Confessions of a never has been.....
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I think it was in the context of the Novice was the young lads all Ireland, the senior was the professional all Ireland and the intermediate was the working man's all Ireland.
Post edited by Ceepo on1 -
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What a read, D, stayed in the game very well there. Can’t believe the stewards widened the course - must have been a mudbath all right. Very well done. 💪
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I was surprised myself, maybe they took pity on us aul lads.
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So what you're saying is, you ran a shortened course 🤣
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I've ran over distance enough times on p*xy XC courses, I'll take what I can 😅
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But did you run a shorter distance than some others on the day🤔🤣
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ha ha - doubtful, if anything, I ran longer trying to avoid the worst of the muck where they had widened the route mid race
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19.02.2024
Very little running last week, headed out for some very easy miles at lunchtime on Monday, very stiff and a little sore down the right glute, hamstring and down into the sole of the foot, not unusual given the heavy training load over the previous 3\4 weeks but definitely a sign that the body was being stretched to its limit. Rolled the ankle a little at one point which seemed like a nothing thing, one of those "few I got away with that one" moments.
After 30 mins light jogging, things had improved marginally - which is a flag for me, usually I'd be feeling a lot better after jogging very easy miles.
Right foot in particular was very tender.
As the day wore on, that tenderness turned to soreness and by the time the next day rolled around, I was hobbling around the place (frantically message @Ceepo to see if he had any magic cures). Got in with a physio on Wednesday who confirmed this was a case of Tib Post tendinitis, what he couldn't tell me was what grade it was because my instep was quite swollen and a little bruised looking.
There was a fair bit of head shaking, tutting, sighing and the odd look of "sorry pal but you're b*llixed" as he tried to put me through various tests (I failed them all, miserably).
Physio sent me off after massaging\dry needling and with stuff to do at home and a warning that if things didn't improve drastically in the next 7 days, I'd be looking at a boot and an extended break from running
Needless to say, that was a pretty depressing prospect but I'm an optimist at heart and a big believer in controlling what's in front of you so that what I'm doing.
24 hours after the physio visit, I started to feel significant relief in the foot, 48 hours after, the limping was definitely reducing and as of today, I'm walking with tightness as opposed to pain. Progress !
The timing isn't ideal but then it isn't a disaster either, I planned on a mini break post XC anyway before moving back towards the roads. I'd have liked a good run in to the Dunboyne 10k so that most likely will be interrupted but there are tonnes of races over the summer months.
Injuries are part and parcel of running unfortunately and while we can do as much as we can to keep them at bay, endurance events, by their very nature, test us to our limits. I'm relieved that things are looking FAR more positive than they were 4\5 days ago and will just focus on doing the homework and getting back to training
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Sorry to read this but sounds like you are in a far better place now than a few days ago which is great! I wish I had taken that way of thinking on years ago but at least it's how I'm trying to think the last while - control the controllable, everything else will happen regardless, worrying won't change a single thing if you have no control over it, great mindset for you right now!
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Sorry to hear this DD - no doubt you'll be a champion at recovery and get back soon.
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Sorry to hear D, hopefully you shake it off, you know what you're doing anyway to recover properly!
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Thanks for the good wishes folks - just back from the physio, some good progress
Last week was very much hobbling around while walking, failed every test miserably, this week, no hobbling, passed all of the tests fine and have moved onto the next level of rehab, calf raises with a band + with a ball between the heels. Mr Physio admitted that he was fully expecting to have to boot me up and send me off for a scan this week.
Pain levels in the arch are down from 8 or 9\10 to 1 or 2\10.....and its actually coming and going. So its a case of applying the new set of S+C until that pain disappears (which should be in the next few days) before applying some impact load over the course of 7 days
I'm itching to get back training but I also do not want to mess this up, another 7-10 days is nothing really, there'll be an impact to fitness of course but 3\4 weeks off means roughly 3 weeks to get back to where I was.
Time to get me bike out and get some fresh air on my face
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11.03.2024
...And breath....
Not much running to log just yet, although I have returned to doing some short runs to test the injury out a bit. Since my last entry, its been a case of progressing the rehab work, adding in some plyo stuff, getting some additional pointers from @Ceepo and really just staying disciplined.
Last physio visit was very positive, he was slightly surprised but very pleased with how quickly things were moving and was happy for me to start some running last week.
