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A Slow Journey to Faster Times
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Wednesday 30th April - 75 minutes Easy
8.52m @ 8:49p/m average (134bpm avg)
I had a bit of company for the majority of this workout. The boards 'running slut' :pac: joined me, as we got a few easy miles in ahead of his assault on Limerick this Sunday. I pretty much ignored the pace/heart rate the whole time, but noticed afterwards that the HR was a fair bit higher than my usual (125bpm) for this type of run. I imagine that's because I was working harder due to talking the entire time. TbL probably has sore ears now! The splits are a bit uneven, but we were running uphill/downhill, sun/shade etc. which probably explains that. I never felt like I was pushing at any stage and the time did go by much quicker than it does when I'm on my own.
Thanks Tbl. Good luck on Sunday
Splits:
Mile 1 - 8:44 (122bpm)
Mile 2 - 9:02 (125bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:19 (135bpm)
Mile 4 - 8:34 (145bpm)
Mile 5 - 8:40 (142bpm)
Mile 6 - 9:16 (136bpm)
Mile 7 - 8:47 (136bpm)
Mile 8 - 8:17 (138bpm)
0.52 - 4:25 (137bpm)0 -
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So here's the plan for May:
May 5th - Tubber 10k (Target: Sub 38)
May 18th - Terenure 5 Mile (Target - Sub 30)
May 31st - St Anne's parkrun (Target - Sub 18)
After that I need to find a half-marathon somewhere. Sub 1:23 will be my target for that. I was originally considering Cork, but it's far too expensive and having to collect the number etc. the day before is also a major inconvenience for me. There are a few very cheap one's up the North, but again they all seem to take place on tough undulating courses. I'll keep an eye out, but for the moment I'll worry about the three I've listed above.
Super super goals (I hope I can keep pace with them
).
There's a HM in Portarlington in July- I'm considering it as well. It's part of the Marathos Des Escargots.0 -
AuldManKing wrote: »Super super goals (I hope I can keep pace with them ).
There's a HM in Portarlington in July- I'm considering it as well. It's part of the Marathos Des Escargots.
So do I.
They are probably pretty aggressive targets, but I'm hopeful I can hit them.
I'd say Portumna is more likely for me than Portarlington. Two Captain's Prizes in the golf that weekend. Definitely can't miss them!0 -
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Friday 2nd May - 75 minutes Steady (preceded by 10 x 100m Strides)
10m @ 7:50p/m average (139bpm avg)
Strides: (21:15, 19:15, 18:40, 17:14, 16:90, 18:36, 17:50, 18:56, 17:33, 16:68)
One of my favourite films, My Cousin Vinny, was on television the other night. For most of this run I felt like the DA in the courtroom describing the tyre marks: I-DENTICAL! If you ignore the first mile (which always seems to be my quickest despite the lower HR), there's only eight seconds between my fastest & slowest splits after that. So again I've managed ten miles with no drop in pace, no rise in heart rate and feel like I could go around again. Methinks it's time to move up to 145bpm for the steady sessions
Splits:
Mile 1 - 7:40 (139bpm)
Mile 2 - 7:54 (140bpm)
Mile 3 - 7:54 (140bpm)
Mile 4 - 7:51 (139bpm)
Mile 5 - 7:49 (140bpm)
Mile 6 - 7:47 (140bpm)
Mile 7 - 7:48 (140bpm)
Mile 8 - 7:48 (140bpm)
Mile 9 - 7:53 (140bpm)
Mile 10 - 7:55 (140bpm)0 -
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Saturday 3rd May - 40 minutes Recovery
4.31m @ 9:16p/m average (115bpm avg)
Just an old school recovery run last night. Wasn't paying attention to the HR or the pace. As a result I forgot to wet the strap on my way out so although there are a few spikes in the first mile causing it to be inaccurate, the overall average seems about right. Nothing else to say really. Resting today and hope to get a good night's sleep ahead of the race tomorrow. I'll be happy with sub 38, but some other posters on my log won't be so I'll do my best not to disappoint.
Splits:
Mile 1 - 9:19 (123bpm)
Mile 2 - 9:21 (112bpm)
Mile 3 - 9:07 (112bpm)
Mile 4 - 9:23 (113bpm)
0.31 - 2:51 (116bpm)0 -
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There were plenty of 10k's on today and having searched the internet tirelessly to find the flattest one, I thought I had succeeded. Yet again, I failed miserably. I managed to find a race near some of Ireland's most famous bogland that still had lots of hills
. The race organiser had assured me this was a reasonably flat course, but I don't really blame him for being so liberal with the truth as you're unlikely to get much support for a race if you go around telling people it's on a tough, hilly course.
