Showing posts with label Ballycotton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ballycotton. Show all posts

Sunday, 4 March 2012

Ballycotton 10 - Not What I Expected

My plan for today in Ballycotton was to run a sub-65 minute ten miler in the vibrams. To be quite honest at this stage I think there is no difference between what I could achieve in the vibrams versus "normal" running shoes. My strategy was to go out at a steady pace just below 6:30 miles. With no satellite reception on the Garmin I aimed to run comfortably hard and check my splits at each mile marker.
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I accepted a kind offer of a lift from Thomas who was en route from the Kingdom and filled up his car with neighbours Pat and Ian who were also running. The day was sunny, with a cold north westerly wind, which meant we'd have it at our back for the last 5 miles. As I wasn't heading for a PB I wasn't too concerned about placing myself near the front of the 2,500+ field. Having said that I joined the queue to the race start a little later than I wanted and spent most of the time before the start pushing my way up through the throngs to get reasonable starting position. With chip timing I knew that my actual run time would be recorded.
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It still took me over 20 seconds to cross the start line after the gun went and the first mile was spent weaving in and out to get ahead of slower runners in front. I quickly caught up with Brendan, who was running his first race in over 2 years (and his first as an M40) and knowing that his target was also sub-65 I decided to hang on to him. The timekeeper was calling out 7:0? at the first mile marker, while the garmin gave me a split of 6:36, not too bad for an opening congested mile, albeit behind target pace. We continued on with the downhill second mile, which came in a much faster 6:14 ,which I put down to the downhill. We continued to pass runners, maintaining a steady pace, as the field spread out Mile 3 coming in 6:20 - building up a bit of a cushion on the 65 minute target. As the Garmin was displaying lap time and HR only I had no idea of total time, which was probably a good thing, especially later on.
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Brendan began to show some signs of distress during mile 4 as his breathing became a bit more laboured, despite the fact that he had done his fair bit of surging during the previous miles. We continued to pass others, which is always encouraging. Mile 4 came in 6:24, still under target pace. At this stage I began to harbour notions of getting under 1:04 as all I'd need is to average 6:24 per mile - i'll see how I get on as there are 6 miles left. Running in the vibrams felt very comfortable with no sign of discomfort. The clock at the 5 mile mark displayed 32:10 as I Passed it - Mile 5 split of 6:16. 1:04 certainly felt achievable, provided I could maintain pace for the remaining 5 miles. We turned South East shortly after mile 5 and the wind was now at our back. As I had no idea of current pace I continued to run by feel and was reasonably comfortable, still reeling in runners in front of me. Mile 6 in 6:14 - the wind must certainly be helping. Crossing the 10k mark I saw 1:19 on the lap time (39:23 for 10k, although I didn't know at the time).
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I continued to reel in runners in front of me, albeit a bit more slowly, which must have meant that I was running faster than average pace - Mile 7 in 6:08 more or less proved this. I could be heard well before I was seen, and as I came on runners shoulders, they would instinctively look down to see what the hell was making all the slapping noise. I could see two Eagles ahead, in their distinctive Eagle singlets, but couldn't make out who they were with my myopic vision. I gradually closed the distance, passing Mile 8 in 6:09 and with about 1.5 miles to go I was on the shoulders of clubmates Vivian and Diarmaid. My feet at this stage weren't too bad although it felt as if blisters were forming on the outside of both my big toes - nothing that would trouble me during the race but possibly afterwards.
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We ran on together until we hit the hill before the 9 mile mark and the other 2 began to move ahead of me. This was the first time during the race that I felt under pressure as it was the first time anyone pulled ahead of me (except perhaps for the opening half mile). The timekeeper was calling out 57:0? as we passed the 9 Mile mark - garmin showed a lap time of 6:22, the hill blunting my speed. I had no idea of what finishing time I was heading for, other than it would be under 64 (conservatively adding 6:30 to the 57:0? called out by the timekeeper - forgetting the 20+ seconds it took me to cross the start line). I pushed on at a steady pace - my lack of any real speedwork training showing as the other two, particularly Vivian began to pull further ahead. In fact as we entered the last half mile Diarmaid began to come slowly back to me, the effort of sticking to Vivian probably taking its toll. I began counting down the time left with the last km broken down at 200m intervals......"800m to go"......I could hear the MC at the finishing line "120 passed the finish line so far".......push......through the narrow Main Street of Ballycotton, which appeared to go on forever.........."600m to go"..........counting down the number of strides left in blocks of 90 (about 1 minute)............"400m to go".........one lap of the track........Vivian was gone at this stage......my neighbour Pat just ahead (62:34 last month in Dungarvan) I must be doing good.........."200m to go" keep pushing, but no finishing sprint.....the end is in sight..........I see 1:03:04 on the clock just before I cross under it, stopping my watch, where I think the finishing line is (no mat just a gantry) - 6:02 for Mile 10.
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My overall time was 1:02:45 (avg HR 159), I couldn't believe it, just 7 seconds outside my PB. I wouldn't mind but I wasn't aiming for a PB, if I had I'd certainly have given myself a better chance at the start, do a proper warmup (instead of the half mile jog) and get in a better position at the start line (I wouldn't have killed myself going for a 6:20 opening mile). Although I think I ran a good race, going out relatively conservatively (in hindsight) and negative splitting by nearly a minute(31:50/30:55) An encouraging run, although my feet were quite sore afterwards - the outside of both big toes and under the ball of my left foot - enough to limit my warmdown to a slow walk back to the carpark with Brendan and watch Thomas (Great run he had) complete his two mile warmdown before getting a lift home. All in all a good day out. Someone told me after the race that if I ran in normal shoes just think what I could do - I reminded them that it's my legs and feet do the running, not my shoes. I'm beginning to think I'd be faster in the vibrams. maybe I should give the Asics an outing in Mallow in two week time.

