Ultra-marathon

who007

Well, I know I am mental - have done nothing for months except eat and drink - but even though I only have 2 months left to train for the Connemara Ultra-marathon (first time doing an Ultra)
I have previously done 4 marathons and numerous 10Ks, 10 milers and half marathons. Like I said though, nothing since Sept except eat and drink copiously and put on lots of weight. My training has alway sbeen sporadic, ill-prapared and unconventional.
I started training for the Ultra last week - so far have done weights every 2nd day, Wii Fit leg exercises every other day and ran between treadmill and road for up to 1hr 30 at a time, leading uyp to an 8 mile run last night, in 1hr 19 - slow and easy just to get used to distances again.
My plan is to run 8 miles, walk 2 miles till the end.
Which brings me bang up to date.
This morning - 35 mins Wii Fit - press-ups, single leg raises, squats, followed by a chocolate milk/protein powder/banana breakfast.
After work will be doing 6 x 6 "Fat-burners" - a continuous weight lifting routine of
snatch and lift, overhead press & squat.
1hr walk with slendertone at 70%
followed by baked potato with quorn chili and cheese.

I aim to get to 16 miles within the next month and then do 2 8 miles with 2mile walks to get to "halfway" with a month to go. I hope to get to 3 8 milers with 2 mile walks between and a 4 miler to finish and cross-train like mad with step aerobis and swimming and weights to get me to race day and then let race day magic take over.

Yes I know I have left a lot till late, but let's be positive if any replies please!

SUNGOD

hi whoOO7 best of luck with it , just knuckle down and get the miles in
good luck and see ya in connemara

who007

Cheers SUNDOG.

Got lazy already about updating this! Anyway
last post was Tues 13th

Wed 14th - Slept in till 7am in prep for another 8 miler - had blister from so called 1000 mile socks. They did me well in Dublin mara years ago (the brand, not the same pair of socks!) but no good now. Mile 6 and it was too sore to continue on and risk too much damage so walked a mile then ran the last one. 1hr 22 - only 3 mins slower than the same route 2 days earlier with no extra effort put in.

Diet is staying good - not had chocolate like I used to! Used Lucozade powdered drinks pre- and post- run and a dinner of quorn chili on baked potato with melted cheese. Only thing is the 2 glasses of wine with the meal turned into the whole bottle. Oh well.


Thurs 15th - Slept in till 7 again as a rest after the previous evening's run. Got home from work at 5, went to bed for 30 mins. Got up and did my current weights routine then off to club training. 4 miles allegedly. It was 6. Had to stop and walk a little at one point when I felt like I was gonna fall over from hunger/lack of energy. My efforts to lose the weight I gained at XMass have only gone against me. However, it was good to get out and it was a different run than I ever did before and def. one I will do again. Home for a pizza and 2 glasses of wine and slept like a baby. (Used Hilly socks - absolute blissful comfort!)

Today: Rest! Doing nothing. Driving to Galway later - which is a feat of mental endurance when you've done it so many times it's not exciting anymore.

16K run on the Oranmore Sli na Slainte planned for tomorrow.

ultraman1

GOOD GOIN DMC,measured d run dis morn,,4.7km x2=9.4km watever dat is in miles .no boozin in galway and buy a proper pair of shorts (still havin night mares about snakes on a plane)...fb

who007

ultraman1 wrote: »

GOOD GOIN DMC,measured d run dis morn,,4.7km x2=9.4km watever dat is in miles .no boozin in galway and buy a proper pair of shorts (still havin night mares about snakes on a plane)...fb

LOL! harde-har-har! And who you callin DMC???

