BQ or Bust!

healy1835

Best of luck today. You're in great shape to PB...

Murph_D

Job done. 94:17, a PB of three minutes and two seconds. NY marathon qualifier achieved at the fifth attempt. Delighted. The plan works. I'll be sending a message of appreciation to The Hansons.

Now - COYBIB!

ThebitterLemon

Congrats Auld Murph.

Just rewards for a brilliant training block

But I didn't think you were into teen pop!!!

https://youtu.be/NHozn0YXAeE


Mmmmbop

TbL

OOnegative

Great stuff D, delighted for you. Well deserved after a solid consistent training block, nice to nail the NY qualifying time to boot. Enjoy your PB beers.

Murph_D

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Congrats Auld Murph.

Just rewards for a brilliant training block

But I didn't think you were into teen pop!!!

https://youtu.be/NHozn0YXAeE


Mmmmbop

TbL

I am old/young enough that the mmmmbop era coincided with my kids' early forays into poptasticness.
More of a "mature Hansen" man myself.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PNFtTuF_YYo

hot buttered scones

Well done Murph. Glad to meet you afterwards.

Murph_D

hot buttered scones wrote: »

Well done Murph. Glad to meet you afterwards.

You too, M. Congrats on your fabulous performance. :cool:

Younganne

Congrats Murph, Delighted for you after all the great training...

Wubble Wubble

Murph_D wrote: »

Job done. 94:17, a PB of three minutes and two seconds. NY marathon qualifier achieved at the fifth attempt. Delighted. The plan works. I'll be sending a message of appreciation to The Hansons.

Now - COYBIB!

Congrats on the PB and finally reaching the NY qualy mark. Lots of reasons to celebrate yesterday!

diego_b

Great job Denis, delighted to see how well the plan went for you...well desired!

Murph_D

Sun 17 Sep

Charleville HM 1:34:17 (PB)

(It was a goal race, so apologies in advance for the long-winded mid-pack ruminations, anyone who is offended by that kind of thing.) :pac:

Some people say you learn more from your bad races than your good ones. I don’t know if that’s really true: haven't really had enough good ones to compare, but I’ve had plenty of bad races over the last 18 months, starting with the Marathon That May Never Again Be Mentioned over there in Massachussetts. Qualifying for that race had provided a focus for my first couple of years of running, and I had hoped to mark it by running a qualifying time for New York or London - targets I missed badly, and failed to hit on three more occasions in 2016. The closest I came was in the Dublin HM, but a poorly timed stitch knocked the fight out of me in the final miles. If I learned anything from this slew of bad races, it was that I was never going to get anywhere without targeted training, appropriate to my age and conditioning, featuring plenty of easy stuff and the right amount of rest and recovery time.

So despite the distractions of Donadea and some mile training earlier in the year, I chose Charleville as this year’s goal race, and chose the Hanson half marathon plan as the method because Ferris and Yaboya had had good results with the marathon version. The alternative was another stint of Pfitzinger & Latter (Faster Road Running), which had produced the existing PB from way back in 2015, but I felt like a change of scenery after a couple of years of the Pfitzinger approach, just to freshen things up and keep it interesting.

Hanson is built around a Tuesday ‘speed’ or ’strength’ session, followed by a Thursday HM pace run that peaks at 7 miles. It’s a tougher proposition than it looks. I did well with the Tuesday sessions, which are pitched a little slower than similar P&D sessions. I struggled initially with the length of the HM pace runs, but gradually found my way into them, although never to the extent that the pace felt easy (not until race day anyway, which I suppose is the whole point). More importantly though, I enjoyed the variety and the challenge, and found myself looking forward to the sessions more and more as the plan went on.

Training began in May and continued over 18 weeks. I managed to get it done it without any major deviations, completing several difficult sessions in the early morning heat and humidity in Greece and France. I really think those hot weather sessions especially helped to install a bit more resilience - although there was no hardship involved: I love running and if I’m on holidays and lucky enough to be able to get out and run, I’m hardly going to not do it. Holiday running, in fact, is one of my favourite things about being on holidays, and I found some great places to do the sessions, including municipal running tracks in Nafplio and Saumur (not to forget the GAA track in Glenties). Luckily, my long-suffering and ever supportive missus is a similar holiday running enthusiast, and we managed some memorable recovery runs together this year in the stunning surrounds of the Peloponnese.

