Game 5 of 6...

Thursday, 22nd August, 2013 – 12.1km Mountain Run - Slieve Foye, Carlingford

Met Felim after work in Malahide and droveonwards to Carlingford for a go at Slieve foye - Co. Louth's highest peak. No huge reason we choase this apart from getting a peak that wasn't in the usual Wicklow Mountains. En route the weather was perfect but when we got to Dundalk we could see low cloud over our mountain. By the time we got to Carlingford 10 mins later the cloud was almost on the floor!

Regardless, we decided to forge onwards. Felim had an idea of the route and after a couple of wee misdirections by us we were on the trail heading up the mountain. A brief moment of clear views allowed us a glimpse of Carlingford Lough and some of the Mourne Mountains across the way.

As we got closer to the top the cloud had really gathered in so we had a quick double-check off the map and compass and 300m later we were at the peak. There were brief views of the countryside but mainly we were looking down on a blanket of cloud for miles around us. I'm pretty sure this would be a great viewpoint on a clear day so I'm sure I'll be back but this evening failed to deliver on the vistas!

Trig point atop Slieve Foye (Highest point in Co. Louth).
(Try not to think of "I'm a little teapot"!!)

We continued on after a while and after we noticed the dark evening was beginning to close in we dropped down along the gully from Eagle's Rock to the former forest. A dodgy fence crossing eventually got us out onto the trail proper and an easy 3km run back down to the village under the guidance of my head torch. All done it was 12km but a bit stop-start and really shouldn't have taken the almost 2hrs we racked up! Enjoyable evening out and the plan is Slieve Gullion in Armagh next up.

Friday, 23rd August, 2013 – 7.4km Recovery Run (5:40/km)

I was a little bit stiff after the trail run last night so just a slow recovery run this evening. Still looking to keep the recovery days very relaxed.

Saturday, 23rd August, 2013 – 26.5km LSR (5:07/km)

I met up with Philip in the Phoenix Park at 8:30am for this run. Plan was to get a decent run in before Philip called over to the start of the Frank Duffy 10 miler on Chesterfield Avenue. This portion of the run lasted 10 miles and was done at approx 5:00/km which was a good decent pace for me but a very easy pace for Philip!

After catching the start of the race I continued on my way for a few more miles. I stopped off for a few minutes to catch the race leaders pass through mile 8 and then ran to the finish line to catch the rest of the crowd coming home. All done it amounted to 26.5km. I was hoping to rattle a few more off to get to 30km but the rigor mortis had kicked in by the time I restarted so I just jogged it back to the car. Pretty confident about this weekends LSR though where I'll be aiming for 30-32km @ 5:00/km.

Sunday, 24th August, 2013 – 7.1km Recovery Run (5:23/km)

This was just a short run to get the legs moving as I had to be in Croker in time to watch the Mayo Minors beat Monaghan. The day was completed with the Seniors beating Tyrone so onwards to 'Game 6'! Big loss with Co'C dislocating his shoulder again but Freeman stood up to the mark in his absence. Over to you Dublin to set up the match everyone's been waiting for!

The Eircom 'Were you there?' app question answered!

Week 34 Summary:

RTW: 7 from 7 days

DTW: 91.0km

DTY: 2,722.0km
Chicago - 49 days (7wks, 0days)

The calm before the...long & slow running!

Monday, 8th July, 2013 – 41km Cycle to Ratoath (27kph) + (1.5km Recovery Run)
My small toes on both feet were quite bruised after all the long distances so I decided to go for a cycle instead. Very enjoyable 41km followed and when I got home I threw the runners on thinking I’d get a few running kms added. However, after 500m of running it was obvious the toes were too sore and were causing over compensating tightness on the outside of my right leg so I looped around for a truncated 1.5km.

Tuesday, 9th July, 2013 –7.2km Recovery Run (5:15/km)
Thankfully the toes were much better today so I pushed myself out the door for an easy run but the first few kms were tough so it resulted in recovery pace instead. By 3km the legs were coming round and the final few kms were ran a bit faster. Overall though feeling a bit jaded for a few days now. Not sure if it’s the heat or the accumulated mileage or simply them both.

Wednesday, 10th July, 2013 –11.2km IMRA Race #8 – Ballinastoe
I’d already ran my 7th League race so I was guaranteed a LL prize regardless but the lovely weather this week was drawing me back to the hills. I gave Felim a lift from Loughlinstown and we were parked well in advance of the start. The course was a 2.5km outward section followed by a large 6km loop and then a run back along the initial 2.5km section again.

