Just Do It

It may have been a different story, if I didn't have to go back that way to get to my bag. To add to Swashbucklers hero status on the day, he actually also retrieved my belongings from the bag drop, as I was chilling out in the massage tent😄. Went out for easy run with the guys last night so all good, thanks 👍

Right.. Another (short) Report

I only entered Docklands 5k last Sunday and still wasn't sure i could actually run it until Wednesday. I did the UCD session on a humid Tuesday evening but I probably wouldn't have done this if I was confirmed to be racing on Thursday. I had never sweated as much as that evening. It didnt feel that warm when actually running but when I stopped, I firstly realised how thirsty I was. The t-shirt was so wet that If I had taken it off my back and threw it on the ground, it would have broken through concrete.

Docklands 5k

This race is situated next to my office so it would have made sense to work a bit later from the office that day but I tend to make things more difficult for myself. I worked from home and got a Luas into town in the evening. When I stepped off the tram in the city centre, the heat was noticeable. There was just no breeze and I knew this race wasn't going to be easy, despite the fast course.

I got down to the start by myself and did a few easy stretches and some half assed exercises on Lime Street before we were asked to line up. We seemed to be lined up forever in the pen before we got the all clear from the guards that the quays had been fully closed off. I was about 6 or 7 rows back beside a group of sportsworld athletes. I hadn't talked to anyone from my own club as wasn't sure I was doing it but I did see one or 2 familiar singlets floating about.

Countown from 5 and off we go.

Mile 1

The route goes down the south quays towards the centre of town for approx 600 metres. I started well enough and found myself around the 5.25- 5.30 mark. I was hoping for an outside chance of going sub 17 but I was conscious that Dungshauglin and UCD session maybe still in my legs. We then turn right at Matt Talbot Bridge and back up the North quays beside IFSC. I'm quite used to running around these parts and I expected a bit of wind with us here as it usually goes towards the sea here. If there was any hint of a breeze it felt like it was against us here. 5.28

Mile 2

I quickly realised sub 17 wasn't going to happen today. I now wanted to Improve on my last 5k at jingle bells. Under 17.30 was the new target. AMK explains it very well in his Clonee report. With the heat, I just couldn't seem to get my breathing right and also had no saliva. My breath sounded louder than my cheater boots I had on. I seemed to be swapping places regularly with the first woman as we approached the sharp turnaround at the Point Depot. I was progressively getting slower and just felt zapped from the heat. 5.40

Mile 3 and finish

I felt like jacking it in. I simply wasn't enjoying it. I felt in somewhat control last week in dungshauglin and found the race enjoyable. This was just the opposite feeling. It wasn't that I was running too bad. It just felt that I was going slower than I was and I had no energy or drive left.. I somehow went pass the first woman again going by CHQ, surely I won't see her again I thought as I turned back on to. Talbot Bridge. At a guess there is about 1200 metres left now when you reach the southside again. I was going to finish but it wasn't going to be pretty. I see the 1km mark as I hear a groan from the fella about 5 paces in front. He must be feeling worse than me. I might actually gain a position were my thoughts. He seemed to stay consistently about 10 yards in front of me and maybe on another day I may have tried to go level and pass him. I just couldn't. I was actually going faster than the 2mile but it felt a lot slower. As I approached 400 metres to go , the first woman edge passed me again. Will I try go with her.. I debated it but I was mentally and physically drained plus I'd only ruin her winning photo with a snotty, sweaty gobshite encroaching on her. I finished just behind herself and that other man that had groaned. 5.34 with the last bit 5.29 for a time of 17.20.. I was 23rd overall and 3rd in my category. They were giving prizes for first 2 in category and the groaner got the 2nd. Ah balls, I could have got pass him surely..

I was happy with the time, especially in the conditions, but I disliked every single part of racing today. That was just too hot and humid to be racing in.. Cru did a great job on the race and and seemed to have plenty of volunteers.

Cheers

I haven't raced since June which is a bit unusual for me as I tend to try and do one a month where possible. I haven't had the patience to update this log either despite a few times sitting down to do it , to be distracted elsewhere.

Holidays, temporary moving house and busy schedule in work didnt really allow for it. It has probably suited me better though as I have been able to get a good consistent block of training in on my own time. 60mile plus weeks has been the norm the last 5 or 6 weeks with at least 2 decent sessions in there in prep for DCM. The one and sometimes 2 weekly speed sessions i can attend with the club have really been beneficial to me recently also.

