Aidan's london marathon report - 3:01:33

Here is a excellent report from club stalwart Aidan Buckley. Aidan is a marathon machine clocking 70-100 miles a week on a weekly basis. He has run 2 sub three hour marathons and has run a number of marathons in the 3 hour to 3.10 range. He take's his heavy metal music very seriously too. Read on..................................... 

 

 

Background:

My name is Aidan Buckley and have being running with Mallow AC since January 2008.I did my first marathon that year in Cork in a time of 4:07:36.This years London marathon was my 15th and my aim was to break 3 hours after running 3:01:33 there in 2012.

 

Training:

Training for this marathon was very inconsistent since the new year, I missed the first two weeks due to a head cold/chest infection. My first race of note was to be the Dungarvan 10 which I hoped to run in 68 mins but struggled home in 72:06.I managed three weeks of training before getting a repeat of my chest infection and missing a week,went back training before it cleared and had no choice to go on antibiotics and take another week off.Next race for me was the Ballycotton 10,aim was to run a comfortable 68 mins and finished in 67:54 feeling good and fresh. Two weeks later was our own club race the Mallow 10,aim for this was to run 65 mins which I competed in 65:17 but had to work hard to achieve it. My last race before London would be the UCC 10k which I would do a progression run starting off doing 3 10k runs,2 before the race and the race itself starting off slow and each loop increase the pace and do the race itself at my proposed marathon pace. It was a cold and windy day and was just outside by target but worse I was starting to doubt I could do a marathon at that pace. Only two weeks to the race and i got another head cold which I trained through as I was on my taper.

 

London Marathon:

Got up at 6:15 morning of the race and headed for breakfast already full of runners from a mainly South American tour operator. Head back to room and shave and shower before getting into my running gear. Have to go to Charring cross to get a train to the red start area,get into the station and straight onto train and manage to get a seat.The trip takes about 20 minutes and is rammed with runners a lot of whom look a nervous as it's their first marathon ,One lad is in fancy dress with his name on the bottle. I listen to a few songs on the phone on the journey. We get off at Greewich station and it's about 15 minute walk over to the red start area.As I'm making my way to my allocated starting pen I look back and see the streams of people coming up the hill behind me.This start section is roughly the same size as the entire Dublin Marathon field. I am in the Good for Age so will be starting in the first pen,we also have a separate enclosure to the rest of the runners with free tea,coffee,water and lucozade drinks.there is changing tents and loads of portaloos in this area too. About 30 mins to race start and stewards ask us to take our bags to the trucks to be transported to the finish. With 15 mins to race start I enter the starting pen but stay back a bit feeling a bit nervous about what pace I can hold and not to get caught up with fast starters. A few minutes to the race off and there is a 30 sec period of silence in remembrance of the victims of the Boston marathon.it's is observed with great dignity by all and as the whistle blows a large cheer and round of applause go up. Out over the P.A the Elite men are introduced before the starting gun goes and we're off.

 

It takes me roughly a minute to cross the start line and I settle into a group around me going through the 1st mile in 7:02,happy enough with that and the way I'm feeling at this stage. First few mile are through a mainly residential area and there is a few spectators out. Mile 2 and 3 come in at 6:46 and 6:41,we join up with the blue and green start wave just before the 3 mile mark. the next three miles go by in 6:38,6:44 and 6:48 and I pass the 10k mark in 42:19 and then turn right and pass one the many landmarks on the course, the Cutty Sark is on my left and there's TV cameras on booms swinging over our heads but it's the crowd that catches your attention. Next three miles take 6:48,6:45 and 6:45 crowds are big on this section of the course,still feeling comfortable at this stage pace wise and miles 9-12 go by in 6:51,6:45 and 6:45.There is a slight pull up to Tower Bridge. The noise on the bridge is deafening with both sides lined 5/6 deep it truly gives goosebumps, you turn down right after coming off the bridge head down toward the 13 mile mark which comes in at 6:48.On the other side of the street here I see some paralympic blind runners and some of the slower Ladies elite field who are approaching the 22 mile mark.I go through the halfway mark in 1:29:28 still feeling good.

