for a run on lunch today, she's a regular member of the Tuesday lunch run group but is changing jobs and heading off to start up her own gang now no doubt.
Just over 8 very easy miles ( legs f*cked at the start and a little better by the end)
PM - ran home from work, 4.1 easy miles again
Wednesday
Track time again, welcoming back one of the DCM crew today which was great as we're in and around the same level.
Session was :
3x1k
4x500s
Off 90 seconds and 60 seconds
Straightforward enough session, ran with a lot of control for the 3 1k reps - form, turnover and control
Upped the effort levels for the 500s and finished strong at the end
1k reps: 3.28, 3.32, 3.28
500 reps: 1.35, 1.36, 1.36, 1.30
Good session, amazing the difference some solid sleep can make.
Thursday
Met up with FBOT and a clubmate of ours for some easy stuff around St Anne's
Good chatter all the way, miles flew by and I'd actually run over my intended target when I checked the watch
Just over 10.5 miles0 -
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Hows the body holding up with the mileage and the XC stress? Apart from sleep, are you doing anything different (e.g.with diet) as the long runs get longer?
Motivation still high for the Mara??0
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