10 days out LT test.

Monday, 25th November, 2013 - 7.4km Easy Run (5:03/km)

This was initially very relaxed and when I saw it hit 5:5x by the end of the first km it jumped me into action and up the effort. Second km was around 5:13/km and felt grand so I maintained it around the 5:00/km Easy pace for the rest of the run and ended up with about 4 sets of strides. I’m going to add this aspect into all easy and recovery runs in future to see if it helps with my running economy/form.

Tuesday, 26th November, 2013 – 11.9km Easy Run (5:16/km)

Met up with Anto and his mate Tom after work for this run. They were looking for an hour long run so that tied in with my 11.9km loop perfectly. Fairly handy run that went by pretty quickly due to the company. Anto seemed to speed things up towards the end but it was still grand.

All done and dusted in plenty of time to have dinner before settling down to watch the Gunners easily beat Marseille. Nice!

Wednesday, 27th November, 2013 - 7.4km Recovery Run (5:35/km)

I was seriously tempted to head to Raheny and do the inaugural race in their Winter Series – a 3 mile race of 3 x 1mile laps – but had originally planned a Tempo run on Thurs evening. So, rather than put the tempo run in jeopardy I decided to stay local and do a recovery run instead. Threw in about 7 strides at the end but kept them easy enough that I would still be fresh for tomorrow.

I used my blue Kayanos for this run and could feel little niggles throughout the gentle run so when I got home I checked the soles and sure enough they were well worn. So, straight to the ‘I may need them sometime, but not now’ pile with them. I am now left to my orange pair (with probably just 200km left on them) and a pair I got off Philip which have plenty of running left yet. Probably soon time to start looking again for a new pair when the sales start.

Thursday, 28th November, 2013 – 10.5km with 9.2km @ LT (4:20/km)
I was advised by Stephen yesterday to ignore the 3 mile race in Raheny in order to focus on this LT test. The objective was to hit 4:20/km for 40 mins. This would suggest that I was back in shape for a decent attempt next weekend. The important factor to monitor was the average HR to see if it went stratospheric like last Saturday. I was pretty confident that wouldn’t happen but I was still eager to see what the numbers were like.

I drove to the Coast Road so as to do the session along the bike/pedestrian lane which is perfect for this sort of run – dead flat, good surface, decent lighting and not too busy. I started with a 1km warm-up and before I knew it I was off doing the faster stuff. The first few kms were grand with my HR taking a little time to hit the mid 150’s which was the expected range. After 3.6km I reached the end of the path and had to turn around. I was a little faster than required to this point and the turnaround gave me a 4:13/km split which in part was due to the GPS getting confused as it always does when doing a 180 degree turn. There was now a decent breeze in my face but thankfully it wasn’t too strong. If anything it was useful to keep me at a nice cool temperature as it was an unseasonably mild evening.

Greyed section is the LT segment.

The next couple of kms were dropping closer to the late 4:2x’s, so I reckon the breeze was costing me about 5 seconds per km. Soon I was back in a bit of shelter and the pace upped again. Around this time I found myself getting lazy mentally so had to change it up a gear for the last 15mins. The final couple of kms were back again to the earlier splits and when it came to stopping the watch I was back on the goal pace of 4:20/km.

It was only when I got home that I checked the HR properly and I was very happy to see it average out at 154bpm with a max of 161bpm which was only hit for a very short period of time.

So, according to Jack Daniels I was right in at the correct pace with a HR on the very low end of the range…test passed with flying colours!

Week 47 Summary (so far):

RTW: 4 from 4 days

DTW: 37.2 km

DTY: 3,618.2 km

Clontarf Half Marathon - Winter edition!

Saturday, 23rd November, 2013 - Clontarf Half Marathon.

Today was to be my last long run before Lanzarote in two weeks time so I combined the Clontarf HM with some miles before and afterwards to meet this goal.

Warm-up:

I arrived to Clontarf around 9am and jogged to the reg tent where I picked up my number before returning to the car to pin on the number and properly prepare for my warm-up. From there I ran at an easy pace along the start of the course before turning back near the wooden bridge. By the time I had returned to the start I had completed 6km and there was 20mins to race start.

Race:

I met Jamie (pacing partner) and several other familiar faces as we sorted out the balloons. In no time we were in position awaiting the first wave to set sail. A gap of 90 seconds was allowed for the start of the second wave of which we were at the front. A large gang ran with us for the first 5km including Peter who was in Chicago with us. There was plenty of chat for the first few km but that slowly died off after the first beach segment when we had to put the head down and work as we ran into the wind rolling down from Raheny. Thankfully as we turned for Sutton it eased off again and the next few km were more comfortable running.

Jamie on the far left and myself in the black top.

By this stage the group had thinned out somewhat but there was still about 20 runners or so with us. The race director had laid on a 10km pacing mat which was a novel idea (designed so that if there was a particularly strong wind you could at least get a good 10km time - if it was a South Westerly!). I had been running at steady 4:40/km pace but the sand sapped a little time from that so I was keen to check if I was on for my 46:40 split. However, we went through in 47:08 instead and this showed us to be running at 4:43/km which was quite close to the bone. I therefore decided to push it a little bit more to gain a factor of safety as we would likely lose more time through the sand on the return.

We turned for home 600m later and were up by 15 seconds so it was now where we wanted to be. After the turn though a gap of about 50m appeared between myself and Jamie with most of the crew sticking with Jamie. I was a bit apprehensive about the time so I maintained my pace til the beach where as expected things slowed down a bit again. This time on the beach the wind was blowing straight into our faces and it was a bit off putting being so cold if not particularly strong. By half way along the beach Jamie and the gang had caught up again and around here I started flagging a little. 

As we turned right at the end of the beach we had about 200m of rough sand to cross and combined with the wind this was a tough section. Much of my reserve strength was sapped along here and when we got back onto the road again, with just 3.5km to go, I was having to tuck in behind Jamie for a bit of drafting. Unfortunately around this spot Jamie mentioned that he was getting a little worried about the pace dropping slightly and began to kick on. I was now in the awkward position of waning and yet most of the pacees stayed with me! I was seriously considering giving Jamie a shout to drop back the 5-10m again and bring the group with him. Bad memories of pacing the same time in the Phoenix Park in September came flooding back! I couldn't fail at this a second time!

