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.
Showing posts with label Heart Rate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heart Rate. Show all posts
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Race Report - Irish Runner 5 Mile 2011
On the 16th of July it was off to the Phoenix Park in Dublin for year another race. This time it was a 5 mile race, my first every 5 mile race, so a guaranteed PR, something I love about running a distance for the first time. It was also the first race in the Dublin City Marathon race series.
The weather was very windy and a cool 18º. As i pulled up to park the race started coming down and combined with the winder it felt distinctly cooler than 18º. A nice little warm up and it was into the coral for the start of the race. There were three different starts and I chose the middle one for those who hoped to finish between 40 minutes and 45 minutes. A month ago I had hope to run under 40 minutes but due to having a cold all week and not training as much as I should I set myself a target of 42 minutes 30 seconds. It was freezing waiting for the start, but it wasn't too long a wait.
It was very crowded at the start as usual but it didn't take too long to spread out. The first mile was straight into the wind with a slight incline but once that was over you turned around and the wind was at your back and you hit a gradual slope down hill. I had my watch set to km, as it's what I'm used to and I was checking each km for time. 1st km was done in 5:16, good timing for 42:30. The 2nd km was 5:05 and when I saw that I got thinking, maybe a sub 40 is not impossible. I just needed to shave a couple of seconds off my current pace. 3km past by in 4:51 and I knew I had a good chance. I was feeling good, my breathing was good and I felt I could keep this pace up. I knew the next 4kms were on a downhill before we hit the last km which would be a tough uphill to cover all the down hill we had got and get us back to the finish line just beside where we started. I knew if I put it all out there on the next 4km I could leave myself plenty of time for the hill.
The sun came out, the heat rose and the day began to turn nice. I kept the pace up, it was nice to run down this hill as opposed to up it as I did in April. 4km down in 4:47, so half way through in 19:59, still on. I really pushed myself over the next few kms. 5km in 4:32, 6km in 4:46 and 7km in 4:26 and then the hill struck. It was tough and my legs were sluggish. I actually felt for the first time in a race that I may vomit, but didn't. I pushed up the hill willing myself to the finish line. Afterwards i saw my heart rate peaked at 200, not so good. I crossed the finish line with 8km in 4:55 and another 70m on top for good measure with a chip time of 38:58. I was delighted. In over 6300 runners a finish of 1177, great day out, looking forward to my next race.
The weather was very windy and a cool 18º. As i pulled up to park the race started coming down and combined with the winder it felt distinctly cooler than 18º. A nice little warm up and it was into the coral for the start of the race. There were three different starts and I chose the middle one for those who hoped to finish between 40 minutes and 45 minutes. A month ago I had hope to run under 40 minutes but due to having a cold all week and not training as much as I should I set myself a target of 42 minutes 30 seconds. It was freezing waiting for the start, but it wasn't too long a wait.
It was very crowded at the start as usual but it didn't take too long to spread out. The first mile was straight into the wind with a slight incline but once that was over you turned around and the wind was at your back and you hit a gradual slope down hill. I had my watch set to km, as it's what I'm used to and I was checking each km for time. 1st km was done in 5:16, good timing for 42:30. The 2nd km was 5:05 and when I saw that I got thinking, maybe a sub 40 is not impossible. I just needed to shave a couple of seconds off my current pace. 3km past by in 4:51 and I knew I had a good chance. I was feeling good, my breathing was good and I felt I could keep this pace up. I knew the next 4kms were on a downhill before we hit the last km which would be a tough uphill to cover all the down hill we had got and get us back to the finish line just beside where we started. I knew if I put it all out there on the next 4km I could leave myself plenty of time for the hill.
The sun came out, the heat rose and the day began to turn nice. I kept the pace up, it was nice to run down this hill as opposed to up it as I did in April. 4km down in 4:47, so half way through in 19:59, still on. I really pushed myself over the next few kms. 5km in 4:32, 6km in 4:46 and 7km in 4:26 and then the hill struck. It was tough and my legs were sluggish. I actually felt for the first time in a race that I may vomit, but didn't. I pushed up the hill willing myself to the finish line. Afterwards i saw my heart rate peaked at 200, not so good. I crossed the finish line with 8km in 4:55 and another 70m on top for good measure with a chip time of 38:58. I was delighted. In over 6300 runners a finish of 1177, great day out, looking forward to my next race.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Race Report - Enniscorthy Half Marathon 2011
A bit late but here is the report of my attempt at the Enniscorthy Half Marathon, also called the Strawberry Half, which took place on the 26th of June 2011.
