Things will come to those who wait...

pconn062

8 miles, 1:01:29, 7.41 avg pace

Nice run this morning with a few mates, pace started out easy but then picked up with a few 7.20's at the end. Felt good though throughout over a hilly enough route and the miles flew by. Rest day tomorrow. Think I need a new pair of runners, these ones are starting to rub in a few places and have a bit hole in the netting! Must have close to 1,000 miles in them though so they served me well.

MYTD: 717

pconn062

5.5 miles, 42:31, 7:37 avg.pace then 6x50m strides

Didn't mean to run as fast as this but I was feeling really good so just went with it. This pace felt like jogging which is pretty cool that 7:3X's can feel like jogging, one of the good days. Also threw in 6 strides the end to kick a bit of life into the legs. Heading up to the Graded meets at Santry tomorrow (I think) to give the 3k a go. I misread the info, thought there was a 100m as well that I was going to try but must be at a different meet. Not expecting too much from this race tomorrow, just running to try a track race and see how I do. Have no specific training done for it and haven't done good speed work in a few weeks with the chest infection, so not in ideal shape. Would love to break 11 minutes, which normally should have been no problem, but will see what happens, looking forward to it anyway.

MYTD: 722.5

pconn062

Time: 10:56, 5:44 avg. pace

To be honest I wasn't really in any sort of shape to be running this, no speed work for a few weeks and I knew by looking at previous times it would be a fast race. Headed up early and got signed in and watched some of the other races, some savage performances, winner of the 400m A grade was low 48's. I signed up for the 3000m grade C and we were called at 20:35. Only six of us in the race which was a bit of a shame, with about 14 in the combined A and B grade. Off we went and straight away the pace was crazy, didn't look at the garmin but it felt fast and I immediately feel to the back of the group. I had predicted this to be honest and didn't panic, just concentrated on maintaining good form. By the third lap, the lack of speed training was starting to show and the effort level was creeping up. Kept ploughing on and passed through the mile mark in 5:37.
The bunch was well strung out now but I noticed one guy struggling and gradually coming back to me. With three laps to go I was level with him and stuck with him for a lap. He was struggling badly with the early fast pace and with two laps to go I made my move and pushed in font of him. I was really hurting at this stage and breathing like a women in labour but just kept pushing (no pun intended :pac:). He was a Clonliffe runner so was getting loads of support, and this made me push even harder. I maintained a 5 metre gap over him for the second last lap and when the bell went I was expecting him to attack and take me, and I simply wouldn't have had the legs to respond. But with 200 to go I knew he was hurting and I put in a final effort and shook him off, and I fell across the line about 10m in front of him. Our race was won in 9:43, and this was the C grade! :eek: Great race, great event and really glad I didn't come last.
This was my first track race in years and it was great fun, so different than road running. Not overly happy with the time, with specific training I think I could get under 10:30 without too much effort. But happy with my race overall. The A and B race was great, won in 8:42.

Sorry for long, rambling report!

MYTD: 725.5

beeduybe

Well done. Good to see you are back on track again. Pun intended

pconn062

Ha, too many cheesy jokes! Cheers, well done on the sub 20!

pconn062

6 miles, Session: 2 miles WU, 5x800 (2.55 average, 5.50 pace) 90 sec recovery,1 mile WD

Probably not the best idea to do this after the race last night but I felt good and wanted to get a good session done. Headed into the club and there were about 8 of us there, 3 faster lads doing 1k reps and then the rest of us doing the 800's. We started from the same place together each time and after 2 mile easy we launched into the first one. The faster lads were doing about 3.16 ks so our first repeat was a bit fast but soon settled down. I'm used to a bit more recovery time so I found it tough going, the heat was definitely a factor. We worked well as a group though and kept the pace as steady as we could, although I was hanging on by my fingernails at the end! We stopped after 5 repeats as most of the lads are racing soon. A nice easy mile cool down and we were done, good if tough session.

MYTD: 731.5

pconn062

5.5 miles

1.5 miles very easy with the mother, then 4 mile recovery run @ 9.00 pace, 36:00. Proper recovery run in the scorching heat, absolutely beautiful out there, down by the beach. Such a pleasure to run easy in that weather, although I wouldn't fancy racing in it! Hope his weather keeps up.

MYTD: 737

pconn062

5.5 miles, 41:54, 7:36 avg. pace

Steady run this afternoon in the heat, not ideal but it's the only time I could squeeze it in. Effort was a bit higher than I wanted, due to a combination of the heat, wind and the fact that I was hungry. Still felt pretty good cruising along at 7.3X pace. Group training started back today but I had to give it a miss due to a family thing, but looking forward to getting back into it on Wednesday evening.

MYTD: 742.5

pconn062

10 miles, 1:20:57

No garmin for this one. Nice long run today, again in the glorious sunshine. Felt nice and relaxed the whole way round, and even though it was warm in the sun, there was a nice sea breeze which made it nice and cool. Rest day tomorrow.

