If nice guys finish last, then I'm in training to be a badass!

tang1 wrote: »

Your being soft targetting 1.35 in Athlone off that 10 mile IMO, i ran 1.34.48 in Clonmel last week off a slower 10 mile than you by 20secs. Athlone is flatter and faster than Clonmel and i'd hope to go few mins faster there, you should be looking at 1.31-1.32 at least. Regarding the DCM issue i wont offer an opinion on that as i've succumbed to injury everytime i've tried train for a marathon.

Thanks for the input tang, I didnt realise that! Must have a look back over your log and compare notes! I would be over the moon with a time like that. I think I may adjust my plan now to prepare for Athlone, as I had a 17m & 18m LSR planned for the next 2 weekends but they are not really going to benefit me if I want a proper crack at the HM!

SamforMayo wrote: »

Well done on the race, look forward to the report. As for the marathon, what's the rush really, if you are enjoying the HM distance and you are worried about injury maybe you should hold off.

Thanks! Yeah exactly....I just think it would be better to build myself up more before doing another rather than flogging myself for possibly smaller returns!

I just haven’t had time to get around to writing a race report for the 10 mile as Ive been too busy as of late! So in a nutshell,

• The race was intended to be a HMP run, to test myself out for Athlone HM.
• I was unusually nervous and fidgety on the morning of the race for some strange reason (not usually fazed by racing, but was that morning even more than DCM last year!)
• Got myself in the middle but towards the front of Wave 1.
• Flew through the first 10k at pretty much perfect goal pace (4:30/km), then banked a few seconds on the Chesterfield Ave downhill.
• Found the hills a bit tough, and lost about 5secs/km for 2km here
• Didn’t think I had much of a finishing kick left coming towards the last km, but dug in and did the last km in 4:20 and the remaining 140m (by the Garmin) @ 3:25
• Came in at 1:12:17…..which was 17 seconds out from my goal but I had my pace dead on by my Garmin for the distance I ran, so happy with the result!
• Was pretty wrecked afterwards, and legs were sore for a few days but the remainder of the week went something like this……

Tuesday 26th

(4m) 6.4km @ 5:43/km – AVG HR 133bpm (72%)

Easy pace down to the local park and back. Legs still soreish but nice to get in my new FD10m t-shirt!


Thursday 28th

(7.1m) 11.4km @ 5:29/km – AVG HR 144bpm (78%)

Cycled into work in the morning, ran home in the evening!


Friday 29th

(7.3m) 11.6km @ 5:52/km – AVG HR 140bpm (76%)

Reverse of yesterdays mini-duathlon, so ran in the morning and cycled home in the evening! Legs were WRECKED after this though! Which has resulted in me taking a rest (from running) since.




I missed the planned 12m LSR at the weekend as I can feel a little niggle in my groin, reminiscent of last years injury, so I have taken it easy for a couple of days, I think I did too much too soon on return from the hols! I have been cycling to work though every day (a 20km or so round trip, but very easily paced) and hope to get back out for an easy run tomorrow evening after work. The Athlone HM is Saturday week, so want to make sure Im fit and ready to go by then and a little rest now won’t do too much harm I think, but a pity I missed my last chance for an LSR beforehand!!

Duanington wrote: »

You're moving along nicely Rob - well done on the FD result and best of luck in Athlone

Thanks, hopefully will be not too far behind you in Athlone....somewhere under 1:35 will do me!:D

Friday 5th

4.4m (7km) @ 5:21/km – AVG HR 142bpm (76%)

Same route as Wednesdays run this evening. Did the first 3km nice and easy and then did 2k @ HMP, then 2k more to cool down. Legs very sluggish/tired today though, not sure why considering a few days off over the last weekend!

Groin still a little tight, though not painful. Plenty of loosening out to do between now and Athlone!:o

Did 5k on Wednesday evening, and then went for a massage afterwards to alleviate some tight muscles. Felt great afterwards and thought that was me sorted for Saturdays race........until I stubbed my little toe full force into the corner of a tiled wall. Peeled the nail back a little and had blood all over the floor by the time I realised what I had done! Extremely painful yesterday, but feeling better today.

Really frustrated as I dont want to miss the race, so going to head down anyway and see how Im feeling by thr time it starts. May have to pull out or just totter around but hopefully not!!

