running up that hill

AuldManKing wrote: »

Welcome back.
Great to get under 30 at Terenure. Fair play on the 800's , I done 2 1500's last year and loved it.

I think I was running beside you at one stage, you passed me, and I didn't see you again. I don't remember much about the last mile though, bit blurry!

El Caballo wrote: »

I'd say you could nearly run 2:20 right now looking at those workouts.

Cheers El Caballo, I hope you're right. And I have a decent bit of time before the target race on July 13th. I'll miss the graded meet on Jun 22nd to attend a friend's wedding abroad. Just a b*tch that I got injured when I did, it pushed everything back by a couple of months.

Got through the week without injuring myself, which is a minor success in itself.

Mon 30/05: -

Tue 31/05: 10x 400m at 80s with 60s recovery
Completed all of these between 78-80s, except for #6 (82s) and #7 (77s). Warmed up with easy laps and some strides and drills.

Wed 01/06: -

Thu 02/06: 40 mins easy on grass

Fri 03/06: 30 mins easy on grass

Sat 04/06: 1x1200m in 4mins, 20 mins off, 8x200m at 37s, with 30s walk/jog recovery

3:55 for the 1200m, and it felt fine. That works out as 5.15mins/mile pace. Did some very easy laps during the 20 min break. Finished the 200s in 36-38, pushed a bit harder on the last one for 33s. Probably spent too long on the recoveries though - something to amend next time.

Sun 05/06: 7.9 miles in 60 mins, avg pace 7.36m/m. Nice to be back on a familiar loop at home, it had been a while. But the heat in the midlands - it was several degrees hotter compared to what Dublin has been lately. Set off at 10.45 - must get out earlier in future on warm days like this.

Next week: Aiming for the 1500m at the graded meet in Santry. It's probably my first track race since a school sports day, so I'm excited! No target time in mind this time.

Mon 13/06: 10 mins easy 8m/m, 10 mins 7.10-7.20m/m, 10 mins roughly 6.30m/m. Mostly grass, felt comfortable.

Tue 14/06: 2 sets of 500m at 800m pace, then 3x 80m full out, 1 min jog rec, 20 mins between sets

Found the 500m tough here, felt winded by the end, but really enjoyed the 80m reps. 1 minute recovery felt fine, and it was good to do this with a group of mostly similar abilities as we all pushed each other. The 80s really tired my legs out, could still feel the effort a few days later in the backs of my legs.

Splits: 87s, then 3x 11-12s; 88s, 3x 11-12s

Wed 15/06: 30 mins recovery, grass

Thu 16/06: -

Fri 17/06: -

Arrived in Rome for a few nights holiday. With a half day in work and flight Fri evening, no running. No run Thurs due to late evening in work finishing (hopefully) a project that has dragged its heels too long now. Heading further south for a friend's wedding on tues.

Sat 18/06: -

Excuse today is that I walked a lot. Rome is unbelievable.

Sun 19/06: 30 mins easy

Up early for this, a hilly run from the hotel up to and around Villa Borghese park. Legs stiff and tired.

Next week:
Hope to get 1 fast session in this week, and a few easy runs with one of the lads. Then back home sat afternoon and down to the club track next Sunday morning.

Mon 04/07: 30 mins recovery on grass. 3.5 miles, avg pace 8.34m/m.

Calves were a bit sore after Sunday's run, which was mostly on tar/road.


Tue 05/07: 6x 400m in 70s, 1 min static recovery

On grass for this, as have most of these recent Tuesday sessions. Instructions were to watch the pace on the first one, but I probably overdid that, and the same on the second. From then on things improved, and the last two were under 70. My legs were starting to feel wobbly by the last one.

Splits: 76 74 71 71 69 67

The calf tightness from Sunday hadn't fully shifted, but it didn't bother me during the reps. Extended the warmup slightly and did the usual drills and strides. The calves stiffened up a bit later on, will keep an eye on it but I'm not overly worried.


Sat 09/07: 15x 200m in 34-35s, 60s recovery

Decided to pull out of this after 10. Nothing too serious, but a little tight and not running as freely as it has been in the last while, and I'm taking no chances after calf injury earlier this year. Not helped by missing the last 3 days, no excuses.

