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Confessions of a never has been.....
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09.01.2015
Friday
Plan had me down for 20 minutes recovery, I took the liberty of doing 4 miles recovery
....kept it all reeeeeaaal easy though ( runmute)
Saturday
Waterford AC Half Marathon
Coming into today, I was feeling in pretty good shape. I’ve been training well, started doing some faster stuff again and feeling the benefits of a very good training block leading into DCM. I've never really had the chance to challenge my PB during that block ( 1.24.27) and I wasn't sure whether or not it would be on today either, I was actually very relaxed about the prospect though.
The fact that Waterford was postponed in December probably worked out well for me in that a) it had moved down the pecking order in terms of priority races – Raheny is the really the main focus at the moment, taking a certain amount of pressure off and b)I had another 4 weeks or so of good training under the belt before testing myself over the distance.
I’d chatted to the coach last week about racing a bit more during this training block because we both felt that I was lacking some races leading up to DCM and I definitely need to get some of those “dig deep and tell the pain to f*ck itself” moments that Dubgal throws out so regularly.
Usual routine this morning, up early, porridge and tea and a few spoons of peanut butter ( not together) and got the race gear on. My bro usually runs halfs with me but he pulled out at the last minute so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to the drive down , nothing a good playlist wouldn’t fix though
I got down with about an hour to spare, parked up and made my way up to the helpdesk to get my race number, I’d lost mine over the course of the Christmas break – top class organisation by Waterford AC here, marshalls galore helping to arrange the parking and no hassle at all getting a race number sorted. I bumped into FBOT01 here too, sounding like Ronnie Drew with his man flu ( or whatever excuse it was he presented me with).
Race number and warmup sorted ( minus the planned strides, couldn’t find anywhere to run them), I made my way to the starting area, chatting to Ferris B and FBOT01 for a few minutes while we waited for the starting gun, both the lads were looking fit and in good form. I had a pretty clear idea on how to run today, start off at 6.30ish pace, maintain for 5\6 miles and then hopefully kick on through the gears – that would almost definitely present a bit of a much needed battle along the way if it went to plan.
After a little delay we were off, the usual frantic dash down the hill in the sports campus, sharp left and out onto the main road, where it looked like we would turn back on ourselves after 500 metres or so. Mick Clohissey and the other leaders sped back our way having completed the turn and I was mindful of being crammed into a pretty packed 1.30 pacing group – it was around this time that I also realised I had the watch set in kilometres – I HATE KILOMETRES! No harm though, I had a reasonable idea of where I needed to be in KM splits.
Shortly after turning back at the roundabout, FBOT came up alongside me, showing no signs of the cold\manflu\jetlag\hangover he claimed he had, we agreed to run a few miles together and see how things panned out which was a big help to me actually, I settle into races much quicker with a bit of company. We worked our way up through the massive 1.30 group, taking in some tasty little drags along the way, FBOT moving very well and looking strong for all of his earlier jibber jabber, great to see him back in action.
The 1.30 pacers were moving at a fair old clip but we eventually got around them and the field opened up nicely
KM 1-5 (4.10,3.55, 4.06, 4.12, 3.51)
The course at this point was moving through an industrial estate, the surface was good and I was struck by how well I was feeling, we were beyond the 1.30 group and I could see the 1.25 pacers maybe 150 metres ahead, I started to think about chasing the group down and sitting with them for a bit and hopefully kicking on. At the same time, I didn’t want to burn myself out by chasing them down to quickly so I decided to just wind it up a little and keep them in my sight.
Out of the industrial estate, a few ups and downs another couple of sharp turns and we were running through a housing estate that I remembered from last year, I noticed that FBOT had drifted back a little and that the 1.25 group had come back to me a lot quicker than I had anticipated and I was moving by quite a few runners. A quick systems check told me that I was working a little harder but still breathing well ( heavily of course though!), legs felt great and my arms were nice and relaxed . “ Relax D”, I thought – I wanted to have something left over the last couple of miles and chasing down groups too early would surely put that idea to bed....and yet , back they came.
I caught the group just after the 6 mile mark and settled into the middle of the sizeable pack, telling myself to sit tight and enjoy the race for the next bit, the pacers were talking to everyone in the group and it had a nice secure feel about it.
KM 6-10 ( 3.52, 3.54, 3.49, 3.49, 4.04)
The course took a sharp right and we moved out of the housing estates onto a bumpy country road, potholes all over the place and some nice ups and downs to boot. The lead pacer was talking to people, telling them to relax going up the hills and to catch their breath on the way down, reassuring people about the pace and reeling in strays etc....what I really liked though was that they kept talking about the mile ahead..what the terrain was like, how long the drags lasted, that kind of thing. Coming by the halfway mark, I started to feel a little pinch in the legs, I wasn’t enjoying the bumpy surface and while I had initially enjoyed running with the group,
I could sense the latter stages of the race coming up ahead , I was in a good position here, a PB was very much on if I could keep things steady over the next mile or 2 and then kick on from there. I’d have to keep the pinch from developing into anything more though if that was going to happen.
