4 weeks since the Donadea 50km.....I had pondered the crazy notion (for me) of running another marathon at some stage before the Dublin marathon in October. I have since ditched that idea as it's probably better I try to re-learn how to run faster and more consistently. I will have to start working on the latter part first before I even try to undertake the former.
Last week was ok, this week less so. 27 miles last week with 4 runs in the week. The longest run was a pacy 9 miler at 7.50 pace. I was happy with that. This week was 2 X 7 milers in Cork on the Wednesday and Thursday. I had to skip the Kinvara 13.1 on Saturday as a series of late nights on weekdays and a particularly late night on Friday night/ Saturday night (Pub table quiz) had me nackered over the weekend. As a result I was lying on the couch over the weekend feeling pretty gammy and tired. (By the way it was tiredness not that fecking COVID 19 b/s). Any way no run over the weekend.
I see that a number of Continental marathons are being postponed or deffered so it's best to wait before I commit to any larger local races yet.
I know I have failed to make 4 marathons in the last two years so the target in Dublin will be modest. Get the training done and get to the start line. Then again it may not go ahead anyway.
Sunday, 8 March 2020
Wednesday, 12 February 2020
Donedea 50k race report - 5hrs32mins - Ragged Glory
Glory days, well, they'll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
Glory days, well, they'll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
(Bruce Springsteen)
Race done and completed. My first marathon distance since Dublin 2017 and my first ultra since April 2015. Therefore I fulfilled my initial aim of getting to the start line and getting to the finish line. It's the stuff that happened in between that proved a bit tricky.
Just to explain about the Donadea 50k. It's held in the forest of the same name in Co Kildare. It's hosted by a guy by the name of Anto Lee, who's way of publicizing the race is somewhat unusual. It's not my cup of tea but leaving that aside it is a well organised race if somewhat pared down compared to a lot of long races . I entered last October and so began a low key training build up. As ever I was accompanied by my running buddy Aidan McGee. He was training well enough but got injured early in the new year and apart from a couple of 13 ml long runs had done little training of consequence.
My own training focused on the long run with only short mid week runs which at times I didn't complete. I had nevertheless still completed good long runs of 20mls, 23mls, 21mls, 26.2 mls over the last 8 weeks. I had no speed work completed, with weekly mileage averaging under 30 mls peaking at 47 mls in the last 2 weeks. So I suppose the training wasn't particularly great, it was what it was.
Another issue was the weight. I had dropped from 14 stone to 13 stone 8 pounds but I was still carrying a lot of gut and chest fat. This was becoming evident during the long runs with the pace hardly getting above 9.05 pace. All the same I was reasonably happy I got to the start line confident of getting under the cut off of 5 hours.
I had predicted 4 hours 55 minutes. When I ran Connemara 39.3 mls in 2015 I reached the 31 mls in 4hrs 38mins and had never finished a marathon over 4 hours so I felt reasonably confident. (Duh)
Anyway here is the rough story. You can see the photo below with the splits. I ran the half way point (5 out of 10 laps of 5k ) in 2hrs 25mins. This was a lot slower than my training runs but I felt good and relaxed. Lap 6 went in similar time to the previous 5 and I reached the clock in 2hrs 50 mins . Then by the time I got to mile 19 ml the arse fell out of my day.
I basically ran out of steam and I still don't know why. Maybe running the 26.2 mls two weeks prior to the race caught up with me. Anyway I had to walk / run until I got to the start of lap 8 and did more walking and even less running. I was contemplating quitting at this stage as I feeling pretty low. Then I remembered it was my 1) choice to take part, no one forced me, 2) stop being a moaning dickhead and 3) (most importantly) I was running on behalf of Pieta House so it was a case of suck it up and get on with being alive. So I did.....
At this point I would have loved to have said I ran the remaining 6 miles but I would be lying ... lot's more walk/ running. I got and gave great encouragement on the way and during the course of the race I enjoyed the banter. I was also humbled by great commitment of the runners out there in particular the women who flying around the course. It was also obvious to me that having a few marathons up in the legs rather than relying on old and faded glories was the way to do it. (Note to self).
