Giving a hungover Parkrun the ELBOW and feeling a bit Special(ized).

Saturday 25^th May 2013

Running (3.11 Miles / 00:24:41 / 00:07:56 per mile / HRZ 4.4) Wallace Parkrun

Tough call this morning getting out for the Parkrun.  So many reasons not to do it!
Ben was meant to run it with me but when I woke him up he bailed out complaining of a sore leg.  I thought that bailing out sounded like a good idea and went back to bed.
Too much Cider and wine the night before and I was pretty happy to be tucked up under the duvet again.

At 8.55 I thought I really should just get up and do the run.  I quickly got changed and headed down to the run.  No breakfast, no coffee - NOTHING!

Part of the reason for going was that I knew there would be a big turn out from the Club, and I was right.  I reckon there were at least 10 from the Club running.

I started out far too fast and paid for it on loop two of the three and a half loops. it's no coincidence that mile two was my slowest of the three miles today.
I managed to get a bit of a second wind for the last lap, just as Michael McLernon from the Club stormed past me to the finish line for the win.  he was closely followed by Chris, Michael and Mark - taking the first 4 places in the event.  One hell of a result for the Club.  Plus lots of the other guys made up the top 15.
A really impressive result for us.

I managed to pick up the pace a bit again and was pleased to finish 31st out of 106 with a 24.41.
I was actually pretty pleased after all of the faffing around I did just an hour earlier.
I would have been delighted with that time if someone offered it to me before the start as I thought anything under 26 mins would have been good for a hung-over - lying in dodgy start to the morning.


Monday 27^th May 2013

Running (6.70 Miles / 01:02:50 / 00:09:23 per mile / HRZ 3.0)

Bank Holiday today and I had a lovely day.
Had a lie in, bought a new bike, had coffee at M&S, one hour run.  What else could I want?

BACK UP!!! A new bike!!!
Yep - I sold my Kuota and bough a new Specialized Tarmac Sport.  I'm delighted with it and can't wait to get out on it.  Hopefully tomorrow!

 

Anyway - back to the run.

I did something that I never do tonight.

I didn't wear my Garmin or listen to a podcast on the iPod. I ran naked!

 

I put the Garmin in my back pocket and just ran by feel, hoping to keep a steady pace and Heart Rate at Zone 3 or lower.

 

Apart from a couple of stops at lights and a quick chat with a friend for a wee while (which cost me some extra seconds) every mile was paced very evenly and the heart rate stayed within the right zone.

 

I might do this again so that I can just get a bit more tuned in to running by feel and not be so focussed on the Garmin.

 

 

The bad news is that my elbow is still sore and I have very little strength in it at all.  There is no way I could swim at the moment and until today the thought of cycling would have been painful.



The elbow feels a bit better today and maybe it's just down to the thought of getting on the new bike tomorrow that's doing it!  We'll see.

10 Mile run and Riding with Big Ben. Not on the same day though.

Thursday 16^th May 2013

Running (10.00 Miles / 01:30:19 / 00:09:01 per mile / HRZ 3.8)

Trying to bring a bit of a longer session back in again in preparation for the Lisburn Half Marathon on 19th June, I decided to take advantage of the dry evening and head out for an out and back 10 miler.
The weather was lovely and I actually had to roll up the sleeves on my long sleeved top as it was getting quite warm.  Really unusual for us as it has been coats and gloves so far this "summer!"

the outward leg felt really comfortable but the return leg was a tough harder as around two miles of it are back uphill, so the pace slowed a bit.

I am quite pleased to have done the 10 miles in 90 minutes and kept a reasonable average pace anyway.

Sunday 19th May 2013

Cycling (34.40 miles / 02:24:14 / 14.30 mph / Cadence 75 rpm / HRZ 2.7) Elevation 313M

The reasonable weather continued this morning, so despite some wine, cider and beer last night, I felt in good enough condition this morning to join my Club mate "Big" Ben Dooley on a ride this morning.

I wanted to do about 50 miles or so but Ben was too soft and opted for around 30!!( Just joking as I was happy enough with a 30 miler this morning.)

 

We took a nice route out through Belfast and over to Comber.  Our average speed suffered a bit on the way to and through Belfast as we seemed to hit every traffic light but once we got out a wee bit further we were able to hold a steadier pace.

