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2018 - Cad Atá Amach Romham? (What Lies Ahead?)
From a running point of view, the first four months of 2018 will I expect be broadly similar to those of 2017. Slight difference at the beginning though, as I'll be easing my way into it with a double parkrun on New Year's Day, as opposed to chasing a fast time in the Tom Brennan.
Once the exams are over in late April, then I can, assuming I'm fit and healthy, start picking out a few goal races. One thing I can say is that I've no plans to run a marathon in 2018. Subject to amendment of course
I like the idea of not having so much pressure on myself to prepare for one race. I'd like to try more shorter races, like 800s, but unfortunately there's a lot of work to do before I'm at a competitive enough level to enter those.
I'm on 85 parkruns as I type this. I aim to reach 100 at some stage in 2018, and also fill up the Dublin set again - currently three outstanding (Bushy, Father Collins and Poolbeg). No doubt more new ones will come on stream to delay this plan again
Thanks once more for looking in on the log. Hopefully there will be more good news stories to report here in 2018.
Happy New Year!0 -
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Wubble Wubble wrote: »2018 - Cad Atá Amach Romham? (What Lies Ahead?)
From a running point of view, the first four months of 2018 will I expect be broadly similar to those of 2017. Slight difference at the beginning though, as I'll be easing my way into it with a double parkrun on New Year's Day, as opposed to chasing a fast time in the Tom Brennan.
Once the exams are over in late April, then I can, assuming I'm fit and healthy, start picking out a few goal races. One thing I can say is that I've no plans to run a marathon in 2018. Subject to amendment of course I like the idea of not having so much pressure on myself to prepare for one race. I'd like to try more shorter races, like 800s, but unfortunately there's a lot of work to do before I'm at a competitive enough level to enter those.
I'm on 85 parkruns as I type this. I aim to reach 100 at some stage in 2018, and also fill up the Dublin set again - currently three outstanding (Bushy, Father Collins and Poolbeg). No doubt more new ones will come on stream to delay this plan again
Thanks once more for looking in on the log. Hopefully there will be more good news stories to report here in 2018.
Happy New Year!
Hello! Were we talking today? I didn’t like to ask in case it wasn’t you and was just someone I knew from parkruns generally! I thought it might be as I know you do porterstown, but I wasn’t sure. Sorry! If it was you, I know we’ve probably met before but I think it was probably during a race so I wasn’t quite sure of what you looked like etc. happy new year in any case!,0 -
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Hello! Were we talking today? I didn’t like to ask in case it wasn’t you and was just someone I knew from parkruns generally! I thought it might be as I know you do porterstown, but I wasn’t sure. Sorry! If it was you, I know we’ve probably met before but I think it was probably during a race so I wasn’t quite sure of what you looked like etc. happy new year in any case!,
Yes indeed Helen, you thought correctly more than one race over the years, but not for a long while.
Hope you enjoyed Porterstown, even if it was a bit chaotic. Fair play to eoinín for helping out with the finish tokens. We'd have about a third of that number most Saturdays. Happy New Year!0 -
New Year's Day - parkrun Double, Toil and Trouble
A nice bright start to the year, as I ran the 2 miles+ from the house to Hartstown Park for the first leg of this New Year double. quickbeam and Sheep1978 were in attendance. I started right at the back, and spent nearly as much time talking as actually running. 26:33 for this stint. However, I was dragging my left leg from an early stage, and ended up taking a lift to Porterstown, as opposed to running between the two as planned.
It took us a while to get the gazebo up at a very windy Porterstown, and between that and a record 220 runners, it was a bit crazy at the start. HelenAnne and eoinín travelled from Griffeen to complete their New Year double, and quickbeam doubled her parkrun tourism experiences. We added another centurion to our ranks - she had finished 99th in her 99th parkrun in Hartstown - and we'd also a lady reaching the 50 parkrun milestone.
