Chapter 2 - Finding Nemo

Swashbuckler

Another good article from McMillian. I do enjoy the simplicity of his articles.

CERTAIN TRUTHS FOR RUNNERS OF ALL ABILITIES

I’m a lucky coach. I get to work with beginning runners just coming off the couch as well as competitive runners aiming for age-group victories or trying to qualify for Boston. And through the work I’ve done with pro runners in Flagstaff, I’ve been able to help Olympians and world championship-level athletes.

What’s most interesting is not the differences between the various groups of athletes but rather the similarities. Over my 20 years of coaching, I’ve noticed five key traits of successful distance runners. These traits apply to everyone — beginners just joining the sport; competitive folks who balance work, family and other commitments with their running goals; and Olympic-level athletes.

1) Don’t Dwell

Every long-time runner has experienced this phenomenon: week after week of great runs suddenly interrupted by one of the worst workouts in years, for no logical reason. I’ve found that the most successful athletes don’t dwell on the bad days; instead, they’re eager to move on to the next day’s training or upcoming race. Successful runners know that bad days don’t last and aren’t a true indication of their fitness. Bad days are just a freak occurrence that must be tolerated on the path to your goals. Running is hard but fun, and that short statement should tell us that there will be good days and there will be bad days. Live through both. Neither lasts forever.

A personal example: I work with two outstanding athletes who took their fitness to new levels in a few years ago. One went on to win a national championship. The other never raced to his potential. The difference was in their outlook. The national champion endured a few bad workouts and races but let them slide. The underperformer also endured a few bad workouts and races but couldn’t get past them. He was training with other athletes who were having great success. He was accomplishing workouts that he never dreamed he could do. He was recovering quickly and was not overtrained. But when we talked, his attitude was, “Yeah, but …†We’d talk about the hundred great workouts he’d done but he’d follow that with, “Yeah, but that tempo run last month really went poorly. I don’t know if I’m in great shape.†Clearly, this “dweller†will never achieve what the national champion did, and it has nothing to do with training. It has to do with mindset.

2) Find Your Sweet Spot in Training

Successful training is about finding the balance in your stress/rest cycle. Training (and much of life) is stressful. It depletes your body’s energy stores. It stresses your muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones. In short, training tears down your body. With rest, however, your body builds back stronger than before. The trick is to find the training rhythm where your stress/rest cycle is in balance — where you’re having positive workout followed by positive workout, successful week followed by successful week. In fact, if we’re smart (and this is what I do as a coach), we set up the training from the outset to be positive.

This can be tricky due to the unpredictability of our other life stresses (work, family, etc.), but if you find a training routine where nearly every one of your workouts and races is positive then you’re in balance. If you find that you frequently have poor/unpredictable workouts or races, or are often injured, then your training (or life) stress is too great. You are under-recovering and should add a bit more recovery to your plan. Progress things as your body adapts but think constantly about balance so that you can have successful training. Successful workouts lead to greater and greater motivation, which leads to better and better racing.

3) Focus on Consistency

Once you find your sweet spot, you can train consistently week after week, month after month and year after year. This “stacking†of successful training week on top of successful training week will lead you to your full potential. Injuries and illness from overtraining cut short your improvement so structure your training with the long-term in mind.

We had a saying in our Olympic training team that you must train consistently for two straight years — no unscheduled interruptions due to injury or illness — to even begin to see how good you can be. This reality applies to all of us. A year of consistent running is more beneficial than a few stellar weeks of training.

4) Be Tenacious

Successful runners are tenacious (some of our loved ones would even say stubborn). Success is about keeping on keeping on. Put one foot in front of the other for long enough and the finish line will come. You have the ability to go to greater heights than you ever dreamed of — just by sticking with it. A little stubbornness can be a great attribute when you’re in the middle miles of a marathon. Foster tenaciousness in small ways every day. I always think of Desiree Linden when I think of tenaciousness. There were many women runners who were faster then she was in college but look at what she has achieved just by keeping on keeping on. She’s a multi-time Olympian and always seems to get the most from herself.

