Ressurection

Summer already - where has the year gone? At least I have 2 PB's to show for it and 1 of those was even under marathon distance. Still my focus remains on endurance, although I haven't decided on what my next target is - I'm leaning towards the Portumna 50k on 16th June. To keep my foot in and my interest piqued I have a few marathon pacing gigs over the next few months - starting with the Limerick marathon today, in which I was the sole 3:45 pacer - no pressure - except perhaps for the fact that I had the full Irish for breakfast this morning to soak up the pint of plain I had last night and was kinda worried that I might have to take a toilet break before the finish - "excuse me there for a minute, just keep going at the same pace - I gotta pop in here for a minute and I'll catch up with you in a bit"  would hardly instill confidence in those around me. The fact that one guy temporarily went in front of me and turned around after a minute looking for reassurance that I was still there was enough to convince me that "An bhfuil cead agam dul amach go dti an leithreas?" was a non-runner. As it turned out my fear was unfounded and I sailed around the course bringing 6 or 7 with me all the way on a beautiful sunny morning. The fact that I got thanks from a few guys and gals was enough to make it all worth while. One girl even asked for my pacing baloons. Another guy, Jerry O'Connor from Wexford, was heading up to Belfast afterwards to run in the Belfast Marathon tomorrow for his first double. The fact that the early mile markers were out did not help with the pacing.

Over Easter my Garmin, which had refused to recognise the satellites for the last 9 months,  has woken from its deep slumber to give me a glimpse of it's former capability, but reception is intermittent - a bit like tuning into BBC in the 80's. I have found that turning it on and off a few times, assuming I have the time and patience, will eventually give me a lock - weirdly enough sometimes it says that the GPS cache is not loaded (GPS=0.0) and the next time I turn it on it has suddenly appeared (GPS=2.90, I deleted version 3.0) but there are no satellites on the radar - next time I can see the screen cluttered with satellites but the Garmin refuses to lock on and then out of the blue I get a lock. I'm not that bothered as I have got used to running without pace/distance feedback and when I really need it I can go to the track.

I continue to run in the vibrams once a week for a tempo session and while my calves would feel tight for a day or two afterwards I have no real issues with them. Every now and then Abina brings a message back from the physio she is seeing for her back saying that I shouldn't be running in vibrams - this week Martin told her that he read an article recently saying that they negatively affect performance - "That's ok" I said "I already have 4 kids and don't plan on having any more - anyway I don't wear them in bed". "Racing performance, you idiot" She replied. I didn't bother telling her about Ballycotton but did suggest an early night with the barefoot shoes to test Martin's theory - she just gave me "one of her looks".

Wed 25th April - 5.25 miles in 39:59 (7:37 pace @ 128 HR - Easy run)

Thur 26th April - 8.77 miles in 59:09 (6:45 pace @ 142 HR - Tempo run in Vibrams)

Fri 27th April - 5.25 miles in 39:02 (7:26 pace @ No HRM - Easy run)

Sat 28th April - 21.3 miles in 2:51:28 (8:03 pace @ 129 HR - Long run)

Tue 1st May - a.m. - 9.61 miles in 1:10:48 (7:22 pace @ 134 HR - Easy run)

Tue 1st May - p.m. - 7.79 miles in 54:50 (7:02 pace @ 141 HR - Fartlek run)

Thur 3rd May - 8.07 miles in 1:04:42 (8:01 pace @ No HRM - Easy run)

Fri 4th May - 8.78 miles in 57:44 (6:34 pace @ 151HR - Tempo run in Vibrams) 

Sat 5th May - 10;58 miles in 1:18:48 (7:28 pace @ No HRM - Easy run)

Sun 6th May - 26.22 miles in 3:44:27 (8:34 pace @ No HRM - Long run) 

