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
To Connemara and Beyond ...
Options
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
Can I just copy and paste that onto my log please
Ha As long as you add: "And then I'll run all the way back to collect my bike to cycle home".tailgunner wrote: »Sounds like a good plan. Best of luck!
Thanks TG!You have certainly set yourself up for a great experience Nop. Hope you get out of it what you want.
Many thanks Denis! You're not going too badly yourself these days, nice parkrun PB!Time to show the (former) novices how it's done!
Really hope it goes well on the day and you get to "enjoy" it
I think the weather looks like it'll be decent, but I guess it's the west so you should probably plan for wind and rain anyway.
Thanks B. Yeah, rain-gear is packed.hot buttered scones wrote: »Good luck and I hope it goes well for you.
Many thanks!Very best of luck in Connemara Nop... just imagine it's as flat as your homeland ... hope you have a great day!
Thanks Anna! Sure, it's only a few hills!Best of luck on Sunday Nop.
Thanks Jake!Wubble Wubble wrote: »Best of luck N. No doubt you will have plenty of the 2016 Graduates checking in to see how this one goes
:eek: oh dear. Thanks JGo get it N. That's an order
:eek: Yes boss! 0 -
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
Nop was absolutely flying it, hauling my ass around the course and pulling me up the hills until the cramps started - you were brilliant at motivating me even though I couldn't answer you back by the end. It was a very lonely 7km without you Nop. That song "Everyday I'm shuffling" came to mind heading up the Hell of the West
One thing is for sure, I'd run another marathon with you in a heartbeat - it was such fun to have you by my side. I've no doubt that when you get the cramps sorted, there's a serious marathon PB in you.0 -
-
Annie get your Run wrote: »Great going on a tough course nop, you ran a solid 35k in the hills sorry to hear the last 7k were in pain though. Look forward to the report and don't be too hard on yourself !
+1! That's fantastic going on that course, nop! Hope you're feeling ok now and I look forward to hearing more! Well done 0 -
-
-
-
-
Connemara Marathon 2017: 4:07:03 (9:15 /mi)
This morning, during the morning school-run, the lollipop-lady at the busy road-crossing waved at me and my kids to hurry and try to catch the lights she was managing. Naturally, the two dorks started running and I had no choice but to try and follow. Not so easy with hurting legs, try to run without engaging the quads or bending the knees, and without looking too miserable. I had to laugh at the whole situation, which was the first time since Sunday. It's time to write the report and move on
As some of you might know, I have a couple of running friends calling over from Netherlands for the last few years, to run some epic event. This year, we were heading (back) to Connemara. One of my friends and I would attempt the full (his sixth, my second), and the best runner of the three (1h26 HM PB) would stick to the half. Added to this were three colleagues running the half (one a debutant who was looking to just finish, one experienced sub-2 HM runner, and one guy known as my "sub-2h" project, who unfortunately injured himself in the run-up and was only there to support).
Training had been a mixed bag - I followed the boards plan from 2015, ran a good bit more actually: I exceeded the mileage by quite a bit and clocked up the LSRs reasonably comfortably. However, I had neglected cross-training and did nothing in terms of tune-up races. Nevertheless, I was niggle-free and confident to try and get the 4h monkey of my back, having missed it by 2 minutes in DCM'15. Another objective was to not leave anything out on the course. My only minor regret from 2015 is that I felt I left my A-goal slip too soon - yes, hindsight, a beautiful thing.
In Galway, we met up with the indefatigable Neady, fresh from her Maamturk Challenge win, who would run the full too, we had been comparing plans and were going to set out together and see where we'd end. The three of us doing the full took the bus together - and as we overtook the ultra-field, we jokingly said "next year!" (at least, I was joking! At least now I know I was).
We arrived at the start with about 20 minutes to spare, and went through the prep routines. We met another of Neady's friends, it was great to have company, as their enthusiasm and good humor were infectious. This was awesome, as there was no time for nerves to settle in. The leading ultra runners came through at startling pace (given a hero's welcome by the entire full field) and suddenly, we were moving ourselves, a few rows back from the 4h pacers (my friend up ahead with the 3h30s). We were off, all very low-key.
