The breaks even out in the long run

Sunday 2nd December-Waterford Half Marathon(1:25.43)

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a proper one of these so excuse the rustiness. The Waterford Half was on the cards today, I’d heard a lot about this race over the years and felt I had to give it a go this time around. I’d originally booked this race to keep motivation up post DCM and well… it served it’s purpose in that regard but in a different way than I thought at the time. Training had been going well and all my tempos were suggesting that a PB was possible, I’d never felt so at ease running 6:30’s before so it gave me a lot of confidence heading into this that I could have a good run if the body was playing ball.

Woke up at half six and had a quick breakfast before meeting up with my brother to make tracks towards Waterford. There was a definite bite in the air as we left but nothing bone shaking, looked like the weather gods were going to be smiling on us today. I did get a little apprehensive as we made our way through Tipp when a thick fog descended out of nowhere and the temp was reading 3° but that didn’t last long as the eerieness soon parted as we crossed into Waterford to reveal blue skies and pretty much perfect temperatures, this was going to be ideal. Made a quick stop off at the shop and had a coffee and granola bar before heading off to the toll road and the sight of traffic backed up from the arena all the way down the motorway so I decided to jump in the back and get changed, let’s just say this lead to some embarrassing situations later on and in the race photos:pac:. By the time I was done, traffic had started moving again and we could see the arena up ahead. I’m not sure what everyone was thinking as they were all in one lane trying to turn into the arena so we just breezed down the empty outside lane to the overflow car park.

Done a gentle jog down to the complex and tossed my warm-up gear into the changing room before making my way to the starting line along the XC course which brought back some vivid memories of Munster Novice a couple of years ago. Quick few strides and drills and I was feeling good, there’s just some days when you know you’re ready to go and this was one of them, the legs felt chock full of energy. Took my place a few metres behind the 1:25 guys and waited for the countdown.

The Race:

The gun goes and everyone took off barreling down the hill for the first 300m. I couldn’t help but go with this as it was more like snowballing than running before turning onto the ring road and getting a chance to settle in on flatter ground about 10 metres back from the pace group. did a small self check and feeling good. The pace felt like a jog now which surprised me as a guy in the group called out 6:10 for the first mile, a bit hot blooded even with the downhill start but it didn’t knock a stir out of me and on the contrary, gave me a lot of confidence starting out as it felt nothing like that kind of pace.

Just after the mile marker, we came onto the first hill of the day and I left the pace group go and run to my own strengths and weaknesses. This had it’s own advantages and disadvantages as it left me in limbo pretty early on as everyone went with the group but I could work my way up the hill at my own effort which I was happy enough with as I felt it would be pay me back later in the day or at least limit any over-exuberance of just blindly following the group. I gradually wound it up as the hill progressed and they seemed to open up a gap fairly quickly at the bottom but I felt comfortable and like there was plenty of running in the legs.

The next few miles through the industrial estate were nice and flat and a few of the slower starters were working their way up the field which helped as a slight breeze picked up and I could tuck in behind them for a bit while they passed by before leaving them off again. Everyone just seemed to be going slightly too quick or were just too far up the road to work with for too long and risk it. Passing through Ballybeg at 5 miles, I could finally here the pitter patter of a decent group coming up behind who gradually reeled me and decided to sit on my shoulder, perfect! A few words exchanged and seemed like everyone was happy with the pace and to be in the group. I settled into the middle as we picked up another guy who was hanging out in front on his own turning out of the city into the wild of the Country roads.

I’d known coming into the race that there was a tough hill at around 10 miles but I wasn’t expecting to see what looked like a decent challenge just after turning off. I decided to sit off a bit again here and let the effort do the talking, the lads pulled off but the gap never got bigger than 10m and I was confident I would make it back on the other side. The effort was feeling good and very maintainable and I quickly got back on coming down but a little issue started to rear it’s head here as sock split and was now strangling my big toe and putting a lot of pressure on my nail. The pain was no biggie but I needed to back off a little on the downhills as I thought it might rip off if I started striding out, I’ve a history with this happening and losing a few seconds now was probably for the best to preserve my shot at a PB.