Just after cresting the first 2.5km hill

Right from the off we were climbing - up fireroads first, then followed by a rocky path through the woods. As has happened most of the time this year I started too far back in the field which meant I was well over 100th position by the first 200m. I wasn’t too bothered though as I didn’t fancy racing this one flat out due to a general apathy which included a total lack of a warm-up (I figured I was already warm and the first 2km were uphill so I’d be much warmer & without stressing the muscles too much so that should work perfectly). I passed lots of people on this long climb with most taking walking breaks waaay too early! Of course this led to me falling into step with some of their rhythms and therefore me walking when most of the time I didn’t really need to! Eventually we were cresting the hill and soon afterwards turning left and away from the glare of a low-setting sun. Much of the next 5km was downhill through pine trees, flat through pine trees and uphill through pi… you get the drift! The branches were very low lying so it felt like I was constantly bent over trying to avoid them. At one stage I had just passed a Junior runner and no more than 60secs later I heard him go flying to the ground behind me. I slowed and turned and asked him if he was ok but there was already 4 or 5 following runners asking the same so I continued on. There would be no pressure on me for a while now I thought as everyone would have slowed down due to the incident but lo and behold within 30 seconds the kid was trying to pass me again! Fair play to him. A minute later I was catching another junior runner in front of me so I rewarded the kid behind me by stepping aside and letting him past to chase his challenger. Unfortunately though, it seemed they were mates and once he caught up to the other lad they slowed to have a chat! Luckily for me the Junior course veered off from our course about 200m later and they were no longer holding me back.

More uphill!

A couple of more uphill kms followed before we looped back around to the outward trail and turned for home along the opening 2.5km. At this point I passed 2 or 3 guys on the top of the hill, so once we were descending the rocky path there were two ladies about 100m and 200m ahead of me. I made it my goal to overtake the two of them by the finish. The first girl held out for about 3-4 mins before I passed her and shortly afterwards we arrived out onto the fireroad for home and there I passed the other girl. Next up was a guy a further 100m ahead who was just passing an early starter. We were now only about 600m from the finish so I was quite literally running out of road! I had caught the early starter pretty quickly and with about 300m to go I was reeling in the guy. 100m later and I was on his shoulder but I was reckoning he’d find a boost of energy once he knew I was about to pass him. Seizing the inititative I upped my speed to maximum effort for the run in to the finish and to my surprise there was no fightback whatsoever from the other guy leaving me to beat him by 20-30m. The last 130m was clocked at 3:09/km pace which shows I wouldn’t have lasted much longer or I’d have blown up!

A quick headcount at the finish and I reckoned I might have sneaked into the top 60 as I waited to see how Felim and Jeff had done. They came home shortly after me and with the arrival of the flies we dalled no more and departed. As it turned out I was credited with 72nd position which was a little disappointing. There were several people who went the wrong way on the course and had been marked down as DNF but I was left wondering was there not a lot more who may have ran a short course also because there was one or two people who finished ahead of me whom I was sure I had passed early in the race.

Anyways, not to worry too much considering my attitude at the start. Another enjoyable Wednesday evening league race but that’s my lot for this Summer as the last race is next week and I won’t be able to make it. Hopefully I’ll be back out for a few casual runs after work over the next few weeks.

Thursday, 11th July, 2013 – Rest Day
Felt a bit tired from last nights mountain run and had a couple of things lined up in the evening so logged this one as a rest day.

Friday, 12th July, 2013 – 11.9km Recovery Run (5:35/km)

Just another slow recovery paced run to keep ticking over in advance of the HM pacing job tomorrow.

Saturday, 13th July, 2013 – 21.3km Clontarf Half Marathon (5:36/km)
Already a scorching day in Clontarf when i got there i was happy that I was pacing this and not racing! Met up with my 2hr pacing buddy Conor a while before the start as well as the others including Michael, Dominic and Matt who had to run solo with the 1:45 gang.

Everything went pretty well with a nice gang with us as far as the turnaround point near Kilbarrack. As we ran back however people started to drop off mostly due to the fact the cooling breeze was now on our back and thereby not functioning so well. When we were back on the beach the group was whittling away further and the soft sand exiting onto the wooden bridge decimated the group altogether. A few people remained and we picked up a few stragglers on the run-in to help get them in under 2hrs. It was Conor's first time pacing and he should be happy with a job well done as we finished in 1:59:37.

