PB or not PB...that is the question

THE REST OF JANUARY

So since the last update, I've actually been running really consistently and this is the first January in years I haven't been sick, on antibiotics etc.

But I do feel like I've lost at least a yard of pace :-(

To be honest it's been missing since my 2nd dose of Covid last April - at the moment I feel like a car with only 3 gears....I can run indefinitely at a certain pace but can't maintain speed over any sort of distance at all.

And slightly disconcertingly, my VO2 max on my Garmin has dropped from 57 to 55 - I know this is probably a load of bollix but it would tie in to my general performance. Resting Heart Rate also ticked up a couple of notches.

So yeah...running ~5 times a week with some cycling/mountain biking thrown in....I should feel tip-top but as mentioned I just feel like something is missing. I'm not overtraining I don't think - most of the miles are easy, started to throw in a couple of interval sessions in the last couple of weeks so will see if that improves anything.

Managed to get a transfer spot in the Adare 10K (end of February) - if I was to run it in the morning, I'd probably struggle to break 43 mins, will see how the next few weeks go

FEDAMORE 5K (1 of 4...maybe)

First race of the year...yayy!

Popped out at lunchtime for a few gentle intervals to loosen up the legs and mainly to get some fresh air.

Had a quick banana when I got home then out the door pronto... wasn't 100% sure where I was going so had factored in some contingency time.

Met a couple of people from my running club, did a quick warm up and was set for off.

The goal of the evening was to run as fast as I could pain free but inevitably the competitive spirit sprung to life....looking around at the start line there was half a dozen GAA fellas in their 20's so figured I'd let them go off at the start and then see if i could reel them in (😂)

But that plan vanished fairly lively....despite starting conservatively I found myself in 2nd place behind a fella after about 300 metres and after another minute or two I couldn't hear anybody behind us so knew then it was going to be a slog.

The course was basically a 2.5K out and back route done twice...a very long drag to start, followed by a steep bit, a short flat bit, an steep downhill followed by a steep uphill then back down the long drag towards the start.

Anyway yer man was pulling away from me the whole time...5 metres quickly grew to 10 and then kept growing albeit at a slower rate.

I was motoring along ok I guess...my lower back was groaning a bit but didn't escalate.

The second lap zipped along...the long drag seemed longer but I powered up it no bother. I was still holding on to a faint hope the guy in first might blow up but no sign of it at all...I could see his hi-viz flapping up ahead of me.

Finished in a quasi respectable 20:33 (4:13, 4:00, 4:03, 4:18, 3:57)....felt good to be running fast-ish again.....would be great to go sub-20 on that course this month

Haven't looked at my predicted times in a bit....always a good source of light relief on :-)

Garmin Bullsh1t Predicted Times Update:

5K - 19:23

10K - 41:41

Half Marathon - 1:38

Marathon - 3:46

WEEK BEGINNING 12/01/24

In prep for the 5K, I started off the week with a small set of intervals (10 x 400m)....must have been stuck for time I'd say as I would normally do 15.

All good with the 5K on Tuesday (report above).....can't make it tomorrow night so might do a solo 5K TT tomorrow instead.

Short (5.5K) recovery run on Wednesday, and then following 2 very stressful days, I banged out some late night hill repeats on Thursday night (15 x 200m)...felt really good actually so maybe the pain in Fedamore is paying off.

Back on the bike on Friday for a quick spin (16K).

Then tried my first tempo run on Saturday...7.25K @ 4.28 per km pace...really happy with that tbh.

And then yesterday (drum roll!) I finally broke through the magic 12K barrier ;-)

Headed out for my LSR with 16K in mind...was trundling along not looking at my watch and it wasn't till about 5K that I realised I was motoring along at 4:50 pace. Most of my other "long" runs had been at 5:00 - 5:15 pace but this felt very comfortable for some reason so I kept going to finish the 10 miles in 77 mins.

So after all that I'm hoping that maybe possibly I might be getting a bit of form/mojo back....not going to get carried away, the Adare 10K is going to be a tough one for me I think but looking forward to it

THE LAST FEW WEEKS & LIMERICK HALF MARATHON

Another long gap in updates…was going to let this blog off into the wilderness but will keep it going.

Anyway, a real mixed bag since last update...had another thyroid based inflammatory flare up, and a family member has been unwell also - so a whole pile of stress basically and probably a week or so with no running at all.

Despite all that I was running fairly consistently and in decent enough shape overall.

Was undecided what if any event to do in the Great Limerick Run.... hadn't enough mileage for marathon, not enough speed for the 6 miler…so the half felt like the best option.

Only signed up on Monday so no real goal in mind...a PB (<1:26) or a sub 1:30 were out of scope so had a solid run and a sub 1:40 was the loose target.

Parked off the Dock Road in the exact same space I've used at least 5 times for this event, slapped on some suncream (!) and headed to the start.