Splits: 35 35 34 33 34 34 33 34 33 33


Sun 10/07: 35 mins. Approx 4.7 miles at 7.24m/m


Target for the 800m next wed: I'd be fairly satisfied with sub 2.20, but sub 2.15 is the A goal - I think it's beyond me yet though. Aim will be to go out hard and try to hang on. It's only two laps, how painful can it be?

happygoose wrote: »

Really good running. You sound relatively comfortable in that race, from my experience 800's are anything but, and it takes 2-3 races to get to the pitch of things and find your pace. That discomfort in the last 150 eases too in each race. Would you not jump into the B race in the graded tomorrow night, IMO there could be a 2:07/2:08 there. Nice splits for the 5k session too.

I'm actually out of Dublin on the night, so can't get to it. Shame there's only one week between graded 6 and 7, I would have definitely done another 800.

I didn't mean it to come across that I was comfortable in that report, felt far from it by the end. But I know what you mean, and some of the others in the club had that experience of quickly knocking off a few seconds after a few races. Not to be though, so I'm hoping the faster work will benefit in the weeks ahead. Bit early to start thinking about next year, but I'll probably concentrate on the 800m for a good bit of it.

Both track sessions on a 400m track this week.

Mon 18/07: 4.0 miles in 33 mins, avg 8.15m/m.

Tues 19/07: 4.7 miles in 37 mins, avg 7.53 m/m.

Wed 20/07: 15x 400m in 84s, 1 min recovery

Usual warmup and drills beforehand. Apart from the first one, 84 seconds was not a struggle. Heat was tough, I sweated buckets.

Splits: 87 83 83 83 83
83 82 81 83 82
82 82 82 82 79

Probably could have gone a touch faster again on the reps but I'm sticking to what the coach says, and it had been a while since I did this many 400s.

Thurs 21/07: -

Fri 22/07: 35 mins easy

Sat 23/07: 8x 600m in 2:00, 1:45 recovery

2:00 for 600m is 10-minute 3000m pace. Just that it involves putting 5 of these 600s back-to-back. Felt a bit winded on the last 150m of the last two, but kept it going to keep them all fairly consistent and under 2:00. The recoveries were generous to be fair.

Splits: 1:59 1:58 1:57 1:58
1:58 1:57 1:57 1:56

On 28/05, did the same session but with 2:00 recovery and in less heat. Slightly quicker splits here.

Sun 24/07: -

----
Still planning on doing the 3000m in santry on 03/08, but it's 8 weeks to the rathfarnham 5k and that's where the real focus is. Time to start increasing the mileage. Will get some advice from the coach next week to try put some structure on the non-session days. I'm thinking a tempo run midweek and a longer slower run on Sundays.

Mon 01/08: –


Tues 02/08:
3.6 miles in 30 mins, very easy, avg 8.20m/m
Followed by 8x strides


Wed 03/08: 3000m – Dublin graded meet #8 – grade C – Tallaght
Second place in 10:10.86.
Total 3.4 miles
Splits (taken from finish line): 41 (first 200m) 83, 81, 83, 88 (wtf?) 84, 80, 71

Very disappointed with both the time and how I ran the race, made several mistakes. Got down to the track early to watch the sprints and meet some of the others in the club. It was clear that the strong wind was going to be a factor. The headwind was blowing directly down the home straight, and I felt for the sprinters who had to face it.

Gave myself plenty time warming up with the usual strides and drills. Goal for the race was sub 10:00, meaning 80s/400m or 3:20/km. Coach and others said this should be within me. However with this being my first effort at the distance, and with the strong wind, I felt unsure and these factors played on my mind in the buildup and during the race.

Mistake #1: On the start line with my trusty CASIO stopwatch, I made a last-minute decision not to start the stopwatch. This despite using it in every session up to now. Instead my only indication of time was the person shouting the lap splits.

Mistake #2: In the first two laps, the race gradually broke into two groups. I was back in the second group, having started that little bit slower. I was unwilling to bridge the gap as it could mean facing the wind alone.

