Easing back

I headed to Bandon this afternoon for the annual Bandon AC 5 mile road race. While I am no where near good form I just needed to get used to some fast running as speedwork has been on the back burner for the last few months.

I started out with Clubmate Denis, both of us aiming for sub-35 (7 minute miles). We banked some time in the first downhill mile - 6:13. Through the town at 7 minute pace for the relatively flat second mile, left past the GAA club and out the Kilbritain Road - 7:03. The third mile was largely uphill so we kept the effort the same and eased off the pace. Through halfway in about 17:10. Mile 3 in 7:25.

Once the hill was crested it was largely downhill or flat to the finish so with the body feeling comfortable I eased up the pace and slowly reeled in a few runners in front of me. I could see Dan Kennedy of St Finbarrs AC about 50 yards ahead and set him as a target to reel in. It took some time to gain ground and I was still behind him at the 4 mile mark - mile 4 in 6:21. However I was gaining ground and still felt reasonably ok so I was able to push the pace further and slowly reeled in Dan and a few more in front of him making sure to pass quickly so as to minimise the risk of a counter attack. I passed my last target with about 250m to go and could hear them coming back at me - so I pressed on the accelerator and found more fuel in the tank and sprinted for the line - 32:58 (Mile 5 in 5:56). Not my best result but a great way to run a race and glad to see that I had some speed in my legs.

Denis came in shortly afterwards in 34:44 easily getting under his 35 minute target and holding off a last minute challenge by clubmate John Quigley.

2 Mile Mark

A quick mile warmdown back to the car with no time to stop for refreshments as I had an afternoon of felling and cutting trees planned with Adrian.

Pacing my way to a Sub 31 at Churchtown South

The third race in the Ballycotton 5 miler summer series saw me dip under 31 minutes for the first time. It wasn’t without putting in a bit of hard work and resisting the temptation to slacken off the pace when the going got tough. My warmup started at lunchtime with a 5k easy run in the park. My toe on the right foot continues to throb a little and is a bit swollen but doesn’t impact on my running. The race course is effectively two laps of quite country roads, some so quite (and narrow)they got grass growing in the middle, centered around the village of Churchtown South, where the start and finish lines were. I warmed up over the 2.5-mile loop, which has a few gradual ups and downs but is relatively fast. I made it to the start line with minutes to spare. The start was a bit congested with close on 500 runners lined up on a mild sunny evening. Once the gun went I took off at a steady fast pace and had to do a bit of weaving in and out over the first ¼ mile to get to the comfortably hard pace required for racing. Still most of the Eagle club mates that have similar race paces to me were out in front and despite the hard effort I thought I was off pace. The time-keeper calling out 5:55 at the first mile marker was enough to tell me that my pace was fine as long as I could maintain the effort. The manual lap on My Garmin turned out to be 5:58 for Mile 1. Still I was lagging behind the pace group ahead. - Pat Murphy was running on the back of the group of 5 or 6 leading females with John O’Callaghan out the front of the group. Kevin Geary had gone ahead chasing down Pat O’Connor. Eventually I pulled on to the back of the group passing the two mile mark in 11:54 (Mile 2 in 5:56). The first half of mile 3 is a gradual rise before the left turn for Churchtown South past the finish line and around the corner for the 2.5 mile mark with the timekeeper calling out 15:07 – in the space of half a mile I had fallen off the 30 minute pace. It was only a matter of time. At this stage I had passed John and Pat and was with the three remaining leading Females St Finbarrs Emma Murphy, Leevales Jessica Vonhatten and Eagles Rhona Lynch, who is leading the overall female standings after 2 races (I don’t think the other 2 had run the previous races). This was certainly unfamiliar territory for me. The longer I was able to hang on to this group the better. Out on the 2nd loop and Rhona had dropped off the pace and I was with the two leading females. They pulled ahead by a few yards and I caught up on a slight downhill and even went ahead for a while. Emma was back in front and I kept pace with her passing the 3 mile mark in 18:13 (Mile 3 in 6:19 - the slowest mile by far) – I was still well on pace for sub-31 though.

It could have been so easy to ease up at this stage as I had managed to hang on pretty well. To keep motivated I kept telling myself to seek out the pain and could honestly say that despite the fatigue in my legs I could not feel any real pain, so I continued on at the same effort. Emma, the leading female dropped me at about mile 3.5. She was followed a few hundred yards later by Jessica and a guy pacing her. I kept within a few yards of them and could see Pat about 20 yards ahead and Kevin off in the distance. Mile 4 came in 24:13 (6:00 Mile 4 - not bad at all) – 11 seconds under my 4-mile PB set in January. No chance of getting near 30 minutes though as the long rise towards the left turn for the finish took any speed out of my legs. I kept the even hard effort counting down the minutes to the finish line (about 3 minutes to go = 300 steps) – left towards the finish but still a gentle rise so no chance of a sprint. A guy passes me over the last 400m - I just don’t have that sort of sprint but don’t care as I am heading for a big PB - crossing the line in 30:24 (6:05 pace Avg & 6:11 for Mile 5), 46 seconds under my PB of two weeks ago and a full minute down on my pre-summer PB. Kevin had a fantastic race getting under 30 minutes just ahead of the leading female. There were plenty of Eagle AC 5 mile PB’s - Pat O’Connor, John O’Callaghan, Andy Gibson, Ann-Marie Power & Denis Looney to name a few (don’t know about Robert Doherty) – well done to all. Pat Murphy took the first M50 spot with Denis Carroll coming in second. John Quigley took second M55 spot & Rhona took third female spot – so great club results all round. A 2.5 mile warmdown over the race loop gave me 13 miles for the day. I finished off the evening with a cup of tea and a few biscuits in the hall. Well done to Ballycotton running promotions for putting on another fantastic race that was very well managed, from the car-parking stewards, marshals, timekeepers and caterers.

