Connemarathon 2017

nhunter100

ToriV wrote:

Thanks - appreciate it! Best of luck !

You too, enjoy it's a beautiful if somewhat lonely run.

Down South

Have a cold for the past week and haven't been able to shake it. Head cold nothing on chest. What impact does running have on recovery?

Should I take it even easier than planned for the next 10 days e.g skip a few runs to see if it helps recovery or train on as planned because it doesnt matter anyway?

As someone who hasn't missed a day's work for 6 years this marathon lark is turning me into a hypochondriac

event

So how is everyone set?

I have not logged as many miles as I would have liked. So far this year it's 356 miles across 39 runs. There's 12415 feet of elevation gain there.
Long runs were

12 miles at 9:34 pace
14 miles at 9:23 pace
15 miles at 9:16 pace
16 miles at 9:24 pace
18 miles at 9:26 pace
20 miles at 10:00 pace
18 miles at 10:21 pace
18 miles at 8:58 pace
21 miles at 9:14 pace

Also have a half marathon done in 1:46 in Carlingford and then the cooley legends in 2:30, walked a bit of that.

PB is 3:43 in Dublin but thinking of going for 4:15 - 4:30, looking to enjoy this

echancrure

event wrote: »

So how is everyone set?
PB is 3:43 in Dublin but thinking of going for 4:15 - 4:30, looking to enjoy this

Both objectives should be highly achievable!

opus

Don't want to jinx it but it's looking like the weather might be ok for next Sunday, fingers crossed it stays that way!

echancrure

opus wrote: »

Don't want to jinx it but it's looking like the weather might be ok for next Sunday, fingers crossed it stays that way!

Yes it looks steady enough, certainly no repeat of last year.
Could yet be a scorcher...:o

ToriV

Best of luck all running this weekend and thanks for all the advice given over the last few months.

Heading west myself today to make a few days of it. Hope all goes well and see you all on the other side

Eric the Eagle

ToriV wrote: »

Best of luck all running this weekend and thanks for all the advice given over the last few months.

Heading west myself today to make a few days of it. Hope all goes well and see you all on the other side

Best of luck to you too.

Down South

ToriV wrote: »

Best of luck all running this weekend and thanks for all the advice given over the last few months.

Heading west myself today to make a few days of it. Hope all goes well and see you all on the other side

Yes best of luck to all

It wasn't long coming around in the end. Looks like the weather gods are behaving themselves

opus

Down South wrote: »

Yes best of luck to all

It wasn't long coming around in the end. Looks like the weather gods are behaving themselves

Likewise, hope everyone has a great run on Sun!

nhunter100

Hope ye all have a great run. For those seeking a time and running Conn for the first time. There is a fast mile or two heading in to Leenane, first real hill just outside heading in to the second half. Easy to bank some time before this hill levels out a bit then there is another little downhill where it is possible to bank some time before the HOTW, after you summit nice steady downhill where it flattens out for the last mile or so.
Again good luck and enjoy whether racing or seeking just to finish no matter the time.

Down South

David Gillick on Tracks & Trails in Connemara National Park giving a taster for Sunday.

event

The heat was unreal today, found hills tough today, walked a few. Made it in 4:13, happy looking back but toughest marathon yet

Neady83

The Hell of the West lived up to its reputation

nhunter100

Hope ye had a good day folks, an errant bottle at the 21 mile mark ended my Pacing gig. Hard to stay on pace with a pulled calf muscle. At least my co pacer came in under time. The weather was good if not a little humid and hot near the end.

Down South

All going to plan until 30k and then started to unravel. Got comfortably up the hill out of Leenane but felt the few rollers after that took it out of me. And yes the Hell of the West lived up to its name at which point I think I was a bit dehydrated.

