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5k Series - Race #1
Let’s start with some positives – I’ve ran this course once before and it’s a flast course – I ran 25:09 this time last year which was pretty close to my PB at the time. Another positive it was a beautiful evening – warm but not too hot or humid. The negatives? Going into this race I’d had had a crazy day in work that involved eating my lunch in the car on the way home at 5:45 in the evening. And I drank very little water all day.
My target for this? My 5k pb until 2.5 weeks ago was 24:36, as already documented here I wasn’t overly happy with the circumstances of the park run pb (23:42) and wasn’t in any way confident I’d ever match it again and certainly not so soon again so I decided to target sub 24, a proper sub 24 and I’d be a very happy runner.
Got to the race in time to register but not much else, I jogged to the start line (didn't bother clocking this it was so short) but there were no strides and no proper warm up
I started closer to the start than usual (about 3 rows back) but the road was wide and all the faster runners were to the left and I stuck to the right so I wouldn’t be in anyone’s way, there were only about 140 runners. It wasn’t long til we were off. Of course i went off like a race horse and with the drag at the start and lack of warm up I was winded by 500m :rolleyes: I spent the rest of the first km trying to steady myself and get comfortable without getting too comfortable, it is a 5k race after all. The first km clocked at 4:40. Happy days!
The 2nd km contained the only real hill in the course, at the bottom of it I initially slowed right down and then I asked myself what was I playing at, take the hill girl, so I pumped the arms and powered up the hill and on from there. This km went in the blink of an eye. When the watch beeped for 2km I couldn’t believe it, already? 4:48 - more sustainable surely and still on target.
The 3rd & 4th kms had a few turns and the road surface was very rough (it was a grass growing up the middle type of roads) with some loose gravel in places. The 3rd km clocked at 4:41, I was quite surprised at this and had a light bulb moment - a PB perhaps :eek:
The 4th km is always the toughest mentally. And this time was no different, i was starting to hurt, my breathing was a bit laboured and there was a lot of internal conversations going on, one minute I was doing sums in my head to calculate how much I could slow down by and still get sub 24 and a minute later I was telling myself to cop on and HTFU :pac:
Shortly before the 4km marker we turned the last corner and the road widened and the surface improved, about 1.1km left to go. I didn’t notice the watch buzz for 4km (later it turns out it was 4:52 – my slowest km). At this point i was totally focused, just keep on going, keep the effort level up, don't settle. When I could finally see the clock it read 23:14.... whoop whoop a PB is on just a few more seconds, keep going... And eventually i went under it!
I didn’t feel too bad at the finish, grabbed a bottle of water, sat for about 30 secs to catch my breath and then went to chat to my friend who finished a few seconds ahead of me.
The last km clocked in at 4:33 - my fastest km of the night
My watch read 23:33, my official time came in at 23:32.6 a brand new pb which I am very very proud of
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5k Series - Race #1
Let’s start with some positives – I’ve ran this course once before and it’s a flast course – I ran 25:09 this time last year which was pretty close to my PB at the time. Another positive it was a beautiful evening – warm but not too hot or humid. The negatives? Going into this race I’d had had a crazy day in work that involved eating my lunch in the car on the way home at 5:45 in the evening. And I drank very little water all day.
My target for this? My 5k pb until 2.5 weeks ago was 24:36, as already documented here I wasn’t overly happy with the circumstances of the park run pb (23:42) and wasn’t in any way confident I’d ever match it again and certainly not so soon again so I decided to target sub 24, a proper sub 24 and I’d be a very happy runner.
Got to the race in time to register but not much else, I jogged to the start line (didn't bother clocking this it was so short) but there were no strides and no proper warm up I started closer to the start than usual (about 3 rows back) but the road was wide and all the faster runners were to the left and I stuck to the right so I wouldn’t be in anyone’s way, there were only about 140 runners. It wasn’t long til we were off. Of course i went off like a race horse and with the drag at the start and lack of warm up I was winded by 500m :rolleyes: I spent the rest of the first km trying to steady myself and get comfortable without getting too comfortable, it is a 5k race after all. The first km clocked at 4:40. Happy days!
The 2nd km contained the only real hill in the course, at the bottom of it I initially slowed right down and then I asked myself what was I playing at, take the hill girl, so I pumped the arms and powered up the hill and on from there. This km went in the blink of an eye. When the watch beeped for 2km I couldn’t believe it, already? 4:48 - more sustainable surely and still on target.
