Making every mile count

El Caballo

All the best DR, have a good one.

wowzer

Excellent running, smashing time.

FBOT01

Great run today. Very strong finish and nice negative split too. Enjoy the rest of the trip.

paddybarry

Well done DR,
Delighted to see you receive the sort of dividend your training and talent deserves. Time to kick on from here.
PB.

Dubgal72

Great result today, well done!

AuldManKing

that's an amazing result - a 10 min improvement in 2 years at that high level is fantastic - but I bet you'll mention those 57 seconds.

dublin runner

A big thank you to all.

Usually Alan you'd be correct but not on this occasion! I'm extremely happy. Can I run faster? I think so for sure but I don't care one bit (very unusual for me!). Rotterdam was all about performance, not time. If I ran 2.45 so be it, as long as I could look myself in the mirror and be happy.

It's now time to kick on after some rest. The marathon is ticked off and a large chip removed off my shoulder (DCM '14 - boy that hurt).

I have the love back for the distance.

Now where's that beer??!

yaboya1

Super performance and a nice way to banish any demons from Dublin '14.

Well done.

dublin runner

yaboya1 wrote:

Super performance and a nice way to banish any demons from Dublin '14.

Well done.[/quote]

Exactly. Mind yourself this week and you'll have a great day on Boston. Good Irish crew going over. One to do in in a few years for sure.

davedanon

Well done, anto. Super performance, and less than a minute to knock off to go under-sub 2.40 next time out. Nice one.

dublin runner

davedanon wrote:

Well done, anto. Super performance, and less than a minute to knock off to go under-sub 2.40 next time out. Nice one.

Ah cheers. Fook that! Sub under 2.30 next time! Set your goals high haha

Chivito550

Superb performance. No nonsense, no drama, no big talk. Just action and results. Great stuff. Congrats.

dublin runner

Chivito550 wrote:

Superb performance. No nonsense, no drama, no big talk. Just action and results. Great stuff. Congrats.

Thanks. Loads of drama. Not as good as Fair City but I try!

Murph_D

dublin runner wrote: »

Thanks. Loads of drama. Not as good as Fair City but I try!

Hope you got out of Carrigstown faster than Brush Shiels.

Great stuff in Rotterdam, kudos.

dublin runner

The dust has finally settled after the weekend. Nine and a half hours of teaching yesterday brought me back to reality after what was a great weekend. The legs remain somewhat stiff but otherwise in good condition. Most of Sunday and Monday was set aside to ruthlessly sabotage the hard work of the last few months as quickly as possible! Some good food, much bad food and many drinks (including the Executive Lounge in Schipol - I am classy like that) was had. A fitting reward.

---

Friday 8/4

3 Miles Easy @8.00p/m (treadmill)



Saturday 9/4

2 Miles Easy @7.20p/m in 14:40

---

The boring bit. A bit of background......:)


Spring marks my fourth year in the sport, progressing from a novice marathon runner in DCM '12 to Rotterdam just gone. Rotterdam holds many fond memories, dating back to my 2.50 time set in 2014. On that day almost everything went to plan and I enjoyed every moment. From that, I believed the sky was the limit and anything or any time, was possible, given I continued my good work ethic. DCM later that year stopped me dead in my tracks and set me back considerably. The time of 2.52 really hurt and probably effected me more than I realised at the time. I truly never wanted to run the distance again. The 26.2 miles chewed me up and spat me out. I continued though to train well but unfocused. I quickly became a good trainer, bad racer.

It would be fair to say that everyone I respected in the running community advised against running a spring marathon. Sure I knew that myself! The best option? Without doubt it was to return to 3k/5k training, work on my speed before targeting an autumn marathon. I thought long and hard about it, swinging like a politician in the wind! One tipsy late night I finally clicked the 'confirm' button. No going back now. I honestly needed to unburden myself and return to the marathon. It weighed that heavily. At times I am my own worst enemy, very defeatist and lacking any real racing confidence.