 

The chat and craic was great and I really enjoyed the company and the ride this morning.  The route is one that I am familiar with and have done several times before, so it came as a wee bit of a surprise to me when we hit a few hills out of Comber towards Moneyreagh.  how had I forgotten about them.

Ben tries to claim that he is slow and not good on the hills but he was looking pretty good to me and I was happy to hold on to him on some of these rollers.

 

Then just to rub it in a bit, as we neared Drumbo, where Ben was dropping out for home, he decided to take us along the Mealough Road.  A lovely Road but plenty of ups and downs including a few short sharp snaps.

 

Once he was deposited home I made for home myself.

 

As usual I had the last couple of miles up hill home again but I felt like it was a good ride and it was nice to get back out for a couple of hours again.

Fartleks and a Dark Helmet

Tuesday 14^th May 2013

Running (6.20 Miles / 00:55:56 / 00:09:01 per mile / HRZ 2.8)

I was a bit in two minds before heading out for the run this evening as I was planning on doing the tri Club hill session on the bike this evening also.  That would mean a pretty heavy load on the legs tonight, which would be interesting, given the hill session the previous night on the bike also.

One of the things that I want to do a bit on runs now is inject a little bit of pace variation, even if it is only for short distances. The Swedes call it “Fartlek” which translates as Speed play.

It just means upping the pace for a while and then going back to normal speed.

In my case I wanted to do about 5 Fartleks and each one around 0.1 miles long and at fairly sharp pace.(for me!)

Lots of people do Fartlek runs and the idea is not to be too prescriptive, the distance can vary, the speed can vary and it is different to interval training which is much more defined.  A good way of doing it is to use lampposts and maybe sprint between these as markers.

Anyway, the run went well as a whole and the Fartleks were good and I averaged about 06.40 per mile pace for each of one.

The final mile and a half of the run was back up my dreaded hill home and that really did take it out of the legs and then just to prove how hard I was, I did a final Fartlek at the top of the hill.  That’s just how I roll!

Cycling (11.54 miles / 00:57:22 / 12.10 mph / Cadence 70 rpm / HRZ 3) Elevation 418M

After a brief half hour rest from the run, it was out on the bike and on to the hill.  This should be fun!

Yesterday felt hard enough on the hill and I suspected that this might feel a bit tougher.

The rest of the guys went bombing off up the hill ahead of my, as I had expected and I just ground my up at a relatively steady pace.

First set went OK and was marginally faster than the day before, same for the second set as well.

Sets three and four and fatigue started to really set in to the legs.  The pace slowed substantially.  Almost two minutes slower per set than the first one and that horrible sickly feeling as the fatigue really set in.

The descents were much more fun than last night as the wind had died down and I was able to top out over 40mph fairly comfortable.

Scarily – Mark topped out at 55mph on the way down.  That is bloody fast!  It must have been his new helmet. The new Giro Air attack.  A very fancy helmet indeed with aero styling and visor.  He did have a touch of the Dark helmet look about him from the Mel Brooks film ‘Spaceballs’ though. 

 

If I could go up as fast as him and come down the hill at 55mph I would happily look like Dark Helmet.

This hill training is hard but I know that it will help in the long run as it did last year in my training and the strength it builds will no doubt lead to increased fitness and I’m hoping that will translate to speed.

Hitting the Hills

Monday 13th May 2013

Bike ( 12.02 Miles / 01:01:12 / 11.80 mph / Cadence 66 / HRZ 2 / Elevation 427M)

After my feelings of being unfit at the Tri on Saturday and now that the elbow is starting to feel a good bit better I decided to hit the hill in order to build some strength and fitness.

The weather wasn't exactly an incentive but I toughened up and put on pretty much my winter cycling gear (in Flipping MAY!!) and got on the bike.
Temperature was about 5C and the wind was blowing pretty hard.  It was really something to look forward to, never mind the fact that it was a hill session.

I set off optimistically and managed a decent stab at the first ascent.  Time was a bit slower than I had done the last time but that was OK as conditions are rough.
The descent was just plain scary.  I normally can get up to mid 30s (mph) and even 40 mph on the way down.  Tonight my top speed was 24 mph.  I was on the brakes and getting blown all over the place and the combination of that and wet roads from the rain and hail made things pretty interesting.  By interesting I actually mean scary!!

The second and third climbs were tough going and my time was getting progressively slower.
By the time I got to the bottom of the hill to turn and come back up for a forth go I was questioning the wisdom of my actions but decided to go anyway.

