The (Not So) Flying Scotsman

Kellygirl

Fantastic C. Very well done. Hope you are still buzzing.

Lazare

Incredible result C, and so inspiring.

You really dug deep and gave it everything. Was tracking you and it was a joy to see how strong you were at each checkpoint.

Hope you're still swimming in endorphins.

Murph_D

Very well done - a few parallels there for sure with my experience. Great result!

Wubble Wubble

Brilliant run C. Not even close to 3 hours ! One to remember forever.

Swashbuckler

Phenomenal run. Well done lad. All these Chicago results make me want to make the trip!

scotindublin

Thanks everyone, still buzzing after it. Been walking the legs off myself in NY and got a run in today.

Recovering well but my feet are a mess 🤣🤣.

C

scotindublin

So we are pretty much a week post Chicago and although I am still buzzing after it I am now at the "what next stage".

This year has been really solid in terms of running and I have had PBs across the board 5 Mile (28.06 in the Dunboyhe BHAA race), 10k (35.28 in Dunshaughlin), Tullamore 1/2 (79.19) and of course the marathon which has been discussed above.

So what next? That's the big question, I am not about undertaking a marathon in 2023, will most likely aim for Boston in 2024. Between now and the end of the year once recovered I will get stuck into the club sessions and do some XC races.

The one big omission I have on the PB list is a good 10 mile, so I think that will be a priority for next year......Will aim for either Trim or Dungarvan and try and get the sub 60 off the back and then concentrate on the shorter stuff,I am not sure how much I have to give over 5k to be honest but do a couple of those too.

C

ariana`

Just realised I read your report but never commented, my bad 🙈 Congratulations on the PB, delighted to see it come together so brilliantly for you after the consistent work all year. Every second of that PB was earned and deserved, well done.

scotindublin

So the last few weeks have been a bit meh......calling it post marathon blues and have been really struggling for any sort of motivation. Diet has also gone to complete pot since Chicago.

Mileage last week was decent and crept over 50 miles including doing both DH sessions so a step in the right direction. Have also decided on a break from Strava for a while.

Going to get back on track this week and plan to get back logging on a weekly basis.

Since the last update I have been talked into going to Malaga with a couple of lads from the club for rhe 1/2 marathon in December which as things stand I currently do not plan to race. Signed up for the Trim 10 mile which will hopefully be a sub 60 attempt and should keep me honest over the next couple of months and I have also thrown my hat into Berlin as a GFA using the joys of bumping up an age category in 2023.

Onwards and upwards from here.

C

skyblue46

Plenty to keep you focused there C.

Just one question if you don't mind. I see a few people doing Strava breaks but I can't work out a purpose....what is the benefit?

scotindublin

Thanks S, on the Strava question it sorted of spawned from really just doing bog standard run of the mill runs post Chicago with no real purpose to them. I didn't really feel the need to post them. It was then that I realised how much time I spend flicking onto Strava to see what others were doing.

It may end up just being a temporary thing I don't really know to be honest just now, maybe I will be back and be selective on what I upload 🤔 or have a cull of who I have seen my runs.....tbd at this stage.

skyblue46

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119871074#Comment_119871074

Ah right...I just have mine set to upload automatically and I don't care if people find them vanilla 🤣 It's also my record of what I run...

scotindublin

Still have the trusty old Garmin app for recording my runs 🏃‍♂️ 👍

Laineyfrecks

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119869582#Comment_119869582

I hear you on the diet issue, I haven't stopped eating myself since Dublin😅 I am doing Trim myself!

Nice to see you back logging.

AuldManKing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119871074#Comment_119871074

I hear you on a number of fronts in your recent posts.

My motivation went/ is going - I'm trying very hard to get back into it. I'd say had I raced DCM it would have been worse - but thats normal - thats the benefit of Jingle Bells, to get us back focused!

On Strava - Its a love/hate relationship with it for me. I like seeing and supporting others who run / met lots of people who I only knew from Strava - but it does add a pressure - at least to me - theres also an ego element that creeps in ("my last 4 miles were sub 7 - I need to keep the next 3 miles sub 7 " ) when you are going well - all internally driven.

At times I feel that people actually give a $hit about my paces, recoveries, miles etc - whereas its just me who does. Taking a break from Strava helps reset my phycology around it (daft as that sounds).

scotindublin

I think my lack of motivations stems from putting so much into the marathon and now I am like what's next, what do I want to achieve.

Will be ok once I get through the next couple of weeks and start looking towards to goals for 2023.

Maybe I am being a bit silly with the Strava thing but I am sorta liking not being on there too much seeing what others are doing. Like you said it is sometimes good to have a bit of a mental reset.

Great to hear you are doing Jingle Bells, I will be out stewarding again this year. It feels like the start of Christmas from the race onwards.

C

Murph_D

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119871074#Comment_119871074

Are non run-of-the-mill posts less valuable? I think posting all runs gives a more realistic portrait of the dedicated athlete. Wouldn't worry at all (obviously, from my own strava activities) about being in a recovery phase, or any phase at all really. There's nothing to fear about a 'bog standard' run.

I'd say embrace it, and all that it says about your superior knowledge of post-race recovery, and all recovery. And at the end of the day, other runners are too caught up in their own schtick to even notice. Except skyblue of course. 😉

skyblue46

👀 that only happened with the poor unfortunate Novices in 2018. These days it's nothing more than a casual perusal 🧐

scotindublin

Weekly Update

58 miles - 6 days 2 sessions and one quality gig thrown in.

