Monday 13 April 2015

Connemara ultra April 2015 (It's a long one)

Monday 13th April.
Completed my first ultra in Connemara yesterday. My overall plan was to simply complete it and ideally get in under 6hrs 20mins (9.30 pace). My dream time was to get in under 6 hours (8.55 pace). While it wasn’t the fastest pace plan in the world in comparison to a marathon time goal, the nature of the course (very tough and hilly) and the distance (the effort required for the last 13.1 miles was the equivalent to a marathon) called for a cautious strategy.
For most runners with a decent experience of marathons it was clear many of the runners were hoping for a sub 6 hour time. In the end only 50 runners out of 164 runners achieved it. My finishing time was 6.17.49, so at least I finished it and achieved my B time.
Even at 6 hours with the wheels having truly fallen off at that stage I was still only a mile from the finish so in many ways I am not that far off a better improvement next year.
However from a more critical point of view the training I put in since January never really paid off. I clocked up nearly 720 miles in the last few months running back to back’s, midweek long runs and was very comfortable over 10 miles,  running a marathon and 6 20 mile plus Sunday runs. This has been a feature of many races I have ran since 2012 where the training has not lead to the performance I hoped for.
We were bussed from the Cathedral carpark on the Sunday morning at 7 am. The rain was sheeting down at that stage in keeping with the monsoon like predictions for the rest of the day. The weather was expected to create havoc for the runners especially those out tackling the longer distances but had cleared up by the time we arrived at  Peacocke’s Hotel in Maam’s Cross for the pre race briefing and the gear change. In fact the weather was to be glorious for the whole day- sunny blue skies, no wind, warm temperatures with snow capped mountains adding to the whole back to nature vibe.
I chatted to my clubmate Adrian Ryder before the start. He ran this 2 years ago in a excellent time of 5hrs48mins and was hopeful of doing well again. He shot off after a mile never to be seen by me until I crossed the finish line. My neighbour John O’Connor was also running as well, this was his second Connemara ultra and hoped to improve on last year’s time of 5hrs53mins.
I ran my own race. The plan was to run the first 26.2 miles in around 3hrs50mins (8.45 to 8.50 pace) walking through the aid stations for 90 seconds at a time. I hoped then I would have enough in the legs for the last 13.1 miles to get me around in 9.05 pace for a sub 6 finish. That was the “A” plan. The “B” plan was to get around in the last 13.1 miles with what ever I had left and try to get under 6hrs20minutes. The time of 6hrs20mins I picked on the basis that was  a achievable gap that I could make up in the following year.
Miles 1- 5 went pretty well passing through the first aid station in around 43 minutes taking on a gel and a few bottles of water.  The ultra marathon group were all bunched very close to each other and I fell in  with this lad from Dundalk who reckoned if we kept up this pace we should get in for 5hrs30mins!!!! I started to get a bit startled and was glad to let him off. By the time I came to my first bag drop at mile 10 I took on some Jaffa cakes, a banana and left the rest to the kids manning the table. At that stage I had being running for under1hr26mins so I was hitting my target pace. I felt comfortable and very relaxed as did most of the field.
At mile 12 I stopped for a toilet break bumping into John O’Connor and we stayed close enough to each other with me stopping at the aid stations and catching up with him later on as he ran on. The first 13.1 miles passed in around 1.53 around a minute of two ahead of schedule. This was the point where the marathon runners started their race and we ultra’s started to overtook a lot of the slower runners.
The miles up to mile 18 started to get a lot tougher as we were running not only into a progressive climb but the wind started to funnel a bit. It wasn’t as windy as last year, thankfully, but it was a tricky spot. Mile 17 and Mile 18 passed in 8.56 and 9.06 respectively and I for one was glad to get to my drop station at mile 19. A lot of early pace setting ultra runners were beginning to wilt as well with another hill to negotiate just after the aid station. Again I took on another banana but left the Jaffa cakes behind. I also brought a bottle of flat coke with me but after a few sips I dumped it into a bin. It was pretty revolting and the bottle (500ml) was too heavy to carry. A lesson learned.
At mile 20 I was feeling ambitious. I was well  past this point in under 3hrs and while I wasn’t hitting 8.30-ish pace I felt I was doing well enough at this stage.  I should have learned my lesson because by mile 22 I was beginning to get a little strained. Thankfully these miles all the way to Leenane (mile 26) were downhill but I was careful not to push too hard because the calves were under pressure. I was also mindful of the IT band which was beginning to tighten ever so slightly.