Was aiming for 3:40.Came in at 3:48. Happy enough for 1st marathon and live to fight another day.

pgarr

Hi all,

I ran the Ultra yesterday and managed to place 3rd

I've put a blog up to jot my thoughts down regarding race day and hopefully inspire and provide some information to aspiring runners for the years to come ;

Here is the recap ;

My Experience in my first Ultra Race

Sunday April 23rd 2017 was my first Ultra Marathon - 39.3 Miles on the roads of Connemara. This post is about my experience on race-day.

A little about me

I am an inexperienced runner - I first started some kind of regular running in July 2016. My past race experience is the Clonakilty Marathon 2016 and some charity 5k events in Galway. I won a charity 5k in Renville Oranmore in 2016 and caught the bug there and then.

I used a John O'Regan training plan for the last 4 months to prepare - John O'Regan Connemarathon Training Plans. I will detail my thoughts on the training from my perspective in another post. This post is about race day itself.

I hope this post helps provide some information in the future years to runners as to how to attack the course in the Ultra / Full / Half in Connemara. Remember - this is my experience and running is very personalised. What works for me will likely not work for everyone else. I will say I had confidence from reading another runners experience of the race beforehand in a blog so if I can provide some confidence to 1 other person I consider this a success!

Race Morning

I was half asleep all night, having packed in a rushed state late the night before,

I ate my usual bowl of porridge and some fruit / seeds at 6am with some lucozade sport and coffee. I then got the bus from Galway city to Maam cross at 7am attended the pre race briefing.

I had a race strategy in mind for splits for each half marathon. My stretch goal was to finish in under 5 hours - with splits of 1:37:30, 3:16:00 and 4:54:00 for miles 13.1,26.2,39.3 This would be roughly 7:30 minute per mile pacing.

My training log shows I could maintain and even improve on this pace over 31 (albeit relatively flat) miles in Galway city. I had confidence in the pacing.

I wore an Inov-8 racing vest to carry my 8 gels and had 3 bag drops - each with 250ml lucozade sports and dates / snickers (all pre-tested on training runs).

My nutrition plan was to consume a gel and either - lucozade sport / another gel / dates / snickers every hour. This includes water at every station available.

The Start

I did 5 minutes warm up before the start (light jog and dynamic stretching) and before I knew it the race had begun. There is no actual start line for the Ultra - and I started near the back of the pack because of this.

I moved around the initial crowd and settled into my planned pacing. 1st miles were steady and on or under 7:30.

At mile 6 a cyclist drove by me and said I'd missed a turn. This put some panic in me and I looked behind to check the other runners and see if they turned off where I didn't. When I saw they were continuing with me I confirmed in my head the cyclist was wrong. I'm glad I did as the turn was actually 4 miles later.

At this point I had passed blocks of runners but had no idea how many were in front of me. This would be a constant through the whole race. At aid station 10 I grabbed my first drop bag and asked how many in front. "About five" was the response. I pushed on.

I passed more than 5 runners over the course of the next 3 miles.All the while we were closing on the Marathon starters. I was coming in bang on time with them starting (1 hour 30 mins) which was well below my prescribed split for the first 13.1. I went to the bathroom here and continued ...

Police Escort

When I started hitting the back of the marathoners - a policeman on a bike offered to escort me on the right side of the road through these runners. I said yes and they proceeded to lead me. This was the most amazing experience - a kings reception of sorts. The ultra label gets a lot of credit from other runners. Lots of well dones and thank yous were given out.

I had to hit 6:20 pacing to keep up with the escort. This was when I started questioning how fast I had been going. I decided to embrace the moment - it won't be a regular occurrence and expending the energy now meant an experience I won't ever forget. I'm very glad I did.

The escort departed and I kept clocking quick miles (sub 7 minutes) while re fueling and picking up bag drop 2 at mile 19. I devoured the snickers within and was feeling good at this point. 20 miles felt comfortable due to my training. The first half of the Connemara Ultra had gradual uphill parts but mostly is very runnable and relatively flat.

Mile 26.2 - the half marathon start. This is where I asked a policeman for another escort and they obliged. Same as before - fast pacing required but made a ton of ground up on the right side of the road. The kings reception part 2, and more tempo miles!