The next few miles seemed to constantly roll and by 8, I could feel the effort levels rising. I’d started to lose touch the lads as they pushed on ahead, I wasn’t slowing just yet as I was the closest to the pacer I’d been since the early days as they were now just 70 metres ahead. One of them popping out of the bushes after a pitstop giving me encouragement to try and get on. I’d managed to reel in a guy who fading off the back and tried to get him to tuck in but to no avail as he dropped off after about a minute.

What felt like a jog a few miles ago had now turned into a fairly strong effort as we came back out of the wilderness and into civilisation of the ring road again at 9 Miles. This was a pretty fast stretch of road leading into the hill and despite the effort level rising, I was still moving pretty well. The hill had other ideas for me though and this is where a good few passed me as I tried to tag on to those who did but could never quite hold the tether for too long. I hadn’t blown up by any means but was running at a pace that felt manageable for the last few miles. The 1:25 guys were now a speck in the distance but I took a lot of encouragement from a steward at the crest of the hill saying the hard part was done and that gave a boost to try pick it up again as we headed down through holycross. Coming up to the hairpin, I caught sight of the pacers once more heading back towards me as they turned off, the gap was about 50 seconds now but I knew they would’ve been looking at 24 mid pace, that gave me a lot of confidence as I just needed to hold on for two more miles and the PB was mine.

This was probably going to be more difficult than I thought at the time as the lactate induced rigor mortis was starting to set in with a mile and a half to go and my stride was becoming a shuffle. Rounded the bend with less than a mile to go to shout of “pretty decent running”:pac: from a marshall and and over the last hill and I could see the arena across the fields. A few people were starting to pass me again as we turned onto the ring road for the last time but managed to tag onto the back of one guy who offered constant encouragement all the way to the homestretch. Seen the clock reading 1:25.19 and a shout out from my brother to drive it home. Crossed the line in 1:25.43 and a new PB, happy days!:)

1:25.43 (6:33avg)

Thoughts:

First feeling crossing the line was euphoric. When you go so long without running PB’s, you start to doubt if you ever will again so to get back to where I am right now is a mixture of relief and happiness. Everything is starting to click into place and there’s a sense of envitability about my running right now. Not that I’ll take PB’s for granted, I’ll never do that again:pac: but I think this is only the start for me. I'm still buzzin:pac: but it's time to push on from here.

hot buttered scones wrote: »

Well done and congrats on the PB!

Cheers HBS, hope to see you back and fresh soon.

These seem to be the done thing around here and I think they make interesting reading so might as well throw my hat into the ring.

Date|Race|Time|Comment
29/1/17|Milford 10k|41:24|Back training a few weeks, suprising result
26/2/17|Adare 10k|42:49|4 Mile tempo w/last 2 hard
21/5/17|Ballingarry 7k|29:17| No training for 2 months. The turning point in my year
24/6/17|Waterford Viking Half|1:33.02|Fastest Half in 3 years
5/7/17|Coillte 10k|41:15|Fastest 10k in 2 and a half years
20/8/17|Curraghchase 10k|41:09|Tough course. Seasons Best
17/9/17|Charleville Half|1:27:04|Second fastest half ever, fastest in 4 years
29/10/17|Dublin City Marathon|DNF 11 Miles|Came In Sick, made some mistakes and had a bad day
4/11/17|UL 5k|18:34| PB taking down my 5k best from 2013
11/11/17|UL 5k|18:39|High winds, 3rd fastest 5k Ever
2/12/17|Waterford Half|1:25.43|PB on challenging course taking down my old PB from 2013
17/12/17|Newmarket 5k|19:41|Poor lead up, return of black dog. No sleep

The year started off ropey enough for me as I kind of half heartedly jumped back into training after a long period off which I blamed on work commitments at the time, I really didn't see how I could work 70 hour weeks and train like I needed to so I just decided to run for the sake of running when I got a chance. I managed to pull of a surprise result in the Milford 10k and approached a coach to take me on. Unfortunately, that didn't work out as I was battling through a myriad of niggles and injuries and frustration eventually won out. I really just didn't want to run at all at this stage and didn't do a tap for the next few months.

