Since the Frank Duffy race two weeks ago, it has been into training mode and a couple of weeks away from hard racing. This year has been a slow build up, but July saw a lift in my mileage, and August has continued in the same vein, as can be seen from the table below (at least I hope it shows as a table!).
August: 76.0 Mi
July: 74.1 Mi
June: 37.0 Mi
May: 27.4 Mi
April: 34.6 Mi
March: 2.2 Mi
As can be seen, the second half of the year is progressing in the right direction, and with a few races to sharpen my speed up in September, and a half marathon at the end of the month, hopefully September will continue in the same way.
Although I am planning on the Marathon in October, clearly my mileage is well below what is required to run well, so it will be a jog around Dublin, enjoying he 30th anniversary party, before I refocus my targets elsewhere.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Frank Duffy 10 - Yet another race for me !!!
Another week, another race. For the first time in a while, I am writing that
in confidence. Whilst I might be running slower than ever, I am, at long
last, at least getting some consistency, in that I am racing with more
regularity, hence I have something close by to aim for. Maybe, in recent
years, I have set my targets long-term, and as such, have not focused on the
building blocks I have always referred to when coaching others along the way.
So whilst I may have the Dublin Marathon as a goal, each race along the route
has become important in its own way, and not simply a gauge as to how I am
progressing.
So, this weekend, it was the Frank Duffy 10 Miler in the Phoenix Park, the
second race in the Adidas Dublin Marathon build up series. In recent weeks I
have run the 5 Miler in this series, and the 8K Streets of Galway run, and
now I was preparing to step up to 10 miles, and my longest run for over a
year. My last venture over anything like this distance was in May 08, when I
ran the Brussels 20 Km Race in a little over 2 hours, an average pace of
around 9 mins 45 secs per mile, an absolute disaster. Whilst not in the shape
to crack the 80 minute mark I would like to be under for a ten mile race, I
knew I was not, barring accidents, unlikely to be as bad as that run.
Race morning greeted me with rain lashing against the window, and things did
not augur well as I headed up to the Phoenix Park. Much as light rain can be
welcome in a long race, and it was warm so no complaints on that score, as a
wearer of glasses rain makes life a little awkward. So, I left the glasses
behind, and lined up with a throw away t-shirt and my Marathon Maniacs
Singlet as the rain thankfully stopped, and the sun started to appear. Lining
up in corals was actually surprisingly easy, with the majority of the 4,500
filed being sensible and seemingly getting into the right, self-seeded,
coral, before a little after 10, the tapes were dropped, we bunched up, and
off we went.
The route was to be two laps of the Park on the south side, down Chesterfield
Avenue, then around by the Military Road before descending to the bottom of
the Kyber Road, up the hill, down the S's and up another hill towards the
start line, and a second lap which repeated much of the first, with the
exception that this time we ran down the Kyber Road, hitting the quads at
Mile 6...
I deliberately set out to try and run 8.30 pace which would see me home in 85
minutes. I felt confident that I could realise this time after last weeks
clocking of 39:10 for 8 Km. With the long run down the first mile on
Chesterfield completed in 8:36, I was a little outside, and surprisingly this
pace seemed to be my bench mark for the entire first lap, as each mile was
more or less the same, irrespective of the ups and downs. The half way point
was reached in 43 minutes dead, slower than I had hoped for, but I was
feeling good at this pace, and felt confident of a decent time.
After the quads had been hit going down the Kyber around Mile 6, I struggled
a little on the climb back up, and the next couple of miles were slow and saw
me starting to struggle. I knew that the last mile would be flat, and a good
effort there would enable me to claw back a little time, but the lack of
miles in my legs was starting to tell, and as I finished the final hill
around Mile 8 ½ , I felt 87 minutes would be my finish time. Once I hit the 9
mile mark in 78 minutes and change, a simple calculation meant I had to run
under 8 minutes for that last flat mile to be anywhere near 86 minutes, and
that was doable, and certainly I would be under that 87 adjusted target, so I
knuckled down and tried to keep a steady pace, accelerating gradually, and
starting to pass people, without kicking too soon.
