Better late than never

Annie get your Run

A little bird tells me I missed you today in the mountains, I hope it went well and there’s a report coming later! I was more than a little envious watching the runners up there!

denis b

Annie get your Run wrote: »

A little bird tells me I missed you today in the mountains, I hope it went well and there’s a report coming later! I was more than a little envious watching the runners up there!

Top secret FUN project .. Report to follow once I figure how to walk again!!! Sorry I missed you AM. I blame the rain and effort required to get up those hills

Neady83

denis b wrote:

Top secret FUN project .. Report to follow once I figure how to walk again!!! Sorry I missed you AM. I blame the rain and effort required to get up those hills

So nice to see you yesterday D I hope you got over Djouce before it turned into a muck fest. I'm off to see if I can stretch my calves enough yo get my heels to touch the ground

denis b

Well I made it back from the relegation zone on page 3 of the Training Logs. Last session logged here was March 18th and then the wheels came off, one nut and thread at a time, until I hit the ground.

Quickly: felt as though something had got into the system and it was taking a little longer to recover from sessions during the week ending the 18th March.

20th March: 11 kms at 5:17/km. Last decent run for a while.
21st March: 14 kms Endurance Run at 5:31/km avg. Ran ok but terribly sluggish first few kms.

Break of 4 days to mind the body and try and recover with MM Ultra Half fast approaching.

26th March: 11 kms with 10x100 Strides at 5:36kms. Very easy run.
27th March: 14 kms Endurance Run at 5:32/km. Run went ok but felt stiff and tired in the legs.
29th March: 13kms GA ramble and ran a little further than I intended on a exploratory route. 5:32/km.
30th March: 7 kms Recovery Run 7kms at 5:55/km. Noted a badly creaking body on strava.
1st April: 13.3kms Endurance Run and ran this much better than previous two days. Felt comfortable.

2-5th April: Felt very tired and decided to save my energy for Mullins Race on Saturday. I was prepared to just hike it if necessary.

On a number of occasions during these weeks I considered taking a complete break from running for a while. It just seemed to be stressing and aggravating me and was working against, rather than for me. I was just about getting enough from it to keep going but the thoughts of pushing things just made me baulk. I did listen and talked to family about it. They had noticed too. If I had not had entered the Maurice Mullins Event, which is very very close to my heart, then I would have sat back for a while. The MM even excited me. I just wanted to try and experience something that brought some joy and happiness, where just completing it would be enough. And that is exactly what I did.

Murph_D

Looking forward to hearing more about MM, Denis. Anything that gets us aul lads excited is worth paying attention to.

Neady83

I was happy to see you powering up that hill in the MM and after reading this I'm even more delighted that you were there. Looking forward to hearing your take on the race and I hope you enjoyed it

Bungy Girl

Looking forward to hearing all about it D, and hope your running mojo has returned. I love that race too (although it was still the Wicklow Way Trail when I did it and a fair bit shorter) and have fond memories of recces with friends along the route.

OOnegative

Must be one epic race report!!

Neady83

OOnegative wrote: »

Must be one epic race report!!

+1

denis b

Monday 22nd Oct

6 km Easy on new pace. Following the Hanson Plan for HM (Bohermeen) in early March 2019. Probably the best way of getting this log back on track is starting with today's run. It is Day One of a 18 week programme with the emphasis on the journey to race day. Got quite enthusiastic recently about the idea of taking on a challenge again. I feel up for it and the Bohermeen HM suits early in the year with the Trim 10 Miler in Feb. I have not competed in either race before and they appear to line up well for me. Plan to use Trim as a practice run for Bohermeen rather than as a race in its own right and the longer term aim is to tackle DCM '19.

I have managed to run reasonably frequently over the summer which also presented me with some new opportunities to hike regularly for a few months. A few back to back hiking weeks caused some calf strain, and a few physio visits. It was worth it and the summer was particularly kind to me. More to follow.

Will be targeting speed sessions each week, all relative I know, and endurance!!!!! Going to work on this but will also be giving the RTL and Maurice Mullins Half a go as well.

