26.2, Part two

Mr. Guappa

Well done. Seems like you ran a smart race, and pulled through mentally when the going got tough. Definitely deserved too, you've been putting in some quality training so it's great to have the result to justify it.

Dealerz2.0

Well done, and a great race report too

Kellygirl

Well done. Your report is great and you ran a great race. Great to get your pb.

tbukela

Kellygirl wrote: »

Well done. Your report is great and you ran a great race. Great to get your pb.

Dealerz2.0 wrote: »

Well done, and a great race report too

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Well done. Seems like you ran a smart race, and pulled through mentally when the going got tough. Definitely deserved too, you've been putting in some quality training so it's great to have the result to justify it.

Murph_D wrote: »

Congrats - excellent run. Enjoyed the report. I’m around the same kind of level so I can identify with most of your experience. Well done especially on looking f*cked after the race - something I need to work on more.

skyblue46 wrote: »

Well done! Target well beaten. Great running.

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Great work there. Congrats on the 10 mile PB - 2 seconds quicker than mine :pac:

Thanks folks, I was well pleased with myself last night. One of our coaches said it was the first time he'd seen me smiling after a race. It hasn't lasted long as my hamstrings are in bits today!

It was worth it though, looking forward to a few easy miles this evening.

tbukela

Monday - 25th March
4.5 miles - recovery
Nice easy run after Mallow, kept the pace very easy. Everyone was happy after their runs from the previous day so form was good. 9:40 avg & 122HR

Wednesday - 27th March
8 miles - Hills
Decided to hit the trails for a few hilly miles. Wasn't sure if I was going to have company so hit one hard rep and then took it handy as one of the lads arrived. Beautiful evening for running, I can definitely see myself doing more trail running, it is really relaxing. Did more than planned but kept the pace easy. 9:38 avg & 1,331 ft elevation.

Thursday - 28th March
7 miles - 1K intervals
The intention for this one was to see where I was 5K fitness wise, this month will be a mix of hills and speed to prep for a 5K target race and the Ballyhoura trail half. The watch was set for 5*1K with 90 sec recovery. My target was sub 20 5K avg pace so less than 4 min/km. I underestimated how hard this was going to be, I had to properly push myself for the reps and ended up walking the recoveries after the first one. The reps were decent except for the last one where I lost focus: 4:01, 3:58, 3:58, 3:59 & 4:07. A very easy 2 mile cool down brought me to 7 miles for the day. It was a tough session and I'll have another rattle off it in a few weeks time where hopefully it will be a bit easier.

Friday - 29th March
5.7 miles - hills
Another trip to the trails to try out my new Inov8 x talon 212 which sound like they are serious shoes. To be fair they were very comfortable and coped perfectly with the different surfaces. Another really enjoyable run at an easy pace. 9:27 avg & 884 ft of elevation

Sunday - 31st March
11 miles - club easy run
Out early for this one it being the day that it is. Decent crowd out from the club. The pace started out handy but creeped up steadily. I went with it for awhile but realised that I didn't need to knock out sub 8 min miles today. I eased back and had a really enjoyable run. 8:26 avg & 140 HR

Summary
36 miles for the week which I'm happy with off 5 days. I feel my mileage is a bit low but then again I'm not training for a marathon yet. Nice mix of easy hills and one decent enough speed session. The next two weeks will be mainly easy runs with a mix of speed sessions (400m -1200m). I'll try and keep the long run over the 10 mile mark. Really busy week ahead with a 5K on Thursday on a really flat track so I'll have a rattle off that and see how close I can get to my PB of 20:32. Most importantly my eldest is 7 this week so the excitement is reaching epic levels. 154 miles for the month with my first parkrun, two 4 mile races and a 10 Mile PB. All in a very good month, feel like heading in the right direction.

tbukela

Monday -1st April
5 miles - Club Tempo Run
I was in work late and missed my usual slot to get out so said with the brighter evenings I'd join in the club run. Turned into a bit of a progression run when I probably should have kept it easy. 7:29 avg with 1 mile cool down

Wednesday - 3rd April
6.25 miles - Corrin Hills
I ttok the day off as it was my daughters birthday so headed off for some easy hills before they all finished school. Nice hour of easy paced running. Really enjoyable way to spend an hour. 9:17 avg & 907 ft elevation

Thursday - 4th April
Emer Casey 5K
I did this last year and it was my first time going sub 21, first time even going sub 22. My current 5K PB is 20:32 from the week after Limerick marathon. One of my major goals for this year is to go sub 20 and I wanted to use this race to gauge where I am. It's a really nice flat course with a couple of loops through the town. I got a good 2 mile warm up and was feeling relaxed at the start line. I lined up way too far back at the start as there was a bit of messing with moving people back.

I had no real plan for the race except just go for it. From the outset I felt good and was passing people and building momentum for the first mile which clocked in at 6:12 on the watch but a good bit before the mile marker. Due to the height of the buildings and the narrow street the GPS was unreliable but I felt like I was going fast. I made a decent push in the 2nd mile and I was continuing to pass people and had settled in a decent group. The second mile was 6:24 so I thought I was well on track. I was starting to dig in here but knew that the end was in sight. I was convincing myself that I had a chance at going maybe 19:50, which helped keep the effort levels high. I was in a really good group now with about 5 of us pushing hard. The average pace for the mile on the watch when I checked it at 2.6 miles was showing 6:32 so I thought I was golden. Cue disappointment then when I saw the clock in the distance at 19:5x with maybe 200M to go. I kept pushing to the end and ended up with a 20:15 chip time.

I was properly exhausted at the end and had to take awhile to get my breath back. I couldn't figure out where I had lost all the time but checked my watch and saw that it was showing distance as 3.17 so obviously the GPS was out, affecting the average pace etc on the watch. At first I was a bit annoyed as I thought I could have pushed on more if I'd known the true time but I soon realised I'd given it everything. I'm happy with the run and I've halved the gap between my PB and the sub 20 mark. I'll stick with the bit of speed training for the month and target a 5K race on the 1st May. I know that its close, I just need to keep working. Pretty happy with the way things are going, two decent races in a row which will keep the motivation levels high. Nice cool down to finish and 6.5 miles for the evening.

ReeReeG

Nice PB! I'd say the sub20 will be hit sooner rather than later

Kellygirl

Well done. Nice to have a goal that shouldn’t take too long to achieve and lots of races to choose from too over the Summer.

tbukela

After no running at all last weekend, I tried to settle back into this week.

Monday - 8th April
5 miles - progression
After not running for two days I felt very creaky heading out for this one, bit of company and decided on an easy progression run. First mile was 9:18 and finished with 7:27. Nice run in good conditions. The optical HR on my garmin has gone haywire and I can't really rely on it at the moment, thinking of getting a chest strap to use for races, sessions etc 8:23 avg & 152 HR

Tuesday - 9th April
5 miles - intervals
I had a 2x800m and 2x600m session planned for this, the pace was supposed to be at 5K pace but I knew straight off that wasn't happening. I was lucky in the end to keep it sub 7, just felt really out of sorts during it. Still great to get out. 8:04 avg & 142 HR

Wednesday - 10th April
5 miles - hills
Group hill session on a nice evening. I did one hard 800m rep and then an easier pace for the rest. 9:04 avg & 850ft elevation gain.

