Are those my feet?

Bluesquare

Some nice running there ! Last week I just did easy miles before the half , 9 miles Tuesday , 4 Wednesday and 4 Thursday- and then did a 6 mile recovery on Sunday . Miles did drop but the half takes more out of you then 20 miles!

Mr. Guappa

ReeReeG wrote: »

That's some weekend of running you did. Great stuff!

Thanks V. I was buzzing after yesterday's run I must say.

Bluesquare wrote: »

Some nice running there ! Last week I just did easy miles before the half , 9 miles Tuesday , 4 Wednesday and 4 Thursday- and then did a 6 mile recovery on Sunday . Miles did drop but the half takes more out of you then 20 miles!

Thanks! Yeah I'll do something similar so. Well done in Ratoath btw - a great performance! I might try and go for more less of a drifting strategy though :pac:

yido1882

Great mileage A, well done. What's the plan for the DC Half? Are you PB hunting?!

Huzzah!

That back-to-back of the Saturday and Sunday looks so tough. I can see why it's confidence boosting once it's done. Great to hear you were feeling stronger as the run progressed on Sunday, too.

Mr. Guappa

yido1882 wrote: »

Great mileage A, well done. What's the plan for the DC Half? Are you PB hunting?!

Cheers A! I'd like a PB, sure, but I won't be gutted if it doesn't happen. I'm more interested in trying to run a controlled race - plan is to stay around 8-8:10 pace for the first 8 miles then pick it up after that if the legs allow. PB is only 3.5 weeks old from Clonmel (1:43:37) and that's a slightly easier course. Weather also looks like being a factor from what I gather, and in Clonmel I ran 13.1 exactly - this time it's probably going to be closer to 13.2 given the crowds. Getting my excuses in early :pac:

Huzzah! wrote: »

That back-to-back of the Saturday and Sunday looks so tough. I can see why it's confidence boosting once it's done. Great to hear you were feeling stronger as the run progressed on Sunday, too.

I was in a really negative frame of mind heading out Sunday but it was very therapeutic in the end. Kept waiting for the tank to empty - was about 2 hours in before I allowed myself realise it was going pretty well. I do love the grads plans.

ariana`

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Cheers A! I'd like a PB, sure, but I won't be gutted if it doesn't happen. I'm more interested in trying to run a controlled race - plan is to stay around 8-8:10 pace for the first 8 miles then pick it up after that if the legs allow. PB is only 3.5 weeks old from Clonmel (1:43:37) and that's a slightly easier course. Weather also looks like being a factor from what I gather, and in Clonmel I ran 13.1 exactly - this time it's probably going to be closer to 13.2 given the crowds. Getting my excuses in early :pac:

Good luck on Saturday. I think you have the right attitude to this one, it's not the main thing after all

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

I was in a really negative frame of mind heading out Sunday but it was very therapeutic in the end. Kept waiting for the tank to empty - was about 2 hours in before I allowed myself realise it was going pretty well. I do love the grads plans.

You're nailing it! It's very impressive how you control the pace on the very easy days. You're a great example to your novices. Are you finding much fatigue?

Mr. Guappa

ariana` wrote: »

Good luck on Saturday. I think you have the right attitude to this one, it's not the main thing after all



You're nailing it! It's very impressive how you control the pace on the very easy days. You're a great example to your novices. Are you finding much fatigue?

Thanks E! Around the middle of last week I really felt the fatigue in the legs, but then yesterday they felt really fresh and loose. Back to being heavy again for today's miles, although that could be down to lack of stretching/foam rolling last night too.

I enjoy the very easy running I must say, maybe that's why it seems so disciplined? Just gentle miles, trotting about, happy days! I know some people feel like it's not enjoyable, or that they are depriving themselves, or that it's hard work "holding back" but I never really felt any of that, for whatever reason.

Dealerz2.0

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Thanks E! Around the middle of last week I really felt the fatigue in the legs, but then yesterday they felt really fresh and loose. Back to being heavy again for today's miles, although that could be down to lack of stretching/foam rolling last night too.

I enjoy the very easy running I must say, maybe that's why it seems so disciplined? Just gentle miles, trotting about, happy days! I know some people feel like it's not enjoyable, or that they are depriving themselves, or that it's hard work "holding back" but I never really felt any of that, for whatever reason.

I used to “resent” (probably too strong a word) the easy paced miles, but definitely over the last 2 months I both appreciate, enjoy and I feel I am certainly reaping the benefits of running 90+ seconds slower than a planned MP. Benefits in that regard I mean I feel am more ready when the fast pace is called upon and I can handle loading up the mileage. Good luck on Saturday A!

ariana`

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

Thanks E! Around the middle of last week I really felt the fatigue in the legs, but then yesterday they felt really fresh and loose. Back to being heavy again for today's miles, although that could be down to lack of stretching/foam rolling last night too.

