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If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.
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Run Killarney Half Marathon
I’d heard this was an amazing route and a fab race. I missed out last year so my birthday was in May and having missed out on a sub 2 hour in Limerick, I asked for an entry to Killarney as my present. It didn’t disappoint.
I set my alarm for 5am last night and proceeded to be awake for hours then after going to bed. 1am and I was still awake. Woke another few times and finally the alarm went off at 5am. I’d everything laid out so got dressed quickly, grabbed breakfast out of the fridge and into the car. I ate breakfast while driving to Killarney. Got parking easily and saw all the buses lined up to take the runners upto Molls Gap. They were leaving at 6:45. Met two friends and we hopped on. We drove up the route we’d be running down and I realized there were going to be a few more uphills than I thought - oh well! It was a stunning morning though fairly cold up at Molls Gap. We left it until the last minute to hand our bags to the bag drop truck and lined up.
My main goal for the race was sub 2. When I started a new plan a couple of weeks ago the suggestion was that it would be better not to be racing during training so no mini tapers or recoveries. However, this had been booked prior to that plan so we fit it into the plan. As a session it was supposed be 10@9:15 and last 3.5 @ 8:58. However, based on the training achieved in the last couple of weeks and discussion with the coach I was aiming for a steady enough 9 min mile and pick up for the last mile or two. I decided myself to start with the 2 hour pacers to just ensure I stayed in control.
Miles 1-5
Splits: 8:36; 8:56; 9:08; 8:48; 9:03
I went and met the two hour pacers and after a quick race briefing we were off. The road was closed the whole way to Killarney which was fab. Scenery was amazing and just beautiful. We set off and into an immediate downhill. I was with one of the pacers and we were discussing how it was hard to pull back even though we felt really slow. First mile clocked in at 8:36 and I mentioned it didn’t seem that fast but the course flattened out and next thing we were climbing and mile 2 was 8:56. It was raining but only lightly and perfect weather really. The steep downhill started around mile 3 and I really held myself back here. It was all so easy and not the slightest bit out of breath. The route was really windy and it amazed me the amount of people sticking to one side of the road. I was happily passing people out simply by following the race line. The mile markers were passing really quickly and it was lovely and relaxing. Strangely, I was passing the mile markers but my gps was starting to beep after I’d passed them. I was ahead of the pacers at this stage but comfortable and slow enough anyway.
Miles 6–10
Splits: 9:03; 8:55; 9:15; 10:21; 8:58
At about 5.4 miles the downhill finished and straight into drags up and hills to recover. My legs felt strange for a bit after the downhill but I’d been told to expect this so I just tried to relax. I took it easy climbing and recovered on the down hills. My breathing was becoming more labored and I began to think about when I’d take a gel. I’d planned to at 1 hour but I was beginning to get a few stomach cramps and I was a bit wary. I hung on for a bit and then decided I’d have to make a pit stop anyway assuming there was a portoloo at the next water stop which were every 3 miles. Took the gel and was grand but was still afraid to bypass the loo. Was busy calculating and I reckoned I’d still be sub 2 so better stop. It was annoying and a bit disappointing. On a funny note the portoloo was on very uneven group and I actually wondered could it topple over with me inside. :eek::eek: That would have been some story
I didn’t know if the 2 hour pacers had passed. I began to think they hadn’t as I passed out a number of people I’d already passed out including a fireman in full fireman suit. I’d only 4.4 miles to go or so and I figured maybe I could up the pace a bit and try and shave off the some of the time I’d lost. Strangely my watch beeped at 9 and 10 miles way before the marker even though it had been beeping after the markers until then.
