Sub 5 minute mile

So I ended up with two gold medals from the Masters XC. The winner of the M35 got DQ'd for not being registered (damn red tape) and while I was right that we didn't have enough M35 runners on the team. The team events were fact an M35-50 and M50+. So I got a team gold as well.

When I got the text about the XC I deliberately delayed getting my booster until after the race. It was the right call.

Monday - 6.5 km easy

Wednesday - 4x300FR, 3x400R

Time for some speed. Busy day with NCT and Booster planned. So I put my wife's car through the NCT in Kells before heading to Navan for the booster. Took advantage of being there to visit Claremont stadium and don my spikes for the second time in 20 years. Also the second time in a week. I'd given them a less than thorough clean with baby wipes in the morning and then went about replacing the spikes trackside. Managed to cut the finger of myself in the process. See aforementioned post about them looking dangerous. I somehow mustered up the courage to soldier on from my little nick and hit the 300s. I might have been a bit too giddy starting off, or perhaps a little tired from the weekend. Target pace was 48s for the 300s. I hit 45, 47, 48, 48. The last two required a bit more effort than I would have liked. The end result was that I wasn't fit for the 3x400s. I settled for 2x400 at a slower than hoped pace. 73, 73 instead of the target 70. I didn't have another one in me I'm sure. Still I was happy enough with the session and I took consolation from the fact I could hit a 45s 300 with my first fast effort which was not absolutely flat out so the spikes must have helped. So there's still a bit of speed hiding in there I hope. Off for the booster. No issues. But woke up Thursday and was very groggy with the usual sore arm and an unusual swelling under my left armpit which was also sore.

Friday - 7.25 km easy. Arm still sore and badly swollen underneath so tried not to bounce along too much.

Sunday - 16 km with 7x(1km Steady, 1km Tempo). Not a high mileage week so crammed a Long run/Session into the last day. The booster effects were finally mostly gone by now so I intended for an average pace of 4:00/km for 15 km. That would involve 1 km stready and then 1 km at Tempo effort. I started to tire around the 10 k mark but got my 3rd wind once I turned in the town for home which made the last 2 Tempo efforts much easier to do (net downhill). Looking back the session wasn't as uniform as I would have liked with the steady pace falling away after a few reps. Not helped by the Tempo pace increasing too. A couple of them started on uphills which probably had me pushing them a bit harder than I should. Finished anyway with 15 km at exactly 4:00 pace. I enjoyed that one.

38 km for the week.

The club asked me last week if I was running the Leinster Masters. I said no. I was auto registered anyway after the county championships so they were onto me again if I was running it, but I wasn't fit to. It was just as well I said no the first time due to the booster shot. I've obviously come to the attention of the club now after last week so I'm going to try to be careful in committing to races that I end up missing. Incidentally, the Meath team picked up a bronze medal I think which means I possibly would have been part of that.

My brother told me I now need to target a gold in the M40, M45 and M50 over the next couple of decades to complete a Masters Slam 😄. I can barely commit to something a month off so that sounds like something that might happen in a parallel universe.

What I have done today though, is register for the Masters 800 Indoor. Off no specific training. What I've been doing the last few weeks on lower mileage has been mostly just to try and consolidate my fitness level. Whatever it is. I increased my pace a little basically on my easy runs.

So not a lot of super fast stuff recently. I only picked the pace back up last week for the first time when I committed to racing it. With zero experience and it being indoors I can forget about pacing myself optimally. I'm banking on it being a less spectacular blow up than my mile race back in December though. Recognising it is a race I'll try and work off others and not concentrate too hard on my pace. What time I might run, I've no idea but I'm trying to get in the unfamiliar race mindset that I shouldn't care. It will be the position that counts most not the time.

Ah. Great stuff. Best of luck with it. Are you logging about it anywhere?

The 300s were with a 300m jog recovery, which took me 2-2:10 minutes each time.

A couple of posts from last year that left a lasting impact on me and even my interest in bothering to race at all. Up until now I've really enjoyed just running against myself and the clock, but was given food for thought that I may actually be able to compete, not just with myself, but with others at a decent level. The seeds were sown then. I'd hoped to try the outdoor Masters which didn't happen unfortunately. But after joining the local club at the end of last year the indoor Masters 800m was in the back of my mind since then. Although, I wasn't specifically training towards it as I sort of ambled into January but it was off a fairly decent 2021 overall I thought.

