The breaks even out in the long run

average_runner

RayCun wrote: »

ah yes, if they can't figure out how to apply an L plate correctly they'd have trouble with concepts like, "people running a race on the road means you shouldn't drive there at the same time"

Remember only the gardai can close the roads, if stewards are closing them, the car was perfectly entitled to be driving on the road. Its up to the driver, as stewards have no legal right to do this.

Only found this out awhile ago when a discussion in our club came about and a good few gardai there, confirmed it!!

Netwerk Errer

Wed 18th Feb- 7m Easy (7:58)

Had 2 lazy days so I had to get back into action this morning. Felt very laboured for the first 2 miles, Like I was plodding. The cadence was low and the stride was a little too lopey. Something I really need to work on is keeping the turnover solid on these easy runs because I'm making them a bit more difficult than they should be.

Other than that, no other complaints. The rest went smoothly.

Netwerk Errer

Thu 19th Feb- 6m Easy (7:53)

Headed up to the AIT grand prix last night to watch some of the best in the world compete on Irish soil. The meet was disappointing in itself but we made a night of it so I wasn't in the best of shape today after only getting to bed at 4:30am, up for nearly 24 hours.

The plan for today was a track session but that wasn't going to happen, wouldn't have been pretty. Went for a nice easy run instead this evening to clear the soul. Went Ok, I was obviously on the crusty side starting off heading off but got through it even if it was a mental and physical torture at times, It was worth it.

Netwerk Errer

Fri 20th Feb- 7m Easy(8:04)

Chilly enough out there this morning! Headed off at 5:30 for a secret recce of the Adare 10k route under the cover of darkness. My body clock is still a bit all over the place after Wednesday nights exploits but I felt reasonably good today.

I won't bore anyone with stories of former glory but this race has never let me down, I've always performed better than expected on it and it was the first road race I ever ran 14 years ago. Absolutely pumped for Sunday, Can't wait.

MaggotBrain

What's the course like? Is it very hilly? Looking forward to it now.

Netwerk Errer

MaggotBrain wrote: »

What's the course like? Is it very hilly? Looking forward to it now.

Here's a bit of a description.

http://munsterraceroutes.blogspot.ie/2013/02/limerick014.html?m=1

It's not completely accurate in my opinion but gives a good idea.

It's a little bumpy with some biters thrown in for the first 4.2 miles(nothing long, just short climbs) and gradually buildups up from the start to there. After that, it's all flat and some fast stretches downhill before flattening out again for the last .3m. Best of luck with the sub-50 lad!:)

MaggotBrain

Cheers chief! See you out there hopefully.

Bulmers74

Best of luck tomorrow lad - I know this is the one you've been aiming for & the last 3 weekends were the prep.

tang1

Bulmers74 wrote: »

Best of luck tomorrow lad - I know this is the one you've been aiming for & the last 3 weekends were the prep.

+1 to that NE.

Netwerk Errer

Cheers lads! Feeling good to go, Hope this wind dies down a bit. It's a late start so there's hope yet.

Dubgal72

Go NE

tang1

How you go NE?

Netwerk Errer

tang1 wrote: »

How you go NE?

40:58 unofficial. Pretty happy with it given the conditions out there. Finished really strong which was encouraging after a few tough miles in the middle. I was in bed for 7 last night so my report is a little delayed, Will get around to writing it up when I shake off the morning head.

Netwerk Errer

Sun 22nd Feb- Adare 10k (40:58)

The biggest race of the year for me and one I look forward to 364 days in advance. This is pretty much my hometown race having lived there for over 7 years so the pressure is always on from everyone in the town and whatever happens, I can't be beat by a hurler or I never hear the end of it. I hit the leaba early on Saturday night so I could get an early start and decent breakfast in on race morning. Woke up at 5 bells in good spirits and strangely enough for me, no jitters. The race wasn't starting until 1 but I like to chill out and take it easy on raceday.

The wind was howling and it was lashing rain all morning but I was holding out in hope against all the weather forecast that it would calm down by the afternoon, wasn't to be. Stubbornly enough, I was still going with plan A which was shooting for a PB. To be honest, there was never a plan B anyway.

Arrived to race HQ at about 11:45 to pre-race smack talk like no other, There was over 40 from our club alone running and I knew a load of others there including an ol friendly foe who I used to go racing with back in 2013 who said he was aiming for a sub-40, he sure was as he ran 37:40.

Headed off for the warm-up with about 30 minutes to go to the off. Actually felt good and perky and reeled off just over a mile and a half at a delicate pace. Knocked out a few strides and the turnover seemed good and so did the quads.

