PROJECT ROTTERDAM 10.4.11

theboyblunder

Speedy44 wrote: »

Monday
Rest day

Tuesday
5.5mls easy, nothing to report, 7:33 pace

Wednesday
8mls easy, felt good
Finished antibiotics

Thursday
Last 'hard' session

2mls easy, 2 x 2mls Tempo with 3mins rec(6:06, 6:00), 3.75mls easy.

Felt pretty good. First 2mls warm up was 8+/ml so wasn't sure what the session was going to bring.
With finishing the meds yesterday, I was hoping to have a bit more energy in the tank.

Did them on the track and was pleasantly surprised with it. First mile of the first 2mls was 6:09, then 2nd one in 6:03.
When I started the 2nd 2mls I checked the watch and was at 5:47 :eek:, then again the wind was behind me. 1st ml was 6:02 and the last one 5:58.

Good for the confidence after the past few wks.

nice one speedy - had a similar workout myself before the taper proper which does a world of good for the confidence

Speedy44

Friday
Just 5.5mls easy mls at 7:41 pace.

Saturday
7mls easy @ 7:42 pace.
No news is good news I suppose!

Sunday
11.75mls easy & 7:42 pace.

Felt ok, better the further I ran. The usual taper soreness.
Stomach muscles very tender though and aware not to make and sudden movements when bending over and the like.

Week Distance = 45.5mls

Speedy44

Monday

1 hr easy @ 7:43 pace then I did 6 x 80m strides on the track.
Felt good, stomach fine again.

Distance = 8.25mls

Tuesday

2mls easy @ 7:46 pace then 4 x 1200m with 2min rec.
6:15, 6:02, 6:04 & 5:57 pace

It was fairly windy out so took me a bit to get going in the first one.
They all felt comfortable though (as they should :rolleyes:), just a matter of getting this done really.

Distance = 6.91mls

Note:-
Got my number for the marathon, its 7912, guess I have to do it now

seanynova

best of luck speedy will be looking out for the splits on sunday....

cwgatling

Best of luck Speedy. I'm doing the Daniels thing myself. You've nailed all those tempo/long/tempo runs which are a killer. Enjoy the race.

Speedy44

cwgatling wrote: »

Best of luck Speedy. I'm doing the Daniels thing myself. You've nailed all those tempo/long/tempo runs which are a killer. Enjoy the race.

cheers cw.
What are you looking to run yourself?

littlebug

All the very best Speedy

theboyblunder

good luck speedy - you dont need it though!
Consistent hard training done - enjoy the race

Speedy44

Wednesday
6mls easy + 6 x 80m strides


Thursday
4mls easy + 4 x 80m strides

Friday
4mls easy

Well, after 4 months of trying to follow the Daniels plan as dilligently as I could, it all comes down to this.

Have to say I'm feeling confident, and I'm going to give it my best, and enjoy it.

I have no ailments coming into it, and the weather looks like it should be fine, and I should ge a decent start as I'm in one of the lead pens.

I am going to make sure to take it really easy for the first 5mls especially, but right through 1/2 way, and in fact up to 20mls.
I'll see where I am at after that.

Before Craughwell I would probably have gone out looking for 2:55, but now I will just go for the sub 3.

Thanks for all the good wishes, I'll have a pint for ye in Paddy Murphys

BeepBeep67

Give a good shot Speedy, remember when you hit half way you've 21 under the belt and only 13 to go .
What's your number so I can have a sneaky peak before the 10k on Sunday.

Speedy44

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Give a good shot Speedy, remember when you hit half way you've 21 under the belt and only 13 to go .
What's your number so I can have a sneaky peak before the 10k on Sunday.

cheers beepbeep
I'm #7912

best of luck in the National 10k as well.

cwgatling

Sub 3's in the bag for you!

I had a bit of a nightmare in Craughwell too. Don't let it put you off. I'm shooting for sub 3:10 in Kildare.

I'll have a pint for ye in Paddy Murphys

You better have more than one!

dermCu

Best of luck Speedy.
Seems like you've done some really good consistent training - I hope you get the result to match it.

tisnotover

All the best Speedy, looking forward to the report!

smmoore79

Yeah, best of luck speedy. The hard slog of training is all but done. Take confidence that you got through a tough training plan and have come out the other end as fit as you have ever been.

Speedy44

3:13+

Just didn't have it, but I gave it my best.

Slogger Jogger

All you can do is do your best speedy. The heat was savage I believe. Not a bad time considering. Now get some beers into you

donothoponpop

Still a great time Speedy, you will hit your target another day. +1 on Slogger's idea, enjoy your evening!

smmoore79

Hard luck speedy, if it was as hot there as it was in Dublin then 3 13 is very respectable. Try to take positives from the experience and enjoy the brewskeys!!

Sosa

+1 to Sloggers idea...It will happen another day
Well Done

cwgatling

Enjoy the night Speedy. Nothing wrong with 3:13. You'll be back for more soon enough.

theboyblunder

ahh hard luck speedy. interested to read your report. If it was anything like as hot there as here today then it wasnt a day for a PB marathon

youre training was great, you'll hit it next time.

enjoy the beers!

BeepBeep67

Put it to bed and move one - the summer road racing circuit beckons.

village runner

gutted for you mate.

seanynova

hard luck speedy,
did not see that coming off the back of your training!

give us a good report anyway...

Killerz

Fair play, at least you gave it your best on the day - no regrets that way.

PS great time anyhow.... looking forward to the report

tisnotover

Hard luck Speedy, the training you put in deserved a much better time in fairness.

