A New Start

Reflecting on my training/races of late I realised something had to change if I wanted to improve or to be able to train harder/smarter. To me that was both nutrition and core strength or strength in general so my body could handle the demands placed on it a bit better.

I found the answer to this on my doorstep almost with Tony Finnegan a fellow runner/triathlete who runs bootcamp classes literally behind my house. Tony was advertising 6 weeks of 1 to 1 high intensity training 3 times a week in the run up to Christmas. After initial enquiries and coming up with times that suited we were good to start last Monday. This also came with a new nutrition plan to help clean up my diet long term. More to come on that.

Monday 11th November - High Intensity Training

I wasn't sure what awaited me but after a bit of initial paperwork we were down to business with a warm up. The main part of the work out was 3 different exercises x 7 reps with 5 sets of the exercises to be done. This included press ups and burpees. Found the burpees tough but was heartened to be able to complete all sets which I was told most people struggle with on the first day. A nice finisher then to really mess you up and it was all over in 30 minutes or so.

This was a new experience for me and the body and felt like I was waking up a lot of muscles.

Tuesday 12th November - Speed session

Usual Tuesday night club session. This week was intervals from 20 seconds up to 2 minutes increasing 20 second's at a time and back down to 20 seconds. This was to be done at 5K pace with a minute recovery between each at 1/2 marathon pace. Arms were hanging a bit from the day before but got through the session fine although the recoveries slowed a bit as we went on.

5.24 miles total for the session.

Wednesday 13th November - High Intensity Training

DOMS central hit me on Wednesday morning where I was nearly unable to use my arms. Even using the keyboard in work was troublesome. Was dreading the session that evening, though it was more thoughts of not being able to do it than anything else.

Pain eased a bit once we got going and again was able to get through it ok with the bench press being a bit of a struggle.

Thursday 14th November - Club Run

My body feels like it is starting to shut down. Pain is now coming from the core area and it gets worse as the day goes on. The longer I spend sitting down the longer it takes me to get moving when I get out of my chair in work.

Headed down to Gormanston as usual for a few easy miles and I'm glad we were only doing an easy run. Coupled with the new form of training and change to nutrition I wasn't able for any sort of pace. I did get roped into doing a couple of 800's at the end which I did but it was only a couple.

4.09 miles total.

Friday 15th November - High Intensity Training

I think the pain has become normal by now and the general lethargic feeling is still around. No rest for the wicked though and another session ticked off.

Saturday 16th November - Tempo Run

The previous week was 5 miles @ 7:27 pace. This week was a much different story. Lost tough with Rosemary & Susan after around 2 miles maybe slightly earlier and slumped to the finish. I think the last mile might have been an embarrassing 8:50 odd and felt like the end of a Marathon.

I just didn't have anything else to give, no power in the legs as such. To be expected for what I had put myself through during the week. I think it will only be a short term thing anyway until my body adapts to all the changes.

I actually saw the below on Twitter last night which was re-assuring and seems to explain it well.

Body weight loss of 2.5% (reflective of fluid loss) combined with high intensity exercise can decrease performance by greater than 45%!

7 miles completed for the session

Sunday 17th November - Long Run

I was a bit dubious after the Saturday episode as to whether I should join the club run or do this on my own where I might have more control over the pace. There seemed to be a good group getting together so I decided to join them. The only problem was it was going to be a hilly run :-( We headed out of Stamullen towards Greenanstown which involved climbing most of the way and then swung towards Fourknocks where we were met with an even steeper hill. At this point I had to resort to walking up most of the hill, but there was simply nothing left in the legs.

When we reached the top we re-grouped and headed back towards Stamullen. The legs were hurting but I was able to manage the downhill/flat portions ok. Even the slightest hill was causing a lot of problems. It was actually funny as I had no problems as such breathing or wasn't out of breath.

Finished up at the end back in Stamullen with around 9.5 miles completed.

