Training Log Archive: Anvil

Dublin City Chase; shall be henceforth known as 'Patrick and Seb get continually shafted by the Irish who should know their city a lot better than they do'.
So, first City Chase. Was using it just as much as an excuse to visit Dublin as it was to go in the event - I have been wanting to do one of these in a while but have never been in the right country at the right time!
Scavenger hunt paired with another team to begin. Spent 10 mins running round like a headless chook looking for live animals, pink undies and trying to convince shop people to sell us Guiness before 10:30am. Reread the list and had a brainwave - went to an internet café and got a photo of a leprechaun and a four leaf clover.
Clues in hand we went straight back to the café as our help line had fallen through. We found the clues really hard, there were a couple that couldn't be done without google and some you just needed to know the city, however we finally pieced together 10 clues and headed out to the closest Chase Point in an alley off 'Green' street. Seb wasn't convinced we'd solved the clue right thinking it was at a golf course and when we found no alley, I had to admit he was right.
So off to the Croke Park, one of our pre-race picks of likely Chase Points. First team there, I scored a goal hurling, Seb couldn't score with Gaelic football, but they were lenient so we headed off. Spoke to a copper who seemed to think the 'Green' clue was a place called Handball Alley. It was nearby so we headed there and ended up in little handball court - no CP though, and I ran into what looked like an important game with the stands packed with spectators?.. Strike one for the locals.
Went to one of three compulsory CPs in Clontarf - 2nd team to arrive and was happy about that cause it was the furthest out and right next to a train station, other teams must be taking different routes and so hopefully we'd have no queues. This was an easy Zorb, just a 3m high blow up ramp, but still fun - I have to admit to getting a little too excited for this, have always wanted to try it. After that headed to the station with the plan to head over to the other side of the city to do another compulsory point. Unfortunately the next train wasn't for 20 minutes, so we caught one back into the city centre to knock off some of the close CPs.
This is where it started to unravel. Went to the docks for the 3rd compulsory piont to discover I'd misinterpreted the clue - you only could do one of the two of zorbing and kayaking in the docks, I thought it was 'at least' one. We considered doing it anyway cause it looked fun but the officials said we should get going if we wanted to get 10 done in the time limit. Went a few blocks to Merrion Square and Seb dressed me up in a smashing miniskirt and bikini top made out of newspaper, easy. Off to St. Stephens Square - we couldn't find what we wanted, but this area was one of the one spots where all the tour busses congeregate, so we quizzed a guide on all the clues we couldn't decipher. Ended up with a group of three guides trying to work out the clues, but finally got three more CP's and they were all in our direction of travel so we were off, to the first in the National Museum just around the corner. Unfortunately it was the wrong branch of the museum, but the guy at the front desk told us where it was (further out of town near the Guinness Brewery). For some reason we both stupidly forgot there was another CP right next door in the National Library cause we ran right past it into Trinity College where Seb scaled a climbing wall in a blindfold while I directed him, no thanks to the most unhelpful security guard in Dublin. 'Is there a climbing wall in Trinity College?', 'yeah', 'Where it is?', 'That way', 'That building?', 'No, that way'. Friendly, chatty Irish cliché smahed to smithereens.
Next stop was City Hall where the 'Coucillers congregate'. A slab of a woman at the front desk informed us there was nothing going on in City Hall today. 'Where would Councillers be in Dublin?', 'City Hall', 'But theres no City Chase point here?', 'No', 'Would councillers be anywhere else?', 'No, just City Hall'. Well lady, actually, it turns all the councillers work in the Council offices just around the corner, you know, the office that pays your salary?..
Starting to get a little frustrated here and Seb was starting to struggle, luckily the next CP was 5 mins away in an opera school next to St. Patricks Church (one of the ones deciphered by the tour guides). Get there to find the school locked up and no sign of a CP anywhere in sight. It was at this point we realise we've missed too many CPs and won't finish so slow down a bit, hop on a bus out to the CP at Guinness Brewery. This took a while answering questions based on the stuff in the Museum (7 floors worth) - would have preferred to climb to the bar at the top and sink a pint, but I didn't design the course!
The national museum was just across the river so jogged to that to do another tricky one spotting the differences between a photo and different exhibits. Got an hour and a half to go so a bus and 2km uphill run to the end of Phoenix Park for the final compulsory point. Was expecting a good one due to the location and it being compulsory. It was a logic/water measuring puzzle?.. Anyway, somehow my addled brain solves the puzzle quickly and allows the other team who was there and couldn't solve it to cheat while the official was talking to us!
There was one more CP we solved, but it was well out of town and although we couldn't make it, I knew Seb was done, he cramped up pretty badly on the way back to the bus.
So didn't finish and were surprised that so many other teams did - it turns out the locals had no trouble working out the clues and some ran without a map! I don't know how none why the locals we asked couldn't handle it, it almost comical. The ones the tour guides got wrong were actually all within a block of where we were, one was even visible from the Square. Although we only got 7 pointed officially, we visited 8 and were within 50 metres of all the other five! Luckily we didn't head to the last one we'd solved, even google had screwed us on that one and was directing us to one of the other St. Marys in town - the CP was a block from the start/finish!
However, it was still great fun, although seemed a bit like City Chase Lite based on what I've heard now of what you get to do in other races. There was probably a few things I would change to make it more challenging and fun, but sounds like they take it easy the first time a city hosts a race.
Talking to the cameraman in the pub after, their plans for growth for next year sound excellent, hope to do some of them.

