Run for your life!!!!

coogy

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Sorry to see this log take a hiatus, but it's the correct decision to scale back if it's encroaching on other stuff.

Best of luck with the rest of the Manchester training. Your consistency since DCM has been fantastic, and I've no doubt you'll smash Manchester.

Thanks A!

coogy

Comic Book Guy wrote: »

Well done on the hills session K, looking at it on Strava that day and ya nailed it.
Will miss your reports here bit good decision.

Are you targeting 1.29.59 in HM pre Manchester? I think I heard on the grapevine that you are tackling Lusk HM??!

Thanks J, no half for me but I'll be doing the Naas 10 mile at the beginning of March. 70 mins might be a realistic goal there.

Wubble Wubble

Sorry you're putting away the quill for a while, but if it means the important stuff gets done, fair enough. Keep us updated via the Stravasphere in the meantime

Huzzah!

I understand your reasons for giving the log a break, but I hope you treat us to one of your epic race reports after Manchester.

coogy

So, that was a quick month.

Thought I'd just drop by for an ol' update.

I must say, not having to meet weekly self-imposed deadlines for my log updates has been very liberating, I would recommend it to anyone! :pac:

Felt strange not recording any updates after doing it so religiously for the last couple of years but I certainly feel all the better for it and it gave me a chance to 100% focus on the training, which has been going really well.

Anyway, I will be doing the inaugural Naas 10-mile race this Sunday, just hoping the weather behaves as I've had my fill of these seemingly never-ending wind-hampered training runs.
Aiming for a sub-70 or thereabouts.


As for Manchester, still all systems go but am a little concerned over the increasing possibility of it being cancelled due to recent events.
Already looking at possible alternatives if worst comes to the worst. Limerick might be an option as a back-up plan, we'll see.


Hope everyone's well!!

Dealerz2.0

Just when you think you’re out.....they pull you back in!

coogy

First race report since Jingle Bells, here it goes.....:)

The intensity of my training since Christmas has given me a belief in my own ability that's been sorely lacking and thankfully the weekly training schedules I am being sent are no longer met with the assumption that I had been sent someone's else's training plan in error.Apart from a tough enough interval session midweek, the rest of the week's runs leading up to this race were handy enough and managed to throw in an easy Parkrun the day before followed by a handful of strides.

Nerves were making themselves known on the morning of the race but with a 2pm start, I needed plenty of distractions. Just as well then, that my son was running for Lucan Harriers the indoor Junior Championships in Abbotstown.
He was in one of the six U11 500m heats (medals to the overall fastest 1st/2nd/3rd across all heats). I wasn't required in a coaching role so took to the stands and watched him set off. He looked really confident and by halfway through the first of 2.5 laps, he was comfortably in 2nd place and holding it well. The atmosphere was great and his club mates and their parents were all shouting him on as he commenced the last lap, still in 2nd place. I knew exactly what was going through his head at that stage and he confirmed as much for me after the race ("how am I in this position?").At the last bend he was overtaken and as they started the home straight, another runner appeared at his heels but I can only imagine the shouts of encouragement spurred him on and with a final kick, he secured 3rd place. Couldn't have been any more proud. As if that wasn't enough excitement for one day.........

Onto the race.
Arrived in Naas with an hour and a half to spare so managed to avail of a decent parking spot in the grounds of Naas GAA club where the start line was.Conditions were a big improvement on the previous day's weather but I still hadn't decided in long or short sleeves. Time came to head out and test the waters with a 2 mile warm up. Short sleeves were the order of the day.
After some stretches and a few minutes of hanging around, it was time for the off. Decent sized crowd for the inaugural race and by now I was raring to go.Sub 70 mins was the aim for the day and the instruction from coach was a few conservative 7 min miles to start with before upping the pace in the second half for an overall negative split.
When I heard this, I instantly thought back to races where I'd struggled to come anywhere near that pace (last year's FD and Ratoath spring to mind) so I could be forgiven for having some doubts about how the race would go. Still, I knew the training had been going well so there was at least some cause for optimism.

Off we went, out of the grounds of the Naas GAA and onto the main Sallins Road and a nice trundle down to a large roundabout and hung a left to begin a mile and a half of incline into a hard enough headwind. Passing out pockets of runners along the way.

Mile 1 came in at 6:45. Clearly faster than was planned but do I stick with it or hang back? I really wanted to come away with not just a time to be proud of but a performance to be proud of. Why not just go for it?

