Dublin City Marathon - Race Report

So the day finally came and went.  So much for a good night sleep the night before...  I'm not sure if I was excited or nervous, either way I didn't sleep much.  The alarm went off at 6am and with all my gear set out from the night before I got ready.

After a nice breakfast of porridge with banana and honey, Jimmy arrived to drive me to Dublin.  When we got to Dublin most of the roads were already closed so I got out as close as to the start as possible and then off I walked.  I got to the start line a good 90 minutes before the start, with plenty of time to drop off my bag and get warmed up.

There was a good crowd with 14,000 people taking part and there was a great atmosphere.  The race was very well organised and started on time.  Of from Fitzwilliam square we ran on past St. Stephen's green around Trinity College, across O'Connell Bridge, up O'Connell Street,

Passing the GPO

Parnell Street, Dorset Street, North Circular Road and into the Phoenix Park.  These were very enjoyable parts of the run and my legs were beginning to wake up after a sluggish start.  I started in the 4 hour 30 minute wave and was taking it nice an easy unsure what was to come as this was my first marathon.  By the time we were leaving the Phoenix park I had past the 4:15 pacers and settled into a nice rhythm.  The weather was great, nice and cool with the occasional short bit of rain.  I was enjoying this.

At 16km I past Kilmainham Jail to hear my name being called.  I looked across and saw three of the girls from the local athletics club.  It was great to see them there and great to be cheered on.  At 19km I past the trainer from the athletics club and gave him a shout as I past.  Things were going well.

At the halfway point I felt a sharp twinge in the base of my left foot, which gave me a little fright.  I tried to flex my toes but that just seemed to cause more pain so I favoured the foot for a few kilometres making sure I landed correctly hoping that it would hold up.  At 24km I saw yet more people from the club.  It was great to see so much support from Carlow up at the race.

From here on in it began to get tough.  At 32km I had hit the furthest distance that I had ever run before and the running, or should I say shuffling, was tough.  I think from 34km to 39km I may have switched off as I don't remember how I got through them.  The worst kilometre was number 37.  I stopped to stretch, which in hindsight was probably a bad move as it took ages to get my legs going again.

With a little over 3km left to go the heavens opened, the wind picked up and within a few moments I was saturated.  I did get an extra burst of energy here.  I'm not sure if it was because I was close to the end or if it was because I wanted to get out of the rain.  So on we went around Trinity College for the second time...

Outside of Trinity College

and on towards the finish line.  I was so happy to finish, doing so in 4:10:58.  It was a great race for me and an emotional one also.

Coming up to the finish line

For those who have been reading my blog for a while would know I signed up to run the marathon 7 months ago, back in March.  I decided to run this to try and raise money for the Irish Cancer Society as there is a history of cancer in my family, my cousin had been diagnosed with cancer and a good friend of mine had been diagnosed with leukaemia.   A month before the marathon my friend with leukaemia got the news that it was terminal.  6 days before the marathon my friend lost her battle against leukaemia.  We will miss her energy, vitality, sense of humour and joy of life.  The world is a much better place because of the time she spent here. We miss you.

The Medal

The T-Shirt

 If you would like to sponsor me in my goal to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society there is still time.  Please click on the image on the right hand column of mychairty.ie.  Thank you for your support.

Last Run Before...

The Dublin City Marathon. The day is fast approaching, in fact it's tomorrow.  I'm a little worried at the moment.  Last nights last run was a little sluggish, but I was very tired after a very tough week.  I should, after some rest be ready for Monday.  The race starts at 10am, for me anyway as I'll be in the last wave of those who feel it will take them longer than 4hrs 15mins to finish.  That's what I believed it would take me when I signed up 7 months ago but I'm hopeful of a faster finish now, but we'll wait and see.

Yesterday morning I went up to Dublin to collect my race pack and racing bib.  I'm number 12878, with over 14,000 runners in the field.  This is going to be a great experience and I'm looking forward to it.

Pack & Bib

Now to get my gear ready and a good night sleep.  A friend of mine will drop me up to Dublin in the morning and my wife and son will hopefully be there to great me at the finish line to carry me home.  no turning back now.