Mistake #3: On lap 3, I bridged the gap to the leading group on the home straight, i.e. straight into the wind. I could have waited for the back straight, but no. Meanwhile hearing the splits I know the sub 10:00 is slipping away.

Mistake #4: I probably ran 2-2.5 laps in lane 2 (laps 4 and 5), adding unnecessary metres to my run. It was a combination of
- fear of taking up the lead and facing the wind
- inexperience as to how much was left in the legs
- not wanting to be at the back of the leading group, in case a breakaway happened

A breakaway actually did come at this stage, but nobody else went with him, and he was reeled in later. The right thing to do at that middle stage was probably to tuck in at the back of the leading group in lane 1 and bide my time. Or, if I really wanted the time, to run my own race and get out in front.

The final move came with about 600-700m to go. The guy who hit the front now stretched away, another pushed on to second, and I upped my pace to follow in third. First place was getting away now. I hung on in third until the final bend where I kicked to get second place, 2.6 seconds down on first place. First place didn't sound overly impressed with his time either.

Got off the track and felt disappointed. Vanderlyle goes home devastated, as they'd say on letsrun. Didn't give a good account of myself and I didn't run my own race. I relied on others to set the pace. I knew I was down on time after lap 1, but I chickened out of doing anything about it. I didn't remotely push my limits, and the legs felt remarkably fresh afterwards.

Had a chat with the coach, and decided to get back into another race quickly.


Thurs 04/08: -


Fri 05/08: Rhode 5K – race #7 of 7 in the Offaly summer 5K series:
9th place in 17:51.
Total 5.5 miles
Splits (kms): 3:36 3:31 3:42 3:40 3:22
First road race in flats (New Balance 1500v2)

Felt this would be a good way to get back into a race, to put Wednesday behind me, and also set a marker ahead of Rathfarnham. This race series has cash prizes for the top 3, so they usually attract some fast lads. The previous race was won in 15:09, with 12 going sub 17:00. So I knew I'd have people to work with and chase. Went in with no specific time in mind, just looking to push myself and put in a respectable showing.

After the quick and easy registration, I had about 40 mins left to warm up. The drive down after work took about an hour. During the warmup I sussed out the last 1k, and picked out a few landmarks. The last 300m was uphill.

We got going, and I found myself in a group of 4 or 5. The first half was mostly flat or gently downhill, with only a short drag or two. At the halfway point, the route turned uphill. The drag lasted about 600m, and I was able to pick up two places. Our little group broke up though, a green vest pushed on, and I followed, leaving the others behind. I was on my own now, but had the slight breeze behind me, and the next runner in sight up ahead.

At the top of the hill, there was a decent payoff, so I lengthened my stride and let gravity do some of the work. When we rejoined the main road, the last 1.3km was the reverse of the first bit, plus an extra bit of uphill to the finish line. At this stage, I was working hard, and breathing very heavily, just focussing on the end coming soon. In the last 500m, I was closing in on a blue vest. I pushed hard and with only 20-30m left, caught him for what turned out to be 9th place. The time of 17:51 is 20 seconds slower than my PB.

Numerous reasons to be cheerful:
- Spoke to a few people afterwards who said they found the route tough – tougher than the others in the series. On a flatter route, I reckon there is room to improve this time.
- The winning time was 17:00. The same guy ran 15:51 in the previous race of the series. Obviously that might mean nothing at all, but I'll take it as a sign that this route was harder.
- Felt fine in the flat shoes. I needed to trial these in a road race before the target race. Nice to get through without any issues or niggles.

Afterwards a gentle cooldown with some strides and drills, followed by lots of cake, and chat with a few others. On another note, it was nice to be back parking the car in a field of thistles and dodging the cowsh1te – it had been a while!


Sat 06/08:
1.7 miles recovery in 15 mins avg 8.50m/m – on the track
7.1 miles in 55 mins avg 7.30m/m – mix of grass/trails and tarmac in the park
Total 8.8 miles

Followed by stretches.


Sun 07/08:
4.7 miles in 36 mins, avg 7.49m/m – grass

---

Next week
Possible shot at redemption in the 3000m – there's one in Drogheda next Thursday. I really don't want to leave the track season with last Wednesday as the lingering memory. I'll decide for definite tomorrow or Tuesday.

