Training Log Archive: Dooby

Robrunner running late so got a spin in before he arrived.

Bit of a headwind early on so that I found a bit tough, legs feeling a bit tired. Also not too happy with effort at times on the climb, seemed to slack off at times, concentration needs to improve.

Time for the main climb wasn't too bad though, showing an improvement on last effort. Need to drop it more.

Had the wind to help me out on the way home, and got a good run at the descent, although the car stopping at Galways Bridge I didn't appreciate, but they actually pushed on from there.

Down around the Park with Robrunner.

He was getting used to a bike before he races Dingle 12 Hour Adventure Race tomorrow so kept him company.

Nice warm down after my earlier spin.

Wasn't sure what to expect from this run after Tuesday but worked out mostly ok I think. Calves felt alright although towards the end they may not have been the most comfortable. Also some pain in left quad for a few seconds at around 1.5km from home. So not sure what was going on there.

Undecided about parkrun plan for Saturday morning at the moment.

Bit of a windy evening but didn't really feel it when running. Not too warm either, could do with an increase in temperatures.

Went and did a couple of hours mapping. Progress made, will definitely have most of the map finished, but very much unsure about what to do about the trees, there are a few areas of white, plus some areas of semi-open, and then lots of single trees, so need to decide what to do about them. Next trip will be working on that and sorting the contours.

Found some LiDAR data too at work, 2m resolution, and converted that into contours, so did a quick check of them against what was on Ruairis earlier map. Some similarities but probably need to add a few form lines for emphasis in some areas. Will probably do a bit more messing with the LiDAR data just to see if I can get better results.

Disappointing

Had planned to go down around Ross Island but calves didn't want to. They felt sore or tight and I wasn't comfortable going for a longer run with them feeling like this. I'm assuming they are a bit tender after yesterday as don't think I started too fast as that wasn't the plan either.

Will run again on Thursday as planned. Skipping tomorrow's cycle in favour of attempting some mapping.

Also thinking I need to try some long runs so will either try that next week I hope.

Calf is getting better, which is encouraging, and what I expected to happen for it to take a few days. Phyiso moved to today from tomorrow so that's changing my start to the week, was going to run today and based on the calf that would have been possible. Definitely some tiredness in the legs after yesterday too. Other than that it looks like it'll be an every other day between running and cycling.

I am missing a few races from my calendar, of any sort. Have an idea for next week though, Gneeveguilla are doing their 1 mile race series again, and 1st one is in Barraduff, so could cycle over and back to that.

Monday - Physio & Mapping afterwards if dry
Tuesday - Running
Wednesday - Cycling
Thursday - Running
Friday - Cycling
Saturday - Running (parkrun)
Sunday - Cycling

Went as expected. Bit of work on the left calf, but nothing wrong.

Didn't get to go mapping, started to rain during the afternoon which wouldn't be condusive to writing on paper. Must find the time somewhere.

Tour de Sliabh Luachra 2017

Bit drizzly at times so started in my jacket, which I took off for the 2nd half, worked out ok but did get a bit of rain at Knocknaboul.

Pace as usual was fast. Was ok with it in the big group heading over to Millstreet, and then on the climb I ended up towards the front after a fast start to the climb. Kept there as the numbers reduced. Think there were around 12/13 in the group. I almost got dropped near the top, but managed to close up before the start of the descent.

Kept with the group on the way down. When the descent stopped and it flattened out the pace didn't, kept high. Checked average and it was at around 35kph. Then after coming out onto the N72 I decided enough was enough, i'd probably done enough damage to myself and to cut my losses. So eased off and waited for the next group to catch up, they took a few kilometres, which were uphill and into a headwind so not very comfortable. Legs not feeling good but when in the group I felt better.

Stayed with this group to Ballydesmond, it was working well, sharing the front. Lots of mention of a steady pace but I was definitely under pressure between Kiskeam and Ballydesmond. Was very happy to sit down in Ballydesmond for a few minutes.

Started off after the break behind the lead car. Same fast boys in front. I was messing around with stuff in my pockets near the top of the climb, but closed back up to them. Stayed with them until the climb to Scartaglin, legs were now lacking energy. Ended up with a young lad from Kanturk on my wheel for the rest of the climb, and until we caught up with 2 more lads after turning onto the Currow Road. No point in him leading as he wasn't going to block any wind.

