If it’s meant to be, it’s up to me.

Kellygirl

Limerick Half Marathon 1:53:55

I had a brilliant day out and a great new shiny pb beyond what I had dreamt of. Delighted to giving this update today. My main reason for doing Limerick again this year was to redeem myself after making a complete mess of it last year. I did re read last year’s report to remind myself of what not to do. My time last year was 2:02:40 and my pb from Killarney was 1:58:44 so I hoped I’d get under 1:56. Tinman was giving me a time of 1:53:52 based on my recent 10 mile but I thought there was no chance. I thought that was so unlikely I didn’t even keep the figure in my head and only just looked now and can’t believe how close it was.

Woke up to an amazing sunny day with clear skies. I stayed in my friend’s house again and jogged the 1 mile into the start line with a bag on my back for bag drop. The steward’s and some supporters were out already and cheering me as I jogged in. It was slightly embarrassing given I was only warming up! I dropped my bag and wandered around looking for a couple of my friends who were doing it too. It was nice to meet Healy1835 too. Sorry to hear his day didn’t go to plan. Chatted to my friends and I went off to line up between the 1:50 and 2:00 pacers. I dithered a bit and considered just going with the 2 hour guys for a while but the 2nd half of Limerick is much harder so I thought better to bank a small bit of time at the start before the main hills. My only plan was to watch average pace and keep it at 8:45 min miles and that was accounting for the usual extra distance weaving etc.

Miles 1-6: 8:32; 8:38; 8:52; 8:35; 8:47; 8:37
The count down happened but it was another 6 mins before I crossed the line. My pace felt really slow but was showing 8:30 on the watch so I just went with it and watched my feet. The crowds were huge and lots of ramps and twists and turns. About half a mile in I could hear load of shouts coming behind me. The 3:15 marathon pacers were steaming through and trying to get the crowds to move to the left. I felt so sorry for them trying to get through the congestion. I passed the 1 mile marker as we came onto the Rosbrien Road and all going well - last year’s race had been ruined at that stage with my first mile 24 seconds faster than yesterday. It was still very congested and I was passing out loads of people but keeping an eye on my pace and not allowing it get too fast. I was very comfortable besides a stitch in my right hand side that was quite sore. Funnily enough I’d forgotten about it until now when I realised my side is sore today. I passed one girl already seriously heavy breathing and felt like saying slow down, you’ve a long way to go but kept my thoughts to myself!

As we were leaving the Rosbrien road the marathon leaders and relay runners were coming towards us so gave them each a cheer. Got water on the bridge then which was badly needed as my mouth had been dry since before the race - probably nerves. I think it was Dooradoyle we were running around then. Loads of support out. All I remembered from last year were drags and no downhills but the drags were fine yesterday and there were downhill versions too. I took a Maurten gel at 41 mins and kept going. I passed my friend’s house on the Rosbrien road again then at 6 miles. She wasn’t there this year but I gave a silent cheer for myself as I was still feeling good and last year that was where I had told her I was really struggling. My average pace was slightly faster than planned but it wasn’t a problem. There were a few twinges in my left calf and right knee but I’d only had physio on Thursday so I just prayed there’d be no issues and keep going. My toe was starting to hurt and I remembered I’d never cut my nails. That didn’t come to anything major either luckily though I was prepared for the worst when I took my shoe off after as I felt it the whole way round.

Miles 7-12: 8:54; 8:21; 8:57; 8:53; 8:35; 8:51

Mile 7 was where I walked last year - not this year. I slowed at the hill by Lidl and around to O’Connell avenue but no stopping for me. Down into the city and the support was amazing. Cork doesn’t do the support as well I’m afraid. This was on a par with Dublin at this point. I was heading for (Sarsfield?) bridge and heard somebody roaring at me. I’d no supporters that I knew of but Omeceron had texted earlier to say he’d be out and about supporting his brother. I was in my own little world but saw him at the last minute and ran over for a high 5. It def gave me a lift. I amused myself thinking Skyblue would have something to say about me showboating again and then there was a photographer in front of me so I gave big waves and ran on!