Summary: Never before has a 25 mile week taken so much out of me. I know it will take a few weeks though for my body to adapt to the new form of exercise and hopefully then will see some benefits. The 18 holes of golf on Saturday afternoon may have better been spent resting but I did manage to win my class prize ;-) Will try to incorporate a few short recovery runs this week before the HIT just to start getting the miles up again. Hopefully some of the key sessions will be a bit more manageable as well.

Dublin Marathon hangover

With the Marathon over there comes a time to sit back, relax and realise what you have achieved or not achieved as the case may be. I had planned to take a week off running at least to let the body and mind recover. Just as thoughts of getting the runners back on came into my head I was hit with a bit of a cold which I think is common enough given that your immune system might be a bit low after the exertions of the Marathon. With that I was forced into a few days more recovery and by Thursday although not 100% I decided to get back into it.

Thursday 7th November - Easy Run

6.14 miles @ 9:04 pace

This consisted of 4 loops of the winter run in Gormanston College with Rosemary & Brian. Where the legs had felt recovered beforehand they certainly made it known that they didn't feel like running again just yet. Was great though to get back out there.

Saturday 9th November - Tempo Run

We are still getting a weekly training plan off Gary to follow and a nice 5 mile tempo run was included to be done at roughly 1/2 Marathon pace + 5/10 seconds. Met with Rosemary at 7:30am and did around a mile warm up although not really getting warm.

The splits for the 5 miles were (7:32, 7:29, 7:25, 7:25, 7:24).

This was tough going, really tough going. I still wasn't feeling wonderful and was struggling in the first mile. I just tried to keep plugging away and although the legs were screaming at me once it didn't feel like anything was going to pop I kept at it.

Although we both seemed to be struggling in equal measure the pace held steady and even picked up slightly on the return 2.5 miles. Before long we were up the last incline and the main road and finishing point came into sight. I for one was relieved to see it. We finished off with a mile cool down back to the cars and everything was done and dusted before 8:30.


Summary: Back at it in a small way last week with a bit of a shock to the system on Saturday morning. Maybe the shock to the system was needed as the lingering cold seems to have shifted now. Looking forward to a bit more structured training this week. Time to build a base again before London training kicks off in earnest...

 

Dublin Marathon 2013

Bank holiday weekend rolled around quick enough in the end but rather than worrying about trying to cram in any last minute training most time was spent checking weather forecasts as there was talk of a storm going to hit over the weekend. The weather is one thing you have no control over but at the same time you feel entitled to a reasonable day. I picked up my number from the Expo on Sunday afternoon amidst the rain and strong winds and then settled down to relax for the evening finishing off the carb loading and heading for bed after Love/Hate. For a change I slept pretty soundly and after some porridge and banana headed off to get the bus with the rest of the gang.
We arrived in plenty of time, getting dropped off just before the 26 mile marker on Nassau St. As we walked towards Merrion square it dawned on me how long the last .2 miles actually was never mind the 26 miles before it. Everything went hassle free and we took our place in the start area close enough to the 3:30 pacers and watched the clock tick down towards 9am.

From a personal point of view my 'A' goal was sub 3:30, 'B' goal was sub 3:40, 'C' goal was a PB (sub 3:46) and anything else would have been a disaster.

Most of my training had gone well but as documented before some of my long runs had been a disaster so if anything it would be a problem with endurance regardless of the pace I ran at.



Training partners with nervous smiles before the off


The Race

Miles 1-6 (8:14, 8:01, 8:03, 7:50, 8:01, 7:57)

The first few miles were all about warming up, not heading out too fast and not panicking if a little slow. After the usual first corner congestion it opened up a bit until we came to a shuddering halt going around Stephens green where the road narrowed with roadworks. This was to be a characteristic of the first few miles anytime we came to a corner or congested area. The pace had come to us quite naturally and even if we wanted to I don't think we could have pushed on much quicker. The biggest problem was trying to stay upright as I got clipped from behind 3 times in the first couple of miles.

