Confessions of a never has been.....

Firedance

well done D! look forward to the report.

Ososlo

Sub 30! Woo hoo! Fab going and SO well deserved! Bring on the report D!

Duanington

31.01.2016

Friday - 5 miles easy

Bog standard run home from work, nice run if I recall correctly - took it easy afterwards

Saturday

3 miles @ recovery pace(ish). Ran this in St Anne's for the most part, felt odd running so easy on a Saturday morning, its usually session morning for me.

Raheny 5 mile

It’s been a good start to the year for me, training has gone well, Waterford went well and I’ve been lucky in that while I’ve been busy with work\home stuff, I’ve so far managed to keep a good level of momentum going.

The plan for Raheny was really simple, to take advantage of a fast course, to rely on the good training I’ve done up to this point, to work hard on the couple of small drags but ultimately to hold onto the pace and run under 30 minutes. If I was there or thereabouts at halfway, I’d be confident of doing that. I’d also promised myself to work hard to avoid settling for a pre-determined target if the day threw up a bit more on offer.

This was my first 5 mile race so once I finished, a PB was a certainty!

Getting a warmup in was pretty simple, I got ready at home and ran through the park, meeting a fellow runner I bump into every now and then along the way for a bit of a chat. I couldn’t believe the size of the crowd when I got to the starting area and when I heard that there were over 3000 entrants, I was even more surprised. Bumped into Gosh123 who was heading off on a warmup run with his clubmates and I decided to gatecrash and spend the few minutes catching up.

Warmup out of the way, I made my way to the starting line with with Gosh123, that never ending question of where to start in the race pack arose again, I let Gosh off up ahead, deciding to hold my position a good few rows from the front, purely because I planned on easing my way into things over the first mile. Spotted Yaboya1 and FBOT up ahead who both waved back towards me and I was immediately reminded of the smackdown – bollox, I’d forgotten about that ! After another couple of minutes chatting to some other familiar faces, we were off......well, kind of ...the congestion was pretty bad for 100 metres or so but once we turned the first corner, I could see the lads a few rows ahead and was happy enough to settle in while the running gods gradually thinned the crowd bit by bit.

By the time we turned out onto Watermill road, we were moving at a pace that felt like it was pretty good but not too fast, I had avoided getting tripped or tripping anyone else, we were half a mile or so in ...good start!

Up the little drag (which is an absolute bastard when I’m running sessions but was hardly noticeable in the crowd) and we turned left onto the Howth Road, I could see FBOT ahead and a little space starting to open up on the right hand side of the field so I moved on up a little, feeling good and enjoying the solid pace early on. Exchanged greetings with FBOT in the most matter of fact way which gave me a giggle and we steamed along the Howth Road, seemingly finding ourselves in a group that had similar targets in mind (including a four legged runner who I hope made it home alright), left at the lights off the Howth Road down towards CLontarf and onto a good downhill section.
I know this route very well and was determined to take advantage of the downhill stretch so lengthened the stride just a bit and started to move up the field again, I was a little exposed to the wind here but I could see Gosh123 in a group a few rows ahead , he was looking strong so I edged up towards him. We went by the 2nd mile marker and as the field started to thin noticeably, the pace felt like it was getting just a little hotter.

I was feeling good at this point, I knew the first 2 miles were fine pace-wise and that the next mile would be quick, I had been telling myself all week that when thoughts of hanging on start to enter the head, I needed to turn that thought on its head and work to take advantage of whatever distance was left to run, ask myself if I could squeeze another few seconds out , turn a solid run into a good run....that kind of thing. While I wasn’t hanging on, the effort levels were steadily rising – as expected.

Shortly after turning onto Mt Prospect ave, I noticed the group ahead with Gosh123 was coming back to me a little, the temptation was to settle in with them for a bit and dodge the wind but the wind didn’t feel too bad and this was possibly the first instance of hanging on versus taking advantage...I didn’t settle, I kept the pace going and could feel myself striding well, I couldn’t see Yaboya1 or FBOT around but I knew FBOT was close (I could hear his legions of loyal supporters giving him shout-outs along the route) and had no idea where Yaboya1 was so the fleeting thought of the smackdown was banished from my mind once again.

With the park just around the corner, I stepped the effort up a little , sticking to the racing line now that I had that bit more space to run in, I had checked the pace at halfway and knew sub 30 was on unless I blew up but I also knew that the drag up the avenue in St Anne’s would sap energy and time. We moved into the park at a good tempo, sweeping down the hill and through the gate, the pace was testing now, no doubt about it – we were well into the 2nd half of the race and I was trying to put a bit of pressure on myself now to keep the momentum up.

Rrunning alongside the red stables brought a brief, warm feeling of familiarity, quite a few people were out braving the conditions near the parkrun finish area and the support was audible as we turned left up the avenue...the view of the stretch ahead was a little demoralising though - the new course meant that we had a 180 degree turn somewhere along the avenue, for the life of me, I couldn’t see it though and the hurt was starting to whisper sweet nothings in my ear.

