Eagles Eagles Everywhere

There was a sea of Eagle AC singlets all around me during the opening mile of my second speed session of the week. The plan called for 5 x 1 mile at tempo pace (6:26 minute miles for me) with 1 minute recoveries. I decided to save the recoveries until the end of the session and to make them all the more sweet I planned on pushing the pace as far as I could under 6:26 - all on the hope I would get one step closer to a free t-shirt in two months time.

My race number "89" this evening for the Shanagarry 5 miler was my position after the first (of four) race in the Ballycotton series last month, where I strolled home in 32:32. I have my work cut out for me to get under 50 overall (men) for the final race in August - rank will be based on cumulative time over the 4 races.

While the first mile was at a solid pace, I was about 10 yards behind a group of three Eagles, (John D, Micheal and Pat M) John O'C having surged ahead chasing down Kevin. I couldn't bridge the gap to the 3 in front without putting in a surge, which I didn't want to do so early in the race.

The 5:59 opening mile told me that I had gone out a bit fast and was glad that I hadn't chased down the hares in front. I was racing my race and if the lads were faster so be it. I also knew that the most challenging part of the race was yet to come with a long steady climb from about mile 2 to mile 3.5 and a shorter steeper climb 1/4 mile either side of the 4 mile mark.

Micheal had pushed 10 to 20 yards ahead of John and Pat with me 5 yards behind them churning out a steady pace, at least I wasn't losing contact, which gave me some comfort. Mile 2 in 6:12 (12:11 overall). "If I get 12:11 for the next 2 miles that makes 24:22 for 4 miles, which would set me up nicely for a sub 31 minute PB" - Don't know where that thought came from but it was pure fantasy. During the long rise to the 3 mile mark I passed John and Pat and could see Micheal ahead. I kept churning out the same effort and gradually reeled Micheal in, which I wasn't expecting. Mile 3 in 6:38 (18:49 overall) - the long drag certainly blunted my speed.

I could now see John O'C ahead and thought I might catch him. I was still 20 yards behind him at the 3.5 mile mark where we took a sharp left and a steep downhill for about 100 yards. I let off the brakes and careered down the hill reeling in a few in front and managed to pull alongside John by the time we hit the bottom and before the rise towards the 4 mile mark. Kevin G was pulled up ahead - suffering from a stitch. On the rise towards the 4 mile mark I could see Pat O'C ahead in his distinctive blue 2010 Barcelona Marathon top.

Mile 4 in 6:22 (25:11 overall). The road continued to rise and I maintained a steady pace, while wanting to leave something in the tank for the last 1/2 mile downhill to the finish. I was on Pat's shoulder with about 600m to go and didn't think I had much left to finish strong. We passed the 400m to go sign more or less together - I thought he would have put in a surge and dropped me. With about 250m to go I put in a surge and went ahead and thought the line couldn't come soon enough. With about 30 yards to go John D went flying past me with another guy on his shoulder - I had no time or energy to respond, crossing the line behind them in 31:24 (6:13 final mile).

The second time in as many weeks that I was a second outside my PB. Still I am relatively happy with my progress and have 2 more months of training before the last race in the series.

I didn't stop around to check the results after the race so I don't know where I came but hope that when I line out for Churchtown South in a months time my race number will be well under this evenings "89".

.

