3:30 or bust!

Aimman · 31-08-2012 9:03am

Looking forward to Dingle tomorrow, good to hear you moved to the Full. See you later.

claralara · 31-08-2012 11:35am

Best of luck in Dingle - have a ball. It sounds like some gig; absolutely raging it didn't fit in with the Berlin training plan. Be good - that pacing crew are wild...;):D

belcarra · 31-08-2012 11:43am

Aimman wrote: »

Looking forward to Dingle tomorrow, good to hear you moved to the Full. See you later.

Plan will be to burn the group off by half way and then go hunting you down solo!:p

belcarra · 31-08-2012 11:45am

claralara wrote: »

Best of luck in Dingle - have a ball. It sounds like some gig; absolutely raging it didn't fit in with the Berlin training plan. Be good - that pacing crew are wild...;):D

I'm not too familiar with that last hill but I'm sure I'll be reliving the experience over several pints in Dicky Mac's or Foxy John's (Yes, a real pub name!!) afterwards!!
It should be good!

The_Boy_Wonder · 31-08-2012 1:48pm

belcarra wrote: »

Nice one. That means we'll be pacing the same people until you guys branch off at approx 11.5 miles.
Leg it back out onto our course afterwards and catch up to us!:p
Of course if you are feeling extra energetic Aimman is bringing round the 4:15 gang!:D

See ya down there.

Depending on how much doubling back I have to do, I could be a long way behind you by the time I get back to marathon route. I'll do my best to hunt you down catchup up with you guys, but I might need to hold a bit back for the hill!

pconn062 · 31-08-2012 9:55pm

Best of the luck with the pacing run Belcarra, that's an impressive thing to take on to do.

belcarra · 04-09-2012 2:55pm

Thursday & Friday, 30th & 31st August - Rest Days.
Took these two days off in order to make sure the legs were fresh for Saturday. It seems to have worked...

Saturday, 1st September - 42.3km Dingle Marathon - Pacing 4:30 group.
This was my first pacing gig ever and it was supposed to be just the Half Marathon until I got a phonecall from RunningCoach mid week to see if I could manage the Full instead. The pace would stay the same but the doubling of the distance was going to be the challenge seeing as I had gone no further than 25km since Cork three months ago. I mentioned this to RC but he encouraged me to give it a go and was confident I'd manage it. With the distance caveat out of the way I was happy to give it a lash!
Up at 7am for a spot of brekkie (Bowl of Kelkin's 'Berries Granola' and a banana) followed by our pre race brief and the handing out of the pacer tops, we were en route to the start line by 8:30 or so. There was a bit of a job trying to get the balloons freed up and it was at this point that I realised there was no 4:30 balloons! Luckily there was one spare balloon left in the car and I grabbed this even though there was no time marked on it.

After making our way to the start line I met a friend who was running the HM at my pace so we chatted for a few mins before the race started. At this stage I decided to allow my balloon to float overhead as I had been holding it at waist height til now. Of course, as soon as I did the balloon went skywards and I was left holding the twine! Not the most auspicious of starts to my pacing career but I felt somewhat blameless as it was obviously the organisers knot that failed and not mine. At least that’s what I kept telling everyone around me that were breaking their arses laughing!

After a couple of mins we got to cross the start line and we were off. The first couple of miles passed quickly but it was a real struggle to slow down to the correct pace. Along the way I was forced to watch out for the blue numbers signifying those doing the full course. Anyone I notcied I told them that I was doing the 4:30 pace if they were interested but only 1 or 2 joined for the first half. I expect most of them either aimed for a faster time or simply wanted to just finish.

Around miles 5-7 we were climbing away from Ventry and into a strong wind. At this stage I was thinking of the Ultra guys and how tough the course would be for them. As we rounded the bottom of Eagle Mountain we changed direction enough to have the wind on our backs. It stayed like this for most of the remainder of the race which would prove useful later. I was joined by a few people around here so there was a bit of banter to keep any hint of boredom at bay. This was an aspect of marathons that I hadn’t enjoyed for my last few races as I’ve always been looking for a time recently and hence not much talking goes on.
I ended up banking a little more time than scheduled for the first 13.1 miles until the HM’ers finished their race. The road immediately became much quieter. There was a fair old drag out of Dunquin and quite a few people were beginning to walk around here. I thought to myself it would be a long day for them.

Because everybody remaining were official full marathon racers I made sure to speak to everyone as I passed. Most decided to run with me for a while although this never lasted more than a few miles as they would drop off the pace again. At approx mile 17 TheBoyWonder went past. He’d completed his 2:15 pacing duties and was now doing the second half of the course as an MP LSR. Fair going and by mile 21 he had made up the 10-12mins difference on Aimman with the 4:15 group. This coincided with a 2km out and back section which I found useful as it gave a picture of the state everyone else was in just ahead of me. There were a few heads that I picked out which I knew I’d be seeing later.

