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Berlin or bust...
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Krusty_Clown wrote: »A second opinion: It's sh1te! Lovely scenery outside of the town, but ugly and expensive otherwise. Ski resorts never look quite as good out of ski season, but this one just seemed like a crappy highly commercial town. The day before the race, they held a street festival, where the highlight seemed to be trying to through a ski boot through a hole in a piece of wood. If I was going back to do the Swiss Alpine marathon (more on that later) I'd stay in a smaller traditional neighbouring town and get the (free) train to Davos (or directly to your starting point, depending on which race you participate in). As a ski resort, I'll probably avoid Davos as well. It was a bit 'meh'*!
*: may be coloured a little by my marathon experience!
Yes i was waiting for that report alright,
I have a friend over in Basel but that's a bit away so may be i'll keep my options open regards a mountain marathon in europe..0 -
It's a cracking race, and I'd heartily recommend it (despite my own experience). Just wouldn't recommend staying in Davos, if you have a choice. Basel is a couple of hundred miles away though. Klosters is only 10 miles up the road and would be a nicer base, I'd imagine (though probably just as expensive). Must return to my own log at some stage, or I'll start having an identity crisis.Yes i was waiting for that report alright,
I have a friend over in Basel but that's a bit away so may be i'll keep my options open regards a mountain marathon in europe..0 -
...and normal service resumes
So, since the horrendously hot and hilly half, what's been happening? Hmm...
Did 3 miles in Munich on the Wednesday after and then nothing until we got home. (Munich was lovely, by the way. Probably my favourite spot of the holiday)
Sunday 4th Aug
As the holiday was now over and the Dublin marathon is fast approaching, I had to get the finger out and get some miles in. So I dropped the car to DunLaoighre for the OH to pick up and ran the 6.21 mile home. Then, for kicks, did and hour or two of top rope climbing.
Monday 5th
just over 3.5 miles in the park. The pace was pretty slow but I still found this tougher that I should have.
Wednesday 7th
Another shortish one. Lunchtime run so the mid-day sun didn't help matters. Managed to fit in just over 3.25 miles.
Pilates class in the evening. Tough one after a few weeks of nothing.
Thursday 8th
Club run. Most of the gang were off doing hills over in Djouce so it was a smaller crew than usual. We ran some fartleks / intervals - various distances - and the pace was a bit all over the place as the group I was running with was a bit of a mixed bag, but it felt good. Total of 5.68 miles covered, including the warmup and cool down.
interval | Time | distance | pace/mi
1| 2:09.6| 0.28 |7:42
2| 4:00.1| 0.49 |8:11
3| 4:29.7| 0.60 |7:28
4| 3:08.3| 0.37 |8:31
5| 4:18.6| 0.59 |7:170 -
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Sunday 11th Aug
Woke up feeling a bit stiff after yesterdays excursions
It's way too early in the plan to be feeling stiff!
Anyway, after a leisurely morning with a lie in followed by pancakes and a steaming mug of coffee, I headed out for a bit of a recovery/ easy run. Very hot in the sunshine - which I wasn't really expecting - but I trotted around the grass for 5.5 miles.
Started out very slow and I'm sure I looked very uncomfortable, but everything eased out after a mile or two and I finished up feeling grand.
32.5 mile of the week.0 -
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Tuesday
Lunchtime Pilates. Tough class. Squats (about 130!), Plank sequence with pushups, and some nice leg extension/ crunches. Bucketed sweat during this one - disgusting!
Wednesday
Went bouldering (climbing) for 2 hours instead of going for a run <bold!> Lots of new routes so we had to try as many as we could. My arms were hanging off me at the end and my poor hands were stinging. So much fun!
Thursday
Club run. 3x1k and 1x2k at 5k pace(ish)
Wow. That was a tough session. Looking at the paces I was going a bit faster than 5k pace for most of it so I guess that nauseous feeling at the end was understandable
. (5K pace is about 7:40/mi)
Rep| Time|Distance|Pace/mi
1| 4:31.4| 0.62mi/1k| 7:18
2| 4:29.8| 0.62mi/1k| 7:14
3| 4:33.8| 0.62mi/1k| 7:23
4| 9:38.3| 1.22mi/2K| 7:54 (last 0.22 at 6:54/mi)
Total mileage for the day, including the warmup and cool down was 4.8mi
Friday
4 miles lunchtime run in the sun. Kept it handy.