Jack of all trades and master of none

My first triathlon of the season and my first ever sprint tri took place in glorious sunshine in Caherciveen on Saturday. I drove down the night before and stayed in Waterville with Pete and Pat. Ani came along for the trip on the promise of some water sports in Valentia after the triathlon. Following a breakfast of porridge, tea and toast we headed off the 10 miles to Caherciveen to register before 8:30. As the race was not starting until 10:30 we had plenty of time to set up our gear – I had forgotten how many bits and bobs I needed compared to a running only event. We still had time to drive the first km of the run, which opened our eyes to the challenge ahead – it was certainly the toughest uphill km I had ever seen in a road race. Typically by the time I get onto the run in a triathlon all I want to do is take it easy and run a steady consistent pace as the mental and physical effort required to race tactically is considerable. This is typically followed by a post race analysis of “if only I pushed a bit harder I could have finished further up the field”. The race was in 2 waves with the red hats (of which I was one) taking off first and the white hats following on 5 minutes later. The event was very well supported locally with the local school band leading us out to the waters edge for the start – felt a bit like all-Ireland day in Croke Park – they’re used to that in Kerry. After warming up in the water for a few minutes the field had drifted from the start line and was asked to swim back. However before the full field was in position the starting gun was sounded. I was caught unawares with my cap off while adjusting my leaking goggles. I quickly put my hat on and took off as fast as I could chasing down those in front of me, with my left goggle filling up with water. It took a while to get into my stride and it wasn’t until I was 300 or 400m into the swim that I felt I was swimming strong - around the 2nd last buoy and heading for the swim exit, continuing to pass others right up to the exit. My legs were a bit wobbly for the first few steps on dry land as I entered T1. My lack of transition training quickly became apparent as fumbled my way through the changeover to the bike - I didn’t even have the Velcro straps on my shoes open with the result that fellow club runner, Conor O’Brien, who was out of the water after me exited T1 with me. I also used some time to put on the Garmin, thinking that it would be useful for pacing on the bike and run. I got off to a reasonably good start on the bike, getting out of the saddle and pushing the pace over the first km through the town to get the blood flowing through my legs. Once out of town I settled into a steady pace and held my position pretty well and while I was overtaken by a few I continued to pass others during the 5k climb to the 9k mark. Conor had gone past me after about 3k and Pete passed me at about the 8k mark. Crested the hill at 9k and a drop to the 10k turnaround point. I continued with a steady pace on the return leg and even managed to pass a few on the 5k descent, coming alongside Conor and more or less matching pace with him into town and T2. If T1 was bad T2 was a comparative disaster, taking 55 seconds to take off my bike shoes and put on my runners. I was unsteady on my legs and my runners weren’t the easiest to get into, despite the elastic laces. The result was that I lost about 15 to 20 seconds on those around me, including Conor and once I hit the run I did not feel at all comfortable. I exited T2 with a guy in a green/black tri-suit on my shoulder and even over the first 100 yards he was pulling away from me. My lack of motivation, general fatigue and the thought of the impending hill was enough for me not to give chase and I allowed myself the luxury of deciding that I was going to take it relatively easy on the run with a steady manageable pace and not burst a gut trying to reel others in (if my pace allowed me to pass someone well and good). I plodded up the hill in a low gear and could see Conor about 100 yards ahead – he might as well have been on a different planet as far as I was concerned although I took comfort from the fact that my pace was not too dissimilar from those around me – that was until just after the 1k mark where the road levelled out a bit and this guy went past me looking very relaxed – the only guy to pass me on the run (turned out he was 4th M40-49). Eventually I reached the turnaround and could enjoy the 2.5k descent to the finish – the view was spectacular but I had little time to enjoy it. The descent was more rewarding than the ascent as I managed to catch a few runners in front of me. It felt good seeing runners coming against me struggling against the very gravity that was now allowing me to freewheel. Before the 4k mark I even passed the guy in the green/black tri-suit and ran comfortably strong over the last k to the finish line, crossing in 1:16:37 (27th overall - 21st individual) - 28 seconds down on Conor and 47 seconds down on Pete.

My splits and rank out of 243 finishers (excluding relay teams) were:-

.

Swim - 14:15 - 28th -thought I would be faster.

.

T1 - 1:32 - 53rd - Could have been better.

.

Bike - 38:44 - 28th - very happy with bike placing as this was by far my weakest discipline.

.

T2 - 0:55 - 129th - relative disaster - easily lost 20 seconds.

.

Run - 21:14 - 27th - reasonably happy but legs felt like toast for first half.

.

My individual position at the various stages was Swim 28th, T1 Exit 35th (ouch), Bike 20th (great), T2 Exit 23rd (WTF), Run 21st.

.

My placing for each discipline was surprisingly consistent - except for the transitions, which i'll have to work on. Overall i'm pleased with my first sprint but am looking forward to the Olympic distance next month which I feel suits my endurance base more. I'll have to see if I can get into the Lost Sheep half IM in September (anyone with a slot that they want to exchange please let me know).

