Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose

diego_b

So based on the advice in the DCM 2015 Novices thread from Dubgal72 to start a log....here it goes...

My background,
I am a 33 year old Irish male, originally from the midlands who lived and worked in the Dublin area for the last 10 years. Recently moved with my wife and daughter to County Kerry where we will hopefully stay forever more.
I work at home but travel to Dublin every four weeks to catch up with my office based colleagues. On those trips this I try to rope in some other sporting venture in the city either playing soccer with mates, a training run in the Phoenix Park or a race.

My health background is that 3 years ago I weighed 21 and a half stone (at 5ft 10in in height with a BMI of 42.8). Back then I was often breathless with minor exercise such as a short walk, suffered back pain and didn't sleep well and my little baby girl was just starting to walk so keeping up with her was going to be even more of a challenge. Critically my outlook for a long and healthy life was significantly reducing with every passing year I did nothing about my weight.
I had seen family and friends with similar challenges to what I faced address them in recent years so I used that as further inspiration that it could be done and made to last. I took some advice from my brother who is a gym instructor and a fitness enthusiast. I started to reduce my calorie intake, changed my diet, kept a food diary and started some regular exercise (a couch to 5k). I set myself a target of 3 stone lost before my next birthday. I achieved that target in half time I had set out so I knew the plan would work. The weight loss kept up over that year and I kept up the running and completed a number of 5 and 10k races in same time period.
After 1 year I had got my weight down to 14st and generally speaking it's held pretty steady since then, I could lose a bit more weight but have been advised to hold steady for now and just focus on my fitness which I enjoy maintaining whilst still enjoying my food!

In that time I really fell in love with running and I wished that I had taken it up years earlier. All going well I hope I have many good years of running left in me.

My current PBs are:
5K - 22:50 (29/03/2015)
5mile - 39:36 (27/05/2014)
10K - 47:15 (04/04/2015)
10mile - 1:26:20 (17/05/2015)
Half - 1:56:56 (03/05/2015)

My goal for this year is to complete the Dublin City Marathon and at the moment I am running 20 miles a week and completing the 30 day challenge. Marathon training due to start in two weeks and can't wait.

yaboya1

Hi diego,

Congratulations with what you've done to date. A lot of your pbs are eerily close to my early goes at each distance. I'll follow your progress with great interest.

Best of luck.

Dubgal72

Hey well done on starting a log and huge congratulations on what you have achieved so far. You have yeeeeeears of good running ahead of you and for curiosity's sake, check out yaboya's log to see where you may end up (do NOT do everything he has done though:D )

FBOT01

Best of luck with the log and training for DCM. Look forward to seeing your progress.

tang1

As a fellow Midlands man will be following with interest, best of luck with it.

diego_b

yaboya1 wrote: »

Hi diego,

Congratulations with what you've done to date. A lot of your pbs are eerily close to my early goes at each distance. I'll follow your progress with great interest.

Best of luck.

Thanks, just saved a link to your log there....I've plenty of reading to catch up on with it! I am interested to see where with a bit of proper focused training I can go with things. Just the small matter of the marathon to focus on this year and then will go back and work on my other distances!

diego_b

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Hey well done on starting a log and huge congratulations on what you have achieved so far. You have yeeeeeears of good running ahead of you and for curiosity's sake, check out yaboya's log to see where you may end up (do NOT do everything he has done though:D )

Thanks, I think all going well on the injury front I have a bit of improvement in me yet. Funny one recently down here in Kerry was the masters championship with my club I was too young to compete so maybe when I'm eligible in two years I might be a bit quicker than I currently am!
Will def have a look at that log, nice to have points of reference with these things and there's a wealth of information in the AR forum and some very helpful people

diego_b

So my first training update....
The short term goal of the last few weeks and the next few weeks has been 20 miles a week.
Here is how that's broken down so far

Week starting 25th May
Day/Goal/Actual/Pace/Notes
Mon, 4m easy, 4m in 41:32min @ 9:32min/mi
Tue, Rest
Wed, 4m tempo, 4.14m in 36:34min @ 8:49min/mi (ran this with a group, took the first two miles easy and the last two miles fast)
Thur, Rest
Fri, Rest
Sat, Parkrun, 3m (the one in Tralee isn't 3.1 ever for me!), 23:32 @ 7:54min/mi
Sun, 5m easy, 5.2m in 49:36 @ 9:31min/mi

Week starting 1st Jun
Day/Goal/Actual/Pace/Notes
Mon, 3m easy, 3.13m in 29:49 @ 9:30min/mi
Tue, 75min circuits, 4.43m (incl 4x hill repeats) in 43:02 @ 9:42min/mi
Wed, Rest
Thur, 3m easy, 3m in 28:25 @ 9:24min/mi
Fri, Rest
Sat, Parkrun, 3m in 23:16min @ 7:49min/mi (equaled my parkrun PB, I was happy of course as I ran on feeling without focusing too much on time, felt a lot better than previous week)
Sun, 6.5m easy on the cards

I'm up to day 14 of the 30 day challenge tomorrow so that's been keeping me busy in rest days also. That pigeon pose is something else for the gluts and hips which is a problem area for me so hopefully will help.

diego_b

Just to add my run from yesterday
Day/Goal/Actual/Pace/Notes
Sun, 6.5m easy, 6.5m in 1:03:53 @ 9:48min/mi (really enjoyed this run and felt I could have sustained that pace to run a lot longer also, helped that it was a stunning day out and I had a nice view of the atlantic whilst running a good bit of it.)

