Speed or distance?

DeepBlue

Ok, so starting this log to try and keep myself honest on my training. Not sure if it will work but worth a try. I might also find out what I'm doing wrong.

Right, in relation to background I'm on the wrong side of 45 and have been running for the last 14 months or so. I'd classify myself as a non-competitive-but-secretly-competive runner.

The intention this year is to start training properly as my previous training was very scattered and usually not enough for any distance event meaning I'd be pretty fatigued coming towards the end of a race. Average weekly distance would have been 15 - 20K. I do also cycle so average cycling distance per week would be just over 100K. Cycling seems to help running fitness but not vice versa so cycling would usually be favoured by me.

Current PB's:
5k | 22.30 | Aug '18
10k | 47:57 | Sep '18
10 mile | 1:18:47 | Sep '18
HM | 2:07:45 | Jun '18


Goals for 2019:
5k | Sub 20:00
10k | Sub 43:00
10 mile | Sub 1:12:00
HM | Sub 1:45:00
Marathon | Sub 3:30:00

I got runner's knee on both knees back in October so dialled the running right back to just weekend parkruns. The knees seem to be fine now so I'm starting up training for a hilly 10 miler in April. I'm currently following the intermediate plan here.

DeepBlue

Week 1 - Day 1
30mins easy running.
The roads around where I live are a bit hilly. I decided I'm just going to use these rather than looking for flat routes as it should benefit me later on. Since I usually run as-fast-as-possible-without-blowing-up it was a change to just run easy.

Week 1 - Day 2
20 minutes tempo
"Tempo" is still a slightly woolly concept for me. Looking at a few youtube videos and it seems that there isn't a universally accepted definition either. I'm going with "comfortably hard" and about 80% of max effort. My usual parkrun flat-out-without-blowing-up has my HR going at 178 BPM. This effort had it at 161 BPM which I think seems perhaps right.

DeepBlue

Week 1 overall:
|| Monday || Tuesday || Wednesday || Thursday || Friday || Saturday || Sunday
Plan || Rest || 30 min easy || 20 min tempo || Rest || 30 min cross train || 30 min easy || Long run: 3 miles
Actual || Rest || 30 min easy || 20 min tempo || Rest || 4.1 miles @ 75% of 5k pace || too busy so no time to run || 3 miles @ 90% of 5k pace

I thought the long runs were supposed to be at a slow pace but this plan suggests that they be run at race pace.
No issues to report although on Friday I could "feel" my knees. No pain but they were letting me know they were there. Running in the rain is also interesting.

Anyhow, plan for week 2:
|| Monday || Tuesday || Wednesday || Thursday || Friday || Saturday || Sunday
Plan || Rest || 30 min easy || 20 min intervals || Rest || 30 min cross train || 30 min tempo || Long run: 3 miles

I need to calibrate how "easy" an easy run should be. I naturally incline towards running at close to my fastest sustainable pace so I need to actively remember to slow down when I'm not concentrating.

Singer

You need to do actual long runs - i.e. 90 minutes or so. 3 miles is not a long run. Build up to them slowly. Your endurance and times will improve a lot as a result.

DeepBlue

Singer wrote: »

You need to do actual long runs - i.e. 90 minutes or so. 3 miles is not a long run. Build up to them slowly.

Yes, I totally agree - 3 miles is not long and just took 24 minutes. The longest run on this plan is 9 miles which will probably take 70 minutes at race pace.

I'm a bit paranoid about the knee problems returning so I'm just following the plan as closely as possible at the moment and trying to resist temptation to add more to it. My training load for running over the last few months was only somewhere between 3 and 6 miles per week so I want to let the legs gradually ramp up and not make my usual mistake of getting over-enthusiastic and try to do too much too soon and then getting injured.

Singer

DeepBlue wrote: »

Yes, I totally agree - 3 miles is not long and just took 24 minutes. The longest run on this plan is 9 miles which will probably take 70 minutes at race pace.

I'm a bit paranoid about the knee problems returning so I'm just following the plan as closely as possible at the moment and trying to resist temptation to add more to it. My training load for running over the last few months was only somewhere between 3 and 6 miles per week so I want to let the legs gradually ramp up and not make my usual mistake of getting over-enthusiastic and try to do too much too soon and then getting injured.

The 9 mile long run should be closer to 90 than 70 minutes for you! Good call on ramping up nice and slow.

DeepBlue

Monday - Rest day
Tuesday - 30 min easy was the plan - 34min 6.3K @5.23/km 120m elevation gain
Wednesday - Was supposed to be 20min internals - instead did 11.6K @5.22/km 177m elevation gain
Thursday - Rest day
Friday - was supposed to be 30 min cross train - instead did 23min @4.42/km with 5 min cool down flat with only 35m elevation gain
Saturday - was supposed to be 30 min tempo - instead parkrun @4.38/km and knocked 10 seconds off my PB (which itself had been a bit of an outlier )
Sunday - supposed to do 3 miles easy but feeling a couple of very slight twinges so went for a 3 mile walk instead

So 28.6km running done this week. Am pretty happy with progress. What I was most happy with is that my latter kms in the 5k runs are now faster than before. Previously the pace would drop off quite a bit with the 4th and 5th km usually being about 20 seconds slower per km. Now they are more consistent so already gaining a bit more endurance. Quite encouraging after just two weeks.

DeepBlue

Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - 8K Easy pace 5.43 128m Elevation
Wednesday - 20min intervals 10x30sec - Tough
Thursday - 55K cycle
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - parkrun 5K - shaved another 14 seconds off my parkrun PB
Sunday - 65K cycle (Was going to follow with a 4 mile run later in the day but got totally frozen in the morning cycle so figured I'd enough done )

So only about 20K running done this week but figure the 120K cycling is worth 12K of running and something's gotta give if I fit both in.

I'm considering switching the 10 mile training plan I'm currently doing for a Hal Higdon intermediate half marathon plan as my current plan doesn't really have long runs and I'd like to add that in.

DeepBlue

So I ditched the Bupa 10 mile Intermediate Training Plan and replaced it with the Hal Higdon Intermediate 2 Half Marathon plan.
I've also jumped a week to week 5 so that the final week corresponds to my planned race day.
Reasons for the change - wanted a bit more mileage, wanted to run more days per week and planning to do a HM in June and no harm in preparing early.

Monday - 40 min cross training - did a 70min walk.
Tuesday - 6k run - easy pace
Wednesday - 7x400 5K pace - ok but last couple were that bit tougher/slower
Thursday - 5K - easy pace
Friday - Rest day
Saturday - parkrun 5K - 10 seconds slower than last week but wasn't pushing it as much
Sunday - 55K club cycle
Monday - 13 K LSR

Things appear to be going well. Still find it difficult to keep the easy pace easy as I find I develop a rhythm which is faster than I intend to run.
The weighing scales suggest nothing much has changed but clothes are getting a bit too loose and spare tyre is visibly disappearing.

Upcoming events: 10K race end of March, 10mile race - early April

DeepBlue

Tuesday - Was travelling all day so no time to run
Wednesday - 7K easy run - took it nice and handy - averaged 5.22 min/km and average HR of 145bpm
Thursday - 40min tempo run - pretty sure I didn't do this right - average pace of 5.11 min/km with average HR of 145 bpm. Meant to start easy and gradually accelerate. It was a bit difficult to judge as the route I took had a hill at the mid point. Also I was running at night on rural roads for the first time so sometimes pulled in when a car appeared. Still I felt good at the end and ploughed on when I probably should have been easing off - 8K in total
Friday - 5K easy. Took this one very easy - average 5.50 min/km with average HR of 135bpm on a somewhat hilly route
Saturday - parkrun day - ran my local parkrun which I hadn't run in 3 weeks and knocked 42 seconds off my PB bringing it down to 21.53 - average 4.30 min/km with average HR of 165 Very happy to see the results of the training paying off.
Unfortunately I have noticed very slight knee pain at rest. No pain when running though so I'm going to ease back a little on training this week to see if that helps
Sunday - Rest
Monday - should be a 10K run but going to skip it in light of knee pain

So 25km in total since last Tuesday. Not as much as last week but perhaps I increased mileage a bit too much last week. Overall very happy with how things are going. Would be happier without the knee twinge but hopefully that won't get worse. Times and fitness are going in the right direction and endurance has definitely improved.

skyblue46

Well done on the improvements made so far. I will just repeat what Singer said earlier about slowing down the easy runs. Most people would have ~2 mins per mile/ 1:20 per km between their tempo pace and their easy/slow run days. Keep the really easy days really easy and it will make it more manageable for you to increase the distances you run.

DeepBlue

skyblue46 wrote: »

Well done on the improvements made so far. I will just repeat what Singer said earlier about slowing down the easy runs. Most people would have ~2 mins per mile/ 1:20 per km between their tempo pace and their easy/slow run days. Keep the really easy days really easy and it will make it more manageable for you to increase the distances you run.

I'm probably doing my maths wrong. I reckon my tempo pace is about 4.50 min/km (comfortably fast) which is 12.4kph so my slow run pace should therefore be 11.2kph which corresponds to 5.22 min/km which seems a bit fast for a slow run. I've gone wrong somewhere here, right?

skyblue46

DeepBlue wrote: »

I'm probably doing my maths wrong. I reckon my tempo pace is about 4.50 min/km (comfortably fast) which is 12.4kph so my slow run pace should therefore be 11.2kph which corresponds to 5.22 min/km which seems a bit fast for a slow run. I've gone wrong somewhere here, right?

