Hell Is A Lonely Place

Most people I spoke to found it entirely appropriate that the day of this year's Connemara Ultra fell on April Fool's Day. How more foolish can people be than to voluntarily subject themselves to 39.3 miles of a rather hilly course, only to arrive back at the point where they had started from!

However, as I stood there on the start line at 9 o'clock, only an arm's length away from Giorgio Calcaterra, the current 100k World Champion, there was no place where I would rather be.

Ray O'Connor, the race director, sounded the horn and off we went. Giorgio took off like he wanted to lap the field, Mick Rice followed behind chased by a couple of other international runners, and then us mere mortals made up the rest of the field.

I had agreed with two other guys, Ray and Liam, to try and stick together for a while, doing 7:15 - 7:20 pace and after a couple of miles we were joined by 2 more runners, Paul and another runner whose name I didn't get. Right in front of us was a group of 5 runners who had run the first 2 miles a few seconds faster than us and then fell into the same pace, including the leading lady and another Italian, Roberto Giordano, who ran with a microphone and was followed by a TV production group, making a documentary of Connemara while running the Ultra at the same time. It was funny to watch, him talking animatedly Italian-style while running 7:20 pace, being filmed from a travelling motorbike.

Miles 1-5: 7:21, 7:19, 7:16, 7:18, 7:20

The first few miles clicked off easily but I didn't feel quite as smooth as expected. In training I had tended to start at 7:15 pace and then drifting into a faster pace, but today I was running a few seconds slower and feeling ok-ish, but not 100% right. I didn't worry too much, but I am wondering if the long taper had thrown me a little bit. I wasn't worried, we had a long way to go and running just a little bit more conservatively at the beginning usually pays dividends over that distance.

We chatted a bit, dodged the sparse traffic, including the buses that brought the marathon runners to their start, and generally enjoyed running. The sun was right at our back and while the temperatures were still fine, it was perfectly clear that it would be a much warmer day than forecast. I didn't worry too much, I had coped reasonably well with the heat two years ago, and I still had the same s-caps electrolyte tablets with me that had helped me through that race.

Miles 6-10: 7:10, 7:21, 7:23, 7:16, 7:07

I picked up my first drop bag from the 10-mile aid station and quickly caught up with the rest of the group again. I saw that another runner had joined us, and it turned out to be Grellan, which rather surprised me because before the race he had stated a rather more conservative goal. The group in front of us fell apart, 2 guys, one in a blue and the other in a white top, stayed ahead and the rest got swallowed by us. Then a car with a television camera at the back started filming our little group. We thought it would be connected to the documentary but actually the footage made it into the main evening news later that day, me and Liam prominently featuring in the front, Paul, Ray, Grellan and Roberto making up the background crew. My kids were suitably impressed.

12 miles into the race we went over a little hill and all of a sudden we could see the marathon runners gathered at their start. We were still a good bit off when they started as we crossed their start line, our 13.1 line, in 1:36, 6 minutes back. I predicted that we would catch the back of the pack within their first mile, but it took about 1.2 miles.

To their credit, the marathon runners stayed on the right had side of the road, leaving us plenty of room to pass on the left. I think the original intention of the organisers had been to let traffic through on that lane but we more or less took it over, thus avoiding weaving through hundreds of slower runners. We did make room from time to time to let cars pass, though.

Miles 11 - 15: 7:22, 7:22, 7:11, 7:15, 7:04

One more Ultra runner, Max, came from behind to join our group and by now we had formed a sizeable pack of 8-10 runners. I have never been in such a big pack so far into a race. The marathon runners gave us massive encouragement, plenty of shouts and lots of clapping as we passed them, and we all got a big boost. Presumably this was the reason for the pace increase that came at mile 14, right on the spot where we had caught up with the end of the marathon field. Max in particular pressed the pace, and we soon caught the aforementioned Ultra runners in white and blue, who both managed to stay with us.

The pace dropped very close to 7 minutes. For a while I was happy to see the average pace on the Garmin drop to 7:15, my original target pace, and then even further to 7:14 but eventually I felt that the pace was just that little bit too hard. While I felt almost comfortable and could have stayed with the group, I found it prudent to ease off just a smidgen, enough to actually feel comfortable again. To my surprise, I almost immediately fell into step with Ray again who had exactly the same thoughts.

Miles 16 - 20: 7:00, 7:08, 7:12, 7:27, 7:26

As we saw the rest of the group slowly inch away from us, I commented that I hoped the boys knew what they were doing, but Ray voiced his doubts about exactly that. I reckoned we would eventually find out. We had a short banter with a couple of marathon lads but won the day when I pointed out to them that we were already at our halfway point and they were not.

I picked up my second drop bag at mile 19 and hurried after Ray again, hoping that I hadn't overcooked myself with the extra effort, but I sure appreciated my sports drink, for which is there is an Irish distributor, unlike my previous favourite which is sadly no longer available due to an absolutely stupid shipping fee (sorry, just had to get that off my chest).

Miles 21 - 25: 7:31, 7:25, 7:29, 7:07, 7:38

The first real hill came shortly before mile 20, but it was reasonably short and not steep at all and we reached the top quickly. Right there is a church with a big sign saying "Stop And Pray". I will always remember my second Ultra, in 2008, where I seriously contemplated stopping and praying rather than continue for another 20 miles on already tired and hurting legs. Today, in contrast, I still felt very good. It goes to show how much of tiredness is in the mind; normally I'm tired after 20 miles, certainly if I run at 7:15 pace. Right now I was perfectly fine and comfortable, not worried about the second half at all. If you go out with the intention of running close to 40 miles, 20 miles is nothing. It also helps to get the mystique out of the marathon distance. Mile 26 becomes just another mile marker.

At one stage the door of one of the many portable toilets opened just as Ray and me passed and Liam stepped out and re-joined us, thereby reforming the original trio that had set out from Maam's Cross two and a half hours ago.

Killary Harbour is often described as Ireland's only fjord, and the landscape is breathtakingly stunning. What is even more breathtaking is the headwind that is formed by the funnel effect of the valley, and I have yet to encounter that stretch of road in calm conditions. It is of course perfectly possible that memory is playing tricks on me but I did not remember the headwind ever being as fierce as today and eventually the three of us went into single file, Ray doing most of the work, me and Liam leeching on to him.

Grellan was just ahead of us most of the time and we caught him a mile or two before Leenane. He looked comfortable and was moving well, so I was rather surprised when he all of a sudden announced that he would be dropping back now and taking it easier for the rest of the race. He was the first runner of that group that had pulled away from us at mile 18 or 19 to drop behind, but I knew more would be coming.

I looked at my watch a few seconds after crossing the marathon timing mat and saw 3:12:20. We must have moved at virtually the same average pace as for the first 13.1 miles. A 3:12 marathon is a perfectly reasonable time. For example, it would comfortably qualify me for another Boston marathon. But now we still had another half marathon to go, and a brutally hilly one at that. In some twisted way, I was looking forward to that.

Miles 26 - 30: 7:31, 7:40, 7:56, 7:13, 7:22

Ray is a very strong uphill runner. We had established that over the first 26 miles already. He was always faster than me on the uphills and I was naturally faster on the downhills. The steep two mile climb out of Leenane was undoubtedly in his favour. Last year, he had dropped Liam at that point, and Liam seemed rather determined not to repeat that, even though his breathing was rather laboured. I was feeling even worse. My first instinct was to let the boys go and take my chances on my own, maybe even with an outside chance of catching them again, but I knew perfectly well that this was a rather remote possibility. So I eventually resolved to stick with them as long as the effort seemed still within some reasonable limits. I checked my HR at two points, both times seeing a value of 167, which seemed reasonable enough and just about manged to hang on to their coat tails. Eventually the hill levelled out, at which point we had already caught up with the back end of the half marathon field.

I picked up my final drop bag at the 29 mile station and realised that I had made a big mistake when packing it. For the other two drop bags I had used some ice cream tubs as container which were distinctive enough to be identified immediately. We only had two of them in our cupboard and my third drop bag was a little white plastic bag. Imagine my horror at the sight of at least a dozen white plastic bags at the ultra table. I found mine after examining about half of them and took off again, Ray and Liam of course by now far, far away.

But the drink was worth it! There was half a litre in that bottle, 2 servings of Orbana, and I took a good few sips, realising how thirsty I was after running for hours in the ever rising temperatures. I soon felt much, much better and my pace increased a level. I knew that I was getting close to my limit but figured that with only 10 miles to go I might as well take a few risks.

Things were going extremely well, I was passing the half marathon runners by the dozen, and soon caught Ray and then Liam. Or was it the other way round? Not sure, but they had split up as well by now.