Fish

Last week we lost "Fish", a member of our family. On Wednesday, while I was at work, I got a call from a neighbour to say that he and his brother in arms "Polo" (Abina does the name calling in our household) had escaped from the confines of our back garden, roamed around the neighbourhood until Fish came into contact with a car coming out of a driveway, and went to meet his maker. So there I was at 11 in the morning, standing in the garden with Safan (home on mid-term, luckily the younger two were out with friends) digging a grave in a suit, wondering how the hell was I going to break the news to Abina when she came home from work that evening that her beloved dog had passed on. Sorry, I forgot to say that Fish was a dog (I know). Anyway it put a damper on the whole week, to say the least - particularly as Polo spent most nights pining for his lost companion in the lonesome way that only dogs do (There were times in the middle of the night when the expression STFU came to mind, but thankfully not to mouth - at least when Abina was around).

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Fish RIP (2008 - 2012) Sadly Missed.

My training for Connemara has moved away from the base building phase. To be quite honest I got bored with it and anyway I felt that my base, coming off the back of last year, didn't need much building up. Also Connemara is creeping up and I needed to get my ass in gear. My approach this year is different from last year. Not for me the high mileage weeks I ran last March, culminating in a 114 mile week 3 weeks before the event (At times I used stand on my doorstep not knowing whether I was going out on a run or coming back from the last one ;) spending the rest of the time washing laundry). My quickly hobbled together plan this year is concentrated around 3 key sessions per week.

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First up, and probably the least critical, are the mile repeats at the track on Tuesdays. I progressed these from about 6:48 pace down to 6:10 pace, being able to rattle off 5 with 2 minute recoveries during the last session (the night before Fish bit the dust). Hopefully these will be of some benefit for the two 10 milers I have planned, 4 (Ballycotton) and 2 (Mallow) weeks before Connemara.

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Thursday mornings are reserved for Tempo sessions, which I have run in the vibrams as I plan to race my two 10 milers in them. Why? you may well ask. Why not! I may well answer. An experiment of one perhaps. The target pace for these runs are 6:20 to 6:40 pace - ideally sub 6:30 as my aim in Ballycotton is to run sub 65 (6:30 pace). I have completed 3 to-date. The first was a 3 & 2 miler at 6:27/25 pace with 1.5 miles recovery in between. The following week it was 2 x 20 minutes @ 6:29/28 pace and this week 2 x 22.5 minutes @ 6:26/39 (against the wind) pace. The warmup/down and recoveries were kept steady (between 7:00 and 7:20) so that the overall pace has been around 6:48/52 pace - completing my first sub 1:30 half marathon in the vibrams this week - 13:39 miles in 1:31:27 (6:49 pace). My calves certainly feel tight for a day or two after these runs as they share the pressure of the increased cushioning provided by the muscles of my feet.

My third weekly session and the most important (it's race specific) is my specific endurance weekend long run. Last year before Connemara I ran 7 runs of duration 2:45 or longer, with 5 of those under 8 minute pace (the other 2 were the second of back to back runs) and the longest a 29.17 miler over 3:45 at 7:43 pace (fastest of all my long runs). To-date this year I have only run 2 long runs of duration 2:45 or longer, the first a 22.42 miler last weekend in 2:45 (7:22 pace) and the second a 3:15 marathon (26.34 miles) @ 7:24 pace this morning. As Ballycotton is next weekend I have only 1 more opportunity to run long before Connemara ( 3 weeks out) While these runs have been very encouraging with a pace 20 seconds per mile faster than last years training runs I remember that last year I still only managed an average of 8:17 pace during the race, primarily due to a dodgy calf. Hopefully my calves will be stronger this year.

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As far as my fuelling strategy is concerned, I don't have one at the moment and did not trial any on my long runs to-date. In fact this morning was the first time I ran the marathon distance without anything passing my lips (except for the cup of coffee beforehand) - I did keep a bottle of water outside the house as I was passing it at miles 22.4 & 24.4 but I did not divert from my course to take it (foolhardy perhaps). I lost 2.5 kg in the process. Certainly I am beginning to believe that taking food on board on the morning of a (ultra?)marathon is probably unnecessary if you have eaten well the evening before, unless you need it to get your bowels moving, which is important.

