Today was intended to be my LSR but after doing a few jobs around the apartment it was 4pm before I managed to start my run in the PP. I ran til it got dark and that allowed me half my distance so when I drove home my intention was to do another 12km loop to bring up the total to about 24km. However, once I got out of the car at home I just made up my mind that I was done for the evening (Even fitting in the remaining 12km would have left me tight with time for something else that evening) so I called it quits at that.
Probably a wise decision anyways as I was trudging a fair bit in the PP and the legs were still heavy from last night’s MLR. Not sure would there have been a huge benefit in persisting with the extra distance as it would no doubt slow me down for the 8k race on Sunday.
Saturday, 18th January 2014 – 9.9km Distance (5:18/km)
I drove home to the West this morning and when I arrived I rushed out for a relaxed 10k. Lovely evening for a run with barely a hint of wind and dry all the way around. The final 2km presented a glowing orange sunset encapsulating Croagh Patrick’s summit in the distance. There was also a strong dew falling in the fields which all made for a very pleasant end to the run. Much better than eyeballing scobes on Dublin’s Northside!!
Sunday, 19th January 2014 – 8.1km Tuam 8k Race – 33:30 (4:09/km) with 3.8km W/U (5:09/km) and 7.0km C/D (5:21/km)
Today’s race was like a mini test for the Raheny 5 miler next Sunday, which will mark the end of my 6 week focus on trying to get quicker at shorter stuff. The plan was to get familiar with the feel of 8km pace today and then fine tune that next week. I ran this race 2 years ago and although I took it handy for the first 2km I ended up just shy of 36 minutes so I knew all going well I should be much quicker today. My 8k PB is from my local village race (Belcarra 8k – 34:00) and so the aim today was to beat that at least.
I met Philip and his wife Edel beforehand and we went on a bit of a warm-up. 3.8km in total (That felt like nothing!) with a few strides thrown in for good measure. We were chatting about how conditions were near perfect for a fast time and that we really would have no excuses if PBs failed to fall today! A few minutes later we were lining up for the start and after a delay of about 5 mins we were set away.
I had ended up about 3 rows back from the front so I was across the line in no time. However, for the first km there was a steady stream of people passing me which I found a little strange. I guess I was further to the front than I should have been but at least it had thinned out pretty quickly so I wasn't a hindrance to anyone. Things settled down after the first km though and my efforts at holding back weren't working that well when I went through the first km in 3:43! The course is a pretty flat route with just a few drags none of which are too severe. Probably the toughest sections are going over the railway bridge in the 2nd km and then again with 800m to go.
By midway I was well settled in to the race and maintaining the effort around 4:10/km. I had passed a guy after 3km who was wearing tracksuit bottoms an old pair of dodgy runners and a COAT! Not a simple running jacket but an actual thick, heavy coat!! He was moving pretty steadily so I can just imagine he’d be a pretty decent runner if he just managed to sort out his race day attire!!
Shortly after this I caught up to a guy who I intended passing immediately but once he noticed me he seemed to up the effort and stuck with me for the next 1,500m. I ended up falling into is pace because anytime I tried pushing a little to move away he matched my effort. This was getting annoying as it became clear we were racing for god knows what position with 3km to go! Eventually I put in a sustained spurt of effort and made a little distance on him. Thankfully that broke the link and I was free once more.
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| Photo courtesy of Tri Lakes Triathlon Club |
The final 3km are a straight road back into town and just before I took the turn onto that road I ditched my gloves at a house. As expected I felt a little fresher immediately but unfortunately that only lasted a few hundred metres. My effort and pace was remaining steady so I was reasonably pleased so far. I got passed by another GCH guy over the closing 2km but eventually we passed over the final railway bridge and tried legging it for the 800m run-in to the finish. This section is slightly uphill – just enough to make you work – so the pace failed to pick up too quickly and with the final bridge actually shows up as my slowest km of the day. The reality was the effort was there though. At last I turned the corner and saw the clock ticking away towards 33:30 so a last dash effort got me there with bang on 33:30 on my watch, making for a 30 second PB and 2:23 course best for me.
Afterwards, pleased with my time and performance I went for a warm-down jog back out to collect my gloves. Unfortunately though the rain came while I was at the turnaround point so for the second half of my 7km cool-down I got saturated wet. Still though, almost 19km for the day and I still felt relatively fresh after it all so, as I have been thinking all along, this training programme seems to be really working for me. Pity I'm still unsure of what marathon to actually strike for in order to get the pay-off!
Week 2 Summary:
RTW: 7 from 7 days
DTW: 96.7km
DTY: 277.4km
Congrats on the PB :) Just finished catching up on your blog now since the beginning of January. Lots of good work being done!
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