Sunday, 6 March 2011

(Not quite) Barefootin in Ballycotton

I finished off my highest mileage week ever with the Ballycotton 10 today, pushing the 90 mile barrier for the first time. Needless to say I was taking in the sights for most of the race and only began to push the pace over the last few miles.
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Following a 5 mile warmup with Paul (easy to spot the ultras) I donned the vibrams for the first time in a race. We got to the start with about 10 minutes to spare and consequently were placed towards the back of the 2,500 pack. Not too bad as the last thing I wanted was to get dragged out too fast. However I didn't realise that it would take me over 2 miles before I could run un-impeded. Following a first mile on the wrong side of 8 minutes (Paul had ducked and weaved through the crowd much more efficiently than I had) I settled into a 7:30 pace for a few miles with the vibrams feeling very comfortable and the aches and pains felt during the warmup miles long gone. I knew I needed to up the pace a little to get under 75 minutes (unofficial target) but there was plenty of time for that during the closing 5 miles. I passed through 5 miles with about 37:55 on the watch and the HR still on the right side of 140 (25 seconds off 75 minute pace). Over the next few miles I pushed the pace towards 7:00 as I had one or two targets in sight. I passed a guy wearing vibrams around the 7 mile mark - he wasn't making a sound compared to the flat-footed slaps I was making with every footfall - you could hearing me coming a mile off.
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As the finish line got closer I pushed under 7:00 pace with my HR climbing steadily through the 150's and into the 160's, averaging about 6:43 for the last 3 miles and coming in a tad slower than I did in Dungarvan - 72:26. The only disappointment from the day was the chip I discovered on my Ballycotton Mug when I got home.
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I travelled down with Pat and Thomas who both Pb'd on the day finishing a few 100 places ahead of me.
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My main run of the week was a 3 hr 15 min outing yesterday morning leaving the house just after 7 - running into town along the Lee Road, out the Straight Road, back in the Model Farm Road, a few grass laps of the Farm and home via the Curraheen Road, with a 500ml bottle of High Five for company. While I felt a bit tired during the first 5 or 6 miles I got into a bit of a grove during the 2nd hour, churning out mile after mile at just under 8:00 pace while maintaining a relatively steady HR. While my HR pushed towards 140 over the latter miles the pace still remained sub-8 minute which is a good sign that my aerobic conditioning is continuing to improve - the next MAF test will tell.
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Mon 28th Feb
a.m. 5.28 miles @ 8:40 pace & 116 HR - recovery run in the vibrams
p.m. 5.51 miles @ 8:07 pace & 130 HR - legs felt heavy
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February - 279 Miles
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Tue 1st Mar
a.m. 5.51 miles @ 7:41 pace & 136HR
p.m. 10.16 miles @ 7:49 pace & 129 HR with 5 x 1 mile @ 7:16 pace
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Wed 2nd Mar
10.39 miles @ 8:04 pace & 134HR ( Avg HR 164 for 1st mile???)
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Thu 3rd Mar
10.76 miles @ 7:52 pace & 128HR)
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Sat 5th Mar
25.14 miles @ 7:45 pace & 132HR
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Sun 6th Mar
17.96 miles @ 7:50 pace with 10 miles @ 7:15 pace & 140HR.
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Base Week #6 (Run 90.65 miles, Bike NIL, Swim 0.75km)
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Sunday, 8 March 2009

