Last of the Summer Wine

OOnegative wrote: »

It’s a day I’ll always associate with loosing my independence!!!

Hmmm. The new Boards. Hopefully worth the wait!

Week of 12 Jul

This week, the key session of the mini plan. And finally the second vaccination - long after most of my younger friends, but glad to be getting it boxed off.

Mon Jul 12

11.4k very easy

An hour out to Dollymount and back. Muggy evening. The family of an old friend who died last year has managed to have one of the Bull Wall benches dedicated to her, so I took a few minutes at the halfway point to sit and reflect on a life well lived.

Tue Jul 13

11.4k easy 

Similar distance and pace to last night, this time up the Howth Road to St. Anne’s and back via the coast. I am still finding I need these runs to be very easy indeed right now - not sure why exactly, but just going with it.

Wed Jul 14

Speed: 5 x 1k @ race pace (2:30 jog recovery)

I’d focused on the 1k reps during the week, and only at the last minute did I take notice of what had been described as ‘150 RI’ - surely not 150m. Macmillan’s similar ‘Best 5k workout’ allows 400-600m recoveries, a good bit more generous than the Lydiard-inflected philosophy that Good Coach / Bad Coach have been looking at. As this was a 7am-ish start, I sent off a query but didn’t expect (and didn’t get) a reply in time, so I went with 150 seconds, which thankfully turned out to be the intention.

As I said afterwards, as tough a workout as I’ve done. Rep 1 was a bit sluggish; then the second one poorly paced as I warmed to the task and overdid the first half. By rep three I was into it and moving quite well but still struggling a bit to even the pace. Dry retching around the turn onto the Dollymount Causeway didn’t help. The recoveries were just enough to get the HR back into zone 2, and I found the fourth rep to be the least difficult, helped by a bit of tailwind on the causeway road. This gave some confidence for the final one, but the wind was a bitch for most of the duration, resulting in more uneven pace, more heaves, and finally a strong finish once around the corner and heading homewards back on the coast. Bollixed for a few mins after, but recovered quite quickly, which gives confidence. 

Splits:

3:59 3:59 3:59 3:59 4:04

The heaves are the thing that will make or break me, I think. The trace suggests a vulnerability to this once HRR creeps towards 94% but we will be working on some ideas to try to head this off on the day. 

• This week: 38k (23m)
• This month: 158 (98)
• This year: 1,909 (1,187)

Week of 12 Jul cont.

Fri Jul 16

52 mins very easy on the local loop.

Sat Jul 17

Same as above.

Sun Jul 18

LR 100 mins (16.9k)

First run in some time out the Croagh road and through the caravan park. Mostly empty as usual, despite the times that are in it. And that completes the penultimate week of the mini-plan.

• This week: 72k (45m)
• This month: 293 (120)
• This year: 1,943 (1,208)

______________

Week of 19 Jul

The moment of truth approaches. 

Mon Jul 19

42 mins easy

I say easy, but I suppose nothing is too easy in this heat. A few miles up and down the Old Laghy Road towards Donegal town while the car was charging. Some forest shade with babbling brooks - more pleasant than expected.

Tue Jul 20

53 mins easy 

The boys are in surf camp in Rossnowlagh, so after dropping them  I headed along the beach and out along the local roads. Passed someone who looked very like TFBubendorfer from behind, but it wasn’t him. Quite enjoyed this despite the heat.

 Wed Jul 21

Speed: 2 x 400 @3-5k, 1k @ 5k, 2 x 200 ‘hard’, 800 @ T

Another sweltering morning. My daughter volunteered to drop the boys today so I headed to the Mountcharles Pier for the final session of the block. The usual warmup before starting the 400s along the shore road, where the breeze was thankfully light but somewhat cooling if you ran fast enough into it. 😁 Ran the 400s by feel, enjoying the long (by the coaches’ usual standards) 90 sec recoveries, then eased into the 1k which again went quite swimmingly, despite a 180 at the pier. I only glanced at the watch during the beeps at the end. There was only supposed to be a 60 sec recovery here, and about 90s later I realized I’d screwed up the programming, and would have to do the rest of the session on the fly. No problem with the 200s - that just involves counting 130 paces - but the 800 ended up short when I miscalculated. Added another moderate 200 during the cooldown just to stay onside. 

