Are those my feet?

Thanks very much D. The more I reflect on Sunday the happier I am with it.

I didn't expect to be so early for this one - light Sunday traffic meant I flew up the road. They had warned that parking would be limited due to all the activities taking place - no such worries when I got there but closer to race time there was cars being abandoned everywhere. I like being early myself, particularly at an unfamiliar location - it's nice to check out the set-up, get your bearings and chill for a bit. I was rewarded for my punctuality on this occassion by being the first to register on the day and so picking up one of the few remaining 'Run the Banner' water bottles (the rest were allotted to online entrants and those who had run the entire series).

Sorry to hear that D, look after yourself

3rd - 9th April

Monday - 10.15 miles endurance (8:48/mi avg). I wasn't sure what to expect with this coming on the heels of the 10k race the previous day, but it went very smoothly. Wore the Endorphin Speeds and kept the route reasonably flat so as not to overdo things. Wouldn't say I was reigning the paces in, but I was pretty comfortable for the most part with a bit of bite in the last few miles when I upped the pace to 8:20 or so. The legs felt great and I was really happy with how this went.

Tuesday - 3.64 miles recovery (10:57/mi). NOW the legs were dead! A complete and utter plod during (a late) lunch hour. Just ambled around and let the legs dictate the pace.

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - 6.10 miles (9:41/mi). A surprisingly tough one - the legs felt a bit fresher, if not quite 100%, but it felt particularly warm and humid out and this was a bit of a struggle at times. I'd also eaten some spicy chicken not long before setting off - never a particularly smart idea. I did pass the 500 mile mark for the year durning this run - very pleasing to reach that number in early April.

Friday - 9.25 miles Vo2 max. This was my first speed session in 4+ years I'd guess, maybe longer. It was 6 x 1km at 3k/5k pace with recoveries of 50-90% of the rep time. Tinman and FRR were closely aligned on the paces, which were 6:25-6:37, and I'd worked out that recovery time would be between 2 mins and 3:36 - I'd see how I felt after each rep before settling on which end of that spectrum I'd land. After a nice handy 2 mile warm-up with a few strides, I wound up in the Inch Field beside the castle and did the reps there. I had the place to myself for the first 3 reps, before being joined by the odd dog walker as the rest of the world awoke. It's a small park, and each 1km was 2-and-a-bit laps. I took off like a bullet for the first three reps before settling into the pace, and on the last 3 reps I tried to start off more controlled and be more even across the 1km. I was generous to myself and used the full 3:36 recovery after each rep. The paces came in at 6:26, 6:31, 6:25, 6:35, 6:33 and 6:37 - all within the range, if not exactly metronomic. These were tough, but manageable - I was hanging on toward the end of the last rep alright. The small loop and tree cover in one corner might have affected paces a touch, but whatever, I was happy - buzzing for the day after it.

Saturday - 3.89 miles recovery (10:12/mi). Weary enough legs again for this. Don't remember too much if I'm honest, only that it must have been a bit windy as my cap blew off at one stage - right outside the busy dining area of the local garage naturally enough.

Sunday - 14.20 miles endurance (8:52/mi avg). The longest run on the plan. The legs felt tired starting off, which didn't bode well as I'd need to up the pace as the run went on. Thankfully the legs improved as the run went on and each time I needed to up the pace they were able to respond. I'd chosen a fairly challenging route with plenty of hills dotted along it. The last half mile was tough, with an uphill section followed by a flat section in a wind tunnel, but I was able to coax enough out of the legs to see it through. Once again, really happy with this run on the back of a big week. Another 30 mins S&C later that evening.

47.2 miles for the week, which is the biggest week of the block, and my biggest in a long time. I've said it plenty times before, but I do enjoy those FRR endurance runs. Another tune-up race this week - which will either be a parkrun on Saturday or the Clara 5k on Sunday. Another PB should be within reach all going well.

