Am I Running Or Jogging?

Fine I quit the marathon then. :P

Plan: Recovery

I finished the last 300m of my 20 mile LSR at the start of this recovery. :P My OH went out for a run to try and get back into things after a 2 week hiatus. We left separately, but I caught up with her after a couple of km and ran with her for a bit. She was a good pacer for an actual recovery pace, so that was good.

My hip was bugging me like it seems to do every few weeks, but it always goes away. Grand otherwise.

Total: 5.35km @ 6:39/km

Weekly total of 63.1km. Need I say what that constitutes?

Plan: 11 Miles with 9 PMP

This seemed a fairly cruel run to have to do after work, particularly with a pair of legs that just seem to get more and more tired with each passing day. I did it as a commute, but really I was home long before it was done and had to do the last 4-5 miles around my local area. It was quite warm and I was sweating buckets and the bag started to feel a bit heavy towards the end but all in all it was all right and I'm pretty pleased to have it done.

There are no surprises left now bar the marathon itself. All of the runs remaining are just repeats of ones I've done before.

Total: 17.9km @ 5:41/km

The mileage is really starting to catch up with me now and the niggles are creeping in all over the shop. Hopefully the relatively easy bit between now and the HM will see me right.

There was football (which turned out to be not worth watching) on immediately after work on Thursday so I swapped that day's run to Friday. It was meant to be a recovery run though and at that point I had nothing to recover from. :pac:

Friday, Plan: 3 Mile Recovery

My commute is too long for this run, but I decided to run from work for 5k and then hop on the LUAS to complete the trip. I did it much faster than recovery pace but I was feeling good and it wasn't really a recovery anyway!

Total: 5km @ 5:49/km


Today, Plan: 16 Mile LSR

I was feeling a bit weird this morning, kept falling asleep on the couch. I thought I might be getting ill or something but wasn't sure. I put off the run to see if I'd feel better. Then put it off some more. And some more. No change, and then it was after 3 so I just went out.

Weirdly, once I started running I felt pretty fine. I was getting bored of my usual LSR routes so I decided to run out in the direction of Enniskerry for as long as the footpath lasted and then turn back. It was a really nice change of scenery and I enjoyed it a lot. Saw tons of cyclists along the way but very few other runners.

The footpath ran out at about 9.5km so I turned back there. That meant I was back where I started by 19km and had to finish the run on one of the local loops. Snore!

I ended up going much quicker than my usual LSR pace and on a hillier route than usual, but sure it was only 16 miles. I enjoyed it much more than expected; thought it was going to be a nightmare!

Total: 26km @ 5:57/km

Bit all over the place this week. Plan had 3 miles in for Monday but Monday is rest day so I moved it to Wednesday... I've also been running too fast for no apparent reason.

Tuesday, Plan: 4 Miles Easy + Strides

Did the old commute and get on the LUAS when the required distance was reached thing again. Ran faster than PMP, I suppose I just really wanted to get home from work? I've had a bit of a twinge in the achilles area which has been brewing for the last week or so and was quite apparent during this run.

Total: 6.4km @ 5:36/km


Wednesday, Plan: 3 Miles Easy

Once again went faster than intended but it was raining, I wanted my dinner and I needed to be done in half an hour or I'd miss the football. :eek: But also I think my easy pace is just getting quicker. Problem in the achilles area seemed to have gotten worse!

Total: 5km @ 5:45/km

When I got home I decided to investigate the achilles. I'm not sure if it actually is the achilles causing the problem; I noticed some tenderness to the touch around the inside rear of the shin bone which may or may not be related. I had a bit of discomfort walking down steps this morning. The half marathon is starting to look potentially in doubt, but sure we'll see how it goes over the next 48 hours.

Dublin Half Marathon:

And so the penultimate trial in my debut marathon journey finally arrived; the dress rehearsal if you like. This race had everything I needed for a bit of mental preparation. It's the longest I've raced yet, it had the most participants by a distance, there were pacers, there were water stations with Lucozade Sport, we even got medals! So it was as close to a trial run for the real thing as I could hope to get.