Mick Clohissey sped down the other side of the avenue, followed by a chasing group – for some reason this made the turn feel longer away, turn it around D, take advantage - more than a mile to go and you are motoring. The wind was blowing across us here to be fair but the avenue in St Anne’s can be a lonely place towards the end of a race, I was really having to battle hard to stop myself from slipping back into my comfort zone...I resisted the urge to check the pace on the watch.
After what seemed an age, the turn appeared up ahead...but before I knew it, I was grabbing the railing to help me swing around the turn, feeling much better about life instantly! Still over a mile to go D, you need to step it up man!!
Didn’t spot any of the lads on the other side coming back down the Avenue but I was very focused now, chasing down groups ahead...my legs were working well but my lungs were starting to feel the effort now, I knew the pace was good and I knew Sub 30 was nearly there but I wanted that bit more now. Left turn at the end of the avenue and we really were into Parkrun territory now, over the bridge, left and we were running by the dog’s playground, I hate this stretch, it always feels like a proper drag but I was surprised at how I was able to dig deep and keep things on track here, taking the initiative with the 8th placed lady ( heard someone shout that out ) and kicking on out the gate of the park.

I could hear the finishing area now and knew I had to give one more sustained effort to get there, I moved by another couple of runners before taking the 3rd last turn, I think the 8th lady came with me but the effort levels now were well and truly into the red zone, I was fighting hard, sucking the clouds out of the sky but nearly there! Part of the problem with knowing the route became clear there and then, I knew the stretches that I hated and the stretch between the 3rd and 2nd last turns was one of those, arms and legs pumping, I was gritting my teeth here but I was also very aware that I was holding the pace well.
2nd last turn, big crowds, last turn, even bigger crowds.. and we were on the finishing straight, I gave whatever I had left , overtaking another runner or two while being overtaken myself and got in over the line in 29.17......I actually couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked at the watch and felt pretty satisfied with my lot straight away.

I gathered my thoughts after a few seconds and waited for some of the lads to come through, Gosh123 going sub 30 with a good bit to spare, FBOT, who can no longer claim to be on the comeback trail after another impressive display ( but will rightly feel there is more to come) and Yaboya01 who despite all the horseplay leading up to this was always going to be at the end of another impressive marathon training week , putting up a very solid time that will serve him well on the road to Boston.
I collected the hefty goodie bag, bumped into a few more people I haven’t seen in a while, had a quick chat with FBOT and Yaboya1, met Mrs Mac at last, said my goodbyes to everyone and ran home for a warmdown.

All in all, this was a good day at the running office for me, the course was great, a bit of congestion at the start but the crowd was massive so probably impossible to avoid, despite the wind, I didn’t find conditions too bad... The aim was to run sub 30 and not settle in my comfort zone at all over the 2nd half of the race, it was far from easy at the end but more than worth it. Great to see so many from here doing well today and I can see at last why the race is so popular with runners of all levels, its a really well organised race, Raheny is rightly proud of the event

Splits for the day:
5.58
5.56
5.43
5.52
5.46

8.5 miles inc warmup\warmdown

overpronator

Brilliant stuff. Very well done.

gosh123

Duanington wrote: »

31.01.2016

Friday - 5 miles easy

Bog standard run home from work, nice run if I recall correctly - took it easy afterwards

Saturday

3 miles @ recovery pace(ish). Ran this in St Anne's for the most part, felt odd running so easy on a Saturday morning, its usually session morning for me.

Raheny 5 mile

It’s been a good start to the year for me, training has gone well, Waterford went well and I’ve been lucky in that while I’ve been busy with work\home stuff, I’ve so far managed to keep a good level of momentum going.

The plan for Raheny was really simple, to take advantage of a fast course, to rely on the good training I’ve done up to this point, to work hard on the couple of small drags but ultimately to hold onto the pace and run under 30 minutes. If I was there or thereabouts at halfway, I’d be confident of doing that. I’d also promised myself to work hard to avoid settling for a pre-determined target if the day threw up a bit more on offer.

This was my first 5 mile race so once I finished, a PB was a certainty!

Getting a warmup in was pretty simple, I got ready at home and ran through the park, meeting a fellow runner I bump into every now and then along the way for a bit of a chat. I couldn’t believe the size of the crowd when I got to the starting area and when I heard that there were over 3000 entrants, I was even more surprised. Bumped into Gosh123 who was heading off on a warmup run with his clubmates and I decided to gatecrash and spend the few minutes catching up.

Warmup out of the way, I made my way to the starting line with with Gosh123, that never ending question of where to start in the race pack arose again, I let Gosh off up ahead, deciding to hold my position a good few rows from the front, purely because I planned on easing my way into things over the first mile. Spotted Yaboya1 and FBOT up ahead who both waved back towards me and I was immediately reminded of the smackdown – bollox, I’d forgotten about that ! After another couple of minutes chatting to some other familiar faces, we were off......well, kind of ...the congestion was pretty bad for 100 metres or so but once we turned the first corner, I could see the lads a few rows ahead and was happy enough to settle in while the running gods gradually thinned the crowd bit by bit.

By the time we turned out onto Watermill road, we were moving at a pace that felt like it was pretty good but not too fast, I had avoided getting tripped or tripping anyone else, we were half a mile or so in ...good start!

