Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Eye of the Tiger Beer.
Options
Comments
-
-
I've started acting like the half is a target race anyway - I bought some Manuka Honey, have been carrying around a bottle of alcohol handwash, spent today ruefully glaring at anybody on the bus or work who looks sniffly, have been avoiding all contact with the kids at home (hah!) and yr.no is permanently open (hoping that this won't happen on Saturday: https://runningmagazine.ca/2017-copenhagen-half-marathon/ )
Obviously it is a target race
Best of luck tomorrow B, have a great race.0 -
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
Thank you all! I'll know whether this was really a target race at around 10:57 tomorrow
The plan is definitely to go for it. Hopefully will hold PB pace or so for the first 7 miles and then give it socks.
A+ goal: beat HBS's recent half
A goal: beat El Caballo's recent half
B goal: somewhere in between
C goal: Beat Singer 2016 (as in, a PB: <1:28:28)
D goal: beat Dublin Runner tomorrow (he's pacing 1:30).0 -
Thank you all! I'll know whether this was really a target race at around 10:57 tomorrow The plan is definitely to go for it. Hopefully will hold PB pace or so for the first 7 miles and then give it socks.
A+ goal: beat HBS's recent half
A goal: beat El Caballo's recent half
B goal: somewhere in between
C goal: Beat Singer 2016 (as in, a PB: <1:28:28)
D goal: beat Dublin Runner tomorrow (he's pacing 1:30).
Haha! best of luck, go get it:)0 -
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
Race report!
The morning started fine. I shipped the kids off to the grandparents and left Swords conservatively at 7:45 or so. By 8:30 we'd made it about 2 miles from my gaff, and were completely stuck in traffic but were moving at least, and watching the traffic from the M1 get diverted back down the dual-carriage way towards Swords. Folks were already starting to abandon cars, however I wasn't stressed as there were a zillion cars behind us and I was pretty sure that the race wouldn't be starting on time with the amount of traffic still on the road. We got into Newbridge House around 8.50 and hung around while the start time got predictably put back by 30 minutes. Around here we met Wubble and exchanged well-wishes. After getting into my race gear and giving up on a warmup with folks from the club I did the smallest of warmups, jogging from the house to the race start. When I got there it was clear that all sorts of runners were at the front, and so I pushed up a bit to get into a reasonable position. The crowds were split a few times for wheelchairs and motorbikes needing to get to the front, adding to the general chaotic vibe. So while I didn't get to do an extended warmup, the distraction of the messy setup meant that I wasn't really nervous or anything, and was just looking to get going. Just after 10 the race started and I set off down Turvey Avenue.
The start. (6:19, 6:32, 6:33, 6:34)
My plan was to go out hard, and I did. I caught up with my coach a km or so in and easily went past him. I was doing what felt good here - focussing on running a good racing line and running hard but not ruining myself. The drags and bumps up towards Lusk were noticeable but I felt in control. Going through Lusk was good fun, the distraction of the crowds supporting was definitely appreciated. I took in some water and felt up for it.
Uphill. (6:46, 6:49, 7:04)
The post-Lusk hills were tough, as expected, but I started losing some positions, though gaining a few at the same time. The wind started whirling around and I had to slow down a lot on the tougher hills. After the turn-off down , I continued to lose positions and very annoyingly my right shoelace decided to unravel. This has happened a few times with these racers, despite me triple knotting the bloody things before the race. I suffered the turns and hills, and near the end of the final climb I decided I'd had enough with it and pulled over to tie my lace. Given how I was feeling I reckoned this wasn't a bad idea anyway, I needed to feel good going into the downhill section of the race and make up some lost time.
Downhill. (6:21, 6:40, 6:50)
The downhills were definitely appreciated, but I still wasn't keeping my position despite trying to aggressively attack them. The wind started to become a problem and I was starting to suffer. I passed 10 miles 15 seconds or so after my recent 10 mile PB, but I was now in serious trouble and working hard to keep the pace slower than 7:00/mile. At one stage I shouted out an expletive at myself to HTFU after seeing my pace on my watch, immediately checking around me that nobody else had noticed
Moral support. (6:51, 7:07, 6:57, ...)
The last few miles were grim. I felt like I was jogging, and was being overtaken by large numbers of folks. Every so often I'd try to stick with them, but could never stay with them. I never got any consistent shelter from the wind as a result. I'm sure my running made other people feel good about how their race was going
and I recognised a load of runners who I'd sauntered on past in the first few miles. I tried to snap out of my negativity but it was too hard. The run back into Newbridge House was really well setup, but I wasn't enjoying it. I sped up slightly towards the end, but there was nothing remotely like a sprint finish left in me, and I was very happy to be done with the bloody race at the end.