Thursday - 11th April
5.5 miles - easy
Very handy miles, nice to do some easy miles not worried about anything. 8:51 avg & 133HR

Saturday - 13th April
12 miles - LSR
Headed out early for this run, dry morning but really windy. The route was the first five miles uphill, couple of miles downhill and then flat. We did this at the start of DCM training last year and it was a good challenge. I think I'd only done one run over 8 miles in the last three weeks so I wasn't sure how the legs would hold up. I was working hard for some of the run and the HR for the last couple of miles was in the 170s when only doing 8:20s pace. I was happy to get it over with as there was some decent elevation (889 ft). I was shattered after it but glad to get it done before the brutal weather for the rest of the weekend. 8:53 avg & 156 HR

Summary

32 miles for the week which was nearly a third up on the previous week. I'm falling well behind 2,000 mile pace (516 currently) but it will have to pick up during the summer marathon training block. Potentially I've a 4 mile race on Wednesday which I would have targeted for a PB but I don't think I've kicked on over the last couple of weeks. Looking forward to a few days off for Easter and getting some sessions in as well. Congrats to all who raced recently, great results and brilliant reports as well.

tbukela

Tuesday - 16th April
5 miles - easy
After a rotten few days of weather it was nice to get out for a couple of easy miles. Didn't bother looking at the watch and just did the usual loop. 8:44 avg & 134 HR

Wednesday - 17th April
Ballintotis 4 Mile Race
This race traditionally marks the start of the evening racing season in Cork. I had never done it before but had always heard great things about it and said I'd head down especially since it was the 10th anniversary. In the end there was over 1,200 runners which when you consider the size of the community is amazing. It was really well organised and a credit to the locals.
My race was very meh, I wasn't really up for it and did 27:26 with splits of 6:30, 6:47, 7:03 & 6:54. There was a wee bit of a pull at the start which I flew up and knocked the wind out of my sails (and lungs). The time is disappointing, 8 seconds slower than the countys in March and almost a minute off the distance equivalent time based on the Youghal 5K less then 2 weeks prior. A lack of consistent mileage and sessions is holding me back at the moment.

Friday - 19th April
6.5 miles - easy
Thursday wasn't a great day GI wise so I didn't do anything, might slightly explain why I was off form on Wednesday to a certain degree. I had intended to get out early but had a bit of a sleep in and headed out as the temperature was rising. It feels strange to be running in a bit of heat again, it'll take a bit of getting used to. Nice easy run even if it felt a bit harder than it should. 9:14 avg & 143 HR

Saturday - 20th April
5.8 miles - Ballinboola IMRA race
This was my first proper IMRA race and a real baptism of fire. I headed off to a forest on the outskirts of Ballyhea in North Cork for a warm up race before the Ballyhoura Trail Half. I didn't really know what to expect to be honest. I was still feeling a bit dodge and the plan was to take it easy. There wasn't a big crowd for it and I didn't know anyone so as well as not knowing the course I didn't know who I should be pacing off. After a race briefing which mentioned that the course was 9.3K and that the surface was bad enough in some places we set off. I thought the surface must be bad if they were highlighting it.
The start was on an incline and I was well back in the field, I started out briskly and started passing people shortly. I was tipping along and thinking that this was great craic. Alarm bells starting ringing when I noticed that I could see the leaders not that far ahead, surely I shouldn't be this close! I was right, critical error, I ran the first mile in 7:37 which would be fine for a hilly road 10K but mad stuff for me on a course like this. The first mile had an elevation gain of 124ft but was only an appetiser. Whilst the initial surface was a decent fire road we were soon running on a rough track with big furrows and rocks. The second mile was a killer, I was walking for a portion of it, which to be fair most people did but I was suffering. Some of the gradients were 15% plus. In hindsight I'm happy enough with a mile split of 9:37 with 241 ft gain.

The 3rd mile wasn't any easier with about 800m of a pull on a fire road and then switching to a steeper gradient on a rough single track. I walked twice in this mile and just tried to keep moving along. I had no idea where I was in the race but there were a good few in touching distance ahead of me. The 3rd mile was 10:49 with 264 ft of gain. I assumed that we were approaching the highest point as I could see wind turbines ahead so I felt that surely the worst was over. I was pretty much staring at the ground ahead of me so I wouldn't fall. We took a sharp right, which I assumed was going to lead to the descent. I glanced ahead and saw a massive climb up to the summit of Carron mountain. Not to be overly dramatic but it was gigantic. The climb wasn't long, maybe 180M but the gradient was severe, over 30% in places. It was a real slog to get over the top where I took a moment to appreciate a spectacular view from 1,457 ft. It was quite something. If I thought it was hard going up I think it was actually harder going down. The surface was all loose stones and gravel and it was ridiculously steep. I was a bit nervous going down and almost fell a few times. I was glad when it levelled off finally, it was a mad experience and nothing like anything I had tried to run on before. The 4th mile started at an elevation of 1,338 ft, went up to 1,457 ft and finished at 1,117 ft, bit of a roller-coaster. I did the mile in 11:41.
I noticed that I had lost a lot of time on the pack ahead and that people were closing on me fairly quickly. The terrain was rough but a steady descent. I found to hard to make any time of progress on it though and almost fell again, wrenching my knee in the process. Towards the end of this mile we got back onto a decent fire road and I started to pick up the pace again. That mile was a 9:18. I knew there wasn't long to go now so I just went for it, I felt more confident on the surface and I could see a few ahead of me which I wouldn't catch but they were still targets. The last .8 of a mile had a descent of 319 ft so it was easy enough to maintain a 6:15 average and push right to the end. The time on my watch for the 5.81 miles was 54:12.
I was shattered at the end of it but buzzing after it. It was so different to anything I'd done before. The IMRA race in January felt like a bit of an adventure race compared to it. I can see how people get hooked on this discipline. It was a complete eye opener to me regarding the tactics and where my weaknesses are. I think I lost more time on the technical descent than the actual climbs. I was definitely nervous on some of the sections and afraid to push on. If I was to run it next weekend, knowing the course now I think I would take a couple of minutes off my time. It was a great warm up for the Ballyhoura which I am really looking forward to.

Sunday - 21st April
10.5 miles - Club Run
The original plan was for 15 miles but I was really feeling the effects from Saturdays race. This run started off slowly and gradually got a bit quicker. I was glad to get out early and get the miles in. I was even more glad when it was done. 8:36 & 140 HR

Summary
Just over the 35 miles for the week with two races which I'm happy with. The races were both tough in their own rights. I'm suffering from a severe lack of specificity of training at the moment. A 16 week plan for Berlin will start the 10th June which isn't really that far off. For DCM I did a combo of a P&D plan, doing some research on the Hansen Plans at the moment. I'd like to get the plan nailed down soon enough and map out warm up races etc. This week will be a mixed bag with a trip to Dublin Zoo, hopefully one decent speed session and a 5 mile Divisional champs on Thursday.

tbukela

Monday - 22nd April
4.75 miles - easy
I noticed that a lot of my easy runs lately were still a bit quick and think I would be better off with a proper recovery run instead. I find this is easier when I'm running on my own so headed out solo for this. 9:25 avg & 128 HR

Tuesday - 23rd April
7 miles - 1K intervals
After spending a lovely day out with the kids exploring woods and waterfalls I thought that I might as well do a bit of a session. I had intended to do a 400M session but hit the wrong button and ended up doing a 1K session instead. I figured just go with it. This is the same session I did a few weeks ago but I knew I didn't have it in the legs. Mile easy warm up and then 5*1K with 90 sec walking recovery. I was aiming for just under 4 min per KM.
The reps ended up being 4:00, 3:59, 3:59, 4:03 & 4:18. I was happy with the first 4 but knew straight away in the 5th that I was goosed. I considered just stopping but decided I would benefit more from a realistic update of where I was fitness wise. I definitely feel that I'm far more comfortable knocking out 7:xx at the moment rather than the sub 7 quick stuff. A gentle 2.5 mile cool down brought it up to 7 miles for the day. It felt good to get any type of a session in the legs again.

Thursday - 25th April
East Cork Road Championships - 5 Mile
I don't think I can adequately put across in words how little I was looking forward to this. The club was stuck for numbers for a team which is poor considering how close the race was being held. I couldn't come up with a decent excuse to bail so ended up heading up. The main reasons that people didn't want to do it was that the course had a dirty hill which you have to do 4 times and because the standard is high, the likelihood is that you will be lapped.
I headed up early and spent ages chatting and as a result didn't do much of a warm up. I watched the 3K ladies’ race where the leaders were flying up the hill, very impressive stuff. The field for the men’s race was pretty small, only 45 entries. The course was unusual with a straight section into the village and then four laps of a V loop. To be fair there was a lot of downhill, but it was the severity of the short sharp uphill that was the problem.
I was goosed from the start as I went out way too hard on the opening mile and on the first hill. I was soon struggling and then to make things worse I got a really bad stitch which really hindered me on miles 3 & 4. I was lapped by the first three finishers and it was something else watching them fly by me. I realised that I would be passed by one of the club lads unless I got going again so managed to kind of pull it together for the last mile to finish in 36:18 and 30/45 position. The miles splits tell the tale with 6:20, 6:59, 7:31, 7:46 & 7:17.
In the end I was glad that I did it as I do like racing regardless of where I finish. All runners also got a mug to mark the 40th anniversary which is nice and although not as treasured as my Ballycotton 10 mug, I feel it was hard earned. I really do need to cop on though when it comes to my pacing for the shorter races as I am really making it hard on myself.

