Chasing numbers

DigiJem

Mar 11th - 5.5 miles @ 9:45 pace
Mar 15th - 7 miles @ 9:24 pace

March 16th Tralee Marathon
Plan had a 30 mile run, so I did 3 miles @ 9:43 pace before the start, hadn’t time to do the 4th mile. Cracking day for this, sun was shining, no breeze. The event was very well organised for its first year, and a nice well supported rural route. A tough one though, my legs were pretty knackered by the hills in the second half, so lots of walk breaks. Still, not too bad and I will defiantly be back to have another crack at it next year. 26 miles @ 9:58 pace

Mar 18th - 6 miles @ 9:08 pace
Mar 21st - 5 miles @ 9:28 pace
Mar 23rd - 8 miles @ 9:12 pace
Mar 25th - 6 miles @ 9:27 pace
Mar 30th - 6 miles @ 9:26 pace – I’ve had flu for the last few days so it was great to feel like running again.

Month|Miles|No Runs
Jan|69|9
Feb|124|13
Mar|143.5|15
Total|336.5|37

RubyK

Great training DigiJem, and best of luck with the Conn Ultra, you've put in mighty work.

Marthastew

Very best of luck on Sunday, I'm sure you will have a fantastic day. Enjoy the celebrations after, have a few for me:)

Younganne

Best of Luck tomorrow.:D

claralara

Best of luck tomorrow DJ - you deserve a great day after the last couple of months and getting back on the wagon with training. Will be thinking of you guys jealously...kinda!!

DigiJem

Conn Ultra 2013

Pretty nervous before this one, my stomach was in knots on the bus out. After the briefing, I threw my hat and gloves into my bag and got onto the bus up to the start. Mistake no 1, as the day turned out, I should have kept the gloves with me.

I started off nice & easy, my planned pace was around 9:45 up to mile 26, and then I’d see what unfolded. The pace was fine for the first 10 miles, but I wasn’t feeling comfortable, my stomach was feeling rough. I took a few gel shots and water and ignored the churning. Turned off the N59 and into a bit of a headwind, I hadn’t noticed the wind up to that point.

Don’t know what the stomach problem was but it settled after the first drop. I had some flat coke here and was going fine after this. This was the most enjoyable part of the race, I felt good, was very relaxed and having a good time. Things continued well up to mile 20, there was a hill here which wasn’t too bad but once over it, the wind had really picked up. The next 4 or 5 miles descending into Leenaun really took it out of me, it felt like I was going uphill with the wind. Mentally, I had these miles penciled in as easy miles so it was fairly demoralising to be struggling so badly at this point.

Got my second drop bag at mile 26, and took my time eating and drinking its contents. Headed off again, and hoped that the wind would ease once I turned right out of Leenaun. That wasn't the case, there was a strong headwind making the hill seem tougher. Got the hill done very slowly, I knew I was in trouble as the legs were in bad shape for the next few miles. A very low point here, I would have happily DNF’ed if one of the race cars had passed me at this stage. I remember feeling so tired I just want to sit and cry, but a sane inner voice told me the quickest way home was to keep slogging away.

By mile 30 my head was back in shape, and I knew no matter how long it took I would finish. My legs were no better but everybody around me was in the same boat. Lots of walking and slow running, but pace didn’t matter, finishing was the goal now. Next target was my last food drop, and a bottle of Mountain Dew at mile 32. My hands were so cold I spent ages fumbling with the bag until the lady at the table kindly helped me open it. I left the jelly beans with her kids, I couldn’t face them but I did manage to take half a gel.

Heading over Maam bridge and up the last hill and "Low Battery" flashed on my Garmin. Not a good omen, my own battery was running on empty at this stage. At least I knew it was the last hurdle, so I slogged up and over it, then that beautiful downhill mile and on towards the finish. I've never been so happy to see a finish line, 7:08 when I passed it. Shattered afterward, had a long drive home with stiff legs.

A tough experience yesterday but one I’m glad I’ve done, certainly plenty of “character building” moments. Going to take a break for a little while, my legs need a little rest and tlc.

The_Boy_Wonder

Great running and metal strength shown there DJ! You certainly deserve it so enjoy the rest!

ultraman1

well done joan,,,

hot to trot

Great reporting of a courageous run. That's what ultras are all about and when you recover you should really be able to appreciate what you have achieved. Pushing yourself to a new level is certainly not easy but you did it admirable. Well done . Super !:)

Younganne

J, sounds like a tough day. Well done!

jcsmum

Well done J, was dying to know how you got on. Sounds like a tough ole slog - well done for giving it everything! Character building indeed! And yes, the legs need a good rest now.

pistol_75

Well done J. Sounded like a tough day for everyone. Whats next a 24 hour race? :eek:

Enjoy the well earned rest.

