Fast for 40

Thanks for the words of wisdom!! I wasn't too bothered about running 20 flat, maybe if I hadn't dipped under 20 previously it would have.

It was good to get a barometer for where I am as I hadn't done any specific speed work towards this and my last year has all been geared towards marathons.

Though saying that, I think if I paced it a bit better on the night I could have managed to knock another 10secs off that, probably went out too hard in the first 2km and it but me badly in the final km where I really slowed down.

But that's just the experience of jumping back into these faster races, will bring that into the next race and hopefully execute it better. Now that will frustrate me if I don't dip under 20 in that one!!

May 22-28

Mon May 22 - 25mins 4.89km@5:07/km

Tues May 23 - 44mins 8.19km@5:23/km

Wed May 24 - 50mins 9.41km@5:19/km

Was supposed to have a session on Wednesday but the little one was sick so Tuesday night I only got a total of 3 hours sleep and felt like a zombie all day. Felt wrecked after work but still wanted to get out for a run so did Thursdays run which was ok until about the last 500m when I started to feel like crap. Had really sever stomach cramps afterwards and couldn't eat dinner. Bed early to rest up.

Felt better Thursday morning but still tired, but no side effects from the day before. Those stomach cramps were weird!!

Thursday May 25 - 57mins 12km@4:45/km

Got my session in today which was 7x3mins@3:50/km off 90secs jog. Was only down for 50mins but got my route a bit wrong and ended up further from the house so 7mins extra easy running!!!

Managed the session but legs didn't quite have the prescribed paces in them, though had a tough week so happy to have been able to get a quality session in so not worried about that. All things considered I think it went fairly well, and was able to control the session a bit more compared to the week previous where I felt my heart was going to explode!!

Reps were: 3:54,3:55,3:56,3:49,4:02,4:01,4:00/km

Sat May 27 - 58mins 12.09km@4:50/km 58:28

Shorter distance today with the 5km on Tuesday in mind.

Weekly total: 46.6km

Happy enough with that week, have the 5km in Foxford tomorrow. Git for for an easy 20mins today. It's going to be a bit day tomorrow, race at 8pm so should have cooled down a bit by then but will still be warm. Need to keep hydrated today and tomorrow.

No real plans yet but going to try and keep the first 2km a bit more controlled than a few weeks ago in Castlebar. Hopefully be close with one or two others and can push from there. Will see what happens on the night though!!

Ran 20min flat 3 weeks ago in Castlebar. PB 19:46.

Think the course is flatter than Castlebar, though will be different conditions tomorrow, where we had to seal with a wet evening and tight corners in Castlebar the heat will be a factor tomorrow! Note to self to pick up some decent sunscreen!!!!

********** PB ALERT **********

Absolutely delighted with that run, 19:14. Didn't think I had that sort of time in me at the moment so over the moon with it. Off the back of Castlebar 3 weeks ago, I was hoping to run maybe around my PB or a bit faster 19:40 but strung a great race together to come away with an unbelievable time!

It was a warm evening and a gentle breeze, great conditions for running but thought the heat would play a factor, after a warmup and a few strides making my way to the start line I was already sweating quite a bit!!

Race starts on a bit of a hill on the main road which flattens out and into another small incline and turns off the main road and it's back roads from there until home. Focused on keeping the pace controlled at the start, didn't want to get carried away at the start and the hill actually helped with that. In my head I wanted to hit around 3:55-4:00/km for the first couple of km's and then take it from there.

Settled into a rhythm and before I knew it the first km was done. I missed the first km marker or there wasn't one and was over a km when I checked my watch so wasn't sure exactly what I split. I have turned off the auto lap feature on my watch to try and stay more present in the race and not be a slave to the watch!! Anyway I was feeling good so was focusing on maintaining that effort.

The starter mentioned that once we turned off the main road there was only one hill really to contend with and into the second km I could see that coming, short sharp enough incline around a bend. Prepared myself for it, wasn't going to blast up it just maintain the same effort, shorter leg stride and higher cadence and I'm up and over it and don't feel like it's taken anything extra out of me.

At this point the race has settled so I'm tracking behind a woman and keep my effort going, over the next few hundred metres I catch and pass her. There's a small group up the road about 10 seconds so I just keep an eye on them and keep focusing on my own race, checking in to make sure I'm not pushing too hard, am I breathing ok, good posture etc. And sort of perform this mental check list as the race goes on.

Before I know it I look at my watch and we are nearly 2.5km in, expecting a water station at halfway but after a few mins there's no sign of one. Glance at watch and 3km is approaching and think it was just after this there was a water station. Grabbed a bottle but just poured some over my shoulders and down my back, took a mouthful to rinse out my mouth and got rid of the bottle into one of the bins, didn't take on any water but was good to rinse out the mouth at this stage.