 

13-14 takes 6:42 and the next mile goes by in 6:36.At the start of mile 16 you go through an underpass and you lose gps signal,This threw me off last year but this year i'm expecting it and the watch shows mile 16 as taking 7:32 which would turn out to be my slowest mile but I doubt this is right as I don't seem to be struggling yet .mile 17 is through a quiet enough section of the course and comes in at 6:56.I'm still around 45 secs inside my 3hr target time.I get to 18 mile mark in 6:50 and a 3hr pacer passes me so I try and latch on to him,we catch up with another 3hr pacer and stay with them for a bit,all of a sudden the pacer that passed me previously just walks of the course. My head starts to wander at this stage as a slight gap has opened to the other pacer and he's just getting beyond my reach, I go through mile 19 in 7:14.In my head I'm putting the mile down to the fact of the twisty nature of Canary Wharf, It's nice and cool here in the shade of the tall buildings.next up is the 20 mile mark which i get to in 6:59 happy to be sub 7 again, We get out in the open again and I start to struggle a little again, this mile takes me 7:03.there is a nice pull up along here that passes the 35k mark and I've to work hard to maintain a decent pace, I pass 21 mile mark in 7:03 and I'm still barely on target by a matter of seconds, as we're heading towards the 22 mile mark you see the other side of the road full of people heading towards the halfway point.I spot the 4hr pacer on the other side and try and keep going but my legs are suffering, I look left at the stream of people coming off Tower Bridge and then the course flattens in front of me and I decide to get rid of my grab bottle. At the next waterstop I take a bottle of water and empty it over my head then I pass the 23 mile mark in 7:11.I'm down 25 secs on my target time now but all I want is to be able to keep going and not stop.At the 24 mile mark is a Lucozade station and you pass under a small bridge offering a little shade before you come onto Embankment. There are lots walking at this stage and it's so easy to stop and join them but I battle on, there is huge support from here to the finish. I get to mile 25 in 7:10 and there in front of me is Big Ben I turn right onto Birdcage walk knowing at this stage I'm not going to break 3 and just push as hard as I can to the finish.There is markers from 800m to go and they seem to take forever.The crowds really give you a boost and I reach the 26 mile mark outside Buckingham Palace in 7:13 and go under the footbridge at 385 yards to go the two more right hand turns onto The Mall and the finish of my journey,I pass under the middle finishing arch with the clock reading 3:02:28 and a chiptime of 3:01:28 beating last years time by a mere 5 seconds. I get my chip removed and collect my medal to add to the clothes hanger.

 

Walking back after the race and everyone you pass congratulates you and are so nice,the people of London deserve great praise for they way they supported the marathon especially after all that had happened in Boston a few days previously .If you're on the fence about doing this race I can't recommend it highly enough as everything is top class.If you have to go by sports International as I did last year it's worth every cent.As i write this next years ballot is already full and I know why as it is a fabulous race.If you were lucky enough to have entered it I wish you the best of luck.

 

On reflection I was very happy with the race as I wasn't confident going into it with the way training went,would have been happy to run 3:10 but I had a crack off 3 and wasn't far off in the end.now comes the next decision do I find a different spring marathon next year or go back and hope for 3rd time lucky!!!.

 

 

Time Trial or Race? ;-)

Week starting 22^nd April

I was feeling very happy with myself with picking up 2 PB’s in a week at the Ballintotis 4 mile and Wexford 13.1 mile races. Problem was I slept very badly Sunday night and this coupled with the stress put on my body from Sunday’s race plus the driving over the weekend meant I was feeling pretty lousy by Monday evening. I foolishly allowed mental fatigue to get the better of me and skipped the 4 mile recovery run. It was a mistake I have been paying for since.

On Tuesday morning I was still feeling heavy legged and whereas a 4 mile recovery jog might have cleared that up the day before and left me fresher for the planned workout I was in poor form. Instead of a tempo workout I opted for a slow 9 mile jog at 8.36pace instead. The heart rate was at least low – HR147. By Wednesday the mental cloud still hadn’t lifted but surprisingly for my 11 mile run around the city with a hard 3 mile hilly finish i feel stronger than I expected. Mind you I am still off a 8 minute pace running at 8.16 average pace with a lower HR of 142. Total time on my feet here was around 1.31 or so.