As we got back onto the main seafront promenade the pacees filtered into the space between myself and Jamie and we were now directing matters as an aggressive 1:40 (Jamie) and a conservative 1:40 (me). This actually worked well and with everyone in between on target for the goal time. As we covered the final couple of kms we struck upon a few that were struggling mentally and when they saw us they managed to up their game by joining us all the way to the finish. The last km was pretty tough for me and by the time I crossed the line there was a decent gap to the next runner so I feel we brought everyone in under their time, so job done! 

After the line I had to take a few moments to get myself together again. This had been a tough run but I factored in a few things afterwards, specifically:

• 1:40 pacing off a 1:32:41 PB is too tight!
• The Stook 10 miler was still in my legs.
• The wind (and baloon resistance) sapped a little into my factor of safety.
• The 6km warm-up was denying the pacing job the respect it deserved.
• I didn't eat enough of a breakfast for the job in hand (one buttered scone and a cup of tea).

After another close call today I think I'll give the pacing gigs a miss for the next while until they are not forming part of a training cycle and I really am doing them at an easy pace and for the craic.

Recovery run:

Afterwards I enjoyed a bit of chat with Olwyn, Joe (x2), Jamie, Niall and Peter. Before too long I was getting cold(er) and we decided to head down to Howth to support the Filipino fundraising EOI marathon. The guys had a great spread laid on outside the OCI offices and with a great turnout they managed to raise approximately €1,700 which will all go towards the Red Cross relief effort. Nice when people come together like this.

Unfortunately though my business was not finished for the day. I still had to tack on a few miles to get the distance up. So I hopped in my car, returned home, changed my clothes and did some stretchng before heading out for a local 5km run. I still hadn't eaten more than a morsel of food so halfway through the 5km I was a broken man! I had run out of energy and was working on fumes. Eventually I made it home after 6km bringing the distance for the day to over 33km so not bad at all when 21km was at marathon pace. When I look at the HM data though it is clear that it was continuously rising over the final few kms and going by my new Daniels training regime it would suggest I was running at 10km effort for the last 20mins or more. I think this was where a lack of fuel was to blame and therefore not surprising I struggled so much on the 6km loop later.

Anyways, that's a good days work in the bank now so just try and keep ticking over for the next couple of weeks before my deserved xmas break!

Sunday, 24th November, 2013 - 7.4km Recovery Run (5:48/km)

Got out this evening for a gentle recovery run. Slow pace but probably about right considering yesterday. Felt pretty decent all things considered. Nice evening out there again.

Week 46 Summary:

RTW: 4 from 6 days

DTW: 60.0 km

DTY: 3,581.0 km

Gigs and easy running

Monday, 18th November, 2013 - Rest Day

My legs were suffering from a dose of DOMS after the flying mile in Stook so I took this evening off as I was also still tired from a Queens of the Stone Age gig in the O2 last night.

Tuesday, 19th November, 2013 - 7.4km Recovery Run (5:35/km)

In what is another hectic week I managed to throw in a short recovery run before once again heading off to another gig – this time it was Pixies in the Olympia. Excellent gig and the run wasn’t too bad either!

Wednesday, 20th November, 2013 - Rest Day

Weather was horrendously cold and windy tonight and even though I was otherwise busy this evening I probably could have squeezed in a quick 8km but the spirit was weak and decided against it. Feeling pretty conscious of all these rest days appearing unintentionally in my schedule and with only 2.5 weeks to Lanzarote it looks like my LSR this weekend will be the last improvement run before the big day. Will it be enough to give sub 3:20 a shot? Hmmm, I’ll have to wait and find out!

Thursday, 21st November, 2013 - 11.9km Easy/MP Run (4:49/km)

Very cold again tonight so rather than running cold for the duration I decided to run the first couple of kms at a fast pace to get the blood moving. After 3km @ 4:40/km I decided I needed to ease back with a pacing gig on Saturday so the rest of the run was more Easy pace than MP. Felt really refreshed for the first few kms which probably explains why I was going faster than intended.

Friday, 22nd November, 2013 - 7.4km Recovery Run (5:22/km)

I managed to get out early this evening for this run. Just an easy effort with the pacing job tomorrow in mind.

Week 46 Summary (so far):

RTW: 3 from 5 days

DTW: 26.7 km

DTY: 3,547.7 km

Stook 10 miler

Monday, 11th November, 2013 - 11.9km LT Effort Run (4:36/km)

I wasn’t sure what was going to be on the cards this evening given how I felt after the MP run and the LSR last week so I went out with a general plan to assess after the first 500m. Thankfully things felt well by that stage so I pushed on over the next couple of kms. With Stook 10 miler (where I intend to run @ MP pace with a few easy miles before and recovery miles afterwards) on next Sunday I wanted to get the fast run out of the way as early as possible this week. So, as the first couple of kms got a little faster I was soon in LT effort territory. Even though the legs were feeling pretty decent they were still somewhat lagging in speed with residual from the past month, so the paces were about 10 seconds off where I’d expect them to be.

After 7.5km I turned North onto the Swords Rd though so decided to ease back and ‘recover’ - as much as one could hope to recover - on the next uphill km. Once that was over I was back on the relatively flat Collins Avenue and then upped the effort back to LT for the next 3km (mainly slightly uphill) before finishing with a recovery 400m to the apartment.

So, quite happy with this run as it indicates I’m getting back towards where I should be and hopefully from next week I’ll be pushing on improving once more. Only 4 weeks til Lanzarote so only two weeks of actual training left with a two week taper after that.

Won’t feel it now!

Tuesday, 12th November, 2013 - 13.6km Mountain Night-time Run

I met up with Felim this evening after work for a night time run up in the Dublin Mountains. We did a number of these as group runs last year and once you have a good head torch, suitable clothing and can navigate the terrain then it’s great fun.

Tonight’s run was Seefingan, located South east of Tallaght. I volunteered at this race during the IMRA Leinster League and it was the worst possible decision given we were all eaten alive with the worst case of midges I have ever witnessed! This evening though was a dry cold evening so we weren’t expecting too many of those critters tonight.