Up the little drag (which is an absolute bastard when I’m running sessions but was hardly noticeable in the crowd) and we turned left onto the Howth Road, I could see FBOT ahead and a little space starting to open up on the right hand side of the field so I moved on up a little, feeling good and enjoying the solid pace early on. Exchanged greetings with FBOT in the most matter of fact way which gave me a giggle and we steamed along the Howth Road, seemingly finding ourselves in a group that had similar targets in mind (including a four legged runner who I hope made it home alright), left at the lights off the Howth Road down towards CLontarf and onto a good downhill section.
I know this route very well and was determined to take advantage of the downhill stretch so lengthened the stride just a bit and started to move up the field again, I was a little exposed to the wind here but I could see Gosh123 in a group a few rows ahead , he was looking strong so I edged up towards him. We went by the 2nd mile marker and as the field started to thin noticeably, the pace felt like it was getting just a little hotter.

I was feeling good at this point, I knew the first 2 miles were fine pace-wise and that the next mile would be quick, I had been telling myself all week that when thoughts of hanging on start to enter the head, I needed to turn that thought on its head and work to take advantage of whatever distance was left to run, ask myself if I could squeeze another few seconds out , turn a solid run into a good run....that kind of thing. While I wasn’t hanging on, the effort levels were steadily rising – as expected.

Shortly after turning onto Mt Prospect ave, I noticed the group ahead with Gosh123 was coming back to me a little, the temptation was to settle in with them for a bit and dodge the wind but the wind didn’t feel too bad and this was possibly the first instance of hanging on versus taking advantage...I didn’t settle, I kept the pace going and could feel myself striding well, I couldn’t see Yaboya1 or FBOT around but I knew FBOT was close (I could hear his legions of loyal supporters giving him shout-outs along the route) and had no idea where Yaboya1 was so the fleeting thought of the smackdown was banished from my mind once again.

With the park just around the corner, I stepped the effort up a little , sticking to the racing line now that I had that bit more space to run in, I had checked the pace at halfway and knew sub 30 was on unless I blew up but I also knew that the drag up the avenue in St Anne’s would sap energy and time. We moved into the park at a good tempo, sweeping down the hill and through the gate, the pace was testing now, no doubt about it – we were well into the 2nd half of the race and I was trying to put a bit of pressure on myself now to keep the momentum up.

Rrunning alongside the red stables brought a brief, warm feeling of familiarity, quite a few people were out braving the conditions near the parkrun finish area and the support was audible as we turned left up the avenue...the view of the stretch ahead was a little demoralising though - the new course meant that we had a 180 degree turn somewhere along the avenue, for the life of me, I couldn’t see it though and the hurt was starting to whisper sweet nothings in my ear.

Mick Clohissey sped down the other side of the avenue, followed by a chasing group – for some reason this made the turn feel longer away, turn it around D, take advantage - more than a mile to go and you are motoring. The wind was blowing across us here to be fair but the avenue in St Anne’s can be a lonely place towards the end of a race, I was really having to battle hard to stop myself from slipping back into my comfort zone...I resisted the urge to check the pace on the watch.
After what seemed an age, the turn appeared up ahead...but before I knew it, I was grabbing the railing to help me swing around the turn, feeling much better about life instantly! Still over a mile to go D, you need to step it up man!!
Didn’t spot any of the lads on the other side coming back down the Avenue but I was very focused now, chasing down groups ahead...my legs were working well but my lungs were starting to feel the effort now, I knew the pace was good and I knew Sub 30 was nearly there but I wanted that bit more now. Left turn at the end of the avenue and we really were into Parkrun territory now, over the bridge, left and we were running by the dog’s playground, I hate this stretch, it always feels like a proper drag but I was surprised at how I was able to dig deep and keep things on track here, taking the initiative with the 8th placed lady ( heard someone shout that out ) and kicking on out the gate of the park.

I could hear the finishing area now and knew I had to give one more sustained effort to get there, I moved by another couple of runners before taking the 3rd last turn, I think the 8th lady came with me but the effort levels now were well and truly into the red zone, I was fighting hard, sucking the clouds out of the sky but nearly there! Part of the problem with knowing the route became clear there and then, I knew the stretches that I hated and the stretch between the 3rd and 2nd last turns was one of those, arms and legs pumping, I was gritting my teeth here but I was also very aware that I was holding the pace well.
2nd last turn, big crowds, last turn, even bigger crowds.. and we were on the finishing straight, I gave whatever I had left , overtaking another runner or two while being overtaken myself and got in over the line in 29.17......I actually couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked at the watch and felt pretty satisfied with my lot straight away.

I gathered my thoughts after a few seconds and waited for some of the lads to come through, Gosh123 going sub 30 with a good bit to spare, FBOT, who can no longer claim to be on the comeback trail after another impressive display ( but will rightly feel there is more to come) and Yaboya01 who despite all the horseplay leading up to this was always going to be at the end of another impressive marathon training week , putting up a very solid time that will serve him well on the road to Boston.
I collected the hefty goodie bag, bumped into a few more people I haven’t seen in a while, had a quick chat with FBOT and Yaboya1, met Mrs Mac at last, said my goodbyes to everyone and ran home for a warmdown.

All in all, this was a good day at the running office for me, the course was great, a bit of congestion at the start but the crowd was massive so probably impossible to avoid, despite the wind, I didn’t find conditions too bad... The aim was to run sub 30 and not settle in my comfort zone at all over the 2nd half of the race, it was far from easy at the end but more than worth it. Great to see so many from here doing well today and I can see at last why the race is so popular with runners of all levels, its a really well organised race, Raheny is rightly proud of the event

Splits for the day:
5.58
5.56
5.43
5.52
5.46

8.5 miles inc warmup\warmdown

Great run and report didn't even see u speed past me good running

pconn062

Excellent result, and a big step up for you. You're in the mid to low 36 minute range for 10k with a performance like that, great stuff.

laura_ac3

Really well done, great time. Delighted for you, deserved with your training.

annapr

Great report as always, D. Love your description of the avenue in st Anne's.