So the preparation was as good, if not better, than it’s ever been. In the final weeks, I felt as ready and prepared as I had back in April 2016. At the back of my mind, of course, was the nagging reminder that the reward for that relatively flawless P&D training block was, yes, the MTMNABM. :rolleyes: This time, surely, it had to be different. The race would be on All-Ireland day, and even if Mayo couldn’t get the monkey off their back, maybe I’d have more luck.

We drove down to Charleville on Saturday afternoon, arriving just in time to pick up our race numbers before checking in to the B&B. Food and hydration had been good all week, so I allowed myself a pint of Guinness to accompany the fish and chips dinner in the nearby Charleville Park hotel. Bumped into Adrian, who was staying in the same B&B, and exchanged some pleasantries before retiring for an early night.

As is usual for me before a goal race, I hardly slept at all. Another nagging worry to deal with. Would I struggle mentally as a result? Hopefully not. Sure it’s only a half. You’ll be grand. Suck it up. Breakfast was OK. Our elderly B&B hosts were miserly enough with the porridge, and I nearly didn’t get any eggs. “Have you ever eaten eggs before a race before?” asked A. The answer of course was no, and this was just the excuse I needed to consume the minimal amount of the rather unappetising scrambled concoction that had eventually arrived. Enjoyed breakfast all the same, sharing a table with Adrian and a couple of other running guests. Targets were enumerated, good lucks exchanged. The coffee, at least, was very decent. Always a bonus.

A quick shower then to feel fully awake and we were off. The race start was just down the road. Parking in the nearby multi-storey was effortless; the bag drop in the GAA hall took seconds. The weather was as expected, chilly and a little damp. Perfect for racing, in other words, with no wind of any consequence. I donned my bin liner and did a warmup mile or two, with a few dynamics. Didn’t really bother with any strides, just a few surges to HM-ish pace. Didn’t spot FBOT, Ferris, yaboya1 and KennyG, who were all travelling down on the day, and I hoped they’d made it on time. Bumped into MiketheMechanic, just as I had earlier in the year in Ballycotton, and had a chat. A few minutes before the 10am starting time, I squeezed into the tightly packed start area. The 1:35 pacers were over to the left, and I decided I would just catch up to them in the first mile rather than push my way over through the crowded pen.

There was a round of applause for something or other and we were off without any further ado. The start was tight, but people had generally lined up in the right place. A few hundred metres in, I’d found the pace group and stayed close behind. The first kilometre beeped and I noticed it was way too hot at 4:12, probably due to catching up with the pacer team, a M/F double act. But it had also been a downhill start (to be negotiated in reverse later on), and I felt great, so I didn’t sweat it. Tucked in and the next few kms clicked off at or slightly under the target pace of 4:30

Kms 1-5: 4:12 4:30 4:29 4:26 4:28

The opening section had felt extremely comfortable, much to my relief. I rarely have a good race if I’m feeling the pace in the first few miles. The mental note was to be ready to dig in in the middle third, the stage of the race where, if it’s not going well, I tend to fall off the pace and leave myself with too much to do. So far so good. There was a water station just after the 5k point and I doused myself with it, careful not to wet the notoriously sandpapery-when-wet Cru singlet. Didn’t drink more than a sip - was well hydrated during the week, and I’d noticed a bad reaction in previous races this summer to gulping too much unneeded fluid.

The second 5k passed off without much incident on the arrow-straight road out to Kilmallock. The earlier effortlessness was of course starting to wear off, but I didn’t have too much trouble with the cattle prod and kept myself in or close to the pace group, backing off a couple of times when my heels were clipped due to the close proximity of others on the narrow roads. I was checking the watch against the mile markers and we seemed to be well ahead on this measure, although I realised later that the benchmark I was using for this, 7:18 per mile, was wrong - 7:15 being the appropriate number. However I had thrown my lot in with the pacers at this point, having had the earlier conversation with myself about whether to drop back if ahead of the pace. It was starting to hurt, but not to an unexpected level for this stage of the race. You’re OK. Trust the pacers. Switch off when you can and just put one foot in front of the other.

Kms 6-10: 4:24 4:33 4:38 4:28 4:27

The loop through Kilmallock was unexpectedly picturesque, and I found the medieval antiquities a welcome distraction as the business end of the race drew closer. There was a race walker in close proximity to our group and he seemed to be using some sort of fast/slow strategy, as he kept passing through our group and then falling behind again. Fair play to him, but it was kind of annoying. I filed it away for later and decided he wouldn’t be finishing in front of me. The pacers were not giving much feedback unless directly asked, and the group was beginning to thin out a little, probably only about 15-20 of us directly in touch at the halfway point, passed at 47:07. I was still feeling good, still attuned to the task of staying strong through the middle. There was another downhill stretch just past the halfway point and the pacers fairly tore down it, relatively speaking. I had no trouble really staying in touch, but I was glad to see the pace settle again as we approached the point where the route returned to the Kilmallock Road travelled earlier. Conditions were still perfect, and the slight breeze that existed would now be at our backs for the final stretch as the 10 mile point approached.