4h pace is about 9:07 min/mi (5:40 min/km), and the first couple of miles ticked by at a fairly decent clip, about 30 seconds per mile faster. Was it early-race jiggles, or were the pacers planning to bank some time for the hillier and tougher second half? Should have had a quick chat with the pacers beforehand to find out their strategy, unfortunately, I didn't think about that until we were too late. Some novice-mentor, huh. :rolleyes:
The first half was quite unremarkable. The road is a little undulating, the scenery is stunning and the weather played ball, not too warm, overcast, no rain, little wind. I had to laugh, as here I was running flanked by two of the top-4 female "Race" athletes. What was I thinking!
The pace remained quite hot but Neady and I stuck with the 4h group, unfortunately her friend had to drop back after about 7M - we were hoping to see her again but we didn't. After about 9-10 miles, we had let the 4h's go ahead, they were going too fast for our liking, whatever the strategy was. The halfway point in Leenane was reached in just below 1h53, which shows you how fast it was (and this was well behind the 4h-group). Coming through Leenane was great, to get the encouragement from the locals but the hard part of the route had arrived. I suggested we'd slow down significantly and got no objection basically the plan was to stick to 4h pace (or even slower) from now and use our time-buffer on the uphills.
Towards the end of the first climb, about 15M in, I was still feeling fine, but our conversations had already gotten noticeably shorter or non-existent. We did work together very well tho, taking turns getting water, encouraging when needed, etc. Just the fact of having someone with you makes such a difference!
However, sometime around the 16M mark, I suddenly started feeling signs of cramp in my hamstrings (which had scuppered me in Dublin, too). This totally freaked me out, it hadn't bothered me at all during the months leading up. I asked to slow down to avoid it becoming an issue and it seemed to stay at bay. This section is undulating but main downhill, making it manageable to stay on course and speed. We were slipping a few seconds per mile but we had more than enough buffer.
The miles ticked by, and at some stage, some dude caught up with us asking where the 4h pacers were. We could only point ahead (we hadn't seen them since before Leenane). He thought we had at least three minutes, whereas my calculations had us closer to 4 minutes ahead. He was quite chatty but thankfully moved ahead, as I was in no state to talk
As we were approaching the 22M mark at Maam, with it's right-turn towards the HotW, to my dismay again I felt cramp appearing and this time I knew I had to stop. I tried to make sure Neady wouldn't notice (she happened to be half a step ahead at this point) as I didn't want her to ruin her race because of me. Thankfully she continued. I stretched briefly and ran off again. Not too worried at this stage, as this had happened in DCM and disappeared, and I still had a sizeable buffer.
But having turned towards the HotW, I had to stop again and this time for quite some time, as I couldn't get rid of the cramps.
As the field shuffled by, my hopes faded and my desperation grew. I looked at my watch and did the "last roll of the dice calculation". I had 40 minutes left for 4 miles, if only I could get going again. 4 measly miles at 10-minute pace, surely!? Somehow it dawned on me that if I couldn't stretch it out, maybe I should just walk, and that seemed to work. I started power-walking up the HotW and the legs held up. Okay, okay, this might still work. The pace wasn't enough but at least I was moving again. Everybody else was walking too, apart from only one or two. At some point I started running again, too, and even though that worked for a few minutes, it wasn't fast enough and when I tried pushing it, the legs refused and I was reduced to walking again. That was it, I knew it was gone.
The rest is a bit of a blur, and the least said about it, the better. All I can remember is a rather desperate need to be finished and be done. I could have walked but refused. My sub-2h buddy was meant to be waiting at the 24M marker but he wasn't (he had decided to run in with the HM debutant, this fella needed his help more) and I was unreasonably angry at that. I do recall taking some consolation at being about the only one still running and overtaking scores of HM and full runners. Looking at the Strava details, I must have stopped again at some stage but I can't remember doing so.
