Confessions of a never has been.....

yaboya1

Good luck tomorrow

tang1

Best of luck tomorrow D.

SamforMayo

Best of luck tomorrow! You are well set for it!

FBOT01

Best of luck tomorrow. Give it a good lash and enjoy!!

tang1

Obviously it was tough going in Athlone today, its a good session if nothing else.

Duanington

1:34:(something) - bad day at the office, felt good for 6 miles or so then I basically melted and struggled home.

I'll do a report of some sort later so I can have something to look back and reference but in short, I just didn't have the endurance to stick with the 1:30 pacer after the halfway point - felt very good until then but it went downhill I'm afraid.
I was pretty pi$$ed off straight afterwards and didn't hang around the finish area too long but I suppose I've just learned that the lower mileage approach just ain't for me.

Duanington

Tom Joad wrote: »

Best of luck tomorrow - hopefully will catch up with you there.

Sorry TJ - I had intended to catch up with yourself and a couple of others but I bailed straight after race in a huff.
Next time

Duanington

tang1 wrote: »

Obviously it was tough going in Athlone today, its a good session if nothing else.

Cheers Tang, yeah I suppose it was a good session and nothing more!

ThebitterLemon

DD,

Tough day at the office, but if it's any consolation to you I've been there a fair few times in the past, most recently in February in Seville.

At the time I was devastated and just wanted to crawl under a rock, felt I had let myself down big time. I'm pretty sure at the time it was you that told me to bank it as a decent session. I was pissed off for a couple of days but then I decided to pick another target and get on with it and leverage off all the sessions I'd already in the bank.

Dust yourself down and get stuck back in, it'll all come good.

TbL

Tom Joad

Duanington wrote: »

Sorry TJ - I had intended to catch up with yourself and a couple of others but I bailed straight after race in a huff.
Next time

Don't sweat it - wasn't at my sparkling best after the race yesterday either!!
Heat was a huge issue yesterday - I'm still not right this evening!!

Duanington

15.09.2014


Catchup time: (and time to move on !)

Friday (12th) - 3 miles easy, I was in strange territory for this one, leafy South County Dublin ( Shankhill or somewhere), nothing but hills ! Anyway, legs felt good....felt I needed to shake off a few cobwebs tough.

Saturday - Athlone Flatline HM

This race was to bring to an end my latest training block, the plan I followed during this block was based around running lots of HMP, slightly less miles than previous plans and focusing on quality rather than quantity in general.

Hand on heart, I never felt entirely comfortable with the plan and as I moved on through the weeks, I started to feel less and less confident about targeting anything other than a PB in Athlone. My original target was to run sub 1:30, something which I was a world away from doing a year ago and as it turns out, I'm probably a (smaller) world away from it now.

Anyway, barring a power cut at home which set off the house alarm at around 4 am, the morning of the race went swimmingly. Up early, usual breakfast, showered then jumped into the car to meet up with the bro early doors. I made it down to Athlone with plenty of time to spare, we parked up the car and went for a wander around the meeting\start areas. There was a great atmosphere in general, people were out enjoying the early morning sunshine and the whole placed seemed in top form.
We met up with a few others that were running and one or two people passed comment on the sunshine and how it was getting a little hot for comfort but to be honest, I wasn't paying much attention to the weather, I was just feeling a little anxious about the lack of miles in the legs and beginning to doubt things before they even began.

We got on with the warm up - running up towards the bridge in the centre of Athlone and back, enjoying the view in the glorious sunshine. The starting area was very well organised, people following their pacers back down from the gathering points to the appropriate area in the starting chute.

I lined up just behind the 1:30 pacers and off we went. The first couple of miles were a but huff and puff, 6:38 and 6:48 but I did settle into a nice rhythm for the next few and was actually enjoying zipping along the quiet roads as part of such a large group. Somewhere around the 3 mile mark I actually felt like I was enjoying running in the sunshine, legs felt good, form was good, I was breathing heavier than I would have liked but it was starting to settle compared to the first 2 miles. Miles 3, 4 were 6:48 and 6:52, I was still running well with the group.

