Just a Short Note

I've only got a few minutes, here from an Intenet cafe. We drove up to Clifden on Friday, and got to our accomodation at 9pm. I slept like a log, woke up and thought "wow, what a great night of sleep". Then I checked my watch, and it was only 3:27am! It took me nearly an hour to fall back asleep, but I managed to sleep until 7:30. I hope I'll be able to sleep tonight, cause I'm already a bag of nerves.

Thanks for all the well-wishes, I'll try and not let you down. I don't know how long it will take to find a computer after the race; you might have to wait until Monday night.

The weather is gorgeous; I don't know if I should wear a t-shirt or a singlet, and my brain is unable to come to a rational conclusion.

Signing out, shaking like a leaf in anticipation.

Summary

With four days to go, it's time for another summary post of my training. This will make it easy to get a quick overview of each training cycle in times to come.

Training: 20 weeks
Miles (with a few yet to come): 1286
# runs of 20 miles or more: 10
Highest weekly mileage: 86.5
# of weeks over 80 miles: 7
# of PRs: 2 (5k and 10k)
injuries: one, my hip problem

All in all I'm very pleased with that training cycle. I was pleasantly surprised about the number of 20-milers, I expected that number to be around 7 or so. The best weeks were the ones with the back-to-back 20-mile runs, and it's those double headers that give me the most reason for optimism. I think I will have a good race.

My hip feels good in the morning, and hurts more the longer the day goes on. I think sitting in an office chair for hours is the worst thing to do. As long as I manage to survive the drive to Connemara without problems, I will be ok.

I did some running in the last few days, namely 5 very easy miles on Monday, and 8 miles today, with a big fat goose egg in the middle. Monday's run was as slow as I could run without feeling uncomfortable. I don't think running as slowly as that would be a good idea, even for the beginning of the ultra. I felt cumbersome, and not really into it. I did produce my lowest heart rate for a training run ever, though. Tuesday produced my first voluntary zero, the only other days I had to take off were at the end of January, after I nearly cracked my skull open playing indoor soccer. And today was a dress rehearsal for the race. I wore the shoes, socks and top that will probably form my wardrobe on Sunday (depending on the Connemara weather), and tried to tune into the pace that felt easy enough to be sustainable, but faster than Monday’s clumsy run. I was a bit dismayed to find it raining, especially after yesterday had been such a gorgeous day, but I guess that’s preparation for Connemara as well – you can never rule out rain in the west of Ireland. After a first mile at around 8:40 and a second one at 8:20 I settled into about 8:00 pace, and felt thoroughly comfortable. If it’s the correct pace for Sunday, I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out one way or another. The return leg was against a fairly strong headwind, which is the most likely cause for the fact that the return leg took longer than the outgoing one, something that’s very unusual for me. I did manage to keep it easy until the end though, headwind or not.

I’m as ready as I will ever be. I can’t wait. Bring it on! My race number is 39061 (the 39 is for the ultra distance, they don't have 40000 runners there), but that information won't help you. Tracking? You've gotta be joking, This is a low-tech race for down-to-earth runners.

26 Mar: 5 miles, 44:09. 8:49 pace, HR 133 (felt too slow)
27 Mar: 0
29 Mar: 8 miles, 1:05:11, 8:08 pace, HR 139 (felt just right)

Far Too Long, But Hey

So what is your race day plan? How fast do you go out for a 39.3 mile race? 7:30's could be deadly later on...

Canada Mike made a very good point in his last comment. For the last week I have been running mostly at “reasonably easy” effort, and felt great about the way my times just kept dropping and dropping. But 39.3 miles is an awfully long distance, and to set off at that pace, even if it feels easy enough, would have serious repercussions during the second half of the race. It will be hard enough to keep running for such a long time even without a suicidal pacing strategy.

The race itself is on Sunday, 1 April, exactly 7 days from now. Time has flown, and I get butterflies in my stomach whenever I remember what I’m about to do. I sometimes regret that I chose to run an ultra rather than a marathon. I feel in great form, and suspect I would be able to break 3:10, but of course there is a difference between suspecting it and actually doing it. I don’t know what that ultra will do to my fitness. I would like to run a strong half marathon 5 weeks later, but that would require sufficient recovery.

This is the first time ever that I can feel the effects of a taper on my body. Previous attempts just left me frustrated at the low mileage, and I never felt more rested or stronger. This time it’s different. I feel better and faster on a daily basis, and rather than being frustrated I’m very much looking forward to the race. I guess reducing the mileage from 85 to 50 miles has more of a tapering effect than going from 50 to 30.

Friday was my last run of double figures, an easy 10 miler in the early morning sun, at a pace that would have been a tempo run half a year ago. As always I got faster during the second half, the first 5 miles went by in 38:01 (7:36 pace), the back section passed in 36:26 (7:17 pace), without any noticeable increase of effort. I think I’m just a slow starter, which is something I experience in every race I’ve run.

If you’re familiar with Pfitzinger’s schedules then you know that he always prescribes 3x1600 10 days before a marathon. I missed that opportunity, but decided to do 2x1600 on Saturday, 8 days before the ultra. It hopefully put some zip into my legs, leaving sufficient time to recover fully before Sunday. Unlike on previous mile repeats I did allow myself to go anaerobic, and was rewarded with a lightning fast mile of 6:05. Look mummy, I’m flying! It was slightly downhill, but when I ran the second, uphill, mile in 6:08 I was even more satisfied. I was glad that I didn’t have to do of for a third time though. The whole workout was over in less than 39 minutes, short but sweet.

After nursing my hip injury for the last few weeks I finally relented and took some anti-inflammatory tablets on Friday night. This was very much a last resort. I’m a great believer in the body’s natural healing process, and had hoped time, icing and gentle stretching would get the better of it. It never got better than 95%, and I finally lost my patience. To both my disgust and relief the hip felt better than at any time since the injury flared up within a few hours of taking the tables. Disgust because it was the chemicals that made me feel better, relief because I could finally sense an improvement.

It was really foggy out there this morning, so much so that I contemplated bringing my headlamp for safety. But the fog was lifting as the morning wore on and I headed out without. I even brought my shades because I correctly anticipated a very sunny day on the way home. Again, it felt reasonably easy.

But for the last week I have to get one thing into my thick skull, namely to take it really easy. I have done far too much good work over the last few months to damage my chances now with a few days to go. I haven’t quite decided on my mileage for the coming days, but I’ll put in some zeros towards the end of the week. And I’ll slow down. I will.

23 Mar: 10 miles, 1:14:27, 7:26 pace, avg. HR 150
24 Mar: 5.2 miles, 38:30, 7:24 pace, 2 “mile” repeats 6:05, 6:08
25 Mar: 8 miles, 59:19, 7:24 pace

Weekly mileage: 50.3 miles

Dog Days

What can I say that I haven’t said before? I’m in the middle of my taper, the serious training is over and done, and despite itching to run more I’m enjoying myself more than ever. The hip still hurts, and I guess I’ll have to run through it on race day, but I’m confident that I’ll be able to handle it. Once the fatigue gets worse than the pain, I’ll stop noticing it.

Wednesday’s run was a bit of a surprise. I’ve noticed that my pace has continued dropping recently, but I ran at an easy effort, as seen by the heart rate, and still ended up with 7:24 pace. Wow. I’ve said that before every marathon I’ve ever run, but I’m in better shape than ever before. It’s great to see that I’m still improving from training cycle to training cycle, and it keeps me very motivated. I don’t know how long that will hold true, but it’s great as long as it lasts.

Today’s workout would have been even less remarkable had I not been attacked by the same bloody dogs again. In fact I had an encounter with them on Monday, but didn’t mention it (it may have been responsible for the raised heart rate). I ran past the same house again, and 4 of them came out looking very aggressive. Shouting “no” towards them stopped them from actually trying to bite, but one came back again and again. I finally picked up a stone and hurled it at the pest. It jumped aside and the projectile missed, unfortunately, but it finally got the message and stopped attacking me. I’m so pissed off about it, and the fact that the f***ing useless Garda Síochána (= police in Ireland, before you ask) refuse to do anything about it. Apparently some child has to bitten first before they get off their arses.

