The breaks even out in the long run

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Had a race report written up but it disappeared so I'll get around to writing it up again tomorrow when I've time.

Monday 31st August- 4m Recovery

All good! The legs felt fine surprisingly. Had an appointment with the ST after a sharp pain seemed to appear out of nowhere on my ankle bone and got a rubdown too.

Tuesday 1st September- 7m Inc. 2x15 min Tempo w/2min Rec on grass w/4 steep hill sprints

Remembered that my bike fell and hit me on the ankle yesterday and the pain didn't appear out of nowhere:pac: 50 bucks blown! Felt much better today

The session tonight was a tempo around the same loop from XC on Sunday. The reps were long enough but the body felt we'll up to the task tonight. Session flew past and I felt really strong and was able to avoid most of the soggy patches with the ropes gone. Pace averaged out to 6:32 per mile with the second rep being slightly faster. In the best shape I've been for a long time and the head's in gear, could be a good winter ahead!:)

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5 Mile Open Cross Country

Awwwwhhhh, A race finally!:) It's been a while. I'd been looking forward to the start of the XC season since my last track race all the way back in June. Training has being going really well over the last few weeks and I was feeling the love again so I was pumped about seeing where I was and getting in some experience before the championship season starts in a few weeks time.

Arrived back to registration early to see my niece run which was the first race on the cards and starting at 11 or so I thought, don't know where I pulled that out of as I found out the juvenile races weren't starting until 12:15 so I was in for a long wait with over 10 races before the senior race kicked off. Decided to take a trip around the course which is a one mile route to scout out the best lines to take and see where the rough patches were. I know the route like the back of my hand and have run 100's of laps of it but one more lap wasn't going to hurt and would jog my memory and pass some time.

The Race:

Finally, after a long wait and half a pack of funsize mars bars, we were ready to go. The plan was to take it out easy and wind it up and get some practice of the racing skills I'll need this season. The former went out the window on my very first step:pac:(as usual)with a full out 200m Sprint by the whole field to get position heading to the bridge crossing on a tight bend.


The hierachy became apparent straight away after that and I settled in somewhat into a nice pace. Found myself in a nice group of about 6 here and I was happy enough to just tuck in at the back and see what's what with the lads around me. Once we passed the soggy side of the course, I started to gradually pick it up and try make my way towards the front.


By the start of lap 2, I'd moved up to third in the group who were all travelling single file but holding close order to eachother. Confidence was already starting to saor here as I was in much faster company than me in road racing and feeling really good and relaxed but I knew I had to get out to the front to make any real impact, not a position I like to be in on the road or the track working for others but I find it a huge advantage in XC as pacing goes out the window and it's all about breaking the spirit of the guy behind. Closed the gap to my clubmate who was leading out the group just before we came up to starting the 3rd lap and he instantly lifted the pace and opened up a gap again. Still feeling really strong here.

That gap opened up to about 25 metres fairly quickly but all the lads behind were still stuck to my heels. I was where I wanted to be now, a nice enough gap to my teamate up ahead but frontrunning the group so I had space to try and shake them off. My first attempt was at the blind bridge crossing where I tried to Sprint out of the corner and break the tether but I could still hear the slapping of shoes crossing the path right behind. That burst closed the gap to my clubmate just ahead and I passed him on the way up the biggest hill on the course. I got a chance to look behind here and could see two lads had fell off the back and the group was down to four but the lads were still in toe right behind me. Time to try something different so I decided to take them through the swamp down the farside of the lap, The lads weren't prepared for any mud in their shiny racers by the looks of things and all I could hear behind was "argghhh":D. The gap opened up pretty quickly with just my clubmate tucked in behind.

I was a bit suprised to be hanging in there with him to be honest and it told 400m into the fourth lap when he came barreling past and left me standing. That got to my head and I started to struggle here with the other two lads catching and passing me before the hit the last lap and coach telling me to hold it together as the lads we dropped earlier were catching up again and only 30metres behind. Managed to hold on and coming into the last 600m, I could see the guy ahead was dying a death which gave me a new lease of life. Managed to reel him and fly past before he could react with a 100m to go and finish in 18th.

