Connemarathon 2011

claralara

12 days, 9 hours, 38 minutes and 27 seconds...

Just in case anyone was having a relaxing evening..:D

baza1976

Anyone else sick??? My nose/ears and throat are on fire no running yesterday and I think I'll give it a miss today.........

claralara

baza1976 wrote: »

Anyone else sick??? My nose/ears and throat are on fire no running yesterday and I think I'll give it a miss today.........

I was last week. Berrocca every morning, echinacea and ginseng, fresh orange juice and iron, truckloads of water, a spoonful of honey here and there... Kept the neck and chest covered and tried to get a few early nights. Pretty much everything I could possibly think of! Think I've shifted it now and have gotten a few good runs in since. Best of luck. That said, with the taper madness - it could all have been in my head!

digger2d2

claralara wrote: »

I was last week. Berrocca every morning, echinacea and ginseng, fresh orange juice and iron, truckloads of water, a spoonful of honey here and there... Kept the neck and chest covered and tried to get a few early nights. Pretty much everything I could possibly think of! Think I've shifted it now and have gotten a few good runs in since. Best of luck. That said, with the taper madness - it could all have been in my head!

Forgot that McSorley's serve that

BrokenMan

baza1976 wrote: »

Anyone else sick??? My nose/ears and throat are on fire no running yesterday and I think I'll give it a miss today.........

Seem to have had a cold that comes and goes for the last month. Pretty sure its going to turn into full on pneumonia over the next week

TFBubendorfer

baza1976 wrote: »

Anyone else sick??? My nose/ears and throat are on fire no running yesterday and I think I'll give it a miss today.........

I'm not running Connemara (my race is a week later), but I woke up yesterday with a very sore throat and started spitting blood. :eek:

Still sore today but thankfully no more sign of blood. Freaked me right out.

Wonkagirl

Squeezed a 16kmer in tonite- legs were well tired by the end of it.. that's the longest run i've done- kinda raging with myself but it is what it is at this point!

Going to do hill repeats Saturday morning, a fast/fartlek 6km Monday, and a slow 6km Wednesday. In the lap of the gods after that!

One thing i have dreadful issues with is hydration. I'm doing something wrong, as I ALWAYS want to go to the loo not long after i start a run. It's the same at bootcamp. Perhaps i should prehydrate well in advance and then not drink anything for an hour or 2 before? Had to stop tonite at the 4km mark to go to the loo, very annoying. Anyone got any tips therein?

claralara

Wonkagirl wrote: »

Squeezed a 16kmer in tonite- legs were well tired by the end of it.. that's the longest run i've done- kinda raging with myself but it is what it is at this point!

Going to do hill repeats Saturday morning, a fast/fartlek 6km Monday, and a slow 6km Wednesday. In the lap of the gods after that!

One thing i have dreadful issues with is hydration. I'm doing something wrong, as I ALWAYS want to go to the loo not long after i start a run. It's the same at bootcamp. Perhaps i should prehydrate well in advance and then not drink anything for an hour or 2 before? Had to stop tonite at the 4km mark to go to the loo, very annoying. Anyone got any tips therein?

Nice run last night. I’m on a serious wind down and going out of my mind! I just want it to be tomorrow at this stage. I think… Anyone else getting ridiculously nervous now? I’m terrified. Talk about taking on something all consuming…

I try and drink loads throughout the day / day before and then just a couple of mouthfuls in the 30 minutes before I head out if I’m feeling thirsty. I’ll be wearing a belt with gels and a sports drink during the marathon and intend to have a mouthful every mile or 2. Though I always find that even if I need to go to the loo, I forget about it once I start running.

yop

I'm only doing the 1/2 but feel sick at the thought already!!!!

claralara

digger2d2 wrote: »

Forgot that McSorley's serve that

You won't find me in a pub during marathon training...:rolleyes:

brownian

Wonkagirl wrote: »

One thing i have dreadful issues with is hydration. I'm doing something wrong, as I ALWAYS want to go to the loo not long after i start a run. It's the same at bootcamp. Perhaps i should prehydrate well in advance and then not drink anything for an hour or 2 before? Had to stop tonite at the 4km mark to go to the loo, very annoying. Anyone got any tips therein?

