Vartry 50mile 2016 Race Report

Last weekend was my second running of the Vartry 50mile Ultra and overall it was certainly a more positive experience then last years despite the lack of training going into the race.

Before I even traveled to Wicklow for this race I always had in my mind that I honestly didn't care about the time, the aim was merely to put time in the legs and I expected to finish in between 10-12hours due to this.

As always it was an early start from Kilkenny as I left just before 3am to arrive with plenty of time, driving through Glendalough didn't look particularly good as there was seriously heavy rain but as I got closer to Roundwood things started to clear up abit...but still the forecast for the day was pretty much rain so I had ensured to bring changes of clothes just in case I needed them.

By the time I had arrived the 100mile racers were already out for around 10hours, I chatted to Dom the race director and various other runners before the race.  As always some runners I'd never met before but there's always a few familiar faces that are always good to see at ultra events and its always enjoyable to share experiences.

Just before the start I met up with JP & Paul who also ran this race last year and who I planned to run the event with, the basic plan for the day was take it relatively easy, have a chat and just tick off the miles and use the whole race as a training run.   So off we went bang on time and he started to endure the rain.

Unfortunately despite the weather forecast showing breaks in the rain before 9am and before lunch time this didn't happen and the wind and rain kept up for pretty much all of the day, so this meant every so often I'd also have to remove my gloves and wring the water out.      Still, despite the rain and wind only my hands and face occasionally felt the cold and I wasn't worried about getting too cold.

The 50mile route consists of 5x 10mile looks with some small out and back sections in order to give an even 10mile on each lap, I've done ultra's before of 5km loops and I honestly find them unbearable but doing 10mile loops is actually fine. Its a nice distance to have for a loop whilst still allowing you to pickup food, clothes etc at the start/finish area.

As time passing went the race flew, although to many such a long time on the feet might seem endless and crazy I honestly found it went seriously fast which was no doubt down to the fact that myself, JP & Paul chatted and joked for basically the entire race.       It was also great to meet up with others taking part in the race to cheer them on and just said hello, shouts out to Ray who also won the 50km race.   I even met up with a fellow ultra runner blogger who's blog I read.

As the loops ticked by I decided that unlike last year I wasn't going to bother with changing socks at the 30mile mark as my feet felt fine, so instead I just changed my t-shirt and long sleeve top and off I went again.

By the 40mile mark I decided I felt pretty good, in fact I felt far better then I felt at this stage back in 2015 so with around 1hr 50min to go I decided to see if I could beat last years time of 10hrs 10min and run the last 10miles....sorry JP & Paul for abandoning you :)

Whilst I did run a lot more of the last 10mile then I did the 30-40mile section I missed out on beating last years time and finished in 10hours 22min 43sec.  Still, I'm not at all disappointed considering I wasn't planning on setting any specific time, the reality is I'm actually surprised because I finished in much better shape then I did last year so that's a nice boost for my confidence.

Finally, for those interested in taking part in the race next year you might be interested in the garmin profile of the race (compare this to the original 2015 looped course which started and ended in Roundwood). I've also included elevation profile and loop profile below:

Race Elevation

Race Route

Last week consisted of:
- Sunday: 2mile walk
- Monday: Rest
- Tuesday: 11miles @ 9:30min/pace
- Wednesday: Rest
- Thursday: Rest
- Friday: Rest
- Saturday: 50miles @ 12:22min/pace

Miles This week: 69 miles
Miles this Year So Far: 430miles

My home town gets its own athletics club :)

My home town has finally established its own athletics club called Callan Athletics Club, the club has just started and its early days yet but it's currently taking on new members.

Registration details can be found on the Callan AC website or on their Facebook page, the first registration night will take place on Tuesday the 5th of May at 8pm in the Droichead Family Resource Centre in West Street, Callan.

Taper time!

Started last week with another nice long run this time a marathon distance as I ran exactly 26.2miles on Monday morning....nice way to start the week.   Thats my last long slow run before the Vartry 50mile in two weeks.

So now since Monday I'm officially tapering and after the 26.2miles I only did a few more miles to finish the week with a low amount of miles.

I'm never a fan of the taper time before a race as I always feel like I could be training more and this viewpoint isn't helped from the fact that I have had past experiences of still managing to perform pretty decently without tapering. For example during July 2015 I ran a 36mile Ultramarathon and then 7 days later I still managed to set a personal best at a local 10km race.

Still I'm reluctant to over do it and I want to be sure I don't burn out during the 50mile or get injured so I want to take it easy before hand.

