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 !!!
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