Huzzah!

denis b wrote: »

Monday 22nd Oct

6 km Easy on new pace. Following the Hanson Plan for HM (Bohermeen) in early March 2019. Probably the best way of getting this log back on track is starting with today's run. It is Day One of a 18 week programme with the emphasis on the journey to race day. Got quite enthusiastic recently about the idea of taking on a challenge again. I feel up for it and the Bohermeen HM suits early in the year with the Trim 10 Miler in Feb. I have not competed in either race before and they appear to line up well for me. Plan to use Trim as a practice run for Bohermeen rather than as a race in its own right and the longer term aim is to tackle DCM '19.

I have managed to run reasonably frequently over the summer which also presented me with some new opportunities to hike regularly for a few months. A few back to back hiking weeks caused some calf strain, and a few physio visits. It was worth it and the summer was particularly kind to me. More to follow.

Will be targeting speed sessions each week, all relative I know, and endurance!!!!! Going to work on this but will also be giving the RTL and Maurice Mullins Half a go as well.

It's really nice to see this log back up and running (as it were ). I'll be following along with interest as I'm targeting the same races as you are. I used the Hanson Beginner HM plan this time last year and really liked it.

diego_b

Good stuff D, glad to see the log going again. Best of luck with your training plan.

Neady83

Delighted to see you back. Looking forward to catching up with you at RTL and hearing about all your great adventures over the summer

It's a great time of year to start a training plan too, perfect motivation for the dark and cool evenings over the next few months. Will be following with interest.

denis b

Huzzah! wrote: »

It's really nice to see this log back up and running (as it were ). I'll be following along with interest as I'm targeting the same races as you are. I used the Hanson Beginner HM plan this time last year and really liked it.

You had a great year Huzzah and read your Berlin report. The very best of luck with Trim and Bohermeen and can see that we have similar patterns to pacing and race targets. I want this to be a positive building cycle so am sticking to the plan come what may.

diego_b wrote: »

Good stuff D, glad to see the log going again. Best of luck with your training plan.

Thanks David. Was good to meet the family during the summer and should be back in town for some Mountain Rescue Emergency Care Training n 3 weeks time. Will try and squeeze a quick run in.

Neady83 wrote: »

Delighted to see you back. Looking forward to catching up with you at RTL and hearing about all your great adventures over the summer

It's a great time of year to start a training plan too, perfect motivation for the dark and cool evenings over the next few months. Will be following with interest.

Cheers and looking forward to the RTL meetup. Its a start. A little early in the programme for me but will make an interesting session.

So true. This time of year suits me perfect and have more time to commit to a schedule which will give me some feedback before committing to DCM. Actually looking forward to racing!!!!! Hope you are well and will be a little more tuned in to everyone's plans come RTL.

denis b

Tue 23rd October

9.86kms incl Warm up and cool down with 8x400m at 5-10 km pace with 400m jog recovery. Splits [Average Pace] were 1:44, 1:44, 1:48, 1:47, 1:46, 1:46, 1,:46 and 1:42. This was a practice session to build for next week.

I did this session in Fairview Park and will head somewhere there is no tree cover next week. Second issue, also possibly affecting difference between "average pace AP]" and "average moving pace [AMP]", is that I am turning sharply at the end of each 400m split. I had noticed this last week as well and felt I was running a lot faster than outlined above. There is a reliable difference of 3-5 seconds between AP and AMP. I have lost fitness so am not going to be too harsh on myself but it is also likely that I am overcooking the pace - something I want to avoid on a 18 week programme. Investigations will continue next week for the 12x400m stint.

Wed 24th October
S&C W4S1 - Core and Hips (2). Conscious of the need to build for the future. Enjoying this 8 week programme which I have been at for a while as I have also done an introductory programme before starting this one.

Thurs 25th Oct
7km. Back out on the road to find my new magical 5:40 Easy (A) pace. Great run and legs feel fine after Tuesday. The majority of my runs over the last few months were probably at too fast a pace at times. Was advised to start some speed work by a vastly more experienced runner. I am now heeding the advice.

Murph_D

Delighted to see this, D. I think the Hanson approach will suit you and I look forward to seeing how you get on.

For the speed reps, especially 400s, I think it helps to do repeats over the same piece of ground between two marked points, even if not precisely measured. You also want a place free of sharp turns (as you’ve discovered) and not too many pedestrians/dogs. Rose Garden (outer loop) is good (just over 400 around). Or the main Avenue at St Anne’s. Lots of other options - you could even head to Irishtown or Morton and enjoy the facilities there for some of the longer, more grueling speed/strength sessions.

Best of luck!