Alas, it was not to last. Both of my calves started cramping and I realised that things had turned ugly all of a sudden.

Miles 31 - 35: 7:10, 7:43, 7:45, 7:44, 7:49

What brings on cramps? Not even the scientists know. I had suffered a lot from cramps in my early marathons and ultras and practically solved the problem by wearing compression socks. Unfortunately, this was obviously not working to full effect today. I guessed that a lack of electrolytes could be the problem, a perfectly reasonable suggestion in the hot temperatures, and took my last two s-caps in relatively short succession. This didn't help either. I suffered from spasm after spasm, not quite going into full cramping mode but always teetering at the brink. At one steep downhill stretch, shortly after the 32-mile aid station, one of my calves cramped violently and the pain was excruciating but thankfully relaxed its grip immediately before I had to stop, but the runners around me sure heard me screaming out in pain. Ray and Liam had of course long passed me, but I was not the only runner suffering.

Despite being reduced to a pathetic baby-step like gait with a quick turnover that was half a minute per mile slower than my previous pace, I caught the runners in white and blue that had been part of our group many miles earlier, and then another Ultra runner who I did not recognise. It is possible that I might have missed others, weaving my way through thousands of half-marathon runners, but I don't really think so. Nobody passed me on the entire stretch, apart from Ray and Liam of course, but those boys were long gone and I did not even think of them any more.

I know the Connemara course like the back of my hand by now and am familiar with every little bump, especially on the final half-marathon stretch. I always knew what was coming.

Despite that short episode on that one downhill stretch, the spasms were distinctly worse on the uphills. This did not bode well for the Hell of the West, but I decided not to dwell on that fact. There was no point worrying about it in advance.

I figured that even 9-minute miles would still get me under 5 hours, which seemed safe enough but if I were reduced to walking the Hell, I wasn't safe yet.

I started taking on a lot of water, taking two water bottles at the aid stations, pouring a little bit of it over my head but drinking most of it. Wouldn't you believe it, that seemed to eventually get the better of my cramps. I had drunk plenty of fluids, 1.5 litres of my sports drink as well as water from most aid stations, but I might have been dehydrated after all.

And right there I hit the Hell.

Miles 36 - 37: 8:13, 8:56

I figured that from that point on even 10-minute miles would see me under 5 hours. That seemed safe enough.

I had by now passed the majority of the half marathon field (as well as 90% of the marathon field) and the runners around me were of reasonable standard, roughly 2-hour half-marathon runners and sub-3:30 marathon runners, but the Hell is a challenging climb for everyone. On previous years I have always encountered a lot of walkers on the Hell, but this time most were able to run, albeit rather slowly. Unfortunately, one woman started walking right in front of me and I had to swerve very quickly or I would have run right into the back of her, and the sudden sideways movement immediately sent one of my calves back into cramping mode. I eventually figured that holding the foot in a dorsi-flexed state provided enough tension to the calf muscle to stop it from cramping. Running like that would have been impossible on the flat but luckily (?) I was right at the steepest part of the hill, and when it flattened out temporarily again, the spasms had stopped.

For all of the two miles up the Hell I deployed the well-known Bubendorfer-moan. If you have ever been close to me in a 5k, you know what it sounds like, and if you were close to me at any point of the Hell this year or 2010, you know it as well. Every breath is accompanied by a high-pitched moaning sound. It might even bother myself on any other occasion but I was far inside my pain cave and I just let it happen. It got me over the hill.

I had one overriding thought, that I might have shared the entire climb with a big number of other runners, but it had felt like a very lonely place indeed, and I'm sure most other runners felt the same. It really is every man for himself, and every woman too.

Eventually I could make out the tower of Peacockes far in the distance. This would be over in 15 minutes!

Miles 38 - 39.3: 7:58, 6:58, (6:23 pace rest)

I naturally thought that the pace would drop considerably on the downhill stretch but was dismayed to keep seeing 7:45 on the Garmin. One marathon runner in a triathlon suit and an American accent started chatting to me. This did not bother me. What did bother me was the fact that he pulled away from me and I just could not keep up with him while still doing my baby-step gait.

Halfway down the hill, with less than 2 miles to go, I finally snapped out of my funk. I opened up my stride and started running more naturally again; longer steps, still with a good turnover, yielded a much better pace and all of a sudden I was flying past other runners like they were standing still. I immediately knew that this would not be sustainable for long. The quads were screaming in pain. The calves were dangerously close to cramping and I was really pushing my luck. But I could smell the finish and was determined to squeeze every single second out of it.

I got plenty of encouragement from the other runners. All credit to them, they must have been tired as well, but many of them found the breath to shout a comment and on a couple of occasions I even heard my name, one of them coming from Ken Dunne, the organiser of the Dingle marathon.

This last mile was the fastest of the day, my only sub-7 mile. I only intended to better my time, but close to the 26-mile marathon sign I spotted another Ultra runner. He did not wear the "ultra" tag on his back but I recognised him from earlier. It was all the encouragement I needed. I was quickly running out of road but I was flying and he had no idea I was coming. I might have no natural finishing speed but going so much faster than him I figured that by the time he realised he was being caught it would be too late for him to react.

I passed him and crossed the line only a few seconds later. I was on a total high and celebrated in style, prompting the announcer to say something about an excited ultra runner coming to the finish. I felt vaguely guilty for the other guy and went to shake his hand and apologised, but it turned out that he had been so out of it he hadn't even noticed me. Ah well.

Ray O'Connor got a sweaty hug (I'm sure he got plenty of those today), as did Jo at the finish area, right in front of her husband. Apologies to all of them.

Ray and Liam were there, having finished 3 minutes and 45 seconds ahead of me respectively. I had known that Ray would be super strong over the final stretch but I had not expected such a strong finish from Liam. 6 weeks ago he had wilted badly in Donadea where I had caught him on the last lap. He told me he had become completely paranoid over the last few miles, convinced that I was right behind him for a repeat of the Donadea scenario, but this time he had held out. The only other 2 runners from that big group we had formed 25 miles earlier to finish ahead of me were Paul and Max, full respect to all of them.

World champion Giorgio Calcaterra had won in under 4 hours, Irish international runner Keith Whyte had beaten Mick Rice into second place, Vasiliy was fourth and after that elusive group of international-class runners the rest of us settled for the places.

Before the race I had harboured secret hopes of a top-10 finish, which I knew would be tough as the race is getting more competitive by the year, and when I crossed the finish line I knew it was close but did not know if I had made it. I was thrilled when the results came out with me in ninth place.

Grellan came 13th in 5:02, just missing out on the sub-5 but very happy all the same. Gerry Duffy, of 32-marathons fame, was 15th in 5:12 and he was gracious enough to chat with me for a good bit afterwards. Mick Rice introduced me to Frank Greally, the editor of the Irish Runner magazine as well as a running legend. There were a lot of famous people around and a good day was had by all.

Almost 36 hours later I still can't quite believe that I had managed a top-10 finish in Connemara. I almost feel like a decent runner right now, but my badly aching quads leave me in no doubt that I'm not dreaming.

I can't wait to do it again.

1 Apr

Connemara Ultra, 39.3 miles, 4:53:34
   Avg. HR 161, 7:28 pace, 9th place, 22 mins PB!

Summary

Training (from 28 Nov)

17 weeks (18 if counting this one)

Miles per week:

62, 69, 78, 82, 62, 77, 74, 77, 75, 79, 78, 81, 46, 59, 50, 69, 47 (average before taper: 70)
The drop 5 weeks ago was due to recovery from first Donadea and then Ballycotton

# runs of 20 miles:

2 (!)
I started my training after running 3 marathons/ultras in quick succession and felt a lot of long runs on top of that would be counter-productive

# runs over 20 miles:

1 (Donadea 50k)

# of PBs:

2 (or 4 if you count in the fact that I broke my 5 miles and 10k PBs along the way during the Ballycotton 10 miler)

Injuries/ailments:

- none (still 4 days to go, of course ;-) )

After pacing the Dingle and Dublin marathons and then running the Sixmilebridge 30-miler late last year, I went into the training cycle with an emphasis on recovery. I used last year’s Vienna training plan as blueprint, both for the overall structure of the training plan as well as for individual workouts. One main change was switching the marathon pace runs for ultra pace runs but for longer durations. The other main difference was a much better understanding of the system, especially with regards to recovery. I won’t claim that I actually know what I'm doing but I must have guessed right more often than not. I finished a lot of workouts thinking “that’s how I should have done them last year”.