Having not gone to a club session in a couple of weeks I thought it would be best to show my face. The club have training sessions 4/5 times a week. I can manage a Thursday and most long runs on a Sunday but the rest of time just doesn’t suit. It’s a shame really but I always get something good out of each time I attend. Meeting near the Roundabout in Mallow I jogged a few miles  by myself before  having a chat with Shane, Denis, Darragh, Tony and Adrian at the meeting point. A group of us proceeded out to the industrial estate where the other stalwarts were waiting for us dressed in civvies – Paudie, Aidan, Denis, Pa, Sharon, Aoife and so on. A few them had just run cracking times in Rotterdam, London and Boston marathons and were obviously taking a bit of time off. They were there to time us in a planned 2 mile time trial. The plan was to run 4 laps or so of the estate with your times clocked and recorded for posterity. Lining up at the start there was the usual slagging with Ray quipping “Who packed the defibrillator?”. Anyway feeling slightly nervous off we went. Shane not surprisingly shot off at 5 minute pace followed by Matt, John Paul, Ray and Adrian. I was next in pursuit with Denis as usual just beside me. Lap 1 and 2 passed with the front 3 well out of sight. Ray passed Adrian and I was doing my best to get near the two of them. Denis was over my shoulder and suddenly I realised this time trial was going to be the toughest workout of the week. Paudie, Sharon et al were watching proceedings but were giving loads of encouragement. By lap 3 I was in a anerobic state – the heart was burning and the head was doing funny things. Ray and Adrian looked very comfortable, I just felt brutal. Shane , John Paul and Mattie were done in no time and I knew I wasn’t going to get past Adrian or Ray. By the time I finished the 4^th lap I was wrecked gladly reaching for the water. It was all very good humoured at the finish handshakes and craic all round. Anyway I was timed in at 12minutes33seconds which was very good for me indeed. Mind you the jog back to the car was a slow one. The whole session from start to finish was 8 miles in total. How fast runners can keep even faster paces up in 10 mile races is beyond me.

Got back late Friday evening after meeting my Dad so no chance of making the Killmallock 5 mile race. Anyway i was still feeling unwell from Monday. I’ll spare readers the gory details but I am sure you can figure out the problem and the 2mileTT hadn’t helped my cause one bit. Ignoring all good advice dragged myself out of bed for a planned 9 mile run with a 6 mile tempo but 2 miles into the tempo portion it was obvious I would have to drop gears running 8 miles in a laboured enough state in1hr35seconds or 7.34 pace. Heart rate was way over what was permissible. My buddy Aidan who is one fast guy texted me to say he “jogged” 20 miles in 2hr38seconds. He still has doubts about his ability to get a sub3.30 in Cork despite running 1hr32mins in Wexford and 1hr08mins in the Mallow 10. He should spend a day in my head at the moment, he would be all over the place!!!!!

By Sunday morning it was time to face up for a 21 mile run around Charleville/Colmanswell. I skipped the club run meeting up with Paudie for the last 11 miles, fresh  from a 3.15 run In Rotterdam marathon 2 weeks previously. I jogged at around 8.40 pace hoping to come in under 3 hours. By mile 16 things went rapidly downhill, pace dropped to 10 minute miles for the last 5 miles. I finished in 3.13.11. Hr was very low for the run 130 but I was a bit down after the run. I was very down when I finished – another struggle of a long run. Will see what all this means in a few weeks but not happy at all

Miles for the week 58 miles (9.3 miles, 11.2 miles,8.5 miles inc 2mile TT, 8 miles, 21 miles)

 

2 PB's in a week!!!!

15^th April

This week marks 7 weeks to the Cork marathon or to put it another way 5 weeks of training with a 2 week taper. I term this “marathon intensity training” as everything is geared towards gearing myself to the marathon. That usually means lots of races – Ballintotis 4 mile, Midleton 5 mile, Killmallock 5 mile, Limerick and Wexford half marathons plus the usual tempo runs and LSR’s. It was a strategy that served me well when training for Dublin though I am probably not putting the same mileage this time round. I only started to think seriously about Cork at the start of March.

 

Did 4 recovery miles in the lashing rain on Monday while on Tuesday a much better nicer evening allowed me to run a solid 9 miles at sub 8 pace. I have also been amiss in attending club training sessions in Mallow as work hours don’t suit me  to attend Tuesday sessions. More’s the pity as they are very helpful.By Wednesday things were a bit more wobbly. Planned to do 10 miles up in Mayfield but the wind made things very difficult. That wasn’t my concern my complete lack of puff from mile 8.5 miles onwards. Had to walk for 2 minutes before I went off again. A disappointing effort. The legs were like bricks. 10 miles at 8.36 pace, 1hour26mins, HR 147.