Wubble Wubble

Great to see this log getting back into gear. Best of luck with the new training program.

Mrs Mc

Great to see you back D best of luck with the training.

denis b

Friday 26th Oct
5 Km Easy at 5:49/km
Along Griffith Avenue where the leaf drifts are nearing peak. Nice run.

Sunday 28th Oct
10 km prog run from 6:00 to 5:20/km along the inlets of Rosroe and Cashel.
Frosty start on pleasant rolling quiet roads. Just followed my nose past ruins and lodges. Always enjoy the autumnal foilage and winter is fast approaching in the west. Spotted 2 pochard with thin feathered wakes marking their retreat to the safety of the reeds. A handy run and back for breakfast and gentle hike over Errisbeg and down to Dog's Bay to finally trace the Murvey fault south to the sea. A blue sky adventure.

Monday 29th Oct
6km Easy at 5:51/km.
Out and back on the Rosroe penninsula as far as time and distance allowed me with "The Plan". Nimmo challenged nature with the bold construction of these roads in the early 19th century but could he ever have envisaged a warmer earth triggering higher seas to nip at the roadside margins to reclaim them so easily.

Tuesday 30th Oct
Wup - 12x400m @5-10km pace with 400m jog recovery. 13.5 kms done and dusted.
I settled on the Hanson Half Marathon programme 3 weeks ago and this, I felt, would be a challenging session. Like a half spent tube I knew that some attention was required and had built up some practice, in advance, to get some notion of what this session required. 2 weeks ago I did 5x400m (absolutely and diabolically wrecked), 1 week ago 8x400m (not so bad this time...just bunched). Had doubts about my correct pacing so double checked everything and headed out into the open and away from tree cover to get decent GPS coverage, with no turns. Result....
Correct pace is 4:26/km : 4:18, 4:25, 4:25, 4:28, 4:23, 4:28, 4:25, 4:28, 4:23, 4:28, 4:23, 4:18. Delighted with that collection for now and it felt like a Session of Substance.

Have to say I was so inspired with those DCM performances on Sunday from every Boardsie who ran. Appetite whetted.

denis b

Thurs 1st Nov
5.3km Easy at 5:56/km
Early evening run around town with strapping back on the ankle as it feels unstable after a hillwalking weekend. I find running in the dark deceptive, always thinking I am running faster than I am.

Fri 2nd Nov
9.6km with 5kms at HMP: A success.
Down to the waterfront at The Tarf for this one. Beautiful morning and a great confidence run. Kms were at 4:47, 4:49, 4:47, 4:48, 4:48. with target of 4:50/km.

Sunday 4th Nov
10km prog run from Easy to Moderate (6:00-5:20/km) for average 5:34/km.
Out of the city to Santry Avenue and back into town on a new loop.

Mon 5th Nov
7km Easy at 5:46/km.
Nothing special but appreciating the benefits of any run.

Tues 6th Nov
8.2kms at 5:35/km HR 141.
Still nursing ankle with strapping with RuntheLine this Saturday. Super run and had to rein pace in a little. Reversed the circular route to offset camber.

Thurs 8th Nov
7.3kms at Easy HR 138.
The breakout run late evening after 3 consecutive days painting at home!!

Sat 10th Nov
Run the Line 12.12kms. Ran this hard 1:26:17 chip time.
A Boards reunion of sorts having run this last year (Long Course) I opted for the short course this year as I just would not have the stamina/endurance to get around the Long Course. Arrived in the company of Murph_D, Annapr, aquinn, Mrpaul and FBOT to a very wet Glencullen on what was forecast to be a dry day. The mountains always keep you guessing. Quick gear improvisation to make the best of it, registration (seamless) and tea/muffin combo whilst meeting the boards early starters (Neadys, hillsiderunner [great to finally say hello in person Mary - however briefly]and Norb), who were ready to head out early on the long course. We waved them off at 10am in spilling rain and refreshed our empty cups!!

By 11.15 at race start the rain was easing off and stopped within minutes. A mass start with atmospheric flares and cheers and off up into the forest we go. Plan was to run the first 2.5 kms fairly handy as it is all uphill and impossible to overtake in places. Worked hard to get into decent positions when I could but patience and lung capacity dictated the pace and particularly so on the long narrow boulder strewn climb to the hilltop alongside the forest boundary. Plenty of encouragement on offer at this early stage.