Thoughts-

Beaming with it! I knew I was going well coming into this but I didn't think I was in that kind of racing shape. The course was light in hills but I had no problem with any that came up which is the biggest suprise. I'm finding it hard to find fault with anything which is a pain in the ass in it's own way but shows I ran beyond expectations on every level which is a bit unusual for me.


Wednesday 2nd September- 8m Easy

Legs felt great. Endurance is obviously on the way up as I'm recovering a lot quicker from sessions and handing the weekly load much better than I have. Lovely cool mist during this run which always helps me feel stronger.

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Thursday 3rd September- 8m Inc. 3k (3min Rec)2k (2min Rec)1k (60s Rec)400m

Went into this session with some trepidation as it's a tough un and I'd be running it on my own to make things even more difficult. I was supposed to run this on the track and had a target pace but I couldn't make it back so decided to throw that pace out the window and make an adjustment while running by feel and use my local 10k route which handily still has the km markings painted on the road along with a few smiley faces . The first rep was the scariest and the worst thing I could do here was run it too fast and blow the session before it really got started so I approached it with some caution and eased into it. First rep went well and I managed to stay out of the red. Breathing was starting to get a little heavy towards the end of the second rep but I knew at this stage, the bulk of the work was done and managed to hold it through until the end with a complete guess at how far 400m was.

Tough session and I was glad to get it done and out of the way.


Friday was a rest day and one of mates is home from down under so I had to head out for a few scoops Thursday and last night. Was supposed to do my long run today but I wasn't in any state to so I'll be hitting the road in the morning for it instead.

Dubgal72

Nice

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Dubgal72 wrote: »

Nice

Thanks A! Good running from yourself today, all is looking good for the season to come.

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Sunday 6th September- 14 Mile Hill Run

Didn't feel great for this today. The two nights out in the last few days probably caught up with me and I just felt flat all the way through which made the hills a battle just to get up with all of the major climbs coming in the first half of the run, I had something to aim for and a chance to relax on the downhill run back home.

Felt leggy and clumsy on the descent too but managed to tough it out. One of those I'm glad to have just finished out, The body wasn't up to it today. Tomorrow's a new day so hopefully blew off the cobwebs this evening.

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Monday 7th September- 8m Easy

Legs were still a little dead today but much better which was welcome after yesterday's struggle. To be honest, dead legs scare the living sh*te out of me because they are usually the first sign of overtraining. I get a little paranoid every time they show up so I was stoked to see an improvement today and just putting it down to poor diet and sleep over the days before. Decided to give them a break anyway and tipped away really handy on this run.

Gentle foam roll and a nice bath of Epsom salts seems to have to kicked them back into life this evening so here's hoping I'm back on form and feeling sharp tomorrow.

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Tuesday 8th September- 9m Inc. 1×2m, 1×1.5m and 2x1m w/2min Rec

The legs were back with a bang today, felt like my upper body and them were actually connected again so I was happy out with that. I did make a small mess of this session by deciding to wear spikes as the ground has hardened up a lot in the last week. The actual session was supposed to be 2x2m+2x1m but I had to pull up prematurely on the second rep to fix the spikes as one of the pins was digging into my foot before setting off again, could of pushed on but I didn't see the point in causing a blister that could hamper training for the next few days.

Pace was a little hot on the first for my liking so I had to dial it back a bit on the second, still trying to find my pace on these longer one's but I'm getting a better feel for it with every week that passes. The two shorter reps went well and I felt strong coming home so I'm happy with how it all went.

Good good minus the hiccup!:)

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Wednesday 9th September- 6 mile Easy

Grand. Legs felt alright, about what I'd expect the day after a workout. Some slight mobility issues around my ankle again starting off but it suppled out fairly quickly once I got going. Not sure if I'd call it a niggle as it doesn't hurt or just tiredness from running on grass.


Must dig out the Garmin as a tempo is on the cards and try and use HR as a guide. Anyone know what %HR reserve an LT run should be run at?

chickey2

75-88% HRR according to my pfitzinger book.

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chickey2 wrote: »

75-88% HRR according to my pfitzinger book.

