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
Time for a New Adventure
Options
Comments
-
Last week (Mon Jul 6th - Sat Jul 12th) turned into a very very light training week. Had no energy but had loads planned to do at home in Clare for the weekend but between the Tour de France, the hurling in Thurles, Wimbledon and all that, I managed two 3miles runs over the weekend. About 7 hours of training over the week. This week faired better.
Monday July 13th
10.07miles, 1:31, 9:05/mi
Headphones in, podcasts on and rocked around Galway for this. Stopped to watch eh big top go up, people playing kayak handball (I don;t know what it's called but it looked like fun
and all sorts going on. Overall a nice run and my legs felt all the better for an easy weekend.
Tuesday July 14th AM
Circuits
Tuesday PM
Interval session with the club. Session was pyramid style, 3mins, 4mins, 5mins, 6mins, 5mins, 4mins, 3mins off recoveries of 60, 60, 90, 90, 90, 60
Of course my plan was to take these easy, the Beast is only a bit away so I need to take the intensity down. Once the warm up was done, I fell into rhythm with the girls I usually do the session with and my competitive streak kicked in, I couldn't let them go and so we took turns pacing each other. It hurt but it felt like the best session I'd done in ages
Wednesday July 15th
6.01miles recovery, 57:51, 9:38/mi
This was badly needed to stretch the legs after Tuesdays session.
Thursday July 16th AM
Circuits
Thursday PM
60:00 Wattbike, 33.34km
10 minutes on each gear, 1 to 6. Felt good on this and even better Friday morning when I got up and my legs felt super fresh.
Friday July 17th
4.46miles at lunch, 39:46, 8:56/mi
Saturday July 18th: Joyce Country Hiking Challenge
15.55miles, 3,481 feet of elevation gain in 7:37
This is a great challenge that a gang of us do each year. It starts in Finny, Co. Mayo and takes in a nice range of mountains in Joyce Country including the Devils mother. The best bit about this challenge is when you've two thirds of the distance done and 80% of the climbing, you drop down onto a road and they have a catering van with a nice cuppa and a sandwich waiting for you.
I'd arranged to meet a group of friends that I hadn't seen in a while and do this with them, a catch up was long overdue. There ended up being six of us in the end plus one of the ARSEs, his brother and his girlfriend who we bumped into intermittently over the day. The weather was forecast to be rubbish so we hit off at 6.30 in the hope that we'd get a good chunk of it done before the rain. No such luck was had as it started milling an hour into it.
We did this at a nice gentle pace, taking plenty of breaks so that the group could stay together and we had some laughs as stories were exchanged. All the while we were passing out and being passed by groups of people who we'd meet on these kind of challenges, more stories exchanged and slagging matches had. Even through the rain we all had smiles on out faces as we had friendly banter over which way we should be going.
The ground was really soft and we were practically wading through bog as well as hauling our arses up some steep climbs so it made it quite the challenge. Conditions were getting worse as the rain got heavier and the wind started to pick up considerably. Streams were turning into rushing rivers and the ground was getting even more wet. At last we saw the catering van and made a bee line off the mountain for it. On the flat and close enough to the van we had a small stream to cross, a little hop would usually get you across it but by the time we got there it has turning into a 5 or 6 foot wide very fast flowing river. We walked up and down and up and down but there was no narrow place to cross it. We stuck our poles in but the bottom of the centre of it must have been 6 or 7 feet deep, we couldn't hit it. After mulling over it for ages and all getting into water up to our knees, one of the guys bravely threw his bag and sticks across and took a leap of faith. He ended up chest deep but luckily wasn't pulled by the current and made it. Another one of the guys followed and one by one we threw our bags across and took a leap while two of the guys stood waist deep to catch us and make sure we weren't swept by the current. Up to this point my boots and clothes were dry but we all went waist deep in the water and were saturated.