Anyway, I came home unscathed, if a bit grumpy. I refuse to change my running route just because of them, and I guess we’ll have some more encounters in the future.

People in the office keep coming by my desk asking if I’m ready for the race (they know about it because I’ve been collecting for charity). I’d better not drop out, I won’t be able to show my face at work if I do.

Did I ever tell you that I have crossed toes? My third toe on my right foot is crooked, and curls underneath my second toe. It’s usually not a problem, but I have to keep the toenail short at all times. The other day I woke in the morning to find that the nail had been digging in the other toe overnight, and it was bleeding. It was rather uncomfortable, but once I started running I hardly felt anything at all. I guess it’s one of the little things you just have to deal with. I think it’s inherited, because Shea has exactly the same issue on the same foot.

I’m rambling because I can’t think of anything else to write. I’d better stop.

21 Mar: 8 miles, 59:16, 7:24 pace, HR 146
22 Mar: 6 miles, 47:52, 7:58 pace, HR 145

Winter's Last Stand

Monday was a bank holiday in Ireland (bank holiday = public holiday), but, as Niamh said, they shouldn’t have bank holidays in March; they’re a waste of a free day. The weather was atrocious; the storm that had plagued us on Saturday and Sunday kept going, perversely interspersed with periods of bright sunshine. I was resigned to a big goose egg, when the weather brightened and I decided on the spot to head out after all; within 5 minutes I was out on the road. I intended just 5 miles, but it was so nice and sunny that I went on the 6-mile loop instead. Less than 4 miles later the situation had changed dramatically, as I was engulfed in a massive hail shower, by far the worst I’ve had to endure. I got a thorough beaning, but when I came to one particular crossroad decided to add 2 miles nevertheless. I figured that the hail would have abated by the time I reached home anyway, and that I might as well add a few miles after that, because they were bound to be in better conditions. I was correct, when the hail finally stopped it turned sunny again, if rather windy. All in all I managed 8 miles, which wasn’t bad considering all Mother Nature had thrown my way. A work colleague’s car passed me towards the end of the worst weather, and I greeted him with a big smile. God knows what he must have been thinking.

It has gotten rather cold again, temperatures this morning were around 0C/32F, and I dug out the tights form the back of my cupboard. I had hoped they would stay there until next winter, but I’d rather dig them out again than facing the cold in unsuitable attire. Today was the shorted run in a while, just 5 miles. I guess I am really tapering now. I kept the pace at an easy effort but still managed 8:00 pace. I was very surprised to see my heart rate so low at the end of the run, I don’t expect 8:00 pace to be recovery pace. Not that I’m complaining, but that’s the lowest heart rate I managed in the whole training cycle, even though it was not the slowest run by any means. I can only assume that the lack of a long run for more than one week means I’m already better rested than at any time during the previous months. That’s not down to more sleep though – on the 3 days of the long weekend, Shea woke us at 5:30 every single morning, and it took longer and longer to persuade him to go back to bed (and he invariably was back within 20 minutes each time).

Nothing else to report, apart from the fact that I’m definitely in Niamh’s good book for the time being. I think the Mother’s Day treats went down well.

19 Mar: 8 miles, 1:03:07, 7:47 pace, avg. HR 152
20 Mar: 5 miles, 40:00, 8:00 pace, avg. HR 140

The Long Weekend

I did some more soul searching Thursday evening regarding the length of Friday’s run. I studied some more marathon training plans on the web like Hal Higdon’s, and noticed that they don’t run more than 12 miles two weeks before race day, even on the advanced schedule. I therefore settled on running 12.5 miles, which is the loop to the southern tip of Caragh Lake and back via the Kerry Way. Before winter I had planned to do most of my hill training on that trail, but the weather put me off, running through ankle deep puddles, mud and very slippery stones didn’t exactly appeal on pitch dark mornings at 5am in December or January. The last three or fours day had been mainly dry and I reckoned the trail should be ok. I was right, and it proved to be a fantastic run. The big climb starts shortly after the 5-mile point, and goes up by about 250 meters (800 feet) over the next 3 miles. The climb was less challenging that expected, and the view there is unbeatable. I might bring a camera later in the year, when the lightning conditions are more favourable. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and was almost disappointed when I rejoined the road on my way home.

Afterwards I checked Pfitzinger’s plan, and he recommends 17 miles for the long run 2 weeks before the race. Ah well. It won’t make a noticeable difference come race day, and I enjoyed myself so much that I have absolutely no regrets. Unfortunately, my hip started hurting again in the hours after the run. It had never gone back to feeling 100% right, but it was just some niggle that I could live with. Now I’m a bit worried, but hopefully stretching and icing will get the better of it again.

I tried to take it easy on Saturday; I imagined myself on the beginning of the ultra, and tired to get into a nice steady rhythm. The plan fell apart when I thought back to Sunday’s 10k race, and before I knew it I was running 30 seconds per mile faster than intended. Once again I enjoyed running so much that I decided to keep going like that. But I know full well that if I set off at that pace in Connemara, I will be toast by the halfway point.

I had left quite early on Saturday, around 8am, because a storm had been predicted, and I wanted to get my run done before it arrived. I timed it very well, less than an hour later the wind and rain started and made it a rather miserable St. Patrick’s Day. We gave the parade a miss, and went to an indoor children’s party later that afternoon instead. The kids enjoyed it, but of course it was all rather chaotic, and I was relieved when we finally left.

Today is Mother’s Day in Ireland, and I started to day cooking breakfast in bed for my beloved, as well as feeding the offspring, all the while starving myself because I intended to go running later. Niamh certainly looked like she enjoyed both the breakfast as well as the cards we made. Between the storm, the pain in my hip and not wanting to leave Niamh to look after our unruly brood I was about to give up hope for a run when she told me to go. She must have seen the look in my eyes. The storm had abated somewhat, and off I went towards Ard-na-Sidhe for a set of mile repeats. I much prefer continuous running, but in gale force winds the only reasonable way to run fast is the one sheltered part of that road, and since it’s only about one mile long I have to settle for repeats. I’m almost embarrassed to write down the numbers. The first one went ok, for the second one I felt very slow and kept pushing and pushing only to end it much faster than intended. That one knocked the stuffing out of me, and I was just hanging on for the last 2, trying to avoid embarrassing time. The windy conditions didn’t help, and the actual times were 6:33, 6:19, 6:36 and 6:44. The odd ones are on a net downhill but against the wind, the even ones are uphill but wind-assisted. I can never quite figure out which ones should be faster, I guess it depends on the wind, but since I only do mile repeats on very windy days, it tends to be rather strong in places. Also, if I want to run good mile repeats, I shouldn’t run 7:30 the day before. Doh!

I’d better go, Mother’s Day isn’t over yet, and I’ve got some more treats in store. Have a Good One!

16 Mar: 12.5 miles, 1:41:06, 8:05 pace, HR 145
17 Mar: 7 miles, 53:00, 7:34 pace, HR 152
18 Mar: 7.5 miles, 55:11, 7:21 pace, HR 152, 4 miles repeats 6:33, 6:19, 6:36, 6:44

Weekly mileage: 75 miles

Still Dreaming of Sunday

Allow me to indulge one more time into the afterglow of Sunday’s race. I know I’m straining your patience, but if you break 40 minutes at your first attempt, it’s something you will want to keep thinking about.

The main thing about the race was how easy it felt. Cindy hit the nail on the head with her comment that I seemed to enjoy myself. I most certainly did. Afterwards I did question myself, maybe I should have run harder; if you’re not suffering during a 10k, isn’t that a sign that you’re not working hard enough? I did think about that quite a bit, and came to the conclusion that no, I really don’t think I could have run any faster. I have read that from quite a few people, their best races always felt easy. Any more pushing and I would not have been as relaxed, my form would have suffered and I would most likely have slowed down rather than accelerated. If anything, the race was too short for me. I still felt great at the end and could have kept going like that for longer. I like to think that a 10 miler would have resulted in an even better time. But I’ll never know for certain, and I’m sure as hell very happy with that race.

