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  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    was supposed to go out for a spin today,but the roads looked poor. so instead 2.5 hour turbo, done as 3*(20 easy, 20 steady), and 30 easy to finish. easy as 150 to 170, steady as 210 to 220. shed was cold. can't imagine what the roads would have been like. 174 AP, 183NP

    planned on a 30 min run straight from the bike, but was starving so pushed it back. round 5 i still didn't like the look of the footpaths, so did it on a hard packed trail. 5 laps, plus a bit to make up the 30 mins. legs strong at first, but got tired for the last couple. scared the life out of a poor woman, she was running with headphones, passed her in almost darkness and she hadn't heard me catching her. couldn't say sorry enough

    31 mins, 5.97km 5:18min/km pace, heart rate higher than expected at 156, still easy zone, but higher than lately, putting it down to the bike earlier


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Monday, almost a triathlon of a different type.

    Icy roads forecast again. Decided to do run on the treadmill at the gym before hitting the pool. Felt it was the right decision until stopped at the lights on the way there, a guy ran past me. Balls. Anyway, opportunity to try the indoor running feature of the 920xt, works perfectly, pace and distance without a foot pod. 6km @ 5:10 pace, hr 144.

    Into the pool then. Last year their heater system was bust after the Xmas shutdown. Was great, nice cool water to swim in, and nobody there cause it was cold. Opposite this year, it's way too warm. Was struggling with the heat big time. Anyway, 2100m as 14*100 main alt fast/easy. Fasts on 1:3x, including a 1:32 which isn't far off my fastest. Not bad given I was nearly ill with the heat, and didn't feel like I was moving very well.

    Home, quick feed, then out for a family hike up moylussa, highest point in Clare, and the hill I ran Xmas eve, but going much higher. Right to the top. 500m up, 11km total, 2:30 time. Very cold at the top, but a good chance to test my new shell jacket I got from Xmas, love rab gear.

    Nice days work, but went nuts on the chocolate again later. That's gotta stop. Going off chocolate for January.

    Not a great night then, 4 year old sick, up most of the night, and spent the early morning with her wrapped around me in the guest room bed. Not much chance of avoiding being sick now. And I'm wrecked. Must try and get the days sessions in before anything hits


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 20,366 Mod ✭✭✭✭RacoonQueen


    mossym wrote: »
    Not a great night then, 4 year old sick, up most of the night, and spent the early morning with her wrapped around me in the guest room bed. Not much chance of avoiding being sick now. And I'm wrecked. Must try and get the days sessions in before anything hits

    You have to love the logic. I feel something hitting so I'm going to get some hard training done before I get sick..never mind that a hard session may be what make the sickness set in :pac:


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    You have to love the logic. I feel something hitting so I'm going to get some hard training done before I get sick..never mind that a hard session may be what make the sickness set in :pac:

    method to my madness, after having the sick one wrapped around me all night for comfort, if im going to get it it's coming anyway. and once i start to get something, especially a stomach bug not much will stop it, (sometimes can force off a cold).

    but you're right, we are a strange bunch


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Tuesday was meant to get an easy bike in. but spent first half the day sitting on the couch with Rachel, still sick. BY mid afternoon i knew the bike wasn't going to get done. but i did get the run in. 30 minutes easy, 5:16 pace. 6.2km.

    Wednesday.
    had been trying for a while to organise a session with a local guy to have a look at my stroke. he's an ex competitive swimmer and does some coaching. figured it was a while since anyone had looked at my stroke for me, one drawback of the solo work. so finally got something arranged for Wednesday. Spent an hour working with me, focusing in on 3 things, my arm position during the recovery(have a high elbow but swinging my arm too wide, the pull(arm too wide) and a slightly bent knee during the kick. as always making changes makes everything uncomfortable, so even the few lengths we did wiped me, especially the kick driils. in good news he made me do kick lenghts with the board but no fins, which usually had me stopping half way and kicking away without moving, but i discovered i was moving away with no fins now.

    an hour very well spent. out then, home and out for a run. the last run of the december run streak. had planned on doing 10k or so, but my wife was out walking the littlest one so as i passed her she asked would i push the buggy back up the hill to home, so i did a few loops, got to about 7k, and left it at that. 31 days consecutive running done, when my previous best was 3 or so. 7.1km, 5:05 pace. Hr was a little high, feeling the swim i think


    Thursday was off, complete day off after 44 days of consecutive training

    Friday Swim
    WU, 8*200 going off on 4 mod hard, WD.