And you saw the dog? We saw the owner near the finish line looking for him!! Hope he found him.

Oh and congrats again, great time.

dintbo

Brilliant stuff. Well done.

FBOT01

Duanington wrote: »

31.01.2016

Friday - 5 miles easy

Bog standard run home from work, nice run if I recall correctly - took it easy afterwards

Saturday

3 miles @ recovery pace(ish). Ran this in St Anne's for the most part, felt odd running so easy on a Saturday morning, its usually session morning for me.

Raheny 5 mile

It’s been a good start to the year for me, training has gone well, Waterford went well and I’ve been lucky in that while I’ve been busy with work\home stuff, I’ve so far managed to keep a good level of momentum going.

The plan for Raheny was really simple, to take advantage of a fast course, to rely on the good training I’ve done up to this point, to work hard on the couple of small drags but ultimately to hold onto the pace and run under 30 minutes. If I was there or thereabouts at halfway, I’d be confident of doing that. I’d also promised myself to work hard to avoid settling for a pre-determined target if the day threw up a bit more on offer.

This was my first 5 mile race so once I finished, a PB was a certainty!

Getting a warmup in was pretty simple, I got ready at home and ran through the park, meeting a fellow runner I bump into every now and then along the way for a bit of a chat. I couldn’t believe the size of the crowd when I got to the starting area and when I heard that there were over 3000 entrants, I was even more surprised. Bumped into Gosh123 who was heading off on a warmup run with his clubmates and I decided to gatecrash and spend the few minutes catching up.

Warmup out of the way, I made my way to the starting line with with Gosh123, that never ending question of where to start in the race pack arose again, I let Gosh off up ahead, deciding to hold my position a good few rows from the front, purely because I planned on easing my way into things over the first mile. Spotted Yaboya1 and FBOT up ahead who both waved back towards me and I was immediately reminded of the smackdown – bollox, I’d forgotten about that ! After another couple of minutes chatting to some other familiar faces, we were off......well, kind of ...the congestion was pretty bad for 100 metres or so but once we turned the first corner, I could see the lads a few rows ahead and was happy enough to settle in while the running gods gradually thinned the crowd bit by bit.

By the time we turned out onto Watermill road, we were moving at a pace that felt like it was pretty good but not too fast, I had avoided getting tripped or tripping anyone else, we were half a mile or so in ...good start!

Up the little drag (which is an absolute bastard when I’m running sessions but was hardly noticeable in the crowd) and we turned left onto the Howth Road, I could see FBOT ahead and a little space starting to open up on the right hand side of the field so I moved on up a little, feeling good and enjoying the solid pace early on. Exchanged greetings with FBOT in the most matter of fact way which gave me a giggle and we steamed along the Howth Road, seemingly finding ourselves in a group that had similar targets in mind (including a four legged runner who I hope made it home alright), left at the lights off the Howth Road down towards CLontarf and onto a good downhill section.
I know this route very well and was determined to take advantage of the downhill stretch so lengthened the stride just a bit and started to move up the field again, I was a little exposed to the wind here but I could see Gosh123 in a group a few rows ahead , he was looking strong so I edged up towards him. We went by the 2nd mile marker and as the field started to thin noticeably, the pace felt like it was getting just a little hotter.

I was feeling good at this point, I knew the first 2 miles were fine pace-wise and that the next mile would be quick, I had been telling myself all week that when thoughts of hanging on start to enter the head, I needed to turn that thought on its head and work to take advantage of whatever distance was left to run, ask myself if I could squeeze another few seconds out , turn a solid run into a good run....that kind of thing. While I wasn’t hanging on, the effort levels were steadily rising – as expected.

Shortly after turning onto Mt Prospect ave, I noticed the group ahead with Gosh123 was coming back to me a little, the temptation was to settle in with them for a bit and dodge the wind but the wind didn’t feel too bad and this was possibly the first instance of hanging on versus taking advantage...I didn’t settle, I kept the pace going and could feel myself striding well, I couldn’t see Yaboya1 or FBOT around but I knew FBOT was close (I could hear his legions of loyal supporters giving him shout-outs along the route) and had no idea where Yaboya1 was so the fleeting thought of the smackdown was banished from my mind once again.

With the park just around the corner, I stepped the effort up a little , sticking to the racing line now that I had that bit more space to run in, I had checked the pace at halfway and knew sub 30 was on unless I blew up but I also knew that the drag up the avenue in St Anne’s would sap energy and time. We moved into the park at a good tempo, sweeping down the hill and through the gate, the pace was testing now, no doubt about it – we were well into the 2nd half of the race and I was trying to put a bit of pressure on myself now to keep the momentum up.

Rrunning alongside the red stables brought a brief, warm feeling of familiarity, quite a few people were out braving the conditions near the parkrun finish area and the support was audible as we turned left up the avenue...the view of the stretch ahead was a little demoralising though - the new course meant that we had a 180 degree turn somewhere along the avenue, for the life of me, I couldn’t see it though and the hurt was starting to whisper sweet nothings in my ear.