As we converged on the park the pace picked up a bit but as you can see from the pic below approaching the park there wasn't a whole lot of road space. I suppose one advantage of this was there wasn't a whole lot of impact from the wind although we definitely could feel it when we hit Chesterfield avenue. I took my 2nd gel along here having taken one that burst before the race. Before long though we were turning onto the furze road and seemed to be bang on pace for where we wanted to be.



Heading towards the Phoenix Park

 Miles 7 - 13 (7:50, 7:43, 7:57, 8:08, 7:49, 8:08, 8:09)

The next couple of miles were flat/downhill towards the exit of the park but still very crowded. Our pace was dictated somewhat for us but it was on target so nothing to worry about really. The pacers were still in sight about 50 metres up the road. Again we ground to a halt coming out the park gates but got going again without incident. As we headed towards Chapelizod we were greeted with a wall of sound and also the smell of someone having a BBQ. The miles seemed to be ticking off ok but we were now about to hit a pretty testing part of the course and were greeted with a nasty incline to bring us up to the 9 mile marker. The legs certainly felt that and took a few minutes to recover. The next park down through inchicore was messy to say the least. With half the road blocked the available space could simply not cater for the amount of people and we got slowed here as you can see from the slightly slower mile. There were another couple of short sharp inclines as we made our way towards Dolphins Barn and I momentarily got detached from Rosemary & Susan along here. I tagged onto them again after a few hundred metres and having a bit of a chat to myself. The Crumlin road is always a wind tunnel even on the calmer days so today it was quite a drag and although losing a bit of time against our planned pace it was the right thing to do to keep the effort steady rather than trying to force it into the wind. Eventually we were able to turn off onto the Walkinstown Road, avoiding a barrier falling in front of us and we got to the 1/2 way point in 1:45:02 which was bang on target.

I wasn't feeling too bad at this point but at the same time knew the main tests lay ahead.

Miles 14 - 19 (7:56, 7:51, 8:01, 7:50, 7:48, 8:00)

Finally as we headed for Kimmage there seemed to be a bit more space appearing on the road, we had a bit of a t and everyone seemed to be feeling ok so we just ploughed on as we were. This is one of the flatter sections of the route as we headed towards Bushy park and down towards Terenure where there is always a huge crowd and was quite surprised here when a DJ called out my name. We were now in the 10 mile to go part of the race and we tried to compare it to one of our Thursday tempo runs from here and started counting down the miles one by one. The legs were hurting at this stage and the feet were sore but we were maintaining a strong pace for this part of the race.

Miles 20 - 26.2 (8:34, 9:11, 8:41, 9:06, 9:29, 9:38, 8:57, 8:33*)

Kaboom

I don't have a clear recollection of where I ran into trouble but I think it was around the 19.5 mile point. For the previous few minuted both of my hips had kind of locked (or felt like that) and the pain had spread down into my quads. I had to make the painful decision to let the others go on without me. After a 20 second walk I got going again resigned to the fact that the 3:30 was out the window but hoping a slight ease up in pace might be manageable. For the most part I managed this but was having to take regular walking breaks of 20 seconds or so. While my body felt fine my legs had simply given up on me. I managed to work out at 22 miles that once I kept going then I should finish under 3:40 so that became my new target.

As I headed towards Ballsbridge I knew I would be seeing familiar faces in the last few miles which helped a lot to keep me going. Mile 24/25 were a killer where the wind in parts seemed to be at it's strongest. Saw my wife and brother just before the turn to Westland Row which gave me a boost and then a big contingent of SOS blue hoodies on the corner who I threw a few high 5's to. My race was run but I was certainly going to enjoy what was left of it. More support on Westland Row and then the turn towards Trinity College. As you round the corner towards Nassau St it feels more like the Tour de France than a Marathon with the crowd support and people encroaching out onto the road. I started to cramp up turning onto Nassau St and was jsut about to stop when a friend of mine Matt who was stewarding let an almighty roar at me to keep going. The cramp went away and I was managed to keep going up Nassau St. Spotted Karen Clarke stewarding in the last mile as well and let a roar out at her. The finish line was now in sight but about 100 metres from the line I spotted the guy below stalled with cramp. Nothing more for it than to throw my arm around him and get him to the finish on one leg. It might have cost me a few seconds but in the overall scheme of things that did not matter.

