Training Log Archive: Dooby

Knockreer. Just went for a walk this morning around Knockreer in Killarney with Mary and her dogs. She says for someone who runs so fast I walk slowly! She's probably right, I do like to saunter along, what's the rush if i'm walking?

Tralee to Blennerville and back. The start of the Conor Pass Challenge was in Blennerville. Total time is basically divided in two, same time out as back but trip back was 250m longer due to coming back on the main road. Had to hang around 30 mins in the rain before it started and then 40 minutes afterwards waiting for my jacket and eating food.

Conor Pass Challenge. Blennerville-Dingle(via Conor Pass)-Lispole-Anascaul-Inch-Castlemaine-Tralee-Blennerville. Didn't start the watch for some reason until beyond Castlegregory but i'm sure I pressed it when I started in Blennerville so time is taken using the amount on the watch and time on my bike speedometer. I am happy that the time is accurate enough though. Weather at the start was bad, needed to wear a jacket this morning as it was a wet and misty start. The rain was light enough but there was a heavy shower just before we started in Blennerville. There was water on the road so plenty of spray. Lad started talking to me at the start and I cycled most of the thing with him apart from the climbs where I was stronger. Weather had dried up before the Conor Pass. The group of around 100 stayed together until then but once the climbing start it broke up. Was happy with my legs and I tried hard enough on the way up, heart rate above 170 for the ascent. Dry roads for the descent was a bonus as it is fast going down that hill, bit windy too. Food stop in Dingle, sandwiches, barn brack and bananas. Sandwich was full of turkey and ham, could only eat 1 as it there was a lot of meat! Everyone started again together from Dingle. There was a headwind on the way back which although not strong made life a bit more difficult. Lost touch with the main group after a while. I'd been out Dingle direction in the car on Thursday so I was expecting the roadworks beyond Lispole but that still didn't make it easier. They lasted about 1km but that's 1km I wouldn't like to do again, loose stone for the length of it around 2 hairpins, at least it was flat enough. Objective to stay upright was achieved here. Lost the guy I was cycling with here so it took a few km to catch up with him again. It was just the 2 of us on the long stretch from Inch to Castlemaine with a small group maybe 400m ahead of us. There was 1 guy in between who we were catching. At this point I think both of us got a bit pissed off with another dude who tucked in behind us for 15mins, then tried to bridge the gap, on any little incline he slowed down and we caught him again. Once caught he tucked in behind us again, surprisingly! He was on a ?4000 bike so I really can't understand his problem. There was a water stop in Keel so riders in front grouped up again. After Keel 2 groups formed with me in the second. Funny incident in Castlemaine, there was an old man and some kids on the opposite side of the road supporing the cyclists when one of the cyclists in the group peeled off across the road and sprayed his water bottle over the group of people, luckily they had a sense of humour:-) Stuck with a group of 13 on the ascent of Curraghmore, I pushed it hard leaving the guy I was cycling with. Pace was steady going up and I felt strong. I reckon I was around 3mins faster from Castlemaine to the top than the last time I did it, not bad after around 90km. Max speed of 58kph on descent from Conor Pass but did 54kph down to Tralee from Curraghmore. The stop in Dingle was 30mins plus 5 mins in Keel which are not included in time. Overall I am very satisfied with the cycle. Was definitely concerned with my legs between Inch to Castlemaine, pace was high and could feel cramp like feelings in my legs but they didn't cramp, luckily, if they did I was in big trouble. Strong on the climbs but need to work on descending.

C • nice work! 1

Tralee-Farranfore-Castleisland-Tralee. Legs feeling tired today but I resolved to go cycling since got 110km on Saturday morning to do. Slow start through Tralee, stuck at lights and traffic was heavy in places. Then hit the main road, tried to keep a steady pace to Farranfore and between Farranfore to Castleisland I thought the rough road slowed me down a bit. Then the last stretch back from Castleisland to Tralee I surprised myself by keeping a good pace. I may have lost a bit of time texting for a bit but I reckong I averaged 25kph while texting! Can I get done for texting while cycling? Overall despite the tired legs before starting I was happy with the cycle. After a few km I did consider where I could go instead, somewhere shorter, but talked myself into doing what I planned first day.

Tralee-Ballyroe-Abbeydorney-Tralee. Legs were tired all day but I still forced myself onto the bike. I decided to head to Abbeydorney and then could go longer if the legs felt up to it. When I got there after taking it easy enough I felt I decided to head back, didn't want to do more. Cycle back from Abbeydorney is tough, uphill but I was happy with my pace before the lovely steep descent from Listellick into Tralee, max about 52kph. Happy to have gone out but legs are definitely tired at the moment. Will cycle tomorrow and then I need to rest Thursday and Friday.

Caherconree. Lovely evening so headed for the hills. Printed out an OS map of the mountain and ones around it in case I felt like doing more. The path is marked with posts and heads up inside a valley where it gets steep at the back. Ran until it got steep and then walked, calfs were hurting and wasn't happy with my walking pace. I reckon if i'd walked from the start i'd have been walking faster. Went up by the side of the promontory fort and looked on towards the peak of Caherconree but I didn't feel up to going further. Legs are tired after the weekend. Went into the fort and to the edge of the cliff where I took a few pictures on the phone and a video (see Facebook). Then down a gully and onto the spur that heads down. It is a very steep descent on this side but I tried to run when I could. Back down and across a stream. Then there was a rough marsh to get across to get back to the car.

Note:
Caherconree is an idea for winter off road night training. It's in a valley for starters. And I reckon if I put reflective tape on the marker posts I could follow them with my head torch. Would be good for hill training.