Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Confessions of a never has been.....
Comments
-
-
Duanington wrote: »I sure am B - easy stuff between now and then
I'll have to wait to for another race to meet you, suffering with a septic throat/chest infection so no race for me.
No doubt the Lemon will be on to say your missing fook all in not meeting me!!!0 -
-
I'll have to wait to for another race to meet you, suffering with a septic throat/chest infection so no race for me.
No doubt the Lemon will be on to say your missing fook all in not meeting me!!!
Awwww, poor B, I know you're not feeling well so I'll come on to say he's missing out big time but there's always the Boards D3 run!
Oh and best of luck on Sunday DD!0 -
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
18.07.2016
Thursday
AM - easy run around St Anne's, don't remember a whole lot about this one
6.3 miles easy
PM - more easy miles, more memory loss
3.8 easy
11.1 for the day
Friday
Off - that's right, a day off! I think the last day off I took was in February so it felt odd to have no run today, have to admit that I enjoyed it
Saturday
Easy miles with .5 @ 10mile pace
Out the coast for this one, legs felt great, kept the pace down and enjoyed the spurt of pace for the .5 mile section.
3.5 miles in total
Sunday
Mullingar 10
Not sure if this is really worthy of a race report as to be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot of racing done….it was however a tough run that may serve to teach me a lesson or two down the line so I’ll put some words around it anyway
Having only raced once in the build up to DCM last year, coach and I decided to make sure there were a couple of good race efforts in the plan leading up to Berlin. Last year’s lack of racing was partly by design ( to focus on aerobic development) and partly by life getting in the way ( I had to cancel a half because of work\life stuff) but this year it made sense to keep some sense of sharpness going right through to Berlin – for me, its as much a mental thing as anything, I don’t race well during marathon training but at the same time, the racing environment gives a much needed test of mental strength ( on top of all the physical sciency stuff).
The Mullingar 10 miler was to be the 2nd last race before Berlin and would perhaps serve as a pointer as to how training was going (although training itself is a good indicator too of course). I like the distance, the course was flat by all accounts and had this picked from a long way out as the first real opportunity to stretch the legs over a distance longer than 10k for a few months.
Up early to get the usual pre race breakfast on board ( porridge, toast and peanut butter) , got the race gear on and hit the road for Mullingar. The day was shaping up to be a cracker, sun splitting the skies and really warming up as I got further away from the city and closer to the midlands. Mullingar. This week had seen me take my first day off running in 130+ days ( lost count to be honest) and with reduced miles in the legs over the couple of days leading up to the race, I fancied giving myself a good workout and hopefully clipping something off the PB ( 10 mile is a distance that I feel I have unfinished business with – 61.42 earlier in the year in Clontarf).
Hats off to Mulingar Harriers, directions to race HQ were really well marked on the roads around the town – despite this, our very own version of Phileas Foggg, that oh so Bitter Lemon sent out a distress call having managed to lose himself somewhere in Mullingar. A bit of toing and froing with screenshots of directions and possibly a phone call or two to some boardsies more familiar with the area sorted him out and we met up for a couple of easy miles before the off.
The sun was out in all its glory now and it was noticeably hot in some of the more sheltered areas along the route we picked for our warmup. I don’t run well in the heat, I never have but I didn’t want to let any excuses in before things got started. I was going to get off to a quick start, see how I feel around the 2 mile mark and call it every 2 miles….my hope was to keep things as close to 6 min miles as possible, anything under 6.10 would do fine…anything over would mean an effort to dip under 6 towards the end.
Foolish, foolish D! Whatever about running shorter races in warm conditions, not having a backup plan to allow for the warmer conditions was mistake number 1 – I can remember talking to Yaboya1 about his sub 3 time in Berlin and how important it is to take conditions into account on the day, it makes perfect sense of course but that conversation wasn’t anywhere near my mind in the starting pen at Mullingar – it should have been front and centre.
Without delay we were lined up at the start and sent on our way, I was close enough to the front so traffic wasn’t an issue, out from a tight enough country road, swinging left onto a main road and into a strong enough headwind.
I didn’t bother with the watch at the start, I focused on the effort – fast but controlled and comfortable, I knew this would keep me in and around 6 min miles. A couple of little groups formed early on and I found myself leading one of these for most of the first mile.