I'd agree with ClaraLara about drinking plenty in the two days coming up to the event (as well as eating carefully - there's a thread on the main ART forum on this). As for "on the day" hydration, there's no single answer. I tend to drink 500-700mls just minutes before starting to run, and just sweat most of it out. It hardly ever happens that I need to stop and go, while dehydration is a big issue for me.

Sorry, that's not really an answer. Based on what you say, I'd aim to drink a lot a couple of hours beforehand and pee just before the start (if the queues in Leenane are savage, there's a friendly hotel just up the fjord). By all means sip your way through a couple of hundred mls in the half hour coming up to take-off.

Another thing you could be experiencing is the urge to go because of a temperature change - standing around shivering always makes the bladder do odd things. Try wearing a warm, cheap Penney's fleece at the start and then just dumping it at takeoff, or half a mile in -you can always come back for it,and if it's gone, you're down a fiver. Once you're climbing that hill, you'll be warm again, so your bladder only gets a minute or so of feeling cold.

brownian

I guess the date's coming up. Posts are more and more about mental anguish and less about how to reduce the physical pain. I guess it's too late to do anything much about training at this stage (except avoid injury and illness).

How long until the discussions about what colours are lucky, what the weather will be like, and how to nobble the other competitors??

It'll be a red letter achievement day for all of us. And, unlike most (half/)marathons, it'll be in a truly beautiful location. Trepidation is normal, but it's really something to look forward to, and to ENJOY on the day...don't wish for the finish line, wish for the run.

Unless you have a goal time, in which case it's time for internet drugs, support socks, and prayer.:)

claralara

I was just preparing documents in work - instead of typing body corporate, I was almost signing off on the minutes of 'body glide'... Oh dear god!

rainbow kirby

claralara wrote: »

I was just preparing documents in work - instead of typing body corporate, I was almost signing off on the minutes of 'body glide'... Oh dear god!

Gotta love taper madness

rok

Here's the course profile for those doing the 1/2 marathon. :eek:
Incline at the start is nearly as bad as the Hell of the West, at least there's plenty of downhill

BrokenMan

rok wrote: »

Here's the course profile for those doing the 1/2 marathon. :eek:
Incline at the start is nearly as bad as the Hell of the West, at least there's plenty of downhill

The hill at the start is actually tougher it just comes earlier in the race, its the steepest part of the course. You will go up it handy enough though just make sure you drop down a gear for it or you will pay the price later on.

That hill around mile 7 is a bit of a kicker as well coming where it does, it tends to sap the legs.

Its not really the individual hills in Conn that are the problem its the combination of them all, constant climbing and dropping back down, it takes it out of you over time.

scholar1

Hi guys,

I am a student documentary film maker and am doing a documentary on the connemara marathon this year.

I doing it on the set up and organisational aspect but i'm also looking for a participant to concentrate the doc on?? Any ideas. Do you know of any interesting people participating this year?

yop

rok wrote: »

Here's the course profile for those doing the 1/2 marathon. :eek:
Incline at the start is nearly as bad as the Hell of the West, at least there's plenty of downhill

Sweet God, I feel sick!

brownian

Ah now, it's hardly a surprise at this stage, Yop?!

You'll be up the first hill before you know it. The second one (before Maam) is a sneaky one, but you'll forget it when you see the third one.

The third one is tough, at that stage of the run, but it's a lovely spot, so take time to look around you.

And...when it's all over...every other half you run (except mebbe Achill and Dingle) will seem handy!

yop

brownian wrote: »

Ah now, it's hardly a surprise at this stage, Yop?!

You'll be up the first hill before you know it. The second one (before Maam) is a sneaky one, but you'll forget it when you see the third one.

The third one is tough, at that stage of the run, but it's a lovely spot, so take time to look around you.

And...when it's all over...every other half you run (except mebbe Achill and Dingle) will seem handy!

No, it was the lunch there that was making me sick

I knew it was going to be a tough run for sure ya, its the last hill will be the boy, I think I will have plenty of time to look around me!

brownian

yop wrote: »

No, it was the lunch there that was making me sick

LOL:D

menoscemo

rok wrote: »

Here's the course profile for those doing the 1/2 marathon. :eek:
Incline at the start is nearly as bad as the Hell of the West, at least there's plenty of downhill

I hear the incline it that first hill is steeper than the HoW, but a bit shorter in length.
I think that is gonna be the killer hill for the ultra runners, by the time we get to HoW there's only a few miles to go....Any advice from previous Ultra runners? Should we just jog it slowly or maybe take a walking break while munching on much needed supplies?