    Few weeks ago did 10 of these hard, and the y came in low 3:2x. today, felt like i was going out easier, maybe not, maybe the session on wednesday helped. Definitely felt like the rhythm with the kick was improved, but whatever it was, these were quicker, in on 3:21, 19, 18, 15, 17, 20, 16, 18. that's probably my strongest set of 200's ever.and they weren't flat out, so that's good too. need to get back to more regular swimming now that hannah is getting a bit more settled.

    few fast 50's afterwards, one came in at 42 sec which is my fastest 50 that i can remember.

    nice first session of the year, good to start on something postiive
    2700m in 52 mins overall


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  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Evening turbo

    Some high cadence work, some builds, then into 5*2 on/2 off.

    Been focused on the run for december, bike work getting done but felt good to be getting back to some real targeted bike work. Started off with the intention of holding over 310W for the ons. managed it for the first 4, the last one was just under. tougher session than it looks.

    45 mins, AP:206W, NP 234W. intervals @ 30x to 31xW


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Sat Jan 3rd: First outdoor spin in a while. 3 hours, some easy climbing. Didn't feel great , felt like i suffered a bit more than i should have for the route. 3 hours. 87.2km. 144bpm average, probably a bit high for what was meant to be an easy spin

    Sunday: Got a call for pints on the saturday night, meant to leave after 3, didn't had a lot more, home at 3.30, had plans sunday afternoon/evening so didn't make the planned run in the morning, meaning it didn't get done.

    Monday
    Morning Swim:2100m total, 10*100 main, 4 fast 50's to end. fast 50's on 44,43, 44, 45. everything else easy and slow

    Lunchtime: Easy Run. Did one of the usual routes, plan was for 45. Met Bennymul early on, ran with him for a km or so, then peeled off on a different route. Stretched it out a bit, given i'd missed the run sunday. 10.1km in 51 mins. 5:06 avg. HR a bit high, 160bpm. very top of my easy range, was way overdressed though so may have contributed there, but thats a couple of sessions HR a bit high. this one though could be still the pints on saturday night.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Tuesday Turbo
    Bike been a bit light lately with the run streak, so couple of tasty sessions planned for this week
    first, main as 8*(1on,1 off,30s on, 30s off). aiming for >310 on the on's, 140 to 150ish on the offs. Nice session this, bit of variability in the recovery time changes things up a bit.
    45 mins, AP 203, NP 230

    Wednesday Swim: drill work, then main as 100's alternating fast/easy. fast 100's were good, probably as fast as i've swam 100's. 1:29, 1:31, 1:32, 1:35, 1:38, bit of a drop off towards end as i was feeling it. drills had taken a bit out.
    2500m in 52 mins

    Wednesday Turbo
    Second effort turbo. 4*4 @110 FTP main. these were tough. thought i'd find them easier, but aimed for mid 270's on the power and was struggling by the end of each. ap for the 4 were 276 267 279 278 .

    Overall: 40 mins ap 207 NP 232

    Thursday Run :easy luncthime run, 30 minutes, 5:04 pace, 6km total, 152 avg HR.. Surprised to see the HR that high, felt like a lot lower, still well within my easy zone but just not expecting that


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Friday Morning Swim
    main as 4*50 fast, 5*300 mod on 5:45, 4* 50 fast. fast as 43, 44, 46, 47, 300's as 5:03, 5:03, 5:07, 5:07, 5:10, fasts as 44, 44, 45, 45. Swim didn't feet great, but time are okay, still trying to get the changes to stroke to feel natural. happy enough with this session, swim looks to be going well at the moment.
    2400m in 52 mins total

    Friday evening run
    What a day weather wise. wind was howling down this way, was worried about one of the trees in the garden. running along the river or on exposed footpaths didn't seem very clever, so i waited till after work and went to the local sports park to do the laps there.Pitch black, headtorch on doing lonely cold laps, until I thought I was seeing things when the middle of the sports field started to glow. Finally realised it was the floodlights, local U11 rugby training. Gave me a bit more light to run by, but also made things a little difficult, transitioning form very bright back into darkness made me blind for a 100m or so.

