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Chapter 2 - Finding Nemo

Swashbuckler

2018 - Chapter One: The Day That Never Comes - Post 1 to 634

2019 - Chapter Two: Finding Nemo - Post 635 onwards

Original Post:
I've decided to set up one of these in the hope that every now and then someone will come along and in their good nature, answer one of my many questions about my training. I find I've been posting a lot of questions in the Random Running thread so maybe this is a better way of going about it.

Background
36 year old male. Been running for 7 years but only started properly focusing my training since January. Only learned what a tempo, LSR etc. were this year! Previous to that I just went out most days and ran 6 miles at as fast as I could manage. No direction or focus to my training. Had ran some half marathons and mixed in circuit training. But this year I really fell in love with running. Thanks to advice from people on here and chatting to some advanced runners I've met at many races this year I've manage to see significant improvements.

PB's;
5k - 18:22 - Parkrun (2017)
10k - 37:44 - Run Killarney (2017)
Half Marathon: 1:31:35 Charleville (2012). Most recent Half was in June - Half Thru the Heart which I did in 1:33. Extremely tough course and the distance was a little short.

Short to Medium term targets (over the next ~10 months);
5k - Sub 18
10k - Sub 37
Half Marathon - Sub 1:30

Long term targets/dreams;
5k - Sub 17
10k - Sub 35
Run my first Full Marathon (maybe by end of next year).
Run a really good Full Marathon.

Myself and my wife have a baby on the way so I'd say the training could be impacted for a while but I really hope I can keep it up to the same level.

I generally do two/three sessions a week (mix of intervals and tempo), one long run and the rest easy runs. Train 5-6 times a week with one day off.

I do all my Mon-Fri training within my one hour lunch break. LSR is either at the weekend or in the morning before work.

I know I should probably join a club. I would love to but we'll see how life changes once baby arrives. Even if I could do one session a week with a club I think it would be of benefit.

Last weeks training;
Mon: 7 miles steady/progressive starting at 7min/mile and finishing at 6:30min/mile. I'm thinking this run isn't of much benefit as it's in no mans land pacewise for me?
Tues: 5 x 1 mile intervals. Intervals at 5:50min/mile average with 3min recovery between.
Wednesday: 10k easy/recovery @ 7:30min/mile. Not sure if this should be slower but I read that it's bad to have easy and LSR paces the same i.e. too much running at the slow pace. The 7:30 pace felt easy.
Thursday: 15 mile LSR @ 8min/mile. Total time: 2 hours.
Friday: 4 mile recovery jog @ 8:50 min/mile.
Saturday: Parkrun 5k - 18:22.
Sunday: Rest

Probably overdid it a bit last week. Not sure to be honest but I feel good. I'm still learning. I'll be giving up the Parkruns in a couple of weeks for a while so I wanted to run a couple of them pretty hard to end up on a good note.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'm looking to improve and still relatively new to proper training so I'm willing to take any advice on board.

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Comments

Swashbuckler

In fairness to AMK I think he's just being nice. Haha. He's been following my training closely and knows the effort going in. Don't think he means it as genuine advice.

AuldManKing

Safiri wrote: »

I'm all for finding positives in results but you can't blank out mistakes no matter how many people make them. If you stick with the crowd mentality, you won't seperate yourself from them. He mis-paced the race(doesn't matter if 100 other people done it) and suffered because it. Learn the lesson and take it forward to the next race. Positive is that he ran close to his last 5 mile time despite this mistake and walking so there is room for improvement next time out if the lesson is learned. Blanking over these pertinent facts will do no good for anyone.

I agree - and my comments to him on Strava echo yours.
I didn't want to repeat myself here

BUT - I love your mentality - this is missing here on boards, please post more (especially on my log). We need less back slapping and more 'constructive criticism' - so I applaud your post.

AuldManKing

Swashbuckler wrote: »

In fairness to AMK I think he's just being nice. Haha. He's been following my training closely and knows the effort going in. Don't think he means it as genuine advice.

