The breaks even out in the long run

Bulmers74

Notwork Error wrote: »

Cheers J! Might give that one a miss. You giving it a crack?

Thinking about it - PB is soft & Martyboy has me by a couple of seconds

Notwork Error

tang1 wrote: »

Let us know how Mark English goes in the 800 pls E.

English was 3rd. Not sure what time, 1:48ish in decent breeze, took the lead 500m but looked a little flat coming onto the homestretch.

KielyUnusual

Bulmers74 wrote: »

Well done. Saw the time earlier this morning & reckoned you'd be happy enough. No complaints from the ankle is the main thing.
A fast 5k in Borrisoleigh tomorrow night, allegedly

...and its an amazing place too with loads of lovely, lovely people

Bulmers74

KielyUnusual wrote: »

...and its an amazing place too with loads of lovely, lovely people

I'm sure they are - I'll report back to confirm

Notwork Error

Monday 7th July- Dromcollogher 4 Mile(25:38)

Back onto the roads for the first time since the Limerick Half over two months ago. Made a snap decision Monday morning to take a shot at this race. Called up the sports therapist to see what he thought, he was a little hesitant in case I rolled my ankle but after some persuasive talking from me, he gave me the green light. I'm not sure I would've being able to resist the temptation if he gave me a different answer but the call probably saved me a bollocking the next day. The plan was a simple one, run hard and see what happens which seems to be the goal for every race lately but an approach I like as it's nice and laid back and the only expectation is that I feel I've given a good effort after it.


Pre-Race

Late enough start for the race at 8 so I had a full dinner on board and made tracks towards towards Drom early so I could take it easy and relax once I arrived. Got to the GAA club with about 90 minutes to spare. Met up with the lads and started our warmup with about a half to go until the gun, just a gentle jog but enough to bring out a warm sweat in the humidity. Thankfully, that disappeared before the start with the arrival of a cool misty shower. I wasn't feeling like my racing legs were on during a few pre race strides, my quads felt on the dead side which was probably to expected as I had no real running behind me in over a week but I was confident there was enough there for a good run.

Race:

Mile 1:

The gun went and we went, I was familar with a lot of people running so I slotted myself in a little back from two usually slow starting runners but everyone took off like hares but for once, a little common sense showed itself early in a race and I didn't commit yet and took up a position alongside the second woman. The first mile was a nice gentle downhill, enough to make a difference to the pace but not to shred the quads so I started to pick it up at about 1k while picking up a few places, feeling pretty good as I passed through the mile marker to a 6:02 first mile, didn't have a watch but called out for a split, fast start but I felt at my ease.


Mile 2:

Spotted a familar back from Kilmallock AC about 30m up the road and focused on trying to bridge the gap, this mile continued with the gentle downhill from the start before turning off on to a country road with a few gentle pulls along the second half. Still feeling really good and had managed to reel in the gap to about 5m and the drags weren't causing any problems, The group up ahead were also coming back and the pace felt like a little jog. I was pretty confident passing through the 2 mile marker in around 12:15ish.

Mile 3:

Not long after passing halfway, the course started to kick up a bit, nothing steep but just a really long drag which ate into my momentum pretty rapidly, The gap I'd managed to pull back on the Killmallock AC guy was starting to open up again and he passed a Riocht guy who was going through the same struggle as me but was still fighting. The drag kept going for the next mile with the gap narrowing and opening up constantly at about 25m. Quads were feeling empty slowed a lot over this mile.


Mile 4:

Just after the 3 mile marker, the drag peaked out in the form of a short sharp climb and relief, a nice little short downhill section to gain some momentum before hitting the flat. The gap ahead was staying constant and I couldn't quite get on the front foot. Finished with decent pickup over the last 300 to finish in 25:38.


