Running mad or mad to run?

asimonov

Fair play! Between the marathons and the hills you must be feeling very fit; fatigue aside. At some stage you might even treat yourself to a weekend off. But not yet obviously.

Slogger Jogger

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8438274

This was tough. With 99% of hill races you at least have the compensation of a downhill to offset the hardship of the uphill. Not today. Uphill only, after a flatish road section at the start. The route is short and can be broken into 3 distinct parts. Road bit where you wonder whether you give it socks and try to establish a position before the hills? I ran conservatively enough, but happy enough I wasn't knackered before the climb started. Then you have the zigzag paths at Glenmalure valley which are at a runnable gradient with nice grassy paths for the most part. Dug in here and made a couple of places. After that you're into the rough stuff and higher gradient hill. While the path (of sorts) was dry it was tough going. I found it more efficient to jog and power-walk sections of this - I basically did this to the top and made a few places and lost perhaps 2 places. Finished in 22nd I think, 138% or so off the time by Brian McMahon who had a 2 minute advantage on the 2nd placed runner. The winning time is terrific and shows where the rest of us are placed in hill running terms, but when you do an event like that you feel you've accomplished something. 5 Boards finishers in the results I think. Rusty, donothoponpop and JLang weren't too far behind me at the finish. A nice dip in the ice cold stream after and a drink and some food in the sunshine at the Glenmalure lodge with good company was a fine way to round off the afternoon and banish the thoughts of the suffering that you'd gone through in the race.

Roll on the Leinster Championship race in August when we can race up this hill again, but also down again. Yippee.

RacoonQueen

A completely uphill route sounds like heaven to me. You'll have to take me around that route when I'm fit and strong again.

Slogger Jogger

RacoonQueen wrote: »

A completely uphill route sounds like heaven to me. You'll have to take me around that route when I'm fit and strong again.

You're a strange one if uphill is your thing Later in August this route will be run again, with a downhill aswell - so you could just do the 1st half of that

Slogger Jogger

Thankfully I'm in motion in this picture!

Slogger Jogger

• Monday: 7.5k easy trail run, 246m ascents
• Tuesday: Rest
• Wednesday: IMRA Scalp race. 6k in 27:50, 200m ascents (20th place).
• Thursday: 11k road / trail run easy, 273m ascents
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: European Trial. 6.2k in 46:40, 702m ascents. (22nd place, 3rd M40, 5th team).
• Sunday: Road run LSR ish. 20k in 94 mins. 360m ascents

Total for week 63k (includes warm up and down nos at races)
Time ran: 5 hrs 30.
Hills ran - a lot. 2,000m worth.

Slogger Jogger

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8443789

I'm goin to try keep ticking over in the coming weeks with races on Wednesdays and weekends, with Sunday LSRs. Was tired after yesterday's exertions but happy to have covered c 20k this morning. Ran fairly easily. Got rained on a lot with showers during run but it was nice. Rain was refreshing. Home in time for breakfast.

TheRoadRunner

Hey SJ

Just getting around to reading your log now. Well done on Edinburgh. Great running after your bad luck in Rotterdam.

RR

Slogger Jogger

Cheers.
This evening I ran in my first Irish monsoon. Left the house and the skies were greying over. It stayed dry for 3k then whoosh, the skies opened and it was like you were running in a shower. Was a great feeling until the thunder and lightning started and the hale started to fall (and it hurt!). Was glad to be home, when the gap between the claps of thunder and lightning were getting mighty close. Wore a HRM for the 1st time in a while. Felt good despite pushing it a bit. Avg HR 153, Max 167. 4m 36s k pace on a hilly waterlogged run. Happy with that.

Slogger Jogger

My last years Scarr stats were:

Total Time (h:m:s) 0:40:57 5:20 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 0:40:57 5:20 pace
Distance (km) 7.66
Moving Speed (kph) 11.2 avg. 23.8 max.
Elevation Gain (m) +347 / -348
Temperature (°C) 11.4°C avg. 12°C high
Wind Speed ( kph) WNW 12.2 avg. WNW 16.7 max.

My this evening's Scarr stats were:

Total Time (h:m:s) 0:41:43 5:12 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s) 0:41:43 5:12 pace
Distance (km) 8.01
Moving Speed (kph) 11.5 avg. 22.6 max.
Elevation Gain (m) +427 / -438
Temperature (°C) 14°C avg. 14°C high
Wind Speed ( kph) W 33.3 avg. W 33.3 max.

I remember last year being particularly happy with my run and my downhill in particular. There's something about the Scarr downhill that brings out a decent race in me. The race was a bit longer this evening than last year and the wind was fierce! Found it tough going from the get-go. Feeling the effects of cumulative running recently I think. I'd stupidly ran yesterday when a rest day would have been preferable. Almost felt like DNFing and was probably half looking for an excuse to do so. Glad I didn't and hung in there even if I was losing places on the uphill. However, on the downhill I made up the places I lost so overall I was happy. A great downhill and overall I was quicker than last year. Pity about the wind. Go team Boards.

