A Slow Journey to Faster Times

RedRunner

Well done today P.

Duanington

Good to see you today P - well done on a solid run, obviously not the time you wanted but I still say it was never going to happen at the end of one of your recent weeks. You're going very well at the moment, keep it up and hopefully see you again before you head to Boston... for the actual big one

yaboya1

Sunday 31st January - Raheny 5 Mile
5m @ 6:01p/m average (30:16)

Garmin trace for today's race: https://connect.garmin.com/activity/1034938585

Solid enough pacing & HR throughout.
Looks like I really didn't want that Crusader going by in the straight (3:52min/mile pace :pac:).
Was trying to watch my finish line video, but it seems to freeze after the winner goes over the line.

I'll do up a report if I get time during the week.

FBOT01

Duanington wrote: »

Good to see you today P - well done on a solid run, obviously not the time you wanted but I still say it was never going to happen at the end of one of your recent weeks. You're going very well at the moment, keep it up and hopefully see you again before you head to Boston... for the actual big one

+1 on all fronts here. Catch up soon.

yaboya1

Sunday 31st January
Raheny 5 Mile Report (30:16)


Pre-Race

This wasn't a goal race for me, but with 12 weeks of solid training since my disgraceful performance in New York I was expecting a decent run. I knew a pb or sub 30 would be difficult (especially gauging off last week's parkrun), but I thought I might give it a go. The sub 29 FBOT01 suggested I'd need to beat Duanington was never a reality and I knew if he ran anything near that I'd no chance. I thought the best I could hope for in my current condition was around 29:30-40.

I collected my number pretty early before going back to the Red Stables (where I'd parked) to get changed, pin my number etc. I sauntered up to the start about 15 minutes early and found a position pretty close to the front. Met TAFKAM and FBOT01 shortly before we got under way. FBOT01 admitted he'd be gunning for a pb, contrary to his sandbagging talk on here lately. We spotted Dunanington a few rows back and gave him a wave. After a beautifully observed minutes silence for a couple of runners who'd passed recently, we were off.


The Race

Mile 1

Even though I'd positioned myself relatively close to the front runners in this race, I still found myself behind people I reckon weren't going to break 40-45 minutes. I will never understand why people running those times put themselves in that position. The usual suspects were there of course along with a few more unexpected culprits (TAFKAM wasn't happy about it). Anyway I managed to avoid most of them by taking a wide course early, which I felt was worth it rather than zig-zagging and having my stride constantly interrupted. After half a mile I was happy with my position and noticed FBOT01 running right alongside me on my left. I said nothing, not wanting to waste an ounce of energy. Through Mile 1 in almost six minutes flat.

Mile 2

After we took the turn onto the Howth Road, I decided to tuck in on the left behind some other runners for cover. Turned out to be a poor decision. The lads I was tracking were struggling with the pace and started to slow. I was now caught in a pocket with the path on my left and runners in front and to my right. FBOT01 started to move a few yards ahead, while it was here the tall frame of Dunanington moved by me on the outside, I immediately slowed to get out of the spot I was trapped in and moved into D's slipstream hoping he could tow me along for a bit. I heard the lads exchange pleasantries as D mentioned in his own report. I was that close, but neither (especially D) seemed to realise it. An unexpected obstacle came next, with the tape attached to a fallen cone acting like a tripwire, I hurdled it like a pro. Don't think anyone got a photo of that :pac:
Then we had a dog running alongside us on the main road. I thought it was only a matter of time before he darted left into the crowd and caused a pile up, but thankfully it never happened. We turned onto Sybil Hill Road where a marshal seemed to be directing us to use the path. Everyone bar FBOT01 followed his instructions. Was he handicapping himself or were we cheating? I'm still not sure. Soon after we passed the 2m pole just under 12 minutes. Still on target after a tough mile.

Mile 3

This is a fast mile. Probably the one you need to be banking time on to make up for the few seconds you're bound to lose on the long out & back in Mile 4. Everyone in my group seemed to concur with this and the pace picked up. I couldn't go with them though. I watched FBOT01 & Duanington gradually move away from me. It would have left me completely empty for the second half of the race if I accelerated and I wasn't exactly comfortable as it was. Slowly they moved out of sight. That demoralised me a little bit, but I got a few seconds back on the downhill before the entrance to St Anne's and the watch was almost 18 minutes dead through three miles.