The announcer had stressed at the start that the last turn towards the finish
still left some 400m of running, so I bided my time before really trying to
run hard until the final turn, and then I set my targets ahead. In my hey day
of running, I prided myself on the strength of my finish, only ever losing
one sprint for the line, and in 25 years plus of racing, I must have passed
hundreds, if not thousands, and I am not exaggerating there, in that last
400m of races, and today was to be no different, despite the slow pace
overall. Age may have slowed me down overall, but comparatively I still have
that long kick in me, and here again, I passed 5, 10, 20 runners in that last
400, increasing the speed with every stride, and crossing the line in full
flow, with the clock stopping at 86:04, and a sub 8 minute last mile.
On the face I of it, almost perfect splits for the run, but the second half
was inconsistent as the lack of miles showed, but at the pace I was running I
was able to kick hard at the end and make the times look more respectable.
Overall I was very happy with the run, even though I would have liked to have
been under 85. The age adjusted percentage was a slight drop to just under
60%, but again, given the mildly tentative pace I ran at, this was to be
expected. I finished 1805th in a field of 4,500, and 45th out of 75 in my age
class, all in all a satisfactory performance.
Next up for me is due to be a drop back to 5Km on September 5th in Malahide
Castle, Dublin, although there is a Half Marathon in Longford in two weeks I
am toying with. Both of these are preliminaries for the next targeted run,
the final leg of the Adidas Series before the full marathon, the Dublin Half
Marathon on September 26th, where I am hoping to be under 1:50 and a final
decision can be made as to participation in the 26 Miler at the end of
October. Now, back to training..........................
in confidence. Whilst I might be running slower than ever, I am, at long
last, at least getting some consistency, in that I am racing with more
regularity, hence I have something close by to aim for. Maybe, in recent
years, I have set my targets long-term, and as such, have not focused on the
building blocks I have always referred to when coaching others along the way.
So whilst I may have the Dublin Marathon as a goal, each race along the route
has become important in its own way, and not simply a gauge as to how I am
progressing.
So, this weekend, it was the Frank Duffy 10 Miler in the Phoenix Park, the
second race in the Adidas Dublin Marathon build up series. In recent weeks I
have run the 5 Miler in this series, and the 8K Streets of Galway run, and
now I was preparing to step up to 10 miles, and my longest run for over a
year. My last venture over anything like this distance was in May 08, when I
ran the Brussels 20 Km Race in a little over 2 hours, an average pace of
around 9 mins 45 secs per mile, an absolute disaster. Whilst not in the shape
to crack the 80 minute mark I would like to be under for a ten mile race, I
knew I was not, barring accidents, unlikely to be as bad as that run.
Race morning greeted me with rain lashing against the window, and things did
not augur well as I headed up to the Phoenix Park. Much as light rain can be
welcome in a long race, and it was warm so no complaints on that score, as a
wearer of glasses rain makes life a little awkward. So, I left the glasses
behind, and lined up with a throw away t-shirt and my Marathon Maniacs
Singlet as the rain thankfully stopped, and the sun started to appear. Lining
up in corals was actually surprisingly easy, with the majority of the 4,500
filed being sensible and seemingly getting into the right, self-seeded,
coral, before a little after 10, the tapes were dropped, we bunched up, and
off we went.
The route was to be two laps of the Park on the south side, down Chesterfield
Avenue, then around by the Military Road before descending to the bottom of
the Kyber Road, up the hill, down the S's and up another hill towards the
start line, and a second lap which repeated much of the first, with the
exception that this time we ran down the Kyber Road, hitting the quads at
Mile 6...
