Connemara Half, Full and Ultra 2014

quinlivan

echancrure wrote: »

:mad::mad::mad:
:eek::eek::eek:
GET OUT THERE TODAY
:cool::cool::cool:

:D:D

I promise I will

Cabaal

Last high mileage week and long run was week before Paddy's day, think I'll do 13miles this weekend but other then that its all short enough miles.

Feel I'm in better shape this year, found doing back2back runs far easier compared to last year when I found it a challenge to do a 10mile run the second day of my back2back. This year I've managed a 30mile run as my second back2back run without dreading it...so thats always good :pac:

ultraman1

lookin forward to it now...

theboyblunder

ultraman1 wrote: »

lookin forward to it now...

+1 hard work done - looking forward to the race

Tigerandahalf

Ran the Craughwell 10 mile at the weekend. A well organised race and it was a lovely day for it.
Had some soreness with one of my knees after my LSR a week before the race so I did very little during the week upto the race to allow the knee to recover.
Ran it in 70 minutes. Very pleased with the time but I found the race tough. The last few miles were a struggle. My legs just didn't have great strength. I also felt my feet were beginning to blister. Looking at my socks after and there was a hole in the sole of one so perhaps not enough cushioning. My runners seem ok though.
A bit sore still and my left knee is at me a bit especially going down steps. I might go for a recovery run later.
I'm not sure how much running I will do before the half in less than 2 weeks now.
I think I will need to go nice and slow at the start and just conserve myself until the second half of the race. It can be hard to slow yourself but if I don't I'm going to hit a wall very early.
Hopefully the day will be nice now and not too hot.

goalscoringhero

Half:
Skittles8710 No PB first Half, Target 1:59:59
Tigerandahalf No PB First Half Target 1.45 - 1.50
Registeredmice NOPB cos first, Target 1:50
ultraman1's da

Full:
Jet Black
echancrure NOPB cos first, Target 3:25
FBOT01 03:20
cailineile
ger664(if i survive Seville)
NameThatTune 3:59 first time
Bladeserver NOPB First time, Target 4:00
PDCAT
Martyboy48
quinlivan
theboyblunder

Ultra:
Ferris B 5:29
opus
Cabaal 5:39
TFBubendorfer PB 4:53:34, Target 4:53:33
ultraman1 5:20
Aimman
Redtop
Canine Marathoner PB 5.21.XX, Target 5.10.XX
BrokenMan
guysmiley (between 6:00 and 6:30)
cookie77
ArtieFufkin 4:45 to 5:00
Outside PB:5:18 Target:4:45
Benny Bulben 6:15
goalscoringhero First time, target: 5:28


Long time lurker first time poster. First time ultra too. Hello.

Trying to beat my Connemarathon time from 2012 (5:41..) where I hit the wall at 7 miles for unknown reasons and had a long way home.

Training went well, best preparation ever: 2 weekends of 20-milers back to back on Saturday and Sunday, weekly total around 55-60 miles for the past 7 weeks.
Tapering since Paddy's weekend.

Not sure the distance suits me...long runs on the road became very boring without company. Will be different on the day, so we'll see.
Looking forward to this now.

Ferris B

goalscoringhero wrote: »

Long time lurker first time poster. First time ultra too. Hello.

Trying to beat my Connemarathon time from 2012 (5:41..) where I hit the wall at 7 miles for unknown reasons and had a long way home.

Training went well, best preparation ever: 2 weekends of 20-milers back to back on Saturday and Sunday, weekly total around 55-60 miles for the past 7 weeks.
Tapering since Paddy's weekend.

Not sure the distance suits me...long runs on the road became very boring without company. Will be different on the day, so we'll see.
Looking forward to this now.

Hey there goalscoringhero. Looks like there's a few of us aiming for 5:20 - 5:30 so there should be a bit of company.

What distance where you running in 2012? Marathon?

goalscoringhero

Ferris B wrote: »

Looks like there's a few of us aiming for 5:20 - 5:30 so there should be a bit of company.

