Berlin or bust...

Emer911

Saturday
Ok, the plan was to do 8 miles today and a 20 mile LSR tomorrow, but there was a group doing 18/20 at my pace this morning, so I decided to switch.

Got a lift into Pheonix Park from the OH who was heading on to the Blessington Lakes 10k, and met up with Lizzy C and Skidrow at about 9am. Beautiful sunshine in Dublin this morning, so I had my hat, shades and sun cream in place. Off we trotted, no real route planned but just enjoying the chat and the park and the sunshine.

Someone (maybe me?) enquired about finding a loo, so we headed towards the visitors centre (never been before - lovely place!). Stopped there for a quick pit stop - and the watch said over 7 miles done. Hadn't even noticed it. We all still felt fairly OK, so we reckoned we'd fit in another few miles before stopping at the car park for a drink. Skidrow brought us on a tour of the water taps in the park (one at the polo grounds, one at the Ordinance Survey building) before we headed back up Acres road to the cars and a very welcome drink and gel. Skidrow left us at this point, he'd already done 6 by the time we met him. (Thanks for the company!)

Lizzy and I headed off again, and I carried a mini 250ml bottle with me for the last 9 miles. She led the way - she had a 9 mile route that should bring us back to the car park at just about 20 miles. So we went up Chesterfield, round the back of the zoo... etc. Got really sunny and hot with about 5 miles to go and I started to feel the time on the feet around then too. AND the last mile was up the Kyber :eek: (I'm not following your route next time Lizzy )

So the first of the 20 mile runs done! Yipee! It's SO much easier to do with company (thanks a mill guys)

Summary 20.00 mi in 3:20:48
Avg Pace: 10:03 min/mi

Interesting to note that even though the Lizzy and I started together, ran at the same pace and had the same model Garmin (405), she had about 200mt more to run than me to get to the 20 miles, and her pace was slightly different too...

Younganne

Well done, thats great to get to that stage and have it over with..great running...btw where is the tap at the Polo grounds i was there yesterday and was wondering if there was one around??

Emer911

Younganne wrote: »

Well done, thats great to get to that stage and have it over with..great running...btw where is the tap at the Polo grounds i was there yesterday and was wondering if there was one around??

On the Zoo fence behind the Polo Clubhouse. There's a blue barrel under the tap, so look out for that. Hard to find if it isn't pointed out to you though!

banner_phoenix wrote: »

Great stuff Emer, congrats on the PB and a shiny sub 25 in the bag . I might try that ice cold beer bath suggestion - seems to be doing wonders for the LSR and races

You doing the half as well and I assume if so Ryans after?

Yeah, I'm doing the Half next week. Don't know if I'll make Ryans, but if I do, I'll keep an eye out for the boardsies crew

menoscemo

I didn't know about the loos at the visitor centre. Must bear that in mind if I am caught short.

FYI there are also quality loos and a water tap up at Farmleigh. You go in through a courtyard to the loos and the tap is on the wall on the right (usually with a hose attatched).

I have often looked out for that fabled tap at the Polo grounds and never spotted it so thanks for the description.

banner_phoenix

menoscemo wrote: »

I didn't know about the loos at the visitor centre. Must bear that in mind if I am caught short.

FYI there are also quality loos and a water tap up at Farmleigh. You go in through a courtyard to the loos and the tap is on the wall on the right (usually with a hose attatched).

I have often looked out for that fabled tap at the Polo grounds and never spotted it so thanks for the description.

There's a tap at the visitor centre also just beside entrance to cafe. Both have saved me a few times!!

Younganne

Think i'll have to go "tap hunting" on a few runs next week;). Thanks guys...

Dory Dory

Two things - congrats on the 5k PB!

And, super 20 mile run today. You're good advertising for running with a buddy.

You're running a half marathon next weekend??

Emer911

Dory Dory wrote: »

Two things - congrats on the 5k PB!

And, super 20 mile run today. You're good advertising for running with a buddy.

You're running a half marathon next weekend??

Ha ha. Yes, this might seem like madness, but it's part of the Dublin Race series and it fits nicely into the training plan anyway. I won't be 'racing' it, but rather, running as a marathon pace long run. I'll do the first mile or so easy, then kick up to marathon pace.

However, the route has been changed slightly and the 1st mile is downhill now, so that slow easy pace might not be possible?!

But that's the plan, anyway:rolleyes: We shall see what happens in the heat of the moment.

racheljev

Well done on the 5k pb, brilliant stuff. And well done on getting a 20 miler in the bag as well, soooo jealous! So are you heading for 1:50 next weekend or are you doing it as part of lsr?

