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Time for a New Adventure
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Friday AM
3.5miles @ 9:15/mi
I spent Thursday night in Limerick so I got a half hour window before work on Friday to get out and stretch the legs. It was a nice change to run along by the Shannon.
Friday PM
5.2miles total – 5km Race: 23:51 (360ft)
I got a present of a weekend away at the Dingle Running and Fitness Festival and this was the first race of the weekend. The weekend consisted of a 5km Friday evening, 10km Saturday morning and a 10mile on Sunday morning along with lots of seminars on nutrition, S&C and all that jazz. The highlight was a two hour seminar from Gerry Duffy – that man can hold the attention of an audience like no one I’ve ever seen before. Romantic weekend away and training – what more could you want
If any of you know Dingle then you’ll know that the only way out of it is up. Each of the races featured massive elevation gain in the first half of the race. My plan was to use them all as training runs and enjoy the scenery – ok, maybe a bit faster than a training run but no racing. They don’t warrant race reports
Saturday AM
7.5miles total – 10km Race: 50:46 (301ft)
Hills, more hills and when we were done with those, there were more hills.
Sunday AM
12miles total – 10mile Race: 1:23:44 (650ft)
Sweet cheeses, 5 miles of mountains at the start, the return leg was via Slea head and the views were spectacular. I met Yasmin from Team DAR during the race - we spent some quality time together looking for control points in Ballyhoura in the middle of the night during the Beast last year. There's no doubt in my mind as to why Team DAR are so strong, they've a fantastic training ground as their back yard.
All in all, it was a great weekend – it’s in the diary for next year. The locals know how to put on a show and it was clear that the whole town was behind the weekend.
Weekly Total:
Running: 6:30 (47miles)
Erg: 0:45
Swimming: 0:30
S&C 3:30
Wattbike: 1:50
Total: 13:000 -
Yikes, I’ve a week to catch up on – I’ll keep this very brief.
Monday AM
60mins Wattbike (32km) [/B]
Plenty of climbing and building
3miles @ 10:00/mi (30mins)
Done off the bike so a bit of jelly leg going on so kept it easy
Tuesday AM
3miles on the treadie before Circuits (28mins)
Circuits: 8 stations @ 4x60secs
I’ve no idea what this was but it was upstairs in the weights gym and my legs were sore after it so it was mostly squats and lunges.
Wednesday AM
6.85miles @ 9:05/mi (62mins – 200ft)
Before work, cold and windy, lots of hills
Wednesday PM
6.95miles @ 8:57/mi (62mins – 304ft0
After work – cold, hailstones, more hills
Thursday AM
3miles on the treadie before Circuits (30mins)
Circuits: 8 stations @ 3x100secs
Arms, ouch
Thursday PM
30miles treadmill @ 10:00/mi
30mins swimming
5mins Erg
15mins Wattbike
This was all bitty in an attempt to hit my monthly targets
Friday AM
1.5miles on the treadie @ 10:00/mi
30mins Swimming
Getting more and more confident in the pool, no problem heading down the deep end now though I’m still near the wall in case anything happens. Need to learn to tread water so I can stay away from the wall.
Saturday
5 and a bit hours hiking around the Hills of Donegal
Our annual Mountain Hares trip away took us to Donegal this year – my first time in Donegal and I was absolutely blown away by it’s beauty.
On Saturday we broke into two groups and four of us took a boggy track from the R251 into Altan Lough. We’d intended on climbing Aghla More before heading towards Errigal but we saw some nice gullies with what looked like good scrambling on Mackoght Mountain so we decided to abandon Aghla More and use the time to have some fun The scrambling was well worth sacrificing a mountain for.
From the top of Mackoght, we could see the rest of our group having lunch on top of Errigal so we headed their way and met them close to the top. The view from the top was spectacular, 360 views of the most stunning countryside. It was a quick decent on track until we were greeted with a couple of hundred meters of soft wet squishy bog.