At the same time mountain rescue were stretchering a girl with a broken ankle from the mountain we were to climb next so we decided, in the interest of safety, to call it a day. We started to walk back by road, all lamenting our epic 'swim'/'leap of faith' across the river when the mountain rescue ambulance stopped to offer us a lift back the last 7 miles. So we hiked nearly 16miles, leaped/swam across a river and got back to base in an ambulance - we don't get many days on the mountains like that. A wet day but some craic and the soup at the hall in the end was the best I've ever tasted
Sunday
9.3miles, 1:25, 9:09/mi
This was much longer than I'd planned but I felt good and the podcasts were interesting so I kept on a running
Weekly Totals
Running: 5:30 (36.4miles)
Circuits: 2:00
Wattbike: 60:00
Hiking: 7:37 (not too strenuous)
Total: 16 and a bit hours but nothing too intense in there0 -
-
-
-
You'd know the other ARSEs weren't with me otherwise they'd probably have taken out some kind of inflatable boat and rode the rive till we met another mountain to climb
yeah, you would have been carrying your kayak and your bike in your backpack.. and as for heading to a refreshments van... wimps!0 -
Advertisement
-
-
Great stuff Neady... when does the tapering start, if at all?
Last week was my attempt at tapering It was all low intensity stuff but this week I'll do better with shorter runs and just one session a day. Interval session tomorrow night is 6x5min, 90sec recovery followed by two hill repeats, I'm not sure if this is such a good idea so I might give it a miss. 0 -
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
May the Beast be with you!!!! Whoop whoop!!!! Good luck to you and your team, and I'm already gathering up my energy bars and caffeinated drinks to have on hand for the epic report!
:Dhave seen the schedule so know it's going to be a busy week for you, in which case, best of luck neady, no doubt the training is done, i know in AR fitness only part of the puzzle, but remember to enjoy it. have a blast..:)
Thanks DD, that report is going to take some writing
Cheers, Mossy, there's nothing else that can be done now ...... except maybe some sort of sun worship in the hope that it shines on us for three days 0 -
Wednesday
Rest and the start of packing
Thursday
Circuits
Friday
4.05miles, 36:00, 8:54
An attempt to burn off some nervous energy
Saturday
Balla 10km, 48:55, 7:53/mi
Himself was doing this so used it as a training run. Left my watch in the car and did this by feel. Kept it easy and slowed at any sign of heavy breathing or sore legs. Felt good and still fresh at the end.
Sunday
Packing for the Beast0 -
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
Monday
4.27miles, 38:36, 9:08/mi
Easy run to burn off some nerves. The car is packed and ready to hit for UL after work tomorrow. My poor tummy is in knots all day, I'm so nervous and excited but mostly nervous
Very best of luck to you, you've done some fantastic training, well ready for it. I hope the weather is kind to you :eek: Can't wait for the report, take good notes (as if!) 0 -
what do you mean just run from here on in? we don't do "just" running around here..:)
Shoot, I forgot what forum I was on there for a second. I mean, run run run until DCM, then start preparing for next year Coast2Coast and whatever other mad things Team ARSE have in store for next year 0 -
-
Very best of luck to you, you've done some fantastic training, well ready for it. I hope the weather is kind to you :eek: Can't wait for the report, take good notes (as if!)
Thanks for the reminder, I almost forgot to pack my note pad to record all the weird and wonderful sleep monsters that I see seriously though, thanks for the well wishes, this time next week we'll be planning our next adventure 0 -
Enjoy!Over the weekend all you need to do is Keep moving, eating, and smiling. The rest will work itself out. Have fun!Good Luck in the beast Neady!!!
Thanks all
Oryx, I reread your RACE report over the weekend to motivate myself, I'll be using it as motivation over the next few days 0 -
-
Delighted to have a quick couple of words with you this evening in Dunmore East Neady - hope you have a great rest of race!
(BTW everyone else - Neady was in good form and on her way to do a bit of lepping off rocks into water, followed by swimming. All part of the plan!)
