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DCM 2015: Mentored Novices Thread
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donegalpaddy wrote: »Ok so done my LSR of 15 miles today and will do 13 mile next week instead. Average pace 9.25 min per mile. Last 2 miles was tough. Know i still need to slow it down a bit. Going for 3.50 in dublin
Yup
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I've been a bit all over the place since the Clontarf HM to be honest. Really shocked at how bad I did and lost a lot of confidence.
I kept running even though I wasn't enjoying it (just couldn't face reading or posting about running). I'm hoping the Fingal 10k tomorrow will give me some confidence back. I've prepared well in my opinion. I hope I feel good in the morning. Think I've been putting too much stress on performing well in races. I build it up in my head and it becomes a huge test - which only means disaster mentally when I don't do well. So trying not to think too much!
!
Wishing you especial good luck. Don't forget you had mitigating circumstances in Clontarf too. That's an especially tough race with the wind and sand added. I was talking to an athlete who completed in 1:36. "Never again" she said about that race!
Looking forward to hearing how you do
I read the ironman heart rate article. We're talking from the same page when it comes down to it but you might find this (from Clearlier) more useful for establishing your max heart rate.0 -
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So time to do my race report from today's Run Killarney Half Marathon.
Preparation
Thursday evening...
Struggled with my final run before the race, this was the 1m w/u 4m pace 1m c/d but got some nice words on here so said just do the best you can with it. The training has been going well so far.
Researched what I could online about the race to find out what info I could on the route and previous race threads online here. Seem to be a lot advising to not go completely flat out going down the hills as when it levels out you will really struggle. Started to think of what my pace was possibly going to be or moreso attempted pace.
Friday
daytime...
Looked at my previous half marathon race where I managed an average pace of 8:43min/mi so decided that I should be able to beat that through a combination of a good months worth of training in the mean time and the downhills at the start. Decided to go for a pace of 8:40min/mi which according to a calculator would give me a time of 1:53:40....two mins off my previous PB. Printed out a pace band off runnersworld that I could refer to during the race if I wanted too to be sure I wasn't going too fast.
evening...
Got all my gear together, tried on my club singlet (second time using it, first time in a race) and affixed my race number using my number magnets.
Left on my gear ready to go for first thing as it was going to an early start at 5:20am.
Not knowing what way conditions were going to be I packed both a hat (was gonna use if very heavy rain), sun cream and sunglasses (if by chance it was sunny).
As I was driving over to the race event I actually packed spare shorts, socks, club top and even runners. Given I had the car with me I might as well let that obsessiveness behavior have full reign in preparation in case I wasn't happen with something. Got to bed around 10pm and went to sleep pretty soon afterwards.
Race day
Saturday morning, I woke at 5:09am....the internal clock was working well this morning and it was up and at the day.
Showered, put on my running gear and a pair of tracksuits bottoms and running jacket (said I might as well keep as warm as long as I could). It was hard to call the weather so put on sun cream just in case (my shoulders got nicely toasted on a lsr I worn the singlet on a few weeks back).
Had a small breakfast and a berocca before hitting the road at 6:15. Sipped a bit of High 5 drink on the drive over.
Made it to the Gleneagle Hotel for 7am, strolled into the hotel and used the facilities (number 1 and number 2, good sign for the day!). Back out to the car park then and onto the bus for the 40-45min drive to the startline. Brought a small bag with a banana, my sunglasses and hat in it and to dump my running jacket and tracksuit bottoms in.
Admired the scenery on the drive up the hills, took not at how many turns there was on the route and the amount of ups and downs. Figured I'd try get myself a decent running line with the turns if I could. I had a chat with the guy beside me on the bus as well, nice fella was telling me about his experience of running the race in previous years so tapped him to find out what my strategy on holding back on the hills a good one knowing what was to come. He pointed out that there is a lot of ups and downs once it levels out at 6 miles and people struggle with that. I wanted to have my legs good to go at that point so why burn up on the hills even going down hill.
