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Run for your life!!!!
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Monday 9th September- short easy run. 2.29 m @ 9:21
Looking to the week ahead had me fretting that I would not be in the best of shape for Ratoath. Monday morning in work did nothing to ease my fears and the rest of the week was shaping up to be just as busy. Needed this run to sort the ol' head out and to put a few things straight. Over to the Trinty grass track for a few laps.
Tuesday 10th September. 25 mins threshold. 3.61m @ 6.56 (warm up and cool down either side)
New running watch arrived today which couldn't have come at a better time. This run was scheduled for the following day but wanted to make sure I left myself enough recovery time so I could focus on easy miles for the rest of the week. Made my way over to the Trinity grass track again which was in use by a large group doing some serious session work. Ran around the perimeter of the track for the first mile, until they'd finished and once their session came to an end, I moved onto the actual track for the remainder of the run. Splits were probably around 15/20 seconds quicker than they should have been but I was enjoying my new toy too much to be too worried about it!! Felt great about the effort I'd put in and went back to work a happy camper.
Wednesday 11th September. 60 mins easy - 6.72m @9:32
Late night run but a nice evening for it. May have to get used to more of these!!:rolleyes:
Friday 13th September. 4.16m @ 9:22
"Ugh" was the first word I uttered when I woke. Very tempted to hit the snooze button but hauled myself out of bed to get a few more easy miles before the next day's race. Glad I did this in the end.
Saturday 14th September - Ratoath Half Marathon.
Despite convincing myself (and others in this parish) that I was feeling good about this event, it turns out the complete opposite was true. I was quite literally bricking it and nervous as hell. Going for a new PB in a half marathon is a tall order and one I probably didn't give quite enough thought to. Still, when I did think about it some more and how I performed in my previous two half marathons, I realised that I was probably justified in arriving at my target time of 1:35. Got to Fairyhouse by 8am and made my way over to the registration desk to collect my race number and t-shirt. Met Dealerz2.0 on the way in and had a brief pre-race chat. Was in two minds about whether or not to wear the race t-shirt but got changed into it anyway. After a warm up mile, I knew this t-shirt was not going to be comfortable for 13.1 miles so had to get changed back into my other running shirt. Better. Bumped into Wubble Wubble moments before the start and wished him all the best. And they're off!
Miles 1 - 4
My plan was to hover between 7:10 and 7:20 miles and to hopefully have enough left in the tank for the last few miles for a late spurt. The running conditions were near perfect and even with the sun out, it was still reasonably cool. By the half mile mark, Wubble Wubble glided past with one or two fellow runners. Had the look of a man on a mission so left him to it. Mile 1 came in at 7:09 which was fine by me. The pace was suiting me nicely and with one or two others running alongside, I was in good company. Mile 2 came in a tad faster at 7:07 but I still felt good with this pace. The group I found myself in were trading places on and off but by the end of mile 3 (7:11), one or two of them had decided to break away and up the pace slightly but by no great amount. Could see WW up ahead looking comfortable and very assured.Made it though mile 4 in 7:10 and still feeling like things were going according to plan.
Mile 5 - 7
Not an awful lot to say about these in-between miles. There was one chap from Dunboyne - who I had been tailing for a couple of miles - who was accompanied by a non-club running partner that had the most relaxed 7 mile/min pace I have ever seen. Looked like he was putting in minimal effort which all of a sudden made me feel like I was working very hard to maintain what, up to now, had felt a mostly manageable pace..
Miles 8-10
This where I "felt" things started becoming a little more challenging and where more effort was needed. Legs started feeling tired and I reckoned it was about time I started doing some maths in my head, just to see where things were at. Still ok for 1:35, I reckoned, once I didn't let the pace slip too drastically. I spoke too soon, as I noticed my pace starting to waver close to the 7:25 /7:30 mark but managed to step it up a notch to the desired pace once again. Thankfully there was another water station for some much needed hydration. There was also a young spectator standing at the side of the road armed with a tub of Haribos. Without thinking, I immediately ran over to her and grabbed a handful to keep me going. Perhaps a sugar-hit would be just what I needed.
