Last of the Summer Wine

Week 15 redux

Easing back into the plan. I won’t be too fussy this week, favouring some extra recovery, but will resume as normal in week 16. The situation in NI seems to be deteriorating very badly so I’m not too optimistic at all about Down Royal.

Mon 28 Sep

7.3k recovery on the seafront.

Tue 29 Sep

Rest.

Wed 30 Sep

Rest.
September total: 323 kms (200 miles)

Thu 1 Oct

22.3k with 16.1 @ MP (79% HRR)

The mornings are getting very dark, and I was out well before sunrise. Soon regretted not having any hat or gloves with me, but apart from the cold it was a fine morning for running, with hardly any wind on the seafront. Kicking into MP had a warming effect and the miles ticked off nicely enough. Turned at the usual spot at Sutton Cross, waving at a couple of clubmates, then soon after spotted Ferris on the way out, looking strong. The rest of this passed without any drama, and in truth it was the easiest-feeling of all of these MP runs to date. I really am far more comfortable in cool/cold weather. Found myself mulling over some work-related thoughts, and before I knew it mile 10 was upon me and it was done. Jogged back a little to meet Ferris and cool down, getting cold again, and the teeth were chattering when I arrived home. But at least I still have a few left to chatter. Average HR was pleasingly low.

Fri 2 Oct

Rest.

Sat 3 Oct

13.1k @ 5:24 (No HR monitor)

A pacy enough easy run in St. Anne’s then Dollymount beach.

Sun 4 Oct

26k steady @ 5:09 (70% HRR)

Lying in bed listening to the rain, not relishing the prospect, but once out and en route up to the Phoenix Park I appreciated the conditions, just a bit of drizzle really, and good drying! Feeling good, thought the pace was dropping on the drag up the NCR but the opposite was the case, and when I entered the park I was a few seconds ahead of the pace, and that’s how it stayed il the end. Came across Wubble Wubble on the North Road and again at the S bends - thanks for the smile and wave, J. Hadn’t passed too many runners up to that point with the early hour, but before I left the park I came across one, then another solo virtual London marathon runner, wearing bibs and all, fair play to them. Out at Cabra and home via the Canal for a feast of eggs and relaxing watching the London Marathon.

This week: 69 kms (43 miles).
This year: 2,812 (1,748)

Week 16/18

So, this week it’s back to week 16 after a bit of rejigging over the past while. In reality, of course, this is actually the second time starting week 16, the 18th week of training and, yes, it’s starting to get a bit old.

Mon 5 Oct

10k recovery on the seafront. The usual Monday night run.

Tue 6 Oct

Rest.

Wed 7 Oct

Strength 4 x 1.5m (800)

Joined by M for this one, which certainly helped pass the time. Headed out past the Wooden Bridge. It was a balmy enough evening and I was a bit overdressed - had to stow the gloves into my hat before getting down to business. The reps went well enough - got a bit erratic during the third one into the wind but recovered by the end.

An email from the Down Royal organisers later that evening with details of a change of venue to the former Maze Prison. Refunds were offered due to change of time/venue and I decided to pull the plug on that one too. So Down Royal / Maze has gone the way of Chicago and Galway Bay.

Thu 8 Oct

21.2k with 16.1 @ MP (82% HRR)

Yet another 10 mile MP run, the fourth now. It was never going to feel as good as last week’s seemingly effortless trot. Hooked up again with M, who is taking it a bit easier the past while having definitively ruled out a marathon tilt. Good to have the company, not that I was very talkative, and I could tell from the start that the effort levels were going to be considerably higher this week. But nevertheless things went to plan and the miles ticked by uneventfully enough. Definitely tired after this one though. The 1.5 mile recovery jog home went on forever.

Fri 9 Oct

10k @ 5:33 (65% HRR)

Had to drop by my mother’s house, so I continued on up to Glasnevin and, passing my old primary/secondary school, nipped in and did a lap of the playing fields and the deserted school yards. It’s amazing how familiar the nooks and crannies still are, more the 40 years after leaving the place. The school isn’t particularly highly regarded these days, but in its day it had a good rep - I shared classrooms with future doctors, solicitors, bankers and, as far as I know, just the one convicted murderer. The days, wha?