I parked the car at an entrance to a trail and we set off from there for the top of Seefin initially. The first km was grand as it was along a fire road without too much of an elevation gain. We eventually came to the start of the trail proper which turned out to be a feint outline where the main feature was the mountain waters streaming down. On our way to the start point Felim had mentioned that a good portion would be on road and given that it hadn’t ained much in the last few days I figured I’d wear road runners rather than trail shoes. Big mistake! My feet were constantly losing traction going up this section and combined with the steep incline I was slowed to a hike from quite early on.

Eventually we got to the top of Seefin where there was a pretty cool burial chamber at the main cairn. After a few minutes of poking around here we moved onwards for Seefingan which was not very far away but we had to dip down into a col before climbing back up to the summit. Again the ground was wet and mucky so the pace was pretty relaxed around here too. After about 10 minutes we got to the top and once again paused for a while to take in the view. Felim’s plan was to hit across to Kippure from here (very evident with its illuminated masts) but I figured it would be even wetter and more miserable from my perspective at least. And, me being such a moaner at this stage I felt Felim wouldn’t much relish me whinging all the way to there and back to the car! So instead, we decided to traverse North to Corrig and then Seachan before making our way out to the small road we’d driven down earlier.

Standing atop what we believed was the main summit we made for the peak in the distance. Unfortunately we were actually about 100m West of the true peak where there was a trail leading between the mountains (see map above). And, what we thought was Corrig actually turned out to be Seachan instead. All this meant that we dropped off the mountainside too far leading us to skirt the boundary of Kilbride rifle range to the West! The terrain around here was a little rough so progress was slow but after 20mins of hiking we discovered our mistake(s) and started to climb back up towards the real Corrig. Eventually we got there but not before we were enveloped with low cloud for 5 minutes.

Once we got to Corrig peak we followed the trail across to Seachan which was straightforward enough. Then we chose our route to drop down to the main road along the forest boundary. This trail coincided with a small stream and I reckon I fell about 5 times coming down this 15 minute track. Thankfully nothing serious though as Felim struggled to refrain from laughing at me because he knew he has a freakish record of twisting ankles himself and that he was running on borrowed time!

We finally reached the main road and at last we were on firm footing. A twenty minute run later and we were back at the car all in two pieces. Then the expected happened. While still in touching distance of the car Felim managed to roll his ankle!

Good to be back out doing night time mountain runs but I don’t think I’ll be back to do this particular run again! And will definitely be wearing the Innov8s in future!

Wednesday & Thursday, 13th & 14th November, 2013 - Rest Day

A very busy real life meant that I failed to get out for a run on either Wednesday or Thursday unfortunately. Hopefully though the busy period is now over and normality will be resumed…

Friday, 15th November, 2013 - 7.4km LT Run (4:32/km)

I was off to the Ireland v Latvia match in the evening so had to get a quick run in beforehand. I took this a bit literally though and ended up running another LT run. I was feeling good at the beginning so after opening with a 4:41km I pushed on for LT pace. 7km later I ended up with 4:24/km as the average. Not bad considering the slower first km and the Swords Road hill to contend with.

The match itself was pretty decent in that Ireland retained possession well with much fewer long balls being hacked upfield. Still a depressing lack of real cutting edge amongst the strikers though and Poland on Tuesday will be a far tougher test.

Saturday, 16th November, 2013 - Rest Day

Took another rest day for a number of reasons, one of which was the 10 mile race tomorrow.

Sunday, 17th November, 2013 - 16.3km Stook 10 mile race (4:34/km) with an 8km (5:04/km) warm-up

Woke up this morning and really didn’t want to leave my bed. I was even considering a DNS for a short while before coming to my senses and got in my car. Arrived in Dungravan, Co. Kilkenny at 10:45am and registered/picked up my number. Got chatting to Johnny briefly and then it was time for my pre-race miles.

I headed out on the course which is a figure of 8 loop and managed to get the first 5km loop completed before heading out on the larger loop for a mile before returning to the village to clock up 8km in total. I had been wearing too many layers – long sleeve t-shirt, short sleeved t-shirt and a light jacket with gloves – so I got rid of the sweaty layers and threw on a fresh short sleeved t-shirt and felt much better.

Before we got underway I ran into a few familiar faces including Gary, Dominic and Kate at the start area. Myself and Kate had similar goal paces so we decided to run together for the first while at least. Around this time Shortstuff from boards made herself known and it was good to meet another boardsie in real life! Not long later we were away.

I was using my course knowledge from my warm up to good effect and so knew when to push on and take advantage of the downhills and when to hang back with uphills. This seemed to allow myself and Kate easy passage through 10-15 runners on the first 5km loop as they seemed to get caught out by an over enthusiatic start. Before long we were back through the village for the start of the second loop. I was averaging marathon pace but unfortunately because the terrain was so undulating the effort was more like a typical 10 mile race.

Course profile

Things remained steady until we reached 5.5 miles. Johnny had me pre-warned that miles 6-8 were all uphill and that 6-7 in particular was the roughest. So, around 5.5 miles we came upon the start of an uphill and seeing as there was no immediate sign of an easing off I commented to Kate to be prepared for 2 miles of this. Almost immediately she began to ease off in order to allow herself to get up and over the climb. I pushed on a bit in front of her at this stage and kept focusing on those in front of me as targets to catch and pass. Progress was minimal initially but by 500m of climbing people were beginning to fade and I started to row them in. A couple of guys stopped to a walk around the 7 mile marker and in total I reckon I passed about 8 people on the climb. There was a female KCH runner about 30m up the road and she had been the same distance ahead since the first 500m. I kept trying to close the gap little by little but she had the match of me all the way up the climb.

The end of the 'flying mile'!

Eventually we reached the high point of the course where there was a big gang of locals offering vociferous support which was very welcome. I gave them a big thumbs up as I turned the corner and started to lengthen my stride. 200m later and we reached the start of mile 9 where the ‘flying mile’ began. This was a one mile section that was all steeply downhill. The organisers laid on timing mats to calculate our mile split. Seeing as the tough part was done and we only had 2 miles left I decided to throw caution to the wind and legged it along this section. I think the five miles before the race started to catch up with me here though and my form/control was pretty wayward for large parts. I just about managed to prevent myself from falling over but before I knew it the mile was done (later found out it was 6:02 (3:45/km)). As soon as I was over the mat I eased back to a more sustainable pace for the last mile.