    Anyway, that wasn’t the biggest problem for the night. This was meant to be a fast interval session. 6*(3 @3.45, 2 easy). 2 minutes into the first one I knew things were off. Was absolutely killing me to hold the pace, and I knew there were 5 more to come. It wasn't for the lack of trying, I couldn't hold these. hr for all of them got up to 189/190, so the effort was put in. That’s just 3 or 4 beats off my max, so I was working, and for 3 minute intervals at this pace I wouldn't have expected to hit my max. there were very strong winds, but was doing a loop so should have cancelled out somewhat at least. I was on loose stone which is always a bit slower, but i think the main factor is the extra weight from xmas(working on that!!). the 3 were at: 3:48, 3:54, 4:02, 4:12, 4:18, 4:20. Last few really rolled off, struggling big time, pace just wasn't there.

    Pretty disheartening session, I believe I would have held this pre xmas. Could be the conditions, this week’s session will tell a lot. Not often though I don’t hit the targets in the plan and I don’t like missing them, especially these ones.

    Legs quite tired, sore and stiff afterwards.

    Sat Cycle

    Bad sessions just kept on coming. Out Saturday for a spin. Legs tried and heavy from the run. Very cold and windy, but only passing showers. 3 hours planned, but with the wind and the state of the roads I decided to stay to the bike lane on the N7. Spun handily up to Toomevara, got 1:15 that way, but knew the headwind would be savage coming back so turned there and headed back, knowing I could add on a few short loops around home to get me to the target. The head wind was savage. Wasn't too bad from toomevara to nenagh, which raised my hopes, but once I cleared nenagh and was heading for birdhill it came full force. Average speed went from mid 30’s on the way out to low, and I mean low twenties on the way back, and I was pushing to hold that

    Then things went south. Puncture. Gloves off to change it, tire covered in mud and crap from the road. Hands freezing trying to change it. Get the tube out, new on in, co2 cartridge out, one of the ones with the foam on it to provide insulation. Hands numb and in agony at this stage. Inflated with the co2, with the numb hands never realized the cartridge was against my hand and ended up with it stuck to my hand. painful removal ensued. Back on bike. Very cold, shivering badly. Got going again, starting to warm up. Bang puncture. Wtf!! Anyway, queue another very cold and painful change, bit more care with the cartridge this time. Set off again, very very cold now. Got about 300m, and couldn't believe it when i got puncture number 3 for the day.

    3 punctures in one day. Must be either something stuck in the tire or on the rim, but with the cold hands and the tires covered in mud I didn't catch it. Anyway, didn't matter, was out of tubes, had no patches, and even if I did hands were too numb to use them. Last resort, called the team car for a lift. A very cold 20 minutes ensued waiting for a lift, and I was informed when I was picked up I was blue. It took about 3 hours for me to warm up fully

    So the bike was shorter than planned. 2:27 moving, 66.8km, 27.2km/hr avg, 137 avg hr.


    Sunday Run
    Cycle was a bit short so although the plan was for an hour run, I decided to make up the difference on the run. I know this can be silly, and not something I would always do, but today I did. Legs were quite tired heading off, so I planned to keep it nice and easy and focus on form rather than worry about the pace. Had thought about running the local mountain, probably would have if it had been an hour, but with tired legs and 90 minutes I decided to stick to the road and take it easy. Ran out to the two mile gate, so called as it is two miles from the town, a route which has a brand new footpath the whole way with a raised divider to the road. Perfect for running, going to be a great addition for the night runs. Killaloe is turning into quite the training spot. Anyway, nice easy run, interrupted two young lovers getting very physical in a very public spot, as I turned back had to warn the old lady I met heading the same way she might want to avoid the area. Back into town, couple of short loops to make up the 90 minutes, and home.

    Went out fasted, but took a gel at halfway, experimenting with this, always seemed to fade towards the end of my long runs so wanted to see if this helped. Results inconclusive so far.


    1:29, 16.33km. 5:29/km avg, avg hr 155. tired by end


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,425 ✭✭✭joey100


    That sounds like a horrible cycle mossy! Just like a car puncture, they don't happen on a nice warm day mid summer.

    Did I hear whisperings about a nice warm weather race later in the season too? Have half an eye on it myself but waiting to see the course maps, emailed and was told they should be up in Jan. would only be doing Olympic tho.