Krusty_Clown

That's a big difference in elevation gain over the two races (around 20%), which puts your performance tonight into perspective. Great running.

jlang

Did they build an extension on one of the hills over the winter? (I'm having images of an IMRA version of the old computer game where you could raise mountains - Populous?) Or just start the race from a field lower down the lane this year.

Slogger Jogger

They started and finished further down the road alright. It doesn't quite explain the leap in elevation but certainly the extra distance.

Slogger Jogger

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8479882

Wanted to get out and run over the 2 hours mark. I wasn't too concerned about the distance. Ended up ticking both boxes and then some. Theres a mountain out the backroads from me that has been on my list to run for some time. I checked it out on the map and saw that it was aprox 14k from the house (to its peak). Croaghanmoira will be a familiar mountain landmark to many in south wicklow as it has tall conical peak and it stands apart from the Lug massif. I'd an idea that I might run to this today but I said I'd decide en route. The first 5 or 6k were on the backroads and I was struggling to get into my run. However, once I turned into the forest trails that lead up towards Rosahane cemetry I started to get into things. By the time I was running along new trails to me on Coolgarrow mountain (with Croaghanmoira looming) I was in my element and enjoying it. By the time I hit the road above Coolgarrow mountain I had run for over 12k (and I knew I had the same distance back). However, I was feeling good and I said to myself that I'd jog some of the mountain and turn back in a bit... Again, I was feeling strong so I pushed on. Each time I got to a point where I was going to turn back, I pushed on again, until I was on the final path to the summit so on I went. The view from the top (664m high) was absolutely brilliant. Worth the effort. A hill race on this mountain would be mad and there should be lots of options for routes / distances you could do.

The run down was shaley and technical in places. Took it fairly handy. Before I knew it I was running well back along the forest trails. The last few k on the road were very unenjoyable as the tiredness set in. Didn't run the last 2k (as another uphill stretch beckoned) and I was happy I'd done enough work for the day. So warmed down with a nice walk though the forest and home. Another mountain from my training ideas ticked off. Next time I'll do it I'll do a shorter distance version! :eek:

Slogger Jogger

Ticking over nicely... A nice mixture of race, training and rest/cross training.

Monday: 7.8k hill / trail run
Tuesday: 5k tready run & core exercises in gym.
Wednesday: IMRA Scarr race. 8k in 41 mins (20th place again).
Thursday: 10.6k road / trail run easy, 287m ascents
Friday: No running. Easy few lengths in swimming pool.
Saturday: LSR hill run. c. 28k. 748m ascents
Sunday: No running. 50 min MTB hill cycle.

Total for week 63k (for 2nd week in a row) Cycling distance not added.
Time ran: 5 hrs 18
Hills ran - a lot. 1,857m

Slogger Jogger

I see garmin are migrating users from motionbased over to Garmin Connect, so I'm just getting used to the new interface. Impressed with it so far.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7433104

I wanted to do a hilly 10k to aproximate the Brockagh race this Wednesday. I did a longer variation of the imra Annacurra trail race and it was just the ticket. It was slow going uphill. Legs were still tired after Saturday's long run. Got going though on the downhill. Its not often that I'll do a 3:28 and 3:14k back to back, so well pleased with that. Pleasantly surprised to beat the 50 min mark and still cover 500 metres of ascents.

REST tomorrow

Slogger Jogger

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7517325

This was more like it. I learned a lesson from last week by taking a rest day the day before the race. I also limited my warm up run beforehand to a long walk and downhill only jog, so I wasn't knackered to start off with. Very warm this evening but warm isn't too bad, except being Brockagh this means midges - more of that later.
The start of this race is particularly evil... The race contingent is brought down the lane towards the main road so the race has to do the max amount of uphill.
My objective for this race was straightforward. Improve on last year's performance. That was a 52 minutes plus run when I walked some of the uphill. A sub 50 performance seemed a remote chance.
Paced myself evenly on the uphill and as the ascent got steeper I slowed but dug in there and jogged every bit of the uphill. There were times when I wanted to walk for sure, but I thought of training runs I've done recently where I ran difficult and longer uphills, so this helped, I think.
The conditions underfoot were very dry and I was glad I wore road runners for the additional cushioning.
Paced myself evenly on the stretch out to the far Brockagh peak. Enduro was the first runner I saw on the way back, followed by Bernard then Paul. Thats a pretty good finishing order if it stayed like that.
Was conscious I suppose of reserving a bit of energy for the back 5k. At the turn I was able to let loose a bit. I lost 1 place, but gained 2 or 3 more on that downhill. Very happy with my splits. 2 back to back 3m 18s Ks towards the end. The long stretch towards the end is not fun. Too flat and not short enough. The downhill is great though. Grassy, peat, springy and fast.

