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BeepBeep67

Well this is my 3rd year running for Boards in the Wicklow Way Relay and the interest and enthusiasm that DoNot has created for this event was evident from the early discussions, at one stage 5 from the winning team last year were on the B team :eek:. The pre race Boards banter is now as much a part of the event as the race itself and everyone knew Rathfarnham were out to prove a point.
Running leg 8 is always a strange leg to run as you potter around in the morning eagerly awaiting text updates (1st at 8:17 as I was getting some Rye bread and Jam into me - A team 3rd after leg 1, B team 8th, nice solid start I thought) and trying to channel any nervous energy that's starting to build up - so I slowly got my gear together, think I managed an hour to locate, fold, place and double check the 8 items that went in my kit bag. The plan was to leave at 12 to get to the finish at 1 to hook up with Ian and then Mrs BeepBeep would drive us to the start of leg 8 for 1.20, had a sick child to contend with on the way down, so a quick stop at Aughrim and we were ready to get moving again.
Quick pit stop in the pub and we were heading to the leg 8 start and by the time we got there Rathfarnham had already gone through :eek: - fantastic flawless execution this year and a course record well deserved.
Ian went off on a warm up as bodies started to gather, Pat and Dave with Camera and cheerleaders (those kids are either athletics fans for life or scarred for life - only time will tell ). Rene came through and we hoped Gary would be close behind, so that was my signal to start my warm up and head up the trail and offer Ian some support and it wasn't long before he was on his way. So back down to start for me and some strides and drills to keep loose, a few spoters were trying to eye runners as Martin Francis came through at 2:09 in 4th, latest was that the Boards B were in 5th so I would be up next, and Paul came in bang on 2:30.
Leg 8 is a cheeky little leg with the only flat section coming in the last 100mts, you're either climbing or going downhill which throws your splits and average pace all over the shop. It starts with 6 gates to navigate in the first mile and checking my Garmin stats I have 18 secs between actual time and moving time - you loose about 3 secs per gate and your momentum also, my 1st 2 splits were 4:48, 4:47, but at least those gates were finished with. On a nice fire road now and was trying to get the legs turning over, was disappointed to only see splits of 3:42 and 3:41 for these 2 k's felt like I was going faster as we turned the corner here I was passed by Tom O'Connor from the nifty 50's team, I tucked in for about 400 mts hoping that he had over cooked it, but Tom is a much stronger runner than I and he gradually pulled away following by his support crew of cars and vans (but I'm greatful of the water they offered - it's all part of the good feeling that goes along with this event), this section creates a bit of an optical illusion as Tom would pull away on downhills and I would fell like I was catching on the uphills, but that's all it was an illusion. K's 5, 6 & 7 are rolling as they gradually take you uphill with a stiff climb in the middle of the 7th and these went by in 3:55, 4:02 and 4:20 and I hit the turn for home at an average of 4:11 pace, pre race I worked out that I needed about 4:06 here for sub 40 and 4:00 for sub 39, so there was work to do. One final climb at the start of the 8th k for 4:00 and then it's heading for home, was really pushing now but only a 3:54 followed, the legs were zipless, but that also sprung me into life and I started hammering the last k doing mental maths on what I needed for a sub 40, legs were out of control at this stage as I went with the flow and rounded the last corner for a sprint finish - last split of 2:59 :eek: (960mts) and 40:12 - but a 2:08 PB on this leg .

Well done to one and all, definitely the highlight in the racing calendar, these type of team events are too far and few between. Paul again your organisational skills were excellent, plus last year you were were the catalyst that drove Rathfarnham to a course record - kudos to Peter and team, but some great Boards performances all around.
Roll on next year!

