Target Practice

yaboya1

Dubgal72 wrote: »

No pressure?! If i'm going down, you're coming too *osospeedy* ?!

Just imagine there's a bousy chasing you.
Easy!

Dubgal72

Race report Jingle Bells 5k 2014

Such a good atmosphere on boards yesterday as positive race reports started to come in from the Park and Waterford. Such a contrast to post-DM reports a few weeks ago...congratulations everyone!

Previous PB: 21:38
New PB 20:33

I went into this with the vague hope of dipping under 21 minutes. An ongoing niggly hip meant I hadn't had a solid block of training for a couple of weeks but on the other hand, I knew the training for the marathon was still in the bank. Preparation on Friday was relaxed to say the least and involved two helpings of salty stew and half a bottle of red that night. I got as far as working out loose kilometre splits which were made redundant as I forgot to grab my dad's stopwatch getting out of the car...

Warm up consisted of a good 24 min very easy jog followed by strides and phase one of drills (simple kick backs). Clearlier has linked to a series of drills which I am gradually going to incorporate into my training and racing warm up routine.

A few of us commented on (ok grumbled at) some runners sheer bloody incompetence at lining up in the correct area. Lady with a rucksack on your back....you are NOT going to break 20 minutes for 5k. Marching man....however fast you march you are not going to march 5k in 16 minutes...
I had intended to start a little back from the sub 20 group but probably ended up at it cos no way was I starting behind these optimists.

Jingle Bells started us off (and yes it was in my head still at 3k, lovely rhythm to run to :-).

The first 500m did not feel good, my legs felt like jelly, no rhythm and I panicked a little as I had no idea whether this was due to going too fast or too slow. I copped myself on and reminded myself that I felt like this at the start of the FD 10 mile and told myself to relax. Which I did, checked my breathing - not too laboured - and gradually found my stride.

Each kilometre found me pushing a little more, something I was pleased to be able to do. Of course each kilometre was hurting a little more but I felt strong with no hip niggles (ok, confession: I popped a couple of nurofen at 9am). The wind along Chesterfield Ave was not particularly bothersome and for the first time this year, I was successfully playing the 'reel em in' game.

As we turned down the Glen Road, I muttered to a girl on my shoulder that we should catch the group ahead of us, which we attempted to do. It took longer than expected but between us reeling them in and their group fragmenting, we did it. She broke clear and eventually finished 10-15m ahead of me, fair play.

As we descended the Glen, I was digging in and telling myself that this downhill was my REWARD for the FD 10 and HM finishes UP this hill in August and September. And yes, I relished it, despite the pain.

Finally, the turn off for the finish came into sight. Since I started to race in August, any finish has been miserable maintenance but today, while not a full on sprint, I was able to raise the pace and do a final reel in, yay. I also felt today that I was beginning to get some 'bite' back in racing, looking back at the last few races, I have maybe been a bit namby pamby when the race starts to hurt.

It wasn't till the finishing strait that I knew I was under 21 minutes as I heard a time called for a finisher ahead. Wasn't sure by how much until I got my text from champion chip...chip time 20:33.

Happy out, satisfied that I had run to the max on the day. Blissed out afterwards with the sensation of my legs feeling relatively normal compared to the recovery after 10 mile, HM and marathon.

Great to meet some fellow boardsies in Ryan's afterwards and putting faces to usernames (had to re calibrate after a while, I had assumed yabousy ;-) was pconn...)

New target:
Sub 20 within next two 5k outings....and 19 by the end of 2015.

Runchick

Well done, enjoyed the report!

career move

Dubgal72 wrote: »

New target:
Sub 20 within next two 5k outings....and 19 by the end of 2015.

No bother to ya. Nice to meet you yesterday

Dubgal72

career move wrote: »

No bother to ya. Nice to meet you yesterday

Haha just re-reading it there, sounds like fighting talk doesn't it?! But thanks for the vote of confidence :-) Lovely meeting you too!

AuldManKing

Well done, loved the report. Nice PB!!

