Nobody to blame but myself

Things had being going well, and as always something had to give. After an easy 65 minutes on Wednesday I was looking forward to testing myself on thursdays tempo run. Because of this I was perhaps a bit over exuberant over the first few miles. I was fairly tired during the last 3 miles but still managed to get under my target pace of 5.45. It was also a timely reminder of the need to pace myself so better happen in a tempo than with 15 laps to go in a track race! Did another easy 65minutes on friday before taking saturday off in preparation for the opening track race of the season Sunday - Leevale open Sports
Wednesday: 9miles @ 7.20 HR140
Thur: Warmup: 1.6 Tempo: 6 mile @5.44 HR 177(5.39/5.39/5.49/5.46/5.45/5.47) Cooldown:3miles
Fri: 9miles @ 7.22 HR 139
Total for week:55 miles

Driving out in the car on Sunday I was thinking to myself that there was absolutely no reason why I should n't be able to run 9.15 for the 3K race I had entered and I was pretty much right, I clocked it at 9.15 on the button while my official time said 9.16. Felt I ran pretty well. Due to the high number of entrants they split the race in two & I found myself in the 'loaded' heat. This was a good thing as I knew I'd be dragged along rather than having to set the pace. When the gun went the race went off very quickly & I found myself towards the back of the field after the first lap despite clocking 73 secs. Stayed in this position for another lap before gradually working my way through the field. Felt totally in control. I was going as hard as I could but was able to focus totally on what I was doing. Could see a guy I knew about 50metres in front of me with maybe 4 laps to go & just knew I would catch him. Got on his shoulder with about a lap and a half to go & was able to sprint away in the final 200m. Felt spent but not shattered at finished & looking at the Garmin I had negative splited for probably the first time in my life! Still only managed 12th place mind.
So onto my current crisis - it's 3 days untill the intervarsities 10k and my throat is killing me. And I know exactly why. Our race was delayed on Sunday so I warmed up and stayed in the same t-shirt for the hour or so we had to wait untill we were called to the start. This might be ok in July, but despite the nice weather it was a really stupid thing to do at the moment. Am spraying my throat with Difflam, so hopefully will be ok come friday. Did n't get out yesterday and don't think I'll get out today. Hopefully get to do something tomorrow though
Sun: Warmup: 3 Race: 3K 12th in 9.15 Warmdown: 5miles
Leevale Mens 3K heat 1

The Countdown is on

After having to rush away on Sunday, my warmdown basically consisting of running back to the car and no stretching, I was fairly stiff on Monday & an opportunity did n't present itself to get a recovery run in. Managed to get a session in yesterday and although my hamstrings were fairly tight during warmup it went well especially as I was doing them on my own. Conditions were perfect, even the slight breeze actually helped keep me cool. Managed 13x400 in 70-71secs and wasn't as knackered as last week but before getting too excited I checked my recovery times and they were averaging about 85secs compared with about 78secs last week. Did about 40mins cooldown to make up for missing monday so am pretty wrecked today. Will go for a dip now at the beach and a light run later. Tomorrows Tempo run is the last long workout before the intervarsities so I really hope it goes well!
Mon: Rest
Tues: Warmup:3.5miles 13x400 in 70-71sec with 85ish recovery Cooldown: 5miles

3rd is the new 8th (Hopefully)