I think it was somewhere around mile 5 when I first started to feel things unravel, I was starting to feel the effort in my legs and the fact that my breathing was getting heavier again was making me feel almost nervous about the prospect of holding onto things for another 8 miles.
The dark clouds of doubt were gathering and I was having that terrible mental battle, telling myself to cop on and hang onto the group for another mile, I'd run this thing mile by mile and do well...the words sounded great in my head but I just didn't believe myself, it wasn't just that I wasn't convinced....I knew I was spoofing - this was hurting way more than it should have been. My breathing got steadily worse and worse over the course of miles 5 and 6, we were very exposed to the sun in this section and I just felt like I was literally overheating. If I was a car, I would have been parked up, bonnet lifted with steam hissing out!

The 1:30 group had moved to about 20 metres away from me by the time I got to halfway, I had taken on water at every opportunity and it helped for a bit but I was beginning to realise that not only was this going to be a failure in terms of my target, I had serious thoughts of stopping to walk the rest - the only thing that kept me going was the knowledge that it would be one loooong walk back to the finish line if I went down that route.
My pace started to slip back considerably after halfway, I thought to myself that if I could hang on to somewhere just over 7 min\miles I could still maybe sneak a PB but I was burning out quickly and even holding that kind of pace was a struggle. I did notice things improve slightly each time we ran through any kind of shaded area but the damage was done at this stage, I was already resigned to the fact that I was 5 miles from home and I was just going to hang on for dear life.

I had several occasions where the urge to stop was almost overwhelming, each time I just convinced myself that this could be a lesson learned and a good run under the belt if I could manage to see it out at the end. I was passed by 15\20 people over the last few miles....I didn't particularly care, I was pi$$ed off with myself and just wished each of them well as they skipped past.

I also noticed several other people struggling over the last couple of miles, one lady in particular who was fighting unbelievably hard to keep going and really looked to be in a bad way ( I later saw her wheeled off on a stretcher just after the finish line). With the finish line in sight, I normally put the boot down, not this time - I actually felt ok physically, the slower pace had allowed me to recover quite a bit but mentally I was beaten - I upped the pace a little, just enough to enjoy the crowds at the finishing chute and came home in 1:34:14

Hung around for a few minutes afterwards eating the lovely goodies and drinking some cups of coke ( I normally hate coke but I loved it on Saturday, great idea by the organisers). I spotted a few boardsies chatting but put my head down and walked back to the car to wait for the others before getting a warm down done.

The race and route on Saturday were class, I loved the good organisation, the atmosphere and support at the end was first class and I'll definitely run it again.

The day didn't go well for me, I can use the heat as an excuse but it doesn't really cut it to be honest, while I felt I was overheating at times during the middle section, I hadn't the strength or fitness to run through the various pain barriers that present themselves at these things.
I can honestly say that I never felt confident that I would run Sub 1:30 on Saturday either. I am forever telling people that confidence comes from good preparation so why I would leave myself short and expect to have any degree of confidence is a mini-mystery!
I tried a different approach and it didn't work, back to basics for me now.
I'll run some easy miles this week and get started on a new plan next week, I remember posting late last year that there is no getting away from the fact that I need lots of miles in the legs to get faster, if I needed further proof of this then Saturday's result is one glaring lump of evidence looking at me.


Sunday
4 sulk recovery miles along the coast, beautiful evening for it with the sunshine. It made me feel so sorry for myself having to run in that heat just a day before! ( then I reminded myself of all the other people that had good days the day before !)

rob w

Hard luck on Saturday, things cant always go to plan! Dust off and get back out there for the next one though. You've done some great training over the last few months! What was the PB before Athlone?

We must have finished at the same time too....only a couple of second between us by the looks of things!

Duanington

rob w wrote: »

Hard luck on Saturday, things cant always go to plan! Dust off and get back out there for the next one though. You've done some great training over the last few months! What was the PB before Athlone?

We must have finished at the same time too....only a couple of second between us by the looks of things!