Completed day 14 of the 30 day challenge yesterday also, the pigeon pose is working well for me I think. Finding the Lateral Hip Stretches hard to do but will keep plugging away at them.

diego_b

This week so far...week starting 8th June

Day/Goal/Actual/Pace/Notes
Mon, Rest, Rest
Tue, 75min circuits, 75min circuits (included some sprint work with 100m sprint, 100m jog x 6)
Wed, 5m, 5m tempo in 44:31 @ 9:08min/mi
Thur, 3m easy, 3m in 30:51m @ 10:17min/mi
Fri, Rest
Sat, Half on the Head half marathon on the cards
Sun, Rest

Have completed to the end of stage 3 of the 30 day challenge as well. Will start stage 4 today maybe (day 19) but I have noted it has some squats in it so might hold back for a day with the race coming up tomorrow. Sometimes I find squats/lunges can take a bit too much out of my legs if I do too many.

Dubgal72

Hope that tempo on Wednesday had a warm up and cool down

diego_b

It didn't have a warm up but started slow and built up throughout, finished with a 3/4 min walk. Am I in trouble? Was running with a running group as opposed to on my own.

Dubgal72

diego_b wrote: »

It didn't have a warm up but started slow and built up throughout, finished with a 3/4 min walk. Am I in trouble? Was running with a running group as opposed to on my own.

Hehe, I'll let that pass for now . A slow start with a progression into a tempo sounds ok. Personally, I'd prefer a .5mi jog to finish off and then some walking if you still need. The important thing is that your muscles have a chance to acclimatise to the stress that you're about to inflict on them and then after, to destress

diego_b

Grand job, will note that for the future with those!

diego_b

To add today's run...

Half on the Head half marathon, was aiming to do it sub 2 hour and ran with the 2 hour pacer for the first 1.5 miles. Was feeling I could push it a bit more than that, it's a very hilly course up to the 9 mile mark when you get 2 miles downhill then the last 2 mile or so flat.
Came home in a new PB of 1:55:45, ran at avg speed of 8:43 a mile.
Really delighted with that as it's the toughest course I've ever ran but I felt I ran about as well as I ever did. It was very warm and the race started at 11am to catch the warmest part of the day. Have a small blister just under my toes which is a new one for me, aside for that I feel great with that PB buzz!
Split times....
8:53
8:53
8:48
9:13
8:43
8:41
9:36
8:58
9:29
7:50
8:05
8:01
8:25

Dubgal72

Well done, delighted for you! Looks like you had plenty in the tank to push on the last few miles, shows you paced it very sensibly. What did you do for hydrating and fuelling, if anything? Now get on over to the novices thread and tell us all about it

diego_b

Will do!

JohnDozer

Very well done! Super time. I was there myself today... between the hilly route, the heat and the extra wind to come so far under your target is serious running. Might see you at one of the Tralee parkruns! Well done again

diego_b

Thanks very much, indeed if you spot me or anyone in a St Brendan's AC say hello, we're a friendly bunch!
Genuinely surprised but said I'd run on feeling and not overdo it, the last mile I found hard as I started to think about the PB then of course but I couldn't push it anymore. I like to walk away from races, so I think I have a good barometer to know when I had done my best.

JohnDozer

I certainly will! Was running alongside one of your lady club mates for the second half of the race today. We yo yo'd quite a bit which was mainly my fault for pulling ahead and then falling back, while she was keeping it nice and steady. Didn't catch her name but she fits the profile of the friendly St Brendans club. Just looking at your splits there, you pulled back a bit on all the uphill miles at 1,4,7 and 9 which was clever and probably explains why you had plenty in the tank once you created the hill at the end of mile 9. If only I had been as clever :-)

diego_b

Ah very good, there was a few of us out today. Yeah I'd run the 10K out there a few months back and was bunched after about 6K (the hill marker on the t-shirt as fair daffodils did for me really) and I couldn't finish fast on the downhill 2K. Came home in 52 something that day, my 10K PB from Ballybunnion a couple of months ago was 47:15 so was annoyed with myself. Had been a bit sick that week and went out way too fast, exorcised that demon today!

diego_b

Week starting 15th Jun

An odd week to be honest as I was away on holidays with my family and also I had a small issue of a blister to allow clear up following a half marathon last Sunday. I hadn't any days planned out for the week really but had hoped to do 20 miles again this week but given I missed Tuesday and Wednesday I said I'd cut back to probably 18miles.

Day/Goal/Actual/Pace/Notes
Mon, None, Rest, Blister still being very tetchy so walking was sore even.

Tue, None, Rest but with a quick 20 mins on the exercise bike in the gym in the hotel, hadn't been on an exercise bike (despite having a nice one at home) in a few months so just did a quick cardio go before the place closed up.

Wed, get a run in, 4m in 41:38 @ 10:22 min/mi, run was grand enough now.....did most of it running around the very nice castle grounds in Kilkenny on what is the parkrun course in the town. Very nice for a short run I have to say. Blister was good throughout and had seemed to subside that day to chance it.

