Confessions of a never has been.....
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Of course, S - I've been fortunate enough to have met some really smart people in\through the sport over the years, I've devoured just about every coaching manual\biography I can get my hands on and have my family tortured with various coaching or running related podcasts. I regularly help people out with their training (I'm loath to say "coach") and I suppose I've learned a lot through my own training too.
My approach now is pretty simple, there are nuances and finer details but its essentially;
1 - S+C, as one of the Raheny coaches regularly reminds me, its my passport to run....drop it and I won't be running well for much longer. It really is the one thing I can't skip, I missed 3 months during COVID and hated every second of not running\training, I vowed back then to never allow myself to train beyond what my body can handle and that all starts with S+C
2 - Aerobic base - Its no great secret really, easy miles, steady miles, MP miles, they all have their place and all do the same thing ( at different rates). Everything I do in training hinges on having a strong aerobic base to build on. For the past 2 winters, I've ran lots of easy miles (very easy), raced a lot of cross country and generally trained up and down mucky hills. I'm a huge believer in recovery miles being actual recovery miles, easy being actually easy so I do pop on the chest strap every now and then to keep myself honest in that regard.
Most of my weekend sessions have a heavy dose of threshold work (or just shy) + "something"
Over the winter months, I'll usually run without the chest strap but in the lead up to XC, I do run a bit of steadier paced miles....high end aerobic stuff, just shy of marathon effort (something that I'll start doing again from June of this year), the kind of pace that Lydiard would have had his groups running a lot of in their base building phase.
I can generally handle a lot of miles, so long as they're easy - I run a lot with others too so there's a social element to it all these days, so easy is usually very easy.
3 - Periodise - I generally work in patterns with a view to ensuring each block leads into the next and has a purpose (hills building strength for faster weekend reps, Cross Country stuff building that strong engine that just needs to be tweaked for a good racing period in the spring\summer, that kind of thing), no balls out speed stuff without the right supporting base etc
4 - Race regularly - I don't always get this one right, I regularly overdo it or even mess up target races\distances but I enjoy putting myself under pressure in races, its why we train
Aside from that, everything has a place at certain times, I run a weekly track session most weeks but do that at different intensities, depending on the session - its rare that I run anything faster than 10k effort but if the aerobic base is in good shape, then I'll do a few weeks of sharper stuff in the lead up to racing.
Lots of drills, lots of strides, I run a lot in racing flats because enjoy them, I love the sensation of hitting the ground and finding a stride + I just do not enjoy the carbon plated stuff at all, I'll race in them every now and then because I know the performance gains to be had there but even then, I suspect I'm one of those rare folks that doesn't respond very well to "the shoes", maybe some of the newer ones will do the trick in time.
I'm enjoying training, really enjoying it actually but my priority is very simply to keep the show on the road, that has to come first - recover well, race often and take care of the body
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08.01.2024
A solid week's work to kick off the month, albeit with a note of caution towards the end of the week.
Monday
Tom Brennan 5k (17.38 - short course, more likely just north of 18 mins)
Penciled this one in a while back to keep in touch with the roads over the winter months, a no pressure type of race just thrown in to see how I respond to running over the roads for a few hard miles - I haven't raced on the roads since July and haven't raced a 5k since last May (despite me saying it was a priority last year).
I've never done this one so I was looking forward to it, got to the PP nice and early with a pal who was coaching some people running.
After a good warmup with some strides and drills, I lined up with a clubmate who is in and around my level and off we went. The aim was to get out fast and hang on, even with the missed month or so, I'd be fairly confident that the strength had returned and that I could grit out a half decent 5k, despite the lack of specific prep. The first mile wasn't very encouraging, I felt like I'd gone out hard and yet I'd dropped off from the group I'd have expected to be around. No panic, no big deal, reel them back in over the course - which is a bit of a silly thing to think during a 5k, and shows the lack of racing over the distance really.
Anyway, before I knew it, we were headed into the second lap and while I was working hard, I was noticing that I just wasn't generating turnover very well, I was a little leggy, a little gaspy and a couple of glances at the watch told me that I wasn't actually moving very fast for the effort!
Pulling up to the last 800m or so, DH from the club was calling out times to people and I became aware of a young lad ahead of me who would generally be a few places back in XC, it didn't sound an alarm as such but when I couldn't catch him on the run in I did wonder why he hadn't been putting that kind of finish in over some of the club races.
17.38 on the clock for the lot - a bit of a blow out, 17.38 of hard work really (5.49 pace)...on a short course, 200m odd short apparently. I did raise an eyebrow in the postmortem at home but immediately after the race, the conversation centred around the people that had missed out on records, PBs and various milestones.