Eventually, my buddies appeared with about 500 meters to go and they were roaring at me, but I didn't look or acknowledged them. Bad form, I know, but I was in a deep cave of despair, and had no energy to interact with anyone. I finished, someone handed me a medal, I stumbled to the nearest place to sit and buried my face in my hands, desperate not to puke. Well, at least, I had not left anything out there (other than some ego). :rolleyes:
My HM debutant buddy, having finished just before me, noticed me and selflessly handed me his water and looked after me. The other lads came over and I pulled myself together. Neady appeared, looking quite shell-shocked too, but I was over the moon to hear she had come in under 4 and PB'd. You're some tough lady, well done!
We changed, bussed back, patched up our driver in Ouchterard (a story for another log), and got ourselves back to Galway and eventually back to Dublin. I'll take a few weeks to work out what to do next. I'd like to try it again, but not sure if I will, or when and where.
Many thanks to all for the nice messages here and offline, and to Neady for the companionship en-route and all the assistance getting around. Well done again on your great run!
Mile-splits:
1: 8:32 /mi
2: 8:36 /mi
3: 8:37 /mi
4: 8:36 /mi
5: 8:39 /mi
6: 8:26 /mi
7: 8:41 /mi
8: 8:26 /mi
9: 8:39 /mi
10: 8:23 /mi
11: 8:27 /mi
12: 8:40 /mi
13: 8:41 /mi
14: 9:16 /mi
15: 9:36 /mi
16: 8:48 /mi
17: 9:16 /mi
18: 9:21 /mi
19: 9:45 /mi
20: 9:28 /mi
21: 9:25 /mi
22: 10:26 /mi
23: 11:54 /mi
24: 12:09 /mi
25: 9:32 /mi
26: 10:19 /mi
0.3: 8:22 /mi0 -
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Sorry to hear didn't go to plan, not really a course to have bad day on, tough enough on our good days. There is always Dublin to get your PB, nice and flat by your standards, recover well.
Many thanks GK - not sure if it'll be Dublin again. I definitely want to give it another shot at some stage, but I might consider a race back home (not just for flatness reasons!)+1 to this N, you have time to recover and build up gradually now to tackle Dublin again if you wished. I would recommend a different plan to the boards one, for my second time out I was going to use the boards one again but was delighted to have gone with something different (Running Shoe Guru) and felt much more comfortable running at marathon pace with that. Really fair play on getting it done though, sounds like a very tough day.
Yes - I am indeed on the lookout and doing some research. Thanks for the tip.Bungy Girl wrote: »A great report, Nop, and a very honest one too. Makes me appreciate, not for the first time, the short-lived pain of the track compared to the sustained agony of 26.2
I can't say I understand the sub-4 pacers' strategy. It's a beast of a course with a tough second half for sure, but that much of a positive split...? What were they thinking ?
Looking at the splits you were on for a super PB up until the hamstring issue so cut yourself some slack, put the feet up for a bit, and come up with the next plan.
Very well done for the guts and determination it took to complete the race.
Thank you BG - I was surprised too, but I guess these lads knew what they were doing (it was immediately clear, both effort-wise and using the watch).
Looking at the results, I noticed that: Many folks that were ahead of us at half-time didn't manage a sub-4, and very little folks that were behind us did. Then again, I also noticed that despite my ugly positive split, I actually improved my position in the field - so a lot of people went out too fast and paid an even heavier price. Oh well.hillsiderunner wrote: »Sorry to read all that, sounds like a very tough day. That old saying about not underestimating the marathon comes to mind. Well done on toughing out that last stretch.
http://running.competitor.com/2013/09/training/how-to-beat-marathon-muscle-cramps_84843
(though have yet to experience the cramp monster, so can't comment on the suggestions)
Thank you HSR, my running buddies actually suggested something very similar while discussing this on the way back. Something to look into..Sounds like you were having a good day until the cramp, Nop... such a pity. Is there anything you can do in training/prep to prevent or offset the cramp??
Fair play to you for grinding it out, well done!
Thanks Anna - yes, working on it!Wubble Wubble wrote: »Excellent work and a fine report N. Sorry it didn't quite turn out as planned. I'll keep it all in mind for when my Connemarathon turn comes.