At the end of lap 9 (4hrs50mins) I knew the cut off was almost up (5 hour cut off). Anto , the RD, informed me that I was on my own now. Maybe it was a attempt at giving me that added extra incentive, it certainly worked.
It got me through some incredible painful spasms that started hitting my calves at this point. The walk running thing finally bit the dust at mile 29 (just walking) and the last of the runners started to drift past me. I was on my own with two miles to go. Storm Ciara was beginning to make her presence felt and the encouragement of spectators and the P.A was no longer there. The race was in shut down and clear out mode and I realized I was probably the last runner out there, something which was a new experience for me.
Anyway out of pride I shuffled the last 1 km to get over the line in 5 hrs 32mins 28 seconds, third last, no official time up on the clock with little glory to be gained. Mind you I wasn't too despondent. I got the job done and sometimes that's as good as it can be. I didn't let anyone down.
The real story of the day was the performance of my good friend Aidan. The fecker with no training (but with plenty of marathons up on the legs) ran in at 4hrs 55mins. I was chuffed for him and it gave me a real boost. Delighted for him.
Then it was back home to Charleville casting my vote in the general election. Don't know what to do now maybe just rest.
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
Glory days, well, they'll pass you by
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
(Bruce Springsteen)
Race done and completed. My first marathon distance since Dublin 2017 and my first ultra since April 2015. Therefore I fulfilled my initial aim of getting to the start line and getting to the finish line. It's the stuff that happened in between that proved a bit tricky.
Just to explain about the Donadea 50k. It's held in the forest of the same name in Co Kildare. It's hosted by a guy by the name of Anto Lee, who's way of publicizing the race is somewhat unusual. It's not my cup of tea but leaving that aside it is a well organised race if somewhat pared down compared to a lot of long races . I entered last October and so began a low key training build up. As ever I was accompanied by my running buddy Aidan McGee. He was training well enough but got injured early in the new year and apart from a couple of 13 ml long runs had done little training of consequence.
My own training focused on the long run with only short mid week runs which at times I didn't complete. I had nevertheless still completed good long runs of 20mls, 23mls, 21mls, 26.2 mls over the last 8 weeks. I had no speed work completed, with weekly mileage averaging under 30 mls peaking at 47 mls in the last 2 weeks. So I suppose the training wasn't particularly great, it was what it was.
Another issue was the weight. I had dropped from 14 stone to 13 stone 8 pounds but I was still carrying a lot of gut and chest fat. This was becoming evident during the long runs with the pace hardly getting above 9.05 pace. All the same I was reasonably happy I got to the start line confident of getting under the cut off of 5 hours.
I had predicted 4 hours 55 minutes. When I ran Connemara 39.3 mls in 2015 I reached the 31 mls in 4hrs 38mins and had never finished a marathon over 4 hours so I felt reasonably confident. (Duh)
Anyway here is the rough story. You can see the photo below with the splits. I ran the half way point (5 out of 10 laps of 5k ) in 2hrs 25mins. This was a lot slower than my training runs but I felt good and relaxed. Lap 6 went in similar time to the previous 5 and I reached the clock in 2hrs 50 mins . Then by the time I got to mile 19 ml the arse fell out of my day.
I basically ran out of steam and I still don't know why. Maybe running the 26.2 mls two weeks prior to the race caught up with me. Anyway I had to walk / run until I got to the start of lap 8 and did more walking and even less running. I was contemplating quitting at this stage as I feeling pretty low. Then I remembered it was my 1) choice to take part, no one forced me, 2) stop being a moaning dickhead and 3) (most importantly) I was running on behalf of Pieta House so it was a case of suck it up and get on with being alive. So I did.....