Sunday
4ish hours climbing Muckish Mountain
We decided to stay as a group for this one and forfeit the miners track in favor of the wetter grassy ascent from the South where the grotto is. It was a very handy hike and well worth getting up for when we saw the views from the cross at the top. We met a few fell runners up top also.
Weekly Totals
Running: 4:15 (27miles)
S&C: 2:00
Wattbike: 2:00
Erg: 5mins
Swimming: 1:00
Hiking/Trekking: 9:15
Total: 18:30
Monthly Totals
Running: 20:00
S&C: 11:00
Wattbike: 10:00
Cycling (Roadie): 12:00
Hiking/Trekking: 17:15
Swimming: 4:00
Kayak/Erg: 4:00
Total: 78:200 -
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Your first time in Donegal!!! I forgive you for that since you were blown away (by the beauty, not the wind for a change
). Check out Sliabh Liag next time, you'd love it.
Just catching up here, love the sound of that weekend in Dingle too... You are casually rattling off some good race times there, in hilly conditions.0 -
Your first time in Donegal!!! I forgive you for that since you were blown away (by the beauty, not the wind for a change). Check out Sliabh Liag next time, you'd love it.
Just catching up here, love the sound of that weekend in Dingle too... You are casually rattling off some good race times there, in hilly conditions.
Thanks Anna, I think the hills suit me. I don't as well on the flats.
We all agreed that we'd be making a return trip to Donegal to do the Glover route so we'll definitely check out Sliabh Liag - you luck lady coming from such a stunning place (with some very posh houses) 0 -
Things have been quite here, there's been over a week of very little training done bar a few runs here and there. Life took over, been on the road a lot with work and I've been just plain tired and unmotivated but mostly tired Feeling good and rested now though and looking forward to a good burst of training starting with a 24 hour race
This evening we're heading for Enniscrone to do the Coast2Coast Multisport that should will see us finish in Newcastle, Co. Down around lunch time on Sunday.
We kick off tomorrow at 12 for some running, biking, kayaking and hiking in the sun. We'll be working as a team so if you fancy some dot watching, we're teams 86 and 94 http://www.26extreme.com/gps-tracking.aspx0 -
forgot about the coast to coast.. wouldve went down to the start of it and waved ye off, running a half in ballina tomorrow so cant now.. enjoy.. yer gonna get a great weekendThings have been quite here, there's been over a week of very little training done bar a few runs here and there. Life took over, been on the road a lot with work and I've been just plain tired and unmotivated but mostly tired Feeling good and rested now though and looking forward to a good burst of training starting with a 24 hour race
This evening we're heading for Enniscrone to do the Coast2Coast Multisport that should will see us finish in Newcastle, Co. Down around lunch time on Sunday.
We kick off tomorrow at 12 for some running, biking, kayaking and hiking in the sun. We'll be working as a team so if you fancy some dot watching, we're teams 86 and 94 http://www.26extreme.com/gps-tracking.aspx0 -
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forgot about the coast to coast.. wouldve went down to the start of it and waved ye off, running a half in ballina tomorrow so cant now.. enjoy.. yer gonna get a great weekend
We didn't kick off until 12 so you might not have made it up in time but thank you we stayed in Ballina on Friday night. If you saw three lunatics in cycling gear on the Quay shouting abuse encouragement at ye just after ye started - that was me and two girls from another team.
Great location for a race .... your race report will be my breakfast time readinghow did it go neady?? you certainly got fantastic weather for it
Thanks FD. It was a brill race, unreal weather, we didn't even need skirts on the kayaks. Baltic cold on the cycle last night though, -2 in the support van. Really enjoyed it - we went slightly off course on the second cycle but we pulled it back.
The team got through it and it was great training for us. I've done it twice and even though it's tough - I'll definitely be going back next year. They even had specially brewed Coast2Coast Beer at the end.
FD, CM and I might just talk you into this AR stuffLooking forward to report from this weekend!!! Hope it went well for you.