Got out again that evening for a bit of a recovery shuffle - 30 mins
13 miles all in for the day
Tuesday
S+C in the am, then a lunch run with a work buddy
5.8m
PM - 6.1 miles with M around the homestead
Wednesday
S+C in the am, lunch run with work buddy
7.3 miles
PM - Easy miles + drills and strides -4.5 miles
Thursday
Busy day at the office so had to cram a light hill session in while visiting Mammy D
7.4 miles for the lot, used a local railway bridge to to 12 x 40ish second hill sprints, feeling a little gassed by the end
Friday
S+C in the am
AM - 6.5 local miles on a WFH day, enjoyed these but took it very handy as the body was a little battered
PM - 5.5 miles with M around the area, skipped the strides that I'd usually do on a Friday
Saturday
Planned sesh:
10 mins @ 6.10-6.10, 60 seconds jog, 4 mins @ 5.55, 2 mins jog (times 3)
A very frosty and icy morning meant that underfoot conditions were going to be tricky for this so I wasn't too surprised when I couldn't quite hit the paces over the first few minutes of the session but when I got to a decent stretch of path, the pace still didn't seem to come down for me, despite working very hard. Having put it down to early morning tightness or whatever ( which, sadly, is more of a thing as I age!), I moved on to the 4 min section - decent stretch of path for this but I was working very hard to get anywhere near 6 min pace, is the watch off maybe?
I was 2\3 mins into the second 10 min section when I canned this one, it was silly carry on, busting a gut to get to threshold pace - which of course means its no longer a threshold session.
Anyway, things started to click afterwards and it turns out that my iron levels had dropped significantly over the last few weeks, which is nothing new for me - I've had this before, managed it well, know how to keep it at bay, but obviously got far too relaxed with things like coffee, tea, iron supplements etc. A handy home test from the chemist confirmed the low levels so its now a case of bringing the levels up, being sensible with training (and expectations more so) while I do that and of course, keeping those levels up.
Took Sunday off, did some S+C, watched the masters XC in St Anne's
62 miles for the week
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Glad you are logging again DD - theres a lot to take from your training.
Whats the home test kit from the Chemist?
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Can't remember the brand but its an over the counter job, finger prick, drop of blood into a covid test type thingy and it tells you if the count is low or normal, its fairly basic but enough to confirm suspicions. A coach we once shared used to measure iron stores actually, he was of the opinion (as are many) that we should be constantly monitoring it....but I'm definitely prone to it for whatever reason
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Great post, loads to digest there. Cheers D.
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Are you going to share how that coach suggested monitoring 'it'?
Oh wait, I'm thinking of a different coach. 🤣
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😂😂😂😂
that might be one to “take offline”, D
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11.01.2024
Not much to log really, the lack of iron in the system is really testing my priority of keeping the show on the road, I kind of want to do more but I know its pointless and counterproductive really.....keeping the show on the road means taking a breather and looking at the long game.
Booked in for a full blood count on Monday, that'll tell me what the situation is in numbers. Until then, its an iron tab twice a day with vit c, can't eat this, that and the other within 30 minutes of it. I took the chance to read back to 2017 when this last happened (thankfully I was logging then !) and there are so many similarities, the difference between then and now though, is that I was quick to suspect it this time. Back then, it dragged on for well over 6 months.
Anyway, running wise;
Monday - easy double
Lunchtime miles at work, around the docklands, ringsend and back to BB
PM - nipped out around Raheny\Clontarf in the freezing cold
Just shy of 9 miles for the day
Tuesday
S+C in the am
Lunchtime run with a work pal around the same route as Monday
PM- Met M for our usual Monday route of a Tuesday, spicing things up. Good chats as always, legs feeling a little heavy alright, a sure sign (with no real work done)
11+ for the day
Wednesday
S+C in the am
I arrange track sessions for a group in work each week, today was our first one back in 2024 and we'd a huge group heading down so rather than skip the session completely, I jogged down, ran a couple of reps and jogged around the track a bit
Kept the pace very sensible on the couple of reps I ran but even then, the lack of power and strength was very obvious.
Enjoyed jogging around all the same
PM - regular run with my eldest in the PP, she loves it at night there and there aren't many opportunities to hang out with her these days, I'll be hanging onto this particular run for as long as I can.
3.1 miles, verrry easy
8ish miles for the day
The rest of the week will be easy, maybe some strides but nothing resembling a session and much lower volume than usual.