I deliberately set out to try and run 8.30 pace which would see me home in 85
minutes. I felt confident that I could realise this time after last weeks
clocking of 39:10 for 8 Km. With the long run down the first mile on
Chesterfield completed in 8:36, I was a little outside, and surprisingly this
pace seemed to be my bench mark for the entire first lap, as each mile was
more or less the same, irrespective of the ups and downs. The half way point
was reached in 43 minutes dead, slower than I had hoped for, but I was
feeling good at this pace, and felt confident of a decent time.
After the quads had been hit going down the Kyber around Mile 6, I struggled
a little on the climb back up, and the next couple of miles were slow and saw
me starting to struggle. I knew that the last mile would be flat, and a good
effort there would enable me to claw back a little time, but the lack of
miles in my legs was starting to tell, and as I finished the final hill
around Mile 8 ½ , I felt 87 minutes would be my finish time. Once I hit the 9
mile mark in 78 minutes and change, a simple calculation meant I had to run
under 8 minutes for that last flat mile to be anywhere near 86 minutes, and
that was doable, and certainly I would be under that 87 adjusted target, so I
knuckled down and tried to keep a steady pace, accelerating gradually, and
starting to pass people, without kicking too soon.
The announcer had stressed at the start that the last turn towards the finish
still left some 400m of running, so I bided my time before really trying to
run hard until the final turn, and then I set my targets ahead. In my hey day
of running, I prided myself on the strength of my finish, only ever losing
one sprint for the line, and in 25 years plus of racing, I must have passed
hundreds, if not thousands, and I am not exaggerating there, in that last
400m of races, and today was to be no different, despite the slow pace
overall. Age may have slowed me down overall, but comparatively I still have
that long kick in me, and here again, I passed 5, 10, 20 runners in that last
400, increasing the speed with every stride, and crossing the line in full
flow, with the clock stopping at 86:04, and a sub 8 minute last mile.
On the face I of it, almost perfect splits for the run, but the second half
was inconsistent as the lack of miles showed, but at the pace I was running I
was able to kick hard at the end and make the times look more respectable.
Overall I was very happy with the run, even though I would have liked to have
been under 85. The age adjusted percentage was a slight drop to just under
60%, but again, given the mildly tentative pace I ran at, this was to be
expected. I finished 1805th in a field of 4,500, and 45th out of 75 in my age
class, all in all a satisfactory performance.
Next up for me is due to be a drop back to 5Km on September 5th in Malahide
Castle, Dublin, although there is a Half Marathon in Longford in two weeks I
am toying with. Both of these are preliminaries for the next targeted run,
the final leg of the Adidas Series before the full marathon, the Dublin Half
Marathon on September 26th, where I am hoping to be under 1:50 and a final
decision can be made as to participation in the 26 Miler at the end of
October. Now, back to training..........................
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Streets of Galway heading in the right direction
Well, keep those fingers crossed, as things do appear, for once, to be heading in the right direction. Headed over to Galway for the Streets of Galway 8Km, a race I have run four times previously, and a chance to meet up with my fellow club mates, most of whom these days I have never met :). I am a member of Athenry AC, a club based just outside Galway, and when I first came home to Ireland, Mick Rice, a founder member of the club and a great runner himself, persuaded me to join the club and become something like the sixth or seventh member of the club. Today, some 6 years later, the club has well over a hundred members, but I'm glad to say that Mick is still a stalwart of the club, and it was great to see him in great shape, he runs a 100 Mile race next weekend, so this was just a short jog for him!
After a three hour drive, it was a very sunny, warm, summers day in Galway, a rare treat, and after the photcall with the club in fornt of Jury's Hotel, it was a 7 pm evening start for the race in perfect running weather. Having run 41:10 for the 5 miler in Dublin a couple of weeks ago, I was hoping to run around the same time or slightly better, having had a few days loss of training in between due to flu.