The Race

Mile 1: (6:20)

The intention was simple for the first mile, go out at PB pace and focus on my own race, don't get caught up in anyone else's race at the start. The first mile is a gradual uphill with a few flat spots mixed in. I and I felt good, I was running at an almost perfect 6:20 pace with no fluctuations. The wind only starting to become a factor towards the mile marker as we were tightly bunched.

Mile 2: (6:29)

The pack started to split here and I found myself slightly isolated to the elements, neither here nor there with any little groups so I had to push on and just catch on to the 2nd and 3rd place women. The pace had dropped but I wasn't overly concerned because I knew if I got to the halfway point in good nick, the course offers up a good shot at a negative split. As we took the turn onto the path less travelled, the wind was now smacking us right into the face on what would be the hardest part of the whole race from 3k to 6.5k.

Mile 3: (6:34)

I was still feeling confident in the early part of this mile but the cracks were slowly starting to appear, the course was starting to get bumpy. I was still going well on the climbs but couldn't quite run as fast as I normally would on the downhills, the stride length wasn't there. I was picking up a few places from the kamikaze early starters and only one person had passed me since the start. Solid but not lighting up the roads.

Mile 4: (6:51)

Went through 5k in 20:05 but the wheels were going flat quickly. Looked at the garmin halfway through this mile and saw 7:09 staring back at me. A few of my clubmates were starting to stream past here with everyone of them muttering the same "suffering". Two of decided to try and work together but that only lasted a few hundred metres before he pulled away. All that was on my mind now was, get to the top of the hill at the 4 mile marker and see what I could do on the way home.

Mile 5: (6:52)

Crested the hill but the legs were gone flat now. People were passing me here at a pace that made me feel like I was walking. My clubmates were getting smaller and smaller off ahead in the distance and I was questioning whether or not I would even break 42 minutes. There was a small glimmer of hope towards the end of this mile when a guy came up next to me and the head just said go, nothing else, just go. The body followed orders and I started to pick up the pace again.

Mile 6: (6:23)

I hit the 5 mile marker at a good pace and was starting to reel others back in pretty quickly. Passing each person more and more aggressively to make sure they had second thoughts about going with me. I was getting progressively faster and faster as the mile passed by and probably passed 9-10 people.

Mile .25: 1:29 (5:57)

Pushed on to the finish and crossed in 40:58 watch time.



I'll take it. I'm pretty happy with the result given the conditions. Is it near what I planned to run here post-DCM? No. The strong finishes of late sound good but they inevitably lead me to the question, How come I'm finishing so strong but can't quite put it together in the middle of a race. Really, I think I'm falling asleep at times out there. The speed and fitness is obviously there in my opinion if I can finish that strong but I feel I have wasted it by leaving it so late in a race before it becomes apparent. I almost feel like a man possessed in the last couple of miles of late, like I could run as fast as I want but haven't put two and two together to absolutely blitz a whole race. It feels like I'm on the edge of a breakthrough but just haven't kicked the door down yet.

As for the whole cycle since Dublin. I haven't been really consistent and that's probably the main reason for the sort of plateau I've been at since and for nearly 15 months in full. Injuries and some overtraining have played their part over since late 2013 but in all honesty, my work ethic isn't at where it should be. The main goal going forward now is to instill that work ethic back into my training and push on from there. When I do that, I won't have to worry about the results, they will come.

JohnDozer

Good stuff getting it back together in those conditions... Was running in Kerry early yesterday and was thinking that nasty s@&tty weather was heading eastwards, can't have been nice to race in. Fast, flat 10k in Ennis the 28th March might catch your eye!?

Netwerk Errer

JohnDozer wrote: »

Good stuff getting it back together in those conditions... Was running in Kerry early yesterday and was thinking that nasty s@&tty weather was heading eastwards, can't have been nice to race in. Fast, flat 10k in Ennis the 28th March might catch your eye!?

It's definitely an option, I ran it last year and it's a cracking race. It's clashing with Munster 4 mile roads which is on in Limerick this year so I've no excuse to miss it. Plus, if my coach hears I skipped across the border for a race the day a championship is on. He'll take it as an act of high treason. We'll see what happens.

You doing it?

JohnDozer

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

It's definitely an option, I ran it last year and it's a cracking race. It's clashing with Munster 4 mile roads which is on in Limerick this year so I've no excuse to miss it. Plus, if my coach hears I skipped across the border for a race the day a championship is on. He'll take it as an act of high treason. He already barely talks to me since my DNF in senior XC. We'll see what happens.

You doing it?

All going well I am! RunClare had that special offer of 4 races for 50 notes so took them up on it. Good value considering races down these here parts are costing €25/30 each to enter. Chance to visit family too. Priority is Kilnaboy 10 mile which I did last year so first real chance to gauge improvement on a like for like course.

