A long way down - IM South Africa 2013

Izoard

Not surprisingly, Moscow was not conducive to any outdoor activity, so bit of a dead week.

Also, heading away for mid term with the kids, so next week doesn't look much better.

I'll try to squeeze in a long run early tomorrow, before departure.

Perfect build up for Donadea...:)

Dory Dory

Let's hope this time next year that the weather cooperates a little better for the Olympics. I'm sure ther is some nail biting going on.

Izoard

So, with a griffin-esque approach to training, I've arrived at the first event of the year.

At this point, I'd be happy to reprise the 3.45 marathon/ 4.25 finish from last year. Even for that to happen, I'll need to latch onto a group to bring me around...

Let the fun begin!

griffin100

Izoard wrote: »

So, with a griffin-esque approach to training, I've arrived at the first event of the year.

I've finally made it as a triathlete......I've had a training method named after me

Best of luck with this, remember you can never have too much compression gear on

handangeo

griffin100 wrote: »

I've finally made it as a triathlete......I've had a training method named after me

Best of luck with this, remember you can never have too much compression gear on

Izoard...............is the King of Compression

RacoonQueen

Izoard wrote: »

So, with a griffin-esque approach to training, I've arrived at the first event of the year.

At this point, I'd be happy to reprise the 3.45 marathon/ 4.25 finish from last year. Even for that to happen, I'll need to latch onto a group to bring me around...

Let the fun begin!

Have you done any long runs? This is promising, there may be someone less prepared than me.

Izoard

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Have you done any long runs? This is promising, there may be someone less prepared than me.

You planning to run, or just dispense baked goods?

Either, or both, is a good thing.

Emmmm, "long runs"....what qualifies?

BennyMul

Good luck tomorrow, should be no problems to ye.

Kurt Godel

Izoard wrote: »

Emmmm, "long runs"....what qualifies?

Anything over 10k. Might I recommend a good Fleurie tonight, followed by a few swift ales? Nothing better for easing the pain than sobering up and realising you're after running 20 miles. Confusion will get you round the rest.

Best of luck!

RacoonQueen

Izoard wrote: »

You planning to run, or just dispense baked goods?

Either, or both, is a good thing.

Emmmm, "long runs"....what qualifies?

The idea was to do 8 laps as a training run. 1-3 easy, 4 and 5 at PMP, 6 easy and 7 and 8 at PMP after a full week of training. Been a bit under the weather so though so it might just be 40k easy I've maxed out at 18 miles (once) and a couple of 40something weeks. Don't plan on doing the whole thing but sure we'll see how it goes. Running better than I have in years so I don't want to screw that up by overdoing it, easier to say that now than when I'm faced with 'just one more lap' or dropping out.

And I will have cake. Of course I'll have cake. :pac:

Dory Dory

Have fun Izoard!!! Stop and get your photo taken with some of the characters along the way. Oh wait. That was me at Disney. Never mind. Enjoy the, um, 50k!!

Izoard

"Son, your ego is writing cheques your body can't cash"
Stinger, Top Gun

And so it goes...

Preamble:
I've hit a serious wall with the mojo for long distance training. The usual work/life stuff and frankly, a boredom with solo LD training, got me to a point, where my longest run since DCM was a single 34km effort.
However, never been famed for structured, logical or enough training, I was looking forward to this event, as much for the social element, as anything else.

Chez Izoard was graced with the presence of Asimonov for the night before the race - and he was looking as good as could be expected, with the weight of Bib #1 on his back (as it turns out, he prefers pinning the number on his right leg, close to his groin area, presumably for aerodynamic reasons...).


Race:
Good weather had me in positive spirits, with a view that I could match the 4.25 effort of last year.
Good to see a large smattering of Boardsies, particularly a few from the tri world, including mcos, intent on popping his Ultra cherry (I'm never really sure where to classify RQ - still suspicious of her tri credentials...).