I decided to shorten the number of marathon specific training weeks, choosing to train at 3/5k pace up until the the last 8 weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed the Magness 5k training before so I jumped in the 'Competition Period' for the last two months as I had a solid endurance base to work with. I did amend the plan, factoring in a few key races. I just needed to race, especially in the 8 to 4 week period before race day.


I decided on three main races: Raheny 5 Mile, Trim 10 Mile, Bohermeen Half Marathon


Raheny -31/1 (28:03) was a chance to get back in the saddle and to get back racing. I ran a poor time but it served a very useful purpose. Trim -7/2 (57:09) the following week saw the benefits and indicated things were beginning to click. It was a very controlled effort on a very windy day and a time of 56:3x was there. I focused on a good performance rather than time. Bohermeen -13/3 (1.15:27) was a tough day at the office. In retrospect the heavy training proved telling but I toughed it out on a challenging day in rural Meath. I guess you shouldn't be in good half shape when marathon training anyway!

I used the Arklow 10k -19/3 (well, 6 miles @5.37p/m) as a tempo effort and the Edenderry 10 Mile -28/3 as an MP run 13 days days before. In Arklow I was on course for a 34:4x time on a bruiser of a course. The tempo effort (a true tempo effort) pointed towards a big jump in development. It was a solo run, finishing the last few miles at 5.1x pace. Training-wise I ticked off many long runs (up to 24 miles), peaking at 3x(5 miles @MP, 800m Steady) and some 100+ mile weeks. Crucially, I hit each and every session. I ran as much as I could but focused on the sessions. I slowed down my easy runs and never once concentrated on counting miles.

Confidence was high heading into taper. There was to be no sharpening race. I now do not see the need to run a 5/10k race all out. Confidence though can be a very fickle thing, particularly in my case. It quickly evaporated after Edenderry. Here I was now left without the security that training provides. The first week of taper was a 70 mile week. I deliberately kept up the miles (muscle tensioning etc.) like never before. I had to fight hard not to slash and burn the time on feet! With each passing day of the 13 day taper the legs improved. In Taper Week One I ran in total 23 miles at marathon pace. Magness manages to make these sessions feel specific, rather than a session to dread. He cements the idea the MP is not fast running. It should feel controlled and a pace that should not daunt.

The week before the only issue was a sore calf whilst walking. This was enough to worry and question myself. It still remained an issue on Friday on the fight over. I soon settled into my uber-cheap hotel for the night. For 39 euro it proved a right bargain but I was looking forward to some company the next day and a serious upgrade in accommodation. It did not disappoint. Urban Residences proved the perfect base for the race. The studio had panoramic views over the city, a kitchen and very importantly, a mere 300m from the start/finish. No excuses.

El Caballo

Very well done man! Cracking time and run and well deserved:)

dublin runner

Sunday 10/4


Rotterdam Marathon 2016

Time: 2.40:58


Admission 1: They say never do anything new on marathon day. Well, not one for the warm-ups normally, I decided to get out for a 8 minute jog at 8.50am to waken the legs. This worked a treat and set me up nicely, releasing many of the pre-race nerves.

Admission 2: I left the studio at 9.50am. Luckily I was so close to the startline that I was 5 minutes early (after once again vaulting the fence - a well practiced art at this stage).


With that off my chest........:rolleyes:


The now well rehearsed breakfast of homemade porridge bread, weetabix and dioralyte was horsed into me at 7am. I headed straight back to bed before the warm-up jog. I avoided a disaster when the coffee machine decided to act up. I managed to down an espresso at 9.40am before heading off to the pen.

The start was congested and slow. This was perfect as I wanted to go out super easy and run myself into the race (6.19 mile). The road soon opened up after negotiating the climb over the bridge. Here I settled into my stride and felt good. I wanted to hold a 6.10 average for the first 10 miles. Some say the marathon starts at mile 20. In my humble opinion that is pure garbage. The race starts as soon as you cross the timing mat. In my opinion, most people who fall apart late on in the race is down to to their opening miles. The average pace soon settled at 6.09p/m. Perfect. Somewhere near the 5km mark I was briefly joined by Eddie N. It was great to see a familiar face and share a few words. I passed the 5km mat, acutely aware of all the people tracking my progress!

