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Cheers. He was on the ball with the name and I had remembered the additional 46. Seems as though we got around DCM side by side
. Have you started a log?
Yes I started one yesterday. It's called Once in a Lifetime. The 46 should be deleted as I don't have a time machine to get back to that age.0 -
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Recovery November continues. Joined a local gym last week and after some research I hatched a S&C Plan that will work for climbing/running. Did a "let's see" session to see if the reps, sets and weights were right for where I was at. Just short of needing assistance with putting the plates on the bars
. Got to start somewhere so heading down at off peak times to have plenty of time and space to look around. Spotted by very helpful staff who guided me with anything I was unsure about. Session went well and I now know what I am at.
Monday 20th Nov
Back down the country early Monday morning and once again I threw the trail gear in the boot, just in case. Just in case turned out to be Glansheskin Wood, just outside Kilworth and 5 mins off the motorway in North Cork. Arrived at lunchtime and had the wooded glens to myself. The wood reaches deep into the Kilworth Hills and is vast. So much so that I had a look at a map a few times to try and get bearings. Opted to follow the Douglas River to a switchback and then follow a tributary to some point where I might be able to cross it. I was aiming for 8-10km at a handier pace than last week.
A typical early winter day, misty and gloomy but it was positively warm. Passed a series of small colourfully painted crosses with names on that obviously were a local initiative commemorating loved ones lost. Very touching. On I plodded winding my way uphill and always within sight and sound of the flowing Douglas River. Soon I came across a recently fallen tree which blocked the path. Up and over, and then another and another. Storm Opehia, no doubt.
Rounded a hill to follow the tributary and the path cleared. Was very comfortable and the narrower track demanded attention as it was flooding in places. Knew I was close to where I needed to cross the river and spotted the path on the far side. Found a few decent, but wet, rocks to balance and clamber across. A wetting at this stage would be nice to avoid. A jump from the last rock landed me safely on the other river bank and off I ran trying to figure if the path was going roughly in the right direction. It did.
Came to a high road/low road option and headed on up over steep ground that quickly led to a narrow trail and 2m high gorse. Was not worth being torn apart and pace had dropped so I doubled back on myself to join a trail back towards the car. Pace quickened on the return downhill run and noticed that the legs had had quite enough for today, just as the car came into view.
I will definitely be back in better weather with a rucksack as I imagine that it would be easy to do a few 25kms loops in these extensive woods. I do know that the Irish Army use them for larger operations and a quick google found an interesting story "Operation Dark Nights". Could only happen in the rebel county.
9kms at 6:17/km.
Tuesday 21st Nov
5km at 6:00/km Recovery Run and full S&C Session at the gym.0 -
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I do know that the Irish Army use them for larger operations and a quick google found an interesting story "Operation Dark Nights". Could only happen in the rebel county.
I had to look at the header on that link several times to ensure it wasn't Waterford Whispers.... I'm assuming the FLA are not actually real and this was some sort of training exercise?!!!
Fair play for venturing into the unknown Denis, sounds like it was very enjoyable.0 -
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Recovery November continues
24th Nov
Pre RTL session so decided to take it handy enough on the legs with this run and gym session. 6 km warmup and cooldown and 2 sets session in gym.
5:45/km. Have added some additional abs work to make for a more complete session.
25th November
RTL dawned and it was a bright and crisp morning heading to Glencullen in the company of Neady, Nop and AGYR. Last minute decision on what to wear as it was baltic standing around in a cold breeze. Went for the tights, windbreaker, hat and gloves option. Only dawned on me as we were starting that I was already thirsty despite the cold. Neady, Nop and myself headed out on the long course. I was happy to just use this as a learning experience, a sort of post DCM present to myself for all the miles of plodding. And here it was tested with every step chosen given the icy sections, hard ground and sometimes rocky nature of the trails. Absolutely loved this from the start. More of an adventure than a race to be honest as I was not overly familiar with where we were at times. Most sections were a pleasant surprise as the trails were generally excellent and a vast improvement from what they were 25 years ago. Yes, I have sadly neglected the Dublin Mountains in favour of The Mournes for many years.
The kms flew by but by the halfway point it was apparent that we were going to be out a little longer than planned. The early realisation helped and I grabbed a handful of pro-offered jellies from the DWMRT at every station and just eased along enjoying the route description by our guide - Nop. With 20kms done I was huffing and puffing heading back over the last of the 4 RTL climbs. Yep - not a chance that I could have gone any faster today. We encouraged Nop to slip the team leash and head off. Neady was cantering along using this as a post marathon run (previous weekend) and a pre ultra run (this weekend in Dorset). I didn't feel too guilty holding anybody back and we managed to jog the last 2 kms though the woods and back into Glencullen in reasonable shape.
We were met on the line by Murph, annapr and AGYR as they had already finished their own race and very shortly afterwards fbot, killerz and ferris tumble over the line. Have to say that the RTL event has a very special feel to it - very generous, capable and encouraging crew spread around the whole course. Hats off to them. A big thank you to Nop who encouraged me to have a go at this event earlier this year - spot on.
