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Leader Of The (Mid) Pack
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Maybe not all easy? As I've often commented here, these plans are subject to amendment
Tue 4/6 - 7.96 miles @ 8:49/mi
Easy pace, in the sense that there wasn't nearly as much variance in my mile splits. Brutal evening for it - dark, wet, and pretty cold for the time of year. Not so bad once I made the effort of getting out the door. Fairly standard Laurel Lodge - Castleknock - Triangle - White's Gate - Castleknock College - Carpenterstown loop.
Wed 5/6 - Club session, Porterstown Park
After roughly 2 miles of a warmup including strides, this evening was 4 x 4 1/2 mins (2 min rec) around the grass track. In other words, a step up from 4 x 4 mins last week. Dreading this beforehand. Luckily, I was in the middle rather than left behind, and I had Ronan (first time sub 20 in BH) for company for most of it. Final rep was funny, as R blasted by me, seemingly forgetting that we still had a lap or so to go Right, I'll make him pay for that :pac: Couldn't quite get him back though! It took me a minute or so to catch my breath at the end - in a way a good sign, as I haven't worked that hard in one of these sessions in quite a while. Not such a bad thing to feel a bit of pain! Cooldown brought it up to about 6 miles or so for the night.
Thu 6/6 - 7.84 miles @ 8:38/mi
Not entirely unlike Tuesday's run. This time, I entered the Park at White's Gate, did a loop of the Furry Glen (reverse of the way the races normally go) and back out White's Gate. Running 6 of the last 7 days, so felt a bit tired at the end.
Fri 7/6 - Rest
Sat 8/6 - Porterstown parkrun
This would be a bit of a fact finding session. Firstly, I wanted to see if a longer pre parkrun warmup would help me, so I ran about 2.2 miles instead of the usual 1.6 (basically, adding the far field to the parkrun lap).
For the parkrun itself, for the first time in a long time, I decided to give it a decent bit of welly, with Docklands in mind. Lined up at the front, but not going crazy early on. I was somewhere between 15th and 20th finishing the first lap, as there were a few people ahead who in my mind were doing paces which they couldn't sustain. One of these was a chap in a Kildare jersey. Yes of course I had him in my sights and I made an easy pass at the base of the shorter drag on Lap 2, not long before half way. I passed some others too, and I still had plenty of energy for the last lap - working hard, but not quite at full tilt. I was a bit fortunate in that I had people to chase for most of this - not always the case in Porterstown. Strong finish coming down the hill, for 10th place and 1st M45 in a time of 20:50.
First reaction when I heard the time, I was, shall we say, underwhelmed :pac: However, thinking about it afterwards, it wasn't so bad. Whatever way you try to sugarcoat it, parkruns aren't races, and Porterstown is nowhere near as easy a course as it looks. An example. One of our lads went sub-20 in Docklands last year, in what was just his second 5k race. Since then, he's had numerous attempts at cracking sub-20 in Porterstown, so far unsuccessfully (20:02 twice).
I think the longer warmup helped me here. It's my fastest 2019 parkrun time (better than Tyrrelstown) and best in Porterstown since my century run last August. With 20 min pacers in Docklands, and people to chase and be chased by for the full distance, I haven't given up hope on bridging what is now a nearly 2 year gap since my first and only sub-20.
Sun 9/6 - 9.54 miles @ 8:21/mi
Beautiful weather for this. We'd a big crowd at 8:45, as we set off on the trails. Most were going at a pace (7:45ish/mi) which I and two others had no interest in trying to hang on to, so we tipped along at 8:15/8:20 pace until the Acres Road, when one of the lads headed for home. Myself and Ronan carried on at 8:25 or so across the 15 Acres, past the Magazine Fort and over the Munich hills, till we reached Chesterfield. There, he went left and I went right, so I had 4 miles or so alone at around 8:35/8:40 pace. It suited me to slow down a bit more anyway, as there's a busy week on the horizon! 37.5 miles or so this week, which I think is my highest this year.