I arrived with plenty of time to warm up on an already warm morning in the town of Enniscorthy in Co. Wexford. Wexford is famed for it's strawberries and they have a festival each year called the strawberry festival. Last year they staged their first half marathon as part of this festival. I was registered for the race last year but didn't run it as I picked up a slight knee injury. This year I wasn't going to miss out again.
Parking was in a field beside the river, very close to the starting line. I sat relaxed and then decided to jog the short distance, probably 500m or so, to the start as part of my warm up. I was already sweating due to the heat and high humidity by the time I got to the start. I had a feeling that this was going to be a tough race. The temperature was 22ºC which is warm for Ireland but there was complete cloud cover and it felt very heavy.
At the start line I bumped into people I knew and we chatted about times and hopes for the race. I was hoping for a PR, which meant I would have to come in under 1h 59m 30s. I had decided to run with the 2hr pacers for the first 10km and then see how I felt after that.
We all lined up and a gentleman climbed a step ladder with a loudspeaker to get us under way. We ran straight to the first bridge and across.
From here we ran along the river crossed back over the bridge and up our first hill with not even a kilometre done. I should have realised from this point what the course would be like. I've never ran as many hills in my life.
From here we left the town. The two lads pacing were good craic and chatted away as we ran. They knew the course really well and would let us know when the next hill was coming and motivate us through it, telling us to conserve energy and get the breath back on the down hills. At 7km I started to feel a strong twinge in my left knee. Not used to running many hills and with the road slanted and pretty much uneven my knees were getting a good going over. After the injury at Christmas to my right knee and the length of time it took me to get back to running good distances I contemplated dropping out just in case I did some damage. I decided that there is always an aid station, if I needed to I could stop there, and kept going.
At the 10km mark we hit our biggest hill and this separated those who were aiming for a sub 2 hours into two groups. Once we got to the top of the hill my knee was giving me grief. I decided that if I ran quicker I would be finished quicker and be in some pain for less time. I picked up the pace a little, which actually helped the knee. Maybe my form changed with the change of pace, I don't know. The clouds had broken at this stage and there was brushings of blue in the sky. The sun was picking up in strength and the heat was making it tougher. The water stations were extremely welcome when I came upon them.
From here with the heat the going got tough. My heart rate was really high, it actually started higher than normal at the start due to the humidity. All I could do was plod along. Coming up to 16km and we crossed the bridge over the river that would mark our turn back towards the town. What I thought was the last water station was here and I was so happy for the extra water.
From here it was 5km along a straight, main road. I think I found this part the toughest of the course. As tough as the hills were finishing by running 5km virtually in a straight line with nothing but a clear view of the distance you have to run in front of you was tough. At 17km I could see the road looked like there was an incline up above. At 18km I could see it was a hill and I was not prepared for this. I thought this road was all flat for 5km. My heart nearly stopped. I was nearly out of energy and my brain was telling me to stop that I was going to collapse if I kept going. I could feel I was over heating. I had pushed my body very hard and was not sure If it would get me to the finish. As I reached the crest of the hill a water station came out of nowhere. I was never so happy to see a water station. I drank half the bottle and poured the rest over me to cool me down. I felt immediately better and my motivation came back. I was going to finish and in a good time, for me, too.
Back down to the town we crossed the first bridge we crossed at the beginning of the race again and turned back to the finish line. My knee was really aching now but not far to go now. I crossed the line in 1:56:00 race time but a 1:55:36 chip time, a new PR. Happy days
From here I walked to the river and got in. The water was freezing but me legs felt great for it. A nice stretch out and walk to cool down and it was back to the car, a quick change and a 1 hour drive home. Maybe there is something wrong with me but despite the toughness of the course I really enjoyed the event.