Sunday - 28th April
Great Railway Run 25K Race
After Mallow in March I had fully intended on training for this race and targeting a good time. I never really got the miles in so had decided not to run it a few weeks ago. However late in the week I got a call from a friend who said that he had just signed up to do it as part of a 20-mile training run for the Ironman in June. He said that he was going to take it easy and asked would I run with him. Despite not having done a proper long run in ages I said I would.
It ended up being a beautiful morning in the city with a big crowd taking part in the 25K (there is also a 10k). As per the plan we started off easy enough and were chatting away. We were joined by another triathlon hopeful who had done a massive cycle on the Saturday and started to wane pretty early. We tried to keep him going for the first 9 miles but eventually he said move on.
We gradually picked up the pace over the hilly closing miles until I pretty much bonked in the last mile. I had given away my gels to someone struggling earlier on and I think the lack of training and the heat just caught up with me. The time was a good bit slower than last year, 2:14 against 2:08, but until the last 800M felt very comfortable. I actually enjoyed it and it is a really nice course with a good challenge at the end. It’s definitely a race that I would like to target in the future as I reckon I could go sub 1:55 on it.
8:35 AVG & 151 HR

Summary
It was a bit of a funny week with nearly half my mileage coming in one run and only 4 days running in total. It is the 2nd of 3 consecutive weeks where I will have done two races in the week. I’ve decided that for May I’ll just run as many races as possible, try and get some long runs in for an endurance base and be ready for the start of the marathon plan. This week I have a 5 mile race Thursday & the trail half in Ballyhoura on Saturday. I am going to see if I can do a negative split on Thursday, make a real conscious effort on pacing it in a reasonable manner. My 5 mile PB is 35:23 from the first half of Mallow or 36:18 from last week, both of which are a bit soft.

I am really looking forward to the trail race on Saturday, I think it is going to be something completely different. I need to pick up a running vest/backpack of some sort as I know I’ll need to have a decent supply of water with me. The forecast is supposed to be dry and relatively warm, but we’ll need to be prepared for every eventuality. I got the Daniels Running formula book in the post today, so I’ll spend a bit of time looking at that and comparing it to the P&D plans. I can't wait to start into the marathon training again.

tbukela

Interim weekly update

Monday - 29th April
6.25 miles - easy
Nice relaxed run around town to get a bit of elevation in the legs. No problem keeping the pace easy as I was pretty tired from the 25K run. My knee was quite sore when I got home so iced it watching GOT. 9:06 AVG & 130 HR

Tuesday - 30th April
3.25 miles - trails
After a busy day in work I felt like a bit of quiet so headed to Corrin for some easy miles. It was really nice, the additional foliage on the trees gives it a different slant in some areas. Really relaxing. 9:14 avg & 135 HR

April Summary
134 miles for the month which wasn't great with 9 days of not running. I felt like my fitness took a bit of a dip this month with a lack of sessions/long runs. I was surprised to see that I got in 5 races, starting off with a really good result in a 5K and then a couple of meh races. Bit of a treading water month.

Wednesday - 1st May
6 miles - easy
Another easy run, just trying to get the miles in. My knee was sore enough at the start but eased off after a mile or so. Lovely evening for a run. I like to start and finish each month with a run for some reason. 9:14 avg & 134 HR

Thursday - 2nd May
Midleton 5 mile race
I did this race in 2017 in 39:06 and really enjoyed both the race and the craic we had afterwards. It’s a really well organised race by a very strong club. After a couple of recent crash and burns I thought I would try and run a more controlled race. I reckon based on my 5K PB that I should be doing 33:xx but the recent 4 mile showed that I had slipped back a bit so I thought I would target a sub 35 which would be a PB. The organising club had pacers at a wide range of times which was nice to see in a 5 mile race.

As we lined up at the start they were a few of the lads from the club looking like they were going to tuck in behind the 35 min pacers as well which would make things interesting. There were 540+ runners but the start was fairly seamless. I decided not to check the watch and just run by feel and keep the balloons in sight for the first mile. The first mile is reasonable and it passed by in 6:49. I was on the heels of the pacers and it was a bit crowded but I easily fell into a steady rhythm and just tipped along. The 2nd mile was flat again with a small pull at the end and we clocked 7:00 flat. I felt very comfortable and eased up to the shoulder of one of the pacers as it was getting a bit tight in the group. I remember that there was a bit of a drag in mile 3 but to be fair while the effort levels rose a bit it wasn't too bad and we did it in 6:58.

The 4th mile has the sharpest uphill which comes right after a sharp descent. The pacers were very encouraging, and the 35 min train was picking off people fairly regularly at this stage. I took stock of how I was feeling and decided to get up the hill with the group and then try and push on for the last miles The pull up was tough but I raised the effort levels and decided to push on. I had a couple of targets ahead to pace myself off. I was very happy with a 6:57 for the hardest mile of the course. The last mile is mainly downhill, and I was conscious of not emptying the tank too early. I was passing a few people at this stage and averaging about 6:30 pace for the mile. I could feel the effort levels were approaching max, so I eased off slightly to keep something for the finish. There was a sharp right and then about 500m to the line. I was passed by two or three at this stage whilst also passing a few. I could hear the announcer calling out the time and tried to put some sort of burst to the line, but it turned out to be more of a maintaining pace really. I was delighted to see 34:29 on the watch with a 6:33 last mile. 6:54 avg & 166 HR.

The rest of the lads came in fairly soon after me and I think everyone was pretty happy with their run. I demolished a bottle of chocolate milk and we did a very easy cool down before taking advantage of the impressive spread of sandwiches and cakes. It is an excellent race and a credit to the organisers. Thinking about the race now I'm even happier with it as I think I paced it well, the pacers helped as I was able to switch off for almost 4 miles. I also managed a slight negative split which I haven’t done that often. Perhaps I was a bit conservative, but I think this is an approach which would work better for me then going out hard and not quite hanging on. There aren't that many 5 mile races around since the demise of the Ballycotton series but I think that a sub 34 is more that achievable. Between the warm up and the cool down I got 7.5 miles in, a decent warm up helped me as well. Easy day Friday and than Ballyhoura on Saturday.

tbukela

Friday – 3rd May
3.43 miles – Corrin
Headed out for some easy miles to try out the running vest/backpack I had gotten for Ballyhoura. First time ever wearing one and I was a bit worried about how it would feel. I did a quick first mile which had a nice downhill and climb to see how it felt with no issues. I eased off then for the remainder of the run. Lovely evening for a run and was looking forward to the race. 9:37 AVG & 133HR

Saturday – 4th May
Ballyhoura Trail Half Marathon
Please be warned that this is quite long, much longer than anticipated.
I had put this in the diary a long time back as a goal for the year, not from a racing/time point but just to try something a bit different. I watched a load of YouTube videos about trail races and ultras and there is something that I find very appealing about them without obviously ever having gone through the presumed pain of one. I had been told that the course was one of the easier ones in the Munster Half Marathon league and relatively accessible for beginners. Coming into it I hadn’t done a massive amount of hill work but had done a 10K IMRA race a few weeks previous which was a real eye opener. The most surprising aspect of that race was how hard I found the steep descents, I lost a lot of time on those as I was very apprehensive in my approach. Without having any benchmark for time for this race I was expecting a finishing time of well over 2 hours. I had managed to convince two of my regular running buddies to join me for what would be their first experience as well. We had great craic heading down in the car to Kilfinnane, but it got a bit quieter as we got closer and saw the collection of hills surrounding us. We passed some of the marathon runners as we approached the village who were all motoring along nicely.