Mile 1 – 5.56
Saw the time flash up on the watch and thought it was just a little quick but knew that things would slow down a little given that I was piercing the wind for the lads behind me. I felt good too along the stretch we had just run, enjoying the pace and enjoying the fact that I was racing again. I focused on keeping the breathing regular and the strides in check, in on left, out on left – seems to keep the stiches at bay for me. Things were ticking along nicely, I was moving quickly down any hills and easing off just a little on the way up, the field was spreading out nicely and we still had our little group going, I moved aside to let 2 of the other lads lead the charge for a bit.
Mile 2 – 6.03
It was maybe around the 15 minute mark when things started to feel less comfortable, we had turned right off the main road again and the wind seemed to have picked up a little - my breathing wasn’t sounding too good either. I could feel the effort levels rising, even though I knew the pace had dropped a little. The group around me were all working very hard and there wasn’t a word spoken between anyone. I could sense things rattling a little here, the temptation to ease off and let the group take the lead was growing, I had to shake it off a few times and force myself back to the front of the group ( I should possibly have let them off and eased off a little myself if I’m honest, 10 miles is a long enough race). The road surface was good but I was feeling very warm now, huffing and puffing way more than I should have been
Mile 3 – 6.11
The next mile, I suspect, was the mile that broke my spirits – I let three of the lads from the group kick ahead while I languished in no man’s land, not sticking with them and not slowing enough to pick up another group, I wasn’t too worried about the pace yet, I was starting to accept that I wouldn’t be keeping things down to the original target pace but I would still have lots of time to put in a respectable time. I took a bottle of water from the water station ( I never drink during any race other than a marathon) and poured most of it over my head, remembering Goshie123 telling me how he found it gave him a boost during a few of his 10k races, it did the trick for a minute or so I was feeling rough though, there was no escaping that fact and to make things worse, I KNEW I was feeling rough. I drank some of the remaining water from the bottle and tossed it towards the bin, missed – kind of summed things up in a way !
Mile 4 – 6.22
Working through the course profile in my head, I had an idea that we would be turning away from the breeze soon enough, while the going was tough at the moment, I still wasn’t panicked about the dropping pace – I’d hold steady until we turned and then pick things up with the wind at our backs. I could see a turn in the road up ahead, a sharp left which would probably mark the halfway point. That should give us some relief from the wind and I was noticing that the going was much easier when we passed through parts of the road with thick bushes\trees that provided shelter from the sun. Every race has its rough patch and I was trying to re-assure myself that this was one of those, hang on until the turn and things will feel easier….the doubts were there though, swanning around the inside of my head, telling me that I was a long way from home.
Mile 5 6.24
After reaching the turn at the top of a small hill, we did indeed move left so that the wind was no longer in our faces – it wasn’t quite at our backs but it wasn’t an issue any more. Initially this did bring that expected relief but to be honest, it didn’t last very long – I was completely isolated now, 3 or 4 MH runners were about 30 feet ahead and I couldn’t hear anyone behind me but a glance back on the turn told me that there were a few people spread out behind. It didn’t take long for the effort levels to climb again, I wasn’t holding pace at all and was having to kick harder to just keep things from slowing dramatically. While things had been warm up until this point, it was becoming obvious that the wind had been providing a little relief from the sun and with no wind at play, I could feel myself beginning to overheat ….energy levels were dropping, effort levels increasing – this was going to be a tough 2nd half, I knew my race was effectively over somewhere around here.
Mile 6 6.34
The next few miles are a bit of a blur , effort levels continued to rise, I cursed the sun, cursed myself for heading out so quick over the first 2 miles, cursed myself for cursing myself…
I think I was passed a couple of times here, the pace had dropped right back and I had very real ideas of just easing up and jogging the rest of the route back to the car, I had nothing to gain now that a good time was out the window.
At least twice I convinced myself to just keep things somewhat respectable for another mile, one more mile…just get to mile 7, mile 8. I had written “Make it count” onto the palm of my hand as a reminder to myself that every mile should count towards the target, I glanced at it a few times during this stretch and it did serve to remind me that I could still benefit from this run, if I could keep things moving and avoid complete capitulation then I’d have toughed out a horrible day at the office. I had a very similar experience in Athlone almost 2 years ago when I first went after a 1.34 half, that day was sweltering hot too and I ground to a near halt after 7 miles, dropping back to steady and then almost easy pace for the next few miles.
This felt exactly like that day, I wanted to stop, knew I couldn’t. I passed a couple of lads who had pulled up by the side of the road, looking like they had developed cramps in the hamstrings – thankfully and strangely my legs actually didn’t feel too bad, it was just an overall lack of energy.