5) Build Your Confidence Constantly

The most important key to success is confidence. You know the workouts and training rhythm that give you confidence. It’s a good idea to include these types of training throughout your year to keep you motivated. It’s also a good idea to put confidence-building workouts close to your key races. The last six weeks before a key race like a marathon should include all your favorite, confidence-building workouts. Don’t just follow a training plan because that’s what’s “accepted wisdom.†Instead, tinker with your training and add as well as omit workouts that just don’t work for you

Swashbuckler

I have to stop posting stuff from the internet from my phone. All those symbols not recognized almost turn it into another language in places.

El CabaIIo

Swashbuckler wrote: »

I have to stop posting stuff from the internet from my phone. All those symbols not recognized almost turn it into another language in places.

Or you could stop dwelling on it and be tenacious in editing out the symbols:p

Well done at the weekend btw, solid run to open up the year

RayCun

Swashbuckler wrote: »

The last six weeks before a key race like a marathon should include all your favorite, confidence-building workouts. Don't just follow a training plan because that's what's "accepted wisdom" Instead, tinker with your training and add as well as omit workouts that just don't work for you

It's a good point, I remember this coming up on a course (talking about long jump :pac: but same basic idea)

Coming up to a competition, the temptation is to focus on your weak points, the aspect of your training that you find hardest. But since that is your weak point, your sessions are going to be a struggle, you're probably going to finish each one thinking you could have done better. And then you go into competition thinking about your weak points and the sessions you weren't happy with.

But if your last few sessions are on the bits you like and are good at, you finish training thinking you're brilliant and go into competition feeling strong.

Swashbuckler

El CabaIIo wrote:

Or you could stop dwelling on it and be tenacious in editing out the symbols

Haha believe it or not I did and it didn't work so I have up. I'm semi tenacious.

El CabaIIo wrote:

Well done at the weekend btw, solid run to open up the year

Cheers lad. I've parked it and ready to move on. Munster 4 miler on Sunday so hopefully these races will tune me back up a little. Haven't raced in months.

El CabaIIo

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Haha believe it or not I did and it didn't work so I have up. I'm semi tenacious.



Cheers lad. I've parked it and ready to move on. Munster 4 miler on Sunday so hopefully these races will tune me back up a little. Haven't raced in months.

Newmarket should be a good race, you'll have plenty of people to battle it out with anyway as those Munster 4 miles are pretty deep. You doing County 4 as well?

Swashbuckler

El CabaIIo wrote:

Newmarket should be a good race, you'll have plenty of people to battle it out with anyway as those Munster 4 miles are pretty deep. You doing County 4 as well?

I think the Munster is Dundrum. Looking forward to it. Back to back weeks should be a nice stimulus.

Yeah County is on the plan. Again no major expectations.

Swashbuckler

RayCun wrote:

But if your last few sessions are on the bits you like and are good at, you finish training thinking you're brilliant and go into competition feeling strong.

Would you be an advocate for playing around with the plan on the lead up to a target race? If I remember right from your log you tend to adjust your training on the fly each week.

RayCun

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Would you be an advocate for playing around with the plan on the lead up to a target race? If I remember right from your log you tend to adjust your training on the fly each week.

The trouble with my adjusting my training on the fly is that I seem to end up doing a lot less work than if I was following a plan! :pac:

OOnegative

Best of luck tomorrow P, run well man!!!

Baby75

Good luck tomorrow run well but enjoy it as well

Swashbuckler

Monday - Easy 6M at 8.22.
Tuesday - Easy 7M at 8.08.
Wednesday - 1M at 6.00, 3min Jog, (4/3/2/1min at 6.15 off 75s)
Thursday - Easy 7M at 8.12.
Friday - Off
Saturday - 4M Shakeout and Strides
Sunday - Munster 4M Road Championship in Dundrum

Felt surprisingly good on Monday after the race. Wasn't until Tuesday that I felt a little tired and tight in the legs.

Wednesdays session was a handy enough one to be honest. Didn't find it too bad. Paces were a little hot in places. Felt good throughout. Tricky to dial into the effort as it felt like I was the effort was too low. Looking back at the paces afterwards I was getting decent pace for less effort which is good I guess? Lol
1M was 5.54
4/3/2/1 were 6.05/6.10/6.11/6.04

Can't say I found this overly taxing.

