Galtee Mountain Trail Running

After a week of feeling aches and pains after the Dublin Marathon I slowly returned to running again, the aches and pains clearly were the result of the total lack of training before the effort I put in for the Dublin marathon.

Since Dublin I've thrown in some long runs of 16-17miles and about three weeks ago I did my first trail run in months!      Rather then my usual playground of Slievenamon and headed off with South Leinster Trailer Runners members Jaime and Paul to the Galtees for what was a short run of 10miles but it took in some very steep climbs.

I've never been to the Galtee's before so it was great to see a new area, though getting up both Galteebeg and Galteemore was certainly a challenge as the two summits had steeper sides then what Slievenamon would have to offer.

The view from Galteemore

Conditions were great, although there was lots of snow it wasn't actually that cold which was also great as I was mad or stupid enough to do the run in shorts! I guess I don't like ruining my streak of  NOT wearing running tights for the past few years, to be honest I've always found tights far too warn as I generally getting pretty warm when running.

Only once or twice did I feel the cold and those times were when I stopped for a prolonged period, I was however lucky that the conditions didn't drastically change as I managed to loose my jacket as it fell through the netting on my Ultimate Direction pack which is an awful shame as that jacket got me through the Thames Path 100, Vartry 50 and Connemara 100 in the rain :(

Really felt it in the legs for a good 4-5 days after the trail run but it was seriously good fun and the views were great. Here's a Garmin log of the trial run.

As part of the run I brought alone my GoPro Session and put together a quick video which can be viewed here in 720p of by checking it out below.

Dublin Marathon 2016 Race Report

Another year and another Dublin Marathon race report, as your all aware I've been doing next to no running since Connemara 100 due to injury and although I did manage 1-2 20mile runs I managed next to no other runs and this wasn't a very good base to run a marathon. But none the less I had signed up and paid anyway so I decided I'd give it a go anyway and take it easy.

At least that's what I initially told myself....who was I kidding right??

What started as me thinking to myself that I'd do it and take it easy eventually evolved into me planning to head out with the sub 3.30 pacers and see if I could beat the 3:33:33 PB I set 3 years ago, even beating it by 1second would be an improvement after all.

My last two previous attempts to beat this PB have been a washout, back in 2014 I fell on Slievenamon about 3 weeks before the marathon and I bruised my ribs.     The day after the fall it hurt enormously to just breath so I went to the doctors and ended up getting an x-ray to rule out a fracture.

Thankfully I didn't have a fracture but by the time Dublin rolled around I still wasn't 100% and 10miles into the race I was in a fair bit of pain so I could no longer maintain the faster pace so I resolved myself to use the marathon as a training run.  My goal of a new PB died with this decision.

Last year I actively trained for Dublin from the end of the July after I had recovered from the 100mile in May, things started well by me setting my first sub 1:30 half marathon in September which gave me a good boost and made me think I could pull off a sub 3:20 time at Dublin but once again things were not meant to be.

By the time the marathon rolled around I wasn't feeling the best that weekend but I still went ahead with my plan and ran anyway.  I got as far as mile 21 and the wheels feel off, I could only describe that the rest of the race was a utter slog to the finish.  In hindsight I hadn't respected the amount of time I needed to recover from the 100mile in May and I should never started my training for Dublin.

So this time around I decided I'd go for a more conservative sub 3:30 by heading out with the sub 3:30 group and see how things went, I figured there was a good chance I'd pull it off and if things didn't feel right I'd drop the pace right down and convert the race into a training run.

Before the start I could tell my mind wasn't really in it as I first left my gels in bag which I dropped at the baggage area and after I went back and got them I then left my gels in the toilet...thankfully I managed to get them back though.

Eventually I was ready to start and I headed off to the sub 3:30 pacing area where I got chatting to the pacers.    The start I found was very different to previous years as I found that the field was much more spread out crossing the starting line, this was no bad thing as in previous years it made the first few miles a pain to navigate around slower runners and road obstacles.