The Bishop's prayer was a first for me but it was actually a nice touch 🙏

And off we went....felt very comfortable in the first few km (5K in 21:10)...took a gel slightly earlier than planned at 7K amd noticed the first micro twinge in right calf around 8K 😬

Through 10K in 43:22 and still feeling tip top....apart from that slowly tightening calf…I've never really had problems with the right calf before (low in the Achilles yes but this was much higher up)…I'm not convinced that it's an actual injury fwiw, more than likely related to my inflammatory woes.

Past halfway in good order but had to pull up for walks and stretches at 15K and 16K...the last few km were a bit of a struggle but got back moving at a steady 4:45 per km pace to finish in 1:37.

Happy enough generally although the calf situation is annoying/frustrating.

Not sure what my next race will be.... hopefully can sneak in a 10K or two in the next few weeks

So it seems to be more of a bad Grade 1 strain as opposed to a tear 😬

The bruising went away quite quickly so fingers crossed but looking at 5-6 weeks before any sort of structured running.

Checked out the pool near to my office yesterday so will give that a go, and find somewhere flat to cycle also

Thanks for following up 😃

On the running front I've done a couple of very gentle efforts - a 5K on Thursday and a 6K yesterday..…was half tempted to go again at lunchtime today but for once I took the sensible option and went for a walk instead.

Generally still in ok shape.…the swimming has dropped off a bit as the pool was closed all last week for maintenance, got a few decent bike rides in though so keeping the fitness levels up I guess.

Will be taking it easy for another week or two....have holidays coming up later in the month so don't want to be re-injured for that.

Fingers crossed after that I'll be in the shape to start building mileage back up

ANOTHER SPORADIC UPDATE

Yet another higgle-piggledy weeks on various different fronts.

Was back running consistently for a few weeks but then felt awful for a bit (tired, sore, fatigue, sleep haywire etc) - finally got it sorted I think thanks to a new doctor at our GP practice, so feeling a lot better since the start of the month.

We've started camping as well recently so that's eaten into my training budget a bit but probably no harm - we were down at the Fleadh in Wexford last weekend, got back in ok time so headed out for what was shaping up to be a very solid and enjoyable 10K.

Was literally 20m from the door when I somehow clipped a kerb that I've ran over a million times - had a fairly spectacular fall and hit the ground hard 😫….wasn't too far off breaking arm and/or collar-bone I think but luckily just left with a bunch of bruises and road rash.

Anyway - should be back on the road next week hopefully…..booked the hotel for DCM this morning so fairly committed to giving it a go :-)

Week Beginning 09/09/24

Just been reading back through my updates on here since January…..not a pretty picture 🙄

Anyway - will keep plugging away….I miss racing regularly but still enjoy running in general so this blog will (like myself) hobble along for another while :-)

Last week was actually pretty good - Monday was a solid 8K @4:50 pace, Tuesday 8 x 800m, Weds a slow 6K and another slowish 7K on Thursday.

Thursday evening was physio - all good, had a nice loosen out.

Was completely boxed in from all angles on Friday so nada, did a nippy 22K on the bike on Saturday, followed by…<drum roll> a 27K LSR on Sunday.

All ok on the long run….could have gone another few k handy enough but decided to quit while I was ahead.

So should be ok for DCM I reckon - it won't be a PB that's for sure….beating last year's time will be the first goal

THE LAST FEW WEEKS

A bit of a mixed bag to say the least…

I got my flu jab a few days after the Cross Country and for the first time ever it completely wiped me out - was fairly zonked for about 10 days so very little activity generally and virtually no running or cycling.

Then out of the blue I got an appointment with a consultant that I initially made contact with 4 years ago (!) - won't go in to too much detail here but I finally have a diagnosis that makes sense of all the sh1t I've been through in the last while so fingers crossed I can drive it on from here…..have a follow up next month so hoping to have a management/treatment plan in place in the not too distant future.

So with all this going on I had yet again started to have serious doubts about the DCM - mentioned it to the missus and she said to wait and see (I think she really just wants a weekend in Dublin 😅) so that's what I did of course.

And little by little I started to feel ok and got a few decent runs under my belt.

As ever, the lack of long runs is a worry, so I went out on Sunday to attempt a 20 miler telling myself that if it went well I'd give DCM a go.

Broke out a 'new' pair of Vaporflys that I got cheap sometime last year (or maybe the year before) - they were fab I have to say, felt like I was running on air and sailed around the 32K at roughly 5 min per km pace.

So yeah, Dublin here I come!

fwiw…my ever confident Garmin is predicting a 3:26 marathon which would be a minor miracle. Even a sub 3:45 could be tricky…will see how it goes on the day

Dublin Marathon 2024 - Race Report

I didn't think I'd be writing a DCM report this year tbh - only for encouragement from my wife and kids I would probably have pulled out a few weeks ago.

Context/Explanations/Excuses:

• Only 3 races this year - one 10K where my lower back pain ignited after 5K and I hobbled home; one half-marathon in May where I tore my right calf and hobbled home; and the County Masters Cross Country where I didn't hobble home but still contrived to finish 4th in my age category.
• Amazingly no antibiotics this year but have had huge issues this year with sleep, energy levels and headaches…..finally got a diagnosis last month (after 4 (!!) years waiting for consultant appointment) so hoping that particular corner has been turned.
• Lack of mileage - I've been running fairly consistently all year but all short stuff at non-hard pace, as mentioned above my energy levels were up and down like a fiddlers elbow so very hard to add any quality sessions in….the big misses from my training was long runs (only managed 28K and 32K in the last few weeks), and also the longer mixed pace/tempo runs.