At 8 miles I came out the corner by Salesian’s school and there was a marathon runner walking on the footpath singing to himself. He’d earphones in so I couldn’t hear the music - just the out of tune singing. He seemed away with the fairies. Reminded me of Julia Roberts in the bath in Pretty Woman. I saw some guards and stewards a bit after and considered suggesting they keep an eye on this guy but kept my thoughts to myself again.

Mile 9 was The North Circular road and turned out to be the toughest part of the course for me. It seemed a constant drag and I could see my average pace slowing though still faster than 8:45 so that was ok. I took a caffeine isogel here at 1:15 or so hoping it would give me a bit of a boost around the Gaelic Grounds. I passed the house where my Grandmother lived when she was alive and where my Dad grew up at 9.5 miles and thought about us visiting there when we were kids. That was pretty much the last time I looked at my watch for a while I reckon as I was slowing down and didn’t want to disappoint myself and give up. As I came up to the church up the road the bells were ringing and I laughed. My Dad was an altar boy there but got kicked out for ringing the angelus bells at the wrong time on purpose during mass!!

The hills around the Gaelic Grounds were next. I tried to make up pace on any downhills and slowed down on the uphills. I walked on all of these last year but not this year at least. As I got to the top of the hills I passed a few of my friends who I’d met at the start line - they were heading down the hill so I gave them a shout out. The 3:30 pacers passed me heading into the last mile singing and shouting “Oggie Oggie Oggie”. They were brilliant.

Mile 13 and Finish: 8:10 and 7:04 ( for .18 of a mile)

As I headed into the last mile I still hadn’t looked at my watch so didn’t know what time I was on for yet but started picking up the pace on the downhill even though my legs were like jelly now and next thing I saw 1km to go. I looked at my watch. 1:49:xx - I finally started calculating and thought I could go sub 1:55 here if my legs will move. I tried to make them move faster. I saw 800 meters, just two laps of a track and 600 meters and pushed, terrified my legs would go from under me or I’d just fall over. The crowds were something else now but I didn’t look left or right. The music outside the Strand Hotel was Don’t Stop Me Now - I had the band play this 3 or 4 times at our wedding and danced on the top table to it. It was a sign I decided and not sure I was able to make my face smile but I loved it and went for it, praying the finish line wouldn’t be too far once I went around the corner. Over the line and stopped the watch and 1:54:00 or chip time 1:53:55 - OH MY GOD - beyond what I had dreamt of. I was so so close to tears. I looked left and a mate of mine had finished the full just before me in 3:24 with a massive PB so we were hugging and dancing and delighted with ourselves. I thought I was going to faint then when we stopped so had to walk on. Got my medal and picked up so much water and goodies and a bag to fill and rang my husband. My parents and husband had already texted when the tracker gave my result. They have no interest in running but they knew I was going for 1:56 and were thrilled for me. I went to pick up my bag and met Opus and had a brief chat, had my Tailwind recovery drink - and celebrated for the rest of the day. Fireworks and all in Limerick last night. A perfect end to a great day.

Thoughts

I’m really happy with how I paced this. It’s worked in the last few races that I pick an average pace and keep an eye on it. Everything came together for me. It was hot but I handled it because I went out at the right pace. Not looking at my watch so much except as a guideline worked for me. Running by feel worked.

I’ve just under 5 weeks to go to Cork City Half Marathon - my main target of this training plan and yesterday I got the time I want in Cork - well sub 1:55. I can’t imagine being able to go any faster on the day but I’ll be happy if I can match it at least and who knows what the weather will be like on the day too. Could be roasting or storms. I’ll keep training at the same paces and see what happens.

Thanks for all the support yesterday and the lovely comments on Strava and for reading this far ;-)

skyblue46

Great report K. Delighted to see you run the perfect race and to have learned so many valuable lessons over the past year. Little things like not walking, toughing it out down the stretch and up the hills are actually huge in the grand scheme of things...a giant step! Believe me there is lots more to come. Congrats on a really great run.

Kellygirl

Pretty pleased with my year to date so far.