At the starting area I took advantage of the half an hour to get another trip to the toilet in and start doing some warm ups. I actually did two warm ups, one with my jacket and tracksuits pants on and another one about 15mins before the race once I exposed my bare arms and legs to the morning air.
Bumped into a friend from the running group in Tralee who was running also today. I had hoped to bump into Chris, I was gonna check his profile pic on Strava when I got there but good oul O2/3 had no coverage. Sorry Chris if I walked passed you or anything. I was the cold looking fella in the blue St. Brendan's AC vest if you saw me.
Also I ate a small banana about 20mins before we started and drank some water.
At 8:35 we were called to assemble in the starting area, things didn't take too long and as conditions appeared to be taking a turn for the worse (no hat or sunglasses needed) we got underway at 8:42 (3 mins early).
Mile 1...8:16
Quick start, I keep an eye on my HRM to see I wasn't going too hard but I think the downhill was the main driver of the quicker than planned pace.
A lot of people around me seemed to be absolutely flying it at the start but I said I will go as I feel here now and hold back a bit to not overdo it.
Mile 2....8:37
Little bit of kick upwards in this mile and could see the first lot of people start to wilt. Passed a good few on the short hill here before we were back to the down hill running. The scenary was ridiculously good to be honest. Really nice place to run.
Mile 3....8:45 (25:38 for the 3 miles, 26:01 was the target)
Settled into pace at this point and was enjoying it.....watching my pace and effort but was feeling good. Time was a bit slower this split but I think we'd a few more kicks up and down in this mile. Also there was a water stop so took a few sips on.
Mile 4....8:01 and Mile 5....8:05
Grouping these two together as they kinda ran into other in regards being the fastest part of the course. All downhill with a 90 degree turn at ladies view as well. Felt I was feeling really good at this point and was confident of breaking my personal best but not sure by how much.
Mile 6...8:24 (50:08 for the 6 miles, 52:03 was the target)
Finally the end of the main downhill section and now the real race was on. At this point I knew my PB was in the bag barring a blow up or injury and was wondering could I actually break my target time as well. The race started to feel a lot harder now as it was generally flat or else up/down hill pretty often.
At 6.5 miles I took the one gel I had decided to bring with me for the race, happy with that decision at all points of the day.
We also got water at this point, there was fruit offered as well but declined.
Mile 7....8:34
The miles start to run into each other now, also I had lost sight of the 1:50 pacers who I had seen at the start but was not trying to keep up with them.
Just kept plugging along then with all the ups and downs.
Mile 8....8:42
More of the same
Mile 9....8:52 (1:16:16 for 9 miles, 1:18:05 was the target)
We had a short sharp downhill here just before taking a sharp left into Muckross Park. I had been running alongside/behind my colleague from Tralee during this mile but I pushed on a bit more as I was feeling like I could.
Mile 10....9:00 (1:25:16 for 10miles and new PB for 10 miles, 1:26:46 the target)
Running what appeared to be a trail run for quarter of a mile with some zig zagging under trees....GPS was useless but kept my effort the same based on a quick glance at my HRM. At this point in the race there was 3 miles to go so decided to push on my best to give it what I had.
Mile 11....8:15
Really flying it now, wondered could I do a few more of these at this pace. Was enjoying running in the park and was passing a lot of people at this late stage.
Mile 12....8:38
Starting to feel the pace now and starting to tire. One final hill in the park kinda did for me a bit and just said I would just keep my pace where it was at for now as there was no more pushing left to be done really and I had my time.
Mile 13....8:58
Yup I was done diddly done at this stage, wanting the race to be done...the callusus I've had under my right foot for a few years now was starting to ache a little bit so was a bit concerned was their a blister forming (there was not....thankfully).
Finish....1:52:28 (target was 1:53:40, previous PB was 1:55:40)
Delighted going the line, really was but proper tired to be honest. Felt I had given it my best and those last 7miles had been hard going but I was delighted with the result. Breaking the PB was a nice one but exceeding my not unreasonable target was a real bonus.
