Gaelforce West 21/8/10

yop

snailsong wrote: »

Did only one 10k ever (that's 50% of my racing career), the Achill Island 10k and took 52.30. Would try for 50 here but don't want to risk the knee. Did 8k this morning in 46 or so taking it easy so it may be a useful exercise in restraint to jog along and let people pass me by. Pacing will be important for GF. Would be easy to charge off and be suffering for the cycle and the Reek. I'll regard this as practice for that. OK, maybe 55 would be alright...

Balla is a dog of a hilly course so putting 55 min on it will be sound. I will be there and aiming for that also, my PB is 52 in a 10km but that was when I was doing some running, for the last 6 months I haven't done that so I will be looking at a 55 and even that could be a challenge.


Plenty of people tore into GF and plenty will do it this year. As CK said there pace it, pace it, pace it!!!
If you don't you will suffer. If you avg 5.20min per km in your normal runs, then up this to 6mins for GF.
Then at least if you have it in the legs for the Reek or the last leg of the bike.


One thing I have noted in the local papers and news is the growing concerns for safey on CP, there seems to be an ever increasing number of accidents on it.
This Sunday with it been Reek Sunday could tell a serious tale about the safety issues up there.
There have been calls to close off some of the route up there.

This could impact GF if anything serious happens up there next Sunday.

snailsong

Didn't know it was hilly, always thought of Balla as flat. Maybe take an hour so, I won't be racing.

I was up the reek recently and it's pretty well eroded allright. It's hard to know if you're better off on the stones or the bare parts for the descent. Personally i prefer the stones, the slide is more predictable. Were there many injuries there last year?

Mr Freeze

yop wrote: »

One thing I have noted in the local papers and news is the growing concerns for safey on CP, there seems to be an ever increasing number of accidents on it.
This Sunday with it been Reek Sunday could tell a serious tale about the safety issues up there.
There have been calls to close off some of the route up there.

This could impact GF if anything serious happens up there next Sunday.

I doubt anything that happens on reek Sunday will have any impact on Gaelforce. Most people doing GF have the cop on to not go faster than their route knowledge and there was only one or 2 accidents on it during GF last year.

As the for the people that climb it on Reek Sunday, mostly unprepared ejits climbing it in t-shirts and shorts in the lashing rain...From hearing from some people in the Mountain Rescue, the stupidity displayed by a lot of people on the reek on reek sunday is unbelievable, and shouldn't really be compared to GF.

ThisRegard

I agree with CKWPORT, most people doing Gaelforce will be much better prepared (or should be at least) than your average pilgrim (I sound like John Wayne there !) on a Sunday morning.

And most mountain races result in injuries in some form or another anyway, there were a few last week in the Dublin Mountain Plod and someone inevitably cuts or sprains themselves during the weekly IMRA races.

W123-80's

Holy Smoke...

This thread has been some education!

I've been reading it on and off since it started and the tips, encouragement and general goodwill is motivation in itself.!

Needless to say I am signed up for GF 2010 and to be perfectly blunt have done very very little.

I'm just looking for a little honest (Be brutal!) feedback on my present state.

The most I have ran is 9k - mostly roads. 1 hour approx
The most I have cycled is 42k - Handy route I think, I got my first ever proper bike 3 weeks ago. 1 hour 40mins approx

I completed 30k in Phoenix park last night and followed it up with a 5k run. I didn't time it as I was just keen to get through it. I know it took me ages but I felt ok at the end. It was the first time I had cycled & run in the same evening.

I plan on doing a cycle/run mix 4-5 time a week for the next 3 weeks, with a view to cycling 40-45k and running 8-10k in one evening.

My biggest concern is I am fooling myself taking on this challenge.

With the very average level of fitness I currently have and my plan for the next couple of weeks, do you guys think I will be able to complete GF?

I am hoping to do it in around 6.5hrs.

As I said be brutally honest!

All feedback really appreciated.

Thanks.

Mr Freeze

W123-80's wrote: »

The most I have ran is 9k - mostly roads. 1 hour approx
The most I have cycled is 42k - Handy route I think, I got my first ever proper bike 3 weeks ago. 1 hour 40mins approx

With the very average level of fitness I currently have and my plan for the next couple of weeks, do you guys think I will be able to complete GF?

I am hoping to do it in around 6.5hrs.

I think you will be sound!!!
That is roughly the same fitness I was doing it for the first time last year, and I ended up doing it in 6hrs.