From about the 3mile mark I had spotted the very familiar looking colours of the Saturday Road Runners from Waterford who happen to have the same club strip as Callan AC, they were just ahead of the 3:30 and they were staying together as a group so for the next 15miles or so I kept in with them on and off.

About 6miles in I met fellow Kilkenny man Ger who's also part of the same trail running group I'm part of in South Leinster, he looked a lot more comfortable with the pace he was doing then I felt I must say. We chatted for a bit about this and that.

For the most part I preferred to stay away from the main sub 3:30 pacing group for two reason, the first being that the very large group of people around them really annoyed me and the second is I used the pacing group behind me to spur me on so I wouldn't as easily be passed by the group.  Eventually I created so much of a gap between me and the pacers that anytime I looked back I couldn't see the balloons.

At the half way mark it was a 1:44 half marathon and I was still feeling pretty comfortable, by the time I got to heartbreak hill however I was beginning to suffer and I eventually lost the Saturday Road Runner group, but I was no where near as bad as I suffered last year where shortly afterwards I was forced to basically walk to the finish.

By about the 23mile mark to maintain the pace was starting to be a problem but I looked around and I could see the 3:30 pacing group around 100metres back so this spurred me on to keep on moving, I knew I could afford to loose a few seconds and still be 3:29:xx but I ideally didn't want the pacers to pass me anyway.

On the last mile coming upto the finish Ger met me again and despite his encouragement I couldn't keep up with him, approaching the finish I did the silly error of also upped the pace at around the 800metre mark from the finish line which was much too early and so I finished across the line much slower then I would have liked.

All in all however I finished with a new personal best of 3:29:06, this beats my previous marathon PB set back in 2013 of 3:33:33 which I've failed to beat the past two years when specifically aiming for a sub 3:20 marathon. It felt great to finally get a new PB for the marathon! :)

My Garmin profile for the race can be found here.

Given the sheer lack of training I'm very happy with the end result as I only really managed a hand full of short runs and 2x 20mile runs since August.   However, I will say that the lack of training is seriously noticeable after the race as my legs are aching a lot more then they usually would. They felt better after the Vartry 50mile back in March by comparison!

Dublin had over 19,500 runners taking part this years which makes it I believe the 4th largest marathon in Europe and this increase in runners I felt was also reflected in the support from people on the race route. The good weather conditions also likely helped but there seemed to be much bigger crowds this year compared to previous years I've run.  All in all it was certainly a good day and I've no doubt I'll be back again.

So thats it, next race after this should be Stook 10mile Roadrace in Co Kilkenny in the middle of November.

Chancing a new PB...?

So I've been taking it pretty easy this past week, some easy 3-4 mile runs but nothing much else especially as I just started a new job this week as well.

Tomorrow I'm up bright and early to go to the RDS ahead of the Dublin Marathon on Sunday, I'm thinking that I might put myself in with the sub 3:30 pacers and try beat my PB of 3:33:33 set back in 2013. It's not too ambitious and I'm pretty confident I'll pull off the new PB.

Here goes nothing.....

Things are on the up!

First off, its been ages since I've posted an update!

Nice clear day for a 16mile run

But at least this time its good news as after several dry needling sessions with my local sports physio (Bodymend) and some shorter runs and also cycling now and then I feel I'm finally coming back to form!

So much so that I even did a 20mile run last Friday morning and I managed a 16mile run yesterday morning, the 20mile last week was my longest distance I've done since doing the Connemara 100 at the start of August.

For anyone that has previously read my previous posts you might be aware that I did sign up to Dublin Marathon this year, however unlike last year where I aimed to knock 13min off my PB by aiming for sub 3:20 this year I'm not trying to do anything like that. Especially considering the injury issues I experienced after last year!

I've learned a very hard lesson after last years100mile, althoughI did do a cracking PB on a half-marathon in September  I ended up off the road after the Dublin Marathon because I didn't respect just how much recovery time I might need after the 100mile.

So this year with the 100mile being 2 months closer to Dublin then last year I really need to not fall into the same trap or I risk being off during through November, December and into January like last year due to injury.