Saturday 13th

Race Day: Athlone Flatline Half Marathon

In the week or so building up to the race, my legs were tired and had a bit of a niggling pain annoying me so I had taken it very easy and really taken advantage of the taper. I decided to go for a massage on Wednesday evening to iron out any creases in the hope that they would be fresh for Saturday (which they were....thanks for the recommendation ecoli!). But then that evening I had a mini disaster.......I stubbed by toe pretty badly while walking around the house, I honestly worried that I had broken it the next day it was so painful , but with a little TLC on Thursday and Friday it was back in good shape again.....well, good enough shape!


Pre Race:

Headed down to Athlone from Dublin with another boardsie. Quite foggy on the roads on the way down....we were kind of hoping that would stay down for a bit and shield us from the sun but we got no luck there and as everyone knows it was a bit of a scorcher that day, making conditions quite tough! We had arrived about 9am and picked up the race numbers, no hassle there and a great set up. Got chatting to a few other friendly runners while waiting for the start! Got lined up right behind the 1:35 pacers and was aiming for anything sub 1:35 (PB from 2013 Dublin HM is 1:44:01). Toe was feeling good too which was a relief!

Kms 1 - 5

And we were off, there’s nothing like the sound of a siren to make you start running!:P Found myself stuck directly behind the pacers as we made our way through the first km or so. I was finding it extremely congested though, more so than any other races Id done before....but then again I don’t normally run so close to a pace group! It took me until the 1 mile marker before I managed to find a gap and squeeze by them, and a couple of others followed me out in front then. Much better out there, plenty of open road out in front of me. Gave myself a couple of metres lead on the pace group and settled down in to my pace very quickly - pacing the pacers, as so :P. I aimed to use the horde of runners behind me as the driving force which would push me on to the end....and no way was I going to allow myself see the back of them again! These splits went by comfortably as so 4:24, 4:28, 4:26, 4:30, 4:26

Kms 6 -10

I honestly don’t remember a whole lot throughout the race, as it was unfamiliar surroundings and I spent most of the race attempting to find any shade I could at all....although there wasn’t a whole lot on offer. Just kept the head down and kept her lit, picking up two bottles at each station.....one of the head and one down the neck, a strategy that always works well on hot days! Through these in 4:26, 4:27, 4:26, 4:29, 4:31

Kms 11 -15

Went through the halfway mark and took the one gel I had with me just before the last water station. Didnt feel I really needed it yet, but though it was best to take it in before I did and it was too late. Getting very hot now, and starting to wonder if I could hold on until the end! Pace was still nice and steady though. Did these in 4:27, 4:35, 4:28, 4:30, 4:26

Kms 16 -21.1

Bloody hell, I was nearly melting by this stage. Really could have done with another water station towards the end, but knew there was none coming so just tried to focus on the finish line. Could hear the pacers behind me still and I was determined not to let them catch up......this is where my stubbornness and determination to get the job done comes in handy! I decided I needed to pick off some of the runners ahead of me to give me something to keep me going. Once you make the decision to overtake someone, you gotta hold your position, pride and all that!! So picked one off at a time over the last few km. Ill admit it was a serious struggle though, and Im not sure how I managed to maintain pace over the last 4km as I was running a few hundred metres thinking “Ill never finish this” and then a few hundred where I was thinking “No bother, PB in the bag!”. But I managed to pick it up for the final split and it was fantastic to cross that finish line in one piece when conditions had made it a difficult day all round. Last splits went like this 4:26, 4:26, 4:31, 4:31, 4:25, 4:19, 4:03 (140m)



Result:

New PB of 1:34:10!!! Delighted considering the stubbed toe during the week when I thought I wouldn’t be running at all! Enjoyed the beer at the finish line (nice touch) but before that I think I stood at the water table pouring cup after cup over my head until I cooled down to a normal temp! Then I feasted on bananas/oranges.....didnt see the muffins, very disappointed with myself! Met a couple of boardsies in the chute too, Marthastew and Emer911....good to see you both! I am pretty wrecked still after the race, and am giving myself a 1 week break now before I get back into it again! Will definitely be back to Athlone next year, brilliant race and great setup......well done to the organisers!