Thursday. 4 mile race – Ballintotis- finished according to the official time in 27 mins bang on the button but I was according to my stopwatch 3 seconds under that. It mightn’t seem like a big deal to some people but that probably means you aren’t into running!!! At least it was a new PB and I was happy and surprised with how it went. Last year I ran this a minute slower. Massive crowd there and parking issues meant no time for a planned 2/3 warmup, in fact no chance of a warm up at all. I had no garmin but I think the splits were 6.45, 6.35, 6.50 and a slow 7.00 minute mile. The wind out on the road at the end really set me back but again a weakish finish for the last mile.

Saturday I reintroduced 6 days a week running. I do these runs at a moderate, relaxed pace and pick it up if i feel like it. If anything it gets all the bad “running” out of my legs for Sunday’s 13.1 in Wexford. I pb’ed Wexford on the Sunday. The first 6 miles were tricky enough with lots of pulls and drags but the last 7 miles were flat and/or downhill. I was smoking by mile 7 making up nearly 30 seconds per mile. My garmin clocked my finish as 1.35.15 which is a PB by 36 seconds. Aidan Mc Gee ran the race in sub 1.33 and Dermot pb’ed by 6 minutes finishing in sub 1.50. I was very happy with the outcome putting me on a good path for the Cork marathon. That said I will be looking to improve my HM time in future – ideally run the distance at 7 minute pace. Splits were 1)7.30 2)7.27 3)7.41 4)7.31 5)7.14 6)7.17 7)6.58 8)7.04 9)7.03 10) 7.14 (1.13.02) 11)7.06 12)7.09 13)7.02 and the rest 52 seconds. Only one person overtook me at mile 6 onwards with the up and down nature of the course reflected in the splits at miles 1-6 and 7-13.1. My ten mile time was slow enough (compared to my Mallow ten time,) the point at which I normally slow down in half marathons. Today was different but the Limerick half marathon will be a even better indicator of where I really stand.

Miles for the week 47.5.

Tipping away, tipping away....

Week beginning the 7^th April

Spent Monday afternoon scanning the web for the results of the Connemara ultra. I am really thinking about doing this beast of a race next year. In fact ultras have always been a source of interest to me since I started running marathons 3 years ago. Usually my  response to stories of runners tackling Connemara 39.3, Dingle 50 mile or the Connemara 100 miler is a mixture of awe and “are they mad”. Anyway I was delighted to see a Mallow runner, Adrian Ryder, complete the Connemara ultra in under 6 hrs, a benchmark of some achievement. Congrats also to Barry from Kilkenny (a fellow dailymile.com member) for also completing the distance. Adrian is looking to go sub 3.30 in Cork marathon- shouldn’t be a problem for him especially with such a good base built up.

Walked 4 miles in the evening. Easy enough and on Tuesday ran 8 miles with a 2 mile warmup, a 5 mile tempo and 1 mile cooldown. I ran the same tempo two weeks ago and did so in a 7.05 average with a average HR of 161 . Remarkably I ran the same tempo in the same average pace though the splits were different. Today’s splits were 7.13 (blustery wind), 7.05, 7.08, 7.00 and 6.59. I was happy enough as last summer  I could only run these tempos in a 7.13 average so there is a definite improvement. Now if I could only translate that form in a race. Wednesday the plan was to run 10 miles “strong” which meant sub 8 pace. The workout went very well. First mile was uphill and slow – 8.27 but by mile 3 was getting faster despite the strong headwind. Doing 3 fast laps (1.5 miles in total) around the town park played it’s part. By mile 6 I was flying and the last 2 miles on the Cork road and up Newline and through town were my fastest. Splits were as follows 1) 8.27 2) 7.52 3) 8.02 4) 7.47 5) 7.49 6) 7.48 7) 7.35 8) 7.37 9) 7.22 10) 6.51 . This was a very good run all done in 1.17.16. HR was 156. Average pace 7.45. I could have ran for another couple of miles – no doubt about it.

Thursday morning. Up and out the door at 6.55 am for a 8 mile session before i headed to work. I had some intervals in mind but the legs over the first mile (8.41) weren’t up for it so I decided to run a 5 mile tempo at a pace somewhere between marathon and half marathon pace. V happy with the 5 miles 7.50 (Hr 164),7.48 (hr 158),7.32 (HR 165),7.30(Hr 165) ,7.31(HR 164). Last two miles were at cooldown jogging pace but I had enough at that stage as had my legs. Last two miles were completed in 8.13 and 8.24. The high HR over the tempo portion a indicator of rest needed over next couple of days. 8 miles  in 1.03.33 at 7.57 pace.

