The breaks even out in the long run

El Caballo

annapr wrote: »

Wait, you got hit by a car??? well done on the race!

Thanks Anna! Yeah, Not sure what your man was doing but he stopped in the middle of the road and I ran across behind him as he started reversing and went straight into me... and decided to drive away. Few bruises but not really a big deal during the race as The shoulder was only a little bit stiff. Was properly sore the next day tho.

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Great report E, well done!! But yeah, plus one on quitting the fags *wags finger*. You're still a young fella, the benefits you'll get from quitting now will be quick and worth it - every time I struggle on a run I rue the fact that I smoked for 20+ years!!!

Cheers AM!

*closes a/c*:p. jk. I know they have to go, doing it seems like a completely ball game though.

jake1970

Well done EC, great running.

El Caballo

Not Sure if this is a good idea or not but I'm enjoying my running a hell of a lot lately and the urge is there to start this up again. Everything seems to be flowing and falling into place, work hours are falling every week and the cooler temps seem to make everything easier and faster. I seem to be making good tracks towards Dublin and with only a few days to the taper, I've managed to avoid doing anything ridiculously stupid for once throughout a marathon block. Long Runs have been good and I've actually started to enjoy them for first time. I feel fresh, pretty strong and even fast at times so I'm beaming with that.

Monday 2nd October- Rest

Tuesday 3rd October- 7 Miles inc. 5x4mins w/2 Rec On Grass

Managed to make it back to club training for the first time in over a year and a half. The legs still had some lingering fatigue from Sunday's 20 miler in there, Not much but enough to cause me some apprehension heading into only my second speed session this year. I was also managing a little niggle in my knee from that run but said I'd chance it as the grass would probably help alleviate some of the issues. The lads seemed to have pushed on a lot since I was last back here so I was a bit off the back starting the first rep, No worries about that. First rep was nice and controlled although felt quite fast as the cadence was a little higher than I'm used to right now. Managed to pick up the pace on the second rep although still trailing the group by about 30-40m by the end. 3 and 4 remained consistent as I reached pretty much the identical spot again. Lined up for the last one and decided to hammer it for old time sake, Must've took off at 1500 pace which inevitably led to a nice ol fade around 3 minutes in, still managed to stay ahead of the group bar one. Not the ideal way to run intervals but just this once, I couldn't help myself.

Rep pace:

1. 6:03
2. 5:52
3. 5:54
4. 5:52
5. 5:32

Wednesday 4th October- 6 Miles Easy On Grass

I guess this is where I'm starting to see a big benefit in staying in base training for so long before doing speedwork. Usually, I'd be suffering today with aches and general grogginess when I wake up. I didn't feel unreal by any means going out the door but I was still fairly fresh. Decent run around town left me feeling good to kick the morning off.

Thursday 5th October- 13 Miles w/Last 6 @ Aerobic Tempo(6:48)

Think the knee was only a slight niggle as pain today was non-existent. Bit of a slow start to this one as it was probably the coolest night I've run in yet so the legs took a little longer than normal to get going. Same story with the Tempo section but once my cadence picked up, I got into a rhythm and was almost holding back for the rest of the run. Probably my favourite type of session over this marathon cycle.

Chartsengrafs

Great going. Out of interest, how did you work out your aerobic tempo pace?

El Caballo

Chartsengrafs wrote: »

Great going. Out of interest, how did you work out your aerobic tempo pace?

I didn't tbh, Coach put me down for tempos circa 6:50 pace which were based off of The result in Charleville and how I'm progressing.

But I do know a bit about them anyway in general(I think:pac:). Aerobic Threshold is about 2 hour Race pace or a little bit faster than marathon pace. Mine is probably a decent chunk faster than MP though because I'm in good enough shape aerobically but my weakness going into this marathon is probably my conditioning because of the lack of consistent training and lifetime miles in my legs so while I could probably crank out 2 hours at 6:50 pace right now but my legs are behind my fitness so an extra hour means I'd need to slow the pace a nice bit to get true MP. That's just my thinking.

Long story short, for most runners around my level with a good mileage background, you wouldn't go too far wrong 5-8 seconds a mile or so quicker than MP but I'm open to correction on that, the difference would be bigger again as get to 4 hours etc and smaller as you get to 2 hours for the marathon as time changes the intensity.

El Caballo

Saturday 7th October- 6 Miles Easy

Handy ol trot out, feeling the effects from the 2 sessions this week now.

Sunday 8th October- 22 Mile Long Run

The big un, the last big un at that and probably just coming at the right time as the tiredness in general was at it's peak today over the whole training block, The legs must've known as they weren't playing ball from the get go. They felt numb and flat from the very first step and knew from early on that they weren't going to come around during the run so this was a tough one. My garmin was all over the shop for the first few miles and although I wasn't lighting the World on fire pairwise, I was going a lot quicker than 10 min/mile so just turned it off after 4 as all it was doing was distracting me. Done one big 6 Mile loop to take me to 9 where I took on a carb drink I'd stashed in the bushes. Darkness was setting in at this stage so I reverted back to my 2 Mile loop which has been a feature of every run I've done over the last 2 months as the road is quiet for night time running. It's also a challenging little bigger as It drags constantly for a mile before a big downhill for 800m before flattening out again.