Here's to sub20:)

Bungy Girl

Well done, super time. You are where I want to be so I'll be reading this and trying to pick up some tips!

SamforMayo

Super Race! Looking forward to seeing that time falling soon!

Dubgal72

AuldManKing wrote: »

Well done, loved the report. Nice PB!!

Here's to sub20:)

Thanks AMK, nice running yourself Saturday, congrats :-)

Runchick wrote: »

Well done, enjoyed the report!

Thank you and best of luck to you on your return to running!

Dubgal72

SamforMayo wrote: »

Super Race! Looking forward to seeing that time falling soon!

Great when a plan comes together isn't it?! Thanks :-)

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Well done, super time. You are where I want to be so I'll be reading this and trying to pick up some tips!

Thanks, we may well be picking each others' brains!

annapr

Well done on Saturday, Dubgal! only discovering your log now but will definitely keep an eye on it, enjoyed your report and looking forward to seeing you smash that 20 min barrier! sorry I didn't get to meet you on Sat, maybe next time!

Dubgal72

annapr wrote: »

Well done on Saturday, Dubgal! only discovering your log now but will definitely keep an eye on it, enjoyed your report and looking forward to seeing you smash that 20 min barrier! sorry I didn't get to meet you on Sat, maybe next time!

Thanks annapr and congrats to you too, fantastic chunk off! About time you started a log too?

Dubgal72

Sunday 7 Dec

Rest (and release of alcohol toxins from the body)

Total for week: 22 miles (want to get back to 30/35 miles p/w this month)

Monday 8 Dec

9am icy wind brr! No breakfast or water, took small isotonic drink with me.

10k started off easy/relaxed, entered cruise pace quite early. Felt really strong and realised that the wind in my back may have been was helping me along. Who cares, I ran with it (literally) and only had a headwind the last few kms so result!

Tuesday 9 Dec

7.30 am (yes I am getting brave) not as cold as yesterday but dark.... No breakfast, just water.

8k: like yesterday, entered cruise pace early and felt strong. I decided to go with it so the mid section probably was in the upper range of steady pace. Ideally this run today should have been longer and included fartlek but it was this or nothing as on my tod with the kids until late tonight. So really I should do a core session this evening.....

Plan for the rest of the week is longish run tomorrow at an easy pace, club session Thursday, recovery run Friday with possibly a few strides to try out new spikes for......

Cross country race this Sunday: no expectations, i'll get out and suck it up. Just had a flashback from my Zola Budd days when I ran XC barefoot in the Phoenix Park...yup I have definitely got soft in my later years.

Dubgal72

Wednesday 10 December

5.45pm 10 miles easy-steady

This was meant to be a lsr but parts were run at a steady pace for a few reasons: one was my mind wandered and I found myself picking up the pace unintentionally, a second was that in parts the rain and wind were so fecking vicious I just wanted to get home and dry. The land side of my face got a right icy slapping running along the seafront. As soon as I decided to put up with the misery of it, my face numbed up nicely. Magic :-)
I was tempted at one stage to cut the second, inner loop short but didn't and was happy when I measured the run on mapmyrun to the entrance of my estate at 15.99km.

Thursday 11 December

Club session: hills, 6 miles total

Warm up (incl jogging the long way to the club) 2.5 miles
3 shortish hills (70m?) easy pace to open the legs up
3*120m hills, continuous jog to start recovery
3*200m hills, continuous jog to start recovery
1*250m hill This hill killed me. This, and the previous three levelled out which throws the stride and makes it difficult to maintain momentum. I was chasing a guy which helped, managed to stay off his shoulder til the last one when I started to feel dizzy the last 30 or 40m.
Steady 400m relay to finish off (the coach's 'sting in the tail'). I didn't go all out on this but had recovered from the weirdness on the last hill rep.
Warm down, v easy.
Good session. Wine and bath now

Dubgal72

Friday 12 December

Not sure if I've attached this properly but I'd like to introduce the newest members of my running family: Brooks and Mach

This morning, they had a brief introduction to the park where they'll be beaten and soaked within an inch of their laces this weekend...not to mention frozen too if the weather is anything to go by for Sunday...

