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Earning my go-faster stripes...
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Quick recap of the boring parts of last week before the good stuff (race report!)
Monday 20th - 3 x 10 mins Threshold (4 min recoveries)
6.55 miles / 9:50 avg pace / 162 (187) HR avg (max)
Interval paces (goal 8:11 - 8:00): 8:04, 7:56, 7:52
A weird one - I was wrecked heading out for this and on the warm up, but things started to click on the threshold sections. That said, the start of the second rep had me wanting to abandon it there, and then on the third I was flying. The second two reps were too quick, but not by much. An up-and-down kind of an outing, but happy with it overall, particuarly just two days after a tough LSR (not ideal, but needs must on this occasion).
Tuesday 21st - 50 mins easy
5.05 miles / 10:51 avg pace
Well if I felt better than expected yesterday, I felt a lot worse this morning! So tired. So slow. So much dragging of the legs around...
Wednesday 22nd - 40 mins easy
4 miles / 10:31 avg pace
A struggle, again. Just generally lethargic and it didn’t feel easy at all
Thursday 23rd - Rest
Friday 24th - 20 mins very easy + a few strides
2.65 miles / 10:55 avg pace / 138 HR avg
Short and sweet, just keeping the legs ticking over ahead of race day. Feeling good, no complaints.
Saturday 25th - Tullamore half marathon
14.1 miles (incl warm up and cool down)
Report to follow!
Sunday 26th - 40 mins recovery
4.05 miles / 10:43 avg pace / 147 HR avg
Felt surprisingly good! Tired but physically fine, no stiffness or soreness.
Weekly mileage: 36.4 miles0 -
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Race Report: Tullamore Half Marathon
Saturday 25th August 2018
Oh the half marathon, I think I'll always have a twinkle in my eye for you...
A bad few nights' sleep in the lead up meant I wasn't feeling particularly fresh on Saturday morning, but I dragged myself out of bed for the usual bagel and coffee. Unusually for me I hadn't really overthought this one. On the way down in the car I was feeling calm and was struck by the thought that it's simple a thing we do really - just show up to the right place and run. That's it. And that was pretty much my plan. I had half attempted to work out goal times/paces, etc, but my heart wasn't in it. I wanted to just run, and see what happened.
First few miles - 8:17, 8:06, 8:16, 8:21, 8:15
Low energy, a bit, which worried me slightly. I felt ok, but not the usual bursting-to-get-moving, very easy feeling you normally have at the start of a race. Ok, I thought, this one might take a bit more work. But part of me wanted to experience that anyway and see how I coped with it, so no harm if that's how it went. That's more or less how the first 5 miles were, me watching myself a bit to see what kind of form I was in, and whether it was about to get harder or not. And then it got easier
Some time around mile 5 I think I just started to feel better, more fluid in my movements.
The middle - 8:25, 8:04, 8;00, 8:08, 8:10
There were people around me more or less throughout, but I kept looking for someone to run alongside and not finding anyone. A few times I pulled up alongside someone only for them to slow down. I ran with a guy for a mile or so but then he dropped back. This whole first section of the course (up until mile 6 or so I think?) was fairly draggy and a good few hills too. Challenging but not overly tough at the same time.
During the final third I was running a bit behind a woman in a yellow top, who looked to me like she knew what she was doing, and I wanted to try and keep her in sight. She stayed firmly ahead of me, but not too far. Took two gels (around miles 4 and 9), just to practice really. I didn't feel the need of them, nor did I feel any effects (good or bad) from taking them. Maybe I would have started to tire more without them, who knows.
The end... - 8:04, 8:08, 7:32 (+ 6:07 pace for last .1)
Soon after mile 10 everything started to feel tough. There was another drag upwards around this stage which was not welcome. I hoped to pick up the pace from here but if anything I wanted to slow. I had a brief panic and then steadied myself, checked in with my legs and realised they felt absolutely fine and told myself to cop on. And what do you know, I was grand. It amazes me the way the mind can fly off on it's own little journey, and it's so easy to go with it but sometimes there's no need to whatsoever, it's just trickery.
