get to the chopper!

BOSWOLLOX

47 miles this week(15 less than last week). 2 sessions and a race.
Tuesday: Did 9.5 miles in Phoenix Park with 5 uphill pickups in the middle. Up the Kyber 3 times(~1.1km) and the S bends twice(~0.9km). The recoveries were good because it was from the end of one till we arrived at the start of the next one as we lapped around. It was still a hard session. Going very fast.

Thursday: Didn’t go to club so did a session in Cabinteely Park on my own. A 2 lap hilly route on the grass. Some parts were on the footpath. About 4.3 miles in 25:17. This was very hard and another lap would have been a flat out race. When I told the coach I did this session he went mental. Would have done easy run with some pickups of just 200m if I went to the club.

Stamullen 6k XC: The weather was not as hot as last year, although I don’t remember the ground being as bumpy last year either. Seems like forever ago that I did my first XC race there last year. I was very violent this year and went out at a hard pace. I was pushing as hard as I could and managed to hold on without blowing up. First 2 laps took 10:16 and I finished in 20:36 so I can run at a consistent pace throughout a race by going out hard. I came 7th, and just one place off the top 6 prizes. We were the 2nd club based on top 3 finishers in each club, and I was first home. Got 10 euro out of it so at least I got the registration fee back. Nice to finish 17 places up and 2:29 faster than a year ago. Next year I’d like to try and win. The winner was exactly one minute ahead this year. I have never been so Catholic Churched crossing the line and gave it everything. I need to recover and do it all over again next weekend in the Dublin Novice. That is a much more important race and the competition will be fierce. If I’m in the top 12 it will be my best ever race and I’ll have to be willing to go into a comma across the line for a few minutes. Am very sore today. There is a session in the club tomorrow so after that I will have to run as slow as possible if I want to have any hope.

BOSWOLLOX

Didn’t make the Tuesday session so took it easy and did 6 steady miles with Eddie the Ethiopian instead. I was Catholic Churched after Stamullen and wasn’t in the mood for a hard session . The rest of the week was just easy running, and I took Friday off.

The Big Day- Dublin Novice 6k;
I was so nervous going into this race and went out very hard. One guy from the club was ahead of me, and he would normally be behind me over this kind of distance(although he has way more speed than me over the short stuff). I just tried to go after him but the gap was at least 5 seconds after a lap. I was working so hard at this stage already and had thoughts of dropping out. My first mile must have been under 5:15 because one of the guys in the club said he did 5:20 and was a sizeable distance behind me. Half way through the second lap I caught up with my clubmate to within 10 metres. People were shouting out that I was 13th. I figured that if I could catch him and the 2 runners beside him I’d be in the top ten. Leaving the forest, you would expect it to be fast as the ground is smooth and flat. This is where the wind hit you. It was a sting in the tail. The gap just started to grow again between the runners ahead and one lap later I kindof just gave up hope of catching these guys. I was working so hard and honestly had nothing left to give. I was passed by 3 or 4 people in the last lap which annoyed me alot. I managed to have a good sprint finish and came 16th in 20:40. Was a great performance compared to anything I did in the last season but I can’t help thinking I should have been in the top 10 now. I could have fuelled a bit more in the morning and my nerves got the better of me on the day. The intermediate and senior races are where I expect to do best I reckon. This race was ridiculously fast and just felt like a 1500m race for the whole thing lol.

Recovered better after this race than I did in Stamullen, backing up that I ran better in the race which was less important. The Tuesday session yesterday wasn’t a session. We did about 10.5 miles on the road at a comfortable pace. I enjoyed this run alot.

Krusty_Clown

Don't put too much pressure on yourself. It was a very solid result. Some great scalps there.