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  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    joey100 wrote: »
    Did I hear whisperings about a nice warm weather race later in the season too? Have half an eye on it myself but waiting to see the course maps, emailed and was told they should be up in Jan. would only be doing Olympic tho.

    it's under consideration alright. they've moved it form puerto del carmen to arecife. if it was still in PDC it would be a no brainer. we're going to be go out there around that time for a holiday anyway as Hannah will be too small to go during the summer. i did the olympic there in 2013, and we loved being away at that time. Superb race as well. Just trying to figure out logistics of a 5 year old,an 11 month old, a family holiday, and then lugging a bike and race gear with me.


    looking at the half i'd say if i do it. more for fun than anything else. Given it will be our holiday for the year i'm not sure i want to pile the pressure of an A race on top of it.

    nothing decided yet though, may not happen at all.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Monday Morning Swim
    warm up, then main as 15*100pb. felt okay in the water. 100's as 1:36, 1:35, 1:33, 1:33, 1:33, 1:34, 1:34, 1:34, 1:35, 1:35, 1:34, 1:34, 1:34, 1:35.Admittedly i was working harder by the end(the last couple) to hold the pace, but happy enough with that. Consistent swimming definitely works for me.

    2400m in 47 mins


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,682 ✭✭✭MojoMaker


    1:15? :eek:


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    MojoMaker wrote: »
    1:15? :eek:

    i wish:), typo.

    shows someone reads my log though, cheers!!:D


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,888 ✭✭✭Dory Dory


    Did you figure out why you had 3 punctures?


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Dory Dory wrote: »
    Did you figure out why you had 3 punctures?

    given how quickly the three happened, something went through the tire and is still there. given the conditions, and the crap all over the tires, i didn't check thoroughly like i usually would. I'm going to have a look it tomorrow evening

    i;d usually run my fingers around the inside of the tire to look for anything sharp


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,888 ✭✭✭Dory Dory


    If you can't find anything in the tire. examine the slightly inflated tubes underwater and see where the puncture is from the air bubbles. I discovered a rim problem that way after i had 3 punctures in a row.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Dory Dory wrote: »
    If you can't find anything in the tire. examine the slightly inflated tubes underwater and see where the puncture is from the air bubbles. I discovered a rim problem that way after i had 3 punctures in a row.

    cheers Dory, that's a trick i've used in the past alright. will have 3 tires now to pinpoint the spot.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Monday Run
    30 minutes easy, or was supposed to be, kept the HR in the right zone, but just about and it was a struggle. just one of those runs, didn't feel easy like it should have, was just a struggle. it was bloody cold, picked the wrong time to give my running jacket and gloves a wash. dry again now though:)

    6.37km, 33:52, 5:19 pace 159 avg Hr

    Evening
    an hour of core and strengthening. my cycling crew do circuits on a monday evening, i stopped doing the circuits with them as they were doing more harm than good in terms of the overall training, but still went to the session and did some core work while they jumped around. Hadn't been since Hannah was born, but last night marked my return. An hour made up of planks, side planks, and lots of resistance band work targeting the glutes and hamstrings mainly, two problem areas for me. kept it pretty easy given two sessions done already, but still a good workout. some stretching to finish up.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    the source of the 3 punctures has been located. piece of glass all the way through the tyre. 20 minutes cleaning the crap off the wheel before i found it.

    now got a nice hole in a gp4000s with less than 500km on it. balls.


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  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Tuesday Turbo

    50 minutes, 9 * (2:45 @90%, 0:15 @ 110)

    Not done this one before, but a nice session. bit harder than it looks, but easier than some interval sessions, so a nice bit of variety. Shed was reading 1 degree C, so was glad to get going and warm up.
    50 Mins, 201W avg, 212W NP

    Wednesday
    Pretty decent dump of snow meant i decided to skip pool and take Rachel to school to avoid her granny having to drive in the snow, she usually has her on Wednesdays. By 8.30am i was kicking myself that i hadnt gone and come back, roads couldnt have been that bad. Was then faces with trying to fit in a run and swim, knew i wouldnt get two done in the evening, but there was still a lot of ice and snow around at 11. was 50/50 over whether i should head out at lunchtime or not, seemed it could be accident central.the clever move was to stay inside.

    12.15 obviously then saw me pulling on multiple layers and heading out for a run. what ensued was a very careful trot around the industrial estate. some parts were fine, others were dodgy. Usually on a wednesday there are about 8 or 9 that head out from the same changing room, today i was the only one. A few of them voiced their admiration later for having gone out. usually you'd pass a good few running, today not one, not even anyone walking. probably crazy to go out, but i ended up with 48 mins, very careful minutes, but i didn;t have any falls and survived

    48 mins, 9km, 5:19min/km pace, 152bpm average.