Marthastew

Congratulations J, a great race from you especially after all the curve balls that were thrown at you during training. Enjoy the rest

RubyK

Well done DigiJem, some achievement to train and complete an ultra, especially in Conn. Enjoy the rest

banner_phoenix

Sounds like a toughie DJ, well done for getting through it. I still have good memories of the half last year, not sure I would want to tarnish them with ultra memories...that's my official excuse anyway

DigiJem

Catch-up time, April mileage taken from Garmin Connect, can't remember half of them.

Date|Activity Name|Miles|Pace
Mon, Apr 1|Untitled|5.01|09:42
Fri, Apr 5|Untitled|4.01|09:35
Sun, Apr 7|Conn 2013|39.71|10:47
Mon, Apr 15|Untitled|4|09:29
Tue, Apr 16|Untitled|5|09:24
Wed, Apr 17|Untitled|0.84|09:27
Wed, Apr 17|Tullamore 5k race|3.1|08:16
Sat, Apr 20|Untitled|5.01|08:40
Sun, Apr 21|Untitled|8|09:26
Mon, Apr 22|Untitled|3|09:55
Thu, Apr 25|Untitled|5.01|09:52
Sun, Apr 28|Samsung Night Run|10k|5.33 min/km
Tue, Apr 30|Untitled|4|09:26
Total||92.69|

Month|Miles|No Runs
Jan|69|9
Feb|124|13
Mar|143.5|15
Apr|92.69|13
Total|429.19|50

DigiJem

Wed, May 1st – Belvedere 5k. In an effort to get back into the swing of things, I entered the summer league run by Mullingar harriers. A 5k race every Wed evening in May, the first of which was on a lovely and sunny evening. A tough little course, but nice to get out and push myself a little. Time wasn’t great, 26:51, but hopefully will get faster as May progresses.

Thur, May 2nd 5 easy miles @ 9:50 pace. Legs surprisingly stiff after the 5k, so this was nice & easy running.

Fri, May 3rd - Rest

Sat, May 4 – Leixlip 5k - went better than expected, 25:31, avg pace 8:09

Sun, May 5th – 16 miles @ 9:50 pace, first long run since Conn, felt very good.

Mon, May 6th – Rest

Month|Miles|No Runs
Jan|69|9
Feb|124|13
Mar|143.5|15
Apr|92.69|13
May|27.14|4
Total| 456.33|54

DigiJem

Tue, May 7 - Legs a bit stiff after the 16 miles, so just a 3 mile recovery run.

Wed, May 8th – Mullingar Road league. Round 2 of this, and I was late leaving work so it was a mad dash over to Belvedere. No Garmin, forgot it in the rush. I knew where the little hills were this time around, so paced it a little better but maybe didn't push hard enough. 26:48, a whopping 3 seconds faster than last week, small steps! Will miss round 3 as I'm away on hols.

Sun, May 12 - Kildare marathon, pacing 4:30.
Lousy weather at the start but it soon cleared to a nice drizzle to keep us cool. A small group stuck with Aimman & I, and we lost a few, and picked up some other along the way. Delighted that one lady doing her first marathon stuck with us all the way and pushed on at the end to get well under 4:30. Really well organised, and Anto ensured we were well looked after. 26.45m @ 10:10 avg pace. Chip time 4:29:57

Off on hols for a bit, not sure how much running will get done but the runners are in the suitcase.

Month|Miles|No Runs
Jan|69|9
Feb|124|13
Mar|143.5|15
Apr|92.69|13
May|59.7|7
Total| 488.88|57

hot to trot

YOu deserve a rest after the running you have invested already this year. Nice jog in the warm would be a treat. Enjoy

DigiJem

Time to finally resuscitate this log, I haven't run much over the last 5 months. My last race was a DNF at mile 16 in portumna marathon in June, and cue months of trying to fix what I originally hoped was a minor hip problem. My piriformis was the root of the problem, and over time started to give me problems with my lower back which got very painful. Numerous failed attempts before I finally got it sorted. I have done a very slow and steady mileage build-up over the last 2 months and am finally at the stage where my LSR will hit double-digits this weekend.

Anyway, I'm happy to be back to some decent mileage but it is all very slow & sluggish. Hopefully the fitness and pace will improve over the coming months. No real plans, just want to get myself back into shape, keep injury free and maybe a spring marathon if all goes well.

So back logging...

