A Slow Journey to Faster Times

FBOT01

Murph_D wrote: »

Who knows, the timing might even be right for a Ferris B comeback.

Would be nice way to come back alright but unfortunately even if he is back on the marathon trail his BQ will have elapsed

yaboya1

Tuesday 20th January - 60 minutes Easy (including 8 x 100m Strides)
6m @ 8:16p/m average (135bpm avg), 1m @ 6:12p/m average (165bpm avg), 0.53m cd

I realised today that my working hours tomorrow don't really suit a Steady session, and I'm not sure if I want to do it on Thursday being so close to the race. With that in mind I decided to throw some strides into tonight's run, just in case I don't get around to anything other than easy running before Sunday. Not much else to report. Very cold out there, but I definitely wasn't feeling it after the strides!


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:48
Mile 2 - 8:04
Mile 3 - 8:06
Mile 4 - 8:19
Mile 5 - 8:20
Mile 6 - 8:22
Mile 7 - 6:12
0.53 - 4:51

yaboya1

Thursday 22nd January - 60 minutes Easy (including 1m @ Raheny 5m pace)
6m @ 8:24p/m average (135bpm avg), 1m @ 5:43p/m average (166bpm avg), 0.41m cd (136bpm avg)

I was at a bit of loss over what to do tonight. Going into last weekend I was bouncing, confident I was ready for an assault on sub 29 in Raheny. However, a rough weekend, some postponed runs and an unplanned rest day had me feeling a little less optimistic. I was toying with the idea of doing a Steady session, but I knew it wouldn't have any positive impact on Sunday's performance and could well damage it. I didn't want to leave my race out there this evening, but equally wanted some assurance that I'm not being unrealistic about my target at the weekend. I set off after 9pm, still not knowing what I was going to do. My first mile felt pretty effortless and reminded me how beneficial a rest day can be (planned or otherwise). I've been feeling fatigued all week and the day off really seems to have freshened me up. I came across some dangerous surfaces after that and needed to be careful, slowing right down where necessary to avoid an unnecessary fall. I made up my mind about halfway through the run that I'd do what I've listed above. This would prove I could hold the required 5 mile speed, but not tax me enough to affect my race in a negative way. The race pace mile wasn't easy, but it was nowhere near as difficult as I was expecting. I feel if I had to choose one way or the other, I'd definitely back myself to go sub 29. Bring it on!


Splits:

Mile 1 - 8:04
Mile 2 - 8:22
Mile 3 - 8:32
Mile 4 - 7:55
Mile 5 - 8:39
Mile 6 - 8:50
Mile 7 - 5:43
0.41 - 3:56

Dubgal72

Best of luck. You'll be grand See you after, hopefully less than five minutes after

yaboya1

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Best of luck. You'll be grand See you after, hopefully less than five minutes after

Best of luck to you too.
Five minutes after?? The women's winner normally beats me in these races

Dubgal72

yaboya1 wrote: »

Best of luck to you too.
Five minutes after?? The women's winner normally beats me in these races

Gonna keep my head below the radar on this one

RedRunner

Best of luck with the sub29 attempt. I'll be stewarding so will keep an eye out for you. I owe you a good shout out !;)

yaboya1

RedRunner wrote: »

Best of luck with the sub29 attempt. I'll be stewarding so will keep an eye out for you. I owe you a good shout out !;)

If you see me and I don't look like I'm about to die, tell me to get the finger out and try harder

outforarun

Nice confidence boosting 7th mile there. Best of luck on Sunday.

yaboya1

outforarun wrote: »

Nice confidence boosting 7th mile there. Best of luck on Sunday.

Thanks D.
Are you racing yourself?

outforarun

yaboya1 wrote: »

Thanks D.
Are you racing yourself?

Down in Cork this Sunday so nope. But even if I was in Dublin I'm a slave to the plan at the moment, no races on the immediate horizon.

yaboya1

Friday 23rd January - 40 minutes Easy
5m @ 8:01p/m average (132bpm avg)

Just a little run to shake out the legs as I won't get anything done tomorrow. Felt great!


Splits:

Mile 1 - 7:58
Mile 2 - 7:48
Mile 3 - 8:00
Mile 4 - 8:19
Mile 5 - 7:59

FBOT01

Good luck tomorrow in case I don't see you beforehand.

tang1

Best of luck tomorrow.

Tom Joad

Best of luck tomorrow - give it socks!!

ECOLII

Best of luck tomorrow man. Nail it

TRR_the_turd

Don't fcuk it up good luck

blockic

Go get it!

