2012 4 Races for 4 PBs

Duanington

Shaping up nicely for Monday Outforarun, I've been reading your log a good bit lately and you've hit a great stretch of consistent training, you should take great confidence from that.
I'm sure you'll diagnose yourself with a lot more than just chicken pox between now and then too !

outforarun

statss wrote: »

So, a few days out, how are we fixed mentally, (physically you seem 100% ready, solid training block), you have a strategy in mind?

Fixed mentally? You've asked the key question. It's all about mental trust in the training now. I've batted back everything that P&D have thrown at me and I'm still standing. The legs feel good and I think they are freshening up with each passing day. I was doing a great job at keeping the taper-madness at bay until the chickenpox (tbc) entered the house. Now I'm just waiting to feel ill, or scratchy. All the same I'm not going to worry too much about it, out of my hands, important thing (as you know) is that the little one is ok.

Honestly deep down do I trust the training? Hmmm, after my marathon history to date, let's call it a Leap of Faith, moreso than trust. I've been burned too many times. Yesterday evening during the PMP section I was wondering if I was listening to the right voice: the ballsy voice who says 3:19, or the cautious voice who says 3:29. I'm going with the former.

Pace strategy. First half of the race keep 4:43 [7:35] on the Garmin and don't panic if I see 4:44 [7:37]. Second half, keep 4:43 on the Garmin till 32K, and then if I can I'll try flirt with 4:42 [7:34].

Fuel strategy. Gels at 6K, 12K, 18K, 24K, 30K and 36K.

yaboya1

You've every reason to be confident imo. I'm not sure what's happened previously, but your training has been superb and you've completed every session on target. I think once you get that into your own head, you can bat away any doubts during the race itself

outforarun

Duanington wrote: »

Shaping up nicely for Monday Outforarun, I've been reading your log a good bit lately and you've hit a great stretch of consistent training, you should take great confidence from that.
I'm sure you'll diagnose yourself with a lot more than just chicken pox between now and then too !

Thanks Duanington. Yeah for sure I feel more confident than ever going into a marathon and that comes from 84 sessions completed on target for a 3:19 race.
The two 39:XX 10Ks run in training leave me in no doubt that my speed is good. Plus I'm taking a lot of confidence from the last 20 miler, where I felt really fresh the whole way round and was very pleased with how the gels seemed to keep energy levels constant.

neilc

Very best of luck ofar, you deserve a great race with the hard work and dedication you've put in. Keep it steady at the start and I reckon you'll blow your current pb out of the water!! Is there a tracking system we can follow with your number on the CCM website?

statss

outforarun wrote: »

Fixed mentally? You've asked the key question. It's all about mental trust in the training now. I've batted back everything that P&D have thrown at me and I'm still standing. The legs feel good and I think they are freshening up with each passing day. I was doing a great job at keeping the taper-madness at bay until the chickenpox (tbc) entered the house. Now I'm just waiting to feel ill, or scratchy. All the same I'm not going to worry too much about it, out of my hands, important thing (as you know) is that the little one is ok.

Honestly deep down do I trust the training? Hmmm, after my marathon history to date, let's call it a Leap of Faith, moreso than trust. I've been burned too many times. Yesterday evening during the PMP section I was wondering if I was listening to the right voice: the ballsy voice who says 3:19, or the cautious voice who says 3:29. I'm going with the former.

Pace strategy. First half of the race keep 4:43 [7:35] on the Garmin and don't panic if I see 4:44 [7:37]. Second half, keep 4:43 on the Garmin till 32K, and then if I can I'll try flirt with 4:42 [7:34].

Fuel strategy. Gels at 6K, 12K, 18K, 24K, 30K and 36K.

Yes I think half the battle is mental. If you hit a wobble in the second half (doesn't everyone) try to remain positive...you've 100% executed the necessary training to a tee...remember that when things get tough, you may surprise yourself

Best of luck.

outforarun

yaboya1 wrote: »

You've every reason to be confident imo. I'm not sure what's happened previously, but your training has been superb and you've completed every session on target. I think once you get that into your own head, you can bat away any doubts during the race itself

I just don't have a good history at marathon distance. They've all turned nasty at around the 20 mile mark. You can see the figures for my last 4 attempts here. And now I'm aiming to put all these attempts out of my mind and knock almost 20 minutes off my PB.