Similar to earlier, except I started a little bit further up the field, and slowly picked my way through it. One of my clubmates was marshalling, so no pressure We were back to the old course this morning, so once I passed her for the last time, I picked it up well down to the finish. 23:45, almost three minutes quicker than my opening stint of the day, which I certainly wasn't expecting beforehand.
Hot chocolate and cake went down a treat afterwards, although the shuffle home didn't. Everything feels fine again now, but I'll have to look after myself well for the rest of the week, with the Masters on Sunday. Unfinished college assignments should take care of that :rolleyes: LOG!0 -
Sun 7/1 - Dublin Masters XC, St Anne's Park
Pre Race
For a lot of this week, I was limping around like I'd been put together with spare parts, and didn't run at all after the New Year parkrun double. Fair play to Wottle for directing me to a particular stretch on the race thread. Stretching, as well as foam rolling, is something (else!) I've seriously neglected of late. Had I not got that back on track, there's no way I would have made the start line today.
As it turned out, I arrived in plenty of time, although our entry of 8 ended up as 3. With none of us in contention for the individual honours, we were basically running for ourselves as a result. I had a chat with scotindublin beforehand, and to be fair, even after his recent layoff, he looked in far better shape than I did.
I had two basic goals for today.
(1) Improve on last year's position.
(2) Don't get lapped!
How to achieve these? Run hard. Concentrate. No waving at the camera. No acknowledging shout-outs (sorry!) No talking.
Lap 1
The course was actually in great nick, apart from the heavy start area, and the section as we turned around the bottom of the GAA pitches. I started near the back, clear of the cavalry charge towards the narrow section parallel to the finish straight. Once out of this part, I started picking my way through the field. I felt a lot better than I imagined, and with a nice pickup on the downhill took out about 8 or 9 in that section alone. I could hear Adrian getting shouts from various people as we approached the end of the lap, and eventually I pulled up alongside him on the finishing straight. I'm thinking, Ok, maybe I'm not in such bad shape today after all!
Lap 2
Emerging from the narrow tree lined section, I heard Marthastew give me a shout from somewhere away to my left. Two seconds later she gave Adrian a shout along the lines of "Keep it going Adrian, you can catch Wubble!", obviously unaware of what had transpired in Lap 1 Anyway, we were both making steady enough progress. I passed a work colleague along the bottom of the GAA pitches. He had finished ahead of me in Ososlo Park, so another positive. I got stuck in a bit of traffic coming down the hill, but managed to clear it before we reached the log, and at half way, I was working very hard but I still felt like I'd a decent bit left.
Lap 3
At the end of the finishing straight, I got a shout from HelenAnne. I can still hear Adrian's people shouting for him behind me, though they don't seem to be as close as before. Keep pushing! Still plenty more to pass, and I continued to make headway, especially on the turn back up towards the finishing straight. Our little club support group was on the corner turning into the straight - great for the motivation. Now I remembered one of my goals - don't get lapped! Where are the leaders? DON'T LOOK BEHIND YOU! MOVE! I could hear cheers getting louder. Was that them, or some particularly popular mid packer gaining on me? I picked up the pace a bit more, and chanced a glance over my left shoulder approaching the finish line. No leaders! One down!
Lap 4
The section around the bottom of the GAA pitches was tough on the final lap, as my energy levels were starting to wane, and one or two were now passing me. That said, I couldn't hear Adrian's supporters any more, and I managed to reel in a DDAC fella who passed me on the first lap. Coming up to the log, I clipped a tree root, and nearly came a cropper as I practically clambered over the log. I had to regain my composure quickly, because there were only a couple of minutes of running left.
Across the little roadway, down the hill. Caught up to a Cru guy who I remembered from Jingle Bells. Have to finish ahead of him here too. Donore and a couple of Sportsworld were in there, and I was gaining rapidly on a Clonliffer. I caught a DBRC man going down the hill, but he was still close.