The farthest of those races would be maybe 50 minutes from me. For some reason I didn't have Carrick as one of the many clubs I follow on Facebook, so I've added them now. My Facebook feed is basically just running clubs and videos of guys making tables using epoxy resin. I had the Deadmans 4 mile (what a name!) earmarked as one of a few possible races in the period after Limerick, but didn't realise there was others in the series too, so thanks for that, I will check them out. The Ballyneale 5k would be ideal if it was a week earlier.

Clara AC 5k - 20:16 (PB)

I'd a longer post typed out, but lost it so I'll just put up this shorter version instead. The plan had this second tune-up race as an 8k-10k race, but I settled on a 5k being plenty. Had considered the GIR at one stage, so happy to have dodged that mess. I had a decent weeks running in the lead up to the race. Everything was easy or recovery pace, although there was a fair dollop of hills thrown in, and not much in the way of a taper.

Mon - 3.5 miles at 10:20/mi

Tues - 5.83 miles at 9:53/mi

Weds - Rest

Thurs - 6.59 miles at 9:35/mi

Fri - 8.31 miles at 9:35/mi

Sat - 3.59 miles at 9:21/mi

Sunday - Clara AC 5K - My PB was 21:08, but that felt soft enough and race predictors suggested I was capable of a 20:3x 5k, so I went with 20:30 as the target, which would be 6:37/mi. I'd checked out the course profile in advance and it showed a favourable start, some climbing to start mile two and a bit of a pull up towards the finish. While there were certainly mild undulations throughout, in reality the course was flatter than my research had me thinking.

There was a decent-sized field of what turned out to be 314 finishers, which gives you plenty of company in a 5k. I didn't think I started particularly fast - the pace felt kind of slow but the effort was right up there almost straight away and when I glanced at the watch I saw 6:30 so bang on target. The first km whizzed by as I settled into my running. Quick look at the watch as we passed the 1km marker showed 4:0x, which was spot on. I seemed to make a decent fist of judging the right pace/effort without too much looking at the watch. The 2nd km brought us up through the village. Tried to stay nice and controlled here in anticipation of a bit of a climb in the 3rd km, but still managed to keep the pace right up there. @Laineyfrecks 'run the mile your in mantra' randomly popped into my head along here and helped keep me focussed. I was seriously under pressure already though - felt like my chest was going to explode at one stage but that passed as I went by a few who sounded worse than I did. I don't remember seeing the 2km marker at all. The third km began with a right turn onto a small bit of a gentle climb, but we soon turned left and the road flattened again. Tried to push on again, but I was pretty much at my limit anyway. Passed the 3km marker in 12:15 or so. Figured I was on for the 20:30 if I could keep this up, but keeping up the pace seemed a tough ask, nevermind increasing it for a tilt at sub 20. All these thoughts went through my head briefly but kept getting shoved out by the screaming pain from everywhere! As we turned left back toward the village there was a bit of wind into our faces, but this actually may have helped me. I was a touch isolated but made the push to catch 2 guys maybe 10m ahead with the idea of sheltering behind them. Without the wind I might have stayed as I was, but I managed to bridge the gap. Spent a moment or two on the shoulder before driving on again. I gave serious consideration to pulling aside at this stage - a 4km race and 1km jog would be the finest I told myself before snapping out of it. Anytime I looked at my watch, my pace was showing 6:3x - I wasn't getting any quicker, but I wasn't slowing either. My legs were swimming in lactate now, and I kept cursing "oh f**k" as we mercifully entered the last km. Expressing the hurt seemed to help. The final km had a bit of a drag for most of it, although I can't say I really noticed. There was a Ballyskenach AC runner just ahead who had been in my vicinity the whole race. She looked over her shoulder and I thought "yeah, your place is safe, I've nothing more to give". The last 20m was downhill and I somehow managed to just ease past Ballyskenach and cross the line still yelling "oh f**k". Took a good few minutes to compose myself before heading in for some tea, cake and sandwiches which were in plentiful supply. I was pleasantly surprised that the legs weren't completely dead and managed a cooldown that was a touch faster than most of my deathly slow cooldowns.