I didn't find the energy for the big push I'd hoped for, but I hung in there and managed to dismiss the negative thoughts which I'm happy about. When we hit the last mile I didn't give myself a choice though. I was pleased to see afterwards that mile 13 was almost exactly 5k pace for me, same as the last mile of the 10 miler last month.
Coming into the stadium for the finish was something else. I've never run on a track before and it was bloody great. I picked up the pace steadily until almost halfway around, then I pulled ahead of the woman in the yellow top who had stayed just ahead for the last 5 miles or so, and just sprinted for all I was worth. I was pleasantly surprised at how much of a kick I had left at the end. It's a blur to me but S told me that I passed a good few people in the finishing stretch. I found him and hugged him, and he gave out to me for not looking tired enough, apparently. Pfff! :rolleyes:
Chip time: 1:46:40 (previous PB 1:57:57)
So, a few final thoughts. Before the race I had looked at the usual predictors based on recent results, and the best time predicted was a little over 1:48. I'm delighted to have come in well under that. More particularly this result gives me a VDOT of 41.9, my highest yet, which means relatively speaking this is my best performance. I know it's normal to have a drop off in performance as distances get longer, so it makes me wonder if I'm better suited to more endurance-focused stuff than shorter, speedier races. Incidentally, I ran this at a quicker pace than the 10 mile last month, and my Garmin gave me a new (unofficial and doesn't count, of course) 10k PB from this race too (only by 7 seconds mind you). I'm pretty sure that shouldn't happen in a half marathon, so I'll try a proper 10k again soon. But that will have to wait until after October 28th
This is probably the only time I'll ever take so much off a PB. The last year has been still very much in the fairly-new-to-running phase where improvements are quick and significant. They'll start to slow soon I'm sure, and while I feel confident I can improve on this time I won't be taking 11 minutes off it in one go again. So be it, that's fine too. But I'm aware that racing (and running) is about more than PBs, and it's time to start preparing for a different phase which might mean finding different motivations.
I'm saying it now though: goal for 2019 is a sub 1:40 half. I have no idea how pie-in-the-sky that is, but I'd like to try and find out
p.s. I can't say enough good things about this race, the facilities and set up. I was seriously impressed by it all, and would go back in a heartbeat. Amazing range of cakes and sandwiches afterwards, really friendly atmosphere, and finishing the race in the stadium was just fantastic.
[That was long. Oy. Sorry
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When you started your log our PBs were very similar... well you've left me for dust since then but i am truly delighted for you! That sounds like a fantastic race, you've proved yourself to be quite good at this racing crack, really well done 0
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I'll join you on this goal!!! You beat my PB by 14 seconds :P Funny enough, I feel the same way re longer vs shorter stuff sometimes.
I'm saying it now though: goal for 2019 is a sub 1:40 half. I have no idea how pie-in-the-sky that is, but I'd like to try and find out
Well done on a great race, you faced the demons and beat them down, savage last mile you had too! A report worth the wait
I must do this race next year, seeing as it's in my home county and all..0 -
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Not at all ariana, I think our 5k and 10k pbs are still almost exactly the same, and I don't think you've raced a half for a few months? I really think the grads plan has brought me on a lot already and from your training I would definitely say the same is true for you.When you started your log our PBs were very similar... well you've left me for dust since then but i am truly delighted for you! That sounds like a fantastic race, you've proved yourself to be quite good at this racing crack, really well done
Yesss, please do! It would get us into the women's round numbers table tooI'll join you on this goal!!! You beat my PB by 14 seconds :P Funny enough, I feel the same way re longer vs shorter stuff sometimes.
Well done on a great race, you faced the demons and beat them down, savage last mile you had too! A report worth the wait
I must do this race next year, seeing as it's in my home county and all.. Ahh are you a local? I'd heartily recommend it.
Thanks! Ah 1:40 is a way off still but sure it's something to aim forWubble Wubble wrote: »Well done, great report to match the performance
As for sub 1:40, why not? You've made great progress already, so it's worth a try.
Thanks gypsylee!Well done on a great race. Congrats on the pb. No stopping you.
