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"If I'm not out there training, someone else is."
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Day|Training|Distance|Pace|Time
Tuesday|Easy Run|7 miles|7.19 mile pace|51.16
Into Phoenix Park for this one where I met tRR and Claralara who was just finishing her session so. There was no real plan on this one for me just mainly a run to get started again after the weekend. Came to the conclusion that tRR missed his calling as the head of Marketing for HB as he began an in depth conversation about ice cream to the point where I was craving one and then at about 6.5 miles as if by magic we spot the ice cream van parked up by the the cars. Never seen a grown man jump around for joy like i did there so after the run up for a 99 as good recovery food
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Me? Sure I'm in Wicklaw! What would I be doing in a Dublin XC race? Besides, as track sessions have illustrated, the only time you'd see a clown is looking over your shoulder for the first 20 seconds, and then later when you lapped me. I just need to keep spiking your breakfast, so I'll have a chance.I know, I have a clown with a Bulls eye target scorched in my mind:D
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Krusty_Clown wrote: »Me? Sure I'm in Wicklaw! What would I be doing in a Dublin XC race? Besides, as track sessions have illustrated, the only time you'd see a clown is looking over your shoulder for the first 20 seconds, and then later when you lapped me. I just need to keep spiking your breakfast, so I'll have a chance.
Ah man you flying these days an in fairness at weekend all I saw of you was blazing by me and then waiting on me at the finish:D
One for a great one in Dublin man will be no bother to you0 -
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After the disappointment of last week I was itching to get back out racing this weekend. The choices were this or the lakes. Despite reports of the Lakes being a slightly better course the fact this started at 11 and was right on my doorstep swung it for me (I was in work at 1 so I didnt have time to mess around)
Absolute scorcher out there today coupled with a challenging course I knew this one was going to be a tough run but I just said get out there and give it a lash and see how things went. Numbers seemed to be down this year but considering how saturated September is for races this year its not surprising. Made a conscious decision to minimize the water intake compared to last week despite the weather as I didn't want the same thing happening.
Gun went and immediately was out at the front with two other lads. Pace was very slow at first and I thought that no one had turned up but this was short lived. Pace was around 5.30 is which I was grand with however the lads started winding it up and before I knew I was down sub 5.20 which I decided was too hot even with a down hill so I let the lads go. First mile; 5.24
Turned a corner and started up a long 1 mile + drag which is known as the wind tunnel. No matter how still a day you get you always seem to have a head wind coming up this stretch. I slotted in behind a big Rathfarnam lad at this point and decided the let him do the work and just match his pace however it soon became apparent that he had gotten too excited on the downhill and gone out to fast because on the drag he was on 6 min pace, much to slow I though so I pushed on solo. I was in no man s land letting a gap of about 15m-20m between top 5 and myself so I pushed on and made an effort to catch up on them which I did not just before the 3km mark. It was in my mind that perhaps this was not the most sensible move to make as I decided to close a gap on an uphill section with a head wind so I knew I could hurt later on in the race. Mile 2; 5.43
Next mile and I was ticking along okay. A guy had caught me and was playing a bit of cat and mouse passing me on downhills but I was making it back on up hills so we ended up working off each other a bit. Mile 3; 5.42
This was a mile that I had expected to make back a bit of time as was a good bit of it downhill. Hit the 5k mark at 17.34 (funny enough the exact time I ran in the Dublin Novice 5k earlier in the summer). Unfortunately I didnt even though the pace was in the 5.30s for alot of this mile we turned on to the drag from the first lap for roughly last 400m or so which took its toll on the average pace. Mile 4; 5.41
This was the toughest and I knew it was where was gonna make or break the race. The long drag sapped the legs and I was overheated and hurting. Alot of negative thoughts started running through the head on this one nevertheless I dug in and coming to the end of this mile I turned a corner, both figuratively and mentally as I had turned out of the headwind (not that bad but when you hurting already you exaggerated to the point where you feel like you are battling a gale) and also the course leveled off. Mile 5; 5.56