Crappy sleep Wednesday night meant I was very tired on Thursday. As always in the lead up to a race the day off Friday and shakeout had me feeling pretty good for the race.

Swashbuckler

Munster 4M Road Championship

Finally getting around to writing my report as my hands have finally defrosted. That was some of the worst conditions I've raced in.

I had a bit of a reflective weekend in the run up to this one. I remember when I first joined the club my thoughts were towards running more competitive races and sharpening up a bit. Things hadn't really worked out that way especially with the XC which was a humbling experience albeit at a bit of a ****e time in my life. I guess the point im trying to make is these club races had been a bit of a reality check for me. So going into today I would say I was probably a little low on confidence. I had really enjoyed being back racing last weekend though and last year I had also done back to back race weeks around the same time which I found really beneficial. So there was never a doubt in my mind that it was the right decision to run the race. Was a little leggy from Thursday on but nothing major. Usually a good sign. Haha.

There were only four of us from the club running today. Three very fast lads, and me. Not enough for a masters team and didn't qualify as a novice team so seniors all the way!

Landed in Dundrum in what can only be called atrocious conditions. Lashing rain which soon became sleet and then snow. Baltic. Parked up and met the lads in the hall. Nice catching up with them. Atmosphere building around the place. Even ran into diegob from these parts. Always a pleasure to meet himself.. Headed off for a "warmup" with the lads just after the ladies race had started. Got a decent two miles in and came back colder and wetter than I went out.

We got the call around 1.40pm for our race and headed down to the start line. Very decent turnout. Lined up with two of the lads from the club. Other lad well up at the front. Quickly realized that maybe we were a tad bit too far back but nothing to be done about it now. Off we went. Oh by the way I had the watch today but it was well hidden. Didn't check it once.
We took off at what felt like lightening pace. It settled about 300m in but by God was it crowded. What made matters worse was we were directed down a narrowish road with pools of water on both sides so literally no choice but to run through these. Great support around the place even in those conditions which was appreciated... Once I got going I must say I really felt great. Great as in I was enjoying what was going on around me. For some reason my attitude was just spot on today. I made every aggressive choice I could have. Never settled in a group for too long and kept pushing on to the next group.
Mile 1 clocked at 5.51.
Felt a lot quicker!

Settled into mile 2 and I'm feeling OK. I'm cutting through the field which is a huge boost. In all honesty I was delighted at the time but on reflection I would say it wasn't until mile 3 started that I found my true place in the field. I was cutting through people I probably should have started ahead of. But great for the confidence.
I think it was towards the end of mile 2 we took a turn off the main road and looped back around towards dundrum. Into a bit of a headwind here. Really great fun pushing up on people ahead of me. Them responding and me digging in and pushing on again. Mile 2 clocked at 5.56.

By mile 3 we were getting blasted in the face with some heavy rain or sleet or whatever. Tough conditions but to be honest the battles were distracting me. I had picked a lad up ahead in a Youghal (not sure) singlet as a target to catch by the end of mile 3. Ahead of him was blue singlet. My goal was not to let him finish ahead of me. So I pushed on. Looking back on my pace chart I can see the little bursts I made a various stages to close the gap on groups ahead. I made sure I didn't get isolated once. Not the kind of conditions you would want to be running alone. By now I had pushed up on Youghal and he clearly wasn't happy and responded. Haha. Again I dug in and left him behind. In the middle of this push I also passed blue singlet. Mile 3 clocked at 6.00. Felt quicker!