So anyway, once I'd committed to taking part I was actually looking forward to it…DCM 23 had been similarish in build-up, I had a bad achilles flare up just before it so jogged gingerly around in 3:56.

I had no major goal in the lead up…beating last year's time was a low bar, wasn't sure if I had enough mileage done to go too much quicker though tbh. As the weekend loomed, I aimed for finishing ahead of Colin Farrell and Rory's Stories (also saw ex-Kilkenny hurler Jackie Tyrell at the Expo so he was a late addition to my list 😅)

Stayed in the same hotel that we've used for the last couple of years….the 40K marker is right outside it so it's always a weird feeling walking past it in the morning.

Had a pot of gluten free porridge with nuts and raisins; slapped on some Vaseline and Deep Heat and headed out.

I hadn't really studied the new Start/Finish area map so just followed the crowd, I could have probably done with leaving 10-15 mins earlier in hindsight - got stuck in the bottleneck at the main entry so didn't have too much time for fannying about getting ready.

Also hadn't anticipated the long walk down to the actual start line….wasted the guts on 10 mins queueing for portaloos only to find that there was dozens of free ones around the corner.

Got to the start area eventually and was moving almost straight away - conditions were near perfect so whatever was going to happen the weather wasn't going to be an excuse.

Should add I was wearing a boxfresh pair of Vaporflys (used them for my 32K LSR) which was a bit of a risk maybe but they'd felt grand on the long run so wasn't worried.

5K - 25:11

The crowd wasn't too bad in the opening miles - I remember having to dodge people before but it seemed less frenetic this time for whatever reason.

Settled into a nice rhythm on the quays

10K - 50:17

No issues through the Phoenix Park - the crowds deffo seemed bigger than last year. No sign of the deers either - my kids had watched a programme about them recently and I said I'd keep an eye out.

15K - 74:37

This looks to have been my fastest 5K split but can't remember why :-)

I'm guessing some gentle downhill sections were the main reason.

I'd been taking gels every 8K and felt like I've got a good whack off the first two

20K - 99:05

25K - 125:07

30K - 149:37

I genuinely can't remember anything specific from this 15K section 😐️

Not sure if that's a good sign or not - I suspect I was just totally zoned out possibly, I was still feeling good overall and had actually surprised myself with my consistent pacing.

From 15 miles on I had noticed a fair few people dropping out walking - no matter how good I'm feeling that's always something I find a bit distracting/disconcerting.

35K - 176:45

So I've hit the wall before in marathons and whatever this was it felt different - maybe my wall has changed shape or something 😄

My legs were still feeling tip-top, the most annoying thing was my shoulders which had decided to tighten up for reasons best known to themselves.

But I suddenly started feeling very mentally tired - I took a few walk short walk breaks - not to rest my body but my mind. I know that sounds weird but there's no other way of describing it. Fwiw - I'm sure my body was knackered too at this stage but normally I can trundle on.

During one of my micro walk breaks (around 38K I think) an older hipster runner fella patted me on the back and "Just cruise it home dude, cruise it home…"

Possibly the best advice I've ever received during a race….actually felt bad when I passed the guy out near the RDS 😅😅😅😅

40K - 204:06

Kept it cruising for another bit - knew I'd have one more stop to give the wife and kids a hug on the final stretch.

3:30 was long gone at this stage so I did a good lot of hi-5's and waves in the last couple of KMs and soaked up the atmosphere.

Spotted my gang in the crowd and gave them all sweaty kisses - have told them to enjoy this novelty because if I'm chasing a PB again I won't be stopping 😂

Put on a sprint of sorts for the finish and then realised I didn't know where or when the finish was - some fella on a mic was shouting "ONLY 1 MILE TO GO!!" well beyond 41K….I would have gone back and corrected him if I'd had the energy.

Enjoyed the new finish and crossed the line in a not too shabby 3:36….20 mins quicker than last year and 20 mins off my PB….very much a median performance but slightly better than I could have realistically hoped for.

tldr - a satisfying performance in the circumstances, no injuries, and the strong strong feeling that I have major unfinished business with the marathon distance.

Feeling pretty good since - no aches or stiffness…but still feeling super tired…have a follow up with consultant next week so the whole are of energy, sleep etc will be top of my agenda.

Next Steps - sign up for DCM 2025……will see how the next couple of months go and then make a call on whether to have a crack at the Limerick marathon

So everything seems to be hunky dory regarding marathon recovery.

Did a couple of walks during the first week and some general stretching etc.

Followed that up with a couple of low intensity cycles and then chanced a couple of short plods last week.

Did 9.5K on Sunday which felt good also, still feel like I've lost a bit of pace but not too concerned overall