Allez Ola Ole - Paris 2011

Caprica

On Sunday calf still felt tight so was in two minds what to do so decided to take a rest day. Didn't think it was worth aggravating the calf, so worked on the foam roller and done some stretching.

Monday 12th March
45mins spinning class, followed by 25mins on the stationery bike, stretching and pilates. Tough spinning class, long sprints and climbs, a good workout.

Tuesday 13th March
Ran 13.1mls in 92:16, for a per mile average of 7:03. Splits were;

M1 - 7:12
M2 - 7:18
M3 - 7:19
M4 - 7:16
M5 - 6:52
M6 - 6:55
M7 - 6:53
M8 - 7:10
M9 - 7:18
M10 - 7:09
M11 - 7:12
M12 - 6:38
M13 - 6:31

Good effort, started running felt comfortable and kept it going at that speed. Felt good and strong running up the upper glen road and the furry glen. Plenty of stretching afterwards. Calf felt sore later on, so worked on the foam roller.

Wednesday 14th March
45min spinning class, 25min on the stationery bike and stretching.

Calf is sore again today so decided to postpone the run. Have a massage booked for tomorrow, will work on the foam roller later.

Caprica

Got home in a new PB of 17:33 (gun time), I started my watch with the gun as opposed to crossing the mat so I think my chip time is 17:31 but no official results yet to confirm. Delighted with this run.

Didn't have a great week, calf is niggling me so missed Thursdays run, but had a good massage on Friday and felt good Saturday so plan was to aim for a new PB and improve on my 17:39 from the same race last year. Positioned myself close to front, was across the line in no time and got into my running pretty much straight away. Plan was to hit 5:30 for the first mile and then keep motoring to the finish line.

By the time I hit the Shelbourne I felt I was working hard but I knew it was going to be like the whole way round, this was going to be me at my max. Kept my mind on my goal and ran as hard as I could all the way round, picking people of as I went along. Found the stretch back up along the canal a bit windy so sheltered at the back of a group for a while, once we hit Adelaide round I pushed on again. Passed 4k in 13:50, at this point I knew a new PB was on but had to hang on for one final push. At this point was running alongside the ladies who ended up 4th and 5th, used them as my marker for the final push. It was getting tough now, working hard along Pembroke and Baggot street, picking of a few more people back on to Stephens Green, was gasping for air at this point but coming round the corner on to Dawson Street ran as hard as I could. Was closing on the two ladies in the final straight and finished on their heels, pleasantly surprised as I approached the finish line to see the clock in the low 17:30's. Didn't think I was going to get a PB but was delighted at the end, it made all the pain worthwhile.

Splits were;

M1 - 5:28
M2 - 5:45
M3 - 5:43
0.13 - 37secs, mile split 4:51

Very enjoyable race, well organised, good atmoshpere, nice course, it's great to be able to run in the city centre. A good end to a slightly worrying week, calf feels fine now, I thought it was going to start giving me problems again but came through yesterdays test pretty well. Have entered the Wicklow Half next week, hopefully it goes well.

smmoore79

Great running out there. And a nice pb for ya even in that heat!! Thought it was a nice flat course, unfortunately I was in too much pain to take in the sights :rolleyes:

Caprica

Monday 19th March
Ran 22.04mls in 2:46:17, for a per mile average of 7:33. Decent effort, after my good run in the 5k was still slightly nervous heading out for this as I didn't know how the calf would hold up, struggled for M19 & 20 but pulled it back to finish strong. Split the run in to 5ml segments, splits were;

M1 - 5: 37:32
M6 - 10: 37:03
M11 - 15: 38:07
M16 - 20: 38:09
M21 & 22: 15:11

Had a slightly slower second half to the run. Found it quite windy in the park, 3rd time round the sbends and the upper glen road was tough. Leg felt ok.

Wendesday 21st March
BHAA NCF evening race in Malahide RC. Final cross country race of the season, have done all the xcountry races this season. Not the easiest place to find. An unusual distance of 5.2k (garmin had it at 5.44k), thought it was going to be flat but there was two hills which you ran 4 times. Plan was to start within myself and once again plan to finish strongly. Got home in 19:36, for a per mile split of 5:46, splits were;

M1 - 5:46
M2 - 5:48
M3 - 5:45
0.4 - 2:17, mile split of 5:42.