The 3rd & 4th kms had a few turns and the road surface was very rough (it was a grass growing up the middle type of roads) with some loose gravel in places. The 3rd km clocked at 4:41, I was quite surprised at this and had a light bulb moment - a PB perhaps :eek:
The 4th km is always the toughest mentally. And this time was no different, i was starting to hurt, my breathing was a bit laboured and there was a lot of internal conversations going on, one minute I was doing sums in my head to calculate how much I could slow down by and still get sub 24 and a minute later I was telling myself to cop on and HTFU :pac:
Shortly before the 4km marker we turned the last corner and the road widened and the surface improved, about 1.1km left to go. I didn’t notice the watch buzz for 4km (later it turns out it was 4:52 – my slowest km). At this point i was totally focused, just keep on going, keep the effort level up, don't settle. When I could finally see the clock it read 23:14.... whoop whoop a PB is on just a few more seconds, keep going... And eventually i went under it!
I didn’t feel too bad at the finish, grabbed a bottle of water, sat for about 30 secs to catch my breath and then went to chat to my friend who finished a few seconds ahead of me.
The last km clocked in at 4:33 - my fastest km of the night
My watch read 23:33, my official time came in at 23:32.6 a brand new pb which I am very very proud of
Great report there, and an undisputable PB this time! You managed the mental side of it well and got a deserved result. You were fairly ok at the end, which suggests there's a lot more improvement to follow? Sub-23 seems very achievable from here 0 -
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Ariana, congratulations!! I knew your time from Strava but reading the report it's even more impressive. I would take massive positives from that personally, the way you handled it is super. Really consistent and mentally really strong.
Also this is super random but we had the same 5k pb (24:36) until your recent parkrun, and now on the same day we've set new ones that are almost exactly the same again! Weird... So I reckon we should target the sub-23 together
Yup. This is pretty much every race ever for me :pac:there was a lot of internal conversations going on, one minute I was doing sums in my head to calculate how much I could slow down by and still get sub 24 and a minute later I was telling myself to cop on and HTFU :pac:0 -
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Can I please also join this attempt? My fastest 5k is much the same too I think !Ariana, congratulations!! I knew your time from Strava but reading the report it's even more impressive. I would take massive positives from that personally, the way you handled it is super. Really consistent and mentally really strong.
Also this is super random but we had the same 5k pb (24:36) until your recent parkrun, and now on the same day we've set new ones that are almost exactly the same again! Weird... So I reckon we should target the sub-23 together0 -
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Wubble Wubble wrote: »Great report there, and an undisputable PB this time! You managed the mental side of it well and got a deserved result. You were fairly ok at the end, which suggests there's a lot more improvement to follow? Sub-23 seems very achievable from here
It hasn't even sunk in that i'm a sub 24 min 5 k runner :pac: But thanks for the vote of confidence!Ariana, congratulations!! I knew your time from Strava but reading the report it's even more impressive. I would take massive positives from that personally, the way you handled it is super. Really consistent and mentally really strong.
Also this is super random but we had the same 5k pb (24:36) until your recent parkrun, and now on the same day we've set new ones that are almost exactly the same again! Weird... So I reckon we should target the sub-23 together
Sounds like a plan
Can I please also join this attempt? My fastest 5k is much the same too I think !
The more the merrier... Jingle Bells perhaps once we get DCM out of the way
Well done! Great running. I know that feeling of doing the mental maths and considering slowing to a still respectable time. It never lasts long though!
It looks like you'll have to come to Dublin to join the girls for a major sub 23 attack....pacer available ;-))
I don't think you'll be pacing us... you'll be too busy going for sub-19 0 -
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Great job and excellent report! There was an article Sonia O’S did a few years back and she mentioned that everyone finds the fourth K the worst including elite level runners!
Thanks! Good to know I'm on the same wavelength as the elites :eek:Well done Ariana great running and great report
Thank you 0 -
Monday, May 21st
Very easy with a few strides (4 x 100m)
Total: 6km (41:06)
Avg Pace: 6:50 min/km (lower due to the strides)
Splits: 6:59, 6:59, 6:58, 7:06, 7:00: 7:04
Avg HR: 151 bpm
Comments: Surprised at my HR on this run, rather on the high side for the pace.
Tuesday, May 22nd
My 1st 5k Race of 2018
Total: 5k (23:33 - official & watch time)
Avg Pace: 4:43 min/km
Splits: 4:39, 4:48, 4:41, 4:52, 4:33
Avg HR: 161 bpm
Comments: Report in previous post but delighted with a new 5k pb of 23:33
Wed, May 23rd
Easy Long (fast finish - last mile)
Total: 14.65 km (1:33:43)
Avg Pace: 6:24 min/km
Splits: 6:42, 6:27, 6:28, 6:25, 6:21, 6:33, 6:44, 6:29, 6:24, 6:18, 6:33, 6:26, 6:17, 5:49, 5:51 (.65)
Avg HR: 140 bpm
Comments: Very hot evening but an enjoyable run, i had the company of my faster friend but i managed to keep her close enough to my easy pace (major victory). We did a bit of a fast finish for the last mile as i was under pressure to get home.
