Friday 053113

Last day in May and apparently my last run in Cork.  Looks like I will start June with a big zero as I will be traveling for close to 20 hours on the day (no sweat on that really).

7.2 miles.  Easy.  Everything sub 150 without thinking about it.  Expect a nice kick in the lungs when I return to the mile high.  I might have tweaked my back something on the repeats yesterday because there is a weird tightness in it that I don’t normally feel.  Legs were not sore, but heavy in a goofy way.  How is that for a non-description?

May was 341.1 miles (most on the year), 50.2 hours (also most on the year) and 21k+ feet (not the most or even the second most).  Year sits at 1544 miles,  211.8 hours and 138k+ feet.

Cork has been fun.  But, seriously I am ready to get back to CO.  Really.

Thursday 053013

AM – My Running Boss wanted me to do hill repeats today.  With my travel, he said “on the steepest hill you have available.”  I scoped out some options and found what the locals call “Saint Patrick’s Hill.”  It came as we left the restaurant last night and one of the staff here pointed it out.  Apparently there was a bike race here a few years with LA in it, but then according to the locals, he refused to bike the hill. 

From RunninginCork:


5 plus mile warm up and then I got to work.  I did 8 of these, with each repeat being at least 1:30, but never felt like I had the power to push  super hard on these.  In other words, I felt my legs going south being challenged well before I felt challenged from a liung perspective.



2 mile cool down after it all.  I could not stop thinking about a scone and a coffee that I’d get afterwards.

Some pix from the John Buckley 5k the other night.  Warm up.

The start.  I am actually behind the tree on the right of this shot.

 
Lap 1:

Wednesday 052913

AM – 7.1 miles.  Easy, looking around some areas I had not explored in Cork before -- but keeping my eye on the rivers so that I did not get too lost.  Found some hills that I can do some work on later in the week.

11 done over on the burger project.  A bit behind but not too bad.

Evening – 5 easy miles after dinner.  A little more hill exploring.  I think I found the one here for repeats. 

According to Strava, that thing averages over 15%.

It definitely has a bite.

Some kids enjoying the sunset over Cork.

At the restaurant tonight.

Tuesday 052813

It stays light here REALLY late.  At a latitude of 51, no surprise.  Of course I am sure it gets dark really early and stays so until late in the AM in the winter.  This next shot was at ten at night.  There are parts of Cork that ain’t very pretty.

Last night I went to sleep at night with my window cracked, as it never seems to get below 45 here this time of year.  And never above 60.  I could hear bands playing in the local pubs.  I am no city guy, but I can feel a place like this tug on me a bit.  Not going to follow that tug … as the one back to the high ground of CO is way stronger.  But I can smell it.

Hotel is a bit of the Overlook from The Shining in some regards:

A friend thanked me for my service in the military yesterday.  I guess I appreciate that but I can’t say that I feel I need or am worthy of thanks.  I was not in during any sort of combat operations.  Arguably, I probably got more out of being in the military than they ever got out of me.  It gave me a time to grow up (although it did not really make me grow up) and some time to breathe with enough structure that I did not do something totally stupid.  There are a lot of other guys who did and obviously sacrificed a lot more than me … particularly since I feel I sacrificed nuthin.’

Various pix.  This next set came from Kinsale.

 
Apparently Guinness is the correction to all concerns:

 

Neat movie from Casey N.

John Buckley 5k May 28 2013 Race Report

Stream of conscious race report.

