Connemarathon

asimonov

aburke wrote: »

Run even effort - not necessarily even pace.
At an even effort, the 2nd half will take you about 5-10 minutes extra, depending on your hill running abilities.

Thanks alan. I'll do my best to run to that

T runner

Clum wrote: »

There are some very technical ascents which are subject to severe weather conditions. Temperatures could drop as low as minus 40 and the wind chill is enough to freeze a pack of huskies in mid run! These peaks are also inhabited by tunnel dweling terrorists who like nothing better than to use freezing marathon runners as target practise for rocket propelled grenades.

And thats all before the Hell of the West....

Im a little lost there.....

Going to do a tempo/sub-tempo run this thursday and want to simulate the conditions of that section particularly (the fastest apart from last mile I believe) in my tempo run as thats where the faster running will be done. Good for practicing even effort running on the day as well as a last effort to build some stamina.

Clum

T runner wrote: »

Im a little lost there.....

There's nothing to worry about in between the Half start and the HOTW. It's all up and down but I can remember only one noticeable uphill but it's not a hard climb. I think it took me by surprise more than being tough because I wasn't expecting it.

However, I don't think HOTW is that a hard climb either, it's only tough after 22 miles (good luck to the ultra lads when they get there!).

Check out the course profile on the Connemarathon website, it shows the height of each climb and an accurate description of what's in store.

Eoin0603

Clum wrote: »

There are some very technical ascents which are subject to severe weather conditions. Temperatures could drop as low as minus 40 and the wind chill is enough to freeze a pack of huskies in mid run! These peaks are also inhabited by tunnel dweling terrorists who like nothing better than to use freezing marathon runners as target practise for rocket propelled grenades.

And thats all before the Hell of the West....

LOL...........Brilliant

Krusty_Clown

T runner wrote: »

Im a little lost there.....

Going to do a tempo/sub-tempo run this thursday and want to simulate the conditions of that section particularly (the fastest apart from last mile I believe) in my tempo run as thats where the faster running will be done. Good for practicing even effort running on the day as well as a last effort to build some stamina.

There are some rolling hills, but they're mostly pretty gentle. If you want to simulate the route, try Grafton Street on a Thursday evening. Hurdling the walkers carrying shopping bags will be good practice.

aburke

SucCes09 wrote: »

Sorry aburke - are you saying that halfers like myself won't get sports drinks on the day, or should not bother with them?

Water for Half Marathon only, ie No sports drinks for you.

tantipie

aburke wrote: »

Water for Half Marathon only, ie No sports drinks for you.

can i ask why not??seems to me i paid the same amount as full marathon and ultra marathon runners

RacoonQueen

tantipie wrote: »

can i ask why not??seems to me i paid the same amount as full marathon and ultra marathon runners

I assume it's because of the shorter distance. There's very few who would run a full marathon without a sports drink. I wouldn't touch a sports drink in a half personally, there's just no need for one.

SucCes09

guess it is a personal thing, but who made that decision for me???

RacoonQueen

SucCes09 wrote: »

guess it is a personal thing, but who made that decision for me???

The race orgarnisers evidently. Do you really have any need for sports drink in a half? It would be based on supply and demand...providing aid stations is difficult and they're hard work to man etc. Scientifically they'd suggest it's really not necessary for a half marathon. I doubt anyone will stop you taking sports drink though...

aburke

tantipie wrote: »

can i ask why not??

Because there is no need.
I can honestly say I've never seen sports drinks available in a half.
Do other half marathons around the country provide them?
Maybe I'm running the wrong races :-)
I'll ask the race director is there is any more to it than that, but I doubt it.

Alan

runforrest

great fun reading posts reall ygetting my head going pacing/ hills /gels am doing ultra taking a bit of heart from descriptions of hotw sounds doable!!!hope im right:eek:

RacoonQueen

Oh Jesus. A week, a WEEK...is that all we have?

RacoonQueen

runforrest wrote: »

great fun reading posts reall ygetting my head going pacing/ hills /gels am doing ultra taking a bit of heart from descriptions of hotw sounds doable!!!hope im right:eek:

I'm doing my first Ultra in Connemara too...and the reported 'exaggeration' of the difficulty of Connemara is the only thing thats keeping me from entirely freaking out.

