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A Slow Journey to Faster Times
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Friday 21st March - 4m Recovery (with 6 x 100m strides)
4m @ 9:03p/m average (116bpm)
(Strides: 19:06, 20:32, 20:35, 18:73, 17:67, 17:53)
A beautiful day outside, so took this very easily to spend as long out there as I could. Threw some strides in at the end to get the legs turning over, but wasn't making maximum effort. I'll keep that for tomorrow
Mile 1 - 9:15
Mile 2 - 9:00
Mile 3 - 8:52
Mile 4 - 9:080 -
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Think I just missed out on the gold. 1:25:38 by my watch. Although the official time will definitely be quicker, I doubt if there's 39 seconds to come off it. Despite not getting below the 1:25 mark, I'm very happy with my race. I ran exactly as I wanted to and knocked almost a minute off my time from January. TRR was right about this course though. It's probably not the place to go for a PB. It's constantly up and down hills (big & small) and as the majority of it is along the coast, the wind is always an issue (even though it wasn't bad today). I think the only flat section is the last 500m along the promenade. I'll do up a report in the next few days when I get my official time which still isn't in yet.
Thanks for all the support
Here is the Garmin data for anyone who's interested: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/465485691
p.s. Ignore the heart rate. The strap slipped in the first 100 metres and I never bothered to try and fix it!0 -
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Larne Half-Marathon
13.22 miles @ 6:29 avg (1:25:25)
Pre-race
I drove up to the North on Friday evening to save myself a 2-3 hour journey on the morning of the race, which definitely wouldn't have been ideal with 13.1 miles to run immediately afterwards. Found a cheap B&B in Belfast for the night, which was apparently renowned for their famous fried breakfast judging by the posters they have on the wall in reception. They weren't too impressed when I told them I didn't want one before I left. The landlady seemed to take it as a personal insult! After a banana, some scrambled egg and a mug of coffee, I was on my way at around 8:30am. When I arrived in Larne 45 minutes later, I was greeted by a cool, sunny morning which seemed perfect for running. I couldn't wait to get going after I picked my number up from the Leisure Centre just after half nine.
The Start
I made my way down to the starting area around 15-20 minutes before the race was due off at 11am. Did a few stretches beforehand, along with anything else I could to keep myself warm. Even though the sun was shining, it was quite chilly, something I knew I wouldn't have to worry about once we got under way. The start was a bit messy. You run back in the direction you originally come from, meaning all the latecomers ended up at the front and I was further back than I wanted to be, behind lots of joggers & fun runners. I had planned to jump off with the 1:30 pacer and then move on after half a mile or so, but I was 200m back from him by the time I got over the start line!
The Race
When they eventually let us go, I spent the first 600m running as if I was being chased by a crocodile, zig-zagging around the slower runners until eventually I got where I wanted to be. I must have lost more weight than I realised recently, as my heart monitor slipped down my chest and was resting around my waist within the first 100m. I couldn't have been bothered trying to adjust it under my compression top at that stage so I just left it alone. I was on target before too long and passed the 1:30 pacer as planned after less than half a mile.
Miles 1-5
(6:24, 6:30, 6:25, 6:35, 6:36)
You take a left turn almost immediately after the start and come upon a little hill. Then you descend sharply on the other side and head towards the centre of the town. Then there's another drag, another drop, another drag, another drop and so on. I started to wonder were there any flat sections on this course. I heard some guys either side of me making similar comments to each other. After about three miles you hit the coast road where I expected it to be level out, but the little ups and downs continued along with the addition of a light breeze which was hurting/helping depending on which way we were turning. Some bloke called Nigel (whom everyone in Larne seemed to know) was now running in my slipstream. He obviously had similar targets to mine, because every time we passed any spectators there was a cry of "Come on Nigel, you're doing great!". The views along here and on the way back were exceptional with the sheer rocky cliffs on one side and the wide open sea on the other. A lovely way to spend a Saturday morning.
