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Time for a New Adventure
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Scratch that your finished and what a great time well done and huge congratulations on completing it your some woman for one woman
just brilliant
Thank you Baby75, I'm starting to thaw out slightly now
Thanks for following the tracker and supporting, glad you enjoyed watching the dot A brilliant result and so well deserved with the savage work you put into your training. Over the moon for you, S! Huge congratulations on the podium place. Superb!
Awh thank you A, put it on your list, it's a fantastic race and you've the milage in the legs no bother to you.According to the equally awesome tracker there's one participant still left to finish, with about 3km to go and 20 minutes to do it. I really hope someone is running this guy in, must be heart-breaking to be so close and still be in danger of missing the cut-off time (which I believe is 9pm).
I hope Neady has the feet up (and another change of socks at the finishline! :eek:) and that she'll put off her next marathon-length training run for at least a day or two.
Thank you Nop, for tracking and for being there in person. It was such a boost to see ye - just remembered I showed you my wet wrinkly feet, hope you've recovered from that sightAbsolutely brilliant performance Neady. Well done!!!
Thanks Jake, there's a report on it's way, hope you'll enjoy it.Well done Neady, well deserved and most definitely earned.
Cheers Diego, I was delighted the hills in Kerry paid off 0 -
ThebitterLemon wrote: »Didn't think strolling around Dangan would get you into shape to take on that challenge
Definitely one for "performance of the year" award
Well done
TbL
Cheers TBL, crikey but twas a world away from the flat of Dangan. A brilliant challenge with the most incredible people but I'll be glad to get back to the trails along the river.Now THAT is saying a lot!
I'm way behind here... missed your marathon podium too!!!! Brilliant going, looking forward to your Wicklow Way report!! I love the way you casually churn out marathons in training
Thanks Anna, the report is in the making.RacoonQueen wrote: »Ah I was wondering if that was you when I was looking at the start list and forgot to come in and check if you were doing it.
Smashing result - well done!
Cheers RQ, I'm dam glad to have been able to finish it - the cut-offs were very tight so I felt it slip away a few times.Great result at the weekend :cool: Congrats
Cheers GibboIncredible going S, absolutely amazing. Congratulations.
Burren marathon too report just read, wow.
Thanks so much A, ye have incredible beauty on yer doorstep 0 -
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I enjoyed following the tracker, I was awake when you all left at the start, fell asleep woke up early and checked it and I remember thinking in my half sleep state. how amazing you and all the runners were running in that weather all night long! some test of endurance and the grit and determination to keep going.
Glad you have thawed out and Im looking forward to reading your report
That took a while Hope you enjoy shotgunmcos wrote: »This Log is all Joy in 2017... Loving it. Well done on the WW Neady
Cheers M, it's been a pretty epic year so far 0 -
Saturday June 10th 2017
Wicklow Way Solo: 127km with 4,500m: 20hrs 20mins
I had this mad idea back in April that I’d like to pick up enough ITRA points to enter the draw for the OCC or the CCC 2018 (the baby sisters of the UTMB). Collecting the required points doesn’t ensure entry but if you fail to be drawn on the first two times you enter, you’re guaranteed entry on your third go so realistically it could be 2020 when I get the chance to head for Chamonix I need 8 points altogether and they must be collected over two races.
Enduro advised that the Wicklow Way Solo is one of the most straightforward races to get a bunch of points (I thought of that many times on Saturday & had a strongly worded PM written in my head for him about his definition of straightforward). The WW has 5 points up for grabs and I figured that I might be able to get the other 3 at the Kerry Way Ultra Lite in September. There’s another race in December with 5 points up for grabs so if the Wicklow Way didn’t work out, I’d have a second chance at it.
By the time I had made the call to do the WW I didn’t have the time to head to Wicklow to recce any of the course so I did the best I could to learn about the course by chatting to a few people who’d done it before, reading as many race reports as I could get my hands on (& taking notes) to build a picture of the course and I set about doing some long runs and getting out on the trails in the West of Ireland in the time that I had left.