I found that tough on the day but it has inspired me to look at some similar event in the near future. The variety and adventure works for me at the moment. Not quite sure what is wrong yet but the body is not firing as well as it might. I am going to continue the rest of the year in recovery mode of sorts and it will give me time, much needed, to plan going forward. I am thinking towards trying to improve my medium range runs in particular (10 miles and HM) as well as improve my overall fitness - hence the S&C.
Monday 27th Nov
7km Recovery run at 5:57/km. Quads can definitely feel the RTL effort. Today I move up an age classification. Will be making it count.
Tuesday 28th Nov
6kms Gym warmup and cooldown. Got my first session with 3 sets completed.
Thursday 30th Nov
7km Easy run at 5:37/km and HR 141. First feel ok run in a while.
Friday 1st Dec
Working in North Clare and South Galway and arrived early afternoon in Portumna for a forest trail run. Had not been feeling great that morning so binned the session and went for coffee. I think the S&C session on Tueday really forced some extra receovery.
Saturday 2nd Dec
5km Easy Run at 5:25/km as warmup and cooldown for Gym. Pulled this back to 2 sets. Worked well.0 -
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Cheers S. Have the Maurice Mullins Half in view since XMas. Looking forward to another trot across the hills. It suits the programme that seems to have finally emerged!!!
Very quick wrap up on 2017
Main aim for the year was to increase mileage and have a go at pb's over 5km, 10km, 10 Mile, HM and Marathon. Job done. Nothing too dramatic and 10 mile to Marathon are there for the taking again.
5 Kms: 20:32 (2016) 20:32 (2017) Parkrun Poppintree - achieved as a warm up run for 10 km Racing. Only equals previous years chipped Jingle Bells but at least it was not a downhill run:).
10 Kms: 44:49 (2016) 43:40 (2017) St. Annes Summer Race Series - cannot confirm time on official results this evening. Tough race but ran it all out as hard as I could.
10 Miles: 1:18:01 (2015) 1:16:03 (2017) Frank Duffy Warm day and ran hard but did not race it.
HM: 1:45:11 (2015). Ran the SSE HM but have just noticed a very significant discrepancy with the official time. The official finish time and my Strava are within 3 secs of each other but the official chip time is 3.5 mins slower. Cannot figure that one out as I had run a very strong race finishing fairly comfortable and without racing it out. DCM was the number one goal. Not going to worry about this and will use it going forward as a yardstick only.
Marathon: 3:54:10 (2015) 3:46:10 (2017) DCM.
Gradual improvements made. Training was quite poor from Sept - Dec but still managed to roll in with 2,624 kms over the year and added in some very satisfying trail running. The training caught up with me in late summer. General fatigue and poor sleep did not help and I am battling with hydration far too often. On the upside - I did not give up and chipped away.
Aim to train for 10 mile to HM for the first several months of the year but I will do some shorter races on the fly. More fun is required along with some smarter training. Am well advanced with S&C, which I committed to last November getting in 2 decent sessions a week. Its a start and will be getting better guidance next week.0 -
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Wednesday 17th Jan
Full S&C with 4 kms wup and cd. Right quad and ITB way too tight. Can feel the tension in the knee.
Thursday 18th Jan
Got 40 mins swimming and have started some aqua work to assist stretching as well. Front crawl coming along nice for the summer hols and I should be able to get out of the deep end (with dignity) without using the steps
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Friday 19th Jan
Shadowing P&D 10 mile programme on Week 2 but had to swap out the LT session as I am heading hill walking tomorrow on a rest day. Decided on a 7 km Tempo (5:45, 5:39, 5:47 (hill) 5:22 (hill), 4:40, 4:30 and 4:59. Very happy with the session. Priority for Raheny is a "Good Showing". Have had to manage the comeback but am beginning to feel improvement in the odd session.
Saturday 20th January
Out on the hills around Glendalough. Diverted to the old mines in Glendasan to try and find the old adits. Found one particularly decent entrance above old spoil heaps and identified some minerals. Was leaving when someone called out by name from a small group nearby. Had not met Eamon since leaving Uni 29 years ago. Small world and as it was in the late 80's, ya qualified and ya emigrated.
Sunday 21st January
Legs were a tad tired so I wasn't too upset to see the brutal rain on Sunday morning. Got out the books instead and spent the morning studying and watching the Met Rainfall Radar. Window of opportunity and out the door before I even think about a run.
17kms (LSR) along by the coast and back through Kilbarrack, Coolock and back into town. First 10 kms along by the coast were not pretty with the wind on my back. Felt awful - tired, heavy and warm. Strange thing is that I knew things would change heading uphill and into the wind on the Kilbarrack Road. Times per km improved by about 20 secs and felt much more comfortable. Reined in back in for the last 2 kms.
10 mile to HM training is now 3 weeks old. Will be interesting to see where I am at this time next week. Raheny will help. It is early days yet.
Followed The Spine Race over the last week. Riveting. Going to enter the Maurice Mullins Half (hill run).
Enjoy your running/rehab folks.0
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