Thanks Anna, it was a great race and the best bit was that we got to see the "Big Yoke" in Enniscrone before we set off
I'm just in the door home, haven't slept since Friday and buzzing. Race report to follow 0 -
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Thanks FD. It was a brill race, unreal weather, we didn't even need skirts on the kayaks. Baltic cold on the cycle last night though, -2 in the support van. Really enjoyed it - we went slightly off course on the second cycle but we pulled it back.
FD, CM and I might just talk you into this AR stuff
/QUOTE]
oh ye just might!!! it sounds like great craic / very hard / well worth it
looking forward to the report! get typing :pac:0 -
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Agghhhhhhhh so much catching up to do.were you on the quay with rachel ? in front of the b and b ,
went down to enniscrone with the kids after and the van was just packing up, figured it was the sportive guys that went off later. wouldnt have made it for 12 o clock .
Yup, that was me with Rachel (me being the one with the long plaits), you know her? We're doing a bit of training together, she's a mad yoke altogether. I stayed with her on the Friday night. She did the C2C with another girl, first ladies across the line - some operators and savage fit.oh ye just might!!! it sounds like great craic / very hard / well worth it
looking forward to the report! get typing :pac:
Sorry you've had to wait so long and eh, it probably isn't even worth the wait.Why does this log just stop? What's going on? All ok?
Holy moly, life is getting in the way. We bought a house and I'm on the road every day with work. I'm doing interviews as part of my research so me and the bus to Dublin are having a steady relationship and I've been procrastinating on writing the C2C report.
Training hasn't been too consistent either, few runs here and there and a handful of cycles. I'll get back to regular training and logging now though - kicking off with the Burren marathon this weekend
Thank you for the kick up the ass I needed to get this report done
p.s. how are you?0 -
Coast2Coast Ireland, May 14th & 15th 2016
Leg 1: 5km Beach run: 26:35
This was an out and back run on the beach, I couldn’t help but think of “The Big Yoke” landing on this very beach only a week earlier. The sun was high in the sky and there was only a gentle wind blowing during this run but still, there were some serious white horses galloping onto the beach.
Got to the van, not the quickest of transitions and we were off.
Leg 2: Bike 1 – 110km bike ride: 4:15 inc. transition
Loved this bike ride. I felt good and much stronger then last year. Frank, John and I took our turn at the front of the pace line and we worked savagely well together. We reminded each other to eat and drink during each hour.
Last year, I was falling off the back of the wagon continuously so it felt really good to be able to put the foot down, get to the front and lead the pace wohoooo. All the work this year is finally paying off and the lads were really good to acknowledge it
We had a gentle breeze in our face but it was welcome as it was quite hot otherwise.
Leg 3: Kayak: 26km: 4:37 inc. bike to kayak transition
I’m pretty sure this kayak only took us 4:10 but out bike to kayak transition was shocking, must have taken 30 minutes. Aaaggghhhhhhhhhhh.
The kayak was amazing, we couldn’t have asked for better, calmer waters. The guy we hired the kayaks off (double sea kayaks) told us there was no need for a skirt – the lake was as calm as could be and it was, it was amazing.
What a way to see the countryside, negotiating lock gates and seeing everything from a different perspective. As Bryan, my usual kayak buddy, wasn’t with us, Frank and I paired up. Our first time kayaking together. He steered at the back and did a stellar job and the two kayaks stayed close together so we’re a good match.
Unfortunately I burned the ears off everyone with my terrible renditions of rebel songs – there was a guy in a single kayak with us for a while but he dropped off (I’m 99% sure it was because of my singing). The wind picked up with about 7km to go, making us work that little bit harder.
As much an all as I enjoyed the kayak – I was dam glad to get out of it after 4 and a bit hours and I needed a hand to stand up out of it
Leg 4: Bike 2: 140km (+20km): 8:33 inc. kayak to bike transition
The run/bike/kayak went very well but this bike leg went to absolute sh**e. Another gawd dam long transition and we were on the road. Our plan was to stop for a break & refuel after 2.5 hours.
