Ready to go!

So, what exactly do I need for a two legs of a relay in another country that's far far away?

The answer, not alot in my case!

I'm keeping packing to a absolute minimum as I want to carry everything hand luggage for ease of on/off planes and more importantly my running gear has to be with me as I'm not taking any chances that it'll go missing!

So off I go this evening, over 15hrs of traveling and I'm back in a few days. I'm going to be so jet lagged :)

Cabot Trail Relay Race 2013 (Nova Scotia)

So I got a pretty big surprise the other day when I was asked to take part in the Cabot Trail Relay Race in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The race is 185 mile/276.33 km 17 stage event beginning in Baddeck, Cape Breton, over steep mountains in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, through many small communities around the famous Cabot Trail.

The race is on the weekend of the 25th - 26th May and I'll be running two of the stages, the first of which includes over a 400m drop and the second which is relateively flat, both will be at night so sadly I'll miss the views.

The elevation profile for the race can be seen below, some serious climbs that make the hell of the west in Connemara look easy in comparison: (click to view larger image)

My two stages are 11 & 13, as you can see the initial climb and drop in stage 11 is impressive. By comparison stage 13 is a handy number. More details on both of these are below:

This interrupts my training somewhat for Portumna 50km but I couldn't pass up the chance and it looks to be a seriously enjoyable event. So here's looking forward to it! :)

So what are the plans now?

So the Connemara Ultra is over and I completed it without any major issues, over the past two weeks I've been trying to work out what I want to aim for before the years end and my ultimate aim will be without a doubt a sub 3:30 but ideally a sub 3:20 Dublin Marathon this year.

Although I'm not sure about sub 3:20 I know I can pull off sub 3:30 as I was on track for this last year until mile 18 when I experience some awful muscle pain which put that dream out the window.

I have the endurance built from doing the likes of Donadea and Connemara so I'm going to work on keeping that but I just now need to work on speed. I'm also going to keep the training consistent rather then dropping weekly miles during the summer month.

So with that in mind part of my training and race plans are:

- May: Limerick Marathon (pacing 5hours)
- June: Portumna 50km
- July: 10 in 10 Marathons: Day Three

I've not yet picked any event for August but my aim for Limerick will be purely to use it as part of my training for Portumna, for Portumna I'd like to hit the 4:20-4:30 target which I initially aimed for in February with Donadea.

In July I'm going to aim for sub 3:40 depending on what state I'm in after Portumna, sub 3:40 will beat last years PB set in Dublin of 3:41:44.

In some ways I'm disappointed as last year I figured I'd aim for the Portumna 100km this year, I think at this stage this would be a foolish move and whilst I "may" complete it I think it may do more harm then good.  Its still disappointing though to not go ahead with my initial plan.

I think for now I'm going to stick to marathons and the shorter ultra marathon distances and work on improving my times,

Doing Connemara Ultra has somewhat changed my outlook on marathons, whilst I may not do them in very sort times I look at them as less of a crazy distance then I once did.     A few days ago I mentioned to my wife I wanted to sign up to one of the days of 10 in 10 in July and when she asked how far it was I replied I  "don't worry, sure its only a marathon" :)

Finally, on a more serious note, my heart goes out to anyone affected by the events at the Boston marathon yesterday evening.  Due to the three deaths so far and likely a large amount of people receiving amputations (based on the news) its likely so many people's lives will never be the same again.

Connemara Ultra Marathon 2013

As time got closer to this run I really started to doubt myself, after last years marathon in Connemara of 4:14 and being in bits afterwards I started to doubt if it was a good idea to expect my body to run that marathon and then 13.1miles on top of it.

Unlike last year where I wanted a sub4 marathon; for the Ultra I just wanted to finish, if that took me 6hours or 8hours I wasn't going to be annoyed. I just wanted to put in the miles.

