Target Practice

yaboya1 wrote: »

Nice one.
A wise man predicted this some weeks ago. You've got (confident) spies in the camp.

Well done

Dubgal72 wrote: »

So this was the big one and boy did we know it. Second target race of the year. Past results were analysed and discussed. Splits and paces, strategies and tactics...all possible outcomes were dissected, pored over and pondered.
Coachy introduced some fighting talk along the way. Gold was the goal. Gradually and sometimes even reluctantly, he won us over. As the weeks passed and the date drew near, I started to practice positive visualisation techniques each night before I fell asleep. This is trickier than it sounds as the little burst of adrenaline that comes with this sort of thing can be counter-productive to sleep! I especially came off worse about a week ago when reading a book on sports psychology in bed. The section on 'aggression in sport' did nothing for the weird, trippy and very damn weird dreams I had all bloody night...about the relays.

This made me realise that maybe I was too focused and needed to back off a bit. Tbh, it had become all-consuming weeks out and the slightest reflection on it brought on race-energy nerves. Luckily, I am quite good at putting these back in the box but can't remember when I had them this far out before.

So I calmed down and narrowed my focus to visualising an arrow loosening from its bow (oops, just clicked the relevance to my log title ) and a simple mantra: 'focus and relax'. There was to be no mental drifting, zero. I mapped the loop and worked out where the 400, 800 1200 and 1500 marks were and planned to use these marks as reference points to refocus and dig.

The week passed with lighter dilemmas. Shorts. The Zooey Deschanel ones that made my legs look nice and slim :rolleyes: or the sleek, unforgiving racing ones that made me feel like a real racer.....it was harder than it seems. The racing ones won anyway....

There were darker moments too. My lower back, hip and butt were tightening up, all. the. time. The lower back thing had been there since January but hard training had exacerbated it all. Luke relaxed it but it still came back. Cue tummy bug and enforced rest. Still tight after. I contemplated a chiro visit but coachy steered me towards Karl, our local physiotherapist who is an expert on backs. Monday and Fri saw me at his practice and ready to go, phew. I hadn't realised how 'there' my back had got and it is just lovely to have some fluidity back. It's a common female thing, tilted pelvis and muscles tightening up in reaction, sending a chain reaction all over the place.

Flo threatened to visit early too, that would have been a most unwelcome guest. Luckily she got the message and stayed away

R DAY-1

The usual pre-race 20 mins jog the day before went ok but I reassuringly felt like lead on the strides. These jogs are a win win. Your legs feel like lead, it's nerves, you'll have a great race. You're bouncing along. That's great, you'll have a great race

I picked up the sports psychology book the evening before and chose carefully the section I would read. This section was about pre-race ritual segmenting. It recommends ritual and repetition, something I now wholeheartedly agree with. I realised that I do this anyway:
- night before, lay out gear, plan route, prep snacks, pack bag, listen to music, early bed etc.
- in the morning, pretty much the same routine every race. Remind yourself of focus, strategy etc
- on the way to race, do a systems 'arousal check', not too nervous etc
- race arrival, warm up, half an hour 'get into the zone' etc
- all the way down to 'blast off'

So it was good to have this approach formally recommended. I'll go through this ritual more consciously in future.

Funnily enough, a little while later, I opened up Sonia's auto-b and what page was it on, only her pre-race ritual before winning the world 5000m championships in Gothenburg, 1995. Flukey but effective. That put me in such a good place, mentally. Talk about positive reinforcement. Needless to say, I didn't open it again in case I opened on a page of tears.....

Did pre-evening routine, dinner, music, pack bag and snacks. Planned timetable for the morning.

THE DAY....

I invoked Charlie Spedding's mantra: 'you are going to have the race of your life' before bed and actually woke up saying that to myself :rolleyes:

Got kids up, served breakfast and gave in to ipad requests while prepping and showering. Had bagel and coffee and surveyed all laid out stuff....argh. Saw kids off for the day. Ok, down to business.

Reinforced strategy. 'This was going to hurt'. 'That is ok'. 'Commit, relax and focus'. All good. Now forget about it for a while.

Met coachy and S, kept nerves in the box but was quietly buzzing while chatting on the way in. Felt 'the zone' coming on in the car while drifting into a doze. Felt very very good. Felt controlled race buzz.

THE VENUE

At the venue, we collected our numbers and planned the warm up. Stayed quiet. Kept shades on. Chat to minimum. BG interrupted 'zoning process' by standing with her back to me in the leithreas and saying 'hello' as I passed by. Nearly knocked my shades off their perch and jumped out of my skin Big hug and mutual pep talk.

Saw Viv from TAC and HelenAnne on way to warm up. Brief chat. Saw TRR once or twice throughout afternoon and nodded. That was me, complete stranger, nodding at you TRR

Like I mentioned, I had narrowed down the race mantra to 'relax and focus'. I had visualised 'shooting like an arrow from a bow' and emptying my mind so often, I was counting on those being second nature. Narrowing it down to just 'relax and focus' kept it simple. Things like form, posture and breathing would have to take care of themselves. Fgs, if I can't breathe while running by now, there's not really a lot of hope, is there?!

Half hour to go. Reminded self of strategy and focus. Time to let the adrenaline out of the box.

Coachy took me aside for final pep talk. Told 'no second chances' and 'to leave nothing out there'. That was quite warranted. I have had a question over my 100% mental commitment to hurt and racing recently. Today was not going to be the day it was called into question.

Did strides and stretching. No drills today. It was warm enough and haven't been doing enough drills regularly lately to ensure body holding together. Hip and bum twinged slightly but stretching sorted that and felt absolutely gr-reat on strides. Really great.

Coachy had said to stay with group until 800m. If hanging by then, just hang in and dig but if strong to go, and go decisively.