Chip time came in at 20:16 in the end, which I'm thrilled with. It's a PB of 52 seconds. Don't think I could have run a second faster tbh - this was hard. I'd forgotten just how hard 5k's are. I'm thinking that I might switch to km's for 5k's and maybe 10k's in future - the in-race calculations seem easier? I'll have maybe 6 weeks between Limerick and the start of the marathon block so might revisit the 5k during that time. Sub-20 seems tantalisingly close, and at least worth having a crack at. Anyway, that's for another day - 2 weeks to Limerick now. Wound up with 35.1 miles last week, and it'll be about the same this week. I've another 10 miles on tired legs tonight, and one more VO2 session this week before the taper truly kicks off.

Thanks E! I neglected to mention the mandatory "I'm never, ever racing a 5k again" decision which was made around the 3.5k mark. Quickly forgot that pledge as soon as the race was over, of course.

It was a fine course to be honest, some undulations but net downhill with the fast start that didn't have to be paid back, so I'd be doing well to find a course that was loads more favourable.

I'm actually beginning to think that I'm better suited to undulating courses. I like the changes in momentum and it suits me to use downhill bits to up the pace and then maintain the new pace. Anytime I've ran on flatter courses I've found them a bit of a let down - maybe I'm just not used to flat courses.

April 17th - 23rd

Monday - 10.17 miles endurance (8:52/mi avg). A long run the day after the 5k - I kept the route the exact same as the same run the day after Ennis, for nerdy comparison purposes. Definitely felt leggier on this one than two weeks prior, but HR and paces were almost identical. Felt this one got better as the run went on, and I was motoring nice and smoothly by the closing miles.

Tuesday - 3.16 miles recovery (10:05/mi). Back in the office 2 days a week now (Tues/Weds) which will make midweek sessions that bit trickier to fit in. On the plus side, the grass fields and flat environs in UL are a nice change. Plus I tend to eat and sleep better when heading to the office. Mostly on grass for this one at a very leisurely pace, with the legs feeling ok.

Wednesday - Rest

Thursday - 7.36 miles VO2 max session - 2 x 1200m, 2 x 1000m, 1 x 800m. I kept the paces for this the same as 2 weeks ago (6:25-6:37) despite having a fresh 5k time to work off. Not too much in the difference anyway, but figured no point in pushing the boat out at this stage of the plan. I returned to the same park as the last time, and again this was early morning before work. I'd say this went pretty well again - the shortening reps made you mentally think it was going to be easier as it went on, but it wasn't at all. Kept the recoveries at the full 90% recovery time (3:36) again, although I copped after that I could have went even longer for the first 2 recoveries as I'd based the 90% off 1000m. Paces came in at 6:33, 6:29, 6:27, 6:32, 6:36 and I'd say the effort was more even throughout each rep than two weeks prior. Hard going, but manageable, especially with the generous recoveries.

Friday - 4.43 miles recovery (10:10/mi). A few handy early morning recovery miles before work. Nothing too exciting.

Saturday - 10.16 miles endurance (8:48/mi avg). For handiness sake I just kept to the same 10 mile route as Monday's run. Wore the Gliderides on this occasion compared to the Endorphin Speeds on Monday. HR was 10 beats higher on this one, but once again I felt great towards the end clipping along at the faster pace. I'd meant to take a gel with me just to get the stomach accustomed to one again before Limerick, but completely forgot.

Sunday - Rest.

35.2 miles for the week, and I nudged just over the 600 miles mark for the year so far. Nothing too much this coming week - a couple of race-pace miles tomorrow and a few recovery runs will hopefully have me nice and fresh come Sunday. I'll hopefully throw up a quick review of the block and some thoughts on my expectations for Limerick later in the week.