Kms 11-15: 4:21 4:19 4:26 4:31 4:33

A woman in the group, who had been on the pacer’s shoulder all morning, began to struggle, and her breathing went from controlled to laboured to full on gasping within the space of half a mile. It was pretty disquieting. A less selfish runner than me tried to coach her through the bad patch, but she soon fell behind, a reminder of how quickly things can go wrong. I felt a stitch coming on myself at some point, but I was able to ward it off by just slowing a step or two for a minute, hardly losing any momentum at all. That was encouraging. It suddenly dawned on me, as we passed the outward 5k mark on the road, that there were only a few miles left. Better yet, the wheels were still on, although they were certainly starting to creak! A couple of runners pushed ahead in anticipation, and we were also starting to pass people who’d gone out too fast (not many though, it has to be said - the standard of running in this race is pretty high). One pacer mentioned to the other that a runner she’d thought she’d have to carry home had pushed ahead. “You can carry me home instead”, I offered, and she gave me a bit of a look before deciding I wasn’t taking the piss. Only a mile and a half to go, said the other fella, and I was glad I’d finally interacted with the pacers, as we were down to five or six runners now and it’s no harm to have them know you might need a bit of a kick up the arse in the final stretch. I started to pull ahead myself, but quickly found the pacers on my shoulder again, and realised it wouldn’t be easy to finish this out. The flat road gave way to a long drag and a bitch of a railway bridge. I struggled up this stretch and was glad of female pacer back out in front with her relaxed stride. The pace seemed to be quickening but in reality it was just me struggling to stay in touch up the hill, then around the corner for the finishing drag with the GAA club in view in the distance. Got a shout from the bowels of the Dunnes Car Park and knew that FBOT and crew had made it down. Yaboya made the customary “you look too relaxed” comment, and then Ferris offered more encouragement from the other side of the road. At this stage I was definitely emptying the tank, gagging my way around the final corner and the last 100m to the finish line. I mustered a final spurt to pass the lead pacer and dip in under 94:30 gun time, before dropping to the ground for a moment of recovery. Allowed myself a celebratory fist pump as I approached the water table. A good day, at last, after a long stretch of poor or mediocre results, the only exception being January’s Raheny 5, a performance I had tried my best to channel when the Charleville going got tough.

Kms 16-21.1: 4:33 4:27 4:30 4:26 4:30 4:38 (0:38)

So that's it. It was a solid race, without much drama or incident, but a satisfactory performance with a three-minute PB. Well under the 96-min NYC GFA time. Thanked the pacers for a job well done. Bumped into hot buttered scones - incredible performance from him, congrats again. Caught up with Adrian also, another huge PB. Jogged back out the road then to see if I could spot the missus finishing and sure enough there she was putting in the finishing touches to another decent shift. Some terrific results all round, a PB from Ferris, a close shave from FBOT and a very decent “long run” from KennyG. Then the dash for Croker began, punctuated with a petrol and coffee stop at Barack Obama Plaza where I came across FBOT, Ferris, yaboya and KennyG again, enjoying a well deserved feed of burgers and (naturally) a doughnut or two. The rest of the day, of course, is history. Thanks Cork, sorry Mayo.

Mile splits:
6:47 7:12 7:10 7:09 7:26 7:12 6:59 7:03 7:19 7:17 7:14 7:11 7:20 (6:21)

Previous PB: 1:37:19 (Dublin HM, 2015)
Target: 1:34:59
Official time: 1:34:17
325th posn (of 1,133)
7th M55 (of 31)
Age grade: 72.9%.
VDOT 48.3.
Verdict: Back in business.


WTD: 63k (39m)
MTD: 180 (112)
YTD: 2,212 (1,375)

FBOT01

Congrats on an excellent training block topped off with the performance and result it deserved and a report that does both justice....you're some man for one man, D.

hot buttered scones

Great report and a well deserved result after a good training block. It seems like forever ago when you were doing those runs around Europe! I'm a big fan of the Kilmallock section myself. There's not many races where you get to run through a medieval gateway. Nice to bump into you too. If I seemed a bit scatty it's because I think I was still full of adrenaline!