So I'm taking it easy next weekend :)

Dry needling fun

Still not a whole lot of running these days as I'm still experiencing a fair bit of muscle problems, however after two sessions of dry needling by my local sports physio and my legs are starting to feel like normal again.

Still, I'm not going to get carried away, I'm starting off slow with only 1mile yesterday and 3miles today until things start to feel right again. After both runs I do a lot of stretching and rolling with a tennis ball which helped enormously.

In hindsight I should have had some sessions with the sports physio after Connemara 100, I also should have known that suddenly stopping for almost two weeks after such a big event was not a very good idea as historically my leg muscle don't like this as they tend to seize up somewhat and it would have been better for me to keep doing a small amount of running.  

It is however a catch 22 situation as I need to allow blisters to heal and running after the 100mile wouldn't have helped them heal.

Luckily i know that the dry needling does work for me even though its not the most pleasant sensation getting it done, I hope to be back to daily running in the next week or so.

Still recovering

Kells Priory, Co Kilkenny

Two weeks I decided I'd do a long run of around 13miles, so I headed off to run to Kells, Co Kilkenny and back making sure to run through the grounds of Kells Priory as I went.

Afterwards however I was finding my calf muscle got very right and uncomfortable so it really was a case of too much, too soon. You'd think I'd learn eh?

So rather then leave things I decided to head to my local physio and get some work done on the legs, something I had originally intended to do the week after the race anyway.

Things however are still not right and I've been doing very little running lately because of it, to help maintain fitness however I have gone out on the road bike a few times doing an hour here and there. I don't find it as enjoyable as running but it gets me out and about atleast!.

On a non-running related topic I've been toying with the idea of getting myself a Kayak, the idea is I'd use it for rivers (non-white water really) and when we go camping to different sites around the country I could throw it on the roof of the car and bring it with.   Just have to find the right kayak for the job :)

Recovering

Its been just over a week since the Connemara 100 and despite the problems I experienced during the race I'm feeling pretty good, initially my feet were a little tender but I've had no cramps or anything like that.    

Overall I feel good, but I'm not going to let that fool me as I know after such a race I need to allow time for recovery, with that in mind although I registered for the Dublin Marathon in October at the very last minute before it closed (the first time) I'm not aiming for a sub 3:20 like I tried last year as I'm not willing to risk a repeat of the problems I experienced after last years Dublin Marathon.

Dublin is however the yearly race I just love to do and my aim is to just run it in a comfortable time.

Over the past week or so I've not been doing much running, although I did do a fast'ish 44min 10km lastnight with the local club. I'm planning on increasing the running now and doing some nice easy 10-14mile runs over the next week.

Connemara 100 Mile 2016 Race Report

I've had a few days to reflect since I finished the Connemara 100 Road Race at the weekend and I decided it was time to put my race report together. Before, during and after the race I've had some mixed feelings about the race however overall I'm taking away a positive viewpoint on the race rather then the negative.

As I'm living in Kilkenny it about a 4hr drive to Clifden so the crew and I headed off around Midday on Friday to ensure we had time to check-in to our hotel before heading to the race briefing in the Station House Hotel at 7pm.   We knew we didn't have time to drive the course before the race, which is a shame and I would recommend doing so to others.

On the way up I must say that I was a little worried about the Galway/Clifden road as it seemed very very busy and I knew I'd be running the road the next day, while I had previously run this section of Connemara twice before I'd only ever ran it at 7am as part of the Connemara Ultra a few years back I'd never experienced some much traffic on it.  

The race briefing took about 40min as Ray went through various aspects of the course and handed out race packs, hoodies and the crew were able to get signage for cars to warn of a race in progress. After that it was a quick meal and off to bed to get as much sleep as possible before the race as I wasn't planning on taking sleep breaks.



Start - Lough Inagh Lodge Hotel (Check Point 1: Mile 28):
Despite the fact that I've ran countless races at this stage ranging from 5km to 100mile distances each and every-time I feel pretty nervous before I start, and this race was no different. I woke up at 4am to prep before the race and eat my normal bowl of porridge porridge.

