Berlin 2016: Back to Basics

TheRoadRunner

The last time I started a log it ended in disaster but I'll tempt fate and start one again. I kinda enjoy writing down what I've done/plan to do and the feed back I get so I'll give it another bash and we'll see how we go. Short term goals are Frank Duffy 10 mile, national half marathon. Ideally I'd love to run PBs for both but the Frank Duffy 10 miler is a tough cookie and I heard the route around where the half is to be run are undulating.

Once I get through them I'll decide whether or not to run the Dublin marathon. This will depend on how I'm running and also my work/home schedule.

My PBs to date are
5K 15:40 (2007)
4 miles 21.01 (2008)
5 mile 26.45 (2007)
8 mile 45.02 (2005/6 ?)
10 mile 56.10 (2007)
Half Marathon 75.20 (2008)
Marathon 2hrs 47 mins (2009)

This year has been a good one so far. I haven't ran any PBs but in the last 2-3 months I have been in touching distance of most of those listed above. Training this year hasn't been as intense as before. A lot of my running was easy. I ran 2.48 for a marathon in April and apart from a couple of races and tempos all my training running was very slow. What's more my 5k and 4 mile times were really good (21.15 and 16 minutes) which I was amazed at considering I hadn't done any real pace running to talk about. I have an excel sheet with all my running this year. I'll try and post a modified version in the next few days to show what I've done to date. Going forward mileage will vary from 50-65 miles per week. Anymore than this I generally pick up injuries.

I'm going to continue on as before but will try to get some more tempo stuff in the legs. If I feel it isn't agreeing with me I'll drop it and keep plodding instead. I'd rather be a little slower but injury free.

Sosa

Best of luck with the training and log,i will be following with interest.

gerard65

Great to see you back with a log. I enjoyed reading your last one and got alot out of it. Good luck with your goals.

Krusty_Clown

Incredible PBs (Don't llike 10k's?!). Would be great to see what you could record in Dublin in October, on the back of some good training. Hope the injuries stay at bay.

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

(Don't llike 10k's?!)

Absolutely hate 10ks. I have a PB but I've actually ran faster in training so I don't list it. I was planning on smashing the PB in Dunshaughlin but I've had a week off training on the beer (holidays ) so may have to find another 10k.

tisnotover

Best of luck with the log roadrunner, always good to see how ye faster boys do it ! 1.15 for the half is some going !

Krusty_Clown

Dublin 10km in ParkWest in July looks pretty flat, though it's a bit expensive at €25, though if you're willing to wear a Krusty Clown costume you can get a discount.

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Dublin 10km in ParkWest in July looks pretty flat, though it's a bit expensive at €25, though if you're willing to wear a Krusty Clown costume you can get a discount.

Hmmmm. Was actually in communication recently with the organizer regarding the pricing of this race. I might actually run it to decide for myself if it's worth the entry fee or not.

Refuse to wear fancy dress though. I'm sure there is some Guinness world record for running a 10k dressed as a clown but I have zero interest in chasing it (should look this up actually it's probably 29 minutes or the like)

Slogger Jogger

Super PBs indeed. Best of luck with the log. I'll check your updates with interest.

village runner

Best of luck with the log. Great to see how the big boys do it.
Marathon time aint special for a lad that can run 75 min for a half. Is there a reason for this ??? The 5k is special.

TheRoadRunner

village runner wrote: »

Marathon time aint special for a lad that can run 75 min for a half. Is there a reason for this ???

I usually use marathon cycles to get fit. Am generally a stone over weight when I start these cycles. Sometimes I loose the run of myself and hit the beer and food too hard (I'm sure you can sympathise ) and need a major goal to get my ass back in shape.

I've said it before that I've never actually raced a marathon, if things go to plan this summer I may be able to rectify that in Dublin as I'm not too far from my normal race weight at the moment.

TheRoadRunner

Trying to get the excel sheet together is a pain in the hole so I've attached a chart of my weekly mileage for the last 26 weeks. The majority was run at 7-7.30 pace if that is informative.

I took the majority of last week off as on holidays with the family. I drank and ate my head off. Went for a run on Saturday when I got back. I was in ribbons but pushed pace a little as was running to my folks for dinner and was running late. My legs were still sore after running leg 1 of the Wicklow way relay last week. Still sore today actually

Saturday 6+ miles @ 6.50ish pace
Sunday 9.8 miles at 7.18 pace
Monday 6 miles @ 8 minute mile pace.