Thurs, get a longer run in but slower, 5m in 55:39m @ 10:39min/mi, again was in Kilkenny for the night so this time I ran down by the path down beside the river there and another lovely route I have to say and would recommend it....it basically goes outside the walls of the castle and seems to be widely used by locals....surface good underfoot for the most part. Looped around that a few times and around the castle grounds perimeter to get 5miles done.

Friday, 3m in new runners and no earphones, 3.5m in 33:17m @ 9:30min/mi (last half mile was a warm down), decided to open it up a bit last night on a run in new runners. Got fitted again in Amphibian King yesterday but ended up buying the exact same pair again. I've liked the Saucony Breakthrus a lot so far and they are serving me well. Now I have two pairs to alternate. Have to say I found the second mile tough enough last night...I think a week of being on hols and not eating great starting to catch up on me.

Saturday, rest (travelling back home)....home today and my stomach is in ribbons. I am fully motivated to start eating better to coordinate with the marathon training. The last few months I've not been good to be honest thinking I could eat what I wanted and when I wanted really as burning off so much with training.
Paying for that today with a reminder of what used to happen previously when overindulging.

Sunday, the plan is do a very easy 5.5 mile or so to bring me up to 18miles for the week.

Dubgal72

No harm at all for another quiet week after the half. Your body will have maximised the gains and adaptations made from the race.

diego_b

Good to know, I was hoping by having a few days rest I would benefit some way....generally would normally try get out for a short few very miles the day after a race if I can just to ease out the legs but not this time.

Chartsengrafs

Good luck with the log, great title. Go Panthers!!

diego_b

Thanks and Texas forever!

diego_b

Funny how it goes, after an easy enough week on the mileage and pace front following my half marathon efforts last week I did a shortish LSR of 5.5miles today to bring my total miles up to 18miles for the week. Pace was 10:25min/mi, worn my heart rate monitor and it averaged at 135bpm (my polar m400 has a running index feature and for the first time ever I got a score of elite! Normally it's good or very good the odd time)....felt I could run at that effort all day. Was out for just under the hour (57:20).

diego_b

First run last night on the boards 2015 novices training plan, took the easy 3miles from Tuesday and did it last night instead.
Tonight I'll be doing 75mins or so of field work cross training with my club.
Was a lovely evening for it, could have ran for miles (well plenty more than 3!)
Avg pace was 10:14 a mile (10:38, 10:01, 10:03) including running 1/2 mile uphill to start and 1/2 mile downhill to finish, focused on keeping my pace slow in both cases and watching my heart rate to keep the effort even throughout. I normally fly down that hill!

diego_b

Training for the last week, first week of the 2015 boards plan

Day/Goal/Actual/Pace/Notes

Monday, 3 miles, 3 miles in 30:50 @ 10:14min/mi.
Knowing I was doing a session with my club on Tuesday I took the 3 miles from the plan and did them on Monday and it was grandest. Ran in my new runners which seem the finest now and broken in as I think I wouldn't pass a Pepsi challenge with them and my old runners (exact same runners give or take 300KM).

Tuesday, circuits, 75 minute session with my club.
Good session, few easy laps of the training field to start with some strengthening and condition (including some running) work then and a warm down lap to finish.

Wednesday, 4m with 5x100 strides, 4m with strides (think I did 6 looking at my HRM stats afterwards) in 42:38 @ 10:32min/mi
Nice evening for the session, got out soon after 5 as I finished work and it went well. Strides needs a bit of work in regards correct effort as I was going too hard really. Also I did them in the middle of the run but will do them at the end of the run with cool down in future.

Thursday, 3m easy, 3m in 39:48 @ 11:56min/mi
Took my missus to a club session at a local beach, first half was on the beach (where we got engaged nearly 7 years ago now!) and then the second half was running back on top of the sand dunes. Took it nice and handy as first time running on the dunes so watching my footing.

Friday, rest, rest

Saturday, 8m LSR, 8m in 1:26:51 @ 10:50min/mi
First long slow run of the plan so took a different route than normal down some country byroads, I hadn't used earphones all week (don't miss them) but I did have them in one ear for the run. I wanted to listen to Mark Kermode's film reviews! I've done up to half marathons (albeit races) without earphones and my plan is to not wear them for the marathon. I might alternate the odd run with them for the training but one ear and keeping a good eye on my form and breathing still.
First time running in a singlet top, it was pretty warm so thought it would be nice to try it out and it was. I should have put sun cream on my pasty white shoulders though. They got a small bit burnt but nothing bad at all.

Sunday, 2m recovery, 3.1m in 35:03 @ 11:14min/mi
Local 5K race being held to raise money for the tidy towns there that my wife was running, so I ran it as well with my little one in her buggy.
First time running with the buggy (bought it second hand off adverts.ie over a year ago so long over due). My little one was grand up till 3K and then she wanted out, a package of jelly tots were dispatched and then covered me for the last 2K. I was jogging alongside my wife so it was a nice and handy pace for me. I worn my HRM to make sure I was keeping it easy even with the buggy and I was apart from one hill that took a bit of effort but it was short.

First week of the plan done and enjoyed it, feeling good today and it's a rest/cross day on the cards. Thinking of doing a bit on the exercise bike and stretching, foam rolling later.

diego_b

Training update so far this week.....

Monday, I did 25mins on the exercise bike and then half an hour with a mix of core exercises and some stretching.