Miles 11-13.1
Splits: 8:58; 8:46; 8:50; last .14 @ 8:02
Turned off the road and into the National Park just before the 10 mile mark (I think). It changed into a trail and a short downhill and I passed out quite a few people here while not upping the pace. I hoped the park was finally going to be flat as opposed to the constant up and down. The trees cleared and we went through another water station and I had my bottle from the last one so I just had a sip and dropped it rather than carrying it anymore. I then spotted the 2 hour pacers well ahead. Feck! There was a big group with them and I didn’t know how much under 2 hours they planned on coming in. I was really feeling it at this stage but just tried to maintain the pace as much as I could. I thought back to last Saturday’s run where I picked up the pace for 1.5 miles and the tempo runs I did during the week and I knew my legs could do it even if they really didn’t feel it. Unfortunately a few drags appeared but that meant there’d be a downhill so I pushed as much as I could and then went a bit faster on the downhills. This was really hard but I had to do it. I was reeling in the pacers slowlyand calculating times and how many minutes left and distances to beat the band. I had to get sub 2 or I’d be disgusted. Finally as I passed the 12 mile mark I came up behind the group - they’d split into two and this was the slower of the two. I passed a friend who was walking and gave her a nudge and told her to get going again. I powered past the group and then had to catch the other group who were moving at a nice pace. My legs were like jelly at this stage. I caught up and just kept going to pass them. I wasn’t even able to turn my head to say hi to the pacer and I don’t know if she noticed and wondered where I’d appeared from when I’d gone off in front earlier on. I passed them with 1km to go and there was a downhill coming up and she told the group make the most of it and I heard somebody saying yeah but it finishes uphill - great :rolleyes:
Anyway, I left them behind and kept pushing. I knew I wasn’t flying but it was as fast as I could go. Sure enough the uphill appeared and I just leaned forward and powered up it as much as I could. The finish line was in front of me. I picked up the pace as much as I could and I was through. The clock said 1:59:xxbut there would be a chip time. I switched my watch off so fast I didn’t notice my time. For the first time ever in a race I thought I was going to puke. I needed water and none to be seen. Was wishing I hadn’t thrown away the bottle 3 miles earlier. Queues were quite long to get to the tent for medals, water and then t-shirt. The medal and t-shirt are lovely. I hung round for a bit waiting for my friend and staring at the 10km guys walking though looking for Swashbuckler. Unfortunately we didn’t get to meet. Got my token for a free hotdog too. I grabbed a banana out of my car and had the hotdog for dessert. Lovely at 10am in the morning!
I looked at Strava and saw 1:57:09 and knew I’d stopped for about two mins so was thrilled. It was a bit later when I opened Garmin Connect and saw 1:58:44. For some reason Strava only recorded running time. Even though it was still sub 2 and still a 3 minute pb approx it disappointed me a bit.
I had a free pass to hang out for the day and my friends were staying round but I was tired after max 3.5 hours sleep so headed for home. As the day went on I’ve obviously been thinking and analyzing. I’m delighted now with my pb and finally getting my sub 2. I do think starting the new plan two weeks ago has helped no end. It gave me the confidence to do those paces today and to keep going when I wanted to stop. If I could do it in training I could certainly do it in a race. I know it was obviously in me as that Training can hardly have had an effect on my fitness yet but I don’t think I would have realized I could do it.
So long winded as usual but a good day out and very pleased with how it went overall. Happy to have achieved one of the goals I set out at the start of the year finally. I’m a sub 2 half marathon runner - woohoo
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Run Killarney Half Marathon
I’d heard this was an amazing route and a fab race. I missed out last year so my birthday was in May and having missed out on a sub 2 hour in Limerick, I asked for an entry to Killarney as my present. It didn’t disappoint.
I set my alarm for 5am last night and proceeded to be awake for hours then after going to bed. 1am and I was still awake. Woke another few times and finally the alarm went off at 5am. I’d everything laid out so got dressed quickly, grabbed breakfast out of the fridge and into the car. I ate breakfast while driving to Killarney. Got parking easily and saw all the buses lined up to take the runners upto Molls Gap. They were leaving at 6:45. Met two friends and we hopped on. We drove up the route we’d be running down and I realized there were going to be a few more uphills than I thought - oh well! It was a stunning morning though fairly cold up at Molls Gap. We left it until the last minute to hand our bags to the bag drop truck and lined up.