Devastating news later in the day that Pat Hooper - the undisputed heart and soul of Raheny Shamrock - had died suddenly. I was stunned - had just been speaking to him earlier in the day on the phone about a club project, and had arranged to meet next week. As always, he’d had time to talk and I was looking forward to sitting down with him, as I hadn’t bumped into him since well before the lockdown. So I couldn’t believe the news. The man was quite simply a giant of the local and national running scene, and also the kindest and most generous fella you’d ever meet. Raheny is a big club, but Pat had time for every single member - or potential member. He made you feel like the club appreciated and valued your contribution every time you pulled on the singlet, and if he was on the sidelines you always pushed yourself that little bit harder. His contribution to the club was just immeasurable. A true Olympian, who worked incredibly hard - up to 240 miles a week - to get to Moscow 1980, where he finished a few places behind his brother Dick. We'll miss him terribly,

Sat 10 Oct

16.1k @ 5:24 (No HR monitor)

People were asked to wear the club colours in honour of Pat today. Joined M and C for 10 miles out to Howth and back, passing lots of other little groups of clubmates along the way. A sad run, but also a celebration of sorts. A few thumbs up from local walkers, who obviously knew the score.

Sun 11 Oct

17.5k steady @ 5:20 (64% HRR)

Another glorious Sunday morning, and I took myself Southside along the Dodder to Clonskeagh, cutting through UCD and home via the last few miles of the DCM route. A few seconds faster than the top end of easy range, but lost in thought for most of this.

Two weeks to go.

This week: 92 kms (57 miles).
This year: 2,905 (1,805)

Week 17/18

If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound? If the cap fits, should you wear it? If you spend 20 weeks training for a race in the middle of a pandemic, do you need your head examined?

Mon 12 Oct

13k easy @ 5:47

The usual Monday night recovery on the seafront and out the causeway a little. Work on the cycle track here continues. Seems like a strange place to put a new cycle track, when there’s lots of other spots crying out for at least an upgrade, such as around the East Wall area.

Tue 13 Oct

Strength session: 6x1m

These are supposed to be 6 seconds per km faster than MP - or 4:40ish. Brain farted as I was doing the sums and I set off at 4:30 pace. M had joined me and commented on the paciness but I reassured him that all was to plan. All this despite running into a stiff wind. Was rep 4 before I owned up to the error and we slowed to the correct pace. Must be feeling good. ‘Highly Impacting’, was the opinion of Garmin Connect. No sh1t.

Wed 14 Oct

Rest.

Thu 15 Oct

20.9k with 16.1 @ MP (No HR monitor)

Last of the 10 mile MP runs, the fifth in the extended cycle. Out early on the seafront, again joined by M. The conditions were benign and this felt pretty all right - neither particularly easy nor particularly hard. There was a sense of satisfied completion at the end of it - last session of the Hanson plan.

Fri 16 Oct

No running.

Things were busy at the office so by the time I got home I opted for an extra rest day. Work is done and all that. I’d received word earlier in the day that the last of the ‘race’-type options - a small semi-private timed marathon in the Ashbourne vicinity - had been cancelled. That meant that Plans A, B, C and now D were all by the wayside. But there would still be a Plan E…

Sat 17 Oct

13.4k @ 5:31 (No HR monitor)

… Plan E would be a time trial in the Phoenix Park. Joined C for a final reccie of the course, which would be similar to the HM TT done with some clubmates last month. A beautiful morning. Even had no queue for coffee in the Visitors Centre afterwards, and a chat with a passel of former Boardsies (is there anyone left?) in the carpark.

Sun 18 Oct

12.5k easy (No HR monitor)

A few miles around the Docklands and East Wall with M.

This week: 77 kms (48 miles).
This year: 2,981 (1,853)

Week 18 cont.

Thu 22 Oct

7.5k easy @ 5:28 (67% HRR)

New battery in the HRM. This was a reccie run around East Wall, which will be a leg of my DVM loop. Did I mention I’d signed up to the Dublin Virtual a while back (such a project would not be incompatible with Plans D/E/F/G). The question was, where to run it? The PP loop (E - Eileen) was now off limits, as was an option to join Brothers Pearse in Tymon, following RayCun's kind invite. Consulted with Ferris and hmmed and hawed over whether I liked his chosen route (Plan F for Ferris), a series of loops through Kilbarrack and Raheny. A bit too hilly for my tastes, and more importantly partly outside my 5k. I had decided that if I was going to do this, I would do it by the Level 5 restrictions book, at least as far as the 5k radius was concerned. So East Wall, Fairview and Clontarf it would be - flat, but likely to be windy. Gladys, here we come.

Fri 23 Oct

No running. I’ve learned that less is more in marathon week for me, so a few miles tomorrow will be the height of it.

