Running Through The Wall

FBOT01 · 29-06-2015 10:20am

Killerz wrote: »

Thanks a mil guys.... just enjoying the running at the moment. And Murph, yes, I felt she deserved day release for good behaviour over the past few months Great she got to catch up with all of you on Saturday.....

".....because she won't be getting out again for another while" as he leaves the house locking the door behind him.:D

PS as already said impressive highlights. Good going.

Killerz · 12-07-2015 2:28pm

Clontarf Half Marathon, 4th July (pacing)

Was pacing the 1:30 group for this one. The course is flat, but has two beach sections and you are very exposed to the wind should that be a factor on the day. And it was. Warm sunny day, and monster headwind on the way back. I found it very tough. The pacees found it very tough. We had very few with us at the end, the groups really disintegrating over the second half of the course. I think you'd need to be in better than 1:25 shape to get a 1:30 on the day that was in it, so fair play to anyone who got a PB. My energy was sapped on this, felt like I had done a full 26.2.

1:29:30 chip time. 25th place (not that it matters).

St. Anne's parkrun, 11th July

A week or so ago, I had earmarked this as a good chance to test my fitness and try push for a PB. But a crazy week leading up to it meant that wasn't going to be. I'd go out and see how it went and do what felt right. I went with the lead guys, and by half way I was neck and neck at the front. I started to fade really badly though over the next 5-600m and I let him away with about 1.5k to go. I just didnt have the energy to give chase and he soon put a bit of distance between us. I had no more gears, no more mental enthusiasm, but was just suffering and couldn't sustain it. Heard the guy in 3rd place behind me about 300m from the end coming down the avenue and he went past with no challenge from me. Totally knackered - found the wind and the heat tough to contend with. Did some barcode scanning, had coffee with the event team and off I went.

17:44, 3rd place. First place was 17:15.

Killerz · 21-07-2015 9:34pm

General plan as I've indicated on this log over the past few weeks was to get a NY marathon qualifying time (need <1:23 half marathon I think, if I am reading it correctly) for 2016. Have been feeling a bit fatigued over the past week or so - maybe that's a combo of humidity, twins, marathon and half marathon in the legs and to a degree, a level of apathy that seems to get to me in the summer months. The BHAA races tend to be my focus over the summer, but I rarely see a PB in those events... for whatever reason, I often seem to be a bit burnt out come summer time.

The DCC 5k in Irishtown on Wednesday was no exception. The new track had a bounce that made running feel almost effortless. Yeh right

A warm evening. I put in a good shift, but really just went through the paces for a 17:23 finish, good for 12th place but most importantly, once again helping the BOI team to first place - a remarkable 100% record in the BHAA summer league. There's some great depth in our team at the moment - I've run 3 events this year (2 of which count towards the summer league), but we've taken first team place in all 7 summer league races. I plan on togging out for the Marino 5k on Sunday - enjoyed this last year - running on local roads and well-organised, well-marshaled etc. Looking forward to it.

So, I was running home yesterday evening and had 4 or 5 HM pace miles planned as part of the run. Kicked it off and was struggling mentally and physically straight away. Packed the pace stuff in less than a mile into the session and just relaxed. Reassessed and asked myself was I really in the frame of mind to push for a <1:20 in late August. Answer was: NO. Plodded on home and pondered on what really appealed to me.... and decided to sign up for 2 marathons in one day on 6th of August. Part of the 10 in 5 being put on by the dynamic dudes that host EOI Marathons, this was my way of keeping things interesting. So, on 6th of August at 6am and at 2pm, I'll be doing 4 laps of Howth, and all going well, will add the 26th and 27th marathons to my career list.

I hosted an event at work today where we had Catherina McKiernan, Amphibian King, Colin Griffin (race walker) and Frank Greally in to speak. I found it inspiring and informative and has given me some food for thought in my training. A few boardsies were in attendance (not sure if any of them read this log or indeed know I know they are boardsies

) but I think the session was worth attending.

Good to get all that off my chest. Might see some of you on Sunday....

EDIT: Meant to say - still planning on going for it at Tullamore/ Longford HM, albeit maybe for a more conservative 1:23 rather than <1:20

annapr · 21-07-2015 9:45pm

Wait, hang on, you're feeling a bit blah, summer doesn't do it for you, a bit fatigued... so you sign up for TWO MARATHONS in ONE DAY?? In two weeks time?? Did I read that right? :eek: :pac:

...any highlights from your inspiring event that you care to share?

Killerz · 21-07-2015 10:01pm

annapr wrote: »

Wait, hang on, you're feeling a bit blah, summer doesn't do it for you, a bit fatigued... so you sign up for TWO MARATHONS in ONE DAY?? In two weeks time?? Did I read that right? :eek: :pac:

...any highlights from your inspiring event that you care to share?