Distance|2018 PB|2019 PB|Date achieved
5 km| 24:32||30/12/18
Parkrun | 25:25|24:09|2/2/19
5 mile|40:50|39:56|17/2/19
10 km|53:47|49:56|31/3/19
10 mile|1:31:12|1:25:15|7/4/2019
HM|1:58:44|1:53:55|5/5/2019
Marathon|4:20:05||29/10/17

Kellygirl

skyblue46 wrote: »

Great report K. Delighted to see you run the perfect race and to have learned so many valuable lessons over the past year. Little things like not walking, toughing it out down the stretch and up the hills are actually huge in the grand scheme of things...a giant step! Believe me there is lots more to come. Congrats on a really great run.

Thanks S. Finally learning!

Swashbuckler

Brilliant K. Delighted for you. Well done on a really well executed race.

North Circular is a b**ch!!

Kellygirl

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Brilliant K. Delighted for you. Well done on a really well executed race.

North Circular is a b**ch!!

Thanks P. I was wondering was I imagining it being a drag the whole way! It didn’t look like a drag but just felt like such a pull.

Lazare

Fantastic stuff K, you executed it perfectly. Delighted for you.

Baby75

Well done again I was so happy for you great running and a great report

Swashbuckler

Kellygirl wrote:

Thanks P. I was wondering was I imagining it being a drag the whole way! It didn’t look like a drag but just felt like such a pull.

When you run it fresh (as I often do) it's fine. There is a slight incline which you feel more on race day as it's mile 10 I think.

shotgunmcos

Took me twice as long to read your report because I was dreaming of Julia Roberts in a bath! Well done yeterday on the shiny new PB. It's not an easy half marathon course by any stretch! The support down Henry Street was amazing alright.

Kellygirl

Lazare wrote: »

Fantastic stuff K, you executed it perfectly. Delighted for you.

Thanks C. Still buzzing from it.

Baby75 wrote: »

Well done again I was so happy for you great running and a great report

Thanks N. I wanted to remember everything, especially when I ended up looking back on last year’s the night before.

Swashbuckler wrote: »

When you run it fresh (as I often do) it's fine. There is a slight incline which you feel more on race day as it's mile 10 I think.

Yep, mile 9-10 I think.

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Took me twice as long to read your report because I was dreaming of Julia Roberts in a bath! Well done yeterday on the shiny new PB. It's not an easy half marathon course by any stretch! The support down Henry Street was amazing alright.

Ha ha. If your man knew he got compared to Julia Roberts in a bath he’d probably have some laugh. Hope you are still buzzing with your sub 3.

Swashbuckler

Let me know if you got my PM. Can never tell with the app.

OOnegative

Well done K, great to see your training paying off, that’s a super new PB.

ReeReeG

Fantastic result K! You raced that perfectly, and better still, it seemed like you really enjoyed it! That's a serious amount to knock off the PB, well done Hope you're still basking in it!

Sunny Dayz

Well done!! That race report read like you quite enjoyed that!

coogy

Wow, what a difference a year makes!

Well done K, great result!!!

yido1882

Well done, really well raced and a great report.

Great to see you hitting so many PBs this year

tbukela

Congratulations on the race result, it is richly deserved given the consistent training you've been putting in. The report shows how mentally prepared you were on the day. Great improvements being made this year and it's only May!

ariana`

Great report and congrats again. Super performance and result but nothing more than you absolutely deserve. It's a delight to see it all clicking into place for you this year

ariana`

Kellygirl wrote: »

Pretty pleased with my year to date so far.

Distance|2018 PB|2019 PB|Date achieved
5 km| 24:32||30/12/18
Parkrun | 25:25|24:09|2/2/19
5 mile|40:50|39:56|17/2/19
10 km|53:47|49:56|31/3/19
10 mile|1:31:12|1:25:15|7/4/2019
HM|1:58:44|1:53:55|5/5/2019
Marathon|4:20:05||29/10/17

This table looks freakishly familiar to me

Well done, amazing progress.

Kellygirl

OOnegative wrote: »

Well done K, great to see your training paying off, that’s a super new PB.

Thanks B.

ReeReeG wrote: »

Fantastic result K! You raced that perfectly, and better still, it seemed like you really enjoyed it! That's a serious amount to knock off the PB, well done Hope you're still basking in it!

Still buzzing V, thanks. I enjoyed it though some parts were definitely hard - but not like last year when I was dragging myself around.

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Well done!! That race report read like you quite enjoyed that!