Miles 11-13
The jellies that I'd just wolfed down seemed like they were doing the trick (I could have easily been imagining this) and as we made our way onto Fairyhouse Road - after passing out another couple of runners - I was starting to feel like a second wind was coming on. The drag along this section was tough but once again, I passed out two more runners before entering the grounds to Fairyhouse Racecourse. "Come on Ken, savage pace!!" was hollered in my direction by one of the stewards who I know from my younger years back in Clondalkin. A much needed intake of water was had and with only two miles to go, I tried to push on and hope my new found energy would see me finish strong. It wasn't to be. No sooner had I begun my lap of the racecourse, that I felt that what was ahead was too big an ask and as hard as I tried, I simply couldn't find a way to make the legs work the way I wanted them to. Looking into the distance, the path leading back to the grandstand seemed to go on for an eternity which did nothing for my hopes of achieving my goal time. The shouts of encouragement from the pockets of spectators should have spurred me on but by now, I was just putting on a brave face and felt like I was a whisker away from giving up on 1:35 altogether. Was passed out by a Drogehda and District runner who I had been running alongside during the opening 4 miles. Didn't even remember passing her out to begin with but she finished really strong for the last half mile. Grandstand now approaching, and battling against a headwind, it felt as if I was slowing up more and more. "Come on, do something, ANYTHING!!!!" I told myself but it was no use and although I knew that I wouldn't get a sub 1:35, a PB was as good as guaranteed.
Amazingly, as I finally approached grandstand, the song that played over the speakers was the exact same song that played last year at exactly the same point of my race, U2's 'Beautiful Day'. As I turned the sharp left towards the finish line, I could only manage a half-arsed sprint as I tried in vain to catch the runner in front while being passed out by another. 1:35:25 was the time. Two and a half minutes quicker than last year and a minute quicker than Bohermeen earlier this year. I'd say that was progress.
Found WW and congratulated him on his fine performance (I witnessed the whole thing:p). Met Dealerz2.0 after he crossed the finish line, demolishing his previous half PB so he was naturally over the moon and rightly so.
Sat back for a bit and enjoyed the treats in the goody bag before heading inside for some delicious soup. Had a brief chat with Mark Ryan (2nd place) before a quick cool-down, them home.
So..........as I mentioned above, the improvement since last year is there to be seen. Just a little disappointed in how the last two miles panned out. I should have been able to kick on but I honestly had no answers. Anyway, I'm not going to over-analyse this one. I enjoyed it and will more than likely be back next year for this great event.
Sunday 15th September
This morning, was my son's first taste of XC. We drove out to Newbridge House in Donabate where they were having the Dublin Juvenile Cross Country League. He was taking part in the Under 10's event (600 metres) and thankfully, he was really looking forward to it. Arrived in plenty of time for a warm up and a walk-through of the short course and after a bit of hanging around, he had his race in a field of approx 40 boys made up of runners from his own club (Lucan Harriers) and several others, including MSB, Dundrum and Tallaght. Didn't think it would be such a huge event and it was heartening to see so many young runners in action. Anyway, he put in a pretty decent performance finishing well within the top 20, I think. Most importantly, he enjoyed himself and is looking forward to the next outing in October in Phoenix Park.
Later it was off to his own birthday party and by the time we got back home and made it through the bedtime routine, it was only then that I could think about getting in a few recovery miles. Got changed and stepped outside into sheets of fine rain. A mile into the run, I realised that I had barely a single square meal all day and felt a little off form for the rest of the run, feeling more and more peaky as I ran and by now, completey sodden. Not the most enjoyable of runs to be honest but good to get a few extra miles in at the end of the week.
Off to Bristol on Thursday for a few days, might try to squeeze in a Parkrun while over there if I can.....depending on how the visits to the local hostelries go the night before........
And finally.....earlier this afternoon, I started flirting with the idea of entering the Manchester Marathon next April. In truth, it's been on my mind for a while now. With my in-laws all living there, it could easily coincide with one of our regular trips.
An obvious factor to consider would be the prospect of running two marathons in the space of 6 months, leaving not very much in the way of wiggle room between DCM, training and then Manchester. All thoughts on this suicide mission plan are welcome.
Will give it some more thought before committing but I think I already know that I won't be taking part in DCM next year. and looking for alternatives!!
Miles for the week - 38.2
Mile for the year - 1170
Over and out.0 -
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Monday 16th September - OFF
Tuesday 17th September.
Planned: 60 mins easy.