4 of us then for a while and onto the climb back over to Kilcummin. Towards the top it was just me and the chap from Abbeyfeale. Kept a steady pace up the climb but knew it wasn't a good pace. Descent again is rough.

Then with the Abbeyfeale lad we went up the first ramp back from Kilcummin to Gneeveguilla. Had nothing in the legs so was on my own. A few other cyclists on the road from the shorter cycle so they did provide targets to pass. Any uphill was hurting.

Stopped at Quarry Cross to talk to a friend who was there with her St Bernard dogs. I was on my own so nothing lost by stopping.

Last few kilometres from there were downhill so that was pleasant to finish. Legs tired afterwards, not a surprise considering it's longest spin of the year and training has seen more running than cycling. Good to get this in the legs though.

Killarney-Barraduff-Glenflesk

Part 2 of recovering from Wednesday. Calf is still sore. Gave it a tough work out last night with foam rollers, and more to do today.

Legs felt a bit tired at times but not all the time. Wasn't really sure where I was going to go, but happy with this route as it took advantage of tailwind to Barraduff.

Came home a different route then from Glenflesk just to add possibly some extra distance.

Straight off the bike to cutting grass, although based on how long it took today, it was mainly moss I was cutting!

I suppose this was a recovery spin. Left calf in a pretty awful state after Wednesday. Sore enough when walking. Kind of on the outside higher up. Will continue to work on it.

Bit of a wind heading out so had it at my back coming home. Stayed dry although came across a bit of drizzle down in the southwest this afternoon when down on Valentia.

Other than the calf, the quads are alright so happy enough with how they fared.

Left calf a bit sore getting up this morning. Alright walking around. Will stretch it during the day and go to town on it later with my various foam rollers.

Quads are currently tired, not sore.

Wondering will the DOMS arrive later or tomorrow?

Dentist this evening, so more fillings to look forward to!!!

Up the road to the forest entrance, then up the trail for a bit, before a few more metres on the road. Not a very energetic warm up.

MMRA/IMRA Mount Hillary
2nd (Results))

Plan was to wait and see what happened and then go on the climb. So started off behind an older gentleman and a younger one. At the first junction we had got a small gap, it was a steady climb to here, with some more to come. The track then dropped for a bit and the younger fellow opened the legs so I went with him. On the flat section after this the older guy rejoined us.

Knew there was a steep descent to come but the younger lad nearly overshot so I cut inside him and took the lead. I descended this hill much better than the 2 lads and had maybe 20-40m when we got back out onto the track. Decided here to take the pace a bit easier and recover before the hill. The younger lad eventually caught back up to me.

We then hit the bottom of the main climb for the day. The young lad took the lead, I tried to stay with him, but he was stronger. Eventually got to the top, and then there was a long long descent, around 3km to the finish. The first 1-1.5km was on a path/ride. Felt like I was gaining here, and expected to be considering the lads performance on the earlier descent. But as soon as we got back onto the bigger forestry road he just extended his lead. I wasn't feeling great here, stomach felt a bit like a stitch. Was never ever going to catch up anyways. Nothing behind me so just focused on keeping up the pace and getting home.

Good to get out and race, not being doing many races recently. Good route, mix of surfaces, fast.

Lad's name was Conor O'Keefe, knows ColmM.

C • Conor 4

Slow shuffle back to the car.

Knockreer

Easy enough run this evening. Humid. Sun gone behind clouds for the afternoon but definitely humid.

Distance was what I wanted to do. Legs feeling alright I think. Have physio booked for this day next week so looking first to that!

Will probably not be an ideal week but a couple of headliners. Feeling good after the weekend, and with a good enough weather forecast for the week that's encouraging.

Monday - Cycling
Tuesday - Running (short)
Wednesday - Running (IMRA Mt Hillary)
Thursday - Rest (Dentist for more fillings)
Friday - Cycling
Saturday - Cycling/Running
Sunday - Cycling (Sliabh Luachra)

Fossa-Kissanes-Beaufort

Weather beautiful again, hotter than yesterday morning, but not too bad when moving, could feel it warm when slow.

Felt like i'd some wind into my face heading into town but not that strong. On the way out to Fossa I started to pass out a line of cars while I was in the cycling lane. Silage harvester backing them up who I passed at Lackabane.

Happy enough with the legs this evening. Easy day tomorrow to look forward to. Starting to feel strong again on the bike so happy with that feeling.

