Chapter 2 - Finding Nemo

OOnegative

Best of luck tomorrow, run well!!

Wubble Wubble

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Today I'll do a 20min shakeout and some strides.

Tomorrow is race day. 10k again. Always enthusiastic when it comes to my favourite distance. Hopefully less muggy but let's see what the race brings and we'll go from there. Nothing specific in mind apart from doing myself and my training justice. Buddy of mine running too. He's in the middle of personalized McMillian plan for DCM which has been interesting to dissect. Road trip early in the morning and then back to the family for some quality time with wife and baba. It'll be weird not having her there. Good memories of her giving out to me for not bringing a backup watch last year. Lol. The finish line in Killarney is very good as it funnels and has spectators on both sides. God knows what state I'll be in once I get to that point.

Sounds very promising P. Better IMO that you're not setting your heart on a particular time, just get out and do it. Best of luck.

Kellygirl

Hopefully see you tomorrow P. Best of luck with it.

eyrie

Good luck tomorrow! Hope it goes well for you. Looking forward to the report

coogy

Yes, good luck tomorrow! Enjoy!

Huzzah!

Good luck tomorrow. Run well!

ariana`

Best of luck P.

Swashbuckler

Run Killarney 10k Race Report

Not sure where this race report will end up but let's see where it goes. I rarely start out these reports with a clear idea of what I want to say.

So back to the scene of my first sub 40 in 2017. Time ran last year was 37.50 ish. I had a good feel for the course (at least I thought I did). I recalled the terrain in the park was bad and there was a lot of jumping on and off the path to pass some of the jaunting carts and half marathon runners.

Set the alarm for 6am. Woke at 4.30. Not a good start. May as well get the excuses in early. Haha. I had a terrible sleep on Thursday night and by Friday night I was wrapped in blankets feeling cold to the bone and wrecked. I hoped a good night's sleep would sort me. Waking at 4.30am wasn't ideal. But anyway. Got up at 6am and had the usual breakfast. It's the one complaint I'd have about Killarney 10k is the early start. Breakfast at 6am is tough! Who's hungry at 6am! Myself and my buddy hit the road at 7.45am. Nice little road trip from Ballyheigue to Killarney. I could feel on the drive down though that I was just wrecked. This is not meant to come across as any sort of excuse but it just ties in with explaining why I felt the way I did during the race (these reports are as much for my own clarity than telling everyone how it went). We landed in Killarney around 8.45am and headed to the Gleneagle for a toilet break. We decided to head off for a warmup at 9am. Saw the winner of the half marathon coming home in 68mins. A Bruff lad. Some quality runners in An Brú these days. Warmup was fine. Threw in some strides. Interrupted somewhat when I met one of the Bruff lads I know. Stopped for a quick chat. He recently ran 14.50 5k. Yikes. He ended up winning the 10k yesterday.

At this point I ran into one of Luke's prodigys who was on holidays in Killarney. We had planned to meet up. Had a good chat with him. Nice fella and he's running very well. He was targeting sub 37. He recently ran sub 5min for 1 mile and did very well at the Day of 5k pbs too. Would've been happy to chat to him about running all day but alas we had a race to run. I didn't go into this race with a specific target. I guess in my mind I wanted to reproduce something not too far off the Ennis run at least to show some consistency. Running a one off brilliant time is easier than running consistently well I think. But I was racing the race that presented itself. I've also had a very good 5k block and I feel the results lately haven't necessarily done it justice. In hindsight I need to be more patient. As Luke said, the results will come.