It didn’t start out all that well, I never felt good during base training, which is almost certainly down to the 3 long races at the end of 2011. It just took a while for my legs to recover from that. Things changed radically as soon as I started the hills phase, I could feel the legs improving virtually every single day and things just took off from there. All of a sudden I was hitting paces easily that I struggled to hit last year and I finished all my workouts with something left in the tank. Still, if anything I was developing too quickly, but I just about managed to keep a lid on things and stopped the pot from boiling over, so to speak. The races in Donadea and Ballycotton confirmed that I was in excellent shape and two hard runs (Ballycotton and alternating paces a week later) hopefully put the icing on the cake. Everything since then has just been in order to keep things ticking over until the race.

I am in my best shape ever. No doubt about it.

I also had a major shift in expectations. Two years ago when I ran the ultra in 5:15 I felt I had finally cracked this ultra running malarkey and run it as well as I could. Now I think I didn’t push hard enough. This year will be different. I am prepared to take a few risks and chase a much more aggressive target, and my confidence is high.

This week is of course all about not doing anything stupid. Monday and Tuesday saw easy 5 mile runs, and this morning I did my taper workout, the last workout before the race. I started with 6 miles at race pace, which was a bit faster than planned (I started at the right pace but gradually drifted into a higher gear), then one mile easy followed by 3x800s in 2:57, 2:55 and 2:46, with 2 minutes recovery, and finally an easy mile to cool down. The sunrise right during my second 800 was an added bonus, and I noticed how quickly the temperatures rose after that.

The upper limit from now is 2-3 miles per day. Seriously. And then we race.

26 Mar

5 miles, 39:48, 7:58 pace, HR 129

27 Mar

5 miles, 39:13, 7:51 pace, HR 135

28 Mar

10.15 miles, 1:11:36, 7:03 pace, HR 146
   6 miles @ 709 pace, 3x800 in 2:57, 2:55, 2:46

Ticking Over

I know I'm not updating as often as usual at the moment, but there are only so many ways you can say "ran easily on Thursday and Friday, felt good".

So, what did I do?

I ran easily on Thursday and Friday and felt good.

On Saturday I had to drive the three older kids to Cork again, for the second last time this turn. Thank God that's nearly over, having to wake them early and leave at 8 o'clock on a Saturday morning 8 weeks in a row is a lot to ask for. It's a credit to them that they never complained - they enjoyed the course so much, obviously.

I have 2.5 hours to kill, which I, of course, use for running. The Blackrock area, roughly miles 10-15 of the Cork marathon course, is by far my favourite, but it requires to go through town, so when I have only limited time available I head for the straight road, not as nice but perfectly good for a run. I did miles 22-25 of the marathon course each way and with a little bit extra added on I came to 8 miles. That's fine. The problem was that I just could not keep the pace at the planned 7:15. I kept checking the Garmin, and every time I looked I kept seeing some pace between 6:15 and 6:45. So much for my belief that I can tune into the right pace without that watch by now. It was only 8 miles so there's no damage done; it was probably useless from a physiological point of view but a fantastic confidence booster all the same.

The weather always tends to be beautiful at this time of the year and this year is no exception. It would be nice if this were not the only nice sunny period of the year for a change; the last three summers have all been abysmal.

Of course I hope we won't have 23 degrees in Connemara again, even though I handled that reasonably well in 2010. I'd rather have perfect running conditions for my assault at the sub-5.

Anyway, I used today's beautiful weather for a trail run on the Kerry Way, from our house all the way to Windy Gap and back. The high point is about 1150 feet high and there is plenty of up and down on the way which adds up to a more than decent amount of climbing. Even though the pace would not indicate it, I ran it at a reasonable effort; not particularly hard but not hanging around either. I did not meet a single soul on the trail, it was just me and a few panicked sheep. The view, as always, was absolutely stunning. I do appreciate living in such a scenic part of the world - I only wish the weather were better.

Only one week left to Connemara. This is going to be great!

22 Mar

5 miles, 38:34, 7:42 pace, HR 137

23 Mar

5 miles, 38:28, 7:41 pace, HR 138

24 Mar

8 miles, 55:05, 6:53 pace, HR 156

25 Mar

10.7 miles, 1:27:58, 8:13 pace, HR 149
   trail run

Weekly Mileage: 46+

Definitely Tapering Now

Since the recovery from Ballycotton extended smoothly into my taper, last week wasn't really the usual shock to the system. But I sure can tell the difference this week, the mileage has dropped considerably, I get more sleep, the legs feel fresh each morning and the countdown to Connemara is almost into single digits.

The long term weather forecast does not paint a pretty picture right now, but since they cannot even predict next day's weather with any degree of accuracy (the glorious sunshine on Paddy's Day being a prime example, the forecast had been appalling) I won't take too much notice of that just yet.

The training cycle has gone so well, I'm kinda waiting for something to strike at the last minute. Injury is rather unlikely, especially with my pretty good history, so it's mostly illness that I'm worried about. Virtually every family member has been sick at some stage over the last few weeks; Shea especially got it pretty bad with a very violent cough, but I didn't even get the sniffles. My immune system must be rather good. That said, I woke with a distinctive metallic taste in my mouth yesterday and can feel it again today, but there are no other symptoms. I think we can rule out pregnancy in my case and as long as nothing worse happens, I'm fine.

Never mind me, I'm just being paranoid as the race approaches. It will only get worse next week.

Two very easy 5-milers were followed by another race pace run this morning. At least it was supposed to be race pace. I kept the pace quite well against a blustery headwind on the way out but of course it blew me home faster than anticipated on the way back home. Generally I find that I'm able to tune into 7:15 pace reasonably well but there is always a tendency to inadvertently speed up if the legs are fresh. It's not an issue once I reach double digits on the mileage, but of course I don't want to burn myself off early in the race in Connemara. On the plus side I can now tell when I'm running too fast without looking at the Garmin, hopefully I will still be able to do that with race-day adrenaline floating in my veins.

My nutrition plans are taking shape as well. I seem to respond to sports drink better than to gels and will take that into account, but will still take several gels with me. I'll see and adapt according to how I feel on the day, and the general idea is to bring too much rather than too little, but not get freaked out if I can't get to my stuff from the aid stations for whatever reason.

Definitely getting excited now.

19 Mar

5 miles, 38:30, 7:42 pace, HR 140

20 Mar

5 miles, 39:00, 7:48 pace, HR 134

21 Mar

8 miles, 57:02, 7:08 pace, HR 145

It Did Not Rain On My Parade

Something not quite right here. Because last week's mileage had been so low, I actually ran a lot more this week, despite calling it a taper.

But the best thing about this week was not the mileage or the pace but the way I've felt. It took 3 weeks to get my legs back after Donadea, and racing Ballcotton didn't help I suppose, but since the beginning of the week I have basically felt better every day. There was a small bump on Thursday when the legs felt lousy over the first 4 miles but they seemed to recover miraculously and felt great for the last 4.

The weekend saw a lighter load than previous ones with just a vague resemblance of those back-to-back workouts I have done on a few occasions this year. The plan for Saturday was to run 10 miles at 7:15 pace and for once I managed to stick fairly close to that. I paid plenty of attention to the Garmin during the first half and was very much on target as a result. I ran the second half much more by feel and ended up a little bit faster, but still very close to the target.

By far my favourite Paddy's Day parade in Ireland is the one in Glenbeigh. It's mercifully short. The kids like it too because they get a party bag at the end. We even got lucky with the weather. Despite the absolutely awful forecast, it was a beautiful sunny day.

I haven't run the Caragh Lake loop in a while, which is why I picked it one final time before Connemara this morning. The general idea was to run the same 7:15 pace again but on a much hillier course than previous efforts. Connemara is very hilly, at least the second half is, and I will have to be able to keep that same pace on such an undulating road.

I was out later than usual, owing to Mother's Day. Niamh's wishes for the day were a lie-in, breakfast in bed and no fighting amongst the children. 2 out of 3 ain't bad, I suppose. Maia seemed to think that because she had to be extra good for Mum, she had to be particularly awful for Dad and I was rather stressed by the time I was finally able to get out of the door for my run. Maybe I tried to get away as quickly as possible and that's why I started with a 6:45 mile, or maybe it were the three cups of coffee that completely messed up my pacing, but I did calm down eventually and settled into a more realistic pace. Having said that, I felt very good, and the sports drink I took with me to try it out before Connemara made a difference as well (all my other runs had been dry). As a result, I ended up a good bit faster than expected, but I can honestly say that I was always in total control and never once unduly pushed the effort.

With 2 weeks to go to Connemara, the hay is in the barn. I might be sticking my head out unnecessarily here, but my prediction is that it's not a question of if I break 5 hours in Connemara but by how much. And now that I've stated it so openly, there's no tracking back.