Monday - 8.5 miles at 7.57 pace. Headed out from the house down into Chapo along the Chapo Road and into the Phoeno at the main gates. Ran up to the Phoenix Monument swung left down the Acres Road and home via the Chapo Gates......steady run with the only thing of note was my torch giving up in the middle of the Phoeno.

Tuesday - Club session on the Chapo Road 8 x 800s off a 200 recovery. Reps were between 2.50 and 3.03 the ones back towards the club are always a little slower.

Wednesday - No run, went to see The Snuts in the Button Factory....cracking gig @Laineyfrecks one to check out on Spotify......there may have been a few Moretti on board.

Thursday a fairly tired 7 miles at 7.48 pace, 3.5 miles out and back from the club up Chesterfield Avenue.

Friday an easy double day with 2 x 5.3 mile runs dropping the car and picking it up from a service.

Saturday - Fartlek session on the Mag with the Club, ran on the "big" lap of the old Dublin Novice course 5 x laps took it handy enough, bit of an annoying hesd cold.

Sunday 14 miles with the lads from the club enjoyable run. Flew by with footballs chat as none of the DH girls were with us today, main topics were Keano v Mccarthy in Saipan followed by our top premiership players......suggesting Paul Scholes was a better midfielder than Stevie G did not go down well.

A decent solid week, diet is still shocking though 😑.

C

...

Laineyfrecks

Cheers C will give them a listen! Hope you enjoyed the gig & beers😉

scotindublin

Weekly Update 54 miles for the week.

Monday - had planned to run but didn't get home from work until 1930.

Tuesday - Track session 16 x 300s off a 300 rec. Nice group of 4 of us working together and taking turns leading the reps.....all 16 came in between 59 to 62 seconds. Warm up and cool down brought it to 10.6 miles for the evening.

Wednesday 6.8 miles at 7.58 just a handy work run

Thursday 8 miles at 7.41, one of the lads was at the club so ran with him.....4 miles out and back to the min phoeno entrance and up Chesterfield Ave.

Friday 6 miles at 7.53 per mile from work.

Saturday - Session on the Mag Lopp 14 x 400s pushing it on the dips.

Sunday 14 miles at 7.42. Perfect morning for a run and the pace was upped on the second half.

On the shoe front, went a bit mad on the Nike sale so have 2 pairs of Tempos and a pair of Pegasus on the way.

C

AuldManKing

Thoughts on the Tempos??

scotindublin

@AuldManKing me and the tempos had a bit of a love hate relationship at the start but I grew to like them.

Great for sessions or longer runs at a decent clip, they are pretty slappy at a slower pace and I wouldn't recommend them for everyday runs and are pretty slippy in the wet.

All in all a positive from me and with the deals on Nike just now (I got a pair for €87) hard to turn down

C

scotindublin

2022 End of Year Review

That time of the year to have a look back at what has been accomplished.

First off the mileage for this year is just going to sneak over 2500 miles, probably about 60 miles fewer than last year which is not bad after breaks for Covid/summer holidays and post marathon recovery.

As per most years my first race of the year was the Dublin Masters XC where I had a solid run finishing 42nd overall in 23.32, this always rates as one of my favourite races of the year. Next up was the Leinster Masters where I finished 55th in 22.04, a race I probably shouldn't have run but went out to make up the M35 Team for the club.

It was onto the road next for the Raheny 5 mile where the aim was to break 30 minutes. Crossed the line in 29.54 on the slightly long course......had another cut at a 5 mile in the BHAA race in Dunboyne in May where I ran 28.06.

Got called up for the mile leg of the Road Relays and ran 5.12 for my leg od just over a mile.....always the toughest effort of the year.

Two solid 10k efforts on the road in Duboyne (March) 35.48, including a shoelace mishap and a 35.28 in Dunshaughlin in June just before catching the dreaded 'vid.

The Covid bout went straight into our summer holiday so it was a nice break before marathon training kicked off for Chicago, my training block for the marathon was condensed pretty much from middle of July until the end of September with just one race during the cycle, which was a 79.15 including a nice shiny Leinster Masters team medal.

After the 1/2 all eyes were on Chicago for the sub 3 attempt, despite a lot of cajoling from my club mates on what time to run this was always goign to be a 2.59.59 would be more than acceptable. In a pretty well paced run of 86.28 and 86.18 for the 1/2s I crossed the line in 2.52.46. So it was a job done all round.

Have to admit that it sort of feels like I have been going through the motions since the marathon with no real goal or focus, my last race of the year was our annual St Stephens Day handicapped 10 mile cross country race with the club, where I ran a none too spectacular 68.xx minutes.

So all in all a really strong year of running. Plan to get the mojo back in Jan and run the Dublin Maters/Raheny 5 mile (most likely as a good solid tempo) before having a crack at a sub 60 10 mile at Trim in Feb.

Longer term for 2023 will be to concentrate on the shorter stuff until the end of June, then jump on the Berlin Bandwagon for a sub 2.50 attempt in September.

Thanks for reading and best wishes to you all in 2023

C

Swashbuckler

Happy new year lad. That's a great year . Nicely summarised.

coogy

Can't believe I didn't get a mention...........🙃

scotindublin

Thanks lads, looking back it has been a great year.....I think every race I ran was a PB, some of that was down to not being able to race over the Covid years.

@coogy I had thought of mentioning being burned by you over the final 1/2 mile of the recent meet up 😅......a Lazarus like recovery.....hopefully make the next one.

Laineyfrecks

Great year there C, Happy New year to you🤗

scotindublin

@Laineyfrecks thanks, Happy New Year to all your crew for 2023 and catch up soon for a run.

Laineyfrecks

Look forward to it🙂