Killarney-Kilgarvan-Kenmare

What a day. Not a cloud out so a good tanning opportunity.

Legs feeling mostly good for the spin. Knew I was moving alright before Kenmare so reckoned I'd see how far i got. But no issues after molls gap.

A few bikes out and about so they provided targets.

A car was stopped on the other side of the road by the Black Lakes. Looks like they crashed into the ditch! Road has also been resurfaced before Ros an Cru na Lua so section from the main road to Kilgarvan is now better.

Didn't mind as much the Kenmare section today. Then in Kenmare I went around past the supermarkets to avoid town. Worked out fine, kept moving.

Then the road up to mills gap, the lower part, is just getting rougher. Kept the same gear all the way up, happy with how i was moving.

After that the descent was fun and got up the 2 early climbs ok, not too tired at this stage. The descent wasn't as fast as it could have been, tourist slowing things down.

Pleased with the legs.

At least I went under the 18 minute mark today. Lovely morning, sun shining, but a breeze which I think I had at my back after the 2k mark after turning was good.

Didn't really check splits when running, missed the 1st one, but made sure to try and keep a better pace for the 2nd kilometre. Did find this 2nd time around a bit tougher.

3.39
3.38
3.39
3.41
3.33

So despite not running to a pace they 4 main kilometres were all very similar.

Calves not fantastic afterwards I think. Need to watch them. Might not run much for next few days, do some more bike work. Definitely the plan for tomorrow morning anyway.

Around the block

Gorgeous evening so felt I was obliged to get out on the bike for a quick spin. Plan was to put in a bit of effort.

Original idea was to go anti-clockwise but so used to turning right out the gate I went clockwise. Turned out it was a good choice as had a tail wind at Minish so that was more pleasant than coming the opposite direction would have been. Went on the drops here, was motoring along at around 40kph, flying past a lad on a bike.

Then tried on the hill up from the main road. My 2nd best time on it, not sure the headwind counted against me though. Maybe 6 hours of exams today did have an affect and the early start to try and study for them! At least they are done now.

Exams started, 2 down and 2 to go.
Tired.
First went ok but started to tire a bit during the 2nd. Long day.
Not looking forward to more tomorrow.

Bike back and looking nice, so was planning on a quick 45 minutes. But drizzling (& windy) when I wanted to go cycling, ordinarily I wouldn't let that stop me but with the exams over the next couple of days I decided to cut my losses and do some more study.
Although it would help doing the exams if I had an idea of how the assignments went but no results yet!
For the record, Elvis is a good study partner, when around, as if he's sitting on my lap I've no choice but to stay put and actually study.

Torc Mountain

Needed a study break!

Dropped bike in yesterday and they didn't seem confident it would be ready today so went running instead. Will collect it tomorrow. So had it in my head to run up Torc.

Didn't push too hard, either going up or going down. Comfortable pace and found that grand. Was probably cautious on the descent.

Not too many out and about.

Been doing some race thinking too, reckon Killarney 10k in July should be a stepping stone towards Dingle and then follow that race up with the Rose 10k in Tralee in august, go for a pb in Tralee, course looks very fast/flat.

This is a college week. Have study leave Monday-Wednesday and then exam leave for Thursday and Friday!
But will still train.
Also have our marriage blessing on Saturday so it is a busy week.

Monday - Running
Tuesday - Bike
Wednesday - Running
Thursday - Rest (exams)
Friday - Rest (exams)
Saturday - Running (parkrun)
Sunday - Bike or maybe a long run

Will train for next few days at usual time, in the evenings, just to ensure any post training tiredness minimises impact on study.

Lap of Muckross Lake

Sort of a damp evening, not wet, but some drizzle at times.

Went clockwise for a change. Passed a chap out running on the path from Torc to Dinis. Cafe open at Dinis, had a look at the cake a couple were eating on the picnic bench, must tell Mary, she wants us to do this cycle at some point, we didn't manage to do it last year.

Legs feeling ok, tried to keep pace comfortable. Thought they'd be more tired after yesterday. Maybe the last kilometre they started to feel tired but other than that they were fine.

Car with its lights left on in the car park when I got back, oops! But likely to be locals based on car reg.

Need to give legs a good stretch and roll later. Keep them under control and get some physio in a couple of weeks.