Thoughts:

The course was definitely decently fast with the second half a good bit tougher, though not as tough as my positive split suggests. I'm happy enough woth how I got on, pacing was a bit off which I probably cost me a little on the hills. Without having done much endurance or speed training longer than 400's-800's, I think It was a solid run of what kind of shape I'm in right now on the roads. Not for the first time, the hills were my biggest weakness which I need to address with cross-country in mind. The good is that I feel my speed has definitely come on over the last 2 months on the track, just need to stack that endurance on top now by building the miles.


Tuesday 7th July- 5m Easy

Down in CIT for the Cork City Sports meet so snuck in a few miles before it started. Headed down through the park behind the track carpark. Legs were definitely on the rough side especially around the VMO and the calves. It hurt to start but I felt so much for the better after finishing up this run. Well worth it.:)

Notwork Error

Monday 13th July-5m Recovery

Ropey to say the least after the festival but I had to get back on the horse after only 4 days of running in the past 2 weeks. Something weird happened to my toe over the weekend as well so that's a little on the tender side. Other than that, the body felt ok but the head is still back on the Island and will probably take a few days to start functioning or not functioning again so I'll play it by ear on the plan going forward this week.

Murph_D

How are things progressing, NE?

Notwork Error

Murph_D wrote: »

How are things progressing, NE?

Good, been a bit lazy getting back to full-time running and been busy for the last few weeks so didn't have a chance to update. Starting a new plan from coach now to target XC for the rest of the year which will have me running 40-60 mpw with 2 workouts and a lot of focus on hills. Probably going to leave the log drift off as I'm not sure I'll get much value from it when I'm committed to someone else's plan and getting a bollocking from him if I'm slacking off is good enough motivation. Might start it up again at some point if the feeling takes me there but the ol pen and paper is doing a grand job for now and it's handier.

Enjoy the holidays!:)

Notwork Error

It's been a while!:) Feel like digging this up again as it might serve for some extra motivation and I can't have too much of that as the XC season is on the horizon. The plan going forward is challenging and has a strong focus on quality so I'm hoping it can do the trick and bring in the results. First up on the agenda is an open 8k XC race in 2 weeks time to test the waters and get reacquainted with racing on the grass before the championship races kick off on the 27th September with County Novice all the way through to Munster senior:). The last few weeks have been solid(picked up my first race win as an adult in a 10k fun run of a huge field of 21:p free pint for first place:pac:) and my fitness is pretty good so I'm hoping I can take it to another level over the next few months and set myself up for a big 2016:).


Sunday 16th August- 5m Easy

Nice gentle run around the hills. Legs are feeling good but are going to be tested when specific training starts this coming week.

Notwork Error

Monday 17th August- 7m Easy

Headed out just before dinner for this. Legs were on song so I was happy out, done the reverse hill route which is downhill overall but has a few testers thrown in for good measure. Had dinner and lost the plot and decided to meet up with the lads for a cycle, take it handy was the plan with a session coming up tomorrow but as usual, the weekday spin turned into a race so I had to go with them or risk losing the wheel again to be left with a ballbreaking solo ride home, sneaking this in here 72km cycle.

Notwork Error

Tuesday 18th August- 1x12min, 4x6min w/2min Rec

Today was supposed to be a group session but I couldn't make it back so I was flying solo for this. It's a grass session and I would normally do these in the manor but it has been closed off to the public in the last month which meant I had to take a trip down memory lane to my teenage years and break out some ninja skills and hop a load of fences, gates and walls to get in there and leg it towards the sanctuary of the golf course where I wouldn't be seen.

The session was tough enough to be honest but I wasn't expecting it to be anyother way and the rough was on the thick side so offered up a decent challenge. Settled in to a nice relaxed pace for the first rep of 12 minutes as that was the rep that could catch me out and tried to pick it up when the 6 minute reps started. The legs were a little on the wobbly side towards the end but much better than the last time I tried a similar session 2-3 months ago. Still probably ran a little too fast too early but I got a good feel for the effort on longer repeats tonight.

