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Kona Can Wait!
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You've both just reminded me I'm 5 months late with my race report.interested wrote: »All the best at the weekend Alan ... a good swim I hope, Ill probably stop tracking after that
You might have to track for longer than you imagine so. Looking very likely it's going to non-wetsuit. I was in today without one on. It would have been pretty warm wearing one and it's very hard to imagine they'll be allowed. I bought the last large men's Sailfish skin suit they had in stock after this. Fazz already has enough advantages over me without another one.RacoonQueen wrote: »Best of luck dude...I'll only track the run...the rest is just a warm up!
Great, this is a running log afterall. Hopefully I won't disappoint.0 -
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Your log title hit me like a ton of bricks last night when it randomly popped in my head. All I'm going to say on this subject is, you might want to change it to something more along the lines of "Kona, Come Hell or Highwater!":)
The title was apt, it was only ever intended as a running log and any attempt at Kona qualification had to wait as I got through the training. I might start a new log in due course, but I won't be changing the name of this one. I'm going to finally post my report next and the log will be left to posterity as it sinks back down the pages.0 -
The PreambleMy stated goal at the start of this log was sub 2.50 and perhaps a lot of you might think I was downplaying my chances all throughout. However the last marathon I ran before Connemara was in Bangkok, in February 2013, and with only a few seconds to spare managed to scrape under 3 hours 15 minutes. Having previously ran 2.51, it was rather humbling and at the time I thought that perhaps my best marathon running days were behind me. Admittedly my training was very poor back then, but when I stated my goal time last December, I thought a 25 minute improvement between the two marathons was about all I could expect.
I was 100% determined to stick to the programme exactly as laid out in 'Advanced Marathoning', and barring an accident I was 99% certain I was going to do as much. Was I worried about injuries? To be honest, no; I increased my volume week upon week, in the few months before starting the plan, and my body was well galvanised for the hard work the book prescribed.
I didn't expect to get through the whole 5 months without once being sick though, and sure enough there was one week when I had to modify my training because of a cold. But I still got out and ran, and I think my determination to run every single inch the plan called for, stood to me in the end.
I knew I was getting faster as the months went by, but the book never said anything about modifying goals or training paces in line with improved running efficiency, so publicly I stood by my stated goal of <2.50. There was quite a wide margin between the faster and lower end of my target paces, and as the weeks went by I noticed that for running at no greater intensity I was getting closer and closer to the faster ends of these pace scales.
Things certainly seemed to be going in the right direction, and the two 10k races I did in March gave me huge confidence. After these I felt my original sub 2.50 target was a bit soft, so was confident to revise it down to sub 2.45. My PMP runs were working out faster than this though, so I settled upon a race strategy of going out at
.50/km and seeing how long I could hold it for. Provided I didn't lose too much time on the hills in the second half, this would have brought me in with a time in the low 2.40s. This is what I was honestly expecting, but didn't think I had much right to make such bold claims, so I kept schtum.
I thought with a bit of luck and on a good day, I might, just might come in under 2.40, but this is something I definitely had no right to be saying. Clocking 2.35.51 surprised me as much as anyone.The Race
Crossing The Finish Line
Having ran the Connemarathon before, I knew that I was going to be in the shake up for a podium position. I made sure to get a starting spot right at the front of the field. Half the road had to be left clear to allow the leading runners from the ultra come though unobstructed. So after warming up, taking sufficient toilet breaks, and dropping my bag off at the bag drop, I scurried around the outside of the other runners and made my way right up to the front of the field.
There were still around 5 minutes to go and I had left on a finisher's T-shirt I got from the Fit Magazine 10k at the start of March, a pair of cheap Lidl running gloves, and a wooly hat from Dunne's Stores. When it was announced there were 3 minutes left to go, I stripped down to my race gear and dumped these items of clothing at the road side. This was the one and only time I'd worn the T-shirt, so I didn't have time to form a sentimental attachment. When it rained, the gloves weren't much better than useless. So like the T-shirt I won't miss them, but I was fond of the hat.
Once stripped down I must have transformed appearance into what resembled a serious runner, and a few others at the start-line asked me what time I was going for. I answered 'Sub 2.45', with my fingers crossed, but nobody else I spoke with was aiming so high. I wanted to run my own race anyway, and didn't want to be making any alliances. If anybody wanted to tag along behind me they were welcome to, and we could sort out who was the better runner nearer the finish. From having ran here before, I fully expected gaps to open up and didn't think anybody near the front was going to get an easy ride. Besides there was a tailwind for the first 10 miles or so and there would be no disadvantage to running at the front of a pack.