FYI: You'll get that round of applause before a lot of road races in Cork. It's for Gerry Forde, a wheelchair athlete who turns out for a serious amount of races. He always starts a little bit before everyone else. You probably passed him in the first mile or two.

Singer

Brilliant stuff D, delighted for you. You earned the right to go all out on the race report No tiresome drags in it though, a super read.

Annie get your Run

Really delighted for you D, very well deserved, you work hard and consistently and you were well overdue a good result. I'm sure A is equally happy with the NYQ

AuldManKing

Super racing, glad you got a good race. Congrats

Younganne

great report Murph really enjoyed reading it and super running too..Congrats.

aquinn

Brilliant result, well deserved D. Congratulations.

racheljev

Great report and fantastic race, delighted you got the result your training deserved. Time to plan for New York!

chickey2

Well done! Very well deserved. You're a great advertisement for the Hanson method. Will you use it for new York?

jake1970

Congratulations on your excellent result D.

Kennyg71

Great result D, plan really worked, or did you really work the plan, some chunck to knock off pb, roll on New York. Great read as usuall.

denis b

Well done Denis, quite simply well done. Very controlled race and the end, for now, of a long process of consolidation and learning. As usual, your report begs a thousand questions. New York, New York.

Murph_D

A recovery week, after which the plan will be to jump in to the last five weeks of Hanson marathon plan in preparation for DCM. The marathon is not a priority, but at the moment the thought is to run with 3:30 pacers and maybe push on a little in the second half in search of a small PB, maybe not.

Mon 18 Sep

Rest. Definitely felt like I was in a race the previous day. Doesn’t always feel that way! Sore quads mostly.

Tue 19 Sep

40 mins recovery

A few laps of the playing pitches in the South Campus in Maynooth. Beautiful grounds out here.

Wed 20 Sep

More rest.

Thu 21 Sep

8k (5 mi) easy through Carton House without the watch. Legs still a bit heavy but beginning to feel more normal.

Fri 22 Sep

12.1k (7.6 mi) easy on the seafront and Bull Wall with FBOT and Ferris.

Sat 23 Sep

Corkagh parkrun (22:00)

Another new parkrun in Dublin, this time over in Clondalkin. Local boy yaboya1 was doing it so I didn’t take much persuasion to try it out. Never in this park before - it really is fabulous. A cricket match was in progress near the start, and later on the route passed a baseball diamond where a game was also going on - definitely a parkrun first for me! I had planned to do this around marathon pace, but was feeling pretty good so upgraded to a little faster than HM pace. After settling in, I picked off one or two per km over the course of the run. Was only passed once, by a guy with headphones who had been pushing me a bit hard and I let him by. He immediately slowed with what looked like a stitch so I passed him again on a narrow path by the lake. He obviously didn’t hear me coming and leaped out of his skin as I eased past. :pac: Really enjoyed this, finishing in 24th position and feeling good. Excellent coffee and pancakes in the Happy Pear afterwards. Will definitely be back to this one, in fact I’ve volunteered for the week after next.

Sun 24 Sep

19.4k (12.1 mi) with 8k @ MP

Jogged out to Raheny to meet up with FBOT at the end of his long DCM pacer-pace run for a few miles. He had been joined by clubmate DM who doesn’t hang about so the pace climbed a little over what was planned as we headed around St. Anne’s park, but all good. Easy jog back down the Howth Road and a welcome coffee stop.

A decent enough week, I think, transitioning nicely.

WTD: 52k (32m)
MTD: 232 (144)
YTD: 2,264 (1,407)

diego_b

Fully agree on Corkagh Park, my brother and his girlfriend live nearby and when I'm up Dublin way and staying with them I have got a few runs in and around it. Such a nice hub of activity going on there, the cycling track as well looks useful for people darksiding.

Murph_D

This week is about switching gears to marathon pace, sticking with the Hanson method. I've even bought the book!

Mon 25 Sep

The plan said 10k easy, and that's what I did, along the Royal Canal in the Maynooth vicinity. Felt a little tired in the Indian summer heat.

Tue 26 Sep

Strength: 2 x 4800 (800m jog recovery)

Over to Irishtown to do this session on the track among the marathoners. The main group was doing a fartlek-type session, so I just commandeered the outside of lane 8 and put the head down. This was supposed to be done 10 secs faster than MP, so 7:28/m or 4:38/k. To be honest it felt very handy so either I'm getting stronger or else I was going too slow.

Splits (target = 22:14):
21:23 21:44

Watch not accurate around track so distance a bit off and I think the pace was about right. Jogged home again, so a decent 19k (12m) for the night.