Needed a break from printing out maps and transport timetables of Dublin, so headed out for quick run. Was late so all the parks were closed, had no plan so just ran somewhere new - ended up in the Uni district, Roath, Cathays and Splott. Got very lost and disoriented, the bus stops here usually don't have handy street maps like in London, but finally found a line that went in the direction of Central Station and faoolowed that for a boring 2ks till I got reoriented.
Had the watch beeping every five minutes and alternated pace to keep it a little more interesting. Found the city become more undulating in the North East, so will head out that way more often when I'm forced on a night street run.

Back on the track. Joined up with the San Domenico runners club for a sesh of 12 x 400s. Cause there was such a range of runners, recoveries were a little long for my liking, around 1:20 - 1:30, but, since it's my first for a while I'm happy to go with the flow.
Splits: 85, 82, ?, 78, 78, 79, 78, 77, 78, 78, 76, 75. Felt quite strong and fresh for all of them, made sure I kept good form and the usual. GPS data shows fairly constant pace for most of it so I'm quite happy - shows the difference when you do this sort of thing in a group.
Finally getting back into a routine - feels good.

The usual. They're not as organised with the group warm ups over here it seems

Easy run to test out the foot. All good.
Went south for a loop around the Bay, some good park areas to run through, but what is the obsession here with paving every single trail?
No rain tonight and even some sky!

C • Paved Paths 2

Foot became quite sore after the race, at one point I had to give it a break after the race. Used it as an excuse to do nothing all afternoon - iced and ibuprofened it up and was feeling better by the evening. Then I get up this morning and it's sore again. Go to catch the bus in and no change so walk in. Still painful but not so bad. Then as my mind wanders the pain disappears - I think it's a pretend injury that my body made up like the fake shin splints I had in May. Will take it easy over the next couple of days to play it safe.

Woke up feeling very ordinary, although I'd had an early night and wasn't drunk, I think I drank enough at rugby and dinner to disrupt my sleeping patterns. The arch of my left foot was really sore as well, I guess from the standing at the rugby.
Anyway, just decided to go off at 40 minute pace and see how I felt. Very slow, crowded start but did the first k perfectly in 4 mins flat. Next was 3:55, and was feeling OK, so started working my way through the pack. The foot pain was noticeable but not bad enough to slow me.
Got through the first half in about 19:45, wasn't the most interesting course, pretty much 2 k out and back along 2 different roads, but it was perfectly flat and fast.
Got more interesting in the 2nd half, went around the castle and twisted through Bute Park and I was finally able to catch a woman who'd been 50m in front of me since about 3k on a bit of a climb out of the park.
Put the pedal down at 8k and broke away from the pack of 4 I was with, but didn't have quite anough to catch the next pack about 40m in front. Didn't bother with a sprint finish as there was no one to catch or stay away from so probably robbed myself of a few seconds, but I'm not that fussed.
Finished with a negative split (19:30 for the 2nd half) and a new PB, 101st overall and 5th corporate (4th if you go by chip time). 25 seconds faster than the race I did in Windsor in April, which was a faster, flatter course and my average HR today was about 5 bmp less, so I should be happy, but I know I can do sub 39.

To the start of the race from my place