With all my chatting I found myself three or four rows back at the start which isn't where I wanted to be. A sign maybe that my head wasn't in it. Countdown from 5 and off we went. I took off quick to try and get a good position. It still amazes me the people that push up to the front. I guess it's important to be in the photos! After a few hundred metres I settled into a nice position and let the pace settle a bit. First mile had a couple of drags which I had forgotten about. Nothing overly eventful in the first mile. Found myself tucked behind a group of three and going well. First mile clocked at 5.48. I was very happy with that. I think that's the best first mile I've put in for a 10k and I was feeling OK. Not uncomfortable atall which is exactly where I want to be after mile 1. Mile 2 had a few more drags. Nothing awful but definitely noticeable. It was in this mile I think mentally I struggled a tiny bit but I tried to maintain focus on the group ahead. I started to close up on on of them and tried to keep the effort level up. Mile 2 clocked at 5.59. I was a little disappointed to see that. Again I didn't feel physically bad. My breathing was fine. But mentally I was struggling to push on. We entered the national park into the rough terrain and it was here I made a conscious effort to try and push past a couple of the lads ahead. I was surprised by a stiff breeze in our faces. There was no sign of it out on the main road. Couple of big bumps here too.There was a lovely big downhill chunk here too which I enjoyed immensely. Haha. Mile 3 clocked at 5.56. A little better but mentally at this stage I just wanted to stop. I wasn't anywhere near feeling as bad as I have in other races but just feeling a little defeated or something. I still can't put my finger on it to be honest. It was just a meh kind of feeling. There was no drive in me. At this point we started to link in with the half marathon. In terms of the 10k I had two target lads up ahead. Mile 4 was kinda uneventful. Still the feeling of wanted to quit. I used the usual tricks to keep me going and they worked. Firstly I convinced myself to make it to the 9km sign and stop then if I want to. And secondly my missus was at home minding the baby. She had her all week as she was down in Ballybeigue and I was at work in Limerick. I really didn't want to be quitting when I could have just stayed at home and given her some well earned downtime. So I kept going. Mile 4 clocked at 5.57.

This section of the race can be a little annoying. The jaunting cars are a bit of a pain and there's a lot of zig zagging around the half marathon runners. What I will say is that they were a lot more aware of their surroundings than last year. In fairness I only had to leap off the path once. One of the downsides to linking with the tail end of the half is it gives you a false sense that you're running well. I wasn't. I was passing a lot of people but I wasn't going as well as I could. Mile 5 clocked at 6.04. Can't really explain that split which sums up the run. Into the last mile and passed the lad ahead of me. He didn't respond. Went out onto the main road and passed the 9km sign. Well I'm not stopping now. The negotiation worked. Haha. Pushed on a bit for the last km. Hit 5.40 pace for a good chunk of the last 600m and by no means wrecked. Tired and working but not ready to collapse like I usually am at the end. Last mile clocked at 6.00 and 5.40 for the bit. Finished in 36.44 official.

Luke's Tallaght buddy crossed the line soon after. He found it a little tough too. In fairness to him he was on holidays for the week. Never easy doing a race in the middle of holidays. Still ran a good pb though! My limerick buddy that I traveled with smashed his pb. The McMillian marathon plan is working for him! We had further chats and went to get our medals and t-shirt and said our goodbyes to Tallaght lad. I spent the next five minutes looking like a weirdo in search for a blonde lady called kellygirl with bib number 359. No luck so we hit the road. I say we hit the road but we spent the bones of an hour trying to get out of the car park. I was shattered on the drive home. I showered and ate when I got back and slept for half an hour. Could've slept for longer but had to get up. Wrecked tired. As always Luke was there with sound advice and comments.

So there you have it.

The Good
1. It's a good time. I'm not under any illusions it's a decent time by any standards.
2. I kept going when I wanted to stop.
3. Sub 37 was target for the year in January. I'm pretty happy I could run that regularly on any reasonable course now.
4. It's a good result on a bad day. To pull out a decent result on what was clearly an off day is positive.
5. Before the race I would have said the last two months block of training has shown the single biggest development in my running than anything previous. I feel different. I feel better, faster. I feel like my form has improved. I have more of a spring in my step in the sessions. The hill sprints have really helped as has the addition of strides twice a week. One "bad" race won't change that. So it's important to remember that.
6. Not really a positive but just a statement that no long journey is without bumps in the road.