Thurs, May 24th
Very very easy
Total: 6.5km (47:12)
Avg Pace: 7:12 min/km
Splits: 7:17, 7:14, 6:59, 7:05, 7:06, 7:21, 7:29 (.56)
Avg HR: 138 bpm
Comments: Enjoyed this on my own, very easy after 2 harder days, all good, hopefully i’m striking a healthier balance between hard & easy this week after a couple of weeks of letting the ball slip a bit.
Fri, May 25th
Easy
Total: 9.2km (1:02:25)
Avg Pace: 6:48 min/km
Splits: 7:00, 6:50, 6:48, 6:52, 6:51, 6:39, 6:48, 6;39, 6:40, 6:51 (.2)
Avg HR: 137 bpm
Comments: Again just a lovely run on my own, kept it easy.
Sat, May 26th
5k Runway Run (Tempo pace 5:15-5:24 min/km)
Total: 8k inc w/u & c/d
Avg Pace: 5:16 min/km
Splits: 5:13, 5:16, 5:14, 5:24, 5:19
Avg HR: 156 bpm
Comments: The last 2 km of this were really tough to keep in the pace range, bit of a drag and into a strong breeze. Great atmosphere though, about 1,500 runners & walkers, loads of kids etc. Glad i wasn’t trying to race it, tempo was a struggle enough.
Sun, May 27th
OFF
Comments: 50km/30m. A solid week i think myself, i tried to address the hard/easy balance which had been slipping a bit in recent weeks. Half marathon next Saturday, not sure what to expect, i feel prepared and unprepared at the same time!! I’ll be watching the weather forecast later in the week as it’s a midday start so i’ll be hoping for a cooler day than recent days.0 -
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That’s a good week and out running every day too - I’m jealous of that! Will be dying to see how you do Saturday.
Ya i manage to sneak in a extra run or two this week but my overall mileage was similar to usual. I don't usually run on Thursday but my eldest's son's soccer was cancelled so i got a short window of opportunity and then i said I'd take Saturday off instead but the same lad is a Liverpool fan and OH mentioned the Champions League final was on so i said i may as well get out of the way of their plans for a boys night bonding over soccer - strangely enough he didn't mind :rolleyes:
And likewise i'll be dying to see how you do on Sunday 0 -
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Rock n Road Half Marathon 2018
Firstly some stats - PB going into this was 2:09:25 from my one and only completed HM in October 2016. So a soft PB you might say. My recent 5km time gave me a predicted time of 1:48:52, thankfully I had the cop on to know that there's a lot of road between 5k & 21.1k! I ran 10m in March this year in 1:26:11, this time gave me a predicted HM of 1:55:06... But of course I've 10 weeks training done since then, right, so possibly i’ve improved!? In the end my target was somewhere/anywhere in the very broad range of 1:54-1:59!! Sub 2hr being the minimum I wanted to walk away with and so I went to the start with 5:24-5:38 (min/km) written on my hand in biro - my very scientific version of a pace band :P
So on Saturday morning all roads led to Kinvara for me and 4 of my favourite running buddies. Lots of nervous banter and jelly beans being passed around the car, good times! We got there and parked up nice and early. Collected our numbers, exchanged some t shirts, sussed out the finish line and went to the toilet ‘for the last time’ about 5 times!!! Eventually it was time to line up. Myself and 2 of the girls sussed out the 2hr pacers, the other girls fell back a few more rows. Before we knew it we were off!
0-5km
The race started at the bottom of a hill (I should have taken that as a sign :rolleyes:) and did a lap around the town. 5k flew by, still running alongside the 2hr pacers and keeping an eye on the splits myself. The roads were narrow and there were quite a few hanging around the pacers so at times it felt a bit congested but i was determined to stick with them. A bit gross but I could already see beads of sweat on the backs of the people in front of me and i could feel a layer forming on my own forehead - it was humid.
5-10km
Once we hit 5km myself and my 2 friends gently moved ahead of the pacers, not saying an awful lot (they were both entrusting me with the pacing). It was a relief to get away from the crowd (small as it was). One of my friends developed a stitch shortly after this, we eased off a bit to let her get on top of it but at the 4 mile marker (6.4km) she told us to go ahead, she would be slower than us anyhow and i was surprised she decided to start with us. So we pulled ahead and settled into a nice rhythm averaging around 5:29-5:30 min/km which i had worked out as being around 1:56 if we could maintain it.
