2013; Eat my dust Meno!

menoscemo

brownian wrote: »

To echo everyone else - where's the report, Clara ?

Seriously though - well done, am delighted for you.

Now, about that report...:)

And you? I heard you finished in the top 10? I can't believe you were running 10 min/mile pace with us a fortnight ago....

brownian

menoscemo wrote: »

And you? I heard you finished in the top 10? I can't believe you were running 10 min/mile pace with us a fortnight ago....

That run was perfect for niggle fixing and tapering, and thanks for having me along. All part of my secret recipe

Seriously, I'm pretty surprised myself. And more than a little chuffed :D

Full report (too full, you'll see) in my log now.

menoscemo

brownian wrote: »

That run was perfect for niggle fixing and tapering, and thanks for having me along. All part of my secret recipe

Seriously, I'm pretty surprised myself. And more than a little chuffed :D

Full report (too full, you'll see) in my log now.

You're a lucky man. I heart that Tristram and Jeeves gave you a lift abck to d18 after that rub :pac:

chinguetti

Ah come on, the girl's done her first marathon so she's probably in a pub somewhere regaling someone about turning to face the Hell of the West and roaring up it. Either that or she's at home shining the medal:D

digger2d2

chinguetti wrote: »

Ah come on, the girl's done her first marathon so she's probably in a pub somewhere regaling someone about turning to face the Hell of the West and roaring up it. Either that or she's at home shining the medal:D

The word is that whilst conversing with every runner in Conn, her Father sold the Bentley right from under her nose and she refused to come back from Galway unless Rhydian brought the private jet.....The truth, on the other hand, is that she's trying to keep Liz away from Meno and his big medal until she talks some sense into her;)

claralara

Please note that the following comes with usual death by rambling boredom caveat!! (It is looong. And mind numbing!!)

I was travelling with a friend from work who was running the half and we had decided not to leave until Saturday afternoon. The less time spent hanging around in anticipation, the better. We arrived in Galway around 5 and went straight to register and pick up numbers and chips. At this stage I had kind of forgotten the real reason I was in Galway and was more excited about our mini break! I corrected the guy who sent me to the Half Marathon Registration table and insisted much to his amusement that I really was doing the Full – his reaction brought me swiftly back to earth with a bang. He firstly smiled in a ‘pull the other one way’; he then said ‘are you really? Brave girl!’. When I thought I couldn’t feel any more uneasy, he looked me up and down and said ‘I presume you’ve done some training?’ and then topped it all off with some bits of advice including – ‘You do know it’s 26miles right? You could be out there a while. I’d recommend wearing sun cream’. Now I would have been fine with all of this had everyone been getting the spiel but I appeared to be the only recipient – everyone else got ‘here’s your pack, best of luck!’ To say that encounter unnerved me would be an understatement – it frightened the bejaysus out of me!! And then I couldn’t even have a drink while watching the match to numb the senses. Had to settle for a pre dinner pint of water and a scone. Though I did succumb to a delicious glass of red wine over dinner – purely medicinal of course…There are few other cures for insomnia and I didn’t want to risk being struck down! We headed back to the hotel around 10 like wild party animals, me with a packet of porridge oats under my arm much to the entertainment of the drunken stag party on Eyre Square. I think Anto was waiting for an invitation to breakfast! The hotel was grand but it was pretty noisy until about 1am so I only got about 4 hours sleep. Don’t think I would have managed much more either way though.

I woke up on Sunday morning about an hour before my alarm just make sure the nerves had enough time to well and truly settle.! My tum was not cooperating and I just about forced down half a bowl of porridge and a slice of dry toast. Ugh. I got chatting to a guy who was running the full so headed off to get the bus with him. It was his first marathon too so that was mildly reassuring. (Not sure how much he appreciated the ‘oh great, another person as foolish and irrational as I am’ comment but oh well!) We arrived to the start line in plenty of time to drop bags, have a stretch, chat with people who were running their 71st and 246th marathons, panic at people’s reactions when they heard I was a first timer, have a banana, freak out, calm down, discover a pain in my shin, consider dropping out, calm down, freak out, laugh, panic, cry, laugh again…(get it?!)

Once the first pack of crazy ultras ran by, we lined up and hit the road bang on time at 10.30. ‘I run like a girl, strong and sexy’…that’s what the tshirt said. The comments started after about 3 minutes and continued the entire day! Apparently I was a very brave girl wearing it in a pack of 500men… Stefan from Antwerp ran with me for a mile or so just to see if the words were true to form. Having concluded that they were and chatting about the scenery and lots of other random stuff he went off on his merry way. That was just the beginning of the many friendly encounters – looking back I’m wondering did I think I was running a marathon or attending a social networking event?!!