Wed 27 Sep

Rest. Glad of it - despite feeling like it was easy last night, pretty tired muscles today.

WTD: 29k (18m)
MTD: 262 (163)
YTD: 2,293 (1,425)

Murph_D

Thu 28 Sep

So the first of the Hanson tempos - 14.4k (9 miles) at MP. I expected this would feel handy enough coming off the series of HM tempos, and it was certainly easier to hold the relatively manageable pace, even into the longer distance. Hopefully that continues to be the case. I am basing MP (4:44/k, 7:38/m) off HM time, although I doubt very much if I will be attempting that pace on the day. Not till the second half anyway. I think. Hmmm.

Splits:
4:46 4:42 4:40 4:38 4:43 4:41 4:47 4:44 4:44 4:44 4:41 4:54 4:35 4:36 (4:18)

Fri 29 Sep

No running. Cycled around town on a Dublin Bike for a while though. :pac: Lovely day for it.

Sat 30 Sep

St. Anne's parkrun (20:51)

Fourth anniversary celebrations at St. Anne's. Wasn't planning to run but a last-minute change of arrangements left us child free so I was able to tog out. Feeling perky enough after yesterday's rest so gave this a bit more welly than usual. After a warmup with a few clubmates I'd bumped into on the Avenue, I decided that a LT-ish effort would be satisfactory, if possibly a little reckless as the auld bod doesn't always respond well to extra sessions, with a (thankfully short) LR still to come tomorrow. But I enjoyed the step-up in pace. After letting the 20-min group drift ahead I found myself in a little battle with a guy in a Leinster shirt and one of the pacier female regulars, who seemed to be out for a jog in fairness. We all traded places during the second half, keeping each other going (well, me anyway), picking off some of the flotsam from the 20-min blowups. I started to hit the red zone in the last 1500 and had to back off a bit, but recovered well and had a decent finish to take the two of them in the last 100. :cool: Good enough for 37th finisher, a decent age grade and a category 1st. The mrs had a good day too, celebrating her 50th parkrun in style, pacing 29 mins in a pink feather boa. parkrun is just bloody fantastic. Many congrats to Killerz and his terrific team of RDs.

Splits:
4:18 4:19 4:09 4:13 3:59

A cooldown lap with DD, then another few miles around the course before quaffing some celebratory prosecco with cake followed by a welcome feed of bacon and eggs - I may be a skinny fecker but I can put it away when I have to. Total of 16.3k (10.1m) for the morning.

Sept total: 296k (184 mi).

Sun 1 Oct

16.2k (10 mi) easy on the Royal Canal

Jaysus, if I was suspecting there would be some blowback from yesterday’s exertion, I was right. This was tough from the start. Encouraging all the same that the pace was no different from the usual, even picking up a bit in the second half, conveniently downhill and downwind when I turned at Castleknock and headed home.

WTD: 80k (50m)
MTD: 16 (10)
YTD: 2,344 (1,457)

OOnegative

Course you can put it away cause you are a SKINNY FECKER!!! Nice week D.

Murph_D

Am I acclimatising to marathon stuff? This week will tell - will be doing the Longwood ¾ Marathon on Sunday, as pacer FBOT has generously donated his +1. It'll be a departure from the Hanson 16-mile max long run. I expect it to be a bit of a slog towards the end - don’t think i’ve done anything more than 15 miles since Donadea.

Mon 2 Oct

13k (8 mi) easy in the Phoenix Park. Was dithering near the Farmleigh Gates considering which way to turn when I heard someone call my name and had a pleasant chat with AMK as he took a break from his strides. Strava flyby tells me I just missed mbarr too. Felt pretty good on this, nice to be back in the Park.

Tue 3 Oct

Strength: 3 x 3200 (800m jog recovery)

Alone in the crowd again, plugging away at my session as the rest of the marathon crowd did their fartlek. The guidance is 10 secs/mile faster than MP. Felt easy enough, but thought it would never end. Lapped on multiple occasions by a jocular PaulieYifter and a pensive Singer, among many others. Pretty much last out of the stadium as I finished up and jogged home.

Approx splits (target = 14:50):
14:39 14:44 14:52

The last one did feel a bit harder, but mostly due to boredom I think. Recovery home for a decent total of 20k (13 mi) for the night.

Wed 4 Oct

Rest.

WTD: 33k (21m)
MTD: 50 (31)
YTD: 2,377 (1,478)

Singer

Pensive / suffering, pretty much the same thing I still haven’t had a good session on the track. You looked relaxed and in control!