Kildare Thoroughbred Run Marathon
16th June 2024 - Finish time 4:44
I ran my first Marathon in April this year on a very hilly course in 5:07. With a goal of completion, I followed Hal Higdon Novice 2 and covered just over 700km between Dec and the race.
A couple of weeks after completing it, I found out there was a very small marathon near my home town (around 100 people), and decided I could ramp back up and extend the training block to complete this too. Another 300km added to the total. By the end of this block I was very fatigued, and I don't plan on doing this again.
Race day was quite warm, which is unsurprising because June. However, the week leading up to it was cool and showery, which would have been lovely. My goal was to hold a 6:45/km pace from the start and see what I could manage at the end. I did go too fast for the first 30km though. Because of the small field, I was on my own for almost all of it, and I ended up doing 6:20/km on average to keep at least one runner in sight. At about 20km, the people in front of me started to struggle and I caught and passed a few people while maintaining my pace.
At the 30k mark I did start to struggle and dropped my pace to 7:15/km with lots of walk breaks. At this point the half marathon had started and I was being passed by a stream of runners in that field. This was less fun than the time spent in the quieter sections, but the mental struggle to keep moving was probably part of that.
Fueling went mostly fine, I took a gel and some granola bar every 7km as I'd practiced and I don't think that contributed to my fatigue. However, I didn't drink as much as I should have and I started to feel nauseous at about 35km, which slowed me to 8:00/km for a while. I made a point of forcing down some water+electrolytes and felt better from 38km on. Roughly I'd guess I took on about 2.5l of fluids during the race, and about 800ml of that were in this few km.
With the finish looming, I picked back up to low 7:00/km and the last one was back at my 6:20/km pace. Some of my family were at the line cheering me on, which was nice. I think they were a little 'disappointed' that I was able to walk and talk and looked fine at the end. They were probably expecting a bit more drama :D I'm sure if I ever race a marathon for time, that will be more the case. I topped up on carbs and enjoyed my bath, and slept most of the next day. I had some mild muscle soreness, but recovered well overall.
I was very happy with knocking 22 minutes off my PB. I think it's very realistic to target a 4:20 in the future and some day a sub-4. For the moment I'm going back to shorter races, and building up to a HM PB attempt in September (sub-1:50).
First Race Win - 25km Adidas Maverick Terrex Dorset
Target time: 1 hour 47 minutes
Actual time: 2 hours 2 minutes
Result: 1st place
Distance: 25.6km
Happy? : Yes the conditions were tough and I had a 3 minute lead on 2nd place so couldn't have gone any better considering the weather
Running round the Jurassic Coast of Dorset in 25mph winds and at times a literal mudbath.
With around 750m of Elevation gain on 90% trails this definitely wasn't normal road running and it was my first experience with a trail race or anything with elevation of more than 200m
Leading up to the race this week I'd clocked in 120km of training runs, I've never been good at tapering but did try to run easy for a few days.
The morning of the event was torrential rain (there's nothing quite like a British summer) but as the race started the sun came out, although the damage the rain caused was evident throughout the race, big muddy sections that left my feet feeling both muddy and wet which is a new sensation on a run.
I managed to get at the start of the race, and the first 10km were spent out in front running with a young guy who was happy to share the work pacing / windsheilding and opening gates. The first 10km were overgrown paths with grass up to your shorts with the occasional steps that were more well worn than my "lucky" boxers I worn for exams for 5 years. I can't exaggerate this part of the course, you were running up and down cliffs were 1 metre to the left you'd fall to your likely death.
After 10km I left the other runner behind and then my only company was the occasional sheep or walker. I thankful was directed away from the sea and the wind for a while, but at 15km onwards I was forced with taking trails to an ancient castle called Corf caste (I've been told is 1200 years old) turns out all castles in the UK are built on hills, you know where I'm going with this.
At 20km I joined the runners doing the "medium run" which was 15km and then had the fun of playing dodge the runner for the remaining 5km, it actually kept my stimulated as having not seen anyone for almost an hour, having to weave and shout for people to get out of the way made the time fly.
It was amazing to win and an incredible course, I highly recommend googling it to see some of the views / trails. If you are in the UK, and particularly the south this should be a bucket list run if you enjoy trail running, but make sure you do hill training first!
NYRR Citizens Bank 10K on Saturday.