Tuesday, on the plan was for 3m easy but I went with club and it became 3.75 hard trail running.
It my first experience of proper trail running up the hills/mountains outside of Tralee. Covered 3.75 miles according to my watch, my average pace was 14min but the effort was high to be honest to even get that. For the last mile or so we did I did a bit of walking as I was tiring and I was wary of a misstep due to that. Very enjoyable session though. We'll be doing some in woods as well so nice to mix up the surfaces I run on, I just need to be mindful to scale back on effort maybe to not overdue it to not impact on my other training that week.

Wednesday, I did 3 easy miles at lunchtime
Kept the effort low at 10:32 avg mile.

Thursday, took the 1m w/u 3m pace and 1m c/d from the Wednesday off the boards plan.

Ran from the corner of Abbey and O'Connell St all the way down and into the Phoenix Park, with the pace park starting around the Croppy Acre at Collins Barracks.
Splits were as follows.

Mile 1 - 9:58
Mile 2 - 9:36
Mile 3 - 9:14 (turned 0.7 into this mile to run back down the avenue)
Mile 4 - 8:48
Mile 5 - 10:06

I ran right up through the middle of the park so found it tough going to be honest as I generally always do running up Chesterfield Avenue...the little oul incline there is pretty tiring.
My warm up pace was a bit quicker than I would have liked on the first mile and then my second mile was a bit slower than I would have liked. I'm hoping to do the marathon in and around the 4 hour mark.
I started to enjoy the run a lot more when I turned on Chesterfield avenue around 2.7 miles into the pace section and ran back including cool down as far as the corner of Abbey St and Jervis....walked back to my hotel then afterwards.
Focused again a lot on form and trying to keep tension out of my shoulders....and even the odd dopey smile Dubgal!
I had my earphones on walking down to where my starting point was but took them off then.

Friday, rest day

Tomorrow I will doing the 10mile LSR in the Phoenix Park in the afternoon all going well. Can't get to it in the morning unfortunately so hopefully it's not too warm.

diego_b

I've been neglecting my log a bit so will catch up a bit now......good spiel on my LSRs today anyways!

Last weeks LSR:
That 10 mile in the Phoenix Park went great, really enjoyed it despite the savage heat and used the trails (inside the pedestrian path in the park).
The run went great up till about 8/9 miles and I felt I started to tire a bit but I really enjoyed the run.

Avg pace was 10:20min/mi, splits as follows

10:21
10:00
09:32
10:51
10:17
10:46
11:11
10:09
10:21
09:54

Followed the Frank Duffy 10 Mile route for the most part.

Sunday was a 2mile recovery run, avg 11:06min/mi
Tuesday, 3 miles easy 10:10min/mi
Wednesday, 5.4 miles 9:56min/mi plus 8x 10second hill sprints
Thursday, 4.4 miles 10:26min/mi

Today

Did my LSR run at 9:45 this morning, earliest training run I've ever done but it was good to get out at that time and plan to get out earlier in future. Was messing around with a water belt before going out as haven't used it ages so getting the sizing right takes time and even still had to adjust it once I started. Ran the reverse of the Kerryhead Half on the Head route so two-three miles flat then climb for another mile or so and then generally downhill or flat for the rest of the route with some small climbs (definitely had a perspective shift in the last few months as to what I class as a serious climb so I must be adapting to hills okay). Found the pacing grand throughout, set my watch in an easy pace heart rate so was running anywhere between 130-150 bpm....only time I breeched the upper limit was a few times going up on hills when I really couldn't slow it down anymore so just kept going knowing it would stop beeping in a min. Found it helpful as an additional cue because I do find on the LSRs that after maybe 5-6 miles when I well warmed up and feeling pretty good that I can start to increase pace if I'm not being mindful.
All in all I was out running for 2hr 24mins which by just over 24 mins is the longest I have ever spent running.
Was thinking when running would I break 2hrs 30min and then thinking that if I'm able for the pace it's only another 1hr and a half running to do my marathon on the day.
I have an odd logic with running that no matter the distance or time ran I always think I could go back and run that again if I had to. That kind of thinking started with me when I was doing my couch to 5K just over 2 years ago. So coming back into Ballyheigue today at the end of my run I was thinking you know you could just do that same again now and you'd have your marathon done just like that!! Anyways what would be the fun in that with what is to come yet in training!

Start time 9:44am
Duration 2:24:12
Distance 13.1 miles (If I run 13 miles I am always gonna run the 0.1!)
Avg Pace 11:00min/mi
Splits
10:37
11:07
11:54
12:16
11:08
11:00
10:57
10:35
10:39
10:42
10:36
10:54
10:32

And of course no earphones, it's been two weeks since I last worn then running I think.

Carried a water belt with two small bottles on it, one with water and one with high 5 stuff. Also had two fig rolls chopped in half, a pack of jelly babies and two standard high 5 gels (not ISO ones).
Took first sip of water at 3 miles and one half a fig roll, gel then at 5 miles plus more water and probably a slug of high 5 drink soon after, another piece of fig roll at 6 miles and some water, same again at 9 miles.....10 mile mark I took my other gel and some water, noted the water was starting to taste a bit manky (guessing I didn't rinse the washing liquid out very well so ditched the rest of the water then). Took the last piece of fig roll at 12 miles and a small bit of high 5 plus two (red) mini jelly babies. More food than I ever had on a run before but I was not hungry when I finished nor did I have any real muscles soreness during the run or afterwards.....would know I was out running but I am grand out.

