Chris Cassidy Training, Events & Things

Art O Neill Challenge 2012

2012-01-18T20:17:00.032Z

I was sitting on the bus to Dublin on Friday afternoon, less than 12 hours before the start of the Art O Neill Challenge, when it finally dawned on me what I was letting myself in for.

I'd recced some of the course, I'd run some miles on the roads but tonight I was going to put it all together and cover around 34 miles from Dublin Castle to Glenmalure in the Wicklow Mountains.

The butterflies turned into a herd of stampeding buffaloes, doubts assailed me, I started to consider the less than perfect training, the poor nutrition and late nights. I tried to dispel these negative thoughts and succeeded for the most part but every now and then I'd get the buffaloes back.

On arrival to Dublin I caught a bus to my parents house. I had plenty of time for food and a chat. I was able to get changed and get my gear sorted before I set off for Dublin Castle.

I arrived before 11.00 pm to allow me time to soak up the atmosphere and catch up with some friends. I bumped into Gearoid, who was looking remarkably calm for a guy organising such a major event.

Check in was extremely smooth, number and timing chip collected, without hassle. I found Andy, Mark and Brian, my hiking companions from last years event, with their new additions, Dave and Nicola. Time passed swiftly, midnight arrived, I went outside to the courtyard, amid loud cheers the guys set off with the hiking group.

Back inside I chatted with a few people, it helped keep me calm. At 1.15 am the hybrids set off, these were running to check point 1 at Kilbride, then hiking to the finish.

The large rooms in the Castle were now looking decidedly sparse. There were only the runners left.

I looked around at this lycra clad bunch of nutters, not for the first time, I wondered how I ended up in the land of the skinny people.

My gear for section 1 Dublin Castle to Kilbride army camp (about 12.5 miles) consisted of:

Asics DS racers - Nike socks - Asics tights - Underarmour underwear - technical Tshirt - Dare 2 b mid weight top - hat, Tikka 2 xp head torch. Plus OMM 15l backpack (I didn't have a smaller bag) containing 1/2 ltr XYMS drink - Mars bar - light weight Karrimor rain jacket - light woolen gloves - GPS - camera

2.00 am: After a slight delay to locate a missing runner, a hooter sounds and we're off. I'm delighted, no more nervous tension, it's now make or break.

The group quickly spreads out, with the quicker runners shooting off into the city's lamp lit semi darkness. I plodded on with no idea of my pace but feeling comfortable, at mile 2 I heard my watch beep and I was shocked to find that I was running over a minute a mile faster than I expected. I told myself to slow down, too fast, too soon would cause trouble later. Naturally I totally ignored my sensible inner voice and maintained the pace for another few miles.

Somewhere around Tallaght I found myself in a group of about 10 runners, the pace was fine, I was still feeling ok.

Through Firhouse was the first time I noticed the moon and bright stars showing in clear patches of sky. It was going to be a beautiful night in the mountains, not that I was likely to care later.

I had checked behind on occasions, I started to worry when I couldn't see many runners behind me. I really didn't want to be last.

Head torches were switched on after the last of the street lights at Firhouse. I was tucked behind the front runners so didn't need my lamp yet.

I'm well used to running in the dark and will leave off my head light as much as possible on training runs but what I'm not used to is running in a group. I found myself on edge for a time because my view of the road ahead was blocked by the guy in front but I relaxed eventually, I think that I may have actually started to enjoy myself a little.

Our group was down to 4-5, I discovered the others were running as a group when one called a pee stop and they all stopped. I found myself heading into the foothills on my lonesome.

I knew the the hill were always going to be a problem for me, I'm way too heavy to run hills easily so it was with trepidation that I hit the first proper uphill section.

I could see that I was loosing ground to a runner ahead of me but it wasn't too much and I wasn't huffing and puffing too much. At some point a lad passed me, we exchanged a few words and he said "great view" or words to that effect. I only realised what he was talking about when I looked behind and saw all the lights of Dublin - at that moment I couldn't have cared less about the

view.

I switched on my headlamp for the first time at Stone Cross. The road was getting icy and I found my road runners battling to find purchase. The going was tough with the extra effort to remain upright, I hated the backwards slip on every step.

A few lads came motoring past me on one of the hills, I remember thinking that they were moving at a right pace, however, as we crested the hill I fell in with them and had I no problem matching them on the flat.

We were directed into Kilbride Army Camp for checkpoint 1, the start of the real adventure.

Check point 1 was brilliant, a hive of activity, people everywhere getting changed, fed, sorted into groups, floodlights blazing, noise, hustle and bustle. I loved it.

As I grabbed my bag I got a shout from Andy and the lads, I had a chat with them while I swallowed down .75 ltr of XYMS drink and changed my shoes, tops and backpack, I was glad to hear they were all going well. I dropped my bag back and set off for the toughest part of the course.

For anyone interested, I'll post my gear and kit list at the end of this post.

Setting off along the road to the checkpoint exit I was delighted to see some runners making their way in. At least there were still some behind me.

I began to overtake large numbers of hikers. If they were blocking the way I would call "on your left/right". Every time, without fail, the would quickly clear a path, many called words of encouragement, the "well dones" and "keep going" were a welcome boost.

Initially I was a little chilly and the drink I had gulped was sloshing around but that soon passed and I felt I was moving well.

I swung into the first off road section, running across a grassy field I met a muddy downhill and promptly lost my footing and slid several feet on my arse.

My headlamp was struggling with the featureless grass. I had added a Led Lenser P7 torch to my waiststrap as an extra, just in case. Switching on this tidy piece of kit gave me a lovely wide patch of daylight in front of me. I had one dodgy moment along here when I went to hurdle over a wooden fence and stalled momentarily at the top, for a heart stopping moment I thought I was going to faceplant. Luckily I managed to land safely and quickly found the road to Ballysmuttan Bridge.

Ballysmuttan Bridge to Ballynultagh (Black Hill car park) was a section that I was dreading. I had recced it once and knew it was nearly 4 miles, predominately uphill, with some nasty steep sections and a poor surface. I was running alongside another chap, we had a chat heading towards the bridge. The first steep section starts just after the bridge, as we hit it I wished him luck and told him I could only travel slowly uphill. He headed off but reduced to a walk 20 metres later. We exchanged words as I passed, he told me that a friend of his placed near the top of the Art O Neill last year walked all the uphills. I said, fair play, but I was going to try maintain my shuffle.

I caught up to a large hiking group, one of their guides was trailing the group, as I drew level with him he called to the group to make way. I swear they must have practiced this move, they shifted to the right with military precision to leave me a clear path, I thanked them as I shuffled on.

This was a lonely stretch of road, I only met a few hikers and a mountain rescue vehicle passed, otherwise it was dark and quiet. The part near the crest felt really steep, I was struggling to keep my shuffle going, I did walk twice, I counted 20 steps and started shuffling again. If truth be told, I was probably travelling just as fast when I walked. I was pleased to reach the car park at the base of Black Hill.

Time to take some solid food. My nutrition strategy was haphazard to say the least. I rarely take drinks with me on runs of less than 15 miles so I had to remind myself to keep drinking on the road section from Dublin (.5 ltr XYMS), more drink at CP1, now, after around 19 miles, I was taking my first solid food. Was it some high energy bar or special endurance food? No, plodding along the base of Black Hill I was chewing on a piece of baguette with ham and cheese filling...

At this stage running up Black Hill would have killed me, my plan was to walk as briskly as possible and use this part for recovery. I recently acquired a small gps, the Garmin etrax, I took it out while walking along and attempted to start one of the pre-programmed routes I had put on it. Unfortunately, I was passed the starting point for the route and the bloody machine kept trying to send me back the way I had come. I was amazed to discover that I had covered a large chunk of the rough track without once looking at the ground while playing with the gps, when I packed it away I began tip-toeing around the rocks again.

The wind became very strong before the summit. I thought it prudent to take the time to put on a jacket. Once I hit the summit I was delighted to have the jacket, the wind was howling into my face, I would have become dangerously cold without the extra protection.

The ground from Black Hill across the coll towards Billy Byrne's Gap is one of the few off road surfaces that I can run on without too much trouble. I was disappointed to find that through the combination of tired legs and a strong head wind I ended up covering the ground with a mix of running and walking. As planned, I hit the east side of the gap, I intended to keep along the side of Mullaghcleevaun and head almost directly to the forestry track. The ground here is a right mix of grass clumps, rocks, bog, heather, all with assorted hidden foot trapping holes. I had a few slips, trips and falls, no big deal, you just go with the flow but one caught me by surprise, a sudden, sharp twisting of my right ankle, I thought I was a goner but luckily I was able to keep going without any trouble (this ankle was very sore for 2-3 days afterwards, I must have been close to disaster).

I was close to the forestry track when I started to feel hungry, I knew there was food available at CP2, so decided to push on. The thought occurred to me that I may get what cyclists refer to as the bonk or knock but risked moving on. After the crap terrain from Billy Byrne's Gap the forestry track was a thing of beauty.

Checkpoint 2 was a godsend. I checked in, grabbed a bowl of porridge, topped up my drink bladder and swallowed down a gel. While eating I had a chat with a couple of runners and one of the photographers. All in all a relaxing few minutes. I checked out and took off along another forestry track, I was pleased to find my little legs were still working reasonably well. Another bonus was it was now bright enough to run without a torch, full daylight a few minutes later.

There were 2 runners just ahead of me when I hit the NPWS marker at the Glenreemore Brook. I wondered if I would have the energy to over take them,I reckoned I hadn't, I had resigned myself to loosing two places. To be honest I was delighted when they took a different route.

I continued along the river, there were 2 guys behind me, that encouraged me to keep going. I cut across at Art's plaque, up the hill and crossed the river. I was now on the steep section to Art's Cross.

I hate this climb, it's steep, soft, wet, with large steps that just don't suit my little legs. I struggled here. It was stop, start all the way up. I used my hands to help but, at one point buried my left arm nearly to the elbow. I had close to 30 miles done and I was feeling every one of them on every step to the cross. At last I reached the cross, I was soon joined by two others. We took the time to take a photo for each other.

I bid my companions farewell at set off at a trot to find the three lakes. A mist had covered the mountain, visibility was poor, despite the conditions I was feeling fine.

I noticed a hiker standing in the mist reading a map, I call to him asking if he was ok. He had missed the lakes and was backtracking to find his bearings. I told him to follow me and when we hit the lakes I asked if he knew his way from there. He did, grand, that's me off the hook.

A group of four runners appeared near the lakes, they ended up just ahead of me, we were all following the same bearing. I pushed along to keep up with them. As we neared a river they moved towards Conavalla while I headed into the river valley. Maybe I could get ahead of them here. I was climbing high above the river on the south side, I could see the lads on the other hill. Again I was having some difficulty on the steeper parts, luckily they were only short sections. As we neared the track it looked like we were going to hit it at about the same time. I was thinking that if they got to the road before me I would just sit in behind them and enjoy the last couple of miles to the finish.

They hit the road about 10 metres ahead of me but as they ran on they missed the turn for Table track, they stalled to check. As I closed in I pointed out the track and slipped onto it just ahead of them. That's it, time to get moving, I hopped down the track and didn't look back until just before the dodgy wooden bridge. I was really happy to see I had a good gap on the lads.

Two runners popped out from track just ahead of me. I was feeling remarkably good, I actually felt that I was running faster that I had any right to expect at this stage but I had no inclination to attempt to close the gap, I probably couldn't have anyway. I resigned myself to loosing another two places. I had no idea what position I was in but I knew that I would achieve one of my targets by not finishing last.

The red military sign , around the bend, past the hostel, I was now in the last few hundred metres, the surface was brutal, I didn't care I was almost at the finish. I rounded the last bend and ran across the river to cross the finish line in 8 hours 11 minutes. Happy days !

I was delighted when I got a shout from my mate Sean who had travelled from Dublin to be at the finish for my arrival.

Handshakes and congratulations with the other finishers, tired smiling faces all around. Finishers enjoying well earned beverages, hot chocolate, coffee and teas.

I threw on some extra clothes, put newspapers on Sean's car seat (I was filthy and soaking wet)and got a lift to the Glenmalure Inn.

After changing I had the full Irish, I don't think a breakfast tasted so gorgeous.

I waited for Andy and the guys to arrive, they all finish in good form. Several pints were dispatched and the analysis was as enjoyable as the event itself.

The Art O Neill Challenge is a fantastic event. There is something for everyone in it. I'm already looking forward to next year.

As I mentioned earlier, I had two goals for the day 1) to finish and 2) not to finish last. I was totally amazed and somewhat over the moon to discover I had finished in 26th position. Miles

behind the top guys but so much better than I had expected.

Gear and kit from CP1 Kilbride to finish

Asics trail shoes, light hiking socks, Asics running tights, technical Tshirt, Crane long sleeved fleece, Tikka 2 XP head torch.

18ltr Camelpak backpack containing: .5ltr xyms drink, 2 gels, 1 mars bar, 2 pieces baguette.

Map, spare batteries, Sealskinz hat and socks, fleece, windproof gloves, light weight Karrimor jacket, Packlite w/proof trousers, Rab insulator jacket, Rab emergency bivi, emergency foil bag, first aid kit, whistle.

Waist strap carried: Silva 4 compass, etrax gps, w/proof camera, Led Lenser torch

Edinburgh Marathon 2011

2011-05-23T22:20:00.016+01:00

The thing that I both love and hate about the marathon is that despite all preparations undertaken and training miles done I just don't know how the race will go until I start running on the day.

This years Edinburgh marathon was a point in fact, as mentioned in my previous post, I followed a high risk training strategy that included 300 miles in 4 weeks, I also attended a wedding in Poland - plenty of beer and vodka - the weekend before the marathon and I topped that off with 3 day unable to keep any food or liquids in.

I arrived in Edinburgh with my friend Sean on Thursday evening after an uneventful and calm journey.

We hopped a bus on Friday morning to Holyrood Park to collect our race numbers, feeling better I scoffed a dirty big burger (carb loading !) for second breakfast while there. The rest of Friday and Saturday were spent relaxing and trying to get plenty of food and water in.

Although out of bed early on race day I had very little to do, pinning on numbers, sorting gear etc, were all done the night before. A light breakfast and a final check on the weather forecast - windy with showers - and we were away in the pre-booked taxi. A heavy shower had us sheltering in the hall way of a church, I'm sure there were a few prayers said there that morning. With 20 minutes to race start we dropped our bags off and headed for the starting areas. Unlike Dublin, there is no major panic in the starting pens, I enter my pen 10 minutes prior to the gun but still had loads of room to move towards the front, 10 minutes before Dublin you would be lucky to have enough room in the pens to scratch yourself.

The gun signaled the start of the race, I crossed the starting within about 30 seconds, a sign of how near the front I was.

Another marathon underway, what would this one hold in store for me?

Despite the recent setbacks I had set my watch for 7.30 miles, in the hope that if I had a good day I would manage a sub 3.20 finish. The first 5 miles of the route favour downhill, my plan was to run at a comfortable pace, whatever that may be, and see how I felt. I was a little surprised to see my first mile was 7.02, this was followed by 7.11, 7.11. Around the start of mile 4 I started chatting to a really sound bloke from England, Neil. He was aiming for around the 3.15 mark, that was close enough to my target for me to tag along beside him for a while. Pleasant conversation passed the next few miles. The 6th mile at 7.38 was a tad slow but the previous ones were in the 7.20's , so still on target.

Conversation with Neil had dried up, at one point, somewhere in the 8th mile, Neil asked if I was all right. I told him I was just zoning out but that wasn't the whole truth.

I'm certainly no expert on this, I can only speak from my limited experience but at 8 or 9 miles into a marathon you should feel comfortable, the pace shouldn't cause any problems and legs and breathing shouldn't be under any stress.
My legs were feeling heavy, I had expected this at the start but after a couple of miles, when the blood starts flowing, that feeling should go, today it didn't.

At mile 9 I knew this was going to be a long day.

With the exception of my first marathon in Dublin, that I jogged around, just to finish, the other 3 marathons I've done have finished in a whole world of pain. The trouble usually started after the 20 mile mark, this is to be expected as strange things happen to the body after 20 miles running but today I was uncomfortable so early on that I knew that I could expect the physical and mental issues to hit earlier. Nothing much can be done about the physical, except decisions about pace but the mental process, well, that's a whole other ball game.

Neil was drawing ahead of me but I decided that my best hope of not fading badly was to keep him in sight. The gap between us open and closed several times over the miles, at times I ran just behind him but I didn't push up level with, a totally selfish act on my behalf but I reckoned anything that helped me towards the finish was fair game. I eventually fell away from him after mile 15.

Somewhere after mile 15 the front runners started to pass on the opposite side of the road. I moved towards the median to keep an eye out for Sean. I was beginning to think that I had missed him but soon he appeared, from a distance he didn't look comfortable. A shout and a wave each but when he shook his head and drew a finger across his throat it just confirmed that he was having a bad day. His report is here.

Between miles 17 and 18 there is an out and back section, as I approached the turn I spotted Neil on the opposite side of the road, maybe 40-50 yards ahead of me. I was quite pleased that I hadn't lost too much ground.

As I made the 180 degree turn around a traffic cone I almost came to a complete stop, trying to get moving again took a major effort. Here was also the first taste of the headwind that would torture the competitors for the last 9 miles.

The turn into Gosford House offered a brief respite from the wind.

I was just hanging on, I remember just as I entered the gate to Gosford House, I realised that there was still a hard 9 miles to go and I considered the idea of walking for a while. A mental kick in the arse sorted that. I tried to keep positive. One of my back up targets was a sub 3.30. As I waddled through the ground of the country house, wondering why there were chickens wandering around, I tried to work out how my target times were fairing.

Ok, still close to 3.20 pace but fading fast, that allows over a minute a mile slower for the remaining miles to hit sub 3.30. A mantra started " I'm not going to lose 10 minutes in 9 miles" " I'm not going to lose 10 minutes in 8 miles".

Up to mile 16 I was around 7.30 minute miles, the next 4 were sub 8.00, that's fine, that's good. 8 minute miles would work. I can finish with a reasonable time, that will do.

Out of the park, a short stretch into the wind again, then another short out and back section. Once again at the 180 turning point I nearly stalled, down the hill, sharp left, 20 miles done.

I'll remember this point for years to come, just starting along the straight when I felt a slight twinge in my left hamstring, followed by another one, then bang, full on cramp. Shit, Jesus, that hurts. I hopped onto the footpath to get out of the way and danced a little jig. I've rarely had cramps and never during a race so this was scary. I was really lucky, just where I stopped there was a Scottish chap that helped me, fair play to him, he knew what he was doing. I lay on the grass verge and he helped me stretch out my leg, I was so keen to get going that I got up too soon and did my jig again all the while testing out my expletive vocabulary. After a second stretch I was underway again.

6 miles to go. I took 9.10 including the stop for the next mile, not as bad as I thought. My pace was dropping a few at 8-8.15 but I was still moving. My biggest worry now was the recurrence of cramps. At the 23 mile marker my left hamstring started to twitch again. I was scanning the sideline for a suitable spot to stretch for when the cramp hit, nothing but concrete footpath, no soft grass to lie on, luckily the expected cramp didn't arrive then.

To say that I didn't notice the head wind during the final 8-9 miles would be untrue, I noticed it at points but so many other problems were happening - mostly my legs - that the wind actually became unimportant.

I had promised myself that if I had anything left in the tank I would push on for the last mile or two. I revised this plan as both my legs felt like they could go into spasms at any moment. Maybe I was tired, maybe I was lazy but I was telling myself that I would be better off to keep moving at a steady pace rather than risk cramps. With 1.5 miles to go I was trying to do the maths for how quickly I could walk the remaining distance if the need should arise. 1 mile to go, that's it, even if I have to crawl the remaining distance to the finish I should still make a sub 3.30
As I rounded the final corner and ran (wobbled, hobbled) the last few hundred yards to the finish line a huge sense of relief swept over me. At last, I'd made it. I crossed the line at 3.22.14

Almost immediately after the finishing line my legs started to ache, if lactic could be bottled and sold I would have made a fortune. By the time I had retrieved my bag every step I took caused an involuntary groan. I managed to get to the reunion area. Shower facilities were available but the water was freezing, at the time it was breath taking cold but I think the cold water helped my legs as I felt so much better afterwards.

I met up with Sean, he had a very welcome cup of coffee for me, he had run a fantastic 3.03 and was happy with his performance on a difficult day.

Trying to get back to the city was another marathon in itself, eventually we got a bus and were able to sit for the duration of the journey. We popped into the Rutland hotel for a quick pint with Alan from Boards.ie. I have to admit they were the most enjoyable 2 pints I'd have for a while.

On the way to the airport on Tuesday Sean received a text to say that our flight was cancelled because of the volcanic as cloud.......
This was the start of another marathon..........

Pre Edinburgh marathon 2011 - Journey and Excuses.

2011-05-20T19:41:00.006+01:00

It's been a long time since I've posted on this blog, early February to be exact.

There have been many reasons for this but mostly it's because, like Austin Powers, I lost my mojo. Unlike Austin Powers mine wasn't stolen by a time travelling super villain but rather it slid unceremoniously into a puddle on a cold winters night, while the wind howled and my head torch lit the falling rain. I don't remember exactly when this occurred, all I know is that it did happen and for weeks and months after, although I didn't realise it at the time, I was looking for my elusive mojo.

I've done no cycling events this year and only 3 road races, they were:
Dungarvan 10 mile
Dungarvan 10k
Craughwell 10 mile

I had done a ridiculously small amount of training and struggled around these at a slow and painful rate, in fact all 3 races were run at a slower pace per mile than my Dublin marathon time of a few months previously. I've noted these races as some of the best organised and value for money races that I've taken part in and I hope to come back next year and do them justice.

After these I plodded on for another few weeks getting some slow miles in, huffing and puffing, especially on any kind of hill, until I realised that if I wanted to have a chance of finishing the Edinburgh marathon I would have to make some drastic changes.

There were 8 weeks to go to Edinburgh, the last 3 would normally be taper, so in real terms I only had 5 full training weeks left. As I write this I don't have access to my diary but if memory serves I had only run about 150 mile to this point.

Marathon training usually consists of various types of training, speed work, threshold sessions, long runs.

After working out my options I decided that time on my feet would be of most value to me, miles and miles it would be.

Decision made, time to start on a very high risk strategy.

The problem with increasing mileage suddenly is the very real risk of injury. The body needs time to adjust, without this time things can go "ping" and "snap" at any stage. I hoped that with careful management I'd be OK.

First week was 50+ miles, not high mileage by marathon training standards but a big jump for me. The next 4 weeks were to be make or break for Edinburgh. I was about to attempt to run more miles in consecutive weeks that I had ever run before.

The strategy I would employ was from the ultra runners, these athletes do back to back long slow runs to increase their ability to run extra long distances and minimise chances for injury.

I would do 15-20 miles on Tuesdays and Wednesdays with a 20 miler on Saturdays, Sunday would be a rest day.

70 miles done in the next week, all slow but no major dramas, a few slight niggles that sports massages mostly sorted.

From then it seemed that on every run strange things would happen to my poor abused legs. The ITB is a bit tight, the knee is tender, the Achilles is pulling etc, etc, nothing would last long or cause me serious discomfort but I would file them to be mentioned at the next massage.

Another 70+ miles added, no major dramas.

Some days I would run both mornings and evenings, my morning times were always slower. On one run I felt a soreness in my lower leg that by the end of my run had me hobbling. Maybe it's nothing, I'm sure it'll be gone by morning. It was painful enough to wake me through the night. The next run had me cut a planned 1o miler to 5 miles but I only managed 3 and that was nearly hopping the last half mile. Shit, that's it Chris, you gave it a good go but you can't expect your body to put up with that sort of abuse.

A visit to the masseur sorted me out again, I had what's known as dancers tendinitis or as my friend Kev refers to it mincers tendinitis.

80+ miles done, some dramas.

I haven't my diary for reference but some time in the previous 2 weeks I also hurt my back lifting my ride on mower to fix a belt. A typical lift and twist injury that cost me a day and another massage session.

Last week before taper, it dawned on me that most of my runs now, although not much faster, seemed much easier than a few weeks previously. A good sign for me was that I was enjoying more time thinking about various things while running and not constantly checking my garmin for the distance to the finish.

Another 80+ miles done, dramas? no. falling apart? yes.
Over 300 miles in 4 weeks. A new record for me.

5 weeks previously I would have settled for finishing the marathon, ideally in under 4 hours.
2-3 weeks ago I was starting to think that sub 3.30 might be on the cards.
A 3.30 marathon requires 8 minute miles so when I set on on my last long slow 20 mile run I was planning on running 8.30-8.40 minute miles. The first mile was uphill, I hit around 8.30, the second mile around 8.15. Miles 3, 4 and 5 favour downhill and were all sub 8.00. I decided to keep up the higher pace to include some PMP miles (8 min m) All the miles after were +-5/10 seconds of PMP. I finished the run feeling reasonably fresh, which was a major surprise to me.
The problem I now had was that if I could run 20 miles on my own, over undulating roads, at predicted marathon pace (PMP) how much faster could I go under race conditions.
I formulated a loose plan for the marathon that, all going well during the 3 weeks taper, I would set my Garmin for sub 3.20 and see how I felt during the first few miles, it I could hold the 7.30 pace without too much stress I would attempt the sub 3.20 otherwise I would adjust to either sub 2.25 or sub 3.30. Yeah, that plan looked good to me, no pressure, best case would be a decent second fastest marathon, worst case would still be Boston qualifying time and still my second fastest marathon, result !