I was working in Germany the week of the WW so I packed the car with my WW gear on Tuesday evening and headed for Dublin Wednesday morning. I flew back on Friday afternoon, caught up with a friend, rearranged my drop bags (as the weather forecast wasn’t looking promising) and headed for Marlay Park. Registration was from 10:30pm to 11:30pm but I was there with loads of time to spare and Lonan, my training buddy from Galway, and I chatted about what we’d wear and how’d we’d tackle the race. At a bit before midnight, Jeff, the race director, gave the race briefing. He told us that the WW isn’t a challenge, it’s a race with tight cut-offs and that the weather was brutal on the mountains. He advised us to try and move in small packs in exposed areas and if we felt we were falling off the back, shout.
Section 1: Marlay Park to Crone Woods (22km): 2hr 48 (12mins before cut-off)
Lonan and I had chatted about this being a race that needs careful pacing so even though Lonan is much faster than me, we agreed to stick together for the first one or two sections or at least until it started to get bright. This might hurry me along but slow Lonan down enough that he wouldn’t blow up later. We’d also decided to hike/walk the uphills and jog the flats and downs from the off – a strategy that most people seem to have adopted. Unfortunately this report will be slack on details as I hadn’t an iota where I was at any point in this race, particularly in this section in the dark.
We trotted out the gates of Marlay park and it wasn’t long before we were climbing the first of many many long steep hills - I pulled my poles out of my bag to start out first hike. There was a pretty view of the lights of Dublin off to the left at some point but I didn’t have time to look around as I was focused on looking out for the little yellow men and moving forward on this section as I’d noted that this was particularly tight on time. I was soon very happy that I’d made the call to wear my heavier North Face hiking jacket with the vents open as it was the only jacket that would keep out the wind and rain that ravaged us from about 1am on. I had shorts and calf guards on the bottom and but didn’t have the time to put on my waterproof pants before it got really we wet so belted on with just the shorts regardless.
We were motoring along nicely together when we found ourselves on a flattish trail with some down hill sections. Lonan was moving much faster than I on this section as I was being more careful with my footing having rolled my right angle in the first few km of trail. There were a few guys ahead of us and I could see that Lonan was bothered by their slowing up & speeding up on the technical bits. At this stage we were maybe 17km into this section and time was ticking very quickly while the kms seemed to be going slowly. I told Lonan about my concerns with meeting the cut-off and told keep moving on without me at any point and so he did. I kept motoring away at my own pace but finding the going tough in the wet and cold conditions. I tried to speed up but I rolled my left ankle and decided that I just had to go at the pace I was able to sustain and if I missed the cut-off then so be it. I couldn’t believe it when I saw car lights up ahead on a wooded area and realised that it was the checkpoint – 12 minutes before the cut-off. I refilled my water bottles, tipped two sachets of tailwind into one bottle and kept going without stopping for too long – no time to do a check if every body part was in working order. It was milling rain at this stage and the volunteers were incredibly helpful though they were like drowned rats.
Section 2: Crone Woods to Glendalough (29km): 4hrs 37
We headed up through a forest track from here and I could hear the wind picking up around us – the exposed section that I’d read about up ahead was going to be really tough so I braced myself and tried to stick with the group of three who were just ahead of me …. Except I needed to pee and I knew if I didn’t take the chance in the shelter of the woods, it wouldn’t be an option in the exposed section up ahead so I had to let them go and tend to business.
I was on my own again but there were some head lights not too far back. I think there was a technical downhill where I passed a guy and a girl struggling with their footing in the slippy mud. Now we were exposed to the elements, lashing rain, wind and floods of water at our feet. It was difficult to find the trail up Djouce as visibility was poor because of the rain and it was just swamped so I took my time and kept looking up for the yellow men. A guy popped out from behind a wall on the right and headed down the hill against me, I asked if he was ok - he said he was really sick so was calling time on it.
I kept looking back to make sure there were headlights after me as I was worried of making a nav error here. Two guys came by me and I pushed as hard as I could to keep with them so I could get some semblance of shelter and find the right way. The rivers were flowing down the hill here, 6 or 7 inches of water and energy sucking mud. It was just a matter of putting the head down and keep moving as there was no going back. I had a feeling from how slow I was moving that I may not reach Glendalough on time and conceded that my race may be over but I was comforted by the sight of a handful of headlights behind me. I don’t know how long this drudgery went on for but it must have been an hour or two.