Yep I think you have. Try this training paces calculator as a starting point. http://www.runfastcoach.com/calc2/

Enter your 5k PB and see what paces it gives you. The easy and very easy will seem very slow but are well worth getting used to.

Out of curiosity what are you basing your calculations for easy pace on?

DeepBlue

skyblue46 wrote: »

Yep I think you have. Try this training paces calculator as a starting point. http://www.runfastcoach.com/calc2/

Enter your 5k PB and see what paces it gives you. The easy and very easy will seem very slow but are well worth getting used to.

Out of curiosity what are you basing your calculations for easy pace on?

Great, thanks. I find I have to concentrate to keep it slow. If I start daydreaming I drift into a rhythm that's faster than I intend especially as my training routes are hilly and therefore undulating. I'll try harder to keep the slow runs slower.

DeepBlue

skyblue46 wrote: »

Out of curiosity what are you basing your calculations for easy pace on?

Err.......I didn't do any calculation to determine easy pace . I just went on feel i.e. this pace seems relatively easy and I'm not out of breath or knackered so I can keep at for 30 min or so and feel fine when I get home.

skyblue46

DeepBlue wrote: »

Err.......I didn't do any calculation to determine easy pace . I just went on feel i.e. this pace seems relatively easy and I'm not out of breath or knackered so I can keep at for 30 min or so and feel fine when I get home.

Your easy pace should be a pace you think you could run at for a day!

DeepBlue

Tuesday - 100K cycle. Felt comfortable at the end. These usually leave me a bit wrecked.
Wednesday - 7.5KM easy run. Avg pace - 6.25km/min - Avg HR 132bpm
Thursday - Intervals - 8x400 @5K pace second with 90 second recovery - Looking back at the results I ran these 30s faster than 5K pace. Felt great after. Not sure how long the recovery time should have been so settled on 90. Probably could have shorted that a bit to 60 seconds.
Friday - 5KM - easy run. Avg pace - 6.28km/min - Avg HR 136bpm
Saturday - Volunteering this week so no parkrun run - rest day
Sunday - Too much rain and snow to venture out - rest day
Monday - 15KM - long run - started slow with first 10K at about 5.50 or 6min/km and sped up to about 5min/km for the last few kms. Avg pace - 5.34 - Avg HR 145

Total run for the week - 35.8KM
Knee pain hasn't gone away and is slightly worse. Maybe gone from 1/10 to 2/10 on the pain/irritation scale.

DeepBlue

This week went somewhat awry in terms of the training plan.
Tuesday - Rest day
Wednesday - 5K @5.02min/km HR 152 (I should have been doing 7.3K at an easy pace but I wanted to suss out a different parkrun route)
Thursday - 5K @4.28min/km HR 155 (Should have been doing a 40min tempo but wanted to see how fast I could run this route)
Friday - Rest day with about an hour of cycling
Saturday - Parkrun 4.8K @4.29min/km HR 159 - knocked 15 seconds off previous PB
Sunday - Too wet and miserable to venture out
Monday - 16.4K @5.15min/km - Started slow but decided to run to rhythm/feel. Pushed on then after 5 miles and took advantage of some downhills to push hard for home. Probably could have done another few miles if I wanted to so quite happy with the endurance and didn't feel wrecked at the end.

Total distance this week - 31.5K
However I'm pretty happy with where I'm at and still have another 4 weeks of training before the Cobh 10 miler and the sub 20 5K by end of year is starting to look less like a pipe dream and more like something that might actually be achieved.

DeepBlue

The wheels came off quite a bit this week. I just didn't stick to the plan at all and am actually surprised I got most of the mileage in as I wasn't really "feeling it" at all this week.
I'm going to change from kms to miles as I've a 10 miler coming up followed by a half marathon so maybe it makes more sense to think in miles for the moment.

Tuesday 12th
Rest day.

Wednesday 13th
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 5.53 mi || 49:08 || 8:53 min/mi || 157 m || 151 bpm ||
This was supposed to be an easy run and that was the plan. I confused myself with my watch which I think was showing pace in min/mile but showing distance in kms . In the end I just ran it by feel which was too fast. The last mile or so is downhill and I relaxed and built up speed and at the end could feel my left hamstring go quite tight which I think was as a result of banging down the downhill. Not really ideal.

Thursday 14th
Crap weather. Unintentional rest day.

Friday 15th
Crap weather. Unintentional rest day.

Saturday 16th
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 3.02 mi || 22:49 || 7:34 min/mi || 62 m || 142 bpm ||
+Plus 60min cross training cycling.
parkrun day. Cycled to parkrun in the rain. Soaked. About half way through the run decided to relax back to fast training instead of pushing all-out. Pushed hard for the last km when I was about to be overtaken and didn't want to be . Finished just over a minute outside my PB which surprised me as I'd expected to have dropped more time. Still felt a bit wet and miserable and wondered why I'd bothered with it today.

Sunday 17th
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 5.54 mi || 46:59 || 8:29 min/mi || 155 m || 147 bpm ||
This was one of those "I don't care what the plan says, I'm just gonna go out and run" runs. Probably junk miles for all I know. Felt the hamstring complaining a bit so eased off on the downhill sections.

Monday 18th
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 10.00 mi || 1:26:25 || 8:38 min/mi || 237 m || 149 bpm ||
I should probably have run this one slower too. Felt quite tired at mile 8 but got a second wind to get home. Last week I felt I could have run another mile or two no bother but this week I was happy to stop bang on 10.0 miles. Hamstring said hello but by the end it felt fine.

Overall mileage for the week - 24.1 miles.

Hopefully better weather this week will bring some renewed enthusiasm and I'll stick to the plan better. Maybe it's time to join a running club too.

skyblue46

Hamstrings do most of the work on up hills. If you ease off on downhills you are primarily saving the quads.

DeepBlue

Makes sense. It's just only on the downhill that I feel any twinge - mainly from that "slapping effect" when I let gravity take over on the downhill and my feet are just banging off the ground with the shockwave being transmitted up the leg.

Anyway it's just a minor twinge. If I stopped running for every slight sprain I'd still be on the couch part of the "Couch to 5K" .

Went for a slow 3 miles this morning and all feels fine.

DeepBlue

Mostly back on track this week with more emphasis on keeping the slow runs slow.

Tuesday 19th
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 3.22 mi || 33:08 || 10:17 min/mi || 58 m || 128 bpm ||
+90 min cross-training cycling
Short recovery run after the previous day's 10 mile run. Kept the pace slow. All good and nothing to report.

Wednesday 20th
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 5.18 mi || 52:00 || 10:03 min/mi || 95 m || 132 bpm ||
Another slow run concentrating on keeping the pace slow. All good.

Thursday 21st
Rest day.

Friday 22nd
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 4.97 mi || 45:05 || 9:04 min/mi || 99 m || 139 bpm ||
This was meant to be a 45min tempo run. Plan was to split it into 3 sections - 15 slow with 15 min faster and a final slow 15 minutes. It didn't go to plan. First 15 mins were slow but a bit hilly and about half way through the fast section the body and brain weren't really on board so pretty much abandoned with slow walk/run home. My first "abandoned after starting" session. I'm not gonna dwell on it. Just wasn't really in the mood and hopefully that's it out of my system for a while.

Saturday 23rd
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 3.07 mi || 21:59 || 7:10 min/mi || 23 m || 153 bpm ||
Parkrun day! A spot of parkrun tourism involved as I revisited a parkrun that I've done a few times. Knocked over a minute off my previous PB there so happy out. Normally with parkruns I tend to run the first 2K faster than the rest so tend to get passed out towards the latter half of the course by those who run a more constant pace. This week I got passed but managed to catch and overtake a few who had passed me. I know it's not a race but it's still satisfying.

Sunday 24th
Cross training - 60K cycle

Monday 125th
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 11.02 mi || 1:32:28 || 8:23 min/mi || 242 m || 161 bpm ||
Long run. I'm almost sure I'm running these two fast. Part of the reason for this is trying to convince myself I've enough energy for the 10 mile at race pace so I've been running it closer to race pace than I probably should.

Total distance this week: 27.46 miles.

Upcoming races: 10K - 31st March, 10 mile - 7th April

DeepBlue

Got a bit of cycling in this week which meant some of the running training was sacrificed. Trying to find the balance here will be a work in progress.

Tuesday 26th
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 3.21 mi || 31:38 || 9:52 min/mi || 56 m || 131 bpm || Short easy pace run. Can't remember anything about it so presumably it was all good.
+30 min cycling.

Wednesday 27th
Rest day.
+30 min cycling.

Thursday 28th
Rest day from running. Was supposed to to intervals but did the 100K cycle instead.
Cycling:
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 64.60 mi || 4.24:10 || 14.7mph || 1,1169 m || 137 bpm ||
Friday 29th
Rest day.

Saturday 30th
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 2.99 mi || 21:57 || 7:20 min/mi || 59 m || 158 bpm || parkrun day again! Back to my local run. I was supposed to take this easy as the race was the following day and I started with good intentions but then picked it up again. I think that was my second best time at my local parkrun.
Cycle:
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 31.45 mi || 1:58:13 || 16mph || 491 m || 138 bpm || Went for a 50K cycle in the afternoon. Probably not the best idea too with the race the following day.