Soon it was 5:15am and myself and the first half of my crew needed to head to the pre-start briefing.    After some issues organising a crew for the event as the race drew closer my final crew was made up of my wife Grace, my sisters Sinead and Anne and my dad Neil.  

Myself, Grace and Sinead arrived at the Station House Hotel, Ray had a few words for both runners and crew before we headed to the start line.  As always the obligatory starting line photo was taken, this year it featured 19 brave or foolish people at the starting line.

The starting line

Sinead & Grace

Passing through Tullycross

This year the race start was going to be different, instead of starting at 6am the race was due to start at 6.01am as a minute's silence was being held in memory of Michael Corcoran who was former a participant of the Connemara 100mile.  At the end of the minute silence Ray simply counted 3, 2, 1 and we were off to start the race by doing one loop of Clifden Town before heading to Letterfrack and beyond.

The aim at the start of the race was for me to head out and spend the first 45min or so without my crew, however due to a slight miscommunication there was no sign of my crew at the 1hour mark.  

I was starting to get somewhat worried as I appeared to be sweating a fair bit even though it was so early in the morning and eventually when it hit 1hr 15min into the race I happened to be passing Don Hannon who was crewing for another runner and asked could I call my crew.   Fortunately my crew wasn't too far behind and around 5minutes later they showed up.

Once my crew showed up it was simply a case of meeting them every few miles so I could top up fluids and take in any other fuel as the race went on. As we arrived into Letterfrack we could hear thunder and it started to rain and this continued on and off until just after Tullycross.  

I must say that the views on this section of the course were stunning as I'd never been to this part of Connemara before.

After Tullycross it was the countdown in miles until Lough Inagh Lodge at mile 28, after mile 20 the roads started to look more familiar as this section of the course makes up the Connemara Ultra 39.3 race that I raced a few years back. I passed the famous Stop & Pray church for the first time and turned right towards Lough Inagh Lodge. 

During this section it was great to pass the time

Myself & Anto at Tullycross

chatting to other runners, including Anto Lee who was using the race for training for Spartathlon in September, John Boyle who has run the Connemara 100 a number of times and also Jason (JJ) who was running a 100mile ultra for the first time.

I arrived into checkpoint 1 at mile 28 at 11am (5hours of running), at this stage of the race I felt good and opted to wait until near Maam Cross before changing socks.




Lough Inagh Lodge Hotel Check Point 1: Mile 28 - Leenaun (Checkpoint 2: Mile 55):
I must admit I was worried about this section, while the first 3-4miles were fine after that I turned left onto the Galway to Clifden road which was particularly busy as there was a Mart on.   As Ray mentioned during our briefing, a farmer with a trailer full of unsold sheep isn't going to care too much about a bunch of runners when they are on their way home.

While initially I choose to face incoming traffic after much deliberation I opted to switch to the left side of the road and to have the main traffic coming up behind me. This however was safe as Grace & Sinead and other crew cars were forcing traffic to slow down behind us.  

For most of this section I was still running with John & Jason and we'd run the relatively flat sections and walk any of the hills. Traffic wise there were only a few instances of idiot motorists trying to overtake my crew car and the three of us running....including one idiot who tried to overtake on a turn while towing a trailer with a boat on it! (he had to stop half way and pull back in behind the crew car).
Eventually I saw the familiar sight of the tower from the Peacock Hotel at Maam Cross and as we turned left onto the familiar course I've run so many times before (but this time backwards) I knew that the section from here to Leenaun would involve a lot of walking.    So first off I walked much of this section including the Hell Of The West, this was also the first time my crew walked with me as both Sinead and Grace walked with me on sections. 