Saturday
16 mile LSR. Wanted to do this with company, but the girls were kicking off at 7:30:eek: so I wasn't all that sure I'd be able for that. But I got out of bed at 6.20 :eek::eek: and had a small bowl of porridge and some water. Met up with the girls and we headed to the park to get in some grassy miles to start.
Long story short, I was running out of energy at about 13miles, but rallied a bit and finished feeling ok.
Very tired now and the legs felt very heavy afterwards, so treated them to a few minutes in a cold bath.
...sheesh, the things we do to ourselves!?0 -
Sunday 18th
Felt pretty stiff after the 16 miler yesterday so went for a swim splash about in the pool for an hour in the afternoon with mini-me and the other-fella. Not sure if it helped but it was a bit of craic.
The run this morning was a very slow easy 5 miles on the grass to get the legs moving and the blood flowing. Felt very jerky at the start, but settled down after a mile or two. Met a club-mate and she joined me (at my really slow pace) for the last few miles. Very enjoyable.
So that's 33.27 miles this week.
600 miles for this year so far (692 this time last year)
4 weeks to Athlone Flatline.
10 weeks to DCM.0 -
Oohhhh! I've been remiss in my logging recently :rolleyes:
Didn't realise it'd been almost 2 weeks though!:o
So....
Monday 19th
3 easy miles in the park on the grass
Tuesday 20th
Pilates at lunchtime
Wednesday 21st
Ran home from work with a club mate via a circuitous route to 6 miles (about 9min/mi pace) and then I turned around and ran an extra 2 back to work (cooldown pace). Very humid evening and I was dripping after the first mile!
Followed this up with an hour and a half of quality family Bouldering time
Friday 23rd
5 steady miles around the park.
Saturday 24th
Was out west for the weekend so went running with the in-laws. They run with a marathon training group on Saturday mornings for the long runs, so I jumped in with them for a nice (early) 13miles at 9:30min/mi. Really enjoyed that one.
Sunday 25th
No running but did 2 hours top rope climbing and bouldering when we got back to the big shmoke.
29 miles for the (step back) week0 -
...and on we go
Monday 26th
8 miles. Some of club marathon girls were meeting up for a run so I decided to join them and get some miles under the belt for the week. Lovely run. Did a route I haven't ran in a while so that was a welcome change. Very warm evening (again - not that I'm complaining!)
Tuesday 27th
Lunchtime Pilates
Wednesday 28th
4 miles easy (can't really remember much of this one?!)
Thursday 29th
Club session. After a warmup and some strides we did 3x1K with 3 mins recovery. Found this one very tough. Went out too fast on the first one and couldn't keep the pace so tried to keep it consistent for the next two. Times for the 3 sets were 4:35/ 4:36/ 4:36. Learned a valuable pacing lesson there.
Total of 5 miles for the day.
Friday 30th
Glass of wine, chocolate cake and ice cream. 0 -
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Sunday 1st Sept
4 very slow recovery miles. Very stiff affair, but definitely felt better afterwards.
Went for a few hours lead rope climbing after that. We're only beginners at this discipline, so it's a bit scary and very taxing on the (nervously tensed) muscles. We're getting better though
Total of 39.43 miles for the week.
8 Weeks tomorrow to DCM.0 -
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RacoonQueen wrote: »Do the kids do this type of climbing too?
You guys are the coolest parents ever.:D
The 'kids' are much better at it than I am and were always scrambling about on rocks / trees / walls / whatever when they were wee (which they aren't anymore - mini-me is almost as tall as me now!)
Yeah, we're all gung-ho for the climbing. It's great fun. You should try it 0 -
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Tuesday
Lunchtime a$$ burning:eek: pilates class. Ouch! That's all I can say about that one
Wednesday
8 miles in the park with some of the club girls on a beautiful sunny evening. Gorgeous day for a run. Some of us were doing 6, moi 8, another 9, so we ran and chatted (and puffed a bit on the hills) and chatted some more. Nice way to pass a few miles.
8.1 miles in 1:14:01 @ 9:08 min/mi0 -
Wednesday
8 miles in the park with some of the club girls on a beautiful sunny evening. Gorgeous day for a run. Some of us were doing 6, moi 8, another 9, so we ran and chatted (and puffed a bit on the hills) and chatted some more. Nice way to pass a few miles.
8.1 miles in 1:14:01 @ 9:08 min/mi
Hills???? 0 -
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Saturday 7th Sept.