.

.

Back to Running

.

This week sees me start a new 2 phased programme with a view to improving my middle distance times from 5k to 15k over the next 9 weeks and then a further 9 weeks of marathon build up for Dublin. So for the next 9 weeks I have picked 9 out of the 18 weeks of Phase 2 to 4 of the 5k to 15k Training Plan in "Daniels Running Formula" (3 weeks in each phase "Early", "Transition" and "Final Quality" - Phase 1 is base building - which I surely have covered at this stage). The plan centres around 2 to 3 quality sessions a week with the remaining weekly mileage made up of easy runs and a long run. I'll probably stick to 2 weekly quality sessions as that should be enough for me.

.

The quality sessions for phase 2 include repetition pace intervals at the track on Tuesday and tempo runs/intervals on Thursdays (which I will replace with races when the mood takes me - the Ballycotton 5 mile series comes to mind, which just happen to be on Thursdays).

.

My first track session this evening involved 5 x (2 x 200m with 200m jog recovery + 1 x 400m with 400m jog recovery). As I had recently been increasing my exposure to running without cushioning I decided to run the session barefoot (the real deciding factor was that I had forgotten to bring my running shoes with me on the 5 mile bike ride to the track). My first run after the Cork Marathon had been a 4 mile easy paced barefoot run on the track, which went off without a hitch so I had some exposure.

.

The 1.9 mile warmup felt good - no issues. Kevin Geary did offer me his spare pair of runners if I needed them. My target pace according to Daniels was 40 seconds for the 200s and 82 for the 400s (although my mind was set on 80). The first set went off without a hitch, as did the second set. No issues and running barefoot felt great.

.

Halfway through the third set I felt some discomfort under the second toe of my left foot and on closer inspection noticed that the skin was broken and the toe bleeding - I guess the friction of toe against track surface, particularly on the inside leg, was enough to wear away the skin (a bit like sandpaper) - still the positive was that it showed that I was landing on my forefoot and that bio-mechanically there was no issue. I took Kevin up on his offer and completed the remainder of the session in shoes. At first it felt like I had been at the dentist - you know that feeling just after you get the injection and everything goes numb - well my feet felt like that, I could hardly feel them at each footfall. Whereas before the impact of each footfall was absorbed by the muscles in the foot it now felt like the surface I was running on had turned to foam - a bit like gym mats only twice or three times the thickness. I quickly adjusted and completed the session to plan.

.

36/39/79

39/39/79

39/39/81 (81 was the first 400 in shoes)

40/39/79

39/38/79

.

Benckmarking

With any semblance of a training plan long abandoned (pre Barcelona in March) and without any real gauge as to my form I headed down to the Marina on Tuesday evening for the John Buckley 5k, over what is advertised as a fast flat course, the one where PB's are made. To be honest I didn't know what to expect - I had an idea that I should come in somewhere between my PB (18:39 - 6:00 pace) and 19 minutes (6:07 pace) - but apart from the 90% effort at the Ballyandreen 5 miler 3 weeks ago I haven't tested myself over any distance in a long time (and McMillan won't accept my 5:29 Ultra).

.

I placed myself up near the front to give myself a good start which I got with a 5:48 opening mile and while I was running hard I was able to maintain the effort. However maintaining effort is not the same as maintaining pace which was evident by my 6:07 second mile. I was now on the shoulder of Pat Murphy and John Dunphy from the club, both running very consistently. With about half a mile to go I pulled slightly ahead of the group I was in, but my new found energy was short lived and I was sucked back in. Christ I hate this stage of a 5k when all you want is for the pain to be over and it's all you can do to maintain pace.

.

With 100 yards to go Pat went flying past me (well he did get in a few more weeks of 400's at the track than me) sprinting for the line and all I could do was hang tough until the line came, with the clock coming into view through my myopic vision - ticking 18:35....push......36.............pant......37.............gasp............38................groan...............39...........who gives a F#*k......... stopped the garmin at 18:40 - 1 second outside my PB (nearly 2 years old at this stage).