Mile 2 was 6:49 and I was happy that the incline wasn't hampering the pace too much. As we approached the point where we doubled back, I could see the leading pack on the opposite side of the road already making their way back down and I was looking forward to the downhill section with the tailwind for assistance. Crossed over the road and made the descent back down towards the roundabout, passing a handful of runners along the way but still staying within the pace of the previous mile, no need for heroics just yet.

Mile 3 was 6:46 and still feeling comfortable enough, I begun thinking ahead and started to fancy my chances of maintaining this pace. Still on the downward path, I was keeping myself in check, making sure I didn't get too carried away with the wind at my back. There were pockets of spectators along the route and some of them were offering great support. I was on my own by now with some runners up ahead that were definitely 'catchable'. Plenty of time for that.  ;)
As the path leveled out, mile 4 came in at 6:43. One more mile and we're halfway there. Feeling very good. Turned left over a bridge with the M7 beneath before leaving the main road onto a narrow country road of about 500 metres, slightly uphill. Over a hump-back bridge and hung a left onto the canal walk. The halfway point made itself known (6:46).

We're still ok, still holding the pace reasonably well. No signs of tiredness. Onward ho.This mile-long section along the canal, although very pretty and lovely to run along, wasn't giving the best gps signal and the pace on the watch was flitting between 6:45 and 7:25 for a few hundred metres. At this stage, I had singled out and was keeping up with another non-club runner who was keeping just a few metres ahead of me. Lets call him Under Armour. He was definitely aware of me and was keeping a good pace, as was I without too much effort. At the end of this stretch, we took a sharp left, over another hump-back bridge where the watch beeped showing mile 6 at 6:49. Let's try to take that back down a notch shall we?
Still feeling good in the legs as we ran along another narrow road which would eventually bring us back onto the Sallins Road. Was now running alongside Under Armour for a few minutes before he pulled away slightly, still within easy enough reach. Continued along the Sallins Road and passed the entrance to Naas GAA, for another loop.  By now, the weather had turned slightly and the clear skies darkened bringing hail, sleet and more swirling winds. The watch showed a time of 6:50 for mile 7 and it was here I decided to put the foot down a little. The conditions were the sort you wouldn't dream of doing a training run in but as I ran while being pelted from all sides, I felt exhilarated and made it drive me on even harder.  

Crossed over the M7 again in the driving rain, passing cars beeping their support as we turned once again off the main road. The previous short-lived incline awaited up ahead as I begun to pass out runners at the the tail end of the race. Up along the narrow country road and just after turning onto the canal path for the second time, I saw that I had just registered my fastest mile at 6:41. That was just the boost I needed and at a good time too as it was just then that I felt the slightest signs of tiredness in the legs.  
Again, the gps was a little erratic along this stretch with all sorts of paces showing on the watch. Under Armour had pulled away and was about 20 metres ahead of me now but I was still making good ground on a pack of four or five runners up ahead (one of whom had two shoelace malfunctions in the space of 5 minutes) that I had been trailing for a few miles while also passing out one or two others along the way. Just before we left the canal for the second time, the penultimate mile came in at 6:40, my fastest mile. I now knew it would take a collapse of gargantuan proportions not to achieve sub-70, even with the freshness in the legs now fading ever so slightly. I was making some ground once again on Under Armour as we turned on the Sallins Road and approached the GAA club.

Almost lost my footing as I attempted to overtake two runners before turning off the Sallins Road into the grounds of the GAA club. Too close for comfort.
Time to put the foot down as we approached the final turn towards the finish line, overtaking one last runner in the process.
Sprinted the 100 last 100 metres to the finish line (finishing just a few seconds behind Under Armour) and a final glance at the watch was enough reason for me to let out a massive "YES" as I came to a stop.
Finish time was 1:06:27. Very happy indeed, especially as it was a 10 minute pb from last year's Frank Duffy and a performance that made a mockery of the pre-race nerves.


One thing I did notice almost immediately was the course length which was showing a deficit of around .12 of a mile. Something they need to look at for next year.

Later on, seeing that I had secured a 37th place finish in a field of 630 runners had me truly lost for words.



In summary, this was a real valuable lesson that will go a very long way towards how I approach races in the future. At no stage of this race did I experience any thoughts of stopping or easing up due to fatigue which is almost a first for me. The strong finish was also a first. Clearly, this is down to the training, and to see the benefits it brings in a race situation is great feeling. Roll on Manchester! (if it actually goes ahead, that is)

Comic Book Guy

Was waiting all morning for this to land!

Congrats K, Brilliant racing and a well deserved PB. I knew you would go comfortably sub 70 but you truly smashed it and a brilliant strong finish.

