Ballybunion 10K, 2012.

Standing on the start line with 5 minutes to go and I'm want to be anywhere else.  No complaints with my training and my recent '10K paced' 5K race in Clongowes aimed at this race meant I was in good condition but yesterday didn't go well at all.  Missed my dinner and ate mostly junk out of hunger plus I had a bit of a barney (argument) which went on and on, didn't sleep too well and I know I'm a bit stresed thinking about the 100K Worlds.  Woke up on race morning feeling bloated and stomach wasn't great but I was consoled by knowing that I usually race well when not feeling too good which is brought on by the body's fight or flight mode as it's your body's way of preparing for what's ahead but I think today is more stress related.

Went for my usual pre race run trying to convince myself that all was ok but my heart rate was very high and seeing it so high probably made it go higher so I shortened the run rather than making a bad situation worse.  The late start in Ballybunion allowed time for a proper breakfast and I finished eating at 11am for  a 2pm start to prevent any stomach related problems.

And we're off! I'm pacing myself today rather than racing but having said that my goal time of 35 minutes is faster than last year's winning time so I knew I'd be at the business end of the race.  The race has a very fast start for a short distance down main street before turning sharply right and heading out along the coast.  I took off with the lead group and settled in at the tail end and tried to get comfortable being uncomfortable.  Leaving the town there's a long drag which seems to go on forever and then after a slight leveling it drops for for close to 2K with some undulating sections.  it's a relief reaching the downhill and although your legs temporarily feel that little bit better it's no relief to your head as you know with it being an out and back course that you must turn around and pay back each of these downhill steps.
On the approach to the turnaround I can see the lead runner running back towards me and he's looking very comfortable.  I miss the turning point and know I have so I start shout for confirmation and end up adding maybe 15M to my race and by the time I'm back on course I'm in 4th or 5th position.  I dig deep and try to get back where I think I should be and that's in fighting place for 2nd - 4th position based on how the race was panning out and not being presumptuous.
I get back in with the pack and try recover from the unplanned burst and soon begin trading places with one other runner who always seems to have the extra kick to push the pace on.  I take a chance and follow a kick and then maintain it as we hit a hill shortly after 7K and that was the last I saw of him.  I didn't know how close he was and I didn't want to look behind.  In the distance up ahead I could see the race leader and I was willing him to turn around to show some sign of weakness that would make me think it was worthwhile to make the extra effort.  I felt like the hunter chasing his prey but also felt like the prey being hunted down, the choice was to push on too soon and possibly burn out or stay steady and not getting caught.
I stayed steady and on the final approach of maybe 300M to the finish line someone shouted 'yer grand, there's no one behind you' so I kicked to the finish and crossed the line comfortably in 2nd place with a new PB of 35:09.
Compared with my last time running this race back in 2010 I was over 1 minute faster for the same average Heart Rate of 159 bpm.

1st: Tom O'Connor. 34:19
2nd: John O'Regan. 35:09
3rd: Nial Shanahan. 35:44

Race Results.

Sports Massage

I always wondered why my wife insisted on using the same hairdresser all the time as do most of the girls I know but yesterday I was getting a massage with the same guy I've been going to for the last 3 years and after the massage he said 'I've seen you a lot worse'.  He knows what I've done over the last few years and has helped me recover from injury and prepare for races so he knows a lot about me and it was then it dawned on me that when you find someone you trust and that knows their job you should stick with them.  

Anyway, not a lot happening at the moment as I'm between races and although not Tapering for London I'm taking it a bit easier.  Took most of the Easter weekend off apart from an early morning 15 mile run with Tony last Friday.  We started out at 07:00 am and ran for 2 hrs at 8 min mile pace without a pre planned route which made for a very enjoyable start to the day and end of my training week.

Almost there.

Finished my last training run this evening which was an easy 5 miles at an average pace of 8:30 min miles with Tony and now it's time to relax and wait for the big day. All my kit is packed and ready to go including my race day breakfast and recovery meal for after the race.

My plan for race day is based on heart rate and pace from a selection of runs over the past few weeks and my fuelling strategy was also worked out during some of my long runs. Running at a 7:30 mile my HR norm when fully hydrated usualy levels out at between 140-145bpm which is just under 80% of my HR max. As time goes on (3hrs+) my Hr starts to increase so my plan is to keep within the same HR zone which will mean slowing down.
To stay in control of the situation I plan on changing pace before I need to and that way I won't be giving in to self pity. So here's the plan:
0-20K: 7:30 min mile
20K-40K: 7:45min mile
40K-60K: 8:00min mile
60K-80K: 8:15min mile
80K-Finish: 8:30 min mile or if everything goes to plan and the bullets are in the legs I will run faster.

