Christmas Morning: Saturday 31st August: Tullamore Half Marathon

All done and dusted but what a week it was….after going so well in the Cloghan 10K on Sunday 25th August we only had 2 more nights training to do…went up to the harriers on Tuesday night and went for a 30-40 minute run up around Charleville…did 1 lap up there and then ran back to the harriers...everyone else looked like they were doing 2 or more laps but John said we were only going to do the 1…when I got back it felt like we didn’t do much at all…Thursday was the same…got my number for the run and half marathon t-shirt and did about 7 laps of the tarmacadam track and that was it…we were tapering at this stage…something that John had said we’d be doing before the race. Since our last long run on Saturday 17th of 12 miles, we did 10 miles on Tuesday 20th, 7 miles on Thursday 22nd, 10K run in Cloghan on Sun 25th, 30 mins on Tuesday 27th and 30 mins on Thursday. I thought I’d feel great during this week as I knew I had all the work done but actually the opposite happened. I felt I hadn’t done much in the last 7-10 days and that this would affect me on the day of the run…but John gave us a plan and we were going to stick to it...John gave us a pep talk on the Thur night and gave us tips and pace we were to run at etc …practical stuff but very useful. Was on the internet on Friday night and was reading about preparing for marathons and came across a quote from Seb Coe…his quote was “There's not much you can do in the last few weeks to improve your performance, but there's a lot you can do to mess it up.” He used stronger words than this, but you get the gist…so everything was done race was on tomorrow.

Morning of the race Sat 31st August…got up around 8:15 and had 2 Weetabix’s, half a spoon of sugar and milk…was feeling good….got the gear ready before I had to head into town for an hour…got back around 10 and put the gear on and got up to the harriers around 11:10. I had a few bottles of water since I got up and enjoyed a banana in the car heading to the harriers. On arrival there was a great crowd there already and I parked up in the field in the middle of the tarmacadam track…a huge amount of people were helping out with everything and the atmosphere felt good. Meet up with Ciaran and his brother Hugo who was doing the run as well…then spent the next 30 minutes etc talking to a lot of people about the run, our blogs etc and everyone was giving us great encouragement and advice….visited the little boys room twice before we left to go to the start of the race on the top of Dillon street and then we were lined up ready to go. Ciaran and I were going to be running at different paces as per John’s advice…I was to run at 10:15 pace and build it up and Ciaran was to run at 10:30 pace and build it up, so I said best of luck to Ciaran and Robbie Connolly who was starting the race with him and off we went. The time I had discussed with John to complete the race in was somewhere between 2:05 – 2:08. However.........

When I did the run in Cloghan the previous week I did the 10K in 54 minutes and my previous best time for 10K was over 57 mins. The main reason for the big improvement was that I started the race at a very fast pace as I got caught up in the excitement etc and then after a mile I started to run at a steady pace of 9 min miles…I ran at this pace for most of the race in Cloghan so I knew I could do it but only for 10K. Since I ran the first mile in 7:47 this allowed me to get under the 55 mins and this is what pushed me on while I was doing the Cloghan run. Running the 10K in under 55 mins was a target I had set for myself after I ran a 10K previously in under the hour….it’s funny how initially all you want to do is finish races and then all you want to do is beat a time you set for yourself.

On Friday night I was on the harriers Facebook page and someone had put up an image on the “Half Marathon Pace Chart”…the pace you need to run to get in under a particular time.  I had a look at this and to get in at 2:00:10 you needed to run at 9:10 min pace…similar to what I did in Cloghan but double the distance. I slept on it Friday night and on Sat morning when I felt good I decided that I’d give it a go and try and get under the 2 hours. If I didn’t start well then I definitely wouldn’t be able to make it under 2 hours so I decided to run the first 3 miles to Screggan Cross at about 9:30 pace and then I’d see how I felt..If I wasn't able to keep up the quick pace I'd slow down and try to get in somewhere between 2:05 – 2:08 as originally planned...If I was going well I'd keep going at that pace and when the legs were loosened out in the middle of the run I’d be able to run a bit quicker and I might be able to make back some time...here is how it went.....

Started the first mile at 8:35...again getting caught up in the excitement of race etc…2nd mile was downhill into Mucklagh at 9:06 pace and then 3rd was uphill again at 9:22 pace…turned at Screggan Cross and was feeling ok…next few miles were steady at 9:22 approx but was happy enough as 1st mile had given me breathing space with my time…the energy gels as discussed with John were taken at 5 mile and later at 9 mile (John said wait till 10 mile but felt I needed it at 9 mile)…when I got to the half way stage I was still ok but then I just started to run a lot quicker than before…don’t know was it that I’d reached the half way and was on the way home (that’s what I told myself anyway) or was it that the energy gels kicked in but I must have passed about 20 people in 10-15 minutes…something I’d never done before and it felt good and it gave me the confidence to keep going at that pace..after the turn for Killurin I had to have a quick toilet stop and then we had about 5 miles to go…found this hard as the road felt long etc and was wishing for the mile markers all along this route...ran with Breda Kinnarney for a good bit along this stretch and we had a good chat....I hadn’t spoken to anyone else since about the 1 mile mark...the bit from Tullamore Golf Club to Barnes Gate was tough as it was uphill for a good bit of it but when I got to fingerboard was ok….charleville road felt long but passed the 12 mile marker and eventually turned into the harriers at the front gates…..great encouragement throughout the race but the last 2 miles was exceptional with a lot of marshals and people shouting everyone on…when I got onto the track for the last 400m I was feeling tired but ok and really enjoyed the lap…with about 150 meter to go I gave it full throttle and finished very strong which I was delighted with…finished my first every half marathon in 1:59:22