BOSWOLLOX

Thanks Krusty, I know it was one of my strongest races. I just have to improve my confidence. It is unusual for me to be eaten by a few runners behind me in the late stages of a race. In fairness, I suppose they could have finished behind with a bigger gap if I started the race too conservatively. The track has thought me to go out harder at the start, I’m still trying to convince my legs that they need to do this lol. When they listen to me everything is perfect.
Thursday Session: 12 hill sprints on the Kyber path. We started at the barriers after the carpark. The coach left a bright red light on the ground around 250-270 up the path. Was the hardest session in a while. It was enjoyable, started to miss running fast like that. I was pushing myself hard. When the red light came into sight, it looked like it was just 10 seconds away but its like chasing a rainbow lol, especially near the end of each rep. Recoveries were generous as we just jogged back down to the start again. Not sure how fast we were, probably 50 seconds or under(second group recorded 53 seconds each and were not going as quick). 3 of us in our little group, and we took it in turns leading them, so lead 4 each.
Saturday Session: Didn’t think I’d be able to do this as the quads and it bands turned into shredded wheat on Friday. The warm up was sore as it always is. When we got into the spikes and started doing strides I felt better. We did 5 Munich laps(Magazine Fort to trees, left uphill out onto acres and then back the way we came over those rolling hills~1200m) with 90 seconds recovery. I gave a good effort without exerting myself like Thursday, started a bit fast but went steady for the rest of the session. Was a nice session and felt great after it. There was plenty of energy left over afterwards. No point pushing myself too often, I want to save it for the races. Splits were 4:03, 4:07, 4:09, 4:12, 4:12.
After 15 very hilly miles on grass on Sunday I was shattered. 67 miles for week.
Tuesday Session: Was 3 X 1.6 mile laps on path around Acres. I didn’t run them that hard and there was plenty left in the tank. All under 9 minutes. The hard part was the long 1km stretch towards the Magazine Fort because the wind was strong. Apart from that it was grand and we ran at a strong pace without working too hard.
Thursday Session: Another moderate session. Was a 4.8 mile tempo run. 2 laps. Started at bottom of Kyber, up and than left straight across Acres, down to S bends, up and then down to bottom of Kyber again. It is a nice little lap. Challenging alright. Did it in 28 minutes. I could manage to continue the session for another few laps again at same pace if I had to. I need to get more of these kind of sessions in. When I took up running nearly all my running was tempomental lol. It is much better now that I am doing them with a group instead of on my own. Things are controlled and civilised now.
Saturday Session: 12X1 minute with 1 minute recovery jog. Did this on the grass, starting from the dog pond, up to Furze road, turned back towards papal cross and straight down the trail next to the Kyber, turning left afterwards. Got most of the 4 mile loop in. If we had 13 we would complete a whole lap. There was 4 of us in our subgroup and we took 3 each. I felt great on the ones I lead. I always find the one after my lead the hardest. It is easy to lose concentrate, fall back a few seconds, and you have to surge to catch up. I think that is the reason why leading is easier for me. We were very close to 5 min/mile pace for the pickups I’d estimate.
60 miles for the week, after the 16 mile run today. I feel alot better after this week than I did at the end of last week. Taking Monday off was a good idea. The next 3 weekends in a row will have races. I will take the Fridays off. Another big thing that might help my energy levels and recovery is giving up cycling the 70 miles for my weekly work commute. Its crazy doing it at this stage and I’ve decided to cut it out so I can concentrate all my efforts on the running. Will just do 20 miles a week cycling to and from the dart instead. I’m hoping this will prevent me from wearing out as the training and racing is only going to get more serious and intense over time, especially with the aggressive goals I set myself.

BOSWOLLOX

Tuesday Session: Got down to the club a few minutes late and had to rush out to catch up with the group. It was also bitterly cold so I didn't feel like I had an adequate warmup. We did 6 pickups altogether. 3 of them were the uphill 1100m Kyber path, and the other 3 were the 2 shorter sides of the Acres lap(these were downhill and about 800m). The recoveries were the jogs between the end of one and start of the next. I found this session so hard. Felt like I was coming down with a bit of a cold or cough but luckily it never came.