At this point I would have loved to have said I ran the remaining 6 miles but I would be lying ... lot's more walk/ running. I got and gave great encouragement on the way and during the course of the race I enjoyed the banter. I was also humbled by great commitment of the runners out there in particular the women who flying around the course. It was also obvious to me that having a few marathons up in the legs rather than relying on old and faded glories was the way to do it. (Note to self).
At the end of lap 9 (4hrs50mins) I knew the cut off was almost up (5 hour cut off). Anto , the RD, informed me that I was on my own now. Maybe it was a attempt at giving me that added extra incentive, it certainly worked.
It got me through some incredible painful spasms that started hitting my calves at this point. The walk running thing finally bit the dust at mile 29 (just walking) and the last of the runners started to drift past me. I was on my own with two miles to go. Storm Ciara was beginning to make her presence felt and the encouragement of spectators and the P.A was no longer there. The race was in shut down and clear out mode and I realized I was probably the last runner out there, something which was a new experience for me.
Anyway out of pride I shuffled the last 1 km to get over the line in 5 hrs 32mins 28 seconds, third last, no official time up on the clock with little glory to be gained. Mind you I wasn't too despondent. I got the job done and sometimes that's as good as it can be. I didn't let anyone down.
The real story of the day was the performance of my good friend Aidan. The fecker with no training (but with plenty of marathons up on the legs) ran in at 4hrs 55mins. I was chuffed for him and it gave me a real boost. Delighted for him.
Then it was back home to Charleville casting my vote in the general election. Don't know what to do now maybe just rest.
Friday, 31 January 2020
week ended 02 Feb serious training
Short entry- last week of proper training- serious stuff - even if the mileage was low- 47 miles in the week. 7.3 miles Tuesday (8.05 pace) 7.4 miles Wednesday (8.20 pace) in Mayfield 6 miles on Thursday morning (8.35 pace) with a 26.27 (9.15 pace) long run on the Sunday, all solo. Epic stuff even if I say so myself. I am writing this 5 days later on Friday with only 3 miles clocked up since. The bathrooms in the house are out of action , being redone. Just as well I got the running in.
I got a 6 mile run completed on Saturday morning. Left achilles a bit twingy. Rest day today.
I got a 6 mile run completed on Saturday morning. Left achilles a bit twingy. Rest day today.
Sunday, 19 January 2020
Week ended 19th Jan 2020 - A funeral, a removal and a christening.
Sunday morning. I ran for a hour this tomorrow. Definitely on the chilly side with some of the paths less than safe. Busy old week with running so so. Monday I had do a presentation as part of this course I am doing so no run there.
Tuesday morning I was up at 6.15am to do six miles in a relaxed 9 minute pace. Wednesday was a good workout. 9 miles at 8.05 pace, a good strong run. Thursday and Friday were write offs having to go to a family funeral on one day and working late on the other with a removal to go too as well. Saturday I was feeling a bit under the weather. I had planned to do the long run up in Cork but was feeling pretty gamy on the Friday (upset stomach, migranes) so came home thinking I would feel better on the Saturday. Anyway I wasn't not helped by Iseult deciding it was time for breakfast at 6.20 am.
I did try to get out at 9am but the paths outside the house and down by the town park were a tad slippery so mixture of pitiful self preservation, illness and tiredness saw me come back after 10 minutes. That only made my mood worse though I did manage to trot out for a laboured 4 mile jog at 2pm. I was sweating heavily during and after it and the old tummy wasn't too happy afterwards. That brings me up to todays effort - 7 miles.We have a christening to go too later, I would be happier lying down on the couch. That 26 miles for the week and 3 weeks to the 50km in Donadea. I will have to try to fit some sort of long run/time on feet by next week. That once soft looking cut off of 5 hours is looking a bit harder now.
Tuesday morning I was up at 6.15am to do six miles in a relaxed 9 minute pace. Wednesday was a good workout. 9 miles at 8.05 pace, a good strong run. Thursday and Friday were write offs having to go to a family funeral on one day and working late on the other with a removal to go too as well. Saturday I was feeling a bit under the weather. I had planned to do the long run up in Cork but was feeling pretty gamy on the Friday (upset stomach, migranes) so came home thinking I would feel better on the Saturday. Anyway I wasn't not helped by Iseult deciding it was time for breakfast at 6.20 am.
