Bliain Faoi Thrí

ronanmac

A blustery day with heavy showers and a cold wind, I waited for a spell of rain to pass before heading out. The advantage of living on a hill overlooking the sea is that you can generally see the weather before it arrives (the disadvantage is that even a nice calm day in other parts of the country blows like a storm where I live:D). With the shackles of a training programme discarded after the marathon, I headed down to Rinn, past the house where my mother was born, and down a grass path to the shore. The village in which I live is on a penninsula and this point, Barr na Corra, is the furthest point south on the penninsula, Aran straight ahead, and Boston after that.

From there, I ran along the shore to Trá na Tismeáine, and from there to An Damba, where pirate queen, Grace O'Malley is reputed to have used as a hide-out. Back up a hill, past an old tractor struggling with a load of seaweed, up through downtown An Cheathrú Rua (more down than town!), and home. A nice run, but man, the legs still feel heavy...

I think I'll start a 10k programme on Tuesday, six weeks into a 12 week programme if I'm to finish it for Athenry. The freedom of running where you want, at the pace you want, is great, but not for an indisciplined person like myself!


Route: Home to An Rinn, to Trá na Tismeáine, to An Damba, to Caorán Beag and back
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 46:27
Pace: 7:45
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 5
Personal Satisfaction: 7 (enjoyable run but heavy, heavy legs after the shore run)
Weather: Windy but stayed dry amazingly!

ronanmac

With the storm promised, I was dreading starting my bike training with a session on the turbo. So when I woke up to a blue sky and a calm day, I was delighted! I had thought when I had decided to focus on triathlons that the biking and running would be okay, but that the swimming would be the challenge. Three miles into the bike today, and my quads feeling the strain already, I guess I need to put a lot more work into my cycling than I though! A nice but short spin, I came across another 20 cyclists taking advantage of the fine morning.

After the cycle, we headed over to my in-laws, as my wife is currently training for the Athenry 10k from a base of pretty much zero, and I had offered her company for her longest run to date, a four miler. We started out at a nice slow pace, but after a mile, I was the one feeling dizzy and weak! It dawned on me then that I had eaten nothing all morning, apart from a banana I brought with me for the cycle, but I felt better after another ten minutes. When we came to two miles on the bog road by her family home, M picked up the pace and we turned around and headed south into a wind that was beginning to pick up. Four miles down, another milestone for my wife, and a nice post-cycle recovery run for me!

Cycle Route: Home to An Tulaigh, around Ros a'Mhíl and back
Distance: 17.2 miles
Time: 59 minutes
Average speed: 17 mph
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 5
Personal Satisfaction: 6 (nice to head out but weaker than anticipated)
Weather: Cold but calm

Route: Na Minna to An Bóthar Nua and back
Distance: 4 miles
Time: 46:32
Pace: 11:39
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 3
Personal Satisfaction: 8 (it felt great to be running as company for someone other than my Garmin!)
Weather: Cold and breezy rather than windy

ronanmac

I got up yesterday morning after my wife returned from her run, togged out, went to the toilet and somehow decided that I wasn't going to bother heading out for a run. Then I spent the rest of the day bitching at myself for not training. With friends like that...:rolleyes:

Looking back, I think that part of the problem was that I had intended yesterday to start back on a training programme again and after resenting the lonnngggggness of marathon training, I was now resenting the effort to be put into shorter distance training . Go figure!

Anyway, I decided finally this evening to start my 10k programme and head out for a run, and learnt a few things in the process:
1. Always prepare for the worst weather when packing running gear this time of year (my ears are still freezing from cold, cold rain)
2. Saucony Kinvara's, although nice and light, have almost zero protection from the elements and the first 2.5 miles were run with numb toes
3. Someone has removed the showerhead from the shower at work!

Running at pace felt very tough, tougher than it should, but it's good to be back following a programme again. Now to stick to it!

Route: Work to Cor na Rún an back
Distance: 5.01 miles (3 miles at tempo)
Time: 34:02
Prescribed Pace/Actual Pace: 6:19/6:19, 6:32, 6:49
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 8.5
Personal Satisfaction: 7 (head clear again after the run, tough conditions, steadily losing pace by the mile)
Weather: Lashing rain, windy, cold

Micilin Muc

ronanmac wrote: »

2. Saucony Kinvara's, although nice and light, have almost zero protection from the elements and the first 2.5 miles were run with numb toes

Who'd have thought Kinvara's aren't suitable for Conamara!

ronanmac

Today, I became a budding swimmer! I went into Ocean Fitness in Salthill at lunchtime to give the pool a try. The idea was to start with the Zero to 1650 programme, the only problem being that zero doesn't really mean zero! Today called for 4 x 100m, 4 x 50m and 4 x 25m.

