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Not Quite Four Laps
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Holidays are over so its back to some serious XC training
Tue 08.09.15
W/U, 5 X 1K, W/D
Splits: 3.08, 3.06, 3.06, 3.04, 3.06
Really good session but had to do it pretty much on my own outside of the first one that I did with R+ but he's recovering from an ankle injury so took it handy after that. Very happy with the splits and probably the best one of these sessions I've ever run
Wed 09.09.15 - Thu 10.09.15
5.3 @ 6.45/mi & 14.4 @ 7.17/mi
For the long run I went along the Bray - Greystones cliff path and attempted to come back over the top of Bray Head. Was hoping to follow a Krusty loop from Strava. Couldn't find the turn off though and ended up climbing some mother of hill along the main road from Greystones to Bray. The path then stopped at the very stop so I had to turn round and head back the way I came. I was physically and mentally tired at this stage, which subsequently lead me to tripping over a rock and falling. Was fairly covered in blood from cuts on my knee, arm and shoulder but thought the damage was largely superficial. Picked myself up, gathered myself together and ran home. No issues.
It was later that night when I developed a pain in my rib cage. Took the next day off
Fri 11.09.15
Rest
Sat 12.09.15
W/U, 3 X Munich Mile
Times: 5.42, 5.33, 5.36
Pain in the rib wasn't too bad so hit the Saturday morning session in Phoenix Park. It was noticeable on the warm up but manageable. The pain got progressively worse with each rep and I had to stop on the fourth. It was no longer bearable. Tried a warm down but it was a definite no after two steps. It was really painful that evening and I was pissed off for not resting it up.
Sun 13.09.15 - Sat 19.09.15
Rest
Sun 20.09.15 - Wed 23.09.15
5.2 @ 7.04/mi, 5.3 @ 7.03/mi, 6.9 @ 6.57/mi, 6.5 @ 6.21/mi
So went for a test run on the Sunday. Wasn't very hopeful and was super close to turning around after a couple of hundred metres but the pain never got worse. Couldn't breathe fully and it was like having a constant stitch but this got better on each run. For the last run in Reykjavik, where I was on a weeks holidays, it was pretty much grand.
Thu 24.09.15
Rest
No running but a lot of hiking and a super fast technical descent down this mountain when we realised we had only 20 minutes till our bus left. That was an adrenaline result and was close to re-bruising my ribs on at least 5 occasions. Hairy enough situation .
Amazing place though. Incredible landscape and a great nightlife, with really cool people (They are so relaxed and have a really dry sense of humour
) Definitely recommend a visit
Fri 25.09.15
W/U, 3 X 1.3 Miles, W/D
I had discovered a nice little loop around a golf course on one of the peninsulas in Reykjavik. It was a gravel path and a little over a mile. It was pretty wndy and the ribs weren't fully healed yet so I entered with a degree of precaution. It was tough as hell but I got it done and very wearily jogged the few miles back to the airbnb. Delighted to get that one in the bag
Sat 26.09.15
Rest
Sun 27.09.15
9.3 @ 6.53/mi
I had the mother of all hangovers after 2 very late nights out but somehow forced myself out for a bit of an explore around Reykjavik. It was incredibly windy but the scenery was amazing and I found some cool trails by the coast. I was so tired it was almost like an out of body experience and someone else was powering my legs along. Somehow managed to get to almost 10 miles
Mon 28.09.15
Rest
Tue 29.09.15
W/U, 5 X 1K, W/D
Times: 3.13, 3.13, 3.11, 3.13, 3.14
Had to be up at 2 in the morning for the flight back home so I was a bit of a wreck by the time I got home at midday. Had a nap for an hour or two but still felt like a bit of a shell. As always, when I sleep erratically, my stomach was very unsettled too. As I was off work, I decided I'd pop down to the club for a session anyway. Poor turnout so ran the reps on my own. If it went terribly, I would have packed it in. First one was dodgy to stay the least but tried one more just to make certain. This was no worse so I slogged it out to the end. Good bit slower than the session from a fortnight back but decent all factors considered .