Sunday 31st
10K race. UCC BHAA Carmel Lynch race.
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 6.2 mi || 46:26 || 7:29 min/mi || 87 m || 159 bpm || It was nice to be back in Cork and see a few familiar faces and also meet up with my running buddy/nemesis for the race. Ok, a new pb for the 10K knocking a minute and a half off my previous best time. Strangely I wasn't really happy with that as was hoping for a bit better - perhaps unrealistic expectations on my part. I was relatively comfortable for the first half which has a few hills in it but suffered a bit in the final few kms. Should have rested up a bit more the previous day.

Monday 1st
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 3.22 mi || 33:14 || 10:19 min/mi || 60 m || 127 bpm || Short recovery run. Felt good, easy and relaxed.

Tuesday 2nd
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 13.59 mi || 2:05:26 || 9:14 min/mi || 252 m || 141 bpm || Time for the long run. It was supposed to be 12 miles but I tacked on a little bit extra. Started at a slow pace with most of the hills front-loaded on this run. The wind was at my back blowing me along so it felt really easy. Just kept jogging along nice and comfortable. When I was coming up to about the 10 mile mark I figured I could probably break my half-marathon PB so picked up the pace. It helped that this was the downhill section of the route and even though the wind was now against me I was handily able to better my previous half marathon PB (which admittedly was quite slow).

My training plan has a 30 min tempo run and 2 mile run left for the week. I'm half thinking of scrapping them and just doing an easy parkrun on Saturday.

Total distance this week: 26.0 miles.

Upcoming races: 10 mile - 7th April

DeepBlue

Ok, not very much running done this week. My plan had me tapering down in advance of my race but, since I overdid it a little (I think), prior to last week's race I thought I'd add in a bit more rest myself and see how it worked out.

Saturday 6th April
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 3.02 mi || 22:24 || 7:26 min/mi || 55 m || 155 bpm ||

Local parkrun. The plan had been to go around at a moderate pace and save the racing for Sunday.And I stuck to this for the most part except for the last km where I tried to catch a couple of overtakers. I caught both but then one then put on his own push for home and I didn't try to keep with him.

Sunday 7th
|| Distance || Time || Pace || Elevation || AVG HR ||
|| 10.05 mi || 1.16:05 || 7:34 min/mi || 162 m || 156 bpm ||

The Sonia O'Sullivan Cobh 10

This was the race I was training for over the last few months. I'd heard so much about the hills on this course that they had formed a fearsome reputation. However they weren't that bad in the end. Not too steep and not too long. And the course had a lot of downhill sections along with one quite long downhill at about the 5.5 mile mark.
It was only at the start line that I really started thinking about how I wanted to run this race. My previous 10 mile PB had been 78 minutes and I figured if I could hit that again it would be a reasonably good day out - given that the course is not flat. So the plan was to start with the 80 minute pacers and see how it goes.

I felt a little sluggish starting off but even so the 80 min pacers quickly fell behind and I found myself up with the 75 minute pacers. The first mile or so has quite a bit of downhill in it and I found myself passing out the 75 min pacers to keep my rhythm. After one and half miles it flattened out a bit (possibly slightly uphill) and pretty soon I could hear the thunder of feet behind me and sure enough the 75 min pacers re-appeared and glided past. I thought for a second about keeping with them but figured it was far too early to start pushing myself and, in any case, I wanted to keep something back for these hills. The first hill duly arrived and I just took it easy up it and it wasn't too long. Since I knew the first hill was the steepest I wasn't too worried when the second came along a mile or so later. Again it looked a little bit worse than it was although the ambulance had arrived to tend to a runner as I was was cresting that hill. He didn't look too bad and was assuring them he was ok. I presume a sprained ankle or something as he was lying on the ground with a blanket over him awaiting the paramedics.

At this point I was slowly moving up through the field making a bit of progress and somewhere around the 5 and a half mile mark we had a turn left and what seemed like quite a long downhill section. I let gravity take over here and somewhat flew downhill. It was back onto flat ground after the right turn at the bottom with about 3 and a half miles to home. I did feel a bit warm here and ran on the left side of the road which was in shadow and a bit cooler.

It was at about this stage that I felt a bit tired and was going through my head how much was left. Luckily at this point I was passed by a runner who was running strongly with good form but running just slightly faster so I could keep up on their shoulder. I kept there for the next couple of miles until my shoelace came undone . Just as well there was only half a mile left.

I hadn't bothered to look at my watch for a few miles at this point so I was pretty amazed to see the clock showing 1:15.xx as I approached the finish. I knew I wouldn't pass through before it rolled over to 1:16.xx but thought perhaps the chip time correction would leave me in the 1:15.xx band and so it proved.
Very happy to knock nearly 3 minutes off my 10 mile time and not feel half as wrecked as the last time I ran a 10 miler when the last 3 miles had been misery.

Next planned race up is the Cork half marathon which is a while away.

DeepBlue

Okay, I haven't updated this in two months. Yikes!
Below is a data dump that I don't expect anyone to read. It's more for the trends than anything else and the total distances each week (highlighted). On some weeks the total running hours has plummeted to only about 3 miles. The pattern seems to be that these weeks have been preceded by a high cycling load. These cycles usually leave me with sore quads which take a day or two to recover from. That in turn means less running and less long runs.

In that 8 week spell there was only two weeks (not counting half marathon week) that I was running close to the same mileage that I had been running the previous weeks - roughly 25 to 28 miles a week.

The half marathon crept up on me and it was only the week before that I started putting in some longer runs again. What I noticed from the first run (after the reduced mileage) was that the easy runs seemed to be harder than previously. Maintaining the slower paced run now required more effort.
Usually I would speed up for the last mile or two home and that kick wasn't really there without putting in more effort than I wanted. By the third or fourth run though those cobwebs were showing signs of being cleared out and I was progressing closer to what I had been a couple of months ago.
I'd describe the difference as feeling light on your feet as opposed to feeling heavy on your feet. It's subjective I guess.
Half marathon report to follow........

Week Ending Sunday 14th April - Total Miles Run 12.37 + Cycled 101.48

||Date || Distance (miles) || Time || Avg HR (bpm) || Avg Pace (min/mile) || Elev Gain (m)||
||11/04/2019 || 3.21 || 00:32:16 || 125 || 10.03 || 59||
||13/04/2019 || 3.07 || 00:22:59 || 156 || 07.29 || 22||
||14/04/2019 || 6.09 || 00:53:11 || 142 || 08.44 || 155||


Week Ending Sunday 21st April - Total Miles Run 2.97 + Cycled 21.12

||Date || Distance (miles) || Time || Avg HR (bpm) || Avg Pace (min/mile) || Elev Gain (m)||
||20/04/2019 || 2.97 || 00:23:08 || 160 || 07:48 || 63||


Week Ending Sunday 28th April - Total Miles Run 27.88 + Cycled 93.31

||Date || Distance (miles) || Time || Avg HR (bpm) || Avg Pace (min/mile) || Elev Gain (m)||
||23/04/2019 || 3.22 || 00:27:34 || 147 || 08:34 || 58||
||25/04/2019 || 8.04 || 01:09:53 || 147 || 08:42 || 157||
||26/04/2019 || 7.07 || 00:57:34 || 152 || 08:09 || 158||
||27/04/2019 || 2.21 || 00:19:23 || 142 || 08:47 || 33||
||27/04/2019 || 2.98 || 00:21:26 || 164 || 07:11 || 57||
||27/04/2019 || 4.36 || 00:42:20 || 142 || 09:43 || 58||


Week Ending Sunday 5th May - Total Miles Run 3.13 + Cycled 61.22

||Date || Distance (miles) || Time || Avg HR (bpm) || Avg Pace (min/mile) || Elev Gain (m)||
||04/05/2019 || 3.13 || 00:22:43 || 167 || 07:15 || 27||


Week Ending Sunday 12th May - Total Miles Run 12.41 + Cycled 125.86

||Date || Distance (miles) || Time || Avg HR (bpm) || Avg Pace (min/mile) || Elev Gain (m)||
||06/05/2019 || 6.22 || 00:52:30 || 172 || 08.26 || 136||
||11/05/2019 || 3.02 || 00:21:17 || 165 || 07.03 || 58||
||11/05/2019 || 3.17 || 00:23:23 || 162 || 07.22 || 34||


Week Ending Sunday 19th May - Total Miles Run 6.23 + Cycled 89.4

||Date || Distance (miles) || Time || Avg HR (bpm) || Avg Pace (min/mile) || Elev Gain (m)||
||15/05/2019 || 3.22 || 00:28:34 || 140 || 08:52 || 58||
||18/05/2019 || 3.01 || 00:22:02 || 162 || 07.20 || 59||


Week Ending Sunday 26th May - Total Miles Run 24.71 + Cycled 87.52

||Date || Distance (miles) || Time || Avg HR (bpm) || Avg Pace (min/mile) || Elev Gain (m)||
||20/05/2019 || 7.01 || 01:04:15 || 144 || 09.10 || 154||
||21/05/2019 || 9.09 || 01:21:33 || 143 || 08.58 || 235||
||23/05/2019 || 8.61 || 01:14:40 || 151 || 08:40 || 226||


Week Ending Sunday 2nd June - Total Miles Run 25.11 + Cycled 43.98

||Date || Distance (miles) || Time || Avg HR (bpm) || Avg Pace (min/mile) || Elev Gain (m)||
||30/05/2019 || 6.04 || 00:52:34 || 145 || 08:42 || 153||
||30/05/2019 || 2.86 || 00:35:50 || 125 || 12:32 || 37||
||01/06/2019 || 3.02 || 00:22:48 || 159 || 07:33 || 57||
||02/06/2019 || 13.19 || 01:42:14 || 157 || 07:45 || 110||

DeepBlue

So nine weeks are remaining in the Boards DCM Novices plan and we are into the tough stretch with all the longest long runs.

