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BQ or Bust!
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Sat 19 Sep
Dublin Half Marathon 1:37:19 (PB)
The last half marathon effort, Omagh in March, produced a disappointing time (1:41 flat) that I felt didn’t reflect the effort on a very windy day. Annoyingly, it also matched to the second the previous HM performance from Waterford so couldn’t even be claimed as a PB despite what I felt was quite a gutsy effort.
So it was time to put that right. This time, I’d trained specifically for the HM for the first time, and although I never felt the Pfitzinger & Latter plan got the better of me, I didn’t feel as strong towards the end of it as I have on the previous marathon cycles. The plan didn’t include a single HMP session until a few days ago, and that was only two miles, which I struggled mightily to complete. So I was a little wary of what might be in store today, especially after a poor night’s sleep.
I shouldn’t have worried.
aquinn picked me, Anna and BG up at the front door so it was nice to zone out for a little bit on the drive up to the park as the women chatted their womeny stuff. :pac: I did a FBOT and left the watch at home but luckily remembered in time and got in an early warmup jog back to the house as A turned the car around. We parked up on the North Road and jogged over to the start area, where I left the others to their own devices and did a short 2.5k warmup on Chesterfield. Having committed to a 97:xx time (7:26/mile), I made my way to the front of a packed Wave 2 and lined up with BG and the 1:40 pacers, saying hello to HelenAnne and pacer extraordinaire Killerz. A few minutes after the Wave 1 start we all walked calmly up to the start line. I took a position just in front of the balloons and hoped I wouldn’t be seeing them again until after the race.
The conditions were dry, cool and windless: perfect, in other words. There would be no excuses. When the siren went I started to ease away from the 1:40 group. It was nice to have relatively clear road here for the first mile and I was encouraged to find the early pace very easy (even checked my watch to make sure it hadn’t stopped). The fast first mile down the Kyber felt effortless, then the climb towards the Wellington monument was a reminder not to get carried away. Settled in nicely through the zoo area, starting to catch the back of Wave 1 already. On the North Road, I spied a Clonliffe runner ahead who I remembered from the end of the Frank Duffy and that was my secret pacer sorted out.
Miles 1-3: 7:10 7:40 7:40
First water station was very well organised. Took a few sips from the bottle and that was enough. Was careful not to cut the corner from North Road to Chesterfield this time after aquinn’s admonishment. Pretty congested up to the Castlknock gate as usual and I wasted a bit of energy getting past a few people on the narrow path. Had abandoned my one-gel strategy before the race when I discovered it had fallen out of my pocket and instead took a Lucozade and had a few sips. Was feeling pretty good still, although this started to change as the route continued to climb towards Farmleigh, the highest point on the course.
Miles 4-6: 7:41 7:23 7:29
At this stage the watch had me about 30 seconds behind the desired pace. I knew I’d get some of that back on Tower Hill but resolved to dig in once back in the park. As I’ve noted before, I sometimes lose concentration in the middle third of the race and I wanted to make sure to take advantage of the mostly downhill going for the next few miles. Took as much encouragement as I could from the support from boardsies and other clubmates (and there were many, all of which were highly appreciated). Great shouts from Laura, Firedance and Dubgal as well as a few of the St. Anne’s parkrun crowd. Then unexpectedly I got a shout out from the missus, who unfortunately had abandoned her race. Having established she was OK I trundled on. Passed a couple of flagging clubmates who’d started in Wave 1. This made me feel even stronger and I think I really nailed the Chesterfield stretch, where I’ve often opted to take a bit of a breather in the past. Ultimately that was what made the difference today, I think.
Miles 7-9: 7:16 7:16 7:14
Put in the fastest split of the day (7:01) down to the main gate and by the 10-mile mark on Conyngham Road there was now a bit of time in the bank for the final push. The sun was out though, and things were starting to heat up. To make matter worse, there was an ice cream van at the main gate, but I resisted the temptation and kept it going on the Chapelizod Road, not the most idyllic section of the course. My pacer was still about 25m up ahead looking strong. I kept the distance between us, passing a good few people along this stretch: digging in again, drawing strength from every runner passed. The road seemed endless but at last we were back in the Park for the closing mile and a half. Lost a bit of time on the climb to the Furry Glen but I wasn’t bothered by the hill – an anthill really compared to Croagh Mountain up in Donegal. Was alarmed by some of the breathing around me here but as usual it was a good incentive to get in front of and out of earshot of the wheezy perpetrator.
Miles 10-12: 7:01 7:25 7:50
The last mile of any race always feels like it will never end and this was no exception. HelenAnne went past very convincingly and I tried to stay with her for a while. No dice but it kept me going for another few hundred metres. I wouldn’t catch her but I kept busy picking a few more lads off and not being discouraged by the inevitable Forrest Gumps who always appear out of the woodwork with the amazing sprint finish from nowhere. Forgot about the watch and concentrated on keeping it together for just a few minutes longer. Final turn onto Furze road -- I don’t remember much pain but the dry heaves started just as a FBOT gave me a shout with about 400m to go (just a coincidence, I’m sure). :pac: Kept the breakfast down and mustered up a final push. Two David Corrie lads were holding their hands aloft triumphantly and I managed to take them on the line. :pac:
Miles 13-(13.1): 7:30 (0:44)
In the finish chute I had to grab the barriers and take a moment to compose myself before accepting my medal from AMK. Congratulated HelenAnne and we were soon joined by Bungy Girl, aquinn and others – all very happy with the morning’s work. Perfect conditions for a race, flawless organisation, and lots of PBs. Hats off to all the volunteers and organisers.
5K splits: 23:11 23:33 22:38 23:04 (4:53 - 1.1k)
Previous PB: 1:41:00 (Omagh 2015, Waterford 2014)
Target: 1:37:xx
Official time: 1:37:19
Verdict: As good as it gets.
So that's the goal race done, dusted, and put to bed. A good day out. And as chickey says, the plan works.
WTD: 29 mi (46 km)
MTD: 92 (48)
YTD: 1,373 (2,209)
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Bungy Girl wrote: »Super stuff. 1-1. So, when's the decider
?
I reckon a 10-miler would be fair. Anything shorter, I haven't a hope!0 -
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