At the end of this stretch came the dreaded ‘big-hill-near-the-finish’! (The organisers will have to give it a moniker to rival Connemarathon’s ‘Hell of the West’!) Once again my temporary comrades fell away and indeed the vast majority of people were now walking the hill. Somewhere around here Keith Whyte went past as the Ultra leader. Judging his pace I shouted after him a few words of encouragement but he looked remarkably comfortable 45 miles into his race on this tough hill. Impressive stuff! I caught up to an old guy towards the top and he seemed mightily relieved when I pointed the top being literally around the next corner. Fair play to him though he was one of the few still running the hill.

As I started my descent it was a good chance of running company again as people started running once more. I dragged a few people along this section for a couple of miles so managed to save them at least 5mins in most cases. One guy ran with me for 10 mins before dropping off but managed to make it back to my mini group a second time. Then the remainder of the group fell away until it was just myself and him. We ran the remaining 15 mins to the finish line and as we neared the line I let him go on ahead for the finishing glory. I crossed the line on target pace time (4:29:11) a couple of secs later (Receiving a cheer from my fellow pacers Ger, Stephen and Rita) feeling like I’d just done an easy 10 miler. I was amazed at how well I felt and could well have gone another 10 miles at least. Of course this immediately put the Ultra into my head for next time but I guess we’ll park that one for the time being! A great day out and a couple of satisfying pints in Dingle that afternoon before having to leave town. Next time I’ll definitely hang about for the pints with the other pacers and I’d recommend the experience for anyone half thinking about it in the future - both the race and the pacing!

Sunday, 2nd September – Rest Day.
Mad dash to Dublin on Sun morning to get to the Mayo match – What a game!!

What a weekend on the back of the marathon and Arsenal beating Liverpool 2-0 to boot! Went for more pints after the match and was never gonna be running today!

Monday, 3rd September – 6.5km Recovery Run.
Ran to Cabra to collect my car. Everything was perfect apart from some tender quads but nothing that won’t be fixed by mid week!

Not a bad week last week considering I managed 83km off just three runs.

Month|No. of Runs|Kms Run
January|29/31|405.7
February|24/29|365.6
March|22/31|310.0
April|21/30|277.5
May|20/31|252.1
June|2/30|47.4
July|16/31|189.7
August|22/31|290.6
September|2/3|48.8
Total|154/241|2,222.2

BobMac104 · 04-09-2012 4:11pm

Fair play on doing the pacing gig!! came in spot on the time also!!!

belcarra · 05-09-2012 9:38pm

Tuesday, 4th September - Rest Day.
Legs (quads) still felt a bit tender so took this as a rest day.

Wednesday, 5th September - 16.7km - LT session 10km at 4:30
Legs felt much better today so I stopped off to the Park on my way home. It was a lovely evening for a run. I had an LT run down for tomorrow but decided to move it forward to today instead. 2.7km easy before I started into the tough kms. Plan outlined 16km total with 10km @ LT which I was taking as 4:30. The first few kms were mentally tough as I was unsure if I'd manage the ten of them but the more that got completed the more I knew I'd get to the finish. One miscalculation towards the end meant that what I thought was 2.5km to go was actually 3.5km!:eek: No worries I was actually still feeling good so ploughed on to the end.

Half way around I realised I would be doing a sub 45min 10km in training just 4 days after completing a marathon! My last training log was specifically aimed at getting a sub 45min 10km and by this time last year I still hadn't achieved that! So that was a nice bonus for this evening!:D

LT Session|Km1|Km2|Km3|Km4|Km5|Km6|Km7|Km8|Km9|Km10
1|4:17(153)|4:26(158)|4:28(158)|4:29(159)|4:31(160)|4:25(161)|4:24(163)|N/A|N/A|N/A
2|4:26(151)|4:30(154)|4:32(157)|4:23(158)|4:31(158)|4:31(159)|4:29(159)|4:29(159)|4:31(161)|4:20(160)

Month|No. of Runs|Kms Run
January|29/31|405.7
February|24/29|365.6
March|22/31|310.0
April|21/30|277.5
May|20/31|252.1
June|2/30|47.4
July|16/31|189.7
August|22/31|290.6
September|3/5|65.5
Total|155/243|2,238.9

sayno · 05-09-2012 10:07pm

Very impressive to go out and do a LT like that after the marathon in Dingle and the match on Sunday.

Any tickets?

belcarra · 05-09-2012 10:10pm

sayno wrote: »

Very impressive to go out and do a LT like that after the marathon in Dingle and the match on Sunday.

Any tickets?

Working on it but I'll be lucky to get just the one!
Did you enjoy it on Sunday? Some match!

belcarra · 11-09-2012 10:27pm

Thursday, 6th September – 9.0km Recovery Run
Went for a recovery run after a tough LT session last night but the legs still seemed a bit tired.

Friday, 7th September – 20.0km MLR Run
Thought it would be a good idea to get an MLR thrown in before the Irish match this evening. Went to the Park and did a couple of big laps. I was kinda suffering a little towards the end and I reckoned it was a combination of the muggy evening and the LT run two days previous. Ended up finishing at 20km and opted against going for 25km as I had been thinking about.