Nice t-shirt to add to the training rotation and a good chunky medal. Ate a hotdog, changed out of my gear, posted a note on boards, meet some clubmates who were doing the 10K and saw Gary O'Hanlon take the marathon title. All in all an enjoyable day.
Good luck to everyone running tomorrow.
Loved reading this diego, thanks for that, stellar race report. Lots of great detail, from your mid-week prep analysis, your course prep, race profile prep, pace band (excellent touch!), evening before prep and morning prep including arriving in plenty of time to relax and warm up. You had all options covered, essentially you controlled all the controllables so it's not so surprising it all wrapped up into a near-perfect race and PBs - plural!!
Well done 0 -
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Heard that too PJD but heard she was okay too. Only second-hand though so can't confirm whether it's true or not. Saw another casualty outside the Airtricity tent but he was giving the thumbs up for a photo whilst being carted off on a stretcher so I think we can assume he is okay too!
Better do my race report while I'm here as I'm off to Longitude in a little bit.
Pre-race: Had the place to myself last night so got all organised, packed my bag, pinned my number to my top, stretched and rolled, glued my garmin back together after it fell apart and got a good nights sleep.
Up this morning, had my normal breakfast and got ready to head to Swords. My soleus had been fine yesterday but this morning I could feel it so had a little stretch before I left. I also had a bit of 'the fear'. I can't explain it but mentally was not 100% looing forward to it, the weather was overcast and cold and I was just a bit meh. I did my best to banish those thoughts, put on the Chems and blasted them the whole way to Swords to improve my mood.
Headed to the loo in the Pavillions and then down to the start line. Had some time to kill so queued for the loo again to silence the voice in my head telling me I needed to go. It was fecking freezing but I togged off and went for a mile warm up. Soleus felt fine after as in I couldn't feel it again. Then down to the start line to wait for the race to start. They had a drone over the start line - cool!!
Mile 1 @ 9:27
And then we were off. I was under physio orders not to race. She set a time of 9:45 and I sort of stuck to it as you can see. Kept an eye on my watch to make sure I was keeping to pace. I felt great, strong and I ran tall and concentrated on my form. You have also noticed by now that even though it's a 10k I have stuck to miles. Well I'm an Imperial Girl now so there's no going back But it may make for a disjointed race report as I have no idea where I was most of the time.
Mile 2 @ 8:54
As you can see the physio plan went out the window. I was feeling really good and it was nice to race down the bypass so I sped up a leeeetle bit. I was also ignoring the watch at this stage and running how I wanted to run. Breathing was good and I was comfortable.
Mile 3 @ 9:16
I only looked at my watch during this mile because I saw someone stop to take a gel. Yes that's right, stopped at 3 miles to take a gel during a 6 mile race. :eek:
Mile 4 @ 9:03
Still felt fairly okay during this although I had gone back to not looking at the watch. Was starting to worry that I had maybe gone out too quickly too soon and it would all blow up in my face. But The Chemical Brothers were playing in my head. 'I need you to believe' they said, over and over and over again. Also reminded me of another line 'turn off my robotic brain, all my thoughts are all the same'. Yes, I do think some awful sh1te when I run.
Mile 5 @ 8:28
Had a bit of a giggle during this mile when the girl in front of me took a call on her phone while pegging it down the road. 'Oh Hi Mary' she said, 'I'm just doing the race, I'll talk to you later'. I laughed but then I thought that if she could run and talk (sort of) then we were going too slow so I passed her, f*ck that! I was clipping along now, passing people at a steady rate. Breathing was good, others were panting, I was fully in control.
Mile 6 @ 8:08
Last one and I was pretty flat out at this stage. Still passing people but willing the end to come. We headed back into Swords so I knew the end was nigh.
0.26 @ 1:52
Home straight. Was hanging on at this stage, there wasn't a sprint finish in me but I went as fast as I could. Having had a quick glance at my watch at 6 miles I wondered if I could break 55mins. Well, I was going to try.