Thanks KG, great to see you back at it too!Wow! What a pb! You are absolutely flying it this year and just going from strength to strength. Really well done.
Thanks D. I'm fairly introspective by nature which can get in the way of racing (too much thinking) but if it's managed right can be a useful tool too in terms of tuning in. Works better some days than others!Super race, and very interesting report - you seem to run quite 'mindfully', tuned into what's going on in your body (and around you), which can only be a good thing, especially when you use it, like you did, to dig in and get positive when the going gets tough. There'll be plenty more PBs, don't worry about that!0 -
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Fantastic effort. We'll done. That's a huge pb. Great report too. Always nice to hear the introspective dialogue that goes on.eyrie wrote:Unusually for me I hadn't really overthought this one.
I wanted to just run, and see what happened.
Etch those in your memory. Write them on a piece of paper, place it on your bedroom door and look at it every morning. Haha. There's an awful lot to be said for racing the race in front of you on the day. You can have all the plans for pacing and a change in weather or just a crappy feeling on the day can put all those plans to bed. AMK (the king of catchphrases) says something like race the best race you can on the day.
Great approach eyrie.eyrie wrote:That's more or less how the first 5 miles were, me watching myself a bit to see what kind of form I was in, and whether it was about to get harder or not. And then it got easier Some time around mile 5 I think I just started to feel better, more fluid in my movements.
That's the way to feel yourself into the half. Nice work.eyrie wrote:The end... - 8:04, 8:08, 7:32 (+ 6:07 pace for last .1) Soon after mile 10 everything started to feel tough
That's usually a good sign you're doing it righteyrie wrote:I know it's normal to have a drop off in performance as distances get longer, so it makes me wonder if I'm better suited to more endurance-focused stuff than shorter, speedier races.
Hard to know until you do a good few speedier blocks for short stuff (i might be wronging you here. Maybe you already have) but it's possible you're longer races are better coz you've focused mainly on training for longer stuff.
Well done again. Brilliant performance and bodes well for the future.0 -
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eyrie wrote:Thanks P, appreciate it. I haven't done much work on shorter stuff (one 12 week 10k plan from the P&L book earlier this year, which I got significant PBs out of but never felt I clicked with). I might try the 5k grads plan after the marathon as I like the style a lot more and it seems to suit me. I do think though, where you seem to be energised by the suffering of the shorter stuff, I just tend to back off. I hope I can get beyond that at some stage, but so far I've preferred longer slower stuff as a result. We'll see after the marathon though!
The P&L plans are definitely very different to Testosterscones plans. I think you'd enjoy them. The variety in the sessions, for me, make the latter a lot more "enjoyable".
I'm probably getting a bit of a reputation in this parts as a bit of a pimp for the shorter stuff. Haha. What I will say is if you want to get better as a runner at any distance the key is variety and honestly you can't or shouldn't avoid the shorter stuff (at least not permanently). The shorter stuff really brings on your mental toughness, durability, stride, form, and most importantly helps your marathon and half marathon times
I'll shut up now. Haha0 -
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I'd better start the updating here so, beginning with the week before I went away.
27th August - 2nd September
I feel like a total fraud saying this, but I think I might be becoming a morning runner. Over this week and last week I noticed I struggled more on any runs I did in the evening, which I used to find way easier. The hot summer forced me into running early whenever I could to avoid the heat, and I think I prefer it now. Which is a great pity, because while I may be becoming a morning runner, I am NOT a morning person.
Monday - Easy lunchtime run
5.25 miles / 10:13 avg pace / 145 HR avg
Haven't gone out at lunchtime for ages, so I enjoyed this for a change. Feeling fine still and energy levels seem fine post-race, but I definitely need to do some stretching and foam rolling. Note to self.
Tuesday - Easy + 10 x 1 min surges
7.2 miles / 10:11 avg pace / 147 (176) HR avg (max)
Paces for the surges: 7:10, 7:08, 6:54, 7:24, 7:12, 7:14, 7:16, 7:00, 7:30, 7:36
This replaced the proper session for today because of racing the half at the weekend. Headed out in the evening after work, and wasn't too sure how to do this so I just tried to run 'semi-fast' (technical term ) for the surges while keeping them fairly consistent. Felt pretty comfortable until the last few when I was definitely getting tired.