Scraping under the bar

As I start this post I think I scraped a PB at today's Ballycotton 10. I can't be certain as, for some foolish reason, someone pressed the stop button on my Garmin at the 10k mark. I rashly decided it would be nice to record my 10k split and pressed the stop instead of lap button. It wasn't long after that that the only nice thing I could think of was for the race to be over. But enough of the negativity.
The day was very similar to last year - it had all the necessary ingredients - wind, rain, cold, 3,000 plus runners converging on the small streets of Ballycotton to push as hard as they could along the rural roads of East Cork until they had 10 miles under their feet - all conducted in a great spirit of camaraderie ("we're all in this together" - as they say in "High School the Musical")
Thomas landed on my doorstep shortly after 10 and after calling on my neighbour Pat, all three of us were piled into the car and heading for Ballycotton. I wasn't feeling particularly energetic as I didn't get to bed until 2 a.m. (that's another story)
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We parked up in a field about a mile from the village and strolled down to the race HQ. A quick look around and we were off to the male changing tent. The wind was picking up outside and the rain coming down in intermittent showers. With about 40 minutes to go Thomas and I headed off for a 2 mile warmup along the coastal path - the wind was bracingly cold at times but we acclimatised.
Then it was back to the start and a push through the crowds to get a decent position near the front. I lost Thomas along the way but met up with Derek O'Keeffe of Eagle and Brendan just ahead of the sub 65 minute sign. Both of them were heading for 62 minute territory with me hanging back for 65 minute pace. I had been hoping of getting a little closer to the start line as I remember last years push to get past slower runners over the first mile - but the way was blocked solid.
Sure enough when the gun went off it the was a case of slow slow quick quick (a term borrowed from "quick step" lessons in the dim and distant past) trying to squeeze into gaps between the runners around us as we danced our way through the first mile. Brendan was out in front and disappeared through the crowd in no time at all. Mile 1 in 06:46 as the timekeeper called out 7:02, 04. deja-vu from last year - on PB pace. Thomas was on my shoulder at this stage - he had started 10+ seconds behind me. Well if he made that time up during the first mile I wasn't going to hold him back and wished him well.
During the second mile the crowed thinned out and we moved steadily along a net downhill section. Mile 2 in 06:23. Thomas was gone at this stage. The pace felt hard but sustainable - I had the Garmin on mile laps showing lap time, HR and lap pace. Checking my pace over these early miles showed each mile starting at low 06:20's but steadily creeping towards 6:30. Mile 3 in 06:33 - the sub 65 (06:30 avg)was looking like a tough ask. I kept pushing as we ran along a slight incline and turned left into the wind towards the 4 mile mark - Mile 4 in 06:33 (the wind and slight uphill cost me a few seconds).
Mile 5 was along a twisting road with the wind against us. My pace remained fairly steady as I crept forward and passed a few runners every 100 yards or so. I was surprised to see Thomas ahead sheltering in the middle of a group of runners with Mary Sweeney of St Finbarrs providing the shelter at the front. The clock at the 5 mile mark struck 33:00 as I passed - "christ - I'm closer to 66 minute pace - if Thomas is here at least i'm in good company" and then I realised that Thomas was only waiting until we turned away from the wind after the halfway point to make his move (which he confirmed after the race) and sure enough he broke cover as we turned the corner and he forged ahead. The Garmin gave me 06:30 for Mile 5 (32:37 for the half, which I didn't see at the time) although it beeped a few yards ahead of the mile marker.
