Féileacán Mór

sconhome

I was trying to be clever and call this blog Papillon.

Not after the book, though I am an avid reader and this was one of my first 'grown up' books to read. Instead I was using Papillon to identify a chrysalis like change that was about to happen.

'Papillon' is gone, I didn't bother looking at 'Butterfly' or other derivatives, 'Irish Papillon' ? m'eh.

'Féileacán'? (Irish for butterfly) gone and in hibernation since 2006! Why aren't old unused blogs and Twitter handles just blasted if unused for, say, 6 months?

However, 'Féileacán Mór', was available. Thus, this large butterfly has a blog title.

This is a separate blog from my work piece which is kinda of a mish-mash of training reports, events and work related musings. I want Papillon or Féileacán Mór to follow my transformation from triathlete to runner (for a season anyway). This will be my training log and race report area free from (most) commercial trappings.

I'm not, not, being a triathlete, I'm putting it on hold for a while to see what I can be as a runner.

Going from the darkside to the light, as some might say, well, for 2014 anyway.

jfh

best of luck with it, just goes to show how much of a philistine i am, they only Papillon i know of was the horse. i had one of my biggest wins on that fella in the Grand national. But butterfly is good too..
will watch with interest.

sconhome

Thanks jfh, works both ways, I didn't know of the horse either

BTH

BOO. Come back where you belong..

sconhome

BTH wrote: »

BOO. Come back where you belong..

Don't worry, its only a flirtation with the Dark Light side.

Don't go telling on me over there either. Caused enough trouble last night as it is

digger2d2

amphkingwest wrote: »

I want Papillon or Féileacán Mór to follow my transformation from triathlete to runner

Going from the darkside to the light, as some might say, well, for 2014 anyway.

Are you going to start measuring in miles as well or is that a step too far

sconhome

digger2d2 wrote: »

Are you going to start measuring in miles as well or is that a step too far

Caught myself on Twitter the past few days talking about 'training miles' alright

Better watch that!

RayCun

digger2d2 wrote: »

Are you going to start measuring in miles as well or is that a step too far

This is the Light Side, not the 18th century

Krusty_Clown

Welcome on board, even if you're only flirting with the light side for a brief period! Papillon was one of my first grown-up books too and what an extraordinary read..

So, what are the goals of this chrysalis transformation period?

sconhome

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Welcome on board, even if you're only flirting with the light side for a brief period! Papillon was one of my first grown-up books too and what an extraordinary read..

So, what are the goals of this chrysalis transformation period?

In the past flirting has led to relationships so who knows what might happen for me & running

The reasoning behind my decision to run for a year (probably more as I develop goals) is simple. Work and family demands are putting time constraints on me and the amount of time available for training.


Originally I had planned 2014 to 'go long' (triathlete parlance for Ironman distance racing 3.8km swim, 180km bike & 42.2km run) but then we set about opening a second shop this summer in Limerick.


That was the end of that!


I would have been happy enough with my run, happy enough about my bike and the swim will do. But for my swim to become decent I need time to work at it. Time is not my friend in this instance and 'happy enough' doesn't cut it for me..


Best use of my time is to become decent at my running.


It's too early to say what goals are, but suffice to say 2014 will be all about me bettering me.


Where am I at now?


5km 20:46 July 2011
10km 42:xx Sometime in 2011 (I know, shocking I don't know my times!!)
21.1km 1:35:05 2013
42.2km 4:08:35 Dublin Marathon 2011 (2012 was a disaster, read my other blog about it)


I want to be consistent about my running, embrace it more, enjoy it to its full and see where the times go.


I might break the 20min 5k tonight in Limerick, I might not.


The big race is #AmsterdamMarathon on October 20th. 03:14:5x is the goal & training has gone well for it so happy days.

ecoli

I knew leaving Dory Dory's running log over on the other side would entice a few of you back to sanity:D

Welcome. Best of luck in Amsterdam. Remember watching the stream of this race back when Keneally ran this race. Looks like a great course and nice tough finishing on the track looks like a fast one to.

sconhome

Ha!! Very true, though I think its a path to insanity knowing how addictive I can be about these things.

I don't think I could really pick a flatter course than this for hitting this goal. Just need to stay off the MTB and away from stupid things for the next 4 weeks, arrive in one piece and give it a lash.

ecoli

amphkingwest wrote: »

Just need to stay off the MTB and away from stupid things for the next 4 weeks, arrive in one piece and give it a lash.

I would be worried about the weekend you get there. The sight of all them bikes on the streets around the city may have you as a DNS cycling around the cities of Holland:D

sconhome

More likely to be found swimming in a canal trying to make a triathlon out of it

sconhome

#Southill5k is the third in a series of races organised by Athletics Limerick at Rathkeale 4m, Analog 6k and Southill 5k.


I got to do the Analog 6k last week and clocked in a time of 25:33 which I was quite happy with as I'd only planned to jog over (4.6k) and back (4.7k!!) and observe the race, pass out flyers and be visible in the yellow & black.


