not a pluviophile

That much is certain. On a wet Saturday morning I and club mate Paul Conway headed for Killeigh Co Offaly for another 26.2 mile trot. Good to have company again on these drives, as it makes the Four hour round trip a lot easier. As for the race itself I started off at a relatively slow pace keeping in mind I would be doing four of these over the next month. Biggest issue however was that I wasn’t running fast enough to keep warm so I had to pick up the pace in sections. From memory this was the first time I have run a marathon where it had rained from start to finish. I can honestly say I hope it is also my last. Job done in 4:14:05 and went to the local school for a much appreciated cup of warm soup some sambos and of course some chocolate biscuits as well. Also on offer was so more torture in the form of rub downs provided free of charge by Michelle Flynn. On reflection it looked more like a scene from M.A.S.H

Marathon Day 26.2.2016

Once Cezary and posted his intention to run a 28 loop course I had to do it. A marathon with more loops then the Eddie Murphy so I had to checkl out the competition. Left reasonably early but a lot of Roadwork’s on the way up meant hitting outskirts of Ballina at 9:30. Facing a huge traffic jam I pulled up Mrs Google on the phone and found a way around the town and traffic to get me to the star with 20 minutes to spare. Strange to be running on a work day so after dealing with some work calls I went to the start. Briefing was 28 laps of 1524 meters. I asked what was it in yards but Cezary didn’t take the bait. Loop was a nice mix of tarmac and small wooed path section. It did however have three very small but sharp rises one after another. You know the ones that take the stuffing out of your legs. I pretty much ran each loop in Nine minutes as was glad to finish in 4:08:43. More Tea and biscuits again afterwards and I wished those taking part in another 3 marathons over the weekend the best of luck.

A new PB

I set a new PB on Sunday well a pretty soft one at that. I have never an a 5 Mile (8K) race before so even if I crawled it would always be a PB. This is part of the Run Clare Series and I had promised Paula I would pace her for a shot at sub 40. On raceday she wasn’t confident and said anything under 43 minutes would be a PB. It was a lovely day for it, PB running weather. We got caught a little behind slower traffic at the start but no panic hit Mile one in 8:30 and Mile 2 in 16:50. I slowly picked up the pace until Paula was no longer talking. This got us to Mile 3 in 25:00 flat. I tried to pick it up again slightly but her breathing was becoming very laboured and she was starting to drop back on the hills. For the next mile the pace was about 8:10 or so, we hit the final mile which has a climb before getting a downhill to the finish. Paula had mentioned this several times in the race and once we hit it again the pace dropped. I tried to get her to attack the hill crest and push on for sub 41. It wasn’t there, she plugged away to finish in 4 or 5 seconds behind me and was extremely happy with her shiny new PB

Windy Wednesday

I have switched my training block from 3 Sessions every Ten days to 2 sessions every week. This suits better as I intend to do more races at weekends this makes more sense to me. This means that the other session is mid week on a Wednesday. I am alternating between long tempos and 5K/10K paced interval sessions every second week. Track in Ennis at the Fairgreen is very open and the last 3 nights I have visited it there has been a gale blowing. This makes it very hard to judge what my actual pace is. I would like to believe it is sub 20 Minute for 5K but I have not hit that pace in any of the recent sessions. Last Wednesday was no exception only adding to the fun was hail showers that where hitting you like a machine gun. Those things are seriously sore. I did a shorter session as in 6 * 300 @ 5K 3 times. So of the earlier paces did hit the magic figure but I doubt I could hold this for a full race. I would not need to wait that long to answer the question.

Resolution 5K

Opened the door at 7 AM on Saturday morning to l et the cat out, she promptly changed her mind as quick as I noted not ideal racing conditions. One of those hail showers with a nasty northerly breeze would make life difficult today. Run in Clare the brain child of Jason Moloney is a new race series combining of a new 5K with three other races in Clare. A new Five mile in Quilty, Kilnaboy 10 and Eamon Maloney 10K, this hopefully will increase the numbers in Quilty and Kilnaboy races. Judging by the numbers that ran on Saturday it has got off to a good start. Over 700 people turned up to run this including yours truly. I had C25K group in the morning so was under time pressure to make the start. Had packed a backpack, ready to go when I got home. After a very cold C25K session I got back to Ennis earlier then expected and had time for a quick cup of coffee and banana. Jogged to the start at the gates of Lees road and dropped my bag over the wall.