.

Happy enough given my recent training and form - at least now I have something to benchmark off and set my training paces for the next few months. Daniels gives me an Easy Pace of 8:01, Marathon Pace of 6:49, Tempo Pace of 6:26 and Interval pace of 87 second laps - happy days. I'm looking back with nostalgia at the sub 6 minute miles I churned out on the track in January - I should have run a 5k back then.

.

I have another 5k tomorrow but to get to the start line I have to swim 750m and cycle 20k so I don't think i'll improve on Tuesdays time.

.

Tough Day At The Office

I ended up pacing the 3:30 group at yesterday's Cork City Marathon, a job which I shared with Tony. Apologies to anyone looking for me at the 3:45 start - I assume Frank sorted you out. As there was only one balloon for each pacing group I ended up with a sheet of A4 paper pinned to my back with "3:30 pacer" printed on it (Tony had the balloon). Surprisingly this lasted all of 6 or 7 miles before disintegrating (I think it was hanging on by a thread for a few miles before that - still I had a small but loyal following). Tony being more of the entertainer had a bigger following, but by mile 26.2 that had dwindled to less than a handful.

Back to the start

Being pacers, an important job, we got the elite treatment - none of this queueing up on Saturday or Sunday to collect our timing chips and bibs - all we had to do was turn up at Mahers Sports Shop (100 yards from the start) to collect our goodie bags, balloons/kit etc between 8 and half past. Our gear bags would then be transferred by magic to a room in the Victoria Hotel where we could shower and change after the race - I didn't fully appreciate this when packing my gear bag before leaving home, which explains why I was using a hairdryer to dry my shoes after the race - did I mention that it was raining!!!

As Frank, who was originally scheduled to pace 4:15, had also been asked to fill the vacant 3:45 slot I reverted back to the 3:30 slot which I had been scheduled to pace with Tony - thinking that this would attract a bigger following and therefore require more pacers (well that and the fact that all my training was at or close to the 8 minute miling 3:30 pacing required - and the mental maths is easier - 8, 16, 24........2:00, 2:08,..........3:04, 3:12 etc. Found out afterwards that Frank is running less than a year and this is already his 12th marathon (my 9th after 4+ years running by comparison) - methinks he is looking to join a certain club.

We got in position about 20 minutes before the start and chatted to a few runners - Tony was instantly recognisable as he had previously paced the Limerick and Dublin City marathons. It became apparent that there are a number of runners out there that like to run with pacers for various reasons. Once the gun sounded it took us about 1 minute to cross the timing mat, from where I started the Garmin.

During the first mile I notice that my units were set to kilometers as opposed to miles. I had changed it for the previous day's bike ride and forgotten to change it back and now couldn't remember how to - so I quickly changed to 5 min km mode which was still accurate enough to take me between mile markers where I would compare distance against overall time.

As my goal was to keep to an even pace throughout I am not going to give the usual blow by blow account of my mile splits. To be quite honest I felt different during this race as I was concentrating on a different target and while it was raining throughout it did not bother me and the only time I really noticed the wind was when it was driving horizontal rain in from Lough Mahon between miles 12 and 13.

I got talking to a few guys which passed the time away -

- The Triathlete Dentist who completed Ironman Barcelona last Year (Later I discovered his name is Billy, who came in ahead of me in triathlons last year - but not by that much - 19 seconds in the Bo Peep Tri - he passed me on the bike - if only I had known yesterday)

- The guy running in the Vibrams who reckoned that this was going to be the first marathon in Ireland wearing them - and to think that I considered wearing them for the marathon but decided against as my recent training in them has be minimal.

- The guy who did 3:30 on the button in the Paris Marathon and was hoping to improve (unfortunately not this time).

Give the poor conditions I wore a compression top/shorts/socks and a woolly hat, although I was carrying more water as a result. I thought I would enjoy the only dry part of the run through the 600m Jack Lynch tunnel at mile 7/8 but was glad to feel the refreshing breeze and cooling rain when I came out the other side. I kept about 100 yards ahead of Tony who, as Mr Motivator, had a larger following (well that and the fact that he had the balloon). At every mile marker he'd shout out something like " 4 seconds under target C'mon the 3:30's" which drew big cheers. As the race wore on the number cheering reduced.