Also I only do Jacobs fig rolls, I detest all other sham brands!!

JohnDozer

I did wonder about that, why they don't do it in reverse, much nicer I would think? They could do it every second year... Might have something to do with the 10k. Keep up the good work anyway!

diego_b

Thanks, it is a vastly easier run going backwards for sure but I wasn't at race so hard to properly judge. Probably true as not really a clear 10k route but you could work something. The finish is better going the right way!

diego_b

Very slow recovery run completed on Ballyheigue beach yesterday, 3.1 miles @ 13min/mi

beertons

Were you tempted at all to do the Brandon beach half?

diego_b

I was indeed but doing half in Killarney this weekend so don't want to be racing too much as part of my marathon training. A few of my club mates did it and did very well so will find out the verdict on the race tomorrow night at a club session.

beertons

It was a killer on the way out, I dunno how the lads got those good times. Good luck in Killarney.

diego_b

4 mile trail run with the club tonight, it was tough going. Average pace was 10:58.
We did one almost 2 mile loop to warm up and then 2 miles that had a constant climb for one mile and second mile had a bit of downhill through the woods.
Splits were
10:50
9:35
13:11
10:15
Tougher than I had planned to be honest, errr

diego_b

Did a 3 mile easy run in 30:54 at an avg of 10:14min/mi, the splits were 10:45, 9:51, 10:05 which I was pretty happy with.
Felt quite warm today running down here and a bit tired after the trail run last night so no running till tomorrow evening now when I'll do the proper Wednesday run for this week off the boards plan.

diego_b

Following the 2015 boards plan I did the 1m w/u 4m pace 1m c/d this evening, felt alright starting off but worse as the run progressed. Fairly well jacked after it so gonna go to bed fair early tonight
Splits
10:05
9:04
9:09
8:55(small bit of a wind behind me)
9:22(decent cross wind and was just wishing the 4th pace mile over)
10:39
It's like I've lost the ability to run fast with all the slow running.

yaboya1

diego_b wrote: »

It's like I've lost the ability to run fast with all the slow running.

I meant to post this here, so have quoted from the mentored thread:

yaboya1 wrote: »

Don't worry. This is not the case.
I have never done anything but marathon training and my 5k is arguably my strongest pb. Just keep doing the runs at the prescribed paces and when the day comes that you need to go faster, you'll surprise yourself and be well able to.

diego_b

Thanks, I appreciate it!
I think the trail running I did on Tuesday night really didn't help much to be honest!
Have a half marathon race on Saturday morning, that should be fun!

diego_b

Race report from today's Run Killarney Half Marathon.

Preparation
Thursday evening...
Struggled with my final run before the race, this was the 1m w/u 4m pace 1m c/d but got some nice words on here so said just do the best you can with it. The training has been going well so far.
Researched what I could online about the race to find out what info I could on the route and previous race threads online here. Seem to be a lot advising to not go completely flat out going down the hills as when it levels out you will really struggle. Started to think of what my pace was possibly going to be or moreso attempted pace.

Friday
daytime...
Looked at my previous half marathon race where I managed an average pace of 8:43min/mi so decided that I should be able to beat that through a combination of a good months worth of training in the mean time and the downhills at the start. Decided to go for a pace of 8:40min/mi which according to a calculator would give me a time of 1:53:40....two mins off my previous PB. Printed out a pace band off runnersworld that I could refer to during the race if I wanted too to be sure I wasn't going too fast.

evening...
Got all my gear together, tried on my club singlet (second time using it, first time in a race) and affixed my race number using my number magnets.
Left on my gear ready to go for first thing as it was going to an early start at 5:20am.
Not knowing what way conditions were going to be I packed both a hat (was gonna use if very heavy rain), sun cream and sunglasses (if by chance it was sunny).
As I was driving over to the race event I actually packed spare shorts, socks, club top and even runners. Given I had the car with me I might as well let that obsessiveness behavior have full reign in preparation in case I wasn't happen with something. Got to bed around 10pm and went to sleep pretty soon afterwards.

Race day
Saturday morning, I woke at 5:09am....the internal clock was working well this morning and it was up and at the day.
Showered, put on my running gear and a pair of tracksuits bottoms and running jacket (said I might as well keep as warm as long as I could). It was hard to call the weather so put on sun cream just in case (my shoulders got nicely toasted on a lsr I worn the singlet on a few weeks back).
Had a small breakfast and a berocca before hitting the road at 6:15. Sipped a bit of High 5 drink on the drive over.
Made it to the Gleneagle Hotel for 7am, strolled into the hotel and used the facilities (number 1 and number 2, good sign for the day!). Back out to the car park then and onto the bus for the 40-45min drive to the startline. Brought a small bag with a banana, my sunglasses and hat in it and to dump my running jacket and tracksuit bottoms in.
Admired the scenery on the drive up the hills, took not at how many turns there was on the route and the amount of ups and downs. Figured I'd try get myself a decent running line with the turns if I could. I had a chat with the guy beside me on the bus as well, nice fella was telling me about his experience of running the race in previous years so tapped him to find out what my strategy on holding back on the hills a good one knowing what was to come. He pointed out that there is a lot of ups and downs once it levels out at 6 miles and people struggle with that. I wanted to have my legs good to go at that point so why burn up on the hills even going down hill.

