Connemarathon 2017

ToriV

Down South wrote: »

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.

Well done! I found that same - grand at half way, took the hill steady and was grand coming out of it - but just those few climbs afterwards seemed to take more then they should have. Great going for a first one!!

ToriV

event wrote: »

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

Well done event - it was bloody hot! really testing in places.

ToriV

Only back in the land of decent wifi today.

Got around in 3.51 - delighted as the beginnings of a shin splint and a sick baby made for the worst possible few days beforehand. I set out at 3.40 pace and gave myself a 10 minutes cushion for the climbs, which i just ran by effort and then took what i could on the downhills.

The HOTW was long, but i didnt walk and i didnt stop. Not looking at the how far to go to the top was the best strategy and just one step after another. got to the top and then knew it was almost done. One minute outside my target, but I know on another day i could do better.

Found it very warm and the calf with the shin splint was in bits. Def more hill training - it was the rollers that took it out of me.

Roll on next year! Well done to all who did it - its a tough one for every distance, but those ultras are just amazing people.

nhunter100

Neady83 wrote:

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.

Thanks for the comment, the plan at the time was to bank some time before Leenane as the climb out is quite tough. The downhill in to Leenane allowed for this strategy. When I was coming out of Leenane I slowed the Pace by by almost 40 seconds even walking quickly to take on water. At the crest of the hill I still was ahead of pace by just under 1 mins 30. I realise this was a lot but in my mind I wanted to bank another minute or so for the HOTW. That was the plan till mile 21 anyway. Had 3 minutes banked when the bottle took me out of my Pacing time. Finished in 4.18.15. Still hobbling along today. My colleague crossed the line in 3.58.20 I believe. It was a tough day heat wise even without an injury.

Eric the Eagle

Really enjoyed my first Connemarathon! Great event in a beautiful part of the country. It is really well organised too so a big thanks and congratulations to the organisers and all volunteers, pacers, etc.

Personally, absolutely delighted with my race, training went well so I decided to go for broke and go out with the 3:30 pacers which would be a massive PB if I got it. Felt good for the majority except for the heat in the second half but just meant taking on a lot more water than usual.

Managed to come in under 3:30 so very happy indeed.

echancrure

For my first Ultra I had to pick Connemara, since it was my first marathon 3 years ago! I only switched to the Ultra about 2 months before the race was due, after I knew my initial aim of finishing the marathon under 3 in Connemara was not possible due to my patchy training and my 7Kg of extra weight since my 2:49 at DCM2016.

After I switched distance, I did some back to back runs at weekends (top was 20m + 30m) but not much during the week, and no speedwork training. Weight has been flat. Motivation was lacking a little... I had decided to aim for under 5 for the ultra (those round numbers!) but as race day came closer I was getting less and less confident that it would work out.

My strategy was a 7:25 pace throughout with some spare for the hills (1:37 for the first 2 halves followed by 1:46 for the last third) but I wasn't even sure to be able to hold 7:25 for that long. DCM2016 seemed very distant now and those 7Kg of extra weight are deadly.

The innovation for me this year was a GPS watch: I did not have one before and did all my races using a stopwatch. The main attraction for me is to help me stick to the targeted pace early on and not speed up too much.

We stayed in Clifden this year (my wife did the full) which was a nice change from Galway. I somehow managed to miss the bus from the hotel in the morning: entirely my fault as the bus left on time. I saw the back of the bus going away towards Maam Cross... At that time in the morning, 7:15, in Clifden on a Sunday the chances of getting a lift from someone are pretty null so I quickly decided to drive to the start instead. Thankfully there was exactly one free space in the car park of the Peacockes hotel. No harm done, just arrived 10 minutes after everyone else but well on time for the small briefing session before hopping on the short bus journey to the actual start.

I did not put anything in the bins provided for the Ultra runners as I had my homemade gels (5 portions) in my belt and salt tablets.

The start was nice and relaxed and in good chatty atmosphere with everyone else. I wore a singlet and with the temperature at about 8 or 9, cloudy with no wind, it was the perfect setup. I also had a cap on my head in case the sun decided to shine through earlier than predicted: I am not suited at all to heat or direct sunlight running.

