Post by eoin on Nov 3, 2013 22:46:49 GMT
Given the lack of race reports here this year I thought I'd try and put something together. I wrote the following more for my own therapy than anything. If you get bored reading feel free to tune out - I wont be offended!
A season in tri (and running):
Last Christmas I set myself two goals for the year ahead - a sub 5 hour half ironman and a sub 3 marathon - easy! (Current PBs are 5h17m from 2012 and 3h36m from 2011). A third goal was also to take my half marathon time under 1h20m (current PB from 2012 is 1h22m). However, these goals were all part of a bigger picture which includes two children under two and a commute to south Dublin (and a very understanding wife)
Lisbon in early May allowed for a 5 month preparation which would be over in good time to allow for a decent preparation for the Dublin marathon (and Athlone half marathon in Sept). Fair play to Doug, Enda, and co. who sorted us with training plans for the Winter and Spring months.
With such a full schedule, the weeks flew by and my training really benefitted from something which it had been lacking - structure! I didn't have the hours available to do all the sessions so concentrated on hitting to important ones. I could really feel my fitness improving and the one time I broke from the training plan to run a 10k road race, I ran a PB (37min) for fun on a hilly course. Another factor which helped was an investment in a turbo that allowed me to train with power and track my progress week on week. Anyway, the week before Lisbon quickly arrived and I felt I was in the shape of my life. The Sunday before travelling, I was up to do an easy hour on the bike. I felt a little off and decided to substitute an easy run instead. However, after 20 mins I was unable to continue and something was obviously up. Was hoping it was just a 24 hour bug or something but by Tuesday, all four of us in the house were on antibiotics for bronchitis. On doctor's advice, I travelled (more in hope than expectation) but was also very mindful of the possibility of doing lasting damage to my lungs. On the day I swam well and biked better than ever (90km in 2h40m was exactly what I had set out for and hit it bang on) but as soon as I started to run (which should have been where I started passing people) I knew the game was up and I would have to sit it out this time. Giving up was both the hardest and simplest decision I've taken in sport. I've never pulled out of any event before and the moment you stop and see those around you disappear into the distance is strange. I had only ran about 500 metres when I called it a day - I handed in my chip and went back to the apartment straight away to get away from it all. After an hour of feeling sorry for myself, I came to my senses and went back to cheer on the lads (and ladies). On one hand I didn't want to see any more as it was a bit heart wrenching not to be part of it. On the other hand it was great to see all the lads do so well and made me want it even more the next time. I think we gave Jarlath a fairly hard time that day but it was inspiring to see him keep going in the face of such bad luck.
Foolishly (in hindsight) I reassessed my season after Lisbon in the hope of hitting the goal in another half iron race. I should have rested up properly and ensured I was healthy. What I actually did was try to get back into it straight away - I entered the Athy double Olympic to try and prepare for the new Shadowman event in Athlone on the first weekend in August. This plan backfired in a way that would have been obvious if I hadn¡'t been so stubborn. I went to Athy and struggled to even finish - I would definitely have called it a day if I was being realistic as I didn¡¦t feel right from the off. Anyway, the next day was the day of the kidathon and I was supposed to be helping out. Unfortunately, instead of going to Belvedere that day I headed for MIDOC as I had accepted that I wasn't healthy and needed to get checked out. The bronchitis had not fully left my system and what I thought was a never ending head cold was actually a sinus infection. So, more antibiotics and another two weeks off the road. Instead of resting up properly, I entered the Fighting Cancer triathlon because (a) I had never done it before, and (b) I really wanted to complete an event without feeling ill. I really enjoyed the race and, even though the Lisbon speed and fitness was long gone, it felt great to simply race again. I stubbornly plodded on with some training for Athlone but it was non-existent at this stage and any time I tried to raise the intensity, I was left feeling tired and frustrated. Ironically, I left Athlone with a PB (somewhere in the region of 5h10m, I haven't looked it up and have no interest as I intend to obliterate that some day!) but this was mainly due to the run being short than anything. Looking back at my 2013 tri season, I had very mixed emotions. How I dealt with an illness was foolish and if it was again I would do things very differently in terms of looking after my health first and foremost. However, there were enough positive signs there to hook me back in and with a bit of luck, I think 2014 could be quite productive. I've entered the Mallorca half-iron man and my 2013 goal has now become my 2014 goal.
Part II.
