Sorry, I thought you said get faster before the 100th Marathon

Aimman

RacoonQueen wrote: »

You're tapering? Pfffft lightweight!

lol, yeah, but its only a mini one, just to leur the legs into a false sense of security.

Oisin11178 wrote: »

you going for 3.45 the weekend?!

Wont know till the day. Hoping to stick another 8 miles onto the end of the race to make an XLSR. If its a good day, I'll head out at that pace and slow back for the extra 8M after the finish line. I'll be the one running on the road heading back towards Longford with the goody bag under my arm, the finisher's tee-shirt torn into shreads and tied up like Rambo's bandana and the medal swinging from side to side, belting me in the face.

Killerz

Aimman wrote: »

.....

With about 1.5M to go, some bloke came out of a side path behind me and was on a mission to overtake me. Trying not to overdo my recovery run, I let him pass me, although he didnt look in good shape and plenty of huffing, puffing and spitting. he was about 50M ahead of me and he looked like he was tiring after putting in the effort to get past me. Of course, the primal hunter instinct kicked in and before I knew it I was on his tail like Taz. He copped I was gaining on him and he tried to gain distance, but just as I caught up with him, he stopped and looked like he was ready to drop. Once I got past him, I dropped the speed a bit, but sure I had the pace in me now and was enjoying it. Within 20 seconds, I could hear the panting, spitting and the extra loud music from his MP3 player and he was onto me again, catching up. Now the primal hunted instinct was kicking in and I upped the pace more until the guy was nowhere to be seen and kept it up till I got to the 10M mark. Chuffed I was when it came to cooling down. After 8.5M at a nice pace of 8:40, it was great to open it out to a pace of 7:20 for the last 1.5M, although it did feck up any chance of calling it a recovery run. I hope I sleep tonight now.
........

Fair play. I hate, hate, hate getting passed by other runners who i know don't deserve (IMO!!) to be going past me on my training runs.

And yes, I ruin many of my "slower" runs by getting drawn into a battle. Not that many will challenge back like that dude in Marlay, but there is nothing like the feeling of satisfaction when someone like that gives up!!

Yes I know I am pure evil

Killerz

Oh ya - and good luck at the weekend! Please ensure there is a photo of your proposed last 8 mile outfit posted here afterwards.

Aimman

Killerz wrote: »

Fair play. I hate, hate, hate getting passed by other runners who i know don't deserve (IMO!!) to be going past me on my training runs.

And yes, I ruin many of my "slower" runs by getting drawn into a battle. Not that many will challenge back like that dude in Marlay, but there is nothing like the feeling of satisfaction when someone like that gives up!!

haha, there seems to be a few of us like that, at least I know it's not just me. I bought the Advanced Marathoning book a few weeks ago, and although there is some great information in it, I cant make use of any of the programs yet, because I'm geared towards the Ultra and then only have 7 weeks before Dublin, so I wont get any benefit from the 'science' behind the training plans, which is probably why I'm not as worried about messing up LSRs and recoverys etc. Might try to stick to a plan next year to help get under 3:30, if no ultras get in the way

Oisin11178

3.30, you will get a nose bleed if you keep up that train of thought:D

Aimman

Straightforward 5M today taking it easy. (Part of my Lightweight tapering, lol)

5M in 42.44 (8:31 pace)

Aimman

Rested on Wednesday and Thursday, did an easy 2M this evening @ 9min miles, just to loose up the legs for tomorrow.

Planning on 26 and then some. The 'then some' depends on how I feel after the race.

Aimman

Bogtrotter Marathon:

Looked out the window at 7am and saw the pissing rain and the heart sank a bit. I want really geared up mentally for this race and the rain wasn't helping. Still didnt know how I was going to race it. Planned to start and see where the legs take me. but the rain cleared for a while and only came in short spells

Armed with two small bottles of Chia seeds in water and 4 gels, Headed off and ended up running between 8 - 8:30 miles over the first 13 miles and hit the 13.1 miles between 1:50 and 1:51. Slowed down a little bit and by mile 16, there was a long incline ahead and the pace was edging to 9 mins. I tried my best to keep it below 9, but pace was up and down for the last 10 miles. Got my final wind at 24 miles and pace for last couple of miles were coming in below 8:30.

The last half mile was a bit daunting, because we had to run across a field towards the Strokestown house with no real sense of direction. There was no-one in front of me for a bit and thought I might have had the finish line to myself, but a local runner in Roscommon rigout was catching up on me. At first when I looked behind, I thought it was Sarsfieldrock, because we were running together from mile 20 to mile 24, but then copped it was the Roscommon guy. Then I assumed he was a relay runner, but the nearer he got, I realised his number was for the full marathon and he was after my place :mad:. I put the foot down and pulled out a great sprint for the last 200M and wouldn't let the guy anywhere near me. It was great, because the quite finish line suddenly erupted with cheers and shouts urging the two of us on as we battled for the position. I was ecstatic that I kept him at bay, but fair play to the guy for trying to make a last minute dash for it.