My main goal for the race was sub 2. When I started a new plan a couple of weeks ago the suggestion was that it would be better not to be racing during training so no mini tapers or recoveries. However, this had been booked prior to that plan so we fit it into the plan. As a session it was supposed be 10@9:15 and last 3.5 @ 8:58. However, based on the training achieved in the last couple of weeks and discussion with the coach I was aiming for a steady enough 9 min mile and pick up for the last mile or two. I decided myself to start with the 2 hour pacers to just ensure I stayed in control.
Miles 1-5
Splits: 8:36; 8:56; 9:08; 8:48; 9:03
I went and met the two hour pacers and after a quick race briefing we were off. The road was closed the whole way to Killarney which was fab. Scenery was amazing and just beautiful. We set off and into an immediate downhill. I was with one of the pacers and we were discussing how it was hard to pull back even though we felt really slow. First mile clocked in at 8:36 and I mentioned it didn’t seem that fast but the course flattened out and next thing we were climbing and mile 2 was 8:56. It was raining but only lightly and perfect weather really. The steep downhill started around mile 3 and I really held myself back here. It was all so easy and not the slightest bit out of breath. The route was really windy and it amazed me the amount of people sticking to one side of the road. I was happily passing people out simply by following the race line. The mile markers were passing really quickly and it was lovely and relaxing. Strangely, I was passing the mile markers but my gps was starting to beep after I’d passed them. I was ahead of the pacers at this stage but comfortable and slow enough anyway.
Miles 6–10
Splits: 9:03; 8:55; 9:15; 10:21; 8:58
At about 5.4 miles the downhill finished and straight into drags up and hills to recover. My legs felt strange for a bit after the downhill but I’d been told to expect this so I just tried to relax. I took it easy climbing and recovered on the down hills. My breathing was becoming more labored and I began to think about when I’d take a gel. I’d planned to at 1 hour but I was beginning to get a few stomach cramps and I was a bit wary. I hung on for a bit and then decided I’d have to make a pit stop anyway assuming there was a portoloo at the next water stop which were every 3 miles. Took the gel and was grand but was still afraid to bypass the loo. Was busy calculating and I reckoned I’d still be sub 2 so better stop. It was annoying and a bit disappointing. On a funny note the portoloo was on very uneven group and I actually wondered could it topple over with me inside. :eek::eek: That would have been some story I didn’t know if the 2 hour pacers had passed. I began to think they hadn’t as I passed out a number of people I’d already passed out including a fireman in full fireman suit. I’d only 4.4 miles to go or so and I figured maybe I could up the pace a bit and try and shave off the some of the time I’d lost. Strangely my watch beeped at 9 and 10 miles way before the marker even though it had been beeping after the markers until then.