Race

The start was bedlam. 700 runners on the road and cars still coming both ways. Learnt later the Gardaí refused the request to close the road for any period prior to the start. A lot of first time runners ended up liming up totally in the wrong spot. Soon we where off and suddenly I had to jump over a young lad (9 or 10) who had fallen at the start, luckily he escaped injury but I dare say it wasn't a pleasant experience for him. After that the race was perfect, I soon settled into a group who seemed to be ticking nicely along at my pace and provided some shelter from the cold North Breeze in our faces. Just as we approached 2K mark and the turn off to the main road I couldn't pass up the opportunity to pass Jason under the watchful eye of Gerry Hayes. Probably took a bit out of me as the group dropped me shortly afterwards. Wasn't really bothered as we now had a tailwind and there job was done so things where getting serious now. Held off a bit for the 3K mark, course Downhill/Flat from here, hit the afterburners but only lasted till the turn back to the finish. Was totally gone at this point and with 800M to go, plenty of runners where starting to pass me. Finally saw the finish and decided that no more people where to pass me. Slogged it out with Rita Kierce (2nd Lady) over the last 200M and just held her off. Over the finish side of the road and now regretted my snack of an hour ago as up it came.

Reflection

I ran this again without the worry of a watch and finished with a time of 20:25. Two seconds outside a PB, I was hoping to get closer to 20 and I have to accept that's where I am at the moment. Legs really felt strong throughout, but I just wasn't comfortable once I tried to push on for the last 2K. Maybe some hill sprints/sessions might get me over that hump, or just do more races this year between 5K and 10 Miles.

Need for Speed

Its a bit short

Nothing to do with the measurement of the course but several comments from runners surprised to see me lining out at the start of a 5K race. After a 2 mile warm-up with some strides thrown in for good measure just to bring the legs up to speed I was lined up pretty much near the start to get a clean get away. Pretty soon we are off, the undulating nature of the course pretty much summed up an over reliance on a watch to pace oneself. I went out too quick realised it on one of the sharp climbs at about the 1K, then eased off too much when Siobhan from Ennis Track breezed past me. As she is in and about 20 Min 5K runner I had to latch on to her coat tails by picking up the pace again. The climb up to 2K say me drop maybe 5-10 seconds of her but on the downhill section I was catching her back. We hit the flat at 3K where my breathing was pretty much in hyperventilation mode as she began opening a gap here, then I could hear the footsteps of another runner catching me fast he passed me at 3.5K, I dug in and latched on and hung on for dear life for the next 1K before he finally dropped me. With only 500M to go and only that hill to negotiate I just kept the head down and pushed through as best I could. Crested the hill with the finish in sight Siobhan had just crossed and I could make out 19 on the clock. I put the hammer down but several seconds later it turned to 20, I kept the hammer down to fall gracefully over the line clock at 20:15 20:23 (see comment). In reflection I don't think I could have gone any faster today. Positives to be taken from this race where the only two runners to pass me after 1K only beat me by less the 15 seconds so I didn't fade too much in the later stages. Chopping 60 seconds off your PB in six months without speed work shows that there is potential for even greater improvements.

What can you expect

You cannot expect results without putting in the work. Since Seville I have ran very little miles @ 5K pace or faster. Actually it has been none existent. Tonight my legs never gave me any cause for concern, its just I could not get enough O₂ into them. In hindsight the aerobic base is there in my legs big time I just need to start putting it to good use. I should break 20 for 5K and possible get a sub 40 for 10K, times that where dreams 2 years ago but there is some work to be done to get there.

Adjusting Focus slightly

While my main ambition since getting my Boston Qualifier is to run 50 Marathons before My 50th Birthday, I now have got the racing bug so I should be able to mix in some shorter/harder races if I am wise with my training. I will leave this off until my return from a long earned break (got none last year with exams and unwell wife) in the Algarve in Mid June.

A crack at sub 20 5K

Illusions of greatness

Recently it has been in my head that I might be able to have a crack at a sub 20 5K or at least that was the plan. At the start of training for Seville the club ran a surprise timed 5K run one night on the infamous Mile loop. I clocked 21:15 off no training, so for Seville I did all of my intervals @ 20:30 5K pace on a flat track. With the exception of the last one 3*1600 (6:30/6:45/6:55 horrible session) all where completed at that pace. On Thursday I plan racing the 3rd Clare Athletics 5K Summer Series, so to find out what kind of shape I am in I did the 3*1600 session again on Monday evening. The session was tough and really opened my eyes to the torture I may have to endure to nail it on Thursday. Times 6:23/6:26/6:30, not ideal but the first 1600 was relatively okay and I felt very confident about finish out the session like this. During the second 1600 the wheels came off, badly, the harder I tried to maintain the pace the slower I got. I decided that I would pace the last one @ 6:30 pace which was probably my correct pace for the session. Now this will land me between 20:15 and 20:30.

So there are a couple of points to note about this session both positive and negative:

• It was solo which makes it harder especially when running into the breeze so this pace may not be as hard in a race
• Ran today on a track, race is on an undulating course net uphill for the first 3K down hill flat to 4.5 with a bitch of a hill at the gate of lees road in the last 500m.

Race Plan

I have thought back to the day I covered the watch and ran 14 miles MP from feel. Was completely surprised at the pace been 15 seconds per mile quicker then what I was expecting. So Thursday night the plan is no watch to hold me back or worry about. If this results in me going out too quick and burning up then so be it but it could also result in me going out too quick and holding on till the finish and dipping under 20. Only time will tell.