DCM to Connemarathon Ultra

pudgeydev

Hey all,

Once DCM is all over my plan is to run the Connemarathon Ultra in April.
I have a good 2 stone weight I could do with losing, (shedded 1 1/2 stone or so already, but am awful fond of the sweeties/pints which I'm getting under control slowly).
Just wondering what you reckon I should do to get the most outta myself.
As connemarathon is so far away I have plenty of time, I could either...

1) Forget about any sort of distance running for a month, do gym core work 5 times a week, concentrating on getting the weight down, then start in December to build up the mileage again.

2) Run 3 times a week, maybe 5m - 10m - 5m, and have 2 days for gym work

3) 5 days a week running, one of them a short run followed by some gym core work.

I'd maybe lean towards option 1 as I'd like to get the weight down a stone in the month through tough work, which would help my ease of running, that said I don't know if I'd lose a lot in terms of being able to knock out a 15mile run handy enough.
Bit of background maybe, am just less than 15 stone at the moment, I should be able to go 3.45-4hours in DCM from doing 9minute LSRs in training.

Any ideas on what direction to go appreciated! I plan on keeping a log of whatever I do.

Cheers!

Izoard

Great stuff...planning to do exactly the same myself.

I plan to keep ticking over for Nov-Dec (13m max), then push on. However, I don't expect to do anything more than 22m before the ultra.

All the best with the log!

runforrest

hi guys did connemara 2009 did dcm 08 notched up miles after christmas i would try and do at least one 5 hour easy run in .my longest was 4 15 and when training for it again hopefully 2011 i would increase my longest run to 28/30 miles it will stand to you on the day work on your core my top half was too heavy for my bottom half by the time i got to 35 miles great expierience though tough course over last 13:D

menoscemo

Good stuff. I'll be keeping an eye on this as I plan to do the same myself (providing DCM goes well). I can't give you much advice as i am new to all this Ultra stuff. Maybe ask Aimman, RQ etc for advice....I hear that back to back long runs on the weekends are the key to Ultra endurance???

ecoli

pudgeydev wrote: »

Hey all,

Once DCM is all over my plan is to run the Connemarathon Ultra in April.
I have a good 2 stone weight I could do with losing, (shedded 1 1/2 stone or so already, but am awful fond of the sweeties/pints which I'm getting under control slowly).
Just wondering what you reckon I should do to get the most outta myself.
As connemarathon is so far away I have plenty of time, I could either...

1) Forget about any sort of distance running for a month, do gym core work 5 times a week, concentrating on getting the weight down, then start in December to build up the mileage again.

2) Run 3 times a week, maybe 5m - 10m - 5m, and have 2 days for gym work

3) 5 days a week running, one of them a short run followed by some gym core work.

I'd maybe lean towards option 1 as I'd like to get the weight down a stone in the month through tough work, which would help my ease of running, that said I don't know if I'd lose a lot in terms of being able to knock out a 15mile run handy enough.
Bit of background maybe, am just less than 15 stone at the moment, I should be able to go 3.45-4hours in DCM from doing 9minute LSRs in training.

Any ideas on what direction to go appreciated! I plan on keeping a log of whatever I do.

Cheers!

There is always another option:D:

If you are looking to lose weight the most effective way would be a fourth option: 3 days cycling + corework , 2 days running

Only start to do this after you have given your body the proper rest after the marathon. The cycling is more effective in terms of weight loss yet if you are planning to step up to ultra's you are going to need to keep up some running specific fitness

Aimman

Best of luck, I'll be keeping an eye on your log to see how you're getting on.

I was the same last year. Didn't do any race between DCM and the Conn Ultra, just took a bit of a break after Dublin, knocked out some short runs to keep me ticking over then started my Conn training on 2nd January. There's not really a lot of difference in training for a marathon and training for Connemara bar just adding a couple of miles onto training sessions. However, on the weekends that you do the long runs, you'll need to double up on the runs, eg 16M on Saturday, 16M on Sunday etc and its recommended to go past the 26 mile marker at least once in your training, maybe a 30M run.

For the moment, get DCM out of the way, relax for a couple of weeks then start to do some light running in preparation for January's training. I should be able to send you a copy of my training plan I did for Conn. ;-)

menoscemo

Aimman wrote: »

B you'll need to double up on the runs, eg 16M on Saturday, 16M on Sunday etc and its recommended to go past the 26 mile marker at least once in your training, maybe a 30M run.

I was thinking about this the other night. Maybe we can ge a group toegther for a 30 mile run in february/march? I can't imagine doing that on my own, I'd go spare!!
lso how's about a mentoed novice Ultra thread? (Aimman and RQ I am nomintaing you two to mentor it!!)