Towards the middle of May, I started to get drawn back to running again. I was doing very little but was starting to get out 3 times a week. I ran a local 7k fun run where I finished well back in a field that I shouldn't of. This was the light switch moment for me and as soon as I got home, I registered for the marathon in Dublin as well as a few more races in the build up. This was something I posted in the sub-3 thread at the time which probably captures my mentality at this time better than I can right now

El Caballo wrote: »

I'm going to have go. At the training anyway and hopefully end up in shape to run on the right side of 3 hours. I've no delusions about it working perfectly as the time frame is short and I'm coming from a weak base so running a good marathon is the priority whether that's under 3 or over 3 and is something that I'll consider as the race gets closer. But I have to admit that nothing gets me motivated like a 2:xx marathon right now so if I have to live in dreamland of achieving that over the next few months to get me out the door everyday to train, I'll happily do it whether I can or can't:pac:

My mileage peak is probably going to be a lot higher than I've ever had going into a marathon before but overall, the training is going to be pretty simple and a case of get out the door and get it done. Racing schedule is also going to be light with a few races coming up soon just to gauge my fitness levels and then a break before hitting my buildup races in late August/September. Something like this:

Waterford Viking Half(June 24th)
Coillte 10k(July 5th)
Curraghchase 10k(August 20th)
Charleville Half(September 17th)

PB's:

1500m: 5:01(2015)
3000m: 10:45(2014)
5k: 18:34(2013)
10k: 39:46(2014)
10m: 65:34(2014)
Half: 1:26:26(2013)
Marathon: 3:15:29(2013)


As is clear from above, endurance is my biggest hurdle in attacking a sub-3 which is why I'm foregoing a racing heavy schedule like I normally would to get more focus on my long runs and weekly mileage. My schedule will build up to 6 or 7 days a week running and hopefully that will get me in the shape I need to be, whether it does is another question as time is probably not on my side coming from the level of fitness I'm at right now although I should get a better grasp after the half next weekend.

My buildup was really gradual and all just very slow easy runs and although I was struggling, I was starting to enjoy the no pressure element of the training and slowly buying into the long-term approach that coach was selling me. It didn't stop me from feeling like crap during races though from a lack of sharpness but I found that I could grind through them to pretty decent results all the same as I did during the next few outings in Waterford, Coillte and Curraghchase. I felt absolutely terrible as I wasn't used to the speed and turnover of race pace but strangely enough, I got a lot of satisfaction from that as I was getting faster and faster just off of easy mileage and the odd short tempo "where would I be a liitle speedwork?".

The half in Charleville was where it all really came to fruition though. I was really starting to hit my stride and I felt really strong from the first step that day. My half PB was always the one I looked at when I used to think back to my best days in 2013 and wondered if I'd ever get back to it again. Coming within 40 seconds of it in Charleville was a huge confidence boost and one I wasn't expecting until about 6 miles in when I realised what pace I was going at.

Training was going perfectly over the next few weeks but even at that, I knew my hugely ambitous plan of going from scratch to sub-3 in a few months wasn't going to happen. A post in the sub-3 thread 3 weeks out from Dublin probabably sums up my thoughts better:

El Caballo wrote: »

Just thought I'd give an update on this while I'm here and only a week out from the taper and inevitable madness so now's is probably to best time to write this down. The half in Waterford went decently enough although I felt terrible pretty much from the get go, Managed to finish in 1:33:0x to run my fastest half since this race 3 years previous which was a decent starting point but also a reality check in that 7 min/miles felt really quick at this stage,"How the hell was I going to run faster for double the distance?" was an overwhelming thought during the race.

I quickly moved on to the pancake flat Coillte 10k two weeks later and was finally starting to feel a bit better about running m and the result was much improved, ran 41:15 with a big negative split on the way home to a result I was delighted with as it was my fastest in 2 and a half years and I was starting to make some good progress back. The end of July/start of August proved to be a bit of a disaster as I missed the bones of 3 weeks with a chest infection I couldn't shake which put a big dent in my confidence of hitting a sub-3 or even a PB as I seriously considered just not running a marathon at all. Said I'd give Curraghchase a shot anyway a week later just to see where I was fitness wise. A tough little course but I managed to run 41:0x to top my time from Dundrum a month earlier on a much more challenging course which was really encouraging to say the least.

Over the next month, I got a decent spell of training together in the lead up to Charleville but was still unsure of where I was fitness wise going into the race. Decided to go with the flow and take a chance on the pace which rewarded me a time of 1:27:04 which was my fastest half in 4 years and second fastest ever. Probably left a bit out there as I faded a lot over the last 5k but I was ecstatic with the result as it signalled a return to form I thought would never come.