Thanks WW!Sorry to hear that you had such a tough day in Conn Nop.
Hopefully you can sort out the crampng issue and then you will get the marathon result that you deserve.
Thanks L!Great report Nop and its a pity about that damn cramp. its a really hard one to call pace wise. We will both be wiser for next time;)
Oh - thank you ToriV! Such a pity I never got to meet you. We only arrived 15-20 minutes before the start and I did look out for a bright-red t-shirt, I didn't notice it - and then we were off. You ran a smashing race yourself, really well done!0 -
Great report Nop and very honest it's such a tough course I hear so well done for finishing. It's really hard when you've put in all the training not to get your goal but sure that's why we keep running and live to tell the tale. Enjoy the recovery 0
-
Advertisement
-
Well folks, I am working on a sure-fire way to break your parkrun PBs. I'll file for a patent soon, but here's a sneak preview
- Sign-up for a marathon. An optional couple of weeks of denial, heavy drinking and subsequent guilt is allowed.
- Select a respectable marathon training plan, at least 16 weeks, and put in the required hours and miles.
- Run said marathon as hard as you can.
- Two-three weeks of guilt-free eating (and drinking!) all around you - no focus on running at all.
- Rock up to the local parkrun to "just stretch the legs". Success guaranteed!
You have to really pretend that these first 3 steps are for real, e.g. make a big deal about the marathon, fly in mates from Netherlands, get massages, taper properly, write existential posts on boards, etc.
I followed the above steps with great success in 2015 to my current parkrun PB (21:42 for Shanganagh). Most parkrun-attempts since have been ran with the young fella and were a little slower, or as fast-ish finishes of long runs so never near a real effort. The one time the young fella really hammered it and even took the family record, I couldn't follow him over the last 4-500m.
Keen readers of this log must have noticed that I have gone through the first 3 steps of this plan with great gusto. I have since attacked step-4, (I really enjoyed this step, especially the nutrional part), and cleverly disguised some lame mileage as either "a few km at the junior parkrun" or a few "5 recovery / easy miles" sessions.
This morning, on a whim, I arrived at step 5, although in retrospect, I didn't even realize it.
Sat May 6: Shanganagh Parkun @ 21m25s (4:17 min/km, 6:53 /mi) (course PB!)
Real life meant that I had just about an hour this morning for some weekend running so the local parkrun beckoned. I have some vague plans to do the Dunshaughlin 10k in June so I thought I'd see if I could get some km's in at 10k pace (which stands at about 4:30 min/km (7:15 /mi)). It seems forever since I ran anything "fast" (relatively speaking, of course), so I just thought to see how it felt.
As I left my house to jog up, my neighbor appeared and we walked up while nattering away (he said he needed all his energy for the parkrun, so didn't want to jog). I did run the first 1km lap as warm-up as it was windy and absolutely freezing. I lined up a few rows from the front and off we went.
Some dude set-off at record speed (he'd go and break the course record, actually!) and the rest of the field settled in behind him. A volunteer called out the first km split as 4:23 so that felt about right. I settled in a little group for the second km, and never checked the watch again. Halfway through the third km, I noticed that my companions were slowing down a notch and I remembered a tip from Krusty's epic Rotterdam report, to keep working up the field to the next group. I left them behind, settled into another little group, and also left them at the 3km mark. The effort felt tough but manageable. Another group was caught at the 4km mark at which point I had a female runner in view who typically is 1-2 minutes ahead of me. She must have had a bad day as I was closing in and eventually overtook her. Coming into the finishing bend, there was one gent ahead of me and I thought "ah sure, see if you can get him", got him with about 100m to go, and finished. Got tokened, scanned, thanked the volunteers and jogged home. As I uploaded the run from my watch I realized I had successfully executed step 5 - the time eventually came in as 21:25.
Quite chuffed, if I may say so, my second fastest 5k (JB'16 remains the fastest and only sub-21 effort) on quite a blustery day (certainly not ideal for running) and it definitely felt like there was more in the tank. In fact, I didn't check my watch even once (DG will be pleased) and only had a reasonable finish-effort because I had some runners to target.0
Advertisement