The day

I was a little nervous as I got my gear together. Still not got club singlet, so I text one of the club members asking if I'd be let run without on. "I don't know tbh but best of luck" were his exact words. Too late anyway, I was an hour from setting off at that point. Left my OH glued to the Australian Open final. Nadal had just won the 3rd set and the baby was asleep upstairs so she was getting to enjoy it in peace for now. Got down to Athlone fairly quickly and warmed up on the outdoor track. It was very breezy and I heard the same comment uttered by at least half a dozen folks about it being great we're not racing outside today. In the changing rooms lots of old acquaintances were exchanging pleasantries with some very identifiable Cork accents along with plenty of Northern ones too. Eaves dropping there were discussions about the 800 starting 15 minutes after the Women so I wasn't rushing for time I thought, until I landed out beside the track and could see all the 800m men warming up in the middle of the arena. I scamper around the side quickly and dump my bag beside a camera man before crossing the track to the infield. Name checks going on. It seemed like the steward was waiting for me as he called my name just as I approached the huddle. I wasn't late of course and there must have been another maybe 10 minutes before the O35s were called to the start. I asked one athlete where the 800 starts and where the break line is. I then ask a second fella, just to be sure. @quick feet approached me around then and introduced himself. His 800 time has been steadily improving since December and he was hopeful he might PB. He said he'd been looking for the Trim singlet, which I wasn't wearing. We wished each other the best of luck and I headed off to the start.

The Race

PB was not in my mind at all. I'd no real idea what shape I was in but convinced myself in the car on the way down that I should be at least able to run under 2:10 if pushed. But the plan was simple (well in fact too simple). I started in lane 6 with one runner outside me as we waited for the gun to go. Off we set and with only only person in front of me to begin with I made sure I didn't catch him on the bend, allowing him to break across in front of me. I didn't get the impression he wanted to lead as the starting pace was so slow and I'd to hold myself back to not pass him on the bend. We were very slow but the guys behind us even slower as we both broke across unchecked. The pace was so comfortable that I could easily check the stadium clock as we went through 200m. 34 seconds. Yep. Slow I thought to myself. Still I sat behind for the next lap too with no one challenging. As we reached halfway I again look at the clock 1:09. Ha, certainly no PB today I thought to myself. So this is actual racing. I feel a nudge on my right shoulder and become aware of the guy behind possibly going to move to the outside. I might get boxed in I think, so I surge a little and then with around 300 m left I'm feeling too fresh and decide maybe I can win this. My simple plan was indeed too simple, as I hadn't accounted for me actually finding myself in this position at this stage. I kicked with 300 to go and went past the front runner. I'm running very hard now and don't really know if I've been followed but assume I have. Through 600 m there was certainly no looking at the clock this time as my ears were pinned back. I feel I can maintain my pace to the end and hold off a challenge at one point making sure I'm hugging the rail. Round the final bend I'm still in the lead but can feel a runner over my right shoulder. I must have drifted out slightly at this point as just as he draws level I get a nudge on my left. I nudge back and strain for the line, thinking I got second. Spoke to the two lads after the race. Really nice guys. The guy who tried to nudge past me thinks I got second too. He must have gone fairly soon after to the results table as he comes back with a silver medal in his hand and offers it to me. "Would you go and s**t" I said to him. Not really though :) It was a nice gesture I thought. 2:12.09 was the official time for second place. I ran 2:12.09 also so not sure how they separated us but I was given 3rd. Didn't make much odds I was only thinking of winning it as I rounded the final bend.

Post Race

I watched quickfeets race. The 040s was much more stacked and faster too. He finished strongly picking a few off I think on the last lap and was close to a PB. The O40s was won in 2:03!

On my own race. It was an unusual but enjoyable experience for me. With a better strategy being the order of the day maybe. Not saying that would have got me the gold though. The other guys can run much quick than 2:12. It might have left me with more questions too though. Who knows. Re-watched the feed on YouTube and checked the splits. First 400 was 1:09 (200s in 34 and 35), the second 400 was 63 (200s in 33 and 30). Very happy with that 30 second final 200 tbh. I'm not sure I could run a final 200 any quicker than regardless of tactics so fair dues to the guys who pipped me. I was thinking that going with 300 to go might have been too soon. I probably tied up a little over the final 50m, so if I was in the race again I might have not moved until 250 to go. But as I said, who knows. Really enjoyed it and it was refreshing to not be so buckled after the run as I was after my 800TT last year. I'll throw a screengrab of the finish below, if only so I can crack the joke my mate made when he saw it. It looked like the two lads were taking me to draw my pension from a Carlow Post Office.

Apologies for the length but it'll stand alone for me as a 10 mile race for some time. I want it here to remind myself not to be so foolhardy when dealing with bigger distances. That's if I ever consider going near one again 😑

Pre-Race

I was thinking of the guys who ran the course yesterday and how they might have in fact have picked a better day to run the course. It was cool and breezy.