Tuesday - 15 mins walk\run tester.....some tightness and mild discomfort at the end of this one
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - 24 mins walk\run tester.....some tightness by the end but significantly better than Tuesday
Friday - 30 min run, another improvement on the previous day, stiffness to start off and was easing off by the end
Saturday - great to be back joining D and M for some easy miles in St Annes, even if it was just the 35 mins, I was actually a little anxious about this but felt good all the way really
Sunday - Forced myself to rest up and leave it at the rehab for the day
So, this week will be a case of ramping up the easy miles with maybe some strides and if they go well, something light towards the end of the week. I've missed a month or so of training (3.5 weeks no running) so this will indeed be a tester for the theory and those one liners that I throw around a lot like " ah you can't lose much fitness in a month"...." you're so consistent, you'll be flying again in 2 weeks" etc etc.....in theory I shouldn't really lose much aerobic fitness but I tend to lose conditioning pretty quickly - usually I'd go back to rebuilding the base fitness for 5\6 weeks but I don't think I need that, 2\3 weeks of work should do it...then work on turnover\speed endurance.
The risk now is pulling a hamstring or something as I ramp things up so I'll stay on the cautious side for another bit. Looking at racing in early April now as opposed to the end of March. I've probably missed the window I had lined up to target some good 10ks so will most likely reset things and work on 5ks for the next few months and into the summer.
Looking forward to it
Post edited by Duanington on5 -
Glad to be able to help out, if only in a very small way and it's great to see you back on your feet again.
You've a good head on your shoulders, you'll know when you're ready to race again. Let there be no panic
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14.03.2024
Slowly creeping up the volume but keeping it all very easy for now - foot is starting to feel significantly stronger but still tightens up after 30 mins or so.
Noticeable how that "threshold" is increasing as each day passes
Lots of S+C this week, on top of the rehab work
Monday - Just over 40 mins from the office, really appreciated being able to run today after a crazy morning in the office. Foot was definitely tightening by the end of this though and felt it a bit afterwards.
Tuesday - 30 mins easy at lunch, slightly less comfortable than the previous day so kept this shorter and planned a rest day the following day
Wednesday - off, except for some drills as I took a training group through their paces on the track
Thursday - Best the foot has felt since the injury, delighted with it. 45 mins nice and easy, slight tightening towards the end alright but fine after.
Post edited by Duanington on5 -
22.03.2024
More progress this week, possibly a little too much enthusiasm on my behalf to start focusing on fitness versus rehab\recovery. I do need to remind myself that its a long year ahead and any target races I had in mind in April\May are impacted in reality.
Friday 15th - 45 mins easy around St Anne's in the afternoon
Saturday 16th - Out later than usual for a Saturday (can't remember why!), another 45 mins around St Anne's
Sunday 17th, threw on the chest strap to run a bit of a steadier effort and cap it at marathon heart rate, windy out and a bumpy route but this was not pretty, even if it felt great to be moving at some kind of pace again - 5 miles @ 7.31 pace
Monday 18th, up and out nice and early with C and M for a lap of St Anne's, very very creaky starting out, to the point where I was worried for 5 mins or so but things loosened up nicely and the few miles flew by - 5 miles all easy
Tuesday 19th - 5.5 miles easy around St Anne's in the evening
Wednesday - off
Thursday - chanced some aerobic intervals today, 7 x 2 mins at what felt like just shy of threshold (forgot the chest strap), really enjoyable but I suspect too much too soon for the foot, there was a definite tightness after a few of these, I actually had 10 programmed into the watch but left it at 7 to be safe. Paces were shite but I'm not really focusing on that yet anyway.
Great to be back running but I need to be patient with this one, a midweek physio visit resulted in me getting the green light to start ramping things up again but to be very careful while doing so and to back off when needed.
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27.03.2024
Steady progression in terms of training load and recovery over the past few days. Nothing spectacular but then training should rarely be spectacular really, or at least should be sparingly so.
Started to map out the next 6 weeks or so, less focus on volume than normal for me when chasing a bit of fitness but a bit more quality in its place. I've months and years of miles to call upon so we'll put that theory to the test.
Session wise, it'll be a case of focusing on aerobic development for another 4\5 weeks, lots of threshold effort stuff, plenty of easy miles but also a weekly steady state\marathon effort run that pulls me back into the Lydiard obsession I can't seem to shake off (not that I need to).
Base reconstruction as opposed to base building maybe, we'll see
Anyway, on with the actual training;
Friday: off, no running - forced myself to chill out a bit
Saturday: Just shy of an hour easy with M around St Anne's, enjoyed this one even if I developed a bit of FOMO with Dunboyne coming up in the conversation again and again and again and again.
