After Thursday's pacing gig for the half marathon, Friday was an easy 6 and Saturday an easy 7.
Today was planned to be 20 miles, and with a nice day forecast, there were no excuses.
The plan was 7:30 for the first 10 miles, with 7:20 for the second 10 miles, so perfectly doable.
I had toyed with the idea of a slightly faster second 10 miles towards 7:10, but as this was my first real 20 miles in quite some time, I wanted to err on the conservative side.
I took two small 300ml bottles with me, one of water, and another of water and Ribena. I hate carrying water as it is the same as carrying hand weights. I placed the cordial bottle at four miles out, which would be about 11 on the way back, and consumed the other water over the first 6 miles.
The initial pace seemed easy enough, and I had to try and hold back a little. At the end of the first 10 miles I was 40 seconds up, so average of 7:26. I upped the pace then, and at 11 miles I picked up my cordial, which thankfully had no been stolen like the last time!
Pushing the pace up actually felt easier than trying to do the slower pace. While the pace was good, the legs started to hurt at 16 miles which I am guessing was due to lack of any meaningful long runs over 13 miles.
I pushed on fairly alright, although at exactly 20 miles I was happy it was over. The pace was still ok, but the legs hurt. I always ask myself could I have pushed on for more, yes I could, not easily though.
At the end, the average for the 20 was 7:23 with a current 'target' pace of 7:20 for the marathon.
62 miles for the week was a good result with a rest day included, and the 20 mile run was good to get in. Two more of those should be doable before the big day, and depending on how those go and the mileage for those weeks, maybe the 'target' might shift slightly.
Sunday 20 March 2016
Thursday 17 March 2016
First Pacing Gig
After Sundays half, Monday was an easy 7 miles at around 8 minute pace. The legs felt tired but not sore.
Tuesday was better, 9 miles back towards 7:30 pace, and the legs felt pretty much recovered. My cough was all but gone too which made me feel a lot stronger than the last two weeks.
On Wednesday I was due to head out after work and the wife's Pilates class, plan for an easy six.
However, today there was a local half on for a cancer charity, and our club had been asked to supply pacers. A late shout out came as they were short, so I decided to offer my services for a 1:40 pacer.
When I asked how many were planned to pace the 1:40, I got a bit nervous when it was just me.
On top of that, 1:40 was to be the fastest pacer for the half, there was also a 10k distance.
So no pressure then. So the pace calculator said 7:37 for a 1:39:30. Given that the garmin usually reads long, I decided to err on the side of caution, and set 7:34 on the watch.
The day was beautiful. I had run this course two years ago, and it is very hilly, a lot more so than Sundays race. There was a large field for the 10k, but disappointingly there were just over 80 runners for the half. I got my balloon, and took my place quite close to the start.
Off we went in glorious sunshine. Initially I felt it difficult to hold the pace back. My natural instinct at the start of a race is to race. I banked about 10 seconds on the first mile, and then settled in to pretty much the exact pace.
For the first two miles I was pretty much on my own, runners either ahead or behind. But not long after, we became a merry little group of 5 runners.
I was trying to assess who would struggle later on. At about 8 miles we lost our first, and I slowed the pace a bit to try and keep him, but we were in danger of losing it, so eventually I had to drop him.
10 miles was the next casualty, same story.
So three of us left. The remaining two were guys of a similar age to myself. Earlier, I has established that one had a PB of 1:45, and the other 1:55. They were still strong enough, and I spent the last three miles talking them through every hill, trying to keep them going.
On the last mile I looked behind, and there was no one even close, so I decided to push my two guys on, and they responded excellently. I was a bit worried I would miss the time, but we finished at 1:38:45. The two guys were over the moon, and they hugged me, more than once! Thanking me for pushing them on to great PB's. It was a great feeling to have helped them and I really enjoyed the run.
The down side was that I felt really guilty for finishing over a minute fast. I stood at the line, waiting to see the next runner in, who finished in 1:40:45. Could I have slowed and gotten him in under the 1:40? But then the two guys who had worked so hard to stay with me so long would not have achieved what they did.
This pacing thing is not easy on the mind! When I pushed on, there was nobody in sight behind, so I think I did the right thing, but if I get another go, I think I will be more accurate. But I really enjoyed the day, and it was a nice little training run.
Tuesday was better, 9 miles back towards 7:30 pace, and the legs felt pretty much recovered. My cough was all but gone too which made me feel a lot stronger than the last two weeks.
On Wednesday I was due to head out after work and the wife's Pilates class, plan for an easy six.
However, today there was a local half on for a cancer charity, and our club had been asked to supply pacers. A late shout out came as they were short, so I decided to offer my services for a 1:40 pacer.
When I asked how many were planned to pace the 1:40, I got a bit nervous when it was just me.
On top of that, 1:40 was to be the fastest pacer for the half, there was also a 10k distance.