Emer911

racheljev wrote: »

Well done on the 5k pb, brilliant stuff. And well done on getting a 20 miler in the bag as well, soooo jealous! So are you heading for 1:50 next weekend or are you doing it as part of lsr?

Thanks.
No, I'd like to race, but being sensible is probably the way to go, so it'll be a marathon pace run, just to give me a confidence boost more than anything else... But it should still be close enough to the PB if all goes to plan. NOT a hope of sub 1:50 :eek:

Emer911

Sunday
6 miles at recovery pace this morning. S-L-O-W running. The legs felt okay, but I was really quite tired. I slept for a solid 9 hours last night (I know :eek:) but the body was still a bit knackered.
I completely ignored the watch for this and just ran easy. Nice to see the pace increased naturally anyway as I warmed up.

So another solid training week done. A new (surprising) 5K PB, the first of the 20 mile runs done, new running buddies found, and some faces put to boards names. Very successful week all round

Summary 6 recovery miles in just over an hour

claralara

Well done on the PB Emer!

Great racing and training around these parts recently

Emer911

Monday Lunchtime Pilates. Almost killed me

Tuesday
5 miles around the local park. Little missy came with me 'cause there was no running club training for her tonight, so I ended up doing some fartlek/ intervals with her, with walks between. Sent her off home and finished out the 5 miles.

Summary 5 miles in 49:55
Avg Pace: 9:59 min/mi

RubyK

Marathon training is going super Emer911, you'll have a great day in the Park Saturday

Emer911

Wednesday
6 miles at a steady pace. Can't really remember much about this. I know it was pretty cool and I wore my gloves (wha? already? :eek:)

Summary6 mi in 55:41
Avg Pace: 9:16 min/mi

Thursday
Intervals: 7*800mt at 'faster than Marathon Pace' so I was aiming for 7:50 to 8:00 per mi. Lovely evening for a run. Found it difficult to keep the pace consistent but the overall was actually fairly OK, looking at the splits. Happy enough.
No| Time | Pace
1| 3:58.5| 7:57
2| 3:57.7| 7:56
3| 3:57.9| 7:56
4| 3:51.1| 7:43
5| 3:55.3| 7:51
6| 3:55.9| 7:52
7| 4:00.0| 8:00

Summary 5.75 mi in 52:31
Avg Pace: 9:08 min/mi

HM next on Saturday. The aim is to do it at marathon pace, which would be a big confidence boost for me at this stage in the training. It'd get me close to my PB too, but that's not the focus. Haven't decided if I go towards the end of wave 2 or the start of wave 3... decisions, decisions :rolleyes:

RayCun

Emer911 wrote: »

Haven't decided if I go towards the end of wave 2 or the start of wave 3... decisions, decisions :rolleyes:

Start of wave 3. The end of wave 2 will be full of people who should be in the middle of wave 3, and you'll get stuck behind them. Start in wave 3 and you'll have a clearer run.

Emer911

RayCun wrote: »

Start of wave 3. The end of wave 2 will be full of people who should be in the middle of wave 3, and you'll get stuck behind them. Start in wave 3 and you'll have a clearer run.

Yeah, the Klown was recommending that too... might be the best course of action.

banner_phoenix

All the cool people will be in Wave 3 :cool:...

claralara

Best of luck tomorrow Emer! Hope you have a great race.

Regarding your gloves the other evening - I'm starting to fret about the winter gear... Having never run in shorts until this summer, I'm loathe to go back to the capris/leggings but judging by the purple colour that my knees turned the other evening, I won't be able to hold out for much longer. Looks like a shopping spree could be in my future!

Dory Dory

Best of luck tomorrow!!! And enjoy the run!!!

Emer911

The plan was to go out at about marathon pace and see how that felt. A trial run, if you will.

Up at the crack of dawn (and on a Saturday - tut :rolleyes:) and with the compulsory bowl of porridge, coffee and juice consumed we packed up and hit the road. Got to the park before 9 and met up with the pacers who were all in great spirits. RachelJev found us shortly after and as we were both aiming for a similar time/ pace we decided to run together for a bit to see how it went. Left the pacers to go for a quick warmup and lined up at the start of the 3rd wave next to the 2hour guys.

Despite the trepidation of toeing the line, line up we did and the when the gun went we set off at a nice clip up Chesterfield and down the Kyber. Lots of people flaking off but we kept a fairly even pace and chatted away. The first mile was 8:37 - a bit fast, but mostly downhill. Mile 2 was a bit slower (9.07) and coming up to mile 3 (water station) I decided to try having a mouthful of my jelly beans. I usually stop to take jellies or gels on training runs, but this time I wanted to do it on the move - to emulate the marathon conditions. Struggled to get the bag open (vital learning for the big day) and gulped a few down just as we hit the water tables. Grabbed a cup (I hate cups) but could only manage to get a dribble into my mouth! Gaah!