Just after the hell of the west the rain and the wind started to pick up so for the first time I put on a jacket and shortly after turned left onto the road that would eventually bring me to Leenaun.     It was on this section that I started to experience blister issues for the first time and so opted to apply a blister plaster and change socks, this however only helped a little it was later as the miles counted down to Leenaun the blister burst!   At this point my crew had gone ahead to Leenaun to change over to my other sister Anne and my Dad but I did yell out in pain and a car stopped at that very moment and asked what was wrong, I explained I was fine and they asked if I wanted a lift which I declined.

On this section I hit mile 50 in 9hours, 36min and 21seconds. This was a sizable improvement on my previous personal best for 50mile which was 10hours, 10min, 35sec set in Vartry in 2015.
Shortly after the road started dropping down into Leenaun, as much as I'd have loved to run these downhill sections I knew they'd trash my legs so I opted to walk them all.   I arrived into checkpoint 2 at mile 55 at 5.07pm (11hours, 7min of running).

In Leenaun I opted for a full change of clothes, hot food in the form of pasta and I even washed my face and hands just so I could feel more human again.   I also opted to change my rain jacket as the rain was not stopping anytime soon!Leenaun (Checkpoint 2: Mile 55) - Lough Inagh Lodge Hotel (Checkpoint 3: Mile 67):
Coming out of Leenaun I knew exactly what to expect....hills, lots of hills. There's a long and steep climb out of Leenaun before I could get back onto the relative flat of the road to Lough Inagh Lodge.     


What I didn't expect was the wind as well as the rain, as the road climbed the wind started to hit me and it was truly relentless to the point where I was experiencing problems just standing in the same spot beside the crew car when my sister and dad stopped the car.

I kept being blown around the road and when my Anne took out a chair I'd have to sit down straight away or it would be blown away.

As I past the Stop & Pray church for the second time the wind kept up the entire way to Lough Inagh Lodge with only the occasional change in direction but at least the rain tapered off at this stage.  Not much of a conciliation prize though.....

I arrived into checkpoint 3 at mile 67 at 8.13pm (14hours, 12min of running), I once again took on some pasta and other food and drink. I also changed socks and applied more blister plasters. At this stage I was getting awful tired of the wind!

Leenaun (Checkpoint 3: Mile 67) - Roundstone (Checkpoint 4: Mile 82):  
Leaving Leenaun I decided to maintain the mix of run/walking as far as the Galway/Clifden Road where I needed to turn right towards Cliden and the Roundstone junction.   By the time I reached the

Dad & Me

junction though there was no sign of my crew and with them my headtorch and flashing arm band. I was worried.

It was rapidly getting dark and I'd be back on a busy road with only a reflective top on, I met up with JJ at this junction and stuck with him for the first mile until my crew showed up.   After this as this road had a fair amount of hills I opted for run/walking right up until I hit the Roundstone junction.

When I hit the Roundstone junction the sight of the 15km distance to Roundstone really took its effect on me mentally, I guess I thought I was closer but for the first time in the race I opted to listen to music and I maintained my run/walk routine for the next 7miles or so.

At this stage of the race the pace was slowing down but that was to be expected and was to plan because I couldn't sustain the sort of pace I had been doing up until now.

However, at mile 81 my pace dramatically slowed down and I was feeling seriously low on energy, while the previous miles averaged between 13-15min miles this mile averaged 18min and it was about to get a lot slower!.I arrived into checkpoint 4 at mile 82 at around 12:04am (Approx 18hours, 4min of running), I was zapped of energy and starting to feeling cold. I took on two cups of hot soup, more hot pasta and other items. I also changed my top from a t-shirt and jacket to a long sleeve top, t-shirt and jacket instead, as well as gloves and a winter hat. This did help and eventually I started to feel warmer.

I spent a good 30min at Roundstone before I eventually left.
Roundstone (Checkpoint 3: Mile 67) - Finish: (Mile 100):
Leaving Roundstone I was feeling physically drained, I wanted to run faster but I just didn't have a lot of  energy and the miles slowly ticked by at this stage at around 20-22min miles.   I kept up this "faster" pace up until around the mile 87 mark and I could no longer maintain it and my pace dropped even further to avg 30min miles.