I had a bit of nerves during the week, as is usual before I race a distance for the first time. I got out and did my 2 mile leg loosener on Friday which doubled up as a chance to test out the achilles. There was some discomfort, but not enough to stop me racing. I knew I would finish the race; I was more worried about what impact it might have on the weeks to come if I made this proto-injury worse. "Keep the main thing the main thing" echoed in my head, but I fought back by reminding myself that completing the race series had been on my goals for the year long before the mad notion of a marathon appeared and I wasn't going to miss it.

Race morning

As usual, the nerves had all but vanished. I got an uncharacteristically good night's sleep. In bed by 11:30, asleep before midnight, and slept right through until 07:40. This gave me confidence, I don't think I've ever been so well rested before a race. I had my gear prepped. Usual water, coffee, porridge and a browse of Boards before setting off. The weather was nothing like as a bad as had been predicted which was nice. Apart from some gusts that were stronger than you'd like, the conditions actually looked fairly ideal.

Arrived at the park around 9:30 because I love cutting it fine. Parked in the same spot we had for the last two races here. Had to find a tree to relieve myself before getting into my pen. I waited for the balloons to pop up and then got as close to the 1:50 pacers as I could. We were standing in the pens when the rain started. At this stage I had already discarded my poncho so I got a good soaking and was feeling cold before we set off. The wait seemed interminable!

And We're Off

Before we even crossed the line the traffic had caused the pacers to pull a good 50 yards ahead of me. In a way, this was good, because it meant I knew I had a bit of time banked on them for the rest of the race. If I could reel them in gradually, I was golden. Traffic was really bad at the start and I had to use a lot of mental strength to stick to the advice of avoiding the temptation to weave. I was conscious of the fact that these first couple of miles are among the easiest in the race and that the pacers would probably be using them to bank time, so it was frustrating that I was blocked from getting closer to them, but I held my resolve and tried to keep calm.

The first few miles clicked by in a blur and we were already turning onto the Military Road before I knew it. Someone elbowed me and managed to stop my watch somewhere around here and I didn't notice for a while (being maybe a minute or so), so the watch was now useless for pacing and I was completely reliant on the pacers.

Settling In

We were through the first water station at around 3 miles before I even knew the race had started and as we came up the hill at the top of Military Road just as it curves back toward Chesterfield, I was surrounded by people who were huffing and puffing already while I felt grand. It occurred to me that maybe I have a better hill diet than I thought. I had no choice but to weave a bit here because people were dropping like flies and I managed to gain some ground on the pacers.

Back on to Chesterfield and as we turned off at the zoo I spotted my girlfriend shouting and cheering. I blew her a kiss only to hear some other woman exclaim "Oh thank you!" followed by my girlfriend chuckling.

I recall getting a little frustrated as we wound around the zoo because I was still being cut off and blocked by people much slower than I and it occurred to me that I had now easily passed more people than had been between the pacers and I at the start. Which means that plenty of these people must have started ahead of the 1:50 pacers and were falling way off the pace by mile 5. My level of frustration made me realise that my brain might need some sugar, so I prepared to take a gel at around mile 5.

We turned onto the North Road and I started, for the first time, to feel a bit flat at around the same time I had in the 10 mile. This road is just such a drag. The worst part of the course in my opinion, so I slowly munched on my icky sticky gel to distract myself. There was a welcome break from the monotony as we turned off for the 'V' section at Old Lamp Road and passed the second water station. I decided to grab a bottle and hang on to it for a while this time. Passed through the 6 mile mark as we curved back towards Chesterfield and that's when I entered...

Dark Times

The pacers seemed to be gradually pulling away from me all the way down North Road and they looked like they were now further than they ever had been. I hadn't felt particularly bad at any point but I was sort of flat. Like I didn't think I could reel them back in and then maintain it for the rest of the race.

I passed TFGR along here and I shouted something like "I know you but you don't know me," which in retrospect is probably a creepy as hell thing to shout at someone. :pac: But spotting a big smiley head with the balloons and the clappers going, along with a timely reminder about flapjacks, gave me a brief boost and allowed me to push on.

As we hit the turnaround at Castleknock Gate and double back, I was starting to reel the pacers back in and they were now at least as close to me as they had been at the start. But even as we passed the 7 mile marker I had begun to resign myself to the fact that 1:50 was gone. I couldn't maintain this pace for 6 more miles, it just wasn't in me.