Rachel was doubting herself a bit but she kept saying "I'll keep going to 6 and see" so we kept the pace even (ish). Doing the 180 loop at the Castleknock Gate we had a great view of the field ahead and behind us. Mad! The 2 hour pacers and their massive gang of pacees were on the way down to the gate as were came back up, and it felt good to know they were a nice few minutes behind us. We passed the 5 mile mark just before heading into Farmleigh and were both feeling good <phew> Through the grounds and out onto Tower Road for a bit. Miles 3-6 were 8.44, 8.56, 8.38, 8.59.

Back into Pheonix Park via the Knockmaroon Gate and over to Chesterfield Ave again, all the way up to the main gate when we left the park again. I nearly got mowed down when I went to take a cup at the water station at mi 7 (useless again - I just can't drink from cups on the run) and took a gel about half way up the avenue. All good. We were going strong. Mile 7-10 were 8.46, 8.50, 8.48, 8.34.

And back into the park at Islandbrisge gate for the last 3 miles. Up up up from the gate and the pace dropped... 11th mile was the slowest at 9:27. I got a stitch shortly after this and was concentrating on breathing through it. I kept telling Rachel to go ahead, but she obstinately refused (thanks missus ) and we ploughed on, the stitch eventually abating.
We hit some congestion around mile 12 and had to weave through the crowds - not ideal at that stage in the run. Mile 12 and 13 were 8.57 and 9.04 (the stitch and congestion took it's toll ) Turned up onto Furze road for the last stretch and we both just took off. It was nice to be able to finish well.

Chip time 01:56:37 and a PB by over a minute.
And Rachel got a 3 minute PB.

Summary 13.16 mi in 1:56:37
Avg Pace: 8:52 min/mi

Dory Dory

Nice run, even if you did get a stitch. Very smart to practice eating while running - it's not that easy!! And I'm with you about water in cups - worthless!!! Bottles should be required - I don't know who in their right mind thinks paper cups are a good idea. This was a great mini-dress rehearsal for you today.

banner_phoenix

Congrats on the PB Emer, great running and a good confidence booster that the training is going well.

Emer911

Dory Dory wrote: »

Nice run, even if you did get a stitch. Very smart to practice eating while running - it's not that easy!! And I'm with you about water in cups - worthless!!! Bottles should be required - I don't know who in their right mind thinks paper cups are a good idea. This was a great mini-dress rehearsal for you today.

Thanks Dory Dory. Yeah, cups are totally useless, but at least paper cups can be squeezed to a spout for pouring into the mouth. These were hard plastic. Totally un-squeezable

Thankfully the marathon has 250ml bottles

As a dress rehearsal, this was a great learning experience. I know I have to do something with the jelly packet to make sure I can open it easy enough. The gel was actually fine so that's positive. I wore my RaceReady shorts with the built in gel pockets, to see how they'd feel racing. I've worn them in training, but usually use a gel belt in races, so this was a good trial for them too. They worked a treat.

So now it's just time to get the rest of the training in. Six weeks left... :eek:

ultraman1

wats ur DCM goal time(the out load one)..

Emer911

ultraman1 wrote: »

wats ur DCM goal time(the out load one)..

Well my PB is 4:22 from the very uncomfortably warm and sunny Chicago marathon last year so anything faster than that :rolleyes:

Really though, I'll be aiming to get in or around the 4 hours. I'd be happy with 4.10, ecstatic with sub 4.00. But I'm not going to pressure myself... after the disaster in Chicago, this one is really about enjoying the run and the home town course.

Younganne

Well done Emer on a super run and a great rehearsal for the big one! Ye the cups were a pain in the ass yesterday, sounds like the hills were no bother to you so thats great too.

Dory Dory

RaceReady shorts? Just try and keep the Clown from wanting to "borrow" them.

Emer911

Dory Dory wrote: »

RaceReady shorts? Just try and keep the Clown from wanting to "borrow" them.

Yes, these are great. They have pockets that fit 4 gels, have a pouch for bigger stuff, like packet(s) of jellies, and 2 smaller pockets for key/ money/ tissues. So no more gel belt for me! :cool:

I'll do my best to keep the clown paws off them

Emer911

Younganne wrote: »

Well done Emer on a super run and a great rehearsal for the big one! Ye the cups were a pain in the ass yesterday, sounds like the hills were no bother to you so thats great too.

umm... just because I didn't complain about them doesn't mean they were no bother

You played a blinder yesterday. Congrats! The sub 4 in DCM will be no bother to you