Run for your life!!!!

Thanks so much everyone, will certainly give it my best shot.

skyblue46 wrote: »

All the best tomorrow K, run well

Cheers S!!

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.

Huzzah! wrote: »

you’re in the middle of marathon training and there wasn’t much of a taper.

Haha, if there was even a taper at all!!!