The run started smoothly on a realtively flat course, starting on the Claddagh in Galway, and heading into the city centre along Merchant Road, passed a few bars where revellers enjoying the summer evening were in fine force cheering us along. There were around 2000 entries, so a mass throng was pounding through the pedestrianised streets, around Eyre Square and past Brown Thomas before heading out to the Cathedral and through a residential area. I managed the first Km in 4:53 which was surprising given the crowd, and I kept going, running around the same pace, reaching half way in 19:05.
I was going a little too fast for my level of fitness, so I eased back a little as we ran the turns around the houses, as it was very warm for here, and the sweat was dripping off me. Between 5 and 6 Km I had to stop to wipe my glasses as I had steamed up, I couldn't see with the sweat on my shades, but then again, I couldn't find any dry part of my clothes to wipe the sweat off, so ended up running the last couple of Km's with blurred vision :) -
The run drops down onto Salthill promenade, and turns for home. I had eased off the pace by now, but as I approached the 7 Km mark, I worked out that I had 5:15 to spare to bring me home under 40 minutes (my best projected time), and so, despite the sweat impeeding my sight, I knuckled down to make sure I made it home as quick as I could. With 500m to go, maked on the road, I kicked, and started to overtake folk in front. I felt I was running strongl, but within myself, I didn't want to go for an outright sprint, but as we approached the right hander to turn to the finish, I had my sights on a few people and with 80 to go, I kicked on, passed my targets and crossed the line in 39:10, a good two minutes faster than the Dublin 5 (I know its not quite the same distance), and very happy.
This may not have been the fastest Streets for me, but at an average pace of 7:53 per mile, and a positive run, I am going the right way in gaining fitness, and next week I have a 10 Miler to "enjoy". Lets hope that continues the progress. I finished 657th out of the 1973 who completed the course, around a third of the way, so again, heading in the right direction.
After a three hour drive, it was a very sunny, warm, summers day in Galway, a rare treat, and after the photcall with the club in fornt of Jury's Hotel, it was a 7 pm evening start for the race in perfect running weather. Having run 41:10 for the 5 miler in Dublin a couple of weeks ago, I was hoping to run around the same time or slightly better, having had a few days loss of training in between due to flu.
The run started smoothly on a realtively flat course, starting on the Claddagh in Galway, and heading into the city centre along Merchant Road, passed a few bars where revellers enjoying the summer evening were in fine force cheering us along. There were around 2000 entries, so a mass throng was pounding through the pedestrianised streets, around Eyre Square and past Brown Thomas before heading out to the Cathedral and through a residential area. I managed the first Km in 4:53 which was surprising given the crowd, and I kept going, running around the same pace, reaching half way in 19:05.
I was going a little too fast for my level of fitness, so I eased back a little as we ran the turns around the houses, as it was very warm for here, and the sweat was dripping off me. Between 5 and 6 Km I had to stop to wipe my glasses as I had steamed up, I couldn't see with the sweat on my shades, but then again, I couldn't find any dry part of my clothes to wipe the sweat off, so ended up running the last couple of Km's with blurred vision :) -
The run drops down onto Salthill promenade, and turns for home. I had eased off the pace by now, but as I approached the 7 Km mark, I worked out that I had 5:15 to spare to bring me home under 40 minutes (my best projected time), and so, despite the sweat impeeding my sight, I knuckled down to make sure I made it home as quick as I could. With 500m to go, maked on the road, I kicked, and started to overtake folk in front. I felt I was running strongl, but within myself, I didn't want to go for an outright sprint, but as we approached the right hander to turn to the finish, I had my sights on a few people and with 80 to go, I kicked on, passed my targets and crossed the line in 39:10, a good two minutes faster than the Dublin 5 (I know its not quite the same distance), and very happy.
This may not have been the fastest Streets for me, but at an average pace of 7:53 per mile, and a positive run, I am going the right way in gaining fitness, and next week I have a 10 Miler to "enjoy". Lets hope that continues the progress. I finished 657th out of the 1973 who completed the course, around a third of the way, so again, heading in the right direction.
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