The forth climb wasn't too bad but I really felt weak.  Then I realised why!

I had consumed a grand total of about 300 calories today and it was becoming obvious that I was low on energy.
Glad to get to the top and wind my way down again I made for home to get some food in as soon as possible.

I'm glad I did the session and I will be doing it all over again tomorrow night with the Tri Club.  Oh great!

Roe Valley Sprint Triathlon - 11th May 2013 - Race Report

Saturday 11^th May 2013

Roe Valley Triathlon

750M Swim - 00:18:53 
Transition 1 - 00:03:45
20K Bike - 00:44:09
Transition 2 - 00:01:22
5K Run - 00:24:51
Total time - 01:32:59
(47th / 52 in Age Group -  212th / 261 Overall)

The first Triathlon of the season and once again I am heading in to an event carrying an injury.  It’s all getting a bit boring really.  The Elbow was still a bit stiff and sore on the morning of the event, but I had paid my entry fee and I was going.  I had no idea how my arm would feel in the swim, or on the bike for hat matter and resting on the Tri bars could be painful.  Time would tell.

As well as being my first Tri of the season this was due to be the first major outing of Lisburn Triathlon Club at an event, and there were 9 of us starting.  Interestingly 5 of us had been drawn in the same heat. Myself, David Heaney, Nelson Shanks, Andy Kennedy and Mark Vaudrey.  Also competing were Desy McIlkenny, Chris McNevison and Keith Scott.

Nelson was good enough to give Chris and I a lift up to the event and getting 3 bikes and kit bags in to the boot of a Vauxhall Insignia proved to be a logistical challenge but it was accomplished and poor Chris had to sit in the back with the constant fear of being impaled on the rather expensive front fork of his Cervélo if Nelson had to brake suddenly.  Thankfully we got to Limavady without any blood being spilled.

Pre-race I felt no nerves.  Maybe I’m getting used to doing Triathlons now, and perhaps it was because it was a pool based swim in wave starts but I was feeling good and really looking forward to getting in to it.

The Swim

Pre swim I was able to “warm up” in the baby pool beside the main pool.  Warm up is not really a fair reflection of it. I managed to do 2 widths and my elbow got pretty sore and I noticed that I could not pull through the water with my right arm as it was sore and lacked flexibility and range of movement.  In effect I was going to be doing the swim with one arm pulling and the other not doing too much at all.

When you enter the race you are required to put down an estimated finish time for your swim and then the swim heats are loosely built around expected finish times.  At the time of entry I had said I estimated a swim time of 17 minutes.  Secretly I hoped that I would do much better than that and do around 15.30 to 16.00 minutes.  Getting out of the baby pool I realised that this was never going to happen and it was going to be a slow swim.  Just how slow I was about to find out.

There were only 4 of us in the swim lane and within 8 lengths I had been lapped by one of the other swimmers who had finished 10 lengths to my 8.  Not long after the second swimmer passed me and then at about 15 lengths, Davy Heaney from my Club lapped me too.

The fastest guy proceeded to lap me two more time and got out of the pool when I had 22 of the 30 lengths done.  Talk about demoralising.

For the first time ever, I was the last person out of the pool, receiving an encouraging but pity strewn round of applause.  My watch said I had taken around 18.30 for the swim.  Horrendous.  It was actually quite embarrassing.  I can clearly say that the injury cost me at least 2 minutes.

T1

Last time at this event I had the dubious honour of posting the slowest T1 time of the whole event with a mind numbingly slow 3M24Secs.  Sadly this year I managed to go even slower. 3M45Secs. Bloody hell!  That was pathetic.  I struggled badly to get my socks on and then could find my gels which had been in my helmet resting on the bike.  Unfortunately the wind had blown my helmet off the bike and the gels were gone.  After an eternity I managed to find one gel, get the socks on and get out on the bike.

Interestingly even with that awful T1 time I wasn’t the slowest.  Eight other people managed somehow to go slower than me.  Even still, it was nothing to be proud of.

Pre- race my friend Donald Smith who was also competing had asked me to reserve him a transition spot near to where I plug in my hair strengtheners.  Sadly this is the sort of reputation my tardiness in T1 is creating.

The Bike

I remembered the bike route from last time which is pretty much a drag up a gradually elevating road to a turnaround point and than back in again with a net descent.