Sunday, 14th July, 2013 – Rest Day
Even though it was only a pacing job yesterday was still in the legs. Wasn't helped by going out for a few too many drinks in the evening time either!! Rest and recovery today!

So, not a huge amount of kms this week but with it being yet another taper(!) I am reasonably happy. Main thing now is to avoid injury before Friday!

Week 28 Summary: 

RTW: 5 from 7 days

DTW: 53.1km

DTY: 2277.8km

Sixmilebridge and Wicklow Way

Monday, 1st July, 2013 – 11.9km Easy Run (4:59/km)
First couple of kms were just loosening out the legs and then managed a decent clip afterwards.

Tuesday, 2nd July, 2013 – 17.8km Medium Slow Run (5:25/km)
Probably a little too fast last night as on tonight’s run the legs felt a little heavy again. Kept the pace around 5:27/km all the way and the HR in the 120’s.

Wednesday, 3rd July, 2013 – Rest Day
The big mileage caught up with me and I was knackered so I gave tonight a miss.

Thursday, 4th July, 2013 – 11.9km Recovery Run (5:23/km)
A gentle enough recovery run in advance of a couple of big days…

Friday, 5th July, 2013 – 42.6km Sixmilebridge Marathon (5:19/km)
It only entered my head during the week that I could do with a back to back long run this weekend, that I was free Friday afternoon and that Day 2 of the 10 in 10 was starting at 5pm. Everything came together so perfectly that I had registered for the marathon before I really knew what was happening!

I drove straight to Sixmilebridge from work and arrived into the village about 30mins before the race start. After a little bit of adventuring I eventually located the registration centre. 8 people had gone out for an early start at 3pm in a bid to be home safely before darkness. That left me among about 25 people to start at 5pm. The race started with a small lap of the village before tackling the main loop. After the first mile a group of five had broken away from the rest of us and I was leading the charge of the peleton (It would evolve into a tussle to the finish between Thomas, Stu and Rik for the win). I inched away from the rest of my group over the next few miles so it was strange when I heard another runner approaching after 5 miles. After a little chat it emerges it was John Chapman whom I had ran close to in both Le Cheile marathons two weeks previously. I fully expected that he would continue on past me but after a mile or so we fell into the same pace. I was now moving slightly faster than I’d aimed for but the company was allowing the time to tick by faster so I made the decision to maintain speed alongside John.

Myself and the other JC
crossing the finish line

The water stations were well manned by locals and appeared every three miles. This was a warm day so hydration was essential, although luckily the temperature dropped a few degreees after the first hour. There was also a couple of road crossings that the marshalls handled really well from a safety point of view so good performance all round!

After 10 miles we were met by a long drag. Barely noticeable at this stage it would seem much steeper just 2 hours later. We were back in the village in what felt like no time (actually – 1:53!) and here we managed to catch up to Denis Looney who had kept a solid 200m gap on us ever since John joined me 8 miles previous. Unfortunately Denis seemed to take it a bit easier from here though and he dropped back from us when we left the village for the second time. 

We were now coming across some of the 3pm starters who were walking including Tom who organised this whole event through the local Bridge Milers Olympic Harriers (BMOH) club. Unfortunately Tom had done his ankle the evening before and that resulted in him having to walk the entire course today. Around this point we caught up to Graham Whitaker also who had been in fourth place but like Denis he too was now easing back (full entitled to do so with a 3:35 yesterday!). Graham ran with us for a half a mile or so but let us off after that.

Marathon results

We passed a couple of more walkers soon afterwards but then it was just the pair of us til the end. Things got a little tougher (and quieter!) over the last few miles and that damn drag from the first lap now appeared neverending! Thankfully John was very familiar with the route so he could tell me just where the landmarks along the route were. We passed under the finish gantry together in 3:46:57 for joint 4th spot. Considering I was planning to run about 4:00-4:10 I was very happy with the time and how I felt (my HR was in the recovery zone throughout until the final few miles when a little effort was required). However, I was wary that I now had to drive back to Dublin and run a very hilly marathon distance tomorrow so I wasn’t sure if I’d regret this evening’s faster pace …

Saturday, 6th July, 2013 – 40.6km Wicklow Way LSR

Starting point

I parked up in the Lidl on Grange Road and immediately ran into Johnny. A short walk to the meeting spot and we ran into Pat and Sean while watching the winners first finishers of the Parkrun. After a few mins we noticed another group of backpak-clad runner-type people and on closer inspection confirmed it was the rest of our group. There was 12 in total and we’d be meeting a 13th - Felim - at Curtlestown Wood later. A plan which had developed in a pub after the Cork marathon between myself and Johnny had snowballed to this! People travelled from Cork (x3), Kilkenny and Laois for this so I’m sure they were happy with the glorious weather we laid on for them! And so it was that at 10:05am we set sail for the Wicklow Way.

