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2013; Eat my dust Meno!
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Superwoman is currently drinking a bottle of Grenache Syrah from the neck (Meno style;)) and literally shovelling Dairy Milk Giant Buttons into her, so, as her hands are covered in chocolate and I won't let her near the laptop, she'll go into the office early tomorrow to regale you all with the events in Connemara
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Superwoman is currently drinking a bottle of Grenache Syrah from the neck (Meno style;)) and literally shovelling Dairy Milk Giant Buttons into her, so, as her hands are covered in chocolate and I won't let her near the laptop, she'll go into the office early tomorrow to regale you all with the events in Connemara
She is still copying me
This is getting scary (mine's a chilean cab sav though) 0 -
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Thanks for all the congrats messages! Am absolutely delighted. Still on an amazing high! Came into the office to get stuck into the race report early this morning but I ended up having real work to do.. How absurd!! Working away on it though and will have something to bore you all to tears soon. Be warned though - I expect the finished product to be pretty lengthy… don't forget how I put 5k / less than 21 minutes in words… and multiply that by about 17…. Haha
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Thanks for all the congrats messages! Am absolutely delighted. Still on an amazing high! Came into the office to get stuck into the race report early this morning but I ended up having real work to do.. How absurd!! Working away on it though and will have something to bore you all to tears soon. Be warned though - I expect the finished product to be pretty lengthy… don't forget how I put 5k / less than 21 minutes in words… and multiply that by about 17…. Haha
I have sent ahead provisions, to be opened at 13000, 20000, and 30000 words0 -
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When I ran in Connemara last year and completed my first marathon in 4:28, I swore I'd never do it again. Despite the amazing experience, I felt that I had achieved what I set out to do and that was that. I thought about Connemara sporadically over the following months and decided that although I said I'd never do the full again, I would actually go back and do the Half, if only for the atmosphere, scenery and the craic of it all. After the Dublin Marathon went so well for me, I found myself being talked into doing silly things - like running longer distances a little slower, running shorter distances a little faster and most horrifyingly - running longer distances a lot faster..! I took all of the banter and propositions with a pinch of salt. Until that one fateful evening when I found myself agreeing (handshake and all) with Digdig to run the Ultra in Connemara. The only thing that can explain this dodgy deal being made is the bottle of wine and the pints of Guinness that were consumed in the preceding hours. For those of you who know me, you'll know that I can be a stubborn wagon when I want to be. For those of you who don't, I'm sure that will become obvious in time. My stubbornness combined Digger's stubbornness resulted in both of us refusing to refute the handshake in the cold light of day (for fear of being the first wimp to back down), entering the race and embarking on a 14 week training post-Christmas training plan. A completely fluffed plan designed by me, in a vacuum, with no idea whatsoever what was required in order to cross the finish line in one piece. In essence, it was a calendar with a designated number of miles per week to be covered. No planned training paces. No time in mind to run the actual race. Just some random numbers, running an average of 5 days per week, a couple of back to back long runs, a couple of long long slow runs and a couple of target races (Raheny 5 Mile & MSB 5K).
Fast forward to last Saturday. About 100 miles shy of the planned 650 (ish) over the 14 weeks. This was due to a couple of unplanned rest days where I just had to listen to the body, a ski trip away, a weekend to Paris not to watch the France Ireland 6 Nations game, and a couple of shorter races substituting a couple of LSRs. Not bad all told.
We headed off just after 10am on Saturday morning. A quick drop into Base to Race to pick up a gel belt for Digs, a detour through some unknown land where people live in some sort of foreign structures on wheels called caravans to pick up Meno and his hangover and we were off. We felt it important not to allow ourselves get hungry or thirsty on the day before the big race so we just had to answer the calling of the golden arches for a fuel stop. A feed of chicken nuggets, a cup of tea and a McFlurry kept me mildly sane - absolutely not advising that McDonalds is good running nutrition strategy but I don't call myself a runner!
We arrived in Galway and went straight to registration. As Meno pointed out last week, I left registration last year feeling unnerved after the looks I had gotten when I picked up a number for the full marathon and not the half. Needless to say, we were all interested as to how my entry to the ultra would be received. Clutching the piece of paper with my number I tried to fight my way by the table of half marathon numbers - they were shepherding me over and shouting 'what's your number? What's your number?'. Like a frightened child, I just kept shouting 'ultra', 'ultra', until somebody realised where I needed to be. With a 'Jaysus, fair play to ya' and a pointed finger I was directed to the lonely table in the corner. The table holding a meagre 245 race packs and an even more sorrowful 35 (or so) female race packs. I had no ID on me so I had to go back to the car before the girls on the desk would hand over the goods. What's a girl gotta do to run an ultra marathon around here?!! I had a quick chat with the Race Director as I was interested to see what the field looked like. There were 215 men and 41 women registered for the Ultra. Between injuries and those who had dropped to the full or half, he reckoned there would be about 30 women lining up at the start - a 90:10 ration of men to women. Terrifying. That is the only way to describe it!!
