My UltraRunning log

mithril

Saturday
Summary: 12KM in 56:36 (4:43 pace) around Sarmiento Park, Cordoba, Argentina with 2*1km and 1*2 Km at marathon pace.

Parque Sarmiento is Cordoba’s equivalent of the Phoenix Park, not quite as big, but a bit closer to the center of the city, with a couple of nice lakes to go around, and also very convenient to my hotel. Like Phoenix Park, it’s a bit traffic clogged,but you can find an isolated area with a bit of effort where you can do a decent circuit without too much disturbance. I have not been near marathon pace since I did the Mendoza race, and seemed to be struggling even to hit it momentarily when I tried in Tarija and Salta, but on a longer flat circuit managed it without any issue and had no difficulty sustaining it for 2KM at least.

On the second of my 1 KM efforts , I tripped over a concealed tree root while running hard and took a tumble that could have been very nasty if I had not landed cleanly on hard earth (wrenched shoulder, a bad bruise on my chest and a grazed elbow were the damage none of which should be an issue on Sunday). In the immediate vicinity was a broken beer bottle, which could have caused a serious injury if I fell on it at the wrong angle.

I picked myself up, confirmed I could still run and seemed to be getting some kind of rhythm back, when for no obvious reason, I lost my balance fell over again . This time I was running a good deal slower but was less fortunate with the surface I landed on which was concrete flagstones. This time the damage was a badly scabbed right knee, which will not be an issue on Sunday. I was hoping for 4:30 over 12 KM but took it very carefully for the remainder of the run to close out with 4:43.


Sunday
Summary: 6.60KM in 46:42 (6:44 pace) around Sarmiento Park, Cordoba, Argentina.

Felt very battered when I woke this morning but much better by evening.The only real issue was the fast running the day before caused a good deal of inflammation on my ankle which was disappointing, the progress I thought I was making with it does not seem to be sustained. Cordoba City center was blocked up all afternoon with a huge religious procession, of the type we never see in Ireland any more, which I thought was heading for the park, so I got my kit on and got some kind of easy run completed before they arrived with their statues, hymns and drums.

Monday
Summary: 10.45KM in 1:06:49 (6:25 pace) easy running on the hills around La Cumbre, near Cordoba, Argentina. It’s a very wealthy area similar to the Cotswolds in England with a lot of horses and huge houses, protected by Alsatians which offered a continuous threat to the unprotected runner. Suspect the hills offer a refuge and playground to the wealthy of Cordoba during the heat of Summer. Also very religious, I passed one grotto , another set of stations of the cross (this time unvandalized) , and two chapels all in this run around up and down the hills.

Tuesday
Summary: Hike of Cerre Uritoco, the highest peak in the central Sierras. They are not high, but the surrounding villages have a lot of character. Its main claim to fame is as the major site for UFOs in South America. I saw nothing on the hillside, but the Garmin altitude readings were out by a good bit so perhaps the aliens were interfering with them.

Krusty_Clown

Best of luck on Sunday. Hope your mishaps don't interfere with your plans. Look forward too the report.

mithril

Wednesday
Summary: 6.63KM in 35:42 (5:23 pace) with 1KM at PMP.


Alta Gracia in the hills around Cordoba is famous for 2 things, as the childhood home town of Che Guevera, and for the well preserved 17th century church and estate which the Jesuits created to make money for their other religious activities.
I visisted the Guevera home on the morning which was pretty sad really as the story told was of an attactive youngster whose life went badly off course. By the end everything for him was viewed through the prism of Marxist theory.

I finished with this run around the estate in the cool of the evening, the irrigation reservoir created in the 17th century still exists and you can do a 270 degree run around it which is beautiful with the church in the background lit up and reflecting into the pond.
Not so lovely was the difficulty I had in hitting my normal marathon pace. I have gone back quite a bit since Mendoza, and long bus journeys and inability due to injury to train as hard as I would normally, mean I am carrying a few extra Kgs which is noticeable in a high speed run.
Quite a bit of inflammation in the ankle even after a single KM at around MP but it cleared up after a few Ibuprofen and I will rest completely until Sunday. I think I am heading for surgery in the New Year and if that goes well will take a shopt at sub 3 in the Connemara marathon.
I am a bit away from sub 3 standard at the moment but the plan is to start at that pace on Sunday, hold it as long as I can, and then ease off to finish under 3:10 which is a useful time to have in the bag as a qualifying time