Then we met the boardwalks, There was all but one guy with a headlight with me now, the rest had dropped off. This person, as I would learn, was Adolfo. The boardwalks were wet, slimy and slippy as hell as well as having lots of chunks of wood missing to make them even more trickier. This coupled with the wind blowing me onto the bog, the cold I was feeling and the sideways rain made for MISERY. Visibility was only about a meter so I shuffled along as fast as I could, keeping an eye for the headlight behind me – if it were too close and I was holding this person up, I’d let them go but if they were too far, I’d wait for them – but they were just far enough away to be comfortable. It was here that I made the call that I was calling it a day when I got to Glendalough. I knew Annie Get Your Run would be there and was heading to a park run after so I was visualising myself changing into the dry gear I’d left at the CP and heading off for some PR tourism with her. My WW was done and I was probably going to be hypothermic when I got there anyway as my shorts and socks were saturated and I was really cold.
The darkness was starting to lift but I was annoyed that this crappy weather was denying the beautiful sunrise and the dawn chorus I had been looking forward to. I think it was bright when we finally came to the end of the boardwalks and it felt like the wind was easing – I’ve since blocked it from my mind. Adolfo pulled along side me and we both commented about just how miserable that was. I told Adolfo that I was done and calling it a day in Glendalough but he told me we’d time to make the cut off. We jogged in silence and I got into the habit of spotting the posts with the yellow men & tapping them with my walking pole to make sure Alolfo had seen it & verified that we had both seen the arrow go in the same direction.
The only thing I remember after that is a sharp downhill on road where we passed two guys out and then a steep uphill on road. I was stronger on the hills than Adolfo and he was stronger on the downhills so without discussion he sat on my shoulder on the way up and I trotted after him on the downs. He told me that he was doing this to train for the Kerry Way. He’d started the Kerry Way twice but pulled out due to injury around the 150km mark on both occasions. He was a man on a mission and I don’t think that I’ve seen such determination in another person.
He told me we were very close to Glendalough and asked if I was still pulling the plug … I told him I’d try to get to the next CP with him as we seemed to be working well together. Down another hill and I spot two crazy people up ahead waving their arms about and I’d nearly ran into them when I realised that it was AGYR and Nop98 My god was I glad to see friendly faces. Into the CP and a super pit stop. Nop refilled my water bottles and AGYR stuffed me with flapjacks (AMAZING) while I changed socks & into a fresh pair of trial runners. Apologies Nop, I’ve a vague recollection of shoving my wrinkled smelly foot in your face to inspect it A body check revealed a slightly aggravated Achilles tendon on my right foot, a slight pain on the top of my left foot and an ache in my left arm . I figured the change of shoes might help both the foot problems.
Jeff told me to get out of the CP as quick as I could as time was still not on my side (I think I made this cut-off with 30mins to spare). Hugs, goodbyes & so many words of encouragement from Nop & AGYR oh and a quick introduction & handshake with UM1 (I think?!). Asked Adolfo was he ready but he had his mouth stuffed with a muffin so I belted on as every minute was precious.
Section 3: Glendalough to Ironbridge (24km): 4hrs 13
I spotted a fella with an orange top about 800m ahead of me and made it my business to catch him – if I was going to get through this section, I needed company. It took me a km to catch him but I was so glad when I did. His name was John and he was having a bad day with his stomach. We chatted about the races he’d done before – this guy is accomplished. A regular on the Connemara 100 circuit, has I don’t know how many Kerry and Wicklow Ways under his belt & a list as long as my arm of accomplishments but never a DNF. I asked if he’d prefer if I left him alone but he was happy with the company. He was a true gentleman and talked me through the rest of the course – something which really helped the rest of the day as I knew what to expect.
We’d only know each an hour or so but we would automatically break into a jog on the flats and downs without any prompting. This section went up and up FOREVER and even though I was enjoying chatting with John I kept asking was there ever an end to this section (like the kids in the car asking if we’re there yet) I recall a downhill section through a felled forest after this with stones that were wet and grimey so we took out time here.
I remember looking at my watch and thinking that I’d only covered 8km in 2 hours despite moving as fast as I could – my heart sank but I didn’t say anything – how was I going to cover the next 16km in 2 hours??, it just wasn’t possible. We passed though Glemalure and John told me that this is the halfway point BUT the real race starts here - from a mental point of view. Jasus I thought, this has been a roller coaster already, can it really get any worse?. On an uphill section Adolfo caught us and on a downhill section somewhere, unfortunately, we left John behind us. Adolfo and I moved well together and moved fast (as fast as you can after 60km & too many mountains). On an uphill section we came upon Ray – all these guys know each other and they’re all ridiculously nice people who offer encouragement to each other. Ray had worked incredibly hard to get himself to the start of this race, he was out here every weekend for months and knew the course like the back of his hand. He was determined and I could understand how much finishing this race meant to him.
