Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

menoscemo wrote: »

Don't worry JB I won't be listening to any advice about 7 minute negative splits Pity you are in a different start block from us, our paths won't merge until after 3 miles. Maybe catch up to you on the course...btw I take it our bet is chiptime? (you said first past the post ).

Chiptime of course, should be some fun if its neck and neck in the last mile and not knowing who crossed the start line first.

zico10

Good luck in London, I know you haven't had as much time to train as you'd have liked, but enjoy the experience nonetheless.

theboyblunder

Good luck fran!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

I am broken after yesterday, the risk did not pay off even though I felt great going through halfway. Did not know at the time but pretty certain I have torn my hamstring. The last 8 miles were just painful!
Will stick up a report later in the week.

Dory Dory

^^^ Oh gosh!!!! :eek: I do hope you are okay. But let me tell you something...do not, and I repeat, DO NOT ignore the injury!!! You mind it. Period. Fingers crossed it's not as bad as it seems. Fingers crossed you mend quickly.

theboyblunder

very very sorry to hear that fran. Hope the hamstring was ok. Mne was wrecked just after but improved after a week

griffin100

Sorry to hear that Fran. Was tracking you and had high hopes for you at the halfway mark. Look after the injury.

pgibbo

Speedy recovery with the injury Fran. Sorry that London didn't go to plan.

Kurt Godel

In the context of your run of luck... a measly torn hamstring might mean you've turned the corner!

Get better fast Fran and hope to see you at a few shorter races over the summer.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

London Marathon Race Report

Well another marathon and my 2nd proper sub 3 attempt. The last time I tried a sub 3 was back in Barcelona 2 years ago which resulted in a 3.05 pb. The first 2 months of this training cycle went reasonably ok but March and the start of April were a nightmare. Work took over and training took a back seat. I had all along said I would give sub 3 a go and stupidly stuck to it. I had no intention going over there to run a low 3:0x, what was the point. The only two things which even suggested a sub 3 would be on was a 17:4x 5k time trial and a 20mile around Bohermeen half with 15miles at 6.48 marathon pace.

Travelled over on the Saturday with Michelle and her two friends from the club and got registered whilst they went shopping. Bumped into Joe who scared the cr@p out of me at the Expo. Felt very relaxed and was ready to give sub 3 a proper go.

Up early on Sunday and again feeling nice and relaxed, had a snooze on the train to Blackheath and leisurely made my way to the start line.
As they start introducing the elites just in front of us it was only then the nerves and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. You really cannot beat the atmosphere of the London Marathon.
My plan was simple, to run even splits all the way at close to 6.48mile/sub 3 pace and see where that gets me to.

Mile 1 – 5
First 5 miles flew by and felt effortless. I was mindful the first few miles are quick so was not concerned with slightly faster splits as the effort was comfortable. First mile was a congested start and a 6.58, followed by some faster miles in 6.33, 6.32, 6.38 before bringing it back to a 6.49 mile 5. Felt very good and light on my feet and about 25secs ahead of target.

Mile 6 – 10
Again I was feeling very good. It was around mile 10 I had already written my sub 3 race report in my own head. I cannot remember feeling as good as I did passing the 10 mile marker. I was purposely keeping a hold of the reigns on pace as the legs and body wanted to go quicker. Mile 6-10 passed in 6.48,6.48,6.45, 6.47 and 6.52. This left me still around 25-30secs ahead of schedule and I was soaking up the atmosphere. Took my first gel at mile 7 and had been sipping water at every third aid station (every mile they had one)

Mile 11 – 16
Up over London Bridge and the atmosphere was amazing, slight incline but it was short lived. I still had the sub 3 pace group behind me. Got a good buzz going through halfway at 1:29:34 and in very good shape at the time. It was not until mile 14 or 15 I was starting to have some rumblings in my tummy. I ran on for about 5 minutes or so before deciding that I urgently needed to relief myself, ala Paula Radcliffe style. A quick pit stop and I tucked back in behind the sub 3 pace group. Miles 11-16 passed in 6.46,6.45,6.52,6.56, 7.03 and 9.10 (pit stop). The good times were over after that!!

