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Playing the Numbers game: Sub 5;10;17;36;60;80
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Back in Black wrote: »Leave my narrow arse out of this
was looking forward to catching up. Next time:)
He couldn't leave my fat ass out of it either
TbL0 -
ThebitterLemon wrote: »He couldn't leave my fat ass out of it either
TbL
Jaysis at least phrase it right, it's your "auld fat arse".0 -
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Not to annoy you anymore but you would have flew it today plenty to run off.
Tbh I was in no shape to race today - I spent over 6 hours driving yesterday in horrible conditions and wasn't home til near midnight. Not ideal prep for a goal race but yeah having people to run off would have been nice as looking at previous years results i might be running on my own for long parts next Sunday.
Great running from you today - I will be sticking that in my diary for next year (2 weeks before so I remember to register of course
) 0 -
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Monday 30th: Rest
Was in Dublin for the day so took advantage of that to go to the Run Hub and treated myself to a shiny new pair of Adrenaline 16's as I think some of the knee soreness is related to last pair being knackered (after 350 miles).
Done plenty of foam rolling and icing the knee especially after over 3 hours in the car and knee felt fine even after a circuits class.
November total: 166.25 miles
Tuesday 1st December: 5 easy @ 9:41 avg pace
Treated the new runners to a very gentle 5 mile easy run with company. Deliberately kept the pace slow to keep an eye on the knee and thankfully there was no issue on that front. Still iced and foam rolled to be on the safe side. Heading out to do a wee bit of speed work in a few minutes once MrsBinB is back from triathlon training (sitting in a room on a turbo with other people on turbos cycling nowhere!) 0 -
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Belleek Woods 10km
Belfast last weekend was meant to be my 10k sub 38 attempt but that wasn't to be so decided that this one might do the trick, instead. Course looked favourable with a nice fast finish through Belleek Woods. This time yesterday I was still unsure as to whether I would make the start line, given the weather conditions, but got all the preparations done and set the alarm early to check traffic reports and make sure the race was still going ahead.
Woke an hour before the alarm went off and knowing there was no chance of getting back to sleep, I got up and checked the conditions of the roads and there was confirmation that the race was going ahead. After reading here about the poor communication issues with Clonakilty, it was nice to see the constant updates on facebook from the race organisers. Had the breakfast and got a nice wee boost when I saw the weather forecast for Ballina - perfect running conditions. Decided to hit the road to allow extra time in case of traffic delays due to floods.
Journey was smooth and uneventful and I was down in plenty of time so drove the course as far as where it entered the woods and was happy I had a good idea of what I was facing. Parked up and done a few laps of the new track in Ballina and also done a quick recce of the last 2km of the route which confirmed that it was a nice fast finish.
Was still a bit early for registration but headed there anyway and got registered and had a good chat with the organisers - I think they were well shocked that someone drove from Cavan to do the race. Got my number and was on my way. Got loads of time to do stretching and was feeling more prepared and ready to go that I had for any race before. That was until I noticed that everyone else had an ankle chip (except me that is!). Even that went smoothly as one of the ladies doing registration was walking about with a chip looking for me so was sorted straight away.
Race start went smoothly and I lined up on the front row. Seemed to be a few quick Sligo AC lads doing the race but hard to judge the depth of the field and there wasn't too many club vests in evidence. I was aware that I could be out on my own for a lot of this and thought I was prepared mentally for this. While waiting for the start was chatting to another runner but he said he would be happy just to get around. My plan was simple - run 3:48 the whole way around and see what else was there on the final 2km or so on the downhill.
Race went off and resisted the temptation to tear off and by about 400mtrs in could count 9 people ahead of me. Caught up with the guy who was happy to get around just before the 1k mark (3:43) and ran beside him for a while before I figured he had started too quick and was struggling so moved on and focused on the next runner, who was the leading lady. Knew this would be a tough km from the race profile and my recce of the route so just focused on closing the gap with the leading lady and was just on her shoulder when the 2km beeped for 4:03. Some quick maths told me I was 8 seconds down but wasn't worried as I knew this was the tough part of the course.
Passed the leading lady with ease about 2.5km in. I really didn't want to pass her as I knew it was open road with a huge gap to next runner but she seemed to be going backwards so I passed her and slowed down hoping she might try and latch on but that didn't work either so just headed on. Turned onto the main road shortly after and into a bit of a wind. 3rd km beeped at 3:51 and again was ok with that as knew it could easily be made up on the last few km. The next km or so was horrible as I could see the next runner about 400mtrs ahead and he was widening the gap and was looking strong. I was running slightly uphill and into a bit of a wind so was happy to see the turn off from the main road just before the 5km mark. I was, however, getting concerned that the effort into the wind had taken a lot out of me. I was starting to feel the hurt and was puffing hard. (3:53;3:56). Done some quick maths at the halfway mark which told me I was 24 seconds down on my sub 38 target but that was no big deal as the nice part of the course was still to come and I was still on for a PB even if sub 38 wasn't there.
It would be easy to make excuses about what happened next but that would be a complete cop out and I had 2 hours in the car on the way home to examine what went wrong. I went around in circles so it's best just to be completely honest. I bottled it big time - no excused, no injuries - it started to hurt a wee bit and I just threw in the towel. Simple as that, I passed the water table and when I went around the corner I just started walking. I couldn't give a crap that I had driven half way across the country for a race or that I was in 7th place and was actually doing ok. It started to hurt a bit and I just gave up - allowed self doubt to flood in and started feeling sorry for myself.
Thankfully I heard another runner coming at some point and decided to latch onto them once they were about 10 metres ahead of me. Managed to latch onto them until the last km but was not in a good head place and it was just sheer frustration that kept me going to the 9k mark. (4:18;3:49;3:54;4:04)
As we hit the 9k mark the guy ahead sped up a bit and I'd love to give a happy ending and say that I gritted my teeth and reeled him in or that I gave him a great battle and he just pipped me to the finish line with a powerful kick but I stayed with him until about 300mtrs to go and when he kicked for home, I started to feel sorry for myself again and just let him have it. He finished well ahead of me and I was just relieved to cross the line - disgusted to see 39:35 but as has often been said about this sport - you get out what you put in. I got what I deserved from this race!
I done a quick jog back to the car and changed the gear - couldn't even face going back to the hall. I drove 100miles just to lie down the minute the going got tough so decided to leg it home and put up the Christmas tree with the kids. Was in Longford before I turned on the radio in the car as I was having too good a time wallowing!!
Anyhow, it's done now and there are no excuses. The weather was perfect, my training had been good and the body was fresh and raring to go. The race was really well organised and could not be faulted in any way. Yes, it was tough running out on my own but it still doesn't excuse the complete capitulation.
I was weighing up my options (including taking up chess) and I am determined to put this right - I have a sub 38 10km in me and I will keep doing them until I hit that target and beyond until I get it right.
Will let the dust settle and come up with a target race(s) with coach in the next few days.
Onwards and upwards!
Weekly total: 26 miles0 -
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