Result: 1:27:33 - 205th place out of 6512 (55 second PB)
So... I went out hard, and suffered as a result, but did finish in a time that I'm content with. I met up with a bunch of Cru folks and nattered about the race. I bumped into denis_b who had a great run and then went to watch the finishers for a bit, and ended up just watching the finish on the big screen. After a while I met up with my wife who finished her second half-marathon pretty much the same time as last year and was very happy with it We then suffered an hour long drive all the way back to Swords, slowly passing the flotsam and jetsam of the chaotic start who had abandoned cars and minibuses all the way down the dual-carriage way. I've got no complaints about my performance, though the overall race setup was clearly problematic and very stressful for a lot of people. It didn't bother me, but there was a lack of water etc. compared to what was supposed to be on the course. I feel bad for the organisers who usually put on extremely well run events, and for the locality as it's a good course and setup - though probably impractical for any future races. 0 -
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Thanks all! I think I paid for the fast opening 3-4 miles and could have gotten into A goal territory had I paced better. You got away with it this time El Caballo Still, no regrets, I did what I set out to do, but there was no breakthrough. It does feel kind of strange that the difference between a great race and a bad race is about two minutes, the more I run the difference between success and failure narrows. Just a couple of years ago my times were still all over the place and it kind of seemed more exciting! Thankfully my calves are nowhere near as ruined as they were after the Frank Duffy, for whatever reason my body doesn't feel as thrashed... though it's usually two days after when the pain really kicks in.
Some info from yesterday's results - I went over the line in 205th place, but was in 241st based on chip. I went over 10k in 41:12 and 176th position.
I took last week easy enough - I did a club session on Tuesday but didn't break myself on it, though I still slowed down as it went on. The session was that bloody W thing that I've never done well with. Splits were: 1st set: (1:47, 1:48, 1:44, 1:49, 1:42) 2nd set: (1:45, 1:52, 1:48, 1:54, 1:49) third set: (1:47, 1:56, 1:54, 1:58, 1:48)
So, the week:
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
18th September|5.2 miles|8:40|Appointment in Beaumont, so ran in. Felt very good considering I'd run for 2 hours the day before.
19th September|9.6 miles|?|Club session as above
20th September|0 miles|0|A day off!
21st September|0 miles|0|Another day off!
22nd September|4.5 miles|8:26|Some easy miles after work
23rd September|13.8 miles|?|A short warm-up and a 1:27:33 HM
Total: 33.2 miles
Next week: Taking things very easy, following a reverse taper. There is a fun looking event involving running and laser shooting in Swords Castle on Saturday that I might give a go. Need to start thinking about how to structure some running for Run The Line / Disneyworld Marathon / Donedea 50k i.e. the next 139 days!0 -
-
A week of dossing. To be expected after a target race I guess, and the (predictable?) arrival of a cold on Tuesday demotivated me even further and I ended up taking a couple of days off. But the main goal of the week was achieved - aches and niggles have subsided and I'm looking forward to the next phase of training.
The most interesting part of the week was the Laser Run event on Saturday in the park beside Swords Castle. Organised by Pentathlon Ireland and apparently the first such event ever in Ireland, it was an opportunity to have some fun running around and shooting lasers. It was reasonably well organised - certainly well funded as it had free water, medals, a load of marshalls etc. I guess people who put on a Pentathlon events are well used to having to be well organised. It was also sponsored by the local council, and was part of a buildup to the Laser Run World Championships which are being held in Smithfield next year (presumably not on the cobblestones), so we'll probably see a few more of these events. I strolled down to the town with the family in tow, got registered and did some practice shooting, which got easier the more I did of it, and I did a 5 minute warmup. The course itself was actually on the grass, and the ground was starting to turn a bit mucky in places, so it was going to be a bit of a re-introduction to cross country running. I was chatting to some Rivervalley parkrun organiser folks for a bit while watching the 13:30 race and spotted bungy_girl legging it around the course. After she was done and awarded her medal for finishing 2nd we nattered and watched the next race. I was supposed to be in that race, but there were too many people registered or something, so I was bumped to the next race. The race was easily won by a lad in a personalised Ireland singlet who is one of those people you can tell is a real athlete
Unfortunately me getting bumped to the next race was a bit of a mixup, and there were just 3 adults and a load of kids to go in the last race, which was also reduced to a 4x400m instead of 4x800m (though the kids were doing 3x400m). One of my competitors was a masters athlete who had already been racing but looked pretty good. The other guy was very nice, but also a bit auld and I didn't think he was a threat. So we got away, and the gun part went pretty well and I was in the lead of the adults. There were 3 kids ahead of me, but as ever kids start fast and I was sure I'd endurance them out of it. The lead kid wasn't even bothering to stick to the course, cutting it substantially at times (I was starting to suspect he may not have even hit the requisite 5 targets). I got some good shouts from my wife, bungy_girl and one or two of the organisers who were using the registration list to cheer on individuals, a nice touch. Nearing the end of the first lap my 7 year old kid decided to join in on the course, I tried to tell him to stop, but I was racing damnit! Second set of shots were completed fine and I kept my position, keeping an eye on the masters lad who was about 20 metres or so behind me. Third lap was a bit of a blur and when I was at the shooting for the last time I wasn't sure whether it was the last time, and the masters guy had caught up with me so we were shooting around the same time and I had to ask him if this was the last lap. Thankfully he didn't lie, so I put down the hammer a little in the last lap (though really I'm sure I was slowing down on each lap, grass is energy sapping!) and I gloriously finished in 1st, nearly knocking down a kid at the end who was finishing at the same time. My time was 7:01, the course may have been a little short but felt long enough 'cos of the grass and mud etc. Overall my shooting went well enough, I missed maybe 5 or 6 shots - all that training playing Lethal Enforcer on my MegaCD many years ago finally paid off
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
25th September|9.2 miles|8:32|Easy run home, not particularly sore though still a little tired from the HM
28th September|9.6 miles|8:07|Commute home with a bit of a cold
29th September|10.2 miles|8:14|See yesterday
30th September|1.7 miles|?|Laser running!