So in the last 3 HM’s my PB’s have gone 1:53:?? (Dublin 2012)----> 1:44:01 (Dublin 2013)----> 1:34:10 (Athlone 2014). As I have said on the log before, DCM is out the window for me this year and Im going to focus on knocking that time down even more. Im thinking Waterford HM in December is the next race on the list....and hopefully in cool December weather there is another PB to be had!


Split |[Avg Pace (per km)


1 | 4:24
2 | 4:28
3 | 4:26
4 | 4:30
5 | 4:26
6 | 4:26
7 | 4:27
8 | 4:26
9 | 4:29
10 | 4:31
11 | 4:27
12 | 4:35
13 | 4:28
14 | 4:30
15 | 4:26
16 | 4:26
17 | 4:26
18 | 4:31
19 | 4:31
20 | 4:25
21 | 4:19
.14 | 4:03


Summary| 4:27



Chip Time 1:34:10 (Shiny new PB :cool:)

Monday 22nd

5m (8km) @ 5:02/km – AVG HR 145bpm - (78%)

Back pounding the pavements again after my week off following Athlone. Nice easy 5miles this afternoon....very warm though! Just did the 1st km by feel and let that dictate the pace for the remainder then. Next goal race on the list is looking like Waterford HM in December....have yet to pick a plan to follow though but will try and sort one out in the coming days!

Quick update, not much going on at the moment though, still no time for anything these days!


Friday 7th

3m (4.8km) @ 5:03/km – AVG HR 151bpm - (80%)



Sunday 9th

2.6m (4.2km) @ 4:56/km – AVG HR 147bpm - (78%)



Wednesday 12th

2.5m (4km) @ 4:57/km – AVG HR 152bpm - (80%)



Saturday 15th

6.25 (10km) @ 5:12/km – AVG HR 152bpm - (80%)

2.5k warm up run down to St Annes Parkrun, surprisingly picked up a new PB at 21:18 and a 2.5k cool down run home.

New pair of runners I ordered arrived in to the shop today, so will try collect tomorrow and get out again over the weekend! That's about all for now!

Saturday 22nd

3.2m (5k) @ 4:05/km – AVG HR ?bpm - (?%)

Another parkrun, another PB! Came in this week at 20:24, very happy with that! My 5k PB has always been soft, so I am becoming more inclined to put a real PB time down for a post Xmas goal. If I can do 20:24 with pretty much no training, I should be well able to improve on that with some hard work!

Friday 5th

1.9m (3k) @ 5:06/km – AVG HR 146bpm - (78%)

Up this morning and down to the park for sunrise for a quick test run in my new XC spikes. Only a short run, but enjoyable running through the frosty trails on a chilly morning!!

Sunday 14th

Race Day: BHAA 5K XC Marley Park

Headed out this morning for my first XC race in Marley Park. Aiming for around 20:00 or so, ±30 secs!

Started a bit back in the pack, keeping an eye on the pace on my Garmin, but thought it was a bit slow for me, so pushed on and passed a few people......big mistake! About halfway in I started to find it tough going, its not so easy running on that terrain compared to the roads Im used to (not to mention the wind/long drag on each lap):(!! Couldn't manage to stick the pace, and had to pull back big time! A bit demoralising having everyone who Id charged past at the start pass me out again one by one. Knew my goal time was out the window, and just tried to keep going! Eventually came in at 23:07. Managed a strong finish for the last couple of hundred metres to keep a few behind at bay.

I was mad thinking I would knock out the same time as I could on the roads, but you live and you learn, eh?! It was a humbling experience to say the least !! Splits are below, and nothing to be proud of!:o Cross Country ≠ Road Running.

Anyway, I still enjoyed myself, a nice change of scenery and I plan on being back out for the other BHAA XC races over the next few months. Plus it gives me something to beat next time around!;)



Split |[Avg Pace (per km)


1 | 4:16
2 | 4:12
3 | 4:54
4 | 4:44
5 | 4:55


Avg Pace| 4:35

Monday 12th

5.5m (8.8k) @ 4:50/km – AVG HR ??bpm - (??%)

First day of a week off, so will be getting a few miles in this week. Out in the early afternoon for a reccy of the Raheny 5 route, took in about 4 miles of it. First half was grand, second half not so much, as I was battling against that bloody wind! Pretty knackered by the time I got home. Still have my fitness but lacking in stamina/endurance a bit in the legs these days!:( Lots of lost time to make up!!