Mile 4

This mile nearly killed me. The punishing out & back up the avenue was really horrible. Wind against all the way up with runners streaming by on the other side in the opposite direction. Even though I saw it, I was so knackered I can't remember if it was a bike or a car that led Mick Clohisey as he cruised past on his way to victory. Really hurting here and a glance at the watch to show 6:18 pace just made me feel worse. I knew I'd get a few seconds back when we turned, but I hadn't got anything to spare as it was and was really up against it now. Saw RedRunner on the turn (don't think he recognised me) and did my best to keep pushing. Eventually passed the 4 mile mark with a split of 6:09.

Mile 5

Needed something like a 5:40 to get under the 30 minute mark now. To say that was unlikely was being optimistic. I'd just busted a gut to run 6:09. As we moved towards the park's exit I saw FBOT01 ahead for the first time in more than two miles. Before I could hatch a plan to catch and overtake him, he was gone again. I think he was teasing me. Having run as fast as I felt I could manage, I looked at the watch as we turned left with half a mile to go. 6:08 pace. It's going to be between 30-31. No point in pushing much harder. What's the difference. But then as we did the little loop of the park I saw a few people jumping up onto the path and cutting the corners. This really pi**ed me off and I made it my business to pass those runners and everyone else within ten yards of me. Overtook quite a few taking the wide course on the road (in comparison to some) around into the finishing straight. Half eased up after we turned the last corner until I sensed a presence on my right. I wasn't letting anyone else by. 100m to the finish, leave it all out there. I dropped the hammer as a Crusader vest drew alongside me. It was a fair battle for a while before I eventually managed to get a few yards on him. Crossed the line absolutely shattered. Last mile clicked at 5:58. Eight odd seconds for the bit the Garmin measured long.


Post-Race

Caught sight of the lads beyond the finish and congratulated them on two super runs. I found that race really difficult and they annihilated me. A lot of good results to come for both in the rest of 2016 if yesterday is anything to go by. Headed out for a cool down jog with FBOT01 trying to spot some more people before heading off with my goody bag to get out of the cold and eat some well earned? chicken wings.


Verdict

As anyone else who ran yesterday or in the past has said, this is a fantastic race. Bit narrow in some places, but that's the only quibble and I'm not sure they can do anything about that.


Thoughts

Like last week's parkrun, I was initially a bit disappointed but I suppose it wasn't a bad run and it is actually a better performance than the 5k mentioned. Hopefully I'll continue to make progress as I work towards my main goal for the year.

Murph_D

Nice one, P. Considering you don't seem to have interrupted the marathon schedule in any more than a very minor way to fit this in, I don't think you've anything to be disappointed about.

yaboya1

Murph_D wrote: »

Nice one, P. Considering you don't seem to have interrupted the marathon schedule in any more than a very minor way to fit this in, I don't think you've anything to be disappointed about.

Apart from finishing third of three of course...... :pac:

Firedance

yaboya1 wrote: »

Apart from finishing third of three of course...... :pac:

according to M he wasn't involved, so you were second! (of two.... )

Murph_D

Plus M took the week off to make sure he was fresh as a daisy to not race you.

Mrs Mc

Great report P well done you'll get em next time

Gavlor

You 3 goons should try and get a pacing gig for dcm and see which one (or two!) arse it up!!

Although you'll struggle to find two as a bad as the clowns I paced with

annapr

Gavlor wrote: »

You 3 goons should try and get a pacing gig for dcm and see which one (or two!) arse it up!!

Although you'll struggle to find two as a bad as the clowns I paced with

Ah the good ol' 3:40 smackdown, I'm coming over all nostalgic. Not a good memory for TAFKAM (:))from what I recall.

Great report P, at least you got a few good pics to go with it too!

tang1

Very quiet here, how's Enniscorthy prep going?

yaboya1

Quick update.....

Week after Raheny (Feb 1st - Feb 7th)

Was hoping for a good solid week ahead of my holidays, but it never materialised due to a niggle in my left achilles. Exact same spot I had trouble with in 2013, so terrified of a repeat I backed off doing very few miles with anything I did at very easy pace. I figure a week off is better than nine. After seeking advice from a few more knowledgeable than myself, it was pleasing that they agreed.