The race HQ was in the local school and was a very informal, friendly affair. The nerves were starting to set in a bit as I was looking at some of the other runners and the equipment that they had. I was doubting whether I had either too much or not enough. The start for the half was about 5k away so we got buses out. I sat down next to another clubmate who has been doing this for awhile and he gave me some great tips on what to expect. He pointed out Seefin Mountain which was the main climb, which looked very pretty in the morning sun but also very high. We were dropped off by a holiday village where the start line was and watched some of the ultra-competitors come through. It was hard not to be impressed with what they were in the process of undertaking. I did a brief warm up shuffle to keep warm and decided to take off the jacket and run in the singlet. After a short race briefing we lined up and we were off.

The Climb
There were 135 runners in the Half and I think only maybe 2 or 3 went over the start line after us. The plan was to take it nice and easy and to run together. The lads hadn’t trained much in the last few weeks with some niggles so just wanted to finish it and enjoy the experience. The first mile was through a wooded area with a small downhill and pull up and was nice and relaxed. The watch beeped at 9:05 and life was good. We came out of the wood and turned right on a road which we stayed on for .3 of a mile before a sharp turn left onto a really minor road and the start of the climb. The field was after breaking into single file almost at this stage and some people were power hiking. The lads were right behind me and we started making our way up the incline passing people. The pace was slow but steady. I was a bit surprised that after maybe 600M to see that the lads were a good bit back already and I had to make a decision to wait or keep pushing on. I had passed maybe 15 people and there were a few just ahead of me. I could see that the track was getting narrower up ahead and steeper. I felt good, so I said I’d just go with it. The 2nd mile was 10:05 with 305 ft of climbing, things were getting serious now. I was continuing to tip away at a steady pace and passing people as the gradient was starting to get steeper. The surface was runnable, and I could see the line of people ahead as the path snaked up the mountainside. I ran most of the 3rd mile until the last section when my calves were getting a bit sore. To be honest I was as quick walking as running. The 3rd mile was 11:34 and 484 ft of elevation with a steepest gradient of 17.5%. At this stage everyone was walking, and I could see directly up to the top of the climb, the surface was loose enough in spots so I had to pay attention to my footing. I had a quick look back and could see the line of people behind and some spectacular views. After about 6 minutes of walking I was on top of Seefin, 1,651 ft, with magnificent views around the Ballyhouras. I didn’t expect it to be as nice as it was. This was 3.2 miles into the race and I knew that the next few miles were downhill. There were 2 guys right in front of me and a decent gap to those behind me.

The Descent
I was dreading the immediate section after the climb as the profile showed that it was a really steep fall. The surface wasn’t great and there were one or two single plank crossing which were interesting. The remainder of the 4th mile had a descent of just over 300ft in .8 of a mile giving a total elevation change of 560 ft in the mile. The time clocked in at 11:57 which didn’t register at the time. This was mainly due to the fact that I was doing my best to stay upright as I was flying down single-track trails at what felt like supersonic speeds. In reality from comparing my splits to others afterwards on Strava I lost a good bit of time on the downhills. I knew this during the race as the guys ahead pulled away from me and I could feel people bunching up behind me. Wherever possible I tried to keep to one side and let people pass where possible and maybe 2 people passed me. The 5th mile was a 7:41 with a 340 ft fall. The 6th mile was a bit more comfortable gradient wise and I felt a bit more in control. I came very close to going wrong here and this sharpened my focus. We were running thought some lovely trails and it felt a bit manic to be honest. The mile split was 7:45 and I was catching people ahead and creating a bit of distance to those behind. This was another big downhill mile with elevation fall of 215 ft. I was in a nice rhythm now and motoring along nicely. We came off a fire road onto a proper road for a short bit. I noticed a pain on my big toe which could only be a blister. Running on the tarmac made it very noticeable. I was glad to get off the road onto the softer surface as we headed back into woods. I knew that we were coming to the end of the downhill section and that there was some climbing ahead, but I didn’t know how bad it was going to be. I was still feeling good and had caught up to a group of maybe 5 ahead. This mile was a 7:40 with 262ft of a downhill.

Tough miles and finish
This bit really showed me how difficult it can be to run on these course as we all went the wrong way. To be fair I think the sign was wrong but still there must have been about 15 people who went wrong in my immediate vicinity. Looking back, I should have known straight away as we went from running on a track to going completely off road and climbing over branches, nettles etc. Luckily a group came back and said that they had reached a dead end so we all turned around. It was only probably only 200M off course and 2 minutes, but it really broke my momentum. It also created a bit of a bottle neck as a big group had now came together. We exited the woods and were on the road again, I had no idea where we were. There was a bit of a drag and most people slowed down except for one guy who just went for it. I decided to try and stick with him and kept plugging away. Another couple of guys went with me and we came to a sign directing us back into woods with no real track. I found myself in the lead and trying to keep the pace up, avoid branches and also follow the markers. It was brilliant. Those two miles were 9:36 & 9:51 with over 300 ft of climbing and I was starting to feel it. We were on the road again and the blister was very sore, I was trying to land my foot differently in avoid landing on it. I checked the watch and remember being surprised that it was showing 9.4 miles, I think I lost track of a mile somewhere. The next bit was very hard with a drag that wasn’t overly severe but nonetheless felt hard. I knew that the last two miles were downhill but there was still a bit of climbing to be done. I stopped to walk for a bit which was ok, I used it as an opportunity to take on some water and take stock of where I was. I checked my watch and thought that with the downhill to come as long as I didn’t walk too much I could break two hours. This was now the target. I got going again and could see the last pull ahead of me. I kept plugging away but ending up walking where I lost the guys ahead and was passed by one runner. This was the only bit of walking I was annoyed with as I was only a small bit from cresting the final climb at 10.6 miles. It was downhill from here, so I quickly got down to low 7 min pace and started passing people. It was hard to tell if people were in the half or full, but I had a target to run down so I just kept going. The surface was a badly paved minor road which was hard enough to run on. The splits for the 10th & 11th mile were 9:01 & 10:09. I wasn’t sure of the exact course length, just that it was slightly under 13 miles, so I didn’t want to blow up too early. I was doing a nice pace and could see the church steeple ahead in the distance. Mile 12 was a 7:14 and I knew that unless I blew up I’d break 2 hours, I was gaining on the guy ahead until he spotted me before we reached the village and he sped up a bit. I glanced behind me and saw someone flying towards me, so I tried to put on a spurt myself. The last bit to the finish was tough as I could feel the HR raising but I didn’t want to be passed so I pushed all the way to the line before finishing in a heap, not before stopping the watch of course. I was 6 seconds behind the guy in front and 1 second in front of the next finisher. I was delighted with a time of 1:58:09 on the watch and an official time of 1:58:19 which was good enough for 45th out of 135. I did the last .93 in 6:55 pace. The average for the course distance of 12.93 miles was 9:08 with a 151HR but a high HR of 192! The total elevation gain was 1,936 ft and the cumulative elevation change must have been 3,000 ft plus. I reckon that knowing the course now I could take a couple of minutes off my time but until I get some confidence on the descents I'll always be losing time to the majority of the field.

I had a good chat with people at the finish line comparing where people went wrong and the climbs etc. while waiting for the two buddies. The lads finished together and seemed to have a great time, making loads of new friends and enjoying the views. After a shower in the local GAA club we sat down to a feed of Chicken curry and rice along with a bottle of beer and dessert! There was a real buzz and sense of camaraderie afterwards especially with the full and ultra-finishers. The organisation and set up was top class and it was great value for €35. The memento for the half was a mug with the course profile which I feel was hard earned and looks suitably impressive. It was a great event and one that was really accessible to all. There was a real sense of achievement coming home after it although I completely crashed and burned on the couch that evening.