After the first 100m, I felt like my heart was about to explode out of my chest... Bloody hell, this swimming mullarkey is tough! The second 100m was easier, the third tiring, and the fourth exhausting. Half-way through the first of the 50m's, I was reduced to an incoherent splash, so I decided to call it a day.

In summary, the Ocean Fitness facilities are great and have a pretty good rate deal with my workplace; my swimming is cack but I knew that anyway; I have now started so I can only improve from here!

I bought the Total Immersion book the other day, and tried to incorporate some of the stuff I had picked up while casually reading through it. There's a lot to be aware of, however, and I can really see the need for drills. Here's to a voyage of discovery!

4 x 100m
1 x 50m
Total: 450m

pgibbo

Fair play Rónán. Níl sé éasca......

I know it's awkward for you but I think you really should look at some lessons or a Masters group. It will make a huge difference having someone critique you and give pointers rather than relying on feeling. I realised this lately after seeing a video of myself swimming. It was shocking and I looked nothing like I felt I was swimming.

Best of luck with it.

Ocean is a classs facility though. The pool is really nice.

ronanmac

pgibbo wrote: »

I think you really should look at some lessons or a Masters group. .

Cheers pgibbo. One dumbass question, though. I keep reading about Masters groups, but I have absolutely no idea what a Masters group is. So, what is a Masters group?

pgibbo

ronanmac wrote: »

Cheers pgibbo. One dumbass question, though. I keep reading about Masters groups, but I have absolutely no idea what a Masters group is. So, what is a Masters group?

There are 2 Masters Groups that I am aware of in Galway.

Galway Bay Masters swim in Ocean on Wednesday evenings and Leisureland on Sunday evenings.
Tuam Masters are the other group but there's no way you could make that unless you borrow a heli!

Masters groups are basically a coached swim session for people over 18. Both Galway and Tuam have 6 lanes at their sessions and the lanes are split up based on ability / speed. Both groups have 2 coaches on deck that coach the session. In short, it's a coached swim session. Feel free to give me a call if you want more info. I know the coaches in both clubs.

Hope that helps.

ronanmac

pgibbo wrote: »

There are 2 Masters Groups that I am aware of in Galway.

Galway Bay Masters swim in Ocean on Wednesday evenings and Leisureland on Sunday evenings.
Tuam Masters are the other group but there's no way you could make that unless you borrow a heli!

Masters groups are basically a coached swim session for people over 18. Both Galway and Tuam have 6 lanes at their sessions and the lanes are split up based on ability / speed. Both groups have 2 coaches on deck that coach the session. In short, it's a coached swim session. Feel free to give me a call if you want more info. I know the coaches in both clubs.

Hope that helps.

That sounds like exactly the kind of thing I need. I don't think I could turn up at a coached group swim session just yet, however, considering how little I can swim at the moment. I might give you a shout about it later.

Oh, and you're right, níl sé f*ckin' éasca!

DustyBin

Stick at it ronan, it will come
Biggest thing I had to learn was to slow down
Imagine trying to run a 10 miler at your 1 mile pace?

Maybe this next bit won't make sense but for me once I was happy that I wasn't going to sink (a little bit of fear of the water maybe?) then I knew that even with slowing down, I'd still get to the far end of the pool, just not as quick
After that I could easy enough start to knock out the distances, and learn that if I was pushing it a little and growing tired I could slow up slightly mid swim and recover whilst swimming, something similar to when out for a run - you don't need to stop, just slow down for a little while to recover during the run`. That was a real epiphany when I realised how to do that :cool:
Previous to that I was always fightlng against the water and struggling to get to the far side before I sank :pac: I was burning up a huge amount of wasted energy

Hopefully might make some sense t oyou, if not sure just ignore it as incoherent babble

DustyBin

Oh and get down to those lessons that pgibbo is talking about asap
Even just head down along for a look to demystify them a bit

Like I said to you before, I spent 9 months arsing about on my own going nowhere, then hooked up with club swim lessons when I joined my club and made huge strides (strokes??) forward in a very short length of time

pgibbo

ronanmac wrote: »

That sounds like exactly the kind of thing I need. I don't think I could turn up at a coached group swim session just yet, however, considering how little I can swim at the moment. I might give you a shout about it later.