(Feb 8th - Feb 14th)

Spent the guts of two days travelling, before arriving in Perth where it was 40+C. Not ideal running weather, but I tested the water with a couple of short watchless runs on the first two evenings. With no complaints from the Achilles, I got up for a 7am run on my final day there. Even at that hour I struggled to keep the HR below 140bpm at 8:24min/mile pace. Not something I'm going to complain about

An overnight flight to Melbourne meant another night without sleep. I arrived at my hotel at 7:55am unable to check into the room until the afternoon. I contemplated giving the nearby Albert Park parkrun a bash, but they start at 8am over here, meaning I'd have never made it. Probably just as well as it's likely I'd have collapsed with exhaustion having gone 30 hours without sleep :P.
Stayed up until the early hours to watch the rugby, meaning a planned dawn run didn't happen until 11am. Not a good idea! 8:24min/mile again, but this time 143bpm average :eek:

(Feb 15th)

Finally hauled my arse out of bed early enough for a run of some quality. Not quite ready for a 5-4-3-2-1 MP session, so I went for a 3-2-1 instead. 1m w/u (3-2-1 MP with 1m easy in between) 1m c/d. Out at 6:40am for this and got it completed coming up to 7:50 (still almost 20C). Happy enough with the results, but it's laughable delusional optimistic to think this could be my MP in Boston considering the effort it took. I'l reassess closer to the race. Easy running until the weekend. Might give a Sydney parkrun a go on Saturday if I feel up to it.

1m w/u: 7:33

3@MP: 6:27, 6:26, 6:27
1m easy: 8:07
2m@MP: 6:27, 6:28
1m easy: 8:26
1m@MP: 6:28

1m c/d: 8:15

yaboya1

tang1 wrote: »

Very quiet here, how's Enniscorthy prep going?

Not very well :pac:

(I was never running Enniscorthy?)

tang1

yaboya1 wrote: »

Not very well :pac:

(I was never running Enniscorthy?)

I got logs mixed up, my bad!

FBOT01

tang1 wrote: »

I got logs mixed up, my bad!

Be careful with that........could be painful depending on what you are doing at the time!

yaboya1

Tuesday 16th February - 90 minutes Easy
90 minutes @ 120bpm

Ran south from the city for 8 miles, before turning around and heading back to St. Kilda where I'm staying. Cooler than it has been today and extremely windy, especially along the coast where I was running. Wind against on the way out and behind for the last two. Got a nice photo of the Melbourne skyline on the way back (attached). Flying again tomorrow, so will probably take a rest day. Don't know how TbL fits in 52m weeks with that lifestyle, never mind 91! :O

Mrs Mc

yaboya1 wrote: »

Tuesday 16th February - 90 minutes Easy
90 minutes @ 120bpm

Ran south from the city for 8 miles, before turning around and heading back to St. Kilda where I'm staying. Cooler than it has been today and extremely windy, especially along the coast where I was running. Wind against on the way out and behind for the last two. Got a nice photo of the Melbourne skyline on the way back (attached). Flying again tomorrow, so will probably take a rest day. Don't know how TbL fits in 52m weeks with that lifestyle, never mind 91! :O

Looks just like Clontarf coast !!! Hope you're enjoying hols too

yaboya1

Update.....

Another poor week of training here. My accommodation in Sydney has woeful air conditioning which has badly affected my sleep. Hasn't affected my holiday much, but means I've struggled to get up early enough for a run as I've been so knackered. Did get out for an hour at 7am this morning, but couldn't do anything other than an easy run as it was incredibly hot & sticky even at that hour. Had great intentions of making my Australian parkrun debut last Saturday, but that never happened either. I've enjoyed my time here otherwise though. Few sightseeing photos attached (including a Japanese woman with an unconventional way of transporting her child)

Onto Dubai tonight (14.5 hour flight :O ) for water parks and horse racing (not sure what running I'll fit in there either) then home on Friday. Might make an appearance at St Anne's on Saturday if I can wake up in time :P

Mrs Mc

Pics look great P - not sure she'd get that case through customs !!!

aero2k

Mrs Mc wrote: »

Pics look great P - not sure she'd get that case through customs !!!

Might be a bit of a squeeze in the overhead locker too:D.

Stop trying to annoy us all with pics - we prefer the cold wet and windy weather!

Firedance

aero2k wrote: »

Might be a bit of a squeeze in the overhead locker too:D.

Stop trying to annoy us all with pics - we prefer the cold wet and windy weather!

speak for yourself!!

never mind the running P, look at that beach #seriousenvy

enjoy Dubai!

yaboya1

On board WiFi here.
Don't know myself!

Firedance wrote: »

speak for yourself!!

never mind the running P, look at that beach #seriousenvy

enjoy Dubai!

Thanks!
The busy one is Bondi. The other one is where they film the soap 'Home & Away'. A place called Palm Beach about 25m north of Sydney. Beautiful spot.

aquinn

yaboya1 wrote: »

On board WiFi here.
Don't know myself!

Whatever, you can do that on Dublin bus :P

Happy holidays.

Missed my chance for an Australian Starbucks mug I see.