Don't be worrying, you should complete it fine, its your first GF so try to enjoy it.:D

Keep the training up.

W123-80's

W123-80's wrote: »

Holy Smoke...

This thread has been some education!

I've been reading it on and off since it started and the tips, encouragement and general goodwill is motivation in itself.!

Needless to say I am signed up for GF 2010 and to be perfectly blunt have done very very little.

I'm just looking for a little honest (Be brutal!) feedback on my present state.

The most I have ran is 9k - mostly roads. 1 hour approx
The most I have cycled is 42k - Handy route I think, I got my first ever proper bike 3 weeks ago. 1 hour 40mins approx

I completed 30k in Phoenix park last night and followed it up with a 5k run. I didn't time it as I was just keen to get through it. I know it took me ages but I felt ok at the end. It was the first time I had cycled & run in the same evening.

I plan on doing a cycle/run mix 4-5 time a week for the next 3 weeks, with a view to cycling 40-45k and running 8-10k in one evening.

My biggest concern is I am fooling myself taking on this challenge.

With the very average level of fitness I currently have and my plan for the next couple of weeks, do you guys think I will be able to complete GF?

I am hoping to do it in around 6.5hrs.

As I said be brutally honest!

All feedback really appreciated.

Thanks.

Don't worry about it, i know a lot of people who had done a lot less training last year and got through it fine.
If you can do 30k on the bike and run after for a few K at the moment with a good effort from now till about a week before the race you should be fine.

My advice would be to try and get in a few hill sessions on the bike. The course is not flat. But dont worry about it, its all about will power and the ambition to get to the finish line, ANYONE with the right frame of mind can finish it.

Remember to pace youself, dont shoot off at the start, you will see people do this, dont try and keep up with them.

W123-80's

CKWPORT wrote: »

I think you will be sound!!!
That is roughly the same fitness I was doing it for the first time last year, and I ended up doing it in 6hrs.

Don't be worrying, you should complete it fine, its your first GF so try to enjoy it.:D

Keep the training up.

Cheers!

I'm fairly psyched at this stage so I'm enjoying getting out in the evenings.

I'm usually a lazy bugger who needs no excuse to have an extra spud, a cup of tea, 8 jaffa cakes and some sh*te on TV.!

W123-80's

[quote=[Deleted User];67078955]Don't worry about it, i know a lot of people who had done a lot less training last year and got through it fine.
If you can do 30k on the bike and run after for a few K at the moment with a good effort from now till about a week before the race you should be fine.

My advice would be to try and get in a few hill sessions on the bike. The course is not flat. But dont worry about it, its all about will power and the ambition to get to the finish line, ANYONE with the right frame of mind can finish it.

Remember to pace youself, dont shoot off at the start, you will see people do this, dont try and keep up with them.[/QUOTE]

Thanks,

I definately need to clock up some K's on the hills. Both running & cycling i'd say.

I'll def be staying to my own pace, crikey if I shot off at the start I'd say it would be the Air Ambulance across Killary instead of the Kayak!

Thanks again.

Mr Freeze

W123-80's wrote: »

Cheers!

I'm fairly psyched at this stage so I'm enjoying getting out in the evenings.

I'm usually a lazy bugger who needs no excuse to have an extra spud, a cup of tea, 8 jaffa cakes and some sh*te on TV.!

Sounds very much like me to be honest.

A few "noob" mistakes I made last year were:
Running the 1st section too fast.
The backpack I brought was way too big. Get a camelbak if you can and fit the mandatory gear in that and back pockets of cycling jersey instead of a massive bag.
Got thirsty and hungry during the course. Sip water and eat bits regularly to avoid that.

W123-80's

CKWPORT wrote: »

Sounds very much like me to be honest.

A few "noob" mistakes I made last year were:
Running the 1st section too fast.
The backpack I brought was way too big. Get a camelbak if you can and fit the mandatory gear in that and back pockets of cycling jersey instead of a massive bag.
Got thirsty and hungry during the course. Sip water and eat bits regularly to avoid that.

I still have to actually get my gear. Thats this weekends plan of action.

A camelback is one of those bags that can hold water I assume??

I didn't even realise there was such thing as back pockets in a cycling jersey.!

In terms of footwear, I know this question has probably been asked a million times already, I am planning on wearing a good pair of Asics. I intend to buy a pair this weekend and have them well broken in come race day. Is this a reasonable plan?

