Just like starting over:The quest for a sub 18 5k
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Cheers and yeah delighted with the run especially given the conditions but as my running buddy said this morning after I told him about the race - but surely you had the wind at your back at some stage!! 😁
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Thanks and hopefully the upward trajectory will continue for a while more - just about consistently getting out day after day, week after week. Have finally learned that I don't have to smash it out of the park every session!
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Good man JD, knew a Cavan man would be to mean to let all the quality training go to waste. Superb performance man!
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That's a smashing jump in the PB and a very well run race too. Congrats.
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Super racing there, J - congrats. You'll have to revise that Bohermeen target now of course. 😉
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Mon 7th Feb: 6 mile @ 8:48: Headed out straight after work for this. Legs were in bits and found this tough going but it got done. 20 minutes of core afterwards and a bit of stretching
Tues 8th Feb: 8 mile @ 8:40: Met running buddy at 6 am for this at the gaa pitch track. Took a bit for the legs to get going so kept it nice and handy. Finished out the last 3 miles on my own. Core again in the evening.
Wed 9th Feb: 8 mile @ 8:28: Out straight after work again and just ran from the house. Kept it real handy and threw in 5 x 12 strides at the end.
Thurs 10th Feb: Rest – a late evening and coaching commitments meant I couldn’t squeeze a run in so swapped days around
Fri 11th Feb: 2mile @ 6:30 pace / 3min rec / 4 x 800m with 400mtrs recovery: Work again conspired against my plans so had to squeeze this in after work. Started with a nice and handy run down to the pitch and then into the first 2 miles. Felt horrible from the word go and was really struggling. 1st mile was 6:37 and was sucking air. 2nd was 6:36 and felt worse again. Took the decision there and then to pull the plug. I couldn’t see the point in flogging myself two days out from a race. Done a few laps at an easy pace to see if I felt any better. I didn’t so I went home.
Total: 4 miles
Sat 12th Feb: 2 mile @ 8:06 with 5 x 12 strides. Got out between the rugby matches and kept it nice and handy.
Sun 13th Feb: Drumshanbo 10k
I signed up for this over the Christmas for two main reasons. One my 10k PB is easily my softest so thought it would be nice to take a piece of that, as long as it wasn’t a distraction from the half marathon training. Secondly I was using it as the target race for the running group I coach in the local gaa club for some to do their first 10k and for others their first half marathon.
So with a nice new shiny 10mile PB in the bag and the confidence booster that comes of that, I sat down and made two goals for this with a fall back plan if the race wasn’t going to plan. So Goal A was to be aggressive if the chance arose and target sub 37:30, Goal B was sub 38:00 with the fall back being sub 38:30 which would still give me a PB.
A crap run on Friday started putting a few wee doubts in my head that I was coming down with something but felt fine on Saturday so put that to the back of my mind. That was until I woke up at 2am Sunday morning with a pain in my ear that was so bad that I woke every time that side of my face hit the pillow. A few painkillers and a night of broken sleep was quickly eroding my confidence about having a good run. I could hear the rain lashing off the bedroom window all night as well just to add to the drama!!
Still got up had the breakfast, packed the painkillers, picked up one of the lads who was travelling with me and headed off for Drumshanbo. Arrived with plenty of time to spare, picked up his number and the t-shirts and then headed for a light jog. Met some of my running group and done some warm-up exercises with them – banter was good and all were in good form. Took a painkiller as the ear was getting sore again and spent 10 minutes debating whether to wear a headband or hat to protect the ear – in the end I went with neither. We were walked to the line from the community centre so wished the group good luck and ran on ahead for a warm-up. On the way up decided the plan would be go hard or go home – would aim for 3:45 per km and take it from there – if I blew up so be it! This wasn’t even a target race!! :)
1-3km: (3:49: 3:39; 3:44)
Lined up in the second row and had a chat with another lad about the course – he informed me that it was flat from 5k on and a few minor rises early on. Without any fuss we were off and a few hared ahead as we approached the first left hand turn. Checked the watch and saw 3:30 pace so eased off and let a few more in ahead of me. Checked the watch a few more times as I really didn’t want to go out too hard and turn it into a torture fest. I was about 8th or 9th at this stage and watch beeped for first km at 3:49. Had dialled the pace down too much so upped it again. A long stretch of road here meant I was able to assess the field ahead. The Leader was way ahead and I figured that was the last I would see of him judging by how strong he looked. 2nd was a Mayo Ac runner and 3rd was a Corran AC runner who I had been chatting to before the start. Both were about 30metres ahead up the road I was in and around the rest of the top ten and no one was making a move. I upped the pace a bit here as we approached an incline towards a bridge and shortly after 2nd km beeped at 3:39. I was happy with that and a few seconds in the bank. Was in 5th place here and feeling nice and strong and when the watch beeped for 3rd km, it was a bit unexpected as if had flown by. 3:44 for the 3rd and was feeling good and settled into the race.