AuldManKing wrote: »

17:51 2 days after the 3k is a fantastic result. Some good learnings on the 3k that you can correct.

My wife made a comment today about why runners always have 'excuses' or 'mistakes' or 'learnings' - shes listened to me enough in the past but was looking at FB comments of some people she knows doing the R&R.

I guess its human nature and competition - but I think we all need to correct the mistakes and learnings from previous races.

Best of luck in Drogheda - no more mistakes

Cheers, certainly a lot learned. Some of it is just lack of experience and lack of concentration. You drop a second or two on a lap, and suddenly you've run out of laps to pick them back up. Looking forward to hopefully trying a totally different strategy out next week.

Mon 15/08:
3.3 miles recovery, avg 8.40 – 8.50 m/m.


Tues 16/08: 6x1000m in 3:15. 2:45 recovery
Splits: 3:24 3:13 3:14 3:16 3:17 3:12
Total: 5.7 miles

Did this at the club track, and had a partner to share the effort with which made it easier. He stayed on for a seventh rep, but I called it a day at 6.


Wed 17/08: –


Thurs 18/08: 25 mins tempo, 6:25m/m
3.9 miles at 6:26m/m
Total: 5.4 miles in 37:30

Acres road grass loop. Need to stretch the mileage out a bit on these in future, more easy miles before and after.


Fri 19/08:
5.4 miles easy in 42:00, avg 7.47m/m

Jogged up to waterstown park for a change of scenery. Followed the same route as their parkrun, and had the park almost entirely to myself.


Sat 20/08:
6.5 miles in 47:45, avg pace 7.21m/m

Pace varied a good bit. Pace dropped way off on the mile stretch of conyngham rd between islandbridge and chapelizod into the wind. From cycling to work, I'm used to seeing the painted 100m markings disappear quickly one after another. But each 100m section seemed to drag on forever.


Sun 21/08:
10.9 miles in 85:00, avg pace 7.48m/m

Mostly grass and trails for this, and the pace was more consistent. An extra +1 mile and +10 mins from last week's "long" run. Looking to build these up to 90-100 mins. Felt great on this one from start to finish. Trails in the park have softened a bit with recent rain, which helped.

----
Total weekly miles: 37.2

Signed up through work for the Grant Thornton team 5K run on Tues 13th Sept. Work pays for the entry, just as well, as 30euro per person for a 5K is daylight robbery. Should be a good marker ahead of Rathfarnham.

I was - long skinny arms out to the world. That vest has seen better days!

Did this route today: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6936015 Where did you see me? Sorry I didn't spot you. I wouldn't recognise someone until the last second without my glasses on though.

Mon 22/08:
30 mins recovery + 6x strides
3.4 miles at 8.47m/m
All on grass


Tues 23/08: 16x 300m, faster than 5k, with 200m jog recoveries
Total: 5 miles
Polo grounds (grass). Wore new balances.

Distances a rough guess. This was my first ever session at the polo grounds, which is probably some form of heresy considering I do 99% of my running in the phoenix park. Shared the pace with two other lads from a different training group in the club. Didn't take splits. The purpose was more just continuous running, and running by feel. Headed for the club track afterwards for some easy laps, but along the way my left calf felt a bit niggly on the outside of the leg, so I didn't take the chance and headed home instead.


Wed 24/08:
3.6 miles recovery, roughly 9.00m/m

With Mrs V for this one, on tarmac.


Thurs 25/08: 3x 10 mins tempo, 5 mins jog recovery
Avg paces for 10-min sections: 6.20m/m, 6.11m/m, 6.26m/m
Total 9.3 miles in 71:30

Found this hard. The heat, running it on grass, and doing it alone didn't help. Also wore my heavy, clunky Saucony Omnis for this, which didn't help either. I still wear these as much as possible during training runs as I need the stability they provide. I've had IT band problems in the past, and it was diagnosed as resulting from issues with my feet. Switching to these shoes helped to solve it for me. Then the difference when I wear a lighter shoe is enormous.