The Bad
1. There's the obvious lack of sleep and general tiredness which I can't really do anything about. Just bad timing. I'm hoping my mental state in that race was a one off.
2. My nutrition of late hasn't been good. Since the second week of my holidays I have lasted a bit. In particular snacking on sweet stuff like biscuits in the evening and one too many drinks with the holidays, the wedding and even last weekend. I fully understand we all need to live our lives and that's fine. But if you want to choose biscuits and bad snacks and pints then you need to accept the results you get. I'm not willing to sacrifice progress in running for those things so from now on it will be addressed. I'll still have the odd pint and treat but not to the level I have been the last few weeks.
3. How on earth did I run 36.04 in Ennis? In all seriousness the time yesterday actually ties in pretty well with all my other distances. Ennis seems a massive outlier in terms of too fast.

To finish on a positive I am running well and the progress is there. One bad day won't change that for me and my long term goals remain the same. I'm starting to see a bit more of the tempo/HM specific stuff starting to appear in my weekly training which is great. The speedy stuff is great but it needs to be mixed in with the other stuff too. I think I'd run myself ragged otherwise. So I'm happy to be building up some strength again.

I still love the 10k lads!

Kellygirl

Well done Swashbuckler. It is a great time and glad you know that yourself. Great to be pulling that out too on a day you don’t feel at 100%. That kind of shows then consistency is there.

I’d say we just missed each other somehow. I did think yesterday for my last 3 miles that it must be hard on the 10km people coming through into the back of the slower half marathon people. I hopped onto the grass a few times in that section as it was to pass people. I found you needed to be careful too with the tracks from the jaunting cars. Easy enough to twist an ankle I’d say.

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote:

I’d say we just missed each other somehow. I did think yesterday for my last 3 miles that it must be hard on the 10km people coming through into the back of the slower half marathon people. I hopped onto the grass a few times in that section as it was to pass people. I found you needed to be careful too with the tracks from the jaunting cars. Easy enough to twist an ankle I’d say.

It was much better this year. And I'd never get too annoyed coz they're working as hard as me. It's just tricky at times. At one stage a car came against us and I had to go right around. I'm not sure if I'll do it next year. There's a 10k next weekend just down the road in Ardfert so if thats an annual thing I might try that. Can't fault the organisation of Killarney tho. Great buzz around the finish.

ariana`

Great report as always P. Sorry to hear it was a bit of a meh race for you. It's great that you can still identify quite a few positives from it including that it was still a good time.

Swashbuckler wrote: »

I still love the 10k lads!

Love this last line, isn't it a great place to be when you do what you love and even an off day doesn't shake the foundations

Swashbuckler

ariana` wrote: »

Great report as always P. Sorry to hear it was a bit of a meh race for you. It's great that you can still identify quite a few positives from it including that it was still a good time.


Love this last line, isn't it a great place to be when you do what you love and even an off day doesn't shake the foundations

Cheers E. Feeling better today. I was exhausted all weekend.

That's very true. I have faith in the process!

Kellygirl

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Cheers E. Feeling better today. I was exhausted all weekend.

That's very true. I have faith in the process!

It’s the most shattered I’ve been too in a while. I think small kids and then the early start was tough - a lot tougher than I expected.

eyrie

Sounds like just one of those days really, which is unfortunate when you were hoping for better but you've had enough good days (and will have plenty more) to put it in perspective, as you're clearly doing. Congratulations all the same, it's still a great time and plenty of positives as you've highlighted.

Swashbuckler wrote: »

I still love the 10k lads!

Good to hear - you'd have had us all worried otherwise! :P

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote: »

It’s the most shattered I’ve been too in a while. I think small kids and then the early start was tough - a lot tougher than I expected.

I can understand why they start early but for me its just a bit of a stretch too far. I dont think i'll do it next year.

Kellygirl

Swashbuckler wrote: »

I can understand why they start early but for me its just a bit of a stretch too far. I dont think i'll do it next year.