I do recall last time finding the outward stretch tough going.

This time the biggest challenge was the wind.  It was really blustery and one more than one occasion I got blown towards to middle of the road.  It also served to scare me from getting down on the aero bars as I am naturally a bit less stable in that position and it is harder to react quickly or get to the brakes if needed, so I lost a little bit of aerodynamic advantage by having to sit up a bit, however it did mean that I managed not to get blown off the bike completely.

I saw the four other Lisburn Guys from my Heat and they were all within about one minute of each other heading away from the turnaround point and about 5 minutes ahead of me.  They all looked really strong with Big Andy leading the bike.

Worryingly though as I headed back after the turn I noticed Chris from the Club heading towards the turnaround point and he was in the wave heat behind me.  Effectively he had done his swim, T1 and was on the bike and rapidly catching me.  Scary stuff.

My bike time was slightly disappointing at 44.09 but was still over a minute faster than last time in tougher conditions.

T2

Much better than T1 and I was in and out relatively quickly.

The Run

I felt pretty good heading out on the run and my legs weren’t heavy and no signs of cramping.

My goal for the run was to hold a steady pace and not slow down too much.  Less than 1K in to the run I saw Mark heading back past me to the finish, he was looking very strong and fast.  A quick High 5 on the way past and I could the see Andy hot on his heels about 100 metres behind him.  That was a close race between those two.

Another battle was going on with Nelson and Davy about 800M back from Andy.  Davy had a lead of about 150m over Nelson as they headed for home.  Davys’ High5 with me left my fingers tingling and it was obvious that he was enjoying his first Triathlon experience.  He managed to hold off Nelson to the finish line.

I ploughed on the as I made my way back from the turnaround point I saw Chris catching me on the run – from the heat behind!!  I was determined not to be caught and as I was feeling pretty good I decided to give it a bit of a push as I knew that Chris would really want to catch me, and I didn’t want to be caught.

I knocked out the return leg of the run almost one minute faster than the outward section which was pretty pleasing and importantly I held off the fast charging Chris.

My run time of 24.51 was not too bad, and only about 30 seconds slower then my last outing.

Overall

My final time of 01:33:59 was a definite disappointment as I know that the terrible swim and shocking transition cost be about 3 minutes minimum and the tough bike conditions maybe another minute or two.

In saying that, even a time of 1.27 would have been a bit of a disappointment as I feel like I have stepped back from last year, but to be honest, what did I expect?  Limited training and a string of injuries do not make for a season of PBs.

The post race spread of food was fantastic and as ever the Triangle Triathlon Club put on a great event and it was lovely to catch up with Donald and another good friend from Tri and Running, Paul Brannigan.  I didn’t even know Paul was competing but it was great to catch up.

This Tri has made me realise how unfit I am and that the notion of doing the Tri Limits Half Iron distance race on 1^st of June is not a good idea.  Fortunately I had not entered the race yet, so the decision not to race is fairly easy.  I will just spend the next few weeks trying to build fitness and stay injury free as much as possible.

The next event will be the Crooked Lake Triathlon on 8^th of June, which is an open water swim which will maybe suit me a bit better as the wetsuit is my friend!

Big well done to everyone from Lisburn Triathlon Club and especially those doing their first Tri.

I've got Cameron Diaz Elbow.

The Elbow saga continues.
I eventually got to see my Doctor and he agreed with my Google assisted self diagnosis of a Bursa on the elbow. Nice to know that Dr Google is as accurate as ever.

Pretty much for the last week I have had really restricted movement of the right elbow.
I have devised a 4 point scale to define movement.

Unrestricted movement – full ability to flick what’s left of my hair with reckless abandon as if cavorting down a deserted beach with Cameron Diaz.
Moderately restricted movement - able to bite my nails or pick my nose – without the aforementioned Miss Diaz. (Sadly)
Restricted movement – inability to put a fork to my mouth – thus resulting in hilarious left handed attempts to shovel food in to the orifice and getting most of it down my chin, chest and lap. (Don’t even start me on left handed tooth brushing – and worse!!!)
Gimp arm – virtually no movement resulting in the arm hanging limply at my side in a semi-flexed state. Think mildly camp Roger “Verbal” Kint / Keyser Soze (The Usual Suspects)


This week I have gone from Keyser to Nose Picker.