As I write this post it's less than 24 hours to the start of the race. I'm reflecting back on the events of the past 3 weeks, especially the previous 7 days.
Taper started fine, 50 miles in week one, done in 3 consecutive days, not ideal but OK.
Week 2 was 29-30 miles again a short week but no problems.
From last weekend on is where the fun starts. A wedding in Poland had me flying out very early on Friday morning, I returned on Monday evening after 3 days of vodka, beer and food, not ideal preparation for a marathon but I'd known about this for months so I was expecting a small setback. I was quite please with myself that I managed to get in a 10 mile run in the beautiful Polish mountains, I think the benefits were somewhat negated by having beer for breakfast the next morning (thanks Allen)
Feeling fine, 6 days to recover, no problem, all should be in working order for the race. What happened on Tuesday was unexpected and unpleasant. I got some kind of stomach bug/food poisoning that saw me dropping at least 5 pounds in 2 days, I lost more on the 3rd day but I'd no access to a scales to check. On Friday (yesterday) I was feeling much better and managed to get plenty of food a liquids into me and my first run since last Saturday, a slow 5 miles, the only problem was that my heart rate monitor kept slipping down. Today is more of the same, food,water and rest.
The result of this recent bout is that all targets for tomorrow have gone out the window.
I can only see how I feel at the start and hope that I can maintain a decent pace for the 26.2 miles.

I'll let you know tomorrow..................

Dungarvan 10 mile road race

2011-02-05T10:34:00.003Z

I used to be a competitive little fecker, I hated to lose at anything but especially sports. For many years basketball was my passion. When I think back to some of the unscrupulous things I did to gain any advantage in a match I wonder what sort of testosterone fueled fiend was I.

Now I only compete with myself - not with anywhere near the same passion I used to exhibit - so for most races I take part in I will have a target time, this I hope, would keep me honest and pushing to improve. These times would be set by various means, training times, McMillian calculator, to beat a PB, etc.
The Dungarvan 10 mile road race was an exception to this.
For numerous reasons, too many to go into here, I didn't start running this year until 15th January. I had already committed to take part in the Dungarvan race, although, at the time I thought it was a 10k, so I only had 2 weeks training before the race. I had been struggling with all my training runs, although run at very, very slow paces I found myself wheezing and unable to increase pace.

We arrived at the race HQ with plenty of time to spare following a very pleasant spin mostly on motorway and national primary roads and made all the more enjoyable by Sean offering to do the driving, a rare chance for me to enjoy the scenery on the new M9.

I'd just spent ages finishing this post when my computer crashed and I lost the whole thing.....
I may never get around to writing it again.....

Art O Neill Challenge 2011

2011-01-09T10:29:00.011Z

After the Wiclow adventure race in September 2010 I was sitting in a friends motor home enjoying a coffee (actually, a beer) when a chap popped his head in through the open window and told us about the Art O Neill challenge. A 55k run/walk tracing the route taken by Art O Neill & Red Hugh O Donnell after their escape from Dublin Castle and finishing at Glenmalure in the Wicklow mountains.

My initial reaction was that you would have to be mad to try this but a seed was sown and the more I thought about it the more I fancied a go at it

Options:

Option 1: Run the full route. This was my initial first choice, but I realised that I wouldn't get enough training done in time.

Option 2: Hybrid. Run stage 1 to Kippure House (about 25k/16 miles) and then hike the balance.

This option is the one I signed up for. My thought here were, (I'm now laughing to myself about this) even if I haven't done the planned training I could run 16 miles without too much trouble and sure anybody with a reasonable level of fitness can walk 19 miles across the mountains, can't they ?

Option 3: Hike the full route. I had a mild cold for a couple of weeks before the event, nothing too bad, just mildly annoying but the main problem was that when I attempted to run I would take to fits of lung bursting coughing, so because of this and a lack of quality running miles I had mentally decided to cancel but a chat with a friend, Andy, encouraged me to switch from the hybrid and join him and two of his friends on the hike.

Walking into Dublin Castle in the pouring rain had me wondering why I was doing this but once into the registration area the good atmosphere and craic lightened my mood.

I bumped into Andy and he introduced me to his friends, Mark and Brian.

Just before midnight we all gathered outside in the yard, following a poem and safety briefing we set off.

The lads had done some good quality training and had a plan regarding pacing each stage, I was delighted to be invited along with the guys and so I was happy to fit into anything they wanted to do.

I found it interesting to observe the other walkers, their equipment, their style and especially the pace they set for themselves.

We were moving along at a slow steady pace that saw us at the back of the field, stone last. I've done enough distance and endurance events not to be bothered about this and to be honest I could tell from what I'd seen of some of the other participants that we would be seeing them again sooner rather than later.

On a sour note, near Tallaght we had just caught up with and passed a chap when 3 scumbags attacked him. The cowardly bastards ran off as we sprinted back to help him. He withdrew from the event soon after.

Even before the first hill we had closed up behind a long line of participants. Initial enthusiasm wained some people were starting to realise the difficulty of the event. I said to myself "here we go" and so we did, reeling in group after group.

Snow had recently fallen and as we gained height into the mountains the road became slippery and difficult to negotiate, I was delighted that I had selected my trail shoes for this stage, although much heavier than my runners they have better grips and are waterproof.

From Stone Cross to Kippure House was a time for stock taking for me. How are feet, are the legs sore anywhere yet ? etc. etc. I had the odd twinge here and there but nothing detrimental.

It was at 3.20 am that the first of the runners overtook us. I tried to clap and give some words of encouragement to each as they passed, I was amazed that almost all replied with a thanks or a chirpy comment. I had a twinge of regret that I wasn't running too but as it turned out it's just as well that I wasn't.

It was also something of a decision time, although I was delighted to be with the 3 lads I knew that they had put in a lot of hard training miles for this event, I was worried that I may end up delaying them. I had thought to myself that if I made it to Kippure without any major problems I would ask if I could keep tagging along with them, otherwise I would join a guided group. The lads made me feel very welcome.

At Kippure we changed into our mountain hiking gear. I had a slight hotspot in my left foot but decided against putting compeed on as I was changing my socks and boots, a decision I would regret later.

After soup, coffee and some grub, we took about 50 minutes here but it felt like a lot less, we headed out for the mountains proper.

The first target after crossing the foot bridge was to find the summit of Ballynabrocky, easier said than done as it's a long flat ridge rather than a peak and then from there to find a track that would bring us onto a road. We cheated slightly here by using a GPS to confirm that we were very close to the summit and I had a bearing that would take us to the track, the first time in years that I had used a compass, I was chuffed when we quickly hit the track.

We met the road and moved on towards the next main point, the car park below Black Hill, at a guess I would say it was about 5-6k.

I think that it was along this stretch that Andy started to have some knee trouble, something that had happened to him before but he had been able to walk off the soreness.

This was also the first time that I felt the need to put on gloves, although daylight was starting to show the wind was biting cold.

Brian and myself had moved ahead of Andy and Mark and even the 2-3 minute wait at the car park brought home to me how cold it was on the hills. I went to have a drink only to discover that the tube on my backpack was frozen solid.

The track on Black Hill was rocky, with ice and snow making footing treacherous and hail was driving from the right with venom. Brian had pushed ahead, I was next with Andy and Mark behind. I was aware the the lads behind were losing ground but I didn't know about Andy's knee problem at this point.

A call of nature allowed the lads to catch up and move ahead of me, I knew that it wasn't a great sign when I caught up with them quickly and with ease.

I fell in behind Andy and noticed he was struggling slightly. Soon after the 3 of us stopped for a chat to discuss our best options. Andy really wanted to push on and felt that his knee would ease out soon, he's a tough fecker.

A little later two stumbles in quick succession both twisting his bad knee forced another chat but this time serious decisions had to be made.

Visibility was poor, hail was battering us driven like needles into our faces by the howling winds. We were really lucky that we could get Brian on the phone to tell him we were delayed.

This was a difficult time for all concerned, it was emphasised that safety had to be the first concern, there would be other walks and other mountains.

I knew that Andy was in turmoil about what to do, he knew that if he abandoned now he would be taking either Mark or me out with him. We had both offered and we tried to reassure Andy that it was not a problem for either of us to accompany him back to the car park.

After more checking of the map and working out where the next possible exit would be Andy decided the sensible thing to do was head back to the car park, a brave and, I believe, correct decision.

Mark insisted that he would accompany Andy, I'm very thankful that he did this, although I would have gladly done it, I'm not sure if I would have turned around at the car park and attempted to finish or called it a day there.

A phone call to the wonderful rescue people involved with the race to confirm a pick up at the car park, I replaced my glove on a now completely numb hand and I said goodbye to the lads.
They told me later that it took an hour and 20 minutes to cover the mile to the bottom.

I went on and in short time met up with Brian who had waited at the summit.

A poster on Boards.ie had kindly posted information about the route including OS grid references for most key points. I had printed this out and packed it with my maps. While sitting in my parents house a few hours before the start of the Art O Neill I thought I would spread out the map and take some bearings for the key points, not that I was going to need them but I reckoned it would help me remember the route better. Am I glad that I did this ? Oh YEAH !!

Standing on the summit of Black Hill with no visibility, the navigator gone and miles left to go, I had a moment of excitement, Jesus, this is where the fun starts. I checked the compass, visualised the saddle we were making for, reminded myself that my previous bearings had been correct and Brian and myself walked off into the fog.
We were joined by a guided group travelling alongside us, thank goodness, at least we're going the correct direction. Their guide was using a GPS, I enquired if he was making for the saddle, he said that he was. On the saddle he veered off to the right, my first real nav decision in years, cut across what, on the map, looked like wet ground with several streams or push beyond the saddle and contour around to Billy Byrnes Gap, as recommended on the boards post. A quick chat with Brian, we decided to stay to the higher ground.
As we neared the next mark a wonderful thing happened, the fog cleared and the sun came out, we could now clearly see the route ahead and a few other groups at various points in the mountains. The guided group were cutting across the lower ground but were behind us now, I guess the frozen conditions must have allowed them reasonably firm footing.

Through Billy Byrnes Gap we had a couple of choices, head for the higher ground and contour around the hill, we chose to head down towards the river, we crossed a feeder river to the Ballinagee, headed up the hill and after some wandering around eventually found the farm track, onto the road, passed a big barking dog and on to a farm gate. We met a couple here who had hopped the gate and were going to cut through the fields, we had a chat with them and joined the for the next while. I glad we met them there because I think would have missed the gate as the correct route, for some reason, I was expecting the entrance to be further along the road.

My legs were drained, I thought the track would never end. I was thinking that if I felt this tired now then the last stage was going to be murder. I didn't know then how right I was.. Eventually we hit the main road and walked the few hundred yards to checkpoint 2, Ballinagee bridge.
Before we left the checkpoint I told Brian that I was totally wasted and would only be able to tip along at whatever pace the legs would allow. I told him I would have no problem if he wanted to push ahead. He was ok that we should stay together.

About now I was regretting my lack of walk specific training. My running miles had been drastically reduced, mainly due to the weather and a cold but in fairness I'm sure that I could have squeezed in a few more than the 10-12 miles walking I'd done in the previous weeks. I had also been eating and drinking dirty pints with a vengeance since well before Christmas, through Christmas and into the new year and even the night before the event we had friends to our house for a meal and serious damage was done to several bottles of wine, hitting the bed after 2.00 was the icing on the cake. Hmmm ! cake. The result of my well planned "training programme" was several new chins and all my trousers shrinking !!

Along the forest track, climbing through the felled woodland to avoid zig-zagging on the track, out to the Glenreemore river, as I plodded along by the river Brian pointed out Art's Cross in the distance. I must admit, it looked a long way off but I was telling myself that this was going to be the last of the days climbing, it would be all downhill after the Cross. We crossed the river and made for the higher ground..... I think this is where it all started to go to shit !!!!

We could see people in the distance slowly making their way up the steep ground to Art's Cross. Then I made a ridiculous decision to cut up along the hill to my right and persuaded Brian that I had seen people take this route. It was steep, icy and difficult to negotiate, it eventually dawned on me that we would have to drop down to the river level to cross thus losing most of the hard earned height. Over 12 hours of hiking was taking it toll, although I didn't feel mentally tired, the brain obviously wasn't working at full efficiency. A quick look at the map or more simply, a look at the lay of the land would have told me that there was an easier way to get to the river. We had to climb along by the river to find a crossing point, if not for the ice covering most of the rocks in the river this would have been a relatively simple task.
The climb to Arts Cross was murder for tired legs, it was managed a few steps at a time. At points it was easier to put the hand on the icy ground to aid the legs. It was freezing cold, once again my drink was frozen, I was feeling a little sorry for myself but again told myself this was the last of the climbing. As we neared the summit a raven glided past the cross, I couldn't help thinking what a hardy bird. Photos were taken and we tramped off towards the Three Lakes. We were covering some rough ground, it was sapping whatever strength was left in my legs, sliding on my ares into gully's, climbing out the other side all made for hard earned yards. I noticed a group that left the cross after us taking a sweeping arc to our right. I don't know if there was a track there or just a easier route but I would have paid for a little local knowledge as they made it to the Lakes before us.

We had mingled with what was left of the guided group and as there was only the short hop to the Glenmalure valley we tagged on to the back of the group. After a while this started to cause me some stress as it seemed to me that we were heading too far south but I was just too far gone to bother checking the map, I reckoned we would have to hit the track eventually, even it we were taking a longer route. Sure enough we made the track and the guide told his group there was only 4km to the finish.
My numb brain started trying to do the maths. 4k, ok, 4k is how many miles ? 1600m is a mile plus the 400m that's a quarter mile, blah, blah, blah 2 and a half miles that's it, woohoo, 2 and a half miles to go, I can do that ! The track was covered with snow and slippery but it was downhill with a tail wind. My legs were so tired that the brakes were not working well. I softened my knees and went with the flow, I had something of a new lease of life. Doing the maths again, worse case scenario would be 20 minute miles, 2.5 miles meant unless something mad happened we should be across the line in less than 50 minutes. A look at the watch showed 3.10, great home by 4.00, not bad with all the previous delays.

Following the track past working forestry machines and a skyline, we were making good time, some people ahead of us passed a junction but were making their way back to it, we followed and continued down the valley. After a while we arrived at another junction. This is where I made the most ridiculous, stupid, lazy, unforgivable mistake. We were on a rough forest track that came close to a lovely flat smooth road, two women from the guided group came by just as we reached the junction and I just fell in with them. I should have checked the map, I knew the OS map showed only one track along the valley but I had previously seen several tracks on the East West map. I don't know why I didn't check but I'm still kicking myself about it. The road rose along the side of the valley, after a good while I realised we were not on the correct road but what the hell it was still going in the right direction and surly it would sweep down to the left and onto the finish, wouldn't it. Even at this point I didn't take out the map.
We reached a bend and from there I could see the way the road we were on went. I nearly cried it zig zagged away from the finish, I could see the finish but the road was bringing us away from it. Now to add insult to injury the surface was like glass, slipping and sliding along, only able to take careful baby steps, I thought how ironic would it be to walk from Dublin Castle only to fall a break a bone in the last mile on the wrong road. We had been walking for over 16 hours and to have to concentrate so hard on my footing at this stage felt so horrible, why couldn't I just be allowed to stagger unimpeded to the finishing line, bloody ice..

At last on the lower road we were met by Gearoid Towey, the organiser of the Art O Neill challenge and the guy who had poked his head into the motorhome a few months ago and started me on this mad adventure. A pleasant chat with Gearoid passed the last bit of road and as we reached the finish line we were noisily greeted by Andy, Mark and their crew. It was fantastic to see the guys, they had been waiting there in the cold for hours, fair play.
Arrr, I reckoned that my last mistake cost at least 40 minutes, I'm so gutted about this. I think Brian and myself crossed the line having taken about 16 hours 40 minutes to complete this epic event. We went to the Glenmalure Lodge for a well earned pint or two and some good craic

I'm delighted to have done this event with Andy, Brian and Mark. I'm extremely grateful for their friendly acceptance of my sudden entry into their hiking group. My biggest regret is that Andy and Mark didn't make the final section. I know they will be back again next year, as will I.

Dublin City Marathon 2010

2010-10-26T18:00:00.010+01:00

The Dublin City Marathon has been my main goal for 2010 and despite derailing my training plans by partaking in some adventure races I still held it as my main target.

For the first time I started a 18 week marathon training programme with some miles under my belt, having run the Edinburgh Marathon in May.
This was my 4th marathon but only the second with a specific target time. Last year in Dublin I had failed miserably in my attempt to make the Boston Marathon qualifying time of 3.30 when I hit the wall at about 20 miles and struggled across the finish line in 3.38.xx.
This year my target was to be the same as 09 at sub 3.30.

Soon after I started the training I realised that I was running faster than last year, some race results confirmed this so I started to revise my target time downwards.
Could I take 5 minutes off, could I take 10 minutes off ? All sorts of numbers would be flying through my head while I was on training runs.
Early in the training phase I briefly flirted with the idea of trying for a 3.13, a strange number you may think, but that time would leave me requiring just 30 seconds faster per mile to head for the milestone time of sub 3.00. A target way beyond my reach for a long time into the future, if ever, but psychologically 30 seconds is not such a huge hurdle, is it?
Those thoughts soon disappeared as the quality of my training suffered, especially in the second half of the programme. With only a few weeks to go to the start of the race I was doubting if I would be able to manage the 3.30. With a week to go I decided to go with the 3.15 pacers and hold on for as long as possible.
This saw me standing in a packed pen in Merrion Square, on a freezing cold morning, surrounded by 13,000 other souls and trying to get as close as possible to 2 guys holding helium filled balloons with 3.15 printed on them.

Bedlam ensued. Thousands of people setting off together created total gridlock at times. I did my utmost to stay close to the balloons, this required plenty of zigging and zagging, I hoped that the crowds would thin out allowing for more even running. A glance at my watch during the first mile confirmed that we were way below target time.
At the 2 mile mark one of the pacers "Krusty Clown" - a Boards.ie user name - called out that we were 40 seconds slow. I think that if I was running on my own I would have panicked and tried to get the time back at a sprint but Krusty assured me we would take it back slowly.

The next few miles were reasonably easy running but I was kept busy trying to hold my place behind the pacers. It was a time for stock taking, how am I feeling, how's the breathing, are the legs ok? A really weird thing is that my right foot was completely numb, I was worried about it because at this early stage everything should be working well.

The beautiful thing about running with pacers is that I didn't have to bother looking at my watch, all I had to do was keep close to the wonderful people carrying the balloons. Heading down the North Circular Road was fantastic, there is a section where you can see the whole road ahead filled with runners, add to that the sunshine and the cheering supporters and you realised running rarely gets better than this. We seemed to pick up the pace on the way into the park but I still felt fine. As we hit the 5 mile mark a shout from Krusty confirmed that we were now only 4 seconds off (can't remember if it was ahead or behind, doesn't matter)

I knew that my friend Sean was going to be at the 6 mile mark in the Phoenix Park so I tried to position myself to give him a wave. This rather tall, wide lad was in front of me blocking me from view so I pushed up ahead of him, soon I realised he had moved ahead of me again, much to my amusement we swapped place several time within a mile. I copped Sean as I passed him and shouted and waved. He commented afterwards that I looked comfortable and I suppose except for the mental doubts I was feeling grand.

While running through the Park I had brief conversations with runners around me and a chat with Krusty helped pass the time. The fact that I was chatting with other runners may seem irrelevant but when I had been training at the pace we were now running at I was breathing heavily and thought I would not be able to converse with people, it was something of a relief to realise I was not panting too much at this stage.

We left the Park, headed through Chapelizod and into Kilmainham. At times when the roads narrowed and there was no space to pass people I got a bit twitchy as the pacers moved ahead, on reflection, another learning experience, as I actually found it fairly easy to close the gap once the field spread out again. I knew that my parents were going to be at Dolphins Barn, so positioning myself to see them meant I had to take some corners very wide but it was well worth it, I'll worry about the racing line when I trying for a sub 3 !!

Most people that do the Dublin marathon hate the Crumlin Road, it's slightly uphill and usually has a head wind, but to be honest, it actually doesn't bother me, I guess because I grew up around there I spend the time looking out for familiar faces (like my sister, who live about 2 minutes from the course but has never given me a shout, thanks Dee)
Next comes Walkinstown Road, the half way point. We hit this bang on target. I was happy to be still with the pacers at this point and feeling reasonably well.

I had arranged to see my wife and son on Cromwellsfort Road, it turned out that nearly everyone was running on the right side of the road, I knew they would be on the left side so I was able to drift left and wave at them from a distance. I was delighted to see my other sister and her family there also. I collected 2 gels from my son and enjoyed the shouts of encouragement from the rest of my family (especially my favourite sister Linda...lol) Again they commented afterwards that I looked very comfortable. I still actually felt fine.

The next miles drifted by. This is probably where the real doubts started to fill my mind. I was holding onto the pacers but it wasn't as easy as it should have been. Last year I had started to fall off the 3.3o group somewhere around Terenure, this year I was delighted to be still there at the same point but I was conscious that there was still along way to go.

15,16,17 went by and I was still hanging on. I was telling myself hang on until 18 at least.
Made 18, hang on 'till 19.
At this point I was really starting to live in my head. I was trying to work out how slow I could do the remaining miles and still get a personal best time.
OK Chris, just hang on until 20 miles and you'll be ok, that's not too much to ask.
The fantastic thing is that about now Krusty starts shouting out all sorts of encouragement. I thought to myself he is never going to keep this up until the finish but, fair play, he never stopped, what a legend !!
20 miles done. This is where previously the wheels have fallen off. I knew what to expect, I could just come to a grinding halt at any point soon.
At 21, much to my surprise, I'm still there. 21 done, can I make 22?
I got to 22 miles but this is where I'm really hurting.

Jaysus Chris, stay with it, get to the next mile.
We're running along Merrion Road, Krusty is flying "come on, we're nearly there" I'm hanging on. Nearly there, me arse, it's still a long way but I'm still with him. We're weaving through people, they're slowing down but it feels like we are speeding up.
Again Krusty shouts "you wouldn't get out of bed for what we have left" It brought home to me how close to the finish we were.

I can't do it, I can't hang on, oh fuck, how far to go ??? 3 miles, is it 3 miles, that's over 22 minutes, I can't run for another 22 minutes. Give it up now Chris, you'll still have a personal best time, give it up.... Ahh, you soft bollix, you've trained for the whole year, you knew it wouldn't be easy, keep with that balloon. If it was easy everyone would be doing it... Keep going..

Miles 22 - 25 hurt. I probably can't adequately describe what I was feeling then.

I'm now counting down from the garmin, 2.5 miles to go, 2 miles to go. The amount of times that I wanted to let the pacers go in those few miles was unbelievable, I didn't think that I could get to the finish. Push, ya big puff, push.

With a mile and a half to go I genuinely thought that I was going to stop at any moment. I really was just trying to hang on.
As I got close to the last mile I had a sudden burst of energy, well actually, it probably wasn't a burst of energy so much as a realisation that I was so close to the finish.
A mile, one mile, it's easy, I can run a mile, yes , yes I can, run ya little fucker, run.

I pushed ahead of the pacers, I really tried to stretch my legs. After about about a quarter of a mile I was knackered and I got caught behind a group of lads strung out across the road. I didn't have the energy or interest to push through them but then a small gap opened and I went for it. I drove on, looking back and seeing the 3.15 balloons too close behind inspired me to push harder.
I kept looking at the Garmin 0.6 of a mile to go, 0.5 of a mile to go, Jaysus half a mile I can't keep this up for another 1/2 mile....shut up, shut up, keep going, you're nearly there.

Then I saw it, the finish line, it was so close. I could see the clock, it said 3.1xx, Jaysus I couldn't see the figures on the right. Check the Garmin, 3.12.xx.
Oh my god, I was going to make 3.15 but, but could I get in under 3.14. Push, push.

I crossed the line in 3.13.49. Result.. Happy days.. I beat my personal best marathon time by a whopping 24 minutes.
I know I did the training and I put a lot of time and effort into my programme but, hand on heart, I would not have made that time without the Boardis.ie pacers and Krusty Clown in particular driving the train.
I've since seen video of me finishing the marathon, it's not a pretty sight and as I went to collect my T-shirt a very Dublin auld one suggested that it might be a good idea to hold onto the barrier for a few minutes.

I'm happy with the result, actually, I'm bleedin' delighted, a good day, better than expected. Finished with a few (loads) pints with my friend Sean and a gang of Boardsies.

Roll on 2011... already thinking about the possibilities.....................

Dublin Half Marathon 2010

2010-09-20T19:56:00.002+01:00

The old engine hasn't been running too smoothly in recent times, especially the last few weeks it's been coughing and spluttering in a bad way.
Ideally a full engine replacement would be in order but in these bad economic times the best I could hope for is a full service. Until I can get that done I will just have to hope that the motor doesn't have a major breakdown.

As is now the norm for these races I arrived to the Phoenix Park via Sean's house. I did a 3 mile warm up at very low revs, then headed to the starting pens.
Some week ago I had a fair idea of a target time, this had changed in the intervening weeks as I revised it upwards because of the failing condition of the engine.
I hadn't realised that there were pacers for this race, as I made my way towards the start line I saw the balloons denoting the various pace categories. The ones I noticed were 1.40 and 1.30.
Hmm !! 1.40 was too slow, was 1.30 too fast, that pace, 6.50 minute miles, would put me on my limit for the distance. Decisions, decisions... To hell with it, I pushed up behind the 1.30 guys. My thinking here was to start at 1.30 pace and see how things went. I was also pleased to recognise some Boardsies.

Starting gun fires, clutch out, accelerator to the floor, wheels spinning, thousands pile down the wide, straight Chesterfield Avenue. I found myself jockeying for position, in the malee I saw that I was travelling along the painted centre divide, here I had another surreal Johnny Cash moment when the song I walked the line popped into my head.
The first mile felt remarkably easy, I was ticking over nicely, I was somewhat surprised to realise we had done a 6.50 mile. The next miles were slightly less comfortable but I wasn't under any major stress. The most difficult thing for me was holding my position close to the pacers. I was constantly pushed back and squeezed out of position - this was very much down to my lack of race experience - things improved when I became more aggressive about holding my position or pushing through gaps.
At 5 miles I was still with the pacer, thinking that if I was still with them at 7 miles I could afford to take a full minute a mile extra to the finish and still have a personal best time, funny how the mind works at times.