Time for some new targets. Mooreabbey Milers fella was next and I didn't hang around. We turned right off the road into the last 1km and I drove past him. Last target up ahead was Ennis track lad. That was my favourite battle of the day. We went head to head very far from the finish. The last 1km was basically toe to toe with him. I was pleasantly surprised with the strength I felt. Lungs were screaming at me but the grit was there today. There was fight in me which was a great feeling. We got a few cheers from the crowd for the entertainment we were providing. Haha. About 500m to go I made a "decisive" move and opened up a gap. I knew he was saving something for one last push as we approached the left turn with 300m to go. As soon as that turn came I emptied the tank. I didn't look back. I just went with what I had and it was enough. Reached the end and caught my breath. He wasnt far behind. We tried to talk to each other but honestly our faces were so numb we couldn't speak. Checked my watch and was shocked to see 23.47. Last mile was 5.47. Last few hundred metres were 5.20ish. I genuinely thought I had gone wayyyyy quicker but I honestly didn't care. That race was so much fun. So competitive. Racing all the way throughout. A good honest effort and happy to see a lot of fight in me. Also happy that I didn't sacrafice speed for form. Felt solid throughout.

Spoke to a lot of people and seemed like everyone was slower than they usually are which made me feel even better. Haha.

Headed back and met the lads. Lovely cup of tea and some fine sandwiches. Had some nice chats with some other runners in the hall after. No idea what the results were but I don't think we won anything.

So there you have it. I must say that's probably the most I've enjoyed a race (in as much as that pain can be enjoyable). Pancake flat route. Lots of people to work off. Brilliant stuff. I think I have a new favorite distance. Goodbye 10k hello 4M. Haha.

The back to back race weeks definitely helped. Not something I'd recommend regularly but every now and then it's definitely worth considering in particular shorter stuff like 4M and 5k.

Also cutting through the field is a completely different experience than competing with people at your pace from the start..

Next up is County 4M on the 24th. Can't wait but looking forward to getting some regular weeks training in over the next couple of weeks.

Building all the time.

diego_b

Nicely done P and a fine report. Best of luck with the county race. Hopefully you get nicer weather conditions! I remember during the 3rd mile there was a nice bit of sleet and a few small bits of hail and I was thinking ah now don’t do that (hailstones) to us!! I was talking to one of the Order of Malta guys as I left and he was telling me they had a few patrons on the day that were not in good nick at all...took a bit of work to sort them out. I was thinking this is mad, sure it was only 4 miles but I had spotted a lady I know from another Kerry club after her race that was being tended too. When I spoke to her an hour later she was still shivering. The cold just got into her. Like you say I enjoyed it too, despite the great course that weather meant you could forget the time! That 10K course (2x large laps) looks a quick one!

Swashbuckler

diego_b wrote: »

Nicely done P and a fine report. Best of luck with the county race. Hopefully you get nicer weather conditions! I remember during the 3rd mile there was a nice bit of sleet and a few small bits of hail and I was thinking ah now don’t do that (hailstones) to us!! I was talking to one of the Order of Malta guys as I left and he was telling me they had a few patrons on the day that were not in good nick at all...took a bit of work to sort them out. I was thinking this is mad, sure it was only 4 miles but I had spotted a lady I know from another Kerry club after her race that was being tended too. When I spoke to her an hour later she was still shivering. The cold just got into her. Like you say I enjoyed it too, despite the great course that weather meant you could forget the time! That 10K course (2x large laps) looks a quick one!

I had actually forgotten to include that in my report. At one stage coming back into town, in the depths of the battle, I saw a lad being tended to on the left hand side of the road in a bad way being held up by two people. Got back to the hall after the race and another lad in a pretty bad state shaking. Tough conditions. Do they run a 10k every year there? Would definitely be somewhere to target - flat as can be.

diego_b

Swashbuckler wrote: »

I had actually forgotten to include that in my report. At one stage coming back into town, in the depths of the battle, I saw a lad being tended to on the left hand side of the road in a bad way being held up by two people. Got back to the hall after the race and another lad in a pretty bad state shaking. Tough conditions. Do they run a 10k every year there? Would definitely be somewhere to target - flat as can be.

Yup, it appears so to be there every year. First Wed in July with an 8pm start. If you follow Dundrum AC on fb you’ll see the previous ones listed under events and they had signs up yest for the one this year. Talking to one of the guys in the club there I think I they do a 5K in May and then a 10K in July every year.

eyrie

Great reading in that! Nasty day for it but that sounds like the way to run a race all the same, well done!