mithril

Summary
42.2KM in 3:04:35 (4:23 pace)
173/5579 finishers
Winning Time: 2:10:24


Build Up
The timing of the Buenos Aires Marathon coincided nicely with my own travel plans in South America. I am here for 4 months and decided to spend the first 2 in the north of the continent, and then head slowly down to Patagonia for trekking in the second half of the trip, when I would have more favourable weather conditions. Buenos Aires is halfway down my proposed route, so I knew I could fit it without any hassle.
The event is marketed as an “International Marathon” and is regarded somewhat similarly in South America in the running community as the Berlin Marathon would be in Europe’ While not the biggest city in South America, Buenos Aires is the most international, and throughout the continent runners choose to make it the target for their year, and add on an additional few days of a holiday. There is very little participation from either Europe or North America.
The startling line was in Belgrano, an isolated suburb about 12 KM north of the city centre.
The information on the web site was sparse, but I managed to pick up that the subway would not be running early enough on the morning of the event to get the runners to the start (7:30 on Sunday) . I did not want to assume that I would be able to get a taxi on the morning, so located the nearest hostel with a vacancy to the starting line and booked in there.
It proved a very poor choice, the walls blocked very little sound, there was guitars playing right through the night, and I got only very broken sleep for the 3 days prior to the event which I think contributed to what occurred on the day. Most of us get limited sleep on the night before a marathon without too many ill effects, but rest is important in the days leading up to it.
I visited the marathon exhibition on Friday to retrieve my number. It was not clear from the web site whether a medical certificate was required (which I was prepared to forge) but in the end you only needed to sign a disclaimer. I decided that this race would be the last hurrah for my NB 1062s, which were by this point covered in a layer of filth no amount of patient cleaning could remove (and by my calculation at the end of their useful life). There is a very poor choice of runners in South American shops and I did not see any of the 3 brands I used previously on sale (New Balance, Mizuno, Brooks) . Adidas appear to have the distribution channels well controlled with a much smaller choice of Puma and Nike on sale. The marathon exhibition seemed to be a better place to pick up a replacement and I headed over to the Adidas stand and tried a few pairs.
In the end I went with a stability Adidas shoe, and was struck when I used the new show by how much better the shock absorption was compared with the NB 1062. I was tempted to actually use it for the race, but decided in the end that the risks outweighed the benefits.

Start of Race
The alarm clock went at 5:15, but I was already wide awake after a bad night’s sleep, staggered into the shower, dragged my kit on which I had prepared the night before, and headed out the door into the rain. The rain was predicted, and I had decided to wear contact lens instead of my normal glasses because of it, which proved a good choice.
The rain had cleared off by the start of the race, but the sky remained overcast, with a temperature around 15 degrees, and a slight breeze which cooled you down when running without impacting the speed very much. All in all close to ideal conditions for running a marathon.
It was almost 40 minutes’ walk to the starting line, and I gradually picked up the line of people heading in one direction only to the start line. Most runners had friends or family drop them to the start line by car.
There were complaints on previous years about congestion on the start line, but it was managed well on this occasion. You indicated your predicted start time at the expo, got a colour coded bracelet, which was then checked by the marshal in the starting area, and were then directed to the appropriate corral. The system worked well on the day, as it did on every other occasion I have seen it used.
There was no opening ceremony or formalities at the start line; there was a minute countdown, the gun went, and we were running at a good pace almost from the start.