So no pressure then. So the pace calculator said 7:37 for a 1:39:30. Given that the garmin usually reads long, I decided to err on the side of caution, and set 7:34 on the watch.
The day was beautiful. I had run this course two years ago, and it is very hilly, a lot more so than Sundays race. There was a large field for the 10k, but disappointingly there were just over 80 runners for the half. I got my balloon, and took my place quite close to the start.
Off we went in glorious sunshine. Initially I felt it difficult to hold the pace back. My natural instinct at the start of a race is to race. I banked about 10 seconds on the first mile, and then settled in to pretty much the exact pace.
For the first two miles I was pretty much on my own, runners either ahead or behind. But not long after, we became a merry little group of 5 runners.
I was trying to assess who would struggle later on. At about 8 miles we lost our first, and I slowed the pace a bit to try and keep him, but we were in danger of losing it, so eventually I had to drop him.
10 miles was the next casualty, same story.
So three of us left. The remaining two were guys of a similar age to myself. Earlier, I has established that one had a PB of 1:45, and the other 1:55. They were still strong enough, and I spent the last three miles talking them through every hill, trying to keep them going.
On the last mile I looked behind, and there was no one even close, so I decided to push my two guys on, and they responded excellently. I was a bit worried I would miss the time, but we finished at 1:38:45. The two guys were over the moon, and they hugged me, more than once! Thanking me for pushing them on to great PB's. It was a great feeling to have helped them and I really enjoyed the run.
The down side was that I felt really guilty for finishing over a minute fast. I stood at the line, waiting to see the next runner in, who finished in 1:40:45. Could I have slowed and gotten him in under the 1:40? But then the two guys who had worked so hard to stay with me so long would not have achieved what they did.
This pacing thing is not easy on the mind! When I pushed on, there was nobody in sight behind, so I think I did the right thing, but if I get another go, I think I will be more accurate. But I really enjoyed the day, and it was a nice little training run.
Sunday 13 March 2016
Bohermeen 2016
I signed up anyway, being very unsure as to whether or not I would even run it.
On Tuesday I did 3 slow miles, struggled for breath and sweated profusely. I was not running on Sunday.
On Wednesday I did 5 easy miles, struggled for breath, but didn't sweat so much, and I was still not running on Sunday.
On Thursday, I felt a lot better. The restriction to my breathing was not as bad, and I coughed a lot less. I went out for a run, aiming for a short evaluation of sorts. I did tow miles warmup to the track, and then set off at 6:40 pace to see how I would fair out, aiming for 5 miles. 6:29, 6:27, 6:31, 6:28. And I finished at 4 miles. If I was to run on Sunday I didn't want to push too hard. It wasn't easy, but I figured it was doable, particularly if I was sensible and paced it right.
I knew I was well away from. PB territory, and could forget about a 1:25, but I figured I could use it as a training run of sorts. 13.1 miles at 6:40 had to be similar to 20 at 7:30, right?
Anyway, the weather forecast was good,Mao I decided to sign up.
The weather was pretty perfect as advertised, slack winds, 12 degrees, overcast.
There were over 900 signed up. I drove over with Karen L, who is absolutely flying at the moment.
We got there in good time, and the race was 15 minutes late starting, which was a bit of a pain when you had timed your warmup for an on time start.
At the off, as always, I got sucked into a bit of a fast mile at 6:20. As we settled in, I was pretty consistent at about 6:36, and it felt pretty comfortable. The course is flattish, but some long very gradual drags did test the pace at times. When I hit a small drag, I would offer up some seconds rather than try to up the effort to maintain the pace.
Karen had well gone by 5 miles, and on another day I would have chased her, but I knew where I was was the correct pace. It all went well until 10 miles.
It wasn't the fitness that started to wain, it was the strength in the legs. I just couldn't keep the stretch out to keep the pace going, and the pace shortened. At 12 I kind of was just hanging on, strength sapped, plodding along towards the finish. I just made it in under the 1:28 at 1:27:59.
I am reasonably happy with that in the context of I knew that is where I was. I didn't fool myself into thinking a 1:25 was a consideration. I think I am getting good at judging my fitness levels.
A few weeks left now to focus on some big miles. The stretch in the evenings should help. Today's result confirms where I would hope to be for Boston, all else going well.
Sunday 6 March 2016
The Summer Exams
I have not done any running since my last entry. I am thankfully on the mend, I was able to get out of bed today and interact with the kids and even managed the short walk to the shop in the beautiful morning sunshine to get a newspaper.
The last few days weather have been pretty good. Even though Friday started off with snow and then rain, later it cleared up, and Saturday was a glorious day. As I looked out at the practically still wind conditions, lovely Spring temperatures, I thought about how perfect the conditions were had I been alble to undertake my planned 20 mile run.
This morning also, a chilly, but beautiful morning. And I was reminded of the year of my final summer exams at school, which was quite a time ago! The weather up to the week before the exams had been pretty poor, rain and wind, standard type Irish stuff. The week before the exams however, when we were all in cramming, it got really nice. And on the week of the exams, it was beautiful. There we were, sitting in exam halls, looking out at the glorious weather, looking forward to the day of the final exam, when the summer holidays could begin in earnest.