The first uphill of note, Kyber Road, at about 7.5 miles, was the first sign of trouble. The pacer zoomed up the hill and despite trying to force extra revs from the ailing engine they quickly opened a gap. The hill was shorter and less severe than I had remembered, I was delighted to reach the crest only 30-40 yards behind the pacers. I hoped that over the next few miles I could kick in the turbo and gradually close the gap.

Acres Road was exposed to the wind, I was alone on this stretch looking at the tightly pack group ahead and wishing for the shelter they could give, at times I felt I was closing them down but on reflection I think the distance remained more or less constant.
A tight turn brought us alongside the football pitches.
A quick check of the systems revealed some possible problems but nothing catastrophic. I even high fived one of the kids cheering at the roadside.

Another sharp turn brought me on to Military Road.
At 9.5 miles disaster struck, the timing belt went, this brought the engine to a complete stop and although I attempted a temporary repair by moving at waking pace and forcing in the remaining fuel, the damage was done. I got the engine started again but it would only tick over at low revs. Arriving at the pit stop less that a mile further along the road, I spotted my number 1 mechanic, Christopher at the front of the line of helpers. I stopped beside him and took on some water, I think at this point the water pump was fried anyway but I continued at walking pace through the pit stop, trying not to hinder any of the other vehicles. On exiting I was again met by Christopher, I stopped to chat with him and his encouragement for me to make temporary repairs pushed me on and got me ticking over again.

The remaining 3 miles were all about getting over the line. I was nursing the wrecked engine along, been passed by a stream of others when this one passed me, to add insult to injury, as he passed his clacker valve went, resulting in an extremely long, watery fart like sound. On another day I would had commented that there should be a stewards enquiry for his effort but today I couldn't care less.

The chequered flag was long packed away by the time I crossed the line. I did manage to get one last effort in the final 200 yard but it was too little too late.
I had known that a breakdown was on the cards during this race considering the abuse the engine had sustained, especially in the previous week at Achill Roar Adventure Race and some coughing and spluttering in recent days but the sudden and catastrophic failure was a little more than I had expected.
It's nearly time for a full overhaul, one more adventure, WAR, next weekend, one more 20 mile LSR the following, then 3 glorious weeks taper for the Dublin City Marathon.

My finishing time of 1.34.58 is a personal best by 2.5 minutes, so not a total disaster but to be honest I would have liked a slightly faster result..
Time: 1.34.58
Overall position: 664
Position in category: 51

Accompanied by Sean a refueling at Ryans afterwards helped immensely. I had the pleasure of meeting a group of Boardsies there, always good to put faces to names.
A quick stop at Wheelworx on the way home to buy Christopher his first cycling shoes completed an interesting day.

Achill Roar Adventure Race 2010

2010-09-13T14:04:00.015+01:00

While tramping up a mountain on Saturday I realised I was reciting in my mind the words of the Nine Inch Nails song made famous by the late, great Johnny Cash, Hurt. "I hurt myself today to see if I still feel I focus on the pain the only thing that's real"
Although I wasn't actually in pain as such, I think it gives an indication of my mental state at that time.
I asked myself, not for the first time, why I was doing another adventure race, running, kayaking and cycling. It's not like I'm any good at them. When it comes to road running I'm a mid pack runner at best and I do OK for my age group but one of the things that I'm totally rubbish at is off road running. Going up hill is bad enough but I'm completely terrible at downhill off road running. As for kayaking, I'm more likely to swim than paddle so not exactly my strongest sport. I'm a fair cyclist, I wouldn't last 10 miles in a race, even a vets one but in these races I seem to do reasonably well in the cycling sections.
So here I was on the side of a windswept wondering what the hell I was doing, maybe I'll have an answer by the time I finish the race !

Achill Roar is the best adventure race that I've done, everything about it is incredible, the scenery, the course, the organisation, the whole setup just floats my boat. For those reasons I'd been looking forward to this event for some time.

I set off for Achill with my son on Friday afternoon, I was disappointed that my usual companion Kevin had to withdraw at the last minute. For the previous couple of weeks I would on occasions point at my back and tell Kevin that's what he would be seeing in Achill. We both knew this wasn't going to happen but I enjoyed the slagging.
We arrived at Keel on Achill after a six hour drive - the only major drawback about this event - we set up the huge 8 man tent, finishing the setup by torchlight and went to the Achill Head Hotel for race registration. We had a meal there and went back to hook up with Damo, Joyce and their kids who had just arrived in a campervan. In bed by 12 with the alarm set for 8.00 am, a much more civilised time than the 3.30 am of the Gael Force race 3 weeks previously.

The starting area was directly across from the entrance to the campsite, just a short stroll from our tent. Accompanied by Christopher,I dropped my bike over and still had time to go back to the tent to pick up a drink.
Following a briefing from one of the race organisers we were off.

A short run to the kayak stage was enough to tell me the legs were not at their best but it was early days and things change.
I was lucky to partner up with a French guy called Joe who was a strong paddler, he kept our kayak on course and if truth was told probably did the lions share of the work - thanks Joe.
Forgot to mention that when I hopped into the kayak first I was so intent on setting a good rhythm that I wasn't paying much attention to anything else until Joe said in his French accent "you 'ave your paddle backwards" DOH !!!
As we neared the finish I spotted Christopher taking photos, it was brilliant to have him there.
For some reason the kayak stage nearly killed me, as people were throwing their buoyancy aids in a pile and running off, I was leaning my hands on knees talking to Christopher. Eventually I set off at a gentle jog. I bumped into one of the Boardsies along here when I was recognised by GeoffOnTour. We exchanged a few words before he moved ahead to the next transition.

>>> Totally wrecked after kayak >>>>>

Stage 1: Kayak, run to lake and back
Time: 27.28
Stage position: 64
Overall position: 64

I went to my bike, started to put on my cycling helmet and for a moment wondered why there were so many people running out of the transition area without their bikes. It's bad enough trying to paddle a kayak with the paddle backwards but to try to get on my bike for the run stage was weird to say the least.
After a short distance the run turned onto Keel beach. My legs felt like lumps of lead, they just wouldn't move. I got pains down the outside of both shins (shin splints ?) and both calves were tight and painful. I was thinking this was going to be one long day.
I watched two people in front of me crossing a knee deep torrent flowing into the sea, wow, it looked mad, I whipped out my camera and waited for the two people behind me to pass so I could video their crossing.
A flat bog section led onto the mountain, a mixture of walking and jogging kept me going upwards. When looking at this mountain from Keel a spectacular steep cliff can be seen and if you look closely enough you can just make out the line of the track clinging above the cliffs. It was on this piece of track that I had my Johnny Cash moment. Just after this while trying to cross a small stream my left leg disappeared knee deep into a bog hole, the guy behind me called a warning to the people behind him, I was glad that there were actually people behind me.
The course went down hill for a distance and then leveled out somewhat along a short loop, this brought me to the final steep climb to the summit. I realised that my legs felt ok, although I wasn't going fast I wasn't losing as much ground to the competitors ahead.
There was a heavy shower of rain as I ascended towards the mountain top. The wind was so strong that the rain was driving horizontally. I remember looking at the rain bouncing off my left arm and thinking that short sleeves were probably not the best option but I couldn't be bothered to put a jacket on. At last I reached the checkpoint.

Stage 2: Run to summit
Time: 1.18.12
Stage position: 150
Overall position: 137

At the summit I asked a marshall to take some gels and bars from the back pocket of my bag, I just didn't want to take my bag off. I noticed the next competitor looking very hard in my direction. I caught up with him shortly afterwards and he nervously asked me if I had just had a kit inspection, I guess he wasn't carrying all his mandatory kit, bold boy.
The run to the mast access road was reasonably level if rocky and boggy, a short trot along the road then a sharp left down the mountainside. The surface was step like bog covered in short heather with the odd stony patch. I was almost enjoying myself running down this, a few slips and trips were all that happened on the descent. The ground levels off as you approach the beach.
There is a run over a section of large rounded pebbles. Last year the run over these pebbles was longer and somewhat torturous as your feet can't get a good purchase, it's a bit like running in deep, lumpy sand, totally energy sapping and after running up and down a mountain it's the last thing you would want to run on. Thank goodness it was shorter this year, just 20 or thirty yards and it was on to the beach.
There was a couple of fast running streams flowing across the beach but otherwise I found it quite pleasant. My legs were tired but moving, I actually closed the gap on some runners ahead.
I was horrified when I glanced at my watch to see that my heart rate was in the late 170's/ early 180's. This was way too high for the speed I was travelling at. I felt for the heart rate monitor strap and noticed that it had slipped a little from my chest. I wriggled it back into place and was relived to see my HR drop to a more sustainable rate 150ish.
I could see the line of runners further along the beach turning in through a gap in the dunes and towards the bike transition area. I was delighted that I didn't have run an extra out and back along the beach as we had to do last year.

Stage 3: Run from summit
Time: 35.44
Stage position: 143
Overall position: 133

I took an eternity in the bike transition. I drank what remained of the drink in my backpack, I swallowed down a nutri-grain bar, then did the strangest thing. I had run through bogs, I had been knee deep in water, my cross-trainers are Gortex lined so the hold water very efficiently so basically I was soaking wet up to my knees. While changing into my cycling shoes I struggled to maintain my balance on one leg so I wouldn't put my sock on the damp grass... I need help !!

The start of the bike stage is flatish and is followed by a few miles of up hill. I was spinning well, I took a gel and plenty of liquid, passed some other cyclists - I think most were from the shorter sports course - I was amazed to realise that I was still on the big ring as I crested the hill, at that point I should have realised that there was probably a reason for me speeding along so comfortably but I was actually enjoying myself so I didn't analyse it too intently.
I passed the turn for the sports course so if I managed to overtake anyone from this point on I would improve my overall placing. Heading for Achill Sound favoured downhill and I hit some nice speeds, I caught 3 or 4 people before the right turn off the main road. The cyclists were well strung out, I was happy to glimpse someone ahead of me, at least I was closing in on one more competitor. The road takes a sharp left and meanders along by the coast, a beautiful section, I even took some video cycling along this part of the course.
I knew that there were two steep hills ahead so I was trying to keep something in the tank. I had caught a few more bikes, one just as we turned right at a T junction. Bang, as soon as I made the turn I was hit with a wall of wind. Oh no ! There was absolutely no shelter to be found, the road twists along exposed to the Atlantic gales. Some ups and downs brought me to the base of the first of the larger climbs, some of the competitors were walking parts of this. Much to my relief it was way easier than I remembered it from last year.
A marshall was waiting at the top with a dibber receiver (electronic check point) in each hand. In a similar situation at the Sally Gap during the Wicklow Adventure Race I raised my hand with the dibber (chip worn on wrist) on it and the marshall moved to that side, when I reached him he ran alongside me, helped with the dibber and then, God bless him, gave me a big push up the hill.
The chap here wasn't as efficient so I had to stop to be sure of registering at this check point.
He told me that "there was a steep downhill coming up" For some reason I found his choice of word hilarious and with what I thought of, at the time, as rapier like wit I asked him if he meant "a steep up hill coming down". Told you my head was messed up !!

Stage 4: Bike
Time: 1.04.40
Stage position: 74
Overall position: 105

The sharp descent, with two hairpin bends, was exposed to the gusting wind. Situated in the valley between this hill and the next climb out is a narrow bridge, as I crossed this bridge the wind was blowing me sideways with such violence that I really thought I was going to be knocked off the bike, luckily I remained upright and attacked the next climb with relief. At the top of the hill the road take a very sharp left turn and once again I was into a full on gale force wind.
Pushing on as best as I could I managed to collect another couple of places. At the foot of a short, steep hill I dropped my chain while down gearing, I couldn't get it back on on the move and had to stop, loosing some momentum, otherwise, on this section I was only trying to close the gap to the next cyclists.
I came back out onto the main road just behind two cyclists both women as I soon found out. The wind was playing its part again, making every peddle stroke a grinding effort. I closed the gap to the bike ahead to a couple of yards but didn't make the final push get on the wheel. I'm not sure why, I really could have done with the shelter but in the back of my mind it smacked of cheating. I was going to finish by my own effort.
On what I knew was the final climb, the girl in front of me caught and passed the competitor in front of her, I followed soon afterwards and we exchanged a few words of encouragement.

I could see the crest of the hill, it was all downhill for the last miles to the finish. All around the bike stage I was looking forward to these last miles. Last year this was the most enjoyable section of the whole race, it was a big gear, head down hammerfest, I loved it, so this year as I crested the hill I changed to a big gear and started pushing.
I was gutted when I realised that I wasn't gathering speed, I was going downhill, pushing hard but struggling to keep going, my already tired legs were vigorously complaining about the work I was expecting of them. Damn wind !!!
It was with a sigh of relief that I swung off the main road, across a grass section and dismounted my bike at the transition area. After racking the bike I had a short run to the finish line, I didn't bother to take off my cycling shoes, I'm sure I made some sight waddling to the line. On the way I was delighted to be cheered on by Christopher and the kids.
I checked in at the finish line and wandered in to the marquee where I was given a printout with my time and splits.
I went outside to meet Christopher and the kids. Joyce joined us soon after having completed the sports course and we all waited to cheer Damo in (he had started in the wave after me).
I chatted with a few people at the finishing area and bumped into GeoffOnTour again.

Stage 5: Bike to finish
Time: 53.05
Stage position: 41
Overall position: 85

As for the question I asked myself at the start of this report.
Why do I do these things?
I still don't know, I'll leave the analysing 'till another day............

Rockford Roof Tiles 4 Mile Road Race

2010-08-28T21:48:00.003+01:00

Recently I was reminded of a football (Soccer - the real football) game that I went to watch some years ago. A Dublin team were playing a team from a village close to where I live. I knew some of the lads from the Dublin club so I wanted to go along and voice my support.
I was chatting to some of the Dubs after the came when one of them asked if I lived close by, I answered "Yeah about 5 or 6 miles that way", "Jaysus" said he said in reply "you travelled all that way to watch a match?"
Today I travelled 12 miles to a local athletics club road race. I wanted to run this race because it was the local race, 15 minutes drive, I wonder how far you can travel in 15 minutes in Dublin ?

My friend Sean made the trip from Dublin for the race. We set off from my house for the short journey, as always I enjoyed our chat on the way.
We were waved into a parking area behind the church, asked some chap in a hi viz vest the way to registration and found ourselves walking through a graveyard.
"Through a graveyard, do you think we are going the right way? " I asked Sean
"Yeah, this is where they put the losers" he replied

We popped out on the main street, we were walking to the right when I spotted numerous people going into a building behind us, so in we go a join a queue, I did notice that some of the people here looked on the young side. Turns out we nearly signed up for the under 15 1 mile race. Anyway we found the correct registration area and with only a slight hiccup when they hadn't got Seans on-line registration on file we went out for a short warm up run and once again an opportunity to have a chat catching up on the latest news.

Learning lessons from previous races I was close to the start line when starter set us on our way, I still didn't have the confidence to go right to the front line, in fairness there were some serious runners there. The usual malee ensued as we ran the first quarter mile or so. I was running along enjoying the experience, the crowd, the warm weather when someone passed me, the runner going by knocked me from my reverie, I suddenly realised I was actually in a race and not on the warm up phase of a training run, a strange time to daydream !
"Right Chris focus, why are you not breathing hard yet, this is supposed to hurt, get on with it"
I spotted Sean just ahead of me and thought to myself if I could hang on close to him for a while I'd be doing ok, he was gradually increasing the distance between us a yard at a time.
The first mile marker was painted on the road, I hit it some yards before my Garmin beeped the mile, a guy there was calling out the time, just before I hit it he calls 5 twenty something. That couldn't be right, that's way too fast. Prior to the race I had decided not to look at my watch for anything other than distance or heart rate but when it beeped the first mile I had to sneak a look ... 5.41.. 5.41 wow, my fastest recorded mile since I started running a couple of years ago. What I haven't mentioned so far is that this first mile was predominantly downhill - to be honest, I wasn't going to say anything about the hill but I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't ;-)

I was drifting off the runners ahead of me in the second mile, not by a huge amount but it was noticeable to me. In the St James Hospital 6.5k race a runner closed up behind me but took some time to get past, all the while I could hear them breathing hard, from the sound of the breathing I knew that it was a woman. The same thing happened today in the second mile, a woman's heavy breathing closing ever so slowly, getting nearer, just on my shoulder, then passing me an inch at a time. As she drew level with me I threw a sideways glance and was greeted by the sight of a hairy bloke passing me !! I wonder does he know he sounds like a woman ?

In the third mile I was running out of steam. I was trying to keep the gap to the runners ahead to a constant distance but I was slowly drifting back. I looked behind me to see a group of 4 or 5 people not far behind, some more rearward looks confirmed that they were gradually closing me down. At this point I was thinking that could be a good thing, they were only travelling slightly faster than me so when they catch up I'll just tuck in behind and hang on 'till the finish.
Ahh, the best laid schemes 'o mice and men. The first part of the plan worked perfectly, they caught and passed me, this is where the plan failed, I just couldn't increase my pace by the tiny amount to hang on with this group.

About half way through the last mile I was passed by a chap I know, we exchanged some words, he told me there was just half a mile left, I knew this but I was thinking to myself half a mile is very short, I want to hang on to him until the finish but even as I was thinking this he was drawing ahead of me. I just couldn't hurt myself, not today. My legs were tired and heavy, I guess the over 5 hours of Gael Force adventure race last Saturday was still taking it's toll. I had really hoped that I would be fully recovered, not so much for a result today but to justify sandwiching the Dublin Half Marathon (an important build up for the Dublin marathon) between two adventure races - it's going to be an interesting 3 weeks in September !

My out loud target time for this race was 26 minutes - 6.30 minutes per mile. I had resisted looking at my watch, even when I crossed the 800 metres to go marker I didn't give in to the temptation to steal a quick glance. As I ran along the finishing straight I was cheered on by Sean, who once again clocked up a cracking time and looked far too fresh for the effort required to hit these sort of times.
I was disappointed when I saw the clock at the finish line showing 26 minutes and some seconds, there goes my target time, I couldn't even muster a sprint for the last few yards. I crossed the line at about 26.21. 21 seconds over target time.

After the race I was drained, I think that if this was a 10k or even a 5 miler I would have been in real trouble, as it was the 4 miles nearly killed me :-(
I joined Sean while he was chatting to a runner from Raheny AC, they mentioned the extra yards over the 4 miles. My ears pricked up, extra distance, what extra distance? It transpired that the course is slightly over 4 miles long, maybe I did hit my target after all.

On arriving home I downloaded the info from my Garmin. My mile splits were very erratic, maybe something to work on but the information I wanted was sitting there on the top line, avg pace .......6.29 /mi. Result, (out loud) target time by 1 second per mile.

Well done to Tinryland AC for a well organised and thoroughly enjoyable race.

Gael Force West Adventure Race 2010

2010-08-23T19:07:00.008+01:00

Last years Gael Force race was my first attempt at adventure events and I had a blast so I had some idea of what to expect.

As usual for these events I travelled with my good mate Kevin. We arrived to Westport on Friday afternoon, booked into the campsite at Westport House and also booked a motorhome bay for Damo, Joyce and Susan, who were arriving later that evening. We were told we could pitch our tent (the new huge 8 man one) beside the campervan bay, which worked out well for the rest of the weekend.

Myself and Kev then headed off to Lenane to register and then on to the Delphi centre to drop off our bikes, It was all well organised and went without a hiccup.

I wanted to have a look at the new part of the cycle route, I had heard on Boards.ie that the surface was rough. As we drove along the cycle route memories were flooding back from last years event, I had thoroughly enjoyed this bike stage and was eagerly awaiting a repeat the following day.

I was totally dumbfounded when I saw the new section, who in their right mind would ride a road bike over this rubble, it was an unsurfaced bog road with nothing but loose gravel and rocks. I was lost for words and kept repeating "this is nuts, they can't be serious". I was so looking forward to the bike stage and then they go and pull this stunt, WTF. I must admit that I considered pulling out after seeing this "road", anyway it put me in bad form for a while.

The guys arrived later that evening and I brought them and out to the Delpi to drop their bikes. It was dark by the time we arrived and it was weird seeing thousands of bikes packed into two fields, I've never seen so many bikes in one place before. Then back to the campsite for a massive 4 hours sleep.

Kevin, Damo and myself were on the 5.00am bus, yes, you read correctly 5.00am. Fair play to Joyce who got up early to drop us to the bus, this saved a 30 minute walk.

Unlike last year the journey to the starting point was in total darkness. It was still dark as we left the bus to walk to the starting point.

There was a bit of craic as we waited for the off, the usual nervous pre-race tension was evident but it wasn't long before we were given a safety briefing and made our way to the starting point on the beach.

The start was a mad scramble from the beach through the dunes and onto the road, the first section was uphill so some heavy breathing can be expected, usually that settles down after a short while.

I wasn't feeling very comfortable on the run and noted that my heart rate was very high for the pace we were doing. I ran alongside Kevin on a couple of occasions, we exchanged a few words but we both had our own race to run.

The route had been changed from last year, this meant an extra 2k on the run but we didn't have to run cross-country over a hill/mountain. I hoped that the new route would be reasonably even but it was muddy and rocky, difficult to negotiate, the type of terrain that I really struggle on. I was passed by plenty of runners along here. Once I reached a stile - where last years track joins the famine path - the ground evened out somewhat, I started to get into some sort of rhythm.

I don't know why I felt so bad on the run, maybe it was the dry ham & cheese sandwich I had on the bus or the dirty big burger and chips I had for a late dinner the evening before, whatever the reason I seriously doubted that I would be able to finish the race, hours still to go and feeling like crap.
Along Killary fjord on the Famine path I began to feel somewhat better and settled in behind 2 lads at a pace that felt comfortable, I stayed with them until the kayak transition.
Stage 1 Run completed in 1.16.25

Because I started in the first wave the kayak stage was not timed out so it was grab a buoyancy aid and straight into a boat. A guy asked me to partner him, I asked him if he paddled, he said he did so I told him to take the back seat - something of a mistake I think, we zig zagged across the fjord. I was getting some mild cramp at the top of my thighs, I was praying that I wouldn't go into spasm. Despite our erratic course we made the kayak stage in reasonable time.

Stage 2 Kayak completed 9.23.

The run from the fjord to the bike transition was uneventful, with the exception of stopping when I realised my garmin watch was only displaying the actual time and not any of the other functions, this freaked me, no stop watch, no heart rate, no pace, no distance, anyway I couldn't fix it.I fell in behind the same two lads for the run into Delphi

Stage 3 Run completed 19.54

I took my time at the bike transition, getting a drink and some food while sorting my gloves, helmet etc. passed a few words with Kevin as he was heading off.

I took a steady pace, using the bike for recovery, I passed some competitors along the way, I was passed by 2 guys in a short space of time but kept in touch with them, eventually passing both again. We swapped places several times, I dropped them before the main road, I did see one of them later on Croagh Patrick, the poor chap was having trouble with cramp.

I bumped into my 2 running companions on the way and it turns out that one of them knew me from a previous job in Dublin years ago, small world.

I enjoyed the cycle until I hit the new "off road" section. I had been dreading this, I dropped into the lowest gear a peddled steadily uphill trying to pick a line through the stones, feeling the back wheel slip and slide while roughly bumping along the track was pure abuse of a road bike. The strong head wind didn't help me feel any better. Uphill was bad but the downhill was worse, how I didn't have a spill is still something of a mystery to me. There was a short surfaced section then back to the rocky stuff, this time with a gusting cross wind, that made for some bum clenching moments. To say that I was happy to reach the Croagh Patrick transition is probably the understatement of the year.

Stage 4 Bike completed 1.37.26

The options at the start of the Croagh Patrick climb are the zig zag path which is longer but less steep or head directly up the mountain to the pilgrims path which is a lung buster of a climb. This year I chose the zig zag, I managed to get to the Pilgrims path without too much heartache but then the fun started.

The path consists of various sized rocks, stones and pebbles. At times I was taking 1 step forward and sliding 1/2 step back. I was really tired, it felt like I was getting nowhere. I'd love to know how all those little old dears manage to get to the top of the mountain to say prayers. I stopped a couple of times to catch my breath but did my best to keep moving. I spotted Kevin bouncing down and got some video of his goat like descent.

At last the summit, I checked my watch and noted that it was only 6 minutes since I'd passed Kevin - not bad, certainly better than last year. I asked some bloke to take my photo then set off on the descent.

Stage 5 Run/walk/climb completed 46.28

This is the part that I'm really, really bad at. I had decided to try to get down the mountain at a reasonable speed so off I set at a slipping, sliding, hopping type of jog. That lasted all of about 100 yards before I realised that I was very likely to face plant into the rocks so I tip toed along the path until I cut off to take the shorter route back through the heather.

I had been thinking that if I saw Damo soon he would very likely overtake me on the downhill as he's a bit of a downhill junkie. Next thing I hear "Hay Casso" and there was Damo pushing up the mountain - more video here, soon to be on youtube.

The heather/bog part is like a series of steps with hidden leg eating holes again it's not exactly a favourite of mine. I angled down and across the mountainside all the while heading for the flat(ish) ground near the transition area. I was leading with my right leg, on several occasions I went over on my ankle, nothing too serious but annoying all the same, once I took a full on tumble and rolled a couple of times down the hill, before I came to a stop I was wondering if mountain rescue would be able to find me if I got the dreaded lower leg injury, anyway all was well and I made it to the road in one piece.
Stage 6 Run/slide/fall completed 31.46

On the run across the road to where my bike was parked had me feeling like my legs belonged to someone else, a really strange feeling that lasted until I got on my bike.