Huge thanks to the c***sucker who decided that the final 10m before the line was the best place to stick his arm out to wave to his family and then veer wildly in front of me as I race for the line. Nice one, I can't wait to see those finisher pics!
So a PB for me. Was a little bit miffed not to break 55mins but thrilled to have been able to do it. Met Singer at the end and tucked into yummy flapjacks! Headed home and did another 2 miles to complete 9 miles for the day. Soleus is fine. Now to don my wellies and go see the Chems, woooooohhooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gun time: 57:46
Chip time: 55:08
Watch time: 55:08 (wahey!)0 -
Preparation
I took it very easy this week - I kind of broke myself last week with a mixture of training, a cold and going out too much. Two mid-week runs on Wednesday and Thursday went fine (6 and 5 miles), and I did an easy few miles with strides yesterday. I was still quite snotty and congested post-cold (it usually takes me a few weeks to fully clear up) but nothing too concerning. I got two good sleeps in on Friday and Saturday.
Race day
Up early to get fed. I suffered a lot on the Irish Runner 5 miler - stomach problems and general issues hills made it not very enjoyable, though I did come in under target. I'd done the Fingal 10k course in a training run a few weeks ago so I knew it wasn't very hilly - most of the climb is at the start, and then a drag near the end - and I'd done plenty of hill sprints since, so I wasn't worried about the hills today. I ate a good bit earlier than last time - a large bowl of porridge at 7.20, and coffee afterwards. I took some Exputex to try and shift some of the phlegm, though I'm not sure if that stuff works at all.
I strolled down to the village at 9.15 or so. I noticed that the finished and end were back a little this year, presumably to allow for the end to head into the castle. The setup in the castle was really good. I took a gel, dropped my bag in, did a short warm-up, met a friend and started to get in position. It was quite congested in the first wave, it felt like trying to get to the front of a concert when pushing up. As usual I just ignored the bootcamp warmup. I was pretty sure I wasn't up far enough to avoid the chaos of caused by slow runners near the front. I was feeling a little nervous and the delay of a few minutes at the start didn't help! The drone flying over the start over was a bit of a distraction.
1st km: 4'28
Finally we start. I easily managed to get over to the left to say hi to my wife and kids as I went past the Garda station. I was consciously trying not to expend too much energy weaving and diving around slow runners, but it couldn't be avoided at times. I nearly had a disaster half-going over on my left ankle in a drain :eek: but no damage was done. I was wearing my phone on my arm (no headphones, obviously), and around here I realised I had forgotten to switch my Nike app over to kms. I knew the target pace in miles and I knew when I should at least be passing each km to reach my goal so not actually a problem.
2nd km: 4'02
As expected the congestion eased a lot on the bypass, and it was pretty easy to keep a good pace here. I had planned to bank a few seconds here as it was a nice downhill drag with plenty of room around.
3rd km: 4'04
More of the same here. Keep things going fast, but not over-doing it.
4th km: 4'18
Uphill a bit to the turn-off, and another climb coming soon, so eased off a little, but still at target pace. Took a small bit of water at the water station. Not having to pass people out a lot by the end of this km.
5th km: 4'23
A bit slower and warmer on the country roads, and a small bit of a hill. Still happy with pace. Time check reckoned I was only 20 seconds off my 5km race time from last month, and I was still feeling strong.
6th km: 4'24
As above.
7th km: 4'16
Enjoyed getting sprayed by the civil defence around here! Did a conscious check of how all my bits were feeling, nothing was hurting so stepped up effort a little. Again just took a small bit of water at the station.
8th km: 4'15
As I passed the 8km marker I did a time check and knew I'd meet target time unless things went completely off the rails. Maybe I could even walk a little... Feeling pretty good overall.
9th km: 4'27
A short drag up back into Swords and being exposed to the wind a bit slowed things down. Breathing got a bit uncomfortable and laboured.
