The countdown is on!

So where have the updates been lately, well I've been on holidays in Canada the past few weeks but I'm still running Connemara 100 next week.

I'm currently in the process of (hopefully) sorting a support crew and will begin sorting stuff I need during for the race this week, after that I'll be taking the long drive from Kilkenny to Clifton next Friday and I'll be at the starting line next Saturday (6th August) morning at 6am.

There's 26 brave souls taking part in the 100mile race this year and I'm just crazy or stupid enough to be one of them.  

Like so many races I am of course having doubts, I felt the exact same before this years Vartry 50mile but yet I actually felt far better during Vartry in 2016 then I did doing the race in 2015 so go figure!.

For those following me on Facebook I'll be asking my crew to post updates during the race when they get the chance.

Its going to be an experience!

Small amount of recovery

After ending the week of the Tullaroan Ultra with 67miles I went into somewhat of a recovery mode and took it easy last week....although I did run 4miles the day after the Ultra to loosen up the legs somewhat.

I ended the week with a fast 10mile at almost race pace as I managed it in 72min and my PB is 70.

The realization of the Connemara Ultra is dawning on me now and this week I went and sorted out accommodation for the weekend of the race, I've also started to think about what sort of stuff I need for the race to have in the crew car.  

Now I just need to sort a crew!

Miles This week: 30.58 miles

Tullaroan Ultra-marathon (39.3mile) 2016 Race Report

Welcome to another race report, this time for Tullaroan's third year of operating 5km/10km/half and marathon races, except this year they added another loop to make a 39.3mile course after Tullaroan AC had received numerous requests in the past for the addition of an ultra course (Thanks for listening guys).

As mentioned in my last blog post its been a few years since I've run a 39.3mile course so I decided the goal for this race was to race it and try and set a new personal best by beating my previous time set in 2014 in Connemara of 5hours, 52min, 19seconds.

With that in mind I did a pretty easy week of running before hand and off I went bright and early to Tullaroan and even at 6am it was looking like it was going to be a very hot day at the races.
The Ultra kicked off with 7am along with the very early start marathon runners, I settled in with an very easy pace of around 9:40min/miles for the first 7miles and ended up talking to Paul Brunnock about this and that, this was useful as I could to ask him about his experience previously running the Connemara 100.
By about the 7mile mark Paul stopped at one of the water stations but I continued on, it was around this time that I realised that I was running a far too slow pace and I was clearly taking it too handy as I needed to average under 8:52min/miles for the entire race to set a personal best. So I upped the pace. Including the initial slower and faster pace I increased to, I eventually finished the first 13.1miles in around 2hrs 5mins.

On the second loop I knew it was going to be a somewhat lonely loop as the proper marathon hadn't started yet and the very early marathon runners and ultra runners were well spaced out, I did however still manage to meet a few early marathon runners and it was good to chat to a few of the other runners and as always it was good to see some familiar faces from people I've met at other events.
I finished the second 13.1mile loop in 1hour 50min which was a nice speed increase on the first loop.

At the beginning of the third loop I stopped at the crossroads in Tullaroan to refill water and get a few things to eat and at the same time the half marathon kicked off so I wasn't going to be on my own for the last loop.
Initially I must admit I got somewhat carried away and upped the pace to pass many of the half-marathon runners by weaving in and out of the crowd, but I did eventually slow down after I realised this.  Among the crowd I did however meet a few familiar faces also including Paul who I ran with during the Vartry 50mile back in March of this year.

By the time I started hitting the 30mile mark I was beginning to pay for getting carried away and the legs started to rebel on some of the hills so I was forced to walk.  I was however again able to make full use of the downhills and I was using this to leap frog half-marathon runners who I'd catch up with and then I'd lose them again as I was reduced to walking again.

By the time I hit the 35mile mark and the water station at Valley Inn I decided stretching might do me some good, this however was not to be the case.  As soon as I lifted my left leg to stretch it my right leg had a painful cramp and I collapsed to the ground.  Once on the ground my left leg then also decided to have a painful cramp as well so I was experiencing a fair bit of pain in both legs.
I'm sure this was a worry to the people looking after the water station and when they asked what I needed I just said I needed a help up, so after a lot of pain standing up and walking for the first 100 metres or so the cramps went away and I was able to run again thankfully!

The last few miles were somewhat of a slog as that section has a number of climbs which you have to endure but I still ensured I ran as much as I could as I had spotted another ultra runner who I was determined was not going to pass me as up until now no other ultra-runner had passed me during the race.

Once the hills were over I took as much advantage of the relatively flat road as I could but by now I knew I wasn't going to set a PB as 1mile out I had already hit my time of 5hours 52min. This was somewhat frustrating but I was dead certain that the Tullaroan course was much hillier then Connemara (see my comparison below) and the conditions were seriously hot (for Ireland anyway!).

Coming up to the finish I upped my pace and finished in 6hours, 3min and 36seconds and ended up being the 4th male to finish the Ultra.  This is by far the closest I've come to a "podium finish" for a large race and I'm thrilled with it! :)

At the finish it was great to see a number of club members from our local club Callan AC who despite some very challenging conditions and a such a hilly course had set some excellent times. For some of the others it was their first time to complete a 10km race.

Tullaroan's new Marathon/Ultra medal

Overall I must say the Tullaroan Race events have gone from strength to strength each year I've ran it and I think I heard that this year they had over 600 runners which is certainly a massive increase from the first year. Organisation and facilities before, during and after the race were also very good with plenty of water stops.   It was also a nice touch to offer three different medals for the 5km, 10km/half-marathon and marathon/ultra events.