Heading down toward Farmleigh was probably the windiest section of the course, but there were enough people around me that I was able to tuck in a bit thankfully. My focus was on just maintaining the pace as long as I could. A Garda on a motorcycle flew by us here with the siren blaring and it was a sobering thought that we were going to come across someone in trouble shortly. There were a few mutterings of blessings and well wishes around me.

There's a nice bit of respite as you turn on to Tower Road as the road dips quite a bit and it was around here that I met Graham, a strange sort of guardian angel to whom I owe a debt of gratitude. I heard, over my shoulder, someone saying something along the lines of "Do the pacers' watches run on different time to ours? This isn't 1:50 pace!" but spoken jovial rather than with malice. I turned and said "So it's not just me then? I've been trying to catch the feckers since the start line."

"Let's go get them then," says he.

Resurrection

By mile 9 Graham and I had introduced ourselves and were now gradually gaining on the pacers. "4 miles to go," says I "bread and butter." We chatted intermittently as we headed up Ordnance Survey Road. Exchanged brief histories and goals, etc. Took our minds off the mounting exhaustion. All the while closing on the pacers.

As we passed through mile 10 I noticed that I'd done 10 miles faster than the 10 mile race 5 weeks ago, and with 3 to go. I told Graham I'd stay with him as long as I could but that I'd probably die a death on the Upper Glen Road and he was to carry on without me. "Nonsense," he said "I'll get you up that hill. I've a trick I'll tell you when we get there."

I can't tell you how much this companionship helped me. I was dying at 7 miles, running on fumes a while later and just hanging on. Now I felt refreshed, ready to go again. On Acres Road I was a new man altogether. We finally caught up and pulled alongside the pacers and I told them "It's nice to finally meet you! I've been trying to catch you since the start." They told me I looked way too fresh and happy for someone who'd been struggling to keep up! I'd two thirds of a bottle of Lucozade left which I realised I didn't want so I passed it back to a grateful looking chap behind me.

I would have been quite happy to just run alongside the pacers for the rest of the way. I was guaranteed to make it home on target if I could do so, but Graham had other ideas. He was already pulling ahead and from about 10 yards away he looked over his shoulder and started smacking his arse saying "Get over here." And so I did. I was now ahead of the pacers! I could hear them hollering behind us that there was a nice downhill coming up and to lean into it and gain some time so I duly obliged.

Bringing It Home

I was feeling absolutely elated at this point. Thanking the marshalls and clapping them, smiling at everyone around me, waving at random supporters. But then of course the Upper Glen arrived and I realised that regardless of how well I was doing mentally, I had in fact used up most of the energy in my legs. :pac: I felt like I slowed to a crawl going up here, but looking at the watch data I really didn't slow that much at all. I think the pacers banked a good minute for this hill, and they were falling behind me even as we climbed. Graham's trick turned out to be as follows: "Encourage everyone else. If you see someone stopped, shout at them to get moving again. Talk to everyone. If you focus on other people, you'll forget about your own pain." He was absolutely right, too.

Somewhere along here he started to pull away a bit, he turned back to pull me on a couple of times but I told him he'd done enough for me and to keep going. I could still see him all the way to the finish though.

The Big Finish

As turned back onto Furze Road and the final stretch I came back to my senses and realised that it was almost over and I'd actually done it. I was ecstatic! The finish line didn't seem to be getting any closer but I was thinking "sure you can jog from here and still make it." As I entered the finishing chute the noise was unlike anything I've experience at any other race, it was actually spine tingling. I spotted my girlfriend and I actually jumped up in the air and fist pumped before full on sprinting the last 50 yards; I don't know where that came from!

I passed so many people on that last stretch including a guy that I got a shoulder in front of just as we crossed the timing mats. I looked up and spotted Graham right in front of me so I shook his hand and thanked him for all his help. Then I collected my T-shirt and first ever medal.