I was delighted when we passed the Quinn empire while it was bright because I distinctly remember it being pitch black when we passed it last year. As soon as it got dark, we stayed as a group of 4, with three of us swapping between the front and the back and keeping the van just a bit behind us (race rules for safety).
We were going well for the first 30km, matching the mornings pace, I was chuffed with the way we were moving. Butttt we then made a fatal error, we took a wrong turn, followed a different set of yellow arrows on the ground. We realised our error quickly enough – we knew we shouldn’t be heading towards Enniskillen. John checked the map and sure enough we were off track. I think we added between 15 and 20km to the prescribed 140km bike leg.
I was motoring and in flying form up until then but it was dark now, after 12am and I wasn’t sure how far off the beaten track we had gone. My mood dropped considerably and I knew it was happening. I stopped eating and was raging that we’d made a mistake, it was no ones fault, but I was raging inside that we’d let our lead on last years time slip.
It kind of fell apart from here, I bonked on the bike from not eating, John felt ill, we were stopping more often, the temperature dropped to -2 and we were all feeling the cold and pain.
We perked up again when stopped in a town called Clogher. As is customary with these adventures, we ran into a group of revellers heading home from the pub/looking for a house party. They wanted right or wrongly to give us money for what we were doing, even though we were adamant that it wasn’t for charity. One man on his way home was clear about that fact that “I have a lawnmower” It doesn’t seem funny now but at the time, it was exactly what we needed to lift our spirits.
Our pace from here on in was getting slower and slower – in a group you have no option but to keep the pace with the slowest mover. It didn’t matter at that stage. Through Armagh and up that b**tard of a hill that on any other day, probably wouldn’t pose a problem but tonight it was a b**ch. Next thing I knew it, around 4am, twilight – and the start of the dawn chorus. We were in the country for this and boy was it magical, I love love this part of night racing. The only ones out on the road and we get to take all this in
On the way into Newry, at maybe 5 o clock, we met a bunch of guys kicking a ball down the road – not sure what language they were talking but we hadn’t a hope in hell of understanding them. I’d forgotten how big Newry is, how long it takes to navigate around it on bike and how s**te the road were. I was badly needing the loo at this point, hoping to hold on for transition in Rostrevor and the shaking I was getting on the bike was murderous.
Whoop whoop Rostrevor, transition, bathroom how are ya
Leg 5: Hike: 35km: 9hrs (a ridiculously 1+hr transition)
One hour in transition, I know, I know. I can guarantee this will not happen in ITERA, I will be like a b**ch ordering people about and will give a cut off for transition on the way in.
Onto the hike and I was feeling a bit queesey myself, John was coming around from his sickness and I was afraid I caught what he had. I stopped and took a motilium, swashed some water in my mouth to warm it up before drinking it and stayed quiet, concentrating on my breathing. Thankfully, it went away after an hour or so.
We were motoring along, not running but keeping a nice pace, forest trail, road, trail and more road before hitting the final section of road. John was back on form, flying it and I was matching his pace, keeping on his heels – I can clip along when I’m on someone’s heels. We’d wait here and there for the others, never going out of their sight. This kept them on their toes too.
I was feeling good for this, stronger then I had felt last year – I had nailed my nutrition (bar two bonks on the bike from forgetting to eat) and I was well hydrated. John and myself were in our happy place on the trail run/walk, especially the climb up to Donard. On the descent into Newcastle, I was watching Johns footing. He’s a born and bred trail runner and spending time with him on trails could teach me a lot – I gained a lot of confidence on the descent with him.
There’s no denying it, I’m disappointed that we didn’t go sub 24 hours on this one (it took us 27hours) – I didn’t get the same buzz that I did finishing it last year (it was my first 24hr). We had it in us but it wasn’t to be on the day. On the plus side, we worked well together, better then last year and we all finished together.
I won’t mention the fear of god in us when the van wouldn’t start in Newcastle and we were trying to figure out how we’d get back to Galway, Clare and Kerry :O (it started with some help).