The week after the CK race in early August, I started thinking about the Dublin Marathon and putting some training plans in place. I have a little bit of history with this race - I ran it in 2005 and 2006 in that period between finishing life as a GAA player and deciding what I was going to do with myself sports wise. The first year I ran 4h44mins. This is still the best race I have ever ran as I had even splits (2h22mins for both halves) and enjoyed every moment of it. My longest run in preparation that time was 10 miles (done once!). I came back for more in 2006 and broke 4 hours with a little more training that time. That was me done until 2011 when I trained with ambitions of getting close to 3 hours. It was a case of too much too soon as a piriformis injury meant that I missed all of the long training runs and struggled badly that day coming home in 3h36m after getting to halfway in 1h35m. This year a change of job has resulted in my commute being cut in half and has afforded me the option of training with the Harriers - something I could never do before. The first few weeks went well until the week before the Athlone Flatline (early September) when I felt a familiar sensation in my hip. My piriformis had flared up again - real agony - and I was off the road for 3 weeks - several physio sessions and lots of dry needling eventually sorted the problem. As a result I had missed my opportunity to give the half marathon a shot - not a major problem but I had no idea what sort of form I was in. I would be entering the marathon "cold" with no indication of form. I was in good shape for all of the long runs and felt reasonably good for the long tempo runs also. It wasn't until two weeks out and the start of taper that I had a calf niggle that resulted in very little running for the last two weeks prior to Marathon day. Overall mileage was also worryingly low - I had two weeks of 66kms at height of the training - most other weeks were substantially lower.
Anyway, Dublin Marathon day came around very quickly and I was determined to make the most of whatever fitness I had and set out with the 3 hour pace group. I was running with Mel, Enda and Stephen and the first few miles were without incident. We were averaging 6m41s for the first half but a reasonable wind meant that I felt I was working a little harder than I should have been. I also nearly took myself out of the race at the 5 mile water station in the Phoenix park. I went to pick up a bottle (along with hundreds of others in the pace group) and thought I would be smart and run on the grass behind the water tables to get myself some space. I passed (what I thought was) all of the water tables and was veering back on to the road when I ran at full tilt into a table. Bottles went everywhere and I thought that this can't be happening! I gave myself a dead leg where I struck the table (hadn't had one since back in my football days) and it took a couple of miles to run it off - the lucky thing is that the long downhill to exit the park was straight after the impact and it was the best place for something like that to happen. One week later and I have a seriously impressive bruise on my right quad to prove (to myself more than anything) that I didn't imagine this! Mile 11 and my calf started to tighten - I was very worried for a while but it wasn't getting any worse and I ran through it until the pain everywhere else started making the calf pain feel insignificant. The support in Dublin is amazing (certainly compared to any other races I have done) and the crowds definitely take your mind off things to a large extent. I stayed with the 3 hour group until 16 miles. At about mile 17, I found myself alone as everyone was having various issues and it was every man for himself from here. I let the 3 hour group move away from me as, in truth, I wasn¡¦t feeling on top of my game and knew sub 3 wasn't in the legs this time. I kind of knew this from the off as I was just a little flat and not on my toes like I would usually be. In previous times I would have stuck with the 3 hour group until I imploded completely and probably finished in 4 hours plus. I tried to play a smarter game this time and held a little back to ensure I had some sort of a finish in me. However, I now had 9 miles to go and was somewhat in no mans land with no pace group in front or behind me. Mile 19 onwards was tough and the pace started to slow. After 20, I was hitting 8 min/miles and 3h10 was starting to disappear too. I resisted the strong urge to walk and got home in 3h9min. I was reasonably happy with this and if you offered me this at half way I would have taken it. I know a have a decent sub 3 marathon in me and I guess days like these will make it all the more satisfying when it finally arrives. Within a couple of hours of finishing I was suffering with a headcold and I think it was festering for a few days.
Looking back on 2013 has taught me quite a few things. Even though I didn't tick any of the boxes that I set out for, I still feel that progress has been made and I can be happy about taking almost half an hour off my marathon time. There are issues that need to be sorted for 2014 - it is no coincidence that I felt off for both of my A races - I have a tendency to pick up various illnesses at peak training times. I am fairly sure this is linked to poor nutrition and I will have a good look at this. A related problem is a tendency to lose weight easily when training hard. I was down to 10st1pound the week before Lisbon (from an average of slightly over 10.5st) and it seems like my ability to fight off colds etc. suffers as a result.
Goals for 2014:
(i) Break 5 hours in Majorca in May
(ii) Finally dip under 3 hours for the marathon (don't think I will wait until next October for a shot at this - might find one that I could try in late June or July.
(iii) If I am in reasonable shape I will have a crack at 1h20m for the half marathon in Athlone again.