Could be a huge mistake, Anna, I wouldn't necessarily say that I made the right decision, but something about pushing the boundaries of endurance appeals to me....

Highlights.... Catherina was very good. She talked through her career, but gave a lot of tips on running form and mental strength. If you fancy a career change and would like to join the #1 Irish bank (BOI

), I can share the goldmine of info with you.

Honestly - CMcK was humble, matter of fact and reminds us all that, lest we forget, we are lucky to have the gift to be able to run where many others don't. The best thing about the session was the audience engagement - it was more Q&A than presentation... this is the first time I have seen such a strong two-way interaction with any guest speakers we have ever had (and we have had some good, high profile ones).

FBOT01 · 21-07-2015 11:19pm

annapr wrote: »

Wait, hang on, you're feeling a bit blah, summer doesn't do it for you, a bit fatigued... so you sign up for TWO MARATHONS in ONE DAY?? In two weeks time?? Did I read that right? :eek: :pac:

...

Yeah laughed at that myself, Anna

Best of luck with it, J. I have no doubt you will push the boundaries on the 6th and still get your target HM time later in the month.

Mrs Mc · 22-07-2015 6:17pm

And will you have the twin buggy with you too just in case it's not challenging enough !!!!

Killerz · 23-07-2015 7:05am

Mrs Mc wrote: »

And will you have the twin buggy with you too just in case it's not challenging enough !!!!

Maybe just for the morning one

HelenAnne · 23-07-2015 9:54am

Good to see you this morning! Hope you enjoyed your run to work

. I really enjoyed mine, delighted I got out.

Killerz · 23-07-2015 10:25am

HelenAnne wrote: »

Good to see you this morning! Hope you enjoyed your run to work . I really enjoyed mine, delighted I got out.

Nice to see you too! It was a super morning for running - sunny and cool.

Oh and Eoin and Gemma if you are reading this, it was a random meeting on our respective runs into work... Okay we bumped into each other twice, but other than that, it was random

HelenAnne · 23-07-2015 10:31am

Killerz wrote: »

Nice to see you too! It was a super morning for running - sunny and cool.

Oh and Eoin and Gemma if you are reading this, it was a random meeting on our respective runs into work... Okay we bumped into each other twice, but other than that, it was random

Yes. If it had been a secret assignation I would not have worn my compression socks. :rolleyes:

annapr · 12-08-2015 8:21pm

Hey J, did you do your 2 marathons in one day last week??? how did it go? where's the report??

Killerz · 12-08-2015 8:37pm

Quick update.

Generally low mileage done over the past few weeks except last Thursday where I did the planned 2 * East of Ireland marathons in one day in Howth. The prep for this didnt go ideally - woke up with cramp in my calf on Wednesday morning and the calf kept cramping during the day on Wednesday at work. Not ideal, but weirdly enough this has happened the day before a race before so felt it might ultimately be okay. Foam rolled that bad boy on Weds evening.

Up at 4:15 on Thursday morning, got a couple of bagels and coffee into me on the way out to Howth and was parked up by about 5:20am. Relaxed and enjoyed the early morning views over the harbour. We were off at 6am. This was Day 3 of the EOI Running Festival (5 marathons in 5 days, 10 marathons in 5 days, 5 ultras in 5 days, or individual/ multiple marathons over that period).

4 laps of Howth it was, anti-clockwise for the morning ones, and clockwise for the afternoon (2pm start) ones. Felt a bit wobbly towards the end of the second lap but picked up and finished the first one in 3:37. Gel after Lap 1, Lap 2, Lap 3. Overall HR avg 142, max 160. First Half 1:47 137/153; Second Half 1:50 148/160.

Had planned a swim to help recover but the tide was out. Headed home to refuel and rest a little bit. Felt like sleeping during the break, but knew I couldnt go to sleep or would have trouble getting up.

I was back up in Howth again soon for Marathon #2 (clockwise this time), and just about managed to get a parking space. Had to run about 4-500m to the start which wasnt ideal! And we were off at 2pm, up the monster of a hill out of Howth village. During this and the next lap, I was really starting to feel the effects of a full stomach. Couldnt take any gel on and water was really sloshing around. Didnt get sick but felt it would have benefited me if I did. By the end of Lap 2 (halfway) I managed to have a gel as I pushed up that hill for the third time. It was getting warm now and I longed for the end of this grueling 52 mile day. Before I knew it, I was on my 4th and final lap, finishing in 3:41. Overall HR avg 143/ max 161 . First Half 1:49 142/158; Second Half 1:52 145/161

Incidentally, I finished first in both races, but that mattered not - this was an endurance test where the mission was to complete the challenge of two marathons in one day. Leaving aside the Wings for Life (39ish km), the Midnight Track Marathon and the Clontarf Half, I have not done anything over 9/10 miles in training since March, with most runs being around 6-8 miles. This is down to available time, but thankfully the endurance has remained. I miss the Saturday morning long runs though - I really do... there was something about the solitude of the 20-22 miler on a Saturday, getting it done early and the satisfaction of being back by 9/10 am and having the rest of the day stretching out in front of you.