Dublin Half

I was nervous the night before which i wasn't really expecting as such. I knew I was in decent condition but you need certain factors to go right on the day.The last half I raced was a year ago after coming back from Plantar Facisitis and it wasnt a brilliant experience due to the lack of fitness really. When I woke up in the morn and saw the relatively calm morning, that was a good start. I had a bit of a hiccup on the cycle in where my gears on the bike gave up the ghost half way in. I was stuck in a gear that meant negotiating any hills was going to be challenging - I was thinking "here we go, starting to unravel already" Managed to get there in plenty of time and did an easy warmup with some club members. I had no real target set in my mind, perhaps about 1.22 with a good finish would give me confidence for the next 6 weeks.

Set myself up in the pen just a little in front of the 1.30 pacers where I had a bit of a chat with David Gillick who was racing a half for the first time and has his eyes set on DCM too in the coming weeks. Different ball game to sprinting as he described it.

After a nice mention on the tanoy of TFBubendorfer we were on our way.

I set off causal enough on Chesterfield avenue for the first few hundred metres but felt at the turn, I needed to pick it up after looking at the watch. I was able to get away from the crowds a bit here and began running on my own terms. I knew the first couple of miles were net downhill so wanted to ensure not to lose much time but at the same time not blow up early. I was content how the first 2 miles went then 6.11, 6.02.

I knew the profile for the next few miles were that bit harder in terms of climbs and negotiating some tracks and paths. They seemed to come at a good time for me as it stopped me from going too fast in some of these sections. I was feeling really comfortable, in fact, i have never felt better in a race. Like most, i struggled to get any water on board at the first water stop with the cups and got most the water all over the singlet as i tried to get something on board. Thought to myself , next water station I'll get this right - did i F**k - ended up getting wetter at the next one along with a few coughs and splurts as i tried to do the most simple thing of drinking water. It didnt affect my race at all though and popped my only gel about the 5.5 mile mark as a distraction more than anything else. 6.17. 6.17. 6.10, 6.05. 6.09.

I have rarely run in the Phoenix park where there was no wind but there was none today. Usually coming back down Chesterfiled avenue you get hit with a gust but there was nothing there. It was bliss and perfect running conditions. Confidence was growing and was thinking i could perhaps edge the pace here closing to 6 minute miles. It was only a slight increase in pace but i was picking off folk now and caught up with a guy who i saw move away from earlier in race. We ran together than back up from the gates and at one stage at the the 10 mile mark he said are you targeting sub 1.20? i paused as had never really thought about that until then, He simply said x3 6 min miles will get us there. with a pause for thought, I said I am now - make hay when the sun shines and all that. He asked me how i felt and dido to him and we continued to work together pulling in a few runners here and there, It was quite spread out at this stage but the more i put the foot on the gas, bizarrely the better i felt.

I have had some shocking races in past or stages in races where i wanted to stop or slow down. Today was not one of them at all. We went up that hill after the finish line of the Jingle bells race like it wasnt really there. I slowed a little bit initially as i got to the summit but crowds here along with runners from the club coming the other way gave me encouragement to pick up again. I was thinking now, theres no more hills is there, I should be able to keep this pace home now as will be on the same level as the finish line. Back up chesterfiled again on the path into a blinding sun gave some initial concerns but it was only minor really.

As we wrapped around again and could see that finish line in the distance. id be nearly at deaths door in normal circumstances at this stage. I still felt good though so extended the stride and slightly pulled away from my friend and pretty much sprinted the last 200 metres to get in under 1.20 on the clock.. My watch had me at 1.19.26 which was my exact chip time. I was thrilled as sub 1.20 was never a player in my mind.

I got myself a massage afterwards and thought how nice this was compared to the time I felt the masseuse was reading my last rights in Limerick . 6.06, 6.01, 5.54, 5.56, 5.59, 5.39 and 4.55 for the last bit. Its not often a race goes so well or remotely to plan so I made sure i enjoyed it later in the day with a few beers. Even the cycle home in a poxy gear didn't dampen my spirits. Briefly caught up with MisterJinx who ran a great PB.

Now the hard work 😉

Mon Sept 19th

Monday is a day I regularly work from home, do the drop offs and collections for school. I have no real pressure to get out running in the early morn, but i tend to try and get for an easy few miles before work - if I'm awake of course.

5 miles @7.44 doing a loop of Ballinteer - legs fully recovered from the half.

