Portumna 100km, 50km, Marathon & Half-Marathon 14/06/2014

martyboy48

carsfan wrote: »

I'm thinking of doing the half here.
For people that have been there before, is there much parking available at the forest park?
On the web site I can't see where the half would start.

I did it last year. The half started more or less at the gates of the forrest park, right at the entrance. There was parking available all along from the gates to near the ultra start area, and on some green areas near the ultra start area. If you get there in plenty of time you will get parking along there, otherwise there's the aldi par park just outside, no long trek to the car in either case..

Aimman

Half-Marathon:
career_move
Martyboy48
yaboya1, Target 1:22:59

Marathon:
Aimman (cos I can't be arsed doing 50k or 100k at the moment :rolleyes:)

50km Ultra:
echancrure - No PB first 50k, Target 3:59

100km Ultra:
Cabaal - Just want to finish
TFBubendorfer - first 100k, target 8:29
Outside - Just run 100km![/QUOTE]

jfh

Aimman wrote: »

Half-Marathon:
career_move
Martyboy48
yaboya1, Target 1:22:59

Marathon:
Aimman (cos I can't be arsed doing 50k or 100k at the moment :rolleyes:)
Going to use this for 12 mile MP
50km Ultra:
echancrure - No PB first 50k, Target 3:59

100km Ultra:
Cabaal - Just want to finish
TFBubendorfer - first 100k, target 8:29
Outside - Just run 100km!

[/quote]

Canine Marathoner

Half-Marathon:
career_move
Martyboy48
yaboya1, Target 1:22:59

Marathon:
Aimman (cos I can't be arsed doing 50k or 100k at the moment :rolleyes:)
jfh - Going to use this for 12 mile MP

50km Ultra:
echancrure - No PB first 50k, Target 3:59

100km Ultra:
Cabaal - Just want to finish
TFBubendorfer - first 100k, target 8:29
Outside - Just run 100km!
Canine Marathoner - first 100k, target 9.29

echancrure

Well how's everyone?

According to RTE weather the weather is to be good and warm towards the end of the week: I'll have to try to finish early and avoid the heat!

I am not looking forward to the 7am start as I am not an early riser, but at least it should be cooler!

Any change to the predictions anyone?

carsfan

I've signed up for the half and am really looking forward to it as have never done this type of race before.
Probably a stupid question but does the timing register every loop you do or is it an "honour" system where you finish your race having counted your own lap numbers?
Also is the loop itself fairly flat and do you run off to a seperate finish line when you come to the end of your race?

BrokenMan

You will get a split time for every 5k. The course is mostly flat. Slight rise up to the turnaround at half way but realistically it's not worth worrying about. Hard pressed to find a flatter course.

TFBubendorfer

echancrure wrote: »

Well how's everyone?

Felt like sh*ite the last couple of days, thanks for asking :P

carsfan wrote: »

I've signed up for the half and am really looking forward to it as have never done this type of race before.
Probably a stupid question but does the timing register every loop you do or is it an "honour" system where you finish your race having counted your own lap numbers?
Also is the loop itself fairly flat and do you run off to a seperate finish line when you come to the end of your race?

You will run through the finishing gantry after each lap and that will count your laps as well as give you split times every 5k. The finish is exactly the same, except that you can stop once you've gone over the line.

It is possibly the flattest race course in Ireland.

Cabaal

Gota say I'm abit nervous, everything after 40miles is uncharted for me and if things don't go well its a long drag to 62 from 40

echancrure

Cabaal wrote: »

Gota say I'm abit nervous, everything after 40miles is uncharted for me and if things don't go well its a long drag to 62 from 40

I am a bit nervous too having only ever completed 1 marathon !

A year of firsts for me :P

Be grand.:rolleyes:

Outside

Looking forward to this, I was supporting a friend last year for the 100km and saw how well run the event is so I had to get in on the action this year!

See you all bright and early Saturday morning for just 20 laps!

Bahanaman

echancrure wrote: »

I am a bit nervous too having only ever completed 1 marathon !

A year of firsts for me :P

Be grand.:rolleyes:

A doddle!!

jfh

Signed up for the marathon, plan is use it as a training run, hope to do 14 miles @ PMP. Last MP run was 10 miles so bit of a jump

Canine Marathoner

The plan was to do an easy 5-miler today & tomorrow but the Achilles tendons felt tight & irritating (nothing severe) this morning so may push these runs into touch to ensure there are no niggles at the start - will see later.

The weather is looking good (maybe a bit warm by Irish standards): 20c, sunny - will feel like 22c supposedly.