Thursday: Went out on my own to do the 9.15 route on the grass in Shanganagh. Did 8 pickups within the run, each between 200-300m. Felt great doing this. Nice to bump into BB67 briefly too. Was completely dark as I was nearing the end of the run. Sunset is my favourite time to go running, really nice to do for some reason.

Sunday - Leinster Novice 6k:
The course for this race in Avondale made the last years route seem very fast. Hardest course I've ever done but the best for scenery. At least the big trees gave us a bit of shelter from a strong breeze. I had a terrible first 50m for the race where I ended up just a few places from the back. I was on the far left and suddenly another 100m later I found myself with the leading bunch as we turned the first corner. There was a very steep downhill and the pace felt quite slow considering how steep it was. I was with the leading bunch for over half of the first lap but as we approached the giant hill they just got away. I was scared of blowing myself up by going up too fast. Just before the hill I nearly lost my right spike in the mud patch. Thankfully it was only a narrow patch. My heel popped out of the runner but landing back in again when my foot landed afterwards. If this mud section was any longer and I had to land this foot there one more time I would have been running the rest of the race with one spike. The hill was a killer. It made Stamullen look tame. Each time I got to the top I felt like I was at walking pace. It took 10 seconds to recovery and regain some pace after reaching the top. Everyone was spaced apart at this stage so I was able to avoid the mud patch altogether where I nearly lost the spike on the first lap. For the unavoidable patches I made sure that my left foot landed in them as my right spike was a tiny bit loose after the incident. There was plenty of space around for the steep downhill so that I could fly down without the danger of having an accident with a pile of other runners. I managed to avoid getting passed by anyone from the first half of the first lap to the end of the race. Caught a few runners and got 11th place overall. Am really happy with the result. The finish time was 21:45 so over a minute off the last 2 races. Shows how tough the course is. The team managed to get gold and I was 3rd out of the 4 scorers. Was nice to get a medal out of it. Am also due to get a Dublin gold medal which made the weekend highly successful. I guess I won't be doing the Dublin or Leinster Novice races again. The hard work over the last year is paying off as I managed to go from 34/72 to 11/72 in the Leinster Novice. Can't wait for the intermediate and senior races. The extra laps suit me better as I can hang on and catch more runners over longer distances.

BOSWOLLOX

Tuesday Session: The hills in Avondale turned my legs into shredded wheat. Went down to the club for a session just 2 days later. After the warmup I didn't feel so bad. It was way to cold and made my asthma appear. Breathing was labored. Coach told us to do 5 of the turnabout 1000m laps on the path at polo grounds(2 mins recovery jog). Averaged 3:13. I was just hanging onto the group. On a nice summers day this would be an easy session. I run better in hotter conditions than this kind of weather.

Thursday: Didn't bother doing strides when I went out on my own for easy/steady 9 miles.

Sunday: Dublin Senior XC - 38th in 31:44.
The quality of the field in this race was frightening. When the gun went I was left way back as everyone sprinted off. I'm not really one for race reports lol. Basically the race was reasonably good. Looking back I had more in me. I could have held my average pace for a 7th lap. The course was very fast compared to last week. It was very short but I think I could have gotten a 10k pb if it was measured accurately. I think my pb is way off what I could potentially do now on the road on a good day.

Tuesday Session: Felt great doing this. I recovered very quickly compared to Wicklow. The hills in Santry were like a threadmill in comparison to Wicklow. Did 6 800's with 90s recovery jog on the path. I took my inhaler before the session so my breathing was grand despite the cold. Averaged 2:32 and they felt comfortably hard. Was a good session without the suffering.

Didn't bother with strides when I went out on Thursday. The is when things took a bad turn. Waking up on Thursday morning, I suddenly had developed a cold. It felt like(and still does now) that there is a hedgehog hibernating at the back of my throat. The exact same thing happened this time last year before the Leinster Intermediate. I was determined not to miss this 2 years in a row for the same reason. On Friday I still felt miserable. It wasn’t a terrible cold. I was tempted to telling the coach I might not make the race.

