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Still trying to figure it all out.
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Saturday 25/3
Long run - 20 miles@8:27
The first 20 miler of the plan, and it had to be done today. I headed out a bit late (around 11:30). Felt pretty good, but faded a lot towards the end- the last 3 miles maybe. I took in a good bit of the CCM course again - the bit form around 16 to 22 miles is tough enough alright. It got very warm, and I had left myself with a large hill to climb for the last mile - needless to say I fell apart. I lost a bit of momentum running through town aswell - the traffic lights weren't with me today. Another long run without gels though, and the longest I've ever run without nutrition. I seem to be ok until around 2:15, the can push through until about 2:30 and then it becomes increasingly difficult after that. I suppose the answer is run a bit slower, but I'm starting to think it's the time on my feet is the rate limiting step here. The next few long runs have "stuff" in them so I'll probably fall back on the gels for these. I need some practice anyway. We'll see.
Sunday 26/3
6.2@8:55 - not quite recovery, but not quite my current easy pace either. Just a lazy loop before work. Lovely sunshine until I hit Church Road heading back toward Ringaskiddy - the wind would skin ya! Felt nicely recovered from yesterdays effort and my legs felt great after this run.
56.7 miles for the week - which is the most I've run in a week ever.
I'm stepping back a bit next week because of the UCC 10k on Sunday. I'm still not sure how I'm getting on with this plan, but it's keeping me occupied and out of trouble and that's always a good thing
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Sunday 02/04
Race - BHAA UCC 10k
Race day arrives.
I ran this race last year and felt I could have done better. All the same my approach to this years event was going to pretty much the same as last year - so maybe I just don't learn??
I was up a bit later than expected, which was good in a way because it meant I wasn't hanging around for ages waiting. I had a quick coffee and (in a change from the usual porridge) a slice of toast before heading out to UCC. My guts weren't feeling great, but that was probably from the Papa Johns pizza I ate late last night (I was starving when I got from work, the young lad was getting one, would have been rude not too
)
The weather was perfect - nice and sunny, but not too warm yet, with just a hint of cooling breeze, which I think was coming in across the course, so no real benefit or hindrance, but was a bit cooling by the end
Registration was a short walk from the car park - plenty of signs and marshalls around so everything was easy to find. I had a quick chat with some work mates and headed off for a brief warm up around the Western Road and the Mardyke. After a quick pit stop in the Mardyke gym, I did a few laps of the track with a couple of easy strides and headed off to the start. A few mocky-ah stretches and a bit of chat and we were off.
Mile 1 - 6:35
I started back a bit, not too far though, so it was a small bit congested for the first 200m or so, but by the time we got out onto Wellington Bridge it had opened up. I heard two lads saying they were going for 42 minutes so I decided to just stick around by them for a bit and see how it went. There was a small bit of a sharp rise as we passed the old waterworks, but we got it back on the other side. I'd settled into a pace, which felt hard but not too hard - I was actually banking a few seconds because I knew mile 3 was a tough one with hills
Mile 2 - 6:39
I dropped the guys I'd been following in mile 1 and moved onto another group. I was working a bit harder now. This part of the course has a bit of a small fall off and then a drag and then a short hill at the end. I maintained a steady effort until we reached the hill, and then put a bit of effort going up the hill - I had closed the gap to a diffeernt group here I think, and passed a few on the hill.
Mile 3 - 7:07
This is the toughest mile of the course. It starts off downhill, but then there's a hill about 400m long, with the last 200m around 9% gradient. I knew I'd leak time here - I think the instantaneous pace on my watch showed about 8:40 for the steepest part. I passed a good few on the less steep part and when the steep part hit I had decided to just push the hill, but without absolutely hammering myself (which I think turned out to be a good strategy in the end). As we crested the hill I was able to start following another group who were a bit ahead. I found it hard to pick up the pace as it was mostly flat here and I hadn't had too much of chance to recover from the climb.
Mile 4 - 6:44
Mile 4 starts with a big steep downhill, so I opened up the legs and took off. I passed a few down the hill and closed the gap on the group ahead. I'm actually surprised the pace for this wasn't faster - the downhill had allowed me to recover from the climb, but after that the road rose and dropped and twisted a bit, and I had a bit of coughing fit! I slowed crossing the humpback bridge, and it was a bit congested turning onto the straight road - we had to go on the path and there was only room for one at a time. The little group had broken up and I found myself in no mans land between too groups and I was beginning to tire. I think it was towards the end of this mile were I was passed by one or two. I could see the remnants of the group ahead and decided to just try and maintain the gap if I could for now.