One of the guys that I had passed on the flying mile managed to pass me again on the last 300m running in to the line. I might possibly have held him off if I tried but I was just happy enough to be finishing up. Passed under the gantry in 74:10 which I was very happy with considering the route was even hillier than I’d expected and the five miles beforehand. I ended up with marathon pace average (4:34/km) but a 10 miler average heart rate of 156bpm with a max of 167bpm. Of course the draw of the after race spread on offer in the community centre combined with the thrashing I gave my legs on the last two miles meant that I reneged on the recovery miles afterwards. I was disappointed with myself for this as I needed a 20+ miler but I reasoned I might end up doing the legs more damage if I went out for more. Not sure if it was the wise decision or just simply the popular decision...

Week 46 Summary (so far):

RTW: 4 from 7 days

DTW: 57.2 km

DTY: 3,521.0 km

Getting back into the swing of things

Monday, 4th November, 2013 - 8.6km Recovery Run (5:30/km)

I ventured back out on the streets of the Northside for my first regular training run in almost four weeks. Back into training mode again with the new focus on the Lanzarote marathon on December 6th. I booked a holiday to the island before I knew this was on but once I realised well there was no way I could refuse the temptation really! So, 5 weeks til race day and I hope I don’t lose any of the current fitness and aim to step it up a little bit before a 2 week taper.

This being my first run back I decided to take it handy and so it was a gentle, recovery-paced run. I allowed myself the shorter loop of just 6.5km as well and thankfully all vital signs are good. A few slight niggles but I think that’s more from lying around for the past week than anything to do with running!

Tuesday, 5th November, 2013 - 11.9km MP Run (4:46/km)

Again I was intending to do nothing too fast but after my first km registered sub 5:00 I decided to push on as I was feeling good. Ended up settling into slightly less than MP pace, but my effort showed an elevated HR so I was happy enough with the output. Surprised to have hit a faster run so soon but gotta take advantage of these types of opportunities when they arise!

Wednesday, 6th November, 2013 - 7.4km Recovery Run (5:24/km)

Just another Recovery paced run this evening. The legs appreciated the relaxed effort and I kept it to the shorter 7.4km loop to ensure I maximised the recovery aspect.

Thursday, 7th November, 2013 - 7.4km Recovery Run (5:36/km)

Another recovery run as the legs were still a bit non-responsive after Tuesday. More a maintenance run with a long one to come tomorrow.

Friday, 8th November, 2013 - 31.0km LSR (5:41/km)

Seeing as I felt my lack of LSRs let me down a bit in Chicago I want to make sure I do 3 sufficiently long runs before Lanzarote (the plan is for the other two to be approx 35km with some MP thrown in). The MP miles earlier in the week though had left me reeling for longer than expected so I had no intentions of including any faster stuff in this LSR. I decided on an out & back route, with the turnaround to be approx 15-16km into the run.

The first quarter to the Clontarf seafront was relaxed yet when I got to the wind monument things got even easier again as the view over Dublin Bay made things go quicker. By the time I reached the halfway point in Sutton though things were feeling real again and when I turned around the cold breeze was in my face. This woke me up for a while but before long the legs started to sag a little.

By the time I was back at the monument I was really plodding along and for the final 7km it was a real struggle. Thankfully it never got to a case of where I considered walking but I was definitely happy to be finished this run. I could feel my calves being really tight and did a mini-stretch afterwards. However, when in the shower I was having to do a bit of a jig in order to relieve the calf soreness. First time I had this in a long time so I can only presume that its all the after effects of the past month combined with doing the MP run a little too soon.

Saturday, 9th November, 2013 - Rest Day.

My plan was to run the St. Anne’s Parkrun this morning but I was knackered so decided to have a lie-in instead. Even when getting out of bed I could feel the aches and stiffness so I gave up on the idea of running today.

Sunday, 10th November, 2013 - 8.1km Easy Run (5:11/km)

I went out for what had planned to be a 13km run to bring me over the 80km mark but after a while I knew I should really take it easy. I ran two slow kms before pushing on a little bit on the downhill past DCU. This didn’t feel too easy though so when the downhill finished at the Swords Road/Griffith Avenue junction I eased back to a plod to get home. Surprisingly though when I finished the run I noticed the pace wasn’t that bad overall.

Week 45 Summary:

RTW: 6 from 7 days

DTW: 74.4 km

DTY: 3,463.8 km

So, a decent week’s mileage on my return but if I’m honest I think I should have given myself a much easier week instead. Think I will try and be more focused in my running next week and take a couple of recovery days as rest days instead. The Stook 10 miler is on Sunday and I think I will run that at MP pace with a few kms beforehand and afterwards. So, the goal time will be 75mins.

Dublin Marathon

Monday, 28th October, 2013 – 42.2km Dublin Marathon (4:00:34 – 5:42/km)

Lead-up:

I jumped straight into a taxi and arrived home to Santry within ten minutes whereafter I was lying in bed within no time. Again though I struggled to sleep and in what felt like no time I was on my feet again getting ready for the final piece of the jigsaw.

Race morning:

I managed to find a spot on Haddington Road to park and after a short walk I found myself bumping into some of the 3:50 and 4hr pacers (Olwyn, Frank & Dave). Lots of congratulations from the folks regarding my two US marathons before settling down. I eventually managed to locate my work colleague Colm who had collected my race number in my absence. Around this time I ran into Felim also who had agreed to run at my pace (approx 3:55 marathon time) as he was coming back from injury himself.

The dreaded weather forecasts of the previous week managed to highlight Met Eireann’s deficiencies yet again and we were all very happy to have such pleasant conditions instead of the gale force we’d been promised. I decided to take off the MCM white cool down jacket before we started but persisted with the gloves and cap for the first few miles at least, til I warmed up. The rough plan was to stay in between the 3:50 and 4:00 pacing groups and maintain that until the end. Ideally I was looking for sub 4hrs but I wasn’t too hung up about times at all as the main goal was just to finish it.