4km – 7km: (3:49; 3:45; 3:43; 3:47)
We were now on a narrow country road and 1st place was gone and 2nd and 3rd were now running together and the group I was in was whittled down to 3 and knew I was in a proper race now. One guy surged ahead for a while but we reined him back in and he fell back a bit but got ahead again. He was wrecking my head at this stage as every time he went ahead of me he stepped across my stride forcing me to adjust my stride or hit the ditch. After he done it twice I decided he wasn’t doing it again so upped the pace when I heard him breathing hard. Neither he or the other guy in the group didn’t respond and I found myself out ahead and in 4th place. Just before the half way mark, we hit another rise which zapped the legs but then were headed out on the canal towpath. I was feeling really good here and reached the halfway mark bang on target and in good shape. Had long views ahead here and noticed that Mayo AC was now in 2nd and Corran AC was a fair bit back in 3rd and I was starting to gain on him. My focus now was on reeling him in over the next kilometre. There was a fair bit of water on the towpath on this path so had to watch the footing as well. Was closing the gap on third all the time and eventually surged past him somewhere just after the 6km mark. There was a nice quiet section here and could hear that I was being chased down but didn’t dare look back to check it out. Put the head down and focussed on step by step. Was bang on target for my A goal as the 7th km beeped.
8km – finish (3:49; 3:55; 3:27)
Heading for the business end now as we approached the boardwalk and knew from the footsteps behind me that whoever was behind me was gaining on me and it was going to be a real race to hold onto 3rd place. Just as we left the board walk the two lads I had been running with earlier passed me and surged on. Again had to check my stride as same guy stepped across me. Initially was too goosed to make much of an effort to go after them but soon realised that they were not really leaving me behind. Exiting the carpark and onto the footpaths now I was alongside them again and got a nice wee boost from that. We were all sucking air here and waiting for someone to make a move and just before the 9th km beeped I decided to push on and see would they react. Not much of a reaction so drove on and was now back in 3rd with 2nd still about 40 metres ahead. Started doing maths in my head now as i checked the watch and saw 3:55 for the 9th and knew I would have to put the foot down for the last km if I was to hit the A goal. Powered on but got passed with about 500mtrs to go as the other guy (the one that didn’t step across my stride!!) powered on – could only admire the kick he had as he left me for dead. I was running on empty but kept the head down and picked it up again with 100mtrs to go – could see the clock ahead then and saw it was approaching 37:20 so put the boot down and was rapidly closing in on 3rd and thinking I’m going to catch him as he doesn’t know I’m coming. With about 15 metres to go a few people from the crowd roared at him that he was going to be caught and he picked it up a bit – enough to get across the line just ahead of me.
Stopped the watch at 37:28 (one second behind 3rd) and legs were like jelly. Had a chat with the first 3 home and then went back out to cheer home the others from my running group. All had fantastic runs with 5 of the group doing the 10km and another 3 doing the half marathon. Tea and a few buns in the hall afterwards rounded off a great days work. Delighted with my own performance but got more pleasure of seeing people I coached achieve their goals – might even give them this evening off!!
37:28 – 1 minute PB!
Total: 8 miles
Weekly total: 36 miles
Focus now is to get the head back down after a few easy days and focus on Bohermeen again.
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Congrats on the PB, great report too!
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Great discipline at the start leading to a great run. Congrats on the PB.
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Need to get back on top of this! Didn't realise it was so long. Work has been crazy of late with lots of long days but still plugging away:
Mon 14th Feb: 7 mile easy:
3 mile @ 9:28 avg pace – done this nice and handy with my running group. 4 mile @ 7:30 avg pace – picked up the speed and legs were surprisingly zippy.