At the starting area I took advantage of the half an hour to get another trip to the toilet in and start doing some warm ups. I actually did two warm ups, one with my jacket and tracksuits pants on and another one about 15mins before the race once I exposed my bare arms and legs to the morning air.
Bumped into a friend from the running group in Tralee who was running also today. I had hoped to bump into Chris, I was gonna check his profile pic on Strava when I got there but good oul O2/3 had no coverage. Sorry Chris if I walked passed you or anything. I was the cold looking fella in the blue St. Brendan's AC vest if you saw me.
Also I ate a small banana about 20mins before we started and drank some water.

At 8:35 we were called to assemble in the starting area, things didn't take too long and as conditions appeared to be taking a turn for the worse (no hat or sunglasses needed) we got underway at 8:42 (3 mins early).

Mile 1...8:16
Quick start, I keep an eye on my HRM to see I wasn't going too hard but I think the downhill was the main driver of the quicker than planned pace.
A lot of people around me seemed to be absolutely flying it at the start but I said I will go as I feel here now and hold back a bit to not overdo it.

Mile 2....8:37
Little bit of kick upwards in this mile and could see the first lot of people start to wilt. Passed a good few on the short hill here before we were back to the down hill running. The scenary was ridiculously good to be honest. Really nice place to run.

Mile 3....8:45 (25:38 for the 3 miles, 26:01 was the target)
Settled into pace at this point and was enjoying it.....watching my pace and effort but was feeling good. Time was a bit slower this split but I think we'd a few more kicks up and down in this mile. Also there was a water stop so took a few sips on.

Mile 4....8:01 and Mile 5....8:05
Grouping these two together as they kinda ran into other in regards being the fastest part of the course. All downhill with a 90 degree turn at ladies view as well. Felt I was feeling really good at this point and was confident of breaking my personal best but not sure by how much.

Mile 6...8:24 (50:08 for the 6 miles, 52:03 was the target)
Finally the end of the main downhill section and now the real race was on. At this point I knew my PB was in the bag barring a blow up or injury and was wondering could I actually break my target time as well. The race started to feel a lot harder now as it was generally flat or else up/down hill pretty often.
At 6.5 miles I took the one gel I had decided to bring with me for the race, happy with that decision at all points of the day.
We also got water at this point, there was fruit offered as well but declined.

Mile 7....8:34
The miles start to run into each other now, also I had lost sight of the 1:50 pacers who I had seen at the start but was not trying to keep up with them.
Just kept plugging along then with all the ups and downs.

Mile 8....8:42
More of the same

Mile 9....8:52 (1:16:16 for 9 miles, 1:18:05 was the target)
We had a short sharp downhill here just before taking a sharp left into Muckross Park. I had been running alongside/behind my colleague from Tralee during this mile but I pushed on a bit more as I was feeling like I could.

Mile 10....9:00 (1:25:16 for 10miles and new PB for 10 miles, 1:26:46 the target)
Running what appeared to be a trail run for quarter of a mile with some zig zagging under trees....GPS was useless but kept my effort the same based on a quick glance at my HRM. At this point in the race there was 3 miles to go so decided to push on my best to give it what I had.

Mile 11....8:15
Really flying it now, wondered could I do a few more of these at this pace. Was enjoying running in the park and was passing a lot of people at this late stage.

Mile 12....8:38
Starting to feel the pace now and starting to tire. One final hill in the park kinda did for me a bit and just said I would just keep my pace where it was at for now as there was no more pushing left to be done really and I had my time.

Mile 13....8:58
Yup I was done diddly done at this stage, wanting the race to be done...the callusus I've had under my right foot for a few years now was starting to ache a little bit so was a bit concerned was their a blister forming (there was not....thankfully).

Finish....1:52:28 (target was 1:53:40, previous PB was 1:55:40)
Delighted going the line, really was but proper tired to be honest. Felt I had given it my best and those last 7miles had been hard going but I was delighted with the result. Breaking the PB was a nice one but exceeding my not unreasonable target was a real bonus.
Nice t-shirt to add to the training rotation and a good chunky medal. Ate a hotdog, changed out of my gear, posted a note on boards, meet some clubmates who were doing the 10K and saw Gary O'Hanlon take the marathon title. All in all an enjoyable day.

Good luck to everyone running tomorrow.

diego_b

3 mile recovery run done this morning, avg 10:52 a mile. Nice and slow, quads are fairly tender today but still usable.
Will give them a good foam rolling now as well.

diego_b

4 miles on woodland trails done tonight, avg pace was 10:55. Felt a bit faster than that but gps is useless under the trees really!

diego_b

Wednesday...
I took part in 5K race with my club at a track meet, I did a mile warm up before hand and half a mile afterwards as a cool down plus stretching. My 5K time was 23:40 (nearly a minute over my PB) and I came last in the race having been lapped 3 times by the leaders. It was tough to stay going but I was happy I did as a few dropped out. Very different running on the track and I only did it as an opportunity to run on a track to be honest.