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Apart from the vibrams, the two pair of shoes I am rotating at moment are a €20 pair of Aldi specials and a pair of lightweight Asics Gel Hyperspeeds, which I have used for the track work. It took awhile to break in the Asics for the longer runs (probably because they are designed for short races) but last weeks 22.4 miler in them went well. Likewise the Aldi specials this morning caused no problems, although with 420 miles on them, they are wearing a bit thin underneath, noticeable (surprisingly) because the thickness of the sole under the balls on my feet has reduced to a few mm so that I am beginning to feel the indentations in ground underneath, the way I do in the vibrams - the first time that I have seen shoes wear under the balls of my feet - is my foot plant changing in my traditional shoes??? There is also wear on the outside of the heels (see photo below - very noticeable wear locally under the balls on my feet). I think i'll use the Hyperspeeds for Connemara. 5 weeks to go!

Dungarvan 10 - A Race Of Two Halves

Since I first ran this race in 2009 The Dungarvan 10 has gone from strength to strength and is fast becoming one of the most popular races on the racing calendar. Certainly West Waterford AC put on a great event. Where else for €15 would you get a goody bag with a technical running top, sports drink, banana, crisps, oat cookie, and bar of chocolate, not to mind as many bottles of water as you could carry, hot showers, and as much tea/coffee sandwiches and cake as you could eat. And that's all in addition to the main event - a chip timed 10 mile road race over a flat fast course, with timekeepers at every mile marker, stewards offering words of encouragement and pacers for 70, 75, 80, 85 & 90 minutes, if you were looking to break any of those milestones (so what if they carried balloons that you're more likely to see at a kiddies party). Fantastic.

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The race is called the John Treacy Dungarvan 10, in honour of local running legend John Treacy, twice winner of the world cross-country championships (78 & 79) and silver medalist behind Carlos Lopez in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Marathon. Not only that, but John would be running the race.

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As I am still in base building mode (i.e. taking it easy for a while) I was never going to race today. Instead I decided to pace clubmate Denis Looney to a sub-70 minute PB. I know there were pacers out there but none of them were prepared to say "you're looking great Denis, c'mon you can do it" ;-) . In hindsight, with a PB of 72:5x, getting under 70 in the first race of the year was going to be a tough task for Denis. I traveled down with Michael and his Wife Nuala, Denis and Ian (All Eagles), with only Denis and I having run a 10 miler before - so we'd be returning with a least 3 PBs and possibly 4.

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The day was a bit damp (Irish for light rain) but the termerature was a relatively balmy 7C and there was no wind that you could talk about - perfect. To make it a bit more interesting I decided to wear the Vibrams - aiming for my first vibram sub-70 ( I ran Ballycotton in them last year, finishing in 72:xx). I was a bit worried as I had slightly skinned the top of 2 toes on my right foot when I ran in them on Thursday, but I was willing to take the risk, covering the digits in vaseline before donning the flip flops, as some people call them.

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The warmup consisted of running the half mile to the start line and standing around chatting before the gun went off. Despite the few drops of rain I did not feel cold in the singlet. Once the gun went Denis and I settled into a fairly comfortable pace just behind the 70 minute pacers on a short loop through the town before heading out the Cork Road for a larger loop through the countryside. My Garmin ran out of power during the first mile - some pacer I am. Luckily I had the pacers to guide me. We hit mile 1 in 7:08 which suggested we were behind pace, but I reckon the timekeeper was slightly out. Mile 2 came in 13:51 - well within 7:00 pace. It became a bit congested when we hit the narrower country roads, particularly as there was a sizable group in the wake of the pacers. Miles 3 and 4 came and went with us still maintaining a pace just under 7:00, with about a 20 second cushion on the overall target.