Mile 17 – 26
The last 10 miles can only be described as a death march. I could not get the legs moving again after the pit stop and was facing a long finish ahead. My energy levels just dropped and I cannot remember much apart from stopping a number of times to stretch out on the run home. I do recall I briefly ended up at a medical somewhere as I was feeling a little dizzy, sick and was getting rather confused (dehydrating at a guess). When I stopped I thought I was at mile 24 instead of 22, I can laugh about it now. Michelle and her friends said they seen me at 19 but I cannot recall it, I think she knew by the state of me I was a goner.

The mile splits of 8.07, 7.40, 8.07, 8.59, 9.04, 9.02, 10.39, 8.03, 7.47 tell a story for a shocking 3.20 something. I was so bloody tired at the finish I had to lay down on the ground. Just needed to find Michelle after that and again another lay down. I was a broken man by the finish, never a marathon hurt so much and I include my two Ironman marathons in that.

It was a risky strategy which did not pay off but I have no regrets as I know judging from how I have felt since (possible sun stroke, torn hamstring) that I gave it a 100% and that’s all you can give. There are no excuses, the training was not good enough and I was not in sub 3 shape, simple as that. You cannot expect to do little or no running 5/6 weeks out and expect to run a sub 3. It will happen one day, hopefully before I am 40.

Just glad I did not see Michelle & the girls at 19 as I would have easily stepped off the course. I will take a few days out to recover and get back into full on work mode. Not sure about doing Frankfurt at this stage, if this marathon has told me anything is not to do things unprepared and that’s what would happen again with work.
A big thanks to my “Doozie” support crew.

mossym

honest as always fran. knew it was a tough ask given how the build up had gone for you , but figured races owed you one at this stage and it might come good for you.

good luck with the FF decision. won't be easy i know

EC1000

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Not sure about doing Frankfurt at this stage, if this marathon has told me anything is not to do things unprepared and that’s what would happen again with work.

Hi Jackyback, have dipped in and out of your log but never contributed before so hope you don't mind the intrusion now. However, I don't understand the mentality behind the above statement. I know you might not be able to go sub-XX but you would certainly be well able to get around. There will come a point when we are all old and frail (hell we could be knocked down by a bus in the morning) and not able to race. Then we would give anything to experience another ironman. My advice is go for it and enjoy it, even if it takes X% longer than you know you are capable of.... it's not the distance that gets you, its the speed (imho) so take it easy, accept that you are going for the craic as opposed to a PB, and enjoy it.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

EC1000 wrote: »

Hi Jackyback, have dipped in and out of your log but never contributed before so hope you don't mind the intrusion now. However, I don't understand the mentality behind the above statement. I know you might not be able to go sub-XX but you would certainly be well able to get around. There will come a point when we are all old and frail (hell we could be knocked down by a bus in the morning) and not able to race. Then we would give anything to experience another ironman. My advice is go for it and enjoy it, even if it takes X% longer than you know you are capable of.... it's not the distance that gets you, its the speed (imho) so take it easy, accept that you are going for the craic as opposed to a PB, and enjoy it.

No, comments always welcome and some valid points made above. Nothing decided as of yet as waiting to see how a few things pan out. Hopefully one or two "messing" races planned over the next few weeks if i can.

RacoonQueen

Hard luck Fran...nothing worse than pushing through to the finish when you know you're going to fall far behind your goal.

What do you think caused the pit stop? Gels? Or something else? Having to stop like that = game over for me because you stiffen up and I find I can't get going again (or rather it takes so long to get going again that its game over anyway) - seems like you were going fine until you had to take the stop?

We were left with sunburn last year after the race so I think the temp for us was deceptive and the weather probably took more out of me than I realised during it...possibly the same in your case if you think the sun got to you.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Hard luck Fran...nothing worse than pushing through to the finish when you know you're going to fall far behind your goal.

What do you think caused the pit stop? Gels? Or something else? Having to stop like that = game over for me because you stiffen up and I find I can't get going again (or rather it takes so long to get going again that its game over anyway) - seems like you were going fine until you had to take the stop?

We were left with sunburn last year after the race so I think the temp for us was deceptive and the weather probably took more out of me than I realised during it...possibly the same in your case if you think the sun got to you.

Not sure what caused the pit stop, likely warning signs to slow down..yeah could not get the legs going after. Simple truth was that pace was not sustainable even though I had felt fine up to that point, it was a kamikaze race strategy I had hoped I would have got to 20-22 but I was well gone at that stage.