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Hey some great info in your posts so far, have heard your name a couple of times from other great runners around here😉
Just in regards to the S & C stuff, can I ask do you do your own routine at home or is it gym/classes?
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Howdie! Its a combo of at home or\and in the office. I rarely if ever go to a gym to be honest (maybe I should!)
Its basically a lot of pilates type stuff really, bits and pieces I've picked up from the physio over the years, stuff I've found on youtube, it usually involves either holding positions that runners don't like holding (side planks, sitting into squats and moving weights around, that kind of thing)....or moving very slowly from one position to another, pressups, split lunges, even springing up into the air from a squated position. I've got some very funny looks from colleagues walking by the room I use in the office !
Its amazing what we can do with a resistance band and a kettle bell and our own body weight
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Cheers for that. I suppose its about finding what works for you & keeps you consistent! I'm great with staying consistent with my running but find I need a structured class to stick to S & C.
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15.01.2024
Not a whole lot of training going on this week, I'm more focused on rest, recovery, making sure I'm doing this right and and letting the iron levels come back up.
Thursday - off
Friday - Had a new pair of Takumi 10s arrive in the post so took the chance to take them out for 30 mins very easy with some nice strides thrown in. They're definitely a different feeling type of runner than the Takumi 8s that I have but I cant quite figure out what feels different, nice and light, felt good on the strides.
3.5 miles
Saturday
Met M for a lap of St Anne's bright and early, good chats all the way around and I'm already looking forward to reverting to some local loops when I'm back training fully. I spent a lot of time in the Phoeno over the winter and while I love it, logistically it takes a little work with a busy house etc.
Good chats with M about all things running related, he's in a good place which is always nice to see.
Light S+C sesh in the afternoon
Sunday - off
Took a rest day, even though it was the perfect day for running. Decided to tackle some unruly hedges with a trimmers. The trimmer weighed a tonne so I'm classing this as an S+C sesh
Just shy of 40 miles for the week
This week and next are busy in work so it'll be a case of easy, social running with maybe 1 light turnover focused session ( with long recoveries). From experience, I can work on turnover and form no problem while this thing fixes itself.
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It really is, time is the issue for me when it comes to S+C, I just can't make classes etc but during lockdown I made quite a few virtual pilates classes and picked up loads of stuff there
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18.01.2024
Full bloods taken on Monday so I'll have some numbers to work against in the coming days on the Iron\Ferritin front. Easier runs are feeling quite easy at the moment, but I always find that in the cold weather anyway so I'll keep the champagne on ice.
Monday
S+C in the am (light session) then a lunchtime trot from work with a pal who is stuck for a bit of focus this year, luckily I am not and was able to bore him into submission, he'd signed up for an autumn marathon by the end of the run.
Just over 5 miles and some good chats
Tuesday
S+C in the am
Out at lunch with 2 running buddies from work, good chats all the way. One of the lads has signed up with Emmet Dunleavy's coaching service so that'll be interesting to see this year, he's a quality runner but rarely runs with any sort of plan.
Just over 6 very enjoyable miles
Wednesday - no session today (frozen track but I wouldn't have done it anyway)
Light S+C sesh (bandwork)
+ with the PP closed, myself and my eldest headed southbound to Sandymount for our weekly Wednesday evening jog. Far too busy for her liking but we did get just shy of 4 miles in
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I do a jog along Sandymount coast and then a loop around by Merrion road and back to the coast again. Then you can get a nice hot coffee in the Insomnia in Spar on Bath avenue which is open 24/7.
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22.01.2024
Full bloods returned mid week, iron levels back in the normal range. Interesting that they came back so quickly, it either means that I did a great job in sticking to the rules while getting them back up, or that they weren't quite as low as I feared in the first place. I suspect the latter is true and I caught this fairly early.
Anyway, time to ramp things up again but still with the priority of keeping the show on the road.
Thursday
Took a new pair of Takumis out for a spin, with a view to running 9\10 x 1 min off decent recovery.
Felt a little leggy on the first one or two but by the middle of this one, i was holding back a little to keep things in the right zone. These were only 1 min reps but I really enjoyed the sensation of moving fastish again.
Loved the Takumis, a little stiffer than the 8s, relatively low profile, still light and springy without that crazy instability that the supershoes give.
Just over 5 miles all in
Friday
Nipped out into St Anne's in the late afternoon, don't remember much about this one - except that I enjoyed it. Just over 5 miles.
S+C before
Saturday
Early morning trot around St Anne's with M and C, C is in fine fettle on his way through his Seville plan, great to see it and it did give me a little bit of marathon FOMO for the first time in yonks.
