I still can't quite work out why Ballycotton is so popular. It's great for the elites because of the incredibly strong field, and it's great for the once-a-year crowd because of the atmosphere created by the sheer number of runners. However, for the ones in-between like me it's less than ideal. You can't warm up, and the number of idiots who insist at starting near the front even though they have no business there makes the first 2 miles a complete pain, and completely wastes the downhill bonus. That doesn't take anything away from the incredibly well run organisation. How they managed to get well over 2000 people in and out of such a tiny place without any congestion is astounding, and the race went off without a glitch, like every year. Amazing. Still, I'm not sure if I'll go there again. I probably prefer smaller races.
Just like last week's tempo runs, the race is taking me a bit longer to recover from than I'm used to. On Wednesday my legs were still tired and heavy, and I made sure to take it really easy. It was only a short run, which was great because it meant I could catch up on sleep a little bit. It was still rather windy, but nowhere near the conditions like the previous two days. Mind you, I still got wet from one of those passing showers. The problem with those is that you stay wet even after they have passed over. Don't I know it!
I had toyed with the idea of running 20 miles today, but since I am planning a really long run on the weekend I cut it to 17, which also meant an extra 25 minutes of sleep. Sleep has been getting rather rare in the last week or two. I have tried sleeping about 8 hours on average since the New Year, and while I didn't quite get there, I wasn't too far off either. Somehow this has slipped, but I'll have to get it right again. I don't want to feel tired all the time.
Anyway, today's run. The wind had finally stopped, but I didn't trust the elements and in an attempt to avoid getting too wet I decided to run two loops around the Devil's Elbow instead, which would give me the option of getting changed half way through if needs be. As a water-avoiding plan this backfired spectacularly, because less than two miles into the run I came across a flooded section, and since it was still very dark (well before 6 am) I couldn't see where I was going and promptly ended up with my right foot in ankle-deep, icy cold water. I knew the next 15 miles wouldn't feel overly comfortably on that foot, but actually I managed to ignore the clammy feeling in my toes for most of the run. Of course I came across the same section again on my second loop, but by then it was much brighter, I could see where I was going and “only” ended up in an inch-deep foot bath. The rest of the run was pretty uneventful; I'm surprised how easy 17 miles are these days, even over very hilly terrain. For the most time I was happy enough to just plod along, but I did manage around 7:30 pace for the last 3 or 4 miles, even if that section is slightly net downhill.
I got permission from Niamh to run long on the weekend, probably Sunday because I have got a few chores to do on Saturday, and the weather forecast is pretty much the same for both days. I expect to get wet. I haven't decided how far exactly I'm going to run yet. Early today I thought that 4 hours might be too long because I haven't gone past 2:45 during my entire training, and maybe I should just run 3:30 at my planned race pace. Then I realised that this would mean running an entire marathon at quite some pace, which mightn't be the best idea if I want to be recovered come the actual race day. I still don't know. I tend to recover amazingly quickly from a long run, but this is new territory.
- 12 Mar
- 8.5 miles, 1:10:51, 8:20 pace, HR 141
- 13 Mar
- 17 miles, 2:19:13, 8:11 pace, HR 143
Thomas maybe the "smart arses" don't know that in Ireland we drive on the left and pass on the right. As you were on the right you were obviously overtaking. Then again..... women drivers?
ReplyDeleteNo matter what way you turn you can't make this weekends long run easy. The choice appears to be either long and slow or short(er) and fast(er). Good luck with whatever you decide.
Good luck this weekend; start easy, pace yourself and have fun!
ReplyDeleteThere are attractions to both types of races - I equally like City to Surf with 60,000 and Nail Can with 1,000.
ReplyDeleteHave a good run Sunday - if you have permission, my tendency would be to go out for a long time.