For the most part and definitely the feeling after. Amazing how quick you forget pain!!

coogy wrote: »

Wow, what a difference a year makes!

Well done K, great result!!!

I’m telling you. The Grads plan has done so much for me this year.

yido1882 wrote: »

Well done, really well raced and a great report.

Great to see you hitting so many PBs this year

Thanks yido. Definitely on a roll and delighted. Long may it last!!

tbukela wrote: »

Congratulations on the race result, it is richly deserved given the consistent training you've been putting in. The report shows how mentally prepared you were on the day. Great improvements being made this year and it's only May!

Thanks T. Hopefully the improvements will keep going for the rest of this year. I’ve a few more goals yet to hit.

ariana` wrote: »

Great report and congrats again. Super performance and result but nothing more than you absolutely deserve. It's a delight to see it all clicking into place for you this year

Thanks E.

Huzzah!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you race a half marathon. I smiled from start to finish of that report. Like night and day from last year. I was particularly impressed by how much you pushed on at the end despite the jelly legs. Thrilled for you!

Kellygirl

Huzzah! wrote: »

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you race a half marathon. I smiled from start to finish of that report. Like night and day from last year. I was particularly impressed by how much you pushed on at the end despite the jelly legs. Thrilled for you!

Ah thanks a mill Huzzah. Some days things just work out. That 1km to go sign at the end just woke me up a bit and made me kick on I think.

Mr. Guappa

That's a very well executed race - well done! You are really smashing it this year - great to see

Kellygirl

Mr. Guappa wrote: »

That's a very well executed race - well done! You are really smashing it this year - great to see

Thanks a mill A. I’m certainly thrilled with how it’s going so far. I always thought I was only able to go so fast and would never get faster but it really shows what the right training can do.

Bluesquare

Well done great result ! It’s super when it all comes together !

aquinn

Catching up here of course. Only read your 10km PB yesterday and delighted to see the HM result and read the report. That is fantastic. Congratulations.

eyrie

My god you're going from strength to strength these days K! Fantastic stuff. Really well raced and loved reading the report too. Such a strong finish!

Kellygirl

Bluesquare wrote: »

Well done great result ! It’s super when it all comes together !

Thanks a mill Bluesquare and good to see you back logging again.

aquinn wrote: »

Catching up here of course. Only read your 10km PB yesterday and delighted to see the HM result and read the report. That is fantastic. Congratulations.

Thanks A.

eyrie wrote: »

My god you're going from strength to strength these days K! Fantastic stuff. Really well raced and loved reading the report too. Such a strong finish!

Thanks C.

Kellygirl

Week 11 HM plan

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Easy hour 5.67 miles @ 10:35 min miles
Legs were a bit tired after Limerick so I was prepared to stop after 20-30 mins but actually felt good so just enjoyed it and kept going

Wednesday: Sports Massage - good to check over the few niggles I’d felt during Limerick. Nothing major though IT Band very tight

Thursday: Easy hour 5.51 miles @ 11.01 min miles
Went to Farran Woods. Beautiful morning and running the trails was fab though lots of up and down hills and wondered how good an idea that was the day before a session with a long run the day after. I do think it would be no harm to try include runs there more often though to incorporate the hills. I often avoid it to keep my runs very easy.

Friday: 4x12mins @ HM with 2:30 recoveries
7.53 miles in 1:08

Didn’t trust GPS as running under so much tree cover so just went by feel. Splits are a bit odd but felt steadier than that. Really enjoyed the run. Weather was amazing and as always I love the route by the water.

Rep 1: 8:27; 8:41
Rep 2: 8:50; 8:19
Rep 3: 8:17; 8:58
Rep 4: 8:27; 9:00

Saturday: Long Run 10.68 miles @ 10:24 min miles

Up at 6 to get this done as had my niece’s communion and family celebrations for the day. Met a friend and off we went. Really enjoyable. A bit faster than we should have been really but I was under pressure too to get home, showered and to the church. Felt good though.

29.3 miles for the week and passed my 500 mile mark yesterday. I’m a bit behind for my 1500 mile goal by end of year but hopefully after Cork and an easy June I’ll start ramping up for Charleville and DCM and catch up on myself.