Duanington

Nice racing there P - fair play to you, a good tough effort that will stand to you

AuldManKing

Nice work - tough conditions,I'd be far too soft to race in that

Swashbuckler

AuldManKing wrote:

Nice work - tough conditions,I'd be far too soft to race in that

But just imagine how your tan would've stood out

El CabaIIo

Well done man! Weather was no joke Sunday morning.

Yeah as diego_b was saying, there's a 10k there every July. I ran it in 2017, 2 loops of 5k and it's probably one of the flattest 10k's in the country. Really good race and probably one of the best 10k's in Munster, second best anyway!;)

Baby75

well done savage racing it will stand to you

ariana`

I always love reading your race reports, you put so much into them, the race and the reports! Sounds like another tough one with the conditions being so awful but fair play, nothing soft about ya

Younganne

Brilliant report I could feel your energy in it. Great running too. well done P.

Swashbuckler

Monday - Easy 7M @8.27
Tuesday - 6x2min @ 5.55 pace (Off 80s) + 4x20s Hard (Off 60s)
Wednesday - Easy 7M @8.13
Thursday - Easy 7M @8.05
Friday - 30 min tempo (6.30 pace with last 5min at 6.20), 3 min jog, 5x15s strides
Saturday - Easy 13M @8.05
Sunday - Rest

Legs on Monday felt as you'd expect them to after a race. Kept Mondays easy run easy. I don't look at the watch on the easy runs anymore. All purely on feel.

I was off work for the rest of the week so wasn't as time crunched as usual. Which meant I tacked on some extra warmup and cooldown miIes to my sessions. Tuesdays session went very very well. Absolutely shocking conditions. I got drenched but strangely I loved the whole thing. Feels like I'm repeating myself every week but this was controlled and solid throughout. Nothing over taxing. Well executed.
Splits were:
5.55/5.55/5.47/5.53/5.57
The hard were hard but not so hard that my form collapsed.

Not really sure what happened on the 47. One thing I noted on this session was the lack of needing the watch. Glanced at it from time to time but again, learning to feel these sessions a lot better which is encouraging.
Total mileage roughly 9.1 miles.

Wednesday and Thursday were the typical easy runs. Nothing major to report. Legs were very tired on Wednesday but good again by Friday.

Fridays tempo session was one I had really been looking forward to. Loved it. I think most people seem to like tempo runs. Just getting into a groove and staying focused. Again, the focus is on staying controlled and maintaining good form. Was very pleasantly surprised when I saw the mile splits after. Bang on. Another chunky warmup and cooldown brought this to roughly 9.5miles. Strides woke the legs up a bit.
I was tired after this and knew I was gonna have some fun on the long run Saturday.

Saturday I was tired. Crap nights sleep too. But again I loved it. Last few miles were autopilot. Long run on tired legs. Very happy.

Very positive about this week. If I can keep stringing these weeks together I'll have no complaints. Always a good sign when I'm daydreaming about racing. Solid 14 days of racing and training behind me there.

Couple of other points of note.

The zoom streaks start to chaff the outside of my left foot after a while so I think they're demoted to 5k racers.

The injury is a distant memory (touch wood). One thing I look back on is how easy it is to panic a bit when you feel that fitness has slipped away. It's very easy to start over thinking everything, do I need to do more stretching, maybe yoga, maybe I have an imbalance here or there, maybe I need specific S&C. The funny thing is it has simply been a matter of just getting back to the bread and butter of sensible running. Thank God for coach. So for anyone injured or coming back from injury don't panic! You'd be surprised how quickly it comes back.

Well done to all those racing today. Horrific weather for it.

skyblue46

Pilates man...it's all about Pilates haha. You missed out on doing that.

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote:

Pilates man...it's all about Pilates haha. You missed out on doing that.

Never too late S!

skyblue46

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Never too late S!

Never too late to follow the latest unproven fad!

Baby75

Swashbuckler wrote: »

The injury is a distant memory (touch wood). One thing I look back on is how easy it is to panic a bit when you feel that fitness has slipped away. It's very easy to start over thinking everything, do I need to do more stretching, maybe yoga, maybe I have an imbalance here or there, maybe I need specific S&C. The funny thing is it has simply been a matter of just getting back to the bread and butter of sensible running. Thank God for coach. So for anyone injured or coming back from injury don't panic! You'd be surprised how quickly it comes back.

