Run run run run run run run....

So back to the super flat Marina course where I first ducked under 17 mins only 5 weeks ago, time to see how I've progressed having run some hillier (and hotter!) 5k's in between. Training has been consistent with plenty of speedy track work and I've stayed injury free so felt I had a good run in me today.

Just over 450 turned up on this nice and calm evening, though slightly humid. It also happened to clash with the Paulo Nutella gig which was on at the Marquee, traffic was a nightmare but nothing the organisers could do except wait for it to die down a little. It didn't die down so we just eventually had to start using one side of the road. I had gotten a nice 20 min warmup done around the course but started to feel restless standing around for over half an hour waiting. Finally the hooter went at around 8:20pm. I managed to get a good start this time though again like the last race it was a serious sprint start for a lot of people, must have been 30+ ahead of me but I kept my own pace, long way to go yet.

Mile 1
After a couple of minutes of hard breathing I settled into my pace, I started reeling in a few people and noted the pace hover around 5:20 on my watch, perfect. There was a distinct lead group of 6-8 after taking off and then a fairly large group of about 12 including club-mate RP who I've trained with in the last few weeks and knowing we're at a similar level I worked in with him at the front of the group. We cruised along nicely, felt pretty comfortable and breathing well hitting the first mile in 5:18.

Mile 2
A concern from the last few 5k's was that I was always losing ground on the 2nd mile so today I would focus and concentrate fully on that middle section, to really work hard and hold that pace and still finish strongly. Well that was the plan anyway but I knew if I could do that I'd persevere through the 3rd mile. On to the 2nd lap of the course, I was going along nicely with RP just on my shoulder. A green singlet had made a surge to the front but I didn't move just keeping my own pace steady. Soon he dropped off and I found myself slowly taking away from the group. I was definitely working hard here but kept my focus and was delighted to see the watch clock a 5:22 for the 2nd mile, it gave me huge encouragement to just get through the last section. Some brief inner words of encouragement to hold this pace till the end and on we go.

Mile 3
It was just pure perseverance for this mile, I was hurting but it was just a question of how long I could tolerate it. I felt my form was good, I was running strongly but the burn was there too. There was a navy singlet ahead of me at the start of this mile, he had gone with the lead group and I didn't even consider it a possibility that I'd catch him but slowly I started reeling him in throughout the last mile. I glanced at the watch with just under half a mile to go, still holding a 5:20 pace and I knew I was on for something special if I kept this going. I focussed on the top ahead of me, breathing heavily now but knowing a big PB is potentially around the corner was a huge incentive to keep going. We started to turn for the finish straight and I'm a couple of yards from navy singlet. Out of nowhere comes clubmate RP breezing past me, I knew he had a good finish in him from the track sessions so I wasn't hugely surprised. We both overtook the navy singlet at the same time but more importantly I had a glance at the finish clock, just ticking onto 16:10! Holy mackerel I'm on for a good one here! I gave it all I could on the finish straight and crossed the line in 8th place in a brand new PB of 16:27 still not sure if it was real or not. Final mile of 5:19, so I think pace-wise I (finally) got it spot on.

Really surprised myself out there today but I did feel there was a big performance in me and I think that middle mile gave me the confidence to keep going and finish strong. I have to admit I've exceeded my targets by a long way in the last 2 months, sub 16:30 was the yearly goal for 5k and only 5 weeks ago I was over the moon with a 16:56 on the same course. I don't expect these sort of rapid improvements all the time so I'm going to enjoy them while I can. Great confidence booster for the half marathon next week, will ease off slightly next week and give the body a good rest.

Summary: 5k in 16:27 @ 5:19 min/mile (8.4m total)

Full Results

Thanks lads. DR, yeah of course it's very tempting to keep this intensity going but if I step back and look at the last couple of months, the plan was to work on the speed and get the 5k time right down for marathon training. I think I've achieved that goal so perhaps its time to start shifting my attention to the endurance side of things, ramping up the milage slowly and getting a midweek long run in.