Not too far from Ironbridge, two guys passed us at a good clip. They seemed to know Ray & Adolfo and quickly mentioned that they’d made a nav error adding 50 minutes to their race. Ouch, that had to hurt. Another guy joined us, he was very quite but I could gather that he’d made a nav error too. Adolfo, Ray and I came into Ironbridge together, down a really fast grassy decent and who was there waiting only our very own AGYR. I nearly cried, jesus this was tough but my god, she was an incredible support (Thank you AM).
For some reason I thought I had the back broke on this race now but then Jeff tells me that this next section is technical and tough and it’s this section where the most DNFs happened. First I thought, you’re f**king kidding me but then I thought that there was no way in hell that I was after doing 80km of that to not finish. NO F**ing WAY.
Section 4: Ironbridge to Dying Cow (25km): 4hrs 13
This section was my favourite by far, I enjoyed every pain filled minute of it especially the soft grassy sections, particularly the bits that skirted around the meadows. I was like a woman possessed and I was motoring (probably more of a shuffle but it felt like I was motoring). Adolfo was still on my shoulder but he was no longer pulling me downhill, he was starting to get tired. On the grassy section there was style upon style upon style and I was getting slower at going over them – it was like looking into the future, this is how I’m going to be moving when I’m 80. After a nice grassy uphill section I looked behind but couldn’t see Adolfo, I figured he’d stopped for a call of nature.
I felt like I was in no mans land for an hour or so as I was on my own. Thankfully I spotted two people up ahead so I bust a gut to catch them. It was the two lads from earlier, John and Paul, who had belted past me after they’d made a nav error. I asked would they mid if I tacked myself onto them and we moved well together and chatted away. As it turned out – I would finish the race with these two awesome guys.
Paul was doing the WW for the fourth time and it was Johns first time towing the line. We all agreed that it was a tough day out. I voiced my concerns for making the Dying Cow on time (again) as I wasn’t sure of the terrain ahead but the guys seemed confident enough. With 7km to the Dying cow, we caught up with another two guys who told us we needed to get a wiggle on to make the cut off as this section is actually longer than advertised – I also got a tutorial on all the features of my Suunto watch and how to use them from one of them who was also wearing the same watch. This was hard, I’m thinking we’re so close, my feet are killing me, me body hurts, especially my left arm, WTF is wrong with my arm – I can’t lift it over my head - but we still have to push to get there and then we still have 27km to go after the Dying Cow :O
The five of us jogged (as much as we could) into the Dying Cow with big smiles on our faces to great cheers from the volunteers and from those supporting runners in the race (15minutes before the cut off). It was a mini celebration of sorts. The feeling was that if we’d made it this far before the cut-off, we’d be in shape to finish it before 9 o clock.
The set up at the Dying Cow was, once again, second to none. The volunteers couldn’t do enough for us. John, who I’d run with earlier was also there with words of support, his first DNF in a long career of ridiculously hard running, a guy I hope to share some miles with in the future. Lillian told me that I was the third girl and there was a nice third place prize waiting for me at the finish line
There was a bucket of ice cold water and a towel at the ready so I peeled off my socks and dunked the feet for a few second. Fresh socks, fresh t-shirt, road runners on and I was off again. I had a blister on the same place on each foot, bottom inside of each heel … I didn’t bother to dress them as they were quite big and I knew I could run through them.
Section 5: Dying Cow to Raheenakit (11km): 1hr 23
With fresh runners and my eye on the finish line I set off on the road up yet another steep hill. I was on my own and though the remaining 27km sounded doable in the grand scheme of things, I knew it was going to be a slog so I decided to get the 11km out of the way before thinking about the next 16km. I put my walking poles away when I got to the top of the hill and started to shuffle as much as I could but I was finding the going tough on my own so I resorted to counting, counting to 100 over and over again and counted the first few km away. This felt looooooonnnngggggg and hard and everything was hurting. My right Achilles was burning but my left foot was enjoying the change of footwear. I wondered how I’d survive the solitude to the end of this.