But it gets me thinking that everyone on Boards isn't on Strava - so we need to be more clinical with our responses otherwise, people like Safiri wont get the fact that we might make 1 post on Strava or Whats App and another follow on one here on boards - theres a learning potential not just for the poster but for the reader.

hot buttered scones

Yerrah, we all f* ck up from time to time. We'd never learn otherwise.

I've to many to mention, but here's one that kind of matches yours:

wrecked after the first hill

The important thing is to learn from it and move on. Like I said on Strava, what's next?

Swashbuckler

AuldManKing wrote:

But it gets me thinking that everyone on Boards isn't on Strava - so we need to be more clinical with our responses otherwise, people like Safiri wont get the fact that we might make 1 post on Strava or Whats App and another follow on one here on boards - theres a learning potential not just for the poster but for the reader.

Firstly I agree and im glad he's reading my log.

When someone who's putting in the hard work lets themselves down with a race it's not easy to be anything but a little supportive I guess. But yeah you're right the clinical, matter of fact approach is both refreshing and needed. In this case I know where I went wrong though. Nobody is misguiding me with false praise.

Swashbuckler

Looks eerily similar HBS. Why didn't you warn me!

Good old coach obviously knew this would happen coz he has me lined up for Adare next weekend. Back to the 10k.

Swashbuckler

What a week.

Monday and Tuesday - 7M Easy each day. Felt really good on these runs. Everything felt like it should. Nice flow to everything. Felt refreshed and positive for the week ahead.

Wednesday -lovely session of 7x1k targeting 6min/mile pace (3.44 per km) off reducing recoveries of 90s/90s/75s/75s/60s/60s. Like i said everything felt good this week. I had to figure out a new route as the usual loop of the estate had road works. Nice calm day if I remember correctly. I have to say I felt really good during this session. Oddly enough by the 6th and 7th split I was finding the pace easier. Everything about this was very controlled. Effort levels were good.

Sits were;
3.41 3.42 3.39 3.42 3.42 3.39 3.41
A little on the quick side but effort levels were spot on. I always run these sessions on the flat. I've often wondered do people go out on the roads for any of these types of sessions and seek out some bumps and undulations or is it all about effort level so easier to judge on flat?

Thursday 7M Easy. Can't remember this run really. I don't recall felling any effects of the session. Legs were good all week.

Friday 5M very easy with strides. Struggled to get out with work but managed it eventually. Felt good to make a point of running slower than my usual easy default of 8min/mile. Ran this in roughly 8.30 average. Enjoyed the strides. I always like when they're thrown into a run. It reminds me of how bandy I run when I speed up. Haha. Working on form and technique is another goal although it has improved a lot since mileage increased.

Saturday - option for two mile shakeout or off. I decided this time to take it off. I normally wouldn't but I figured why not try a rest day for once as a couple of miles won't make it break me. Plus I'd be nice and fresh for Lahinch right?........ Not quite...........

Swashbuckler

Lahinch 5M Race Report

Where to start on this.......it all began the night before. Haha. Went to bed Saturday night after a good week's running. I felt the complete opposite of the way I felt before Barefield a few weeks ago. Was raring to go. In hindsight maybe I was too raring. Put the head down at 11pm and conked. Baby conked. Mammy conked. All good. Baby woke for a feed at 1am. Baby conked. Mammy conked..... Daddy lying there awake. 2am passes, 3am, 4am..wired. Nothing I could do would get me back to sleep. Lying there thinking about everything and anything. Couldn't switch off. Tried counting sheep. It didn't work. Baby woke for a feed again at 5am. All in all I got three hours sleep so a bad start but no excuses.
Got up pretty early and chilled with a coffee and baba for a couple of hours.

Had my usual pre race breakfast at 9.30am of porridge and toasted wholegrain bagel with chopped banana. Studied the route map and elevation a few times to reconfirm my approach to the race in my mind. Few glasses of water and we hit the road. Crappy weather all the way but still feeling positive and looking forward to the challenge ahead.

