A 20 Mile PB

I had a choice of races this weekend. A 10 miler in Bantry or a 5k cross country in Cork. As Abina was working the Bantry 10 was certainly out and while I could have left the eldest in charge for an hour this morning I wasn't inclined to go to the cross country either despite the fact that I hadn't given my spikes a second outing since I bought them in November. What good is a 5k cross country to me 3 week out from a marathon anyway particularly as a late night on Friday meant Saturday's 11 plus mile run could hardly count as a long run.

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So this morning the plan was to run back to back 10 milers from home, the first 10 at MP plus 10% (7:30 or better) and the second 10 at MP (6:45 - or better???). I figured 6:45 pace is the slowest opening pace required to get a sub 3 hour marathon (6:40 would be better obviously) - that would get you to the 20 mile mark in 2:15 with 45 minutes to cover the closing 10k (7:15 average - piece of piss). to be quite honest the prospect of 7:15 miles over the last stages of a marathon doesn't scare me - it's the 20 x 6:45 miles that has me staring at the ceiling in the middle of the night.

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So with only a cup of coffee and a few swigs of water in my belly and 2 gels in my pocket I headed out into the cold sunshine shortly before 9:30 for my first 10 miler. Needless to say my route did not involve any noticeable hills ( the rise past the guide dogs home at mile 4 being the steepest). All I can say about the first 10 miles is that it went very smoothly and at no stage did I feel under pressure. The opening miles were averaging 7:23 pace and there was little drift from that. I decided to leave my first gel until I got back to the house, which was after 1:13:36 (7:21 pace @ 130HR). Now for the hard bit.

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I took the gel and a drink of water at home and used the bathroom. Abina said that I would have to be back to take Ani to soccer practice at 11:30 as the usual car pool was not available and she would be at work. I looked at my watch - 10:35 -

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"ok i'll cut the second run back to 8 miles" I thought as I headed out the door - "I'll drop her the mile over to soccer practice and run the last 2 miles from there or perhaps 2 warmdown miles".

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I quickly got into the faster pace for the 2nd leg and while it didn't feel too tough I was unsure about maintaining it for 8 miles. The first mile, which is a net downhill, passed in 6:38.

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"Ok the 2nd mile won't be as easy but at least I have a bit of a cushion"

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The 2nd mile passed in 6:37, so I kept plugging away waiting for something to slowly give. The next 2 miles were in 6:33 & 6:32. 4 miles in, time to take my second gel and turn for home. I continued to churn out sub 6:40 miles on the return leg and as I was in a bit of a groove (although the pressure was coming on) I passed the usual turn off for the last half mile home and continued on to get up to 9 miles "Ani won't be that late for soccer practice and i'm on to a good thing here".

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As 10 follows 9 as sure as night follows day I leave the turn for home a bit longer and take a slight detour on the way back - the pace is certainly feeling tough now but I can smell home so I push on for a 6:29 closing mile. 1:05:56 (6:36 pace @ 150HR)

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20 Miles in 2:19:30 (6:58.5 pace @ 140HR) - My fastest 20 miles (The first 20 in Dublin last year passed in 2:22:22 approx).

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I dropped the waiting and ever patient Ani to soccer practice returned home and ran a 2 mile warmdown so that my legs wouldn't stiffen up too much.

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I think that's it now before Barcelona. Next weeks long run will be at an easy pace and not quite so long. All the signs are there that a sub 3 is there for the taking, no excuses. I'll have to start believing in it as it's still difficult to get my head around. The heat is always an excuse I come up with - 3 years ago it was 19 to 22 C when I ran it and while not very hot it's enough to slow you down just a bit - hopefully it'll be 12 C with a light breeze.

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Wed 10th Feb

17.22 miles in 2:12:18 (7:41 pace @ 130HR)

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Thur 11th Feb

5.29 miles in 45:14 (:33 pace @ 111 HR) - Vibrams

2.5 miles in 19:49 (07:56 pace - Treadmill)

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Sat 13th Feb

11.57 miles in 1:33:07 (8:03 pace @ 104 HR??? - HR strap malfunction

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Sun 14th Feb

22.1 miles in 2:36:35 (7:05 pace @ 139 HR) with 10/10 @ 7:21/6:36 pace.

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Training Week #12 71.69 miles

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