Saturday, 8th September – 26.0km LSR Run
Met up with VaderMLK and Basster in the park for a LSR. Plan was formulated just before we started and the general agreement was to do ‘29km with 19@MP’. Nobody said we should take off at MP immediately but that is kinda what we did - We were still fresh enough for a good chat going round though. After being refused entry to Famleigh we diverted for the War Memorial gardens before eventually returning to the cars for a water break at the end of 19.5km where the av pace was spot on 5:00/km. Should have been a few secs quicker but given it was over 19km and a hot day so I wasn’t going to complain with that!

After our splash n dash we headed away again for a planned further 10km at easier pace. However, after the break my legs were not like lead so I bailed after 27km. Yesterday’s run was still in my legs (First back 2 back longish runs since Spring) and no doubt there must still be some residual effect from running Dingle last week. I’m pretty happy with where I am at the moment and with 3 good solid weeks behind me at this stage I’m hoping another 7 weeks of similar (Before my 3 week taper) might have me looking at 3:20 rather than 3:30 in Valencia. Aim high and hopefully I will get the 3:30 at least!

Sunday 9th & Monday 10th September – Rest Days
Took Sunday off as a rest day as I was feeling a bit knackered, no doubt in some part because of the past 2 day’s runs but mainly to a skipfull of drink the night before!

Then on Monday I was still knackered but also had a bit of a sore throat so decided a second rest day might be the sensible choice.

Tuesday, 11th September – 17.2km MLR Run
Went to the Park for a medium run. Meant to get about 24km but ran out of light by 17km. The evenings are getting really short now and this one in particular was pretty cold too.

Month|No. of Runs|Kms Run
January|29/31|405.7
February|24/29|365.6
March|22/31|310.0
April|21/30|277.5
May|20/31|252.1
June|2/30|47.4
July|16/31|189.7
August|22/31|290.6
September|7/11|137.7
Total|159/249|2,311.1

belcarra · 13-09-2012 9:40am

Wednesday, 12th September – 10.0km Recovery Run
Back in the Park again last night for a Recovery 10km. The body was feeling a little achy with the knees particularly so. This all leads to running slower than it feels but was ok this time given it was a recovery run. Hopefully this evening after work I'll be feeling fresher as its a 30km LSR on the schedule...

Month|No. of Runs|Kms Run
January|29/31|405.7
February|24/29|365.6
March|22/31|310.0
April|21/30|277.5
May|20/31|252.1
June|2/30|47.4
July|16/31|189.7
August|22/31|290.6
September|8/12|147.7
Total|160/250|2,321.1

belcarra · 13-09-2012 10:02pm

Thursday, 13th September – 32.0km LSR Run
In the Park for the third evening in a row. Managed 32km which went pretty well and could have done a few more at the end if it wasn't pitch dark by the end. No more LSRs on weekday evenings for me:rolleyes:
Body felt well recovered from aches and niggles.

Month|No. of Runs|Kms Run
January|29/31|405.7
February|24/29|365.6
March|22/31|310.0
April|21/30|277.5
May|20/31|252.1
June|2/30|47.4
July|16/31|189.7
August|22/31|290.6
September|9/13|179.7
Total|161/251|2,353.1

outforarun · 14-09-2012 10:21am

Cracking up some good mileage there of late. Looking good for Valencia. The days are closing in in the mornings as well, hi-vis jacket back in action.

belcarra · 19-09-2012 11:36am

Friday, 14th September – Rest Day
At a wedding in Cork so no chance to do any mileage.

Saturday, 15th September – 10.0km Recovery Run
Managed to get out for an easy 10k around the Marina and old Cork to Passage railway line which forms a significant part of the Cork marathon. First km was a bit ropey but setteld into a rhythm soon after. The final few kms left me feeling a bit jaded but most of that is down to the day of drinkng beforehand!

Sunday 16th & Monday 17th September – Rest Days
Absolutely knackered when I returned from Cork so just lounged on the couch all day. Then Monday was busy in the early evening and by the time 8:30pm came along I figured it was a bit cold out so gave into mental weakness and stayed in!

Tuesday, 18th September –24.0km MLR Run with 5 x 800m VO2 Max session
Feeling guilty from only 10km in four days I decided to lump Monday’s planned run (13km easy) in with tonights session (13km with 5 x 800m VO2 Max). I ran a MP-paced 10km before heading for Furze Rd and starting into the intervals so that I was already running on far-from-fresh legs. The first 3 intervals were @ 3:51 pace or thereabouts but the 4th one was tougher and was at 3:59 pace. I managed to focus the mind though and threw in a 3:51 pace again at the end but I was pretty much flat out which is too big an effort for VO2 and can feel it a little bit in my calves today as a result.

After the intervals I threw in another 8.5km to bring up the days total to 24km, 2 less than the planned 26km but my back was beginning to feel a little stiff so decided I was close enough.

Date:|Interval 1:| Interval 2:| Interval 3:| Interval 4:| Interval 5:|Average:
18th Sept (5x800m)|