Got to Lahinch around noon with the race due to start at 1pm. Gave the missus and baba a kiss and off I went for my warmup at around 12.25. I make a point of heading out the finish line and back for my warmup. Usually 1.5 miles out and 1.5 back. It gives me a feel for the last 1.5 miles of the race. Worked very well for me in Barefield. In this particular case on the way back I didn't fancy the headwind. The two hills were steep enough but always hard to judge when you're just warming up. Different ballgame at race pace deep into a race.
Up to the start line and off we went.

The first 1.2 miles of this route is genuinely a long massive hill. No exaggeration. I wanted to settle into a group here and I did. Unfortunately it was a 5.30/mile group. It was only after half a mile that I really started to feel it. Effort levels were through the roof by the top of the hill. I kept saying to myself trust your recovery. New Years Day 5M I recovered very well after the big hill. I was backing myself to do the same here. By the top of the hill my form was gone. Even my arms felt like they were filled with lactate. For this report I'm not gonna bother quoting splits. They won't give the picture of how the race really went. What I will say is that first mile started at 5.30/mile pace and the pace profile slowly makes its way down to 6.30/mile over the first mile. I hit the top of the hill well into the red and gasping for air. Stupid.

So Paul. How bout that recovery then? The truth is I had a choice after the hill. The next mile and a half was all downhill with one bump. Do I ease back and recover or do I push on and hopefully grit it out. I probably didn't give myself a good enough recovery and tried to make up time. So not only did I hit the uphill too aggressively but I did the same on the downhill. When I hit the bump in the middle of the downhill at 2.2 miles I knew I was in trouble. This was as hard as I've ever pushed this early in a race. I managed to keep things ticking over and was still on for sub 30 when we turned on to the main road and back towards Lahinch. This is where the headwind and hills finished me off. I hit the hill at 3.5 miles and that was it. I stopped dead in my tracks pretty buckled and never wanting to run again. Got passed by one guy who finished ahead of me in Barefield. I took around 30s and tried to take off again. Hit the next hill but the mind was gone by now. Stopped again. Disaster. A nice family had come out of their house to support us and the Mum just looked at me with pity and tried to encourage me on. I just told her it wasn't my day but thanks for coming out. Took around 30s recovery here, got passed by another guy. Decided to try and tail him for a while. By now I was well into the last mile. I had set some markers for myself for where I could push on if I was in the mix. So I said I'd try to muster one last effort. I had convinced myself sub 30 was still possible forgetting I had stopped my watch the two times I stopped for air.

I managed to pass the guy in front of me though I had very little left to push on. I could see the turn for the finish line. On any other day the next 30s would sound epic but really it just summed up the day and was the final kick in the nuts. Haha. I could hear the lad behind me responding and closing on me and the crowd getting excited. The fecker was putting a move on me. Does he not know I'm f*cked! He came level and I responded. Nothing left but sheer stubbornness on my part. We to'd and fro'd for the last 100m but he had the edge. I had nothing left. Crossed the line in 30.32 in 8th place completely spent. Interestingly the pace for the last 100m peaked at 3.37min/mile so to take a positive there's pretty decent speed there assuming the Garmin is right. On a good day I'd have kicked that earlier and held longer but ifs and buts.

So a bad day at the office. Plenty of lessons there that's for sure. I think after placing pretty high in Barefield I thought I could hang with these guys. What I didn't account for was a whole new set of stronger faster guys who didn't run Barefield showing up. I made a point of getting into a group. But it was the wrong group. I'm not at the level where I can run 5.30/5.45 pace up a hill like that yet..... Emphasis on the yet coz I will get there.