Sunday – 5th May
5 miles – recovery
I headed out for an easy run with one of the lads to try work out some of the soreness from the day before. There was nothing particularly painful, other than the blister which wasn’t as bad in the looser fitting shoes. It was more a feeling of tiredness in my bones.

Summary
It turned out to be a very good week with two races, including a solid 5-mile effort and PB and first trail half. I was pleased with 45 miles for the week with mainly easy miles. Hopefully I can keep the mileage up for the next few weeks before starting the marathon training. I still haven’t decided on a training plan, I’m finding the Daniels book a bit complicated to be honest. The sessions seem really good but hard and the midweek mileage would be tough to fit in. Maybe I’ll try and keep it a bit simpler for this one.

Kellygirl

Well done in Ballyhoura. Seems so different with the hikes and climbs rather than solid running. I’m surprised your quads weren’t killing you from the downhill parts though.

tbukela

Monday – 6th May
8 miles - Neither here nor there

Intention was for another easy run while recovering after the hills. Unfortunately the execution was poor. Went out on the club run and got caught up running quicker than easy and not quick enough to be a session. Still an enjoyable run with the lads but I need to watch the pace on the easy runs though. 8:13 avg & 137 HR

Thursday – 9th May
7.32 miles – trails

After two days rest as my hamstrings were very tender. I was itching for a run. I headed for the hills with some company. Mainly easy with a couple of quick intervals thrown in, managed a PR on my usual half mile uphill segment. I felt like the hills were very manageable for a change. 9:39 avg, 139 HR & 1,146 Ft climb

Friday – 10th May
4.5 miles – 400ms

Early start as we had a wedding so decided on a short sharp session. As usual I did the first interval by feel and then used it as the target. Ended up walking the 45 second recoveries but still I was happy enough. 92, 91, 92, 93, 93, 92, 93 & 92. It was a nice start to what turned out to be great day at the wedding.

Sunday – 12th May
20.12 miles – Club Long Run

This turned out to be an unexpected run. Some of the club mates were doing their last long run before Cork and were feeling a bit apprehensive about the 20 miles so I said that I’d run some of it with them and keep the pace nice and easy for everyone. My intention was to only run about 14 miles but it was such a beautiful morning with great company I just kept going. Another club mate followed us for the whole route handing out water and jellies etc., just brilliant camaraderie and one of my favourite things about being in the club. I found the pace handy enough but was pretty tired at the end, 3hrs 18mins on the feet will do that! Thoughts did cross my mind about signing up for the full but they were quickly dismissed. I might do the half and then pace the lads for the 2nd half of their marathon. 9:53 avg & 131 HR

Summary
A strange week, decent mileage (40) but 3 days non running, also no race for a change. I don’t have much planned race wise for the next while so will try and get a bit of quality (providing the legs are ok). Congrats on the great running by boardsies this weekend.

Kellygirl

That long run sounds great. I think I’d like club stuff but just doesn’t suit to join one at the moment with kids and my husband traveling for work.

tbukela

Kellygirl wrote: »

That long run sounds great. I think I’d like club stuff but just doesn’t suit to join one at the moment with kids and my husband traveling for work.

Where I think joining a club is really beneficial is for the community aspect. A few people who were new to the locality and joined the club have told me they found it a great way to get to know people especially if they weren't into GAA, Soccer etc. They enjoy going out for a group run during the week for the social aspect of it and most of the runs are organised outside of the set evening runs to suit peoples personal circumstances.

Some clubs are very organised when it comes to training etc whilst for others, you're kinda of on your own. That suits me as I get the benefit of the company when needed but also the choice to do my own sessions/training when I want also. I'd really recommend joining a club to anyone.

Kellygirl

tbukela wrote: »

Where I think joining a club is really beneficial is for the community aspect. A few people who were new to the locality and joined the club have told me they found it a great way to get to know people especially if they weren't into GAA, Soccer etc. They enjoy going out for a group run during the week for the social aspect of it and most of the runs are organised outside of the set evening runs to suit peoples personal circumstances.

Some clubs are very organised when it comes to training etc whilst for others, you're kinda of on your own. That suits me as I get the benefit of the company when needed but also the choice to do my own sessions/training when I want also. I'd really recommend joining a club to anyone.

I hopefully will get to join one sometime when I have more time. I’d love the social aspect.

tbukela

W/E 19th May
This was a bit of shocker with only two runs and 15 miles. I think that even though I felt physically ok after the 20 miler, I was really fatigued. There was definitely a lack of motivation starting to creep in. I tried to counter this by looking at the results of some local races and comparing the improvements of people that would usually be around me and were now flying it. The fear of falling behind might prove to be a good motivation tool.

Monday – 20th May
4.25 miles - trails
After not running for three days I said I’d hit the trails for a few hill repeats. I found this quite tough but got a massive amount of satisfaction from it. Delighted to be back out and kicking myself for missing days. 8:48 avg & 751 ft elevation

Tuesday – 21st May
6 miles – progression run
I was in Dublin the night before and had intended on going for an early morning spin around Herbert Park but I got the time of my meeting wrong so ended up going for a few miles when I got home before juvenile training. I found the first couple of 800M progression blocks reasonable, but I struggled with the sub 7 pace and just couldn’t keep the pace going for the last one. Still a nice reintroduction to a bit of speed and a nice easy cool down afterwards. 7:52 avg & 152 HR

Wednesday – 22nd May
4.25 miles - easy
Nice easy run before Camogie, the midweek evenings are busy at the moment so glad to get the miles in. 9:07 avg & 131 HR

Thursday – 23rd May
7.25 miles – Club Run
This was a lovely run in the light rain, nice reasonable pace and great to have some company. This is going to be one of the main default midweek runs for the summer, fingers crossed. 8:37 avg & 138 HR

Friday – 24th May
5.75 miles - intervals
I had a proper day off so got out early before school for a short interval session of 2 x 800M (3:20 & 3:12) & 2 x 600M (2:25 & 2:25). I really struggled with the paces but that’s where I am now so a bit of a reality check. It was great to have the run out of the way nice and early.

Sunday – 26th May
11 miles – Club Run
I headed out with some of the marathon & half marathon gang for this. Nice easy first two miles and then slowly built it up to 8:20 ish pace for most of the run. It was great to get out early and have a bit of company for the run. I felt comfortable enough with the pace and felt there was a lot more left in the tank when finished. 8:39 avg & 141 HR

I’m a bit disappointed that I won’t be running in Cork next weekend. I would have liked to do the half and was sorely tempted by the full at one stage. I’ll still get up and situate myself outside the in laws house in Ballyphehane to support all the runners. Hopefully the weather will be good for running and then great for partying afterwards as there is a great buzz around town for the day.

Summary
I was happy with the week; the mileage (38) was reasonable. I didn’t want to overload so the plan was get out often with manageable mileage. I would have liked to have gotten a race in but unfortunately nothing suited. Still a good week

tbukela

Berlin Training

My countdown app tells me that there is 125 days till Berlin, so an 18-week training plan starts today. I found it very hard to decide on a plan and considered P&D, Hanson & Daniels. I like the idea of the Hanson plan but not sure if I fully got it, following the recent thread with interest. It’s probably something I’ll consider for another cycle. I was strongly veering towards the Daniels, but the mid-week mileage load is, at the moment, not something I feel I could stick with. The kids have so much going on in the evenings and with at least two days a week spent coaching or at matches I think something would have to give. That left me with the P&D plan, I had hoped to do the 55-70 plan but again I don’t think I’d get the mileage in. This means that I’m going to follow the up to 55 plan and add easy miles/days where possible. I think that considering I’ve done some long runs in the last month, 20 miles & 25K, that I have a decent base. I’ll take 4 weeks to get into focused training mode and then reassess where I am.