The gang (minus Felim) at the start

The first couple of kms are through Marlay Park and out onto College Road before we turned undeer the M50 and the start of the first of three big climbs of the day. Kilmashogue Lane was steep in places and we were happy when it turned off road onto the mountain itself as the incline eased off a bit from here. Before long we were most of the way to the top and the first photo opp of the day looking back over a sun laden Dublin. Just a little while later we were cresting the mountain and stopped for a brief break at the junction of the Dublin Mountain Way trail. Everyone was in good spirirts and really enjoying the scenery and best news of all was that the next few miles were downhill!

Traffic jam on the trail!

The trail across towards Tibradden is quite technical and very easy to trip yourself up (as I did on the DMW a few months back!). Thankfully though no such accidents to report this time. The section where it diverges from the DMW down to the Ballybrack Road was very steep and a couple of times I could feel the grip from the runners begin to slide. Great fun! We regrouped again at the man road and it was here that the flies and midges first became unbearable. 

View from Kilmashogue
back over the city

Next up was Prince William’s Seat. The group was now beginning to splinter a little bit with the faster guys like Michael, Paul, Kevin and Jeff all bouncing lightly up the mountain! No shame in being droppped by that gang though as they all have impressive marathon pbs. Another brilliant if slightly hazy vista welcomed us at the top of this climb where we were now looking down over Bray, Dalkey and the Irish Sea. The descent from here included a section of large boulders which had to be carefully negotiated before we were back onto fireroad and before we knew it were at the gates of Curtlestown Woods. 

Drop down to the
Dargle from Maulin

Felim was waiting for us here with two x 2 litre bottles of water which was perfect timing as most of us were running pretty low. After a top-up we were on our way again. I could see that the faster guys were eager to get going and probably a little too much waiting around for their liking but in fairness they never complained. Well at least not while we were in earshot!! After a few miles on road, fireroad and through fields we arrived at Crone Woods. This was the start of the final large climb – but the toughest was kept for last! I’ve ran this climb a few times now and new what lay ahead so I made sure to take it handy. I’d arrived at the start without having refueled sufficiently from yesterday’s efforts so I was very conscious of not over cooking things too far from the finish. The group now broke into a band of four towards the back with the 9 others travelling at varying speeds in front. Another great photo opp presented itself just in front of Powerscourt waterfall and the first decent view of Djouce. 

Water refill at the crossing of the Dargle

Myself and Felim

We marched onwards and regrouped once more as we crossed the Dargle and stopped for a water refill. We weren’t too sure of the water quality but Pat promised he’d drank from it before so we gave it a taste. Just as good as from a tap so we refilled for the remainder of the run. From here to the top of Djouce was to prove to be a killer for me. Totally lacking in energy I just hiked to the high point before jogging around the peak and by the time we were on the far side of the mountain it was time for another photo opp so I decided to take on some food. This stop lasted about 5 mins and once we got going again it was mainly downhill to the finish. So, refreshed, reenergised and refocused the funk lifted and I was back to enjoying my adventure. 

Myself and John at Lough Tay.

Finito!

There had been talk (mainly by me I admit!) of continuing onwards to Laragh but one-by-one people were making up their mind to call it quits in Roundwood instead. The faster guys kicked on (subsequently taking a shortcut to the village!) while myself Felim, Johnny and Kate stuck to our pace and route to arrive into the Coach House about 25 mins after them. A short while later the remainder of the bunch dropped in too so there was planty of craic as we waited for our lift back to Marlay.

Thankfully I’d made it through two very long runs in decent nick and that gives me a nice confident boost for Friday week in Belfast. The past few weeks have reinstilled in me the old running mantra that ‘pace kills, not distance!’. Today’s run was really enjoyable again and before we’d left the pub Bertie was already working on plans for a follow-up run down in Kerry!

Note: Thanks to Kate, Bertie, John, Paul and Ger for all the pics!

Sunday, 7th July, 2013 – 7.4km Recovery Run (5:27/km)
Just got out and ran a leg loosener to keep the legs ticking over. No pain thankfully, just a bit of tiredness but that’s to be expected.