Tues 15th Feb: 6 mile easy @ 8:56. Out at 6 am for this with company and again felt the pace nice and easy.
Wed 16th Feb: Rest long day of work and weather conspired against me getting out.
Thurs 17th Feb: 7 mile @ 8:57 Another easy 6am run with company. Pace very easy again.
Fri 18th Feb: 8. 5 miles with 7 @6:45 avg pace. Started the day with a sports massage and was exactly what I needed. Got out straight after work albeit a bit later than planned. Had hoped to do 9.5 @ tempo but ran out of time and daylight so had to leave at 7 but happy enough with that and felt good and strong.
Sat 19th Feb: 12 mile @ 7:42 avg pace. Had to move things around because of other commitments and legs were heavy so this was the best pace I could manage on the day. Kept me honest though and was working hard. Was bitterly cold and got soaked to the bone. Took a while to warm-up after this.
Sun 20th Feb: 7 mile @ 8:00 avg pace. A boring treadmill run as was home alone with the kids.
Weekly total: 47.5 miles
Mon 21st Feb: 7 mile @ 8:23 avg pace: Out from the house straight after work and kept it nice and handy. Weather was awful and got hit with a lot of hailstones.
Tues 22nd Feb: 3 mile @ 6:20 avg pace/ 15 x 45sec hill reps: Got out straight after work again and headed down to the gaa pitch for the quick miles. Got stuck in and pace was good – splits were 6:17; 6:14 & 6:09. A nice and easy shuffle to the bottom of the hill before starting the hill reps. Found these tough but was consistently hitting the same spot so happy with that.
Total: 7.5 miles
Wed 23rd Feb: 7 easy @ 7:54. Had a day off and went to Dublin with the kids. Went home by the Run Hub and picked up a new pair of runners – Mizuno Wave Inspire 25s and took them for a spin when I got home. I was only a half mile in when the hailstones started and got a fair pelting from them. Another bitterly cold run with plenty of sleet and hail. Was glad to get home and back into the warmth after this.
Thurs 24th Feb: Rest- Between work and weather conditions I missed the chance to get out so had to move the rest day to today.
Fri 25th Feb: 10 mile with 9.5 @ 6:52 pace
The big session of the week and I really wanted to nail this. Threw on the gear as soon as I finished work and headed out the door. Was taking the young lad to a Queen tribute band that evening so didn’t have a huge amount of time to play with so the warm-up was half a mile and then got straight into it. First mile was way too quick and tried to slow things down and while the next few miles were quicker than the prescribed pace, they felt comfortable so I just went with it. Miles zoomed by and started to enjoy this. Finished at the car and after a quick stretch headed home. Very happy with this one. Splits 6:40; 6:48; 6:45; 6:42; 6:55; 6:39; 6:42; 6:50; 6:53; 6:52 (last ½ mile)
Sat 26th Feb: 13 miles @ 8:02 avg pace
Moving around the rest day messed with the schedule for the week so instead of a planned session decided to move the long run to today. Had my last running session with the kids I was training and while doing that I knew the long run was going to be tough. Had a lot of sore creaking muscles. Left it as late as possible to get out and still have light. Was very creaky starting but soon loosened up and was surprised to see the mile splits as I didn’t think I was moving at 7:40 pace. Felt ok so didn’t try to slow things down too much. Miles flew by but fatigue set in over the last 5 miles or so and 4 miles from home I figured why the early miles were so quick as I turned into a head wind that was blowing me backwards!! I had that at my back early on so pace dropped significantly. I had 14 miles on the plan but left it at 13. Legs were very tired after this.
Sun 27th Feb: 5 mile @ 8:10 avg pace
Legs were still tired and heavy so put off the planned session. Ended up going for a cycle in the forest park with the family with loads of hills thrown in! Settled for a slow shuffle in the late afternoon instead of a session.
Weekly Total: 49.5 miles
Mon 28th Feb: 2 mile @ 6:20 pace /15 x 45 sec hill reps
Out the door straight after work for this and warmed up with a gentle jog down to the GAA pitch track. Legs were flying so the 2 miles were way too fast! 6:00 and 6:07. Quick shuffle to the bottom of my usual hill for this and started into the reps. Employed the usual tactic of a good hard honest effort on the first rep, focussing on good form, and then trying to hit that spot each time on the next 14. More or less managed that and then finished out with a nice and easy cool down for 2 miles.