10th km: 4'38
I didn't see the last km marker. Slowed down a fair bit on the hill near the end, but kept effort up. As we came around the corner, I maneouvered over to where the family were waiting to say hi on the downhill towards to the end, and then had enough left to do a sprint finish. Was delighted to see a sub-45 time on the clock as I went over the line (exactly as I had been visualising in the weeks prior ).
Target time: < 45:00
Chip time: 43:34
Post-race
As threatened I brought some flapjacks, and managed to offload some to toulouse inside the castle, and then later to murph, anna and co. outside the castle. Again the atmosphere and setup in the castle was really great, my family were all impressed with it. My 5 year old greatly appreciated the Minions Haribo in the bag.
Overall I'm very happy with the race - pretty much everything went as planned, I was comfortable throughout and my highest vdot score yet :cool: Last year's Fingal 10k was my first ever race - today was a 12 minutes 22 seconds improvement
Now for some target-beating rewards (beer and chicken wings) 0 -
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Right, here's a quick race report for the Killarney Half!
I had been planning to to the race as an LSR as I was in the area with my family, and it made sense to use the race for it on a closed road, rather than 13 miles on an unfamiliar route, particularly in a locale I had never been to before. I stayed in the Gleneagle the night before the race, and my prep wasn't ideal - pizza and bed around 11pm! I had a few niggles in the weeks leading up to the race but I had a couple of physio sessions and a great deal of stretching before and after runs, and the legs were feeling pretty good. I had about 12 miles done during the week and I was dying to see how I'd cope with another 13 mile run so soon after the last (which I completed in 2:32, my pb for a half is 2:10 from Limerick this year).
I was up at 5:30, grabbed a long show to wake myself up and heading down for breakfast at 6:30 - porridge, tea and a small scone - before spending about 20 mins stretching before I got on the bus about 7:20 to take us up to Molls Gap. I was chatting with a Kerry native from the area who gave me a tours guide of the landscape as we traveled up!
At the top, it was very overcast and misty, and fairly cold. I was immediately regretting my decision not be bring a light jumper, but I just absorbed myself into the sea of bodies near the Avoca cafe, leeching off the collective body heat
I did a few more minutes of stretching, and a small couple of 300m runs to warm up when they called the race start a few minutes early as the weather was ****e, and everyone was there so why wait!?
I had decided to stick with the 2,20 pacers, a guy and girl, whose names I can't recall, from (I think) Midleton AC. They were lovely and chatty and really made the race more enjoyable. I think they were both a bit nervous as it was their first time pacing, but I think it went well. I started with two other girls, and two other guys so it was a fairly small group.
Mile 1 : 10,15
A very easy mile with a massive drop (195ft!) - we were just out on fresh legs, and it was cold so the speed was probably needed to heat us up a bit. The weather started improving very quickly though and soon, Mr. Sun was peeking out from behind his gray blanket.
Mile 2: 10:54
Wary of going a bit fast on the first mile, I think the pacers slowed down a little bit. I was still fairly comfortable and chatting away fairly easily. The scenery is really just amazing at this point with some fantastic views. We lost both guys here, in opposite directions. One sped off, and one backed off! The pacers were being assaulted with balloons by the wind at this stage also!
Mile 3 : 11:06
This was a slower mile again with a bit of an uphill climb around a mountain, if I recall. I wasn't really aware of my pace during the race as my TomTom had powered itself off 5 minutes before the race and it can only be powered on by plugging it in (great design decision) so I was using my phone, which was in my belt so I wasn't looking at it. I was running the pacers pace throughout, with there never being more than a meter or so between us on either side for the most part.
Mile 4,5,6 : 10:27, 10:14, 10:22
These miles blended together. There was a waterstop just before mile 4 I think, with nice small bottles of water, perfect size, and some bananas. I didn't feel like I needed any food so I just grabbed the water. Nicely chilled and did me until the next water station at 6/7 I think.
