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Running Through The Wall

Killerz

So, here we go again. An old training log retired, a new log begins…..

And thus begins my biggest challenge yet – the Connemara Ultra-Marathon. I am aiming to run (or crawl/ walk) this in April 2010. I have 3 marathons under my belt (Dublin 2008 – 3:49; Cork 2009 3:25; Dublin 2009 3:11) and a few halfies (PB Dublin 2009 1:28), so thought it was time to push myself a little more!:D

I have kept up a relatively good level of fitness since Dublin Marathon back at the end of October, so I am aiming to build back up to a 20 mile LSR weekend run prior to new year, and then start looking at back-to-back LSRs starting in New Year. I am loosely following Abhainn’s training plan (in terms of weekend LSRs) from Connemara Ultra 2008, trying to fit in around work and other commitments as best as possible. I don’t think I’ll be coming in sub-5 though! More aiming towards a sub 6-hour target, and I’ll see how that moves as we get closer to d-day.

I see a number of fellow boardsies are doing the Ultra, and I’m sure you’ll be a great source of inspiration and advice as I pursue this goal, indeed best of luck to you all!

I'll start posting updates from tomorrow onwards, all going well.

I picked up this nice quote on the internet to start with, which gives me a hint of what's ahead:

"If you start to feel good during an ultra, don’t worry you will get over it."
Gene Thibeault

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Killerz

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Hi, no I wasn't. Your fame goes wider I was reading the reports, Aquinn, murph and Anna's. Y'know I've always had a yen for twins but my child bearing days are definitely behind me and the sleep deprivation is ongoing so I'm going to pass on that particular method. I'm happy with my progress as is thanks! Maybe it's the sleep deprivation??

I see, now it is all clear. If you ever feel a temporary yearning for twins, you're welcome to half an hour with them when they are hungry - that would soon sort you out :eek:

annapr wrote: »

The twins have made guest appearances on half a dozen logs after parkrun, J! Good to see they're not slowing you down too much. Is Mrs K getting out for a run at all these days?

Hi Anna - she was, but strained her ankle a couple of weeks back and hasnt really been out much since. She'll be back!

FBOT01 wrote: »

Anna, did you not read his post? He has They have a nice little routine going so don't be trying to mess it up:D

I was not responsible for her ankle injury, but I have recommended some further rest!

Killerz

East of Ireland Lusk Half Marathon, 28th Feb

Signed up for this back in December as something to focus on in terms of keeping a reasonable level of endurance up into 2015. Training has been tipping along nicely, with speed coming to the fore rather than distance over the past couple of months. This was reflected in a good result in Raheny 5 mile and generally finding my easy runs getting faster - if that makes sense.

Longest run in this training cycle was 10 miles - that was last Monday week. 7 miles of this was at target HM pace. This was a bit loose, and was around 6:15/mile. Last HM was pacing 1:50, Clontarf November 2014. I went in to Saturday's race with a pb just above 1:23 (Mount Juliet, Feb 2013) and was going to go for it and try beat this time. I hoped there may be one or two other runners around this pace but was happy to just put the foot on the pedal and go for it if not.

So, it was the latter. I went for it from the off and stuck with it. Me on my tobler for two laps of Lusk countryside. Nice course - very few cars encountered, country roads and the odd bit of wildlife. Went at a pace that felt challenging but sustainable. Havent raced a HM in a while so was a little unsure what would happen after 10 miles!

First lap went by and felt good going into the second lap, though I knew mentally seeing the course for a second time could play some mind tricks. Overall course was reasonably flat, but with an uphill worth mentioning at about 4 and 10th miles. Weather was a bit of everything - sunshine, wind and rain. However the roads just seem to fly by and I was eating up ground quickly. Still wasnt 100% sure how far I was ahead - this kept me working hard. Was in two minds whether to push harder or conserve something and just secure the win. But why not both? So I pressed on, banging out the miles to one song that was stuck in my head - Bob Seger - Roll Me Away, which was the last tune that was on in the car before I parked up for the morning. So glad I switched off Spin 1038 and put on the Bob CD early in the drive :rolleyes:

There was a water stop at about 7 miles and then about .3 of a mile before the end (the second time I didnt take any!), but I drank the full 250 ml bottle from the first station over the course of the second lap. And carried the bottle to the second aid station and did not litter the countryside!