Oh, and you're right, níl sé f*ckin' éasca!

Get there ASAP. No point practicing bad habits. Once you can swim 2 lengths of a pool the 2 Masters groups in Galway will let you swim with them. Galway Bay is really your only choice and Andrew is an excellent coach and very passionate about swimming.

littlebug

pgibbo wrote: »

Once you can swim 2 lengths of a pool the 2 Masters groups in Galway will let you swim with them. .

Just what I was about to ask you pgibbo. We were both looking at the Tuam masters but thought you'd have to be at a reasonable standard first. My husband was more interested than me.... I'm not sure I could swim 2 lengths

(sorry Rónan thread hijack again- pgibbo should start a log:cool:).

ronanmac

littlebug wrote: »

Just what I was about to ask you pgibbo. We were both looking at the Tuam masters but thought you'd have to be at a reasonable standard first. My husband was more interested than me.... I'm not sure I could swim 2 lengths

(sorry Rónan thread hijack again- pgibbo should start a log:cool:).

Yes, pgibbo should start a log, but we'll forgive his absence if he continues to dollop out random pieces of useful tips and information.

Actually, littlebug, between bjohnson and pgibbo, you seem to be turning into a serial demander of logs being started

littlebug

ronanmac wrote: »

Yes, pgibbo should start a log, but we'll forgive his absence if he continues to dollop out random pieces of useful tips and information.

Actually, littlebug, between bjohnson and pgibbo, you seem to be turning into a serial demander of logs being started

I'm just a nosy cow:o

Macanri

Hey ronan,

Firstly, congrats on a great result in DCM - fantastic time, and some PB.
On the tri front, as the lads say get in to a group - be that a masters session or a set of lessons. The benefit being that the coach will/should give you plenty of pointers on how you can swim with better technique and therefore more efficiently. I have no doubt in a number of weeks you will be posting great times and distances on the swimming front.

By the way you have been named for triathlons - ronan










IronMan

catweazle

Good man Ronan, more swimming than I have done lately. I know you will have difficulty making a Masters Class where you live. I started off with the Total Immersion DVD I downloaded off Pirate Bay and fairly stuck at it for a few months, the starting drills were very basic but they got my balance better in the water. My technique still sucks but it has come on since i first started, after a month or two of doing the drills I then got a private lesson who didn't give out to me too much but told me I wasn't gliding in the water, so another month or two of following that lesson I was "gliding" (Kinda)

When I am back in work next week i will dig out my old dropbox account and upload it up there for you

pgibbo

littlebug wrote: »

Just what I was about to ask you pgibbo. We were both looking at the Tuam masters but thought you'd have to be at a reasonable standard first. My husband was more interested than me.... I'm not sure I could swim 2 lengths

(sorry Rónan thread hijack again- pgibbo should start a log:cool:).

Feel free to pop along any Sunday evening LB. We offer a "try before you buy" policy in Tuam. You can try a session before signing up. If you enjoy and think it's for you then simply sign up the following week. More information here. We've had people that could hardly swim 1 length and they've made great progress. Both of you are more than welcome to come along.

ronanmac

Macanri wrote: »

IronMan

I had a good laugh at this Macanri! It's definitely the closest I'll ever get to an Ironman, unless you count a halfIronMan (but I know of some people who aren't too keen on prefixes tainting the word Ironman ).

catweazle wrote: »

I started off with the Total Immersion DVD I downloaded off Pirate Bay and fairly stuck at it for a few months, the starting drills were very basic but they got my balance better in the water. My technique still sucks but it has come on since i first started, after a month or two of doing the drills I then got a private lesson who didn't give out to me too much but told me I wasn't gliding in the water, so another month or two of following that lesson I was "gliding" (Kinda)

When I am back in work next week i will dig out my old dropbox account and upload it up there for you

That would be great, catweazle. A mate of mine spoke to the Masters crowd in Ocean Fitness last night, and they're taking new people on board after Christmas. Hopefully, I'll have enough swimming done by then to keep my head above water

ronanmac

Sheesh! It's been one busy week with work and travel. Having driven comfortably over a 1000 miles between last Saturday and Tuesday, I've had no time to post here, let alone train . Two runs is all I've managed to get in, and my swimming revolution has come to a halt as quickly as it started! I need a combination of better planning and a more predictable job!