I knew any chance at a PB was gone which even though I knew at the start of the race its not the course for it you always feel like you can beat a course and get your time regardless. Still I was going well and the leading pack had come back a good bit. I chased guy not too far ahead but the gap was a little too big despite me feeling strong.At 9k I was on 31.59 so I knew I needed a 3.30 last k to finish in a respectable time Mile 6; 5.41
The last 400m I was expecting to have a huge kick but I didnt I just ran in strong and wound it up and crossed the line in
35.24 (Watch time) for 7th
All in all I am happy with the run I would have liked to run quicker but the heat and the course itself meant that this wasnt going to happen today. It was only as I hopped in the car that I had a chance to reflect on what was a very good performance and on a different course reckon would have dipped under 35
Splits
5.24,
5.43,
5.42,
5.41,
5.56,
5.41
1.14
It was just great to be out racing tbh0 -
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After the disaster of the Athenry Half Marathon two weeks ago I was fuming and the first thought was when is the next half I can do. First thoughts were Charleville and the Dublin half (which I was down to pace) but thankfully Kurt Godel had read my mind and PM'ed me saying that if I wanted to race it I could so decided to run the 10k last week as a blow out and ready to go this week though I didn't really publicize it too much. The week had not gone well in terms of training with the new job none the less I figured I would be fresh today and there was no real pressure on me because it was a challenging course and it was a last minute decision despite being in the shape to hit PB.
The plan was simple, a PB was the target and I didnt care if that meant I ran 77.05 (previous PB was 77.06) I knew I would have to bank time for the last three miles which were torture
Met many of the boardsie pacers before the race and was quite relaxed positioned my well and the gun was off. Took off very slow down chesterfield avenue as I knew people were going to go out way too hard in the first mile due to going down Kyber. I made a bit of time on the down hill but kept it very handy I knew this was one of the miles that I was going to bank time on for later in the race and hit the 1st mile in 5.43.
Amazing to see the change in so many people once we got to bottom of Kyber and proceeded up towards Wellington monument. Here i must have passed about 20 people and thought to myself that maybe I am working up the hill but to be honest I was still going very handy. The last thing I wanted was to be working too hard this early in the race. Quick check on the watch reassured me though and it was just as case that people were going backward rather than me killing it up the hill. Mile 2: 5.52
At this point the race had settled down and we started up the back of the park into a very strong head wind. I ended up running into a similar enough pattern in this mile; stick in behind group and draft, have a revelation that the pace is too slow and push on to the next group up ahead. People were hurting in the wind and many of these people were the ones that had gone out too fast in the first mile and were starting to pay for it. I was kinda worried that this surging would hurt me later on but to be honest the pace was still quite handy so I knew I was running well within myself. Mile 3 5.51
This mile followed a similar pattern of working my way up through groups and for the most part trying to tuck in to try and avoid the strong head wind. The only problem was that at this stage I was starting to run out of groups up ahead so ended up with three of us rotating a bit somewhat. Mile 4 5.52
At this point I came across a guy in football shorts a race series t shirt pair of bog standard runners and no watch and he got me thinking. Normally the footballing types go off too hard and die but we were nearly five mile in normally they don't last this long especially at 77 min pace. This was someone who was either going to blow up spectacularly in the latter miles or was a true racer and was just running off feel however the lead car was coming down chesterfield avenue while we were running up the path the opposite direction and his gazed was focused on that clock. Mile 5 5.43
The wind was on a back a bit and I remained tucked in for the majority of times but occasionally I tried share the work. This was not a selfless act of sacrificing my own time to help this guy it was more a case of if he dies off I will be one my own and will hurt for a while so best to keep him with me for as long as possible. Mile 6 5.53
This mile came out of the park and turning out of the wind and downhill so I knew this was gonna be a mile that I was gonna make up some time. The fact that I had run at PB pace at slowest throughout the race meant that I was under however the only thing I had to worry about was the race line and how much over the 13.1 I would have to compensate for (I was keeping an eye and at this point it was about 11 secs) At this downhill the racer took off. I knew he was increasing the pace too much and would suffer. Mile 7 5.36