Wonkagirl

Oh mother of jesus, so basically the first 2 miles is pretty much uphill?!!?!??!?!

i feel sick.. !

Menoscemo i've no advice for you on the ultra i'm afraid- but would have thought that walking would really mess up your stride at that stage?

yop

Wonkagirl wrote: »

i feel sick.. !

Did you have the Tesco soup too for lunch...

brownian

Wonkagirl wrote: »

Oh mother of jesus, so basically the first 2 miles is pretty much uphill?!!?!??!?!

i feel sick.. !

Menoscemo i've no advice for you on the ultra i'm afraid- but would have thought that walking would really mess up your stride at that stage?

Relax...run it slowly and you'll be fine. Sprinting up here will hurt later (I did that last year -8th position for the first few miles, but blew up badly some miles later), but a nice steady jog will get you up and over before you know it.

But - hills are what makes the running in Conn different. Two big hills. One at the start and one (almost) at the end. It's yours fort the taking!

Wonkagirl

Oh dont you worry, i wont be doing any sprinting up hills!

On the other hand, I do like to pelt it down. i always seem to overtake a rake of people on teh downhills- is this bad planning on my behalf? Lack of experience perhaps? 9/10 cats cant be wrong like.. i cant help myself tho and figure why the hell not, if i can make up ground i should go for it- but i'm guessing you'll say it's not good to change your pace?

brownian

There's only one downhill worth the name - coming off the final hill. You can see the finish line, about one flat mile from the bottom of the hill.

It's a good long downhill, plenty steep, with a good surface and no traffic.By all means peg down it as hard as you like...but keep something in reserve, as it's a bit of a shock when you stop going down and you can still see the finish line, and it's still a mile away...better not have jelly legs by then. I see no great harm in changing your pace at that stage - it's gonna change anyway

Dipity

I did the last 2 half marathons and swore I'd never do the full. I somehow forgot that during the year, signed up for the full and here I am with a week to go, wondering what the hell was I thinking.:eek:

I'm pretty nervous about it but can't wait at the same time. Training has gone well. Had a bit of an injury the last two weeks but think I'm getting over it now. It's a great event with a great crowd. I hope that's enough to carry me to the finish line.

yop

Anyone from the Westport side done this 1/2 before, unsure what to do with regards the car as we start in Leenaun so do we leave the car there and can we get back to Leenaun again?

Any suggestions appreciated.

brownian

Can only repeat what said earlier
- you can park at either end, but more easily at the Maam Cross end.
- the HM route remains closed for quite a while,but it's possible to drive around via the UM route (via Glen Inagh and Killary Harbour)...my wife typically drops us at Leenane then drives around via UM route to Maam Cross for the pickup.

Local taxis may be an option, if you're stuck, to get you back to Leenane from Maam Cross. Not overly cheap, though.

Would offer you a lift, but have five in saloon car already:(

yop

brownian wrote: »

Can only repeat what said earlier
- you can park at either end, but more easily at the Maam Cross end.
- the HM route remains closed for quite a while,but it's possible to drive around via the UM route (via Glen Inagh and Killary Harbour)...my wife typically drops us at Leenane then drives around via UM route to Maam Cross for the pickup.

Local taxis may be an option, if you're stuck, to get you back to Leenane from Maam Cross. Not overly cheap, though.

Would offer you a lift, but have five in saloon car already:(

Great job, so park at Maam Cross itself is it? We will have 2 cars, one heading back to Dublin and one coming back to Westport so we could drop a car out at Maam Cross in the morning and drive back to Leenaun, then once race is finished (sometime Monday for me! ) we can drive that Maam Cross car back to Leenaun, that could work?

There will be 5 of us too! Thanks.

brownian

yup, looks like the classic car drop scenario so. Drive to Maam C., leave car A, pile all into car B, drive to Leenane, drop car B. run, collect car A from Maam Cross, home via Leenane (collecting car B in the process).