Looking forward to Easter weekend,

Miles This week: 36.59 miles
Miles this Year So Far: 366miles

First 30mile run of the year

Its been a good week of training, started it with an easy walk on Sunday with my wife Tramore, Co Waterford and then upped the miles to my first 30mile run on Monday morning...certainly a different way to start the day!

I felt absolutely fine during the 30mile run but didn't want to overdo it too much so I did walk on some hills now and then but finished it in good shape and felt fine.

30mile Run Route in Co Kilkenny

 Over the next few days I did have some niggles in my left leg muscle, this teaches me a very valuable lesson for not stretching properly after such a long run!.     But after I did some stretching throughout the day over the next few days as well as a walk on Thursday that cleared up and I felt fine again by Friday, thankfully.

I really have to make sure I'm stretching enough or this muscle pain is coming to come back to bite me again.  I finished the week with a nice fast 8mile run this evening to finish the week with just over 60miles.   All in all a good week training.

I have the Vartry 50mile run in two weeks time so I'm going to start winding down the miles next week after one last long run and then take it easy ahead of the race. I don't think I'm in as good a shape as I was last year going into the 50mile race but it certainly reassured me to get that 30mile run under my belt before hand.

This week consisted of:
- Sunday: 3.02miles @ 20:16min/mile pace (walk)
- Monday: 30miles @ 9:53min/mile pace
- Tuesday: 4miles @ 8:28min/mile pace
- Wednesday: 10miles @ 8:58mine/mile pace & 1mile recovery walk
- Thursday: 4.15mile @ 23:24min/mile pace (walk)
- Friday: Rest
- Saturday: 8miles @ 7:09min/mile pace

Miles This week: 60.22 miles
Miles this Year So Far: 330miles

Connemara 100 is Happening!!!

Connemara 100 Route Map

Its finally happened, I've committed to running the Connemara 100 in August of this year.  This is a race I've been hoping to do since I did my first 50km Ultra back in 2012 and I honestly can't wait!

Still have logistical issues of sorting a crew to work  out but other then that I'm very confident that my training will go to plan.

I've not yet sat down to work out a more concrete training plan but I already have a 50mile race at the end of this month and I'm planning a Kilkenny to Waterford and back run sometime in May or June which will total approx 60miles.

Welcoming back the bigger miles!

Tuesday's 20mile route

The last 7 days have been a high mileage week and it felt good to be back into the 50's, while I didn't run everyday I double my mileage when compared to numerous recent weeks.

I did my second 20mile since October 2015 during the week and it certainly went much better then the first I did, I also just pushed it to just short of 21miles. My next long run will be 26miles in around 7 days time.

On Thursday I foolishly tried for a 5mile run after a big'ish meal, this wasn't the best plan and I just ended up walking some of it, but I finished with a much stronger 10mile run on Friday evening with a nice 1mile recovery afterwards.

Not to overdo it, next week will be much easier but with some speed work and then its back to another higher mileage week again which will include the 26mile run.

Last week consisted of:
- Sunday: 5.21miles @ 7:58min/mile pace & 310miles @ 25:14min/mile pace
- Monday: 10miles @ 8:02min/mile pace
- Tuesday: 20.78miles@ 9:53min/mile pace
- Wednesday: Rest
- Thursday: 5miles @ 10:20min/mile pace
- Friday: 10miles @ 7:28min/mile pace & 1mile @ 8:37min/mile pace
- Saturday: Rest

Miles This week: 55.11 miles
Miles this Year So Far: 250miles

Getting back into the groove!

Starting to feel like I have my mojo back when it comes to running, I'm back to running 10miles at sub 7:30min/mile pace again and it feels great!  Still have some weight to shift which I gained over Oct-Jan but that will come as the miles increase over time.

I started last week with a really enjoyable loop of Slievenamon where I ran with a group from the South Leinster Trail Runners, certainly more enjoyable to run this type of trail with a group and it makes the time go a bit faster.  I also didn't suffer anywhere near as bad compared to when I ran the same loop two weeks previously.

After that I took it "relatively" easy during the week between rest days and a 10mile and 4.5mile run to finish with a faster 10mile run on Friday.   Next week however is going to see a big increase will mileage.

Last week consisted of:
- Sunday: 12.46miles @ 14:11min/mile pace
- Monday: Rest
- Tuesday: 10miles @ 7:36min/mile pace & 1mile @ 9:41min/mile pace recovery
- Wednesday: 4.57miles @ 8:16min/mile pace
- Thursday: Rest
- Friday: 10miles @ 7:25min/mile pace
- Saturday: Rest

Miles This week: 38.08 miles

Slievenamon Circuit Video

So recently I picked up a GoPro Session and I finally got to have a decent outing with it over the weekend when I joined a group run with the South Leinster Trail Runners to do a loop of my local favorite mountain Slievenamon.