My time was 3:57:41, another Sub 4, but without the hills, rocky roads and marshy bog path, I would have been guaranteed a PB, but and the end of the day, we were all running the same race, so maybe I'll keep the PB for Dublin.

Of the four gels I brought, I only took one at 6M, 12M and 18M. I planned to take another between 22M and 24M, but I was feeling bloated and took the small bottles of Chia instead, which might be where the energy burst came in at 24M

After the race, I had a wholegrain sambo with mushy banana and some crisps from the goodie bag to get some salt into me. stayed about with some of the others for a few minutes to soak up a bit of the atmosphere, then set off with a carbo bar and fresh bottles of chia and water. After 4M, I was thinking of calling it a day but after 4M I persuaded myself to do another 2M then stop. By the time I finished the 6M, I thought I might as well do the extra 2M and that would be my target 8M completed. The first 6M of the extra run was a bit hard, but that was more to do with the anticlimax from completing the marathon, but I got another surge of energy for the last 2M and picked up the pace again.

At least I know that I can eat a banana sandwich and a carbo bar on the run without any tummy problems.

Overall today 34M in 5:25, my second longest run to date after the Conn Ultra and the longest training one before Dingle.

Sorry for the long report, by the time you're reading this, I'll have my feet up and enjoying a few beers, pizza, garlic bread and nachos.... cos I'm worth it, haha.

Really good feeling after completing the 34M (not during the last 8M, but definitely after it)

xebec

Fair play today, some excellent running. Didn't realise you were that close behind me right up to the half-way mark, could have done with some company over the last 3 miles!!

Real tough stuff going out and plugging another 8 miles in after the marathon, mucho respect!

Oisin11178

Fair play bud. Excellent effort.
The pb question in dublin, i have 4 words for you.
3.45 hour pace group:D

Aimman

Oisin11178 wrote: »

Fair play bud. Excellent effort.
The pb question in dublin, i have 4 words for you.
3.45 hour pace group:D

Ah yeah, definitely. Today was a great confidence boost, despite the ground conditions. And I had the extra 8M in the back of my head too, so was keeping a bit in reserve.

One thing I did wrong though, that was a schoolboy error was that I stopped running suddenly after the 34M, just glad it was finished. Normally, I don't do any stretches after a run over 20M. Instead, I just walk around for a while and cool down that way and I never have any major stiffness or discomfort. Today, after the 34M I just sat down immediately and the muscles seized up on me. Ended up walking like John Wayne and stairs would have been better with one of those stairmaster lift things.

I'll remember in future to just keep walking for a while.

PS. Glad you got to see my Sprint finish, or it would have been like a fisherman's story of the one that got away, lol.

Aimman

6M recovery today in Marlay. Really helped to loosen out the muscles after resting for the last couple of days, although they did twinge a little at the 4M point.

Did my best to try to run really slow, even at the downhill sections and ended up with 6M in 59:19 (9:52 pace)

AJCOT

As ever, awesome stuff Eamonn & well done on out sprinting the native. Were the locals really cheering you?

Aimman

AJCOT wrote: »

As ever, awesome stuff Eamonn & well done on out sprinting the native. Were the locals really cheering you?

Cheers AJ!

God no, they were cheering the man in the Roscommon colours. Think they'd have tried to slow me down with bottles and sticks if they could, lol. Have a photo of the finish, but dont know how to upload pictures on this site.

For a relatively quiet 26.2M, it was just a great way to add a bit of excitement to the finish. Got 'interviewed' by the race commentator at the finish line. Felt like I won the thing, it was a great buzz, haha.

Aimman

5M run at lunchtime. Headed out the canal path past ParkWest. A couple of runners joined the route ahead of me, so I took the opportunity to get the legs moving and overtake them before I had to turn around at the halfway point. Got past them with a bit of time to spare and felt good during the dash. For the last couple of miles, I eased off on the speed because the tops of the legs were a little achey after the weekend

Splits
8:26
8:01
7:34
8:30
8:40

5M in 40:47 (average 8:14 pace). Didnt wear the HRM unfortunately.

I set a few targets at the start of the year and I have an opportunity to complete one of them this weekend. As part of the Ultra training, I had planned to do back to back marathons if I could find an event like the one in Galway last year.

Reading Mithril's log today, I realised that the 32Marathon challenge is coming to an end this weekend, so I signed up for the Marathons on Sunday and Monday. It's probably peaking a bit early with such long runs, particularly after the 34M last Saturday, but I wont get an opportunity to find another back to back without getting in the way of Dingle or Dublin. Will have to get myself ready to race again by Sunday. Very interested in how I'll cope with the Monday run

Oisin11178

How much bud for those 2 races. Which counties are they in?

Aimman

Oisin11178 wrote: »

How much bud for those 2 races. Which counties are they in?

€25 each and you get a medal and t shirt too.

The weekend line up is

Saturday - Cavan
Sunday - Leitrim
Monday - Westmeath

You can get the info here

Oisin11178

Id be able to do the sunday and monday races but would have no way of getting down to them. Pity.