I found my pace quickly and all was nice and relaxed. I stayed with a group of 4 or 5 runners for a few miles, and left them after they started to slow down a little and caught with another group. By mile 10 we turned right towards Lough Inagh and I caught up with a French guy who's a journalist and we had a great chat. We stayed together for probably 10 miles which was great. First half marathon as 1:37 as planned.

I caught up with my wife and her running buddy who were running the full, by mile 19 or so. I was feeling great so my confidence increased and I knew I would be able to reach Lennane in 3:14 as planned. My pace was averaging 7:24 on my GPS watch which was bang on; these things have their use after all. Great support from the other distance runners as I was passed them: thanks everyone it really helps.

Lennane in 3:14 for the 2nd third at mile 26 and with everything going as planned so far, but miles 26 to 39 is unknown territory for me...

The first hill after Lennane, and although I was ok during it, took me a little while to recover from and my pace dropped a little. The legs started to tighten quite a bit too. At some stage my left hamstring felt itself known to me and I was a little worried that it would seize up completely. I took another salt tablet and tried to forget about it. What actually happened afterwards is that the rest of my legs tightened just as bad so that I was sore everywhere: I soon forgot about that hamstring!

Caught up with running friends who were doing the half, but I was in no mood to chat at that stage, so I just gave them a shout and waved at them, and took in their words of encouragement as I went on.

By mile 33 I started to have to dig deep and my pace dropped a little as I was suffering with all the little ups and down. I some stage I threw my running cap to the side, why I wore it that long I don’t know. I kind of forgot it was there and as the sun never materialised fully I threw it out in anger somewhere.

Turned right at Maam at mile 35 for the final climb of the day. Things were starting to get hot weather wise or at least warmer, so I made sure to take two bottles at the last water station and started the climb. ‘Hell of the West’ went ok considering in that I did not walk but I was on the limit in terms of breathing, and as for my legs they felt like two matchsticks: stiff and brittle. Made it to the top and my pace recovered in the descent but not my breathing. The descent also took my legs to a new level of pain.

Last mile, and I slowed down dramatically to about 8:30, but even at that speed my breathing was over the top (I am sure my heart rate was through the roof too, thank god my watch does not record that or it would be scary). Then the inevitable came. I walked.

I walked for about 2 minutes waiting for things to calm down within me and feeling sorry for myself. I managed to restart running but only for a short while (a minute?) before I was forced to walk again by the delightful mixture of being out of breath and having legs in agony. Marathoners and half-marathoners were passing me in droves while encouraging me to finish.

Still walking, and with whatever functioning brain cells I had remaining I managed to spot the 39th, and last, mile sign. Somehow quick thinking kicked in: there was .3 of a mile to go and I had to hurry up, it was as simple as that.

So I sprinted the last .3 miles like a mad man, re-passing runners who only seconds before had passed me, legs in agony, single minded, I just did not care at that stage, it was the end and there would be nothing left in the tank... My GPS watch record tells me I hit 6:57 pace on the finishing line.

After crossing the line I somehow remembered to stop my watch and managed to sit down on the closest stone wall I found. Got assigned a young support crewman to look after me making sure I did not faint while trying to recover. A runner gave me a salt tablet while congratulating me. The support was fantastic throughout.

My watch was stopped at four hours fifty nine minutes and fifty five seconds.

As I started slowly to learn to walk again, I collected my medal (making sure it was the right one!) and mingled in the queue for my hard won tee shirt with ULTRA written on it. Despite that last mile I enjoyed this race. The support from other runners is great in Connemara and the organisation is very good.

I suffered in that first ultra, no doubt, no point hiding, and as I write this two days after the event, my legs are still very tender in a way they've never have been before. I am still walking funny. But I did a sub five Connemara ultra at my first attempt at an ultra. My training may have been borderline poor and my running weight awful, but sub five nonetheless.