Well done to all those racing today. Horrific weather for it.

So true and I can say yes to all those panic and overthinking!! so glad I seem to be (FX) the other side of it also!

Younganne

Baby75 wrote: »

So true and I can say yes to all those panic and overthinking!! so glad I seem to be (FX) the other side of it also!

It's very easy to start over thinking everything, do I need to do more
stretching, maybe yoga, maybe I have an imbalance here or there, maybe I need
specific S&C. The funny thing is it has simply been a matter of just getting
back to the bread and butter of sensible running. Thank God for coach. So for
anyone injured or coming back from injury don't panic! You'd be surprised how
quickly it comes back.

Ditto;) & here's hoping!!

Swashbuckler

Younganne wrote:

Ditto & here's hoping!!

You're an exception Anne. In fairness you've had an awful dose with plantar. Long may your comeback continue!

Swashbuckler

Monday - Easy 7M @8.15
Tuesday - 2x(4/3/2/1min) (Off 75s) targeting 6.00min/mile pace
Wednesday - Easy 7M @8.12
Thursday - Easy 7M @8.13
Friday - Alternating Tempo 5x(5min/90s) (6.30 pace for the 5min. 6.10 pace for the 90s)
Saturday - Easy 13M ish @8.00
Sunday - Rest

Felt a little leggy this week with a hard two weeks of running and racing behind me. Reflected in the pace of my easy runs which were a little bit slower than usual. Nothing to worry about though. Nice to feel the body a little stressed again from running.

I think we all had to contend with the weather conditions a bit this week. Woke up Tuesday morning and it was a lovely day out. Thought I was getting off lightly but it had picked up a bit by the time I got out in the afternoon. Kept it within the estate which is relatively sheltered. Sick of repeating myself at this stage but yes, it was all very controlled. One thing I feel I have become better at is running on feel. So dialing back the pace to achieve a target effort is something I have improved on. The XC block certainly helped with this but it has been something I've really been practicing since after Charleville. Coach has drilled into me that form should not suffer at the expense of achieving a target pace. So that's the main focus in all of my sessions now. Kept it controlled.
Again, sick of repeating myself but the session was enjoyable. I guess I just love sessions!
Had to manage headwinds and tailwind so I'm pleased with how the splits turned out. Very little looking at the watch. A glance here and there.
Pace splits were;

6.00/6.03/6.03/5.47
6.04/6.01/5.55/5.52

Recoveries all in the 8. 15/8.30 region. Felt good..... Another in the bank.... 6.75M total.

Fridays session was another strength building session. I really enjoy these especially the feeling of the legs fatiguing as the session goes on but still having that feeling of strength. I had considered throwing some strides in too but given the legs had been tired all week I veered on the safe side and left it. In hindsight I think I should have done them. I've had very little turnover work this week but no biggie. Weather was nice and calm for this.
Splits were bang on for the 5mins. Had originally targeted 6.15 for thr 90s but they all ended up around 6.10. 8.6M total for the session. In the bank. Very happy.

Felt fresher than usual for the long run so did more loops of the Ennis road/Thomond park drags. Weather held off for me which was a bonus. Felt good again.

So a decent week again. Zero complaints. Building all the time. Onwards we go.

Toral mileage for the week was 49.6M. 6hrs 28mins time on feet. 52mins of that was "stuff". The rest easy. Will start recording this every week. Thought it might be interesting for folks to see.

Murph_D

Hear you P - I quite like sessions too. Racing I enjoy afterwards, but sessions can be enjoyed in the moment, I think.

Swashbuckler

Murph_D wrote:

Hear you P - I quite like sessions too. Racing I enjoy afterwards, but sessions can be enjoyed in the moment, I think.

Definitely agree. I think I've only ever truly enjoyed one race during and that was the Munster 4M. The sessions I love.

skyblue46

I like the idea of keeping track of 'stuff'. I think I'll join in with that.

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote:

I like the idea of keeping track of 'stuff'. I think I'll join in with that.