If any of you are thinking of doing this race, I’ve really recommend it – I’ve done it twice now and I’ve absolutely 100% enjoyed it.
Lessons learned:
- Test more foods. I did well on Trek bars, coconutty balls, cinnamon & raisin peanut and jam covered bagels, tucs & cheese, nuts and seeds, dried mango, goats cheese sandwiches & two curley wurleys but I overdid it on the Trek bars so can’t face them anymore.
- I need to deal with a navigational error & don’t let it pi*s me off and put me off my game as much. I was way too defeatist after.
- Transitions, HTFU Team ARSE – I’m taking charge and shouting at people from here on in
- Nutrition, especially on the bike, keep on top of it Néady – bonking ain’t no fun
- I really need to learn the words to more songs, 5 days doing ITERA could be a long time.
Positives:
- I’m much stronger on the bike this year, that gave me confidence – my training is paying off.
- I’m finding my voice as captain. I’m able to talk to everyone about what they’re doing and I was probably shouting more then I should have been on the bikes eekk
- I did well food wise this year and most of all, I didn’t dehydrate
- Overall, I’m stronger and fitter then last year. I bounced back after a one hour sleep in the van on the way to Dublin, kept the drivers company the rest of the way and after a good sleep Sunday night – I had no bother going to work on Monday.0 -
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You're a mad yoke yourself!!! Love the image of the kayaks on Loch Erne (I'm assuming) with you blasting rebels songs to spoil the peace... And the encounters with the natives...
I'm in awe of your description of how you handled the 9hr hike at the end of all that... All that training is really paying off. Well done. The report was worth the wait 0 -
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i know her to see, she has been at parkrun and tri club stuff, plus shes all over twitter and facebook ,
great report, some day il do the 2 day race,
Thanks Woody. Some day? Next year, go for it and I'd really recommend the non-stop. At 5am on Sunday morning, when we were getting off the bikes, I thought of the 2dayers getting on their bikes. They missed the best part of the day, the sunrise, and how sore must their bums be having to get back on the saddle.Wow...... just, well, wow!!! A/R looks god damn hard! fair play neady and well done on being in better shape than last year - I know you wanted sub 24 hour but that's something to be proud of in itself. I have absolutely not a clue in the world what it would take to do a race like that so much respect to you and your team and WELL DONE!!!!
Awh thanks so much FD, I appreciate that Tempted?You're a mad yoke yourself!!! Love the image of the kayaks on Loch Erne (I'm assuming) with you blasting rebels songs to spoil the peace... And the encounters with the natives...
I'm in awe of your description of how you handled the 9hr hike at the end of all that... All that training is really paying off. Well done. The report was worth the wait
Thanks so much Anna, I'm feeling much better about it now - you'd love the kayak, stunningGreat report S and congrats on the new house. I assume we're all invited to the housewarming :P
Oh and good luck with Burren!
Thanks C. Oh yea, we've not moved in yet but there will be a party to beat all parties and all boardsies will be invitedGreat report on the C2C! you'll be responsible for a few more people taking up adventure racing with your descriptions.
Thanks novarapid Oh I'd love if even one person took up adventuring, it's so much fun when it's not hurtingJust wow at that Neady, great report and I didn't realise starting the read what distance you would be covered and with each leg I was kinda going sweet j...that's what C2C means I guess!
Thanks so much Diego I'm just glad they run it at the narrowest part in Ireland Well done Neady on another amazing adventure!
Best of luck with the Burren at the weekend, compared to the C2C the marathon should be a doddle for you:)
Cheers Jake. I have to admit, you're words did go through my head in the last 10 miles yesterdayOooh Captain and home owner. Congratulations.
Some journey and race report, thanks for that. I don't know how you managed it all and then work on Monday. Not in bits? Jesus my arse getting back on the back after so long.
Your fitness and stamina is incredible. Really glad to see the training paying off. Wow, 27 hours horrific like but wow.