Monday - Rest Day

Tuesday - 4 mile easy. Took this one a little handier than usual. 10.28min/mile with avg HR of 125. The HR trace looked a bit odd so not sure if I could trust it.

Wednesday - 6m PMP with 1m warm up and 1 m cool down. This worked out too fast for PMP with 8.22min/mile the average pace. HR came in at 151 avg. This was about 20s/mile too fast as I took the early uphill sections too fast.

Thursday - 4m easy. I hadn't plotted out this route in advance accurately so it turned out to be 4.5miles. Pace was too hot as well at 8.59min/mile and HR averaging 137.

Friday - Rest Day

Saturday - parkrun + LSR

I had booked the John Buckley Cork City Ten Miler before I knew I couldn't race it. It's too close to the Charleville Half so might be a bit risky in advance of DCM. So I decided to go anyway and have it as part of my LSR.

I stayed up in Cork the night before and booked into a cheap hostel. This backfired when I ended up sharing a room with a guy that snored like a chainsaw being started up. Result - about two and half hours sleep! I won't be staying in any hostels before DCM. And as an aside - what kind of person books shared accommodation when they know they snore so loudly?

I popped along to Glen River parkrun to tick it off the list of parkrun tourist visits. I managed to confuse myself by switching the watch from miles to kms and ran faster than planned - 7.52mile/min with 150 avg HR. Nice, friendly group and a course with a short, sharp hill at one end that's done twice.

The plan for the LSR was to run the 9 miles first and then make it back to the start in time for the 10 miler. Luckily the race registration was open early and they had a section for bag drop off. I met a runner I knew beforehand and got delayed slightly chatting to her. I got changed and noticed I'd acquired blisters on my heels after walking around all day. Nothing for it but to apply some bandages and hope they didn't cause an issue on the run - they didn't.
I dropped off my bag, put on my race number as I didn't know what else to do with it and got going.
I stopped at the petrol station to get water to fill my water bottle and add a zero tab. A few hundred metres up the road it felt like it was raining on my back which was odd so I stopped and my bottle was leaking. I hadn't tightened the top of the bottle properly. I had half thought about maybe carrying that bottle/bag with me at DCM and filling it up as needed. It's too time consuming and not that easy so at least that plan is scrapped.

With the bottle tightened properly off I went - now behind schedule as a result of stopping for water and fixing the leaking so I sped up a little to make up time. The first few miles were handy enough. Coming up to Blackrock I met a walker who informed me that I was most likely in the lead as I was the first runner he saw with a race number. Instead of protecting my lead I maintained my pace. :pac: The initial plan was to go out 4.5 miles and double back to the start line but instead I continued on the Blackrock-Mahon walking path and then back via the old railway line. I reckoned it wouldn't be too far off 9 miles and I could make up the extra with a bit more added on. When I ran this last year I set off too fast (5k pace) and really started to struggle when the walkway met the Mahon footbridge. That long stretch was quite painful but this year it was a lot more comfortable at the easier LSR pace.
Once again I met the walker from earlier who reassured me that I was still in the lead which came as a great relief. :pac:
I arrived back at the start line with about 8.5 miles done and jogged back to the petrol station to get another water bottle. Filling my own water bottle and adding a zero tab is still too messy to do on the run but at least I made sure the top was back on fully this time.
I met a few guys I knew at the start and had a brief chat then I had to decide what pacers to stick with and decided on the 100min pacers and the race kicked off.
We started with a loop around Centre Park road and Monahan road and already I was drifting ahead of the 100min pacers.
I wasn't really feeling great and at about mile 4 (my mile 13) decided to stop and take some water and a gel. I had drifted well ahead of the 100min pacers and decided to wait and join back up with them. It took about 3 minutes for them to reach me and I started running with them again out towards Blackrock castle. I found myself drifting ahead of them again and saw the marker for 5 miles (my 14th mile) and decided to head off. Whether it was the rest stop, the water or the gel, I was full of beans again. The field had broken up into small groups and I jumped from group to group making, what felt like, good progress.
Soon we were back on the old railway line and the thoughts of sambos and cake back at the finish line was driving me on. I was wondering if there would be any left and so the last three miles were the fastest of the set. Chip time was just under 1.32 - a good 14 minutes slower than last year. Then it was back to City Hall for the grub which, luckily and despite the queues, was still there.

Sunday - 2m recovery

Headed out for a short recovery run after watching the match. Took it very handy as feeling a few effects from the day before. Pace 10.32m/mile with HR of 127.

DeepBlue

8 weeks remainging on DCM trainng.

Monday 2/9 - Rest day

Tuesday 3/9 - 4m easy - Still feeling a few aches after the LSR so took things very easy. Comfortable run with 10.47m/mile and avg HR of 127.

Wednesday 4/9 - 8m easy - 10.24m/mile with avg HR 130. Perhaps a bit hilly with 183m elevation.

Thursday 5/9 - 4m easy with strides - 10.25m/mile and avg HR of 129 so very similar to the previous day.

Friday 6/9 - Rest day

Saturday 7/9 20m LSR - 10.31 min/mile 134 avg HR
No parkrun this week as was volunteering which also meant a late kickoff for the LSR. Swapped out music for podcasts also as sometimes I reckon the songs make me run faster.
The first 8 miles were on basically and out-and-back route which was dead flat. I was tracking HR rather than pace and tried to keep it at about the 130 mark. This also kept the pace slow. I took the first gel at 10 miles and kept the second one for the 15 mile mark. The latter half of the route is a bit more undulating and I was getting a bit tired or bored at this stage. As a result the last few miles were a bit quicker.
For some reason I thought there was three 20 mile LSRs on the plan but there are just the two. I ran this one with the shoes I had planned to run the marathon in (pegasus 35). Towards the latter half of the run my feet were feeling noticeably sore (subjective) so I may use the brooks ghost 11 instead even though I think of the pegasus as the "faster" shoe. I'll try the ghost 11 on the remaining 20 miler. I find the slower running "stompier" for lack of the correct technical term and probably different than how I run at PMP. Again that may just be subjective.

Sunday 8/9 3m Recovery - 11.38min/mile AVG HR 121
Tried keeping the HR in the 110s and 120s. Didn't really look at pace at all. I don't know if there's any benefit in going too slow. Probably not.

DeepBlue

DeepBlue wrote: »

So nine weeks are remaining in the Boards DCM Novices plan

DeepBlue wrote: »

8 weeks remainging on DCM trainng.

Hmm.... nobody noticed I was a week out there. I think I got away with it.

Anyone just 6 weeks remaining until DCM!! :eek:

A mini taper this week ahead of Charleville Half Marathon.

Monday 9/9 - 3m Easy - Actual 3.42m at 10.12/mile AVG HR 123 - Easy, gentle running. Front of the hips just letting me know they are there.
Tuesday 10/9 - Left it too late to go out by which time it was raining and looked miserable and was getting dark. Pushed it out until Wednesday.
Wednesday 11/9 - 4m Easy - Took this very slow keeping HR in 110's and 120's - 11.11 min/mile AVG HR 125
Thursday - Rest Day
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - 2m Easy - Actual Tymon Parkrun 3.16 m, 10.54min/mile, AVG HR 126

Sunday - Charleville Half Marathon - 13.12m, 7.29 min/mile, AVG HR 165

Charleville Race Report

The day started inauspiciously when I woke up after having a sleep cramp on my left leg. This left it feeling tight and painful and I considered cancelling as I wasn't sure if I'd just do more damage if I raced on it. Luckily it loosened out with a bit of activity and felt much better by the time I left the house and I didn't feel it at all during the race.

Got to Charleville with mostly light rain on the route and parked up. Followed a guy in a Mallow AC top who looked like he knew where he was going so made it to the GAA club, picked up the t-shirt and the race clips and dropped off the bag and used the facilities. Followed up this with a light jog and some strides around the pitch along with some dynamic stretches. I'd brought two gels with me but didn't really have something to carry them in so I took one before the start and put the other in my rather large short pocket. Met a few familiar faces and a few chats later headed up to the start line. As the start time approached the start line got more and more packed and very warm as you could feel the heat radiating from the bodies around you. Some genius then decided to drive through the start line. She must have been late for Mass or something.
As is usual for me at these races I never hear the start announcement. Perhaps I'm deaf but since the ones in front of us were moving I guess we were off.