Here is my splits from the race..
1    08:35
2    09:06
3    09:22
4    09:32
5    09:22
6    09:22
7    09:19
8    08:18
9    08:58
10  09:07
11  09:02
12  09:27
13  09:11
14  00:42 for .1 Mile (07:30 pace)

There was a huge crowd in the stadium and I had my family up there when I came in…there was loads of photos being taken and everyone that that finished was in great form and we were all eating bananas, oranges, etc and the water was flowing….the whole atmosphere was electric and everyone arriving into the stadium and finishing the race were cheered towards the finish line and everyone was in good spirits. Was speaking to a lot of people after the race and everyone seemed delighted with how everything went and Matt McCormack summed it up for me when he said to me “It’s like Christmas morning”, why said I….”because everyone got what they wanted” and he was right. I spoke to Paul Buckley from Cloghan who came 2nd in the race in a time of 1:13:20 and John Rigney who came in at 3:00:43 and both were equally delighted with how they got on….and everyone in between was happy as well. When everyone got in there was enough food, drink, refreshments for everyone and I couldn’t compliment the club on how well everything was run and based on the feedback I was hearing everyone thought the same. I left with Ciaran at about 15:45 as we both wanted to get home for a rest before the club BBQ and after party that was planned for Lynches for 20:30.  Here is a photo of John Rigney finishing off on the track after a great run.....

So what did I learn over the 11 weeks while we were training….just going to pick 11 things but learnt so much more

1. Get the right running gear so you are comfortable while out
• Get a good pair of running shoes…depending on miles etc…change after 4-6 months
• 1000 Mile Socks are great
• Bicycle shorts stop chafing…get a pair
• A watch is very useful and definitely a GPS watch that will tell you pace/distance
2. When running
• Run a steady pace and try not to run erratically..eg 9 min mile then 10 then 9 etc..
• Start at a slower pace as when you get going your tend to run a bit quicker when you loosen out a bit 
3. Breathing…get this under control and run at a pace that is comfortable for you…everyone goes hard at times etc but when out for a run you should be able to have a conversation with someone…if you can’t you’re going too hard.
4. Drink enough water, before, during and after a run…keep rehydrated
5. Energy gels are useful for long runs but they might or mightn’t work for you
6. You might need to go to a toilet on route…be prepared...luckily Ciaran or myself weren’t hit with bowel movements during any of our runs…it would have been a good photo thought….
7. Join a running club or talk to people who are into running as you’ll get bits of information off everyone and you’ll learn something each time.
8. When running on the road…try to run where road is level and not at the side where there is a slope…sometimes only possible in races where there is no traffic but definitely it will make a difference when you are running. 
9. On sunny/warm days…..run in the shade when possible...this will help you during your run.
10. During a 1 hour or 10K run you will burn approx. 1000 calories...2 hours 2000 calories...make sure to eat a good breakfast and something small like a banana or slice of toast 1 hour before you run.
11. Get in with a group you are comfortable running with and enjoy it…you’re only doing it for yourself so try and enjoy it…if you enjoy it you’ll keep it up...I think I’m hooked
12. Finally: running clubs aren’t just for elite athletics, they are for normal people who like to  run…some are at it for years…some are only starting out…the hardest thing with anything is to go the first night…get over this and you’ll never look back

So there was something's I had planned to do but never got around to it …I had planned to interview a few people regarding Diet & Nutrition, Physio etc but never got around to it..Carina and Paul we might do the interviews again someday....I did an interview with Eamon Henry who is over the Offaly Sports Partnership but never got time to edit it...I'll have to edit it as it was a good chat. Over the 11 weeks I never missed a training sessions and I did fully commit to the challenge and we ran about 35 times during this period. Ciaran has all the info on the numbers on his blog http://fatdadrun.blogspot.ie/2013/08/its-all-about-numbers.html but we ran about 220 miles during this period….the most miles in a week was about 27 in 3 sessions. On the 17th June when we started the training I weighed in at 13st 5lb and today I'm 12st 13lb...this is down from over 14st in early Jan this year so delighted with my progress here...was the training difficult….yes it was…is running hard…yes it is….did I enjoy learning how to run correctly…yes I did…will I keep it up…yes I will.

The plan is to keep up the training with the harriers and Ciaran and I want to complete a marathon someday…when that will happen I don’t know…but we are planning another half marathon in Athlone (Flatliner) on Sat 14th Sep and we’ll see what happens after this…

Just to finish off….This is my last post in my blog…it was a really enjoyable experience from start to finish and I learnt a lot more from it than I thought I would…thanks to the harriers for the opportunity, John O’Connell for all the advice, knowledge, patience and friendship over the 11 weeks and I know this will continue into the future, all the girls “Bubbles Bunnies” for looking after me on the long runs when Ciaran was away, all members of the harriers especially Mary Daly (Ladies Captain), Adrian Martin (Mens Captain), Darren Butler and Michelle Mullaney (Club PRO)….It’s a great club and one I plan to stay involved with, and finally the other guinea pig…my run buddy…Ciaran “Lynchie” Lynch. Ciaran is keeping his blog going so I might pop up now and again on his one…With all Ciaran’s experience on Midlands Radio 3 he popped up with Hector on Radio 2 on Monday this week and was still on the radio today Wednesday….rumour has it that he’s going to be doing a slot with Pat Kenny on Newstalk each Tuesday starting next week so tune in to see how he’s getting on…until we meet someday, somewhere, running our little hearts out...keep it up…thanks for reading the blog and I hope you enjoyed it…

Over and Out!!
Ray aka Bubbles, Bubs, Bubby Bell.