The only thing I could fault the organisers for is the t-shirts. When I came across the line there were no more medium size shirts left so I had to take a large, no biggy. Apart from this it was a great event. The route was fantastic lots of little roads and very scenic. We passed lots of houses where people were outside cheering us on. At one house a group of girls had set up their own water stand and were handing out cups. Although I didn't take any I thanked them for their work. There was a great buzz and atmosphere about the place the route was well sign posted. It is a tough run but all the more enjoyable when you finish it. It is also a small race at the moment with 414 starting it and 409 finishing. I finished 244. I hope to be back next year.
I arrived with plenty of time to warm up on an already warm morning in the town of Enniscorthy in Co. Wexford. Wexford is famed for it's strawberries and they have a festival each year called the strawberry festival. Last year they staged their first half marathon as part of this festival. I was registered for the race last year but didn't run it as I picked up a slight knee injury. This year I wasn't going to miss out again.
Parking was in a field beside the river, very close to the starting line. I sat relaxed and then decided to jog the short distance, probably 500m or so, to the start as part of my warm up. I was already sweating due to the heat and high humidity by the time I got to the start. I had a feeling that this was going to be a tough race. The temperature was 22ºC which is warm for Ireland but there was complete cloud cover and it felt very heavy.
At the start line I bumped into people I knew and we chatted about times and hopes for the race. I was hoping for a PR, which meant I would have to come in under 1h 59m 30s. I had decided to run with the 2hr pacers for the first 10km and then see how I felt after that.
 |
| The 2hr Pacers and their orange balloons |
 |
| Me "71" crossing the bridge |
 |
| At least there is always a downhill |
At the 10km mark we hit our biggest hill and this separated those who were aiming for a sub 2 hours into two groups. Once we got to the top of the hill my knee was giving me grief. I decided that if I ran quicker I would be finished quicker and be in some pain for less time. I picked up the pace a little, which actually helped the knee. Maybe my form changed with the change of pace, I don't know. The clouds had broken at this stage and there was brushings of blue in the sky. The sun was picking up in strength and the heat was making it tougher. The water stations were extremely welcome when I came upon them.
 |
| 12km in, just under 10km to go |
 |
| Across the bridge and the return journey begins |
Back down to the town we crossed the first bridge we crossed at the beginning of the race again and turned back to the finish line. My knee was really aching now but not far to go now. I crossed the line in 1:56:00 race time but a 1:55:36 chip time, a new PR. Happy days
 |
| At the finish line, and happy to be there |
The only thing I could fault the organisers for is the t-shirts. When I came across the line there were no more medium size shirts left so I had to take a large, no biggy. Apart from this it was a great event. The route was fantastic lots of little roads and very scenic. We passed lots of houses where people were outside cheering us on. At one house a group of girls had set up their own water stand and were handing out cups. Although I didn't take any I thanked them for their work. There was a great buzz and atmosphere about the place the route was well sign posted. It is a tough run but all the more enjoyable when you finish it. It is also a small race at the moment with 414 starting it and 409 finishing. I finished 244. I hope to be back next year.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Juneathon - Day 6: Running
6km was the plan for today as I was feeling a bit tired and my calf muscles were a bit sore. I had planned to run in the morning but the few drinks last night stopped that. I woke up this morning and decided that more sleep was needed and rolled over to sleep for another 2 hours.
It was after 8pm when I did get out and I didn't want to go. If it wasn't for Juneathon I may have stayed at home. It looked like rain as I left the house but thankfully it held off for the run. My legs were very sluggish, I guess exercising everyday has left them a little tired. The first km was in 5.51 and I was tired. I stopped to stretch out and then continued. The next two km were 5.58 and 5.59. I can't remember the last time I went out on my own and ran this slow. The next two km were 5.52 and 5.56 with the 6th km a 6.02. The legs were tired and it showed.
At least one positive of the run was that my average heart rate was 150bpm. I read somewhere that the if you can maintain a heart rate of 150 the pace that you run is a good pace for completing a marathon. Of course you still need to train the legs to run long distances but this would be a good gauge of pace. If that is the case them my goal time at this stage for a marathon would be 4 hours 11 minutes. I'd be very happy with that time, a good goal to aim for. I'm going to use Juneathon to build up a base fitness and marathon training will begin in July.
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