Leinster Intermediate – 12th in 28:23. The actual race yesterday went well considering. I took my inhaler in the morning and kept warm before the race. I could still feel some weakness. The course was good but I had no idea what we actually had to do. I went off with a huge leading bunch of about 20 for the first small lap. It then started to lash rain and the ground got very muddy all of a sudden. For the warmup it didn’t feel like it would really slow you down. Half way through the second small lap I started to get wheezy and my cold came to bite me. Everyone started to get away from me and I was hanging on as well as I could. At the end of the second small lap I felt like I was still moving quick, 3 more of these laps can’t be that bad. For the next lap we turned into the middle of the field. I got a surprise. I don’t know why I thought it would just be the outer laps. At the end of this lap we were told 3 to go. This was a nasty shock. I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to stop and correct them that there must be some kind of mistake. I thought that there would be 2 laps felt, and I already felt like dropping out of the race. My breathing was much heavier than it should have been at this stage. To add to the pressure, I was told that our team were in the gold medal position. I had to keep driving on now no matter what. I couldn’t let the team down. I don’t know how I did it but I managed to hold on. It was horrible but we couldn’t have gotten gold if I didn’t finish the race or show up. I’m glad I did it now although it is a bittersweet run for me. My legs had more left but my lungs just wouldn’t let me race 100%. I probably could have taken 30 seconds and a few places off if it wasn’t for the cold. Getting 2 gold medals out of the race makes up for last year at the same time. I might have to take it easy this week and maybe next weekend I will be feeling fully fit again. It is great to have a 3 week gap now until the Dublin Intermediate. This will be my only chance to do this race as I’m ruled out for next year.

BOSWOLLOX

Tuesday Non-Session: We had a break from sessions today and were told to just take it easy. Did 9.5 very relaxing and enjoyable miles.

Thursday Session: Back into the hard training. Did 12 hill sprints in Memorial Park with jog back down recoveries. Distance was 230m per rep. I struggled like hell with this session. I would put this as my least favourite and weakest session for xc training.

Saturday Session: I had a few days relief from my cold, but on Friday I started to relapse. To make matters worse, my it bands were destroyed. The ground was very messy so we did the session on path around Acres field. Coach told us to stay off grass if it was too messy. Session was 3X10 mins hard tempo with 4 min jog recoveries. Pace for session was around 5:30 min/mile. I would normally enjoy a session like this but wasn’t in mood at all.

Tuesday Session: Felt miserable later on Sunday evening. I did 116k(nearly 73 miles) for the week, making it my highest mileage week ever. I think it is my 3rd or 4th over 70. I took Monday off because I was feeling worst then. Even Monday night/Tuesday morning felt awful with the cold. I had a period of respite for the session and the session went grand. Did 5X1.1k with 200m recovery jogs. The first one was slowest 3:37 but they felt easier as the session went on and I got faster. Averaged 3:34 for them. Finished with 3:31 and I finished with plenty in the tank.

Thursday Session: Didn’t feel great again. We had a time trial. 2 laps, Was on the main road between Chapelizod Gate and Islandbridge Gate and included Military Road in the Phoenix Park. It was foggy and dark and I wasn’t motivated to push myself for this. I eased back when I got to top of S bends on first lap, let 2 of the faster lads pull away, and settled into a tempo until I got to the Islandbridge Gate on last lap. I pushed hard from here for the last half mile. Nothing special really. Route was approx 4.7 miles and coach called 26:13 or 26:23 when I finished. I could have gone alot faster if I was feeling fully motivated and fit and I had the racing flats on.