Actual: 45 mins easy-ish. 5.16m @ 8:59
Ran these few miles while my son was training with Lucan Harriers. Their session was only 45 mins long so I knew I would'nt quite get the hour in. For some reason the GPS on the watch didn't kick in properly and the splits were coming in at around 8:58/9:00 which was a long way off what I was actually doing. The last mile was run alongside Mark Ryan (2nd in Ratoath) whose son also trains with LH. He was doing a couple of cool down laps after hard session so I joined in and had an interesting chat with him. Knew I was running at least a minute quicker than I should have just to keep up with him!!
Wednesday 18th September.
Planned: 50 mins tempo
Actual: 60 mins easy/very easy - 6.23m @9:47
Early start for this one, out into the darkness with not even a hint of daylight making itself known. With the trip to Bristol planned the following day, I decided it would be best to switch the 50 tempo run to the Thursday and make some minor tweaks to the rest of the week. Took this one very easy, starting off with a couple of 10 min miles and finishing off with some very slightly less easy miles but still easy enough.
Thursday 19th September. 50 mins Tempo. 4.16m @ 9:22
Had time to drop the kids off to school and get this run out of the way before heading to the airport to meet the lads.
It was a beautiful day and I made my way over to Griffeen. Decided beforehand that my target pace for this would be in and around 7:20/7:30. Started off with a 2 mile warm up before starting the session. Once I'd got going, the first mile came in at 7:20 on the nose so decided to see how the next few miles worked out at that pace. The warm temperatures probably increased the effort levels during this session and by the end, I was pretty well spent but throughly enjoyed it. Just about enough time for a cool-down, back home, changed and off to the airport.
Landed in Bristol later that afternoon and the tone was set early on as the hunt for some decent pubs was well underway. :cool:
Friday 20th September. 50 mins Tempo. 4.16m @ 9:22
Afternoon pints were the order of the day again but after a few hours I decided to knock it on the head as I was dead set on doing my run the following morning. The rest of the crew staggered back to the hotel at 3am..........:rolleyes:
Saturday 21st September. 5 miles easy / Bristol Parkrun @ Ashton Court - 8.13m @ 8:41
Couldn't decide which of the two Bristol Parkrun locations to go with so as they were both equidistant from the hotel, I decided to let the coin decide. Ashton Court it was. It was another glorious day and ran the 3 miles to where it was taking place. As I arrived, the Parkrun marshals were just starting to set up all the usual gear. The park itself was a huge expanse of fields with some gorgeous scenery and once I made a note of the start line, I checked the time and with another 20 mins to spare, I carried on at the easy pace for another couple of miles. The path very suddenly became a very steep incline for about half a mile and I thought to myself "I hope this isn't the actual route"......Made it to near where the incline looked as if it was about to level out and turned back down the hill to the start line. There was a pretty hefty turnout for this, easily 300-400 and after the run director ran through the usual spiel, I made my way up reasonably close to the front but wasn't too bothered as I knew I'd be taking this easy--ish.
Lots of polite shouts of "thank you marshall!!" from runners as we passed each of the marshalls and as I looked ahead, I could see that we were headed right in the direction of the path I had climbed only 15 mins before. The ascent up the hill continued as the surface turned to a stone/gravel track towards the summit. Now pushing hard, as we approached the half way point, I was met by the leading pack on their way back down, looking like they knew exactly what they were doing. "This is nuts!!" I thought to myself as I did a 180 at the halfway point.
It was literally all downhill from here and everyone in front of me (dozens of runners at this point) were going hell for leather, while hundreds were still making their way up the hill. There was only one thing for it........Released the handbrake and was freewheeling down on the stony surface running faster than was probably good for me (thinking once again: "this is nuts!!"). Have to say, I was thoroughly enjoying it by now and with a quick glance of the watch, my pace was 5:35......holy crap, am I going to get a sub-20 here?? (I obviously knew I wouldn't, considering my opening mile but I had a chuckle to myself all the same) was passing out a good few others on the way down and eventually the path levelled out with about 400 metres to the finish. No point slowing up now so put the foot down again, running at a pace of about 6:00 miles/min as I crossed over the line. Bonkers.
Made my way up to collect my finishers token and saw that I had finished in 91st place. Wait a sec, is this token upside-down?? Nope, definitely 91st. Time was 22:56. Oh, and there was a total of 630 participants!!!
Without doubt, the most insane Parkrun I have ever done. If you ever find yourself in Bristol, please, please try this for yourself!!!