Course was a bit tricky with lots of turns and the surface was fairly uneven in places. First lap was a short lap round of the pitches to split the field up, gun went and everyone was off in a shot, quite a lot of jockeying position. Had a comfortable first mile in 5:46 but was further down the field that I would have expected, at this stage just worked on keeping my pace and passing people as I went.

Ran a good 2 and 3rd mile and finished quite strongly putting in a good kick to the line. Very happy with this run, after my PB on Sunday and a 22 miler on Monday was feeling slightly tired but worked hard all the way round, it wasn't to far of my MSB performance on a much harder course. Done a cool down and stretching afterwards, calf slightly sore.

Thursday 22nd March
Went for a massage, when they went working on the calf it felt sore, it definitely isn't 100% but it's a question of controlling it from now on in. Coming down with a touch of a cold, so decided not to run today. Have the Wicklow half tomorrow, have got a good deal of confidence from this weeks two races, fingers crossed I have a good run. This will be my last race before London. Would be good to sign of with a good race.

Caprica

Was really looking forward to this race as all my other races so far this year have been no longer than 5mls and mostly on the country so this was going to be a test of where all my training had taken me. Initially based on my good form over the country was going to aim for sub 85 and then after my new 5k PB was thinking of going for a new PB.

However the weather (hot and sunny) and a tough course put paid to any thoughts of a new PB. Had never checked what the course profile was untill I arrived, hilly starting of and from ten miles on a monster hill, so my plan changed to a comfortable start and saving something from the finish.

Got home in 87:42, for a mile average of 6:41. This was a good effort on a very tough course. Splits were;

M1 - 6:46
M2 - 6:26
M3 - 6:06
M4 - 6:25
M5 - 6:35
M6 - 7:00
M7 - 6:38
M8 - 6:18
M9 - 6:30
M10 - 7:01
M11 - 7:33
M12 - 7:54
M13 - 5:58
0.11 - 34secs, 5:14ml split

It was a well organised start so got into my running fairly quickly, it was a nice easy downhill for the first few hundred metres but not long after that you hit the first hill as you headed out of town on to the motor way. First mile was a reserved 6:46, found it a bit of hard work, so knew the miles to the finish were going to be tough. It was a hard course to get a rhythmn on as you were always going up, down or on the flat, as a result miles splits are a bit all over the place. The terrain was dictating pace.

The 6th mile was tough, couple of short sharp hills which slowed the pace a bit. The next few miles were on country roads and were fairly flat, at this stage was leading a group of 4, comfortable that I was running within myself, pushed on from there and had dropped them come 15K just before the start of the hills. Around now I was finding the heat a bit tough, M10 was hard going, a long drag uphill followed by a nice downhill round a corner to face another hill which seemed to go on forever.

At this point I looked behind to see who was behind me (not a great sign) but I had a comfortable lead over my nearest chaser so decided to focus on the guy in front, got to the top of the hill and pushed things a bit on the downhill to try and close in on him. This was a mistake as I didn't realise there was another hill to come, this become one tough slog, paced dropped outside 10m and I started dropping back again, had a quick glance around again to see I was well clear.

After about 2.5mls of hills we hit the highest point of the course and it was now 1k downhill to the finish, ended up with a fast final mile and finished in the top 10. On the whole have to be happy with this, it's a tough course and the great weather made it harder. It's a good training run, not something you could race and not one for PB's. It also reminded me that I don't like running in the heat, hopefully it will be nice and cool in London.

Caprica

Had a quite week, was a bit wrecked after the 3 races last week and the legs were really feeling the effects of the half on Sunday.

Monday 26th March
Only done pilates was a bit wrecked so I skipped spinning

Tuesday 27th March
Ran 8.65mls in 69:38, for a per mile average of 7:01. Decent effort on a lovely evening in the Phoenix Park. Splits were;

M1 - 7:33
M2 - 7:08
M3 - 7:21
M4 - 7:10
M5 - 7:19
M6 - 6:47
M7 - 6:42
M8 - 6:37
0.65 - 4:03, mile split 6:14

Steady first mile, kept things ticking over round the sbends, glenn road and furry glen and then picked up the pace for the final few miles round the north road. Cardio wise this felt fine, legs heavy. Stretching and foam roller afterwards.

Wednesday 28th March
Spinning class followed by 15mins on the stationery bike and stretching. Good spinning class, plenty of sprints and climbs.

Friday 30th March
Went for massage, legs felt heavy all week and calf is still not 100%, am slightly nervous about. Final LSR tomorrow.