The timing of the races also worked out well as the roads weren't too crowded and it was really nice to get the support and company of the half-marathon runners on the third loop of the ultra, it also helped that Ultra runners had a sign identifying them (this is something I've seen previously for the Connemara Ultra (see example picture)

So now the race report is over, just exactly how does Tullaroan's 39.3mile course stack up against the Connemara Ultra 39.3mile course, without a question Tullaroan is far more challenging course with more hills and over 200 extra meters of gain over the entire course.
You can see the courses compared below (click for larger image):

Tullaroan course: 663m elevation gain

Connemara Ultra Course: 402m elevation gain

For those interested you can also see full Garmin profiles of both Tullaroan Ultra and Connemara Ultra course (Connemara Ultra was recorded in 2014 but remains unchanged since).
Would I recommend this for race somebody that wanted a challenging 39.3mile Ultra, most certainly :)

Miles This week: 67 miles
Miles this Year So Far: 788miles

High mileage month and a club outing

Far from a very high mileage week with only 38miles under the belt but still a productive month of mileage as I clocked just over 209miles for the entire month of May, this is higher then any month in the past 18 months with exception of January (215miles) & March (230miles) in 2015.

This coming weekend I'm signed up to do the Tullaroan Ultra (39.3mile), this will be a break from the usual Tullaroan Marathon I've done a few times and it will also be the first 39.3mile Ultra I've done since doing the Connemara Ultra in April 2014.  

As its been a few years since doing the distances I'm opting to race Tullaoran and see if I can beat the 5:52:19 time I set back in 2014. It'll be a good opportunity for me to test some different food and also it'll do me no harm if I manage to get a new personal best for this distance.

On a side note they'll be a good turnout from my local athletics Club Callan AC as a number of the club members have signed up to doing either the 5km or 10km so it'll be great to have a outing. :)

Miles this Year So Far: 742miles

Waterford & Back...sort of & Night running

Seem to have gotten out of the habit lately of posting blog updates, but that of course doesn't mean I haven't been doing some running.  I'll start back with more regular updates from now on.

Callan Marathon Elevation Profile

After Vartry 50mile in March the training seemed to somewhat fall apart for a short but I'm now back doing proper long runs in preparation for Connemara 100 in August.

Last weekend for example I set off with an ambitious plan to run 58miles from Callan to Waterford City & Back, however things did not go as plan as I got little sleep the night before and in the morning I started off around 90min later then expected.

Course Route

Both of these things meant it set back my whole day and by the day I got to 40miles I had to call it a day as I would have been home far too late to get other things done that day.

On Friday after working the entire week and finishing at 7pm I opted to fit in my long run after work rather then doing it on Saturday or Sunday morning.

So I packed up my backpack and decided to run what I like to refer to as the Callan Marathon course.

This route is a nice hilly route that takes me through Windgap, Tullahought and back via Castlemorris Wood to Callan.

For the most part the roads on the route aren't busy but on Friday night it rained alot and by the time I got to Castlemorris wood the battery's in my head-torch weren't doing so well but as it wasn't busy and there was a moon out I could run with the torch off until a car would come so I'd turn it back on.

Overall it was a good hilly training run in wet conditions and it was good to get back into the practice of doing a night run while tired as I've not one of those in many months.

Now, time to get back to a more regular structured training schedule :)

Miles this Year So Far: 683miles

8 days and 2x 10km Races

Waterford City & Greenway

Its been awhile since I've updated the blog but I'm still running miles with some small rest periods due to some muscle issues in my left leg again (its getting somewhat annoying now).

The last 8 days or so have however been pretty productive with 2x local 10km races under my belt and also 2x 20mile runs.

I even managed to include the second 10km into the 20mile run. So to start my 8 days I took part in a Callan AC outing by attending the Church Hill 10k / 5k in Cuffesgrange, co Kilkenny, this race has been going for a few years now and its pretty well supported both by locals and people that travel to the race.

My plan for the race was somewhat ambitious esp given the lack of training for a 10km I've done, despite not having run a decent 10km since July 2015 I decided I'd head out with the sub40 pacer and hope for the best.  It however was not to be as I dropped off the pacer by the 2mile mark.  

I did however manage to keep a steady pace and nobody passed me after this and I even managed to catch a guy 100metres from the finish.

While perhaps not my fastest 10km with a time of 42min 10sec (PB is 40:58) it was still nice to run the course again after previously running it in 2012 just before I took part in the Portumna 50km and I still easily beat the 2012 time I set of 46min 15sec.

As for the rest of the week, I didn't do a whole lot of running outside of club training runs on Tuesday and Thursdays but I did manage 20mile LSR in Waterford as I had time to kill so I decided to check out the new Waterford Greenway. It has some lovely views of the river so far.

While still under construction I ran a section of it out and back from the city and then worked in some miles in the city to total 20miles.  Can't wait to run the entire route to Dungarvan and then Clonea once its completed.

Out/Back & Mullinahone 10km Route

My plan Sunday the 1st May was straight forward enough, I wanted to take part in the 10km race in Mullinahone as there were a number of Callan AC members taking part but I also wanted to get in a LSR.

My solution, run from my house to Mullinahone, run the race to support the club and then run home...so that's exactly what I did.

My plan went fine with the exception of foolishly choosing to wear a long sleeve top on what felt like the most humid day of 2016 so far, by the time I got to the start line of the 10km I was sweating buckets as I had two tops on as I expected it to be much much cooler out.

The race however went fine (I finished in 52:08) and it was good to support the club once again, all in all I had a good week and in the 8 days I managed a somewhat respectable 58miles.

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