Yes and if it had been as hot as the last while the early start would have been fantastic. Definitely tiring though.

Swashbuckler

Cheers eyrie. Funny how perspective changes when you start to reflect on things. Was thinking about it more on my run today and its really about patience and waiting for the gains to come over time. It was a rough day and not ideal in terms of sleep but the reality is I dont need to do my last two months training justice. The justice will come over time, in a few years, when all of these consistent blocks of speed/stamina mix together into slow steady progress. The key part being "over time"...So I need to keep reminding myself of that. I dont need to justify or reward this block with some arbitrary time from a race.

I'd be worried too. Once I say on here that I no longer like the 10k, then you can assume my running days are almost at an end!

MY BAD

Well done great report and still a solid time, I'd be very happy with that but I know where you are coming from. You've the potential to do some damage at 10km. I hope to switch to up to 10k racing next so I really enjoy your log.

Swashbuckler

Mellow Yellow 26.2 wrote:

Well done great report and still a solid time, I'd be very happy with that but I know where you are coming from. You've the potential to do some damage at 10km. I hope to switch to up to 10k racing next so I really enjoy your log.

Cheers Mellow. Appreciate you following. I'm enjoying your log too. I think you have a good approach targeting the 5km first. That 5k stuff will build nicely into the 10k.

skyblue46

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Cheers Mellow. Appreciate you following. I'm enjoying your log too. I think you have a good approach targeting the 5km first. That 5k stuff will build nicely into the 10k.

I can almost feel your happiness from hear any time there is a mention of someone concentrating on 10k :pac:

Great run at the weekend. You can churn out times on bad days now that you thought were superhuman a year ago. I particularly relate to your comment about a process of improvement. I think that my lack of motivation towards DCM training stemmed from the fact that I felt that the success or failure of my training would be determined by whether I hit some arbitrary target in DCM or not.

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote:

I can almost feel your happiness from hear any time there is a mention of someone concentrating on 10k

Haha I really do to be honest. I love hearing it. Even 5k. People neglect that end in general I think. Not sure why, maybe it's coz it's a very uncomfortable place to be.

skyblue46 wrote:

Great run at the weekend. You can churn out times on bad days now that you thought were superhuman a year ago. I particularly relate to your comment about a process of improvement. I think that my lack of motivation towards DCM training stemmed from the fact that I felt that the success or failure of my training would be determined by whether I hit some arbitrary target in DCM or not.

I get you completely. It's taken me a while to realise it and I sometimes have to remind myself, it's the long term that matters to me. I forgot for a while that I don't need to justify a great block of training with some arbitrary time. Sometimes it takes a few wise words from a coach with an old head on young shoulders to get you back on track in terms of mentality. Haha. Maybe I didn't get the 5k time I thought the recent training deserved but at some point this block will pay massive dividends. It did give me the kick up the bum I needed in terms of nutrition and booze.

I get where you're coming from with the marathon. It's one of the many reasons I still haven't run one. Everything geared up towards that one big race with so many variables that can make it a good or bad day.

OOnegative

Your progress has amazed me to be honest and goes back to the talent vs hard work argument. You clearly work hard but there is talent there to that can be clearly seen. Like myself you have a very understanding missus who grasps what running means to you which is a huge thing. Long may the progress and improvements continue for you, one of the best logs here.

Swashbuckler

OOnegative wrote:

Your progress has amazed me to be honest and goes back to the talent vs hard work argument. You clearly work hard but there is talent there to that can be clearly seen. Like myself you have a very understanding missus who grasps what running means to you which is a huge thing. Long may the progress and improvements continue for you, one of the best logs here.

That's very kind of you to say. Thanks.

Haha the old talent debate. I'll never agree with ye on that one. I'd put it down to being lucky enough to be a member of the glue factory, a loss of roughly 20lbs, cut back on booze, never missing a run, an almost obsessive love of running and countless hours of hard work. But I appreciate what you're saying.