The heat should not have been a factor as I have raced in 30+, it was only 18 or 19. The sun stroke was likely down to me missing water stations the last few miles.

At least the hamstring is all right so have been back on the bike, I even ventured to the pool )

pgibbo

Was it awkward hitting the pool with the arm bands? :pac:

Great to hear the hamstring in sorted!

BennyMul

Hey Fran, sorry again
but hey you tried, gave it your all. this is better than not even trying.

might have to enter some of these "fun" races to meet up.

zico10

Hi Fran,

Sorry to hear how things went. But given your training, 3.20 isn't all that bad a time. You've a 5k PB you can take from the training block as well, so what training you did manage to get done was obviously working. But I think distance is the killer with the marathon, just look at how things were going for you up to the half way point. If you haven't put the miles in, you're going to be found out.

Just for your future races, I think you take on to many things at once. As far as I'm concerned both a marathon and an IM require huge commitments, this is not the first time you've entered an Ironman only a couple of months after a marathon. You want to do well in both, but I don't think it's possible to give either of them your best given your total focus will be on neither one nor the other. This personality trait came across in the getting to know you thread. But if you want my advice, the next time you aim for a sub 3 marathon, give it your total focus for 6 months and there would be absolutely no stopping you.

If you need proof that focussed training works, my last marathon before Connemara was 3.14.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

zico10 wrote: »

Hi Fran,

Sorry to hear how things went. But given your training, 3.20 isn't all that bad a time. You've a 5k PB you can take from the training block as well, so what training you did manage to get done was obviously working. But I think distance is the killer with the marathon, just look at how things were going for you up to the half way point. If you haven't put the miles in, you're going to be found out.

Just for your future races, I think you take on to many things at once. As far as I'm concerned both a marathon and an IM require huge commitments, this is not the first time you've entered an Ironman only a couple of months after a marathon. You want to do well in both, but I don't think it's possible to give either of them your best given your total focus will be on neither one nor the other. This personality trait came across in the getting to know you thread. But if you want my advice, the next time you aim for a sub 3 marathon, give it your total focus for 6 months and there would be absolutely no stopping you.

If you need proof that focussed training works, my last marathon before Connemara was 3.14.

I agree with you. London was never in my original plans as a main focus for this year but when i got a lottery slot back in October its not something you should refuse as the race is an unreal experience. Very tough to pull off an IM and Marathon combo in one year especially with work being so busy . I had planned on London being the focus for the year but a combination of not putting in proper work and laying down a solid foundation in Oct-Dec and work conspiring against me in the last few weeks in the lead in it was a tall ask.
Sub 3 will happen, i just need to plan it properly when things settle down, realistically i need to be knocking out close to a 1.20 half and sub 36.30 10k before i commit to the next one. You ideally need to get yourself into 2.50-2.55 shape just in case you are having an off day you have a buffer there. My 5k time suggests that those two targets (HM&10K) should be within reach with some specific work.
Parking it for now though.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Well took a recovery week after London and work settled down for 2 weeks which allowed me to get back in to tri training mode. Managed to get 2 decent weeks in totalling just under 30hrs and around 2100tss. With work cranking up again this week (away 3 days on business) i decided to make hay when the sun shined and will treat this week as a recovery week. Back in the pool and back on the bike, makes a welcome change to just running all the time.

Just had a double race weekend and it was a turning point for me, not in a breakthrough performance sort of way but in other ways. As in for the first time in about 3 years i forgot about chasing x time and beating y person in a race with the pure focus on enjoying my hobby, i did!!

First up on Saturday was my first tri of the year, sort of a last minute decision but decided to go back to Muckno where i done my first tri. Big difference from last time around (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=72004632&postcount=531).

Swim was a 14:3x coming out but 15:49 by the time i got up that hill and into T1. Some difference from the 20:xx last time around:pac:
Bike i was chasing down packs ahead of me (yes cycling in packs). Buried myself in the last of the 3 loops to get into T2 ahead of a group of 4 or 5.
Bike was a 30:23 compared to a 32:56 last time around in similar conditions.