Murph_D

All the best, P. You've got this.

yaboya1

My phone is sh*t and I haven't had any internet since yesterday on the laptop so I'll have to catch up with everyone else tomorrow.

Quick summary of today's race. The sub 29 was never on. I held pace for about 3/4 of a mile before I started slowing. Really ground it out after that and clung on for a sub 30 on the watch (29:55). A 3/4/5 second pb depending on official times and at least two seconds quicker than AMK last June :P.
Felt I paced it well (5:54, 5:54, 6:05, 5:57, 5:57), but I'm just not where I can be fitness wise at the moment. I'll definitely p*ss all over that time when I am. Great race as always even if the start is a bit narrow.

yaboya1

I ran this race in 2013, but had to miss it last year as it just didn't fit into my training with a marathon to run four weeks later. I was delighted to be lining up again yesterday.


Pre-Race

Training has been in and out lately. I've had a couple of solid weeks, some not so solid, promising results in my 2400m test in mid-December, but also a heavy Christmas in between along with a rough weekend last week. I didn't really know what to expect tbh, so I decided to aim high and shoot for sub 29.


The Race

Loads of familiar boards faces were present pre-race yesterday. Too many to mention in fact :pac:. Lined up at the start with FBOT01 & WithCheesePlease about 15-20 minutes early, bringing back fond memories of Berlin last September . Also met Wubble Wubble for the first time. After a bit of a build up from the commentators we were eventually under way just about on time.


Mile 1 (5:54)

As usual there were plenty who started in front of me who shouldn't have. I will never understand this mentality. Can't do anything for your confidence having people streaming by you from the start. I remember how I felt in Mile 23/24 in Seville when it was happening to me and it's not a good feeling. I decided not to look at the watch until I had some sort of control over what pace I could move at, rather than while I was being hindered by slower runners. One idiot in particular I felt should have been disqualified. Not only did he start too far up the field, but he had a massive pair of headphones on which seemed to make him completely oblivious to his surroundings. He drifted right as I passed him on All Saints Road almost putting a guy who was coming behind him on the other side straight into a parked car. Disgraceful & dangerous! Anyway, I remember passing FBOT01 along here hoping (but not entirely confident) that I wouldn't see him again until the finish. I glanced at the watch and saw 5:49 showing as my mile pace. Almost bang on. When we hit the slight uphill onto the Howth Road my pace dropped slightly but I was happy enough to see that mile out below six minutes.

Mile 2 (5:54)

More out in the open during this mile, the pace slowed to above six minutes and although I pushed on and overtook a few people, it was a fair effort just to get it back sub 6. I was really starting to struggle already and knew this was going to be a painful experience. Spotted Ferris B in the crowd and gave him a shout (Isn't it supposed the be the other way around? ) I managed to hold the same pace as the first mile, but it was much harder.

Mile 3 (6:05)

Aaaah! I'm dying out here. Got hit by a hidden headwind in this mile. Absolutely knocked the stuffing out of me. The watch was showing 6:28 pace at one stage, but I managed to haul it back considerably without quite getting to sub 6. I knew now that a sub 30/new PB would be a big ask, especially with that killer hill in the final mile. However I convinced myself that toughing out a such a time in my current state could do nothing but positive things for my mentality in future races. It couldn't be possible to be in this much pain again.

Mile 4 (5:57)

A very welcome downhill in this mile as we moved along Mount Prospect Avenue onto the coastline. I let the hill take me and my pace accelerated into the low 5:40's for a minute or two. I knew sub 29 was unachievable now, but the decline allowed me to relax slightly without slipping above sub 30 pace. I knew all too well I'd need any reserves I had left for the killer hill coming up at the start of mile 5.

Mile 5 (5:57)

The early part of this mile nearly finished me. I got a shout out from both Red Runner & Ferris B here, but I don't know if I even made eye contact (Sorry lads!) I certainly didn't respond verbally. I also heard Mr Stew roaring encouragement and think I saw menscemo jogging back down the hill to offer support too. As I got to the top of the hill the watch was reading 6:11 pace. I still had about 1km to go and I was almost dead on my feet. I felt if FBOT01 had come alongside me at that moment, I would have just let him go ahead without a fight. I was completely spent. 6:11 wasn't going to be good enough for a sub 30, but 30:xx was respectable right? I couldn't move any faster. But then we took the left turn and you could hear the commentators over the PA system. I started to smell the finish line. I miraculously began to speed up on what had been completely dead legs a few seconds earlier. One by one, I started to pick off anyone within a reasonable distance in front of me. As we moved up the road parallel with the finish line, but in the opposite direction I was in the clear of the mini group. I vowed not to let anyone pass me on the run in. However, a guy in a purple shirt had other ideas and pulled one of my own moves on me as we hit the final bend. He flew past me on the outside, took the inside line and was 6-7 yards ahead before I had any chance to respond. I chased him to the line, but I couldn't get him back. My focus on him had taken my mind of the unbelievable pain I'd been in two minutes earlier though, and I crossed the line arms aloft knowing I had gone sub 30.