Anyhow, felt good throughout and finished strongly for a 1:21:17 and first place finish. On my own throughout. I feel there is another minute or two there to get under 1:20 without a huge amount of extra training, and I wonder had I been challenged, could I have pushed that bit harder and got that time? But that's a question for another day. Delighted with that - never managed a win before. Have had a first place finish at parkrun, but not a 'win'. Had the obligatory EOI reward of crisps, coke and chocolate afterwards, and to my surprise also won a trophy to go along with my medal! Cool!

Race Stats:
Overall Time: 1:21:17
Overall Position: 1st
Avg pace: 6:12/mi
HR: avg 171 max 186
Laps (1 mile splits except last one)
6:08
6:10
6:17
6:28
6:09
6:04
6:04
6:07
6:10
6:31
6:16
6:12
5:56
46 secs

The 6:28 and 6:31 miles are the ones with the hill!

Lovely course and well-organised race once again by the East of Ireland guys, led by Race Director Gary on this occasion. This is my 7th EOI event, and cannot fault these guys who are bringing affordable, well-organised and accurately measured and timed events to our doorstep.

Back in the car and home to Adam and Sadie who seemed indifferent as to Dad's success!

Next up is the MSB St. Pat's 5k on 15th March. Can't wait! Wondering then whether to go for a late Spring marathon, Wings for Life race or stick with stuff between 5 and 10k. Any thoughts?

Dubgal72

Fantastic result and deadly PB, well done, even more so on a solo run!

annapr

Well done on the win and the PB, J! can't imagine what that feels like to be out ahead like that for the whole race.

Killerz

annapr wrote: »

Well done on the win and the PB, J! can't imagine what that feels like to be out ahead like that for the whole race.

Thanks Anna. It was exactly like I imagined... think chasing a pace car down streets lined 10-deep with supporters

pgmcpq

Congrats on the win ! Great effort being alone upfront for so long.

Killerz

Took the opportunity to run at St. Anne's on Saturday. Wasnt feeling too great in the morning and didnt have much breakfast to speak of, but headed down to the park with the twinnies, to arrive just after 9 and meet parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt who decided to visit us for the day. Momsie Killerz was onsite and she offered to take the buggy so I could have a run out.

Idea was that I would build a couple of short target 5k intervals into the parkrun to prepare myself for the MSB 5k this coming Sunday. From the off, I felt the pace at the front was reasonable, so I said I may as well go with the front group and see what happened. I ended up in second place about midway through the first lap but was a few metres back and wasnt keen on pushing it to keep up with first place. The gap extended as we went down the avenue and while I believe I had the capacity to catch first place, I talked myself out of it with the main event next Sunday.

Soon after the start of the second lap I started to catch first place and was in line with him with about a mile left to go. Soon after that, I took first place and put the pedal down to build some distance and go out in front. I was working a little harder now, but still feeling strong going down the 900m stretch for home. Wasnt sure if I could hang on for the first place finish, but did in the end in a time of 17:09 - a new PB by about 9 seconds, and 15 seconds ahead of the second guy. Unexpected but nice result.

A good springboard for a tilt at sub 17 this Sunday in Dublin City. Looking forward to that now.

annapr

You make that sound so easy!!!

And lined at least 1 or 2 deep with supporters this time

Killerz

annapr wrote: »

You make that sound so easy!!!

And lined at least 1 or 2 deep with supporters this time

My report writing has to be done within short windows, so maybe I left out a few of the finer details including the toughness of it all

FBOT01

annapr wrote: »

You make that sound so easy!!!

And lined at least 1 or 2 deep with supporters this time

Anna, I have to say that he made it look very easy too.....I would be putting my money down now if I could get good odds on him going sub 17 on Sunday;)

Killerz

FBOT01 wrote: »

Anna, I have to say that he made it look very easy too.....I would be putting my money down now if I could get good odds on him going sub 17 on Sunday;)

Oh God, pressure is on!

Killerz

17:00 chip and gun time. Annoying that it wasn't a second faster but it wasn't my day and thought I was way off 17 before a sprint finish made it closer than it really was. Had a good start but was hanging on in from 1.5 k and lost a lot of time between 3 and 4 k . Just one of those things but will blast through 17 in the near future

Nice to meet so many boardsies today, hope everyone enjoyed it!