The first 6 miles were great. The weather was perfect, the road was nice and flat and the atmosphere was great. I just kept thinking ‘I’m running a marathon, this is gas?’. There was a bit of a climb at mile 7 and I passed a handful of people which was good for the soul. Two German girls asked me where I got my tshirt so I told them it was a gift and one of them replied – ‘I wish I had friends!’. In hindsight I probably shouldn’t have laughed at the poor girl with no friends... I ran with them for a little while and had a bit of craic communicating in my best broken English. I think I’ll have to include my new found multilingual skills in my CV! I left them them when we got to the top of the next downhill part, picked up the pace a little and fell into step with a Dutch guy who was making baa’ing noises at the sheep we were passing… (don’t ask where I find them!!!) He was a 10k runner whose brother had told him a marathon would be no bother to him and fell for it… from one gullible person to another…it sounded familiar! I had to send him on after another mile or so because I had unwittingly picked up the pace which I knew wasn’t sustainable. Throughout all of this banter the miles were just ticking away 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 – had a few words with loads of people and kept a very comfortable pace. I was getting pretty hot so a few raindrops at the halfway mark were very much welcomed. I hit the halfway mark at about 2.05 which I was happy enough with. I had planned the positive split without sapping too much energy because I had no idea how the next 13 miles were going to go. It wasn’t so positive that I was spent by then though so it was going according to plan. I found the hill out of Leenaun grand. Some guy said I’d been keeping his pace for the previous 3 miles and promised to get me up the hill as a thank you! Which he did. But then I started to feel bad. The gel and sports drink consumption hadn’t been great because the stomach was just not agreeable. I could see the 14 mile marker and feel that emotional monster creeping up... then I got quite cold and faint and got mad at myself for letting it happen. I knew I had a gel or two with caffeine so I rooted out one and horsed it into me praying that I hadn’t left it too late and ruined myself. I gave myself a good talking to (‘I am a strong intelligent runner’ esque!) and told the monster to shag off until I crossed the finish line. The next 2 miles were tough. I thought I’d never get to 17. This was the low point; doubting Thomas was trying his damndest to get me to stop and give up. I kept going though and when I hit 18 I felt a hundred times better and believed that I was actually going to do it. Meno appeared behind me with a roar about 609 miles into his ultra. Clever clogs turned around and started running backwards shouting ‘you’ll have to hurry up if you want to catch me!’… I seriously worry about myself and my sanity sometimes! (He did pass me though). Was feeling a bit tender in my right hip but the wise ultra runner told me to ignore it so I did! Hit 19, 20.. with the grin on my ugly mug growing with each marker I passed. The pace had well slowed down at this stage but I didn’t care – I was happy out tipping away at the miles and enjoying myself. Came upon the Hell of the West which was aesthetically pleasing and not as bad as anticipated... However I have to put my hands up and admit to walking quite a bit of it. I had gotten really thirsty and just needed to get a good drink into me. I couldn’t face another mouthful of lucozade sport but I think I had about 750ml of water while I was walking. I tried to keep a nifty walking pace (arms a go-go and all). At that stage I thought I had the 4.30 and I was happy to take that. The legs were pretty jelly-ish when I started to run again and I worried momentarily whether I’d made a very bad move. But they warmed back up and held it together for me. I felt like I was sprinting all guns for the final 2 miles – I daresay the visible reality would tell a completely different story!! There was great support on the home stretch and everyone was looking out for each other wanting to see everyone else finish.

I cannot describe the feeling when I saw that finish line. I managed a “sprint” to pass a girl I’d had my eye on for quite a while. I don’t think was impressed when I “zoomed” past… (By the way, I use all these references to speed very loosely indeed!!). And just to stay true to form, I burst into tears when I crossed that line. Tears of absolute joy for a change however! Keeping that emotional beast at bay was high priority so just achieving that was success in itself!

I took everyone’s advice and went out at my own ability at the pace I was able for. Could I have pushed a little harder? Probably. Would that extra push have taken away from the overall experience? I would say most certainly. I went at a pace that allowed for banter and chats with so many interesting people, that gave me the chance to enjoy the scenery, that compounded the fact that the last 14 weeks had come together successfully and that culminated in a fantastic first marathon experience. There were tough moments but they were outweighed by the good. I can safely say that I loved every single step it took me to complete those 26.2miles. There’s always Dublin to push for a good time. For Connemara though – job done! 14 weeks – as disciplined as I could and wanted to be and zero regrets!!

The support and patience by everyone who put up with me has been amazing and I’m truly grateful to everyone here for all the wise and kind words. I wouldn’t have gotten through it without! (And now I’m gonna cry again…)

Went out on Sunday night for few quiet* drinks with Meno, Oisin, Eddie, Aimman and their ultra medals having squeezed the swollen feet into my much loved and missed heels! Twas a great night to top off a great day! (*May not actually have been quiet but what happens in Galway…)

Now I’m excited to get the feeling back in the legs that appear to have disassociated from my body and get back into my runners! A few nice easy walks on the pier this week should loosen them up and get me out again!!