BeepBeep67

Me poor 'ol calves, thank God it was teaming down this morning as I rolled over in the bed and eventually dragged myself out at 9:30, the walk to the TK Max was a slow and painful one, so before breakfast it was Tiger Balm and compression socks - at least it was both of them so not concerned with injury - just strains. And glad today's weather wasn't yesterday's weather!
Eventually built up the courage to run at 5:30 after will I, won't I'n for the majority of the day, but I'm actually on a cheeky 44 day running day streak and 61 days training (including 2 bike spins) so it would've been a shame not to. First k was done gingerly enough @ 5:30pace as my calves were asking 'what the hell is going on', but I was treating them to a runner with a heel as my Adidas Response Cushions squished along in relative comfort vs the non-existant heel on the F-Lite 230's, little do they know I plan to be in spikes 2 days next week (hope they are not reading this) as the k's went by it became easier and the pace increased to eventually get through 12.4k in an hour (4:50 pace), but once I stopped it was back to square one - guess I'll just have to keep running.
IMRA have me down for the wrong time yesterday - I'm sure the General will sort it out!

WTD: 65.0 [40.4]
MTD: 124.3 [77.3]
YTD: 1578.7 [981.2]
Races YTD: 16 [6 x M40 PB's]

BeepBeep67

Not going to bore anyone to tears, probably shouldn't have raced tonight, not fully recovered and calves still like rocks, but it's hard not to - 1 windy mile in 5:11 absolutely no zip in the legs and unaided by swallowing a fly after a lap! Got roped into running an 800mt leg in the relay also - think my time was measured using a calendar rather than a stopwatch. Good workout though - 2 races, 1 more to go Thurs then a down week followed by 6 weeks 10k training.

BeepBeep67

1st night off in 47, glass of Rioja and 6 squares of Cadbury's Fruit & Nut - perfect prep for a BHAA race

BeepBeep67

BHAA 1 Mile

So tonight I went with the intention of running the 3k, but then I knew a few that were in my grade for the Mile so went for that instead - in hindsight it was a good idea as there were more in the open 3k than I've seen at a Wicklow Senior XC for many a year.
Lots of familiar faces around this evening which was great to see, got a nice relaxed warm up in with a good combination of dynamic and static stretching, while watching the other Mile races unfold, with gerard65 running a well paced Mile to finish 2nd (I can visualize Emerald007 with his slash hook as I type, whipped off a standard).
All I was targetting this evening was to run faster than Tuesday evening and with it being on grass I'd take the double benefit. Quick a few in the race and lots of pushing and bumping to get into track position by the 200 mark, got tripped a few times on the first few laps which threw me off my stride, great support around the track as we went through each lap and I could barely make out the times (so thanks to Woodle for the lap splits), I'm guessing they were in the region of 77,77,78,75 for 5:07 - I think Woodle can confirm. I found the middle section tough, but managed a reasonable last 200 to battle past a few places, that's 19 races this year and 9 since the beginning of May and I feeling a little fatigued, easy week coming up and then back to training and no races for 4 weeks.

Krusty_Clown

So, if 1 glass of Rioja and 6 squares of fruit and nut = saving of four seconds, then three glasses of Rioja and 18 squares of fruit and nut should see you comfortably under the 5 minutes.

Woddle

Really good run and you looked solid, keeping your form the whole way. I enjoyed watching the races as much as the racing.

77 (409m)
77
79 (high)
73

BeepBeep67

I know garmin accuracy on track is not great anyway but all things being equal I ran my longest mile last night at 1.75 vs 1.69 being the longest in my other races, might be an indication of the crowding in the 1st couple of laps but held the inside line pretty well after that.

gerard65

You won a prize, you must have been placed in your catagory, well done.

BeepBeep67

Ha Ha - deadly , good job I passed John B on the final bend he's a grade 7 also!

stmochtas

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Ha Ha - deadly , good job I passed John B on the final bend he's a grade 7 also!

Ya Trinity seem to do 1-6 as the first group, so well done.

BeepBeep67

Nice 12k lunch time run just letting the mind wander, then I realised I had to get back for a call so had to put in a few quick k's at the end.
12k in 57:09 (4:46pace) - last 2k in 8:09.
That's the 1,000 mile challenge complete for 2011, 8 days earlier than last year.