Wednesday - Morning easy run
7 miles / 10:24 avg pace / 144 HR avg
Beautiful morning. This was nice.
Thursday - Morning easy run
4.6 miles / 10:21 avg pace / 146 (161) HR avg (max)
Just a short one today, no time for anything longer.
Friday - Twenty: 10 easy + 10 incl 3 x 2 @ "MP"
20 miles / 9:45 avg pace / 161 HR avg
Splits: 10:43 10:26, 10:28, 10:25, 10:09, 9:50, 10:16, 9:46, 9:29, 9:41, 10:03, 9:12, 8:40, 9:56, 8:54, 8:43, 10:14, 8:49, 8:41, 10:24
I said on strava that this was bit of an impromptu 20 mile attempt. I wanted to give it a go but it wasn't a firm plan, and a couple of miles in I was feeling terrible and decided to just make it an easy 5 or 6 and try the long run the next day. But then, as happens in running, something clicked and it all got easier. Figured I'd make it into a regular long run then and go for 14-16 but the more I ran the better I felt so I thought why not, go for it! Felt great until 18 miles, and then I got a bit tired and pretty thirsty, but nothing too bad either. The MP miles were great, I wasn't watching the watch at all so the pace wandered a bit and was a little quick. I included them as I had missed the moderate run the day before so I wanted to add a bit of effort.
My 'fuel' was a packet of fruit pastilles bought along the way, not ideal but like I said I wasn't really planning to do this so I wasn't very organised!
Afterwards I started to worry that it was a stupid thing to do. Not part of the plan, and maybe risked overcooking things too early in the plan? I don't know, still have some doubts about this really. My legs were definitely pretty gone later in the day, and tired for a few days afterwards. But mostly I was freakin delighted I could do it, I don't know if I ever really thought I'd run that far.
Saturday - Rest
Travelling to Dubrovnik, but ended up stuck in some random hotel on the outskirts of Barcelona
Sunday - More rest
Made it to Dubrovnik at last! No chance for a run though.
Weekly mileage: 44.1 miles
208 miles for the month!0 -
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I feel like a total fraud saying this, but I think I might be becoming a morning runner. Over this week and last week I noticed I struggled more on any runs I did in the evening, which I used to find way easier. The hot summer forced me into running early whenever I could to avoid the heat, and I think I prefer it now. Which is a great pity, because while I may be becoming a morning runner, I am NOT a morning person.
Good thing DCM is in the morning then. I'm a morning person and I don't enjoy morning running, so swapsies?I said on strava that this was bit of an impromptu 20 mile attempt. I wanted to give it a go but it wasn't a firm plan, and a couple of miles in I was feeling terrible and decided to just make it an easy 5 or 6 and try the long run the next day. But then, as happens in running, something clicked and it all got easier. Figured I'd make it into a regular long run then and go for 14-16 but the more I ran the better I felt so I thought why not, go for it! Felt great until 18 miles, and then I got a bit tired and pretty thirsty, but nothing too bad either. The MP miles were great, I wasn't watching the watch at all so the pace wandered a bit and was a little quick. I included them as I had missed the moderate run the day before so I wanted to add a bit of effort.
My 'fuel' was a packet of fruit pastilles bought along the way, not ideal but like I said I wasn't really planning to do this so I wasn't very organised!
Afterwards I started to worry that it was a stupid thing to do. Not part of the plan, and maybe risked overcooking things too early in the plan? I don't know, still have some doubts about this really. My legs were definitely pretty gone later in the day, and tired for a few days afterwards. But mostly I was freakin delighted I could do it, I don't know if I ever really thought I'd run that far.
Woot! Nice going. I'm also bemused at the "impromtu". Don't dwell on thinking negative thoughts. It's unlikely you've overcooked anything. You're flying.208 miles for the month!
Excellent work.0 -
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