Cheers Rob - PB is 1:32 from Achill earlier this year. We must have been very close alright, I had fully intended to go on the snoop in the finishing area for a few people from here but I didn't hang around at all in the end.
Well done on the PB, great result and you've more to come too

rob w

Duanington wrote: »

Cheers Rob - PB is 1:32 from Achill earlier this year. We must have been very close alright, I had fully intended to go on the snoop in the finishing area for a few people from here but I didn't hang around at all in the end.
Well done on the PB, great result and you've more to come too

Ah, when things don't go well, hanging around for a chat with strangers off the internet is the last thing you want to do!:P

Have you got your next race in mind yet?

outforarun

Good honest report. Huge similarities between Athlone and the Race Series in the Park last year, seems heat was a common factor.
Fair play on adapting and hanging in and running to the finish line. Hard to accept mid-race that it's just not happening, and the temptation is strong to quit.

career move

Hard luck. Next time for sure .... you're well capable of it

Out of interest, what made you decide to go with the lower mileage plan?

Duanington

rob w wrote: »

Ah, when things don't go well, hanging around for a chat with strangers off the internet is the last thing you want to do!:P

Have you got your next race in mind yet?

ha ha - it would have been good to meet a few peeps though Rob.

I'm thinking either the Clontarf or Waterford half...with a sprinkling of 5\10ks along the way.

Duanington

career move wrote: »

Hard luck. Next time for sure .... you're well capable of it

Out of interest, what made you decide to go with the lower mileage plan?

I think curiosity more than anything CM - I had read quite a bit about that approach and I'm always interested in figuring out what makes us improve. It may also be the case that I just didn't put the plan together right too, it has certainly worked for others ! I did put in some very good speed sessions along the way on the fresh legs so maybe I'll get some benefit from those over the next while

Duanington

15.09.2014

6 miles easy along the coast road. Really enjoyed the fresh air after a busy day at the desk.
Lots of people out running and doing various boot camps too.

Legs felt a little stiff at first but I could feel the life coming back into them after a couple of miles

SamforMayo

Tough break Saturday, onwards and upwards. You deserve better!

yaboya1

outforarun wrote: »

Good honest report. Huge similarities between Athlone and the Race Series in the Park last year, seems heat was a common factor.
Fair play on adapting and hanging in and running to the finish line. Hard to accept mid-race that it's just not happening, and the temptation is strong to quit.

I wasn't in Athlone, but I agree with this. A lot more people suffered than you would have expected. Maybe don't be so quick to criticise your training/mileage etc.? It may have just been one of those days. I'm sure you'll nail the next one.

AuldManKing

Just catching up here - I'd agree with Yaboya - many people had one of those days.
Your training was very solid and will stand to you - as will the workout.

The fact that you didn't quit should be the biggest victory.

Duanington

AuldManKing wrote: »

Just catching up here - I'd agree with Yaboya - many people had one of those days.
Your training was very solid and will stand to you - as will the workout.

The fact that you didn't quit should be the biggest victory.

Thanks AMK, I've been thinking a little about what yourself and Yaboya commented and its true that there were people other than myself who had bad days, I'll mull it over for a few days I guess and get going again Monday :-)

Duanington

20.09.2014

Tuesday - 5 miles easy, I actually can't remember if this was before or after work, its been one of those weeks!


Wednesday 4 miles easy, pretty sure this was before work...a bit

Thursday\Friday - travelling at stupid times so no chance to run

Saturday - AM - 6 miles very early, down along the coast road as far as east point and back. Lots of people out early too, nice and quiet though at the same time, beautiful morning for running.
I headed over to the park to watch the Race Series half, the bro was running today and took over 10 minutes off his time from Athlone last weekend - he looked a lot better at the end too!
Saw some very strong running today in the park, actually enjoyed watching the race at around the 10 mile mark - GOH was out on his own and looked like he was strolling to the shop for a pint of milk, incredible stuff really.
Delighted to see most boardsies coming home in good times too.
PM - some chin-ups and 3 more easy miles, my legs were actually tired from all the walking around the park earlier - a nice enjoyable few miles though.
9 miles for today, lower than normal mileage this week but I'll be starting afresh on Monday.