Sat 24 Oct

5.8k easy @ 5:43 (67% HRR)

HR was a little bit elevated for such an easy run. Maybe the anticipation is finally starting to kick in. This was mostly a repeat of Thursday’s little run, but in reverse as I didn’t like the sharpness of the climb up the new Royal Canal Greenway section from the Convention Centre direction. Reccie confirmed that doing the East Wall section anticlockwise was probably better. Fail to prepare, and all… Starting to get a little bit antsy, as the day looms and the taper starts to bite.

This week: 31 kms (20 miles).
This year: 3,013 (1,873)

Sun 25 Oct

Dublin Virtual Marathon

Is a virtual marathon a marathon at all? Is it even a race? Who am I racing against? Can I be sure I've gone the distance? Does a Strava ‘achievement’ mean anything? Is my Garmin accurate? Who built the Marathon app? Can I handle the wind? Can I bend the restrictions, or some of them? When will the longest 'marathon' season ever come to an end?

A few days before the date, I’d pored over mapmyrun, plotting out variations of flattish loops within the 5k limit. There were some decent options. I eventually settled on a loop of just over 12k (7.5 miles) taking in East Wall, the Docklands and the Clontarf seafront where I’d done most of the training. I measured and remeasured, using various course builders. It was too late to run the whole loop and check it against the watch, but parts of it were tested. Hopefully it would be accurate. I’d be doing it three times, plus a shorter version of the East Wall end to start off. What could go wrong?

One thing’s for sure - virtual marathons have less fuss and baggage than the real thing. I took Friday off but didn’t really know what to do with myself, stuck at home with no expo. Put the feet up and got the gear ready 24 hours earlier than I normally would. This left Saturday free for more lounging around, following a final 5k East Wall reccie in the morning. So relaxed! I allowed myself a can of Guinness with dinner (just the one) and was in bed early. Slept reasonably before waking well before 4 and heading down for breakfast. It would be a 6:30 start, in line with most of the SOS sessions during the plan, but mainly to avoid the worst of the wind, and have the benefit of relatively traffic-free early Sunday morning roads. These details had been discussed with C, who was undertaking a sub-3 attempt. For the most part, I'd deferred to C's excellent planning, but the route would be my own. C had paid a lot of attention to the weather. This was important because the wind would certainly be a factor, and to choose a bad loop would be to court demoralisation and disaster, as I think a clubmate or two discovered on the day. The wind couldn't be avoided, but could I build in some respite at critical points? Could I make the most of the favourable parts of the route? How much water, and where?

We lined up as much help as we could. FBOT (M) would join me for the last 10 miles, a reprise of the several ‘final 10’ tempo sessions we’d done over the last weeks of the plan. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too worn out after cycling the first half of C’s route, providing water support. The Mrs (A) would be in charge of my water distribution, and a spreadsheet was adapted with precise times and places. laura_ac (L) was recruited for additional moral and logistical support, both for me and the missus. G would be in the vicinity and might jump in for a few miles, or might just lend some vocal encouragement. Any local friends and running buddies who enquired were given the details and encouraged to give us a shout. Help from over 5k away was politely declined. We look after each other on the NS, and by the end, all bases seemed to have been covered. And of course there would be other clubmates on parts of the route, increasing the motivation and the sense that something real was happening.

Or was it? What is a virtual marathon anyway, and can it substitute for the real thing? Are you really racing if you’re not directly taking on other competitors, pitting yourself against the field, or at least your fellow mid-packers, or your age category, or your mates?

With a virtual, you might run the same course as someone else, but on different days, at different times, with different weather, different vibes. A virtual marathon just shouldn’t work. So if it’s not a race, what is it? Maybe we should just call it a Level-5 lockdown 26.2. You against yourself, essentially, if you’re observing all the guidelines. In the spirit of things, I was happy to line up, two metres away from C and head off at different paces, and as it happened in opposite directions. I could have M as a +1, or G at different points, which would be grand - but would we be racing anyone, except ourselves, our past numbers and our expectations of the Hanson plan? And yet all this taking place amidst scores of others doing the same thing on the same morning, more or less in the same part of the world.

Later A, who had been stationed for hours at the bottom of Alfie Byrne Road, spoke of how several solo runners had left their own supplies nearby, to be drawn on without assistance as they looped around. A kind of sad reflection of where we are, and the individualistic nature of life at level five. The loneliness of the long distance runner, encapsulated in a bag of water bottles on the side of a road.