Official Time: 29:51


Post-Race

FBOT01 was over the line almost directly behind me and although his watch read 30:00, we were confident he had broken the arbitrary barrier. Official times later confirmed this. I'm certain he'll smash the sub 3 barrier in the marathon next time out too. Met & chatted with another few boardsies before heading back home and devouring the monster goodie bag. Special mention to both Killerz & Dubgal72 who absolutely annihalated their pre-race targets. Super, super running.


Thoughts

Although I had set myself an original target of sub 29, I'm not downbeat at all about this result and actually really happy with my new PB. I feel when I get back into a consistent run of training that I can take a chunk of this time, possibly in Terenure where I normally run 4minute+ PB's .
In the meantime I have the Enniscorthy 10k on the 8th February, while if I'm feeling good during the week I may decide on a jaunt down to Trim next Sunday for their new 10 miler. Nothing like racing. Puts manners on you and finds you out for how good you are. I'll be back.

Calvin Johnson

Great effort - well done.

overpronator

Well done on the PB, might see you in Trim.

AuldManKing

great running - good to get a PB. Setting yourself up nicely for a good year.

Dubgal72

Great race report and didn't realise your 'disappointing' run was a PB. I'm putting away the violins and bringing out the pom poms See you in Enniscorthy!

Pacing Mule

Congrats on the PB and for toughing it out.

FBOT01

Great run and report as always........actually thought I might catch you in final run in but that guy in the purple was my obvious downfall. Your determination to try catch him meant your pace picked up big time and when I came around the last bend the gap had opened more than I could close.

Did you see your photo on Irish Runner FB page (attached)? You don't look under too much pressure. Is that the guy beside you in the purple T-shirt that passed you in the run in? He looks to be eyeing you up for size even then and that's almost 2 mile out.

BTW you are not kidding anyone. Everybody around here knows that there is no way you would have let me go if I had managed to catch you;)

yaboya1

FBOT01 wrote: »

Great run and report as always........actually thought I might catch you in final run in but that guy in the purple was my obvious downfall. Your determination to try catch him meant your pace picked up big time and when I came around the last bend the gap had opened more than I could close.

Did you see your photo on Irish Runner FB page (attached)? You don't look under too much pressure. Is that the guy beside you in the purple T-shirt that passed you in the run in? He looks to be eyeing you up for size even then and that's almost 2 mile out.

BTW you are not kidding anyone. Everybody around here knows that there is no way you would have let me go if I had managed to catch you;)

Haha :pac:
Looks can be deceiving. I was f*cked!
Yeah I think that's the same guy.

Ferris B

You looked comfortable both times I saw you. Well done on toughing it out when it maybe wasn't your day. You still secured the PB so kudos there.

That pic on fb is great. Looks like you're leading.

Netwerk Errer

Well done on the PB lad! Great start to the year.

Tom Joad

Well done on the PB - nice report too.

Terry049

Congrates on the PB Peter, another great race report!

KielyUnusual

Well done on the PB Peter. I think it would have been hard to expect that you would have done yourself justice yesterday with the nature of your training lately. I especially found in the few months after a marathon where I am largely doing easy miles that I can run at a good hard pace for a long time but if I try to do anything sharper, then I am out on my feet very quickly. Once you get down to doing some more specific, sharper stuff, I am sure that you will knock minutes off that time not a bother.

RedRunner

Well done P again. Good to chat afterwards. There's no doubt 2015 will bring you great rewards.

Murph_D

Smart running P, very well done. And what a pic!

Duanington

Just catching up here P - congrats on yet another PB, big year ahead for you I reckon

yaboya1

Finally got my Garmin data from Sunday's race uploaded: http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/684132742

yaboya1

Due to unavoidable circumstances (work, social gatherings, moving house), I haven't run since the race on Sunday and look unlikely to get anything done before this Friday. I'm thinking this may not be the worst thing though as I'll definitely be fully recovered from the Raheny effort when I do eventually get out.