Caprica

Final long run of the London campaign. Ran with a few others this morning, so changed the approach slightly, had a two mile warm up run to the papal cross, met up with the group and kicked it of from there. Lovely day for a run, park was full of runners.

Ran a total of 22.3mls(2ml warmup and 0.8ml cooldown), the LSR was 19.5mls in 2:18:36, for a per mile average of 7:01. Really enjoyed this run, was a great way to sign of the long runs. I knew heading out that the pace was going to be ahead of my usual target but have been running well the last while so decided to give it a shot and see how it went

M1 - 7:17
M2 - 7:11
M3 - 7:06
M4 - 7:08
M5 - 6:58
M6 - 7:21
M7 - 7:11
M8 - 7:15
M9 - 7:25
M10 - 7:00
M11 - 7:02
M12 - 6:59
M13 - 7:22
M14 - 7:02
M15 - 7:00
M16 - 6:59
M17 - 6:38
M18 - 6:47
M19 - 6:56
0.5 - 3:35, mile split 7:06

Was working hard towards the end but stuck at it. Felt comfortable for most of the run and was in a nice comfortable all the way round, 3rd time out of the Furry Glen was tough and back round the Sbends but kept the miles under 7min pace. It was heating up towards the end which always makes things harder for me.

This is the proof that this programme has gone well, plan is now to kick of the taper with a 13mile long run this week and 10mls the week before London. Target at this point is sub 2:55, half way in 87:30 and hopefully favourable conditions (no sun)

cwgatling

That's a super run, 2.55 is well within your reach! Take it easy on the taper.

Caprica

Quiet week, have been struggling with a cold and feel a bit run down, so decided to take things easy. There is no point in overdoing it at this late stage.

Monday 2nd April
Pilates, tough going but got through it.

Wednesday 4th April
Spinning class followed by stationery bike and stretching

Friday 6th April
Had planned to do a run on Thursday evening but decided against it in favour of a shorter run this morning. Headed of just after 8:30am, it was nippy out, could have done with a pair of gloves. Ran 7.19mls in 52:06, for a per mile average of 7:15. Not the most comfortable of runs.

M1 - 7:13
M2 - 7:34
M3 - 7:37
M4 - 7:21
M5 - 7:29
M6 - 6:50
M7 - 6:53
0.19 - 1:10, mile split 6:08

Struggled to get into a rhythm for this, took me a while to warm up and only started feeling good for the last 2/3 miles but come the end felt ok. I am going to take it easy for the next few days, the chest is feeling a bit clogged up, don't want to make it any worse.

Caprica

Didn't have a great week. Felt pretty poor on Easter Saturday so took myself of to the chemist, chest and nose was all blocked up so made a call for no running for a few days. Come Tuesday still not recovered so got a doctors appointment for Wednesday. End result is that I have a sinus infection so I am on antibiotics for 7 days, along with a nasal spray.

Went for a run last night (Friday 13th) to see where I stood. Headed out around 8pm, was well wrapped up wearing a thermal top, racing tee and jacket but decided against a scarf. Park was surprisingly quiet. Forgot my Garmin, so stuck to my usual route. Run felt ok, have no idea what time I done but felt I was speeding up towards the end so held back.

Not sure what this means for London. I definitely have improved as the week has gone on, didn't feel as bad this morning as for the rest of the week but it is certainly a far from ideal way to taper for a marathon.

Caprica

Sunday 15th April
Ran 10.34mls in 75:33, for a per mile average of 7:19. This was an alright run, not spectacular, but after the way things have gone in the last 10 days, was happy to get out for a longish run. Splits were

M1 - 7:18
M2 - 7:29
M3 - 7:13
M4 - 7:08
M5 - 8:10
M6 - 7:27
M7 - 7:28
M8 - 7:17
M9 - 7:02
M10 - 6:58
0.34 - 2:03, mile split 6:07.

Had planned for an early run but was wrecked so had a few hours of a lie in, headed of shortly after 11am so knew I was going to be sharing the park with all the runners for the GIR. Relaxed jog down to the park followed by some stretching, took ages for my Garmin to took connect was about to run without it but it finally connected. Started off slightly annoyed and the first half mile or so was a little to quick, calmed myself down and got into a nice rhythm.

Had Garmin issues again around the 4mile mark, which led to a very slow 5th mile. Struggled a little bit round the sbends but got into a nice flow for the upper glen road and furry glen. Starting hitting the GIR crowd round Ordance Survey, got fairly congested for the last few miles but finished in pretty good nick.

