Work Done

I've finally reached the end of my last 3 week training block for Connemara. All that's left is for an orderly wind down over the final 3 weeks of taper. Starting the week with a mild chest cold was not a good omen for my last high mileage week and so with a mixture of determination and caution I got through it without sacrificing mileage and still managing to lose the cold.

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Not wanting to break the tradition of the last 3 weeks I finished off today with a race in the vibrams, again going out with a few more of the ultra club fraternity (John, Maura & Denis) and Donnocha (who is running the Connemara half) for a 14 mile slow paced warmup around the by-roads of Glounthane arriving back at 10:30 to sign up for the Janssen 4 mile road race in Little Island. My legs and body were certainly tired from the weeks mileage. I met up with Elmer, who was dipping his toe back in the water after a lay-off and clubmates Laurence, Monica, John, Pat, Denis and Derek (fresh back from his 2:54 Toyko marathon).

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My plan was to take things relatively easy with a target of getting under 30 minutes (7:30 miles) - I thought that that was all I was capable of. I started mid-pack and eased slowly into the run. The first mile came in 7:16, which wasn't too bad. I continued on towards the 2 mile mark of the out and back course seeing those in front coming against me. I turned at the 2 mile mark without checking my split (7:15) and continued to gain on and pass others, passing the 3 mile mark in 21:25. While I was well under 30 minute pacing, I thought I wouldn't be able to close the 25 second deficit to get sub-7 minute pace overall (28:00) which would require a 6:35 final mile.

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With about 3 quarters of a mile to go I came up behind a guy who was determined not to let me pass and upped his pace to match mine , with both of us passing others who were on even pacing. This went on for about quarter of a mile with my running companion resorting to quick shallow breathing to keep pace. With half a mile to go I decided to push the pace a little more as the finish was within striking distance. My running companion kept pace up a slight incline until, with about a quarter of a mile to go, he let out a roar, signalling that he was spent, and fell behind - certainly he had been working very hard over the previous half mile and ran out of steam before the finish line came. I kept pushing for the finish, crossing the line in 27:45 - 6:20 for the final mile.

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Just under a mile warmdown back to the community centre and some welcome refreshments. While I hadn't planned it, I covered nearly 20 miles for the day (a record for the vibrams) which brought me to a record weekly high of 114 miles. Up until this month I never contemplated running over 100 miles in a week and with 308 miles covered over the last 3 weeks I have averaged 102.7 miles a week for the final build to Connemara. Whether or not I can translate that into a good result remains to be seen, especially as I haven't really thought about what a good result would be, particularly as form and conditions on the day can have a huge influence on how things turn out over a 39 mile run. If I had been training for a 10 miler or HM I generally would expect to be within a minute of target. But as the distance moves towards the marathon and beyond predictions are less reliable. Obviously I'd like to beat last years time of 5:29:25 (8:24 pace) but the challenge of averaging 8:00 pace and crossing the line in 5:15 is what I should be aiming for and who knows, I might get close. I just need to awaken the dormant fast twitch fibres over the coming weeks, if there are any left.

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Let the taper begin.

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Mon 14th Mar

Lunctime - 6.1 miles @ 8:06 pace & 124 HR (legs fresher than this time last week)

Evening - 10.07 miles @ 7:48 pace & 131 HR (Still chesty)

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Tue 15th Mar

Lunchtime - 6.1 miles @ 8:01 & 131 HR (High HR and chest cold still there)

Evening - 10.67 miles @ 8:11 & 125 HR (Better but still chesty)

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Wed 16th Mar

a.m. 8.21 miles @ 8:19 & 124 HR (Vibrams)

p.m. 8.21 miles @ 7:59 & 126 HR

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Thu 17th Mar (Paddy's Day)

p.m. 16.04 miles @ 7:47 pace & 133HR (was in no mood for this run but got through it)

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Sat 19th Mar

a.m. 29.17 miles @ 7:43 pace & 140 HR

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Sun 20th Mar

a.m. 19.81 miles @ 8:25 pace with 4 miles @ 6:56 pace & 144 HR.

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Base Week #8 (Run 114.4 miles, Bike NIL, Swim NIL)

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