(iv) Will try to do one or two races that I have not completed before for the craic - maybe Kilkee or BofTE, just to broad the horizons a little.
A season in tri (and running):
Last Christmas I set myself two goals for the year ahead - a sub 5 hour half ironman and a sub 3 marathon - easy! (Current PBs are 5h17m from 2012 and 3h36m from 2011). A third goal was also to take my half marathon time under 1h20m (current PB from 2012 is 1h22m). However, these goals were all part of a bigger picture which includes two children under two and a commute to south Dublin (and a very understanding wife)
Lisbon in early May allowed for a 5 month preparation which would be over in good time to allow for a decent preparation for the Dublin marathon (and Athlone half marathon in Sept). Fair play to Doug, Enda, and co. who sorted us with training plans for the Winter and Spring months.With such a full schedule, the weeks flew by and my training really benefitted from something which it had been lacking - structure! I didn't have the hours available to do all the sessions so concentrated on hitting to important ones. I could really feel my fitness improving and the one time I broke from the training plan to run a 10k road race, I ran a PB (37min) for fun on a hilly course. Another factor which helped was an investment in a turbo that allowed me to train with power and track my progress week on week. Anyway, the week before Lisbon quickly arrived and I felt I was in the shape of my life. The Sunday before travelling, I was up to do an easy hour on the bike. I felt a little off and decided to substitute an easy run instead. However, after 20 mins I was unable to continue and something was obviously up. Was hoping it was just a 24 hour bug or something but by Tuesday, all four of us in the house were on antibiotics for bronchitis. On doctor's advice, I travelled (more in hope than expectation) but was also very mindful of the possibility of doing lasting damage to my lungs. On the day I swam well and biked better than ever (90km in 2h40m was exactly what I had set out for and hit it bang on) but as soon as I started to run (which should have been where I started passing people) I knew the game was up and I would have to sit it out this time. Giving up was both the hardest and simplest decision I've taken in sport. I've never pulled out of any event before and the moment you stop and see those around you disappear into the distance is strange. I had only ran about 500 metres when I called it a day - I handed in my chip and went back to the apartment straight away to get away from it all. After an hour of feeling sorry for myself, I came to my senses and went back to cheer on the lads (and ladies). On one hand I didn't want to see any more as it was a bit heart wrenching not to be part of it. On the other hand it was great to see all the lads do so well and made me want it even more the next time. I think we gave Jarlath a fairly hard time that day but it was inspiring to see him keep going in the face of such bad luck.
Foolishly (in hindsight) I reassessed my season after Lisbon in the hope of hitting the goal in another half iron race. I should have rested up properly and ensured I was healthy. What I actually did was try to get back into it straight away - I entered the Athy double Olympic to try and prepare for the new Shadowman event in Athlone on the first weekend in August. This plan backfired in a way that would have been obvious if I hadn¡'t been so stubborn. I went to Athy and struggled to even finish - I would definitely have called it a day if I was being realistic as I didn¡¦t feel right from the off. Anyway, the next day was the day of the kidathon and I was supposed to be helping out. Unfortunately, instead of going to Belvedere that day I headed for MIDOC as I had accepted that I wasn't healthy and needed to get checked out. The bronchitis had not fully left my system and what I thought was a never ending head cold was actually a sinus infection. So, more antibiotics and another two weeks off the road. Instead of resting up properly, I entered the Fighting Cancer triathlon because (a) I had never done it before, and (b) I really wanted to complete an event without feeling ill. I really enjoyed the race and, even though the Lisbon speed and fitness was long gone, it felt great to simply race again. I stubbornly plodded on with some training for Athlone but it was non-existent at this stage and any time I tried to raise the intensity, I was left feeling tired and frustrated. Ironically, I left Athlone with a PB (somewhere in the region of 5h10m, I haven't looked it up and have no interest as I intend to obliterate that some day!) but this was mainly due to the run being short than anything. Looking back at my 2013 tri season, I had very mixed emotions. How I dealt with an illness was foolish and if it was again I would do things very differently in terms of looking after my health first and foremost. However, there were enough positive signs there to hook me back in and with a bit of luck, I think 2014 could be quite productive. I've entered the Mallorca half-iron man and my 2013 goal has now become my 2014 goal.
Part II.