I was passed by a small but stocky ultra female runner who was hammering out the miles at a handy rate. She appeared to be in good form, me less so. I was glad to get into the village on flatter ground reaching the 26 mile aid station in around 3hrs48mins. There was no official 26.2 marker for the ultra runners but I estimate I reached the distance in around 3hrs50minutes. So far so good, now with 13.1 miles of uphill and downhill running to go the real race begin, everything before this was shadow boxing.
The hill out of Leenane goes for around 1.5 miles and the damage brought on by the last 4 miles into Killary harbour kicked in around down. I had planned to walk it but tried to hold off until the garmin read 4hours which took me past 27 miles. It still meant I was in a good place timewise. “Stocky” was pretty crocked herself and managed a few half hearted jogs before walking herself.
I walked for 90 second before jogging again. I wasn’t feeling 100%  with the brain urging to me walk again. I reached mile 29 in 4hrs16mins coming to my drop table. I was f****d at this stage and I was not in a happy place. John jogged past me in that relaxed ultra fashion. He was sympathetic but he had a race to run (finishing in a new PB of 5.50 or so). I worked out that with 10 miles to go I needed to run at 10 minute pace to get me under 6 hours. That on the face seemed easy but the mind was pretty foggy at that stage.
This was where the true ultra grit kicks in as the key to ultra running is mental more than physical. Every runner out there even the sub 3 marathon runners are well and truly nackered at this stage but it’s all about having the where with all to keep going.
I ran mile 30 in 9mins46seconds giving me 4hrs25mins41secs on the Garmin, a respectable landmark time. I would have gladly have stopped there and then. I was wrecked having to discard a half digested banana, passing on the flat coke. I really didn’t like it.
I ran beside another ultra runner who was moving at a solid pace. Truth be known he was a bit of a headbanger ranting away to himself but you could see he was feeling confident and was also physically very strong. Mile 31 passed in 8.50 and mile 32 passed in another walk run effort of 10mins13secs, my slowest mile of the lot.
The course of this stage was marked by various pulls, inclines and little hills but from here on the course was to drop downhill until the dreaded “Hell of the West” at mile 35.
And so on it went …mile 33 – 9.53, mile 34 – 9.58. That left with me 5 miles to go with 5hr06mins30seconds up on the official clock. The garmin was out by 90 seconds for every marked mile- caused by the fact that I was veering around other runners. That meant I had 5.5 garmin miles to go , 5.3 course miles. This meant I had to run/ jog each mile in 9mins30seconds. It seemed easy on the face of it but the calves were completely seized up meaning every time I attempted a light jog I would cramp very severely. Jogging was out of the question and with 2 steep hills ahead of me (the “Hell”) and 2 steep descents I was running out of luck.
There were a number of other ultra runners going up the “Hell”. Some were sprinting up it, some were jogging it, many others were walking it. I caught up with two other walking ultra runners. and we estimated that our walking pace was around 15mins per mile uphill and that hopefully we could jog the downhill’s at 9 to 10 minute pace. I was now aiming for my B target.
Mile 35 passed in 10mins35seconds and Mile 36 passed in 12.43. The steepest part of the Hell passed in a morale crippling 15mins28seconds. (It feels even hard to type these splits).
At the top of the Hell it was a steep 2.3 descent to the finish. I tried to jog down the hill but the cramps were a sharp reminder not to be getting any notions. I nearly fell over at one stage the cramping got so strong. Even the breathing was getting laboured especially the diaphragm and I started wheezing badly. Another ultra runner was power walking past me (Tracey) and she gave me a shot of her inhaler. That did the trick and on we power walked together like two middle aged women going for a walk around the local park.
Mile 38 passed in 15.19 minutes. At 6 hours I only had a distance of 1.3 miles to go. I took heart from this. As hopeless as I was I was still only a mile off from a sub 6, something to take heart from if I ever try this again next year.
We started to jog again as we came closer to the finish line and Tracey pulled ahead of me. I was wheezing badly again and the pain in my ribs was getting very sharp. I crossed the line in 6hrs17mins49seconds.
I wasn’t too downhearted when I crossed the line. I wasn’t particularly elated either. It was more a case of a hard job done reasonably well neither very good but not completely crap either. Plenty to work on. It was my first ultra.
 I chatted to Adrian and John after the race. They did very well. Adrian’s marathon PB of 3.36 is a soft one indeed.
As for me I would depending on my circumstances next year might give the ultra a shot again next year. I definitely can improve on this showing but I don’t think I will ever see myself dipping my toe in the ultra game on a regular basis. I need to work on shorter distances and improve my times and performances in those distances first. For the moment though I will take a break from running and recover instead.
Connemara ultra 39.3 miles. 6hrs17mins49seconds. 9mins35sec pace.