Easy when it's time based. Not so easy when it's distance based and need to get the calculator out. Haha

skyblue46

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Easy when it's time based. Not so easy when it's distance based and need to get the calculator out. Haha

Oh the nerd in you will absolutely love working that one out! Haha.

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote:

Oh the nerd in you will absolutely love working that one out! Haha.

Haha very true.

AuldManKing

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Easy when it's time based. Not so easy when it's distance based and need to get the calculator out. Haha

Or "stuff" as a % of total? (Tgt=20% ??)

Or Stuff to Total ratio

Swashbuckler

I haven't looked at this before for me but I'm gonna guess in advance as the weeks go on the stuff will generally be around 15% of weekly total.

Swashbuckler

Monday - Easy 7M @8.02
Tuesday - 5min/3x2min/4min/5x1min/4min. 5 and 4's at 6.15 with 2min recovery. 2 and 1's at 5.55 with 1min recovery.
Wednesday - Easy 7M @8.02
Thursday - Easy 7M with strides @8.00*
Friday - Easy 7M @ 8.02
Saturday - 2M Shakeout @ 8.29
Sunday - Rest

Mondays easy was in the company of my buddy running Limerick marathon. Very enjoyable. Wish I could run in company more often. Felt good.

Tuesdays session (5min/3x2min/4min/5x1min/4min) looked lovely on paper and I was really looking forward to it. It didn't disappoint. The sessions the past few weeks have given me a lot of confidence. Really feel like the nature of them and the approach is working. Feeling stronger. Legs tired as the session went on as they should.

Average paces for the splits were;
6.13
5.58/5.58/5.50
6.13
5.50/5.42/5.46/5.50/5.54
6.12

Needed the watch a little to tune into the shorter ones. A little on the quick side but all very controlled. Happy to have that in the bank. Effort was spot on. Total for the session with warmup and cooldown was 8.6 miles.

Wednesday was normal easy run. No ill effects from the session.

*Thursday I made an absolute balls of it. Forgot I had a meeting as I was 2.5 miles into my run. Had to shoot in and head to the meeting and headed back out after. Just one of those days.
Nothing unusual to report on Fridays run and Saturday was a short little shakeout before race day.

Total mileage for the week (including the race) was 43 miles. Total time was 5hrs 30mins - 49mins of stuff including the session, race and Strides.

Happy with how the week went. Headed into the 4M more confident than the Munster 4M but a little unsure of what I could do.

Swashbuckler

Limerick County 4M Road Championship - Kilmallock

Have been building back nicely over the past while. Feeling stronger and gaining confidence. Munster 4M had felt like an improvement on Adare so I was interested to see what I could manage today. I had been very relaxed in the lead up to this. No longer putting pressure on individual races (I'm sure I will again at some stage but right now I'm happy to be racing and trying things). That being said I felt like I needed some sort of boost. It's all well and good having long term goals and popping in and out of peoples logs with nuggets of advice but sometimes it's just feckin nice to feel like you're running close to what your best was. Some words of encouragement from skyblue yesterday and I was all set!
Some inspirational racing over the weekend and the past week or so from some Boardsies had also given me that little jolt that usually inspires me on a bit.
Was a perfect day for racing. Cool weather and just a gentle breeze that picked up in places throughout the course. Got to kilmallock around 12.50 and met up with the club lads. Strong team. Unlikely I'd be scoring for the seniors but had a shout for novice.
Headed off for a warmup with the lads. Just a short one. Felt good. Was told the route was reasonably flat. I never trust people when I'm told that! Everyone has a different definition of hilly! Turned out it was a very fair course.

We lined up at the start around 1.45. These road championship races don't hang about. No big fuss or anything. Line up and go. No hanging about. Had found myself a better position this time although it was easier as the numbers were obviously lower than Munster.

