hot buttered scones wrote: » Well done and congrats on the PB!
El Caballo wrote: » I'm going to have go. At the training anyway and hopefully end up in shape to run on the right side of 3 hours. I've no delusions about it working perfectly as the time frame is short and I'm coming from a weak base so running a good marathon is the priority whether that's under 3 or over 3 and is something that I'll consider as the race gets closer. But I have to admit that nothing gets me motivated like a 2:xx marathon right now so if I have to live in dreamland of achieving that over the next few months to get me out the door everyday to train, I'll happily do it whether I can or can't:pac: My mileage peak is probably going to be a lot higher than I've ever had going into a marathon before but overall, the training is going to be pretty simple and a case of get out the door and get it done. Racing schedule is also going to be light with a few races coming up soon just to gauge my fitness levels and then a break before hitting my buildup races in late August/September. Something like this: Waterford Viking Half(June 24th) Coillte 10k(July 5th) Curraghchase 10k(August 20th) Charleville Half(September 17th) PB's: 1500m: 5:01(2015) 3000m: 10:45(2014) 5k: 18:34(2013) 10k: 39:46(2014) 10m: 65:34(2014) Half: 1:26:26(2013) Marathon: 3:15:29(2013) As is clear from above, endurance is my biggest hurdle in attacking a sub-3 which is why I'm foregoing a racing heavy schedule like I normally would to get more focus on my long runs and weekly mileage. My schedule will build up to 6 or 7 days a week running and hopefully that will get me in the shape I need to be, whether it does is another question as time is probably not on my side coming from the level of fitness I'm at right now although I should get a better grasp after the half next weekend.
El Caballo wrote: » Just thought I'd give an update on this while I'm here and only a week out from the taper and inevitable madness so now's is probably to best time to write this down. The half in Waterford went decently enough although I felt terrible pretty much from the get go, Managed to finish in 1:33:0x to run my fastest half since this race 3 years previous which was a decent starting point but also a reality check in that 7 min/miles felt really quick at this stage,"How the hell was I going to run faster for double the distance?" was an overwhelming thought during the race. I quickly moved on to the pancake flat Coillte 10k two weeks later and was finally starting to feel a bit better about running m and the result was much improved, ran 41:15 with a big negative split on the way home to a result I was delighted with as it was my fastest in 2 and a half years and I was starting to make some good progress back. The end of July/start of August proved to be a bit of a disaster as I missed the bones of 3 weeks with a chest infection I couldn't shake which put a big dent in my confidence of hitting a sub-3 or even a PB as I seriously considered just not running a marathon at all. Said I'd give Curraghchase a shot anyway a week later just to see where I was fitness wise. A tough little course but I managed to run 41:0x to top my time from Dundrum a month earlier on a much more challenging course which was really encouraging to say the least. Over the next month, I got a decent spell of training together in the lead up to Charleville but was still unsure of where I was fitness wise going into the race. Decided to go with the flow and take a chance on the pace which rewarded me a time of 1:27:04 which was my fastest half in 4 years and second fastest ever. Probably left a bit out there as I faded a lot over the last 5k but I was ecstatic with the result as it signalled a return to form I thought would never come. I didn't quite reach the volume and intensity of training I had hoped to when I posted the above quote as all my training has been pretty much base mileage with the occasional short 2-3 mile tempo so this will hurt me going into the marathon. As such, I think a sub-3 attempt would end badly for me so I've given up the ghost on that. It is what it is and I knew heading into this block of training that it was hugely ambitious of me to get a sub-3 clocking this time around. The sub-3 may be gone but this has been a hugely successful block of training for me in that it did indeed manage to get me out the door and motivated which was always the main goal. So whatever happens on Marathon day, I'll have this naval gazing post to look back on before the madness starts to kick in next week:pac: As for the Sub-3, It's only a matter of time!:)