At the moment I'm considering a Steady session on Friday with some easy miles on Saturday, followed by the Trim 10 Miler on Sunday. If I manage that, the week won't be a total disaster despite the low mileage.

Any thoughts?

annapr

yaboya1 wrote: »

Due to unavoidable circumstances (work, social gatherings, moving house), I haven't run since the race on Sunday and look unlikely to get anything done before this Friday. I'm thinking this may not be the worst thing though as I'll definitely be fully recovered from the Raheny effort when I do eventually get out.

At the moment I'm considering a Steady session on Friday with some easy miles on Saturday, followed by the Trim 10 Miler on Sunday. If I manage that, the week won't be a total disaster despite the low mileage.

Any thoughts?

Well done on Sunday, Peter and good luck with the move... I guess we won't get to ignore you as often on the seafront any more

yaboya1

annapr wrote: »

Well done on Sunday, Peter and good luck with the move... I guess we won't get to ignore you as often on the seafront any more

Thanks.
I might drop down the odd time if things get too friendly elsewhere :pac:

Dubgal72

yaboya1 wrote: »

At the moment I'm considering a Steady session on Friday with some easy miles on Saturday, followed by the Trim 10 Miler on Sunday. If I manage that, the week won't be a total disaster despite the low mileage.

Any thoughts?

Depends how fresh you want to be for Trim I suppose. How bout hill sprints or strides on Friday and an easy 10k on Saturday if you want to race hard. Better save yourself for Enniscorthy cos I'll be yapping at your heels *







*class example of a completely empty threat just thought Yaboya could do with a laugh

FBOT01

yaboya1 wrote: »

Due to unavoidable circumstances (work, social gatherings, moving house), I haven't run since the race on Sunday and look unlikely to get anything done before this Friday. I'm thinking this may not be the worst thing though as I'll definitely be fully recovered from the Raheny effort when I do eventually get out.

At the moment I'm considering a Steady session on Friday with some easy miles on Saturday, followed by the Trim 10 Miler on Sunday. If I manage that, the week won't be a total disaster despite the low mileage.

Any thoughts?

Presume you have considered the impact of another hard run on Sunday on next weeks training and how that fits with plan for Hamburg? Was Trim always in the plan?

yaboya1

FBOT01 wrote: »

Presume you have considered the impact of another hard run on Sunday on next weeks training and how that fits with plan for Hamburg? Was Trim always in the plan?

Hamburg is the main goal race for me at the moment, but I do like racing in general and find it difficult to stay focused on just one race a long way in the future. My thinking since December has been to follow the HADD plan, but make exceptions where necessary that allows me to race and set new pb's in Raheny (5m), Trim (10m), Enniscorthy (10k), Bohermeen (HM) and a 5k (possibly a parkrun) pre-Hamburg. Then I plan to pb in Hamburg and start off on a new mission of pb's from May onwards :cool:

As much as I like having a marathon to target, I find it much easier to get myself out doing the training when I have some intermediate targets too. Aside from that (touching wood), I think sometimes high mileage weeks and hard efforts see me produce my best race performances. Arguably my most impressive run of 2014 came in the Longford HM, where I finished really strongly having only run a big 5k pb the previous Saturday & a 6x1k VO2 Max session on the Tuesday as part of 69 miles in the preceding 8 days.

yaboya1

Anyway, since I can't get out running today I've tried to be constructive with my time by writing up a small preview on next week's race.
Enjoy!



Enniscorthy 10k


Yaboya1 (Scratch) – is hoping to run a pb and break 37 minutes for the first time. Last Sunday's 5 mile time suggests this should be possible, but burnout is possible with a 10 miler to come in Trim this weekend. Vulnerable.

Calvin Johnson (-3mins) – encountered some unexpected heart problems in Raheny causing a DNF, but had gone into that race in good form expecting to run a big pb. He’ll come here fresher than originally anticipated because of that, and with training going so well lately the arbitrary 40 minute time barrier may be under real threat.

Pacing Mule (-10mins) – Improved training has seen pb’s at all distances in the past 12 months, bar a hiccup in the DCM. This can probably be put down to illness quite close to the race, with an impressive run in Raheny last Sunday backing up that theory. Has publicly stated he’d be hoping to run 48:30-49:00 here, but something closer to 47:30 is definitely a big possibility in my opinion.