25th - 5 miles, pace 10:01 m/m, hr 163
27th - 5 miles, Pace 9:53 m/m, hr 162

2 great lunchtime runs in the sun, because my mid-week runs are nice & short I can squeeze them in during lunch which is great with the current sunny afternoons.

hot to trot

DigiJem wrote: »

Time to finally resuscitate this log, I haven't run much over the last 5 months. My last race was a DNF at mile 16 in portumna marathon in June, and cue months of trying to fix what I originally hoped was a minor hip problem. My piriformis was the root of the problem, and over time started to give me problems with my lower back which got very painful. Numerous failed attempts before I finally got it sorted. I have done a very slow and steady mileage build-up over the last 2 months and am finally at the stage where my LSR will hit double-digits this weekend.

Anyway, I'm happy to be back to some decent mileage but it is all very slow & sluggish. Hopefully the fitness and pace will improve over the coming months. No real plans, just want to get myself back into shape, keep injury free and maybe a spring marathon if all goes well.

So back logging...

25th - 5 miles, pace 10:01 m/m, hr 163
27th - 5 miles, Pace 9:53 m/m, hr 162

2 great lunchtime runs in the sun, because my mid-week runs are nice & short I can squeeze them in during lunch which is great with the current sunny afternoons.

Great to see you back in action again . I'm either starting from scratch again myself or throwing in the towel. Fingers crossed we can revive simultaneously

jcsmum

Yaaay, delighted to see the log back in action!

DigiJem

Thanks H2T and good luck with your injury - hope you get good news soon.


Sat: Stopped in Marley on way back home, just as the parkrun was finishing. Right calf was tight for the first mile but loosened up after a stretch, everything felt reasonably comfortable after that. 10 miles, pace 10:11 min/mi, hr 158

Sun: Late getting out after lazing around all day, really slow for first 2 miles as the legs felt tired from yesterday. 5 miles, pace 10:16 min/mi, hr 158

RacoonQueen

Was just wondering where you'd got to. Good to see you back at it.

Marthastew

DigiJem wrote: »

Thanks H2T and good luck with your injury - hope you get good news soon.


Sat: Stopped in Marley on way back home, just as the parkrun was finishing. Right calf was tight for the first mile but loosened up after a stretch, everything felt reasonably comfortable after that. 10 miles, pace 10:11 min/mi, hr 158

Sun: Late getting out after lazing around all day, really slow for first 2 miles as the legs felt tired from yesterday. 5 miles, pace 10:16 min/mi, hr 158

What a pity we missed you, Mr S and I were sorting tokens.
Delighted to see you back again J:)

DigiJem

On holidays from work this week, so able to get out to Lough Boora parklands for all 5 of this weeks runs. I love running there, its so peaceful and relaxing.

Mon: 45 minutes on the mountain bike

Tues: 3 miles, Pace 9:51, hr 170

Wed: 5 miles, Pace 9:51, hr 169 - some of the trails were flooded, so lots of out and back routes from the car.

Thurs: 3 miles, Pace 10:10, hr 161 - this one felt sluggish, glad it was only a short one.

Fri: Rest

Sat: 5 miles, pace 9:48, hr 168 - it was baltic for this run, hat and gloves remained on. Some new drains were put in place which made all the trails passable again.

Sun: 8 miles, pace 9:59, hr 165 - lovely and sunny for the first 6 miles, then rain for mile 7 and hailstones for mile 8.

All in all a good week, first time I managed 5 run days in a long time.

Younganne

great to see you back!!

DigiJem

Mon - Rest

Tues - 4 miles, pace 9:57 and hr 168

Wed - 30 minutes on turbo

Thurs - 5 miles, pace 9:59, 168 hr

Fri - 3 mile easy run, pace 10:31, hr 160

Sat- 5 miles in the sunshine, a lovely run around the partridge reserve in Lough Boora - no dogs allowed in this part so its a perfect place to run. Pace 9:46, hr 169

Sun - could not muster the will to get out and run, a day on the couch.

Mon - Had to do 10 miles I should have done yesterday, after work and hungry. It was very sluggish and I spent most of the run wishing I hadnt been some lazy yesterday. Really slow for the last few miles as the paths were getting icy. 10 miles, pace 10:24, hr 165.

DigiJem

Tues - Rest

Wed - 3 miles - cant remember anything about this run apart from the wonderful moon, pace 10:22, hr 158

Thurs - 6 miles after work, pace 10:22, hr 165

Friday - Rest

Sat - long run, 12 miles. First half was a struggle, very sluggish. Second half felt great, pace picked up and effort felt lower. Pace 9:58, hr 163

Sun - I had planned a short recovery run but I woke up with a sore bruise on the top on my foot near my toes. Had a minor panic attack that it was a stress fracture and decided not to run on it.

Mon - 4 miles easy just to test the foot, no problems, I must just have tied my laces too tight on Saturday. Pace 10:10, hr 162

digger2d2

Good to see you back!