Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Cork City Marathon 2013
Options
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
But as for today, I'll be drinking a fair amount of water to make sure I'm hydrated going into tomorrow. And then employing a strict 7am cut-off point until the race starts
I read somewhere that sipping a sportsdrink thru-out the day before is the way to go...be careful that you don't over do the water today and end up flushing out too much salts.!
Gotta head up to Cork today and get a running cap, looking out the window this morning he sun is blazing and no wind 
. Got some shorts and a running top yesterday at the expo..to small...who was I kidding !!
On a more worrying note for me...got a serious strain in my groin the last few days, constant niggling pain...reckon I'll just man up and drive on for target time at this stage.
Mr.W~
P.s. Would luv to meet up in Patricks Street tomorrow morning before the start to get a training group photo ?? Interested?0 -
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
Oh. My. God. Pre-emptive Immodium for the win!
I would definitely be on for meeting before the start, I'll be hanging round the city for a good hour before the race as my husband is starting work at 7:30 and I'm coming in with him. How's the best way to organise it?
Lets say meet up and say Hi outside Quills ( to the left of the Savoy, across road from Brown Thomas) at 8.15-8.30? Gives us time to get some of the nerves outta our system before the 9am start.
Just look for the slightly grey and ever so balding guy getting told to cop on and stop being so nervous by my wife and kids:pac::pac:0 -
-
-
-
-
-
Best of luck to everyone tomorrow, I can't look at boards again or I won't sleep a wink!
Leave it all on the road tomorrow - no regrets!
Thanks for all the support ye have given me in the build up too - see ye for a well earned pint (shortly after 1 I hope!
).
I'm gonna smoke the head off myself too! 0 -
Best of luck to everyone tomorrow, I can't look at boards again or I won't sleep a wink!
Leave it all on the road tomorrow - no regrets!
Thanks for all the support ye have given me in the build up too - see ye for a well earned pint (shortly after 1 I hope!).
I'm gonna smoke the head off myself too!
Best of luck from the Marlboro man!0 -
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
Alright, so I'm not big into doing race reports, but I think after putting in a few months hard training and enjoying the comradeship that this training log provided , I guess it deserves a report on how everything worked out for me.
( You're getting it anyways whether you want it or not !!:pac: )
Where to begin? I spent the previous two days berating myself after straining my left hammy on the second last session of the plan, an 8 x 400mtr fast session. Visions of limping out after a few miles had my head spinning and really had me worried , picturing myself pulling up after a few miles. I tried to rest it as much as I could, but with the good weather and my sons sixth sense for sussing out when Dad's injured, I found myself kicking a ball around with him the day before!
Up at 6am race day, nice bowl of porridge, banana and a cup of green tea ( a late addition to my training diet after reading last week about how it might benefit long distance runners by helping the body to convert fat to fuel ).
We, me , Mrs.W and Wiggle jnr., made it out the door on time at 7.15am , after several words of encouragement by myself !
Arrived in Cork at 8.15 , liberally plastered sore hammy in some anti-inflammatory cream I found in the in-laws house and it was just a short walk to Quills where I found this gang Boards.ie's.jpg of nervous running delinquents up to no good !
It was great to finally meet some of the bunch who have been keeping me going over the past 3 months! I'll just say that the very handsome ould fella in the middle is the legend that is Mr.W and leave the others to their anonymity. ( Although ncmc might be easy to spot )
20 minutes of us psyching each other up for the 26 plus miles ahead and off to the starting pens it was.
Met my two marathon hardcore buddies i was running the race with, the three of us had never done a 3.15 time before, and we were determined today was gonna be the day. Tucked in behind TBF's balloons and spent the last 5 minutes enjoying the calm, and noticing runners that were obviously in the wrong starting areas and might be trouble at the gun.
Off we went and I was surprised how much room I had to run in , compared to last year in the 3.30 group. Kept to the outside on the right, avoiding potential trouble in the first 3 left-hand turns. The three of us kept about 10 seconds behind the balloons and settled into a lovely pace. One of the lads with me is a bit of a local running legend so for the first 9km it was constant cheering on and if any runners around us didn't know his name beforehand, we'll they're not likely to forget it now :pac:. But seriously , all thru the city, Blackpool and down the quays right up to the first relay point the support was great. On we went down thru the tunnel which I really enjoyed, we were 10 seconds behind the 3.15 pack who were testing out the tunnel acoustics with a selection of chants. The pull up of the tunnel into Mahon, from 13km to 15km, was the first tough bit although looking at my splits now they were surprisingly perfect, cause I HATE HILLS!
The next 4km thru Mahon to the Castle turn, the pace just felt to hot and we could see the distance to the 3.15 bunch which was 20 seconds , was after narrowing so we backed off by about 5 secs a km for the very, very quiet 4km around the estuary. The breeze was a gift as the morning temperatures were starting to rise.
Forgot to mention, took my first gel at the 8km mark, and the second at the 16km mark and just before the castle turn met Mrs.W with a prepared bottle of sports drink.