Mile 7,8 : 10:36, 10:40
It started getting a bit tougher here. While still overall downhill, there were a lot of small little hills and drags. One of the girls was drifting back and forth, and eventually just couldn't keep up. Her friend went back with her to keep her company. She had seemed to be fairly experienced but the speed of going downhill too fast could have hurt her.
Mile 9 : 10:27
The first marathon racer, and eventual winner I would think, passed us at this point with his friend on a bike fueling him! Fair dues to him, he got a number of cheers and well wishes on the way. Really impressive going. As for myself, I was plodding away, again very comfortable and getting some advice from the pacers about DCM. The male pacer is going for sub 3 in Dublin.
Mile 10 : 10:38
This was the last bit of road, before the finish, as we pulled into the National Park. There were also jellies, which were appreciated as I needed the sugar rush. Haribo, rather than Bassetts as I'm used to, but they did the job. I was still feeling fairly strong and was well able to keep up. Pacers said I seemed very comfortable.
Mile 11: 10:17
A dangerous enough road. If you're familiar with the park, you know there's a lot of jauntys in there, and the road is covered in pot holes and horse ****, so chances of a soft landing and/or a twisted ankle were fairly high. We passed the boat house where I had been the day prior for my lake tour and came down by Muckross house. Again, fantastic scenery and the weather was playing its part
Mile 12: 9:59
My only sub 10 mile. Again, I was feeling fairly comfortable but if I had been solo, I probably would have gone slower. The pacers paniced a bit and thought they were going a bit too fast so they slowed it down for the next mile
Mile 13: 10:56
The pacers slowed down as they felt they had run a bit too fast the previous mile (since it was just me with them, and I seemed comfortable, they had probably relaxed a bit) as we had passed a few people who were cursing us as their target time passed them out. One woman said 'F*** it! That's my time gone' and stopped. Crazy! The last hill coming out of the Park looked nasty, but it was fairly short and I came out of it fairly okay.
Mile .2 : 9:21
The pacers told me to run on, and one of the girls from earlier had caught back up to us, and when I saw her I said 'No way you're beating me at this stage!' - pushed on a bit for a faster finish, but far from a sprint, just a small push ahead. It was a nice finish with a bit of a crowd gathered. Met my wife and son at the finish and she definitely said I look infinitely better than the Ballybunnion half, where I hobbled over the line in 2:26 - I was fairly fresh with a chip time of 2:18,19 after this one, and definitely could have put down a few more miles. Grabbed a hot dog after (well half of one that I was lucky to get when my son saw it!) - went up the hotel room, had epsom salts ready and stretched out a bit before heading to the Aqua dome for a few hours.
I did about 3 miles this morning and felt fine for the most part. Like diego, my quads are tender. Part of the reason why this report is so long is that I'm putting off the foam roller as long as I can!
Overall, it was by far my favorite race. The scenery was fantastic, the pacers were amazing (it was my first time sticking with pacers too), and the locals were great. I'll definitely be returning for it next year, and will probably do the other one in May too.0 -
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Overall I'm very happy with the race - pretty much everything went as planned, I was comfortable throughout and my highest vdot score yet :cool: Last year's Fingal 10k was my first ever race - today was a 12 minutes 22 seconds improvement
Now for some target-beating rewards (beer and chicken wings)
Great improvement, Singer and thanks for the flapjacks! Might not have looked pretty but they tasted fab Nice to meet Singer Jr too 0 -
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Heard that too PJD but heard she was okay too. Only second-hand though so can't confirm whether it's true or not. Saw another casualty outside the Airtricity tent but he was giving the thumbs up for a photo whilst being carted off on a stretcher so I think we can assume he is okay too!
Better do my race report while I'm here as I'm off to Longitude in a little bit.
Pre-race: Had the place to myself last night so got all organised, packed my bag, pinned my number to my top, stretched and rolled, glued my garmin back together after it fell apart and got a good nights sleep.