Hope to do an easy fartlek tomorrow and a short pace run (4-5 miles) on Friday. Long run will be 13-15 miles on Sunday (hopefully). Hope to hit close to 50 miles this week.

TheRoadRunner

Ran a bit of fartlek today. Was all on grass. Fartlek itself was 20 minutes with intervals between 1-2 minutes and 30 seconds recovery. Had the top off and the guns out, it was nice and warm. 6.5ish miles total including warm up cool down.

Felt a lot looser than yesterday. Have a sharp pain in my hip though. I have tight flexors so I need to stretch a little more than I have recently. This is a habit I had got into in December but have fallen off the wagon in the last month.

Ultimately I need to visit my physio though. Hopefully this weekend. An hour of torture on his table and the flexors will be free and will stay that way with my reintroduction of daily stretching. He does one manipulation where his basically probes into the front of my pubic bone with his finger (at no extra charge:D), the pain is usually so bad it brings tears to the eyes and I have sobbed on occasions. It's great though, the relief gained from it is amazing.

Plan on doing 7-8 easy miles tomorrow. Pace will be 7.30-8 minutes. Had planned doing a little pace run on Friday but this may push this to Thursday as I'm heading out with the club and things can sometimes heat up during a run so if it does I'll go with the pace (if I'm up for it) and take Friday handy instead.

heffsarmy

Good luck with the log RR, will be keeping tabs on this one. The two races you have mentioned are the only ones I might do on the run up too the Dublin marathon. Nice pbs by the way, hopefully you will race the Dublin marathon.

TheRoadRunner

heffsarmy wrote: »

The two races you have mentioned are the only ones I might do on the run up too the Dublin marathon.

Might see you on the start line so. Are you running injury free now? I remember you picked up an achilles problem at the Le Cheile 5k in Leixlip

In other news I'm booked into physio Saturday morning which is also my rest day.

heffsarmy

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Might see you on the start line so. Are you running injury free now? I remember you picked up an achilles problem at the Le Cheile 5k in Leixlip
QUOTE]

Back too full strength now, have been doin loads off cycling and small amount of running, just want too build up the mileage. Might do the 10km in Dunshaughlin this weekend to get a bench mark for training. Sounds like your in for some pain saturday!

shels4ever

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Had the top off and the guns out, it was nice and warm. 6.5ish miles total including warm up cool down.

Thats something I may have to do, I've the worst farmers tan ever now, thats what I get for running in singlets.

TheRoadRunner

Plan was to run very easy today. Had the option of running with an old friend but the downside is he likes to clip along quicker than the pace I hoped to run today.

I managed to slow him down and we averaged around 7.20 for just under 8 miles. I felt fine but would have got more benefit from running 20 seconds a mile slower.

I did a good bit of stretching last night and am just about to so again now. I still have a pinching sensation in my right hip. If I didn't know better I would actually say it is a bone/joint problem. However I've had this before and my physio is great at releasing out the tension in the flexor/muscle/tendon or whatever it is there that causes me grief.

Legs feel fine now but a slower pace today would have been better, I'm not a fan of running on my own so I'll take the slightly faster than planned miles.

Tomorrows session will depend on how the body feels and who turns up to the club.

I'm hanging for a beer so think I'm going to undo my good work of today with a couple of cans of special H.

TheRoadRunner

Ended up running the faster miles tonight rather than tomorrow as am up to my eyes in work and am not sure when I'll get to run. Felt good during 2 mile warm up and lashed into the tempo miles. Ran in the Phoenix park all on grass so was aiming for 24.30 for 4 miles. I reckon that's equivalent to 23.20-30 on the flat road loop I normally use.

Hit 24 minutes dead in the end but it wasn't easy. Found it a little tough in the heat and hit a nice hill out of the glen at 3.2 miles to knock the ****e out of me. Ran an easy cool down and felt fine afterwards. Have lost a little fitness the last month but I'll get motoring again in the coming month.

I entered the 5&10 mile races of the race series this year. I'm not really a fan of the series as I think the courses are tougher than other races and the big numbers are a bit of a turn off. It is a great series just not in my top 10 races. I've since found out the 10 miler isn't incorporating the Dublin champs which I'm a bit miffed about as it was the only reason I entered. The 5 miler was basically going to be a reccce for realistic target time. I think it's important to becrealistic when setting targets. A lot of people predict times but never hit them. Better going off at a sensible pace and running close to your current potential IMO.