Sounds good to me, and of course there'll be the bulk of marathon runners ahead of us once we reach Lough Inagh.
I just found it mentally a bit difficult running back roads on the long back-to-backs, whereas on a trail I found it was easier for my mind to switch off / not to be bothered with anything, and time generally passed much quicker.

Ferris B wrote: »

What distance where you running in 2012? Marathon?

Ran (jogged...walked) the marathon, but ran out of steam early on. Not sure what happened that day, my heart rate went racing like wild every time I kept running for more than 500m... somehow I managed to struggle to the finish line (sorry m'am, I'm 100 minutes late for tea).

Ferris B

Just getting my race planning started. First on the list...

Where's a good spot for post run celebrations/commiserations in Clifden?

NameThatTune

Hello all, can anyone recommend a good energy gel for the marathon, how many would you take and where in the city center (Dublin) can I buy them?

FBOT01

NameThatTune wrote: »

Hello all, can anyone recommend a good energy gel for the marathon, how many would you take and where in the city center (Dublin) can I buy them?

Ferris B is a bit of an expert on this subject. He has probably tried them all at some stage so he might add his 5 cents worth. I use Kinetica (BTW the cola ones are rank) which are available in Elverys.....

BIG NOTE OF CAUTION if you haven't used them on your long training runs the day of the race would not be the time to try something new. The general consensus would be that whatever you have been doing/using in training is what you should be doing/using on race day. That goes for clothes, runners, hydration, nutrition, etc. I stand to be corrected by the more knowledgeable bodies that can be found around these parts but it would be harsh to see all your training wasted due to stomach problems:(

Sounds like there may be a bit of taper madness going on....go with what you know. Keep the Faith;)

NameThatTune

Thanks for that, I am running in a small duathalon race this weekend I was thinking of test driving a gel for that. I will be keep everything else the same, clothes, footwear etc etc

Enduro

NameThatTune wrote: »

Thanks for that, I am running in a small duathalon race this weekend I was thinking of test driving a gel for that. I will be keep everything else the same, clothes, footwear etc etc

You don't need gels. I don't think I ever used one in Connemara. There is a thread in the main forum on the topic right now with a diversity of opinion in it.

ArtieFufkin

FBOT01 wrote: »

I use Kinetica (BTW the cola ones are rank)

I use them too. I reckon the Cola ones are still better than the Berry ones. The orange gels from them are the ones to go for.
I'll be taking a few with me for the Ultra plus 3 drinks with gels added to them, then maybe one or two treats in my drop backs to keep things interesting.

It's my first ultra but I've heard it's not a bad idea to take more than you need and put something savoury that you can stomach. That way you won't get fed up with the gels.

Someone on the gels thread suggested crystalised ginger, which I think is a great idea. Lots of flavour but also kind on the stomach.

skittles8710

Anyone know gyms near Galway city centre that allow pay as you go..Will need to get my smelly self a shower after before I hit the road

Tigerandahalf

skittles8710 wrote: »

Anyone know gyms near Galway city centre that allow pay as you go..Will need to get my smelly self a shower after before I hit the road

Maybe one of the hostels in the city would oblige you if you ask.

echancrure

OK one week to go and since this is my first marathon and therefore first proper taper (last long run 20 miles run was 10 days ago), I thought I'd mention how I am feeling:

- my legs don't feel great: a bit heavy, tight calves, and feeling my left hamstring for the first time in months : hopefully that's just signs of recovery;

- little ankle niggle, nothing serious at all (I'd rate it 1 / 10) but again hadn't felt anything like this for months and slight back pain (? where did that come from?) ;

- generally a little tired;

- hungry, but that's because I am still trying to shift a kilo off, probably won't make it;

- I can't seem to hit my target marathon running pace and stride until after the third mile (not much use given my current 4 miles runs): I am usually way too fast and my breathing is heavy initially, it does not help of course that I have no GPS watch and that my Blackberry (don't go there) GPS app is playing up so that most of the time for the past week I ran without mile timing;

- talking of stride / gait whatever you call it, I seem to worry about it now much more during my runs than a month ago when I did not know much about it: I wish I did not watch those youtube videos !