Odysseus

Best of luck with the ultra training. A lot of people feel intimated doing their first ultra, but you only get one first ultra so try to enjoy it; just get the miles in and you will be fine.

who007

Cheers Odysseus,
I have tailored my plan slightly -
8 miles run, 2 miles walk
8 miles run, 2 miles walk
7 miles run, 2 miles walk
7 miles run, 2 miles walk
Hobble the last mile

who007

OK quick update:

Fri - Rest
Sat - was in Galway and headed out to Oranmore because I couldn't figure out anywhere to run and so the Sli na Slainte route there seemed he most promising. Unfortunately I stepped out of the car into a storm! Within 1 minute I was saturated (literally!)- right through to the skin. I headed off uphill against storm winds that were blowing trees to the side. Hailstones next; very painful! (I'm bald). And again. And again. But I am so under-prepared I couldn't afford to miss this run so I went out and did it. At some point while holding my arms up to shield my head I missed the sign that pointed down a road to my right; indicating the route was to go. Sometime after passing my one and only KM marker I realised that I was not on the SnS route but the road was tarmaced and hilly so I decided to just stick with it. That was fine until I ran out of road. At the coast I was buffeted even more fiercly by the wind and again I missed a sign. This one went along the lines of "Private Property - No Entrance". Oops! Having run as far as I possibly could, I turned back before I had to outrun shotgun pellets. Only thing was, I had been running uphill against a wind and into rain that slowed me down to the speed of an elderly lady pushing a two -wheeled trolley load of Tesco groceries.
Miraculously the sun broke out and the storm calmed. The sun warmed me and my pace picked up. All aches and pains disappeared and I arrived back at the pick up point. No sign of my "support vehicle" so I decided to run back to the 1st KM sign and back again. Quick text to the support vehicle and then we were off to drive the route (mostly) and see how far I'd run. Jury came in at just under 8 miles. So my plans foe 16km were dashed, as we had to leave for a birthday party rendezvous. I have to admit I was a little disappointed and somewhat peeved at the time limit, but who's gonna tell a woman on her birthday that you want to run more instead of celebrate with her!
Carb loaded on beer and baby Guinness Sat night.
Sun - Rest (unintended rest of the hangover variety).:(
Mon (Today) - lie in till 7.15am. diet back on track with brown scone breakfast.
Baked potatoes and quorn chili to microwave for lunch.
Training tonight: weights and some treadmill training then a swim - too dark these days to get out on the road much after work.
Can't wait to go back on shift!

ultraman1

DAVE mc!!!!!if you spent more time runninn than u spend writing............

who007

Why do you keep callin me D MC?! You may as well call me Ken Barlow!

I'll still have my day in the sun, don't you worry! And at least I reply to my fans

ultraman1

moreb like derdrie barlow:D

who007

Well all plans for cross training went out the window last night. Got home tired (damn that bottle and a half of wine the previous evening!) and went for a snooze. Woke in no shape to do anything and lay there thinking I'd skip the training and have another rest. Then some mad compulsion compounded with guilt made me jump up and head off to the gym where I did 2h 05 on the treadmill. That's 18k (11.18m) of a LSR at 9.5 k/h and varying. I needed more time on my feet and got it! Followed by a good 10 mins of stretching and some pizza, glass of wine and stretch out the muscles again in a hot bath.
Rest day today cos I have my daughter for the evening so no time to do anything anyway.
Now to change my cross-training to keep shocking the body - No Wii Fit or weights for the next two weeks, instead - Tae Bo, Yoga and Chin-ups.

Off now to read Ultraman1's training log for a few factual statements about his training..:P

ultraman1

hi roy cropper,hope the wine was red ,kill a few free radicals,and the pizza was low fat.did u get ur shorts yet?:D

who007

ha ha! I actually wore shorts over my crotch-huggers
Roy cropper? Geez - you really know your Coronation Street! Must be under the missus' thumb!
And no - it's white wine - according to some fitness mag I read, white is good for your lungs! I'll switch to red now and then to keep the heart healthy too tho!:cool:

ultraman1

HELLO or OK arnt fitness mags.......:D

who007

Well, I sure didn't feel like going out in the dark and drizzle last night but it was club training night so I headed out and did 6 on my own beforehand - got back just in time to meet the others and did a further 6 with them, around the 10th mile I felt a crampy sensation in my right leg but pushed on and finished ni just over 2 hrs. Have a long way to go yet so the next 2 months are gonna be intense!
I ordered one of those Stick things (TM) to help massage the legs so will see how that works. Have to ease off some of the cross training cos I think the rest is more important now that I am breaking into the longer miles, so I have settled on the Armstrong chin-up program.. 3 sets of press ups every morning, chin ups every 2nd day - doesn't seem to take a huge amount of time and it will also help my core muscles.. And will add some yoga and swimming when I get back to shift work and have whole days off again!

So 12 more done - nothing today but rest and hang out with my daughter.

who007

Well, I did a 14 miler on Sat (I think) - I was sure it was 14 miles, but it took me a horrendous 3 hours to run it. Last year I was doing half marathon distances in 2 hours and now I am an hour behind! :eek:

So i have to go drive that route and check the distance. It's either a really really bad 14 or a reasonable longer distance.
The run itself was ok - heard a car horn beep on my way down celbridge main street and when I turned the corner it was none other than Ultraman - in civilian disguise with not a glimmer of a lycra outfit, cape and mask. I had forgotten water or gels and he reckoned he might have some in his car - no such luck!

Knee started feelin dodge around the last few miles and I knew there was an imbalance in the Force there somewhere..

Did Raheny 5 miler on Sunday - lovely course, great to see the sea and run alongside it. GREAT goody bag.. well impressed. Just wish there had been more tarmac to run on, I am not fond of so much time spent on concrete and I could feel it in my knee. Didn't do a very good time - 45 mins.:rolleyes:

Disastrous on the speed front this weekend. Realised how I've been missing out on speed training nights at the club and haven' done anything about it myself. So this week will be all about speed! i can get back to a mixture of distance and speed work when I go back on shift next week. Halleluiah!!

19 miles into the 1000 mile challenge then, unless I figure out that 14 was longer...

hunnymonster

who007 wrote: »

heard a car horn beep on my way down celbridge main street and when I turned the corner it was none other than Ultraman - in civilian disguise with not a glimmer of a lycra outfit, cape and mask. I had forgotten water or gels and he reckoned he might have some in his car - no such luck!

What's a superhero without gels.. tut tut.

Don't worry about the hard 14, The tough runs are only there to help us appreciate the easy ones more :-)

who007

So I checked mapmyrun.com and it turns out I did 16 miles on Sat not 14 - so that's slightly better! Still need speedwork though so that remains highest priority this week. At some point housework will have to take precedence though, since I've had to ignore it for a week now, so lots of washing and dust piling up

AND - I only found out from a member of the club that MP3's are not allowed at Connemara this year?!!!!:eek::eek::mad::(

How the hell am I gonna do 39 miles with NO Motorhead/Metallica/AC-DC to keep me going?!

ultraman1

Download some lyrics and ill add them to my repotoire ,but youl have to listen the complete works of john denver and mary black first........:eek:

hunnymonster

you'll scare the sheep :-)

who007

Went for a 3 miler last night with Ultraman - plan was to do 3 miles easy then some speed work back at the gym on the treadmill. Plan changed!
Towards the end of teh 3 miles my calf muscles were screaming at me. The plod was quite difficult for me and I knew I should have just rested last night - or swam or something else. Felt a lot like this last night, me being the shorter, wider one I guess means I am Del boy, although being Dave maybe I should be Rodney - or Sigourney if I was a girl -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZW0fDCbwqE

A good stretch did nothing so I chickened out of the treadie and went for the jacuzzi/steamroom treatment. No training today or tomorrow. There's the ever looming prospect of having to do housework at some stage. Have my daughter tonight and poker game tomorrow evening so next training day will be club training on Thurs. 3 miles.. wonder how far up the 1000 mile thread that will boost me..:rolleyes:

ultraman1

clocked last nite run,its really a 4.5miler......:D

who007

ultraman1 wrote: »

clocked last nite run,its really a 4.5miler......:D

Somehow I think you knew that already!