The missus is great. She sees the positive changes in me in the last year. But I'm also very lucky I can run at lunch. Otherwise I'm not sure how I'd work it. But knowing me I'd find a way. Haha

Swashbuckler

Recovery has been pretty good from the race last weekend. Some decent sessions Tuesday and Friday.

Monday - Easy 7M at 8.08/mile.
Was pleasantly surprised with this run. I've often found the first run a couple of days after a race is often very enjoyable. It's weird. Even after what I considered a bad day at the office in Killarney I was full of enthusiasm Monday. Kept it easy. Weather was cooler. Nice to run in normal temperatures again. I skipped the strides this week as I felt the legs could handle what was on the plan and nothing extra.

Tuesday - 6x1200m at 5.45 (Off 2min). 4min jog. 4x1min Hard (90s).
I must say I was surprised when I saw this on the plan. In a way it was a bit of a confidence boost. Coach backing me with a tough session that soon after a decent 10k effort. Nice one. Legs felt up to it to be honest but I was a little tentative. It was a chunky enough looking session at a decent clip.
Usual 2 mile warmup. Skipped the Drills. Took off into the session. The first couple took a little effort. The legs woke up halfway into the first one. As the session went on I felt better and better. By the fifth and sixth I was in the groove. Different story for the 1min hard. By the last one of those there was very little left in the legs. Was very tired but satisfied at a good session.
I felt strong throughout this session and probably at the limit for what I could manage for the day by the end. Didn't help I somehow ended up into a headwind for a couple of the 1min hard.

Splits for the 1200s were;
5.46/5.45/5.45/5.43/5.40/5.46
And for the 1min Hard were;
5.01/5.12/5.08/5.23

I couldn't have run the 1200s better. Spot on effort and pace. Was going well on the 1min hard. The last one was into a headwind and the legs were just about dead by then. Had to skip the cooldown as I was caught for time. Bold.....
Total mileage for the session was 8.6miles.

Wednesday - Easy 7M at 8.20/mile.
Very tired and took it very handy. One of those times where I could really really feel the previous days session.

Thursday - Easy 7M at 8.07/mile.
Legs starting to come round. Still on the tired side.

Friday - (3x3min at 6min pace) + 8min at 6.15 pace + (3x3min at 6min pace)
Starting to see a bit more of this stuff in my plans for the week. Building up a little more on the strength side. I enjoy these sessions. They're more about the legs than the lungs. Less stressful that's for sure but I always feel great after these.. And very hungry. I went out onto the roads for this. I tend to try and encorporate more bumps for these type of runs whereas the Tuesday sessions I almost treat as a track style session so run them on the flat of the estate. This one went well. The first set of 3min I handled very well albeit a couple of up hills made me taper back a bit on the pace to keep the right effort. The 8min section was a good effort. Right where it should be. The last set of 3min were definitely a little tougher and the legs were tired at the end. Very tired. Splits were;

6.08/6.05/6.02
6.13
6.02/5.59/6.00

Total mileage for the session was 8 miles.

Saturday - my favourite. The long run. I'm liking the fact the long run has bumped up to 14miles lately. Woke at ridiculous o clock this morning so decided rather than lying in bed I may as well get up and run. Hit the road at 6am after waking at 4.30am. Body was more awake than my last long run. Some woeful hills around these parts. Jesus. Not much to report apart from the fact the run went well. I didn't feel as fatigued as I expected. Happy to have a very good week in the bag.

Im not sure what's up with me lately but I'm getting crap sleep and it's not baby's fault. The last two weeks have seen me wake at some stupid hours. Hopefully i can get back to normal soon. Nutrition has been much better this week.

Total mileage for the week was 51.7 miles. Happy days.

Great to see some of the DCM 17 grads knocking it out of the park this week. Some great running. Everybody seems to be running some marathon in October?

Swashbuckler

Incase anyone thought I was being sarcastic I've developed a big gra for the long run in the last while.

skyblue46

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Incase anyone thought I was being sarcastic I've developed a big gra for the long run in the last while.