What a week!! I love it when a plan comes together.
After saturdays recovery run I was buzzing Sunday. The sunshine certainly helped and I headed off on my longrun with Spring definitely in my step! Did a thoroughly enjoyable 90minutes and although my HR was high, felt grand. Followed this with an easyish run monday and back to the track on tuesday where I managed 12x400's in around 71-72. The last two were really tough and I can't ever remember being so shagged after the track!
Wednesday brought another easy run, as the college had organised a mile race for thursday evening. The race went ok. I went straight into second place from the start and tucked in behind the leader. We went through the 1st lap and a bit in 70seconds which was perfect. We then went through at 2.21 for the second and I was starting to suffer. At this point another lad came around me and the two of them started to get away. Didn't get my split next time around as I was too busy being in oxygen debt!! The two lads really raced the last lap so I just kept my head down and see what would happen. Crossed the line in 4.48 which is not too bad considering the session tuesday.
We headed to Lahinch on friday for a 'training' weekend with the college. As I was racing Sunday I was planning on some R+R. The weather was glorious so after an impromptu kickabout (amazingly noone got injured!) we headed to the beach for a very leisurely 5 miles, and followed this with a nice dip in the Atlantic Ocean. That night we went for one or two, but typical students ended up in a lock in at the local untill God only knows what time - not exactly ideal preparation of a 10K about 30hours later!!!
Took Saturday off understandably and was still a bit shook Sunday morning, although I did manage a good nights sleep. Felt a bit lethargic warming up but planned on going out easy so as not to die later on. My plan was to break 35minutes and hopefully then knock a minute off this on the track in two weeks time. As always as soon as the gun went the plan went out the window!! Found myself in a group of  4 chasing the leader. One of the guys in the group is the lad who I've been doing sessions so even though I know he's quicker I said I'd try and hang onto him as long as I could. After going through the first mile in 5.08 we dropped one of the lads so I thought brilliant, if I can hang on I'll get fourth. As the road started to rise my training buddy got a bit of a gap so there was two of us chasing in 3rd and 4th. As the course headed for its highest point my fellow chaser began to fade so I found myself on my own in 3rd. The course then went over a bridge and back in a long 3 mile straight all the way to the finish. I could see my mate ahead of me so I just concentrated on not letting him get too far away. I knew I wouldn't catch him but I was tiring and needed something to focus on so noone would catch me. On the way I broke my 5mile PB which was great! I had visions of being passed by 3 or 4 in the last mile and I would have been disgusted! With about half a mile to go I was seriously suffering, a friend who was spectating told me I was safe. This made it easier but I didn't slow down as I knew I was on for a good time. As the Clock came into view I sprinted as hard as I could and barely missed going sub 34 with an official time 34.03. Absolutely delighted, my best performance ever and second only to last years munster cross country in terms of satisfaction. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come...Splits were (5.08/5.32/5.34/5.37/5.31/5.33/1.05)
Sunday: 13miles @ 6.48 HR154
Mon:9miles @7.12 HR146
Tues: Warmup:1.3 +12x400 @ 71-73sec with 200recovery cooldown:5miles
Wed:6.4 @7.08
Thursday Warmup:4.75miles Race 1mile:3rd in 4.48 + 3x800's in 2.40/2.35/2.32 Cooldown:1.5
Friday:5.23miles @ 8.23 HR 132
Total for week: 55miles
Sunday: warmup:1.86miles 10K race: 3rd in 34.03 Cooldown:1mile

Upping the tempo

Wednesday & thursday consisted of two easy runs of 75mins and 60mins. Friday I finally got another Tempo run done. The sun was shining, the wind had died down and I was rearing to go! A friend of mine was to join me at the 3mile mark for his first ever tempo run so I was a little nervous as I find them much easier to do alone. Felt very relaxed for the first couple of miles, and even when things started to get tough around 3 miles it was still not too bad. My friend joining me did n't affect me at all but then again he was the one doing the in and out whenever a car came towards which at speed must have been a bit distracting. He left me again after two miles and I could hear his breathing was pretty laboured. Tempo's definitely take a bit of getting used to - which makes them so good I guess!
Splits were fairly even 5.55/5.56/5.52/5.49/5.57/5.50: pretty much the same pace as Ballycotton so happy enough for a 6 miler. After the Intervarsities will cut it back to 5 and hopefully can increase the pace considerably. HR was quite high but I'm putting this down to the heat and lack of sleep the previous night.
Was pretty tired today so just did 45minutes very easy on grass. Still a bit sore now, if I had the motivation I'd have an ice bath but I don't :)
Wed: 10miles @ 7.17 HR151
Thur: 8miles @7.29 HR154
Fri: Warmup:1.6 Tempo 6miles @ 5.54 HR177 Warmdown:3.4
Sat: 6miles @7.48 HR150
Total for week: 55miles

Setbacks

Managed to get a good session in last wednesday. The extra day recovery after BallyC was definitely a good idea. Did 10x71/72sec 400's and felt strong throughout. For the first time after my break I felt like the fitness was coming back. No doubt the race on Sunday helped in this regard as well.
Unfortunately however I didn't manage to run again untill Sunday as I picked up some bug which prevented me from eating or sleeping. The 4 miles I ran on Sunday felt like the last 4 of a marathon so was glad to just get it over with. Was pretty much back to normal on Monday thankfully so did an hour, and managed another session yesterday so back on track. It was as windy as I can ever remember running in so instead of distance we just did 72secs on followed by 72secs recovery which made for a nice change from laps of the track. Will hope to do a tempo friday especially seeing as I missed doing one last week. Time is passing fast! Next Race will be UCC 10K on Sunday week & I want a PB!!