Had left the Saucony Speeds in Dublin, so just the bog standard Pegasus 35 available for these. For a long time I hated these shoes (bought two pairs on sale) but after wearing out the first pair I’m warming to them at last.

• This week: 24k (15m)
• This month: 217 (135)
• This year: 1,968 (1,223)

5k TT report

(This is a bit of a brain dump, but that is all part of the process for me.)

Preamble

Another day, another time trial. The same sub-20 goal. Is there much more we can say about time trials at this stage? Especially now that racing is sort of back, for the time being at least. 

This would be the fourth 5k TT since Barry organised the boards outing in April 2020. That day I ran a 21:03, which in hindsight, given the hilly course, was maybe better than the two that would follow - 20:26 in a solo run on the St. Anne’s course this past April, then a very mundane 20:40 in the Phoenix Park in early June where I was soundly beaten by Laineyfrecks and Skyblue. No shame there, but I had not brought the A game, as Tiger Woods used to say. 

Back in the day. Tiger used to be the symbol of burgeoning sporting youth. Now what?

I’m lucky enough to have the ear of a few decent runners, and when M (the effervescent FBOT) and DD (the softly-spoken Duanington) half-jokingly offered to put together a plan for a final attempt, I took them up on the gesture, committing to seven weeks of sessions, and more importantly the kind of hand-holding I’d forgotten I sometimes need for an effort of this nature.

Don’t get me wrong - while my advancing years offer all kinds of potential for excuses, I’ve never really doubted that I still have a sub-20 5k in me. But the last couple of time trials did make me question whether it would be possible outside of the white heat of a competitive race, with people around you near your own level, pushing and pulling you to a level of effort, especially at the business end, that you would not otherwise drag out of yourself.

Over the past seven weeks, I committed myself to the challenging routine that DD and M dreamed up. Most of the sessions were from their own repertoire of favourite workouts, but seemed carefully, seamlessly, knowledgeably chosen to deliver strength where it was needed - the kind of gruelling speed endurance necessary for the pain fest the 5k is known to be. 

I’ve said often that I hate 5k racing, straddling as as it does that terrible ridge between pace and distance. The second half always feels impossibly incompatible with the pace you’ve pasted on the board. Or alternatively, impossibly fast for the distance you’ve set out to do. And that’s if you’re doing it right. I may be six decades long in the tooth, but definitely still a novice at this distance, with a poor stomach (quite literally) for its unique demands.

As anyone who has looked at my log knows, gagging and dry retching has been the bane of my 5k life. This affliction has certainly played a part in ruining the last two efforts. My research suggests it’s not unusual, but at the same time I know that if it wasn’t a feature of my PB race (19:40, Bob Heffernan 2019) then it has to be avoidable. I’ve a hunch it’s hydration-related. And today I learned something more about it, or at least how to deal with it. Such is the on-the-fly knowledge I’ve been lucky to draw on. That learning alone will be enough to justify the effort, because let’s face it, time trials just don’t have the same rewards that you get from a race.

I’d been in Donegal during the week and came back to Dublin on the Thursday, which meant I should at least have shaken off the stiffness of the car journey by Saturday morning. A slow reccie of the course on the Friday left me confident that the distance was accurate. And why wouldn’t it be, carefully mapped by Ferris, who’d be doing doing his own TT (c.19 mins) at the same time. A quiet Friday and an early night. Decent enough sleep by my standards - I’ve been using meditation, assisted by the Calm app, to help with this, and I think it’s beginning to pay off. Also, no beer for the last couple of weeks. Alcohol is one of the elephants in the room for me when it comes to race-friendly lifestyle choices. Would the abstemious lead-in make a difference? 