    Was pretty sure after that i'd likely miss the swim, storm was supposed to be hitting and i wanted to get some stuff put away at home, get the bins weighed down. still pretty calm after work and got a green light from home so headed for the pool straight after work. was a short but fast one anyway, so well suited. only 1500m, but the plan was for fast 3 sets of 8*25 fast on 45 , with the fast stressed. first thing that had to be done was change this to something that works in a 17.5m pool, so i came up with 6* 35 fast on 50, or two lengths. 50 was probably a bit fast, but better than too slow.

    this looks like an east set. first couple came in on high 20's, over 20 secs rest on 35's? was considering dropping the time for the second two. glad i didn't though, this is one of those ones that starts easy but builds. happy enough with the times, the 35's came in as 27, 27, 27, 27, 28, 27, 25, 26, 27, 28, 28, 28, 26, 26, 27, 27, 27, 28 (all seconds)

    That's pretty consistent, and happy enough with the pace. with the WU/WD came in as 1500m in 37 mins


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 20,366 Mod ✭✭✭✭RacoonQueen


    Pain in the ass swimming in a odd length pool and trying to adjust a set for yourself...''so how much rest should I have?'' :D


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Pain in the ass swimming in a odd length pool and trying to adjust a set for yourself...''so how much rest should I have?'' :D

    the approach i've settled on to keep TMWTP happy:

    1)increase the distance(never decrease) to match multiples of the length of my pool
    2)increase the off on time by the same factor
    3) now take a decent chunk out of the off on factor, enough to make it obvious you were doing a harder set than initially prescribed
    4) work your ass off to hole the same pace as you;d have hit for the shorter distance.


    ;)


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 20,366 Mod ✭✭✭✭RacoonQueen


    I've to turn 50m into 66m - extra 16m if you're doing a set of fast 50's, hurts like....

    Estimate how much rest I'd get if I was doing 50's off 60, try to estimate how fast I can swim 66m (not very fast) and then add my estimated amount of rest.

    Finish rep one, shattered...2 seconds rest....oh I didn't estimate that very well.... :(


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Thursday
    45 mins recovery spin on the bike. done watching the pantani documentary on Netflix, or the first 45 mins of it at least. good show for any of you looking for something on netflix.

    have decided to give the nbc Kona shows on youtube a go while doing some turbos, see if they offer any motivation.

    anyway, 45 very easy minutes, power roughly 130w for the 45 mins

    Friday Swim
    one of the regulars, 100sw, 200pb, 300sw, 400pb, 400sw, 300pb, 200sw, 100pb. then some fasts and a warm down. went well, kept it very easy with a view to what i knew was coming later, and just focused on the stroke. only a 3 sec gap between the time for the pb 400 and the swim 400. although they were slow, the effort was roughly the same so i'm encouraged by that, the swim stroke is coming along nicely. would have been a big gap last year. fast 50's in 44, 45, 45, 45.


    Lunchtime run. Last weeks intervals session didn't too well. so this week's edition was 6*3 @3:50 pace with 2 recovery. 10 min wu, some builds, then into them.

    First 3 went okay, 3:47, 3:47, 3:49. but i was fighting with everything to hold them. Max Hr of 193, by end of the third one my HR was 192. and then they started going from tough to unreachable. last 3 came in at 3:59, 4:03, 4:10, with my HR getting to 192 earlier in each session. on the 4th one i hit 193.

    That's still a lot better than last week, but still not hitting the numbers though. there's a bit of time to be gained, again these were done on the loose gravel of the running path around the local sports field, which i think is always a bit slower. but still a bit of work to do to be hitting this session regularly and properly. I'll get there though

    https://www.strava.com/activities/241741816

    11km. 53 mins, 4:49min/km avg(means nothing for this run), 173 bpm avg with a max of 193


  • Registered Users Posts: 827 ✭✭✭RJM85


    I always find hitting particular times for Vo2 Max interval sessions like that very hard. Depends on so many varying factors like weather, fatigue, surface etc. the important thing I think is the effort level. Basically, make sure you have difficulty walking after the last one!


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,468 ✭✭✭sconhome


    Good sessions there mossy.


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Saturday Turbo
    3 hour bike in the plan, looked at the the forecast, and the kick off time of the munster match. being back in time for the match meant an early start, the forecast said that would be silly. So a 3 hour turbo while watching the match became the POR.