As it turned out I messaged one of the T/D/M guys to see if he was up for a run, between the jigs and reels we ended up racing the event too (I was half minded to do it anyway but had a laugh as the realisation of the race dawned on him), so nice unexpected tempo session at the business end of a high volume week.


Anyway, that 25:33 put me in mind for a sub or close 20ish 5k last night.


Right up until I saw the route.


Leaving work it was only a short 1k trot around to the Southill area. Having to ask directions to the community centre from a couple of kids, to be greeted with "You're the guy from the running shoe" served to remind me that I'm in their territory for a change & better behave myself


Anyway down to the centre, met a few familiar faces, nice to be welcomed as part of the scene, I feel like a local already. Bit of chit chat, "I was in earlier", "Any XC spikes" etc and like most times I'm like "how's the form? feeling good?", "you looked good on the road in Charleville" etc.


Very quickly called to the start line, little bit of briefing on the course: "out here, down there, round that, up here, over there, turn there, back here and in there" as always I'm happy enough there'll always be someone in front of me, its the pointy ended boys that have to listen.


Sure enough, GO!! followed by scampering feet to the first left. Out there, cross the road, down the hill, around through the estate (we seemed to provide a break in the usual entertainment on the road) back out over the road and then up! Up was up at the 2k point (I'll link the elevation in later) and I wanted to test the guy who's heels I was on so I said, "you're looking steady" to see his response, judge his breathing, see how deep he was in the hurt.


It took a few seconds but he was "what time you aiming for?", I said "20ish", him "21 and half" and then I dug in to the climb putting a couple of metres into his as we were joined by 'Pat ya eejit' as bystanders seemed to call him. This young lad seemed intent on wooing his audience as he ran in front of me cutting off my feet.


Only for the liklihood of a riot, he'd have got a clip in the ear.


Anyway he blew up after 30m and I pushed on. Over the top, always run over the top of a hill, around to the left and sharp right for a long downward into the wind. This is around the 2.5k - 3k mark and I start to see leaders coming back to me. As we got closer, it was not who I expected at all.


Slightly bemused I clicked off the next lad in front of me before hitting the turn back up what was a long drag with the wind behind (neutralised the effect) and backed myself to stretch out. Pushing on, I passed one more on this stretch before turning left and left again to complete the last of the hill at 4.2k by my watch.


Then came the down hill. Running downhill is not a strong point of mine but I'm getting there, so head up, arms loose, 'fall' down and high cadence.


Bit like the Midnight Oil song, "How do you feel now your Quads are burning?" hit the bottom and finish line fever lifts me ontot he toes and a last push. No idea what time is just that my pace was lifting through the second half and over the line.


Very subdued finish area, and then I found out why.


Most of the front guys went wrong. A marshal was not in the right place, he didn't realise that the race time changed from 7 to 6:45 so quite a few unhappy faces.

What it meant for me was the winning time was 20:10 and I finished 6th (4th O40) in 21:58. To put that in perspective for me the winner this week finished 2nd in the Analog 6k with 20:26. That's how hilly the course was.


Take that, thankyou!

sconhome

Updated log to include link to +Polar training file here > Southill 5k

RayCun

Step 1: Bring AKW to A/R
Step 2: Get him to wear a Garmin

sconhome

RayCun wrote: »

Step 1: Bring AKW to A/R
Step 2: Get him to wear a Garmin

HA HA!!

Truth be told, I've a 620 with HRMrun on backorder, purely for scientific reasons of course

My FR305 still gets the odd run out now and again. It really is the Nokia 6210 of the GPS world.

sconhome

This week past is Week 19 of my #running plan leading up to #AmsterdamMarathon on 20th October.

On of the key sessions was the LPR on Sunday which would see me peaking out at 35k (or 22miles as I was encouraged to consider it) and with a planned week of 108k in total.

Monday:
Rest day.

Tuesday:
Planned -
10mins E pace, 5x30sec strides/30secs easy, 3x(3km T pace + 10secs with 1km E pace recovery) & 5min E warm down

Actual -
I was only getting into the flow of the workout when a car came up alongside me (running at night on country roads) yet slightly behind and I thought, "I'm in the ditch already, go past!" after another 100m and the car was still there I thought what the heck and glanced over my shoulder to see this fellow hanging out of the window. Looking properly I recognised him as Greg, my go-to massage guy, Sh1te, I forgot he was calling over! He wanted to try / borrow my wetsuit for an open water event at the weekend.

Checking the watch, I told him "800m to go" as my intent was to pause at the end of the first phase, take a lift back and finish on the treadmill.

End of session

Wednesday:
Planned -
AM - 60mins E pace running, throw in 5x20sec strides
PM - 40mins E pace running

Actual -
Terrible nights sleep so awake early and got out on the road to do last nights session over.
The tired mind & body meant I was not on it properly for the phases, but session done.