I enjoy the very easy running I must say, maybe that's why it seems so disciplined? Just gentle miles, trotting about, happy days! I know some people feel like it's not enjoyable, or that they are depriving themselves, or that it's hard work "holding back" but I never really felt any of that, for whatever reason.

I enjoy the easy miles too on the days that i let it happen naturally, some days that's 10 min/m, other days it's 10:30 min/m and occasionally it's 11 min/m but on the days where 10 min/m is the natural pace and i try to force it to closer to 11 min/m then I enjoy it a lot less! So i suppose i could say I struggle to stick what the pace calculators give me, rather i tend to go with whatever feels easy on a given day and that can quite often be a bit quicker than the RunFastCoach calculator which is quite conservative on easy pace when compared to other calculators. Your easy runs seem more disciplined and by the book which i admire and in fairness it is paying off for you which is great to see, you're a great role model :P

coogy

OOnegative wrote: »

Swap the Tempo for easy miles if you are racing the Half.

Haha, this is what I should have done last week......:rolleyes:

Kellygirl

Best of luck tomorrow A.

OOnegative

All the best tomorrow, run well!!

Dealerz2.0

Run well buddy- hopefully see you there

Comic Book Guy

Have a good one tomorrow A!

Mr. Guappa

Thanks for all the pre-race encouragement guys - always appreciated!

16th September - 22nd September

Monday: 35 mins recovery (3.24 miles @ 10:55). Cadence 168
A few recovery miles following a heavy weekend. Tried to focus on keeping the cadence high, and it worked. Wore my compression socks which I like to do on these short recovery runs.

Tuesday: 85 mins very easy (8.12 miles @ 10:35). Cadence 160
Bit of a mini-taper this week, and swapped out the tempo session for an easier day as advised by OO. I wanted to cross the 40 mile barrier for the week, so kept the mileage at a decent level. I did my workout DVD later that evening.

Wednesday: 75 mins very easy (7.21 miles @ 10:32). Cadence 162
Don't remember anything particular remarkable about either of these midweek runs tbh. Was pretty warm for both alright.

Thursday:
Rest

Friday: 35 mins very easy (3.34 miles @ 10:46). Cadence 160
A little loosener ahead of the Half the following day. Warm again, and I didn't share the enthusiasm of the other parent's at the school gate for "this lovely spell of weather we are having" - outlook all week had been pretty warm for Saturday. Travelled to Dublin on Friday night.


Saturday: Dublin City Half Marathon - 1:44:09
I woke nice and early, had my overnight oats and a banana and walked from Chapelizod to the start area. I met up with ReeReeG and Huzzah! who were on supporting duties for the novices. Following a short warm up of a mile and a chat with skyblue46 I made my way to the start area. The position of the pacers contradicted the signage and the announcer, so I just positioned myself between the 1:40 and 1:50 balloons as planned. A few minutes later and we were off.

Miles 1-3: 8:02, 7:54, 8:02
As I mentioned last week, the plan was to keep things controlled in the early miles and around the 8:00-8:10 mark. Nice and steady through the first mile and I tried to concentrate on keeping the racing line as best I could, and also avoid wasting energy navigating around people. Slighly faster second mile on the downhill toward the Chapelizod gate, but kept the handbrake very much on. Let the pace drift back and just kept it handy as we headed up the hill away from the Chapelizod gate.

Miles 4-6: 8:12, 8:05, 8:02
Very happy with how these miles went. Kept things nice and disciplined, felt strong and in control. All going according to plan, although the dead heat was definitely felt heading up along North Road. Spotted skyblue46 along here somewhere.

Miles 7-9: 7:59, 8:16, 7:30
I really liked the stretch on the path up Chesterfield - a nice break in the shade. Baked on the far side coming back down though. Shoutout from skyblue46 as we turned off Chesterfield. Felt really strong still. A tough mile 8 took us out of the park and up a shaded lane, before finally there was some respite from the climbing as we turned left. Let the pace pick up naturally rather than forcing it too much. Ran stride for stride with a guy for a bit here which was frustrating as he stuck to the middle of the road and I was on the outside and couldn't force myself toward the racing line. Didn't want to check my stride either. Still motoring nicely.