I came to a cross road and saw a sign for Wicklow Way Clonegal 13km pointing up a hill and another for the Wicklow Way pointing down a hill. Was about to pull out the map, which I hadn’t needed all day, but turned around to see Paul behind me. He said to follow the sign for Clonegal but to ignore the number on it – he’d made the mistake of following the other sign the year before. I was very glad to have company once again. We continued on our walk together and spotted Paul up ahead. After about a km we caught him and we happily walked, trotted and chatted away. I had read about Coronary hill and told that really it was just a bump on the road. It’s short, compared to the others, but it’s steep and it enjoyed making my calves work very very hard. At the top of the hill I spotted a car with it’s boot open … holy cow, we were at Raheenakit with almost four hours left on the clock. Guzzled a bottle of coke and had some of the fruit cake on offer here and we were on our way again.
Section 6: Raheenakit to Clonegal (16km): 3hrs 5
This section was long and John and Paul had warned me of the never ending forest track with lots of loose gravel sections that would hurt our feet (they did, they hurt a lot). John was in a world of pain with his feet – he mentioned the skin on his feet was peeling away. We started to trot a few times but his feet couldn’t take it. He told John and I to belt on but we both agreed that we’d started together so we’d finish together ☺ There was no way I was leaving these guys and I’m not sure I’d have been able to anyway.
The silence on much of this course was deafening – I was definitely hurting and thought many times about sitting in protest at how hard this was One foot in front of the other.
At the end of the last trail, we came onto a road and saw the sign for Clonegal that told us that we had just 5km left to go ☺ Lillian, one of the volunteers, was waiting for us here …. with three bags of chips I cannot begin to tell you how delicious those bag of salty chips were. We must have looked like three kids walking and skipping down the road munching away on chips. When I remember this race, I’ll forever remember this, it really sums up what I think IMRA is all about. Camaraderie, friendship, encouragement, preparation and kindness …. the volunteers knew what we wanted better than we knew ourselves.
It was a long 5km but we savoured every step, we knew if we'd to crawl it we'd finish it before 9 o clock Finally Clonegal came into view … we jogged to the finish and greatly enjoyed touching the awesome WW sign Hugs all around, we’d bloody well done it. Lonan was there and he’d finished ages ago, we were both delighted for each other.
Jeff presented me with a little piece of Wicklow, a beautiful piece of Wicklow granite with the yellow man posing as a runner engraved onto it. It also has 3rd written in the corner for third girl across the line. I’m really chuffed but there’s a caveat … 6 girls signed up for the WW, as far as I know only four towed the line in Marlay Park and only three of us finished so technically, I was the last girl home but I’ll take it.
My god …… that was hard!! Next year, I'm going to be more prepared.
The Wicklow Way in Numbers
Some numbers for anyone that’s interested. 2017 saw 63 runners enter the WW, 54 start and 36 finish inside the 21 hour maximum time. In 5 years of the race to date there have been 180 starters, 51 DNFs and 129 finishes. Of the 180 starters there are 133 people, so some people like to come back for more. This means that 92 different people have run the Wicklow Way in under 21 hours.0 -
You passed 3rd place lady here (my clubmate) see below for relevance...Saturday June 10th 2017
Wicklow Way Solo: 127km with 4,500m: 20hrs 20mins
Section 2: Crone Woods to Glendalough (29km): 4hrs 37
I think there was a technical downhill where I passed a guy and a girl struggling with their footing in the slippy mud.
UM1 who I introduced you too in Glendalough - I saw you passing him on the tracker then I saw him in Glendalough on the tracker, couldn't figure out WTF was going on thereA guy popped out from behind a wall on the right and headed down the hill against me, I asked if he was ok - he said he was really sick so was calling time on it.
just have a little peek in the mirror...He was a man on a mission and I don’t think that I’ve seen such determination in another person.It was here that I made the call that I was calling it a day when I got to Glendalough. I knew Annie Get Your Run would be there and was heading to a park run after so I was visualising myself changing into the dry gear I’d left at the CP and heading off for some PR tourism with her. My WW was done and I was probably going to be hypothermic when I got there anyway as my shorts and socks were saturated and I was really cold.
He told me we were very close to Glendalough and asked if I was still pulling the plug … I told him I’d try to get to the next CP with him as we seemed to be working well together.