Saturday was the morning of the 20 long run. Normally I run these on a Sunday but I had a function to attend Saturday night so I thought it was safer to get it out of the way otherwise I would be shattered on Sunday morning. My wife was driving up to Cork on the morning anyway so I thought I could kill a number of birds with one stone by going up on a Saturday (visiting my mum and getting a good lunch being one of them !!!). Anyway the plan was simple enough jog a warmup mile around the estate up in Mayfield and then onto Banduff, Ballyvolane, Spring lane, Mallow road, Commons road, Blackpool (past my Dad’s house),Kryl’s Quay, Sundays Well, out and back on the Lee road, Carrigarohane, turn off up towards Model farm road, back towards the Millrace  and then back home up Pope’s Quay, Wellington Road and Montenotte. It was a dog of a route truth be known. The wind and rain lashed down all the way and I had decided to keep the pace relative to the heart rate. In other words keep the HR around 140 and see what kind of pace I would manage. Up to mile 19 I was tipping away but the hill by the Montenotte hill flattened me. That last minute took 10minutes16 seconds. As I said it was a dog of a route, more suited to Connemara than Cork. I was a bit disappointed with the slow average pace (9.13) but happy with the (HR 140-142). The whole run lasted 3hrs04mins30 seconds which of course was the point of the exercise – time on the feet but the wind and rain didn’t help me at all.

Plans are taking shape for the next few weeks. Wexford half marathon is on next Sunday week with a weekly target of 45-50 miles. The week after that the long run will be another slow effort with a plan of 55 weekly miles and a 22 mile run. I have a idea of what I want to do for the next 3 weeks after that before the taper but we will talk about that closer the time. The next 4 weeks are make and break. When I start hitting 20 miles on the weekend then the real training begins...

50 miles this week (4, 8,10,8,20)

Running the Connemara ultra - Adrian Ryder-"I belong here!! "

I asked club member Adrian Ryder to write about his recent race in Connemara - the Connemara ultra (39.3 miles). Adrian in his maiden ultra finished in a time of 5hrs48minutes - a cracking time, even more when you consider how, em, relaxed his training schedule was. Read on......

A few people have asked me why I was doing this and I found it difficult to come up with any kind of acceptable answer. I never had the talent, or maybe more so the discipline, to excel at any sport. What I love about distance running is that the farther you go, the less important it is where you finish, as long as you finish. Distance running allows me to enjoy sport without feeling pressure to be any good at it. However, I didn’t think “I’m too lazy to do anything else” would be a viable answer to someone asking why I wanted to run 39.3 miles so most people just got the usual, “Why not”.

Ultra Training 

 Since taking up running 2 years ago I’ve always been a poor trainer. I 
joined Mallow AC last November to try to add some structure to my training and although I  
feel I have made good strides (excuse the pun) since joining the club, I was still only running 
2-3 times per week up to Christmas. I promised myself that come the new-year I would 
up my mileage considerably. While I did increase my mileage, it wasn’t by nearly enough. 
Any training plans I looked at suggested 5-6 day running weeks. I remained stuck on 3. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I trained with the club. This was either speed work or a tempo run and the mileage could range from 5-8 miles. Some days I would add a few miles myself before sessions to bring it up around the 10 or 11 mark. At the weekend I would go for a longer run at whatever pace felt comfortable. Initially I had hoped that I might get up close to 30 miles before the big day. I didn’t get beyond 21.5. Actually, over the course of the 3 months I only went above 20 miles 3 times.

Race Day 

 My wife dropped me to the Galway cathedral to catch the 7am bus to Maam Cross. As I watched my fellow competitors climb onto the bus I started to feel like I really didn’t belong there. Sleek, springy looking specimens surrounded me and all had the air of people who had been there, done that and got the tech tee-shirt. My feelings were compounded as I listened to people discuss the 50 miler they had done here, the 100k they were doing next etc. After arriving in Maam Cross we had a mandatory talk from race director Ray O’Connor. “If there is anyone in the room running the half or full marathon”, he began, “You are at the wrong place. If you want to know how to tell you are at the wrong place, take a look around you”. Everyone laughed and I coughed a nervous chuckle (I don’t belong here). Ray then went on to single out a female runner, Hannah Shields. He explained that Hannah was one of the first Irish women to summit Everest but after she finished her first Connemara Ultra she declared that the run was harder. More laughter. Thankfully.