Got home to watch the GIR, extremey impressive run by Bekele, he is definitely back in shape. Am going to take it easy this week. Will only do Pilates tomorrow night (will skip spinning), easy run on Tuesday, massage on Wednesday, easy run on Thursday and head to London on Friday.

liamo123

Best of luck at the weekend man... Hope ur over that dose as ur training block seems to have gone very well... Give it socks and c where it takes u.... Ive a time I reckon ur capable off but will keep it 2 myself.... might post it just before marathon start

Caprica

Had another easy week. Done pilates on Monday, had to work late on Tuesday, massage on Wednesday and as it was raining tonight decided to skip the run. Nothing to gain at this late stage by going for a run in less than ideal conditions.

It's been a very relaxed taper over what I would normally do but with the sinus problem there was no point in forcing things so close to the big day. As things stand I am greatly improved, but still not 100%, but I intend to stick to my original plan. Aim for half way in 87:30 and carry on from there, the goal is sub 2:55, I feel I am more than capable of that but still a bit unsure if there is any lingering effects from the sinus.

Heading of tomorrow morning, expo in the afternoon, with a light run on Saturday morning. The weather forecast for sunday is low 50's and showers, ideal for me. Fingers crossed it goes well.

Caprica

Had a disappointing day in London. Got home in 3:07, struggled in the last 10K. Aim was for sub 2:55 and hit half way in 87:20, still sub 3 by 20mls and then fell of the pace completely from there. Found the conditions a bit hot, the weather forecast was completely wrong, the rest of the weekend was wet and cold don't know what happened on Sunday. I thought I felt recovered from the sinus infection but maybe not, also legs felt heavy which was surprising as I had done pretty much nothing for the previous two weeks.

Apart from my own performance I really enjoyed everything about this race. Great atmosphere, real buzz at the start of the race, brilliant support all round the course, good expo, would definitely recommend it.

liamo123

Hard luck Caprica.... U were very unfortunate with the arrival of that bug... Maybe have a go again in the not too distant future as uve a good block of training behind u....

Caprica

Got home in 3:07:20, it was well down on my pre-race target of 2:55. Just didn't have a good day. Prior to Easter I was very happy with how the programme had gone, had a very good final LSR, got a 5k PB in the MSB race, had a good half in Wicklow and ran well in all the BHAA xcountry races. So I was confident that 2:55 was going to happen.

However I came down with a sinus infection over Easter which resulted in a trip to the doctor and a course of antibiotics which I finished on the Tuesday before the race, it led to a very relaxed taper where there was very little running which didn't concern too much, thought it would have left me with nice fresh legs but I guess come race day I wasn't 100% recovered.

Headed over to London on the Friday morning (first time using T2), plane was full of runners, made my way to the hotel and headed to the expo in the late afternoon. Picked up my number to find out I was down for the blue start in zone 1 just behind the elites. It was a miserable day in London but a good one for running. On Saturday got up had breakfast and then later on went for a short run. Was staying beside Hyde Park so went for a 4 mile run there, first 3mls were relaxed and decided to do the last mile at close to race pace, it didn't feel great so I was not overly happy finishing up.

Got to bed early on Saturday night and had a pretty good nights sleep. Was up just after 6 for breakfast on Sunday morning and got the bus to the start not long after 7 so arrived at the start in plenty of time, the time flew by. Saturdays run had left me slightly worried but I had decided that I was going for 2:55, so it was to be 6:40 mile pace all the way round, if it works I have a new PB if not, I'll still finish anyway.

Come 9:45, the gun went and we were of, I was right up at the top of the field, so was across the line in no time. Got into my running quite easily, first mile was 6:36, at mile 2 James Cracknell passed me, the next few miles were all below the target of 6:40, come mile 3 or 4 thought the legs felt heavy but said to myself not to worry about it. I found the day quite warm, so prior to the start had decided to take on drinks at every water station, the forecasters were well wrong.

Passed through 5mls in 32:47, 10mls in 66:16 and halfway in 87:10 just before halfway I had passed James Cracknell, he seemed to be working hard. Everything going well and on target for my goal of 2:55, the next few miles to 17 still had me on target but problems started from mile 18 onwards, it was my first mile over 7 mins and from there on my pace dropped with miles 23 - 26 all over 8 painfull minutes. It was a tough finish, my legs felt like lead, once or twice I considered walking but thought better of it. Found the stretch up embankment tough going, thought it would never end, but coming up to Big Ben I knew the end was near. Really enjoyed the finishing stretch, having watched this race for years it was great to be running up the mall to the finish. As I crossed the line I could hear Nell McAndrew being interviewed after her fantastic run.