Solid:)

Edit: just found out I ran the wrong session. Supposed to be 12min×1, 6x4min. Knew those 2 minute recoveries felt really tough for that session.

Notwork Error

Wednesday 19th August- 6m Easy Hills

Headed to the bottom of the nearest hill just before dawn broke this morning. The climb from the base to the top is pretty short at a little under 2.5 miles but doesn't really level out at any point so it's a nice one for building strength and practicing downhill running on the way back down. The body was a little on the lazy side starting off but the warm-up dusted off most of the cobwebs.

The focus was really on trying to maintain good posture and rhythm by trying to almost pop off the ground instead of falling into my usual habit of slogging it up hills. The body held up pretty well, calves were under a little pressure towards the top but I'm happy out with this mornings effort!:)

Notwork Error

Thursday 20th August- 12x400m w/60s Rec

Wasn't looking forward to this in the slighest so said I'd crack into early today and get the anxiety out of the way for the rest of the day. I'm nearly sure I did this session in 83s avg earlier in the year iirc so the goal was to be there or thereabouts again today if I could, my speed should be in a better position now after a track season so I was even hopeful of seeing an improvement. The legs felt good and seemed to have no ill effects from yesterday's hill run and I was pretty consistently knocking out the reps around 81-82 with a little hiccup around rep 8 or 9 where the effort was really picking up and I slowed a little before getting back on track but hanging on for dear life on the last few. Tough going but I ran really well, don't have the splits as I was using a normal stopwatch and spent most of the recovery time doing mental gymnastics as to when the next rep would start but I was definetly on the right side of 83's so I'm happy with that and the speed I felt is there.

Booked in a session with the ST this evening as I will stiff after that and I can relax as tomorrow's a rest day. So all in all, good!

Notwork Error

Saturday 22nd August- 12 mile Long Run

Today was a tough one. My tonsils started to swell up Thursday and were like two golf balls in my throat yesterday, they were so much better when I woke up today but I hadn't eaten in two days and started this run completely depleted. That and the humidity together made this run way more of a battle than it should or normally is. I felt flat from the start and a resurrection was nowhere to be seen, a slog and clumsy from the very first step to the last.

On the brightside, I toughed it out which is progress and tells me that motivation is definitely on the up.

The week went pretty well to be fair with the exception of today, I hit every session with a little extra by accident on Tuesday.

Notwork Error

Monday 24th August- 7m Easy

Much better today and felt chock full of energy. I've gone nocturnal for the World Champs over the weekend (still a kid at heart) so this was more of a mid-day run for me than an early morning outing. The difference between Saturday and today was like night and day;)

Plenty of pop in the step and completely effortless throughout while moving at what felt like a decent clip for an easy run. One thing of note was a little stiffness around the outside of the ankles starting off which disappeared after about a mile, I'm thinking the sudden jump into alot of hillwork has something to do with it so I'll just dial it back a little and add some more mobility work and see if it makes a difference.

Good.

Notwork Error

Tuesday 25th August- 9m Inc. 2x12mins w/3min Rec and 2x6min w/2min Rec

Looks like a stepback compared to last week's session but I made a balls of that so maybe not:pac:. Used this session as a recce of Sunday's course, conditions were tough after a downpour earlier today and there was a lot of patches that were holding water so it made for an interesting session and some good practice. Looks like the grass is going to be a challenge in places if it's not cut as there's a 400m section each lap where it's a thick 10+ inches or a really muddy trail.

Broke it in handy enough on the first half of the first rep before picking it up over the second half, felt nice and comfortable. Covered around 3km in the 12 minutes(6:30ish per mile)and maintained it through the second rep.

With the 2 big reps cracked, we picked up the pace for the shorter 6 minute ones, still feeling good and getting stronger, knocked out the last two around 6:15 pace.


Stoked with how it went as I wasn't too confident heading into it and wasn't too sure of where I am. The legs feel great so no complaints.:)

Notwork Error

Wednesday 26th August- 4m Recovery tip

Unscheduled run, had a bit of spare time and nothing else to do so headed out for this, tipped away!