I jogged up to the finish line with my bag on my back to leave at the bag drop wearing my new club singlet. I met one of my teammates here. He’s a regular marathoner, having run two already this year and more planned. He’d never broke the hour for a 10 mile before but felt in the shape to do it if it was a good day. Today was not that day he said on account of the weather. Not being familiar with the course I asked him how I should approach the run (1) having never run a 10 mile race before (2) having not trained for such a distance and (3) not tapering for it. And by the way, I’d love to crack an hour for it too 😊. I'm sure he thought this lad has notions. The wind was to be in our favour for the first couple of miles and to make the most of it was the advice. Then expect to be slowing down when the route turns into it at around 3.5 miles with a long uphill drag for 2 miles before turning for home for the second half of the race and then see how you’re going then. Also, try and run in a group because of the wind.

Made my way up to the start area where the rain started coming in sideways. So I join a few runners sheltering at the side of one of the buildings waiting for it to pass, before heading up to the start line and finding a place behind several Trim singlets including my adviser. I’d finished a bit ahead of him in the masters cross country and most of the other lads but should have heeded the massive difference that exists between 6 km cross country and 10 miles on the road. The two lads I tailed for the cross country were there too. While being foolish in assuming I might finish in the middle of all of them I wasn’t foolish enough to decide on the same tactic and tail the two fastest lads again. These guys are all serious distance runners. Still I naively figured I’d probably be sandwiched between all of them Trim guys in the race.

Trim 10 Mile Race

Mile 1 to 4 (5:48, 5:46, 5:51, 5:58)

The gun goes off and I’m right on the inside keeping my head down coming out of the business park to avoid clipping the kerb and end up momentarily mounting the footpath. Down towards Lidl with the wind at our backs I was feeling nice and relaxed. Another runner beside me is looking at his watch and does a double take, then a triple take. I know from running the road here that that particular patch always gives ropey pace data so I let him know and he thanks me. We turn at the Lidl and I am beside my friend again. We acknowledge each other and run together in a still sizeable group for a while. Mile 1 beeps in 5:48. Pretty good I think to myself. Over the next mile smaller groups are starting to form. I can see 3 of the top Trim runners ahead and a group in between us and them. There’s a gap growing between ours and the next so I decide to move to the next group and a few follow my initiative. The next mile comes in 5:46. I think I’m giving myself a nice buffer here. The groups have become splintered again. One thing I remember at this stage is noticing the noise of everyone’s runners as I wonder to myself if I should have splashed out an a pair of high end shoes. I’m wearing Asics Magic Speed which certainly don’t sound like what these guys are wearing. I think it has a half carbon plate if that’s much help. Anyway, I can still see my 3 clubmates ahead maybe 30 metres. They’re moving slightly further away but I just concentrate on each of the next small groups in front of me. I must have passed 7 or 8 runners as I wanted to be a big enough group for the turn into the wind. Mile 3 in 5:51. I wondered at this point if my friend was close behind which would validate my opening pace I wasn’t long finding out. I started to find myself slowing slightly and my breathing starting to get a bit more heavy over the 4th mile. I’m not catching people anymore and let the group I was in start to pull away a little. Time to catch my breath a bit I think to myself. Just before we come into Dunderry I’m swallowed by the next group of runners. I get a hello from my friend so I think, okay not too bad. I say to him “it’s great to get picked up by a group before we turn here”. I don’t hear anyone breathing as heavy as me though, I think to myself. Around 100m later we turn the corner into the wind before mile 4 beeps in 5:58.

Mile 5 to 7 (6:27, 6:13, 6:08)

The wind and drag isn’t long chopping the group up from a nice clump of runners into a double and single file line. I’m feeling it a little slipping to the back here and but hope to hang on at the tail. We’re soon at a water table. Not even thirsty I reach and grab a bottle. Just wet my mouth a little and swallow maybe half a mouthful. The whole act seemed to enough to knock me out of my ailing rhythm though and I just can’t keep with the group anymore. I’m cast adrift gasping as they head off up the hill without me. I’m finished I think to myself. What the fck am I doing here. I feel my stomach tighten and think I might be about to vomit. I start thinking of what I’d eaten in the morning. I should have thought about it more and planned it. But, I hadn’t planned on running this. I shouldn’t have run so much earlier in the week. But, I hadn’t planned on running this. Maybe I should have done some more 10 mile paced stuff in the last few weeks. WTF why would I have, sure I hadn’t planned on running this. Wait. Then why the fck am I running this!?