Its my first attempt at editing video footage together and I've already learned a few things in relation to managing the camera better for future use.

Plans for 2016

Finally back with some updates,

Although I was injured in November and December I know things have bounced back and as long as I look after my left leg I'll be fine, I hope!

Originally for 2016 I had two big races planned, the Vartry 100 mile in March which I hoped to do in sub24hours and then the Connemara 100 in August which I've wanted to do since I did my first 50km event in 2012.

Due to my injury issues I've had to scale back my plans and now instead of doing the Vartry 100mile its going to be the Vartry 50mile as I don't feel I'd be anywhere ready for the 100mile due to recent loss of fitness etc.

Last year I took on the 50mile looped course and took it easy enough and finished it in 10hours 10min (I was aiming for 10hours). This year I'm again seeing it as a training run but so far I have no time in mind.

Taking on the Connemara 100 in August will be my second 100mile event and the Connemara 100 thankfully this time is 100 road and hilly which will give me plenty of time to rest on the uphills.    As strange as it may sound the flat course last year at Thames Path I found difficult, the 75% trail route I had to endure during it also really knocked the stuffing out of me because I do 99% of my running on road so I'm confident I can perform much better on a 100% road course.

So now my aim is to work towards a sub 24time in Connemara, I just need to find a support team for the event...anybody want to volunteer? :)

2015 Year in Review

Last year was a fast year and a year of both great experiences and some very frustrating experiences but I don't think I'd hugely change anything with the exception of actually dropping out of the Dublin marathon so I wouldn't have experienced the injury problems I had in November/December.

I started off the year training for the Thames Path 100 which was in May and for the first few weeks I felt like I had one of the best training periods as I had been done some nice long runs until February where I experienced my first bout of sickness the day after a 36mile run.

But I recovered and soldiered on for my training race in April.

At the start of April I didn't take part in the Connemara Ultra which I usually really enjoy and instead I opted for my first 50mile event in Co Wicklow called the Vartry 50.

It was a 5x 10mile looped course which was also hosting a 50km and 100mile event and my plan was to take it nice and easy and finish it in 10hours even....I finished it in 10hours 10min so I was very happy with this outcome.

Although I had been sick in February and this really worried me doing Vartry 50 was a really great boost to my spirits as it made me really hopefully that I could pull off the Thames Path 100 one way or another.

Taking part in the Thames Path 100 in May was an experience, I don't think I could put it into better words then I did in my race report. It was both some of the best experiences of my life and also some of the lowest experiences of my life all in the space of 27 and a half hours.   Its surreal to think that at 2am in the pouring rain I was running through a wooded area somewhere past Reading beside the river Thames, not something I expected to be doing 12 months before.

At the end of May I got back on the road and did my first decent long run by taking part in the locally run Tullaroan Marathon, I enjoyed the time running the course and chatting away to JP. It felt great to be back on the roads and it was a lovely day for it too!

In July I ventured back into ultra-running and took park in the Keith Whyte Waterfront Ultra Marathon III (36miles), I started this race off way too fast and would have been on for my second fastest marathon distance only for the wheels came off at around mile 25 and this resulted in ran/walking to the finish!

After that it was holiday time but by the middle of August and after fitting in some holiday running around parts of Co Wexford and Co Waterford I started training for the Dublin marathon. 

This time I was hoping for a sub 3:20 personal best and as part of the training I opted to take part in the JJ Reddy Half Marathon. 2015 was the first year that the half-marathon distance was being hosted by the organizers.

I knew from the start that it was going to be a hard course as I've run the 10km course twice and the course didn't fail to deliver!

Still I gave it all I could and managed a time of 1:29:33, my first ever sub 1:30 half marathon race time and I was thrilled!

After September my training for Dublin didn't go to plan and although I should have either dropped out of Dublin or aimed for a slower time I stuck with the 3:20 plan and everything fell apart at mile 21.   

In hindsight I know now that when things fell apart at mile 21 I should have dropped out of the race but instead I kept going and this cause my about 6 weeks+ of muscle pain and problems during November and into December during which time I had a few sessions of dry needling which wasn't pleasant but worked great to sort things out.

At times when I was experiencing muscle problems I couldn't run 2miles without being crippled the next day walking down the stairs....a very frustrating experience but an experience I've since taken some lessons from.

As it stands now my legs are returning to normal and I can do 10miles+ with no discomfort in the leg muscles, but I have lost a level of fitness which is frustrating but that's the way things go.

Total Miles for the 2015: 1,670miles
How does this compare to previous years, this is how:
2014: 2,005miles
2013: 1,651miles
2012: 1,513miles
2011: 956miles