… windy: 
… wrote down the splits for 18 minutes.  I thought that it would be a good target being at sea level, but once I looked at the splits (5:47 miles) that seemed pretty fast based on what I have done recently.  I was certainly hoping for some advantage due to being at sea level but a minute drop seemed aggressive.
… was silly nervous before the race.  More nervous than I have been for a bit.  Just an edgy feeling that I have not had in a while.  Was feeling the lag a bit too, as I hit the afternoon, I was pretty sleepy.
… 8 Euro entry fee.  Entry was write your name on a piece of paper, you age, your club (none), gender and sign your name.  Basic stuff and go.  Still it seemed like there was a TON (several hundred, maybe a 1000? post script … close to it.) people running.  8PM start but that is no big deal as it does not get dark here until like 10 at night.
… I hid my warm up clothing under the wheel of the finish truck.  3 mile warm up and then a half mile of some strides at 15-45 seconds.  I felt like crap.  Legs felt horrible and I started making excuses.
… wore the Hokas.  It was what I had.
… decided my strategy was to go out carefully and then to pick folks off as much as I could.  This is usually NEVER my strategy.  Actually it is often my strategy but I NEVER seem to do it.  I wanted to do that this time.
… The start was a bit of a wreck.  They really could not get every one behind the start line.  They insisted it was necessary to go over some chalk like to get the chip time to work.  This seemed whacked to me as it was just CHALK.  I looked up the side of the road and considered taking just the footpath/sidewalk that ran parallel to the street, but then decided that the right thing to do was to go over the start line.  It took maybe 3 or 4 seconds to do that, but that seemed like FOREVER. 
… after starting I felt like I was in the Bolder Boulder.  Unlike other races where I can tend to get out and at least see the leaders for a little bit, I was swallowed up in a crowd – with what seemed like hundreds of heads ahead of me.  I started slowly and rolled into it, trying to begin a long slow press of picking people off.  I wanted that “just right” feeling in a 5k of the first mile being RELAXED but still moving.
… first mile 5:40.  I was surprised it was this, as it did feel pretty good.  The work was starting to settle in just a touch, but I was still rolling up folks.  A woman named Sinead (as everybody seemed to know her) was right there with me and we unspokenly worked back and forth taking in various runners very quickly.
… mile markers seemed to be EXACT to my GPS.  This is really no big deal but it is so rare – and it was RIGHT on for every mile – I was really impressed.
… mile 2 was 5:47.  This was a bit concerning because I felt that I had upped the effort some in the second mile but I had still slowed.  Still, I thought that I had a good shot now at breaking 18.  If I could get the last 1.1 under 6:30 …
… amazingly I did something in mile 3 that I have not been able to do in a 5k in a LONG time.  I surged.  It freaked me out a bit that when the appropriate pain came back in the wave that you’d expect, I backed off.  But then I realized it was really not that bad.  I mean it sucked and all but maybe because of sea level or something, it was not that bad.  So I surged again.  Holy crap.  Okay, to the naked eye, I probably went from 5:45 pace to 5:35 pace but it felt good to shift gears a little.
… mile 3, 5:40, and then I was able to push the last bit for some sort of semblance of a kick.  17:46.  Season best and probably my best in 2 years or so.  Probably worth an 18:20 up at altitude, but still – that is a significant improvement over the 19 minute and 18:50s I posted a few weeks ago. 

… 57th place.  Yeah – this was a RACE.  Guy who won it was under 16, 8 more guys under 17.  Master win with 16:15 I think.   I think only two guys passed me in the whole race once things got established after the first 400.  Those two guys passed me around 1 to go.  One I caught back for a bit and surged with him but he held it longer.   I have no idea how many I passed but it was a lot.  This was very motivating through the race (even though it got progressively harder)
… they had a food table of little triangle sandwiches and candy bars after the race.  I passed but it sort of cracked me up. 
… looking around post race, while I felt good about my performance, it was weird to NOT know anyone.  No one to talk smack how they whipped me, or how I got them, or to exchange race stories with … particularly since I was hearing folks do exactly that.  Meant I got out the social circle and did a longer warm down.  12.8 miles on the day.
… MHR was 186 (!)  So much for 220-your age (177).
… this thing was FLAT.
… recovery afterwards was really quick.  Damn sea level is nice.
… I felt I sort of did not have the wheels to jump on things at times.  I guess that is understandable.  I also think that the next time I did this, I get more than a few more seconds as I felt I was almost “relearning” how to do a 5k while in this one.
… results

Monday 052713

AM – easy 9.3 miles, legs were a bit heavy to start but opened up okay.  After 6 miles tossed in 5 x 30 second harder strides, with 3 minutes recovery.  Wet, rainy and a bit windy.

Slept pretty good.  I might have been able to dodge most of the lag.  Tomorrow will be more the tell.

Tomorrow night.

Sort of glad I am in Ireland so that I have an excuse, but even if I were there, I doubt I would race it.  Still, I have been pouring over these results …

DIY altitude kit?

Got this from Ken, a good read on US obesity.  Variety of factors listed in this but one that caught my interest was how it was an outcome of more families going to eat out more because they have gone to two working parents.

Also from Ken is this.  Like better diet, core exercise, GS work like this is the stuff I keep avoiding that I think I need to do but I don’t get to.

Sunday 052613

Spent the day since yesterday traveling here. 

First, pre TSA check.  Holy crap.  It is like going to 1983.  No shoes off.  No coat off.  Nothing out of your bag –as in keep the computer in there, the toiletries, and no line.  Wow.

Uneventful flights … just takes some time to get here.  Went for a shake out jog getting here along the Lee River on some of the routes I learned when I was last here.

  
Blackrock Castle

Markings for the upcoming Cork Marathon (and 1/2) on June 3 (will miss that)
Scouting is worldwide:

Sea level – yeah, it makes a difference.  I was just looking to massage my legs but I hit 8 minute pace with an AHR of 135.  Guessing that is about 5-10 beats better than what it would be in CO, although the cooler temps might be helping too.   RHR is 43 just sitting here.

If Ireland could sell its rain and its pot holes, we’d have no recession here.  Stated by my cab driver tonight.

