Mr. Bourne goes to Marathon

bourne99

Note to Casio: Why bother to include a 'ten year battery' if your strap won't even last two!?

Sigh, my watch broke just before tonight's run. Poor little guy - just couldn't take it anymore. Anyway, once I'd stopped crying, I went out tonight and as per usual I overheated. After 1.5 miles, my right calf once again made a reappearance, which I'm surprised about as I haven't run since Friday. Taking days off fixed the left calf, which seemed to have exactly the same problem. Ah well.

At around the 3 mile mark I knew I was in trouble as whatever about the calf, I was just plain nackered. 6.5 miles seemed very far away. Thankfully, and not a moment too soon, I got a second wind at the 4 mile marker - which just happens to be my 'point of no return' to go on my 6.5 mile route. Well, I passed that point, ran for another 0.4 of a mile and then I just stopped. The calf was absolutely killing me and although I could have gone on, I thought it was better to stop while the going was good especially as you can see in the above ^^^ posts that I'm in *serious* training for the Jingle Bells 5k!!! And I mean it!

Anyway, ~4.4 in ~30:10. Better than nothing I suppose.

bourne99

Dear diary,

Been giving the leg some rest the last few days, but finally made it out for my usual 6.5 route. From the off, although I could still feel something from my idiot leg, it didn't feel too bad - so I suspect I'm on the road to recovery - even if by miles 4,5,6 it was a bit sore.

Anyway, weird run overall. It was pretty cold out tonight, and I'm never too comfortable with the really cold air going through my lungs. Alas tis November... We continue to approach the point of no return winter-wise. Oh well, that aside, lots of traffic about so I lost some time. Got a bit of a fright when a guy going into his house accidently selected reverse just at the moment I was going by. I always look out for the reversing light, and this time was no different, so I did a bit of a sidestep as the car jumped back. It was actually good fun, but glad no one was walking by. I don't know what's going on at the moment, but I'm seeing a lot of car accidents out my way, tis weird. And that was terrible about the girls during the week. They need to sort out the roads here. Can't afford to of course. Not when we're paying our bank officials €600,000+ for reasons which to me at least, remain unknown.

Anyway, the whole run felt pretty rubbish. 44:30 in the end. I suppose it's a sign of progress when I look at that time and think it's rubbish. Just wanted to get back on the 6.5 mile saddle again after 9 days off it though. Will try again on Monday I suppose.

I miss my old watch..

bourne99

I accidently set a new p.b. tonight on my 6.5 mile run - though only by a few seconds. I had planned on doing another 44:30 time as the other day, but I went out quite fast tonight and went through the ~2.1/2.2 mile mark in 13:30 - which is about 30 seconds faster than normal. That seemed to take a good bit out of me, but I managed to maintain an okay pace for the next part which includes a 0.5 mile fairly steep hill - recently I've taken to going up faster just so that the pain isn't prolonged! The ~3.2 mile point came in 21:20 - which I was delighted with - or at least would have been had I not been on the verge of collapse. I seriously thought about pulling up at the top of the hill, which is most unlike me, but I was absolutely destroyed and my legs were too. I was still about 30-40 seconds faster than normal though, so I told myself keep going - that even if I end up finishing in 45/46 mins, the first half would stand me in good stead.

So, I kept going, and luckily was now back on level ground for the next mile, with downhill on the mile after that. At this point I thought that maybe I could still scrape out a 44:XX time, so I tried to get back into a rhythm and control my breathing - which I was failing miserably on! At my last checkpoint at around the ~5 mile point, I was shocked to see that I was still 25 seconds up on usual. Unfortunately, the next mile was uphill again, and I knew that those 25 seconds would quickly count for nothing because my legs were just rubbish. Again I just told myself to keep going and have the faith - and that 44:XX is still there. The last half mile was vicious though, it's a really twisty section with one or two steps and some 20m uphill stretches that after 6 miles are just a pain! And they were a pain tonight! Still, I bounded up the final little hill with some surprising energy - but I paid for it over the last 100m which is usually where I finish with a sprint. Well, tonight was more of a gentle trot!!

It was an odd feeling when I finished - I was in bits - and had a few seconds of wondering if my lunch would be making a rather unwelcome reappearance - thankfully it didn't! But it was odd because despite this horrible feeling - I knew I had not given everything. Okay, we're talking 99% against 100%, but I had let myself off by not pressing on during the 3.2-4.5 mile points. Over the last mile, I think I did about as much as I could have though. So, the final time was 43:27 - which was a bit of a shocker - and 13 seconds better than my best last week. I'm pretty happy but I don't have that usual ecstatic feeling I get when I set a new p.b! Hah, you could say I'm 99% happy - but not my usual 100% :rolleyes:

So, what have I learned? I think my general running pace has increased - I've thought that over the last few weeks especially as even when I'm not pushing it to the max, as at various points tonight, I still must be doing a fair old pace. I think this route I do has a good balance of hills/corners/steps etc. It's quite interesting I suppose - especially when I look back to the track - which I'm now starting to dread. Wonder what my 10k time would be now? I don't think I could run 25 laps again like I did a month or two back - it's pretty boring. I suppose I must be in the 41:XX bracket for the 10k at this point. Regarding this 6.5 mile route, I reckon from now on I should always aim for 43:XX.

