There was a nice feel of familiarity today as we set off for the Dublin half marathon. The banter was good as the four of us chatted about strategy as went drove in. I hadn't slept well, about 4 or 5 hours at most, and the effects were showing as we performed a rapid lane change to make the motorway exit I almost missed. On arrival the park was much busier than it had been for the 10 miler, there was about 6000 participants registered.
We had come up with a 'foolproof' master plan on the way in. After alot of thought, we decided that the four of us would stick together and run as a unit at a 6.30 pace for as long as possible. There weren't alot of club runners doing the event for a number of reasons, injury mostly, and the passing and funeral of the father of a senior club member. The warmup was a bit short, and we did it over grass which didn't suit me, and we headed for the start line, positioning ourselves well forward.
When the start klaxon sounded we were all together, and the master plan quickly went out the window! Away went Brian C like the proverbial hare, and me chasing after him. I quickly realised (again), that the pace was too fast and slowed up. Glen caught up and I settled into the 6.30 pace. It was about 3 miles I caught Brian C again and we ran together pretty much for the rest of the distance. I felt really strong and comfortable, and Brian kept urging me to go ahead, but I preferred to stay with him, and after a bit of back and froward, Brian crossed the finish 8 seconds ahead of my time of 1.26.06, a new PB for me by 4 full minutes. We met Gary o'Hanlon along the course and towards the end his words of encouragement really spurred me on.
And so to the title of this post. I am a runner because I run. Many people run for a variety of reasons, each unique to themselves. For me, enjoying myself, and the experience, is one of the most important things. Of course I like to improve my times, do my best, and compare my performance to others, but to race is to try to win. Everyone who ran today, and every day, is a winner in their own personal challenge. I believe I could have ran today's run maybe a minute or two faster had I gone ahead a few miles earlier, but I would certainly not have enjoyed the experience half as much. I doubt if I will ever be good enough to win a race, but when I started to run that was never my aim, so what difference does it make if I am one minute faster or slower? Enjoy the journey, that is whats important. At my level, run, don't race. Victory will still be yours, and it will be all the sweeter when you have enjoyed the journey.
The sentiment in part was inspired by the very sad news that a fellow participant in the event died today. We are all lucky, no matter what time we achieved, to able to go home to the people we care about, and tell them our stories of victory, of the great event on a beautiful day, and run another day, PB's or not. Well done to all my fellow club members, great running by all. Star of the sea cross country event tomorrow, good luck to all participants.
Saturday 21 September 2013
Thursday 19 September 2013
Slow week
This week felt very slow, after the high of a good time for the 5k I struggled to get motivated. I think it is because I have missed two weeks of speed training, and the pace seems slow and difficult. The day after the 5k I did a slow run and on the Thursday was the 10 mile tempo with a mile warm up and cool down. The pace was 6.53 average, and I was a bit disappointed with that, as I had been using this run as a tester for the half in the park this Saturday where I am looking for a 6.30 pace, which was the pace for the 10 miler a few weeks ago. I am putting the slow pace down to work this week, I have been putting in pretty much 12 hour days, getting up early before work to run, and not finishing until midnight, combined with the runs really took its toll.
Saturday was my long run, again up early before work, and it was a nice day for running. 18.6 miles at a 7.29 pace, again was faster than it needed to be for the marathon training pace, but I was using this run as a tester for the 3/4 marathon in athlone in two weeks time. 50.5 miles for the week was probably a bit short, I took my rest day on Sunday instead of the Wednesday.
Monday was 7 miles of hills and Tuesday was 8 miles of the same, 7.20 and 7.15 pace respectively. Wednesday, 5.5 at 6.58, and we are tapering for Saturday over the next two days with a short two mile tempo today, and some strides only tomorrow. As I said at the start, I think I am getting a cold or something, I have no energy, and worse, I am finding it difficult to get motivated to go running.
It could be the long week at work, the change in the weather, a cold, the cumulative effects of the long weekly milage, or all of this combined. Whatever it is, I am not hopeful of a good time on Saturday, and I hope it passes soon.
Sunday is the club cross country race in Greenanstown, the weather is forecast good, and I am excited to be helping out with the organisation. I doubt if I will run it myself, cross country is not really my thing and I hope to put a few hours on the legs afterwards on Sunday, I will need it to recover the lack of miles this week.
My previous PB for the half distance is 1.30, so hopefully the next report will show something better.