Wk19 Tuesday - Phases
I knew this meant I was now backed up x2 sessions already this week and couldn't afford to let them slip further. I was reconciling / clutching at straws that the 5.6k of last night would replace the 40min Epace run

Wk19 Wednesday - Summary

Thursday:
Planned -
10mins E pace, 70mins M pace, 5mins E pace to warm down

Actual -
Drop the kids to school, back, change and out the door. Leaving a gel & drink on the front pillar I'd a plan of a big loop and a slightly smaller loop to finish.

Wk19 Thursday - Phases
On the money with the pacing, I was happy, relatively comfortable and not to stressed with the effort. We'll have a look at Training Load later.

Wk19 Thursday - Summary

Friday:
Planned -
60mins E pace running, throw in 5x20sec strides

Actual -
The last in the #FeetontheStreet series from #AthleticsLimerick and my second local race. With it only around the corner from me in AKLimerick it would have been rude not to do the #Southill5k.

My Race Report is already covered.

Wk19 Southill 5k

Of course, not really being conducive to the training plan, the 5k served to show me where I was re speed work.

Saturday:
Planned -
60mins E pace running, throw in 5x20sec strides

Actual -
Just as it says on the tin. Nice recovery run, legs felt nice and loose after pushing hard last night. Good session, still rubbish sleep on account of the kids. But hey ho!

Wk 19 Saturday - Summary

Sunday:
Planned -
Long run as 5km E pace, 2x(12km M pace, 1km E pace), 2km M pace -10secs, 2km E pace

Actual -
Meeting my buddy Conor for our first run together in a long while, we decided mentally & physically we could feed off each other on this run even if we were at different paces.

We'd figured a 10k ish loop near Oranmore which was relatively flat rather than the lumpy hills around his place or the sharp draggy pieces around me.

Wk 19 Sunday - Phases
We set up the water station which we'd be passing on each of the three loops. I've been using a combination of +Agave #9 gels and #ElivarSport Endure drink (protein & slow release carbs) and I find they work a treat for me.

Wk19 Sunday - Summary

Both of us were delighted with the outcome of the session and I think it was mentally a great way to finish a tough week of work, poor sleep and general fatigue. Rolling on to next week I feel like magic, and can't wait to hit taper fortnight to freshen up and loosen out.

Wk19 Summary - Load indicators & looking to Wk20


Over all:
Planned Week - 107km
Actual Week - 93km

Physically - some barriers of tiredness to push through
Mentally - BOOM!

sconhome

Its been a good but rough start to the week.

Looking back now, I'd a red flag on Monday after the stormer of a session on Sunday and should have been more aware of how the fatigue was building on the body. Here's how I was shaping up for Monday - red flag indicating 'Training is not recommended'

Wk19 - Training Load indicators

I went out Monday evening and felt great, had a solid session, got lost in it and did a bit more than expected. I'm feeling the rolled up effects of that good session and pretty poor sleep this week and its only Thursday

Monday:
Planned -
60mins E pace running, throw in 5x20sec strides - 12k

Actual -
In hindsight I only ran 2k or so further and clipped along 40 sec per km faster than goal pace. I had my music on and felt good so was just rolling with the session nicely. HR was relatively low, I felt good, then.

Wk20 Monday - Summary

Tuesday:
Planned -
10mins E pace, 5x30sec strides/30secs easy, 3x(3km T pace + 5secs with 1km E pace recovery) & 5min E warm down - 16k

Actual -
I seemed to struggle to get going in the first place. Normally I loosen up through the warmup and start to come to life around 3-4 km into a run. It just didn't happen for me this evening.

Tpace is 4:20/km so targets were to have been 4:25/km for the 'Work' and 'Recovery' in the 5:23/km area. As can be seen all of the paces were off by too much. Not an overly hilly loop and it was 2.5 loops so the 'Work' phases shifted around a bit.

Wk20 Tuesday - Phases

I'm blaming my choice of footwear for this and will discuss this again. I had Zero recoil or lift in my feet and really had to work hard on each step. Left drained and sore after the session. Calves tight and all (very unusal for me)
Wk20 Tuesday - Summary

Wednesday:
Planned -
45mins E pace running, throw in 5x20sec strides - 9k

Actual -
This ended up being a treadmill session. The boss was playing a water polo game at 10pm so after a visit to see a new S&C coach in Limerick I was home to settle our daughter and line up a session on the treadmill.

I think being straight forward tired is the root of the issue this week.

One foot in front of the other, get this done!! I wasn't doing a step further than 45mins for this. Normally I'd be ticking off the full 9k, end of!

Wk20 Wednesday - Summary

Looking at my training load indicators:

Wk20 Training Load indicators

that fatigue is rolling up day on day. I'm not looking forward to my session tonight but I will get it done, click off the rest of the week and then it's taper time!

