Apologies for those dropping in and expecting daily updates, but I've been a little hectic this past couple of weeks with work and life in general, so time to post has been infrequent. I have still been training though, and yesterday, Saturday 22nd, I took part in the most important stepping stone so far in my quest to qualify for a Boston Qualifying Time for next April.
As regular attendees will know, I have been focusing all my running this year on seeking that elusive 3:35:59 that will enable me to line up in Boston on a Monday morning in spring 2008, just weeks after I reach my 50th birthday. Actually, when I say all year I am somewhat exaggerating, as I really only started serious training in June, what with everything else that had gone on on the early part of the year. So a somewhat ambitious target of my BQ by Philly in November has been progressing along, and with a few hiccups along the way, I have been progressing in the right direction. I did post a reflection recently that I felt that Philly was about 6 to 8 weeks too soon for me, and yesterdays race would enable me to judge more accurately as to where my "Marathon State" actually is.
Well, the day arrived and amazingly, given the summer we haven't actually had, it was a blue sky that greeted me at 7:30 when I arose from my slumber. The drive over to the Phoenix Park was uneventful and after collecting my number I walked the mile or so to the start, only to find that the race start was delayed for 15 minutes due to the numbers. I haven't seen the official results yet, but the tannoy announcer was saying that there were as many as 4000 running yesterday - have to admit it didn't seem that many, but if accurate that is an amazing turnout for the race, and a wonderful climax to the Adidas Series that acts as the Dublin Marathon Build Up.
I was determined to treat this as preparation for Philly and attempt to run at Marathon pace, i.e. 8:15, and not make my usual cardinal sin of flying off too fast and then hanging on for dear life. There wasn't a gun or klaxon to start we just seemed to edge forward and then we were moving. The race was chipped, so I started my watch at the mat, and as far as official results may go, these splits are my watch times, so I'm hoping they will concur with the overall picture when released.
The first mile was along Chesterfield Avenue, the main drag through the Park, a nice wide road with plenty of room to spread out. For once I wasn't having to run around people, I had started as near as I dared to the front, and hopefully not too many were weaving around me. The first mile marker was hit at 8:09, good pacing, just what I wanted, I hadn't got carried away. The sun was warm and the sweat was dribbling off me very early. I was glad to be running in my Club Vest, suitable vaselined and with my "stop-chaffing" shorts too. It felt very easy at this pace, but I resisted the temptation to speed up, even though I felt pedestrian at this pace, and with Mile 2 showing 8:20, life was good. Mile 3 was slower, 8:22, but then we hit a couple of down hill stretches and an 8:04 mile followed by 7:57 had me running nicely along the time zones.
The next couple of miles saw the hills that had plagued me in the Frank Duffy Race a few weeks ago, and again, I realised that I would have to run these twice, with the second time coming at 10.5 miles into the race, but that was for later, this time I was taming the beasts - 8:18, 8:23 and 8:26 saw them defeated and back onto Chesterfield and the second loop. A couple more miles of 8:18 each (consistent), saw me hit the 10 Mile Mark in 82:35, only 5 seconds outside my target, but I did have those hills to tackle again.....
Well, the good news is, they didn't defeat me, but they did slow me down. Even though I was running a comfortable pace, the long drags took their toll. I should put these hills into perspective, they aren't the Newton Hills, but they have made me suffer a number of times over the years, and humbled more than me, but today I was determined to pull my body through the couple of miles, I managed it, albeit with slow miles of 8:40 and 8:34, but mentally I beat my demons, and when I recovered I was able to glide home the last mile and a bit in 9:09 and cross the line in 1:48:58 - At least I think that was my time, I forgot to press the button when I looked at my watch!
