Connemarathon 7/4/2013

Marthastew

sideswipe wrote: »

I would love to do that, but weirdly I'll be tucking into a 'Christmas Dinner' that was cancelled because of several chicken poxed, projectile kids!!!
Will try to catch up with ye next time, 6:30 am 20 milers on my todd are getting challenging!

Enjoy the Turkey! Sounds like you had an eventful Christmas;)
Very good of the kids to get the sickness out of the way before Connemara:)

Mr Stew has been running up around Rathmichael so you'll have to join him on one of those runs, great for the Hell of the West

eoin ryan

hot to trot wrote: »

When I did the Ultra a few years back I got an empty packet of Always pads and put my grub into it . everyone at the aid table laughed but NO ONE touched my stuff It was also easy to spot instantly on the table among al the other bags

You Sir, are a genius.

McWotever

I used yellow medical contaminated waste bags, I held back on putting syringes in them thou. Dunno if it was just luck, but no one touched them.

ofthelord

Half:
Bugsy2000
Statss
ultraman1's da
Martyboy48

Full:
R O B
The Rook
dev123
Stephenduffy08
ciancullinan
Conseng
Puck
Bigslice
Shedite
Adamski8
popebenny16
rovers_runner
ofthelord

Ultra:
johnsherwin
Cabaal
Vagga
opus
Killerz
Toblerone
me (ultraman)
hot to trot
canine marathoner
Aimman
Oisin11178
TFBubendorfer
Sideswipe
theduke1
eoin ryan
McWotever

jmcc99_98

Half:
Bugsy2000
Statss
ultraman1's da
Martyboy48
jmcc99_98

Full:
R O B
The Rook
dev123
Stephenduffy08
ciancullinan
Conseng
Puck
Bigslice
Shedite
Adamski8
popebenny16
rovers_runner
ofthelord

Ultra:
johnsherwin
Cabaal
Vagga
opus
Killerz
Toblerone
me (ultraman)
hot to trot
canine marathoner
Aimman
Oisin11178
TFBubendorfer
Sideswipe
theduke1
eoin ryan
McWotever

This is my first time to do Connemara (half) and only my 2nd HM ever ( I did the Dublin HM in September last) The Hills in Connemara that people are talking about near the end are frightening the bejebus outta me.

I have been struggling with a few injuries over the past few months so training has been sporadic at best. I did the Dublin HM in 1:58, what should I be aiming for in Connemara?

Also any other tips for a 1st timer in Connemarathon half. I am planning to stay in Galway City on the Saturday night,

ebixa82

Is there any chance they might have pacers in in this year?

I don't think they ever have had before.

Surely it can't be that hard to get someone to have a balloon attached to them with a specific finishing time. Or can it?

statss

Very close to emailing them to ask to change from the half to the full.... :-)

Cabaal

statss wrote: »

Very close to emailing them to ask to change from the half to the full.... :-)

Go on, you know you want to

For what its worth the first half of the marathon has much better views.....thats if your doing it for the views

statss

Cabaal wrote: »

Go on, you know you want to

For what its worth the first half of the marathon has much better views.....thats if your doing it for the views

Well it's going be my first full so would take it very handy, so yes, nice views will help. I'm doing my weekly long runs at the moment with mates who are doing the full so I'm thinking I might aswell just do it myself too. Especially if the half guys have to hang around for a good while after the bus drop off.

hot to trot

Cabaal wrote: »

Go on, you know you want to

For what its worth the first half of the marathon has much better views.....thats if your doing it for the views

Also the first half of the marathon is quite flat with very little in the way of hills. The most challenging part of the day is the half anyway. Take your time and save something for the last half and you will enjoy a great day out

TFBubendorfer

ebixa82 wrote: »

Is there any chance they might have pacers in in this year?

I don't think they ever have had before.

Surely it can't be that hard to get someone to have a balloon attached to them with a specific finishing time. Or can it?

They had a 3:30 pacer on a couple of occasions before.

Is it hard to find one? No. It's up to the race director if he wants to provide pacers. if you really want pacers, suggest it to them via email.

Cabaal

hot to trot wrote: »

Also the first half of the marathon is quite flat with very little in the way of hills. The most challenging part of the day is the half anyway. Take your time and save something for the last half and you will enjoy a great day out

This is very true, first half has lovely views and is relatively flat compared to the second half. Its the second half that made bits of me last year as I honestly didn't pay attention to the course profile so it was my own fault.

ultraman1

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Is it hard to find one? No.

is it hard to find one who can do it properly?;)

ebixa82

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

They had a 3:30 pacer on a couple of occasions before.

Is it hard to find one? No. It's up to the race director if he wants to provide pacers. if you really want pacers, suggest it to them via email.

I would have thought they would not be a major hassle to provide.

Are there any disadvantages in following a pace maker?

TFBubendorfer

ebixa82 wrote: »

I would have thought they would not be a major hassle to provide.

That's what I said as well. No, it's not hard to organise a few decent pacers.

Are there any disadvantages in following a pace maker?

Some people prefer to run their own race. Also, pace groups can become quite big which can be a hassle on narrow roads or at drink stations, neither of which is an issue in Connemara.

