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Running in the Real World
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Well, that didn't go to plan... first 10 miles were great, started feeling sick suddenly at 10 miles, told myself it was all in my head, but had to pull out after about 14 miles... and took a long bus ride back into town and did the walk of shame past all the parkrun volunteers at the bag drop... explaining why I was there with the 3 hour runners....
No regrets about the decision, but disgusted all the same. Oh well.
Dont be disgusted - its harder to pull out than it is to keep going.
New plans - new goals.
All the best runners have bad days
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AuldManKing wrote: »Dont be disgusted - its harder to pull out than it is to keep going.
New plans - new goals.
All the best runners have bad days
sorry to hear you had a bad day too, AMK.
Thanks everyone for the good wishes and the concern (and the mandarins that I never got to Hilly
). I was still feeling a bit woozy yesterday but ok. Weirdly, I'm not that gutted about it, although the tshirt is really nice 
.
Lots of people have been suggesting upcoming marathons to capitalise on the training, but don't think I will be doing one soon. I did sign up for Jingle Bells yesterday, hopefully I can still run 5k
The good news is I have no marathon DOMS, as D creaked around all day yesterday I was quite happy about that 0 -
DCM HALF A REPORT
(I might as well finish a report if not the race)
Sunday, Oct 29
As expected, fitful sleep. Systems check: bit of nerves, stiff shoulder, otherwise fine .
Pre-race
Everything went smoothly other than trying to figure out how to walk to Lr Mount St to a friend's office. Bag drop was great, lots of lovely parkrun people. Wished D well and made my way around to wave 3. Lovely spot beside the canal, the sun started to peep out of the clouds, didn't like the look at that. The 4:00 pacers visited the loos, with balloons flying above, to the amusement of the crowds.
Met Redrunner and lined up together near the 4:10 pacers and without much ado we were off. As usual, the start was really congested... the bigger crowd was very noticeable compared to two years ago. The section to the river is always a blur to me, just concentrating on the crowds and avoiding kerbs. Got a shoutout from Mrs Mc/KennyG and gang on the bridge. They almost missed me just behind the much taller Redrunner, who is easy to spot!
Heading up through Stoneybatter, I checked myself, pace felt ok, starting to settle in to it, shout out from some family members at the Glimmerman, passed my daughter on NCR.
Into the Phoenix Park, first chunk done. Felt very congested again here, trying to avoid speed bumps and kerbs. We saw a stag to our right, running down through the trees (I'd say the same one that caused trouble just before or after us), a beautiful sight. Ran with a work colleague most of the way through the park.
Felt the drag a bit going up Chesterfield, the next milestone was to get to the top at Castleknock, was happy to turn around and start heading down Tower Rd.
From Castleknock to Chapelizod, I was in my element. I had settled in to a comfortable pace, a little ahead of the 4:10 balloons (Redrunner had moved ahead at this stage), it felt easy... thought maybe Hillside runner was right and I could do this... also told myself don't get too excited it will get harder later.
Out of the park to a great cheer from the Raheny crew, disappointed there were only cups of lucozade at Chapelizod, I had been counting on taking a bottle to sip on. Gulped some from a cup, crossed the Liffey, turned the corner onto St Lawrence's road, then crash, bang, wallop...
...all of a sudden, hit with a wave of nausea and dizziness, legs lost all energy... WTF?? Just keep running, you'll feel better, 4:10 balloons caught up and went by, keep up with them... but no, had to walk for a bit even before the hill up into Inchicore. Just get to Kilmainham, keep the legs turning... found a toilet at Kilmainham and sat on it for a minute or two, then tried to get going again. Took the encouragement from the wall of people in Kilmainham, struggled on through Dolphins Barn and across the canal... the support was unbelievable. I had my name written under my number and just got loads of strangers giving me encouragement... damnit i can't stop while that's going on. Just get to halfway.... took another gulp of lucozade just before the halfway mat. Crossed halfway in about 2:08, B or C goal was still possible but I felt like I had run 26 miles already, and kept having to stop to walk.
Eventually just beyond the hospital, I decided to call it a day. I was afraid I was going to faint or throw up. A lovely steward who was managing traffic took care of me, once he made sure I didn't need medical attention, he put me on a bus, no fare required.