Total: 8 miles
Monthly Total: 174 miles & 2 PB’s 😀😀
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March:
Tues 1st Mar: 8 mile @ 8:14. Nice and handy run around the gaa club track while the young lad was at training.
Wed 2nd Mar: 6 mile @ 8:23. Another handy run while training was going on.
Thur 3rd Mar: Rest – Unplanned rest day after a very long day at work. No time to get out.
Fri 4th Mar: 12 mile with 11 mile tempo 7 @ 6:35 8th @ 6:15 last 3 @ 6:35 pace
Got out straight after work for this and while I knew it would be a tough one, in another way I was looking forward to blowing off a bit of steam after a long week at work. Eased into it with a 1 mile shuffle and then got going. Once I got the pacing right the miles started to fly by and there wasn’t too much issue in picking up the pace for the 8th mile. There was even less of an issue slowing down again though!! Very happy with this.
Splits 6:15; 6:27;6:30; 6:30; 6:32; 6:30; 6:34; 6:13; 6:25; 6:27; 6:38
Sat 5th Mar: 11 mile @ 8:11 avg pace.
Not ideal but had to squeeze the long run in today. Started out fine but legs started to tire over the second half and the last 3 miles were into a strong wind. Just glad to get this done.
Sun 6th Mar: 5 mile @ 8:16. Had planned to add a few things in to this but legs said no and settled for a slow 5 mile shuffle instead.
Weekly total: 42 miles
Mon 7th Mar: 9 mile @ 8:15 avg pace. Done this late in the evening after coaching my running group. Wasn’t looking forward to running so late but zoned out after a few miles and enjoyed this.
Tues 8th Mar: Plan was for 2x2 mile @ 6:10 pace. Everything conspired against me getting out until just after dinner when the young lad was doing football training. Managed the first two in 6:30 avg pace but was all over the place and had no rhythm at all. I hate trying to do anything at pace at the pitch while the young lad is training as there is a steep hill around the pitch and its difficult to pace properly. Had decided not to do the 2nd 2 miles and call it day but as I was getting back to the car, I met one of the club senior players. While chatting he told me he was doing a mile as fast as his could for this training and needed to time it. Without thinking it through I volunteered to pace him and time keep as well! He was delighted with the offer so away we went. Managed the mile in 5:42 so didn’t feel as guilty with skipping the 2nd set of two miles. Total 5 miles
Wed 9th Mar: 7 mile @ 7:56 avg pace. Brought my princess to athletics training so snuck in this run while she was doing it keeping it nice and handy.
Thurs 10th Mar: 5 mile with last 2 @ 6:21; 6:14. Had treated myself to a pair of alphaflys when I was in Dublin the previous day so took them for a spin. Felt odd for a few miles but felt good when doing the faster miles.
Fri 11th Mar: Rest
Sat 12th Mar: 2.5 mile easy @ 7:48 avg pace. Another test drive for the alphaflys to decide if I would wear them in Bohermeen. Felt good and enjoyed the few easy miles just before the rugby.
Sun 13th Mar: Bohermeen HM 1:25:59 (6:32 avg pace)
Was going into this with an aggressive enough target of hitting an avg pace of 6:15 per mile and based on Trim I was confident that I was in good shape and could give it a good rattle. However, I made two big mistakes which meant that the target went out the window very early and it became a struggle to get home.
First mistake was hitting 5:58 for the first mile. All was going well before the race and for once I was down to the starting line early and happy where I lined up but I suddenly found myself surrounded by the 1:30 pace group lining up behind the pacers for who had joined the line ahead of me. Knowing the road can be narrow at the start, the plan was to make sure to get ahead of the group as soon as possible and stay out of getting boxed in. I obviously tore off way too fast and felt good so wasn’t really checking the watch. Tried to slow down for the second mile and was happy when I saw 6:20.
Soon after my second big mistake revealed itself as I had to step off the course to stretch my calf and hamstring and lost 30 seconds doing this. I never really recovered from this as the hamstring and calf tightened up a few times over the rest of the race and the only explanation I can find is the new runners and not having got used to them.
