Learning fast

After last weeks 50+ miles, I had always planned to have a bit of a step back week this week. Also, with work being busy I knew it would be an easy week. 33 miles,

Monday 9 miles@ 7.16 avg
Tuesday rest
Wednesday 4x1 miles repeats @ 6.10 with 3 w/u + c/d
Thursday 10k tempo @ 6.40 with 2.5 w/u + c/d
Friday 5k @ 6.45
Saturday rest
Sunday 5 miles @ 6.00 avg.

Working on lates on Tuesday meant I missed speed training with Gary so I did my own on Wednesday, and Thursday was my first off day, so myself and Glen did the usual tempo Thursday at a slightly slower pace than normal.
As I had planned to do the raheny 5 mile race on Sunday, again I just did some short fast miles to try to keep the feeling of fast turnover in the legs.

Saturday I headed out to Claremont stadium in Navan for my athletics Ireland assistant coaching course. My daughter goes to juvenile training with the club on Monday nights and really enjoys it, so as I am there with her anyway, and I really enjoy seeing the kids learning and enjoying themselves, I volunteered to help out. The course is the first step, and next month I move on to the full level 1 qualification. I got a tremendous amount of information from the course. I have not even been running for very long compared to most people who have a lot more experience than me, so the skills associated with events such as long jump and shot putt were totally new to me, but I already am looking forward to helping the kids develop the skills.
The course was the full day, and there was a lot of activity involved, so no running.

Sunday morning was a blustery morning, and myself and the kids headed to a local athletics event not too far away in cunshinstown. It started at 11, so I figured they would get their events done, home for lunch, then off to raheny. Things didn't quite go to plan though, events ran over, and we had to leave with only the long jump done.

Leaving late had me arriving late, collected the number with just time for a short warm up and then line up. The rain had held off, although it was cold at about 4 degrees C, and quite windy too. I didn't know anything about the course other than it was a 5 mile of left turns, and one of the club mates I met briefly told me that there was a hill at 4 miles.
I started quite near the front, and there was a lot of quite rough pushing and shoving for the first few hundred meters, and I narrowly avoided being tripped a few times. I had set the pacer for a 6.10 mile, with a sub 31 minute the target. Mile 1 was too quick at 5.48, and I pulled it back, with mile 2 at 6.02. While this was still too fast for my target, I felt really comfortable at the pace, so I didn't worry too much. Mile 3 was 5.52, and we had turned out of the wind which was now pretty much on our back. I began to pass quite a few who had gone out too fast, and hoped that wouldn't be me in a miles time!
Mile 4 we encountered the hill, which was into wind, and as we have plenty of hill experience in our club, I again passed a good few runners going up it. Mile 4, 5.54. I knew that unless I totally fell apart, I would be within my target, and I still felt pretty strong, all the while waiting to fall apart, so holding just that little back. As I glanced at the watch, the fleeting thought was that could I maybe get under the 30?, no, don't think about that, just run!

The last mile always seems the longest to me in any race, and I could hear the loud speakers, but didn't know where the finish line was. As I came around the final bend my watch rang out 5 miles, damn, it had measured long! I looked at the timer at the finish line, 29.49, I would never make it, but I was sure going to try. I gave it everything I had and crossed the line agonisingly close at 30.03.
I met Gary O'Hanlon beside the finish, and he said I passed him at 29.57 and didn't think I got in under 30. Nevertheless, I was absolutely thrilled.
I didn't have to wait long, when other club members came steaming home, all in fantastic times in a day with tough conditions, and I think it is fair to say, again, that the results we are all getting from Gary's coaching are fantastic.

Results posted this evening, after a torturous wait, 29.58!!!!! Delighted. A great start to the years racing, and it gives me confidence going forward. I have definitely improved a lot over the last 7 months since I joined the club, however I realise these things are not linear, and I am sure that trying to improve even slightly from here will not be so easy. But I am definitely up for the challenge.