The previous blow-ups were largely down to inadequate training and poor fueling. This time round I do feel more confident coming off not just the best training block I've ever managed to put together, but a really solid 12 months of running with over 1800 miles in the last 365 days.

outforarun

neilc wrote: »

Very best of luck ofar, you deserve a great race with the hard work and dedication you've put in. Keep it steady at the start and I reckon you'll blow your current pb out of the water!! Is there a tracking system we can follow with your number on the CCM website?

Thanks neilc,

Can't wait to get started now. I don't think there's any tracking for Cork. I'll put up my number here this evening (can't remember off-hand what it is). Steady controlled start is key. After that I'll rely on the training and the gels to get me home.

tang1

The very best of luck, have followed every marathon you have trained for so far. The difference in this one is you have hit all training targets in your running and have done it injury free. The hard work is behind you, go out and enjoy it and dig in if it gets tough, you have done it loads already during your training plan. Happy running Monday.

outforarun

tang1 wrote: »

The very best of luck, have followed every marathon you have trained for so far. The difference in this one is you have hit all training targets in your running and have done it injury free. The hard work is behind you, go out and enjoy it and dig in if it gets tough, you have done it loads already during your training plan. Happy running Monday.

Thanks. Yeah hitting all targets has given me confidence for sure. Taking those 2 weeks of buffer was good move in this respect, wouldn't have hit all targets without them.

That bit about enjoying it, I'm determined to do that. Really looking forward to it now.

Sharkey47

Hey OFAR, just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading your training log for Cork. You have been remarkably disciplined and I was really impressed by the wisdom of taking those two separate weeks off when your body was beginning to creak. Good luck on Monday.

menoscemo

Best of luck and believe!!

outforarun

Sharkey47 wrote: »

Hey OFAR, just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading your training log for Cork. You have been remarkably disciplined and I was really impressed by the wisdom of taking those two separate weeks off when your body was beginning to creak. Good luck on Monday.

Thanks Sharkey.

18 weeks is a long time, something is always likely to interrupt progress during that time. I think 1 buffer week for 9 training weeks is a policy I'll stick with. The first week I took off was decided for me, that flu floored me, muscles were sore just making a slice of toast - I couldn't have run even if I wanted to. It was great to have the second buffer week, the hamstring was feeling tighter and tighter, there were some tough sessions approaching - I might have been able to run through them, but I'm happy I didn't have to take that risk.

outforarun

menoscemo wrote: »

Best of luck and believe!!

Thanks. I hear you.

outforarun

Recovery 8K with 6x100m strides

Right there's still some running to be done here. Work colleague was leaving Thursday night so the run I'd planned for Friday was pushed out to today.

Oh and chickenpox was confirmed at home. Fingers-crossed junior outforarun is now over the worst, no new spots. I still feel ok, if on edge.

Beautiful day. Was on the road 9:45ish. Multi-tasking this morning, on with the rucksack and I headed into town. Had to keep an eye on the Garmin to make sure I was sticking to recovery pace. Picked up some fresh fish and veg in town and headed back home. Legs feeling ok. Dropped the rucksack in the front door. Around 2K to go. Over to the cycle path on Inchicore Road. Some pre-concert traffic about, but I was still able to manage 6 clean sets of strides.

Legs feeling good for the rest of the afternoon.

6.08K @ 5:49 [3.78M @ 9:22]
6x100m @ average stride 3:35 [5:46]
0.38K @ 5:37 [0.23M @ 9:02]

Total 8.02K @ 5:35 [4.99M @ 8:58]

P&D55 Week 18 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Recovery 6M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 6.04 | 9:20
Dress Rehearsal 11K with 3K @ PMP 4:43 | 11.03 | 5:13[8:23] PMP 4:43 [7:35]
Recovery 8K @ 5:48 to 6:13 with 6x100m strides | 8.02K | 5:35 [8:58] average stride 3:35 [5:46]
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | |


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
85/ 85 / 00 / 00 / 01 | 17.88 / 179.82 / 834.40

AuldManKing

Your training has been very solid, possibly the most stringent training log since God was a boy (I know that that analogy makes no sense as training logs probably weren't around then) - anyway - with that solid training, you should completely trust your training to get you around in your planned time.

You've done the work, time to execute. Very best of luck - will be looking forward to the report.

Ososlo

I've really enjoyed following your training for this marathon outforarun. If anyone deserves to have a good day Monday it's yourself. Exemplary consistent training and a pleasure to read.
Can't wait to see how you do and I really hope you enjoy it:D
BEST OF LUCK!!!!!!!

yaboya1

Best of luck tomorrow OFAR.
I've full confidence in you

outforarun

AuldManKing wrote: »

Your training has been very solid, possibly the most stringent training log since God was a boy (I know that that analogy makes no sense as training logs probably weren't around then) - anyway - with that solid training, you should completely trust your training to get you around in your planned time.