Now don't laugh but just to confirm: the 100k starts at 7am, yeah? (it's just I was reading a race report from a previous year & the start was at 6am - would be devastated if I showed up late). Paranoid, I know. And one more question: it'd be fine to leave a bag with race nutrition/drinks/spare top etc. unattended on the official refreshment station tables, yeah? like it's not a case as in the Connemara Ultra whereby sometimes stuff goes walky? I know it says such & such on the website but it's always best to hear previous competitors' advice.
There are two such stations if I get the website correctly, so I take it most people elect to leave their stuff at the one at the 5km mark, yeah? Any nuggets of advice from past experience appreciated...

Cabaal

7am start for 50km and 100km,
You could likely leave some stuff at the half way point on the 5km loop but to be honest its far easier just leave stuff at the start/finish line as you'll be passing it every 5km anyway...also last year atleast there was an area people could leave stuff in out of the rain etc.

Some people left stuff in bags in the area mentioned above, others left things at the side of the road on tables/ground. To be honest I didn't hear of anything been taken by anyone that the stuff wasn't meant for.

ger664

Really disappointed I would make it this year, the fact I will be lying on a beach in Pairia Da Rocha is a good consolation prize.

Best of luck to everyone running on Saturday and enjoy.

ultraman1

ger664 wrote: »

Really disappointed I would make it this year, the fact I will be lying on a beach in Pairia Da Rocha is a good consolation prize.

Best of luck to everyone running on Saturday and enjoy.

Pop over to alvor for a sneaki 10k out and back....I'll buy d pints

martyboy48

Well I found that tough going and that was the half Don't know if it was just me but I found it very warm again this year, maybe I shouldn't have shaved my head so tight Bit of a hum haw at the start when seb announced that there was no timing mat at the start, just at start/stop gantry. I think some people thought we were only getting a 20k time. Aside from that all was good. Oh and a non tech t shirt for a change. Couldn't get internet on fone so couldn't locate Career_Move and her tasty buns cookies, I think that was the most disappointing thing

yaboya1

martyboy48 wrote: »

Well I found that tough going and that was the half Don't know if it was just me but I found it very warm again this year, maybe I shouldn't have shaved my head so tight Bit of a hum haw at the start when seb announced that there was no timing mat at the start, just at start/stop gantry. I think some people thought we were only getting a 20k time. Aside from that all was good. Oh and a non tech t shirt for a change. Couldn't get internet on fone so couldn't locate Career_Move and her tasty buns cookies, I think that was the most disappointing thing

So it wasn't just me?
Lay flat on my back on the grass for five minutes afterwards.
Completely wiped me out!

martyboy48

yaboya1 wrote: »

So it wasn't just me?
Lay flat on my back on the grass for five minutes afterwards.
Completely wiped me out!

Oh you did it? I thought you pulled the plug on it. Ya, felt like i'd been through the ringer since I finished. Just starting to feel well enough to have a few beers now
Hope you got close to your target, you'd been right up there if you did I'd say..

yaboya1

martyboy48 wrote: »

Oh you did it? I thought you pulled the plug on it. Ya, felt like i'd been through the ringer since I finished. Just starting to feel well enough to have a few beers now
Hope you got close to your target, you'd been right up there if you did I'd say..

I ran it alright. Don't know why you thought I pulled out? :eek:
I'm on the beer for the night now. Promised myself a day off tomorrow after putting myself through that!
I ran very close to 1:24 (a few seconds either side, probably just above).
No idea where I placed. Official results still not up.

echancrure

I found my 50k quite tough too but I only have myself to blame.

Great ready for some really atrocious positive splits!!

Race report to follow after, yes, a few beers.

echancrure

This is gonna be one of these race report to no interest to anyone but the writer; you have been warned.

I signed up for the 50k after the high (for me) of the Connemarathon where everything went perfect on the day. I was tempted by the Waterford marathon in a couple of weeks but it clashes with the boat to France on the same day.

Preparation for Portumna did not go too well as I tried to go too fast, too long and too soon after Connemara. It took me a while to drop down the tempo in training and regain some sort of rhythm: a few weeks wasted.

I was aiming at an under 4 hours for the 50k. One should be wary of those arbitrary round numbers...

Me and my son travelled to Portumna and set up pitch beside the finishing line: a great decision. I slept fine but woke up early for something to eat before the race.

And then came mistake number 1: I think I over ate at breakfast. I felt it during the first 30k of the race where things did not feel too good in the stomach department.

The start was uneventful as I set to discover the course. I always run on roads, so the uneven surface was new to me. Don't get me wrong the surface in Portumna is fine, just not as smooth as a road obviously. So if you feel for an excuse coming up you are right: excuse number 1, I never ran on anything but roads before. I never quite settled in a rhythm and was always worried about my stride.

Mistake number 2: I went away much too fast at about a 4'35'' per k for the first 15k. Yes I know. Crazy. Crazy.

I was keep pace with the first (I think she was) lady and it was nice running with someone for a change.