At the start, I was scanning faces to see where the ~4.20 punters were. Assumed the position, and off we went.

A tad mucky on the short bit before the offical laps began, but the first 1.5km of the laps were nice and clean. However, ultraman1, being the crafty sort that he is, kept the serious muck well hidden between kms 2 & 4. Being a kid who grew up playing sport on the condition, that my gear remained clean (rugby full-back on a team that just played a 10-man game, suited me just fine), this was definitely outside my comfort zone.
What next...cross-country???
After lap 2, I realised that my 4.20 (finish) pace was a little too uncomfortable, and slowly dropped back from my pace buddies at that point.

Once I'd dialed the pace down, things got more comfortable and little groups came and went as the laps ticked by.

During lap 3, bazman came flying by and we spent the rest of the lap discussing as to how many times he would lap us before the end (3, as it turns out...).

Not long after KC and the omnipresent Asimonov also steamed past, both looking strong.

Saw some early Boards casualties after lap 4 with meno and mcos "hors combat" and then RQ was looking a little too chirpy on the side lines soon after.
At this stage, it was metronomic, lapping in the 27 min range, but with the company dying off as the laps passed.

On lap 9, I was woken up by Marthastew flying past, well on her way to a course record and a ridiculously large trophy - chapeau!

Further along lap 9, I pulled alongside a female runner, with my usual cheesy opener..
"This your first ultra?"
"No, I did a double a while back and am preparing for a 104 MILE race in the UK in a couple of weeks - this is just a training run"
"Right......"

We chit chatted for a while until the start of lap 10, where she stormed past and disappeared up the trail.

There were a few tired bodies at this point and it felt good to overtake a few, as I felt I was being passed all day.

Miss 104 miles started to come back into view, but just as I caught her, she took off again in a long sprint for the line, leaving me in no-mans-land again. Great finish from her, for 2nd place female.

So, finished OK, well within myself, but glad I'd made the call to slow it down in the earlier laps, so as to keep the consistency going.

Marathon 3.48
Finish 4.33

8 mins slower than last year, but you get what you deserve, from a training perspective.

All in all, a good day out and a good psychological test for IM ZA in April.

Great race, highly recommended for anyone looking to test the waters at the ultra level.

Dory Dory

Aww..you've got me smiling with your perky report! Well done on the day in many respects!

griffin100

I'm telling ya, I'm going to write a training book..... Going Long On Fcuk All Training.

Great result.

ASIMON0V

good stuff izoard - your mental focus is enviable. imagine the difference if you supplemented it with actual running training though.....(but then maybe the reports wouldn't be so good).

Abhainn

I don't know how you do it. Kudos

RacoonQueen

I'm a runner. The fact I went swimming on Friday night does not make me any less a runner.

Happy to clear that up for you.

Well done yesterday. Much tougher out there than it was last year.

Izoard

Woke up yesterday feeling no ill-effects, but could have done without the 3hours of under-7 rugby-blitz reffing...

However, being the slacker that I am, I wisely swapped my planned Sunday evening turbo session, for a cheeky Bordeaux.

The penalty, of course, is that I woke this morning with a lot of stiffness in my lower back and shoulders.
During the race, I could feel I was running very tight and kept having to tell myself to swing the arms etc - obviously didn't listen to what I was saying.

Hopefully, a lunch-time swim will sort it out...

Marthastew

Really enjoyed your race report:D
and very well done on such a good run with minimal training:)

Am I correct in assuming that you're doing an ironman in April? I'm hoping your training for that is going a bit better than it did for Donadea;)

Izoard

Marthastew wrote: »

Really enjoyed your race report:D
and very well done on such a good run with minimal training:)

Am I correct in assuming that you're doing an ironman in April? I'm hoping your training for that is going a bit better than it did for Donadea;)

That's the plan, however, at this point it will be strictly as an IM tourist. I had a local mate who was signed up, but he's now backed out, so the temptation to pull out was touchable for a while.