Crested Two Rock and picked up the pace as the path widened along the ridge to Fairy Castle. Pools of water, questionably deep saturated bog, odd slippy stones and runners, of necessity, pinballing across the narrow path to weave the best route possible. Yep, plenty to concentrate on and no time for the apparently fabulous views. Pace picked up considerably now and steadily overtaking, where it was possible. Had taped both ankles and they were holding up nicely in the Speeedcross 4's but I deliberately concentrated hard on foot placement changing stride to meet the best footing and keeping a few feet behind runners to get a clear view of the ground. Jutting rocks and deadly slippery heather roots were our nemisis.

A long technical downhill section into Ticknock and better wider paths for faster running through the forests. Picking off runners ahead and set myself a target of not being overtaken by more than 3 runners. Was immediately passed by 3 but picked off 2 of them, and they were competitively stubborn, on the next uphill. Loved the variety of trail running in the forests from wide service roads to pool laden walker tracks and dizzy blind chicanes with testy banks of gorse. Full concentration, responsiveness and a lot of luck required to stay standing and running.

The tiredness eventually seeped through from my legs to head and I judged that we had about 3 kms left but I could see that the course had changed from last year with a punishing forest climb omitted. Pace picked up again and I managed to run a long drag and two short hills to keep momentum going before pushing hard down into Glencullen. The scare of the day happened 200m from the finish line as the course was diverted over thick short grass on a steep downhill section. The ankles, save the ankles....and I trod lightly without slowing down to dive past 4 more runners just before the mat. O there is a little competitive streak emerging again.

Had a great day with great people and can only echo recent boards comments about the value of our running community for the mind, body and soul.

Reckon I finished in about 147% of the winner which is a significant improvement for me as my target was 180%. Not bad going and a conservative start on the ascent paid dividends over the last third of the course.

A huge THANK YOU to the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team. This is simply a great way to showcase who you are and what you do and I hope that the coffers are well laden for all your efforts. Lastly, I hope that Norb and Annapr are mending well after nasty spills on the course and a huge well done to Kieran (Galway contingent) for a first RTL race.

denis b

Sunday 11th Nov
Recovery Run 5 kms.
Legs and ankles felt ok after yesterdays travels on the hills. Can feel the lower quads signalling "Recovery pace is Good".

Mon 12th Nov
Recovery pace again for 6kms at 6:03.
An evening loop of Donnybrook and Ranelagh. Legs feeling proper tired at this stage. Back on track with the programme and that will be the end of racing until race day!! The programme is demanding and I want to complete it.

Tues 13th Nov
6x800m at 5km pace (400m jog rec) to give 13.4 kms in total
Splits for the 800m were: 3:35, 3:33, 3:35, 3:32, 3:38, 3:34 which is about 4:22-4:29 km pace. Delighted with this and the last 2 were hard, but controlled. Knew thta the legs were tired enough from RTL but the first 3 reps convinced me to keep going and finish this session out. Really enjoyed it and did a loop of the seafront and St. Annes to keep things fresh.

Sharkey47

Hi Denis , great to see your motivation back. That was a tremendous performance in RTL. The Hanson programme seems to be having a very beneficial impact. I have it printed off at home for the past 6 months where it lies gathering dust!

denis b

Sharkey47 wrote: »

Hi Denis , great to see your motivation back. That was a tremendous performance in RTL. The Hanson programme seems to be having a very beneficial impact. I have it printed off at home for the past 6 months where it lies gathering dust!

Cheers F. A good start as they say and eventually getting some speedier sessions under my belt. Have found the transition from steadier runs to faster runs to be more mentally challenging than physically so. Am working on being more positive about the pain for the gain .

Heard about the mishap and not sure if you are running this weekend. Bad luck so close to the event after some stellar Howth sessions,

Sharkey47

Sadly I am out of this weekend’s race.Let’s just say runnning will be a 2019 activity:). C’est la guerre. See you at Bohermeen hopefully!

denis b

Sharkey47 wrote: »

Sadly I am out of this weekend’s race.Let’s just say runnning will be a 2019 activity:). C’est la guerre. See you at Bohermeen hopefully!

Absolutely. A date with destiny and hope recovery is going well.

hillsiderunner

denis b wrote: »

hillsiderunner [great to finally say hello in person Mary - however briefly].