Krusty_Clown

mp1972 wrote: »

Oh Jesus. A week, a WEEK...is that all we have?

No! It's not that bad! We have a week and 18 hours.
Getting excited?

RacoonQueen

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

No! It's not that bad! We have a week and 18 hours.
Getting excited?

Very. It's pretty much the only thing thats got me through all this tapering crap, I hate tapering. Although, I suspect somewhere around mile 34 I'll wonder what the hell I've been thinking.

Roll on Friday...can't wait to actually get to Connemara so it'll all start sinking in, Dublin seems like it was a long, long time ago.

SunnySideUp

For any of you guys based in galway, you might be interested to hear that Elverys on the Headford Rd. are doing gait analysis. They said they have it for the past 3 weeks or so and will have it for another while but not sure how long. I found it very useful as i need to buy new runners and they were able to point me in the right direction as to what would be best for me.:)

the underdog

hey guys ive managed to stay injury free during the taper, just did a 13k earlier im really looking forward to it now, im going to be taped up with muscle tape & knee straps, it looks rediculous but its stopping that knee pain that creeps in at about mile 13, hope i get to have a few beers with a few of ye afterwards, i dont know galway at all would someone like to name an offical "boards pub!"

RacoonQueen

Last few training sessions have been a mental nightmare. Badly need to overcome that this week otherwise I'm in trouble.

Left shin was pretty achy this evening too.

baza1976

did 4 yesterday adn 10 today... was hoping to complete 13 but stupid IT band in left knee is causing a lot of pain around knee...
Getting some treatment in the morning... very worried about the marathon now..

Last year both IT bands hit me at around mile 16/17 hurt so much that I couldn't run down the other side of the Hell of the west.. walked most of the last 6 mile..

Fingers crossed

SucCes09

fell in my own shower... slipped when washing my feet...
First though was i've gone and badly injured myself, and won't be able to run in Connemara... turns out my ass has a massive bruise on it, and nothing much else seems wrong at the moment...

I'll be the one with the smelly feet in Sunday....

RacoonQueen

Jaysus, there'll be no one running it at this rate. :pac:

babalobioddy

jesus that was lucky, dont know about everybody else but im afraid to do much more than go to the kitchen for a cup of tea incase i twist my ancle. wouldent it be terrible to get injured like that after month of training.:(

ilovecars

unfortunately i'm not able to run the marathon, i'm pullin out at this late stage due to unforseen circumstances (bernard dunne).. tantipie i know your goin to kill me.. but best of luck to everyone..

babalobioddy

hey guys its "the underdog" here im just using babilobioddys pc i done a 15k this morning & it was my third run using a power gel i felt a fair bit of stomach sickness, im blaming the gel brand its just called "power gel" i took half before the run & half at the 10k mark. so look i know its not recomended but im going to follow krustys plan & ordered a box of sis isotonic & a box of cafine gel from wiggle. "whats the worst that could happen!!!" i mean do i need to wear a nappy or what? should i not be taking that stuff at the start? how does this sound...an sis at mile 13, a cafine gel at mile 17, a cafine at mile 21, & if i need it an sis at mile 24? can anybody advise me of a better plan.

Krusty_Clown

Hi Babalobioddy, please try the gels in the days leading up to the race. The marathon is never the first time you should try a gel! The outcome could be disastrous.

What brand are the caffeine gels? Many gels are specifically designed to be taken with water (up to 400ml), and as someone posted in another thread, without water will not make it to your small intestine (their intended destination), can cause dehydration and stomach upsets.

This is a very good article that explains the above clearly: article

SIS Gels are Isotonic, so you don't need to take water with them (but you still need to take water during the race). The SIS gel packaging advises that you can (not must!) take one every 30 mins. So why not take a SIS gel every 6 miles (before you get to the water-station), and if you feel you need it, take one of your other gels at one of the other water stations (either mile 9, 15, 21. etc).

barkar

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Hi Babalobioddy, please try the gels in the days leading up to the race. The marathon is never the first time you should try a gel! The outcome could be disastrous.