20 miler planned. The Club girls were kicking off at 7am for 18 miles :eek: - a touch too early for me - so I arranged to meet them at half past. Up bright and (too) early, for a half bowl of porridge and mug of coffee. Gear today included the beanie, gloves and my light gore jacket - cool and breezy, with the threat of rain ever present. I guess the summer has finally departed
Met the girls and we headed down the N11, down Newtownpark Ave and over to DunLaoghaire. Had to stop here for a quick loo break (thankfully I found a friendly cafe) and took a gel when we clocked 10miles. The route back home took us up a few inclines, but nothing too bad.
The weather, though changeable, was fairly agreeable. There were a few light showers, some dark cold dreary spells, some bright sunshine, and it was windy but nothing too mad.
As we approached Shankill, the girls hit their target miles for the day, but I still had another 5+ miles to do, so I bid then adieu and headed off on my own-e-oh. I hit the park with 4 left, and stuck to the grass for as much of this as I could. The legs were starting to tire now, so the last few miles were more a trudge than a run, but I got through it.
Back to the house for a cold bath :eek:, a hot shower, and - after a bit - some much needed grub.
First 20 of the plan done. Two more to do.0 -
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Sunday 8th Sept
I was a bit scuppered for the rest of the day on Saturday after the 20 miler. Felt totally knackered all day, but when the sun came up on Sunday morning the legs felt surprisingly OK and though I was still tired, the total wreck-ed-ness had lifted a bit.
I went out for 5 very easy miles around the park, late in the morning. Thought it was colder than it actually was, so wore way too much, but as I was going pretty slowly, it wasn't too big an issue.
Checked out the mileage on my favourite Nimbus shoes (nearly 900miles!) and decided it was time to invest in my knees. A Sunday afternoon trip to Amphibian King saw my pocket a good bit lighter but the shoes felt so bouncy that I still walked out with a smile on my face. First trial wear this evening. 0 -
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Preamble
Set off for the wild west on Friday evening and dropped by Athlone to pick up the numbers. Really easy to find (great directions given) and, as we got there with only a few minutes to spare (like 8:55 or something!), we had the whole place to ourselves and got everything sorted quick as a flash.
And then on to the Mammy's for a good nights sleep.
Saturday morning we were up bright and early for the usual pre-race breakie of porridge and coffee. Picked up my bro, his misses and a friend and we all travelled together to the race. Got there around 10 and directed to the 'overflow' carpark 20 meters past the school. Parking a-plenty, but it's lucky it was warm and dry, cause that field would've been a nightmare otherwise.
And warm it was, and sunny too. I really wasn't expecting that, and the usually 'go nowhere without sunscreen' girl was actually caught out! At least I had my peaked cap. Met some of the boardsies and lots of the Roscommon runners and everyone seemed in great spirits. Krusty headed off to find some other fast heads and I hung around with the family for a bit. Met RachelJev as I was walking back to the car to dump my extra layers and we did a few minutes warmup to catch up and get the legs moving. Decided to run the race together - with the usual "don't wait around for me if I'm not able to keep up" pact. :rolleyes:
Rachel reckoned we'd need to be running at 8:35 - 8:40 pace to break the 1:55 (PB was 1:56:37 from Dublin HM last year) but I'd printed some pace bands that had 8:46/mi as the even split pace for 1:55, so we decided to stick somewhere around that.
Now my training has been going OK, but not brilliant, so I was doubtful that the 1:56 was even achievable for me. When she mentioned 8:35-8:40 I was having mini-palpitations but must've hidden it fairly well
. Anyway - I was SURE that Rachel would be speeding off into the distance at 6 or 7 miles as I slowly jogged the remaining miles, totally depleted and beaten for going out too hard. Oh the doubts!
Time was called and the marshals led us to the start in a very organised manner. Rach and I sat in between the 1:50 and 2:00 pacers. My big bro and the sis-in-law had decided to stay with the 2 hour guys and hold on / push on as the race progressed. So I bid them adieu and before we knew it, the gun went, and we were off.
The first bit
It was sunny and there were lots of folks out to cheer and send us on our way. We ran south from the school and were on proper country roads in a blink. It was flat, it was sunny (did I say that already?) and Rach and I chatted and ran and chatted, and I kept an eye on the pace every now and again. 8:37 / 8:48 / 8:50 / 8:43 had the pace at the desired 8:45 average for the first 4 miles and we were both feeling fine (or so I thought). Water stop just after mile 3 and I grabbed a bottle for a sip to wet the whistle. Rachel threw a splash over her neck and I decided that was a fantastic idea and followed suit. Wow - that felt good! Well, it was sunny.