Saturday was my long run, again up early before work, and it was a nice day for running. 18.6 miles at a 7.29 pace, again was faster than it needed to be for the marathon training pace, but I was using this run as a tester for the 3/4 marathon in athlone in two weeks time. 50.5 miles for the week was probably a bit short, I took my rest day on Sunday instead of the Wednesday.
Monday was 7 miles of hills and Tuesday was 8 miles of the same, 7.20 and 7.15 pace respectively. Wednesday, 5.5 at 6.58, and we are tapering for Saturday over the next two days with a short two mile tempo today, and some strides only tomorrow. As I said at the start, I think I am getting a cold or something, I have no energy, and worse, I am finding it difficult to get motivated to go running.
It could be the long week at work, the change in the weather, a cold, the cumulative effects of the long weekly milage, or all of this combined. Whatever it is, I am not hopeful of a good time on Saturday, and I hope it passes soon.
Sunday is the club cross country race in Greenanstown, the weather is forecast good, and I am excited to be helping out with the organisation. I doubt if I will run it myself, cross country is not really my thing and I hope to put a few hours on the legs afterwards on Sunday, I will need it to recover the lack of miles this week.
My previous PB for the half distance is 1.30, so hopefully the next report will show something better.
Wednesday 11 September 2013
Old news- another PB !
Slightly less miles this week, 55 in total as I stuck to Gary's plan more rigidly for distance although not times. The tempo run on Thursday was 9 miles, with a mile warm up and cool down and was run at 6.45 pace. It was also serving as a tester for planned pace for the upcoming Dublin race series half marathon in the phoenix park on the 21st of this month. The pace was comfortable enough, and alot of the miles were 6.30 or so. The test will be whether I can sustain the pace over the 13 miles.
I did my long run on Saturday, 16 miles at 7.45 pace, which was alot easier than last week. I am still only using water and sports drink, although the body has not been tested for carb exhaustion on any time over 2.20 with this programme. That worries me a bit. 17 miles are planned for this weekend at almost race pace again, and Thursdays tempo is 10 miles at 20 seconds faster than race pace.
Saturday night were the birthday celebrations, and I consumed very little alcohol and was fresh on Sunday for an easy enough 9 miles, although I was glad it wasn't the long run. I was back to work flying on earlies on Monday morning, up at 4.30 for a 12 hour day due to some delays, and back up on Tuesday for another early shift, although I finished at 2pm. I was due to run the Grant Thornton corporate challenge race in Dublin city Tuesday evening and I tried in vain to get a nap in the afternoon. The event was huge, almost 3000 runners, and the course was very flat around the keys in the city centre. I picked up two work colleagues, and we headed in. We met our third team member, 4 a team and headed to the start line after a warm up. I did the usual survey of fellow runners, trying to asses where I might fit in and eventually finish, and it was evident that there were some pretty good runners present. The current world champion 50k walker, Rob Heffernan was also taking part.
As usual at the start there were runners too far towards the front out of line with their ability, and there was alot of weaving to be done to pass them. It was clear from the start though that there were some really good runners taking an early lead. At the first mile the garmin showed a 5.35 mile and I was worried that this was too fast, although I felt really strong, so I eased back. There were a few out and back segments which allowed me to see the front runners and the people behind. The second mile was a 5.49 which I figured was just about right. The third mile was a 5.55 and I cursed myself for dropping the pace so much as I still felt really strong so I upped the pace towards the finish line, getting stuck behind two guys who had nothing left as I tried to pass them to the line to finish at 18.10, a new pb (again ) by 35 seconds.
After the race comes the post run analysis. Could I have done more, well on this occasion I think I could and even though I am VERY happy with the time, I think the sub 18 was defo on the cards for the taking. Even though I had 55 miles on the legs for the week, it is very obvious that Garys training is paying off in spades. When the marathon training is finished, I hope to concentrate more on the speedwork and 5 and 10k's. Today I also signed up for the athlone 20 mile run on October 6th. That will be a real test of distance and Brian C is running it, which is real pressure, although I don't think I will be able to run his pace, he is a sub 3 runner after all. 10 mile tempo and 17 miles for the long one this week. I am flying on lates, which means getting up early, running and working until well after midnight. Bring it on !!!
I did my long run on Saturday, 16 miles at 7.45 pace, which was alot easier than last week. I am still only using water and sports drink, although the body has not been tested for carb exhaustion on any time over 2.20 with this programme. That worries me a bit. 17 miles are planned for this weekend at almost race pace again, and Thursdays tempo is 10 miles at 20 seconds faster than race pace.