Planned Week (so far) - 37k
Actual Week (so far) - 38.42k

Physically - lots of tiredness, restless sleep.
Mentally - lets just get it done!!

Literally as I write this my buddy messaged me: "That run tonight is the last of the hard stuff"
Yeah, lets just get it done!!

RayCun

What plan are you following?

sconhome

Its a plan based on my half marathon Vdot.

Designed by one of the runner / triathlete guys its a blend of a couple of different sources. I tried to put my finger on one of them but its like Jack Daniels, Lydiard & Hal Higdon all thrown into a blender

I followed similar last year for an attempt at 3:30 and was tipping along well until a MTB incident 2 weeks out. Judging by the way I've responded to the 3:15 plan it seems to be working for me, just need the kids to sleep a bit more and take at least one day off work in the week and I wouldn't slump the way I did the past evenings.

sconhome

Oh and all I've done is transpose the sessions onto PolarpersonalTrainer.com which synchronises with my watch alerting me to the phases as they come up. I'm not working to HR now but use it to track my training load, HRV and fatigue levels.

sconhome

So went the email from my coach (jackyback1) in reaction to my last post about being fatigued:

You got carried away on the Monday session and did not keep it in your pants!! That run along with cumulative fatigue did not help you for the week. Two tough sessions left and then its time to ease off. If you were not tired this week i would be more concerned, work is more or less done, time to put the icing on the cake.

With that in mind I was aiming to stick to the plan in tonight's session.

sconhome

I'd a mixed bag of it last week, good first half to the week and then family occasions over the weekend had priority. Rest day Monday and then back at it last night with the first of my tapering sessions.

Almost there!!

The dreaded words every #marathon #runner loves to hear but hates hearing them. Cos you know 'almost there' usually means you're about to hit a hill or you've still 5 miles to go.

No, for sure, I'm almost there.

When I consider that this stage last year I had managed to hobble myself with a stupid mountain bike, I'm almost there.

Tapering this week and next with Amsterdam Marathon on Sunday week I'm really looking forward to it.

Am I ready?

I feel ready, but know that tapering torture is going to have me doubting myself, my training, my coach right up until the moment that gun goes off.

Almost there!!

mr.wiggle

All the Best Mr.AKW !!
Do us proud !!

Mr.W

sconhome

Cheers Mr W, been a tortuous taper but looking forward to hopping on a plane in the morning.

Aer Lingus are going to see what they can do regarding no stairs on arrival back monday

jfh

best of luck Sean, didn't relise you had a log on here when i bought those sayonaras of ya last week. out of interest, what runners are your doing the marathon?

sconhome

jfh wrote: »

best of luck Sean, didn't relise you had a log on here when i bought those sayonaras of ya last week. out of interest, what runners are your doing the marathon?

I try to keep the head down

Between the blog(s) I'm probably stretching a bit with a log here, but it'll keep me honest.

Going with my old pair of Mizuno Elixir 7 for the day. I know them, trust them and don't want anything messing with my head!!

Thanks for the wishes.

sconhome

No excuses, the day didn't go to plan.

But that's what happens to plans. They don't always go. Its your reaction to the situation that decides the outcome.

Sunday didn't go to plan.

There are some simple reasons why. There will be a fair bit of soul searching going on, a reasonable, healthy bit of self doubt, but that's to be expected. I think.

There will be a race report, when I'm not thinking about 'what if?'

For now:

• I responded brilliantly to the training plan.
• I finished.
• I PB'd against my last completed marathon by 29mins.
• I'm not injured (tired & run down - yes, injured - no)
• This is only my second marathon.

Yep they're all positives. What about the negatives? I'll save them for the race report but at the end of the day a negative doesn't exist when you consider the positives

jfh

sorry to hear that Sean, but you've got a great base built up for the next one. it'll make it all the more satisfying when it all comes together.

mr.wiggle

At the end of day, a pb is a pb, and a good chunk knocked off yours S ! Look forward to the report.

sconhome

I find the longer you leave off doing these #racereports the less likely they are to write themselves.

Heading for #AmsterdamMarathon last Friday I had a very positive feeling about how I was running, how training had gone, how prepared I was. As they say, the work is done, no need to cram now, jut get out there and do it.

I had a mental image of being just like the Lancaster bomber of the movie and becoming a Dambuster. Looking back now with a clear mind I can see the positives far outweigh the negatives I was feeling at the start of the week.

An early flight from Dublin to Amsterdam had us on the train and into Centraal Station before breakfast time on Saturday. Bar the events surrounding the ignoramus in the row in front of us insisting on flinging his seat back on Conor's knees (despite realising he was sitting there) which lead to a very bumpy flight for one set of passengers and a very grumpy 6'4" ex rower and powerhouse, it was a pleasant flight and arrival.

Finding the hotel was easy enough, 15 mins walk from the station had us admitted through a door and facing-

Gonna be fun on Monday!!