The start line was a sea of Skins, CamelBak, compression socks and multi-coloured
minimalist running shoes. What really struck me was that virtually nobody was warming up.
This just didn’t seem right but what did I know so I slinked into the crowd and settled for a
little shaking on the spot. Before long, we were off. I settled into a nice slow pace as I waited
for my muscles to warm and loosen up and the first mile passed quickly in 8:47. Grand. The
wind was already starting to pick up and miles 2-5 passed at an average pace of about 8:30.
I wondered if this was too fast for me but decided that with the wind behind me and the level
ground to this point it was ok as long as I felt relaxed. I took my first gel just before the 5 mile  marker. I would take another at 10 and about every 4 miles thereafter. Mile 6 took 8:07 and I gave off to myself for letting the pace creep up. Mile 7, 8:08. Now I was just annoyed with myself.

It was certainly unusual to be angry that I was running too fast and the feeling was new to me but I knew how important pacing would be today. Mile 8, 8:10. God damn it. At this point I had to really take stock. I did a full mental body check. Are you breathing heavy?

No. Are you forcing your pace? No. I decided that I was going to pay less attention to the
watch and more to how I was feeling from then on. Around this time I had caught Caroline,
a young female runner who was looking very relaxed. If I had to guess I’d say she was no
more than early 20’s. She told me it was her first Connemara Ultra. At last! I had spoken to
a few people since leaving Galway and this was the only other first timer I’d met. “Is it your
first Ultra then”, I asked. “No”, she replied. (I don’t belong here). We chatted for a minute
about pacing and the wind behind us and she agreed that there was no point in getting too
caught up about pace as long as I was comfortable. It was good to hear that from someone
else. Then she told me that she had heard this race didn’t really begin until mile 19. That left
me with something to ponder as I eased out ahead of her. 4 of the next 7 miles were run at
a sub-8 minute pace and I knew that there was a real chance that I could pay for this later. I
picked up the first of my drop-bags at mile 16, nearly losing a small bag of Jaffa Cakes to the
Connemara wilds in a gust of wind.

As we joined the full marathon route we started to come upon more people who had
come out to offer their support. I got a good laugh from 2 guys who gave Paolo Di Canio style salutes as they shouted “Come on the Ultras” when we passed. Close to the fullmarathon 5 mile marker I passed my first marathoners. The Ultra runners had been given an ‘Ultra Runner’ sign to wear on our backs and I was amazed at the amount of support and encouragement I received from other runners as I passed them. In later miles there were plenty of runners suffering just as much as I was but they still made the effort to cheer me on and it meant a lot. Miles 16-19 were all over 8 minutes. The wind was now blowing in from my right and it seemed to be getting stronger.

As I turned right to take the road for Leenane I quickly learned that Caroline had been well informed. It was a tough uphill mile, all the tougher because the wind was now blowing hard 
straight into our faces. I averaged a little over 8.5 minute miles to mile 25 at which point the 
pace slowed further. Despite coming downhill into Leenane mile 25 was just under 9 minutes 
and 26 just over. I had a hard job finding my drop bag at the 26 marker. I felt confident that 
I’d be the only one with a tricolour bag from Dealz in Cork but I wasn’t as I learned when I ripped a bag open to find a carton of pasta that I hadn’t packed. Just as I was about to give up on finding my own a kid handed it to me and I scurried off asking the marshals to apologize  for me to the person who’s precious supplies I had spilled all over the table. 
I passed the half-marathon mark, or the full marathon mark for me, in about 3:43. This would 
actually have been a PB for me if it was a regular marathon I was running. Then things  
got tough. Real tough. Immediately after crossing the timing mats we were heading uphill 
again, I forced down a banana, some more Jaffa Cakes, a Bounty and a bottle of Powerade. 
It wasn’t easy but I knew I had to get something inside of me other than gels and water. Miles 27 and 28 uphill into the strong headwind both took me over 10 minutes. At this stage 
everyone around me looked like they were struggling but the support kept coming from other runners and I returned it where I could. 29 to 31 were back closer to 9 minutes again as the 
elevation, but not the wind, eased. By now I was starting to feel a little sick. I had my final bag drop zone coming up at 32 but the thought of it alone was enough to turn my stomach. 
I decided that unless this feeling changed quickly I would skip it. I had been refreshing my 
stock of gels at the previous stations so felt that I had enough left to pull me through the last 
7 miles. In the end I didn’t even have to decide as I ran right by the bags without ever seeing