Miles 10-11: 7:47, 7:45
Found these miles pretty tricky. I pushed on as best I could but in the back of my mind I knew to save something for the last mile as well. It was very warm as we turned back onto Chesterfield. Saw ReeReeG and Huzzah! here. I was still going very nicely and felt strong as I passed by lots of people, although the legs were beginning to feel the hurt.

Miles 12-13.17: 7:28, 7:56, 7:03
Kept things pushed on as I headed down Acres road before digging in big time as we headed up that last mile. This was really tough as I chastised myself for any previous thoughts of loving this distance. Saw skyblue46 again along here, although I couldn't muster a shout this time. Lots of people walking along here and I seriously considered joining them, but just persevered and put one foot in front of the other. Dug in as best I could and managed to muster something of a sprint finish as things leveled out and the finish line came into view.

I was delighted with this. 30 seconds outside my Clonmel time, although average pace (7:55) was the exact same (I ran further here). This was a much tougher race too I felt so I was really happy that I stuck to the plan, stayed strong throughout and was able to up the pace towards the end. It makes a huge difference running in a race with such huge numbers, you are constantly surrounded by someone which I find helps. It was great to meet so many of the novices afterwards. Really glad I made the trip for this one - it's a great race. Next stop DCM.


Sunday: 35 mins recovery (3.36 miles @ 10:57). Cadence 160
I wanted to take advantage of another chance to run in the Phoenix Park, so got this in before we hit the road. Legs felt a little heavy and sore, but nothing unexpected.

40.6 miles for the week.

skyblue46

I feel like the Ghost of the Phoenix Park!

ReeReeG

Conveniently left out your elbowing incident
Well done again!

Singer

Well run! Was that 7:15 at mile 7 a typo or did you really, really like the the stretch on the path up Chesterfield?

Mr. Guappa

skyblue46 wrote: »

I feel like the Ghost of the Phoenix Park!

Haha... it certainly felt like you were an omnipresence yesterday. :pac:

ReeReeG wrote: »

Conveniently left out your elbowing incident
Well done again!

I was short for time so had to skimp on some details :pac:
To clarify for everyone else - as I waved at my fellow mentors I was moving through a gap between two runners. The gap shrank as I made my move and I ended up barging through in the end, much to the annoyance of a Bros Pearse girl. More of an unfortunate racing circumstance than anything, and not my normal style. Thanks for reminding me though V :pac:

Singer wrote: »

Well run! Was that 7:15 at mile 7 a typo or did you really, really like the the stretch on the path up Chesterfield?

typo - nicely spotted, it was a 7:59 in reality. Fixed now - thanks! Happy with how it went alright.

Kellygirl

Really well done A. Great racing.

skyblue46 wrote: »

I feel like the Ghost of the Phoenix Park!

I’m wondering have you clones? It’s amusing how many people are mentioning you as part of their race. You seemed to be everywhere

The Black Oil

Kellygirl wrote: »

I’m wondering have you clones? It’s amusing how many people are mentioning you as part of their race. You seemed to be everywhere

Think I saw him 3 times during the FD10 (OK, technically, before, during and after). He must be breaking the laws of physics, though. :pac:

coogy

Super effort A, congrats on a fine performance and very well managed race!

Murph_D

coogy wrote: »

Super effort A, congrats on a fine performance and very well managed race!

Nice run. Well done!

Comic Book Guy

Great performance A, so well controlled. Great report as usual, I didn't have you down as the cynical type though Mr Elbows!!

Bluesquare

Great Performance- strong and controlled . Well done !

ariana`

Super performance A. You controlled those early miles so well and had the gear changes then for later. I was thinking of that strategy earlier in the week but was too afraid (and lacking race experience) to trust that i'd be able to make the gear changes when needed but it was definitely a good way to go for that course and worked for you, really well done.

yido1882

Well done, great report and race so soon after your last half.

Cheers for sharing your tactics here too, your tactics became my tactics for the race!

Good luck for the run in for DCM, you're in great shape to achieve your target.

Rossi7

Great stuff A

Mr. Guappa

Kellygirl wrote: »

Really well done A. Great racing.

Cheers K - It's really whetted the appetite now for the marathon

coogy wrote: »

Super effort A, congrats on a fine performance and very well managed race!

Thanks! Racing each different distance takes practice I find, which is one of the things that makes the marathon so difficult - it's not physically possible to race them too often. I think I learned a lot from the previous HM which helped me here.

Murph_D wrote: »

Nice run. Well done!

Thanks very much. By no means an easy course but an event I really enjoyed.

Comic Book Guy wrote: »

Great performance A, so well controlled. Great report as usual, I didn't have you down as the cynical type though Mr Elbows!!