‘Race’ day

The alarm went at 6:10 and I had a couple of slices of toast and half a cup of coffee. The bare necessities were attended to. If there was more time, I might have had a shave, but I felt nice and relaxed as I drove out to Raheny and hooked up with the coaching team for a warmup before the 7:30 start. M and DD had offered their pacing services, and I had gratefully accepted after learning during the previous two TTs that my own internal motivational reserves are limited when the needle is in the red and there is still a fair whack of ground to cover. I know from the other end (being the pacer) that the calm presence can make a difference. So I had no difficulty cashing in some of that pay-it-forward goodwill. We jogged down the coast, eyeballing the turning point and getting in some dynamic warmup stuff and a few strides. Met up with Ferris on the line, and KennyG who was out to lend some welcome support. Showtime.

The first km

There was a stiffer breeze than expected, and it was a factor on the opening stretch out the Causeway towards Dollymount, heading down the right hand side behind the pedestrian barrier. As I tucked in behind the lads, I was happy, 500m in, that I felt comfortable enough. The Vaporflys felt light and still fairly bouncy, although the miles are mounting on them. As Ferris pulled ahead for his own lonely ordeal, I was feeling strong and confident. A good start. 

Split (retrieved afterwards, no watch gazing for me) - 4:00

The second km

The causeway is about 1.4 kms long, so the main feature of this section would be the turn around the roundabout, which we’d decided would be clockwise, M having made sure the semi-permanent plastic barriers had the gap in the right place for a good exit onto the road. Still feeling good, and the wind would be mostly behind heading back towards the coast road. The lads were checking their watches, checking over their shoulders, making sure I was in the pocket. I wanted to say ‘It’s OK, all good’, but that would have had a cost. I noted the breathing going from comfortable to something more challenging around the 2k point.

Split: 4:00

The third km

Still enjoying the tailwind, the first half of this kilometre was manageable, although at the halfway point I could feel the effort levels settling in, starting to take their toll. The right turn across the road and onto the combined cyclist/pedestrian path went smoothly, but now there was the substantial breeze to deal with. DD/M reminded me to concentrate, drop the shoulders, turn over the legs. As the needle crept towards the red, the lads, ever vigilant, increased the motivational banter. But this is where the first niggling doubts started to creep in.

Split: 4:01

The fourth km

It’s amazing how quickly the edges can fray, the threads bulge, the fabric of the race effort threatening to fall asunder. I’m well used to wind on this coast road - but at marathon pace, not this 5k business. On a MP run, you can step off a little and get the seconds back later. Not much time to do that here though. I’m starting to fall back, and DD/M are having to work harder to keep me in the frame. “Close it up!” barks DD (good coach, showing the stern side when the business has to be done). I have to work to get back on their shoulders - once, twice, three times, maybe more, falling back again almost immediately every time. And then, out of nowhere, the stomach lurches and I start to heave. 

But DD is vigilant, and at the first sign, he is on it, urging me to fill the lungs. Miraculously it works. This is something shotguncmos had also suggested after the last effort, and while I did try to pay more attention to the breathing over the past weeks, I obviously hadn’t done enough. But the deep breaths help and the heaves immediately stop, and thankfully don’t return, not even in the worst of the final mile. But the smooth pathway feels like it’s made of melted tar, and I’m wading through the muck towards the 180-degree turning point. And here comes Ferris, blasting past in the opposite direction. He looks good and I remind myself he’s probably feeling as terrible as I am. I distract by focussing on DD/M, envying their light, effortless gaits. All I can do is try to channel it.

DD is the gazelle, M is the machine, but I’m no longer the tall, strong, confident, runner I was five minutes ago. The pace is flagging, the alarms are going off, but after the turn it will be downwind all the way back to the finish. The lactate levels are unbearable, the breathing is all over the place. Around the turn, and out of the wind. Hallelujah. 

Split: 3:59 (hard to fathom, when looking at this later, although the data is from M’s watch so I’m probably a second or two behind at this point).

The fifth km

It’s important not to understate the contribution DD/M are making at this stage. The attention is constant, with an unwavering determination to bring it home for all of us. There’s skin in the game. There’s ‘only’ a kilometre to go, but if I was hoping the wind assistance would counteract the flagging legs and lungs, I’m in for a land. I start to fall back, 4, 5 paces, 6, 7. M stays on the goal pace and DD falls back a few steps, urging me to close the gap, then push up to M.