What brand are the caffeine gels? Many gels are specifically designed to be taken with water (up to 400ml), and as someone posted in another thread, without water will not make it to your small intestine (their intended destination), can cause dehydration and stomach upsets.

This is a very good article that explains the above clearly: article

SIS Gels are Isotonic, so you don't need to take water with them (but you still need to take water during the race). The SIS gel packaging advises that you can (not must!) take one every 30 mins. So why not take a SIS gel every 6 miles (before you get to the water-station), and if you feel you need it, take one of your other gels at one of the other water stations (either mile 9, 15, 21. etc).

Speaking of gels , i have been using powere bar gels and found them good , tropical flavour (i think they include caffeine) . Went and bought another batch for the marathon and found that they are slightly different from the ones i have used , they have a new soduium replacement thing , doesnt seem to be caffeine and you need 400ml of water rather than 200ml . I have a couple of old ones but they are past their best of date ie 22/02

Question i have is that has anyone noticed any difference in these new ones and would one be safe chancing the gels that are past their date (i know its only a month

I havent had a chance to try these new gels and wont before the marathon so kind of a bit woried - they are supposed to be quicker acting and have better salt replacement than the old ones though although i dont see any caffeine written on them anywhere , essentially they are in the same packaging as the old gels except with all this new stuff

Clum

baza1976 wrote: »

did 4 yesterday adn 10 today... was hoping to complete 13 but stupid IT band in left knee is causing a lot of pain around knee...
Getting some treatment in the morning... very worried about the marathon now..

Last year both IT bands hit me at around mile 16/17 hurt so much that I couldn't run down the other side of the Hell of the west.. walked most of the last 6 mile..

Fingers crossed

My left ITB has gotten the better of me and I'm out....Can't believe it. All the training, all the long runs, all the preparation done but with two weeks to go the ITB packed it in on my last long run.....my 6th 20 miler.

griffin100

Aw crap. After building up to my first half marathon since before the New Year I may be pulling out with injury.....

Had some knee pain a few weeks ago, flared up after long run, went away after a couple of hours. Like a real man I ignored it . Then it began to occur during my shorter runs, next thing I'm literally crawling back home 3 miles into a run. The pain was excruciating.

Took a week off running and started back but no joy, pain after a couple of miles but this time I stopped running straight away. Went to physio who diagnosed knee cartilage problems and prescribed lots of rest and core strengthen exercises.


No running for two more weeks and only started back two weeks ago. Plan was to do a few 5 milers and one longer run the weekend before Connemara to test the knee. I had done a couple of 20kms in training so was confident of covering the distance if my knee was ok (albeit at a much slower pace than I originally hoped).

So on Saturday last went for a 10 mile run and joy oh joy the knee gave no problems during the run. A couple of hours later though the pain returned. Nowhere near as bad as before but still there. I’m gutted. My head says knock it on the head and don’t run. My heart says as long as the pain stays away during the run I’ll be ok and can live with the pain afterwards and worse case scenario I can walk if the pain comes on during the run.

I’ve booked a house for three days in Clifden and was combining the race with a few days away with the wife and kids. Thing is, if I travel to Galway I know I’m gonna get up on the morning of the race and want to run. Can’t cancel the weekend away or wife and kids would kill me. Think I’m going to try run a couple of miles on Thursday and if the knee feels ok during the run risk Connemara.........although I know I should really be pulling out:( I'm gutted.

RoyMcC

Bad luck guys, a real choker that. Griffin, don't risk screwing your knee up completely. Travel down and maybe help out with a bit of stewarding, water distribution or something. It's not the same of course but you'll at least be part of the day.

Krusty_Clown

barkar wrote: »

Speaking of gels , i have been using powere bar gels and found them good , tropical flavour (i think they include caffeine) . Went and bought another batch for the marathon and found that they are slightly different from the ones i have used , they have a new soduium replacement thing , doesnt seem to be caffeine and you need 400ml of water rather than 200ml . I have a couple of old ones but they are past their best of date ie 22/02

Question i have is that has anyone noticed any difference in these new ones and would one be safe chancing the gels that are past their date (i know its only a month

I've had both the old and new gels and haven't noticed any real difference. Would usually drink a full 250ml bottle anyway (and another at the next water-station). Why can't your try them this week on a short run? Rather that than not try them at all.