Awh thanks so much A. I'm surprised myself at how quickly I'm bouncing back from these long adventures. I guess when you keep the pace easy, it's easier to recover 0 -
Saturday May 28th
Mountain Bike/Run Brick
I met Frank ARSE in Ballyvoughan at 2.30am and we were on the bikes for 3am. The plan was to mountain bike the Burren Marathon route in reverse – this meant that we’d be doing the climbing on the road and we’d be doing the fun technical stuff on the trails. The Burren marathon is a mixture of on and off-road running. It’s roughly 3 miles on road, 4 on trail, 4 on road, 4 on trail, 4 on road, 4 on trail and the last few on road.
We hit off in the dark on such a beautiful mild night, not very bright but clear and crisp. We started to climb straight away, both agreeing that we’d be in fierce pain by this stage of the marathon. We navigated Fanore beach, it was surreal to listen to the waves crashing while it was still dark.
The trails were great fun and it was just getting bright as we made our way up to the top of the Caher Valley Trail, the highest point on the route. The decent is very steep, very rocky and tricky so I was glad to have some daylight to help. Frank was off like lightening but I was more cautious, I’d done this decent before and had to walk most of it but I was better this time, remembering to stay low over the back of the saddle with my ass back and my ankles down. I know not to use the breaks but I’d come to a section that would scare the bjasus out of me, common sense would go out the window, I’d break, skid and have to run down that section. It was so much fun though.
Back onto the road for the next climb up to the top of the green trail road, nice soft boggy ground but the bumps were seriously starting to hurt my tushy. The decent was less technical but there were some bruisers of rocks sticking up to surprise us in places. We met a very friendly herd of cattle at the point where the marathon and half marathon split.
Onto the road and back to Ballyvoughan just in time to see the volunteers putting up the inflatable archway. We had the best coffee and some sandwiches and had ample time for spinning around the town. The MTB took us just over 3 hours so we were back in plenty of time for the run.
I met Snailsong before the off (lovely to meet you and put a face to the name Snailsong) and managed to come off the bike on my way to the car to pack it up, no damage done, just my arm and ego bruised.
Clare Burren Marathon, 2,000ft elevation, 4:36:59
I only decided three weeks ago to do this, Frank and I both figured it’d be a good ol fun filled long hike/jog after a handy MTB and no sleep. The plan was to walk the uphills and jog the flats and downhill sections. Needless to say, I had zero training done. My longest run this year was 13.1 miles in the Kinvara half back in March …… but I wasn’t worried, sure I was only going to be walking it. I was going to treat it like the 35km mountain section in Coast2Coast only 2 weeks early. So I grabbed the first t-shirt that came out of my bag, stuck a packet of dextrose tablets and the key of my car in my pocket it and off I went.
John from team ARSE was doing the marathon too but he didn’t do the MTB so we told him to hit off at his own pace (he finished in 4:15, bloody phenomenal for his first marathon sans long runs). I couldn’t find Frank at the start to I lined up close to the front and figured I’d stay to the left, take it easy and he’d catch me. Sure enough he did, about half a mile into the race. As we set off with the half and 10km peeps, there were lots of people going at all sorts of speeds but I kept it as easy as I could.
Mile 1-3 (road): 9:27, 9:43, 9:23
I started my watch and set it to tell me the time, I wasn’t planning on looking at it at all – we’d both agreed to run/jog/walk at an easy pace that kept our heart rates low and a pace that meant we could chat so that’s what we did (do I get points for the “go naked” challenge DG?). This was uphill from the start but the miles flew by.
Mile 4 – 8 (trail): 10:23, 11:35, 11:41, 11:01
We turned onto the trail and were greeted by tables packed with bottles of water, drumsticks, oranges, twix, mars and many more goodies. I grabbed a bottle of water and kept on chucking. I was expecting us to stop at this stage and start walking but we tipped along up the hill, lots of people were stopping to walk so we passed them and kept going. It was at this stage that it started to dawn on me – holy cow, we’re actually running this marathon :O
The climb was tough but we kept on chipping away at it until we split from the half marathoners and headed down down down the trail and onto the road. The trail was nice soft ground with small stones, nothing too difficult to negotiate. I started using all the tricks that DG and the others on the novices thread have thought me. Check my posture at the mile markers, count down the miles (8 miles, one third done, check), can I chat (tell Frank a stupid joke, check).