Mile 5 - 6:35
This mile was mostly spent by my failing to do simple maths to figure out if I was still on for a PB. I was on the Straight Road, familiar territory - dead straight and almost dead flat - where I've done manys the session. I was concentration hard trying to maintain a decent pace. I saw a female Barrs runner ahead and I decided to bridge the gap - it think I passed her by the end of this mile. Not much else to say really. If you know the Straight Road you'll know why - long straight and neverending.
Mile 6 - 6:45
This mile was a mental battle - still trying very hard to do easy sums (before saying f0ck it just run) and determined not to give into the auld central governor. The first half mile was ok, but the my pace dipped for about 400m into the 6:50 to 7:00 range - my head was saying it's fine, no PB but a good performance. I was staring to feel a bit nauseous too (damn you Papa Johns and your delicious Pizza Sauce). I was determined not to give in as I had done in races lately, and I also reminded myself that, as a BHAA race, this was a team event too. SO I stopped listening to myself. With about half a mile to go I pulled the finger out and pushed for home. When I hit the 6 mile marker my watch was reading 40:2x minutes. I was in pain now, I felt like Iwas going to throw up, and had been in the redzone for quite a few minutes. I couldn't remember how long it would take to run the extra 400 or so metres so I just pegged it
The last bit - 1:10@6:13 pace
I just ran. I didn't pass anyone or get passed. This hurt, but it was good!! With about 60m or so I could finally read the clock - I saw 41:something and just pushed to get across the line before it turned. I stopped my watch and immediately empty reached. When I saw 41:36 I was thrilled. That's a PB of 37s and on a hillier course. 49s faster than last year in the same race, in the middle of marathon training.
The numbers bit
Strava has 6.1 miles in 41:37. Garmin has 6.19 miles in 41:36 - so Strava is doing that stupid rounding thing it does. I ran a good enough line. I didn't cut any corners (I don't thinks so anyway) but my GPS track shows me running a few feet to the left for about the last 3 miles - through fields/trees etc so maybe its that.
Official results have me as 41:28?? I have no idea what that's about because it wasn't chip timed so maybe I stopped the watch late or something. So I'll take it that 41:28 is my new PB then.
Final thoughts
Yes, this really is the end, I swear. I'm very happy with the result, considering I'm doing no speedwork or anything at all 10k specific and considering it's not the flattest course. I think I raced well for the first time in ages - I wasn't just chasing a time, but I was trying to pass people, catch groups etc. which is something I hadn't been doing for a while. I also think I paced it properly for once which meant I didn't blow up for once. And McMillan gives me around a 3:15 marathon for this, which is what I'm training for, so happy days.
A great race, well done to all in UCC Staff AC. Oh, and hot chicken goujons afterwards too!! Not bad for €5.
Ninja Edit
Total for the day: 9.2 miles
Weekly total/Rolling 7 day total: 46.2
YTD: 583.90 -
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Nice one congrats
Cheers!Well done HBS, great to see some results from one of the hardest working runners on A/R.
Thanks for the compliment. Wow!Savage stuff! A proper case of you get back what you put into it. Might try the Papa Johns approach myself next time round :-)
But what are mocky-ah stretches and should I do them!?!?
They're like lettin' on stretches, only done in a Cork accent.tailgunner wrote: »Nicely done. Enjoyed the report.
Merci!Well done hbs, a well executed race.
There's nothing like a pb during marathon training to boost confidence.
Augurs well.
I certainly hope so. It's definitely given the auld mojo a boost after a few subpar results.Excellent stuff, congrats on the pb and giving it what sounds like maximum effort!!
Cheers-there's nothing like a finish line heave to let you know you've emptied the tank!Wubble Wubble wrote: »Brilliant, well done, a fine weekend all round!
A good weekend indeed. I'll be doing a few miles in along the Mersey in a couple of weeks, so I'm hoping for a similar display.Well done on PB, good read, great confidence booster ahead of Cork.
Absolutely - and it came just at the point where the doubt was starting to creep in a little bit.A 10k and a PB for a fiver? Bargain
Well raced!
Don't forget the hot chicken goujons. (I swear that wasn't the only reason I did this race. Honest).
What can I say. Thanks everyone. I think 10k's might be my new favourite. A big thanks to the UCC crew.0 -
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