PB or not PB...that is the question

Cartman78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119582694#Comment_119582694

Thanks for the feedback.

Re: the Garmin times - I have very little faith in them to be honest...I suspect the 5K and 10K times may be in scope but far less confident over the longer distances.

Still they are a metric based on my training load and other inputs so I keep an eye on them as mildly interesting data points.

Re: Marathon plan -

Not following a specific plan....just (trying) to take a common sense approach that works for me in terms of injury avoidance and family/work commitments....over a week it will take the form of:

1 or 2 * Short easy runs ~ 10-12K

1 * Intervals/Hill Repeats

1 * Tempo (18K)

1 * LSR

I was doing pretty well until recently but the kids returning to school, activities, shorter evenings etc has put the squeeze on big time...it looks like the tempo run is the one that's most in danger tbh

Cartman78

WEEK BEGINNING - 05/09/2022

77K for the week - all good in the hood :-)

The main goal of this entire training block was to stay injury and illness free and it’s going ok so far.

Started the week off with a decent set of 8 x 800’s - ran them all fairly comfortably at ~4:10 pace.

Back on the bike Tuesday for a 60 min blitz, and then a solid 10K tempo on Wednesday (@4:25 pace).

Thursday was another gloriously rain-sodden easy 8K at lunchtime.

The clammy head returned on Friday for my split tempo session - was tight for time so had to limit it to 16K….went out easy-ish in 37 mins and back fairly hard-ish but comfortable in 33 mins.

Felt great I have to say but that will sadly be my last run in my beloved Nike Tempos….noticed a small crack in the sole a couple of weeks ago and it’s only getting bigger so they’ll be going back to Nike HQ for a refund this week. Very annoying but they’re a fabulous shoe imho…not sure if I’ll chance getting another pair yet tbh.

Took a rest on Saturday - back coaching with the juveniles after summer break so great to see a decent turnout for training.

Up at the craic of dawn on Sunday for LSR - could hear the rain pelting down from the bed so despite my love of running in the rain, this was going to be rough.

Had the porridge and hopped in the car to UL - did 10K around the campus and Annacotty, then looped back to the car for a gel and some water. Headed off then towards the city with the miles clocking off nicely at 5:25ish km pace.

The rain was bucketing down big time but I barely noticed it after a while tbh - met a fair few other runners out as well so lots of knowing glances exchanged along the route.

Felt strong all the way - had another gel at 22K and drove on the pace a bit down to 5 min k pace for the last few. For once I planned/estimated my route properly in my head so didn’t have to do a bunch of laps to make the distance at the end - had a lot more running in the legs but stopped the watch at 35K (3hr 3mins).

My longest run since 2019 marathon and my longest training run since April 2012.

No injuries, niggles etc to report but have some of the worst chaffing I’ve ever had - did a good smattering of Vaseline beforehand but missed a few key areas….I think the fact my gear was saturated was the main problem :-( Still though….could have been worse I guess…better it happened now than on the big day.

This week might be tight for time again but not a whole lot I can do about it really so will have to make do - will be similar to last week I think…will try to inject some more PMP miles into the LSR next week.

Garmin Bullsh1t Predicted Times Update:

5K - 18:31

10K - 39:02

Half Marathon - 1:26

Marathon - 3:10

Cartman78

WEEK BEGINNING - 05/09/2022

Bit of a strange week - only 3 runs but mileage just about within tolerance for me (66K)

Still feeling pretty good overall - avoiding injury is still the key metric for me this time around.

Was feeling a bit leggy on the Monday after the LSR so did a recovery cycle.

With half an eye on Charleville and tight for time at lunchtime - Tuesday was a solid 10K effort at PHMP.

Nada on Wednesday due to work/family shenanigans but had pencilled in some time for myself on Thursday evening.

Popped on the Vaporflys and headed out for a 20K tempo in fading light - had set it up as 5 x 4K with the 4K (split into 1K easy-ish and 3K hard-ish). Went really well despite running the last 2K in the dark nearly.

Felt grand on the Friday and contemplated a few easy miles but didn't want to push it so hopped on the bike instead.

Faced a similar choice on Saturday - was busy in the morning and afternoon with soccer matches and juvenile athletics training but had a window for a few easy miles in the evening - again, decided to give it a miss with LSR looming (and had to cut the lawn anyway lol)

Out again early yesterday morning in UL - perfect conditions, no rain or wind, probably around 10-12 degrees. Did a similar route to last week but ran slightly longer than planned (36.4K) due to route miscalculation. I've never ran that long before in training and happy to report I felt grand throughout - ran slightly faster than last weekend and did a few spurts of PMP but nothing too structured tbh.