S+C in the evening
5.5 miles
Sunday
Out before the wind got crazy bad to try a lightish sesh.
Tried out the new Brooks Hyperions for this, loved them. Light, quite firm underfoot but still some decent protection - reminded me of the old Adidas tempos that I wore in most of my marathons.
Plan was for 1-2-3-4-3-2-1 with 50% recovery time between reps.
Pacewise, I really did not want to go beyond threshold effort just yet - running the loop in St Anne's can be tricky in that regard though because the watch goes bonkers with the tree cover for quite a lot of it.
Focused way too much on the watch on this one, as opposed to just finding and holding an effort that was comfortably hard.
In the end, the paces were indeed all over the place - surprise surprise and I was definitely working harder than expected.
Paces ranged from 6.10-6.25, nothing spectacular but it does show the lack of anything quicker in the last 3 weeks or so.
I'm unfortunately not the type of runner that can just churn out good threshold runs off easy miles....it does take a little more practice for me to get back into the swing of things unfortunately.
Having said all of that, nice to be back doing some work again
Just shy of 7 miles for the lot
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25.01.2024
Ramping the volume and intensity up this week, not quite to where I would normally hover at this time of year, for two reasons - 1, I probably shouldn't do that anyway and 2, I can't, work is nuts this week.
The aim for the next 5\6 weeks is to top up the aerobic strength with good volume, a bit more XC, a pinch of steady state running and keep in touch with good turnover on the track (without pushing things too hard)
BHAA (Garda) and national masters\inters will be the next 2 races, both should provide good opportunities to push the button a bit and remind the central governor how to hurt.
After that, its time to start more sessions on the road again.
Anyway, back to this week;
Monday:
Lunchtime trot from the office, usual loop around Ringsend\Irishtown, blowing a gale out which had the HR climbing a little higher than I'd like.
40 mins or so
PM: out again from the office after work, more of a steady effort this time, I typically run these by HR and keep them shy of marathon effort (157/158 for me), tipped down onto the coast road at Sandymount from the office and just did an out and back. Nothing special here, left the HR at 147 or so which was getting me about 7.10 min miles, eased off then over the last 10 mins.
Another 40 mins for this one
Tuesday
Lunchtime miles with a pal from work, nice chats all the way, didn't see the miles go by on this one, despite the wind.
50 mins all in
Wednesday
Down to the track for the first real track sesh of the year for me.
Good group for this one, 25 or so from the office, 7\8 in the faster group too which was great.
Usual jog down to the track, drills and strides and then into
3x600, 1200, 3x600
Instructions were to be careful on the first 3 600s, then up the effort on the 1200, holding that for the second set of 600s
Felt good on this, great to have a group to work with. We held 5.55 pace(ish!) for the 600s, ran the 1200 at 5.37 pace then held 5.40 or so for the last set of 600s, pushing the last one a bit quicker
Felt very good on this, working but always in control and focusing on good form
PM - a beautiful evening for the weekly few miles with my eldest. Used the cycle lane on the causeway on Bull Island, then onto the beach for a bit.
Just under 40 minutes ( I think) for this one, very easy pace
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29.01.2024
The days and weeks are picking up pace a bit now that I'm back training (properly), last week was a bit mental on the work and home front so I didn't quite hit the mileage target and had to sacrifice a long run on Sunday morning - not a huge deal, I'm a good bit away from any real target races and have plenty under the belt from the winter so far.
This week sees a bit of a step-up on the Monday steady effort ( although still nothing special), the usual track sesh on Wednesday (controlled effort) and the BHAA 4 miler on Saturday.
Anyway, back to last week
Thursday
Met one of the lads from the club for our almost weekly trot around St Anne's, he's a good bit stronger than I am but thankfully he's on the way back from a stop\start couple of years with injury. Good chats made the miles go by nice and quick, stuck to the grass for most of it
Just under 70 mins for the lot
S+C in the afternoon
Friday
Nipped out at lunch and took in the trails on Dollymount before heading in for a lap of St Anne's on the grass. I love those trails, there are a few places in Dublin where you can feel like you;re a million miles from the city and this is one of them.
56 mins all in
PM: Met C for a few easy miles + strides along the coast, this is a weekly thing these days, very easy miles coupled with 6-8 strides at 80% effort, sometimes a bit more
36 mins for the lot
Saturday
Another mucky session planned for today. Essentially bolting 50% on to last week's sesh.
