Sunday 4 October 2009

Resisting the urge

There were a couple of times during todays Cork to Cobh 15 miler that the urge came on me to break out of the 7 minute miles I was running and chase after a few "hares". I resisted until about the last mile and a half which was too late to do any real damage to my plans for a trial marathon paced (fingers crossed) run. I headed into town with Pat O'Connor, my next door neighbour, with plenty of time to get in 5 miles before the race, but ended up warming up over 2.5 miles. Pat was planning on heading out at 7:00 pace also. I was a few rows behind him and Pat Twomey at the start. Pat Twomey was aiming for 7:10 pace, so I thought I would see them both once we settled into our paces. Some of the other Eagles were heading out at 6:45 pace (the sub-3 club) and others at 7:30 pace. I settled into a comfortable pace from the start covering the first mile in 7:03. No sign of the 2 Pats. They must have headed out at a faster pace, which should not have surprised me. I tried to mimic my plan for Dublin by taking on plenty of gels to see if I could stomach them - no issue there - I took 4 in all. For the first 8 miles I settled into a small group of runners that appeared to be yo-yoing back and forth against my steady pace. I passed halfway in 52:18 (06:58 pace - 12 seconds ahead of target) and the half marathon point in 1:31:12 (06:57 pace - 34 seconds ahead of target).
My pace upped slightly after 13.5 miles as I heard a few runners on my heels and basic instinct kicked in. Shortly before the 14 mile mark I caught up with Pat Twomey and could see Pat O'Connor ahead. As my legs were relatively fresh I decided to go for it over the last mile - "can't hurt me that much". I don't think Pat was too happy as I came up behind him with half a mile to go. I pushed on passing a few more and down the hill for a sprint finish to the line stopping my watch at 1:43:15 - 6:01 for the last mile and 105 seconds ahead of target. A slow 2.5 mile warmdown with Pat gave us 20 miles for the day. Well done to Brendan who had a "Cork to Cobh" to remember! Can I hold 7 minute pace for a marathon - I don't know but i'll give it a good shot if the first 15 miles feel anything like today.
Splits as follows:-
Mile Pace Time HR
1 00:07:03 00:07:03 132
2 00:06:54 00:13:57 143
3 00:06:57 00:20:54 142
4 00:06:59 00:27:53 144
5 00:06:54 00:34:47 148
6 00:06:57 00:41:44 154
7 00:07:02 00:48:46 155
8 00:06:57 00:55:43 156
9 00:06:57 01:02:40 152
10 00:06:55 01:09:35 153
11 00:07:01 01:16:36 158
12 00:06:47 01:23:23 159
13 00:07:04 01:30:27 165
14 00:06:47 01:37:14 165
15 00:06:01 01:43:15 169
Sun 4th Oct 20.12 miles in 2:25:46 (07:15 pace @ 147 HR) with 15 miles in 1:43:15 (06:53 pace @ 153 HR) Marathon Training Week 10/13 - 67.08 miles. Postscript:- Photos at 100m to go. .

8 comments:

  1. Well done. Brilliant discipline.

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  2. GREAT PRE MARATHON TRAINING RACE, STEADY AS SHE GOES!

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  3. Damn, don't you wish you could transfer those great training runs directly to your marathon? Nice job and good luck in Dublin!

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  4. Great trial Grellan. By the look of the splits, definitely worth sitting on 7s in Dublin. 3:05 or so would be a great PB.

    Nice to see you ditching the long pants too ;)

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  5. Great pacing, that has to leave you feeling confident about the marathon. All the best over the next few weeks.

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  6. Well done! I didn't do that race precisely because I know I would not have been able to resist the urge.

    I do remember feeling invincible after that race last year, but sadly it didn't quite transfer into Dublin.

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  7. Sounds like you're in good shape for Dublin. Looking at the stats you should be on for something close to three hours.

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  8. Well done Grellan,

    Just don't peak now. Save it for the 26th. I'm glad you're testing the Gels. I suspect that more rather than less sugar helps in a marathon!

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