Talking to the coach last night, the marathon structure will be something like this:

Mon/Wed/Fri - Easy/Recovery running
Tuesday - Long Run
Thursday - Tempo
Saturday - Grass/Hills Session
Sunday - Long Run

What I might do after the half is to start easing a medium-long 12-15m run in midweek along with keeping up the doubles a few days a week, hopefully this means I peak just in time for Dublin.

Not sure to be honest but I doubt it, perhaps the Thursday session will sometimes be track work. However the training we do on a Saturday is usually similar to a track session, a mix of hill repeats and short fartlek type bursts usually. I think the hill work will be an important component of the training, hilly tempos....can't wait

One thing I think I was lacking in the last schedule was an extra midweek long run, I did it for Barcelona last year getting a 15 miler in every wednesday (P&D) and felt that made a big difference so I'm glad to see it back in there.

Sunday 13th July - 70 min Easy
Headed out to West Cork to a place called Gougane Barra which Jenny found on google. She headed off for a hike while I headed off for an easy run, didn't factor in the hills though. Beautiful area, spectacular views and loved running around here though the hills sucked the life out of me at times. Kept the average pace around 7:30 min/mile which was faster than expected but felt ok. Followed the run swiftly with a coffee, sponge cake and a dip in the lake, ridiculously cold, the lake.
Summary: 9.5m in 1:11:53 @ 7:32 min/mile (130bpm)

Monday 14th July - 80 mins Easy
First few miles were quick as I had the wind on my back and was downhill but when I turned at 5 miles the pace slowed, wind was right in my face and was faced with a few bumps. Plan was 10 miles but when I got back to the bottom of monster hill near my house I decided to tackle it, wasn't too bad just kept the stride short and pumped the arms. Session tonight and then easing off for the half marathon on Saturday.
Summary: 11.1m in 1:19:06 @ 7:09 min/mile (137bpm)

Tuesday 15th July - 8 x 200m + easy running
Didn't do a proper session today, was told to just sharpen up for the upcoming half on Saturday. Did 8 x 200's with a couple of girls getting ready for the nationals this weekend. They felt pretty comfortable running them all in 33 - 35 seconds and 200m recovery. Easy running before and after.
Total: 8.5m

Wednesday 16th July - 7 miles Easy
Impulsively bought a new pair of Kinvaras last week, saw them cheap so figured they'd do me for the marathon training. Took them out for a spin this evening, really nice shoes and ended up going quicker than anticipated but hey. It was a hot evening, pace was fairly quick for an easy run but I figured I'd work a little harder tonight and then ease it right down until Saturday.
Summary: 7m in 47:40 @ 6:48 min/mile (146bpm)

Thursday 17th July - 40min Easy + Strides
Went down to the club for this, casual run around the grounds of the Mardyke for 40 mins in a group followed by a few 100m strides. A day off of rest tomorrow so that's it now until Saturday eeeeep!!
Summary: 5.5m in ?? @ ?? (my GPS watch has a start button?...oh)

viperlogic wrote: »

Good luck today in the half

Came home 2nd overall in 1:16:19 today, report to follow tomorrow. Now beer time, come on Wexford!!

I entered this one a few weeks ago, felt I had been progressing well on the 5ks recently but wondered would that speed translate to the half marathon? We made a weekend of it anyway, headed down the Friday evening, grabbed a bit of grub and some live music (just the one bottle of beer keeping it safe) and got to bed early enough, disaster of a sleep though in a dingy hostel as everywhere else booked out pretty quickly.

Race morning, up at 6:45am, cup of coffee and off I ran down to the Gleneagles hotel to catch the 7:30am bus to the start line at Molls gap. I got another 10 minute warm up in when I got there and was feeling pretty relaxed but still a half an hour to start so I moved away from the crowd for a bit of solitude and sat on a rock to listen to music and enjoy the scenery. Soon I headed for the line, chatted with a lad from Donore for a while and before I knew it we were off.