Murph_D

17 flat isn't so bad

annapr

Great time, Jamie, you will get there.

Killerz

After watching the videos on Facebook, I looked like I had a good case for at least a 1659 gun time. That, together with reading the msb thread on the events forum, I felt it was worth querying my time. I did so, and my time is now updated correctly to 1658! Sub 17.... all mine! Better late than never!

annapr

Killerz wrote: »

After watching the videos on Facebook, I looked like I had a good case for at least a 1659 gun time. That, together with reading the msb thread on the events forum, I felt it was worth querying my time. I did so, and my time is now updated correctly to 1658! Sub 17.... all mine! Better late than never!

See, told you you'd get there! Good for you for querying it.

Murph_D

Fair play J - a timing error like that would never happen in St Anne's.

Congrats!

Killerz

Thanks guys!

FBOT01

Murph_D wrote: »

Fair play J - a timing error like that would never happen in St Anne's.

Congrats!

Certainly not if Murph was on duty anyway

That was great running, J. Well done.

Murph_D

Another decision overturned by the video referee. Nice one J.

Killerz

Short report for this one now that the dust has settled.

Sub 17 was the target for this race, and out of everything that I have done this year in terms of PBs/ first places etc., getting under the 17mins was the one that mattered. I think parkrun the week before somewhat took the enthusiasm out of this for me... took the edge away - like a couple of calming pints the night before a big night out

... or maybe that's just me!

As a result I probably didnt pay enough attention to my preparation for this race. Also, we decided to bring the babies into town to watch this one so there was a fair bit of getting them set to bring them in and I was pretty edgy and tired by the time we made it to the Mansion House. Anyhow - good buzz in there and nice to meet a few boardsies.

I got a good starting spot, just a row or two back, conscious of the risk of bunching on that first corner. Got a great start, and off I went. Felt very good for the first mile, and was ahead of target, but I started to tire very quickly in the second km, and people started passing me. The third and fourth kms didnt get much better and I felt like I was slowing. Still was on pace for sub 17 but didnt have the will to push it. Back around by the Shelbourne Hotel and I felt the sub17 slipping away. Down the final straight which was downhill and I see the clock ticking down from 16:50. I absolutely pelted it - check out the video and you'll see me in flourescent green steaming in down on the right hand side. Felt I crossed the line in around 17 flat, and stopped the watch after that. Wasnt sure - could have gone either way. Left it way too late, thought I was well off sub 17 but the clock pushed me on.

Was pretty disappointed with myself as was so close. Saw the results as I was heading on home and 17 flat confirmed what I thought. Later on that evening, someone mentioned the video to me and I had a look at it. I was clearly well over the line by 16:59 so thought it was worth checking. Turns out I did 16:58 and the results were updated accordingly on Monday evening. Delighted with that, although like someone being upgraded retrospectively due to a drugs cheat being stripped of their medal, it wasnt quite the same as getting it on the day.

So, I am a sub17 5k person now.... nice.

Stats per watch:
Avg pace: 5:30/mi
Avg HR: 177; Max HR: 186
Mile 1: 5:26
Mile 2: 5:28
Mile 3: 5:41
.1 mile: 0:25

Wings for Life in May is up next - not sure if I'll do anything between now and then.

yaboya1

Well done Jamie.
Have you managed to run a race without winning/pb'ing since you had the twins? Forget JD/P&D etc., that is obviously the secret

FBOT01

yaboya1 wrote: »

Well done Jamie.
Have you managed to run a race without winning/pb'ing since you had the twins? Forget JD/P&D etc., that is obviously the secret

Go for it, P

Killerz

yaboya1 wrote: »

Well done Jamie.
Have you managed to run a race without winning/pb'ing since you had the twins? Forget JD/P&D etc., that is obviously the secret

Cheers yaboya. You seem to be doing very well yourself without resorting to the A&S (Adam and Sadie) plan! Although as FBOT says - go for it! Worth a shot for your next training cycle

HelenAnne

Killerz wrote: »

Cheers yaboya. You seem to be doing very well yourself without resorting to the A&S (Adam and Sadie) plan! Although as FBOT says - go for it! Worth a shot for your next training cycle

would just BORROWING A&S for a race day have the same effect??