Mick Clohissey sped down the other side of the avenue, followed by a chasing group – for some reason this made the turn feel longer away, turn it around D, take advantage - more than a mile to go and you are motoring. The wind was blowing across us here to be fair but the avenue in St Anne’s can be a lonely place towards the end of a race, I was really having to battle hard to stop myself from slipping back into my comfort zone...I resisted the urge to check the pace on the watch.
After what seemed an age, the turn appeared up ahead...but before I knew it, I was grabbing the railing to help me swing around the turn, feeling much better about life instantly! Still over a mile to go D, you need to step it up man!!
Didn’t spot any of the lads on the other side coming back down the Avenue but I was very focused now, chasing down groups ahead...my legs were working well but my lungs were starting to feel the effort now, I knew the pace was good and I knew Sub 30 was nearly there but I wanted that bit more now. Left turn at the end of the avenue and we really were into Parkrun territory now, over the bridge, left and we were running by the dog’s playground, I hate this stretch, it always feels like a proper drag but I was surprised at how I was able to dig deep and keep things on track here, taking the initiative with the 8th placed lady ( heard someone shout that out ) and kicking on out the gate of the park.

I could hear the finishing area now and knew I had to give one more sustained effort to get there, I moved by another couple of runners before taking the 3rd last turn, I think the 8th lady came with me but the effort levels now were well and truly into the red zone, I was fighting hard, sucking the clouds out of the sky but nearly there! Part of the problem with knowing the route became clear there and then, I knew the stretches that I hated and the stretch between the 3rd and 2nd last turns was one of those, arms and legs pumping, I was gritting my teeth here but I was also very aware that I was holding the pace well.
2nd last turn, big crowds, last turn, even bigger crowds.. and we were on the finishing straight, I gave whatever I had left , overtaking another runner or two while being overtaken myself and got in over the line in 29.17......I actually couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked at the watch and felt pretty satisfied with my lot straight away.

I gathered my thoughts after a few seconds and waited for some of the lads to come through, Gosh123 going sub 30 with a good bit to spare, FBOT, who can no longer claim to be on the comeback trail after another impressive display ( but will rightly feel there is more to come) and Yaboya01 who despite all the horseplay leading up to this was always going to be at the end of another impressive marathon training week , putting up a very solid time that will serve him well on the road to Boston.
I collected the hefty goodie bag, bumped into a few more people I haven’t seen in a while, had a quick chat with FBOT and Yaboya1, met Mrs Mac at last, said my goodbyes to everyone and ran home for a warmdown.

All in all, this was a good day at the running office for me, the course was great, a bit of congestion at the start but the crowd was massive so probably impossible to avoid, despite the wind, I didn’t find conditions too bad... The aim was to run sub 30 and not settle in my comfort zone at all over the 2nd half of the race, it was far from easy at the end but more than worth it. Great to see so many from here doing well today and I can see at last why the race is so popular with runners of all levels, its a really well organised race, Raheny is rightly proud of the event

Splits for the day:
5.58
5.56
5.43
5.52
5.46

8.5 miles inc warmup\warmdown

Sorry D no time for chat over 5 miles........anyway you were cruising by me and didn't look like you were going to stick around for a chat so had to make a quick call on whether to stick or twist. I chose to shut up and try the twist option

Great going today. Excellent performance and report. Well done.

BTW I wasn't joking when I told Yaboya after Waterford that he would need to go sub 29 to beat you if there was to be smackdown. But as you said yourself, you are both on different paths at the moment so there was never really going to be a smackdown today but sure it makes for good banter.

Pretty sure there is plenty more to come from you in 2016. So just keep doing what your doing!

AuldManKing

superb time, amazing. Many congrats - you have every right to be satisfied.

Killerz

'Sucking the clouds out of the sky' - love it... I think we all know how that feels! Great running

Back in Black

Fantastic stuff D and so well deserved. Your training has been so consistent and strong and nice to see you reaping the rewards of that.

Duanington

Thanks for the good wishes after Raheny everyone, much appreciated

On with the training...

08.02.2016

Monday

5 easy miles ( 8ish min\miles) - I had the day off work as it happened so took a leisurely trot around St Anne's \Raheny\Clontarf to flush the legs out. All felt well, did a spot of core\stretching after

Tuesday

Long run night and I went back to my rolling route for this one, Raheny, Kilbarrack etc...freezing cold for most of this, the wind was a bit nasty at times and my calf got VERY tight towards the end of the run, almost locking up at the end and felt pretty sore afterwards.
Finished off with plenty of rolling and stretching at home.

13 miles 8.07 min\miles

Wednesday

Took a day off, I've had calf\Achilles problems in the past and have made the problem worse by not listening my body properly, rather than pushing on and making things worse, I brought an end to a pretty long running streak. Plenty of rolling\stretching instead of running.

Thursday

With the calf feeling a lot better today, I decided to chance my session ( 7 miles @ MP) so headed off out the door at lunch time to get a warm up done. No feedback from the calf at all during the warmup which was both pleasing and surprising so I got started on the MP stuff, ready to pull the plug if anything flared up.

Picked another rolling route for this, I toyed with the idea of staying on the flat to avoid putting too much pressure on my calf muscles but decided to go with the normal route - either it was better, or it wasn't !

Felt a twinge just after 3 miles@ MP so eased the pace right back and ran a few easy miles instead.