Saturday night were the birthday celebrations, and I consumed very little alcohol and was fresh on Sunday for an easy enough 9 miles, although I was glad it wasn't the long run. I was back to work flying on earlies on Monday morning, up at 4.30 for a 12 hour day due to some delays, and back up on Tuesday for another early shift, although I finished at 2pm. I was due to run the Grant Thornton corporate challenge race in Dublin city Tuesday evening and I tried in vain to get a nap in the afternoon. The event was huge, almost 3000 runners, and the course was very flat around the keys in the city centre. I picked up two work colleagues, and we headed in. We met our third team member, 4 a team and headed to the start line after a warm up. I did the usual survey of fellow runners, trying to asses where I might fit in and eventually finish, and it was evident that there were some pretty good runners present. The current world champion 50k walker, Rob Heffernan was also taking part.
As usual at the start there were runners too far towards the front out of line with their ability, and there was alot of weaving to be done to pass them. It was clear from the start though that there were some really good runners taking an early lead. At the first mile the garmin showed a 5.35 mile and I was worried that this was too fast, although I felt really strong, so I eased back. There were a few out and back segments which allowed me to see the front runners and the people behind. The second mile was a 5.49 which I figured was just about right. The third mile was a 5.55 and I cursed myself for dropping the pace so much as I still felt really strong so I upped the pace towards the finish line, getting stuck behind two guys who had nothing left as I tried to pass them to the line to finish at 18.10, a new pb (again ) by 35 seconds.
After the race comes the post run analysis. Could I have done more, well on this occasion I think I could and even though I am VERY happy with the time, I think the sub 18 was defo on the cards for the taking. Even though I had 55 miles on the legs for the week, it is very obvious that Garys training is paying off in spades. When the marathon training is finished, I hope to concentrate more on the speedwork and 5 and 10k's. Today I also signed up for the athlone 20 mile run on October 6th. That will be a real test of distance and Brian C is running it, which is real pressure, although I don't think I will be able to run his pace, he is a sub 3 runner after all. 10 mile tempo and 17 miles for the long one this week. I am flying on lates, which means getting up early, running and working until well after midnight. Bring it on !!!
Monday 2 September 2013
Building miles
When I started Gary O'Hanlon's marathon training plan, I felt it was a bit tame, and didn't count on the cumulative effect of the mileage building, but then, I suppose that is the idea. This week I did 58 miles, which is more than required by the schedule, but not by much. The workload has increased significantly this week, with a 9 mile tempo, 15 miles long run at 30 seconds slower than marathon pace and the short runs are 7 miles approx. Its the long runs at the end of the week that I find difficult at the moment. Yesterday I did 18 instead of 15, but the last 3 miles were very slow and up some pretty steep hills on the way home. I am hoping the slow miles at the end will slightly increase my endurance and teach my body to start to burn fat as well as carbs for energy. This should help with energy requirements as I am not planning on using gels on marathon day. Since I stopped using the gels on the long runs, I don't have any of the sickness I was feeling after using them.
Obviously Gary knows his stuff, that was never in doubt, maybe I felt the plan was easier at the start as I was already doing 40 miles a week when we started. My mileage for the month was 216, which was a new record for me, and it shows me that while I thought I was doing alot of mileage for other marathons, obviously I wasn't!
My weight is still dropping a bit, I am now 10st 2lbs, before runs, and I am happy with that. A few more pounds should see me at my ideal race weight, just in time to start increasing my carb intake for the marathon. I do look a bit different than I did when I was 12 st 8lbs, and it is getting slightly tedious with all the comments about my weight loss. I am probably fitter and eating healthier than at any other time in my life.
Its my 40th this weekend, so I will probably be well carb loaded for my long run this week, I might even hydrate on Saturday night, although I don't think bulmers is the prefered fuel of many runners!
Obviously Gary knows his stuff, that was never in doubt, maybe I felt the plan was easier at the start as I was already doing 40 miles a week when we started. My mileage for the month was 216, which was a new record for me, and it shows me that while I thought I was doing alot of mileage for other marathons, obviously I wasn't!
My weight is still dropping a bit, I am now 10st 2lbs, before runs, and I am happy with that. A few more pounds should see me at my ideal race weight, just in time to start increasing my carb intake for the marathon. I do look a bit different than I did when I was 12 st 8lbs, and it is getting slightly tedious with all the comments about my weight loss. I am probably fitter and eating healthier than at any other time in my life.
Its my 40th this weekend, so I will probably be well carb loaded for my long run this week, I might even hydrate on Saturday night, although I don't think bulmers is the prefered fuel of many runners!
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