Fri 26/08: –


Sat 27/08: Parkrun
Tymon parkrun: 5K in 17:31
Total 5.1 miles

I wanted to get a sense of my 5K shape on a course that I am used to. My previous times in Tymon ranged from mid-18s (PB 18:27, Nov 2014) to mid 19s. My intention was to run it hard. It was helped by having someone to chase. He took off like a rocket and was out on his own from the first bend. I caught up to him by 3K, I estimate we can a K side by side, then he gradually pushed away from me. I couldn't find the legs or the lungs to go with him on the last K. Died a bit of a death on the subtle drag from 3.5k to 4.5k, before it flattens out for the finish. Still pleased with the workout, and felt good afterwards, no niggles etc.

No splits for this because I wore the CASIO watch. Strap broke on GPS watch – better get the glue out (again).


Sun 28/08:
9.9 miles in 77:30, avg pace 7.50m/m

Jog around the park at dusk, mostly on tarmac. Had the place almost to myself, it was very quiet. You can really switch off from the world on nights like this in the park. I loved it and felt great throughout the run.

----
Total weekly miles: 36.9

Two weeks to catch up on here.

Mon 05/09:
40 mins easy, 8.00m/m
Total 5.0 miles

Calf niggle is all but gone, still a tiny twinge here and there, e.g. descending stairs.


Tues 06/09:
35 mins avg pace 7.45m/m
10 mins avg pace 7.20m/m
Total 6.0 miles

Easy jog for 35 mins then picked it up for 10 mins as legs were feeling good. No calf issues.


Wed 07/09: –


Thurs 08/09:
50 mins avg 7.37m/m, progression, on tarmac mostly
10 mins tempo at 6.26m/m on grass
15 mins easy 8.40m/m on tarmac/concrete
Total 9.7 miles

Progression run with a 10-minute pick-up to tempo pace in the middle, then an easy jog home. Felt fine.


Fri 09/09: –


Sat 10/09: 6x 1K in 3:20, recovery 2:30
Splits: 3:16 / 3:20 / 3:17 / 3:16 / 3:17 / 3:17
+2x2.2 miles warmup & cooldown
Total 8.1 miles

Polo grounds this morning. Thought I'd be alone, but a clubmate had just begun a similar session so he jumped in with me for my first 4. I was alone for the last two, and it was a case of getting through them. Bit of cajoling needed to shut up the voices saying stop after no. 5. The splits were a bit slower than the last time I did 6x1K. But factor in this workout being on grass vs last time on track, and 15 secs less recovery this time. Legs fine afterwards, just tired.


Sun 11/09: –
Hungover. Should have been a long run, but I felt horrible all day.


Mon 12/09: –
Out with friends at the fringe festival in Dublin. Didn't want to do much ahead of Tuesday night anyway.


Tues 13/09: Grant Thornton 3 mile

16:43

Major asterisk on this one! Ok, my 5K PB is old (it was and still is 17:31 from March 2015). It has been scheduled for renewal at the Rathfarnham 5K later this month. Yet I still hoped/expected to be in PB shape for this run tonight. Besides, I still have some faint notions of running sub 17 at Rathfarnham.

But tonight was a total blowout – 16:43 would be a 48-second PB. It's ridiculous, there's simply no way it was 5,000 metres. So I'm not paying much attention to it. Instead, the positives. It was a decent workout, and good to get some more race experience in. It was a fun night, with plenty craic and slagging with work colleagues. The company paid for our entry and also gave us a really good quality technical t-shirt (separate to the GT5K one).

At the finish, I met two guys from the training group at the club. One had been tracking me all the way, and passed me with about 500m to go, but I clung on and passed him again. Having him there was definitely worth a few seconds. But not 48 seconds.

The legs felt perfect afterwards. Not a hint of soreness or even the slightest bit of stiffness, which is very unusual. I decided I was ok to have a crack at a sub 5:00 mile the next night at the paced miles in Morton stadium.


Wed 14/09: Irish Runner Paced Mile, Morton stadium
4:55 – new PB for the mile, and first time running sub 5:00.
Splits: 78 (109m) / ? / ? / 75

Background: during the track season, I missed the chance to run a mile race. Inspired by the round numbers table, sub 5 was a target I envied since starting posting here. At the start of 2016, it was on my radar, and I listed it as one of my key targets for the year. I ran one of these Irish runner paced miles before, the first one they held (phoenix park summer 2015), and I finished in a time of 5:16. I had never run a mile on a track before tonight.