Positives and lessons learned;
1. I'm learning how to run on feel. To do that I think I probably needed to feel what too far feels like. I did that today.
2. It's very hard to judge effort levels on an undulating course. It takes experience. I knew I was pushing too hard, I took a gamble and it didn't pay off. I can't feel too bad about that. I'd rather fail than wonder what if.
3. I also focused too much on what was going on around me. Barefield gave me a false sense of belonging in the front of the pack. I did not belong in the front pack in this particular case. Right now I should focus on racing the course and not the men.
4. Coach likes regular racing and I have to say it really works. It's giving me the chance to try things and learn constantly. Last year I raced less and therefore each race was a "target" race. That puts a lot of pressure on the race itself and lives little room for risk /error/reward. So racing more often is the way to go. I'm learning a tonne from each race. Some day it'll all piece together into one beautiful masterpiece of a race. Haha.
5. Regardless of how the race went there were still times during the race where I could feel how much I've come on. It mightnt sound that way from the report but a few moments during the race struck me. In particular my kick at the end.
6. Being aggressive is good as long as it's at the right times. That's a learning process.
7. The template for running that race was there already. I essentially did it on New Years Day. So the most important question to ask myself is if I had a do over on the race what would I do differently. The answer is I'd go hard but not as hard on that hill. Probably closer to 6min/mile pace which ironically is what coach recommended. That probably would left me in better shape at the top. I'd have been able hit the downhill pretty aggressively without leaving myself spent. Given the conditions the last two miles were always gonna be a struggle but at that point I had withdrawn too much and there was nothing left in the bank.
8. I need to chill a bit. Haha. It's not in my nature but I really just need to chill. Im possibly a bit too obsessive with this running craic although part of me thinks you need to be. Otherwise why would you bother getting up at 6am in the depths of Winter.
9. My buddies did well. Both with pbs and strong finishes. Delighted for them.
10. On a non racing front myself and the family had a lovely day in Lahinch. Headed to the local and sat by the fireplace with food and a Guinness and texted coach about my woes. Also chatting to your four month old in the pub by the fire after a good hard race - doesn't really get any better than that does it? We stayed in Liscannor for the night and myself and the missus had a lovely dinner and chilled out with the baba. How bad lads... How bad....

Thankfully I'm straight back into it for the week. And yep, another race next weekend and I can't wait. Adare 10k. I ran that race last year and it was the race that really kicked off me getting serious with the running. It's a nice course with not too many hills, thankfully. I'm back to the 10k which is what I'd consider my favorite distance. Haven't raced one since August. I think I'll approach this one a little differently. Haha.

healy1835

Hey man, FWIW, this seems a pretty clear case of you going against the plan and paying for it. You've acknowledged it already, you realised you didn't go with your coaches advice (on a hilly track that you had pre race doubts about). I know it seems a step back from the first 5 Miler of the year but we all have to learn (and relearn) from our mistakes. I don't think it warrants too much more analysis than that. It wasn't the main thing, your seeing progression in your training, head out and nail the 10k next week. Just don't go out at sub 36min or something crazy like that

Swashbuckler

healy1835 wrote:

Just don't go out at sub 36min or something crazy like that

But it's flat!

All joking aside yeah you're right but it wouldn't be me if I didn't overanalyse to the nth degree. I do like to get thoughts down in writing tho. At the very least it might help someone else.

Cheers for reading.... And responding....

Duanington

I don't think you were wrong to try to push on after hill P, I think that was the right thing to do but maybe the effort spent getting yourself up there was a bit much alright. Sounds like you've taken a load of lessons from this one anyway and you can apply them next weekend over a slightly longer distance, keep up the good work

Swashbuckler

Duanington wrote:

I don't think you were wrong to try to push on after hill P, I think that was the right thing to do but maybe the effort spent getting yourself up there was a bit much alright. Sounds like you've taken a load of lessons from this one anyway and you can apply them next weekend over a slightly longer distance, keep up the good work

Spot on D. Too many lessons haha. But yeah there's a lot to be said for back to back racing. Can't wait

hot buttered scones

A bit of studying for ya;

https://munsterraceroutes.blogspot.ie/2013/02/limerick014.html

Swashbuckler

hot buttered scones wrote:

A bit of studying for ya;

Haha cheers for that. I have both read that and also ran the route last year. If a hill forces me to stop on this route I'm officially retiring. Haha

dublin runner

Maybe it's just me but I don't get concerned with course profiles. Sure, I ask about any nasty hills or tricky parts but I cannot remember the last time I properly looked at a course profile. I usually just run what's ahead of me and not get worried about what's to come. I think we can build certain sections of the course up in our heads too much, relying on some else's feedback (be it a strava link, splits or personal appraisal). The variables are also large; wind, how you feel, personal strengths and weaknesses, temperature, underfoot conditions (I could go on!).....you get my line of thinking!