7.55
6.35
6.47
6.39
7.45
7.50

6.3 miles in total

Weights and core work at home later in the day

Friday - took another day off to let some healing happen, lots of stretching and rolling throughout the day

Saturday

Up and at it very early for this one, I decided to try a 45 minute(ish) easy run to see how everything felt, all went well until the very end when I could feel tightness in the calf again - no pain though this time which was great.

Rolling route again, taking in a few loops around St Anne's along the way.

7.2 miles @ 8ish min\miles

Core work, stretching and rolling in the PM


Sunday

With Enniscorthy next week and a 12x600 session still outstanding for the week, I made a pact with myself - run the session with no discomfort and you get to race next week, pull up and the race is binned.

It was pretty late in the day by the time I got out and the wind was woeful along the coast road ( as was the rain at times) so after getting a longer than usual warm up in, I moved up off the coast in search of a decent stretch of road that I could run this on, sticking to the coast would mean every 2nd rep would be into a gale force wind - and the others would be with the wind.

I eventually found a decent spot somewhere in Raheny and ran a couple of 200s(ish) to test things out - all checked out fine so I got started on the 600s

The wind was still harsh enough at times on this and the route I picked meant that I was having to cross a road at the start\end of each rep but I was very happy to get through each rep unscathed, blowing hard at the start but feeling strong enough at the end.

Plan was to hit the 600s in 2.10 or so with 1 minute recovery.

Ran a warmdown and had a little bit of tightness afterwards but much better than previous days. More rolling and stretching at home !

200s
45 (220)
49(225)

600s

1.54 ( short - 510m)
2.07
2.16
2.10
2.09
2.11
2.06
2.07
2.09
2.12
2.08
2.11

11 miles or so for the lot

Not a great week on paper but I'm fairly sure there was a nasty injury waiting to happen somewhere in there - feels like I've avoided that now thankfully.

Duanington

08.02.2016

Monday

4 miles easy, the usual trot home from work, aided by a very strong wind - this actually didn't feel much like a run at all !

Calf was fine, a little tight towards the end - weights, core, stretching and rolling afterwards

4 miles @ 8ish min miles

Duanington

09.02.2016

Mental day at work, broken up by a bit of a pancake feast towards the end of the day which was nice, the rain clattering against the windows of the office however, was not so nice

I had 8 easy miles on the plan tonight but waiting around after work in the wind and rain for the garmin to get a signal removed the love for this one before it began. Eventually got a signal and headed off for home, keeping the pace nice and easy - dropped the backpack off at home and carried on up into Raheny to finish off the run. After all my inner bitching and moaning, I ended up enjoying this one.

Stretching, rolling and some very light core work afterwards

8.5 miles 8.03 min\miles

Duanington

10.02.2016


Wednesday

AM - 4.1 miles easy, usual run into work on a cold and frosty morning ( "cold and frosty morning"....reminds me of a ready break ad or something actually) .

No watch but kept the pace nice and easy , somewhere around the 8ish min miles

PM - Nice run home after work, again it was freezing cold but the run was great for flushing the madness of the working day out of my head . Did a but of stretching during the day on the sly ( during trips to different floors in the office) and the troublesome calf seems to have responded very well to the bit of TLC.
6 miles total

10.1 for the day

Thursday

Session day today and a repeat of a session I ran a couple of weeks back;

2x200, 2x400, 800, 2x400, 2x200 - all with 2 minute easy recoveries

Ran a nice and easy warmup down to St Anne's, the weather was just about perfect for running, crisp, cold, bright - deadly!

Made my way to the Rose Garden to do this one and was pleasantly surprised to see how few people were there. Just before I got started, I realised that I hadn't scribbled the paces down....$hite...was it 200s at 1 mile pace, 400s at 3k pace?
After getting my head into a spin, I settled on running the 200s hard, the 400s faster than I normally do ( I remember running them quicker than normal last time around), I also remembered that the 800 should be tough and should leave me wobbly during the next 400...which meant run that fast too.

Got through each rep well enough - wobbled a bit towards the end of the 800 and the following 400 ( as planned!) , everything else was hard but the longer recoveries make it all very manageable

200 - 38,38

400- 1.19, 1.19

800 - 2.36

400 - 1.18, 1.17

200 - 35, 35

Too quick for the last 200s but everything else went well - again, a tough session but the recoveries are pretty generous which cuts a bit of slack.

Finished off with a warmdown and some light weights\stretching

7.8 miles for the lot

tang1

That's some run D, hats off to you.

Duanington

14.02.2014

Friday

4.1 very easy miles after work - can't remember this now!

Saturday

Volunteered at St Anne's parkrun in the morning before heading out for 3 very easy miles around the park. Windy and cold and slow.....

Stretching and rolling afterwards

Sunday

Enniscorthy 10k

A poor night’s sleep on account of a sick dog in the house wasn’t the ideal start for this one but experience has taught me that I never sleep well the night before races anyway so while it may impact recovery after the race, it wouldn’t have any real impact on the day itself.

After a pleasant enough spin down to Enniscorthy , myself and my cheerleaders for the day arrived to race HQ with plenty of time to spare. Parked up, got the race number and sheltered in the car from the wind and hail for a bit – it was nasty enough right up until 30 minutes before the start, which gave me the green light to go out and get warmed up!