Coming back up into the park there was a good bit of a drag however it wasnt really affecting my pace and felt strong up it. I began to reel back in the racer and another guy who he had caught and tucked in behind them however the increase in pace had hurt him so I pushed on. The guy who we had caught at this point went with me and after about a half a mile turns and says "take it mile by mile? save you killing yourself doing all the work" was delighted with this and if we could work together it may help me save some precious energy for the hills in the last 3 miles which were ever present on my mind. Mile 8 5.45
One of my mates was working on one of the stages and at this point got a good bit of encouragement which helped. True to his word the guy took lead and kept the pace pretty well. We were running within ourselves given we were coming down chesterfield avenue so pace was there without having to put in the effort. Mile 9 5.42
At the mark I took over and knew this was the last mile to bank a bit of time so used the downhills to our advantages and pushed on. Was shocked and delighted to see myself hit the 10 mile mark in 57.37. Mile 10 5.37
I knew this was where the race was going to start as we turned in through islandbridge gate and up military hill. My agreement with the guy I was running with was always just until we got to the hills and I started working up the hill. Caught one guy and a second shortly after. This was a killer and I had a good chuckle to myself with the sight of an ambulance at the top of military hill (best place to have it on this course). Pace dropped but I had held it well enough and according to plan.Had a stone caught in my shoe at this point which distracted from hills which was a good thing (till I saw the burst blister that had been caused by it at the finish ) Mile 11 6.02
At this point I realized that I had played a mental trick on myself. I had been so worried with the last three miles that I had built them up to be all like military hill despite running here the whole time I had banked more time that I had required because there was a bit of respite on the s bends from the climbing. Though they weren't easy I was not losing the time I had budgeted to lose. The guy I passed at military hill had tried come back at me here but this was short lived as I proceeded up the upper glen road and the last of the climbs. I was hurting at this point but knew I was nearly there and just had to dig in. The sight of a handful of runners up ahead all in same boat as myself hurting up the hill on there own. Mile 12 5.48
Only one mile to go however my knowledge of the park kicked in. The mile marker was half way up the hill on upper glen road and I knew the finish was on the furze road so I began to picture just how much road was left to travel and how far it was gonna feel. I was hurting bad at this point the garmin was reading 6.20ish for current mile pace and thoughts of a 12 mile run at that pace is some achievement crept in but were quickly quashed thankfully and I dug in to regain the pace. There was an MSB lad up ahead who I set as a target and started reeling him in. The gap was about 30m but I slowly started to wittle that down as I dug in up the last straight. Mile 13 5.55
With less that 400m top go I was digging in but there was no sprint finish. Despite this I was pushing hard and the pace was wound up and I thought I might have the MSB lad.I could see the clock ticking in the 75s in the distance and there was a slight bit of me that thought "could you dip in under" but as I got nearer and saw the seconds I knew it was out of the question unless I had something special up my sleeve. Heard the announcers call out my name followed by "he is our first pacer in" obviously he still thought that I was pacing and had just gone off way too hard (or was a 1.15 pacer who had blown it:D) either way there was a bit of embarrassment as I crossed the line but this was soon replaced by jubilation to cross the line in
76.19 (76.20 chip time)
Delighted with a 46 second PB especially after the horror show that was 2 weeks ago. Also the fact that I did it on a tough enough course means that I know there is more there but I wont worry about that for now just enjoy the fact that I have redeemed myself and can push on from this
Splits
5.43,
5.52,
5.51,
5.52,
5.43,
5.53,
5.36,
5.45,
5.42,
5.37,
6.02,
5.48,
5.55,
55 (.19)0 -
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Krusty_Clown wrote: »What a superb way to turn the disappointment of the race two weeks ago on its head. Congrats ecoli. Pity you're not running the marathon!
Tbh given the way that new job is going and the way training has been the last few weeks its probably a blessing in disguise as I can see me just about getting away with it now for XC. My time will come soon enough though 0 -
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Kurt Godel wrote: »Brilliant run, I'm delighted that you salvaged a PB for all your training. Great report, nothing beats hard work getting rewarded. Well done!
To be honest dude, I was more worried about you being a crap pacer;)
Knew that pacing job from two years ago in this race would come back to haunt me 0 -
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