Sunday; Longest run for a while; 70 mins around Raheny\St Anne's. I really enjoyed this one. Could have gone on but kept it sensible
Monday: Funday Monday, another (up to) marathon effort run, this time 40 mins with 10 easy mins either side. Significantly better pace for the same HR as last week which is a little surprising but more importantly, I started to feel a good rhythm over the last 15 mins or so
Just shy of 8 miles total with the marathony stuff hovering around 7 min miles
Tuesday: easy 35 mins around Clontarf with M, celebrating his national medal from Dunboyne on Sunday - great stuff
Wednesday: First day back on the track today, last group session of the current block - which meant a "fun" session.
1 mile TT followed by a mixed relay (I got the 1200m leg)
Hadn't planned on running any of this beyond threshold effort but of course I got sucked in to a race - 6 min pace for the mile (which felt flat out, HR doesn't quite agree though) and 5.45 pace for the 1200.
Rusty and creaky - it'll be a few weeks before I run that fast again
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Ah, pity you couldn’t join the Dunboyne crew. You love an aul 10k. Can imagine that FOMO run alright! 😂
Nice work. And some track racing already. Will have to persuade you and a few others to include a Graded Meet or two in the ‘summer of 5k’. 😉
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The graded meet is a good shout actually, I've often thought of it and couldn't make them work, training wise. Now I've no excuse
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04.04.2024
Another solid few days work, still feeling a little sluggish and creaky in general, which is not unusual for me when returning from a layoff. I'm not sure if its the stepup in S+C activity or just the general lack of movement but as the days go on, there is definitely a gradual return to fluidity of movement.
Thursday:
Easy miles around St Anne's with a clubmate, kept it easy and short - a little feedback from the foot early on but nothing major.
Just shy of 40 mins all in
Friday:
Met up with C to try to reboot our once weekly miles n strides (n drills!), enjoyed this one, lots of chats and enjoyed the drills\strides
40 mins all in
Saturday
First "real" session back this morning, again it was on the safer side of threshold though;
6 x 4 mins @ 6.20\25, 4 x 20 sec hills to finish up
Found the groove pretty quickly on this one, used the seafront in Clontarf which always means a little breeze but it also means more space to move and a cleaner GPS signal (compared to the local park)
Really tried to stay controlled and focused on this and avoid going beyond that effort level. Felt a little bit blowy at times but overall this was a good one.
Legs tired by the end which emphasises the lack of recent specific conditioning
Splits were all 6.20-6.29
Hills were short and sharp with full recovery
Rushed the cooldown a little, thought I was late for coffee, turns out I was early
Good to be back
Sunday
This was a bit of a slog until the last few miles, one of those strange runs where the slower you run, the worse it feels.
Hamstrings and glutes in particular were tight as bejaysus
Picked it up a little towards the end and it felt a little more comfortable
10 miles in about 1.25
Monday
Weekly MHR run, I enjoy these, I always do - its a tempo run but its not a killer tempo run. Pushed the effort towards marathon HR a little sooner than last week, took in a bumpy route around St Anne's and was happy to see a little more bang for my buck compared to last week.
1 mile easy to warmup then hovered around 6.50\7.00 min pace for 45 mins ( always staying within HR range)
I'll keep these in the plan for at least another 6 weeks and maybe beyond, there's a lot to be said for keeping a pure aerobic run in place while the other stuff picks up pace.
Tuesday
Off
Wednesday
50+ mins around St Anne's, creaky at the start, moving well by the end
Thursday
Session day today, 15 x 1 min on\45 sec off
The target pace for the 1 min sections was around 6.10, again a very conservative threshold figure - I would normally operate on HR at this stage on training but for 1 min segments, its no use, just too short.
The aim of this run was really just to lock in a solid effort for 60 seconds at a time, ensuring good turnover and a decent effort aerobically while steering clear of anything too quick just yet
While the splits are showing a little all over the place, happy enough how this went - I find it very tough to pace short segments properly, the watch goes a little haywire in St Anne's and I generally go out too quick, slow it down to target pace and then end up having to pick it up again.
Splits varied from 6.09 right up to 6.28 but felt identical throughout so who knows really !
7+ miles for the lot today
Post edited by Duanington on3 -
08.04.2024
An odd week, signs of green shoots and then more obvious signs of the amount of work to do - which in itself is an opportunity of course!
The first "real week" of training in quite some time, even if the volume was down on where it would usually be. Monday and Thursday's sessions were followed up by easy days on Friday and Saturday and then a 10k race on Sunday.
In hindsight, maybe jumping into a 10k ( a very tough route too, on a windy day) so soon into the rebuild process wasn't the greatest idea but I'd had this pencilled in as part of a weekend away with my daughter for quite a while now so thought it could be a good chance to see just how much work I have to do to get into good shape.