My young lad has soccer training on Monday evenings. Rather than stay around and get asked to coach(once you are in , you never get out 😄) I tend to drop and leave for a run. I did another 5 miles here around Marlay where I briefly bumped into ReeReeG.

5 miles@8.07

Tuesday 20th Sept - 13.16 miles in total

I'm loving these Tuesday's in UCD. This was 10x5 mins off 2 mins doing approx 1 mile loops around the N11 side of UCD. The first rep was at 6.05 min mile pace before gradually progressing down to 5.42 min pace by the last rep. I have a colleague in the club who is running almost identical paces to me at the minute. There was only a few seconds between us in Dungshaughlin 10km and again a few seconds between us at the Dublin half last week. I have no doubt we are bringing each other on in recent weeks with these sessions. I was glad when it was over as the last reps were in total darkness and there were sections where you had to be very careful underfoot. That was tough but a real enjoyable type of tough.

Wednesday - 5 miles@8.20

Easy spin around Marlay just before it was closing.

Thursday - Commute double - works out about 13.2 miles @ approx 8.10 pace.

Got soaked on way in - got soaked on way home - beautiful

Friday - Took the rest day which i've been doing every other week. Double commute on the bike to keep me honest

Saturday - 20 x 400's up at the track

I did this session about a month ago too, but in the middle of a 30k run. I thought better of grouping it today as had the need for speed. It meant I would need to do the long run at ridiculous o clock on the Sunday AM, but needs must and all that. It had been wet overnight so there was still static water on the track. It meant we all got wet from splashback etc. Again, this was a solid progression type session. 400's started out at approx 84 seconds but worked our way down to 75 seconds for the last 5 reps. I spent the afternoon at my kids birthday party which was great fun but risked injury a few times with the amount of horseplay I was joining in on ;-)

Sunday - 22 miles at 7.39

I was working today so needed to be done by 8.30ish. I got out about half five in the pitch dark and hadn't picked a route at all. Just stay on the feet for approx 2hrs 45 was the plan and no heroics. I wanted to take in a few hills so headed downhill out towards the coast to sandycove. I took in the 2 piers in Dunlaoghaire and made my way up beside the Sandycove - Blackrock cycle lane. The only people that rose before me were the fishermen it seems as there were loads out on the piers. It was an ideal route for seeing the sunrise over the bay and allowed for the climbing parts to come in the latter part of the run when I was tired. All in all, I felt good afterwards, albeit leggy from the week.

71 miles - fairly sure its my highest mileage week

Thanks

Yeh, it was a PB alright

DCM Report,

I really wanted to get this one right. My 2 most recent marathons had been "failures" in my mind anyway. I believe I had learned from them, but I was very conscious if these learnings didn't translate to a better performance on the day again, I would find that hard to take mentally.

I made certain adjustments in the lead up to Dublin. I trusted the plan supplied by the coaches within the club with an added extra easy running day which suits my needs. I listened to advice on here and incorporated electrolytes for the first time after the cramping in Limerick. The PB at the half in the build-up gave me confidence the training was on point, so that side was hopefully boxed off. I tidied up the eating habits, water intake, alcohol consumption in the 3 weeks leading up to race which I only ever 'half assed' did before. I really really really wanted to get through this one without cramping.

I slept brutally the night before but had slept well leading up to that, so wasn't worried about that side. I'm not a great eater in the mornings so just a toasted banana sandwich along with an electrolyte drink was my choice.

I got a lift into town with a clubmate who I will refer to as A from this point onwards. I ended up spending a large part of the day with him. We had been doing pretty much all our sessions together for the last few months and our paces and half marathon times were almost identical. It was a no brainer for us to run together as we were so used to it now. Arrived at club meeting point which allowed us to have use of a toilet and swanky changing facility which made a difference not having to queue for portaloos. I still used a portaloo but that was in the starting pen when i didn't have to queue and it was more the nervy added perhaps non essential visit. I randomly met my bro in law with his phone in tow in the pen too which was nice to send the pic to the family.

I then went to discard my throw away hoodie here but made an absolute hames of it. I was well boxed in around where the 3.10 pacer was and i was went to release the hoodie, my arm caught the person to my right and the aforementioned hoodie literally just went straight up in the air in slow motion and landed on the head of the guy to his right, much to the amusement of everyone around me.