My plan starting off was to run the first kilometre quickly and hopefully pull away from the majority of the field. Even as adults I think many people are a bit gung-ho at the start of running races, so to get away from the inevitable melée I started especially fast when the gun went. This strategy worked in that I got clear of other runners without any elbows, or somebody clipping my heels or blocking my way.
I was leading for about 400m and I was just starting to think I could be there or thereabouts at the finish line. Then one guy, the eventual 3rd place finisher, Julio Cesar F. Castro, made a move and only Philip Harty went with him. At that point I didn't think the pace they were running was incredible. This was the first time I looked at my watch and I could see their pace was much quicker than my PMP, so I felt it wiser to just let them off. I've no idea how the guy who finished 3rd now feels about running off with Philip Harty, but I think their pace would have burned me.
There were a few other guys close to me after this, but I didn't turn to look and didn't know exactly how many were on my heels. I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but this group was whittled down to just two long before the first water station at the 6 mile marker. The guy with me seemed to be running strongly and without speaking we sort of fell into a rhythm together. On occasion he would take the lead and I'd tuck behind just trying to size him up. I don't know if it was my imagination, but I felt the pace dropped ever so slightly when he led. I was glad of this perceived respite though, and whenever I'd overtake again I'd initially push the pace just to see how he'd react. If I felt a crosswind and I thought I was sheltering him from it, I'd speed up as well. I hadn't entered into any agreement with him and wanted him to have to deal with the very same conditions I did. He appeared to be coping fine though and I got to the half way point with him only behind 3 seconds behind me.
I hadn't been paying much notice to my watch up until this and was just pacing myself off this second runner. However I was aware I was running well under the pace I needed to be to get under 2.45. I felt okay though and given the course and the forecast wind, I knew that there wasn't a hope in hell of running negative splits. A good overall finishing time depended on running a fast first half, so I didn't think there was any point being conservative.
Starting off I wanted to get to the half way point in under 1.20. Then I'd be able to lose a few minutes on the final 21 kilometres and still record a time in the low 2.40s. This disjointed idea of a plan went out the window because of the other runner with me. We got to the half way point in less than 1.14.30, which was a lot quicker than I needed. Even though worse was to come, I hadn't had to dig too deep just yet and I felt well able for another 21 kilometres.
We stayed together for another while and we reached a long downhill section after 25km. We had turned into a headwind after the halfway point, but I decided to make one more push in an effort to break away. It was almost continuously downhill for about three kilometres and I pushed harder and harder during this section. Somewhere between kilometres 24-28 I finally lost him.
After an hour I started consuming a gel every 20 minutes. There were iso-gels, so even though I wasn't taking a lot of water on board I was able to swallow them easily enough. I'd taken one on 1.00, 1.20 and on 1.40 and was due to take another one on 2.00. This is the approach to nutrition I take in longer triathlons, and it works fine, but it was giving me a queasy feeling right now. It felt like the gels were just sitting in my stomach not being digested. There was no point swallowing another one and giving my stomach more gunk to break down. I skipped my scheduled gel after 2.00 and grabbed water at the water stations I passed to try dissolve the gels sitting in my stomach. I felt a little bit better because of this.
The walkers from the half had been let off early in the day and they were spread out along the road from halfway onwards. Both Philip Harty and Julio Cesar F. Castro were wearing yellow and because of the huge number of walkers on the road, anybody who was wearing yellow raised the possibility that one of this duo had slowed and with it a chance for me to move into second. Hopes frequently faded as soon as they were raised, as each yellow T-shirt I saw tuned out to be another walker. (Incidentally, I understand why it's done, but allowing walkers off before runners is something that annoys me about Connemara. It's not how I think a running race should be run, but it's nothing to do with my race report though, so I'll leave it at that.)
A yellow shirt came into view that I was certain from a long way off belonged to Julio Cesar. I was closing the gap bit by bit. I could see that he was slowing and with over 8km left I was pretty confident I would catch him. The moment duly arrived shortly after a right hand turn that took us to the base of the 'Hell of the West'. I passed him and maintained my momentum to gradually pull away.
I was happy that I had moved into second, but with no sign of the yellow T-shirt of Philip Harty, I knew barring an unlikely meltdown on his part, second would be where I'd finish. My stomach still hadn't fully settled, but I didn't want to risk running out of energy either. I took another gel and kept battling on into a wind that seemed to be getting stronger as the race progressed.