Miles 11-13.1
Splits: 8:58; 8:46; 8:50; last .14 @ 8:02
Turned off the road and into the National Park just before the 10 mile mark (I think). It changed into a trail and a short downhill and I passed out quite a few people here while not upping the pace. I hoped the park was finally going to be flat as opposed to the constant up and down. The trees cleared and we went through another water station and I had my bottle from the last one so I just had a sip and dropped it rather than carrying it anymore. I then spotted the 2 hour pacers well ahead. Feck! There was a big group with them and I didn’t know how much under 2 hours they planned on coming in. I was really feeling it at this stage but just tried to maintain the pace as much as I could. I thought back to last Saturday’s run where I picked up the pace for 1.5 miles and the tempo runs I did during the week and I knew my legs could do it even if they really didn’t feel it. Unfortunately a few drags appeared but that meant there’d be a downhill so I pushed as much as I could and then went a bit faster on the downhills. This was really hard but I had to do it. I was reeling in the pacers slowlyand calculating times and how many minutes left and distances to beat the band. I had to get sub 2 or I’d be disgusted. Finally as I passed the 12 mile mark I came up behind the group - they’d split into two and this was the slower of the two. I passed a friend who was walking and gave her a nudge and told her to get going again. I powered past the group and then had to catch the other group who were moving at a nice pace. My legs were like jelly at this stage. I caught up and just kept going to pass them. I wasn’t even able to turn my head to say hi to the pacer and I don’t know if she noticed and wondered where I’d appeared from when I’d gone off in front earlier on. I passed them with 1km to go and there was a downhill coming up and she told the group make the most of it and I heard somebody saying yeah but it finishes uphill - great :rolleyes:
Anyway, I left them behind and kept pushing. I knew I wasn’t flying but it was as fast as I could go. Sure enough the uphill appeared and I just leaned forward and powered up it as much as I could. The finish line was in front of me. I picked up the pace as much as I could and I was through. The clock said 1:59:xxbut there would be a chip time. I switched my watch off so fast I didn’t notice my time. For the first time ever in a race I thought I was going to puke. I needed water and none to be seen. Was wishing I hadn’t thrown away the bottle 3 miles earlier. Queues were quite long to get to the tent for medals, water and then t-shirt. The medal and t-shirt are lovely. I hung round for a bit waiting for my friend and staring at the 10km guys walking though looking for Swashbuckler. Unfortunately we didn’t get to meet. Got my token for a free hotdog too. I grabbed a banana out of my car and had the hotdog for dessert. Lovely at 10am in the morning!
I looked at Strava and saw 1:57:09 and knew I’d stopped for about two mins so was thrilled. It was a bit later when I opened Garmin Connect and saw 1:58:44. For some reason Strava only recorded running time. Even though it was still sub 2 and still a 3 minute pb approx it disappointed me a bit.
I had a free pass to hang out for the day and my friends were staying round but I was tired after max 3.5 hours sleep so headed for home. As the day went on I’ve obviously been thinking and analyzing. I’m delighted now with my pb and finally getting my sub 2. I do think starting the new plan two weeks ago has helped no end. It gave me the confidence to do those paces today and to keep going when I wanted to stop. If I could do it in training I could certainly do it in a race. I know it was obviously in me as that Training can hardly have had an effect on my fitness yet but I don’t think I would have realized I could do it.
So long winded as usual but a good day out and very pleased with how it went overall. Happy to have achieved one of the goals I set out at the start of the year finally. I’m a sub 2 half marathon runner - woohoo
"If it's meant to be its up to me"
How true that is and you're proving it it week in week out.
Well done!0 -
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Fantastic. I was delighted to see your result pop up on Strava yesterday. Very well deserved after the months of solid and consistent training you've put in. No doubt the new coach will help bring you on even more. You're a sub-2 half marathoner 0
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Bluesquare wrote: »Well done on half marathon - loved the race report!Great report! Well done again!Great stuff on the HM. Well doneDelighted you got your goal of a sub 2 hour. Great race report. Well done.
Thanks all.Sub 2!!!! Yessss! Not even remotely surprising but very well deserved and more to the point done in very impressive style! That was some going at the end to catch up to the pacers again and then pass them. Fair play to you, a really impressive run!Excellent going K, especially catching up and getting ahead of the two hour pacers on what sounds like a tough route.
Sub 2 - woooooooooooooooooo hoooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
I still can’t quite believe I did that myself. I wonder if I hadn’t seen them ahead would I have copped on to pick up the pace enough to go sub 2.Loved the report K still delighted for you, how are the legs today it normally peaks for me by day 3 and then eases
That was a well-timed email from your coach
My quads were definitely stiffer this morn than yesterday. Have another easy 6 miles to do tonight and hopefully ok by tomorrow evening as I’ve a whopper of a session to do then!0 -
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