Arriving from Westport direction, expect to find crowds hard to get through in Leenane village. None the less, drive through the crowd and park up the Fjord - much better parking than on the Westport side of the village.

podgemonster

Hey, doing the half myself. Went for a 10 milers last night and felt quite good with my new snug running shorts. No Chaffing!!:D

One question though, looking at the marathon terrain profile on the site, it doesnt say which half is the half marathon as half looks fairly gruelling, is this the 1/2 course??

menoscemo

podgemonster wrote: »

Hey, doing the half myself. Went for a 10 milers last night and felt quite good with my new snug running shorts. No Chaffing!!:D

One question though, looking at the marathon terrain profile on the site, it doesnt say which half is the half marathon as half looks fairly gruelling, is this the 1/2 course??

Yep, the 1/2 course is the second part of the full marathon (the gruelling part).

Keedowah

Yeah its the half marathon - the text is above the profile.

I'm getting worried/excited now - had some trouble with shin splints about a week ago so trying to rest them....

decboy

I am doing the Half this weekend too. Whats the deal with the party on the Sun night in Clifden, anyone been to it before or is this a first. Whats anyone else planning. Didnt want to buy 2 tickets to find out not too many at it. Galway seems to be where everyone is headed but thought i would give Clifden a run out. Apart from water stations, are their energy gels/bars given out or is it best to take some with me. Any feedback much appreciated. Good luck to all on Sunday and esp those first-timers like myself.

Keedowah

It doesn't mention gels/power bars on the site from what I can see. I do see that iPods are not allowed.... I really planned on using mine for the run.

aficionado

Yea I seen no ipods allowed when signing up,
Actually got used to not having music fairly fast, Wouldnt go back now, Also do most of my running on small country roads so I deft feel safer without,

Does anybody use a safety pin for their gels? Where is the best place to pin them?
Getting excited now...

brownian

Quick replies

... Two lucozade sport or similar stations on the half course, I believe, at half way and at bottom of last hill
... no gels given out
... ipods and similar forbidden. This is by and large adhered to, tho you do see the odd person with one. In theory you can be disqualified, so I'd not recommend it. Be sociable!

... safety pins are popular for gels all right. So are zip pockets in shorts, or the wearing of bike jerseys with pockets. Lots of people use gel belts and bottles too.

Good luck to you all.

wideball

aficionado wrote: »

Yea I seen no ipods allowed when signing up,
Actually got used to not having music fairly fast, Wouldnt go back now, Also do most of my running on small country roads so I deft feel safer without,

Does anybody use a safety pin for their gels? Where is the best place to pin them?
Getting excited now...

Check out details on http://coachlevi.com/running/how-to-pin-energy-gels-to-your-running-shorts/ if you wish to pin gels

tHE vAGGABOND

I was actually starting to wonder if there was a plan for any folks to meet up afterwards?

I dont know the lie of the land out there at all?

yop

Great idea about the gels. I was thinking of taking one each 1/2 hour (so will bring 10 with me)
I never copped about either the cycling jersey or the pins. I think the pins could be the way to go but where do u pin them to??

brownian

yop wrote: »

Great idea about the gels. I was thinking of taking one each 1/2 hour (so will bring 10 with me)
I never copped about either the cycling jersey or the pins. I think the pins could be the way to go but where do u pin them to??

See wideball's post, two posts above yours

Wonkagirl

I got a bit of a shocker when i saw the iPod thing- I've done all my training with music, i really find it gets me through the wall.. I did an entire 10km to Elbow's 'One day like this' there last week- was really in the zone haha! Anyway, it might make it more enjoyable and i'm sure i'll readjust.

My plan for hydration is this (someone plaese tell me if it's retarded)- I've 2 running bottles (the hand held guys) that take 400ml each. Going to have all liquid in 1 (water/luco mix) and 2 gels with waterpre-mixed in them in the other. Will also have taken a gel before i start, then start sipping them very slowly from about 40 mins onwards. I think this will work better for me that taking a gel with 125ml of water. I have serious hydration problems- in that i need to go to the toilet a LOT unless i sip.. sip dont gulp- seems to work better.

I tell you what, i'm getting really nervous now. Was really hoping for sub 2, but a) havent run further than 15km in training and b) looking at last yrs results, only 100 out of about 500 females broke below 2 hours. So this is probably a pipe dream:D. My recent 10km time (52) puts me sub 2, but i guess that only extrapolates correctly if you've covered the distance!!!