The week after the CK race in early August, I started thinking about the Dublin Marathon and putting some training plans in place. I have a little bit of history with this race - I ran it in 2005 and 2006 in that period between finishing life as a GAA player and deciding what I was going to do with myself sports wise. The first year I ran 4h44mins. This is still the best race I have ever ran as I had even splits (2h22mins for both halves) and enjoyed every moment of it. My longest run in preparation that time was 10 miles (done once!). I came back for more in 2006 and broke 4 hours with a little more training that time. That was me done until 2011 when I trained with ambitions of getting close to 3 hours. It was a case of too much too soon as a piriformis injury meant that I missed all of the long training runs and struggled badly that day coming home in 3h36m after getting to halfway in 1h35m. This year a change of job has resulted in my commute being cut in half and has afforded me the option of training with the Harriers - something I could never do before. The first few weeks went well until the week before the Athlone Flatline (early September) when I felt a familiar sensation in my hip. My piriformis had flared up again - real agony - and I was off the road for 3 weeks - several physio sessions and lots of dry needling eventually sorted the problem. As a result I had missed my opportunity to give the half marathon a shot - not a major problem but I had no idea what sort of form I was in. I would be entering the marathon "cold" with no indication of form. I was in good shape for all of the long runs and felt reasonably good for the long tempo runs also. It wasn't until two weeks out and the start of taper that I had a calf niggle that resulted in very little running for the last two weeks prior to Marathon day. Overall mileage was also worryingly low - I had two weeks of 66kms at height of the training - most other weeks were substantially lower.
Anyway, Dublin Marathon day came around very quickly and I was determined to make the most of whatever fitness I had and set out with the 3 hour pace group. I was running with Mel, Enda and Stephen and the first few miles were without incident. We were averaging 6m41s for the first half but a reasonable wind meant that I felt I was working a little harder than I should have been. I also nearly took myself out of the race at the 5 mile water station in the Phoenix park. I went to pick up a bottle (along with hundreds of others in the pace group) and thought I would be smart and run on the grass behind the water tables to get myself some space. I passed (what I thought was) all of the water tables and was veering back on to the road when I ran at full tilt into a table. Bottles went everywhere and I thought that this can't be happening! I gave myself a dead leg where I struck the table (hadn't had one since back in my football days) and it took a couple of miles to run it off - the lucky thing is that the long downhill to exit the park was straight after the impact and it was the best place for something like that to happen. One week later and I have a seriously impressive bruise on my right quad to prove (to myself more than anything) that I didn't imagine this! Mile 11 and my calf started to tighten - I was very worried for a while but it wasn't getting any worse and I ran through it until the pain everywhere else started making the calf pain feel insignificant. The support in Dublin is amazing (certainly compared to any other races I have done) and the crowds definitely take your mind off things to a large extent. I stayed with the 3 hour group until 16 miles. At about mile 17, I found myself alone as everyone was having various issues and it was every man for himself from here. I let the 3 hour group move away from me as, in truth, I wasn¡¦t feeling on top of my game and knew sub 3 wasn't in the legs this time. I kind of knew this from the off as I was just a little flat and not on my toes like I would usually be. In previous times I would have stuck with the 3 hour group until I imploded completely and probably finished in 4 hours plus. I tried to play a smarter game this time and held a little back to ensure I had some sort of a finish in me. However, I now had 9 miles to go and was somewhat in no mans land with no pace group in front or behind me. Mile 19 onwards was tough and the pace started to slow. After 20, I was hitting 8 min/miles and 3h10 was starting to disappear too. I resisted the strong urge to walk and got home in 3h9min. I was reasonably happy with this and if you offered me this at half way I would have taken it. I know a have a decent sub 3 marathon in me and I guess days like these will make it all the more satisfying when it finally arrives. Within a couple of hours of finishing I was suffering with a headcold and I think it was festering for a few days.
Looking back on 2013 has taught me quite a few things. Even though I didn't tick any of the boxes that I set out for, I still feel that progress has been made and I can be happy about taking almost half an hour off my marathon time. There are issues that need to be sorted for 2014 - it is no coincidence that I felt off for both of my A races - I have a tendency to pick up various illnesses at peak training times. I am fairly sure this is linked to poor nutrition and I will have a good look at this. A related problem is a tendency to lose weight easily when training hard. I was down to 10st1pound the week before Lisbon (from an average of slightly over 10.5st) and it seems like my ability to fight off colds etc. suffers as a result.
Goals for 2014:
(i) Break 5 hours in Majorca in May
(ii) Finally dip under 3 hours for the marathon (don't think I will wait until next October for a shot at this - might find one that I could try in late June or July.
(iii) If I am in reasonable shape I will have a crack at 1h20m for the half marathon in Athlone again.
(iv) Will try to do one or two races that I have not completed before for the craic - maybe Kilkee or BofTE, just to broad the horizons a little.