I’m not even 5 miles yet and feeling woeful. (I wasn’t looking at my watch here but Strava tells me my pace went from 6:02 to 7:16 very very quickly. I was toast.) I keep putting one foot going in front of the other with the only motivation at this point being that I have to get home and at almost the maximum distance away I can’t even turn around the way I came. I need to just keep the feet moving to get home. Another group catches me as I’m in the horrors and I cop another Trim singlet. He says something to me I think. No idea what but I’m sure it was encouragement. Maybe my last rites. I can’t muster a response. Very soon him and his group of about 8 are disappearing up the hill ahead of me. Another single runner goes past before a group of 3 runners containing another Trim vest catches me. My watch must have beeped very close to this point. I’m so dishevelled it takes a moment to register that that was the fifth mile so I’m too slow to react to even see the split but I look at the time eventually and see 30:0something (the 5th mile was in fact 6:27). The thought hits me that these must be the 60-minute group. It’s only 3 runners and I really don’t know how I managed it but the spark of 60 minutes had me hanging onto the back of them somehow. I let them do all the work dragging me through the next mile which is a blur apart from knowing we turned the corner to head back to Trim in there somewhere. 6:13 beeps for the 6th mile. I’m on the way home and this might be my group if I can just stick with them. I begin to regain my composure a little and have relaxed a bit here. During the 7th mile I find myself a couple of times to the front of our quartet. I wasn’t intentionally doing it but one of the other runners must have been working off me. I could hear my club mate beginning to breathe a bit more heavily and shortly after it’s just three of us. We come upon one runner who had stepped off the road and re-joins with us. Then catch another before ascending a hill. Near the top another runner who has stopped re-joins too. The group is starting to get bigger again. A rangy runner in black joins the group from behind before blasting past us. The watch beeps for 6:08. I have the thought that maybe this isn’t the 60-minute group after all. I think momentarily of going with the lanky fella but don’t feel I’m fit to.

 Mile 8 to 10 (6:01, 5:50, 5:45)

Our group around 7 or 8 now as it is joined by another couple of runners that don’t hang in long before making a break. It was a lady in an Edenderry vest and another guy who’s details I can’t even remember. She was leading the charge and appeared the stronger of the two so I gritted my teeth and went with them. We open a gap from the larger group and are away. Mile 8 is 6:01. I’ve no idea where my overall time stands now but I am going to try and finish as hard as I can. Two miles is only 3 km I tell myself. I can run that quicker than I’m currently doing. Right in the middle of mile 9 there’s another bit of a bump. The guy was already starting to drift off before the Edenderry girl lets out a few loud wheezes just as we crested the hill. He gets dropped and then she does. I’m hurting again myself now but am solely focussing the distance left. 1.5 miles left that’s less than 2 km and I can run a pair of 2 Ks quicker than this. I let the legs spin away. Mile 9 is 5:50. The gap to the runners ahead never looked to be closing much but there had been a guy up ahead who might as well have had a target on his back though for the last 2 miles as that is who I was going to catch. 0.5 miles left, is only 800m. I can catch him I think and do eventually just before the entrance to the business park for the last 400m only to be met with the roughest wind of the day. I’m not easing off until the finish line though but am inevitably slowed down by the windy onslaught gasping and wheezing my way through the tunnel. I must have looked over my shoulder 3 or 4 times to make sure the guy wasn’t coming back at me. I can see the finish line but can’t read the clock for a long time. Eventually it comes into focus. 59:44!! No bloody way! How far away is that? I can’t even judge the distance but hear someone shout “you can make sub-60”. I don’t know who made the decision but I’m suddenly accelerating again literally going under the clock at 59:59. Feicen Hollywood stuff. I’m straight onto the railing to hold myself up before being ushered off to find a soggy kerb to sit on.

My own watch was stopped at 59:56 so I was fairly sure I’d done it. After a few minutes I could talk to a couple of people. Met Quickfeet too who ran a PB. And my clubmate, who said the hour wasn’t on today had run 59:30. He was delighted. We were both off to the match so started to jog back in the direction of home together. Both my calves cramped up before I got out of the business park so it was a very ginger trot home.

Official chip time of 59:55 PB.

I don’t think I’ll ever pull a stunt like that again. If I want to race something that long I’ll bloody prepare properly for it or just enjoy it for the decent workout that it is. No need to go chasing arbitrary, although pleasantly round, numbers. Lots of lessons learned from that near death experience. And while it’s taken the one hour monkey off my back he was really only a small fella that I probably could have lived with carrying around a while longer.

I ended up with 59.7 km (37 miles) for my week. A weekly record.

It looked to work for him alright J. I'm hesitant to say it worked for me though but thanks.

I looked at the NIA. Must be 800 week with the amount of entries for it but it's not on for me. I'm off on stag next weekend and hoping to be taking it a little easy the following days.

Cheers V. In a couple of weeks I'll hopefully look back a bit less critically on myself. She played a massive part in getting me there. If I didn't follow her there would have been no sub-60.