Sharp left, not long to go now. I caught a few more, and started turning it up coming to the closing straight. Couple of hundred to go. Skyblue gives me a shout with about 150 left. Clonliffe then practically sprints away. As in, actually sprints. Wonder what his coach made of that. I got caught by a couple more as I tired badly in the final seconds, and Donore, one of the Bros Pearse, and another Clonliffer took advantage. Had I done enough to reach my other goal?
I was confident enough that I'd achieved it, especially as I got one or two unexpected scalps. But I would have to check the results website for confirmation.
2017: 219/261
2018: 204/280 Splits: 7:28/6:43/6:48/6:41
BOOM! Adrian came in not far behind, and shortly afterwards myself, scotindublin and skyblue had a quick chat. S was unconvinced about his own potential, but in 12 months time who knows :pac:
As for me, I'm delighted with that result. I'm happier with today's performance than any other since Docklands, especially having done so little training in recent months. It made for a much more satisfying drive home than I was expecting. Next up is the Leinster Masters, taking place in Dunboyne next Sunday. Thanks for reading! J.0 -
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OOnegative wrote: »Well done Dude, great racing & better result. Every right to be chuffed with yourself.
Thanks B, feels good to have pulled one out of the bag! It helped that I had last year's race as a reference point, as well as a number of individuals that I was targeting.Annie get your Run wrote: »Had pencilled this in put then totally forgot about it! Well done J, two goals achieved See you next Sunday Wubble Wubble
Thanks AM, welcome back! Two in the bag already this year, wow Can I match it on Sunday in the wonderfully named Cow Park?Great run, you were in my sights for a lot of it but could never reel you in. Great running.
Thanks A ! I certainly didn't expect to finish ahead of you, with so little work done. Nice run yourself, we were both well up on last year.Good man. I'm glad I started further up and didn't get in your sights!
Yes indeed, maybe another learning for me in relation to next year. Apart from the first lap, our splits were very similar, yet the last lap was the only one where I was (slightly) quicker.scotindublin wrote: »Great effort today J and good to catch up with you both before and after...look after yourself this week and give next weekend a good go.
From what I hear we don't have many going out to it.
Pity that, as similar to ourselves, it's probably easier for most of your guys to get to Dunboyne than St Anne's. This week will be similar for me in terms of "preparation", as I'm still behind on my assignments, which are due next week.Well done WW. Your report makes for great reading.
Thanks K, you're doing very well yourself. Glad you enjoyed itWell done J fantastic report good luck next weekend
Thanks N, they're easier to write about when they go well! 0 -
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MisterDrak wrote: »Well done J. A scant 11 seconds between us...
Might see you in Dunboyne
Yeah I'm up for another shot at that. Plus with it being a 3 lap course, the possibility of being lapped shouldn't apply. You're actually in one of the photos on our FB page, with me and that DBRC lad in the background. Not sure if it was taken on lap 3 or 4.0 -
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Wubble Wubble wrote: »Yeah I'm up for another shot at that. Plus with it being a 3 lap course, the possibility of being lapped shouldn't apply. You're actually in one of the photos on our FB page, with me and that DBRC lad in the background. Not sure if it was taken on lap 3 or 4.
Jesus , don't talk to me about the photos, the Mrs was slagging me this morning.
Not exactly looking my best
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Mon 8/1 - 3.6 miles @9:07/mi
Recovery around Carpenterstown.
Tue 9/1 - Rest
Final semester started tonight, with lectures every Tuesday from now till the end of March. Poor planning meant I had to sit through the lecture and then make my way home in wet socks, not having packed a second pair :mad:
Wed 10/1 - 4.6 miles @9:06/mi
A spin around one of the D15 loops that I've been running since I moved there. Hard to see through the fog. The Clonsilla roundabout wasn't for the faint hearted.
Thu 11/1 - Rest
One assignment completed, one to go!
Fri 12/1 - Rest
Had planned to go for a run in the morning, but instead we took my mother's dog to St Anne's Park for a walk, and after dropping her back home, we went away to mark my wife's birthday.