The Dublin road 10k championships had been kind to me last year (and the club in general), coming off the back of a very good XC season, the tougher route probably suited me then and an M35 team + M40 individual medal was the end result for me. This year however, the winter months had been stop\start and then with the recent layoff, I had no such ambitions.
I knew I was struggling with fitness and a bit of confidence (maybe in the foot, maybe in the fitness?) but also knew that races bring me on like no sessions can, so jumped in, there is always the team aspect too, if I could help a team to a decent place then happy days.
A conservative start, really just testing the waters - the first half of the Garristown route is quite quick, lots of fast downhill sections, the flip side is you have to loop back and come back up those fast downhills, over the second half. I had no idea of what pace to run, no idea what was sustainable, I just knew I had to keep something for the second half and really reign things in over the first half - I could blow up, the foot could flair up again, etc etc….
A lace opened up 1k in, second one opened up by halfway…I didn't stop to tie them, I did think about it but there was always the risk that I'd mess up a team position by losing places.
I think I went through halfway in just under 20 mins, feeling solid enough but really unable to shift gears to be honest, there was a lack of energy, drive and the bravery to hurt.
I slowed on the way back up the hills but so did everyone else and I did start to catch some folks just ahead of me over the course of the last 2\3k…..I think I knew this was going to be a poor performance and was content to just squeeze the odd burst of real racing effort to get by somebody as opposed to really biting down and grinding something out of the event.
The wind was pretty atrocious at times around the course but I've run much better in similar conditions before so while it was a factor, it was the same for everyone.
In the end 40.42 or so for the 10k, not great but not the end of the world - glad to be back racing and it was nice to see some clubmates getting team\individual medals (we were 4th M35!). This is a tough course, it was a tough day so the time wouldn't concern me much given the lack of recent training - lots of work to do though and there aren't any shortcuts.
45 miles for the week.
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15.04.2024
First solid week training under the belt now in 7\8 weeks, nothing spectacular, nothing to get excited about but relieved to be back doing some good work and I'm actually enjoying the challenge of getting fitter again.
I often feel that things don't move too well for me for a couple of weeks when I get back training after a layoff but with some good S+C, smart training, that should change in a week or so.
Monday
Easy double today, not feeling too creaky on either run and enjoyed keeping the pace right down
Can't really run on the grass just yet (because its a swamp) so had to stick to the concrete for most of these.
46 mins + 46 mins, 92 for the day
Tuesday
Another doubler, out in St Anne's between breakfasts, kept the effort levels way down again
Got out then in the evening for some drills and strides with C, enjoyed these - the focus is generally on movement here, just challenging the body to move in different ways in a controlled manner. Strides are strides though, always straightforward
41 mins + 56 mins, 97 for the day
Wednesday
No group session today so went to the track solo for my sesh, which was;
2 x 5x400 into 4 x 200
Kept the 400s very controlled at around 5.55\6.00 pace - the temptation is always to run these harder on a track but I'm realistic about current fitness - for 400s, this probably just about dips into and stays at threshold for me, another 200 metres and it would be a very different story.
The 200s were good craic, just running controlled and hard, legs creaking a little on these - a sign of a lack of fluidity of movement at the minute.
Very good sesh
Thursday
Met JC from the club for an hour around St Anne's, good chats all the way, really enjoyed this one
Friday
More drills and strides, this time with D, more good chats all the way for this one. Great to see D coming into very good shape at the right time, he's a model of consistency really.
50+ mins running
Saturday
Had lined this up with Conor a while back, 3x8 mins at 6.15-25 into 6 x 30 second hills
We had the wind with us for the first rep, mixed bag for the second and then full on into the wind for the last 8 min section.
I backed off the pace a tad for the last section, maybe should have backed off a bit more really.
The hills were good craic, I was lacking a little in power though, which I felt over most of the 30 second reps.
Good sesh, great to have company for these ones.
Sunday
90 mins very easy, tipping around Raheny\Clontarf. Body creaking at the start but flowing well by the end
60+ miles and 8.5 hours training for the week
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22.04.2024
A busy week down, busy on the life\work front, not so busy on the training front but still managed to get some good quality into a packed week. The usual aerobic tempo, some strides, a good weekend session and a feel good 90 min run brought some sense of achievement to an otherwise distracted week
Monday - 10 mins easy running then into the harder stuff, into St Anne's for most of it, which isn't great for tracking pace but then this run isn't about pace, its about effort and HR.
Progressed to 157 bpm and held it there for 45 mins before jogging home nice and easy.
This run is becoming my favourite run of the week, controlled tempo running that doesn't threaten to blow a gasket. Nice to see the splits coming in at around 6.4x for some of this too.