Sunday
An eight miler at something resembling pace, it's with trepidation that I headed out from the in-laws house on Sunday. The programme, from which I'm picking random runs rather than following, called for eight miles at long tempo pace, which equated to 6:46 pace. I struggled! Despite fading as the miles went on, I felt good at the end.

Route: Na Minna to An Cnoc and back
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 54:52
Prescribed Pace/Achieved Pace: 6:46/6:38, 6:34, 6:56, 6:50, 6:58, 6:55, 7:08, 6:55
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 8
Personal Satisfaction: 8 (missed the paces, but felt good after what was a bit of a lung opener for me)
Weather: Dry, light breeze, cold

Today
Another run with a bit of pace set down, and another run where I missed the set paces by a considerable margin. I'm doing the Leenane 5 Mile race on Sunday, but I feel like I've lost a good chunk of the speed I had in my legs pre-marathon training. Whether I have or not, Sunday will tell.

I knew this run wasn't going to be pretty, as I had eaten a feed of chicken curry for lunch and felt it churning in the stomach as I headed out about two hours later. Once I had the warm-up mile out of the way, I felt a huge stitch when I tried to pick up some pace. The end result was that I couldn't get any pace going, and when I came to my halfway turnaround point, I stopped for a minute to let things settle down. It worked, and I was feeling good for the next mile, but really, at the end, it was just a struggle. There will be better days!

Route: Work to An Bóthar Nua and back
Distance: 5 miles (1 warm up, 3 tempo, 1 cool down)
Time: 34:29
Prescribed Pace/Achieved Pace: 6:16/6:45, 6:42, 6:29
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 8.5
Personal Satisfaction: 6 (tip: don't eat a big plate of chicken curry, rice and a side of salmon gougons before a run)
Weather: Dry, but running home into a slight westerly. Nature's resistance training!

ronanmac

There couldn’t be a nicer day for a race, and there couldn’t be a nicer place to run it than Leenane. Known to many runners as a pass-through village for the Connemarathon, or the start for the half-Connemarathon, the village and its surrounding townlands proved to be a lovely location, in its own right, for its own five mile race. All money being raised on the day from the race was going into the local ambulance service, and I was struck by the strong community spirit in the village. That, with good old fashioned efficiency and friendliness, made for a great race.

I vowed in this race to start out at a slower pace than I normally do at races, as I usually get over-excited and run at a speed that I can’t maintain! So when a bunch of runners burst forward past me, I stayed calm (!) and didn’t chase after them. After quarter a mile, a number of the runners had fallen back and there was a group of ten lads ahead. Reversing my previous decision, I upped the pace to try and catch onto the back of the group, but by the one mile mark, ascending one of many gruesome hills, the group disintegrated further, with five runners breaking ahead, some lads falling behind and me stuck in the middle in no mans land.

By the top of that first hill, at about 1.5 miles, I could see that one of the five was beginning to tail off the leading group. He was a good bit ahead but all of a sudden, a top five finish was the dream! Downhill and I was making no gains on him, but I had heard that the turn off the main road was particularly hilly and I reckoned I might be able to close the gap a bit there. We turned off the Leenane Westport road, into the townland of Glann, and bloody hell, they weren’t joking! Straight away, a steep elevation before it levelled off briefly. Having caught my breath, the hill came suddenly again. It being a narrow, twisty, tree-lined road, I could catch no sight of my imaginary opponent, but above my own heavy breathing and heart beat, I could hear someone else closing in behind me. Eventually, we got to the top and I could see the lad ahead. I had closed the margin by about half, I reckoned, so gave it welly going downhill but I couldn’t catch him by the time we were out again on the main road, heading back for Leenane. At the main road junction, I glanced back, seeing that whoever was closing in was only a few metres behind by now.

We were at the 3.5 mile mark now, and another half mile of hill before the downhill into Leenane. Gradually, I began to close the margin, and by the top of the hill, I had caught the guy in fifth place. Then, with no immediate target ahead of me (the front four were almost out of sight), I was a bit flummoxed, finding it difficult to keep pace. My breathing was very laboured by now, following the work coming up the hill and I could hear that the two guys behind me were very close. Thinking back to my chi running workshop, I slowed down the breathing, tried to relax into the downhill and suddenly found a bit of rhythm again. The finish came into sight, not before time as my chest was burning. “They’re closing in”, someone shouted and I gave it one last effort to cross the line in 31:10. The other two lads were seconds behind.