So, a week of over 132km, easily the biggest week of running I’ve ever managed AND I had a Rest Day in there to boot - gotta be pleased with that!


Week 27 Summary:
RTW: 6 from 7 days
DTW: 132.2km
DTY: 2224.7km

Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail...Take 2!

Friday, 28th June, 2013 – 7.5km St Coca's 5km race + 2.5km wu/cd (3:59/km)
I had planned to do this all week but after feeling a bit knackered yesterday I changed my mind and thought I’d give it a miss. Then on Friday morning an email from Philip suggested that the €12 was great value and that I’d probably have that value in food and goodies afterwards! Also, the race was en route to the West so I once more changed my mind and booked the race. For only €12 it really was a great value race. I arrived by 7:30 and after a quick regsitration, short chat with Niall and brief warm up with Philip we went to the start line. Niall had offered to pace me to sub 20mins but I wasn’t too bothered so told him to run his own race, rather than waste his time on mine.

There were lots of fast looking people at the race start and I found myself about 1/3rd of the way back the field. The race started without much congestion and after 200m I found myself on the shoulder of Niall! Eased back from this unsustainable pace and made it over the first bridge without major difficulty. Things settled down pretty quickly and before we knew it we were flying past the ‘kms to go’ signs. The course was very flat with the only two inclines being slight enough. With 1.5km to go things started to get a little tough. My legs weren’t moving at the required rate and the high mileage was catching up with me. I kept the effort up regardless and soon found myself passing the ‘1km to go’ sign. I was running on fumes at this stage and a few people started going past me in the final 500m but I managed to rally to stem the bleeding somewhat. I heard Niall shouting out as I was approaching the line with the countdown to 20mins ticking away. 20:00 as I passed through! This time I didn’t ‘split’ my watch at the real start line so I only have the gun time to go by. Probably the same time in reality as Enfield 6 weeks ago but without any faster training since, so happy enough all things considered. At some stage I will focus on the shorter stuff and aim to make serious inroads on the 5km/10km times but that will all have to wait for the moment! 

Approaching the finish line. Photo courtesy of Peter Mooney.

Saturday, 29th June, 2013 – 62.9km Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail
Back in February I attempted this trail run but called it short at 42km in Aghagower. Unfinished business meant I returned for another attempt on Saturday. The PB equalling 5km run last night probably didn’t help matters but I reckoned it was short enough and that the trail run would be nice and easy paced so there should be little enough overlap of tired muscles.

I started at 8:45am on Saturday morning from Balla Square. The weather was overcast and showery. The wind was pretty weak but I knew it was to get a bit stronger later on. The first 42km to Aghagower was quite similar as last time. Some sections were drier which was a help but then other fields were full of meadow so that took a little longer. It all balanced out to mean that I arrived in Aghagower in approximately the same time (4hrs55mins) as last time but I was definitely in a much better state - the hill just before Aghagower felt nowhere near as tough as last time out.

After a refuelling break in Aghagower I continued onwards past the ruins and the graveyard. Here I was looking for a turn to the left but knew it would be a bit difficult to find. After missing it initially and then asking a farmer in the field next to it I eventually discovered the track. This section was very overgrown and close to unrunnable with briars and nettles and low hanging branches to contend with. After about 800m I emerged out onto the main road again. This I was to later find out was the beginning of the second major hill on the trail. There was a walking group around here so it was good to have some company for a brief while. After a little longer than I’d expected I arrived at the top of the hill. Still I couldn’t view the Reek though as there was quite a bit of low hanging cloud around. 

By this stage my feet were getting sore, especially my little toes. They had been taking the slack for all the uneven off-road terrain to help keep me balanced. By now they were well blistered on top of lots of grit aggravating them. The average pace was beginning to fall back around now as I took a couple of wallking breaks for the uphills. Soon, I was on the downhill section to the Westport-Leenane road. As I crossed over to Brackloon Woods I really felt the worst was behind me and that I was definitely less than 10km from the finish. The next two kms were up through the woods on a nice tree-covered path. It was good to be sheltered from the wind as it had been quite exposed on parts of the last 5 miles and the wind was now quite strong. A couple of kms of back roads followed Brackloon Woods and soon I was at the base of the Skelp. This is where the beginning of the end occurred.