Although I got my juice drink at every lap I think I did not drink enough during the early laps and felt my legs start to seize up around the mid way points. I usually carry my own drink on a belt so that I can drink what I want when I want it. But in Portumna with the laps setup I obviously did not feel the need. However I never got much out of the cups handed at the midway point. So that was mistake number 3: hydration. I think it happened in training to me a couple of times as well, so hopefully that that's the reason for me having to slow down. It should be something I can fix quite easily for next time.

After 25k, then, my pace dropped dramatically but I don't think I got passed by other 50k runners, or many of them anyway. I was probably doing 5'30'' at this stage although at that stage I was only looking forward to finish.

I think I felt a little better towards the end as I was asking for bottles of water at the water stations, but that was much too late. So as my target time passed I tried to enjoy the last lap as much as I could.

I did not succeed the last last few kms were tough for me.

I finished in 4:09:??. I felt the finish underwhelming. Due to the lap based nature of the race, finishers are mixed up with others who still have to carry on so I did not get that big feeling of achievement at the end.

I am sure I can do an under 4 hours with a less crazy pacing strategy.

So that's it, not quite a car crash but close. My splits are gonna be atrocious.

I am now nursing a quite sore left knee with ice, watching Le Mans 24 hours on Eurosport, and reflecting on the many mistakes I made.

Hopefully I'll learn from them, during what was only my second ever long distance race, and do a better job next time. So much to learn!

Sorry for the boring report and congratulations to all the runners and the organisers!!

gtothek

Any idea if the results have been posted?

yaboya1

gtothek wrote: »

Any idea if the results have been posted?

Still no sign :-(

Outside

Wuhoo, 1st 100km race completed! (not 1st time >100km though, Wicklow Way Solo x2).

The first approx. 70km were nice and relaxed with nearly more talking and meeting people than running. Then after 70km the lap countdown began 6laps, 5 laps...this is where things started to get a little tricky. Psyching myself up to take the next gel (1gel every 10km) pretty much took over my mind, was my stomach good, was it in trouble, at 70km it's very hard to tell! All I knew is that I need energy and took the gamble in forcing calories in at that stage because the last thing you want to is eat.

Then hit 90km, took the last gel (thank god) and after digesting that in the next couple of km's I felt actually surprisingly good and decided to make sure I'd finish wrecked so put the head down and managed to make my last two laps the fastest of the days so nice to be able to do that.

In contrast to the massive bonk I had in Connemara I ended up with a >1min negative split for the 100km and finished in 8:44:16. Very happy with that, a lot to be said for starting conservatively. But looking back then on splits, too conservatively?? It's always a fine line! (all Garmin by the way, haven't seen results yet...)

Echoing everyone else's opinion I met, it's an amazing event and the atmosphere helped no end, some great support from complete strangers all the way around! Well done Seb & Team!

carsfan

Did the half yesterday and really enjoyed it.
Came in at 1.30,58 on my garmin which is a pb and pretty much what I targeted.
There was a delay at the start that seemed to annoy a few people around me but I felt the event overall was well run had a very nice atmosphere.
I am following Yaboya's log and saw him at the start looking very serious so thought better of annoying him by introducing myself. Sounds like he had a great run (as usual) and gets faster and faster.
Only bit I didn't like was the sharp turn on the course beyond the ruins as I felt this added a few seconds every lap as it was very tight and congested but I suppose there is nothing can be done about that
Overall a lovely event and will defo be back next year.

I hope there isn't a problem with the timing as results very slow to appear..

yaboya1

carsfan wrote: »

Did the half yesterday and really enjoyed it.
Came in at 1.30,58 on my garmin which is a pb and pretty much what I targeted.
There was a delay at the start that seemed to annoy a few people around me but I felt the event overall was well run had a very nice atmosphere.
I am following Yaboya's log and saw him at the start looking very serious so thought better of annoying him by introducing myself. Sounds like he had a great run (as usual) and gets faster and faster.
Only bit I didn't like was the sharp turn on the course beyond the ruins as I felt this added a few seconds every lap as it was very tight and congested but I suppose there is nothing can be done about that
Overall a lovely event and will defo be back next year.

I hope there isn't a problem with the timing as results very slow to appear..

You should have said hi....lol.
I agree with you about the U-turn. Every lap the Garmin would show the pace per mile drop by 10-20 seconds after that turn. People slowing down/stopping at the water station there didn't help either.

echancrure

yaboya1 wrote: »

You should have said hi....lol.
I agree with you about the U-turn. Every lap the Garmin would show the pace per mile drop by 10-20 seconds after that turn. People slowing down/stopping at the water station there didn't help either.

Agreed.

That's another reason why I'll carry my own drink on a belt next time. :pac:

Also, the last kilometre was much longer by quite a margin than the others; took me 3 laps to figure that one out.

Enjoying father's day while waiting the French game

(left knee is in ITBS mode and not happy, but red wine seems to help)

echancrure

While everyone is asleep: the tee-shirt is great-looking.

See you's all next time, and don't forget: drink a lot.