MYTD: 752.5

pconn062

5.5 miles

Session: 1 mile WU, 12x400m (5.44 avg pace, 86 sec avg) off 60 sec active recovery, 1 mile warm down.

Good session this, headed into the track and did them on my own. Aimed to do them @ 3k pace which from last weeks race was 5.45 or so, so the pace was bang on. To be honest this felt a bit easy which makes me think the pace was a bit slow, so much so that I only set out to do ten but tacked on an extra two, making me think I'm the only person in the history of the world to volunteer for extra intervals :cool:. The recovery was just an easy jog to bring me round to the start point. Very happy with how easy this felt, and the recovery seemed like plenty. Next race is probably the Bohermeen 5k so hopefully a few more sessions like this can help knock a few seconds off my PB.

MYTD: 758

belcarra

Pconn..when is the Bohermeen 5km?
Something at the back of my head reckons it could be on when I'm away in Poland...hope not though!

pconn062

belcarra wrote: »

Pconn..when is the Bohermeen 5km?
Something at the back of my head reckons it could be on when I'm away in Poland...hope not though!

Hi belcarra, the Bohermeen 5k is on Saturday the 9th of June @ 7.30pm. Meant to be a great race and they've changed the course this year so it's meant to be super fast.

menoscemo

pconn062 wrote: »

Hi belcarra, the Bohermeen 5k is on Saturday the 9th of June @ 7.30pm. Meant to be a great race and they've changed the course this year so it's meant to be super fast.

Interesting.....I did it last year and it had a few hills that made it quite tough. I was going to do the Donore race that day so this would be a good alternative (donore was cancelled). Might see you there pconn.

pconn062

menoscemo wrote: »

Interesting.....I did it last year and it had a few hills that made it quite tough. I was going to do the Donore race that day so this would be a good alternative (donore was cancelled). Might see you there pconn.

Yeah apparently it's much flatter or so I've been told. Takes in some of the route of the Meath Spring 1/2 marathon which they hosted earlier this year. If it's a flat course, low 18's should be no problem to you, going by your recent unlucky DNF. Hopefully I won't be too far behind you!

pconn062

6 miles with 4 mile tempo-ish

Back into group training tonight at the club. Did a nice easy mile and a bit warm up then out on the road for four miles. Averaged 6.58 for this, wasn't meant to be this fast but our pacer (also known as RunForestRun on here) had recently changed his energiser bunny batteries and kept pushing the pace :D. Few laps cool down at the end. The 4 miles were harder than they should have been mainly due to the extraordinary dead heat which was energy sapping. Nice cup of tea and a few biscuits helped with the recovery though.

MYTD: 764

pconn062

4 miles, 35:15, 8.49 avg. pace

Just a really easy recovery run today as the legs felt a bit heavy last night. This pace felt like walking, just a stomach cramp made it a bit annoying. If I have time tomorrow or Saturday I'm going to try 5x1k at 5k pace for Bohermeen and see how I get on.

MYTD: 768

pconn062

4.5 miles including 5x1k @ 5k pace off 90 sec recovery

Splits: 3.39, 3.37, 3.40, 3.43, 3.40

Jeez this was a toughie. I both love and hate sessions like this, love because they can be great confidence boosters and hate because they can be so damn hard. I was aiming for 3.40 pace which would give me 18.20 which I'm targeting in Bohermeen so first one was grand, second one a bit too quick. Third one was good but I was really pushing to hold it. 4th was a real bitch, really gritting my teeth and the heat didn't help. Took an extra 30 secs recovery after that one, which isn't ideal but I needed it to get the last one done, back on track with 3.40. So happy enough but felt a bit tougher than I would have liked, think the heat was a factor as well. Was meant to do this with a few lads from the club last night but I had work to do so doing it on my own today probably made it a bit harder as well. Still, got it done so I can't complain. Easy running now for the weekend.

MYTD: 772.5

pconn062

5.5 miles, 43:42, 7.37 avg pace

Nice easy run this evening, effort felt very easy for this pace and never had to push to get the pace. I think increasing the pace of my shorter, easy runs like this is really benefiting me as this pace feels like an jog now and 7 minutes a mile feels like a steady pace. Shame about the weather, fecking freezing out there!

MYTD: 778

pconn062

4.5 miles, 35:17, 7.43 avg pace

Meant to do a long run this morning but my buddy bailed on me and the weather was truly rank so moved it to tomorrow instead and just did a short one this morning. The coastal wind was a real bitch almost stopping me in my tracks at times and I was glad to get done to be honest. Legs felt a bit tired but hopefully a long slower run tomorrow might loosen them out.