Finally, the right calf was in pretty good shape tonight. It's a little sore now, but that's the first time it's been a pain free run in a while. Yes! Also the weather was surprisingly nice - getting used to the wind.

bourne99

Wow, I really struggled tonight. After work, I just wasn't feeling it - whatever 'it' is - so I decided I'd try my 2.9 mile loop again. The first 400m of it is through an open park area and the headwind was unreal - I was barely moving. But worse than that, as soon as I started running, I just felt like I had *nothing* in my legs and I was soon out of breath having gone nowhere fast! It felt like driving a car in first gear with the revs up at 5000 - lots of noise but going no where fast!!

I made it to the half-way point in a fairly competitive time for me, but the manner in which I got there was worryingly poor!! I continued on and had to slow down dramatically at around the 2 mile mark when I thought I was about to throw up. That feeling remained for the rest of the run, so I just brought it home rather than pushed on. The final time was 19:02 - which was nowhere near as slow as I was expecting it to be - so like the other day - I was slightly disappointed that I hadn't pushed on the last say half mile or so, as I probably could have beaten the 18:43 time I set two weeks back.

Anyway, not to worry. Again, it was better to get out there and get some miles in. In hindsight, I wish I'd just started really slowly and built up a rhythm. I really want to start finishing strongly again - not just the last 100m - but the last 1km or so. I look forward to that day when I see a '1 km to go' sign, and can say to myself right let's gooooooo!!

I'm really, really not looking forward to the Jingle Bells Run thing. I fear that I will try for a time that I shouldn't be trying for (yet), and although I might get it - it's going to be painful! I'm not looking forward to *that* much pain..

bourne99

Good Lord, what is my problem at the moment?! Can't seem to get into gear which is annoying. Cut my 6.5 mile run tonight down to 4.6 miles as the Late Late Toy Show was on... eh, anyway felt alright but unusually I just wasnt bothered going any farther tonight and completed the 4.6 in 30:50 which is fine with me, but nothing special. I probably could have taken a minute off that if someone had asked me to. But alas, nobody did. I'm off to bed. Hopefully when I wake up tomorrow I'll have adopted an altogether more dynamic approach. Maybe I'm just tired, didn't sleep great last night.

bourne99

Hmm, was quite cold tonight - I think I need to invest in some gloves! It's either that - or I have to stop carrying my car keys in my hand. I can confirm that metal conducts the cold every bit as well as it does the heat! It's a strange sensation when one hand is okay, and the other is completely numb! It also makes for an interesting running style that perhaps would be more suited to the grounds of Notre Dame...

Anyway, the old calf didnt seem to like the cold, and I quickly realised that tonight's 6.5 miles would in fact only be 4.6. Not to worry. I went through the first 3.2 miles in pretty good time, but once again I felt wrecked at this point - and the (close to) freezing air didn't help. I slowed for about a minute or so, but managed to get back on my bike. Indeed, with the feeling in my fingers disappearing at a rate of knots, it gave me the necessary impetus (divine second wind) to run fast over the last mile or so. But it was nice to finish strongly again. Final time, 4.6 miles in 30:05.

Keeping the last few post's theme of regret going, I once again regret my minute-long lapse, as a 29:XX time was on the cards, even if I didn't know it.

Regarding the Jingle Bells run, I'm intrigued to see what will happen here. I'm hoping for an 18:XX time, but I was thinking about it as I ran tonight, it doesn't feel on. Of course, I'll give 110% on the day and try my best - and I hope that I just 'feel' well, and end up finishing strongly. I know if I'm feeling well I can do it as potentially I think I have a great final 800m in me, as deep down I'm a sprinter. But it's getting to that 4200m point that I'm worried about... Not looking forward to that!! Hopefully it won't be as cold as it was tonight. But alas, it probably will be!

bourne99

Right, finally got back and did a good run tonight. I was annoyed with my last two 4.6 mile runs, so I went out and tried to put that right and finish tonight without any of my recent 'regrets'. True to my word - I even stopped in Dunnes Stores on the way there and picked up a great pair of insulated gloves for €2..! Crazy. Anyway, armed with my new favourite gloves, I set off tonight quite aggressively and ended up going through the first (downhill) mile in just over six minutes. I kept up a pretty good rhythm until my 3.2 mile checkpoint. This ends with a long hill and as usual, it was a struggle. But I made it thankfully, and kept telling myself that level ground was coming!