Dropping the bags at reception we had a cup of coffee and some breakfast before heading out to catch a tram down to the Olympic Stadium

and on to the Sporthallen Zuid where we were greeted by big queues and a MONSTROUS pair of Mizuno Rider 17 which are having their European launch in Amsterdam.

Into the hall, round to the right and through to efficient queues to collect your race number, pins and voucher for your T-shirt. Exiting the hall you can check your chip (in the number) making sure it is you and that it is working (very important if you are chasing a PB, the times have to be spot on!).

Up the ramp and into the main hall which was wedged!! We worked our way through and while I drooled and dribbled over all the running gear (most of which I can get at home!) Conor aimed for the T'shirt line. I was looking out for pacing bands and a pacer stand (as per #DublinMarathon) but there was none to be found - I didn't realise it but this should have been an indication of things to come.

After wandering around the hall for a short while we bought up Mizuno Clogs. Special version of the Dutch clog (klompen) which would be given to the kids as slippers. A sure, a pair had to be got for ourselves and the wives too while we were at it

Bearing bags of klompen and flyers on races all over Europe (we figured out a marathon each month in 2014) we headed back to the hotel on the tram. Leaving in the 'shopping' we went back out to stroll around the area, picked up some water, egg cookies, stroopwafelen (right) and a few other bits and pieces suitable for snacking on this evening and to start us up in the morning.

Dinner was a couple of large properly baked pizza, cola and water and then it was time to head back, feet up and relax in front of the telly for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Flustering around a tight hotel room I laid out all my gear in readiness for the morning.

Packing a bag with recovery leggings and dry tops for afterwards; ensuring my nutrition was organised and laid into the pouch, pin the number on the vest, arm warmers, hat etc. I made sure my Polar GPS pod was charged up and ready, glasses, buff, socks, shoes, laces (make sure not broken or frayed) HR strap, skin balm, Elivar Sport Recover sachets (for afterwards), Endure for during (all about #StaytheDistance), shorts, undershorts all ready and sorted.

Everything was there, ready for all systems go in the morning.

Now just to get a decent night's sleep.

(to be continued)

career_move

Aw that was mean. You just left us there, in a hotel room, in the middle of Amsterdam. By the time you get round to part deux we'll have forgotten who you are and what you're doing there!

sconhome

Sorry about leaving you in suspense, the next bit is a bit less bouyant but I promise not to leave it too long.

sconhome

Last week the first part of my #AmsterdamMarathon report was put out and I left you all hanging around in a hotel room. Sorry about that!

There was a reason for that. This part of the event did not go to plan and with Dublin Marathon on last Monday I didn't want to be putting out negative vibes for anyone who was following the Marathon Program on the Facebook page or any readers tackling their first marathon.

Sunday morning we were away bright and early. Truth be told I don't sleep well the night before big events, and this is a big event for me. I'm going out having trained hard and trained well for my goal time of a sub 3:15 marathon.

Lets throw perspective on this. My first marathon was 2011 (also with Conor), I didn't train properly for that. I felt I'd a decent season of triathlon (70.3 distance) training under my belt and doing a few long runs through September was going to get me through. 4:00 was the goal then, I finished in 4:07.
2012 saw me a little more focused and awar of what I was doing. A pal gifted me a decent training plan and 3:30 was the trainging goal. Everything was going swimmingly until a MTB incident 2 weeks prior took me out of the game entirely. DNF. Lesson learned

So 3:15 is an ambitious goal, almost an hour off my marathon best, but I'm confident in my training.

Downstairs we went for some breakfast. Couple of eggs, croissants and coffee for me with a yoghurt for good measure. Drinking my #ElivarSport Endure during the time up to the start would mean energy stores would be topped up.

Aim was to get a taxi down to the Olympic Stadium. A correct assumption that trams would be jammed and 'standing room only' meant we arrived in comfort with only a short stroll to the bag drop. Restless energy had me on my feet as we had plenty of time to spare, thankfully it also meant I was in good form for the toilet and off I went before the Queues became massive.

With 30mins to go before the start it was time to drop the bags. I was wearing a beanie and armwarmers, almost a tradition with me at this point in races. I tend to stick the beanie in my waist band and roll the arm warmers down as sweatbands once I've warmed up.

We rocked into the stadium where everyone filtered into the centre of the field before dispersing into holding pens for each time slot. We were in the 3:00-3:30 pen with pacers breaking the group into three goal times.
Our pen is to the left.
The atmosphere was electric in the stadium. Music pumping out, everyone nervously nodding and smiling at each other. As the countdown announced 4 mins to start, people shuffled forwards into position behind their pacers.

(It was at this point I realised the benefit of wearing black bin bags, there was a sprinkling of 'water' on the track beside me)

The air filled with tops, bags, bottles all being pitched to the side into the centre arena. Watching the big screen we could see the official starter and BANG!! off they went at the start.