Saturday Session: 12X1 minute with 1 minute recovery jog. We did this on the Acres with the spikes. I enjoyed this session alot. Nothing like running around the Acres in spikes. It was very messy in places which made it a quality session for xc racing.
I couldn’t make the session today so did nearly 9 miles at a steady pace. I had to force myself out the door and regret not just staying in bed a bit longer instead. I have completely broken down. Left work early and am taking tomorrow off at least. I’m dying with an all out cold. It took long enough to develop like this but I have been engulfed in it now. Been training hard despite it so bound to happen. I did longest run since marathon on Sunday (28.6k). Nearly half on very soft ground and rest on path. Only going 7:2x pace but that probably didn’t help me. To add it it all, I ended up continuing my cycle commute to work after my original plan to give it up a month ago. I ended up getting soaked to the skin nearly every day. I will need a break from running, possibly the Dublin Intermediate too. Just going to drink lemon and ginger tea as much as I can too.

pconn062

Few days off will do you no harm anyway. You have been training very well but very hard recently so a few days off will refresh the batteries and give the mind a bit of a break as well.

BOSWOLLOX

I'm not sure where the best place to post this is, but I guess it makes the most sense to put it here. Have been getting progressively more depressed with life in general and it has had a big impact on my running. Disappointing runs making it worse. I haven't really been motivated to race as well recently. I had an epic start to the season in Stamullen. Most recent results are 13th in Dublin Intermediate and 59th in National Novice today. Everyone in the club is improving so much but I haven't run a race as good as I did at the end of September. I wouldn't feel confident bringing up the above to anyone in the club especially my coach. I'd be interested in getting advise here possibly. Anyone ever in this situation and gotten through it? Were you able to progress with the running and what was the best thing you did for it?

paddybarry

BOSWOLLOX wrote: »

I'm not sure where the best place to post this is, but I guess it makes the most sense to put it here. Have been getting progressively more depressed with life in general and it has had a big impact on my running. Disappointing runs making it worse. I haven't really been motivated to race as well recently. I had an epic start to the season in Stamullen. Most recent results are 13th in Dublin Intermediate and 59th in National Novice today. Everyone in the club is improving so much but I haven't run a race as good as I did at the end of September. I wouldn't feel confident bringing up the above to anyone in the club especially my coach. I'd be interested in getting advise here possibly. Anyone ever in this situation and gotten through it? Were you able to progress with the running and what was the best thing you did for it?

To be honest, I think your Coach and GP should be your first port of call. I'd imagine the former has seen this with other athletes before.
Best of luck.
PB.

pconn062

PM sent.

Krusty_Clown

BOSWOLLOX wrote: »

I'm not sure where the best place to post this is, but I guess it makes the most sense to put it here. Have been getting progressively more depressed with life in general and it has had a big impact on my running. Disappointing runs making it worse. I haven't really been motivated to race as well recently. I had an epic start to the season in Stamullen. Most recent results are 13th in Dublin Intermediate and 59th in National Novice today. Everyone in the club is improving so much but I haven't run a race as good as I did at the end of September. I wouldn't feel confident bringing up the above to anyone in the club especially my coach. I'd be interested in getting advise here possibly. Anyone ever in this situation and gotten through it? Were you able to progress with the running and what was the best thing you did for it?

You're being very hard on yourself again. 13th in Dublin intermediate is an extremely good result, and you took some very good scalps along the way, including some very solid runners from these parts, who would run 2:35 for the marathon and sub 75 for the half marathon (when in form). You've got to get out of the habit of comparing yourself to others as everybody develops at different rates, and it's usually not in a linear pattern. Sometimes the gap between those you compete against will widen, and sometimes it will narrow (and sometimes, you'll push past them). If you're struggling at the moment, I reckon it's best to be honest and talk to your coach and anyone else that can help. Like all things, there will be good days and bad days. The bad days will pass and we will all race another day.

BOSWOLLOX

Thanks for the feedback. Was useful mentioning it to my coach, he is willing if he can. Talking helps alot. Haven't done it in so long thats the problem. I would be very happy if I had a 2:35 marathon looking at it in that perspective. Actually can't wait to do one but it will a long time before I can seriously consider that lol.