Miles 1-4

Bid farewell to my bro in law as he was aiming for something around 3.30 and off A and I went in our search for a sub 2.55. Nothing of huge note in the first few miles bar seeing a poor volunteer getting knocked over by the pack at one stage where the traffic island was going up the hill towards Christ Church. Not sure exactly how it happened and how the person fared after due to volume of people. We were keeping ourselves out of problems, perhaps taking a few corners too wide off the racing line just to get some road space. I availed of the first water stop which I usually wouldn't bother with as felt my singlet was sweating up plenty already. Again, I was determined not to cramp so keep myself well hydrated was plan for day. At the turn onto chesterfield near the zoo, I found myself suddenly about 40 metres down on A simply due to me been boxed in and having to take it wide. I thought how crazy it was the amount of ground you can lose by not been on the racing line. I slowly worked my way back up towards him.

6.46, 6.46, 6.47.6.34

Miles 5 to 10

Chesterfield Avenue brought about extra space and at this stage we had made our way level with the 3hr pacers for a period before slightly edging ahead of the big group. Spotted a couple of faces in the crowd I knew including Healy from these parts on this stretch.

After a quick chat with A, we made the attempt to hover over the brakes going down College road past Mount Sackville. The pace will naturally increase here but I feel your brain needs to be in charge here not to go hell for leather down that hill. We were prob still a little too hot on pace on it despite the heads up to each other. The first real buzz of the day was going past Myos. Great sound and support here. I managed to run very close to Wubble Wubble spectating here, but I was already past him before I copped it was him. I'm fairly sure I was drinking water at time and couldn't shout. We were planning around a 1.28 half and trying to come back around 1.26. Looking at the splits below, we were feeling comfortable so were a little ahead of plan through here.

6.30, 6.28, 6.36, 6.19, 6.28,6.25

Miles 11 - 17

I don't recall all of this section as well as others. Myself and A were still occasionally talking to each other as we made our way up the placings here and there. The usual shout out spots of Rialto, Dolphins Barn and Walkinstown roundabout were all class. Got quite a good few shout outs with the club kit on. Someone in the club kindly had all the names printed out on bigger font than the named stickers given out at Expo so also got quite a few individual shouts. We found ourselves in a group of 5 all the way through this section. It was quite prominent on the drag up through Crumlin as we switched the workload at the front of the group with a few Raheny lads on a couple of occasions. It was pretty cool as it seemed to naturally happen without any verbal prompting from either side. I just realised, I hadn't mentioned fuelling yet. I had 4 gels in total with me including 2 caffeine gels and had my wife waiting later on with an electrolyte bottle. I was also chewing on salt tablets now and again. I cant really recall exactly where I took the gels now, I think of it. 2nd caffeine around mile 17 perhaps. The first half was done in 1.26.51 so about a minute ahead of plan.

6.43, 6.31, 6.33, 6.46, 6.41, 6.29, 6.33

Miles 18-22

"Welcome to the marathon. Hope you enjoyed the warmup chief? What have you got now pal was the inner monologue??"

"Enough" was the optimistic answer. Only positive vibes between A and I from now on. "We have this today", "Let the road do the work on the downhills" , "nice and easy up this hill" .Convincing yourself is half the battle and when the person besides you also buys into it, it does the full circle and confidence grows. We got a great shout out from club coach at rathgar and she reiterated to us to keep working together. She managed to get herself right out in the middle of the road beside us to encourage us on. We then had our own club volunteers at the next water stop where we received further deafening cheers . That was surreal. We may have gone a bit hot through there as i felt a little pinch in hamstring almost at the same time as A felt on his calf. "SHUSSSH" back to the positive vibes. Milltown brought his family cheering us on at the right time. No heroics were planned on Clonskeagh road. We worked together up that drag and picked off quite a lot of folk here. Quite a few here were walking now. I had the whole family awaiting on Roebuck Road. It was brilliant seeing my wife, kids, parents and in laws all out supporting. It was perfect timing and grabbed the electrolyte bottle here to carry to the end with me. 

6.27, 6.34, 6.42, 6.56

Miles 23-Finsh

I was still on a high from seeing the family that Roebuck Hill was barely noticable. Again, with the mantra " Easy down Fosters, not cramping today" UCD Flyover was the first I felt that I'm not sure if I can increase pace or even hold a certain pace. The legs were heavy. We were now going about 6.45 -6.50 pace. I think I knew i could get home at that pace but wasn't sure if i would cramp if I went any faster. I told A here that I'm going to finish at around this pace. I told him to kick on down Nutley lane. It was a simple "no" back followed by "I'm not sure I if can anyway". I'm staying with you at this pace. From experience, I know how long that merrion road is and it was probably the right call from him, but I didn't want to hold him back at the same time. The wind became noticeable as we ran down towards the RDS - Was it ever going to bleeding come? Eventually, it did, and it kicked something in me. I knew I was finishing either way now. I picked up the pace a little for the last 1km as we went past the purple mile. A went with the move and we levelled off together as we crossed the line in 2.54.23. Turns out when i looked back at splits, didn't really lift the pace at all at the end, just worked harder to go the same pace it seemed.