My thoughts on the race were positive, and a realistic assessment of where I am in my quest. The overall pace was 8:19, a touch outside my goal, and I did feel tired, and certainly not ready to run another 13 miles at the same pace just yet. I appreciate that Philly is still 8 weeks away, but I can't see myself quite managing to get into total shape by then, and as this quest has been about stepping stones and Philly is not the Last Chance Saloon, I will look at a 3:50 in Philly, and, not that I ever need an excuse to visit the US, I will target a January Marathon, possibly Houston, and try for my Boston time there.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Carlton Tower
I know this hasn't got a lot to do with running, apart from the fact that I run past it every day! But just to liven up my Blog, I thought I'd show you the building of a high-rise apartment block across the road from me. When I moved into my apartment last October, there was an empty lot - This is what happened next!
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
W10D3 - Nearly half way to paradise
After my very satisfying run on Sunday, I would normally have taken a day off and recovered on Monday, but I have signed up to a Personal Training programme with the gym, Club Vitae, that I am a member of, and I had an appointment with Gordon, my very own personal sadist (umm, I mean Trainer!), on Monday at 5 pm. Now, I have no problem with my running training, I'm perfectly capable of sorting that out, but as I have got older, I have found it harder to maintain the upper body, and the belly! So, a planned programme will hopefully help me keep the shape right, and this will also have a benefit on my running style.
Monday night saw Gordon taking me through the paces, squats, lunges, power walking on a 9% incline whilst simultaneously lifting 5 Kilo dumb-bells over my head, crunches on the big ball, and a few other so called training exercises to please his sadistic fantasies... He kept me at it for 90 minutes, and I tried to maintain my heart rate and breathing whilst pushing myself - It was actually enjoyable, in a masochistic sort of way, just hope that it has the benefits in the long term.
Tuesday, I woke up as stiff as anything. I was aching in places, I had no idea I had places! I ditched the planned long run with Mike, and instead took the day off from training to allows the newly worked muscles to recover - last thing I want to do is to over cook myself.
Today it was back to normal. The pains have gone, and a lunchtime run was called for, along Sandymount Strand, and while I wasn't planning to run a hard run, the 5 Mile trip was taken in 37:04, a 25 second PR for the route. Feel tired from the run, but very pleased with the progress which I can gauge from my times over a route such as this.
I am away at a Conference for a couple of days now, so won't be online until the weekend, but I'll have my runners with me, and will continue to train. I have a 10 Mile race on Saturday morning, part of the BHAA series, and I hope I can run a little better than I did at the last 10 Miler, the Frank Duffy, a couple of weeks ago.
Monday night saw Gordon taking me through the paces, squats, lunges, power walking on a 9% incline whilst simultaneously lifting 5 Kilo dumb-bells over my head, crunches on the big ball, and a few other so called training exercises to please his sadistic fantasies... He kept me at it for 90 minutes, and I tried to maintain my heart rate and breathing whilst pushing myself - It was actually enjoyable, in a masochistic sort of way, just hope that it has the benefits in the long term.
Tuesday, I woke up as stiff as anything. I was aching in places, I had no idea I had places! I ditched the planned long run with Mike, and instead took the day off from training to allows the newly worked muscles to recover - last thing I want to do is to over cook myself.
Today it was back to normal. The pains have gone, and a lunchtime run was called for, along Sandymount Strand, and while I wasn't planning to run a hard run, the 5 Mile trip was taken in 37:04, a 25 second PR for the route. Feel tired from the run, but very pleased with the progress which I can gauge from my times over a route such as this.
I am away at a Conference for a couple of days now, so won't be online until the weekend, but I'll have my runners with me, and will continue to train. I have a 10 Mile race on Saturday morning, part of the BHAA series, and I hope I can run a little better than I did at the last 10 Miler, the Frank Duffy, a couple of weeks ago.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Would you believe it? Best 10K result in 6 years!
Running is like life - It can be full of surprises. After my disappointing 10 Mile race two weeks ago, and the slight interruption in training with the tooth problems, I was trepidatious when I drove up to Belfast on Sunday morning for the Spar Laganside 10K Road Race. The weather wasn't even trying to help as it was persitently drizzling all the way up.