In the end I was sub 50! Very pleased with that. Funnily enough I suspect my place didn't improve much from last year, so arguably there is tighter competition this year (in and around and above my level at least!). The midges were out in force at the end of the race. They knew the crowd of runners were out and they were out for a feast. Those experienced in Brockagh wore 'nets' around the head. I wonder can you run with those on.

Fitzington

Thanks slogger jogger. I like the blog.
Hows training going?

Slogger Jogger

Cheers. My training is a ticking over nicely since I ran the Edinburgh marathon without being very tough :rolleyes:. I tend to do the imra league race on the Wednesday and race at the weekend or do an LSR. 2 of the other 5 days are rest, 3 are other runs, 1 of which is usually recovery pace.

Just in from doing this run, which is on my doorstep. A great run, done at easy pace, but thinking about proposing it (or a slight variation) as a race route on next year's calendar:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7594584

When I decide what my next goal is I'll try to get a more structured program together.

Slogger Jogger

A quick summary of the week first. A good running week. While this was a low mileage week for me. 3 rest days for me is something new but glad to have done it so the races on Wednesday and today I did on fresh legs. The 4 runs were all in the 10k mark (previous threads this week give details) and had lots of hills, but the 2 non-race runs were good practice for the real events.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7669781

A warm day greeted the very good turn-out of runners for the Lug race. The 3rd race of the Irish hill running championship. I had already run the Croagh Patrick race so I need to run at least 1 of the next 2 races to 'finish' out the championship.

I'd never raced or ran in training on Lug so this was a new one for me. A great but tough route. The good spell of weather had dried out the ground so it was probably as good underfoot as it gets here. There were clear skies all around so navigationally this race was going to be straightforward too, thankfully.

Did a very light warm up again. Didn't want to waste energy I'd regret not having later. The race takes off up towards Camara hill. I ran fairly easily at the start of the race but started to suffer at the top of this hill and progressed to a walk / run strategy that would take me to the top of Lug. Lost ground on account of this but I couldn't have run faster if I wanted to. Note to self: Harder training needed!

As this race is out and back, you see the leaders comin back towards you. So saw Peter O'Farrell first back off the mountain. Shouted over to him as I carried on the uphill slow. Also saw John Lenihan, Cormac Conroy and Turlough - all running well in the downhill direction.

I took encouragement from some spectators about 1k from the top and managed a jog from there to the cairn turning point. On the descent I knew I had to try close a gap on the runner ahead. It didn't help that I took the wrong racing line down the rocky bit. This lost me ground as I was overtaken by the ever youthful Martin Francis. Still, my pace picked up from there and I kept pushing on. Nearly came a cropper as I turned on my ankle, but the feeling passed and I realised no damage had been done. I think this has something to do with hill running toughening up the likes of the ankle joints, so you can sustain turns...

As I neared the bottom of Camara hill, I caught the runner ahead of me and managed to clear the stile ahead of him. I did my best impression of a sprint from there to the end before collapsing on the grass in 1:04:22. Haven't a clue yet what place that was but very happy with it. Its a target to aim for the next time around. Looking at the event history of this race I see the record for the route is just under 50 minutes. :eek:

Looking at my splits, they are pretty pathetic. Even the downhill splits are poor, so there is something to go for the next time around perhaps.

Congrats to Peter who withstood the challenge of the legend that is John Lenihan on the downhill to win, and rack up valuable championship points. The championship moves onto the Galtees next and its tight at the top! By my count there were 5 Boardsies in the race today. All had good runs, well done. No team competition though I think which is a pity.

stmochtas

SJ, It was nice to meet you at Brockagh. Probably see you tomorrow again skipping down the hills as I huff and puff to the top.
I meant to get on and say hello earlier in the week but struggling with time at the mo. Talk soon

Slogger Jogger

Where do I start. Ordinarily if you race 12k its no big deal. However, when you've to run the guts of 1300m of ascents, in wind and rain and the conditions underfoot are grassy, wet and boggy it becomes a bit different.

This race takes in 3 peaks. Cush 639m, Galtybeg 799m and Galtymore 919m. As the elevation shows here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/7988717, each of the first 2 ascents is followed by a descent, which means that when you are coming back on this out and back course you have to ascent and descent each again. Thats a lot of hauling yourself up slippery hills.