Official results say I finished in four, fifty nine, thirty nine, chip time in eighth position with splits of 1:37:09, 1:37:18 and 1:45:13. I reckon I lost about 2 minutes by walking in that last mile. So what.

I can see now, that with better training my legs would not tightened as much and as a consequence my stride would not have shortened making it easier to maintain the pace. There is no secret after all. My mental is strong but physically I was borderline. Learned new things in this training cycle and race. It was a great experience.

So what’s next? Beer and wine may happily flow again into my veins for a little while as my body recovers. Then, as it’s Derry marathon time in less than six weeks, I need to start the journey back down to my running weight and do speedwork again and pick a target time for Derry. It won’t be a PB.

I leave that for DCM2017...

pgarr

echancrure wrote: »

For my first Ultra I had to pick Connemara, since it was my first marathon 3 years ago! I only switched to the Ultra about 2 months before the race was due, after I knew my initial aim of finishing the marathon under 3 in Connemara was not possible due to my patchy training and my 7Kg of extra weight since my 2:49 at DCM2016.

After I switched distance, I did some back to back runs at weekends (top was 20m + 30m) but not much during the week, and no speedwork training. Weight has been flat. Motivation was lacking a little... I had decided to aim for under 5 for the ultra (those round numbers!) but as race day came closer I was getting less and less confident that it would work out.

My strategy was a 7:25 pace throughout with some spare for the hills (1:37 for the first 2 halves followed by 1:46 for the last third) but I wasn't even sure to be able to hold 7:25 for that long. DCM2016 seemed very distant now and those 7Kg of extra weight are deadly.

The innovation for me this year was a GPS watch: I did not have one before and did all my races using a stopwatch. The main attraction for me is to help me stick to the targeted pace early on and not speed up too much.

We stayed in Clifden this year (my wife did the full) which was a nice change from Galway. I somehow managed to miss the bus from the hotel in the morning: entirely my fault as the bus left on time. I saw the back of the bus going away towards Maam Cross... At that time in the morning, 7:15, in Clifden on a Sunday the chances of getting a lift from someone are pretty null so I quickly decided to drive to the start instead. Thankfully there was exactly one free space in the car park of the Peacockes hotel. No harm done, just arrived 10 minutes after everyone else but well on time for the small briefing session before hopping on the short bus journey to the actual start.

I did not put anything in the bins provided for the Ultra runners as I had my homemade gels (5 portions) in my belt and salt tablets.

The start was nice and relaxed and in good chatty atmosphere with everyone else. I wore a singlet and with the temperature at about 8 or 9, cloudy with no wind, it was the perfect setup. I also had a cap on my head in case the sun decided to shine through earlier than predicted: I am not suited at all to heat or direct sunlight running.

I found my pace quickly and all was nice and relaxed. I stayed with a group of 4 or 5 runners for a few miles, and left them after they started to slow down a little and caught with another group. By mile 10 we turned right towards Lough Inagh and I caught up with a French guy who's a journalist and we had a great chat. We stayed together for probably 10 miles which was great. First half marathon as 1:37 as planned.

I caught up with my wife and her running buddy who were running the full, by mile 19 or so. I was feeling great so my confidence increased and I knew I would be able to reach Lennane in 3:14 as planned. My pace was averaging 7:24 on my GPS watch which was bang on; these things have their use after all. Great support from the other distance runners as I was passed them: thanks everyone it really helps.

Lennane in 3:14 for the 2nd third at mile 26 and with everything going as planned so far, but miles 26 to 39 is unknown territory for me...

The first hill after Lennane, and although I was ok during it, took me a little while to recover from and my pace dropped a little. The legs started to tighten quite a bit too. At some stage my left hamstring felt itself known to me and I was a little worried that it would seize up completely. I took another salt tablet and tried to forget about it. What actually happened afterwards is that the rest of my legs tightened just as bad so that I was sore everywhere: I soon forgot about that hamstring!

Caught up with running friends who were doing the half, but I was in no mood to chat at that stage, so I just gave them a shout and waved at them, and took in their words of encouragement as I went on.