The worst section by far was the new part of the course between miles 12 and 13 along the Lough Mahon walkway from Blackrock Castle to The Mahon pedestrian bridge where the wind coming in off the harbour was driving horizontal rain that stung exposed skin.

Mile 12 Blackrock Castle Pat, in the blue shirt behind me and the bearded guy in the red shirt stayed with me to the end - you can just make out Tony and his balloon at the back.

We passed over the 13 mile timing mat with 1:45:01 on the clock - don't know why it wasn't at the exact halfway point. Pat, who was running with me compared stopwatch times with me, discovered he started 15 or 16 seconds ahead of me and was worried that he was off target pace. I assured him that I would be aiming to come at least 30 seconds under target.

.

The mid section of the race passed off pretty uneventful. There was still a pretty large group between myself and Tony (30 seconds apart) - at some stage however I noticed that some of the guys I had been chatting to earlier were no longer around.

.

Between miles 18 and 20 I noticed fatigue setting in, my calves getting tight and found that I had to work harder to maintain pace. What kept me going was knowing that those running with me were working even harder than I was and all I had to do was maintain a steady pace for them. I miscalculated the remaining time when announcing that we had 30 minutes left to run from the top of the last incline on the Model Farm Road, when in fact we were 40 minutes out from the finish line. I should have kept quite as my earlier announcement that there was only a hour to go was met with a reply "that doesn't really help".

.

Pat and a few more guys were still with me turning onto the Straight Road at the 23 mile mark. However once we hit Mile 24 whatever advance 3:30 group there was broke up, with Pat and the guy in the red t-shirt pushing ahead. At this stage I had come on the shoulder of Donnacha, a fellow club runner, who had told me at the 2 mile mark he was aiming for somewhere between 3:30 and 3:45, yet he had stayed ahead of me since then. So seeing me was all the motivation he needed to up his pace and remain on his "Plan A" goal of 3:30.

.

I told him I was ahead of target by 30 to 50 seconds and that if he kept pace he'd get there with some to spare. On we ran in silence matching stride for stride knowing that it was mental resolve and nothing else that would get us over the line, no need for verbal communication (Pat was 10 to 15 yards ahead) - onto the Mardyke - stride for stride - past the 25 mile mark - out onto the North Mall - stride for stride - along the North Quays to Patricks Bridge - stride for stride - across Patricks Bridge and into the home straight - Donnacha took off - I momentarily hung back as I was supposed to be even pacing but there was no one to pace so when I heard the finish line announcer say "3:30.....only 25 seconds left......so and so's going to make it" I tore off after Donnacha and we both sprinted for the line coming in at 3:29:56 clock time (3:28:51 chip for me). Tony was not far behind herding the last few over the line before crossing himself with 10 seconds to spare (chip time).

.

What surprised me was how much the 3:30 group had dwindled since I had last seen it at mile 24. Mile 24 seems to be the critical point when things begin to come apart, whereby those with something in reserve push on and those who have hung on till then fall away. I heard a similar story about the 3:00 pacing group.

.

On crossing the line I was thanked by Pat, Donnacha and the guy in the red shirt which was all the feedback I needed to know that someone had benefited from my pacing and my effort wasn't in vain. Certainly 3:30 pacing is at the limit of my comfort zone and anything faster would have been a bit too uncomfortable and certainly too risky.

.

Three of us in all from the club (Denis L, John D and myself) carried out pacing duties, for which we went to a secret training camp back in April. Mick Rice, who also attended the training camp, was pacing the 3:00 group.

.

Job done - pushing for home.

.

Rehersal

While I had planned on running 5 to 10 miles at 8:35 pace yesterday to get into the pacing groove the opportunity never presented itself and I went without. However today, while the competition was away in Cork carb loading, I snuck into his backyard and did a recce of the bike route of the Sive Triathlon.