Watching the thing on the screen you are removed from the moment until suddenly people start shifting and you realise "Oh! Thats us!!" as people drift forward, shuffle, walk and break into a trot. I could see the pacer balloons hitting the first bend ahead of us and wondered why there was no response from the people in front. It was only after a gap appeared that I realised we were being funnelled through a gap in the pen barriers. People were sprinting off from the pen, chasing the pacers.

It was only a minute or so by the time I crossed the start line, but felt like an age! Pushing start on my Polar it was time to get it on!!

Round the bend and out through the stadium entrance, lots and lots of people jostling around for space ever though I didn't think it was too congested.

There were quite a few pushing their way up the inside against the barriers. I can't see the sense of that. Clip a kerb and you're out before you've even done a mile or clip someone's heels and they're out.

The course features a section of loop around the city through the Vondelpark back around towards the Oltmpic statium before doing a loop back on itself going down Stationsweg at which stage a roar from Conor across the barriers let me know he was chasing.

The first 5k felt fast. I was putting it down to the route being pancake flat and all of my training being on lumpy West of Ireland roads. It wasn't that it felt easy, just fast. Going through the 10k mark and checking my times, my watch was +100m but it was accurate enough for me to realise that it was too quick.

I was off the back of the pacers by 10-15m. I'd closed the gap back up to them over the first 5k, I wasn't planning on blowing myself up by chasing them hard, I took it steady. But the Twitter feed told the story - through the first 10k at 3:10 pace - wasn't going to be sustainable.

Experience would have told me to back off, go with how I was feeling. I didn't spend weeks grooving my legs to a 4:35/km pace for nothing, they were telling me how to run this race and right now they were telling me it's too fast!!!

Did I listen?

Hell no. I trusted the pacers, they knew something I didn't, keep them in sight.

Leaving the city we ran out along the Amstel river. This was gorgeous. I've seen other reports that criticise this section of the course, but I liked it. Where I was there was space, we were no longer tripping over each other, no more jostling or pushing.

Running along the river bank, it was windy, but scenic in a Dutch kind of way. Some fantastic houses out here and crews out rowing on the river, looking at us bunch of eejits. We were also treated to the biggest Mizuno Running Rider 17 being carried on a floating Disco!!

Hitting the village of Ouderkerk a/d Amstel (Old Church on the Amstel) we were getting close to half way.

Again the Twitter machine was spitting out predictions (I was bllissfully unaware of these) and Coach Fran was hopping.

Still well ahead of trained finish.

This won't last.

And it didn't.

As you can see from the image below (blue line indicates Race Pace), literally when I went through 2:00hrs the wheels came off.

I was sticking to my nutrition plan, Agave #9 gels steadily at 0, 10, 15, 20, 25, 35 with some #2nd Surge in reserve for 30 & 40km but there was nothing going to pull me back from the brink once I'd burnt those matches.

At 28k my HR dived off a cliff, the power and speed went from the legs.

Game over.

Time to get the hell out of Dodge and home.

I've vague recollections of meandering my way though a business area, trying to pick it up only to fall back again.

I needed to puke.

I couldn't

Walk, run, walk, wobble, walk, wog. The km's felt like miles. Coming back into the city the crowds started to build again, I got some energy from this, I jogged, a little, walked more.

I drank that AA rubbish at the water stations, sorry water stop. Get going again.

Somewhere around 34/35k the trooper Conor came by me. 'Go with him!!', my head screamed, my legs said 'F#@k Off!!'

Broken.
Stay ahead of the 3:30 group.

3:30 came and went.

Back in to the Vondelpark. Lots of people shouting and cheering. Damn these bibs with names on them there's no hiding. "Come on Sean!!", "You can do it Sean!!", "Almost there Sean!!"

Damn you all to hell, you made me run again!!

The last km's were torture.

Come on Sean, there's the Stadium, make the most of it, don't quit now. Get there!

Left, right, left, right
I got there. I didn't 'SMASH IT!!'. I didn't break 3:15.

I did finish. I broke 3:40.

27 mins off my previous marathon best time.

The breakdown after the breakdown. TCS Amsterdam - Summary

career_move

Thanks for the report. Interesting. Was going to fast early on the only reason for hitting the wall?

BTH

Is this basically a botch job by the pacers?? Seems like they were well ahead of target early on. What did they actually come in on?

sconhome

career_move wrote: »

Thanks for the report. Interesting. Was going to fast early on the only reason for hitting the wall?

Yep, absolutely nothing else was wrong. Nutrition went to plan & was well tested in training. A few weeks previously I went through 35k in training in 2:47 with a mixture of paces, finishing the last 2k at 4:20/km.

As JB said to me afterwards, the matches were burnt too early and there was no coming back.

BTH wrote: »

Is this basically a botch job by the pacers?? Seems like they were well ahead of target early on. What did they actually come in on?

Botch job by me following them!!

I've no idea what their finish time was as I never passed them to get a look at numbers. It was also an issue with the 3:30 who were reported a minute or two behind Conor (3:29) and thus outside of their target. So poor enough job done.