Miles 6-10
(6:34, 6:45, 7:04, 5:59, 6:29)
I knew from studying the profile beforehand that miles 7 & 8 were the one's that were most likely to cost me some time. I was hoping to stay on target (sub 6:30min/miles) until then, with the intention of gradually making back any ground I lost in the remaining miles. I managed to hold a pretty steady pace up to that point, but the extremely steep hill here cost me almost a minute. Although I slowed dramatically to almost 7:00min/mile (slower than that in mile 8), I was passing other runners, showing how much of a toll the climb was taking on the field. In fact, after mile 6 I don't remember being overtaken by anybody for the rest of the race :eek:. When you finally reach the peak at the end of mile 8, you take a right turn and immediately make the descent straight back down. I knew I needed to make up some time here, so I let the hill take me as fast as I could possibly move at that point. My Garmin told me I was running at 5:30min/mile pace here, but even at that speed overtaking some more runners in the process, I just let it happen as the hill was doing the work and I wasn't taking that much out of myself. I went sub 6:00 for the mile, but knew there was still serious work to do if I was to achieve the sub 1:25. At this stage in the race itself I felt like I was in no mans land. I had put a big gap between myself and the runners I had passed, but the only people in front of me seemed to be sub 1:20 runners who were about half a mile in the distance, so I ran the majority of the last few miles on my own. I backed the quick mile up with a 6:29 in Mile 10, despite a considerable drag in the second half and started to get a little confident. I should have known better!
Mile 11 - Finish
(6:34, 6:23, 6:13, 1:06)
I had got it into my head that I would be running downhill all the way to the line from here on in and thought it would be relatively easy to hold the required pace. However this was most definitely not the case, and after a friendly start to mile 11 we were climbing again, a drag that continued until the final half mile. I noticed my pace was slowing despite the effort feeling the same, and I couldn't get myself to move any quicker. I was down to 6:50min/mile pace now. Although the second half of that mile was really tough, I did manage to claw back a few seconds an went through the marker in 6:34. I threw everything I had left at the last couple of miles. I knew sub 1:25 was going to be extremely difficult now and even though I was now hovering around the sub 6:20 mark, I wasn't sure if that was quick enough. Trying to work out minutes per mile, expected finish times etc. when you're moving at that speed having already completed 11+ miles is not easy. I decided that when mile 12 was over, I'd glance at the watch and see how long I had left to complete the race. Going past the 12 pole, the watch read 1:19:xx. I had less than six minutes to run the final 1.1 miles. Unlikely! Still, I put everything I had into the final stretch. An elderly spectator informed me I'd only half a mile to go and I was 'looking great'. I only wish I felt like that as I was ready to drop. Then I did! The course turns left and plummets about 60ft from the coast road down onto the promenade. I was moving so quick going down this hill that I felt in danger. It was like driving a car with no brakes. One false step and I would somersault head over heels and probably end up in the sea. But I managed to stay upright and even caught another runner in the last 400m. He didn't put up much of a fight as I passed him. Maybe the fact that I was 'looking great' discouraged him from getting into a battle with me? I didn't look at my watch again until I got over the line, but I knew from the clock (1:25:40) that I hadn't got my Gold Medal time. I cant complain though. I ran the race as well as I could and 1:25:25 was as good as I was today.
Review
I thought this was a very well organised race with a scenic route and relatively cheap for a half-marathon at £22. Water stations were well manned every three miles or so and there was decent support where it was possible along the course. I haven't got anything bad to say about the race itself, but it's probably not one for time chasers as those hills really do stop you in your tracks. TRR said he went two minutes slower than expected when he ran here and runners of lesser ability would be expected to lose even more time than that. The only reason I ran a PB is because I had an extremely soft target. I'm sure I can do better on a flatter course. All in all an enjoyable experience and a race I would recommend to anybody.
Conclusion/Verdict
Although I missed out on the Gold Medal time, I'm delighted with how I ran the race. There was only a five second difference between my first and second halves which tells me my pacing was spot on. I'm sure I'll get the sub 1:25 on a flatter course and I'm looking forward to my next race in Clonakilty on Easter Monday. I love running! 0 -
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Good running and report once again. The results from the combination of your excellent training effort and your passion for the sport are great to see.