Thanks D. Trying to give an accurate account but there were definitely blurry bits in there. Just reread what I've posted and I'm not even sure in fact I made it to a rail at the finishing line. I may have been doubled over in the middle of the finishing chute and in your way before being moved along.

Thanks folks. I was convinced myself I'd made a bollox of it with a touch of Icarus with my approach which could and maybe should have ended my participation. The 5th mile didn't have to be the killer it was.

Thanks Lainey. I was doing a bit of imagining since. The general theme is if days were maybe 25 hours I'd have a little more scope to get more mileage in. Or maybe I'd just find more work to do 😀

Appreciate that @Swashbuckler . The head does get turned a bit alright with all the great long distance logs but having just bit off a little more than I can chew this week I'm more than happy to keep working on the shorter stuff for a while.

@OOnegative . Cheers. The team got second overall and I think 5 of them were ahead of me so it was very much an effort for myself in the end. There's looks to be a glut of talent there at the moment as I mentioned after the Masters CC.

Congrats on the run. You must have realised you were ahead of target but drove on in the last km anyway instead of just cruising home. Fair play.

I'm hoping the consistency has left me in good shape despite not following a distinct plan. I think during the first few months of the year I did proportionally more Tempo work than I would have last year and a fair bit less 800m paced stuff. Apart from a couple of bouts of illness I've felt pretty good lately. I've found myself coping well with 400m (and some 600m) reps at 4:50 mile pace during other workouts. Time (literally) will tell if that's ill founded.

So hoping to see what I can do after the past couple of months. Here's the summary -

7-13 Feb - 20 miles

Week after the 10 miler. Lots of easy days. I stopped in Athlone on the way to a stag on the Friday to do some 400s at Interval pace. The legs were still tires (5 days later).

Friday Session - 10x400 w/ 60s rest. 400s were averaged in 77 secs. Had a nice thirst worked up for when I landed. On the Sunday I went for a run out to Salthill, probably with a porter still on board. Ended up running right through the front of the big cycle lane protest just before they set off. I broke through the front of the caravan to be met with a brass band playing a mid sized crowd gathered and some local and national media. I had a quick check the following week to make sure none of the coverage included my wild looking head emerging dazed and confused from the front of the pack. Phew.

14-20 Feb - 19 miles

Few more easy days before chancing something on the Thursday.

Sunday session - Intervals 24x(40s on, 30 off). I remember enjoying this and hitting some decent paces on some of the 40 seconds on. I really didn't feel like I was but maybe I pushed it much as I ended up wiped out sick a day later and didn't run for the next 3 days. I put it down to not just the session but a hectic fortnight in general with the session giving me a chance to rest up for a few days.

21-27 Feb - 30 miles

Wednesday session. 4x400R, 4x200FR. I made the decision I needed to get back doing some mile paced and 800 paced stuff after a month of not doing any work at these. The original session is 4x300FR but I wanted to ease myself back into it and just make sure I held my form. The 400s were fine and I ended up running the 200s at faster than 800 pace so was happy with the systems check.

Sunday session. 4x2kT w/ 500m jog.

28 Feb - 6 March - 30 miles

I had a head hold this week so lots of slow easy runs as I tried to prevent it getting it into my chest. I stubbornly wanted to get my 30 miles in for the week and by the Sunday I'd 9 miles to do. Set off nice an slow for it but noticed I'd been progressing during the kms as I warmed into it so it ended up as a 9 mile progression run.

7 March - 13 March - 14 miles

Everyone was getting COVID and I was sure that's what I was fighting myself but tested religiously throughout and it always came back negative. Ended up with 5 days of no running with the last two due to my friends wedding which I really wanted to be healthy for. Made it through unscathed and finished the week with a 10 mile run on the Sunday with a couple of 1 km pickups.

14 March - 20 March - 29 miles

First decent week after a couple of false restarts.

Wednesday session - Intervals 4x800 w/ 2 min jog. Average pace 3:18/km. Was happy with that.

Sunday session - 8 x 1km T w/ 1 min jog. Felt good and handled this well. Average pace was around 3:40/km

21 March - 27 March - 34 miles

Another decent week.

Thursday session. 8x(400R with 2 min walk) I was in Portlaoise and found a nice flat business park for this. Times were 71,70,71,69,71,69,71,66. The wind was in my face every odd one hence the yo yo times. Target was 70-72.

Saturday session. 5 km hard progression. Didn't have the interest in a Tempo reps today so I decided I'd get it all done in one starting at 3:42/km finishing in 3:29. 18:13 for the 5 k.

28 March - 03 April- 36.5 miles

My second highest mileage week ever. Started the week with 10k Steady on the Monday but I can't for the life of me remember why. Pace was 4:16/km.