Thursday...
Ran 4 miles at lunch time following the near nude rules and it went well. avg pace was 10:58 and I was at this pace the first time I checked my watch and held the same.
This evening I had a 3 mile jog with some club mates after a photoshoot to promote our club race next weekend, 11:14 was the average pace and was plenty of conversation going on so the effort was low.

Friday...
Rest

Saturday...
Got out for my lsr a bit later this morning than I would have liked so started around 10:45am but figured my finish time all going well with be kinda the time I finish DCM all going well.
It was pretty warm to be honest but got through it well enough, was doing 15miles so kinda broke it up into 3x 5mile sections in my head....worked at that as I left Tralee it was 5 miles approx to the next village and then another 5 miles approx to the next and another 5 miles approx home.
The road I was running on was a pretty busy route with all types of traffic including cyclists but in fairness almost everyone was taking due care for each other....only was annoyed with one van who I thought was a bit close to me for my liking going by....maybe he's a super driver!
For this run I took two standard high 5 gels with me, some power bar gel shots and two chopped up fig rolls. 200ml of water and 200ml of lucozade sport.
Took the gels around the 5 mile mark with some water and took two of the gel shots as well along route (think around 7 and 11 miles). Worked my way through the water at every 3 mile interval having a sip....took some of the lucozade sport. Never had this running before so given that it will be available on the day I wanted to try it out....it is muck. The amount of colour left over in my bottle afterwards is shocking.
I was grand running till about mile 10 when my guts started to rumble a bit and I decided I needed to find a laneway to sort that out. Thankfully one short visit was all that was required and then I was back on my way.
Tired a good lot in the last mile but otherwise than that I was happy with the run, it was longest ever run in both distance and time.

15m in 2:37:01 @ 10:28min/mi
Splits
Mile 1 - 10:52
Mile 2 - 10:44
Mile 3 - 10:17
Mile 4 - 10:14
Mile 5 - 10:17
Mile 6 - 10:07
Mile 7 - 10:13
Mile 8 - 10:12
Mile 9 - 10:31
Mile 10 - 11:02
Mile 11 - 10:31
Mile 12 - 10:29
Mile 13 - 10:09
Mile 14 - 10:21
Mile 15 - 11:00

diego_b

Just did my 3 mile recovery at 10:12min/mi average, slightly faster than intended but with the driving wind and rain I just wanted to get it over with. Feel grand after the 15 miles yesterday, legs a small bit tired but nothing bad and no aches.

diego_b

5 miles tonight in 52:43, avg pace 10:31. Easy pace

diego_b

Did my 7mile aka 1m w/u 5 mile pace 1m c/d.
Found it tough enough going, seemed to take a few mins for my heart rate to settle down in the warmup but think there was some mis reads going on.
Certainly noticing that I am getting more comfortable running earlier in the day. Not sure if I can work a pace run in before work and it's too long for lunchtime. Just have to go with it as it is I guess.
Splits
10:13
9:15
9:07
9:02
8:59
9:09
10:27

My quads...right down towards my knees were screaming at me over the last half a mile on the pace section and just got even worse then on the warm down mile. Strange one but will keep an eye on it.

diego_b

204K this month for me, highest ever (last month was previous highest at 137K), running more in a week than I was in some months last year!
3.1m recovery run done around Dublin tonight (up for work for one night) and legs in fine fettle again. Avg pace was 10:52min/mi so very handy but felt o could have ran for hours.

diego_b

So today I took part in my clubs annual 5K/10K event in Banna, Ardert, County Kerry...here follows my race report

Prep
Yesterday did a 3 mile easy run having had a rest day on Friday...possibly should have ran that on Friday instead and took a rest day yesterday.
That run felt fine at the time, pace was 10:02 avg.

Got all my gear ready last night and packed a bag to bring with me in the car as I was planning to do a two mile warm up jog before the race I was wary that if the changeable conditions down here did for me and soaked me. No need to worry as it turned out but even still worth having in the car when I could.
Didn't look like it was going to be sunny so no need to sunglasses or sun cream. Decided to go with the t-shirt version of my club top over the singlet, no particular reason! Also decided to race in the shorts I'm planning on using for DCM, Nike Distance shorts I think they are called and have been training with them a good bit. Quite like shorts with side pockets and a zip pocket too. Decided I would not use the arm band for my phone and stash it in the back pocket for the race as this is what I'm thinking to do for DCM. The arm band thinks are normally fine but thinking it could start to annoy me late on in DCM and whilst I will carry my phone with me it could be stashed better than my arm I'm thinking.
Packed a full change of clothes as well for after the race in case of getting a soaking!

This morning
Up a bit earlier than planned at 7am thanks my lovely little daughter having an overnight/early morning accident. That damn late cup of Ribena!!
Anyways that was sorted, showering, in my gear by 7:45.
Experimenting with some foot anti-perspirant at the moment as I think keeping my feet as dry as I can helps prevent further callusing which can cause me problems on race days. Also used body glide on top on it too, might be wasting my time but wanted to try it in a race scenario. Experiments with continue on my LSR.
Had a small breakfast plus a berocca boost and heading over to the race venue in my car. Arrived about 8:45 and then started off on my two mile warm up run, that went grand but I did note the serious head wind that we would be racing into so that concerned me to be honest with the goals I was thinking of. On the return mile back to the starting area I did some dynamic stretches and a few little sprints. Avg pace over for those two miles was 10:57.
When I got back to my car I changed into the t-shirt I was gonna race in with my number already attached...said I might as well be a dry as I can be starting off with the extra t-shirt. Reapplied some body glide to my right foot just in case, it was about 9:10 at this point and I met some club mates...photos etc ensued. Quick pitstop at the jacks and starting walking back to the starting area (it's about 500m from where the cars park).
The conditions seemed to be much the same as earlier from my warm up but least no rain.