The next part is where I had my regrets from the other night - last time I didn't push on once I'd arrived to the top of the hill and took it easy for a minute or so to recover. This time, I kept my foot down on the old accelerator pedal and thankfully it felt alright. I managed to hold this pace, and like the last night, I went through the final section feeling great. It wasn't a sprint, but the last 400m was just a good strong finish and had I needed to, I reckon I had some energy left for a proper out and out sprint.

So crossed the line in 29:30, which is the fastest I've gone this year on that route. In October I gave myself the frankly optimistic goal time of 28:XX so I'm not too far off. Very happy tonight as I think my confidence was down. I'd been telling myself these last few runs that with such consistency, surely it'll pay off, but until tonight I was getting worried! It's just the boost I needed before the Jingle Bells 5k on Sat! C'mon 18:59!!!

I think this month I might be able to get the 6.5 mile time down to 42:XX, and that should see me in good fettle for the start 2010, when I begin my bid for London 2012 some local race win...

Well, maybe not a win. Last year I got some good top 20 finishes, so if I can just keep this up, maybe I can break into the top 10 of something! 2 mile, 5k, egg and spoon...

showry

best of luck on Sat

bourne99

Just went for a quick run around the block - 1.4 miles in 8:35. Almost a shame the run is on tomorrow as tonight I felt great - went out fast and felt as if I could have kept that up for a little while. Anyway, kept it very short as didn't want to destroy the old legs!

Quite nervous about tomorrow - first race in nearly 18 months! To ease my nerves I'm telling myself that 19:XX is fine, but I really would like the hit 18:XX. Just don't know if it's on....

Find out next time!

metamorphosis

Best of luck with the race tomorrow.

bourne99

Well, I'm afraid I effed up in a rather spectacular manner - and on every front! Woke up today at around 8 or so, and felt great. I got some work done too, which was useful, and still left the house at 9:30 thinking plenty of time before kick-off at 11am. Now, I don't know what I was thinking, but for some reason I got it into my head that today was Sunday, and that bus lanes/traffic etc. would be nothing. Alas I was wrong. I arrived at Phoneix park at 10:42. I was aiming to arrive at around 10:15 so I could do some kind of warm up.

Now, here's my biggest mistake. I thought *I knew* where I was going as opposed to thinking I *didn't* know where I was going. There's a big difference. I went down the main avenue of Phoenix Park and parked at that big cross. Lots of cars, but no people. Hmm.. maybe I don't know where I'm going?! It was 10:50 something at this point, and crucially as I would find out later, my watch is a few minutes slow..

I stared out at a big field and was told by a steward that I had to go across it to get to the start. So off I went, jogging along merrily on my way thinking the start was just up ahead. I still felt great! I heard a loudspeaker directly before me, amongst trees, so I headed in that direction. A few minutes later, I looked right, and sure enough I could see lots of tiny dots off in the distance, about a half km away. I had that sinking feeling: I'm going the wrong way! And then, all of a sudden, the horn sounded! What?! Noooo..!! Wait!! Like wilderbeast, I could see all the runners taking off! I meanwhile, was still hundreds of metres out in the fields, running with the deer...

'Borrrrnnnnn Freee...' The song came into my head, and I'd love to have been a bystander watching this mud-soaked guy sprinting by himself, frolicking with the deer, emerging from the field.

I got to the path, and I just could not stop slipping. As I avoided a family of five walking towards me, my right leg went from under me and sharply left. It was a comical slip straight out of some terrible TV show. I jumped back up, but I had pulled something. Screw it. I got to get up. Run! My nerves, everything was shot at this point. I didnt know where I was. Everyone was gone and the crowds were looking at me as if I was some nutter. I didnt even look at my watch because I didnt know where the start line was! I just ran!! Go!

I caught up with the stragglers pretty quick and here's where I have to apologise! I was running like a man possessed - an absolute nutcase literally jumping from the road to the grass verge, and to the road - trying to avoid specatators or runners- I'm not even sure which they were I was so far behind. Everyone else kept avoiding the little streams of muddy water that was running along the side, but I jumped into them at full speed as sometimes it was the only place to pass. I was totally soaked to the skin, my runners must have weighed a kilo each! Now, I didn't mean to ruin other people's races or anything like it, but I splashed more than a few people, and a lot of words were thrown in my direction. I can only apologise. I was in a different place. I wasn't on a run, I seemed to be back on a rugby pitch - and side-stepping and sharp bursts of acceleration were the only ways I could get through. And to see me slipping around the whole time, I'm sure I looked a right eejit!