Wednesday saw me back on the road for a fast attempt. As soon as I started I knew that this would not be a proper tempo run, the legs were stiff and tired, and I settled on a “strong effort”. The race together with Monday’s 22-miler formed a double header, and it takes a bit more than 2 days to recover. I was still happy with the run. The first mile was slower than 8:00 pace, but by the time I came back home I had worked it down to 7:00 pace. It’s not long ago that I would have been ecstatic to hit that pace with fresh legs, never mind tired ones.

Initially I decided to run the devil’s elbow loop for today, but my hip is still not 100% right and I don’t want to aggravate it. Besides, I calculated what my mileage would be for this week, and due to Monday’s long run it will end up rather high, considering that I’m supposed to be tapering. I therefore decided to give myself 30 extra minutes of sleep (which didn’t exactly work out, thanks to Shea waking early), and just ran 7 easy miles on the flat(-ish) part of that loop. I did spot another runner ahead of me once, which is an extremely rare occurrence. Unfortunately I was past him within 30 seconds, and didn’t see him again after that, but a brief encounter is better than none at all. I still live in hope that someday someone around here will join me on my training.

I know that I already did a long run on Monday, but I’m planning to do one loop around Caragh Lake tomorrow, because Friday is my usual long run day, and Monday was just a delayed effort from last week. I originally intended to do the 17-mile loop, but after studying other people’s tapers I decided to cut it to the shorter 15.5 miles course instead. After that I will take tapering more seriously. Next week should see the mileage between 45 and 50 miles, and the week after that below 30 – not counting the race, obviously.

45 miles. One year ago that would have been an average week. Now I don’t know how I will survive on so little running.

14 Mar: 8 miles, 58:36, 7:19 pace, avg. HR 152
15 Mar: 7 miles, 57:11, 8:10 pace, avg. HR 144

Long and Windind

I managed to find a spreadsheet with the results from Sunday’s race (Google Docs are cool, btw). I came 43rd out of 200 runners, which isn’t particularly remarkable. What surprised me most was the fact that the fastest woman was over 2 minutes slower than me. I think that’s more a sign of the lack of class in the women’s field rather than my blistering pace.

A few weeks ago I was wondering if I should run that race, as it’s only 3 weeks out from my ultra. Olga advised me to run, and do a long run the day after. I’m in no position to argue with her experience, so I followed her advice to the letter. I wasn’t sure how far a long run was supposed to be – for her, it’s probably in the range of 30 miles, but that’s out of my league. I settled for 22. It meant getting up at 4:25 in the morning, after about 5 hours of sleep, and since the race had started in the afternoon it also meant much less recovery time than I’m accustomed to between runs. No wonder I was tired, but I didn’t notice any soreness from the race and felt in good enough shape to last the distance. One thought did cross my mind though, namely that I was almost definitely the only runner of yesterday’s race that was mad enough to be running again, before even 5am in the morning.

I started with what I thought was about 8:40 pace, but when I checked the time after 3 miles I realised I had been going at 9:00 pace instead. Maybe the race had take more out of me than I thought, but I wasn’t worried about my run. I did worry about being late for work later on, but that’s a different matter. After about an hour my MP3 player went silent – the battery had died. I had meant to change it, but forgot. For the rest of the run I had only the sound of chirping birds to accompany me, which was not a bad option either. The sky had been very clear to start with, with half a moon and plenty of stars, but when I looked up around 6 miles into the run all I could see was black. Uh-oh. Indeed, 5 minutes later the heavens opened and I got a good trenching of freezing cold water (did I mention that it was quite windy). At least it stopped after a few minutes, and when the road entered Ahane woodland I got some shelter from the wind. The next 10 miles seemed to fly by. I think I was still half asleep and didn’t really register anything, just kept going on autopilot. Conscious thoughts didn’t return until the end of the lake loop, 17 miles into the run. Now it was time for an experiment. I had left out a bottle half filled with a mixture of slim-fast powder and soya milk. It’s my usual recovery drink after a long run, and I’m toying with the idea of planting a bottle of that some way along the ultra. This was a test if my stomach would take it. It didn’t taste very nice (the strawberry powder taste is just plain awful – I’ll pass on that in future), and my stomach felt a little bit funny for the next few miles, but on the other hand I kept running for 5 more miles and never felt fatigued. Of course I don’t know for sure if that drink made a difference, but my feeling is that I would have been just fine without it. I haven’t made up my mind yet, but I think I’ll do without on race day.

Anyway, I was very pleased with the way I felt after 22 miles, just half a day after a (for me) storming fast 10k race. Fatigue was never an issue, the legs felt fine, and the hills didn’t bother me, though they were mostly in the first half of the run. My main thought as I entered our driveway again was “training’s over, now I’m tapering”. I hope I can go through that period without going nuts again.

The first run of said taper was today’s 11-miler. My legs were definitely sorer than the day before, but if it’s a delayed reaction from the race or a result of the long run I can’t tell for sure. There’s not much to tell, I started the first 2 miles at 9:00 pace again, did the next 3 at 8:00, and picked it up a bit more further on, but it was still all at easy effort. I started doing strides, mostly as a wake-up call to the stiff muscles. Usually they start feeling much more responsive by the time of the fourth or fifth sprint, but when they still felt as stiff after 7, I gave up and was content to jog home from there. I got lucky, 10 minutes after getting home the heavens opened to a torrential rain shower. Good timing.

12 Mar: 22 miles, 3:03:48, 8:21 pace, HR 142
13 Mar: 11 miles, 1:28:55, 8:05 pace, HR 143, including 7x100 strides

It’s my Day

Even though it feels longer, my last race was less than 10 weeks ago, on New Year’s Day. On that day I managed to surprise myself by posting my first ever sub-20 5k, lowing my PR (itself only a few weeks old) by nearly one minute. It was a bit of a milestone, but of course to many runners the standard for being good is a sub-40 10k. I had never run a 10k before, and anyway, sub-40, while being there on the horizon, was still a long way away.

I have run a lot of miles in those 10 weeks, but nearly all of them at relatively slow pace, with hardly any speedwork. The training for the ultra had taken over, especially with those 20-20 double headers, which left no room for fast running. It was only in the last week that I added tempo runs to my training repertoire again. According to McMillan, a 19:52 5k translates to a 41:16 10k; accordingly, my target time for today was 41:00. I did dream of a sub-40, but since it was so much better that anything I’ve ever managed, I didn’t mention it to anyone, especially not on my blog.

It was a pretty miserable day, rainy and windy from the start, just as predicted by the weathermen. I left home at 11am – in fact it was the first time in ages when I didn’t get up early for my run, which was nice, truth to be told. The 65 miles drive to Adare was unremarkable, but once there I had a hard time to find the race HQ. I eventually parked the car and started walking. Adare isn’t very big, and I soon spotted a few runners and followed them to the registration building. (Note to the organisers: a sign would have been nice). After signing up, getting a t-shirt (as if I really needed yet another one) and getting changed I still had about 30 minutes to get warmed up. One look out of the door changed my mind, but the rain didn’t let up and with 20 minutes to go I started warming up. Is it still called warming up if it’s in the cold outside? The runners did gather around the starting line with a couple of minutes to spare, but there was a delay of about 10 minutes until we finally got going. The organiser did hold a speech while we huddled like penguins in the freezing rain, and eventually he relented and gave the signal to start.