I think it's honestly best to go into most races blind. It's the best way to learn how to run, race and gauge effort! Oh yeah, don't look at the watch either!

Swashbuckler

dublin runner wrote:

Maybe it's just me but I don't get concerned with course profiles. Sure, I ask about any nasty hills or tricky parts but I cannot remember the last time I properly looked at a course profile. I usually just run what's ahead of me and not get worried about what's to come. I think we can build certain sections of the course up in our heads too much, relying on some else's feedback (be it a strava link, splits or personal appraisal). The variables are also large; wind, how you feel, personal strengths and weaknesses, temperature, underfoot conditions (I could go on!).....you get my line of thinking!

That's very interesting as I usually work in completely the opposite way. I'll analyze a profile way too much. For example, (and I run the risk of making myself look foolish but feck it I may as well be honest) I had worked out where each hill started in Lahinch and had written it on my hand. Complete overkill but part of me likes to know what's ahead so I can manage the rest of the race better (which I didn't do in Lahinch).

Do you not like to know what's ahead so you have an idea of where you think you can push on and where to hold back a bit or am I talking inexperienced waffle?

hot buttered scones

Like to be prepared going into races, know at what pint (roughly) any hills start and how long they go on for. That way if I know there's a hill 3.5 miles into a 10k e.g. I can start getting my head ready for it, and if I'm struggling up the hill, I'll know that I haven't much further to go. I can over analyse marathons, but there's just a lot more at stake there, and sure you need something to do during the taper.

Then again, I've had great results when I've just turned up an ran without even bothering to check out the course. I've also had disasters when I've checked out the course and gotten it wrong.
For a lot of the local races, I've probably run the course in training anyway.

dublin runner

Swashbuckler wrote: »

That's very interesting as I usually work in completely the opposite way. I'll analyze a profile way too much. For example, (and I run the risk of making myself look foolish but feck it I may as well be honest) I had worked out where each hill started in Lahinch and had written it on my hand. Complete overkill but part of me likes to know what's ahead so I can manage the rest of the race better (which I didn't do in Lahinch).

Do you not like to know what's ahead so you have an idea of where you think you can push on and where to hold back a bit or am I talking inexperienced waffle?

I guess take my approach with a grain of salt! It's of course good to have some knowledge regarding profile and, at times, course direction (don't get lost!). I do think it focus too much on a particular section one can almost begin to run scared; run with too much caution. The truth is that races are different beasts. Take the local 10km on my doorstep - it's a very tough opening 5km. I have ran the roads literally over a thousand times but in a race, well that's very different. Everything is different in race. I think running by complete feel is such a skill and a skill I am nowhere near perfecting! You live and learn, make mistakes but it's about the overall picture and progression for me. When it comes down to it, that hill or drag might not feel too bad in a race or that flat or downhill section becomes a lot more difficult than expected. You just have to adapt on the spot - adaptability. I ran on Sunday only knowing the course was an out-and-back but I made a mess of it because I didn't read the wind correctly. i think I took more away from that race in terms of learning than if I studied the course or ran by the garmin.

There is of course many ways to crack an egg so it's what works for the individual.

Swashbuckler

dublin runner wrote:

I guess take my approach with a grain of salt! It's of course good to have some knowledge regarding profile and, at times, course direction (don't get lost!). I do think it focus too much on a particular section one can almost begin to run scared; run with too much caution. The truth is that races are different beasts. Take the local 10km on my doorstep - it's a very tough opening 5km. I have ran the roads literally over a thousand times but in a race, well that's very different. Everything is different in race. I think running by complete feel is such a skill and a skill I am nowhere near perfecting! You live and learn, make mistakes but it's about the overall picture and progression for me. When it comes down to it, that hill or drag might not feel too bad in a race or that flat or downhill section becomes a lot more difficult than expected. You just have to adapt on the spot - adaptability. I ran on Sunday only knowing the course was an out-and-back but I made a mess of it because I didn't read the wind correctly. i think I took more away from that race in terms of learning than if I studied the course or ran by the garmin.