Last week: 38miles
This week: Sunday 4miles@ 8/mile HR144
Mon: 8miles@ 7/mile HR147
Tue: 10x72sec with 72sec Recovery

Ballycotton 10

Ok, so I took yet another sabbatical from blogging, but to be honest I didn't have a whole pile to blog about. In my last post I mentioned that I would decide my plan of action after the 3K race in Midleton. Well my time of 10.03 which was 30sec's slower than my last effort left my with one option: Skip the warm-down get a burger and chips and wash it down with a few beers and take that well needed break!
A day or two later I thought better of it and decided that with the indoors & intermediate xc around the corner I should struggle on, I got two sessions of physio on the achilles and tried to resume training. But my final decision was made at the track, I warmed up and planned on doing a few 400's when I bumped into a wise and more experienced friend who told me I was crazy. These were the words I needed to here so I hopped into the car and took the best part of a month off.
I resumed training about 3 weeks ago very slowly with 35 miles for the week. I managed a session of 6x75sec 400's, which were horrible! A 4mile tempo run later in the week at 6.10 pace also let me know that I was definitely not going to bounce right back which was to be expected!
Things improved slightly the following week as I managed around 45miles (more that I had planned) and 8x74sec and more encouragingly a 5mile Tempo @ 5.58. I also raced in a colleges XC race and although I was well down the field (68th) my time of 28.18 for a 4.94mile course (5.44pace) was a great confidence boost 8days before Ballycotton. So onto last week which went ok, managed 10x74sec 400's on tues and planned a tempo for thursday on the Ballycotton course. I struggled from the off though and when I got a stomach cramp after 3 miles I decided to call it a day. I guess the cramp was a blessing in disguise however as I needed more rest after a tough race and session. Took it easy for the rest of the week and only clocked up 40 miles for the week. Went for a dip in the sea on Saturday after doing some drills on the beach. Was really psyched up for Sunday especially after missing last year and now considering myself a 'local' (albeit a blowin:-)) Plus I knew breaking the hour and more importantly earning a top 100 t-shirt would be touch and go which added to the excitement!
The big day arrived with glorious Sunshine and the strong breeze that had been there for the last few days had even died down a bit. After getting down to the village and warming up I made my way to the start line with about 40minutes to go. Decided to hang back a bit further than usual as my plan was to go out handy enough so as not to burn up with 4 miles to go. The first mile is fast so it's easy get through it quickly with expending too much energy. When the gun went and the race settled down I spotted two of my club mates together so I manuevered close to them as I knew they'd both be aiming for the hour. After clocking 5.41 for the first mile I thought perfect as I felt really comfortable. Going down the only sharp hill on the course around a bend I let gravity take over and I pulled away from the group I was in. The momentum I built up carried me to the next group and ahead of me I could see a group forming with guys that if fully fit I would have liked to have been with. I passed another clubmate and said to him that we should try and get accross but he appeared to be struggling. Through mile 2 in another 5.41 and although my effort had increased slightly I didn't feel under any pressure. The group ahead started to pull away which was better off as I was going at my own pace rather than racing the people around me. I was passing people all the time though especially in places where I knew an extra burst would yield rewards from doing countless tempos on these roads. Miles 3,4 & 5 were done in 5.50/5.45/5.56 which was perfect and banked a little time for the difficult last section. I passed the clock at 5miles in just over 29 minutes which made the hour defintitely achievable. After turning the corner at Ballymaloe the wind picked up and as luck would have it I was alone. I knew it was too early to dig deep so I purposefully only maintained my effort which resulted in my pace dropping. Soon however I was around another corner onto the fastest part of the course. During my tempos this is usually where I increase the pace, but I knew today maintaining it would be plenty. The leading ladies passed me at this point in a group of 4 or 5 so I stayed with them for a while before fading back a bit. Was definitely tiring now and miles 6,7 & 8 were passed in 5.56/6.01/5.55. Again nothing wrong with that. With two miles to go the lack of training finally caught up with me and despite getting up the hill on the bend ok - started going into oxygen debt shortly afterwards. My HR was over 190 which is pretty much my max! Was passed by one or two but just focused on keeping the legs turning over and not slowing right down. I thought I heard someone shout 55th and thought to myself no way but subconciously started to ease off ever so slightly knowing that the hour and t-shirt were safe. The finish really is torturous especially with the tour de france style 1Km,800m,400m's to go signs. Managed to put in a little sprint to take a guy in the last 100m's who looked to be dead on his feet. Over the line in 59.22 (last 2 miles in 6.12 and 6.03)with a tshirt around my neck which was very satisfying to say the least. Ended up with 54th place was a nice bonus but was very surprising. Was really expecting the standard to be higher this year as the times in general have been getting better. I knew a few guys that were n't running and would normally be well up there but I thought the law of averages would mean that they would have been replaced by guys who missed other years...
Had a few beers that night which was nice, just did 5 miles yesterday to stop the body stiffening up. Will do another easy run this evening and hopefully a session tomorrow night. My main target now is to be back in shape for intervarsities 10k on the 23rd of April so time to start knuckling down!