The goal realistically or not is sub 3:30. This might seem like a big chunk to take off a 3:49 PB but I think it is achievable. My last proper race was Mallow 10 Mile in March in 71.29 and my most recent two half marathons were Waterford in December in 1:39 and Charleville in September in 1:35. Of course that 1:35 was before the Dublin 3:49 but I think I lost the mental battle that day. Any of the commonly used calculators, taken with a serious health warning, indicate that a sub 3:30 should be manageable based on those times which I don’t think are aberrations. I’m going to use 7:45 as planned marathon pace, subject to revaluation in 4 weeks. Based on that the easy runs will be 9:08 – 10:08, long runs 8:08 – 9:38 and lactate threshold 7:00 – 7:18. I’ve the half in Cahir at the start of July in the plan as a indicator of where I am. I'm going to try and fit in as many races as possible without compromising the long runs and MP runs.

tbukela

Week 1 Berlin Training
Monday – 27th May
5.5 miles – trails
First day of the training plan and headed out for a mixed pace run on the trails. I’ve started to add some faster downhill reps also as my downhill running is poor. Good start to the plan. 8:37 avg & 901 ft elevation gain

Tuesday – 28th May
8 miles – 4 @ LT range
First session of the plan, the range for the pace miles was supposed to be 7:00 to 7:28 but I was aiming for 7:20 pace which I thought was closer to current HMP. The four miles came in at (7:17, 7:15, 7:16 & 7:13) and felt comfortably hard. I was well up for the run and felt focused throughout. 7:53 avg & 146 HR

Thursday – 30th May
4 miles – easy
Nice handy run, probably a little bit quick but I was caught for time. Headed down to the GAA pitch later with the family for a charity mile run and I was proud out when the 7 & 5 year olds did the full mile with hardly any walking. 9:05 avg & 134 HR

Friday – 31st May
4 miles – 2 @ HMP
I got a late entry for the Cork Half so pulled the planned longer run for a small bit of race pace (7:30, 7:26). The run was disjointed as I kept meeting people and stopping for a chat. 8:01 avg & 141 HR

Sunday – 2nd June
Cork Half Marathon

I’ll get the excuses out of the way early for this. I had not intended on running it but didn’t want to miss out on the buzz of doing the big local race. I was at a wedding on the Saturday, so I was pretty exhausted waking up Sunday morning. That being said I felt pretty confident that I would run sub 1:40. Good buzz around the city hall and meet up with the lads and watched the full marathon runners come past the half start point. GOH was flying it and had built up a nice lead from the next two. I decided to go out ahead of the 1:40 pacers and found myself worryingly close to the start and off we went.

Miles 1-4 (7:06, 7:14, 7:08, 7:22)
The first two miles are quick enough, so I wasn’t overly worried about the pace. I was trying to settle into a rhythm and was enjoying myself. There was great buzz passing the relay change over on centre park road and past the elysian and I went a bit quick. I was passing people going along the small drag of the south link and thinking life is great.

Miles 5-8 (7:28, 7:53, 7:47, 7:48)
We were now going through Turners Cross and heading for Ballyphehane where I lived for years. I hadn’t been paying attention to my watch so was a little bit concerned when I saw the pace and HR. My family were just after the 6-mile mark and I tried to look strong as I passed them and got the high 5s etc but heading towards the drag up through Ballyphehane I knew I was goosed. It was strange how quickly the feeling came on. Miles 6, 7 & 8 were tough, and I could feel the pace dropping as more and more Half runners were passing me. I tried to keep plugging away and appreciated the support as I went along the route.

Miles 9- 11 (7:42, 7:58, 8:22)
I was swallowed up by the first of the 1:40 pacers at the 8-mile mark and this was very deflating. I should have taken a moment to take stock of the situation because I was still under 1:40 pace at this stage but I let the head drop. I was now in the midst of the 3:20-3:30 marathon crew and I could tell that they were suffering. I tried to offer encouragement as I went along and to honest the only reason I didn’t stop to walk was due to them bravely battling on. I tried to pick things up going down past the tennis village but as soon as I hit Carrigrohane and saw the seemingly never-ending straight road ahead I gave up. I had dipped my toe in the waters of the pain cave and decided that it wasn’t for me. The 2nd 1:40 balloon passed on at about the 10.5-mile mark and he was doing a great job of encouraging people to latch on but I just didn’t have it in me. I was passed by a lot of people I knew along here and there was some good banter, mostly at my expense.

Miles 12- finish (8:22, 7:52 & 1:27)
Mile 12 was the hardest of the race for me, I was feeling the heat and my legs felt like stone. I was delighted to get into the shade of the Mardyke. I was passed by a clubmate along here but didn’t muster a response. I was jogging at this stage, feeling better and enjoying the crowd. I tried to pick it up a bit passing the 13 mile marker and passed a few people along here. There was great encouragement from all the fellow runners especially towards those running the full. I entered full hero sprint mode coming onto Patricks street and picked off a few people at the end.

Race Summary
Immediately after the race I was surprised that my finishing time was 1:41:37 as I thought I had shipped more time over the last few miles. It was also surprising that people were telling me not to be too hard on myself over the time. I’m not sure what that reflects on me and my normal post-race demeanour. I was a bit disappointed at not going sub 1:40 but the fight just wasn’t in me. I was glad that I kept going as the urge to stop was strong at times. I paced the race very poorly, almost 4 minute positive spilt is evidence of that, current fitness just isn’t at that level. It was a real eye opener at the start of the training plan as to how much work needs to be done which is a good thing and a valuable lesson. It wasn’t a goal race and I’m glad that I did it, enjoyed the craic around town and cheering on club mates doing the full. Another thing I took from it was that I wouldn’t fancy doing the full in Cork, course isn’t overly friendly and the mix of other races (half and relay) makes it tough.

May Summary
This was a solid if unspectacular month. Decent increase in mileage to 152 with some nice elevation included. Only two races which was a bit poor although a 5 mile PB and first trail half were real highlights. The next few months should show a steady increase in mileage and sessions over the summer which I’m looking forward to.

Mr. Guappa

Well done on Sunday, it's not easy to keep the show on the road when you know early on that you're in trouble. Took good mental strength not to fall completely to bits. Best of luck with the Berlin training too!

I was thinking about the Coolagown 5k there next week - seems like it gets a good crowd?

tbukela

Thanks A, I was glad to get out racing again.

Coolagown is a lovely 5K, the first mile is really quick with a 65 ft elevation drop then the 2nd mile is a real challenge gaining 95 ft in half a mile. Gradual fall down to the finish then. Big crowds the last few years and a lovely spread afterwards. Fully recommend it.

Mr. Guappa

tbukela wrote: »

Thanks A, I was glad to get out racing again.

Coolagown is a lovely 5K, the first mile is really quick with a 65 ft elevation drop then the 2nd mile is a real challenge gaining 95 ft in half a mile. Gradual fall down to the finish then. Big crowds the last few years and a lovely spread afterwards. Fully recommend it.

Cheers, I have another option for the following night, so it will just come down to which night suits best as next week unfolds.

tbukela

Berlin Week 2

Tuesday - 4th June
8.25 - GA w/strides
Took Monday off as tired after the half, with the benefit of a few days distance I'm happy with how the Half went. Something to build on but also keep me honest. Anyway, this was a nice easy ish run, pace was around the 8:40 mark. I was supposed to so 10 100M strides but only managed 6. Found them tiring but good to get some speed in. 8:44 avg & 133 HR

Thursday - 6th June
10 miles - GA
This was a good run, 10 miles with decent elevation (1,000ft) and a spectacular view from the top of the hill looking at the bands of rain on one side and a giant rainbow on the other. 9:19 avg & 136 HR

Friday - 7th June
3 miles - easy
This should have been a recovery run but I was caught for time so just kept it short and easy. Weather was like middle of winter, cold and wet. 9:18 avg & 130 HR

Saturday - 8th June
5 miles - Progression
After a morning of watching Feile hurling I headed out for a short progression run. Did 4 miles starting at 7:58 and ending with 7:07. 7:55 avg & 146 HR

Sunday - 9th June
14.5 miles - Long Run
I swapped the long run from Weeks 1 & 2 of the plan as I think last weeks half could count as the MP run. Absolutely beautiful morning for a run. Delighted to have some company and headed out for a fairly lumpy route on mainly lovely quiet country roads. I didn't notice the time passing and was happy to see the pace was pretty decent at the end. A mile before and half after gave me the 14.5 miles. 8:38 avg & 141 HR for the 13 miles.