I've actually considered following Gavlors example in relation to the name of my log. How about 'yaboya1 and the quest for the flat course'? However, my next two races will be in Terenure & St Anne's and I'm certain they're flat so I'll play it by ear.
Pre-race
This race had a late start time of 3pm which I'm not the biggest fan of, but it did give me time for a lie in and plenty of leeway to get down there. This suited me today as my last few days have been pretty hectic. I got up around 11:30am, made a quick breakfast of fruit porridge (a new addition to my diet), a banana, a bagel and a mug of coffee. After a quick shower I was on my way. I arrived in Tubber at around 1.30pm. The organisation seemed pretty slick for a €10 event run by a GAA club. They had separate bib numbers for the 5k & 10k races, a map of both courses and an elevation chart. I was surprised to see a couple of spikes and immediately knew I had been deceived once again! I was given bib number 38 when I registered. I guessed that even though I was early, there was probably going to be a smallish field (around 80 in the end I think?) in the 10k and I might be in the shake up. I didn't let myself believe I might win, but I'd be lying if that thought wasn't already in my head right there. I sat in the car for a while watching the rain lash down and listening to the wind howling against the window. I chuckled to myself thinking of the effort I'd made to avoid unfavourable conditions and here I was faced with them again. My initial target of sub 38 and Gavlor's target of sub 37 were already looking doubtful. I headed down to the clubhouse with about twenty minutes to spare, did a few stretches and made my way to the start.
The Race
The start line was just off the main road on a third road heading into the countryside. There was a lead car for each race and they both moved about 100m ahead of the runners to show us the way. The five minutes before we got under way were quite funny. There was lots of kids in the 5k. The races were fundraising for a local GAA club and I think under 12s were free. As a result I think everyone who was running had signed their kids up. The whole lot of them lined up in front. When the organiser asked them to move back and let the serious runners through, they responded that they were serious runners and weren't going to give up their start position as they planned on winning. I ended up behind two girls who weren't even as tall as my waist :pac:. Anyway, after a couple of minutes the organiser counted down from 5 and then let us go.
Course
Both races started & finished in the same place. The 10k took a right turn after the 1k marker while the 5k continued straight on. After a bigger loop of the countryside in the 10k, you rejoin the same course with about 2.5k to go. The flattest part of the route on the 10k is the last 300m where you come onto the main road before finishing at the gates of the GAA Club. Other than that it's a pretty rolling undulating course, with little uphills & downhills as well as a few steeper ones.
1k
I had hoped to keep 37 minute pace from the start but knew from the elevation chart that I might struggle with that. When I could see the lead cars already climbing in the first 200m, I decided that a comfortably hard pace would be what I'd adapt as it would be pointless running at 37 minute pace if I couldn't keep it up for the entire race. We jumped off to the sound of loads of laughing, screaming & cheering from the kids. I made sure I was up near the lead early but noticed I was travelling far too quickly to do this. My watch read 3:15min/km pace, so I dialled it down until it felt comfortable and gradually started to pass the inexperienced runners who had set off far too quickly in the first 500m. I was now sitting in about 8th/9th place moving at 3:48min/km (38min pace). I wasn't sure how many of the group were running in my race, so I was happy to stay where I was until the groups split after around 1200m.
2k
To my surprise, the whole group bar two runners continued straight on when the courses split and I was left in third place moving comfortably. I was happy here until I noticed I was getting complacent and had let my pace drop to 3:55min/km. I stepped it back up to 3:48 and passed the second placed runner. It was already in my head now that I could win this race. The guy in the lead was about 10m in front and once I could hang onto him I gave myself every chance of running him down.
3k
The reason you get shocks in big horse races, where the fastest/best horse doesn't win is normally down to a pace that's too slow (allowing the inferior horses to stay prominent enough to be in contention) or too fast (where the leading fancies get racing too early and end up dying on the run in, allowing something else to come through to win from behind). I was happy sitting 10m behind the leader, but a glance at my watch confirmed we were now moving close to 4min/km pace. I was allowing him to dictate a slower pace. This was when I made what I knew could be my race winning move. I had to take it up and race the clock, NOW! If I did that and the leader couldn't go with me I would win. So after 2.5km I passed him and within 200m he was out of earshot. Although I couldn't be sure, I was very confident I had just won the race right there. If he'd been able to go with me he wouldn't have let me take such a significant lead so easily. Now it was up to me to hold onto it.