We were a comfortable 20 seconds behind TBF&co passing half-way and everything was ticking along nicely, or so I thought.
Somewhere between the 23km and 24km mark ( a lovely section of the course, the old railway line ) one of the buddies dropped off the pace. It was a big shock to me as this guy is made of strong stuff and started putting nasty thoughts in my head. I reckon buddy no.2 sensed this , cause he started up with the motivational talk, it was head down and keep the km's ticking along ,we'll just keep the 3.15 balloons in sight. I needed that gee-up to get the focus back. Looking again at my splits, I can see where it worked as the next three km from the Marina to the South-link were 10 secs a km quicker than PMP.
Up&down into turners cross without much fuss. I was actually dreading that section of the course, cause I HATE HILLS, but I was feeeling really good passing CorkCityFC's ground (turners cross) and met a friend who asked me how i was feeling ? I shouted back that all was well, which it was, but boy was I in for a surprise. Less than a km later , around the 30/31km ( 18/19 mile) mark,just by Musgrave park I ran smack into the wall. It really helped that I had gone thru this twice before last year in Cork and Dublin, cause my head was all over the place but I kept the legs moving and the talk with the running buddy pushed me thru it. I'm actually so proud of myself for not losing time here, cause I felt terrible. Looking at the times, it took approx.2km to settle back into it ( and big thanks to the residents who left two tables of orange slices out for the runners at the 30km mark, it was perfectly positioned for me!)
By the time I got to the Lough and the water station my spirits were back up and the times were perfect. One lovely cool , wet sponge and a mouthful of water later , I was all set for the push on down to Glasheen where my Mum and sister were waiting for me. Another slice of orange, a home-prepared wet sponge and a few shouts to each other and this was it..knuckle down now for that bloody drag up Model Farm Road around the 34km to 35km mark. This was the first time my Mum and sister had seen me running, and I was so looking forward to seeing them at that point that I hadn't noticed buddy no.2 dropping off the pace. It wasn't till I was running down Wilton road that I took a look behind and could not see him. Now I was really , really worried, as this guy had left me for dead in a recent 10 miler and some training runs we had done. The demons surfaced again and this time I was on my own. Head down, or is it look-up and get up that hill cause once you crest it, its downhill to the final relay point and Mrs.W.
The support going thru it was so uplifting, it was amazing. Has to be one of the best feelings ever, nothing but positive vibes directed at you just when you need it. Mrs.W met me on her bike to keep me company and offer support for the run onto and down the straight road. I knew I was in trouble when I declined the last of the gels and a bottle of energy drink as I could feel my body shutting down. I had serious cramps back at the Marina after the last bottle and just couldn't stomach another gel ( even though I obviously needed an energy boost ).
The 36th Km was my last good Km, as the legs started to loose their energy, and my mental state started to suffer. Mrs W. got me onto the Carrigrohane Road but once onto it i was cooked and the 3.15 balloons bobbed off into the distance.
I just couldn't believe it, all kinds of thoughts spinning in my head, from you've got the training done-keep going, to I just can't keep moving, stop or you're gonna collapse. Mrs.W Did her best, but I reckon I just shut her out in my head, and disaster of all disaster, I stopped around the 38km mark and walked for a while. That section of the course was really like no-mans land with several more poor souls like me walking . Another shout from Mrs.W got me going again but back to walking again after a couple of minutes. It went like this for the last 4km thru the Mardyke an onto Popes Quay. I had promised myself that I would beat the Womans Half-marathon leader home, as she caught me last year at the start of the Carrigrohane road, and when Lizzy Lee passed me on Popes Quay , it actually snapped me out of it. Another chap who was in the same state as me, we had been leap-frogging each other since the straight road clapped me on the back and said let's go. So a dose of HTFU and stop feeling sorry for yourself and up Pope's Quay , turn onto Patricks Bridge to a wall of noise, and found myself sprinting up Patrick's Street ( what support!! ). Don't know how I did it, but spotted the clock, and pushed . A few back slaps and handshakes with my new best friend and off to the massage tent for me ! But shock, horror..to my surprise..I didn't need it ! My previous two experiences had me unable to walk after the finish line..this time I was sore but no limping or shuffling
That was a big bonus. One banana, bottle of water and medal later and off to get kisses and hugs from the family.
It really is amazing how it can go from feeling so down with 6 km to go, to being absolutely over the moon with that medal around your neck and knowing you have just run a marathon !
A quick shower and a change of clothes ( into the official 2013 top of course ) and back in town to meet the other boardsies in the Woodford,with family Wiggle. It was great hearing and sharing war stories with you all and by god did I need the pasta bake..and the beer !
This adventure has me promising to race a lot more and meet up with boardsies more often ...a great experience.!
So, thats it from me for the CorkCityMarathon training log 2013.
Thanks to all who helped me complete my goal, it was all very much appreciated and i hope I was able to help you a bit !
Next time, I'll try and make the report a bit longer !!!:pac::pac:
Mr.W~0 -
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Advertisement