Not Quite Four Laps

smmoore79

Great result KU. Sounded like the mental battle was greater than the physical one. I always get that feeling after reading a marathon report that I have to do a marathon soon!! Maybe next year we can have a crack at sub 2 30

RunningKing

Superb race - well done on the HTFU needed. 2:38 is a shockingly savage & unfathomable time. Amazing.

Peckham

Great run, and savage improvement over a short space of time. Limits have yet to be pushed it would seem.

nerraw1111

Great race, well done

Mr Slow

Great report and fantastic running, Krusty's under pressure now to deliver on his.

KielyUnusual

smmoore79 wrote: »

Great result KU. Sounded like the mental battle was greater than the physical one. I always get that feeling after reading a marathon report that I have to do a marathon soon!! Maybe next year we can have a crack at sub 2 30

No more marathoning for me for a while now S. I think I might stick to your type of programme for a while. Picking out a few goal races here and there and having a proper go at the cross country in the winter. You'll have to give the marathon a good go sometime though. Your blog has gone completely off point by this stage:D

Last Week

Rest

Monday

6 miles @ 6m38s/mile

A beautiful evening for a run by the sea in Clontarf. First time besides races where I have been out in the shorts and t-shirts this year. Really enjoyed it. Well rested after the exertions from last week.

I was going to run in the Graded Meets tomorrow but the change of venue to Tallaght is a bit awkward for me so I'll have to give it a miss. Might run in the club 3k time trial this evening instead.

thewolf_ie

Great log and well done in London!

KielyUnusual

Tuesday

Warm Up, 2/3 of a 3k Time Trial, Warm Down

I was looking forward to this 3k time trial. I was feeling well rested and raring to go after a very easy week running wise. Even the minor aches and pains that I had been carrying all through the marathon training had disappeared. I felt that if I paced myself well, then a PB was on and I might even sneak into the 9.20s.

Smmoore was down for the time trial too and after a few warm up laps and some dynamic stretching we both lined up along the diagonal 3k start line. In an unusual move for me, I bolted straight in to the lead but was quickly overtaken by SM and a lad from Raheny. They opened up a bit of a gap and slowly creeped away from me. The first lap went okay but on the second lap I was struggling. I probably wasn't hurting any more than I normally would during a 3k race but the desire to push on just wasn't as strong. By lap 3, I was seriously considering dropping out but I just kept on going. Then on the back straight of the fourth lap, I just jumped off the track without really making any conscious decision to do so. I had already decided that I was going to finish the race out and then I just stopped running.

I walked back over to the start line on the opposite side, a little bewildered but not very disappointed. I knew straight away that I'd taken on too much just barely a week after running a really tough marathon. I'm enjoying the easy miles and the good weather recently so I'll keep that going and avoid the racing for a few more weeks still

Wednesday to Friday

No Running

Catching up on some of my other sporting interests now that my evenings aren't dominated by the running.

BeepBeep67

That was a fine marathon young man. If I was a betting man I'd say you could rattle through the top 10 challenge.

KielyUnusual

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

That was a fine marathon young man. If I was a betting man I'd say you could rattle through the top 10 challenge.

The 10 Round Numbers Thread is a really good motivator definitely. I'm not sure I would have thought of even trying out some of the shorter distances without it. I'd be reasonably confident on the longer distances but the 400m might be a bit of a struggle. I don't reckon I'll be able to hit it on my first attempt but hopefully I'll learn enough to come back and give it a proper go. These scrawny legs aren't built for explosive speed though:(.

KielyUnusual

Saturday

10 miles @ 6m57s/mile

It was a lovely morning so I decided to get in a run before bussing it down to Tipp for the weekend. I went on the usual route out and around Bull Island. They were setting up for the Bay 5/10k as I was heading out along. I read a few poor reviews of the event and from my perspective it looked very slack on organisation. It was very close to the race start when the stewards were out putting in the km markers and constructing the finish line gantry. Not much margin for errors there, I'd say. It's run on busy public paths too, which I imagine would have provided problems on a nice day like Saturday. The Clontarf Half and 5 mile has a similar set up. They charge a good whack of money for these races, so it seems a bit much that the course isn't even closed off from the general public. Enjoyed my run though. Unusual to get out in some decent weather these days.

Sunday

7 miles easy

Got a nice run in on the backroads of Borrisoleigh. Always good to get this one in when I go home. Some good sharp hills in there, that are testing no matter what pace you are going at.

Monday to Thursday

No running

Mainly playing hurling and football but no running. I've lost a bit of my competitive edge since London though so I'm not great for the team sports.