4k
My tactics now were to hold the same comfortable pace for the remainder of the race, but keeping a small bit for a sprint finish in case I needed it. My spilts for the first 4k are almost identical. I never looked behind but I knew my lead was growing. I had the feeling I was on my own out in the countryside. Just me and the lead car. It was kind of surreal. I imagined this is what the elites must feel like in the big marathons on quiet parts of the course. Although I was still keeping an eye on the pace, I really began to let myself enjoy it as I was almost certain I was going to win now.
5k
I remembered from the elevation chart in the clubhouse that there was a fair climb in this kilometre. I didn't worry about the pace drop here as I knew everybody behind me would have to deal with the same incline. Th worst thing I could do would be to push too hard and tire myself out for the second half of the race. I wasn't going to lose this by giving it away. Anyone who wanted to beat me would have to do it the hard way.
6k
I got back on pace in this kilomtere, but the race against the clock was becoming increasingly difficult. The constant ups & downs made it hard to get into a rhythm and I knew I was going to struggle to PB.
7k
More climbing here and the lead car disappearing over the crest of hills did nothing for the motivation. I just kept telling myself that it would be harder for the lads behind me, as they might see me cresting them from a distance. This probably led to me sprinting up the last few metres of each hill a little faster than I should have.
8k
After 7.5k the course rejoined the 5k course. We were coming up on 30 minutes, so the only people here (2.5k on the 5k course) were walkers, kids, people with buggies etc. The lead car beeped to warn them I was coming but they seemed oblivious there was also a 10k race going on, and waved to the driver as if he was saying hello! I almost caught the car at one stage as a girl decided to start a conversation in the passenger window, before the driver realised how close I was and sped up again. Another slowish km.
9k
I quickened up a little bit here, but not much. A few of the 5k participants had now started to realise I was leading the 10k and started clapping and shouting encouragement, which is always nice to receive. The race was in the bag now, but the PB wasn't. I remember looking at my watch during this kilometre thinking I might not break 40 minutes. I have PB'd in every race I've ever run at every distance. I know it's a record that's bound to go soon but I wasn't going to give it up easily.
10k
I was hurting now and I could have eased off, but I knew I would be disappointed with myself if I did that even if I won. I was going to give it all I had left and if I failed to PB after that, then I wouldn't have any complaints. I picked it up as much as I could and came down to the final turn with 300m to go. I could now see the finish. No more looking at the watch. Just flat out to the line. I was running in the narrow hard shoulder that was coned off especially for the race. There was a little girl walking ahead. I hoped she'd notice me and move over so my rhythm wouldn't be disrupted. To my despair she noticed me before I got to her and decided to race me. Now I had to run around her as she sprinted as fast as she could :eek:. She immediately gave up as soon as I caught her though. I could now hear the little crowd that were gathered at the line and I felt huge elation as I broke the tape at the finish line for the first time in my entire life. I really enjoyed that moment.
Post race
I waited for a few seconds after the line to hit the Garmin, as I didn't want to ruin what could be my only ever victory with a picture of me stopping my watch. I hit the timer at '2' on the countdown at the start, so I reckoned I had five seconds to knock off what that gave me. It read 10.03km in 39:03. There was no official timing at this event, so working out my splits for 10k off the Garmin (I ran the perfect line as I was alone for most of the race) gives me 38:58. This is what I'm settling on unless anyone has any arguments? (If you do I'll completely ignore them
) The race organiser draped a gold medal around my neck, taking some accompanying photos in the process. I was congratulated by everyone involved with the race and by the guys who finished 2nd and 3rd, who came in shortly afterwards around 41 minutes after a decent battle on the run in. There was plenty of tea/coffee, sandwiches and cake to be enjoyed by all in the clubhouse afterwards too, as I hung around for a while for some more obligatory photographs.
Review
This was a very well organised and enjoyable event. For €10 I got an AAI measured course (10.03km on the Garmin seems to put it pretty spot on), a really well marshaled race, plenty of water stations (four I think?) and as many sandwiches/cakes/tea/coffee as I desired. I also got a little gold medal for finishing 1st. I thought it was excellent value. In saying that, they were only charging €20 for a whole family which is even better!
Thoughts
I got nowhere near either of my pre-race targets, but I think yet again that was down to the profile of the course. The fact that I won the race makes me believe my time is probably better than the bare figures suggest. I know from experience that my next two races will be on flat courses, so I won't worry too much about it as they'll give me a realistic guide of my 10k ability based off McMillan or similar. I'm absoutely over the moon with how I ran today's race and the tactics I executed. I can't describe how elated I was breaking the tape at the finish line. For anyone who follows the horse racing I like to think today I compared with Denman and the way he won the 2008 Gold Cup. If you've not seen it, watch it here.
Garmin data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/4938042920 -
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