1,2,3,4,3,2,1 - 1,2,3,4 mins with 50% recovery (but with 70 seconds between sets)
Down to St Anne's for this, 2 mile warmup and got going after a few strides in the spikes. Underfoot still isn't great in the field so the aim here was really to hold a consistent effort across all the reps, its essentially a threshold sesh but its almost impossible to run an actual threshold session when the ground is like this, its so easy to overcook the shorter stuff and then suffer on the longer reps, threshold goes out the window.
Anyway, the effort levels suggested I was in and around threshold for most of this, maybe a tad over at times but I was quick to pull it back when I caught myself racing any sections.
Coffee and chats with M+C after
Sunday
No time for a long run today, 50 mins jog around St Anne's had to do me.
Total for the week was just over 8 hours running (around 60 miles)
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02.01.2024
Monday
Had hoped to double up today but had to settle for the single run in the rainy afternoon.
The second of 5\6 of these steady state runs, this one was a little longer than last week and I pushed the HR a little sooner in the run too.
Used a loop in St Anne's for most of it, to avoid the wind on the coast really. After a mile warmup I upped the effort to bring my HR into the low 150s space, which is a few beats shy of marathon effort (157\58). Held the effort pretty well for most of this, but I definitely felt a lack of conditioning on the road after 30 mins or so, a sign of work to do in the coming weeks\months
Finished up after 45 mins of this, hovering around 6.40\50 for most of it ( barring a quicker downhill mile)
Just over an hour inc warmup\down.
Light S+C after
Tuesday
Time was against me today so no S+C and just the 40 odd minutes of easy running to show for the day, out for dinner and a gig later in the day.
Wednesday
Dehydrated and a little sleepy for today's track session so when the coach told us that we had a bit of a mixed bag ahead of us for the session, I wasn't too fearful because I an generally get away with shorter reps when under pressure and am holding anything longer than 600m reps at a pretty sensible pace for the time being.
1200, 6x400, 1200
Instructions were to hold back on the first 1200 (lovely) then push on for the 400s (boo) before ensuring the second 1200 was quicker than the first (booo)
As it happens, I was lucky enough to have my session pal on the track today, tucked in behind him for most of it but did return the favour on some of the windy stretches - which was every time we hit the home straight, the wind was really an issue today.
1200 - 6.03 pace
400s all between 5.35 - 5.45 pace
1200 - 5.50 pace
No evening run today, eldest daughter wasn't feeling great so we just went for a spin in the car and listened to a few tunes.
Thursday
S+C in the early morning before meeting a clubmate for some easy miles around St Anne's\Dollymount. Lovely run, good chats and perfect running weather
Just over 1 hour 15 for the lot
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02.05.2024
Another good week down, starting to feel like I'm in solid strength building stuff now, albeit with the mileage\training hours just a little shy of where I'd like it to be.
This week brings more of the same really, controlled efforts, some high end aerobic\steady work with a tough XC race at the end. Good times
Back to last week;
Friday - met one of the lads from the club for an easy hour or so around St Anne's, good chats, time flies etc etc
S+C after
PM - Met C for some very easy miles + strides, again around St Anne's, enjoyed this one, opened up well on the strides, loving the feel of the racing flats underfoot
Saturday
BHAA Garda XC (4 miles)
This one came along at just the right time for me, I need to get some tougher efforts under the belt and the course around the famous Munich Mile loop in the PP provides just about everything you want from a cross country race, some tough hills, wind, forests, tight running and then more open running on acres side of the route.
I'd been torturing people in work to get a team entered for this one and thankfully we had 5 of us toe the line.
The loop itself is 1 small loop (which I believe is the original Munich Mile loop, open to correction on that one) before 2 longer loops where instead of coming back up the sharp hill onto the acres from the stream, you take a sharp (and what feels like a steeper!) right and follow the tree line up the drag to the top of the Khyber before swinging left back onto the acres, through the trees and onto the open stretch back down towards the hilly section.
Notably, that gives you 3 x drops right down to the carpark at the bottom of the magazine fort and 3 x climbs straight back up, a real leg burner.
After a decent warmup in the wind and rain, we got going in a near celebratory mood, this particular race is a favourite for many, it really is that good. I had chatted to the other lads beforehand and we knew we had a decent shot at winning the team prize here so the agreement was to start conservatively and work our way through the field.
I became aware pretty soon that either I was being TOO conservative or 3 of the other lads had thrown that idea out the window, in truth, it may have been a bit of both but I was sitting in 4th for our team and people around me were skipping ahead a little as we moved around the acres towards the start of the uneven section. I knew I'd be boxed in for a bit once we hit that section but I wasn't too concerned, there are plenty of overtaking opportunities on this course and I was confident that I'd be picking people off in laps 2\3.