I was lucky to have a bit more support. Could I make the most of it?

Dublin Virtual Marathon (cont.)

Lap two

Being on Lap Two so soon had a settling effect. The pace felt challenging, but altogether manageable. So far, compared to most of those fatigued Hanson tempos, it was nothing. I still had the queasy feeling though. I’d expected it to settle once on the road, but so far it had not. I was distracting myself by reflecting on the virtuality. I missed the distraction of the usual Dublin crowds, but the miles were already mounting. This first time round the full loop would reveal no surprises. Hardly any traffic in the Docklands or East Wall. As hoped, I could run on the road for most of these miles, avoiding the punishing concrete. Another gel, another water bottle from Anna at mile 8, then out along the familiar seafront, with a wave from Laura arriving on the bike. She asks do I want company but I’m happy to ply these early miles alone. This was the nicest part of the route, out towards Dollymount with a slightly helping sidewind, giving way to a powerful assist after rounding the bend towards the Wooden Bridge and the ten-mile mark.

But then, of course, you have to turn into it, and the reminder of what lay ahead, for this stretch would also be the final mile. Bloody hell - it was a bit too fresh for my liking. Hopefully it would die down as the morning wore on. We’re just over ten miles in, and out of the corner of my eye I notice a long shadow approaching and here’s G crossing the cycle track and jumping the low kerb onto the footpath. He’s probably noticed the wind taking a toll and jokingly shouts ‘hurry up’, slotting in a few metres ahead, providing a bit of shelter. I mention that I’ll be easing the pace slightly into the wind, happy to make it up on the more forgiving sections. The company is great, always welcome in the middle third of any race for me. No more words are necessary as we bundle down the footpath back towards The Yacht. But the queasiness is still gnawing at me and a few dry heaves signalled a bit of a bad patch coming on. Is it the gels? This had been the poorest part of my preparation, with hardly any practice, even though I’m using the same Maurten’s I regurgitated in Dublin last year at a slower pace. Hmm. Unforgiveable really. I decide to skip the scheduled mile twelve gel infusion. Feck it, the carb loading had been pretty comprehensive. Water only - Thanks A - as we launch into lap 3.

Miles 5-11
7:51 7:49 7:34 7:40 7:35 7:36 7:49

6-10k 24:07
11-15k 23:41

Sunday 25 Oct

Dublin Virtual Marathon (cont.)

Lap four

I’d expected this run to drag on for ever - like this race report - but even while running I was conscious that it was all flashing by very quickly. Is this a sign of a good run? Based on past races, and some truly interminable experiences out there, I think it is. Nevertheless the windy coast road has taken a bite out of me. G bows out after an excellent shift and I wave my appreciation. L is there again, at Westwood this time, supporting plenty of other clubmates as well. How are the shoes? The shoes are fine. They seem particularly helpful on the little drags, funnily enough, and unexpectedly. This alone would count for a lot, but will they do the work for me in the closing stages? Approaching mile 20, a final gel and a bottle of water from daughter N at Newcomen Bridge. I try to give her my best and most relaxed smile, as she has expressed concern at the wisdom of marathon running at my age. Kids these days!

‘OK, money miles coming up’, says M, as we crest the greenway ramp with six to go.

I try to psyche myself up for this, letting out a couple of whoops. Or did I? I at least thought about it. You’d normally draw on the DCM crowds at this point, mile 21, heading up the Clonskeagh Road with your fate in the balance. My marathon PB is 3:22:11 from 2017, a day I went out - for the fourth time in 18 months - at 3:20 pace, falling away at exactly this point in the proceedings, ruefully looking on as the 'sweeper' in the 3:20 pace team mopped up the last of the stragglers and left me behind. I’d never attempted a 3:20 again. This year, somewhat bizarrely you might say, I’d settled on 3:21 as a target, and though I’d wondered would I drift to a lower number as the plan progressed, there was no compelling reason to deviate, as my HR data, carefully monitored during tempo sessions and long runs, seemed to confirm. And so 3:21 it remained.