A few more loops and I took on more fluids at 15 miles. Legs were starting to become really weak around here, No pain but energy was at a premium. Hit 18 and I was riding a thin line between a full on bonk and survival, still travelling a decent clip all things considered but was counting down miles from here on in. Reached 22 just in time and skilled a litre of chocolate milk as a reward. Toughest long run I've had by far but delighted to get it done and have that in the legs and head going into the marathon. Those last few miles were the closest I've got to feeling what the end of the marathon will bring.

All that's left now is the taper and making sure I mind my dodgy ankles over the next 3 weeks:).

Annie get your Run

Hopefully your dodgy ankles make it to the start line and the finish line, and then on to McGrattans! Would be great to put another boards face to the name, and of course I can give out to you in person for not quitting the fags (KIDDING!).

El Caballo

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Hopefully your dodgy ankles make it to the start line and the finish line, and then on to McGrattans! Would be great to put another boards face to the name, and of course I can give out to you in person for not quitting the fags (KIDDING!).

Haha, I'll be swimming in a barrel of booze so don't get your hopes up of me listening:p. Nah seriously, Would be good to meet up with a few from here so looking forward to it!

annapr

El Caballo wrote: »

Haha, I'll be swimming in a barrel of booze so don't get your hopes up of me listening:p. Nah seriously, Would be good to meet up with a few from here so looking forward to it!

I'm sure McGrattans has a smoking area... :rolleyes:

El Caballo

annapr wrote: »

I'm sure McGrattans has a smoking area... :rolleyes:

I'll have to do a Murph on it and bring a big ol Cuban to celebrate:p

Training-

This week was pretty crap tbh. I'm sick again for the third time in 4 months:rolleyes:. I usually never get sick so I'm not sure why it is happening this time around as I know I'm not overdoing it in training. Maybe a combination of things that is causing it but anyway, not going taking any risks this time around as the last time I tried to run through it, it set me back 3 weeks. Ran 15 this week and have been resting up over the last few days. less than 2 weeks to go and starting to get nervous now.

annapr

Hope you feel better soon... better to be sick now than in 2 weeks time!

El Caballo

One Week To Go-

Continuing on in the same vain as my last post, sickness was the main thing again this week with the cold/flu turning into yet another chest infection, With a Stalinesque boss and terrible weather, this wasn't a surprise. So no running this week which wasn't ideal again. The good news is that I feel a lot better today and it seems to be clearing up now so will probably get back on the horse tomorrow.

In the grand scheme of things, a week and a half isn't much and although I don't feel too great now, I know I'm fit and ready to go after a PB at the very least and maybe faster if the day is good to me. Some people might be thinking that I'm sandbagging with the goal, I'm not too sure about that and for once, I'd like to execute a decent marathon which is why I'm thinking 3:11/3:12 as an A Goal. I've had a decent enough run of consistency over the last few months(for me anyway:pac:) and would rather not bow out in a World of pain like usual and lose the motivation I currently have. A well run race and a long-awaited PB(Not guaranteed by any means) would be probably for the best in terms of my running right now and going into next year rather than crashing and burning on a 3:06/3:07 run.

Going to go out slightly ahead of PB pace(3:15:29) and see what I can do in the second half. That's all she wrote for now, nothing left to do but go out and do it:)

Annie get your Run

Will be out on the course on the bike in hopefully 3 different locations so will keep an eye out as you whizz past at 3:11 pace - keep the mind filled with positive thoughts only and there's no reason not to have a great run and remember the first 7 miles are uphill....

hillsiderunner

Good luck NE, delighted to see you will probably make the start line. I am envious!

Stick to your plan and make sure you take it out nice and careful .

adrian522

Best of luck! I'll be out stewarding but I've no idea what you look like so I'll shout good luck at everyone to be sure

Wubble Wubble

El Caballo wrote: »

One Week To Go-

Continuing on in the same vain as my last post, sickness was the main thing again this week with the cold/flu turning into yet another chest infection, With a Stalinesque boss and terrible weather, this wasn't a surprise. So no running this week which wasn't ideal again. The good news is that I feel a lot better today and it seems to be clearing up now so will probably get back on the horse tomorrow.

In the grand scheme of things, a week and a half isn't much and although I don't feel too great now, I know I'm fit and ready to go after a PB at the very least and maybe faster if the day is good to me. Some people might be thinking that I'm sandbagging with the goal, I'm not too sure about that and for once, I'd like to execute a decent marathon which is why I'm thinking 3:11/3:12 as an A Goal. I've had a decent enough run of consistency over the last few months(for me anyway:pac:) and would rather not bow out in a World of pain like usual and lose the motivation I currently have. A well run race and a long-awaited PB(Not guaranteed by any means) would be probably for the best in terms of my running right now and going into next year rather than crashing and burning on a 3:06/3:07 run.