First spin down the big hill was good craic, moving nice and steadily, nothing silly, letting the legs fall as opposed to forcing the pace (which is a mistake by the way), we swung around at the bottom and started the long climb back up, this is where it became clear that a lot of people had gone out too hard, I wasn't pushing the effort just yet, I was happy to just pick people off one by one on the way up the hill, one of them being a team mate, he's a strong runner, knew he'd be fine but I did mutter a few words of encouragement going by. The ground was very soft on the way up the hill so it was going to hurt on the next 2 rounds
Into the forest, still climbing before dashing down into the small valley by the Khyber and the ground was very soft here, sharp left up the tight hill and into longer laps
6.23 for the first mile ( I actually checked it, second mistake)
The first of the long laps was really a case of working my way through people when possible, notably on the more open stretches or on the long hils but I did find myself boxed in again on the tighter sections (200\300m at a time), I chanced a few glances around me to see where my team mate was (3rd mistake!), I could see the other 2 lads up ahead, maybe 6\7 places ahead of me. Lots of encouragement coming up the hill from the very bottom of the course and I was starting to enjoy this now, into the valley by the Khyber, over the soft ground and this time we took the sharp right to follow the route on the longer lap.
Mile 2 - 6.28
As soon as we hit the top of that hill, I was stuck behind a couple of lads who were struggling badly, there was just no room to get around them without going totally off the trail and risking an ankle roll. I decided to stay patient and wait till the top where it opened out more and then took off around them to chase the next runner ahead.
Once we hit the open space again, I really focused on opening the stride up and enjoying the freedom, I chased down another runner on the way past the start\finish area, I was moving well now, definitely working harder and racing.
Mile 3 6.14
Going into the final lap now, side by side with a lad who looked to be working hard but still moving well, my 2 team mates were running very strong races, I could see up ahead that they were gaining places too. The field was quite spread out now and I guessed that I was in the top 15 or so.
Down through the uneven ground, right down the sharp hill and started the long climb up for the last time, the course was cut up badly here now but I was putting in a little more effort and skipped ahead before pinning the ears back a little at the top. Great support again as we cut through the trees and out onto the Khyber side for the last time, no sign of being boxed in here - just 2 lads about 60m ahead that I was trying to close on all the way up the long drag
Around the drag and out onto open ground again, 300 or so to go and I was on my own really, I wasn't catching the lads ahead but there was nobody behind be either, I'd put in a good burst over the last 1.5 miles and deep down I was probably content to hold a good pace and finish good and strong
Mile 4 - 6.18
13th place (I think), first M45 and 1st men's team
Great craic was had afterwards with the crew, great to be back racing, albeit a race with a few errors on my behalf. A good strong effort as part of a full training week should never be underestimated.
Just over 8 miles for the day
Sunday
Up and out just after 9 for some very easy miles around the coast\St Anne's, kept the effort right down here for 1 hour 40 or 11.6 miles
Just over 8 hours running or 60 miles for the best week in a while, I need another 6 or so of these before changing the stimulus
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Great report. It's a brilliant race indeed, a bit of everything packed into a one mile loop. I'm impressed with your pacing. I went with the start too fast and then grimly try and hold on aproach. I lost five places in the second half of the race so pretty sure it didn't work!
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fair play, I wasn't brave enough to take that approach but I'm also pretty sure it would have backfired if I did !
Yeah, its one of those that really has it all, I wish it was on a few times a year
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DD, a true XC savant!
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12.02.2024
A good week down, some good aerobic work, plenty of easy stuff as always and a controlled track sesh - maybe a little shy on the S+C due to time constraints maybe but happy enough that consistency on that front allows for the odd drop here and there
Monday
AM - Another steady type run on the cards, this time over to the Phoenix Park to take in a charity run a buddy of mine had arranged.
Parked up at the visitor centre nice and early and got going, wearing the Hyperion again (still loving them), giving that nice ground contact feel to things. Took in a smaller lap of the park ( not quite the full outside loop), counter clock-wise so plenty of ups and downs along the way.
As always, I kept the HR 5\6 beats away from mara effort for the first couple of miles but then allowed it to drift upwards on any uphill sections or into the wind, by the last couple of miles I was moving well but definitely working harder up the drags\ into the wind, stayed disciplined here and kept that marathon HR ceiling, ignoring the pace.
6.5 miles @ 6.56 average
Met Murph (+ special guest) and C to take part in the charity event thing as part of a warmdown jog - nice moment beforehand, gathering in a circle (100+ people), singing "lean on me".....all while Murph sang along to "flying without wings" it seems 🤣
4 easy miles to finish off the day
Tuesday
Lunchtime trot, 5.3 miles in crappy weather
PM - met M and young C for some very easy miles around one of the local routes, good chats along the way.