Mr Freeze

ya, camelbaks are the bags with the water pack in them, they are great.
Any decent cycling jersey should have 3 pockets on the back so you can hold stuff.
Asics should do ya fine for this, the only place they might be a bit lacking in on Crough Patrick. If you end up getting an appetite for adventure racing after doing GF, it would be worth investing in a pair of trail shoes in the future.

Wonkagirl

W123-80's wrote: »

Holy Smoke...

This thread has been some education!

I've been reading it on and off since it started and the tips, encouragement and general goodwill is motivation in itself.!

Needless to say I am signed up for GF 2010 and to be perfectly blunt have done very very little.

I'm just looking for a little honest (Be brutal!) feedback on my present state.

The most I have ran is 9k - mostly roads. 1 hour approx
The most I have cycled is 42k - Handy route I think, I got my first ever proper bike 3 weeks ago. 1 hour 40mins approx

I completed 30k in Phoenix park last night and followed it up with a 5k run. I didn't time it as I was just keen to get through it. I know it took me ages but I felt ok at the end. It was the first time I had cycled & run in the same evening.

I plan on doing a cycle/run mix 4-5 time a week for the next 3 weeks, with a view to cycling 40-45k and running 8-10k in one evening.

My biggest concern is I am fooling myself taking on this challenge.

With the very average level of fitness I currently have and my plan for the next couple of weeks, do you guys think I will be able to complete GF?

I am hoping to do it in around 6.5hrs.

As I said be brutally honest!

All feedback really appreciated.

Thanks.

Hey

I did GF in 6.5hours last yr, having only run 5km in training, and cycled about 15 (and that was on the GF training weekend, I didn’t even GET a bike til the weekend before the race!)

Ul be totally fine. Ul do it around the 6.5 alright, it’s not that difficult. Take a good 4-5 days off beforehand, and start carbloading..

I’m going really ramp up the training, particularly the running, for the next 2 weeks too. I’m also gonna do some gentle hill runs and maybe 2-3 long cycles incorporating hills

Was planning on knocking an hour off my time from last yr and getting it down to 5.5, doubt I will now, although I do have a much faster bike now, so that alone should knocked 20 mins off.

Besta luck and stay tuned in here!

W123-80's

Wonkagirl wrote: »

Hey

I did GF in 6.5hours last yr, having only run 5km in training, and cycled about 15 (and that was on the GF training weekend, I didn’t even GET a bike til the weekend before the race!)

Ul be totally fine. Ul do it around the 6.5 alright, it’s not that difficult. Take a good 4-5 days off beforehand, and start carbloading..

I’m going really ramp up the training, particularly the running, for the next 2 weeks too. I’m also gonna do some gentle hill runs and maybe 2-3 long cycles incorporating hills

Was planning on knocking an hour off my time from last yr and getting it down to 5.5, doubt I will now, although I do have a much faster bike now, so that alone should knocked 20 mins off.

Besta luck and stay tuned in here!

I'll be staying tuned in here alright!

The carbloading is basically eathing horse loads of pasta and the like for a few days before the race..?? Within reason of course.!

Carb unloading I would want to be doing, considering my love affair with the humble spud..!

Seriously though, I have been keeping an eye on the diet recently, not been awfully scientific or anything, just keeping it sensible.

Thanks for the encouragement.

W123-80's

Quick update from yesterday.

Todays purchases;

• A good saddle bag that contains some handy tools, allen keys, puncture repair kit & chain breaker (Which I have no idea how to use!)
• Two tubes for said saddle bag. Seriousely hope I don't have to use them.. long many years since I changed a puncture.
• A Pump
• A Pair of padded Cycle shorts. (Sweet Sweet Relief!)
• A cycling top with pockets in the back
• Camelbak on order - 2l water capacity with capacity for other stuff too
• A Speedo - Mighty job. Nearly went over the ditch a couple of times today trying to see how fast I was going. Its a wireless one. It times your spin, gives top/average speed etc.

Hooked up all my kit up and hit for Blessington this afternoon. Done a nice hilly 25k. 58mins. Was happy enough with that.

I'm also signed up for the Dublin 10k tomorrow in Parkwest. Loving the goodie bag, A Pint Bottle of Bulmers Berry & a €6 Boylesports voucher..!! Beer & Gambling after my race.. perfect..

c montgomery

W123-80's wrote: »

Quick update from yesterday.