At last the final stage. I cycled downhill enjoying the speed but soon had to take a left turn onto the final off road section. Like the previous off road section it was a case of selecting a low gear and picking a route through the rocks and mud. At one point I was cycling along a narrow strip of grass and mud at the edge of the track just inches from a large ditch, I remember thinking to myself that if I fell to my right it would not be a pleasant experience. With some wobbling and plenty of luck I reached the top of the hill. The track was in a slightly better condition than last year and I was hoping that I may be able to cycle the remaining part but there were 2 or 3 sections on the downhill that would have been nuts to cycle on a road bike - I found out later that Damo had cycled the whole track at speed ... nutter! - I dismounted and ran these parts. Heading downhill to the last bad section I noticed a cyclist receiving medical treatment at the edge of the path, I was so in my own head that I only spared a passing glance at this poor competitor. Because the cyclist was surrounded by medical personal I only glimpsed them fitting a neck brace but I hadn't noticed any other details.
I was some yards past the accident just about to remount my bike when I had a horrible thought "could that have been Kevin" I started back up the path to try to find out, I saw a white bike - same colour as Kevin's - Jesus, that's not good. I couldn't make any details of the competitor because of the medics, then I got a glimpse of a jersey, different colour to Kevins, thank jaysus for that. Back on the bike.
Just as the track joins the road there was a group of supporters, mostly kids. I shouted as I approached them "Am I winning ? ". I had a good chuckle when one of them shouted back "Yeah, you're doing great"
Although I was now on "proper" road the surface was wet with plenty of loose gravel so I was on the brakes for most of the downhill. I was so happy to get onto the main road, nearly there now, like last year I totally enjoyed the cycle to Westport Quay.
The route change at the finish involved hopping onto a footpath, cycling along a grass/mud path and rejoining the road via a timber ramp. Just after I left the ramp another cyclist came alongside me. Oh no you don't, I stood on the peddles, got out of the saddle and did my best Sean Kelly impression, I opened a gap on the guy and pushed on to the final transition area. This was a field where I dropped my bike and headed through a gate for the final run to the finish.
What a sting in the tail. After over 5 hours of running and cycling the last thing the poor legs needed was a 800 meter run on a rough track. The finish line looked miles away. Getting closer, getting closer. At last over the line, no idea of my time since my watch had stopped working. I was pleasantly surprised to be handed a printout with my finish time and splits.
Stage 7 Cycle/short run completed 38.56

Overall time 5.20.18
Finishing position 383

I was highly annoyed that there were no sports drinks available at the finish. The entry fee is steep enough just to receive a T-shirt and water from a 1000 ltr industrial container, I even had to argue with some woman who was dispensing soup to get a cup for a drink of water. That's another thing, I don't know about other people but the last thing I want after a long race is soup.

Kevin and myself were waiting to cheer Damo on when he arrived behind us already finished. We headed off for some food and a well earned few pints, we even managed to get some sleep before we went back down to the finish line to meet Joyce and Susan. The girls had started in one of the later waves and finished together in a very impressive time.

We went into one of the local pubs for food and drink. We had a good bit of craic swapping stories from the days events and finished the night with a few beers back at the motorhome.

Decision time for me now. I can train hard for running and cycling but I'll always lose huge chunks of time on the cross-country/downhill sections. Should I practice for these and risk injury to gain some minutes or should I skip the adventure races and concentrate fully on road running with some cycling. I'll defer that decision for now but I'll have to decide soon.

St. James Hospital Liberties 6.5k Road Race

2010-07-23T21:15:00.003+01:00

A spur of the moment decision saw me head off to Dublin on a bright Thursday evening to take part in the St. James Hospital Liberties 6.5k.
An unusual distance but the course was around streets that I had travelled many times when I lived in the big smoke, I guess it had a certain nostalgic draw for me.
I had left work early to allow time to park at my parents house and run to Kilmainham to sign on before 7.00 pm for a 7.45 start time.

A call from my friend Sean offering to register me for the race and a good run through the Dublin traffic left me with enough time to have a relaxed cuppa and a chat with my folks before I set off for the 1.5 mile warm up run to the venue.
I met Sean at the entrance to the Royal Hospital, collected my number from his car, then we trotted off for a leg loosening jog.

On Saturday I'd made the mistake of starting too far back from the line, I was not going to make that error again. There was only 2 lines of people separating me from the start line when the gun went off.
The first several hundred metres were hectic with some tight corners but the crowd quickly thinned out, with the exception of a idiot cutting me off at one of the turns, forcing me to adjust my stride, it was relatively steady.

After about 1/2 - 3/4 of a mile there were about 3 or 4 of us running at about the same pace, we weren't running as an organised group, just someone would pass by and then be passed again, this went on for a couple of miles.
Despite the fact that my legs were a little tired from this weeks training and a race 5 days previously I was feeling ok for the first couple of miles. As we turned onto Patricks Street and headed towards Christchurch hill I started to feel a heaviness in my legs. I was still close to 2 other runners but a gap had opened. The distance between us remained constant up the hill - I was pleased about that - but it was stretching out along High Street, I just couldn't get the legs to move any faster.
I had decided to run by feel, resisting the temptation to look at my watch for pace readings but taking the occasional glance at the distance. I took a reflex look when the second mile beeped... 6.15 ... I'm not sure how I felt about that, it was slightly faster than I had expected but I knew I was fading.

It's brilliant that we were able to run through a capital city on a Thursday evening on closed roads. I have to hand it to the organisers, all the junctions were manned by stewarts and/or the police. There were people along the route cheering the runners on, some good craic from the lads outside the pubs.

Random thoughts can be weird, while heading towards the main gate for James hospital I noticed I was travelling along the LUAS tracks, although I hurting I found myself trying to work out how long they would have to stop the trams for, "that must be a logistical nightmare for them, it will throw the schedule out for the night" Told you it was weird...

Going through the hospital grounds I spotted a photographer I tried my best to smile, I suspect it was probably more like a horrible grimace, at least I made the effort.
Near the hospital exit I was delighted to see my dad and son cheering me on.
Son shouts "Sean has just gone past" ok, I kinda knew that as I had seen his back as he disappeared from sight shortly after the start.
My dad - or as we would say in Dublin, me da - shouts "you're about 15th"
While running up the South Circular Road I was thinking "15th, nah, that's way out" I figured he was telling me porkies to keep me motivated, I tried to work out how many places he would lie by but gave up when I realised it didn't actually matter - I did find it amusing, I must ask him next time I see him.

I could see the traffic lights ahead where we would make the right turn to Kilmainham. "Ok, just keep steady, right at the lights, down the hill, up the hill, turn right into the hospital, finish, easy"
I was listening to somebody closing up on me, a woman, I knew by the breathing. She passed me just before the traffic lights, I took the turn there really wide and lost some distance on her.
I overtook her on the uphill before the hospital entrance - she was been well cheered by the spectators, she was 3rd placed woman - I fully expected her to pass me on the finishing straight but she seemed to fade there.

On the run to the finish I had glanced behind a couple of times to check if anyone was closing but it was all clear. I was a yard from the line when a guy shot past me. I was a bit annoyed to lose a place for not checking behind me more often - another lesson learned.

I had a very enjoyable chat with Sean afterwards - he had a fantastic time and finished 14th - I was happy to have run an average of about 13 seconds per mile faster than Saturdays 5 mile race, with a finishing place of 35th. I also had my fastest ever race mile, so not a bad result for a spur of the moment race.

Nice T-shirt, good course, well organised - I'll be back next year....

Irish Runner 5 Mile Race Phoenix Park

2010-07-18T18:14:00.002+01:00

I've been so lazy about posting on this blog over the past months.
The main events that I missed posts on are:
The Carlow 150 - cycle
The Blackstairs Challenge - cycle
The Wicklow 2oo - cycle
Kilcoole 5 Mile - road run
I hope to eventually put on something about these but for now the Irish Runner 5 Mile Race is on my mind.

As part of my training schedule for this years Dublin Marathon I've recently increased my weekly mileage so I hoped to use this run to gauge what level I was at.

I ran just over 3 miles at a gentle pace for a warm up. I had been a little worried about a sore right foot when I was wearing my racing flats but it seemed fine.
I stepped over the plastic barrier into the sub 40 minutes pen and made my way towards the front. I stopped at what I thought was a fair distance from the line so I wouldn't impede the fast runners but not get caught in traffic myself... how wrong I was.

While waiting for the start I had a good look at the runners around me, I realise how deceptive appearances can be but I couldn't help thinking that it would be a stretch for some of these people to make sub 40.

The buzzer sounded and we made our way to the start line, we were packed like sardines pushing through the starting area.
I had expected the crowd to thin out as we headed down the main road but it was wall to wall fat arsed people with a high opinion of their ability.
A totally frustrating time followed trying to weave through the bodies, slow down, accelerate for a gap, stutter step to avoid tripping on feet. It made for an aggravating time when I should have been getting into a rhythm.
I had set my watch to an optimistic 6.25 min miles and despite all the weaving and pace changing I was only 10 seconds slower than target at the first mile. I knew that there was a good downhill section in the next mile along the Kyber road, I thought that I would make up a few seconds along here. Again the traffic was so heavy that I was actually dropping time on the downhill.
I was so annoyed at this point that I briefly considered giving up the race altogether.
Then weirdest thing happened, a herd of deer tried to cross the road, some made it through the runners - don't know how they did that without hitting anyone - anyway, some idiots just in front of me put their arms up and slowed down to let the rest of deer cross. These retards had several thousand people running downhill behind them, what were they thinking? I suppose they weren't actually thinking about the carnage they could have caused. I noticed that my shout of "fuck them" was greeted with some odd looks. To my mind I was in a hurry but the deer had all the time in the world. Maybe I should have kept my opinion to myself..lol

The next section was uphill, I was feeling good on the hill, although some weaving was required to avoid the runners that were going backwards, I felt strong and didn't drop any time - something of a minor miracle, the advantage of living in a hilly area.

I had hoped to get in with a group running a my pace but I spent the entire race either passing or being passed but never managed to find a shoulder to shelter behind.
I was dropping a few seconds per mile for miles 3 & 4 especially mile 4 where I dropped 19 seconds. I tried to push for the 5th mile and was doing well, I did get forced onto the kerb twice on the turn onto Chesterfield Road this really messed up whatever rhythm my little legs still had.
Despite that the last mile was the fasted average mile so I was happy with that.

I turned onto the final straight, a sign said only 400m to go. I tried to push for the line but I don't think I actually accelerated. I couldn't believe when I saw the clock at the finishing line reading 32.10. Something wrong here ? My eyes were glued to the seconds counting down on the clock 20,21,22 I crossed the line at about 32.28.
This was bang on my target time and when adjusted for the delay crossing the start line gave me a better than expected result. My watch was showing 32.01... Happy days !!!
I checked my official result later on the web 32.02 - 291 overall and 20 in category.

I was gutted afterwards to find that the course was short measured.
It was still a personal best by a long way but I'm still annoyed about the course measurement.

Edinburgh Marathon

2010-05-23T17:16:00.013+01:00

The weather in Edinburgh the day before the marathon was hellishly hot, not for sunbathing or sitting in a chair reading a book but for distance running.

I was delighted on race day to open the curtains to a dull and overcast day, there was even a shower of rain as I had breakfast.

Everything about the morning was relaxed, both myself and Sean had our gear sorted the previous night, our pre-booked taxi arrived on time and the starting area well organised.

I had pretty much given up on any decent time for Edinburgh, my training has been, what's the technical term, ah yes, shite. I had decided weeks previously that I would just run as steadily as possible and hope the the total collapse wouldn't be too early in the race - one of my last 20 mile LSR's saw my legs stop working at 10 miles and the shortest route home took another, very ungraceful, 4 miles - in my defence I had done plenty of cycling and some kayaking that week but the feeling of an early, as the kids might say, epic fail was still very much in my head.

The start didn't seem to be as packed as the Dublin marathon so I happily trotted along at a comfortable pace. I was surprised to note that the first mile was nearly 1 minute faster than I had expected, this can happen at the start with all the excitement runners can set off too fast.
Ok, so I've been here before, I have a some experience, I know enough to expect the first mile to be fast but I needed to get into my own pace soon.

The second mile was fast again, I'll settle down soon..
The third mile still faster than target... slow down..
Over the next number of miles my mental conversation went something like this.

"Slow down Chris, you're going too fast"

"Yeah, but you feel good"

"You're going too fast, you'll collapse soon"

"Keep going at this pace for another few miles, it feels ok"

"You haven't done the training"

"Ahh shut up, you're doing grand"

"For fuck sake you know the wheels will fall off sooner if you keep this up"

"Put a few minutes in the bank for when the wheels fall off"

"Slow down, SLOW DOWN"

This went on for some miles, all the while I was running at a pace that would give me a personal best time, the funny thing was that it was not as fast as I had run Dublin but I hit the wall at 20 miles in Dublin and knew that it was very likely to happen even sooner today.

I have some markers that are important for me during a marathon - 5, 10, 13, 16, 20 miles. I'm not sure why but I think that they are mental milestones in my training.

5 miles is the exact distance around the block from my house - my default training route.
At 5 miles I was way too fast for my predicted pace but I was planning to slow down.

10 miles another standard training distance.
I was going better than expected. I started doing the maths for possible finishing times, I did know that it was a moot exercise but it kept my mind busy for a few minutes.
For the first 10 miles there seemed to be a constant stream of people passing me, on more than one occasion I questioned whether I was just too slow, if I didn't have the garmin I think that I would have been inclined to try pick up the pace.
I set 13 as my next target, just 3 miles 'till then and I would be on the homeward stretch, this was better than the other little voice in my head telling me there was still over 16 miles to go.
I think that is was around the 10 mile mark that I started to notice the heat, the sun was now at full belt and the was nowhere to hide from it.
From this point on at the water stations I grabbed a bottle of water and a sports drink if they were available, I drank the sports drink and poured the water over my head.
I felt guilty afterwards when I heard that they ran out of water for the later runners.

13, well 13 is just about half way, it's all homeward bound after that, I was still faster than my predicted time at the 13 mile mark.( I checked since and found that my time here was almost identical to Dublin 09 - that was a surprise, I thought I was going much slower today)
I was expecting something of a major collapse soon.
The course from Musselburgh Race Course (about mile 9) is out and back along the coast road.
Somewhere between miles 13-15 we met the lead runners heading for home on the opposite side of the road. Fair play to the runners who clapped and cheered the leaders as they passed.
I had been running close to the shelter of the hedgerow on the right side of the road but when I saw the lead runners I moved to the centre line in the hope of seeing Sean. As I moved out I was telling myself that I wouldn't see him for ages, I tried to work out a time that he might pass but I quickly gave up - too many variables. Much to my surprise, just a few minutes later I saw a runner that looked like Sean, nah, that couldn't be him, way too soon. Wow, that's him alright, looking relaxed and running smoothly.
I took a half step across the white line and waved, he didn't see me. I knew he was running a sub 3 time so I debated whether to call out or not, I was worried that if he was "in the zone" I may upset his rhythm. What the hell, everyone gets a kick from having their name called out, don't they? "Go on Sean M__" roared across the road was greeted with a wave and a "Christy"
One of the most enjoyable moments of this marathon was to see Sean at this point running so well.
Since the half way point at 13.1 miles I had been losing 10 or 12 seconds per mile, this didn't bother me as I was still faster that I had planned/expected and I actually felt ok.

16 leaves 10 miles to go (10.2 to be exact), 10 mile runs are easy (that's what I was telling myself). The race turned sharp right up a side road, another out and back section.
My legs felt tired along the outward route, I felt like I was substantially slowing up. Here we go, the legs fall apart at 16 miles, I was hoping for a couple of miles more before the wall but, hey, what can you expect with such poor quality training. Up the road I reached the turning point and set off along the opposite side of the road. It took me a minute or two to realise that I was running downhill, woohoo, the tiredness on the other side of the road was because I was running uphill, how the hell did I not notice a hill ?
I turned into Gosford House (country estate) at mile 17. It was from here on that I noticed the ever increasing number of people walking. I was only being passed by the occasional runner but passing plenty. This continued all the way to the finish. I wondered how many of these had flown past me in the first 10 miles.
I continued to drop 10 - 20 seconds per mile but I still felt fine.

20 is where it can all fall apart - it certainly did in the Dublin Marathon 09 - It leaves 10k - 6.2miles, the hardest miles of the entire marathon.
I had in my mind that if I was still running at 20 miles I would try to increase the pace as best I could for the last 6.2 miles. It dawned on me that 6 miles sounds like a short distance in the context of a 26 mile race but in reality it's still a long distance to run. I was due a gel at 22miles so I revised my target to this. Just as well, by the time I hit 22 the tank was empty, I was getting slower and slower. I have now added another mental marker - 23 miles

Miles 23 to the finish were the longest miles I have ever run. The crowds were fantastic, cheering, handing out sweets & orange segments, using hoses and water guns to cool down the runners but for me this was all in some other world. I could only think about how far was the finish. 2.9 miles, 2.8 miles, 2.7 miles, ah no, the garmin is usually slightly long for the marathon courses, how much longer. .1, .2 of a mile, more? I couldn't remember how much longer, all I knew was that every .1 of a mile extra was going to hurt. I was getting some tightness in both upper legs near the groin and the odd dart in my left glut. (arse cheek) Don't cramp now, please, please don't cramp now, not so close to the finish.
The route was alongside Musselburgh race course, in the distance I could see the buildings that were by the main entrance to the course - we had passed this on the way out - Ahh no, it couldn't be all that distance to the finish, I really thought we were well into the last mile. Suddenly, on a lamppost appeared the most beautiful sign I had ever seen, the 26 mile marker. Only .2 of a mile to go, I'm going to make it. The organisers had one cruel surprise for the runners. The last 150-200 metres (may not have been that distance but it felt like it) to the finish line was on rubber mats, running on this felt like running on a trampoline, sods!
Along the finishing straight was lined with photographers. When I see a camera I try to make a bit of an effort to smile or at least look like I'm not suffering - vanity is a terrible thing - not this time, I couldn't muster the energy to take the grimace off my face as all the photos I saw later prove.

I crossed the line in a better time than I had expected and with the extreme heat and an out and back course it was certainly a great learning experience.
Could I have run faster?
Absolutely not on the day, I was totally spent at the finish but it was a kick in the arse for me to sort out the quality of my training. If I can be less than 3 minutes outside my PB in such hot conditions without proper training and carrying at least 5kgs extra, what could I do if I prepared properly.

I was woddling to the exit sending some "I made it" texts when my phone rang, it was Sean, he was still on site near the baggage collection so I staggered off in that direction. I found him sitting in the shade of a truck, listening to a live band, drinking a beer, freshly showered and changed, all in all looking very calm and relaxed.
Not bad for a guy who had just run a 2.54 marathon and finished 45th overall, not bad at all !!!

Edinburgh is a beautiful city, by far the best UK city that I've seen.
The marathon was well organised, there were plenty of well spaced water stops, the weather was out of the organisers hands.
The route was enjoyable, the out and back on the same road has it's pros and cons but I was ok with it. The only worry I would have about the course is that it would be very exposed on a windy day.

I think I will be back to Edinburgh.......

Mount Leinster Challenge

2010-05-17T12:05:00.004+01:00

The Mount Leinster challenge last year was on a miserable, windy, rainy day and I cycled most of it solo.
It was such a pleasure to arrive to this years event in glorious sunshine.
The crowd was much larger than last year - somebody mentioned about 350 cyclists.
I signed in, grabbed a quick cup of coffee and joined the pack at the start line.

There is a neutralised start to the event, so the first 4 or 5 miles were at a nice steady pace. I had a relaxed chat with some of the guys along the way. I was wearing my Boards.ie gear and that encouraged fellow boardsies to introduce themselves.
I was surprised to notice the the group stayed together well after the neutralised start. I was delighted with this as I had plenty of shelter and although the pace was reasonably fast I was totally comfortable.

The peloton (group) - I'm watching too much European cycling - was particularly twitchy, with several bouts of sudden braking for no apparent reason.
The peloton took up the full width of the left side of the road and sometimes a bit of the other side too, so we were riding at least 3 abreast, often more. I was spinning along nicely on the inside - nearest the verge - when the guy in front of me crashed - I think he was trying to avoid a pothole - anyway, I watched him hit the road inches from my front wheel, at this point I had a vision of a mass pile up with me at the bottom of it, usually when a rider falls in such a tightly packed bunch there is a domino effect and several riders hit the deck. I'm not sure how I managed to avoid him without hitting the guy to my right or catching a wheel of a bike behind me but more by luck than design I squeezed past him. I met him later and both himself and the bike were ok.

The main group was still together when we arrived at Bagenalstown. We came to an unexpected stop on the way out of the town - guys scattered everywhere to take a pee, I've never seen so many lycra clad guys pissing with such abandon - traffic was parked on both sides of the road due to a funeral, we moved, stopped, moved stopped, eventually squeezing between the lines of parked cars and the line of cars heading in our direction up the hill. I nearly fell off the bike
with laughter when I reached the last car heading up the hill and saw that it was bonnet to bonnet with the first car in a long line of cars heading down the hill. Total gridlock, man.
The parked cars had a good number of UK registered cars and there were plenty of vans advertising paving and tarmac. I suspect all the pubs in Bagenalstown were closed for the day ;-)

I caught the main group before Fenagh and we all headed through Myshal, then the fun started.
We turned left for the first uphill section to the Corrubut gap, it's quite short and not particularly steep but some guys seemed to be struggling already, it was going to be a tough day for some.
A sharp right caused some problems because of loose gravel, rear wheels were spinning out, I thought I was going to have a spill there but just managed to stay upright. I heard that a few people came a cropper there. It wouldn't have taken a great effort for the organisers to have swept the corner.

The longer steep section to the Gap is a real lung buster, one guy I passed near the start must really love hill climbing, he decided to make the climb twice as long by zig zagging from one side of the road to the other.
I passed my mate Lar who was stopped half way up, taking off his jacket because he was too warm - too warm, yeah right !!!
After the descent from Mount Leinster I hooked up with Lar and Sean from Naas Cycling club and a couple of other lads and we stayed together into Kiltealy for the food stop.

The food was excellent, sandwiches, cakes, sausages and other goodies restored the blood sugar levels. At this point last year most rider decided because of the terrible weather to only do the short route, so I ended up doing the second loop over Mount Leinster on my own, not very pleasant in those conditions.
Lar suggested that I set off with the Naas lads, I must admit I was delighted with the company. We headed off in a small group of about 8 or 10 riders, we caught up with a few of the Slaney lads - more shelter - but seemed to lose them after a short while.

In Bunclody we turned left for the second climb to the Corrubut Gap, this time from the opposite side. From this direction the ascent is longer, with two steep climbs but not as tough as from the Myshall side. Riders started to drop off as soon as we started to ascend and I found myself with 2 of the Naas guys. I just sat in behind them, I didn't really have the legs to do any work with them, but in fairness they seemed pretty comfortable.
We turned at the Gap and headed for Mount Leinster (the nine stones) normally this a handy enough climb but my legs were starting to get tired, if the lads had accelerated even slightly I would have been dropped.

My longest spin this year was about 60 miles and that was at a snails pace, so after about 60-65 miles I was feeling drained. I was in a group of 8 or 9 heading back towards Kiltealy when I did something that I don't think I ever did before, I skipped my turn at the front. I was a bit disgusted with myself but reckoned I wouldn't be able to hold on to the group if I had taken my turn...sorry lads.

We lost some of the lads after Kiltealy and once again I found myself been dragged along by the two Naas guys. I have to say that if it wasn't for the lads the last miles would have been torture but as it was we picked up another rider on the way and the four of us finished together.

I was totally knackered at the finish, however, it was a good day, sunshine,nice food, good climbs and some very enjoyable company.
I'm looking forward to the next sportive.

Wicklow Adventure Race - WAR

2010-04-19T19:32:00.009+01:00

I wonder when in the future I reflect on this race what will my memories be.

Will I remember the beautiful sunny day, the well organised and marshaled event, the stunning course, the fantastic atmosphere and mad craic.

I suspect the more likely is that I will remember the twisted ankle, falling on the Miners track, puking, falling off my bike and the debilitating stomach cramps.... what a day !!!!!!

The race started in Glendalough at the upper lake with a short run to the steps/boardwalk that ascend the Spink. I knew this was going to be extremely tough and had no intention pushing hard this early. This is max heart rate territory but I tried to keep steady away. My only worry was that because of the narrow board walk I would hold others up but I had a few words with the lads behind and they were happy with the pace.

Plenty of gaps behind me...

I was happy that there were still plenty of people behind me at this stage.

I'm not great on downhills. I thought I was going reasonably well but I could hardly believe how easily I was passed by some of the others - maybe my little legs are not designed for running down rocky mountains !!

On the last rocky section before the miners village I let out an involuntary expletive as my left ankle twisted under me, I thought I had wrecked it but kept going in the hope that it wasn't totally ruined, it was noticeable for the remainder of the day but didn't have a negative effect, much as I would like to claim it did.

At last, off the rocks and on to the gravel track. I was very conscious that I had lost a lot of ground, I was reminding myself that the first bike stage was only a few miles away, when I managed to trip over a small rock sticking from the track and went sprawling along the road, as I picked myself up and trudged on, the thought occurred to me that in all the months running in the dark I'd never had more than a slight stumble, what timing for my first fall.

I finish the section with 2 girls and a guy called John.

I totally faffed about in the first transition taking over 5 minutes to get my bag and bike sorted. I wasn't worried at this point as I knew there was still a long day ahead.

It was on this first bike stage that I realised all was not as it should be. I had been really looking forward to the bike, I had ridden most of the route on the two previous Sundays and I was confident of doing a reasonable time, I knew I wasn't going to compete with the real cyclists and tri-athletes but, hey, I could push out a decent time.

A few miles into the stage I was passed by some "real" cyclists, normally when this happens I would put on a bit of power and try to grab a wheel, get some shelter for as long as possible, today however, I had no power, jaysus, where are my legs.