Just under 6 miles and just over 11 for the day
Wednesday
Down to Irishtown as per usual, good crowd again on the track with 1 or 2 new lads in our group which was great.
Session:
1K ( told to control it)
3x800
4 x 300 (told to open things up but stay in control)
Loved this session, I do enjoy the mixed paces on the lunchtime sessions at the moment - worked well on the 1k and 800s, very consistent. I never find this stuff easy, I never have but at the same time, I was leading our group out for most of the reps and enjoyed it.
The 300s turned into a bit of a foot race over the last one but I suppose that's part of the idea here, good craic with the gang
Nipped out in the evening again for some very easy miles
Just over 10 miles for the day
Thursday
Had to head to the office today which meant a concrete laden lunch run unfortunately, just over 6 miles in 55 mins
S+C then in the afternoon
Friday
Lunchtime trot around St Anne's - 45 mins\5.35 miles
PM - Met C for the now regular Miles n Strides on the coast.
46 mins\5.27 miles with some strides thrown in along the way
S+C later in the day
Saturday
Just over an hour with M around St Anne's\Raheny, good chats as always and coffee after
7.5 miles
Headed up to Dundalk with my youngest then after to make a weekend of the cross country up there.
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Haha. I was wondering why no one seemed to know the words. 😀
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12.02.2024
National Masters XC - Dundalk IT
And just like that, another club XC season comes to a close - a bit of a mixed bag for me really. Its been a wet winter and the heavy ground didn't suit my lack of strength going into the season, I was found wanting in both Snr races I took part in (not that I would be competitive there anyway but I was still off where I would usually be) but by the time the Dublin Inters rolled around, I was starting to find some good strength and general fitness. Having skipped the Dublin and Leinster masters with the iron issues, the BHAA event in the park was a really good effort that showed I'm headed in the right direction and Dundalk would provide another stern test on a pretty full training week.
The idea of running tough cross country races on a full week rarely fails to raise a few eyebrows in conversation... but for me, they are the perfect opportunity to represent the club, to raise the profile of sporting events that are often overlooked by the masses, be part of a team event that feels like a throwback to footballing days and to get some really good training in. At some point, I do need to put myself under a bit of pressure for one or two of these races though, target one and see where I land etc
I'd headed up to Dundalk with my daughter the previous day - really just to make a bit of a getaway out of the weekend, she's still young enough to "enjoy" hanging out with her aul lad but I sense those days are coming to a close, faster than I'd like !
This obviously meant that I had the luxury of a short enough drive to the venue and arrived there with plenty of time to spare, got registered, watched some of the kids races, got changed and still had way too much time to kill 🙄
Once the rest of the team started to arrive, I was happy to get a few miles in with whoever was ready to move, a couple of laps around the outside of the course indicated that the ground condition was decent, which was at odds with what I was seeing coming off the course at the end of races, kids covered in mud, the general consensus was that kids are idiots and the course was grand.
Watched most of the ladies race, some brilliant performances from clubmates of ours, really inspiring stuff and then I got the spikes on to get some strides\dynamics in. Noticed I was a little tired and stiff starting off in the spikes but the strides usually snap me out of it, the downside of not easing up for these things.
After a brief delay to allow the last finisher from the previous race - a bit of a hero really, an 80+ year old gentleman who was taking part in the combined M65\ladies race, we got going
The course would be 1 x small lap, followed by 3 x long laps, 7k in total.
100m in and it became clear, very clear, that kids are not all idiots! That sound of a few hundred people hitting slop and slowing down has become a bit too familiar this year, the collective groan and the odd muttering of "boll*x" is hilarious and terrifying at the same time. A couple of fallers directly in front of me set the tone for the day ahead.
Down past the start\finish area to the bottom of the course, sharp left through some more slop and then a sharp left up towards the feature hill for the day, nothing that the Avondale veterans wouldn't fancy, a short but a formidable hill nonetheless. All very packed here, I didn't like the sensation of being so bunched in but I did skip past a few people on the hill before tucking back in to avoid the strong wind. We continued on up the drag, through more mush, another faller beside me and lots of out of control breathing all around. Left at the top of the drag, along a section of raised ground then left back down towards the start\finish area.