Revised my goals a few times over the next few miles but it really became a case of getting home. Miles 3 to 9 were okish at 6:24; 6:19; 6:23; 6:28; 6:25; 6:24; 6:35 (into the wind!) and I was even thinking of pushing for home after taking a gel on mile 9 but the gel really didn’t sit right on the stomach and that knocked me back a bit. Soon after the calf and hamstring started cramping and tightening up so focus just changed to getting home in one piece. Last 4miles were 7:09; 6:56; 6:47; 6:39.
Legs were in bits after it and even walking was a struggle but shuffled back down the course to cheer home some of the group I was coaching. 3 of them done the race and all 3 got new pbs so delighted with that. Good also to see a few faces I hadn’t seen in 2 years and to catch up with people.
Upon reflection, while I’m disappointed with the result, 12 months ago this would have been a big pb which considering the stopping to stretch and the last few miles and the time I lost there shows me the progress I’m making.
I also think that while this was the target race for this cycle, I hit two big pbs over 10mile and 10km over the cycle so I can honestly say it was a great training cycle and it brought me on again.
I need to figure out the next target and will probably adopt a similar plan – a HM at the end of the cycle with a few races in the build up also.
Total 15 miles
Weekly total: 43.5 miles
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Mon 14th Mar: 4 mile easy Ran the first mile and half solo before my running group arrived for training. Done another 2.5 mile with them at a very easy pace.
Tues 15th Mar: 4 mile @ 8:47 avg pace: Met running buddy for this at 6am and kept it nice and handy - a wee bit of life coming back into the legs.
Wed 16th Mar: Cavan Night Run 5k @ 17:40 Had signed up for this a while ago and nearly forgot about it. Young lad was doing it as well so thought about running it with him but he wanted to do his own thing. Met one of the lads from the club on the start line and he pointed out that I could get a podium place if I raced it. Insisted I had no intention of racing after the half marathon 😀 but as soon as we were off I found myself hammering down the road after the leading group. Kept a close eye on the watch, determined not to go out too hard and was happy to see 3:40 pace after 500metres. Tucked in with the two lads leading the race and 1st km beeped at 3:36 and I started to think that I could hit a sub 18 if I kept that up.
The group stayed together until the 2km mark with no one really pushing ahead or taking the initiative. I knew that the next km was a long drag so was conserving some energy for that. As we crossed onto the footpath, I realised that there was only two of us now as we had dropped the 3rd lad. We exchanged a few words and grunts and then settled in for the long drag and we were working hard but keeping the pace honest. Was pleasantly surprised when the 3rd km beeped at 3:40 as I thought I had leaked more time than that.
After the long drag there was a nice 300 mtr downhill which I used to recover from the drag. As we rounded the corner near the 3.5km mark, we were still together running well and I said we should cross to the other side of the road. Got little in the way of a response and knew the other lad was struggling with the pace. We crossed to the other side together and I was feeling good so put the boot down and headed for home. Struggled a bit over the last 500mtrs and started to curse myself for going too early and forgetting about the next uphill drag. But kept the pace up and the finish line was soon in sight and not a minute too soon as was really running out of gas. 2nd lad finished 7 seconds behind.
Delighted with the win and running another comfortable sub 18 5km. Young lad had another cracking run and he was delighted with himself too.
Total: 5 miles
Thurs 17th Mar: 5 mile @ 8:25 avg pace. Had official duties to do at a few parades and had to have a pint after one of them to be social!! Kept it at one or it would have been a long day and longer evening. Headed out for a run just before dinner with the pint of Guinness only settling!! Nice and handy pace and really enjoyed this in the sunshine!
Fri 18th Mar: 5 miles @ 8:35 Had planned to do a hill session but legs were fried so just turned it into a nice and handy trot at a very easy pace.
Sat 19th Mar: Rest – gave the body some well needed rest!
Sun 20th Mar: 12.65 miles @ 7:47 avg pace Headed out nice and early to the forest trails in the sunshine and legs felt fresh and full of zip as the pace slowly crept up. Thoroughly enjoyed this run and the sunshine on the back!
Weekly Total: 35.65 miles
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Congrats on the win! I like the positive observations on your HM journey too. You're going great.
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