So while I’m missing that encouragement from the DCM crowd, the secret sauce that made many a memorable marathon, M does his best to replicate the voices. ‘Close it up', he urges, as I start to drift behind a little. My right ankle and foot feels a bit funny, like I'm losing mobility around the heel. I'd had a few ankle jabs intermittently during the training, coming and going, but eventually staying away. But now my right leg feels stiff, and my daughter, following on the bike, tells me later my stride was looking a bit strange. Through the docklands, I’m tiring rapidly and the tailwind doesn’t give as much boost as before. At the Point Depot, Denis B appears again and falls in. The three of us grind quietly up the East Wall road, and I look from M to D, trying to channel their relaxed gaits. M is urging me to keep the legs turning over, and I try to shorten the stride a little. D asks again if there’s anything I need, and on Alfie Byrne I dispatch him with a request for Lucozade at the final water stop. The message is relayed and the bottle is there. The seafront is now quite crowded and noisy. Things are getting hazy as M picks a route through the strollers, steering me left and right like a sailor at the tiller. Things are getting a bit blurry, but I register my other daughter, F, appearing by the seafront path, replicating her usual Ballsbridge vantage point. At the baths, I don’t spot C, who should be finished now. Did he make it? M is getting anxious for me, urging me to concentrate. ‘CLOSE IT UP!’ We pass a walking clubmate, calf gone apparently - I’d noticed him struggling earlier when we passed at Fairview Park.

Not you, D, you're still moving.

And then the final turn into the wind, with a mile (more, as it would turn out) to go. Jesus. Who designed this course? Why didn’t I think to go straight at the bridge? Could you not have given yourself a tailwind finish? WTF were you thinking?

The wind knocks the shyte out of me and it feels like I’m in trouble, really struggling to stay with M. From nowhere DD hops over the kerb and falls in, with more words of support. Then P does the same. I can’t keep up with any of them. I have a photo from this part of the race and it looks like I’m alone on the seafront, completing the loneliest long run on the face of the earth, while the reality is completely the opposite. One of the club coaches, passing on his bike, joins the entourage, everyone urging from the front, from the side, to keep going. ‘LAST K’, shouts M, ‘COME ONNN!’ I glance at the watch. STOP LOOKING AT THE WATCH!, shouts someone - Aoife? - from the sidelines, but I need to confirm that the distance is right.

Who invented the marathon distance anyway? How far did Pheidippides really run? Bleedin’ king of England and those extra 385 yards!

We are past my expected finish point and my watch is saying still 300m to go. My legs are gone. M and DD and P and G and everyone else are looking back, going ‘Where are we finishing?’ I blurt the bad news. ‘CASTLE AVENUE!’ yells M and we trundle on past the baths. I’m trying to stride it out now, anything to fool the body into giving an extra few yards. I pick up the pace but the hamstring isn’t having any of it, jabbing me back to the shuffle. How slow has this last mile been? Castle Avenue, and beyond to the bus stop for safety. THAT’S IT. Amazingly, we've stopped right on the spot where the last two or three tempo runs came to an end.

Serendipity? Synchronicity? Blind chance? Message from god?

I take a moment on the ground. I’m done, but I’m OK. I gingerly cross the cycle path to the grass. The missus is there with the fleece-lined NY finisher cape, pressed into service again at last. I’m glad of it. Everyone is congratulatory. On the walk back to the Baths, surrounded by family and friends, I find myself in tears. I let them come. It's been a long 21 weeks.

But what is the time? Every marathon - maybe especially a virtual marathon - is conditioned by the result. But what IS the result?

I’ve stopped my watch at 3:22:29 for 42.31k, a distance decided in advance, well over the 42.2 for insurance. Strava gives me 3:21:55. The official app - which I’m relieved to see has actually stopped - gives me 3:20:27. The result, then, like all time trial results, is an approximation, somewhere within the margin of error of all those numbers. I’m happy - as it’s the best time of them all - to take the official time from the official app.

And who can prove me wrong?

Miles 20-26(.2+)

7:52 8:00 7:53 7:35 7:28 7:37 7:47 (7:44 pace)

31-35k 24:37
36-40k 23:27
41-42.3k 11:08?

Afterwards, a shared early morning alfresco beer with our little group and C, glowing after his successful virtual sub-3. I was delighted for him.

Did it feel like a marathon, and if it did, is it still a marathon?

Yes it did, and it is. Virtually. And I have a new target for the next one. Thanks to everyone who assisted. Absolutely essential. And thanks for reading - well done if you made it to the end. A bit of a brain dump, maybe, but it’s my log and it helps me get it out of the system and move on to the next thing, whatever that may be.

Marathon PB: 3:22:11 (Dublin 2017)
Target: 3:21:xx
Official Time: 3:20:27
Actual Time: 3:2?:??
Place (as of 28/10/20): 256th of 4,117. 7th M55 of 142. Age grade: 74.25%. VDOT 47.1
Verdict: It's racing, Jim, but not as we know it.