This is the first time I have been disappointed with a marathon performance, training had gone well, there was no no injuries but it just didn't work out for me on the day. Was very surprised with how my legs felt, towards the end I was running so little, they should have been well able for this run. I lost a lot of time in the final 10k, just beyond 20mls James Cracknell passed me again, he came home in 2:59, I was 8 mins back on that.

My 5k splits were;

5k 20:22
10k 20:46
15k 20:51
20k 20:55
25k 20:33
30k 22:29
35k 24:01
40k 26:06
2.2k 10:56

The lask 12k took an hour! My average per mile was 7:09 which is 4:26 per km. Overall I placed 1,773th, was the 1,674th man home and 931st in my age catergory. In the final 7k I passed 48 runners but 251 passed me. There is a lot of stats on the London website. One thing that amazed me was the level of support around the course, from the very first mile there was people on the street cheering you on, there was a fantastic atmosphere all the way round.

Overall this is my 5th best marathon performance behind my 2:56 (Berlin 10), 2:59, 3:01, 3:02 (Dublin 10, 08, 07) and just ahead of my Paris performance last year. Hadn't planned on doing another marathon this year but may reconsider now.

Caprica

Got home in 38:45, but had the course a little short at 6.13mls. First run since London, had planned on doing the RTE BHAA 5 mile on Saturday but decided against it at the last minute. Got up in the morning to see that it was bucketing down rain but by the time I got to the park and collected my number it had stopped but was a bit nippy.

Only discovered the course had changed yesterday, it used to be the same as the GIR but now it is a two lap course staring on chesterfield ave, on to ordinance survey road, knockmarron road, furry glen, upper glen road and on to Furze road. There wasn't a huge crowd, it was well down on last years numbers. The gun went bang on ten and we were of, got into my running straight away and was well positioned to the front by mile 2 I was running on my own so just focused on closing down on those in front of me, ran well through the furry glen and upper glen road coming on to Furze road I was clear of those behind me and a bit behind the two guys in front.

Went through 5k in just over 19mins, then tried to pick up the speed second time on chesterfield avenue and ordinance survey road and was closing on the guys in front but at the 7k mark they pushed on and I lost contact from there. Second time up the furry glen and the upper glen road was tough. Picked things up for the home straight on the furze road. Not the easiest of courses.

Splits were;
M1 - 5:56
M2 - 6:15
M3 - 6:25
M4 - 6:19
M5 - 6:20
M6 - 6:45
0.13 - 46secs, 5:49 mile pace.

I had done no running at all for the last two weeks so was a bit surprised to find my legs felt heavy from the very first step, they just didn't seem to have any life in them. Good to be back running all the same.

Caprica

Got home in 31:09. Found it a bit tough, it was quite windy for long stretches and once again the legs felt like lead. Got there good and early, so got through registration and picked up my teeshirt in no time. Done a nice easy warm up followed by some stretching and was good to go. Even doing the warm up the legs felt heavy so wasn't overly confident of a good time in the race. Plan was to hit first mile in under 6 and see where it went from there.

Started a little bit back the field and had to pass out a fair few walkers and joggers but stil got in to my rhythm fairly quick. Felt comfortable on the templeogue road stretch passing out people and making sure I was running sub 6, turning on to Terenure road west there was a good strong breeze in your face and this continued on to wainsfort road. Was focusing on picking of people as I went along but at this stage (M2)I was already running over 6min pace.

Coming on to the second lap I was running on my own and was working hard, legs felt dead, the quads felt heavy. Each mile was getting slower, at this point I was waiting for people to pass me out, which eventually happened entering the last 800, hung on to them till the last 400 and pushed on from there but one of them fought back and passed me again so I decided just to sit behind him and attempt to pass him before the line. Entering the last 50 put on a final spurt and passed him to finally cross the line.

Splits were;

M1 - 5:53
M2 - 6:09
M3 - 6:15
M4 - 6:21
M5 - 6:27

A dissapointing run, nearly two minutes down on my PB. It's taken a while to recover from London, have booked a massage for this week, maybe that should put some life back in the legs.