15 Mar

8 miles, 1:02:19, 7:47 pace, HR 141

16 Mar

8 miles, 1:00:21, 7:32 pace, HR 142

17 Mar

10 miles, 1:12:00, 7:12 pace, HR 150

18 Mar

15.1 miles, 1:46:54, 7:04 pace, HR 151

Weekly Mileage: 69+

Cautiously Tapering

Connemara is 18 days away, and just in time for the taper the legs are coming round. Things have been a bit up and down during the entire training cycle. I didn't feel great during base training, probably because I felt the effects of 3 marathons (ok, 2 marathons and 1 ultra) in quick succession in my legs. As soon as I started the hill phase, however, things improved spectacularly and I felt great, until the day I ran Donadea. I have been feeling the effects of that ever since, and the fact that I added the shock of 10 miles at 6:07 pace to an already compromised system didn't help. However, on Monday I felt like I was running on springs again. I suppose it took three weeks to recover from Donadea and now I'm over the worst of it. Since it's too close to Connemara to add significant training stress, I should arrive at the start line with a very fresh pair of legs.

Monday and Tuesday were very similar, eight easy miles in the beautiful Kerry spring morning alongside Caragh Lake, the peace only slightly disturbed by the presence of a million gnats. Some of them ended up in my stomach, some in my lungs and some drowned in my sweat. Gross. But the running itself was great.

In order to get efficient at a particular pace you have to run at that pace. It was for that reason that the coach had me do a lot of gruelling marathon-paced miles last year. This year the equivalent workouts have been slower and therefore easier, and I generally tried to extend the pace segment to make up for it. This morning saw another one of these workouts. I eased into it over the first 2 miles and then tried to cruise along at 7:15 pace. I have a tendency to drift into 7:00 pace and below on these runs if I don't pay attention, but I'm slowly starting to tune into it and didn't need too many corrections today. I was still a little bit fast but stuck to the plan pretty well, all said. With a little bit more of that and fresher legs, things are looking pretty good for Connemara.

12 Mar

8 miles, 1:02:37, 7:49 pace, HR 136

13 Mar

8 miles, 1:02:55, 7:51 pace, HR 135

14 Mar

12 miles, 1:26:21, 7:11 pace, HR 145

Reflecting, Still

I spent most of the week trying to recover from Ballycotton, mentally as much as physically. I could not help but wonder what time I could have run had I not done Donadea beforehand. I'll never know, of course, but given the choice to do it all again, I'd probably skip Donadea. Not that I regret going there; I had a great time, enjoyed seeing all the marathon club runners again and am happy enough to get one really long training run for Connemara done, but in hindsight doing both Donadea and Ballycotton was a bit much.

Oh, and the photo from mile 7 (I think) in Ballycotton speaks volumes. I still had 3 miles to go at that point. Still, I got me a shiny nice PB as I keep reminding myself.

I'm still in recovery mode. As I mentioned in my previous post, my quads felt like I had run a marathon. Since Connemara is only 3 weeks away, this means that I will have inadvertently had a 4-weeks taper by the time that race comes around. Let's see what that will bring.

For various reasons, I did not manage a road run on Thursday but did a cross-country one in some neighbouring fields instead. To be perfectly honest, I cannot see what the attraction is. I prefer being able to stride out on a smooth road surface and the 2+ miles felt like a lot more, but I do hope that a break from the tarmac did the legs some good and the 8 easy miles on Friday felt reasonably good.

The kids' course in Cork is still on and it was my turn again on Saturday to drive them there. My preferred option in Cork is the Blackrock area but I didn't really have time to get there so ran on the straight road instead. There is something about that road that always makes me run faster than planned (even at mile 23 of the marathon). Again and again I slowed myself down but eventually changed tactics, doing half-mile pickups at sub-7 pace instead. It felt pretty good, but I did notice some sore legs later that day.

Sunday morning would normally have seen a long run, but with only 3 weeks to go that was down to 15 miles, especially taking my tender legs into account. I did a workout that I had been planning for a while; in fact, I had been hoping of doing it more than once. The coach had called it volume pickups last year, alternating tempo-pace half-mile sections with steady miles. As I'm training for an ultra rather than a marathon I did them slower than last year but did a couple more instead. The plan was to do the miles at 7:15 and the half miles at 6:45 pace; in reality I was a little bit faster on average. What the average figures don't tell you are the constant pace changes. I found it really hard to stay on pace and repeatedly had to change the effort level after consulting the Garmin. It felt a bit like running a race where one guy keeps surging like mad and you're trying to keep up. The idea behind the whole thing is to make 7:15 pace feel comfortable, which it did for most of the workout. I found the mental challenge brought on by the constant change in pace much tougher than the physical one.

Paces:

   mile    half-mile
   7:03    6:39
   7:10    6:39
   7:12    6:33
   7:10    6:43
   7:17    6:40
   7:14    6:44
   7:11    6:40
   7:09    6:36
   7:09    6:36

8 Mar

2.15 miles, 18:14, 8:28 pace, HR 143
   off-road

9 Mar

8 miles, 1:02:30, 7:48 pace, HR 143

10 Mar

10 miles, 1:15:07, 7:30 pace, HR 141

11 Mar

15 miles, 1:45:56, 7:03 pace, HR 151
   alternating mile and half-miles

Weekly Mileage: 50+

The Day After

They say you learn something new every day. One new thing I learned this week was that you can be sorer after a 10-mile race than after a marathon, because my legs have been pretty achy the last few days. Interestingly, the pain is asymmetrical, the left quads are by far the worst, whereas the right quads are pretty much fine. I presume it’s not only the fact that I raced Ballycotton harder than ever before, but also the fact that it was only 2 weeks after the 50k in Donadea and I was still only partially recovered from that. I could claim that lessons will be learned, but that might be a lie. In fact, I would definitely race Ballycotton under the same circumstances again (I might change the circumstances, though, you never know).

As for the suggestions to concentrate on shorter distances for a while and then take the benefits from that training into the marathon, that is something to think about. My main problem is, I have seen two or three runners attempt exactly that, including one under the guidance of my former coach, and for some reason or another the outcome was never the desired one, none of them improved significantly over the shorter distances and they did not carry significant benefits into the next marathon either. However, right now I'm indeed playing with the idea of targeting next year’s Ballycotton as my ‘A’ race, which would obviously mean no Donadea or any marathons early 2013, but I have plenty of time to make up my mind.

Due to the tender legs, all I have done since the race are a series of short, slow recovery runs. It took a few minutes to get into it each morning, but I noticed a definite improvement today. Having said that, the HR was a bit high this morning, but that might just be a once-off. I’ll keep my eye on it.

Right now, the only thing to do is to recovery from the race (well, two races), and then there won’t be much time left until Connemara; I guess that means that the real training is pretty much over by now. I’ll play it by ear and try to err on the conservative side, not exactly my strong point.

Despite there being a lot of photographers in Ballycotton, I only found one photostream with images of me. That picture is from the 3-mile point, right when I realised that I was in trouble. You can see Pat O’Shea right behind me. I’m surprised he didn’t manage to catch me again. We briefly spoke after the race, after going past I started coming back to him but eventually managed to pull clear again, apparently.

Oh, and I have to say, the various race calculators are very kind. According to the age-grading calculator, my 61:13 is equivalent to a mindblowing 57:31 for a younger man, but races aren’t run in calculators, of course. Macmillan is pretty nice to me as well, allegedly I did the equivalent performance of a 17:35 5k or a 2:51:27 marathon, all of which sounds rather flattering. Looking at my race results in general, I tend to perform my best at the 10 mile/half marathon distances; I guess that’s still the case even though I have always trained for a marathon. I'd take a 2:51 marathon, but only on the road. Despite being mathematically minded, algorithms don't count.

5 Mar

5 miles, 40:46, 8:09 pace, HR 136

6 Mar

5 miles, 40:13, 8:03 pace, HR 135

7 Mar

5 miles, 40:16, 8:03 pace, HR 139

A Mug's Game

That's what Niamh called it when she pointed out that I had driven 200 miles today and ran 10 miles, just for a mug. Obviously, my own view disagrees with that assessment. This was my 5th Ballycotton in a row and I have no plans of breaking that chain next year either.

I collected Grellan, Pat and Ian on the way and we arrived in good time. I didn't meet quite as many people as in previous years but had a good chat with Gary Condon and his wife as well as with Brendan. Standing around in the freezing cold, waiting for the race, is part of the Ballycotton experience; it happens every year, but I was glad that the sun came out right as I took up position near the start line; it was actually quite pleasant.

Pleasant is of course not the way to describe the next hour and a bit. Road racing does not work that way.