Anyway still a long way to go maybe things will improve.

Transition 2. Rack the bike and run along a track towards Lough Dan, grab a buoyancy aid and head for the kayaks - the short run here felt odd, I put it down to running straight off the bike, something I haven't done before.

The Kayaks were 2 person sit on tops, I paired up with a guy called Keith, he had no kayak experience and was running the Belfast marathon in 2 weeks time so he wasn't pushing himself too hard, this suited me fine. We had a very pleasant chat and a gentle paddle around the course.

Back on the bike, there is steep climb from Lough Dan, again I could only spin along with no speed, at least I wasn't dropping places here.

The next climb to Lough Tay is tough, In my mind it's broken into 4 sections, a drag followed by a slightly flatter few yards followed by another drag, then you turn the right hand bend and "shit" a 10% climb disappearing into the distance, there is a slight leveling off before the last short sharp climb.

On the first part of the climb I was spinning up and hoping to close the gap to the 4 or 5 riders strung out along the road ahead, I wasn't doing too well when one of the guys got off his bike and started to push it up the hill.

Oh yeah, at least I'll have him.

I couldn't believe it when he got to the flatter section, remounted his bike a continued on his way, I was still no closer to him... What's going on...how slow was I going ??

My stomach was feeling a bit dodgy, especially since transition 1, where I swallowed down a bottle of sports drink in two large gulps but I thought I would just work it off.

I was on my way up the 10% section when I was overcome by a sudden and uncontrollable wave of nausea - I could understand if I had been pushing hard but I was only spinning and barely even breathing hard - I had to lean off the bike and puke, I managed to unclip my foot and stop. I dismounted, leaned against the stone wall and had another look at my breakfast.

Ahh well, at least things can't get any worse.

I was a bit pissed off by the amount of competitors that passed me while I was getting sorted. Maybe this had something to do with me attempting to remount my bike on a 10% mountain. What was I thinking? I clipped in my right shoe, pushed off, tried to clip in my left, failed miserably, foot slipped and I promptly fell. I think I hit the road with my right shoulder and rolled onto my back to break the fall, as I watched my wheels lift into the air I remember thinking "Chris, you're a fucking idiot"

Idiot or not I tried once more to remount before I copped on that it would be so much quicker and safer to walk the short distance to the top of the hill... doh !!

Ahh well, at least things can't get any worse.

Transition 3 led to the run to Djouce mountain and White hill.

I suppose that it was here that things did get worse.

I had run a couple of hundred yards up the track when I was doubled over with stomach cramps, I was heaving but had nothing left to bring up. This repeated several time over the next miles. I was totally drained.

I seriously considered abandoning, I convinced myself that if I could make another mile or two it would be easier to finish that backtrack to the transition area.

I didn't even bother to keep ahead of people at this stage, if anybody came close behind me I would just step out of the way and let them pass.

There was a guy sitting on a chair in the sun half way up the mountain- I have to say he looked very comfortable - he had a large first aid kit beside him. I asked if he had anything for the stomach cramps, we chatted briefly and I ended up sitting on the grass beside him for 5 or 10 minutes drinking dioralyte and having a nice chat - thanks Wayne from Wicklow Mountain Rescue.

I just plodded along as best I could for the remainder of the run/walk and continued to step aside if anyone got close.

All thought of a decent time had gone out of the window a long time ago, now it was just a case of getting home.

The last stage was a cycle back to Glendalough.

I really was just plodding along but I couldn't be bothered to try to go any faster.

I ended up behind a girl who would attack the downhill but struggle on the uphill. I passed her on the steep uphill to the Sally gap, I offered her a wheel but I actually couldn't go any slower and I lost her. I knew that I would see her again soon enough.

The check point at the Sally Gap was brilliant, we had to a small stick like object - worn on a wrist band - into the checkpoint monitors at various points on the course, these had all been fixed on poles in the ground. As I approached Sally Gap I could see a guy with a checkpoint pole, when I realised what it was I held up my right arm, he moved out onto the road as called out "keep peddling" he ran along side me, checked me in and then, best of all gave me a big push - thanks mate.

Not long after the turn for Laragh I noticed a rider closing on me, at this point I was only interested in getting to the finish, I didn't care if I was passed or if I passed someone. I wasn't surprised to see it was the girl from Sally Gap. She was trying really hard, I hope she got the time she wanted.

The only other thing of note on the road to Laragh are the few sections of gravel in the steep descent from Glenmacnass, the previous week some of these were dodgy but the traffic had bedded a lot of the gravel, however, I was still taking it handy on those bits. I was surprised to find a guy flying by me, with one foot off the peddle, he managed to stay upright although I don't fancy his chances in the future.

The bridge into Glendalough caused me a moment of excitement. I swung left and was forced to take the right wide because of a car coming in the opposite direction, a combination of the narrow road, loose gravel and the car caused me to nearly run into a bloke walking along the road, I did shout, well, I think it was more of a "ohhhh shit" he managed to hop out of the way but the woman behind him had a total panic attack and grabbed her kid behind her to protect the child from the mad cyclist.

I actually strolled from the dismount area and into the bike rack area at the finish. I'm not sure if it was because I didn't care or I was so tired. I did make a effort to run the last twenty yards to the finish line but I still had time to take out the camera for some video and then give it to Kev to take some photos before I crossed the line.

The event was fantastically well run, the course and weather were perfect, everything was in place for a great race.

On the day things went disastrously for me, I will have to work out why that happened before the next adventure race because I will not put myself through something like that again if I can help it.

A lot of soul searching went on out on the course but more is needed.

To finish on a more positive note, I'm still smiling...

The pleasure of riding Alan

2010-02-16T19:24:00.003Z

I managed to ride Alan twice at the weekend and a couple of quickies yesterday and today. It's so long since I had a good ride that my nether regions were a little tender afterwards. Despite the soreness it was mostly enjoyable.

"Oh dear" I hear you say "has Chris gone to the other side?"

The answer is yes but not totally, I'm still running but I started cycling again at the weekend.

Thanks to the generosity of my friend Sean, who gave me a lovely bike frame and with the addition of scrounged and salvaged parts I managed to put a nice machine on the road.

The plan is to kit out my other bike with mudguards and pannier rack to use for commuting to and from work.

I'm hoping that the extra miles on the bike will help my general fitness and therefore make the running faster or at least easier.

This is Alan before the stem was replaced with a flat one and bottle cages were added. >>>

Pretty or what ??

I have been getting in some miles road running but the pace has been really slow on most sessions. I have yet to do proper speed or tempo work. I expect to do my first tempo session this week but I am not looking forward to it, I know it will hurt !!!

Time is running short with Wicklow Adventure Race and the Edinburgh Marathon fast approaching. Time to really get the finger out and HTFU..

Training, Events & A Film Premiere

2010-01-28T19:35:00.006Z

This the second (and last) week of my pre-marathon training (read easy!) was interrupted by a most enjoyable event.

Myself, wife & son attended the premiere of Peter Jacksons new movie, The Lovely Bones, starring the fantastically talented Saoirse Ronan.

We arrived early afternoon to the Ronans hotel and dropped Christopher there to have his hair cut by Saoirses hairdresser - thanks Conor - and Bernie and yours truly headed off to our hotel. After booking in we had a short stroll through the streets, where I was able to get some fantastic tea (Chinese blackcurrant and a Ceylon) from a great retailer in the Georges street arcade.

A quick bite to eat and into our finery.

What should have been a short walk to the cinema turned into a taxi ride because of Bernies shoes (we'll say no more about that!).

There was already a crowd gathered outside the barriers that protected the red carpet. we went in and collected our invitations.

We met up with some friends from Dublin and Carlow and went back outside to have a laugh at some z-listers posing for the cameras and throwing shapes along the red carpet.

Turns to mate "who's she?"

Mate turns to his wife "Dunno, hay love, who's she?"

Mates wife "Erhh, I think she's from such and such a show"

"Oh OK"

"Jaysus, she has a face like boiled shite"

"Who's he?".......

Saoirse arrived, the photographers and TV cameramen went nuts trying to get the best shots. I found it all a bit surreal especially seeing my own son walk in with the entourage.

Saoirse handled all the fuss like the total pro that she is and we all wandered in to take our seats while she conducted more interviews.

An introduction by Ryan Tubridy and a few words by Saoirse preceeded the movie.

I'm not going to attempt to be a movie critic here but suffice to say it was BRILLIANT and topped off by outstanding performances by Stanley Tucci as the baddie and especially Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon.

Afterwards we ajourned to a club for a few drinks and a right bit of craic. We were so well looked after.

The conversation more than once came around to the idea of a bunch of lads from Carlow and northside Dubs - I excluded myself as I'm actually from the southside ;-) - in the VIP section of an exclusive club knocking back drink and food served by waiters while a bunch of posh dudes couldn't get passed the bouncers. WTG the lads.

A late finish and an early start but what a extraordinary night.

As for the training, well, I'm still plodding away on the dark roads, really slowly but at least I'm getting a few miles in.

Return of the prodigal

2010-01-19T20:26:00.005Z

The return of the prodigal sod.

At last I've managed to get off my lazy, ever increasing arse. I really should have started training for the Edinburgh marathon 2 weeks ago but the weather gave me an excuse to eat more crap washed down with more cold beer.

So when I went for my first run of 2010 I could feel every extra wobbly kilo.

I have never started a training schedule from such a poor fitness base, it's going to be an interesting few months.

I went for a gentle 6 mile run on Saturday. When I say "gentle" what I actually mean is really slow. I wasn't comfortable at any stage and was worried about the amount of catching up I have to do in the coming months.

Sunday was a slightly faster but still very, very slow 5 miles and Monday I managed another 5 miler, again at an easy pace as I also had to contend with the dark night and poor visibility through fog patches - I have months of night runs to look forward to if I want to have any chance of doing Edinburgh.

I have also managed to get a 30 minute turbo training session on the bike each day since Saturday, although these have been very easy at least I'm getting the old legs spinning and the flabby arse used to the saddle.

My plan is to do another week or so of easy/gentle miles before I start into my formal training programme and also to increase the intensity of the turbo bike sessions - I really need to get a cadence monitor - I need to structure the sessions too.

I know it won't get any easier but maybe I'll get faster

Great Video

2009-11-27T18:37:00.006Z

Great Video

Takes a while to load but worth the wait ....

This is me ---------------->>>>>

Why has my belt shrunk ?

2009-11-24T17:17:00.010Z

It has been very quiet the past few weeks training wise, in fact, it has been quiet generally.
The problem is that I'm enjoying the freedom of a reduced training schedule far too much.

Last weekend as the rain lashed against the windows I spent most of Saturday and Sunday stretched out on the sofa reading novels and watching mind numbing TV.
To make matters worst I was also eating total crap, tasty but not good for the waistline.

I haven't bothered to renew my gym membership yet so I get to lie on for an extra hour and a half in the mornings.
On the plus side I have had some evening runs in the dark but that came to an abrupt halt when the weather turned so bad that the volume of debris blown onto the roads made it too dangerous to run in the dark.
The torrential rain caused puddles that are rather uncomfortable to run through. A minor complaint, I know, when you see the massive damaged caused by flooding through the country recently.

I'm trying to justify all this laziness by saying that I need recovery time after the Dublin marathon (yeah, HTFU) and I'm working out my training schedule for next years events, although why that stops me running after work I'm not sure.

On a completely different matter, one of those "things" in "Training, Events & Things"
I recently went to the opening of Woodlands Falconry at Rathwood in County Carlow, a venture undertaken by a very good friend of mine Tommy Byrne.
He has been a falconer for many years and was earning his living as a scarecrow, when he decided that there was a need for a top class birds of prey centre in Carlow and he was going to set one up.
After many months/years of meetings and discussions, a huge amount of research, the scouting of suitable sites and the total collapse of the Irish economy (not his fault) everything was in place for the business venture to officially start.

Helen McInerney from Nationwide arrived early to film for a January issue of the show.
A group of press photographers came next.
The real excitement started when Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan made her appearance. Saoirse posed for photos with various birds and then, to a rousing cheer, she performed the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon.
Tommy and crew had put on a fantastic spread of food and wine, the weather gods smiled and the large crowed enjoyed the festivities.

I have to say that this centre is well worth a visit for anybody with even a passing interest in wildlife and of course there is the opportunity to have your photo taken with a Golden Eagle....

Owl photo by Nathan Byrne aged 7

What's next

2009-11-17T19:25:00.002Z

Over the past few week I've been wondering what events I should plan for in 2010.

At this point I hope to be attempting:

2 Marathons
Edinburgh Marathon
Dublin City Marathon

3 Adventure races
Wicklow Adventure Race
Gael Force
Achill Roar

5 - 6 Cycling sportives
including but not exclusively
Wicklow 200
Carlow 150
Sliabh Bloom Challenge
Humpy 100
Sean Kelly Challenge

Various shorter running races,
including the Adidas series
I also want to try some mountain races next year

God knows what else !!
I'm toying with the idea of trying the Liffey Descent if I can get in enough kayak training

In conversation recently with my friend Sean he quoted one of his previous managers "We can do anything but we can't do everything".
I have had a fantastic time since I was talked in doing the Dublin Marathon in '08. I think my introduction to road running was a little unusual in that my first road race was a marathon but since that first run I've fancied having a try at anything.
I'm having the problem now of having to prioritise, I want to do everything, I really, really want to do everything but what can I fit into my lifestyle?

So, the bottom line at the moment is that I will target the marathons as priorities but I will fit in the adventure races as a close second. What I mean by that is that I will not have an easy week before or a recovery week after the adventure races but I want to push hard during the events.

The cycling sportives are extremely enjoyable and made all the more so by having the chance to train and take part in these events with one of my best friends, Big Al Mc and they are invaluable training for the adventure races.

The mountain races will help with the adventure races and if I can work it right they will also help with the marathon training.

The next step is to put together a training schedule that will suit my goals and lifestyle and hopefully inprove my fitness and results.

As for the kayaking, well, that's something I just want to do.......

Crookstown Motorway 10k

2009-11-08T13:21:00.002Z

At times I wonder what goes on in my head when it comes to sports goals.
Just 12 days after a tough run in the Dublin marathon I fancied my chances of a - by my standards - fast 10k run. I don't know why I thought I could do this, I had a 2 week taper before Dublin and only ran 5 - 6 easy runs after, none of these were more than 4 miles, also my nutrition hasn't been the best, I haven't weighed myself lately but my belt is telling me all is not well.

I arrived at the race by a rather circuitous route having failed to read the directions properly, for awhile I feared that I would be too late to collect my race number but I needn't have worried, I certainly wasn't last to collect a number.

After a warm up it was onto the start line. The race started about 10 minutes late and although the weather was cold, wet and windy I was ok as I wore an extra t-shirt, track top and hat and only took these off seconds before the start.

I ran the Adidas series in the Phoenix Park earlier this year, this consisted of a 5 mile, a 10 mile and a half marathon. I managed to run each one of these better than the last so maybe this is where my inflated opinion of my ability to run the 10k faster the the 5 miler came from.

The first mile was bang on target but even at this early stage I knew that I wasn't going to sustain the pace. I dropped 12 seconds in the second mile and a further 19 in the third.
The turn around point was along a gravel track, across a bridge and back down onto the opposite side of the motorway. There was a timing mat at the half way point, I hit this at single seconds over 22 mins.
A sub 45 would still be possible if I could maintain a decent pace and not drop more that 1 minute more that the first half.
To be honest I didn't think this would be possible as I was feeling tired and when I hit the head wind on the exposed road I reckoned that was the end of a sub 45.
I was passed by a number of people in miles 4 and 5, I didn't even attempt to hang on to any of these runners, I just kept trying not to drop too much more pace.

With just over 1km to go I was overcome by a wave of nausea, this was completely out of the blue, I still can't explain the cause but the result was that I discovered that a concrete motorway dividing barrier is the perfect height for me to lean over. I resumed running for another few yards and had to stop again.
I lost numerous places stopping like that and I tried in the remaining km to regain some of these lost places.
Within sight of the line I closed up behind another runner, I was very much in a world of my own but he caught my eye when he started to speed up so I couldn't pass him. I had one of those will I, won't I moments but the thought of a sprint at that point wasn't worth the extra place... maybe next time !!

I crossed the line in 81st place at 45.42.
I am disappointed with the result but comforted slightly by the fact that I was not fully recovered from the Dublin marathon and if I wasn't forced to stop I would have at least hit the sub 45.
Oh! nearly forgot it was also a PB

It's a real pity that that race was a one off.

Lazy days

2009-11-03T16:18:00.004Z

I've done very little since the Dublin marathon except eats loads of tasty - bad for me - things and drink a few delicious pints of Guinness

I can already feel my belt getting tighter ....Ohh dear !!!

I did absolutely nothing on the 2 days following the marathon - except walk like John Wayne - and on Thursday I went for a very gentle 3 mile run.
I did this run just after dark, a first for me. I had always considered the idea of running along unlit country roads to be the realm of nutters. Reading the blog accounts of Thomas who regularly runs in the dark encouraged me to have a go. To be honest the jury is still out on whether it is just for nutters, although lunatics may be more appropriate as apparently it is fine to run in full moonlight.

It was raining as I headed out, with my bright yellow jacket and head torch - I only used the torch to flash at cars as there was still enough residual light to see the road surface - I even put a reflective armband on each leg in the hope that they would make me more visible to motorists, these only lasted yards as they just kept slipping down my legs and annoying me.
The run turned out to be remarkably pleasant, despite the rain, but in fairness it was still very mild, so I would expect it will not be so easy in the cold weather.

Sean (yes, Sean the sub 3 marathoner) came to visit for the weekend so some extra pints were had (all Seans fault ;-) ). We had a slow, gentle run on both Saturday and Sunday. These were run at a very relaxed pace.
I do all my training alone and I suppose that at times I enjoy the solitude but those runs at the weekend were all the more pleasurable for the good company.

I will try some more after dark runs this week to prepare, well to be slightly more prepared for Saturdays 10k run at Crookstown. I am looking forward to finding out how much the marathon has taken out of my legs

and then the wheels fell off ...

2009-10-28T17:22:00.007Z

The Dublin City Marathon was not one of my finest events this year.

The day started well enough, I arrived in plenty of time, the weather was perfect and although there were over 12,000 people there I even managed to bump into my friend Sean.

I went to the sub 3.30 pen early enough so that I was close to the start line. As the starting time drew closer all gaps filled as competitors pushed towards the front. This was the first year that pacing groups were organised, the pacers were going to wear large balloons, these were visible floating somewhere close to the start line and with a few minutes to go they could be seen moving back through the crowd but not before one of the 3.30 balloons floated off into the sky.
I noticed the guy beside me keeping a close eye on the balloons, he had a worried look on his face and I said to him "I bet you're looking for a 3.30"
"Yeah" he said "and it's too packed to get back to them"
I was thinking the same myself and I'm sure I also had the same worried look too.
I did manage to get back to the pacers just before the race started.

It was a mad house at the start, trying to keep with the pacers while avoiding runners running at various speeds made for an interesting first mile or two.

When things settled down I started to find a reasonable rhythm but noticed that my calves especially the right one felt tight. It's not unusual for me to feel some discomfort for the first 5 miles of a run so I was sure that I would feel better after the 5 mile marker. Oh, how wrong I would be.

Through the Park, Chapelizod, Kilmainham, on to the South Circular Road and towards Dolphins Barn I was holding the correct pace but I just didn't feel right. It's hard to put my finger on it, I just felt "heavy" for want of a better word, no spring in my step. Even at this early stage I was thinking that I would be struggling later but I was hoping that maybe, just maybe I would find a nice rhythm and cruise to the finish.. Yeah, right !!!!

See my mam, dad and son at Dolphins Barn was brilliant and in a well planned move I collected some gels from my son.
Along the Crumlin road, a section many people hate, I found it ok as it used to be home territory and I was looking out for familiar faces (didn't see any) it passed the time anyway.

I had a chat with a guy who was doing his 8th marathon and was striving to get an elusive 3.30.
We parted company along Walkinstown Road just before the 13.1 mile mat. I was to see him several time during the remaining miles, I know that he didn't get his time, hopefully he'll get it next time. My time at the 13 was bang on and I was still within yards of the yellow balloons.
Fantastic crowds along the route, Walkinstown roundabout was packed with cheering supporters.
Heading along Cromwellsford Road I was flagging when I heard my name called by Seans wife and son, that perked me up for a bit. I met my mam, dad and son again on Kimmage Road, another boost.

Miles 14 to 17 saw me drifting off the pace group. I was annoyed to be drifting but just couldn't seem to muster any extra speed to close the gap. I was still hoping for a second wind and some extra power to my little hairy legs.
The water station in 17th mile (I think) was the cause of a first for me, I grabbed a small bottle of water a drank about half of it in two gulps, not a lot of water to drink but within a few hundred yards I had to run across to the park wall and puke, eventually dragging myself upright and rejoining the runners. My first mid-race puke. Way Hay !!
I was amazed to find that I had only dropped 30 seconds for that mile.

Up to mile 19 I still had a chance of hitting my target time .......and then the wheels fell off.....
The last 6-7 miles were pure hell. Somewhere before the 20 mile mark I just stopped running. I had been trying to convince myself that I didn't need to walk, that I had run the full marathon last year without a need to stop so I wasn't going to stop now, then I was walking, another first in a race...

I wanted out of there. It I was on a training run and felt so bad I would have stopped and gone straight to the pub (only joking, I would have showered first). I knew I was getting slower and slower. I didn't care about a time now, the only thing I cared about was getting to the finish line. The one thing that I was sure of was that my name would not be followed by a DNF.

There was a water station in mile 24-25 again I started to walk. Just walk through the water station, it'll help you run to the finish !!
I was still walking way after the tables. My head was really up my arse, it took a major effort to start running again. I have read race reports and forum posts about the fantastic support all along the Dublin marathon route and especially in the last few miles and I was very aware of the number of people but they meant nothing to me at that point, all I could think about was getting to the finish.

At last the finish in sight, a banner on the way said 400m, just one lap of a track to go. It was a long track.

I crossed the line over 8 minutes slower than my target time and I have to admit that I was disappointed at the time, however on reflection I think it was a lesson learned.

I'm planning my next move and at this point I think it may include a marathon early next year.

Another marathon .........My legs are still sore .... I must be a nutter............

Words for Marathon Runners...

2009-10-19T20:07:00.004+01:00

For anybody running a marathon, especially Dublin on 26th October.....

Good luck....

When you stand on the Start Line, you join the club.

When you stand at the Starting Line, you earn your membership.

Millions dream of being where you are. You are no longer a dreamer. You are a doer.

Thousands more started a training programme but never finished.

They started with the same enthusiasm (or more than) you.

They started with more or less the same physical gifts or disadvantages as you did.

They had no more and no less reason to be successful than you.

But somewhere along the way, they lost that enthusiasm. Somewhere on the road or on the track or treadmill, they decided that the rewards just weren't worth the effort.

They decided that they could live without finding their limits, without challenging their expectations of themselves and without taking a hard look at their image of themselves.

You didn't.

If you're standing at the Start Line, you've not only accepted the challenge, but you've also beaten back the demons.

You've conquered your imagination and self-imposed limitations. You've gone further, got stronger and become tougher than you ever imagined.

retweet or share this with your marathon running friends if you think they would like it.
You can use the button below or the tweet button on the top right of this page..

A seed is sown

2009-10-18T20:23:00.002+01:00

I was looking through the Internet one evening last week and ended up on the Boston marathon website. I don't know why I went to their site, just following a link or something like that I guess. Looking at the required qualifying times, I had previously thought that by my standards they were way too fast, I was astounded to find that if I hit my target time for Dublin that I would qualify for Boston.
Boston, hmmm !!! The seed was sown......

I must admit I would really fancy running Boston.

I really didn't know whether to mention the Boston idea here but then I thought, "why not, maybe it will push me a bit harder"
My target time for Dublin was set, in my head, many months ago.
It is substantially faster than last years time but something within my capabilities or so I thought.

With one week to go I'm suffering total taper madness, among other things my sleep pattern is gone to hell and I'm feeling tired most of the time, the complete opposite to what I should feel.
I don't remember last year being like this, maybe next year I'll need to look back on this to remind me of the madness.
The fact that it has a name or many names, taper blues, taper madness etc, etc. doesn't make the doubts and niggles any easier to deal with.
I'm wondering about the wisdom of a low mileage programme, the blisters on my left heal, the quad injury, my 10 mile run today didn't feel as easy as it should have been, 10 miles, ONLY 10 miles, for gods sake it should have been a total stroll in the park at this stage. It goes on and on.

I don't want to sound like a total moaner but I'm hoping that by keeping a record it may help for next time....if there is a next time !!

I know once the race starts everything will fall into place and I would like to finish my Dublin marathon report with ..... It was easier than I expected .......... (is that tempting fate?)

Last LSR .. Well sort of..

2009-10-06T18:13:00.003+01:00

Last week was fairly uneventful, it finished with a 20 mile LSR, the last long run before the Dublin Marathon, although I will run 15 miles this coming weekend. I would still regard 15 miles as a longish run but with the 20's finished it feels like a break.

My Garmin 405 went nuts after about 8 miles, stopping and starting on its own. It drove me mad and messed up my pacing and distance for a couple of miles, luckily I had measured the course by car the previous evening.

Although the pace was slow I found that I was tired for the last 5 or 6 miles but I was pleasantly surprised to find my pace hadn't dropped towards the end.
Now all I have to do in less than 3 weeks time is run a lot faster for 6.2 more miles.... Oh dear !!!

The doubts are starting to creep in. I was reading a thread on boards.ie where people were listing their PB's and I noticed that a good few of them with similar half marathon times either had or were aiming for a marathon time 30 minutes slower than my target time....doubt no.1
The knees were a bit sore... start of an injury??? , A few sneezes .... is that a cold ??? Tired ... is the nutrition ok ???? Me bleedin' watch is fucked... etc. etc.
All silly things but although I've taken part in numerous events throughout this year, in fact way more that I originally set out to do, all the training has been geared towards the Dublin marathon.