I'd be very slow to be dismissive of advice from someone running 34.14 on a bad day!

I agree completely about adaptibility though. It seems to be one of the elements that a lot of the local top runners have in spades. Running on feel is one of the most difficult aspects of running for me. And here was me thinking the training would be the hardest part. It's one of the several benefits of regular racing. Learn by practice and you don't get that kind of practice in training.

OOnegative

Some fine running that, very well done.

skyblue46

Great time today. Well done. It must be great to bounce back so quickly and banish the demons from the last race.

Swashbuckler

Hmm, now I'm trying to figure out who you both are on Strava? haha. Cheers! Race report on the way

OOnegative

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Hmm, now I'm trying to figure out who you both are on Strava? haha. Cheers! Race report on the way

No point looking for me on Strava, much to sophisticated for me!!

Swashbuckler

So after the disappointment of Lahinch I was straight back into another race week. I must say I like these back to back race weeks. No time to hang about or rest on your laurels.

Monday - Easy 7M - 8:15/mile. Legs tired from the race the day before. Took it easy.
Tuesday - Easy 7M - 8.11/mile. Still tired from the race!

Wednesday - Starting to feel a bit better. The glutes and calves not hurting so much anymore. Planned session of 3x(4x90s) off reducing recoveries of 90s/60s/30s per set targeting 5:50 to 6min/mile pace. This was a tricky one to program in my Garmin.
When I saw this one on paper I thought "not so bad". I tend to like this distance - ~400m.
Did this in the Industrial Estate again - my usual location for the sessions as its pretty flat, although a conversation on AMK's log had me thinking should I be heading out on the undulating roads for these sessions. Given the week that was in it and the tired legs I stuck with the flat. Lahinch gave me all the hills I need for a week.
As for the session itself, I felt good. All three sets were executed to plan and everything was controlled and effort levels were as they should be. Even by the 30s recovery set, I still felt good. I actually did an extra one by mistake. Shouldve been checking the watch. No harm done.

Splits were:
5.59/5.48/5.51/5.51
5.43/5.42/5.53/6.01
5.48/5.48/5.54/5.43 and a 5.50 for good luck.
A couple on the quick side but as I said, effort level was as it should be. Felt great after.

Thursday - Easy 7M - 8.11/mile. Felt ok. Not much to report on the easy runs these days so ill be keeping the easy run updates short.

Friday - Easy 5M with strides - on the wind down for Adare on Sunday - 8.04/mile with the strides. The easy miles averaged around 8.30/mile.

Saturday - Rest. Was given the option of two mile shakeout or rest. Took the rest option.

Sunday - Adare 10k. Race report to come!

Annie get your Run

OOnegative wrote: »

No point looking for me on Strava, much to sophisticated for me!!

Strava

he uses the old fashioned method of looking at race results

looking forward to the report!

Swashbuckler

Adare 10k Race Report

So after the horror show that was Lahinch I had the opportunity straight away to banish some demons! Adare was never on my plan but when coach said a couple of months ago if I would race it I jumped at the chance. I've since learned coach like regular racing which suits me fine. It definitely breaks up the slog of constant training and takes the pressure off so called "target" races.

So this time I had a slightly better sleep the night before although baby wasn't feeling well all week so sleep was very broken during the week. By Saturday night she was much better. Still woke for two feeds but that's just my life now. haha. It has become part of my daily norm. Woke for a feed at 7.30am and I took her away so my missus could get a lie-in (this is starting to sound a lot like my Lahinch race report!). Chilled with the baba and watched some Disney with her. Had breakfast at around 9.30am - two weetabix and a bagel with banana. We hit the road at around 11.30 as I needed to collect my number.

Got to Adare, parked up and there was a nice buzz in the air. It brought me back to when I ran it last year - the turning point for me with my running. Popped up to the hall, collected my number and started to get ready. Was fairly baltic so threw on the tights. Gave the missus and baba a kiss and headed off on my warmup at 12.30pm.