My goal was to break 1.40. I knew if I kept a 7.30 average pace I could do it but hadn't really formulated a plan beyond that. The race started briskly and after a couple of hundred meters I checked the pace and it was 6.40. Oh-oh! I immediately eased off and found myself with the 1.35 pacer group. We passed through the first mile which was slightly downhill - 6:59.
Since I felt comfortable enough with the 1.35 group I decided to stay with them for a while and build a bit of a buffer. My breathing was ok and I wasn't straining myself to stay on so miles 2,3 and 4 with by in 7.12, 7.11, 7,12. At about 4.5 miles I was slightly drifting off the pacer by a few feet and feeling the others in the group breathing down my neck. I took this as my cue to make way and moved off to the other side of the road and watched them incrementally stride away.
Mile 5 and 6 are a slight uphill drag into Kilmallock. It's probably this section of the race where I felt the worst and was making mental bargains with myself to just get to 6.5 mile and that's the half way mark and we're on the way home. I was flagging slightly but pushed myself on thinking I might get a 10K PB. After the six mile mark I stopped briefly to take my my second gel, a caffeine one and some water. I felt this perked me up a bit but looking at the course profile after it was probably as much due to the downhill section starting at 6.5 miles. Miles 5 & 6 -> 7.21, 7.33

The 1.35 pacer who had been visible a few hundred yards and maybe 40 seconds ahead during mile 5 and 6 was now no longer within sight. I fell in step with a female runner in a red top and male runner with a triathlon top. I seemed to gain time on them up the inclines and they would take it back when back on the flat and we kept exchanging places all the way home. At one stage here there was a breeze into my face. The smarter move might have been to take shelter behind someone but I was just glad of the chance to cool down a little. I was still on about 7.22 average pace at this stage and started thinking a 10 mile PB might be on the cards so I pushed away from both of them at about 8.5 miles and pressed on for the 10 mile marker.
Miles 7, 8, 9 and 10 -> 7.49, 7.27, 7.39, 7.29

After 10 miles I thought perhaps that was enough chasing PBs and it was time to settle in and protect the sub 1.40 which, barring disaster, seemed nailed on. While I couldn't do the maths on the fly I felt I could slow to 8 minute miles, concentrate on staying comfortable and I should be able to respond if the 1.40 pacers came storming through. I also switched the watch to just mile laps to take it one mile at a time. I had a mini heart attack somewhere around mile 11 when I heard a lot of noise behind me and thought it was the 1.40 pacer group but it turned out to be the racewalkers with Rob Heffernan on a bike coaching one of his athletes.
Red top girl and triathlon guy had now passed me out but I used them to keep a rhythm going for the last couple of miles finally reached the finish gantry. The clock was clicking over into the 1.38 with my watch saying 1.38:15.
Miles 11, 12 and 13 -> 7.57, 7.45 , 7.53.

After crossing the line my quads were threatening to cramp up. They didn't. Nice feed of grub and a few post race chats. The marshals and all the crew at Charleville did a great job.
I think I was lucky today. It worked our for me today when, on another day, it might have gone badly wrong. I met quite a few for whom the day did not go well by their usual standards. I'm sure just a temporary blip for them.
Onwards now to DCM.

DeepBlue

Monday 16/9 - Rest Day
Tuesday 17/9 - 6.05 miles 10.51 min/mile AVG HR 131 - Quads still felt a bit hammered after the HM so let the pace slide even further to the easy side of things for this one.
Wednesday 18/9 - 8.03 miles 10.32 min/mile AVG HR 133 - This was originally a 9m PMP run on the plan but our wise mentor ReeReeg advised swapping it for 8m easy which was an excellent call as quads were still feeling a bit sore. Warm one at 21C.
Thursday 19/9 - 3.21 miles 11.30min/mile AVG HR 119 - For reasons I've already forgotten I took this very easy. A bit chilly in the morning when in the shade.
Friday 20/9 - Rest Day
Saturday 21/9 - 16.05 miles 9.38 min/mile AVG HR 139 - No parkrunning this week. Volunteering instead. The rain started from early morning and I put off this run for later in the day which was an error as the rain only got heavier. The run was on the faster side. Given the conditions I wanted it over and done with. I developed a bit of a head cold from about Wednesday so, in hindsight, perhaps running 16 miles in pretty constant heavy rain might not have been the wisest move. Didn't feel the best afterwards and took a nap followed by an early night. Felt quite a bit better the following morning.
Sunday 22/9 - 3.22 miles - 10.56 min/mile AVG HR 127 - Another easy run to round out the week. Quads back to normal. Head cold and runny nose still present but not a major issue.

5 weeks left until DCM. On to week 14 of 18 next week and only two weeks left to taper.

DeepBlue

Started a new job this week which has thrown my schedule into chaos. Crazy early starts and long days travelling mean time and opportunity for running has been really squeezed. Sleep, nutrition and hydration have also all taken a hit. What running opportunities are there tend to be when it's dark and I've not really got night time running routes sussed yet.

Monday - 23/9 4m 9.45min/mi AVG HR 138 - Probably the best run of the week albeit still slightly fast. Headed into the park with the headlamp and managed to scare a few deer.

Tuesday - 24/9 - Rest day - (I spent the day dreading the 9mile I was thought I was supposed to do this evening and it turned out it was the following day. What relief. )

Wednesday - 25/9 - 9m 8.27min/mi AVG HR 149 - I was so tempted to skip this. I started off too fast for the first few miles. My stomach didn't feel good and it usually never bothers me. I couldn't wait for it to finish and, for the first time, felt nauseus at the end. Walked the last quarter mile of the cool down mile. Just felt really crap.

Thursday - 26/9 - Rest Day - Unintentional rest day. Arrived back from work way to late to even contemplate fitting in a run.

Friday - 27/9 - 5m 9.09 min/mi AVG HR 141 - This route has elevation at the start and did that bit too quick. The rest was downhill or flat meaning overall the run was too fast.

Saturday - 28/9 - Rest Day - The forecast was for heavy rain pretty much all day. Didn't fancy a second week on the trot soaked to the skin so put off the LSR until Sunday.

Sunday - 30/9 - 18.87m 11.18min/mi AVG HR 131 - Second worst session of this training block (after Wednesday's 11 miles). Mapped out a route that took my fancy and which I wanted to do. Ran the first few miles a bit too fast as it was a narrow road with not so great visibility and fast enough traffic so I wanted to get off it as quick as possible. First five or six miles were ok but aware that they felt a bit harder that normal. Was beginning to flag a bit around mile 10 as the sharp undulations were starting to exact a toll. The body mutinied at about mile 14 where I was coming back to a more familiar section of the course. Usually I find familiar ground easier but it worked against me in this case. The body and mind knew what ramps still lay ahead and had no interest in tackling them. In retrospect when I looked at the elevation I was attempting I agreed with their decision. Hips, feet and quads were all starting to pain and I'm not sure what I'd have gained by pushing on. Anyway it's better to wobble now rather than in 4 weeks time.

DeepBlue

Currently doing the Faster Road Running 10 week Base Training plan building to 45 miles per week.
I'm up to week five atm.

Mon 21/9 - 7.32mi 1:02:25 8:31/mi 148ft 141bpm - Joined a couple of clubmates for this run. Nice to have company occasionally. Club runs can sometimes get too pacy as competitiveness kicks in but we kept this one steady with a spurt for the last 3rd of a mile to finish. Quite an enjoyable run on relatively flat terrain.

Wed 23/9 - 8.22mi 1:15:15 9:09/mi 646ft 141bpm - Steady run on a nice bright day with lots of visibility. Sorry I didn't bring my phone for a few photos as the views were looking good. Alas the photos never really come out as good on my phone in any case. If anyone knows of an inexpensive, pocket-size, running camera then let me know!

Fri 25/9 - 7.62mi 1:16:20 10.00/mi 869ft 141bpm - Took out my trail runners for this partly as they'd sat in the wardrobe for 8 months or so and only had about 13 miles on them and partly as there was a few side trails to investigate. One of the trails was too waterlogged to encourage further exploration and most of this run happened on the road. Not the most comfortable run with no spring or cushion from the trail runners. A bit of a plodding run overall.

Sat 26/9 - 3.11mi 22:00 7:04/mi 72ft 160bpm - (not) parkrun with a few others. This was my second run back at (not) parkrun since mid July and I hadn't run at this pace since late June. Happy enough considering I'm doing no speed work and have been off running for all of August. Still I'd be hoping to nudge that time downwards over the next few weeks.

Sun 27/9 - 11.35mi 1:41:34 8.57/mi 909ft 148bpm - Endurance run. It's definitely got a bit nippier out so put on a long sleeve top and since it was misty/drizzly I added a cycling gilet. The gilet helped with visibility but I was saturated in sweat when I got back. I took advantage of the downhill at the end to pick up the pace for the finish.

Weekly total: 37.65mi
Year to date: 978.81mi

DeepBlue

Mon 28/09 - **Abandoned** - Planned to a 7 miles general aerobic for this run. Straight after starting I felt some pain shooting up my right calf when it was supporting my weight. Debated briefly whether to continue on in the hope that it might ease off but decided not to risk it and try resting it instead. I suspect this niggle might have been caused by finishing off last week's run fast and downhill.

Thu 01/10 - 5.19mi 45:02 8:40/mi 95ft 154bpm - Took a few extra days off the plan to see if that would be enough for the niggle. Lashing rain all day so when I texted the lads if they were still doing the planned run I was surprised to get a positive response. This meant I couldn't wimp out. Handy run, no issues and no niggles. All good; happy days.

Sat 03/10 - 3.81mi 38:28 10.06/mi 105ft 138bpm - I can't really call this a run. It was meant to be a not parkrun but I went out way too fast and totally overcooked it. Had to stop after one and a half miles to get the HR back down and then the niggle reappeared. Bugger. Out of habit walked the rest of the not parkrun. Managed to get going again slowly on grass. Met Treviso from these parts while he was waiting for his 10K TT wave to start so the morning wasn't a total washout.

