Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Ardmore

I don't exactly have a lot of experience with 5 star hotels, but out of the 4 I have stayed in the Cliff Hotel in Ardmore, Waterford, reigns supreme. The location, the room, the service, the meals ... bloody hell. Incidentally, that's also what my bank manager will say in a couple of weeks when he sees the bill as this was my first stay in said establishments where I had to foot the bill myself. Ah well, it's the least the lady deserved after 20 years with me!

Oh, you wanted to hear about running? Actually, Ardmore is a great spot for running as well. On Saturday I did a run a on stony trail along the cliffs, the major drawback being that the stunning views and the stony grounds had me stumble a few times and while I managed to avoid a face plant, or falling off the cliff, grabbing a gorse bush for hold wasn't the smartest thing ever and my hand is still sore, a few days later.

It's a great place to build up your hill running fitness - the one thing missing being flat roads. But the roads were so quiet, there was even less traffic than in Caragh lake - I never once encountered a car outside Ardmore itself.

Alas, by Monday morning reality had caught up again and I was back in Dublin. This week I started my new commute routine. Monday, cycling into work, running home. Tuesday, running into work, cycling home. Same again on Wednesday - Thursday, and then the car on Friday to enable a quick exit back to Kerry. It's just over 9 miles each way, which is a good bit longer than the runs I had done up to now. Thankfully, my legs had appreciated the weekend in Ardmore and rebounded well, so even though the run back home was longer than usual, uphill and against the wind, never mind the pouring rain, I got home just fine and still feeling pretty good. However, doing the same in return just 12 hours was just a bit much and the last 3 miles were definitely dragging. I'll see how that goes but I'm sure things will pick up quickly again.
12 Aug
6 miles, 51:45, 8:38 pace, HR 147
   partially on trail
13 Aug
6.4 miles, 52:56, 8:16 pace, HR 146
14 Aug
9.15 miles, 1:15:09, 8:13 pace, HR 148
15 Aug
9.15 miles, 1:16:33, 8:22 pace, HR 150

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