I didn't quite reach the volume and intensity of training I had hoped to when I posted the above quote as all my training has been pretty much base mileage with the occasional short 2-3 mile tempo so this will hurt me going into the marathon. As such, I think a sub-3 attempt would end badly for me so I've given up the ghost on that. It is what it is and I knew heading into this block of training that it was hugely ambitious of me to get a sub-3 clocking this time around. The sub-3 may be gone but this has been a hugely successful block of training for me in that it did indeed manage to get me out the door and motivated which was always the main goal. So whatever happens on Marathon day, I'll have this naval gazing post to look back on before the madness starts to kick in next week:pac:

As for the Sub-3, It's only a matter of time!:)

Admittedly, when writing that very post, I had never even considered what would be about to happen in Dublin a few weeks later but I was just as suprised thinking back how literally I took that last paragrah despite probably having the worst day possible. Usually, a performance like that would be it for me and lead to a complete running meltdown but this time was a bit different. I stepped off the course in Dublin content in the knowledge that I was fit and had got to the point where I was properly enjoying my training for nothing for nothing more than the act itself. Another quoted post:pac: but I find these a much better way of capturing the moment and thoughts throughout my year. This being the day after the Marathon:

El Caballo wrote: »

Dublin Marathon(DNF)

Where do I start with this? Usually, it would be to avoid it like the plague through equal parts anger and shame but strangely enough, I don't really feel either of those this time around, A little disappointed of course as it was my target race and I felt I had finally learned and become wise enough to nail a marathon but that wasn't to be. I just didn't feel it from the gun be it in my legs or the adrenaline, neither were there for whatever reason. I knew almost a mile in that my legs weren't feeling it but lived in hope that they would come around at some point but they never did and I called it a day at the tunnel 11 miles in when a redlining 8:02 flashed on my watch and I was eaten up by the 3:20 group. For me, there's was going to be no glory in grinding out a horrific 3:40/45, I've been there before in 2014 finishing in 3:56 on a bum knee after targeting the sub-3(even that day, the 3:10 guys didn't catch me until 21 miles) and that race haunts me to this day not because of the pain but because of how much it set me back(3 years later and I still haven't got back to that level and haven't run a PB either). I wasn't going to repeat that today just for the sake of it and to still feel the same way about the run so I felt like the right choice was to knock it on the head.

Distance running is often looked at as a grind it out sport which it is of course and many people will and have already criticised as well as a bit of Craic on the back of my running or lack of yesterday:pac: but I can live with this one. I know I made the right decision for me. I'm fit, probably more motivated than ever to make it up to myself and relatively fresh to follow through on getting back into training right away and finally take down a few Pb's that are a couple of years past their sell by date.

That was my overwelming feeling post race but I'm not going to lie and say I didn't have any doubt after the race. When you haven't run a PB in 3 and a half years and stuff like this happens, it makes you wonder if you ever will which is why I lined up in a 5k just 4 days after the marathon. Those thoughts were quickly vanquished as I crossed the line 18 and half minutes later to finally run a PB, thank fook for that:pac:. I quickly followed that with another 5k a week later finishing 5 seconds slower but in windy conditions before settling in to training again for the Waterford half. All went went well in the lead up and thoughts firmly shifted to finally knocking down my now ancient PB which I duly managed shaving 43 seconds off it and in doing so finally overtaking my old self.

Although Newmarket was originally planned as a sub-18 attempt, my buildup wasn't good as the contract at work is finished and I was left go at the end of November and going from not having a waking moment to think to having the whole day to myself at this time of year isn't something I cope well with. Bouts of insomnia, lack of appetite and general low energy don't go hand in hand with good performances and have a huge effect on training unfortunately but it will pass as I've a lot of things lined up in both personally and in running for the next year.

What I learned this year:

On the whole, it's probably the best I've had in a long time. I learned a huge amount about what makes me tick as a runner and the value of planning ahead. My biggest weakness over the years was that I was flying aimlessly through training and races. I could get motivated for short term targets but I had nothing planned for after or to fall back on. I suppose it's easy to think positely when everything is going right and you know that you are progressing but I think that good planning ahead is half the battle. While writing this, I started thinking about what I would be saying right now if I hadn't booked the half marathon in Waterford back in October. I'd probably be sitting here mulling over another year without a PB and ending it with a whimper of a DNF in Dublin. The last few races shaped this outlook even though the training was started long before the results came in. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the small things can have a huge effect and success is often just around the corner from percieved failure. I learned that the long-term approach to both planning and training can also bring short-term success and satisfaction, they don't have to be mutually exclusive and most of all to be corny as can be imagined, I learned how much I enjoyed running whatever the results may be.