For once I started very close to the starting line, but everyone around me set off at a furious pace. There were a few speed demons amongst us, but it wasn’t only them to take off like that, half the field seemed to stream past me. I did my best to ignore them and set my own pace. It’s the same in every race. I start slowly, and from about a third into the race I start picking off my victims. I expected this to happen again, but the fact is that I started overtaking after less than 2 minutes. A few of the runners were already breathing very heavily at that stage. What makes those people set off like that? Anyway, I felt comfortable, so much so that I did indeed question my pace. “It’s not hurting, shouldn't each mile in a 10k hurt?” However, I did pass the 1-mile marker in 6:27, which was reassuring. It was exactly the pace I had been planning. The next mile was into a fairly strong headwind, as well as mostly uphill, and I tried to draft as much as I could. It never lasted long, as soon as I settled right behind someone, the pace felt too slow, I went past, and the game started again with the next guy. Mile 2 went by in 6:31, considering the wind and the terrain I was happy with it. The next mile wasn’t as much into the wind, but even more uphill. I still picked up runner after runner, and then the biggest hill of all awaited. This was hard work, and the HR went up to around 185. It was at that stage that I noticed that the course seemed rather sparsely populated. There were three guys far ahead of me, and then so much of a gap in front of them that I couldn’t see anyone else. I guessed that I would spend most of the rest battling with those guys. We crested the hill shortly before the 3-mile mark, where a girl stood shouting encouragement “well done guys, the worst is behind you.” I had to laugh, we’re not even halfway and I expected worse things yet to come. Anyway, mile 3 went by in 6:28, which felt fast considering that hill. There was a bend in the road further on which I decided must be the half-way point, and I checked my watch.19:54. Hmm. Less than 20 minutes, I feel very strong, and the second half is bound to be downhill. Could it really be? I put those thoughts to the back of my mind and started hunting down my prey. By now I had closed the gap, one guy seemed to slow down, and by I went. I chased after the next one, and half a mile later I was ahead. By now one more runner from further ahead must have slowed down, and he fell victim before the 4 mile marker, which came in 6:23, the fastest mile yet. The last guy from that group turned out to be a much tougher opponent than the previous victims, and we spent the next mile battling for position. I surged to draw level, he responded to pull away again. On the next slight uphill I surged again, got right behind him, and once more he responded with a surge of his own. But I noticed he was turning his head to look behind, which I took as a sign of weakness. “He’s obviously worried about me. Let’s prove him right”. It was all the encouragement I needed, one strong surge and he was history. I have to admit he was very gracious in defeat. “Good man” he said as I went by. Honestly, there is no way I would have been as good a sport as that in his position. That battle had brought me to the 5 mile marker in 6:17 and I still felt great. One more guy appeared in front who had slowed down dramatically, and from there on I seemed to be on my own. We were now back in Adare, and with about half a mile to go I gave it all I got. Amazingly, mile 6 passed in 6:12, which is definitely the fastest mile I have ever run in my life. For the last bit I wasn’t sure if we were supposed to run on the road or the pavement. The pavement was slippery and I opted for the road. A car hooted at me. Was that supposed to be encouragement, or was he pissed off with me for being on the road? If so, then I didn’t give a damn. I was sprinting all out and finished the last .2 miles in 1:07 to finish in 39:27. I was ecstatic. I did calm down in time to congratulate my rival from the fifth mile, who was pleased with his time as well “not bad for a 49-year old”. But to me, it’s still my day.

I cool down, then go to the car to get changed. The second I close the boot (trunk to Americans) I go “sh*t, I just locked in my car keys!!!!” In desperation I go through my bag – there they are. Thank goodness for that! Being stranded in the pouring rain 65 miles from home would have put a dampener on my time. But it’s my day.

I go back to the racing HQ for some very welcome tea, biscuits and sandwiches, and then they start giving out prizes to runners randomly drawn from the list. And would you believe it, my name comes up, though I do get some ripping for my surname. I get a nice looking scarf for Niamh. It really is my day.

There’s a lesson in that race report: if you’re ahead, never look back. The encouragement I got from that was priceless.

Weekly mileage: 73.3 miles

11 Mar: 10 miles, including the Adare 10k in 39:27, 6:21 pace, avg. HR 178

Easy Does It

I intended to taper for three weeks, but if I look at my training schedule, it turned out to be more like three-and-a-half weeks. Because of tomorrow’s race I’ve been taking it easy since Wednesday’s long run, and apart from my last long run, coming this Monday, there won’t be any more particularly strenuous workouts in my way.

I pondered quite some time about the mileage for Friday. Originally I intended 15 miles, but then decided there was not much to gain at this late stage, and 15 miles 2 days before a 10k race could leave me with heavy legs; I settled on a relaxing 11 miles run. This had the added benefit of an extra half hour of sleep; to be honest, I needed that more than 4 additional miles. I went ahead with that, but I’m no longer sure what easy pace is for me; I run strictly by feel, and I can’t quite get my head around the fact that 8:00 pace feels so easy. Four months ago I was ecstatic to run a marathon just a whisker faster than that; now it feels a lot slower than marathon pace. But, with an eye on Sunday, I kept my legs in check, the only fast section being a set of 5x100 strides on the way home. Despite feeling so slow, the home stretch took only 43:10 (7:50 pace).

Pretty much the same was in store today, except that I ran a bit shorter as well as a bit slower. It was quite windy, but luckily the rain was reduced to a drizzle, and it wasn’t bad. I stopped wearing tights a few days ago; I should have done that at least 2 weeks earlier, because it’s been warm enough for shorts for quite some time. I just didn’t have the courage to try running with bare legs after that awful winter.

I guess running at such a relaxed pace will be good training for the ultra. I haven’t really got a clue what my ultra pace should be like, but naturally it’s slower than marathon pace. One part of me thinks starting the ultra at the same pace I’ve been running over the last 2 days should be just about right. You’re supposed to feel too slow for the first 10 miles at least. The other part thinks 8:10 pace would be much too fast. If I start at 8:10 pace, what would my average pace for the race be (assuming I won’t run into any major troubles)? 8:30? That would leave me with a 5:34 time, which would have been good enough for 11th place last year, and it just sounds too ambitious. I guess I’ll find out on race day.

Anyway, tomorrow is a different race. It looks like I will be able to test my hardiness in the rain. I’ll be sure to let you know.

9 Mar: 11 miles, 1:28:47, 8:04 pace, avg. HR 143, including 5x100 strides
10 Mar: 8 miles, 1:05:53, 8:14 pace, avg. HR 145

Looking Forward

For the last few months I have focused solely on the ultra, but I guess at some stage I have to look past that. Therefore I decided to sign up for another race, the Bantry Half marathon. I don’t know if I will be able to make it, because it’s only 5 weeks after the ultra, and somehow I can’t imagine being able to run again soon after pounding the roads of Connemara for several hours. But since the entry will close on 31 March I had to decide to sign up now, before I knew how I would feel after the ultra. If I feel like running on stumps (or if the mere thought of running will send me into a tailspin), I’ll forgo the race.

I finished my double headers last week, and I’ll run the last long run on Monday, so I had to decide how far I would run for this week’s long run, and when. I settled on 17 miles, mainly because that’s the length of one loop around Caragh Lake plus the Devil’s Elbow, and ran in on Wednesday to ensure sufficient recovery before Sunday’s 10k. After Tuesday’s tempo run the legs were as dead as expected, and the first mile saw me crawling at 9:10 pace. I did pick it up slightly, and went through the imaginary 3-mile marker in 26 minutes, 8:40 pace average. At that point the legs really wanted to speed up, but I told them to relax and that pace was not an issue today. They grumbled a bit, so I promised them to run the last 3 (flat) miles at a strong effort if they behaved through the series of hills that make up the Caragh Lake loop from miles 5 to 14. As a matter of fact the run went better and better with each passing mile, and when I came down the last hill with 3 miles to go I moved the effort up several notches, as promised. I felt fantastic, and not even the barking dogs could bother me this time. I don’t know how I did it, but I ran those miles in 21:15 (7:05 pace), which was faster than the tempo run the day before. I guess the 14 miles had served as a useful warm-up. Whenever I manage a run like that I question the accuracy of my mileage, but the answer is always the same, namely that it should be reasonably accurate. Even if it’s out, I still know that I’m improving, because I can still compare that time to previous times over the same course.

My achilles tendon started hurting again on Tuesday, which I presume was caused by the two tempo efforts in three days. As a result I decided to take it easy today and run very relaxed. I had planned two miles in a sprint/float fashion, but decided to cut that in half. I ran 4.5 miles at easy pace, then did the fast mile over the same course I had done the mile repeats on Sunday. I bet these workouts are easier on a track. For one thing, the road isn’t entirely flat, and sprinting uphill feels like someone is sucking the strength out of your legs with a straw. Secondly, how was I supposed to know when to stop sprinting and when to restart again? I did them purely by feel, and I guess the sprints were longer than 100 meters and the floats were shorter than the sprints, and the whole mile took 6:32. Interesting, that’s faster than the mile repeats on Sunday, though I have to point out that Sunday’s effort was strictly aerobic. I felt pretty good after that and was tempted to run the return mile in the same way but thought of my achilles and just jogged home.