10-15km
We passed the halfway point in 57:58 by my watch so this confirmed the sums i was doing in my head. It was mentally nice to be counting down the KMs now. The course was quite beautiful but unrelentless, we were out in the open with long straight stretches in front of us, we’d see the heads in the distance start to rise up and we’d know yet another drag was coming :cool: I was grateful it wasn’t a windy day but the air felt a bit scarce however despite this we held a steady pace and towards the end of this section we were slowly reeling a few runners in and over-taking without being overtaken ourselves.
15-20km
I had been warned about a hill around 11m, i kept thinking “is this it” with every drag that we came too but when i got to it finally there was no doubt. It was short but sharp and by 11m on tired legs it felt fierce and knocked the wind out of me - i'll be honest and admit i wanted to walk here and i possibly would have got up it faster walking because my run felt like a crawl. In hindsight i was very disappointed by this. My friend pulled ahead on the hill, i caught her again at the top but she’d already shown herself as stronger. The next 2 km were tough to be honest, it was a struggle to get back into pace. Coming up to 20k there was another short hill which would bring us to the turn into the town, my friend pulled ahead again here and again i caught her at the top but again the struggle was real, i was suffering by now and i wasn't even attempting to mentally talk myself around - i think i had given up
20-21.1km
My friend pulled away from me along here and despite running my fastest km of the race i couldn’t will my legs to go any faster to catch her, km18-20 had left me with very little in the tank unfortunately. My watch showed 1:56:02 when i finished, my friend’s watch showed 1:55:58. The Chip/Timing clock brought up both up a few seconds to 1:56:06 and 1:56:00 respectively.
Post race
I was pretty dead at the end of this. It took a couple of minutes hanging over the railing before i could even move away from the finish area. When i did get going i grabbed water and a banana, i was leaning against a car a few minutes later, chatting to friends when i suddenly started to see stars… got myself to the ground and head between the knees and i was ok again shortly but i gave myself a fright. I drank 3 bottles of water in the 30 minutes post race, was i dehydrated? I took a bottle at each of the 3 water stations en route, i sipped a bit and i threw water over my neck but maybe i needed more and maybe i should have taken a gel en route, it might have made a difference in the end. And the big lesson of the day was that i need to incorporate more hills into my training - they were the end of me today! I won’t deny i have some niggling doubts since as to whether i could have pushed on more in the middle section, did i settle a bit knowing i had a few handy excuses all prepared - the humid day and the rolling course? My average HR at the end was only 158 bpm, that’s 10 bmp lower than my 10 mile race in March - did i not work as hard
But it was a big pb 13 minutes, a sub 2hr and gives me a better idea heading into training for DCM as to a possible target (that's the DCM that i swore blind in the 30 minutes after the race on Saturday that i definitely WOULDN'T be doing :pac:). 0 -
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Congrats on the PB! That's a whopping amount to knock off!! And on such a warm weekend...
Would you usually run every day in the lead up to a race, even if all easy?
Thanks, it was 20 months since my last HM though so i think the chunk was well over due.
Re the taper, I think me and this race had commitment issues to be honest. It was cancelled last March due to the snow and i'm not convinced i ever really gave it the full respect it deserved since. Maybe because i'm in 5-10k mode or maybe because i got a bit arrogant after the big 10m pb in March But either way i think i possibly didn't train/prepare very well for it.
I made a few rookie mistakes which i may have forgot to mention in the report
- I wore new socks that i haven't worn before - yes i got a small blister
- I wore an old pair of shorts that i haven't worn in years, i realised as soon as i started running they were too loose, spent a couple of minutes trying to tighten the strings and eventually they got comfortable, phew :cool:
Having said that i felt very rested going into it, all those runs felt genuinely very very easy to me. I have 3 little ones and rarely get so much opportunity to run so it's hard to refuse when the window presents itself and the weather was so nice too 0 -
Thanks, it was 20 months since my last HM though so i think the chunk was well over due.
Re the taper, I think me and this race had commitment issues to be honest. It was cancelled last March due to the snow and i'm not convinced i ever really gave it the full respect it deserved since. Maybe because i'm in 5-10k mode or maybe because i got a bit arrogant after the big 10m pb in March But either way i think i possibly didn't train/prepare very well for it.
I made a few rookie mistakes which i may have forgot to mention in the report
- I wore new socks that i haven't worn before - yes i got a small blister
- I wore an old pair of shorts that i haven't worn in years, i realised as soon as i started running they were too loose, spent a couple of minutes trying to tighten the strings and eventually they got comfortable, phew :cool:
Having said that i felt very rested going into it, all those runs felt genuinely very very easy to me. I have 3 little ones and rarely get so much opportunity to run so it's hard to refuse when the window presents itself and the weather was so nice too
That's some going. I'd take a 13 minute pb for a HM in a heartbeat. Maybe next year if it's on around the usual date I might head West and give it a shot.0 -
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