I have the Roe Valley Triathlon on Saturday. My first race of the season and once again I am writing about my hopes of making the start line despite an injury. This blog is living up to it’s Jellyman moniker alright.

I am desperate to make the event and am hopeful that the Diclofenac tablets will see me slide safely up to a Diaz Hair Flicking state of flexibility.

The event promises to be great with plenty of guys from our club making a debut this season and sporting the new Club Kit. Also I ma in a heat with 4 of my Club mates and my good friend and fellow Ironman Donald “New Bike” Smith.

Let’s hope that “The Verve” are wrong and that “The Drugs” do indeed work.

Fingers crossed, although that requires a bit of level 1.

Guess. Go on. Have a guess.

OK, have a guess.
Go on, guess.

As a triathletes what injury would you expect me to have?
Achilles – been there done that and got the bright Kinesio tape to prove it. Nope, try again.
ITB injury? – nothing so exotic.
Runners’ knee/ - Not even close.

Swollen Elbow? – Yep!
A bloody swollen elbow. That’s my current injury.
Unbelievable.

I am completely demented. The elbow has been sore since a day or so before London and it got really bad over the last couple of days.
It has been absolutely excruciating and is badly swollen with limited movement.

My self diagnosis is a Bursa.

“a condition characterised by pain, redness and swelling around the olecranon, caused by inflammation of the elbow's bursa. This bursa is located just over the extensor aspect of the extreme proximal end of the ulna. In common with other bursae, it is impalpable and contains only a very small amount of fluid in its normal state, and fulfills the function of facilitating the joint's movement by enabling anatomical structures to glide more easily over each other”

It is flipping sore and extremely annoying. Have you ever tried brushing your teeth with the wrong hand? Washing yourself in the shower with one hand? Having to bend your head down to your fork because your arm won’t go up the way? If you have done any of these then you will understand.

I have no idea what has caused it, but it is just another in a long string of injuries which are slowly driving me mad.

I think I am just getting old! I have had more injuries in the 9 months since I turned 40 that I had in the previous 10 years.

Hopefully it will heal up soon as I have the Roe Valley Triathlon next Saturday. At this rate I will be swimming with one arm, riding one handed and running like a one armed bandit away from a convenience store robbery. Sounds like fun.

Parkrun and a swim. Belatedly.

Saturday 27th April 2013

Running (3.12 Miles / 00:24:21 / 00:07:48 per mile / HR Zone 4) Wallace Parkrun

This was the first run out since the London Marathon last Sunday.
Maybe I was feeling confident or maybe it was because any residual stiffness had worn off but I was feeling pretty good about doing a reasonable time at Parkrun.

I had set myself a goal of doing sub 8 min miles and coming in at 24 minutes.

Although I missed the 24 minute goal by 21 seconds, I did manage to run consistent sub 8 minute miles and Wallace is not the fastest of Parkruns, in fact, apart from one downhill stretch the whole thing feels like a gradual up-hill.

Splits for each mile were 7.34 / 7.57 / 7.56 and 7.10 for the last 0.12 miles. I just need to work on pacing the early stage of the race a bit better, or probably more importantly being bale to hold the pace better. I felt strong enough and worked through the tiredness. Over the last half mile.

I’m still a long way off my PB over 5K of 22.40 but it is at least coming back in to sight again.



Monday 29th April 2013

Swimming (1500M / 00:34:23) 18M Pool at Gym

A Quick swim during lunchtime today. I need to get more swimming in as the first Tri of the season is only under two weeks away on the 11th of May at Limavady.

Last time I did this one I managed a 1Hr30Min time and I would like to try and beat that this time around. It might be pie in the sky but I will have a go anyway.

Swim today went OK but once again my lack of foresight and preparation saw me feel hungry and a wee bit dizzy after about 1200M as I had not eaten anything all morning before going swimming.

When will I learn?

London Marathon - Race Report - Sunday 21st April 2013

Friday 26th April 2013

London Marathon Sunday 21st April 2013

It’s probably fair to say that it has been a long road to the London Marathon this year.

I remember pushing the button on the entry from away back in 2011.  Yes way back then.  We were in Donegal and I went up to the in-laws’ house so I could use the internet and get my entry in early.

It worked and I was lucky enough to get a ballot entry for the 2012 race.

I knew that I would never e doing the event in 2012 as it would interfere with my Ironman training, so 2013 was to be the date for me.