My goals are:
1. Maintain a steady pace.
2.Finish in under 9hrs.
3.Finish in under 10hr29min

I plan on drinking 500 -750Ml per hour and will start drinking after the first hour. How do I work out my hydration needs? I regularly weigh myself without clothes before a run taking my weight in Kgs and weigh myself again after running and the difference in weight loss gives you an idea of your fluid requirements. I use Kgs because 1 Kg = 1L of water and would run for a definite period of time such as 1 or 2 hours as this makes the calculations easy. If you drink anything during the run this must be factored into your calculations. It's important to take your weight without clothing as moisture will be trapped in shorts and Tshirt making your clothes heavy and giving an inaccurate result.

Race Week.

Went for a sports massage today as part of my final race preparations and was surprised at how knotted my legs were, it was a very painful session but felt great when it finished (Must stretch more).  I'll be doing very little this week as it's important to be well rested going into the race and my objective now is to remain injury free and healthy.  

This evening I met with Tony for an easy 6 miles and tomorrow I will rest.  Might do the same again on Wednesday and Thursday.

Well done Tony!

I didn't race today due to other commitments but Tony was there to represent the club and finished in a very respectable 4th position so it's well done Tony.

My training has been a bit hit and miss since last week because of a stomach bug I picked up last Wednesday.  It's a far from ideal situation but I suppose I'm lucky that it happened 2 weeks before the race rather than during race week as I'm only now starting to recover and there's no way I could have ran the 100K yesterday.  

Yesterday (Saturday) I did a short but intense track session to make amends for the number of training days I've missed and it took a lot of effort to keep going.  

The session was 5 miles with a 1 mile warm up and cool down and 3* 1 mile efforts at 6:15 pace.

Today I went for an easy 10 miles at my planned race pace of between 8 min - 7:30 min mile using my Garmin 305 to stay on target.

The Taper

Finished off last week with a split session on Thursday & Friday which was 8 easy miles am and 10+ miles pm again at an easy pace.  Travelled to Kerry on Saturday and wasn't expecting to get any training done but managed a fast 9 miler on Sunday morning from Tralee town following the Dingle Way to the point where it goes off road.

From now until race day I will reduce the overall volume of training and maybe increase the intensity. There's a possibility of a 10K race next Sunday 22nd March and that should help loosen out the legs and get rid of the cobwebs from all those slow miles..  

Almost a Taper

To make up for missing my Long run on Sunday I extended my run home from work on Monday.  I took a slight detour which added 4 miles before stopping off at home to ditch my bag and pick up a bottle of a carb drink which I had prepared for Sunday morning.  I then met up with Tony and he ran with me for 4 miles taking me away from my house and up a hill.  He then left me on a flat section of foot path which went on for 1.5 miles and for the next 1 hour I ran back and forward in the rain keeping an eye on my pace rather than heart rate as I need to make the effort to run slower than my default pace.  23 miles later I arrived home cold and wet but happy knowing that I'd got a semi long run done, it was shorter than planned but I finished knowing I could have kept going and it was certainly better than nothing.  From here on in I won't be doing any speed work, my long runs will shorten and my calorie intake will increase.  

 I'll explain in a later post how I'll combine the pace and heart rate for the Ultra and why I'm concentrating on pace for my long runs at the moment.

Ready to go.

Yet again my stair training for this week mirrored the sessions from the previous week and based on the results I reckon I'm as ready as i can be.  I felt a slight niggle in my right shin on Wednesday so rather than let it develop into something I booked a massage with Sports Med Ireland and had that today.  Low mileage for this week but I don't mind as my training has been fairly consistent since Christmas and at this time of year I'm usually in a state of semi hibernation which means less time training and more time eating..

Almost there.

Finished off the week today with a 21 mile run joined by Tony Brennan. We didn't plan the route and just ran so it was a very enjoyable morning. I've decided not to Taper for the ESBRU as the trip to New York will be costing me training time so rather than have two low mileage weeks i'll try to keep next week as normal as possible but I will reduce the intensity of my stair climbing sessions. Mileage for this week was 59.5 miles plus the stair climbing so all in all a good week. In normal circumstances I would taper for the ESBRU but because the Celtic 100K is so close I can't afford to miss 2 weeks of training or more importantly can't miss the long runs.