Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.
Options
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
Another great week K. You've had a very consistent, uneventful training cycle. We weren't following you this time last year but it sounds like you're in a different playing field altogether a year on. This training cycle and the 3 marathons you ran in 2017 will all stand to you on June 3rd and honestly none of us can tell what to time to target but 3:59:xx wouldn't surprise any of us i don't think
No yours are fine. I was more talking about first timers. You're well used to the distance. I think you'll beat 1:55 easier than the 4:00 full. No doubt you'll do both though.
I was going to say exactly as above! I think you have 1:55 in you and i think you have 4:00 in you (maybe not in Cork but definitely in 2018)!0 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Sounds like a classic taper to me. I always feel sluggish, unfit and full of niggles. Just go out and give it your best shot and, most of all, enjoy
Spot on i think! Give a runner a few days off running and suddenly all the doubts set in! Go for it on Sunday K, you've trained hard, not specifically for HM and it's not the main event for i know but none the less you have the miles put in and now it's time to reap the rewards. Give it socks
0 -
-
-
-
-
Great Limerick Run Half Marathon
I’m a bit reluctant to do a report as not very happy with yesterday’s performance but the reason I did it was as a learning experience to prepare me for the full in Cork in now less than 4 weeks time and there were definitely lessons to be learned. So - here comes how not to do a half marathon ...
I drove up to Limerick on Saturday to stay with a friend. I had lost the confidence I’d had about two weeks ago and wasn’t feeling great about the race but still secretly hoping that was just taper madness and that I’d pull it out of the bag. After solo parenting for the last few weeks I hadn’t really been eating properly as too lazy to cook proper dinners and a few too many pizzas fired into the oven and too much rubbish and I was up 4 or 5lbs.
One of my 2018 goals was a sub 2 hour half marathon and I was fairly sure from my 5 mile race that I could do 1:54. I set my paceband to 1:53 and planned to line up behind then 1:50 guys and see what happened. I figured they might keep me from taking off and I could drop back then when I needed to.
Miles 1-7
I jogged the mile in from my friend’s house to the start line and hung around there for a while waiting for the pacers to appear. It was nice and cloudy but that started to burn off just as we lined up. I jumped in behind the 1:50 girl and guy and we shuffled up towards the startline. Took ages to be finally left cross the line. Off we went and seemed to be very very fast and immediately I pulled back from them. The 2nd kilometer was downhill and I flew down that, quite comfortably in one way but I knew I was too fast. Decided to just go with it for downhill. I work in miles now but checked Strava in kilometers early and my 2nd kilometer was 4:58 - 5km pace :eek: I did my first mile in 8:08 mins and passed my friend’s house on Rosbrien road. Was pulling back but not enough and 2nd mile was 8:26. I really felt the drag up to the flyover and felt like the whole of Raheen / Dooradoyle area was a drag up and was waiting for the downhill. It was roasting as well and clear blue skies. I now realize I’d 3 miles done in 25:31 - I can’t even do parkrun in that time. Not sure what was going through my head but I’d either planned this really badly or was executing it really badly and wasn’t copping. I was beginning to suffer badly and about 4 or 5 miles in I knew 1:53 was going to go out the window. Ok, I’d go for 1:55 which was more realistic anyway. Started getting cramps in my tummy too and thought I could fly into my friend’s house to use the loo as I passed but how much time would I lose. That went on for the rest of the race and I never stopped but was nervous. I kept trying to pull back to a pace where I was comfortable but just wasn’t finding the right pace. When I passed my friend at 6 miles again she handed me a bottle of water with my zero tablet in it and I just said I was struggling. I totally missed the big sheet she had hanging out her windows telling me to run and it was hard work for a free banana!! I’d 10km done in 55 mins and got myself a pb for 10km according to Garmin Connect. Nailing this half marathon ... NOT :eek: Then when I got to the hill by Lidl at Punches Cross I walked up that hill. A man standing with the Red Cross guys came over and ran beside me and made me run and told me I’d lose my stride and made me run up the hill and I kept going when I turned onto O’Connell avenue seeing as he was watching me.
Miles 7 - 13.1
7 miles was done in something like 63 mins and I was thinking that I might actually salvage this if I can keep my head. I wasn’t enjoying it at all but next thing the downhill started as I ran into the city and Henry Street was fab as totally in the shade and downhill so I just allowed myself run comfortably and catch my breath. I heard a big roar and wondered what it was but as we turned onto Sarsfield Bridge I saw Claire McCarthy belting across towards the finish line to win the female half. The speed of her!! The 3:30 marathon pacer group passed me here, the pacers were full of the joys and chat. Got onto North Circular Road and the drags started again - straight away I was in trouble again. I just didn’t seem to be able to cope with them. Two first aid bikes passed at speed and then they stopped at an ambulance up ahead. A poor guy was on the ground.
Went on and there was a woman with a hose which was the best feeling! Then I saw another man lying on the ground with a woman beside him who had just phoned for help.
There was very little shade along the NCR so a few of us were running on the path trying to get shade where possible.
We then came out to the Ennis road and another guy in bits on a chair with people trying to hold him upright. Passed the water station and all downhill. They must be the Gaelic grounds on my right with everybody struggling up the hill I was going down. Oh Feck! Then I thought that it looked like we just turned around at the bottom of the hill and came back up again. Nope - off we went to the right and passed a hill with people running down and I was thinking that’s not good as I clearly have to run up again to get to the top of that. Turned a corner and there was the hill ... and I gave up and walked. Sub 2 hours gone.
Ran back down the other side to the bottom of the hill on the Ennis Road and headed for the finish line. Walked up again as I couldn’t be bother running it and started running again at the top. An ambulance had arrived and they had just put the guy I’d seen into it.
My last hope to make something decent of this race was to at least get a pb. Luckily this was downhill again. It was great coming to Sarsfield Bridge and really reminded me of Dublin with the lines of people either side to narrow the route and they gave me the last burst of energy I needed. Flew around to O’Connell st. thinking I’d still a bit to go as a half marathon is 13.2miles plus the extra I’d run and then was pleasantly surprised to go over the line in 13.17 miles and remember I actually had the length of the half marathon wrong and longer in my head! :rolleyes:
Finished in 2:02:26 and got a pb of 1:31. (And also my 10km pb at the start
)
Not a happy camper afterwards but had a lovely day sitting on the ground outside The Locke Bar drinking beer. The ridiculous thing is I haven’t had a twinge since and felt I could run again yesterday or even this morning.
Writing this has helped me figure out where I went wrong and what I’d do different - I’m sorry I didn’t start off slower and maybe even go with the 2 hour pacers.
I switched to miles after DCM as used work in km. I’m wondering do I pace myself better with kilometers. There’s a big difference between 8.05 and 8:55 but I’m not registering that when I’m running I don’t think whereas if I see 4:xx km I know I’m going faster than 5km pace.
So Cork in less than 4 weeks. If I didn’t do Limerick I think I’d have chanced going with the 4 hour pacers. I’m abandoning that mad idea now and going back to my original 4:10 plan and I might even start out with the 4:15 guys. I want to enjoy it and get a pb at the same time.0 -
Well done K. Great report. Look you've said it all yourself there, the lessons learnt, the pace ran away in the first 5km. But you got a PB, two PBs actually :pac: and a great training run too! A tough day out but well done all the same, the next one will be better
0 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
Advertisement