I quickly got around the idiots who start right at the front and proceed at jogging pace and settled into a good pace myself. The wind was quite strong and I decided it was really important to hang on to a pack to get a little bit of shelter. The first 2 miles are downhill and the pace is always fast, which was confirmed when I crossed the first mile just as the guy at the timer called out 6 minutes, and that was gun time, of course, my net time at that point was about 5 seconds faster. The second mile was even faster, if only by one single second. At that stage I was hanging on to two guys going at a strong pace and we caught quite a few runners who had obviously started too fast. There was also a massive pack right in front of us, 20 - 30 runners, but it was gradually spitting out solitary runners at the end which we then proceeded to catch ourselves.

The third mile was still under 6 minutes, and at that stage I was well on course to break one hour, which would have been an amazing improvement. My time from last year, 61:51, was not only by personal best over 10 miles, it was also my best running performance ever, and taking 2 minutes of that would have been quite something.

Actually, quite something did happen at mile 2.5 - I passed Pat O'Shea. That's a first. Over the past few years I have become very familiar with the sight of Pat running in front of me, but he was always elusive. As I passed him, I thought this would be the first time ever to beat him. Oh, did I mention that Pat is 60 years old? He is also a former 2:26 marathoner, and has obviously aged very, very well. I have tons of respect for the guy.

Sadly, that was pretty much the end of my high performance today. Taking some water at the 3 mile point not only cost me some time, I was really gasping for air for a while afterwards and I lost contact to my two pacers. As much as I tried to catch up, the legs would not respond. The quads hadn't felt too fresh even at the start, but that had not stopped me from going out hard. Sadly, it became apparent that I would have to pay the price for such an aggressive start. The legs seized up and I was looking at 7 really hard and painful miles, with plenty of suffering guaranteed.

I thought I dropped off very badly and by mile 4 a massive gap had appeared in front of me, but to my surprise nobody had yet managed to overtake. Any other day that would have been a good thing, but today it meant I had to battle the really strong and blustery wind entirely on my own, and it really sapped my already waning strength even further.

That's not what I'm used to. I usually start overtaking runners at that point and keep that going until the end, gradually working my way up the field. Today was different, and I did not like it. When they finally caught up with me, it was a pack of 5 runners and when I tried to hang on to them I did not last very long. The same happened again half a mile later, just before half way, and again I tried in vain to hang on.

I cursed myself for being soft and weak and not giving my best, but the legs just would not respond. There was a good crowd of spectators around the 5 mile point, and I passed halfway in 30:22 gun time, net time would have been about 5 seconds faster, which was the fastest I have ever run 5 miles; overall I was still doing well. Looking at the mile splits now, the fifth mile had seen a drastic slowdown, 15 seconds slower than the previous one, but it was net uphill and right into the wind, so it wasn't as bad as it may look.

I was dreading the second half, I kept getting passed and I hated it. I knew that my negative thoughts did not help and tried to take positive action. One runner who had just gone past was looking uncomfortable and breathing very hard; I thought that he must be suffering at least as much as I was and I managed to pass him again. I managed to hang on to one pack for some reasonable amount of time, but when the course climbed again, I fell back. The sixth mile was faster again, but we had the wind at our back now and of course that helped a lot.

I perked up when I passed the 10k mark, because that's the only time in the entire race when I checked the watch, saw 37:42 and realised that I had just set a personal best over that distance to go with the one over 5 miles. Maybe I was doing alright after all. I knew I was about half a minute ahead of last year's time and even though I doubted I would manage to stay ahead, I would give it a good go.

Unfortunately I was still getting caught by some runners, but by now only in trickles rather than by entire packs. I tried very hard to hang to them and I more than managed to hold my own on the flat bits, but every rise in the road threw me back. I think I was running right at the limit, and just could not handle any increase in effort. I also got a stitch and I had to slow down a little bit for maybe half a mile and work it out.

Just before the 8-mile mark a runner in a white Crusaders singlet passed me and I recognised him as Rene Borg. I said hello and he recognised me as well. Unfortunately (I keep using that word a lot, I know. That's just how the race went) he was moving far too well for me to hang on, and I kept seeing him moving up the field for a very strong finish 10 places ahead of me. He is obviously getting into good shape.

I got into a battle with a runner called Ian at that point and we kept passing each other several times. He had several friends along the roadside, which is why I knew his name. The course starts climbing at that point and I fell behind, but once the steep bit was finished I caught up again and we started trading places again. Locked in battle as we were, we even caught one or two other runners on the way home.

Ballycotton is well known for its tough, uphill finish, but it is also extremely well supported by a big number of very enthusiastic supporters, which can be a double-edged sword. If you're suffering, there is no place to hide, but if you're in the right mood, it is a big help.

While the ninth, uphill mile, had been a bit slow, the final was one of my faster ones, and it was all down to duking it out hell for leather with Ian. We pulled each other to a better time, and a few better places as well. Right at the end he pulled away, but at least I managed to catch another runner while pursuing him. It's amazing how you always have something extra to give right at the end, even though you could have sworn you were already going full-out. It was a rather painful end to a rather painful race, but I gained one more place (or rather, re-took one place) right at the death to cross the line in 61:13, which was good enough for 123rd place as I found out later.

I guess I was passed by about 25 runners after mile 4, so I must have been just inside the top 100 at that point. That would have been good enough for a t-shirt, but that was always a very long shot and 10-mile races are not decided at mile 4. I would not have thought I could be unhappy with a new PB, but I was rather frustrated when I finished, because of the many runners who had caught me over the final 10k. But the more time passed, the happier I became with my race. I initially thought I had faded badly, but the mile splits actually held up pretty well and maybe I should be proud for battling on even when things threatened to fall apart. Running your best 5 mile, 10k and 10 mile times in one single race is never the sign of a bad race. I have no regrets about going out so hard - I gave it a good go; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but I left it all on the road and that's all I can ask for.

I was only 1 minute off a top-100 finish. If I can keep improving, and not destroy my legs by running a 50k race 2 weeks before, there is every chance that I might sneak in next year or the year after that, before old age starts catching up with me. I might just give it a a go.

Mile splits: 5:55, 5:54, 5:57, 6:08, 6:23, 6:09, 6:03, 6:17, 6:22, 6:05

3 Mar

5 miles, 39:40, 7:56 pace, HR 135

4 Mar

13.5 miles, including:
   Ballycotton 10, 61:13, 6:07 pace, avg. HR 176
   123rd place, 19th M40

Weekly Mileage: 59

Sinead Kane Appeal

Can I make one confession: I am not a fan of the women's mini-marathons. I have heard too many stories about inept organisation and the general attitude of some of the participants (having a fag in the middle of the event? having a pint?? queuing at an atm for a pint in the middle of a 4 miler??? and you expect me to sponsor you for that????) to be impressed. However, this runner is a bit different and deserves respect:

Sinead Kane is appealing to the women of Ireland to join her in running the Women’s Mini Marathon for ChildVision, the National Education Centre for Blind Children. Sinead is blind; she has only 5% vision in both her eyes from childhood. Because of this, she is also appealing for one exceptional runner.

“I want people to run with me to help raise funds for this brilliant school,” said Kane. “And I also need one special competitor who will run tethered to me to help me cope with cobbles, potholes and anything else that I’ll have to avoid or cope with. They’re going to have to be fit enough to talk to me right the way through.”

Sinead was joined at the launch of her campaign by Aniela Kostienko and Hannah Flynn, both aged 8, who attend ChildVision’s primary school. While they have been lucky enough to get into the school there are already 45 children on a waiting list for ChildVision’s preschool. Because it does not charge fees to the blind and partially sighted children who attend, fundraising is essential to provision of services at ChildVision. So, to make sure children who have sight loss, and who often have other disabilities, have the right environment to thrive a successful team run at the Mini Marathon is important.

Registered in 2009 as Ireland's first blind solicitor Sinead is no stranger to adversity or to long distance running running. She ran a 10k 12 years ago and was in the first half of the finishers.

“That was a long time ago and I’ll need to get myself fit again,” explained Kane. “And the mini-marathon is only three months away, so anyone who wants to sign up needs to do it soon.”

Last year the maximum number of runners for the mini-marathon was reached one month after registrations opened. Registration has now been open for 2012 for over a week so acting quickly is vital. Anyone who wants to join in can get their Marathon pack (ChildVision t-Shirt, sponsorship card and Training top tips) by contacting the fundraising team at ChildVision on 01 8373635 or by mailing fundraising@childvision.ie.

I'll add a little note on my own training, if you don't mind. My legs are clearly still recovering from Donadea, because even though Wednesday's workout had felt exceptionally easy, I still paid for it with rather heavy legs on Thursday. I savagely cut Friday's mileage in response and did a set of 5 hill sprints and a couple of strides in an attempt to sharpen them up for Sunday's race. I travel to Ballycotton more in hope than expectation, but I'm very much looking forward to the buzz that always surrounds the event all the same.