No pacers like Dublin pacers

sconhome

I didn't plan on a long drawn out #racereport, it's just happened that way.

Post #AmsterdamMarathon I was bitterly disappointed with the mess that I made of the race. I was blaming pacers, my coach was blaming pacers, and while they are to blame for going off far too hard, I am the person who should take the blame for not trusting myself.

If you missed them:
Dam Buster (Part 1)
Dam Buster (Part 2) - The Bad

Lesson were learned and some valuable notes made for the next one. And, yes, definitely there will be a next one!

(At time of writing I had feelers out for Dublin Marathon and while I was offered numbers, nothing came of it on the day, coach was eager to have me run 3:20, with him as pacer.)
A week on now since I've been home and I've thought about it a bit. I don't dwell too much on negatives in any event and (almost) always look for a positive outcome from everything.

Nothing in the build up will be changed. My race day evolved as a response to my training which went 100% as planned. Yes, I skipped a couple of sessions, went too hard on others, and should really have stuck to the full taper plan but this had no bearing on my race.

Unless you are running +Dublin Marathon do not rely on the pacers*. Trust yourself, use the pacers as a guide to how you are going but do not depend on them. Don't be afraid to ask questions of them. I should have asked why are we running so fast early on. Pacers are human and make mistakes too.

I will definitely consider a waterbottle or small backpack in my next marathon. I trained pretty dry and empty for a lot of the recovery runs in training and only on the long runs would I set out a bottle of water and carry gels. Rehearse your race day preparations in your long runs. Congested water stations with flimsy cups don't work when you are on a goal. I'm not a pusher and shover so I'm better to be self sufficient entirely and run on the other side of the road, avoiding the scrum.

With no bearing on race day performance do not underestimate the usefulness of black bags. One over the shoulders will keep you surprisingly warm on the start line and one over your hips like a skirt makes for a useful personal urinal in a pinch (just don't do it on the track!)

Coach summed it up perfectly and put any doubts to rest in an email he sent me:

The plain and simple fact is the pacers screwed up your race.
I was watching the splits and knew straight away that up to 20k you were on 3:10-12 pace. Really poor by the pacers. Those few minutes may not seem like much but enough to be burning matches and leaving you with the difficult last 12k you suffered through.3 positives to take are:

1)still a massive pb and something to build off next year
2)you suffered on when many others would have given up and
3) solid build and fitness established for XC and shorter races over Winter

He's right. A PB is a PB regardless of everything else and to grab a PB of 28 minutes is a great indicator of how I responded to the training. Maybe I have learned to suffer a bit, but there was no way I was stepping off for a DNF, no way!

The final few points are:
Dutch stairs are not too bad the day after a marathon, once you take them backwards.
Trappist beers are a little strong to be drinking as a 'recovery' drink.

The morning after, I think.

Bring your own phone charger as others just don't work with Blackberry (alternatively change your phone to something other than Blackberry)

That's it, that's a wrap!

*Dublin pacers are awesome.

career_move

Can I make two points:

1) Limerick pacers are double awesome (although I appreciate they are in fact the same pacers as Dublin )

2) You said "I didn't spend weeks grooving my legs to a 4:35/km pace" Does that mean you were doing your MP sessions at 4:35? Pace for 26.2 miles for a 3:15 marathon is 4:37/km so if your MP was 4:35 you weren't really leaving yourself much leeway given that you would probably run further than 26.2m

RayCun

amphkingwest wrote: »

only on the long runs would I set out a bottle of water and carry gels.

do you take water and gels on all your long runs?

sconhome

career_move wrote: »

Can I make two points:

1) Limerick pacers are double awesome (although I appreciate they are in fact the same pacers as Dublin )

Good point. In my limited experience and awareness of Irish pacing in general races are well paced and the pacers seem to take great pride in a jop well done.

career_move wrote: »

2) You said "I didn't spend weeks grooving my legs to a 4:35/km pace" Does that mean you were doing your MP sessions at 4:35? Pace for 26.2 miles for a 3:15 marathon is 4:37/km so if your MP was 4:35 you weren't really leaving yourself much leeway given that you would probably run further than 26.2m

I guess a deeper meaning is needed. I was 100% trusting of the plan that was given to me. Where I would historically train by HR and allow pace to follow, I put my self wholy in the hands of someone who understood the scientific side of my current potential (based on recent races) and who could push me to achieve what I probably would have been happy chasing in a year or two.

There was plenty of pace miles and tempo miles at 4:10-4:15/km and what I meant (in my head at least) was that I would have been 'grooving' my legs to feel comfortable in that sweet spot of 4:35/km. That development of feeling has left me able to judge my pace quite nicely without relying on a watch, a skill I'm happy to have and do test in training runs occasionally.

Thanks for the points.

sconhome

RayCun wrote: »

do you take water and gels on all your long runs?

