My UltraRunning log

mithril

brownian wrote: »

Great report - sounds like you had an epic day! Fair play on the time too.

I enjoyed it afterwards. Parts of it were not much fun at the time.

You appeared to be the strongest of us on the recce even though you did not run the race. Maybe one for you next year?

brownian

mithril wrote: »

I enjoyed it afterwards. Parts of it were not much fun at the time.

You appeared to be the strongest of us on the recce even though you did not run the race. Maybe one for you next year?

I must confess I'm very tempted. Running 50k of hills last weekend didn't fit with my Conn marathon plans for Sunday week, but maybe next year.

Well done on overcoming that obstacle course of injuries you've had, to get out and do a decent time none the less!

Krusty_Clown

Great report. You just gotta sort out your font sizes.

When you were told that you were in 12th position, I was in 9th, so we were never very far apart. On that climb up from Ballinastoe the finish line seemed an awful long way away. I went through some moments of despair on that climb!

One ultra runner passed me on the climb towards Prince William's seat, as near as I can make out, he beat me by 20 minutes to finish in 3rd place, which over the course of the remaining 5 miles is a massive gain. Either I folded completely, or he only really started running over the last 10k of the race. Did you see him too?

liamo123

Fair play Mithril....Great report....ur one tough cookie!!

donothoponpop

Great reading that Pat, and well done on a very fast time. Taking 11 mins of your "secret" time suggests going out hard was the right thing to do, even allowing for the fade. Imagine what you could do with solid training leading up to next years race?!

Aimman

well done on the race. Great report too. 15 Euros was great value.

mithril

Krusty,
I saw an awful lot of runners running very fast past me but I assumed all of them were in the WW Trail. I finished a lot stronger last year in Connemara, and I was disappointed with that, but its hard to make a case for a collapse when you are picking up positions. The report looked great on my work browser. It's only when I got home , I saw it was a mess, and realized it needed another edit.

Donothonpop,
Normally, I only do a goal event once, since I think I am running out of time with injury, and there are so many unique events you can do, particularly you if you are prepared to travel internationally for them. I am hoping though to give the shorter Ultra Tour Mont Blanc event (CCC) a shot next year, so I may make an exception for the WW Ultra since it would be a good build up for it. A lot depends on the conditions on the day. On Saturday, we got close to the optimum for a fast time but not for the enjoyment of the event. A warmer day with good visibility would have been better in that regard. On a clear day, the board-walks on Djouce can do a reasonable impression of the Great Wall of China if you are imaginative or hallucinating from exhaustion.

Slogger Jogger

Well done Pat. Considering your injury set-backs that was indeed a super performance. Re: the blurred vision after, I've had that to a lesser extent after very tough races before particularly when I probably under-fueled during the races. Rest up and recharge the batteries and get the body sorted before the next challenge.

mithril

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Well done Pat. Considering your injury set-backs that was indeed a super performance. Re: the blurred vision after, I've had that to a lesser extent after very tough races before particularly when I probably under-fueled during the races. Rest up and recharge the batteries and get the body sorted before the next challenge.

Taking it easy for a week and waiting for the body to mend is indeed the plan. I doubt if I took any more than 500 calories onboard during the race , and I burned around 3000, so it could be part of the problem.I have a few medical issues with my eyes including border-line glaucoma so I need to be a bit more careful than most other people about this.

mithril

Thursday
Summary 5 KM in 0:25:25 (5:05 pace) easy run on grass around U.C.D. GAA pitch.

First run since the race and quite encouraging. Knee sore even though I never noticed an issue with it during the race but everything else seems fine. Body generally feels run down and lethargic and trying to get to bed earlier to give it time to recover. Picked up a new pricey pair of custom orthotics and trying to break them in gradually by wearing them in work. Initial thoughts are not as comfortable as I like; I think they may be over-correcting for a fallen arch on my right foot. Will give them a couple of weeks for my body to adjust before I try running in them.

mithril

Friday
Summary 13.95 KM in 1:25:10 (6:06 pace) on 3 Rock Mountain.

Nice run from Lamb Doyle's past the Blue Light to top of 3 Rock and around the back for a bit. Kept the pace down deliberately, but felt good, and seem to be have come out of the race injury free.

mithril

Saturday
Summary 8.02 KM in 0:48 (5:59) recovery run along the Royal Canal Path outside Mullingar.

Sunday
Summary 16 KM in 1:17:43 (4:51) easy run along the Royal Canal Path from Enlield towards Clonard.

Planning to run the entire Royal Canal as much as I can from Maynooth to Mullingar later the Summer so recceing it in stages.