Today's run was a recovery run: 3.5km to Amphibian King to buy said spikes, 1.5k to park where they got a 1500m soaking, 1.2k home...let's call it a round 5 miles (yes, I know I rounded up).

32 miles so far for the week, rest tomorrow and XC total on Sunday should make a projected total for the week nearly 40 miles so back on the mileage track

Ososlo

Nice shoes! I'm jealous! Although I'm not quite sure what use I'd have for a pair of spikes! I might get some anyways:D

Best of luck Sunday! What's the distance? Is it a BHAA one?

Dubgal72

Ososlo wrote: »

Nice shoes! I'm jealous! Although I'm not quite sure what use I'd have for a pair of spikes! I might get some anyways:D

Best of luck Sunday! What's the distance? Is it a BHAA one?

Thanks they're actually a very vibrant purple and pink, shades-worthy. It's the Wicklow senior XC so I'm punching out of my weight/category it'll be a small enough field so my pride will be taking a beating I think. Ah well, it means I can only work my way up the field next time, right?! My club mates have been recounting their experiences this year and have given me vivid flashbacks of the carnage that is XC....

Bungy Girl

Best of luck! No doubt you will smash it

Dubgal72

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Best of luck! No doubt you will smash it

Thanks BG but the thought of 5k XC is making me think I'll be the smashed one

annapr

Good luck tomorrow. A shame to ruin those lovely shoes . I look forward to hearing how they survive!

laura_ac3

Good luck DG!

Dubgal72

annapr wrote: »

Good luck tomorrow. A shame to ruin those lovely shoes . I look forward to hearing how they survive!

Thank you and yes, I agree they are way too good for XC...I will scrub them after their first outing and after that....oh wait, their first outing was yesterday.

laura_ac3 wrote: »

Good luck DG!

Thanks, appreciated

Netwerk Errer

Best of luck tomorrow!:) it's tough but nothing compares to the buzz of running XC.

hillsiderunner

Good luck. Perfect weather for cross-country:). You can keep Fionnuala Britton in your thoughts if you're struggling with a tough bit!

Murph_D

Just catching up on your JB - great report and great racing. Well run, madam.

Dubgal72

Netwerk Errer wrote: »

Best of luck tomorrow!:) it's tough but nothing compares to the buzz of running XC.

Thanks between the brr and the buzz I'll get there

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Good luck. Perfect weather for cross-country:). You can keep Fionnuala Britton in your thoughts if you're struggling with a tough bit!

Hehe *when* not if but I'll be thinking of how great it is she's in. Bulgaria for sure!

Murph_D wrote: »

Just catching up on your JB - great report and great racing. Well run, madam.

Thanks Murph, yeah I'm pleased with it, looking forward to racing a bit harder now. Just got to build a base to back it up

Dubgal72

Nice little run out today, very pleased to report that I came

race

Race report to follow after I demolish a glass or two of Prosecco and dress a naked Christmas tree

Bungy Girl

Looking forward to reading the report Dubgal! I came home after the BHAA race to find ours already dressed by Bungy Junior using every decoration in the house - it's tat-tastic! Finish off the prosecco before you do yours and it'll look just as good

Dubgal72

Running Race Report Wicklow Senior Ladies Cross Country 2014

I went into this with a mixture of dread, fear and...let's be honest, not much else. My club mates had been telling anecdotes of their XC experiences this year; of the mad sprint start, the hills, the drudge, the elbows...in short, the essential ingredients of cross country.

The club coach had predicted a small enough field, 40-50. The good news was that Ms Britton would be otherwise occupied in Bulgaria. Just before going to press (:D) I heard that she came in 6th, and the ladies team probably 3rd so the plane fare over dart fare dilemma was well and truly vindicated for her.
I had hoped simply not to disgrace myself, it was all the big unknown not having sniffed a whiff of cross country mud in 23 years. So, I would have been happy with being in the first 20 (bronze), first 15 (silver) and first 10 (shiny dazzling gold).