The 8 mile marker came and went and I had taken the chance at the top of a long drag to move just ahead of the group, rather than working too hard up the hill, I just didn’t hold back as much as the others around me which moved myself and a Waterford runner out to the front. I used the slight downhill after the top to recover rather than kick on and noticed that my stride had shortened a little, was my breathing getting that bit heavier too? Was that bite in my quads getting more bitey? Yep, I was approaching the part of the race that really tests your strength, I focused on stride and kicking out a little bit more, I knew I should well have the strength to start moving away from the group and I suspected we had been moving a little quick for 1.25 anyway.
KM 11-15 (4.04, 4.00, 4.00, 3.56, 3.54)
I could hear the voices from the group starting to drop back just a bit as we moved by the 9 mile marker, I didn’t bother checking over the shoulder or even checking the watch too much from here on, there was a PB to be had if I was moving away from the 1.25 pacers at this stage and the Waterford lad was really helping me continue to push on, we moved by quite a few runners before we left the uneven surface of the country road.
A sharp left onto a nice long flat road and what seemed like the mother of all drags appeared ahead...immediately my head started drop – before I got anywhere near the damn thing actually. I could see a couple of runners flagging up ahead, obviously demoralised as much as I was. “F*Ck it” I thought, I’ve been up and down every drag North Dublin has to offer over the past month or so , I’ll put the head down and get over this thing – the pace will slow of course but I’ll keep it strong enough and kick on over the top.
The ten mile marker came and went and the top of the drag seemed another mile away, “ you’re almost there” spectators started to shout, I was starting to really wish that we were nearly there....or there to be more precise.
Over the top we went and I was surprised that we turned left, I had heard that there were changes to the last couple of miles but I had hoped that meant they were all changed to beautiful downhill stretches of smooth tarmac – bollox, I felt cheated...a bit, no beautiful downhill tarmac ahead.
What did lie ahead though was a 180 degree turn which would give me a chance to see how far ahead of the 1.25 pacers I was. I knew a PB was on but I couldn’t be more than 30-40 seconds ahead of those guys yet which would leave things very tight. Turning around the cones at the 180, I was running against the field on the other side of the road, I guessed that the pacers were maybe 30 seconds behind...not quite enough for a comfortable PB really and my watch was on KMs which had me a little lost with regards to pacing. I was starting to really hurt now, quads were feeling the effects of the downhills as much as the uphills I would guess and my breathing was much heavier than I would like.
A sharp turn left and we were met with more country road, a longish drag and no sign of a finishing area, it was around this stage when I realised that this was exactly why I was racing this race. I didn’t quite get the demon on the shoulder talk, there was no real temptation to settle ( which is what I normally get) but I did ask myself if I actually wanted a PB...if I did, I would dig into the hurt locker and bring it home, if I didn’t, well then I would blow a very good opportunity and regret it.
I started to kick on up the drag, moving by some runners as I did so but to my horror at the top of the drag I heard a shout from behind “ 1.25 pacers coming through”, I couldn’t believe my ears but I didn’t even look back, I was shocked into kicking on a little bit more, lengthening out the stride and really putting the squeeze on over the top of the drag. I knew I would have to keep that momentum going, it was really hurting now but I knew we hadn’t far to go. Could I really have fallen back that far? I didn’t feel like I had slowed but I didn’t dwell on it, the only way to deal with it was to run harder!
The main road appeared up ahead, the sports campus down to the left, I was nearly there now and I was still passing the odd runner. Left turn onto the last long downhill stretch which would bring us down to the campus and I really started to move through the gears, I had built up a good head of steam over the course of the race and I wanted to finish very strong - I honestly had no idea what time I was on for, except that I was ahead of the 1.25 pacers, no idea how far ahead I was but I was ahead! It was hurting like hell to do it but I was pushing and pushing and pushing at this stage, this was the first time in a long time that I’ve done that and I had a split second when I knew that this was exactly what I needed.
Past the roundabout and I put the boot down for one last surge, passing another runner and feeling a real burn in my legs, I couldn’t quite make out the clock at the finish line because I still had to turn around a fence to the last little stretch but when I did and I saw 1.23.something I ignored the fact that the line was at the end of a little bastid of a hill and worked to keep things moving right till the end, crossed the line for a chip time of 1.23.22 – a very solid PB
KM 16-21 ( 3.59, 4.14, 3.45, 3.55, 4.01, 3.35)
I hung around for a bit at the end, watching FBOT come in a couple of minutes later, again looking strong and comfortable. After a cup of tea upstairs and a bit of grub and a chat with FBOT\Ferris ( both of whom had good days at the office, well done lads, good to meet you C) , I hit the road for home.
Perfect conditions, a well organised race and a tough but fair course made for a good day all round.... I needed a bit of control, a bit of confidence and a bit of hurt today and I think I got all 3 in the right proportions.0 -
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