BeepBeep67

19hrs door to door travel yesterday = no run.
Had hoped to hook up with a local group heading for an early run in Hyderabad, but a slightly delayed flight followed by delayed luggage meant I only made it to the hotel 30mins after I was due to be collected (I was hoping to have 30mins to get organsied), in hindsight I don't think I would've been able for either the 13k or 20k options at 5:45am (01:15 Irish time).
So hit the hay, done a bit of shopping and then an easy 6M on the treadie in 44:58.

WTD: 41.1 [25.5]
MTD: 165.4 [102.8]
YTD: 1619.8 [1006.7]
Races YTD: 19 [6 x M40 PB's]

BeepBeep67

...run on the midnight treadie

Yeah so made it back to the hotel late and decided to try out the 24hrness of the hotel Gym, had the place to myself as I mounted the treadie just before midnight for 40mins easy running covering 5 miles. No AC on lead to an unscheduled sweat session in 29 degrees - nite nite

oh officially a 5:05 for the BHAA mile and up another grade :eek: - why I oughta!!!

BeepBeep67

Catching Up......

Tue tro Fri was 3 treadmill runs (no run on Thurs, was cream crackered) all 4 miles didn't have the energy or will for anything more.

Sat - got up early enough as we were heading away, so knocked out an easy 15k @ 4:50 pace before breakfast, was tired before I finished and was glad when it was over and then a 4.5hr drive to West Kerry.

Plan for this week is to get back into steady running and throw in some unstructured faster running as and if the body feels like it - then it's 6 weeks 10k training for Ballinamore, which will be based on increasing my weekend run, 1 x faster than 10k session (with a few 3k gradeds and Raheny 2M's) and a tempo session and a couple aerobic 1hr mid week runs.

Sun out for an early morning explore in Banna, headed down to check out the beach before doubling back and heading to Ardfert and a loop around the town, stuck in 4k @ 4:20pace just to loosen up the legs and a few strides in the last k. 12.24k @ 4:36pace.

WTD: 54.6 [33.9]
MTD: 219.9 [136.7]
YTD: 1674.3 [1040.6]
Races YTD: 19 [6 x M40 PB's]

Mon - threw on the Inov8's and headed for the beach which is 1.5k from the house - ran out towards Ballyhaige which was a good work out in the sand and against the breeze I was happy to reach after 8k (6.5k of sand running) with 4:55 per k average pace, headed up through the town and back towards Banna where my pace naturally increased along the main road, at 12k there is an option to head back towards the beach (Black Rock) which I take and this leads me on to the North Kerry Way, which runs between the main road and Banna Beach, this takes me over a nice undulating trail as I climbed and dipped along the dunes and back towards the house where I finish up with 16.25k @ 4:50 pace and nice to have double figures in the bag on a Monday - the Inov-8's were brill - 10miles in slippers - sweet.

Just seen there is a 5k in Macroom on Thurs night, 90mins away <tempted> need to work on the Brownie points 1st - If there are any Corkonians reading this if you could drop me a note on directions etc - tnx.

dna_leri

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Plan for this week is to get back into steady running and throw in some unstructured faster running as and if the body feels like it - then it's 6 weeks 10k training for Ballinamore, which will be based on increasing my weekend run, 1 x faster than 10k session (with a few 3k gradeds and Raheny 2M's) and a tempo session and a couple aerobic 1hr mid week runs.

.

Have you done Ballinamore before, am I right in thinking its a potential PB course ? Debating between that and a few other races.

BeepBeep67

dna_leri wrote: »

Have you done Ballinamore before, am I right in thinking its a potential PB course ? Debating between that and a few other races.

Haven't raced it before but know the area pretty well as the OH is from there.
Should be a quick enough start and finish and nothing too hairy in the middle, so pace it right and a good time could be on the cards.

BeepBeep67

9.55k recovery run, played 5 aside football last night and if I was kidding myself that I'm still young the 1st 2k of this run proved otherwise as my muscles and sinews creaked and groaned into life. Little road loop run at recovery pace with 3k of climbing from 2-5, lovely sunny morning.

shels4ever

Will you be running the 5 mile in the phenoix park on the 16th july?