Ah perfect, thanks a million chickey:)

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Thursday 10th September- 8m Inc. 4m Tempo (6:32 @ 171bpm)

Broke out the HRM for this run just to get a feel for the effort on the tempo sessions to come. Wasn't too sure of HR as I've never done any testing but I'm pretty sure it's around 200bpm as I've hit the high 190's in the final sprint of a 5k the last time I used the monitor in a race. Still didn't want to overdo it in case the reading was inaccurate so I settled on doing the workout in the mid-range of HRR zone. Happy with the run and got exactly what I wanted from it and the HRM. It's mahoosively useful but I found myself constantly clock watching and I feel like it takes away some of the enjoyment for me. Going to stick with the Zen running for now:).


Sunday 13th September- 12 Mile Long Run

My ankle was stiff as a board again Friday So I felt the right decision was to cut it some slack and rest until today. Feel the decision to race on the sprained ankle the week after the steeplechase back in June is coming back to bite me now as I never gave it time to heal. There's no pain after the first few steps running but it just feels really tight the next day.


Mobility was back today so I chanced the long run. The body was well up to the task and the run went was pretty uneventful in it's ease. Having to run it on Sunday isn't the most ideal situation I'm consistently getting the LR done week in, week out so that's a huge improvement from earlier in the year and the long runs are the aspect of training which bring me along the most. Happy out.

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Monday 14th September- 8m Easy

Wet out there this evening, quite enjoyed it though. The body felt in really good nick so that obviously played a part. Got some strange looks off people who were obviously thinking look at that plonker out in shorts and shirt prancing down the road in puddles up to his ankles. Another uneventful as such with the legs and ankles which I'll take anyday. Good!

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Tuesday 15th September- 5m Inc. 8x3min w/2min Rec

Sleep wasn't the greatest the night before so decided to skip the club session and catch up with a power nap before hitting the road on this one. Pitch black by the time I did so I made my way to a housing estate and ran the loop there to be on the safe side. Sleep definitely helped snap me back into shape physically and mentally. The reps felt good, wasn't forcing the issue really on any of them even towards the end, kept them pretty consistent the whole way through at 5k effort at around 5:55 pace. Nice and relaxed.

Wednesday 16th September- 8m Easy

Got out early this morning to get these few miles in. Cracking time for it, lovely little bit of fog and crispness in the air. Foot went slightly numb towards the end, must've tied the laces too tight but other than that, my legs and body felt good all round.

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Thursday 17th September- 7m Inc. 6x800m(2:56) w/2min rec, 6x400m(86s) w/1min Rec

Hit the track for these which was a nice change from dimly lit housing estates and muddy parks, missed that feeling of bounce that you only get from the track. Aim was not to go mental and hammer these, keep it realistic which I hope I suceeded in as I really don't have a clue what I could run for 5k right now. The 800's went fairly well, still felt strong coming towards the end of that set, the 400's were a little bit of a different story even though I managed to pick up the pace, I found them really difficult and the legs were pretty heavy by the time I knocked out the last rep. Tough going but I survived so thumbs up on this one.


Looks like the long run is going to be on Sunday again this week, heading off to the races today for an all day session so I'll play tomorrow by ear or more than likely head.

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Monday 21st September- 6m Steady Hill Run

The weekend didn't go to plan on the running front for me as a I slipped up on the discipline front and missed the long run. Went to the races on Friday and didn't manage to make it home until yesterday morning and the body definitely wasn't up for 14 miles yesterday.

Feeling a bit guilty and fresh today, I changed this from an easy run and threw myself a curve ball this morning in the form of a nice steady run over a hilly route. That made the splits a little deceptive on the effort front but the focus was just on keeping it nice and consistent and about halfway between MPE and Easy. The body felt fantastic the whole way through which was a nice confidence booster heading into the rest of the week and first big race of the XC season.

Splits:

7:51
7:47
7:37
7:48
7:33
7:07


Happy out with today's run!:)

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Tuesday 22nd September- 2x12min UpTempo w/2min Rec

The plan for tonight was to get some short work on grass and keep some good intensity while not destroying myself with a race coming up at the weekend. Tonight was really the first taste of what the XC season and an Irish winter can hold in terms of the conditions underfoot, it's being almost 2 years since I've seen the loop as soggy as it was so a perfect opportunity to dig in and see how the legs would cope in a complete mudfest.