Netwerk Errer

Mon 23rd Feb- 10m Easy (8.06)

The dreaded treadmill was calling for this one. Wouldn't have been safe out on the country roads today with the weather. About the most entertaining thing I seen on this run was a fella having a bit of difficulty on the exercise ball. Set the treadmill to 7.4mph and off I went. It's not really the boredom that was catching me although I do find it a mental challenge, taking a lot of concentration just to keep my ass from hitting the wall behind. The effort level just seems higher than running outside. I was a little stiff today which was to be expected after a race the previous day. Good in general and feeling a new lease of motivation starting to appear.



My period is intense racing is over so I can get back to actual structured training and not just training I can fit around races. For the first in yonks, there will be method in my madness. I have been advised to stay away from any dedicated mid-d training like I had planned but I will run some shorter stuff when track season rolls around but it won't be my focus. Would love to give the steeple a shot in the summer too:D.

The plan going forward now is to start building mileage up and keeping a good overall structure to set me up for the Summer. I haven't smashed out the details yet on a racing schedule but have a fair idea of my training plan, it just needs a little fine tuning and I'll see how the body reacts as I go along.

Netwerk Errer

Tue 24th Feb- 4x5mins @ 5k pace w/3min rec.

Blown workout. My groin and coccyx started to act up pretty badly tonight. The session was on AstroTurf which always seems to bring up the same issue. Tonight, it felt far more serious, to the point where I can't open my hips or a slight cough sends a shooting pain down my tailbone. Rest is the only option for now. I also think it's about time I took a break from A/R for a while, far too addicted at the minute. Peace out people!

pconn062

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Tue 24th Feb- 4x5mins @ 5k pace w/3min rec.

Blown workout. My groin and coccyx started to act up pretty badly tonight. The session was on AstroTurf which always seems to bring up the same issue. Tonight, it felt far more serious, to the point where I can't open my hips or a slight cough sends a shooting pain down my tailbone. Rest is the only option for now. I also think it's about time I took a break from A/R for a while, far too addicted at the minute. Peace out people!

Sorry to hear about the injury NE, and I'm sorry to see you close your account (although I understand why you did). You are one of my favourite posters on here and a real athletics guy, hope you come back to us at some stage (and that you read, which I know you will!)

Ososlo

Closed account:( Shame...
Good luck with the break and look forward to your return!

annapr

Good luck with the recovery, NE. Sorry you won't be logging, your reflections on racing, etc. were very interesting. I was looking forward to reading about you nailing that 10k time.

Murph_D

+1 and recover well.

martyboy48

Sorry to hear about the injury NE and sorry to see you close your account. As long as its a temporary thing thats ok
I shall await your return and look forward to a positive update with tales of a successful comeback

Dubgal72

Didn't realise you were closing your account!!! Come back soon, you'll be missed around here

JohnDozer

As with other comments, I'm disappointed that you're gone. Always valued your input, even if some of it went over my head! I'll keep an eye out for you around the real world anyway :-)

Tom Joad

Best of luck with the recovery NE and hopefully you will be back here soon.

tang1

Shame to see you go NE, found your log great reading & very informative. Hopefully you'll be back here soon.

Netwerk_Errer

Well....this is embarrassing, it's like apologising to a friend when you acted the complete and utter twit on a drunken night out. I don't know why but I feel accountable to people on this forum.

I threw my toys out of the pram and closed my account in a rage after Tuesday's workout and pain in my groin and I regretted it nearly immediately. I felt the year was starting off like it did last year where everytime I was starting to get going, I got injured. I was p*ssed! The whole thing was an exercise in futility anyway, I was still lurking about here constantly but not posting, I was only delaying the inevitable of a rereg while frustrated that I couldn't post so I might as well open up another account now and save myself the torture. This board is as addictive as crack!:D Anyway, moving on swiftly.

I went to my physio on Wednesday who said it was just the impinged nerve acting up again. Feels a lot worse than it is and once he released it, he said it wasn't serious and I could go back running straight away.


Thur 26th Feb- 7m inc 3.1 tempo in 19:56

Headed off to the weekly UL 5k series for this one. Big crowd there last night of nearly 70. Set off at a good clip of just under sub-20 pace with the aim of keeping it steady which I did while feeling comfortable even when heading back into the driving wind and sleet in the 2nd half. Don't have my splits for the workout because I left the Garmin in the boathouse but from the finishing time, I'm happy that I kept a good pace throughout even if it did tail off in the last mile into the wind. Happy out:)

Ososlo

Brilliant:D Welcome back!
The place hasn't been the same without you! Your contributions to all aspects of the forum make it a better place!