Wed 30.09.15 - Sat 03.10.15
5.6 @ 6.38/mi, 13.9 @ 7.15/mi, Rest, 5.4 @ 7.39/mi
Nice long run on the Thursday with an amazing sunset over the fog blanketed Dublin mountains and then an easy jog on the Saturday morning with the usual pre race strides
Sun 04.10.15
Dublin Novice XC (4th place individual, 2nd place team)
Preparations had been a little hampered over the last few weeks but overall, I reckoned I was in good shape and didn't have a significant enough break to lose any real fitness. The Sunday afternoon starts can be kind of tough from a kind of nutrition aspect. Decided, I'd have a big dinner on the Saturday evening and then just something very light on the Sunday morning. Slept in and then had a massive breakfast with bagels, egg, crayfish, some vegetables and an orange at about 12. What was I thinking??
Naturally, with the butterflies in the stomach coupled with the massive breakfast, I was feeling a little dodgy on the warm up. I sort of suspected that it would be fine once I got going. This was true but I gave myself a lot of unneccessary worry. We had a massive team for the race, fifteen in total and I'd say the army of crusaders must have looked pretty fearsome on the start line Deadly pic below, just as the gun is being fired.
My only strategy was to go out hard and avoid any bunching at the tight first bend. Legged it from the start and got in a good position of 5th or 6th. We had one small lap and then three big laps. It wasn't a mental pace and my clubmate was leading it out. He recently ran just under 16 in Reathfarnam so I figured we wouldn't be too far from each other. After the mini lap, I moved up to third and we headed in to the Tellitubby hills and the forest section. We were just coming to a section of trail through long grass when two DSD runners flew by. I was pissed with this because it was neigh on impossible to pass on this section and I couldn't move freely. They took the lead at the end of the first big lap and went on to first and second comfortably. Even at this early stage, it was looking like third was between me, Pabs (clubmate) and a DCH runner. We let him do the work in the windy home straight and he was getting a little pissed. He started weaving from side to side at the end of the lap but to be honest I didn't give a toss. If he wanted a little protection himself, he was going to have to slow down.
On the hill/forest section, I was thinking about the best way to go for third place. I didn't feel sharp and didn't want it to come down to a sprint finish but I also didn't want to take the lead and let them draft behind me. Finally decided, that when we hit the home straight I would make a burst for it and get enough of a gap so they wouldn't be able to draft. If it is a significant enough gap then it might be decisive. There's a short hill before you come on to the straight and I went for it here, figuring I'd be able to gap them easier on the hill. Worked pretty well but Pabs eventually caught up and tucked in behind. Looked like we had created a 10-20m gap on the DCH runner though so mission accomplished. I was working really hard and looked to up it again as we got out of the wind but I couldn't kick him. I was waiting for the move and then it would just be eyeballs out to the end.
At the same point where I made my move, it came but I was shocked to see the DCH runner and not Pabs. I didn't want to look back on the last lap in case Pabs thought I was struggling, so the DCH runner must have caught up n the mean time. Anyway, I tried to tuck in and hoped if I could draft off him then I might be able to reduce my workload and then use my 1500m pace over the last 100m. Just couldn't stick with him though and he got a decisive gap. Pabs had fallen off at this stage too so I knew I had secured fourth but kept working as hard as I could to the end just in case. I was in bits after the race and while it was disappointing to finish third, I was delighted that I gave it a real go with what I think was the right strategy but the DCH runner was just that bit stronger in the end. Roll on the National Novice now. Can not wait
Mon 05.10.15
6.8 @ 7.35/mi
Had the day off work so knocked out for some very easy miles in the evening. No ill effects from the day before. Tend to recover very quickly from XC races anyway.0 -
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ThebitterLemon wrote: »Well done, some going.