Chivito550

Did you go for a run around 'The Tan' when you were in Melbourne?

yaboya1

aquinn wrote: »

Whatever, you can do that on Dublin bus :P

Happy holidays.

Missed my chance for an Australian Starbucks mug I see.

Never works for me on Dublin Bus. The bus also never comes on time, so a double kick in the balls

Yeah, too late. You'll have to head over yourself

yaboya1

Chivito550 wrote: »

Did you go for a run around 'The Tan' when you were in Melbourne?

I'm not familiar with 'The Tan'. Mustn't have stayed there long enough to be educated on that one. What and whereabouts is it? 'The G' is about the extent of my Melbourne local slang.

yaboya1

Wednesday 24th February - 60 minutes Easy
60 minutes @ 142bpm

It is Wednesday right? My body clock is all over the place. Slept a total of 18 hours yesterday with just a short break for some food in between. Did get out for an hour this morning though. Fine to start with, but really started to heat up as I went along. My plan to run down the beach was scuppered as it was closed. Boarded up with cranes behind the wooden perimeter. No idea what they're doing. Seems to be building sites everywhere over here. Constant improvements going on. In saying that, it does seem a bit fake/plastic as some parts are really barren & undeveloped, full of wasteland and derelict buildings. Don't really know what to make of it. Photos below of some impressive skyscrapers and an air conditioned bus stop. You'd never guess the areas in between resemble some sort of no mans land.

Chivito550

yaboya1 wrote: »

I'm not familiar with 'The Tan'. Mustn't have stayed there long enough to be educated on that one. What and whereabouts is it? 'The G' is about the extent of my Melbourne local slang.

Ah you should have told me you were going to Melbourne. It's not slang. The tan is a 3.8km loop around the Royal Botanical Gardens. It's the most popular running trail in Melbourne, so much so that people have a "Tan PB", and there is a list of the fastest times ever recorded on it. Craig Mottram holds the record. Each year there is a big club event called the Tan Relays. It's a real mainstream spot though with runners of all abilities on it throughout the day. It's even floodlit at night. You could even see some top sportspeople training on it if you're lucky. A lot of AFL players use it in preseason, and most distance runners do. My friend spotted David Rudisha on it once, along with the lead singer from The Prodigy going for a slightly less intimidating jog.

yaboya1

Chivito550 wrote: »

Ah you should have told me you were going to Melbourne. It's not slang. The tan is a 3.8km loop around the Royal Botanical Gardens. It's the most popular running trail in Melbourne, so much so that people have a "Tan PB", and there is a list of the fastest times ever recorded on it. Craig Mottram holds the record. Each year there is a big club event called the Tan Relays. It's a real mainstream spot though with runners of all abilities on it throughout the day. It's even floodlit at night. You could even see some top sportspeople training on it if you're lucky. A lot of AFL players use it in preseason, and most distance runners do. My friend spotted David Rudisha on it once, along with the lead singer from The Prodigy going for a slightly less intimidating jog.

Maybe I'll be back to rectify that someday then
Loved Australia. Such a great place. Why did you leave?

Chivito550

yaboya1 wrote: »

Maybe I'll be back to rectify that someday then
Loved Australia. Such a great place. Why did you leave?

It's a long long story which I don't want to get into. The very short version is that it is awfully far from home and family.

yaboya1

Chivito550 wrote: »

It's a long long story which I don't want to get into. The very short version is that it is awfully far from home and family.

Understandable. I have family who don't live there for the same reason, but would otherwise.

yaboya1

Thursday 25th February - 60 minutes Easy
60 minutes @ 146bpm

Two hours later getting out today due to a lie in, after an exhausting but hugely enjoyable day spent at the Atlantis Palm Aquaventure park yesterday. Found it impossible to keep the HR down in the conditions. Headed out towards the Burj Khalifa and back. Last night of the holidays tonight. Heading to Meydan for the racing carnival, which I'm really looking forward to .

yaboya1

Saturday 27th February - St Anne's parkrun (18:27)

Solid enough run considering the prep. Doesn't look like I've lost much fitness in the last month. Hopefully I can improve it a fair bit over the next seven weeks.

yaboya1

Sunday 28th February - 20m (with 12m @ MP)

Joined the DNS crew in the PP this morning for this one. Two mile solo warm up, a further five with the whole crew (FBOT01, Ferris B & Murph_D), before myself and M kicked on for the 12 MP miles. Target was 6:45 for those. One mile cool down to finish before a summary with the gang over a coffee. Very happy with that, especially considering the rolling course. I was drunk towards the end, but hung onto M's coat tails to come in just about on target.