Thursday 27th August- 6m inc. 12x200 in 40s w/45 rec.

Blast from the past this morning, a headtorch. Headed towards the soccer field for this and done a few laps to start off before the session. Used the passage alongside the field to do the reps. Goal pace was a little slower than mile pace and set as 40 seconds a rep which wasn't too hectic for repeats of this length, just to get some neuromuscular work to get the legs ticking over before Sunday.

The legs felt good. Miraculously, I seem to be in fairly good nick and the Tuesday session didn't seem to take too much out of me even though in hindsight, I probably ran it a little on the quick side even though I felt good. No such problem today as I felt really relaxed through all the reps, bring on the race, it's been 2 months since my last one! I'm starting to go cracked at this stage.

Back to the leaba for a few hours now and a nice lie in today:p

hillsiderunner

Notwork Error wrote: »

Back to the leaba for a few hours now and a nice lie in today:p

Aaaaaaaah .... jealous! What possessed you to get up so early to do the session?

Firedance

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Aaaaaaaah .... jealous! What possessed you to get up so early to do the session?

he's asleep

Notwork Error

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Aaaaaaaah .... jealous! What possessed you to get up so early to do the session?

Went to bed early to get up and watch the World Champs so I said I'd sneak the run in and go back to bed as I was off.

Didn't work out, got called to work in the end yesterday evening. That's what I get for rubbing it in....I guess. Bloody karma!:rolleyes:

Notwork Error

Saturday 29th August- 5m Easy+4x60s Long Strides

A bit sluggish today but not too bothered, I'd say the body knows what's coming and conserving some energy. An 75km spin on the bike yesterday probably didn't help but it's something I've always found useful and helped my performance when I spin out a high cadence two days before a race, don't ask me why but it seems to work for me, feel like it clears out the lungs. Finised up the run with some longer and slower strides.

Really looking forward to tomorrow now, XC has kind of snuck up on me as the summer flew but I should learn a lot from the race which should stand me in good stead going forward. Bit of a conundrum as to go with flats, 6mm or 9mm spikes as there is two short bridge crossings but some very wet patches as well. Just want to get going now!:)

tang1

Beat of luck tomorrow E.

Dubgal72

Woohoo, bring it on! Best of luck and everything else If it's going to be wet, wear the spikes and just clatter across the bridges. Try a couple of 9s at the front for traction on the wet/hills and leave the rest shorter unless you think it's going to be very wet. We've had quite a few downpours this side of the country today. Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

Tom Joad

Very best of luck with it tomorrow.

Bulmers74

Best of luck in NCW tomorrow E - hope it goes well:)

martyboy48

Best of luck NE, XC ehh??? Spikes and jump the crossings
Have fun

Notwork Error

Cheers folks!:)

Might as well give an update as I coudn't be arsed writing a report until tomorrow. Conditions dried up a lot with the Sun this morning so it wasn't a complete mudfest, still pretty sticky with a few small swampy patches. By a long way, my best race this year and I know time doesn't matter in XC but I finshed up just under 32:20 for 5 miles. Pretty stoked with the run and how strong I was, wasn't expecting to run as well as I did.:)

ThebitterLemon

Notwork Error wrote: »

Cheers folks!:)

Might as well give an update as I coudn't be arsed writing a report until tomorrow. Conditions dried up a lot with the Sun this morning so it wasn't a complete mudfest, still pretty sticky with a few small swampy patches. By a long way, my best race this year and I know time doesn't matter in XC but I finshed up just under 32:20 for 5 miles. Pretty stoked with the run and how strong I was, wasn't expecting to run as well as I did.:)

Jasus that's good going, at the moment I'd take that on a tarred downhill road

TbL

tang1

Great stuff E, that's a tasty time over x-country course.

Tom Joad

Well done - that's a cracking run!