I'm still raising money for the Irish Cancer Society so if you would like to sponsor me for this race please click on the mycharity.ie logo on the right and donate what you can.  Thanks, your support if much appreciated.

Hello Again

It's been over two weeks since my last post but I have been running, if a little sporadically. Here is a quick update on the runs I've been doing over the past two weeks.

On the 16th I went for a lovely little ramble around the two for my last big run before the marathon.  It was a nice relaxing half and I felt great after it. A good time for me also, an unofficial PR.

On the 21st I ran a nice tempo 5km run around a local track and then did 10 minutes on the bike in the local gym and another 10 minutes on the elliptic trainer.  I'm taking it really easy in the final few weeks as the Achilles are OK now but still I want to go easy on them before the big day to make sure I don't tweak anything.

And on the 24th it was the last long run before the Dublin City Marathon a nice 15km run that again was fast for me but felt good.  It feels like I am as ready as I'm going to be for this run... Bring it on.

Great 5km

I've been looking at the Run Less Run Faster book in more detail and looking to the future I don't have a recent time for a 5km run so, probably inadvisably I decided to run a 5km at race pace last night.  I know I should be tapering and will do now but I was curious.

After 1km at a nice slow easy pace for a warm up I let go.  The next km was 4:36 which was a good pace for me.  I kept going and hit the second km of the 5 in 4:26, slightly faster, and third came in at 4:28.  In my head I had the notion that for a goal for next year I would try to break 23 minutes for a 5km race, at my current pace I was on to break it now.  I pushed a little harder on the 4th and finished it in 4.18.  I was starting to get carried away.  A sub 23 minute 5km was definitely possible but if I could keep up the pace a sub 22 minute 5km was also realistic.  I pushed harder again and dug in knowing that the course I picked the final 100m would be up a hill.  I finished in 21:48 my faster 5km by almost 2 minutes.  What a great run.  Now I really need to rethink my goals for 2012, would a sub-20 minute 5km be too much to aim for?

Tired But Happy

Last Sunday I went out for my long run.  This according to the ever changing marathon training plan would be my last long, long run before the marathon.  I arrive up at the clubhouse and the lovely 1km track and started of with 25km in mind and a bit hopeful that my legs would last the distance considering the difficulties they have been having recently.

The first 5km went off well and I stopped for a water stop and a quick stretch.  5km more and it was a water and energy gel stop with a quick stretch.  Another 5km, another water stop and 5km more with a stop for a gel and water.  20km done and I was still felling good.

First Tempo Run

7th October
I bought a book called Run Less Run Faster.  It has been a great read so far.  It put forward plans for running 3 times a week with 2 cross training activities also and states that this will improve you overall fitness and in turn you finish times, while reducing the risk of injury.

This seemed like the book for me given my injuries lately.  I'm just going to use some of it now but will put it completely into practice after the marathon and see where it gets me.  I decided to go on a tempo run and as I didn't have any 5km race to inform the pace I should run at I assume my 5km pace would be at around 24 minutes and ran my tempo according to that pace.  2km slow warm up, 5km tempo and a 1km slow cool down.  All in all it was a lovely run and even better was that my legs are still responding well.  Not long to go now.  2 more runs to fill you in on but I'll do that tomorrow.

Downpour

5th October
I've been keeping the mid-week runs small so as not to tax the legs too much, but I've have been adding an element of speed to them also.  This run was no different.

What a day.  I left work for a small run and the sun was out.  I was 400 metres into my 2.4km loop when the heavens opened and it just poured down.  When the first loop was over I was so wet their was no point in stopping so I went for another loop running one of the kilometres at speed, 3:50, under 4:00 again.  Happy days.

A Little Speed Work

I've been away a while but I've still been running.  Here is what I've been up to lately, (A few quick, small posts)

28th September
Coming off the back of 13km without pain I decided to run a small 4km run with the 3rd km as fast as I could manage.  Out the door and running from home I took the first 2km nice and slow averaging 6:20 a km and then I hit out for the 3rd km running it in 3:47, the fastest I've run a kilometre yet.  I was over the moon at breaking 4 minutes a kilometre for the first time.