I’ll take it seriously easy tomorrow and on Saturday, and I’m very much looking forward to Sunday. I have run a lot of miles since my last race, and I can’t wait to update my sidebar again.

7 Mar: 17 miles, 2:20:12, 8:14 pace, avg. HR 141, 3 final miles at 7:05
8 Mar: 8 miles, 1:06:12, 8:16 pace, avg. HR 141, 1 “mile” sprint/float in 6:32

P.S.: Note the heart rate. It’s still dropping!

Blowout

I experienced what was basically a flat tyre the other day; but not on my car, no, on my shoe. Those Nike 360s are cushioned on air, and one of the side panels blew, leaving me with a lopsided gait. Luckily it didn’t happen 5 miles away from home, or it would have been an uncomfortable ride back home. The shoe in question had lasted 498 miles, which is a decent mileage (in fact the second highest miles I ever accumulated on a pair), which is why it didn’t put me off trying the same pair of runners again. In fact, I already had an identical replacement in my shoe cabinet, because of a buy-one-get-second-half-price offer a few weeks ago. If the new pair holds as long as their predecessors, I’ll be happy enough.

Monday was all about recovery, not just from Sunday’s mile repeats but also from the double headers that still left a residue of fatigue in my legs. I ran at a very easy effort, and rather enjoyed myself. Later at work I chatted to a colleague who had run the 10-mile race in Ballycotton on Sunday (the same race that rejected my application), and who was slightly taken aback when he realised that his time for a 10 mile race was longer than mine for an easy 11 mile training run. I don’t know what he expected – he had done basically no training apart from playing football twice a week, plus two or three runs at about 6 miles several weeks ago. I wasn’t trying to show off, but of course I’m running faster than him. That’s the effect of training like a lunatic.

The weather has been abysmal over the last few days with torrential downpours basically all day – apart from the hour or so each day when I was out running, apparently. I can’t believe my luck. I woke Monday morning at about 3 o’clock to hear the storm ravaging outside and thought “if it stays like this I’ll bin the workout”. By 6 o’clock it was still very windy, but the rain had stopped, and didn’t restart until I had completed 10 out of 11 miles. Today was similar; the storm blew all night, but calmed down just in time for my run, only to pick up again for the last 5 minutes of the workout. I had planned a continuous tempo run, in contrast to Sunday’s mile repeats, and while the wind was strong enough to make it a bit tougher than necessary, the conditions were definitely acceptable. I managed an average pace of 7:15, which I was reasonably pleased about. As always the second half was about a minute faster than the first one, which meant that I ran the second 4 miles closer to 7:00 pace, though I didn’t quite reach it. I’m planning one more pace workout this week, probably a mile or two of 100on/100off or similar, just to get the legs moving a bit quicker for a bit without wearing myself out.

Shea, at the ripe old age of 5, has reached the existentialist phase of philosophy. How do you answer those questions: “If the world started with a Big Bang, who was there to hear it” or “Did God make the universe, or did the universe make God?” Maybe I should have shown more interest in philosophy when I had the chance.

5 Mar: 11 miles, 1:33:20, 8:29 pace, HR 141
6 Mar: 8.3 miles, 1:00:12, 7:15 pace, HR 155

Acceleration

After spending the last few weeks doing those insanely long double headers, I tried to inject a little bit of pace into my running. I don’t have time for an anaerobic phase, and I wasn’t planning on doing one anyway – I don’t see the point of anaerobic training for an ultra. But I do have an eye on the 10k next week. For some strange reason I’ve never run a 10k race before, so I guess it’s going to be a PR no matter what. On the other hand I don’t want an embarrassingly slow time on my sidebar, so I’d better get into gear.

Saturday was all about taking it easy after the combined 40 miles from the two preceding workouts. At least that was the plan, but not for the first time I found the legs moving faster than the head intended. I clearly remember the times when I had to go all out to run a workout at sub-8:00 pace, after all it’s less than 2 years ago. I still can’t quite get my head around the idea of running 11 easy miles and ending up with 7:45 pace. Sure, it wasn’t exactly recovery pace, but the effort was nice and relaxed, and I certainly didn’t strain myself. The only thing I added into the mix were 10 strides, and for the first 3 or 4 it felt as if I were running through a swamp. The legs weren’t tired as such, but they felt very stiff and slow moving. They did loosen up eventually, and maybe that’s what caused the pace increase on the way home. The weather was very nice, btw. For the first time in months I brought along a pair of shades, and I got good use out of them too. It didn’t stop me from being caught by one of those scattered rain showers towards the end of the run though.

I added a few hours working in the garden after lunch, and could gradually feel my left hamstring tighten up. A wiser person would have stopped the yard work then, I guess, but I kept going for a couple of hours. Luckily there was no sign of trouble the next morning. I don’t quite understand my muscles, but as long as they keep propelling me forward, I won’t complain.

As mentioned at the beginning of this post, I plunged back into some faster paces for Sunday’s workout. I couldn’t decide between mile repeats or a continuous tempo run, but the weather made up my mind for me. The forecast had predicted rain and gusts of up to 70 mph, and while it never got anywhere as bad as that it was windy enough to send me back to Ard-na-Sidhe, and that automatically meant mile-repeats, back and forwards on the road between the kids’ school and the posh hotel. I did the same workout 3 weeks ago, so I had something to compare this one to. Back then I got slower and slower with each repeat and today I was determined to avoid the same mistake. I wanted to stay away from getting anaerobic, which meant heart rates in the high 160s for the early repeats and low 170s for the later ones, though I never use the heart rate monitor to dictate the pace; it’s strictly a tool for measurement. I concentrated on staying relaxed for the first effort and came through in 6:34, which felt good. I tried the same effort on the second repeat but was rather dismayed to clock a time of 6:50. Doubts started to appear in my mind, but I got slightly reassured when the third repeat was faster again in 6:45. After that uneven start the rest of the workout fell into place with splits of 6:43, 6:40 and 6:34. I’ve yet to learn to run them more evenly, but I preferred getting faster for the later repeats rather than slower. The average time was 6:41, about 4 seconds quicker then 21 days ago. I guess I would have taken that.

I’d like to think that I can run faster than that next Sunday, but if I have to strain to reach that pace during mile repeats with recovery breaks in-between, how am I going to manage in a continuous effort? That race-day adrenaline better be good stuff.

3 Mar: 11 miles, 1:25:25, 7:45 pace, avg. HR 149, including 10x100 strides
4 Mar: 10 miles, 1:16:10, 7:37 pace, avg. HR 155, 6 “mile” repeats in 6:34, 6:50, 6:45, 6:43, 6:40, 6:34

Weekly mileage: 86.5 miles

Twenty – Twenty

I was more than a little apprehensive about this particular double-header. All of you who suggested caution were right, of course. I was already pretty fit, and overtraining is worse than undertraining. Not only did my hip bother me, I had a cold, which wasn’t just constricted to the head, as the frequent coughs can testify. However, this was my last double header, and I thought that if I could just push through one more time, I can rest after that. So I set my alarm for 4:40 in the morning, and when the time arrived I got up and got ready. The scenery was spectacular, a nearly full moon, plenty of stars, and hardly a cloud in sight. It was so bright that I was tempted to leave the headlamp behind, but brought it with me as a safety device. Due to my hip complaints I chose the less hilly route on the western side of Caragh Lake, though it isn’t exactly flat; I guess undulating would describe it pretty well. It doesn’t have any killer climbs, though. I felt pretty good for the first 5 miles, then turned around, and felt even better on the next segment. Once I reached our driveway I quickly went back into our house to get some water (I really should have left a bottle outside), and sneaked out again before anyone would wake. The hip had started to become noticeable, and I decided to add two loops to Ard-na-Sidhe rather than go back to the lake, to give me the option of bailing out after 15 miles. I started to tire on that third loop, but I still felt pretty good, and since the hip mostly behaved itself I never seriously contemplated bailing out. The last loop went amazingly well. I upped the pace with 3 miles to spare, and two miles later all I could think of was “wow, I’ve never felt so good at mile 19”. I guess all those double headers are paying off, I’m markedly stronger than I used to be. I felt really good, and the 5 miles splits for that run were 40:34, 39:36, 41:18 and 39:15. It was particularly pleasing to run the last section at the fastest pace.