I have mentioned before that 10K is not that common a distance here in Ireland for some strange reason (given we are metric on out roads etc.), but this was to be only my 5th 10K race since 2003, and as you know, I try and race pretty frequently.
There were over 400 entries for this race starting on the Short Strand and then heading across the Queens Bridge into Belfast City and around the cycle path on the embankment of the River Lagan. The race was to be 1 3/4 laps and was pretty flat with a couple of small bumps over bridges and back to the road from the cycle path.
The race was started with a whistle, and I quickly got into my stride and felt comfortable as we headed over the bridge and started to spread out. I missed the first K marker, but saw the 2K sign and saw that I was at 9:00 dead, and was running evenly, so I guess two 4:30 Kms. I had been aiming around 4:40 pace, so I eased back a little, so as to be within my time frame, knowing I had 20 seconds to spare on my target if I tired. The drizzle had stopped, and whilst no sun appeared, the running conditions were very good, no wind, and a good surface once we were on the cycle path.
The next three kilometres were even paced at 4:40, so reaching the halfway point at 23:00. This was faster than I had been expecting, and whilst I was feeling it in my running, it wasn't an "easy" run, I felt comfortable around this pace, and the 6K mark came up some 4:32 later, so still well on target for my sub 47 race. The second half of races has been a mental problem for me off late, but I hung in there, focusing on my style, and dealing with a wet, paper, number that was detaching itself from my singlet, I tried to refix it, but it disintegrated in my hand, so I ripped the rest of the number off, and squeezed it in my hand as I ran the last third of the race.
Kilometres 7 and 8 were the slowest ones of the race as I relaxed and tried to ensure a sub 47 race, not burning myself out (as done in other races this year). I ran 4:43 and 4:45 here, but knew that I had something left in the tank for the last 2000. As we ran up the cycle path, I started to pick other runners out as targets for the last mile - The penultimate K was run in 4:35, and my brain was calculating hard that I could manage under 46, never mind 47, if only I can finish under 4:25 in that last tenth.
Now, my forte used to be my strong ability to kick over the last 100m. Sadly that knack has been lacking in the last year or so, but I am trying to develop a longer, stronger drive for home from around 500m. Picking off other targets in that distance, I was winding it up well, and I could see what I thought was the finish, only to be directed to turn 180 degrees into a drive and run a further 50m, I dug hard and pushed on, crossing the line and stopping my watch at 45:55 - I had run 4:20 for that last kilometre, and negative splits for the race.
So, I was surprised by this speed. Amazed to break 46 at this stage in my training, and running my fastest 10K since June 2003. When I did the WAVA age related calculations, my percentage came out at 66.58%, which made it my best 10K since August 2001, when I was flying in training for ---- Philadelphia!
As I said, running can be full of surprises, some better than others, but I'm certainly not complaining about this surprise, just have to continue to build for Philly.
I have mentioned before that 10K is not that common a distance here in Ireland for some strange reason (given we are metric on out roads etc.), but this was to be only my 5th 10K race since 2003, and as you know, I try and race pretty frequently.
There were over 400 entries for this race starting on the Short Strand and then heading across the Queens Bridge into Belfast City and around the cycle path on the embankment of the River Lagan. The race was to be 1 3/4 laps and was pretty flat with a couple of small bumps over bridges and back to the road from the cycle path.
The race was started with a whistle, and I quickly got into my stride and felt comfortable as we headed over the bridge and started to spread out. I missed the first K marker, but saw the 2K sign and saw that I was at 9:00 dead, and was running evenly, so I guess two 4:30 Kms. I had been aiming around 4:40 pace, so I eased back a little, so as to be within my time frame, knowing I had 20 seconds to spare on my target if I tired. The drizzle had stopped, and whilst no sun appeared, the running conditions were very good, no wind, and a good surface once we were on the cycle path.