On the Road to Recovery

While Thursday was a bad day, Saturday was a good day.  13km done, no aches or pains and I felt I could have done more.  As the post title says I feel I'm on the road to recovery.  I also maintained a nice pace around and got in a lovely sprint at the end, before my cool down.

I'm starting to think that my shoes may be a factor in my injury.  I've been running in my Asics GT 2150 and New Balance 1064  for a while now and felt they still had more mileage left in them but now I'm not too sure.  My Asics has 606km on them and the New Balance has 496km.  I've just bought two new pairs of runners, one is the Brooks Ghost 4 and the other is the Saucony Kinvara.  I was running in the New Balance on Thursday when I had to stop early and then I used the Brooks runners on this run and they felt great and more importantly my Achilles felt great too.  Could my runners with 600km and 500km be at the end of their life span?  Should I not be able to get 750km out if them?  Another note is Tuesday's run in the Kinvara was also a lovely run with no problems.  It has got me thinking.  Any advice?

Ups and Downs

What I've come to realise is that in recovery you have good days and bad days.  Thursday was a bad day.  As I've said I had a flare up in my Achilles tendon which has restricted my running.  I went to get it checked out a week a go and had some work done on it and have been working on it since.  I've been very careful not to push too hard and to stop when I notice it acting up, so I've been building up.  5km done last Sunday, 7km last Tuesday and I was hoping for another 7km on the Thursday run.  I had to stop before I got to 4km, really frustrating, but I guess I just have to take what I can get at this moment and continue the recovery.

Kinvara Speed Run

Today I felt good, no real pain in the Achilles tendon.  I had planned a run for tonight to see how the recovery is going and I decided to try a speed workout and to run in my new Saucony Kinvaras. I had read a lot about the Kinvaras over the past few months and the reviews mostly raved about them.  Recently Saucony have brought out the Kinvara 2 which meant that on Amazon the Kinvaras had become a clearance item, which I picked up for half price.

Immediately I could feel the difference in the shoe as I ran.  It felt great.  I could feel my feet land correctly (at least to me it seemed I was landing on the mid-foot as opposed to my heel).  I also felt I was running fast.  It has been a long time since I did a speed session and the fastest I had run 500m before was a 1:53.63. So how did I preform in the Kinvaras.

500m:
1: 2:06.14
2: 1:49.27
3: 1:58.95
4: 1:51.07
5: 1:58.77

4 of the 5 in under 2 minutes and a new PR for 500m, delighted.  Number's 1, 3 and 5 were slightly uphill with 2 and 4 slightly downhill.  All in all a good workout and I see how my Achilles Tendon is in the morning.  So far it feels fine.

Keeping Going

On Saturday I didn't run the Dublin Half Marathon, instead I went to the physio.  It turns out that the range of motion I have in my Achilles tendon is pretty bad and it was just a matter of time before this injury flared up.  I got the tendon manipulated, which was no fun at all and shown some exercises to try to lengthen the tendon.  I'm going to try to take it easy over the next few weeks and am still hoping to run/walk the marathon at the end of October, I just have to revise down the time I though I could finish in.

Out tonight for a tentative run to see how things are.  A nice 5km run done and a slight twinge in the tendon, not to bad.  We'll see how things go on Tuesday.  Thanks to Fortnightflo for the tips on looking after the Achilles Tendon, much appreciated.

Long Run But Not Too Long

Last week was a bit of a disaster.  I ran Tuesday and felt great.  Didn't get to run Wednesday or Thursday but that was no big deal as I was going to run Friday and try a long run on Sunday.  I woke up Friday with a terrible pain in my right Achilles.  I was in pain all day.  I didn't know what I had done.  I decided not to run at all that day.

Sunday I did get out and the plan originally was to run 28km but with 16km on the clock I called a halt to the run my Achilles was quite painful.  I'm a bit upset and annoyed as I felt great, just not in my right Achilles... not sure how this is going to play out but hopefully it will rectify itself pretty soon.