Had a cool-down jog back into the city for a well-deserved pancake breakfast with some of the gang (the ones who were actually still alive).
Sunday 22nd September. 2hrs, 30 mins easy run. 16.16m @ 9:34
The weekend's travelling left me a bit jaded so it was a super early night on Saturday, knowing I'd be doing my longest run of the year to date the following day.Out the door at 5:45am into some light rain but nothing to write home about. Hadn't actually decided on a route until about 20 mins in and was happy enough with the plan once I had it figured out in my head. After about 4 miles, the heavens opened and within minutes, I was soaked to the skin. No let-up with the downpour for another 10/15 mins and it eventually eased off into a light drizzle once again. Pace-wise, it was all done between a starting-off pace of 9:50-9:25 (latter miles) and I was pretty comfortable throughout the whole run, even managed to up the pace for the last five minutes or so. I'll spare you all the specifics of what occupied my headspace during this run. Let's just say, my 26 x tables were really put to the test!!
So, a decent week's mileage overall and things are really starting to fall into place. There will be ZERO talk of race goal times for another few weeks at least.
Miles for the week - 48
Miles for the year - 12180 -
One thing I meant to mention in my log yesterday was the subject of progress. I wrote about this the week before when I compared the time for my three half marathons and how my times have gradually improved with each one.
After Ratoath, out of sheer curiosity, I entered my finish time into the pace calculator and it calculated paces that were identical to the paces that I am currently basing my training on (Dunboyne 5 mile).
Not really sure what this means, if anything but I just thought it was interesting.
*shrug*0 -
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One thing I meant to mention in my log yesterday was the subject of progress. I wrote about this the week before when I compared the time for my three half marathons and how my times have gradually improved with each one.
After Ratoath, out of sheer curiosity, I entered my finish time into the pace calculator and it calculated paces that were identical to the paces that I am currently basing my training on (Dunboyne 5 mile).
Not really sure what this means, if anything but I just thought it was interesting.
*shrug*
Are you aiming for this predictor time as your DCM goal K?0 -
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WARNING. YOU ARE ENTERING A NEGATIVITY-FREE ZONE
Monday 30th September - 30 mins easy. 3.41m @ 9:17
This was a day that I just happened to have my running gear with me in work. Decided on a whim to loosen up the legs for 30 minute jaunt around Dublin's docks.
Tuesday 1st October. 6.48m @ 9:32
Early run this morning. That's all really.
Wednesday 2nd October. 12 mile w/u, 2 x 30 mins tempo w/5 mins rec jog - 10.67m @7.52
Had planned to do this as a run-mute so worked out a route that would allow for the mileage. Headed down the quays for a couple of warm up miles as far a the entrance to the Zoo before starting in the first of the two reps. Straight up Chesterfield Ave, hung a left and down the Khyber, along Military Rd and out the Chapelizod Gate. Timed this one to perfection in that the 5 mins recovery was done along the climb up the old Lucan Road towards Palmerstown. As soon as a reached the top of the climb, it was time for the second of the two 30 minutes tempo runs with just under 4.5 miles to go to where I needed to be.
So many of the session days in the plan have left me feeling so positive about how my running is going and the closer we get to DCM, the more upbeat these sessions are making me feel. I was really happy with my pacing all the way through and at times perhaps ran a little faster than I should have but nothing to worry about.
Thursday 3rd October. 60 mins easy - 6.36m @ 9:26
Another lunch run around the city and took the opportunity to visit a few of the city's parks, starting with Stephen's Green, on to Merrion Square and finishing with the College Park in Trinity only to discover it was out of use.
Friday 4th October. OFF
Saturday 5th October. 3 hours long run - 20.02 @ 9:15
Had to swap Sunday's long run to today as my son had his Dublin Juniors XC outing in Phoenix Park on Sunday morning and would have meant me having to leave the house at a ridiculous hour, just to get back in time. Wanted to enjoy this long run so left the house at around 7:15am, just as daylight started to appear. It took me an age to decide on a route, I had originally planned on taking in part of the Grand Canal Greenway from Celbridge to Lucan but after the week's rainfall, I figured it wouldn't be the most pleasant of running surfaces.
Decided to head to Phoenix Park via Ballyfermot and I knew if I got my pacing right, my route would allow me around 5 miles of running within the Park itself before turning back for home. Dozens of runners out in the Park, all looking like they had only one thing on their minds.