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The results put me in 54th Place (52nd Male) with 14 guys in front of me who haven't run both the previous races - so there's a good chance that my number should be under 50 going into the last race of the series. McMillan puts this as my 3rd best performance after my 1:24:30 half in September 2008 and my 1:02:38 10 miler in January this year - so not quite there yet. Finally a little plug for the Paddy Games taking place at the Mardyke Arena on 14th August where you get the chance to participate in or watch (if you don’t like sticking out from the crowd) a few wacky track and field events all in aid of not taking life too seriously – after all you only live once. Former work colleague, John Meade, is one of the promoters of the games along with the other half of his three legged 3:25 marathon world record - on two legs he managed 2:44 this year in Cork, just think what he could do on one leg. John is currently 4th overall in the Ballycotton series – a bit too fast for me.

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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".

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The T-Shirt Plan

I took to the quite country roads of east Cork for my first race since the Connemara Ultra over 6 weeks ago. The Ballyandreen 5, the first in the Ballycotton 5 mile summer series kicked off last night with a record crowd of 520 runners. My aim this year is to complete all four races in the series and maybe win a T-shirt for my efforts. If you manage to complete all 4 races over the summer and your overall time is within the top 50 (15 for women) you get a free T-shirt - can't wait!

To be quite honest my running form is nowhere near what it was at the start of the year and with an average of 3 runs a week over the last 5 weeks I wasn't planning on hitting the PB stakes just yet - but I will before the summer's out. With that in mind I settled into the middle of the pack with a few from the club who were training for the upcoming Cork marathon and going out at a manageable 3hr+ marathon pace (6:50 or thereabouts). It took us about 12 seconds to cross the start line and we took it relatively easy for the first half mile before picking up the pace once we were past the worst of the traffic jam.

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The first mile was a net uphill averaging 6:54 (7:06 on the timekeepers clock). Mile 2 down into Ballycotton was a net downhill particularly over the 2nd half where I took advantage of the hill to pick up the pace - Mile 2 in 6:19. During Mile 3 I kept with the increased effort which was reasonably comfortable and continued to pick off runners in front of me. Mile 3 in 6:27.

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Mile 4 was a net uphill with the last 0.3 miles consisting of a 100 foot climb. I was passed by a guy at about mile 3.5 but remained 5 to 10 yards behind him plugging our way up the hill and picking off a few tiring souls. The hill eventually levelled out as we passed the 4 mile mark. Mile 4 in 7:00. I took a look at my watch to check my pace before heading into the downhill mile to the finish. A Marshall told me to forget about the watch and run. I took his advice and focused instead on the runners in front of me and particularly the only guy that had passed me since I crossed the start line. I let the brakes off and picked up the pace continuing to accelerate more or less until I crossed the finish line. With about half a mile to go I was past the guy who had passed me. I thought he would put up a fight so I kept increasing the pace taking full advantage of the hill and continued to pass runners coming in towards the finish passing 2 in the last 20 yards.

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Maybe it was the fact that I had saved my legs over the first half of the race that I managed to pick off so many runners over the last half mile or maybe my downhill running has much improved (the switch to the bike over the last month may have something to do with that) Mile 5 in 5:40 - 32:20 Overall (32:32 clock time)

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I came 96th overall so I have my work cut out for me if I want that T-shirt. Then again not all of those in front of me were men and of those that were not all will run the full series, fingers crossed.

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Despite the low running volume I still manged to get a 20 and 18 mile long run in over the last 2 weekends and will now follow the traditional taper for Cork, deciding against training through it.