Weekly total: 9.75mi
Year to date: 988.56mi

DeepBlue

My last race was the Duhallow 10 mile less than a week before the first lockdown one month shy of two years ago. May as well use the excuse of my first race back (parkruns don't count) to lift the dust covers on this log.

Haven't been doing much running in the last while. Got an Achilles injury last July that never fully healed. Thus running totals over the last five months are Sep/Oct/Nov - approx 50km p/m and Dec/Jan - approx 100km p/m. Indoor and outdoor cycling over the same period averaged at approx 400km p/m (cycling didn't aggravate the Achilles).

Dungarvan 10 2022

The goals for this were quite modest - 1. Don't get injured. 2. Come in sub 80 if possible. 3. Try and better my 2020 result of 1.18.08

Arrived in Dungarvan after 2 and a bit hours of driving at shortly after 10am. Felt stiff as a board from the drive and the effects of the interval sessions from training on the previous Friday were suddenly noticeable. Garmin told me I still had 8 hours to recover when actually I had less than one 😂. The plan was simple - if the pace was comfortable enough then stick with the 80min pacers until the sharp left turn after halfway. Then utilise the downhill after the turn and try to press on as much as possible for home. Also find a couple of big lads to hide behind for the bit into the wind!

After a few stiff, half-hearted drills I lined up a little behind the 80min pacers. Said hello to a few lads I knew and wished @Treviso good luck as he passed by with the look of a man on a mission. This was the tightest crowd I've been in for two years. It felt a bit surreal and I was one of the few wearing a mask for the start as stipulated by the organisers (probably doesn't make much difference outdoors but anyways).

And we were off. Space was tight and the crowd were moving slowly but that suited me fine. There was no particular rush. The pacer balloons were ripped away by the wind before the first bend. First km clocked in at 5.04 but as we reached the roundabout onto the Youghal road there was a bit more space and average pace had picked up to about 4.53. Out onto the Youghal road and we got a sideways blast of wind from the right which reminded me to pick out some targets to hide behind and duly selected a couple. Took the sharp right hand turn at approx 3k and nearly slipped. Quite a bit of mud on the road - probably some construction going on. Still running very comfortably with no issues. Things got a little dicey at the water stop with people cutting across to get the tetra paks. With that bit of confusion I lost my two shelter guys. Had a quick look around and realised I was now the shelter. Tbh I didn't feel any effect from any wind. Possibly because this section of road had high hedges or just the still relatively tight crowd. Here I spotted the 80min pacer with his balloon string dangling forlornly behind him and settled in close behind. There was a couple of St Catherine's AC runners just behind me and from the constant chatter going on one was obviously pacing the other. He was all reassurance - "you're grand, we're doing fine, relax your shoulders, keep it going". Listening to her ragged breathing I didn't share his confidence but it did make me think that my breathing was silent, I was feeling very comfortable, legs felt fine and since we were approaching half way perhaps I should be suffering more so I pushed on from the 8k mark (slightly ahead of schedule) and squeezed through a few gaps to find a bit of space.

I took advantage of the downhill and got a bit of a buzz by passing quite a few runners here. However as the gradient increased slightly my purple patch died a death. It had only lasted about 2k. Not long after I could hear a familiar conversation behind and it was the St Catherine's pacer and pacee again. Again the pacer was full of reassurance to his pacee. We were approaching the left hand turn back onto the main road and he was assuring his pacee that the road after the turn was flat - "sure look at it, it's flat". I looked myself and, no, there was definitely a drag which I remembered anyway from running it before. It dawned on me that the pacer was using a pacing methodology of gaslighting. Surely that couldn't work? They sailed past me. Maybe it does!

The last two miles were a bit unpleasant. In addition to the aforementioned drag was added some rain/drizzle whipped along by the wind which had made a reappearance (again from the side). My lack of training was starting to show as I was getting overtaken quite a bit now. And I had no real interest in responding. Time was leaking, average pace was increasing and quads were tightening. The nine mile marker was very shy - taking a long time to make an appearance. Even though we'd run through the finish gantry earlier I hadn't taken much notice of it - something I regretted now as I wondered where the finish was. Surely it's just up here after this turn - nope. Ah, it must be after this turn - still nope. Finally there it was - maybe a couple of hundred metres away. A sprint finish, over the line and the alphaflys take a few more steps on their own before coming to a stop. 

Chip Time 1.18.38

So goals 1 and 2 achieved and 30 seconds off goal 3. Time was nothing to write home about (so why the log? 😜) but what made me really happy was that the Achilles showed no negative reaction and even felt quite a bit better after the run than it had before. Motion is lotion I guess. I had run a very easy 10 mile a couple of weeks prior to Dungarvan and had to stop and walk at mile 9 due to increasing Achilles pain so I was really delighted to get through a harder session with no sign of any ill effect. This gives me confidence to resume longer training runs now.

One of the downsides of continuing covid issues is not being able to eat all the calories just expended in sandwiches and cakes at the post event food stop while exchanging race post mortems with familiar faces. Leaving Dungarvan on the Youghal road there were still runners coming in to the finish over two hours after the start. While it's difficult to say anything without sounding patronising I do admire those that go out and run knowing that they're going to be really slow. I think it takes a certain amount of grit that I know I don't have.

Onto Adare next where I hope to be a bit more aggressive with pacing and another 10 mile in Mallow to follow. Goal races are for later in the year. For now it's just about getting some base miles in and experiencing a few races again and take it from there. 

diego_b

Well done on the run...that's great going with the achilles now, fingers crossed for you that it keeps in good nick.

Murph_D

Nice one, congrats on getting most of the results you wanted.

I really enjoyed this race. Glad I wasn't planning to keep an eye on the pacers all the same - must be the sh*ttest pacing baloons yet. The ones I saw sailing off before the start looked they came from the nearest party balloon shop, and not the top of the range either. That St. Catherine's pacer sounds the business though, kudos to him.

Can't believe you didn't mention the hill at 700m to go!

DeepBlue

@Murph_D

Can't believe you didn't mention the hill at 700m to go!

The report was getting into War and Peace type length so I had to cut something. 😄 Actually that hill allowed me to get back a few places as a handy number of runners stopped dead on it.

I also neglected to mention the 60 years+ Eagle AC runner that flew past me as if I was standing still at around the 7.5 mile mark and, according to the results, gained two minutes in the remaining 2.5 miles. 🙈 He was ripping along. 

DeepBlue

7 - 13th Feb

Tue 8th Feb

5.2k Club Training 4x1000 intervals (4.18, 4.28, 4.26, 4.28) I scoffed at my watch when it told me I needed 70 hours recovery after Dungarvan as I felt I hadn't really gone that hard but tbh I felt it a bit still in the legs for this effort.

4k Very easy assisting with the club C25k group. 7.22m/km avg. Time on feet really. HR: 129avg, 166max

Thu 10th Feb

10.1k Easy run 6.23m/km avg 65min. This was meant to be a 45 min run but I got lost. Strange how at the start of the run the pace seemed way too easy and at the end it felt like marathon pace. HR: 133avg, 147max

5.66k 5.58m/km avg 33min. Assisting again at the club C25k. Wet and cold. Time on feet again. HR: 131avg, 166max

Fri 11th Feb

3.5k Club Training Intervals 3x150 (29,26,27) and 3x110 (21,21,20) Enjoyed these short punchy intervals. 

Sat 12th Feb

9.3k 50 mins alternating 9min easy and one minute hard. I quite enjoyed this twist on the easy run. Took in the parkrun as part of it although I'm not sure what the person I was chatting to thought when I suddenly took off at speed when my watch beeped. 😳 Did a poor job of keeping the easy segments easy. HR: 152avg, 170max

37.9k for the week

DeepBlue

14 - 20th Feb

Tue 15th Feb

7.1k Club Training 3x1500 with 3min recovery (7.04,7.02,7.13) Another enjoyable (is that the right word?) interval session

4.8k Assisting again with the club C25K. Slow easy plod at about 6.16m/km avg with 30min moving. HR: 135avg, 157max

Thu 17th Feb

5.5k Another easy plod at 6.19m/km avg for 35min. Got soaked to the skin but it's still good fun. HR: 143avg, 161max

Fri 18th Feb

Club Training 5x200 with approx 2.5 min recovery (38,37,37,38,38). Another enjoyable interval session.

Sat 19th Feb

7km - An easy parkrun with a little extra at 6.17m/km. Paced my brother to a new parkrun PB. Sadly he's now injured as a result. 😳 HR: 133avg, 147max

I realised this week that I made a big blunder with my training. The plan was to do the Hanson Half marathon plan for Cork City Half but I somehow only counted back 12 weeks instead of the 18 for Hanson. This meant I was now starting the plan two weeks late. Bummer! Better late than never I guess.

Sun 20th Feb

The plan was to to get out for a 6m easy run but with Franklin blowing hard I figured with my luck I'd probably be taken out by a loose roof tile so played it safe and stayed indoors.

27.8k for the week

DeepBlue

21 - 27th Feb

Mon 21st Feb

6.7k 6.06m/km avg for this. Started off a little on the faster side of easy on a windy day. Pace got a little slower as elevation climbed and got slower again on the third mile straight into the wind. HR: 139avg, 150max

Tue 22nd Feb

11.2k First session for the Hanson's plan with 12x400 with 50-100% recovery (?,1.59, 1.57, 1.58, 1.58, 1.55, 1.55, 1.55, 1.56, 2.00, 1.58, 1.57) These were actually somewhere between 430 -450 metre intervals as I was using the 4th (outer) lane on the club microtrack. Goofed on my watch for the first by forgetting to press the lap button. Lost focus on lap 10 but reasonably happy that the reps were consistent. Definitely a bit flagged by the end. Probably need to practice the pacing a bit better as most of the reps were about 4 or 5 seconds slower per km than current 5k pace. Although that pace was set while wearing the alphas so maybe it's actually on target.......?? Dunno! Will have to read the chapter and check those pace charts again.