1 Mar

8 miles, 1:03:35, 7:57 pace, HR 135

2 Mar

4.5 miles, 38:09, 8:29 pace, HR 140
   hill sprints and strides

Racing Weight

At the start of last 2011, I weighed about 150 pounds (10 st 10, 68 kg). After years of figuring things out, I finally managed to gradually drop that to about 145 pounds (10 st 5, 66 kg) by the end of the year, without dieting or any other silly stuff. My reward was a year of fantastic progress with new PBs all over the shop; while improved training has much to do with this, carrying fewer pounds had an impact as well, I am in no doubt.

I was hoping this trend would continue, but not much luck yet. The arrival of lent came as a welcome excuse to partake in this quaint ritual again, even though I am not religious. For the third year in a row I am cutting out processed sugar from my diet, with the lack of chocolate being a particularly tough cross to bear (and the fact that I ended up creating some great desserts the other night for the rest of the family was a particularly cruel twist of fate). Anyway, cutting out sugar has worked spectacularly well the last 2 years with the weight dropping off my frame quickly and effortlessly, but so far all I have to show for it are sugar cravings, not weight loss. Maybe I am just impatient, one week is nothing in the great scheme of things, but when you’re having cravings and the end of the slog is not anywhere in sight, a little bit of progress would be nice.

By the way, I have read the book of the same name. I found it a good read but not too helpful; I guess my weight was already too low and my diet disciplined enough for generic suggestions to be of much use.

Anyway, running is much more fun than dieting. Donadea is still in the legs but last week’s easy mileage helped a lot and recovery is going well. While I never was sore, there was a certain “heavy legs” feeling. That pretty much went away on Tuesday; the first 2 miles of that run were the same, then all of a sudden I felt better with each step and was flying on the way home. Running was fun again.

I won’t kid myself and pretend to be fully recovered. 50 km take a bit longer to get out of the system, but I felt sufficiently encouraged to try some sort of workout on Tuesday. The plan was mellow enough, just 12 miles at 7:15 pace, and despite the breezy conditions it felt so easy that I inadvertently overshot the target and ran 7:10 pace instead. No problem, that’s close enough and the legs are perfectly fine. Maybe the nice mornings are helping, it’s a nice change from all the rain we seemingly had all winter.

And of course it’s Ballycotton on Sunday. Maybe it’s not the best preparation for Connemara, 4 weeks later, but I can’t miss it, it has become too much a fixture in my calendar – despite me saying I would not do it again after my first time there.

27 Feb

8 miles, 1:03:34, 7:57 pace, HR 132

28 Feb

8 miles, 1:02:42, 7:50 pace, HR 136

29 Feb

12 miles, 1:25:57, 7:10 pace, HR 147

Long Overdue Update

I'm not sure if I ever left as much between updates of this blog - apologies! The main reason for the lack of updates is a distinct lack of news. I have been taking it very, very easy this week, and there simply isn't much to tell about a 5 mile jog.

I grew suspicious of the HRM figure displayed yesterday; while I had been taking it easy, the figure of 131 just seemed too low, especially as the pace had been (inadvertently) a good bit faster than on previous days. This was confirmed today. I was already in doubts when I saw a figure of 122 while cruising along, and when the number dropped to 100 on an uphill section it left no doubt. I hope a new battery in the chest strap will solve the problem. It has always done so in the past. Let's hope the new numbers won't be magnitudes higher than the previous ones.

All this leaves a doubt over any HR number in the recent past, but if past experience with a faulty HR strap is anything to go by, they should be okay until the last day or two. This would indicate that my cardiovascular system has already gotten a boost from Saturday's 50k while the legs are still in a kind of shock and will require more time until they bounce back.

I've had that wonderful "effortlessly-floating-over-the-tarmac" feeling on many runs of the past few weeks, but Donadea put a stop to that. It will take a while to return. But you do need to shock your system from time to time. That's how adaptation occurs. Six weeks should be just enough time to reap all the benefits for Connemara.

I'm starting to get excited about that race now. If recent training is anything to go by, I will have a stormer. Of course, you can never take anything for granted in an ultra.

Actually, there is still next week's Ballycotton, of course. It's probably not the ideal thing to do as far as Connemara is concerned, but Ballycotton is just way to big a day to ignore. Until last Saturday I was very much on course for a new PB there, but now all will depend on how quickly the legs can recover.

22 Feb

5 miles, 39:19, 7:51 pace, HR 134

23 Feb

5 miles, 40:31, 8:06 pace, HR 133

24 Feb

8 miles, 1:03:09, 7:53 pace, HR 134

25 Feb

8 miles, 1:00:49, 7:36 pace, HR 131 (???)

26 Feb

10 miles, 1:16:08, 7:36 pace, HR ???

Weekly Mileage: 46

Mmm, Pancakes

for me, that is, courtesy of Niamh. For you, more photos from Donadea, courtesy of Paul Daly.














I felt surprisingly sprightly on Sunday, so I didn't take any days off running after all. Instead I've been doing a short, very slow easy run every morning since the race. There is no soreness at all, but the legs do feel a bit heavy.

19 Feb

4 miles, 33:30, 8:22 pace, HR 129

20 Feb

5 miles, 41:55, 8:23 pace, HR 122

21 Feb

5 miles, 40:50, 8:10 pace, HR 130

A Grand Day Out

My biggest problem with the Irish 50K championship race in Donadea was not the fact that I would have to run 50 kilometres. It wasn't even the fact that I would have to recover quickly because of the Connemara race, my real goal, 6 weeks later. No, my biggest problem was how to get there.

Niamh needed the car for the weekend here in Kerry, the other side of Ireland and I was literally on my own. I took Friday off work to travel to Dublin. However, public transport to Donadea on a Saturday morning isn't an option, so I am very grateful to Rob Cummins from wheelworx for the lift to the start.

This was the official Irish 50k championship, but also open to non-elite runners like myself. I met plenty of familiar faces before the start and was left looking in awe at some of the best ultra runners in Ireland. No doubt, the quality end of the field was absolutely formidable.

Mick Rice warned me against wearing my racing shoes as some parts of the course were stony, but since they were the only pair of shoes I had brought along, I didn't have much choice. Luckily, they turned out to be just fine.

The course consisted of 10 laps in Donadea forest park, and since each lap had been certified as about 4.97 km, we had to run a little bit extra at the start. No problem. The loops were all on packed dirt roads, nor tarmac in sight, which suited me just fine as there should be a lot less damage to the legs that way. There was a bit of climbing on each lap, maybe 50 feet elevation or so, but the gradient was so gradual that I hardly even noticed the downhills. You could of course argue that I always felt like running uphill, but that would be a rather unkind view.

Since this was strictly a training run for me, I had resolved to take it easy for the first half at least and maybe run a bit faster for the second half if the legs felt okay, but never push it to anywhere close to race effort. Accordingly, I started off at about 7:45 pace (minutes per mile that is). I shared much of the first lap with another runner, and when he saw me checking the Garmin, he enquired about the pace. "Exactly 4 hours pace", which seemed to shock him a bit, I think he intended to run a lot slower than that and he soon fell away.

Lap 1: 25:23 (including the 300+ meters at the start)

I don't think I have ever run so slowly while wearing my racing shoes, and it was hard to keep the effort so low. My heart rate was in the low 140s and I kept getting sucked into other runners' paces, and every time I backed off a bit and deliberately fell behind, I caught myself right at their heels again within one km. This pattern would repeat itself again and again over the first few laps.

The route was well marked and there were a lot of stewards at each junction initially, though a lot of them left once we had completed 3 or so laps. That was not a problem, by then we knew the course and with the markings and the other runners around there was never the slightest danger of going off course.

Lap 2: 23:47

Just like in Sixmilebridge, I found that I love racing on loops just as much as I hate doing them in training. It's different when you share the course with plenty of other runners, and since I tend to totally concentrate on my effort during a race, the repeating scenery of a loop course makes it easier to concentrate inwards. The biggest drawback is that it makes writing a race report much more complicated. The loops start the blend into one another and it's difficult to remember if a certain occurrence happened in lap 3, 4 or 5.

Lap 3: 23:47 (consistent or what!)

I definitely started straining at my mental leash on lap 4. I started getting a bit bored by running so much within myself, but managed to keep those temptations at bay by promising myself to loosen the shackles considerably at halfway, which did not seem too far away at that point. It helped that a couple of runners started coming back to me already at that point. On the other hand, I was being lapped by some of the top runners on that loop. Their pace and intensity was frightening.