I'm going to run a very handy recovery run tomorrow and take Saturday off. If I run any faster than 7.30 miles I deserve a kick in the nuts. I generally take a day off to help prevent injury. I'm not built to do double days or run seven days a week. Looking forward to physio releasing this tightness in my hip.

TheRoadRunner

6 miles @ 7.40 pace mostly on grass. Legs feel fine although pinch in hip was worse today. No amount/type of stretching seems to be able to relieve it. This is a recurring niggle. Got it back in 2008 and ignored it until it fecked up other joints and muscles so am being proactive. Will see what physio thinks before committing to long run Sunday. Current plan is 12-14 miles but if I don't get any relief tomorrow may keep it shorter so as not to aggravate it too much.

Was really warm today. When I run in the heat the veins in my temples protrude (I call them my Roy Keane veins). Well the extra blood flow and sweat must have been a beacon to midges as I got bites on both veins. I have two lumps on my temples, they look like the bolts Frankenstein has on the side of his noggin.

Krusty_Clown

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

6 miles @ 7.40 pace mostly on grass. Legs feel fine although pinch in hip was worse today. No amount/type of stretching seems to be able to relieve it. This is a recurring niggle. Got it back in 2008 and ignored it until it fecked up other joints and muscles so am being proactive. Will see what physio thinks before committing to long run Sunday. Current plan is 12-14 miles but if I don't get any relief tomorrow may keep it shorter so as not to aggravate it too much.

Was really warm today. When I run in the heat the veins in my temples protrude (I call them my Roy Keane veins). Well the extra blood flow and sweat must have been a beacon to midges as I got bites on both veins. I have two lumps on my temples, they look like the bolts Frankenstein has on the side of his noggin.

I went for a cycle up in the mountains last night. The climb up the steep hills was really slow. Every time I looked back, I could see a swarm of gnats and flies following me. Horrendous. Can't wait for winter.

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Can't wait for winter.

I hope you're joking I love the bright evenings and the heat.

TheRoadRunner

Went to physio yesterday. Was over 90 minutes on his table. Great session and I can really feel the benefit of it today. My right flexer is quite tender as he went to town on it but the tightness/pinching is gone thankfully. I also got a decent stretch I can do to keep it from getting tight again so result.

Ended up having a few pints last night and didn't manage to get out for my run until 1pm today. The heat/humidity was savage. I really suffered and had not water left on my route. I was in trouble by 9 miles and had to ask a couple for a sip of their water. They kindly obliged but the damage was already done. I slogged home the last 3 miles and finished with an average of just under 7 minute pace (for the 12 miles).

Ran 46 miles this week which I'm happy with. Will get up to 50 next week with some additional miles here and there.

TheRoadRunner

Ran a handy 6.5 miles @ 8.21 pace on grass today. Hip still a little sore although I don't know if it's tightness or tenderness for physio session.

6*1K intervals planned for tomorrow. Doing them with a colleague of mine. We are about the same standard so hopefully we can make a goo session of it without racing one another. 3.20 - 3.30 is the goal. It will be on grass again.

Checked my weight the other day and I'm only a couple of pounds above what I would consider my acceptable race weight. Hope to lose those two ponds and 4-5 more before September.

TheRoadRunner

Plan was to hit 3.20 - 3.30 with 2 minutes recovery. Had a partner but he had to bail after 2 intervals. Intervals got harder when I was on my own but having just checked times that's because I upped the poxy pace. Hit intervals in
3.25, 3.21, 3.14, 3.19, 3.16, 3.19.

Recovery is a bit long but I won't reduce it until I can increase the number of intervals to 10, then hope to bring it down. Watch wasn't set up to view pace per interval and could only check it afterwards. Will ensure this doesn't happen next week as I would liked to have run a bit slower and kept something in the tank for this week.

I've decided Friday is going to be the day I do my uptempo runs. However this week I have a work night on Thursday so I may have to move it to Thursday or Saturday. I have been toying with working off a two week cycle (week 1 having 2 speed sessions, weeks 2 having one speed session and one long mid week run) I may try this out this week as a compromise. I'll see how the body feels

Sosa

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Recovery is a bit long but I won't reduce it until I can increase the number of intervals to 10, then hope to bring it down. Watch wasn't set up to view pace per interval and could only check it afterwards. Will ensure this doesn't happen next week as I would liked to have run a bit slower and kept something in the tank for this week.

Good going on the intervals RR,i got a 405 myself recently and have started doing intervals,but i dont have the pace set up while doing them,your kinda in no mans land until you check later.

I would not worry about the recovery being to long,2 mins is about right even when you get faster imo.

Krusty_Clown

Strange, mine always displays pace for intervals. Are you guys setting them up on the watch? I always set mine up on the computer (in Garmin training Centre) and transfer them over. That's probably the difference. Advanced workouts probably display average pace for each step in the workout. I posted how to do this previously in the main forum.

Garmin support now does deliveries.

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Strange, mine always displays pace for intervals. Are you guys setting them up on the watch? I always set mine up on the computer (in Garmin training Centre) and transfer them over.

Yes I set it up on the watch this morning. I never use the training centre but should get around to it as I want to create some different interval sessions down the line.

You truly are Mr Garmin, do you have shares or soemthing?:D

tisnotover

Would usually do km intervals on the track, but not worried about av-pace, but what ya pass through each 200m (or 100m) in.

Can be awkward to do the km repeats off track as its usually 400m before av-pace reading is accurate off Garmin?

Krusty_Clown

tisnotover wrote: »

Would usually do km intervals on the track, but not worried about av-pace, but what ya pass through each 200m (or 100m) in.

Can be awkward to do the km repeats off track as its usually 400m before av-pace reading is accurate off Garmin?

How can you tell your time at each 100/200m? Are there clocks, or do you still look at a watch?

I find intervals on the Garmin are fine, as long as you don't enter a heavily wooded area. Nothing worse than starting an interval and realizing that the watch thinks you're standing still. Grrr...

You truly are Mr Garmin, do you have shares or soemthing?

Nah. After spending 240 notes on a watch, I made sure I read the manual so I could get the most out of it. Most people just don't bother.

tisnotover

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

How can you tell your time at each 100/200m? Are there clocks, or do you still look at a watch?

I find intervals on the Garmin are fine, as long as you don't enter a heavily wooded area. Nothing worse than starting an interval and realizing that the watch thinks you're standing still. Grrr...

Yeah, I have the garmin going, but I have the screen setup to show current lap-time (and last lap-time). Say your going for 80sec/400m, then I find it handy enough to check first 100m in 20sec for example ? I have a tendancy to go out too fast (for me!), so would always check first 100m/200m splits.

Not quiet the same doing 400m repeats though tonite incidentally, that was a case of just going hard and hanging on !

TheRoadRunner

Plan for Wednesday was an hour easy running on grass. Ended being quite a hectic day but managed to find an free hour in the evening to head to the park at. While driving to the park (<5 minutes away normally) I got stuck in rush hour traffic. I had to be home on time as we were heading out for the evening.

I abandoned the car and started to run around the industrial estate. Wasn't in the mood at all and was going to pack it in after 2 minutes. Eventually ran 5 miles at 7.40 pace but didn't feel like a recovery as I was stiff from lack of pre-run stretch and the concrete didn't do me any favours.

Felt like I shouldn't have bothered my ass and as a result wasn't looking forward to running today when I woke this morning. Luckily I'm meeting a friend at lunch for a nice run so that should put me back on track. Legs couldn't handle tempo today so will consider doing it Saturday and slowing down my Sunday run considerably.

TheRoadRunner

Back on track with lunch time run today. Ran along canal bank and around trails in Carton house. The trails were a bit overgrown with tall grass. I have bad hay fever and while my nose and eyes were fine due to medication my legs came out in an almighty rash. Still was a nice run and the hip felt better than it has in a while also. All that stretching must be paying off.

8+ miles @ 7.05 pace.

TheRoadRunner

Took Friday off as my rest day as I wasn't feeling great. Ate a little too much for dinner last night and didn't sleep well as result. Had to get run done this morning and plan was 5 miles fastish (29.30-50 being the goal). First 2 miles were too hard and was dying by 2.8 miles. Shortened fast section to 4 miles (23 minutes) and jogged another 2 home to give me 8 miles for the day.

Felt like I bottled out of session but in hindsight was wise as my longish run tomorrow is more important than today's session and an extra mile at the pace I was running at could have botched me up.

TheRoadRunner

13 miles @ 7.45 pace. Felt like **** and had to stretch after 2 miles. Got going again but wind and heat did me no favors. Just glad to get to 13 miles although I wanted 15 miles today. 49 miles for the week.

Next week I'm only going to do 1 hard session (either 8*1k or 5 * 1 mile). I'm a bit drained at the moment and some easy running is required.

TheRoadRunner

Disaster of a day in work. Missed my normal lunch time run and was going to have to work late. Was getting no where work wise so said feck it and went for a run from work gym. Wasn't in the mood but after moaning to myself for 10 minutes I started to feel good. 6 miles @ 7.12 pace

TheRoadRunner

9 miles @ 7.23 pace today. It's a bit cooler out than recent weeks and the drop in temp even by a couple of degrees is a welcome relief. I love running in the heat but the recent humidity has made everything an extra 5% harder than it should be. This has resulted in a little bit of fatigue I think.

Hope to do 8*1k on grass tomorrow tomorrow. Reps should be 3.25-30. 2 minutes recovery between each.

TheRoadRunner

8 * 1k with w minutes recovery. Hit intervals in 3.23, 3.24, 3.21, 3.28, 3.22, 3.25,3.19, 3.21. 8 miles total including warm up / cool down

This was a lot more comfortable than last weeks effort. I sorted out the watch so I could determine the pace as I ran. So I speeded some intervals up and others down.

The loop I run these intervals is on grass and is horse shaped. So I run from point A to B, take 2 minutes off then run from B to A etc etc. What ever way the wind way blowing today, it made every second interval a little tougher. With the wind behind me I had to put the brakes on slightly, while running into it I needed to put in an extra little effort.

TheRoadRunner

Legs felt quite good today. Managed 8+ miles at 7.20 pace. First few miles were on a trail we haven't run in a few weeks and the recent eat and bit of rain made has it overgrown. I wasn't impressed, I have nettle stings all on my legs, including my thighs. Thankfully I was wearing tight fitting shorts or my nuts would be in bits atm.

Plan to run a similar distance and pace tomorrow, on the roads possibly.

TheRoadRunner

Plan for Friday was 9 handy enough miles. Ended up doing 9 @ 6.40 pace but I have a valid excuse.

As I was about to walk out the door I saw my ipod so brought it along for some tunes. Don't listen to music much while I'm running. The last time was last year when I ran the London marathon with a bit of an injury. I had the ipod with 20 songs loaded. The first 10 were slow down beat tunes while the second 10 where up beat. The idea being if I were having an off day I'd stick the upbeat tunes on to get me going or if things were going well pop on the down beat to keep me in check. It's something I've never done before or since but things were not going well in the run up to that marathon so gave it a lash.

Anyway I popped on the ipod in the marathon for 4 of the last 6 miles (the upbeat tunes) and yesterday while running I was listening to the same songs and I got caught up in the memories of running in London and ended up running quicker than I planned. It felt super easy though so I wasn't too bothered. I can remember exactly at what point of the race I was at and what was going on around me for each song I listened to yesterday. It was kinda cool.

Took Saturday off completely, was going to do 4 very handy miles as I had a bit of a family do last night and wanted to get rid of the **** feeling I had but was too tired today. 15 miles tomorrow, not a mile less. I need to get my long runs sorted out I'm a couple of weeks behind where I should be.

TheRoadRunner

Got 15 miles in at last on Sunday. I'm a bit annoyed that my longer weekend runs haven't been great the last few weeks. I'll blame the heat but if I had of left water out on my route the last few weeks this wouldn't have been a problem.

Anyway Sundays run felt great first half was nice and slow and picked up the second half slightly. Overall pace was 7.20 which was perfect. I felt great afterwards also and have definitely got a bit of zip back in my legs thanks to skipping a hard session last week. Overall I ran 55 miles last week, won't hit that this week as I'm racing Saturday but the following week will see a slight increase in mileage to get close to 60 miles all going well.

Monday I ran 7 miles in 7.05. Pace was a little quicker than planned but the recent rainfall has made running on the grass so much more enjoyable. It felt easier than the pace would suggest.

Tuesday I ran 8 miles. Was going to do a session but opted to run with friends instead. Pace was 7.10ish

Hope to do a lightish session today (1K-400-1k-400-1k-400-1k-400-1k-400 90 seconds between each interval). The rest of the week will be easy as I want to run as hard as I can on Saturday to assess my current state of fitness. My diet has gone to pot recently so I need to get this sorted asap, Saturday should be a right kick up the ass.

shels4ever

what pace are you going out an on sat?

TheRoadRunner

shels4ever wrote: »

what pace are you going out an on sat?

Well the initial plan was to try and run close to 27.30. I don't think that's going to be possible this weekend. Maybe on a flat course but not on this one, under 28 minutes might be more realistic.

Mile splits won't be even as first 2 miles are fast and next 2 are slow. Last year a friend of mine went though the first mile in 4.43 and still finished up with a high 27 minute finish. Maybe I'll try 5.10-15 for the first 2 miles and hope I don't loose too much on the S bends.

tunguska

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Well the initial plan was to try and run close to 27.30. I don't think that's going to be possible this weekend. Maybe on a flat course but not on this one, under 28 minutes might be more realistic.

Mile splits won't be even as first 2 miles are fast and next 2 are slow. Last year a friend of mine went though the first mile in 4.43 and still finished up with a high 27 minute finish. Maybe I'll try 5.10-15 for the first 2 miles and hope I don't loose too much on the S bends.

Its a tough 5 mile circuit alright, very messy in terms of holding an even tempo. Caught me out completely last year. Did the first mile in 5:10 but ended up with a 28:20. Definitely not PB territory. Military hill is a killer.

Good to see your training is going well.

TheRoadRunner

Wanted to get a bit of pace into the legs without taking away too much from the upcoming 5 mile race on Saturday. I did 1k-2min recovery-400 * 4. Had planned on doing 5 sets and could have got the extra one in but legs were a little sore on the fourth so I decided to ire on the side of caution. 1k times were ~3.15 and 400s were ~75 seconds.

This session should have felt easier but I ran a little too fast the last 2 days and especially Tuesday. I need to reign in the pace on my easy days and stick to the mantra of running my hard days hard and easy days easy. Thursday and Friday will be very handy runs. I also have a physio appointment booked for Thursday evening to help loosen up my hip and back a bit.

T runner

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Well the initial plan was to try and run close to 27.30. I don't think that's going to be possible this weekend. Maybe on a flat course but not on this one, under 28 minutes might be more realistic.

Mile splits won't be even as first 2 miles are fast and next 2 are slow. Last year a friend of mine went though the first mile in 4.43 and still finished up with a high 27 minute finish. Maybe I'll try 5.10-15 for the first 2 miles and hope I don't loose too much on the S bends.

Similar estimation to me: under 28 and lower is a bonus. I did 5.03 for the first mile last year and though it didnt feel too bad, it was too fast and I regretted it during the last 2 miles.

TheRoadRunner

very handy run. Those lads who are running the 32 marathons in 32 days were out my way so I ran with them for a bit.

TheRoadRunner

Friday 5+ miles very easy

Saturday Irish Runner 4.9 mile race.

Felt ****e this morning, didn't sleep that well but seen as I had taken my last 2 days easy and went and spent money on a physio session on Thursday I thought it only right I run the race and see how it went. I was optimistically hoping for 27.30.

If you haven't guessed from the title the race was short 4.9 miles instead of the advertised 5 miles. I'm not a fan of the race series anyway, although they are generally well run events I'm just not mad on the routes, they are quite tough as any race in the phoenix park is.

Any way my splits were
1 5.09
2 5.31
3 5.31
4 5.39
4.9 4.28 (5.09 pace for a mile)

Really happy with how things went and there was plenty left in the tank at the end. I probably could have run the S-bends harder but was unsure of how I'd cope in the last mile. Finished in 26.18 which scaling up would have seen me just under 27 minutes or the second fastest time I've ever ran for 5 miles. I think I have been fitter before while racing 5 miles but I've never ran as well as I did today, my tactics were good if I may say so myself.

By second mile I copped the course was going to be short and when I got to the banner that said "800 to go" this was confirmed on the Garmin so I didn't even bother putting in my normal 100% effort at the end. It's easy to say now but I reckon I could have got very very close to my PB if the course was the full length.

I'm also entered for the ten mile but I'm thinking of skipping it and running the Longford half marathon the following week instead but we'll see.

All in all I should be happy where my fitness is at the moment and I'm actually a little surprised at my splits. However the short course has put a dampener on my weekend and left a sour taste in my mouth.

Krusty_Clown

Great running tRR. Super time. shame about the short course. That would really frustrate me too.

tisnotover

Great stuff, savage splits there, can't believe course was short, shouldn't happen...

T runner

Great run there RR. Dont let the distance bother you too much. Youre in PB shape: find a few fast races and go for it. Longford half should be a PB course?