5.1k Not flagged enough to help out with the club C25k. Another 36min plod at 7min/km avg for week 7. Just another week to go on this. HR: 129avg, 141max

Thu 24th Feb

11.9k Helping out again at the club C25k but did a few miles in advance and kept plodding around with the group. A bit faster this time with 5.18min/km avg for just over an hour. Only a week in to the Hansen plan and already I'm switching sessions around. This was in lieu of the Sunday easy run as I'll be racing on Sunday which will make it my "tempo" run for this week. HR:146avg, 157max

Fri 25th Feb

6.5k easy on the track. 5.42min/km avg on the outside lane as my clubmates did their intervals on the inner lanes. Having the clubmates there makes it less monotonous and the track is that bit softer. However the Achilles was pinging more loudly than it has in a while and I was considering canning the session early. Kept going however. Sometimes that's the worst choice. HR:137avg, 145max

Sat 26th 

8.4k easy including parkrun. Was contemplating pulling out the alphas for this for maximum cushion as mindful of the Achilles. However the thought of wearing them at a slow parkrun might just look a bit too ridiculous so stayed with the ghosts instead and added an ankle support. Plodded around for 50 min at 5min/km average. All went fine and successfully achieved my slowest parkrun time for the last few years. HR: 138avg, 144max

Off to Adare tomorrow.

50k for the week so far.

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118700332#Comment_118700332

Have to hand it to those 60+ lads. 😉

DeepBlue

Adare 10K

I woke up briefly before 7 and felt a pain in my ankle - the good one! Aw, ffs! It was significant enough to consider whether it would be wiser to cancel. I deferred the decision to later and snoozed on. When I got up proper it felt quite a bit better - enough to throw on an ankle support and trust the cushioning in the alphas to solve the problem.

I was casually flaffing about all morning doing nothing of consequence and feeding this stray cat that was proving a bit fussy that it was only after I left the house and checked google maps that I realised I was late for the race. Very late! I definitely wasn't going to get to Adare for 12.30 which was when the race office closed. And I still had to collect my number!

Google maps was showing a significant backlog of traffic coming into Adare and we got caught in that. I jumped out of the car about a km and a half or so from the race office and jogged in. Staff had just locked up (it was now 12.50) and without word of complaint re-opened to give myself and two other late-comers their numbers. Fair play, they were very sound! Now, just a jog over to the start line. It was an unusual warmup and heart rate was duly elevated but I wouldn't recommend it as a method.

Made the start line and nudged in about 8 or 9 rows back with a few minutes to spare.

Saw an old cycling clubmate, N, at the start and caught up to him just after the start and, with a grin, casually enquired "So, sub-40 today?". He laughed; "No way, sub 45 would be just fine". I kept with him for a couple of minutes but glanced at my watch to see a pace of 3.50 which was way too hot for me so I backed off and, pretty soon, he was off up the road.

My A goal for this race was sub 45 so anything 44.xx. A 5k of 21.27 last month suggested this was quite possible. B goal was a 45.xx time and C goal was to beat my official 10K PB of 46:14 from 2019 which I considered soft. I set a target average pace of 4.29 which, if I could keep to it, would bring me home in 44.50. 

The first km, after the fast start, came in at 4.17. This was faster than my 5k pace and not sustainable. I eased back a bit and shortly after it felt like the whole race passed me by. Just swarms of runners zipping past and I was left on my own. I guess this is what happens when you start a little too close to the front. The tail end of the passing group had coalesced about 30m ahead but I didn't think it worth it to try to bridge the gap. No point burning matches this early. Second km came in a lot slower at 4.35 as were hitting a drag but average was still about 4.27. The pattern of the race was slight uphills, relatively short, following by slight downhills, also short and this continued for the full course. Uphill kms were thus a bit slower with time regained slightly on the downhills. Kms 3,4 and 5 came in 4.34, 4.42 and 4.35 and halfway was reached in 22.44 which I reckoned was too slow for a PB.

I switched my target to trying to catch N, who had remained a fairly constant 150-200m up the road still within sight. He seemed though to be edging closer after every drag. I checked the time as he turned a bend. I turned 19 seconds later. Another few drags later and, I wasn't imagining it, he was definitely getting closer. The water station loomed ahead. I figured I'd skip it and save some time. This worked and I was almost on N's heels now and we came to a right bend which, for some reason, he took very wide. I saw my chance and took the inside line and drew level. A few quick words and I was away - straight into the worst wind I recall in a race. 

The field is a bit strung out and the runners nearest to me are relatively small and don't offer much shelter. There's a Bunratty AC runner up ahead that looks fairly blocky and could be useful but I figure it's a bit of a gamble to try to bridge the gap. He's just that little bit too far ahead. Everyone seems to be struggling somewhat with the wind. I slowly overtake the runners in front of me and immediately feel them lining up behind me. The unfortunate bit of this section is that it just appears long and straight so there's no relief from the wind for quite a while. I check my watch and the average pace has crept out to about 4.34. I try to do the mental maths to figure out what time that would give but can't do it. Any spare glucose and oxygen is going to my legs and not my brain. I catch the lap alert for 8km - 4.44 and figure a PB is deffo gone now 'cos most of that km was downhill. I can see the sharp left before the end up ahead. That will take me out of the wind. The trouble is in trying to reach it. It's like trying to battle some invisible force shield. Eventually we turn the corner. The ninth km seems to go quickly enough (even though it turns out to be my slowest at 4.49) because at about 9.5k we could hear the noise from the finish. There's a group beside me pushing their friend Seanie home. "C'mon Seanie, let's make it sub 45". This gets my attention although I can't figure how it's possible and I lengthen my stride and latch on to them as they make a push for the finish. The finish gantry comes into view surprisingly quickly and although Seanie and myself are flagging we make it over the line. Stopped the watch at 46.09 but thought I might get back a few seconds in the chip time as I reckoned I'd started the watch a little early. Instead I got an added second to bring it to 46.10 and a 4 second PB.

The more distance I put between this race the better I feel about it. At the time I was a tad disappointed not to get at least the B goal but a PB is a PB all the same no matter how soft it had previously been. Conditions were good bar the wind, very mild, sunny and no rain and the organisers and marshals were great. I'll have another crack at it next year if I can snap up a ticket quickly enough.

diego_b

Nice report of the race and the organizers were very helpful in fairness to them. Well done on the run and finding a nice bit of motivation to finish strong...can't beat a pb!

DeepBlue

Hanson Half-Marathon plan - Week 3 of 16

Changing back to imperial from metric as most races from here on are the longer runs - 10 mile, half-marathon etc

Feb 28th - Mar 6th

Mon 28th

4 mile very easy. Did this on laps of a local grass sportsground to give the ankles/Achilles a bit of a break. Didn't care about pace and just wanted to keep HR low. Average pace worked out at 10.45/mi with an average HR of 130bpm, max 139bpm. Enjoyed this run watching the sun go down even if the grass was waterlogged in places.

Tue 1st Mar

21 mile cycle. Just too nice not to get out on the bike. Turbo is ok but can't beat the road especially when the sky is blue and the sun is shining.

Intervals 8x600 @5k pace. Hmmm... this didn't really work out as it should. Paces turned out to be slower than 5k pace and just slightly faster than 10k pace. Possibly still some leftovers in the legs from Sunday's race. Disappointing.

Afterwards did 3.49mi averaging 11.46/mi helping out with the C25k group. Even at that snail's pace I was feeling fairly wrecked and pretty glad when it was over.

Wed 2nd Mar

Rest day for running

26 mile cycle. After the crap weather we've been having for the last while I got out again today. Somewhat cloudier and cooler than the previous day. Still, great to get out.

Thu 3rd Mar

1.47 mi averaging 8.01/mile. Kept it short and sweet for the last C25K night.

5.31 mile at 9.15/mi - Had to borrow a watch after I'd misplaced my own. The display made no sense to me so tried to run easy by feel. Misjudged it and ran a bit too fast.

Fri 4th Mar

6.68 mi - 3m Tempo @HM pace with warm up and cooldown. HM miles came in at (7.42,7.18,7.31) over slightly undulating terrain. It felt like pretty hard going although HR didn't get up that high at (147,157,159). While the pace was tough but still manageable for 3 miles I'm not confident I could maintain it for 13.1 miles. Wore the alphaflys for this.

Sat 5th Mar

4.6 miles including parkrun. Mostly easy easy running.

Sun 6th Mar

110k cycle around Dingle. No running as fairly bushed after that.

35 miles for the week

DeepBlue

Hanson Half-Marathon plan for Cork - Week 4 of 16

Mar 7th - Mar 13th

Mon 7th

4 mile easy was on the plan. Still feeling a bit battered from the day before, also time-crunched. Very windy and cold conditions so decided to skip.

Tue 8th 

Intervals 6x800 @5K pace. 4 weeks in and I'm still making a hames of the interval sessions. Time to simplify it and just concentrate on hitting 5K pace which I'm not doing. Currently I'm not hitting the 5K pace that corresponds to my goal time even though it is my 5k pace (on a good day).