Thanks or stopping to say hello Dilbert, it gave me a nice kick just when I needed it as this was the section I had dreaded most
I didn't jump off the rock loosing my team points so I was bummed about that. When I saw the cliff edge, my mouth dropped, I didn't even think twice about it and told the guys there was no way I could do it - the girl on that checkpoint had the best job by far, trying to coax people to jump. This has definitely given me the kick up the ass I need to go and get swimming lessons this winter. 0 -
Advertisement
-
The Beast of Ballyhoura 2015: European Championships
I’m writing this and I’m still not quite sure where to start. I guess the best place is the beginning …. Our arrival in UL on Tuesday evening. Forgive me if there’s parts missing of if I have some sections in the wrong order, right now, even after digesting the whole thing for a few days, it’s still a mixed up mess in my head.
On Tuesday evening we arrived in UL to receive our house keys (we were housed in Kilmurry Village for Tue, Wed & Sun night) and our passes for registration, kit hall and rope skills. The first person I met was CM and she had her pass so we checked out the summary of the race stages. Our first thoughts were that there was a lot of biking involved and my second thought was, sh**e, there’s two coasteering sections, one with an 800m swim.
I picked up our house keys and passes and met the other ARSEs in our allocated house. We brought our bikes inside and sat down to have a chat through the race stages though we couldn’t figure out too much without maps or more info. We all live near so headed home to our own houses for one last sleep in our own beds before the fun began.
We were scheduled to register on Wednesday morning between 9.00 and 9.40am and there we signed away our lives, got our team photos taken and picked up our team bibs. Next we went to get our rope skills assessed. I was super happy to hear that there was an abseil involved as I love climbing and doing anything rope related.
After this we hit the PESS hall to construct our bike boxes and dismantle our bikes. This took a lot longer than expected. I needed to hit Halfords at some point in the day to pick up some spares for my bike so that was another thing on the list to be done. Before we knew it, it was time for the race briefing. Here we were handed our maps and the route book. This was followed by a detailed run through of each stage by Ivan, the race director. Here we learned when exactly we would have access to our kit boxes and our bike boxes. We were told about potential dangers in certain sections but all that was occupying my mind was the thought of doing the coasteering. The first one seemed to be optional but the second section was definitely mandatory and most likely going to be done in the dark. Ivan painted a very romantic picture of the scene including the blue moon and the sun setting as we would swim through a cave .. this did nothing to settle my nerves. It was clear at this point that we would not be able to do all of the stages as the distance to be covered was just too great so it was going to be more of a tactical race than first anticipated.
Frank and John sat down to mark the maps while Bryan and I hit for Halfords and the shops for any last minute bits and pieces. Then it was time for the welcome dinner and back to the house to pack and continue marking the maps. There was a Q&A so I volunteered to go to this while the lads kept marking the maps and finished the packing. I took notes & asked any questions that the guys had. I asked if the second coasteering section was mandatory there was no doubt about it, it had to be done. Mike from TriHarder was beside me and calmed my nerves telling me that it would be ok, I’d make the swim with the other guys – thanks Mike, it really did help. Back to the PESS hall to make sure the bike boxes, kit boxes, wet gear bog and climbing gear bags were numbered and loaded onto the trucks. It was well after 10 by the time we got back to the house for a last chat and settled in for the night. I had no idea that his day was going to be so long and quite tiring. There’s definitely something we can take from this in that we can get some things done the night before as we were on our feet all day the day before the race.
Thursday AM
4.30am rocked around pretty quickly and up we got. Breakfast and some coffee down the hatch and out we went to get our dibbers and the tracker attached. We boarded the bus and conked immediately. By 8.15 or so we were at our starting destination – Curraghmore House on the estate of Lord Waterford. We met Team TriHarder, wished them luck and finally we were on our way. The first section was a 20km run to the kayak section – it’s only now when I think about it that it sounds mad, a half marathon before a kayak section. I’ll be honest, the whole group set off at a fierce pace and I immediately thought that this was going to be a tough challenge if this was the kind of pace we had to sustain for 72 hours. It didn’t take long for the teams to spread out and after a few km we slowed to a walk. Walking up the hills and jogging down the hills. Some of this section was on railway lines which were quite head melting moving at a fast pace over them. We rocked into TA to get our kayaks and get moving in the water
Kayak Section: 9km kayak, 5km orienteering, 32km kayak
The kayaks and oars were supplied by race organisers and it was here that we realised our first rookie mistake. Back rests were not supplied and we had assumed they would be. This put shivers down our spines, this was going to be a long rough kayak.