No. Depending on the work load or intensity I would. Where there was race pace or progressive runs I would have a protein / carb drink to ensure I would finish the session strong. Gels only when practising the race nutrition or one in a longer tempo session.

Majority of low intensity work or recovery is done fasted (morning) and no fluids. Evening runs, usually after 8pm, would be done with a 'dinner' at lunchtime and snack afterwards.

sconhome

No goals yet, other than just to maintain fitness, get stronger and hit 2014 leaner and in a better position than I was at the start of 2013.

Having said that part of it is doing weekly Strength & Conditioning classes with Limerick Sports & Fitness Clinic first class was on Wednesday evening. We also got to play with the Polar Team app and H7 Bluetooth heart rate monitors.

Wednesday S&C
Class started with a bit of introduction by Paul, then onto the floor to do some 'open the hips' stretching. All dynamic stuff, inchworms, fire hydrant, squat jumps etc. Then onto the circuits which I was informed are 'bilateral' (whole new area of training for me) working both sides of the body in balance - barbell squats from a standing position, calf raises & reverse row (hanging off chains) 3 sets of 8, then deadlift (with a full tutorial on lifting technique), Romanian Dead lift and pull-ups (Yay!! ). After this was some floor work, plank, side plank, Superman, alternating plank and just to wrap it all up 4 mins of pushups, tricep dips, burpees, and something else. HR drove through the roof with the burpees. I hate burpees!

Felt great afterwards.

Felt like I'd been hit by a car the next day!!

Thursday

After a couple of runs where I really struggled to keep a controlled heartrate (I thought my strap was faulty until I ran with a double strap, one connected to my watch and the other to the Polar Beat App via H7 on the ipad, yes, I ran with an ipad, purely for scientific reasons of course) I realised my body was probably still in 'shock' after the marathon and any activity was causing an overreaction. As in, "you're not doing this to me again!!"

With my ass killing me, my arms feeling like I was carrying a bag of spuds in each hand, I had to go for a run to try and loosen out.

Distance: 7.4k
Time: 40mins or so.
HR Avg: 146bpm

Saturday
After a particularly stressful Thursday & Friday I did nothing on Friday and with Edel & the kids away for the night I wanted to go for a run after work. I ended up running in and out from Oranmore to collect a couple of movies. World War Z - grand; After Earth - pure sh1te.

Distance: 20.3k
Time: 1:44:15
HR Avg: 156bpm

Sunday
Up early for my first spin in a few months with my buddy Conor. Haven't been on a bike since the start of August so this would be entertaining!

Nice easy spin, good aul chat along quiet roads.

Distance: 45.2km
Time: 02:08:14
HR Avg: 126bpm

Plan for this week is to run x4 times, turbo x2 and do a S&C session.

jfh

Hi Sean.

would you PM me a contact details for that Strength & Conditioning course?
cheers

sconhome

jfh wrote: »

Hi Sean.

would you PM me a contact details for that Strength & Conditioning course?
cheers

Happily.

sconhome

I've binned my #running Endurance Program.


I'm going to spend the next few weeks just getting out.

I'm going to run as and when I want to, as far as I want to and as slow or fast as I want to. Same goes for cycling and, dare I suggest, possibly swimming! :O

It's a long season, balanced with lots of long hard(ish) hours in work and I want to enjoy myself and avoid 'having' to train all the time. Gonna be plenty of runs in the woods and just chilling taking photos en route.

Having said that, half marathon on Sunday in SixMileBridge.

Be rude not to

jfh

Completely second this Sean, I'm taking a few weeks to do whatever I want & not feel guilty about taking a few evenings off. Few trail runs without looking at watch for pace

mr.wiggle

amphkingwest wrote: »

I've binned my #running Endurance Program.


I'm going to spend the next few weeks just getting out.

I'm going to run as and when I want to, as far as I want to and as slow or fast as I want to. Same goes for cycling and, dare I suggest, possibly swimming! :O

It's a long season, balanced with lots of long hard(ish) hours in work and I want to enjoy myself and avoid 'having' to train all the time. Gonna be plenty of runs in the woods and just chilling taking photos en route.

Having said that, half marathon on Sunday in SixMileBridge.

Be rude not to

Looking forward to seeing you there AKW, I'm still banjaxed since Dublin, so am looking forward to a nice easy run around SMB in the rain !!:pac:
We can trade war stories whilst watching 'the real runners' slog it out!!

Mr.W~

sconhome

mr.wiggle wrote: »

Looking forward to seeing you there AKW, I'm still banjaxed since Dublin, so am looking forward to a nice easy run around SMB in the rain !!:pac:
We can trade war stories whilst watching 'the real runners' slog it out!!

Mr.W~

Easy? You doing easy?

There I was all worried about the 1:30 target you were hanging in front of me!! Don't think its a PB course in any event.

More than happy to trot around and enjoy the atmosphere with you. See you there.