0 to 21KM
The initial section of the course was through Palermo Park, which I had run used for a few training runs on, on but was now even more attractive with the traffic removed. A big plus for me was the metric race marking, every KM was clearly marked, and they had a clock at all the key milestones where you could reconcile progress against the Garmin. I tried to follow my race plan of using the Garmin to follow 4:16 (3 hour standard) closely for the first section since I knew even effort was key to doing well but by 10K Was about 20 seconds ahead of target which I was not concerned with since I was running comfortably. There was some pain from the ankle, every time the right foot landed but as in Mendoza a month earlier, on smooth tarmac it did not bother me excessively and seemed to ease as the race progressed and I got accustomed to it.
I did not see any pace groups on the course, and I had decided to ignore them if I did. I don’t like the congestion of running in a tight group, and I had come close to being knocked a few times when I tried running with the 3 hour pace group in Florence
The route brought us right into the city centre along the Plaza De Mayo (from where Evita used to address huge crowds of followers) but the support was very sparse as it remained throughout the race until the last few kilometres. The early morning start may have contributed, but only one sport matters in Buenos Aires, and it’s not running.
I recorded 2 very fast KMs (3:52 and 3:56) in the city centre without putting much effort in, but I am experienced enough now to know that the Garmin does strange things when in a build-up area.
I passed two Mexican runners, and had a flashback to the 1994 World Cup when Ireland attempted to play Mexico at the hottest time of day in Orlando, before collapsing in the heat and humidity. I have been waiting for 17 years for an appropriate moment to try the famous Mexican football chant “Mexico, Mexico – Rah, Rah, Rah” and now was my opportunity. I attempted it to be greeted with delight and high fives.
Around the hour mark, I was feeling good; I felt I was running within myself and managing to build up a very small buffer for sub 3 hours, and I thought I could sustain from there the pace right to the end. Unfortunately, this was as good as it got on the day.
Shortly afterwards, there was a whiff of urine in the air as the route turned through the rough Boca area of the town, and the surface of the road got increasingly broken and uneven, and changed from tarmac to concrete. Apparently we passed right by the famous Boca Juniors stadium, but I did not notice it. We were now in an area considered normally dangerous for tourists, but a more relevant concern for me was that the rough surface was impacting the speed I could maintain and my ankle was starting to hurt again on the bad surface. The Garmin indicated I was no longer maintaining 3 hour pace, but I thought it was due to the surface and not overly concerned. Shortly afterwards, we passed the half marathon point and I checked the time, 1:29:39. By breaking 1:30 for the first half on the day , I had met one of my principal goals for the race, and run faster than I had managed in the Midlands Half Marathon immediately before heading for South America. I can normally run a negative split in a marathon but I knew I had not done a regular program and the absence of the endurance which long runs provide might tell.
21 to 30KM
The section of a marathon from 21KM to 32KM is normally good for me. I always get a psychological boost from knowing that I am now heading for home with most of the race completed, and by this point I have acquired a fluid running action without yet getting too tired. I felt I needed another minute ahead of schedule to be comfortable at the end and I thought I had a pretty good chance.
Shortly afterwards the half way point, we turned in the Ecological Park which is a nature preserve by the coast, kind of like Booterstown, where we would be running for the next few Kilometres. I had already run there in August and knew what to expect. The road surface improved to good quality tarmac and there appeared to be a slight downhill. Normally I would expect to be able to accelerate to close to 4:00 at this point in the race given the perfect conditions and build up a buffer. I increased my effort and appeared to be running fairly hard at the maximum level of sustainability but the Garmin was only showing 4:16 (3 hour pace). I tried taking a gel, and I improved for a few minutes, but the effect wore off. At this point, I knew the game was up in far as the chase for a sub 3 was concerned. I needed a buffer for the final 7KM but I was struggling even to maintain 3 hour pace.
We turned a corner into the historic San Telmo region of the city, and there was an unexpected moment of magic. It was a couple on a stage in full evening dress pirouetting around a stage dancing the tango seemingly oblivious to the sweaty runners before them. It was so unexpected and majestic that it took everyone out of the hardship and pain of the race for a few moments at least.
Gradually, I slipped off 3 hour pace, only a couple of seconds for each KM, until by the point we passed though I the 30 KM, I knew that the buffer I had achieved in the first half of the race was virtually gone.I would need to accelerate in the final section of the race to break 3 hours and I knew I could not do that.
I had achieved two of the secondary goals of breaking 1:30 for the first half and knew I would come under 3:10 for the overall time, but there would not be a 2:xx:xx on this occasion, which was disappointing since it was a flat marathon run in ideal weather conditions, but too much was wrong for me in the build-up . An all-out effort to the end would have seen me slip under 3:02, but this meant nothing to me, and I was carrying an ankle injury which I was anxious not to aggravate further. It might have been a different decision if I had spent the previous 4 months targeting this event, where I probably would have been inclined to leave nothing in the tank, regardless of the outcome I could achieve.