Miles 0 - 13.1:

We were very close to the front of the second wave so the congestion wasn’t too bad really, although we did have to stop and walk around the first corner. The organisers set it up so that we started exactly 10 mins after the first wave. This was useful to me because before leaving home I noticed my Garmin must have turned itself on during the flight as it was now dead. In its absence I decided to use the Garmin Fit app on my phone. So, once we crossed the start line I initiated the tracking and then stored it away in my belt wallet as I have done many times before. By the time I crossed the line an extra 11 seconds had elapsed which meant I could simply take 10:11 off every clock I’d see around the course and that would be my time.

The first few miles passed by quickly by chatting away to Felim (who was wearing 2 litres of water in his backpack, yet he never went near his personal supply once during the race, instead preferring to take the course water provided!). As we were discussing plans for next year I mentioned something about the 24hr race in Belfast when a fellow runner pricked up his ears. It turned out to be George from Athenry/Australia who is the husband of RuthAnn Sheehan - the ladies winner in Belfast! And so it was that the three of us kept each other company til the halfway mark having a bit of craic and generally helping time pass.

Photos courtesy of here.

We maintained position – approx 100m behind the 2:50 pacers - all the while and things were good all round. I could feel my left quad getting a pounding coming down the Upper Glen hill in the Park but once we were back out on the flat it was fine again. Some great crowds lined the route through Chapelizod, Kilmainham and Crumlin which was a great distraction too. Caught up to Kevin/Sideswipe around Crumlin who was pacing the race for his brother. We chatted for a couple of miles before the pair of them kicked on for a sub 3:50.

Passed through 10km at 8:52/mile pace and then through halfway a little quicker at 8:41/mile pace for 1:54:47. Well inside my target but it just felt like the most comfortable speed to run at.

Miles 13.1 - 26.2:

Not long after halfway I could feel that Felim’s pace was increasing further and that my breathing was getting a little heavier so I cut him loose and told him I’d see him in the pub afterwards. Around this time George drifted off into the distance too so I was left to concentrate on getting to the finish line in one piece. To be honest I was happy enough that this was the case because even the casual chatting was beginning to take it out of me!

By the time I reached Terenure College water station I stopped briefly to spray water onto my legs to help soothe tight muscles. While walking I took a gel and some jelly beans as I was quite hungry by now. By the time I was back running I’d only lost about 50m on those around me so not bad at all. Spend a few seconds here to avoid spending a few minutes later!

I managed to keep going solidly for the next few miles but by the time I reached the top of the hill at Miltown it was time for another cooling off for my legs. There was Lucozade Sport here too so I took a mouthful before realising my body didn’t take too kindly to this! My stomach was beginning to feel a bit nauseous now so I had to be careful about what I consumed from here to the finish.

I only lost about a minute here but it was enough to turn around and see if I could spot the 4hr pacers. Thankfully they were still nowhere in sight so I continued on my way, up past Clonskeagh and eventually up Roebuck Hill. I’ve got to say this was a really enjoyable area with the way the organisers had laid on the music and the arch/wall. It was enough to ensure I continued up the incline without fail and then could ease off back down Foster’s avenue. Before long I was on Nutley Lane, down by RTE. I knew there was a water stop around here and I was eager to soothe the legs again. I also downed a couple of jellies but this was tricky by now with my dodgy stomach. It wasn’t long after here that I managed to spot Felim on the side of the course getting some treatment from a physio. Thankfully it wasn’t too serious and he was back running again not long after.

I never really enjoy the run in from St. Vincent’s to the finish and this year was no exception. I plodded along, all the while getting slower – mainly due to the dodgy stomach and poor nutrition. A couple of more short walking breaks to pour more water on my legs before cresting the Everest that is Grand Canal bridge! I was now on the final two miles of the course but as I reached the water station I had to step off the course briefly as I thought I was going to get sick. Thankfully it didn’t happen but when I returned to the course the 4hr gang were in sight, just 50m behind me. I was thinking that as long as I stayed about 20 secs in front of them I should be good for sub 4. However, within a minute I was back off the course again around the 25mile mark. This time there was no holding back and I ended up dry heaving against the wall for about 2 minutes. Eventually a bystander asked if I was ok, and thankfully by that time I was pretty good to go on. After my first few steps I realised I actually felt quite a bit better than a few minutes before. I then realised the 4hr gang had passed and were now out of sight. Running more freely now though I managed to pick up the pace on the final lap of Trinity College and by now I was passing people every 5 seconds. It felt like I was sprinting I was passing out so many and my main concern now was that I’d blow up before the line. Instead however, I ended up passing about 70-80 runners over that last mile and by the time I was running down Nassau Street I was full of life again! With 200m to go I knew sub 4 was gone so decided to showboat a little by doing a poor man’s 'airplane' on the run in and then attempting a very tired ‘Dargan’ jump over the finish line. I didn’t care though, I was finished at last!

Immediately post-run I started to feel cold and stiff so I had to make a choice between getting to the warm pub or returning to the car which was further away and less appealing. Pub won out and I got to meet lots of familiar heads in there with many having run great times and others simply having enjoyed pacing duties. A few disappointing runs but there will be other days to fix them! Unfortunately not all finishers got to enjoy the after run party spirit and one 27 year old – Ricki Savage from the UK - failed to recover after collapsing just after the finish line. Condolences to his family and friends.

I took the remainder of the week off from any running in what was the longest non-running period I can remember for quite a while. No harm though and definitely good in the long term I’m sure.

Week 44 Summary:

RTW: 1 from 7 days

DTW: 42.2 km

DTY: 3,389.4 km

Marine Corps Marathon, Washington DC

Wow, it's taking me bloody ages to catch back up to date on this blog! Anyways, here's another 10 days worth...

Friday, 18th October, 2013 – 8.0km SLC Recovery Run (45:57 – 5:36/km)

For most of the following week all thoughts of running were ignored. We did lots of touristy things as well as too much drinking and eating than what was good for us. In amongst all that we caught a Chicago Bulls v Detroit Pistons game at the United Centre, followed by rushing to see Bell X1 play in a local bar later the same night. But by Thursday it was time for myself and Stephen to depart Chi Town for Mormon town, or Salt Lake City as it’s properly called.

A quick visit to their Temple was not very enlightening on their belief system. In fairness the religion does seem to mean that there is little crime and the city feels anything but dangerous. On the flip side though all that clean living leads to a boring old town so we were happy enough to be out of there once Aidan arrived from Ireland.