Lap 4: 23:05

I caught up to a lady runner, Charlotte Kearney, and she invited me to share a few miles. I didn't realise it at that point, but she was actually the first woman. She complained about a pain in her hip, but that did not seem to slow her down much. I noticed her running style, she landed very much on her toes and her heels hardly touched the ground, very unusual for an ultra runner. She told me that while she had run plenty of marathons, this was her first ever ultra. As a member of Donadea she had plenty of friends and support on the course.

Lap 5: 23:28

As soon as we went through the finish area at the halfway point at just under 2 hours I told Charlotte that I was going to push on from here on. We wished each other good luck and went our seperate ways. Well, the same way but at different speed. The idea had been to run the second half at about 7:15 pace, but to listen to the body at all times and never push the effort too hard. I didn't check the Garmin, at least not initially, and was a bit shocked when halfway through lap 6 I found myself running pretty much at 7:00 pace, and that was the uphill part. I backed off a bit, but next time I checked I was at that same pace again. It didn't feel anywhere near that fast, I was still running very much within myself, even at the higher effort.

Lap 6: 22:00

I passed plenty of runners now, but I was never able to tell if I lapped a runner or gained a place. Looking at the results page now I can see that I caught only 3 runners over the entire second half, moving up from 15th to 12th place. It was quite lonely at times, I ran almost an entire loop without seeing another runner. There were other people on the course as well, a few families and plenty of dog walkers. The other trail users were all very accommodating, only on one occasion did I have to run around a dog blocking my way, and the little children tended to be the most enthusiastic spectators.

I guess I ran a bit too hard on lap 7, sub-7 pace between km 30 and 35 isn't really training pace. But I can honestly say that I never really pushed the effort, I was never anywhere near race intensity. Still, I'm sure the coach would have had his misgivings had I done this last year.

Lap 7: 21:35

While I still felt good at the start of lap 8, I started paying the price for my slightly overenthusiastic pacing over the previous 10 kilometres. A certain weariness started creeping into the legs and for the first time today I started looking forward to the end; until that point I had been entirely in my Happy Place. But with less than a quarter left, the end was approaching fast.

I didn't put too much thought in my nutrition, but I was careful never to run out of energy. I had brought 5 or 6 gels to the race and between laps 3 and 8 I picked one up more or less every time I passed the finish area. I also took a water bottle on most occasions. It took me close to 4 kilometres to finish it and I kept passing the empty ones to the same steward on every occasion 4 times in a row. I think I made the mistake of not taking on enough calories in my early ultras, something I have become aware of only recently, and I am more conscious of this now. Mind, I still don't plan my intake in advance. I prefer to listen to my body rather than follow a set script.

Lap 8: 22:34

I knew I was slowing down, but this was still a tad faster than planned, so I just kept it going. I experienced the same phenomenon as in my first ultra, namely that I felt basically stuck in one gear, slowing down felt just as impossible as speeding up. Of course, back then this was at about 9 or 10 minute pace, today it was closer to 7, even if it felt the same.

Lap 9 was definitely the hardest one, but with an entire marathon behind me, feeling tired seemed perfectly reasonable. I had run far beyond any other distance I had run in training up to that point this year and taking this into consideration I was still in very good shape. I kept the effort ticking along, not worrying about the actual pace this would produce and stopped looking at the Garmin.

Just before the end I lapped Frank, the lonely 5-hours pacer, for a second time, and he three times asked me if I had one lap to go and I answered with "no, one lap to go". I guess I must have been tired at that point, I could not get the actual meaning of his question aboard. Luckily, he is an understanding sort of fellow. He knows what it's like at km 45.

Lap 9: 22:46

Now I could definitely smell the finish line. All sights were very familiar at that stage and I knew I was passing them for the final time. I lapped Medbh, the second lady. "Are you on your last lap?" "Yes, and on my last legs as well". The stewards at the midpoint were just as enthusiastic as on the first lap, and the last 2 miles were the glory stretch, the weariness lifted as if by magic and I stormed to the finish, setting my third quickest lap of the day. Unbeknownst to me I even gained one more place during that lap, moving up to my final finishing position. I soaked up the applause at the end and felt rather pleased with my effort.

Lap 10: 22:17

The organisation of the entire event was absolutely impeccable, my thanks go to race director Anthony Lee and his crew of the Donadea running club. I sure enjoyed my first ever race in county Kildare. I managed to get a massage, had a good chat with Gerry Duffy who remembered me from the Killarney marathon of his epic 32 marathon quest. Unfortunately, Mick Rice had to drop out after 7 laps, I really hope he is ok and will be recovered for Connemara. I congratulated some of the elite runners but for some felt a bit intimidated in their presence, very unlike me. John O'Regan seemed a bit annoyed about missing his 3:30 target by 2 seconds, but according to the results he had been pipped to 6th place by one second, which would have annoyed me too. But as he himself pointed out, the race was very competitive but still maintained that friendly atmosphere, a great combination. I can highly recommend it.

Results with lap splits can be found here.

Thanks to Dave Lee and Larry Boyle for the photographs.

16 Feb

8 miles, 1:05:48, 8:13 pace, HR 130

17 Feb

5 miles, 39:15, 7:50 pace, HR 136

18 Feb

Irish 50K Championship, Donadea Forest Park
   3:50:43, 7:24 pace, HR 150
   12th place overall, 4th M40

19 Feb

4 miles, 33:30, 8:22 pace, HR 129

Putting On The Brakes

Right now my main problem is that Connemara is still over 6 weeks away, and the most recent runs have clearly shown that I am nearing peak shape - a bit too early. This has taken me by surprise; the pace over the last two weekends seems to have come out of nowhere. I'm pretty sure I peaked too early last year for Vienna - I would have had a better run a couple of weeks earlier. This year, I tried to compress the schedule by a week or two, but I can see the same thing happening again.

In an attempt to slow down the peaking process, I changed my schedule this week. Initially I had planned another volume speed session on Wednesday, following the by now pretty much customary two days of easy running at the start of the week. I left the easy runs as they were, but swapped the workout for a longer run at steady pace, a bit faster than the planned pace for the Ultra.

I really had to reign myself in over the first few miles, the Garmin saw a lot of use. It took a while to tune into the effort, but once I got into the right mindset, the miles ticked off nicely one by one - until about mile 12, when fatigue started to creep in. I was a bit surprised by that, on Sunday I had run 20 miles a little bit faster and on pre-fatigued legs feeling fine and I did not expect to feel challenged this morning, but obviously I haven't quite recovered from the weekend yet.

Saturday will be Donadea day. The weather forecast is rather unkind, apparently that rain front will cross Ireland right when we're out there on the course.

When I first heard about that race, it seemed like a great idea; a long 50k training run 6 weeks before Connemara sounded just perfect. Now I'm a bit nervous, I hope I will be able to recover in time, not just for Connemara but for a bit more training beforehand (and Ballycotton).

This will be mainly about time on feet. I'm trying to get this into my head, Do No Race This! I started with the same intentions in Sixmilebridge and failed. Then again, I won't be anywhere near the front of the field in Donadea; no winner's trophy to tempt me. Lucky me.

Do Not Race, Thomas. Do Not Race!

13 Feb

8 miles, 1:04:56, 8:07 pace, HR 132

14 Feb

10 miles, 1:20:51, 8:05 pace, HR 131

15 Feb

15 miles, 1:48:33, 7:14 pace, HR 140

Progress

The ideal training scenario is to improve a little bit from week by week. In reality it's never a linear progression, some bad days are mixed with the good days, the conditions are never quite the same and real life might interfere, especially if you have small children.

But right now I'm in the enviable position of being able to look at my recent training log and see clear improvements week by week by week.

Wednesday's volume speed workout had felt great, but I did pay the price on Thursday with some heavy legs. Nothing too bad, but it was clearly noticeable. I responded by running very easily, both on Thursday and Friday. I did raise my eyebrows after Friday's run when I saw that the HR had been particularly low, and for once even wondered if this time I had taken it a bit too easy?

Silly me! Like Andrew said, that's definitely the right side to err on, and if you run your easy days very easy, you might just be able to run your hard days very hard.

The proof was to come over the weekend with its back-to-back workouts. I had to drive Cian to Cork again and did my workout while he was in class. The plan was to do 7 miles at half-marathon pace, maybe a bit slower, for 10 miles in total.

Like the week before, I felt very good from the start and the pace kept dropping as the run went on, without me forcing the issue. I did sneak a few peeks at the Garmin and liked what I saw, but also eased up on a couple of occasions when I seemed to run a little bit too hard. The result was much faster than I had expected, 6:16 pace, and I can honestly say that it was nowhere near a race effort, this was a controlled training run, finishing with plenty left in the tank.