You've done the work, time to execute. Very best of luck - will be looking forward to the report.

Thanks AMK. I'm really happy and a little surprised to have hit 86 out of 86 sessions on target. Just one more session now! Trust is the theme for me this marathon. Thanks again.

outforarun

Ososlo wrote: »

I've really enjoyed following your training for this marathon outforarun. If anyone deserves to have a good day Monday it's yourself. Exemplary consistent training and a pleasure to read.
Can't wait to see how you do and I really hope you enjoy it:D
BEST OF LUCK!!!!!!!

Thanks very much Ososlo. Glad you've been enjoying the log. In Cork now, spotting mile markers during the day. Picked up number earlier. Heading out for some pasta or rice soon enough. All getting very real in a hurry. All training boxes ticked. Now time for trust.

outforarun

Race number 1035

overpronator

The very best of luck, hope all goes well! Your training has been very impressive.

outforarun

overpronator wrote: »

The very best of luck, hope all goes well! Your training has been very impressive.

Thanks overpronator. Good night's sleep and some breakfast in the morning, and then to work.

outforarun

Recovery 4 Miles

18 weeks of P&D were brought to a close this afternoon, under light drizzle around Glanmire. Ran along the Glashaboy to the Dunkettle Roundabout then over to North Esk Roundabout and back to the Glashaboy Waterworks. Started out a little to fast on this one. Put the brakes on from the third mile and then two steep hills on the fourth mile insured I completed this session on target.

The calves and Achilles felt a bit heavy on this one. I'm blaming it on the train journey down this morning and on sitting around for lunchtime. It felt like a run home from work usually does.

And that's it. Done. 86 sessions completed on target across 20 calendar weeks. Can't believe that the start line is now only a matter of hours away.

Three runs stand out from this training block: the 14 miler along the Lagan early on a Sunday morning in Belfast. I just really enjoyed that run, exploring new territory on a route made for runners.

The second of my three 10K time-trials where I posted a 39:13, when I was aiming to beat 40:22. I had thought I might drop under 40:00 for this but I never expected to be so close to dropping under 39. This confirmed that my speed was good and reshaped my 10K expectations for the second half of the year.

The final 20 miler, where at 6am on a Sunday morning the Phoenix Park was reserved for just me and the deer. Magic. I never felt more comfortable on a 20 miler, a run I didn't want to end.

Really enjoyed this training block. Now the focus turns to enjoying tomorrow's race.

Thanks everybody on here for the encouragement over the last few days and for all the comments and advice over the last few months. I aim to put some faces to names over the summer races.

Best be heading to bed.

M01 08:59
M02 08:57
M03 09:28
M04 10:06

Total 4.00M @ 9:23

P&D55 Week 18 Session Targets|Actual Distance|Actual Pace
Recovery 6M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 6.04 | 9:20
Dress Rehearsal 11K with 3K @ PMP 4:43 | 11.03 | 5:13[8:23] PMP 4:43 [7:35]
Recovery 8K @ 5:48 to 6:13 with 6x100m strides | 8.02K | 5:35 [8:58] average stride 3:35 [5:46]
Recovery 4M @ 9:20 to 10:00 | 4.00 | 9:23


Sessions Completed / On Target / DNS / DNF / Remaining | Miles WTD / MTD / YTD
86/ 86 / 00 / 00 / 00 | 21.88 / 4.00 / 838.40

yaboya1

outforarun wrote: »

18 weeks of P&D were brought to a close this afternoon

Not yet. The 87th and most important session still to come

menoscemo

1:40:10 through halfway. All going to plan so far.

tang1

3.25.08 chip time, superb stuff. Very well deserved man.

menoscemo

tang1 wrote: »

3.25.08 chip time, superb stuff. Very well deserved man.

I believe that's gun time. 3:24:xx chip time

outforarun

Silver 3:24:49

PB by nearly 15 minutes.

144th of 1071 finishers (26th M40).

I'm a happy runner right now.

overpronator

outforarun wrote: »

Silver 3:24:49

PB by nearly 15 minutes.

144th of 1071 finishers (26th M40).

I'm a happy runner right now.

Very well done OFR, great to see your very inspiring dedication to training pay off.