My preparation this week was relaxed enough. I didn't specifically taper but also didn't bust a gut (except for Thursday's session when I nearly burst a blood vessel or three), despite weekly mileage reaching a post-marathon high of nearly 40 miles. Dinner was salmon, mash and corn on the cob followed by two (house measure) glasses of red (here, I was clearly cherry picking from what worked pre-JB last week). I wore my new gorgeous spikes around the house yesterday evening and was like a 5 year old with new pretty shoes, they felt so light and glove like ... "I could have danced danced daaaaaanced all night". Good thing, the dancing was not all night and my head hit the pillow probably before 11.

The warm up started just an hour before start time to allow for breaks for registration, club mate chat etc. I was happy enough with the amount of jogging done (4-5k) followed by drills, 4*50m strides and limber-up hip circles, arm swings etc and a few high knee skips and butt kicks thrown in for good measure while waiting to start.

We had a bit of an inauspicious start when half of us realised we were facing the wrong way as the starter walked across the field. About turn and gun off for the dreaded sprint-and-elbow-scramble. It was actually a civilised, conservative start which found me relaxed and comfortable in the first three (wtf?). For a few hundred metres I did my usual settling down, finding my stride and wondering if it was going to be a slow but tactical race. Checked my breathing after 500m...quieter than the two in our group but heavy enough to indicate the pace wasn't that slow after all.

The 5k course consisted of a 1000m half loop to the finish point and then 2*2k loops. After we passed the finish, with two laps to go, I was holding position with a Parnell athlete (also my category, o/40) on my shoulder. Can't remember when she dropped back but another took her place (senior cat) and the lead. Half way round the loop was a tricky little slope parallel to the cliff and a sneaky headwind. I was feeling strong and pushed a little up here...feck it, if it hurts me I thought, it's going to hurt them too. We dropped 'my category' and ploughed on.

I knew I was going to be pleased with this race, no matter the outcome. There was plenty of support around the course but I (rudely?) didn't acknowledge any one and kept my tunnel vision focus...until on the first slope I heard a little voice call 'maaam, maaam'. I didn't say hello so as I went past my I heard my 4yo's voice call indignantly 'MAM!' which made the lady beside me laugh when I called out 'mwah' and stuck my hand out in a vague resemblance of a wave. As they cut across the course, this was repeated several more times...

Coming up to the end of the first full lap (approaching the 3k mark) something the runner ahead of me asked her coach made me realise she was hurting. I had planned to kick about here on the last lap, with about 150/200m to go, if we were still together. Instead I did something that would hurt her more...and me too. I broke with 2k/1 lap to go and went meaning business. And I paid for it. I pushed up the slope again ('my pain is their pain' was probably my mantra today), easing off near the top when I knew the damage was done. 1000m to go and I was sore, lactic acid filling, form dropping, shoulders raised so I dropped the shoulders, breathed deeply and clipped my stride. Ouch still hurt.

Finally I turned into the finishing strait (400m to go), legs dead, arms dead, not sure of who or how far was behind me. I hadn't looked over my shoulder once so far. I think I risked a half turn of the head shortly after this but didn't see anything. With 150m to go I sacrificed all semblance of form for a finishing kick (self-defeating I know) and came in (still in shock) Wicklow Ladies Senior Cross Country champion....

As I reflect on this over the next days and weeks, I hope it sinks in and that I accept is for what it is. Already I am qualifying it with 'ah it was a really small field', 'ah, Fionnuala B wasn't here' 'ah, my clubmate would have thrashed me if she hadn't been injured' 'ah what if that Greystones woman hadn't been injured'... Another part of me is saying, you were here and they weren't. I hope that is the part that wins my inner battle.

Our club won the men's too and both teams medaled in the team category so winning all round! Well done guys, we rock

Oh and post script....my legs are sore. Like I ran a 10 mile race. Damn.

Pps. Brooks and Machs are getting a promotion

career move

Whoop whoop. Feckin brilliant race and a really good report to match. Congrats:D