I did try to get out at 9am but the paths outside the house and down by the town park were a tad slippery so mixture of pitiful self preservation, illness and tiredness saw me come back after 10 minutes. That only made my mood worse though I did manage to trot out for a laboured 4 mile jog at 2pm. I was sweating heavily during and after it and the old tummy wasn't too happy afterwards. That brings me up to todays effort - 7 miles.We have a christening to go too later, I would be happier lying down on the couch. That 26 miles for the week and 3 weeks to the 50km in Donadea. I will have to try to fit some sort of long run/time on feet by next week. That once soft looking cut off of 5 hours is looking a bit harder now.
Sunday, 12 January 2020
Training report week ended 12th January
A good running week, Tried to get a bit more "pace" into the running this week partly as a reaction to last Sundays slogfest which saw me petering out badly over 17 mls and dying on my feet on 21 mls. Anyway I was back in work this week and the running helped in me getting over a difficult week on a professional front. It was also a culture shock to my daughter Iseult as well realizing Santa was well and truly over. . Tuesday I was up and out the door by 6.15 am and a handy recovery pace run at 9.20. The legs felt good, a situation confirmed by me running 7.5 miles at 8.02 pace on Wednesday evening, a pace which these days is speedy Gonzales. I was up again Thursday morning at 5.30 am (Parent teacher meeting in the evening) running 7mls at 8.20 am. Again I was very happy with the run though it was early bed for me at 9.15 that evening, a price to be paid for getting so early for running. No chance of a run Friday, in work until 7pm and home by 8.30 pm. Aoiffe was up in Dublin all day Saturday so no run there either.
Sunday was a good run. My best of this training cycle. Storm Brendan is due to arrive tomorrow morning but while out running the weather was lovely - hints of a lovely Spring to come. I decided to run 2 hours at MP pace, currently at 8.30 pace. 15 miles in total. I could have done around 5 mls extra but decided against as I had stuff to do at home. Big week next week in terms of training. Maybe the storm might affect me. We will see.My running is limited , I know that and there is a lot of important real life stuff on the horizon
Yeah it was good. A plan (fingers crossed ) is forming.
Sunday was a good run. My best of this training cycle. Storm Brendan is due to arrive tomorrow morning but while out running the weather was lovely - hints of a lovely Spring to come. I decided to run 2 hours at MP pace, currently at 8.30 pace. 15 miles in total. I could have done around 5 mls extra but decided against as I had stuff to do at home. Big week next week in terms of training. Maybe the storm might affect me. We will see.My running is limited , I know that and there is a lot of important real life stuff on the horizon
Yeah it was good. A plan (fingers crossed ) is forming.
Thursday, 2 January 2020
Running log 5thJanuary 2020
Last Wednesday 5.5 MLS. Last Friday 6 MLS and Sunday 6 MLS. That marked 40 miles for the week, the first time I have probably managed it during this training cycle. Wednesday (2020) 4 mls. Thursday no run or Friday minding the little one all day while Aoiffe goes back to work. I ran 7.5 miles on Saturday morning feeling a bit chesty while out there but a nice hack up of phelgm after 3.5 miles did the trick. It was the kind of hack up that had a fair bit of substance to it. Quite satisfying. I had considered heading to Blackrock in Cork city running the MCI marathon out there but I don't really have the confidence in my fitness to attempt it. I did something similar when I was training for the Connemara ultra in 2015 but the fitness and hunger was way off the scale back then.