Lending a helping hand

 

So there you have it. Crossed the line in 3:37:43 finishing 2,703 out of 12,353 finishers. A PB of almost 9 minutes based on last year. Once again though at the 4th time of asking I feel defeated by the Marathon.

 

I'm also a realist and I know you get out of these things what you put in along with the sacrifices you are prepared to make to achieve your targets. But then at the end of the day you have to realise this is also something we do for enjoyment and it is not the be all and end all by any means. It doesn't mean we won't be trying just as hard or harder the next time. For me the next time and probably the last time is in London in 160 days time.

 

Special thanks must go to my wife Emma who affords me the time to do the training required. Any training missed is certainly not down to her. To our coach Gary O'Hanlon who is delivering great improvements in a short time with us, thanks for all your help and your weekly training plan. To the other 2 amigo's Rosemary & Susan thanks for the company and camaraderie on those Thursday tempo's and all the other training runs. There were up's & down's along the way but mainly up's and you both ran great races showing me how it should be done. And a final word of thanks to the people who gave up their time to come in and support us on Monday. Go SOS.

 

Now where did I leave those runners ;-) 

The Final Countdown

This was the last week of meaningful training before Dublin and a good week was hoped for.

Tuesday 16th October - Session

Our speed sessions have moved to St Pat's GAA in Stamullen for the winter as it has a more all weather surface and is floodlight. The track we use is somewhere between 500 & 600 metres with 2 long straights and sharp bends. As a result most of our sessions now will be timed rather than distance based.

After just over a mile warm up and some drills we started off with an 11 minute Tempo session which was to be run at 15 seconds faster than Marathon pace. I managed to keep the pace steady with a nice group together and the pace worked out at 7:44 for the 11 minutes.

When we got back to the start we had a few minutes recovery as Gary explained the 2nd part of the session. This was to be 2 mins @ 10K pace, straight into 90 secs at Marathon pace and we had to do this 6 times straight off, no recoveries.

Pace for 2 min @ 10K pace   (7:21, 7:12, 7:13, 7:01, 6:58, 6:46)
Pace for 90 sec @ MP were   (8:04, 7:59, 7:54, 7:51, 7:47, 7:45)

This was a toughie no doubt but again we got working as a group and ticked them off gradually picking up the pace as we went along. We definitely got a good confidence boost from this.

Gary explained the purpose of a session like this was to enable you if you hit a bad spot in a race and had to ease off for a few minutes to get over it a session like this would help you pick up the pace again.

A short cool down brought it up to 5.87 miles for the session.


Thursday 17th October - Tempo Run

7 mile tempo @ 7:49 pace

Our last tempo run (I think) before the big day. This week called for 7 miles @ 10 - 15 secs quicker than marathon pace. After a mile warm up and plenty of chat and excitement we got down to business. The chat stopped pretty much straight away as we were faced with a nice hill at the Delvin and the gradual rise for the next mile or so. After we swung off the main road we were on a nice back road where I think we know every hump and hollow of at this stage. The pace was nice and steady without much fluctuation and with a couple of miles to go our only danger was the lack of light and coming back over a few hundred metres of dodgy underfoot conditions. Last thing we needed was someone going over on an ankle. This was safely negotiated and we were all glad when we reached the end. A cool down followed back to the cars for just under 9 miles for the night.


Friday 18th October - Easy Run

5.02 miles @ 9:10 pace

Having escaped the rain on Wednesday there was no escaping it on Friday night. Just an easy loop around Balbriggan. Pretty windy as well into the bargain. The weather seems to be taking a turn for the worse at the wrong time :-( 


Sunday 20th October - Long Run ;-)

8 miles @ 8:25 pace

Big reduction in long run distance this week. Gary does have a heart after all ;-) Met Rosemary at the college and set out from there. Met Stuey, Glenn, David & John along the route and everyone seemed in good form. This was a grand relaxing run and if anything we were holding back to keep the pace in check. We noticed on the way back we were running into a decent head wind but didn't really feel it. Most of our thoughts and conversation seemed to be taken up with only one subject...