I finally saw a marker which said 2k. 2k?!!? At this point it felt as if I'd run the 5k. I was in bits. And oh God, I was running so slowly! All the jumping, all the mud, all the puddles - it had been energy sapping stuff. I seemed to have embarked on a cross-country dog-fight as opposed to a running race! At least I was with actual joggers/runners now as opposed to the large groups of people. I tried to keep overtaking, but I was destroyed and now I just wanted to finish. I was slowing up badly, my legs seizing uncontrollably. It wasn't the breathing - but the legs - and my feet were like ice. I was probably barely managing 7:30 pace. Keep going. I overtook some more people, but the others were getting faster and I didn't want to get overtaken. Finally I got to another guy who seemed also out of place. I latched onto him and the two of us kept up whatever pace it was.

A hill?! We got to the hill which I faintly recognised, but I still wasn't sure where I was. I mentally prepared myself for a long hard trudge up it - but it turned out to be nothing - and nothing near as bad as the hill I use in my daily runs. I felt angry that I didn't just sprint up it, because a minute later - the race was over?!!? I had missed every marker. Up ahead I saw the beginnings of a crowd, but I could see too that there was a gentle right hand bend directly after them! That must be the finish!! Nope. The finish was now! Noooooo!! At least I beat the guy I was running with.

I have no idea what time I did it in. Dead slow. 27 mins something like that. Maybe 23 or 24 mins on my watch if I had hit it at the startline - wherever that was! The fact that I didn't even see the timing board at end perfectly summed up the run! Was there one even!?

I marched the long way back to the car, in a considerable huff. Aside from the tiredness in my legs and from the adrenaline wearing off, I wasn't even out of breath - or at least I was able to get it back far too easily. But everything that happened is entirely my own fault - and if I splashed people with mud or gave them a fright or anything, I'm really sorry - I certainly didn't want to mess anyone's day. In hindsight, the route looked perfect for a fast run - and indeed looking around the threads there were some p.b's. The organisation was good. The weather was perfect. I had every opportunity to go well, and I blew it. Plain and simple. I have to laugh even now, quickly looking back, every single corner I took today, I was on the *outside*, still trying to overtake!

Well, back to my good ol' 4.6/6.5 mile runs. I think I'll stick to them for now, and leave the races to the real runners. As I drove off, I looked at *everyone* else with real admiration. All these people who had ran a great race - whatever their times/goals. It brought me back down to earth.

bourne99

Good news - my long posts are over! Too busy and won't be on here as frequently anymore. Ah well.

2.5 miles in 16:49

kennyb3

ah thats a pity, i always have a chuckle over some of your musings. you had a bad race but you ll bounce back. be way worse if you were injured or the like. always a next time. dont let the good work go to waste

showry

keep it going son, surely you've more motivation than ever for the next one now

bourne99

thanks guys, but just to explain - I wasnt planning on stopping running or even the log - just won't be making such longs posts in future - or at the very least over the Christmas period which for my work is (so far) incredibly busy - thank God!! But yeah, can see that it must have looked like I'd spiraled into depression - not yet!

4.6 miles in 30:08.

bourne99

Enjoyable run earlier tonight on my short 2.9 mile route. I did it a few weeks back in 18:43, so I was very happy to complete it tonight in 18:25. Went out slowly with no aim in mind, but felt great during the second half, even if the last 0.5 mile I was feeling it. Strong finish too. Finally the bad taste is gone...!

bourne99

Got out again briefly tonight and replicated the other night's run almost down to the second with 18:27 this time. I enjoy these runs as they don't take up too much time, and more importantly for me, I feel great after them and not knocked for six - which is how I sometimes feel after anything over 5 miles say. I can happily resume work after the 2.9, but 6.5 and I'm struggling. Anyway, it's keeping me about as fit as I'd like to be. My short-term goal is to get my time down to 18 flat... Once upon a time I used to run it 17 flat. How??!?

bourne99

Meant to go running on Saturday, but forgot! Genuinely! Was out buying a Christmas Tree, you see.

Wow, sure was cold tonight. I don't know how everyone else gets on, but when I breathe in the cold whilst running, I find it quite hard going and keep getting choked up. So within about three minutes of setting off I was like that. Don't know what the temperature was, but there was ice everywhere. I only saw one other idiot runner out - and they were in a tracksuit and hat! I felt quite exposed in me shorts...

Ah well, 18:40 tonight - I blame the cold for any lost time! Was on red-alert the entire time too, side-stepping the ice.. Listening to Elvis sing Christmas songs now - nice to be back indoors!