1st October|15.1 miles|8:15|2 hour long run, though a sore tummy ruined the last few miles. Passed some wind and felt better but I was well out of my groove by the time that happened.
Total: 45.7 miles
September total: 232 miles
Next week: Will probably get to the club on Tuesday. Also probably in London on Thurs/Fri so will hopefully get in a tourist run.0 -
Advertisement
-
A decent enough and interesting week of running - hit pointless and arbitrary milage target, got out to the club, some tourist running, a decent long run and a crappy parkrun (can't win 'em all I guess).
I made it down to Irishtown on Tuesday and joined the marathoners on a so-called fartlek session of 3,4,6,8,6,4,3 minutes @ HMP with 1 minute recovery, around the track. The gang I was doing it with went out at slightly under 6:30 pace, a little fast for me but it was flat as opposed to the recent HM I did at 6:41 pace, so maybe it'd go ok? It didn't go ok - paces were 6:39, 6:27, 6:28, 6:32, 6:40, 6:47, 6:50, 6:32 (I guess I perked up after PaulieYifter gave me a bit of stick for being lapped ). aquinn said hi to me just as I was finishing the second last rep and I barely let out an embarrassed squeak of recognition. Some day I'll have a good session on the track!
On Thursday I was off over to London and brought some gear along. I did an easy 30 minutes around Shoreditch, where I was staying, finding a park and nice canal to run along. In the morning I did an easy run down to the city, dodging vast amounts of commuters and taking in a few of the sights along the river etc.
Saturday's parkrun in River Valley was pretty miserable. I felt pretty good jogging over, but as soon as it started I knew I wasn't having a good day. My runners and soggy leaves conspired to make the surface very slippy and I didn't feel like I was running with a lot of power. Heading down the hill at the start I didn't have the heart to go all out, and the hill back up felt worse than usual. Second lap was more of the same, except I was completely isolated after 1st and 2nd pulled way ahead of me. I eventually finished in 20:31 or so, over a minute worse than my course PB not so long ago, and slower than my HMP pace a couple of weeks ago! Maybe I was tired from the previous two days' travel and associated drinking etc., not particularly upset or anything.
Finally earlier today I joined the Cru marathon folks for a bit of their long run. It generally went well, paces were very conversational and it was a nice morning to be out in the park nattering away.
I've been having a bit of FOMO with DCM approaching, and it got even worse on Saturday. I was in the Phoenix Park playground at the Visitor's Centre with the kids, and happened to meet the lady who I ended up running last year's 3/4 with (probably one of my most enjoyable runs ever!) and had a good catchup and chat. She was running it today again. Bah.
Date|Distance|Pace|Notes
2nd October|9.1 miles|9:05|Commute home.
3rd October|8.5 miles|?|Cru "fartlek" session on the track with the marathoners.
4th October|10 miles|8:38|Commute home in autumnal drizzle
5th October|3.5 miles|8:46|30 minutes around Shoreditch in the late afternoon.
6th October|6.6 miles|9:17|An hour around rush-hour central London.
7th October|8.8 miles|?|To parkrun, the parkrun, back from parkrun.
8th October|17 miles|8:05|Cru long run in the Phoenix Park.
Total: 63.7 miles
Next week: Along the same lines, except probably with less excitement.0
, well done B delighted for you. 
Advertisement