Bike 18K

10K @ 4:18 pace

20K Tempo (mixed pace) 1 hr 27 mins

Bike 22K

36.4K LSR 3 hrs 06 mins

I might pump the breaks a wee bit this week in terms of sessions/tempo runs - will probably do some easy short stuff and a couple of cycles.

I hadn't planned on a taper for Charleville but it might be no harm to take it a bit handy at this stage anyway.

Not yet 100% sure on my strategy for Charleville (or the DCM itself tbh) - I think I'll race as honestly as I can without wrecking myself...might throw in a few easy miles after as well if it goes well.

Garmin Bullsh1t Predicted Times Update:

5K - 18:31

10K - 39:02

Half Marathon - 1:26

Marathon - 3:09

DeepBlue

I always assumed that those bullsh1t garmin predicted times just worked off whatever it determined your vO2max was but comparing yours to my own they clearly use some other metrics also. Your predictions are 40s faster than mine at 5 and 10K, 2 minutes faster at half but six minutes slower at full.

I'd just be curious why the algorithm wouldn't predict a faster full time for you. (But obviously I wouldn't waste too much time thinking on it 😄).

Cartman78

I think the 5K and 10K times are probably accurate enough, not so sure about the Half (will find out on Sunday!) and deffo not confident about the Full....I think I'll be on the limit at 3:15 tbh.

I'm not a huge fan of the marathon distance fwiw...I like every distance up to and including 10 miles... everything beyond that can be a bit of a grind as I prefer running fast.

My v02 is 57 which apparently is in the top 1% for my age (44) 😂 and Garmin also gleefully informs me that my fitness age is 20 (!!)

Anyway, I take all those metrics with a gigantic pinch of salt

DeepBlue

It seems I'm also in the 1% club (woohoo!) and have a fitness age of 20 (those average 20 year olds must be really unfit!!)

Yes, it's all boll0cks but I still check it religiously 🙈

Cartman78

A quick midweek check-in...

Deffo feeling a bit tired this week so not too bothered about the lower-mileage/intensity few days I've had so far....did 8K recovery on Monday, bike on Tuesday and another easy 8K yesterday.

Today is shaping up to be a rest day so might do some stretching/core stuff later on - my slightly stiff Achilles could do with a bit of a rollout too...might do an easy 10 miles tomorrow maybe or a cycle depending on how the legs are.

Was looking back at my stats from 2019 and tried to diagnose my relatively underwhelming 1:33 performance in Charleville (after running 1:29 in Limerick earlier that year) - I have vague recollections of managing a bad Achillies flare up and the numbers probably reflect that.

For the period from August 1st through to September 22nd in 2019 I ran 25 times for a total of 260K

For the same period this year I've been out 31 times for a 443K (!)...a fairly whopping difference of 180K.

So that's actually given me a boost ahead of Sunday - I'm going to give it a decent lash I think....a PB should be in scope but I won't go too far in to the red zone if it's not coming relatively comfortably

Cartman78

WEEK BEGINNING 19/09/2022

So to continue from my midweek update above - I was still feeling tired as the week wore on. The training has become a bit of a grind lately tbh but not long to go so just need to stay focused if I can.

Did a solid tempo session on Friday (12.5K @ 4:30 pace) and felt fine but the aches and niggles seemed to be surfacing a bit…..not sure if this was some form of mild taper madness or what but I hit the foam roller, heel drops, stretches, ice packs etc fairly hard on Friday and Saturday.

So had an early night on Saturday ahead of the trip to Charleville.

CHARLEVILLE HALF MARATHON 2022

Landed in to Charleville around 8:45am and already felt like I was late - could see plenty of runners milling about, some doing extended warmups and others probably getting a few miles in to transform the day in to a LSR.

I’d considered doing something similar but had no real conviction to do extra miles either before or after the race tbh.

Parked up the car near the graveyard, got my number, chatted to a few people, back up to the car and listened to a podcast for a bit and then did a short-ish warm up.

The weather was shaping up to be perfect - cool, dry, light wind - a big change from the clammy humidity of 2019.

Made my way to the start line still unsure of my exact racing strategy and target.

There was loads of pacers but for some reason they all decided to squeeze in to an area 20-30 yards near the start line so it was fairly congested, and there was lots of people who were far too near to the top.