Up this morning, had my normal breakfast and got ready to head to Swords. My soleus had been fine yesterday but this morning I could feel it so had a little stretch before I left. I also had a bit of 'the fear'. I can't explain it but mentally was not 100% looing forward to it, the weather was overcast and cold and I was just a bit meh. I did my best to banish those thoughts, put on the Chems and blasted them the whole way to Swords to improve my mood.
Headed to the loo in the Pavillions and then down to the start line. Had some time to kill so queued for the loo again to silence the voice in my head telling me I needed to go. It was fecking freezing but I togged off and went for a mile warm up. Soleus felt fine after as in I couldn't feel it again. Then down to the start line to wait for the race to start. They had a drone over the start line - cool!!
Mile 1 @ 9:27
And then we were off. I was under physio orders not to race. She set a time of 9:45 and I sort of stuck to it as you can see. Kept an eye on my watch to make sure I was keeping to pace. I felt great, strong and I ran tall and concentrated on my form. You have also noticed by now that even though it's a 10k I have stuck to miles. Well I'm an Imperial Girl now so there's no going back But it may make for a disjointed race report as I have no idea where I was most of the time.
Mile 2 @ 8:54
As you can see the physio plan went out the window. I was feeling really good and it was nice to race down the bypass so I sped up a leeeetle bit. I was also ignoring the watch at this stage and running how I wanted to run. Breathing was good and I was comfortable.
Mile 3 @ 9:16
I only looked at my watch during this mile because I saw someone stop to take a gel. Yes that's right, stopped at 3 miles to take a gel during a 6 mile race. :eek:
Mile 4 @ 9:03
Still felt fairly okay during this although I had gone back to not looking at the watch. Was starting to worry that I had maybe gone out too quickly too soon and it would all blow up in my face. But The Chemical Brothers were playing in my head. 'I need you to believe' they said, over and over and over again. Also reminded me of another line 'turn off my robotic brain, all my thoughts are all the same'. Yes, I do think some awful sh1te when I run.
Mile 5 @ 8:28
Had a bit of a giggle during this mile when the girl in front of me took a call on her phone while pegging it down the road. 'Oh Hi Mary' she said, 'I'm just doing the race, I'll talk to you later'. I laughed but then I thought that if she could run and talk (sort of) then we were going too slow so I passed her, f*ck that! I was clipping along now, passing people at a steady rate. Breathing was good, others were panting, I was fully in control.
Mile 6 @ 8:08
Last one and I was pretty flat out at this stage. Still passing people but willing the end to come. We headed back into Swords so I knew the end was nigh.
0.26 @ 1:52
Home straight. Was hanging on at this stage, there wasn't a sprint finish in me but I went as fast as I could. Having had a quick glance at my watch at 6 miles I wondered if I could break 55mins. Well, I was going to try.
Huge thanks to the c***sucker who decided that the final 10m before the line was the best place to stick his arm out to wave to his family and then veer wildly in front of me as I race for the line. Nice one, I can't wait to see those finisher pics!
So a PB for me. Was a little bit miffed not to break 55mins but thrilled to have been able to do it. Met Singer at the end and tucked into yummy flapjacks! Headed home and did another 2 miles to complete 9 miles for the day. Soleus is fine. Now to don my wellies and go see the Chems, woooooohhooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gun time: 57:46
Chip time: 55:08
Watch time: 55:08 (wahey!)
Well done on the PB ! A good day at the office !:)0 -
Congrats on the pB another good results for the novicesThat poor girl. I saw her faint, I was a bit behind. It was bloody scary and it really shook me. She didn't even slow down she fainted out of nowhere. Big bang to the ground. She gave her head a really hard slam. I hope it was just a straight forward faint and she didn't hurt herself from the fall. She looked very young. People were very quick to come to her aid. Great to see everyone help her out. By the time I was passing she was well looked after. I was told after by people I knew who were further back that they had the ambulance over in seconds and had her wrapped up in a blanket.
Well done to everyone. Seems like everyone had a good day. Thank you so much for the kind words TFGR & DG!