Fifth place, my highest placing ever in a race, but a tough five miler if there ever was one! A lovely location, but the hills are tough as well as scenic. Afterwards, we headed back to the community centre for some of Leenane’s famed post-race cake. It didn’t disappoint. It felt as close to being a local a race as I’ve run, as there were a good few runners there from An Cheathrú Rua, and I also met Yop and Micilín Muc from Boards fame!

A great day! Garmin details here.

Route: Leenane 5 Mile Road Race
Distance: 5.04 miles (+1.2 miles warmup)
Time: 31:10
Average Pace: 6:11
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): A rare 10!
Personal Satisfaction: 9.5
Weather: Perfect! Dry and cool

Micilin Muc

Fair play duit a Rónáin, maith an fear. You seemed so relaxed before the race, not as if you were about to come 5th!

pgibbo

Good going and top 5 too. Nice one. Shame you had to meet Yop though. Hard to get a word in with his constant tripe talk about Man U & Mayo football......:rolleyes:

ronanmac

pgibbo wrote: »

Good going and top 5 too. Nice one. Shame you had to meet Yop though. Hard to get a word in with his constant tripe talk about Man U & Mayo football......:rolleyes:

Fortunately, Yop didn't engage me in either of my two pet hates . As it happens, the start of the race was delayed by the late arrival of one runner... wearing a Mayo jersey. Delays with his visa coming over the Galway border I suspect!

By the way, pgibbo, I noticed, while sticking my time into the best of '10 thread, your 8k/5m time. Bloody hell!

neilc

ronanmac wrote: »

There couldn’t be a nicer day for a race, and there couldn’t be a nicer place to run it than Leenane. Known to many runners as a pass-through village for the Connemarathon, or the start for the half-Connemarathon, the village and its surrounding townlands proved to be a lovely location, in its own right, for its own five mile race. All money being raised on the day from the race was going into the local ambulance service, and I was struck by the strong community spirit in the village. That, with good old fashioned efficiency and friendliness, made for a great race.

I vowed in this race to start out at a slower pace than I normally do at races, as I usually get over-excited and run at a speed that I can’t maintain! So when a bunch of runners burst forward past me, I stayed calm (!) and didn’t chase after them. After quarter a mile, a number of the runners had fallen back and there was a group of ten lads ahead. Reversing my previous decision, I upped the pace to try and catch onto the back of the group, but by the one mile mark, ascending one of many gruesome hills, the group disintegrated further, with five runners breaking ahead, some lads falling behind and me stuck in the middle in no mans land.

By the top of that first hill, at about 1.5 miles, I could see that one of the five was beginning to tail off the leading group. He was a good bit ahead but all of a sudden, a top five finish was the dream! Downhill and I was making no gains on him, but I had heard that the turn off the main road was particularly hilly and I reckoned I might be able to close the gap a bit there. We turned off the Leenane Westport road, into the townland of Glann, and bloody hell, they weren’t joking! Straight away, a steep elevation before it levelled off briefly. Having caught my breath, the hill came suddenly again. It being a narrow, twisty, tree-lined road, I could catch no sight of my imaginary opponent, but above my own heavy breathing and heart beat, I could hear someone else closing in behind me. Eventually, we got to the top and I could see the lad ahead. I had closed the margin by about half, I reckoned, so gave it welly going downhill but I couldn’t catch him by the time we were out again on the main road, heading back for Leenane. At the main road junction, I glanced back, seeing that whoever was closing in was only a few metres behind by now.

We were at the 3.5 mile mark now, and another half mile of hill before the downhill into Leenane. Gradually, I began to close the margin, and by the top of the hill, I had caught the guy in fifth place. Then, with no immediate target ahead of me (the front four were almost out of sight), I was a bit flummoxed, finding it difficult to keep pace. My breathing was very laboured by now, following the work coming up the hill and I could hear that the two guys behind me were very close. Thinking back to my chi running workshop, I slowed down the breathing, tried to relax into the downhill and suddenly found a bit of rhythm again. The finish came into sight, not before time as my chest was burning. “They’re closing in”, someone shouted and I gave it one last effort to cross the line in 31:10. The other two lads were seconds behind.

Fifth place, my highest placing ever in a race, but a tough five miler if there ever was one! A lovely location, but the hills are tough as well as scenic. Afterwards, we headed back to the community centre for some of Leenane’s famed post-race cake. It didn’t disappoint. It felt as close to being a local a race as I’ve run, as there were a good few runners there from An Cheathrú Rua, and I also met Yop and Micilín Muc from Boards fame!