Aimman

I'll be in Roscommon over the weekend. Will be handy for travelling to both. perhaps you could check in the main forum to see if anyone is travelling from Dublin?

Oisin11178

On hindsight ill probably just leave it. It looks like ill be running both longford marathons next month. So that will be 2 in 2 days i think.

xebec

Aimman wrote: »

Have a photo of the finish, but dont know how to upload pictures on this site.

This the one?

Aimman

Yeah, thats the one, cheers . Did ytou have to upload it to the web? link the url to the facebook page or can photos be uploaded directly to posts?

Oisin, Whats the second Longford marathon? is there an invitational race on the route the day before, like in some marathons?

Aimman

4.2 miles today after work. Took it very very easy just to warm up the legs a bit before the races over the weekend.

4.2M in 40:24 (9:38 pace, Avg HR 135)

Legs were feeling a bit tired all day today, so I invested in a roller to massage the muscles (well, it's actually a small roll of Pallet Shrink Wrap with the cardboard roll extended on either side, so it's easy to grip.

During the day and after the run, I massaged the legs paying attention to the bits that were a little uncomfortable and tight. Feels like it really loosened then up a good bit.

I'm hoping that by using the roller over the next couple of days, along with a rest day tomorrow and only a light 2M on Saturday morning, I might have a chance on Sunday for a sub 4 in the Leitrim Marathon (pending the course profile and how I feel on the day). I dont really mind what time I do Monday's marathon in. There's a BBQ at the end of it apparently to celebrate the end of the 32 county challenge, so I'll be thinking of burgers and ribs all the way, to get me to the end.:cool:

I have to find some tips for the Sunday afternoon/evening to give the legs the best chance possible to get some sort of recovery for Monday.

Oisin11178

Aimman wrote: »

Yeah, thats the one, cheers . Did ytou have to upload it to the web? link the url to the facebook page or can photos be uploaded directly to posts?

Oisin, Whats the second Longford marathon? is there an invitational race on the route the day before, like in some marathons?

Got it in 1 mate. Only for vips like myself:D

mithril

I might see you at the start line on Monday, so. Look out for the Boards AC singlet if conditions are good.
I am targeting 3:30 myself since this will be a single long run for me as opposed to the double one you are doing.

Aimman

mithril wrote: »

I might see you at the start line on Monday, so. Look out for the Boards AC singlet if conditions are good.
I am targeting 3:30 myself since this will be a single long run for me as opposed to the double one you are doing.

We'll be running with Keith Duffy and Michael O'Leary on the day apparently. We'll have to tell Michael that the water at the station costs €3 each, his finish line will be miles away from everyone elses, and there'll be a charge if his goody bag is too heavy :-)

Looking forward to seeing you there. not sure what the turnout is at each of these runs. Good luck with the 3:30. I wont be getting near that on either run.

I know I'm peaking a bit early on the length of the doubles, and doubt if I'll be doing the same distances before Dingle, but I wont get the opportunity again seeing as both being races should keep me motivated to keep going all the way for both.

menoscemo

You going to do Longford? I was talking to RQ there tonight and I am considering doing it as a long LSR. Not racing, just doing 9 min/mile pace. Would be a good confidence booster to know I can last the full 26.2 miles. If you are doing it we'd be able to pac each other.

Aimman

I dont think I'll be doing it because it's a week before Dingle and I'll be tapering then to give me a decent shot at the run. It should be a good LSR for you though, because it's quite flat and no major challenges. I might come out and support you though.

menoscemo

No worries. I'll consider it when I come back from Hols

Aimman

2.1M in 20.17 (9:39 pace) Just went out very easy to check the legs for any tiredness, everything is ok.

I'm all set for the back to back marathons over the next couple of days. Emphasised more on rest then running for the week. I used the roller over the last few days to help massage any of the tight muscle tissue and they loosened out quite well. Think I'll hang onto the roller a bit longer.

Got a good night's sleep last night which should set me up nicely for tomorrow. I checked the profile of both courses and they are both very flat. In Leitrim, there a max of 1% incline over less then a quarter mile.

Mullingar is a little different, there's a 2mile climb at mile 7 and 20 (1%) but that should be insignificant compared to the bogtrotters last wekend.

I reckon I'm up for another sub4 tomorrow. If I am, there's a chance of a new PB, however, I'm not sure how that will affect me on Monday. It takes 24 - 48hours to get the glycogen back into the muscles. Not sure if I'll have an opportunity for a cold bath in Lough Rinn, unless I dip into the river there, but I'll just have to rest, repair and carb up as best I can for the next day. Depending on the legs on Monday, it could be 4:20 - 4:30 time. Along with the gels, I also bought a High5 protein bar to eat straight after both races to see if it helps improve the recovery, It might go on the shopping list for Dingle along with their Carb bar I had last week.

Thats my inxperienced prediction, lets see how it works out.

And here's me worried about how I'll cope with a 2nd marathon in two days and there's Gerry and Ken waking up each day for the last 30 days and hammering out another marathon. And their times are getting better as they go along. What's their secret? Fair play to you lads, inspirational!