Looking out the window of the bus at the runners streaming past, I almost cried. Shuffled through town back to the bag drop. Briefly considered nabbing a tshirt but I didn't earn it. I arrived around the 3:10 mark, me and lots of fit looking runners. And I had to walk the length of the bag drop to get my bag... explaining to all the lovely parkrun people that they shouldn't congratulate me....
D arrived shortly after, delighted he did so well.
I was disgusted on the day but not so bothered now.
Younganne had said to me at the expo, give it your all and don't leave anything out there, then she paused and said something like but don't be stupid either, listen to your body. I also thought of kennyG who had a dramatic finish in Cork... as I said to him after, I thought it was all in my head... so did I, says G, until I woke up in an ambulance.
So that's it, marathon over for this year (and no I'm not considering doing one in ballinasloe, clonakilty, the Curragh or anywhere else). Still delighted I did the training and it's great base building if nothing else.
Delighted for everyone who finished and hit their targets, and for everyone who finished despite targets going out the window along the way.
DCM is such a great event, thankful to have been there and experienced even half of it.0 -
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Tuesday, October 31: Lovely Lough Key Forest Park
6k@ 6:11; 3.7 mi @ 9:58
This is why I run. Not for tshirts and medals and kudos. Even though I like tshirts and kudos (hate the medals).
Stopped at Lough Key on the way to Donegal, left D in the cafe writing his epic report of his Sunday achievements, and headed for the trails. Happily stumbled on parkrun signs, so followed the arrows. Lovely woodland trails, beside the lake, magnificent trees, autumn colours, a lovely mild damp Irish autumn day. And mostly solitude. This is why I love to run, to discover these places in different ways. To be outside in all weathers, in nature, even in the city.
And the joy of seeing familiar parkrun signs
.
Still feeling a bit queasy and weak, despite all that.
Lough Key is a magnificent park, so well kept, must get to the actual parkrun one of these weeks.
Finished the day with marathon levels of trick n treating... buckets of sweets collected by two very happy and practically comatose boys. :eek:0 -
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Sorry to hear DCM didn't go as planned but i love your attitude and i love your reasons for running
I had a few very happy and practically comatose boys over the last few days as well. Wish i could hide the buckets of sh*t but the eldest of those boys has an inventory done already :rolleyes:0 -
Thursday, 2 Nov: Lovely day in Donegal
5.2 mi @ 9:44
Our local lovely hilly loop. Really enjoyed it, felt like my energy was back to normal.
Saturday, 4 Nov: Poolbeg parkrun easy (29:55)
13.7k/8 miles total incl. w/u, c/d and parkrun and coffee
Met up with aquinn and Laura to jog over to Poolbeg, with BG in lead bike (2.9 mi from our house to the start line it turns out... we are spoiled for choice with parkruns these days, 3 within parkrun distance). Cold morning but lovely and sunny, good crowd at Poolbeg because of the VHI travelling circus (still think it's ironic that a provider of private health insurance sponsors a free, community led healthy event). In principle, we refused to participate in the hug a parkrunner warmup.
Anyhow, lovely setting for a parkrun apart from the godawful incinerator that dominates the bay in all directions. Not a course for a PB with a 100m hill around halfway and narrow out and back path. Very enjoyable though, I took it easy with a somewhat hungover Laura, who then revved up and left me in the dust in a 'sprint' finish (no, I haven't forgiven her yet).
Jogged home via starbucks, very enjoyable morning.
Sunday, 5 Nov: Headspace run
8.7k @ 6:07; 5.3 mi @ 9:51
Seafront in the afternoon to clear the head and relieve stress, lovely run. Delighted to see good news on the NY Marathon tracker for Rachel and Ferris. Watched Shalane Flanagan's amazing performance later, the last mile in 5:04 (ish)... AWEsome
22.8mi for the week. Is it weird that I find myself missing the long runs?
Looking at 5k plans now for a few weeks of prep for Jingle Bells.0 -
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Tuesday, November 7: Early and easy
7.25 @ 5:56; 4.5mi @ 9:33
Out earlyish for this, didn’t have much time but enjoyed the 43 mins or so. Included the climb from Griffith Ave to Collins Ave, so it wasn’t completely flat.
Wed, Thurs, Friday….
suffering from a head cold so canned the planned runs… I can do that now without fretting
Saturday, Nov 11: St Anne’s parkrun
I had enlisted aquinn (pacer extraordinaire) earlier in the week to help me attempt a 25 min parkrun, as a 5k tester ahead of Jingle bells. But with the effects of the cold still lingering, I decided not to push it too much. Lining up somewhere in the middle took care of the first Km, it was so crowded that there was no space to run until we came round onto the avenue.