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Didn't realise you were from my neck of the woods!

Haha, I thought you were a Kerryman tbh.

Might as well go back home to this one again. I'm gonna defer Berlin until next year if I can. Marathon training isn't really compatible with my life right now so I can't do it justice in the short time frame. On the brightside, I have actual training to log for the first time this year after frustrating injuries early on an excessively hectic life since meant I've done sweet FA. Decided to do a race as a kick me up the hole "oh god, I've slipped so far" kind of motivation to get me going again. That fortunately didn't come to fruition and I'm left wondering what the hell is going on with my fitness!? That's a good thing though.

Friday 11th May- Curley Cunningham 4 Mile(25:12)

Running is a funny sport and makes no sense at times. Fastest 4 Mile in 4 and a half years and only 20 seconds shy of a PB. Admittedly, I would've probably destroyed that PB had I got in a 4 Mile race 6 months ago but I'm hugely suprised that I ran that quick and came that close given how little I've done over the last 6 months. I've run a ton of 4 miles in between my PB and this evenings race(probably more than any other distance) and never came close to either so to be able to run that fast as a rustbuster and starting point after a long spell of inconsistency is hugely encouraging:) Tells me the peak could be a lot higher this year if I get my ass in gear.

So as I've been running a little more again over the last while, it's probably a good time to get this going again to build on the small bit of momentum I've got going right now.

The plan isn't all that much, I'm going with a fairly similar approach to what got me PB's last year, it seems to work well with my lifestyle and gets results. Basically going to be made up entirely of easy miles, moderate Aerobic tempos and occasional LT runs for now. Starting out with 3-4 runs a week and taking it from there. Usually after missing this much training, I feel terrible on most runs, that hasn't really been the case so far this year though, the tightness in my calves which has been the bane of my running existence for the last 5 years has disappeared out of nowhere and makess running feel like a pleasure. I'm still a mile off where I was but that's to be expected and not something I'm too bothered about, the goal for this year is to build fitness no matter where I'm starting from and that's about it.

On races, I'm signed up to run Charleville next month and want to run the Waterford half again in December, I haven't really thought out much in between yet as I'm a bit out of touch with the racing around this time of year as I'm usually running XC or a marathon.

Sunday 26th August- 9 Miles Long Run(No watch)

Windy and wet but infinitely more enjoyable than the normal Sunday Custom of being hungover and/or working that the last few months have brought. 3 loops of 3 Miles around my old loop from last years marathon exploits. Longest run in 7 months and not a bad starting point to kick off from here.

OOnegative wrote: »

Give up the woodbines E?

The short answer is no.

The long answer is well...long:pac: and involves a fair bit of internal dialogue that no one wants to hear so lets just say I'm working on it and plan to kick them as well as some other vices that need kicking which are holding me back from what I really want to do.

Wednesday 26th September- 5 Miles Easy

So my calves are back at me, it's irratating to say the least and I'd give anything just to run without feeling like they'd explode. It's basically 5 years of this now. There's no real injury pain, they just start burning a few minutes into a run like the feeling of lactate and go pure dead and heavy. Somedays, they free up after a few miles and it feels like I'm running on air but most days, they just get worse and worse to the point where I feel like I'm just plodding and couldn't run faster if I tried despite running at a slow pace. I don't know what to do at this stage, Rest, stretching, strengthening does nothing. Even when I was going well last year, it felt like I was constantly fighting to keep going on most runs.

Thursday 27th September-5 Miles Easy

More of the same:(

ultrapercy wrote: »

Have you tried magnesium rub and oral supplement. If you buy a bag of magnesium flakes in booths and dilute them in water and rub on it may help relax the muscle. Also try rolling a tennisball under foot before running to release the facia.

Funnily enough, Someone was just asking about magnesium oil in the novice thread a couple of hours ago. My sports therapist used to always rub it on my calves after a massage years ago but I never used it myself. I didn't even know what it was for past it feeling kind of refreshing. I'll give it a shot.