MKDTH (-20mins) – is like the human marmite of the A/R forum. Constantly creates debate and opinion with his crackpot theories and revolutionary training style. Ran a very nice pb in Fingal of 57:25 last July, but recent form suggests that won’t be threatened here. Maybe he’s been sandbagging in recent training/races in pursuit of a favourable handicap mark and some easy money from his rivals. We’ll find out soon enough.


A hard one to call. Opinions on this four way contest are likely to be divided right up until the results are in. Let’s hope nobody falls out over it :P

adrian522

Sounds interesting, I may have to make this trip myself.

yaboya1

adrian522 wrote: »

Sounds interesting, I may have to make this trip myself.

I'll have to add you to the preview......

adrian522

Eh, ok, I'll have a crack at sub 50 but not promising anything....pass the sand bags.

Pacing Mule

yaboya1 wrote: »

Anyway, since I can't get out running today I've tried to be constructive with my time by writing up a small preview on next week's race.
Enjoy!



Enniscorthy 10k


Yaboya1 (Scratch) – is hoping to run a pb and break 37 minutes for the first time. Last Sunday's 5 mile time suggests this should be possible, but burnout is possible with a 10 miler to come in Trim this weekend. Vulnerable.

Calvin Johnson (-3mins) – encountered some unexpected heart problems in Raheny causing a DNF, but had gone into that race in good form expecting to run a big pb. He’ll come here fresher than originally anticipated because of that, and with training going so well lately the arbitrary 40 minute time barrier may be under real threat.

Pacing Mule (-10mins) – Improved training has seen pb’s at all distances in the past 12 months, bar a hiccup in the DCM. This can probably be put down to illness quite close to the race, with an impressive run in Raheny last Sunday backing up that theory. Has publicly stated he’d be hoping to run 48:30-49:00 here, but something closer to 47:30 is definitely a big possibility in my opinion.

MKDTH (-20mins) – is like the human marmite of the A/R forum. Constantly creates debate and opinion with his crackpot theories and revolutionary training style. Ran a very nice pb in Fingal of 57:25 last July, but recent form suggests that won’t be threatened here. Maybe he’s been sandbagging in recent training/races in pursuit of a favourable handicap mark and some easy money from his rivals. We’ll find out soon enough.


A hard one to call. Opinions on this four way contest are likely to be divided right up until the results are in. Let’s hope nobody falls out over it :P

You'd know it was you setting the odds P. You think I could get closer to 47:30, McMillan says 48 for me. You're aiming sub 37 and you're still only giving me 10 minutes. Odds are stacked for you

yaboya1

Added adrian522........


Enniscorthy 10k


Yaboya1 (Scratch) – is hoping to run a pb and break 37 minutes for the first time. Last Sunday's 5 mile time suggests this should be possible, but burnout is possible with a 10 miler to come in Trim this weekend. Vulnerable.

Calvin Johnson (-3mins) – encountered some unexpected heart problems in Raheny causing a DNF, but had gone into that race in good form expecting to run a big pb. He’ll come here fresher than originally anticipated because of that, and with training going so well lately the arbitrary 40 minute time barrier may be under real threat.

adrian522 (-8mins) - may be a late supplementary entry to the race. Fortunately for him that's still only €10 :pac:. Ran a pb of 35:43 in Raheny which he celebrated by acting thoroughly disgusted. Is now claiming he'll be happy with a sub 50 here when in reality he should be aiming for sub 45, especially given (like Dubgal72) he's been using performance enhancing footwear lately.

Pacing Mule (-10mins) – Improved training has seen pb’s at all distances in the past 12 months, bar a hiccup in the DCM. This can probably be put down to illness quite close to the race, with an impressive run in Raheny last Sunday backing up that theory. Has publicly stated he’d be hoping to run 48:30-49:00 here, but something closer to 47:30 is definitely a big possibility in my opinion.

MKDTH (-20mins) – is like the human marmite of the A/R forum. Constantly creates debate and opinion with his crackpot theories and revolutionary training style. Ran a very nice pb in Fingal of 57:25 last July, but recent form suggests that won’t be threatened here. Maybe he’s been sandbagging in recent training/races in pursuit of a favourable handicap mark and some easy money from his rivals. We’ll find out soon enough.



A hard one to call. We've got the full package in this five way contest: Sandbaggers, idealists and bullsh*tters. I'll let you decide which is which. Let’s hope nobody falls out over it :P

Dubgal72

Haha the divil makes work for idle hands....I've got a house full of coughers and splutterers, what's your excuse?!