Todays purchases;

• A good saddle bag that contains some handy tools, allen keys, puncture repair kit & chain breaker (Which I have no idea how to use!)
• Two tubes for said saddle bag. Seriousely hope I don't have to use them.. long many years since I changed a puncture.
• A Pump
• A Pair of padded Cycle shorts. (Sweet Sweet Relief!)
• A cycling top with pockets in the back
• Camelbak on order - 2l water capacity with capacity for other stuff too
• A Speedo - Mighty job. Nearly went over the ditch a couple of times today trying to see how fast I was going. Its a wireless one. It times your spin, gives top/average speed etc.

Hooked up all my kit up and hit for Blessington this afternoon. Done a nice hilly 25k. 58mins. Was happy enough with that.

I'm also signed up for the Dublin 10k tomorrow in Parkwest. Loving the goodie bag, A Pint Bottle of Bulmers Berry & a €6 Boylesports voucher..!! Beer & Gambling after my race.. perfect..

If only gaelforce gave a goodie bag like this rather than the baggy t shirt and flyers we got last year.

Seres

longrun today with camelbak,took my first gel , gross, lots of water to wash down dont know if i will be able to stomach any of them , will give another one a go. put bout 750ml of water in bladder , just to get use to it , dont know , how much i will need though , put in in the wrong way to start , marks on back now from bag , any suggestions how to prevent this ?

Wonkagirl

W123-80's wrote: »

The carbloading is basically eathing horse loads of pasta and the like for a few days before the race..?? Within reason of course.!

Carb unloading I would want to be doing, considering my love affair with the humble spud..!

Yeah i'm EXCELLENT at the carb loading, it's my favourite part of the training regime:D:D

Yeah, a good feed of wholemeal pasta the nite before.. and throw in a few wholemeal bagels with peanut butter for lunch the few days before to.. and make sure you get in about 150cals per hour during the race.. i didnt do that last yr but am going to FORCE myself to this time around.. the gels are FOUL but again, i'll force them down this yr. definitely helps to have the right fuel in the tank.

I did an 8km run on sat morning, followed by 3 hours of mountain biking on sat afternoon.. fell off the bike three times, we were on pretty severe trails, but didnt injure myself too badly thankfully and got a great workout in.. arse is killing me today though!

ThisRegard

Seres wrote: »

longrun today with camelbak,took my first gel , gross, lots of water to wash down dont know if i will be able to stomach any of them , will give another one a go. put bout 750ml of water in bladder , just to get use to it , dont know , how much i will need though , put in in the wrong way to start , marks on back now from bag , any suggestions how to prevent this ?

What Camelback do you have ? The fact that you have marks on your back suggests to me that you didn't have it snug enough to you. I'd tighten the chest straps so that it doesn't have any leeway to flop about on your back, same goes for the waist straps. I've worn mine a few times with a varying amount of liquid and equipment in it and never had this issue, same goes for a larger backpack I use for biking only.

Regarding the gels, try a few different types, I don't like the Powerbar ones but find the High5 ones more palatable, I think it's the Summer Fruits that are the nicest.

CKWPORT wrote: »

I doubt anything that happens on reek Sunday will have any impact on Gaelforce. Most people doing GF have the cop on to not go faster than their route knowledge and there was only one or 2 accidents on it during GF last year.

As the for the people that climb it on Reek Sunday, mostly unprepared ejits climbing it in t-shirts and shorts in the lashing rain...From hearing from some people in the Mountain Rescue, the stupidity displayed by a lot of people on the reek on reek sunday is unbelievable, and shouldn't really be compared to GF.

Saw on the news and read in todays paper about a few accidents, but you have to take the age and fitness level of these people into consideration. They were mostly on the pilgrims path, we'll be coming the opposite way or do both paths meet neat the top anyway ?

Off topic, I'm all for religious freedom but a 12 year old girl summiting in her bare feet

ThisRegard

ThisRegard wrote: »

Regarding the gels, try a few different types, I don't like the Powerbar ones but find the High5 ones more palatable, I think it's the Summer Fruits that are the nicest.

Yea i like the high5 "Isogel" ones. They taste nice and you dont need to take water with them.

Wonkagirl

I agree that the power bar ones are pretty vile. am gonna try some other varities this week.