Next
The Irish Runner 5 Mile is the main thing next week. Surely I can beat a 5 year old PB (34:08, Terenure 2014), can't I ? Before that, I'm planning to run the BHAA trail race at tempo effort on Wednesday. The week ends with me pacing 30 mins in the Castleknock 5k next Sunday. Hope to see some of you on my rounds! Thanks for reading. J.0 -
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Yeah I totally get that J, even though I've never done the Porterstown Parkrun OR entered a 5k race (hoping to put that right by entering the Docklands 5k).I have made several decent stabs at sub-20 Parkruns only to either fall just short or just about pull it off. It's definitely a strange one. But like you say (and as is drummed home every Saturday morning by the RD) "it's a run, not a race"........
Thanks K, I'd say you've a very good chance of a sub-20 Docklands. All those early starts show the motivation is there. You're welcome to Porterstown any timegood luck at the Irish runner 5 mile
Thanks N, getting close now!
Mon 10/6 - Rest
Tue 11/6 - 5.73 miles @ 9:49/mi
Ok, so I intended to go slow. Maybe not THAT slow.
I went up to Porterstown for this. Place was packed,between little MSBers training along with soccer, GAA, and the usual plethora of dogs and walkers any evening when there's good weather.
Stopped on the first lap, to chat to a clubmate who I hadn't seen in a long time - so long that he congratulated me on the captaincy End of the second lap, I'm running by the car park when a little child runs towards her mother, with a dog about 12 feet away from her on one of those "invisible" leads. Of course, I ran into it, and it took ages to free me from the lead, which had wrapped around my leg while the dog growled at me. Left a fair aul mark too (the lead, not the dog) :mad:
Thankfully, as I was still boiling over that episode, a clubmate came down the hill, and she then turned around and joined me for a long lap. Spotted Sheep with his Dunboyne crew, getting ready to set off on their loops as I was leaving. Miles in the bank tonight, if nothing else.
Wed 12/6 - BHAA Trail Race, Phoenix Park Rest
It's been five years since my one and only attempt at the trail race, and the course has changed quite a bit since then. I've all the paraphernalia with me today. Almost all.
Unfortunately, I didn't think of dusting the cobwebs off my spikes. Earlier today, I was thinking back to a session I ran on the grass track in Porterstown in March, when the grass was heavy and soaking, and I had no grip in the runners. I was only planning it to be a progression run anyway, so I'll leave it to others to slip and slide their way around. Irrespective of pacing/progression runs/whatever, officially running four races, with just eight days between the first and last, may not have been the wisest course of action. Instead, I'll do a few easy miles tomorrow, instead of it being a rest day, as was originally planned at the start of the week. Onwards!0 -
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Thu 13/6 - 4.95 miles @9:06/mi
Easy pace in St Catherine's Park. Even so, I ducked out of doing the short loop. Probably enough in the bank at that stage - that hill at the bottom of the park always takes a bit out of me, regardless of pace.
Fri 14/6 - Rest
Sat 15/6 - Irish Runner 5 Mile, Phoenix Park
Pre Race
I've run this race every year bar one since 2013, with my course PB of 34:23 set on a scorching hot day last year. Today was somewhat different. The Friday night monsoons had passed, but there was still a bit of a breeze around as we warmed up on the Furze Road. Only a PB (currently 34:08) would do this morning.
I hadn't actually registered for the National 5 Mile, but jumped in near the front with the rest of our lads anyway. Bit of a delay waiting for the all clear, and eventually we were off.
Mile 1
Downhill on Chesterfield Avenue for starters. Pace was high as we approached the Phoenix Monument. From last year, I remembered that we would be turning left Continental style, so kept to the right, as Ronan and Bernard were in my sights to the left. Before I even got that far, I sensed that my lace was undone. Our lady captain won the GIR this year, despite having a similar issue. Bit more crowded where I am. Hmmm. As I moved through the field, passing a lot more than being passed, I was becoming more conscious of it, and doubting whether I'd be able to manage for another 30ish minutes. Coming up to the 1 mile marker on the North Road, I spotted skyblue on the side of the road. No shout out?! Appalling I guessed correctly that his lady must have been in the vicinity, so he's off the hook. For now :pac:
Anyway, the lace issue wasn't going to go away. Too much risk of me or someone else standing on it. Very reluctantly, I pulled in at the side of the road and did the needful. F0CK.
Mile 2
How much time did I lose over that? Before the pitstop, I was behind a Lucan runner and Stephen W from Bros Pearse. Looked up the road, and they were maybe 25-30 seconds ahead. Sh!t.