The aim today was a 76:30, over 2 minutes off my last half in Cork 7 weeks ago. Ambitious I know but I had the advantage of two fast downhill miles and I felt I was in better shape so an average of around 5:50 min/mile would get me there.

Miles 1-3
The plan was to keep it conservative for the first 3 miles at 6 minute pace before the big downhill. I went out feeling a slight pain in my side but it quickly subsided and I settled into a comfortable rhythm. A few went out quite quickly, one in particularly in an Amphibian King vest who was out of sight after the first corner. I was sitting in about 8th or 9th, the first mile was slightly downhill and hit that comfortably in 5:52. The course levelled out now with a few small drags starting to appear. I passed a few lads who were slowing and then saw another 3 ahead of me, group of 2 and one on his own. A few climbs caught me by surprise with effort slightly increasing but I stayed strong on them and took the 2 runners ahead of me, one of them from local club Finbarrs and I recognised him as a decent runner from a few races. The next guy ahead who was sitting in 2nd had quite visibly gone out way too hard. I quickly reeled him in and passed him going up another drag in the 2nd mile, wondering why he's gone and exhausted himself already. So here I am sitting in 2nd place and almost 3 miles into the race, hugely surprising but a nice feeling. I knew I was going to have to work to keep this pace with the group of 2 lads just behind me. Hit mile 3 feeling I was working a little hard but had the drags out of the way and now it was time to descend.
Splits: 5:52, 6:03, 6:02

Miles 3-6
From the course map, miles 3 and 4 are visibly the quickest with a sharp decent followed by relative flatness for the remainder. These were easily the most comfortable couple of miles of the race running 5:34 and 5:36 respectively. I just let the legs do the work but had to be careful to run the racing line with all the sharp corners. I could hear the footsteps of the lads behind me for the first mile but by the time I had reached the bottom I couldn't hear them at all, I was just out on my own and it felt strange. Talking to the Finbarrs runner after the race he said he eased up for the downhills as they bolloxed his legs last year, I can say I'm definitely feeling it today in my quads, in ribbons! I was nice and relaxed coming off the 2 downhill miles, feeling confident but soon effort increased as the course flattened out again. I kept a decent pace for the next mile running 5:51 and knowing there's still a bit of work to do. Through 5 miles in 29:09 - PB!
Splits: 5:34, 5:36, 5:51

Miles 6-9
The course looks pretty flat on the elevation map after the downhill but in reality it was anything but. I had a good few drags and pulls to battle over these 3 miles, I was starting to feel the humidity kick in also and there was a decent headwind but I was working well keeping pace in the low 5:50's and this is where the real work was done. It was a little difficult being out on my own on what is probably mentally the most difficult section of a half marathon. I got a bit of a shock on the start of mile 7 to see the estimated mile pace at 6:20 while going up a drag but it soon levelled before a downhill followed and pace resume to sub 6, that was to be a familiar pattern for the remainder of the race so I just got used to it.
Splits: 5:53, 5:57, 5:53

Miles 9-13.1
I just continued weaving my way through the winding country roads, the rugged beauty of Kerry of absolutely no interest to me, I just focussed on the road ahead and maintaining my form. I was starting to tire a little and aching for that finish line. I turned off the main road on mile 10 and into the national park, I lost a few seconds turning some sharp bends but was feeling good coming into the last 5k. I hit 10 miles in 58:2x, new PB and seeing that on the watch gave me a lot of confidence to keep it going. I was worried a few times when I just found myself out on my own for long stretches on a narrow pathway without any directions. I had a steward on a bike ahead of me most of the race guiding me so I was so relieved when I finally saw him up above waiting for me, still on track. Because I had this cyclist with me most of the race, I wondered if I was actually leading the race and the leader had dropped out, one can dream but I was just purely focussed on getting the time I wanted.

