Times for improvement....

Krusty_Clown · 07-10-2009 10:47pm

Well done in the 1m intervals. This was one of two runs that gave me the confidence to go for a good target for my race. The next two weeks will fly by. Nearly there!

rigal · 07-10-2009 11:10pm

Killerz wrote: »

It's probably a bit early to ask (but i'm sure you've thought about it) - with London out of the question, have you got any marathons planned/ pencilled in for the year ahead?

You know me too well Killerz

. Short answer is I'm undecided. Long answer is -

I had thought about an alternative Spring Marathon (possibly Edinburgh again) but now I'm thinking I'll wait until Autumn 2010 or Spring 2011. I'm hoping that I'll break 3:30 in amdam and then 3:15 for my next marathon so I reckon I need to get used to running faster over shorter distances before I attempt that. In my head I'm thinking I'd be best going for a sub-1:30 half before next summer and taking it from there.

That said I change my mind daily and it'll all depend on 1) how I get on Sunday week

and 2) how much will cycling eats into my running time next year..

rigal · 08-10-2009 9:57pm

Thursday 08.10.09

Day 4/Week 11 of the P&D 12 Week Plan

Recovery run w/ speed 6 x 100m - 5.19M time: 43:42, average pace: 8:27 mins/mile, average HR: N/a as didn't bring it

Went to see the physio again tonight for the last session before the marathon. She did more dry needling on the right itb band which was sore but not as bad as last week. She thinks that this treatment should hopefully get me through the race without any significant itb band problems.

I bought a 6 bottle fuel belt for the race in Irishfit today. There will only be cups of water/sports drink at the stops during the marathon so I reckon this is my best strategy. I don't like stopping mid-race.

Oh, and weighed myself earlier this evening and came in at 12 st and 0 lbs so very happy with that. I think I was definitely 4/5 pounds heavier in Edinburgh and it's the lightest I've been for about 7 or 8 years. I was aiming for 11.75 st but no cycling and a forced reduction in mileage put an end to that plan last month.

rigal · 10-10-2009 8:11pm

Friday 09.10.09 - rest day

Saturday 10.10.09

Day 6/Week 11 of the P&D 12 Week Plan

AM - Recovery run - 3M time: 26:29, average pace: 8:50 mins/mile, average HR: N/a as didn't bring it - can't find the strap!

PM - 30 mins stretching and core work

Right thigh was still a bit tender this morning from the dry needling on Thursday night so I decided to do a slow easy run to loosen it up and speed up the recovery process. It worked somewhat and I did core work and stretching this evening as well.

Hopefully it won't give me too much bother on the 12 miler tomorrow. Energy levels have been a bit low for the last few days so keeping the fingers crossed I'm not coming down with something. Work has been hectic this week so it might just be that or taper hypochondria :rolleyes:...

rigal · 11-10-2009 9:13pm

Sunday 11.10.09

Day 7/Week 11 of the P&D 12 Week Plan

Medium Long Run - 12M time: 1:36:57, average pace: 8:04 mins/mile, average HR: 167

I decided to give it the whole dress rehearshal bit this morning. I wore my newly acquired 6 bottle fuel belt, ronhill singlet and took a gel at 5 and 10 (1/2 gel at 11.5 miles - see below) miles as per my race plan.

I ran from Brittas Bay towards Arklow for 5 miles then turned and ran back adding on the two extra miles on the flat at Brittas Bay to bring the total to 12. Lovely route and enjoyed the gentle rolling hills and scenary. The roads were pretty quiet.

I ran at the following paces:

Miles 1-3 - Target 8:20 Actual: 8:18 / 8:10 / 8:12

Miles 4-7 - Target 8:10 Actual: 8:12 /8:11 / 8:06 / 8:10

Miles 8-12 - Target 8:00 (PMP) Actual: 7:58 / 8:02 / 7:57 / 7:51 / 7:43

I'm delighted with the singlet (usually wear a t-shirt) but found the fuel belt very annoying as it bounced around a lot and I felt it was weighing me down until I drank a few of the bottles. I'm not yet decided if I'll race with it or not. I'll do a few more runs with it and then make a decision.