Next up will be seeing how I deal with the lag.  I fell asleep a bit on the flight over so that might mess up my typical plan of no sleep until I get here.

72.1 on the week, coming in at just under 10 hours.

Saturday 112613

Started with a jog with JZ and Lucy the dog to search for some geocaches.  This is a merit badge for Scouts that JZ has recently started.  This was his first geocache he found on his own, maybe 100 yards from our house.  He found another shortly afterwards.

   

Interesting task for JZ.  He just wanted to LOOK for the geocache.  All that stuff about using tools like a map or a compass or a GPS on your phone … mmm, at least initially not so much.  He might be learning that they are easier to find if you use those tools. 

After this for a warm up, warmed up a bit more than then got to business.  Ugh.  On tap was 20 x 1 minute on, and 1 minute steady.  In and outs as I used to remember them by.  Prescribed was 5k pace on the minutes on, and marathon pace on the minutes off.  Fail.  Well not initially but as it progressed the off minutes fell apart.

This was hard.  I think it would be hard on fresh ready legs for me to hold 5:30 pace on the minutes and seven minute pace on the offs, but I like the idea of that challenge.  Frankly, I think it would be easier to hold the average of 6:15 in the middle outright for 40 minutes than the gear shifting that this requires but that is the challenge.

Later in the morning, JZ did his very local polar bear plunge.

Of course he did not let me off the hook.

And now … off to Cork!  Yeah, a couple of years ago, no one knew why my company had an office in Ireland.  Now many understand. 

The dude abides.

Next two comments slip into a rare political commentary … you’ve been warned.

I guess my take on the tax thing … there is a lot of chatter as to whether Apple (or companies like mine) have paid their “fair share.”  So Apple pays 8 BILLION in taxes last year.  Calculate whatever percent you want from that, that is a lot of money.   I think the question really becomes a philosophical one:  do you think companies like Apple owe more because they benefit from roads, schools, etc provided by the government (which came from your tax) or if they already provide enough by way of being the company they are – and in addition creating tax revenue on the income of all their employees).   Related to this, is a question:  so inclined individuals and companies will  look to lessen their tax burden by taking their business elsewhere.  Ireland clearly looked to bring business to their island by making this tax approach a way for them to benefit (this tax loop hole probably creates about 100000 jobs in Ireland …which they benefit from via income tax).  Is the US interested in altering its tax structure to keep that tax revenue in the US?  In other words, are we willing to provide a tax rate to corporations that is significantly less than what our individual payers pay in?

Not easy.

BSA is apparently no longer Boy Scouts of America, but Boy Sodomizers of America.  Really?!

Friday 052413

Holy crap.  XC Nats are coming back to Boulder!  While I suck in the mud, I am definitely interested.

Caught latest ATUC today … good stuff on HR in the heat (which I had to deal with later in the day).

Krar, sort of hard not to pick him at least as a podium finisher at WS given what he threw down in the ditch.  Yeah, we all know a 100 is much further, but would anyone be really surprised if he won it outright?  Plus he is one of a few number of runners that I know have dealt with a Haglund deformity (I got one).

I was pretty determined to finish the pool project before heading out to Ireland tomorrow.  Well maybe not finish it but get it up and going by today.  Started early over at Home Depot, getting one of those rent a trucks.  Then got it loaded with another ton and quarter of sand to finish out the leveling.

Leveled it out and then threw down some really cheap carpet over the whole thing to further pad the bottom.
Couple of hours later


It is going to take a while to fill.

JZ built the ladder.  Cool. Wait.  What is this?  Left over parts …

Ummm.
Not done yet, but we essentially replaced one round deadly object in the back yard with another round deadly object.  The second shot shows the level of protest when I announced removal of the trampoline was about to start.

 

To be fair, the tramp is still good.  The curtain and the net around it are a bit beat from 10 years of Colorado elements.  Side note -- I was able to transplant most of those raspberry vines in the front of the tramp.  They seem to have taken just fine.

Soooo …  by the time I got to run … I was pretty cooked.   When I woke up, I felt fine.  I even answered a mid morning email from “Luch” asking if I was sore.  I replied that I was in pretty good shape.  My hips were tight, but not bad.  However, after moving the sand, assembling the pool, etc – soreness slipped in.  The run on tap was to be easy, but it was the lower HR limit that I was concerned about (no lower than 140).  I had to nudge the pace above to comfortable in a few places to make this happen.  9.2 miles.

You can see “cardiac drift” with the blue line as reflected by pace.  Or it could be the slight uphill back.

The second run, as the sun was setting, was even more challenging to keep HR up.  Downs would have HR plummet.  And so pace would need to crank up.  But any little up and it was ready to go off the handle.  Pace is the blue line.

 

I could feel the load today.  It felt good.

Core work: