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Getting Back To My Best
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chinguetti wrote: »
However, you ain't getting my Kerry Dixon autograph, oh Torres you're not fit to lash his boots.
Why would he try to lash his boots? Jealousy?
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Danica Grumpy Duet wrote: »Two shots at sub 3 so:)
If he gets his act together one should do the trick. Low to mid 2.50 should be the aim. Now HTFU. Happy new year
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Marthastew wrote: »Glad to hear you're on the mend, you'll be back to normal in no time at all.
Congrats on the 2,000 miles also, a great year for you!
Well done, apparently it takes about three weeks to certify times etc so we'll find out then.
I see what you mean about DCM being the cheaper option though... $347!!!! I don't think Boston even cost that much! I'm sure it will be worth it, chance of a lifetime and all that. Mr. Stew has entered the lottery for NY so fingers crossed. We'll have to get those kids of ours to leave school early and get a job in order to fund our marathons
You're a cert to get in, you have you're time in a big city marathon, mine is in a local low profile half, big difference.
347 dollars yeah, its quite a chunk of change, London was 28 sterling. I'd love a detailed explanation on the difference in cost. It is a once off thing alright yeah. Fingers crossed we both get in.
Zero chance of me pacing Dublin this year if i do this.I heard he is trying to get into the 100 marathon club.
Only doing the glamour marathons in future, no more mickey mouse ones.Danica Grumpy Duet wrote: »Two shots at sub 3 so:)
TRR is right London should be the one and only attempt, sub 3 on that course would be close to impossible for me. Don't think i'd train too hard for NY if i got in. 12 weeks from the end of the olympics sounds doable and focus on the shorter stuff from May-Aug.
Sun 8th Jan, 4 mls nice and slow around home (no watch again). Struggled a bit today and not fully recovered yet. Hope to return to normal next week. Only 3 weeks to Dungarvan and confidence has taken a bit of a hit.
Weekly Review, 29 mls and 6 runs. A week to forget, but i started 2011 poorly too.
34 miles for the year.0 -
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As promised, here's my review of 2011, albeit 10 days late.
Jan-March; beating the Winter blues in the build up to Barca
2012 finished encouragingly. A 66 min 10 miler in the local 10 miler on Stephens Day had me raring to go for the new year. I had no specific goals for 2011, just to improve across every distance. First up was the rescheduled Waterford half in January. I targeted at PB (1’28’30) which i broke by 2 minutes to finish in 1’26’21 despite the lousy conditions. Barca was up next, knocked out a solid few weeks training with some excellent tempo’s (but only 1 20 miler) and i set sub 3’10 as the goal there. Felt good on the day and running with Oisin11178 was ideal, until i pushed on at mile 21 and cramped up, losing sub 3’10 in the process. Still finishing in 3’12’00 was a 10 min PB and 14 minutes faster than DCM only 4 months previous.
By luck i picked up a Reading Half marathon number 3 days before the race and headed down and decided to give it a lash. Despite the post Ireland vs England six nations hangover i was inspired on the day and knocked out an 81 second PB to finish in 1’25’01. The stadium finish was truly awesome and this was the best race i did in 2011 no question. Headed home to Mallow the weekend after for a 10 mile MP run but fatigue kicked in and even though i ran 67 mins it felt much more difficult than what MP should feel like.
April – May, drifting like a barge.
I was fairly wrecked after those races and took a few easy weeks. I was home for a couple of weeks for Easter/royal wedding which culminated in pacing the Great Limerick run half in 1’40. This was mostly ok but slightly laboured at the finish if i’m honest. The pints the night before wouldn’t have helped i’m sure. I then ran an absolute shocker the weekend after in Leeds, albeit after 2 days of beer and kebabs in Liverpool. After 2 mls i knew i was gone there and i struggled badly. It was the race that gave me the kick up the arse i needed and my training became far more structured after that.
Went for my first Battersea Park Monday night race in late May for a 5k with sub 18 as the goal. I went out far too fast and hit the wall harder than Princess Di to finish in 18’42 (a pb but an awful run) Bank Holiday weekend saw me back in Dublin for the Donore 5k. I had sub 18 as the goal, very achievable on the net downhill course. I may have taken it a bit easy on the downhill and left myself too much to do on the uphill into the headwind and finished in 18’00 (ouch), still though it represented a step in the right direction.
June/July - Getting Back to My Best, finally.
June started well with an 11’17 2 mile in Battersea and successful MP run in Southend to record a comfortable 1’29 on the fastest half marathon course I will ever run on. 2 days later i struggled to a poor 2’22 800m at a club night, missing my pb by 14 seconds. Dunshaughlin was next on the agenda and a session 8 days before really stands out for me. I skipped the big drinking session at work to do a McMillan 2,2,1,1 on a Friday evening, in the dark, in the wind and rain. I was set, mentally and physically. The race itself was poetry in motion and i finished in 37’30 (37’33 gun time), an almost 3 min pb. One boardsie in particular was a victim of my post race exuberance, something we will joke about for years to come i’m sure! :pac:
July was a largely forgettable month. Had a scare when i clipped my foot on a stick on a club run which only cost me 3 days and a few freak heat waves (over 30 degrees more than once) caused me to cut a few runs short. Irish Runner 5 mile went fine, but in hindsight maybe i should have raced it and had a lash at sub 30, something i never got to do in 2011. Hit the 1,000 miles on Bastille Day, which was 2 months earlier than ever before
Aug/Sept – Not getting the rewards
Confidence was quite low entering August, a skipped session and an LSR cut short after 5 mls had me at close to rock bottom. Headed down to Battersea for a 5k thinking a race would give me my mojo back. It worked, as sub 18 was achieved at the 3rd attempt as i finished in 17’51, amidst the riots.
The big target in Aug was the Newark Half, which was to be a perfect indicator of how my Berlin prep was going. Never got going there and essentially gave up at mile 7 to coast home in a horrific 1’31. The sub 3 attempt was almost abandoned there and then. On the back of some excellent advice on here i refocused, beginning with the Frank Duffy 10, which was used as part of a badly needed 20 miler. I took a week off for Daegu and ran 81 mls in the 9 days at home in Limerick, i was back on track.
Berlin, for whatever reason just never happened for me. Sub 3 was a goner from mile 3 or 4 and i was hanging at halfway. Happily i regrouped and finished in 3’09’01, a 3 min pb. Not sure i’ll be back in Berlin, the race (and city) just didn’t do it for me for whatever reason.
Oct-Dec – Self Transcendence
October was all about the Cabbage Patch 10 mile in Twickenham and tbh this was the race i had been thinking about all of July/Aug and Sept, not Berlin. I managed to shake off a bad cold (with a lemsip or 10) to smash my 10 mile pb (my strongest pb at the start of 2011) by over 2 mins to finish in 61’08 and beat many of my Heathside clubmates in the process. The perfect course in perfect conditions and will certainly become an annual fixture for me, whether i’m living in London or not.
October ended badly with the DCM pacing job. Didnt enjoy any aspect of it. Ok so i was drinking the night before but it didn’t make much difference tbh. Not sure i’ll apply for it in 2012, pacing halves are fine, but full marathons steal a fortnight of quality training from you.
November was race free as i settled into a coached regime, mainly consisting of tough hybrid tempo/10k pace sessions in the lead up to the Waterford Half on Dec 10th. Ran the time i knew i was capable of that day to finish in 1’22’29, despite a dodgy hamstring the last 2 mls, my 10th pb of the year
All in all i will remember 2011 as a successful year, despite missing my 2 big marathon targets.
Highlights of the year;
1) The finish of the Reading Half marathon, the roar of the stadium is something i’ll never forget.
2) Running 4 mls with Paula Radcliffe and Steve Cram at the Nike Plus launch in April.
3) The 61’08 breakthrough performance in the Cabbage Patch 10 mile
4) The 37’30 in Dunshaughlin, the moment when i got ahead of my 2006/2007 times.
5) The Waterford Half (the January version), the 1’26 in the conditions was yet another breakthrough for me at the time.
6) Being accepted into the London marathon 2012.
Low points of the year;
1) The Newark Half Marathon, total flop and finished in 1’31 just 6 weeks before Berlin despite targeting 1’24. 2) Ditto Leeds half marathon (1’34 flop), just never fired. May have been the turning point of the year.
3) The sub 3 attempt in Berlin, was never travelling from mile 2 and i knew sub 3 was toast long before halfway.
2012 preview
2012 promises to be one of the best of my life, with the number for London in April, the possibility of running the Great North Run and the New York Marathon, not to mention the Olympics taking place just down the road.
No real time goals in mind tbh (ok sub 3 in London). The main aim is to improve over all distances as i did in 2011, try a few track races over the summer, and most importantly of all, stay injury free.0 -
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Weds 11th Jan, 5 mls easy in 41 mins (8'12) This wasnt much better than last night. Its all easy mileage for me this week so hopefully i'll be ok by next week.
On the way to white hart lane now to cheer on the toffees. I love my lost causes 0 -
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Sun 15th Jan, 15 mls LSR today in 2'02'11 (8'09). First 8 mls in the hilly heath then down to Regents for a lap of the circle. Went through a bad patch at mile 6-7 then felt fine up to mile 14 when questionable nutrition had its say (pack of jaffa cakes and a full carton of innocent smoothie for breakfast) Happy to get it over with. Big week on the way this week.
Weekly Review, 43 mls and 6 runs. Worrying times earlier in the week but seem to have shaken it now. Dungarvan is only 2 weeks away however and my last speed session was Dec 23rd which isnt inspiring. I have kept running throughout though but the race sharpness may be missing hard to know. Ready made excuse there
Yearly Mileage, 77 mls. I should join the 1,000 mile challenge one of these days 0 -
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