Going to go out slightly ahead of PB pace(3:15:29) and see what I can do in the second half. That's all she wrote for now, nothing left to do but go out and do it:)

Best of luck! That time is well within your reach. Thanks for all the help on the Novices thread.

El Caballo

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Will be out on the course on the bike in hopefully 3 different locations so will keep an eye out as you whizz past at 3:11 pace - keep the mind filled with positive thoughts only and there's no reason not to have a great run and remember the first 7 miles are uphill....

Cheers AM! The mind is in a good place going into this one, the calmest I've ever being going into a marathon:)

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Good luck NE, delighted to see you will probably make the start line. I am envious!

Stick to your plan and make sure you take it out nice and careful .

Cheers M! Will do...I think!:p.

adrian522 wrote: »

Best of luck! I'll be out stewarding but I've no idea what you look like so I'll shout good luck at everyone to be sure

Haha, Cheers Adrian!

Wubble Wubble wrote: »

Best of luck! That time is well within your reach. Thanks for all the help on the Novices thread.

No worries and all the best as well on Sunday! Have a gud un!:)

jake1970

Great to hear that you are over the sickness, the very best of luck to you and I hope it all goes to plan. PB all the way!!

OOnegative

Best of luck Sunday E, hope your recent illness doesn't impede you. Have a great race and run well.

chickey2

Best of luck!

hot buttered scones

Best of luck on Sunday and I hope all goes well for you. There's a good chance we'll bump into each on the way I think.

El Caballo

jake1970 wrote: »

Great to hear that you are over the sickness, the very best of luck to you and I hope it all goes to plan. PB all the way!!

OOnegative wrote: »

Best of luck Sunday E, hope your recent illness doesn't impede you. Have a great race and run well.

chickey2 wrote: »

Best of luck!

Thanks a lot folks! appreciate the good mojo:)

hot buttered scones wrote: »

Best of luck on Sunday and I hope all goes well for you. There's a good chance we'll bump into each on the way I think.

Cheers HBS! All the best as well on Sunday! Hopefully, that will be when both of are blazing through the finish to a sub-3:10;)

Singer

Hope you have a great day. Maybe cya out there... or in the pub at least.

annapr

Hope you have a great day on Sunday! Very best of luck!!!

JohnDozer

All the best! It's so good to see you're back on the marathon bus and in flying shape. I've no doubt you'll nail it! See you around Limerick :-)

Testosterscone

Best of luck tomorrow E. Good to see you get the head down and put in the work for this one. Enjoy it

Annie get your Run

What happened yesterday E?? Hope all is okay..

El Caballo

Dublin Marathon(DNF)

Where do I start with this? Usually, it would be to avoid it like the plague through equal parts anger and shame but strangely enough, I don't really feel either of those this time around, A little disappointed of course as it was my target race and I felt I had finally learned and become wise enough to nail a marathon but that wasn't to be. I just didn't feel it from the gun be it in my legs or the adrenaline, neither were there for whatever reason. I knew almost a mile in that my legs weren't feeling it but lived in hope that they would come around at some point but they never did and I called it a day at the tunnel 11 miles in when a redlining 8:02 flashed on my watch and I was eaten up by the 3:20 group. For me, there's was going to be no glory in grinding out a horrific 3:40/45, I've been there before in 2014 finishing in 3:56 on a bum knee after targeting the sub-3(even that day, the 3:10 guys didn't catch me until 21 miles) and that race haunts me to this day not because of the pain but because of how much it set me back(3 years later and I still haven't got back to that level and haven't run a PB either). I wasn't going to repeat that today just for the sake of it and to still feel the same way about the run so I felt like the right choice was to knock it on the head.

Distance running is often looked at as a grind it out sport which it is of course and many people will and have already criticised as well as a bit of Craic on the back of my running or lack of yesterday:pac: but I can live with this one. I know I made the right decision for me. I'm fit, probably more motivated than ever to make it up to myself and relatively fresh to follow through on getting back into training right away and finally take down a few Pb's that are a couple of years past their sell by date.

OOnegative

Sorry to hear that E, was disappointed for you when I seen a DNF on the tracker. Nobody knows themselves better than yourself, so nobody could say you weren't feeling it apart from you. No shame in it & you were right to pull the plug than flog yourself, no sense in that.

Good to see your still chomping at the bit, use it now.

El Caballo

OOnegative wrote: »

Sorry to hear that E, was disappointed for you when I seen a DNF on the tracker. Nobody knows themselves better than yourself, so nobody could say you weren't feeling it apart from you. No shame in it & you were right to pull the plug than flog yourself, no sense in that.

Good to see your still chomping at the bit, use it now.

Cheers B! might see you in April for some redemption!