THE START

We lined up and apart from a quick hand squeeze with BG, paid no attention to either side of me. I picked a place on the outermost line and looked down the road to pick my racing line, angled foot, gathered thoughts - "focus, relax" - head down and off. No watch.

Blast off:

The start was fast but surprisingly comfortable. We curved around the road onto the first section. As planned, I used the 400 and 800 marks as markers to re-focus and concentrate. No drifting, none at all today, I was totally in the zone, actually 'in the heart of the race' up that stretch. There was a part of me sending out signals and sizing up the group while running and focusing. Weird but effective today. I have no idea who was who, no idea at all. Only vest registered was perhaps a blue and white Finn Valley and someone calling for 'Brid'.

I suppose I was in the first three or four up to here and tested the group once or twice with a slight increase in pace, seeing who was responding. Finn Valley not so much, dark singlet, yes. Strong woman. We approached the 800m and off she went, very decisively and very strongly.

I went with her but not enough. Did I let a club mate's pre-race talk of '5:20 milers' psyche me out?
Maybe between 900m-1000m, I made a push of my own and experienced that delicious semi-disbelief when you realise the ones on your shoulder are not coming with you. Between the 800 mark and here, I had figured that if it was hurting me, it was hurting them so, so what, go!

Ok so very blurry here and it was just a case of run hard, dig deep, rinse and repeat, with a nicely empty mind, no anxiety about pain etc, just live it. Got to the corner, about the 1500m mark and experienced a brief moment of exultation as I realised that I had timed emptying the tank perfectly. I had nothing left, only lactic, leaden legs and determination to see me up the finishing straight. What seemed so short before the race now seemed so faaaaaaaar. Couldn't focus, at all, couldn't make out my team mate in the blurry line ahead and probably only saw her with 25m to go. Cleverly, she had lined herself up in my line of running, phew.

And then the story tells itself. S ran the second fastest leg of the day to hand over in second place to CC who tracked first place all the way round like a pro. So impressed with her discipline and strategy. She knew she didn't have the endurance to pick off first place too early so waited til the final 150m, let rip and brought it home with a three second lead.

Last year we were a very solid fourth in a time of 24:09. This year, 23:19, a 50 sec improvement. I am very quickly turning into a stat nerd and have the figures to hand for the winning times over the last few years:

2015 23:29
2014 23:42
2013 23:07
2012 23:22
2011 24:06
2010 23:14 and
2009 22:46

so I'd like to think our gold today stacks up quite respectably beside Raheny's impeccable run streak. I'd like to thank them for being such leading lights over the last nearly decade. You have shown us what unified, consistent teamwork can do, thank you. I am genuinely sorry your win streak was broken but if it had to be broken, I have to be happy it was us.

All the 1%s: the training, the team mates, the trust, the coach, the sleep, diet (coachy's nicer half giving me creative vegan ideas), the right stretching, the right time for core and strengthening, being in tune and knowing when to get physio, alcohol (none!)...the details in the run up...most of all the right mental approach incl committing to absolutely emptying that tank, physically and mentally, all wrapped up beautifully today in the most perfect, shiniest little ball.

As a little addendum. Dad told me afterwards that it was exactly 25 years since, in another incarnation, I was part of the team that brought home team silver in the senior women's race. I ran the first (and fastest) leg in that race too (third fastest today, second fastest last year. A weird sort of symmetry?). Heaven knows what the time was then, I don't think I'd like to know right now....

REFLECTION
My initial reaction straight after, given to MS, was that I felt I had 'run the perfect race'. That was a lovely, satisfying feeling but now I am left with a nagging feeling that I should have gone with that 'strong woman' who brought the first leg home. I have a niggling suspicion that somewhere, I allowed my mental perception of her strengths (I put her into the 5:20 super-miler category, why? I didn't even know her....) to limit my physical output. Anyway....not a criticism, it was definitely the best race I've had in ages but next time, I will be giving myself permission to be 'the outlier'.

My leg time was timed by a Sli Cualann coach as 5:43. The official results have me at 5:45. I am greedy for those two seconds but sure what can ya do, official results is official results. I'll just have to try harder next time.....

Ahem, next time...Yes, argh what have I done??!! I managed to blag an entry to the commemorative mile event next Sunday. Pat Hooper told me if I could break 5:30 on Sunday at the relays, I was in. He has very kindly used the more generous interpretation of my results and confirmed today that I can run.
I am going to be chewed up and spat out but you know what, I don't care, I really, really want to run a fast mile and this might just drag me along.
The carnage in Boston today brought it home that this running lark is a real roller coaster. May as well grab the horns, hold on tight and go for it when you can.

Congrats to all here who took part, racing, stewarding, marshalling, supporting. It doesn't happen without you.

THE GWYNETH BIT...without the tears.....
So thank you to:
Coachy. Has to be said, he is the business.
Coachy's nicer, less grumpy, wittier and funnier half. She opens her house to us multiple times a week and feeds us delicious vegan and healthy food.
My team mates...no words for how amazing they are.
Our clubmates for coming out in spades to support on Sunday. Boardsie support and well wishes too!
Luke and Karl, my physical and physio therapists who managed to get me to the start line in one piece after umpteen niggles and twinges.
My mam. She looks after my kids - at frequently very short notice - while I 'just pop out for a quick hour' to train.
My dad. He gave me the love of running, that love got ignored for a few decades but is back burning now.
Raheny Shamrocks, thank you for such a seamless event. Quite simple the best in the year, imo. Thank you to your fantastic women's team over the years.
Firedance recently, and my kids for giving me perspective. My daughter's eyes when I kissed her goodnight on Sunday and told her I love her much more than running. I mean, did she not know.....?
You guys

Oh christ that was long wasn't it. Thanks for reading if you got this far