Met Gosh 123 and his clubmates again and gatecrashed their warmup ( again!), the lads were looking in good shape and thoughts of running in a strong group to get some shelter from the biting wind was very appealing. Yaboya01 had told me that the course was good but that it did have drags, perhaps none more so than the first mile – accept that you will lose time there and you’ll make it up over the 2nd half....the drag in question was very apparent over the warmup but so too was the fact that we would be coming right back down that same drag over the last km.

With a 2 mile or so warmup done, I made my way to the starting area, killing a few minutes by talking to some other runners who knew the route very well. I had it in my head to get through the first 3 miles with splits that were somewhere in and around the 6 minute mile mark – a few seconds over would be fine though and I wouldn’t be a slave to the watch today, I’m finding of late that I race better without worrying about splits or pace too much, trusting the effort levels seems to work well for me now.

After a short countdown and a misfire, we were off. I skipped out to the right hand side of the field immediately, away from the racing line but also away from the traffic, my GF and the 2 little cheerleaders we brought down for the day gave me a nice shout out just before we turned into the wind and started to work our way up the first drag of the day.

I was very aware of the lack of chatter among the field runners as we made our way up that first drag, just that sound of feet hitting the pavement and runners fuelling their ascent with faster than usual breathing. .5 mile in and I did a quick system check, everything was good – breathing was heavier than normal but I expected that, the climb and the wind was exaggerating things there so moving in alongside Gosh123, we held the pace good and steady and started to move up through the field a little, not accelerating, just holding effort levels. With the drag over, I didn’t give into the temptation to ease up with the sense of relief and kicked a little to keep the tempo going, I was on Gosh123’s right shoulder and he was doing the same so we gradually moved out of the group we had found ourselves in.
The open terrain and lack of roadside hedge growth on the road sides here meant that the we were very exposed to the wind and it was making things good and tricky as it tends to do, seemingly whipping the air from my lungs with each gust,
I looked down when the watch beeped and was content with 6.05 on the watch, maybe a couple of seconds quicker would have been nice but this will do.
Mile 1 – 6.05

The road ahead had flattened out nicely as moved into the 2nd mile, I knew the pace had quickened a little too at this stage – the road ahead was pretty level but we were between groups at this stage and had possibly left ourselves a little exposed to the wind. A sharp turn to the right and we were greeted by another long looking climb, not particularly steep looking at first but a quick scan across the landscape ahead and slightly to the left told me that this was another significant drag, I could see the lead group and they looked quite a bit higher than us. I focused the mind a little, looked at the road ahead and worked to keep the tempo from slipping back, the temptation to ease off the gas just a little was there but I had no interest in that to be honest, if I could hold this pace then I’d be in pretty good shape after 2 miles. Sporadic cheers of support came from the odd spectator dotted along the course here and Gosh123 commented that we were moving well now - we sure were but it was hard work!
Mile 2 - 5.57

The roadside hedges were giving us a little shelter from the wind now and as the road bent to the left slightly, we came up to what looked like the end of this particular climb, of course the end was by far the steepest part too! The field felt like it ground to a halt here and a few people came back to me pretty quickly, I was conscious not to run too hard up the hill but at the same time, I didn’t want it to dominate things either, feeling like I was striking the right balance, I pumped the arms, shortened the stride and kept going – feeling a little like I was running out of steam by the time I got to the top.

There was definite relief over the top of the climb but once again, I didn’t let myself settle – I knew I would have lost some time over the last .5 mile or so and as we took a sharp left, it was clear that the next stretch of the course would present a chance to claw some of that time back with a significant drop in elevation up ahead. I didn’t need to be asked twice and even though the legs and lungs were really starting to creek, I kicked on in an attempt to take advantage
.
Mile 3 – 5.54

Shortly after the 3 mile beep, the road ahead flattened and then turned into another climb, not as long as the others so far but feeling very daunting with the wind in our faces and legs starting to tire. Once again the field slowed significantly, this time, I slowed with them and I was aware of how thinned out it had become, with no real groups to speak of. Gosh123 had dropped back a little by this stage but I knew he wouldn’t be too far away. After digging in struand getting to the top of the climb, I found myself running alongside a local Slaney AC lad and just behind a familiar face from Raheny.
Both men were moving very well and I was starting to feel as though I could really hang on here for a big PB, despite the effort level being high, I was actually starting to feel more confident. I knew I had a few seconds in the bag from glancing at the watch at the end of the last mile but resisted any thoughts of settling in for home; if I had time in the bag then I also had a real chance for a very big PB...on a rolling course, on a tough day, we work very hard to create chances so I wasn’t going to throw it away.

Mile 4 – 5.59

Having turned away from the wind and onto a good stretch of level road, I hit a real purple patch...picking off a few runners and digging in to put a bit of a squeeze on, the effort was high but it was feeling good. I was side by side with the lad from Raheny and we were matching each other stride for stride for a good stretch, my breathing was heavy but it wasn’t laboured. We picked off a few runners as we made our way through the winding route, the wind was at our backs now and the road was nice and level for the most part, I was really focusing on pushing thins on now.