So there you go, the jitters.

Now let me check the weather forecast to see if I need a new pair of shorts...

Bladeserver

echancrure wrote: »

OK one week to go and since this is my first marathon and therefore first proper taper (last long run 20 miles run was 10 days ago), I thought I mention how I am feeling:

- my legs don't feel great: a bit heavy, tight calves, and feeling hamstring for the first time in month : hopefully that's just signs of recovery;

- little ankle niggle, nothing serious at all (I'd rate it 1 / 10) but again hadn't felt anything like this for month and slight back pain (? where did that come from?) ;

- generally a little tired;

- hungry, but that's because I am still trying to shift a kilo off, probably won't make it;

- I can't seem to hit my target marathon running pace and stride until mile after mile 3 (not much use in my current running 4 miles runs): I am usually way too fast and my breathing is heavy initially, it does not help off course that I have no GPS watch and that my Blackberry (don't go there) GPS app is playing up so that most of the time for the past week I run without mile timing;

- talking of stride / gait whatever you call it, I seem to worry about it now much more during my run than a month ago when I did not know much about it: I wish I did not watch those youtube videos !

So there you go, just the jitters I guess.

Now let me check the weather forecast to see if I need a new pair of shorts...

I am in the same boat! Have the first timer pre jitters. I went for a run last night and felt like **** and my legs were tight on it! On the last part of it I felt genuinely sick and dizzy so had to pull in and sit on a bench (one of my training low points).

My pacing is so temperamental!! I got a Garmin a couple of weeks ago and I wish I made the investment in January. It has helped me massively over the past few weeks. I am aiming for 8:15 pace for the first 13.1 and after that I'm going to listen to my body. I don't want to break records, my knees or my mind.

Speaking of shorts I bought a pair of vulcan lycra shorts in elverys and they have caused me to chafe badly twice so thinking of getting something else!!

Really looking forward to it! I think i've put the miles in (close to 300 since jan with a decent level of fitness along with cycling and weights) and I've nursed a few injuries along the way!!

TFBubendorfer

Welcome to taper madness, gentlemen.

Don't worry, this is normal and will pass.

RegisteredMice

Anyone know how long the buses take to get to the start line from Galway.. And return from the finish line?

Kander

Usually about 30 minutes total with a small stop to pick up more people along the way. 5 minutes walk from where the bus drops you to the line

goalscoringhero

RegisteredMice wrote: »

Anyone know how long the buses take to get to the start line from Galway.. And return from the finish line?

Allow at least 1 hour to the Marathon start line. Get into an early bus if you can. If you leave it late, the Ultra may have started which runs along the bus route to the marathon. With oncoming traffic (and depending on driver) that may slow down the bus (2 years ago I made it to the start line with only 5 minutes to spare - the bus driver also didn't have a clue where the start line was).

Around 45 minutes to Maam Cross, if you're running the Ultra.
Also ca. 45 minutes back to Galway from the finish line.

Aimman

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Welcome to taper madness, gentlemen.

Don't worry, this is normal and will pass.

I think I've been tapering for the last three months! :eek:

Cabaal

This day week it'll be all well over and the legs will be in recovery

TFBubendorfer

Aimman wrote: »

I think I've been tapering for the last three months! :eek:

And you never did any training that would have required tapering in the first place.

quinlivan

Eeeek. 6 days!

Ron DMC

5 more sleeps lads.

My first ultra.

Bricking it.

ArtieFufkin

Ron DMC wrote: »

5 more sleeps lads.

My first ultra.

Bricking it.

Me too! My last few runs have felt terrible. Time for loss of rest now though.

Ron DMC

ArtieFufkin wrote: »

Me too! My last few runs have felt terrible. Time for loss of rest now though.

I had a metatarsal scare last week but I think it was mostly in my head.

I am all for plenty of rest, but unfortunately mega busy with work this week. Sunday seems a long way off, yet far sooner than I'd like.

NameThatTune

Lads is it too early for a weather forecast? Anyone from the area have an inkling of how the day will be?