So I hung back and we set off - the first 500m were mainly getting past people and not trying to getting blocked in.

Made contact with a fairly large pacing group and initially wasn’t sure which one it was as the balloon was flapping about widely. Got closer and confirmed it was the 1:30 group.

Settled in to the pace fairly easily but quickly got a bit agitated by the crowd - made a dart off to the side to get some space and somehow ended up right beside the pacer and the balloon bouncing off my head lol. Not where I wanted to be at all so I increased the pace a bit and pulled out in front of the group.

Settled into a nice rhythm after that and the sounds of the pacing group (mainly fellas coughing, snorting, and the melodic tune of carbon plated shoes slapping off the tarmac) started to fade away.

5K - 20:46 (4:07, 4:09, 4:11, 4:07, 4:11)

I wish I had a load of interesting observations and insights to make but Charleville must be one of the most boring courses in Ireland - can’t really remember anything from the next few miles other than I was feeling good :-)

5K-10K - 21:01 (4:09, 4:14, 4:14, 4:10, 4:12)

Was feeling very comfortable as the race came into Kilmallock, popped a gel and also got a good boost off a bunch of supporters from my club who were stationed at the end of the town. As we turned left and passed the water station I injected a bit of speed - not quite a kick for home but I was feeling good so knew a PB was on the cards if I could keep it up.

Started to pass a good few people in this section - there was a fella on my shoulder doing the same thing….”We’re moving nicely now” he said in a Cork accent and I couldn’t disagree with him :-)

10K-15K - 20:28 (4:03, 4:04, 4:08, 4:03, 4:06)

I was really cruising now - absolutely no clouds on the horizon. My previous PB from the Limerick Half in 2019 had been a bit of a mess in hindsight - was with a pacing group but fell off it completely and even had to take a brief walking break iirc.

Anyway myself and the Cork guy were flying it now, passing out a good few people as the miles ticked by.

15K - 20K - 20:03 (4:09, 4:05, 3:56, 3:58, 3:53)

Normally this would be the point where the doubt starts to kick in I guess but I was only thinking now about how much I was going to break my PB by and maybe the Garmin Bullsh1t Predicted times weren’t so crazy after all :-)

There was a couple of hills to navigate in this section but I barely noticed them - I’ve only experienced finishing a race strongly a couple of times before really (the Dungarvan 10 Mile in 2012 probably the standout) and it’s a great feeling.

20K-Finish (3:55, 0:35)

My Cork buddy pulled away from me in the final km but I didn’t mind as I was still passing people out.

Sprinted from the gate in towards the finish line and was a little disappointed to see the race clock ticking past 1:27, but quickly remembered that I was slow starting due to the congested start so a quick glance at the watch confirmed my finish time and new PB of 1:26:49

Pretty chuffed I have to say :-)

Mr. Guappa

Congrats on the PB. Love that feeling of strength at the end of a race and moving past runner after runner.

Dubh Geannain

That looks like a terrifically paced race. Congrats on the PB

Kellygirl

Congrats. That’s a great race.

Laineyfrecks

Congrats on a great race & shiny new PB 😊

Lazare

Fantastic running, huge congrats. You ran it so well.

You mentioned upthread not being confident of better than 3:15 in DCM. This obv changes that?

Cartman78

Thanks to all for the kind words....in a weird way I think keeping this blog has helped me improve a bit as well over the last few months...I seem less likely to go off and do something stupid 😂

@Lazare - as a running buddy pointed out to me last night, speed has never been a problem for me as such, but endurance definitely has so I'd be still cautious about tackling a marathon too aggressively.

Having said that, Charleville has deffo given me a confidence boost so somewhere around 3:10 could be in scope.

It's essentially 4 x 45 minute 10K runs (and a couple of km added on at the end) which doesn't sound too bad to me atm 😬

Anyway back to reality....booked physio for next Monday evening...could do with a bit of a general loosen out and have a slight tightness in my lower quad/knee which might need a bit of needling

ariana`

Only catching up with this now. Super run, congratulations. A nice little confidence boost ahead of DCM too.

So it seems the auld Garmin knows you better than you thought, interesting.

Cartman78

WEEK BEGINNING 26/09/2022

Didn't have too long to bask in the glory of a half-marathon PB - happy to report zero after effects of my efforts in Charleville....not sure if it's due to the shoes or the gluten free diet....possibly a combination of both. A run like that in the past would have led to something like 4 days of extreme foam rolling and ice packs.