Thursday session - 4x(1k w/3 min jog). Back in Portlaoise again. Chose a straight suburban road for these that only needed to cross 1 roundabout. The wind was in my face on the odd ones and from the start found the pace tough. I'd flirted with maybe 5 reps but knew midway through the 3rd rep that 4 would be it for me today so pushed that last little bit on the 4th. 3:18, 3:21, 3:20, 3:16. I probably ran the 1st too hard into the wind and ended up paying for it.

Sunday session - 4x400R, 4x300FR. Right back to some harder paced stuff again. I knew I was on for a high mileage week so wanted to be smart here and try and just gauge the effort level. The 400s were respectable 71s and 72s. This route around the hotel is generous with pace so I knew I was probably even a second or so slower than that. The 300s were 49,46,50,47. I was happy that I'd managed all the reps I'd given myself to do here.

04-10 April- 22.5 miles

Just couldn't seem to get the time to get out the door enough during this week but at least managed one decent session. I got to do a run in Corkagh Park while passing.

Wednesday session - 4x(1mile T w/ 1:30 jog). A bumpy enough route around the back of Dunshaughlin. 5:57, 5:58, 6:00, 5:53. I was working a little harder that I would have liked for a couple of these but was reminding myself of the advantage of not always choosing perfectly flat routes for Tempos and slower paced stuff.

11 - 17 April - 35.5 miles

Started the week with an easy long run on the Monday to try and make up for lower mileage the previous week. This included 2 sets of 6 hills at a hard effort over 25-28 seconds. I was over in the same area of Dublin again this week so got another easy run in Corkagh park this week also.

Wednesday Session - 4x500R, 4x200Fast. 500s were 89, 89, 87, 87 which were perfect pace. The 200s were 30, 30, 30, 29. I know these were after the 500s but I was hoping I'd be able to nip under 30 for them all and maybe even a little faster on the last. Still though, the 500s left me feeling good after the workout.

Sunday session - something different. 4x(1 mile @10k pace with 3:30 jog). The 3:30 jog was decided mid-flight as my first recovery jog approached the 3 minute mark :) I haven't run a 10 k in some time so aimed at 3:35 pace. The miles were 5:44, 5:44, 5:44, 5:42 which was an average pace of 3:34/km. It worked me into a good sweat anyway.

18 - 24 April - 30 miles

We were in the North for a few days where I got one "easy" run in. A nice jog down the the back of Lough Neagh. I didn't realise when I planned my route that I'd basically be running downhill for 4.5 km and then back up again. Not a massive slope but long and tiring towards the end of my supposed easy run.

Wednesday session - 3x(200R, 400R, 600R) - I'd the kids with me for this on their bikes. They stayed with me for the first half before getting bored/hot and waiting at the exercise machines in the Porchfields as I trundled over and back. The section on grass always requires a little extra concentration as it's not perfectly flat. I ended up staying on the path for the last set of 3. No additional recovery between the sets and targets were 36, 72 and 1:48. I didn't miss one so was sásta before heading off on our trip.

Sunday session - 5x(1k Intervals w/ 3 min jog). This one left me a little giddy after. Only to arrive home and discover that the garmin file had become corrupted! But I wasn't going to let it cast doubt over what I saw on the watch though. I was sure I'd seen it. This was another attempt at what I hoped to do n Portlaoise 3.5 weeks earlier. I was determined to get 5 reps in this time. So started sensibly with a 3:24. Next two were straightforward 3:19, 3:20. I found I was starting them all pretty comfortably before upping the effort a little over the last 200 m which was probably brining the time down a second or so. I knew after the 3rd that I'd be well fit for the 5 today. So on the 4th I tried for a more consistent effort throughout the Km - 3:17. With 4 done I could relax and see where the 5th took me again deciding to not hold back to allow a stronger finish. Around a quarter way I note the pace is hovering around 3:10 but I'm not really reaching. At halfway I was still holding it together fine. With the usual 200 to go I decided I again could give it a little more and kicked again. The watch beeped at 3:09. At least 6 or 7 seconds faster than what I would have expected/hoped. I was delighted to be honest. To finish that 5th rep at a pace that's only 9 seconds off my target mile pace gave me a good lift. But I've no proof it ever happened 😂 I think because I stopped the watch and re-started it for my cool down almost immediately the data file just didn't have time get resolved in the software.

So that's where I'm at. A decent last week has left me feeling optimistic of what I might manage over the mile. It been useful for me to go back over what I've done the last couple of months too, so apologies for the really long entry.

02 - 08 May - 31 miles

Got the mileage back up again last week. Having had an easy-ish week for the 1,500 race I ended up doing 3 sort of sessions. The first one being because I was kind of pressed for time so ran a bit quicker.