A short recovery run today.  My legs weren't up for much more.  6km done at a nice slow steady pace and my legs feel that little bit better after it.  Just over 28km done this weekend.  I think that is the most I've run in two consecutive days.  46.47km done this week.  Next week is a big week and I'm looking forward to it.  A lot of running will be done, I hope ;-)

DCM Week 9: Long Run

Long run of 22km done and I struggled a little getting it done.  My legs are fairly sore today.  With just over 8 weeks to go I'm wondering how I will be during and after the marathon as I'm still finding the half a little tough.  Missing that week of running two weeks or so ago has set me back but I'll see how I get on next week.  Long run of 28km planned for next week.  That should let me know how ready I am for the marathon.  Hopefully I'll be feeling more confident at the end of next week than I am today.  Maybe it is just a slight fear of the unknown.

DCM Week 9: 8km Regular Part 2

Yesterday's run was a strange one.  Although the speed was similar to Tuesday's run my heart rate was higher and funnily enough I actually felt better running it than Tuesday's one, go figure.

I cancelled today's run because my legs were a little sore and I'm trying to ease myself back after the break due to illness.  My next run will be a nice 21km on Saturday morning and then I think it will be off to visit a sports store and maybe a new pair of runners.  My current two pairs have clocked up 600km (Asics GT 2150) and 447km (New Balance 1064) respectively.

I was thinking of going for the Saucony Mirage.  Anyone tried these, run in these or have any experience of these I would appreciate any comments.

On a happy note even with the 10 day absence from running due to illness I ran further than ever before in the month of August, 129km.  I guess holidays and running appeal to me.  Now to beat that distance in September.

DCM Week 9: 8km Regular Part 1

Up at 6:30 this morning and out the door before 7am for a nice 8km run, well it wasn't as nice as I would have liked.  I found it a little tough.  I'm not sure if it is down to that week and a half of no training due to illness or if it is due to being really tired and not fully awake or functioning at that hour of the morning.  Maybe it was a combination of the both.

Any way the weeks to my first marathon is not in the single digits and I'm starting to get a little worried.  I'm not in the shape I would like to be at this moment in time or covering the distances I would hope to cover.  I'm still going to plod along and if I have to walk the last few km's I will.  This is all about finishing, I can always try to be better prepared next time. 9 weeks to go and I aim to finish my training schedule and hope that will be enough to get me to the finish line, one step at a time.

DCM Week 19: Long Run

My long run was on a Thursday last week as I was on a stag weekend in Liverpool and I knew there would be no possible way I would get a run in over the weekend.  I started out from work and had the Garmin set for a 26km long run but I knew that would be optimistic.  After missing training for a week and a half with pharyngitis and a fever to accompany it I knew I would have to start back easy and was not too happy to be losing a weekend also so the aim was 26km but I would be happy with 16km, or so I told myself.

It was a nice enough evening but my legs didn't last the full journey.  I managed 17.5km and then I stopped as I was afraid I would bring on an injury if I kept going as my legs had nothing left.  I feel like I've gone a step backwards but I'll just start building up again and hopefully I reach my goal and complete the Dublin City Marathon in a reasonable time.

DCM Week 12: Long Run

This morning I got up to run the longest run I've run to date.  I got dressed, dropped a Nuun tablet in my water, put on my earphone, turned on my ipod, strapped up my right knee, turned on my Garmin and began running.  A nice 500m warm up and some stretches and the run began.

As I'm in a small, small village today the options of somewhere safe and flat to run are a little limited so I ended up running a single road up and down for what must have been 40 times.  I had to go back to the house to refill my water bottles twice but that was fine as the house was never more than 500m away due to where I was running.

The inital stages were a little tough but I kept myself going by not looking at the Gamin, instead I focused on the water and when that was running out.  At a refill stop I allowed myself to check the watch.  1st stop 11km down.  2nd stop 20km done.

Getting started the third time was a struggle as my legs did not seem to have enjoyed the stop and were getting very heavy.  I pushed through and thankfully made it to 25.01km, my longest run ever both in terms of time and distance.  Next weeks long run is only 16km so it will feel like a holiday.

DCM Week 12: 6.5km Run Part 2

3 days in a row done.  The last time I did this was back in December 2010 and I injured myself.  I hope that doesn't happen this time, touch wood.  I'm not superstitious by the way :-)

A big run coming up on Saturday.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried.  Ah well only one thing to do... Run It!!!