Best before dates are exactly that... 'best' before.. I doubt that they would go through a sudden chemical deterioration 4 weeks after the bb date. Wouldn't be too keen on taking just gels with added caffeine. That's a lot of caffeine!

barkar

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I've had both the old and new gels and haven't noticed any real difference. Would usually drink a full 250ml bottle anyway (and another at the next water-station). Why can't your try them this week on a short run? Rather that than not try them at all.

Best before dates are exactly that... 'best' before.. I doubt that they would go through a sudden chemical deterioration 4 weeks after the bb date. Wouldn't be too keen on taking just gels with added caffeine. That's a lot of caffeine!

I think i will go with the new ones, wont be running much this week recovering from calf strain , physio told me to lay off and do some pool running in order to keep muscle memory and cadio vascular etc (hope it works!), seems to be cleared up but dont want to risk it ! as regards the caffine just seen it printed on the old gels compared to the new ones
glad ye didn't notice any difference , its kind a reassuring

the underdog

lads yis are all droppin like flies!!!! jesus im startin to think i could win this thing......no but seriously im terrified of an injury this close to race day. krusty thanks for the advise on the gels the one ive been using is called maxim the directions say take 1/3 every 30 minutes washed down with 1 to 2 mouthfuls of water, so what ive been doing was takeing half before running, driving 10 miles from base & hiding the other half & an isotonic drink in a ditch & returning to base to start the run, do u think its the fact im overdosing by using it before the run? i knormally have a really strong stomack but can feel this stuff fairly bad & have to fight back the vomit, thats why i was going to the ones you have, could they really be worse then what im using, or is it a case of better the devil you know, i wont have the new ones til friday, so no time to try them out!!!!!:(

RacoonQueen

I'm starting to think my shins are playing mind games with me, such is the fear of injury at this stage etc etc... all the same I'm treating my shins with TLC and putting myself on a course of ibuprofen until Thursday or Friday to ensure that swelling is reduced as much as possible.

Just realised since I started taking the watch out again when my garmin arrived on friday(hadn't trained with a watch since before DCM 08) just how true the 'long slow runs make long slow runners' quote is :eek:
Dying to get back to some speedwork and the like in a couple of weeks now.

brutes

A lot of 'injuries' flare up in the last week or so before a marathon - fear not - most of them are in the mind!!!;)

I ve 7 marathons done and without fail every time the week before some injury comes to the fore and puts doubts in my mind about pulling out - Im telling ye it will be alright on the night!! - for anyone who is plagued by doubt/nerves/minor injuries, a lot of it is just because your about to take on 26.2 mile, its a huge challenge physically and mentally, no matter if your Martin Fagan or just want to get round. Trust me, you ll be fine on the day, the work is done ( I hope) , once the first mile is done the injuries will fly out and you ll be more worried about the gale blowing ya back across the atlantic in connemara:) .

actwithoutwords

Have been lurking in this thread for the last few weeks. Just thought I'd say thanks. Running a half for the first time in Connemara and have been enjoying reading people's experiences. Particularly the bits about the toughness of the hills being exaggerated. Clinging tightly to that.

RoyMcC

actwithoutwords wrote: »

Have been lurking in this thread for the last few weeks. Just thought I'd say thanks. Running a half for the first time in Connemara and have been enjoying reading people's experiences. Particularly the bits about the toughness of the hills being exaggerated. Clinging tightly to that.

Indeed my first Conn run was in 2005 and I imagined I'd be going up the HOTW on hands and knees. It was actually a pleasant surprise - though not saying it's easy either...

baza1976

had a sports massage yesterday.. he told me that all of my left quad is tensed up.... I thought it was my IT band... you know what they say about assuming....
ANyway.. I did a 3miler this morning and there is a slight to moderate pain there... tinking how it will be after 14 or 15 mile!!!! I'll get another bit of work on it tomorrow... I'm going to leave my final decision till the last minute... fingers crossed:(

barkar

How much should one carbo load for the remainder of this week? , i gather from looking at other websites it should be around 4.5 grms per lb of weight additional for about two days b4 the race (not necessarliy Friday and Saturday but maybe thursday and Friday to ensure it s digested and no longer in your intestines), by my reckoning thats about a 500grm bag of pasta and big bowl of porridge for 1-2 days??? , does that seem reasonable , which is the best pasta to to consume at this stage whole grain or normal , brown or basmati rice , i often look at the nutrient guides and see noodles have a good amount of carbs but you never see them as marathon food , why is this ?