The first 1.5 miles are uphill with an elevation gain of over 150m along laneways and mountain trail. The next mile was further uphill but also had very thick heather which had to be negotiated. This section really broke me and when I eventually got to the end of this section I had to have a sit-down and clean out my shoes and socks! I figured the rest should be easy as it meant dropping height and then contouring around the mountain. The reality however meant the descent was too steep to run and then when contouring there was no trail at all. Instead a few waymarkers dotted along the mountainside gave you the general direction to follow but there was now a very strong wind in my face and the terrain brought an endless amount of downhill streams which made the ground saturated all the way to the end of the trail 2 miles away! 

Eventually I reached the terminal sign, just 100m above St. Patrick’s statue and a further 500m to the main road. 7hrs 55mins after starting out in Balla I reached Campbell’s bar. Happy to be sitting down and no longer having to deal with the unreasonable mountain terrain I ordered and savoured one of the tastiest pints of Guinness I’ve ever experienced!

Sunday, 30th June, 2013 – Rest Day
Small toes on both feet still very tender so no point in going out for a run to compound the matter – rest day instead.

Week 26 Summary:
RTW: 4 from 7 days
DTW: 88.8km
DTY: 2092.5km

Two marathons in one day!

Friday (10:00pm), 21st June, 2013 - 18.1km cycle to Lucan
Saturday (Midnight), 22nd June, 2013 - 44.3km Le Cheile Midnight Marathon (5:24/km)
Saturday (1:00pm), 22nd June, 2013 - 42.5km Le Cheile Royal Canal Marathon (6:26/km)
This was an unexpectedly very busy weekend for me. I had planned to do the Le Cheile track marathon in Leixlip and had my eye on doing the canal marathon the following day but that was very much dependant on how I felt after the first. This only paints half the picture however. For the full story, the tale begins on Friday afternoon...

I ran into car trouble after going to the shops to buy a few supplies for the marathon(s). When I returned to my car it simply wouldn't budge - not even a peep out of it. I subsequently learned that it was the electronic steering wheel lock that was jarred. I spent the next two hours trying to work out how to get it fixed and eventually when I knew what was required I was told it was too late on a Friday afternoon and that I'd have to wait til Monday to have it towed to the garage! Cost of tow = €50. Cost of repair = either €120 (80% chance) or €1,000 (20% chance). Not a good start to the weekend!

Friday night
I returned home by foot and decided I would need a few hours sleep in advance of running through the night. I ended up sleeping for about two hours and then it was time to pack my stuff and hit off on the bike to Leixlip. It was now 10pm when I left Santry and even though there was a bit of rain en route things were going well. Then I was passing Lucan when I got a puncture on my rear wheel - just great! A quick Google Maps search and I was informed it'd take over an hour to walk the remaining 6km to the Le Cheile track. As I was walking I texted Anto and Eamonn who were both doing the event also. Luckily Anto was still with his phone and offered to call out and collect me. I was so lucky because if I had to walk the rest of the way I'd have missed the start of the marathon as well as having the extra mileage in my legs when starting out. Thankfully Anto had me at the track with half an hour to spare to race start. After what was a stressful day all I had to do now was run a marathon around a 400m lap through the night...and this was supposed to be the easy bit??!

Waiting for the off...

Marathon One
With ten minutes to go before midnight the organisers made a few short announcements and then introduced all the runners to their lap counters - poor unfortunate souls who volunteered to stay up through the night just to count how many laps we were doing! Each counter had 5 runners to tally for and my assigned lap counter was David. A quick hello and then we were lined up at the start.

We should be in Coppers by now!

About 6 minutes after midnight we were set off. Not knowing how I'd be feeling in the afternoon I decided to run the first few laps with Eamonn. Using my new 310XT I set the AutoLap function to 'By Position - Start' which meant every-time I passed the start line it automatically lapped. This was my first time using this function and it proved to be very useful. There was to be 95 laps in total as we were starting in Lane 6.5! Every one of those 95 laps would entail the following conversation being repeated as I passed the start/finish line:
        Me: David?
        David: Got ya John.
And that was it! I'm pretty sure there weren't many times when our brief lines overlapped as in fairness to him he was on the ball every-time. 

The early laps saw a lot of people pass us out as the excited energy was used up. I had no target in mind apart from leaving myself in a position to be ready to go again 11 hours later. After about 10 laps (4km) I found myself pushing on a little bit. I was careful to keep the HR in a very relaxed 'recovery' zone but thankfully the pace was increasing at the same time. By now I was lapping around sub 5:20/km and this lasted for 50 more laps. I briefly flirted with the idea of aiming for a 3:45 finish time but soon dismissed this thought and refocused on the main goal of finishing strong.