On Saturday morning we met up with local residents Tim, Brian and Carmen and set off for Moab in the South of the State for some mountain biking. This was great craic but my limited MTB skills meant that some of the trails were simply too demanding and technical for me so I missed out on the lads trip down Porcupine Rim. Fortunately Stephen had a ‘Go Pro’ camera so he managed to catch the experience although I'm sure biking alongside 400m cliff drops was much more terrifying in reality! It did make me pine for my own MTB to be brought out of storage though!

Week 42 Summary:

RTW: 1 from 7 days

DTW: 8.0 km

DTY: 3,264.6 km

Monday, 21st October, 2013 – 15.8km SLC Easy Run (1:21:56 – 5:11/km)

Tuesday, 22nd October, 2013 – 8.0km Philly Recovery Run (45:32 – 5:26/km)

Thursday, 24th October, 2013 – 8.5km Philly Recovery Run (47:02 – 5:28/km)

Saturday, 26th October, 2013 – 7.3km Washington DC – National Mall (39:54 – 5:27/km)

Just a few easy runs to keep me fresh for the MCM/DCM double and again there’s not a lot to report about them. Lots of travel this week and also too much beer and food in the early part of the week so at least I eased back on the beer in the second half! This last run was around the National Mall in DC and things were feeling good!

Sunday, 27th October, 2013 – 43.0km Marine Corps Marathon (3:50:01 – 5:18/km)

Morning:

The alarm clock had me awake by 6am and even at that there was no time for dallying. A small breakfast of some pre-bought food and I was out the door. Fortunately, my hotel was only a 2 min walk from the metro station and then it was only 4 stops to race start. I had read that it was a good idea to purchase a day pass for $14 as the queues would be very busy post race. So, this I did as I would be getting three journeys on the train today so it almost made financial sense too. The journey itself took less than 20mins in total, and so by 7:15am I arrived at the Pentagon stop and casually made my way to the starting line. This was a 1 mile walk and it was pretty easy to skirt along the side of the crowd before reaching the 4hr pacers. While on my way to the start area I was on the lookout for portaloos but the queues were ginormous! However, just before I jumped into my corral area there was a row of toilets with zero people waiting on them - My lucky day! A quick visit and I was back to my starting position within 2 minutes. As we waited for the race to start I did notice the distinct lack of non-Americans. Perhaps the jingoistic nature of the Marine Corps turns foreigners off the event I guess. Personally I didn't really care as long as it wasn’t too ‘in my face’ and so far it wasn't (apart from the Expo with the multitude of stands dedicated to all forms of US Defence Forces, and God!).

Kms 0 - 10km:

Another US Marathon another dodgy PA system! The announcer was doing his best to get the participants going but the system failed to match his enthusiasm so in the end the only real way we knew the race was started was the fact that the slow shuffle forward had begun! There was approximately 6.5mins elapsed on the clock by the time I sauntered under it and we were away.

The first 4 miles on the course are pretty hilly with very little even ground. The good news though was that it all flattens out after that. So, my main aim was to hold a relaxed effort for this section and then get to grips with a 22 mile race when we arrived in Georgetown. This tactic was the only one available to me in reality as there was so much congestion that I wouldn't have been able to go any faster if I wanted! I also seemed to be accompanied by the most selfish runners in the World as many of them veered left and right (with headphones on!) without a care for their fellow runners who often had to brake suddenly to avoid tripping over them. This really got on my nerves so I was happy when pockets of space managed to appear about 30 mins into the race.

Surprisingly, by as early as 5.5km I needed another bathroom break. This was unexpected for me as I usually manage the whole race without a visit but here I was having to use the toilet twice in half an hour! To make matters even worse there were no portaloos around but after holding it in for a couple of kms we passed through a tree-laden section of the course and there was a bunch of other male runners using the natural facilities, and I thought I may as well avail of the opportunity too. So, after a loss of about 40 seconds I was back running the downhill again.

We passed over the bridge and into Georgetown briefly around km 8 and that was the worst of the hills behind us. Now it was just a wee jog to the finish! I decided to maintain the effort so what was a tough enough opening 5km was now transformed into a much improved pace for the next 5km thanks to the flatter profile.

0 – 5km: 30:08 (6:01/km)

5 – 10km: 27:02 (5:23/km)

Kms 10 - 20km:

There was an out and back section between 9km to 15km. This was along a river park type area and fairly pleasant but it got boring after a while. Also, the turnaround point was basically a point in the road so as we had about 10 people wide trying to take the 180 turn we inevitably slowed to a walk. Hardly ideal 12km into a marathon!

Once we were done with this section though we were back out amongst the crowds and were now heading along the North/East bank of the Potomac river. This was a very pleasant and flat part of the course and it was around here that I noticed myself speeding up, hence the 5:16/km for the fourth 5km split. Things were feeling pretty good now.

10 – 15km: 28:38 (5:43/km)

15 – 20km: 26:23 (5:16/km)

Kms 20 - 30km:

I got a little anxious that I was going too fast too soon so I reigned myself in a little bit over the next 5km as we passed through Halfway in 1:57:59 – Well up on my 4hr target and I felt I hadn’t even started running properly yet. Around this point also I passed the 4hr pacers. I didn’t bother to pause with them any longer than I needed to pass through their gaggle of runners and overtake the whole group.

Over the next 5km I got chatting to a guy also wearing the Chicago 2013 top. Turns out he was from Illinois and we chatted about Chi Town and the Marathon briefly. After about a mile he had enough and wanted to ease back to his own pace – I’m sure it had nothing to do with the sparkling conversation! This 5km split was the fastest of the day and my first sub 5min segment. I was still holding myself back for Dublin a fair bit though so I had faith in my quicker than planned pace.

We were now running around the National Mall with all the sites spread around us. It made for a really cool place to run and the time passed by in an instant so before we knew it we were facing into the final 12km stretch!

HM1: 1:57:59 (5:35/km)

20 – 25km: 26:52 (5:22/km)

25 – 30km: 24:54 (4:58/km)

Kms 30 – 42.2km:

The next few kms were somewhat boring as we passed over a very long bridge with a bit of an incline and little support. The bridge lasted the guts of a km and once back across into Virginia we had a loop of Crystal City’s boring streets to complete but at least the crowds were back out supporting in abundance once more.