I originally was not planning to race it but use it as a tempo run as a benchmark of current fitness. well, I kinda did, but ended up getting a PR by almost a minute with a finish time of 54:18, which was a nice surprise! it was hot out and I made sure to do all the water/Gatorade stops. I aimed to stay within 8:30-8:45 for as long as possible after mile 1 (which, like all NYRR races, is just a warmup mile as you dodge human traffic) and was super successful/consistent in that!
admittedly, I've been slacking on strength training and long runs since London. generally, I have been getting 4 runs in each week, sometimes 5, but have had a lot going on on weekends as well as some travel that derailed long run plans. wife and I are looking into some half marathons for September and October to have something to focus on. I feel a little aimless right now, haha.
still, enjoyed earning a PR and then our team had a post-race picnic.
I (52M) got a fresh PB on Saturday running the Toronto Under Armour 10k - sub 43 minutes - just over 1 minute faster than the PB I set during the Toronto Half Marathon in May.
I'm pretty happy. After running the NY Marathon last November, I was burnt out and very disappointed in my time (+20 minutes from my PB). I decided that 2024 was going to be all shorter races and faster times. I think part of my problem has been that I've always focused on distance / time on feet and neglected some of the basics of running fast. I've also re-started some dedicated body-weight workouts - especially legs and core.
Training, year-to-date has had far fewer runs over 20km - and a lot more 400m/800m repeats plus hill sprints. I'm now averaging 60k a week (vs 90-100k last fall) My "easy" pace has dropped significantly as I've build more capacity and I feel my form is so much better. Basically, right now at least, I feel bulletproof.
The next races is my first trail - the Summit 700 Half Marathon in Collingwood Ontario - and that will certainly be a test of the endurance over some tough conditions (heat and elevation)...but I'm feeling pretty confident.
Does anybody here hate running routes where you're running in one general direction and back the same path, and prefer running routes where you change direction more often? Is it just a me thing or is there a psychological reason this is a thing?
Oddly enough, I hate them on easy runs but don't mind them on long runs once in a blue moon. Part challenge of the out-n-back, part enjoying the bewildered/impressed looks on people faces when they see me coming back in the opposite direction after nearly two hours.
On the other end of the spectrum, I don't like running routes where you change direction *too* often because it often feels like I've run more than I actually have ("You're telling me I've only run two miles thus far despite having run on 15 separate sections of trail???").
Kildare Thoroughbred Run Marathon 16th June 2024 - Finish time 4:44 I ran my first Marathon in April this year on a very hilly course in 5:07. With a goal of completion, I followed Hal Higdon Novice 2 and covered just over 700km between Dec and the race. A couple of weeks after completing it, I found out there was a very small marathon near my home town (around 100 people), and decided I could ramp back up and extend the training block to complete this too. Another 300km added to the total. By the end of this block I was very fatigued, and I don't plan on doing this again. Race day was quite warm, which is unsurprising because June. However, the week leading up to it was cool and showery, which would have been lovely. My goal was to hold a 6:45/km pace from the start and see what I could manage at the end. I did go too fast for the first 30km though. Because of the small field, I was on my own for almost all of it, and I ended up doing 6:20/km on average to keep at least one runner in sight. At about 20km, the people in front of me started to struggle and I caught and passed a few people while maintaining my pace. At the 30k mark I did start to struggle and dropped my pace to 7:15/km with lots of walk breaks. At this point the half marathon had started and I was being passed by a stream of runners in that field. This was less fun than the time spent in the quieter sections, but the mental struggle to keep moving was probably part of that. Fueling went mostly fine, I took a gel and some granola bar every 7km as I'd practiced and I don't think that contributed to my fatigue. However, I didn't drink as much as I should have and I started to feel nauseous at about 35km, which slowed me to 8:00/km for a while. I made a point of forcing down some water+electrolytes and felt better from 38km on. Roughly I'd guess I took on about 2.5l of fluids during the race, and about 800ml of that were in this few km. With the finish looming, I picked back up to low 7:00/km and the last one was back at my 6:20/km pace. Some of my family were at the line cheering me on, which was nice. I think they were a little 'disappointed' that I was able to walk and talk and looked fine at the end. They were probably expecting a bit more drama :D I'm sure if I ever race a marathon for time, that will be more the case. I topped up on carbs and enjoyed my bath, and slept most of the next day. I had some mild muscle soreness, but recovered well overall. I was very happy with knocking 22 minutes off my PB. I think it's very realistic to target a 4:20 in the future and some day a sub-4. For the moment I'm going back to shorter races, and building up to a HM PB attempt in September (sub-1:50).