I'll be in SA anyway for work, so as long I've done enough to get around, I'll be on the start line.

What could possibly go wrong?

Marthastew

All very quiet on here.... How is your minimal training going?;)

Izoard

Marthastew wrote: »

All very quiet on here.... How is your minimal training going?;)

Tapering - don't want to over do it....

Izoard

T-6 weeks....

Primary concern right now, is whether I'll fit into the wet suit on the day.

It hasn't seen the light of day since Brittas last September and the winter coat is particularly thick this year.

The stars have alligned to deliver a free 4 hour window on Sunday afternoon, so time to dust off the road bike and take to the hills - apparently the road surfaces around Enniskerry are perfect training for what's ahead in Port Elizabeth...:eek:

Marthastew

Izoard wrote: »

T-6 weeks....

Primary concern right now, is whether I'll fit into the wet suit on the day.

It hasn't seen the light of day since Brittas last September and the winter coat is particularly thick this year.

The stars have alligned to deliver a free 4 hour window on Sunday afternoon, so time to dust off the road bike and take to the hills - apparently the road surfaces around Enniskerry are perfect training for what's ahead in Port Elizabeth...:eek:

I was cycling out around enniskerry this morning and some of the potholes were as big as the grand canyon;) (might be a slight exaggeration)
However I can recommend the scones and coffee in Avoca Powerscourt as a nice midway snack

Abhainn

Izoard wrote: »

T-6 weeks....

Primary concern right now, is whether I'll fit into the wet suit on the day.

It hasn't seen the light of day since Brittas last September and the winter coat is particularly thick this year.

The stars have alligned to deliver a free 4 hour window on Sunday afternoon, so time to dust off the road bike and take to the hills - apparently the road surfaces around Enniskerry are perfect training for what's ahead in Port Elizabeth...:eek:

Brilliant

Izoard

Seems like a day of frustration here on TDAR, so here's my 2c.

Woke up on Sunday feeling absolutely sh1te, but did my Bushy Park run with the dog, swiftly followed by some full-on rugby training with the under 7s.
By the time I got back to the house, I could barely stagger upstairs, feeling like I'd gone 10 rounds with Tyson.

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get out for the 4 hour bike ride, so I settled on lying down for 30 mins of a power nap, and hopefully banish the aches and pains.

8 hours later, I'm woken by a concerned wife:eek:

Sh1t! The sunniest day of the year and I slept for the guts of the whole day...
Swung the legs out of the bed, with a view to doing a turbo of some sort, but the head and body both screaming in protest.

Finally beginning to feel human again by this afternoon, so will try to get back in the saddle tomorrow.

Man flu - it really is the worst form going...

On the plus side, I haven't eaten in 3 days, so managed to drop 3kg - always a silver lining.

RacoonQueen

Izoard wrote: »

but the head and body both screaming in protest.

I felt like that last night.

So I went for a 3.8k swim.

Izoard

Had arranged to meet RedB yesterday evening for a run.

Given it was lashing rain all afternoon, I was waiting in hope for the note to call it off, but being the tough Limerick lad that he is, the call never came...

Out we went @ 6pm in the pi$$ing rain for 90 mins or so, including a few mins in Marlay Park where the paths were effectively rain drains.

Red didn't break a sweat, so looks in good shape for Keeper at the weekend.

Was surprised at the amount of runners out in the monsoon - a tough bunch, these goody baggers...:)

griffin100

How are you finding the 3 month taper?

Izoard

In the car on the way down to Wexford on Friday night, Mrs I says...

"Are you still doing the IM in South Africa? I haven't noticed you doing any training for it..."

Once I swerved back into the lane, 2 things hit me:

1) If the missus makes a statement like that, it just shows the depths to which "training" has plummeted

2) I should not do this race.

I'll take 1) on board and ignore 2) for the time being....