BTW I presume that you heard that St Anne's parkrun had to be cancelled on the 5th due to other events going on in the park. You will have to go for Sub 18 in Malahide or wait til the 12th!
Very nice of you to say so. Thanks
Yeah, I did see that about St Anne's, but since I got my 2014 goal out of the way in Marlay earlier in the month I'm not that fussed now. If I do end up running, I might go down to Naas as that would be handier for me. I don't think I can make the 12th. Plenty of time for a sub 18 attempt though
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Very nice of you to say so. Thanks
Yeah, I did see that about St Anne's, but since I got my 2014 goal out of the way in Marlay earlier in the month I'm not that fussed now. If I do end up running, I might go down to Naas as that would be handier for me. I don't think I can make the 12th. Plenty of time for a sub 18 attempt though
Cool. Don't forget to squeeze in another volunteer day @ stannesparkrun while you are contemplating your assault at sub 18 0 -
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Tuesday 25th March - 60 minutes Easy
6.07m @ 9:53p/m average (155bpm avg???)
This wasn't easy! I must have really put it all in on Saturday, as I've been absolutely shattered since the race. Tonight was the first time I've felt up to going out for a few recovery miles. The muscles were still stiff though, and I had to stop after three miles to stretch the hamstrings. After that I felt fine and could have stayed out longer, but I decided to call it a night and get a longer run in tomorrow instead. I had tightened the strap on the HRM before I went out, hoping it could be relied upon tonight after it slipped the other day. However it gave me incorrect readings again as there's no way my average was 155bpm. I'm starting to think I'll probably be following a Daniels plan for Berlin, as I can't train by HR if the HR readings are consistently wrong.
Splits:
Mile 1 - 9:26
Mile 2 - 9:54
Mile 3 - 10:02
Mile 4 - 10:12
Mile 5 - 9:55
Mile 6 - 9:48
0.07 - 0:450 -
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You did say that you felt shattered still though at the start of this run so maybe you're just still tired from the race? My heart rate would take a good few days to go back to normal after a race.
I presume you've started spitting on the strap like I suggested before:P
Yeah, I've been spitting or dabbing a bit of water on it before I go out.
It normally takes about two miles to settle down, but tonight it never dropped below 150bpm for the whole run. The effort felt nothing like that though. My fastest mile was 9:26!0 -
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Wednesday 26th March - 120 minutes Easy
14m @ 8:39p/m average (129bpm avg)
So, it tuns out there was nothing wrong with my perfectly good HRM which is working fine and producing exceptionally accurate readings. It was my brain that wasn't working! (but that's a story for another day :eek:). I really enjoyed this run. Even managed to get in a big loop of the Phoenix Park, which is rare for me but I do love to train in there. My plan was to keep the HR around the 130bpm mark for the two hours, which I managed quite well and I added a minute on at the end to get the fourteenth mile in. I'm delighted with the pace, as I would have expected to be moving a lot slower at that heart rate. I'll probably do the HR Max test again on Friday morning when my legs have freshened back up a bit.
Splits:
Mile 1 - 9:05
Mile 2 - 8:46
Mile 3 - 8:50
Mile 4 - 8:36
Mile 5 - 8:48
Mile 6 - 8:53
Mile 7 - 8:28
Mile 8 - 8:29
Mile 9 - 8:29
Mile 10 - 8:38
Mile 11 - 8:18
Mile 12 - 8:32
Mile 13 - 8:36
Mile 14 - 8:370 -
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Go on, ya have to tell us what happened!:pac:
Two things.
1 - I've been wetting the wrong part of the strap. I didn't read the instructions properly and assumed the electrodes were the two points behind where you attach the clip.
2 - I've been stretching it over my head to put it on every time (which means it obviously won't be as tight as it should be) instead of putting it on like a belt. Because there's no locking device I didn't realise that it worked that way.
I only noticed both of these things after re-reading the instructions last night and today the results seem very accurate. I feel very stupid :pac::pac:0 -
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