Ever Decreasing Circles:

BeepBeep67

Well that's it the last of the important sessions before Rotterdam it's all easy runs, strides and rest days now.
Headed over to Shanganagh just before 11 and done a loop to figure out option B for the F4L 3k, think I have it worked out now. Then headed over the tracks where I was trotting around at about 7:20 pace before getting into my HM paced efforts; 3 x 1M was on the cards and I just focused on my stride and form, these were surprisingly consistent at 6.19.35 - 6.19.43 - 6.19.23 on my little half mile loop in the back fields, which consisted of a nice headwind for about 300 mts on each lap. The recoveries were half a mile (1 lap) which were run @ 7:15 pace, finished off with about 3 miles to bring up 12.45 in 1:29 (wanted to cap at 90mins) @ 7:12 pace.
Hit Amphibian King to pick up some race supplies and treated myself to a new pair of Adizero Tempo 4's for after the Marathon.

BeepBeep67

Taper Time = Family Time

Nice chilled out morning, rolled out of bed @ whenever o'clock with 2 kids in tow and had a leisurely breakfast. Then threw the BMX's on the back of the car and headed for Arklow Skate Pk, before coming back the coast road. Jumped out at McDaniels and ran a nice lumpy 6.25 miles @ 7:30 pace.

WTD: 41.0M (65.9k)
MTD: 57.1M (91.8k)
YTD: 533.3M (858.1k)

Dory Dory

Which day and at what time is your race??

BeepBeep67

Easy 5 miles @ 7:35 just to pass the time.
The pack list is done, just need to start ticking a few boxes.

Dory Dory wrote: »

Which day and at what time is your race??

Sunday 15th @ 10:30 CET Live

Dory Dory

So sincerely and calmly excited for you. Perhaps share your bib number (or name?) so a fan in the US can follow you on race day.

BeepBeep67

Dory Dory wrote: »

So sincerely and calmly excited for you. Perhaps share your bib number (or name?) so a fan in the US can follow you on race day.

I have a fan Woo Hoo :cool:, just started a table here

TheRoadRunner

Hey BB. Is this going to be your first shot at the marathon?

BeepBeep67

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Hey BB. Is this going to be your first shot at the marathon?

About to pop the proverbial cherry!

Dory Dory

HUGE fan (and I'm not referring to my size)....and love the table.

TheRoadRunner

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

About to pop the proverbial cherry!

Cool, I thought it was all right. I think I remember reading a post where you said so. Best of luck anyway, you seem to have a great shot at hitting your goal time.

BeepBeep67

Have rub down planned for after work, so out early. Easy run up to the local GAA grounds including 6 x 100m strides and back home.
5.04 miles @ 7:39 pace.

Cutex

Your taper madness seems not to be so mad! How are you managing it on your first marathon???

Best of luck on Sunday BeepBeep. I'm already looking forward to your race report starting with Rotterdam Marathon -2:58:59 and ending with Pints - lots!!!

BeepBeep67

Cutex wrote: »

Your taper madness seems not to be so mad! How are you managing it on your first marathon???

Ha my brain is too full with other stuff at the moment so I'm just focused on what I can control - taper mileage, diet and rest. Finish up on Thursday afternoon so I'll wait until then to let the madness begin

BeepBeep67

PM: Rub-A-Dub time: back is a little tight and the calves as always rest of me feels ok, so nothing major to worry about.
Started counting carbs today need to build up to 600+ gms by Thurs, only at 370 for today and feel quite full so hit the shops to stocks up on dried fruit as snacking foods - any other thoughts welcome, here's today's diary so far.

Peckham

Another 20 Jaffa Cakes should see you over the line! I always go with tea brack - think it gives good bang for buck.

BeepBeep67

The OH just made a killer banana loaf a fat slice must be worth at least 50g's

Krusty_Clown

Bit early for carb-loading, isn't it? I'm not going to start until two days before the race (Saturday for me). Watch the dried fruit in the days closer to the race, as they are known for causing a looseness of the bowels. Bagels are good. Breadsticks are a great snack food. Pittas etc. You seem to have most of those in your list already though.

Dory Dory

Ooooo...I'd watch the dried fruit then. :eek: When do you leave?

BeepBeep67

The plan had 4 miles easy, so I started this on the treadmill, made it to 3 miles before the rear roller snapped :mad:, felt it going so was able to step onto the side quickly. Maybe that was the taper Gods telling me 3 was enough!
Anyone know where to get treadmill spares?

Dory Dory wrote: »

Ooooo...I'd watch the dried fruit then. :eek: When do you leave?

Fly out Saturday morning.

BeepBeep67

4 miles easy on grass this evening at the local GAA pitch with 6 x 100ish strides. Body feels great, I was looking for niggles or a strain or a sign of tiredness, but no all feels good.

In other news the nice people at Horizon are sending out the parts for my treadmill for free, great customer service overall.

tisnotover

all the best at the wknd BB, enjoy the rest of the carb-loading!

RacoonQueen

Best of luck Dom. Hope it goes well. Look forward to the report, try to make it sound as miserable and horrible as possible will ya? Just for me!