It was around this point that the crew changed over again from Anne and my Dad to Grace and Sinead again, Grace and Sinead also took turns doing A LOT of walking with me all the way through sunrise and beyond. All during this time the wind kept up as it howled and at one point we even got blasted with sand and salt.  All the time they spent with me was much appreciated and without them I think mentally I'd have been in trouble.

At one point I was finding it so hard to have the energy to push forward that I asked Grace to take a stick I kept for walking in the woods out of the car. Shortly after Ray drove up for the first time and asked how things were going, he wasn't in any doubt that I wouldn't finish and at this stage neither was I....it was just a case of when.

Eventually I found just holding the stick was taking too much energy and I opted to throw it back in the car and just walk slowly on.  Miles at this point were now averaging 28-33min, a soul crushingly slow speed.

As we approached Clifden  I was now drained emotionally as well as physically, each time I rounded a turn I'd see another hill and eventually on the final hills on the climb to Clifden I stopped and just put my head in my arms on a wall. I was exhausted and the hills even at such a slow pace were taking every ounce of energy out of me, I was so very close to calling it a day at around the 96mile mark.

However, after a few minutes I continued on and after what seemed like endless turns and hills I could finally see Clifden, but I wasn't finished yet as I still had 3x loops of Clifden to do before I could finally cross the finish line and call it a day.

It took every ounce of my strength to do these loops, any section of the road or footpath that was up or downhill was hard going and anytime I'd step off a footpath onto the road was really uncomfortable. At this stage my entire crew was there for the finish and I was joined by Grace and my Dad for different section of the loops. I even did 2x of the loops were with my dad and his support meant an awful lot to me.

I finally crossed the finish line in 27hours, 14min & 36seconds, I was never so glad to just stop walking and I wanted nothing more then to lay down on the ground just to get off my feet for a few minutes.

Finally Finished!!

With the help of Ray & Seb I eventually got back up and headed back to the hotel for a hot bath and around 90min sleep before we needed to go to the prize giving ceremony.



Prize Giving Ceremony:
This year the price giving ceremony was in the theater in the Station House Hotel in Clifden, I must say it was a nice location for the event and it was nice to hear many of the participants different stories.     From Jasons (JJ's) story of dropping out of the race at 91miles due to a injury, sleeping for a few hours and eventually rejoining the race to finish it in 29:42:30, the 2nd place finish of Rolando after which he headed home as he had work and of course Ed McGroarty 1st place finish in 15h 55min 34sec and his speech.

Sinead, Myself, Grace & Dad

Will be proudly added to my wall!

Final Thoughts:
As I went through the hardest part of this race I mentioned to my wife that I believe this is the last time I'd do a 100mile race, this race almost broke me and that even occurred at the 96mile mark just before Clifden.

When things fell apart during this race and I didn't have any more energy to run and barely enough to walk the mental toughness of the event really took its toll on me and eventually I was mentally fatigued as well.   Although I didn't get the sub 24hour time I wanted from this race I now know that I'm more than capable of better times on other distances such as 50mile and 100km and that I've been too cautious when doing these distances.

Keeping that in mind I think I'll call it quits on the 100mile distance, as to improve at it would likely require a bigger time commitment then I believe I can give it or am willing to give it. However, I am certainly going to aim for sub 9hours in a 50mile event in the future (Vartry 2017 perhaps?).

I also know from this race that even when the body starts to give up that mentally I can keep going for a long, long time. Sure some will say I was foolish I should have called it a day instead of spending 9hours walking but to me it proves I can dig deep when I need too and I'm just too stubborn to walk away from this race with a DNF.

It was an experience to do this event with my family including having my 83 year old dad walk two of the final loops to the finish line in Clifden with me, other then my wife I've never had family members attend any of my races before so it was a fantastic experience and I'm truly glad of the support Grace, Sinead, Anne and my Dad gave me throughout the entire race. It meant so much.

So that's it for the race report, I've bounced back recovering from this race far faster then I thought I would. I was able to run up the stairs at home on Monday morning and I even went for a 5km recovery run on Tuesday night. 

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