(I find what works for me is running a race when Eoin isn't there to watch me -- I usually win something, or get a PB.)

Killerz

HelenAnne wrote: »

would just BORROWING A&S for a race day have the same effect??

(I find what works for me is running a race when Eoin isn't there to watch me -- I usually win something, or get a PB.)

Funny you should say that, Helen.... my two first place finishes at St. Anne's parkrun, my half marathon win, my first ever race podium in Canada, any of the bhaa races where I've been part of the winning team - Gemma wasn't there for any of them...

You can borrow A&S whenever you want!
I'd be happy to test your borrowing theory!

HelenAnne

Spouses! They jinx us when they are there! (Though Eoin very kindly did come out to cheer me on in the Urban Trails race yesterday, despite having run an ultra the day before, and I came 2nd there, so perhaps his jinx is wearing off?)

And your family were there when you ran sub-17, so maybe Adam & Sadie's good luck charms outweigh Gemma's jinx?

(Only joking, Gemma & Eoin, btw).

Very well done again on your sub-17. What a time! Amazing!

Killerz

HelenAnne wrote: »

Spouses! They jinx us when they are there! (Though Eoin very kindly did come out to cheer me on in the Urban Trails race yesterday, despite having run an ultra the day before, and I came 2nd there, so perhaps his jinx is wearing off?)

And your family were there when you ran sub-17, so maybe Adam & Sadie's good luck charms outweigh Gemma's jinx?

(Only joking, Gemma & Eoin, btw).

Very well done again on your sub-17. What a time! Amazing!

2nd place yesterday? Congrats. Forgot that race was yesterday or I would have gone for a look! Nice running.... but maybe you would have finished first if Eoin wasn't there?!!

HelenAnne

Killerz wrote: »

2nd place yesterday? Congrats. Forgot that race was yesterday or I would have gone for a look! Nice running.... but maybe you would have finished first if Eoin wasn't there?!!

If I am being honest, I'd really don't think I could have caught the first woman, but I'm telling Eoin that I would have if he hadn't cheered us both on and let her know I was just behind her about 500 metres from the finish. She sped up and beat me by 5 seconds

Killerz

Wife and babies gone to Limerick for the week, so a chance to get some drinking running in. Oh how life has changed. 14 rain soaked miles on Monday night (longest run since the 5th of 5 marathons in 5 days last September) - went out along the Grand Canal to Blackhorse, through Inchicore, into Phoenix Park, a few miles in there, then North Circ Road, through Phibsborough, Drumcondra and home. Long time since I've done that particular run and apart from the appalling conditions, it was good. 14 miles in 1:46, avg pace 7:35/mi.

This was followed by a slow 5.2 mile plod into work on Tuesday morning.

Raheny 1 Mile

Took the opportunity then tonight (Weds, 8pm) to do the 1 mile race in the Raheny Winter League series. Conscious that I had a few miles in the legs over the last couple of days, but had the opportunity to do the race considering the free gaff, so I took it. 3 miles nice and easy pre race. Target was sub 5 mins all going well (PB was 5:05 from back in Summer 2013).

Went out with the first couple of lads who were flying but I was keeping an eye on the watch, which was teetering between 4:58 and 5:00 (lap pace) over the first quarter mile (which was straight into a headwind). Around the corner and with the wind on the back it felt a little easier, but lap pace now pretty much bang on 5:00. I was hanging on as we passed half way, and it was sometime around now that first and second place were changed over. I was in third and could hear fourth place behind me, but not getting any closer. I was within striking distance of first but realistically didnt have the energy to catch - needed to keep the head firmly on my goal.

Around the final bend with .2 of a mile to go and my watch was showing average pace 5:01. First was well gone but second was still there, however they looked like they were moving well. With the finish line firmly in sight, I decided to put it all out there and just gun it to try and beat 5:00. And I did. I took 2nd place just before the line and finished in 4:51. Second place was nice, but the sub 5 was the most satisfactory bit. So I got my April PB in early

hr avg 176, max 183. 1 mile cool down, tea and biscuits in the Raheny clubhouse with some familiar faces including HelenAnne and Macanri, before another mile jog home.

A good evening.

LOVING the short stuff at the moment. Doing the 14 mile on Monday felt like a 20 miler!