Gradually, aquinn upped the pace and it was steady, until we came back onto the avenue for the final 900m (where BG was marshalling) and said, right, time for a strong finish. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was really running. I love the avenue, it’s a great finish because it’s a very slight downward drag and there’s loads of room and you can get into the rhythm. And it’s short enough that I don’t talk myself out of it. I distracted myself by concentrating on Aoife running beside me, instead of on myself. That worked well. I had no idea of the time but couldn’t have done any more in the last Km.
Crossed the finish line just behind Aoife and stopped the watch at 25:51. Nowhere near the planned 25 min but a good progression run and delighted that we worked up to the right pace.
Splits:
km: 5:53, 5:16, 5:27, 5:11, 4:31
mi: 9:09, 8:34, 7:47
The times are off because the garmin is never accurate at St Anne’s, always records less than 5k. But delighted with the final mile/km anyhow.
cooldown 2.2k @ 5:55.
Sunday, Nov 12: Bog of Frogs trail
9.6k @ 7:11; 5.9 mi @ 11:34
Spectacular morning in St Anne’s for junior parkrun, although cold. D collected me after marshalling duties and we headed to Howth to get some hill and trail practice before Run the Line. We decided to do some of the Bog of Frogs loop, which proved very difficult to find going in the ‘wrong’ direction. Irish signposting…. :rolleyes:
Lovely run, fantastic views, really enjoyed the trail. I love running on trails (don’t do enough of it), I find because I’m concentrating on where I’m putting my feet, I just get in the zone.
Really looking forward to Run the Line now even if it will be slow….
Two good workouts this weekend and a whopping 14.8 mi for the week.0 -
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OOnegative wrote: »All the best at RTL Anna, enjoy it & run well.Good Luck and have fun at RTL Annehave a blast at Run the line.
Thanks all, that was so much fun!!! It was bitterly cold, a bit of ice underfoot at times, but not as much as I feared... tough enough climbing, beautiful views and yes we did pause to look at the views once or twice... only tripped once so i am proudly displaying a slightly scraped knee Really enjoyed it, it was a blast!!! happy enough that we only did the short course though (7.6 miles/12.3 km @ 8:37!!).
Myself, D and AGYR did the short course, while FBOT, Ferris, killerz, nop, DenisB and Neady ... and Singer... did the long course.
Great to finally meet Neady... this was a short training run for her, in between a marathon and an ultra :eek:
And thanks to AM for the company all the way round, and for the delicious krispy cake brownie things at the end.
Would definitely do this again. The Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue guys marshalled this really well and supporting them is such a good cause.0 -
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And thanks to AM for the company all the way round, and for the delicious krispy cake brownie things at the end.
Would definitely do this again. The Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue guys marshalled this really well and supporting them is such a good cause.
Thanks to you for sticking with me!! I really enjoyed it too although found it tough in parts (the uphill parts). I hope your knee is okay today??? My quads have gone on strike this morning and are refusing to function - although I'm willing to bet singer is in worse shape 0 -
Week of November 13 & 20
How quickly I descend back into torpor after marathon training... easy to blame dark mornings and cold weather, maybe it's just the urge to hibernate...
Wednesday, 15th: 4 x 4 mins @ 5K (3 min recoveries)
7.5K @ 5:47; 4.6 mi @ 9:18
After dabbling in 5k pace at parkrun on Saturday, it was time to dust off a 5k session, in prep for Jingle Bells. Dropped the 8 year old to GAA training and crossed the road to the sea front. Set the interval pace on the watch for 4:45-4:52/km. Yes, I’m sure you will figure out that this is c.24 minutes. My 5k pb is 24:22 (thanks again, Aoife), so why not aim for 24?
Warmed up for about 12 minutes, then into the intervals. The first four minutes seemed to go by very fast. The second maybe felt slightly longer. Had a bit of a chat with Mrs Mc who was on her run mute home from work, which distracted me nicely from thinking about the 3rd, and the 4th was the last one so that’s always the easiest.
Really happy with these, the pace felt almost comfortable, definitely controlled.
Splits: 4:50, 4:44, 4:45, 4:51
Lovely mild evening on the sea front, barely even a breeze to contend with. Felt great afterwards.