30 to 42KM
At this point I made a call to slow down, and see out the remaining kilometres of the race at an easy (4:45) pace
Once the adrenaline buzz of chasing a target is gone, it’s a long way to the finishing line, and the last hour went by very slowly. I was a lot more conscious of what was going on around me that I normally would be at this stage in the race, when tunnel vision kicks in. The guys around me looked completely wrecked. I also experimented a bit by taking on a lot more fluid than I would normally take at this stage in the race without any ill-effects. Unlike Mendoza, the end was well choreographed as we passed each KM in turn, and at last got some decent support as we entered the last kilometre. I tried to accelerate for the final section and overtake as many runners as possible before the end, but was not as fast as I normally would be at the end of a
fffmarathon. I had been in comfort mode for the last 45 minutes, and it’s hard to push yourself again through a pain barrier when you know the justification is so weak. We passed the 42KM marker and it felt longer than 200m to the final line. I thought I was very tight for sub 3:05, but saw the clock, and there was still a comfortable margin, so tried to take in everything around me as I crossed the line with 3:04:47 on the clock. I crossed the starting line 12 seconds after the gun, so the adjusted time for the race is 3:04:35
I had been building up a useful streak with my last 3 marathons sub 3, and it’s a pity to see it end on a course that had definite PB potential in different circumstances.
Realistically, it’s a better result than I had any right to expect given the injury and very low mileage of the last few months. No other races planned in South America. On Wednesday, I head to Patagonia in the south of Argentina via 20 hour bus. Hope to do a good bit of trail running while there, since the climate and terrain are more suitable than where I was previously, then return to Ireland in mid-December.

mithril

Tuesday

8.42KM in 50.13 (5:58) easy run near Rosario to Kayak launch site.
7.05KM in 1:05:00 (6.4 kmph) kayak on the Parana river near Rosario, Argentina.
10.25KM in 1:02:28 (6:06) easy run from Kayak launch site back to city center.

Felt in very good shape, even the day after the marathon. I think the theory is correct that it's the flat out running of the final 10K on tired legs which causes the bulk of the muscle damage.
Plan for Tuesday was kayaking on the Parana, which is the second largest river in South America and about 1KM across when it flows through Rosario.
Tried out my new Adistar Ride 3 runners on the journey out to the launch site 12km north of the city center.
Major improvement compared with the NB 1062s which I left in the dustbin in Buenos Aires. It's clear to me now that the shoes were well past their working life . Shock absorbency of the new shoes is noticeably better, and a more questionable change is that my gait has altered, so I am now landing more on the forefoot rather than my previous midfoot strike, which reduces the impact on the ankle.

Kayaking was easy enough even though the current is strong.
The river is infested with piranha fish, (despite popular myth rarely dangerous) and you could see large iguanas on the river bank who can be, so really did not want a capsize.
It was a 2 man kayak and the instructor was the former Argentinian kayak champion. He mentioned he was burning 8,000 calories a day at peak training
He arrived at the far bank exhausted, while it barely took anything out of me. You can guess who was putting in most of the effort.

he run to the launch site was planned but could not find the right bus back to the city centre so ran back as well, also comfortably, guided by the full moon and the lights from the barges going up and down the river.

Thursday
14KM in 1:07:59 (4:50 pace)
After 21 hour bus journey south to the Lake District, stretched my legs with a run along the lake. Visibility in the fog of 200m meant I did not see any of the surrounding 2000m snow capped mountains which give the lake its spectacular scenery but the run was solid enough.

Friday
42.73KM in 2:57:55 (14.4 kmph) on mountain bike around Circuito Chico near Bariloche.

mithril

I am winding up the log, now the dust has settled on the Buenos Aires Marathon.

There are 2 reasons for this:
1. The log has not been serving the purpose I originally intended for it since at least May, and arguably a lot earlier.
Running is about following a pre-defined program to meet a challenging goal for you, depending on your current level of fitness and ability, be that 2:30 ,3:30 or 4:30 for a marathon or equivalent.
I am unable to train properly due to a long term injury, and until I shake this off, it’s pointless logging whatever unstructured training I fit in that’s orientated around preserving a basic level of fitness, rather than targeting a specific goal.