What's that old saying about hunt with the hounds and run with the foxes? Haha. You're a politician in the making. ;-)

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote:

What's that old saying about hunt with the hounds and run with the foxes? Haha. You're a politician in the making. ;-)

Haha long runs are part of 10k training too you know. In all honesty the sessions in the last couple of months have been tough. Very quick paces. The long run is like my light relief at the end of the week. And the extra couple of miles have been enjoyable.

Swashbuckler

One hell of a week and I'll be completely honest in my assessment of it. I must say when I saw the plan for the week I wondered was there a mistake haha. Did Luke accidentally hit a few wrong numbers while he was texting. Alas he didn't. Or at least he didn't admit to it.

Monday - Easy 7M at 8.02. This was a run of the mill run. Felt good. Nothing unusual. Finished up with some strides. All good.

Tuesday - 2x8min at 6.10/3x6min at 6/4x2min at 5.45 off 2mins.

Yikes.

It looked like a beast of a session and felt like a beast. Took this out on to the roads. Did the usual two mile warmup. First 8min kicked off on a hill. Great start! To be fair the 8 min sets weren't too bad. I handled them pretty well. The 6mins were tough. The instruction for the session was not to flog myself and keep it controlled. If I'm completely honest with myself I was stubborn and effort levels were pretty high and I toughed it out. By the time I got to the 2min sets the legs were very tired (as planned). But effort levels were pretty high. I still had the speed to hit the target pace and faster. By the end, I was fecked. A little confused if I had made a balls of the session. A little proud that I had the grit to manage it.

Pace splits were;
6.17/6.09
6.06/6.03/6.05
5.46/5.48/5.39/5.40

I really felt it after this session. By God I ate a fine dinner later that day!
Total mileage for the session was 11 miles.

Wednesday - in theory it was an Easy 7M. Let's call it a recover 7M. Ran at 8.19. Legs were very very tired.

Thursday- AM - 4M and PM 7M both at 8.10.
Legs still very tired. My first ever double day.

Friday - 7x1k at 5.45 Off 2.30mins.
Longer recoveries than usual with the instruction to keep the recoveries at a decent pace in the high 7's.
I was very apprehensive about this one as the legs were still very tired. They weren't as bad as I expected. It's a sign of the progress I'm making that 1k in a session seems fairly manageable. These were OK apart from maybe the first three and last one. Once the legs woke up I wasn't too bad. When I say I wasn't too bad I was pep talking myself to keep going. Once I passed the halfway point it's almost like the finish line is in sight. By the end I was shattered. Dropped to the floor.

5.43/5.42/5.51/5.41/5.45/5.42/5.40
All recoveries between 7.30-7.50.

Total mileage for the session 8.6 miles.

Saturday - 15 miles
Given the week I had I kept it sensible for this one and avoided all the hills in Ballyheigue. So an out and back route. I decided this halfway through the run and typical me being me I had a little negotiation with myself. OK Paul you can keep it on the flat today but as a compromise from miles 10 to 15 you need to do laps of the mobile homes site and pass your bed 7 times and keep going. A mental test so to speak. Negotiation successful. Haha. Passed the mobile home each time and kept going. I won't lie. By mile 13 on extremely tired legs it was tough but I kept going. Finished up just outside the mobile home.

Total mileage for the week was 60.3 miles. My biggest week ever and my body knew all about it.

Had a chat with the boss today and it wasn't so bad after all. Haha. Thought I might be in a little trouble for my Tuesday exploits. Glad for the usual day off today. What a pleasure to wake and not think about running. But only for one day Back to it tomorrow and looking likely I'll get my first session in with the club on Tuesday.

Kellygirl

Well done for handling the big week. Laughing at you torturing yourself passing your bed 7 times!

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote:

Well done for handling the big week. Laughing at you torturing yourself passing your bed 7 times!

Haha. Had to negotiate something out of taking the "easy" route