I took half an Overstims gel (see link below) after 11 miles just to see what effect it had. I'm planning on taking one with about 5 miles to go in the race. It seemed to give me a quick and very powerful energy boost! I could feel it in my legs after a minute or two and naturally lifted the pace to 7:00 without really noticing :eek:. I only took half the gel so I'll keep one in my pocket as a secret weapon at the end of Amdam should I need it.

http://www.running.ie/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=&idproduct=1754

ITB band was a little sore during the run but I expected that.

rigal · 13-10-2009 9:17pm

Monday 12.10.09

Day 1/Week 12 of the P&D 12 Week Plan

Rest + did 30 mins stretching and core work

Tuesday 13.10.09

Day 2/Week 12 of the P&D 12 Week Plan

Recovery Run - 4.97M time: 44:03, average pace: 8:52 mins/mile, average HR: 140

Ran on the grass around Marlay Park after work with arnied. Nice relaxed run, felt good.

osnola ibax · 13-10-2009 9:50pm

Hey rigal, not long to go now, not sure when you are heading out so just wanted to get in early with the good luck wishes.

Cheers for the advice and support over recent weeks, I'm sure you'll get your goal in the 'Dam

rigal · 13-10-2009 10:05pm

osnola ivax wrote: »

Hey rigal, not long to go now, not sure when you are heading out so just wanted to get in early with the good luck wishes.

Cheers for the advice and support over recent weeks, I'm sure you'll get your goal in the 'Dam

Thanks OI. I hope you're right. After the ITB problems I had I guess I should just count myself lucky and enjoy it... Hope yours clears up soon as well.

kennyb3 · 14-10-2009 9:08am

Best of luck rigal, hope it all goes to plan at the weekend. will be away myself so look forward to the report on monday morning.

i see you mentioned on carb's log your getting a turbo, have you decided which one? just seen your post on my log. thanks

rigal · 14-10-2009 11:10pm

Wednesday 14.10.09

Day 3/Week 12 of the P&D 12 Week Plan

Regular Run - 7M (with 2M @ PMP) time: 58:43, average pace: 8:23 mins/mile, average HR: 145

Ran in Marlay park again with arnied. My last three runs have been done with the water belt and it's still annoying me so I haven't yet made a decision on whether or not I'll race with it. :rolleyes:

We're flying out late Friday morning so I'll squeeze an easy 3 miler in before I leave just to keep the legs ticking over. That'll be it then until Sunday.

Krusty_Clown · 15-10-2009 9:52am

For what it's worth, I train with a drinks belt, for long runs (15 miles+), but recently (lost an inch or two on the waist), it's been annoying the sh1t out of me. I didn't bother with one in either of the last two marathons (Connemara (bottles) or Berlin (plastic cups) and got on fine. The Isotonic gels help, as you don't need to rely on a water station to take one. I guess it depends on how regular the water stations are in Amsterdam.

Anyway, before you head off, very best of luck in the marathon. I'm keen to see how the P&D 55mpw 12 week pays off. I hope you get the kind of race and result that your hard work deserves. Enjoy the experience.

metamorphosis · 15-10-2009 10:31am

Best of luck Rigal. Looiking forward to the race report. Will make a nice read in prep for dublin.

asimonov · 15-10-2009 5:07pm

good luck rigal. remember, start as fast as you can, don't bother with water or gels and finish strong

rigal · 15-10-2009 9:42pm

Thanks guys, appreciate the comments and good wishes.

KC - I'm swaying towards not wearing the belt but am still not 100% decided. It is doing my head in at this stage. I should really have made my mind up weeks ago and stuck to it. At least it's keeping me distracted from thinking about the actual race though.:)

Asimonov - you should be a moderator for a day. It'd be funny..

RacoonQueen · 15-10-2009 9:56pm

Good luck rigal.

Killerz · 15-10-2009 10:13pm

Best of luck on Sunday Rigal - enjoy the sights of the 'Dam.
Forget the water belt I say.

--amadeus-- · 15-10-2009 10:13pm

I wouldn't bother with a belt either, but that's just me.

Best of luck on Sunday - not that you need it, injury hiccups apart you've really put the work in so the performance will follow. Goed geluk!!

showry · 15-10-2009 11:23pm

Good luck Rigal, enjoy.

BeepBeep67 · 16-10-2009 7:46am

Have a good one!

rigal · 19-10-2009 9:04pm

Chip Time: 3:26:47

I just got back this evening and am still a bit shocked at how well the race went yesterday.

We arrived in Amsterdam on Friday afternoon, checked into our apartment and then headed to the Expo in the Sports Hall beside the Olympic Stadium.

Not a lot happened between arriving in Amsterdam and the beginning of the race on Sunday other than eating loads of pasta (visited an Italian both nights) and watching dvd's.

I had a bad night's sleep on Friday night (about 3 hours in total) because of the late night revellers in the street below our apartment. I managed to grab an hour on Saturday afternoon and moved bedrooms on Saturday night so by the time Sunday morning came I felt well rested. My last run was on Friday morning when I did a 2.5 miler with the deerhunter before we headed off. It was good to loosen out the legs and keep things ticking over.