6.44,6.40,6.48,6.53 and 6.38 pace for last kick

Anyway, happy how that went...Met a few new faces along with a few known faces back in McGrattons. Glad its over, not sure 2 doing marathon blocks in a year will become a regular thing for me. I'm glad i did this year though as really wanted to right that wrong from Limerick

Thanks and was sorry to read that you were unable to make the start line.

You could be right about those particular drags. Clonskeagh in particular as it takes such concentration there as people are dropping out or beginning to walk. There was also a blinding sun breaking through clouds as I went up that road. If I tried to keep pace there, Ive no doubt I would have paid for that. The issue is - can you get back on pace afterwards especially at the latter stages.

I think it all helped but it could be just as simple as this for me. I'm pretty sure I got myself into 2.50/51 shape but I targeted 2.54. If I attacked the 2.51, it may well have happened again considering i did get a reminder at one stage.

Forgive me father as it's been over 3 months since I updated this log

I looked back on 2022 and was ultimately very happy with the running year after a disaster 2021. The year had its hiccups with Limerick marathon been the biggest culprit, but I feel i righted that in DCM and had quite a few PB's across various distances which was very welcome as I was putting the work in.

December was a disaster as I was in good shape to have a crack at Jingle Bells but only dawned on me later on, that I was actually away for that race so Tom Brennan on 1st of Jan was going to be a new target race to break 17. 

Unfortunately, I rolled an ankle on the Tuesday session just after Jingle Bells weekend. I was trying to avoid a big puddle and stepped onto wet grass to do so but slipped while doing a faster rep - (grrrr, I will pick the wet socks option next time). I have gone over and done ligaments on my ankle before but always on the external side previously. This was on the inside of the ankle which initially gave me a bit of fright over next few days as it felt like the Plantar Fasciitis had returned. After a few visits to the physio, he was fairly sure this wasn't the case, and it was just the trauma of the ankle putting extra pressure on the fascia. He was confident that when the ankle fully healed my pain on the fascia would clear too. To my relief, he was 100% right.

In some ways it's not the worst time of year to be injured with it been Christmas party season etc. In other ways, it makes the comeback to running a hell of a lot harder after all the extra padding that December entails. I slowly got back doing a few jogs around Christmas Day and was signed up to Dublin Masters XC in early Jan. I knew I wasn't in shape for that race but didn't want to let the team down either so I rocked up thinking "its only 6k, you can bluff your way through this" It turns out there are no hiding places in St Annes park 😉 I almost pulled out after each lap and could not wait until this ordeal was over. 24.27 was the time and although that in itself wasn't a bad time as such, the whole experience was terrible. I looked at a few photos later on in the day and gave me the push to check out the weighing scales. I was approx a stone heavier than I was back at DCM after eventually prising my fingers away from my eyes to look at the figure staring back at me 😬. It was actually a good kick in the backside I needed to tidy things up.

I had 4 weeks to Trim which was the target race at this stage and 3 weeks to Raheny to get things right. It wasn't quite Ricky Hatton levels of shifting weight and getting fit between fights but wasn't a million miles away from it either. I cleaned up the diet and continuously upped the levels of training. When I wasn't running, I was cycling and generally been smarter about things.. The few days leading up to Raheny, I was feeling good and was intrigued to see what that meant in terms of racing.

Raheny 5

I made a balls of positioning myself in the pen. I should known better after previously running this race a couple of times. I was too far back - 22 seconds after the gun to be exact. I ran too far off the racing line in that first mile and had quite a few stop/ start moments in the first 800. I figured I was in sub 30 shape but genuinely wasn't going to know until I was a couple of miles into this race. First mile clicked on my watch at 5.57 which i was pleasantly surprised at but I knew I was approx 3 seconds slower than that too. At one stage in the argy bargy in the first 400 another runner bumped off my watch and somehow hit the pause button on it. It took another second or 2 to realise it was my watch that beeped 🙃

I found my rhythm then and no better way to increase confidence by passing people on a regular basis. I felt like I was motoring on sybill road but knew the park was still to come so don't empty the tank too much yet. 