Fast forward again to the alarm going off at 5:40am on Sunday morning. Had a quick shower to wake up and deliberated (a lot!) about what I was actually going to wear. Breakfast arrived at 6 - silver service to the room no less… I had tea, toast, and a small bit of natural yoghurt, granola and fruit. Didn’t feel hungry in the slightest but knew it had to go in. Headed off to the Cathedral and got the buses at 7. Arrived in Peacocke's hotel for the pre-race briefing at 8 - we all agreed that some of the words really put everything in perspective and we were lucky to be there and all we could do was just go out and give it our best shot. I changed my mind about 10 times over what I was going to wear. I was feeling pretty cold and very tempted to put on a long sleeved top. Eventually decided to stick with the vest and just threw on a manky old tshirt and gloves that could be deposited on the side of the road without much of sentimental loss! I was getting hungry by this time which was not a good start. Had a bit of cereal carby energy bar to fill the gap before hitting the road and it did the job. The ridiculously low number of women running really hit home when I managed to get to the ladies at least twice without having to queue. A rare novelty at races!! It was nice that the shoe was on the other foot for once and the lads had to line up outside the door hopping from foot to foot like newly toilet trained kids… As we boarded the bus out to the start line, the nerves started kicking in tenfold. At this point I just wanted to start - there is nothing worse than having too much time to think about things.
It was fantastic when the gun went and we took the first steps of our adventure into the unknown. A good group of us had decided to run a 6 hour pace (Marthastew, Oisin, Belcarra, Philip, Izoard and a couple of other floaters). Digdig had planned to run a 9:20 ish pace to finish sub-6:30 but surprise surprise, he changed his strategy on the start line. I knew he would, and although I let my dissatisfaction with this known for the first 6 miles or so, I eventually decided to leave him alone to run his own race. The plan was to go through the full in at about 3:55, which would leave some time in the bank to struggle through the last tough 13.1 miles. We quickly settled into a comfortable pace of 8:52 which remained as the average pace on my watch for most of the following 39.3 miles. The first few miles ticked by nice and quickly. The temperature started to hot up and I was very happy that I'd stuck to the vest and not changed into long sleeves. I planned to drop the disposable layer I was wearing at the first water table which I was expecting at 3 miles. When we hadn't hit it by 4 miles, I had to take off the tshirt and just carry it. The first water station was actually at 5 miles so I exchanged my stylish tee and fingerless gloves for 250mls of water. Not a bad deal!
The next few miles all just went by nicely. There was some good banter going on within the group so it was easy not to notice the miles. At about mile 8, and although I felt grand and comfortable and the legs felt good and the head wasn’t telling me to stop, I really started to question what the hell I was doing - why did I think this was a good idea?; what is this going to prove?; what am I going to gain from it?; why, why, why??! I knew that these were foolish thoughts - I was where I was and at this stage the job just had to be done! I also realised at this stage that apart from a few sips of water, I hadn't yet taken anything else in. I didn't feel like I needed a gel but I knew the sensible thing was to take one. Felt so much better in myself about ten minutes later, so obviously that was my body's way of telling me to look after it. At this point I needed the toilet - I wasn't bursting but I knew I couldn’t run for another 5 hours on a full bladder. I knew there would be a load of portaloos at the 13.1 mile mark i.e. the start of the full so I just concentrated on that. At about 11.5 miles, I decided to push on ahead from the group and reckon I threw in an 8 minute mile at this point. I knew it'd be easier to push on and use the loo early instead of having to catch the group if I just dropped in as we passed. It would have been very tough mentally to have come out of the loo and had to chase the pack for half a mile. This worked out perfectly. My average pace went down to 8:49 and the lads were passing just as I came out. We went through the 13.1 miles in about 1:56 (official splits still pending) and everything felt good. Everyone seemed to be doing well and the spirits were high. I think it was just around this point when we were all admiring the amazing scenery of a sunny Lake Inagh that Marthastew decided to bring the tone of the conversation right down to the gutter…which is pretty much where it stayed for the duration. I always thought she was a lady but I must be a bad judge of character…haha
I really enjoyed the next few miles as lots of memories were coming back to me from running this part of the full route on my own the previous year - I realised how much fun and enjoyment I had had! I picked up my first bag of supplies (250mls of flat coke and an energy bar) at 16 miles. Again, consuming everything was a pre-emptive 'be safe not sorry' step as I didn’t feel like I needed anything but knew that I must. The group started getting smaller from this point on. I started kicking stones at about 18 miles and could really start to feel the miles in the legs. My reaction to this was to get a electrolyte tablet into water and down the hatch asap, as well as a good dose of water. I was very mindful of the sun and how it could potentially ruin my race if I didn't stay hydrated. Once this lot of fluids kicked in and I concentrated on actually lifting my legs, things started to look up again. We encountered a bit of a climb which took a bit of work. However knowing that there was a lovely stretch down by Killery Bay into Leenane (before the real pain was due) made it a bit easier. It was just myself, Marthastew, Oisin and Izoard left on the 6 hour bus at this stage. It was at this point that I started to think about what time we'd hit 26.2 miles at and started to wonder whether I might possible bag a marathon PB (my PB being 3.53:30). We estimated that I could probably take a few seconds off if we maintained that pace. As we came into Leenane, the 26.2 mile mat was pointed out to me in the distance and I decided to put the boot down and go for it (official split still pending but I think I managed to shave the 30 seconds off to give me 3.53 - we shall see!). I eased back once I crossed the mat but didn’t stop for the others to catch me. I figured it was best to keep the head down and power up that dreaded first hill as best I could. Although it was steep, it wasn't terribly long and with the focused determination I found myself keeping a good pace, overtaking quite a few people and getting to the top in good shape. I eased off again once the road flattened out and it wasn't long before Oisin and MS joined me again. I continued to feel pretty strong from here. It was pretty hot out and despite the headwind creating a bit of unwelcome difficulty, it would have been ten times harder in dead heat with no breeze. I also made sure I was constantly taking on fluid though I stuck with good old fashioned water for a bit to give the tum a break.