Today’s repeat performance was slightly less glorious. The pain in my hip is actually getting better. Jeff had sent me an email earlier this week, telling me how he'd had a very similar problem when training for his ultra on the hills, and how it got better within a week of running on flatter roads. It looks like I’m following the same pattern. Maybe I shouldn't jinx it by shouting it out loud, but I think I managed to just about stay on the right side of the training/overtraining fence. It can be a balancing act, and I definitely started to wobble, but I think I got away with it. Anyway, my workout today followed the same route as the day before, apart from remembering to leave some water on the driveway to be picked up after 10 miles. The first two 5-mile sections were about 1 minute slower than Thursday’s, but then I slowed down more and more, and the last loop was the slowest of them all. No negative splits this time, I’m afraid. I tried to up the pace again with 3 miles to go, but the legs were running on empty by then (or old mushrooms, if that’s your preferred analogy), and in the end I was just glad to come home while still being able to run upright. This time the splits were 41:06, 40:36, 41:20 and 42:28. Those double headers are tough, and I’m sure one or two more would do me good, but I’m out of time, the ultra is just 4 weeks away. There is a 10k nine days from now, and while it clearly is not the focus of my training, I still want to do well in it. Therefore I’ll take it easy towards the end of next week, run the race, and add one more long run the day after that before officially starting my taper. Let’s hope the various aches and pains will be gone soon after.

1 Mar: 20 miles, 2:40:43, 8:02 pace, avg. HR 145
2 Mar: 20 miles, 2:45:32, 8:16 pace, avg. HR 142

(P.S. It's highly satisfying to be able to note down 2 20-milers in a row like this)

Cough, Cough

The last few days have been remarkably similar. My cold is not shifting, and I don’t feel very well. On the other hand, it’s not bad enough to stop me from running or going to work, I just feel a distinct lack of energy. Each evening I wonder if I can go running the next day, but come early morning I’m out and about.

Tuesday was the day of my last hill session. I know that the hip pains are most likely connected to running on hills, but I didn’t want to miss the very last of those sessions, especially as I haven’t done as many of them as I probably should have. Can 6 sessions really make a big difference? (For the record, yes, I think they really pushed my pace). Plus, Sunday’s hill session was the only run in the last few days where the hip didn’t actually hurt. The drills themselves were as torturous as always, and after the last one I thought “that’s it, no more hill drills”, but was too knackered to actually celebrate. The fact that it was raining and windy didn’t help the mood either. I did the by now usual 4 repeats, with some bounding over the last two. Bounding really is something else. I tried to concentrate on pushing off forcefully and fully extending my legs, and within seconds my heart rate would shoot up to 180 and more. I couldn’t do it for more than 45 seconds without totally losing form.

I developed another problem on Monday evening, all of a sudden the outside of my right calf started to hurt quite badly. It was a strange problem. It hurt when I was standing, walking or even sitting. The one activity that didn’t hurt was running. It was bad on Monday, felt a bit better on Tuesday and has all but disappeared today, Wednesday. Whenever a runner develops a pain in the legs, it’s only natural to suspect a running-related problem, but I wonder if that particular pain was caused by something else, whatever “something“ may be.

Since I was still feeling under the weather I decided to take it really easy today. The weather forecast had been pretty good, but I when I woke in the middle of the night the rain against the window sounded like someone was playing with a fire hose in a wind tunnel. By the time I got up and left the rain was thankfully reduced to a drizzle, but the wind was still at gale force levels. Such conditions always mean the same thing, a trip to Ard-na-Sidhe. Thank God for that little piece of woodland, it’s the only road that’s somewhat sheltered from the elements. I did take it easy, and actually enjoyed the run, even when the rain started again.

I’m in a bit of a quandary now. I had planned the last of my long double headers for Thursday and Friday, but with my cold and my lingering hip problem that might not be the wisest of actions. Unfortunately I have to set the alarm if I intend to run, and I hate being woken at such an uncivilised hour without the firm commitment to do the workout. After all, who wants to sacrifice precious sleep for nothing? I’ll see how I feel tomorrow. A fortnight ago I ran 20 hilly miles as the second part of a double header when feeling like poop, and afterwards was glad to have done it. Because of my hip problem, tomorrow’s run would be over a reasonably flat course, and should be easier. In all likelihood I’ll get up early and run, and if I feel up to it, I’ll finish what I’ve started.

27 Feb: 4 hill repeats, 1:08:30, avg. HR 151
28 Feb: 7 miles, 58:36, 8:22 pace, avg. HR 145

Mileage for February: 292.5

Weekend Report

As predicted on Friday, Saturday’s run was very enjoyable. I am doing all kinds of workouts these days, hill running, mile repeats, long double headers, and sometimes it’s easy to forget that I’m doing this purely for the joy of running. I set out in the morning with the main aim of enjoying myself. I felt very stiff and slow initially, and that was confirmed when I passed the first (imaginary) mile marker in 8:40. I am always a slow starter, and I didn’t see the need to push any harder. However, the legs came round very soon after that, and running became both easier and faster. I started to inject some surges into the effort, every mile or so I accelerated for about a minute before dropping back to the old pace. I checked my clock once or twice and noticed that I kept getting faster, and reached the turnaround point (5.5 miles) in 42:40 (7:45 pace), which was sooner than expected, especially considering the slow first mile. I kept the surges going, and eventually the legs tuned into that higher pace all by themselves, without me really intending to do so. I felt very good, kept smiling and running, and completed the second 5.5 mile stint in 39:48 (7:14 pace). I’m not kidding myself and pretend that it was an easy run. It wasn’t, I definitely kept pushing the pace, but it wasn’t a tempo effort either, despite the fact that a year ago this would have been a slightly ambitious pace for a hard tempo run. I have gotten faster yet again in the last few weeks, and I think it’s the hill repeats that are responsible for that. Coming back to my original point, doing technical stuff like hill or mile repeats might not nearly be as enjoyable as a straightforward run like today’s, but if they make me faster and stronger like this then they’re definitely worth the effort.

Since this was supposed to be a 90-minute run, and I was back home nearly 8 minutes early, I added a cool down mile, something I probably should do more often, but never do. Unfortunately, not everything was plain sailing. I got some pain in my right hip over the last 2 miles, and it was fairly sore. I had noticed it towards the end of Friday’s long run, but had hoped it would go away again. However, it was worse on Saturday.

Sunday saw me back on the hills again, for another set of 4 hill repeats. I planned on performing the same workout as on Tuesday, mostly steep hill running with some bounding thrown in for the last two repeats. Each repeats lasts less than 4 minutes, but 4 minutes can be a very long time when you’re being tortured like that. I didn’t quite make the 90 seconds of bounding I had hoped for, both times I cut them after 60 seconds and switched back to steep hill running. Sometimes I don’t have the strength, either in the legs or in the minds. On the plus side, the hip problem didn’t even register.

Today I’ve got a sore throat again. Niamh’s sisters were here over the weekend (to the delight of the kids, especially Cian), and brought some unwanted germs into the house. Today all the kids are coughing, and Daddy isn’t feeling too great either. It didn’t stop me from running, but it did stop me from feeling at my best (at least I’m blaming the cold rather than the hill repeats). I went out with the same mindset as on Saturday, to enjoy 90 minutes of running on a reasonably flat course (well, with just a few climbs thrown in for variety). The first mile was even slower this time in around 9:00, and I put in the same surges. I didn’t quite speed up as much, and covered the 5.5 sections in 44:52 (8:10 pace) and 40:20 (7:20 pace). It kind of validates last Wednesday’s mileage though. Back then I had doubts if I could have run 7:15 pace at that effort. I have more or less repeated that twice since then, which points to the possibility that Wednesday was indeed as fast as originally calculated.