I have to admit to having high expectations in the months after Ironman about coming to London.  If I could run a 4:44 marathon in an Ironman then I thought I was well on a for a sub 4Hr marathon, hell, I could even do 3.45.

So, when the forms came in for London and I was asked to put down an estimated finishing time, I boldly plumped for 3:45.

Anyway as the months rolled on and I tried to introduce more speed training to my build up, the injuries began to occur and once again it was my Achilles and feet that created all the problems.  These are well documented already. Ad nauseum!

Anyway poor training build up and losing probably 3-4 weeks worth of quality training meant that as I stood on the start line in London (in a start pen for 3.45 times) my expectations were firmly pegged back to some sort of rational level.

Given that 6 weeks before the Marathon I was still doubtful if I could even do it, I set my sights on enjoying the run and hopefully coming in under 4:30.

The trip out to the start was great.  Our Hotel was only 5 minutes walk away from London Bridge Station where I would get the train out to Blackheath for the start.  As I walked towards the station I started to see more and more people carrying their Red London Marathon Kit bags and this trickle became a massive gathering by the time I got to the station.  Lots of nerves and energy from the combined masses.

Once out to Blackheath station I thought I would be clever and avoid the huge queues for toilets at the Start area by using the facilities in the station.

This was such a good idea that about 20 other people had thought of it also.  So I joined the queue and waited and waited.  It’s fair to say (without being too graphic or unpleasant) that by the time my turn came, the aroma from the loo was so overpowering that I was in danger of losing my porridge and muffin!  At least this was a shorter queue than I would have had to endure at the Start Area.

I managed to kill an hour at the start area by wandering around and then eventually dropping my kit bag off, then off to the start Pen.

While I was standing in the start pen the first of many Ironman conversations that day came up.  A guy noticed my M Dot tattoo and started asking me all about it.  Fortunately for him (as many of you will know) I am more than happy to talk about it.

This was the first of probably eight conversations that I had along the route with people all asking about Ironman,  the tattoo really is a bigger badge of honour than I realised.

Just before the race start, the terrible events of the Boston Marathon last week were recognised with a moments’ silence and this was impeccably observed by all.  We were also all wearing black ribbons to commemorate those injured or killed.

The gun went off and we were on our way.  A massive wave of humanity in every imaginable colour started walking towards the start line, which was about 600 metres away.

The walk turned to a shuffle and with about 50 metres before the start line turned in to a jog and then a run as we crossed the start line.

I had forgotten how amazing it is to run in a crowd this size.  I was literally swept along.

Not far up the road I saw a man in his mid 50s wearing a British Heart Foundation vest with some writing on the back of it.  It said “ Running for Timothy – my Heart Donor.”

I was completely blown away by this and as I ran alongside him I asked was he a heart transplant recipient and he was.  I told him how inspirational he was and wished him all the best.

It takes moments like that to make to make you realise the power of running and an event like the London Marathon to bring out the best in people.

Just after the 1 mile marker I had my first celebrity encounter.  None other than Cheryl Baker from Eurovision winning Bucks Fizz.  She was getting great support form the crowd and runners alike and was graciously acknowledging it.

I was so tempted to tell her First to “speed it up and then I though maybe she should slow it down, cos if u believe that a love can hit the top u gotta play around,
and soon u will find that there comes a time for making ur mind up.”

Then I thought she has probably heard it about a thousand times before.

My approach to this run was to keep within my Heart Rate zones and take it easy and pace it evenly the whole way.

It was very comforting to see that I was well on track doing this with each mile and 5K split literally within seconds of each other.

I knew that to of my friends from work were due to be waiting around the 12 mile mark at Bermondsey and sure enough there were Fiona and Fionnuala cheering me on.  I have to apologise to them for giving them a sweaty hug but it was nice to see someone I knew.

Very soon after this I was approaching one of the most iconic moments in world running.  Tower Bridge.

I never tire of seeing this iconic structure and the feeling of running over it with tes of thousands of people cheering you on is simply breathtaking.

I knew that Keara and the kids would be along the bridge somewhere and I kept an eye out for them and sure enough towards the end they were waiting beside the barrier.

A quick hug and photo and I was off again heading towards half way.

Half way passed in 2:12:05 and I was pretty pleased with that as my splits were very even and my Heart Rate zones were looking good and most importantly I was feeling great.  Not fast but strong.