Only 2km to go so just focus, on holding this effort. Up ahead there's 3 that have dropped off that small group and I catch them fully expecting that once I do that I'll just sit in but with no extra effort I pass 2 and pull alongside a woman, she stays with me for a couple of hundred metres but again I pull away. This builds confidence and I'm looking up the road now, can still catch another one or two.

About a km to go now, I passed another guy but can hear him closing again. I focus on the guy up the road and dig deep, I ran up this road during my warm up so know where the finish line is now. Roughly 600m to go and I'm catching that guy in front. He starts to come back and as I level with him I only have 200-300m to go and can still hear that guy coming behind me so give it another push for the line.

At this stage I hadn't been paying attention to the elapsed time, a few glances at the watch but just to see what pace I was holding but not paying much attention to it either. As the final 100m approached and the line came I to view I could now just see the clock and it was just hitting 19:00, wow, this is going to be a massive PB...last burst for the line and had pulled away from those two lads.

Absolutely delighted with that result, was buzzing all evening after it and took ages to get to sleep. Still buzzing today, was not expecting that result but delighted. Can probably shift expectations for the 10k in Dunshaughlin in 2 weeks, this is a great confidence booster going into that.

I think, for me, turning off the auto lap and just racing the race really helped me. With that on and the watch beeping I'm paying more attention to the watch. For context 2 weeks ago I struggled with an interval session post stag 4x5mins at 4min km. Had to cut the final rep short and my heart felt like it was jumping out through my chest at 185. Last night I averaged 185 throughout and was 195 for the final km. Now I know HR isn't always accurate and it's relative but also shows how you can really find more on a race day.

Only in the last km did I feel like I had to dig deep, felt in control throughout which is a great feeling for a 5km, now I was still putting in an effort but didn't feel like one I was chasing if that makes sense because that's how I felt 3 weeks ago in Castlebar. I always try to learn from races and the training leading in to them and think I've definitely learned a few things after this!!

Delighted!

Thanks, see you there! Yeah think I'll give it a shot anyway, a deep field so might get dragged around!!

Yeah, I always used the 1k auto lap but trialling a few races without it. Think it worked well for the 5k just to focus on the race and you're not running that long before it's over. Will see how it works for longer races!

Best of luck in Dunshaughlin 👍

June 5 - 11

Felt good at the start of this week, have strung some consistent weeks together since having a couple of weeks after the marathon. Had a nice break away with the family so had 3 days off running as well which was good.

Was supposed to start the week of with 20mins easy followed by 45mins easy on Tuesday, but we were still away and I just couldn't manage the 20mins but didn't mind really.

Tuesday when I got back into it I ran an hour at a comfortable effort.

Wednesday I had my weekly session, it was hot and humid and it was a big session! 4x8mins@4:00/km off 90secs jog. Struggled with this one, first couple went ok, really felt like I had to dig in on the third and couldn't finish the fourth rep, stopped with more than 2:30 left in the rep but felt I was on my limit and would have crossed a line of I pushed on, so decided to just stop the rep and just finish the rest of the session.

Thursday did an easy 55mins and didn't feel any I'll effects from the session the day before.

Friday after work I decided to go for a walk, it was another hot day and had been inside all day as I work from home so was stuck in the office so was good to get out for a long walk, 57mins to be exact!

Now it turns out this may have been a mistake as Saturday I was feeling my right shin, shin splints! 🙈 Had planned not to run Saturday anyway as we were looking after my nephew for the day/night so planned to do my long run at some stage on Sunday.

Today was very humid all day and still was planning to do my session but my shin nearly felt a bit worse today, it's not too bad as I still have flexibility in my ankle and when stretched fully it's just discomfort rather than pain, it's tender to the touch so decided to give the long run a miss today, last thing I want to do is to flare it up and make it worse and have to take some time off, so hoping a couple of days rest and managing it and I'll be ok for Dunshaughlin next weekend.

I've also been managing a bit of heel pain in my left heel the past few weeks, it's not bad but it hasn't gone away either so keeping an eye on that too, so another couple of days rest probably won't do any harm!

Tuesday June 6

12k@5:09 61mins

Wednesday June 7

10mins easy & 4x8mins off 90sec jog &10mins easy

12.25k@4:41 57mins

Reps: 4:02, 4:04, 4:06, 4:09 (cut short)

Thursday June 8

10:38k@5:18 55mins

Weekly Total: 34.6k

The shin is definitely better today, decided not to do my easy 20mins today either and just rest. Didn't do much walking around the house either so it's the least time on my feet I've had in a long time but think it will help with the shin anyway so should be fine for Saturday.