Alas, my hip hurt again, and more so than on Saturday. I googled a bit, and it might be bursitis, which generally affects runners (check!) who run a lot of hills (check!) and on hard surfaces (check!). I’ll try icing, stretching, and flatter routes over the next week (apart from tomorrow’s hill session, that is), and will hope to cure it that way. The other option is ibuprofen, but I generally avoid stuff like that as much as I can.

24 Feb: 12 miles, 1:30:46, 7:33 pace, avg. HR 151
25 Feb: 4 hill repeats, 1:10, avg. HR 148
26 Feb: 11 miles, 1:25:12, 7:44 pace, avg. HR 144

Weekly mileage: 85.5 miles

Shouldn’t this be getting easier?

Good God, was I glad when I finally stumbled back into our house today after the run. I really was at the end of my strength. Not for the first time I did wonder if I had bitten off more than I can chew, but those thoughts are usually forgotten come the next workout. These double headers are tough, no doubt about it. I guess that’s the point, though.

Niamh gave me a bemused look when I said I was off to bed at 9:30 Wednesday evening. I knew I would need my sleep, and for once I went to bed on time. I’m usually very disciplined regarding running-related things, but going to bed on time is the one exception to that rule. But I sure was glad that I had bucked that trend for once when the alarm clock went off at 4:45 next morning. As I got ready I checked the weather outside. Luck was on my side; the gale force winds had blown themselves out already, leaving just the rain behind. It was drizzly early on, but that soon turned into a heavy downpour, soaking me to the bones. The heavy rain lasted for about an hour, and for the rest of the run it scaled back to a steady drizzle. I was a bit worried that the wind might pick up again and ran 3 loops around the devil’s elbow again rather than risk being stranded miles away from home on the far side of Caragh Lake. That fear proved to be unfounded, but it also meant more hills that way, especially the big, steep climb up to the ridge of the hill. Doing it once is easy by now, doing it twice is harder, doing it three times is a challenge. On the second loop a dog started barking at me. That was at least one mile away from the nearest dwelling, I have no idea how it got there. It sounded like a big dog and I was a bit worried at first, but as I got close I could see that he wasn’t actually out on the road but in a field, separated from me via a fence. I could hear his angry barks for some time, but that didn’t bother me. The last few miles started to drag a bit, but I finished feeling pretty good. I was a bit surprised when I calculated my average pace, the effort felt faster than about 8:30. Maybe the distance is slightly off, but it’s the opposite problem to Wednesday, when I thought that I might have over-estimated the miles. But, as Marc rightly pointed out, a few tenth of a mile don’t make a difference come race day, and 20 miles is what I put down into my log.

I managed another early night, and once again felt pretty well rested at 4:45. The weather was a carbon copy of Thursday, it started as a drizzle, turned into a torrential downpour for an hour or so and eased off again, maybe not quite as much as the day before. I felt a bit chilly at times due to the wind, but I don’t seem to catch colds that way. I used to be worried about getting sick running in those conditions, but I have completed so many runs like that this winter that I’ve stopped worrying. The only times I got a bit sick this year was when the kids brought home some germs, and none of those episodes were bad enough to miss even a single day of running. I did feel a bit weary from the start of this run, and this was confirmed when I ran the first loop a whole three minutes slower than yesterday. I though “well, I’ll be late for work” and just kept going. The climbs were definitely tougher than the day before. At mile 6 I got some hunger pangs, and that was repeated about 5 miles later, but I managed to ignore those feelings until they went away again. From the halfway point on I was definitely tired. I guess my glycogen stores were running empty, and my usual muscle fibres were fatigued. Mike’s Mystery Coach uses fast double headers to get the usual fibres fatigued in order to get new fibres conditioned. I guess my slower but longer double headers fulfil the same role. That’s good as far as development is concerned, but you can take it from me, it’s not pretty at the time. At the 12.5 mile point, at the end of the second loop, I was definitely knackered and ready to go home, but managed to push myself to begin the third and final loop. The climb was hard work – very hard work. If you believe Mike, all my muscles had to work with were mouldy old mushrooms, and they didn’t like the taste. There was nothing to do but to go on and on and on, and eventually I crested the summit, and while the rest of it wasn’t exactly plain sailing, it was manageable. Right when I felt worst, the mp3 player chose a song by Nickelback, and one line of the lyrics went “Are we having fun yet?”. It was good timing, and brought a smile to my face.

To add to the pain, I got some friction burns on my neck from the shirt (hmm, they're bright red, but it doesn't really show in that picture). I’ve worn that same shirt dozens of times before, I haven’t changed my washing powder or anything else that would explain why it suddenly started hurting, but it did. And it wasn’t only my shirt, the chest strap of my heart rate monitor did the same to my left side, which is just as inexplicable. Unsurprisingly in that context, I also got some good old-fashioned chafing. Has my skin gotten soft all of a sudden? Sure, I spent over 5-and-a-half hours running in the rain on Thursday and Friday, but I still wouldn’t expect that reaction.

Whatever the reasons, I’m definitely looking forward to tomorrow, when I can just run comfortably over a flat course and without having to get up at some ridiculous time. It will be a breeze.

22 Feb: 20 miles, 2:49:09, 8:27 pace, avg. HR 148
23 Feb: 20 miles, 2:54:12, 8:42 pace, avg. HR 142

Calm Before the Storm

The last few days have been miserable as far as the weather is concerned, wind and rain, rain and wind, wind and rain … apart from the 2 hours when I was out running apparently, because I didn’t get rained on once. Maybe it was a miracle, but in all likelihood I will pay for this tomorrow, when gale-force winds and heavy downpours are in store again (together with the flood warnings that always accompany that kind of weather). Lovely. I’m already dreading tomorrow’s long run.

Tuesday saw a quick return to the hill for another torture session. I gave myself a few extra minutes, just to be sure to be able to complete the whole workout without having to worry about being late for work (again). I duly ran up that hill with those silly looking high steps for about 3-and-a-half minutes, only to be confused by my heart rate monitor, which gave a rather low reading of about 160. The same happened on the second repeat. Right, if I can’t get my heart rate up high enough that way, I’ll have to switch to bounding. The third repeat saw me doing 2 minutes of those high knees, then I switched styles. I tried to concentrate on a forceful push-off and extending my legs fully. I also noticed that for some strange reason I have a tendency of swinging my arms across my chest when doing that, so I tried to concentrate on correcting this as well. The good news was that the HR did indeed shoot up into the required 170s, the bad news was that I felt pretty much wiped out after that. I’m a sucker for punishment, and came back for a fourth time, but after 2 minutes of steep hill running and just over 60 seconds of bounding I gave up, the legs felt like falling off. As I said two days ago, there’s still room for improvement. I practically crawled the two miles home, but nevertheless consternation reigned once I checked my average HR for the workout. I was working my socks off, and all I have to show for is a 137? That’s the lowest heart rate I’ve produced in the whole training cycle, but rather than a nice easy recovery run it was a very tenuous hill circuit. I’m not sure what to think of that. Did I not work hard enough, or are those hill repeats primarily workouts for the muscles, and the cardio system simply isn’t taxed as much?

Whatever the answer, I was already looking forward to today’s run, just 60 minutes of joyful running on a reasonably flat course, without any interruptions like strides or goofy hill repeats. My legs felt better than following previous hill repeats (either I really wasn’t working hard enough, or I’m getting used to them), and the miles just flew by. I turned around after 31 minutes, at what I thought at the time was the 4 miles point. The return leg was even quicker; it took just a handful of seconds over 29 minutes for the same distance. Now the doubts started creeping in. Did I really run 4 miles in 29 minutes (7:15 pace) without even pushing the pace? That seems way too fast for such an effort. Sure, I wasn’t hanging around and ran at a good clip, but 7:15 seems too fast. I tried to remember exactly where I had turned around, but in the early hours of morning my brain had partially shut down (Shea had woken me early, cutting nearly an hour off my sleep, which didn’t help), and I couldn’t come up with a definite answer. Whatever the true distance, I put 8 miles into my log, but it might have been slightly less, and a question mark remains. Maybe I should get a Garmin after all.