7m w/u: 8:14p/m average

12m @ MP: 6:46 p/m average

1m c/d: 8:11

tang1

Your visit to the Tang Palace didn't affect you adversely anyway, nice run to have in the bag P.

yaboya1

Monday 29th February - Rest

No excuse not to run on what's going to be a rare day off in the coming weeks. I could say I was being sensible, but the truth is it was probably just plain lazy!

Tuesday 1st March - 60 minutes Easy
60 minutes @ 131bpm

Ran home from work. The body is still feeling pretty lethargic. Probably due to the tough weekend and the last of the jet lag. I won't worry too much about it.

Wednesday 2nd March - 70 minutes Easy
70 minutes @ 124bpm

Was awakened by the howling wind hammering against the window before my alarm went off this morning. Really icy, biting breeze when I got into it. By the time I had finished though, it had developed into a beautiful morning.

Duanington

yaboya1 wrote: »

By the time I had finished though, it had developed into a beautiful morning.

Jaysus , I was going to complain in my log about how horrific the run in ice cold howling gale was this morning ( in the office for 9) .....I'll change that to how much I enjoyed the easy miles on this beautiful morning, thanks P

Firedance

Duanington wrote: »

Jaysus , I was going to complain in my log about how horrific the run in ice cold howling gale was this morning ( in the office for 9) .....I'll change that to how much I enjoyed the easy miles on this beautiful morning, thanks P

+ 1 to that, could have been much worse than it was

FBOT01

Duanington wrote: »

Jaysus , I was going to complain in my log about how horrific the run in ice cold howling gale was this morning ( in the office for 9) .....I'll change that to how much I enjoyed the easy miles on this beautiful morning, thanks P

He was running with the wind while you were against it, D so it'd say both descriptions are probably accurate

yaboya1

Thursday 3rd March - Race Tune-Up

1-mile warmup, 2-3 miles @ goal 10m race pace, 1 mile easy, 5 x 1:00 “on”/1:00 “off” @ 10K race pace, 1-mile cooldown

I decided to try the above workout which I've used before in the week of a 10m/HM race. Since it's a ten miler on Sunday and we've only around 72 hours until I'm on the start line, I went with the two miles instead of three at goal race pace. Target for those was around 6:10, with sub 6 pace the goal for the one minute 10k sections.

1m wu - 8:10 approx
RP 1 & 2 - 6:10 approx
1m easy - 8:10 approx

5 x 1min @ 10k pace

1 - 5:37
2 - 5:50
3 - 5:51
4 - 5:51
5 - 5:55

1m c/d - 8:51

Messed this up in a few ways. Because it's almost two separate workouts, I couldn't set it up in one on the Garmin. So rather than do the first four and set another one up mid-session, I used the w/u, race pace & easy mile as my warm up, with the one minute 5k sections as the main interval session. Shouldn't matter too much, but just means I don't have exact mile splits for those and it probably resulted in me running too fast in stages. I struggled during the RP miles, but found the one minute segments relatively easy. Turns out that was because I covered a mile in there somewhere at 5:48 :P

No idea what to expect on Sunday.

tang1

Best of luck Sunday P, I'm sure you'll run a great race. Don't let FBOT beat you again!!

adrian522

Nice Session. I'm in 2 minds on what to do for the rest of the week. I might try do 2-3 race pace miles this evening with the club, and add in a warmup/cool down and leave it at that.

Is this Ballycotton you are running?

yaboya1

adrian522 wrote: »

Nice Session. I'm in 2 minds on what to do for the rest of the week. I might try do 2-3 race pace miles this evening with the club, and add in a warmup/cool down and leave it at that.

There's some way more knowledgeable than me on here, but I wouldn't do more than 2 @ race pace tonight if I was you. I'm actually a day later doing that session than I originally intended, hence why I left it at the two miles myself. Easy miles with strides might even be better at this stage?

adrian522 wrote: »

Is this Ballycotton you are running?

Yes. See you there?

adrian522

Cool, I'll see what the others in the club who are racing are doing. The session is a 2 mile loop @ Tempo but really you can run it any pace you want. I may just go easy/steady as you say.

Yeah, I'll be there too. First race since June!

yaboya1

Friday 4th March - 90 minutes Easy
90 minutes @ 126bpm

Extended the easy run home from work. Very cold out, but definitely glad I did it this evening rather than this morning. Rest day tomorrow ahead of Sunday's race.

Mrs Mc

Best of luck Sunday P see ya down there.

Kennyg71

Best Luck Sunday P, have a good one:)

Firedance

Revenge is a dish best served in Ballycotton...... go get him P!!