I found myself isolated on the first rep which was probably for the best as I could concentrate on my effort and not get caught up in hanging into the back of the group who had a good 50 metres on me. The second rep was a little different as one of the lads joined up with me and we had to tackle the hill 4 times per rep and everytime, I managed to open up a gap on him up it without gaining in effort. The workout went well even though it felt a little sloggy but that's to be expected in the conditions. I'm really starting to suprise myself on the hills lately as I was completely useless going up just as little as 3 months ago. It's something I've put a lot of effort and focus on lately and it seems to be paying off now. Sunday's hill will be a different test in the form of a short but incredibly steep climb done 6 times but I'm looking forward to how I handle it.


These ain't going to last the season anyway.

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Wednesday 23rd September- 4m Easy

Just an ol shakeout to keep the legs ticking over.

Thursday 24th September- 5m Inc. 12x200m @ Mile Pace w/60s Rec

This workout is a staple of my race week training but ah man, it's a toughie first thing in the morning. The session isn't a balls out effort, just more a case of me being a slow starter at this hour(lazy:pac:). My usual dirt road is flooded at the minute so I had to move out on the quietest and flattest stretch of road I could find so I could keep the turnover up and not constantly have to stop for traffic, brought along the Garmin too to get an idea of distance. The plan was not to go loco on this one and fry myself so the target pace was set at 39s per rep which is a reasonable clip for me but not enough to put me in the red at any point.

Splits:

39
41
38
38
39
38
39
36
38
38
39
38

The first 4-5 reps were by far the toughest, just felt a little awkward trying to get into the groove as the legs were half asleep, definitely should have done a better warmup. The second half was a huge improvement as I started to feel a lot more comfortable with the pace and got stronger with every passing rep so I'm happy with how it all went, kept it consistent and controlled which was the aim. Seemed to have kept a lot of my speed from track season so that bodes well:).

Firedance

nice splits

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Friday 25th September- 4m Rec

Just keeping it easy on the run this morning, nothing spectacular or of note. Arrived back in and had a bite to eat before heading straight back out on the bike for a spin. Usually the bike will freshen me up but I should have known better, hit the hay early last night so I missed my late evening meal. That combined with pushing a little too hard on the bike put me in the red and I bonked coming home. Torturous last 8k of barely moving to make it home, 87km racked up.

Dubgal72

When's the race, Sunday? And what is it, anything significant? Best of everything anyway, hope all the (controlled and sensible) hard works pays off, you seem to be building very steadily lately.

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Dubgal72 wrote: »

When's the race, Sunday? And what is it, anything significant? Best of everything anyway, hope all the (controlled and sensible) hard works pays off, you seem to be building very steadily lately.

Thanks DG:)

Aha, Sunday. County Novice so it's a big un. About as controlled and sensible but as I can be but that's the ultimate goal. I'm suprised with how everything is flowing, running just feels effortless at the minute so I have to give props to coach on that as he's got me back on track big time over the last couple of months, I'm running better now than I have all year and the season hasn't even started. All is looking up!:)

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Saturday 26th September- 4m Easy w/4x long strides

Handy out little jog around town tonight. Legs feel absolutely awesome, chock full of energy that's just waiting to burst out. Plenty of pop in there on the strides too so I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and getting out there in team and championship racing again and seeing how it all goes.

tang1

Best of luck tomorrow E.

Myles Splitz

Give it socks tomorrow. Best of luck

ThebitterLemon

Good luck tomorrow NE.

the only bit of bounce I'm experiencing is from my belly

Hope you have a good one

TbL

Firedance

The best of luck! Have a super race

Bungy Girl

Have a great race, sounds like you're in great form for it!

annapr

Might be a bit late wishing you luck for today... but good luck anyway! (is there a Berlin-style tracker? )

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Thanks for all the well wishes folks!:)

We got silver in the team event and on an individual level, I was third man home for the club so happy out with everything. It was tough going out there in the humidity and that hill but everyone had the same conditions to deal with. A good test to kick off the season. Will do up a report tomorrow but for now, a few well earned beers.:)