20 Feb: 4 hill repeats, 1:11, avg. HR 137
21 Feb: 8 miles(?), 1:00:06, 7:30 pace (?), avg. HR 149

The Long Weekend

I was slightly worried how long it would take to recover from my double header, especially as I was slightly sick. I usually recover very quickly from long runs (much faster than from speed workouts), but I had never run nearly 40 miles in two days, and doing so when not feeling 100% healthy added to the uncertainty. As it turns out, I must have recovered pretty well; the signs of sickness are gone and the legs are still able to carry me on my workouts.

I usually head up the devil’s elbow on Saturday, but as I had covered that loop 5 times over the last two days I decided to change the scenery and ran the considerably flatter route along Caragh Lake instead. I used to regard that road as hilly, but my perception has changed in the last 4 months. The legs were very heavy to start with but got better as the run went on. I did decide to add a few fast strides, just to get the legs moving again after so many hours and miles at comparatively slow pace. The weather was nice, the road was empty and the workout was much better than I could have hoped for.

Since the recovery from my last hill workout had been so much better then the preceding week, I decided to add a second day of hills to my weekly schedule, and Sunday was the day that had to be changed. I decided that I should no longer push my luck as far as running on a private driveway was concerned, and chose a different road. It’s on the opposite side of the same hill, and leads up to a picnic area with a stunning view of Caragh Lake and Dingle Bay (and, judging from the used condoms off the far side of said area, can be used for a different purpose as well). I wasn’t going up that high, however. I decided that 3:30 was as long as I could manage of the steep hill running while still being able to lift those knees. After that I jogged along for a minute or so (on a still quite steep section, so I ran really slowly), before turning around. I did measure my heart rates, and found the readings quite interesting. The steep hill running pushed the HR up to 175, after a minute of further (uphill) jogging it was down to about 160, back at the bottom of the hill it was as low as 120, and the first set of 150m windsprints pushed it up to 165 again, each cycle taking about 10 minutes. That’s a greater disparity of heart rates than I would have expected. The steep hill running was really tough work, and despite that I decided to up the ante on the last one and halfway up the hill I switched to bounding. 90 seconds later I was reduced to a drooling wreck, the HR up to 180, feeling slightly nauseous and close to fainting. There is clear room for improvement here. On the way down one particularly masochistic part of my brain contemplated doing a 5th repeat, but the thought of Niamh’s scones was too tempting and I headed for home instead. I was pretty much wiped out for the rest of the day, but watching my beloved Manchester City reach the quarterfinals of the FA Cup for the second year in a row lifted my spirits no end (last year I had predicted it would take another 15 years to reach that stage of the competition again).

Unfortunately the brief interlude of acceptable weather turned out to be very brief indeed, the rain returned Sunday afternoon, and our driveway turned into a shallow swimming pool overnight. I was drenched as soon as I stepped out of the house today, and the legs decided to take it easy once more. I ran the old Ard-na-sidhe out-and-back route twice, and the splits for the 2.5 miles sections were about 22:00-20:45-20:15-19:55. Apart from the first part, when the legs were not quite cooperating I was reasonably pleased with the effort, especially with the fact that each section was faster then the previous one without any increase in effort. Tomorrow I’ll bound up that hill once more, and then I’ll mentally prepare for my next double header. The weather forecast is bad, but then what’s new.

17 Feb: 11 miles, 1:26:14, 7:50 pace, avg. HR 147, including 10x100 strides
18 Feb: 4 hill repeats, 1:10, avg. HR 147
19 Feb: 10.5 miles, 1:27:42, 8:21 pace, avg. HR 145

Weekly mileage: 83.5 miles (including 2 hill workouts)

Double whammy

I decided to up the ante once more and increase the distance for my double header. Last week I did 17 and 20 miles, this time I was aiming for 20 back-to-back. This would finally get me into long runs that cover the ultra distance, albeit over two days.

Things didn’t start out too well Thursday morning. Actually, my first mistake was going to bed late on Wednesday. I was just about to hit the hay when I realised that football was on TV, and against all expectations the Bolton vs. Arsenal FA Cup match proved to be too riveting to go to bed. As a result I got less than 6 hours of sleep. Then the zip of my running tights broke just as I put them on (the one over the right calf). I tried to fix it there and then but only managed to completely destroy it in the process. Luckily I had a second pair washed and dry. Then Shea woke and I got into an argument with him (“Turn off your bedside lamp again”. “No, I’m not comfortable”. “Turn it off”. “No, I’m not comfortable”. “It’s too bright”. “No, I’m not comfortable”. “You’ll wake up Cian”. “No, I’m not comfortable”. …) I gave up on the stubborn mule (he fell back asleep again for 30 minutes, then got up – at 5:30, to his mother’s disgust.) Eventually I managed to leave the house, 10 minutes late.

The weather forecast had predicted heavy rain, and they were right on that score. What they didn’t anticipate were the gale force winds. I did what I always do in those circumstances, I chose to run the devil’s elbow loop rather than around Caragh Lake. The loop is 5.5 – 5.6 miles, it’s 1.5 miles away from our house, so 3 loops and the there-and-back section make up more than 19.5 miles, and a detour on the way home would get me to a round 20. The loops include a big and steep climb, and to run this 3 times would be a good challenge. I managed the first loop without too many problems, but the wind got worse and worse, and during the second loop it became nearly unbearable. Right on top of the crest it came exactly from the side, and I had to lean into it, while trying not to trip over my own feet. At the same time the rain got blown straight into my side, and that hurt. It might be a sign of selective memory loss, but I decided those were the worst conditions I ever run in, apart from two hail showers (but those lasted only for a short time). The second loop took me about 49 minutes (nearly as slow as 9:00 pace) and I decided to reroute, as a third loop in ever worsening conditions did not seem particularly palatable. Instead I ran back home and added an out-and-back section to Ard-na-Sidhe into the mix. After 15 miles I really started to feel like crap, I felt totally out of energy and had to force myself on every step. I did time myself for those final 5 miles, and how I managed 8:10 pace I will never know. I practically had to crawl once I got home; I was utterly drained of energy and seriously doubted my ability to do another long run 24 hours later.

During the day it became obvious that I wasn’t ok, apart from a runny nose, stiff neck, headache and feeling cold (but no temperature) I had absolutely no appetite, when usually I’m ravenous after a long run. I did force myself to eat plenty of food, I felt I had to fill my batteries somehow. I know that the immune system tends to be suppressed after a long run, which might have caused the symptoms, but all the kids were complaining about various aches and pains throughout the day, so I guess it’s something that’s doing the rounds in our house at the moment. Niamh didn’t even want me to go to work on Friday, never mind running, but I promised I’d be sensible and see how I felt.

I was very tired, went to bed at 9:30 and was fast asleep by 10 o’clock. I slept like a baby until the alarm went off at 4:45, for the second morning in a row. I felt much better, and decided to head out. The conditions were much better than the previous day, no wind and no rain, but I decided not to run the Caragh Lake loop but to head for the devil’s elbow instead, because if I felt I had to bail out I would never be further than 4 miles away from home. I started slower than yesterday at 8:30 pace rather than 8:20, and just kept going steadily. The climb was a challenge each time, but to be honest it wasn’t too bad. I had expected to really hurt on the third ascend, but it was definitely manageable. Midway during the second loop the rain returned, but due to the low winds it was no comparison to Thursday’s conditions. All in all I was ok, considering how bad I had felt all of yesterday. It was quite slow, not that pace particularly matters on that kind of run. The last 3 miles were dragging a bit, and I was definitely glad for it to be over and done with.

I’m still not 100% ok, but I’m glad I did go out today. The way I figured, running when feeling crap and devoid of energy should be good ultra training, as long as you don’t do any additional damage to yourself. I kept checking my HR, and it was always quite low. Maybe it was stupid to run 20 miles like that, but given the same circumstances, I think I would do it again.

There is a great advantage in training under unfavorable conditions. It is better to train under bad conditions, for the difference is then a tremendous relief in a race.

Emil Zatopek

15 Feb: 19.5 miles, 2:44:43, 8:26 pace, avg. HR 147
16 Feb: 20 miles, 2:53:41, 8:41 pace, avg. HR 144