The race
So I set a goal of hopefully equally my time in last years race of 49:32, it was a PB at the time and I thought all going well I could try get that. Secondary goal was sub 50mins and third goal (please note this third goal may have been set have way through today's race ;-)) was to beat my last 10K race time back in June....that time was 52:19. My PB for the 10K is 47:16 set back in Ballybunnion in April this year so thought I'm not being unreasonable....I did a 23:40 5K race a week and a half ago and despite that feeling terrible I thought I still have sub 5min/Ks in me. Feel I've lost a bit of pace with the marathon training to be honest.

So at 9:30am we started, it was a quick start for me and everyone around me to be honest. A good chunk of this people were going to be turning 2.5K into the course and heading back the way we started. Took me a min or so running to slot my phone into my back pocket (was timing using my phone and my watch as I normally do) so that was a small annoyance....forgot to take the case off the phone before hand and those few mms plus running race pace meant it was tough. All in all the first 5K was done in 4:44.

Second K, was really starting to feel the wind at this point and thought I'd love to be running the 5K today and turning with that wind at my back! Felt I was running the same effort but the time was starting to slow 5:07. Even still I was thinking okay it's the wind, we're be turning after 5K ourselves in Ardfert and should have the wind at our backs on the drag back up towards Banna Cross.

Third, Fourth, Fifth K was much the same (each one slower than the last), plenty of wind and had a good few people passing me as well. We had a few bends to go around and a few small climbs too but nothing to write home about. It was kind of starting to annoy me that I could see a corral of runners a few hundred meters ahead of me and that would have been the group that I would normally have been in but kept going. Starting to try think about what I could pull out of the race at this point. Got water around the 5K point and kept that with for the next few Ks.

Sixth, Seventh, Eight K we had gone through Ardfert now and had turned back towards Ballyheigue. This is quite a busy road but it was safe at all time with some good stewarding and garda work to keep everyone happy. Around the seventh K I had decided that I should be able to beat 52mins if I pick up the pace a small bit and it would give me a goal to go for. I wasn't sure about my previous 10K time but knew it was over 52mins so said look beat that today and it's something. Seventh and Eight K have a nice drag all the way up to the Banna cross. Once we got to the cross we then turned towards the beach and the last two K or so to go.

Ninth K and to Finish
As we turned towards the beach I remembered my previous run there last year when I hit a head wind and I was sub 40 back then at the 8K mark and gave it my lot to get home under 50mins (49:32) but this year that time and goal was gone so I said just run it good and steady and focus on your form. There was a one runner ahead of me at that point by about 50 meters so I focused on him and said I'd see could I reel him in a bit. Picked off a bit of his lead in the 9th K and got it down to 10 meters then held it for a while. When I saw the finish area with 300 meters to go I said right I'm going to go for this for a sprint finish to see what I have left my legs. I pulled out to his right and blasted home, I kinda feel funny doing such thing but he wouldn't have had time to react even if he heard me coming I think. I ran right through the finish line at full speed so that felt pretty nice. Got my medal and chatting with some clubmates who generally all felt it was a tough enough race,

To be honest I was a bit disappointed with myself in that I thought I could have pushed it more earlier but I really didn't feel I could at the time, I got chatting with my club coach and also to a friend of my wife's (this lady is an outstanding runner who won the Tralee marathon in a sub 3 time this year) and both confirmed to me that the marathon training can impact your speed if you're not doing speed work which in truth I'm not. In hindsight I have to be happy enough with how it went, I possibly set unrealistic goals at the start but I was glad I was able to set a third goal and pushed myself to achieve it.

One thing I have noted when chatting with my wife (congrats to her on doing a fine 5K) is that she thinks I may have put on a small bit of weight and I think I have too....I am concerned that has cost me a bit of time on the shorter distance races.
I'm not sure if I can drop the extra 3 kgs or so I appear to be carrying between now and DCM but I have to be mindful not to put any more on and possibly start keeping a food diary again. I might read up on some stuff online as to how to address weight gain during training....one thing surely is stop eating as much as you think you can.
It took my a lot of work two years ago to lose 7.5 stone and it's annoying me now that I think I've put about half a stone and a little more on.
I have started to think post DCM now as well that I will try to lose possibly 5kg or so over the winter if I can to get down to lighter than I was when I stopped my diet and work on my 5Ks before starting another marathon plan.

Post the run I did another two miles in 9:43 avg min/mi with a club mate to warm down and keep up my weekly mileage. Back to the normal training plan now for the next month ahead of my next and final race before DCM when I do the Dingle Half Marathon on the 6th of Sept.

Splits from today as follows:

1st K...4:44
2nd K..5:07
3rd K...5:19
4th K...5:21
5th K...5:26
6th K...5:21
7th K...5:07
8th K...5:09
9th K...5:10
10th K (race measured 9.95 for me)...4:40
Total...51:24