Friday

10 miles steady

Out round Bull Island again. This was possibly one of my most enjoyable runs ever. My legs felt great and I upped it to marathon pace for the last 3 or 4 miles without much bother. The weather was a bit erratic with a mix of hazy sunshine and scattered showers. It made for some epic vistas over Clontarf though. All the cars were pulling over on Bull Island to stop and have a look. It was pretty spectacular

Saturday

Rest

Pacing the Half down in Kildare tomorrow so went for a few pucks down the park but left it at that. More so the fairly wild weather out there that influenced my decision than anything else. Looking forward to the pacing gig. It will nice to be involved in the race atmosphere without having to run flat out. That and the helping other runners of course

blockic

Enjoy walking around Kildare tomorrow! It's great taking in the race atmosphere that you normally can't when your busting yourself!

KielyUnusual

Sunday

13.1 Miles @ 6m50s/mile

First pacing gig down in Kildare today. Myself and theboyblunder were pacing 1.30 for the half so I cycled over to his place for a lift. This would have been grand but the wind and rain left me drenched to the skin by the time I got there. An early change in to my race gear left me feeling better and we were on our way. The VIP treatment down in the Curragh had all the pacers in good spirits and after a bit of banter we made our way towards the start.

Myself and tbb positioned ourselves a few rows back and got chatting to our first few pacees. After a few miles, we could see that we had a good group of about twenty or so and this was the case until we got in to the town at about nine miles when a short, sharp hill here blew the group apart. A few people pushed on after this but most fell a little behind. It was just myself, tbb and two pacees for the next mile. We encouraged them to push on for the last few miles, with the tail wind making the running a little easier. They took our advice so myself and tbb just chatted away to ourselves and brought it home. I took advantage of tbb soaking up the admiration in the home straight to get a sneaky sprint finish and first pacer home. I wasn't going to be pipped by another one of my boards nemeses on the line. Ultraman1, you can just send the prize in the post.

Great experience and thanks to ultraman1 for the invite and the superstar treatment. Thanks must also go out to tbb for the lift (in a Lexus no less) and the banter.

KielyUnusual

Monday

Rest

Tuesday

0.5 mile w/u, 8 X 600m, 1 mile w/d

Had planned on maybe doing a half session and then racing the 1500m in the graded meets on the day after. Once I got going though, I couldn't stop and quickly put the idea of racing the following day out of my head. Still think it's a bit too close after the marathon for that kind of race. This session was very enjoyable. There was a group of three lads that are always strong on the interval sessions leading out. I stuck with them for the first one but they made a few seconds on me for each of the following seven. I think my times were in the late 1.50's judging by the times they ran but I can't be sure. Really enjoyed running fast again even if I did take it a little easier as I was on my own for practically the whole session.

Wednesday

Rest

Thursday

10 miles @ 7m02s/mile

Out by Bull Island again. Taking advantage of the bright evenings to get a bit off road. I was getting so sick of the paths round Drumcondra, Clontarf and Raheny towards the end of my London training. It's great to have that bit of freedom again.

Friday

3 mile w/u, 4 @ 5m53s/mile, 3 mile w/d

Met up with theboyblunder and headed out to Raheny for a tempo run. It was a lovely evening and merrily chatting away, we seemed to reach the estate where tbb had the 1 mile route mapped out in no time at all. The first mile was tough, as is ever the case with tempo runs but once in to the rhythm, it was still difficult but controlled. The good weather had brought out a multitude of kids too, which made for some interesting obstacles and a few hairy moments. I went for an easy run home after this and tbb went off to play a game of football. Wouldn't have fancied it myself, I must say.

Saturday

15 miles @ ~7m/mile

Up early today to get the train out to Malahide for the Parkrun. I had been feeling pretty good on my runs all week and I was confident of a decent performance. Unfortunately, I hadn't noticed the fairly non-descript column on the Irishrail website that one change would be required on this journey in order to reach Malaide. I should have known myself that the Howth train couldn't possibly go to Malahide but I was on autopilot at this stage in the morning. I'm still blaming CIE.

Made up for this by heading out to Phoenix Park for a long run. Haven't been out there in a while and I really love running there. The stretch along the Upper Glen and Military Road has got to be one of my favourite places to run. I really sprinted up the hills today when running along here and I was feeling it for the return journey home along the North Road and back along the Royal Canal. A decent substitute for the Parkrun and the great thing about Parkrun is I can just head out to Malahide next week and make amends.