So on the basis of me perhaps not being in a very fit state to drive back to Kilkenny after the race I opted to stay in B&B near Oughterard just outside of Galway for the night before and after the race.

On the way to Oughterard I collected my race pack in Elvery Sport and that went off without any problems. In fact I found it much better organized then the collection point setup last year.

So early start on race day, when I got up and looked at the race numbers the nerves really started to hit home and I started to doubt if the trying to run 39.3miles was really that good of an idea. It was too late now....

Before the race all the ultra runners had to attend a pre-race brefing, during the race briefing the race director mentioned that back in 2010 Hannah Shiels who was the first Irish women to climb Everest commented to him that it was harder than climbing Mount Everest.  I'm still not sure if this was a do-motivation or a motivational comment to make but I'm sure it also made some others doubt what they were about doing.

So everyone was bussed out to the ultra start line which was around 1mile from what would be the finish line later in the day.      Off we went and straight away I kept an eye on my pace, previously in Donadea I started off much too fast at the start so I was determinated not to make such a idiotic and costly mistake during Connemara.   My aim was mintain a min of a 9.00min/mile pace throughout but ideally slower at around the 9.15 mark.

My only other concern at this stage was that for the first mile of the race we were running into a strong enough wind, knowning the layout of the course I hoped that this wind would be gone later in the day or the last 10miles+ would not be fun later in the day. I was wrong....

So I kept pretty much a steady avg 9.08 pace for the first 5miles or so on my own and then around 5miles I got talking to a chap called Troy.  I have to say this made the time fly and before we knew it we had reached the 13mile mark.

Unfortunately I really wasn't paying as much attention as I should have and I completely forgot about my 13mile drop bag, this will of course teach me for not writing it on my arm like somebody on boards.ie suggested.   Not the end of the world though as I had enough gels and stuff with me. My important bag drop was at the 26mile mark.

Myself and Troy, met up with another chap at around the 19mile mark (I think his name was Steven) and we paced together all the way to near Leenane where the half marathon started, this is also the point where we started running into the wind and it was hard going.

I've had a a very painful muscle problem in my left leg since after I did a 28mile training run around 4 weeks ago and I had hoped it wouldn't be much of an issue but coming into Leenane at the 25mile mark it started to flare up and I dropped off the pace and started run, walking.  

At this stage I took on two painkillers and kept run, walking to the bag drop point at mile 26mile.

At mile 26 I took maybe 2-3min to just try and refresh myself and took on some crackers and some flat coke, my strategy was then to run-walk up the hills out of Leenane. This worked fine and I met up with one of the lads who I was previously running with that I had dropped off at mile 25 from.

By about the mile 27-28mile mark the pain killers had kicked in and the flat coke had given me the boost I really needed, I took on abit more flat coke at the 32mile bag drop.

The two of us then run-walked (mainly ran) until the beginning of the climb to the hell of the west, at that stage we met up with Troy so the three of us started the climb of the hell of the west aiming for run the lengths of three electrical poles and then perhaps walking one or two lengths.  

This strategy worked well and we made good progress passing a good few people who were doing the marathon and ultra, this gave me a good mental boost.

At the top of the hell of the west there was basically a group of around five ultra runners so we started the decent towards the finish at a pace I knew the legs wouldn't be able for this as the group had picked a v fast pace compared to my pace throughout the rest of the race. Mile 39 for example was at a 8.08mile/pace even with me walking some of it!

I just couldn't keep at this pace so eventually I fell off the group of 5 and I ended up walking towards the finish, as I got closer I saw my garmin was at 6.28 so started running again as I wanted to get across the line in under 6.30.

So I finished with an official chip time of 6hours 29min 21seconds, this puts me in 83rd place out of 190 finishers. Link to my garmin for the race.

Overall I really enjoyed the race and infact after I crossed the line I felt in decent shape compared to say when I finished Portumna or Donadea 50km's. I only needed a short few seconds to get myself together to head to the ultra runner finish area at which stage I was glad to get a chair.  I even said to somebody in the finish area that I enjoyed it and I'd def do it again.