Miles 1-26.2 – 3hrs50mins approx., Miles 26.2 -39.3 – 2hrs27mins49seconds

Friday 10 April 2015

Last post before Sunday.

Friday 10th April.
We are heading up to Galway city tomorrow. Race is on Sunday. The buses collect the ultra participants at 7 am and the race starts at 9 am with a race briefing beforehand in Peacocks hotel. The last 5 days have dragged interminably but I am getting plenty of rest and power naps during the day. Being a part time paid teacher has it’s advantages, namely the Easter break lasts two weeks which is a great aid to the tapering process. It would be even better to get paid for it.
Running wise,  as you would expect, I did very little. 8 miles on Monday at 8.30 pace, Wednesday 6 miles at conversational pace with my friend Don Golden. I ran 2 miles this morning as I had to drop the car to the mechanic. The last week of the taper is just about keeping the legs fresh and keeping things ticking over.
I popped into Lidl this morning to pick up a few bits and pieces for the drop bags during the race. Aoiffe wondered was I running 100 miles rather than 39.3 miles as I had picked up so much stuff. Sure it will be all put to good use one way or the other.
Weather doesn’t look great on Sunday – rain with wind- the runners nightmare. Of course the nice sunshine of the last 5 days wouldn’t be great either but rain with wind is a real pain. Just have to suck it up and dress accordingly.
Anyway that’s it. Talk soon. All excited now.

Monday 8 miles, Wednesday 6 miles, Friday 2 miles.


Sunday 5 April 2015

Second week of the taper for the ultra

Week ending 5th April
Second week of the taper done and dusted. It means that this time next week  I will be nearly 4 hours in the race. As to what mileage I will have run at that stage I don’t know but a race strategy is something worth thinking about over the next week. I do envision a walk run strategy every hour or so, maybe walk 3 minutes and use that time to get some gels and food inside me. As to what pace I will run I will keep that to myself. The main objective though is to ideally finish the 39.3 miles under 6.5 hours and recover reasonably quickly over a few weeks.
I purchased around 10 gels in Cork during the week and while I don’t have a running belt it may be better to get one rather than stuffing them all into my pockets. My drop bags will carry a few more gels, some bananas, flat coke and probably jaffa cakes. Best to get the nutrition in early though I suspect I won’t be needing half the stuff I will bring with me. The other consideration is what clothes to wear though I think a long sleeved top and a light singlet should suffice as well as compression socks. Gloves will probably be a prerequisite and possibly a hat. I’ll consider the need for leggings closer the time.
Running wise things were fine. I went to the physio on Monday and while the knee structure was fine (bar a light click- I’ve had that 20 years) it was the IT band and the quads that were the cause of the tracking issue on the outside of the knee. I’ve had that problem before (2011) and have been doing the prescribed stretches and exercises with religious devotion. There was been a definite improvement.
Anyway on we go. Less than a week to go. Very excited and nervous at the same time. I hoped not to have to do much driving this week coming but will have a few trips to attend to. Probably no harm to keep some what busy.

Mileage for the week – 41 miles. Monday 10 miles @8.06 pace, Wednesday 10 miles @ 7.36 pace, Friday 10 miles @ 8.04, Sunday 11 miles @8.34