The climbs

I had entered the day aware that a climb out of Lennane at 26.2 and the Hell of the West at mile 35 were the two to be prepared for. I did so by taking in a gel and water before each. I also had logged hill repeats every week in my training plan. This definitely made the gradual climbs easier.

The climbing out of Lennane was not as bad as I had feared. I think being aware of it coming up helped greatly - could put myself in the mindset of shortening my stride and staying strong throughout.

The hell of the west was a different story. Everyone around me was in the 'pain cave' - focused on conserving energy for the climb. No talking / no 'well done Ultra!' ... this part is all about you. You cannot see the end until you are there - its a gradual climb with 1 or 2 leveling areas . It's about 1.8 miles in length and sapping . The heat at this point had risen but with only a few miles left I was making sure to maintain a steady pace. I managed a 7.05 and 7.23 mile through the hills. I passed an ultra in the midst of this. Little did I know this put me in 3rd place at the time.

Racing with Guts

In my first marathon in December I paced myself very conservatively. I was unsure how to train for a long distance running event and made sure my long runs were a minute slower per mile in training. I stuck to my plan in the marathon and had a lot left in the tank for the last 3 miles. I sprinted and finished in my goal time (less than 3.5 hours) , but was left wondering what could have been if I pushed myself.

Throughout this training block my aerobic base had improved immensely. I kept wondering if I could hold my tempo / fast pased run speed over a marathon distance.

I had made a mental note to run more by feel during the Ultra. One of the most important things for me was if I felt OK to try and maintain a good pace so that ;

1. I could come in under the 5 hours with some time left to account for the later hills.

2.I could say at the end of the race that I gave it my best effort. That I pushed myself and found out something about what I am capable of. That I went to an uncomfortable spot and pushed my body. That if I needed it - I could run with guts and heart and that the training was there to supplement that.

With the above in mind my splits will seem to confirm I did that. I can honestly say a day after that I pushed myself during the race - I drove past any mental barriers that come with this kind of distance running and also embraced the fact that my body was OK with the fast pace. It would have been easy for me to slow down early on and stick to the rigid plan I had conceived and seen elsewhere. I didn't want to do that. My body didn't either.

The finish

I shouted words of encouragement at anyone I saw struggling on the last couple of miles down from the hills. There were lots of people on the sides of the road with random flags and full of cheer. At this point I was emptying the tank so I got out as many sluggish 'thank yous' as I could.

As was the case throughout - I had no idea where exactly I way in terms of positioning. Only when I crossed the finish with a 6.14 last mile did an organiser confirm I was 3rd. I finished in a time of 4 hours 37minutes - Connemara Ultra Results 2017 PDF.

Grabbed 2 bottles of water and a bunch of bananas after taking a few moments to reflect and what I'd just done. This will take a while to truly sink in - but I am very grateful for being in a position to run this distance - and for being able to compete.

I stayed at the finish line to congratulate in particular any ultra who finished in the next half hour. Met some great people and enjoyed the moment as best I could.

Then I got changed and came back to wait for my friend Sarah to finish. And then...food and drinks

The volunteers

I can't finish this post without commending the volunteers on the course throughout. Always smiling - I never had to stop and grab water myself during. The upbeat mood of the volunteers has such an impact on everyone on the course it's hard to overstate.

Thanks. You are all awesome

TFBubendorfer

That's some performance for a first Ultra! Respect!

Bask in the glory, well deserved Congratulations!

opus

Wow some debut by pgarr above! Congrats on a stellar performance.

Sadly a dnf for me, had a fainting spell just after the 29m sign so ended up being brought back to Maam Cross in one of the ambulances First time that's ever happened & if I'm honest it scared the bejasus out of me.

Few friends were doing post mortems this morning & the suspicion is that I became dehydrated but who knows? Anyway it's in the past so onwards to Limerick next Sunday.