I stuck to my usual routine of heading out the reverse direction of the finish line to get a feel for the last mile. I had decided to follow dublin_runners opinion of not studying the route. I couldnt really remember it from last year and studying lahinch didnt work out so well. So why not give it a try. Warmed up with some strides/surges. Shortened the warmup a bit this week to ~2 miles. Got to the start line and the atmosphere was building.

Took up a position a bit back this time. Some of those lads at the front are serious serious runners. Don't want to be in the mix there at the start. Met a buddy of mine from Limerick AC and another buddy from work who was going for sub 50. Countdown began and off we went.

Quick enough start but I was absolutely adamant this week that I was going to find MY pace and settle into it. The first 500m in a race are always a bit quick and thats ok (on the flat). I accepted that and jockeyed to find a decent position. Slotted in with my Limerick AC buddy who was going for 6min miles. I figured i'll keep him in sight and if i feel good at any stage id push on. For this race I have to admit I looked at my watch a good bit more. Lahinch had knocked the confidence a bit. Mainly I wanted to reprogram myself. "Ok this pace feels like this in these conditions on this section of road", if that makes sense. To be honest it worked well and I learned a lot in this race. I didn't beat myself up if I was going slower than "planned" pace and I didn't slow down if the pace was a bit quick and I was feeling ok.

I kept an eye on my times at each km marker but I always set my watch to lap after every mile.
Mile 1 - 5:52 very happy with that and felt like I was cruising along nicely. Breathing fine, legs good, form solid.

I can't really remember much about the second mile apart from the fact that a lot of the fast starters started going backwards so I passed a good few. Kept tuning into how I felt. Breathing and effort levels still good. Starting to get the confidence back as this, to me, is how I should feel running at this pace. Nice little bunch of runners around me too so good to be running with or near a group.

Mile 2 - 5:55 Again, happy with that. First two miles felt like I got exactly what I put into them.

I can't even remember mile 3. I think by now I was out on my own and still about 10s behind my Limerick AC buddy.

Mile 3 - 5:51 A good mile put down, with a couple of nice downhills.

I passed the 5k marker and took a look at my watch. I was on for sub 37. That was great motivation for the rest of the race. But I also knew the second half of the race is tougher than the first and given the wind was gonna be in my face for the entire second 5k I remained cautious/realistic.
It was at this point I passed my buddy. Jetlag from his trip to America, added to the hills, was catching up with him.

Starting to feel it a bit now. Lots of rolling drags in this part of the race. I've started to figure out where my heartrate needs to be and when it starts to become problematic. I've noticed I can sit at or around 171 or 172 for a good chunk of time. As soon as I start to go near 173 or 174 I can feel the effort level going into the red. At a few stages in the second half of the race I went at or above 175 and needed to pull back a bit.

Mile 4 - 5:55 Pleasantly surprised. Effort level increasing slightly.

The second half of Mile 5 was the toughest section of the race. Some rolling drags and a couple of short snappy hills into the wind made it difficult. Effort level went very high at a few points and the form went a bit. I had set a marker 1km from the finish line (a blue barn) as a reference point. Make it to that point in one piece and the rest of the race was all downhill. At this point I was tracking three runners ahead. They were well ahead but they were providing enough of a distraction to keep me going. Really really struggled in the second half of this mile. Took some mental toughness.

Mile 5 - 6:03 Not a bad return for the effort levels gone into that mile. Unfortunately there was no let up as the rolling drags/wind continued into mile 6. The only light at the end of the tunnel was towards the end of mile 6 was that elusive blue barn!

Kept pushing and kept telling myself to hang in there. Make it to the barn. Make it to the barn!!
Stiff wind in my face. Form very poor at this stage. shoulders rolling a bit. Breathing heavy. Finally I see the blue barn up ahead! Woohoo! Of course it was at the top of the hill so one push to get up that hill and then recover or push on. On the way up the hill I passed the two lads in front. There was no catching the girl up ahead. She's a beast of a runner.

I get to the barn and soon I see a big beautiful downhill section. I didn't have much to push on yet so I allowed the heart rate come back to 170ish again. On the way down the hill one of the lads passes me again. I'm thinking here we go, its Lahinch all over again. He passed but didnt push on too far - about 5 or 6 seconds ahead of me.