The southern section is clearly runnable on a mixture of gravel and short grass with the only potential barrier been a section od mud where the canal appears to have been dredged which would mess up shoes. I am planning to drop into the taverns along the way for refreshment breaks and want to try and stay as presentable as possible.
The south side of the canal was full of anglers whose poles made hurdles to be jumped over so deciding to disturb them as little as possible I decided to return on the Northern bank where I could see another visible track.

2 KM down the route on the return without warning the track was blocked with barbed wire which made a formidable enough barrier. I had expected that the land adjacent to the Canal would be either in public ownership or owned by Irish Rail. The options were swim the canal, a 4KM detour, or clamber through which eventually I achieved with a bit of difficulty. Next fence was electric which I realised too late when I got a shock touching the wire. Once more electric fence to cross, this time my shoe absorbed the shock, before I finally made it back to Enfield harbour. Advance recces of this route are clearly needed since its not as straightforward as it appears on the map.

Race still in the legs but seeing a day by day improvement with only issue some slight inflammation in the left knee.

mithril

Monday
Summary 9 KM in 0:50:25 (5:35) recovery run on grass around Carysfort Park


Tuesday
Summary 10 KM in 0:41:27 (4:08) at MP in laps of U.C.D. track. Felt nice and easy with the breeze providing welcome relief from a very humid evening.Appeared more like an August evening.
Toying with the idea of doing the Newry Half Marathon on 29th May, but will leave it to the last moment before entering. Priority is to get a few months of injury free running together and then run the Mourne Way marathon well on 11th June.

mithril

Wednesday
Summary 9.19 KM in 50:12 (5:27) recovery run on grass around Carysfort Park.

Got my redundancy notice today, which was on the cards for some time, but after 19 years still a bit of a shock. Lot of tears and upset people at work.
Probable option of relocating instead to U.S. which I don't think I will take, even though it would be to the trail running paradise of the Pacific North West. Still a large redundancy package puts me in a more comfortable situation than most. Trying to decide what to do. Probably take some time off and travel before I look for anything.

Aimman

Sorry to hear about the redundancy, hope you get yourself sorted soon.

Krusty_Clown

mithril wrote: »

Wednesday
Got my redundancy notice today

Nice one! Congrats! Time to buy a globe and a pin!

jeffontour

mithril wrote: »

Got my redundancy notice today

Live the dream of a funemployed athlete for a while! Think of all the time to recover between sessions, make the most of it but I've a feeling you do not need me to tell you that.

Best of luck with it.

brownian

Best of luck with the redundancy, P.

When I was made redundant it was a good opportunity to think about what I wanted to do next, rather than having to focus on the next meeting, the next deadline and the usual. Part-time work, contract work and self-employment can be good options, if your line of work allows it. I ended up working for myself....the boss is a bit of a chancer, but I can go running when I want:)

mithril

Thanks guys.
All good comments and that's the direction I am going . Gathering as many options as possible at the moment and not going to rush into anything too hastily.

Sports massage at lunchtime but felt the need to get out for a run in the evening, even though I generally agree with the comments elsewhere that its better to rest afterwards.


Thursday
Summary 10.05KM in 47:10 (4:41 pace) aerobic run around Blackrock Park. Very enjoyable in the warm evening. Wonder will summer have come and gone this year by May?

mithril

Friday
Summary 15.19KM in 1:42:28 (6:44 pace) easy running on the loop around the Spink and back on the Miner's trail around Glendalough.

Saturday
Summary 43.75KM in 4:44 (6:32 pace) Mourne Way recce around Rostrevor. I was using an out of date map which was showing a different route for the trail so started to get very confused about 90 minutes into this recce for the Mourne Way and decided I would just plod around and enjoy the views. Dawdled a bit too much and then realized it was going to be tight making it back on time before the car park shut. Did a detour to make it onto the road and then ran the last 10KM down-hill assisted at around 4:40 pace to just get back on time. Always felt strong and could keep going at the initial easy pace indefinitely. > 1000m height gain so a solid enough effort.

Sunday
Summary 10KM in 1:05 (6:30 pace) recovery run in the sun around Marley. Very little inflammation from Saturday's effort, but the pace of this run tells its own story. I never look at the watch, or try and force the pace during a recovery run, but clearly the legs were very leaden.

Afterwards, car was broken into in Merrion Square while I was watching a film, but Mr. Scumbag failed to notice the Garmin which I had left on the passenger seat. Got my cheap mobile phone and an old Ipod for his effort, but would have been a lot worse if I had not left the lap-top at home.

Monday
Summary 10.07KM in 47:43 (4:44 pace) aerobic run with MarathonTalk around UCD track. Tried out my new orthotics and quite impressed. I have been walking around with them for a few weeks, and felt they were a little uncomfortable, but they were fine for this run, and I really noticed the shock absorption.

mithril

Tuesday
Cross-training in gym watching the football game.