The concentration levels were high and I remember very little of the next section. The weather, although windy and sunny, was ideal. The first gel was consumed at 8km as planned. Here is the part of the marathon you set your stall out on, do nothing rash and run smartly. The focus here should be getting to halfway in a good place and put yourself in a positive place for the 2nd half. Halfway came and went and things were going ticking along nicely. The regime of gel, diorlyte, sponge over the head and a sip of water was in full swing! The on course support was immense. I really cannot speak highly enough of the locals and the healthy sprinkling of Irish dotted along the course.


Welcome Anthony to no man's land........

Miles 13-20: DO NOTHING CRAZY!


The key focus here was to hold it steady and out yourself in position for the last 10km. In golf they call Saturday 'moving day'. I can think of no better analogy. The rise and fall over the bridge was once again completed. The on course support again, incredible. I was looking forward to seeing the OH in her usual spot around the 29km mark. She had me my decaffeinated, dioralyte spiked water and gel. Unusually I gave her a big thumbs up and a smile (normally I am a right grouch!). I really respect anyone who does this for runners. It's a pressure gig that makes a huge difference.

Here began the mental battle. I had a choice with 12km to go. Push on, hold on or just run to finish in a respectful time. I did none of these (well at least for the next few km). I lacked the true confidence needed to push on and back myself. I guess I was worried of cramp or f!cking things up. I was running so strong but the inner demons shouted at me that trouble was ahead if the pace and effort was upped. I took a toilet break here. I really needed to go from mile 8 but pushed it as far as I could (much to the amusement of the people tracking me!). Jumping out of the portaloo I passed my teammate for the second time. He must have wondered what the hell I was doing! In fact I was never once passed in the last 13 miles of the race.

I reached the park in good nick. This section of road is incredibly fast if in a good place but on the other hand, a really struggle if in a bad place as you know you have to loop around before heading back into the city for the finish. Now I was passing people with increasing frequency but still I thought about falling apart/cramp/being sh!t. Sure I was working but everyone around me was dying a death. I was going well, 35km in. Push on? Still I held back. Mistake.

I was surprised to see Mick S. approaching the 39km mark. I honestly do not take any joy in passing out people I know. Ideally he would have kept with me/beaten me and ran the time he is so capable of. I broke the race into 2km easily digested sections from 36km on. Reaching each little landmark provided a great boost. Only at 38km did I throw a small bit of caution to the wind and actually start running. Too late but better late than never I guess. Now I began flying by people (including a Trim athlete). What was I on for? 2.42? Push Anthony, push.

I finally began to properly run and competing. Yeah I was tired but nowhere near the red line. The average pace was dropping.....6.09......6.08......6.07. I turned into the incredible home-straight. I must have passed a dozen people in the last 400m alone. What a feeling. 2.40:58. In many ways, my best run yet. Finishing the marathon so strongly made me so proud. It's very rare for me to have the feeling so I fully embraced it!

I could have gone faster if I believed, no doubt in my mind. Does that bother me? Honestly not one bit. 2.38/2.39? Perhaps, who knows. I really do not care. Those times will come but for today at least, I would not have changed a thing. Between the start and the toilet break I lost 50/60 seconds. Again, that does not really concern me. I enjoyed every stride and every heartbeat. I am back in love with the distance and very little else matters.


A huge thank you for all the support. It was great to see so many positive performances and share a few stories and drinks.

What next? I am not too sure. What I do know is that I have given myself the platform to push on and achieve the times and results I know I can.

Days like Sunday makes all the early morning jogs, all the rain soaked long runs, the agony of messing up a race, every missed night out on the lash and punshing sessions all worth it. Don't worry, I am making up for lost time now .


Splits: http://www.nnmarathonrotterdam.org/report-2016/race-results/ (spot the toilet break! )

Last 4+ Miles: 6.08, 6.04 5.45, 5.42, 5.21 (last bit)

tang1

I didn't think I could have found a happier man than myself Sunday evening in Murphy's, but in fairness you trumped me. Well done on a superb performance again.