El Caballo wrote: » Dublin Marathon(DNF) Where do I start with this? Usually, it would be to avoid it like the plague through equal parts anger and shame but strangely enough, I don't really feel either of those this time around, A little disappointed of course as it was my target race and I felt I had finally learned and become wise enough to nail a marathon but that wasn't to be. I just didn't feel it from the gun be it in my legs or the adrenaline, neither were there for whatever reason. I knew almost a mile in that my legs weren't feeling it but lived in hope that they would come around at some point but they never did and I called it a day at the tunnel 11 miles in when a redlining 8:02 flashed on my watch and I was eaten up by the 3:20 group. For me, there's was going to be no glory in grinding out a horrific 3:40/45, I've been there before in 2014 finishing in 3:56 on a bum knee after targeting the sub-3(even that day, the 3:10 guys didn't catch me until 21 miles) and that race haunts me to this day not because of the pain but because of how much it set me back(3 years later and I still haven't got back to that level and haven't run a PB either). I wasn't going to repeat that today just for the sake of it and to still feel the same way about the run so I felt like the right choice was to knock it on the head. Distance running is often looked at as a grind it out sport which it is of course and many people will and have already criticised as well as a bit of Craic on the back of my running or lack of yesterday:pac: but I can live with this one. I know I made the right decision for me. I'm fit, probably more motivated than ever to make it up to myself and relatively fresh to follow through on getting back into training right away and finally take down a few Pb's that are a couple of years past their sell by date.
Swashbuckler wrote: » Didn't realise you were from my neck of the woods!
Swashbuckler wrote: » For four months of the year I'm a mobile home at the weekend kinda guy in Ballyheigue but born and bred in West Limerick.
denis b wrote: » Superb review EC. Plenty of fortitude on offer there mixed with realism and action. Not surprised that you won out.
OOnegative wrote: » Give up the woodbines E?
Safiri wrote: » The short answer is no. The long answer is well...long:pac: and involves a fair bit of internal dialogue that no one wants to hear so lets just say I'm working on it and plan to kick them as well as some other vices that need kicking which are holding me back from what I really want to do.
Safiri wrote: » So as I've been running a little more again over the last while, it's probably a good time to get this going again to build on the small bit of momentum I've got going right now.
Murph_D wrote: » Wouldn’t mind hearing the long answer. Plenty of experience with all kinds of vices around here by all accounts. Might trigger some helpful dialogue.
eyrie wrote: » Good to see you back logging again, always enjoy reading your thoughts Hope the training is going well
Safiri wrote: » Thanks eyrie. training ain't going great right now, I picked up a fairly bad strain in my Trapezius acting the muppet so been pretty much bed bound for a week now and am out of action for another 2 at least.
eyrie wrote: » Ahhh really sorry to hear that, sounds very tough. I'm guessing that means Charleville is out? Hope you recover well anyway. Keep us posted.
Safiri wrote: » Wednesday 26th September- 5 Miles Easy So my calves are back at me, it's irratating to say the least and I'd give anything just to run without feeling like they'd explode. It's basically 5 years of this now. There's no real injury pain, they just start burning a few minutes into a run like the feeling of lactate and go pure dead and heavy. Somedays, they free up after a few miles and it feels like I'm running on air but most days, they just get worse and worse to the point where I feel like I'm just plodding and couldn't run faster if I tried despite running at a slow pace. I don't know what to do at this stage, Rest, stretching, strengthening does nothing. Even when I was going well last year, it felt like I was constantly fighting to keep going on most runs.Thursday 27th September-5 Miles Easy More of the same:(
ultrapercy wrote: » Have you tried magnesium rub and oral supplement. If you buy a bag of magnesium flakes in booths and dilute them in water and rub on it may help relax the muscle. Also try rolling a tennisball under foot before running to release the facia.
OOnegative wrote: » Can I ask you one thing, keep the log going. You have tons of knowledge to impart to this forum, stuff I will spend time to read, as would others.
Singer wrote: » Great to see you back! (he says as a lurker)