Peckham

Shame you didn't make it to parkrun. Was a perfect morning. Make sure to say hello if you do make it out to Malahide next Saturday. Think I'm scanning barcodes.

KielyUnusual

It was a perfect morning for a run alright. I was really gutted on the way home to have missed it. I'll more than likely be out next week and I'll make sure to say hello. Might stick around for a cup of tea and a bit of cake.

KielyUnusual

Monday

Rest

Tuesday

1 mile w/u, 6 X 800m, 1 mile w/d

With the track being under repair, we were out to the park for these. The first two were okay (maybe a little fast) and the third one not too bad but the final three were really tough. Didn't time myself on these but slowed right down for the last one. Haven't really been feeling good on the intervals since the marathon. Might be down to the inconsistent training

Wednesday

Nothing

Thursday

3 mile w/u, 3 X 200m, 1/2 Beer Mile, 3 mile w/d

Ran down to Kilbogget after work to meet up with Krusty_Clown for a bit of a session (in both senses of the word). I dropped into the off licence in Shankhill on the way to pick up some beers. I had hoped to pick up a mix of 330ml cans and bottles for a bit of experimentation but there was only 500ml cans available so I had to stick with a few bottles of Coors Light . I'll have to investigate the downabilty of cans vs bottles as a separate experiment.
Anyway down to the running and after a few warm up laps and some strides, we started on the 200s. We lead out for alternate repeats. All three came in at ~32s with a liberal recovery between each. The last 50m of each was a real struggle and the idea of keeping that pace going for another 200m doesn't seem very realistic. It will be interesting to see how I get on in the 400m on Wednesday. Hopefully the blocks and a better surface will be worth a few seconds. Might pick up some suitable spikes during the week too and see if this will bring some minute advantage too.
Next up was the beer half mile. Started the watch and cracked open the beer. Frist beer was slow going down and this will have to be worked on over the next few weeks. KC got a few seconds on me here and he was off like a rocket around around the track. The first lap wasn't too bad and I think my drinking technique on the second was a little better although I still was a bit slower than KC on this one too. Towards the end of this lap, I could feel the beer sloshing around in my stomach. The third and fourth beers will sort the men from the boys I think. Anyone who can go sub 8 might win it on the day. Advantage may go to the quick downers of drinks over the 65 second lappers. Good recce for the event proper anyway. I was a little light headed on the run back to Bray with KC and will be properly hammered if I manage to knock back 4 beers in 8 minutes and keep them down.

Friday

10 miles easy

Met up with theboyblunder and headed out to St Annes Park and around Bull Island for an easy run. A beautiful evening for it and it was nice to loosen out the legs. My thighs were very stiff after the speedwork from yesterday.

Saturday

10 miles easy

Was considering going out to the Marley for the Parkrun but the bed had a particular hold over me that morning and I couldn't muster the enthusiasm. Went for a similar run to the day previous, this time heading across the beach on Bull Island to check out a kite surfing competition. Enjoyable run, all in all.

Sunday

Rest

I signed up for the Dunshaughlin 10k today and this might signal the end of my taking it easy on the running front. I'll start adding in a few 10k specific sessions and get back to a bit more consistent running.

blockic

KielyUnusual wrote: »

3 mile w/u, 3 X 200m, 1/2 Beer Mile, 3 mile w/d
Ran down to Kilbogget after work to meet up with Krusty_Clown for a bit of a session (in both senses of the word). I dropped into the off licence in Shankhill on the way to pick up some beers. I had hoped to pick up a mix of 330ml cans and bottles for a bit of experimentation but there was only 500ml cans available so I had to stick with a few bottles of Coors Light . I'll have to investigate the downabilty of cans vs bottles as a separate experiment.
Anyway down to the running and after a few warm up laps and some strides, we started on the 200s. We lead out for alternate repeats. All three came in at ~32s with a liberal recovery between each. The last 50m of each was a real struggle and the idea of keeping that pace going for another 200m doesn't seem very realistic. It will be interesting to see how I get on in the 400m on Wednesday. Hopefully the blocks and a better surface will be worth a few seconds. Might pick up some suitable spikes during the week too and see if this will bring some minute advantage too.
Next up was the beer half mile. Started the watch and cracked open the beer. Frist beer was slow going down and this will have to be worked on over the next few weeks. KC got a few seconds on me here and he was off like a rocket around around the track. The first lap wasn't too bad and I think my drinking technique on the second was a little better although I still was a bit slower than KC on this one too. Towards the end of this lap, I could feel the beer sloshing around in my stomach. The third and fourth beers will sort the men from the boys I think. Anyone who can go sub 8 might win it on the day. Advantage may go to the quick downers of drinks over the 65 second lappers. Good recce for the event proper anyway. I was a little light headed on the run back to Bray with KC and will be properly hammered if I manage to knock back 4 beers in 8 minutes and keep them down.