On the last day of my exams the weather was great, and the feeling of freedom matched it.
The next day, it rained, and continued to rain for pretty much the next two months.
Ce la vie !
The last few days weather have been pretty good. Even though Friday started off with snow and then rain, later it cleared up, and Saturday was a glorious day. As I looked out at the practically still wind conditions, lovely Spring temperatures, I thought about how perfect the conditions were had I been alble to undertake my planned 20 mile run.
This morning also, a chilly, but beautiful morning. And I was reminded of the year of my final summer exams at school, which was quite a time ago! The weather up to the week before the exams had been pretty poor, rain and wind, standard type Irish stuff. The week before the exams however, when we were all in cramming, it got really nice. And on the week of the exams, it was beautiful. There we were, sitting in exam halls, looking out at the glorious weather, looking forward to the day of the final exam, when the summer holidays could begin in earnest.
On the last day of my exams the weather was great, and the feeling of freedom matched it.
The next day, it rained, and continued to rain for pretty much the next two months.
Ce la vie !
Wednesday 2 March 2016
Good and Bad Part Deux!
Monday was an enforced rest day due work and family, but I didn't mind too much as I had a good run Sunday, and I wanted to do a tempo on Tuesday.
I finished work early for a change, and was home in the afternoon. The weather wasn't great, gale force winds, but it was mild enough. I got changed, and procrastinated for about an hour before dragging myself out the door. I had a nice sheltered route planned which hopefully would defend me from the worst of the wind.
One mile warmup, and I was off, into a planned 9 mile tempo at 6:40.
It started well, and the pace felt quite doable. Once I settled in, and got my breathing right, I was cruising along nicely. I was running a one mile loop, fairly flat, but obviously some of it was directly into wind, and some on my back, so I considered the effect neutral.
The first two miles were 6:34, and I tried to pull it back a bit, but I went all the way to 8 miles at pace between 6:38 - 6:34 fairly easily. I still felt very fresh at 8, so I pushed on for a total of 10 full miles at an average of 6:36, with what felt like plenty left in the tank. I could have continued for a few more miles at that pace, but I was losing the light, and I know that once I hit the 90 minute mark, performance would likely deteriorate rapidly due to lack of hydration and glycogen depletion.One final mile to cool down, was 12 miles for a very good session.
That was the good.
The bad, is that my little 5 year old girl is very sick at the moment with a nasty flu type thing. She is feeling very delicate, and cuddles from Dad seem to work wonders. Unfortunately, and probably inevitably, I caught the dose after many sneezes and coughs to the face.
It hit me rapidly today as I rushed from one meeting to the next, and when I got in the door, the couch was all I could manage, which is from where I am writing this.
I am hoping against hope that I can fight it quickly, I am eager to try to build on my good results of late, and I would like to get a few more quality runs in before the Bohermeen half on the 13th.
This is the second illness I have had in the last number of weeks, which may be not necessarily a sign of over training, but of my work, training and life schedule in total.
I will have to watch for that.
I finished work early for a change, and was home in the afternoon. The weather wasn't great, gale force winds, but it was mild enough. I got changed, and procrastinated for about an hour before dragging myself out the door. I had a nice sheltered route planned which hopefully would defend me from the worst of the wind.
One mile warmup, and I was off, into a planned 9 mile tempo at 6:40.
It started well, and the pace felt quite doable. Once I settled in, and got my breathing right, I was cruising along nicely. I was running a one mile loop, fairly flat, but obviously some of it was directly into wind, and some on my back, so I considered the effect neutral.
The first two miles were 6:34, and I tried to pull it back a bit, but I went all the way to 8 miles at pace between 6:38 - 6:34 fairly easily. I still felt very fresh at 8, so I pushed on for a total of 10 full miles at an average of 6:36, with what felt like plenty left in the tank. I could have continued for a few more miles at that pace, but I was losing the light, and I know that once I hit the 90 minute mark, performance would likely deteriorate rapidly due to lack of hydration and glycogen depletion.One final mile to cool down, was 12 miles for a very good session.
That was the good.
The bad, is that my little 5 year old girl is very sick at the moment with a nasty flu type thing. She is feeling very delicate, and cuddles from Dad seem to work wonders. Unfortunately, and probably inevitably, I caught the dose after many sneezes and coughs to the face.
It hit me rapidly today as I rushed from one meeting to the next, and when I got in the door, the couch was all I could manage, which is from where I am writing this.
I am hoping against hope that I can fight it quickly, I am eager to try to build on my good results of late, and I would like to get a few more quality runs in before the Bohermeen half on the 13th.
This is the second illness I have had in the last number of weeks, which may be not necessarily a sign of over training, but of my work, training and life schedule in total.
I will have to watch for that.
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