The Sunday run will always show if you overdid it on Saturday, every second too fast on Saturday makes you suffer a little bit more on Sunday. The idea this time was to run entirely at 7:15 pace; I want to get efficient at that pace, and you do that by running at that same effort in training. I eased into the effort over the first few miles, let the pace come naturally and then pretty much tuned into autopilot for the next 2 hours. There was never any question of not being able to finish and I didn't take either of the two gels I carried with me just in case.

Again, the legs got a little bit faster as the run went on and I finished a few seconds ahead of target, with an average pace of 7:10.

Please excuse my language, but fuck me, I'm in awesome shape. So much for my fear of slowing down once I hit 40. If I were training for a marathon right now, 2:55 would be my minimum target, and I would even eye a more ambitious time. What could I achieve on a good day? 2:52? 2:50 even?

The biggest worry right now is not to peak too early. Connemara is still 7 weeks off and I don't want to stand on the start line feeling exhausted and worn out.

Anyway, I'm not training for a marathon, Connemara is an even better target. Next week is Donadea, which will be my one and only really long training run and I need to show plenty of resolve and discipline not to race it. The most important aspect will be to recover from it. It's a bit risky, but with big potential benefits; I'll find out, I guess.

9 Feb

10 miles, 1:19:50, 7:59 pace, HR 135

10 Feb

10 miles, 1:20:21, 8:02 pace, HR 131

11 Feb

10 miles, 1:04:33, 6:26 pace, HR 159
   incl. 7 miles @ 6:16 (HR 167)

12 Feb

20 miles, 2:23:29, 7:10 pace, HR 147

Is This What It's Supposed To Be Like?

I simply cannot believe how I am feeling right now. This is incredible.

I took it easy on Monday and Tuesday, recovering from the weekend. I was still feeling highly satisfied after Saturday's great tempo run. I cannot help but compare the workouts to the equivalent ones from a year ago. This time round I'm running them faster, at a lower heart rate and, crucially, running them much more controlled.

Mystery Coach gave me some highly challenging workouts, but he always warned me not to push too hard in training. I didn't always stick to that, on a couple of occasions I pushed as hard as I could just to reach the pace he had prescribed.

It all feels so much easier right now. I can honestly claim that I am finishing each workout still with a lot in the tank, the same (or at least very similar) workouts that had me sprawling on the floor.

Recovery is also good. I happened to run at exactly the same heart rate on Monday and Tuesday (that wasn't planned) but was 12 seconds per mile faster on Tuesday. It felt so easy, like floating over the pavement, effortlessly. If only I could bottle that feeling.

I felt so good on Tuesday that I didn't hesitate to run a workout this morning that almost knocked me out last year: Volume speed, as the coach called it. Warm-up, then 2 miles at 6:30, 2 mile "recovery" at 7:15, 2 miles at 6:20, another "recovery" at 7:15 and 2 more miles at 6:10. That last one almost killed me last year, which is why I didn't attempt a fourth fast segment at 6:10, something the coach had suggested I should try if, and only if, I still had plenty left at that point. What I had completely failed to comprehend back then was the extra challenge of the "recovery" mile being pretty damn fast. It makes a massive difference.

It was raining, it was windy, but neither bothered me too much. The 6:30 segment required a fair amount of fine-tuning with the Garmin, as did the 6:20. The first recovery was a tad fast, the second pretty much spot on. I wasn't exactly looking forward to the 6:10s, but ran it purely by feel, not really looking at the Garmin, pushing just enough to feel "comfortably hard", but always in full control. That resulted in 2 6:06 miles, slightly net downhill but also against the wind, which may or may not have cancelled each other out. My only regret was that I did not have time for another 6:10 segment - that's the problem with running in the morning, I don't think the boss would have accepted a "sorry for being half an hour late, I had to extend my run by 3 miles because I felt too good to stop" excuse. Mind, Niamh wouldn't appreciate the same excuse for being late for dinner either.

Real life has another hurdle. Maia is sick at the moment and I had to sacrifice a fair amount of sleep comforting her. I hope that won't catch up with me.

6 Feb

8 miles, 1:04:12, 8:01 pace, HR 136

7 Feb

10 miles, 1:18:13, 7:46 pace, HR 136

8 Feb

10 miles, 1:07:36, 6:46 pace, HR 155
   incl. 2 @ 6:28, 2 @ 6:19, 2 @ 6:06

Nice

Despite the not entirely universal approval of taking it easy during the week, I did manage to reap some benefits this weekend - which is the entire point of doing easy runs, of course. Run your easy runs easy so that you can run your hard runs hard. Otherwise you just end up with medium runs all the time.

Anyway, after yet another easy 10 on Friday (the fourth one in succession), I had to drive the kids to Cork on Saturday morning, because their CTY course has started again. The choice was either to get up at stupid o'clock and run in Caragh Lake before driving to Cork, or to drop them off and do my run while they're in class. I chose the latter.

I ran two loops from Blackrock castle, following the Cork marathon course from about mile 11 to 15 but heading towards Blackrock from the Marina. Each loop was just under 5 miles and I added an out-and-back section to make up the distance. I believe this is his playground. The run also doubled for breaking in my new pair of Lunaracers - the old pair was literally falling apart after 650 miles. Wearing these shoes always makes me run fast, even first warm-up mile was at 7:00 pace. The plan had been to run at about marathon effort for 10 miles, but I just got faster and faster with each mile, but still without going anywhere near race effort. The 10 mile segment ended up averaging 6:29 pace, which until 4 months ago would have been faster than my half-marathon PR pace. One fast looking lady runner gave me a "moving well" comment, and for a while I wondered if that by any chance had been Sonia O'Sullivan (I wasn't wearing my glasses and am blind as a bat, which is why I can never identify people while running), but as far as I know she's in Australia at the moment, so it wasn't her. I got another ego boost when a cyclist told me I was doing very nice pace - during my cool-down mile!

1:26:38 for a half-marathon distance training run. I must be in good shape!

I was back on my familiar Caragh Lake loop this morning, and when the big climb started after the initial 3 flat(-ish) miles, the quads immediately started protesting, telling me to go home. Instead I somehow managed to tune into autopilot and since I kept feeling better and better with each passing mile I decided to put the foot down over the last few miles. Last year, Mystery Coach had given me some back-to-back runs that really pushed me to my limits, this year they feel easier, because the effort is a little bit easier, owing to the slower race pace of the Ultra I'm aiming for. Still, the numbers of this weekend have been nothing but spectacular.

3 Feb

10 miles, 1:19:05, 7:54 pace, HR 147

4 Feb

13.1 miles, 1:26:38, 6:37 pace, HR 160
   incl. 10 miles @ 6:29 pace, HR 160

5 Feb

18 miles, 2:16:23, 7:34 pace, HR 143
   incl. 5.5 miles @ 6:56 pace

Weekly Mileage: 79+ miles

Easy does it

Despite feeling very good, I have been taking it easy this week.

Let me rephrase that.

Because I was feeling very good, I have been taking it easy this week.

The reason for this apparently counter-intuitive training is that my former coach’s warnings are still in my ear

When you are in peak shape your mind ignores fatigue, good for racing but not good for training.

Connemara is still 2 months away, I do not want to peak just yet, but the fact that I ran the second half of Sunday’s workout at 7:07 pace without feeling tired, even though I should have started the run with already fatigued legs after a reasonably tough run on Saturday tells me to be cautious. As strange as it sounds, not feeling fatigue can be a real problem in training, leading to overtraining and injury, and it’s a trap a lot of runner fall into. I’d rather not.

So it was a succession of easy runs, all at a HR that was below the threshold the coach had set me last year. I got a bit bored after running like that on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, so I spiced things up this morning with 4 sets of 4x30 seconds sprints, 2 minutes recovery between sprints and about 5 or 6 minutes recovery between sets. That’s a fair amount of sprinting, but the legs took it in their stride, so to speak.

I received an email this morning that cheered me up no end, and which more or less finalised my racing plans for 2012. After Donadea and Connemara there will be my big goal race in July (no further details yet, even though I have told a couple of people already) and then, mostly for fun, the Dingle Ultra in September. Excellent news! I had my doubts if this race would be resurrected, but this has now been confirmed. It’s a fantastic course, taking in Conor Pass as well as Slea Head, staking a big claim for the most scenic road race ever. I also want to improve on my time from 2010, but mostly I want to have at least as much fun as last time round.

Can you tell I'm excited?

30 Jan

8 miles, 1:05:17, 8:10 pace, HR 134

31 Jan

10 miles, 1:18:49, 7:53 pace, HR 137

1 Feb

10 miles, 1:20:17, 8:02 pace, HR 137

2 Feb

10 miles, 1:18:41, 7:52 pace, HR 139
    incl. 4 x 4x30 sec sprints