Class! Great session! Although you know your odds have got longer now after that snippit of insightful information. Maybe that's all part of the strategy!

KielyUnusual

blockic wrote: »

Class! Great session! Although you know your odds have got longer now after that snippit of insightful information. Maybe that's all part of the strategy!

I know what areas I need to work on now at least . I think it might be a dark horse who wins it on the day. I wouldn't be putting any money down on it anyway for sure. Will you be running it yourself?

blockic

KielyUnusual wrote: »

I know what areas I need to work on now at least . I think it might be a dark horse who wins it on the day. I wouldn't be putting any money down on it anyway for sure. Will you be running it yourself?

Yep, I'll be there, however I need serious work done on both the running and the drinking front and my only target is to not finish last which is highly likely!

RunningKing

Is their a novice prize? Will the over 40's be handicapped as we have more experience?

KielyUnusual

RunningKing wrote: »

Is their a novice prize? Will the over 40's be handicapped as we have more experience?

The only prize is that warm feeling you get inside from knowing you've just ran the best god damn beer mile you can possibly run. Actually warm feeling inside at end of race may be for other reasons:P.

No separate treatment for auld lads. Whatever you gain in experience will be more than made up for by the years of abuse to your liver.

KielyUnusual

Siunday & Monday

Rest

I might have to come up with a better word than 'rest' for these days that have been getting fairly frequent. They're not really serving any recuperative benefit, I'm just being a lazy git.

Tuesday

6 miles easy

Just an easy 6 miles down to the wall in Clontarf and back on a nice evening. Ran a few strides in Fairview Park on the way back in preparation for the graded meets the following day

Wednesday

Got a lift with KC out to the Graded Meets in Tallaght. The 200s from the previous week had shown that sub 60 for the 400 was a little bit out of reach yet but I was looking forward to seeing what I could do over the distance. We were out there nice and early, so we signed up and had time for an amble around the track and get a bit of practice with the blocks. I was glad of this because I didn't realise just how awkward they would feel. The Grade D 400m was first event so it wasn't long before we were called over. I ended up in the fourth race and the general quality was very high in the preceeding races. I was drawn in lane 2 and was a little slow out of the blocks. I was immediately in to last place and lost some more ground on the back straight. I should have been going faster and was still feeling reasonably comfortable at the halfway point. I finished okay and made a bit of ground on the final straight but the damage was done. Finished in 63.18 and last place.

I had also signed up for the mile with the hope of ticking the sub 5 minute mile box on the 10 round numbers thread. This was probably the wrong attitude to have had and it backfired on me. I had entered the grade D as well, which was another error on my part. Anyway lined up and plan was to just settle in to the middle of the group and push on for the last lap. Gun went and pace felt a little slow but assumed this was the adrenaline so I went with it. KC hand timed the lap at 80s, so it was way too slow. I stuck with my tactic for the next two laps but they were slow as well, 77 and 77. I was looking forward to the bell, being one of those iconic moments in running that I'd yet to experience. It spurred me on a little and I ran a last lap of 69 but the damage was done and I was even outkicked by a Clonliffe Runner on the final bend to add insult to injury. Final time was 5.03.73.

Two disappointing enough times but I really enjoyed the event and it's only spurred me on to go back again and put down some decent times that I'd be proud of, especially the mile. Great advice on KCs blog regarding the 400m so I might borrow some of those sessions and have a serious go at the race next time.

menoscemo

Yeah, I was looking at the results last night and when I saw 5:30, I assumed either it was a mistake or something went badly wrong. I see they have fixed it now.

Sounds like you should have defninitely went in Grade C in the mile. Grade D is for plodders like me!!

KielyUnusual

menoscemo wrote: »

Yeah, I was looking at the results last night and when I saw 5:30, I assumed either it was a mistake or something went badly wrong. I see they have fixed it now.

Sounds like you should have defninitely went in Grade C in the mile. Grade D is for plodders like me!!

I was half believing it myself when I saw that result too. I should have looked at results from previous years and made a better judgement call. Pity there's no grade E or F for the 400m. That would have been more the place for me.