The tide in the river was out so the first thing we had to do was wade through a few feet of mud to get the kayaks into the water and off we set. My back was starting to give me bother immediately and I knew this was going to be a mind over matter section. I was mesmerised by the mud caked onto my shoes and legs, especially as it dried and started to peel off. It didn’t feel like too long until we were in Waterford and docking so that we could do the orienteering section – this was a welcome break from the paddling. We pulled the boats onto the jetty and off we went like 4 lunatics around Waterford town looking for control points. Imagine the looks on peoples faces as they saw us running around with mud drying and flying off everywhere. We got the odd shout asking what we were doing and we quickly said a 3 day adventure race to which the puzzled looks were hilarious. We did this super efficiently and were back in the boats in no time.
This next section was nothing short of torture. My back was aching so I had to lean back and lift my bum out of the seat regularly to try to stretch it out. On top of this there was no flow in the water, in fact we had to keep to the bank to stay out of the currents so were taking the longer route at all times. As we got further and further down the river it seemed like the tide was pushing us back and we were fighting really hard to keep moving forward at all. At one point the Lunar Chicks (all girl team from SA) passed us on the inside, they were using a tow system, and suggested we keep further into the back to avoid the currents. A little down the river we spotted them banked in a few feet of mud and struggling to get the boats out, you couldn’t help but laugh while feeling sorry for them. There was a point where we had to cross the river from right to left just before a ferry crossing and before the next checkpoint which was on the left of the river. Just before we got to where the checkpoint was, the coastguard came over to us to tell us that the decision was made to short course teams to a checkpoint on the other side of the river as conditions were getting dangerous. This meant crossing the river again and having to push really hard while missing that checkpoint. It took a while but we eventually got to the beach and finished with our kayaks. We were all dam glad to be shot of them. We peeled down the top of our wetsuits, put on our wind breakers and made the 8/9km run to the transition where we would begin coasteering. It was still bright when we got there and I was delighted that we could do this first section while it was still bright.
We quickly got ready and started to jog to where the coasteering started. As we passed people they asked what we were doing, again, looks of awe when we gave them a brief description. It was here that Dilbert asked if I was Neady, stopped for a quick chat, delighted to hear that everyone else found the kayak as tough as us. Never dawned on me to ask Dilbert his real name, sorry Conor. It was a nice boost to see a boardsie before hitting the dreaded water.
I waded into the water with the guys by my side and quickly started to hyperventilate but did my best to control it and it thankfully only lasted 30 seconds or there about. The next step was to keep moving until I was out of my depth and I was delighted when I was able to float and control myself. I started to swim a little but wasn’t getting anywhere fast so Bryan went in front and I caught his heels, he did the arm movements and I did the leg movements. Wohoooooo I was swimming-ish. We picked off the first checkpoint and moved to the second one which was up on a high rock. There was a marshal waiting to direct us to the 25ft jump into the water. You should have seen the look on my face, my jaw was on the ground. The marshal had a right giggle – in fairness, she had the best checkpoint of the lot. I asked if there was an alternative, there was, I could walk down the rocks but we’d loose 250 points. I knew there was no point in me wasting time contemplating it as I’d never make the leap especially as I was only just comfortable in the water. I scurried down the rocks and waited for the guys to make the jump one by one. It took them some time to build up the courage but fair play to them, they did it. We had one more swim and we were home and dry. We headed up the steps to be told that the next coasteering section had been cancelled as it was late and dark. I won’t lie, I was delighted because we would have had to cycle 20km in our wetsuits to get to the coasteering and it would have frozen us.
Up to transition and out with the bikes and ready for a long night bike with an abseil thrown in somewhere.
TBC………0
Advertisement