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Race report thread

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    #272
    Singer
    Registered Users Posts: 2,415 ✭✭✭Singer


    Unbelievable stuff ArtieFufkin, and a legitimately impressive performance. Great report and an even better race. I think I saw you doing a sub-3 marathon on your birthday in training on Strava, which was ridiculous enough on its own. You definitely weren't lucky!


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    #273
    ultrawoman
    Registered Users Posts: 100 ✭✭ultrawoman


    Amazing training deserving of an amazing race. Massive congratulations to you!
    What's up next?


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    #274
    Murph_D
    Registered Users Posts: 10,426 ✭✭✭✭Murph_D


    Love that bit about ‘leaving something for the final 80k’ - hard for most of us to get our heads around that. And agree with Singer - none of that was down to luck! Many congrats.


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    #275
    Itziger
    Registered Users Posts: 4,016 ✭✭✭Itziger


    Been a while since anyone posted here!

    Great to be back racing, lads. 11 of us had a crack off a 5k (4.98 for me) this morning. The morning after my 55th but I had been good, only a beer or two, glass of wine or two and a drop of whiskey. Bed early and all.

    We introduced ourselves, did a little warm-up and 3,2,1.... Go!

    I surprised myself by going out just behind a fast quartet early on. I kinda knew I was probably going a bit faster than ideal but damn it, if you're ever going to go out and hang on, it's in a 5k. Top 3 were only a few seconds ahead at km1 (3.21) Fook! But I was feeling ok and had a bloke to hang on to. He'd done 35 in a 10k last week so I thought the longer I can hold on to this lad, the better. Second km beeped but I didn't look at the watch. I'd say the first was probably measured a bit short and the second (3.40) a bit long. I was racing though and knew that if I could keep the effort up I was probably on for a good time. In the TT 3 or 4 weeks ago I'd come home in 18.36 or so. Soon before the turn around point at 2.8k or so I caught the lad I'd been drafting behind. We ran together for a bit, which was nice but then I started to pull away from him.

    Now, with 2k or so to go I had two fine runners ahead of me and not exactly disappearing as I had expected. They were about 35/40 metres ahead and I was able to use them as a great reference. Of course it was starting to hurt now but I knew I had a decent time in the bag and I didn't feel like I was going to completely blow up in the last km. The gap to 2nd and 3rd stayed constant, if anything I closed a small bit on 'em. I got lucky in that all 3 ahead ran below their ability; if they'd performed as their pb's suggest then I'd have been in trouble with a big gap opening from them to me. Last km was just, keep working, keep working and I saw the young lad, 16 year old Catalan stopping, followed by another Spaniard, then Belgian Fred who finished a little beyond where they had stopped and gave me my finishing line ref. I could see it was going to be a tiny bit below 5k but I was happy to have raced the same as the lads or 10 or so metres more than the first two. Watch said 17:51 for 4.98kms. I was chuffed in that I really raced it and felt relatively strong. I wasn't exactly in puking form at the end though I'm not saying I left much on the course!!.

    It felt like a small, informal race. Brilliant. Bit of banter and chatting afterwards and cool down home. We're back, baby!! 10k in two weeks time, I believe.


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    #276
    Itziger
    Registered Users Posts: 4,016 ✭✭✭Itziger


    10k Copy and Pace Race Report below. June 27th. Hesperange-Hesperange, Lux.

    Another race report!!10k this time. As always, June seems to be one long drink-fest for me. Lots of people leaving and moving and so quite a few parties. Work BBQ with free-flowing beer at 1.00 on Friday. I was good enough. Had a few but didn't overdo it. Then a big storm came in and it was still rolling around in the morning. We were thinking of calling the race off but decided to turn up and see what the story was.

    The story was grand. Only 6 of us, unfortunately, could've done with another few tbh. Anyway, I knew I'd have a few lads ahead of me and was hoping they wouldn't disappear over the horizon too early on. I was aiming for 37.XX

    The gun went (I did a 3,2,1 countdown) and the fun began. I started off a bit frisky and was running with the 3 faster lads for a good 500/600 metres. First km beeps at 3.37, as did the second and third! That would be a lifetime best and I knew I wasn't in that kinda shape. The front 3 had opened a gap of about 30 metres and I was already feeling the pinch. 4th km came in at a very steady - but still too fast - 3.38. Then I started to tire/slow a bit. We commented afterwards that the humidity, up near 90%, must have been part of the reason for the very positive splits for everyone. Even though I was tiring, I could see that the gap wasn't growing and when we turned I knew I'd at least have a visual reference if nothing else. Splits were now much slower but I was racing and knew that I had some time banked from the first 4 kms.

    I also noticed that the gap had really settled and thought about maybe chipping away at it. The young Spanish lad who'd won the 5k was in the lead and pulling away a bit from Belgian Fred and young Quinn B. They were slowing and the gap was starting to come down. It had been out to about 60 metres at its worst and now it was more like 40 with 4k to go. So, even though I was feeling fairly $hite, I had a great rabbit or two to keep my spirits up. The route is mostly flat except for a little drag around the halfway point. I had turned just after the 5k beep. With about 2.5 k to go I caught Quinn (22 yr old American kid) I thought he might react and help me chase down Fred. He did stay with me for a few hundred metres but then I pulled away - I'd say it was more Q slowing down. With about 1500 metres left I had the gap to second down to about 20 or 25 metres and I could see that it was diminishing really, really slowly. I had a very good idea of how much was left as I've run that route so often and unless the GPS fooks up I was sure we'd get back to where we started. Not so, as it happens! The Spanish lad stopped and when I passed where he was my watch read 9.7k. I was closing on Fred who barely had 10 metres on me but then he stopped at 9.9 - Now to be fair to both of them, their watches read 10k - but it was a shame as it robbed me of a sprint with Fred to the 'finishing line'. I was determined to get to the full 10k this time and that last 100 metres was a bloody pain. BEEP and stop. 37.33

    That's almost exactly what I was aiming at!!! Just that the split was fairly horrible. In the debriefing we did all mention the humidity. Last km did come in at 3.40 though. Don't know where I go from here. I feel I should turn to distance training now just in case Valencia (Dec 6th) goes ahead although that's unlikely. I might find a small local one, dunno. Next few weeks will be 'off' I reckon with a couple of weeks hols booked.

    Hope ye're all tipping away. Why don't ye set up an ould race or two like the ones I've done?


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