KielyUnusual

Thursday

No Running

Friday

Either 6 or 10 miles

Couldn't remember if I had went for a run this day or not, then I was informed down the club on the following week that I had been spotted running by Clontarf. Must have been my six or ten mile run I do don that way. They're my staple these days.

Saturday

15 miles employing a run/walk strategy

This run was going fine until about 11 miles when I completely lost all energy in my legs. Might have been a little dehydrated possibly. Had to employ a walk/run strategy for the 4 miles home. Been a while since that happened on a run.

Sunday

6 miles hard/easy

Ran the first three miles hard (~6 miles/min) to see what kind of shape I'm in. It was a lot harder than it should have been. Can't imagine how I ran 26 miles at this pace just a month ago. Got as far as Bull Island and slowed it right down for the way back. I was really struggling to keep going anyway and I was strangely proud of myself when I got home for running six miles with no break.

Monday

10 miles

I wasn't expecting much from this after eating a load of crap and drinking a lot on the day before but I was right back on form. I went out easy and just kept upping the pace until I was moving at a good rate for the last few miles. I haven't been wearing a watch recently so pace is unknown on all these runs. It's one of the first things I look at when I read a log so I should have it on my own. Looking at finally investing in a GPS watch. Will probably have one by next week.

Tuesday

w/u, 8 X 600, w/d

After the disaster of a session last time, I took it easy for the first few reps. I felt strong and upped the pace gradually until I was pushing it for the last few. Feel like I'm coming back to some semblance of my pre-marathon fitness

Wednesday

13 miles

Ran home from work today on another lovely evening. I used to really dislike this run but not running in the freezing cold and rain, really makes all the difference . Felt good again and six days running in a row is the most I've done for a long time. Might run a race at the weekend to see how I fare.

smmoore79

Solid training there, good to hear youre getting back on form. Did zero running yesterday so your 13 miles is making me jelous! That national half is on 5th August so not as much time as I thought. Might look at Jack Daniels for some of his half marathon sessions. Would be good to get a few heads together and hit these every Saturday!!

KielyUnusual

smmoore79 wrote: »

Solid training there, good to hear youre getting back on form. Did zero running yesterday so your 13 miles is making me jelous! That national half is on 5th August so not as much time as I thought. Might look at Jack Daniels for some of his half marathon sessions. Would be good to get a few heads together and hit these every Saturday!!

Cheers S, I was looking at running the marathon series 10 mile at the end of August but the training is basically the same for a Half. Might be worth having a shot at both. A few Saturday sessions might be an idea. If I don't let ye lads get over the horizon then I might be doing decently enough

smmoore79

Ive emailed some of the lads, hopefully 1 or 2 come out(to run :pac:). Either way i'll be doing the Saturday session. Sure pm me your email and I'll get ya on the list/ give ya details of this Saturday. Vinnie wants to do a tough one already, 3 x 5k or 3 x 15 minutes :eek:

KielyUnusual

Thursday & Friday

No Running

Had to stay on late at work on the Thursday so didn't make it out for a run. Went playing hurling on Friday and had intended on going for a run after but I was knackered and couldn't muster the energy

Saturday

10 miles @ Hard/Walk/Easy Pace

I ran 1 warm up mile and then ran at about 6min/mile pace for 4-5 miles. I felt grand but I just died a death going across Bull Island. I slowed right down but had to take a walk break for a minute along Clontarf. My inconsistent running is coming back to bite me

Sunday

8 miles steady

I wasn't expecting much from this after a heavy night on the Saturday but it went well. I went out with the intention of running six miles but tagged on a bit more and could have stayed running for a long while. Really surprised me.

Monday

5 miles lunchtime run

First lunchtime run since the VLM. I haven't been as consistent as I'd like recently so I think the lunchtime run could help this. Going to try work this back up to the twice a week I was doing previously.

Tuesday

12 X 400m (Fast/Steady/Fast/Steady....)

There were some guffaws when this session was laid out down the club. Only six fast 400m? This will be a cake walk. The reality was a bit harsher though. The aim was to run the steady portion 15 seconds slower than the fast with no break. I was stuck behind the main group of lads including smmoore and in a bit of no mans land. The last 4 or 5 were very tough, so i think I paced them about right. Sounded easy on paper but it was a really good session and a bit different from anything I've done before.

Wednesday

No Running

Went down to Trinity to run the mile in the BHAA races. The surface on the cricket pitch looked top quality for a race and despite the conditions, I was eager to give it a go. Met up with a friend and was guilted in to making up the numbers for a game of football. Should have just ran the race. Another of the lads didn't show up for the game so there was odd numbers anyway.