Are you the lanky skinny lad in the photo, the only one that looks like they're not ready to start
TbL
Yea, John looks like he's waiting for the bus there
Nah, I'm crouched and ready. Blue shorts and blue spikes, second Crusader from the right, hand on the ever trusty Garmin.0 -
Tue 06.10.15
W/U, 400/800/1200/1600/1200/800/400 (Rec: 30/60/90/120/90/60), W/D
Times: 74, 2.33, 3.55, 5.13, 3.54, 2.28, 64
I was feeling adequately recovered from the XC so decided to hit the track instead of a few easy miles around Sean Moore Park. I went out with a degree of caution but was surprised to see some decent times, especially the 1600. I had hit this session a lot harder a few weeks back for a similar time. The two lads hit the last rep really hard but I kept it a little more controlled. Still came in with a 64 somehow. Happy days.
Wed 07.10.15
4.7 @ 6.47/mi
Was a bit rushed for this at lunch so cut it a little short and may have ran it a little too fast
Thu 08.10.15
13.6 @ 6.54/mi
Found I have been missing a lot of long runs on Sundays so in an effort to avoid this, I have switched it to a run home from work on the Thursday. Makes a bit of sense as it only takes me about an extra half hour to get home. Ran all the way along the coast from Bray to Blackrock and then across to Donnybrook to pick up my bike. Was pretty tired towards the end but its nice to have such a scenic run home and I didn't have to stop for traffic once until I got to Donnybrook
Fri 09.10.15
5.3 @ 6.49/mi
Lunch run number one hundred and something around Shanganagh Park
Sat 10.10.15
W/U, 5 X Munich Mile (90s rec.), W/D
Times: 5.29, 5.27, 5.26, 5.29, 5.30
Back to the old reliable on a Saturday morning. Thankfully I had a bit of company this time with two of the Novice team and one of the faster girls. Took it reasonably easy on the first one. It was a very solid 5.29 so was delighted with that. Beforehand, I had hoped that I might hit all 5 under 5.30 so this was good motivation. Second one was grand too but on the third one I was starting to work hard. The fourth one was super tough too and come the fifth one I was really struggling. Felt I had really slowed down on the final one but I was only three tenths of a second over the 5.30
:D. A little annoying not to get under but delighted that I gritted it out and still managed to keep a decent pace.
Great way to kick off the weekend and pre justify the Saturday night drinks.
Sun 11.10.15
Rest
Only needed a few miles to get over the 50 for the week but I was wrecked tired and opted for a rest day instead.
Mon 12.10.15
5.3 @ easy pace
Forgot the watch, probably on the faster side of easy.0 -
Tue 13.10.15
W/U, 6 X 800 (w/ 400 active recovery), W/D
Times: 2.32, 2.32, 2.28, 2.29, 2.27, 2.21
This session reminded me how I've missed the track so much. Never leave me again. This is the kind of one last year that would have been a bit of a trudge around poorly lit GAA pitches in Sean Moore Park, trying to avoid the sliotars as you slunk your way past the goals at each end. We were even joined by a new recruit this evening, still of Leevale but soon to be a new member of the Cru. We pretty much ran all of these together and then upped the effort a bit for the last one. Astonished it was that quick but its on the track, so no doubts there
Wed 14.10.15 - Fri 16.10.15
5.3 @ 7.14/mi, 13.7 @ 6.53/mi, 5.4 @ 6.45/mi
Getting in to a good routine now of lunch runs Mon, Wed, Fri and the long run home on the Thursday. Should be able to hit 55-60 miles a week handy enough and still have the majority of my evenings free. Plus, in the winter, it means you get out in the day time rather than all your runs being run by streetlight. Sorted.:cool:
Sat 17.10.15 - Sun 18.10.15
Rest
Rest, probably not the best word for it. Down to Tipp straight after work for a birthday party and then straight back up to Dublin for another with a flying visit to the family and see the new niece in between. Not much sleep had and come Sunday I was a bit of a shell. Ended up coming down with a cold on Monday afterwards. First time, I've even been a bit sick in two years. Booo!