Where are my legs???

Had a busy weekend of racing and unfortunately things seemed to go from bad to worse. Had thursday off work so decided to go to Ballyannon wood as I hadn't been there in ages & with the current dry spell I knew it would be quite nice. In hindsight it was a stupid move, with the sharp inclines and downhills reeking havoc on my achilles which had been slowly but surely improving. In fairness I took it very easy as I felt jaded but it was still a bit sore after.
Friday brought with it a cross country race in the shape of CIT v UCC on the CIT pitches. I decided from the start that I would n't be taking it too seriously as I had the more important matter of Dungarvan 10miler to look forward to on Sunday. Sure enough when the gun went one of the UCC lads who had represented Ireland the previous weekend took off I thought good luck to him rather than trying to hang in for a while. I settled into the chasing bunch & felt grand for the first 2 of 4 laps. On the 3rd lap I decided to try and stretch things out a little but I just couldn't find another gear. With about 1.5laps to go two lads overtook me & I just couldn't go with them. I spent the rest of the race resigned to my fate & ended up looking behind me rather than in front but managed to hold on for 4th. My pace was 5.56 over the 4.25mile course and considering I did a 5mile tempo run in similar conditions at Christmas at 5.50pace it left me wondering what was happening. My HR never got up to pace but my legs just felt like lead.Splits were 5.38,5.54,5.56,6.09 & 6.25pace for the last quarter - they pretty much speak for themselves!
Just did 2miles easy on Saturday hoping the rest would do me good and headed down to Dungarvan confident of running at least 57.30 seeing as I had managed 58.01 last year in very windy conditions. My plan was simple - 5.40miling for as long as I could and just hang on for the last bit. As per usual as soon as the gun went the plan went out the window with the first mile covered in 5.25. It was shortly after this that the wheels came off. I found breathing difficult and I wondered had I overtightened the chest strap on my HRM as it had become loose on friday. I struggled on but groups started to pass me and spit me out at an alarming rate. One of my regular rivals past me just before the 3mile mark & sort gave me a look to go with him but after trying for a few hundred metres I knew it was pointless. At this point I was running 6 minute miles plus and decided there and then that I was taking a break for a few weeks as soon as the race was over!! Around the first water stop another group went past me containing the leading lady who had a cyclist outrider. Vanity seemed to take hold as I managed to pick up the pace perhaps not wanting to be beaten by a girl. With the increased pace I actually started feeling a bit better and just concentrated on the bike and not on anything else. This seemed to work and suddenly I was leading the group totally focused on keeping pace with the bike and managed to bang out a few 5.50's which although was slower than my target pace was a lot better than what I had been doing only a few miles earlier. Passed through 5miles in around 29 minutes but to be honest I didn't really care anymore about time. Faded a bit once we got passed mile 8 and the lads from the group passed me and got away again. Finished out the last mile fairly well for a time of 58.43. Splits were (5.25/5.42/6.00/6.05/6.01/5.49/5.50/5.50.6.07/5.51)
My HR averaged at 166 which is well below usual, which suggests that it's my legs that are holding me back. So what to do now? Take the break I had decided on after 2miles? Just put it down to tiredness?Did an easy 6miles yesterday morning just to test the water & got through it ok although my achilles was quite sore. Feeling a bit better today so will do the 3K race in Midleton tonight. My time should be a good indicator of what I should do. If it goes ok I will train hard for the rest of the week, and start winding down next week for the IUAA indoors on the 13th & the national intermediate xc the following week. If it goes badly I might just take that break...
Last week: 67miles
Mon:6miles @ 7.24 HR138