A great day! Garmin details here.

Route: Leenane 5 Mile Road Race
Distance: 5.04 miles (+1.2 miles warmup)
Time: 31:10
Average Pace: 6:11
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): A rare 10!
Personal Satisfaction: 9.5
Weather: Perfect! Dry and cool

Great race report and really well done on a great performance.
Neil

pgmcpq

Great race ronan. It looks like you raced it beautifully. And that's a fine 5m time on any course.

shotgunmcos

Great running man, no better incentive than being that close to the podium Well done

ronanmac

Just when you think you’re doing well... My wife and I, and the two boys, headed across the water last Thursday to stay my wife’s sister in High Wycombe in England for the weekend. Our plan was to do the Black Park 5k Park Run, which we had done a few months previous as my wife’s first ever race. I ran that one with her but planned to attempt Saturday’s run at a sub-six mile pace, the first time I would ever have run successive sub-six pace miles. I reckoned from the previous week’s race in Leenane that it would be doable, especially considering how flat the Black Park route was.

The plan came asunder very quickly, however, and not alone did I not run at the targetted pace, I failed to beat a PB for the first time this year. I had an idea of how things were going to go during the warm-up as I wasn’t getting up to pace at all, and my heart beat was (unscientific term alert) through the roof very quickly.

Anyway, I parked myself near just behind the front of the start line, on what is a very pretty and flat course in the Black Park near Slough. Quickly enough, I found myself in second place, with the leader running off into the distance and me already struggling. I slipped into third before the end of the first mile, done in 5:52. The second mile saw me slip down to 6:05 pace, and slip down the pecking order as well to eighth. The last mile had my lungs on fire, slowing further to 6:18, but pulled back to seventh to cross the line. I forgot to stop my watch at the end, but my official time was a disappointing 18:53. Unusually, my lungs felt like they were still burning for about an hour .

So what went wrong? Plenty of excuses (cold weather, no sleep due to vomiting bug in the family etc etc), but essentially, I reckon I gave myself a target that I couldn’t achieve due to lack of ability at my current training level.

The target remains for another time. Perhaps the Galway 5k series...

Route: Black Park Forest, Slough, UK
Distance: 5k (+.8 miles warmup)
Time: 18:53
Average Pace: 6:05
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 10
Personal Satisfaction: 5
Weather: Snowy and cold

Monday
Went swimming. My swimming is sh*te. Nothing should take this much effort for so little gain. Can't wait for some direction after Christmas. Currently, I hate swimming. I need an L plate for my swim cap.

Done: 400 metres in dribs and drabs

Thursday
Had done no running in a while, and my head was slowly fogging up so had to get out today. No set target, just run for six miles and open the pressure valve!

While in England last week, I picked up a pair of Stabilicers, and found them great. No traction issues, even going uphill on black ice.

Route: Work to Bóthar Nua and back
Distance: 6 miles
Time: 45:17
Average Pace: 7:33
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 6
Personal Satisfaction: 7 (nice to clear the head)
Weather: Sunny and cool, a bit slippy underfoot but definitely nothing as bad as the east coast!

pgmcpq

ronanmac wrote: »

The plan came asunder very quickly, however, and not alone did I not run at the targetted pace, I failed to beat a PB for the first time this year. I had an idea of how things were going to go during the warm-up as I wasn’t getting up to pace at all, and my heart beat was (unscientific term alert) through the roof very quickly.

Anyway, I parked myself near just behind the front of the start line, on what is a very pretty and flat course in the Black Park near Slough. Quickly enough, I found myself in second place, with the leader running off into the distance and me already struggling. I slipped into third before the end of the first mile, done in 5:52. The second mile saw me slip down to 6:05 pace, and slip down the pecking order as well to eighth. The last mile had my lungs on fire, slowing further to 6:18, but pulled back to seventh to cross the line. I forgot to stop my watch at the end, but my official time was a disappointing 18:53. Unusually, my lungs felt like they were still burning for about an hour .

So what went wrong? Plenty of excuses (cold weather, no sleep due to vomiting bug in the family etc etc), but essentially, I reckon I gave myself a target that I couldn’t achieve due to lack of ability at my current training level.

Bad luck. Given the high HR I'd put my money on lack of sleep. After the 5 mile result it sounds like the target is within reach. Maybe a slower start ? Next time.

shotgunmcos

ronanmac wrote: »

I need an L plate for my swim cap!

:D:D LMAO