Mon 19.10.15 - Wed 21.10.15
5.4 @ 7.00/mi, Session: W/U, 10 X 400m (w/ 90s rec.), W/D, 5.3 @ 6.56/mi
Session Times: 69, 66, 70, 69, 71, 71, 68, 69, 68, 69
Wasn't feeling great Tuesday and had actually taken the day off work. A day of drinking Lemsip and watching the new season of Fargo saw me well and I was getting bored so decided to pop down for the club session. Aim was to take it handy for the first few but I love sessions of 400s and was a little too eager on the first two. Decided I'd stick in for the remainder and all were around the 70 mark so very good session over all.
Going to race the Leinster Novice XC at the weekend so looking forward to that. Cold seems pretty light as these things go so should be 100% come the weekend.0 -
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Thu 22.10.15 - Sat 24.10.15
5.3 @ 6.56/mi, 14.1 @ 6.50/mi, 6.4 @ 6.58/mi
Lunchtime run, run home from work and then missed the lunch time run on the Friday to go for a fancy lunch so got out in the evening. Have a really good working week running routine now, which I find is important in the winter as its not always easy to force yourself out the door. Best for it just to be an automatic response
Sun 25.10.15
Leinster Novice XC (4th Place)
I was looking forward to this. 6k XC seems just about manageable but anything longer can be a bit of a slog. I like the XCs down the country as well, as the courses tend to be a bit more interesting and this one was in the grounds of a Hotel and Golf Resort so I expected it to be especially nice.
Three of the five from the team drove down to Moyvalley and we arrived there with a good hour to spare. The course was 1500m long and we took in two laps for a warm. The race would be twice that. Overall, it was pretty flat, with a couple of long inclines at the end of the lap that you knew would be lung busters come the second half of the race. There was one sticky mucky patch and the ground in general was quite bumpy but it was a fastish course overall.
I felt like crap on the warm up and doing my strides but then on the last stride just before the race I felt okay so this eased the nerves a little bit. The start was fast but not Dublin Novice fast and I had no trouble keeping up near the top of the field. I backed off a little as we approached the turn, maybe a little too much as I lost touch with my two clubmates and was pushed back to seventh or eight. Found it difficult to catch up and the pace felt very fast and never really backed off for the first lap. Too long ago now to remember when I got in to fourth place but at some stage it was one guy out front with my clubmate and a Cellbridge guy in 2nd/3rd and me trailing about 10-20m behind in 4th place. 5th place was a bit back too, I think. Try as I might to close the gap, it just maintained at this for the third and fourth lap. Was surprised to hear shouts from my coach on the sideline. He had been away for a couple of months on holiday and must have came over just off the plane. Anyway, he was giving me loads on the sideline, telling me a medal was for the taking and giving me updates on the time gap. About 7 seconds.
Just couldn't get up to them though and I was a bit wobbily on my feet for the last two laps, the uneven terrain not helping here. Then, when I hit the inclines at the end of the last lap, I could see that the gap was closing so I put the head down and gave it my all for the last 200-300m. The gap was closing incredibly quickly and even though he knew I was coming after shouts from the crowd, I think he was spent and didn't pick up the pace hugely. The line just came a few metres too quickly and I had to resign myself to fourth. Looking at the results, there was a one second gap to the Cellbridge guy in third and then just another second to my clubmate in second. Was disappointed to miss out but its great to be up there competing and its a good learning experience too.