Anyway not long to go, weather looks very promising out here for the week , (i work out in clfiden, so pass by peacocks every day not that i need reminding of it !) , looking for me race gear and cant find me lucky shorts i ran in the last 3 months, typical !!!

Krusty_Clown

Complex carbohydrates like brown rice (any rice is good, but brown is better!), couscous, pasta, bagels, pita bread, Weetabix, porridge, etc. It doesn't have to be boring food, just lean towards more of the complex carbs and less of the fatty foods. Might be more info in the tapering thread.

Here's a list of foods that contain complex carbs: list

uglyjohn

i cant believe its this weekend! i really wish i'd prepared better but i cant change that now. i think maybe i got a cit c0ckey after dublin but anyway....thats neither here nor there.

one more runt tonight.....swim tomorrow and then rest and food

RacoonQueen

uglyjohn wrote: »

i cant believe its this weekend! i really wish i'd prepared better but i cant change that now.

Don't we all. Good healthy bit of nerves never did anyone any harm.

uglyjohn

yeah i know.....i've done enought to know i'll finish...but its not gonna be pretty. at least i held off the booze yesterday....that should count for something.

the underdog

uglyjohn wrote: »

yeah i know.....i've done enought to know i'll finish...but its not gonna be pretty. at least i held off the booze yesterday....that should count for something.

Me too, i drank club orange all day yesterday, i havent drank that much orange since i was a kid at a birthday party, i havent ran since sunday (10 miles) the last few runs were so good i didnt want to chance any short runs & provoke my usual bad luck. But i have to say im buckin to go...i know ill be in a lot of pain during and after it, & i know it will take me about 4 hours 20 odd minutes to finish it, but im so feckin excited about the whole thing "im not joking if i had a tail right now id be wagging it" thanks lads for all the advice during the last few months, especially Krusty, Baza & RoyMcC. hopefully we'll get a good day for it, not much else to say now lads only god speed to everyone.:)

figs

I had eventually come around to the fact that I'd be missing the Connemara Half this year through one thing or another. I missed the marathon last year due to injury, so this years entry was a carry over from last year.

Up to 2pm today, I was committed to working for the whole weekend, a long-standing committment that was unavoidable, so I had resigned myself to the fact that my participation was wishing all the competitors well...

But today, I found out that job should be finished Saturday afternoon (I still miss the rugby:( ), so doing the half is a possibility.

I've been out of training since October, and am only 4 weeks back. Trainings been going well. Two 5k races last week, some 6 mile runs, and a 10 mile run yesterday with no ill effects. After the 10 miles (admitedly fairly flat), I felt great, and could easily have done another few.

So, I'm really tempted to give the half a shot. I know it sounds stupid, and probably will regret it next week, but reckon I'm just going to run to get around. Times are out the window.

Having never done Connemara before, am I gambling a bit too much?

ultraman1

go 4 it figs....

figs

Cheers ultraman.

If someone told me they'd done 40 miles training in the last 4 weeks, and were going to run a half-marathon, I'd tell them to get their head examined!

Best book the shrink then! ...and probably the physio too!:D

Does anyone know if there's a late number pick-up? This might be my first challenge!

the underdog

ahh you'll be well able for it figs, if ya done a 10 with some left in the tank, that combined with the buzz of the day........ "crazy" would be not to do it.

SUNGOD

the underdog wrote: »

ahh you'll be well able for it figs, if ya done a 10 with some left in the tank, that combined with the buzz of the day........ "crazy" would be not to do it.

+1 if you can comfortably run 10 miles and as you said yourself "times are out the window" you should be grand on the day
best of luck

babalobioddy

So have we settled on a meeting place for a few beers to celebrate crossing the finishing line, and beating wales in the rugby..... Its going to be a great weekend !