2. The log in its more recent form has been more of a travel log of where I have managed to fit in some kind of training run. I am also updating much the same information on Facebook which most of the people who I have interacted with on boards, also have access to. Facebook is easier to update (integrated in mobile phone) and it’s also easier to share photos on Facebook. I don't have the time or inclination to continue to do parallel updates.

I don’t plan to run any more races in South America, and won’t be entering any Ultra Marathons in the first half of the year. Assuming I can shake off the current ankle injury, the goal will be to achieve as much as I can with low mileage, and I am inclined to do this within a club structure. I will give the Dingle Ultra a shot in September if I can get a consistent run together.

If you want to connect with me on Facebook send me an IM.

I will continue to be present on Boards, and will update the race thread directly if I run any races.

I will start a new thread on boards, with different goals to the present one, once I think it again is appropriate.

Woddle

Hope you get the injury sorted, I've enjoyed the log. I guess I'll have to start using facebook again
Enjoy the rest of your travels.

liamo123

As above...Really enjoyed reading ur log ( loved the history lessons )... Enjoy the rest of ur travels.........

Gravale

The 2013 Art O'Neill Challenge will take place on the Friday 11th January 2013. Registration opens on Saturday 20th October 2012.

There is more information posted at: http://northfacejohn.com/index.php/opinion/art-oneill-challenge-2013/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrY-...e_gdata_player

mithril

Date|Race|Result

13-Mar-12|Kildalkey 5 Mile|26th in 29:41

13-May-12|Kildare Marathon |13th in 2:58:53

21-Apr-12|K Club 10K|38th in 37:47

04-Jun-12|Cork Marathon Relay Leg 1 (8.79 KM)|? In 33:33

09-Jun-12|Mourne Way Marathon|DNF officially due to bad chip. 10th in 3:59 unofficially

08-Jul-12|Mount Leinster IMRA Race(12 KM approx)|41th in 01:34:23

15-Jul-12|Dublin Mountain Plod IMRA Race (21.1 KM)|14th in 1:41:21

21-Jul-12|Clyde Stride Ultra (40 mile)|15th in 5:59:56

01-Sep-12|Dingle 50 Mile Ultra|5th in 6:48:04

29-Oct-12|Dublin Marathon|255th in 2:56:19

18-Nov-12|Stook 10 Mile|21th in 1:04:11

02-Dec-12|Saint Etienne- Lyons Ultra (70K)|1390th in 9:33:03




This is a summary of the main events I took part in 2012 which I have saved here for easy reference.

Solid year, notable by the absence of major injury, the first time I did not need to take a long enforced break since I started running.
Probably the key factor in this was reducing the running mileage, (average of 52KM a week), and compensating for this by cycling to work instead.

A couple of good results early in the year in short races, (sub 30 minutes for 5 miles in Kildalkey and sub 38 minutes for 10 K in the K Club race), but
the highlight was probably 5th in the Dingle Ultra, followed by a solid PB in the Dublin Marathon.
I entered 6 IMRA races this year, and struggled with all of them, except the Dublin Mountain Way Plod, where the smooth trail suited me better.
Also I learned in the Cork Marathon Relay that you don't get away with drinking the night before a short, intense race.

Plan for next year will be to start with easy base training for next 2 months.
First race will be Ballycotton 10 miles in Portumna at the start of March, and I also want to run the WW Ultra on the 24th March.
I will try and fit in a Spring marathon (TBD), and then try and run 100k in under 9 hours in Portumna. In August I will run either the CCC race in the Ultra Tour of Mont Blanc series if successful in the ballot, or the Lakelands 50 mile race as a backup. Finally, I will finish up the year with the New York Marathon, if the qualifying rules don't change as a result of this year's cancellation.

Dunebuggy

mithril wrote: »

Date|Race|Result








Solid year, notable by the absence of major injury, the first time I did not need to take a long enforced break since I started running.
Probably the key factor in this was reducing the running mileage, (average of 52KM a week), and compensating for this by cycling to work instead.



.

Could I ask what distance was your cycle to work Daily ? Just curious about the whole run / cycle balance thing.

mithril

Dunebuggy wrote: »

Could I ask what distance was your cycle to work Daily ? Just curious about the whole run / cycle balance thing.

8km from Blackrock to the city center in 30 minutes in the morning,and the reverse journey in the evening. Pure recovery since you can't go fast with the traffic but seems to ward off injury.