Can I take nearly 3 weeks of this mental torture? ............. YES, YES I CAN......

On another note I've signed up for the Crookstown motorway 10k on the 7th November (2 weeks after the marathon :-0 )

Adidas Half Marathon, Phoenix park

2009-09-27T13:51:00.004+01:00

I arrived to Dublin under less than ideal circumstances. I had my first ever visit to a physio on Monday. Tuesday was a hard session of 400's and a 40 min spin session. Wednesday was an easy run but I did absolutely nothing on Thursday or Friday because of soreness in my right leg.

Is that enough pre-race excuses - no, wait. I have more - I ran a couple of miles warm up with Sean, although the pace was slow I kept feeling that I needed to accelerate to keep with Sean and I could feel my right knee, not sore but knew I had a knee, if you know what I mean.

I had set my Garmin for 7 seconds per mile faster than McMillans calculations. I find it gives me something of a psychological comfort zone and the mental calculations during the run can pass some time.

The first mile was faster than target but that seems to be normal for me. The next few miles were comfortable and just a few seconds faster than target time. In the 3rd mile I could feel the soreness moving along the outside of my right thigh.
In the 5th mile I managed to swallow a gel and some drink.

The 7th mile included the first hill, I checked my watch at the Magazine and noted 30 seconds in the bank. I lost 20 of those on the climb, this was better than I expected. I continued to slowly drop seconds after the hill, up to the sharp turn at the football pitches, along the narrow path and back on to the tarmac.

The soreness in my right leg had moved along to my hip and groin and at this point I felt that I was slightly dragging my leg.

Heading towards the 10 mile marker I was down to 2 seconds ahead of schedule. I knew it was only a matter of yards before I went into minus figures. That happened at the water station where I noticeably slowed to try get some water into me.

Heading into the Glen is was at minus 20. Because of the cushion of 7 seconds per mile I had given myself I knew that barring a total collapse I should hit the McMillan target. I glanced at my watch a few hundred yards later and nearly freaked when it read minus 46 seconds. How the fuck had I lost so much time so quickly. I kept checking the watch and noticed the time was dropping rapidly, I guess the overhanging tree had caused the problem, thank Jaysus for that.

I put my head down and tried to keep to a good rhythm climbing the hill out of the glen. I was at minus 30 seconds when I came out of the glen.

I was delighted to see the 12 mile marker. I was somewhere between minus 20 - 25 seconds here.

Right that's it Chris, stretch out your little hairy legs and get moving, only 1.1 miles to go.

I was steadily chipping away at the time and with about 400m to go I switched over to the clock setting on my watch so I could check my actual time. I had actually passed some people in the last mile, something of a new thing for me.

I feel that I crossed the line in better shape than the 10 miler. I remember gasping for air after the finish of the 10 but although I think I finished the half marathon much faster I felt so much more relaxed. The only downside was that as soon as I started to walk I found myself limping quite heavily.
I noted afterwards that I had managed to make up the lost time.....by 1 second !!

I'm sure if I look after myself properly over the next 4 weeks I will be ready for the Dublin City Marathon.

I have to mention the efforts of my friend Sean, who cracked out a personal best to keep him on target for DCM with the sort of time that I will never even get close to.... Well done Sean

A wasted week

2009-09-21T20:18:00.006+01:00

I fully expected to be tired after the Achill Roar adventure race but I didn't expect something close to exhaustion.

On Monday evening I went to the gym to sit in the jacuzzi but it was out order for a while so I went in to do a few minutes training to try to get some of the soreness from my legs.
I ended up doing 40 mins hill programme on the treadmill and 30 mins med/easy on the spin bike, probably a little too much after the weekends efforts. At least I had the jacuzzi to look forward to. When I finished my session the damn thing was still not ready !!!! OK then a shower and home. On the way out the door to head home one of the girls calls me "hey Chris the jacuzzi is working now" AHHH FFS.

I was too wrecked on Tuesday morning to do any training and Tuesday evening was birthday pints with the lads so no training on Wednesday.
I attempted 4 x 1600's on Thursday but gave up after less than 10 mins. I had absolutely no energy, the auld pins just wouldn't move, again on Friday morning I felt like I couldn't lift my head off the pillow, absolutely no chance of running today.
All in all a totally crap unproductive week so far but a least I had Saturdays 20mile LSR to look forward to.
I was feeling more energetic on Saturday morning. The run was not as comfortable as it should have been but I remembered a terrible 20 miler in training for Dublin 08 and I probably wasn't 100% after such a poor weeks training so I reckoned I could cope with one bad one.

After about 12 miles I noticed a soreness in my groin that got progressively worse. I struggled on to Clonegal just 5 miles to home, here I stopped for a drink an a gel. I seriously considered calling someone to collect me - how many friends can you ask to put a smelly, sweaty runner into their car -but anyway I decided to push on. I was worried about aggravating my groin strain but also worried about the psychological issue of not finishing 1 of only 2 20 milers in my programme. I hobbled/jogged/walked the longest 5 miles of my life eventually making it home.

Sunday was 40 miles on the bike in beautiful sunshine and with good company. No major soreness just a slight discomfort in the groin. An enjoyable spin.

Monday morning I started a gentle jog on the treadmill but could still feel the tightness in my groin. Thoughts of missing the half marathon on Saturday or worse still the Dublin City Marathon in a few weeks time haunted me, prompting me to pay my first ever visit to a physiotherapist. Turns out that an previous knee problem was having a knock on effect on my leg. The physio says I'll be pleasantly surprised.
I'll know tomorrow morning :-)

Roar.ie

2009-09-13T22:05:00.011+01:00

All people who partake in sports know about the ups and downs, about the good days and the bad days and you try to minimise the bad days. You try to plan to be at your best for any given event, you look after the nutrition, the rest, the training plans and all the other variables but sometimes it all just goes to shite.

I was so looking forward to roar, after enjoying Gale Force so much I wanted to have a go at another adventure race and roar looked good to fit the bill.

We had driven the 5+ hours to Achill on Friday evening and I pitched a tent while Kevin and Franzi hit a B&B. I had a relaxed and relaxing breakfast and with plenty of time to get my gear ready on Saturday morning, the only thing that caused me a delay was the several attempts to pin my race number to my jersey. I know it's probably a bit anal but I wanted the number straight and between my backpack straps, hey, what can I say, I'm a Virgo..

Pre race was all very civilised and well organised, the bikes were dropped to well marked racks and we then had a pre race brief that filled us in on the the pain we would shortly encounter.

I had the pleasure of running the first leg to the kayak transition with Kevin, we had agreed to do the kayak section together. I reckon that we hit the water in mid position and although I had trouble keeping up with Kevin's extremely high cadence at the start and had the occasional clash of paddles due to my mistiming, we picked up a lot of places. We literally ran into one of the few single kayaks with only a few hundred yards to go, we totally fucked each other up, yer man in the single got totally annoyed and was moaning but I reckoned he should have gotten out of the way as a single is easier to steer than a double. I guess I didn't help matters when I put in a stern rudder on the wrong side and drove the moaning fucker 90 degrees sideways (I swear I didn't mean to do that). We had made up loads of places and if the course was longer I reckon we would have been 1st out of the water.

We hopped out and dragged the kayak back to land.....

This is where is all started to go downhill... well almost.. it took another mile or two before I knew for sure....
Running along the beach my legs felt like they weighed a tonne, I could feel every step. This was not going to be a day for gracefully gliding along (not that I could ever be classed as graceful) I briefly toyed with the idea of cutting back to the main road and walking back to the car but the thoughts of DNF after my name on the results sheet would haunt me for a long time.

I walked long sections of the uphill - as did most others - I lost plenty of places and I was wondering to myself if I should push harder or just keep steady away. I noticed that many of those that passed me were only a short distance ahead and not pulling away into distance so steady away it was.
I did say that I hoped to see a lot of those that passed me on the bike section and so I did.

A short downhill was followed by a flatish section to a flag and then uphill again towards the masts. After the flag I was able to see back along the route and I was delighted to notice there were still plenty of competitors behind me.
The downhill was not as difficult as Gael Force but I still managed to lose more places here. I really need to work on this mountain running thing !!! The sun was beating down and I was out of drink for the descent. All I could think about were the 2 drink bottles on my bike. I want my bike.... I WANT MY BIKE.
The final miles of the run were torture, the bog was bad enough but the stones were murder, it seemed worse than running in soft sand. I managed to get into something of a rhythm on the beach but it was too little too late.

At last the bike transition.
I gulped down half a bottle of drink as soon as I got to my bike ....Ahhhh.....beautiful
I'm so glad that because of the fine weather we didn't need to carry waterproofs so I was able to fit all my mandatory kit into my jersey pockets and dump the backpack.
I took the first mile to get more food and drink into me all the while closing in on the guy ahead.
He really looked the part a full Caisse D'Epargne kit and a good road bike. I moved in behind him as waited for another guy in a yellow jersey to catch up. When he did I said to the guys "want to work together ?" They agreed so off I went. We were on a long uphill drag and I took a good turn at the front, after numerous elbow flicks and a few looks back yellow jersey moved to the front, a quick glance behind confirmed that Caisse D'Epargne had disappeared. I tucked in behind yellow jersey for a bit but he started to slow down on the uphill, I pulled ahead of him again and when I looked back shortly after he was gone.
I picked off a few more on the main road, I then turned right to head along the coast drive.
I was feeling sick at times - I guess the mix of food, drinks and gels didn't agree with me - but I had decided that I was not going to give up the places that I had made up so if I had to puke I was going puke on the move. It turned out that I was ok.

I reckon that everybody who turns up for a race has a good look at all the other competitors.
The potential to be intimidated is immense. This is why I believe that it is sooo important to look the part....
At the start Kev, Franzi and myself all agreed that a rather tall guy in a tri-suit really looked like a fit athlete and maybe a contender, it was with the utmost pleasure that I passed this guy on the bike section. As enjoyable as it was for me it must have been soul destroying for him to have a little, fat old bloke piss past him while asking " how's it goin' ..you ok ?"

I knew that there was 1 steep climb - a guy earlier on the uphill run said it was only 300m - I drew alongside a guy on the way up - I didn't want to pass him - and we had a chat on the way up and it made the climb easier to do it with someone else. We had to log in with our timers at the top and when he sprinted to check in first I knew his form. I let him go ahead on the downhill as I was as usual on the brakes but I caught him straight away on the next uphill, fuck him , I wasn't going to nurse him up the next hill.

Although I was having a bad day I had not been passed on the bike section, I had made up loads of places and was quite pleased with myself until a guy with a full Saxobank kit went past me on the steepest uphill after the time checkpoint.

When Saxobank passed me he looked fast and strong and I was impressed and thought that I would never see him again but he ended up only a few hundred yards ahead of me. At one point I sort of woke up and realised he was only a few yards ahead of me an I should really try to close the gap to make things easier for me but I couldn't be arsed so I just kept steady away.

When we got back onto the main road I was following Saxobank we eventually caught up on another two guys, I thought he would go straight past them but he slowed up... WTF.. I stayed behind - not on his wheel - but waiting for him to go, then one of the other guys sprinted ahead.. Ahh fuck it .. thats it , I'm going.. I drove on for the last 4 or 5 miles. When I passed a cyclist I expected them to grab my wheel but none did. I ended strongly and ran the last section to the finish line.
I ran to the spot to rack my bike, the bloke just before me racked his bike at an angle across my area, because we were at a end section I couldn't fit my bike, it took me awhile to get his bike out of the way. I ran to the finish line and discovered later that I missed a place by 3 seconds.

Because there was such a small field with loads of elite athletes I was really worried that I would not finish or would finish last. I have since discovered that I finished in the top half.. that is much better than I expected.. Again I can't wait for next year....

This week is ROAR.IE

2009-09-09T12:00:00.002+01:00

It's been a funny couple of weeks since the Gael Force race. I also discovered that I've been spelling it incorrectly in all my previous posts. (Gale...ooops !!!)

I've been trying to stick to my marathon training schedule but I'm finding the speed work difficult.
Also last week I abandoned a 10 mile tempo run after 1.5 miles, the 1.5 miles home were very slow.
I've reduced my carb intake and I think that maybe why I had no energy.

I had to split my LSR this weekend. I was due 18 miles but what I did was 10.3 miles with a backpack (change of clothes and cross trainers) then took 1.5 hours clearing up after the Tree Climbing Competition and did the 10.3 miles home. I hope the extra few miles makes up for the half way break.
I was getting a burning sensation in my right heel from the 6th or 7th mile on the out run. I rearranged my sock but it didn't really help. I changed into my cross trainers for the home run and experienced no further problems. I must check my runners...

I haven't cycled since Gael Force but I hope to get out for a few hours today (Wednesday) It's too late to do much before Saturdays race.
I can only hope that I haven't lost too much bike fitness.
Ahh fuck it, I'll be grand....

Roar.ie - Here we go again

2009-09-01T19:52:00.002+01:00

I guess that I couldn't wait until Gale Force next year so I've signed up for this - Roar.ie

I also haven't posted the past two weeks training.

To be honest I couldn't be arsed at the moment. I may do it later

Gale Force West Adventure Race

2009-08-24T13:42:00.021+01:00

Gale Force Race

And so it begins. Standing on a beach with a bunch of other nutters, waiting for the off.
We are the second wave to go. There is a bit of banter but most people are bit tense at this point.
Away we go along the beach and up through the dunes to the tarmac road. Even at this early stage the group has strung out over quite a distance. The road takes a sharp left and continues uphill for a while. Cheering, clapping and shouts of encouragement from the next group at this point is a great buzz.
I knew that we would have to gain height but I was a little shocked to find that I was running back down to sea level.

Over a wire fence and onto the first off road hill/mountain.
Bog, running water, loose stones all combined to make this section hurt more than I would have liked at this early stage. I still managed to get some photos and another competitor offer to take my photo, fair play to him.

Here's the photo he took

A tight right calf was worrying but it seemed to go quickly as I wondered whether I was going to do the downhill on my head or on my arse. I was so glad that I have invested in cross-trainers as the surface was a greasy mix of mud, grass, rocks and water, the guys in road shoes were really having problems.

It was then onto a rough track, again the surface was shite but at least it was level (ish).
Running alongside Killary Fjord was spectacular. I managed to get some video here but it was mostly some blokes muddy legs and arse.
The track improved after a while and when a girl passed me I dropped in behind her and found that she was running at the perfect pace for me. We ended up chatting and this helped pass the last 3 or so miles of the run (thanks Debs). We also picked off plenty of other competitors on the way.

The kayak section was next, the arrival area had a timed out section in case people had to wait for kayaks. I made use of this to get some food and drink into me.
The kayaks were 2 man sit on tops. I partnered up with Debs for the crossing. She is a more experienced kayaker than me so she took the rear seat. Off we set across Killary Fjord.
I really had no idea what to expect from the kayak section. I had no idea how hard it would be, how long would it take or would I capsize and end up swimming.
It was much easier than I would have hoped we got into a nice rhythm straight away and sped across the water. The only disruption was from wake off a jet ski and that didn’t last long. Again we picked up a few places here.

Out of the water, drop the buoyancy aid and the paddle, on with the backpack and away again. Clamber up from the waters edge and onto still more bog. My shoes were full of water from getting off the kayak and stepping into the water but there was nothing to do but keep going and wonder if Gortex shoes were such a good idea after all. The run took me through bog, someones back garden and out their driveway (that was a little weird) onto the road to the Delphi centre.

I felt that I was comfortable with my running pace and I was reasonably fresh arriving at the bike transition at Delphi.

I took my time at the bike transition, getting in some food and drink. I stuck a few gels and jellies in my pockets and started to head off, just outside the transition area I decided to stop and empty the water out of my shoes, I had a spare pair of socks in my bag, thinking of what was ahead I thought that it may be a good idea to change. As it turned out when I took my shoe off, although it was heavy and sodden, no water poured from it. I just put it back on and mounted the bike.

A pro looking chap on a decent road bike passed me just outside the Delphi Centre gate as I was taking some video. We had a bit of craic as he passed. I quickly caught up with him as I thought we may be able to work together but that went by the wayside when we hit the start of the hills and he disappeared backwards.

I had driven this section of road to Drummin twice this week, the first time without realising it was part of the Gale Force route, the second time I paid more attention.
I expected the long climb but what I didn't expect was the amount of competitors walking up the hill. I plodded steadily upwards passing plenty on the way. I taking a wild guess that this cycling stage was the strongest part of the course for me.
I was dreading the downhill. It was narrow, grass up the middle, wet, covered in gravel and had a horrible drop off one side. I had visions of loosing control and crashing on it. What actually happened was that I got down without any problem, I was only passed by a few riders and I collected most of those almost immediately after the hill. I have to admit that I was delighted to have this hill behind me.
The following few miles were quite pleasant and I took several video clips and made a some phone calls, probably not the best thing to do during a "race" but I was clipping along at a good rate and feeling strong. The route hit the main road for a short while then turned left and was mostly uphill to the Croagh Patrick transition area. Again there were plenty of competitors struggling on the hills and a number of them were walking.

I racked the bike, dropped the helmet and went through the checkpoint, picked up a drink from stand and set off up Croagh Patrick "The Reek"

I was totally surprised to see Kevin just ahead of me, normally I see Kev at the start of a race then he disappears into the distance and that's the last I see of him until after the finish line.
I must have made up some good time on the bike.
Kev is half man half mountain goat and I managed to get some video of him descending on the loose rocks near the summit to prove it.
The options on the ascent were to head to the right away from the summit and take the less steep route to the pilgrims track or take the steeper, boggy route to the left. I opted for the more direct route as did most other competitors.
The first section is soft, boggy and covered with heather. It is steep but soft underfoot. The fun really starts when you get on the pilgrims track. This is made up of a mixture of various sized rocks from pebbles to large stones and some dusty and extremely slippery bare sections.
I stumbled, slipped and tripped my way up, managing to stop occasionally to take video of the magnificent scenery

I eventually made it to the summit and here a strange transaction occurred. I turned into a tourist. I wandered around taking video clips and photos, I admired the view and I got some random person (non competitor) to take my photo.

This one here ---->

Islands in Clew bay in the backround

Eventually I got moving again. The descent on the pilgrims path was nuts, I don't know how some people managed to run down this without killing themselves. I slipped onto my arse on numerous occasions and was grateful not to fall head first at any point. It was easier once I got back on the heather section but I still didn't dare run until nearly back to the transition area.

I took my time getting back on the bike, it was nice to travel downhill. It was a short spin to the left turn that was the start of the track over the hill towards Westport. On way up to Croagh Patrick I had seen some of the first wave arrive at this point and immediately jump off their bikes and run the track. I figured they knew what they were doing so I did the same. While running along the track I was checking the surface. A case of "ahh fuck it I can cycle this" overcame me. Various stages of on, off and half on the bike followed. On some of the muddy sections I totally lost traction on the back wheel and pushed along one legged scooter like.

I was running one section keeping pace with a guy frantically peddling his mountain bike, he only went ahead of me when I stopped to remount my bike. As for remounting, it was a nightmare. I had swopped to toe clips for the event but the rough sole on my cross-trainers refused to slide into the clips which meant I had to try to lean down and use my hand to hold the clip. This is not really a problem on roads but I was travelling just above stalling speed all the while trying not to fall on my snot on the rocks and mud.

The downhill was too much for me - I nearly shit myself - back to running. I stepped aside to let 1 or 2 mountain bike pass, then I moved aside for another bike, a brief conversation ensued. It was something like this:

Cyclist: Thanks

Me: Jaysus, you're brave doing this on a road bike.

Cyclist: I hate running - ahh fuck, shit Ohh jaysus.

His last sentence was roared in panic as he slid sideways and weaved across the track. He did really well to stay upright, brave man.

Eventually it was out onto something that passes as a road in the west. I was nervous on the downhill bends as the road was obviously greasy and wet in parts with what looked like moss growing on it. I was slowly passed by a mountain bike here but I didn't care.

Out onto the Louisburgh to Westport road. What a brilliant moment, my wife and son were there to cheer me on. "Go on Dad, Go on Dad" A total buzz, I even managed a high five with my son as he ran along at full gallop. Good road and only a few miles to the finish - Way Hay - I went into road bike mode. As soon as I got wound up to a proper speed I lashed past that bloody mountain biker who had overtaken me a few minutes earlier - pass me would ya, take that - hard left and full pelt to Westport House.

I was alone along the last couple of miles. Small groups and individuals were dotted along the road cheering and clapping. It was great encouragement. I though I was Lance Armstrong - well without the drugs - unless yesterdays Guinness is a banned substance. Through the gates of Westport House, along the coned off path, I passed a few competitors here - not because I was flying but they were going slow - a steward flagging cyclists to slow down before a left turn, at this point I was expecting to take the left and pass over the timing mat. I was surprised to find a steward directing me to a bike transition area - Ahh shit another change to go.

Nothing different at this transition, I sort of plodded to a vacant spot on the bike rack and hooked up the bike. I started to run towards the finish line and then the vanity kicked in - bearing in mind that I don't have a head that suits a helmet - I returned to the bike and left my helmet and glasses there, must be photos at the finish line.... Sure enough after the short run on grass I was running towards the large inflated tent like structure that marked the finish line when the vanity thing kicked in again - raised arms or not, which would look better? A bit sad don't you thing. Anyway went with the arms up !!!! Crossed the line at 5.24.20 ish........

This was by far the most enjoyable event that I've been in this year. As it was my first adventure race I didn't know how to pace the stages. On reflection I could have made up time on most of the stages. I was worried about running out of steam but finished with plenty in the tank. I defiantly could have made better time if I hadn't stopped/slowed down to take videos and photos.

I'll know better for next year !!!!!!!!!!

Pre Gale Force Race

2009-08-19T21:29:00.015+01:00

I went for a run on Tuesday. My intention was to do a steady 5 mile run but I ended up doing just over 9 mile really, really slowly. I don't know why the legs wouldn't work, maybe it was the few pints of Guinness the night before - well, I am on holidays - or the tiredness from the Adidas 10 miler on Saturday or maybe the start was a little more hilly than I had realised but the old pins didn't want to move.

I was running along bohereens along by Croagh Patrick. The scenery and views were stunning. At one point I was chasing a sheep along the road - Oh Jaysus, that sounds weird - I could see the road heading up along the mountain towards a coll and got it into my head to keep going until I hit the summit. I stoped there to walk around for a while a did a little dry reaching (that's not good) before setting off for home.

Picture taken on run ---->

The last few miles home were torture.
I'm glad I got out and did the miles even if they weren't too much fun....

The plan for Wednesday was to head off for a easy 25/30 mile spin on the bike.

I awoke to the sound of rain beating on the window and howls of wind.

Once again I wondered how bleedin' mad I was.

With the exception of one 25 mile spin while on holidays in Dingle I haven't cycled more than 10 mile in one go since the Wicklow 200 in early June.

I headed out through Louisburgh and on to Delphi.

After a while the rain doesn't bother me too much but the wind, the wind is a bastard. From Louisburgh to Delphi the head wind was murder. My intention for the spin was to have an easy ride without using too much energy or hurting the legs, what happened on the way out was that I had to peddle even on the downhills.

Although the picture above doesn't do justice to the surroundings I was very aware of the beautiful area that I was cycling through.

I turned around a Delphi and headed back along the same route. The wind had dropped and the 30mph flat sections were all me !!!!!

Made it back in record time and again glad that I had made the effort to get out today....

Went to the beach PM to try some surfing but the red flags were out and we decided to leave it until another time..

Adidas 10 Mile Race

2009-08-17T13:40:00.003+01:00

Sometimes I wonder am I totally mad. These thoughts usually occur to me while running along some rutted, pot-holed country bohereen in torrential rain or while cycling into a headwind up a mountain, all the while dribbling snot and wondering if I’ll ever get the feeling back into my hands and feet. Then along comes a day like Saturday with the Adidas 10 mile run in the Phoenix Park.
I realise that I may be mad but so are at least 6000 other souls.
This run was the first one that I had an exact time target for – right down to the second - based on the McMillan running calculator.
So while stand in the crowd at the start I set my watch for 4 seconds per mile below my target, as little as 4 seconds per mile is, it gave me a physiological comfort zone. Just to demonstrate how thick I can sometimes be, it took me until into the third mile to realise that over 10 mile that would equate to a full 40 seconds.. Duh !!

There wasn’t the usual melee at the start and I found myself nearly 15 seconds ahead of target at the mile marker. I passed this point with my friend Kevin Birchall and fully expected not to see him again until after the finish (I did mention in a previous post that he is genetically enhanced)
At the 2 mile mark my time had pushed out to 20 seconds but I knew there were hills coming.

The weather on the day was probably a typical mix for an Irish summer. The heavy rain stopped just before the start of the race and was followed by some sunshine. At some point during the run I noticed drizzle but I'm not sure when it started or stopped. There was also one downpour, people were commenting on it afterwards but in truth I hardly noticed it. What I did notice was the sunshine, especially towards the end, I felt extremely warm and momentarily considered taking off my T shirt. For the sake of everybody in sight of me I'm glad I didn't.

By the half way point I was 5 seconds behind time and I was worried that because I had lost so much time on the hills on the first lap that the wheels would come off on the second lap.
In the next 2 miles I picked up 16 seconds that was enough to make me feel like I could finish on target, barring a total collapse.

I would like to mention the young lady in tight black shorts who seemed to be running at the perfect pace for me, I followed her for about 3 miles and if I started to drift I would close the gap to her again. She slowed on the Magazine hill and I passed her I then followed a guy in an orange t shirt. He was at the right pace but his arse wasn’t as nice.

The last 2 miles, as expected, were something of a struggle. I may have been able to shave another few seconds if I tried to get passed the groups on the narrow footpath towards the finish but it didn’t seem worth the effort.