I think it was the walk, I hadn't been feeling it before that and used an old pair of runners too, so putting it down to the walk, it wasn't holly or anything but just hadn't done a walk like that in a while. Walks recently are usually with a pram or with the toddler in tow so a lot easier! 😅

No, don't have anything booked for the geel, was just managing it and monitoring it myself, though it hasn't been improving it hasn't been getting worse either. Actually the time off running the past few days has probably helped as well as haven't felt it that much. Though if it doesn't go away soon I'll have to get it checked out as don't want ir turning into an injury that puts me out of action!

*** Race Report ***

A long drive up from Sligo to Dunshaughlin, I arrived shortly after 6pm and parked up in the field. Spotted a couple of lads on the way in and met them inside after number collection. A quick catch up chat in the changing rooms and a bit of stretching. Ate a banana around now as well, about an hour out from the race. After we got changed we went out the back on to the decking and did some mobility work, felt like I needed to open up the hips after the long drive and do some glute and hamstring activation. Dropped my gear back to the car, another few dynamic drills on the grass and met the lads again to make our way up to the start line.

A gentle jog and chat on the way up and an odd burst of some strides. It's very humid and muggy, sweating already with this gentle warmup!! Lads on loudspeakers telling us to make our way to the start line. We stand to the side railing behind the start line and final chats and questions of how we are feeling before assuming our relative positions for the race and wishing each other well.

I start on the front line of the 40min section. No concrete plan of how I'm going to go out but I'm relaxed and don't feel any pressure. My PB, set here last year, is 42:43 and I'm confident I'll break that. The only thing I don't want to do is chase something that's too quick for me and end up trailing off towards the end, but going through that in my head in the lead up to this race the past few days I'm still certain if that happened I'd still dip under that PB so there solace in knowing that and think it's easier to relax knowing that.

I'm a bit closer to the start line than last year but still can't hear a thing, can just about hear some mumbling on a loudspeaker but can't make anything out. Next thing people are moving and the race is on.

I get going towards the right hand shoulder where there's a bit more space and try to get into a feel for what pace I should be running, few checks of the watch and think it's steadied now a few hundred metres in, running around 4:00/km so try to feel the pace so I can go by feel as much as possible.

Around the roundabout without any issues and on to a narrower road past the HQ and that's the first km done. I don't see the marker and can just hear some watches beep so I take a look and it's ticked past 4:00 so the pace is probably a out right.

Next km the streets narrow a bit past a pub then take a left on main street down past Aldi and left again out the Rathoath road I think it is. A good few supporters around here. Trying to settle into a pace, still plenty of people moving around so keeping focus as an odd time someone cuts across don't want to get tripped or trip someone else! Again I miss the 2km marker and just hear watches beep, 8:05 I think so around 4:02 pace so not bad, trying to settle into this pace.

Starting to feel the humidity already and checking in with myself to see if I feel like this pace is ok or am I pushing too hard at this early stage. I don't feel like I am but hard to tell with the conditions. Can feel my heart rate already so I glance at the HR on the watch, I'm wearing a strap and find it's fairly accurate for me, it's showing 178 so that's about right I think and probably something I can hold but just don't want to push on so try to settle into this effort. Think I checked this well into the third km, spotted the marker this time, glance at the watch and it's 08 I think, not looking at the minutes, quick maths and it's 4:02-4:03 pace.

2mile mark and a much welcome water station, I wasn't actually sure if there was going to be water on the course as it wasn't mentioned in the race plan but it's a welcome sight, take a mouthful just to rinse the mouth out and the rest goes over my head.

From studying the course profile beforehand I knew it was pretty much flat until the crossroads around 5.5km, don't remember much from this section except that I wasn't very happy in the first 4km, felt I hadn't settled into the race and I was checking my watch too often. Think it was around the 4km mark I told myself to try to stop checking the watch and just try to settle into the feeling of this effort and settle down a bit.

5km marker approaching and checked the watch and was around 20:20 I thought. So a quick reflection and I'm through halfway. Now it's just concentrate on the effort and maybe push on a bit from here. Glanced at the watch pace and it was showing around 4:10, thought this could be GPS issue but decided to push it a bit but not too much, I knew there was some downhills coming up so can use those.

Trying to just dial into the effort and trust myself from here. We turn at the crossroads and there's a slight incline, some water being handed out but they seem like they're struggling just two young girls and a woman trying to keep up, the girls are getting in each other's way and I'm on the right and decide not to move across the road to get one, could be more hassle than it's worth! Would be nice to cool down though!!