Mon 26.10.15
Rest
Out supporting the Cru in the DCM. We had a pretty cool wall of Cru on either side of the road at the 25 mile mark. It was like the top of the Alp d'Huez in the Tour de France. It was great and you could see people visibly boosted by it. Few too many drinks after though
Tue 27.10.15
W/U, 400/800/1200/1600/1200/800/400, W/D
Times: 76, 2.36, 3.56, 5.20, 3.59, 2.32, 70
Went down for training more so as a punishment for my excesses of the last two evenings than anything else. Knew I wouldn't be in top form but decided I'd take it handy enough on the first few ones and see how it felt. The guys picked it up in the second half of the 1600 rep so I was a bit behind from there on in but I was delighted with the session overall and the second half was largely consistent with the first if not a little faster.
Wed 28.10.15 - Sat 31.10.15
5.3 @ 6.45/mi, 13.7 @ 7.03/mi, 5.3 @ 7.08/mi, 5.6 @ 7.40/mi
Lunch run, Run home from work, lunch run and then a few handy miles with some strides. Felt pretty crap on all these runs to be honest and it feels like my legs have disassociated themselves from my body. Just running on momentum alone but the reason is probably that I have been burning the candles at both ends for the last two weeks. Very relaxy Friday evening and day today so I'm confident I'll be back to myself tomorrow. Had a similar experience before the Garda XC last year and I had a great race so hoping for the same tomorrow. Will take it out easy anyway, mindful that its going to be a gruelling 10k and then hopefully pick up some places in the second half0 -
Sun 02.11.15
Dublin Senior XC (32nd Place)
Early November and time for my yearly chastisement. Promised myself last year that I wouldn't come back and do this. Made that same promise to myself this year half way round but barring injury I know I'll be back. 10k XC is hell, but this race is a great eye opener as to what the standard really is and also a great gauge to measure your improvement.
I cycled over to Tymon and had on my gloves and a long top but I could have easily been in my shorts and t-shirt. Gorgeous weather. It made the warm up and watching the Cru kick ass in the women's race very enjoyable and it wasn't too hot to be a factor in the race either.
We were down one runner and thus short of a team of six so it was pressure off a little bit and no shouts of 'Every place counts' from the sideline. Quick turnaround from the finish of the women's to the start of the men's so we were off very quickly after being called over. I was lined up at the front of the Cru with Mick Clohissey on my right, Sergiu Ciobanu one over and Freddy Sittuk on my left. Some company to be keeping there :eek:. It was pretty cool but it was also pretty scary. Wasn't going to be making a burst to get out in front today. After one misfire from the starting gun we were off. The pace actually wasn't too hectic but I kept things in check to settle in to the middle of the pack. 10k is a long way and I didn't want to get carried away with myself early on. Start of each lap was straight in to a long incline. First one was grand but it was a lungbuster from 3 laps in. Half way through the first lap and I was passed by a couple of guys I would normally be in or around including the guy that finished ahead of me in the Dublin Novice. Felt I was moving fast enough though and let them off. Felt good after the first lap and I was happy with my pacing. Second lap, I was just trying to stay relaxed. A guy from Clonliffe passed me here and we would normally be in or around each other in races so I tagged on with him and we exchanged the lead a few times.
Checked my pace at the end of the second and it was 5.30. Shouldn't have looked really. Knew I couldn't sustain that. Clonliffe guy pulled away on the third lap and I was really starting to work now. Found myself in no mans land too. It was half way round this lap when I passed a few of the lads from the club supporting and exclaimed 'This is Hell'. I believed it too. The support was great though. You never had to go too far without getting a shout out from a clubmate and it was a huge help when I found myself isolated. On to the fourth lap and I was properly dying. Thought I had slowed down badly but the Garmin tells me I hadn't tailed off too bad. JF and Mick Traynor passed me on this lap. Think JF took too much pleasure in passing me. He's a competitive fecker even when he's barely training :P. As for Mick, the man must be nearly twice my stage and he's still on top form. Incredible stuff.
Come the end of the fourth lap and I started to recover a bit. The hill at the start of the last lap knocked the stuffing out of me again but after a quarter of a mile, I actually wasn't feeling too bad. I could hear shouts for a couple of Sportsworld runners behind me so I vowed to keep ahead of these. I was moving well and picked it up for the last quarter of a mile just in case and comfortably held them off to the end.