So the mileage dropped off again last week to 28 for the week but keeping the intensity with 2 good sessions and a bit of a long run. This week I'll probably run every second day with a light session on Tuesday, nice club run on Thursday and a couple of miles either Saturday or Sunday depending how things work out.

There is nothing more to be done now other than wait and see how things pan out on the day. There are so many factors to take into account with a marathon compared to shorter races and you just have to hope things you have no control over like weather etc. turn out to be ok. Training has gone well with the exception of a couple of long runs which of course leaves doubts in the mind. Previous to this I would have done 2/3 20 mile long runs, in this cycle I didn't really manage one properly. The counter to that though are the tempo sessions we did every Thursday. There were 13 in total and I managed to knock these out week after week meeting the required challenge of distance and pace. I had never done pace runs like this before and am hopeful these will stand to us.

Nearly all of these runs were done as a group with Rosemary & Susan. We worked off each other well and enjoyed each others company for the runs. On Monday we will line up together at the start line and take it from there. We have a plan and the most important part of it is to get the pace right from the start of the race, resist the urge to take off too quickly in the early miles. After that it's just a case of taking it mile by mile.

Good luck to everyone else doing on the marathon on bank holiday Monday, especially the first timers. Most of all enjoy it, savour the atmosphere, there is something really special abour running through the streets of Dublin being cheered on by thousands of people regardless of your ability.

14 days to go - Let the taper madness begin

The picture accompanying my last post caused a bit of a stir. On Monday I wasn't able to walk properly on my right foot and was expecting it to take a good while to heal. I was lucky enough that Tracy & Deborah who are also training for the marathon were able to provide me with a duoderm plaster to try. Apparently it's used to treat bad blisters & burns in hospitals. I covered the area with this which was like a thick layer of skin and was told to leave it on until it healed fully.

Tuesday 8th October

Paid a visit to Amphibian King Ashtown to get Kevin to check out my runners and suggest an alternative. It turns out I had worn out the insole around where I got the blister and also did a good bit of damage to the cushioning around the same area. This made sense as I had no problem with these runners when I got them initially back in July and this problem had been caused by wear and tear over time. I picked up a pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 9 which are a similar type of runner from a support point of view but are slightly wider around the top of the foot.

I took the opportunity to head down to training to see how the foot was and to break them in slightly. Could still feel a bit of discomfort when I was running for a prolonged time but managed around 2.5 miles at an easy pace.

Wednesday 9th October - Easy Run

5.87 miles @ 8:51

This is normally a rest day but wasn't necessary for me this week. I wanted to be able to do our Tempo run on Thursday so I got out for a loop of Balbriggan to break the runners in a bit more. The pace was easy so no major pressure on my foot. Either way there was no discomfort at all during the run which gave me the green light for Tempo Thursday in my own head.

Thursday 10th October - Progression Tempo Run

8 mile progression tempo (8:10, 8:05, 3 @ 7:59, 7:55, 7:45, 7:32)

There was a couple of miles knocked off the Tempo run this week but it was changed to a progression type run starting off 10 seconds slower than MP for a mile, then 5 secs quicker, 3 miles at MP and then picking up the pace by 5 secs a mile for each of the last 3 miles.

I did this run with Rosemary & Susan as usual. The first mile and a bit was fine but then we met around 2 miles with a good drag and into the wind which took a bit more effort to dig in and maintain our required pace. After 3 miles we turned onto the mosney road which offered some shelter. The miles were ticking off nicely and if anything we had to be restrained slightly to keep to pace. Although the legs were quite sore in spots there was no problem picking up the pace as we needed. The 2nd last mile was a bit quick but it just got quicker again in the last mile for some reason. I suppose that's a good sign and what you want to start seeing now. A good confidence booster.

Finished up with a warm down back to the cars for 10.21 miles in total for the session.