Mentally I thought that the next 8 miles would be tough as I headed in to the Docklands, however it went a lot better than I thought and in fact I started to feel very strong and was starting to push the pace on a little bit but still being cautious in case I blew up and struggled later on.

Coming round by Canary Wharf was a spine tingling moment as the crowds here were as noisy as anywhere on the course and they were screaming for everyone.  It felt absolutely amazing and I got such an energy boost from it.

Coming out of the Canary Wharf area at about mile 20 and heading back towards Tower Bridge I felt really strong and I noticed that for the last few miles I was passing lots of people and not really being passed.

On reflection I was able to maintain my pace and not slow down over the last half of the run but I just couldn’t speed up.  I think this was the true impact of the lost training.  Although with Marathon running you can never really truly tell.  If I had been fitter I might have gone off faster and struggled over the second half.  Who knows?

Having been over in London with work quite a bit I have made a point of running along the embankment which makes up the last 3 miles or so of the route.  This is great as I am familiar with it, however on race day that embankment felt twice as long.

It was around mile 24 that my legs really started to feel it.  My quads were slowly turning to stone and I was working hard to keep a steady rhythm.

I took a walk break for one minute to get a gel in and a quick drink and then vowed not to stop again until I had finished.

Just before reaching Parliament at about 25.5 miles I passed former Olympian and one of my favourite sports presenters Iwan Thomas.  He was really struggling at this stage and I tried to be encouraging to him, but in those circumstances being encouraging nearly always comes across as condescending – “I’m passing you and not struggling as much as you!” – that’s what it sounds like to the recipient of the well intended encouragement, even if it is said in a genuine way.

The last three quarters of a mile up birdcage walk and round the from of Buckingham Palace to the finish line must be the  most iconic marathon finish in the world.

I raised my hands aloft as I crossed the line hoping that finally I would get a decent finishers photo.  Sadly looking at these now post event, they are as crap as ever.  Some day. . . .

On through the finish area to meet up with Keara, Erin and Ben. This time I found them relatively easily and it was nice to get a Mars Bar and get out of my soaked t shirt.

The legs were tired but the finishing time of 04:27:51 was better than I had hoped for and I was very pleased with the way I executed the race plan.

A little bit of stats for those that are interested;

 

It is so encouraging to see that my KM splits ranged between 06.07 to 06.29.  Only a 22 second differential across the whole 26.2 miles.  Also of significance was the split between 25-40K where the average for each split was exactly the same.  That is where I felt the strength come in and it shows.

I am delighted with the way it all went and to be honest getting to the start line was great in itself but finishing was a bonus that I was doubtful of achieving only 6 weeks ago.

I think I might enter next year again and if I am lucky enough to get in will defer until 2015 as 2014 hopefully will be another Ironman year.

Hill Session and reflecting on The Boston Marathon Tragedy.

Tuesday 16th April 2013

Cycling (11.42 miles / 00:52:55 / 12.94 mph / 77rpm / HR Zone 2 / 412M Climbing)

Tri Club hill session again.
A good turnout tonight with 9 of us enjoying the pain.

I think it is fair to say that everyone who was there last week and this week saw an improvement on the last session.  I know I did.
I managed 4 sets up the hill and I definitely feel that I could have done another one OK.  It might not have been pretty but I could have done it.  At the moment though I am wrapping myself in cotton wool and not taking any risks ahead of Sunday.

My average speed was up and also the extra repeat was an obvious sign of improvement - along with feeling a bit stronger.
What I am pleased with though was the 40mph top speed on the way down the hill again.  I was very comfortable cranking it down, even though there was quite a breeze.  Don't know why but I felt very much in control descending tonight.

It would not be possible to avoid commenting on the tragedy at the Boston Marathon yesterday.

Living in Northern Ireland it is easy for those of us who lived through the worst of the Troubles and lost loved ones to get a bit hardened to some tragic events but this one really hit home with me.
I think it was because it was at a Marathon, something I have been to a lot of times and more critically the family have been with me at most of them, and usually around the finishing line. 
The victims are ordinary people either running or supporting friends and loved ones.  Just like my family.

I wish all those injured a speedy recovery and hope that they recover from their injuries and are able to run again if they want to.

I am sure that there will be some sort of recognition of the events at the London Marathon.  I think that a fitting tribute is for the event to go ahead and everyone to stick two fingers up to the sickos who carried out the bombing.