Mile 9 – 11 (road): 9:41, 9:32, 9:56
This was a welcome downhill section with beautiful views over the water. Again we met more tables of goodies and water. We stopped here for a few seconds and nobbled some chocolate and grabbed water. We got chatting to a few lads here and I was surprised by how many people admired my Achill half marathon top (on the back it has, Tháinig Mé, Chonaig Mé, Bhuaigh Mé – Nop, you’ll be sporting one by the end of the summer). From this section, we could see the massive climb up the Caher Valley trail and it looked daunting.
Mile 12 – 15 (trail): 16:15, 9:40, 10:23, 9:32
We stocked up on some chocolate and water at the start of this section. I was alternating between mini mars and mini twix at each station and I was downing 500ml of water between stations. This we decided to walk as we could see everyone in front of us walking and my hamstrings needed stretching. We both agreed that it was more fun cycling down this than it was running up it. We passed a few people on the way up and exchanged a few stories. The view from the top was spectacular and we were off running again.
Mile 16 – 18 (road): 9:32, 9:43, 10:55
This was mostly downhill but the last section was across the beach at Fanore. Frank was complaining that the ball of his foot was sore and he told me to go for it at any point when I felt able. I started to pull away from him but was still able to see him just behind me. Crossing Fanore beach, I was on my own and beginning to feel the pain though I passed one or two people here. This was when I started to wonder what in the name of god I was thinking, running a marathon with no training and no planning.
Mile 19 – 23 (trail): 12:15, 11:35, 11:54, 12:03, 11:00
This section was on the green road, it starts with a gentle hill on a gravel path before levelling out with a few lumps, roots and stones here and there. This section runs parallel with the coast and the views are amazing. I was struggling going up the hill and spotted a guy in a black shirt, put a target on his back and caught him. Next up was a guy in green who was stopping and stating, took a while to reel him in but I got there. The best part of the race for me was this section, skipping over the rocks and picking my steps, I really really enjoyed it and I kept thinking to myself, if this was all on road I’d be goosed by now. I took a tumble when I tripped over a stone but gathered myself quickly, scolded myself for not concentrating on my footing, before getting on the road again. There were a few stone walls to get over towards the end of this and all I could think of was Nop going over the styles during his Wicklow half marathon – oh man these were tough. There was a nice run down a field and onto the road for the last section.
Mile 24 – 26: 10:16, 9:58, 9:40
Oh man, everything was sore, I wanted to stop and walk, really really wanted to walk. I kept telling myself that the more I ran, the faster that I’d get to the end and could lie down. I see an aid station and I run to that, grab a fresh bottle of water, a twix and get going again. See a black t-shirt up ahead and aim for that, get him. Start to hurt again, take a few dextrose to busy my mind, they do. See guy in blue t-shirt, run to him, get him. Start passing half marathon walkers now and they’re all saying nice things that help. Pass another handful of marathon runners who are now walking. I’m refusing to walk, I was hurting in Dublin and I didn’t walk so there was no way in hell that I was walking here.
See the mile 25 sign and I’m really hurting. Start counting to 100 (one for every second step), each 100 will get me a 10th of the way there so I only have to count to 100 twelve times. After 600 I meet a guy walking, I tell him to come on we’re nearly there, we keep going and I tell him to go for it, he was there before me but he wouldn’t, he said he couldn’t. We cross the line. Holy moley, I just ran a marathon
I thought it would take us 5 to 5 and a half hour to get around so I was over the moon with 4:37 on that course and in that heat. Frank came in not long after me marking his 40th marathon. If ever there was a way not to do a marathon, this was it. I fell asleep during the dang rugby match, absolutely raging, but my body is thankful of a goodnights rest and raring for road again.
Eight woman home, I’ll take that 0 -
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