How to use energy gels

Step by step use of energy gels
The recommended use of an energy gel is 15 minutes before starting a run and 30-45 minutes after starting the run(or any endurance sports).
However, if you have a high carbohydrate meal before starting a run, the first gel for 15 minutes before the run may be skipped.
Energy gels are then to be used every 30-45 minutes during the run. The packet has can be peeled off at the notch and an intake of energy gel has to be followed with a drink of water.
The exact intake of the gel varies for every athelete depending on their metabolism, body weight and fitness level.

Mr Freeze

ThisRegard wrote: »

Off topic, I'm all for religious freedom but a 12 year old girl summiting in her bare feet

Complete utter madness.:rolleyes:

Seres

ThisRegard wrote: »

What Camelback do you have ?

i think it was playpus (name might be a bit off ) , had it on tight around chest but loosened it a bit , should it bounce a bit ?

ThisRegard wrote: »

The fact that you have marks on your back suggests to me that you didn't have it snug enough to you. I'd tighten the chest straps so that it doesn't have any leeway to flop about on your back, same goes for the waist straps. I've worn mine a few times with a varying amount of liquid and equipment in it and never had this issue, same goes for a larger backpack I use for biking only.

Regarding the gels, try a few different types, I don't like the Powerbar ones but find the High5 ones more palatable, I think it's the Summer Fruits that are the nicest.

tried orange juice high 5 , will try summer fruits maybe
would jellies be a good alternative or are they too heavy ?

snailsong

CKWPORT wrote: »

Complete utter madness.:rolleyes:

Obviously some adult convinced her that she was serving some greater good by doing this. That qualifies it as child abuse in my book.
How did you get on in the Balla 10k? Went fine for me, enjoyed it greatly, nice course, pleasant evening and didn't get injured.

Vitamin C

CKWPORT wrote: »

GF is just one big money making racket, they already have the lads money whether he does the event or not. They don't care if he wants to transfer or resell his entry or not, they aren't going to help, they have his 85 euro, thats all that matters to them.

Is Michael O'Leary running Gaelforce by any chance? Stinks of Ryanair.

Vitamin C

Seres wrote: »

longrun today with camelbak,took my first gel , gross, lots of water to wash down dont know if i will be able to stomach any of them , will give another one a go. put bout 750ml of water in bladder , just to get use to it , dont know , how much i will need though , put in in the wrong way to start , marks on back now from bag , any suggestions how to prevent this ?

It took me a load of fiddling to get the straps on my bag just right, it's unbelievably frustrating having any littl thing niggling at you on a run. Just keep playing around with the straps til they're right. I think with most camelbaks the chest strap is adjustable up and down the arm straps so that might help.

Also, I've been filling my bladder to the brim during training so it'll feel lighter on the day...is this bad idea does anyone reckon?

Wonkagirl

that's definitely a good idea vitC, training heavier.. i've been cycling with a lot of weight on the bike for the same reason.

isnt it just as well you took the camelbak for a test drive before the day- your back wouldve been in ribbons on aug 22nd!

as for the bearfoot child climbing CP- the mind boggles- i was in agony with my salomon cross trainers on. pure stupidity.

Mr Freeze

snailsong wrote: »

How did you get on in the Balla 10k? Went fine for me, enjoyed it greatly, nice course, pleasant evening and didn't get injured.

It was a well organised event alrite, fair play to them, it was great.
Ya it was a nice course, I heard that is was a seriously tough course, I found it sound, and did it in 47.04. My fastest 10k yet, and I was expecting to do crap as haven't ran this month due to injuries.

ThisRegard

Wonkagirl wrote: »

that's definitely a good idea vitC, training heavier.. i've been cycling with a lot of weight on the bike for the same reason.

Agree, I've been doing the same. On the day itself I'll have the full 2 litres anyway, last time doing something similar it was warm enough so came back with the both the bladder and bike bottle more or less empty so don't want to be in the position of wanting something that's not there.

Anyway, mess around with the straps as you're actually running to get the best fit, I tend to keep the pack as tight to my back as possible as any jiggling about tends to annoy me, I find I have to adjust it at the beginning of every run. You'll probably find yourself adjusting it during the race anyway as the bladder gets emptier and you use gels, food from it.

Wonkagirl

jesus that's bloody brilliant CKW! i havent managed to break below 50mins. It's my goal by the time I do gaelforce though, outside of an official 10km race, to do it sub 50.. Have been doing a lot of interval training so reckon i should be close.