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I'll take It

A year ago I reported narrowly missing my 5 mile PB of 32:06 in Ballycotton where I posted 32:14. Since then I shaved 3 seconds off it in Bandon at the end of December with 32:03, which is still a soft target compared to my other PB's. So yesterday evening I headed off to Ballycotton to see if I could break the 32 minute barrier and get a real indication of where I am and what my training paces should be. I headed down with Eamon Fitzgerald, a neighbour who had done the previous three races in the series (this was my one and only) and was looking for the coveted plaque given out to those who completed all four (which also guarantees entry to the Ballycotton 10 next March). Traffic was a bit heavy which meant that I had little time for a warmup before the race, getting in less than a mile (not ideal, but that's life). We met up with another neighbour, Pat, who was also in contention for a plaque. The weather was perfect - a beautiful sunny evening. I met David O'Mahony (who also dabbles in Tri) before the race, who indicated that he was heading for 32 minutes so I thought it would be good to start with him - I knew he was capable of faster as he is generally in front of me at the finish line. We stood back about 5 yards from the front runners and when the gun went off there was a slow shuffle for a few seconds before the pace gradually picked up. The pace remained relatively slow over the first quarter of a mile as the congestion was worse than anticipated. As Dave is smaller he managed to squeeze into spaces that I could not and within a matter of a minute he was gone from view. To be honest I probably needed the first half mile to complete my warmup and gradually increase the pace. This half mile was against the wind and the protection of the throng in front of me was welcome. The first mile is primarily downhill and it was relatively easy to pick up the pace towards 6:20 (sub-conscious target pace) - which is the exact time called out at the 1 mile mark. I was on Pat's shoulder at this stage - he was looking strong and came with me for a short while as we continued to pass runners. Left at 1.6 miles and into the wind again. I eased into a comfortable pace drafting off 2 runners in front, knowing that I could go faster but taking advantage to shelter from the worst of the wind. After a short while others began to bunch behind us until one or two pushed ahead - I followed but tucked in behind the front guy. The timekeeper at mile 2, while looking at his watch, did not call out times. (Garmin beeped a 6:22 mile about 20 yards ahead of the marker). Left again away from the wind at 2.5 miles and the first hill of the evening with a gradual rise and a short steep section to the 3 mile mark. At the bottom of the rise I came on the shoulder of Dave, who was "chatting" to another guy. "I must be doing good" I thought "although he can't be suffering as much as I am if he's chatting". Dave came with me as I passed him by, still behind the guy I had been drafting off - although now I was tracking him. Up the short steep hill and left past the 3 mile mark. "19:20" the timekeeper called out as we passed. While I didn't have the computational skills to extrapolate a result from that time (something to do with the exertion of the preceding hill), I did think that I hadn't even covered 5k in 19:20. The 4th mile was undulating which for some strange reason I enjoyed and continued to pass others, with Dave on my shoulder. I'd pull away from him on the downhills and he'd catch up on the uphill noting that I made better use of gravity. "Yeah but i'm fu@k*d on the uphills" was all I could reply. While I wished the race to be over I maintained a solid pace and even passed the guy I had been tracking. "25:25" was the time called out as we passed the 4 mile mark. I knew that I had over 6 and a half minutes to make my sub-32 target and so continued to push, reminding myself that the effort would be worth it and that there was a short distance left. I had left Dave behind me at this stage, how far I didn't know. There were 2 runners about 20 yards in front with half a mile to go. Previously I would have settled for keeping my position behind these 2 (if I was lucky enough not to fade) but I was running at a pace that I wanted to maintain at all cost, despite the discomfort and gradually reeled them in and passed them out just before the 400m to go sign. I was now running scared, close to empty but managed to inject a little extra pace whenever I heard footfalls behind me, which appeared to work until the last 100m when I heard a steam train approaching from behind and while I kicked as hard as I could (i'm not a sprint finisher) I was no match for the guy blasting past me for the finish line. Dave wasn't that far behind me after all. I couldn't have lost to a nicer guy. When I told him afterwards my dismay at being passed so close to the finish he apologised. There was no clock at the finish so I had to check the Garmin, which gave me a 31:21 finish - My official result is 31:22. My mile splits (from a combination of the course timekeepers and the Garmin) were:- 6:20 6:27 (drafting) 6:33 (hill) 6:05 5:57 my splits last year were:- 6:24 6:32 6:44 6:22 6:10 This is my third PB this year, and while the other 2 (10 & 4 miles) rate better using the McMillan running calculator I am pleased with the result as everything is going in the right direction and I have little speedwork under my belt - to be quite honest I don't need a lot of speedwork as my race distances will be increasing over the coming months - HM in 2 weeks, 15 miler in 5 weeks and M in 8 weeks. Mon 24th Aug 8.59 miles in 1:10:42 (08:14 @ 132HR) - with 10 x 15 sec hill sprints Tue 25th Aug 15 miles in 1:52:35 (07:30 pace @ 140HR) - combined 3 mile mixed tempo run (avg 6:39 pace) with a mid week long run so that I could have an easier day before the Ballycotton 5. Wed 26th Aug 9 miles in 1:15:37 (08:24 pace @ 132HR) - barefoot run (6.5 miles on road and 2.5 miles on the beach) Thur 27th Aug a.m. 2.17 miles in 18:15 (8:24 pace @ 126HR) - following 20 mile bike ride in wind and rain p.m. 6.83 miles with 5 miles in 31:22 (6:16 pace @ 160HR) .............and finally Jim Moriarity, who was unable to complete the Bo Peep Traithlon due to injury, was on hand to take a few finishing shots of me approaching/crossing the line.

Correction

The final results show my time as 31:23. We all got pushed back one place.