Things were beginning to get tougher now though. The pace started drifting a bit slower so I was in consolidation mode now. Keep it steady til the final mile and let loose again. As we passed the Pentagon we ran by the 25 mile mark so sure enough I started to up the effort again. I figured I’d be close to 3:50 by now so made this my short term target  With about 600m to go I saw a guy 80m up ahead with an Irish flag on his back so made it my mission to catch him and say hello before we crossed the line. However, as I began to close the gap I suddenly spotted the guy slow to a walk! I couldn't just go straight past him so I gave him a shout that we were almost done - ”Less than 3mins and it'll all be over”. He got back running again as we chatted for 100m before he told me to go on ahead. Which I did! I was now at the bottom of the short incline to the finish, only 400m from the end. I gave it all I had going up the incline but there was several others who had slowed to a crawl and the course had just gone from motorway width to country lane width which led to congestion again! I did my best to dodge around a few people and in no time I was cresting the hill with just the 150m run-in to the line remaining. I kept the hammer down and as I was approaching the line I knew it was gonna be close but alas when I crossed the finish my time registered as 3:50:01! A tiny bit disappointed not to go sub 3:50 but all things considered I was very happy with the run. I negative splitted by 5:57 and managed to come home feeling relatively fine.

HM2: 1:52:02 (5:19/km)

30 – 35km: 26:54 (5:22/km)

35 – 42.2km: 39:10 (5:26/km)

Aftermath/reaction:

After the line I waited for the Irish guy and he crossed about 30 seconds later, well inside a sub 4hr run for him. He was very thankful for the help over the final km. After a short rest with the legs upside down against a fence I moved off for the Metro Station. I was in a little hurry now as I was moving slowly, however nothing can excuse me for forgetting to pick up my free after-race beer!

Once inside the metro station my wise decision to buy the day pass in advance this morning bore fruit as the place was mobbed! As it was it took me about 10mins to get through the turnstiles but if I had to buy a ticket at that time this would have been 30mins easily! Fortunately, my stop was now the next stop on the train and I was back at the hotel in time to shower and late-checkout (as agreed at check-in!) by 1:30pm. Straight back on the train to Ronald Reagan Airport this time. Thankfully this airport is only a stone’s throw away from the finish line of the MCM so I arrived in plenty of time for my 3:30pm connecting flight to Boston and so managed to at last get a quick bite to eat. Unfortunately the choices were limited so I had to settle for a ‘5 Guys’ fast food meal which included a delicious burger but an offensively over seasoned cajun chips which I couldn’t finish!

After a 70 minute flight to Logan International airport (I used to work there as a baggage handler back on my J1 in 1999) I had a layover just long enough to savour a pint of Boston’s finest - Sam Adams – in celebration of my morning’s achievements. There wasn't much time to spare afterwards before I was boarding the Dublin flight however. Once aboard I managed to nab an aisle seat by the wing so I had lots of legroom. This good luck was counter-balanced though by three children under the age of 2 years old within 2 metres of me. Such is the way though that I got no sleep on the flight with their incessant whining and by the time I reached Dublin I was pretty knackered. It was just about the last hour of the flight before they shut up properly but no sleep was forthcoming after that. We landed in Dublin airport at 5am and it was all about to start all over again!

Week 43 Summary:

RTW: 5 from 7 days

DTW: 82.6 km

DTY: 3,347.2 km

Chicago Marathon

Monday, 7th October, 2013 – 11.9km Dublin (1:01:45 – 5:10/km)

Wednesday, 9th October, 2013 – 7.9km Dublin (42:02 – 5:18/km)

Thursday, 10th October, 2013 – 7.1km Dublin (36:54 – 5:10/km)

I can’t really remember anything about these runs but they were done at easy/recovery pace and I was just biding my time til the main event!

Friday morning, I got back from work with little time to spare before heading for the airport in the afternoon. The rest of my fellow travellers had flown out on the morning flight and had pre-clearance in Dublin but, due to the timing of my flight, I had to do the immigration clearance the far side in O’Hare airport.

All this meant that I landed at just after 5pm local time and I even managed to get through Immigration before my bags had arrived out onto the carousel – nice one! When I went for the train there was a huge queue waiting to purchase tickets so I decided to get a day pass instead because there was no queue there. Cost about $10 as opposed to $5 as a result but it was more than worth it.

By the time I arrived to the hostel I was starving so caught up with Stephen and Sarah (who had flown from Philly) in a restaurant for some grub. By 9pm I was back at the hostel and hitting the hay. Jet lag works brilliantly like that when you are travelling to do a US marathon!

Saturday, 12th October, 2013 – 3.9km Chicago (22:34 – 5:48/km)

Myself and Johnny went for an easy jog to the Expo to pick up our numbers. It was such lovely weather that we were getting a bit nervous it might be too nice tomorrow morning for fast times! Picked up a few things at the expo so instead of jogging home we reckoned we had walked enough to simply get the free bus home instead.

At midday everybody met up and went on the Chicago Architecture Cruise which was just the job. It allowed us to see lots of the city’s great architecture without having to spend time on our feet. Afterwards we went for food and made our way home for a rest up. Later in the evening we went out for dinner and once more we were all ready for the sack by 9pm!

Sunday, 13th October, 2013 – 43.0km Chicago Marathon (4:40/km)

Race Morning:

Thanks to the jet lag there was no issues waking up early for the race. A few nervous heads about the place worrying that they may not make the start in time due to increased security since Boston. Strangely Stephen wasn't the worst in the regard. Instead Johnny was the most worried and so much so that he left early with Aonghus and Kieran to make his way to the baggage area. Myself Stephen and Sarah weren’t long after them though. 

It was still dark as we made the short walk (only a few blocks) to the baggage area. There were fairly stringent security checks on the way in but a few people with wheelchairs managed to avoid most of the searches so it was a bit half hearted to be honest. More a show of security than anything.

After searching around in the dark we eventually came across the boyos who had managed to add two lads from Castleblayney to their numbers. We sat on the ground in nervous anticipation for the next hour. We got to see the sun rising though and set against the Chicago skyline it was pretty cool! Around this time I saw an Irish shirt passing by a few yards from us. It later turned out to be Peter who was the final member of our Boards.ie team and we’d get to meet him properly later.