Re the party- I'm going to the Galway party- got my ticket over the weekend. This seems to be the one people are going to alright, but if youre staying out Clifden direction i've no doubt the craic will be had out there too.

brownian

Wonkagirl wrote: »

I tell you what, i'm getting really nervous now. Was really hoping for sub 2, but a) havent run further than 15km in training and b) looking at last yrs results, only 100 out of about 500 females broke below 2 hours. So this is probably a pipe dream:D.

A LOT of the females are walkers. You've trained to RUN, and you can reasonably expect to RUN. 2 hours = 120 minutes = not much shy of 10 minutes a mile. That's a mighty slow run - you should be able do that going up the hills, and to go a reasonable amount faster on the flat....and there is a LOT of flat, there's only 3 miles of hill. 3 miles is a sh**-load, but it's a lot less than ten miles of pleasant flat/undulating/uppey-downey stuff, which you'll cruise.

Plan your run - work out the mile pace you need, allowing say 30% extra for the uphills, to finish in 1:55. Then just (ahem) run that pace!

You'll be grand, ipod or no.

yop

At this rate I might wear the Boardsie cycling jersey! Even though I don't know about that, cud chaff the bay jaysus out of my nippleodians!!

So a gel before??? Is that common practice? I mainly cycle so only used to that plan, be interested to hear what other do.
Will only drink on the water stations.

52 is about my 10km time too WonkaGirl so I did a flat 1/2 last year in 2hr on the button. With the lack of good training this year I am aiming for 2hr 12 and hoping to God I can do a 2.10

brownian

yop wrote: »

At this rate I might wear the Boardsie cycling jersey! Even though I don't know about that, cud chaff the bay jaysus out of my nippleodians!!

So a gel before??? Is that common practice? I mainly cycle so only used to that plan, be interested to hear what other do.
Will only drink on the water stations.

52 is about my 10km time too WonkaGirl so I did a flat 1/2 last year in 2hr on the button. With the lack of good training this year I am aiming for 2hr 12 and hoping to God I can do a 2.10

It's standard practice to put plasters on your nipples, or to plan to bleed. (That's for boys - ladies have better underwear)

Most runners seem to take gels mainly in the second part of the run, when glycogen stores run low. I won't be taking one at the start, but I'll drink half a litre of lucozade sport or similar just before the off. Tactics vary.

Best of luck, whatever your plan!

baza1976

brownian wrote: »

It's standard practice to put plasters on your nipples, or to plan to bleed. (That's for boys - ladies have better underwear)

Most runners seem to take gels mainly in the second part of the run, when glycogen stores run low. I won't be taking one at the start, but I'll drink half a litre of lucozade sport or similar just before the off. Tactics vary.

Best of luck, whatever your plan!

I don't know about that. This will be my 3rd full Connemarathon and 7th over all. If you read through most of the training logs here you'll see when people run marathons they take the gels evenly throught out.
I'll be taking gel about 10 min before start and then about every 5 mile. It takes about 20min for a gel to get into your system it stays for about another 20 min or so, every 40min or there abouts is a good rule of tumb I go by during marathons. I take them less frequent during training for example my last 20 mile run I took only 2 gels, 1 at 10 mile and the other at 16 mile.

ct_roy

hey all,

running the half this weekend - at the start of the year I had intentions of targeting a PB for this race but a series of injuries, surgery and flus have put any thoughts of that to bed.

I've had 2/3 weeks of so so training - up to 7,8,9 miles comfortably (and have 2 DCM's under my belt) so I think I should be able to get around - albeit SLOWLY.

Gonna put in a few short runs this week to keep the legs ticking over - just seen the gradient of some of the inclines :eek:

any good suggestions for similar incline runs around stepaside/ticknock? might get a sneak preview of what I've left myself in for this weekend.

brownian

baza1976 wrote: »

I don't know about that. This will be my 3rd full Connemarathon and 7th over all. If you read through most of the training logs here you'll see when people run marathons they take the gels evenly throught out.
I'll be taking gel about 10 min before start and then about every 5 mile. It takes about 20min for a gel to get into your system it stays for about another 20 min or so, every 40min or there abouts is a good rule of tumb I go by during marathons. I take them less frequent during training for example my last 20 mile run I took only 2 gels, 1 at 10 mile and the other at 16 mile.

Tactics do indeed vary.

Baza's approach is just as valid as mine (and as you can see he's very experienced). I'd say that you should filter all the advice you get and do what seems best for you. If you've a working approach from the biking, you could do worse than follow it.