The next big marker for me from a mental point of view was going through 29.3 miles. Knowing that we only had 10 to go thereafter was a big lift! I'm not sure exactly where we lost Oisin, but myself and MS went on through the 31 mile mark feeling pretty strong - this was important to me as it had been at this point in the full last year that I very nearly hit the wall. It also sparked a discussion about the fact that we were now entering the unknown. It was anyone's guess as to how it would all pan out from here. We got around the initial shock by talking about the fact we only had 8 miles to go. 8 miles? Easy. Sure you'd do that in your sleep no bother. Then we were down to 7 miles to go. At the very worst 7 X 10 minute miles would see us a sub 6 finish. Brilliant. That's all we wanted. But then you get greedy don't you. Why settle for sub 6? Sure there's no fun in that. Could we do 5:55, 5:54…. Maintain maintain maintain! That was the short term plan. Anyway, I had my last bag at 32 miles with 2 X 250 mls of flat coke and an energy bar. As I tucked into my cocoa flavoured carby goodness and my sugar and caffeine loaded coke, MS was munching away on a packet of hunky dory's like a true mini marathoner - I was so proud! I couldn’t face the second bottle of coke by this stage. The tummy was far too full of sugar and started revolting against me. This was a shame as we had a nice bit of downhill that would have otherwise been taken advantage of. MS started itching to get away so I sent her on knowing that I would definitely throw up if I upped the pace. I was also cognisant of the fact I was expecting to the foot of the Hell of the West in less than 2 miles - that was going to be tough enough without inviting additional problems. I also knew that I had been performing pretty well on the hills and that I could hopefully try catch her after her freewheeling enjoyment. I caught back up with her a couple of hundred metres later and we chicked the heck out of Karl Henry - I had been under strict orders from Meno that KH was my target. A challenge which I dutifully took on and conquered! I think I might get an invitation to coach OT next year… ha! The cheers coming around to the bottom of the HOTW were a great boost - we were on the home run from there. We had picked up a stray Ultra runner en route and at this point conversation stopped and the three of us plodded along in silence; just keeping each other going. I walked most of the HOTW in the full last year and one of my to-do's this time around was to run the entire thing, no matter what. I got into the zone, shortened my stride, changed my breathing pattern and just hit it hard. Everything it threw at me, I threw right back at it. I overtook so many people which was a good boost. The support from everybody the whole way along the course was just phenomenal! Some guy shouted at me saying I made it look so easy; I had just enough oxygen to spare to let him know that I was, in fact, dying inside!
Getting to the top of that hill without walking and knowing it was a 2 mile cruise to the finish line was AWESOME!! I don't know where my energy came from but I just managed to put the boot down and leggit the way my dad always told me to if I ever found myself stranded on the North side. Or in Bray. I gave it some push and think I managed to pull out 2 sub 8 minute miles. The boards girls were all hanging out in the finishing straight and I had such a beaming coat-hanger grin on my face when I heard them and as I was crossing the finish line. MS came in not far behind me and I was absolutely delighted that we both got sub 5:50 finishes. And such strong finishes at that - I don't think either of us expected that we were capable of it
We were well looked after at the finish line and it was brilliant hanging out (destroyed legs and all!) waiting for everyone else to come home. Was absolutely delighted all the lads did so well and especially to Digs for pulling a sub 6:30 out of the bag after the tough training (or lack thereof!!). I think he might just start listening to me from now on - I really do know best!
Thanks so much for all the support the whole way round Marthastew - I don’t think I could have done it without you. Boys - thanks for annoying us chicas so much with your trash talk, that we had no option but to leave you for dust!
The post race Supermacs feed, snooze and party were brilliant. A fantastically fantastic day all round.
Recovery is going well. Legs are tender and tired, but only as expected. No injuries thank God!
I said never again at the time. I don't know why I said that…
Official splits etc to follow - for now - Chip Time 5.48:10
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