Once in a Lifetime....for now

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote:

You really want pics of a HM route?

If the HM route is through the district then yes

Murph_D

I can vouch for Hanson HM plan, and Amsterdam’s a great town, and mostly flat. Will be in the Park myself, hills and all though!

Singer

In defence of the race series half - good pacers, pretty cheap and a decent field. Amsterdam and a free fry-up sounds sweet though!

skyblue46

Friday 17th May: 7 miles @ 8.51 HR 122. A nice easy local loop with a couple of laps of Johnstown and Albert College Parks. Drizzly but warm. Legs were a bit heavy after the previous couple of days but this run was very easy on them.

Saturday 18th: Rest Day

Sunday 19th: 4.7 miles @ 9.31 HR 118. A few laps of Johnstown Park to keep the legs ticking over while getting them a bit fresher for Tuesday. Still a 40 mile week so hardly constitutes a taper. Looking forward to the race and the grub

ReeReeG

OOnegative wrote:

Tullamore Half - Potential of meeting BIFFOS!!

Which of course is a wonderful thing AHEM

OOnegative

Best of luck at Bob tomorrow evening S, run well!!

eyrie

Good luck tonight S! I'd tell you to enjoy it but it's a 5K race so.... enjoy the sandwiches afterwards!

skyblue46

eyrie wrote: »

Good luck tonight S! I'd tell you to enjoy it but it's a 5K race so.... enjoy the sandwiches afterwards!

Thanks :pac: A bit like yourself at the moment I have no idea what to expect. I'd take 19:59 now but hopefully there's a 19:40 hiding somewhere in the legs

OOnegative

skyblue46 wrote: »

Thanks :pac: A bit like yourself at the moment I have no idea what to expect. I'd take 19:59 now but hopefully there's a 19:40 hiding somewhere in the legs

Cough, left the sandbags at home I see, cough, cough........

skyblue46

OOnegative wrote: »

Cough, left the sandbags at home I see, cough, cough........

Haha.... I'm thrilled. Nothing I have done for the past 3 months indicated I had that in me. That felt so much easier than last year.

Swashbuckler

skyblue46 wrote:

Haha.... I'm thrilled. Nothing I have done for the past 3 months indicated I had that in me. That felt so much easier than last year.

All that strength training

skyblue46

Swashbuckler wrote: »

All that strength training

Where was it last week?

Lazare

Great performance Sean.

You always get the sand baggin ribbing and it's always a bit of fun but I genuinely think you underestimate yourself.

OOnegative

skyblue46 wrote: »

Haha.... I'm thrilled. Nothing I have done for the past 3 months indicated I had that in me. That felt so much easier than last year.

Shows again the benefits of plenty of easy running S, and you always had that in you as Lazare said, just need to back yourself a bit more. Hope the sambos lived up to your expectations!!!

Wubble Wubble

Congrats on the PB S.

I think pacing me through a 10k tempo showed you had it in you

Report please!

skyblue46

Monday 20th May: 3.1 miles @ 9:04 HR 122. Just a few laps of the local park with 4*20 sec strides thrown in at the end. It's my standard run for the day before a race.

Tuesday 21st May: Bob Heffernan 5k.

After really enjoying this event last year I wasn't going to miss out on it this year even if hopes weren't high performance wise. My time from the Terenure predicted 19:43 and to me that just about summed up where I was at. My big fear was that I wouldn't be able to even crack 20 and trying to ensure I did became my priority as the day wore on.

I got down to Johnstownbridge nice and early and was soon met by Lazare who was so excited about his upcoming maiden sub 20 voyage. Had a nice chat with scotindublin at the registration area and he filled us in on his hopes of ducking under 18 minutes. Always great to catch up with C. I suggested to Lazare that we head back out the course so we could familiarise ourselves with the last mile. He happily agreed. It however was much more difficult to get the city boy, brought up on a diet of race series races complete with an armada of portaloos, to take a leak in a hedge!! :pac: More proper races needed buddy!

The one mile walk/jog up to the start brought the opportunity to exchange greetings with Murph, FBOT, MisterPaul, Singer and Hedgehoggy from these parts. There was a smashing little group of Boardsies in attendance.

The start area was a bit manic with the lead car having to bully it's way through the crowd to take its position at the head of the race. Then an inflatable start gantry was raised which was about half the width of the crowd lined up behind it. That was never going to work and thankfully it was taken down. I briefly spotted AMK a few rows ahead but to far forward for me to say hello...then we were off!