The evening was ideal. Couldn't have asked for better conditions. Perfect temperature, dry, and practically windless. The celebs were introduced (Sonia and Catriona) and soon the first group were away, starting with the 12, 11, and 10-minute miles together. Next up in group 2, the 8 and 9 min crew together. Then the 7s, then the 6s. While these were going on, I just kept my legs ticking over, and as the time drew nearer, got a few strides in and got some easy drills done on the infield grass and then on the track itself.

A group of about 15 lined up for the sub 5 attempt. The pacers were introduced and we were off. Lap 1: moved into lane 2 to get by a few people and settled in a group of 3 or 4, just behind the two pacers. By the 200m mark, I was on the inside in lane one and things were getting strung out already. Lap 2: I focussed on nothing but staying with the pacers. I didn't see the clock or pay any attention to the others around me. By the end of the lap, the pacers were pulling away a bit. Lap 3: Pacers and 2 others were widening the gap and I could feel I was working hard, and the legs were beginning to fade. Took a glance at the clock going through at the end of lap 3. It read 3:40, which gave me some hope, 80 seconds should be plenty to get through one more lap. Lap 4: down the back straight, just kept willing myself onwards, legs really tiring now. But knowing there was only a short distance left, I pushed harder and sprinted as best as I could muster for the line. Glimpsed 4:54 /4:55 on the clock as I crossed the line... Back of the net.

Nice evening, lots of happy runners/joggers of all ages and abilities. It's a great opportunity to run on a track and test yourself – I'd recommend it to anyone looking to dip their feet in the track stuff in a very supportive environment.


Thurs 15/09:
7.8 miles in 61 mins, avg 7.49m/m

Mix of surfaces grass, trails, tarmac, and concrete for this, in the park and up around castleknock village.


Fri 16/09: –


Sat 17/09: Hills

5x 1km (approx) Munich hills loops
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6956079
Splits 4:06 / 4:00 / 3:55 / 3:53 / 4:00
Total 3.8 miles

From the relative highs of midweek, it was back to reality with this session, my first hill session with the club. The plan was for 6 reps on a similar route to the Dublin novices. It had been a long time since I did any hill work, and I found it hard. I couldn't get comfortable moving at pace on the trails, and absolutely died on the uphills. I did ok on the downhill sections, and tended to make up some of the gap to the others there by letting the stride lengthen and letting the legs go. But on rep 5, I tired badly and dropped off the back of the group. When the coach told me to leave it at 5 reps, I wasn't sorry. This points to a need for more hill work and strength work to be done over the winter. I wasn't bothered to do any more easy miles today, so I cycled home with the intention of getting a good long run in on Sunday.


Sun 18/09:
12.5 miles in 91:30, avg pace 7.19m/m

Got out at 8.40am which is very early for me. Pace was faster than usual, but felt fine throughout.


Next week:
One last session on Tuesday before Rathfarnham. Something like 10x 400m, then it's a mix of rest days and easy days until Sunday. My 'A' goal time is 16:59 or under, but low 17s is probably more realistic.

Easy week, mostly resting down ahead of the race on Sunday. Rest for me means taking complete days off. I usually like to have the last run on the second-last day before a key race. The runs on Wed and Fri this week are purely about keeping the legs ticking over.


Mon 19/09: –


Tues 20/09: 12x 400m in 80s, recovery 60s
Splits: 74-78s all.
Total 7.4 miles
Polo grounds.

Jogged to and from this. Could have done more reps, but no point killing myself at this stage. Left achilles tendon a little sore afterwards. Nothing new there.


Wed 21/09:
3.9 miles in 30 mins. 7.42m/m.
On concrete around work. Good bit of clicking from the achilles, especially in the morning, again nothing new.


Thurs 22/09: –


Fri 23/09:
4.0 miles in 30 mins. 7.30m/m.
On grass in the park.