Thursday 16th: Recovery
7.7k @ 6:31; 4.7 mi @ 10:30
Out the seafront with D., not much to report. We passed someone who said hello, we thought maybe Mrs Mc but it’s still a mystery.
and that was it for that week… a whopping 9.4 mi… :eek: the weekend was completely consumed with various parkrun and other duties. oh well.
Week of November 20
Monday, Nov 20: Easy
4.9k @ 6:22; 3 mi @ 10:14
Finally managed to get out in the evening but didn’t have much time. Ran around Beaumont and Coolock, horrified to see some houses with Christmas trees and mad decorations already up… it’s more than a month away!!! :eek:
Thursday, 23: Easy run with Aquinn
9.25 k @ 6:20; 5.7 mi @ 10:11
Thanks to aquinn for finally getting me off my arse and out for a run. Nice chatty trot around the neighborhood, although she kept having to slow down to my easy pace… thanks A!
Saturday, 25: Run the Line Short course
12.3k @ 8:37; 7.6 mi @ 13:52 :eek:
see above… A great day in the mountains. Finally getting the use out of my trail runners, and my Lidl merino hiking socks were the biz, although they may never be white again.
Sunday, 26: Recovery
6.8k @ 6:27; 4.2 mi @ 10:22
Came down heavy on my ankle on one of the descents yesterday and it was sore all evening and this morning. Considered whether it was wise to run on it today, but decided I needed to get out and at least break 20 miles for the week. Out to Clontarf on the mercifully flat seafront, turned back into a bitterly cold wind. The ankle was fine and has felt better since the run. Go figure.
20.5 mi for the week. Slightly better.0 -
Sounds like great fun Anna great day for it as well
it was N, but very cold, mostly before and after....Great to see you earlier Anna, and sounds like you had a great time - apologies for being a bit out of it post-race it was a bit of a Singer classic alright, was worried about you for a few minutes! you looked like you gave it your all that's for sure.Annie get your Run wrote: »Thanks to you for sticking with me!! I really enjoyed it too although found it tough in parts (the uphill parts). I hope your knee is okay today??? My quads have gone on strike this morning and are refusing to function - although I'm willing to bet singer is in worse shape
:pac: sticking with you, I had a hard time keeping up with you in the last few Km as you flew down the hill!0 -
It was so lovey to meet you at RTL Anna Well done on a great race and even better on not falling on the icy patches
Maybe we should make it a Boardsies annual day out with.
How is your ankle now? So easy to roll the foot on the trails.0 -
It was so lovey to meet you at RTL Anna Well done on a great race and even better on not falling on the icy patches
Maybe we should make it a Boardsies annual day out with.
How is your ankle now? So easy to roll the foot on the trails.
Not a bother on the ankle now Neady, thanks.
Great to meet you too... and great idea to do this annually!!! Best of luck in Dorset this weekend.0 -
Dusting off the log here... it has been more neglected than my running in the last month or two. Throwing in the notes since November just for posterity.
Week of Nov 27
Wednesday, nov 29, 5mi steady/progression
8.1k @ 5:41; 5mi @ 9:08
Damn it was cold this evening when I eventually got out, a rare occasion when I had two layers on. Maybe because of the cold, I had lots of energy and enjoyed this run. Kept the pace fairly steady, then did 2k at approx HMP, followed by 1k at just over 5k pace, then a final cooldown Km to home. Very enjoyable run, felt that it was maybe a good indicator for Jingle Bells.
Saturday, Dec 2: Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells
I was so not in the mood for this after a week of poor sleep. It was a family outing with D agreeing to pace Paddy, aged 8, who loved the race last year (mainly because of all the goodies afterwards) and was hoping for a PB. We collected FBOT and arrived in the papal cross car park at about 10 am. It's too early says Paddy (and FBOT), they refused to get out of the car for a while yet. AGYR appeared beside us in the car park and we strolled down for D to get his Cru number. There was a bitter SW wind blowing across the acres.
After a bit of a warmup we met up with Chickey and dropped our bags near the start, once the tracksuit bottoms were off I was regretting my short shorts and glad I had those arm warmer sleeve things for the first time ever. I briefly joined the portaloo queue before heading for a ditch instead, as aquinn taught me long ago.
Back to the start, gave paddy a hug, found C and AM and moved as close to the front as we could without feeling guilty. C said she was hoping for around 25 so we set off together. We had no idea there was a moment's silence and hardly knew the gun went off.