Thankfully I too had a good run. Broke my PB by over 40 seconds. Coming in under 50mins. I decided back in January that running a 10k sub 50 would be my goal for the END of the year. I'm thrilled to have comfortably hit that in July.
I really needed this mentally. I feel more positive again. Thank god. Massive relief :pac:
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I experimented with my pre race food this morning. I had half of my smoothie [oats, tablespoon of peanut butter (meridan), protein scoop. pineapple & mango pieces (about 2 of each), banana, chia seeds, hazelnut milk]. Had the other half of it when I got home.
I also had my muffin. Homemade fuel muffin! I improvised with a recipe I found and used: blueberries, oats, peanutbutter, flaxseed, chia seeds, protein powder, almonds, hazelnut milk, banana and prunes (won't be using those again... almost ruined the taste!).
Felt this worked well. I wasn't hungry and there was also loads of fluid in both things so I kept me hydrated. I couldn't face my usual per race hot bowl of porridge this morning!
Was looking forward to running a new course I hadn't been on before. The atmosphere was great and as usual, really well run race. So impressed - well done to the whole team.
Heart rate training:
Thanks for that link DG. I have my heart rate monitor now so just need to bring it into my training.
Chickpea cookies recipe:
TFGR: this is the one I followed. I didn't put any apple sauce in though! Really easy and quick to make: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chickpea+cookies 0 -
My first ever 10km race. Are they all like this? Really enjoyed it and the finish and set up in the Castle for post race recovery was top class. Sun/Rain shelters, music, fruit, drinks and a goodie bag to boot.
I had previously registered a 10 km pb of 47:48 whilst immersed in a 5km training programe last autumn. However I have been recovering from overtraining earlier this year and this would be my first run at anything faster than a marathon training pace. Was quite nervous and went with a plan to nudge past my pb if I felt comfortable at 5km and 7km.
Race day involved a medical emergency at 5am this morning - not me. All resolved by 8.30 am and had my porridge. Got to Swords and did my 2 km warmup, which included a run down the middle of the Pavillions Shopping Centre ( all those metres count DG) on the way to the Jacks.
I went to the under 50 minute section at the start and took a look behind me.....maybe I should. Resolved to stay put and breathe deeply and relax. The race started but nothing happened for a couple of mins until the wave motion hit us, faltered, and then restarted. We were off. It was madness for the first km trying to duck and dive but all good fun.
1km 5:06 - Gulp. Had hoped for 5.00 to relax me into the run. I owe 6.
2km 4.39 - yes. Plenty of room now and on to flat/ gentle decline.
3km 4.39 - co-incidence or what. Starting to feel that this is enjoyable but will hang on until the 5km marker.
4km 4.48 - the long gentle rise and water station accounted for a few seconds. No harm and was running Tall and Composed. Felt the Kinetica Challenge benefits with much improved form and core.
5km 4.44 - Still passing out runners and resolved to start a little further up the pack next time. Enjoyed the lanes as it was easier to concentrate. Decided I would hold for the next 2 km.
6km 4.42 - Running very strong and had a Civil Defence Shower. Hope ye get the Call Out Fee.
7km 4.40 - Decided at this stage that I would up things a little and that I would survive. Confidence grew a little and I relaxed and enjoyed the run.
8km 4.30 - Was definitely working now but I could see Swords and knew that I would survive the last km.
9km 4.35 - Could feel the small inclines but great support from fellow runners. Gave some back. We were in this together.
10km 4.28 - I felt those hills and looked at my watch three times to see how far there was to go. Did not sprint it out but ran strong to the finish. Was delighted with how I felt and no niggles.
a PB..... clocked 47:02 and 29th in my age category. Now that was a surprise. Well done to one and all and to anybody waiting to get a race in..... The Best Of Luck..... great experience.
Met Yoda but we couldnt remember where everybody was meeting!!!! Maybe the run had taken more out of me than I thought.
Training must be going well with all these PB's congrats 0 -
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