Neady83

pgarr wrote: »

As was the case throughout - I had no idea where exactly I way in terms of positioning. Only when I crossed the finish with a 6.14 last mile did an organiser confirm I was 3rd. I finished in a time of 4 hours 37minutes - Connemara Ultra Results 2017 PDF.

Wow, that was some unbelievable racing, massive massive well done. I was on the road at the start of the marathon when you passed with your escort. It was incredible to see how fast all of the Ultra runners were moving.

Please do post more information on the race and your preparation - your experience and advice coupled with the advice of the other experienced runners around here is invaluable.

Neady83

opus wrote: »

Wow some debut by pgarr above! Congrats on a stellar performance.

Sadly a dnf for me, had a fainting spell just after the 29m sign so ended up being brought back to Maam Cross in one of the ambulances First time that's ever happened & if I'm honest it scared the bejasus out of me.

Few friends were doing post mortems this morning & the suspicion is that I became dehydrated but who knows? Anyway it's in the past so onwards to Limerick next Sunday.

Really sorry to hear that Opus How are you feeling today?

I did think it was quite hot, I usually grab a bottle of water at the aid stations and sip it on my way around but I guzzled each bottle at the last three water stations so thirsty was I.

I think I drank 2ltrs during the race and we all commented about the amount of salt on our faces after the race.

ThebitterLemon

Savage performance on a tough course pgar, some finish too.

TbL

pgarr

Thanks so much for the kind words everyone.

I don't know what the best place to post my own experiences is (I really want to log my journey running to try and help motivate others to lace up) but I just started a blog which I will link when I have enough posts to do so. My plan is to jot my training and thoughts down in there . I've been adding notes to my runs on Strava for the last 4 months.

Sorry to hear a few struggled yesterday. It's a tough course no question - but no matter what you get an experience which you can learn from and enjoyed

Singer

Super performance pgarr! A lot of us log our training on the Training Logs forum here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=1139 but do post the blog link if you stick with that.

Down South

pgarr, I remember you coming through with the escort and being amazed at your pace. Knowing it was only temporary makes me feel a little less inadequate. Seriously great race, really impressive.

pgarr

Thanks for the kind words Down South!

Yes it was not something I could sustain Hope your race went well.

pgarr

Singer, TBL, TFB, Neady, Opus - thanks for the encouragement. It means a lot.

Opus - Hope you're doing alright now?

ToriV

nhunter100 wrote: »

Hope ye had a good day folks, an errant bottle at the 21 mile mark ended my Pacing gig. Hard to stay on pace with a pulled calf muscle. At least my co pacer came in under time. The weather was good if not a little humid and hot near the end.

Sorry to hear that Hunter. Same thing happened me a few years ago and i spent a lot of sunday kicking bottles out of the way - deadly little things. Hope the calf gets better soon.

I was looking for you at the start and spoke to your co pacer, but missed you on the way to the start.

Neady83

nhunter100 wrote: »

Hope ye had a good day folks, an errant bottle at the 21 mile mark ended my Pacing gig. Hard to stay on pace with a pulled calf muscle. At least my co pacer came in under time. The weather was good if not a little humid and hot near the end.

Sorry to hear that nhunter, I've heard a few stories of the same happening to people. Those bottles are lethal.

I didn't get a chance to meet ye before hand - just wondering what yer pacing strategy was on Sunday? I dropped off the back before Leenane as I was struggling to keep with the group.

ToriV

opus wrote: »

Wow some debut by pgarr above! Congrats on a stellar performance.

Sadly a dnf for me, had a fainting spell just after the 29m sign so ended up being brought back to Maam Cross in one of the ambulances First time that's ever happened & if I'm honest it scared the bejasus out of me.

Few friends were doing post mortems this morning & the suspicion is that I became dehydrated but who knows? Anyway it's in the past so onwards to Limerick next Sunday.

Could have been - it was a very sapping heat i found and I have run in much warmer temperatures than that. Sorry to hear that and I hope you are feeling better.