Sat 24/09: –


Sun 25/09: Rathfarnham 5K
16:19
Avg pace 5.15m/m = 3.16m/km
1.7 mile warmup + 1.1 mile cooldown
Total 5.9 miles

Ok so maybe Grant Thornton wasn't as short as I thought.

Pre-race
Ran 17:39 here in 2014 and loved the route. I remember being awed by the 10 guys who ran sub 15:00 in the race, as I hadn’t competed in races with that kind of quality before. I made a mental note to add this race to my annual calendar. But with the marathon last year, this race was off the agenda for 2015. Instead, I ran the Moone kilomarathon the day before Rathfarnham 2015. So when it came to planning my race calendar this January, this was one of the first to be pencilled in.

Since running the 800m in Irishtown in July, the focus has been on today. Moving from 800m to 3000m was a nice intermediate stepping stone to the 5K distance. Got some race practice in with two 3000m races (Tallaght and Drogheda), two 5K races (Rhode and Grant Thornton), and a parkrun. That race experience has been really beneficial, I rely less on the GPS watch now, and run more by feel, with just a Casio stopwatch.

Expectations coming into today were varied. At Grant Thornton, I didn't read too much into the 16:43 as I thought the route was short. Coach said sub 17 should be on. But my usual doubts crept in over the week and I didn't think I'd go much better than low 17s. Getting out of the car, I said I'd be happy with any time beginning with 16.

Warming up, I checked out the start and finish area and was glad to spot signs saying 800m to go, 600, 400 and 200m to go. Some people don't like those reminders, but I find them very useful. At the start, I made sure to squeeze up close to the front, and when the gun went I was in about the 5th row from the front.

Race
It was a little tight at the start, but I stuck to the left (the inside on the first long bend) and cut inside a few people until things opened up. I didn't notice the gentle drag up towards where the finish line is placed, as there was a nice wind behind us. Turning through Terenure, I was a few paces behind what I thought was the 1st-placed lady, and stayed close to her all down the windy straight past Terenure college and back towards the start line.

It began to get interesting at the turn off the main Templeogue road. I noticed two clubmates just up ahead, one from my training group. About the same time, I noticed another female runner just ahead, and the group I was running with moved alongside her. Seeing the club vests was a big motivation – I didn't think I was at the level of one of the lads, but I was gaining on him slowly. With 800m to go we drew level. He surged a bit ahead, and I figured he must have a stronger finish, as he is a level up from me usually. But I dug in and pushed on past him. I didn't look back so I didn't know how close anyone was, but the coach gave us both a shout out inside the last 300m so we were obviously still close. Into the last 200m and I pushed hard trying to catch a Crusader just ahead, but we matched each other for pace and I couldn't get level with him. Finished in 46th place, with 16:19 on the watch, and then flopped down on the grass.

Post race
Over the moon with the finish time. Hands down, this is the time and performance I'm most proud of. I honestly didn't think I was anywhere near that, not in my wildest dreams. When I thought about long-term goals, I always thought of sub 16, and how it could be years away – and maybe it still is – but today was a huge step towards it and a big chunk out of my previous PB.

Training aside, a few things worked very well today.
- Lining up early and starting close to where I should start (most times I don't get close enough to the front). Even today, I probably could have pushed up a bit more.
- Sticking with a good group going into the wind. Too often in the past, I've ended up isolated. As I said earlier, this group included what I thought was the lead female, but she did go on to finish first.
- Seeing those lads with 1K to go was a real boost. My concentration didn't drift as it might otherwise have done.


Next up
That's it for the year, no more target races. As of now, the primary goal for next year will be the 800m. The rest of 2016 will feature:
- A little cross country, though I have no targets/major desires there.
- Re-introduce some gym work
- More hills
- Maintain 1 speed/fast-ish session per week. I'll possibly join up with the trinity college guys again for this (we share the coach).

yaboya1 wrote: »

Sounds like your coach knows more than you

Well done on everything lately. Savage improvements across the board!

Yes, I've come to that conclusion too, that I don't actually know everything. :rolleyes: Everything he predicts seems to pan out.

Seriously though, I can't credit the club/coaching enough. The structure, the advice, the people to train and race against, it's been excellent.