Mile 5 – 5.48

I didn’t look at the watch when it beeped, I knew it was very quick but I wanted to stay focused now and keep the tempo going. Shortly into the 6th mile however, I started to feel a stitch come on, I’ve had minor stitches before and they usually fade away if I ignore them but this seemed to get more intense the quicker I was moving. In truth , I had the beginnings of a stitch for the last mile but it was mild discomfort then, this was developing into full blown pain.
I fought off the urge to ease up initially but with each step, the pain under my ribs got more intense. Not now, not here! I never get stitches this bad...it was just getting worse and worse, I had no choice now..I had read about people digging into their ribs to ease the pain but that wasn’t doing anything. I was having real difficulty breathing, each breath caused a horrible burning sensation that stopped my expanding lungs dead in their tracks.
No way was I stopping, my body was screaming at me to pull up now, every breath was torture but I couldn’t throw this away...I had no choice but to ease up, I’d about a mile or so to get through and I was genuinely starting to fear DNF could be on the cards if I couldn’t sort this out.
I had slowed a little anyway as the pain got worse but now I watched helplessly as the Raheny lad started to move away from me. I could also hear footsteps from behind getting louder, I hadn’t heard anyone behind me for about half a mile now but the steps got louder and louder until eventually the Slaney AC lad and another runner passed me by, f*ck it anyway...
I focused on breathing right, not gasping the way I had been over the past .5 mile but really controlling the stride and my breathing...and it made the teeniest of difference . “Hold this pace D” I thought, even that tiny bit of relief had me feeling better, the pace had slowed and I knew there was a group closing behind but where I was feeling worse with every single step, I was starting to feel better with every single step....I saw the 9k marker up ahead and started to test the quicker pace again ( checking the garmin later, I had slowed to 6.30 pace for a few hundred metres, not exactly the end of the world!), it still hurt the ribs but it wasn’t getting worse and it wasn’t restricting my breathing now....into the last 1k and I could see Raheny lad up ahead, I wouldn’t catch him but I knew this stretch was downhill so I gambled and started to ramp the pace right up again...the stitch was gone, completely gone...I was flying again ..I had no idea how much time I had lost but I was back at full tilt, pumping my legs and arms down the last stretch.

The finish area appeared up ahead, I couldn’t see the clock, was afraid I’d trip up if I checked the watch but moving into the finishing area, I heard my GF shout to me that I’d PBd.....
Stopped the watch...arms over the head...gasped for air for a bit then checked the watch.

5.57 for the 6th mile and then over the line for an official time of 36.36 – a 70 second or so PB and I was chuffed! Gosh123 and the other BP lads crossed the line shortly after me, PBs galore, a good day at the office.
Brought the little cheerleaders up to the race HQ to sample the refreshments on offer – a fantastic spread to be honest, very impressive. I snuck off for a short warm down while they stuffed their faces, bringing the daily total to 9.4 miles
This was a real rollercoaster of a course and a real rollercoaster of a race too, delighted with the PB, pissed off with the stitch but in truth, it couldn’t have cost me more than 10 \15 seconds looking at where people ahead of me finished ( and looking at strava...the pace dropped for around 2 minutes, it felt like 2 miles of course!) and I’m hopeful of taking a bit more off that time in the coming months.
Hats off to the organisers, well marshalled, well put together and well run event with a strong field to run with – I’ll be back next year!

pconn062

Jeez man, you're absolutely flying. Great to see someone get the rewards from their training.

yaboya1

Great run D.
Well done.

gosh123

Another great run u floated up them hills couldn hold onto u great run great pb

dintbo

Once again some great racing man. Well done.

Back in Black

Wow. That's a fantastic time. Well done.

laura_ac3

That's an impressive PB, well done D. Especially on what seems a challenging course, hard work paying off.

Murph_D

Brilliant stuff, D. Terrible timing with the stitch but you seem to have worked through it very well. Great run and congrats on the HUGE PB.

AuldManKing

Another impressive performance. Top notch.

Firedance

wow, super racing D and fantastic report, I love how you don't allow yourself to rest on the downhills & keep pushing onwards, a great lesson there in how to race well.

overpronator

Great run. Getting exactly what you deserve from great training, very well done.

Duanington

18.02.2015

Monday

Easy does it, 4.1 miles on my runmute home. Took this one very handy indeed and actually enjoyed it too. Legs were definitely feeling the effects from the race the previous day but felt a little better by the end. Did a fair bit of stretching in the office throughout the day

Tuesday

12 miles easy on the cards tonight , 4.1 of which were done with the backpack on ( no makeup on board though FD, left it at the office to lighten the load :pac:) , ditched the backpack and carried on up into Raheny for a couple of loops before heading for home.

Stretching and corework once I got home, legs still a little tired\stiff.

12 miles @ 8.07 min\miles

Wednesday

AM - 4.1 easy miles, run into work, I slept like the dead the night before and obviously needed it...felt good on this one, legs still a little sleepy but full of beans by the end of it. Ate my weight in food ( good stuff) in the office afterwards.

PM - 7 miles easy, run home from work....f f f f freezing out there by the time I got going but again I really enjoyed this and could have gone on and on and on...one of those nights.

11.1 for the day


Thursday

I usually run speedwork on Thursdays but given that I've raced quite a bit in the last 3 weeks, a steady run ( 7 miles) was on the cards for today instead.

Working from home so after getting some good core\weights work in , I headed out to St Anne's to run this, looping the park a couple of times on the various trails and paths down there. Beautiful day for running, felt the faster pace in the legs a little to be fair, notably towards the end. Still really enjoyed the run...

7.40
7.08
7.17
7.13
7.18
7.13
7.20
7.16
7.50

9 miles for the day