Aftermath

I had a huge smile on my face. I felt superb. Where I had been dead on my feet for a few minutes following the 10 mile, I just seemed to have a massive endorphin buzz this time instead. I wandered out and found my girlfriend before spotting TFGR and went straight over to introduce myself. Singer was with her and we were shortly joined by A Neurotic, Chickey2 and a couple of others (I think one of them was Goosepaul?) It was great to meet you all and the flapjacks were delicious.

Because I didn't have my phone and my watch had been stopped for some unspecified amount of time I didn't know my exact result but Singer (thanks) revealed immediately that it was 1:48:53. I can't tell you how delighted I am with that. If you'd told me before the race I'd do that time I wouldn't have believed it. If you told me at mile 7, I'd have had you committed. Chuffed. The sub-4 is still on!

Oh, and my achilles felt better after the race than before it.

Total: 21.1km in 1:48:53

I allowed myself a couple of Guinness last night to celebrate (3 actually). First time alcohol has passed my lips in a couple of months!

chickey2 wrote: »

Great report! Your run was eerily similar to mine! You must have been just ahead of me most of the time.
If you think that finish was spine tingling, wait til DMC!

I actually saw TFGR react to someone else not long before I got to her. Looked like someone might have run over for a high five or something. Could have been you slightly ahead of me at that point?

I completely forgot about putting anything in the log last week, which is unlike me.

Tuesday, Plan: 5 Miles Easy

This was a commute and I seem to remember thinking afterwards that the effort was higher than it should have been and maybe if I was sensible I'd have gone a little slower but it was grand.

Total: 8.8km @ 5:55/km


Wednesday, Plan: 7 Miles, 5 PMP

Another commute, but one of those that involved running a bit past home and back again. I actually felt fresher and more energetic for this than I had the previous day and breezed through it. It turned out though that the average pace for the whole run was a little bit faster than PMP :pac:

I got a weird sharp pain on the outside of my leg below the knee in the last mile, but I was nearly home so I ran through it and by the time I'd had my shower it had completely disappeared. So that was odd.

Total: 11.4km @ 5:37/km


Friday, Plan: 3 Miles Easy

Yet another commute, this week was great in that respect. As this one was shorter the plan was to run to one of the LUAS stops and jump on that. When I got there, though, it turned out that the LUAS was out of service with a fault so I carried on running down the tracks for a bit. I stopped at about 6km because I was conscious that I had an LSR in the morning, but then it started raining and I was cold so I ran some more. I felt great after this and couldn't understand how running was so effortless this week following my peak mileage week and a 20 mile LSR, but I'm not complaining.

Total: 7.2km @ ~5:50/km


Saturday, Plan: 18 Mile LSR

I met up with fellow novices The Black Oil and Pomplamousse in the Phoenix Park for this one. Also had some chats before and afterwards with A Neurotic, who organised the meet up but then unfortunately couldn't run himself.

I was up at 7 for this and at the park just after 9 which is highly unusual for me. I don't even get up at 7 on work days. :pac: It was also my first time running with other people outside of a race setting or the odd recovery run with my OH so it was a day for new experiences. The pace was a little slower than I would have gone if alone, but I got the sense that none of us wanted to take the lead and set the pace for fear of forcing someone else to go too fast. Slowing down won't do me any harm anyway! The company was great and the miles whizzed by as we ran aimlessly in the approximate direction of Lucan for a while before finding our way back to the park.

The park itself was absolutely drowning in other runners and the conditions were pretty much perfect: still, cool, overcast. Oh to have that on the day itself! I felt great afterwards and even finished with a 'sprint' of about 150m. I hadn't bothered to bring any water along and was parched at the end, but A Neurotic provided a much needed Lucozade Sport afterwards which tasted like the nectar of the Gods!

And with that, the taper begins.

Total: 29.2km @ 6:50/km


Sunday, Plan: Recovery

3 miles was the idea, but my achilles flared up during this and it didn't feel productive at all for me to carry on so I decided to cut it short. An extra kilometer of recovery running would do nothing for my marathon anyway.

Total: 4km (actually about 4.2, watch got paused) @ 5:59/km


So that's 61km for the week and all the hard work finished now. It's just a matter of ticking over for 3 weeks and avoiding anything that has any chance of hurting my precious legs. I can't believe I've gotten this far to be honest!