Have those pints and I'm sure the motivation will come back for sure, looking forward to the report all the same.

Speedy44

Splits:

1 - 6:55
2 - 6:45
3 - 6:53
4 - 6:45
5 - 6:39 - 33:57
6 - 6:47
7 - 6:43
8 - 6:45
9 - 6:59
10 - 6:46 - 67:57 (34:00)
11 - 6:50
12 - 6:49
13 - 6:52
14 - 6:49
15 - 6:49 - 1:42:06 (34:09)
16 - 6:49
17 - 6:48
18 - 7:09
19 - 8:41
20 - 8:19 - 2:18:52 (36:46)
21 - 8:46
22 - 7:48
23 - 9:09
24 - 8:48
25 - 7:42
26 - 8:31
.38 - 2:54 (7:40/ml)

3:13:54

Where to start!
Tbh, have to say I'm gutted about this, really thought I had it in the bag this time.
I hate to make excuses but I'm just trying to get my mind around the reason.

Thinking about it, I think that I missed the guts of a nights sleep on Friday night didn't help. Had to get up at 2.30am to take a 3.15am bus to make the plane at 6:50am from Dublin to Eindhoven. Of couse I was awake before 2am as it was.
Then had to take a bus to the train station in Eindhoven, and an hour+ of of a train ride to Rotterdam.

After that it was getting close to noon so I figured I may be best picking up my number at the expo first, I wanted to make sure I got into the C pen ok, which I did. Also I figured it I get this out of the way I may be able to catch up on a few hours sleep in the afternoon.

Unforunately, my bag which seemed light enough carrying it a short distance started to get heavier as I had to walk a good mile or more back and forth to the train station.
Then I had to take another train to where my hotel was in the 'burbs (my own fault for booking late). After that it was another bus, and then another walk of a mile of so to the hotel.

Managed to get an hours sleep but was wide awake then. Got a good nights sleep the nigth before the race (8hrs) figured I'd be ok.

Everything was ok leading up to the race. Got there ok, found a place to drop my bag and got into my pen with 15mins to spare, right up near the front with a bunch of lads from Clonliffe (I think).
Took a gel and salt tablet and a few more swigs of water. Even had a last second piss in the urinal stratigically positioned near the start line. I had forgot the vaseline and there was a tub of it lying on the ground, so I figured everything was going in my favour.

So before I knew it, we were off.
I decided beforehand to take it easy no matter what for the first half, so I was constantly checking the garmin.
Happy to see the 1st ml in 6:55, and second in 6:45. Had in my mind that if I can average about 6:47's for the first half it will get me through in 1:29 or so.
Hit the breaks a wee bit when I saw the 5th mile in 6:39, but glad to go through the first 5mls in 33:57, just 2secs down on my 6:47 target.

I was also keeping an eye on the official 5K splits incase the garmin screwed up. I had splits of 21:20 in mind to get to 2:59:20 I think.
Hit the first 5K in 21:30, and the next in 21:07.

All this time I was feeling fine, just cruising really. Had no problem with the water/sponge combo.
Took my 2nd gel at 6mls, remember thinking that I felt very much in control.
All the miles up to halfway were the same, no bother. A little concerned when I saw a 6:59 for the 9th mile, but I felt I could pick it up whenever I wanted, and I was determined to take it easy up until 20.

Halfway in 1:29:53.
Again I was a little concerned that it was slower than I had predicted, but again, I felt fine. The next 4mls up to 17mls were all more or less the same, 6:49. I remember after halfway thinking that I have turned the corner and am heading home.

I think it was about 15/16mls I felt the first signs of fatigue setting in, I think I was starting to feel the heat and thinking about the amount of miles I still have to do.
When I got to 16mls I calculated that if I run 7min/mls from here I can still do it. I had some time in the bank so I remember thinking why am I still doing 6:49's and hurting, slow it down to 7's for a few and get until 20 and maybe get a second wind.

Around mile 18 I took my 2nd salt tablet, and a mile or so later my last gel.

When I saw mile 18 at 7:09, I'mnot really siure what happened. The legs just weren't there. They weren't cramping like in Dublin, they just had no energy.

There was no way I should have been out of gas at mile 18 at this pace.

After that I was just walking through the water stations and drinking as much as I could. The wheels didn't compleely come off like last time, and I was a little bit happy to see that I was still doing a few of the miles in the 7min+ range.

Anyway, thats it. Like I said, I'm not a happy camper, but I know I have it in me to go sub 3, maybe when all the stars are aligned or something!

I suppose the heat didn't help either. Not sure what the temp was, but the sun was beating down for the duration of it, and while I didn't feel like I was about to pass out (like one poor lad did whom I passed about 23mls been attended to by the medics), I suppose the fact that I was hydrating myself a lot helped.

Thanks for all the comments post race everyone, and for all the advice leading up to it.

dapope

Gutted for you also.

I followed your training log and the work was done. Your training had you in Sub 3 shape. It just didn't work out on the day. I think the conditions were a huge factor.

It may feel like it right now but no way is this "Back to the drawing board"

smmoore79

I wont say hard luck but congrats on making it through a less than ideal marathon. Thats still a brave effort slogging out those miles from 17 to 26.2. A lot of boardsie's here would bite your arm off for 3 13 in hot conditions! Losing a days sleep wouldnt have helped and the sun is a definite energy drainer. Focus on the shorter stuff for a while building up your speed and then maybe aim for autumn LSR training and a winter marathon..