Mile 2 - 5.46 

Mile 3 - 5.36

I was beginning to countdown and becoming ever more conscious that I may blow up at this pace. The first section of the park came and went without too much incident but climbing up towards the hair pin, I was beginning to tire. I tucked myself in behind a group for shelter on that section and took the 180 turn wide to avoid any collisions. 

Mile 4 - 5.34

It was hard to get the legs going again initially after the 180 but inner thoughts were positive -" It's only a mile that starts with a downhill before the crowd will get you over the last hard 700". Don't get me wrong, I couldn't wait until it finished now but I now knew a good honest effort will bring me a PB. As I was coming towards the exit of the park, I was starting to tie up and was defo reaching my limit. I needed to be smart here with the drag to come. I dialled off a little bit because it was necessary and hoping it allowed for fast last 200. I wasn't passing people anymore but I was holding my position. When I heard Dick Hooper on the mic approaching the last corner, it gave me a spur on. To my surprise, I was able to kick for the last 150 and went as fast as my legs let me go

Mile 5 - 5.33 - I was shocked my last mile was my fastest as it certainly didn't feel that way. I was chuffed to get an official time of 28.35 for a PB. ... Maybe Ricky Hatton had the right idea after all 😁

Between Raheny and Trim, I kept the miles ticking over mainly easy. I had one small session midweek. The trusted mona fartlek was the choice of session as I find it a nice short snappy session between close races like this.

Trim 10

I missed sub 60 minutes in this race last year by 2 seconds. I was actually 7 seconds under it on my watch but ran too wide at start then too and didn't hug the race line that day. The last 400 also had a gale force headwind that slowly terrorised me back then too as i watched the clock tick past 60. The wind was barely noticeable this time and I positioned myself very close to the front to avoid previous mistakes. Raheny had given me the confidence to attack this race and snatch that sub 60.

The usual first mile gallop when the terrain is to you advantage, I found myself going a little too hot in the first 800 so dialled it back and found a comfortable pace around 5.50ish. I noticed a few familiar looking heads and gaits ahead that finished close enough to me at Dublin half and Dunshaughlin to know i was in the right area anyway. My club mate was close by too just off my shoulder.

Mile 1 - 5.51

I find the next 3 miles fair and a nice part of the countryside I was conscious to keep the pace consistent as there were harder sections to come. At a couple of stages I worked a little bit to get with groups but was generally comfortable running my own race sticking to the racing line as best as possible. 

Mile 2 - 5.54

Mile 3 - 5.44

Mile 4 - 5.47

I wasn't intentionally trying to bank time as its not generally how I like to race. I'd always prefer the negative split way. In this instance though, I couldn't help but think I've approx. 40 seconds in the bank on the sub 60 when I took account of the markers as opposed to my watch beeping on the mile. Around this stage, at the beginning of mile 5 i found myself organically in a group of about 10 or so folk. There was no better time as suddenly there were more drags and that previous non-existent wind suddenly was a bit of a factor too. I checked my shoulder at one stage and my club mate was also in this group. Mob rule took over as we rallied over the next few miles through the different drags and turns. We caught up with some folk who some were able to join the group while others may have fallen off the back.

Mile 5 - 5.54

Mile 6 - 5.46

Mile 7 - 5.58

I was still looking at the time banked each mile and knew that sub 60 should be safe but you just never know when the legs may give up. I was also conscious despite how good it was to run with this group, it was congested at times(especially when a couple of cars went by in middle of a closed road - WTF) and any clip of heels is a potential disaster. The wind is no longer a headwind for the last 3 miles and the profile is kinder although there are a few tricky drags and hills still to negotiate. I was feeling good but maybe a bit too brave for my own good. I went to the front of group and found myself putting a few yards on the rest. It wasn't necessarily my intention as was still running my own race as such..I think it was Evan Scully that went with me here eventually and was running off my shoulder for a bit. I was kind of getting darker thoughts here thinking why did i just do that "Billy Big Balls". "I will probably get spat out the back of this group in a few minutes". I needn't have been too worried though as Evan then kindly took over from me at the front. I'm fairly sure some of the guys in the group were athletes he trains. We switched the workload a bit over the next mile and as we approached the 9 mile marker, I took a sneaky look over my shoulder and the group had halved. My clubmate was still sitting pretty there.