Lovely to meet you too Denis, and that was a good performance! But with all the hill-miles in your legs no surprise ...

denis b

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Lovely to meet you too Denis, and that was a good performance! But with all the hill-miles in your legs no surprise ...

Afraid my legs objected to the summer hill miles!!! but hopefully nearly there with the transition to Hanson as calves/ankles acclimatise :rolleyes:. Oh ageing is cruel .

Fair play for tackling the longer course. I am still scarred from last years efforts :D

denis b

Thurs 15th Nov
Wup and cd with 5 km at HM squeezed in the middle: 4:46, 4:43, 4:45, 4:47, 4:45. Target 4:50/km.
Need to pull the pace back in to find the correct pace before these sessions get longer and harder. Found the pace just fine but then it was 5 km and not 21 kms.

Fri 16th Nov
10 kms Very Easy Run at 6:05 and 134hr.
As this was a very easy run I explored. Saw new floodlights in St. Aidans School and wandered in as it wasn't yet 7.30 am. Floodlights, an astro turf pitch and soccer goals where a GAA pitch once stood......there will be Brothers turning in their graves at the thought of it all. Progress and great to see such a resource open to the local community. There were about 20 older teens from St. Kevins being coached in the art of scoring goals. Stayed for a few minutes and watched. Very impressive standard. Legs were pretty tired on this run.

Saturday 17th Nov
4.8 kms at Easy pace 5:44/km.
Ran this after a First Aid training hill day. Had to squeeze it in before dinner and the big game.

Sunday 18th Nov
13.3 kms at Prog 6:00 - 5:20/km pace.
Set the alarm for 6.45 am and got out of bed before I even thought about it. I headed out into the moonlit streets of Tralee and sniffed my way out of town to the sea. Silence. Towards the bay along the canal to Blennerville and its charming forlorn windmill. First rays creeping through the lower cols and around the Slieve Mish Mountains to my left. I spotted the arrows for the North Kerry Way and ran along the narrow paths and low dykes that keep the salt seawater off the farmed land. A little bit of Holland. Could not have planned a better run and I pushed on and gambled on the path hitting a road after a few kms along the coast. It did, alongside a memorial to 3 local gents who rescued the crew of a sinking ship in the 1930's at Spa. Leaving the coast I passed the Kerry Cricket Club and grounds. Idyllic.

Time to push on each km faster than the last on the Fenit road back to Tralee and breakfast. 8.20am and adventures already had. Well worth the effort and last nights red wine banished!

That was 58.8 kms for week 4 of the Hanson HM. Back on track now.

denis b

Monday 19th Nov
7 km Easy at 5:50/km.
Cannot remember this run but was tired after a weekend away.

Tues 20th Nov
13.2 kms with 5x1km at 5-10km (4:30/km) pace (600m jog rec): 4:24, 4:24, 4:24, 4:12 (wind), 4:26.

Out for a long loop to St. Annes and back home along the coast. Deceptively strong wind which pushed me home on the 4th leg. Very happy with this session and feeling the benefit of the previous weeks work now.

Thurs 22nd Nov
11.4 kms with 4 miles at HMP: 4:49, 4:52, 4:48, 4:50, 4:43, 4:42 and 4:43 (.4km).

Had to dig in on the last 1.4kms. The cumulative tiredness is hitting and 3 hrs sleep last night probably did not help. A busy week.

Fri 23rd Nov
10.1 km at Easy pace, 5:49/km.

Reversed a regular route for a change of perspective. I run reasonably early and roads are generally not too busy with traffic. Particle matter is however much more visible in colder weather. Will avoid the worst with cleverer routes.

Sat 24th Nov
8.2 kms at Easy Pace, HR 143 and 5:36/km.

Run felt very good but felt a bit under the weather (cold) afterwards!!. Another route reversed to even things up and liked the steady gentle climb up from the Malahide Road.

Sunday 25th Nov
16kms Prog LR HR 141 and pace 5:40.

Left the city and headed out through Harolds Cross. Saw the Dublin Mountains and decided to head towards them as far as the run length would allow. Got to Scholarstown Road, which as kids we always thought of as the entry point to the Mountains. Nice run.

65.8 kms and the heaviest weekly schedule in over a year. Glad to be able to do it and that is week 5 wrapped up.

Murph_D

Nice going, Denis. Getting through the workload smoothly enough.