BUT I wouldnt swap what I have for the world.

I made a note of the food/ drink I had on Thursday:

Breakfast:
2 bagels, coffee

Marathon #1:
3 gels, 2 x 500 ml water, 2 x 250ml water, 1 x 500 ml water

Between marathons:
Snack bar yellow
Coke can
2 handfuls of jellies
Recovery shake
2 burritos Brown rice and yoghurt
Glass of milk
Toasted sandwich
Club milk
Poppy seed bread
Water
Diaoralyte
Coffee
Choc chip biscuit

Marathon #2:
2 gels
250ml water during first lap
2 x 250 on second
1 x 250 and 2 x 250 on 3rd
1 x 250 and 1 x 500 on 4th

Best not to talk about the amount of food I had after!

Killerz · 12-08-2015 8:53pm

annapr wrote: »

Hey J, did you do your 2 marathons in one day last week??? how did it go? where's the report??

You must have read my mind Anna - I was writing it when you posted it

annapr · 12-08-2015 9:17pm

Killerz wrote: »

You must have read my mind Anna - I was writing it when you posted it

great going, J.... tough route in both directions! especially without any long training runs. How did you feel afterwards, once you stopped eating

(I was impressed at how much you ate in between!)

Killerz · 12-08-2015 9:27pm

annapr wrote: »

great going, J.... tough route in both directions! especially without any long training runs. How did you feel afterwards, once you stopped eating (I was impressed at how much you ate in between!)

Thanks Anna. It is a tough route alright, but I much prefer the anti-clockwise way round, even though when I used to train in Howth, I always used to do the clockwise route.

I felt okay afterwards. I didn't stretch properly and got cold too quickly, just hanging around having a chat afterwards for a while, whereas if I had paid attention to recovery (like I did in the first one) I think I may have felt better. Funnily enough, while the lactic acid in the legs was playing havoc after finishing the first marathon (my calves felt like they were going to explode - a feeling which I have had most recently in the Wings for Life), there were no such issues after the second one. Weird. Overall I was alright though, but the legs were very stiff the next morning. Luckily I had a wedding to attend on Friday to shake that off!

I don't know if the food quite worked out perfectly, but from chatting to people who had undertaken similar challenges, the big danger was not getting enough in. No fear of that then. I think I put on weight over the course of the day!

Murph_D · 13-08-2015 12:54am

What a great day, J. Impressed also with your midday feed, and what the hell, if you're gonna do it you might as well finish first, right? That extra 4 mins is obviously the difference for your calves feeling better second time round!

Well done.

Killerz · 13-08-2015 11:04am

Thanks Murph, I decided to err on the side of caution and risk eating too much vs too little as didn't wanrbto feel light headed. I think the coffee was probably had a little too close to the start and that may well have been the primary cause of the stomach issues. While it was great to finish first, to put it into context, a lot of the people out there were doing multiple days of running so the real main thing was just completing the two in a reasonable time!

Mrs Mc · 14-08-2015 12:12am

Well done J that's some achievement.

annapr · 14-08-2015 9:43am

Mrs Mc wrote: »

Well done J that's some achievement.

We'll do it next year, A! :cool:

Mrs Mc · 14-08-2015 11:50pm

annapr wrote: »

We'll do it next year, A! :cool:

Baby steps Anna lets get through this year !!

Killerz · 16-08-2015 8:54pm

Mrs Mc wrote: »

Well done J that's some achievement.

annapr wrote: »

We'll do it next year, A! :cool:

Mrs Mc wrote: »

Baby steps Anna lets get through this year !!

Go for it girls!

Killerz · 24-08-2015 7:56pm

I'd like to say I'm looking forward to giving it a good shot in Tullamore Half this Saturday, but I've been tired of late. Hectic social and work and home life taking their toll, so gonna keep the mileage low this week and hopefully that will serve me well.

Recorded my finest running achievement of 2015 thus far on Friday morning. Having been out on the sauce til about 3 on Thursday night, I ran the 5 miles into work on Friday morning at 7:30 am. It wasn't pretty (from what I remember of it), but it set up my day well. Well, it set up my day better than it could have been... it was still a very tough day. I had to call on all my endurance experience to get over the line on that one.

Went out to support Mrs. Killerz running the Frank Duffy 10 Miler in the Phoenix Park on Saturday morning. Was great to see and cheer on so many boardsies and st annes parkrunners out there - some super performances recorded by all and I was kinda jealous I wasnt banging out the miles myself.