them. From 32 to 36 my mile times were closer to 10 minutes than 9. My legs were really sore
now from foot to hip but I wasn’t experiencing the energy sap that had plagued me over the 

last few miles of previous marathons so I was grateful for that. I remember at one point the 
wind suddenly seemed to disappear. It felt as though I had been dragging a tyre behind me 
and somebody cut the rope. Then, within seconds it was back, pushing against me again  like a petulant child growing tired of being ignored. A week before I had been doing some hill training with Mallow AC in Doneraile Park. About 45 minutes into the session our trainer, Shane Simcox, had run back to a couple of us that were lagging at the back and explained that we would be going over the largest hill again and then turning around and coming back over it one last time before finishing. One of the girls I was running with had a race coming up 2 days later so told Shane she might go her own way instead. As he ran off ahead of us again he said “Just don’t be too soft on yourself”. Right now, struggling to get up these hills against this maddening wind and seeing dozens of people all around me take the easy way out by walking, those words came back to me. I ploughed on.  

After running over a few of these small but tough hills the road seemed to flatten, even drop. I knew that there was supposed to be one really tough hill before the end but with less than 4 miles to go I wondered if it was possible that we had passed it. Sure, none of the hills seemed that huge by themselves but perhaps we had been gaining elevation bit by bit fora few miles now. No such luck. Almost as soon as I had the thought we turned right for thelast time and as far as I was concerned we were heading up the side of a mountain. The run from miles 35.5 to 37.5 was one of the longest 2 mile runs of my life. The one good thing I will say is that because we were climbing the hill in a winding, corkscrew manner, there was some small relief around most bends. They also offered targets. I’ll go as far as that bend before I start walking. I came this far, I might as well keep moving to the next bend. What wasn’t good, however, was that you could see about 1.5 miles into the distance, small figures dotted all the way along but no sign of the top of the hill. Almost everyone around me was walking. The marathon runners at this point were probably at 4hr 15min pace. I’m sure the more serious runners probably made this look easy. Occasionally I would spot an Ultra runner, invariable running. I felt an obligation to keep running myself because of this.    

If I was going to run with these guys I might as well make the effort to run like them whether I felt out of place or not. Mile 37 was an agonizing 11 minutes and 2 seconds and yet this  didn’t bother me. The way I looked at it, if I was walking it would have taken 16 so I just saved myself 5 minutes. When I thought I was at the top a spectator cried out, “Come on, nearly at the top of the hill”. Nearly? Don’t be too soft on yourself. Before I knew it I was up and over and still running. Mile 38, 9:59. I’ll take it. 

I try to remain focused until crossing the finish line but with 1.5 miles to go I was happy  beyond belief. It was all downhill or flat to the finish and I could actually enjoy this. Another spectator spotted my number. “Come on Ultra, 38 behind you, 1 on front of you”. It felt amazing. Nearly everyone was running again but I continued to pass runner after runner and on mile 39 I dipped back under 9 minutes again for the first time since 25. I came down the home straight with a big smile on my face, high fiving some random woman when she stuck her arm out. Less than 3 minutes after Hannah Shields, I crossed the finish line in 5 hours 48 minutes and 51 seconds, my own mini-Everest conquered. Race director Ray O’Connor was waiting behind the finish line to shake my hand. “Welcome back”, he said as he guided me to an area taped off for Ultra runners only. I marched in with my head held high  

I belong here.

Ongoing training for Cork marathon

Week starting April 1^st

Monday evening I was a reluctant runner. Had spent the day driving around Kerry and Cork on a few domestic chores and the freezing cold weather didn’t encourage me a whole lot either. Any way managed to pull myself out for a 4 mile recovery jog. I tipped away with the usual one minute walking break between each mile hoping the heart rate would drop well below 130. When I came back home after 40 minutes and 4 miles the HR reading was at 173!!!!!. I assume it must be a false reading but very disappointing nevertheless (to put it mildly). The weeks previous running had obviously caught up with me which was further confirmed on Tuesday when I slept in bed till 10.25am. Normally i’m up at 6.30 am (holidays or no holidays) and it was once again with great reluctance I popped out the door. Tuesday is normally either a tempo run or a fast paced effort but the legs were like rocks. Did a 8 mile loop finishing the last mile in 7mins49seconds but in truth it was a laboured effort. I know from experience you will get days and weeks like this. The main thing is to get out there and listen to the body. Again the HR reading was poor. First mile was 200 and the rest between 151 and 159. Average pace was 8mins04seconds.