One thing that was very refreshing is at no stage during the race did I kind of say to myself "what the hell are you doing?", instead despite the muscle pain and miles I was in good form and actually felt i had the finish in the bag from mile 28-29 onwards.

I have no doubt that had the wind not been an issue from around mile 22 onwards that I likely would have managed to finish in perhaps 6hrs 20min as it really knocked alot out of me, but who knows?

Its my third ultra and I have to say given it knocked so much out of me last year doing the marathon I'm happy with the outcome, who knows....I may do it again next year :)

Whats next?  Well I'm pacing 5hours for the Limerick Marathon so looking forward to that.

Countdown to Connemara

So this date next month I'll be taking part in the Connemara Ultra Marathon, it'll be my first time ever running a distance of 39.3miles and I'm expecting it to be hard going.   My aim is just to finish it and hopefully be in a somewhat decent state afterwards.

Last year I ran the marathon so I know the course is hard..especially the last 13miles of it and just when you think that was hard the last 2miles really knock the stuffing out of you! (see the course profile below)

Donadea 50km

Very late with the race report but here goes anyway......

This was my second venture into the realms of Ultra running and I went in feeling abit more hopeful then the first one back in June 2012.

My aim was to improve on my last time in Portumna by in the region of 20-30min, having just previously run a 8:14min pace 22mile run three weeks before I figured I was in good shape and I'd be able to keep a decent pace to hit my target.

So the morning of the race arrived and I was feeling so so about my chances, got set for the start and off we went. Got chatting to a South African chap for the first while, he was using Donadea for training for a much longer event (pretty much the same as many at the event).

I made the foolish mistake of starting off quicker then I had planned for the first 6miles which was a very silly mistake but I slowed the pace and kept things going pretty decent until around the 16mile. This is when the wheels started to come off and I started to struggle abit.

But things really started to go down hill after mile 19 as my pace had slowed a good bit and I was now doing 10-11min miles which I kept doing until the 27mile mark. For me I believe the big factor in taking alot out of me was the mud, I'm not used to it at all and I didn't expect it.

I'm far more used to road running but in the mud on the forest trail meant I was using more energy and not getting as much back compared to running on a road, it just seemed to take alot out of me.

Eventually with the end in sight I upped the pace to what I could manage for the last few miles and finished in a new personal best of 4:49:33.  Although it is a new personal best for a 50km it was still  disappointing as I had hoped for a much better time.

This does of course have me somewhat worried about Connemara as I though I'd perform better for Donadea. On the other hand Connemara is 100% on roads so I won't in anyway have to contend with mud! :)

I will say, Donadea handed out a nice tech-top and medal for the event.

Garmin Log - Donadea 50km
4:49:35, 9:18min pace

Waterford Half Marathon

My first race since Dublin City Marthon and I hadn't really put in the proper training for it, still I didn't want to miss the Waterford Half Marathon as its a nice route, well organised and isn't far from where I live.

Set my previous PB in Clonmel in August so the plan was to beat it by anything, luckily the Waterford Half had 1:40 pacers so the basic idea was to go out with them and see if I could stick with them.

This went well for the first 1-2 miles but then the crowd of people with the pacers started to annoy me (as usual) so I moved out in front of the pacers, all was going well until I realized they had changed the rest of the course and as such it was different from previous years...up till now I thought it was just the start/finish points had changed.   That'll teach me for not paying attention!.

The change in course meant that normally where there's a nice long down hill we now had to climb this, but on the plus side there was a few ups and downs after that allowing for the legs to recharge each time.

Spent most of the time thinking the 1:40 pacers were right behind me and it was only at the turnaround just after the 11mile mark that I saw I was a good health distance ahead of them so I had nothing to worry about.

Lost some time in the nature park just nearing the finish as it was twisty and had some small climbs that just appeared to take alot out of me but still managed to finish strong and pass a few people that had past me before the finish line.