A field of 45 turned out and we probably all looked at each other at the start as if to say 'are we mad?'. Probably! It was slow going up towards Cush. Peter O'Farrell and John Lenihan led the line of runners off in the distance. I was back in the pack and trying to pace myself for what I'm told is perhaps the toughest race on the calendar. Theres a lot of walking in this race, for someone like me, but the gradients are such uphill that walking is nearly the only way to do it. There was a gale blowing on Cush so it was a relieve to be going downhill off the other side. Theres a fair amount of bog and water pools between this and the next peak so getting a good running line was a challenge. The climb up Galtybeg was cruel. You face a wall of green grass to get up. At the top, you think you are there, only to find that its a false summit and the climb goes on and on some more. I was overtaken on this stretch by Dermot Murphy and paced myself with Joe Aherne and Rene Borg. I climbed well here though and got away from the latter 2, and the descent from Galtybeg was fun. On then to Galtymore and this was more cruelty. There was low cloud here so you couldn't see the peak above you (probably a good thing). Joe Aherne had caught up, and as he had local knowledge I was happy to have him run / walk with me through to the cross at the top. We were encouraged in the latter stages of the climb to see the lead runners come down the mountain on front of us. Peter was ahead of John, but about 40 secs at this stage I reckon. The wind was very strong at the top, so I was happy to be turning and heading back. The rain was falling very heavily too . The time on the watch said 64 mins, and this was only halfway. Still.. its net downhill from here. Ran alongside Joe for much of the run back. He'd take off on the descent, and I'd just about stay with him. Nearly lost the runners a couple of times in bog. Joe ensured that we kept a decent navigational line on the run back and we made up time on some runners ahead. We caught up with Dermot and another runner and I got away from Joe and climbed Cush once more with him. At the top I was delighted to be on the final descent and I took off. The ground was wet, but springy and my grips were excellent so this gave me extra confidence. I didn't know it but I had opened up a gap on the runners behind. I galloped off down towards the finish, to finish in 1:51 and some change. Now that was a race! Tough, but a classic hill race and I'd love to do it again next year. This is the contradition of hill races sometimes. One minute you think yourself mad and what am I doing here. Next minute you've a big smile and you feel like you're accomplished something (even if you're not very good at this lark)

I wore these today and they were the bee knees for conditions like this:
http://revelsports.com/INOV-8/mudclaw270.htm Fantastic grips.

Krusty_Clown

Well done SJ. I get tired just looking at that profile. Do you know where you placed? They're the same Inov8s I bought in Edinburgh. They've only seen the light of day twice, but hopefully over the next few months they'll see more action.

Slogger Jogger

Cheers. Not yet, as we weren't computerised yesterday Great photos on the imra site which give an ideal of the climb (and that was just the first hill)

Slogger Jogger

12th in Galtees race and a target to chase next time around. Great photo this which shows why I love running in the hills. The hill to the right is the first and smallest of the 3 we summitted during this race.

Slogger Jogger

Report on Glenmacnass race here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=61099149&posted=1#post61099149

Garmin track showing not the most efficient line! http://connect.garmin.com/activity/8547511

Last Wednesday I did the imra Ballinastoe race and finished 17th. The tough races are coming thick and fast. Thats 3 toughies in 6 days. On Thursday and Friday I was hobbling around work with a bad back that I occasionally suffer from. It was thanks mainly to being stuck in a bad seating position in the car then stuck at the desk in work. Once I was moving around though I was that bit better.

Friday evening I managed a very short run in the forest beside the house. I wanted to do a fitness test to ensure I'd be okay for today's race. I'll remember this run for a long time as I ran for the first time with my eldest boy who is 9 and he enjoyed it. It might be the start of something. This morning I did a repeat of that short loop slowly and it confirmed that I was good to go for the Glenmacass race.

Other than races I've done very little which is fair enough as you can't race and train and race again. I've done a lot of races and running this year so feeling tired (but today's race had has a bearing on that, thats for sure).

Slogger Jogger

16 weeks to Dublin, so seen as I'd registered for it earlier in the year I better get my act together.

I don't have schedule completely ironed out yet, but it will be roughly based on the last schedule I used which was Hal Hidgon, applying some of my own personal learnings / preferences. It'll be the usual mix of LSR, Marathon Pace runs, tempo runs, Recovery runs and interval sessions. I'll put that mixture into a blender and come out with something that sounds right.

Started energetically enough with 2 sessions today:
Before work... warm up, then 18 x 200m with 30s floats, then warm down.
After work... a light trail run.
Total running today: 15k.

A good start is half the battle.

rigal

Best of luck with the new schedule SJ. I'm sure it'll make interesting reading..

Slogger Jogger

Cheers. Nice and easy run before work this morning 8.4k. Race tomorrow so didn't push it. Again lovely morning for it, before 9 o'clock at least.

After work did a few slow lengths of the swimming pool with my doggy paddle that passes for a swim.

asimonov

Good luck with the new marathon plan sj, good to see you running on the flat bits between the mountains...I see we share the same swimming style..maximum effort for minimum gain.