The wind was strong and in our faces, as we turned away from Ashtown Gate and down the hill towards Castleknock roundabout. Having lost the group I was tracking, people I passed were either (a) people who passed me while I was relacing, or (b) people who went too fast at the start. Nobody any use to me, I thought, so I was basically working on my own.
I was still maybe 200 metres from the roundabout, when I saw the Claw turning onto OS Road, having already completed the down and up on Chesterfield. It was a training run for him, as he won unopposed in 24:xx. Meanwhile, I passed Tom F for the second time as we approached the turnaround point at the 2 mile marker. He was just trying to finish this one, so no point in attempting to bring him with me.
Mile 3
It may sound barely possible in a 5 mile race with over 1200 runners, that you could end up running by yourself here. Well that's basically how I found myself for most of this mile. Left onto OS Road, with the wind in my face again, and nobody to tuck in behind, as I was alone about 75-80 metres behind a group of about 10. I managed to pull in one or two of those as we emerged from the dip at the start of Knockmaroon Road, but not really feeling like I was making a great deal of progress.
Mile 4
Definitely feeling the burn in my legs, as we dropped down the hill into the Furry Glen. Bernard had been going backwards for quite a while, and I finally caught up with him at the lake. I tried to bring him with me, but he was clearly struggling (illness, as he told me later) so that wasn't going to happen either. At least I had a few people to run with, as I passed one or two others on the hill coming out, and there were more to target, as I got away from that awkward hairpin bend and started trying to push for home.
Mile 5
I picked the racing line through the twisty Upper Glen Road, making up a place or two by doing so. 1k left as I turned home. Don't know how she managed to spot me, but our treasurer (also running) did so from the other side of the crossroads, and gave me a shout. I didn't feel quite as chipper as I may have looked. Pick it up, last few minutes. Not too much too soon. I can see Sinéad T and a fella from BP up ahead. Passed one or two others. Clock is on 33. No way. Gone into 34. I'm still not over the line! Can't catch S. And I cross the line, and I know I've failed. 34:20, which is 12 seconds slower than my PB. The pitstop proved to be the difference :mad:
Post Race
Just when I thought I was finally going to crack it, one of the stupidest things that could go wrong, did. Unbelievably frustrating, and what's more, as I type I haven't seen or heard of any good 5 milers in or near Dublin, to give me another crack at it. It may sound bizarre considering, but I'm actually feeling more confident about Docklands as a result. The 5 mile PB was definitely there, and I didn't feel remotely spent after it.
Sun 16/6 - 7.54 miles including Castleknock 5k
This was my first ever time to pace a race (paced 23 mins in Porterstown parkrun once). After a recovery/warmup in the grounds of Castleknock College (4.44 miles @ 9:19/mi) I was nervous about getting rid of people too quickly.
I shouldn't have worried. I banked a bit of time on the downhill first mile, and gradually dialled it back, leaving plenty of room for manoeuvre with the hill in the last km. Lots of pacees successfully got under 30, and I got a good few compliments afterwards, which was nice. FWIW, 29:59. Plenty of grub at the finish, to give me energy for the walk home of course :pac:
Next
Docklands 5k on Thursday. Sub 20. Come on. Bring back the old magic! Thanks for reading. J.0 -
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Ah that’s so annoying about your lace. Well done though. Good luck in Docklands.
Unlucky with the lace. But you said you felt great after so maybe not just the lace at fault here?
Super pacing job this morning - hope there was no ‘mickey dazzling’ involved (that’s what we call a slow last couple of hundred meters to wind down the clock.) :pac:
See you Thurs.0 -
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career move wrote: »Crap about your lace
At least the form is clearly there though. Best of luck in the Docklands 5kAh that’s so annoying about your lace. Well done though. Good luck in Docklands.Unlucky with the lace. But you said you felt great after so maybe not just the lace at fault here? Super pacing job this morning - hope there was no ‘mickey dazzling’ involved (that’s what we call a slow last couple of hundred meters to wind down the clock.) :pac:
See you Thurs.