Sat 13/1 - No running
I'd contemplated going out for a few laps of Tír na nÓg, but by the time we got home I wasn't really in the mood.
Sun 14/1 - Leinster Masters XC, Dunboyne
I arrived at the station car park just before 12, to find it already so packed that all the spaces were gone. Loads of people just parked on the grass beside the perimeter fence. As it happened, there was a Sportsworld crew, including Adrian, parked just ahead of me, so we had a quick chat before I found my clubmates.
Everything was running a bit late, so even after getting a warmup lap, stretches and strides in, there was a lot of standing around. I caught up with a few non Boardsies, before watching some of the Masters women's race. The Boards legend that is Dubgal had a strong showing in 5th.
Onto our race. I said a quick hello to Mister Drak at the start, but although we've been close in these races previously, I barely saw him once the race got going, even allowing for all the twists and turns. On the first lap of the three, I was running fairly well, until I did the splits coming around one of the corners heading up to the back of the park. This meant that two Donore lads, one an old school classmate, the other a Porterstown parkrun regular, nipped ahead of me. Plus John Todd was on my shoulder, and I knew Adrian wasn't far behind either, as evidenced by the support we were both getting from Annie Get Your Run, at several points! So there was some bragging rights going if I had the game today.
Second lap was tougher again. I was doing my damnedest to hang on to the Donore duo and keep John behind, but I was seriously doubting being able to do this for the duration. The power just wasn't there. The final lap saw the lads pull clear. T had told me beforehand that he ran the Dublin Masters with the flu. That was the first time I'd finished ahead of him, in what's anything between 30 & 50 times running together between parkrun, BHAA and now Masters. Kind of took the shine off my achievement, although the record books don't mention any illness
I was still keeping John behind me, but this time Adrian would get the upper hand. With about 500 metres to go, he went past, and I couldn't stick with him. I did have another crack coming around to the finishing straight, but he was obviously anticipating me doing this, and sprinted ahead himself. John collapsed in a heap over the line, and took some time to recover, but he did manage to pick up a category first place. Another one!
As for me, 2017 - 138/159 (86.7%)
2018 - 144/158 (91.1%)
Time was 27:23, which was actually quicker than my Dublin Masters time.
Analysis
Not too much to analyse there really. I haven't been training! Even with warmup and cooldown laps added on to two races, I've still less than 30 miles under my belt this year. Hence, I can't get annoyed about not matching last year's result, or anything running related really. Before the race, my schoolmate told me he recently caught up with a classmate of ours, who'd had to get a hip replacement at 44. Just shows you how lucky we are to be able to run these races. Hopefully I've got a few more years left.
Next
I'm coming back to the BHAA scene, with the Eir XC taking place in Ballyboden on Saturday morning. I'm also making tentative plans to go to the National Masters in Galway, but I'll leave it till nearer the time before deciding on that one. Thanks for reading! J.0 -
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MisterDrak wrote: »Nice to say hello yesterday J. Pretty tough condition under foot, the course was well ploughed up by the time we got to it.
Anyway, well done, and I'm sure our path will cross again in the near future.
It certainly wasn't easy going. Tougher than the same course last year, and far more challenging than the gentle conditions in St Anne's. Due to a college seminar which clashes directly, I'll be missing the Raheny 5. I made my debut as part of the original Lord Mayor's 5 Alive Challenge in 2013, and have been delighted to return every year since. Education and life getting in the way of running :rolleyes:scotindublin wrote: »I wonder if there will be a WW v TF decider in Galway!
Another race under the belt J.
I don't think TF is going to the Nats; I certainly don't recall him mentioning it. I suspect it wouldn't be much of a "decider" anyway, as the race in Dunboyne showed that moving up an age category hasn't affected him in the slightest!