Anyway - took a non-running day on Monday and did 20K on the bike as recovery.

Followed that up on Tuesday with a comfortably paced 10K at something approaching PMP (~4:30 per km) - felt great and no signs on Sundays race in my leg whatsoever.

I did notice however a slight increase in tightness in my left knee/lower quad/hamstring - it's been bubbling along for a while but the extra training load seems to have pushed it into the upper realms of a 'niggle'. I booked in a physio appt for tonight so hopefully a rub out and maybe some needling might sort it out.

Had virtually zero time on Wednesday but managed to sneak in a slow 4 mile at lunchtime.

Thursday went sideways too in terms of time - ended up going out around 9pm in the village and ran in the two places with street lighting.....basically a 300m stretch of a hill near the soccer pitch, and a 500m straight flat bit down by the tennis club. So did 5 Hill Repeats at a easyish pace followed by 10 x 400m at something like 70% effort....not the most productive workout at this stage maybe but was just glad to get out and moving tbh.

Did a 12K tempo on Friday (55 mins) - still feeling good generally...ideally would have done a few more km but time was once again my enemy.

Got my flu jab on Saturday morning and spent the rest of the day feeling fairly wiped out on the couch playing Mario Kart with the kids.

Was still feeling a bit groggy yesterday morning as I dragged my ass out to UL for my LSR - I must have zoned out completely for it as the miles drifted by....nothing major to report really, ran it slow enough and didn't bother with any marathon pace sections (35K in 3hrs)

One more LSR to go - hallelujah!

Not sure when I'm going to do it yet though - it might actually be next Saturday afternoon/evening as I'm tied up with Juvenile XC on Sunday.

So 73K for the week which is relatively high for me - just need to grind it out for another week before I can focus on tapering.

Was reading up on tapering the other night and was wondering why none of it seemed to ring a bell - and then it dawned on me that I've never actually made it to this stage of marathon training before without my 'plan' being in absolute tatters.

Anyway hopefully the physio can sort me out tonight - only 27 days to go!!

Garmin Bullsh1t Predicted Times Update:

5K - 18:31

10K - 39:01

Half Marathon - 1:26

Marathon - 3:08

MooShop

Haha, got a chuckle from your wording of the Garmin predicted times update!!!

It has crazy times for me, I'm nowhere near the times they have for me.

5k - 18:04

10k - 37:29

Half - 1:22:53

Marathon - 2:53:05

Some crazy times there seeing as my 10k PB from June is 42:43 and first half and fastest of two was 1:37:30ish. That marathon time for me is laughable!!!!

Cartman78

Well it seems my predicted times went from wildy optimistic to spookily accurate over the space of a few months, I must actually read up on how they're calculated some day when I literally have nothing else to do.

Got on great last night at physio....been going to the same person for years so she was actually pleasantly surprised at the condition of my legs :-)

Got a good loosen out of the quad and calves anyway, so it's still full stream ahead. Won't run today though...will hop on the bike for a look lunchtime blitz instead.

Booked in again for another rub down on the 20th to help combat the inevitable taper madness

MooShop

Here's a little blurb from their support page on it:

https://support.garmin.com/en-IE/?faq=HUB4yrzJkg1BbgmozWkBm7#:~:text=The%20watch%20will%20use%20the,refine%20the%20race%20time%20estimates.

Cartman78

WEEK BEGINNING 03/10/2022

A confluence of random events (mainly work commitments, physio, possible flu jab hangover and Mrs Cartman being away at a corporate awards gig for 2 nights) meant that my taper kinda inadvertently started a week early.

Did an easy 8K recovery on Monday and then went to physio for a general loosen out that evening - I've been going to the same physio for years and she's seen my in all states so I think she was genuinely surprised/shocked by what (relatively) good shape I'm currently in :-)

Anyway no major issues to report and booked in again for a couple of weeks.

Hopped on the bike on Tuesday for a spin and was feeling a bit stiff and groggy - not sure if it was a response to physio or a delayed reaction to the flu jab. The arm where I got the jab was a bit sore/heavy and just ended up with a relatively easy wheel around in the lashing rain.

Wednesday was a very comfortable 10K at PMP; was completely boxed in on Thursday so didn't do anything.

Had planned a long-ish run on Friday but time got the better of me again so ended up doing a mid-paced 10K.