Cheers J

Bluesquare wrote: »

Great Performance- strong and controlled . Well done !

Thanks - it didn't feel strong and controlled "running" up that last mile. Funny how I always seem to quickly forget the suffering bits and remember the positives more readily.

ariana` wrote: »

Super performance A. You controlled those early miles so well and had the gear changes then for later. I was thinking of that strategy earlier in the week but was too afraid (and lacking race experience) to trust that i'd be able to make the gear changes when needed but it was definitely a good way to go for that course and worked for you, really well done.

Thanks E! I did what I set out to achieve, which was very pleasing. I guess with my strategy there is always the question did I leave a bit of time out there. It certainly didn't feel like that at the finish, and more importantly the same strategy should serve me well in the marathon. Well done again on your own race - super stuff!

yido1882 wrote: »

Well done, great report and race so soon after your last half.

Cheers for sharing your tactics here too, your tactics became my tactics for the race!

Good luck for the run in for DCM, you're in great shape to achieve your target.

Haha, thanks! Well you executed those tactics very nicely - congrats on the PB!

Rossi7 wrote: »

Great stuff A

Cheers man - cracking run yourslef. You look well set for the big one.

Mr. Guappa

23rd September - 29th September

Monday:
Rest

Tuesday: 60 mins very easy (5.45 miles @ 11:08). Cadence 158
It was late Tuesday evening when I got out for this following a 12 hour shift. Very much a ploddy trudge for the most part. Legs and mind felt tired. Got it done though.

Wednesday: 3 x 12 mins threshold, 4 mins recoveries.
Threshold range: 7:23-7:34
Distance|Paces|Cadence
1.58|7:37, 7:33|173
1.59|7:36, 7:26|175
1.59|7:34, 7:31|174

Bit of a struggle to hit the paces at times on this one. First rep was into a nice gale, so effort was about right anyway. Lost concentration for a while on the second rep and the pace drifted off - I have a habit of doing this in sessions for some reason! Third rep was alright. The previous weekend's race was still in the legs too no doubt, and this was a Wednesday morning session following Tuesday night run. Pleased to tick this one off. 2 or so miles each of warm-up and cool down meant 10.2 miles for the morning.

Thursday: 70 mins very easy (6.61 miles @ 10:39). Cadence 161
Felt as though a bit of freshness had returned to the legs following the Half the previous weekend. I did a few drills beforehand - I try and do a little something once or twice a week at least. Cariocas are my favourite - feel great when they go smoothly, although there is always the fear of tripping over myself.

Friday:
Rest

Saturday: 60 mins moderate.
Moderate range: 8:53-8:38
Actual paces (6.79 miles): 8:46, 49, 56, 50, 43, 56, 49
This was a bit of a lazy run. My mind kept drifting off at times during the moderate miles and I'd let the pace creep up, so I missed the paces on a couple of the miles. A decent run all the same - I never really felt under any pressure. It was ideal running conditions to be fair, although the threat of rain meant that I donned the jacket. It wasn't needed and just proved to be a nuisance in the end. With warm-up and cool-down I covered 11.74 miles for the session.

Sunday: 3 hours easy (18.20 miles @ 10:02). Cadence 161
I chose a pretty hilly route for this, with some of the early miles being roads I had not previously run on. I was a touch apprehensive heading out as I wondered whether I'd made a mistake with the route - but off I went. It turned out to be a great run - maybe the route and distance caused me to be more focused than the day before. The first 12 miles went swimmingly, despite a few decent climbs. I was very pleased with myself as I churned out the 10min/miles and told myself I'd make a great 4:40 pacer. Bit of a wobble then around the 14 mile mark as the effort increased a touch, and maranoia kicked in - "What if I have a disaster next month? Maybe the marathon is not for me?" I soon got over that and the effort evened out again. Dug deep for the final two uphill miles, and that was that. I was very satisfied with how this went - it just seemed like a routine run, as if I'm knocking out 18 milers every week. Bar the brief wobble, I felt strong throughout - it all felt very....... easy! I should note hat conditions were again ideal. 20 miler next week - maybe that will change my tune :pac:

52.2 miles for the week. I've also passed my 200 mile target for September, with a few recovery miles tomorrow yet to go. I've been avoiding the sub 4 thread so as not to get bogged down in DCM goals just yet. To distract myself I've been thinking about what's next - I'm currently thinking I'll focus on a Half next year (maybe Charleville) and return to the marathon in Manchester (or London :pac:) 2021! We'll see - I do love training for DCM "alongside" so many others here - it's pretty cool seeing lots of others train towards the same goal as yourself.