9+ miles for the lot
Tuesday off - hadn't taken a day off in a couple of weeks, also had a day of travel ahead so a day off was just the job here
Wednesday - up bright and early for some jogging around London with some work colleagues, really enjoyed this one, Regent's Park in the early morning sun was a busy spot, nice vibe around the place
70 mins or so
Thursday - Loooong day yesterday so it was a bit of a struggle to get up in time for this one, but I was up and out early again. This time running the canal from King's Cross up to Camden and back, lots of early morning runmuters along the way. Just over 50 mins
Friday - Lots of people bounce around airports, jump of trains and hit their stride immediately, I am not one of those people. I find that travel drains me, I don't sleep well in hotels, long work days and running through city centre concrete jungles ALWAYS leaves me tired and stiff. By the time I got back to base, I was hanging but knew a few miles + strides would do the body\mind good….so thats what I did, and of course they worked a treat.
30 mins
Saturday
Up bright and early to meet Conor for the first of a set of 5k specific lactate clearance sessions that I've put together. Magnus inspired, the theory is that they'll teach the body to clear lactate at pace, something that I have struggled with in the past. Its a sharper tool than the usual approach that I take to summer racing (run lots of miles over the winter, get strong through XC, run some good track stuff and hang on) so I'm dreading the sessions but curious to see how they go.
I've modified the sessions slightly (following a bit more research into the whole thing) to allow for a more gradual introduction to the sessions but also to include some more aerobic stimulus while I still need it.
Anyway, session was:
6 mins @ 6.20
3 x (2.45 @ 5.30 pace, 60 sec jog, 34 sec @ 5.00 pace) - 3 min jog between sets
6 mins @ 6.20
The 6.20 pace stuff was pretty straightforward but I really found the 5.30 pace stuff tough going early in the morning, I was very grateful to have company for it throughout !
The shorter\faster section wasn't actually too bad comparatively, I suppose its over so quick.
But I was tired by the time we ran the last 6.20 paced section, again the pace felt fine but I was deffo tired by that stage
Glad to have this one done, fastest I've run in quite some time and the early morning makes it that bit trickier for me.
around 9.5 miles for the lot
Sunday
Out bright and early for a very easy 90 min jaunt around Clontarf\Raheny, really enjoyed this run for most of it, which is a good sign that some strength is returning to the body. Home in time to pop on the London tracker and get some second hand stress going
45 mils or so for the week, not great volume but some good quality in there
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It looks like a tough session there, be interesting to see how you get along with them. I am doing 5k specific training at the moment and I have to say I always find it tough both physically & mentally (probably why I prefer half & full marathon training ha) Do you have a specific 5k race you are targeting or will you do a few?
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Deffo felt tough, and I don't know about you but I just find early morning faster sessions, really, really tough.
The mental side of things is deffo an issue for me during sessions (had this pointed out to me during an LT test before….my perceived effort was higher than the actual effort).
I'm going to do a few, part of the plan\strategy is really to use a few 5k races to get better at them, I read recently that 5k racing is one of the best forms of 5k training ….and for me, that makes a lot of sense - ties in to how I've performed over 5k in the past etc
Race wise, hoping to do the Irish Runner 5k, Bohermeen, Docklands, Athboy ( if its on this year?) and will finish up with Rathfarnham
How about yourself? Got a target race in mind ?
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I used to run really early but not so much now, I think doing 5k speed work early would just kill me off! Totally get what you mean about the mental aspect, it's a huge problem for me too especially when I feel like the effort feels faster than it actually is, something I really have to dig deep with.
Fair play doing a few, I defo think they take practice, I did Leixlip last year came in at 20:03 (gutted & fooked) after it then ran Kilcock a few weeks later & got another sub 20 mins, 19:56 (ecstatic & fooked). I feel as I'm aging & probably getting lazy that maybe the 5k distance isn't for me any more🤣(I said this last year too, but yet here I am) I am targeting Bob Heffernan 5k in May but think I'd like to maybe have the option of another one or two, will have to decide! Also I officially joined Tallaght Athletics club & have my AI registration number so looking forward to trying new things & being part of a club & team!
I'll look forward to seeing your 5k sessions & then races😊
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Great news - well done on joining Tallaght, you won't regret it.
Yeah, the 5ks definitely take practice - I actually think you really need 2\3 before you really start to nail them.
I know there are plenty of people out there who don't seem to do a whole lot of specific work and just turn up to them, run them well and leave everyone else scratching their heads but I often wonder what they would run with a bit more specificity in their training or even just a couple of more races.
We're spoiled for choice, race-wise, over the summer anyway - no shortage of options
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