Echm, you could have tried but AGYR would have packed you off with a flea in your ear, parkrun tourisim indeedDown another hill and I spot two crazy people up ahead waving their arms about and I’d nearly ran into them when I realised that it was AGYR and Nop98
Hugs, goodbyes & so many words of encouragement from Nop & AGYR oh and a quick introduction & handshake with UM1 (I think?!). Asked Adolfo was he ready but he had his mouth stuffed with a muffin so I belted on as every minute was precious.
Ha ha haaaaaaaa, I don't think we are the crazy people in this story we were equally delighted to see you in the flesh instead of a little red dot on Nop's phone! Also we were in stitches laughing at you leaving poor Adolfo for dust Section 3: Glendalough to Ironbridge (24km): 4hrs 13
For some reason I thought I had the back broke on this race now but then Jeff tells me that this next section is technical and tough and it’s this section where the most DNFs happened. First I thought, you’re f**king kidding me but then I thought that there was no way in hell that I was after doing 80km of that to not finish. NO F**ing WAY. indeedSection 4: Ironbridge to Dying Cow (25km): 4hrs 13
This section was my favourite by far, I enjoyed every pain filled minute of it
And you call us crazy?!!!Jeff presented me with a little piece of Wicklow, a beautiful piece of Wicklow granite with the yellow man posing as a runner engraved onto it. It also has 3rd written in the corner for third girl across the line. I’m really chuffed but there’s a caveat … 6 girls signed up for the WW, as far as I know only four towed the line in Marlay Park and only three of us finished so technically, I was the last girl home but I’ll take it.
There's no caveat, you passed 3rd lady before you got to Glendalough, she couldn't continue but you did so you won that 3rd place fair and square, you could have let the pain or the deamons get the better of you but you didn't. Well done on finishing what sounds like an incredibly difficult race both mentally and physically. You really are a legend S.My god …… that was hard!! Next year, I'm going to be more prepared. The fact you were talking about next year almost as soon as you'd finished says it all really.
Brilliant report, brilliant performance, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!!0 -
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What an amazing achievement, Neady! I find the descriptions from the night runs up to Djouce and other challenges almost frightening! It must takes some guts to take it on. I am not sure I'd ever have the courage.
You looked quite spent by the time we saw you in Glendalough, I was half expecting you to pack it in.. Just a few minutes off your feet and some gear-change seemed to really perk you up. I couldn't believe you set-off in such good spirits again - with the hardest parts of the race still to go!
What an unbelievable achievement!
And yes, I did have a look at your feet but I had banned it from memory! Kidding. I was going to pack away your used socks but you did prevent that 0 -
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I love your commentary AGYR, thank you and for your support that dayAnnie get your Run wrote: »UM1 who I introduced you too in Glendalough - I saw you passing him on the tracker then I saw him in Glendalough on the tracker, couldn't figure out WTF was going on there
I'd never have thought that was the same person ... though it was dark and pissy when I saw him the first timeAnnie get your Run wrote: »
Ha ha haaaaaaaa, I don't think we are the crazy people in this story we were equally delighted to see you in the flesh instead of a little red dot on Nop's phone! Also we were in stitches laughing at you leaving poor Adolfo for dust
Poor Adolfo, I did the same thing to him at the Ironbridge though I knew he'd chase me so I figured each time that I'd see him again. He finished within the 21 hours, I was so chuffed for him. Really hope he smashes Kerry with all his training Annie get your Run wrote: »There's no caveat, you passed 3rd lady before you got to Glendalough, she couldn't continue but you did so you won that 3rd place fair and square, you could have let the pain or the deamons get the better of you but you didn't. Well done on finishing what sounds like an incredibly difficult race both mentally and physically. You really are a legend S. The fact you were talking about next year almost as soon as you'd finished says it all really.
Brilliant report, brilliant performance, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!!
Thank you AM, I really really appreciate it. I honestly wouldn't have done it if you guys hadn't been at Glendalough, that was a game changer for me 0 -
Brilliant, well done Neady, all your training is really paying off. It reads like an Irish barkley marathons, well done! Can't say you sold it very well though, don't think it will be going on my list of races to do!
Thanks Joey, I know it's not exactly a glowing report but that's not the fault of the WW, the WW is spectacular and it's a testament to it that I plan to go back.