Thanks guys, yes, really annoying, but it also brought a couple of other things into focus later on. Looking back, I certainly could have made more of an effort to catch the group on OS Road - it usually helps to have people to work with, especially into the wind. To use a poker analogy, I left it too late to go all in - from the 4 mile mark or before really was the time, especially when I knew I was probably still behind. If I could still smile with a km left of a 5 mile race, the effort levels weren't what they should have been - and the fact that I'm sitting here in absolute comfort, two days and 7 1/2 extra miles later, tells you that there was plenty more there.scotindublin wrote: »Sounds like plenty of positives to take from yesterday; in great shape heading into the Docklands 5k.......go out there and give it a good lash.
On the flip side, the fact that I ran 34 so "easily", would suggest that a sub 20 is very doable on Thursday. Check everything before setting off!OOnegative wrote: »
Great stuff B, and also thanks to Bluesquare, who linked it elsewhere on this site. So it seems I may yet have a chance of 5 mile redemption
As it stands, I'm planning to have two shots at beating a weak (71:33) 10 mile PB, set in Kilcock last year. These are the Irish Runner 10 Mile (July) and the Kilcock 10 Mile (August). If I can go to Bettystown, I'll ditch the IR10, and leave all my 10 mile PB eggs in the Kilcock basket. I haven't paid for anything yet.Nicely paced J! Not much of a requirement for pacers at our Griffeen Parkrun but I wouldn't mind giving it a shot for 24/26/30 if they ever put the call out.
The times you give would be easy for you. In my own limited experience, runners are usually very appreciative when pacers are around, especially when it comes to parkrun (I ran St Anne's once when pacers were in action). In relation to 'mickey dazzling', I was there a few seconds early, however this gave me the opportunity to encourage the pacees downhill to the finish :pac: Could have done with wearing a cap or visor though - not all the photos are particularly favourable :rolleyes:0 -
Thats a shame about the lace, as you said one of the most simple things that could go wrong, we will have to get you velcro racers!
Its definitely there for you, you were revved up beforehand and all, another crack with the laces checked and your good to go. 0 -
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Thats a shame about the lace, as you said one of the most simple things that could go wrong, we will have to get you velcro racers!
Its definitely there for you, you were revved up beforehand and all, another crack with the laces checked and your good to go.
Cheers D, nice to catch up beforehand, and great to see you starting to clock up the miles on Strava again! The Velcro racers were mentioned once or twice, in among all the stick I got afterwards :pac:so annoying about the lace I have had that happen once during a race I actually never wore those runners again
Good luck on Thursday its there for the taking
Thanks N, I wouldn't *quite* agree with that sentiment, certainly I'll have to work hard to get it. Straight ahead, no talkingWell done on the race, unlucky with the lace opening but these things happen. It's better that you're in good shape and capable of hitting those PBs. Best of luck Thursday, enjoy it.
Thanks T, it definitely showed that I'm *capable* of hitting them. Promises to be a great event, especially if the end result is similar for meaverage_runner wrote: »Wouldn't consider your 10 mile weak unless you get stronger the further you go?
The year i ran 19:38 for 5k, i got 33 flat ( very annoying) for 5 miles in Dunboyne. I broke down after that with a hamstring injury.
Dunboyne 5 miler is a great route for a pb.[/QUOTE]
I'd actually be the opposite with increasing distances. My 97 min half marathon PB (from 2016) is also poor IMO.
My PB is 19:43 from that Docklands race, yet although there's only five seconds between our 5k PBs, there's over a minute's worth of deviation in a tiny bit over 3k extra :rolleyes: So a 6:50 average for 5 miles, in my case drops to 7:09 over the 10. Like I say, there's another PB that can definitely be hunted down.
I've run the Dunboyne 5 twice, but not very well on either occasion, blowing up in Mile 4 both times to end up in the 35s.
I tell you what, I'm amazed that nobody has suggested that I run the Clontarf 5 mile in July. Either that, or the more attentive (longer suffering?) readers among you have guessed (correctly!) that I won't ever be going near the summer editions of that HM (or 5 mile) again :eek: In the meantime, I look forward to seeing some of you before and/or after Docklands. Thanks for reading. J.0 -
Wubble Wubble wrote: »Cheers D, nice to catch up beforehand, and great to see you starting to clock up the miles on Strava again! The Velcro racers were mentioned once or twice, in among all the stick I got afterwards :pac:
Thanks N, I wouldn't *quite* agree with that sentiment, certainly I'll have to work hard to get it. Straight ahead, no talking
Thanks T, it definitely showed that I'm *capable* of hitting them. Promises to be a great event, especially if the end result is similar for meaverage_runner wrote: »Wouldn't consider your 10 mile weak unless you get stronger the further you go?