Tough, tough race but it is great to toe the line with such class and it will make the 6k for the novice seem like a piece of p**s :pac:.
Handy week now with no sessions and hopefully get a few weeks of good training in ahead of the Dublin Intermediates and the Novices.
Mon 02.11.15
5.3 @ 7.04/mi
Few handy miles at lunch time. Felt really good and my lethargy from last week seems to have gone completely. Still will take it easy this week,0 -
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I managed to hit the deck today too, on the turnaround back past the magazine fort! I think I had 9mm spikes in today - now thinking of 12s, but I finished last season with 15mm, which felt really secure (if a little stilt-like).
Yea, I think that's the same section where I went down. Its a tight turn and fairly cut up from all the activity it gets. My choice of footwear was poor to be honest. Been wearing the track spikes with 6mm spikes and they were fine up to today but they are not built for mucky cross country. Will be switching to the New Balance spikes from here on in. I used the 12mm spikes once last year but I felt like I might kill someone. The 15s would be pretty extreme looking I reckon and I wouldn't fancy them on any paths that you might have to cross. Will stick to the 9mm unless I have any issues.
Sun 08.11.15
12.4 @ 7.28/mi
Met up with clubmates smmoore and CD and we headed out from Moorsey Park to Blackrock and back. Horrific weather so good to have some company and some chat to take the mind of it. 58 miles this week and probably my biggest mileage week in a few years. Great to get some consistency going. Amazing what avoiding the few pints can do 0 -
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AuldManKing wrote: »regarding the Run in the Dark, was it a 'bad race' due to your performance or the organisation?
I heard some not too good things from my clubmates.
As a race, it was a bit of a joke but wouldn't have affected the time too much. For sure, I wasn't gunning for a PB on the night but I ran it hard and was still a minute outside my PB. To put it into context, I ran sub 17 on an equally windy day, on quite a hilly course after going significantly the wrong way in a Parkrun in London over the summer and I was just running that at a hard effort.
I know if I was reading someone else's log, I would think, yea, they're just going through a little stretch of poor form but when it's yourself, it's hard to be so logical and I just want a session or a race soon that will indicate I'm back on track. I'm sure it will come but I just want it to be very soon. Like next week 0 -
KielyUnusual wrote: »As a race, it was a bit of a joke but wouldn't have affected the time too much. For sure, I wasn't gunning for a PB on the night but I ran it hard and was still a minute outside my PB. To put it into context, I ran sub 17 on an equally windy day, on quite a hilly course after going significantly the wrong way in a Parkrun in London over the summer and I was just running that at a hard effort.
I know if I was reading someone else's log, I would think, yea, they're just going through a little stretch of poor form but when it's yourself, it's hard to be so logical and I just want a session or a race soon that will indicate I'm back on track. I'm sure it will come but I just want it to be very soon. Like next week
I really wouldn't be worrying about it. It's not a goal race, or a goal distance (I assume). In the end of the day, it won't matter a jot what you ran in that race come the summer track season. They are the races which I assume the long term focus is towards, and all the winter racing is to help get you in shape for that.0 -
Mon 16.11.15
5.4 @ 7.15/mi
Strava tells me I've run this exact route 97 times now. Creature of habit or wha! Sometimes I'm on the way back to the office and I find I literally have no memory of the last few miles I ran. Its getting robotic.
Tue 17.11.15
W/U, 4 X 800 (75s rec) + 4 X 400 (60s rec), W/D
Times: 2.31, 2.29, 2.30, 2.27, 68, 69, 70, 68
Mad auld weather when leaving work and my bike over to the track was interrupted by a full grown tree stretched across 4 lanes of traffic. Thankfully, nobody looked to have been hurt by the incident. All in all, didn't have me very optimistic about getting a decent track session but its Tuesday and that means over to Irishtown after work.