Mile 8 - 5.54

Mile 9 - 5.48

There were now about 5 or 6 in the stretched-out group. I dialled it up a little more from the last mile marker as there is a downhill section before the last turn into the industrial estate finishing straight. I don't think I ever been in this situation before, but I was in a full-on race now with these guys. The friendly group alliance was now over - last man standing etc. I got to the corner first and had a few metres on the next person and he had a few metres on the next etc. I'm not sure how long that last part is - maybe 400, 500 but it feels a lot longer. I wasn't looking back anymore as I gritted my teeth and ran as fast as I could. There were about 200/250 metres left and for the first time i heard silence behind me - no galloping steps. "Am I clear? shush keep running" . The only person I feared passing me here now was my clubmate as from racing and training with him on a regular basis, he has an outrageous final kick. Oh crap, there's those footsteps AGAIN as It must be nearly 150 metres left. Yep, It was him and he absolutely tore pass me at a rate of noughts and put in a further 5 seconds on me from there to finish. I actually hadn't slowed down looking at stats later which shows how strong his finish was. I let a roar as him as I finished " did you get a bee sting or something?" to a few moderate laughs around the finish line.

Mile 10 - 5.42 

official time 58.19 - overall 39th

To say I was delighted with that result is an understatement. That was my most enjoyable race to date.

Nice to see Dubh Geannain at the end - missed a few others

Apols for long winded post if you are still reading!

Thanks, good to see you back on the horse and building! Nah, giving the spring marathon a break this year which gives me a few more options. More than likely will get in a couple of half's in next few months.

I only seem to be coming on here at minute to provide race reports. On a couple of occasions recently, I started to draft about weekly training etc but I just wasn't bothered in the end, as it was boring myself. 

I do want to be able to look back and track races and how I was feeling at particular stages in races which bring me to Bohermeen Half.

I am signed up to Madrid Rock n Roll half next month and the Street of Portlaoise 5k on Paddys day. 

As I mentioned briefly to Laineyfrecks the other day, this was kind of a free hit for me. All my eggs were not in this basket, so to speak. That took any real pressure off this race for me. Having said that, I did still get quite nervous in the hours leading up to race and i think this is the reason why. My plan was to go at at my recent 10 mile pace in Trim and see if I could hang on for the last 5k at said pace. I wasn't going to be too bothered(well, not sure about that) if I blew up as I would have learned from it. I really wanted to test my body though, to see where my limit was.

I rocked up to the community centre well in advance to allow me to go for a bit of walk to the start line to refamiliarise myself with the area. Got changed did about four laps of the track with a few exercises as a warmup and made my way down to start.

I positioned myself about 7 or 8 rows back. There seemed to be some gallop on the first section which is downhill. I was checking my watch a couple of times thinking "this is nuts" I stepped off a little bit and found myself already in a bit of a group towards the end of the first mile 

5.45

The 2nd and 3rd mile consist of a few drags and quite a significant hill that brings you over the motorway. I ensured i kept tucked in here with the group of about 6 as the wind could be felt here too. I was already thinking, this is going to be hard 2nd time around. We had just gone through a couple of weeks of really low temperatures so most of my easy runs lately consisted of me of increasing the pace on a ad hoc basis. The significant increase in the temperature on Sunday from zero degrees and snow on the Friday to about 11 or 12 was very welcome but I did notice i was sweating up quite a lot at this early stage. 

5.56, 6.00

I found myself already thinking about the countdown to the end. I needed to try and knock those thoughts to one side. The terrain around this section is advantageous so I began running slightly faster, albeit controlled. There was a Dunboyne runner at the front of the group so I joined him and shared the workload a bit. Suddenly, we had created a gap to the rest of the group including my clubmate who had finished ahead of me in my previous 3 races this year. This move could be a mistake and may come back to bite me . It seemed early to be breaking off, but I remembered the race plan and let's see what's in the tank 

5.50, 5.48, 5.53

It was a nice break to the monotonous pounding of shoes to hear and see the crowds cheering at the halfway mark as we passed the Community Centre. I took a gel and sipped a bit of water around here. My Dunboyne colleague started to fall off the pace a little here which initially concerned me as had been running shoulder to shoulder with him for the previous 20 mins.. Noone to be seen for about 60 metres in front meant I was going to be going through the hardest part of this race solo. The legs were getting heavier, the wind seemed to be picking up and now I had no distractions to take me out of my own head. 5 Miles solo at sub 6 min miles was going to be a real challenge now. I kept the head down going up and over the hill. Before I knew it, I had closed right up on an athlete. I thought of running with him, but I was afraid now if I dropped pace , I wouldn't have the ability to pick it up again, so I drove on past him. 