22miles in 12 hours, well almost

Did a session of 400's yesterday, not at the track but on a stretch of cycle path that is exactly 400m's long that we discovered last week. Now if anyone from the Netherlands ever happens upon this blog and wonders why you would have a cycle path only 400m long, the only reasonable explanation I can come up with is to accommodate runners who can't be bothered making the long trip to the track!
Anyway it went pretty well with 10 in an average time of around 69secs. Only did 8 last week and was absolutely wrecked doing the last one although I did a hard run the day prior to it. Managed to get out early this morning and had 11miles done by 7.00am although I'm feeling pretty sore and tired now. Have a race friday and Sunday so doing the old front load the week trick to bank mileage.
Tuesday: 3.7warmup + 10x400 in 69 with 85sec recovery + 3.5warmdown
Wed:11.1miles @ 7.25 HR149

Injuries, bad performances & excuses

Since my last post I picked up an achilles tendon injury which meant I only managed 20miles or so in the week leading up to the Munster XC. This included missing a round of the 3K series in midleton. Not ideal preperation but I thought the rest might be a help. Turned out it was n't with one of my worst performances ever which seems to be the story of my XC season. Started well which was probably a bit foolhardy & was in the top 15 for the first lap and a half. Just went back ward after this though and after one of my club mates passed me for the final team spot things went from bad to worse & I ended up in 39th place in the end.
Got back on the horse last week and managed to get 60 miles in and set a new PB for 4miles on Sunday covering the distance in 21.40. Was hoping to break 21.30 but my excuse was that I inadvertently did almost 10 miles on saturday as I got a bit lost while doing a 6 mile run! Still my splits were pertty good with my slowest mile being 5.30.
Did another 5miles Sunday evening & managed to squeeze in 10 last evening so even though my achilles is still not right, I'm getting back into routine.
Sunday:AM Warmup:2miles Race: 4miles Warmdown 3miles
PM: 5miles
Monday: 10.26miles @ 6.49 HR145

Snow let up

Finished off the week with some easy runs and a hill session. The hill session was the first in a long time out in Welshtown. I had forgotton how tough it is out there. Felt like I was going badly but looking at my times compared to previous sessions it was n't so bad at all. Just need to get out there more often!
Thurs: 10.7miles @ 7.37 HR134
Fri: 8.5miles @7.21 HR140
Sat: Hills
Weekly total: 75.5miles
Long run yesterday, back in Welshtown. With the munster XC (weather permitting) next sunday, did 12miles although the last few miles got a bit hot dipping below 7min/miling for the last few which is brisk on that terrain. Ground is covered in snow today so getting out this evening may be difficult...
Sun:12.2 @ 7.15 HR148

Slow Down - Ice!

I'm really starting to get ticked off with the weather, tuesday night headed to the track for a session only to find it frozen for the third consecutive time. Ended up doing an hour at a crawl, really felt crappy. Have a bit of a cold but maybe it was the Delayed onset Muscle Soreness after Sundays exertions. Went to CBS last night to get some sort of speed work done & after warming up hummed and hawed about what to do as the ground was completely frozen so kinda dangerous in the dark. After resisting the urge to go home ended up running 3 sides of the pitch as I've seen one of the other lads doing. Did the first one in 94 secs so said I'd aim for 90 for the remainder. Did just that with one 91 & a few 89's & 88's towards the end. There's a little short sharp hill in the middle but I was still a wee bit dissappointed with distance covered - 0.28miles or roughly 450metres. No wonder I was able to do 12!
Tuesday: 7.1miles @ 8.32 HR122
Wednes: Warmup:2miles 12x90secs with 80sec recovery Warmdown: 4miles

Beat the sun(down)

Managed to get out of work early yesterday so's to get as much of my run as possible done in daylight. While it was pitch black by the end, I did n't have to hit the light on my watch untill about 6 miles or so, happy days. Although I was on grass the ground was pretty frozen so made for a fast pace.
Tues: 8.5miles @ 7.06 HR143

New Years Resolution

Gonna post more regularly, yadayadayada...
Anyways goals for 2010:
3K: sub 9.30 (road) sub 9.15 (track)
5K -Sub16 (road), sub 15.50 (track)
10K. Break 34minutes (yes I know thats 1.45 off my PB!)
5miles: Sub 27minutes
10miles: Sub 57minutes
Half: sub 75
Full: Not even gonna go there!
Won't bother with performance based goals as they rely more on other people to a certain degree.
Anyway onto training: Got a lot done over Christmas despite having a stag party & wedding to contend with. Managed 70miles last week although only managed a tempo run in terms of quality.
Started this week with a double doing nearly 2 hours yesterday morning & another 40minutes yesterday evening. Probably more than what was ideal but with the threat of bad weather later in the week, decided to try and bank some miles:
Sun: AM: 15.4miles @ 7.09 HR 144
       PM: 6.1miles @ 7.19 HR 145