The next three kilometres were even paced at 4:40, so reaching the halfway point at 23:00. This was faster than I had been expecting, and whilst I was feeling it in my running, it wasn't an "easy" run, I felt comfortable around this pace, and the 6K mark came up some 4:32 later, so still well on target for my sub 47 race. The second half of races has been a mental problem for me off late, but I hung in there, focusing on my style, and dealing with a wet, paper, number that was detaching itself from my singlet, I tried to refix it, but it disintegrated in my hand, so I ripped the rest of the number off, and squeezed it in my hand as I ran the last third of the race.
Kilometres 7 and 8 were the slowest ones of the race as I relaxed and tried to ensure a sub 47 race, not burning myself out (as done in other races this year). I ran 4:43 and 4:45 here, but knew that I had something left in the tank for the last 2000. As we ran up the cycle path, I started to pick other runners out as targets for the last mile - The penultimate K was run in 4:35, and my brain was calculating hard that I could manage under 46, never mind 47, if only I can finish under 4:25 in that last tenth.
Now, my forte used to be my strong ability to kick over the last 100m. Sadly that knack has been lacking in the last year or so, but I am trying to develop a longer, stronger drive for home from around 500m. Picking off other targets in that distance, I was winding it up well, and I could see what I thought was the finish, only to be directed to turn 180 degrees into a drive and run a further 50m, I dug hard and pushed on, crossing the line and stopping my watch at 45:55 - I had run 4:20 for that last kilometre, and negative splits for the race.
So, I was surprised by this speed. Amazed to break 46 at this stage in my training, and running my fastest 10K since June 2003. When I did the WAVA age related calculations, my percentage came out at 66.58%, which made it my best 10K since August 2001, when I was flying in training for ---- Philadelphia!
As I said, running can be full of surprises, some better than others, but I'm certainly not complaining about this surprise, just have to continue to build for Philly.
Saturday, September 01, 2007
A hundred miles plus month - and toothache!
August draws to a close and the leaves start to turn on the trees. Where has the year gone. It's September already and thoughts turn from summer salad days, to the fall marathons we have planned and the nights drawing in.
But August was a good month for me, with 120 miles covered as I upped the mileage and reached Week 9 of my 20 week plan for Philly. My weight is down to 187 and overall I'm happy with my running. On Wednesday I awoke to acute toothache. Now, I will confess to hating dentists (nothing personal you understand), but it has been many years since I last sat in the chair, but this toothache was unbearable, so an emergency visit was required. €50 later, I had a script for anti-biotics and an appointment for the end of September to remove two root canals. Bottom Line, I had to take a few days of running as the anti-biotics and pain killers made me high and tired at the same time.
Saturday morning and I was back on the road. Understandably, I took it nice and easy, and ran the 5 miles along Sandymount Strand at a nice easy pace, and felt all the better for it. I am travelling up north later today as I have a 10K Race tomorrow up in Belfast - Makes a welcome change, although I have no great expectations, just taking it easy and will see how I get on.
But August was a good month for me, with 120 miles covered as I upped the mileage and reached Week 9 of my 20 week plan for Philly. My weight is down to 187 and overall I'm happy with my running. On Wednesday I awoke to acute toothache. Now, I will confess to hating dentists (nothing personal you understand), but it has been many years since I last sat in the chair, but this toothache was unbearable, so an emergency visit was required. €50 later, I had a script for anti-biotics and an appointment for the end of September to remove two root canals. Bottom Line, I had to take a few days of running as the anti-biotics and pain killers made me high and tired at the same time.
Saturday morning and I was back on the road. Understandably, I took it nice and easy, and ran the 5 miles along Sandymount Strand at a nice easy pace, and felt all the better for it. I am travelling up north later today as I have a 10K Race tomorrow up in Belfast - Makes a welcome change, although I have no great expectations, just taking it easy and will see how I get on.
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