“Make it count” – right so, mile 8 was done and dusted, 2 miles to go and I was hanging on, slowing rapidly but holding on. The drag over the 2nd last mile felt much worse than it should have, I had carried a bottle of water with me from the water station after mile 7 and dunked over my head, the relief was instant but short lived.
I spotted a couple of runners up ahead and knew that we were coming up to the last mile, I had finished my last 10 mile race with a 5.4x mile, there was no chance that was happening today but I knew I had to do something to at least make the run worthwhile so I worked on reeling these two in. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly they came back to me pretty quickly, although they were breathing almost as loudly as I was so they were obviously suffering too.
We passed the race HQ and I was back holding an ok pace, I knew from the effort levels as opposed to the watch but I also knew that I wouldn’t hold this for very long.
The finish area appeared up ahead, I followed the line of cones around a right hand turn, took the sharp left into the finishing area and crossed the line, grabbed a bottle of water and sat down in the shade for a minute or so. The time on the clock was poor, I knew the splits would be poor but f*ck it, I had hung on and finished when every part of me was begging me to stop.
Miles 7 -10
6.32, 6.46. 6.51, 6.22
Official time 1.04.00 ( I think)
Hung around for the Lemon to finish up, he had a disappointing outing too and we headed off for a couple of easy miles in an attempt to turn a crap race into a half decent workout. Good to see you as always C, pity about the way the race went for us both but there’s plenty more races to come.
I was pissed off but pragmatic at the same time, I didn’t want to blame the conditions but I couldn’t ignore them, I honestly felt drained of all energy from just after halfway. Chatting with coach later on, he reminded me that I had an average at best run during the FD10 last year during marathon training too – while this week had been a bit of an easier week, in general there is a lot of work sitting in the legs at the moment and that just isn’t going to produce fast race times along the way.
A fast time yesterday would have been a great confidence booster for me, as it turned out, it was a slog from halfway – a real battle to keep moving. When I think back to Athlone when it was a similar story ( running 1.34 when aiming for sub 1.30), I am reminded at how I ran 1.26 in Waterford a 10 weeks later.
Lots to learn from the weekend, lots of lessons to take onboard and while the performance in racing terms was poor, there is some context to tie around that and even a couple of positives to take from it.
For now its back to the training – and praying for a cool September in Berlin !
Just shy of 14 miles for the day and not a bad week overall when I look at the bigger picture, 2 good workouts and lots of easy stuff0 -
-
-
Good directions me bollix, I didn't see one sign and I went into the town centre and back, twice!! And I don't know why the hell they call it the Mullingar half, the feckin thing was closer to Tullamore!!!!
Anyway well done on toughing it out, I found the heat too hard to take after we turned out of the wind and ended up walking and didn't have your mental fortitude to grind it out. That ability will really stand to you. Thanks for cajoling me into the extra few miles at least I salvaged something from an otherwise miserable experience.
Ps, one final request when we are in a crowd could you stand an extra foot or two away from me, you're in savage shape and I feel like Fat Amy beside Taylor Swift
Make it Count
TbL0 -
Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 16,136 Mod ✭✭✭✭
Join Date:Posts: 15666
ThebitterLemon wrote: »Good directions me bollix, I didn't see one sign and I went into the town centre and back, twice!! And I don't know why the hell they call it the Mullingar half, the feckin thing was closer to Tullamore!!!!
Anyway well done on toughing it out, I found the heat too hard to take after we turned out of the wind and ended up walking and didn't have your mental fortitude to grind it out. That ability will really stand to you. Thanks for cajoling me into the extra few miles at least I salvaged something from an otherwise miserable experience.
Ps, one final request when we are in a crowd could you stand an extra foot or two away from me, you're in savage shape and I feel like Fat Amy beside Taylor Swift
Make it Count
TbL
There were signs all the way from the M4 to the startline. Didn't need to go near the town. Also don't know why it was called the mullingar 10. Glamour reasons i guess. Dalystown 10 doesn't have the ring to it.0 -
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
I wish I had read your Mullingar race report before doing Fingal 10k this morning... Sorry to hear it didn't go well, but I always get so much insight into the psychological battles from reading your reports! Actually, selfishly, I think your reports when it doesn't go well are much more helpful
Thanks for the wave the other morning on the seafront too!0 -
-
-
ThebitterLemon wrote: »Good directions me bollix, I didn't see one sign and I went into the town centre and back, twice!! And I don't know why the hell they call it the Mullingar half, the feckin thing was closer to Tullamore!!!!