The next 400m or so of the course was bad, soft, mushy ground that hadn't quite cut up fully yet, taking us along by the start\finish before swinging to the right, heading up a drag, through some more slop and then up a sharp\small hill and turning hard left onto a bit of raised ground where the conditions improved a bit. I was positioned in quite a large pack at this stage, happy to stay where I was for now, moving well, breathing under control etc - I knew after 500m of this course that it was going to be attritional, people would come back over the longer laps, that's what these kind of races do to you.
Turning left from the raised ground, we moved over the last 100m or so of half decent surface before taking a left onto the bottom of the course and more mush, this time it was pretty cut up so had that awful sticky sensation to it all. People were breaking up now, searching for the best route across, I know from experience that can be self defeating, sometimes the best route is to just put the head down and go straight through, cut out any needless extra distance etc. I became aware of where I sat in the club pack around about now, 5 of us running together, 2 lads ahead and myself and 2 others holding back a tad. Up ahead, the medal contenders from the club would be duking it out among the very best but for us, this was where our battle lay.
The 4 other lads are all strong runners, 3 of them very marathon focused ...for a moment or two, I did fear that this could be another day for the marathon lads and that myself and R would get left behind.
Turning left towards the main hill on the course, - I sensed that I could get a few places here and get myself a bit more room to run in, I'm not great at running in tight packs, something I have to get used to really. I got up the hill in good shape, but then got locked in behind a group again, the nasty patch of slop before the climb to the top of the course seperated things out and I ploughed straight through into a bit more open space. Coming down into the end of the 2nd lap, I had moved to the front of our mini club group, I could tell from the shouts on the sidelines that we had broken up quite a bit, it sounded like 2 of the lads had dropped off and the rest of us where hanging on with everything we had.
2 laps to go and the effort levels were right up there, each patch of slop took more and more energy out of the legs, I was really just focusing on the basics here, move the legs, pump the arms, try to hold form - low and behold, it seemed to work. Working in and out of the bends on the back of the course, I was starting to find some space and my tactic was really just to try to hang on during the rough patches\hills and to suck as much air into me as I could everywhere else !
Back to the bigger hill for the 2nd last time and I was in a bit of a battle with a Rathfarnham lad and a Sportsworld lad, they were getting huge shouts from the crowd here which they were taking energy from - I was happy to sit in behind until the hill itself then push on past....which was fine until we got over it ....it took a bit more out of me than expected. I noticed that the marshalls had widened the tape out a bit to the right up ahead, unveiling some actual grass to run on, right beside one of the tougher muddy parts. Happy days, the three of us didn't need to be asked twice and steamed right through.
Up the drag, sharp left and back down towards the start\finish area to start the last lap. I was working hard now, very hard - the surface was energy sapping but people were coming back in droves now.
Its funny how the conditions become more apparent when there are less people in front of you, there is more space to run in but there is definitely a feeling of isolation that can set in, particularly as the business end of the race is drawing to a close way before you are going to hit the finish line. I was chasing down the Sportsworld lad now, he was moving well on any good surface but coming back a little in the mud.
At the bottom of the course, I could hear one of our coaches shouting for a clubmate of mine, G - I hadn't seen him at all in the race, he's a quality runner, a level above me but still returning to training following a break. It seemed he was closing in on me so it would be the 2 of us and Sportsworld coming to the top of the last drag, through the mud.
G put a bit of a spurt in at the top and moved ahead of me heading towards the finishing straight, subconsciously I was content to let him go - I didn't think I had anything left at this stage, G and Sportsworld lad moved ahead into the sloppy finishing straight, 200m or so to go.
I focused on kicking and holding good form, just hang on to the back of the two lads and see what happens. I think we went around another few heads here and as we got to within 100m to go, the gap seemed to close just a tad, f*ck it, open up and see whats there, I kicked hard, fearing it was a bit too early but I moved closer again to G, moved past Sportsworld.....the finishing line was closing in but so was I, sustaining the kick through the heavy ground and just about edged ahead before the finishline, over the line....breath....breath
66th from 200 ( up from 100th or so last year)
Splits
6.37, 6.40, 6.52, 7.00 6.46 (.47 mile)
A very tough race but a very satisfying one, another good week down and the chance to represent the club in a national event, great stuff
Finished off the day with a couple of easy miles to close out 65 miles for the week (8+ hours)
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A great, detailed report. Well done. I think I am now more terrified than ever, especially as I have visions of shouting boll*x as I become one of those fallers at my very first XC race😲
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Good man D, Great report, it's always a great race. I once hear it referred to as "the working man's all Ireland"
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lol - the fallers were really down to heel clipping (I think) in a tightly packed crowd, stay away from the tightly bunched folk and you'll be grand
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Great name for it, the cocktail of accents around the starting area really add to the occasion - great event indeed
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