Dubgal72

Great report, great race, congratulations DR. :cool:

yaboya1

Great performance and report.

Is this the first time you've actually been satisfied with a race result?

adrian522

Congratulations, great race report.

Do you think all that dioralyte is necessary? What was the weather like on the day?

Duanington

Great stuff DR - congratulations and well done, enjoyed reading that report. There aren't too many around that finish marathons so strongly!

dublin runner

Thanks all!

adrian522 wrote: »

Congratulations, great race report.

Do you think all that dioralyte is necessary? What was the weather like on the day?

Good question.

What's the most vile word in the English language? It begins with the letter 'C'. That's right, cramp :pac:. I have cramped twice in my life and I will do pretty much anything for it to never happen again. I put this down to sodium levels. Now, I am far from an expert in this so if anyone wants to jump in do so. I am convinced at this stage that I have a generally low sodium level or even more likely, have a high concentration of sodium in my sweat. After finishing I the salt deposits were noticeable on the skin (not as bad as 2014), despite it never getting too warm. I should possibly add that I am very conscious not to over hydrate as I have a tendency to do so.

Everyone is different in that respect so it's all about balance. It works for me as long as I am very disciplined. Trial and error in many ways. The only problem with the sachets of dioralyte is that your hotel room could be covered in a suspicious white powder so be careful!!

I will get my levels checked before the next marathon (I only use dioralyte for marathons).

yaboya1 wrote: »

Great performance and report.

Is this the first time you've actually been satisfied with a race result?

Haha.....I am not that bad, am I? Safe flying over the pond.

Duanington wrote: »

Great stuff DR - congratulations and well done, enjoyed reading that report. There aren't too many around that finish marathons so strongly!

Thanks. I guess that goes back to the idea of running within yourself for the opening miles. I may take that approach going into the future. The mantra of 'a 20 mile warm-up followed by a 10k race' is pure nonsense in my eyes!

ThebitterLemon

Nothing to add, just fantastic racing.

TbL

Kennyg71

Well done on great race and all hard work put in before hand brilliant result.

Abhainn

Anto I had no doubt either you could have gone sub 2:40. Everything in your preparation implied that.
I was surprised your actual MP on the day was much slower than training MP but I didn't realise Rotterdam was nearly a 10 min PB.

Onwards now and with the belief sub 2:35 is there for you one day.

Well done.

dublin runner

Abhainn wrote: »

Anto I had no doubt either you could have gone sub 2:40. Everything in your preparation implied that.
I was surprised your actual MP on the day was much slower than training MP but I didn't realise Rotterdam was nearly a 10 min PB.

Onwards now and with the belief sub 2:35 is there for you one day.

Well done.

Thanks. Hope all the training is going well. London, right?

I never really targeted a time so I knew running MP sessions @5.58-6.02 was at the top end of my abilities currently. I wouldn't have changed the pace as I think you need to run MP sessions a small bit faster (within reason!) than actual race day pace. You have to factor in GPS inaccuracies etc. The sessions were all pretty comfortable so I wasn't overcooking the pace.

Yeah, I feel a low 2.3x time is there for sure next time. If summer training goes well and I achieve what I want (15:xx 5k, 1.12/1.13 low HM) I will look to an autumn marathon. The goal has always been the marathon and getting my time down as far as possible so now is how to go about it. I would hazard a guess that all the people around me on Sunday have considerably faster 5k times than me so that's where I am going to really improve. Running a 15:xx 5k is going to very tough for me (I give myself a 30% chance this year!), much harder than a 2.35 marathon me thinks!!

Stepping up to an 8-week marathon schedule is the way I will go again. I keep training above 75mpw all year around so stepping it up next time to 110mpw shouldn't be an issue.

overpronator

Savage Anto, delighted for you. Very well done.

dublin runner

Sunday 10/4

Final Magness Marathon Session:
-26.33 Miles @MP in 2.40:58 (6.07p/m) :pac:


I was undecided. I usually take myself to Kilbogget Park or if feeling a bit adventurous , Shanganagh Park for these types of sessions. I settled on Rotterdam as I really didn't fancy many laps of Dublin's finest . Job done and that's the Magness marathon plan ticked off. I will see you again. Soon I hope.