These guys really know what they are doing. 

It’s kind of humbling, and despite the brain fog I’m aware I’m in danger of letting them down. A few metres back from the front line, it’s easy to let the thoughts of stepping off take over, this near-unbearable temptation to do a Declan Moffit. But this is the final km, the final 800, 700, 600. I still haven’t caught DD, and I’ve almost resigned myself to another fail. 

There is no second wind, just the desire to not let the side down. I gird the loins and bridge the gap to DD. His relief - and belief - is palpable. 

“You have the strength - you know you have. Bring it home”. 

It’s an effective interjection, and all I have to do now is get to M, a few metres in front. I know I’ll be OK in the final 200 - it’s a pact I made with myself long ago during the track phase, but it’s now or never. I’d made a note of the ‘go’ point during yesterday’s reccie, and it’s not too far away. M is calling me through, showing the way. Bad coach has taken the day off and now it’s all kindness and encouragement, relax and let it in. I go by M with maybe 300m left, the shouts of ‘last lap’ ringing in my ears. They are right behind but it feels like my road now. I haven’t looked at the watch (a good thing, because the GPS was off and the numbers might have floored me), but I know the lads will have been on it.  

There’s the 200 mark and I let it rip. Job done. 

Split: 3:48 + (:07) 

Result: 19:55

I laid on the roadside grass for what must have been a good five minutes after this one. As hard an effort as I’ve ever done. Very happy to have completed the ‘sub-20 at 60’ goal. It doesn’t get easier, but it does get more exacting, more nuanced, more satisfying. 

I’d never have pulled it off without the help today. It’s truly humbling and very much appreciated.

• Previous PB: 19:40 (Bob Heffernan 2019)
• Target: 19:5x
• Actual Time: 19:55
• Age grade: 80.17%. VDOT: 50
• Verdict: Standing on the shoulders of giants.

Appreciate those comments. I'm delighted with the result after the couple of failed attempts. And it's good to now be able to turn to something different. Assuming Galway Bay goes ahead, I'll be focussing on some half marathon related stuff from next week.

Week of 26 Jul

This week I’ll just be taking it easy after quite an extended period of 5k stuff. I’ve enjoyed the focus but it’s time to move on to something else. 

Mon Jul 26

Rest.

Tue Jul 27

11.3 kms recovery

Back in Donegal (been up and down like a yoyo in recent weeks), so just a very gentle circuit of the local loop.

Wed Jul 28

Another rest day - mandated after overdoing it yesterday with the trimmer. What can I say - there was a lot of work to catch up on, and rain on the way.

Thu July 29

9k easy on the Clontarf seafront after yet another drive from Donegal.

Fri Jul 30

10.4k easy 

Enjoyed this rainy trot home from Crumlin, taking in both canals.

Sat Jul 31

16.1 kms @ 5:16

Pre-coffee miles with @FBOT01 and @Duanington meant this was closer to steady pace than easy - which was a nice change of pace after the few easy days. Very enjoyable.

July total: 280 kms (174 mi)

Sun Aug 1

21.2 kms @ 5:24 (66% HRR)

Ending the week with a run up the NCR to the Phoenix Park and around the perimeter. Bumped into @Wubble Wubble near the S bends and had a pleasant chat. He’s looking good and obviously benefitting from some recent good work. Always a pleasure to bump into Boardsies in the Park or anywhere else.

Enjoyed this one - was tipping along nicely for most of it, enjoying the bounce of the Saucony Speeds, which I wouldn’t normally wear for a long run, but I’ve retired a couple of pairs this week and left most of the rest in Donegal. Must get shopping soon. Any long run shoe recommendations welcome.

So that ends the easy week. Another race next Saturday, although I doubt if it’s on a PB course. 

• This week: 68k (42m) / 426 mins
• This month: 233 (13)
• This year: 2,052 (1,275)