First Km, settled in to the pace, felt quite comfortable, conscious that this is the ultimate negative split course, so no need to go gangbusters at the beginning. We started far enough forward that congestion wasn't an issue.
First Km, right at the marker 5:04 (oh those 4 seconds would come back to haunt me later)
Second Km.... I started trying to talk myself out of it, no way you can keep this going, just slow down and run with AM, or even better, wait for D & Paddy... from now on, I'm only doing races like Run the Line, where there are no time targets involved... look at that grass verge, you could just step off and not have to do this....
...then I became aware again of C running beside me... sh*t, you can't stop.
....did a systems check, no pain, breathing a bit heavy, breathe, breathe... get the mantra out... focus, commit, believe, achieve...
Watch beeped right at the KM marker again... 4:58... that's good, I grunted at C, who grunted back
Third Km... when does the downhill start kicking in? Getting into a rhythm now again, mantra working, still no pain, but plenty of effort.
Vaguely remember the watch beeping 4:55... this sub 25 is on...
Fourth Km... this was hard, going around the bends on the upper glen, tried to keep a straight line as much as possible, feeling it now, wasn't sure if C was still with me, but think I lost her somewhere here.
Finding it tough, an older man in a Santa suit (and shorts) was coaching a juvenile... "head up, breathe, stand tall to fill your lungs"..... great advice, thanks Santa coach, that helped.
Watch beeped at 4:51...
Fifth Km... all I had to do was hold it together and the sub 25 was in the bag... I had noticed a girl in front of me who had very impressive calf muscles and a DCM 17 tshirt , caught up with her along here somewhere and ran alongside her for a while before she moved ahead again. Glancing at the pace on my watch it was around 4:30... just keep it up. If only I had looked at the time elapsed....
Down past the Chapelizod stile and the spirits of my ancestors, and finally to the turn towards the finish... and the sneaky slight uphill... the finish line always seems so far away at this point, and I suddenly felt like I was running through treacle... no sprint finish, it felt more like a slow plod.
Crossed the line and stopped the watch. Squinted at the time and was astounded to see 24:26.9.... delighted with that...
C came in just behind me and we were both very pleased. It was only later, when I got my official time of 24:25 and realised that I was only 3 seconds off my 5k PB... that I had a moment of regret... about 3 seconds in fact...
Very very pleased with this for two reasons:
1. Learned yet again how much negative self talk I have to banish early in races, and managed that really well today.
2. It was ALMOST a PB.... closest sniff of a PB since 2015... and I don't care if it was jingle bells and downhill, and it doesn't count... yes it bloody well does and I'm really encouraged by that. I'm starting to believe that a PB might be possible again at some point (according to the watch today, this was a PB for 1 mile and 2 miles).
....if I had known how close the PB was, could I have gained that 4 seconds....? Probably but I had no idea because I was focused on sub-25... then again, that softer target took some pressure off so i don't know.... I didn't fall over the line but I was spent at the end... even felt a bit lightheaded when I went back to run in with Paddy (who was delighted with his PB)
I don't care about those 4 seconds.... I'm effing delighted and enjoying almost PB glass of vino
Splits: 5:04, 4:59, 4:55, 4:51, 4:38
9.1 miles for the week (:o)0 -
Dec 4: 7k easy/steady
Felt strong on this, and had a steady mile or two, but the GPS didn't record it right, so if it's not on strava it didn't happen.
Dec 10: 60ish min easy
6.3 mi @ 9:52
Ran up to Artane to pick up Laura, dodging hailstones in the process, did a loop of d3-d5, cold but pleasant.
Dec 13: 5 miles with the RING
5.1 mi @ 9:45
Met aquinn after work, who was bouncing along with joy... the story of the RING was a nice distraction as we did a loop of Drumcondra/Glasnevin. All I had to do was ask a question or two and no more talking required from me Congrats again, A!
Dec 22: Back to the seafront
5.1mi @ 9:20
After a week of sluggishness... a cold, and Christmas duties... finally a day off work, was so happy to be back out, really enjoyed this run.
Dec 24: Christmas parkrun in St Anne's (28:56).
A very cheery morning, everyone wearing red... lots of 'singing' going on around the course, with the Mrs KennyG and Mrs Mc 'choir'. Great fun.0 -
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