That's what 95 laps of a track does to your Garmin profile!

Halfway came and went without any issues. The constant passing and being passed was helping to keep me distracted from the monotony of doing laps. Also, every so often short conversations struck up between runners but as the race wore on this too faded away. The early front running was being driven by Rory Mooney who seemed to be cruising around the place. Unfortunately for Rory though he succumbed to an injury/illness around halfway. He wasn't the only one to do so and there were some notable DNF's during the night, most of whom had raced in Portumna the previous week. The high effort & mileage combined with the grass track and doing laps meant that there was a a particularly high rate of attrition during this marathon.

Overtaking on the inside 

I was probably one of the few people who actually enjoyed the lap aspect of this run. Apart from a few times during the race when I paused for water at the aid station I kept a reasonably consistent effort going. Then with about 9 laps to go I knew I'd be grand to finish so I started doing a little arithmetic in my head and discovered that I would be close to the 4hr mark if I pushed it a little over the remainder. I upped the effort slowly over the next few kms and managed to finish pretty strongly on the last couple of laps. Unfortunately though by the time I finished my last lap the time read as 4:01:11 so just missed out. When I looked at the total distance though I found that the 95 laps actually measured 44.3km - 2.1km long! I didn't care one jot about what the actual distance was (GPS watches have a certain amount of inaccuracy in a straight line but when you introduce the curvature of each lap then the inaccuracy is going to be further increased) but I was happy to know that this was effectively a sub 4hr marathon done at an average HR of 137 bpm - Recovery zone! 

Very happy with this my only issue now was how to get home, or at least get a bit of kip somewhere. Luckily I managed to get a couple of hours on a couch and then a lift home to my place. By the time I got home it was almost 7am so after fixing the puncture on my bike I hit the hay but knowing that I'd have to be up again so soon I couldn't fall asleep. This all meant that I was up out of bed again by 10am - 6hrs after the marathon finish and with just two hours sleep on a couch - and managed to arrange a lift from a friend to Leixlip for round two at 1pm!

Marathon Two
My lift to Leixlip was running a bit late so we drove straight to the race start itself at Furey's of Moyvalley. Soon after the bus load of fellow marathoners arrived. There was 12 of us who ran through the night and three newbies. I was in good spirits as I was waiting and, apart from a little stiffness in the muscles, generally I was still quite fresh all things considered.

We ran a little to the left, turned and then a lot to the right!

We were walked a few hundred metres to the start before a brief overview of the course from Jarlath & Brendan. Essentially it was run 3.5 miles Westwards and then turn before running 22.7 miles Eastwards, all the while beside the Royal Canal! With probably the most low-key start I've ever witnessed we were set off! 

The first few kms to the turnaround point was easy enough going but the wind was primarily in our faces. The gang quickly strung out into a group of 6 of us with a few ahead and a few behind. By the turnaround point I was plodding away quite comfortably so I found myself gently drifting away from the group of six. 

Early days.

Even though I was feeling pretty good the outside of my right knee was beginning to hurt. I was wearing the new Innov8s for this run (wore Kayanos last night on the track marathon) because I was advised so much of it was to be on trail/mud/grass. However, I was finding that most of it was actually gravel so far and the grassy bits were easily firm enough for a pair of road shoes. As a result I had less cushioning for my feet than normal so I was feeling all the pressure points of pebbles and stones coming through the sole and also the sensitive blisters on my feet being impacted upon by the terrain. My knee was still the bigger issue though. I wondered if this was associated with the constant pushing off my right foot for the 4 hours of  anti-clockwise looping last night? The pain was probably only a 4/10 though so while it was annoying it wasn't enough to force me to stop.

Going solo.

I passed Furey's on the return leg where Brendan & Jarlath were waiting for us with bottles of water just as I was contemplating going to my backpack for a sip - perfect timing! Here we had to cross the old N4 road and down the far bank. The grassy section started in earnest here. This single-track also contained lots of protruding roots from the trees which were another obstacle to overcome. The going along here was quite a bit slower as a result. After 14 km I slowed to a walk for this first time so as to take on board some food from my backpack and some more water. It was here that the gang of 5 passed me. All still in good spirits they were sticking to a good consistent pace. Once I got back running I had them in view for another few kms but my next stop was before theirs so they then went out of sight.