I was in Waterville today in beautiful sunshine (it only rains in Kerry when Thomas is about) and, while waiting for the pub to open, decided to pop across to Caherciveen with the bike and cycle the 20k out and back route.

I started in the Eurospar car park on the Waterville side of town and cycled through the town trying to dodge all manner of moving obstacles - it's surprising how invisible you are on a bike. The route is undulating for the first 3k along the main road towards Glenbeigh, after which it takes a right turn onto the Road to Glencar. The surface on this road is actually in better condition than that of the main road, which may be the reason it was selected for this years race as I understand that last years route was a real bone shaker.

From the 4k to the 9k mark the road climbs steadily from about 75 feet to 530 feet with the grade varying in places enough to force/suggest a change in gear. However it's all very manageable with no steep sections. From the top there's a 1.4k descent to the turnaround (10.4k in all - I didn't set off from the official start location). The road is quit narrow so the turnaround is at a T-junction - still it will be a bit of fun on race day - hope it's not too congested when I get there.

The return leg will be quite fast and while much of the descent is on straight road cornering skills will be required on the higher sections. I assume the road will be closed for the duration, otherwise it will be mayhem - bad enough when you going flat out with cyclist coming against you - overtaking could be fun!

I made it up in just under 24 minutes and back down in just over 18 minutes - 42 minutes in all for about 20.8 km.

Brick

With the Cork marathon 3 days away I was unsure how I should train over the weekend. However I learned today that I am now covering the 3:45 pacing slot (8:35 minute miles) given that there were no pacers for this time. This makes it easier for me to train through the event treating the marathon as a slightly longer than usual long run at an easier pace than normal. Having said that I won't do anything stupid over the weekend.

.

I did go out for a steady session on the bike this evening pushing on the hills covering 21.3 miles at 3:02 pace avg followed by a steady 5 mile run at 6:58 pace avg - coming off the bike I always run faster than I think I am. With my first tri 2 weeks away I don't feel too apprehensive - although it is my first sprint event (750m swim, 20k cycle & 5k run) which will require more speed than endurance - i'm still in endurance mode - it'll be all over before I know it.

.

Good luck to all those running the Cork Marathon/Relay on Monday. Hope my pacing will be of help. If you are using a pacer to get your goal please remember the pacers will be running to chip time (not clock time) so the strategy is to "start behind the pacers and finish in front of them"

.

New Departures

I competed in my first ever track race last night at the first of the Cork Graded T&F meets of the summer. On the cards was 200m, 1500m, 4 x 400m, long jump and shot put. To be quite honest I felt a wee bit out of my depth with all those "real athletes" warming up around the track.

.

My first (main) event was the 1500m, which was divided into three races - senior men (the sub 5 minute boys), women (the remaining men could have run with them but our male egos wouldn't let us) and masters men (at last, a reason to feel relieved because of my age).

.

From the off I tucked in behind club mates Michael, Joe and Pat and pretty much kept formation for the 3.75 laps - more like a fast interval than a race in that I was happy to keep on their heels at a steady pace. I felt like I upped the pace over the last lap to keep position but it was more likely an increase in effort just to stay on pace. I was reasonably pleased with my finish time of 5:05.5 (equivalent to a 5:28 mile) which is a PB for a new distance. If I was on form and had put in some specific training Mcmillan would give me a 4:49 for 1500m based on my 10 mile PB at the end of January - so there's something to aim for?

.

My 2nd event was the 4 x 400m relay where I did the 2nd leg for the mixed Eagle team - can't say what my individual time was given that I swapped the garmin for a baton (couldn't manage both).

.

I finished off the evening with a few throws of the shot where I missed the top spot by 2 cm. Then again I fouled my best shot by walking out the front of the circle after the throw (that's a no no apparently). There's a chance for a rematch on July 27th - better do some weights and pump myself full of protein.

.

Overall I was glad I went along as I enjoyed myself and there was great support from the club.

.

Results are here.

.

.

April (Run 130 miles, Bike 247 miles, Swim 14,500m)

May (Run 142 miles, Bike 277 miles, Swim 12,500m)

.

.