Adrian was still interested in heading West, so there might be a Boardsie showdown at least....even if nearly everyone else has had their tea/coffee and gone home by the time we're finishing :pac: in the meantime I'm just glad to get a run in here and there!0 -
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Mon 15/1 - 3.6 miles@8:33/mi
Similar to last week, around the Carpenterstown loop. Probably a bit quicker than I intended overall, as each mile ended up quicker than the one before.
No running for the next few days, as I had to prioritise getting my assignments completed and submitted on time. I'm pleased to say that I succeeded in this regard, and now there are no more assignments! All I have to do now is pass four exams in the second half of April :eek:
Sat 20/1 - BHAA Eir XC (5 miles), Cherryfield Park
Coincidentally, the last BHAA race I ran (Irish Life) was the day after the deadline for my previous two assignments. Perfect for a bit more stress relief, even though the rain was lashing down throughout the drive to race HQ at Ballyboden St Endas GAA club.
Days like this, everyone else thinks we really are mad. I paid up my annual membership, and then chilled out in the car for a while, before getting all my layers on for a warmup lap.
I hadn't ran this race previously. It's quite up and down, without any long uphill stretches. Even before the women (including laura_ac3 from these parts) went through for their lap (2 miles total), there were a number of very heavy sections where you really had to dig in just to get through the slop. Having eventually ditched the creature comforts, I got a couple of strides in before we were called to the start. I told a friend beforehand that I'd be delighted with a top half finish. No harm being optimistic every once in a while :pac:
Lap 1
I started a fair bit back, but had made up a few places as we passed the finish area before descending into the first of the very heavy sections. Just a little bit ahead, I spotted a young lad in some club GAA jersey wearing runners. Dearie me. My extra grip through here was to my advantage, as I passed him out along with a few others, before the route narrowed approaching a very sticky uphill. A few places ahead of me, a guy went on his ar$3. There were quite a few fallers around the course, including one of my teammates - in the background of one of the BHAA Facebook photos, you can see a lad (not my teammate) coming a cropper.
Anyway. I remember passing Vincent Clohisey and one or two others along this section, where it levelled out a bit and the grass was firmer before coming downhill and heading along the northern edge of the park. Overall, happy enough. One of my teammates was with me for a lot of this lap, but he began to drop off as I set my sights on the lead JDES runner. Our teams would usually be close enough, so this seemed realistic. I'd better grip than his trail shoes, and moved ahead of him just as we turned onto the start/finish straight.
Lap 2
A clubmate who I hadn't expected to be here at all was supporting, and was actually in several spots each lap. Not as vocal as AGYR or aquinn, but very positive and encouraging nonetheless The sticky uphill section early in the lap nearly brought me to a standstill, but I got good traction on the way out. I was holding my position overall, as although one or two were passing me, I was picking up a few who'd gone out too hard too early. Even so, I was doubting if I'd have the legs to keep this kind of tempo going in such heavy ground, with no sign of the rain easing either. Just keep pushing and we'll see what happens!
Lap 3
The guy ringing the bell is a fellow Porterstown parkrunner. Better maintain this effort for the last lap! It's really starting to hurt in the sticky sections, especially on the fast downhill parts trying to maintain balance and overall control. I decided to hold tempo as best I could and then see if I could pick up the pace around the last two fields. I was gaining on a group of three or four ahead, and even turning onto the start/finish straight for the last time, I thought I might catch the fella on the end. I got into something vaguely resembling a sprint, and although I was closing, it wasn't happening quickly enough. I knew I was being chased as well, and managed to keep it together and hold off my two pursuers. The chap who fell in front of me on the first lap was the closest It took me a minute or so while I sat down and got my breath back, and my legs were feeling very tired, not to mention covered in muck. The conditions were considerably more challenging than last week's race in Dunboyne, let alone the Dublin Masters on the accommodating terrain of St Anne's.
For comparison purposes, the nearest thing I had was last year's BHAA 5 mile in ALSAA, as the Irish Life was a combined race.