I passed through Enfield after 17km where Brendan was present again with bottled water. Then halfway came at Cloncurry Bridge where I met Jarlath with water, jellies and bananas. Really great organisation from the lads! We changed onto the right bank at this crossing and 200m in the distance I saw the G5 who had slowed to a march as they were taking on food. I thought I might be able to catch them up but by the time I was 100m from them they picked it up to a jog and soon the gap started widening again. The second half of my run then became a trade-off between little walking breaks and running. I was now consciously using this as practice for Belfast. It really hit me for the first time around here that even though I was physically in a good state (The knee was still a 4/10 and hadn't gotten any worse) all desire to stop and walk was purely mental. I was allowing myself a walk of 500m or so every 3km. I felt that was a decent trade-off between remaining in good shape and getting to the finish line.

Not long after this I found myself on probably the toughest section of tow path - the grass hadn't been cut low in this location so more care had to be taken in case you stepped on anything in the undergrowth that might twist your ankle. Around here was when the rain first arrived. Torrential downpours which lasted about 15 minutes, there wasn't even a decent tree to take shelter under! By the time it passed my shirt was saturated so I changed it for my jacket as I was also beginning to get cold now. This exchange worked a treat and before long I was snug again.

Finishing times for Marathon #2.

As I passed through Kilcock there was some kind of festival going on with lots of people milling around and several kids playing canoe polo on the canal. No time to stop and soak up the festival I just ploughed on through. I was surprised how far Enfield was from Kilcock but knew Maynooth was now halfway to the finish so I just focused on hitting the Harbour there and then all that was left was the run-in to the finish. I hadn't long passed the entrance to Carton House when I started to wonder if the course would end up measuring long. How far away was the finish line really? I was still in mid-thought when I looked up and noticed a towering modern bridge over the canal. My next reaction was to seek out Intel's building and lo and behold there it was. I knew I was very close to the finish now. I upped the pace for the last 800m but when I rounded the bend I couldn't see any finish line up ahead. Then I thought I'd have to go all the way to Louisa Bridge and then double-back around for the Le Cheile clubhouse, leaving me over a mile left. Briefly my heart sank before I got close enough to see that one of the fishermen was in fact Brendan sitting on the bank of the canal and a small 'Finish' sign in the bushes beside him. This was it! All over at last - in excess of 85km ran inside 18 hours, or 8hrs 42mins running time.

I had a brief chat with Brendan before stumbling the 200m to the clubhouse for a much cherished hot dog and refreshments and a chat with the G5 who had finished about 15 mins earlier. Happy with a good days running under my belt, I got a lift home and all set for an evening of lazing on the couch. Before all that though reality reared it's ugly head again when I discovered that my incapacitated car was now clamped to add to my misery! All that could wait 'til the morning however as this evening was to be a stress-free zone!

Sunday, 23rd June, 2013 - 8.9km Recovery run (5:36/km)
Thought I'd sleep like a log and I suppose I did for a while but by 7am I was awake and couldn't get back to sleep. Again I was feeling remarkably ok and managed to do a few chores around the apartment in the morning, before trying to get the clamping situation sorted out. I won't go into the detail here but if anybody would like to hear me rant about NCPS for a couple of hours giz a call!

I went out for a run in the evening though and the sore knee from yesterday was still prominent for this run. I thought my pace was a little quick but the garmin disagreed and suggested I was actually going around 5:30/km pace. It felt much quicker but I guess my mind was comparing it to the trail run rather than normal speed ranges. From halfway around my 8.9km loop the knee started to get worse and for the final two km it developed into a pronounced limp (6/10) so I was happy to eventually get home. I'll give it a short run-out today but if it is still as sore then a bit of run-free recovery may be required.

For now though, it's back to the real world and dealing with bloody car troubles!

Note: All photos by kind permission of Rory & Peter Mooney.

Week 25 Summary:

RTW: 5 from 7 days
DTW: 112.7km
DTY: 2003.7km

Return of Mountain Running

Monday, 22nd April 2013 – 11.8km Recovery Run (5:14/km)
Just a handy recovery run tonight. Took it so easy the av HR was 129bpm but the pace was still quite decent at an av 5:14/km so I’m taking this as a sign of training going well!

Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail

Trail Route

Fri 8th Feb – 11.0km Recovery Run
Eventually I managed to rouse myself to go out again last Friday for a short recovery paced run. I took it nice and handy but there was a recurring pain through my right groin but this only happened once every couple of minutes. Managed to survive it for 11km in total.