The year i ran 19:38 for 5k, i got 33 flat ( very annoying) for 5 miles in Dunboyne. I broke down after that with a hamstring injury.
Dunboyne 5 miler is a great route for a pb.[/QUOTE]
I'd actually be the opposite with increasing distances. My 97 min half marathon PB (from 2016) is also poor IMO.
My PB is 19:43 from that Docklands race, yet although there's only five seconds between our 5k PBs, there's over a minute's worth of deviation in a tiny bit over 3k extra :rolleyes: So a 6:50 average for 5 miles, in my case drops to 7:09 over the 10. Like I say, there's another PB that can definitely be hunted down.
I've run the Dunboyne 5 twice, but not very well on either occasion, blowing up in Mile 4 both times to end up in the 35s.
I tell you what, I'm amazed that nobody has suggested that I run the Clontarf 5 mile in July. Either that, or the more attentive (longer suffering?) readers among you have guessed (correctly!) that I won't ever be going near the summer editions of that HM (or 5 mile) again :eek: In the meantime, I look forward to seeing some of you before and/or after Docklands. Thanks for reading. J.
And yet when we go to your 10 mile and half you are 2 mins faster than me. Now i did most my 10 milers in Phoenix park over 6 years ago, Kilcock was a disaster for me, ie 76 mins!!0 -
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That last KM was a form of torture that kept on giving :eek: I had to slow considerably along there as the heat was making me very lightheaded. Well done that's still a fantastic result!!!
You'll have to continue your investigations to find out who the second shout was from. Was sorry I couldn't hang around but had to get home to Woody. 0 -
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Great detailed report as usual J. Never bumped into you to say hello
Thanks D, and well done on your PB.
Surprised I didn't see more from here around the place, between bag drops, marquee etc. Your gang were flying in Porterstown on Tuesday btw.Annie get your Run wrote: »That last KM was a form of torture that kept on giving :eek: I had to slow considerably along there as the heat was making me very lightheaded. Well done that's still a fantastic result!!!
You'll have to continue your investigations to find out who the second shout was from. Was sorry I couldn't hang around but had to get home to Woody.
Thanks AM, it did get fairly warm all right, but I don't think that was the reason for my fade. Certainly it wasn't remotely as fierce as Clontarf. Too lazy to chase up the source of other shout(s) this evening I was quite focussed by my standards, hence I didn't pick out so many on the "other side".Dubh Geannain wrote: »What was the official distance? I'm hearing it might have been slightly over the 5k.
Edit: Nice report by the way!
Thanks, glad you liked the report. Happier ending next week maybe! Not sure of the distance, as I usually race without a watch. I'm old school like that, as well as oldI'm very impressed by this...
it must be very satisfying to know you left everything out there even if the time wasn't what you hoped for, it'll make it all the sweeter when you get it
Well done.
Thanks E ! One of the stewards took some photos near the end, including one of me giving it the full works. Just wasn't there, in terms of pace. Effort levels were much higher than my at times parkrunesque workrate in the 5 mile, which is encouraging for future races.OOnegative wrote: »Well done J, not the result you were hoping for but its a solid run and one that will stand to you heading into the summer running season.
Great stuff B, like I alluded to above, I'm happier with this performance than the IR5. Something (else) has to go right in terms of PBs.scotindublin wrote: »Still a very solid effort J and one that will definitely stand to you in Kilcock next Friday.
Thanks C, great call by yourself in relation to this. I definitely recall you getting a PB in that race one year, as did Adrian, IIRC. Looking forward to it!J, I've received my fair share of "chin up" comments today as I imagine you have. Hope you've gotten over your disappointment enough to realise that you still ran a very respectable time. Best of luck next Friday!!!
Absolutely K, I'm over it. Not everything is just going to fall into your lap, in spite of best efforts. So it's all good, and in just a week's time I'll have another crack at it. Fingers crossed that everything will click into place.
Nice to catch up with you again. Hopefully you won't have too long to wait for another sub 20 attempt. If no races fit into your schedule, possibly St Annes parkrun could be worth a try? Pacers last Saturday of each month, including sub 20.0
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