Saturday 12th October - Easy Run

5.03 miles @ 9:13 pace

Was late enough getting out for this one on Saturday evening but it was a lovely run once out there. Just my usual loop around Balbriggan that is ideal for the dark winter weather that we are now back to. Took the pace handy with the final long run the following morning.

Sunday 13th October - Long Run

17 miles @ 8:33 pace

Phew!!!! After a few pretty bad long runs recently I really needed this one to go well more from a confidence point of view than anything else. Thank God it did. That's not to say it was easy but it went as well as could be expected.

Met Rosemary at 8am in Stamullen and we agreed on a loop from Stamullen - Julianstown - Mosney Road - Gormanston and back to the cars which brought us to just around 8.75 miles and back to the cars where we set out for the same loop again. It was a cool morning but nice running weather with a mixture of hills, inclines, downhills and undulating road providing a good test for the legs. We maintained a good steady pace for the whole run with no drop off in pace. Apart from feeling the urge to vomit with 1/2 mile to go I really enjoyed the run. What a difference a week makes.

When we reached the 17 mile point we walked the last 1/2 mile or so back to the school to loosen out the legs a bit.

Summary: So from the start of the week where things were bleak and unsure of what running I would get in I still managed to get in 40 miles mostly from Wednesday to Sunday. This was around 20% less than last week and the mileage will reduce further this week. The last of the longish runs are out of the way and while time mileage will be reducing I'm sure there are still a few intensive sessions planned.

21 days to go. Nearly time to taper...

After what must seem like nothing but doom and gloom in recent posts I'll try and be a bit more positive in this one.
Thursday 3rd October - Tempo Run

Another Thursday, another Tempo run this time in the rain. Met with Rosemary & Susan and got a mile warm up done before setting out on the same route as last week. First few miles felt like it was going to be a bit of a struggle but everyone was in good spirits and the miles were ticking off ok. I even picked up a new tip for recovery from long runs during the course of the run. Not sure it's for me though ;-)

Before long we were into the last mile and everyone finished strong. Average pace was 7:48 which was 12 seconds better than the previous week. Finished with a cool down back to the cars and 11.62 miles in total.

Friday 4th October - Easy Run

9 miles @ 9:05 pace

I noticed after the run on Thursday I had a pretty big blister on the sole of my right foot and also that my left knee was quite sore. More a stiffness thing when I was sitting down for a while and a bit of a dull pain.

With that in mind I headed out with the plan not to go too far from home in case I needed to stop. The masking tape over the blister seemed to be keeping that in check and the knee wasn't any more painful running so I ventured further from home after a couple of miles. Met Wayne Cawley running in the opposite direction and we joined up for a few miles. Made it home in one piece and did some stretching & foam rolling.

Saturday 5th October - Easy Run

4 miles @ 9:51 pace

We were out in town on Friday night and although not having much to drink it was a late night getting home. When you combine this with a 2 year old alarm clock it results in not a lot of sleep. The body was feeling tired and unresponsive when I headed out. Did this run around the pitches and college grounds. Knee was quite sore from what I remember and I was wondering how the long run would go the next day.

Sunday 6th October - Long Run

20ish miles

Met Rosemary at the school and we headed off towards Skerries via, Gormanston, Flemington lane, Bath road route. Legs and body were quite tired as expected but knee was behaving itself. I had the sole of my foot covered but I felt after 6 miles that the tape had shifted. I kept going as I knew we would be stopping in Skerries to get some water and I would check it out then. I had to stop after 9 miles to re-position the tape and that seemed to help a bit.

After some water and taking my 2nd Powerbar gel we were on our way back to Balbriggan. The wind had been against us on the way over and it seemed to be mostly against us on the way back :-(

Each mile was now becoming a bit of a chore but we were maintaining a steady pace. On the way back up Flemington lane I started to experience some stomach issues and knew I wouldn't make it back to Stamullen so I let Rosemary head on and I popped home for a quick pit stop. Took the chance to put on a fresh top as well and set off for the last 4 miles. Although my legs in general were tired they were feeling ok. My foot was getting worse though with each stride. With a mile to go I adopted a walk/jog strategy but had to just walk the last 1/2 mile. I was a bit disappointed with this but when I saw the below I was surprised I had been able to run that far.