WEEK TOTAL: 56.20+ MILES

---

Wow, this really does feel like a lifetime ago. The first week of recovery involved undoing as much of the training benefits gained over the past few months as quickly and as efficiently as humanly possible. I won't lie. I really went to town this week. Free bars, Executive Lounges, good food, bad food and copious amounts of well, everything. It had to be done! I know at this stage that if I do not let go it will likely come back to bite me over the next few months when mental fatigue can set in.

The legs on Monday were good and alot better than expected. On Wednesday I sent out a search and rescue party to locate my Puma Faas runners and took to the roads. The plan from Thursday onwards was to run 6 miles a day until I felt the marathon was largely out of the legs.



WEEK ONE RECOVERY (11/4-17/4):


-Monday 11/4 to Wednesday 13/4: Rest
-Thursday 14/4: 5.5 Miles Easy @7.29p/m 41:15
-Friday 15/5: 6 Miles Easy @7.11p/m in 43:08
-Saturday 16/4: 6 Miles Easy @7.15p/m in 43:37
-Sunday 17/4: 6 Miles Easy @7.06p/m in 42:39


WEEK TOTAL: 23.50 MILES


*Now to remember the following week........!!

dublin runner

Recovery Week 2:

Monday 18/4: 7 Miles @6.58p/m in 48:54
Tuesday 19/4: 6 Miles @7.08p/m in 42:49
Wednesday 20/4: 9.25 Miles @6.56p/m in 1.04:14
Thursday 21/4: 5 Miles @7.43p/m (treadmill)
Friday 22/4: 7 Miles @6.36p/m in 46:13
Saturday 23/4: 9 Miles @6.41p/m in 1.00:13
Sunday 24/4: 4 Miles @7.02p/m in 28:13


WEEK TOTAL: 47.25 MILES


The pace and mileage naturally increased this week. I took this to be a positive sign, rather than me falling into the old trap of running 'easy' too fast. A bit of quality was thrown in with a progression run on the Friday. Other than that the week ticked along nicely, if a bit mundane.

---

The 'getting back into it week'........


Monday 25/4: 8 Miles @6.40p/m in 53:23
Tuesday 26/4: 6.5 Miles @6.56p/m in 45:09
Wednesday 27/4: 6 Miles @6.47p/m (treadmill) ~inc. 12x(1min @5k, 1 min easy ~7.09p/m)
Thursday 28/4: 8 Miles @6.50p/m in 56:29


Friday 29/4: 7+ Miles @6.36p/m in 46:13

Plan: 1km, 2km, 3km, 2km, 1km


I was very happy to jump into Luke's session and try to some qaulity into the legs. I knew today was going to be tough and sure enough, it was. The session was a bit of a shock to the marathon/recovery system. I hadn't done a speed session of any description in such a long time so a degree of discomfort was definitely expected. I was prepared to give a rattle on what was a near perfect day in Bushy Park. The 1km and 2km went ok but I knew the acid test was the 3km rep. I felt strong but tired during. I was struggling but not yet approaching the red line. As soon as Luke leveled with me (1.31 miles in) I just stopped. I have no idea why, I just did. Very unlike me but maybe I wasn't prepared to kill myself just yet! I ticked off the remaining reps in decent fashion. A good session and a bloody good reminder of what is to come over the next few weeks and months! Ouch.

Splits: 1km -5.19p/m, 2km -5.28p/m, 3km (well, 1.31 miles) -5.36p/m, 2km -5.36p/m, 1km -5.24p/m



Saturday 30/4: 10.10 Miles @7.04p/m in 1.11:23
Sunday 1/5: 5 Miles @8.00p/m (treadmill)


WEEK TOTAL: 50.60+ MILES