While I had the training done to cover the distance, I felt that I hadn't trained for the WW. I didn't know the terrain and despite reading race reports, chatting to past competitors and studying the maps - I didn't realise how long the climbs would be on fire roads. I needed a different kind of training for that and I know exactly how I'll train for it next year.
Every other race I did this year, I knew the course or most of it and I knew what I needed to do to finish it. The WW kind of stumped me as I was expecting similar trails to those in Kerry, Clare and Galway.0 -
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Well done on another awesome performance. Great report as always. The fact that only 3 women finished makes it all the more impressive in my book.
Cheers P That's very kind of you, I really need to get my act together now and get ready for the last one standing Major personal achievement S. I hope the bruises, aches, blisters but not the memories are fading
Cheers Denis, for sure I'm feeling much much better this week. The recovery from this has been the longest yet but I think I'm almost there now 0 -
What an amazing achievement, Neady! I find the descriptions from the night runs up to Djouce and other challenges almost frightening! It must takes some guts to take it on. I am not sure I'd ever have the courage.
You looked quite spent by the time we saw you in Glendalough, I was half expecting you to pack it in.. Just a few minutes off your feet and some gear-change seemed to really perk you up. I couldn't believe you set-off in such good spirits again - with the hardest parts of the race still to go!
What an unbelievable achievement!
And yes, I did have a look at your feet but I had banned it from memory! Kidding. I was going to pack away your used socks but you did prevent that
If I had know that Djouce would have been so wet, wild and miserable, I'm not sure I'd have had the guts to take it on Sometimes ignorance is bliss
It's amazing what a change of shoes and a CP like that can do for you. It really shows you that it's in the mind. In Glendalough, I put that last section behind me, focused on you guys and getting onto the next section. I didn't think back to Djouce from there on it, it was behind me - I think that's why it was so difficult to write this report.
Thanks for everything Nop .... you'll have to tell me your secret to knocking 2 mins off your 10km PB in one go Well done. 0 -
Was really looking forward to reading that and it did not disappoint, just a super performance and a very well earned podium. As AM pointed out you passed the other girl fair and square and you still had to finish whilst making cut offs, sounds like a nice trophy.
I was wondering does your head be zonked after an event like that? Thinking of the amount of concentration needed for the trails and having to navigate too.
Thank you Diego much appreciated.
The nav on this wasn't too bad at all (I only had to consult the map once) and having to stay in the zone and look for the yellow men helped distract from any niggles during the race.
Usually after long races, my mind is going in circles for a few nights afterwards but the aching in my legs after this race distracted me I slept the night after the race (after being awake for 40+hrs) but I didn't get any sleep the two nights after that- all I could think about was the aching 0 -
Neady wow what a great read and that sounds like one epic adventure of the brutal kind you are truly amazing
dare I ask Whats next
Thanks Baby75 and thank you for following the tracker
I had planned a cycle from London to Edinburgh & back to London again at the end of July but I've made the decision not to do that. I've been concentrating on running and not enough on the bike this summer so it would be madness to try and cover 1,400km in 100 hours on the little training I've done. I have a few Audax cycles that I want to do in July and August so I need to get back on the bike.
There's a 60km trail run in Kerry in September that I plan on doing - to collect the remaining three ITRA points that I need to enter UTMB. And I've signed up for the Dublin City Marathon. One of my goals for this year is to run a 3:45 marathon so I'll aim to do that in Dublin. Hopefully I'll get to meet you up there on the course 0 -
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That would be excellent I doubt I will match your time! at the minute I just want to run it although MM tells me I could do a marathon in 4 hours 30 minutes which would be brilliant.
Following the tracker was fun looking forward to the next time 0 -
That would be excellent I doubt I will match your time! at the minute I just want to run it although MM tells me I could do a marathon in 4 hours 30 minutes which would be brilliant.
Following the tracker was fun looking forward to the next time
Hope you don't mind me interrupting your chat but just to let you (both) know there is always a big boards crew in McGrattans on the Lane after DCM each year, usually down around the back bar. If you can make it in there do, plenty of people who'll never have met in real life before but all know each other!!0 -
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Well done Neady, great report of a brilliant performance!
Congrats on the podium finish.
Thanks so much Jake. It took a while to get that report on paper, it's a shame I didn't know more about my surroundings It's more about the people than the race but the people were just as epic as the race was
My achilles is slightly angry since the race so I can empathise with you.0
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