Saturday morning and afternoon was a mix of underage soccer and juvenile athletics training - I knew as well that Sunday morning and afternoon were going to be write-offs as well (Juvenile XC and a birthday party) so there was only one thing for it.....a Saturday evening LSR!!

To say that I did not enjoy this run would be a gigantic understatement - I was already tired starting off and in hindsight I should have probably picked a different route. Went with my normal Sunday morning route which is normally a sedate mix of parents out with prams , the odd dog walker and light traffic. Not quite the same picture of tranquility on a Saturday evening :-(

Gangs of young lads supping cans and smoking doobies, along with throngs of people in cars behaving like complete a-holes. Ended up retreating to UL and doing endless mind-numbing loops and laps....I must have ran over the Living Bridge about 5 times lol!

Anyway - I ground out 32K somehow and have never felt so relieved to finish a run tbh - I think that outing will probably be a tougher challenge than the marathon itself.

So it's now officially taper time - will probably end up doing something similar to last week with a shorter LSR (20-22K). As mentioned in other posts here and on the Improvers Thread - this is new ground for me....normally 3 weeks before a marathon I'd be scrambling to get lost miles into the legs or wrapping myself in bubble-wrap and arriving completely undercooked on the big day

Garmin Bullsh1t Predicted Times Update:

5K - 18:28

10K - 38:57

Half Marathon - 1:26

Marathon - 3:07

Cartman78

Sigh.

On antibiotics for a kidney infection 😩

Not feeling too bad but haven't been right for a few days and woke up this morning with an all too familiar pain in my lower back.

Maybe not the worst time for it to happen I guess (as long as it doesn't linger)....any earlier and I'd have missed some key runs/sessions

Cartman78

WEEK BEGINNING 10/10/2022

So the first week of taper started grand....a solid mid-paced 10K on Monday, regular spin on the bike on Tuesday followed by another comfortable 9K on Wednesday.

Thursday was a scheduled rest day and then it all went t1ts up.

In hindsight I hadn't been feeling 100% for a few days probably....my sleep had gone haywire for a few nights and a few aches and pains were surfacing.

Woke up with a pain in my lower back/side so went to GP on Friday morning....really hope it's just a kidney infection (as opposed to yet more kidney stone shenanigans) and that the antibiotics do the biz asap.

So spent the weekend mooching around the house, googling things like "running a marathon after antibiotics in first week of taper" 🙈🙈🙈

Anyway, will see how things go I guess 🫤

Kellygirl

Hope all works out ok.

Cartman78

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119754091#Comment_119754091

Cheers... I was really bummed out last week but getting more philosophical as the days tick by

Kinda glad I raced properly in Charleville now 😂

Kellygirl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119754644#Comment_119754644

Assuming it’s just an infection you’ll be well over it on time for Dublin.

Cartman78

Chanced a very gentle 5K today to see what sorta state I'm in...it was more of a mental exercise tbh.

Felt ok all things considered - still have a bit of twinge in my side but so addled now I'm not sure if it's muscular or what 😵‍💫🥴

Anyway doing lots of stretching etc and sleeping much better so fingers crossed yet again

Cartman78

WEEK BEGINNING 17/10/2022

So followed up that tentative 5K with a couple of walks (🙄), and then a not too shabby ~MP 7.5K on Thursday, a slow 6.5K on Friday and then a mid-pace 16K yesterday.

Not feeling too bad after the infection/antibiotics I think - energy and sleep quality back to normal levels.

Main concern atm is a tightness/ache in my left knee/quad/lower glute that is annoying me a bit.....never had an issue there before so not sure what the impact will be next weekend so will be rolling and stretching it as much as possible over the next few days.

Other than that it's all systems go....looking forward to the weekend, it'll be the first time the kids are coming up to cheer me on so hopefully i'm not a limping hot mess when I pass them by 😬😬😬😬😬

Anyway, my next update here will be a race report I guess !!

Cartman78

Last "run" done and dusted 🥳

It was a very gentle and sedate 5K on the flattest section of road near me....an exact copy of the run I did on Tuesday 😂

No major aches, pains or niggles to report although I am battling a severe dose of taper madness 😵‍💫

Prediction Time - I should be able to bang out a solid 3:10 I think...I'm fully expecting the last 5 miles to be gruelling, but (recent kidney infection shenanigans aside) this is BY FAR the best shape I've arrived at leading up to a marathon

ariana`

Best of luck on Sunday, I hope you have a great run after your solid block of training.

Kellygirl

Best of luck Sunday. Hope it goes really well.