First Race Win - 25km Adidas Maverick Terrex Dorset Target time: 1 hour 47 minutes Actual time: 2 hours 2 minutes Result: 1st place Distance: 25.6km Happy? : Yes the conditions were tough and I had a 3 minute lead on 2nd place so couldn't have gone any better considering the weather Running round the Jurassic Coast of Dorset in 25mph winds and at times a literal mudbath. With around 750m of Elevation gain on 90% trails this definitely wasn't normal road running and it was my first experience with a trail race or anything with elevation of more than 200m Leading up to the race this week I'd clocked in 120km of training runs, I've never been good at tapering but did try to run easy for a few days. The morning of the event was torrential rain (there's nothing quite like a British summer) but as the race started the sun came out, although the damage the rain caused was evident throughout the race, big muddy sections that left my feet feeling both muddy and wet which is a new sensation on a run. I managed to get at the start of the race, and the first 10km were spent out in front running with a young guy who was happy to share the work pacing / windsheilding and opening gates. The first 10km were overgrown paths with grass up to your shorts with the occasional steps that were more well worn than my "lucky" boxers I worn for exams for 5 years. I can't exaggerate this part of the course, you were running up and down cliffs were 1 metre to the left you'd fall to your likely death. After 10km I left the other runner behind and then my only company was the occasional sheep or walker. I thankful was directed away from the sea and the wind for a while, but at 15km onwards I was forced with taking trails to an ancient castle called Corf caste (I've been told is 1200 years old) turns out all castles in the UK are built on hills, you know where I'm going with this. At 20km I joined the runners doing the "medium run" which was 15km and then had the fun of playing dodge the runner for the remaining 5km, it actually kept my stimulated as having not seen anyone for almost an hour, having to weave and shout for people to get out of the way made the time fly. It was amazing to win and an incredible course, I highly recommend googling it to see some of the views / trails. If you are in the UK, and particularly the south this should be a bucket list run if you enjoy trail running, but make sure you do hill training first!
Nicely done. That's a great pace for a hilly trail run!
NYRR Citizens Bank 10K on Saturday. I originally was not planning to race it but use it as a tempo run as a benchmark of current fitness. well, I kinda did, but ended up getting a PR by almost a minute with a finish time of 54:18, which was a nice surprise! it was hot out and I made sure to do all the water/Gatorade stops. I aimed to stay within 8:30-8:45 for as long as possible after mile 1 (which, like all NYRR races, is just a warmup mile as you dodge human traffic) and was super successful/consistent in that! admittedly, I've been slacking on strength training and long runs since London. generally, I have been getting 4 runs in each week, sometimes 5, but have had a lot going on on weekends as well as some travel that derailed long run plans. wife and I are looking into some half marathons for September and October to have something to focus on. I feel a little aimless right now, haha. still, enjoyed earning a PR and then our team had a post-race picnic.
I (52M) got a fresh PB on Saturday running the Toronto Under Armour 10k - sub 43 minutes - just over 1 minute faster than the PB I set during the Toronto Half Marathon in May. I'm pretty happy. After running the NY Marathon last November, I was burnt out and very disappointed in my time (+20 minutes from my PB). I decided that 2024 was going to be all shorter races and faster times. I think part of my problem has been that I've always focused on distance / time on feet and neglected some of the basics of running fast. I've also re-started some dedicated body-weight workouts - especially legs and core. Training, year-to-date has had far fewer runs over 20km - and a lot more 400m/800m repeats plus hill sprints. I'm now averaging 60k a week (vs 90-100k last fall) My "easy" pace has dropped significantly as I've build more capacity and I feel my form is so much better. Basically, right now at least, I feel bulletproof. The next races is my first trail - the Summit 700 Half Marathon in Collingwood Ontario - and that will certainly be a test of the endurance over some tough conditions (heat and elevation)...but I'm feeling pretty confident.
Does anybody here hate running routes where you're running in one general direction and back the same path, and prefer running routes where you change direction more often? Is it just a me thing or is there a psychological reason this is a thing?
Oddly enough, I hate them on easy runs but don't mind them on long runs once in a blue moon. Part challenge of the out-n-back, part enjoying the bewildered/impressed looks on people faces when they see me coming back in the opposite direction after nearly two hours. On the other end of the spectrum, I don't like running routes where you change direction *too* often because it often feels like I've run more than I actually have ("You're telling me I've only run two miles thus far despite having run on 15 separate sections of trail???").
I prefer loops or point to point. Out and back along the same route is not my favorite unless it’s a race.