I was running well through the park despite all the humps and bumps but I was working pretty hard. I started getting a bit of support from walkers and a few spectators, it was good to be back to civilisation again and the few cheers really helped. The last couple of miles just flew by, I had to negotiate my way around a few horse and carriages on narrow pathways and wondered how that would work for the big groups of runners behind but I didn't wonder for too long, more important things to worry about. Finally I hit mile 12 and repeated to myself "one mile to go, keep it going" along with some other inspirational things. I exited the park finally, knowing I was on a PB but no idea how close it would be. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the line come into sight and my watch read 1:15:xx. I knew I had a 76 in the bag but really didn't have a sprint finish, maybe had I had someone around me like Cork but I was happy enough to just maintain pace and and see it home. I crossed in 1:16:17 officially and in 2nd place as called out by the MC, damn it, your wasn't injured after all, he was just incredibly fast!! I was thrilled with that result but it barely registered with me at the time, just wanted to get in and sit/lie down. I joined the winner on the massage beds (perks of coming in early) for a rub down and had a chat with him. I was extremely impressed with his 71 mins, a whole 5 mins to spare on me but that's the level I aspire to get to one day.
Splits: 6:00, 5:53, 5:46, 5:46

Got a 2 mile cooldown in and headed walking back to the hostel but it proceeded to piss down from the heavens on me, I didn't mind I just had a big smile painted on my face. We headed back to the Gleneagle for 2pm to collect my prize which was a nice wooden plaque, 100 euro and free entry for next year, all washed down with a pint of ale Great weekend, great hurling by Wexford and couldn't have asked for a better race. Feeling confident heading into the marathon schedule in a few weeks so back to work next week.

Summary: 13.1m in 1:16:17 @ 5:49 min/mile (17.4m total)

yaboya1 wrote: »

Inspiring stuff.
And you've got some pretty soft PB's to take care of at some stage too going by what you say in the report. I used to regularly get a bus from Glengarriff to Killarney during the summertime over those MacGillicuddy Reeks. Not the place for an air conditioned coach, but a spectacular place to run I'd imagine.
Keep up the good work!

Thanks and great running yourself yesterday, back slaps all around! I'm sure it was a spectacular place to run, but I don't really remember it

Ya there are a few PB's I need to have a word with so I'll be checking out the race calendar for my next victim :pac:

Friday 25/07 - 45min easy + 4m easy

AM 6.0 miles in 46:37 @ 7:42 min/mile

Really can't seem to get legs going at this time of the morning but it's nice to take it easy. Still they're one of my favourite runs of the week, there's something nice about running around the desolate city roads before most of the country awakes.

PM 4.0 miles in 28:44 @ 7:06 min/mile

On the way to Wexford for the weekend so popped into Youghal for a jog and a run. Just wanted to build some more milage for the week so headed off on an easy 4 to make it 10 for the day. Pace felt surprisingly easy in the 4pm heat and went for a nice dip afterwards only to read about a bacteria warning for Youghal beach in yesterdays papers, now we wait.

Saturday - 60 mins easy

8.3 miles in 58:10 @ 7:01 min/mile

Nice jog around the town, hadn't been home in a few months so brought back all those lovely* memories of marathon training in the wind and rain. Feeling much recovered now from last week but was told to just keep running easy for the rest of the week which is probably a good idea, think an easy week will do me good.

Sunday - 14m Long

14.0 miles in 1:40:50 @ 7:11 min/mile

Nice simple out and back route, felt pretty good today and gradually built the pace up to finish in low 7 min/miles with plenty left in the tank. I need to start slowly ramping up the long run over the next few weeks and this was certainly a good start.

Weekly total: 70.9 miles.

All easy running this week and the sort of milage I need to be hitting at this stage as I know the marathon plan will creep up on me before I know it. Feeling good (and certainly well fed after that weekend) and ready for some sessions now this week.