Run i was hurting going up that blasted hill to the turnaround point but i was enjoying that type of hurt you can only experience in a race. Crossed the line with a 21:32 and a 1:08;38 overall. 4min pb over the distance and nearly a 10min improvement over the same course from last time around.

Sunday was the local Boyne 10k. I had a number already lined up but the legs were bunched from Saturdays race. Decided about 15mins before the race to leg it down and see what the legs had in them. Aimed to run under 40 as its a hilly course but a quick pitstop seen me come in a 40:16. Passed the house and the kids around 8k (top of heartbreak hill) and it really spurred me on. Ended up in a flat out drag race with 2 other clubmates who had a gap of about 50-70mtrs on me with 1k to go. Took one with about 400 to go and the other with about 50mtrs to the line, you cannot beat a sprint finish.
The sign of someone in pain but happy out:) JB version 2.1

Kurt Godel

Great to see a satisfied race report from you Fran. Have you considered knocking the longer epic stuff on its head, in favour of Sprints and Oly's? What other races are you down for this summer (besides the IM)? Are you still doing Lough Cutra Oly?

griffin100

You'll never be able to deny the hobbit insults after posting that pic

Nice to see you back in the swing of things.

Dory Dory

First, nice quads. hubba, hubba.

Second, you've just reminded ALL of us why we do what we do. Thank you.

Third, congrats on a super weekend of racing.

Oryx

Dory always says what I am thinking. Hubba hubba.

Well done. Nice to see you racing and getting the results you work for.

mossym

this thread needs more of that type of report. Well done Fran. nice times off the back of little tri training. maybe more local raceswould bea good thing? More lost sheep entries coming up in a couple of weeks:)


although, at a guess, i'd say you know exactly what you are doing for the rest of the season already:)

shotgunmcos

Woohoo, happiness. Good stuff Fran thanks for the chirpy report

BennyMul

Congrats Fran, nice weekend. +1 on the nice legs

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Great to see a satisfied race report from you Fran. Have you considered knocking the longer epic stuff on its head, in favour of Sprints and Oly's? What other races are you down for this summer (besides the IM)? Are you still doing Lough Cutra Oly?

Yes longer stuff will likely be knocked on the head until 2016/2017, this year and next is just so busy. Don't get me wrong i love long course but i think after Frankfurt this year i will go back to doing SPR,OLY and HIM as and when i can.
Doing the OLY in Lough Cutra, possibly looking at doing either Tri Athy or Tri & Mhi HIM and then obviously Frankfurt. After that i am away in Mickeymouseland for 3 weeks so will look at doing some SPR & OLY when i get back.
Could look like
Caroline Kearney - if entries are not gone 09/08
DCT - OLY - 24/08
Newry City - SPR - 31/08
Belfast Titanic - OLY - 07/09 to end the season

griffin100 wrote: »

You'll never be able to deny the hobbit insults after posting that pic
Nice to see you back in the swing of things.

Ha, in my defence he is one of the tallest guys in the club at 6 4.

Dory Dory wrote: »

First, nice quads. hubba, hubba.
Second, you've just reminded ALL of us why we do what we do. Thank you.
Third, congrats on a super weekend of racing.

Oryx wrote: »

Dory always says what I am thinking. Hubba hubba.
Well done. Nice to see you racing and getting the results you work for.

Jeez Dory & Oryx, calm yourselves there is enough to go around:)

mossym wrote: »

this thread needs more of that type of report. Well done Fran. nice times off the back of little tri training. maybe more local raceswould bea good thing? More lost sheep entries coming up in a couple of weeks:)
although, at a guess, i'd say you know exactly what you are doing for the rest of the season already:)

Cheers M. Yeah a few local races will be thrown in. The only races paid for are Lough Cutra and Frankfurt, as per above i will likely do those races listed.

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Woohoo, happiness. Good stuff Fran thanks for the chirpy report

Beats the usual moany reports of "i puked in my wetsuit" or "some German thought he was Bruce Lee"

BennyMul wrote: »

Congrats Fran, nice weekend. +1 on the nice legs

Ah here not you on the legs as well, what is it with the legs, is it the white schoolgril socks:P

sconhome

Well done Fran.

Glad to see good taste in footwear runs in your club

catweazle

Why do you all wear the Turkish uniform - has the club dedicated itself to ensuring Turkey gets into the EU or are you advertising your holiday apartment?