Thu 10th

3 mile Tempo. After last week's tempo felt unsustainable over the HM distance I adjusted the goal time to be a little less ambitious and maybe more realistic. In hindsight I didn't plan the route well as when I turned after the warmup I was straight into a strong wind for the 3 tempo miles. Managed these comfortably enough even with the wind so will probably adjust the goal pace back again a little to the ambitious side.

Fri 11th

4 miles easy. Did this on the track at club training. Probably looked a bit silly while the others were doing their intervals but hey ho. Got the drills, stretches and core work done with the group.

Sat 12th

6 mile easy. Did 3 miles before parkrun and the 3 miles of parkrun - all easy except for the last mile where I picked it up a bit.

Sun 13th

8 mile easy on a local hilly loop as the sun was setting to complete the week.

38 miles for the week.

So, 25% of this block done. So far, so good mostly. The interval sessions are a concern. Perhaps the issue is insufficient recovery from Sunday efforts? More focus and more concentration on hitting 5K pace might also help. I tend to ease back a couple of notches when I lose concentration. I'm happy with the Thursday sessions and the rest is all easy runs. No long runs yet in the plan. The continuous feedback from the tempo runs is very useful. It lets you know where you are. 

I still have to determine what two weeks I'm going to cut from the plan seeing as I'm doing 16 weeks of an 18 week plan. Niggles are remaining as little niggles and not developing into problems. Touch wood that will remain the same or hopefully they will fade away.

DeepBlue

Hanson Half-Marathon plan for Cork - Week 5 of 16

Mar 14th - Mar 20th

Mon 14th

4 mile easy. Did this again on the local grass sports ground where the perimeter grass track is on a hill. Average 10.45/mile with HR avg of 132. Nice sunny day and was starting to get some sweat on the forehead by the end. Could spring finally have arrived?

Tue 15th

Intervals day! Looking through the plan I decided this week was a good candidate to jump forward a week so today was 4x1200 @ 5K pace. I've been struggling to get the intervals right over the last few weeks so decided instead to just program it into the watch. That way I don't have to be counting laps and the watch would alert me if I was off pace. This worked out very well and the result was much more consistent than previous weeks. A fore-shortened warm up and generous cooldown brought this in at 11.29 miles.

Wed 16th

Rest day.

Thu 17th

4mi Tempo was on the plan. However I had a race on Sunday. Normally the advice on the plan if racing is to swap out the long run for the tempo. However the long run was 12 miles which I thought might be a bit too much prior to the race so settled instead for an easy, hilly 8 miles (if that's not an oxymoron). Averaged 9.26/mile and avg HR of 138bpm. I quite enjoy these hilly runs which is just as well as it's mainly hilly around me and I'm spoiled for choice regarding hills!

Fri 18th

6mi easy today and opted to keep it hilly (which was front loaded to the start) which was then followed by quite a bit of downhill. A bit windy out and average pace of 9.25/mile with 138bpm again the avg HR.

Sat 18th

Another 6mi easy was on the plan but I had a busy day and my right ankle was complaining a little louder than usual about the two previous hilly runs. This all helped to decide on a micro taper instead ahead of the race the following day.

Sun 20th

Race - Mallow 10 - Report to follow.

Just very slightly shy of 40 miles for the week.

DeepBlue

Mallow 10 Mile

Result: 1.13:16 - Chip Time - New PB by 2min 41sec

To be honest if you'd told me last week that I could have my entry fee back and I didn't have to run Mallow then I'd probably have taken up the offer. I'd signed up due to an acute bout of FOMO and was starting to think it was perhaps one race too many as I have another 10 miler in a couple of weeks. Mallow is not a race I'd done before and it doesn't seem to get the love (and/or speedy sell-outs) that other races get. 

I had a two hour drive to get to Mallow and when leaving home the sun was already out and warm and there wasn't even a breeze. By the time I got to Mallow the sun had disappeared and thankfully there wasn't much sign of the forecasted wind. I foolishly followed the signs for parking and race HQ and got stuck in the traffic jam in the town centre for what felt like forever. Any car park I tried was full and eventually I did what I should have done in the first place and got a spot in the Tesco car park and avoided the town centre.

I got to the start and just had time to have a brief hello with N, who happened to be injured, but still turned up to support his clubmates. Fair play! I positioned myself to the rear of the 75 pacer group and, for once, could hear the announcer as I was right beside the speaker. Usually I can't hear anything from the announcer at races and the first indication that the race has started is that everyone starts moving so to actually hear the countdown was a novelty. The start was a bit comical as we shuffled forward and stopped, shuffled forward and stopped and repeated that again and eventually we were moving.

My plan was to go with the 75min pacers and hang on for as long as I could. Dungarvan, 6 weeks ago, was done in 7.49 pace so 7.30 seemed a little ambitious. With the "stop-start" start and bit of congestion exiting the castle the 75min balloons were already a bit up the road maybe 150 or 200m or so. I decided to catch them up and felt the effort as there was a bit of elevation. First mile came in at 7.25 and I was just behind one of the 75min pacers head-butting his balloon. I got a bit of recovery here as we came through the second mile in 7.23 and we now had the worst of the route elevation behind us. The pacer was trying to call back his pacing partner who had drifted a good bit ahead. The road was now on a nice, straight, gradual, downhill and I pushed on towards the forward pacer. I let her know that the other lad was trying to get her attention but when we looked back up the road we couldn't see him. GPS seemed to be out on this section as instantaneous pace was showing at 8.00/mile which was wrong and likely throwing her out.

The third mile clocked in at 7.17 which surprised me and I was averaging 7.22 at this point. I was reluctant to pass the 75min pacer but my HR was falling and it wasn't feeling "hard enough" as we were still benefiting from the long, gradual downhill so I pushed on. Just ahead I recognised a runner who I knew-to-see from the local parkrun. He'd usually be around the 20min 5K mark so I was a little surprised to be up with him. We were joined by a female runner who looked to be running very easy with a bouncy stride and squeaky shoes. We turned left at the roundabout out towards the racecourse where the course seemed quite level. Miles 4 and 5 came in at 7.27 and 7.14 and we passed the timer for halfway. Usually I'm rubbish at running mathematics but could work out I had a decent buffer for the sub 75 if I could hold it together.

At about 5.5 miles I started to feel the effort a bit more and I started to doubt I could keep it up. Miles 6 and 7 came in at 7.18 and 7.22 with the average remaining at 7.22. Squeaky shoes and parkrun buddy were still with me sometimes slightly ahead and sometimes slightly behind. There was a few bumps in the road in mile 8, humpback bridges and the like. parkrun buddy powered up one of these and he was away. Squeaky shoes was getting an advantage on the inclines but losing it on the declines where I could use my secret weapon - gravity! Somewhere during mile 8 I was able to pull away and didn't see her again.

Mile 8 came in at 7.13 which really surprised me and mile 9 faired better at 7.09 and my overall average was going to 7.19. All of which was encouraging me to keep the effort up. Working off fumes in mile 10 but knew it would be over in a matter of minutes so ploughed on. A bit of hill just before the end which then levelled off. A shout from the sidelines that there was just 800m to go and I targeted another couple of places. Downhill to the finish, a shout out from N and a sprint finish. 1:13:15 on the watch. Chip time initially agreed but later added another second. Not that I cared. Absolutely delighted with that from a race where I wasn't really expecting anything and would have been very happy to get somewhere close to 75min.

Mr. Guappa

I missed this log restarting but I'm up to speed now - hopefully you keep the log going because those three recent race reports are a great read. Congrats on the PB in Mallow - it seems like you judged the race very well. I found your comment on Mallow being not as popular as Dungarvan interesting - the numbers confirm this but I must say I couldn't really fault it as a race and look forward to going back some day. Happy for Mallow AC as a club too - they had to cancel the 2020 race at short notice when covid landed, absorbing plenty of costs no doubt, but they had no problem issuing refunds - glad to support them this year.

Best of luck with the Half training - I'll follow with interest (now that you've reverted to imperial 😉)

py

Great PB run at the weekend. This imperial stuff is a nightmare though, pair of ye in it!

Laineyfrecks

Great report & race! Well done on the PB😊

DeepBlue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118819299#Comment_118819299

Thanks for your very kind comments A and, of course, congrats yourself on your return to racing - a reward for your patience and persistence over the last couple of years and, no doubt, a prelude to more performances to come.

While my comments on the perceived popularity of Mallow 10 Mile were simply my subjective reading of the buzz or lack thereof regarding the race from runners of my acquaintance, social media buzz etc I certainly didn't want to give the impression that it was lesser than any other race. As you mentioned in your own report the start point is fantastic and I think it had the best course of the three races I did this year. Dungarvan has that leg-killing two mile drag at the end and Adare is very lumpy. Mallow, by contrast, has any climbing front loaded at the start and the rest is relatively downhill or flat, more or less. Also even location wise it's pretty accessible for Cork, Limerick, Tipp and Kerry runners (more so than Dungarvan) and it's on a rail line. I'll be back next year anyhow. They also seemed to have loads of enthusiastic marshals and support here and there out on the course.

DeepBlue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118820467#Comment_118820467

It's just that it's so much easier to run 10 mile than face into running 16km 🤪

Mind you I still use kms for the bike. A 100k ride just seems more satisfying than a 62 mile one. 😆