Use the downhill in the 6th km trying to keep my breath under control and loosen out my shoulders. I know at the bottom of this hill we turn right and there's a short sharp hill. Some lad pulls along side me on the downhill and it flattens out, can see people up ahead going up that little hill and I point it out to the lad with me. Quick glance of the watch and it's showing 3:50/km pace so ease off a bit with the intention of pushing on a bit once we turn the corner.

I execute this well and we take a few people on the hill, can hear people gasping and struggling and it's a reminder to try and keep the breathing under control and trying to stay relaxed.

From here it's just trying to maintain the effort keeping my eyes focused on what's in front of me. On this stretch I spot another water station on the left, I make a slight move across but a woman comes up the inside so I assume she is going for water, I try to time it to find a gap but she just runs through blocking me from the water so need to sort of check to grab one, it's really just to throw over my head as I'm feeling quite hot at this stage. But it definitely cost me a second or two, the guy I was running with since he came alongside me on the downhill puts a gap between us and it's one I won't close!

There's an incline after 8km for a few hundred metres, I lost time here last year, I know it's coming and I'm prepared I start to pass people again and I push up the incline, keep my eyes focused on the crest of the hill in the distance and just keep the effort going. Didn't feel as bad as last year and I'm up and over and made a good few places.

Now it's just to try and maintain the effort but also to recover a little on a bit of a downhill here. Somewhere in this km my stomach feels a little strange and I try to burp but sort of feelike I'm dry heaving a bit. Not a great feeling so hope it's something that passes.

Can see the turn up ahead that's back onto the main road for home around the 9km mark. So focus on that. Around here I hear someone behind me breathing quite heavily but sounds like they're gaining. Nobody gets past me from here!!

9km mark and give a little more, from memory there's 800m and 400m signs. Just time to dig in now and get home. Start to feel a little nauseous, have to just focus on the breathing and keep going. 800m can push a bit more but not emptying the tank from here, have passed a few people in the last few hundred metres.

I'm catching a woman in front, 400m time to empty the tank, can still hear that heavy breathing close behind. I'm catching the woman and as I pass her I'm in the middle of the road, I see ramps and I go around them only to realise as I do that they're timing mats! Try to lean back towards them but I'm past them, don't think that will affect my chip time!!! But not thinking straight at this time.

Good crowd near the end they're making noise, can hear a couple of people shouting for someone behind me, I think is it the guy that's been tailing me the last km or so, nobody gets past me at this stage, dig in and give everything I have, 100m to go the end line comes into view, I look at the clock and it's ticking 40:00,01,02. Final push for the line, dip over the line, stop the watch, have to grab a railing 10m after the finish and just hunker down for 30secs to catch my breath and compose myself!

Look at the watch 40:14, turned out chip time was 40:13. A massive 2min 30sec PB from my PB set here this time last year and first 10km since. I'm absolutely delighted and was buzzing for the whole evening and the whole drive home and still buzzing today really!!

I didn't think a month ago I'd have these two times for 5k and 10k in me and I haven't been doing any sped specific work so I'm surprised how much that has improved on the back of the 2 marathon blocks!

Going by the official chip timing it has me running the first half in 20:28 which means I closed out the back half in 19:45 which is amazing to me really, especially considering up until two and a half weeks ago my 5k PB was 19:46.

Really have been pleasantly surprised with the last two races and has given me a huge boost and gained lots of confidence off the back of it.

Going to enjoy this for another few days before trying to figure out what I'm going to do for the next few months!

Thanks a million, yeah it was very muggy. Was sweaty after the jog up to the start line and after around 3km could feel my heart rate going up so delighted I was able to hold it and not overcook it which I think could have been easily done in those conditions!

It's a really good race, my second time doing it and I plan to make it an annual event now! A friend of mine is actually moving to Dunshaughlin soon so hopefully next year I'll have a place to stay rather than making the round trip in the same day!

How did you get on yourself? Were you happy with your result?

That's great going, I think with less humid conditions you could have dipped under that PB time. Have you any other 10k's or other distance races on the horizon?

Oh class, I've heard good things about Amsterdam, might be one I aim for next year. Have you got any major goals for it or will you decide that once you're into your training block?

Not sure at all what I'm doing yet, 50/50 whether to do an Autumn marathon, or might just focus on shorter races and improve my half marathon time as well, been over a year now since I ran my last half as well.

Best of luck with the training and the race! Do you have a training log yourself?

Actually it wasn't Kilcock I was looking at, that's actually nowhere near me! 😅 It was another 5k and got confused! 🤣