I’m very pleased with the day. I finished under target and thoroughly enjoyed myself, well except for the pain and the rain and the hills, other than that I enjoyed myself !!!!!!!!!!

Week 6

2009-08-10T16:12:00.009+01:00

Monday

45 mins on spin bike. 3 minute blocks. 10 x 1 min pushing seated, 10 x 1 min pushing out of saddle & 10 x 1 min recovery. Balance was warm up & warm down.
The auld pins are still a little bit sore from Saturdays run. I'm not really sure why they are sore, maybe it's just old age ;-)
Brought the bike so I'll cycle home.

Tuesday

4 x 1200 on treadmill.
Cycle to and from work

Wednesday

Today was to be a non running day. I really should do some cross-training but with just over a week to go to the Gale Force Race I wanted to get in some off road miles.

I drove to a local forestry track - part of the Wicklow Way - and set off for an easy paced few miles. Although I was taking it handy the hill were steep enough to make me huff and puff.

I stopped once to take some photos. This is one of me with the windmills near Shillelagh in the backround. ----->

Just realised the windmill are really hard to see... Ahh well

A nice amount of down hill on the return, thank jaysus. Ended with just over 5 miles.

Thursday

AM. 20 spin bike, easy(ish) 10 treadmill @ 14kph, 10 spin bike.

PM. Loaded up the backpack for an easy 5 miles. I had to put the brakes on after 3 miles as I was way too fast. - I've just re-read that sentence, ha ha, "way too fast" love it - I didn't want to be tired or sore for Adidas 10 mile run on Saturday. Plodded the last 2 miles home.

Marathon Training Week 5

2009-08-05T09:56:00.005+01:00

Tuesday

Cycled home from work and then after dinner headed to the local grass track for some speed work.
My programme said I should do 10 x 400m and according to McMillan I should do them at 1.35.
Ran some warm up laps and set off for my first outdoor 400's.
After 2 laps I was wheezing like a heavy smoker.
I kept going for another few laps but my breathing was too bad to continue.
I really should have done some warm down laps but I was so pissed off that I just hopped on the bike and went home.

Wednesday

8k on treadmill. 38.39

Thursday

35 mins on treadmill 2 x 10 @ tempo

Friday

40 mins on spin bike
9 x 1 min pushing seated, 9 x1 out of saddle & 9 x1 recovery. Balance warm up & warm down.

Saturday

I was due to do 14 miles LSR but ended up doing 16 miles. The last 3 miles were the fastest but in fairness they were mostly downhill ....lol

Oh Shit I'm in Trouble

2009-08-02T11:41:00.005+01:00

With the Gale Force race less than 3 weeks away I went out for my first off road/trail/mountain run this morning.
Kitted out with my new Salomon running shoes and a small Berghaus backpack Kevin Birchall and yours truly headed for Glendalough.

I was telling myself that my cough had cleared up- yeah right !- and that this should be a handy 16k.

Well, wasn't all that positive thinking going to get fucked up.

Wheezing through the first mile of tarmac and track should have given me a clue that all was not well. In fairness the pace was a little faster than I would normally start a training session at, but still !

By the time we were into the second mile my right calf was painfully tight and a few stretches did nothing to relieve tightness. I pushed on for another while but the calf was getting worse.
I reckoned with Gale Force and the Adidas 10 mile race so close I wasn't going to risk injury so after a quick look at the map - I should have looked a bit closer - we decided that Kev would push on over Camaderry and I would return to the car and drive around to pick him up.
I went about 1/4 mile further along the track at a jog/walk and then did an about face for the return to the car.

Picking my way through the rocks and stones I risked an occasional glance at my watch and was really surprised at how slow I was descending. Another lesson learned, don't underestimate how long it takes picking your way over rocky ground, even if it is downhill.

When the track leveled out and required less concentration I had time to ponder why my calves had caused so much trouble. I guess it is the different running style needed to negotiate steep, uneven ground.
The need to place your foot in a reasonably exact spot means that you land on the ball of your foot rather that the more heel first style of road running (note to self- check out the Chi stuff). I surmised (I'm watching too much Law and Order) that the strain and stretch put on the calf by pushing uphill from the ball of the foot caused the tightness in my calves, especially the right one (I must be leading off more with the right) and the solution: MORE TRAINING.

I went to collect Kevin from the prearranged spot - this is where I should have paid more attention to the map - I ended up waiting at a car park beyond Glenmacnass waterfall, however, I should have been on a completely different road, eventually I realised and made my way to the correct place. On a positive note because of the delay Kevin managed an extra bit of running ;-)

Week 4

2009-07-29T09:59:00.003+01:00

The week so far has been a bit of a disaster.
I can't shift a chesty cough so the training has been very limited.
I've cycled to and from work and I've done a few miles on the treadmill and that's it so far.
I may be kayaking this evening so that may help keep things ticking over.

Didn't get out kayaking..

Managed a bit on the treadmill..

On Friday in did 8k in 39.50... not too bad considering I still can't get rid of this cough.

A week in Dingle

2009-07-21T18:56:00.003+01:00

Sunday 19th July

We arrived at Dingle after dark on Saturday night. The plan was to get in a 12 mile LSR first thing on Sunday morning. I got some route suggestions from a few of the lads on Boards.ie.
I had managed to get an OS map from a late night garage, so with beer in hand (cheers Paul) I planned my route.
I headed off just after 7.00 on Sunday morning, it was lashing rain but warm.
The run took me along quiet country roads – although, I suppose most roads are quiet at that time Sunday morning – the hedgerows were bursting with Fuchsia and Crocosmia, the hills to one side and Dingle bay to the other, what a great place to run.
I took a looping route to Ventry and headed out towards Ballyferriter. Despite the weather I was enjoying the run, at what was supposed to be the half way point I decided to keep going for an extra half mile.
Although the return journey was back along the same roads, the views were fantastic and I was certainly not bored.
A most enjoyable 13 miler.
I had been kayaking last Wednesday and made the mistake of not wearing a baselayer under my wetsuit, so the only downside to Sundays run was the bloody nipples, I didn’t notice during the run but the fecking things are still sore… Ouch !!!

Monday 20th July

We went sea fishing this morning. It was great craic – I did see my breakfast twice – we ended up with a load of mackerel and Pollock. We’ll be living on fish for the rest of the week.

I went out for a spin on the bike in the afternoon. I took the coast road around Slea Head and through Dunquin, Ballyferriter and Feohanagh. The scenery was stunning and to make matters even better I had a tail wind for a good part of the journey.
Traffic was light enough, I’m sure it was mostly tourists in hire cars, the same mini bus passed me three times along the route.
I noticed a strange behaviour from some of the drivers, I don’t know if it’s a foreign thing but some of the cars hung right back, so when there was an opportunity to overtake the fucking eejits were too far away to do so. I didn’t mind but I would love to know why they did it.
On one stretch of road there is a downhill followed by a 90 degree left bend. As I approached the bend I took a wide line (car behind hanging back) to the other side of the road, jaysus, I’m glad that I did because as I reached the bend I was greeted by a river running across the road, now this was not casual water running down the hill and across the road but a mini river and the road had been paved with rocks/stones to facilitate this. I tried to pick the flattest, shallowest part to cross, although I was gripping the bike with everything possible, including gripping the saddle with my arse (well, that’s what it felt like) I fully expected to take a spill in the wet rocks, I’m still not sure how I got across in one piece.
The spin was only about 25 miles but was well worth it for the scenery alone.

Tuesday 21st July

I set out this morning to do a 5 mile tempo run but I knew after the first few yards at the faster tempo that this was not going to happen today. My legs felt really tired, don’t know if it because of the Adidas 5 mile run on Saturday or not but I settled for a slow/medium 6.5 miles.
I got lashed on again, aren’t Irish summers great?
We had a surf lesson in the afternoon. That was a blast, we spent 2 hours trying to catch the right waves and stand on the board. I laughed for the whole time and even managed to get upright on the board a few times (not for very long). For the last half hour I was so tired that I was struggling just to hop up on to the board. I reckon that this counts as a good workout.

Thursday 23rd July

I woke at 4.00am this morning with a stuffed nose and sore throat, managed to doze for another couple of hours but didn't feel great when I got out of bed.
I was supposed to do a tempo run today but after a few minutes I realised that was not an option and settled for 5 miles at predicted marathon pace. The first mile was ok and the second was 10 seconds off pace but it was mostly uphill so I wasn't too bothered. It all went tits up after that.
My legs just stopped working and at the halfway point I stopped to walk around a bit and try to relieve the pains in my calf's and shins. The few miles home were a struggle and I didn't even bother to retrieve the info from my Garmin.

Went sea kayaking later this morning. That was great fun. We paddled across Dingle harbour and into some of the sea caves. We spent a couple of hours in the kayaks so I'm going to count that as a workout ;-)

Saturday/Sunday

I was to do a 13 mile LSR this weekend but both days I've had a sore throat and a bit of a cough so I decided to skip the run until I feel better.
I did manage 2 hours surfing on Saturday, hopefully that will help maintain some level of fitness.

Adidas 5 mile run

2009-07-21T18:49:00.004+01:00

A dull and overcast day greeted the runners for the Adidas 5 mile run in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.
I started from Sean’s house and we ran a gentle warm up of about 20/25 minutes around the park – I hadn’t realised how fantastic the tracks around the park are for running – we then headed for the start line.
Sean headed off to do some strides and I hopped over the barrier close to the front. I had made the mistake at the BUPA 10k of starting too far back – actually in the correct time pen - and had no chance of getting a decent time with all the fat arsed women blocking the road. This time I thought that I would be close enough to the start line that I may be one of the fat arses that people were trying to get past. In the 10 or 15 minutes before the race started every available space in front of me was filled with runners of all shapes and sizes.
A sudden push forward heralded the start of the race. Away I went zig zagging through the runners, giving out to myself for starting too far back again.
I checked my watch at about ½ mile and I was totally surprised to find that I was 15 seconds ahead of schedule at the mile mark I was a full 30 seconds up.
I knew that there were a few hills ahead so I was happy enough to be ahead of time at this point.
Mile 2 was still below target – another 3 seconds ahead – not too bad.
It all started to fall apart from mile 3 – 13 seconds over target.
Mile 4 - 35 seconds too slow – this section was mainly up hill, well, at least it felt like that…. no, no it really was !!
Mile 5 – 5 seconds too slow.
When I set my target time for this event I was looking for a PB of sub 37.07, this time was set at the Sportsworld 5 mile race a couple of months previously and was the day after the Mount Leinster Challenge, 140 km cycle including over Mt Leinster twice, so sub 37.07 was my out loud time…….my in my head time was sub 35…….. 34.59 would have been really good.
I finished up 32 seconds behind my “in my head time” and to be honest I’m a bit disappointed, although if McMillan is to be believed that time is good enough to keep me on track for the Dublin City Marathon – I hope he’s right………….

Taper Week...Well, sort of

2009-07-14T09:54:00.005+01:00

This is a strange week as it is the second week of my marathon training programme but it is also a taper (lol) week for Saturdays Addidas series 5 mile run.
Luckily the programmes are not too dissimilar so I'll take the best (easiest) options.

Tuesday 14th July
3 mile run on treadmill @ just sub 7 min miles.

Wednesday 15th July
40 mins tempo
2 hours kayaking

Thursday 16th July
3 miles easy on treadmill (11.5kph)

Friday 17th July
Some handy stuff on the treadmill and a bit on the spin bike

Things

2009-07-12T21:20:00.002+01:00

This blog is named "Training, Events & Things"

I started it mainly to put out my training schedule in an attempt to keep me honest.
This post is about one of the "things" and has nothing to do with training or events.

I was involved with Drimnagh Basketball Club for a good number of years. I lost touch with the club and a lot of friends when I moved away from Dublin.
On Saturday Drimnagh were playing in the Leinster final of the community games in my local town.

I haven't seen a Drimnagh team play for a long time. I arrived just after the game started and as I walked in I saw 3 players from the same team, one after the other dive for the ball, I'll tell you now that I didn't have to look to the bench to see what colour Drimnagh were wearing to know what team was what, the level of commitment in Drimnagh hasn't changed.

I lost most of my nails during the first game - the semi final - and I'm sure that I shouted at the refs far more than I should have. The funny thing about this is that despite the fact that I haven't been involved in basketball for years I wanted to jump in beside the coach and say "why don't you do this or why don't you do that"

Drimnagh won the semi final eventually and were set for the Leinster final.

Between games I went for a coffee with my son and an old friend, I have to say that the clock was turned back for that hour or so. I had a very enjoyable time.

Drimnagh won the final with style, some of the players stood out, they have the potential to become a force in Irish basketball.
The Drimnagh team were so well drilled and did the right thing at the right time so often that it is a testament to their coach(s)

I haven't been involved with Drimnagh Basketball Club for a lot of years but after Saturdays games I think that I will head to the finals in Athlone to support a fantastic group of players.

In all the years that I've been away from basketball, I don't think that I've ever missed it as much as I did when I saw those kids play on Saturday......................

Marathon Training Starts

2009-07-12T21:10:00.002+01:00

This week was the start of my 16 week marathon training programme.
I've done a few runs, tempo, normal, long slow & recovery and some gym stuff, chest & arms.
I'm thinking that I'm not doing enough.
I need to do more mile and I need to get out on the bike for cross-training.
Let's see what happens..

Another week

2009-06-29T09:42:00.005+01:00

Slow 6 mile run on Saturday (it wasn't really supposed to be that slow)

Monday a.m. gym... back session
For the past few sessions I have been doing sets of 10 for a change. I'll see how that works out.

Tuesday a.m.
I'm starting to sound like a broken record (need to find a new expression, nobody younger that me knows what a record is - it's like a CD but bigger) anyway, should have done 400's today but just can't seem to find the motivation to do them on the treadmill.
Messed around with a few intervals but got a bit pissed off when I realised that the fast part (1 minute intervals) that I was struggling with was actually slower then my 5 mile pace from the last race. How fucked up is that?
I really need to run these outdoors with somebody to pace me....

Thursday
Spending a few days in Rush.
It really pissed rain last night and for most of this morning. Apparently Dublin has been hit with bad flooding.
Waited for the rain to clear and headed out for a 40min/5 mile tempo run.
I put on a rain jacket but had to take it off at the turn around point, the heat was killing me. I struggled a bit at the faster pace but I was 20 seconds ahead of planned pace for the first run, that would have put me on my fastest race pace. Although I only lasted 8.5 minutes instead of 10.
I also slowed a good bit towards the end of the second fast section.
Hopefully I'll feel better about the pacing as I get more used to it.

Friday
Ran 6 miles at 7.56 pace and was struggling a bit. I know that at this point I couldn't keep this pace up for 26.2 miles.

Saturday
Thought that it would be a good idea to do a few miles barefoot on the beach. The sand was hard for the first couple of hundred yards and I was thinking to myself that this is not going to be too bad. Then I hit the soft stuff and spent the next 2.5 miles sinking ankle deep on every step. I was fairly tired when I got back to the car.

LAZY LAZY LAZY LAZY

2009-06-25T10:35:00.002+01:00

Thursday 25th June
I ran 5 miles last Thursday and have not done a thing since, except for a slow 10 mile cycle home from work yesterday.
I'm really starting to feel guilty.
Just over 3 weeks to the Addidas 5 miler.
Get the finger out you lazy sod...................

Week commencing 15th June

2009-06-16T20:40:00.004+01:00

Monday a.m. bit on the rower, bit on the spin bike.. That'll do... Oh! nearly forgot, cycled home from work.

Tuesday a.m. Should have done 8 x 400m, actually did 4 x 400m (slowly) and 10 minutes intervals at level 10....... Sat in the bubbles.....happy days ... cycled to gym and onto work...

Wednesday...p.m..... Same hilly 5 mile run as last week.. Felt alot better this time... nearly 30 seconds per mile faster, although in all fairness it's still very slow. I'll actually have to run the marathon 30 seconds per mile faster if I hope to hit my (at the moment) target.........

Thursday p.m. .... Running 40 minutes tempo, total of 5 miles

Week ending 14th June

2009-06-15T20:50:00.003+01:00

This was a funny week.
Monday was a rest day after the exertions of a 200k cycle on Sunday.

I started a 10k training plan this week, well, I started 4 weeks into an 8 week training plan.

PM Tuesday I went to the gym with the intention of doing (as per the plan) 8 x 400m on the treadmill. What I actually managed was 4 x 400 and that hurt. The spin class was starting just as I finished so I had a go at that for 35/40 minutes and followed with 15 minutes on the treadmill for a warmdown.

On Wednesday I went for a hilly five mile run by Ballinavorta. It was the longest most painful run I've ever done. I thought that I would never get home. To make matters worst the pace was horribly slow. (am. Shoulders/traps)

Thursday was my first attempt at a tempo run. 10mins steady, 10 mins just below race pace, 5 mins steady and another 10 mins at just below race pace, finishing with 10 mins steady. Overall not too bad. (am. back)

Friday was a running rest day..... (am. triceps)

I cheated on Saturday. I threw some gear into a backpack and headed off to the gym by the long route. I set out for a slowish 6 miles and I hate to admit this but at about 3.5 miles I stopped and walked, I felt totally bolloxed, worse still I stopped my watch. Thats a first, both the stopping/walking thing and stopping the watch. It doesn't feel good !!
Chest/biceps at gym.

Wicklow 200

2009-06-09T09:23:00.014+01:00

This is Allen Mc and Chris Cassidy at the end of the Wicklow 200 cycle.

We look far too fresh........

The last 8 weeks of training, the hill climbs, the sore arse, the cold wet miles were all for today.

The number starts with a 3 when the alarm goes off. Ahhh Jaysus, why didn't I go to bed earlier. On the road for 4.30am, didn't see another car for the first hour until I hit the N11. Enjoyable drive, I really like driving on the quiet country roads.

The carpark and grounds of UCD are festival like with all the brightly coloured gear and gleaming bikes. I bumped into Orla and Gilly at the check in. It took only a few minutes to check in and then back to the car to have a cup of coffee and sort the bike and clothes for the day.

Clothes, clothes, bloody Irish weather, what to wear? The forecast is for heavy showers but no rain so far although the roads are still wet from last nights rain. Base layer? (is it cold enough) rain jacket?(will it be that rainy) Shorts or tights? Overshoes? Decision made, short sleeved jersey under long sleeved jersey (no base layer) shorts, 2 pairs of socks and overshoes (what a mix). Load up the pockets with bars, gels and jelly babies and off to the start.

We headed off with a group at a comfortable pace, it was a real mixed bag of all sorts. Racers, a few mountain bikes and one or two rotund people (guessed the large ones were doing the 100) The group stayed together until Enniskerry, well, until the hill after Enniskerry. It was going to be a day of groups forming and breaking up and other groups forming. There is a sharp downhill to Powerscourt and we passed a car stopped on the opposite side of the road with its wing hanging off. I'm not sure yet but I think that the damage was caused by a collision with a cyclist.
A short, sharp, lung bursting, leg hurting hill followed, was this a sign of things to come?

We headed towards Glencree and turned up to the Sally Gap. This is a long, steady climb with no real lung bursting bits, The scenery was amazing and it gave me a real buzz to see the line of cyclists snaking along the road to the top of the Gap, I even risked a few looks behind me as I neared the top, to enjoy the sight of hundreds of brightly dressed bikers cutting a ribbon like line through the greenery of the mountains.

The descent, well now, the descent that was a totally different kettle of fish. As I've said before, I'm not too fond of fast downhills, especially on unfamiliar roads, so I was going to take it easy all the way down. There were nutters whizzing past at high speed, I really expected to find the odd rider upside down in the ditch. Then, surprise, surprise we caught up with 2 other guys, they were actually going slower then me and Al, we stopped for a quick pee break and then, yes, you've guessed it we caught the same two guys again, I can tell you this made me feel much better.

The route went through Manor Kilbride towards Lacken, now something odd happened along this stretch of road, I don't know if it was the weather, the power bars or something else but I strongly suspect that it was secret formula "jungle juice". Allen, who is normally content to sit at the back of a group, decided he was going to pick off every rider in sight. At one point he shot past a group of about 8 riders, I got delayed for a few seconds and had to jump out of the saddle and sprint at full gallop to catch him (I want some of that juice). As we went along we were picking up riders and we ended up at the front of about 20 riders. Allen drove the train for a good few miles and we dropped the others on the undulating roads through Ballyknockan, Hollywood and on to Donard. Somewhere along this stretch Allen's back popped, I'm not sure but it may have been when he did another Superman to avoid a van on a fast downhill.

At 55 miles Donard was the first food stop, we really fancied a cuppa and food. It was an absolute pain in the arse, there was a queue of 30/40 minutes to get 1 poxy sandwich. We won't make the same mistake next year. There was also a 10 minute queue for water. I was lucky enough to find out about another tap on the other side of the yard and that saved us the queue. We also bumped into a few of the Boards lads, TinyExplosions had to retire at Donard as he popped his knee.

Just a few miles outside Donard we spotted a guy taking a pee stop up a side road, Allen decided that this would be a good place for him to go too. I stopped at the junction to wait, a line of car came along the road and two or three of them turned up the side road. The first car had a few women in it. I nearly wet myself laughing when I looked up the road to see Allen with his pride and joy in one hand and his bike in the other caught in mid flow.He couldn't have picked a more public spot to pee even if he wanted to.

Lazy Bastards is the best way to describe the group that tucked in behind us on the way to Aughavannagh. Not one of the fuckers was prepared to do any work. At one point I sat up, turned completly around in the saddle and said "feel free to come through any time you like" only to be met with blank stares. What really annoyed me about these lazy bastards was that most of them were wearing club jerseys so the knew the score. Enough ranting (for now !!) The long hill before aughavannagh broke up the group.

Down the hill, across the bridge and here we go !!!!!!!!!
The start of the two biggest climbs of the day, I suppose that this is what the day is all about. I never had any doubt that I could cycle 200 kms on the flat, the doubts were about the mountains.
I glanced at the computer, 74 point something miles.
Low gear, steady away and just keep grinding. The incline is steep for the first half but eases off (slightly) towards the top. For the second half of the climb I have a clear view of the road ahead as it sweeps off to the left, the strung out line of cyclists highlights the ever raising ground, but it's not as bad as it looks. Eventually hit the top, there is a drink stop with power bar drinks, so stopped there for a few minutes.
The descent into Glenmalure was ok, it gets a bit technical near the end with a few tight bends.

The climb from Glenmalure to the top of the Shay Elliott starts very sharply, Allen had a gear problem near the start and had to stop, I had slowed down to near stalling point when Allen called that he was going down to get re-started, no, no don't do that, I was determined that we would complete this climb together and if he didn't get started right away I was going to have to stop too. Luckily he got started, clipped in and we headed on up the big one.
It took a while, its a hard slog but we got there and here's the picture to prove it.

At the start of the descent to Laragh I had forgotten to put my glasses back on, so Al went ahead while I tried to take the glasses off my helmet with one hand while trying to gently pull the brakes with the other and all the while trying not to shit myself as the bike got faster and faster. Allen hopped onto a wheel and disappeared at high speed (he's getting far too brave, I'll have to watch him). I didn't catch up until half way to Rathdrum.

I think that picture on the right of Chris Cassidy was taken on the downhill to Laragh.........>>>>>>>

The food stop at Rathdrum was a lot more civilised, no queue for the grub and warm enough to sit outside on the grass.

<<<<<< This is Allen with his eyes CLOSED !!!

The last 40 miles were tough, plenty of hill and a horrible head wind. Ahh, enough shitting out of me.

It was great to see Eddie and his missus at UCD

Had to stop for a quick snooze on the drive home..........

Carlow 150

2009-06-01T07:56:00.003+01:00

What a morning, 7am and the sunshine is glorious. I've made the mistake before of not wearing enough gear but today is definitely one for summer clothes.

I signed up for the 150k but I was still undecided whether I would just do the 100k or include the extra distance.

Myself and Allen set off together, a few groups had gone off ahead of us and we started to pick off the stragglers after a few miles.

Jaysus, this is a fantastic day, temperature is heading for the twenties. Ahh, vanity is a terrible thing, I won't wear my sunglasses because I know this is a tanning day and I don't want "panda eyes", no mitts either, to hell with comfort I'll tan the back of my hands.....

We picked up a small group on the Tullow to Castledermot road, and we all worked together until we picked up a few more riders.
The pace suddenly picked up. I must say that a this point I was really enjoying the dynamics in the group and I was more than happy to fill the gaps and hit the front. Three of us at the front lost the rest on an uphill and there was no sign of anyone catching up on the long downhill. It turned out that most of them had taken a short cut....fuckers.....

We were (by our standards) fairly shifting it through Kilteagan and on to Hacketstown.
The other rider that joined us was an interesting guy, he had ridden the Ras four times in the sixties and was still able to give it a lash at 68 years old. He stayed with us until the food stop at Hacketstown.

While shoving brown bread sandwiches into my face I decided that I was only going to do the 100k today, a choice I was very glad I made.

Rolling countryside and warm sunshine brought us through Tinahealy and Sheillelagh.
This is cycling at its best.
I noticed at one point that my shadow was well ahead of me, so I could now put on my glasses and give my poor sore eyes some protection from the flies and bits of flying trees.
We picked up another rider on the way into Tullow who stayed with us until the finish at Carlow.

We had a quick cuppa at the finish and then off home for the dinner.

I really wish that all spins could be as enjoyable as this one, lovely weather, gorgeous scenery and good company.

A spin with the lads

2009-05-24T23:09:00.002+01:00

Sunday 24th May 09

This is Kevin. We discovered today that Kevin has been genetically enhanced. After just 20miles training on his new road bike he decided that it would be a good idea to tackle some of the biggest climbs in Wicklow.

Kevin, Allen and yours truly set of in glorious sunshine to head to the Shay Elliott climb. We would take in the ascent of Sliabh Mann on the way.