By Wednesday I felt a lot more rested and went for out a 10 mile jog. These midweek runs have been increasing in distance from 6 miles in January to a decent length now. Will stick with the 10 mile distance for another few weeks before hopefully peaking with 12 or 13 miles. Was a bit tired the last mile but pace was steady enough around 8.20 to 8.23 minute per mile. Hr was a lot more consistent – 150 bpm. It’s probably still 5 beats too high though.

Thursday was the club session in the town park in Mallow. One mile warm with a series of intervals (6 minutes, 3minutes, 90 seconds followed by more of the same with a extra 90 second interval). I felt pretty strong hitting 3.5 miles in total in the session. Finished up with a one mile cooldown with rest day Friday and a enforced rest day Saturday. On Saturday I had planned to the 5K in Doneraile park but household painting chores had to take priority over this one. Also since I am pretty late getting into my marathon plan as compared to previous years I also had to forgo the UCC 10k on the Sunday. Plenty of shorter races coming up plus a few longer ones too so not unduly worried. No my focus today was my long run, not that i was really looking forward to it. Can’t explain why but it happens sometimes. Anyway I didn’t have a Garmin for this one, running with a smaller group than usual. After running 13 miles around Ballyclough I gutted it through for the last 3 miles doing loops of the town park with Kevin finally making up the planned 18 miles in a time of 2hrs37mins or 8.45 pace. The legs were v heavy all the way through but job done.

 

Someone asked me what are my expectations for the Cork marathon. My answer is I don't know. I hope to do two half marathons over the next month possibly 3 and these allied with my long slow runs should hope fully inform me. My mid week running will be based around a recovery run on Monday, tempo session/ speed session/strong running session on Tuesday and Thursday, medium mid paced long (ish) run on Wednesday. I usually find if i stick at it the body adapts and responds accordingly.

 

Total mileage for the week is down a few miles on last week. It came to 45.5 miles and would have been higher had I not pulled out of a 5k race in Doneraile park. Monday 4 miles, Tuesday 8 miles, Wednesday 10 miles, Thursday 5.5 miles, Friday rest, Saturday zero miles, Sunday 18 miles.

Marathon paced long run

Sunday 31^st April

Legs were feeling antsy on Friday but rather than go for a jog I simply walked 3 miles instead. It all helps towards recovery. Sunday morning was the time for the most workout of any marathon schedule – the long run. A added twist was I wanted to run a portion at marathon pace. It meant pushing ahead of the Mallow group, something which is quite difficult. Anyway did a 3 mile warm up with Ger Buckley- fresh from his adventures in India, Tibet and China, meeting back at the roundabout with the rest of the guys. We jogged down the Mallow-Killarney road turning right at Longueville house for Ballyclough. The plan was to come through Ballyclough onto the N20 and back to the Roundabout. There was no doubt that while the last 4 miles are a rapid downhill descent , it was going to be offset by strong winds and gusts. I pushed on after 6 miles and despite a brief water stop at Ballyclough I did my thing. I was in good company, Mick Clancy ironman tri-athlete and multiple sub 3 marathon runner jogged effortlessly past me after Ballyclough and finished a good half mile or more ahead me at the finish. For him of course this was a easy training run for me this was meant to be a marathon training effort!!!!

By the time I reached the roundabout I still had a another mile to go and did a out and back mile from where we started.

Splits from mile 7 were as follows 8.18, 7.48,8.00 (uphill),7.36,7.46,7.46,7.49,7.59 (tired and windy),7.47, 8.00 (out on my legs) and 7.51. The heart rate was between 159 BPM and 163 BPM for the entire duration of the marathon pace portion which is high – no two ways about it. The entire distance ran was 17 miles in total time of 2hr19mins38seconds. It was a good workout but ideally I would have liked to kept the marathon pace at under 7.45.

 Mileage for the week including a 3 mile walk was 49 miles (4miles,8miles,9miles,7.7miles,3 miles walking, rest, 17 miles). A good run but plenty of room for improvement