Starting line:

Eventually it was time to make our way to the start. I was in Corral B but the rest of the lads were in Corral A so it was time to go solo. I managed to get into the corral about halfway to the front. I was positioned between the 3:20 and 3:25 pacers and with my race strategy being to start easy I felt this was ideal. While awaiting the start we were treated to an invisible flyover by a jet and a dodgy PA system messing up the National anthem. Hopefully there would be no more disappointment today though! Just before race start I ditched my old jumper which I’d been using to keep me warm and almost spot-on time we were away. 

Miles 0 - 6:

So, my plan was to take it nice and easy as far as 15km and then step it up a little before maintaining a solid second half to the race. My target pace was 4:44 for the first 15km but immediately there were issues with this. The 300m of a tunnel and the high buildings of downtown started messing up my GPS data so I wasn’t sure what pace I was travelling at. Thankfully I had a pace band on me so I was able to track my progress off the mile markers. I gave up running by pace in the early stages and instead kept an eye on effort through my HR. Thankfully it was well under control and as the early miles passed by I was well within my limits as I started to hit my goal pace through the mile markers. I even heard the earliest “You’re almost there!” shoutout ever after just 4.5 miles!

5km – 23:44 (4:45/km)

10km – 23:07 (4:37/km)

Mile 6 - 13.1:

Things were going well. We were passing through nice areas of the city now including Lincoln Park, Old City and River North. Several Irish flags on the course but anytime I gave them a shoutout they seemed too engrossed in trying to locate their own runners. After about 7 miles we turned back Southwards and around this point I ended up pushing on a little and upping the pace slightly. The crowds were great around here and a couple of the streets here reminded me of the streets of Rathgar in DCM - lots of leaves on the ground with red brick period buildings lining the streets.

By about 11 miles we were back in the heart of the city and again the crowd support increased. These miles felt almost effortless and I passed the 3:20 pacers somewhere around here. As I approached them I briefly considered slowing down and running with them but realised I was moving freely and also I simply preferred to run my own race anyways, so I just went right by them over the course of 200m.

We eventually headed out West through Greektown and towards the United Centre, home of the Chicago Bulls. I didn’t quite get to see the building itself unfortunately but we’d be back there later in the week anyways! The Halfway mark appeared just before this point and for the first time in the race I was beginning to feel the strain. My first half was 1:38:05 so I had been looking at getting home in sub 3:15 if I could keep the pace constant from here til the end of the race. Overall I was really happy with my pacing so far.

15km – 22:57 (4:35/km)

20km – 23:09 (4:37/km)

HM – 1:38:05 (Av Pace – 4:38/km)

Miles 13.1 - 20:

The landscape was not quite as attractive now as we passed by close to a Freeway and also went through a few more industrial type areas. The crowd support was waning a little around here but to be honest I was happy enough to give my head a little peace! We passed through Pilsen around here and this was home to many different ethnic groups such as Italians, Mexicans and other Latin Americans. Each area’s main street had it’s own type of distinct carnival atmosphere.

Some times it was easy to lose focus by getting caught up in the crowd and so it happened around here. The pace slipped a little bit but I suppose I was finding it tougher now also. I managed to reign in the pace a little bit from km25 – km30 but the 3:15 target was slipping away from me again!

25km – 23:36 (4:43/km)

30km – 23:27 (4:41/km)

Miles 20 - Finish:

I was now into the final quarter of the race and things were becoming much more difficult now. I began thinking back to my training and the fact that I’d only managed 3 x 20 mile runs but nothing longer. I was paying for that now.

We turned the corner into Chinatown but to be honest I was working so hard now that I barely noticed what neighbourhood we were in! There was a little bit of a quiet spot after Chinatown with another section similar to the bit after halfway. Except this time I could really have used the support. 

Apparently the home of the Chicago White Sox was just South of us now but it may as well have been in another State for all I cared as my focus was now firmly trained on the City centre to the North. 3 miles to go and I was doing my utmost to simply keep going. I could sense the pace dropping all the time. The final 2 miles are pretty straight and I was looking over my shoulder a couple of times before the inevitable happened – Bloody 3:20 pacers passed me out again around 2km before the finish. I briefly tried to stick with them but just couldn’t keep the pace.

I tried keeping the pacers in view for the remainder but with about 600m to go there is a 90degree right followed by 300m of a climb over a bridge and then a 90degree left before the final 300m to the finish. We joked beforehand about Olwyn’s tip-off regarding the little bridge. Nobody gave it too much attention but knew it may be different on the day. And so it was! Felt like I was running in treacle for the duration of the incline but eventually I beat it and thankfully there was a slight downhill to the finish and at last it was all over!

I finished in 3:21:12 so even though I managed to haemorrhage about 4-5 mins over the last 5 miles I was still extremely happy with my race. All things considered, my tactic to go out slow was the correct one for sure. It was my lack of long runs that prevented me from keeping pace til the end but I could do nothing about that on the day. Instead I finished with a 5:35 PB and given how badly September went I am more than happy with that.

25km – 24:02 (4:48/km)

30km – 25:44 (5:08/km)

Finish – 3:21:12 (Av Pace – 4:46/km)

Aftermath / reaction:

The usual death march took place immediately after the finish line but soon the light at the end of the tunnel appeared in the form of a free Goose Island 312 beer! I got hold of several other ‘goodies’ before returning to the meeting point to discover that it was a day of PBs with Aonghus, Stephen, Johnny and Kieran all recording PBs. Time for another beer to celebrate that (We would later discover that our team entry – Pi$$ Artists – would place third in our competition. So, I can now officially say I was 3rd in the 2013 Chicago Marathon!!).

We later made our way to Kitty O'Shea’s bar in the Hilton (Official Chicago Marathon event Hotel) to meet a few others including Peter who also claimed a PB. Stephen T also managed to make it around in comfortably sub 4hrs even though he was unable to do much training at all due to injury, so everyone was delighted with how the day went. Unfortunately Sarah didn’t manage to make the start line herself due to her injury problems so hopefully she didn’t mind us all going on about things too much!

We had a couple of beers in Kitty’s before returning the short distance home for a shower and then out for food and more celebrations for the evening. Well deserved all round methinks!

Week 41 Summary:

RTW: 5 from 7 days

DTW: 73.8 km

DTY: 3,256.6 km