Mile 6 - 6:07 Exactly as expected. Mile 5 and Mile 6 were tough. And the returns from them I was pretty happy with considering the drags and wind.

Now onto the last bit. The 0.25.
By now I can hear the announcer car in the distance commentating on the runners coming in. I look at the watch and I see 400m left. One lap of a track. What would Mo Farah do? haha. He'd push on. So by now I know I'm going to make the finish line. I've put a fair effort into this race. Sub 37 looks close but slightly out of reach but im on for a big PB. Plenty of Lahinch demons exorcised. Why not exorcise one more demon and not get beat by a guy like I did last week. So I surge with whats left and get level with him. Finish line in sight. I pump the hell out of the arms. Knees up! Kick strong! I go past and he doesn't respond. Out of pure fear I keep pushing. I see the missus. Shes getting those wonderful pics of me looking an absolute mess as usual. Cross the line in 37:12. Official time ended up at 37:11. Last 0.25 mile was run at 5:24 pace.

Delighted, boll*xed, f*cked. Bent over after the line and managed to get some air into my lungs. Stood back up and the calves werent great. The beginnings of cramp. Got my medal and some water. Met the missus. She was as elated as me. I went back out the road to cheer on my sub 50 mate. He made it in 49:10. Delighted for him.

Took a few mins to soak it in. 30 seconds off my pb and finally I felt like I had run a race that my training deserved. headed up to the hall and the spread of food was amazing. The sheets with race times and positions were already on the wall. A testament to how well run this race is. Had a cup of tea and gave my food to the missus. I don't like to eat straight after a race.

Got back to the car and coach had already texted. Results were up online already. I finished 12th which was a decent achievement in a field of that standard. Winning time was Sean Hehir in 31:22.

Very happy man after that. A race i'll look to do most years.

Lots of lessons learned again. And tried some new things too. Again, the benefits of regular racing. Nice to run a fair course for a change. Some rolling drags but not horrific hills. Wind made it tough.

So next up is a race on May 11th. Still undecided on what race. Had planned a local 5k but its not timed so I might opt for the Kilmallock 4 miler - or I'l just see what pops up over the next week or so for the 11th.

The journey continues and building nicely. Now how about that sub 37

Safiri

Well done man, solid running. That wind coming down the last two miles caught a few people out, was talking to a few of the lads in the top 5 who even struggled; even Sean was talking about it through there and looks and sounds like you got it pretty spot on. Good running man.

Swashbuckler

Safiri wrote:

Well done man, solid running. That wind coming down the last two miles caught a few people out, was talking to a few of the lads in the top 5 who even struggled; even Sean was talking about it through there and looks and sounds like you got it pretty spot on. Good running man.

Cheers man. Appreciate it. Yeah I follow a couple of the top ten on Strava and each of them commented on the wind. They still ran sub 34 though but yeah I think most people felt it.

One of the benefits for me of running the warmup out the finishing section is that I felt that wind and knew what to expect although I suspect if I was struggling really badly it could have the opposite effect and psyche me out.

Duanington

Well done P, delighted to see you get the result your hard work deserves.

I'm curious re the checking of the heart-rate, is that a regular thing for you in races? Was the plan going into this to run at a certain HR?

Would you consider racing without the watch at all?

Swashbuckler

Duanington wrote: »

Well done P, delighted to see you get the result your hard work deserves.

I'm curious re the checking of the heart-rate, is that a regular thing for you in races? Was the plan going into this to run at a certain HR?

Would you consider racing without the watch at all?

Its only in the last two races that I've noticed that when I start to feel really crappy my heart rate is usually at or above 174. It hasn't been a conscious thing ive looked for. As a person, by nature I'm very analytical. I love data points and all that crap so it's just something of note as opposed to a rule. I'll put it to you this way I wouldn't consciously race by heart rate. But I know if I go above a certain level i cant sustain it for very long.

The plan going in to Adare was to run as hard as I can for the distance and not bomb out like last week. I feel like I was right on my limit for mile 5 into mile 6.

I would consider anything to be honest. Although it would kill me not to have the data afterwards to look at what happened in terms of splits etc. haha