Monday - 8 km steady. Pressed for time but wanted to get at least 12 km in after taking a day off after the race. 2 k warm-up. Then 7 kms at a very satisfyingly consistent pace of 3:56-3:58. Then the watch went a little haywire on the 8km so I lost my nice consistency right on the last with a 4:00. 2 km warm down.

Wednesday - 12 km easy

Thursday - 3x(600R, 30s rest, 200Fast, 7 minute jog). Target revised from 1:48 to 1:47 for the 600s after the recent race and then the 200s were to be as fast as I could muster but 32s at a minimum. The week of dodgy GPS continued so I'd no reliable pace reading for any of the reps. I was working but not reaching on the latter part of the 600s so I don't place too much belief in the actual splits for them 1:41, 1:43, 1:40. The first two 200s were great, 30 and 30, before I stopped my watch too soon on the last. So gave myself another 30s rest before doing an extra 100m to make up for it. So after the last 600R I did 130m in 21 seconds and 100m in 15 seconds. I was pretty tired that night and feeling it in legs the following morning, so maybe I was running close to the times the watch was suggesting for the 600s but don't assume so.

Friday - 6.5 km easy

Sunday - Intervals 12x(60onm 45off) - Classic Sunday night run. Out the door at 10 pm so a few opportunities to choose the road over the path which is always preferred. Looking to cover at least 300m during the 60 seconds (averaged around 310m) made it easier to work out I covered between 3650 and 3750 at interval pace which was definitely enough for the week for me.

A lot of the club runners are running the Bob Heffernan next week. I should have registered but missed the window as its a communion week here so not knowing what I might be at that day. I can register on the day though I think. So if I get the chance to run it I will. It's only a short hop away and I really want to. If I do I can safely say, barring injury, it will be a big improvement on my official PB over 5k. I won't post what it currently is for the craic but it is mentioned in the log somewhere.

Bob Heffernan and Mary Hanley 5 km

This was pointed out to me a couple of weeks back that a lot of the club runners do this race and that it is a fast course. I missed the online registration but decided a couple of weeks back that I'd run it. My last 5k race was the Braveheart 2019 where my PB of 18:45 was from. So a PB was all but guaranteed 😀.  I'd run a debatable 16:59 in a TT in the second half of last year though so this fed into my 2022 target of hoping to run a time of 16:3x this year. There hasn't been any training towards that target specifically but taking paces from 800 and mile training, my interval paces tend to be around 3:20/km. Five of them back to back is 16:40. Could I really manage that though? I'd taken great confidence from a 5x1k workout a few weeks back albeit with 3 minutes recovery and it certainly boded well for my 1,500 race the following week. But 5 k is a different beast though as I'm now well aware after what is only my second ever 5 k race, that I can recall anyway.

Pre-race

Felt good all day but as it dragged on I could feel my energy levels waning a little. I'd started getting paranoid that I might be coming down with something (one or two in the house currently have colds). I arrived at 7 pm and registered and then went into the hotel function room briefly to see where the bag drop was. Coming back out to find the registration queue had swelled quite a bit so I'd timed my arrival perfectly. Went for a jog out to the start line. I travelled about 1.5 km before giving up on seeing it so turned and ran back to the village to grab my bag from the car and get ready properly. After changing I become conscious of the time so rush across to drop the bag off.

I notice WW on the other side of the road and go to step out to introduce myself but thought I didn't have enough time to spare and this stage. Maybe I'll drop the bag off and catch up to him on the jog out to the start line. I'd taken an energy drink again in the car on the way over to try and waken myself up a bit but it wasn't looking to have an effect today. Jogging back out to the start line I'm trudging and not feeling energetic at all. My pace is staying at 5:00/km as I don't feel any urge to get myself warmed up properly. I was passed by all and sundry on the run out to the start. Really wasn't feeling it. By the time I got to the start I could hear the announcer say 8 minutes to start. I find a side road and do a few active stretches before 2 strides. That was it. I then found myself at portaloos as one of he occupants vacated one. There was no one around at this stage as they'd all made their way to the start. I then considered not racing at all and just jogging back to the car. But convinced myself, even if I'm not 100% I should be aiming for low 17 minutes anyway. I'll get a good training benefit. Eventually I snap out of it and head for the start as they're letting cars pass. This was lucky as it meant I could wander up the right hand side of the road as far as I wanted. Really wasn't sure where I should be starting I end up about 5 rows from the front. Right just don't go out too hard here.

Race

1 km - We're off and I go with the pace for the first 200 or so just to avoid tripping or getting tripped. I then let myself slow down to 3:20 pace as floods of people started to pass me. Teammate Tom says hello as he goes by. Teammate Ronan passes quietly on my shoulder soon after. I wasn't really sure how I was feeling at this stage. I certainly wasn't bothered to have gone backwards in the field so much. I'd guess 50 people went past me in the first km but wasn't panicking. Watch beeped at 3:19. Maybe a little faster to start than I would have liked but not crazy.