We took off quick. Like, quick......
Looked ahead and I figured Declan from Bilbao was gonna win but behind him there was a good shot of lads from my club. Was looking good for us from an early stage. I had more or less decided to go aggressive here. Eyrie had inspired me with her efforts at MSB so I thought, why not give it a go yourself P. I have a bit more faith in my judgment of effort these days so I said I'd give it a go. Part of it was conscious decision but that aside, I had found after 500m that things were settling a bit and I was finding myself between two groups. One thing I definitely try to avoid these days is getting isolated so I pushed up on the group ahead. Managed to keep with them for mile 1 but the pace was just too aggressive for me. I knew if I tried to hold it I'd be dead by mile 3! Thankfully one from the group behind me pushed up on us. Me and him seemed to be in or around the right level of pushing ourselves uncomfortably. Mile 1 clocked at 5.37. Aggressive for where I'm at right now but how bad. Nothing to lose. The group pushed ahead and me and blue singlet were left with West Limerick guy a few seconds behind. At least I wasn't isolated.

My plan now was to do my best to hang on. Hold as close to this effort level for as long as I can. I was a little beyond where I usually like to be this early but that was the choice I made. Let's see where it gets me. I think I looked at my watch four times during the race but never to check pace. Checked after each mile beeped and one other time I'll explain later (sorry eyrie).

Theres not a whole lot to tell about mile 2 and 3. Me and blue singlet worked very well together. Kept each other honest throughout. His breathing was a little less labored than mine. I felt strong though. This was one of those races that if I had been hit by a hill I'd have been in trouble but this was a very fair course. Mile 2 clocked at 5.46. Mile 3 at 5.45. I wish I had more to tell about those miles but it was just really hard work with blue singlet. At the start of the last mile the west limerick lad had edged ahead. I had absolutely zero interest for battling to be honest. I just wanted to make it to the finish. Felt like an eternity for the mile 3 beep.

Into the last mile and I'm hanging in there. Holding pace and effort has obviously increased. Happy with my form. I haven't collapsed yet but breathing heavy. So this is it, the business end. Get to the end, get to the end.... I feel like I'd like to know what's left in the race but my words of advice to eyrie ringing in my ears. Never look at your watch in the last km of a race! I caved and looked. Had to know what was left. Haha. I didn't get the answer I wanted. 3.4M a jaysus still 0.6M left. Hang in there! West Limerick lad had finished very strongly and blue singlet had a nut of a kick in him. I left them go. I didn't care. I can see the arch finish line and I'm pretty sure I'll make it. Haha. Got to the end and wrecked. Really really happy with the effort. Also really happy with the control throughout. Last mile clocked at 5.49 for a time of 22.56. Was right on the edge of what I could manage today. The splits tell it all really. Fairly steady and consistent with a slight drop for the last mile.

Met the lads and very solid run from the club. The lads finished 2nd, 5th, 6th and 7th for the seniors and won the men's team title. We came 2nd in the team novice which I scored for. Very happy. We were top three for the O35 individual category (I was third) and won the 050 individual too. Our lady won the seniors. A haul of two medals for me. Hung around for the presentation and some sandwiches (I'm off the sweets for lent, sickened). Neglected the cool down as I had to get home.

So all in all a really good day. A solid run and the confidence boost I needed. Onwards and upwards!
Dromina 10M on April 14th but a trip to the US before then which will hopefully not mess with things too much.

Kellygirl

Seriously gutsy race P. Really well done.

skyblue46

Onwards and upwards! Now where did I see that a few hours ago? :pac: Great running P. Ballsy effort.

Murph_D

Nice (except for the watch bit!). Well done.

skyblue46

Murph_D wrote: »

Nice (except for the watch bit!). Well done.

Ah why spend hundreds on a watch and not use it?

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote:

Seriously gutsy race P. Really well done.

Thanks K!

skyblue46 wrote:

Onwards and upwards! Now where did I see that a few hours ago? Great running P. Ballsy effort.

It's sinking in.

Murph_D wrote:

Nice (except for the watch bit!). Well done.

skyblue46 wrote:

Ah why spend hundreds on a watch and not use it?

To train you to race better without it

skyblue46

Swashbuckler wrote: »

To train you to race better without it

I'm in bed and going asleep but I'll get back to you tomorrow on this! Haha

OOnegative

Great stuff P, well done!! Can’t believe I forgot to wish you the best before hand.......

Swashbuckler

OOnegative wrote:

Great stuff P, well done!! Can’t believe I forgot to wish you the best before hand.......

Haha you're off the hook. You're always the first.