So, Tullamore coming up on Saturday, then Dublin HM pacing on 19th Sept. In between the two of those we have a family holiday for a week in Portugal which should be fun... I think

Mrs Mc · 24-08-2015 8:04pm

Killerz wrote: »

I'd like to say I'm looking forward to giving it a good shot in Tullamore Half this Saturday, but I've been tired of late. Hectic social and work and home life taking their toll, so gonna keep the mileage low this week and hopefully that will serve me well.

Recorded my finest running achievement of 2015 thus far on Friday morning. Having been out on the sauce til about 3 on Thursday night, I ran the 5 miles into work on Friday morning at 7:30 am. It wasn't pretty (from what I remember of it), but it set up my day well. Well, it set up my day better than it could have been... it was still a very tough day. I had to call on all my endurance experience to get over the line on that one.

Went out to support Mrs. Killerz running the Frank Duffy 10 Miler in the Phoenix Park on Saturday morning. Was great to see and cheer on so many boardsies and st annes parkrunners out there - some super performances recorded by all and I was kinda jealous I wasnt banging out the miles myself.

So, Tullamore coming up on Saturday, then Dublin HM pacing on 19th Sept. In between the two of those we have a family holiday for a week in Portugal which should be fun... I think

Well it will be different but good different !!! Well done to Mrs K on Saturday. Great to see all the St Annes crew out running saturday. Best of luck Sat.

Killerz · 24-08-2015 8:06pm

Mrs Mc wrote: »

Well it will be different but good different !!! Well done to Mrs K on Saturday. Great to see all the St Annes crew out running saturday. Best of luck Sat.

I hope you are right!

And thanks, gonna need some luck

FBOT01 · 24-08-2015 9:08pm

Killerz wrote: »

I'd like to say I'm looking forward to giving it a good shot in Tullamore Half this Saturday, but I've been tired of late. Hectic social and work and home life taking their toll, so gonna keep the mileage low this week and hopefully that will serve me well.

Recorded my finest running achievement of 2015 thus far on Friday morning. Having been out on the sauce til about 3 on Thursday night, I ran the 5 miles into work on Friday morning at 7:30 am. It wasn't pretty (from what I remember of it), but it set up my day well. Well, it set up my day better than it could have been... it was still a very tough day. I had to call on all my endurance experience to get over the line on that one.

Went out to support Mrs. Killerz running the Frank Duffy 10 Miler in the Phoenix Park on Saturday morning. Was great to see and cheer on so many boardsies and st annes parkrunners out there - some super performances recorded by all and I was kinda jealous I wasnt banging out the miles myself.

So, Tullamore coming up on Saturday, then Dublin HM pacing on 19th Sept. In between the two of those we have a family holiday for a week in Portugal which should be fun... I think

It will definitely be fun but only half as much fun as if you try it again next year when the twins have started to walk :eek:

Best of luck Saturday but more importantly enjoy the hols.

PS thanks again for the shout outs on Saturday!

Killerz · 25-08-2015 8:01am

Yes, can't wait for that, Fbot, appreciate you reminding me that they will be mobile soon. I'm purposely tipping them over every time they try to crawl at the moment as I want them to be more manageable for the holiday!

You're welcome 're the shout outs

HelenAnne · 25-08-2015 9:30am

Good luck on Saturday!

annapr · 25-08-2015 4:52pm

Killerz wrote: »

Yes, can't wait for that, Fbot, appreciate you reminding me that they will be mobile soon. I'm purposely tipping them over every time they try to crawl at the moment as I want them to be more manageable for the holiday!

You're welcome 're the shout outs

hah, if they have the speed and endurance of their parents, you're in big trouble

at least it's only a short flight to Portugal

Killerz · 29-08-2015 7:56pm

Quick update for the Tullamore Half today. Found the going very tough - I think this is down to the following factors: non-specific speed training as frankly I did not have the hunger to do so; residual tiredness from the 2 marathons in 1 day 3 weeks ago and my nemesis: the heat. It was hot, hot, hot out there, and we all baked in the midday sun.

Thankfully I was able to keep myself going despite the demons inside telling me to give up, and finished in 1:22:18 - good for 26th place (24th if you take off the 2 relay teams in front of me). Not a PB (about one min slower vs. Lusk back in February), but most importantly, I got the New York Marathon standard (<1:23 for me as I will be 35 y.o. when it rolls around).

Quote of the day: Little kid on the sideline talking to his mom as I passed by, clearly dying... 'Look how slowly that guy is going, Mom'

Clearly this kid has much to learn as I was speeding by in a blaze of glory!

I'd highly recommend the race - well organised, plenty of water, marshals, food after. Medal and tech tee too, all for 25e.

Running Through The Wall

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