Anyway well done on toughing it out, I found the heat too hard to take after we turned out of the wind and ended up walking and didn't have your mental fortitude to grind it out. That ability will really stand to you. Thanks for cajoling me into the extra few miles at least I salvaged something from an otherwise miserable experience.
Ps, one final request when we are in a crowd could you stand an extra foot or two away from me, you're in savage shape and I feel like Fat Amy beside Taylor Swift
Make it Count
TbL
Enjoyed the catchup C - hopefully see you in St Anne's soon for that parkrun.0 -
-
-
-
-
I wish I had read your Mullingar race report before doing Fingal 10k this morning... Sorry to hear it didn't go well, but I always get so much insight into the psychological battles from reading your reports! Actually, selfishly, I think your reports when it doesn't go well are much more helpful
Thanks for the wave the other morning on the seafront too!
Ha ha - thats gas, I tend to read back the reports from races that haven't gone well! We don't learn much from the stuff that goes well A :-)
God, the mornings are a blur at this stage, as are the waves .....but I'm pretty sure you always wave too so you're welcome 0 -
Advertisement
-
24.07.2016
Crazy week, haven't had a chance to log anything here so time to catchup
Monday
Run home from work, nice and easy...recovery pace, no watch so not sure of the numbers.
4.1 miles @ recovery effort
Tuesday
Mental day at the office and a real cracker of a day outside so I was chomping at the bit to get going at home time. Didn't hang around to get roped into any more email conversations with the folks in the US, got the gear on and headed off. Didn't worry too much about the pace given the intense heat and I was delighted to ditch the backpack after 4 miles, headed off into St Anne's to do a couple of loops around the park, found the park very humid at first but then it cooled off a little, upped the pace a tad in the 2nd half of the run.
Legs tired a little towards the end but nothing a bit of focus didn't sort out.
20 miles @ 7.47
Stretching\core work after
Wednesday
AM - a very sluggish 6 easy miles before\on the way to work. Can't remember much but know I was sluggish
PM - Much nicer run, another 6 miles easy - run home + extra stuff around St Anne's
pressups\stretching in work at lunch
12 for the day
Thursday
AM - Great sleep the previous night meant that I was sleepy all morning ( how does that happen - too little sleep and you're drained, too much and you don't actually wake up!), so when I got the chance to head out at lunch, I just got on with it.
As expected , it took a couple of miles to wake up, St Anne's was very humid but this ended up being a nice run
weights\core after
8 easy miles
PM - Belly full of dinner for this one, 4.2 easy miles and lots of strange noises from the gut area!
12.2 for the day
Friday
AM - 5 easy miles before work, cursing the backpack some mornings because when the legs are tired ( which they are), it adds the bit of weight and extra strain. Got it done all the same, cranky run
PM - 7 easy miles after work, identical to above, cursing, cranky, legs complaining
12 for the day
Saturday
Slept through the alarm that I had set to get up and do my session, it was a pretty hefty looking session so I allowed 2 hours to get it done and had to be on the road for 9 am or so....got out at 7.30 am so swapped things around
Lap of St Anne's then down to loop Fairview park, nice enough run but I have a feeling that pushing the session back avoided a failed session!
9.4 miles @ 7.57
Pressups\chinups\stretching after
Sunday
Session : 4 miles easy, 5x8 minutes @ pace, 3 minutes easy between, 4 miles easy.
Target paces for the 8 minute sections:
6.30
6.20
6.20
6.10
6.10
I knew this would be a tough session so stopped off in the phoenix park on my way home from visiting family this evening to get it done.
4 miles easy down towards the acres and I used the field there across the road from the cross. There was a nasty wind blowing in from the west and I had this in my face for a fair bit of each section, I did get some shelter towards the end of each section though which was bliss to be honest.
Paces worked out as
8 mins@ 6.26
8 mins @ 6.16
8 mins@ 6.14
8 mins@ 6.01
8 mins@ 6.01
A little quick maybe but I'm putting that down to working too hard into the wind and then enjoying the shelter alongside the Southern side of the field.
Nearly bailed after the 4th - the thoughts of trying to hold the pace into the wind again was mental torture! Stuck it out and I'm glad I did, a really tough session - I finished strong enough to be fair....but f*cked at the same time!
4 miles easy back to the car
15.8 miles for the lot
( core work earlier in the day)
85.5 miles this week0
Advertisement