Set a new personal best of 1:37:25 so very happy with that,

Garmin Log - Waterford Half Marathon
1:37:25, 7:25min pace

Dublin City Marathon

My second attempt at the Dublin City Marathon and I was as nervious but still looking forward to it as any other marathon I've done, I was looking to knock what I considered a sizable amount of time off with this marathon and I was pretty sure I was ready as I was ever going to be,

However, that still didn't stop me getting sick during last week and spending Sunday in bed hoping that I could reduce the affects of being sick on the actual race.

So I started off with 3:30 pacers and stayed with them pretty much without much problems right through the Phoenix Park and beyond, have to say found the first three water stations pretty chaotic as a number of runners just ran right across people without evening looking, after that they got alot less chaotic.

Although water stations are generally somewhat chaotic for big races this race seemed worse then others I've experienced,

I felt good coming up to half way point and was maybe 5-6seconds ahead of the pacers until around mile 15 at which time I settled back into the group as I was beginning the struggle.

At the mile 18mark the wheels started to come off and I was dropped by the pacers and ended up around 200-300metres behind them, after the 18mile mark there's a small hill at which time my left leg started to cramp in a big way as I headed up this hill and it was agony,  I ended up stopping and stretching sooner after to try relieve the pain somewhat.

The muscle pain basically set the remaining part of the race as I'd manage perhaps 1mile at a time and the muscle would cramp again and either I'd keep going through the pain for a little while longer or I'd stop to stretch it out again at which time I might last another mile.

Mile 23 onwards felt pretty endless and it didn't help that I didn't see the mile 24 or mile 26 markers at all, from mile 25 I gave up stopping to stretch and just ran through the pain.

Around 800metres from the end I spottred a guy dressed as a clown with two red bollons, this guy stuck in my head as I actually had passed him and spoken to him somewhere in O'Connell street earlier in the race.....at this stage I was determient as hell that I wouldn't be beaten by a clown!

So I upped the pace and finish in 3hours 41min 44seconds with average pace of 8:28 min/mi, previous personal best was 3hours 58min and 33seconds so I'm very happy with the outcome :)

Finally my Garmin log of the race.

Last of the long runs

So I'm pretty much as set as I'm ever going to be for the Dublin City Marathon on the 29th October, I've got plenty of 20mile runs in and I've seen a nice improvement in my pace over the past few weeks.

Originally my plan for DCM was to maintain a 5:20min per km pace which would bring me in around the 3:45 mark, at first this was a effort to hit on training runs but in recent weeks and more comfortably hitting the 5:10min per km mark.  Taking into account the improved pace I'm now looking at 3:40 mark but with the adrenalin on the day I should be well into the 3:3X region.

So one long run left this Saturday and then one or two short runs during the week just to keep the legs moving. This is going to be fun!

JJ Reddy Danesfort 10K Road Race

I've not done a 10km race since back in June so decided to give it another crack and see how I'd go, so I signed up to the JJ Reddy Danesfort 10K Road Race in Co Kilkenny.

At first I thought the race would be a handy one but as i drove to the start line I realized just how hilly the route would be so I decided that perhaps my hopes of setting a new PB for a 10km distance might not be so great....

Race appeared to be somewhat disorganized at the start which was frustrating but once it got going managed to loose most of the people, straight away I could see the hills were going to be abit of a problem.

I gave it all I got anyway and found it awful hard until around the half way mark at which stage the hills were less of an issue, at around the 7km mark I passed around three people which gave me a good boost as I had them infront of me since the start.   

Around 1km from the finish a chap came along side me and I managed to keep pace with him for a good 500metres but the last hill before the finish really was hard going so I lost him, he was the only guy to pass me. 

All in all I shaved approx 1min from my PB...however I've yet to see the official chip times.  Garmin time of 44:22.

All important garmin log of the race