    Rather than just spin for 3 hours, decided to vary things up a little, so this was done as

    30 Mins Easy, Cadence ~ 80rpm, NP 153
    30 Mins Easy, Cadence ~85rpm NP 164
    30 Mins Steady, Cadence ~75 NP 210
    15 Mins Easy, Cadence ~ 80, NP 149
    5* (5 Mins Steady, Cadence ~90, NP = 210, 5 easy, Cadence ~80, NP = 150)
    25 Min easy, Cadence ~80, NP = 140

    Overall, 3 Hours, NP = 177W, Avg Hr = 131, Avg Cadence = 81rpm

    Happy enough with that, felt like a decent few hours work. Happier than i was with the match anyway


  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    With the forecast not looking superb for today, and having enjoyed the jog up the mountain on xmas eve, i decided to go in search of snow for today's long run. and boy did i find it. 90 minutes planned, i headed off at 11.30ish giving the roads a chance to thaw. drove to the foot of the hill,and set off. Did a quick loop at the two mile gate, off road but on the flat to warm up a little. a trail along the lake i ran last week was under 3 feet of water this week, so this was a little shorter than planned. headed back to the hill and started up.

    It was very very cold, but i was well wrapped up, and very glad of my inov8's today, the xtalon are well named, was very glad of the trail soles on them for grip. Nice easy pace up. HR well into the steady zone,but expected given the steep uphill. There was no snow or ice low down, but soon i started to hit patches of ice. Started to get heavier, and eventually i got to about a 500m or more stretch where there was just a sheet of solid ice, meaning a period of walking/very ginger running. as i went higher though it started getting thicker again,and the footing got better, not often hearing is the most important sense while running, but the nice solid crunch of digging into frozen snow indicated good footing.

    up and up i went, and the snow getting heavier. as i neared the top of ballycuggeran hill, it was now a decent cover of soft white powder. the multitude of footprints i'd been following were narrowing out. reached the top, and headed for the turn to go up Moylussa, the highest point. Turned right at the trail for moylussa, to be met with this sight
    i630buR03i55KmG24YMTjq-ZSdyzW8GiBI5Z9v21oXs=w983-h553-no

    Tree down across the trail. Looked easy enough to go around to the right, but there was a solid stream coming down that and i didn;t fancy getting wet. went about crawling under the tree, and thought what the hell am i doing, so turned back and went farther along the top of the hill i was on instead. Pretty soon i was running in snowway up past my ankle, calf deep . not easy run in that stuff. so the pace was nice and slow

    lovely deep white powder. at this stage there were no footprints left, no-one had been across this far since the snow fell. stopped to take one more pic to remember an epic run
    20150118_122154.jpg

    Turned at that point and headed for home. Can usually pick up pace going down the hill, but the conditions today didn't allow that.quite a bit of slowing, picking careful paths along the side of the road where the footing was a little surer. Near the bottom i took a branch trail off to the side to get to the planned time.

    got to the bottom and home, after what was possibly the nicest run i've ever been on. In addition, legs felt great after it, usually after my long run they area bit tender and tired, but i'd gladly have kept going today. Combo of the slow pace, and the lack of impact with the snow. can see why the pro's often post pics of training in the snow.

    15km, 465m climbed, 1:31 total time. 154 average HR(even kept the average in the easy zone:) )
    https://www.strava.com/activities/242686341


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  • Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 8,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭mossym


    Recovery week this week but with a potential sting in the tail. we'll see.

    Monday - Day off. did put in an easy hour of core, stretch and roll.

    Tuesday - 45 mins easy spinning on the bike. watching a documentary on Hillary and tenzing and the everst ascent. good stuff. Kept this at the upper end of easy by the power numbers mainly, bit of variation in cadence to vary things up, but not too far from an average of 80. 157W NP.

    Afterwards, my wife is getting back into some excercise after the baby. She's on the z25k plan, but also decided to do the 14 day plankathon challenge. i said i'd do it with her. first day is see how long out of 5 minutes you can hold planks for, you can take breaks but the 5 minutes keeps counting. had done a fair few planks on monday, so abs were a little sore, but held 3:47 out of 5. i'm okay with that. will stick with it as a bit of motivation for each other. bit of fun

    Wednesday Morning swim
    2200, mainly easy with drills. kept this nice and easy, had a clear difference between easy sets and steady, which isn't always the case with me. it would also appear the new years resolutions are gone already, only 4 in the pool this morning so stress free environment.

    2200m in 42 mins


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