Duanington

21.09.2014

Spent the afternoon chilling with the youngest, making bases, watching Kerry\Donegal and the Manyoo comedy show.
I managed to find a half an hour to get some core\pressup work done before dinner with a tempo on the cards for tonight.
Plan for tonight was 8 miles with [EMAIL="4@ tempo"]4@ tempo[/EMAIL] pa ce

Got organised just as it was getting dark and set off on my warm up down the seafront, gorgeous evening for it, nice and still with just a slight breeze to keep it all fresh. Finished the 2 easy miles, turned around and set off on the tempo section, heading into the breeze towards Howth ( not feeling at all jealous of the many folks sitting outside, sipping drinks at the various pubs\eateries along the way!)
Felt good for all of this section, never felt under too much pressure and ignored the watch for most of it.
I did up the pace a fair bit over the last 1\4 of the last mile...just for fun like
Finished off with 2 easy miles

8.30
8.17
6.33
6.34
6.29
6.11
8.12
8.17

New plan starts tomorrow, most likely targeting the Waterford half in early December.

Duanington

23.09.2014 ( Monday)

AM - 4 recovery miles around Citywest, took the flat route on this one, I was feeling fine and actually quite refreshed for some reason but was a little stuck for time with work so kept it at the 4 miles ( no watch but it was very slow)


PM - 5 miles easy. New route for this one, quite a hilly route but very enjoyable all the same. Felt a little jaded towards the end after a looooong day.

New plan up and running, higher mileage than the last plan but still no real crazy mileage. I'll also look to lengthen tempo runs every 2nd week where possible ( longer tempo runs every 2\3 weeks with HMP miles)

Total for the day : 9

FBOT01

Hi D, curiosity question what is the new plan you are starting? Is it a generic plan, if so what one or something that has been customised for your goal?

Duanington

FBOT01 wrote: »

Hi D, curiosity question what is the new plan you are starting? Is it a generic plan, if so what one or something that has been customised for your goal?

Howdie FBOT01

Its really just something that I've put together myself to be honest, using the same structure that worked well for me back in May\June\July of this year.

There's nothing special about it , 55-70 mpw, 1 LSR, 1 speed\hill and 1 tempo\HMP session most weeks, very few rest days.
It seemed to work well last time around and I think if I can focus a bit more on the nailing some good HMP sessions this time around it will hopefully bring me on a bit over that distance

*Edit - actually, 1 thing I am trying is running the tempo session as a HMP session every few weeks, extending out the run to maybe 10-12 miles with 7@hmp, its a few weeks into the plan but it'll be interesting to see how it goes

FBOT01

Duanington wrote: »

Howdie FBOT01

Its really just something that I've put together myself to be honest, using the same structure that worked well for me back in May\June\July of this year.

There's nothing special about it , 55-70 mpw, 1 LSR, 1 speed\hill and 1 tempo\HMP session most weeks, very few rest days.
It seemed to work well last time around and I think if I can focus a bit more on the nailing some good HMP sessions this time around it will hopefully bring me on a bit over that distance

*Edit - actually, 1 thing I am trying is running the tempo session as a HMP session every few weeks, extending out the run to maybe 10-12 miles with 7@hmp, its a few weeks into the plan but it'll be interesting to see how it goes

Sounds good. Best of luck with it.

Duanington

23.09.2014


LSR night tonight, a little late home from work so not much time to play with but I managed to squeeze in a little core work and some weights ( 2manyDJs the soundtrack of choice) before heading out.

Nice route tonight, over past the point, O2, 3 Arena, over the East Link and on towards Blackrock before turning back for home.
There was a pretty strong breeze at stages along the route which made things a little huffy puffy at the start but I settled into a very nice easy pace after 2\3 miles ...a little tired over the last mile or so but it was one of those nights where I could have gone on and on

Total miles [EMAIL="14@8:30"]14@8:30[/EMAIL]