The race started at 10:30 so we didn't have to get up too early. I had my usual long run breakfast of muesli and had a round of toast with some peanut butter before we left. We took the metro to the stadium where the race was starting and finishing. Everything was well organised and there was no hassle with the bag drops etc. The weather was perfect for running – a light, cool breeze with some autumn sun.

We did a quick warm up and stretch then Arnied and I made our way to the 3:30 pen on the running track in the stadium and squeezed in about 50 metres behind the pacers.

Once the race started and we were out of the Stadium I noticed that the pacers were now about 150 meters ahead of us so we decided to gradually catch up with them over the first 2-3 miles. After about 5kms I noticed that my average pace on the Garmin was about 7:45 but I felt comfortable and given that we were in the pace group was happy to continue at that.

I had decided to wear my water-belt for the race and wore three bottles on the belt and carried one. I tried to limit myself to 1 bottle every five miles, which was plenty for the most part, and it was good to have it there anytime I wanted a sip.

After about 15 miles I was still feeling good and remembered how much I was suffering at the same point in Edinburgh which gave me great confidence. From miles 15-20 I was waiting for the wall to come but it didn't. At the 20 mile mark I was still feeling strong, average pace was 7:49 on the watch. I noticed that nobody was talking to each other in the pace group anymore and I could see a few starting to suffer. At this stage I was at the front of the pace group running directly behind the pacers.

I took the last of 4 torq gels at mile 20 and decided that I would go for it at the 5km to go point if I still felt this good. At mile 22 I was starting to tire a little more but I knew that I still had the Overstims gel to take so that kept me positive. With 5kms to go I took the gel and ran ahead of the pace group. It was a nice feeling just being able to move up a gear like that. I started to pass a lot of runners as I ran through the vondelpark and was conscious not to get too carried away and run too fast.

Once I was through the park I was starting to get very thirsty and had no water left. I was so glad to see the water station at 40kms and when I got to that point I knew for sure that 3:30 was going to happen. As I approached the stadium I could hear the crowds inside cheering and the music playing and I definitely had a few goose bumps and a healthy dose of adrenaline as I approached the running track. I picked the pace up another notch for the 200m or so of track that we had to run to the finish line. It was a great buzz finishing in front of the crowd like that.

Thanks to everyone who posted on my log over the past few months and those who wished me luck last week as well. I'm not sure what I'll do next but I'll be sure to post here once I know.

Garmin link and splits below -

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/16681388

Net split times (difference)5 Kilometer24:30 (24:30)10 Kilometer48:50 (24:20)15 Kilometer1:13:24 (24:34)20 Kilometer1:38:12 (24:48)Half marathon1:43:4725 Kilometer2:02:52 (24:40)30 Kilometer2:27:56 (25:04)35 Kilometer2:52:58 (25:02)40 Kilometer3:16:40 (23:42

)

--amadeus-- · 19-10-2009 9:09pm

Huge congratulations. Great great run, controlled and disciplined. Sounds like it all went right for you on the day and a just reward for all the training.

Nice one!

osnola ibax · 19-10-2009 9:35pm

Yesssssss, been waiting for that report since yesterday, absolutely delighted for ya, sounds like a great experience especially on the track, well done rigal, enjoy some time off think about the next goal

BeepBeep67 · 19-10-2009 10:38pm

Well done Rigal great pacing, you must be chuffed, enjoy the celebrations and rest!

showry · 19-10-2009 10:41pm

nice one Rigal, well done

tisnotover · 19-10-2009 10:45pm

great going Rigal, well done!!

ike · 20-10-2009 9:37am

Well done rigal, sounds like the perfect race, great stuff!

asimonov · 20-10-2009 10:17am

Good going rigal, I took a sneaky look at the results on sunday - great last 10km.

Krusty_Clown · 20-10-2009 10:21am

Well done Rigal. Delighted to see you got your just desserts, and great pacing overall. I see your pace over the finish line was 5:29min/mile!!

Looks like the route was very flat. Would you recommend it for a fast marathon?

kennyb3 · 20-10-2009 8:40pm

Congrats rigal, delighted for you. what do you plan for next year after your break?

Killerz · 20-10-2009 9:10pm

Great stuff Rigal - well deserved. I for one am not shocked at how it went for you - super preparation, dedicated training programme, a relatively okay lead up (poor sleep on friday aside) and everything clicking into place for you on the day.

To be able to dig deep like that at the end and power home - fantastic!

Times for improvement....

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