KM 1: It was a messy start with lots of runners out of position. Not to worry as the first few hundred metres were up a slight drag so no need to be bursting a gut. Target was still 4:00 per K for the first 4 and see what I could do at the end. As we went downhill approaching the first Km marker I found myself running alongside Lazare so he was bang on pace. 3:58

KMs 2/3/4: Really not a lot to report here. I was moving well, passing a few, easing a bit on the drags. The fear of getting that threading water feel was something I was keen to avoid. In hindsight it was too cautious. Yep it was tough but not 5k tough....not the 5k tough described by Singer, Lazare and particularly Kellygirl in their reports from last night. It's fair to say I have found many many races physically more demanding. 3:52, 3:57 and 3:50.

KM 5: By now I knew I was at least on target to beat the predictor. Just one very time friendly Km left but still I held back that 1% that means it getting painful. I spotted a Raheny runner a bit ahead who I felt I should be ahead of and quickfeet from these parts a bit further ahead. Give it a go to hunt them down. I got past G from Raheny but despite closing rapidly on him I didn't quite make it up to G quickfeet.Km was 3:31, Gun time 19:19, Chip time 19:11, 5/43 M50

I was absolutely thrilled with this, beside myself in truth! Not that it was a 1 second PB from the same race last year but that I could finally stop moaning about not being anywhere near where I was last year! I'm sure anyone who follows this log will be equally happy that they won't have to hear it again. :pac:

I went for a couple of miles cooldown with the two C's afterwards and then back in for some grub. Unfortunately I had missed out on most of my favourite sandwiches and was faced by plate after goddamned awful plate of grated cheese sandwiches! I did however manage to scavenge a few egg, salad and chicken sandwiches from some of the many tables, proof that there is a God!

There was a really contented vibe from all the Boardsies afterwards with not a bad run in sight and lots of PBs. Nice chat with scotindublin, murph, MisterPaul, Lazare, Singer and annapr. Lots of congratulations being passed around and all were very well deserved.

Bob, I'll be back

Kellygirl

Great report and delighted for you to get the much needed boost. More in you too clearly which is nice to know. Bet you’ll take off now with that confidence.

Lazare

Can't have a wee in a bush when there's girls around.

I wasn't dragged up like

OOnegative

Good man Sean, didn’t realise it was a PB, sub 19 is not far off if you back yourself a bit more. On another note, egg sambos!!! Most vile thing man ever had the idea of making!!!

shotgunmcos

Between here and strava.. all the results, the pbs, the high fives. Did ye all meet and drink some juice beforehand

Congrats, love the description of a it, a 5k but so much more

Murph_D

Lazare wrote: »

Can't have a wee in a bush when there's girls around.

I wasn't dragged up like

Plenty of girls weeing in bushes too. You'll learn.

Murph_D

Great result Sean, and yes, it's good to know you are now officially better than ever. Good to see you up ahead for the first half of the race anyway before you disappeared. Well done, yet another negative split.

ReeReeG

Great race S, and congrats on the PB! Agree with above re you going sub 19 soon.. sounded like you had more in the tank there (or at least that's how it read).

I should really try get to this race next year, considering I drive through the place everytime I go to Offaly.

BrownEyes79

How do you always make it sound so easy? You’re making me want to race a 5k! Well done on another great race

skyblue46

BrownEyes79 wrote: »

How do you always make it sound so easy? You’re making me want to race a 5k! Well done on another great race

You should read my reports from this race last year or MSB race in March which were the only ones I have done in the last 12 months.....they sounded horrific, not easy. It was memories of those that had me holding back for a while last night. :pac:

Yes you should race a 5k without a doubt if just to remind you what pain is like :P

skyblue46

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Between here and strava.. all the results, the pbs, the high fives. Did ye all meet and drink some juice beforehand

Congrats, love the description of a it, a 5k but so much more

I saw the word perfect used in Murphs race report and it really was all that and more. The atmosphere was great, the field was so bloody deep, plenty of other runners to pull you along/ target and lots of chat. I really think the PBs were incidental. If it had been a lousy evening with everyone a minute slower than their PBs I think there would have been just as much animated chat about where it all went wrong. There's a really sound bunch of people from these parts and meeting them at races just adds to the event.

diego_b

Fine report there S, well done on the pb...more to come off that again I am sure...and second(s) all count...even single ones most certainly in such cases.

Sunny Dayz

Well done on a great race. You didn't seem to find that hard at all!

skyblue46

Thanks for all your kind (well mostly kind except the sandbagging comment :pac:) comments folks. Much appreciated.

Wednesday 22nd: Back in the old routine. 7.3 miles @ 9:05 HR 124. A nice recovery run on local roads. No reaction to last night anyway so all is good.

Swashbuckler

Great stuff S. More in you for sure. There's a million ways to race these things so nothing wrong with the approach, if you had been more aggressive who knows, you could have been swimming in lactic and run a 5min last km. Well done on a great run. Aggression will come with confidence and that's definitely growing.