Woddle

Really excited to see how you go BB, best of luck.

littlebug

Best of luck BB

Dory Dory

The absolute very best to you. :):)

BeepBeep67

Rotterdam - The Marathon that wasn't

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad emotional directly after pulling out of the race yesterday. Pain you can run through, a bad day you can run through or reset your target, but when the Ginger Bread Man comes to pay a visit there's only one winner :eek:.
Maybe this one was doomed from the start!
Week 1 of training started with a glute and sciatica injury so the 15 week schedule became a 9 week one, but having said that I was happy with the training I got through in the limited time that I had. Would have liked a few more 20+ runs in there and some structured intervals.

Getting There
Would recommend anyone going to Rotterdam to consider Amsterdam and the Frya train, the train leaves from the airport and takes 25mins non stop to Rotterdam Centraal - €11 + a €2.60 supplement for the Frya. It was just a pity Rotterdam Centraal looked like a bomb site and quite a renovation projects going on pretty close to the Marathon start and finish which could have been timed better or left in 'prettier' state for Marathon weekend.
Rotterdam itself is pretty uninspiring having been bombed flat in the War it lacks identity and a uniqueness that would encourage to go back there.

The Expo
Small and disappointing, it lacked a bit of a buzz for me. Too much snakeskin oil sales people and not enough excitement.

The Race Report - For what it's worth
Didn't get a great night's sleep tossing a turning a bit and going through the race in my head, but was still in bed for about 8 hours and felt lively once I had some breakfast and shower.
Hotel was about 200 mts from the start, so headed up there about 30mins before the off, it was cold so woolly hat, gloves and long sleeves were in order as I check out the start line and went for a little jog and a stretch.
Into the pen with 20 to go and positioned myself about 10 mts from the start line, took a GU gel and sipped my water with Mrs BeepBeep nearby to take my hat and top. After customary singing miming of you'll never walk alone by a local crooner we were off.
Got a good start and was in my running pretty quickly, the plan was to keep the pace between 6:45 and 6:50.
Miles 1 to 5: [6:45-6:41-6:47-6:46-6:45] - 6:45 pace
This was pretty uneventful, just focused on my own race, concentrated on running the shortest route and use as little energy as possible. The elites and A & B pens starting on the left and staying split until the 3k mark. I heard the water set in Rotterdam are a bit of a mare, so I wore a water belt which I planned to chuck at the OH later on. So at the 1st water station just after 5k I cruised on through as the others around me went scrambling for water. Felt great and was just trying to keep the pace down.
Miles 6 to 10 [6:49-6:42-6:47-6:52-6:50] - 6:48 pace
A bit windy at times in this section and again I was able to stay out of trouble at the water station. Took another gel just after 10k, found it a little hard to get down even with the water and after a few miles the tum felt bubbly but wasn't giving me any concerns.
Miles 11 - 15 [6:47-6:46-6:58-7:00-7:04] - 6:55 pace
Tum was starting to play up at this stage and I tried to run it off, put in a couple of decent splits but the cramps were getting worse, tried a High-5 iso gel which I had planned to keep for the last 10k but this didn't make it any better. Went through have way in 1:29:15 on the clock and looking back on the stats 1:29:08 on the watch.
I was having to work harder now to maintain the pace and it was difficult to concentrate with the cramps as I started to play out scenarios in my head - look out for a loo, maybe loose 2-3mins and try and make it back up, but I did not come across any in this section. By the time I got back over the bridge and back into the city I was just hoping to make it back as close to the start as possible.
7:07 pace for the 16th mile and 7:03 pace for the .73 before I stopped and legged it back to the hotel - race over
16.73 @ 6:51 pace

Learning's, not sure if there's a whole pile:
- had orange juice in the hotel for breakfast - normally wouldn't
- don't like racing with GU gels - stick to the isos next time

Next Steps:
Not sure yet, the body feels fine, quads a little tight and the arch of my right foot a little tender but will run for fun this week and make a decision then either to roll straight into another attempt (Kildare) or push it out until Autumn.

Woddle

Hard luck BB and you'll obviously rock the next one you do.
My 2cent though is enjoy the track season and aim for Dublin with the rest of your clubmates.

Dory Dory

Tummy troubles, some things you just can't control. I know I have tried GU brand and it sent me to the loo quite dramatically - not a pretty sight....but on a positive note, I did manage to shed about two pounds from that one itty bitty packet of GU.

Any way...the highs are great and the lows suck, so try to keep the chin up and run for the pure pleasure of it this week. I'm one week ahead of you post marathon, so some of what you are feeling is still fresh for me. The good news about the sucky stuff is, it will pass. Then clarity will come and you will form your next game plan. You've got a little bit of unfinished business to tend to, but no doubt with your discipline, focus and talent, you will knock it out of the park next time.

Abhainn

I'm certain yo will put this behind you. Pacing was impressive till the trouble

The OJ may be the culprit. I had a couple of experiences in long runs after taking it. Knocked it on the head. No problem since (touch wood)

tisnotover

very nice splits up till the point you had the tummy problems. no doubt its in you BB, and whenever you decide to go for it again, you have this experience to draw on. good stuff.