The route via Clonmore, Hackettstown and Knockananna is full of hills. This is not too bad on the way out but a little leg sapping on the return.

The ascent from Aughavannagh to the summit at Sliabh Mann is a long drag and pretty steep at the start but it eases out a bit along the way (Thank Jaysus). All three of us made it to the top in one piece, with Allen showing us the way and closing down a rider ahead of us... Way to go Al !!!!!

A decent into Glenmalure and a water break at the pub refreshed us for the attempt on the Shay Elliott. After hearing all the horror stories about these fabled Wicklow climbs I was pleasantly surprised to find that ascent was shorter than I expected and nowhere near as lung bursting as Corrubut Gap.
We stopped briefly at the top for a chat with another rider who was also a boards.ie user (forgot to get his user name)

Back down to Glenmalure and then the ascent of Sliabh Mann from the other side. The climb from this side was the worst drag of the day, it seemed to go on forever. I think we helped each other up the climb with a bit of banter and Allen wiggling his arse.
The thought occurred to me that I would have found this drag really hard if I was on my own.

I decided that after Aughavannagh we should take a different route home to avoid the long climb to Knockananna. It turned out that we had a long climb anyway. There was some discussion about what roads to take but we found our way eventually.

We finished with about 55 miles. the time was really slow but we had a good few stops on the way for mechanical issues and water stops etc .. Shush !! there was even a hill stop.. we'll say no more about that.........

I was so delighted that we did that route today. I was really worried about those 2 ascents on the Wicklow 200 but although we won't hit them on the day until the 70/80 mile mark, I am not bothered about them now.

The three 0f us ended the day in the local with a bit of grub and a few pints.........

Week commencing Monday 18th May

2009-05-21T10:04:00.003+01:00

Monday 18th May

30mins on treadmill @ 10.5kph. Still tired after the weekend and the wine

Tuesday 19th May

PM Spin at gym 30/35 mins. 15 on treadmill to warm down.

Wednesday 20th May

Intended to do a chest/biceps session but ended up doing 15 mins treadmill & 20 mins spin bike.

Thursday 21st & Friday 22nd May

Rest (totally lazy week)

Thinking about adding another event to the calendar ...... Gale Force Race

Sportsworld 5 mile run - Sunday 17th May

2009-05-18T22:13:00.004+01:00

Early start again, have to get to Dublin for 9am.

The legs feel remarkably good considering yesterdays 140km cycle.

I met Sean at the sign in and we ran a warm up together. We headed for the start a waited on the footpath for the road to close.
I was right at the front. After all my moaning about fat arses getting to the front at the bupa 10k and getting in the way, I was suddenly that fat arse.

When the race started I knew I was running a little faster than usual but was surprised to find the first mile was at 7 min mile pace.
I saw a guy that I recognised from Boards.ie taking photos and found this one that he took. (thanks Private)

Way tooooo fast for the training I had done and I knew that I would slow down soon enough.

The second mile was at 7.i5 and it was all going to be downhill after that.

Only realised at the third mile marker that I could take split times. It was interesting to see the results after.

My 4th mile was the slowest by a good bit at 7.44 but was back into the 7.20's for the last mile. Had I paid more attention to my watch I would have tried to knock the odd 7 seconds off my finish time.

I tried to push a bit for the last 1 - 1.5 miles but couldn't get the legs to go any faster. I really need to do some speed work.

I finished with 37.07 which I'm reasonably happy with. Hopefully I can improve on that for the Adidas 5 mile next month........

Mount Leinster Challenge

2009-05-16T07:45:00.005+01:00

Mount Leinster Challenge

Am I bloody MAD
7.30.... I'm looking out the kitchen window, the wind is like a mini hurricane, it's pissing rain and I've just heard on the radio that the fast ferry has been cancelled because of the weather....
I'm going to pay 30 euros for the privilege of spending at least 6 hours on the bike freezing cold, wet through and taking my life in my hands on wet mountain descents. So yes I am MAD !!!

9.40 A.M .........By accident I started at the front of the group. It was a neutral start for the first 6/7 miles. I spun along having a nice chat with a guy from Arklow.
When the lead car left the pace picked up. I made a decision early on that I would not push to stay in a group but just move along at my own pace and if a suitably paced group came along I would hop in. I dropped off this group on the uphill out of Kiltealy............
There were a few single riders that passed me a a few who I passed until I picked up a small group on the way into Ballymurphy. We stayed together for a few miles, there was a downhill coming out of Ballymurphy, that was the first time I got a inkling of the wind. I got hammered with cross-winds on the hill down and it wasn't pleasant........

The run into Borris and into Bagnalstown was uneventful, except for the fact that I was hitting 20+ mph on undulating roads on my own - now, I'm no pro rider, which means I have a tail wind, I realised that I would pay for this later... oooh yes I would.

A guy passed me on the way into Bagnalstown on a bike that was in worse condition than mine (that pissed me off a bit) anyway he didn't open a gap and when we were climbing to the Bagnalstown graveyard I passed him with a "hello, how's it goin" . I never saw him again....

I saw a small group ahead of me and was wondering if I could catch them to get a bit of shelter for when we hit the wind. I picked off the first straggler on the bend at the hire shop and then got on the group a few miles before Fenagh.

This shall be known as the RED group as all the riders were wearing red. Please forgive me for waffling but I found the next few miles sooo interesting.....
There was about 6/7 guys in the "red" group, the first guy went off the back in Fenagh, the group turned at the roundabout towards Myshall and into a strong head wind. It looked like there was only one guy doing the work, everybody else was hiding,(I don't think that I've ever seen so many guys trying to hide) eventually (after the lead guy stopped peddling) another bloke took the lead, I had been thinking that it was only a few miles to Myshall so why don't we work together. A group passed us at this point....I was riding outside right with this guy (after too short a time) I took the lead. We were at the bottom of a hill. I gripped the bars and pushed for the top, I was closing the gap to a lone rider and the group who had just passed us. I looked around to see if somebody would take over....Please take over..... I've done my bit.....
Hey, where are you gone?
Rode the short bit into Myshall with the non red group. Then the fun started........

It's a climb of various severity from Myshall to the Nine Stones on Mount Leinster. There is one steep climb then the road levels out then a sharp left turn and WHAM the start of the ascent to the Corrubut Gap. I was really gasping for air on the way up and my heart rate was maxed. Stopped at the top for a minute and had a chat with the other poor sods. Short sharp downhill and hard right for the Nine Stones. The refreshments van was just around the turn. Topped up the water bottle and then had to put on the rain jacket as it started to lash rain.

The murderous head wind and driving rain made for a very unpleasant ascent.

At this point I still hadn't decided if I was going to do the extra loop for the 140km. I told myself if the descent wasn't to dangerous then I would carry on for the full event.

I stayed on the brakes all the way down the descent (what a wimp). For a few miles after the down hill there was a horrible head wind and the road undulated more than I would have liked. Eventually got to Kiltealy and the food stop at about 50 miles.

Fair play to Slaney Cycling Club the food was an absolute feast, sambos, cakes, scones, hot food etc and lashings of tea and coffee. Everyone was soaked and most of the chat was about taking the short run to the finish. I spoke to some of the Boards.ie guys mainly about ordering a boards jersey.

Jaysus I'm totally mad, I've decided to do the second loop back to Mount Leinster. The rain is still hammering down and will not let up for the rest of the day.

I don't see another bike until after Bunclody.

I'm wet, I'm cold, it's all uphill and there's a bastard off a headwind.

I pick off one guy on a steep uphill, remarks about the wind were exchanged. Final short climb to Corrubut Gap and the sharp left to the Nine Stones.

AHHHHHHHHHH BOLLIX it right into the wind. It's so much worse than the first time. Trying to spin up the hill, it feels like riding against a wall, I glance down at the computer, I'm distraught to find it reads 4.5 mph FFS I'm in danger of falling off sideways from lack of momentum.

I stopped at the refreshment van at the top, restocked with a drink and asked the guy how far to the finish. He told me 40km/25miles. Ok, a quick calculation makes that 92/93 miles.

The start of the descent is scary with the gusting crosswinds. I held the bars with a vise like grip and I think my arse was gripping the saddle with similar intensity.

Got to the bottom in one piece, undulating road again, still raining, still cold, still windy, into Kiltealy for the second time but now taking the road to Enniscorthy. Counting off the miles, a few cruel hills to test the legs.

I pass a sign that says Enniscorthy 13kms, can that be right ? I really hope so, it will make the run in about 5 miles shorter than I expected...yahoo !! happy days.

Arrived to the clubhouse, shower, change and off home.

Just over 6 hours on the watch, pretty slow but probably not too bad for the conditions and the amount of time that I was solo......

Concert tonight and a 5 mile run tomorrow......................................

Week commencing 11th May

2009-05-11T10:54:00.006+01:00

Monday 11th May

A.M. Gym

Back & Triceps (4,4,6,8 sets)

Bent over barbell row
Skull crushers
Wide grip lat pulldowns
Seated tri extensions
Close grip lat pulldowns
Cable tri extensions

P.M.

5 mile run 39.45..... 7.57 mins average

Tuesday 12th May

A.M. Gym

Legs & Abs

Squats
Hamstring Curls
Leg Raises
Lunges

Mixed with Plank & Swiss ball Sit Ups

P.M.

Short hilly spin on the bike.. about 25 miles

Wednesday 13th May

A.M. Gym

Shoulders & Traps

Dumbbell Overhead Press
Shrug
Lat Raises
Upright Row
Bent over Lat Raises

Thursday 14th MAy

A.M. Gym

40 mins easy on spin bike

Friday 15th May

Rest day...... Mount Leinster Challenge tomorrow !!!

Week commencing Monday 4th May 09

2009-05-05T00:41:00.006+01:00

Bank Holiday Monday

The legs are still a little stiff and sore from the cycle yesterday.

Wanted to see if I could run after a long cycle as the Mount Leinster Challenge and the SportsWorld 5 miler are coming up in 2 weeks time.

Went to the gym, weather was bad for road running but I also wanted to sit in the jacuzzi.

5 minutes warm up on the treadmill @ 10.5kph
Few static stretches
Set the distance for 8km
Started @ 12.5 kph
I was getting pains down my shins and in my left foot after about 1km. The shin pains were a bit more severe than I normally get and I really struggled from about 3km.
I set a target of 4km before reducing the pace but managed to get to 5 km and then reduced to 10.5kph

Distance: 8km
Time : 42.15
Average pace: 11.4kph

Tuesday 5th May

Intended to rest today (actually intended to do a short weight session in the gym)
I was fucking knackered when I woke up.

Change of plan
Went to the gym early evening for a spin class.

Spinning 30/35 minutes
Treadmill 25 minutes @ 10.5kph
Distance covered 4.33k

Wednesday 6th May

Tired when I got up this morning and my stomach felt a little dodgy.

Chest and Biceps session

All 4,4,6,8 sets
Chest Press
Biceps Curl
Incline Chest Press
Zottoman Curls
Dumbbell Flyes
Reverse Curls

Eventually got through the sets, took way too much time for recovery. Stomach still dodgy.

Thursday 7th May

Rest day

Friday 8th May

I had intended to do a back and triceps session but I was late getting to the gym and my energy levels were low.
My revised plan was to do some intervals on the treadmill.
Only managed 5 min warm up and 1 x 10 min interval @ level 11
Christopher has been out of school for the past 2 days according to the doctor he has some type of virus. I'm thinking that I must have a touch of something as I'm still feeling totally knackered and my stomach is still not great.

Saturday 9th May

Did 4.81 miles cross country with the club lads.
Total of 6 short laps. First 1.5 laps was slow at about 9.5min miles, pace picked up after that.
I wasn't as comfortable as I should have been at that pace, must still be a little off colour.
Distance 4.81 miles, Time 41.34, Average 8.38 mins per mile

Sunday 10th May

Headed for the Corrubut gap on the bike with the intention of heading up the climb to the Nine Stones on Mount Leinster.
It was tough on the gap, I stopped at the top for a drink and a bar (took a way longer break that I should have) As I look across at the road to the Nine Stones I tried to find any plausible excuse not to head up there.
Ahh fuck it, just go for it.
Turns out it was a really handy climb, I didn't get out of the saddle and actually finished the last bit on the big ring.
Returned through Fenagh and Rathoe.
Overall 40 miles.....

Sliabh Bloom Challenge - Sunday 3rd May 09

2009-05-04T10:14:00.003+01:00

Event Info

Looking out at the early morning sunshine and having heard a good weather forecast I decided that this was a day for shorts,light weight socks and short sleeve top.

I had thrown overshoes, armwarmers, jacket and heavy tights into the car the night before, just in case and I was going to be sooo sorry that I didn't use them.

I arrived at the meeting point with Allen,in Strawhall at 8.30 for registration and a 9.00 start. Bumped into a mate, Lar, at the assembly area.

We had a bit of a false start. We noticed that there were groups heading off already, so we decided to follow one of the groups. That was all well and good until we realised that we weren't closing the gap although we were pushing the pace a bit. We decided to turn around and head off with a more suitably paced group.
We met Lar and two mates on the way so we jumped in with them. None of us actually knew the route so a quick check of the map was needed on the ringroad. The roads were well marked after that.

Despite the strong head wind it was good craic in the group on the long drag by Killeshin.
This was also the first opportunity to try out the new chainring. After what happened on the climb up to the "Cut" my small gears will no longer be referred to as girly gears. More later !!

I was freezing for the first few miles, my feet didn't thaw out for about 60 miles. I'm really not sure if they did get warmer or if I just stopped feeling them after all my other bits started to hurt. I wasn't brave enough to take off my over jacket all day.

At about 17 miles I had the life scared out of my by a bunch of 30 or 40 riders whizzing past on a downhill. We hopped into the group and stayed with them 10 or so miles.
This was the first time since school (that's not today nor yesterday) that I've been in a large bunch and it felt fantastic. I lost sight of Allen, Lar and the lads for about 20 minutes as I moved closer and closer to the front of the bunch. I was getting a bit nervous when I realised I would most likely need to take a turn at the front (Ahh Jaysus, I'll be too slow, how long will I last at the front etc.) I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when the group broke up and I hadn't been on front.
I think that I went into a sort of race mode for a while, I wanted to chase down the wheel in front and hop on any wheel that passed, it did feel exciting, but it eventually dawned on me that we still had about 70 miles and some big climbs ahead.. slow down you fuckin eejit you're not 18 any more !!

The route took us through Abbeyleix and onto the rest stop at Mountrath. A very welcome cup of tea and a couple of sambos refreshed us for the next stage "the mountains" I had hoped that the break would help to warm my feet, unfortunately that wasn't the case.

The first climb over Sliabh Bloom towards Kinnitty was steep enough in parts but mainly a tough drag. The scenery was impressive, although I guess that it would look a lot better without sweat and snot dripping off your nose.
The surface on most of the downhill was crap and made for some serious arse clenching.
I nearly rear ended Allen on the way down (not in a brokeback mountain way)
I was glad to reach the better surface of the main road.

The wind is either in your face or you are having a good day.
We were having a good day on the road from Kinnitty to the next village (cant remember the name) We had a conversation along the way, we knew that there were two large climbs on the route and I asked Allen if he thought we had already done the two climbs. not as stupid a question as it may appear as there was a distinct up, down and up again on Sliabh Bloom. We were left in no doubt when we made the right turn off the main road and started up the climb to the"Cut"

Like Lance Armstrong and Jan Ulrich we were powerfully pushing our way to the summit, About half way up I tucked in behind "Lance" to allow some cars to pass and as I glanced to my right to move out I was greeted by young lady in Carlow road club livery shooting past "howya" "howya" and she disappeared into the distance leaving us "supreme athletes" huffing and puffing and suitably reminded of our place in the cycling world. (no more references to girly gears, ever, ever, ever again. Sorry girls)
I was getting some mild stomach cramps on the way up, I think it was the mix of Lucozade sport and gels just didn't agree with me, all was well and good until on the way down I farted :-O .I had to tell Al that there would be a stewards enquiry. For a few minutes the laughter took my mind off the aches and pains.

Mostly downhill back to Mountrath where we checked out where we had the first tea break in the hope that there would be some more refreshments. At this point I really fancied a cuppa and a sandwich No luck though. Ah well, keep going, onward to Portlaoise.
I noticed that I was starting to check the mileage on a more regular basis, 70, 71, 71.5... It's going to be a long haul home...the legs felt like they had one speed only and my shoulders (traps) were going into spasm.

Going through Portlaoise Allen did a Superman and made his bike fly, when he jumped a huge pothole and avoided a car pulling out of a side street. Impressive move .. I could almost visualise him with red knickers over his lycra shorts and a billowing red cape...(WOW !! that's a scary thought)
I was a bit worried about the impending climb out of Stradbally but it turned out to be relatively easy (didn't need to use the baby gears) Well not all of them.
We joined up with some lads from Naas cycling club and that really helped make the last few miles fly by. I even found enough energy to take a turn at the front and close down a gap or two. Wonders will never cease !!!

Back to Carlow, a cup of tea and a quick chat with the lads and away for grub and a shower.

Finished the day with a gallon of guinness with Allen in his local. Great day !!!!!

Week Commencing Monday 27th April

2009-05-02T21:45:00.000+01:00

Monday 27th April

A.M.
Went to gym. Did a leg and abs/core session

All set of 4,4,6,8 aming for failure on the last set.

Squats 55kgs (I know, I'm working on it)
Hamstring curls 65kgs
Leg Raises 65kgs
Lunges with 16kgs in each hand.

Mixed with Plank and Swiss Ball sit ups.

Tuesday 28th April

Didn't hear the alarm. Missed the planned A.M. session.
Hoped to have a P.M session but a friend had some issues that had to be attended to, so the training had to me missed.
Went to pub late and had a few pints

Wednesday 29th April

No early start today after the pints.
P.M
Went to gym.
Session was:
10 Minute warm up on treadmill @ 11kph
1x 10 min interval on treadmill at level 11
1 x 10 min interval on treadmill @ level 10
50 mins on spin bike
1 min easy
2 mins pushing sitting down
2 mins pushing out of the saddle
Repeat

Thursday 30th April

Went to Dublin to get a new chainring on the bike (34 inner ring, what a puff)
Just made it to the gym 45 mins before closing.

Session was:

20 mins treadmill @ 12.1 kph
20 mins spin bike

4 mins easy/med
1 min out of saddle

3 mins easy/mid
2 mins out of saddle

2 mins easy/med
3 mins out of saddle

1 min easy/med
4 mins out of saddle

Friday 1st May

40 mins treadmill @ 10.5 kph

Saturday 2nd May

Rest day
Sliabh Bloom cycle tomorrow

Sunday 26th April

2009-05-02T17:08:00.000+01:00

Sunday 26th April

A.M.

Went for a 5 mile run around the Ardattin circut.

I felt extremely tired all the way around and finished somewhere close to 45 minutes (can't be bothered to look up the exact time)

P.M.

Called over to Allen with my bike and we headed for the Corrubut Gap via Bagnalstown. I was hoping that when we crested the gap that we would head for the nine stones. Well, was that all going to change !!!

As we headed up the first steep section Allen went ahead of me. He had a steely look in his eye and was totally focused on getting to the top.

I managed to get about 1/3 of the way up when I had to stop. I actually got off the bike and walked around a bit, then I puked, not very pleasant but a least I would be a bit lighter for the rest of the climb.
Eventually made to the top but as I was getting there I noticed Allen heading back down to look for me. I had a laugh to myself (would have laughed more if I wasn't in pain) because when he saw me he turned around to head back to the top but the hill was so steep he couldn't get back on the bike and had to walk back to the summit...

When I got to the top I got off the bike again and huffed and puffed for a while. All plans to head for the nine stones were abandoned and god bless Allen he suggested that it looked like rain so maybe we should take the short route home. (thanks Al)

I had a first on the way down !!!
It's a horribly steep downhill and since I fell off a bike as a young lad at terminal volocity I don't like downhills
I don't know if it was because I was gripping the bars so tightly on the way up or something else but on the way down I could smell the brake blocks burning (not a first) and my hands and forearms were starting to cramp. I actually had to stop to take the pressure off my hands, I thought that I was going to lose the ability to pull the brakes and knew there was an especially steep bit just before a T junction. Imagine how stupid that makes me feel !!! Stopping on a downhill....

We got back to Allens after only abut 32 miles. Last spin before the Sliabh Bloom challenge... God help me !!!!

The Bike

2009-05-02T16:27:00.000+01:00

The bike started with a phone call from Eddie

"Hey, Git you want to do the Wicklow 100?"
"Let me check it out. I'll call you back"

Some internet research later !!!

"Hey Ed, had a look at that. The wicklow 100 is for puffs we should do the 200. There are some proper climbs in the 200"

Jaysus, me a me big gob !!! How I was going to regret that remark over the coming weeks.

Turns out that Ed is a big puff after all and bottled the whole bike thing, however, his older and better looking brother Allen is altoghter a different kettle of fish. Turns out that Al and his sexy new carbon fibre bike are up for the challenge.

So with 8 weeks to the event we started training for the Wicklow 200

We have added a few extra events as part of the training. The first one is the Sliabh Bloom Challange http://www.carlowcycling.org/pb/wp_50913338/wp_50913338.html

I have done some spins on the bike, mostly with Allen. The longest spin was just over 80 miles on Sunday 19th April and we have also headed up the Corrubut Gap a few times (that still hurts) added to that are some flatter spins. Not many miles but hopefully enough to complete the sportives.

Bupa 10k 5th April 09

2009-05-02T10:50:00.000+01:00

I drove to my friends house a couple of hours before the the run. He lives close enough to the Phoenix park to run/jog to the start. His wife and son and my son were helping out at the race so they headed off early.

Sean and I jogged over to the park and did some gentle runs along the grass as a warmup.

The weather was perfect, sunshine and no wind worth talking about.

There were 11,000 people registered, the start area was jammed with bodies, some running, some stretching but most were just standing around nervously waiting for the race to start.

As we made our way to the starting pens, Sean hopped into the 35-45 minute section. I kept walking towards the next section 45-55 minutes. I mentioned previously that I wasn't well prepared for the run, I had also been ill earlied in the week so I was just hoping to finish in under 60 minutes (60 was my out loud time, i was really hoping for something closer to 50). At this point I had no idea how the legs would react, I was a bit nervous about not finshing at a run. I had a mental picture of myself waddling across the line at a slow walk surrounded by grey haired old women.

Eventually the run started. It took me a couple of minutes to get to the start line.

Here we go !!
Start the watch, ipod on, get the legs moving.
Actually would like to move a bit faster.
Can't do it, it's wall to wall bodies, try to get through some gaps as they appear (not good at the gap thing).
Ah well, just go with the flow.
At the 1km mark at the roundabout I check my watch 5.38 (Sean tells me later his group went through in 4.30)

As they slow down the fat fuckers are still blocking the road. From the start to the 5 or 6km mark I have passed 100s of fat arsed people who obviously have a very high opinion of their abilities and packed into the 35-45 minute section. Some of these are still going to be on the course as night falls.
Don't get me wrong I'm no Eamonn Coughlan, I was overtaken by plenty of people too but I really got irked by the amount of slow runners who placed themselves at the top of the field.

I called out and waved to Christopher at the water station, I was on the opposite side of the road as I didn't need water at the time. Don't think that I had broken a sweat yet !

I had been chatting to a guy at the start, he was in his early/mid 20s and was saying that his target was 50 something (can't remember now). I met him on the hill just after the water station. I have to admit that I really enjoyed patting him on the back with the obligatory "well done, keep going" as I glided past.
I spotted a guy in a red top on this hill who was moving well through the crowd, I moved in behind him and used him as a target for a few kms. This also seemed to make the time fly by.

The downhills especially at the Kyber Pass (?) were too packed to make any time. In fact on a few occasions I had to do the baby step shuffle so as not to step on the people in front of me.

In the last 3 or 4 kms there were still quiet a number of people going backwards. It was noticable at this point that the arses were smaller.

The final straight (long run in) I managed to stretch the legs a bit and finally finished in 51.50.

Handed in the chip, got the goodie bag and escaped the melee at the exit.

Ran back to Seans house. I did receive some funny looks on the way.

Overall a very enjoyable day and some valuable lessons learned.

Bit more backround

2009-05-01T09:31:00.000+01:00

Didn't do very much for a good few weeks after Dublin 08. I then started to train for a 10k that was on in early December. I was following a well structured programme and was doing all my running on the threadmill.

I began to develop a pain in my left foot and after it became seriously uncomfortable I decided to rest it. Diagnosis by internet suggested that it was caused by a stress fracture of a metatarsal, although I'm not so sure about that now.

Anyway, I put on my fat head for christmas (starting early Dec and finished early Jan) Drank Guinness by the bucketful and stuffed my face with lovely goodies. Added about 5kgs to my already rotund frame.

Early /mid March started to do a few short slow runs. My intention was to run the Bupa 10k on the 5th April. Only managed to get 3 or 4 4-5 mile training runs in before the event. There is nothing like being prepared for a race and this was nothing like being prepared !!!

Introduction

2009-04-30T22:32:00.001+01:00

I'm starting this blog to keep track of my training & events for 2009.

I'll put up the list of events when I can figure out how to do it.

As a bit of backround, I joined the local gym about 18 months ago as I was turning into a totally fat bastard. The training there was going alright but was without any specific goals, sometime around early July 08 I received a phone call from one of my best friends, he suggested it would be a good idea to run the Dublin Marathon, I was slightly drunk at the time so it seemed like a good idea to me too (last time I'll commit to anything after a few glasses of vino).
We ran a five miles together that week to give us an idea of our level of fitness and that was the last time we ran together until the marathon. Because of time issues we ended up on different training programmes but it was great to be able to talk to someone who was training for the same event and compare notes etc.
That was the start of my interest in distance road running. I finished the Dublin Marathon in 3.47 with a smile on my face (looks like a grimace in the photos but it is a smile, I swear)