Summary
A good week, I started the week tired but feel good today. A solid 40 miles with over 2,500 ft of climbing. No real session but that's ok. This phase of the plan is building the endurance. The week ahead will have a session early in the week and a club 5K on Thursday which is a good test. I'll aim to knock out a 15 miler at the weekend.

tbukela

Berlin Week 3 ish
Monday – 10th June
6 miles – GA

I did just under two laps of the 5K race route with the club, good craic and enjoyable banter setting up the competition pre-race. I’d forgotten that it is a tricky route to be fair. 8:24 avg & 139 HR

Tuesday – 11th June
10 miles – GA

This run felt like a bit of a chore at the start but eventually I settled into it and really enjoyed it. I had to keep an eye on the pacing at times but turned out to be a good one. 8:34 avg & 138 HR

Thursday – 13th June
5 miles – Coolagown 5K race

This is one of several races organised in the parish, so it is always well supported by the club. I did 20:57 here last year and didn’t really know what to expect. The first mile is quick then a half mile pull and the remainder is a gradual downhill. There was a good crowd of about 270, slightly down on last year.

The start was a bit messy with a group of kids too close to the front, but I managed to stay clear and got away ok. I went hard but didn’t push into the red and was happy with a 6:16. Fast but this was the fastest mile. I tried to keep a steady rhythm going for the two-part climb and thought that my hill work would have stood to me more. After the hill we turned back onto the main road and I was able to take stock of who was around me. I was in a group of four and found myself in the lead of the group as we headed against the wind. The 2nd mile was 6:59 which was only alright. I still felt like I was moving ok though. Naively I stayed in the front and took the punishment, sure enough as we approached the 800m to go mark, off went the lads and I couldn’t follow. The gap wasn’t big, but I couldn’t bridge and they put 20 seconds into me by the end. I was passed by two lads in the last 200M and I didn’t muster much of a response with a fairly one paced effort to the finish. Official time was 20:36 (3rd miles – 6:35) which was a bit meh. I definitely think a low 20:20 was achievable if I had stuck to it.

I was glad of the race as the shorter stuff is all about gritting your teeth at the end. It was an enjoyable evening with loads of familiar faces. An unexpected surprise was meeting Mr G who travelled down for it and ran a cracking time. Nice to meet a boardsie in person, especially a sound lad like himself. The DCM novices are in very capable hands.

Summary
Unfortunately, my running week finished on the Thursday with a grand total of 21 miles. By the time I got home from the race I wasn’t feeling great and after a really bad night, went to the GP. A swift diagnosis of tonsillitis followed with a strict instruction of no running. I felt so bad I wasn’t overly disappointed (at first), cue a weekend of bed rest (except for a camogie match). I’m going to take the first half of this week very handy and try and run to a low HR. I’m not overly concerned about the lost miles as I feel that an 18-week plan is plenty long enough.

tbukela

I'm resurrecting the log for the a Berlin before and after update. it's very long so apologies in advance.

Berlin Training Block
Coming out of Dublin 2018, I was bitterly disappointed with my run, not so much the time but rather how I had detonated in the latter period, mentally more so than physically. I had entered the Berlin lottery not really expecting anything but had been pleasantly surprised to get in. The goal was to run a marathon I was happy with – no time pressures at the start but just finish it feeling like I’d given my best

I decided to follow a hybrid of the P&F 18 week up to 55 plan and 55-70 plan and started on the 27th May. I had built up a good base of 726 miles YTD, racing a good bit during the spring and getting 10 mile & 5K PBs. My hope was to keep the mileage consistent, increase gradually and incorporate hills and races where it made sense. I didn’t think I did many races in the lead up to the marathon, but I actually did 11 in the 18 weeks, mainly 5k & 4-mile races. At the end of the first week I did Cork half in 1:41, which I was a bit disappointed with, but it made me realise that there was plenty work to do. I used a range of 7:50-8:10 for the MP work which mostly seemed ok. As the training block went on, I became more disciplined in slowing down my easy and recovery runs and started doing this on my own as I found I went faster when running with the group. As I was the only one doing Berlin with most of the lads training for Dublin, I was a bit ahead of them in terms of long runs, but I was lucky to have had company for almost all the really long ones.

I also incorporated of lot of my easy runs into weekly trail runs, I found these to be very helpful in breaking up the monotony and the elevation naturally led to slowing down. I do think that the steady consistent hill work has increased my overall leg strength. I probably wasn’t as dedicated to completing all of the sessions and fudged a few of them. Some were replaced with races which may have been shorter in duration but had greater intensity levels. I had a couple of close calls with the sub 20 5K before I eventually, and just about, got it at the start of August. This was a nice confidence boost. I wasn’t as lucky with my sub 70 10 Mile attempt coming up 20 seconds shy but overall, I PB’d every distance from 5K to 10 miles during the training block. I didn’t race a half marathon properly, doing Cork (1:41), Cahir (1:37) and Charleville (1:44). In hindsight I think a full effort half would have been a good indicator of where I was during the training and there was a spell where I think I would have comfortably gone sub 1:35.
Over the 18 weeks I completed 743 miles, an average of 41 miles, with 3 off weeks (less than 21 miles). The highest weekly mileage was 63 with a couple of 58/59s. I did 3 long runs, 2 20s and a 21. These only went alright I think. The first 20 was an 8:39 average, easy start and a couple of quicker miles to finish with but no MP miles. The 21-mile run was 8:35 average with 7 miles at MP and went well. Unfortunately, the last run didn’t go great with some GI issues. The average was 8:13 with a negative split but didn’t fill me with confidence. The taper was slightly abbreviated going from 60 – 42 -29 miles in the runup to the marathon. I found that this worked better than the longer ones I’d taken for Limerick & Dublin last year. I tried to keep a bit of intensity but reduced the mileage and stopping doing hill work also.

I was very surprised that when I compared the 18 weeks leading up to Dublin last year to the Berlin block, that I did more miles last year. I had very few down weeks last year and was consistent in doing my miles. Comparing the two the biggest difference I can see was the longer mid-week runs this year with LT effort and doing the easy runs easier. I suppose it goes to show that an increase in mileage isn’t necessarily the answer. Overall, I was very happy with the training block and took a lot from it. It’s hard to get the miles in, just as it is for everyone training for a marathon. In one way its easier in the summer with the weather and longer evenings but it does impact on family life. I think I’ll be giving an autumn marathon a skip for a while after this.

Berlin Expo & Pre-race
I think I only truly understood the size of the marathon when we were making our way to the expo on the Saturday morning, it was truly manic. There were people everywhere. We’d gotten the early flight from Dublin after driving up from home at 2am so all I wanted was to get the number and head to the hotel. It took about an hour to get the number and it wasn’t that bad, the queues were even worse when leaving. I was surprised at how little official gear was left when I went through, nothing in medium, it was like the remnants of a Black Friday sale you’d see on TV. In all it took 3 hours to get there, grab the number and get back, which wasn’t as bad as I had thought but still a chore the day before the race.

After a couple of hours kip, we went for a walk from the hotel to the Brandenburg gate which was less than 10 mins. The inline skating race was just finishing so there was loads of people around and there was a great buzz. There had been a torrential downpour earlier and there was loads of surface water which didn’t bode well for Sunday. We strolled around for about an hour trying to get an idea of the layout for the following day, found a decent spot for a very tasty burger and headed back to the hotel. I decided to stretch the legs and went for an easy 2 mile run down to the tiergarten area where there was still loads of people. There was a real sense of anticipation that something big was going to happen.