ultraman1

yuoll thank me on 22nd march at 2:25 pm.........

who007

after 4 days of non-activity in which I played Lego Batman with my daughter and relieved some people of their money in Hold'em, I headed off to club training on Sat morning and did 10k. Went home and did 45 mins of Yoga (Vinyasa) and then headed out with Ultraman for 13 miles - knee felt pretty sore for the last few and still hurts but I'm sure it'll be fine. Then we finished off with a few lengths of the pool and a jacuzzi.
I mentioned that when it got to 8 weeks to go before the run I would quit the beer. Ultraman pointed out it was in 7 weeks time. Oops! :eek:

who007

Stayed in bed all day yesterday to prepare for nightshift - worked till 7am this morning and then home. Postman woke me after an hour sleep with packages. 2 hours later DHL woke me with my Lucozade Sport runners fuel (1 month's worth). Back to bed. Alarm went off shortly after. Looked out and decided not to go "ice skating! and instead to head to Elvery's Liffey Valley. It has occured to me that my recent performances and knee/leg trouble could also be attributed to another factor I hadn't considered until I pondered my mileage on the 1000 mile challenge. I really haven't changed my trainers for a long time! There's easily 500 miles on them and they are worn to bits. So in lieu of running around in icy cold and slipping and breaking something I head off and buy a pair of Asics 2130's.. They had no size 8 Kayanos left so I head to Maynooth to buy them as a second pair.. only they are really not comfortable. Ok I am a bit odd - I pick up a different type as my 2nd pair - 2140's. The 21-- range seems to be my ideal ones. Couple of sneaker balls and a knee support and i head back to work. See Ultraman out training and beep my horn and wave encouragement. Miserable git just complains about that on his training log. Bah humbug!

Day 2 with zero alcohol.
Miles: 0
Confidence I can get back to proper running soon with the comfort and protection of new trainers & knee support: +1
Miles planned for tomorrow: 5-10 to wear in my first pair of trainers. Don't care if it's on road or treadie so long as I get moving and get sweating!

who007

I jumped out of bed when I woke today and scoffed down a Lucozade energy bar, then legged it to the gym where I ran 5 miles on the treadie, replete in my new trainers and knee support. Not a bother!

Ah feeEEEEEEE-eEE-EL Good... like ah knew that I would Yeh.. AH FEEEEE-EEL Good duh-doo doodoo doo doo dum!!
Oh yeah
So good. So fine! WoAAAAHHWza!
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

who007

Went out for the first run I have been able to cram in for the last few days 9I won't bore anyone with details as to why I got no training done for 4 days).
Ran from Clane to Maynooth then up to Kilcock cemetery. Turned and started back only to find my knee starting to hurt. That bloody injury still hasn't gone! I jog/walked as far as just past the Geraldine Inn on my return journey but had to concede defeat at 5:30 pm (I had worked last night till 7am and had got up and started running at 2pm - by the time it was 5:30 and I was still about 2 miles from home I knew I needed to just get home fast and start getting ready for work tonight) - so I stuck my thumb out as I hobbled along. The first few cars ignored me but then the familiar Ultra-mobile pulled in ahead and ther ewas Ultraman, cape billowing out of the window; just when I needed him. Home James! And so I have decided that with a year choccer full of races I have entered I am going to gracefully bow out of the Ultra and change to the half mara and alter my training to more frequent shorter runs till I can run properly. This time next year Rodney...
So 11 miles ran today, and a few walk/jogged.. 11 for the 1000 mile thread.

It seems though, that whenever i run into trouble, Ultraman is around to help. Maybe he is secretly in love with me.:eek:

ultraman1

maybe i shud buy that cape.xxxxxxxxxx:D

Slogger Jogger

Ultra dog should be readily identifiable so They'll need a dog cape!