Ouch!!!

I know for sure now my current runners are not the ones for me for the Marathon. A visit to Amphibian King is in order to see what Kevin suggests. I also know Powerbar gels are not the best for me. That is the last of the long, long runs done I suppose. The last few could have gone better, a lot better in fact but not much I can do about it now. I just have to trust that the bulk of the work is done. What result that produces we'll find out in a few weeks. I need to be careful this week that the above gets a chance to heal properly so will just take it day by day.

26 Days to go

Saturday 28th September - Moone Kilomarathon

26.2K in 2:20:06

Avg Pace: 8:39

This is a race I had done a couple of years ago and as it is close to my inlaws we are able to kill 2 birds with one stone by combining a visit as well. We headed down on Friday night and I picked up my number on Saturday morning before heading home to get ready. I got dropped off a little bit away from the start and took a very easy jog to the start to warm up.

It was only just over 36 hours since we had finished a tough tempo session and the legs were tired as you would expect but the quads also had a lot of DOM's which was strange. As we lined up at the start it was also clear it was going to be a warm one. The local rector said a prayer and we were quickly away.

The field wasn't that big and a good few people streamed past me at the start. My plan was to run somewhere between Tempo pace and long run pace. The first few miles after the initial hill were mostly flat or slightly downhill and my pace seemed to gravitate towards just over marathon pace for the first 4/5 miles. I had settled into a nice rhythm and took a gel after around 7K more to get used to taking them again.

I was taking on water at every station but maybe not enough for the heat. Between miles 6 & 11 the pace was where I wanted it to be but it was getting tougher to maintain.

Conscious that this was not a race in that I wasn't chasing a time I eased off the pace towards the end and even walked through the water stations to make sure to take on plenty of fluids. Everyone seemed to be in the same boat in that nobody was coming past me and the gap to the group ahead wasn't really changing. The last K was a toughie as part of a steep incline back to the village of Moone and I was glad to finish.

Plenty of refreshments at the finish and I took on plenty of fluids again.

Things I will take from the race:

• I had hydrated well the day before the race and I felt during the race but I still seemed to suffer towards the end more than I would expect. I took 2 gels but these did not seem to have any impact.
• It was 22 degrees when I finished. I would not be a lover of running at any sort of effort in the heat so no doubt this was a factor.
• This was at the end of a week with 2 tough sessions and not much recovery from the tempo session. I probably should have just run at long run pace.
• Am going to try a different type of gel on long run this week just to see if it gives and better impact, and also take on more fluids just to see.
• I'm sick of running on tired legs ;-) and cannot wait for taper to come.

The day was not wasted anyway as with the warm up I got in 18 miles.

Sunday 29th September - Recovery

2.5 miles @ 10:14 pace

After travelling back home I headed down to Gormanston and shuffled around for a little while. This is all I was fit for. Legs were wrecked but nice to stretch them somewhat. Could have done more but left knee was starting to give me bother so I called it a day. I had a massage booked for Monday anyway which was badly needed.

Tuesday 30th September - Session

The session was moved to St Pats GAA this week with the bad weather as they have an All-Weather type track around their pitches that we used. Did a few laps warm-up and then into the session. The session was 7x3 mins @5K pace with 90 second steady recovery. We got a 2 min recovery after 4 sets which helped a bit. I wasn't able to maintain 5K pace throughout but dug in as best I could and as the saying goes 'I got by with a little help from my friends'

Paces for the 3 min segments were (7:03, 7:15, 7:29, 7:37, 7:04, 7:10, 7:07)

Finished off with a few laps cool down to bring it up to 6.07 miles for the night.


Summary: So 26 days to go to Dublin with this probably being the peak week of mileage. Sunday will be the longest run but not before another 10 mile tempo tomorrow evening and a few easy runs. Wish me luck.