Sunday
Summary 10KM in 39:32 (3:57 pace) around U.C.D. track.
Achieved tyhje goal of consistent laps just below 4:00 pace but found it a bit more difficult than I was hoping, struggling a bit for KM 5-9, and then the final one, as so often happens, was easy.

Stunned by the news about Eddie (SarsfieldRock). For many people, the Connemara Ultra would be an extreme "once in a lifetime" event where they are pushed to their ultimate to complete, but this would not be the case for Eddie, and by all accounts, he was fine immediately afterwards.
He had completed numerous Ultras in the last few years, and this would not be a stretch for him.
The latest update is not positive, but I know people who made a complete recovery after a similar diagnosis, so it may not be as bad as it at first appears. My thoughts are with him and his family as he battles through his illness.

mithril

Thursday
Summary 16 KM in 1:10:02 (4:22 pace) solid run along the sea-front in Clontarf before the Boards pints in town. A few degrees colder than the previous day, and a light drizzle, made it a lot easier to sustain a reasonable pace. Ran initially at 4:30 and then threw in a few MP KM intervals to bring down the average pace.

Friday
Summary 9.38 KM in 51:52 (5:31 pace) recovery run on grass around Carysfort Park.

mithril

Saturday
Summary 26.07 KM in 2:17 (5:17 pace) on 3 Rock mountain.

2 ascents of 3 Rock Mountain along the Wicklow Way from Marlay Park. Re-fuelled after the inital one with a banana and a liter of water. Afterwards, another banana, some chocolate milk and a Zuun electrolyte table with another liter of water. Another good run, always comfortable ascending at a good pace with plenty in reserve.

mithril

Sunday
Summary 10 KM in 59:46 (5:59 pace) recovery run on grass along the Royal Canal from Enfield towards Kilcock.

More muscle damage than I expected from yesterday's run.

mithril

Monday
Summary 5*800m repeats on U.C.D track with 400M recovery.

2:54,2:55,2;54:2;54,3:00

The plan was to run 8*800 after a 2 KM warm-up but I met Menoscemo on the track after the fifth one and I did the warm-up with him.
I knew I was struggling during the fifth one, and I am fairly sure it was over aggressive repeats that caused my latest injury in January, so at that point I called it a day on a pretty underwhelming session.

mithril

Tuesday
Summary 24KM in 1:46:15 (4:25 pace) around Blackrock Park.

Not sure what to call this run, a little too fast to be aerobic, and too slow for LT, so probably junk miles. Threw in a few marathon pace long intervals into the run and able to hit the target pace very easily. Normally I need recovery after a repeat session but fairly fresh for this run which indicates I probably left a lot in the tank yesterday. I think the heat and humidity might have something to do with it.

mithril

Wednesday
Summary 10.30KM in 58:58 (5:43 pace) recovery run around Sandyford.

Thursday
Summary 17.48KM in 1:31:46 (5:15 pace) hilly run around Glencullen.

Although I could see from the updates over the last few days that the prognosis was deteriorating, I am really taken back untimely demise of SarsfieldRock, and I thought a lot about him during this run. Although we had briefly chatted at a few events we both participated over the last 18 months, I only really got to know him in the Art O'Neill run in January when he overtook me on the icy trail up Black Hill. The few hours we spent together were sufficient to confirm my initial impression of a really approachable, friendly guy and we talked about the French Ultra he had just completed a month earlier, the Vibrams he was trying out, and some goals for the future which now will sadly not be realized. He had run a lot more events than I realized (more than 40 marathons) but you could see from the Tipp jersey he perennially wore in often "hostile" territory that he had wider interests outside running as well that he was also passionately devoted to.
I last saw him battling his way to the summit of Art's Cross following a shortcut he had identified from the map that nobody else was brave enough to follow. Not a bad final memory to have of anyone.
I know that the Ultra events he completed gave him great fulfilment and its clear from the updates on his log before he became ill that it was no different on the final occasion in Connemara.
SarsfieldRock R.I.P.

mithril

Friday
Summary 12 KM in 48:22 (4:01 pace) tempo run on grass around U.C.D. G.A.A. pitch.

Solid run this. I had targetted marathon pace since yesterday's run was reasonably tough on account of the hills, but when I found I was not tired, brought the pace down in the later laps to 3:49

brownian

Hitting some nice pace there, Mithril.

Slogger Jogger

Just catching up on your log. Sorry about the job but if you've no ties you can live the dream for a while and go wherever life (and running) takes you. You seem to be running well. Best wishes.