BeepBeep67

shels4ever wrote: »

Will you be running the 5 mile in the phenoix park on the 16th july?

Don't think so - find it hard to get excited about the hassle of getting there, getting into the pen too early and all that for 5miles, when there are plently of good club races around the place.

Pronator

Ah go on, you can travel in with me and I'll keep you company:D

shels4ever

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Don't think so - find it hard to get excited about the hassle of getting there, getting into the pen too early and all that for 5miles, when there are plently of good club races around the place.

Yep i know what you mean, if it was close to me I wouldnt be running. But going to give this one a real lash

BeepBeep67

Yesterday went for a coffee in Ballyhaige and decided to run back to Banna - along the beach for about 4k before joining the North Kerry Way again for the remainder, with a few strides thrown in in the last k. 7.36k @ 4:53 pace. Have a pass for tonight, so will head to Macroom to sample some Cork BHAAness - thanks Condo131 for the call, will just be a workout but nice to squeeze in a race when you're away.

BeepBeep67

Made the hop over to Macroom with the gang via Killarney and Eddie Rockets
Well organised race with maybe 5-600 in it, met up briefly with Condo131 before the race and soon we were off on an undulating loop of the town. Not a race for a PB so I ran handy enough for the 1st uphill k in 3:38, the next k started with a downhill before levelling out 3:34, was latching onto a group now and passing a few for a 3:40, the 4th k had a couple of rolling hills passed about 3 on this k for a 3:45, back over the start line to finish with a k uphill into the town was chasing down a group of 4, 2 of which I would catch for a 3:37 and 18:14 for 19th place.
Happy enough had 18:20 in my mind with messy training for the last few weeks and a week of food and beer.
I have a starting point now for my 10k training.

BeepBeep67

So today brings to an end my running in Banna (67k in 6 days) - heading back early tomorrow. So headed to Ardfert and then down a quite country lane looking to hook up with another section of the North Kerry Way, which I did eventually after 6.5k but still on back roads, eventually it diverts onto a sandy trail before popping out on the beach again which brings me back to Banna Strand and back up to the house for 11.26k @ 4:43 pace. Body showed no impact from last night's race which was the plan.

BeepBeep67

Just a 4 mile recovery run yesterday to get the blood flowing again in the legs after a 4.5hr car trip back from Banna, lovely evening trot along the Murrough.

This morning out of the scratcher early to meet up with Pronator and another for 20k around Shanganagh @ 4:37 pace, fantastic morning to be out and about and a good solid start to my 10k training.

Few links from last week:
10 mile Banna Stand - North Kerry Way
Macroom 5k

WTD: 81.0 [50.4]
MTD: 37.9 [23.5]
YTD: 1,091.0 [1755.4]
Races YTD: 20 [6 x M40 PB's]

BeepBeep67

Nice gentle 1hr aerobic run in Shanganagh, just what the body needed.
12.27k

BeepBeep67

5k pace session (target - 3:34)
Hit Shanganagh on a warm but breezy evening, a 2.65k warm up with some dynamic stretches and then into 5x1k with 2min rec, went reasonably ok, checking back it's been 4 weeks since I done a quality session and the 1st one was hard and a little off the pace @ 3:37, over compensated on the 2nd for a 3:28 before getting into a rythym and hitting 3:30 - 3:32 & 3:31 for the last 3 to average 3:32. This session will build up to 8x1k over the next few weeks which should be fun. 2.3k to warm down for 11.08k @ 4:39 pace.

BeepBeep67

Meet up with a fellow clubie and went for a recce of the DLR Bay 10k route in the wind and the rain - great fun altogether .
It's a lovely route, nothing too hairy in it and all the hard work is over by half way: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/97277091
Total 10.71k @ 4:40 pace

christeb

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Don't think so - find it hard to get excited about the hassle of getting there, getting into the pen too early and all that for 5miles, when there are plently of good club races around the place.

agree with you on this. Are you coming out to Raheny for a few of the 2 milers? Hopefully I'll be in shape to make a decent race of it