ALSAA 2017: 76/131
Eir 2018: 71/132 (36:22)
So an improvement there all right, and a much better than anticipated performance. Something else surprised me on uploading the result to Strava. Apparently I ran this at a faster pace than either of the Masters races. I know we normally take XC times with a pinch of salt, but this was over a longer distance, on much heavier ground. I reckon that suggests there's plenty of improvement to come, once I get fit and training again. Warmup and cooldown brought it up to about 7.5 miles for the day, before I filled up with coffee, brack and biscuits, then drove home to wash all the mud off.
Sun 21/1 - 4.0 miles @ 8:56/mi
A long night of poker, with the obligatory beer and pizza, meant a late start for my recovery run. The rain had continued to lash down, so by the time I arrived at Porterstown, there were a number of lakes along the tarmac path. No matter. Straight through we go! The club juveniles were coming to the end of their training as I was shuffling around. Not one of them flinched going through the water. Great stuff. Three laps of the park was more than enough, before I headed home and got out of (more!) wet clothes.
Next
There's one Sunday afternoon of college left for me to sit through. Guess what it clashes with :mad: So while the rest of ye are enjoying the Raheny 5, one or two might spare a thought :pac:
Instead, I'm thinking of giving the 800 or the mile a crack at the NIA Live meet on Thursday night in Abbotstown. Might see some of you there. Thanks for reading! J.0 -
Mon 22/1 - Rest
I went to the club AGM for the first time. Compared to some of my GAA club's AGMs over the years, it wasn't too long or drawn out, and I avoided being added to the committee.
Tue 23/1 - Work/college
Wed 24/1 - 3.5 miles @8:41/mi
Carpenterstown loops again, but this time I'd a (faster) neighbour for company. I also dared to throw in a few strides on the second lap.
Thu 25/1 - NIA Live, National Indoor Arena, Abbotstown
I'd planned to run up from the house, but was talked into getting the bus to the Blanchardstown Centre and running the rest. Just as well. You might think they're right beside each other, but even after cresting the hill from the N3 bridge and entering the campus, there's still a fair bit left. 1.7 miles in total, nearly half way to Finglas!
Even so, I was there nice and early, and had plenty of time to get my bearings and walk, talk and warmup with Adrian, Murph_D and Dubgal, as well as non Boardsie clubmates who were there. Until I saw the track for the first time, I hadn't realised just how much of a slope there was.
I watched the 800 and 400 metre runners power around, before we were called for the mile races. Sub 5:10 (including my clubmate who'd run the 800 some 40 minutes earlier) were in the first race, which left 12 of us in the "other" race. I took a position just behind the line the others had made across the track, and with that the gun went and we were off.
The first two laps didn't feel too bad, through one in 43 seconds and two in 87/88. I was in 7th, behind two girls (both Sportsworld, as I later found out) but ahead of D and Adrian. Three laps in, I was struggling to come up for air. Lack of speedwork showed as D emerged from my shadow early on Lap 4, and there was no chance of me staying with him.
On lap 5, it was Adrian's turn. Again, despite prompts from my clubmates, I had little in response, and continued to go backwards from there to the end. The leader lapped me going down the back straight on my lap 7, and as Dubgal powered around the final bend towards her second place finish, she lapped me while doing so. I was barely staying on the track as I struggled to keep my legs going. The final Sportsworld runner got comfort from this, and overtook me heading around the top bend. Eamonn was catching me as well, but I held him off to finish in 10th out of 12, in a time of 6:14 (as timed by my clubmate).
It's my slowest ever mile run (6:03 PB), but again I can't be disappointed with that result. If I'd been training for anything at all, then I'd have a right to be annoyed. As it turned out, it just showed who's been training the last while and who hasn't. No hiding on a 200 metre track Very enjoyable experience nonetheless, and I'd recommend you head up and give it a try if you haven't already. For me, next up is a return to the BHAA, with the Garda XC next Saturday.
J.0 -
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