Throughout the run, even though my pace gradually quickened in the second half, I was just focusing on keeping things ticking over, staying above 9 min miles. Wondered briefly afterwards if I should have included a few MP miles towards the end but decided against it. So happy to get this done, not because I wanted it out of the way but I really needed it for another confidence boost. Did the trick!
Sunday 6th October. 60 minutes @moderate pace - 7.59m @ 8:01
The day started off with a trip back to the Phoenix Park for the Junior XC League. My son was once again running in the Under 10's and we headed up to where the race was, just beyond the Magazine Fort. It was a beautiful sunny morning but quite windy and the terrain along the 700 metre route was a little challenging. We found out two days before, that my son had finished 19th out of 64 runners in his group at the first outing at Newbridge House in Donabate and so he already had points on the board. We're just so happy that he's taking part in these races and events that we steer clear of putting any pressure on him, so just told him to go out and enjoy himself, which he is clearly doing. Just like last time, there was a huge turnout for this event across all the age groups, so great to see. This time, he put in another impressive performance, finishing in around 28th place.
Another packed schedule for the rest of the day and had already resigned myself to the fact that today's run would be a late one.
Some more painting and decorating on the 'to-do' list during the afternoon as well which (as usual) takes much longer than anticipated.
Oh yes the run.....
according to the desired pace (moderate), I was to run at a pace of 8:15-8:25. Instead, I thought I'd go a little further by keeping the miles as close to 8:00mins as I could. Strangely, it felt as if the effort required in parts was greater than I thought it would be. Tired legs perhaps. Overall though, felt good.
On a side note, the birthday and 8th anniversary of the passing of my closest friend today too so lots of time for reflection and trips down memory lane with his family who I have become very close to over the years. Tears and smiles were the order of the day.
So, at almost 57 miles, my highest mileage of the plan so far and so begins the taper.
Have a visit to the physio planned for tomorrow, just as a precaution ahead of DCM. It feels as if things are finally falling into place and my confidence is growing by the week.
I'll leave it there before the waffle-ometer goes into overdrive. :rolleyes:
Miles for the week- 56.66
Miles for the year - 13180 -
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Monday 14th October -
30 mins easy. 3.13m @9:35
I knew, with my OH going away for the weekend, that this week's schedule would require some juggling so in place of Saturday's 40 min easy run, I thought I'd start off the week with this slightly shorter version.
Tuesday 15th October -
40 mins easy. 4.28m @ 9:23
Lunchtime run around either side of Dublin's docks.
Wednesday 16th October -
2 mile w/u, 4 x 10 mins tempo w/ 4 mins recovery. 8.87m@ 8:09
Again, the highlight of my week's running schedule. Used this session as a run-mute after work and although there was some tiredness in the legs, I was still looking forward to getting this done. The 2 mile warm up took me from O'Connell Bridge as far as the Islandbridge gate of the Phoenix Park before starting the first of the four 10 minute tempo runs. First one went grand, nothing too strenuous. After the first of the 4 min recovery jogs, I knew I would be faced with an uphill climb for the next tempo pace rep. Started off just as the incline kicked in but all the way up I was more than able to maintain the pace which I felt really good about, Perhaps a sign that all the core and strengthening exercises I've been doing are starting to pay off. By the end of this session, I was once again left feeling super-pumped and full of confidence ahead of next week.Finished with a 1 mile cool down.
Thursday 17th October -
50 mins easy - 5.31m @9.36
Late evening run around Lucan.
Friday 18th October. OFF
Saturday 19th October - OFF
New running shoes today. Exact same as previous pair so they hopefully won't need too much breaking in.
Sunday 20th October -
75 mins easy - 8.2m @ 9:09
The day started off out at Abbotstown where my son was running in the Under-10's Cross Country Juvenile even age Championship. Beautiful morning for it too and in a field of approx. 60-70 boys, he finished well inside the top 20 and the third of the eight Lucan Harriers boys to cross the finish line. So unbelievably proud of him. On the way home he asked: "Dad, can I get some running spikes?"
I think he's enjoying this running lark.
Late run around Lucan and a head full of calculations, permutations and combinations ahead of next weekend. Have pretty much settled on a pacing strategy that I'm happy with, I just hope I have the right balance of confidence and self-belief on the day to pull it off.
Mile for the week - 29.7
Miles for the year - 13830 -
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