5.48,5.49,5.53

Mile 10 and 11 were a real battle for me. Again, I was solo for most of this, occasionally picking off someone who had been dropped in front. I knew the last 2 miles would be flat and probably wind assisted so really tried to keep the thoughts positive here. I just needed to hang on somehow through this section. I actually felt like just slowing down or stopping and putting it down as a good training run. Every step I took seemed to be getting heavier. It was like I was wearing space boots and my whole surroundings seemed to be going in slow motion. It was a lonely existence. Someone appeared in front of me again at the 11-mile marker which helped me break free from my trance.

5.58,6.03

Its amazing what difference 2 minutes can make in a race. The wind and terrain were suddenly in my favour and just like that I was feeling somewhat ok again. The space boots had been temporarily removed and I was moving slicker. I now knew I was finishing this race and also realised I was finishing this on my terms too. I was still hurting and working hard but gaining positions in those last 2 miles gave me huge confidence. Tricking yourself into believing that you are grand seems to be half the battle. Mile 12 came in at 5.50 which I half worked out in my head should mean I could go sub 1.18 here. I kept putting one foot in front of the other and I passed maybe 2 more runners late on. As I took the last turn up towards the community centre, I just gritted the teeth and pushed myself. the crowd were great here. As I took the left onto the track with 100m left, I saw the clock was ticking on 1.16.45. I was thinking WTF, I can go sub 77 here so extended the stride and went full out sprint for the last 70 metres to get under 77 on the race clock. 5.50 for mile 12 and 5.48 for mile 13, 5.09 pace for the last bit.. 

Official time was 1.16.53 for a 2.5 min PB that I set back in Sept. I couldn't believe it. I have read reports on here before how people end up heaving or getting sick after a hard race. I had never previously properly experienced this until now. I was down on my hunkers for a good 3 or 4 minutes coughing up a lung. I had completely emptied the tank here.

A few very soft easy days now before having a crack at the 5k on Friday.

Streets of Portlaoise 5k

I had the few easy days and took off the Thursday. Legs felt okay by Friday morning.

The journey down was interesting. When leaving Dublin the sun was shining. About 10 kms outside of portlaoise, we were nearly at the stage of pulling the car in,the rain was so heavy that visibility was poor.

It never really cleared up fully, but the rain eased prior to the race. On the warm-up, l did the 4th km of the route. There is a tasty climb there and it demanded respect.

The speed of the top end at the start of the race was something to behold. Its a downhill start approaching the town and I had to hover over the handbrake about 500 metres in.

1st km - 3.20

This section was relatively flat with more downhill than drags. There were a few sharp enough turns, one in particular that took my a while to get back on pace after poorly negotiating it. I was finding myself getting a ahead of the mini group I was in, but not been able to make any ground on the folk ahead.

2nd km - 3.21

Vague memories of this part. I did close the gap little on a few ahead as I kept a consistent pace. The A target for this race was 16.40-45 . I would accept B target of sub 17 with just 5 days after the half.

3rd km - 3.20

"Welcome to the 4th km and we bring you some rain and head wind added to the craic of the climb" . This section of a 5k race is always the hardest even on an flat surface. I worked really hard but I was struggling. I caught the women's DCM 2022 national champ here and worked in tandem up that hill with her. I looked around at others and could see I certainly wasn't the only one struggling here. I clipped heels with her here,(completely my fault) and she actually apologised. I was too fecked to say anything. It seemed to happen again a few seconds later to my embarrassment, not sure who's fault it was this time,but I said sorry. We were nearly at crest of hill so I thought, I need to get away here before I clothesline her accidently, so I pushed off a bit.

4th km 3.31

It felt like I haemorrhaged time but only really was 10 seconds slower on the KM. The problem now was trying to get back on pace once we had flat ground. I don't know if it was tired legs, tired mind or what, but I just couldn't seem to empty the tank on that 5th km. There is an art to running a 5k and I still haven't properly learned it. As we approached 500 metres to go, I did raise the pace a bit and thought B goal was safe. It wasn't until 5k beeped on my watch at 16.50 ish and I still couldn't see the finish line, I thought ah balls... it turns out there is a little blind bend before the line and then had to really sprint the last 50 metres to get under the clock at 16.59. The chip was 16.58 with a last km of 3.23.

I was happy but couldn't help but feel, I left time out there as I wasn't banjaxed at the end like the half.

The club had a good day with an individual 2nd place In womens race and overall team winner on the day.