The middle
Mile 5 I was chatting away and the pace crept up without me realising it to 8:34. Rachel called me on it and we slowed a bit for the next one. At that stage I should have realised she was hurting a bit but I was sailing and feeling good so didn't pick up on it. Mile 6 was 8:39 and I took a gel as we approached the water station so I could dispose of the wrapper and take a drink with it. Seamless. I usually have to stop to wrestle with the pack but it opened really easy for me and went down like nectar. Everything was going my way!
And then, somewhere around the 7th/ 8th mile, Rachel said she was having cramps and had to stop. I said we'd slow it down - we had time banked - but she was in no mood and I was summarily sent on my way. Felt like SUCH a heel leaving her. I assumed she meant a stitch or something, but the poor thing had a mare after that and I felt twice the heel when I met her at the finish line and heard her war story. :(:eek:
Mile 7 and 8 were 8:48 and 8:42
The solo miles
I left Rachel and didn't look back (I'm such a bad friend!) I was feeling strong and just ran as I felt not bothering to look at the watch again until the finish. The route took us up onto the a main(ish) road after 8 for almost 2 miles. It was a bit surreal turning out onto it to see the line of single file runners stretched out along the hard shoulder - and very colourful it was too. I was still feeling good and found I was passing runners all along this road. When we turned off again onto the minor roads there was a brief downhill and I think I actually passed about 6 people in a matter of strides. That felt very strange. But I was still motoring... :cool:
Took another water bottle at the water station after 9, and squirted a good bit on my neck/ back. It was sunny and I was getting a bit hot. And still I was passing people. There seemed to be a stretch around 10 / 11 miles where lots of people just fell apart and started walking and I sailed past them all. I did feel like imparting some words of encouragement, but - having been there in the past - I didn't think it'd be well received, so I kept my gob shut and left them to their daemons.
Mile 9 to 11 were 8:27 / 8:17 / 8:25
The last bit
When I passed the 11 mile marker things weren't quite as easy as they had been and the central governor started to complain a bit. I had to concentrate to keep the legs ticking and started to count down the distance left in terms of laps of the park, as you do. Even though I was starting to hurt a bit, I was still passing people wholesale, so I started picking off the person ahead - to distract myself really. When I caught them, I set my sights on the next one. Kept going like this all the way into the town. As I passed the 13 mile marker Krusty and co were going in the other direction for a cool down jog (probably still faster than my sprint pace :rolleyes:) and I got a nod.
Around the corner to the finish and I was in line with 2 others. As we made the bend the girl beside me took off like a rocket! She must've been doing Mo Farrah training with the sprint she put in to the line - and fair play to her. I kicked on and left the guy in my wake, but as I got near the finish gantry someone was coming up fast on my shoulder and I pushed hard for the line. She got there first (out of nowhere) and I stopped my watch and hung onto the barriers to get some air back into my burning lungs.
Mile 11 to 13 were 8:25 / 8:32/ 8:28 with 7:38 pace for the last 0.14
Chip time 1:52:51 (PB by over 3 minutes - woo hoo!)
Garmin stats:
13.14 mi in 1:52:54
Avg Pace: 8:36 min/mi
Boy was I chuffed and totally surprised by that. I did NOT think I was in that kind of shape and was really really really happy with my performance. Bodes well for Dublin - hopefully
The aftermath
The finish chute was busy but organised. I got my medal, water and some orange segment and waited to see if Rachel was coming in behind me. Saw my sis-in-law first, who put in a magnificent performance in her second ever HM to come in just over 1:56 with a 3 minute PB. Her friend came in shortly after and then I spotted Rach. Got her a chair, some water and an orange and she poured out her story of woe and decorating the country roads with her breakfast. After a few minutes we moved on and rejoined the mass of boardsies outside the finish pen - but not until I'd got my beer first, of course. Rachel understandably declined :rolleyes:.
And in summary
Great race, organisation, marshalling, water stations, enthusiastic local support, tshirt, medal and a beer at the finish just to win over any doubters
And a PB to boot!
Sure it's all good:P
...and in case you were following him, the bro finished in 2:02. Hung onto the pacers until about mi 11 when his (dodgy) knees locked up and he had to ease back for the last few mile. It's still a PB (a massive 15 minutes faster than his only other HM).
And Krusty? - well you can just go check out his log of course, but he got a PB too.
PB's all round so that can only mean PB beer Saturday night. Great evening following a great day. 0 -
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Don't know about the 'zooming' part but it's much easier to churn out those midweek long-ish runs when there is company.BeepBeep67 wrote: »Whizzing around the park tonight like nobody's business you've obviously recovered well.
You were looking pretty zooming too 0 -
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