I ran the long run today. The plan was to 3 X 8 mls around Charleville. Namely down from my house and up Love Lane, in and at out of Manor Hill (our old estate) and in and out of Broomscourt and back up and down Love Lane ( long drag) and then down to the Railway Road and back home via town. Time for a slug of water and then do it all again. I had hoped to spend around 3hrs 45 - 50 mins on the feet, 9.15 pace, slow but steady. I was up and out the door by 6.30 am. I was doing ok by 16 miles with one of two little stops but the pace was beginning to drag by mile 13, the legs draining a bit. Maybe it was the blood donation, the headcold, the early start or nothing at all but I was dreading the third loop at mile 16. I decided to run out Smiths Rd and back again and a couple of loops around the town park but it was all getting pretty horrible. Mile 20 passed in a very slow time of 3hrs09mins. Normally I would expect to be comfortable under 3 hours but not today. I was reduced to a jog, a hobble and eventually stopping at 21 miles and 3hrs24mins on the clock.
I tried to be philosophical about it. Bad runs can happen to anybody but this was very poor. The cut off for Donedea is 5 hours a time with any bit of decent training should be very manageable. I ran 31 miles in 4hrs 38mins back in 2015, a time I was disappointed with at the time. These days I know my training cycle is very limited so I looking for somewhere around 4hrs50 minutes. Essentially I need to be around 4hours with 26 miles under my belt and feeling reasonably comfortable.
I ran the long run today. The plan was to 3 X 8 mls around Charleville. Namely down from my house and up Love Lane, in and at out of Manor Hill (our old estate) and in and out of Broomscourt and back up and down Love Lane ( long drag) and then down to the Railway Road and back home via town. Time for a slug of water and then do it all again. I had hoped to spend around 3hrs 45 - 50 mins on the feet, 9.15 pace, slow but steady. I was up and out the door by 6.30 am. I was doing ok by 16 miles with one of two little stops but the pace was beginning to drag by mile 13, the legs draining a bit. Maybe it was the blood donation, the headcold, the early start or nothing at all but I was dreading the third loop at mile 16. I decided to run out Smiths Rd and back again and a couple of loops around the town park but it was all getting pretty horrible. Mile 20 passed in a very slow time of 3hrs09mins. Normally I would expect to be comfortable under 3 hours but not today. I was reduced to a jog, a hobble and eventually stopping at 21 miles and 3hrs24mins on the clock.
I tried to be philosophical about it. Bad runs can happen to anybody but this was very poor. The cut off for Donedea is 5 hours a time with any bit of decent training should be very manageable. I ran 31 miles in 4hrs 38mins back in 2015, a time I was disappointed with at the time. These days I know my training cycle is very limited so I looking for somewhere around 4hrs50 minutes. Essentially I need to be around 4hours with 26 miles under my belt and feeling reasonably comfortable.
Wednesday, 25 December 2019
Training Log 25th December
Christmas Day. I ran 22.7 mls in Cork yesterday. The whole thing took 3hrs30mins taking me right up to my Mum's house in Mayfield. I could have ran for another 3 minutes to get up to the 23 miles but the lure of the annual Lotabeg Green fry up was a temptation too strong ;-) I ran 7 X 1 miles around Lotabeg and then onto and turn around at the top of the North Mall running back the way I came. Anyway job done delighted. It was a tough especially the last 5 miles, lots of hills and one 3 minute walking spell up Spring Lane past the Glen Rovers hurling club. Lots of slow shuffle running after that , not pretty and it looked demented to one of my old neighbours (he thought I might a lift from the AA !!) but I was very happy with it. Hopefully it will serve me well for future challenges ahead.
The fry up was well worth it. All the family were there and that was great.
No running today. Legs a bit stiff and calves a bit tight but hope to get a few more runs in during the week. Again my weekly totals are on the low side.
P.S
Just forgot I did 5.5 miles last Tuesday, 7.3 miles Thursday and 8 miles Sunday.
The fry up was well worth it. All the family were there and that was great.
No running today. Legs a bit stiff and calves a bit tight but hope to get a few more runs in during the week. Again my weekly totals are on the low side.
P.S
Just forgot I did 5.5 miles last Tuesday, 7.3 miles Thursday and 8 miles Sunday.
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