Training Log Archive: Dooby

Event: Ross Castle - Kingdom League
 

Ross Castle

Fantastic day, not a cloud in the day, and very hot. So not conditions that i've been used to running in recently.

Overprinting on the map was a bit hard to see so took a bit of time to figure out which direction I was heading, but first few controls were all easy. Only ones i'd trouble with were 12 and 13.

Misread the form line to 12 but was vague in the area, so lost maybe 1 minute. Made a horrific mistake to 13, followed the form line towards the lake and hit the path, plan was to hit path and turn left. Then there was a hill so went up that, thought I knew where I was and kept on running, but had a nagging feeling in the back of my head. Then it dawned on me that i'd hit the path too far left, actually next to where 13 was, so had to turn around. Not happy with such a basic mistake. Next few controls were fine, nothing too technical. Came out of 20 the wrong way, but mainly because the paths/green isn't mapped correctly in my opinion, not much time lost. 22 was a bit of a pain, had to run around the castle to get it. Then back out again towards the last 2 controls.

Not a bad course for the size of the area. Happy with how I ran but not with the mistakes I made, should have been clean. Legs felt fine afterwards, no pain, so that's a positive these days.

Garmin said I ran 9.6km and did 360m climb. Distance for course was straight line which is not possible to do considering some of the lines between controls went through the lake and uncrossable walls!

Bottlehill

Started off up the hill, then left around the loop. Had the map with me so was trying to figure out how to get some distance. After getting around the long loop my watch didn't seem to have increased in time that much. Went right and then left onto the new road, nice bit of grass along the side to run. Then turned right uphill to go up the ride I ended up on the last time thinking there might be a right turn at the top but none there when I got there. Decided against pressing on as undergrowth had increased and didn't feel like getting ripped to bits, also didn't trust my ankle after going over on it during the week. So went back the way I came, then along the road. Turned off and headed for the grotto, but instead of heading straight down to the car I turned right and came out on the road that heads up the hill, so that added a bit of extra distance.

Legs were aching a bit for the first bit of the run, maybe 15 minutes, soreness that wasn't related to the uphill start. Was also a hot run but breeze helped cool things down at times.

No training today as i'm heading home to Cork to get fed for a change. Will take the opportunity of the drive home to come up with a plan for running tomorrow. Might get out the map of Bottlehill and got for a trail run there with a few extra loops to make up some distance.

Tralee-Farranfore-Castlemaine-Tralee

What a day, hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures of i'd say around 22 degrees. Was definitely hot on the bike but a breeze helped to cool things down.

Happy with how this cycle went, and especially the Ballygamboon climb, i'd say around 2/3pkh faster than the last few times up this hill. Checked last time I did this route and around 4 minutes faster tonight, weather and feeling better being the difference. I knew i'd a rest day to look forward to tomorrow.

Tonevane, out the Dingle Way for 5k and then back

First difficult decision this evening was what to wear. Had a long sleeve top on but was breezy so threw on a light jacket too. Turned out to be needed, first part of run was windy and cold, but then near turning point it was sunny and very warm.

Body felt tired today at work so was slightly concerned about running, but concerns turned out to be unfounded as once I started legs felt fine, no trouble at all, even felt strong on the climbs. Due to rocks it isn't the easiest track to run on. Did go over on my ankle on the way back, around 3km from the end, which was unpleasant. Ran it off after a few minutes but didn't make the return journey any easier. Towards the end I pushed harder to try and get under the hour, and legs reacted well.

I ran the return part of the run 1.30 faster than I went out. Mainly probably due to there being more descending and I picked up the pace at times, after losing time due to my ankle. Not going to be recorded as an injury though.

Training plan for next few days is decided. Cycle tomorrow evening, maybe Castlemaine, then resting on Friday as i'll be heading back to Cork, run on Saturday, and then orienteering in Ross Castle on Sunday. Will also train next Monday which i've been taking as a rest day recently, so that'll be a cycle before running again on Tuesday.

Blennerville, plus out to the Spa.

Bit damp this evening but not too bad, not cold. Set the watch for 5min/km, or didn't change it as it's been set like this for a week. Started off and felt less pain in my left achilles after physio. Did suffer some discomfort in my baby toe on my right foot, felt like a thorn. Started to annoy me so stopped my watch (1st time of 3 today) and sat on a wall along Cockleshell Rd and took of my shoe and sock to sort the problem. Thought i'd it solved but felt a bit of discomfort for a few more minutes before it went away.

I scared the shit out of a lad walking, came up quickly behind him and gave him a fright, so pleased with that.

Had to stop to get MP3 player going again on the rocky beach section before The Spa (2nd stop of watch. Then turned back for Tralee. Legs were feeling a bit tired at this stage but had no option but to keep going. Before I left the fields I had to take a pit stop, bladder was full (3rd stop of 3). Then back onto the road/path. Was running ahead of my set pace at this stage but didn't gain any time on the field section from the bit before that. Picked up the pace again but felt slow between Blennerville and the Basin, then turned for the car. Again I increased the pace to try and push a bit harder. Looking at my heart rate graph it increased gradually from the start until the end.

Had physio this morning. Both legs were worked on in the session. Left leg has improved a lot but some pain was found on my left leg. Physio just recommended massaging the affected area with ice, no real problem identified. Pleased with session since legs are back to being in relatively good shape. Can focus on training properly again and building up for Nordic Tour.