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Around the 4 mile mark we caught up with race -walker Jamie Costin, who maintained a steady pace behind the pacers - amazing to watch how he could keep such a relatively fast pace while keeping one foot on the ground - strange sport. Shortly after this Denis's wheels began to wobble slightly - "I'm not going to make it" he said, "I went out too fast". We slow a little and the pacers and their entourage gradually move ahead. However we keep a steady pace and the pacers are still in sight as we pass the 5 mile halfway mark a few seconds under 35 minutes. You could say still on target for a sub-70 but in truth we has lost most of the 20 second cushion we had at mile 4. On the plus side the road was a lot less congested, poor comfort for Denis really.

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On we ran with one or two runners coming on our shoulders and going ahead. We passed mile 6 with the timekeeper calling out 42:24 - just under 7:30 for the mile. With 4 miles to go I reckoned that if Denis could maintain a 7:30 pace he'd finish in 30 minutes and get his PB comfortably (72:2x). With those words of advice and my feet reacting well to the vibrams, I sought permission to chase down the 70 minute pacers, so that I could keep my sub-70 target. In truth I abandoned Denis in his hour (half hour) of need, there's no end to my selfishness when it comes to running.

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My pace increased as I hit the biggest downhill section of the race in mile 7, passing those that had passed me earlier, the increased landing force not adversely affecting my feet. The mile 7 time-keeper was calling out 48:57 as I passed - 3 seconds under 70 minute pace, with the pacers still about 100 yards ahead. The road became congested again as I hit the back of the group, but gaps opened up every now and again as those in front took evasive action around puddles and I splashed straight through, the fun part of running in vibrams. I felt strong, running about 6:30 pace but still reasonably comfortable and not under any huge pressure. Past the 8 mile mark in about 55:2x - over half a minute cushion on the sub-70. Left onto the main Cork/Waterford Road for the final push to the finish, continually passing those around me, including the race walker, who was well ahead of the 70 minute pace group. My arrival on the heels of those in front was well advertised with the slapping noise from my mid-foot strike in the vibrams.

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Mile 9 came in 61:47 (I think) - over a minute cushion and heading for a sub-69 - could I get a sub-68? keep pushing. Those in front were not coming back to me half as quick as they were a mile or two back. 1 km to go and I pass 2 guys, with one of them coming back on my shoulder, having increased his pace noticeably to keep up with me - I imagined him thinking "No fu#k*r in a pair of flip flops is going to beat me". The 800m to go sign came and went with the guy still breathing down my neck as we passed a few more. "I don't have much of a finishing kick so i'll have to burn him off soon or at least make him work harder to keep with me", so I increase the effort - he's still on my shoulder passing the 600m to go sign. "Fair play to him" was all I could think, "he's stubborn and if he's in the mix in the last 100m he'll deserve to beat me" I kept quite though as I didn't want to encourage him. I felt a bit guilty though as he was unaware of the advantage that I had over him in that I was technically only racing 4 miles to his 10.

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From 600m out I picked up the pace for my long finishing kick and the guy eventually left my shoulder. I kept pushing and while the effort was tough it felt more like running an interval at the track as opposed to the energy sapping feeling I would normally feel at the end of a 10 mile or HM race. 400m came and went, left at the roundabout, now at full tilt (all relative) passing a few more - 200m to go, I could see clubmate Neil ahead and increased the effort to see if I could catch him, but he had his own finishing kick and managed to stay ahead of me as I crossed the line behind him in 1:07:52 - covering the last 4 miles in 25:28 (6:22 pace) and the last mile in 6:05 - very pleased with my day out as it showed that I can run hard in the vibrams without too much trouble - well apart from the pain of skinning the top of one of my right toes, which I didn't feel during the race - but no bio mechanical issues as far as I am aware.

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Denis did indeed get his 72:2x PB , which he was well pleased with. Great to be able to stick with it when the primary target is gone and your pacer ditches you mid-race. I only did it to toughen him up ;) So I was the only one on the drive home without a PB, with Michael covering the distance in 1:08:55 , Ian in 1:18:24 (still in his first 6 months of running) and Nuala in 1:19:19 - so congratulations all round and as usual a great day out.

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