Your training since Christmas has been exemplary especially with all your early morning starts in what can only be described as absolutely crap weather.

Congrats to your son too, your pride really shines through.

OOnegative

Great racing K, the consistent training is paying dividends.

ReeReeG

I'm as sad as CBG and was also waiting for this report
It was worth waiting for though, savage report and result. That training/coach has been such a good step for you in both running and confidence! Delighted for you Hope Manchester goes ahead

Younganne

great report and fantastic strong running. It's well deserved K. Congrats to your son too, great running.

Laineyfrecks

Congratulations K , brilliant race & report. Your training has been consistent & the dedication you have put in has stood out. You should be very happy

Big well done to your son too

coogy

Guess what gobs***e accidentally deleted his Strava activity from yesterday's race?

AuldManKing

Great racing - congrats on a great race in $h!te conditions!

Wubble Wubble

Brilliant report K. Well worth the wait!

sann

Well done K. Great performance.

skyblue46

Great running K. Great to see you racing so strong.

Murph_D

Wow. Congrats Ken!

coogy

Cheers everyone, great experience all round!!

skyblue46

coogy wrote: »

Cheers everyone, great experience all round!!

So what has that race done for your Manchester target time?

Mr. Guappa

Belated congrats on Naas K! You're making huge strides at the moment - it's great to see you getting the rewards for such dedication and consistency over the past 2 years really. Well done!

coogy

skyblue46 wrote: »

So what has that race done for your Manchester target time?

Sorry S, I didn't see your post till now!!!

Target time for Manchester was being kept under wraps until after Naas. I was told afterwards that sub 3:15 was the minimum target. I was happy with that and was around what I was expecting tbh.

Now with Manchester officially cancelled, it's time to regroup, keep the legs moving and see how to approach the rest of the year.

coogy

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Belated congrats on Naas K! You're making huge strides at the moment - it's great to see you getting the rewards for such dedication and consistency over the past 2 years really. Well done!

Thanks a million A, and sorry for the delayed response!

I really surprised myself on the day and was able to find a gear that I never knew I had. I definitely think all that training in such unfavourable conditions over the last couple of months has made all the difference.

Loved the training block and how it pushed me to levels that would have been way beyond me at one stage.

coogy

Hi folks,


just a quick update re training and other running bits and pieces.

Just got notification of the rescheduled date for Manchester marathon and all being well, it'll now be taking place on 11th October.

Refunds are available, as is the option to defer to 2021. I think my head is telling me to go again for October and pick up training during the summer but I have until 25th March to decide what I want to do.

For the time being, the plan is to run 26.2 miles (marathon pace) next weekend with two fellow Manchester hopefuls. Looking at running it in Phoenix Park which will probably consist of several loops of a route yet to be planned out. Social distancing will also feature strongly throughout, provided the country isn't in lockdown by then

If it does go ahead, might be a nice way to cap off a training block that exceeded all of my expectations and give me a good ol' confidence boost ahead of a block of Summer training.

Hope everyone's keeping safe and well!

coogy

So, after a few days of "will we/won't we" and several alternative routes being considered, it looks like I'll be doing my 'virtual marathon' early tomorrow morning in the Phoenix Park.

There'll be me and four others but although most of us have very similar target times, we'll each have staggered start times, just to play it safe. Obviously, it's not the ideal scenario, but I'd rather do it and give it my best shot rather than wonder whether or not I was able to come up with a performance that was consistent with all of the training.

Will come back with as close to a race report as one can muster under the circumstances!!!:)

sann

coogy wrote: »

So, after a few days of "will we/won't we" and several alternative routes being considered, it looks like I'll be doing my 'virtual marathon' early tomorrow morning in the Phoenix Park.

There'll be me and four others but although most of us have very similar target times, we'll each have staggered start times, just to play it safe. Obviously, it's not the ideal scenario, but I'd rather do it and give it my best shot rather than wonder whether or not I was able to come up with a performance that was consistent with all of the training.

Will come back with as close to a race report as one can muster under the circumstances!!!:)

Best of luck K.
For what its worth i think you or doing the right thing or at least doing what i would do if i had the training put in for this that you have.
At the end of the day you are not puting any else at risk and deserve a shot at it, and to reap the rewards after a tough few months training .

Dealerz2.0

Legend!!!
The very best of luck buddy!

Laineyfrecks

Very best of luck K, you've put in savage training & deserve to reap the rewards!

coogy

............oh well, roll on October!!

skyblue46

coogy wrote: »

............oh well, roll on October!!

Yeah I guess 3 hours isn't brief...