2 km - I notice another of my teammates is ahead of me. The first two guys that had gone past, I wouldn't be expecting to be ahead of. I'd ran with him for part of the 10 mile though and ended up finishing ahead of him that day. This is a shorter race so I decide to match his pace from around 10 metres back. I feel controlled enough at this stage and people soon stop going past me. We turn off the main road and the breeze is now in our faces so I try to row in behind people when I can. Split 3:18

3 km - Into the 3rd km. I tell myself it's less than 2 miles to go so this is the time to dig in. I edge up beside my teammate here and acknowledge him before starting to move on. On a couple of occasions I found myself to the front of packs of runners and make the decision to surge to the next one for cover from the breeze. I did this maybe 3 times I think. In my head I then think maybe I shouldn't be doing this but I notice that I picked up a passenger who had gone with me on 2 of the surges. They never came up beside me or went past though. I felt I had to keep going. Split 3:21

4 km - Okay maybe the surging wasn't a good idea as my breathing starts to turn into gasping but I was still catching people before settling at the back of a group. I feel like easing off the pace big time here so lose a couple of metres on them but somehow will myself to re-attach to them again. I'm on the shoulder of a lady in this group. She gives me a glance and but I sit there. Maybe 30 seconds later I get another glance. Ah, it must be my gasping that's bothering her. I'll have to gasp somewhere else then so make another surge to pull away from this group and close quickly on the next set of runners. Three ladies this time. There's space along the side of the road to go right past them but just as I'm going by one of them checks me and I've to step on the ditch a little before slowing slightly. I've gotten boxed in now. I wait for her to move out again which seems to take an age before moving on. The old metallic taste in my mouth is back at this stage as my legs are writing checks my lungs can't cash. I keep telling myself this is a middle distance run now so my legs can take the pace even if my lungs can't. Split 3:23

5 km - We've rounded a 90 degree bend and the 1 km sign appears. I've been gasping for almost a km already but try and let myself freewheel as much as possible as the course becomes a little easier. Teammate Ronan (whom I could clearly see from a bit back) was getting closer to me so I just focus on trying to catch him. I wouldn't say the last km was a complete blur as I heard someone shouting encouragement at me at one stage and hear the click of a camera. I've seen 3 different pictures taken of me along here and I look fooked in all of them. There was no easing off at all now as I went past a few more runners, never catching Ronan but I think by the end there's maybe only 2-3 people between us and I end up 4 seconds behind him. I fall through the line and am ushered quickly off to the side. Split 3:08

Chip time - 16:31 PB

Post-race

I found a grass verge right beside the finish line that I kneel down on with my elbows on the ground wheezing and gasping. Eventually gravity had me lying face in the grass as I wait to recover. I don't think much time has passed but it must have because by the time I lift my head up I can see some of my teammates chatting in the distance. Some would have been 4 minutes behind me so I was a long time catching my breath again. The benefit of teammates is appreciated as one of them tell me I look a bit green 🤢 . I certainly felt it a bit but still drank a bottle of water and wolfed a banana before attempting a warm down with them. I couldn't keep up with any of them though and both my legs started to cramp anyway so I headed back to the car. I was delighted to remember the shop across the road from the car so got myself an ice cream and a 7-up first.

Thoughts after the race. Very happy I got my target even if I wasn't dead set on achieving it on the day. I wasn't really following the splits to achieve it but did figure I might be under 17 minutes anyway as the race went on. My main driver throughout was always the pace and on occasion not letting someone repass me. I'm forever equating what pace I'm running back to my mile pace and somehow convince myself that my legs can always move faster than what they are currently doing (I did this during the 10 mile race too in the last 2 miles). I think this brings with it a certain level of suffering as my lungs can't handle the load (see funny looks from other runner above and metallic taste). Does it work?? I actually wasn't passed by anyone after the start of the second km while going on to catch maybe 20-30 people myself. But I mentioned to one of my teammates who was complimenting my time that I feel a bit of a bluffer and that my time isn't really reflective of how fit I am. Maybe 20-30 seconds of it is down to me just willing to suffer more. Also, because I don't race that often there's a part of me that says "this is the last chance, now or never". Then again, maybe I was just feeling a bit off on the day and it was a combination of a few things together.

Yea being for real alright. Mainly because my main lasting thoughts post race was that I'd absolutely nothing else to give and "jaysus I'll never run like that again". But also the feeling that I was redlining earlier than anyone else around me seemed to be just after halfway through, even though I was passing them. That was the impression I got.

But I like your way of looking at it though. Cheers. Definitely going to take that on board.