Again, if you want pacers in Connemara, suggest it to the RD.

Shedite27

Would Connemara be tougher to pace than other Marathons? Like if you're aiming for a 3.30 marathon, do you pace it so that it's even all around, or do you assume people are going to be a lot slower for the last few (uphill) miles? It seems there are a lot more variables than other races

Cabaal

Shedite27 wrote: »

Would Connemara be tougher to pace than other Marathons? Like if you're aiming for a 3.30 marathon, do you pace it so that it's even all around, or do you assume people are going to be a lot slower for the last few (uphill) miles? It seems there are a lot more variables than other races

I'd imagine it would be best to run the first half faster so to ensure you have some time in the tank to use for the second hilly half as its unlikely alot of people would keep the same pace throughout the entire course.

But then of course some will be able to keep a constant pace

ebixa82

Here is a Garmin link to the Full course

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/78601243

TFBubendorfer

Shedite27 wrote: »

Would Connemara be tougher to pace than other Marathons? Like if you're aiming for a 3.30 marathon, do you pace it so that it's even all around, or do you assume people are going to be a lot slower for the last few (uphill) miles? It seems there are a lot more variables than other races

There are two big climbs from mile 13-15 and 22-24. They will slow you down, especially the second one, and you need to have built up a cushion if you target a specific time.

statss

Lads, care to take a stab at a reasonable target time for Conn as a first marathon. My half marathon time is 1.45 from a flat course achieved in December just gone. The Macmillan calculator has me at 3.40, I think this is very ambitious. What kind of buffer should one put in to take into account the hills?

ebixa82

statss wrote: »

Lads, care to take a stab at a reasonable target time for Conn as a first marathon. My half marathon time is 1.45 from a flat course achieved in December just gone. The Macmillan calculator has me at 3.40, I think this is very ambitious. What kind of buffer should one put in to take into account the hills?

I only did the half last year which incorporates HOTW, I did it in 1.38. This involved me running the hill of Howth at least 10 times in training as it very similar to the HOTW. It turned out to be not near as bad as I anticipated as a result.

I did the Galway Half marathon a few months ago, flat course in 1.29. I wouldn't say I was any more prepared for it.

So there was a difference of 9 minutes between the two courses at a similar fitness level.

I am doing the Hal Higdon intermediate 1 plan (loosely) and would doubt I'll make sub 3.30.

statss

ebixa82 wrote: »

I only did the half last year which incorporates HOTW, I did it in 1.38. This involved me running the hill of Howth at least 10 times in training as it very similar to the HOTW. It turned out to be not near as bad as I anticipated as a result.

I did the Galway Half marathon a few months ago, flat course in 1.29. I wouldn't say I was any more prepared for it.

So there was a difference of 9 minutes between the two courses at a similar fitness level.

I am doing the Hal Higdon intermediate 1 plan (loosely) and would doubt I'll make sub 3.30.

Interesting, thanks. I'm going out to Howth this week for my long run so it will give me a better idea of what to expect.

ebixa82

statss wrote: »

Interesting, thanks. I'm going out to Howth this week for my long run so it will give me a better idea of what to expect.

I used to get the dart out and start at Sutton, round the hill and back to Sutton, 15km in total. At some stage later on I'll have to attempt it twice as I've signed up to the full!

hot to trot

ebixa82 wrote: »

I used to get the dart out and start at Sutton, round the hill and back to Sutton, 15km in total. At some stage later on I'll have to attempt it twice as I've signed up to the full!

If you start at Sutton, run up the hill to the summit carpark and down to the end of the pier. Then turn around and back up again . Its a nice run and good for the legs and the efforts arent really sustained for too long .

Shedite27

I did 1.39 half 2 years ago at Connemara, aiming to do 3.30 full this year. I'll be more prepared this year too.

TFBubendorfer

From the web site:

ENTRY FOR THE 2013 ELVERYS SPORTS CONNEMARATHON IS EXPECTED TO SELL OUT ON 17TH JANUARY.

sideswipe

Sold out today.

Bugsy2000

sideswipe wrote: »

Sold out today.

Oops!!!!

**Portia**

jmcc99_98 wrote: »

Half:
Bugsy2000
Statss
ultraman1's da
Martyboy48
jmcc99_98
**Portia**

Full:
R O B
The Rook
dev123
Stephenduffy08
ciancullinan
Conseng
Puck
Bigslice
Shedite
Adamski8
popebenny16
rovers_runner
ofthelord

Ultra:
johnsherwin
Cabaal
Vagga
opus
Killerz
Toblerone
me (ultraman)
hot to trot
canine marathoner
Aimman
Oisin11178
TFBubendorfer
Sideswipe
theduke1
eoin ryan
McWotever

This is my second half mara, with my first being the DCM half in 2010. Nervous but looking forward to this, have not trained properly for a race probably since the first half one and I am very out of shape. My time in that race was about 2:08 so anything around this time would be great considering I have been out of the game for so long.
I live pretty near Howth/Sutton so thanks for the tips re the training route. I think I know the route you are talking about but if anyone has a Garmin route that would be great (I am going to look back over the thread now to check in case it has already been posted so if it has please ignore this request!)

tHE vAGGABOND

any one fancy these bonus :-)