By mile 33 I started to have to dig deep and my pace dropped a little as I was suffering with all the little ups and down. I some stage I threw my running cap to the side, why I wore it that long I don’t know. I kind of forgot it was there and as the sun never materialised fully I threw it out in anger somewhere.

Turned right at Maam at mile 35 for the final climb of the day. Things were starting to get hot weather wise or at least warmer, so I made sure to take two bottles at the last water station and started the climb. ‘Hell of the West’ went ok considering in that I did not walk but I was on the limit in terms of breathing, and as for my legs they felt like two matchsticks: stiff and brittle. Made it to the top and my pace recovered in the descent but not my breathing. The descent also took my legs to a new level of pain.

Last mile, and I slowed down dramatically to about 8:30, but even at that speed my breathing was over the top (I am sure my heart rate was through the roof too, thank god my watch does not record that or it would be scary). Then the inevitable came. I walked.

I walked for about 2 minutes waiting for things to calm down within me and feeling sorry for myself. I managed to restart running but only for a short while (a minute?) before I was forced to walk again by the delightful mixture of being out of breath and having legs in agony. Marathoners and half-marathoners were passing me in droves while encouraging me to finish.

Still walking, and with whatever functioning brain cells I had remaining I managed to spot the 39th, and last, mile sign. Somehow quick thinking kicked in: there was .3 of a mile to go and I had to hurry up, it was as simple as that.

So I sprinted the last .3 miles like a mad man, re-passing runners who only seconds before had passed me, legs in agony, single minded, I just did not care at that stage, it was the end and there would be nothing left in the tank... My GPS watch record tells me I hit 6:57 pace on the finishing line.

After crossing the line I somehow remembered to stop my watch and managed to sit down on the closest stone wall I found. Got assigned a young support crewman to look after me making sure I did not faint while trying to recover. A runner gave me a salt tablet while congratulating me. The support was fantastic throughout.

My watch was stopped at four hours fifty nine minutes and fifty five seconds.

As I started slowly to learn to walk again, I collected my medal (making sure it was the right one!) and mingled in the queue for my hard won tee shirt with ULTRA written on it. Despite that last mile I enjoyed this race. The support from other runners is great in Connemara and the organisation is very good.

I suffered in that first ultra, no doubt, no point hiding, and as I write this two days after the event, my legs are still very tender in a way they've never have been before. I am still walking funny. But I did a sub five Connemara ultra at my first attempt at an ultra. My training may have been borderline poor and my running weight awful, but sub five nonetheless.

Official results say I finished in four, fifty nine, thirty nine, chip time in eighth position with splits of 1:37:09, 1:37:18 and 1:45:13. I reckon I lost about 2 minutes by walking in that last mile. So what.

I can see now, that with better training my legs would not tightened as much and as a consequence my stride would not have shortened making it easier to maintain the pace. There is no secret after all. My mental is strong but physically I was borderline. Learned new things in this training cycle and race. It was a great experience.

So what’s next? Beer and wine may happily flow again into my veins for a little while as my body recovers. Then, as it’s Derry marathon time in less than six weeks, I need to start the journey back down to my running weight and do speedwork again and pick a target time for Derry. It won’t be a PB.

I leave that for DCM2017...

Incredible story ! Some achievement considering the training and late decision to run the ultra.

You must have been over the moon when you saw your finish time .

echancrure

pgarr wrote: »

Incredible story ! Some achievement considering the training and late decision to run the ultra.

You must have been over the moon when you saw your finish time .

Your story is very much more amazing than mine!

Thanks Padraig and well done, looking forward to follow your progress in years to come.

Enduro

Two great ultra debuts there. Well done lads. Great running, great racing. Big futures ahead too by the sound of it.

pgarr

Enduro wrote: »

Two great ultra debuts there. Well done lads. Great running, great racing. Big futures ahead too by the sound of it.

Thanks Enduro. Appreciate it

pgarr

echancrure wrote: »

Your story is very much more amazing than mine!

Thanks Padraig and well done, looking forward to follow your progress in years to come.

Thanks echan, same to you. We might meet this time next year!