On the warm up, we ran opposite way round the track and the wind was pretty severe in the back straight. Thankfully, this was at our back during the session and the stadium offered some protection on the home straight so it wasn't too bad in the end.
R+ lead out on the first rep and I took over on the second lap. I was feeling very strong but thought the time might have been a little slow. Was delighted to see it come in at just over 2.30. This had me buzzing for the rest of the session and I was raring to go at the start of each rep. All very consistent and in around the 2.30. Great stuff. Then on to the 400s and again some really solid reps.
Delighted with that. Not even the cycle home in to the teeth of the wind could dampen my spirits this evening. 0 -
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Wed 18.11.15 - Fri 20.11.15
5.3 @ 7.12/mi, 13.9 @ 7.20/mi, 5.3 @ 7.09/mi
The maintenance mileage is becoming a lot easier these days and all of these were very comfortable despite some cold and windy conditions.
Sat 21.11.15
W/U, 5 X Munich Mile, W/D
Times: 5.35, 5.30, 5.29, 5.27, 5.27 (60-70s recovery)
It was flippin freezin cycling down to the Phoenix Park this morning. Bought this new climawarm (or some such other marketing term) hoodie from Adidas. Meant to keep you warm but not too warm, soaks up the sun's rays when its out and then stores them for cloudier times etc etc. Felt like I was wearing a fecking vest! :eek:
Anyway, got there in the end but my feet were frozen solid from the cycle and took about a mile in to the warm up before the feeling came back. On a plus note, the wind direction was favourable from a session perspective. In to your face for the hilly and wooded section but at your back for the long flat stretch at the end.
Nice group of four us this morning, all of a similar level so this was going to be a great help. After a poor first rep last week, I hit it hard from the start this morning and lead it out. Underfoot conditions were very firm and I felt really strong. When we hit the 600m flat stretch at the end of the lap, AC came zooming by me. This was a great idea. We all know that the National Novice is going to be a flat fast course, so tiring yourself out on the hills and then hitting it hard on the flat section would be great race practice. I let him go a little on the first lap but made a decision to stick with him on the rest.
Second and third reps were a similar pattern and I was really happy with my pick up in pace coming off the hills and on to the flat stretch. The fourth rep was super tough though. My legs were hanging coming off the hills and it was only the thought that I'd leave it at four, that kept me pushing all the way to the end. The other lads were fecked too and I suggested we call it a day after what was a really good session. Nobody said no immediately but we came to the consensus that we'd see it out. Goes to show the mental side of things, because the final rep was actually slightly easier than the fourth and hit the same time.
Brilliant session to have in the bag and a huge confidence boost ahead of the last two XC races of the year. 0 -
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Tue 24.11.15
W/U, 12 X 400 (30s recovery), W/D
Splits: 72, 73, 72, 72, 72, 72, 72, 71, 71, 71, 71, 70
As the goal race is coming up, the recoveries on the sessions are getting shorter and the pacing is becoming ever more important. From experience, I know you have to be very comfortable on the first few of these if you want to maintain consistency throughout. With this in mind, I just concentrated on running relaxed for the first few and pumping the arms. It was come the fifth or sixth one, where it started to get difficult. Like every time, I do this session, I look down at my watch after I've finished my rep and 15 seconds has already gone somehow. Fair enough. Then somebody calls '5 seconds' and you're off again. In some ways, its good because you don't really get much time to think so you can just brainlessly run laps of the track. Great.
Had good company anyway with our infiltrator from Leevale who was fresh off a very impressive performance in the Interclubs at the weekend. We kept each other honest to the end and the splits were very consistent so top notch session in the end. Probably the last one before the two big season ending races and definitely happy to sign off with that
Wed 25.11.15
5.3 @ 7.16/mi
Ran to Shanganagh Park, ran round Shanganagh Park, ran back to work0 -
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