Kilarney-Lough Acoose-Caragh Lake-Seefin-Dooks-Cromane-Killorglin
Club Sunday Spin

Was a tough decision to go out, wet and windy when I left home, but dried up apart from a cold shower in the Glencar area. Wind didn't stop though. At least it was into our faces for the start so meant a tailwind home.

That tailwind home was badly needed, legs were suffering. Longest spin of the year for me. Really feel like i'm behind bikewise this year.

Group of 13 started, lost 1 on the way up the Board of Works. Group split a bit on the climbs around Caragh Lake, put some effort into the first one. Was concerned on the descents, front brake definitely not working properly. Will get it fixed on Tuesday I think, might use it tomorrow if the weather is alright.

Then Mike took 3 more of us up Seefin and around to Dooks, for a bit extra, the rest headed for home. I went for the extra as felt I needed the training.

Headwind home from Killarney was not pleasant, really felt like I was struggling.

3.40
3.47
3.39
3.47
3.34 (short but that was the pace, picked it up)

Did control myself at the start, let 2 guys go in front but went by before and on the hill. So happyish with 1st km, interesting that both 1st and 3rd were similar pace, as were 2nd and 4th which are the more rolly kilometres.

Still not too pleased to be over the 18. But didn't check what pace i needed to run to be under it, so my own fault. Also no session like this since march I reckon. Will do better next Saturday, need to.

There was some wind about but not really a factor regarding time. Got a lot windier after lunch.

Thought about going out on the bike on the drive home from the dentist but with half my mouth numb resulting in what feels like drooling, decided against. Also head feeling tired.

Got more of this to look forward to in 2 weeks time :-(

Beaufort + Faha

Decided on a bit extra to the loop this evening, get some extra time on the bike.

Was a damp day, weather really has been crap since I got back. But reckoned it was dry enough to get out so I did. Paid off, didn't rain. Bit of a wind though, had to cycle into it going home from town, didn't like that.

Not racing tomorrow, got dentist at 5 and based on what I've got to look forward to there I don't think a cycle race is sensible. Might do something when I get home, but no guarantee. Also taking Friday off due to social commitments at work.

Knockreer

Another day out running! Bike is starting to get lonely sitting there without having a spin out in nearly 3 weeks, hopefully tomorrow. Ankle not an issue so didn't do as much as other ankle incidents in recent times.

Legs feeling alright.

Bit of wind coming off the lake. Wore a jacket as some showers going, and would have worn a long sleeve top if I didn't as wasn't feeling the warmth.

Muckross

Didn't feel too enthusiastic this morning going running as wanted to go cycling. Weather meant this was the only option.

Did go over on right ankle after 5.5km, took a bit of time to get over it. Sore heel after a while. Annoying.

Time to make a plan for this week.

Monday - Running (wanted to bike but weather crap)
Tuesday - Running (makes sense time wise)
Wednesday - Bike
Thursday - Bike (race but if going to the dentist maybe not
Friday - Bike
Saturday - Running (parkrun)
Sunday - Bike

Might change up Saturday/Sunday based on weather and options. Need to build up distance on bike. Also want to focus more on the bike to give body a break after only running the last 2 weeks.

In the airport in Nantes on our way home. Good holiday, saw a lot of France. Around 2300km driven in 2 weeks.

Sun out too today, again.

Les Sables south

Just went south for 5k or so then back taking in the pond. Benefitted like yesterday from a tailwind on the way out.

Sun was out but only around 20 degrees so opted for tshirt rather than singlet. No more chances this trip to try and address farmer tan issues.

Pace again probably faster than I'd like to run. But didn't have any issues with it. Wasn't under pressure. Saw a few other runners out but thankfully didn't see any power walking middle aged men in lyrcra shorts.

Les Sables d'Olonne promenade

From the hotel and then up to the petit jetee, before turning and heading south along the promenade. Footpath definitely busier than yesterday afternoon when we walked it but found space between the bicycle path on the road and the street furniture.

Sun was shining but only in the low 20s temperature wise. Turned after I'd 6k done and then on the way back I took in a loop around a pond.

Got to the beach today.
Nice promenade in Les Sables d'Alonne.
Saw some signs up for their semi marathon which is on Sunday morning. They've a 10k too which starts at 9. Sounded so-able apart from the fact that I don't have a medical cert which looks like is needed for those without a licence.