The alarm went off about 6:20 and I was surprised that I’d gotten a good night’s sleep. This was despite the ridiculously soft pillows. I won’t get into the Fawlty towers type conversation with the receptionist the evening before about the pillows, definitely something was lost in translation. I was a bit nervous about how my stomach would hold up so after a good bit of water, I had a cliff bar and took some Imodium. The plan was to carry four gels and take another one prior to starting. I pinned two to my shorts, one on each hip and had 2 in the pockets. I was in wave 2 and corral E which was up to 3:30 pace. I wasn’t in a major rush to get there too early as I would be hanging in the back of that group. The walk down was quick with big crowds around the place, I said my goodbyes to my wife, slightly emotional, and headed into the runner’s area in front of parliament. The area was very well laid out and I dropped my bag easily and headed towards the corrals at about 8:15. There was giant queues for toilets before I spotted a shorter queue and jumped in. The corrals themselves were well stewarded at the start but as it got closer to the start time, a lot of people were hopping the fence. This might have only been around where I was, but it was a pretty common sight and easily done.
There were loads of big screens showing pre-race videos and interviews with a timer counting down. First the hand bikes and wheelchair athletes went off and then about 9:10 ish the main elite athletes were introduced, and you could feel the mood change as people realised that this was about to start. The build up was excellent and I went from feeling sick in my stomach to thinking I could win the race, it was electric. The corral was very full at this stage and the block behind was wedged at the front as people were trying to position themselves. There was a great roar from the crowd as the gun went off and the first wave starting streaming over the start line. Our wave was then walked up towards the start line and there was a lot of movement in the crowd as people jostled to get to the front. Eventually around 9:25 the gun for wave 2 went off and it started.

tbukela

Race Report

Berlin Marathon 2019 Race Report
To be honest I have a fairly fuzzy memory of most of the race, I recall very few landmarks etc. My race plan was to try and knock off as many 7:55 ish miles as possible while keeping an eye on my HR. I didn’t want to detonate and run a massive positive split, but I didn’t trust myself enough to run conservatively and then speed up. I thought that I would be able to hold close to 8-minute pace for the duration of the race. I’ll admit that 3:30 was the goal but anything 3:3x would be a good day.

Miles 1-6
The start was strange as the road is so wide there isn’t that much congestion and it was easy enough to get into a bit of a rhythm, I think it had just started raining but it wasn’t too bad. I had the watch on lap pace and kept checking it to make sure it was ok. I was surprised and delighted to get a shout out from a lad from home, whose wife was running, in the first mile. This made me smile and was a nice boost. At about 1.5 miles we took a right turn and the madness began, the crowd just squeezed together, and it was a bit manic as people were attempting to weave in and out of the crowd. It was self-preservation and I just tried to avoid trouble. There was a decent number of spectators, but it struck me that there weren’t overly loud except for smaller groups. I had decided to skip the first water station at 5K and I was glad I did as it was carnage. People cutting in front of each other, cups of water being thrown into people, cups on the ground. It was a warning of what was to come for the rest of the race. I knew I should be passing my wife around the 7K mark and as I was getting closer, I found myself getting emotional. I was delighted to see her and it kinda settled me down. The plan was that she’d try and get out to the 38K mark, so I knew that I was on my own for the next couple of hours.
The splits were: 7:58, 7:49, 7:55, 7:56, 7:45 & 7:59. My HR was holding steady around the 151 mark and I was feeling good. I took a gel before the second water station and tried to take on some water but struggled with the cup.

Miles 7-13
I realised going through the 10K arch that I was about .25 of a mile off by the watch already but thought I would just try hold the effort level. The crowd was funny as there was always people either flying by or going really slowly dependent on what wave they started in. I had picked out a couple of runners who looked strong and tried to keep in step with them. I passed the 10-mile mark at around 79 mins (on the watch) so I was happy with that. I remember nothing about the course for these few miles.
The splits were: 7:53, 7:49, 7:52, 7:49, 7:49, 7:54 & 7:52. HR was fairly constant, around the 151 mark.

Miles 14 - 20
I passed the half way point in 1:43:19 according to the watch and 1:44:36 per the timing mats. I kinda knew that the 3:30 would be a stretch at that point but to try hold the pace as long as possible. I passed my wife again around this point but can’t remember it. She said that I looked over at her but didn’t react. It was starting to rain heavily at this point and I just tried to lock in the effort. There was still a ridiculous amount of weaving and pushing but I was staying out of trouble. Around the 17.5-mile mark I got a really sharp stitch in my right side, I almost stopped out from a moment of panic. I tried pressing my fingers into it and deep breathing etc, but it was really painful. The next mile and a half were very testing, physically and mentally. I kept repeating a phrase to myself that my wife told our smallies to use when they started swimming and hated it. I clung to that for dear life and eventually the stitch passed coming up to the 20-mile mark. I remember a wave of relief washing over me.
The splits were: 7:52, 8:03, 7:50, 7:59, 8:08, 7:56 & 8:11. Looking back now, my HR had increased to 154, and I was feeling it.

Miles 21 – 26.2
I had decided around mile 15 that when I got to the 32K water station I would walk through it to take my gel and get a proper amount of water in. It was properly pelting rain now and I took the minute to collect myself and have a bit of a pep talk. The crowd had contracted again and there were a lot of tired bodies. Mile 21 was my slowest and I decided to stop looking at my watch, which I had been doing regularly to check my pace. However now I was focusing on the distance and so decided to try keep picking off people instead. Miles 22 & 23 were solid and steadied the ship a bit. I was feeling tired but still moving ok and gaining in confidence. I made the snap decision coming up to the last water station to once again stop and take a drink. In hindsight I could have just kept going but no regrets etc. The last couple of miles felt very twisty and I was waiting for the final left turn onto the main street to see the Brandenburg gates. It’s slightly ironic that in such a fast-straight course that the last mile and a half was so twisty. At this stage I was passing more people than being passed. Turning that final corner, I could see the gates ahead, I thought that this would spur me onto a sprint finish, but it just wasn’t in the legs. Approaching the gates, I couldn’t help smiling and finally managed to muster a bit of a sprint for the last bit crossing the line.
The last splits were: 8:52, 8:01, 8:17, 8:32, 8:00, 8:17 & 3:36.

Immediately my overwhelming feeling was relief, that I hadn’t detonated, that I hadn’t cracked mentally etc. I didn’t even check my watch until I’d go through the medal collection etc. I was delighted and briefly annoyed that I didn’t get 3:31 but that didn’t last long. The finish area was very well organised, and I gratefully took a blanket as the cold was starting to sink in. Everyone was drenched and unfortunately there was a fair number of people needing medical assistance which was readily available. The best thing there was a lukewarm lemon ish tea which was glorious. I grabbed my bag and headed over to the showers. I was surprised at how well I was feeling. The showers were interesting, but I felt great after it. I took a moment standing in front of the bundestag to check my watch, look at the medal and let it soak it. As I made my way over to the meeting area I got a bit emotional when meeting my better half.

In the immediate aftermath of the race and especially now I’m very happy with the time of 3:32:06. Never mind that it was a 17 min PB but I feel that its closer to the time that I should be doing. It’s a big confidence boost that I can, and will, go faster in time. The whole experience was so different to the pervious two marathons that I’d done last year in Limerick & Dublin. The crowds were so big, and it never really freed up so much that you could switch off. The water stations were absolutely nuts, I’d recommend missing the stations where possible and carrying water which I noted a lot of people did. My first half was 1:44:36 with a place of 9605 & my second was 1:47:31 with a place of 6143. I suppose what I’d take from this is that a well-judged negative split would lead you to make up significant places throughout the race. It’s also necessary to factor in the extra distance that you’ll run, my watch clocked 26.48 which can distort your perception of the reality of the pace your running. I think one of the biggest things for me now is to push on from this at some stage next year and target taking another chunk off my time. So far I’ve gone from 4:14 (Limerick May 2018) to 3:49 (Dublin Oct 2018) to 3:32 (Berlin 2019). I feel great physically after the marathon and am recovering well, I can’t wait for Dublin in a few weeks and I’m really looking forward to running with the lads and enjoying the race. Best of luck to everyone in their last few weeks of training.

Wubble Wubble

Great race and report T. Some progression in the space of 18 months! Recover well and enjoy the stroll in Dublin

coogy

Well, done, that's some chunk you've taken off last year's time and amazing progress in a relatively short space of time. Congratulations!