MYTD: 782.5

pconn062

10 miles with 8 in 1:03:41 (7.58 pace) and 2 @ 10k pace (6.21, 6.14)

Extremely glad that I left this long run until today as it was a gorgeous morning. Cruised through the first 8 miles and decided to up the pace to 10k pace for the last 2 miles, as I have a 10k at the end of the month and I was hoping to hit 38:XX. Probably should have considered the route a bit more because most of the first fast mile was straight uphill. I really struggled with these two miles, felt really hard and I was working hard to hit the pace. My mind was just screaming at me to stop. In fact since the bad 1/2 in Dundalk I've been struggling a bit mentally, and although I rarely stop in sessions I have noticed them feeling more difficult. Still the paces weren't too bad so I'm hoping I have a good race at the Bohermeen 5k this weekend which might bring back a bit of confidence. Just a small matter of a thesis to be submitted before Wednesday is all I have to worry about now! :eek::eek:

MYTD: 792.5

pconn062

5.5 mile with 4 mile tempo

Into group training at the club tonight, after a few laps warm up ans some stretching we headed out on a four mile loop. Wasn't really intended to be a tempo but it turned out to be a nice steady pace for me. Splits were:

7:00, 6:42, 6:52 (uphill), 6.36.

Felt pretty comfy the whole way round, but got absolutely soaked on the last mile so cut the cool down a bit short. That and the fact that there was a nice cup of coffee inside that was calling to me. Signed up for Bohermeen 5k on Saturday so will just run easy between now and then.

MYTD: 798

pconn062

5.5 miles, 42:20

Nice easy run today in the lashing rain. Felt like a right eejit flying round the round dodging puddles, was like doing a steeplechase! Good craic though. Found out that I'm going to be possibly called up to run for the club at the National League in Antrim on Sunday, not sure of event yet but possibly 1500 or 5000m. Not ideal with Bohermeen the evening before but needs must.

MYTD: 803.5

pconn062

4 miles, 35:07, 8.47 avg pace

Handy recovery run this evening just to keep the legs ticking over until the race tomorrow. The weather was absolutely rotten though, the wind was howling, really hope it dies down before tomorrow or it will kill any chance of good times. Looking forward to the race, not sure if a PB is on the cards but we'll wait and see.

MYTD: 807.5

tang1

Best of luck in Bohermeen tomorrow.

ThePiedPiper

Best of luck today and tomorrow pconn.. Weather is well settled down, so I'm sure you'll put in a great showing.

pconn062

18:51

If you'd have told me 6 months ago I'd be disappointed with an 18:50 5k I'd have laughed at you, but that's how I feel now. I kind of thought I might squeeze a PB tonight, I had no real reason to feel like that as training had been less than ideal. Start of the race went well and after a false start we were off and after dodging around the people who shouldn't have been so close to the start I settled into a good pace. First mile went in 5:50, I always try to go out fast in a 5k at then hang on. The trouble started around 3.5k where the energy levels were getting low. At 4k the guy from my club who I was running with started to pull ahead and I couldn't go with him. I gritted my teeth and tried to make a break but it was no good and the third mile was down to 6:11. A little bit of a push at the line and I was done.
I was a bit gutted after the race and still feel disappointed now, after all I was 11 seconds away from a PB and that is a lot in a 5k. The free burger and ice cream after the race did cheer me up a bit! I really want to put in a good push with training and get under the 18:30 mark. The race itself was good although the start was a fiasco, way too many slow runners at the front and I think the race is overcrowded as the roads are very narrow. I was only 5 or 6 rows back but everybody was squashed, not enjoyable. The course was nice and fast though. Running the 1500m at the National League in Antrim tomorrow, very glad it's not the 5000 after tonight!

On another note my OH was commenting on how quick the sub 18 runners were going and I told her I intended to break sub 18 before the end of the year, and she kind of smiled. I said I was serious so she bet me a new pair of runners as encouragement that I couldn't break 18 before the end of the year. She said it was too encourage me to do it, so the game is on, sub 18 it is!!

MYTD: 811.5

tang1

Hard luck on the PB, say your other half may be forking out dollars come years end though. True fellow Dunleer man took Gary O Hanlons scalp??

pconn062

tang1 wrote: »

Hard luck on the PB, say your other half may be forking out dollars come years end though. True fellow Dunleer man took Gary O Hanlons scalp??

Cheers Tang, yeah our very own Martin Quinn pipped O'Hanlon at the post which is no mean feat, just a week after winning the Newry Half marathon. Us Dunleer runners are sneaky like that!

tang1

Thats great running alright, must be something in the water Dunleer!!

ThePiedPiper

good work pconn.. You could always make the excuse that you were saving yourself for Sunday's race and that you backed off.. Don't worry bout missing out on the PB, plenty more races in the tank.. I must make a go at a 5k sometime, they sound like a bit of craic. See you Wednesday, hope today goes well for you, lovely day for it.