A bicycle on the road ahead signalled that the lead ultra was within passing distance. I know we weren't in the same race, but he was a Kenyan who I presumed would be going for the ultra course record, so based on this I told myself I must have running well. I passed him at the base of the race's final hill. The hurt was starting to set in at this point, but the race was nearly over and I knew I wasn't going to 'hit the wall'.
I didn't need another gel from this point and the fuel belt I had been wearing was no longer necessary. It was really starting to annoy me, so I dumped the belt at the aid station after 24 miles and pushed on again. It was downhill from here which made pushing easier.
The weather on the other hand was making things more challenging. The faintest rays of sunshine had been breaking through for brief periods when I was on the bus out from Galway City to Maam Cross. It never appeared during the race though. The wind had been against me ever since I had turned right just before the halfway point. We'd been warned to be ready for four seasons in one day. As if to fulfill the prophecy, after passing the 25 mile marker, the spatterings of rain that came late in the race turned to hail.
This change in weather had the potential to make for a pretty miserable last mile, but the exertion was nearly over and I knew I was on for a time well under 2.40. This was beyond my expectations and nothing Mother Nature could throw at me was going to dampen my spirits. I kept running and did my best to increase the pace. The closer I got to the line, the more I realised how close I was to going sub 2.35.
I saw my brother after this. He had driven to Galway and cycled out to support me. He hadn't told me he'd be there and I wasn't expecting to see him. I was a good bit ahead of my estimated time and I think he was more surprised to see where I was than I was to see him. Training for triathlon and running can be a very solitary life and for the vast majority of races I do, I drive to them on my own, race them, then go home on my own. Rightly or wrongly it sometimes gives me the impression nobody really cares, so to see that he had come out to support me was much appreciated.
Soon after spotting my brother the finishing gantry came into view. This was the signal to increase the effort for the very last time. I told myself I'd been training for this moment for the last 18 weeks and I wasn't going to leave anything out there. One final push saw me cross the line in 2.35.51.
It was one of the rare occasions I can say I was very, very happy with a race I had done. Even looking back on it now 8 months later, there's nothing I can think of that I could have done better in the build up, or during the race itself, that would have led to a better time. I didn't collapse at the finish, but short of that I left nothing out there on the course.
There's not much point talking about my future plans right now. A significant amount of time has gone by since April 6th and most of you probably know how the rest of my season went. Needless to say I was disappointed with my second goal race of 2014, but when I began the year I was willing to trade a good tri season for a good result in Connemara. I think I can say I achieved the latter, so I should be happy and looking back I am pleased overall with how the year went.
And in case anyone is wondering, I have no plans to run a marathon next year. I become too obsessive about things and I know the same would happen next year were I to enter a marathon. I don't know how much of an impact the 5 months of no bike training had on my IM time this year. However I know training for a marathon would distract me from my main goal next year, which is Ironman Mallorca on September 27th, and this time round it's not a risk I'm willing to take.0 -
Hi Zico10, definitely worth the wait! What a superb performance that was.
While I'd love to read about your exploits on the road to sub 2:30 and beyond, it's good to see you sticking to your guns and I'm sure you'll have the same level of success as you did in Connemara (2nd place in Mallorca). 0 -
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Krusty_Clown wrote: »Hi Zico10, definitely worth the wait! What a superb performance that was.
While I'd love to read about your exploits on the road to sub 2:30 and beyond, it's good to see you sticking to your guns and I'm sure you'll have the same level of success as you did in Connemara (2nd place in Mallorca).
Cheers Krusty, and thanks once again for your advice throughout the training. I should have given you credit in the report. Don't take this the wrong way, but I contacted you in first place as I knew the times you achieved were down to hard work. I don't think I have any great running talent, and I knew to do well in Connemara was going to take hard work. It was good to have an advisor who'd been there, done that and obviously understood this.
Not sure how up to speed you are on the world of tri, but I guess the winking smiley means you're joking. I'd say the chances of finishing second in Mallorca are only slightly shorter than my chances of finishing second in the London Marathon. Qualifying for Kona is all I need to do.0 -
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No, but I should think my point still stands.
It doesn't. You're wrong.
You very clearly have a natural talent both as a runner and triathlete. Honestly do not get how you could possibly think otherwise about your running. Obviously, I don't know exactly how hard you work but 2:35, in Connemara is a phenomenal result...your run off the bike in Mallorca wasn't bad either.
Running 5k is completely different...especially if you haven't trained specifically for it or do any short distance specific work.
Anyway...agree to disagree perhaps but you are wrong and I am right.0 -
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