Often becomes easy when the easy is often..

Thanks so much C, for that and for the support at Chapo. It was great to see you there, I actually thought I had missed you so was delighted.

That's super solid advice. I'm more keen than ever now to build on it and implement some good structure.

Can't wait to toe the line at Jingle Bells.

Yeah, couldn't wait to whip it off.

Your tip re the Tailwind was inspired btw, it worked so well for me, never had an issue filling the flask.

In a good place right now, this post big block big race phase where it feels like the world is your oyster.

So many choices of paths to take.

The immediate thing is Donore's Jingle Bells. Hopeful for that, hopeful for a pb. Best is 19:52, on that course from 2019. Have been a bit off my 5k best since then but haven't been feeling as fit as I do now since either.

Will throw in a 5k specific session or two between now and then, but am banking on the residual fitness being enough.

After that I think my main focus will be to not drop volume in December like I usually do, not to the degree I usually do anyway.

I'm considering a couple of things to target then. Bohermeen and Manchester marathon are on the radar. A pb attempt at Raheny will be a part of whatever it is I'm doing, be it a block or a base phase.

The recent DCM half is up there in my top 3 races ran. I keep going over the last mile in my head and how good I felt, how strong I finished. I think a 90 min Bohermeen could well be an ambitious but achievable goal.

Then there's the other option of Manchester (April). A fast flat course for another crack at a BQ.

I'll spend a bit of time deciding.

As for now, I'm going to head out tomorrow for an easy few miles. Can't wait to get fully back into it. I ran a 5k recovery on Monday, headed up to Citywest to collect the van. First 500m or so were a painful shuffle. Considered turning around but knew the muscles would loosen and they did. DOMS are almost gone now, just a bit of them left in the quads. Can walk down the stairs at last haha.

Not a lot to report for November, a scaled back, low volume month, not necessarily on purpose, a good sprinkling of laziness, but no major harm I don't think.

Been looking forward to Jingle Bells for a good while. I was excited to see what the Summer's work would do for me.

My fourth time running it and I've never not hit a PB at it. Not only is it the perfect course for a PB it's the perfect time of year too, right at the end of months of solid work.

My 5k pb was set here in 2019, 19:52, my second and last time to go sub 20.

I had ran a tune up race at Corkagh parkrun in 2019, two weeks out, and ran 20:51.

Ran Corkagh two weeks ago in 20:16 for a parkrun pb so the confidence was up. I figured 19:4x was definitely doable, based on that tune up (I mentioned a while ago that I had set my parkrun pb just before JB '19 but I got that wrong, it was May 2019).

Parked up in my usual spot near Islandbridge and jogged up to warm up. Had a lot of pre race nerves, and my spiky HR on the warm up wasn't settling them. I'm not sure about you guys but I feel the nerves before a 5k are a different animal to those before a longer event. I think it's the fear of the pain lol.

Met Sean and Elaine at the bag drop tent and hung around for a work buddy. S & E in good form, and I was so happy to see them both. Sean had told me the previous night that he was gonna aim for a low 20 min, which made for a weird switcheroo between us both. He was sandbagging though 🤣

Got into the start pen, asked a couple of guys what time they were aiming for, they told me 17:30 so I squeezed backwards until the answer to that question no longer humbled me.

Gun and we're off. A small bit of congestion, a few folk out of position, but nothing too bad. I got around those I needed to and settled into things, avoiding clipping for the first 600 or so metres.

I had visualised 5x 3:5x kms so when the first one beeped at 4:02 I was a little disappointed. We're on Chesterfield now, coming up to a mile in. The pain has come on which is good. A PB effort 5k needs to hurt a lot and it needs to be hurting after a mile. The problem though was I was looking down at 4:10km pace. Had a ton of negativity swirling around at this point. This is hurting and I'm nowhere near the pace I should be. WTF. Thoughts of 'failure', of the Summer's work not actually being enough, or maybe I took too much of a backseat in Nov, dropped all that fitness.

Then I remembered that Chesterfield is an insidious drag, it eased off the negativity and I dug a little deeper. Km 2 beeped in at 4:00.

Kept that sort of effort and pain and pace until the 3km marker where the watch beeped 4:02 again and then something seemed to really switch in me. The downhill obv helped but I just felt this burst of confidence. I began to realise now that a PB was on the cards. Was repeating 'You're built for this' over and over in my head. Started picking people off, one by one, getting stronger and stronger. Km 4 beeped in at 3:51 and I gritted it up and just raced. Didn't look at my watch, just kept my eye on the next target to pass.

Sean passed me around here but I had no idea. Elvis could have reappeared to the world in his Vegas costume on the Upper Glen Road and I wouldn't have noticed. All I saw was the runner in front of me.

I heard someone in the crowd shout that the finish line would come into view as soon as we hit the upcoming bend and that drove me on more. I normally have a finish kick but when the gantry came into view I couldn't give any more. That gave me a lift mentally because I knew I had left nothing out there. Hadn't glanced at the watch since the 4km marker. Crossed the line and hit stop. Couldn't believe my eyes when I looked down at 19:36. Talk about a high. I'm still buzzing from it. Last km was 3:41.

A really interesting race in hindsight, a lot to learn from it. I think having that experience of banishing negative thoughts and turning things around will really stand to me.

So happy with this year, I feel I've surpassed what I had thought possible.

Onwards.

Just pulled the trigger on a Bohermeen entry.

So that's the target.

12 week block should be good I think.

PB is 1:33:44

I'm a few nitro surges in right at this moment but am I bonkers to consider targeting a 90 min?