For the next 3 miles as we ran with the wind behind us the gap between Thomas and I varied from 20 to 50 yards as he see-sawed back an forth in front of me (pulling away in the downhills and drawing closer on the uphills - I thought that if I could keep close until mile 8.5 that the "mainly uphill" last mile and a half would suit me better.
Mile 6 in 06:29.
Mile 7 in 06:xx (watch stopped for undefined period of time - turned it back on before the 7 mile mark and pressed the lap button at mile 7 - 02:49
Mile 8 in 06:19 I felt reasonably strong during mile 8 as I put in a surge on a gentle uphill and pulled within 5 yards of Thomas - but the rise gave way to a fall and the gap widened again. That the only move I had - as we approached the 8 mile mark my tank was empty and I was hoping the reserve would carry me the last 2 miles homes. It's not that I slowed down, it's just that all I could do was maintain pace - no push. Thomas crept forward as we rounded the corner for the rise to the 9 mile mark - Mile 9 in 06:32 - not bad considering. The time keeper was calling out 58:52 as I passed. "I'm sure it was 59 minutes even last year. I certainly thought I had a real chance of hitting 65 minutes as I had 6 minutes in the bag plus the time it took me to cross the line (must have been at least as much as the 15 seconds it took last year).
The last mile was a matter or perseverance - counting down the lap time on the Garmin as to how much pain was left. And finally I could see the finishing clock in the distance and pushed the final few yards - I approached a timing mat about 30 yards ahead of the clock and slowed down after I had crossed it, thinking it was the finish and suddenly I realised that there was another mat under the clock but as my legs were in slowdown mode all I could do was freewheel to the "real finish". I neglected to stop the watch at the finish but the mile lap showed 06:19 for that last mile.
I had thought the clock said 65:04 as I passed under it but that could have been wishful thinking (maybe it was the first view of the clock from my myopic eyes) as now that the official results are out my official finishing time is 65:18 with a chip time of 65 minutes even - a PB by 4 seconds!!!. (216 out of 2398 finishers)
Thomas had a much stronger finish and finished closer to 64 minutes, while Brendan was already back at home writing up his blog. We met up with Richard afterwards, who provided the camera for a Ballycotton photo shoot. Richards 37:38 should give him great confidence for his sub 3:20 target in Rotterdam next month. Pat also did very well with his first sub-70 (69:15)
A two mile warmdown with Thomas completed my running week. On a final note my resting heart rate yesterday morning was 42. On a good week this has been 37/38. My standing around HR at the start line was high 80's compared to 60's last year - I think I should scale back a bit before ramping up for Cork in 12 weeks.
Eagle AC's Rhona Lynch got third Female in 60:28 - well done Rhona that's a fantastic time.
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Well done to all runners who braved the elements today and a special thanks to Ballycotton Running Promotions and all the volunteers for putting on a great race.
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Richard and the three bloggers.
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Wed 4th Mar
11.11 miles in 01:27:34 (07:53 pace @ 137 HR). Cold and snowing for 3 miles.
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Fri 6th Mar
6.83 miles in 53:16 (07:48 pace @ 148HR???)
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Sun 8th Mar
14 miles with 10 miles in 01:05:00 (06:30 pace @ 164 HR)
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Transition Week 5 (Run 46.3 miles, Bike 21.3 miles, Swim 1,000m)
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