Garmin Stats: 26.41miles – 4:28:26 (I should have stayed on the right side of the road!!)
Official chip time: 4:28:25– a PB and a suitably beatable first marathon time!

RubyK

Fantastic reading claralara, I'm so delighted for you! That was a brilliant preformance, and I'm soooo glad you enjoyed it.

Well done girl, you are made of tough stuff

yungwan

Wow a long post this certainly was!! haha I got a shock when I opened it!

A brilliant race report as usual! What a fecker that fella was asking you were ya running the full!!! Cheeky git.

Congratulations on a great 1st marathon, you sound like for the most part you enjoyed the whole thing!

Well done again, Im delighted for ya!

RayCun

Brilliant, well done Disneyland.

(I'm only surprised that guy at registration didn't get a good kick for his troubles)

tHE vAGGABOND

good work and a great report

Mr Slow

Well done again.

Aimman

claralara wrote: »

Meno appeared behind me with a roar about 609 miles into his ultra. Clever clogs turned around and started running backwards shouting ‘you’ll have to hurry up if you want to catch me!’

Aha! Now the origin of his mystery crippling cramp from his calf right up to his neck is starting to make sence. That's what he gets for showing off!!!! :P


Brilliant Running and great report. You certainly looks a lot more fresher at the end of the race than Mallow and you didnt have to fall into my arms this time.

Fair play on the sprint finish, overtaking and moving up a notch on the ladder.

Good call on the 'What Happens in Galway' and all that, the Mods would have to snip all the threads to keep the alligations and court cases at bay. (How did Frank get to smuggle that sheep into the bar anyway?):eek:

menoscemo

You forgot to mention that you beat Diggers time from Dublin

Well done again, great report.

rainbow kirby

RayCun wrote: »

(I'm only surprised that guy at registration didn't get a good kick for his troubles)

If it was me he said that to, he'd be wondering why he suddenly had 3 Adam's apples :pac:

Congrats Claralara, great run and great race report

DigiJem

Congratulations CL, well done and a lovely report.

Krusty_Clown

Well done Claralara. Sounds like you ran a perfect race. Enjoy the rest. You've earned it!

littlebug

Fantastic result and report Claralara

chinguetti

Great read and a great performance Claralara.

On reading it, my first thought was that you went for a long run where you spoke to a few mad folk along the way. Kinda like a normal lsr on a Sunday.

A new log for you i think now missy where you include the phrase 'marathon runner' in the title.

jcsmum

Well done again, great race report. Delighted to get your text on Sunday!

Oisin11178

Excellent running and a great night out afterwards. Running is easy:D

shazkea

Nice going girl, proud of you. Enjoy the few days rest as its well deserved

Aimman

You managed to avoid all the cameras too. Have you got a scrambling device that erases the flash memory as you pass by?

Emer911

Congrats! Great report - and yes, I think yerman at registration should have at least a bruised shin for his quips! Cheeky fecker!

That was a great time for your first marathon, especially on THAT course!


...oh, and can I get one of those T-shirts?




Maybe I'll see you for a nice hill run around Carrickollogin in a month or so?

digger2d2

A really intelligent approach and execution to your race and the only other thing that took just less than 4 hours 30 was for me to read the freakin race report

Bally8

Well done girl! Excellent result. Loved the report:D

Cabaal

Congrats great report, now everyone knows why you hadn't posted up until yesterday...you were writing the report :pac:

Now get training for Dublin

brownian

Back at a keyboard after a few post-Conn days of meetings.

That's a great, well-planned and disciplined run which you can rightly be pleased with. Pat yourself on the back.

Pretty good report too. Passed half an hour of dull meeting for me:)

pgmcpq

Congratulations - great race and great report

claralara wrote: »

P I corrected the guy who sent me to the Half Marathon Registration table and insisted much to his amusement that I really was doing the Full – his reaction brought me swiftly back to earth with a bang. He firstly smiled in a ‘pull the other one way’; he then said ‘are you really? Brave girl!’. When I thought I couldn’t feel any more uneasy, he looked me up and down and said ‘I presume you’ve done some training?’ and then topped it all off with some bits of advice including – ‘You do know it’s 26miles right? You could be out there a while. I’d recommend wearing sun cream’.

That's amazing! Hope this guy's day job is not as a motivational speaker. Hope you run across him again.

claralara

Thanks so much lads! Haven’t been online since I composed my thesis. It appears that despite me thinking the world revolved around me and my marathon for the last two weeks, it actually didn’t, and the pile of work on my desk has required some serious attention! I’ve been ‘‘resting’’ to the extreme – lots of self indulgent vino and eats… Away this weekend and the only thing I can be certain I packed in my rush this morning is some running gear… Dying to get out for a few miles ! The legs feel good and I’m hoping everything behaves for whatever it is decide to do next..hmmm….

jcsmum

I remember after DCM wanting to get out for a short run, just to see if the legs still worked
Great feeling actually running with no pressure, no goals, no race looming....
Enjoy the weekend away.